What's with Marley and Me?

Ok. So I don't think we told ya 'bout this. But Tory at Dog Pad lent dogmom the book "Marley and Me" just before we left on vacation to Ohio. You remember, the long drive?

Anyways... so d0gmom has been reading the story to us. A little bit every day. She read some while we were in Ohio, but we were much more interested in climbing on the elm tree and rolling in the grass and watching the horses at Arvonwood.

Anyways... since we got home to Minnesota, she's been reading to us every night. It's not a new thing, though. She usually reads to us at bedtime. Sometimes she reads the newspaper to us. Sometimes she reads all your blogs to us. Sometimes she reads silly magazine stories. Sometimes she reads books.

We don't care what she reads, really. We just sit frog-legged on the floor and look at her. Sometimes she sits on the floor with us. Sometimes she sits up in the chair or on the couch. Sometimes, we sit on the couch and try to sit on the chair with her. (That doesn't work really well, though.)

Anyways, she was reading Marley and Me to us the last couple of weeks. She chuckled and she laughed out loud and she snickered and she said, "Geesh, Opie... YOU do that!" and "GO-mer, that sounds just like you!" And then she'd read some more.

First off, we don't see where Marley was such a bad dog, after all. I mean, really. Maybe misunderstood and a little rambuctious... but not a bad dog by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyways. Last night, we read the last three chapters. And dogmom was bawling like a dufus. And, well, we were kind of sad, too. But that's beside the point. The point is... why on earth would she read us that part about Marley having to go to forever sleep?

I mean. Really. We're not even over Oscar the Airedale leaving us yet. (www.oscartheairedale.blogspot.com) I mean, he was just a young pup and we're still sad about losing him. I mean. Well. We didn't even get to know him that long, ya know? He supported us in our 10K. And he always had a funny post to share in our comments. We're surely gonna miss him.

So... at least Marley was an old man when he got to cross the rainbow bridge. Oscar was just a youngster and he should be still blogging away with us. We'll never forget him. Never ever.

Wuf Ya!

We'll Be Back Soon!

So, dogmom is being stingy with the computer and she's hogging it a lot. And then, there was the bit that we were on vacation in Ohio and at doggie day care at Dog Pad...

Where, by the way, we are playing again today.

Anyways... until dogmom gets this whole new "I've gotta go to my online class now..." and "I need to study now..." and "I've gotta go to work at the paper now..." and "I've gotta go talk to Dr. Kate..."

Anyways... we gotta get her outta here so we can blog again!

Uh-Oh... here she comes again...

Wuf Ya!

We're at Dog Pad Today!

Dogmom said she has to go to Chicago for a meeting. Humans are so innefficient! Why didn't she just have her meeting when we were sitting in traffic in Chicago???

Wuf Ya!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Now, Where Are We Going?

Something's up at our house again, can you believe it?

Dogmom said that she's going to come home at lunchtime (which, by the way, isn't all that unusual...). BUT, she has our purple bag out on the counter!

Now, we might not have mentioned before, but the purple bag is a big deal at our house. It means something. It only comes out of the closet and sits on the counter when dogmom is going somewhere. I mean, not when she's going somewhere... but when we're going somewhere.

The purple bag means that we're going somewhere and we're staying overnight!

But, I'm confused. Cuz this time, dogmom's rolling box isn't out. Usually the purple bag and the rolling box come out of the closet together.

What do you think it all means???

Wuf Ya!

We're Baaaaaacccccckkkkk!

So, we rode and rode and rode and rode and rode and rode and rode in the car again yesterday. Everytime Opie or I woke up, dogmom would find a place to stop the car and then we walked a little bit and did our business and got a drink of water and a cookie and then we got back in the truck and rode some more.

We couldn't beleive it when we got home. We came in the door and smelled everything and Opie ran upstairs and made sure the bed was still there. And, I looked out the patio door to see if there were any rabbits or squirrels. (There weren't.)

And we drank water from our own water bowl and dogmom put food in our own food bowls. And we rolled around on our own carpet and snuggled with dogmom. We're totally exhausted.

