Saturday, August 27, 2011: Today, I went to my first ball game ever. Loved it! “Canines at the Cove” was so much fun. Can’t decide what I enjoyed most: Meeting lots of new people who wanted to pet me, making new doggie friends, or the food. Loved the food! I got to clean up some popcorn and I had pieces of hot dog, hamburger, and bratwurst (all good). The only part that was pretty yucky was the lettuce on the hamburger – I made sure to spit that out. No clue why people like that stuff.

After the game, I went to my new foster home and got to meet three more canine buddies. Two of them are really fun and liked me immediately, the older one seems a bit bossy for my taste (don’t tell him I said that, I want to stay here).

Sunday, August 28: The couch is super comfy and there are dog beds all over the place. This is awesome! I really like my new black and white foster sister, Jersey. She likes to cuddle on the couch and seems like a fun playmate.

But living in a house is way confusing. First of all, there is this little thing that they call a “cat.” Personally, I think that’s just short for “particularly boring little dog that refuses to play even after consistent pestering.” Oh, and the cat is allowed to walk on the dinner table and the kitchen counter. If I try to do as much as put my front paws up there to get a better look, I am told “off” immediately. Seriously unfair if you ask me. I try to put my paws up a few more times to manifest the injustice of this rule… but I do know better.

Monday, August 29: So much for the sleeping in part – it’s so nice and quiet here at night, I love sleeping in. Today, we had to get up super early so my foster mom can get ready for work. And then there’s a stranger in the bathroom! I make sure to protect her by growling at this weird person that seems to be imitating my foster mom’s behavior. She is cracking up, pointing at this thing she calls a mirror. Well, turns out that it’s not a second person after all, it’s her reflection. You know, it’s early and you have not seen her at 6 in the morning, you wouldn’t recognize her either… I feel a bit sheepish and want to go back to bed.

After work, my foster mom is cleaning litter boxes. I can’t wait to go for a walk, so I figure I would help her a bit and speed up the process. Before I can even figure out how to use the scooper, I am told to “drop it.” No good deed goes unpunished in this house….

Week One: I LOVE taking daily walks. It’s really fun walking through the neighborhood, taking in all of the new smells and making new friends. Oh, and I learned two new words this week: “other side.” Walking with Toby and Jersey was a bit confusing at first – there were so many things to see and run towards and our leashes kept getting tangled. Now I just go to the “other side” and I am able to walk again. I love it when my foster mom tells me what a smart boy I am!

We also have “school” each day. I have already learned so much and I get really excited when I get to show off my tricks for treats. I sit and shake like a pro and I am doing better with “leave it.” That’s a tough one … why wait if you can just grab the treat? Or your toy? I get so excited when we play fetch – it’s so much fun! I am also trying my best to talk those other mutts into playing tug-of-war. I have shoved the rope toy into their face so many times, you would think they would get it at some point. Really, how much more obvious can you get? But I guess not everyone is as smart as I am.

The stairs: Scary! After staring at them for a week, I decided to run upstairs today. My foster mom was in a hurry to get ready for work and ran upstairs to grab one last thing and I followed. Going up was surprisingly easy and I got praised for being a brave boy. Going down is an entirely different story. Those other two mutts are crazy for acting like it’s nothing. It’s something alright. It’s high and steep and dangerous looking and you could break a leg before you know it. I’m not going down. Nope.  This has nothing to do with being afraid, and everything with making smart choices. …and of course I knew that my foster mom would bring out the hot dogs if I resisted long enough. The stairs are still scary, but I am willing to take a chance if can get a hot dog as a reward.

Week Two: I got a package in the mail today. My foster mom ordered all kinds of chew toys and squeaky toys. Personally, I would have been just fine with chewing on shoes and cat scratchers, but people seem strangely picky about those kinds of things. Oh well, turns out that dog toys are way more fun anyways, esp. the squeaky variety. No clue why they were advertised as indestructible though – they obviously didn’t try them on Jersey. That’s what you get for politely sharing your toys with your foster siblings.

The cat: Still trying to figure her out. She doesn’t like toys. I have politely tried to drop toys in front of her (or on her – but, hey, that wasn’t on purpose) and she gets all hissy at me. I play bow – nothing. I bark expectantly – I get smacked. I nudge her – I get smacked.  I clean her ears – which she seems to appreciate for a bit, but then, out of her nowhere, I get smacked. Clearly, in addition to being boring, she also has poor social graces. Note to self: try harder. Cat will give in at some point – I know I’m pretty irresistible.

