THIS PUPPY IS NOT HAPPY WITH CAT SISTER

I told M.O.M. that Cat Sister does not seem to understand that my personal kennel house is not a two story home. And I do not appreciate her thinking that it is alright to sleep up there! I could take care of it myself of course but I just can't seem to jump that high...I know because I have tried many times!

I didn't know cats like to sleep in attics. But of course I always have thought she was a bit strange as she likes to eat strange things like birds and mice....yuck. And she seems to sleep all the time. I have suggested to her to stop napping so much and get busy and help me control all of these pesky grasshoppers in our beautiful yard. But she just yawns, stretches and strolls away, looking for another place to nap I am sure.

MY QUIET THURSDAY

M.O.M. and I just kind of laid around most of the day. I know M.O.M. is trying to pretend that the "tumor" on my nose isn't getting any larger but we both know it really is. M.O.M. said we will try to wait till Monday before we call Dr. Joe about it. We are both hoping that it may just disappear during the night.

M.O.M. and I found this pretty little birds nest sitting low in one of the trees in our front yard today. We have no idea what kind of bird the momma is but the eggs sure are pretty.

I AM HAVING A DIFFICULT DAY

M.O.M. noticed a bump on my muzzle about 4 days ago and assumed that I had been stung by a Bee or some other mean creature. This morning she noticed that it seemed to be "growing". She called and got an appointment with Dr. Joe to check it out.
He said that it wasn't a bug bite but a "tumor"!He took a sample of it to try to see just what it was. And I cried! I tried to be brave...and I was for a bit...but that sharp needle hurt my little muzzle very much. Dr. Joe was very kind and gentle so it did make the whole thing a bit easier.
He said that he really did not think it was a bad tumor but possibly a virus caused tumor. So M.O.M. and M.O.D. are to keep a close eye on it during the next week to make sure it doesn't grow any bigger or that I don't scratch on it and make it worse and get it infected.
So we may know more some time next week.
As you can see in my photo, I came home from this horrible adventure and went to M.O.M. and M.O.D.'s bed and buried myself as far down into their pillows as I could. You can see just a spot of the inside area of my left ear near the top of the picture. I am curled up facing to the left.....Yes, I am really there somewhere! If you click on my photo you may be able to figure out which end is really up!!

MONDAY MAGIC

I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT I MADE M.O.M. REMOVE THE POST THAT WAS TITLED "MONDAY MAGIC" FROM MY BLOG BECAUSE THAT POST WAS ACTUALLY MEANT FOR HER OWN BLOG "SEASONSADVENTURES". I TOLD HER I WOULD WRITE MY OWN POSTS BUT I THINK SHE PUSHED THE WRONG BUTTON!

AM I IN TROUBLE AGAIN????????

M.O.M. laid the garden hose under the 75 year old Lilac bush in the back yard to let it get a real good soak. Of course, being such an awesome puppy I thought that she had laid the hose there for me to play in.
So I had a wonderful time digging as hard as I could in the water and I managed to dig a real nice deep hole in the dirt in the water. I was real proud of myself and was thrilled when I realized that M.O.M. taking my photo. But then.....

... I heard her voice.... It wasn't real angry but it also wasn't the sweet voice I hear most of the time. So I climbed up on the deck where she was sitting and gave her the sweetest look I could come up with. She understands how happy playing in water makes me feel and my look did make her smile.

M.O.M. and M.O.D. decided that since I loved to dig in the wet grass that maybe I could keep my digging activities to the dirt under the very large Lilac bushes and not our pretty lawn. So I think we have all reached a happy conclusion this time!

(PUPPIES CAN BE SO SMART!)

THE NEW SUMMER LOOK FOR PUPPIES

M.O.M. and M.O.D. both said that apparently this is my new SUMMER LOOK as the water is now the funiest thing for me to play in.
I think I look rather cute and refreshed don't you think so??

This is a typical scene that M.O.M. sees on our speed walks every morning and every evening. Well, some one has to lead the way don't they? And I believe I am the smartest puppy in the group. Well, I guess there really is only me and M.O.M. isn't there? But I need to make sure we don't get lost or something!

This is a picture of M.O.M. when she is in "one of those moods" when I think we should hurry up and go on a fun speed walk.. Come on all you cute little furry friends, you all know just what I mean!

I HAD ANOTHER PLAY DATE TODAY

My friend "Jasper" came to spend the day with me today. And boy has Jasper grown UP! The last time we were together he could almost run underneath me and not knock me over. But he can no longer do that as his legs are about as long as mine are. And he is just 4 months old.
But we had lot's of fun anyway and because it was hot M.O.M. made sure there was a lawn hose with the water running for us all the time. And we sure had a great time in it.

I taught Jasper how to try to chew the water as it squirted out the end of the hose. I also showed him how to chase those pesky grasshoppers and how to make catching them much easier by jumping into the air to catch them as they come back down to the grass. I really don't think he enjoyed eating them as much as I do. That's okay, that's just more for me!

I THINK I CAN....I THINK I...DARN!

