Sizzling

I'm melting! OK, not really. I guess only wicked witches melt, and I am not a wicked witch. But it sure felt like I was melting. It was 106 degrees yesterday. Ouch. I stayed inside most of the day. I even took my evening walk late and I still got overheated. Blah. Today was much better, only up to 90 degrees, so I took my afternoon nap outside in the shade. I wonder if this is what I have to look forward too the rest of the summer? Oh well, at least now that the days are going to get shorter the cool evening breeze will start coming sooner. Don't get me wrong, I love the sun! Sunshine makes me happy! But I like the sun better when there is lots of snow on the ground for me to roll around in! K said we may be able to move back North when this house-animal sitting gig is done. "We will see" she said. I hope she sees things my way because if we continue to live in these hot states I will be Baked Alaskan Malamute. I'm just sayin'...

Sunny Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice! Summer is certainly here where I live. The past week it has been in the 90s and 100s. I am hot. I sleep most of the day and evening in the house because it is too hot outside. I have been walking into the pond every morning during my walk just to cool my paws and legs down. Lucky for me, though, the nights get nice and cool here, so that helps to perk me back up. All this heat has made me reminiscent of my times in the snow, so I posted a picture of Sylvius and me in the snow back home. Boy that would feel good right now to be laying down in the snow! I love the snow! I miss the snow. Just the other day during my morning walk a little human boy pointed at me and said, "Look mom! A snow dog!" I thought it was funny that such a little human in this area would know that I am a "snow dog." At least thinking of snow gives me something to look forward too. The good news is the two kids of the relative we are house-sitting for have left so the computer is mine again. Yeah! OK, it is K's too. But I get to post more often again and I am now able to go sniffing out all my new doggie friends' blogs. I can't wait to see what all my doggie friends have been up to. Hopefully staying cooler than me! Anyway, one of the kids had left their dinner in the refrigerator. It was pasta with chicken. So tonight K gave me and Ginger the leftovers, and even the cat Thicket got two chunks of chicken. That's not fair. Cats should not get chicken, only us dogs. Anyway, it was really good. I chowed mine down really fast! Dare I say the chicken tasted almost as good as bunnies? K gave it to us because she is a vegetarian and won't eat any animal. That is good because she is still unemployed so if she gets low on food at least I know I am safe. But maybe I can trick her into eating cat. I'm just sayin'...

WOOF-OUT!

This is a bit late in coming, but I wanted to give a big WOOF-OUT to Dogs With Blogs (DWB)! They can be found here: http://www.dogswithblogs.com.au/ They are a great resource for all things dog, so please visit them and all the wonderful dogs they support. DWB accepted my blog and I am so excited! Because of DWB I have been meeting lots of interesting, smart, and funny doggies. It is almost like being at the dog park, except we can't play. It is exciting to see so many smart dogs stealing time at the computer to blog rather than napping. I didn't know so many of us canines had become so technologically savvy! Just goes to show you that once again us canines have adapted to the human way. I am number 897 on DWB, so now 897 is my lucky number. I wonder, is there a dog lottery? I can play 897 in the dog lottery and if I win, I can build my dream dog house with a jacuzzi tub. Then after a long day of walking with K and playing in the dog park, I can relax in my specially designed bone-shaped jacuzzi tub while nibbling on peanut-butter covered bunnies. I'm just sayin'...

Miss Me Blind

I must apologize for my lack of presence lately. The two oldest kids of the relative we are house-animal sitting for came home the other day since college has ended and they will be here for the next week. There is only one computer in the house and they have been using it a lot. When they are not on the computer, K grabs some time on it to job hunt. I am the animal at the bottom of the totem pole, so to speak, so I get the computer last. Needless to say, it has been hard for me to get time on the computer to blog. But please keep visiting me! I will try to blog as much as I can while they are here, but I may only have time to blog short posts. I am also very excited about all my new friends who have been making comments to me, and I am sorry I have not been able to respond or visit all of your blogs. I will though, as soon as I can have the computer back. So please, don't you forget about me. I'll be back! Hey, I wasn't born in the 80s, K is making me put in all these 80s references. She's the dancing queen. Ooops, that is a 70s reference. Hey, how did I know that? I am just a ball of confusion lately. I'm just sayin'...