Week Three: We went to Rum Village today! I am really starting to enjoy car rides – even more so now that Toby has agreed to share the passenger seat with me. I had no idea how much fun walking through the woods would be. Lots of great smells! And wildlife! I got to bark at deer, saw some chipmunks and squirrels. Fun stuff! We also saw a snake - up close and personal. According to my foster mom, that was not at all funny. She's weird that way... shrieking over something fascinating like that.

When we got back, we had peanut butter flavored Frosty Paws. This has got to be the best food I have ever had (people food excluded) – it was great. Jersey, that silly mutt, ate the ice cream with the container and everything. I took my time and enjoyed the ice cream. And I enjoyed having everyone watch me after they chowed down on their treat. I bet my foster mom gave me the biggest container.

Tuesday, September 13: I’m exhausted! We did yard work today. Well, my foster mom did yard work – I made sure that the yard was free of squirrels and chipmunks while she was working. And after all the little critters had disappeared, Jersey and I started a little construction project of our own. It was really her idea, you know. But I got to say, she knows how to have fun – digging holes was awesome. I’m so glad I’m not white like her…

Making friends with the kitty has been put on ice for now. My new project is making friends with the older grumpy foster sibling: Cyrus. At least my magic is working on him :)

Wednesday, September 14:  It was raining today. Not a big deal you would think, right? W-r-o-n-g! Apparently, to people it is. As soon as we started our walk, my foster mom started mumbling and grumbling about the rain like she was going to melt or something. And then we turned around after less than a mile… hardly a walk to speak off. As if that wouldn’t be bad enough, we come home and the next thing you know, she is coming at me with a big towel, drying me off and telling me how cute I am with my little teddy bear ears and the freckles on my nose. Cute? Freckles? Those are rain drops and a pair of very manly Chow Chow ears. What is this world coming to? Next thing you know I’ll be walking around in a pink raincoat….

Friday, September 16: Tonight was movie night – I had no idea how much fun that could be. Turns out that movie night combines three of my favorite things: snuggling with my foster mom AND my favorite foster sibling, and popcorn. No clue what the movie was – I slept through most of it. …which is probably a good thing since I have heard talk about the Mutt March tomorrow and that I should be well rested for that. I can’t wait!

Saturday, September 17: Mutt March!!! Today, Toby and I went to St. Patrick’s Park. Jersey wasn’t allowed to join us because – according to my foster mom – she lacks social graces. She was probably referring to Jersey’s barking fits around other dogs… and I have to admit that they are embarrassing at times. I still missed Jersey and I figured we should leave the back seat open in honor of her. But my foster mom decided that having two dogs in the passenger seat was silly when the entire back row was open. So I got booted into the back seat – no fun!

The Mutt March was great though! I got to meet lots of other dogs, including some fun Pet Refuge dogs that are all up for adoption:

1.   Brava – love her! She’s my kind of a doggie. After some sniffing, she was ready to play. Too bad we weren’t allowed to run around off leash – that would have been awesome. I can’t believe that no one ever let me play with her when I still lived at the shelter.

2.   Sierra – she woofed at me. Right in my face. The other people told me that that’s what Huskies do… but I think that was very poor behavior. And I told her! I woofed right back at her.

3.   Alfie – well, he’s tiny. And he wore a jacket. And then he had to be carried part of the time. I am still not sure if he’s a dog or if he’s related to one of those cat-things that I have at home. He didn’t hiss or swat at me though, so maybe he is a dog after all.

What a fun day! When we came home, we took another long walk with Jersey. I am ready for a nice long nap now….

