A moment of silence...

Mom's eyes have been leaking all weekend...her sweet, beautiful Aunt and God-mother crossed the rainbow bridge yesterday morning. Mom leaves first thing in the morning to be with the family and attend the services later in the week. I promised her no using the computer while she is gone.

RIP Aunt Lou Ann

August 21, 1944 - September 26, 2009

Can someone please pass the tylenol?

It started out lookin like it was going to be a good day. Mom loaded me up in the car for what seemed to be a special outing on a Friday morning. You see, we don't usually go places on Fridays cuz Mom has to go to this place called "work", and the last time we drove somewheres early on a Friday it was for campin, so I was kinda excited!

That was until we pulled to to a place with these letters. Since I can't read, I still don't know what it says, but it sure was not campin...I can tell you that much!

I know, I know...the sunny beams make it look all magestic, and heavenly. But let me tell you, it was quite the opposite! Notice the creepy skeleton thingy peakin out the window? Yeah, that shoulda been my first big red flag.

Anyway, Mom took me inside and we walked back to a scary place. There was lots of cages and kennels, and a mean little barky French Bulldog who was trying to eat me thru the cage door. Boy was he a grump! Then...all of a sudden, Mom is gone and I was all by myself. It was so scary!

A little later in the day, some nice people came to get me and tried to stick a pokey thing in my arm. Ouch!! I have to admit, I kinda lost it and started jumpin around and wigglin my bestest. They told my mom later that because of this they were unable to do some pre-anesthetic blood tests. Mom wasn't very happy with me and gave me the evil look when she heard this.

Then, all of a sudden...the next thing I know is I'm wakin up on the floor and BOY do I have a headache! Not to mention the fact that my belly is really sore! What the heck did they do to me??

Mom sat with me for a long while until I started feelin a little better. She gave me lots of nice rubs and kisses and told me I was a good boy. Finally, we got to go home and as soon as I got there I made a bee-line straight to my bed. It sure was nice and comfy.

Then I remembered I hadn't gone potty ALL day long! Oh boy, let me outta here! It was hard to stand up and walk still, but Mom helped me to the door and took me outside. It sure did hurt goin up and down the 2 stairs in the front of the house!

After I got outside, I just picked the first spot I saw and started to go. And go, and go and go and go. Mom couldn't believe how long I went potty for! It seemed like a good 3 or 4 minutes before my aching bladder was emptied. Ahhhhh....what relief.

After we went back inside, Mom made me lay down so she could put an ice pack over my privates. I guess they were a little swollen and she thought that would help. I thought it was kinda funny, cuz the ice pack she used is made by the parent company of the place where she works. I bet they never thought their product would be used like this!

I'm finally startin to feel better though. Mom called my regular favoritest betterinarian and they prescribed some nice pain killers for me. She also mixed up a yummy batch of satin balls for me cuz I am lookin a little skinny. I've been kinda picky lately and am tired of the normal kibble she feeds me.

Plus, I think she feels a bit bad about gettin me neutered and thinks these balls will make me feel better. They sure are yummy!

34 week measurements

34 weeks, 109 lbs, 33" tall

Tomorrow is a big day

Monday, I will officially turn 8 months old. Can you believe that? It seems like just yesterday that I was a wee lil pup, hardly big enough to crawl up the front porch steps. That seems like a pretty big accomplishment to me. 8 months is a not a very long time, but boy did I get a lot done in those 8 months.

Probably my biggest job during those 8 months was growin. I think I did a purty good job.

Here I am at 14 weeks...pretty cute if I do say so myself.

and here I am now...34 weeks old.

Now that I'm a big boy, Mom says I need to get fixed. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I say "if its not broke, why fix it?"

She's not buyin it.

She says tomorrow morning we go to the betterinarian. Guess I'm gonna be out of commission for a little while, cuz not only am I gettin tutored (or sumthin like that), but the betterinarian is also going to tack my tummy. Do I look fat to you? I just dont get it.

Mom says to think good thoughts for me, and send me healing vibes. I thought heeling was something we did in doggie class, but she seems to know better than I do so if I were you I'd listen to her.

So, for now...g'night. I'll let you know how the fixin thing goes tomorrow!

Camping...doggie style

This camping stuff is WAY COOL!

This weekend, Mom took me camping for the very first time. We went to some place called Laguna/El Prado Campground in the Cleveland National Forest. Its only about 1 hour 20 minutes from Sandy Eggo, but it feels like we were super duper far away from home.

There were lots of trees...bigger than I've EVER seen before! Right away when we got there, Mom unloaded and picked out a good spot for our tent. For those doggies who dont know, a tent is where you sleep at night when you go campin. Its kinda like a house...only smaller. With no kitchen. And no shower.

Mom picked a extra good spot for our tent. Right under a big tree so it would be nice and shady for most of the day.

Mom said since it was nice and warm we wouldnt need to put the rain fly on. That was nice cuz the tent had lots of windows and I liked lookin out when I was inside.

There were lots of people in our group, and even more doggies! It was sure shapin up to be a fun weekend!

After everybody got their campsites set up, we had to move some cars. It was decided that one of the trucks would move, so we all got to hop in the back and go for a little ride. This was kinda special, cuz Mom would NEVER let me ride in the back of a truck like this on any other ocassion. She said since we were in a campground, and goin super slow it would be ok though. She sat next to me though, and held on super tight so I wouldn't jump out or fall out! Apparently, I gotsa high center of gravity...whatever that means!

