CHRISTMAS!!!

Christmas was really good this year! First I got to eat a pig heart. Mmmmmmm! Pig hearts! There were about six of them in the bag, but I only got to eat one. But then I got a bag of mini sausages. Mmmmmm! Sausages! It would have been better if they were really big sausages, but they were still really good. I was so happy that I didn't even mind when my humans stuck a felt bucket on my head and called it a Christmas fez. Here's a picture of me wearing the Christmas fez (felt bucket).
I don't even know what a fez is, but it was worth it to get more sausages. The cats got presents too. Ivan and Shadow Cat got into a slap fest over one of their new toys right under the Christmas tree. They're so bad! Here's a picture of them being bad under the Christmas tree.
If my humans hadn't been in the way I would have given those cats what for. After everyone was done opening their presents I went for a really long walk. We walked all through the park and down to the dog beach at Montrose. There weren't a lot of dogs there, so it was okay. I liked the park best. Here's a picture of me making a snow angel in the park.
Aaaahhhh! Snow! After my walk I was really tired and I slept all day. I got to go in the room with Grandma's cats. Here's a picture of me in the room with Lolita on her new catnip mat.
It's blurry. Marta is behind us on the cat tree. I don't trust her.

The next day we drove to Clark and Diversey. I was going to go to the PetSmart, but it was gone! Huh? Where'd it go?? So we went to The Body Shop instead. They let me come in and were really nice. It smelled good in there too. They gave me some treats. They were treats my human brought with, but that's okay; I just like getting treats. I don't have a picture of me in The Body Shop because my human forgot the camera, but I give The Body Shop 3 paws. Then we went to Walgreens. I wasn't allowed in Walgreens. I don't see why not. I give Walgreens 0 paws. Then we walked around in the park for awhile. The snow was really deep there. Then we came home and I got some of my Christmas sausages. Mmmmmmm! I like Christmas!

Winter Days

I was so happy this week when it snowed again!! Here's a picture of me in the front yard in the snow.

See how happy I look? It should snow all year long.

Yesterday I saw my friend Rothke and we played for a long time. We chased a stick and played tug of war. We were having so much fun! Then some other dogs came over. No – you can't play with us! All my snow boots came off except one, but my human found them. I like that my paws don't hurt, but I still don't like wearing booties. Here's a picture of me in my booties.

It's from last winter.

Today I spent some time in the room with Grandma's cats. Here's a picture of me in their room.Mango is in the chair and Marta is on the chaise. Here's another picture of me in their room.

Marta is still on the chaise and Lolita is on the cat tree. I like hanging out in their room except that there's always kibble out and I'm not allowed to have any. Sometimes I just stand and stare at the food. Here's a picture of me staring at the food.
If I stare long enough maybe I can move it with my mind. I'm not disobeying if the food comes to me!

Huh?! What? I wasn't doing anything.

Then we went to a pet store protest with the Puppy Mill Project. It was boring. My human didn't take any pictures because her fingers were too cold.

On the way home we stopped at Soggy Paws and I got my nails clipped and the fur on the bottom of my paws trimmed. And I didn't even mind, know why? Cupcakes, that's why! There were some women there giving out cupcakes. They asked my human if I wanted a cupcake and she said 'NO'. HUH!!!???? What the hell?! Of course I want a cupcake!! Hey, lady! Cupcake, please! Luckily the women were smart enough to see that I DID want a cupcake. THA-ANK YOU!!!!!! My human finally said I could have one. She picked out the one with some peanut butter on the top. MMMMMMMM! Peanut butter!! MMMMMMMM! Cupcakes! Here's a picture of me standing by the cupcake display.


It was so distracting! Here's a picture of me finishing my cupcake.


Wait, I think there's still a little frosting on the plate! Then the woman asked if I wanted to take one home for later. YES, PLEASE!! Here's a picture of me picking out the one I want for later.


I want that one! It has a blueberry on top. They were selling kits to make the cupcakes at home. My human bought one. Is that for me???? Is it Christmas yet?? Are you going to make it when we get home? Can I have my second cupcake now? Can I have it now? Now?...Now?....I give High Hopes cupcakes 4 Paws!

