Ice cream and royal posts!

Mommy's having a bit too much fun with the video camera on her new iBone. As a result, I can barely "wiggle my wag" as Eric would say, without having her barking directions at me. She's become the Teri Shields of terrier stage moms!

Scene 1: No one attending the Ice Cream cart...and ACTION!

SCENE 2: Romantic international package arrives in the mail...Hair, Makeup!....And...ACTION!

Scene 3: The big reveal...Can we get a stunt double?...and ACTION!

(No toy monkeys were injured in this production)

SCENE 4: The second reveal...and the arrival of the antagonist...Cue Mica....and ACTION!

Now, a break in the action to show off my wonderful presents from Rosie-Posie!!! Truly she is the dearest wifey ever! (I wonder if that giant tennis ball was to compensate for that racy photo of Alfie showing off his goods...)

Just look at this wonderful loot! To celebrate Wimbledon, a veritable festival of tennis balls!

In fact, I think that's what I'll call my monkey in his tennis togs, racquet in one paw, mini-tennis ball in the other - I dub thee...Wimble Don!

I finally got a moment of privacy to read my love letter from Rosie. See that smear of ink? That's where I gave it a kiss!

Uh oh, here she comes again. This next little clip will demonstrate just the degree of humiliation Mommy will submit to in the pursuit of getting a soundbite from me!

She can't help herself! Just look at what Pumpkin's Mommy put up with at the dog run. The funny part is, Pumpkin kept peeing so her Mom would have to get out the hose to wash it away, then Pumpkin would play in the spray. She did this no fewer than a dozen times! Talk about control!

Any guesses what breed Pumpkin may be? No...she's not a poodle or a Portuguese water dog...she's a 10-month old Goldendoodle puppy! Like our friend Clive! Wonder if he can dance like that?

FINAL SCENE - Petey gives in to Mommy's pleading.

AND FADE TO BLACK.....

A break in the action...for a little tongue!

The Rocky Creek Scotties are having a wonderful "Stick out your Tongue" photo contest on their blog. For the judges consideration, I'd like to submit the following.

Many of you have already seen these two photos on Asta's bloggie, but I think they are excellent examples of just how far a tenacious terrier will work his tongue in pursuit of ice cream.

I mean, just look at that flexibility. If there were tongue agility classes, I'd be a contender!

Here is a rare shot of "Tennis Ball Fluff Tongue," a condition caused by too much tennis ball defuzzing. However, it does allow your tongue to glow under black lights. Very cool and spooky.

Next, a shot of slurpy puppy tongue. I believe the command here was "Can you stick out your tongue and touch your nose at the same time?"

Done!
And finally...adorable pupply tongue on the rocks. Stick out your tongue and say "ahhhhhhh!"

As a bonus to all this tongue action, Mommy just got a new iBone (it's white!) and shot this little movie of me at the dog run. You can even see Asta in the background if you look carefully.

Here's another movie starring Asta.<

The Birthday celebration continues...

First, a note from Mommy. We join our blogging friends in celebrating the long and happy life of Dakota. Her days and years were filled with lots of fun with Thunder and Phantom. She slept peacefully each night knowing how much her Mommy and Dad loved her. And when she got weary and filled with pain, her Mommy and Daddy gently made her pain go away. We should all be treated with the same compassion as we show our beloved pets.

In the span of a handful of years, our pets go from babies with their silly antics, to our same-age companions, to senior citizens —older and probably wiser than we'll ever be. We are blessed that they share their brief lives with us. And impact our lives profoundly.

So in the spirit of celebrating those handfuls of days...we return to Rosie's birthday celebration...

After dinner and cake and romantic strolls in the garden, a roar in the sky drew our attention to the heavens. (Remember, this is Scotland in June and the sun doesn't set until after 11:00 p.m.)

It was our pal Ruby in the beautiful AireRuby. She'd painted the jet a lovely hue of rose in honor of the birthday girl.

For the next half hour, we watched an incredible aerial show over the rooftops of Dughallmor Manor.

She even did some special sky-writing on my behalf!

Then she was joined by the rest of her Ruby Arrow Squadron—an elite corps of all-female dog pilots!

