RIP Darby

The world lost a great sheltie today, his name was Darby. As far as I'm concerned he was the BEST sheltie EVER and I hope that someday I will be half the sheltie he was. I'll remember all the times we had together, they were the best, I wouldn't trade a single minute of any of those memories... even the times you drooled on me when I was little and my first night at my new home when you peed on me cause I walked under you at the wrong moment.

Thanks for showing me what a great sheltie should be... I'll miss you good buddy!

Limp Diagnosis

So... remember that limp that I told ya'll about in my Mystery Solved post? Well, turns out I spoke too soon. It came back :o(

So it was off to vet's office again so that they could take another look at my leg. After a complete physical exam and a round of x-rays it was determined that I have a defect in my shoulder along with a little bit of arthritis in ankle. Arthritis at 3? What's up with that? So I was sent home with orders to take baby aspirin whenever my leg flares up and Mom was told to watch me to make sure it doesn't get any worse. They are also sending my x-rays up to Penn to have their orthopedists take a look to see if there is anything else of concern.

This afternoon Mom placed an order for Joint Care Supplements from Dr. Foster and Smith's catalog that hopefully will help make my joints happy again.

Sheltie Love is Spreading!

My popularity is spreading, no longer am I just known around daycare and the doggie park... people at the University of Maryland know me!! Here's an excerpt of a Gmail Chat session my Mommy had this morning...

Mommy's Friend: i met the grandmother of one of the people takes care of stormy!
Mommy: haha
no way
Mommy's Friend: yeah dogwood acres right?
Mommy: yea!
Mommy's Friend: yeah her granddaughter works there
i asked her if she knew stormy the sheltie
Mommy: that's great
random people know my dog
too funny
Mommy's Friend: its a small dog world

Who can resist me? No one! I turn on the sheltie cuteness and its impossible to resist me. I could even make the Grinch love me!

Christmas Rules for us dogs...

From my buddy Simba's blog...

1. Be especially patient with your humans during this time. They may appear to be more stressed-out than usual and they will appreciate long comforting dog leans.

2. They may come home with large bags of things they call gifts. Do not assume that all the gifts are yours.

3. Be tolerant if your humans put decorations on you. They seem to get some special kind of pleasure out of seeing how you look with fake antlers.

4. They may bring a large tree into the house and set it up in a prominent place and cover it with lights and decorations. Bizarre as this may seem to you, it is an important ritual for your humans, so there are some things you need to know:
a. Don't pee on the tree
b. Don't drink water in the container that holds the tree
c. Mind your tail when you are near the tree
d. If there are packages under the tree, even ones that smell interesting or that have your name on them, don't rip them open
e. Don't chew on the cord that runs from the funny-looking hole in the wall to the tree

5. Your humans may occasionally invite lots of strangers to come visit during this season. These parties can be lots of fun, but they also call for some discretion on your part:
a. Not all strangers appreciate kisses and leans
b. Don't eat off the buffet table
c. Beg for goodies subtly
d. Be pleasant, even if unknowing strangers sit on your sofa
e. Don't drink out of glasses that are left within your reach

6. Likewise, your humans may take you visiting. Here your manners will also be important:
a. Observe all the rules in #4 for trees that may be in other people's houses. (4a is particularly important)
b. Respect the territory of other animals that may live in the house
c. Tolerate children
d. Turn on your charm big time

7. A big man with a white beard and a very loud laugh may emerge from your fireplace in the middle of the night. DON'T BITE HIM!!

Happy Merry Christmas...

Why must the parentals dress me up in little hats? Oh well, Happy Howl-o-days everyone!

There was this family, and their cat cat cat lost its tail when it got slammed in a door. They were so distraught about it that they took the cat cat cat to Walmart because its the largest retailer in the world!

bark! bark!

There is much drama in my life...

Why?

Because a car CRASHED into the Chick-fil-A (read article HERE and HERE )where Pops and I go to breakfast on my way to daycare!!! Where am I going to get my tatoe rounds in morning now? Where is Mommy going to stop in the afternoons for waffle fries and a vanilla shake? All I can say is... WOW.

