Paying Respect

To the Godfather of Soul...

RIP James - Stay Funky!

Love,
Bogart
To Aire is Divine

Aire Treats

You know, I never noticed this before... not only is there a suspiciously-Airedale-looking terrier on the box of Nutro treats but each one has an Airedale profile stamped into it!

Mmmmmm.....

And look how well-trained I have gotten mom - all I have to do is put on "the face" and she first opens the box for me then a little extra eye action and she reaches in to get me a treat. Goooooooooooood Mom.



Love,
Bogart
To Aire is Divine

Christmas... Finally!!!

Ah, Christmas finally is here and I can tear into the packages under the tree... magically, several more appeared than before so I was happy to help get those open as well (especially the ones for the cats... their treats are always tastier than my own).

I got three major presents... Doggles, a heart-shaped pillow, and a very large bone that mom couldn't capture me eating - yes, eating - because so much of it was already consumed by the time that the camera was up and running. And yes, I did "test out" the pillow for it's hump-ability... and it's a little too short for any serious humping. Tossing around in the air - perfect.

While I think I look incredibly spiffy in my new Doggles I think I already hate them. Since I've never liked things on my head, these are especially annoying. They go around my head, under my ears, and under my chin. A triple whammy.

The cats all got their own heart-shaped pillows too and a few new beds - and the most incredible salmon treats I've ever tasted. I didn't care so much for the catnip treats (what do cats see in that stuff anyway?) but the salmon... mmm, mmm, mmm. Yummy.

Not long after all of the presents were opened and somewhat consumed, mom and dad had to leave... now, being left at home to "relax a bit" is one of my very least favorite things in all the world. I couldn't understand why they were leaving me behind. So what if there are parties to go to, they don't allow dogs??? What is this world coming to...

It turns out that they first went over to Mareike's house to bring some human cookies & some doggie treats to my 3 favorite Airedales - Robin, Kermit, & Jupie!!! I knew they went to visit my buddies because mom came home smelling like them - all over! So at least I can take some comfort in the fact that my Aire-pals took good care of mom when I wasn't there - face licking, jumping, you know, all the important stuff.

Then they went to a party in Hollywood - they came home looking so happy that even as I was angry at being left home alone for soooooo long I just had to forgive them. Their silly, stupid faces do make me melt sometimes. So I brought over my leash for dad, we had a quick late-night peepee, then it was off to doggie dreamland.

I really think I like this Christmas-thing...

Love,

Bogart
To Aire is Divine

Profiles in Aire-age

Mom made this cool video of me - it's a study of my profile, basically - and while it was much lighter on her computer before she loaded it onto YouTube you can still get the idea - you might want to turn off the background music (just below my chatty-box on the left side) for maximum enjoyment...

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

A Very Full Saturday

It appears that this Christmas thing is rapidly approaching, which means that there are LOTS of chores to be done. Well no better than the Aire Force (ahem, that’s me) to help get your chores done in style…

First we had to fight our way into the post office - no one even noticed me this time to kick me out or ask what I was doing in there which made mom’s life a little easier. As I’ve already been there I wasn’t that fascinated with anything, so it was easy to be relatively calm.

After the first battle, a little lunch was in order at the Lovebirds Cafe.

I was the good protector of the table and of mom (occasionally jumping into her lap - she thinks it’s hilarious so I do that for her from time to time), watching out to make sure that no strangers got too close (that didn’t have any food for me).

Then we had to carefully approach the great evil-doer, Jiffy Lube. Yes, the ones who provide my Bogie Beetle with it’s vital fluids on a tri-monthly-ish basis. Usually they don’t let me sit inside but today mom put on her very own version of the puppy dog eyes (see, it works for ANYONE) and she and I sat watching old reruns of I Love Lucy until they had done their evil work. Luckily they didn’t suggest any pricey extras like they usually do, or I would have had to go into full Evil Dale mode…

As a final stop, we pulled into the Petco parking lot. Wheeee! Me love Petco. I slide around the floor like it’s an ice skating rink and I can see cats in boxes. Then I can try to steal bones out of bins conveniently (perhaps stupidly) placed at dog-nose height. Nothing looked that appetizing today however, so I just peed in two places. Now Petco used to have these little cleaning stations - you know, some paper towels and spray cleaner and plastic baggies with a little trash can - on the ends of their aisles but not any more at this particular Petco… mom had to run around actually asking for something to clean up my pee. The workers looked confused. Yes, I peed on your floor and now mom is being a good mom and wants to clean it up. Why is that so hard to understand? Anyway someone finally showed up with paper towels from the bathroom (no spray cleaner) so mom wiped up the pee and then she had to ask again for a plastic baggie. Luckily she’s relatively quick so before he could get away she asked where the trash was. Oddly there is no trash can available for the general public (???) (don’t they know who I am???) so she pawned it off on the lucky clerk. Amazing.