As they took a final pass over the Manor, suddenly a sky diver parachuted from the plane!

It was Just Harry!!! The returning hero of the Heron Wars, he was instrumental in the return of Myrna and Gilbert's wheely baby boy. He'd been attending dozens of tickertape parades and award dinners, but he was getting a bit bored and frankly, he missed his buddy Jakie!

His timing could not have been better, as we needed a baritone to round out our quartet. Usually, we perform as a Beatles tribute band, but on this special occasion, we renamed ourselves The Beagles.

Jake had a song commissioned by the esteemed lyricist Gussie just for the birthday celebration.

Please sing along to the tune of "The Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond."

Upon Beagleland we are goin' ta stand,

All of us hip deep in the heather.

And me and my dog pals a courtin' we will go,

in the shade of the lovely Loch Lomon'

Now I've got my Gabbi and Petey his Rose,

and Eric's providin the transport.

We'll hide from the Aunties and share a tiny dram,

and we're hopin the girrrls don't wear panties.

And Marvin will join us and so will Lacie Beast

and we won't care so much 'bout the weather,

Til Hamish the Westie serves his Haggis feast

then we'll all return home to get better.

Ahhh, no one does the standards like Gussie!

Then I took to the stage to sing a special song from the musical "Bye Bye Birdie," dedicated to my birthday girl, my Rosie-Posie.

I was never crazy for flowers,

I confess that nothing left me colder;

I could watch a tulip for hours

And all I'd feel was sev'ral hours older!

Lilacs and lilies, any bloom you please,

All what they did was make me shrug or sneeze;

But now I love each blossom that I see,

For a lovely little rose loves me.

Now my life is rosy, when I'm with my Rosie,

With a girl like Rosie,

How could I be blue?

Paw in paw we'll mosey

Me and little Rosie,

We will be so cozy

Under a red blanket for two.

Oh! I once heard a poem that goes:

"A rose is a rose is a rose"

Well I don't agree,

Take it from me,

There's one rose sweeter than any that grows!

That's my Rosie,

I'm so glad she chose me;

Life is one sweet beautiful song,

When love is right then

What can be wrong?

Life is one sweet beautiful song

To me!

Happy Birthday Dearest Rosie! SURPRISE!!!

We're arrived at Rosie's home station! We're all so excited about our big surprise. Fortunately, Eric Square Dog shipped his Zoomer on the Royal Scotsman. Now we just need to squeeze all of us — and our luggage and birthday cakes and presents — into the boot/trunk!

Thanks to Marvin's expert packing, we got everything stowed away. It was a bit tight, but soon we were on our way to Dughallmor Manor. Let's see...we've got Kira, Marvin, Mason Dixie, Jake, Eric behind the wheel, me riding shootgun...where are those Basset Aunties and Hamish???

Ahh, apparently HRH Auntie Princess Bailey decided she was too royal to ride with us commoners (at least she hasn't taken to referring to us as her loyal subjects...yet) so she summoned Martha to serve as her Basset-in-Waiting and Sir Hamish (yes, she knighted him with a butter knife over tea) to be her coachman.

Soon we were pulling up the miles long drive to Dughallmor Manor!

The beagles were ever so surprised!!! We wasted no time setting up a lavish dinner party in the back garden. Rosie and I snuggled all through the soup course, Gabbi whispered sweet nothings into Jake's upturned ear, Asta and Clive discussed Asta's potential as a "fashion assistance" service dog, while Martha happily indulged HRH Auntie Princess Bailey's request that she be her official food-taster.

Despite protests that it wasn't dinner party conversation, Eric insisted on describing his latest surgery operations in detail. Marvin tried to keep his haggis down after hearing what Eric had extracted most recently from Lacie. Kira cozied up to her Snoop dog, while Alfie kept a proprietary paw around the lovely Mason Dixie.

Sir Hamish assured that everydoggie's water bowl was kept full, occasionally adding a splash of a particularly fine Glenlivet.

Our beautiful rose-bedecked cake had made the journey from the Harrod's Food Hall in fine shape! Gabbi and Rosie closed their eyes and made a wish.

