I have to complain, but I learned something really nice!

Before I start complaining mom said she found out today when my birthday was! Grandma Judy e-mailed this morning and my birthday is July 5. Isn't that great? I'll be 8 years old this year! Now mom can bake me a potato cake or something to celebrate.

Now, about the complaining. We have lots of trees in our yard. LOTS of trees. Most are cottonwood trees and they have these things that fall out of the tree and they are sticky. Really, really sticky. They stick to me everywhere! They even stick to my feet and get in between my toes. I really don't like that. I have to chew and chew to get them off my feet and that's hard for me because I only have 4 teeth! The other day mom must have seen how much they were starting to hurt because she decided to get them off my feet. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my mom, but I don't like anybody to touch my feet. Ever. For ANY reason. Just leave my feet alone! Well, mom picked me up and put me on her lap and then TOUCHED MY FEET! Yikes! I screamed and cried and wailed. But she didn't put me down. You know what she did? She gave me a big hug and told me she loved me and she would never hurt me. Never hurt me! Can you believe that? I mean, she hasn't hurt me or anything since I've been here, but I really just thought it was a matter of time before she and dad or somebody got really mad at me and hit me or threw a shoe at me or something. But they never have. And now she told me she never would! Can you imagine that? Wow. After that I thought I'd put her to the test, I just sat in her lap and let her try to get those old nasty things off my feet, and you know what? She didn't hurt me? It was a little uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt. All that screaming I did for nothing. I feel kind of silly now...

It's been raining a lot. Every day for 3 days it's been raining. I don't like the rain much, but I figured out that I can go potty in mom's and dad's flower garden. All I have to do is jump from the back stairs across a little space and right into the garden. It doesn't rain over there so I don't get wet. So far so good because she hasn't planted the flowers yet, but I don't know how happy she'll be later this summer. I've had to wear my T-shirt because it's been cool too. You know how I feel about that!

You know what I really like? Dad washes my bed every week. I have a fresh clean bed all the time! It's so nice. Grandma Judy's was nice like that too, but I thought when I came home with mom and dad that they would just leave my room alone and pretty soon it would smell like my old home, pretty bad. That hasn't really happened though. I love dad, he does all kind of good things for me. Mom says she just amazed because every time she tells me to go find dad I do. I go right to him. He usually holds me for a long time on his lap when I do find him and that makes me happy. I love being held.

Yesterday mom was sitting on the sofa with all the other kids laying on her and she was reading a book when I decided I wanted to sit on her lap. She told me no! Can you imagine that? She told he she couldn't pick me up, so I should go lay down in my bed. I couldn't believe it! When she told me no again I started to go to my room, but then I remembered mom had bought me a new squeaky toy last week and it still squeaks so I went to my toy corner close to mom and just squeaked and squeaked and squeaked my toy. Finally mom put the other dogs on the floor and came over and picked me up. If I had known it was that easy to get picked up I would have done it sooner!

Later,
Chuck

My ears are better!

Mom got some little steroid pills to give me last week. She thinks she's being sneaky by giving them to me in a piece of my food, but I know they're there! I just go ahead and eat them anyway because I know she'll just grind them up and that makes my food taste nasty. I think the medicine might be working, that makes me want to take it too! Yesterday mom was playing with my ears (I don't like that at all - I growled a little but mom just held me tighter and told me she wasn't going to hurt me.) She got a great big piece of scab off my ear - whew, what a relief! I don't have to shake my head so much now since those things are gone. They were really annoying me, but I couldn't get them to come off. I'm sorry I growled at mom now, she sure made me feel better.

Ruger got in the garbage today. Really, it was Ruger. Unfortunately, when dad came home for lunch I was the one who got caught! Dad even yelled at me! Can you believe that? Dad never yells at me, but he sure did today. Maybe it was because I, er, um, I mean Ruger tore the garbage bag open and spread all those goodies all over the deck. Well, they were goodies to us anyway. I can't figure out why they throw such tempting morsels away. Who can figure what humans think? Anyway, I tried to let dad know that Ruger is the one who did it, but I don't think he believed me. Well, maybe he did because Ruger and I both had to stay in the little room this afternoon. It was worth it though - there was hamburger in the trash! Yum!

It rained the other day and I didn't want to go all the way outside to go potty so I went on the back porch, I think dad was upset about that too. What's a dog supposed to do when it rains? I'd like to see HIM go outside to go to the bathroom and stand in the rain. Geez. Buttercup still goes outside into the yard, silly girl. Dad had to go carry her in when he went back to work, she growled at him because she didn't want to come in, but dad just laughed and picked her up! Haha! She wanted to stay outside and bark at the squirrels, but she was outside for a long time anyway. Mom tried her off with a towel when she got in the house - boy was she mad. Buttercup doesn't like mom or anybody to use a towel to dry her off. Good thing she doesn't have to take as many baths as I do. While mom was drying her off she kept showing her teeth. Mom said, "Look at her smile!" I don't think she was smiling, but I wasn't going to tell mom that! Mom made me wear that new shirt she bought me the other day. I showed her, I got out of it right away. She put it back on, I took it off, she put it back on, I took it off. When dad got home I left it on though. I thought maybe he wouldn't believe mom when she told him I kept taking it off. That was a pretty funny joke to play on mom! Well, I better get off the computer. I hear thunder outside. Night everybody!

