Grizzly Day 2011!

On Friday I went to the beach for a really long time. My human went swimming. He went pretty far out. I stood on the beach and watched. Um....I hope you don't expect me to come out there and get you, because I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. He didn't. When we got home I was exhausted. It's hard work standing on the beach. And it was hot.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the day I came to live with my humans. They call it Grizzly Day. It's usually a pretty good day. First I went for a car ride. Are we going someplace fun? Will it be air conditioned? We went to the Whole Foods Market Sauganash store. Why? I don't know, but there were a lot of dogs there. Some of them got baths, but not me. I got a hot dog! MMMMM! Hot dogs! It wasn't air conditioned, but that hot dog was really good. Here's a picture of me waiting for some hot dog.
. More please! I didn't get any more. Here's a picture of me saying hi to another dog.Hi. He was there with One Tail At a Time hoping to get adopted. One of my humans stayed outside with me and the other one went in the store to get food. I got lots of pets and a lady took pictures of me and posted them on the Whole Foods Market Sauganash Facebook page. Here's one of the pictures she took.
Here's another one.It's a profile shot. When we were waiting for my human to come out of the store some black fluffy dog tried to bite me. He had his open mouth on my haunch! What the hell?! I spun around and gave him what for! He went right down on his belly. Then some bulldog kept barking at me. Whatever. I ignored him. I mean, what's he going to do, wheeze on me?

Then in the afternoon we went for a long walk. It's hot! Where are we going? I think I'd rather be home in the air conditioning. Wait a minute...is that ribs I smell?? It was!!!! MMMMMMMMM! RibFest take two!!! It was the Windy City RibFest in Uptown! And they had it on my Rescue Day! Here's a picture of me at the entrance to RibFest.
Can we skip the picture and just go in please? First we tried Aussom Aussie ribs. They were nice and meaty, but pretty lean. Here's a picture of me waiting in line at Aussom Aussie.
See how crowded it was? Then we tried the Teas Thunder ribs. Here's a picture of me waiting in line at Texas Thunder.
Oh boy!! The Texas Thunder ribs were just okay. We got an end piece and it had hardly anything on it! Is that why they call it a rib off? Oh, rip off...never mind. Next we got a Hawaiian Shaved Ice. I wasn't so sure about that. My human got the tropical flavored one. Don't they have rib flavored? They didn't. She gave me a bite of her shaved ice. UUUUUnnnngghhhmMMMMMMMMM! SO GOOD!!! More please!! Here's a picture of me asking for more shaved ice.
See how big it is? There's plenty to share! Here's a picture of me eating the shaved ice.MMMMMMM!! So good and icy!!! Can I have another?? I couldn't. Then we went to the Barbecue Co. here's a picture of me standing in line at the Barbecue Co. booth.
It's a really bad picture. I'm barely in it and I'm not even looking at the camera. And my human was so busy taking the picture that she let four people cut in front of us. Hey!! What if they run out of ribs?! They didn't. I got almost a whole rib all to myself and they were sooooooo goooood! Nice and moist and fatty and mmmmmmmmm! Best ribs so far!! I even got to lick the rib dish. Here's a picture of me licking the rib dish.My human thought this was funny. I don't get it. What do you mean we're going home? But there are more booths! I want another shaved ice! I didn't get one. And I had to walk home. Don't they have taxi's here? Apparently not. It was a long day and I was really tired. I give Windy City RibFest 3 Paws! It was good, but not as good as last year. Are we coming back tomorrow?

That was easy!

The other day my human took me to Soggy Paws. No! I don't want to be groomed! I wasn't groomed. They were having a fundraiser for the Dog Saving Network. Chris Dignan was there and my human signed me up for the "5 Minute Trainer Challenge" to learn how to hit a Staple's Easy Button. Really? Um...okay. I didn't get it at first. I have to do what? How about you just give me the treat and we'll call it a day? Sigh. It wasn't so bad. I got lots of treats! Mmmmmm! Here's a video of me learning to hit the Easy Button. Grizzly - Trainer Challenge Yeah, it was easy. Here's a picture of me with Chris Dignan.
Fran and Freddie are behind us. We saw Freddie spin the wheel for prizes. Here's another picture of me and Chris.
It's blurry.

