Mom and Dad are Off to Vote

Mom and Dad are off to help with local elections today. Dogs are not allowed to vote and we cannot even participate in getting out the vote. Now this makes no sense, Shelties are some of the best herding dogs in the world. We are made for herding people to the voting booths, but Mom says this is not exactly what the phrase means.

Sadly, this is only what Mom calls a preliminary election. The big election comes in November. This just narrows down the candidates for one of the local offices. So that means more time not devoted to ball playing or football games with Dad.

We Love Fall

What's not to love, football, cooler weather, and the squirrels are fatter and slower. They are much easier to chase.

We had a wonderful weekend with one of our favorite visitors and a weekend of football watching with Dad. The weather was wet, but it was better than being hot all the time.

Grandma Cursed Us

Sure, it was raining yesterday, but there was no thought of the dreaded t & l word. There was not a sign. Then Grandma called and she had to say how scared her dog was because they had several days of those unmentioned words. Before Mom could stop her there was a loud booming noise and the house lit up. Sure enough, Grandma sent us thunder and lightning. What kind of Grandma does that? We barked and barked to scare it away, but it took its sweet time leaving. We want Mom to send snow down south this winter to get even.

Picture Credit: Johnglenn513 Morgue Files

Our Weekly Book Review: The Dragon Kiss

Mom and I finally finished listening to the Dragon Kiss this week.

This book had more adventure that the previous one. Auden the dragon wants to be human so he can marry Millie a human/dragon. I cannot imagine wanting to be anything other than a Sheltie. Humans have no time to play or sleep. They are always traveling around and busy with other things. However, Auden had his reasons.

His relatives force him to complete certain tasks in order to get the right to be able to shape shift from human to dragon. Bailey liked that this book was less mushy and had more action. He hung out with me more to listen to the story while Mom was working. I was pleased that the story had my romantic happy ending. Mom borrowed A Prince among Frogs from the library so I can listen to the final book in the series.

What Happened to Fall?

Mom told us that fall was coming. Katy barely remembers last fall, but I love fall. The weather is cool, the leaves crunch under my feet, and the smells are amazing. However, this past week has felt worse than any we experienced during the hot days of summer. Everything in the house is sweating from something Mom calls humidity.

I demand my fall weather and I want it now!

Wordless Wednesday: The Red Sox Season Not Going Well

Crochet Swaps Bring Dog Treats

We have been complaining that Mom spends too much time with her crochet hooks. In fact, she started to use Bailey as a crochet pattern holder when he wanted to snuggle with her on the couch and she was working on a project. However, we have discovered something cool about crocheting. Some swap partners send dog treats and toys.

Mom is involved in a group that does themed crochet swaps. She completed her first one and her first box arrived. We were very excited and Mom could not understand why as all she could smell is cinnamon, which she loves. We however, immediately sensed there was more to this package than yarn, crochet hooks, potpourri and candles. There was the delightful smell of dog treats. We were even more amazed to find a cool Frisbee that doubles as our new favorite tug toy. This one is Katy sized and she constantly fights to get it back. Mom is not sure what it is about this toy that she is so attached to, but she is thrilled that Katy is showing some interest in holding on to something when I try to steal everything. (You should have seen my toy pile yesterday.)

So perhaps this crocheting thing is not so bad after all.

What a Beautiful Fall Weekend

Mom and Dad spent a great deal of time enjoying the fall weather. It turns out that many people ignored the directions for that fall festival and brought their dogs to the outdoor festival Mom we wrote about a few weeks ago. The dogs left the parade and ignored the rules about going to the festival. Mom and Dad followed the rules and we stayed home. However, Dad made some special time for us when he got home and Bailey made a visit to a special friend later that night.

Sunday Mom and Dad were going to a kid-oriented event that Dad had to make a presentation at and they invited one of our human cousins to come and visit. She came over on Saturday night so she could be ready early on Saturday morning. Katy and I chased the ball, but Katy hesitated to get to close. Not me, I got as much attention as I could. She wanted to make friends, but was not sure. She would come close even poking with nose and foot, but each time she retreated. I of course took full advantage of the situation and got as close as I could. Never one to pass up a tummy rub, I moved in. However, Katy was trying to make a connection. After we went to bed, Katy made several trips downstairs to check on our guest. She would stay for a short time until a noise would send her flying back upstairs to jump up on top of me.

