Hattie Mae is our March 11, 2012 pup of the week with special mentions for Hans and Remington

I hope you know that Pocket and I love you all equally. But, as in all packs, pups become closer to some pups than others. Among those we are closest to is Hattie Mae. I think all pups would agree they are closest to Hattie Mae too. I know each of us is special and unique in our own way but I don’t think there is either a more special or unique dog than our Hattie Mae. There are hundreds of ways she makes us smile, through her warm heart, her wonderful style, her sly sense of humor. Hattie Mae makes us all want to be better dogs.

So today, when we wandered into the Brigade and found out she was sick it was a cold slap to our muzzle. Hattie Mae sick? Oh my gosh, this cant be happening. She is the glue that holds us all together.

We think of Hattie as our diva but she is a Jack Russell at heart. And Jack Russells need to play. Yesterday she had her big friend Taylor and they played until she was exhausted. But after playing Hattie womited, and then she cried out in pain whenever she moved.

She went to her comfy spot and laid down. When her parents went to check on her she nipped them both protecting her hurting little body. Her parents knew they needed to take her to the emergency vet. But first they had to muzzle our poor baby. A Hattie Mae should never be muzzled.

In the vet’s waiting room she shook and cried in pain. In the vet’s office she was just chilling. Perfectly fine. Nothing to see here. Move along. The doctor suggested she go back to her regular not triple overtime doctor on Monday then asked her parents to pay the triple overtime bill.

When they got back in the car Hattie began crying in pain again. Well sometimes a girls needs to play hard to fix. She is resting today, and still crying in pain, while her worried friends gather and fret. We are sending major prayers and good JuJu out to our special friend. We pray also that she know how much we love her. Get better real soon Hattie.

While we are on the subject of good friends who need some prayers I would like to include my good friend Hans. He is a buddy from Doggyspace. He has been very sick lately. He has a growth and the dogtors have not been able to determine if it is an ulcer or a tumor. He has also had bleeding from an unknown. Last night he was falling a lot and his blood count is low. This has been very hard on his mother Miss Heather.

But she still found time to start on a new Doggyspace Group on Facebook. She thought it was a quicker way for everyone to keep in touch. If you are on Facebook and want to be on the Doggyspace group send me a message and we’ll make it happen. Mommy has agreed to help as an administrator. Don't worry. I will watch over her.

Finally there is my friend Remington from the Blog World. His wonderful blog can be read here.

He took very sick this week. He too was womiting. And when he womits it's the size of Pocket. He scared his poor Mom. But thankfully the vets prescribed medicine, and he is now healthy and happy.

Let's all get together and pray that the same good results happen for Hattie Mae and for Hans. We love you all.

Foley, Pocket and their friend Brody discuss the best spot to get table scraps

 
Foley Monster:  On Saturday night we had our sister Kim and our brother Chad with their children, ages 11. 6 and 10 months to our house to eat.  When you have a large group of guests, especially when they are young, and food is served, it is guaranteed that food will fall to the floor.  Now, when you’re a single dog, you can just lazily scan the perimeter licking droppings.  But when there are more than one dog you need to stake your claim to an area under the table and protect it.  Pocket and I have different strategies to getting the most food.  

Pocket:  My plan is simple.  Find the youngest member of the party and park my booty under their chair.  The younger the better.  On this night it would be Calvin, our ten month old nephew.  Young children are like dogs.  They don’t want something on their plate, they just nose it off, or use their paws, whatever is most useful.  Nobody can make it rain like a baby.  Sometimes you can’t even keep it up.  Under the baby is the place to be.

Foley Monster:  I certainly agree that babies are careless with their food.  But I take a different tact.  I get under the child who is the most active.  Every family has that one child who can never stay in their seat.  When they move they knock food off their plate or carry good and drop it.  Plus anything in their lap lands on the ground.  And they are the most likely to leave food unattended.  They may be underrated by there is good eating there.

Pocket:  This is foolishness.  It has to be the baby.  I can’t advise our friends to sit under an active child only to find out they took their Ritalin.  There are no pills for babies.  They are like a slot machine that always pays off.  Got to be the baby.  


Foley Monster:  If you are a lazy pup I suppose you could sit under the baby but an active child helps us soothe our need to hunt and gather.   You can’t just sit there and hope food falls from the sky, you need to hunt it down and gather it up.  

