Hey, click on the fish in the picture and he swims! hee hee!

December already!

Hey how did it turn into December so quickly??? Man it got cold....brrr....and then we had snow and freezing rain and sleet, and the snow (a couple inches) is still out there! I don't like this, it's the reason I moved from Minnesota. (okay, okay, I was adopted, that's why I moved!).

Mom is worried about the fish in the pond because she didn't turn the heater on and the top of the pond is so much ice that we dogs can stand on it without falling in! she's turning the heater on tomorrow so I hope those fishies will be ok. If not, they will be frozen into the ice! That happened one year when her old heater crapped out. Bailey spent hours on the pond, digging them out and eating them. What a pig. But he sure does love his sushi.

This time of year it's great to sit by the woodstove. Our woodstove is made out of soapstone (there goes mom with the soap theme again!) and it's in the fireplace. So we dogs take turns lying behind the woodstove on the hearth. It's not too hot and the stones get all warm. Great for my sore muscles!The Woodstock Soapstone Stove Company http://www.woodstove.com is where our stove came from. We got it a long time ago, before Bailey and I were even born. Ours is called the Keystone. And we can see a picture of the fire inside because the front is glass. aaaaaahhhh. So nice. I've got more to talk about later but I just wanted to check in with you guys and let you know we are all doing well here. It's almost dinner time! Yum, Mom got some cool canned beef stew (doggie beef stew) to go with our wellness dry food. I CAN'T WAIT!!! Later dudes.

Happy Furday! (er, I mean Friday!)

is this a cool picture or what? It was taken by Mom's friend Lorna Rae when she was in Alaska a few months back. Lorna Rae used to work as the clinical coordinator for the paramedic students when Mom ran the paramedic program. Mom says LR is what is called a 'travel nurse' now and she works in different places so she can see the whole country. (A nurse is sort of like a vet tech, only for people.) She is having a wonderful experience. You know, a bird that size could easily carry me off (after all I barely weigh 20 pounds!) Sheesh! I should buckle down and eat more just in case....Mom says those bald eagles do live in Western MA too. I've never seen one, but last year a great blue heron used to stop by our pond to catch frogs. He was pretty impressive too!

wow is it cold and windy today! And they say it will snow/sleet/rain on Sunday. The best part about winter is that the woodstove is going. And now Mom and Dad leave the bedroom door open during the day so it won't be so cold in there....that means I can nap on my (our) bed all day and think. Not much to report on this last week and so I haven't been thinking all that much. Dad is real busy and he has been very tired lately. Some nights he doesn't even feel like playing with me. And Mom has been so busy that she left a batch of patchouli soap in the mold for 3 days! (usually she unmolds after 24 hours...it doesn't hurt the soap any, it's just that she likes to check it sooner and have the mold free to make more soap!) She is going to examine paramedic candidates at an exam tomorrow and then she is going to look at a soap display thingie in West Brookfield that she is thinking of buying. So she will only have Sunday to get food and cookies for us, clean the house and make soap. She'll be busy, so I am going to help her by finding things on the floor that I can pick up and put 'away'. I helped her last night by not waking her up at 3:00 a.m. Sometimes I have to go out in the middle of the night. I figure she would rather get up with me than to have to clean up a mess later. She agrees, but she still gets kind of grumpy about it.

Both Mom and Dad are really looking forward to their weekend away in Maine, which is coming up in a couple of weeks. They like to go to Kennebunkport. They used to stay at a really cool place on the beach called the Ocean View, but it was sold and doesn't take guests anymore. So they will be the Mainestay Inn, in Cottage 7 (where they stayed once, a long time ago). http://www.mainestayinn.com They love Kennebunkport in the winter!

And when they go away we stay at the kennel, where we have the coolest time! We all love it because there are so many other dogs and lots of people to play with. Mom says sometimes it costs more for us to go there than it does for Mom and Dad to go on their vacation! Ha! The only bad part is, I miss my bed and I miss sleeping with Mom and Dad. They've never taken me on a vacation with them. They said maybe someday! Well, I am off to do some activities before I settle in for my daily nap. I will catch up with you later.