When Mom and Dad arrived home last night, Katy kept checking the door. She normally has this reaction when she knows Mom or Dad has stayed outside talking to a neighbor and has not come in yet. She was distressed that one of her sheep had not returned home. She actually missed our guest. She does not seem to understand the idea of borrowed sheep, yet.

I may have to get used to sharing attention with Katy, as she is getting bolder.

Our Weekly Book Review: The Salamander Spell

While Bailey has shown no interest in the series I was very excited when Mom brought home The Salamander Spell. After the romance and adventure of The Dragon Princess ,I had high expectations. Bailey had no interest in the Tales of the Frog Princess series, although he has gotten hooked on the Grimm's sister adventures Mom has been reviewing for her education blog.

Mom was interested in this story as it provided the family history Emma's Mom, Chartreuse and Aunt Grassina. It explains why Emma's Mom was not the green witch and why Aunt Grassina ended up with the gift of magic. It was not nearly as exciting as Milly's story. Mom has promised to make it up to me and has put Milly's next story Dragon Kiss on reserve at the library. I will admit Bailey is right, the Sister's Grimm are pretty funny.

Wordless Wednesday: Dad's Bad Aim

It is the Small Things

It really is the small stuff with Katy. Like children, it is wrong to compare dogs, but sometimes you cannot help yourself. Things came easier to Bailey. It may have been that he came to us as a puppy from rescue and he had less baggage. He might have a more outgoing personality. I do not know. I do know that Katy has fought hard to believe and each victory is amazing.

People can debate the issues with dogs on furniture, but we have always enjoyed cuddling with the dogs on our beds and couches. That is why the couches all have fleece blankets on them. They wash when company comes and it reduces the hair to clothing ratio for our guests. When Katy came to us, she had challenges with stairs and jumping was not something she would do. We were not sure if it was training or fear.

The stairs were necessary. In order to reach the backyard she had to be able to negotiate the back stairs. My husband carried her down the first few times, but that was not a long-term option. With cookies and Bailey's help, we coached her on walking the stairs. Today, the problem is still getting her to walk the stairs. Now, she flies over them. Getting her to touch the stairs is a thing of the past. She flies up and down every set of stairs indoors and out. It is wonderful to see her fearless, but we do have to work on keeping her from breaking her neck with her races with Bailey around the house.

I started a tradition of picking her up and scratching and petting her on the couches for short periods of time to help her understand she was allowed on the furniture if she wanted to be there. She was not interested for a very long time. Last night I walked into the room my husband and his friend were watching the game and I saw Katy jump up on the couch and curl up with my husband. I struggled not to say anything. For some reason when you notice what she has done, even in a positive way, Katy leaves. My husband told me later that she has started to come out at night and watch sports with him on the couch. It does not sound like a big issue. However, if you understood how far she has come not just jumping up on her own, but to initiate contact it is huge.

Katy may always be shy. Several people have remarked that may be her personality. I am fine with that. My hope has always been that she would choose to do things based on personality, not on fear or bad past experiences. She may never be comfortable with strangers. However, she has won so many of the battles with challenges since she arrived with that I leave it to her to decide.

Monday Night Football

The season has begun. We had our first college and professional football bonding with Dad this weekend. However, tonight is a special night. Dad's best friend is coming over to watch the Patriots open the Monday night football season. Dad is getting Pizza and this friend ALWAYS has dog biscuits in his pockets. What more could a Sheltie want?

Football Season Begins

We are so ready for football season. We watched the first game with Dad last night. We heard one of our favorite people is coming to watch the opening Patriot's game with Dad. You may not realize it, but we are big fans. Mom's Aunt made Bailey his own Patriot's fleece blanket with remnants she had left over from making Christmas blankets for family members. Grandma made Dad a knitted blanket with the Patriots logo. Dad keeps the hair controlled on the couch, rotating fleece Patriots and Red Sox blankets. We inherited our sport's obsession from Dad.