After Soggy Paws we went to the beach. Or maybe that was another day; I don't remember. It was a long time ago. On the way there I saw my friend Star. He was with his human and her other dog Doodlebug. No, really, that's her name. Here's a picture of me saying hi to Star and Doodlebug.
They're really little. Here's a picture of me at the beach.
Ahhhh! The water felt so good! Here's another picture of me in the water.
I got hit by the waves. The water was nice and cool, but the beach was hot. I'll just be under here in the shade if anyone needs me. Here's a picture of me under the beach ramp.
My human thought this was funny. I don't get it. Here's another picture of me under the ramp.
See how dark and shady it is? Here's a close up of me under the ramp.
I'm ignoring my human because she wants me to come out. No! I wanted to stay there. I wasn't allowed. We had to go home.

Today I went to the beach again. There were lots of dogs there. I like it when it's just my beach. A couple of dogs tried to chase me and a little red dog ran at me and bared her teeth. I wasn't in the mood. Did you say something? I didn't think so! They went and played somewhere else. My beach! No ruff housing! Hmph! Maybe tomorrow it will be less crowded. I'm going to bed. Hey, turn out the light!

Yvette!!

Last Sunday my humans said I was suffering from P.R.F.D. (Post Rib Fest Depression). They took me to the beach to cheer me up. Here's a picture of me making a sand angel on the beach.
It felt really good. After the beach, we walked over to Starbuck's. Oh boy! Whipped cream! My human ordered me a Venti Double Whipped Cream. Mmmmmmmm! Here's a picture of my Venti Double Whipped Cream.
See how full it is? Here's a picture of me eating my Venti Double Whipped Cream.
MMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! Then my human took me for a car ride. I like riding in the car. It's a good place to sleep. When we parked I got really excited. Hey! I know this place! I wasn't even out of the car yet when Yvette came out with Scruffy to say hi. Oh boy! I know them! Scruffy was really excited to see us. We went inside and hung out for a few hours. Frank came home and he gave me a treat with pumpkin on it. Mmmmmmmm! I like pumpkin!! I got to say hi to Bucky Bloo too. And I got to guard the house. My human says I don't guard. Huh? Yes I do! I growled when a feral cat came to the front door and tried to steal food. And I growled to let them know when Frank and Scruffy were coming in after a walk. See? I can totally guard! My human acted really surprised. Whatever. When we were leaving I got my picture taken with Yvette and Scruffy. Here's my picture with Yvette and Scruffy.
We're in the back yard. Can we come back soon? After we visited Yvette, we went to the Andersonville Midsommar Fest. We were at the Felines, Inc. booth. I was there because they're going to have dogs in the new shelter when it's built. Um, but not me…other dogs. I have a home! Here's a picture of me at the Felines, Inc. booth.
It's a really bad picture. My eyes are closed and - Hey! Where's my tail??!! It looks like I don't have one. It was hard work staying at the booth because there were so many good food smells. I wanted to go eat something. My human took me to Fido's and got me some treats, but it wasn't enough - I'm a big dog! When we were done volunteering, my human let me lead the way to the car. I led to the Noodle Zone booth. Mmmmmmmm! Egg rolls! I didn't get an egg roll. But I did get 2 chicken pot stickers. MMMMMMMMMMM! It was a good day - even without ribs.

RIBFEST!!!!!!

Today I went for a long walk. We started by going over to the parking lot by Foster Beach where they had a Fire Safety truck. Here's a picture of me by the truck.
I didn't go inside. It seemed pretty boring and then a policewoman came over and gave me treats. Mmmmmilkbones! TWO of them! Let's stay here for awhile. We didn't. We walked over to the bank. Oh boy! More milkbones! I didn't get any. Huh? I thought this bank was "dog-friendly"! We went to Starbuck's. Oh boy! Whipped Cream! I didn't get any of that either. HEY! What the hell?! It's the weekend and I'm supposed to get treats! We went to Parkview Pet Supplies. Oh boy! Lamb puffs! I got some lamb puffs. Mmmmmmore please! I didn't get more. I tried to get a lamb ear, but I wasn't allowed. Seriously, what's the deal? Then we went home. I thought the whole day was going to suck.

Then in the afternoon I went for a car ride. I like car rides. Are we going someplace fun? Will there be food there? Oh my God, stop the car!! I smell RIBS!!!! I could barely wait to get out of the car. Why don't these windows roll down more? Why can't we park closer? Finally we made it to RIBFEST! It smelled so good!! One of everything, please! I smelled ribs and hot dogs, and ice cream and MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

First I tried Cordis Brothers Barbecue. Here's a picture of me standing in line at the Cordis Brothers Barbecue booth. If I wasn't on leash I would have just gone right up to the front, but my human made me wait. But I'm HUNGRY!! Finally we got our ribs. Here's a picture of me eating Cordis Brothers Ribs. Mmmmmmm! They were so good!