Some of Mom's Soaps!

Photobucket Album

This is how I imagine myself! I am such a little angel! (not!) Well, no turkey for us Dogs yesterday...they brought leftovers home but we haven't seen them (yet). I'm still working on looking pathetic so maybe I'll see a little snackeroo later in the day. I plan to spend my day inside mostly, probably thinking on my pillow. It's really cold and windy today and I prefer not to be outside unless I absolutely have to be. I feel sad for all the dogs and humans that have to live outside when it gets cold. There should be enough homes and food for every dog and every person. Everything is so expensive that I'm afraid there will be more homeless dogs and people this winter. How can we keep up? Mom says that she's even thinking of getting us a different dog food because our food is so expensive now, but she's afraid to because it was one of the few brands that wasn't making dogs sick a few months ago. Mom is always emptying her pockets of change leftover from her coffee and giving it to the people on the street in Boston when she is at work. And she puts together food for the survival center here at home http://www.thensc.org

Today Mom is going to Snow Farm with her friend Sue to look at all the art and crafts for sale. She likes that stuff. Snow Farm is near where we live http://www.snowfarm.org and it has lots of cool stuff I guess. Not much for dogs, probably. Sue's dog Shannon went over the Rainbow Bridge recently. I don't think I ever met her, because she was very old and had bad joints and Dad says I'm too rambunctious. But I guess she was a Lassie-type dog and was very nice. Mom said Sue rescued her long ago from a terrible place where she was left all alone. People that rescue dogs are good people. You can usually trust them to do the right thing. Like Mom and giving change to the street people. Except for there are some rescue people who are a little sick and are called 'animal hoarders'. I guess they are the ones who end up with 100 cats or 50 dogs because they think they are helping but they really aren't. And some of them actually let their rescued pets breed and make more puppies and kittens. Wacko.

Maybe Sue and my Dad's friend Uncle George will get a puppy soon. Not to replace Shannon but because everyone should have a dog! It should be a law! Hey! Winston could go live with them...Uncle George likes Winston a lot, but I don't think that will happen because Uncle George wants a hunting dog, like Max, the lab-dog that my brothers talk about sometime. (He died before I was even born.) But you know, Winston has caught birds at the birdfeeder in the past, maybe he should go to live with Uncle George; and he's very good at catching snakes too!


I saw that Mitt Romney guy on TV this morning, because he is still running for president. He still looks like a moron to me. He is "ahead" whatever that means, in Iowa. I guess people have forgotten that the way people treat their dogs is a reflection of the way they will treat humans. OK ok, let's not go back there again. Mom and Dad kind of think there is no choice for the elections. They're not crazy about any of the people running. I think this whole election thing is out of control. Humans have moved to a point where their leaders aren't really their leaders....they are people created by a team of imagemakers. AND, you humans have to have an awful lot of money to be in an election. That doesn't seem right. Now, in the dog world, it's quite simple. The top dog is in charge. And the top dog gets to be the top dog because he or she has the benefit of age, wisdom, and the ability to make a point and back it up with a scuffle if necessary. The point is they do the work themselves. They act in the best interest of the pack. Scuffles are only when necessary, and usually only a little bit of a scuffle is required. And the top dog does the scuffling him/her-self; the top dog doesn't send out all of his puppies far away to scuffle and get killed. And if the pack doesn't like it, the pack is free to choose another leader (if their choice can topple the current leader), or leave and find a new pack. Everyone feels secure with a good leader who doesn't need to do stupid things to make it look like he is powerful. (insert Mitt Romney's name here. Or George Bush. Or, your choice.) A good leader gets along with all of the pack members and knows their quirks. Here at my house I am the pack leader. Well, Bailey would disagree with that but I am still the pack leader. I have Daddy to back me up! Daddy for President! Uh-oh, Mom is looking to do a little work before she heads out the door. That is my signal to find a sock or something else to tease her with so she won't be grumpy. Gotta go!

Thanksgiving Already!