Here are some photos of the accident scene from the local news, WBAL...

In all seriousness, 3 people were injured in the crash (an older gentlemen, a state trooper and a 6 year old boy), the older gentlemen severely enough to have to be airlifted to Baltimore's Shock Trauma unit... I wish those injured a speedy recovery...

So I was a little bit of a bad boy...

Hey guys!! I'm back in action! Sorry that I haven't posted... we've been BUSY!! But its all good now, I'm back and I want to tell you ALL about my friend Bob. He's totally pawesome! He lives across the parking lot from us, and lives on the second floor like us. He sits out on his deck like this some evenings and we say hi to him on our way by to go check the mail. He's one of my best buddies! I LOVE it when Bob and his Mommy come out to play. Cause everytime Bob comes out we get the zoomies and that is the greatest!! And when we are leashed, Bob grabs my leash and leads me around! Normally I like to be in charge but that game is just so fun I can't help myself! Bob is one of the coolest dogs I know!

Bob and I are buddies, and if you know me, you know that when my buddies and I get together trouble is soon to follow... but I am ALWAYS the innocent one. I just go along to watch... I NEVER do anything wrong. (Note from Mom: If you believe this I have a bridge I'd like to sell you...) Anyway, Bob and I were out playing. Daddy was watching me, and Bob's Mommy was there too. Well there's this lady that feeds the stray cat cat cats in our complex. She sits out YUMMY cat food and well Bob is a lab and its well known that labs cannot resist the kitty food (Note from Mom: Neither can shelties!)

Well we were playing and all of the sudden Bob zooms to the kitty food and I am in hot pursuit. Only thing is Bob stopped at the kitty food and I went past it hot on the heels of a cat cat cat! I went full tilt into the wooded area behind our building and scared Daddy. He was not happy with me, especially when I emerged full of sticker bush stems and leaves... but I rid the area of those cat cat cats!! Bob and I weren't allowed to play anymore...

Hey Guys!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while... Mom went off to Florida for a business trip for two whole weeks and I am hanging out with my grandpawrents. But you can bet I'll be back in action real soon! My Mommy and Pops are coming to pick me up tomorrow!

Tonic & I Meet Again...

So Mom took that silly little rodent of hers out again... he's an odd creature I've decided. He runs about in that blue ball of his and seems perfectly content. I would be terribly bored if I had to navigate this world in a plastic ball...

He also stays up ALL night and sleeps ALL day. You know how much fun I would miss if I slept all day like he does??? A TON of fun!


All this makes me happy that I am a sheltie, not a hamster!

Mystery Solved!!!

My mystery limp is no longer a mystery!!

I went to the vet yesterday and was told that I sprained my shoulder! Yup! great job huh? Now I have to take a pill a day for the next 30 days and be careful not to do whatever it was that I did to sprain it. I will be spending the next two weeks hanging out at the grandparents being spoiled, that will DEFINITELY help my shoulder feel better!

I also got my health certificate filled out, so that means the last of my therapy dog paperwork has been completed! All we need to do now is pick out an awesome picture of myself for my badge and send in the packet!

YAY!

The Case of the Mystery Limp

I've got a hitch in my gait...

Who knows why... it happens when I lie down for a while and then get back up. But not all the time. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. It's been this way for 3 weeks... it comes, it goes. On Sunday my limp appeared while I was playing at the doggie park... first time that ever happened.

Mom took me home, and I was fine for the rest of the night. Her and Daddy did all kinds of "flexion tests" on my leg but I just fell asleep while they were moving it around. So clearly I wasn't in any pain then. They had me make turns, pivot using that leg and everything- no limp.

Monday morning I limped when Mom took me out on a walkies but was perfectly sound when Dad took me to daycare. Last night after daycare (no limping at all during the day) Mom stopped to talk to our neighbor and I laid down at her feet and when they finished talking and I got up to walk with her my limp was back! Argh!