Pocket:  I am going to defer to our good friend Brody for help.  He lives with a toddler and baby.  He is living the dream.

Brody:   BEFORE I was banished to the crate during mealtimes, I would park my butt right by the toddler's chair. He was always tossing things to me, dropping things, etc.... With the baby, all you get is spit up, which, yes, I like (I warned you)....But I would definitely say,  park by the child who is  A) Eating solid foods    B) A bit clumsy or uncoordinated   C) Or the kid who has learned it is fun to sneak the doggy food   ;)   It's also a great thing when they let me out and i can help "clean" up the table's edge, the crumbs in the kids booster seat, and under his chair.  I have also trained my kid to pass me snacks through the bars of my crate, and he has on occasion hidden snacks in his toys in the living room for me to find later, I am sure.


Foley Monster:  Well, those are helpful hints.  I would say that he sides with me when he suggests we sit under the child who is the most clumsy.  Uncoordinated goes alone with active.

Pocket:  Sides with you?  What are you hard of reading?  Brody says a toddler.  He agrees with me.  Park under the toddler.  Clear as day.

Foley Monster:  We need one of those kind hearted kids who think it’s fun to slip dogs food.

Pocket:  I know, where do we get one of those, Craig’s list?


Foley Monster:  How about old people?  Do you get food from them?

Pocket:  I find they tend to lose entire slabs of meat but it is hard to run of with entire pieces of meat.  Plus I have been kicked from leg tremors.

Foley Monster:  I think we should stick with adolescents.  

Pocket:  Unless Mommy and Daddy start drinking again.

Foley Monster:  I know, some pups have all the luck..

A scared, wet black dog is our March 4, 2012 Pup of the Week

We are here to honor a wet, scared dog who lives next door to our friends Sandy, Maggie and Nikki and their wonderful parents.

On Friday their home got attacked by the weather demons.  Rain fell in vicious, skin cutting sheets.  Lightning lit up the sky so constantly a minor league baseball game could have been played without a single light bulb..  The wind howled with such intensity that earth bound squirrels took flight.  Hail slammed to the ground like Angry Birds gone mad.  The moon held water and the clouds swirled towards the ground looking to create a destructive path unconcerned with life, limb or property.  The only thing pups and parents could do was to get to the low ground and pray.  Sandy, Maggie, Nikki and their parents were doing exactly that when they noticed their neighbors, who live in a camper, hightailing it out of their wheeled abode.  Then they noticed the fleeing family’s pup abandoned, chasing them down the road.

The poor pup almost gets clipped by other drivers searching for higher ground.  Our terrific trio of pups’ Dad tried to cal the scared dog,, who had retreated to his yard, separated from their yard by a fence.  The scared dog would come to the edge of the fence, peer around, then retreat when brave Daddy took a step towards him.   Then ferocious Mom went out, into the storm.  She sat in the driveway, sweetly calling the scared dog, trying to get him to shelter.   Finally, he recognized what a sweet Mommy was like, and he came around the fence to her.  The scared, wet dog came to the brave, wet woman, and sat between her legs.  Her gave her sweet kisses than laid on his back on the wet driveway to be rubbed.  Once she gained the scared dog’s confidence she put food and water under the porch where she knew he would be safe and the dog climbed underneath happily.

Nikki, Sandy, and Maggie were very proud of their Mom, even though, before this incident, they had sent mutual snaps and growls across the fence.  And everyone knew Angel Bo had been next to the scared dog, softly whispering in its ear, saying it was safe, go to her.  Thankfully everyone was safe from the terrible storm.

When his humans returned the dog went back to his family.   The next day the Mom of Nikki, Sandy and Maggie, now known as Lea, Warrior Princess, went over to confront the owners who left their dog behind.  The dog’s human said that he was more interested in saving his family not his dog.  Lea, Warrior Princess told them that was a terrible attitude.  It then devolved into an argument about if the frightened pup comes into their yard too often starting problems with Nikki, Sandy and Maggie.  The scared pup’s Daddy said “so what if he does?”

We are surrounded by so many great pup owners we forget how many terrible ones there are.  There have been several humans who feel they should rescue this dog from his terrible owners, but these are his humans, and we are dogs, and while we may be mistreated, we still love our humans, because that’s why we’re here.