Sunday, September 18: It’s Sunday, which means that my foster mom takes me to adoptions at PetSmart South. I don’t really know why we have to do that every weekend, it’s not like people actually stop by to see me. I like spending time with the cat fosters though. They all think that I am very handsome and smart. And I have to say I have them pretty well trained by now. They know what I like to eat and they will make sure to slip me a few French fries here and there. If the fries aren’t coming fast enough, a little head tilt or a paw in their lap usually does the trick. I also got to hang out with JoJo, the little Shih Tzu. Not only does he not know how to beg properly, he also keeps sitting right underneath me and gets drooled on. Clearly his fault, if you ask me…

Tuesday, September 20: What a gorgeous day! I don’t really care if it’s 60 degrees or 75 – but the important part is that my foster mom cares. Because it was so nice out, she took us for an extra long walk today and then I got to hang out in the yard with everyone. I love having a fenced in yard! And other dogs! Jersey has taught me how much fun it is to chew on sticks and mulch… but that little goof eats them. I like to chew – but I wouldn’t eat sticks. That’s just silly! Instead, I leave them laying around in the yard so my foster mom can join the fun and pick them up before she mows. Just making sure that she’s getting her exercise too.

Thursday, September 22: Tonight was Grey’s Anatomy’s season premiere (insert excitement by the female members of my foster family). I have to admit, I don’t really care so much. But if they’re happy, I’m happy. Plus, it involved hanging out on the couch for two hours – with snacks. Now that’s something to get excited about. Anyways, what I didn’t know was how upset girls can get over television. Instead of laughing at them (it was kind of funny), I tried my very best to make sure that everyone was okay. I’m the sensitive type, you know. I sat in my foster mom’s lap and kept kissing my little Jersey-girl. She also has very clean ears now… I thought the kitty-girl might need some reassurance as well – she is a girl after all. So I tried to kiss her little pink nose very gently. But, nope, she did not. And she made that very clear. Very, very clear.

Friday, September 23: We went hiking today! 6.5 miles at Potato Creek. It was awesome. Three of my favorite things in one fun-packed afternoon: walking, water and wildlife. It would have been even more fun if we could have gotten a little closer to the wildlife – but my foster mom didn’t seem to think so. Oh, well, hiking was great and I got to walk through the water. Toby, Jersey and I were so exhausted, we were sound asleep by the time we passed the second corn field. So glad I hopped into the backseat this time….

Tuesday, September 27: It’s been raining all weekend. So glad we went hiking on Friday – our walks have been awfully short ever since. I’m still not sure what it is with people and rain. First she’s complaining about a cold, then about the weather… a dog needs his walks, you know. The really fun part about walking in the rain though is the fact that it’s slippery. That makes chasing squirrels even more fun! You should see my foster mom slipping and sliding on the wet leaves… one of these days, we’re going to catch a squirrel. I just know it. We just might have to throw her down first…

P.S. I am so glad that I don’t have a fluffy tail like my foster brother Toby. He looks like a drowned rat. I, on the other hand, look rather handsome when wet.

Thursday, September 29: My foster mom put me in a bra today! A bra! In public! I know, I know, she calls it a harness, but it sure looks like a bra to me. I got to say it totally ruined my walk. I kept telling Jersey to just chew it off of me (I am not allowed to chew on leashes, I have learned that) – but I think she was laughing too hard at my misery to chew. Then my foster mom kept praising me that I was being a good boy for walking so nicely and not chasing any squirrels anymore. She got it all wrong: I wasn’t walking nicely, I was hiding behind her legs I was so embarrassed. I swear even the squirrels were laughing at me. What a crappy day… It’d better be a good Grey’s Anatomy night tonight….

Sunday, October 2: We walked through a maze today – a real one… even though, with my foster mom’s sense of direction, you might sometimes get the impression that our neighborhood is a maze too. Anyways, this maze was at Potato Creek. It’s a prairie grass maze. The prairie grass is at least 7 feet tall and since I am a little guy, I couldn’t see a thing. At least that’s what my foster mom always calls me. But the more I think about it, she might be referring to the fact that I am much younger and a tiny bit less mature than everyone else. But I digress. Fact is: we couldn’t see a thing in this maze. If you ask me, we had 3 pretty good options:

1.       Follow Toby. Since he marks every 10 feet, I’m sure he could have found the way out without a problem.

2.   Follow Gracie (who is in a different foster home). Since she is blind, she doesn’t care that there are dozens of options for trails… she would have just trusted her other senses.

3.   Follow Gracie’s foster brother Jake (also up for adoption). He didn’t care where the official trail was, he would have led us straight to the next little critter through the grass – which would have been way more fun.

