The Escalator and Spa Is Up and Working

This will be my final report on the construction of the escalator and rest stop built by our wonderful friend Enzo.  Unfortunately one of our friends had to be the first to experience the lift and sadly that was the beloved Gabby who passed over the River of Life with little warning this week.

Please says a prayer for Gabby’s Mom Jeannie who is lost without her special baby.  The problem with trial runs of Bridge improvements is that someone’s heart has to be broken to test it and we are very sorry it was Gabby’s Mom.  

As you know I had some special requests of my own concerning the improvements.  Before the escalator and rest stop were built I would get a page that a new angel needed to be sworn in at the top of the stairs.  Now I still get the page, but once the angel is done at the rest stop the angel blows a horn installed by Enzo that goes AWHOOOWAA which signals to me that the angel has boarded the escalator again.

I heard the AHWOOOOWAA that signaled Gabby was done and went to the top of the escalator.  Sitting on one of the steps, slowly being lifted, as pretty as anything you have ever seen, pampered, groomed, and well fed, was Gabby.     I stood right at the top of the escalator which proved to be a mistake because Gabby’s momentum knocked her into me and I fell over.

I ignored the snickers of the gathered angels.  I was anxious to hear about how the rest area worked but I would have to wait for Ladybug to fix Gabby for her wings and Tommy to bring Gabby to a TV so she could check on her Mom.  I waited for an eternity (which for me is about 15 minutes) then approached Gabby about the new accommodations

.In short Gabby told me the new escalator was a huge success.  She was very tired when she arrived and she was gently lifted higher.  At the midpoint the escalator stopped..  Gabby was brought to a comfy chair and given a big bowl of popcorn and the beverage of her choice.  She was given a massage, a haircut, a shampoo and a long hot bath while she was fed chocolate and other previous forbidden foods as well as the best poultry, fish and meat then a nice piece of cake for dessert.

    While it did not make up for the loss of her Mom Gabby said it made the adjustment easier and that is all we wanted.

    Now we just have to hope it does not get smotted.

Wordless Wednesday

Pocket's Review of Bioterrorism Seized the Sea

I have been remiss not to write a review of Bioterrorism Seized The Sea: A Hobo Hudson Adventure available from Amazon at this link.

 

Ghost written by our enterprising friend Hobo Hudson who used his Mom’s name as the author to hide his income from pesky IRS auditors.  For anyone who is a fan of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series, or a fan of adventure in any form, this book is quite the read.

But before I delve into the review proper I have to disclose that my angel sister Foley Monster and I are mentioned in the book and there is also a scullious rumor written by Hobo himself that I had a crush on him which is not true.  That is the only part of the book that is fictional.  The rest, I truly believe, took place.

When I told Foley during one of her dream lectures (I meant visits) that I would be writing this review she told me to make sure I emphasized that without her the entire adventure could not have been written, and the outcome quite different.

The book open with  Hobo at camp while his parents are on a cruise.  He hears on the news that there is a bio-terrorist attack on a cruise ship and determines his parent’s lives are in danger.  Hobo, mostly known as a dog investor and business owner, proves himself to be an action hero as he devises a plan to get on the boat and save his family.  To do so he must rely on technology discovered by my sister Foley Monster:  The ability to download one’s self from place to place using the Internet.

Hobo and Ludwig, an unwitting camp guest who finds himself Hobo’s accomplice end up in the series of tubes that is in Internet at first searching for Foley’s map of the Internet and then, unable to find Foley’s map, which I haven’t been able to locate either, are left to their own devices to find the ship.  After a series of errors the combination of Hobo’s guile and Ludwig’s innocent observations they find their way to the ship and encounter the terrorists.

How do two dogs intervene to stop a terrorist attack on a ship where both the terrorists and the people Hobo and Ludwig are determined to save want nothing more than to put a rope around their necks and either hang them or tie them in a room?  Well to find out you are going to have to keep turning the pages of this easy and enjoyable read.

Not only is this a fine adventure story but it is filled with many of Hobo’s spot on comments about the relationship between dogs and man.  He leaves no doubt that dogs are the superior species.  And without dogs, and our understanding of the Internet, the terrorists win.  So hats off to Hobo Hudson.  The richest dog in town, the bravest dogs in town, and the most entertaining dog in town.

Do yourself  favor and pick up a copy of Bioterrosim Seized the Sea.   You won’t put it down.

Shiloh, Jazzy and Jakie are our April 26, 2015 Pups of the Week

When I was on the mortal side of the Bridge I lived a blessed life.  Until the last week of my mortal life I rarely visited the vet except for yearly checkups.  I did have one problem:  My knee would pop out of place.  The first time it happened I screamed bloody murder and my parents rushed me to the vet.  During the car ride the knee popped back into place.  By the time I got to the vet’s my knee was fine.  The vet was still kind enough to charge my parents $200.00.  We are truly slaves to our own legs.

Walking on all fours is a much easier way to move than the bipeds insistence on walking on two legs.  But when something happens to one of them we either need to adapt like our friend Scooby or we need to go to the vet’s, find out what is wrong, and possibly have a very expensive operation.

We have three friends whose legs betrayed them this week:  Shiloh, Jazzy and Jakie.  These are their stories.

Shiloh was having an innocent day of fun with her Daddy and his Mom.  In fact it was so much fun she began doing zooms in the yard.  Suddenly she cried out and could not put any weight on her back right leg.  Her parents took her for xrays and they found a torn ligament.  She was scheduled for surgery two days later.  The good news was that Shiloh knew and trusted the vet who had already operated on Shiloh’s elbow when she was one and a half.   Her Mom calls Shiloh the million dollar pup.  It must be because Shiloh is so special.  Her Mom is a manager at Petco and with all the money our parents spend there she must be super rich so she couldn’t be concerned about money.