I do know a little bit about what this dog went through.  Sometimes my Mommy rolls over and takes most of the blankets.  Pocket tells me it’s not the same thing. *Shrugs*  But no matter her blanket hogging tendencies I still love my Mom.  

So this is to Nikki, Maggie, Sandy, Angel Bo and one wet lonely dog.  And to Aunt Lea, Warrior Princes.  You did all Moms proud.

Best in show? I say no

Pocket and I have watched the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show over and over and we have to tell you, we don’t get it.  When they line up those dogs for best in breed every dog looks exactly the same.  Where do we celebrate our individuality?

Pocket and I are in the Toy Group.  We are not happy about this.  We are not toys.  We are street smart, tough, small dogs.    If you pick us up do we squeak?  Well, OK, we do, but that is besides the point.  Do children fall in love with us instantly and want to play with us?  OK, that’s another yes.  When we sit very still in the window do people mistake us for fluffy toys?  Well, yes, true.  Maybe you can change it to the Rugged Toy Group.

Here are the breed characteristics for us Yorkies”

Overall
To be best in show I would have to have long hair.  Sorry Ringo.  This isn’t for me.  I don’t want to get my long snarls brushed every day.  And gosh knows what I would pick up on my walk.  And when I vick, how do I keep the hair out?   Do I have to walk on my front legs.  The whole long hair thing seems like a bad idea to me.  I don’t know why short haired Yorkies can’t be considered.  Personally I think both Pocket and I are beautiful dogs with short hair.  It says we should hold ourhead high and have an appearance of self-importance.  I think I have that one under control.  


Head
My head is supposed to be flat on top.  I don’t know what that means.  Am I supposed to walk around with a book on my head?   When I am at the groomers, and I bark that a dog is a flat head, it’s not a compliment.  My teeth are a problem, I’m missing a few.  Plus I have an over bite.  It is actually one of my best features because it makes my tongue stick out.   I don’t know how Pocket’s bite is except it hurt likes heck.  The nose needs to be black.  What other color could it be?  Well it could be brown because we have either eaten something we shouldn’t or really want Mom to like us.  Our eyes need to be sparkling with a sharp intelligent expression.  I think we have nice eyes.  But does it mean anything if our blog is sparkling with sharp intelligent expression  Also out eyes should be carried erect.  But if your eyes stay erect for more than four hours call your vet.

Body
Our bodies are supposed to be well proportioned and compact.  Well, I’m well proportioned and Pocket is compact.  Our shoulders should be the same height as our rump.  I am going to have to find my Suzanne Somers video to make that happen.  

Legs
It states our forelegs should be straight, our elbows either in nor out.  Excuse me:  But to be best is show I have to have elbows on my legs?  I think not.   Our hind legs stifles should be bent.  What the hell is a stifle, and why was Archie Bunker always ordering Edith to get him one>  Have you ever gone to the vet and told him you had an ache in your stifle?  How are you supposed to bend a body part we don’t know we have?  We also should have black toenails.  But what about my pedicures?  What lollipop would choose best in show over great nails?   Our declaws are also removed.  I have to ask:  If best in show is the best breed standard, why all the cosmetic surgery?

Tail
Our tail is to be docked to a medium length.  OK, this is where I waive the tail feather.  Yorkie tails are beautiful, leave us alone and let us fly our freak flag.  There is something wrong with a people who will dock your tail but leave your reproductives in place.  Then again there is something wrong with cutting off our reproductives and not docking our tail.  You people can’t wait to snip and clip can you?  It is like you all have Edward Scissorhand envy.  New  rule between dog and man:  You don’t clip and we don’t nip.  Or better yet you don’t dock and we won’t talk about your little clock.

Coat
Quality, texture and quantity of coat are of prime importance which are all things my Daddy said didn’t matter.  Our hair must be straight, not wavy, which is a real blow to the doggy mousse industry.  The rules say it should be floor length. Look, I like to clean the floor with my tongue but I’m not a swifter.  Oh and I should have a bow in my hair.  Why should I have to get myself dressed up pretty?  What am I some sweet harlot looking to pick up a Johnny Fun Time?  Personally I love our short haired looks.  Frankly I don’t have time to do my hair in the morning.

