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.

The Salty Dog

I'm a dog.  It seems I started to write this post a while ago and never got around to hitting "Publish."  Oops.  The good news is that the delay has enabled my head to heal and thus enabled Alicia to take some salty photos of yours truly, which are included at the end...

At the end of August, Matt and Alicia went on vacation to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.  They didn't invite me to join them.  That wasn't very nice.  I love car rides, and they were in the car for 9 hours! Unfair.  In the end though, it was a good thing they didn't bring me.  It seems they don't welcome my kind in South Beach (the neighborhood of the Sea Pines Plantation where they stayed).

That second to last rule just would not work for me.

Oh, but look, a dog cafe!

What's this? No dogs? At the dog cafe?

Hmm...maybe I could bill myself as providing the service of cuteness?

While they were away, I went on my own playcation to Gerri's house.  While I can only imagine they spent the entire time missing me and wishing they'd brought me with them, I just played and played and played all day.  And I play rough.

When I got home after 10 straight days of playing I was a happy dog, but it looked like I'd been through a war.  You see, I like to chew and jump on other dogs, and I like it when they do that to me.  And I let them bite as hard as they want, because I want them to like me.  Gerri didn't know this and after the first day, the damage was done.  Thus, my head and neck were a bit chewed up.

Before you look at these pictures and feel bad for me, just know I wasn't hurt and that I had so much fun and was so happy with my chewed head.  I've gone back to Gerri's for play group and now that Gerri knows how hard I play, she makes me take breaks so that this doesn't happen anymore.

On a related note, Matt and Alicia were kind enough to bring me back a souvenir from their trip.  They didn't take any photos of me wearing it when I first got back though, because my head looked a bit, well, chewed.  But now I'm all fixed up (and have been for a while), so it's time to get salty...

Look at me! I'm a Salty Dog!

Still cute.

Getting bored of this photo shoot.

I'm done.  I'm going to sleep.

The Dog Days of Summer

I'm a dog.  It's summer.  From what they tell me, summer is the time when families go away on vacation.  At the beginning of the summer, we went on a family vacation to Cape May.  I had a great time.  Now it's the end of summer and it's family vacation time again!  But I'm not invited.

Can you believe that?  They're going on vacation without me!  Leaving me behind to fend for myself.  A pup, on her own.  Well, okay, not exactly on my own.  I'm actually taking a little vacation of my own.  While they're enjoying the beach, I am going to enjoy Gerri's big fenced-in yard and play with other dogs all day, every day!

It sounds too good to be true.  But I sure hope it isn't.

Gerri has said that she will take photos and videos and email them to Matt and Alicia so that they can see how much fun I'm having.  These will, no doubt, show up on the blog.  And also no doubt, Alicia will call (or make Matthew call, because she'll be so nervous and feeling too guilty) and check-in on me, to make sure I'm eating my food and being a good girl and not missing them too much.

My bag is packed with food, treats, and medicine (toys, crate and bed are staying at home to ensure other dogs don't decide to steal and/or destroy them - and besides, Gerri has plenty at her house!).  Gerri comes to pick me up within the next hour.  Wish me luck on my first doggy vacation!

I Made Ate My Bed and Now I Have to Lie in It

I'm a dog.  I ate my bed.

Matthew and Alicia left Saturday morning to go to the beach and they forgot to bring me with them.  They put me in the kitchen while they went to run some things to the car and didn't come back.  I can only assume it was an honest mistake and that they meant to take me with them.  Once they realized what they'd done, they sent Ben over to take me out and play with me while they were gone.  I like Ben.  But when he came over in the afternoon that told me one thing: Matt and Alicia were not coming back until tomorrow.

They'd left me in the kitchen with some food, water, my toys, and my bed.  I wasn't hungry or thirsty, and I wasn't really in the mood to play, so I decided that I might as well make some adjustments to my bed.  So, while Ben was doing his own thing, I very carefully opened the zipper.  I didn't want to hurt my bed, just take out some stuffing.  It seemed just a bit too fluffy.  Alicia's always doing projects around the house, so why shouldn't I?