But, no, we had to follow the humans and their questionable sense of direction. We got lost so many times, it was quite frustrating. But, oh well, as you can tell by the fact that I am writing this, we eventually made it out.

Tuesday, October 4: Litter box? Me? Eat out of the litter box? Never! I don’t know where my foster mom keeps getting these ideas. No one trusts me around here. Sure, I have seen Jersey eat out of the litter box – but me, I would never dream of doing such a thing. Wait, what is this on my nose? It feels like there’s something dry that’s stuck on my wet little nose. Oh, oh….

Thursday, October 6: Today was spa day. But before you get too excited, it really wasn’t that great. No clue why people do this voluntarily every day. I will from now on avoid the bathroom, the scene of this humiliating procedure. My foster mom lured Toby, Jersey and myself into the bathroom with yummy chicken jerky treats. The other two acted really suspicious – but who’s going to say no to chicken jerky. So there we were. One after another, we got lifted into the bathtub and got an aloe-oatmeal bath. I like water just fine – but the whole shampooing thing, I don’t know. But I guess it could have been worse. Poor Toby had some sticky burrs in places where no boy dog ever wants a sticky burr and my foster mom had to cut them out. I was scared for him! …and I feel way too clean now…. way too clean…

Friday, October 7: I climbed a mountain today! A huge mountain! Before you start laughing: I grew up in Northwest Indiana and this sure looked like a mountain to me. Especially since it was right in the middle of a 5 mile hike. We really had fun though. I love Potato Creek and walking through the leaves. I wish we could go every day after work!

Monday, October 10: There’s this girl, you know. Her name is Gabby. She is so cute! She has this darling smushed Boxer face and an underbite. And she has the cutest smile! And she has pretty reddish fur (just like myself). I have met her before at adoptions. Last Saturday, she was in the crate right next to mine. She was dressed in a hoodie (her foster mom likes to dress her up). But she kept rubbing against the crate, pretending to be bothered by her outfit. If you ask me, she really just wanted to get closer to me. I have just been waiting for my chance to meet her again.

Anyways, when we went to the river walk today, there she was! And we got to take a walk together! Well, not just the two of us, our foster moms and Toby and Jersey were there too, but I really only had eyes for Gabby… and the occasional squirrel – but she likes to stalk squirrels too. I kept walking a little closer, sneaking a sniff, trying to lean in to her. But I think she’s playing hard to get. In the end, as I was getting ready to ask her out, she just hopped into the car, not even looking back. Girls, I just don’t get them...

Friday, October 14: We dressed up the cats today! And when I say “we,” I mean that my foster mom dressed up the cats for something called Halloween and the dogs made fun of them. It was pretty awesome. Cats really are fun to start out with. And they get irritated so quickly. Just a little bit of licking and they have their nose all bent out of shape. But that’s nothing compared to putting costumes on them. They were not happy with my foster mom – at all!

What I don’t quite get though is why we would dress them up as food. At first she keeps telling me that cats are not edible and then she makes them look like lobster? No wonder we get confused about the rules. Sassy at least was an angry spider – which suited her pretty well. I hope my foster mom doesn’t plan on closing her eyes tonight, those cats looked pretty angry!

Sunday, October 16: Here I am thinking that Halloween is just a holiday for cats – but I guess dogs get put into costumes as well. And for the record: I wanted to be the dragon! I would make a perfect dragon. Fierce and big and powerful – totally me. But, no, she dresses me up like a bumble bee. A bumble bee! Me! And then she keeps exclaiming how cute I am. Not funny!

The second costume I tried on was at least a little bit better. I would be just fine with being a shark… but then the shark kept eating my face and I didn’t know where I was going. To add insult to injury, she then put MY dragon costume on Cyrus. Really? I don’t care that it was the only costume that they had in XXL and that I don’t need that since I am a little guy. It’s a matter of principle. And I made sure that everyone understood the injustice of the situation. I just took the costume off of him right there and then. I hope that teaches everyone a lesson!

P.S. Cyrus, I am sorry that I dragged you through the yard by your costume – I promise I won’t do it again.

