A Box of Chocolates?

Remember Forrest Gump ? Remember this?

"My momma always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'"
Well, we're dogs and we're not supposed to have chocolate so I don't really know what a box of chocolates looks like (OK, I did taste it just that once when I jumped on the chair Mom had forgotten to push under the table when she went out and opened the securely closed container she had left on the table after Dogdad's birthday and scarfed down half a dozen individually wrapped Ghiardelli chocolate squares and made her crazy when she came home and found the path of wrappers I had left behind until she spoke with Dr. Dan who told her not to worry because the ounces of chocolate I ate in proportion to my 25 pounds shouldn't cause any problems but she should monitor me which she did, discovering for sure that I was the perp when I produced a sliver of shiny wrapper the next day...).

But I understand the image. It's like us. Sometimes we get in the car all excited 'cause we're going for a ride. Sometimes it's for two weeks away with the folks for Christmas. Yay!!! And sometimes it's a long stay at Dr. Dan's animal camp. Not so Yay!!!

You never know.


And that's what life has been like these past days. All the excitement of the DWB pawty in Manhattan -- that --because of our Dogdad's unexpected horse piddle stay, we got to experience only vicariously through all the happy posts and photos from our pals' humans and their flatties.

And just when we got over our concern about Dogdad and were enjoying everyone's good times in NYC, then we learned about Scruffy, baby Stan, and Lacies's dad -- and concern for them and Mumsie replaced our own.


And then the old relentlessly huge Mango Man had himself a "seize her."


So -- I'm thinking that with all these ups and downs life delivers -- Forrest Gump was probably right.
But I think scarfing those chocolates was a lot more fun....


Jake

A Trial Fib Relation...

You know, pals, our Dogdad always tells us the truth -- so when he disappeared last Thursday and Mom told us he was in (as Gussie calls it) the Horse Piddle for a trial fib relation -- we were pretty concerned. We dawgs definitely do not like fibs. So we really couldn't understand why he wasn't here to explain just why he was off somewhere trying them out.Being a pretty clever dog, even if I do say so myself, I tried to find an explanation all by myself. Mom, seeing I was unhappy, filled me in -- and told me I'd just have to tough it out for a few days until he came home. And that she was counting on me and Just Harry to be extra good while he was away 'cause she had to leave us alone for longer than usual while she went to see how he was doing with this unusual -- for him -- relation.

So we waited.

And waited.

But then, after the people at the Horse Piddle had enough of those fibs, they straigtened him out -- and lo and behold, yesterday my Dogdad came home as honest and truthful as ever before!!! Happy doesn't begin to describe how I felt.

And Just Harry was upside down himself with joy!!!

So hoorah!!! Our Dogdad is home. No more fib relations!

Today is Bastille Day, one of Mom's favorite holidays, and even though we aren't in France, we think it's the pawfect time for a celebration. Mom asked me to say a very special thank you to all our human and doggie friends who sent her such kind thoughts and prayers while she was a total mess wondering what all this fibbing meant!

Wirey woofs and love,

Jake

"Shave and a Haircut -- Two WFTs*

OK, so we survived all the fireworks boomers last night -- but today was another matter: Stripping and clipping day! When I woke up, I had a sense something was up. "Harry dog, oh Harry dog?" "Jakers!! Jakey come!"

We know those enticing tones. The next thing we know, we're in lockdown with soothing words and treats to beguile us.

Here's the drill: first Jake and then I get plucked as much as we can stand -- usually just across our colored wirey jacket. Then we get clipped and snipped and it's not fun! Actually, it can be downright undignified!!!

The resulting fur balls on steroids from the two of us...

No, that's not another dog -- it's our stolen furs!!!

But then, once it's over, we start to feel good about ourselves.

Jakey looks trim, doesn't he? Mom can't call him her roly poly porky dog anymore -- at least until he blooms again.And. gee, my speckles are back!!!
So, we guess all's well that ends well. Dogdad reports that when he took us out after our ordeal, we raced and gamboled and stacked and ran circles in a way we haven't for a while. Could it be that our innate bouncy terrierness was weighed down by all that extra fur?

Just Harry

* For our friends who may not be familiar with the joke from "Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits," here are a few facts from Wikipedia:

"Two bits" is a colloquial expression in the United States for 25 cents, a quarter.

The tune has been used innumerable times as a "wrap-up" in musical pieces performed through the years.

The first known occurrence of the tune is from 1899.

In West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein incorporated the phrase at the end (and punch-line) of the song Gee, Officer Krupke, with the text "Gee, Officer Krupke - krup you!"

American captives in the Vietnam war would authenticate a new prisoner's American identity by tapping the first 5 notes of "Shave and a Haircut," against a cell wall, waiting for the appropriate response.

The couplet was a plot device in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the idea being that Toons cannot resist finishing with the "two bits" when they hear the opening rhythm.

Happy Fourth Everybody!!!!

Jake and Just Harry