Riders on the Storm

Hurricane, eh?

I am suited up, and ready for you Irene.  I pee in your general direction.

 

I see absolutely no reason why I should curtail my normal walkie pattern because of some wind and rain.  What else is a raincoat for?

I still want to go to the park, I still want to walk in the grass, and I still want to delay going back inside for as long as possible.  The wind and rain in my beard is just a bonus.

Yes, yes, yes, I have heard that the hurricane is going to be much worse tomorrow.  I will be careful.  But I will also be outside as I am not a poopy-pad kind of guy.

Love,

Bogart

Today, I Am Six

Today I am a fuzzy man of 6.  And being that I am a fine, mature Airedale I require a gift which befits my status.

That will do.

NOM NOM NOM

I don't get these very often - my silly vegetarian mama apparently has difficulty buying them (she never remembers which kind of bones they are, where they are located in the ShopRite, yada yada yada) - but I'm happy she remembered to buy me one for my birthday.

Marrow bones are delicious - but not the easiest thing in the world to eat.  By design?  Perhaps.  But an advanced canine mind such as mine will figure out a way.

I have found, through trial and error, that this is the preferred position for maximum bone-crunching goodness.  Well, this position does hold you down, and it lasts until you've got to get your mighty paws around the bone to keep it from launching across the floor.

Damn, this is good.

I know I shouldn't talk with my mouth full but who could resist?  Oh wait... we're going to go for a midday walkie?  But it's raining - hard - outside.  Hell yeah I wanna go - saddle me up, mama!

Drowned rat hairdo - check.  Slightly glazed over look in eyes from walking through monsoon - check.  Happiness to be both indoors and in Just Dogs Gourmet - priceless.

Oh, the agony of choice.

I'll take one of those, and one of those, and two of those...

I could just stay here mama, you know, to do some quality control, make sure that everything is being prepared just right...

I did well.  Being six is a very good thing.  I got one cookie for each year I've been here with mama - two little ones count as one! A burger, a squirrel, a black cat, a penguin, two hearts, and two carob cups.

I won't eat them all - I'd like to avoid this embarrassing fiasco again (not to mention that I don't have my Airedale buddies close by to, uh, "help" me out).  Some for today, some for tomorrow.

Love,

Bogart

What Am I, Chopped Liver?

I am a BIG fan of freeze dried liver.  Cannot explain it, but it's fantastic.  And it's one of the only ways that mama can stand to feed me (well, us, because the cats love it too!) liver.

Usually we buy the beef-liver-in-a-bucket, but this time at the store mama found chicken-liver-in-a-bucket, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  And I can report that it is just as tasty, if not more so, than my beloved beef liver.

There's just one thing.  The chicken liver is in the same kind of bucket as the beef liver - the main difference is that the trusty beef liver is in a blue-ish bucket and the chicken is in a yellow-ish bucket.  But when you turn around the yellow-ish chicken liver bucket...

Yep, it says 100% beef liver.  But it's definitely chicken liver inside, the beef liver looks and smells different.  Someone in the graphic design department may need a vacation!

Love,

Bogart

The Maine Event

It is ALWAYS a good thing when a package arrives addressed to me.  Always.

And packages addressed to me ALWAYS smell good.  From the outside.  That's how I know the packages are for me.  I have this amazing nose, you see, it's just a simple biological fact.

WHOA!

PINE CONES!!!  I thought this package smelled extra amazing!!!

The package is from my pal Hobbes - a very intelligent Dale indeed - who collected them from the coast of Maine.  THAT'S LOVE AND TRUE FRIENDSHIP

I once again feel like a mighty oak with my mighty cones.  Philly is woefully underserved in the pine cone area.  And damn, but I miss these things...

Yep, they still taste right...

And now they're ALL MINE

Oh my dear Hobbes, you are the bestest friend ever - I thank you from the bottom of my fuzzy heart.  These have made me so ridiculously happy, they take me back to my puppyhood and lovely days spent chasing fine cones.