Then I tried The Fireplace Inn ribs. Here's a picture of me at The Fireplace Inn booth ordering my ribs. They were so tender and juicy!! I wanted Mozarella sticks too, but I didn't get any. I don't see why not. We got french fries instead. Mmmmmm! French fries! Hey, look who's trying to sneak up behind me - mini me!

Then a band came by. They were playing a bunch of instruments. I didn't like it one bit! Here's a picture of the band. My human tried to take a picture from the front, but I might have ducked behind a pole and taken her with me.

Then I tried some ribs from The Piggery. Here's a picture of me waiting in line at The Piggery booth. Can you see the love in my eyes? My humans are THE BEST! Hey, they have something wrapped in bacon - can we get one? My human got one and gave me some of the bacon. Mmmmmmm! Bacon! Here's a picture of me licking sauce off my human's finger. And Here's a picture of me licking sauce off my nose. MMmmmmmnghghhgnghhh!!!!!!! The Piggery ribs were the best - so tender and fatty!!

Then I went to the Black Rock Pub & Kitchen booth. Here's a picture of me at their booth. Can you see what the sign says?? It says MAPLE BACON DONUT HOLES!!!!!! OH. MY. GOD. I was so excited!! I LOVE YOU!! Here's a picture of me getting a Maple Bacon Donut Hole. See how BIG it is? I got another one! I broke it up and ate all the pieces. Here's a picture of me eating my donut hole. MMMMMM!!!!! Deep fried yummy goodness!! MORE PLEASE! I didn't get any more.

Then I went to the Rub BBQ Company booth. Here's a picture of me ordering my ribs. I'll have a full slab, please! I didn't get a full slab. I got a sampler. Here's a picture of me eating ribs from the Rub BBQ Company. They were salty and chewy. I prefer my ribs juicy and fatty, but they were still really good!

Then I went to Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro. Here's a picture of me standing in line at their booth. Sigh, so much waiting! Here's a picture of me getting a bite of Mrs. Murphy & Sons ribs. They were really tender and the sauce was really thick and sweet. Mmmmmm! Here's a picture of me licking sauce off my human's fingers. It stuck to my mouth. Ummmm. I think I need some water! I was so thirsty I drank out of a community water bowl. Here's a picture of me drinking water. It was kind of gross, but I was really thirsty - those last ribs were spicier than I thought!

Then I went to the Pitchfork booth. Here's a picture of me waiting in line. I'm scoping out which booth to hit next. Here's a picture of me licking the dish from the Pitchfork ribs. MMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!

What do you mean we're leaving?? But there are more booths! I didn't try all the ribs! My humans said we had to go. Here's a picture of me at the Ribfest exit. Um, well maybe I could use a nap. My chest hurts. I love Ribfest! It was really crowded and it was a good thing my humans used the leash because they almost got lost a bunch of times, but I still give Ribfest 4 PAWS!! We're coming back for dinner, right? Right???

It's the humidity, stupid!

OH. MY. GOD. The world is melting! Is summer almost over? I think it's almost over. Today I went for a walk. It was SO HOT! We walked all the way to Starbuck's where all I got was water. Then we went to a meet and greet at Ald. Harry Osterman's office. I had a piece of ham and cheese croissant and a piece of cranberry scone. MMMMMMMMore, please! I didn't get any more. I liked Harry Osterman's office, know why? AIR CONDITIONING!! Our house isn't air conditioned. No wait - it IS air conditioned, my humans just haven't turned it on. Hello!! Fur coat? Dying here!! Anyway, here's a picture of me at Harry Osterman's office. See how nice and cool I look? Again, air conditioned. Here's another picture of me at Harry Osterman's office. Hey, flags! Um, I don't see the point. Here's a picture of me with Harry Osterman. We both look nice and cool. Here's another picture of me at the office. Ahhhh, so comfy. I could have stayed right there, but we didn't. We walked to Parkview and I saw Joe. Mmmmmm! Lamb puffs! Lamb ears! AAAAAAIR CONDITIONING! Can we stay here? We couldn't. It was a really long walk home. Sometimes it's a short walk, but today it was long. And hot. Um, hey, if you're not going to turn on the air conditioning, can we get a walk-in freezer?