Happy New Year Everybody!!!

Where's E.C. Bird?

Hi friends!

Mom and Dogdad are back from St. Louis and we're back from camp. But that flighty E.C. Bird is nowhere to be found.

We know lots of you took his plight to heart, offering him a sweater or a scarf or a sanctuary when he told you how distressed he was to find himself in the frigid Midwest. Nothing like compassionate canines to offer sympathy to a fellow suffering creature. Thank you for that!!!

But a day later, the region warmed up -- and yet, did E.C. Bird file the reports he promised as soon as his beak thawed and the reindeer flew home? No!!! Did he update his condition and his whereabouts? Did he offer to return the cam? No!! Did he look for another egret to fill in for him? No!!!


So here we are, back from our Christmas vacation with no stories from him, no pictures from him, no nothing to share from him. Fortunately, Dogdad snuck a few pictures in and that's what you see here.

The chilled street where Grandma lives.












Squirrel nests in the trees where our uncle and aunt live (Squirrel nests!!! We didn't know squirrels had nests.)









A pre-marathon-gift-opening Christmas tree.

















And a silly someone familiar-looking wearing antlers. (We think it's Mom, 'cause she was kind of envious of all the dogs who were wearing antlers in their Christmas cards. )














But back to E.C. Bird. We had paid him in advance with a seven-day supply of his favorite fishes -- so we are wondering if we should have recourse to an attorney. That's not in the spirit of Chistmas and the holiday season -- so we're still undecided. What do you all think we should do?

Your pals, sending you lots of wirey love for the New Year,

Jake and Just Harry

Pee ess: (Shhhh, don't tell him I told you, but Jakey will be 6 years old on New Years Day!! J.H.)

One Quick Message from the Egret Cam

BRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

NOBODY TOLD ME I'D BE FREEZING MY FEATHERED DERRIERE OFF WHEN I SIGNED ON FOR THIS GIG!!!

THE CAMERA LENS IS FROSTED.

THEY'RE MAKING ME FILE A FLIGHT PLAN THROUGH NOW AND DECEMBER 24!!!

SO NO MORE REPORTS UNTIL MY BEAK THAWS AND THE REINDEER HAVE CLEARED THE SKIES!!!

IN THE MEANTIME, ICY FEATHER HUGS TO YOU ALL -- EXCEPT THOSE TWO DARN HUMANS WHO DUPED ME -- A WARM WEATHER WATER BIRD -- INTO THIS BONE-CHILLING TRIP!!!

E.C. BIRD SIGNING OFF FROM THE FRIGID MIDWEST

It's Egret Cam Time

Well, we had a great time at the ice skating pawty, and our butts have thawed to the point that we can once again use them for their intended purpose. It was lots of fun seeing old friends and meeting new ones, slipping and sliding on the ice, flying with all our pals on Aire Ruby, and enjoying all the special goodies on the plane and at the pawty. Thank you Butchy and Snickers!! Thank you Ruby the Beautiful!!

But now, it's time for our next adventure: the folks have started packing for their week in St. Louis -- and we both know what that means: dogs are off to camp for their annual Christmas sojourn.

As we've said before, we like it at our Dr. Dan's -- we get to bark our heads off, practice our jumping, meet other dogs, and take them for all they're worth at our nightime poker games. We have so much fun with everybody there and they always take such good care of us that Mom always wonders if we really miss her when we're away. But we'll never tell!!

This year, though, we have something new to make sure we can enjoy the festivities in St. Louis as well as those here at home. That's right: THE EGRET CAM!! Remember how the egret cam helped us enjoy the football game in Tampa a month or so ago? Well, he's ready to ride again and keep us apprised of all the goings on over the Christmas holidays.

For those of you who still wonder what an egret cam is -- it's one of those beautiful water birds who inhabit these parts who decided to go hi-tech, strap a video cam on his head, and report on far-flung events.

So stay tuned, pals. And in the meantime, once again, we love all the cards we've received and are letting Mom and Dogdad take them to St. Louis so the family there can see firsthand how cool are DWB friends are!!