Dogmom said she is too. And her back hurts from sitting for 13 hours and her legs are stiff and she has lots to do. Oh well... we're home safe and that's all that matters!

Wuf Ya!

On the Road Again ...

Does anydoggie know or like Willie Nelson? Cuz dogmom keeps singing this goofy song and telling us Willie just might have to come with us on the trip. We hope not, cuz there is barely enough room in the back of the truck for Opie and me!

Anyways. We'll post more when we're home in our own house in our own beds with our own food bowls and rugs and furniture...

Wuf Ya!

Return Road Trip!

Dogmom says we're going to go back to Minnesota tomorrow. We're really excited, cuz that means we'll get to spend the whole day with dogmom. Even if it is in the back of the truck... and it means riding in the car for 13 hours again... and it means not eating a lot for breakfast so we don't upchuck in the truck... and it means we might have to see the horses with no bodies and the creepy big-nosed man in Wisconsin again.

Geesh... I don't think I want to do all that again!

Wuf Ya!

Boomies!

There were boomies last night in Ohio where we are. We ... well, Opie ... didn't like 'em one bit. He wimpered and whined and kept all the dogs ... and especially ME awake.

Dogmom had given Jane some of his new pills. So, around 11:00 p.m., Mike came out and gave Opie one of his new pills. It helped a lot. He actually fell asleep for a while. And today he acted kind of mopey when he woke up.

Now, instead of a dopey Opie, we have a mopey Opie.

Anyways, it's kind of rainy here today and that seems to be making all the humans really happy for some reason. We don't care. Except that Opie doesn't like to play outside when it's raining.

Dopey Mopey Opie with the ropey tail.

(I don't think I mentioned that his tail started bleeding again in the kennel ... 'cuz he keeps whipping it back and forth and whacking the concrete with it ... not to mention whacking me with it!)

Anyways... we're having fun here even with the boomies and the tail-whacking!

Wuf Ya!

Road Trip!

So, we've reached our destination! We're in Ohio near where dogmom grew up. Since grand-dogmom had surgery to get a new knee a couple of weeks ago, we can't stay at her house or go visit her yet. So, we're staying at Arvonwood Kennel outside of Bryan, Ohio. (That's me, Gomer, standing in the 2nd kennel!)

Well, it's actually outside of Stryker, Ohio. But we bet that nobody who reads this has heard of Stryker... and maybe of Bryan, for that matter... unless you're related to our dogmom.

Anyway, we stayed here once before. We like Jane and Mike. And the kennel is bright and cool. It has those indoor-outdoor runs... but Jane is smart, cuz she has lids on them. So that dogs like Opie who like to jump can't get over the fence. And, Arvonwood has a small yard to do our business and a great big yard to run and play. And they even have horses... but not the scary horses that only have heads, like we saw at the gas station in Wisconsin!

Dogmom even came to visit us!

We went outside and ran around in the big yard and she let us climb on and investigate the elm tree that had been cut down. We think that is really cool, cuz it's not like a regular kennel where there's nothing interesting to test our minds.

But, sometimes, we just roll around in the grass or run in the yard...

Anyways, we'll be here for the next few days, so we're just veggin'.

Here's a picture of Jane and Mike as dogmom was leaving today...

Wuf Ya!

Road Trip!

Ok... so as near as we can figure, we drove from Minnesota... through Wisconsin (that had the funny big-nosed man and the horses) into Illinois... where we had to wait for like forEVER in traffic. Dogmom kept saying, "Chi-caaaaaa-go... we're in Chi-caaaaaah-go!"

Really, we just wished she would shut up so we could go back to sleep, since we obviously weren't getting to see anything but the same four cars around us...

Then, when we started moving really fast again... she said, "Hey, boyz... I've got a big surprise for you!" And she made a phone call. And then we kept driving. We didn't get it at first... I mean... really. We've been in the car now for what? 9 hours or something... what was the big surprise... we were obviously still in the car.

Then... we figured it out... there was a DOG PARK! We could see it. And she went inside and talked to somebody before we got to play. Turns out, it's a members-only dog park in Valparaiso, IN, called the Canine Country Club. We had been there once before a couple of years ago when we drove with her to Ohio. Anyways... she got a membership so that we could run and play for a while.

