Barking is what we do best...

...so barking with our pals at the anniversary chat was right up our alley. Our poor wirey rumps are still sore from getting booted out of the chat room so frequently -- but we are terriers, right? so we persisted.

We barked with lots of our old friends, and made some new ones -- and it was a great treat (TREAT, DID SOMEONE SAY TREAT???)

In visiting with Crikit, Sparky, and Ginger today, we saw their Mom was a lot smarter than ours -- they actually got to sit around the laptop on the floor so they could all participate. At our house, we had to fight with Mom to chat 'cause -- if the truth be told -- she kept forgetting she was Mom and actually thought she was us -- and she thought that all of her fellow chatters were labs, huskies, airedales, wires, Boston terriers, mastiffs, danes, etc. --- fancy that!!!

Strange Mom!!!

Jake and Just Harry

Yay Dogdad!!!

It's true!! It's true!!! He built us a fence in our back courtyard!!! It's kind of a "stealth" fence, 'cause in our development, we're supposed to have only tall wooden shadowbox fences, and we didn't want that as it would block the view beyond our place; but it's a fence alright. To "hide" it, we planted a a dozen hibiscus bushes on the common area outside, so they'll soon cover the metal, and we'll put vines on the arbor. (The upside down piece of fencing in front of it is there just until the gap under the arbor -- easy wire fox escape route -- gets filled in.)

Sunday afternoon, we got to explore -- and guess what? We're terriers and we did what terriers do -- look for all the ways to get out!!!

I, Jake, -- remember our "Pinky and the Brain " personas? -- immediately began looking for ways to scale the side wall. And I, Just Harry, explored every inch of the fence to see if Dogdad had forgotten to close off any part of it. No such luck.

We know, we shouldn't be such ingrates (no pun)!! For the first time, except for our visits to the dog park, we were off leash outside and having a ball. But terriers will be terriers, right??

Yay Dogdad. We love you!!! (Mom too!!)

Jake and Just Harry

The Rest of the Story

This year, instead of a Seder with lots of our family and friends, it turned out that only the four of us celebrated the first night of Passover together.

Mom still made her yummy chicken soup with matzoh balls, and brisket, and she made sure we had all the special symbols for the ceremonial Seder plate. The one you see is a new modern one made of glass that our sister gave us last year.


Under the circumstances, I got to sit at the table. Just Harry could have also; but he chose to sit under the table. (Those are Dogdad's legs on the right, and mine over JH's head!)



We each had pieces of matzoh and when the time came, I got to preside over the welcoming of Elijah. Actually, since that part of the ritual involves opening the door to greet him, Mom got to do that while Dogdad held on to our collars. You never know how the evening might have turned out otherwise.

We filled the cup for Elijah -- a silver cup that belonged to Mom's grandparents. We recited the prayers. And we sang songs.

(If you're looking at the pictures on the left of the table -- they're at dog's-eye level, and are part of my Dog Bar.)

It was a lovely evening, and more than made up for the first Passover that I described in my previous post.

We like matzoh.

Jake

How I Got My Middle Name

I was just reading my pal, Axel's latest blog. Part of it described the Jewish holiday, Passover, which starts tomorrow night. Reading about the eight-day holiday reminded me of what happened when my folks brought me home just a few days before Passover in 2002, and I thought I'd tell you all about it. (I've written about some of this before, so if it's old news -- please forgive me.)

It seems that I was an unplanned addition to the family. Mom and Dogdad had been at the hairdresser in a shoppng center in her old neighborhood. After she was groomed, they walked over to the nearby pet shop, just to look!! (I know, shame! shame! shame! but what if they hadn't?) There I was in the first pen, all of twelve weeks old. Cute? How not? They walked around looking at all the other sad, sleepy guys in their pens, and kept coming back to me.

After a moment, they asked the attendant if they could see me out of the pen. I was brought out to the front and placed in a shallow oxagonal pen filled with shredded newspaper. I was so excited that I kept scratching at the paper and scratching at the paper -- never even looking at these two people. But they were looking at me, and looking at each other -- and before I knew it, I was family!!!

A name? What about a J to go with Jack and Joan? Mom pondered, and Dogdad pondered and when Mom finally said, "What about Jake?" Dogdad said, "That's what I was thinking." So Jake it was.

I got cleaned up, with a bow around my neck, and the Live Animal plastic crate in which I had come from a puppy mill in Joplin Missouri, and off we went to the PetSmart next door, to buy food and a few other necessities --- and home we went.