Jake and Just Harry

Two Days to Learn How to Skate!!

Hey Pals,

We're getting ready for the ice-skating pawty that Butchy and Snickers are holding in two days. Now, as southern boys, we've never seen real snow -- unless it was in those few months I spent as a puppy in Joplin, Missouri, before I was shipped to Miami (in a small plastic crate marked LIVE ANIMAL!!). So we've done some research and started practicing.

Look here, it doesn't seem too hard, does it? Once you've mastered that two-legged stance:








So, inspired by those images, we tried and we tried our skills at ice skating. Me first, as the elder and spokesdog for our pack. Whoops...

Then Just Harry got an idea (yeah, sometimes, he does get ideas!!). What if we got a sled? So we tried that too. Whoops...

But the good news -- other than a slight soreness in certain parts of our wirey bodies and a bit of personal embarrassment -- is that our image is still safe with our pals. Right?

And, with all our practicing, we think we will really excel at what should become a new Olympic sport: butt sliding.

So watch out pawty goers!!! Here come Jake and Just Harry, Butt Sliding Champaweens!!!

Jake

Yep, It's Still Us!!

Hey pals,

Just in case you think you've stumbled on the wrong blog -- it's still us with a new look.

We decided to change our template so that the LaPorte petition and our c-box would show in their entirety -- so while we were at it, with a nod to our wirey pal, we decided to Gussie it up!!

Do you like it??? Yes?? No??

And if you haven't, please sign the petition to Fermez LaPorte and write to the judge!!! Our goal is now 2,000 signatures and we have more than 1,200!!

Jake and Just Harry

Just Harry's Excellent Dawgalicious Week

Dog oh dog oh dog -- I seem to have gotten my act together 'cause everything was excellent last week!


First of all, while this may seem indiscreet to some, we dogs all understand the significance. I have finally learned that certain personal matters should occur outside and not in my private carpeted pooping parlor on the upstairs landing. This has filled Mom and Dogdad with joy and, in my honor, they even replaced the much abused carpet with nice wood like elsewhere in the house.





Next, to celebrate Chanukah, Jakey and I got a whole brand new box of pencils of our very own. This is because the previous box of pencils that Mom had has been demolished by our love of gnawing on any stray that inadvertently gets left on a table, chewing off the eraser end, marking the rest with tooth patterns, and leaving our art work on the entry hall floor.


We also got peanut butter treats in the shape of dreidels from our human brother and sister-in law. Yum!!!




Then, and this is where it gets even better -- with all due respect to my feline nieces and other friends of my canine friends -- I had a face-to-face with a cat the other night coming back from my walk. She started to hiss; I growled. And the next thing I knew, she was sitting on a branch of the nearest palm tree.


And finally, which is the best thing of all, yesterday I treed a squirrel!! I was so excited. Dogdad and I were coming back from my morning walk and there he was -- just six feet away. He scurried away when he saw me, but with my long lead, I almost caught up with him. Then he, like the cat, climbed up a palm tree. Dogdad shook the fronds, and the squirrel jumped over to another tree. I was in a frenzy. I jumped as high as I could to reach him -- Dogdad says it was at least five feet 'cause I left a paw mark on the wall next to the tree. Wowser, that was truly dawgalicious!!!

No photos of the actual event 'cause the camera was at home, but I'm sure you all can picture the scene and my excitement.

So, happy wirey woofs to all!! We've been enjoying all the cool Christmas cards that have been filling the mailbox (Dogs 40, Folks 3). And we've been humming all of Gussie's new songs. Jakey and I hope to get to know every dog better in the coming year. Thank you Charlie; thank you Opy for all you do to make life on the DWB so much fun!!

Just Harry

Pee Ess: Jakey tells me that we should send warm wishes to those who may be afflicted with ice and snow storms and invite them to come visit. So yes, we'd love to see you all. And if you can't get away, at least stay safe and warm.

Mistletoe?

I saw a huge bundle of mistletoe being transported to Asta's party and it made me speculate on my past history with, how shall I say it, the opposite sex. It hasn't been a pretty story.

