Who's the dude?

December 1 /09

At the last Montreal show, I was very happy to meet a very special new friend.

He was there with his Mom, Sherry. He was a little shy at first and so was I.

So we checked eachother out ... sniff, sniff ... tail-wags ... butt wiggles ... it looked like we could be good friends. But first, I had to be sure that when we meet up on Mount Royal some time, that we'd have fun together.

He looked a little surprised, but hey, I wouldn't want him to feel bad because he couldn't keep up with me, y'know? Mama reassured me that yes, he could keep up with me very easily ... so now we're friends.


So do you recognize this handsome guy?

Hint: He's the new kid on the blog ...

Thanks

November 26 /09................Happy Thanksgiving

to all my American friends.
Hope you all cop lots of turkey off the dinner table today!

Now Mama wants to post a few words ... should I let her?

OK, go ahead, Mama, but don't take too long 'cause it's soon time for my walk, k?

OK, Cheffie.

It just occured to me that it's been a tough time lately with lots of misfortune among our friends, both humans and pets alike.

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But, even with all the Sturm und Drang, there's still a lot to be thankful for. We just have to look around us - at the people who love us and who we love, the miracles of nature, the joy of our work and our leisure, learning new things, smiles, giggles, purrs and barks, and the voices of our friends. It's our warm and safe homes and all the big and small comforts of life. It's whatever gives us peace of mind.

We also have peace of mind in acknowledging, through goodness and gratitude, the things we're so fortunate to enjoy today, and, as the saying goes, "... for the unknown blessings already on their way."

That was very nice, Mama. OK, let's go for our walk down our clean, pretty street. But first, can I have a healthy organic carrot cookie?

.*Nom. Nom. Nom.*

And some fresh cool water?

*Slurp. Slurp.*

After my walk, I'm going to curl up on my X-X-Large soft, cushy, over-stuffed doggy pillow and take a nap ... oooh.

... thanks, Mama, Papa and Daniel.

Thanks, Cheffie, for being such a good boy and for giving our family so much joy.

Hey, I get it ... we're giving thanks ... thanks for giving ... Thanksgiving!!

*Smiles.*

*Smiles.*

RIP sweet Angel Snickers

Nov. 22 /09

RIP, sweet Angel Snickers

July 22 /02 - Nov. 22 /09

We are devestated to hear that our darling friend Snickers has left us. We were so hoping she would recover but it wasn't meant to be. There is another bright and beautiful star in our skies now.

Run with the wind, sweet little girl, and watch over our precious Beauty.

n n n n n n n

We saw this poem on Eric's blog and want to repost it; it's just too beautiful to not share.

The Power of the Dog
by
Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie -
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart to a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find--it's your own affair--
But ... you've given your heart to a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!)
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-term loan is as bad as a long--
So why in - Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

Is my cousin on drugs??

November 16 /09

Listen up, friends. I think I'm in the midst of a family crisis and I need your advice: I have a cousin named Diva and I think she's on drugs. Really. She's a sweetie but I think she could have a problem.

I bumped into her at a show last weekend and it looked to me like she was higher than a kite. I don't know what the heck she's on but it's turned her into freakin' maniac.

At first I thought she was just being annoying but the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that she's on something preeeet-ty powerful.

She didn't sit still for one minute. She was jumping and spinning around and kind of all twitchy. The only time I saw her stay still was when she was on the grooming table, which is a good thing because she was noosed and if she'd have jumped she'd have hung herself. Oh, and she was pretty calm in the ring too, but that's probably because she was eyeing the liver. Which isn't to say that otherwise, she wasn't totally on another planet.

After the competition, she just kept following me around and jumping and flipping and twisting all over the place saying, "I'm so happy! I'm so happy!" She was hopping around so much I went cross-eyed watching her. Well - I don't know of too many things which are legal that could make a dog act like that, do you?

And where's she getting this stuff, is what I'd like to know. If I find out who her dealer is, he's going to have um .... Diva's Papa to answer to.

Anyway, there's no point in sweeping this under the rug like some kind of shameful scandal. It happens in the best of families. It just so happens that it's my family and I think I should be responsible and do the right thing by my little cousin. Which is ... I don't have a clue....

I'm thinking maybe we should do an intervention and haul the poor girl into rehab.

Anyway, watch this and you'll see what I mean:

........Is this girl on drugs or what??

Notice that she had the munchies? Hmmmm?

