You scream, I scream...

We got to take Bear with us for our walk the other afternoon. It's lots of fun, especially when I go one direction and he goes the other and Mommy's stretched like a starfish in the middle! Anyhow, as we were rounding the corner near the Bleecker Street playground, we spied the ice cream truck!!! Yay!!!

Bear and I split a serving of vanilla (divided into two cups) -- which was fine with Mommy since it cost $6.00!!! Ahhh, you gotta love New York, right?

Bear liked his, but he didn't LOVE it like I do! So I got to finish his up too. Good thing Asta wasn't with us or I'd probably not even get a good lick of my own! That girl LOVES her ice cream.

DELISH!

Now, here's what Mommy's screaming about today. She called Delta Airlines to make a reservation for me to ride on the plane with her when we all go to South Carolina with Asta and her Mommi and Daddi in September. Now mind you, Asta and I don't get our own seat. We're in black duffel bag carriers under the seat. We can't get out. We can't go for a walk or eat salted peanuts or watch a rerun of The Family Guy. No. We're in the same bag that if it was full of clothes would be traveling for free. We don't get frequent flyer points (although this will be my 20th flight at least) and we can't redeem points for our tickets. We get ZERO special service. And yet, the airlines (and we checked - Continental and USAir were the same price) have the nerve to charge us $100 EACH WAY for our flights. That's $200, up from $150 earlier this year due to "increases in fuel costs." We think this sucks! If you agree, please write to your favorite airline and protest as well. Just not fair. 

On another walk through Chelsea, we passed a public school that had wonderful murals by the kids on the outside walls. As a writer, Mommy really loved this:

But I thought it also sounds like why we all like to write blogs. To connect with one another and to become superheroes, sports stars, mermaids, angels, grown-ups and best of all, crazy creatures!

To all my crazy creatures and their crazy people! I lift my ice cream cone in a toast to you!!!

I'm one in a million! And so are you!

Have you all seen the million dog mosaic at the Pedigree website? Here's the link: www.pedigree.com/03Adoption/Million%20Dog%20 Mosaic/Default.aspx. For every dog that uploads a photo for the mosaic, Pedigree will donate $1 towards their Adoption Drive - up to $100,000 (or about £35 given what the dollar's worth these days!) Still, it's a great cause and great fun!

Look for me! My code is Petey 15!

Hope to see you on the mosaic, too!!!

Important news and some thoughts...

From Petey's Mom:

There's been another pet food recall for Nutro. Here's more information:

http://consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/06/pet food recalls98.html

Back to Petey....

Yesterday, I found sad news across the blogs. The lovely Rufus and big-hearted Baby Love had both crossed the bridge. Emil was still missing and presumed to have moved along as well. I can imagine how hard it is for our people when we leave them. There's a story about a little boy explaining to his parents why pets don't live as long as people. To paraphrase, he says that our pets come here and they are already good and kind and ready to love us. For people, it takes longer to learn these things, that's why they live longer-- so they can learn what we already know.

Mommy's minister once said that if you love an animal, you give it a soul. And it will live forever. Here's a photo of me and my cat Maui, the morning that Maui crossed the bridge. She was very sweet and loved everybody. I learned a lot from her.
Mommy's Daddy died six year ago from cancer. A few months before he died, he had to put Keddy, the wire fox terrier, to sleep. A couple of days before my Grandpa died, he was talking to lots of people in his hospital room that we couldn't see. At one point, he said "Keddy, get down! You know you're not allowed up there." Mommy asked him if he could see Keddy. He said "Yes, there are a lot of dogs in here, but Keddy's right over there." This gave my Mommy tremendous comfort that we are all indeed reunited again. 

I hope this little post lights a little candle of hope in your hearts today. 

With much love for my two and four-legged friends,

Petey

Good News/Bad News

First, the good news....

Monday's favorite ball....

Tuesday's favorite ball....

Wednesday's favorite ball (the feet are always the first to go!)....

My now and forever FAVORITE BALL!!!!!