Mom is confused. I'm only 3, I can't have arthritis yet can I? She is leaving for a work trip and wants to get me checked out (I also need my Therapy Dog paperwork completed) before she leaves so my Grandparents won't have to worry about my mysterious limp.

We won't even discuss the fact that Mommy is deserting me for two whole weeks because of work... that's a totally different pouting post.

I promised to post more of my pictures from my adventure out to the western part of the great state I call home. Here they are! Picture heavy post coming folks.. so be prepared.

Here I am getting my feets wet at Swallow Falls State Park...

And playing with a new friend...
The next day we visited Rocky Gap State Park... here I am on the trail to the Evitts Mountain homesite... this guy was a hermit and he made sure not to be bothered. To reach his place it was a 3 mile hike!

After such a long hike on what turned out to be a humid day, I crashed...

After a short dog nap... I made the trip up to the canyon overlook. Here I could survey the world...The last day we went to the Paw Paw Tunnel. This is was a great adventure, we went through this dark tunnel and Mommy and Daddy needed their flashlights. Mom said it was kinda spooky, but in a fun kind of way.

Here we are at the top of the tunnel entrance...

And here we are coming out the other side!

**By the end of the calendar year, I will send a gift to each of the first five dogs (or people!) to comment here. The catch? You gotta make the same offer on YOUR blog.** Leave a comment if you want to play along.

C'mon you know you wanna :o)

I'm a Therapy Dog Now!

Yup I am! I passed my TDI Evaluation with flying colors this morning. All Mom has to do is complete the paperwork and I'll be able to start visiting! The evaluator said I was awesome and in her comments said Mom and I were an "adorable, confident team"! Excitement! The resident who participated in our test was very nice and thought I was the most adorable thing ever. She wants me to come back for another visit :o) I think we will, especially since she is collecting stuffies to give to children when they have to go to the hospital. Mommy thinks that is a very nice thing to do and is going to donate some stuffies.

In other news this weekend... my newest little brother Tonic the hamster took his first spin around the condo in his ball. I was fascinated. Here we are hanging out together.

But then we got tired, so we decided to nap... he's a good napping buddy.

My Mommy wants me to give my Daddy a HUGE hint for Christmas...

She wants to own one of these... preferably one that looks like ME!

They are made of wool....and custom made from a photo, all you gotta do is go HERE. If Mommy gets one she'll have a mini wool me to go with her mini wooden me that she bought from Dog Bark Park!! If you want a custom wooden mini you Mommy HIGHLY recommends them!

I spent the last three days out on the trails in Western Maryland... I'll post more pics later, but I thought that you would enjoy this one of me climbing the stone stairs of the Paw Paw Tunnel... The name just screams super cool doggie place, and it is!!! Don't I look so cool?

My sister is fat...Maybe we should start calling her Maddie Fat instead of Maddie Cat!

Mom and I are in The Great KC for the weekend. The Fall weather has arrived and I am loving life! Yesterday a stiff breeze was blowing, so I did my best sheltie pose. This is what I bet I would look like if I lived on the Shetland Isles and had my own herd of shetland sheep.

Mom also took a couple of closeups in the car, she said they showed how cute I am and show my beautiful brown eyes (brown eyes that will melt your heart & make you hand over some people food!)

Sorry that I haven't written in a while but MY DADDY CAME HOME!! YAY!! He came back from the desert outpost of Washington and the wilds of Oregon just to see me! And it made me so happy! No more pouting on my window perch... its time to play tug and bark and play ball! My Daddy is the bestest EVER!

Wanna know something else that is super way cool about Daddy coming home? I got to go to the airport! Yup! Mommy and I went to meet him at the airport and I got to go inside the terminal. It was my first ride on a moving walkway and an escalator. They are such interesting things... we were moving without moving our legs. I stared intently at the floor while we rode on it... those escalator stairs are way different than the ones in our condo. Though they would be nice after a hard playday at daycare- I wouldn't need to expend any more energy to get to the top! After the escalator fun we found Pops in baggage claim, we didn't stay long though cause my feets weren't allowed to touch the floor inside the terminal. Mom was told that if they did the police would escort us out... so I had to content myself by snoozing on the ground outside by the taxi stand (its noisy out there, how's a guy supposed to get some shut eye?) and leaving "nose smears" on the terminal windows people watching while Daddy got his bag...