It was so much fun! There were two Boxers there... but they weren't Cubby or Raina or any of our dog-blog boxer buddies, we don't think. The boy boxer was named Gus and we don't remember the girl boxer's name... although we ran and played with her more than with Gus.

Doesn't this look like a great place?



But then... we rode in the car some more... Opie's kind of tired of the car now...



Wuf Ya!

It's A Road Trip!

We wuf to ride in the car. We always have. Especially when we both get to go and dogmom drives and we, well... we...

Then, occasionally, dogmom stops driving and she takes us for a walk and we do our business and then she goes inside the building and does whatever it is that she does... Meanwhile, Opie sits in the driver's seat of the car and watches for dogmom to come back. When he sees her, he jumps back into the back of the truck with me...

Sometimes when she stops, she stands outside the car and watches the big smelly thing while some kind of handle is sitting on the car and making funny noises that we can hear inside. She calls it getting gas... but I don't think it's the same kind of gas I get when I sit down and toot a tune for her.

Anyways... at one of the places where she stuck the handle in the car... this is what was standing outside the car. We barked and barked and barked at him, and he never moved. Dawgs... Opie thought his nose was big!
Then, after we saw the big scary man with the humungous nose who didn't move or talk... dogmom got back in the truck and started driving some more and then we ...

And then, the next time we stopped... THIS was next to us in the car. Dogmom called it a horse... but it sure looked bigger than the ones we drive by on the way to Dog Pad!

Anyways... after we barked at the horse and dogmom laughed at us, she started driving again and we...

More later!

Wuf Ya!

It's A Road Trip!

It is, we think!

Well, dogmom hasn't actually said it's a road trip yet... but she did take us to Tory's house and gave us a bath today. I mean, that by itself doesn't mean a road trip... but we DO always have to take a bath before road trips since dogmom is allergic to us.

Anyways... we heard dogmom talking to Tory about her road trip and then we heard Tory tell dogmom to have a safe trip. I mean, if we weren't going with her... we'd be staying with Tory at Dog Pad... and since Tory won't be at Dog Pad, we MUST be going on the road trip with her, right?

Wuf Ya!

Something's Up - More Info!

Ok. So here's what else we found out so far today...

• There is also a Pet First Aid kit by the pile of stuff in the garage and a smaller-than-usual bag of our food.
• Dogmom took the car to the service station today and found out we needed more than an oil change -- like new sway bar links and rear brakes and an air filter.

Still no suitcases though... what do you think? Are we going on a road trip maybe?

Wuf Ya!

Something's Up - Part Two...

Ok, dawgs. So we didn't get to investigate very long yesterday 'cuz we went to Dog Pad all day and played with all the dogs and with Tory. And we chased balls when Nate came and started tossing them around. And, Opie was really good and didn't try to jump the fence or run away from dogmom when we came back (like he did on Monday). And when we got home we took really long naps 'cuz we were tired.

Anyways... so we didn't have much time to check into what's up at home... but we know there's something. Here's what we found out so far:

• Dogmom has pulled our portable, collapsible, soft-sided kennels out of the closet and put them in the garage.
• And, next to the kennels, she put our collapsible donut chairs from Target (that the college students like) and that we like to lay in when we go someplace and don't have our dog beds.
• And, next to the kennels and the chairs, she put the great big folded piece of fabric that she uses to line the back of the Explorer sometimes.

We thought maybe she's getting ready for a trip, but we haven't seen any suitcases (hers, or ours). And, we haven't seen her packing any food for us or anything like she does when she goes away.

We're at home all day today while she's at work... so we'll see what else we can find out, ok?

Wuf Ya!

Somethin's Up!

There's something going on at our house and we're not sure what it is yet. We've been trying to figure it out, really, we have. But we haven't yet. But when we do, we'll be sure and let you know about it, k?

Wuf Ya!

Happy Tails!

LOOK!

We won't show you the "before" pictures, 'cuz they're really gross, even from a dog's perspective... but here are how our tails are shaping up now.