Good grief where did the time go??? One second it was a hot summer day and now, bingo, it's Turkey Day! Sorry I haven't been on the blog in a while. It doesn't mean nothin's been happening....in fact, just the opposite. There have been MANY CHANGES for me to think about in the last 3 months. First off, Mom got a new job. Now she goes to Boston 3 days a week and works here in town the other two days. But she's home on most weekends and nights, which I really like because then dinner isn't late and there's always good stuff. (hey I love my Dad but all he ever gives us is dog food--Mom puts in the special stuff!).

The only bad part about Mom's new job is that now she and Dad both get up mega early and leave the house at something they call "five thirty Ay-Em". The nice lady Lisa comes in the middle of the day to let us out of the house. I'm training her to throw the frisbee for me. She seems to prefer Winston, that little suck-up, but I think I'm winning her over. (Why does everyone like him? He's nuts and he pees everywhere!)

Lets see, what else has been going on? Well, my brother Daniel is staying in Florida with his mom for a while. He decided college wasn't for him and he was working as a parts delivery person for awhile, but he partied a little too hard once too often, so "it was decided" that he should be banished to the land of old people and talking mice for a while to get him away from those bad influence people. He's got some growing up to do but he will be fine. Meanwhile mom is still trying to get the tobacco smell out of his room. Bleach. She figures that for the time being she can store some of her soap supplies in there.

The garden is all frozen. (We had SNOW yesterday, can you believe it!) I hate snow. My feet get so cold. But Bailey likes it. And the woodstove has been going, so mostly Bailey and I compete to see who gets to lay on the warm hearth behind the stove. When we go outside we look for the mice near the woodpile. Bailey's been catching them like crazy. Me, mostly I like to bark at Mom to make her let me back in as soon as I know she sat down. hee hee!

And Mom and her soap. She is driving me crazy. She made a ton of soap and took a lot of it to a craft fair a few weeks ago. She sold a lot of it. Humans say it really makes their skin feel nice. Personally, "soap" equals "bath" to me, and we all know how I feel about that! She is always talking about essential oils and fragrances and clay and stuff. Good thing she's on a soap forum so she can talk to other crazy soap people, otherwise Dad and I would be completely fed up!

BUT, to be fair, it is pretty (the soap I mean). I'll put a couple pictures up of it next time maybe. I'm going to head back to the pillow for a while. From what I hear, Mom and Dad won't be taking me to Grandma's house to visit for Thanksgiving. So I sure hope they'll bring some leftovers back!

Boy did it ever rain last night! We sure needed it but I hate rain. I refuse to pee in the rain. Mom thinks that's stupid given the way I play with the hose sprayer, but she doesn't get it...it's all about Control. I have no control over the rain, therefore I refuse to pee when it rains. So, I woke her up at 2 am when the rain let up a bit! Enjoy the picture of my Mom's lilies and other flowers. You won't see any lilies at our house this year. Asiatic Lily Beetle. Stripped the leaves right off the stalks. No leaves, no food to develop the flower. Imported accidentally into the Boston area a few years ago, and now they are decimating lilies across New England. Neem oil is the solution for controlling them.These other pesticides, they are dangerous for good plants and good bugs like bees (and dangerous to dogs). But those beetles are here to stay, like little terrorists, and we will always have to watch out for them.

We had a busy day in the vegetable garden yesterday---no bugs there, except the cabbage moths but wood ashes sprinkled on the plants will prevent most of the damage. Lots of weeds. I got in a lot of play time while Mom weeded, and she's still not done. She got the tomatoes staked and mulched, and put some mulch down in other areas. It looks a lot better. We were all pooped out last night and vegged out on the sofa. Dad was giving a lecture to a bunch of paramedic students on '12-lead EKG' and Mom was going to make soap, but she was just too tired. This vacation stuff seems rough on humans. A dog's life is so much better!

Reflections on the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July.....a little late. I was having too much fun yesterday and got all tuckered about before I could make some notes. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th and took time to think about what it means. "When in the course of HUMAN events....." Which is the big issue, in my opinion. NOWHERE in the Declaration of Independence does it mention dogs. I don't even see a dog in this action photo of the D of I being written! Mom says their concept of 'independence' was only for white men, not for women, people of color or dogs. (apparently cats have always been independent.) Still, those guys did a very impressive job of creating a whole new concept. They were the ultimate revolutionaries and terrorists. They wouldn't have let a little airport security slow them down! Imagine what Ben Franklin could have done with a set of nail clippers. And Mom says we should remember that whenever people disagree with our government about stuff, it's disagreement that helps us keep as free as possible. No muzzle on freedom, Mitt. (can you tell I really haven't forgiven Mitt for the way he treated his Irish Setter?)