Once I had the zipper open, I proceeded to pull out the inside.  I ate some of it.  The rest I just pulled out and/or tossed around.

Ben found me. He took the next two pictures.

That's me in the forefront; Bed stuffing in the rear.

See all that white wrapped around me? That's the inner mesh
case that holds (held!) the stuffing. Outside is fully intact!

Ben called Matt and Alicia to tell them what happened.  They shook their heads and laughed.  I heard them through the phone.  I thought they would rush right home and apologize for abandoning me, but they did not.  Then, when they got home all they did was look at the bed and laugh some more before putting the bed back in my crate.

Originally, Matt and Alicia were going to make me continue to sleep on my now 2/3 full bed.  But, they were worried that seeing my destruction (Ben has nicknamed me Molly Mayhem!), I'd decide to pick up where I left off.  And I can't blame them.  I was planning to do just that.  

Anyway, they bought me a new bed.  A blue bed! 

Snuggled in my new bed.

I may even eat my new bed.  Only time will tell.

Back to Reality

I'm a dog.  Yesterday, we came home from our first family vacation to Cape May.  I had such a great time and didn't want to leave.  I asked Matt if he wouldn't mind just leaving me in the house with the toys and propping the backdoor open so I could play in the yard.  He didn't go for it. Oh well.

Now that we're back and there's a better Internet connection, I can post some videos Matt took of my first time on the beach!

Getting My First Taste of the Beach...


Taking the Plunge (and quickly running away)...


And here are a few other photos Matt and Alicia snapped of me enjoying our beach vacation.

Made in the shade on the bay beach. Note the hole I dug
under Alicia's chair, where I liked to lay my head.

Sopping wet after Matt hosed me down. I did NOT like it.

A new ear style I tried out.

Snoozin' in the yard. I love the yard. I miss the yard.

Caught snoozin' where I shouldn't be. Oops.

I had such a great time.  It was so hard to leave.  Literally.  I made it very difficult.  I refused to get in the car, and Matt had to pick me up and put me in my crate.  I'll miss the sand (which, incidentally, I have discovered is NOT edible) and the sun.  I'll miss the yard and the dog toys.  I'll miss sneaking onto the chair in the front room.  Most of all, I'll miss spending all day with my humans.  Is it too soon to go back?

Thank you, Aunt Nancy, for making our first family vacation possible.

Family Vacation: More Fun in the Sun

I'm a dog.  With a sunburn. It's true.  Matt and Alicia put sunscreen on my face, but still, the sun reached through my pretty white fur and burned my face.  Alicia tried to take a picture, but I kept turning my head.  What part of "I'm hideous! No pictures, please." doesn't she understand?  Even though I can't post a pic, I assure you the skin on my snout, around my eyes and my white ear is bright bright pink.

But it was worth it.  The way I got the sunburn was from a lot of fun in the sun!

We went back to the beach today, and though I was still a bit scared of the water, I went in a few times, trying to drink as much water as possible before quickly running out to try and escape the waves.  I'd like the ocean a lot more if it stayed a consistent depth, but those waves that keep me guessing about how deep it is are just confusing.

Since I love walks, Alicia and I went for a walk on the beach.  On the walk I met two nice ladies and their dogs.  Both of their male dogs kept trying to mount me.  I know I'm cute, but they need to control themselves!  At least they were neutered and I'm spayed, so all attempts were futile.  Plus, Alicia kept pulling me away.  I also met a nice lady who wanted to feed me crackers.  I was all about it, but Alicia said "No" (which, incidentally, is her favorite word!).

When we got back to the umbrella, Matt gave me some water.  He and Alicia just wanted to sit there reading, but I still wanted to play.  So I did what any fun-loving youngster on a beach would do, and started to dig.

On my way to China!

I was having so much fun digging out the sand beneath Matt's chair that I didn't want to stop.  But I did, in order to roll around in the sand and get my snout sufficiently sandy.

Enjoying my handiwork.

I knew I was finished when Matt's chair almost toppled in...

Relaxing after a well-dug hole.

I had a great time.  This is what being at the beach is all about: meeting new friends, frolicking in the waves and digging in the sand.  Too bad about that sunburn, but it'll heal, right?