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