Enjoy the football season everyone.

Our Weekly Book Review: The Dragon Princess

Mom is right I like romantic books. I sat through all the Jane Austen books including the horror versions she reviewed and I loved them all. Bailey was off in the other room chewing bones. I have listened to the Tales of the Frog Princess all the way through the marriage of Prince Eadric and Emma. Now Mama has brought home The Dragon Princess which is the tale of Millie their 15-year-old daughter and I am still hooked. Yes, Bailey you can groan all you want, but this is a Sheltie version of a soap opera. You can have your endless sports, but give me a story first of a frog princess and now a dragon and I am hooked.

Yes, Millie can turn into a dragon and this adventure is about her learning to control her powers and have the choice over when she wants to be a dragon and when she wants to be human. Of course throw that in with her problem with finding a prince who can deal with a dragon princess and I have my romantic fix. After all as a Sheltie princess, I love reading about how others deal with the challenges the title brings.

Bailey is concerned because he now has to be afraid of snowmen. First, it is veggies and now dangerous snowmen. Who would have thought snowmen could be dangerous? After all sit on them for a bit and they melt.

I can't wait until Mama brings home the next book The Salamander Spell from the library.

Wordless Wednesday: Enjoying the Last Days of Summer

The Appliance Vet is Coming

Dad says the appliances are getting a checkup today with something to do with their warranty. The dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer are seeing the appliance vet who comes to the house. I guess it would be hard for the appliances to get in Dad’s car and go to the appliance vet.
Bailey wants to know if they get shots. Every time we go there always seems to be shots involved. Mom talks about the temperature in the washing machine, so we are curious to know if the Vet will be checking on it when he/she is here.

Have any of you had experience with appliance vets? We have had plumbers and electricians here. We had no idea there were vets for appliances or that they got checkups. The plumbing has had inspections and repairs, but it has never had a checkup. Maybe that is why our favorite plumber visits instead of a plumbing vet.

Happy Labor Day

Labor Day is a bit of a big deal in this area. There is a parade and people take it pretty seriously. For the first time Dad and Mom saw people putting out chairs the afternoon before. I guess they must be expecting large crowds. Mom wrote an article for her education blog about the parade and it has been getting hits from around the state and even from surrounding states. She had no clue it would be that popular. She wrote it for family and friends, since the local paper can be hard to access online. She wanted to make the information available to people who might want it. It was also a good place to send people, instead of trying to pull out the paper to find the information again. Mama is honest enough to admit her blogs are often like extra storage units for information she hates to lose.

One of our favorite relatives is coming to visit today. She has no problem spending time giving us lots of attention and playing with us.

We hope all of you have a happy, fun, and safe Labor Day.

Happy Anniversary Katy

It all started with an email. While actually it really started when the new neighbors rescued a cute black lab and Bailey realized just how lonely he was as the only dog in the house. He so badly wanted a playmate and he was not allowed to play with the new dog next door. Mom felt so bad. She knew Bailey needed a brother or sister in his own home to play with, but she had to talk Dad into the idea of bringing home another Sheltie.

Mom agreed to not pursuing a puppy, but an adult dog. Dad thought about it and agreed. Mom sent in the paper work to the New England Sheltie Rescue. They expected a considerable wait time before a dog would be available and they were OK with that.

However, an email arrived almost immediately telling them about me and they jumped to reply. They were going to have a new dog for Labor Day. I had no idea that people were coming to take me home. I was at my foster home playing with my foster brothers. They were fun. My foster Mom was nice and gave me tons of cookies. In fact, for a long time that was the only word I responded to until I moved in with Mom and Dad.

Mom was surprised when she realized this was Labor Day weekend and thus the anniversary of my arrival. She says she cannot believe it has been a year. I can tell, though. I finally claim toys as my own. I demand attention from Dad and know I will get it. When we get in the car, I no longer think I am leaving forever. I am home.