While on our evening walk last night I heard what I was sure was a giant squirrel near the tree next to the road as we were passing by. Of course M.O.M. saw it climb up this tree for safety but didn't tell me. She just said "Okay Mistaya, go get it!" Boy was I surprised and excited for her to tell me I could go after that pesky guy in MY woods!
So off I went and I can't tell how many times I tried to actually climb right up that tree.
M.O.M. did continue to encourage me to climb the tree but I do think I saw a hint of a smile on her face. Since I couldn't seem to climb up this big tree I did try to stretch as tall as I could hoping that stretching would get me up to the first branch where I was sure I could jump up to the next limb.
As you can guess, we returned home without any Squirrel trophies for me. I just don't understand how something so much smaller than me can climb such a giant tree and I can't. I guess I will have to work on this problem. Practice----Practice makes Perfect! Okay!

HOW TO END A PUPPY WALK ON A VERY HOT DAY

Every time M.O.M. and I go on one of her "speed walks" she lets me run in the irrigation ditch that runs next to our yard when we return home. It is only about 6 inches deep so I can get to running pretty fast in it for a long ways.
But today M.O.M. surprised me when we approached the area where she always tells me to "find the water!" This time she said "No, lets not get in there today." I was soooo disappointed that I was very sad. Then M.O.M. called me to the other side of the road and pointed into the bushes and said "Mistaya, find the water!"
I didn't know just what I should do as I wasn't usually allowed over near this area. I didn't know it but in the past every time we came by this ditch M.O.M. called me to her side. She told me the water was too deep and fast for me to play in it. But now the water was much lower and slower so she encouraged me to get in.
Look closely at the left side of this photo and you can see me running as fast as I can down the ditch. I didn't know where I was going but I knew I sure loved this water. It too, was about 6 inches deep so I could run real fast for a very long distance.

I came running back to M.O.M. several times but each time she said I could run some more. So off I went as fast as I could!

When it was time to return across the street to our house I felt like I had drank at least a gallon of this cool clear river water. But I had such a wonderful time that I really didn't mind looking like a "drowned rat"! I so hope that M.O.M. will let me play in this wonderful water again real soon cause I sure like running fast in this special place.

OKAY, THIS PUPPY IS READY FOR A HIKE

Here I sit patiently waiting for M.O.M. to get ready to go on a fun adventure. But I didn't have to wait very long as M.O.M. came out and off we went.
We wandered off into the woods not far from our home. I hadn't been there in quite some time so there were many new smells for me to check out. And I even found some little chipmunks to chase. Of course I really can't chase them very far because when they see me coming they head right up a tree. And I still can't seem to learn how to climb a tree. So most of the wildlife around here are pretty safe when I venture into the woods!
We had a very good time and as usual our time in the woods went by much to fast as I suddenly found myself back at our driveway. But it was a good adventure.

WE RAN INTO A MOMMA BEAR & HER 3 CUBS!!!!

Oh, alright, I was just kidding but I really wasn't sure at first. I thought it was kind of strange that M.O.M. wasn't scared and didn't even think about pulling out her gun.
Especially when Papa Bear was standing there so close too! And he sure looks mean.

I later heard that these were just wood carvings and a local man had craved them. They are to be auctioned off at our local Logger Days in Darby next weekend. Some of the money is going to our new local food bank and M.O.M. tells me many people here really need a food bank to help them get through these tough times. So that sounds pretty good to me.

Okay, can we go for a hike in the woods now???

THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER ARE HERE

Yes, the dog days of summer are here but so are the mosquito's. They have found the soft inside area of my ears and on the soft skin under my front legs. M.O.M. has applied some nice feeling stuff in my ears. And she has notice that I can't lick it off there. But my ears do feel better.
My family has spend a nice quiet weekend at home so I have not seen or heard anything exciting to post about. But I did hear M.O.M. tell M.O.D. that we may go for a walk later this evening. After it has cooled down I am sure. So if I can find any trouble..oops! I mean anything interesting I will post it later this evening. But for now I am posting 2 cute items for you to enjoy.

I AM SO HAPPY----IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Picture taken 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so proud because today is my BIRTHDAY and I am 1 year old. The one big difference I notice between the 2 photo's above is that in the second one I look much braver and smarter than in the first one. Of course in the first one I was quite upset about wearing this stupid thing around my cute little muzzle. But M.O.M. and M.O.D. were good about not making me wear it very much because I was embarrassed to wear it. I did come to realize that they put this one on me instead of the conventional collar because they did not want to hurt my small neck.
So now I am grown up enough to be comfortable with the ordinary light weight nylon collar like all my other dog friends. And sometimes while we are out in the woods hiking M.O.M. takes my collar off. She doesn't want me to get my collar caught on anything while I am running through the forest looking for little creatures to run with. Thanks M.O.M. and M.O.D.
And thanks for that yummy Birthday "cake" you gave me!
This is a note from M.O.M. that she wants to post on my Birthday...........

