It's Wednesday already!!

Ha ha do you think this picture is as funny as I think it is?? My Dad sent it to my Mom for me so I wanted to share it with everyone. I hate cats!! Well, I've actually never met a cat in person, but I still hate them. I've heard all sorts of things about them: they smell, they're lazy, they don't follow the rules and they hate dogs. I don't know if these things are true or not. (Mom calls this 'prejudice' but I call it 'dog-lore') When I go to the Vet-Doctor I see cats in the kitty-condos. They seem kind of scared of me. And some seem kind of nice. My brother Bandit likes kittens, he is very gentle with them, but then, he is not a Jack Russell! I sure wouldn't want to have one living in our house though because I'd probably have to share my pillow---NO WAY! When Mom used to do Jack Russell Rescue she had to place some dogs because of cats. One dog ripped the tail right off of a cat and the people said, 'this dog's gotta go now!", so Mom found it a new home, one with NO CATS. Then she got a phone call from a lady who was all upset because while she was gone her son's two Jack Russells killed her cat and when she walked in they were playing tug of war with it! (Bailey calls that "Cat-Capades!") Sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but how stupid can people be? We are hunting dogs, after all, and it's in our blood to hunt for animals that are our own size or smaller. We can't help it. You can be home and supervise us and we will be nice to the cat, but if you leave us alone and don't separate us, someday you will come back to a very sad situation. Mom was always trying to explain that to people when she did Rescue. And, there are some jacks that do get along with cats, so people expect that it will happen in their house too. Oh well. That's part of why she stopped doing Rescue, because 'some people never learn', she says.

Mom kind of likes cats but they don't seem to care for her. She had a cat when she was little. Its name was 'Silky' and it used to sleep in the road. I guess we know what happened to that cat, don't we!! Then when she was out of college she got a calico kitten. She liked it, except that it was a big hunting cat and used to drag dead animals into her house through the cat door. A couple times they weren't dead. Once the cat brought in a chipmunk that got away and ran around the house for a long time. Then, one other time the cat dragged in a big starling (that's a bird) and it was flapping around until Mom caught it and put it outside. She said the cat used to look at her and every once in a while would just scratch her face for no good reason. So that cat went to live somewhere else in a barn so it could catch mice and it was very happy. And Mom decided to stick with dogs, because we are better!

But I digress. So John McCain beat Mitt in Florida, which is where my brother Daniel is staying for awhile. I'm glad Mitt got beat. Maybe he will get the message. He is trying to say what a great thing he did for Massachusetts by enacting 'health care reform' and making everyone have health insurance. But it is seriously screwed up. There's not enough money to cover all these people that need good health care. There are problems with the kind of health care available. The fines on employers who don't cover their employees are really just symbolic (typical, Mitt will protect his business-buddies). Mitt's gone and now we have to fix all this stuff. And he can brag about making change without having to troubleshoot the problems. I'm not a very political dog, but I have a great nose, and something about Mitt stinks! (not the good, roll-in-it stink, but a creepy stink!).

And John Edwards is dropping out of the race for president. That's too bad. He seemed like a nice guy. Mom didn't like everything about him, but he seemed reasonable to her. And she says that Elizabeth Edwards rocks. Mom wishes he would have been able to stay in it for delegates, maybe he could have been the vice president candidate. Oh well. Who knows what will happen.

I don't mean to be rude right now, but it is very windy and rainy and that is perfect nap weather, so I'm headed to the pillow to catch some ZZZZ's before everyone comes home! I will get back to you later.

Well, I am in the doghouse with Mommy, so I decided I would post a picture of what she did yesterday to try to get back on her good side. (if there is one!). What you are looking at is a tray of soap, 'salt bars' to be specific, scented with a really pretty oceany smell called Mediterranean Sea-Salt. A salt bar is made with at least 50% sea salt, coconut oil and a little sunflower oil. It's a very neat, long-lasting bar of soap and she says it's sort of like taking a shower in the ocean. I wouldn't know, I hate baths, as we all know by now. Never took a shower, either. But, it's pretty. It will be ready to use in about 3 weeks.

So what did I do that was so bad? Well I'm not sure what her problem is. I asked politely to go with her this morning to get the Sunday paper and some coffee beans and she said ok. I left the gate and went right to the car and got in like I'm s'posed to. I sat in my seat on the way to the store. I must have misunderstood her when we got there because she yelled at me when I jumped out of the car. Something about I'm supposed to wait and I could get hit by a car. BUT, there was a huge black dog nearby and I had to protect her. I started to run towards him and Mom yelled at me, and then the dog looked at me and I realized how tall he was (he looked shorter from the car), so I just barked at him and jumped back in the car. The man that was walking him thought that was funny. Mom said something to him about me and they both laughed. I hope she wasn't making a joke about me just because I was being cautious. And I didn't even eat my cookie til Mom came out of the store. She was still kind of mad and she carried me to the gate when we got home because she said I might 'take off' and run into the road." Hey I'm not stupid, I'm just little.

So Mr. Obama won something in South Carolina yesterday. I saw it on the news. I don't get what all the fuss is about. I'm mostly worried about Mitt Romney becoming president. We all know how I feel about him. And I can't say it too often...you get a really good idea of how someone is going to treat you by how they treat their dog. Boo, Mitt. Hey, does Mr. Obama have a dog? I don't think so. That's kind of worrisome. I know the Hillary lady and her husband have a dog. I don't think they spend much time with him though. And I don't know about the other person Mom talks about...John? somebody. He seems nice though.