Gov. Patrick has made the requirement here in Massachusetts (birthplace of democracy!), that US flags over state buildings be flown at half-mast whenever a soldier killed in the ongoing war is buried. Today the flags are at half-mast. I think this is a considerate and sensitive thought. A better thought would be....NO soldiers getting killed at all. And I'm wondering why we don't fly our flags at half-mast whenever any soldier who has ever fought in any war is buried? But hey, did you know that dogs go to war also, and when they get killed in the line of duty no one even notices; because they are Just Dogs, after all.

So yesterday was a beautiful day. Except the part in the morning when Mom gave me a bath. She said I was itchy and must need a bath. NO, NO, NO!! I really don't like baths. At least she hasn't put my collar back on yet. After my fur dried I went outside and supervised everyone else, played frisbee and made sure Bailey didn't knock over the wood pile hunting for mice. Bear dug up a good-sized rock and was rolling it around until it went under the stinger wire....he got stung and then he just wanted to go inside (hee hee). Winston forgot to take his medication and he was outside spinning. (he spins in both directions sometimes.) And Bandit mostly just wanted to sleep, but Winston kept bugging him. Then Uncle George came over in the afternoon for our picnic, but it rained so we had to stay inside. Uncle George had some of Dad's good Scotch and a couple beers, then he tickled me and played with me for a while. All us dogs got leftover burgers in our dinner. Mom had some of that Scotch also, and some wine. Dad just had his Scotch. Dad and Uncle George were making jokes and saying goofy stuff that I won't repeat here because Mom said I shouldn't even have been listening. Then Uncle George left because he had to go take care of Shannon, the dog he lives with. She is pretty old and needs to go outside a lot. And we all fell asleep on the sofa. Anyway, the rain has finally stopped and it's pretty early. I have the whole day to look forward to! Mom and Dad both have the day off!

Another Perfect Day

Here's me, on my (Dad's) pillow............

aaahhh, I just had my dinner (Wellness chicken flavor with leftover salmon salad, yum!) and I'll be ready for bed soon. After I played with the hose today I did some sunbathing, had a snack, and then made Mom throw the frisbee for me. Gotta keep in practice. She just kept weeding and working all afternoon. The pond looks good but that stupid waterfall is still not flowing right. She set up the sprinkler in the garden 'cause it looked real dry. That would have been fun to play in but there's a fence around the garden. :( Then she went downstairs to make the soap that she needed to get done, and because she was down there I missed the evening news. I have to admit, that between missing the news and sunbathing....er, sleeping actually, I didn't have many Deep Thoughts today. Dad's got a few days off and I'm real excited about that. I know he and I will think about stuff together. G'night!

What a great day here in Western Massachusetts! Sunny, in the 70's, low humidity...perfect for all of us to hang out in the yard. Mom's off today so I helped her water the flowers, add water to the fish pond and clean out the pond pump so the waterfall would run better. Do you catch the water theme here? I love our yellow hose (matches my yellow frisbee). There is nothing like setting up the hose with the sprayer going so I can attack it. Mom doesn't get why I hate having a bath but love that sprayer. It's the soap, Mom. She's grumpy. She still has a ton of weeding to do 'cause she hasn't been around much and it's out of control. She also needs to make some soap pretty soon but she's putting it off 'cause it's such a nice day. Mom makes soap, mostly for us but she does sell a little bit of it to some people at work. Mostly she sells it to help cover the cost of supplies. Maybe later I'll have her tell you about it.