Before I sign off here's the pic of the trip... Daddy and his BIG TRUCK. I think its missing something. And that particular something is a sheltie in the window!

My Daddy is leaving me...

I watched him take out his suitcase, pick out his clothes and start to pack his bag. I tried to be a stowaway but he caught me...I thought I had hidden myself well enough, but I guess not. Maybe I should have covered myself up with more clothes...

Then I was excited when I saw him pack two dog toys and maybe I get to go! But my hopes came crashing down when he told me those toys were for my Pup Pals Katy and Max out in Walla Walla. Pout, I don't get to go. But Katy and Max be ready for some AWESOME toys! I helped picked them out and they are super cool!

So I have resigned myself to my fate. While Daddy is out in Imnaha, OR doing this :

I will be stuck back here in Maryland doing this:

We'll go cruisin' together...

Mom, Pops and I went on a Watermark Cruise of the Chesapeake Bay's Lighthouses. It was a pretty neat little cruise- the best part was that I got to go. I must have been pretty special too cause I was the only doggie on board :o)

Here's a quick photo display of our Labor Day adventure...

Here we are about to leave City Dock... I am keeping watch as everyone boards the ship...

Here's Mom and I looking out across the Chesapeake Bay, you wouldn't believe how many boats were out there! Sheltie Captains were in high demand... they were lucky to have me aboard!The wind was in my fur... Life Was Good!

But being a Sheltie Captain is hard work... so one must include naptime on their adventures! Here we are back at City Dock with the ship... it was a great day... can't wait to go cruisin' again!

Note From The Mommy Person: We were THRILLED with how well the cruise went. Everyone at Watermark was super nice, they welcomed Stormy aboard and seemed happy to have him there. The same could not be said from some of our fellow cruisers, they looked less than thrilled at the prospect of having to share an afternoon with a dog on a ship. I am happy to report that Stormy showed them what a joy a well behaved dog is. If he wasn't looking at the sights, he was asleep either at our feet, on the bench seat or under the bench seat right by an air vent (smart sheltie!). We had at least 8 -10 people come up and tell us how well behaved he was and how they couldn't believe how quiet he was (those of us who have/know shelties, know how awesome that comment was!). One lady even took his picture :o) What a great way to spend our day!

Support Your Local Sheltie!

Hey Guys! I'm participating in the Tail Waggin' Trail Walk on September 15, its a walk to benefit the shelter animals of Queen Anne's County, Maryland. It's a 2.5 mile walk along the Cross-Island trail that starts at 8 a.m.

If you are in the Maryland area and are interested in coming let me know and I'll get you the sign up info... all donations go to support Adopt-A-Pet, Inc which is dedicated to increasing adoptions at the Queen Anne's County shelter, providing funds for emergency vet care for the shelter animals, providing special supplies needed to care for the animals there. It's a great cause, my family has adopted quite a few of our pets from this shelter.

If you can't make the walk and want to sponsor me, you can do that too!! Just let me know and we'll get you signed up!

You can view a list of Queen Anne's County's adoptable pets @ http://west.petfinder.com/shelters/MD81.html

I'll be walking in memory of my brother Bo, Mommy adopted him from this shelter back in 1996, he crossed Rainbow Bridge in 2002, I never got to meet him but I know he was an AWESOME dog and I want to raise money so more dogs like him can find their forever homes...

Another Whitehaven post! This place was too much fun! I wanted to detail more of what I got into this past weekend, cause I know you all are just PANTING with anticipation over what I am going to say. First of all, we took TWO, count them TWO, kayaking adventures. The first was a bit tougher than the second seeing as how my superior sheltie navigation skills coupled with Pop's insatiable need for photos led Mom and I to run aground in the marsh muck. We were weren't stuck stuck just a bit jammed up because when Mom tried to push away from the shore the muck tried to swallow her paddle. Yipes! But all was well in the end and we had a good time. Here's another kayaking pic, this time Mom and I are navigating what remains of Whitehaven's Cannery. It was washed away by a hurricane.