A couple of days later Shiloh was at her trusted vets.  It was very difficult on her parents to leave her alone but Shiloh has many angel friends and we flew down to keep her company and stayed with her while the skilled surgeon fixed Shiloh’s ligament.  After she awoke and spread Shiloh sweetness throughout the vet’s office her parents were called to return her home.  She was brought a new stuffed football toy to use as a pillow and headed home.  And now Shiloh is home, healing and should be as good as new soon.

   

Another good girl, Jazzy, had something happen to her ambulatory system this week and began to scream in pain.  She was rushed to the vet and he determined that Jazzy had an injured hip and put her on strict rest.  The next day Jazzy was in more pain and wasn’t eating.  The new vet discovered that the hip was fine but Jazzy had a soft tissue injury.  She was put on new medication and put on bed rest again.  Hopefully she is on the road to recovery.

    Finally there is Jakie who hurt his leg chasing after a rabbit.     His mother thinks that Jake did what I used to do and popped his knee out of place.  She is trying to do what my parents didn’t do and treat it without going to the vet and getting a big and unnecessary bill.  So best of luck to you Jake and heal fast.

    So we have three friends who need prayers for better wheels and not the kind that you get at Enzo’s garage.  Please pray that their wheels are fixed quickly and that they may run for a long time.

   

Ask Aunt Foley: Don't Ask Mother Natute

Dear Aunt Foley:  Why is is still snowing?  We can understand it snowing on Enzo’s mountain but why is it snowing here in Indiana?  Is it ever going to stop?    Your cold friends Boris and Minne.

Dear Boris and Minnie:  I am very sorry for your problems and sorrier to report to you that there isn’t much I can do about it.  Usually I take these issues to the Big Guy and he always has an open ear for me.  Weather problems are the purview of Mother Nature and nobody likes to deal with Mother Nature.  But for my good friends Boris and Max, accompanied  by their siblings Tupper and Max we went down the valley so see Mother Nature and ask that she make it stop snowing.  She whirled on us almost knocking all three of us on our tails.

“You are complaining about my weather?” she asked.  “Who are you to complain about the weather?  The wind, the snow, the rain, the cold, the heat, the sleet, they are all my children and they never ever call.  You think just once they could pick up the phone and say:  “Hi Mom, how are you?”  But no they are all out running around, living their own lives, no time for Mom.  You know where heat is now?  Heat is at Disney!  You think I got a postcard?  No, I got a text.

A text!  Who texts their parents?    Cold, I have no idea what he is doing at all.  I have glaciers melting in the Arctic, sea levels rising, and they are making it snow in the rust belt.  I call them, and I know they see it’s me on their caller ID, but do they want to talk to Mom?  No.  And do they listen when I tell them all this screwing around with the temperature is runing my designs?  No, they don’t care.  I have stretch marks larger than the Grand Canyon from those kids and do they care?  No.  So leave me alone.  I’ve got my own problems.  And go call your mothers!”

So my friends all I can tell you is to stock up on the jackets and booties.  It might be a long winter.

http://www.amazon.com/Small-Tales-Adventures-Tiny-Terriers/dp/1500982326/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1429896097&sr=8-3&keywords=small+tales+the+adventures

Cousin Neely is here by River Song

Our cousin Neely is here for a week while his family is at Disney World.  I am not happy about Nelly being here.  He takes away my attention time.

He’s not a bad chap.  He’s gone through some tough changes lately.  One Dad left, another man moved in, with three boys and another dog, and, with all those new humans and a dog, Nelly got pushed down the ladder a bit and that makes him sad.  He still has a very good life but attention wise he has been lacking.  If there is one thing my parents have it is plenty of attention for dogs.  But again, I am down a slight bit in that department.

When he first got here, even though he has been here before, he was timid.  I liked that.  He mostly laid on the floor because he is no longer allowed on the furniture in his house.  I think that’s a good rule:  For Neely.   But my parents aren’t real good at following the rules.

Soon he was sitting with Daddy in the recliner, getting whatever he wanted using those huge, dark, adoring eyes.  I hate when dogs use their eyes to manipulate humans.  He hasn’t got in the recliner with Mommy:  Yet.  He has tried but Mommy has reserved that, and the bed, as my spot with Pocket.   Although Nelly has tried a flanking assault by jumping over the side of the recliner on to her lap causing the great skedaddle.

River sleeps in the spare bedroom in his crate.  He goes right in and doesn’t complain.  Sometimes I feel guilty sleeping in the big bed while he sleeps alone in his crate.  There must be a homeless guy we can take in then put in the spare bed and let him sleep with Neely.

Neely is playing with my toys, and I have been generous in letting him, since his Mom did not bring any toys for him.  And he is eating our treats too, for the same reason.  He also chases Pocket’s ball, which Pocket does not like.  Even when you throw a different ball he chase Pocket’s.

And today he really broke the rules.  He jumped on the couch and peed.  Mommy was more than angry.  And boy did Neely get attention.  But not the kind he wanted.  We thought he was going back home right there but Mommy forgave him.  

So he is still here, through Sunday at least.  I think he is enjoying himself.  Maybe more than at his home.  If he gives us a good Yelp review maybe we will open up a spot for dogs who need a vacation.

Just bring your own toys, treats, bed and human to sleep with if you so need.

Wordless Wednesday