Then I got to run a bit in the park with Heidi and dad, which is always fun. A little exercise like that (running up hills, trying to stop her from biting my face) always tuckers me out.

So I guess I can get back to the important stuff - trying to get to my presents under that tree.

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Lets Go Crazy

Cranking it up a notch from my last car cruising, I told mom to floor it because I wanted to feel the wind in my ears... Lets Go Crazy!

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Tagged Again!

I've been tagged by my dreamgirl Sunshade for the Christmas tagging game:

Here are the rules:

The player of this game starts with "3 things he/she would love to get for Christmas" and also has to list "3 things he/she definitely does not want to get for Christmas". Then he/she tags 5 friends and list their names. The ones who get tagged need to write on their blogs about their Christmas wishes, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more victims. And the one who tags need to leave his/her victim a comment that says "you've been Christmas tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

3 Things I Would Love for Christmas:

1. Miss Sunshade
2. Miss Maggie
3. Miss Faya

3 Things I Definitely Don't Want for Christmas:

1. "Relaxation" time at home alone
2. Dog food (I prefer cat food and freshly-prepared human food, especially in cutlet form)
3. Any sort of head decorations

Which other lucky dogs get tagged (ok this was a hard one because so many of my friends have already been tagged!):

Bogie http://bogiebits.blogspot.com
Romeo (Ozzy's little brother!) http://romeosblogny.blogspot.com
Bismarck the Boston Terrier http://adventuresofbismarck.blogspot.com
The Rascals http://adventures-with-the-rascals.blogspot.com
Fee http://magic-fever.blogspot.com

Happy Holidays Everybody!

Love,
Bogart

Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

Cruising along Colorado Boulevard in Old Town Pasadena, I had my head out the window checking out the holiday shoppers and just loving being admired...

And yes I did slow down in front of the Victoria's Secret store, thinking that maybe I should pick up a little something for my special Aire-ladies, Sunshade, Faya, & Maggie...

Oh yeah...

Love,

Bogart

Holiday Photos on WikiFido!

Hey everybody, if you're not a member over at Wikifido then get your paws over there now and create your page! They're also having a Holiday Photo Contest where we could all win cool prizes!!!!

Just don't be cuter than mine, ok?

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

My H-aire-mmmm

Mom is in the process of making a nice page with ALL of my Christmas cards on it because she got so behind in thanking everyone for the great cards!!!

But I insisted on taking a special moment for my girl-Dales, Sunshade, Faya, and Maggie and writing them a little love letter...

Tonight I spent a little alone-time with their fantastic cards and lovely presents... you girls make me feel so special!!!

These were from my dreamgirl Sunshade my Canadian cutie, I cannot believe how beautiful and personal she made my card!

And the "Airedale Taxi Service" sign is perfection!!!!! I'm completely over the moon for Miss Sunshade and think she was especially good at directing her mom and making amazing cards...

And this was from Faya, all the way from Switzerland!!! My European babe! I think she looks especially fetching with her Santa hat cocked jauntily to one side, don't you? Thank you for the beautiful calendar, I wish Los Angeles was so pretty!!!!

And of course who could forget my FANTASTIC Airedale ornament (looks just like me!!!) from Maggie! This has been the ONLY ornament on MY tree (yes I have my own little silver one - I'm not afraid of it anymore!) ever since I put up my tree. So I can look at it over and over and think of my pretty Aire-girl, Maggie.

Looks like I've got my ladies on many continents... girls you make my Aire-heart beat so much faster!!!!!

You ever lovin' man,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Pottery Sunday with Santa

Today I got to go to a really cool place right near my house... to have my yearly picture taken with Santa! Those of you who have been regular readers will remember my Santa fiasco from last year (lets just say that it was at Petco, Santa was out on a bender, you fill in the rest), but this year was TOTALLY different.

It was a benefit for the Echo Park Animal Alliance, and it was held in a pottery studio here in Echo Park. So mom, dad and I drove over to get Heidi and her dad and we walked over to the studio. It was FULL of dogs and pottery, so mom quickly navigate me toward the back door away from the hubbub (ok, especially away from the pottery) and we signed up for our turn with Santa.

I admit that I was a bit - ahem - over-excited, and the main voice that everyone could clearly hear throughout the studio was mine. But there were sooooo many dogs, and sooooo many people, I was a little overstimulated. And of course ready for my closeup.

When it was my turn to sit with Santa mom showed him the best way to grab ahold of me (ok, I was still trying to get toward a cute little fuzzy girl who had caught my eye), then they started jumping up and down and ringing bells. Well ringing bells catches my attention because that's what I use to get mom to get up off of her butt and take me outside so I perked right up and stopped wriggling. Snap! Photo taken.

I think I look kind of huge in this photo compared to Santa, but mom assured me that while I am a big, beautiful boy that there is something a little off in the perspective of the photo that makes me appear rather massive. Massive but adorable, no complaints.

