Reporting from the doggie hotel

My people left me at the kennel so they could fly away and have fun with their family at Christmas. I'm stuck here at the local "animal country club" until the new year. It's really not so bad but I wish they would hurry back.

I did get a very cool holiday gift before they left - a Dog Spinny by Nina Ottosson!! I have wanted one of these kinds of toys ever since I saw the video of Jackson playing with his Dog Brick.

My mom got to help bring a wire fox terrier home from a shelter. His name is Oscar and you can read all about the organization that got him home - Wire Fox Terrier Rescue Midwest. This "before" picture of him is from their website. I hope he gets a really nice new family.


Thank you to my buddies for all of your wonderful cards! I hope you are having very happy holidays, and best wishes in the new year!

Good and bad, happy and sad

I met Santa Paws this weekend!

I have been a little bit naughty so I tried not to ask for too much. :) Plus I look like a devil dog with those eyes! My mom was not Santa at the event; she got to be the "line coordinator" - boring!

I also got some sad news today. My old friend Tobie, who used to be my neighbor, is crossing the rainbow bridge today. She got bone cancer that progressed really quickly. Five years ago, she was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer, which went into remission, so I am glad she had those extra happy years with her dad and brother Stoney.


I wish I had more pictures of us together. She is on the left in both pictures.

Have you seen this video on YooToob? My mom and dad BOTH cried. It is a really nice doggie story.


I finished my DWB Christmas cards yesterday and put them in the mail! I hope you get them soon!

My new cousin!

Hello! I am slowly trying to catch up with everyone but I have not made much progress. I hope to over Thanksgiving!

I am very excited because today my new cousin arrives! He will live with my mom's sister and brother-in-law in Connecticut, so I might not get to meet him in person for a little while.


Franklin is a piebald miniature dachshund. "Frankie" for short!

Don't forget, if you're looking to add another dog to your family, you can always go to your local shelter or petfinder.com and save a life!

Some funny news - my mom is going to be taking pet pictures with Santa at our local PetCo on December 5th, to raise money for our local animal shelter. She will either be the photographer, the elf, or Santa!!! She doesn't know yet!

Happy Halloween!

Hi everybody! Thanks everybody for asking about how I am doing. It is nice to know I have such nice friends who care about me. I am fully recovered from the incident this summer and I am doing great, but nobody has had time to help me write or read blogs. My mom is taking a class called Organic Chemistry and she is really stressed about it. But that is no excuse. I can't wait to hear about what everyone has been up to because I've missed you so much!


Here it is, my most humiliating picture of the year - in my Halloween costume. Lenny the Lobster. This is the one time of year that my mom gets to dress me up. (That and when Ohio State plays Michigan - I have a special Buckeye sweatshirt for the game.)


You have to admit, I make crustacean look GOOD! But it did take a lot of bribing before I would tolerate a photo session.


I think I would feel a little more dignified if the costume didn't have the googly eyes.

In other news, the nice people at National Geographic sent me a new book that is being released today, called "DogTown." There is a TV show on the National Geographic Channel with the same name, which I had seen and enjoyed before via the magic of Netflix. Dog Town is part of the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah, a very large and successful no-kill facility.


This book gets two big paws up from me! Each chapter introduces a dog that arrived at Dog Town, what help they received, and their story of what happened to them after they arrived. You learn the individual personalities and stories of the dogs, and you also get to know many of the people who work at Dog Town through their interactions. You get very connected in just a few pages!

While the book obviously is praising all of the good work that Dog Town does, it is not afraid to deal with controversial topics as well. Right off the bat, the first chapter is about Michael Vick's pit bulls and efforts to rehabilitate some of them. What impressed me was that when Best Friends disagreed with the Humane Society or PETA, or another group working for animals, they presented the other viewpoints very fairly, explaining both sides of the issue. I appreciated that.

There are a lot of successful adoption stories for dogs that probably wouldn't have had a chance anywhere else. The dogs that make it to Dog Town are very lucky for all of the care that they receive and it's too bad that they don't have room for everybody who needs a new home! It is evident that the people at Dog Town know that every dog is special and deserves a chance to heal. There are definitely some tear-jerker moments.