Toys

I miss my toys! I left all my toys in a crate at the house we just moved from, where Silvius is now living, in the Midwest. My toys got accidentally left behind in our hurry to come here for this house-animal sitting gig. I think K just forgot about my toys since she had so much on her mind. She had to decide between two job offers in two different states, or this gig, in yet another state, and K ended up choosing this house-animal sitting gig to help out her relative. K told me that as soon as she finds a job and starts working she will take me to a pet store to pick out a toy or two. I can't wait! But until then, I have found a surrogate toy. I call him my mangled squirrel. Remember when I told you how, since moving here, I have been finding lots of things on my walks? (post dated 14 May) Well, the other morning during our walk I found a toy squirrel, except this toy squirrel was ripped open and all of his stuffing was gone, so he is basically just a furry shell of his former self. I don't care, though, he is a fun toy! As we walked home after finding mangled squirrel, K would throw him and I would run and grab him. That was fun! Yesterday afternoon I fell asleep with him next to me but when I woke up I dropped him in the pool. K was looking all over for him last night and she finally saw him in the pool, so she rescued him and threw him in the washer. Now mangled squirrel is all clean. A clean, mangled, floppy furry mess! Actually, with my fur still falling out in clumps from shedding, I kind-of look like a floppy furry mess too! I'm just sayin'...

Recycled

Ok, ok, I know I have already posted this picture but my analog human, K, does not have a digital camera so I am waiting for some new pictures of me that a relative is sending. So until I receive those, I decided to recycle this picture of me taken last month. I am looking toward the area where the mean dog behind the fence broke in an attacked me. That still scares me. He was barking a bit yesterday but at least K was outside with me at the time so I did not feel as nervous. We are waiting to find out how long we will be here house-animal sitting. K's relative may come home as early as August or as late as December. I don't much like it here, especially since that mean dog behind the fence attacked me, so I would be happy to leave by August. But we are making the best of it. K is still looking for a job but took today off from job hunting to swim a bit since it was hot and the water was nice. I won't go in the water of the pool, but I do jump into the pond that we walk around every morning. The pond water smells, but it cools me off. A few humans think I smell right now. If I do, which I don't think I do, it could be the odor from the stinky pond water. That and the fact I am still shedding like crazy, leaving clumps of fur everywhere. Maybe someone should collect all my fur droppings and knit sweaters. Suka sweaters! And Suka socks! And Suka scarves! Everyone else is recycling, so shouldn't my discarded fur be recycled too? I'm just sayin'...

Lollygagging Suka

What does "lollygagging" mean? On our walk this evening K told me to stop lollygagging. Funny word! She said it after I had stopped for the hundredth time (or so it seemed) to sniff at something unseen by the human eye. I do that a lot. I will stop and sniff at the ground, at trash cans, at trees, at posts, basically at anything that is sniffable. Sometimes I just do it a few times during our walks, other times, like tonight, I stop every few feet. I think K gets impatient with me, but hey, it is my walk so I will take my time! K's previous dog, who passed away in 2003 and is now in doggy heaven, used to also stop a lot. A lot more than me from what I have heard. He was part Australian Shepherd and part Malamute (yeah Malamutes!) and it was in his blood to be aware of his surroundings. He had an amazing nose on him. His nickname was "Nosey Bozie" because his nose was in everything. Funny. My nickname is "Suka Pants." I don't get it. I need a better nickname. Tell K to give me a better nickname. I don't wear pants! Anyway, K said Nosey Bozie should have been a search and rescue dog because he had such an incredible sense of smell. Too bad he wasn't. I am sure he would have been able to find lost people easily. Just like a human, when a dog has a gift you should use it. Anyway, I don't wear pants! I'm just sayin'...