Wednesday, October 19: Today I learned what suitcases are all about. Just by looking at it, I would have thought they’re not all that exciting. They don’t smell or taste good, so they’re clearly not edible. They don’t squeak when you chew on them. And I seriously doubt that it’s going to start chasing me anytime soon. In other words: b-o-r-i-n-g. Toby, however, seems to think it’s the most terrifying thing he’s ever seen. He’s whining and pacing and acting all upset. But, then again, he’s kind of a nervous Nellie sometimes. You should see him when my foster mom tries to brush his butt or remove a sticky burr from his tail. He acts like she’s trying to perform surgery without anesthesia or something. I’m not trusting him on this one – I think the suitcase is perfectly harmless.

Thursday, October 20: She left us! Yes, she’s gone! Toby was right… she just packed that suitcase and left. Well, at least we have a dog-sitter that I might be able to teach a thing or two. Since rules only apply when my mom is in the room and able to see me, clearly, they shouldn’t apply when she’s in a different state, right? So I am trying to tell our dog-sitter that: a) the crate is just there for decorative purposes and as a storage device, I never have to go in it, ever! b) I always get two bowls of food. We have a 2-minute rule: If you don’t lick your bowl clean in two minutes, someone else gets to eat it. If Cyrus isn’t hungry, he doesn’t need to eat. I, on the other hand, am always hungry. c) People always share people food with us. Lots of food. With me in particular. d) If I bark 2 hours before it’s actually time to get up, we all just get up. And we get our breakfast.

Saturday, October 22: My foster mom is back! Finally! I almost knock her over I’m so excited. And we get an extra long walk too – great day!

Tuesday, October 25: The cat is bipolar. She’s got to be. I’m sure there’s a medication for that. We are all snoozing on the couch, all comfy. I even let Sassy sleep on my head – I’m nice like that. And she really is very sweet when she’s tired and in a cuddly mood. I swear I only licked her a little bit. It was a reflex. And she turns around and bites my nose! Jersey said that there’s no such thing as a bipolar cat, they’re all like that. But I sure think there’s something wrong with that little Sassy-cat.

Sunday, October 30: I got to meet some other adoptable foster pups today, including one that looks like a miniature version of myself. Her name is E.B. – short for energizer bunny. She was hopping through the yard like a bunny, bouncing around, chasing balls, chasing me. She’s very cute – well, of course she is, she looks like me – but she sure is active. I don’t think I was ever that active even when I was still little. The other one, Murray, is more my speed. He sat down a couple of times during our walk to yawn and take a little break. And I hear he’s a bit of a couch potato when he’s done playing. Ah, a couch, I am totally ready for a nice nap on the couch right now after entertaining those puppies. I sure am glad that I am the puppy in my family!

Here we are, on YouTube, playing in the yard together!

Monday, October 31: I am so glad that Halloween is only once a year. We went on our normal evening walk today and all of a sudden, we started encountering lots of tiny superheroes, giant pumpkins and ladybugs and all kinds of other funky things. Some of them were yelling and screaming and waving bags full of candy. Jersey decided that a good offense is the best defense and she started barking and pulling like crazy. Well, it’s a good thing there are plenty of alleys – because that’s how we managed to make it home safe and sound. I think this walk easily took 2 years off of my foster mom’s life (and 10 years off of her shoulder joints).
To make matters worse: there were no treats. None! I had practiced all kinds of tricks (even though it says “trick or treat,” I just wanted to be ready. “Tricks for treats” makes so much more sense). But, nothing! No treats! What as a disappointing holiday… we’d better buy an extra large turkey for Thanksgiving to make up for this.

Thursday, November 3: Another crappy walk today. No, not because it was freezing cold and windy – that’s for humans to complain about. I have a nice thick winter coat that’s ready for subzero temperatures. No, we encountered something that looked like a distant cousin of our vacuum cleaner, but it was much much bigger and noisier. And it was stealing all the leaves! As it kept getting closer, I started to realize how little I am and how much Toby and I blend in with all the leaves. I’m sure little Chow Chows have disappeared in the belly of that beast before! I am just glad that we had Jersey with us – her white coat stood out very nicely against the leaves. I promised right there and then that I’ll protect her once it starts snowing.

Luckily, the walk started getting a whole lot better when the wind blew a McDonalds bag right into my mouth. My foster mom seems to remember some pouncing on my part – but I think it just magically appeared in my mouth. There were still some French fries in there. It smelled delicious and I would have eaten the entire thing if my foster mom hadn’t taken it away from me. She really ruins all the fun!