Mom has been complaining about the taxes this weekend. She has been working on them and she is pretty grumpy. Her part-time job at the Sleep Lab is actually causing some kind of problem on the taxes. Oh well, she had to stop working there when she started working in Boston. I hope it doesn't mean I get shorted on Greenies, though. I loves ma Greenies!!!

One more week til Daddy starts his new job. I can't wait. He'll be home sooner because he won't have to spend 20 hours a week just driving back and forth to work. More time to play with MEEE! He actually doesn't drive all the time. He and Mom are in a 'van pool' where they share the driving with other people. My Mom is big into saving the environment. She hates plastic bags too. Me, I don't mind them so much because they are fun to tear apart. She is into recycling and is always pulling things out of the trash that Dad throws away. So the deal is, SHE takes it to the recycling center. Paper, cans and bottles. And always use cloth bags at the stores. Did you know that in our area there are stores that have cloth bag co-ops? Yup, they get people to make bags out of donated fabric, and then they put them in a big box in the store. You can take a bag to carry your groceries and stuff home, then you bring it back next time! It is a great idea. It saves money for the shopowners, and saves all that plastic from the landfill. It sounds like plastic could last til the end of the universe. Did you know that even China, the place where they eat DOGS with RICE sometimes, has banned plastic bags??!! What are we doing about it here? Not much as far as I can tell. We need to get on the stick and persuade people to use cloth bags for everything. And, here's a bonus: cloth bags make it easier to carry even more dogfood than usual! So you can get your dog more treats at once!! Isn't the world a great place!!! Speaking of treats, it's time for my Greenie. I love having great breath. See you later.

Hey you guys, it's 2008 already! This is my theme for the new year. Daddy sent it to me (well, he sent it to mommy for me) because he says that some of his co-workers seem to think they are special, but..........ha ha, they are really just bumps on a log. Some of my brothers think they are special too. Ha! Daddy's getting a new job soon and he will be closer to home so he and I can snuggle more in the morning! Yay!

So did everyone have a nice holiday? I like the holidays because Mom and Dad are home and play with us all the time. I've been having great fun playing 'tag' with Mom. I see her coming and I steal something of hers, like her undies or socks, or sometimes an earring if I can get it. Then I flaunt it in front of her and just dare her to get it from me. MOST of the time I win! (that means I end up getting a cookie to bribe me to let it go.) (but sometimes Dad yells at me and says, "Casey, give it to me." I must obey Dadddy, so I lose out. But that doesn't happen very often, hee hee!). Yesterday was Dr. Martin Luther King day. We didn't go anywhere to celebrate it because it was so cold out. (it was, like, maybe zero with the wind chill, and that's too cold for us to be outside!). But I watched some stuff on TV about it. Then I watched Animal Cops Houston. And, have you been following the 'lections? That stupid Mitt Romney still thinks he can be president. Mom says he's got a lot of teflon on him. She calls him the spin-doctor. She says if he is elected president, he will probably never be at work! That's because he spent more days outside of Massachusetts when he was governer than in Massachusetts working for us, the people that elected him. Loser, Loser, Loser. I will never forgive him for the dog thingie. Read one of my summer blogs to see what I have to say about that!! Also, I keep hearing a lot of dogs and cats talking about how they don't want a black man or a woman for president. Well, I don't even want a person for president, they have really screwed things up! How about a dog for a change, or here's an idea, how about the BEST PERSON for the job, regardless of if he or she is human or not?

I have been going exploring lately. Mom gets mad, she says I'm 'bolting the gate' whatever that means. I just wait til she puts her coat on and then I run out the door with her and go to the gate and squeeze through it. I pretend I can't hear her when she tells me to wait. Then I go to the car and hop in and she takes me for a ride somewhere! So far I've been to the bank (got a cookie from the drive-thru teller), Spoleto Express (got a cookie from the drive-thru person), Coopers Corner, (got little treats from Mom for being good), and to grandma's house on Christmas (got prime-rib off of Dad's plate). It isn't like I haven't traveled you know, I go to the vet and all. It's just that I used to get kind of car sick but now I don't. Plus I see dogs out walking with their owners and I can bark at them all I want while we speed by!!

I am so worried about the world right now. Mom says we might have a recession, and that would mean fewer cookies and toys for us. I am so glad that we heat mostly with the woodstove so that we don't have to pay the huge heating bills that other people have to pay. And Mom and Dad have pretty good jobs that probably won't go away if things get bad. Mom doesn't want us dogs to worry about stuff, but I can't help it. I live in a nice house with a nice yard and I feel safe. My pillow is nice and soft and I always have breakfast and dinner. We have trees and birds and flowers, but the climate in general is getting dirty. Have you seen the world clock yet? http://http://www.peterrussell.com/Odds/WorldClock.php It keeps track of lots of stuff, like how many people are dying, how many trees are being cut, and so on. I don't see anything about homeless dogs or dogs used in pit-fighting or experiments. Don't forget that stuff happens too. People are animals, and I don't mean that in a complimentary way.

Great chatting with you. I need to get back to some serious napping before aunt Lisa comes to let us all out today. Mom and Dad are working in Boston all day. That means auntie Lisa checks up on us in the middle of the day. She's cool, but I'm not showing her my money trick yet (that's where I turn in cash for cookies. If she wants to see that she'll have to give me the cashola first! My personal stash of coins is just about gone. See ya.