I think Mom's grumpy too over this Scooter thing. At first I thought Scooter was that old Welsh Corgi that lives up the street and howls all the time. But then I realized it's a human that they're talking about. Dad said it again..."you get as much justice as you can afford!" I don't know what Scooter did but Mom's annoyed and she said that Bush, Cheney and Scooter are all fucktards and she wondered if their god planned to commute their sentences when they died. She said Paris Hilton is more of a man than Scooter. I don't know. Scooter is a great name for a dog. Dogs are loyal and trustworthy, and so Scooter must be also. Oh. I guess he's Cheney's dog. Hey you know it isn't even noon yet, I've got mega sunbathing to accomplish, especially after my romp with the sprayer.

But before I go I thought you'd like to see Bailey at his favorite activity...hunting.

Bailey caught a vole while we were hanging out. He kept looking in the old stump and finally pulled one out. Of course we all tried to get it from him (Mom included), but he just ripped its head off and kept on chomping. He can be such a pig sometimes.

I have a great day....and, I learn a secret!

First of all let me just say that Mitt Romney is a fucktard! I know I said yesterday that he couldn't possibly live with a dog, he is such a moron. BUT, now I hear that he had a dog, an Irish Setter, that he put into a crate, strapped to the roof of his car and drove to Florida. The dog had a serious diarrhea problem en route. Can you blame him? Well, this took place in the last century (1983) so maybe things were different then. He's still a fucktard. Oh. Mom doesn't want me talking like that. sorry.

Have a look at my new yellow frisbee. Well, mostly I guess it's me you see, but trust me, this new yellow one, is da bomb! Soft is good, because it doesn't hurt my teeth, plus I'm still working on my catching skills and sometimes the earth shifts on me unexpectedly; a soft frisbee doesn't hurt so much! Do you notice my beautiful markings? I have a small 'Hindu' spot in the center of my forehead, about where my 'third eye' is located. I don't think I look like anyone else in my family. Mom says Dad and I have the same nose in profile. I'm not sure. Mom told me something recently that's kind of a secret....I'm ADOPTED! Ssshh. See, I was born in Minnesota. Some people from Massachusetts wanted me because I am half-sister to their dog Lucy, who ran out in front of a snowplow and went over the Rainbow Bridge. They drove all the way out to Minnesota to get me, then drove me all the way back (INSIDE the car, Mitt!). I lived with them until I was 5 months old, then I was adopted by my mom and dad because my original parents were having a human baby and couldn't take care of both of us. Dad says he thinks my half-sister Lucy deliberately threw herself in front of the snowplow because the people had weird ideas about dogs. I don't remember much, but Mom says they had a little tiny crate for me that made me stay on my belly. I wasn't allowed on furniture and I couldn't go anywhere there was carpeting. And they would only play with me at certain times. I was becoming "Neurotic". Mom and Dad let me go anywhere I want to go...it's my house too! (Mitt don't fit!! Mitt don't fit!) And the weird thing is, Dad's dog Jasmine had recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He missed her a lot. I look a lot like her and I just suddenly appeared in their lives! Mom and Dad think Jasmine arranged for me to go and live with them so they wouldn't miss her so much. I don't know. It was 5.5 years ago and I don't really remember any other life! Adoption is kind of cool you know. It means that your parents CHOOSE you! But in China Mom says families can only have one child. Everyone wants boys and no one wants girls, so girl babies usually get adopted. (sometimes they get left outside to die.) This China place also apparently eats dogs with rice, so I'd say they have some humanity issues. I guess this China place has been allowing people from here to adopt all their baby girls, only now they are going to require that the people who adopt be thin, young and without medical problems. (because they want the best for the children.) If they really want the best for the children, then why are they letting people kill them or adopt them? How dumb is that. And why were they sending us poisoned dog food, and now other poisoned stuff? Who is watching them? They are sucking up all the oil and steel and aluminum and are probably making lots of pollution because they just don't care about the earth very much. They don't seem to appreciate females very much. What will they do if that Hillary lady gets to be president?

I was thinking about all that while I did a little sunbathing this afternoon. Then I ran around with Mom and she threw Old Yeller (the frisbee) for me. I'm thinking it's chow time pretty soon. Maybe I can get Dad to give me some ice cream. You coming?