So I recommend this uplifting book, and the TV show as well if you have not seen it! I liked it so much that I would like to share it with someone. If you would like me to send you the book, leave me a comment by November 1 and I will pick one lucky pup at random. Or you can find it anywhere books are sold, and get more info at www.nationalgeographic.com. Thanks National Geographic!

Have a very happy Halloween, and remember - no chocolate!!

What am I, lunch??

I am a very lucky and thankful dog today.
Over the weekend I got attacked by an aggressive dog. He tried to eat me!
You can see where his jaws were around my neck.


It was really scary, but it could have been a lot worse and I feel very lucky to be okay. Just a couple of little holes.

Plus I got to go to a vet who gushed about how handsome and amazing I look for my "mature and distinguished" (thanks Gus!) 11 years.


It happened very quickly or else I'm sure I could have scared him away first. :)

I'm a tough guy and I'm feeling pretty good, but I'm milking this for all it's worth - treats, a nice cozy spot on the people bed, and lots of belly rubs.

I can't wear my collar for a little while but I should be fine in about a week.

Big Bully Birthday!

I turned 11 years old this past weekend. Thank you to Kirby, Molly and Taffy, Maggie and Mitch, and Keeley and Teagan for their lovely birthday cards!

I had fun playing with all of the kids who were visiting, and I got to have a play date with my friend Rosie. But check it out - I got a 30-INCH BULLY STICK!!! YUM!!!! I have been working on it for a week. I also got a cat-shaped cookie, and a stuffed frog with a furry chest and an Elvis-style lip curl - a little weird! I think it was in the bargain bin!

Marco and Ocho the PWDs are coming tomorrow, so we are going to the park together. I am looking forward to that! And did you see that Bo Obama wrote an op-ed for the New York Times? Maybe he will join Dogs with Blogs next!!

Have a great weekend everybody!

My presidential puppy pal

Okay, okay - he's not really Bo Obama. This is my Portuguese Water Dog friend Marco, who lives in Chicago. He and his PWD brother Ocho come to visit my friend Rosie because they are her nephews, technically. Marco used to be a show dog until they found out he had a little heart murmur. They're fun pals!

Happy July!

Hello friends! Are you enjoying the summer? Things have obviously been kind of busy here. I HOPE I am going to catch up on everyone's news today.

Things are going well here. In about 6 weeks I am going on vacation to Maine with my people, which will be great. In the meantime, I have been making a few trips to the dog park and hanging out with my friend Rosie. My parents are both working and pretty busy - my dad was gone for three weeks in Colorado, having fun without me. :( My mom is still in school and tearing her hair out. She sheds more than I do!


Check out what came in the mail to my mom's boss. She has to open the mail and there was a letter from Placido Domingo! He is a famous opera singer, and conductor like my dad, but perhaps his greatest work was in ... BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA!


Placido Domingo played the role of Monte the Chihuahua, a little dog with a big voice. Monte is the dog on the left in the picture. It's a cute movie if you haven't seen it, but all the doggie clothes made me a little nervous. :) I didn't want my mom getting any ideas.


This weekend a whole bunch of my family is coming to visit, including 7 kids! I only get to play with 6 of them, because one is allergic, but they are fun.

Fun Foxy Stuff!

My mom is always thrilled when she finds WFT merchandise because there is not a lot of it out there. We fox terriers are rare and special. After seeing some of Cath Kidston's fun products on Jackson's and Eric's blogs, my mom got a couple of items for Christmas:


A cute wallet and keychain! There are some fun matching rain boots on the site that my mom wants now (they call them "Wellies" in England) but they are a tad bit too expensive.


Another cool WFT item she got for Christmas was a cool keychain from Pop Dog Press, made by Simba's HM! She makes cool stuff for all kinds of breeds, not just foxies! This picture is from Simba's website - my (oops, I mean my mom's) keychain is red.

And now I will shamelessly promote the COOLEST WFT ITEM EVER!!!!

Jackson's Forever Foxed makes fantastic foxy greeting cards, but also now, these:

Buttons! Badges! Whatever you want to call them, they're pawesome.

Go check out our talented friends' sites, especially if you are a foxy fan!

Day at the dog park

Yesterday was a beautiful day and my people brought me to the dog park!! There was a lot of meeting and sniffing and exploring to be done.

When all of a sudden, out of the blue, appearing out of nowhere like a ROCKET...