Maybe I'm wrong, but if you have another explanation for Diva's strange behavior, I'd sure like to hear about it.

On another note, I won Best of Breed in the Sunday competition, finally beating out Canada's top Boxer from Manitoba. I've been trying to whip his butt all summer and I finally did it. Heh!

But the best part of the weekend was that I got to meet a very, very special friend for the first time. He's a real sweet guy and we got along very well.. Most of you know him but I want to make it a suprise when I post about him next time. So until then ...

Have a great week and don't forget to keep praying for Snickers.

Saving Miss Snickers

November 14 /09

As many of you know, our dear, sweet friend, Miss Snickers, is courageously fighting another health battle. There's a strong belief out there that all our prayers which have poured in for her from all over the world have given her strength and she showed a miraculous improvement today. But she is still a very sick little girl and she needs our help.

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We have all been asked to send Snickers a huge wave of love and hope to help her beat her lymphoma.

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Please join in for the Worldwide Moment for Snickers, today at 5 p.m. Iowa time. (Click here to find out the right time where you live.) That is when Snickers' family will sit down for dinner. It's our mission to turn toward central USA at that time and observe a moment of silent prayer or meditation, and wish at the deepest part of hearts for Snickers' recovery. Then we need to express our wish and blow a kiss in their direction, and our wishes will be delivered to Snickers and her family on the wind.

Snickers and her brother, Butchy, are among my very first DWB friends, and I love them very much. Poor Butchy must be so upset to see his sister struggle. I'll be praying for Butchy too.

Snickers is a tough little cookie and has fought more than her share of sickness. But she needs the Power of the Paw right now more than ever.

The idea for the Worldwide Moment for Snickers comes from Jake and Fergi. They have asked all us DWB friends to help spread the word about this very important event. You can read more about it on their blog.

So please join us as all of Snickers' friends from all over the world surround her with our loving, healing thoughts. She is our friend in need and we will all be there for her.

Power of the Paw

We will do our very best to save you, Snickeroo.

Happy Halloween!

October 31 /09

On Halloween, there's only room for one pirate in my house.

And it's not him: he won't even play with me ... bad pirate.

To the poop deck with ya, matey.

Arrrrr (f)

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

October 26 /09

Well friends, I finally did it - I locked Mama out of the car!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha .....

I can't stop laughing. You should have seen her face!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... ha ... ha...

Anyway, I've been wanting to do that for I don't know how long. I had a few false starts over the months but somehow she always managed to outsmart me. But last week I finally did it.
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Course, I can't take all the credit. Mama did toss her remote into the front seat while I was in the car. And as she was talking to her friend Susan, she absent-mindedly closed the door ....

WELL! "This is my chance," I thought. So I very cleverly stepped on the "lock" button and ~ CLICK ~ !!

Mama was shocked because she knows that the doors can't lock unless someone presses the button on the remote. She took one look at me through the window and grabbed her head. "Leave it to Chef," she said. "What a clowndog."

Then Susan ran to her car and got a hanger, but after struggling for half an hour, they couldn't open the door. And all the chatter! You'd think I was going to drive the car away, never to be seen again. Not that it didn't occur to me. It's just that I don't know how to turn the ignition on. So I figured I'd just sit there and laugh.

This isn't the first stunt I've pulled in the car. Some of you may remember when last year I stepped on the button that opens the window and I jumped out of the car and ran right to the dog park. And I locked Papa out of the truck a couple of times. But he had another key. So this is the first time I got to spend almost an hour all by myself in the car! Next time I'm going to figure out how to turn on the radio to a rock station so I can bop around in the seat. And maybe I'll learn how to turn on the ignition and go to MacDonald's drive-through for a burger and fries.

Anyway, so Mama ended up calling Papa to come with their extra key and that was it. But it was the most fun I've had in a long time. You've got to try it.

But shhh. Don't tell your Mamas who told you.

Bye for now. Have a good week.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving

October 12 /09

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to all my Canadian friends!

Today is Thanksgiving here in Canada and my family sat down at the diningroom table for a delicious meal.

'Course, I had to sit on the floor.

,.

While they ate turkey ...
.,.

... and sweet potatoe

...and veggies
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... and Bocconcini salad

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... and wine

... and fruit.
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Well, wouldn't you know it? Mama went into the kitchen! My timing was impeccable. ,
But just as I was about to nosedive into her plate, she came back and caught me. Yeesh. Her timing's better.

So I had to resort to my usual begging routine - chin on arm and pathetic gaze of starving street dog.

c And what did it get me?