Colors
Puppies are born black and tan and are normally darker in body color, which makes Rick Santorum want to vomit.  The color of our hair continues to be important through life.  When I was in my rebellious age, three through five, I had a pink Mohawk.  That really set back my show dog career..  The richness of the tan on our head is important so apparently we need to resemble a drat of Guinness.  Also we need to be a dark steel-blue not a silver blue.  Personally I have had the I lost my ovaries blue for a long time.

Color on Body
Our blues have to extend over our body from the neck to the root of our tale.  Note:  In 1967 BB King had a top then hit with How Blue is My Tail?

Headfall
I don’t want to know what this means.  And I don’t want to know.  When I was Queen Yorkie in France I was know for saying “Let them eat kibble.”  Lots of pups lost their head of that one but I escape with mine.  

Chest and Legs
I’m not sure what they are going for here but I am sure implants are not appreciated.
.
Weight
Must not exceed seven pounds.  I don’t agree with this at all.  I think we are creating bulimic pups.  I weigh slightly over seven pounds.  Let’s here it for all the real lollipops with curves.  Woof, woof.

So neither Pocket or I will ever be best in show.  But we’re best in our house.  I don’t have a problem with show dogs.  They all seem like good pups to me.  But to our owners we don’t need a list of rules about what makes us perfect.  They know we are all truly perfect at heart.

Playing blog tag with Koli and Feli, and tagging two French Bulldogs

I checked out my good friend Koli’s blog http://www.kolchakpuggle.com/ a few days ago.  Koli said he loves to play tag.  Pocket like to play chasing games.  I like games where I get picked up, snuggled, and give licks.  So I am thinking oh Koly you sucker.

The idea of Koly getting tagged amused me.  And then I got to the end of the blog and found out that Koly tagged me.  Oh boo laa laa.   Then Pocket reminded me that I am considered a senior dog and I said, wait a minute, I think I can tag, I think I can tag, i think I can tag, I think I can tag, I can tag!  Look at me tagging!

After exhausting myself I re-read the blog and found out it was blog tagging.  Wow it was like reading War and Peace then finding out there was a movie.  So I have to answer some questions to qualify to tag someone else.  So here we go.  

#1: Describe yourself in 7 words
Beautiful Yorkie Lollipop Queen of all media

#2: What keeps you up at night?
Human farts.  Can we talk?  If you sleep in bed with Mommy and Daddy you know what I mean.   All night long it’s toot toot toot.  It’s like sleeping with the Miami Horns.  And the smell!  Not that I don’t like the smell.  I love the smell.  But you humans you need to understand.  When we’re under the covers and you fart”  First, it wakes us up.  Then comes the smell.  Have you, human, ever walked in a house and smelled delicious cookies baking and knew you couldn’t eat one?  That’s what it’s like when a human toots under a blanket.

#3: Who would you like to be?
Whether I'm right or whether I'm wrong
Whether I find a place in this world or never belong
I gotta be me, I've gotta be me
What else can I be but what I am

#4: What are you wearing right now?
I’m not that type of lollipop perv.  But, for all you Joan Rangers out there, I am wearing my red and black sweater that Smoochy’s Mom bought for me.  And I am best dressed.

#5: What scares you?
Oh the usual.  Dying alone.  Not making the mortgage .  The situation in Syria.  No, I’m just being silly.  There is only one ting that scares me.  That when Mommy and Daddy go out they won’t come back.  Everything else is just momentary problems.  But Mom and Dad are my everything.  

#6: The best and worst of blogging?
Well Pocket and I just love the feedback.  A lot.  There is nothing that makes us prouder than hearing that we made you smile.  Sometimes we even take satisfaction that we made you cry, if that was our intent.  If we wanted to make you laugh and your cried. that’s a problem.

The worst part is when we’re trying to think of a blog. Sometimes I just wait for Pocket or Daddy to do something silly.  Doesn’t take too long.  In those rare instances when that doesn’t happen I might have to look up dog news.  But usually Daddy and Pocket don’t let me down.

#7: Last website You Visited?
It was the Tanner Brigade.  We are working on a super secret special project.  We will be announcing it soon.  We also visited Twitter, Facebook and Blogger where we have lots of friends and Google Plus where, I think, they think we are freaks.  

