Top Dog

You're gonna LOVE this! This is the Snausages Man Pulls Sled Race which took place today in Alaska! A reversal of roles, as Life with Dogs say. Hmmm, what is that saying? "A picture is worth a thousand words."

On your mark, get set, GO!!!


Do you see who's in charge? Look closely.


Who's the boss now??!!!


They are all winners!

~ Photos by Al Grillo ~
~ Permission from Danielle Paleafico for me to post the pics ~

Here's an entertaining article about the race. http://www.adn.com/2010/03/02/1164386/dogs-become-drivers-in-publicity.html

Hee hee, Dogs Rule (and Cats, too)!!

Home Sweet Home

I Love Milk... Mao Mao Mao

Every time the magic food box door opens, I'm there!


May I have some milk, please?


It's not a lot but that's okay.


Mao, mao, mao! Quick Mom! Gimme, gimme, gimme!


Yum!

Fascinating

Such a fascinating machine. Does this paper dispenser dispense milk too? And salmon treats? Maybe if I just make a wish....

Bright Spot

Sometimes my parents have a bad day. When they see me, I cheer them up. They tell me "Prints, you are the bright spot in our lives." Mao, mao, mao. I'm glad I make them happy.

I Surrender!!!!

Actually, I take that back. I am irresistible so it's my parents who I've TRAINED to surrender to me!

The Visit

I didn't have the greatest of days a week ago Saturday for two reasons.

1. I was put in a C R A T E, then set atop the dining room table.

2. While I was in said C R A T E, lo-and-behold, a big white fluffy dog appeared right there in my dining room. This was THE Casper D Dog that I had been hearing about all week. My parents said he was gonna visit on Saturday and I can attest that he did visit.



My parents were surprised I made a low growl and not a hiss. Which is better? A growl or a hiss? Other than the growl, for the most part, I was pretty silent.

One of the first sentences out of Casper's Mum was how I was BIGGER than she expected. Is that a compliment?

When I was sent back upstairs to my main room, my parents were pleased that I seemed content and undisturbed at knowing a dog was downstairs. I didn't hold any grudges because I am a good cat, however I'm still gonna send my parents to the library to get a Training 101 book on Cat Behavior so they can understand me better. They keep telling me that I'm gonna have to get used to white fluffy dogs sooner or later, but they assured me they love me and I have a permanent home with them.

Because it was Valentine's Day, even though I am a cat and Casper is a dog, I presented Casper with a bag of sweet potato fry doggie treats. I have heard Casper is a sweet potato addict.





Casper's got that Elvis grin going on for him.


Casper sure is fluffy these days!


And Casper gave us a beautiful tapestry rolling bag with lots of cats on it. It can be used for shopping or for traveling.



See how small it can fold up and put into a suitcase? When my parents go on travel, all the cat souvenirs for me can go into it for the return trip home!



My parents love their new cat carrying bag! I am starting to think my parents are becoming CAT PEOPLE! That goes to show how well of a trainer I am.

Almost Famous

I just found out that the shelter where I adopted my parents from wants to interview me for their newsletter on "happy stories." I am so excited! I am almost famous! Hopefully I am a good interviewee so they choose my story for the newsletter. Cross your paws! Brian, I know you know how exciting this is for me. "Adopt Cats! We deserve it!"

Soul Mates

I am blessed to have found my soul mate. My Dad is my soul mate. I love him to pieces. Every chance I get, I try to sit on his lap. I've said it before and I'll say it again: My Dad is my favorite person!



P.S. Remember the camera adds on 10 pounds. I have actually lost weight since adopting my family.

My Barkday and Welcome Tegan!

Yappy Barkday to Me! Barkday? Yes, BARKday! I did not come with a birth certificate, so my parents gave me Angel Hana the Dog's Barkday. My barkday was February 5th, last Friday, and they said I turned 6 years old. Mom and Dad didn't celebrate with me on the actual date, but they did buy me some CatSip the next day and I got to partake in that. YUM!

I LOVE MILK!