It was Eddy Rocket! My almost-could-have-been-little-brother. His new parents (who seem very nice) had brought him to burn some energy.

My mom was happy because he seemed to remember her, after the many hours she spent walking him at the shelter when nobody else wanted him.


But I'm still her favorite, of course.

He is a great runner. We had a really good time playing race-and-chase. Usually I only like to play with the big dogs, but Eddy was okay.

I'm happy that I get to play with him, but we don't have to bring him home with us. I hope he comes back to the park a lot.

After a while, Eddy wore me out, so I started doing some grrreeeeaaat roaching.

And more sniffing.

A lot has been going on. My dad turned 210 dog years old this weekend. My mom survived her first semester of full-time work, half-time school. And my dad is going to be starting school again in the fall. They also ran a half marathon and my nana and grandpa visited. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit and I'll have a little more blogging and reading time!

Go Fetch!

This weekend my goal is to catch up with everyone's news and blogs. I am looking forward to it! I am way behind on things.

I have a question. Do you fetch?

All the talk about Eddy Rocket made my parents look at all the great things about me and what they would look for in another dog. However, there were a few things that they seem to think are less-than-perfect about me. My dad is very disappointed that I won't "fetch."

(Seriously. If this is all they have to complain about me, aren't they pretty lucky?)

My dad always wanted a frisbee dog. Not only will I not chase or catch a frisbee, I will not bring anything to my people. I don't mind going and picking up something, but then it's mine. So my dad wants to know if this is because I am a fox terrier, or if this is because I am who I am.

So, let me know --- DO YOU FETCH?

Good news!

Eddy Rocket got adopted this weekend. Yay!

No brother for me

Well, the landlord ended up solving the issue. I am the only dog allowed! My mom didn't realize that they are not allowed to have more than one dog in the apartment.

The other family did not call back about Eddy Rocket, so let's keep our paws crossed that he finds a really nice new home - and soon! He's been at the shelter a long time.

Update on the potential addition to the family

Wow! You guys are pawesome! Thank you so much for all of the great opinions and advice. It is great to hear so many different viewpoints and it has given my people a lot to think about.

So here's the update. My dad is now more "open" to this whole adoption idea (my mom says it's because she asked St. Francis for intervention!). I don't think he's especially crazy about the idea, but he wants my mom to be happy. However, he is going out of town to guest conduct and will be gone until Sunday. My mom has a big exam and is playing some gigs this weekend. So if we get Eddy, we can't go pick him up until Sunday afternoon, realistically, to make sure he gets a good start with us. Dad said we could go see him on Sunday. My mom went and visited Eddy on Friday, and then went back again today at lunch time to walk him. It turns out someone has now applied to adopt Eddy!!!! My mom was crushed. However, that person has not decided 100% if they want to adopt him or not. So we are waiting to hear.

Eddy Rocket was "dog of the week" on all of the shelter posters around town and he was on the local cable-access TV show "Pets Without Partners," so he has been getting some good publicity.

Lots of drama and no news!! But thank you for the advice!!!

Advice needed!

Should I get a little brother?

My mom needs some advice. She walks dogs at the animal shelter sometimes on Sundays. And now she thinks she found me a little brother there. My dad does not think I need a little brother.

This is Eddy Rocket - his picture from petfinder.com. He is a rough-coated Jack Russell/toy fox terrier mix. He is one and a half years old and was found as a stray. He is about half my size. He is an excellent digger and has an impressive vertical jump.

So my mom likes this dog so much that she was crying all week and couldn't sleep, and my reluctant dad finally went to the shelter on Saturday (without telling her) to meet Eddy Rocket. He told her that he went and then later that afternoon we all went over to hang out with him and see what I thought. Eddy is just like me. He's aloof, independent, likes to pee on stuff, and does his own thing. We barely paid any attention to each other because there was plenty to sniff, inside and outside.
I am definitely the alpha dog and Eddy was cool with that. He has a lot of energy but he didn't seem super-crazy like a lot of Jack Russells. He didn't jump up on people and he was even kind of laid back, but not timid.