Another Work Day

This morning I went for a really long walk. I liked being outside, but it was really cold and there was salt everywhere. It hurt my paws. Can't I just lie down in the front yard for a few hours? Please? Later today I went to another police roll call. Again, no rolls. Hmph. There were linoleum floors and I had to climb stairs. Nobody told me there would be stairs. Here's a picture of me at the roll call.
Lauren is holding my leash and Cynthia is petting me. I like them. Amy and Lou Lou are at the other end. Lou Lou is a dog. They were all really nice and my human gave me lots of treats (but no rolls). And did I mention the floors? Lou Lou's human brought a towel for her to lie on. I didn't have a towel. Why didn't I have a towel? I don't know. Probably for the same reason there weren't any rolls. Sigh.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FINALLY!! SNOW!! Aaaaaaaahhhhhh! This morning I went for two really long walks in the SNOW! I was so excited! Here's a picture of me in the snow.
See how happy I am? It smells so gooood! Here's a picture of me with my friend, Yukon.
He likes snow too. Here's a picture of me lying down in the snow.
No! I don't want to go inside! It's nice out and I want to stay right here! We walked through the park and I saw some squirrels. They're so nice and fat right now! Mmmmmmmmm! Fat, juicy winter squirrels! Here's a picture of me under a tree waiting for a squirrel to come down.
My humans made me leave, but he would have come down eventually. Then we went by Parkview Pet Supplies to get some food for the new cats. Well, they're not really new. They were my Grandma's cats, but she died and my humans brought them home to stay with us for awhile. They're in a bedroom and I have to make sure our cats don't misbehave. Sometimes our cats hiss at the bedroom door and I have to chase them away. It's a lot of work. I should get extra food for working. I should get sausages. Mmmmmmm! Sausages!

Lots of Stuff

It's been a really long time since I wrote on my blog. That's my human's fault. I've been doing lots of things.

I've been going to roll calls at police stations with Safe Humane Chicago. They talk a lot and show pictures on a screen and then I get to do some tricks and get petted. I don't know why they call it roll call since they don't have any rolls there. I was really looking forward to some rolls; sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls. But I never got any. I was told there'd be rolls.

Then I went to a pet store protest. Here's a picture of me at the protest.

My human made me wear a sign for the picture.

And I've been going to the beach and on really long walks since it's getting nice and cool out – finally!

Today I went for a car ride. We went to see Joe and I got lamb puffs! Mmmmmmm! lamb puffs!! Then we went to Dunkin Donuts. My human said she was getting me something, but they lie to me a lot, so I wasn't sure. But when she got back in the car I could smell something wonderful! It smelled like sausage and pancakes and maple syrup and MMMMMMMMMM!!!! I had to wait until we got home to get any of my treat. It was really hard because the whole car smelled like it!! My special treat was sausage pancake bites. MMMMMMMMMMMMNNNGH! They were sooooo gooooood! Here's a picture of the sausage pancake bites.

There were 3 of them! Here's a picture of me eating one.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMORE, PLEASE!! I think whoever runs Dunkin Donuts must have a dog, but if Dunkin Donuts was run by a dog instead of a human, the sausage pancake bites would have bacon in them too. Mmmmmmmmmmm! Bacon! I give sausage pancake bites 3 Paws. If they had bacon I would give them 4 Paws.

Chicago Canine Rescue's Mutt Strut

Today I had lots of fun. I met a really cute dog on my morning walk and we wrestled and ran around. I was so excited! He was young and blond and I hope I get to see him again really soon.

Then this afternoon I went to Chicago Canine Rescue's Mutt Strut. It's like a big event with a block long parade. It's not a long walk like the Stray Cat Strut for Tree House Humane Society. That's a five mile walk. That's a long walk. Is there an all you can eat pancake buffet at the end? No? Then I'm not doing it. Things I would walk five miles for: an all you can eat sausage, pancake, rib, cake, ice cream, rabbit, or steak buffet; a lifetime supply of Polar Pups, TriPom chews, or pig hearts; a canine cooler bed that can't be punctured by cat claws; a cheese fest. Maybe. Anyway, I was there with Safe Humane Chicago. Here's a picture of me at the SHC booth.

I'm wearing my SHC vest and my fancy Barker & Meowsky collar and leash. There were lots of people and dogs at the Mutt Strut. I met a Great Dane. Um, that's a really big dog. I met a Great Pyrenees too. He wasn't as big as the Great Dane, but he was really furry. There was even a cat there. Her name was Harley. She was in a stroller and someone had dressed her up. Here's a picture of me with the cat.

Does she look happy in that get up? No, she doesn't. Here's a picture of me trying to help her take it off.

See how much happier she looks? Her ears aren't back anymore. I met lots of kids too. Here's a picture of me with a little girl dressed up like a cat.

It's not a very good picture because she's starting to get up, but she sat with me for a long time and stroked my ears. Here's a picture of me with Superman.