My first love was an older beagle named Lucy. I met her on a walk when I was a puppy. She was beautiful, but barely cared enough to sniff me. I looked longingly after her as she walked away after a brief hello, and I never saw her again. Mom did once, and told me Lucy had gotten fat and was no longer as gorgeous as I remembered, but you all know how puppy love is.

My second love was a beautiful wire named Abby Clutter (I think that was her last name). I met her on a list, but she was so beautiful, I had to stand in line to get the time of day.

Next came the fascinating Ms. Libby Longtail Murphy of Ohio, with whom I exchanged many a flirtatious message. But she was young, and also had many suitors, so we never actually took things to the next level. I may bark a lot, but actually I'm pretty shy.

In the interest of full disclosure as I contemplate the mistletoe at Asta's party, the only girly dog I've ever kissed was Alle Truett. We met the day we went to Orlando to get Just Harry. It was a sweet kiss -- I think there's a photo on one of my first posts -- but we never saw each other again.

So now, here I am at Astas's party, all decked out in my Chanukah finery, just hoping that one of the beautiful ladies at the party will come over, give me a little nuzzle, and one of those great big smoochie kisses Asta is always sending. Who will it be? Snickers? Agatha? Maggie? Ruby? Asta? Faya? Lorenza? Sophie? Hmmmmm. I wonder.

Maybe some of that mulled cider will do the trick. Paws crossed!!!

Jake

It's Chanukah!!!

We are particularly excited at celebrating the Festival of Lights this year because we think the world could use a lot more light. Especially in St. Jerome, where we are hoping a certain judge will see the light when it comes to sentencing Mr. La Porte (see our previous post).

Tonight we light the first candle of an eight-day holiday. We might get pressies, one each night -- Mom did when she was little -- but we're not sure yet. We were going to say more about this fun holiday, but when we visited Axel's site, we discovered that he has captured the whole spirit of the holiday, with all the special food -- latkes and sugar doughnuts -- and songs. So hurry over there -- and we'll see you all at Asta's party on December 6th, where we will join in all the caroling!!

Woofs to all our pals,

Jake and Just Harry

Adding Our Voices to Those Asking for Help in the Blainville Wire Case

Here's the story, with thanks to Axel and others who have put all this together.

Marc-Andre Laporte, 59, was found guilty of two counts of animal cruelty at the St. Jerome courthouse in Montreal this week, following the seizure of 97 fox terriers in November 2005 from his Blainville puppy mill. Judge Jean Sirois rejected Laporte's argument that he loved his dogs too much. When police raided the property, they found dogs matted in feces feeding on dogs' carcasses and stronger dogs preying on weaker ones.

Click here -- if you have a strong stomach -- to see the photos:
http://www.spcamontreal.com/english/pages/whats_new/news.html

Almost 40 animals had to be destroyed. Laporte's home was later condemned and demolished in March 2006. The surviving dogs were cared for by the SPCA and later, with the help of devoted fox terrier lovers, found wonderful foster homes where they have been living for the past 2 years. Despite his horrendous treatment of these innocent creatures, Laporte, who wil be sentenced on February 22, 2008, is facing only six months of jail time and up to $4,000 in fines. At the same hearing, the judge is to decide if Laporte is to get any of his fox terriers back!

WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN. The surviving mill fox terriers took months to recover physically, medically and emotionally from their ordeal. To even consider removing ONE wire from the safety and care of their loving foster families back to Laporte is OUTRAGEOUS!

Today we are launching a two-fold campaign to prevent Laporte from getting his dog/s back. We know we can count on you to take action and spread the word:

1: Please go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/no-dogs-for-laporte to sign the online petition that has been set up. Once all the signatures are entered, it will be printed out and given to Elizabeth Pierce who has been instrumental in saving and caring for the Blainville wires, for distribution to the media (unfortunately it is illegal in Canada to hand petitions to the court).

2: Please take a few minutes to write a letter to Judge Jean Sirois imploring him to prevent Laporte from ever taking possession of his former fox terriers or of owning any dog again. If you can, include a photo of yourself and your foxie/dog. All the letters received will be put in a file and also handed to the media.

