Happy Anniversary To Me

Two years ago yesterday, the family shlepped (oy am I a Jewish dog) to Huntley, IL to adopt me from a shelter.  Of course, when they drove to pick me up, they didn’t know they were going to adopt ME, but they did.  Though I haven’t written as much as I would have liked this past year, it has been a great year.  Barack Obama became president, his kids finally got that dog they wanted, Lil Joe had his Bar Mitzvah, Hallie’s Museum opened, and  meeting our neighbor, Jorge, who walks me some times.  I also scraped the window sills and radiator covers by two windows ’cause I have to bark at every dog that goes by this house and I’m still living here.  What a great place.  It’s not only humans, who need to take the time to appreciate the little and big things going on in one’s life.  So, this is my day to appreciate the little (loofa dogs) and the big (a family’s love) today.  I am one lucky dog!

What’s Going On?

Something fishy is going on around here.  Hallie has been running around the house telling everyone to bring their clothes to her room.  They bring their stuff to her and then she says – “what about your bathing suit, what about PJ’s?”  Then she put everyone’s clothes into these big boxes that zip up.  I hung out in her room all night and she did not ask me once to bring her one of my loofas or my leash.  She didn’t put anything of mine into the big boxes.

Earlier this week, a young guy with long hair came by and Hallie showed him all around our house, with a special emphasis on my leash and walking me.  She also showed him where my food is and where Peepers’ food is.  Then Jorge, our neighbor came by and she gave him a key.  He’s that nice guy, that walked me the 4 days that the family was away visiting the red hair lady and the bald guy.  He is very comforting.

“Hey wait a minute, – is the family going away again?”  Last night while everyone was a sleep I looked at the papers on the table.  There were passports (one for everyone and none for me) and airline tickets to Spain and information about a mediterranean cruise.  What?  They know I don’t like cruising.  I guess that is why Jorge and the long haired guy will be staying with me.  Bon Voyage!

Shout Out To Esther and Border Collies

Hallie has this very good friend, Esther, who she met when My G started kindergarten.  My G was in the same class as Esther’s son.  Esther and Hallie have been friends ever since.  Esther loves all dogs, but she especially loves border collies.  When they first met, Esther and her family, but mostly Esther, had a really nice dog named, Tess.  In those days, Hallie was still afraid of dogs and Esther and Tess were very understanding of her fear.  One time Esther even picked up some dog poop outside of our house because Hallie thought it was too gross to do it herself. Tess passed a few years ago.  Esther immediately adopted a new border collie, Annie.  She is a good dog mother – very patient, loving and understanding.  Annie was from a border collie rescue and like me, she is one lucky dog.

More recently Esther fostered another border collie through the rescue named Gracie.  She welcomed Gracie into her home and helped her get use to other dogs and to people.  Another family now has Gracie.  It’s good that there are people out there like Esther.  All too often, dogs are mistreated by humans and it’s important that we acknowledge heroes like Esther when they are in our midst.

Sadness for Martha

I spent most of the day inside today and had a chance to surf the web.   I came across a story about Martha Stewart’s dog who was killed along with 16 other dogs at a kennel in Pennsylvania.  Apparently, a man who worked at the kennel was filling a propane tank and there was an explosion.  That guy is a real hero, because even though he was critically injured, he still tried to save some of the other dogs at the kennel.  Unfortunately, Martha Stewart’s dog, Ghenghis Khan, a chow puppy, was killed.

So, I don’t even know who Martha Stewart is because I am just a dog, but I do know that lots of bad things happen to dogs and other animals all of the time.  If dogs were treated better, there wouldn’t be so many dogs in shelters, looking for good homes like mine.  Every so often some celebrity, like Martha, Oprah or Paris are in the news because of their animals.  I just wish there were more stories about regular people, who take in shelter dogs and try to give them a good life – even though we can be a little crazy at times.

I want to give a shout out  to our good friends, Elaine, Kelsey and Katia.  About a year and a half ago they brought Zachary, an  english bulldog, home from a shelter.  This was like their third or fourth dog from a shelter – maybe more.  They gave Zachary a good home and he wasn’t the easiest dog.  Recently, he became more and more agressive and they had to put him down.  I just know that he is in a better place – thinking about his family and sniffing all over the place.  Rest in peace – Zachary.

Being Nice to Sam

I often bark at Lil Joe’s friends.  I’m not sure why I do it.  Maybe it’s because Lil Joe is always “egging” me on.  He really riles me up and sometimes it just pisses me off.  So when Lil Joe’s  friends come over, I just transfer my annoyance to his friends.  Sam is a nice boy.  They have been friends since preschool.  Sam comes over and I just bark like crazy at that kid.  His only offense – being Lil Joe’s friend.

Last night Sam slept over.  They came home pretty late – about 10:00.  I was too tired to really bark and do my usual stuff.  When they woke up this morning, I hung out in Lil Joe’s room and laid right on top of Sam.  You know what,  he was a very nice guy to let me lay on him like that.  We laid like that for about ten minutes.  I’m sure Sam what the heck was going on.   I will probably always bark at Sam, but it was nice to share some good times with that kid.