And all of the money goes to the Echo Park Animal Alliance so we all felt warm and fuzzy.

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

Saturday with Marieke!!!!!

Ok - first there is the disclaimer that there are absolutely NO PHOTOS to go along with today's post. Moms fault - this time she somehow magically got the zoom to stop zooming and the battery had run out. I know, I know, I wasn't buying it either, but with these big old paws it's tough to do my own photography.

So this morning we got all bundled into the car - me, mom, and dad - and started off toward what I thought was going to be another fun day of workout with my pawsonal trainer, Heidi. We drove to her house and dad got out of the car. But then he closed the door and waved goodbye and mom took off! Hey, that was my stop! I was supposed to get out there too! She kept insisting that we really did have somewhere else to go (oh great mom, I can go with you to do errands instead of running with my trainer?) and that it was going to be fun.

I remained unconvinced.

The drive was long and kind of wiggly because there was some parade going through our neighborhood. Most Sundays there seems to be something going on in this part of Sunset Boulevard so it's blocked off and mom has to take a more "scenic" route. This generally involves lots of quick maneuvers and some swearing at policemen when the girlie routine doesn't work. It takes a lot longer to get wherever we're going, and I miss out on a lot of "Aire time" (me with my head out the window). But whatever, there wasn't much I could do so I just hung out the window greeting my loyal public and accepting compliments while she drove.

Then we pulled into the parking lot of Good Microbrew. Ok, I like that place, they always bring me a little something and the admiration level is pretty high. So we found a spot, I got excited (I didn't want to get left behind again..) and we got out.

And then I saw her.... in the distance, at a prime table, waving. It was Marieke!!!! She's the mom of my 3 Airedale buddies (Robin, Kermit & Jupie) that I haven't seen in forever... I was soooooooooo excited to see her that I jumped into her lap and did my puppy bark and face lick (basically mom is the only person in the world that I do this for - partially because she really likes it and partially because she's the only person who lets me do it) and couldn't believe that it was her!!!!! She's sooooooo nice and so much fun, and she makes mom really happy. We had a really long lunch that I wasn't even jonesing to leave (although I did want a piece of that crazy little dachshund in the winter coat), and I got to show off some of my best sitting, laying down, and shaking paw in exchange for some of her burger. Yes since mom is a vegetarian the best I can usually hope for is a small piece of cheese falling from heaven but with Marieke it was burger pieces!!! I think I ate as much of her burger as she did!!!

We always discuss a LOT about Airedales whenever we're together, and she helps mom out a lot in understanding more about us. She's the person who gave mom the stripping tools that make me into such a handsome devil today (since I was rather a wooly puppy). We also compare things like my lack of full-on fuzzy disco pants (what mom calls the fur on my legs), and my rather fetching moustache.

She's sooooooooooooo nice, and I miss her and her dogs sooooooooooooooooo much. Now here's the kicker. You'd think that because I don't get to see them that much that they live far away but nooooooo.... they live right in our neighborhood, it's just that mom is doing too much of that "work" thing I've been complaining about lately. I think we all came to the agreement that this should change, and I feel a full-Airedale visit coming on soon with all the love that was going around today.

Thanks so much for lunch today Marieke!!!!! Big kisses to Robin, Kermit & Jupie!!!

Love,
Bogart

To Post or Not to Post

That is the question.

I have gotten MANY new Christmas cards but alas, the camera hasn't been working well lately (mom screwed up the zoom somehow - she tried to blame it on me at one point, hell I think she's tried to blame it on pretty much everyone at some time - and it doesn't always come out when it should, rendering it just an expensive piece of plastic). As soon as that little problem is solved, I shall post my newest friends pictures!

So does that really explain why I haven't posted for a few days? Well, mom seems to think that if there is no picture then there shall be no blog entry, because no one just wants to read about my adventures if there is no cute photo to accompany it. I'm not totally convinced of this theory. I think that my life is incredibly interesting to pretty much everyone in the world no matter what, so what if there is no photo? Or then of course - mom - why don't you get your priorities straight and either get that darned camera fixed or buy me a new one???

I feel better now.

Today's photo of Bogie on the Moon - just in case you weren't sure - is a (quick and crappy) PHOTOSHOP. I didn't really go to the moon. I couldn't travel back in time to play with Neil Armstrong. But see mom? PEOPLE STILL READ MY BLOG.

Love,

Bogart

To Aire is Divine

The Luckiest Boy in the World

Ah Miss Sunshade, you've MADE MY DAY!!!

I know you have so many admirers - worthy adversaries, all - who send you presents, write you poetry, and generally admire you as I do. But it makes my heart sing to know that you think I'm special!!!!

And yes of course I did some extra-special rolling on your card because you're my special girl... until I can find that big box to send myself to you my dear...

Love,

Bogart
To Aire is Divine