Sunday, November 27: It’s Sunday morning and it looks like we are not going to PetSmart today. I wonder why, I actually really like hanging out at PetSmart. I get to socialize with the other dogs, eat French fries and other yummy people food and the cat volunteers all pay attention to me. It’s great!

My foster mom explains that Pet Refuge is having a cat adoption special and that she is not taking me or my feline foster siblings. Wait a second, cat special – what’s so special about cats? Well, it turns out that cats are not that special after all, they’re just on sale for $5. Five dollars? That’s less than one Cuz toy. And one bag of my healthy holistic food would cost more than 10 cats today. What?!? Don’t get me wrong, I love my squeaky Cuz toys and my food, but I love my feline foster siblings a whole lot more than that. They can be sweet and cuddly, they play, and every once in a while they’ll squeak when I play with them. And they leave edible presents in their litter box. I’m glad that Siesta is staying home today! Maybe I should offer to trade one of my toys in exchange for keeping Siesta- kitty….

Wednesday, November 30: My foster mom did it! No, she didn’t sign my adoption paperwork, but she submitted her book manuscript. I still don’t quite understand what this was all about, but it’s been her excuse for spending large amounts of time in front of the computer without ever updating my diary. Just look at it: if you had a choice between that boring looking manuscript thing and spending time with your mutts, what would you choose?

Luckily, working on the book also meant that she’s been home most of the time, so I am not feeling totally neglected. One of her friends suggested that she might skip a walk here and there if she was pressed for time. I almost fainted when I heard that. Not walk? Now that would be borderline cruel…. I love my walks!  

So here’s what happened over the last few weeks:

I almost swallowed a spoon! Well, that was really my foster mom’s fault – what was she thinking? It’s not like I have any self-control around people food. I love people food. It smells good, it tastes delicious and we don’t ever get enough of it. I could start drooling just thinking about people food. I have gotten a lot better about taking food nicely from a fork, but when she offered me peanut butter on a spoon, I almost ate the spoon with it. In my defense: peanut butter is sticky and incredibly yummy and I don’t know why she thought I would slowly lick the spoon. Sometime it’s like she doesn’t know me at all.

I walk up and down the stairs now – like a pro! Well, that’s not really new, but I don’t think I have mentioned it before. No clue why I was ever afraid of the stairs, they’re really not that scary. And the water fountain is upstairs and it’s way fun to drink out of the cat fountain. The basement stairs, however, are still a different story… and there’s nothing fun down there anyways: no couch, no dog food cabinet, not even any toys.

I also play fetch like a pro! And, no, it has nothing to with my foster mom being particularly good at throwing the ball. Quite to the contrary: Every once in a while, I just have to close my eyes when she’s about to throw. The other dogs usually hide somewhere around the corner when we play fetch. They want nothing to do with toys or tennis balls. No clue what’s wrong with them. Even if they can’t catch a ball, they could at least pretend to be interested and run after it. But, no, it’s up to me to keep my foster mom entertained and retrieve toys for her.

Saturday, December 3: I’ve been trying to cheer up my foster mom all day. Someone returned on of her foster cats on Friday and she’s been crying about that ever since. The poor kitty is skin and bones and in horrible shape. As far as I can tell, I should be the one crying since Lexie, the cat, is getting all of the special privileges. No, I am not allowed to even see her since she is very sick and has to be kept separate from everyone else. But I can sure smell a variety of canned foods from underneath the door – I have even offered to help clean bowls. After all, if Lexie is sick and feeling nauseous, canned food is probably not making her stomach feel any better. I’m thoughtful like that! I would also be more than happy to use my big boy bark on the people that did that to her, but no one seems to like that idea either. Instead, we are getting up at 5:30 on Monday morning so Lexie can go to the vet first thing in the morning. Clearly, life isn’t fair sometimes….

Friday, December 9: It snowed! I am beside myself with joy! How much fun is that – playing in the snow. Strangely, Jersey doesn’t seem to share my enthusiasm for snow at all and she stubbornly refuses to roll around and wrestle in the snow with me. Instead, my foster mom puts her in a pink sweater and she sits around shivering. Well, she is genetically disadvantaged, of course, since she is lacking Chows in her ancestry. I guess snow wouldn’t be as much fun without a thick undercoat. Even Cyrus is wearing a sweater today – and he sure has enough fur. Toby and I, however, are having a blast. We run and play and wrestle and roll. I just wish the snow was a little deeper!