For my Barkday, my good friends Tegan the Eskie and Gromit T. Cat sent me a Barkday card! I don't remember, but I think this was my very first Barkday card in all of my 6 years, so it's extra special to me. THANK YOU, TEGAN and GROMIT!



Such a cute little doggie on the card.


Look, Tegan and Gromit even wrote a message. They have great penmanship despite not having opposable thumbs.


This leads to a formal introduction of Tegan and her brand new dog blog! Check it out! This is Tegan. She looks very fashionable in her ribbon necklace!



Tegan had a tough start in life. Her first set of parents abused her by keeping her chained to the fence. They didn't keep tabs on the situation so Tegan became pregnant, then she was abandoned at a kill shelter! Fortunately Heart Bandits, a rescue for American Eskimos, came along and took Tegan under their wing. Tegan gave birth to 6 puppies when she herself was still a puppy. Despite being abused, she took great care of all her puppies. What a great Mom Tegan was. Today Tegan has been adopted into a loving family and has a brother named Gromit T. Cat.

Please give Tegan a big welcome at her new blog! Her blog is very fancy!

Thanks, Tegan and Gromit, for the Barkday card!

Enjoying My Walkies

These walkies aren't so bad after all. I am navigating the backyard with more enthusiasm and going longer distances.

I still crouch sometimes, after all, a bird could come swoop me up, like how a bird swooped an eskie (Kevin) up in the movie "The Proposal."



I just keep my eyes wide open.


See, I walked all the way over to the fence and gate. What's that on the ground in the corner? Is that a MOUSE TRAP?


I don't have to hide under my parents' wings anymore. I'm also able to be in the middle of the yard and not up against a wall.



Last time we went on a backyard walk, I walked over to the patio when the walk was over, and then stood in the doorway of the patio door. I couldn't decide if I wanted in or out!

For Goodness Sakes, Get Me a Decent Leash!

Mom, if you're gonna take a picture of me on a backyard walkie, for goodness sakes, get me a decent leash! This is SOOO embarrassing! I don't care if this is Hana's puppy leash. I need a brand new leash of my own, one that isn't coming undone.

Sigh....

But on to more important matters! Thank you for all your votes for Eskie Rescuers United! You helped to bump ERU from 3rd place to 2nd place! You cats and dogs are amazing! The power of the PAW!

Relaxing and A Request

Mom managed to take a photo of me sleeping on my new handmade pillow in the bay window, with my kitty grass right beside me. What a life, eh? Like I said, the training is going well!



I have a small request. We don't normally ask for things like this, but our good eskie friends, Snowball and Snoopy (and Jen their Human) who is involved with Eskie Rescuers United (ERU) needs some votes for her shelter. They are 3rd on the Connecticut list right now and we hope to help them bump up to 1st. If you have time, please go to:

• The Animal Rescue Site
  
• click on the right side purple tab "Shelter Challenge"
• enter eskie for the shelter
• enter CT for the state
• when "Eskie Rescuers United" from Colchester, CT shows up, click the "Vote" button
• you'll be prompted to enter in a text word that matches the picture, then click "Confirm Vote"
• you're allowed to vote once a day, but I'd just be thankful if you voted this one time.
  

Thank you!

Barkday Prezzies from Jasmine the Eskie

Yay, my "barkday" present arrived from Jasmine the Eskie! I am friends with many eskies because my Angel Sister is Hana the Dog and Hana was an eskie. I adopted my new family on November 14, 2009, didn't come with a birth certificate, but the vet estimates my age to be 5 years old. In honor of my sister, Hana, my parents gave me the same birthday as Hana's. So, I will turn a big 6 years old on February 5, 2010!

Let's open this present up!



My nose tells me this smells yummy! They are salmon treats!


Even when Mom takes the presents out of the box, I still want to sniff the salmon treats.


In addition to the freeze dried salmon treats, there are 2 cartons of Whiskas CatMilk Plus, 1 package of Temptations natural yellow fin tuna treats, 1 package of Temptations creamy dairy flavor treats (only 2 calories each, says the package... do I need to lose weight?), a 3 pack of "weeble wobble" roly poly mice, and a 4 pack of soft colorful balls! Hope I didn't miss anything.

