Home alone with a thanksgiving blessing

You know, when you're a dog, sometimes you get left out of things. Especially if your owners go away for the holiday. I felt so sad when Mom and Dad left me on Thanksgiving to go to their son Jerry's house. A holiday without the usual free treats and little kids is hard. Yes, I admit it, I pouted some. Nothing was going on in the neighborhood and even the resident escape artist Keisha didn't show up. I had nothing to bark about.Boring.yawn. But I got a big blessing when they returned home and had my friend Micah with them! I was very excited. It's been so lonely without my former roommate that seeing Micah perked me right up. We tried to squeeze through the door at the same time (oh how I miss that). I tried to chase him (not so good) and he tried to goad me into playing. I loved every minute of it. We both wolfed down our food in the morning and evening because cramming food in our mouths is a race you know. I wish Micah could have stayed longer. He feels like part of my pack. Thanksgiving is normally a great holiday. Lots of extra meat and fat, plenty of children around to scratch whatever itches. Have to watch my figure, though so don't feed me any sugary stuff. And in my case, a figure is a big white fuzzy square with legs. And though I missed all the food (did I need it? Don't ask), I did have fun with my friend Micah for the weekend. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for letting him play with me.Woof! We had fun!

Dad's Road Trip

Well, Dad is off to Thompson Falls, Montana today with our neighbor. They want a new dog, since their last one had to be put to sleep. My dad found one on the internet at a shelter in Thompson Falls. The neighbors are all excited about Dad and Eldora bringing it home. I'm kind of excited too, although I probably will not get to meet the dog for a while. Dad did tell the neighbors that if they ever needed a home for it, we would take it. Gosh I hope it's a nice dog. I was a shelter dog too, so I know that this new doggy will love having a forever home. I love my mom and dad. I can't imagine life without them. The new doggy will be in good hands with the neighbors. She actually cooks people food for her dogs every day...like rice and chicken...ummmm...maybe...I wonder...hmmmmmm think they'd trade?

Relatives

Have you ever noticed that when relatives come to visit things go a little crazy? No different at our house. Dr. Dana came to visit Mom 1, Mom 2 and Dad last week. She brought with her two really cool friends: "Bella" the Golden Retriever mix, and "Dutch" the Beagle. Now they're significantly younger than me, but it was fun to have them around. I did notice, however, that Dutch is an eating machine. For such a little guy, he pigs out on any food he can stick his sensitive nose in. Beagles are scent hounds...and boy, does Dutch know where to find that smell of food. He followed everyone around in the kitchen nearly every waking minute, begging with those handsome dark eyes. And frequently he'd eat MY food! He's lucky I'm not a German Shepherd or he'd have been lunch. Bella, on the other hand, was mellow and gentle. She just didn't react to much of anything. Which I loved. I sniffed her, followed her around, and in general got along famously. I liked her a lot. Do ya think Dana would let me keep her? Probably not. Woof. It's lonely around here without Riley Sue. I enjoyed my relatives. I feel bad for most humans; when relatives come to visit they tend to get cranky. I'm glad my Mom and Dad enjoy people enough to tolerate their little issues. And they tolerate mine, so I know they love both people and us animals. That Mom would work out a way to feed all three of us at once while they were here was amazing. I also noticed that she could get Dutch the beggar to sit and back up a little with one "chush" and a finger snap. That made me smile.

Mortality

I lost my sister yesterday. All the times she bit me or snobbishly ignored me didn't matter anymore because she got really sick and passed on. Allison her mom brought her by the last three days of her life so I could be with her, which was really nice. Now that she's gone, I miss her. I could smell that she didn't feel good. (Dogs can detect illness, did you know that?) My nose may not be the greatest anymore, but I could tell she was sick. Sometimes Riley Sue was nice to me, which was probably an accident or something. We'd sleep side by side on the floor, and she sometimes even let me sniff her rear end without getting chomped. I think she was mellowing these last couple of years. Wouldn't you know she'd nice and then have to go Home. It's a sad fact of life that all of us at one time or another have to leave this earth. My Mom believes that dogs go to Heaven.I stuffed my head on her lap once to hear why- it's because humans love them so much, and even pray for them. If God loves the humans, then He obviously loves their animals too. I knew that, by the way, I just wanted to hear her say it. I know that I will see Riley Sue again. And I'm sure she'll be even nicer since she'll be one of the beloved animals of Heaven. One day it will be my turn to so see her. I hope I'll stick around long enough that my Mom can handle it better. She's been kind of teary-eyed all day. Goodbye, Riley Sue. I miss you. Love, Red Dog