A long weekend...

Mom and dad were busy all day Friday and Saturday so we spent a lot of time in our little room. That is SO boring. Heidi always tries to steal my bed and Buttercup and Ruger want the blankets. I've started letting them know they're not going to push ME around! No sir. They are NOT going to get under the blanket if I'm laying on it. They can lay on the bare floor and see how they like it. I think mom felt guilty for being gone so long on Friday so she bought a new toy for us. She says it's for all of us, but it squeaks, so it's mine. Only mine. I've got it in my toy corner and nobody better even think about taking it. Dad got the carpet all wet with the noisy machine on Friday night so he put my toys up in the chair. I can't jump up on the chair, it's too big, so I was pretty mad at dad. I went to my bed and wouldn't come out later to go outside. I showed them though, I left a big mess in the bathroom overnight. I bet they don't don't hide my toys anymore.

We had a lot of company Saturday but there weren't many kids, so I was happy about that. I didn't feel like I had to go and hide. The only one I have to hide from is the one they call "Gabe." He doesn't stand up yet and crawls all over like me. He didn't used to be very fast, but he's faster than me now, so I sat in mom's lap when they were here. Even Ruger hides under the couch when Gabe is around. He's a nice kid, but he's kind of loud and scary to me.

Either mom or dad was home with us all day today - that was much better. Just the way I like it. Mom got some steroid pills from Dr. Jesske for my ears. They were all swollen again. They're doing a bit better I think. I wish I could get the scabs off, but no matter how hard I shake my head they're still there. Dad keeps putting this stuff on them, but they still stay there. I feel like they're always going to be stuck to my ears. It's better than bleeding, I guess.

It so warm and the grass is so much fun to lay in. Mom got me another T-shirt. Bother! The only thing I really don't like is dad has these 2 really big, really noisy toys. The first one is red and he rides on it all over the yard and it sprays grass on me and the other dogs. I don't like it. When I see him open the big garage I go hide. The other one blows loud air and the leaves and grass blow all over. I HATE that one. I don't want to even be outside when he gets that out. What kind of fun can they possibly be? I know they're toys, that's what mom calls them - Dad's toys. I just don't understand.

Here is Heidi and me in my bed. She got in first, thinking I wouldn't get in because there wasn't enough room. Hey, it's MY bed, sister! 

Here's my brother Ruger, doesn't he sit funny? 

Here I am in all my glory! Am I handsome or what? No... "What" is not the correct answer!  

Here I am sitting on dad's lap after lunch. He didn't give me any of his, either!  

I've Been a Busy Boy

The weather has turned nice! I'm so glad, I can lay out on the porch and enjoy the sun, it feels so good. Now mom is worried though that I might get sunburned so she's going to make me wear my T-shirt when I go outside. I can't win. A sweater in the winter and a T-shirt in the summer. Can't she figure out dogs just like to ge NAKED?!?! None of the other dogs have to wear ths stuff in the summer. It's not fair!

All the other dogs had to go see the vet the other day. They ALL had to get shots too -- HAHA! Ruger and Buttercup had to have their bottoms cleaned out too - Ruger is still complaining about that. I guess he doesn't like that very much. I can't say that I blame him though. They didn't even get to see Dr. Jesske. He's my favorite. Heidi and Ruger told me Dr. Kroeger and Dr. Sternberg are good doctors too, but I've got my favorite and it's not them. Maybe someday I'll get to meet them too.

All my dry dog food is finally gone. Now I get canned food all the time yum! Mom says it better be good 'cause for what it costs we're all going to be eating it pretty soon. I hope she's not serious. They don't share their food with me, I shouldn't have to share my food with them!

Last night we had to spend some time in the "tornado room." I don't know what it is, but I can tell you the floor in that room is cold! Dad put us down there because mom was home and he thought he might have to go out and be a storm spotter. I barked and barked. That was NOT a warm place to me. Luckily mom got home and we didn't have to stay down there. And those awful sirens didn't go off either. Man, I don't like those things!

My ears are kind of hot and fat again. Dad has been putting some kind of medicine on them, so the scabs are almost all gone, but now they're fat again. Maybe I'll have to get another shot. I'm starting to not like shots very much. Well, I hear mom in the other room so I better go before she catches me in here. Bye for now!