He's not as big as I expected. A lot of other people came over to say hi and pet me too. One woman fed me a cupcake! Mmmmmmm! I liked her a lot! A man gave me some treats and one of the women at the SHC booth gave me a piece of sausage from her pizza. Mmmmmmmmm! PIZZA! I would also walk five miles for an all you can eat pizza buffet. There was a cake eating contest but I didn't get picked for it. I would've won a cake eating contest. I think I should get a cake to practice with so I'm ready for next time. I give the Mutt Strut 3 Paws. If I had gotten cake I would give it 4 Paws, but I didn't get any cake. It was a long day and now I'm really tired. I'm going to sleep until dinner.

Treats!

Yesterday I went to see Grandma. She gave me some pound cake. My human said not to, but she's my Grandma so she doesn't have to do what my human says and she gave it to me anyway. Mmmmmmm! Here's a picture of me eating pound cake.
It was good, but it wasn't a pound. I think if you give someone pound cake there should be a pound of it. After that we walked to Starbuck's and I got some water. Here's a picture of me drinking water at Starbuck's.

Then we went to Famous Fido's Bakery and I got some Halloween cookies. Mmmmmmmm! Cookies! Here's a picture of my Halloween cookies.
The orange one is a pumpkin. Then we went to Parkview and I got treats from Joe. Mmmmmmmm!

Today I went to the boatyard. I don't know why. Here's a picture of me at the boatyard.

Then we drove to Jackson Park Harbor. I walked down on the dock and it was okay, but then when I stood still the dock kept moving! I don’t like that. The boat was moving too. Here's a picture of me lying on the dock.

I'm looking at the boat because it keeps rocking around. You don't think you're going to put me on that thing, do you? Here's another picture of me on the dock.

I look happy because we're leaving. Here's a picture of me by the Yacht Club.

Hey, they have a barbeque grill! Mmmmmmm! Barbeque! I wanted to go inside, but I wasn't allowed. Here's a picture of me by the door.

Apparently I'm not a member. After that I went home and my human gave me a homemade pupscicle. Mmmmmmm! Peanut Butter and molasses! MMMMMMMMM!

Cats

Today I wanted to just relax and stay home. I decided to take a nap. Here's a picture of me trying to take a nap.

What's missing from this picture? My tail! Ivan is lying on it. Get off! And he kept sniffing my feet. That tickles – cut it out! I kicked him in the face, but he still wouldn't leave. He even kicked me back. He's bothersome. I share my home with three cats, Ivan, Sophie and Shadow Cat. Sophie is really sweet and keeps to herself. She's not scared of me, but she doesn't bother me like Ivan either. Here's a picture of Sophie.

She's pretty. Here's a picture of me and Shadow Cat in the kitchen.

He's really pretty too. We have a routine. He screams for food and I look like I haven't eaten in a really long time (which I usually haven't). Then we get fed. It doesn't always work. Shadow likes to rub against me a lot. I don't mind because he's really soft. Sometimes Ivan rubs against me, but I don't trust him. He's crazy. Sometimes he does stuff just to annoy me, like sneaking up when I'm sleeping and staring down at me from the back of the couch. It's creepy. When the cats eat I get to clean up after them. They're really messy, so there's usually lots of food on the floor by their bowls. But I have to wait until they leave before I can clean up. Sometimes Ivan refuses to leave. He's done eating, and he knows I'm waiting because I'm standing there and he lies down by the bowls and pretends he doesn't know I'm there. It's so annoying! There are three cats at my Grandma's house too, Mango, Lolita and Marta. Mango is really friendly and we hang out sometimes. Here's a picture of me and Mango.

It's not a very good picture. Lolita is kind of scared of me and her tail puffs up, but she still comes over to say hi. Marta just stomps around the house and hisses at me. Humph! I don't have any pictures of Lolita and Marta. Those are all my cat friends. I finally had to get off the couch because Ivan wouldn't move. SO annoying!!

Camp Dogwood!

Today my humans drove me to Camp Dogwood! I had to get up really early, but I got to sleep in the car. When we got to the camp there were so many new smells, I didn't know what to smell first! We had breakfast and my human gave me part of a cinnamon bun. Mmmmmm! My other human said not to, but I got it anyway.

First we went to the beach. Here's a picture of me lying in the water.

Ahhhhh, cool. I got to play with a tennis ball. Here's a picture of me in the water with my tennis ball.

I left it there. I don't really like tennis balls that much because they get all soggy and sandy and they feel gritty on my tongue. Here's a picture of me jumping on the beach.

I can jump really high.

Then we went up to a big field and did some recall training. It didn't make much sense to me and my human kept getting confused with which way to go. Nobody asked me if I recalled anything. But I got lots of treats and the trainer fed me hot dogs. Mmmmmmm! Hot dogs!

