She Went and Did It!

Mom had talked about having me neutered, and stuff about testicles, and I did not understand what that all meant.
I understand now.

Mom said that because I have allergies and because I am too tall, I should not make babies. I think she put a little too fine a point on things. One day a few weeks ago we met a new vet named Dr. Howell. I liked her office a lot. It has cats. TONS of cats! Everyone was very nice, except that I did get a distemper shot. Dr. Howell does not mind of mom avoids some of my vaccines, but in order for her to neuter me in her office, she required a distemper shot. 

About a week later we went back to visit Dr. Howell again. This time mom left me there with cricket and my quilt. She said she'd be back. I don't know where she went. I do know that when she came back to get me, I looked like this. I don't remember what happened up there. I still like Dr. Howell just fine. When I woke up I had this cone on my head, but I really didn't mind at all. Mom thought I would be completely freaked out by it. I did get her to cut some off, convincing her that I couldn't eat or drink. She had to tape the cut off pieces back onto the hood when I started licking my butt in the middle of the night.

That's when I found out the worst of it. MY NUTS WERE GONE!! GONE. Not there, completely gone!! I moped and acted twitchy for a couple of days just to make sure mom was good and upset. She and dad cleaned my stitches every day very carefully. Dr, Howell wanted me to wear the cone for 14 days. By eight days my stitches were all healed. Mom cut one out at a time over a day and a half to make sure the incision was really healed. Then she took the cone off for a few hours and watched to make sure I did not have a lick-fest. I didn't, so she let me have it off forever.

While I had it on, mom did really mean stuff to me:

Seriously?

Really? Come on, mom!

Things I learned about the cone:

You can catch stuff in it, which makes catching easier. Dad threw my ball and I used the cone to help me get it. Less work, still as much fun!

You have to be careful of the water bowl when you have it on. I toppled it twice. Mom eventually put my food and water on top of a bowl to make it higher and easier for me to eat and drink. 

I look really good in purple tie dye duct tape.

People will feel sorry for you and give you stuff if you look sad when you have the cone on. Totally scored some sweet treats this way!

It's not as bad as people think it is. Mostly, we're dogs and we adjust to anything if we have to. 

LIKE NOT HAVING NUTS!

Life is Good

I love this place. We have a new house and it is amazing! Boo still thinks he is in charge, which is crap. I am. Everyone knows. Except Boo.

 I had duck feet this week. Dried duck feet. It was heavenly.

Momma and I were running 3 miles, three times a week, and now she is broken and I am SO BORED! It stinks. She puts on the skinny black pants, but leaves me here. She says she has to ride, or has to swim. It's all crap. I want to RUN!

A while ago, men came and dug holes and I watched them on Yoshivision. Today different men came and put new windows in the new house. I was worried about my Yoshivision, but it still works. I saw the squirrel through the window and wanted to kill it like always. Mom says I have to wait until tomorrow for a picture with the new windows, but this is the old windows:

I liked that day. A lot happened on Yoshivision then.

I still go to lots of places. When we go to Agway or Tractor Supply I can "be a dog" (says mom), but when I go to Walgreens, CVS, or Rite Aid, I know I have to behave, and I do. Home Depot threw me out, sort of. Mom had seen other dogs in the store, so she brought me. When we got to the door there was a sign that said "No Dogs". She asked, and the man said people were not "supposed" to bring dogs. Mom said we had to follow the rules.
Rules suck. Just saying.
Mom says I may have my testicles taken off soon. I am not sure what that means, but it sounds bad. She says if I had not developed allergies, she might have let me keep them. I don't get the connection, but she does, and she's the boss. I am wondering what this whole testicle thing means. It sounds kind of scary, but I am hoping for the best.

Edited to add: This is the NEW Yoshivision! It is louder, and more fun. I can HEAR the squirrel and the trucks! I LOVE it!

I Love Me.

I am watching them all. I think I am better. And I want to play with everyone. This looks like fun, even without television cameras and everyone wearing their best sensible shoes. I bet I am better than all the dogs. I wonder if mom will bet on me?

Just popped in to share some videos (the embed thing isn't working, but the links should) of me that mom took last night which will show that:

1.) I play well with others.

2.) Daddy is a cheap toy

3.) I am Wikkid Spoiled.

Mom is a sucker, and she KNOWS it!

I am ONE.

I am almost as bad at blogging as my mom is. But this is IMPORTANT!

I had a BIRTHDAY!! It was my first one. I liked it a lot.

Mom made me a cake. It was made with FISH and had cream cheese on top.

I shared some with Boo. Mom made me. I didn't really think he needed any.