My Mistaya,

I can't even begin to count all the smiles you have brought into your lives since you choose to live with us last November. You have given us joy, laughter, smiles, adventures we never imagined. We are so thankful that you made us your family and want to share your life with us and everyone you encounter. Thank you Mistaya, for loving us. M.O.M. and M.O.D.

THIS HIKING PUPPY IS TIRED!

I joined M.O.M. and her hiking friends yesterday for a hike way into the wilderness. Fortunately we were able to find water once in a while so I could get in to cool myself off. But the picture above was taken where M.O.M. would not let me get close to the water. And the water made so much noise it kind of scared me for a bit.

But I did my duty as watch dog for the group. I don't know why I feel the need to do this. Everyone we meet on the trail are always nice...even the big horse with a man on him were friendly and stopped to speak to us.

But you never know so I keep on the lookout for anything strange coming our way.

But if I see a bear of something like that I think I will show the ladies which direction to go to get as far away as possible. I will also show them how fast they should be running!! Oh that's right, they don't have 4 legs like me. Gosh, I hope they can keep up with this little puppy!

There were little streams running across our path every once in a while and I always got to stop and spend a little time in them to rest and cool off.

I can't believe how ice cold and refreshing this water tastes up here in the mountains.

This was a view M.O.M. got a picture of just before we turned around to head back down the mountain. Of course it really was a long way up on the mountain but M.O.M. used something she calls a "zoom" lens so it looks so much closer.

This was a fun day and we hiked a total of 6 miles up and down this giant mountain. But unfortunately M.O.M. tripped and fell on the trail twice. Nothing broke but she is covered with scratches and big black and blue bruises. I didn't see her fall the first time while we were heading up the mountain but I was with her when she fell the second time as we were going down the mountain. I stayed real close to her that time and gave her LOT'S of puppy kisses to help her feel better.

We were both pretty happy to be back home. M.O.M. spent the rest of the day in the easy chair with ice packs on her leg, knee and her arm. Of course when M.O.D. came home from work I was still lying beside her to try to make her feel better. (That's my favorite job!)

A FUN HIKE FOR THIS HAPPY PUPPY

At last I am back out in the forest on a fun hike. That's me way up there. It felt so good to be out in the woods again that it was hard for me to stay with M.O.M. But as you can see I am coming back to check on the ladies every once in a while.

I enjoyed this part of the trail because I could smell and hear many creatures living and playing here. But none of them wanted to come out and play with me.

I finally decided that chasing the chipmunks was really too much work...it was real hot outside. So instead I settled on chasing the many Butterflies along the trail. Of course I never did actually catch one of them. I do believe that made M.O.M. happy.

REPORT ON THIS PUP'S FIRST ROAD TRIP

I am sorry I have taken so long in putting up a post about my very first road trip. We came home very tired and had so many things to do for several days. I guess you can say that I was "One pooped puppy!" But I am back and here is the report about my trip......
M.O.D. built me a very special place to ride in the truck. It was just the right height so I could easily sit up and watch everything go by on the freeway. And I had plenty of room to stretch out and take a nap whenever I wanted. The weather was quite warm with lot's of sunshine so we stopped often so I could get out and stretch my legs and cool off. Of course, it was wonderful to be that close to M.O.M. and M.O.D. as we went down the freeway

I didn't care what kind of surface I was lying on---just as long as it was cool.

We stopped at a grocery store to get some goodies to eat and M.O.M. found an enclosed area where the employees go to take their smoke breaks. The area was large and enclosed with tall chain link fencing so I was able to be off my leash and just relax while M.O.D. was inside doing the shopping. M.O.M.and I were both thankful that it was in the shade so I enjoyed watching all the customers coming and going from this store.

We did stop several times and get out and walk around and in some houses along the way. I am not sure why we did this but it did give me a chance to run around a bit and roll in the nice grass. If you look real close, that's me in the shade of the house on the right in the photo rolling and feeling so wonderful. Well, at least that is what M.O.M. thought I was doing. But as we climbed back into our truck she said "What in the world is that smell?!!" They both checked the bottoms of their shoes thinking they had stepped in "something". Oops. M.O.M. turned to me and said "Please tell me Mistaya that it's not you that is causing that terrible smell!" Unfortunately it is. When M.O.M. saw me rolling in the nice grass she thought I was just stretching and enjoying myself. But instead I had found something in the grass that I thought smelled wonderful and had so much fun rolling over and over in it.

So back to the motel for the three of us. M.O.M. said that when the motel said I could stay in the room with her and M.O.D., that smelling this bad wasn't part of the deal. So it was into the tub for me. M.O.M. used a plastic cup to pour water over the offending area and used a bar of hand soap to work out the smell. I don't think she understands how hard I had to work to get that great smell on my beautiful coat. Boy, how undignified was this? After she was finally done she put on my leash and out the door we went.

I was attached to the truck's side mirror and this is where I had to stay until I was dry. M.O.M. didn't seem very happy to have to spend her time cleaning out the tub of all my dogie hair and to get rid of the smell.

So we returned home all very tired and glad to be back to familiar surroundings. I am still not sure just why we made this big adventure but I love my beautiful green grass and all my chew toys. It's good to be home.