#8: What is one thing I would change about myself?
What. are you serious?  Have you seen me?  I have it going on.  Maybe a little less girth but not much.  Or being a better speller.  Maybe a few years younger.  But you know what?  I’m a dog and unlike humans we are very content with who we are

#9: Slankets: yes or no?
We do have sweaters and coats but no slankets.  I like being warm but am not crazy about being hot.  I spend most of the night sleeping above the covers.  Not six feet over the covers, I am not possessed, but lying on top of them.  Mommy has a snuggly.  I like lying on top of it.  If I got a slanket I would lie on top of it.  Is that bad form?

#10: Tell us something about the dogs that tagged you.
Oh what can’t we tell you about Kolchak and Felix.  We go to them for everything.  For advice in food, for blogging advice, for good friendship which they have plenty of.  They are truly an inspiration in this blogging world of ours.  They did all the work to change our blog.  They have helped us promote it.  And they did it for nothing.  (Well, Aunt Jodi stole our couch.)   In our opinion Aunt Jodi, Kolchak and Felix are the best even if they are Canadian.  The day we met them is our gotcha day because it’s a day we met such great friends  

Alright folks, YOU'RE IT!   
Who to tag?  Who to tag?  I tag:  Benny and Lily, of http://www.twofrenchbulldogs.com/ /  Let’s see what you have your terrifically fun pair.  

Thank you Mr Tunes you wonderful breed of a dog

Look at the wonderful gift Mr. Tunes sent to us.  The picture does not do it justice (my photographers are terrible.)

Thank you so much Tommy and his very well trained Dad Steve.  This meant a great deal to us.  We are blessed to call you our friends.  You  fill the hearts of all your friends with love and understanding.  We are all dogs who sometimes stray but you are our Shepard always leading us to peace and safety.  We are so proud to have the privilege to call you friend. 

Erin and Max are our February 26, 2012 pups of the week

We recognize two pups this week.  Two pups who will probably never read this.  Two pups whose Moms won’t be able to read this either.  If a pup of week is recognized in a forest and they aren’t there for the ceremony do they know it?  Doesn’t matter.  When it comes to pups of the week I go by my heart.  

One of these pups you have never (excepting one.)  The other you know well but haven’t seen in a long time.  And I owe tracking them down to the intrepid Hobo Hudson.  If you are unfamiliar with his wonderful writings you can read them here, and his Mom’s columns here.  Both are very informative.

While Hobo is as good a dog who has ever barked a tree we are here to thank him, not to honor him.

The first is the dog we have never met.  His name is Max.  He doesn’t have a computer profile anywhere.  He is Interneterlly homeless.  But when it comes to real homes he is very lucky.  His name is Max and he is the brother of one of our most beloved Bridge friends:  Ladybug.  Since Ladybug went to the Bridge we haven’t heard much from her.  But sometimes these sites are too painful to come to for our Moms after we go to the Bridge.



But Max’s Mom hasn’t been able to get on the computer.  She has had family problems, and she has had bad arthritis.  The kind that keeps are Mom’s off the computer.  The kind that keeps her from all the friends she has made in the social dog world.   I can’t imagine how sad that would make both my Mom and me.  To know that all our friends are just on the other side of that keyboard but not being able to get to them.  My Mommy has bad arthritis in her legs and back.  It hasn’t reached her hands yet.  Sometimes the Bridge separates us from our friends.  Sometimes it’s the pain of Earth that does.  If Max ever reads this I want him to know that I was Ladybug’s friend and even though we haven’t barked, I am his.

Our second Pup we recognize is well known on The Tanner Brigade, in the blogging world, and for those long time members of DS.  She is a German Shepard called Erin and her mother’s named is Donna.  Together they taught many of the older members of DS, and many other dog  bloggers, the ability to design their own pages.  She showed an enormous amount of patience with us bloggers, who weren’t very smart.


It seems to many of us that there wouldn’t be any dog blogging if it wasn’t for Erin.  It’s like she created the entire medium.  She certainly did a lot to improve our blog pages.  Her Freedom to Bark blog is still up here.

She too, because of physical problems has not been able to be on the computer.  Erin not being on the computer is like Michael Jordan not being able to play basketball.  Like Max’s Mom we miss her friendship and her humor.  And I know it is hell for her not to be able to bark at her good friends.

So this is for Max and Erin and their Mom’s.  You are in our heart always and hopefully you will be on our pages soon.  Until then we will keep praying.