Then we walked all the way across camp and I did some tracking. My human walked away and put a flag in the ground with a glove and then hid in the bushes and I had to find the glove she left behind. It was easy to find the glove because she put chicken on it and I can smell chicken from miles away! Mmmmmm! Chicken! My human wasn't very good at hiding either. And she wore an orange shirt. Um, here's a tip, if you want to hide in the woods, don't wear orange.

Then we went to the Lure Coursing field. We walked onto the field and a plastic bag came shooting at me. I don't like that! It tried to get me! I ducked and did a tail tuck. Then they took the plastic bag away and tied a pice of fur on the wire and dragged it around. I didn't see the point and I didn't like all the noises the pulleys made. Can we go please?

We took a break for lunch and I got some steak. MMMMMMM! Steak!! After lunch my humans took me into a big room and I took the Canine Good Citizen test. Hey! Nobody told me there would be a test! Hmph! I passed, but I still think I should have been told.

After I passed my CGC test, my one human went to get a massage. What about me? I like massages too! Did I get a massage? No. I had to go with my other human to a seminar on grooming. At least I got to sleep through most of it. I was really tired. I think my humans were tired too, because after that we went home.

On the way home we stopped at Dunkin Donuts and my human gave me a piece of pumpkin donut. Mmmmmm! I liked Camp Dogwood because there were lots of other dogs and lots of smells and I got lots of treats. And I liked the beach even though there were lots of weeds in it. I give Camp Dogwood 3 Paws, but it would be better if I didn't have to get up so early to go there. And next time I want a massage.

Sundae Day!

Today my humans took me to the Happy Husky Bakery in Evanston. I was kind of nervous because they had wood floors. But they had lots of treats. Here's a picture of me in front of the bakery case.

Um, when you say "just one" you mean just one of each, right? Mmmmmmm! It smelled so good! I wanted to eat everything. But my human took me there to get a special treat – a Snow Dog Sundae! Here's a picture of me ordering my sundae.

I'll have mine in a biscuit bowl with carob chips and peanut butter, please!!! The man who worked there was really nice. He even gave me some extra treats since my humans wouldn't buy me any. Here's a picture of me getting my sundae.

Stop teasing! It was SO GOOD! Here's a picture of me eating my sundae.

MMMMMMM!!!!! Seconds, please!! I didn't get any seconds. I give Happy Husky Bakery 3 Paws even thought there weren't any huskies there.

After that we walked around. Here's a picture of me at Independence Park.

The sun's in my eyes. We stopped at The Spice House. I was going to wait outside with one of my humans, but they said I could go in too. Here's a picture of me in The Spice House.

It's blurry. I didn't think I was going to like it in there because it's really stinky and has tile floors and narrow aisles. Too many smells! It hurt my nose. Then I found the Cheddar Cheese Powder! UUUNNMMMGMMMGGGGHH! I had no idea they actually made this! Here's a picture of the Cheddar Cheese Powder.

It's so orange! Here's a picture of me waiting for them to weigh my Cheddar Cheese Powder.

I was so excited! Can I get another sundae and put Cheddar Cheese Powder on it? Oh, pleeeeeease??!! Can I have it on my dinner too? And breakfast? And mmmmmmmm!! I'm going to put it on everything! I give the Spice House 2 Paws, but I give Cheddar Cheese Powder 4 Paws because it's really, really cheesy!

A Good Walk

Today I went for a really, really long walk. My humans let me decide where to go. First I walked up Argyle to the Vietnamese sandwich shop. It smells so good! My human went in and bought some sandwiches. Then I decided to walk to Rib Fest. Mmmmmm! Ribs!! I walked all the way over to where Rib Fest was, but I couldn't find it. That's weird, because I'm pretty good at this sort of thing. I always remember where I get food - especially food like ribs. I was disappointed, so I decided to go see Grandma. It was sort of hard to find my way, but finally I got there. I was so excited when I got close that I started running. I ran all the way down the block and through the parking lot. My human ran with me, but she's really slow. I was so happy to see Grandma! She gave me some peach yogurt. Mmmmmmmm! Here's a picture of me eating peach yogurt.

It's low fat, but it still tasted good. Then I went around and said hello to some of the other people at the rehab center. I felt much better after that. When we got home my humans ate their sandwiches. I got a little bite of each one. Mmmmm! Later I almost stole an ice cream sandwich off the coffee table, but I wasn't allowed. I got my little cupcake from Famous Fido's instead. Mmmmmmmm! Cupcakes!