Family Vacation 2012

I'm a dog. If I had opposable thumbs, this post would have gone up over a month ago, but alas, Alicia had other things to do and said she'd get around to it when she got around to it.  Fast forward a month and a half, and you still have no idea what I did on family vacation this year! So, here are the highlights:

Morning, afternoon and evening walks on the beach.

Sniffed things on the beach!

Laid out on the stoop.

Slept on the stoop.

Snuggled up to horseshoe crabs.

Sniffed horseshoe crabs.

Didn't get to see amazing sunsets because
Matt and Alicia left me at home while they
went out to dinner.

Played with dogs on the beach!

Went out into the bay water...

And got surprised by waves!

Fell asleep on the couch when no one was looking.

Climbed up on the couch when Matthew went to get a drink.

Rode in the car!

What a great trip!

A Year in the Life

I'm a dog.  Can you believe that one year ago today (okay yesterday, since it took Alicia so long to get this up!), Matthew and Alicia adopted me from the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria and brought me to my forever home?  It's been a wild ride.

I went from a little 28 pound 5-month-old puppy to a 55 pound year-and-a-half old dog.

Taken on my second day at home.

Taken just last week.

I went from the "cone of shame" to my patriotic leg brace.

I went from hating my crate, to loving my crate, to preferring "my" chair.

I went from hating car rides to LOVING car rides.

I don't like!

You need a ride?

 I vacationed in Cape May, visited Grandma and Grandpa's house in Parsippany, visited the Giobbi side of the family in Lancaster, PA and even joined Alicia and Matt on an overnight to Maryland's Eastern Shore (where I ate the bedspread...oops).

My first taste of the beach.

Snuggles with Aunt Meghan and Nanna!

There's a cow in that barn, and I didn't like it.

I learned that I love children - especially the little ones that ride in strollers and always keep a stash of food debris on their faces and hands.  I learned that I hate delivery (mail, UPS, FedEx, furniture, etc.) people and also the garbage man.  I attack the mail every day just to prove it.

Hangin' with Mr. Connor.

Sniffin' around with Patrick's kids.

I love every dog I've ever met.  Even the ones that growl and/or bark at me.  Even the ones that are afraid of me or ignore me.  When they give me the chance, they love me too! Except Tonka.  He just thinks I'm too high energy and won't stand for my nonsense.  But I'll keep working on him!

Attacking my very best dog friend, Chili

I've had so much fun in my first year with Matthew and Alicia.  I can't wait to tell you all about the fun and adventures we have as time goes by.

My Evil Twin, Molly Maunute

I'm a dog.  A good dog.  Sure I don't always listen or do what I'm supposed to do, even though I know the rules.  But I'm a good girl.  I hear it all the time.  I'm pretty good at "sit," and have been steadily improving at "stay."  I'm awesome at "down."  I'm working on "rollover." "Paw" still doesn't make any sense to me.  And you're not likely to see me "play dead" anytime soon.

What I lack in following commands, I make up for in my sweet-as-sugar, eager to let-you-love-me disposition.  I can win over even the biggest skeptic in a matter of seconds when I put on my bashful face and wag my entire body.  Folks seem to especially love it when we make eye contact and I immediately sit or lay down - whether I'm in the middle of crossing the street, playing in the grass or strolling on the sidewalk - and wait patiently for them to walk over towards me, banging my tail and putting on my most adorable and innocent pit bull faces.  My cow spots don't hurt either.

When other dogs bark at me, I don't bark back.  I let them get it out of their system while I wait in play stance.  When they growl or snap (as yes, some dogs do when they meet a new dog), I just wait.  I give them every opportunity to love and never - not once ever - have I reacted in a manner that could even possibly be construed as negative.  It's just not my style.  I'm always happy.  Always loving.  I give dogs (and people) as much time as they need to love me.  And I never give up.  I'm still working on getting a neighbor dog, Kona Bean, to love me.  He's one tough cookie.  I'll break him...with LOVE!