Our Weekly Book Review: The Celery Stalks at Midnight

We warned you about veggie gardens and after listening to another of Mom's library audio books The Celery Stalks at Midnight we have even more proof of the danger of veggie gardens. Our friends from Howliday Inn are back and as usual facing danger. A Vampire bunny has been turning the family veggies into zombies and Chester and Harold must attack the veggies with toothpicks to put them to rest. Vampire hunting is not as easy as they make it in the movies. Toothpicks are not as strong or as easy to use for animals as people might think.

Chester and Harold are reassured by the end of the book. We, however still think this book supports our theory that veggie gardens are dangerous to humans and animals.

Told to Stay in School

I thought I had found my doggy career as a plumbing assistant. However, I was told to stay in school. Since I am not crazy about water, being a full time assistant would not be a good career choice. I am crushed, but Mom and Dad are trying to tell me they could not do without me being around all the time. I was so sure I had finally landed the job after my great work during this latest flood. However, they do have a point. What would Mom and Katy do if I were off riding around doing plumbing jobs while they needed me?

The plumber's own dog might also get a bit upset if she was left out of the business for an outsider. Since this house seems to have its share of issues, I guess I will have to use my talents when he visits. After all, every job needs a supervisor and who better than a Sheltie.

Zooming After the Storm

It was so wonderful to wake up to light and sun yesterday and today. Mom and Dad were busy cleaning most of the day, but Dad took time to throw the ball and in the clean up located a forgotten soccer ball.

Grandma called us to tell us that we actually did not get the worst of the storm. One family member had a tree crush a car and part of the house. Another had a bigger basement pool at 22 inches and did not yet have power or a friend with a generator and pump. Mom's Aunt across town still does not have power and reports are that it could be a while before it comes back. While Mom and Dad are still waiting on the hot water, they feel a bit better about their situation.

We hope all of you are recovering from the storm. Please stay safe.

We Survived Irene

Just a quick post to let everyone know we survived. Mom and Dad went almost 24 hours without technology. We were amazed. The downside is that Bailey almost learned to swim. While Mom and Dad were down in the basement working on a flooding situation they did not realized Bailey had joined them. While the ground was dry when they started, as the storm continued he found himself on a concrete oasis and started to panic. Dad escorted him to shore (the basement stairs) and he continued to monitor the situation from there.

One of Mom and Dad dearest friends came out in the storm with a generator and a pump and helped them pump out what was fast becoming a basement swimming pool. Before it reached 5 inches, he was at our house with Katy running protection duty for him while he started up the big machines. I am not sure why, but Katy found herself in the storm. She followed the big man around when she never would get close even for cookies in normal weather. The noisy generator did not bother her and she did not want to come inside except when the wind parted her hair.

I was not so crazy about this storm. I help supervise the basement cleanup. I would really love to be a plumbing dog. I think I have the talent, but I keep being told there are no openings for dogs. I helped work on the hot water heater that we are trying to salvage from the water damage.

Mom promises she will send us to visit all of your blogs later this week. She knows not everyone is back to power. Much of this town is still out. It is possible we could lose ours again as they are repairing the rest of the area. Therefore, we have paws crossed, as we did not like the total blackness that we saw last night.

The big man showed Dad a catalog for generators that would run the sump pump and some basic items like the refrigerator during the storms that hit New England frequently. Dad had been talking about doing this before winter, but it appears that Mother Nature wants us to move now. We are not fans of basement pools. Dad has some homework to do once the stores are back in stock. Mom wants to visit the camping stores and find more camping gear for lighting and other emergency supplies. The ones we have are rather outdated.

Dad did do well heating hot water on the outdoor grill once the rain stopped. Mama was impressed. Those bins that Mama bought to keep the bugs out of our food also kept it watertight during the flooding. I am not sure why humans have such complicated food.

Stay Safe

Like Lassiter who has been studying geography over on his blog and we have started to learn more as Mom and Dad have been constantly watching the weather maps to see where this Irene monster is heading. We are thinking we need more hands on study like Lassiter because the pictures move too fast on the screen.

We are sending doggy prayers for all our fellow bloggers stuck in the storm’s path. Be safe and keep watch over your humans. They have a way of being stressed during these events. Check in after the storm and let everyone know you are OK.