Turkey in my bowl !!

Works every time

And did I "gobble" it up ... ha ha!

Actually, I was very thankful.

And I'm also thankful for being a loved dog every day of my life.

In fact, here are five things I'm most thankful for:

For healthy food and clean water

For my loving family

For my warm, safe home

For my good health

For all my good friends

... Oh yeah, for sticks, balls, plushies, my frisbee and all my toys. .

... Oh, and for sunshine and rain on my face, and wide open spaces to run and jump in that make my heart swell with joy.

Oh, I could go on and on ....

What are you most thankful for?

Road Trip!!

October 8 /09

We took an amazing road trip to the Finger Lakes region in upper New York state last week.

I competed in a four-day AKC Major in Romulus and did really well.

But first, I just have to show you all the new things I got there.

This is my new plushy du jour - I just love him. I don't know what kind of animal he is but I love to swing him around by his tail and throw him across the room. As you can see, I already ripped one of his eyeballs out. I'm still working on his other eye. That's the test of our love for our toys, right? If we yank his eyes out, he's a keeper.


Mama and Papa visited a store where there were hand-carved things made by the Amish folks. They got me this feeder so I don't have to bend over to eat anymore. We store my kibble bag inside - isn't it great?

They also picked up this silly sign which they hung up over my new feeder. Frankly, I find it a little insulting. I'm spoiled, to be sure, but I'm not rotten.

...ooooooh.

Mama just explained that "spoiled rotten" means I'm very, very spoiled. Which is true. OK, I like it.

I also came home with these:

! Ribbons !
One is for third place in Breed; one is for second place in Breed; one is for winning the Open Class/Brindle/Male; one is for winning the Winners competition (so complicated, I barely understand it myself); and the last one is the biggie: Best of Winners! That's the one that earned me my first American Major (I need two to be an American Champion) plus four more points out of the 15 I need. I already had three points so now I have seven. That's kind of cool.

Here I am in the ring. Emily's liver treats were especially yummy that day, which is why I did so well.

We began our trip in the dark of night in order to make it to the ring by 8 a.m. the next day. That's part of the fun of doing dog shows. It's always an adventure.

Hurry up, Mama and Papa. Let's get this show on the road, k?

All my stuff was packed into the back of the pick-up.



It was a seven-hour drive so I got to stop for lots of walks along the way. I love the new smells of a road trip.

I even had a meal in a parking lot!
n

This must be the place!


It was cold and rainy most of the time, with a chilly wind blowing in off the lakes. People were bundled up and layered but for us dogs, the weather was great.

Do you like my Mama's doggy boots?

Here's my sister Rose getting dolled up for the ring. Isn't she pretty?

And this is me at the hotel playing with my plushy. Do you know I had a whole bed to myself? Spoiled rotten, yessireeeee - that's me.

Walk time at the hotel for me, Rose and our puppycousin Solo. My breeder brought Solo along so she'd get used to the crowds and noises of a show because he'll be taking her into the ring pretty soon. I think she's going to be a very good showgirl.

After the shows we all drove around to some of the vineyards along the banks of Lake Seneca and Lake Cayuga. It was really beautiful. My parents stopped at some wineries and did some wine-tasting and grape-picking but I wasn't allowed. Can you believe that?

Mama and Papa

and moi.

Scenery

Romulus is the site of the former Seneca Army Depot, built during the Second World War.

n n n n n n n n n

Heading home in ... what else? Rain. It may be dreary but I love feeling the rain on my face.

So this trip marks the end of the outdoor shows for this year. We had a great time and it was a fantastic finish to the season.

I'm sooooooo embarrassed ....

September 29 /09

Meet my new friend Oreo

September 20 /09

I am so excited, everybody - I have a new friend! He's the cutest little Shitz-zu named Oreo.

And since his Mama, Barbra, is dating Mama's brother, Allan, I'm going to get to play with him a lot.

When we came face-to-face for the first time, Oreo barked at me something awful. But since he's just a squirt, I didn't bark back. I backed off and let him sniff me so he'd know that I want to be his friend. I had a flashback to the time a little Poodle barked at me like that at the dog park and he ended up hanging from my withers by his teeth, and I needed stitches. But Oreo calmed down and then we got along just fine. There is, however, a bit of a toy issue we have to work out.