Letters should be mailed to: Elizabeth Pierce, 119 16th Street, Roxboro, Québec, Canada H8Y 1P1. The sentencing hearing is February 22, 2008 – so write those letters soon. Please disseminate this information on your blogs, to your fellow dog owners etc. Thank you for your support in this important matter.

Remember, this could have happened to any of us or our friends. It's not just about wire fox terriers. It's about treating all animals with the love and respect they deserve.

Jake (born in a puppy mill) and Just Harry (rescued from a nasty shelter)

Green Beans and Punkin Pie, Oh My!!

Just Harry and I have been training Mom, and we think it's working.

Our goal? Thirds for breakfast and dinner.

Our strategy?

Step 1. I, Jake, approach Mom (or Dogdad, as the situation demands), whack her arm with my paw, sit, and give her my most absolutely adorable wire pup stare. She stops what she's doing (either reading the paper in the morning or working at her computer in the afternoon) and asks if I'm hungry. As the spokesdog for me and my brother, I lick my chops to say yes, and run towards my bowl in the dining room. JH says "I'll have what he''s having." and runs towards his crate to wait for his food. We both get our ration of kibble and fresh water. This works every time.

Step 2. Mom resumes what she was doing. I scarf down the food and wait a minute until she is totally absorbed in her activity. Then I come over, sit down again, give her a low growl to get her attention and repeat that absolutely irresistible wirey stare. Mom says, "No, Jakey, you've already eaten. Don't you remember? Do you want to turn into a roly poly porky dog?" I repeat my growl. She repeats her "No!" I growl a little louder and more urgently. Sometimes I even add a bark, just to get the point across. She starts to say no again, but then -- I think -- concerned that she may have not given me enough to fill my tummy and that I might still be really hungry -- relents and gets up to give me a second helping. JH, not to be outdone, runs to his crate to wait for his share. Admittedly, it is much smaller, Mom's devious use of psychology to make us think we are getting our way. And this is why we are escalating our approach.

Step 3. (As yet untried.) Looking even cuter than before, we come back a third time and Mom, having caught that legendary 1.6-second canine memory, forgets that we have eaten and fills our bowls again. What are the odds of this happening? Stay tuned. I have gotten her to feed us at 4 pm instead of 5. But thirds? Our goal may be unattainable.

This is not to say that we have forgotten all the lusciousness of Thanksgiving. None of that great-smelling turkey for us -- but lots of green beans as treats, and little tastes of that yummy pumpkin pie. Oh my!! Maybe thirds would be a bit much after all.

Jake the Dog

Happy Thanksgiving Everydog!!! (And Their Humans Too)

Mom's been busy again, so we haven't had a chance to blog. But she's in the kitchen making pumpkin pie for tomorrow -- so here's our chance to wish every one a Happy Thanksgiving. We know not everyone celebrates the day when we do; but the thought of being grateful for our blessings is universal, regardless of a specific day!

So many many woofs to you all and -- oops, something smells wonderful in the kitchen -- gotta' scoot!!!

Jake

Pee Ess: We didn't meant to leave out cats, hamsters, and all other creatures!!

The Apology

Jake here. I just wanted to document what I said in my previous post about Dogdad setting things straight with me! See, I told ya! He's a very cool guy. I'm a lucky dog!!

Jake

Two More Nieces

Well, hi, it's me, Jake. I guess I'm over my sulk. I was looking out the window, staring into space yesterday afternoon, and wondering where my life went wrong, when all of a sudden Dogdad came home, picked me up, looked me in the eye and said, "Jake, old pal, you are truly a great dog and I love you. I'm sorry if I left the door cracked open so that your young and irrepressible brother could sneak out and cause you both to be grounded. Please accept my apology. And here, have a few of the treats that I made especially for you!!"


Woof, who could resist that? So, yes, the strike is over. I wonder if that approach would work on all those writers picketing in LA? I guess they need a little more than kind words and doggie treats, though.