And then there was a pile of presents ALL FOR ME! Mel & Boo did not like this part.

But now I just wonder, most of the time, which one should I play with first?

Trying

I will try to blog a little today. Mom is always so busy now. Summer is a busy time here, with chickens and things. She has DUCKS and won't let me eat those either, and TURKEYS which I also can't eat. In fact I get in trouble if I try. I got out with mom three or four times a week for walks or errands or visiting or all of those. I love the nursing home. Everyone is so nice and compliments me. Mom stands behind me and says I am spoiled, and a brat, but I don't think she means it. How could she? I am very good on the elevator now, and wheelchairs and walkers don't bother me usually. Sometimes if one moves differently or gets close I might shy away a little. Laundry carts, meal tray carts (I love those!), and medication carts don't bother me. I love the people, too. Mom still tells me to stay OFF and I have a hard time obeying. I want to get close to the people. They pet me and rub me and most of them let me give them kisses which I LOVE to do. Sometimes if I get over-excited mom has to make me calm down. It is hard not to get excited when you're young.

(Immediately after Mom saw this picture on the big screen, she cut my toenails off. She loves to do that and I hate it! I only stand because there's food after.)
I am very much all boy, all the time. I do not believe in sitting still for long. Sometimes I nap and then I HEAR things, like a bird or the wind, or something mom can't hear.

Then I WAKE UP and run to the noise. There are a lot of noises here between the chickens and the woods.

Mom has been finding new places I can go in to. I can go into CVS and Walgreens, which is really good for me. I have to be VERY good and mom says "act like a service dog" when we are inside. We walk sometimes on the bike path where there are other dogs. I was much better with other dogs before my testicles got so big. Mom says one of these days she's going to chop them off with scissors if I don't knock it off. I kind of like them, though, so I try to behave. I think she might just do it one of these days if I am not careful.

Nana is not dead, which is supposed to be a good thing, but I think she makes mom kind of crazy a lot of the time. She does not take care of herself, which she thinks will make her die faster. She may be right, but I heard mom say she'd outlive us all. I hope not. I kind of want my real mom back, the one who's not distracted and tense all the time. That's why I have not been blogging. It's exhausting trying to make mom smile at LEAST once a day!

Unexplained Absence, Explained.

A few people have been asking me lately why I haven't been blogging as much. Mom says we get a lot of something called email, which means people ask where I have been and what I've been doing. The truth is, not a lot. Mom's mother, Nana, has been kind of not so good lately. We used to go and see her at The Arbors, but now we go to a place called Charlene Manor, which is a nursing home. I think that means "more people that like to rub my ears" or it seems that way so far. Mom used to work at this place. I wonder if she misses it there. It seems nice to me.
I still go to the yarn store on some Fridays to deliver eggs. Some days I can't go anywhere at all because mom is at places where dogs my age, and with my minimal training, can't go. Apparently I have to have a special class before I can go to a place called "hospital". From what mom's been saying, they need me there! She says that once I finish my therapy dog certification I can go, but I can't do that until I am a year old. I think Nana will be gone by then. But I can maybe go and see other people who don't feel so good.
Other stuff I've been doing:

I play. Mom or dad try to throw the ball for me every morning, and sometimes if mom knows it's going to be a long day she leaves me with a bone to chew, a beef bone. I love them.

Learning to sleep out of my crate like a big boy, and not howl at mom or dad until after 6AM. This has been REALLY hard.

Hanging out with my friends. This is me and Jack at Dad's birthday party. I like Jack a lot.

Hanging out with my bros. This is brother B. He smells good.

Hanging with mom and dad on the deck in the evening when mom is done with Nana and dad is done with StupidWork. Mom says that StupidWork pays for my kibble so maybe I should shut up about it. But it's dumb. Both of them gone so much, it annoys me a LOT.
I have not been back to school yet. Mom says maybe soon, now that Nana is settled in a new place to live. Mom spent a lot of time this week cleaning out Nana's old house. Now all of her stuff is in our garage and it smells funny and not like our stuff at all. Mom says I may NOT pee on it, which seems pretty stupid to me. Then it would smell more like us. Speaking of pee. I had a urinary tract infection, which I don't think I understand, except that it means I get AMERICAN CHEESE twice a day! Mom says it is medicine. HAH! That's MY kind of medicine!

Oh. Mom brought home all these stuffies.

Then she said I could not have them. How fair is that? Votes, please! I think I should get to keep them. Mom says they can go someplace called eBay and I can have a hoof or an ear or a bone instead. I am not sure how I feel about that, but since she has the thumbs, I think I am stuck!