From the positive reactions I get, you'd think I was one-of-a-kind.  But I recently learned that I have a twin.  An evil twin!  I learned about Miss Molly Maunute from a magazine we received in the mail.

Cover model Molly!

When Matthew first saw it, he said to Alicia "How did they get a photo of Molly? Did they take one at the vet's office?"  Alicia was giddy, but also confounded.  How did they get that photo of me looking so silly? The puparazzi must have snapped some shots on my last walk.  Then she looked again.  That wasn't me!  And the magazine cover wasn't even advertising me.  It was advertising Molly Maunute!

On closer examination, that's not me!
And my name is spelled wrong!

But these are some nice recommendations...

We discussed it as a family and decided that Molly Maunute must be my evil twin.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  Molly Maunute doesn't look evil.  And she isn't.  It's just that, compared to me, Mother Teresa is evil.  That's just what a sweetheart I am.

My Buddy and Me

I'm a dog.  I wasn't alive in the 1980s, but if I was, I would've asked Matt and Alicia to give me My Buddy for my birthday.  I love to play all the time and what could be better than having a friend to play with all the time?  Alas, I was not around in the 80s and even if they still made My Buddy, Matt and Alicia probably wouldn't buy it for me because they'd be worried I'd chew on and tear apart his head, much like I did to that tennis ball toy I got a few weeks ago (which I'm happy to note was completely demolished shortly after the last photo Alicia posted).

Even better than a My Buddy doll would be an actual dog that I could play with and snuggle and chew on all the time!  No, Matt and Alicia have not given into my pleas for a new puppy (they say one puppy is enough, thankyouverymuch!).  But we did go up to New Jersey to visit her family, and it was there I had the opportunity to get a taste of what it would be like to have a sibling.

We would snuggle up for naps...

...and she wouldn't mind how I move around in my sleep.

We would go on long walks together...

...And she would be patient with me when I
abruptly decided to lay down on the ground...

...only to walk a bit further before deciding I
wanted to stop and sniff and rest again...

...and then literally take a handful of steps before deciding
I needed to stop and eat some grass.

It would be fantastic! We could drink out of the same water bowl, and steal cat food together.  We could bark at strange noises and animals that trespass in the yard (wild turkeys, I'm looking at you!). What a life.

And I wouldn't have to give a grumpy face
when it was time to leave, because we'd
ALWAYS be together!

I would also take a human puppy, but Matt and Alicia have also said no to that.  I tried to show them what a good sibling I'd be by sharing my favorite orange ball with my cousin Shaun (who STOLE my ball and then kept flaunting it in my face and NOT throwing it to me, while I waited patiently for him to share. They were unconvinced.

Look at what a good sister I would be! Happily sharing!

So at least for the meantime, it looks like I'm just going to have to entertain myself and encourage Matt and Alicia to make as many playdates with bestdogfriend Chili as they can.  And, since Alicia's family is up in NJ/PA and we're down in DC, I guess we'll just have to keep taking car rides (my most favorite thing) to ensure that I get to spend as much time with my dog and human family as possible.

I snuck into the front seat while Alicia was
driving down the Turnpike.  It scared her.

At the rest stop, she put me back in the back.
Party pooper!  I stick my tongue out at you!

  

Kids! Cousins! Cousins Who Are Kids!

I'm a dog.  As you know, I love people.  In fact, I haven't yet found a single one that I don't like.  (Sure, there was that weird guy who said he'd karate chop me if I chewed on him, but since I didn't even give him the slightest of nibbles, he kept his hands to himself.)  What I have found is that I enjoy a particular type of human above others.  Kids!

They love to pet me.  Their faces, especially the little ones, are right on the same level as mine. They giggle when I lick their faces. I like that.  I even tone down some of my nibbling and jumping when it comes to meeting kids.  Yup, I like 'em that much.

Over the past two weekends I've had the opportunity to meet a bunch of my kid cousins.  They all love me.  Especially the littlest of the cousins.

Last weekend, while I was at Maw and Paw's, I met Kevin and Laurie and their kids, Ava, Connor and Shaun.  Connor and I got along really well, and he even fed me dinner and took me for a walk.

