Always Be Yourself Exception No. 1

I am not a chicken. I am not a “fraidy-cat”. I am not a wimp that runs away. I stand my ground. I bark in the face of danger. I am true to my terrier ancestors.

Until I heard coyotes.

Diana, Michael and I went on vacation to the beach recently. Awesome, by the way. The place we stayed at had a nice deck so I could look out over the bushes to the dunes. (Really sweet of them to build it for me, don’t you think?)

I made the deck mine. After dinner I stuck my head through the railing begging (so said Michael. I say asking nicely) to go on another walk on the beach.

Anything or anyone that caught my attention got a welcoming barking at. People love it when I bark at them. They smile and say “cute doggie”. Not really the response I was going for, but ok.

On our second evening at the beach, we heard coyotes - off in the distance.
Cool.
Bark. Bark. Bark.

On our third evening at the beach, we heard coyotes - 20 feet away.
Not Cool.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

I decided to revisit that wimp thing and opt for safety on the sofa, underneath a blanket.

I usually go for the “always be yourself” motto. I say to be me is to bark. This time I went for the “quiet dogs live longer when coyotes are staring at you” motto.

What do you think? What would you have done? Bark back at me. I’m open to suggestions (sort of).

I've Been On Vacation

Sorry, I've been unavailable for a while.  


I've been rolling in stinky dead crabs on the beach at Ocean Shores and yelling at red squirrels next to the Worlds Largest Spruce Tree near Lake Quinault.


I have a ton of new stories.  


Bark at you soon with all the details.


^ . . ^ Woof!  

You Can Turn A Negative Into A Silver Lining

My leg almost fell off when I was barking and lunging at Chompers, my nemesis…Really, it did. Almost.

I found the silver lining in my anti-social, barking at other dogs, acting out stuff. Diana isn’t so sure it’s a silver lining, but I’m sure.

 ************Silver Lining************

If I hadn’t barked so aggressively at Chompers I wouldn’t have hurt my leg and Diana would not have taken me to the vet and learned that I have a wonky knee. So I actually did the right thing. Dog logic is amazing.

In Vet Speak I have a medially luxating patella - Grade 2 (ooooh, impressive, not). I was born with it. The vet recommended surgery if I continue to have problems. We are saving money for the surgery. Our budget is really tight these days ‘cause one of my BHFs Katie is in college. I got to ride in the big truck last week and help her move into her new college house. It was an awesome trip. Katie said I can visit but I can’t live with her there because they already have a dog named Sarge. I’m ok with that. Who would take care of Diana and Michael if I’m living somewhere else? Nobody is right.

But I digress…

Surgery is expensive because they have to do a lot of work on my small bones. My kneecap area is about the size of a #2 pencil eraser. Gonna set us back $1,000 - give or take a few $100. That’s going to eat a big hole in my cheese fund.

So far my leg has wanted to stay on. I hurt it running around really goofy in the house after my bath and that’s the only other time. Diana is keeping a list of when and how I hurt it. If I keep hurting it or the frequency gets closer together then in I go for surgery immediately.

Diana sat me down and told me very seriously that I have to stop jumping when I’m excited. Jumping 3 feet in the air and landing on my bad knee is not such a good idea anymore. I wagged my tail and pawed the air to show her I got it. But I keep forgetting. I’m part Min Pin. Jumping is what we do. It’s in our blood.

If we don’t fix it, the vet said I will eventually develop arthritis in the joint. That’s not good, not good at all. That will end my jumping days forever (insert really sad dog face here).

After surgery Diana and Michael promised they would stay home with me ALL day for at least a week. Michael said he can work from home for a while to keep me company and help me out. They will have to help me up and down the stairs. I can only do really short walks to do my business and there will be “NO JUMPING” (Diana told me to add the emphasis on the last part).

I will have to have physical therapy and I can’t touch the stitches. So not looking forward to that part (…la la la ignoring - ignoring - la la la…).

The vet is very optimistic. I only have the problem in my right hind leg and I should make a full recovery if everything goes as planned.

Now all I have to do is make my own plan to get as much sympathy cheese out of Diana and Michael as I can. That’s a full on platinum lining for sure!

^ . . ^ Woof!



Ask For What You Want

Stylish beast. That’s what Diana calls me and it is so true.

Oooh, look - it's me

My new sweater is deluxe fabulousness. I love, love, love it because Diana made it just for me. She went to the yarn store and picked out the best yarn, found the pattern and made it over the weekend. We tried it on and customized it (I’m a bit longer than the small size and not as wide as the medium size). It’s warm, soft and easy to put on. Plus, it’s light weight so I can drag it to Diana when she asks me if I want to go out for a walk.

Now where is that leash?

New flash of the day.  If you want something in life you have to be bold enough to ask and keep asking until you get what you want. I want to walk around the neighborhood in my new sweater, keeping track of everything and everyone. I’m rarely turned down in my slightly irritating constant requests to go outside.

You also have to pick your moments to maximize your results. If I keep jumping at the door, eager to show off my sweater, even after Diana asks me to sit, I will have to wait longer until the door opens. Argh, that one kills me.

Oh, course I’m impatient. Hello, I’m a dog. I’m a highly excitable terrier that finds patience difficult on a good day. But I’m a super smart puppy. I’m willing to learn and Michael and Diana recognize how good I am and tell me all the time that I’m the best dog ever in the whole world.

I’ve learned a lot this spring and summer. The most important thing I’ve learned is that “good dog” rewards are not demeaning. They are tasty. Plus I’ve also learned that everyone is jealous of my new sweater.

Sweet.

(P.S. - We are making a sweater for my buddy Katey the Pug. Don’t tell her about it. It’s sooooo cute. Katey is kind of girly so we decided to go with pink fuzzy yarn with a row of fancy, sparkly, multi-colored yarn around the neck. Oooohh, la la.)

^ . . ^ Woof

It was a dark and stormy night

Last night started on a wicked note.

I do not like getting wet. Yeah, I know I’m a dog and wet paws shouldn’t be a big deal. But they are. So? I’ll bet you don’t like getting your paws wet either.

At walk time, Diana put my harness on me and made sure we had plenty of cheese for our adventures. I jumped around a bit in front of the door and, once I’d settled down and completed one of my extra pretty, with a prancing flair “Sit Down” moves, out we went.

I flew off the steps, barking at stuff, ready to enjoy my adventures.

SCREEEECH (That’s the sound my paws made trying to break on the sidewalk).

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I tucked my tail between my legs, put my head down and spun around in mid-air. Back into the house I ran. I did not stop running until I was upstairs on Diana and Michael’s big bed, burrowing under the blankets.

58 degrees and heavy rain in August? Are you kidding me? Forget it. I’m going back to bed to ride this nightmare out where it’s warm and dry.

From the bottom of the stairs, Diana called out, “Sasha? Did you forget something?”

Uhm, well, let me think. No, don’t think so.

“Don’t you want your dinner?”

EEEEEEEK. Oh, the horror. I’ve completely lost my mind. Involuntary Commitment Time. Fur sure.

Diana saved the day though. She put warm broth on my kibble and dug my special blanket out from the back of the closet.

I ended the evening with yummy in my tummy and blessed warmth on the sofa, watching a movie with my people. All in all - not bad - not bad at all.

^ . . ^ Woof