Friday night, we walked around a lil and just got introducted to each others. I liked all the doggies just fine...but a few of them were a little scared of me. Mom says its cuz I'm a big lug and don't always watch where I'm puttin my big feet. Pretty soon though, everyone realized how cool of a dude I am!

The next mornin we got up and went on a hike. Boy it sure was pretty up here. Nothin like the city area where we live, and for sure nothin like the beach, which is one of my favoritest places to go.

This was just as fun though, minus the water. We got to hike across a big thing called a meadow.

I tried to walked slow...so the doggies with the short legs could keep up. I'm a nice doggie like that.

Mom had her camera with her so we had to stop and take lots of pictures. I got real good at posin, and by the end of the weekend we were all good at our 'sit-stays'. Even the human peoples!

We were hikin along, mindin our own beeswax, when all of a sudden I saw these BIG doggies up ahead! Cleo and I started woofin at them, and Mom & everybody was laughin cuz my woof was big and deep and Cleo (the lil poodle mix) has a high pitched lil bark. We had quite the duet goin on.

Mom finally told me those weren't doggies up ahead, but somethin called "cows". Apparently, this is what she says she sometimes lives with...cuz my poops can be kinda soft and look like a cow patty.

I thought I needed to check out the cow patty up close. I din't see nuthin special about them, besides bein kinda stinky.

There were some big boulders along the way, and Mom kept makin us stop and take more pictures.

Pretty soon we caught up with Jack, a Cairn terrier who had LOTS of energy. Apparently, he had found the lake. Unfortunately, the water in the lake was almost gone cuz it has been super hot and we haven't had rain in a long time, and when Jack jumped in he found out it was mainly made of mud.

I thought it looked like fun, but Mom wouldn't let me off the leash to check it out myself.

She sure can be a party pooper some times!

We hiked for a little while longer and Mom took lots of pictures.

Here's my bestest bud Kona...we did a good 'sit-stay' for this picture.

There were lots of things to climb and jump on. Mom was always tellin me to 'hop up' and stay. What does she think I am, a rabbit?

It was gettin pretty warm out though, and since neither me nor KoneMan are used to hikin very far, Mom turned us around and we headed back to camp. Luckily, our humans had lots of water and kept makin us drink so the heat wouldn't make us sick. Mom also brought my special cooling jacket and put that on me and got it wet. That really felt good!

By the time we got back to camp, we wuz all super pooped out. Good thing all the humans wanted to relax. I dont think I coulda moved another step!

Here's Ginger-dog, takin a 'cat' nap. Does any doggie know why they call it that? She doesn't look like a cat at all!

old-dog Kelsey was also wiped out

Even young Jupiter was tuckered out after the hike

Later on in the day, after I was rested up, Mom made me take some more pictures.

She made Kona do it too. We sure were bored!

Once that was done though, she let us run and play in a big area next to the camp site! The campground host was super nice. We were suppose to be on leash at all times, but as long as we were in our campsite she didn't say anything.

Then, all of a sudden there was a bear in the campground!

Mom said that was just "Smokey the Bear". Since it was super hot and dry up where we were, he was goin around and makin sure people and doggies were aware of the fire danger. That's scary stuff....super hot and glowy at night. The brush was so dry we had to be super careful and only have small fires in the pits that were provided. I was sure glad I'm a doggie and have my Mom to keep me safe! I thought he was a little scary.

One thing I learned is this. Sittin on a picnic bench is not quite as soft as sittin on the couch at home.

All in all, it was a super fun weekend. Mom said I did really good and was very happy I didn't bark at night and keep her (and everyone else) awake. I think I was so tired, I couldn't of barked even if I'd wanted to!

33 week measurements

33 weeks, 109 lbs, 32.75" tall

Big Weekend Ahead!

Oh Boy! I'm goin campin!

This is my first time campin, and Mom keeps tellin me about all the fun we are gonna have. Hikin, loungin, nappin, hikin, eatin, playin, woofin, and probably more hikin. We are goin with my bestest doggie friend Kona (aka Kone man), his human, and 15 other humans with their combined 18 other dogs. Wow! Dat's allotta dogs! I sure hope they all like me!

We are going with a group here in Sandy eggo called Leash Your Fitness. Mom and I haven't had a chance to go to other events of theirs, but they sound like fun. The owner incorporates people fitness with doggie fitness & doggie obedience. Fun times for all!

Anyway, Mom's been pullin all kinds of stuff out of the garage in order to get ready for the trip.

Mom says these are some of the essentials. Tent, day pack, stove and a chair.

Mom can't decide if both her & me will fit in the 2 person tent or if she should take the 6 man tent. I know I'm a big boy, but come on! I don't take up the room of 6 men!! I think she's plannin on settin up the little one in the backyard tomorrow for a 'test' run. I'll let you know how that goes.

More 'essentials'

I say, this is one of the BIG essentials. See that green box? Dat's where my food is kept! Its a cool little travel case...stores food, or other stuffs PLUS its got a tray with two bowls that is elevated for my tall danish body's eating pleasure. Pretty handy if you ask me, and OH so important!

I'm pretty excited...and even though we don't leave til Friday I think I'm gonna stay right here.

So Mom doesnt forget to pack ME!

Fantastic Friday!

Check out what Mom brought home for me at lunch!

Wow! I've never seen a bone this big before. Mom said its half the leg bone (femur) of a cow. Just think what the whole thing looks like!

At first, I didnt really know what to do with it. It smelled a little funny...all bloody and raw.

After a sniff or two, and a tentative lick I figured it out pretty quickly.

and got down to business.

nom, nom, nom

nom, nom

sorry...more bloggin later. its hard to talk with your mouth full!