Oreo (not to be mistaken for my cousin Oreo the Springer Spaniel) is a great little guy but he's got a thing about sharing. He even hid his ball under the sofa, knowing I'm too big to get to it. Then he hid his chewy in the basement. So after this initial play date, it's clear that a boatload of toys must be available whenever Oreo and I get together. I'll be sending Mama to the toy store to stock up. Good plan, eh? Heh.

So - TA DA - let me introduce you to my cute new friend OREO !!!

OK, so Oreo has a couple of um ... quirks. He wears a leash 24/7. He really does. He drags that worn-out thing behind him all day long and he sleeps with it on too. Apparently, his ahem.. trainer ... says he's a little too cocky when it comes to discipline, so Barbra has to keep a leash on him and step on it whenever he gets into mischief, which is, from what I hear, pretty often. It's very funny because he always looks like he's ready to go for a walk!

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Oreo also carries a baby blanket almost everywhere he goes. And he chases his tail. But who's perfect?

Anyway, the first time I saw Oreo spinning around trying to catch his tail I got very dizzy. Then I thought, geesh, maybe if I chase my tail, I can pull on it and maybe it would grow back. But I couldn't even see my tail, let alone chase it. But the leash. I could get into chasing that! So I spent half the evening chasing Oreo's leash.

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Gotcha!

Well, I never expected Oreo's leash to be so much fun. Look what I did:



Maybe next time, I'll spin him around so fast he'll finally catch his tail!

After all the chasing was over, Oreo and I settled down. That's his baby blanket which he just would NOT share with me. But that's ok. I'm three now and I understand these things. Hmm. Anyway, everyone was laughing at us and calling us "Mutt and Chef," which I don't understand at all. All I know is that I love my new little buddy and I will do everything I can to help him finally catch his tail.

Wordless Wednesday

September 16 /09

What was I thinking ?

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Chef unleashed !

September 10 /09

Wow, has it been a whole month since I last posted to my blog?

August seems to have come and gone so quickly. Well, for us it was just one show after another. And even though I didn't win any ribbons in the last two shows, I did have a great time. I even went to a beach! A couple of the shows were held lakeside at beautiful parks. But wouldn't you know it - Mama left her camera at home. And now you can't see me be afraid of the water.

That's right. I've discovered that I'm not a dog in the water - I'm a chicken! Mama and Papa took me to play fetch at the beach and when they threw sticks into the water, I would s-l-o-w-l-y wade in til my knees and stop dead in my tracks. Then I'd start pawing at the water trying to make the stick come to me. "What the heck am I doing?" I asked myself. My mind said, go get the stick but my body just stood there. I was shocked.

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Anyway, I don't think Boxers were really bred to swim. We're so barrel-chested, I bet we'd just tip over head-first and drown. And it's even worse for those of us with docked tails because tails help to balance and propel.

Besides, when I was one, I fell through the ice into a friend's swimming pool in the wintertime and I had to be pulled to safety.

I don't think I'm ever going to learn to swim. But that's OK.

Want to see me run instead?

That's me at a BBQ at my breeder's house in the country a few weeks ago.There's nothing that makes me happier than running off-leash in a wide open space in the sunshine.

In the truck on the way to the BBQ. I love driving in the country.

And looking out the window.

There was the delicious smell of cow poop everywhere.

At the BBQ I stole my breeder's football. Heh.

This is my impersonation of a football player.

I played with all my relatives. Here I am with cousin Leo.

Look what our parents got to eat. I copped a couple of scraps and I'll tell you something - if you know a girldog who can cook like this, I'd marry her tomorrow.

And here I am running and jumping with our friend, Liana. Some of you may remember a similar video from last summer. Liana always makes me jump for joy.

I sure hope all of you are having a great end-of-summer too!

I almost had sex!

August 23/09


As you can see, our computer is fixed. What a relief. We were having blog withdrawal here for a while. Anyway, now that I'm back,

WHO WANTS TO SEE ME TRY AND GET IT ON??

This is me with my cousin True. Course, I can't have puppies with her because we're related. Besides, she's only 22 months old. But dang, she's pretty. I just couldn't control my seething masculinity. I had to let her know how interested I was in you-know-what.
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She seems a little skittish, eh? But I sensed that she kind of liked me. I mean, this wasn't a total rejection, was it? I've never ...um ... been romantic with a girldog before so I can't be sure. It's not like she bit me or anything. But did you see the look she gave me at the end of the video? Hmmm... I dunno.