Clowning around with Ava.

Hanging with my main man Connor.

Shaun, thinking my food bowl is a
musical instrument. Silly baby!

Then this weekend, Patrick and Eileen stopped by our house with Niko, Alex and Makayla on their way home from vacation.

She's looking at the television, but
those Makayla claps are for me!

Getting a belly rub from Alex.

Laying like a good girl with Niko.

I love my cousins! And more importantly, my cousins love me! I hope I get to see them all again soon.

To Grandmother's House We Go!

I'm a dog.  As you know, I traveled to a magical place called New Jersey last weekend.  After having lunch with Jess, Alicia and I charted a course to Parsippany, where we were staying for the weekend at her parents' house.  Upon arrival, Alicia and I immediately went out for a walk.  While hanging out with a landscaping crew and playing with the squirrel they caught, my attention was diverted to a large, very sheddy light brown dog that was coming my way.  She looked very happy.  She wasn't looking at me.  She wasn't looking at the squirrel.  She was looking at Alicia.

Turns out, the dog was Annabelle (aka Nanna), and she lives with Alicia's parents and sister Meghan.  She's a few years older than me, and has got about 40 lbs. on me, but that didn't bother me at all.  I went right to playing!  At first, Annabelle was happy to play with me.  As we walked around the neighborhood together at jumped on her and chewed her mouth and ears.  She played back a bit too.  But I think she was just happy to see Alicia and to be out on a walk, because this attitude towards my play did not last long.  Before long, she was avoiding me.

When we got back to the house, I was still ready to play, so I attempted to search out some new friends...

I could've sworn I smelled a friend around here.

Friend? Where are you going? It's time to play!

Numerous times throughout the weekend Willow and I tried to connect, but alas, she always seemed to be running somewhere else.  Maybe next time I visit we'll be able to play.

Since I was still rarin' to go, Alicia took me outside and put me on the dog wire.  Even though Annabelle didn't seem very interested in playing with me, she still insisted on coming outside.  So I insisted on playing.

Annabelle tries to escape.

We call a temporary truce.

Then we went inside the house and I proceeded to help myself to all of her toys.  I was particularly fond of this pink flamingo, which, in turns out, was her newest toy.

Though the toy was filled with squeakers, I rose to the
challenge of playing with it.

Another of Annabelle's favorite things to play with: Meghan!

I spent a good amount of time digging through Annabelle's toy box.  You wouldn't believe the number of toys this dog has!  This one dog has even more toys than Jack and Katie (and they have a lot of toys). Most of her toys are stuffed animals with squeakers.  She also has a nice assortment of animal bones.  I wish I could tell you which animals, but Alicia took those away from me so fast that I have no idea.  Not to worry though; while rummaging I found the greatest toy ever invented.  It wasn't invented for dogs or even cats, but humans!

About to pounce the best. toy. EVER!

It's called the Weazel Ball and it's a little battery-powered ball that has a fluffy weazel thing attached.  It rolls around the room, bumping into things and trying to escape my clutches.  And I can't get enough of it.  I was growling and barking and pouncing and having a grand old time.  Here's a little video that Alicia was able to catch before her memory card reached capacity.  She missed the barking and growling, but there's plenty of pouncing!

After playing with it for a bit, I went ahead and made some modifications to the original toy.  First, I took off the weazel.  Sure, it's cute, but it was limiting my access to the ball.  Second, I chewed through the little black rubber band that went around the center of the ball.  When Alicia looked up reviews, most people complained that that band caused black scuff marks on the walls and trim.  See what a good dog I am?

Luckily, this is one toy that Annabelle has absolutely no interest in playing with.  She also didn't seem to enjoy the way I freaked out whenever I played with it.  Anyway, Meghan and Maw (Alicia's mom) said I could take it home with me.  You bet I did.  And I definitely played with it this morning, too!

Lots more happened during my visit, but this post has gone on long enough.  I'm going to go out for a walk, so I'll post more later.