It's from Stan and Stella!!! All the way from Gooberstan! They must have the BEST toys there. Stanley and Stella sent this to me via Asta and I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised that she didn't decide to keep it for herself. It's simply the best ball ever. Not only is it a tennis ball, but it's a tennis ball THAT SQUEAKS!!! The very best of both worlds (if only it tasted like bacon...). And I can't destroy it. Now, I know Jackson has some speed records that I'll be attempted to shatter at the Pawlimpics in August, but I destroyed a tennis ball that had "indestructible" printed on it in less than 5 minutes flat. This one is just PERFECT. Thank you sooo much! There was a bully stick too, but I ate that before Mommy could take a photo. And there's another indescribably delicious smelling treat in the bag that Mommy hasn't shown me...yet!

Now, for the not-s0-good news...

Harlan's going to have to have SURGERY on his paw next week to remove the bone chip from his wrist. He's such a high-energy pup, I have no idea how his Mom and Dad (and Scout) will be able to keep him quiet for it to heal. So send him lots of prayers (and maybe a cute nurse or two to help him recover?)

Your pal, 

Petey

I must have been a beautiful baby...

Next week my Mommy and I will celebrate our fifth anniversary—it was just 5 years ago that she sprung me from the pet shop.  I was 4 1/2 months old and weighed 8 pounds. All the rest of the puppies were little tiny fluffballs, so I was too big to be in the window.

Mommy said when she first saw me, there were puppies yapping away in all the cages, and I was in the center, just chilling out, taking it all in. She decided I looked like a "Petey" and that was my name—before she was even 100% sure she was going to take me home!

She went home to "think about it overnight" and decided that with two senior cats in a one-bedroom apartment, plus a busy job, that it wouldn't be fair to adopt a puppy.  But the next morning, when she woke up, she thought "I can do this!"

When she came back to see me, there was a young college girl holding me. Mommy sent thought waves her way — "Put down my dog!" And she did! So Mommy scooped me up and we waited for Jeannie (Scout and Harlan's mom) to come meet us at the pet store. There was another young woman who wanted to see me, but Mommy said, "No, I'm taking him." I let out a big sigh of relief.
Mommy doesn't like to talk about it in front of me, but since I was almost 5 months old, I was reduced in price. She calls me her Sample Sale dog. But we both know that we were just waiting to find each other. 

Mommy said from the very beginning, I walked on a leash like a pro. I was even very polite to both the cats, Mica and our dearly departed Maui. They kind of just ignored me. The second weekend I was home, Mommy had to go away so I had a pet-sitter who took me up to Rhinebeck for the weekend. I got to play with sticks and swim in a pool! (Okay, so I had to wear an Outward Hound lifejacket!) 

I settled into a routine quickly. During the week, my pet nanny Barbara would take me for nice long walks while Mommy was at work. She taught me to sit and behave like a gentleman. 

I always liked playing with my toys better than Mommy's toys. Although she did leave a pink alligator pump on the bedroom floor one day and I couldn't resist a little taste. (She wasn't happy, but fortunately, the shoe was repaired and is good as new!)

All in all, it's been a pretty terrific five years. We're going to celebrate this year (like every anniversary) with a big fireworks display all across the nation. This year, we've scheduled them for Friday night. Hope you'll enjoy them and think of how lucky we all are that we were adopted. And let's say a prayer that all the dogs and kitties in the world get forever homes as nice as ours as soon as possible!

My weekend in the Adogrondacks!

Once we got there, Scout was on guard duty, protecting us from things that go bump in the night!
Here I am the next morning, relaxing after a long play session. This is the site of the wedding in August! The field behind me will be filled with daisies (the flower, not the cat! "But how great would it be to have a field full of Daisy the Cats!" mused Mica.)
Me and Harlan, taking a break between playing ball, gardening, and splashing in the creek!

On Sunday, I told Scout about Daisy's Sunday Comics, so here he is reading her blog. He loved it!

Afterwards, he took a refreshing run through the creekbed...
Though I had to remind him not to EAT the daisies, just smell them. ("And that especially goes for Daisy the Cat," says Mica.)

These photos are all out of order, but I don't think you'll mind! I decided to plant a ball in this nice hole that Harlan dug for me. Maybe next week there will be a BALL TREE!!! How great would that be? Imagine - a whole orchard of tennis balls...
This guy misunderstood - it was a DOGS weekend, not a frog's weekend!
Scout did an excellent job surveying the property for dangerous coyotes and wolves...and frogs...