Sunday, December 11: My foster mom left us home alone last night! And not only that, she slept in a kennel at Pet Refuge with another dog. She explained that the annual shelter sleepover is a special Christmas event for my friends back at the shelter who are still looking for their very own home for the holidays. Well, in that case, I guess it’s okay that I had to sleep all by my lonely self for a night. At first I tried to talk her into letting me share a crate with Jersey-girl – if she is doing a sleepover with a dog, I should be able to have a sleepover too, but she didn’t think so. And as much as it pains me to say it, she might have been right. When she walked into the door this morning, I felt pretty refreshed and relaxed and ready to go on a long hike and she looked more like she had suddenly aged a few decades.

Friday, December 16: My mom took the day off today to take us hiking at Potato Creek. Much to my disappointment, there’s not really much snow left, but it was still really fun. We all had a blast. We climbed the same mountain as a few weeks ago, but this time Toby decided to pose for the picture. Jersey and I were really too busy to eat snow and chew on sticks to pose for anything. I can’t wait to get more snow!

Friday, December 23: I’m a hero! Well, I guess technically speaking Toby might be the hero, but I was totally part of this rescue. Last night, my mom gets a call, grabs Toby and runs out the door. When they come back home very late at night, he smells like peperoni and other treats and looks like he had a fun time while I was sitting at home, waiting. Turns out that they were using him as a “bait dog” to help catch a very scared dog that climbed out of the yard at Pet Refuge. But judging by my mom’s facial expression, they had no luck.

Today, Jersey and I got to go as well. After several hours of driving around, we finally get to a really beautiful wooded area where we see wild turkey and deer. Much to my disappointment, we are still not getting out of the car.  And then, all of a sudden, the dog appears right in front of us. Jersey does what she does best: she barks at the top of her lungs. Strangely, the dog stops and turns around to look at us. After some talking to her friend Linda who is also in the car with us, my foster mom grabs Toby and gets out of the car. What?!? Jersey and I are not getting a walk? To voice my disappointment, I jump into the front seat and I might have accidently stepped on the horn. Whoops – that got everyone’s attention for sure.

Despite the honking, the strange dog walks up to Toby and my foster mom is able to grab him and he gets to go into car with all of us. How fun! He seems very scared and I try to lick his face on the entire drive back to the shelter to make him feel better. I’m still not sure what the big deal is, we jump into the car all the time – but everyone is ecstatic and we get a special dinner, chicken jerky and lots of treats. And we finally get a real walk after we get back home. What a great day!

January 2012: People often ask what a dog would add to their lives and why they should adopt one from a shelter. Why not ask a dog?!? Here are some of my thoughts on the issue:

A dog will add unconditional love and friendship. I am a good judge of character and I make an on-the-spot decision if I like you or not. Then I stick with that decision. I don’t pretend to like you and talk behind your back. Just take one look at my body language and you will know exactly what I think.  

I don’t have ulterior motives. I have integrity and I promise that I will never sell you out for political gain or to make myself look good. I am loyal – because I’m your dog and you’re my person. Not because I care about other people’s opinions.

I honor friendships. If I get myself in trouble, I won’t pretend that it was Jersey that did it. I won’t even blame the cat… one look at me and you will know when I feel guilty (even though I still don’t understand how cleaning up kitchen counters could ever be a bad thing and I refuse to feel guilty about that).

I am always excited to see you. I will cuddle with you and reassure you when you’re sad, I will celebrate with you when you’re happy and I am always ready for an adventure. Not because I expect something in return, but because I love you and I care about you.

Even though I have experienced hard times and even though people have not always treated me kindly, I don’t dwell on the past. I am thankful for what I have and I am optimistic about what the day will hold. I bark with glee when I think we’re about to go for a walk. Or when it’s time for breakfast. Or dinner. Or a treat. Or a game of fetch. I’m generally a happy boy and I will try my best to add happiness to your life.

Come to think of it, I am very happy that I am a dog and not a person. Sure, opposable thumbs would be awesome, but I much prefer the canine world where the truth is the truth and friendships are friendships.