I know you're not supposed to tell what you wished for, but sitting out there in the beautiful garden, surrounded by good friends and new tennis balls, I couldn't help but think that all of our wishes had come true!

Happiest of Birthdays to my dearest wee wifey Rosie Posie, who makes every day feel like the best birthday party ever!

Scotland Fur-Ever!!!

After our intoxicating evening last night, we were slow to wake up this morning. We're now officially in the Highlands and so we went out to the Observation Deck to drink in the gorgeous scenery. Eric decided to wear his crown, to see if his royal subjects extended to Scotland.

Auntie Martha pointed out that a sign at the train station — we were now near Bassetmoral, the official residence of the ancient Royal Basset Family.

Suddenly we realized that Auntie Bailey was no longer with us. "Oh no," said Auntie Martha, "I was afraid this might happen..."
"As you know, both Bailey and I were adopted when we were young pups. We don't know anything about our birth parents, and that's fine with me,"said Martha.

"Bailey, on the other hand, believes that she is related to the Royal Basset family, as she bears a strong resemblance to the 18th Century Dowager Queen. I was always afraid that if she got close to Bassetmoral, she might try to find some answers."

"Plus, she's always had the hots for Corgis."

Eric discovered she'd been seen heading off into the Cairngorms for some stag stalking.

(Cairngorms? I'm a Cairn Terrier and I've never had a Gorm. I have a whole mountain range named after me? Maybe I'm Scottish royalty too!)

Auntie Martha headed up the mountains along with some young cousins of Marvin's.

In fact, Marvin and Petey had decided to do some stalking of their own!

Sure enough, there was Auntie Bailey, busy stalking a majestic Highland stag, with Jake and Eric rounding out the hunting party.

"Did someone say 'STAG?'" said Lacie, spewing heron feathers out of the corner of her mouth, "Did I hear 'STAG' and 'PARTY' in the same sentence.....without the name 'LACIE'?!?!"

We picked up our binoculars and all at the same time exclaimed, "Oh, Deer!"

We made like a deer and high-tailed it back to the Royal Scotsman just before it pulled out of the station.

We joined our wise sage Hamish in the Dining Car for a nice cuppa and some Scottish Shortbread.

As we looked out the window on the dramatic Scottish coastline, we couldn't help but notice a lifeboat moving away from a beautiful cruise ship...

...They seemed to be keeping up with our train and headed right our way...

...Jake picked up a pair of binoculars for a closer look. "Look! One of those passengers seems kind of familiar...in fact, she looks quite beawooootiful!"

"Hey wait a minute!" said Petey, "I think I recognize another passenger as well!"

Sure enough, it was Kira and Mason Dixie!!! "When we heard about the big surprise birthday party for the Dughallmor Beagle gals, we had to come along to surprise our boyfriends Alfie and Snoop!"

Thank Dogness! Eric Square Dog just happened to have his semaphore flags handy so he signaled to the ship that Kira and Mason Dixie were alright and would be continuing their journey with us on the train.

We let our sea-faring friends check into their cabins while we all relaxed in the Lounge Car.

Jake checked out summer swimwear trends (he'd never been so far from his sunny Florida coast) whilst Eric read the latest issue of WIRED.

Marvin listed to some Three Dog Night on his iPup. Auntie Martha was quickly finishing up a knitting project for Rosie's birthday. (Why do I think this is Auntie's idea of a sexy nightie?)

I was making a nice cuppa for a tuckered out HRH Princess Auntie Bailey (this is how she wished to be addressed once we left Bassetmoral) when suddenly Hamish barked out..

"Hey look out the window!" There on the road parallel to the train tracks were none other than Clive and Asta! Once Asta knew her new nephew was home safe and sound, she quickly booked an AireRuby ticket to join us for the surprise party. Clive, ever happy to assist, popped over from Ireland to drive her to the party!

"We'll meet you at Dughallmor!" we shouted to them from the train.

And a few hours later, our party express train pulled into Elgin Station, loaded with presents, flowers, cake, and decorations galore!!! I hope Rosie and Gabbi (and Snoop and Alfie!) will be surprised and delighted to see us!!!