-Bailey & Katy

Howliday Inn Our Weekly Book Review

As if we weren't already afraid to go to the kennel, Mom decides to bring home Howliday Inn for us to listen to as an audio book from the library. From our experiences, we knew that the kennel is a terrifying experience. We much prefer our daycare provider's house for our overnight stays. However, there have been times when Mom and Dad have had to leave us at the Vet's kennel.

We thought we had it bad until we read about Howard and Chester's adventures at Chateau Bow-Wow. Chester renames the place Howliday Inn. They believe they have discovered werewolves and dognapping.

This story even held Bailey's attention, as he wanted to know if the animals survived their experiences at the kennel.

Mom is listening to the next book in the series which we think will help us prove vegetable gardens are dangerous. We will review it next week.

Wordless Wednesday

Humans do Not Understand Routine

Mom left home this morning. Mom almost never leaves home during the week. This just got the day off to a rough start. She said she was visiting the human vet and would be back much later because she had to travel to the big city, not the small town human vet. However, she promised the upside was that Dad would work from home the rest of the day. This was disturbing enough.

However, we finally get Mom and Dad home and think we are going to have some fun family time and strangers come. They have to check on some stuff at the house. Mom is thrilled because this person may have a solution to the snake problem. I happen to believe Mama is crazy. She moves them out of their comfy zone and they will just be more open about scaring her to death. The last thing she wants is to watch snakes relocate. Can you picture Mama watching as the snakes move across the lawn looking for new homes with snake real estate agents pointing out the best locations? Get hospital room ready now, Mama will need one. We are not snake herders even if they are harmless garter snakes.

Helping Mom Crochet

We all must do our part, but helping Mom crochet is not my favorite thing to do in the world. I think I am far too important to be used as a chart holder. However, Mom insists if I am going to take up the space she is working on that we are both going to have to adjust to working in tight spaces. I must confess I thought if I made it too challenging she would stop crocheting and play with me. Mom is more stubborn than I expected. She said I made a great chart holder. I was not amused.

Dad thought it would be amusing to catch my humiliation on camera and now all of you get to share it on our blog.

Weekend Plans

Last night Dad and I went off to see a concert on the common with Grandma and Grandpa, while Katy and Mom stayed home. Dad loves the local outdoor music scene and it is a chance for Grandma and Grandpa to have some time with their son. Mama is not so crazy about the bugs in the park. She is good for about an hour and then gets uncomfortable. So, she sends Papa and I off with plenty of water and we get to enjoy the show. Katy is still not crazy about crowds and strangers that approach her without any warning. She and Mom stayed home and watched DVD's Mom had borrowed from the library.

This weekend Mama and Papa are headed off to visit the Museum of Science with Grandma, Grandpa, and one of the smaller humans. They are taking one of those loud trains. Normally I would be insulted at being left home, but this requires a long car and train ride. I am thinking Katy might be right this time. It will be more comfortable in our air conditioned home.

Katy and Bailey's Book Selection of the Week

Katy was getting a bit impatient after last week's vacation from books on CD. She likes her morning story. Bailey is very specific about the stories he finds worthy of his time. He prefers TV to audio books.

While Katy and Bailey both disliked the movie versions of Harry Potter, Katy really enjoyed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I was busy working on a swap project that needed to be mailed this week, but Katy insisted on poking me every time the story stopped.

Bailey continues not to be a Harry Potter fan. Movie or audio books versions still cause him to vacate the room.

I am curious about what Katy found attractive about the story.

Wordless Wednesday: Socks the Best Recycled Toy

Review: Purina Pet Gear Carpet and Upholstery Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator

I received the carpet cleaner to review last month and then surprisingly we had a fairly good month. However, as I suspected our luck would not hold and we had a chance to try out the carpet cleaner a few times before I wrote my review.

I had gone through the traditional rug products on the market when I received the chance to try this product. We have been dealing with stomach upsets do to eating things that dogs should not eat and Katy still struggles with remembering that dogs only use the bathroom outdoors even when overly excited. The traditional products have left stains on our rugs regardless of whether we catch the stain immediately, or if the stain is attacked after it has set in to the rug.