Fast Suka, Sweet Suka

Yesterday during our morning walk a human woman stopped K and asked her if my name was "Suka." K told her yes. The woman told K that her relative has a dog named "Suka" but is a female dog. Hey! Do I have a girls name? Anyway, the woman told K that her dog sitter had been telling her all about me (I wonder which human that was? I have met so many since moving here I just can't remember them all). She also told K that "Suka" means "sweet" in Hungarian. So now I know three different meanings of my name: "Suka" means "fast" in Eskimo, "very fast" in Ethiopian, and "sweet" in Hungarian. Pretty nifty! I know I am fast, but now I can honestly say I am sweet too! Then during our evening walk we passed three human males sitting on a bench. As we walked by one of the males said, "now that is a good looking dog." I felt so proud! I like when humans recognize me, and I like it even better when they stop to pet me. Don't worry, I will not let all these compliments get to my head. I see cool looking dogs all the time and I think every dog is spectacular and beautiful, even the mean dog behind the fence. It is not his fault he is mean, he probably ended up with a bad human who taught him bad manners, or worse, hurt him. So even though I am still nervous about the mean dog behind the fence, I think he was once a great dog with great potential. And I am not just saying that hoping someone will tell him what I wrote and he will become my friend and stop prowling by the fence growling and barking. I mean what I say and I mean what I howl. And "Suka" is not a girls name. It's a name for great looking dogs who are fast and sweet. And not afraid of mean dogs behind fences. Well, maybe just a little afraid. I'm just sayin'...

Restless Days and Nights

Here is the picture I promised you many posts ago. Behind me is the fence that the mean dog broke through to attack me. It was so scary for me. Right now it is almost midnight and I just had to come in the house because he started barking again. I am just so nervous now, I don't think I will ever feel comfortable here. That mean dog behind the fence really did a number on me. At least I know this house is not permanent. As soon as K is done house-animal sitting, we can leave and find our own house and our own yard, with no mean dogs living behind fences! But she needs to find a job first so we can afford to move. I hope we can go live in the country again. I don't much like neighborhood living. But if we have to stay in a neighborhood, I hope we can find a place with a big private backyard and the houses not so close together. I also hope we find a place near a fun dog park. The best dog park was in the Northern state I came from. I had so much fun going there every night when K got home from work. But the dog park here is always empty and is really small. I miss running and playing with doggies. Silvius would play with me until he had is severe accident. I miss Silvius. But for now, I am stuck here living in a house that is not mine with a mean dog behind the fence. Maybe if I howl sweet nothings into the night he will come around and learn to like me. I'm just sayin'...

I don't stink!

I slept inside the house last night. The mean dog behind the fence was out barking very late and I was so nervous that I decided to go in the kitchen and sleep. I don't know why he was out so late barking and growling near the fence, but I did not like it one bit! Tonight it is nice and quiet, though, so I will be outside under the moon and stars. Hopefully the mean dog behind the fence will stay quiet all night. I wonder if he will be outside more as the weather gets warmer. I know summer is coming because I have been shedding a lot lately. I am leaving huge clumps of fur all over the house and yard. They even fall out during my walks. K brushed me today and she filled up an entire plastic bag of my fur from only getting my two hind legs brushed. She still has the rest of my body to go! I do feel better, though, to get that hanging fur off of me. We had four days of hot hot heat the other week. It was 100 degrees (plus or minus a few degrees) for four days. I did pretty good, though. I slept a lot in the kitchen on the cold stone tile floor during the day but at night I was able to stay outside since it cooled down. But obviously summer is coming so my fur is adjusting. The other evening during our walk we saw six doggies running around off-leash on a little hill, so I went to join them (on leash of course, or I would take off running!). They were nice dogs. One of the humans said I should get shaved for the summer. K disagrees. My Vet told K that my double coat helps keep me insulated and cool during the summer (well, as cool as any animal can be during 100 degree heat) and also, my fur protects me from the sun's rays and from insect bites. So now it bothers me when I see shaved dog because I wonder if their skin is burning from the sun, or if they have lots and lots of insect bites. I don't think dogs are meant to be shaved. I think Nature is pretty smart and would not create an animal that would need a human to come along and shave it for the summer. I am shedding right now which is helping me to prepare for the summer heat. K's relative came to visit this past week-end and said I smelled like a stinky dog and needed a bath. Hey! I do smell like a dog, because I am a dog, but I don't think I stink! K thinks it is just because I have so much fur falling off and also, at least four times now, I have jumped into the little pond we walk by every morning. And the pond water kind-of smells. I have been going in up to my neck and it feels so nice and cool. The ducks get mad at me for going into their pond and some yell at me. But I only stay in for a minute or two. So I guess if the water is smelly and I am in it then maybe I am getting to be a stinky dog. Well, if being stinky is the price I have to pay for a cool down in a smelly pond, then I guess my name is stinky Suka! I'm just sayin'...