Opie had gotten his tail caught in the exit door at Dog Pad a couple of weeks ago -- because he darted out and the leash slammed the door shut. He has lost his cute curlie-cue hair at the end of his tail... but we're hoping it grows back eventually.
















And, this is where Gomer's fungal infection was. The skin is all healed and he's actually getting his hair back!
















We've got happy tails today!
Wuf Ya!

Whew! We're HOT! 10K Completed

Not only because the DogsAyeView First Annual 10K is done. You dawgs are PAWesome! But because it was over 90 degrees both days this weekend. Didn't matter to us. When we weren't in the air conditioning inside, we were laying under the sprinklers outside. It's a dog's life, isn't it?


Anyways, here are the results from the DogsAyeView 10K fundraiser in honor of our blogafursary!!!

• 804 visits = $80.40 to Friends For Life Animal Sanctuary, where dogmom adopted us... TIMES TWO, since you clicked the purple button!


• 177 comments = $17.70 to Southwest Metro Animal Rescue, which is in Chaska where we live... TIMES TWO since you clicked the purple button!


• 580 clicks = $58.00 to the Animal Rescue Site ... which, in addition, means 348 bowls of food for shelter dogs!


• 29 link-backs = $29.00 to various rescue organizations!

That's $283.20 to help more animals find their forever homes! Yeah for dogs! (And cats and hampsters and birds....) that helped!

Wuf Ya!

We're Still Counting!

Dogmom said our internet connection is down today. So we will post the 10K results as soon as we can!
Wuf ya!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

DogsAyeView 10K Enters Final Turn!

We're almost there, dawgs! Today's the last day to visit, click, comment, post and link and have it all mean money to rescue animals! (We hope you keep coming back even after this race is over, though!)

Dogmom is slow... she's still catching up on all the emails and comments.

She's going to post in a little while where we stand so far.

In the meantime, here's the list of all the dogs and people who linked to us and helped to spread the word. (If you're not on the list and you linked, would you send dogmom an email to remind her, please??? She's sure somebody's missing, cuz when she counted the other day there were 29... and today she only found 25. Remember, links mean DOLLARS, not dimes!)

Augel http://bloggista.freehostia.com/
Boo (Dogs with Blogs calendar) http://www.dogswithblogs.com.au/
Casey http://caseymaupin.blogspot.com/
ChaCha and Yuki http://fourigirl.blogspot.com/
Cubby the Boxer http://cubbygoesdigital.blogspot.com/
Cynthia Blue http://www.tiptail.com/
Dakota http://itsasibeslife.blogspot.com/
Deuce and Leslie http://www.lesliehawes.com/blackdog/
Essex & Deacon http://keywestcollies.blogspot.com/
Gus & Teka http://www.gowithgus.blogspot.com/
Jake and Just Harry http://barkalotboyz.blogspot.com/
Johann http://blog.helpingpups.com/
Magnum http://mapaw.blogspot.com/
Oscar the Airedale http://oscartheairedale.blogspot.com/
One Dog and Two Birds http://balashankar.wordpress.com/
Peanut the Army Dog http://peanuts-thoughts.blogspot.com/
Perfect Tosca http://mypuppytosca.blogspot.com/
Pippa and Kate http://pippadogblog.blogspot.com/
Sasha http://sashaville.blogspot.com/
Snowball http://mydeargirl.blogspot.com/
Sophie Brador http://sophierulestheworld.blogspot.com/
Stanley http://republicofgooberstan.blogspot.com/
The Dogs of Jackman Ave http://ferndoggle.blogspot.com/
Wally http://dogsthatblog.blogspot.com/

But wait, there are more... (thanks for letting us know!)
Johann http://blog.johannthedog.com//
Tealeaf http://tighgadhar.blogspot.com/
Kingsley http://kingsley.wordpress.com/

Wuf Ya!

We've got 13+ (our lucky number) hours to go, dawgs!
UPDATE! 10:15 a.m. = $261.20

742 visits = $74.20 to Friends For Life Animal Sanctuary
Doubled thanks to purple-paw clicks

137 comments = $13.70 to Southwest Metro Animal Rescue
Doubled thanks to purple-paw clicks

564 purple clicks = $56.40 to Animal Rescue Site; not to mention the 338.4 bowls of food those clicks mean for shelter dogs!