Anyway, while I was staring into space, I heard a sweet mewing from about 30 miles away. It was two more of my feline nieces, those who live up the highway to the north: Winston and Zoey.


Winston wanted everyone to know that cats can fetch too.And Zoey, known as "the brains of the organization," felt a kinship with my own role as the Brain, of Pinky and the Brain.They heard I had featured some of their cousins on our blog and wondered if they could make an appearance too. So here they are. We've never met, but I know they are the delight of my human uncle (Mom's brother) and aunt.

Also, yesterday, while staring into space in the opposite direction -- to the south, where my pals the Key West Collies live -- I learned that they had given us an "I Like This Blog" award. As this is the very first award we've gotten, we were very excited. So I guess yesterday was a good day in Barkalot land. Thank you collies.

And grateful woofs to all our friends who offered me and Just Harry advice as to how to get ungrounded.

Jake the No-Longer-On-Strike Dog

Grounded - Again

Drat. I've done it again. The front door was open a crack Saturday afternoon and I'm a terrier. I didn't go very far (not like the other time). I just wanted to see what was going on at the end of our driveway. So what's the big deal? They were so busy purging magazines and files and taking boxes of discarded stuff outside, they didn't even know I was outside instead of inside. It was only when a neighbor knocked on their door, me in tow by the collar, and said "Is this yours?" that they realized what had happened.

And now -- you guessed it. We're grounded. We couldn't go to Suki's Disney World Barkday Pawty. And Jake is in a snit and on strike -- he won't even blog -- 'cause both of us are grounded and he thinks that's unfair.





I guess it's hopeless, We may never go anywhere again. What have I done?
Just Harry

Strike Up the Egret!

When I'm at camp, I practice jumping as high as I can -- without bonking my head on the ceiling of my quarters -- to see what I can see. This time, when Just Harry and I were at Dr. Dan's for the weekend, while Mom and Dogdad drove to Tampa to attend a college football game, I tried something different. I found that, if I employed a special "egret-cam," I could see what they were up to all the way across the state without my usual jumping. (Full disclosure: the idea of an egret-cam was not my own; my pals Ms. Gimlet Rose and Sammy suggested it. Or perhaps it was Celestial Nigel.)

My human brother is an assistant director of the University of South Florida's marching band and the folks had promised to attend one of the games to see him and the band in action. For a few weeks, USF was near the top of the college teams, so the game promised to be exciting. But sadly, they lost this game to the University of Cincinnati, as well as their two previous ones, and they dropped off the charts (although they still have three more games to play).

Despite the loss, it was a beautiful day in Tampa -- and the folks actually RELAXED, something they're not very good at. And despite the loss, the game was indeed exciting, especially the last quarter. During that quarter, Mom and Dogdad sat behind the band, right next to two rows of tuba players and really got into the TEAM SPIRIT. It was TUBALICIOUS!!! If those tuba players could have affected the outcome of the game by the way they blew into their instruments, the score would have been very different! Our egret-cam vibrated with the noise and we could hear it all the way across the state!!!

For those of you who haven't been to a college football game, there's a tradition called "tailgating." That's not when the car behind you gets really close to your rear bumper; rather it's when you and a bunch of friends bring lots of food several hours before the game, open the trunk of your vehicle, set out a spread of food, and drink lots of beer...

According to Mom, who went to an all-girls college, attending a college football game is an out-of-body experience. Everyone is dressed in various versions of the team colors -- in this case dark green and gold. Some fans paint their bodies in those colors and, because this school's mascot is a bull, some even wear horns.

No bull, is this a great idea for our next costume party, or what???

So, thanks to our innovative egret-cam, it's as if we were there!!! And now, fellow dogs, you too can see how humans amuse themselves!

Jake the Dog

Answering a Few Cat Questions

Dear Friends

We have been astonished at how kindly our posts about our feline nieces have been received. We do, however, need to clarify a few points:

1. Like most dogs, we are not too crazy about cats. We have just been trying to keep family peace and recognize that love comes in many shapes, sizes, and species.