Wow, that's a lot of loot from Jasmine!! This is a great sampler barkday present because my parents are STILL in CAT training. Jasmine is a smart Eskie and knows what cats like.


These Temptations look pretty awesome.


Wanna play roly poly mouse, Mom? (by the way, the hole in my head is filling in a bit. There's a little scabby next to the hole which is about to fall off. Otherwise, my hole is getting better each day.)


Remember that photos add an extra 10 pounds. I have actually lost weight since I adopted my new family.


I'm getting a bit hyper now... I'm really into playing mouse!


Mom is only going to let me try one new treat at a time just so she can make sure I'm not allergic to any one item. Is that smart? Some of my smarts have been escaping from the hole in my head, so I guess I gotta trust my Mom.

Dad said the first treat to try was gonna be the Whiskas CatMilk. He really loves feeding me milk because he knows how much I love milk.... I always say "Mao mao mao mao" when he gets the people milk out, but he says I have to kick the habit and lay off people milk. Jasmine's timing is excellent for me to try the Whiskas Cat Milk now! Mom didn't get a video of Dad feeding me the new Cat Milk, but I really wolfed it down! We will have to get a video later.

Here's a video of me checking out the package. I am so interested in the salmon treats!



This video is of me playing with the roly poly mouse! This is fun! It's a shame my Mom doesn't have 3 hands else this video would be of better quality.


Jasmine, you are the bestest dog friend ever! Thank you for the barkday gifts! We will hopefully be able to post more videos of me sampling the new treats and playing with all my new toys. I think Mom is going to get me a nice toy box so I can put all my toys in them.

Training Success and a Traveling Pillow

It's certainly been a busy, but rewarding, two months training my new humans. I think they've finally "got it!"

Most people just stick the vacuum cleaner as far as it'll go under the bed, crossing their fingers they are getting all the dust and dirt out, but not my parents. I have them well trained. Last week my parents cleaned UNDER the bed by COMPLETELY REMOVING THE MATTRESS so they could get at ALL the dirt and dust they have missed all these years. I give my parents 4 paws UP!

Here is the "before" pic... look at all that dust I was choking on!



Sorry, I was so excited they were cleaning that I forgot to take the "after" picture.

And here's another example of training success. My Mom AND DAD, went to the fabric store and look what they came back with. Fabric for ME! Mom made another bed for me. And she did this on her HOLIDAY from work (Martin Luther King Day). I've got the best Mom!



I have to snoopervise.


It's pretty good... very thick and warm. She used the best batting to go in the pillow.


Mom wanted there to be "walls" but instead she accidentally made "flat walls." She was going to fix it, but I told her I was happy with her work and didn't want her to exhaust herself. Even if her sewing skills aren't the best, she still is a really good Mom!

Here I'm just testing it out:


My new pillow blanket goes in the bay window in the kitchen, therefore my pillow is GREEN to match the outside foliage... Not only do I get a great bird's eye view, but I get to observe the outside in COMFORT AND STYLE!


Even though my pillow is supposed to be in the bay window, Mom moves it around for me so I can use it when I visit other places in the house. I guess it's a Traveling Pillow!

My New Best Friend

I sidled up to my new best friend yesterday!


I sat by him for a long long time. Then I decided to lie down next to him, my body against my new friend. Mom came and turned him off, and moved him a few inches away from me. She also noticed I was just about to rub my head up against him. After she moved him, I went to sit next to him again, and then she moved him AGAIN. Parents! I'm just trying to make a nice warm new friend with him.

p.s. My parents are avidly observing and monitoring the hole in my head. If the appearance gets worse or it does not heal up, it will be off to the V E T later this week! Dad thinks he had been giving me too much people milk lately, and that this is an allergic reaction. He knows he is not supposed to give me people milk. Maybe he will give me special cat milk then, once I get a few strands of fur back on my bald spot. I sure hope my hole grows closed so I can get special cat milk.