Seeing as how it is back to school time, Pops and I took an early morning walk to visit the Whitehaven School. It looks a lot different than my school! In fact I'm not even sure if they use it anymore. I didn't catch a single whiff of crayons and construction paper so I can almost say without a doubt that it isn't used for teaching preschoolers! My Mom-Mom teaches at a pre-school and I get to visit sometimes. There are always good smells there, and they have a bunny rabbit. They don't let me play with the bunny though. I have to sit nicely and show the little ones what a well behaved dog I am. Once I even got to go hang out in the classroom for Fourth Graders while Mom chatted with one of her old teachers. His classroom was fun and he had lots of TERPS stuff posted but I missed all the smells and crumbs that came with the preschool classroom.

In a nod to my Newfy friends I just had to pose with the Whitehaven Ferry safety ring. Mom, Pops and I rode the Ferry across the river the last morning we were in Whitehaven. It's a neat little ferry, it carries three cars at a time back and forth across the river. It's free to everyone, but just make sure you get there before it closes for the evening else you will make a long trip for nothing- except for the chance to catch a glimpse of Whitehaven. It's neat to watch it go back and forth, but I wouldn't want to be the driver. I think it would get boring after a while just going back and forth in a straight line.

I also learned ferry lingo this weekend. The phrase of the day was "run the line." The Whitehaven Ferry runs on a cable that lies below the water, the cable keeps it from drifting down river (kinda like how us shelties keep the sheep moving in the right direction!) Well there are some people out on the river who do not respect that the ferry has the "right of way" and they will zoom up and "run the line" to try to get by before the ferry crosses in front of them. The danger with this is that sometimes their boat propeller can catch on the cable. Somethings gotta give at that point and either the cable breaks and the ferry floats away (VERY bad news) or the prop on the boat breaks and those silly people got what they deserved and are dead in the water. Today's lesson- When boating in Whitehaven don't run the line!!!

Greetings from Whitehaven!!

That's where Mom, Pops and I spent the weekend! Here I am posing next to the sign at the entrance to town. We stayed at this really awesome bed and breakfast called the Whitehaven Hotel. They allow doggies to come and stay in their Lincoln bedroom. It was really super cool. The hotel is located right on the water. It's a small town with only 20 or so residents but there was still adventuresome stuff for my sheltie self to get into!

First off one of the employees has a sheltie, a GIRL sheltie. Her name is Penny and you know what. She is the all the awesomer because she is tri colored too! How cool is that?! The only thing that kept us from being twins was that Penny has a lot less white than me and she doesn't enjoy playing ball or fetch. Guess thats cause she's a girl. But that's okay, at least she didn't give me any girl cooties or anything. That would have been TRAGIC. Penny and I were supposed to have a date on Saturday evening, you know wandering the woodlands watching the sunset but Mom and Dad had to go and stuff themselves at this place called The Red Roost and I missed my date. Oh drat. I'll have to keep in touch and hopefully she'll talk to me next time we meet...

But the weekend wasn't all about meeting the ladies. It was also about BOATING! Whitehaven is located right on the river and the hotel has three kayaks that guests can take out anytime they want. Here I am captaining my own ship on the mighty river. And don't worry, I was a safe boater and wore my lifejacket. It was great fun on the river, we saw fish jumping and we saw a Great Blue Heron along the shoreline. One of the employees said they nest along the shore. We didn't see any nests, but thats okay because Mom says we shouldn't disturb wildlife. I agree. Mom and Pops saw this neat little picture that sums it all up- Take only pictures... leave only footprints. That's what we try to remember on all of our trips. You should too!

Great News!!

Nick the horsie is back home!!
Someone took him because they felt sorry for him...
Bad idea folks, leave the horse rescuing up to the professionals.
If you think a horse (or any animal) in your neighborhood is in trouble call your local Humane Society or Animal Control office. They know the right avenues to correct the problem.