While Harlan concentrated on some gardening. His specialty was digging holes.

We took a nice long walk down this dirt road with all sorts of interesting things to smell on either side.  Please note that I carried my blue ball the entire 2 miles! Then Harlan and I came up with a great game. First you throw the ball, then we both race after it, he runs past it and I dodge in for the catch!

It's really a great game. I won almost every time!
Too soon, it was time to head back to the city. We sure had a fun time in the mountains!
Harlan fell asleep on top of the overnight bags. He likes a nice pillow, whether or not it's soft!
But he woke up in time to get one last deep breath of that clean fresh mountain air! (I'm not in the photo because I was driving once again.) What a great time!!!

Quick update on Harlan

Well, it ends up that the pup knocked a bone chip off his wrist when he did his huge leap. They cleared the area where he'd been playing the very next day and we spotted an old broken log that he must have jumped on. He had an x-ray and may have to have surgery if the bone chip doesn't adhere on its own. After 4 hours at the vet (35 miles away!) he came back feeling much better and was back to his old antics in no time. So keep your paws crossed that he'll be just fine. Loads of photos to come tomorrow!!!

It's me, Harlan!

Decided I needed to defend my honor while the little squirt was trying to get the tennis ball out from under the couch for the 100th time since he got here!

It all began before we even left New York! My brother Scout and I were wrassling when Petey showed up. Our Moms' were busy taking stuff down to the car. When they came back up to get us, the Beasty Feast bag with the new toys had been torn open and the new toys were on the floor! Did they blame little squirtball who was busy with the brand new tennis ball? NO! They blamed poor me, Harlan!

Just because I was unjustly accused, Petey got to drive. Of course he took a so-called short cut that got us lost, so he had to pull over and ask for directions.

Scout and I were just happy to look out the window and catch some tasty bugs. Ahhh, the best bugs in the world come from the Adogronacks!


Once we got here, we were romping around on the grass - you don't know what a thrill this is for city dogs who are constantly on concrete! I was executing a particularly dramatic jete into the weeds and tall grasses when I fell into a gopher hole and twisted my leg! Mom thought I might have even broken it, as I let out a big yelp! We called the vet when we got home and she thinks it's probably a sprain. But I've been very stoic all evening as you can see from this photo. 

More tricks tomorrow. 

Your dignified friend, 

Harlan

I'm gonna be a mountain man!

The handsome big chocolate lab is my buddy Scout. The little pipsqueak is his bratty little brother Harlan. (Don't be fooled by his adorable sweet face!) We're all going with our Mommies up to the mountains this weekend, just an hour south of Canada, near Lake Placid. 

Scout and Harlan's people are getting married in August on their 200 acres of woodlands and we're going up to help get it ready. That means lots of time off leash, splashing in creeks, rolling in the grass—he-man dog bliss. As if a 5-hour car ride wouldn't be fun enough!!! (I LOVE cars!!!)

If it were just me and Scout, it would be heaven on earth. But unfortunately, Harlan's coming, too. Harlan's now all grown up now but he still acts like a puppy. And instead of respecting me as an elder, he treats me like a big stuffie. My poor ears ache at the thought. I'll have to show him what a Terrierist he's dealing with! Scout used to give me noogies when he was a pup, too, and now he's a respectable dog, so maybe there's still hope for Harlan. Grrrr!!!! Woof! 

Petey the Crocodile Hunter...

Okay, first you've got to excuse my doofy sweater -- it was Christmas, for goodness sakes!-- and look very carefully at that log on the bank behind me (almost directly behind my head.) It's a crocodile!!! What? Oh, Mommy just told me that it's an alligator. But it's a big one. Did you know you can tell how long an alligator is by estimating the distance between it's nose and eyes and turning that into feet. So if it looks like 6", that's a six-foot gator! Yikes! 

I was just a 10 month old pup when this was photo was taken, but I wanted you all to see how I wrestled that 30' alligator to the ground Lacie. See? I'll protect you. Asta, you have nothing to worry about either when we go to Hilton Head (although I should probably tell you that this lagoon is right behind my Grannie's house.) 

I miss Asta.

I miss her so much I don't have the energy to get out of bed, much less blog. More later. 

Sigh,

Petey

Happy Fodder's Day!