Greetings

I've been thinking about blogging for some time now. Here's some background data to bring you up to speed. I am the youngest of the five dogs in my family. Three of my brothers are also Jack Russell Terriers, the 4th brother is a big ol' terrier mix. We live with my mom (Deb) and my dad (Mike) and my brother (Daniel). More about them at a later time. Our house is in a quiet suburb in a liberal college town in Western Massachusetts. We have a big back yard, completely enclosed by a 6 foot stockade fence. Just beyond our fence is a wooded area with birds and all sorts of creatures, like bunnies, skunks and bears. Sometimes the fence doesn't keep those critters out. (hee-hee!) And of course let's not forget the squirrels--we have 4 big maple trees in the backyard with nests and such. There's a water garden with big goldfish and frogs. We've also got a small stone wall with resident chipmunks, and a woodpile that constantly needs mouse-cleansing. Mom says a weasel family has had a den for generations under the wood pile, but the last reliable sighting was when I was just a pup, so I don't really recall it. In good weather I enjoy being out in my yard with all the activities. There's something for everyone to do. I spend a lot of time sunbathing in the yard, and thinking. I'm big into thinking. If I'm not in the yard I'm in the house. If I'm wanting alone-time to continue thinking I prefer to relax on our bed (I share my bed with mom and dad). For daytime naps I use dad's pillow. My brothers don't spend as much time thinking as I do. Bandit (the terrier mix) is 11 years old and he likes to sleep a lot. I often pester him in a sisterly way. Winston is 9 and he's, well, he's just mental. He has some kind of liver thing and he pees a lot, so he has to wear a diaper when he's in the house. Mostly he just thinks about how to get the diaper off. Dad says we should send him to visit the Youth in Asia. I don't get it. Bear is 8 and mom says he's the Rock n Roller of the family. I'm guessing that's a joke because all Bear likes to do is dig up rocks and roll them around the yard with his nose until he gets to the water garden. Then he shoves them in. Then he starts over again. (He had meningitis as a kid and it apparently caused him some brain damage.) He also drools a lot whenever the subject of food comes up. But mom says he's incredibly loyal. That's true I guess. I know once when I dug out of the yard as a pup he and mom came looking for me and he brought me home. Bailey is probably almost as smart as I am. Mostly he's focused on the critters in the yard and how to kill them. He stands for hours by the water garden and tries to catch the fish. He's pretty fast and is often successful, especially in the spring when they're sluggish and have forgotten about him over the winter. He's a sushi-kind of guy. He's also really good at catching squirrels because he can run really fast. Sometimes they fall off the fence and he snags them by the tail. He and Winston sometimes hunt garter snakes together. Bailey has recently started sleeping in bed with me and mom and dad. I don't like this at all. He knows better than to get under the covers though.
HEALTH NSURANCE: Mostly what I think about spins off from what I see on TV and what mom and dad talk about at home. But sometimes stuff just comes up randomly. Like here in Massachusetts that Mitt Romney guy gave us a law that says everyone has to have health care. (from what my mom and dad have said, that Mitt guy is a moron and can't be trusted. He sounds like the kind of guy who doesn't even own a dog.) We're in compliance because mom pays every month for health insurance for all of us (dogs included). I think access to good health care is a right, not a privilege. The idea of everyone having health insurance is great, but why is the mandate on the individual and businesses??? That means we will all be paying for it directly (by premiums an co-pays) or indirectly (by higher prices for goods and services so businesses can afford to pay the premiums for their employees). Now the new law states that health insurance providers have to offer lower premium/affordable plans and if you make $30,000 or less ($60,000 for families) the state 'helps'. But wow, how can someone who makes less than $30,000 afford two or three hundred extra a month for health care????? Mom and dad make lots of money but even they have trouble saving any or coming up with extra, what do these other folks do? Our system is broken. Mom and Dad saw that every day when they used to work as paramedics. A lot of their patients had no insurance and no access to preventive health care. Over and over again they would end up bringing them to the emergency department---- if these people had health insurance they would have been able to see a doctor and maybe the problem wouldn't have gotten so bad. You get as much health care as you can afford. And, as Dad is fond of saying, you get as much justice as you can afford, also. More later.