Pecorino

Images copyrighted by Toni Anzenberger at www.anzenbergergallery.com Used by permission. Hi. Mom told me yesterday that a special friend of mine passed away: Pecorino the dog. If you're wondering who that was, I'm sad that you never knew him. He was one of the most photographed dogs in the world. And he was absolutely adorable! Toni Anzenberger adopted him and named him "Pecorino" because he thought the name meant "Little Sheep." Well, not exactly, it turned out to be a kind of sheep cheese. Nobody's perfect. What a great dog. He was white with black spots all over his coat. No idea what breed he was, but he was definitely the luckiest dog alive. He went with his owner all over the world,and got his picture taken in amazing places. Now I may not speak German like his owner does, but I could tell even through the language barrier that his dad was very sad about Pecorino's passing. I'm sad too. He let me be on his facebook page- how cool is that? So in tribute to my friend Pecorino, give your dog a high five paw and say thanks to that beautiful canine for all the marvelous pictures through the years. He's got sons and daughters, so there will be someone to carry on the legacy! Woof! I'll miss you, Pecorino!

Weapons Race

So mom finally finished up a preliminary copy one of the manuscripts for the book she and her friend have been working on for almost a year and a half. At least she THINKS she finished it up. It's almost been a crazy race for her and her partner to finish. One gets something fixed and the other changes it. It's the same thing with dog ownership sometimes, if you think about it. One of our neighbors bought themselves a brindle pit bull. Another newer neighbor bought a brown and white pit bull.Then the neighbors on the corner decided they needed guard dogs too and bought a pit bull mix of some sort. The only loose dog in the neighborhood is Keisha, and she's actually getting better. But the other day one of the pits cornered Keisha in her yard and that scared even me, the big fuzzy white hassock! I think the neighbors are all in flip-flop dog buying mode, and that's dangerous. It's almost like the humans and their weapons programs. Only these folks are doing it with dogs! This morning when mom and I walked by that Cadre of Cacophony, I was a little unhinged by the viciousness of their barks. Fortunately Mom just keeps going and doesn't let me look close at any of them. Otherwise I think I'd run. I'll defend myself, but at my age, it's just better if Mom defends me. Most of the usual dogs in the neighborhood are just excited or noisy. No big snort. These new ones have a whole different tone. It makes me nervous. In fact maybe I'll call mom's new friend up and have him take care of the pits. You think he could do it? Read his book and find out!

My Mom and Dogs, Wolves, and Wild Horses

It's been a while since Mom let me talk to you all, (mostly because she's been feverishly working on her and her partner's latest book BobbyConvict.). From what she told me it's gonna be a wild ride for readers. I wanted to talk to you today about some situations that are making me snarly and want to bite people (that's going some, too because I'm pretty laid back. No, I mean I lay on my back most of the time under the flower bush...). Idaho lets people kill wolves. I hate that. Mom used to own a wolf-mix dog that was a sweetheart (aside from his eating-the-couch habit). I saw her face today when she got a letter from a group that showed a dead wolf on the envelope. She had to put it in the garbage or she would have burst into tears. My mom loves wolves. She loves dogs. She loves horses. She just flat loves animals. And she can't bear the news of their death and destruction by humans. I've even heard her beg the Lord to come back just to stop the killing! Later after the mail came, she got an email from a group that showed the inhumane treatment of wild horses. Honestly, I thought she was going to fall on her knees. You know, Mom believes that cruelty to animals is a spiritual thing. She says that if people hurt animals, the gifts God gave us all, it's because they are wicked. (She said that's in Proverbs 12:10). The spirit of murder is a scary critter- it often uses animals as its victims, and paints a nice logical face on the acts. ("management" and other words come out of its evil mouth). But we animals know better- we can smell that thing a long way off. Mom says that hunting is not murder if the meat is used for food- any other motive is a spirit of murder. Willie-nillie destruction of animals is a spirit of murder. If your life is threatened by one, sometimes it has to be killed. But just doing it "because" is not a good excuse. And Mom hates those bumper stickers about killing wolves and wild horses. THAT's definitely a spirit of murder. What we need to do is ask God to keep Mom from ripping those stickers off people's bumpers while they're grocery shopping. Or hitting someone over the head with her purse if she gets mad at them. I think one of these days she might lose it and start yelling at one of them. Please help me keep her from doing that. She's my Mom and I love her. Would hate to see her get shot by some rancher who hates wolves and wild horses. Are you with me?