When I hang out with my friend Rosie, we pretty much ignore each other too, and then flop down and take a nap together. My people always considered me an "only dog" and my dad is very reluctant to change that. My mom only wants a second dog because she loves Eddy Rocket so much. My dad is not crazy about him. (He thinks he's a "fu-fu" dog (no offense to our beloved hamsterrier friend) and not manly enough or something.) He also says his back legs look weird. They kind of look like frog legs because they are long and thin. My dad knows that this means a lot to my mom, which is why he went to the shelter, but he doesn't really want to adopt him. They both know that it would be a really big time investment to train him and give him enough exercise - they had to go through it with me! My dad would have to help a lot because right now my mom's schedule is pretty busy. My mom adores Eddy so much that it maybe clouds her judgment, and she wants to do the right thing, and she wants to be fair to me. After all, she has loved me for five years.

My dad brings me to work with him a lot, which is great, but he doesn't think he could do that with two dogs, and he doesn't want to leave Eddy crated at home.

Do I want a Mini-Me? What do you two-dog families think? Is my mom being disloyal to me and to wire fox terriers in general?

Dog class

My mom has big plans for me tonight. We are going to a class to see if I am cut out to be a therapy dog! I will give a full report. The last time I took a class was puppy obedience school (with my former people) and I flunked out.

Unfortunately I have not had a chance to read anyone's blog in ages and I am so sorry. I can't wait to find out what's been going on with everyone. Maybe if my mom would stop taking her classes and stop dragging me around to classes she would have time to help me with the computer. :(

Foxy commercial!

Did you all see the commercial starring a fox terrier during the dog show last night? Very handsome indeed!

Dog competitions!

Are you all going to watch WESTMINSTER tonight? The dog show is on tonight starting at 8 p.m. and tomorrow night as well - but make sure to watch tonight because that's when the terriers are on!



I am pleased to announce (OK, brag) that my photo won 4th place in one of the Fox Terrier Network's photo contest categories! I won a lovely book about fox terriers. Congratulations to all of the other WFTs and SFTs that won!

Excellent Movie Review!

Dreamworks has released a new movie called "Hotel for Dogs" and you should all send your people to go see it! Especially if you have kid people, but the grown-ups would enjoy it too.



The biggest dog in the movie is named Lenny (in between the kids at the top of the poster). Need I say more?

There are some very cool feeding and entertainment inventions for dogs that are the best part of the movie. There is a lot of product placement for Pedigree food, which you might notice, but I think that's okay because they are supposed to be donating some money to help shelter dogs for each ticket sold. The dogs eat Pedigree food, one of the characters wears a "Dogs Rule" t-shirt (their motto) and they even play part of that really sad TV commercial...with the sad-looking shelter dogs saying, "I don't know how I got here...I just want to go home." They always play it during the dog show competitions on Animal Planet. I don't eat Pedigree but I think that's really nice that they're helping shelter dogs.

My mom has been walking shelter dogs on the weekends! I am proud of her but I wish she'd take me along with her. She really smells interesting when she gets home. She is also taking two classes now, so she is super-busy in addition to her job. She finally decided that she is going to try to study to be a veterinarian! I am super-proud of her for that, but I have noticed that she likes to poke and prod me a little bit more than usual. I hope she learns how to be a NICE V-E-T!!! She is ten years older than all of the people in her classes (and older than all of the graduate student associate instructors!) and she is a little stressed with all of her homework. This means I have not been able to catch up on everyone's blogs but I hope to soon.

Willpower

I think you all know how much I love to pilfer food from my people when they're not around, and how I will eat anything if it smells good.

My dad just got a bread machine so he's been experimenting with different recipes.

One was raisin bread. I know raisins are bad for me, but while they were out I just couldn't resist.



However, today was a Lenny "first." Here's the whole wheat bread:



This is how they came home and found it - on the floor but NOT EATEN!!! I had two bites and passed it up.

My dad thought I must be sick but my mom knew better - she had tasted the bread too...

My Gotcha Day!

It was five years ago today that my people brought me home and adopted me.


They looked a little bit younger and skinnier back in 2004.
The new year is a time for reflection and planning. I'm lucky to have had many adventures and made so many friends over the last five years, especially since joining DWB!


My resolution for this year is: Keep more up-to-date blogging and reading my friends' blogs! I can't wait to tell you all about, and read about, all of the adventures that 2009 will bring.




HAPPY NEW YEAR!