Really, man.  I mean it.  YOU DA MAN HOBBES

I have already started the enjoy-ment of the cones my friend.  From the moment I tore open the box.

Mama and I send you LOTS of love and happy thoughts from us in Philadelphia up to you and your mama in Maine (are you going to be a part of the wedding? - I think you'd make a very dashing Best Man...)

Love,

Bogart

Hail Cesar!

Whoa, Nelly!  Lookie what arrived for me!

Ok, stop looking at it - MAMA OPEN THE DAMN BAG OR I SHALL BE FORCED TO OPEN IT MYSELF

Goodies!  Goodies!  Goodies!

The kind folks at Cesar dog foods sent over a care package chock full 'o goodness for me to sample.  Dog food, dog treats, and yeah some silly t-shirt for the humans.  GIMME THAT!

Yeah, yeah t-shirt, yada yada yada.  These smell awfully darned good...

Anything with the word Treats on it is fine in my book.  These are really cute, a sweet mixture of shapes and flavors.  Semi-soft for those times when crunchy just won't do.

Not just one bag was inside but two - making me believe that a dog was responsible for sending out this package.  A human might put in one little bag of treats, but a fellow dog KNOWS that ONE IS NEVER ENOUGH.

But this is what I've set my sights - uh, paws - on.  I could smell these through the box.  And I generally don't care for cans of dog food - mama makes my dinner in the crockpot each night (when she's not breaking them, that is) - but this is INTOXICATING.

All different flavors - this one is filet mignon - yeah JUST OPEN THE DAMN THING MAMA!

Hm.  I don't think that even when I was a puppy I was a particularly small dog.  Maybe compared to now.  But it's a cute t-shirt.  Kinda looks Westie-ish to me (woo-hoo fellow terriers!).

I have to say that mama wasn't expecting this - I generally turn up my substantial nose at store-bought dog food.  I suppose I'm a bit of a foodie (i.e. snob) about what I eat - a boy does get spoiled when he has a home-cooked meal every night after all.  But I went NUTSO for these and while one may be a satisfying meal for a little dog, 5 might be more like it for a mighty Dale of my impressive stature.

And a side benefit?  Guess who cleaned out the containers for easy recycling?  Thanks Behemoth!

This Cesar dog food gets a mighty 8 paws up (4 canine, 4 feline).  Every single flavor was gobbled.  I took the majority while my feline friend did the back-up work.  HAIL CESAR!

The kind folks at Cesar sent us two of these lovely bags-of-goodness and I'd love to share one with one of my blog readers!  The kit had a whole bunch 'o Cesar wet foods, two - count 'em, two! - bags of semi-soft treats, and a purple Small Dog, Big Love t-shirt.  Mama also wants to pass along the hot pink Small Dog, Big Love t-shirt as well, I'm not a small dog.  So rather than make this difficult, how about two folks who leave a comment on this blog including the words "ET TU, BRUTE?", add something amusing of their own, and provide their email address get one?  Before next Wednesday (August 10)?

Thanks again, Cesar!  DEE-LISH!

Love,

Bogart

A Dale is a Girl's Best Friend

Make that BESTEST friend.

Mama and I make a ridiculously good team.  We far preferred when we had our team captain Klaus, but mama and I seem to do the co-captain thing pretty darned well.  These photos are an excellent example.  Both of us are hardcore camera hogs - uh, I mean that we both enjoy the spotlight - oh who am I kidding we are both start modeling before the camera is turned on.  Both lookin' cute, without trying to outshine the other.  TEAMWORK

Mama tells me every day that I saved her life - truth is that I need her as much as she needs me.  Just don't tell her, I don't want her getting a swollen head (just think how funny that would look with that crazy red hair)...

Even on something as simple as a necessary sit-down to rest up during the wild and wooly humidity can be turned into a photo op.  Of course some of us are more ready for our closeup than others.

Best. Buddies. FOREVER.  Truly made for each other.  Give your mama (and your dad, if you're lucky enough to have one) a big kiss today - I did, right after this photo was taken.  Which is exactly why it was the last photo taken.

Love,

Bogart