Sick As A Dog

These past few days have been scary for me. I got really sick and my human was very worried about me. It started the afternoon of Mother's Day. I miss my mom!! Anyway, I started getting very lethargic and I would not eat. But I was eating grass and making myself vomit. My human decided not to take me on my evening walk, which was a good thing because I was not feeling very well. On Monday I felt worse. We tried to go on our morning walk but I was moving really slow, so my human had us turn around only about 1/4 of the way into our walk. Again, I kept eating grass and vomiting. On Monday afternoon my human saw a blue thing sitting by the fence. Curious, she went over to check it out and found one-half of a blue rubber ball that was in my vomit. I must have swallowed a blue rubber ball at some point, I don't really remember when because I eat so much, and it came out through my vomit. Well, that made my human happy to see because to her it explained why I had been feeling so icky. But things only got worse for me. Monday night I vomited three more times, and by early Tuesday morning I was just pacing because it hurt to lie down. I still had not eaten and then I threw up again Tuesday morning. My human was really worried and did not know what was wrong with me. She called a friend who is in veterinary school and asked for advice. Her friend said since I was at least drinking water I should be ok for one more day, but then I should probably go to the vet if I did not get any better. But she said to observe me during the day and if I looked like I was getting worse then I needed to go to the vet immediately. She said it sounded like I still had an obstruction in me. So my human watched over me and I finally fell asleep and slept most of the day. When I woke up around 6 p.m. I wandered into the back yard where my human was cleaning the pool. I was able to eat some food, just a little. Then I went to poop and guess what? The other half of that blue rubber ball came out! My human was so happy! It meant no x-rays or surgery for me! Today I feel so much better. I have eaten some food and did my full morning walk. My human had never seen that blue rubber ball so she does not know where I found it or when I swallowed it. She just needs to watch me more closely when we walk because I am always picking up things that I find. Since moving here I have found, during my walks, a golf ball, two rubber balls, a golf club, a ballet shoe, a pair of flip-flops, two nerf footballs, one soccer ball, a dragon kite, and a one dollar bill. I don't know why you humans leave these things all over the place. I pass a lot of trash cans on my walk so if these are things you don't want why not just throw them away? Except for the money. My human seemed to be pleased with me finding a dollar bill! Anyway, I did not eat any of those things but I guess the blue rubber ball looked fun so I must have started to play with it and just swallowed it. Or I might have thought it was a big blue piece of food. I don't' know what I was thinking. When I was first adopted by my human I swallowed a red rubber Kong toy that I stole from Porgy. Porgy always had so much fun playing with it that I wanted to try it out. Well, it went right down my throat. One day when my human was cleaning Porgy's cage she noticed it was missing and looked all over for it but never found it. She had no idea I had gulped it down. It stayed in me for two whole months. Then one evening I was feeling really sick and when I vomited, out came the red rubber Kong toy! Two months! Yuck! My human was shocked. She had no idea I had swallowed it. So you would think I would have learned my lesson to stay away from small rubber toys after having a red rubber Kong in my tummy for two months. Oh well, I guess I just like the taste of rubber toys. Or the tickling feeling I get when the rubber toys are bouncing around in my stomach when I run! I'm just sayin'...

Ginger Snap

These past few days have been like the dog days of Summer, but it isn't even Summer yet! Lazy days and dreamy nights. The heat never came. It has been nice and cool and breezy all week. Today on my evening walk I met three happy puppies playing together in the grass. They were older puppies, maybe 6 - 8 months old because they were almost full grown, and really friendly! I only stayed a few minutes though, I had more walking to do. Yesterday a human male walked past me and said I was a "good looking dog." And then a few days ago a female human stopped to pet me and said I was "king of the walking path" since I looked so "majestic." I won't let all these compliments get to my head though, I just like that some people stop to pet me! And I also like when doggies stop to meet and play. The mean dog behind the fence has been acting up again these past few nights so I have been hanging out on the back patio since he makes me nervous. He must like the cool night breezes too since he has been outside more. Ginger, my 17-year-old new friend that lives here, has been doing pretty good since she got on arthritis and thyroid medicine. She has recently started to take evening walks with my human. Ginger is funny. When we get back from our evening walk Ginger is waiting by the gate and when she hears us coming she starts to cry. When we get inside the gate she jumps a little and wags her tail as she crys because she knows it is her turn to walk. I don't think they go very far though, Ginger and my human, because they are back rather quickly, not the hour long walk I take. But Ginger seems really happy to have her walks now that she can walk better. A picture of Ginger is above this post. I wonder if I will live to be 17. I am around 5 years old now, so I am still a pup! A good looking, majestic, king of the walking trail pup! I'm just sayin'...