2. We have never actually been in physical proximity to the cats in question. Ninja lives in Orlando; Mistletoe and Holly live in Tampa. Jakey was in Orlando once at his human sister's house, but the cats weren't in the same room. JH has never been there. When we met him in Orlando, it was in the presence of wires only. And neither of us has ever been to Tampa. As for the cats in our family who live just to the north of us -- we could actually drive there for a short visit; but the cat parents haven't expressed much interest in our visiting them.

3. Mom's birthday was a few days ago and we sent her this card. Mom couldn't stop laughing when she read the inscription on the bottom. It says, "Love, Just Harry and Jake the Dog. Harry picked out this card... I told him they were KATZ. JAKE. "

We hope that sets the record straight. The only cats we have physically shared space with are those that Dr. Dan has at camp and they stay in their own turf. Then there are those that we sniff out from under the cars. And you know how we feel about them.

Jake and Just Harry (I thought it was a cute card and Mom liked it, so there Mr. Smarty Pants!!!)

More Nieces

What are two wire fox terriers born into an extended family of cats to do when they feature one of their feline nieces (Ninja, the runaway come back home to our sister in Orlando) and all the rest -- two more in Orlando, two in Tampa, and two just up the highway a bit) -- start miauling for equal time? To keep peace in the family, we decided to give them all their fifteen minutes of fame as soon as we can. So, while Mom and Dogdad were in Tampa this weekend to visit our human brother and sister-in-law and attend a University of South Florida college football game, they snapped this photo of two more of our nieces, Mistletoe and Holly.

These two lovely young ladies are as different from each other as we Barkalots are. Holly is very friendly and acts almost like one of us; Mistletoe is more reserved. We say this only on second paw information, however, since we, as usual, were not present at the game or the house visit. Had we been there, who knows what this story would have been like!!

In any case two down; four more to go.

Jake and Just Harry

No November Noel

Wildfires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, volcanos, ice storms, drought -- depending on where you live, Mother Nature has lots of tricks up her sleeve. The ones she likes to share with us here in South Florida are hurricanes and the occasional tornado.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30 every year -- but about the end of October, we start to breathe a sigh of relief. That's why news about a Tropical Storm named Noel out in the Caribbean last weekend didn't seem too serious. Wrong!!! Noel turned out to be a deadly storm that did a lot of damage in the Caribbean, and killed about 100 people.

Here in Florida, the winds caused beaches to be gobbled up by the rising surf, knocked down sea walls, and created other damage and concerns -- but, thank dog, no fatalities, no evacuations, no animals in harm's way.

Mom was in Tallahassee, the state capitol on Monday and Tuesday. She flew up early Monday morning on a commuter jet and had a very bumpy ride thanks to swirling winds. When it came time to fly back home on Tuesday afternoon, she and one of her friends looked at each other and decided to drive instead. It took 7 hours, but they were blissfully bump-free. And we were tail waggingly happy she was back.

Dogdad worked from home the two days Mom was away so that we could stay here instead of another trip to camp. We had lots of fun -- long runs on the golf course, treats at lunch, good guy talk!!! He's a little harsher than Mom about our barking, though, so we had to choose our moments.

And now Noel is out to sea. It's expected to weaken into a nort'easter affecting Cape Cod and then Nova Scotia. So we hope our friends up there stay safe. And the only Noel we'll be looking for is the one planned for December 25.

Jake and Just Harry

Our Niece Ninja

Just Harry and I have a human sister in Orlando and our human sister has three cats and a small dog. About a month ago, one of her cats, Ninja, a beautiful but feisty black girl, spied an open garage door and disappeared. Our sister was terribly sad and kept looking for Ninja. But then, a few days ago, just when she had almost given up hope, she caught a glimpse of a familiar black tail hiding underneath something a few houses away. Knowing Ninja's independent personality, our sister got down on her knees so as not to scare her away She waited and waited, and little by little, a tiny black nose emerged from the hiding place, then two paws, and a furry body, and Ninja was back!!!
After more than a month out on her own , Ninja's awfully skinny, but a check-up with the vet showed nothing else is wrong. The vet said that, if she eats and drinks to gain her weight back, she'll be just fine. We don't have to tell you that, like most of our kind, we're not too crazy about cats -- but Ninja is our niece, and she is black, and it is Hallowe'en, so we thought you wouldn't mind if we featured Ninja in our blog today.