29 (?) link-backs = $29.00 to various rescue organizations.

We Survived the Fireworks Day!

Well... depending on how you define "survived."

Here's Opie in his favorite hiding spot.


Notice, he's wearing his new pj's that we bought from Butchy and Snickers' mom. Want some? You can get them at http://snitchybugdogdesigns.blogspot.com/.









Now, Gomer joins him in the bathroom! (I had to open the curtain to get this shot... Opie was quite perturbed at me for doing so.)


Wuf Ya!

P.S. DogsAyeView 10k ends tomorrow night!

Happy July 4th Everydog!

Dogmom had to do some stuff today, but now she's home. She gave us our meds ... Yup, Gomer too, cuz now he's acting like a freakazoid too.

I gotta go claim my spot in the bathtub before he wants that too!

Wuf ya!
Opie
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Happy July 4th to Everybody!

Dogmom has to post today, 'cuz we're kinda freaked out by the loud noises the last few nights...

Hi all! Thanks for clicking and commenting and posting the DogsAyeView 10K and spreading the word! This is the most fun I've had spending money in a long time! I know it's only July 3rd, but I wanted to post July 4th greetings before I "forget."

A few years ago, I was out of town during the July 4th week. I had a terrific dogwalker who came and took care of the boyz (Hi Jennifer at the Pet Crew!), and she even came early July 4th so they got their walk in before the fireworks started. Now, before this particular July 4th, Gomer and Opie would sit on the balcony of our apartment in Minnesota, or in the yard at my house in AZ, and watch the fireworks with me. We ooh'd and ah'd at the lights and the whistles and even the pops and booms didn't bother them.

But then, this one day, while Jennifer was walking them... some teenagers decided it would be funny to throw some firecrackers at Opie when he walked by. They detonated right underneath him; needless to say, they completely startled and freaked him out. Jennifer consoled him and took him back home, giving extra hugs and kisses and attention. But the damage was done.

Each year since, Opie is completely freaked by the sound of fireworks, or clashes of thunder, or the sounds of the highway pylons being pounded into the ground behind our house. If you've ever seen the movie "Because of Winn Dixie" ... and you can picture the dog's pathological fear of thunderstorms scene running back and forth in the trailer ... you have a good idea of Opie's reaction.

I've tried various desensitization techniques, to no avail. Opie's a smart one and he seems to interpret the extra attention as reason to be even more afraid. He has gotten better about repetative noises... like bumbly-rumbly thunder... but not for loud, sudden noises ... which, of course, are harder to predict! Cars backfiring... firecrackers... loud crashes of thunder... dropping a pan on the kitchen floor... all set him off in a tizzy.

So, I've now turned to medicating him around the 4th of July. He takes 1/2 milligram of alprazolam (brand name in the US is Xanax). It seems to be helping, if only from the standpoint that he's more apt to watch me and "hear" my attempts at soothing him.

Of course, he still prefers to run upstairs and sit in the bathtub with the curtain closed ... until all sounds have stopped.

Wuf Ya!

Past the 5K Mark in the DogsAyeView 10k!

Ok, so you dogs are all doing great! Here are the stats as we passed the 5K marker!

454 Visits to our blog ... That's $45.40 for Friends for Life (times two 'cuz of the purple clicks.)

74 Comments - Come on! We've heard you bark more than this at the rabbits, deer and squirrels! That's $7.40 for SW Metro Animal Rescue (times two 'cuz of the purple clicks.)

102 clicks o' the purple button. *That's 61 bowls of food for homeless dogs! And, $10.20 to the Animal Rescue Site.

29 posts on your sites linking back to our site (Totally PAWsome, dogs!) That's $29.00 to worthy rescue organizations!

So, that's just about $145... we can do better than that! Five more days to go!

Wuf Ya!

4:45 p.m. UPDATE: Dogmom said to tell ya that she's gonna assume that everybody is clicking the purple button that visits, so you don't have to include it in the comments anymore. She'd really like to see more comments, tho... so SW Metro Animal Rescue doesn't get shafted!
Wuf Ya!