They forgot one thing, though. I wasn't potty trained!!! And Mom, bless her ignorant heart, didn't have a clue as to what to do. Little by little, though, she figured it out -- or rather, I should say, I figured it out. They put baby gates at both sides of the kitchen, and that was my paper-covered palace. Since Mom works from home, I got to go outside pretty frequently, and we managed.

But then, Mom had to shop for Passover food and left me alone for an hour or so. I don't know what got into me -- or what got out of me -- but when she came home, the kitchen was a mess -- and so was I. She screamed. I just put my little poopy paws on the baby gate and smiled. Her reaction? She called Dogdad at work, and asked him to come home right away. They needed their combined four paws to handle the situation. And that was what came to be known -- fondly in memory -- as Black Friday.

Once the kitchen and I were pristine again, Mom started cooking for the holiday. Her dad and brother and sister-in-law were coming for the Seder, and she had lots of special foods to make, including chicken soup with matzoh balls, brisket, "charoset' -- a combination of apples, nuts, cinammon, and wine, to make a paste that recalls the mortar used in building the pyramids -- boiled eggs, bitter herbs, and other items for the Seder plate to commemorate the Hebrews' flight from Egypt.

But then, what to do with me while the family had the Seder? Remember, this was before I had learned manners. It was Dogdad who decided the upstairs bathroom would be the answer. And up I went after greeting everybody. Well, I'm sure you all can anticipate what happened. First there was the non-stop barking that accompanied the meal -- but second, let's just say that when Dogdad went up to get me, he came back down pretty quickly and said to Mom, "You don't want to go up there. I'll take care of it."

And that was my first Passover.

But how did I get my middle name? Part of the Seder includes a special cup of wine for the Prophet Elijah, who, it is hoped, will come to spread peace throughout the world. And Mom and Dogdad, who love me lots and lots and think I brought them joy, decided that I was now an integral part of the holiday and deserved the middle name of Elijah.

So that's my Passover story!!

Hag sameach to all who celebrate!!

And just in case you're wondering: Things got a lot better very quickly, and now I and Just Harry get to sit at the table, or at least enjoy the food and songs with the family.

Jake Elijah

There's a New Machine in Town!

Uh Oh!!! We thought Dogdad was out buying fence material. And he was; but when he came back from the Home Center after work earlier this week, he also had something in a very large box that was clearly not a fence. He brought it into the house and, as he unpacked it, we got nervouser and nervouser. It was definitely NOT a fence. It was a huge MONSTER. Dogdad put it all together slowly, piece by piece, as we circled carefully around. And when he was done, he clicked a button, and the MONSTER made a roaring sound. We've heard that sound before, and WE DO NOT LIKE IT!!!

So far, the MONSTER has stayed quietly in the hall, but this morning, in an attempt to show us that it was not a MONSTER, Mom moved it around a bit so we could see it better. Well, WE STILL DO NOT LIKE IT and the next time it makes that roaring sound, we will attack it before it attacks us.

And imagine, in an attempt to fool us, the MONSTER is camouflaged in the same colors as the rug in our foyer. But we're no dummies. Camouflage or no, it's still a MONSTER!!! Mom, how could you???

Jake and Just Harry

Our Front Yard

Hi Pals,

While we were busy snoozing, and Mom was working, Dogdad was outside digging. (Sometimes we wonder why he gets to play in the dirt while we have to stay inside and watch, but never mind...)

Anyway, remember, we said we'd soon have a fenced-in back yard? That was a bit premature because the schedule was front yard first, then back yard. Who knew? Not we dogs.

But now that the front is done, can the back be far behind (HAH!!! Is that a punny pun, or what???)

In all fairness, once the digging and replanting were done after several weekends of work, we did get to go outside while Mom and Dogdad celebrated with a glass (or two) of wine.

Just Harry and I checked everything out and found it to be good -- even if it's not fenced. And the bench you see on the right is now a ritual end to my walks -- on the way back home, I cannot resist jumping up and doing a few turns before we go in the house.

So woof!!! Who's king of the world???

Jake

(The careful observer will note that our egret has been replaced by a blue heron, who has taken up his post by the front door!!)

Snoozin' Contest

Here's our entry into the Verdo and Gaucho sleeping dog contest. It's my brother Just Harry, tired out after a romp and mud bath at the dog park last year and a clean-up at home.

Jake