Happy campers

Ahoy! It's been a long while since I last posted... sorry about that! Did you miss the doggies? We've been super busy and we just got back from a week-long vacay! Aren't those some happy-lookin' campers? To make up for our absence we'll have lotsa pics up here shortly... just bear with me a bit as I settle back in!

Hey hey, it's my birthday!

Happy Bday!
Today we celebrate Ben, who turns 11! When I brought home this lively 8-week old pup, I thought I was ready for everything. Ha! He showed me! One of the greatest gifts that Ben brought me was patience, and a constant remember to slow down and take time to smell the roses. Everyday this dog warms my heart golden. Happy Birthday to my best boy!

I dug up a few journal entries to share from Ben's "Puppy Ben" website from 1998. Enjoy the antics of vintage Ben!

Week ending July 4,1998
Weight: 8.2 lbs

My First Week: My first night in my new home was a long one. I cried for an hour. But I have my own little hideaway. My crate is comfortable, and I have a warm red blanket and lots of fun toys to play with. My sheepskin bone is my favorite. It squeaks when I bite it and it makes me all excited!

New Neighbors: Within a few days, I met Jazz, a German Shepherd puppy, two weeks older than me, and Blue, a huge 11 month old Mastiff "puppy," and finally, Hoby, a 7 year old West Highland Terrier. And they're my neighbors! I'll always have playmates!

Nickname: My person makes fun of me sometimes and calls me "devil dog." Cuz' when I play and roll over, the whites of my eyes show and my lips pull back to show my sharp lil puppy fangs!

Week ending July 18,1998
Weight: 11.9 lbs

Good Puppy: I walked into my crate all by myself to go to sleep for the night!

Curious Object: Jezebel, the sheep, is really neat. I'm still kind of scared to go up to her. The last time I tried, she tried to head butt me from the other side of the fence! What was that about?!

Unpleasant Experience: I had to go to the vet this week cuz' I felt sick. I didn't feel like eating, and when I did I would spit up everything. It turns out that I ate something bad and it upset my tummy! Whatever it was I ate, I hope I don't eat it again!

Spring Tease

Business and happy fun snowtimes

Happy fun snowtimes

We got a late winter snow earlier this week that gave us about 7.5 inches of pure fun. (It's always nice to get one good snowfall that sticks around for more than 3 days... around here that's a rarity!) I love my dogs in the snow... they get happy and perky... and act with wild abandon. Leaping, hopping, pouncing.

In the middle of the snowstorm at about 130am, I took the dogs out for a walk. I had Molls off-leash and Ben was dragging an old lead. I love the sound of the snow falling. If you listen carefully you can hear it. No cars. At that moment, few other noises than the jingling of dog tags and the hushed snowfall can be heard. Peaceful. Quiet.

That serenity, however, was punctuated by my happy perky dogs... you know, the ones acting with wild abandon in the snow. Leaping. Hopping. Pouncing. Barking. At 2am in the morning. They were chasing each other through the untouched snow, barking and snarling. A lot. I mean a lot more than a typical sunny daytime fun run. Happy perky excited by snow kind of barking. Molly barking at me to throw something. Frisbee... Ohhh wait. Snow? Snowbaaall!!! Throw me a snowball! Pul-eeeasssse! And Ben barking at Molly barking at me. My attempts to quiet them were only partially successful, perhaps because I was laughing at their antics and snow covered faces. I think we got home before the neighbors felt inclined to do something about our wee hours of the morning insubordination. It was fun though. When all my neighbors were out shoveling the snow during actual waking hours, I did apologize but it turns out they didn't hear a peep. Yay for us!

Bye-bye happy fun snowtimes. Thanks for a good visit. See ya next winter!

No one messes with the Mollster

Cold temps, cuddly dogs

Because a post without a pic is not much fun, let Ben entertain ya. Here he is with his sleepy grin.

The other night as temps outside hovered below freezing, I was indoors, watchin’ TV, nestled in my plush electric throw. Molly was snoring in her donut bed. Ben was laying on the floor, his back against the length of the sofa. I let out a big ol’ exaggerated yawn and stretched out my legs and arms. Within seconds, Molly awoke and did her best imitation of my yawn (scarily... very human sounding), and hopped up on the sofa and plopped herself into a neat little pile next to me. Ben stirred, looked over at Molly and stood up, did his stretches – first front legs, then back legs one at a time, and jumped on the sofa to join me. Ben nestled right up against my side, blinked at me and gingerly rested his head on my lap and let out a big deep sigh. My heart warmed. I’m just lovin’ up these dogs!

Welcoming in the new year