HAVE YOU SEEN NICK ???

This hit a little too close to home... this is not far from where Buttercup used to live!! Mommy said pass this info along so hopefully this little girl can get her horse back.

On August 20 Nick was stolen from his pasture in Fair Hill, Maryland. His owner went to bring him to the barn because the farrier was coming. All gates were closed and secured, and he was no where to be seen. No fences were down, and there was no way for him to have gone over the fence since he limped due to arthritis.

Nick is old, 28 years old, arthritic and swaybacked (that means his back dips down low, like a valley behind his shoulders, instead of being level).

His theft was reported to the Local Sheriff's Department and also to NetPosse. NetPosse is an organization that Mommy is a member of that is dedicated to bringing stolen/missing horses back home. NetPosse issued an 'Idaho Alert' to the equine community (its similar to an Amber Alert for missing children) and has created a flier for Nick, so if you are in the MD/PA/VA area, PLEASE print out this flier and post it in "horsey places". Mom says Nick could be ANYWHERE.

For more information about Nick and a link to his printable flier in .pdf form, visit his NetPosse webpage (Nick's NetPosse Page).

Mommy always tells me that I need to find a job besides going to daycare and keeping Maddie in line. My standard response is "Well I looked and there just isn't anything out there for us shelties except chasing cat cat cats and well, they won't pay me for that no matter how cute I am."

She just shakes her head. My sheltie friends Darby and Joey are also looking for work. Darby has been looking for YEARS with no luck, he reads the Help Wanted ads everyday and everyday he walks away sad because no one wants to hire a sheltie. We are smart doggies you know and dedicated and cute too!

Well there may be help for us sheltie job seekers after all, I saw this article from Florida about three racing greyhounds who found a job working for Adverdog. Basically they are hired by the hour to go socialize at special events and grand openings. They have spiffy outfits that have little pockets that hold the business cards that they hand out. I don't know about the outfit part but I would love being paid to be petted!! I could even whip out my super spiffy sheltie tricks like spins and rolling over. And I could make money to buy more Greenies! It's a win-win situation. How do I sign up??

With all the news reporting on the Michael Vick issue its easy to forget that some people will do anything for their pets. Case in point, Alex the Dalmatian's family. He fell into a drainpipe and they searched non-stop for him and when they found him 25 feet underground they dug him out! His Daddy said they weren't going to stop until they had him out. You can hear the emotion in his voice when he reaches Alex... it made my Mommy and my Auntie Beth get teary eyed.

Now thats true love.

See the video of Alex's rescue HERE.

My sister thinks she is so civilized... she sits all proper next to the fireplace. She says she has class, that all cats do and that we dogs just drool and play in the mud, things a proper kitty like her would NEVER do. She says you need to show good ettiquette (whatever that is) and act in a way that represents your high social standing (she does realize she was rescued from a trash can right?) Maybe growing up in a trashcan is high class, I dunno but...

I don't know my exact social standing other than the fact that Mom and Dad are Alpha but I do know that sitting next to the fireplace with your paws crossed on a beautiful Sunday afternoon is terribly boring... I'd much rather be out and about at the dogpark playing chase with my Pup Pals and a game of fetch with Mom!

Lassie ain't got nothing on me...

I have my own HORSE!

Ok, so she belongs to my Mom... but that just means she's almost mine!

I was chased by a Chicken Nugget!

No it wasn't a bad dream, it really happened! While in The Great KC I met up with Chicken Nugget the Miniature Horse and French Fry the pygmy goat. French Fry was cool, Chicken Nugget... well let's just say we had a good game of chase going and I WAS NOT the one doing the chasing!! In fact she ran me right up on the porch and underneath some chairs! Then when Mommy stopped laughing (why would she think a pony chasing me is so funny?!) and tried to let me in the house Chicken Nugget tried to follow me inside!!! When I made it inside she stomped her foot at me. How rude!