Porgy and Bulls

I told you Porgy always wants to be near me! Here we are on the deck at our home in the Midwest, before moving to California for the house-sitting gig. I guess Porgy and I standing by the palm tree was foreshadowing things to come! We lived in the country, so that is a little red shed behind the deck, and the creek is further behind that. Silvius still lives there. Silvius likes swimming in the creek when it is hot. He also swims across the creek to chase the deer. I don't really chase deer, but I did bark at the bulls a lot and they sometimes did not like that. Silvius would pick a bull and then run around him while barking. That made the bull mad! The bull would huff and put his head down and paw at the ground with his front hoof. Scary! That still did not stop Silvius, though, it just made him stop running in front of the bull but he would still bark and run behind the bull. My human would have to stop me and Silvius from antagonizing the bulls. She did not want to be trampled by any annoyed bulls. Sometimes I feel that way with Porgy - annoyed. He would follow me all day if he could. Sometimes when I am trying to fall asleep he will stand near my head and watch me. I don't like being watched when I am trying to sleep so I growl but he still just stands there. Then I growl again and get up and move, but Porgy will just follow me. So my human will finally have to get Porgy and put him back on his cage. Sometimes Porgy will be content to be back on his house, other times he will climb right back down to find me. I don't blame Porgy though. Parrots are monogamous creatures and since he does not have another parrot to bond with he has bonded with me. Before I came along he was very close to my human's previous dog. And before that dog, Porgy was close to my human. I guess parrots are fickle, because he keeps changing his bonding partners! I love Porgy, though. He may annoy me at times, but mostly I enjoy his company. We had fun traveling to California together and I like when he hangs outside with me near the pool. But there is another side to Porgy - when he gets mad he is scary! And if any one tried to get me, Porgy would attack them. So if that mean dog behind the fence breaks through and attacks me again I will just have to sic Porgy on him. That will teach him not to mess with a Malamute...who has a parrot friend. I'm just sayin'...

Picture Time!

My human does not have a digital camera, she is an analog human, so we have to rely on friends and families who do have digital cameras to take photos of me that can be put on my blog. So, here is my first photo! I am standing at the front end of the pool and if you look behind my hind legs, you will see my water bowl. Just behind that is my spot, which is usually where I spend my days hanging out and sleeping. Later this week I will have a photo of me by the other end of the pool, and you will be able to see the fence where the mean dog broke through and attacked me. I am actually looking at the spot he broke through in this photo. I still get anxious thinking about that! But at least I am starting to sleep outside more, which has been nice since it has been so cool and breezy. Yesterday two nice ladies stopped my human during our morning walk and told her that summers here get very hot and they wondered if I would be ok. So when we got home my human cleaned out part of the garage so that when it gets really hot I will have room to go in the garage and lay down on the cool cement floor. I guess Ginger has always used the garage in the summers to keep her cool, and she is so skinny! Now that my human has made room for me in the garage both Ginger and I can go in and stay cool during the summer heat. I think the heat is starting this week. So far it has been nice for me but I heard that this week it is going to be in the 80s, and that is really hot for me. Yesterday a few neighbors were swimming in their pools. I could hear kids screaming and splashing. But my human was too busy cleaning out the garage for me so she did not jump in the pool. I like it when she is in the pool because then she is outside with me. Dogs are pack animals so we like when others are around us, either other dogs in our pack or our humans that make up our pack. Today Porgy was outside with me. My human put Porgy's cage on the table that you see behind me in the photo, and he stayed outside all day. It was nice to have the company. Porgy likes it too. Porgy loves me. He always wants to be near me. I don't blame him. Can you? I'm just sayin'...