FaceBook

Hallie has really been into Face Book lately.  First My G got on Face Book, then B, then Lil Joe and now Hallie does it too.  It is really bumming me out because Hallie used to be such a help to me in writing this blog.  As you know, because I am a dog, I do not have opposable thumbs.  This means I have to rely on Hallie to help me with my writing.  During the day, if she leaves the computer on, I can surf around using my nose.   I usually do this to get some ideas and then when we go for our daily walks, I think about what to write and so does Hallie.  She used to help me all of the time, but now that she has to check her Face Book page at least a hundred times a day, she doesn’t help me as much as I would like.  And she has 86 friends including that other dog, Barclay Obama.  Why doesn’t Hallie help me get a Face Book page?  I would be  her friend in a second and then she would have 87 friends.  My feelings are so hurt.  Maybe I’m not such a lucky dog afterall.  I wonder who will want to come to my pity party?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.  I’m an incredibly lucky dog as you know and I am thankful for all of the wonderful humans in my life – Hallie, B, My G, Lil Joe and all of their extended family and friends.  They have all added so much to my life.  I can only hope that a certain president-elect will go for a mixed breed rescue dog.

We Got A Swimming Pool!!!

Well it has certainly been an exciting weekend.  On Saturday morning when Hallie went down to the basement to feed Peepers, she found that various parts of the basement had water in them.  After a little discussion with B, she decided to go and buy a wet vac to clean up the water.  She returned about 30 minutes later and went downstairs to get to work.  B left for the Sabbath services as he is a Rabbi.  I was happy to stay inside as it was raining cats and dogs (who makes up these sayings).

So Hallie was busy downstairs and Lil Joe had gone down to help.  I noticed her voice was a little shrill and then My G was also downstairs helping.  It was weird to see My G up so early on a weekend morning.  The next thing I notice is that the door to the basement was left open.  This never happens as the basement is where Peepers hangs and I am never allowed down there.  With all the excitement, they had left the door open!  So I sneaked downstairs, but I didn’t get past the staircase as the whole basement was filled with water.  It was everywhere.  I didn’t have my bathing suit on, so I just stayed on the stairs. The boys were running up and down the stairs with buckets of water and Hallie was using the wet vac.  Frankly, I thought it looked pretty futile.  They were working so hard and the water was just everywhere.

Later in the morning Hallie’s bald friend and his son, who isn’t bald, came over to help.  They rigged up this pump and got most of the water out of the basement.  It still as to be carefully watched, but it does seem under control.  Now there is a rather strange odor coming from the basement and Hallie goes down every ten minutes and uses the wet vac.  It seems like alot of work.  Oh and did I mention that water is also coming in over Hallie and B’s bed?  They have a skylight over their bed and it really seems to be leaking because of all of this rain.

Oh and did I mention that it has rained for two days straight?  It is unblievable how much rain we have had.  I hate going for walks in the rain.  I get all wet and nobody seems too interested in hanging outside to walk when it rains.  It’s like I just have to get out there and do my business – not that it is always so easy to just do my business in one walk around the block!

So we didn’t really get a swimming pool and it as been a really long weekend, with all of the excitement about the basement and none of the attention on me.

Dog Days of Summer

My, my, my where did the summer go? I’m not sure what I have been so busy with that I didn’t even have the time to blog once during the month of August. I’ve been busy with the usual stuff — walking, sleeping eating, walking sleeping, eating, etc. Oh and don’t forget… hanging out with the family and barking at Peepers. My days are so full. The family has been doing well. Hallie as been around here just about the whole summer. Everyone else has been in and out. My G was gone the longest. He was away at camp in the Poconos and then came home for two days and went to camp for marching band. Lil Joe spent a week visiting the grandparents in Las Vegas. He didn’t gamble much given his age. Hallie and B went away with the red hair lady and the bald guy. Instead of putting me in a kennel, they arranged for some dog walkers to come by and take care of me. It was a little lonely at first, but the dog walkers came in daily and played with me and took me for nice walks. More importantly, I didn’t get sick like the last time.

The best part of the summer has been all of the walking I have done. Everyone is taking me out for long walks where they let me smell whatever I want. It is glorious. They even let me bark at all of the other dogs in the neighborhood. I can be such an annoying dog at times! Well, it’s another day of summer – I have to get back to my life. I couldn’t be happier – I am one lucky dog!

Long Overdue

Where has April gone? I’ve been so busy that I just haven’t found the time to write. Busy you say? What is a dog busy with except for sleeping and eating? Well…the family recently celebrated yet another Jewish holiday. This one was called Passover. It commemorates the Jews leaving Egypt. First Hallie was a crazy lady cleaning the house and getting rid of all of this food with bread in it. I had to stay on guard in the kitchen, less something fell on the floor for me to eat. Then she brought into the house all of this special food without bread in it. There was this flat stuff called matzah, which makes a lot of crumbs – heaven for a dog, though it was a little dry.

One night they had all of these people over for a seder, whatever that is. It looked like a big yummy dinner to me. However, everyone came dressed up to this meal. There was a little boy dressed like a baby in a basket, a strange bald guy in capris, and a woman in a flowing sheet with a beard. This was one crazy group. Well the highlight of this meal was the brisket. Everyone was talking about it and it smelled delicious. Once again I had to stand on guard under the two tables that were set, so that I could keep the floor clean. You know, clean floors are very important to dogs everywhere.

Once Passover was over (ha-ha), the family brought all of this food with bread back into the house. My favorite were the bagels, which we rarely eat. My G left the bag on the table, an easy leap for me and I think I ate two of them. They were good going down, but I was a little queasy all afternoon. When Hallie poured more food into my bowl, I couldn’t even eat it.

As with all Jewish holidays, except for Shabbat, they seem to only happen once a year. Needless to say, I can’t wait to next Passover. I wonder if Santa Claus will come. I heard he’s very nice to dogs everywhere.