I'll take the high road...and I'll be in Scotland before ye!

Just like our golf balls on the crazy double greens at St. Andrews...we're on a roll! This time, rolling down the tracks through the Highlands on the Royal Scotsman.

And just look who got on board today! It's Marvin, my wise Scottish sage! He's been feeling a bit under the weather, but we decided the clean Highland air would be like a restorative tonic for him.

We presented him this antique print we found in Edinburgh to give to his gal Jeannie. I wonder if the Rocky Creek Scotties know these guys?

Ahhhhh! Sticking your head out of a window on a moving train is about 100 times better than sticking your head out a car window. And you know how great that is!

Poor Aunties! Thought they might take flight with those flapping ears!

Our next diversion on the way? The famous Malt Whisky Trail. I don't know anything about Whisky, but I know a Malted is a lot like a Milkshake and that's made with ice cream, and I love ice cream. So this sounds like the trail for me!

"Here's mud in your eye!" says Jakie, our earth dog.

"Bottoms up!" says Marvin, our kilt flipping pal.

"To our sweethearts and wives!!!" says Eric, "may they never meet!"

Even though our terrier ancestors came from Scotland, we obviously couldn't handle our Scotch whisky as well as the native-born Scots dogs.

Since Marvin is a Hollow Hound, he also has a hollow leg or four. So he made sure we lightweights got back on the train.

And where was Hamish the Westie, you might ask?

"Och aye! These wee bairns can barely hold their milk much less fine Scots whisky," he muttered, "I'm tucking into a nice haggis sandwich and then a nap."

"Wake me up for high tea with those saucy Aunties."

As we got further north, we spotted this strange looking creature. It was odd, and yet, vaguely familiar.

Reddish blonde hair? Check.

Stubbornly bull-headed? Check.

Always horny? DOUBLE CHECK!

AH HA! It's a Muckle Lacie Coo!

Tune in tomorrow when we're joined by mysterious castaways!

Shhhh! It's a birthday surprise! Don't tell!

Guess what? My darling wife Rosie is celebrating her 2nd birthday this Thursday. (I know, I know, a lady never tells her age!) And since Gabbi's birthday is just 9 days later, Jake and I decided to go pop over the big pee and surprise the two girls with a birthday party!

Naturally, we flew on AireRuby. Is there any other way to fly? We settled right in - Jake slipped on his new headset that cancels out all the high-pitched sounds that may make you howl uncontrollably on the plane.

When we arrived at Heathrow, my bestest pal Eric Square Dog was there to pick us up in his red Zoomer. Do you like his personalized license plate?

We headed off to the train station to catch the train to Scotland. Once there, we'd board the ultra luxe Royal Scotsman and pick up our pals along the way. Eric and I got into the spirit of things with my tam and his kilt. While Jakie went ahead and bought a bouquet of birthday balloons.

We switched to The Royal Scotsman in Edinburgh. There was a piper playing an authentic set of Laciepipes to welcome us aboard. Eric was so excited, he broke out into a Highland jig!

Our first stop was at St. Andrews to hit the links. Balls, deep holes filled with sand, lakes, sticks - sounds like the perfect sport for a group of terriers! Hamish Westie joined us to round out our foursome. Aren't we a handsome group on the famous bridge at the Old Course?

Being a New Yorker, I chose a black cap and sweater to wear with my white plus fours. Snazzy socks, huh?

Hamish also chose a classic look, wearing his family tartan. He came in under par, obviously being a Scots doggie in Scotland has its advantages when it comes to knowing your way around the course!

Jake wasn't so sure about the plus fours...until he sank his 25-foot putt. Which would have been terrific had his earthdog instincts not kicked in. He ended up tunneling from the hole to the tee of the next hole!

Eric decided to forgo traditional plus fours to sartorially show off his national pride!

Back aboard the Royal Scotsman! Next stop: to pick up Aunties Martha and Bailey Basset.

A classic beauty, Martha evoked images of days gone by when travel by train was exotic and glamourous....

While Auntie Bailey lost no time retiring to her room to relax in her favorite peignoir with a good book.
As the train pulls out into the dark night, we eagerly await our next Highland Fling adventures...