Hi everybody!!!

Well, I'm back home from my big weekend with Asta and boy, oh, boy did I have a great time! Her Mommi told my Mommy a very funny story. Seems like not long after I arrived at Asta's house, I went into the bathroom and stared at the bathtub for a long time. A couple hours, in fact. Asta's Mommi even asked her Daddi if he thought I was alright. Finally, I started howling like a coyote and barking and they came in and looked in the tub and there was my favorite tennis ball! Finally! I thought they'd never catch on.

You see, I'm a rather fastidious terrier and every now and then, I like to give my favorite tennis and racquet balls a nice soak in the tub. As I couldn't turn on the water at Asta's house, I put the ball into the tub to dry clean it. 

Here's my laundry day routine:

Drop the ball in soapy water. Ignore the human who may be in the same soapy water.

Next, you want to stir the ball around a bit in the water to wash away dirt or germs. (Or other dog slobber.)

Really push the ball around in the suds to make sure it's really clean.

Retrieve, rinse, and repeat. 

Sure the bubbles tickle, but the results are well worth it!

Hope everyone's having lots of fun with their Daddys today, whether they be two or fourlegged!

Your pal,

Petey

You'd better WORK!

Well, it's Tuesday, time to get back to work. I was busy answering some calls, responding to emails, updating the blog, and of course, playing a few games of Solitaire. Mommy's been working like a —well, me!— hence the short post today. Gotta grab the phone - selling some share on the Dog Jones.

HOT diggity dog!

It's a scorcher again today in New Yorkie City. I went to the run early this morning and got in a quick dip with Asta. Then when I came home, the two cute grandkids of my neighbors stopped by to see if they could take me for a walk! They are darling little girls ages 5 and 8 who love to throw the tennis ball for me in the hallways. Lately, they've been taking me for walks with two leashes attached to my collar so they can both feel like they're walking me. It works out great until they decide to go different directions - yikes!!! They started to walk me down by the river, which I usually love, but it was just too hot. AND I remembered where I'd left my very favorite tennis ball at home and was afraid Mica might hide it, so I stopped in my tracks and insisted on going back home. Here's a photo of me with Liola on a cooler day this Spring:

And here's what I wish I was doing right now!

Hope all you pups are keeping nice and cool!

He's just jealous!

Don't be mad at Mica! He's just got his fur rubbed the wrong way and started in on the Catmospolitans, and you know you should never drink and blog (especially when you only weigh 8 pounds).  It's been a rough week for him—first I got my very own blog. Then last night he just found out that next week, Mommy's going away for four days to go to a wedding. He's going to stay home and be visited by our very nice Pet Nanny Barbara who will give him lots of cuddles. But I get to go stay for FOUR WHOLE DAYS with...







ASTA!!!
Can you just imagine the fun we're going to have? She has a really long slippy hallway that's great for sliding down when you're going after a tennis ball! And lots of nice chairs to bounce off of when we're racing around! And her Mommi and Daddi don't even snarl when I jump up on the nice chaise longue for a rest inbetween races! I just know I'm gonna have the bestest time.

So when I heard the news, I had to start packing immediately.

I just hope I packed enough tennis balls. We can go through a good dozen a day! I am so excited because Asta's Mommi and Daddi are almost as much fun as she is—don't they make a nice trio?

Anyhow, Mica's now sleeping off his bender from last night. (He did a bit of late night Cat-alog shopping as well. Where are we going to put 250 pounds of frozen salmon treats???) He's really a very nice cat and we sleep next to each other on the bed. He never tries to play with my toys, only sniff at them, and he's very polite when I have friends over. He doesn't even hold it against me when I say "Hey! Wanna see what my cat will do?" He's very good-natured about letting me chase him around the apartment when I want to show off for other doggies. I think he just gets a bit embarrassed that his bestest four-legged friend is a dog. He's old school, you know?

Well, today is going to be a steamy one, so I've just slipped on my Speedo and we're off for some swimming at the run. I have a feeling I'm in for some short walks over the next four days of this heatwave. I hate the heat and sometimes just have to lie down for a few minutes in the middle of the sidewalk before I can continue. (I can be very dramatic sometimes.)

Have fun, stay cool, and don't hog the puppy pool!!!

Your pal,

Petey