Grrrr

Grrrr...This makes me angry. I just heard that a beautiful horse named Eight Belles was euthanized immediately after coming in second place at the Kentucky Derby today because she broke both of her front ankles and there was nothing the veterinarians could do to save her. The tragedy of this breaks my heart. Why are you humans still racing horses? Do you know how many horses are permanently maimed and/or euthanized because of horse racing? And for what purpose, just to make money? I don't understand. Do you know what happens to these amazing horses when they can no longer race, due to injury or old age or just not being fast enough? Pretty much the same thing that is done to Greyhound dogs when they can no longer race - they are sent away to die awful deaths, except for the few lucky ones saved by rescue organizations. Grrrr...I just found out that some very kind-hearted humans are trying to protect the North Atlantic right whales from being injured or killed in collisions by ships. These good humans are requesting that the ships slow down as the pass through the whale's feeding and calving grounds so the ship's propellers don't harm the whales. But some bad mean humans are blocking this protection because it will take money away from them. Money again! Why is money so important? How can money be more valuable than sharing this Earth with the magnificent right whales? Grrrr...This hits closer to my heart since these are my kin. Word has come to me that the Northern Rockies gray wolf has been delisted from the Endangered Species protection list which means they can now be hunted by humans. Already, 20 of my beautiful relatives have been slaughtered. Why? I just don't understand. Do some of you humans just hate wolves? And whales? And horses? I don't like hearing of animals being mistreated and it does not matter to me if they have fur, feathers, fins, or scales - I don't discriminate. OK, I know Nature can seem cruel and vicious. It is a tough world out there! I know there are some animals that will eat other animals, but that is usually out of necessity. We animals can also form unlikely friendships, like Mzee, the 130-year-old tortoise, who became best friends with a young orphaned hippo named Owen. We animals can usually see past our differences when we aren't looking for our next meal. Or breaking through fences to attack an innocent sweet malamute mix. I'm just sayin'...

Happy May Day!

It's May Day! No flower basket or running around a May pole for me. As for the other aspect of May Day, labour rights, I suppose since I am in the Working Class of dogs, if dogs did celebrate May Day I would qualify. But I don't work and that bothers me sometimes. I have a lot of energy and no place to take it. I would love to be running in the snow and pulling a sled with all of my buddies, but I am stuck here in California lounging around all day by a pool I don't want to use. Sure I get two walks a day, which are great fun! I see lots of different humans and many dogs, but most of those humans won't let me near their dogs. I don't understand it. Dogs are pack animals and we just want to meet and greet each other. But when people see me and my human coming, they pull their dog close to them and don't let us meet. Very odd behaviour. Most of us dogs get mad at that and jump and growl and bark, because we want our humans to let us meet the other dog, but the humans just keep pulling us and walking away. So, I have only gotten to meet a few furry friends on my walks. But I love my walks nonetheless. The humans with no dogs are always admiring me. I get lots of compliments, of people telling my human how pretty I am and what a beautiful dog I am, and other kind words. I love hearing all the compliments! A few little humans, kids you call them, have come up to pet me. I just love being petted and touched. And I love playing. One of the other states I used to live in had a great dog park that my human would take me to every day, rain or shine or snow! I would play for at least an hour, but usually more. There were always so many dogs there and I had so much fun. But then we moved and lived in the country for a bit where all I had were bulls, cows, horses, and goats to look at, but no one to play with and no dog park. Now I am in California and the nearest dog park is always empty. Sometimes we see a few little dogs running around, but most of the time when we walk by it the park is empty. It makes me sad because I want to play yet I have no one to play with. Ginger is 17-years-old so she can't play. I bet she was fun when she was younger, though. She is a Greyhound, so we could have run together and had fun. So, I just lay in my corner of the yard and watch the birds and at night, the stars, and go to sleep wishing I was in my own yard with my friend Sylvius, running and playing and having fun with no mean dog on the other side of the fence to make me nervous. So my human better get a job soon so we can get our own place, or I am just going to have to go to work myself, perhaps pulling kids on their skateboards, or pulling bunnies out of their burrows. I'm just sayin'...