And, while we are at it, speaking of black cats and Hallowe'en, we want to wish Joe the Cat, a friend of ours over on Mr. Doodle's Dog, a very happy 13th birthday. How cool is that? Black, and 13 and Hallowe'en!!!

FYI: This unique, for us, paw shake across the species does not, however, extend to all those scalawags who hide under our cars (see JH's photo a blog ago).

Jake

Disappointed Dreams

Well, our dreams of taking over the world last night came to an end after the pawty and we had to fly home. We tried to enlist the help of several pawty-goers, but every dawg was having so much fun, they weren't into world domination. So, just as in all the episodes of Pinky and the Brain, Pinky asked me, "What are we going to do tomorrow night, Brain," and sadly, I had to reply, "The same thing we do every night, Pinky, plot to take over the world." Narf!!

But Mom and Dogdad had other ideas. They went to an annual local art show yesterday and when they saw a new exhibitor with cool collars and harnesses, they bought us each a set. Mine is plaid and JH's has puppies on it.

When we're all decked out in our new clothes, no one will ever know what we do every night...

Jake (aka, you know who)

FYI, That's JH checking for cats under the car -- typical "Pinky" behavior!!

Pawty Time

Well, here we are, waiting for Aire Ruby to come get us and take us to the pawty at the Seven Gables. Do you recognize us? We're Pinky and the Brain, those two goofy lab mice who try to take over the world every night. I, Jake, am the Brain -- of course, of course -- and my brother Just Harry, one of the world's most lovable goof balls, is Pinky -- of course, of course. So we're ready to pawty!!! Don't forget us, sweet Ruby!! Narf!!!

Barking, Jumping, Card Sharking, Oh My!

Hello Every Dog,

Well, we're back from our extra long weekend at camp. After Mom and Dogdad flew back from St. Louis, they had to turn around and drive to the Tampa area on business, so we spent two extra nights at Dr. Dan's. While we were there, I think I out did myself in jumping. Dr. Dan says that sometimes when he passes by, I look him in the eye -- and he's about six feet tall! And of course we're hoarse from barking. But we are clean, and very very very tired (the poker games night after night on top of the barking and the jumping will do that to a dog!!).

While we were away, we learned that one of our favorite humans, Aunt Gianna in Italy, had sent some photos of us to one of our wire fox terrier groups. The first one above is recent -- and Aunt Gianna "groomed" me so that both of my ears are down. What do you think? An interesting sometime look, no?

The second photo is when we were puppies. Confession though, even though both my ears were down when I was just a few months old, by the time I got a wee bit older, one sprung up. But in this photo too, Aunt Gianna groomed me. JH was groomed too by Lyn before he came to us.

As soon as we got home from Dr. Dan's this morning, we ran to our respective water holes. This is mine: Jake's Dog Bar. Dogdad made it for me several years ago. He keeps saying he'll make one for JH too, but for the moment, JH has his own water dish somewhere else and eats in his own "cubicle." Do I look a bit chunky in that photo? So what were Mom and Dogdad doing while we were away? They were at a wedding in St. Charles, a historic town just outside of St. Louis proper. It was a beautiful day and they had lots of fun as both the bride and the groom (Dogdad's nephew) come from big families with lots of young humans.

The wedding took place in a conservatory, part of an old building. As this plaque says, this spot was the starting point for covered wagons goiung west in the 1800s.

And this is the conservatory itself, where the wedding was held. It was bright and sunny and a wonderful setting for a wedding. The only thing it needed to be perfect was a few dogs.
The name of this bar, Trailhead, is a reminder of the historic nature of the town Mom and Dogdad stopped in for a moment before heading off to the reception.

And now we're all back and we are free to Stay at Home for awhile!!!

Jake, the Spokesdog for the fanily