Purina's Pet Gear Stain & Odor Eliminator has provided us with more success. We have had one vomit and one urine stain that we caught fresh. In those two incidents, the stains are gone. The smell of the product was more pleasant than many of the traditional cleaners we have tried.

We tried the product on dried stains with mixed results. On old stains, it is not the answer. While it can lighten the older stains, it does not eliminate them. On newer dried stains, it had better results. One vomit stain that happened while we were out on one of our vacation trips was dry by the time we returned. As soon as we came home, we started working on it. It left a light stain after one cleaning. We could not find the stain after the cleaner dried, when we returned to try working on it again.

As winter approaches and we have more dirt and other pet stains I am sure we will have more uses for this product. We will be purchasing this product when our sample bottle is finished.

Pros:

Stronger cleaning ability than previous rug cleaning products I tried.

Pleasant smell always welcome during unpleasant cleaning tasks.

Requires less scrubbing than other products.

Cons:

Still not strong enough to clean the messes we do not catch right away.


Disclosure: I received this product free to review, but received no additional compensation for my review. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the product. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Dog Friendly or Not

We have been searching for dog friendly places to take the dogs. We follow the adventures of dog bloggers and are always thrilled about the various dog friendly places they find to bring their pups.

We were excited to see a sign for a dog parade as part of a local festival we have been considering attending for a few years, but never seem to get to with our conflicting fall obligations. A festival with a dog parade must be dog friendly, right? Not so much. The parade has a limited period where the dogs are welcome and ends before the festival area. Dogs are not welcome at the festival. Therefore, if you come for the parade, do not plan on attending the festival unless you drive (or walk if you live close enough) home first with your paw friends, and return to participate in the human areas.

I was disappointed. If you are going to designate something as humans only, so be it. However, if you are going to invite dogs, make it friendly to the dogs you invite. After Katy's positive experience with the dog walk we were thinking this might be a fun activity. However, parking can be challenging in this area and driving there with the dogs, doing the walk and driving them home and coming back for the festival seems foolish. If we attend the festival, the dogs will likely not be attending. We will have to find some other options.

Mom and Dad Visit Historical Lexington and Concord

Mom and Dad were off seeing the state with Grandma and Grandpa yesterday and even forgot to send Sugar a link to his birthday greetings. Mama apologizes to everyone and promises to work on catching up her commenting, next week. With Dad on vacation, it has been rather busy.

Mom and Dad went off to visit the historic sites associated with the Battles of Lexington and Concord yesterday. Oddly, the main place was in Lincoln, not Lexington as Mom learned when she started researching the federal park system. Something else Mama learned as she had thought they were state parks, they are in fact Federal National Parks. Poor Mama, she may know her history, but she is lousy with directions and guessing at federal and state jurisdiction over parks.

When we heard the word park, we thought this was an opening. However, Mama explained there would be musket demonstrations and thus not dog friendly. Later we also heard her mention that not all the sites were dog friendly, although they did see some dogs. Perhaps a walk by the bridge at some point would be an interesting historical education for us. We do not have to visit the visitor centers. We can just soak in the history like the other dogs that were there visiting. Dogs can appreciate history, too.

Sugar the Golden Retriever's 10th Birthday

It's Sugar's Birthday and he has asked us to help celebrate his decade long life. Since we are such huge fans of birthdays of course, we could not resist. We were asked to post his birthday badge on our blog. Please stop by Sugar's blog and add your birthday greetings.

Next, we decided to put out the crochet birthday candle on our table to honor the event.

He wanted a smiling picture, but he is going to have to settle for a happy Sheltie picture.

Happy Birthday Sugar!!! We hope you have a wonderful day.

Resting Tuesday

Can you believe after leaving us all day that this is what Mom and Dad think today should look like for all of us? Today is our day with Mama and Papa and we plan to make the most of it, once we can get Dad out of bed.

They have more Grandma and Grandpa trips planned for the week, but let's face it Grandma and Grandpa have more energy than Mama and Papa. Our humans need rest between relaxations. So today is resting Tuesday. The weather will determine what tomorrow brings. However, we have a special post prescheduled for tomorrow.