Pools and Storms

I slipped half-way into the pool today, by accident! The dog behind the fence, the one that broke through the fence and attacked me, started to bark and it made me nervous so I jumped up and walked toward the fence and slipped partly into the pool, but only my right leg and part of my tail got wet! I guess I was so anxious about the dog behind the fence that I did not notice how close I was to the edge of the pool. But I am ok. It was a very warm day, so a little cool water was not so bad. On a happy note, I have slept outside twice! But last night I came back in because the dog behind the fence was out late and barked a few times, so I just went inside to feel better, and safe. On a sad note, my side-kick Silvius is not doing to good back home. He has storm anxiety. Actually, he has anxiety about a lot of things considering he was abandoned, which is how he joined our family, and he was most likely abused before being abandoned. But storms really freak him out, and lately a lot of storms have been hitting where he is living, so he has destroyed some parts of the house. If he were here in sunny California he would be ok because we don't have storms here. But he can't be here and our humans have to figure out what to do because they can't afford the damage he is causing. I know they will figure something out that will make us all happy, but in the meantime, I miss Silvius and wish the storms would stop. I am not afraid of storms. I have lived through a tornado and I was not fazed in the least! I can outrun a tornado. Or just hide in the corner of my doghouse and hope the tornado doesn't pick it up and twirl it around. But earthquakes - those scare me! I have never been in one, and I hope never to be in one while I live in California. Where do you go when it hits? Things come crashing down around you and the ground just opens up and swallows you! I don't want to live in the ground. Moles live in the ground. And ants. And snakes. And worms. They aren't any fun to chase and catch. Hey, wait a minute, don't bunnies have holes in the ground? I think they do! I guess being swallowed by the earth in an earthquake wouldn't be so bad, as long as some bunnies followed. I'm just sayin'...

Dog Fight!

I am a pretty mellow doggy. Malamutes are known to be aloof and wanderers - we pretty much mind our own business. Since moving to California I have not been too happy in my new house. The yard is not that big for me and I am surrounded by strange dogs that do not seem too friendly. Me, I love meeting new dogs and playing with doggies. I am very social that way. But last week something happened to me that really scared me. Since moving here I have found my spot in the corner of the yard and have pretty much stayed there. I do not wonder near the fence or to other parts of the yard. I just don't feel comfortable. My human is concerned. She thought I would enjoy running around the yard and exploring it so it concerns her that I have pretty much found my spot and don't move from there, except when I go into the house. The other exception is when my human cleans the pool. She walks around the pool scraping out anything that is floating on top of the water and she does this at least two to four times a day. Usually at least one of those times, sometimes twice, I will follow her around the pool. Well last week as we were on the end of the pool next to the fence the dog on the other side of the fence started to growl and bark. So I stuck my nose near the fence and wagged my tail. The dog went wild and so I started to make some noises (I am not really a barker, more a howler) and all of a sudden the dog broke through the fence and had me by the neck! I was scared and trying to get the dog off, but he would not let go and I could not reach him. My human was using the pool pole to try to get his jaws off my neck but to no avail. She was getting frantic and I was very scared and was moving around and the dog lost his footing and fell into the pool. At least it made him let go of my neck! At that same time one of the dog's owners got through the fence and dragged him out of the pool and was holding him waiting for the adult owner to get here with his leash. As my human walked me by to put me in the house the dog got loose and lunged at me and attacked me again! This time I fell in the pool, but only half way because my owner had me by the collar. We got the dog off and I got in the house very quickly! Well, I was not hurt physically because it turns out the dog has no teeth (don't ask me why!) so my skin was not punctured. But I was scared and upset! Why did the dog attack me? What did I do? I just wanted to be friends. Ever since the attack I don't like being outside alone. When the dog is out there and barks I get very nervous and run inside the house. I also have not slept outside alone since the attack, and that is hard for me because I love being outdoors and ever since my human adopted me I have spent most nights sleeping outside under the stars and moon and clouds. But now I am in my human's room on the floor under a ceiling. I also don't follow my human around the pool anymore because I am too nervous now to go by the fence. My human is very upset about this situation. She does not like to see me in this state and it upsets her that I feel so nervous in my own backyard. She is currently looking for work and worries how I will do being here alone all day once she starts working. I would like my human to be home with me every day, as I am sure most doggies would! We love our humans!! I know that not all dogs are going to be friends. And I know that not every dog will like me, and that is ok because that is life. But it is not ok when the dog attacks. There is no reason for violence. If you don't like me, ok, I can deal with that. But why attack me? Why take it out on me? I mind my own business and I let you go along with your life, so why attack me? I just don't understand. All I want to do is play and have fun! Sure I get mad sometimes. Porgy annoys me when he stands by me and watches me as I am trying to sleep. But I don't attack him - I just growl and move. And if he follows me again, which he always does, I get mad again and growl even more, and move again. But I would never attack Porgy, or any animal. Except bunnies. And only when I'm hungry. I'm just sayin'...