I'm looking forward to a rematch. I can't believe she didn't respect my authority!

Beat the heat!

It's scorching hot around here! Has been for the last few days...The high today is something like 101 degrees! Yipes! This sheltie is hanging out in the shade as much as possible. At daycare I have a special shady spot under the stairs... just for me to keep cool, definitely will be using that today. And, this evening I'll be able to take a dip in the doggie pool at my grandparents' house, Mom even mentioned going kayaking!! Bark! Bark! I LOVE boating! I'm the captain of the ship. I just lack the spiffy Captains hat, but thats not too much of a loss since I'm not a hat wearing kinda guy. I prefer bandannas... I think they make me look handsome.

Alrighty gotta jet, we are headed to The Great KC and I have to mentally prepare myself for the journey cause the AC in Mom's car died! We are taking it home to be fixed... what is it with AC this year? Our condo's AC died a couple of weeks ago... Bottom line its gonna be a hot ride... I am so making Mom stop and by me an ice water from Chick-fil-A :o)

Proof that my sister Maddie is crazy...

Video One:



Video Two:

Finally was able to post my swimming video! Bark bark!

Code Name- Walkies.

Under the cover of darkness the sheltie slips out of the building... his steps are quick, he lurks in the shadows, ever watchful. He must not be caught in the open. His black coat is great camoflage, his thick fur silences the jingle of his tags, his flexi leash glides without a sound. Out the door, past the bushes, slipping in between parked cars... Stealth is essential.

My purpose?

Hiding from the kids in the parking lot...

Don't get me wrong I LOVE kids. They like food, I like stealing their food. They like to play chase, I like chasing them! They want to kick/throw a ball, I'll gladly play fetch for hours... I just don't like THESE kids. Mom doesn't like them either... she tries to be nice but they just don't listen. I cringe at the sound of "doggie! Doggie! DOGGIE!!!!" They come sprinting across the parking lot, descend upon me like a swarm and get directly in my face... I turn away and they move with me. Mom asks them to step back and they don't listen. They grab at my leash, they want to walk ME. Oh no, Mom says. She says I need to be walked in a special way, its good cover. They pull on my tail, hit me on top the head as they are "petting" me, shoot at me with their little laser guns, one even poked me in the face! I stand there patiently panting, waiting for it all to end. Then they run screaming away, yelling that I tried to bite them. WHAT?! I was panting! What part of panting equals biting?

Somedays when I get home from daycare they don't even let Mommy get the car in park before they are tap tapping on the windows asking to pet the doggie. For the love of dog kids! Let me arrive home in PEACE!

It's like they magically materialize out of thin air... yelling "Doggggieeee"

So Mom and I have resorted to covert operations for walkies. She scans the parking lot and when the coast is clear we run down the steps, alongside the building to the back of our condo complex for our walk. If we're feeling bold we'll cross the parking lot to our normal spot, but usually when the kiddies are out we revert to stealth mode or don't go out at all. Mom has tried education, telling them I'm a nice doggie, showing them how to pet nicely, etc. Instead they romp into the middle of our training sessions and demand that I do this or that trick. So not cool. (Note from Stormy's Mom- Has anyone else had this problem? It's seriously disturbing b/c one day these kids are gonna get bitten by a dog that is less tolerant than my own. I don't want that to happen. They play unsupervised in our parking lot ALL THE TIME and as Stormy said I and a few other dog owners have tried to teach them proper dog greeting etiquette but it all flys out the window when they spot a dog. All of us dog owners physically cringe when we hear them coming. It's sad but true.)

It makes me happy that MY kids are good around dogs. Sure Dylan drops spaghetti in my fur right where I can't reach it when he's eating and Christopher tackles me from time to time. But I know when I hear "MeMe, come!" or "MeMe, Sit!" or "Here MeMe" its my favorite boys calling me to have fun... which is the best part of liking my kids. (Note From Stormy's Mom: MeMe is what my nephews call Stormy, sometimes they refer to him as Steamy. Either way it is WAY cute to watch them together.)

Here are me and my boys together...