California Here I Am!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post but life has been so hectic! A spur of the moment decision had my human packing up Porgy and I and making a road trip to Northern California! We had to leave Silvius, which is very sad to me and very sad for Silvius too, but we could not have more than one dog. We also left Kitty, but that made Kitty happy since she was not too fond of me! Silvius and Kitty stayed with my human's brother, but I sure wish we could get Silvius out here. Silvius is terrified of storms, even if it is just rain and no thunder. Once Silvius senses from the wind and air that a storm is coming, he gets very anxious and nervous. And the closer the storm gets, the more anxious and scared he becomes to the point of becoming destructive. Silvius has done a lot of damage to the house by freaking out over storms, and now that he is out there in the country alone, I worry about him. Kansas has a lot of thunderstorms, especially this time of year. Here in California, it has been sunny most every day, except today and yesterday, cloudy and chilly. It was a fun trip! Me, Porgy, and my human in a car for four days driving down I-80. I got to see lots of new things and smell some interesting smells. I really liked Wyoming and Utah and Nevada. I barely saw Colorado, we arrived in the dark. I loved riding in the car! I had the whole back seat to myself, but I preferred to stand and look out the front window, with my head between my human and Porgy! So many great sites to see! Too bad we did not have time to sight see more. My first few weeks in California have been hard. I don't feel like this is home. We are house sitting for a family member, so we are also watching their cat and dog. Their dog is a 17-year-old Greyhound. She is so skinny but very sweet. We don't interact too much, as I am too rambunctious for her! The cat does not like me at all, but that is ok. You can't like everyone! Anyway, I don't feel like this is my home or yard, but we are only here for a few months so I will adapt for now. There is an in-ground pool in the back yard, so not much grass for me to run and play. My human loves the pool, although it has been too cold to use. I don't like water. I am a Malamute and we are not water dogs. Sure, on a hot day, I may go in a little just to cool my paws. Back in Kansas I would walk into the creek up to my belly on the really hot days to cool down. I like the creek. Lot of otter and beaver and deer around there. No deer here. I guess I am no longer an Alaskan Malamute in the Midwest but now am an Alaskan Malamute in Northern California. Maybe one day I will be an Alaskan Malamute in Alaska. I'm just sayin'...

Robot Pets??!!

I don’t know if I would like my human to get a robot pet. They don’t seem like much fun to play with or chase bunnies with and I often wonder, would they steal my bones from me? I think robot pets would be more obedient than I am, but where is the fun in that? I don’t always come to my human when she calls me, but that adds spontaneity to her life! I bet a robot pet always comes when called. Show off! And I beg for food a lot, I just love my treats! I doubt that robot pets beg for food, so you could probably keep them in the house when you eat dinner. But if there was ever a competition between me and a robot pet I know I could win! I am a Malamute, a working breed, so it is in my blood to work hard and compete. Those robot pets can’t think on their paws like I can! I think robot pets are great for humans who cannot physically or financially care for a live pet, such as disabled or elderly humans. They offer those humans companionship plus help alleviate the loneliness that those humans may feel. But for all other humans I say a real live wet tongued, panting, drool slobbering pet is the best! And I can protect my human better than any robot pet! I may not be able to flash lights and scream “Danger! Danger!” but I can run and lick any intruder who enters my territory and wag my tail to scare him off! I mean, if you can tickle someone into submission, can’t you lick them into submission? I’m just sayin’…