Anyway, do you think that if she was a more worldly, womanly dog, if she wasn't my cousin, and if there weren't so many chattering people around, we might have had puppies?

Singin' the laptop blu-u-u-ues ...

August 22 /09

Hi friends.

Just a quick post to let you know that we've been having major computer problems and haven't been able to stay up-to-date with my blog or visit your blogs.

Now that those issues are pretty much resolved, we just discovered that we're unable to download any pictures or videos from our camera. Apparently there's now something wrong with the USB ports. So it's back to Tech Support and hopefully, we'll have this fixed soon too.

Mama has spent hours and hours on the phone with Dell Tech Support, our Internet Service Provider and Linksys. She also had two visits from a Dell technician. But as soon as one thing is fixed, something else goes wrong. She's so fed-up and is just about ready to throw the computer in the garbage. Does anyone else have problems like this? One friend told us that laptops can be sketchy this way and desktops are much less fragile. Opinions?

I'll drop in on your blogs and catch up with all of you very soon. I love and miss you!

xox
Chef

Catch of the day

August 10/09

You'll absolutely never guess in a gazillion years what came flying onto my street yesterday.

Try and guess but don't look at the rest of this post, ok?

Was it:

A bird?
An airplane?
A flying saucer?

If you guessed any of these - WRONG!

It was a real, honest-to-goodness baseball. I kid you not.

It must have been some high pop fly out of the baseball park down the street and that ball landed right in front of me during my walk.

Another couple of steps and it would have bopped me on the head and knocked me unconscious. But there it was - right in front of my nose ! Was I dreaming? Nope.
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As luck would have it, we had our video camera to record my tremendous find. Course, it's not every day that a dog finds a baseball. I was so delirious with excitement that I totally lost my manners. I forgot how to heel, I forgot how to pee...my bladder was busting but who cared?

Mama couldn't understand that a walk was just not on my agenda anymore. All that mattered was sitting down on the grass and ripping that fabulous baseball to shreds. She was practically on her knees begging me to walk with her. Yeah sure, mom. If you found a baseball, you wouldn't want to walk either.

At the end of the video you can see that I was in a big hurry to get my new ball home. I even tried to cross the street to our house without permission. I'm trained to sit down on the curb before we cross, but I totally forgot.
My bad. Ha ha.




c
After all that misbehaving, I was still allowed to take my ball home and chew it up in the back yard. This is what it looked like by the time I got through with it.

Was I lucky or what?

Ball: not so lucky ...

Wordless Wednesday

RIP Charlie

August 1 /09

We just heard that our dear friend Charlie has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Big Dog Charlie was a very special boy and was loved by so many of us at Dogs With Blogs. He touched all our hearts and we will never forget him.

Our most heartfelt condolences to Brooke, Greg and Opy.

Run free sweet Charlie.

I'm 3 !!

July 27 /09

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!

Actually, my birthday was on Saturday, but we were away for the weekend in Kingston, Ontario for a show. It's kind of hard to celebrate your birthday at a dogshow, unless the judges let all us dogs run free and party. But even I knew that wasn't going to happen so I decided to not even think about my birthday til today.

So I celebrated by spending my entire day with Mama. Don't you love when moms have a day off from work and the weather's nice?

I chewed on my favourite stick and then we played ball. Mama's a little on the clutzy side and she throws like a girl. Frankly, I just wanted to play with my ball by myself and look for squirrels and maybe dig up a couple of the hostas. But I didn't want to hurt her feelings. I put up with it for a while and then I hid.

But there was one thing and one thing only that I really, really, really wanted on my birthday ...

I was wishing so hard for one special thing.... can you guess what it was?

Ice cream. Yeah!

Mama finally took that silly hat off me and I went inside to play with my new plushies that I got at the show.

A happy birthday boy

Later in the evening, Mama borrowed the key to the swimming pool we share with our neighbours at our condo. I got to run off-leash all around the grounds surrounding the pool for 20 minutes. I was jumping and twirling and running like the wind. For me that's a huge treat. I don't get to run wild off-leash often enough. I don't really enjoy the dogpark anymore because some of the people (not the dogs) aren't very nice because their dogs are untrained and aggressive. So now Mama's going to ask the pool manager if I can run there every night when the pool is closed. Hmmmm. Maybe all my dogfriends from the condo can run with me. Imagine - a poolside party every night!

v

Thank you, Mango and Abby, for these beautiful birthday cards.

YYY

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My beautiful friend Honey is having a Spectacular Slobber contest. Here are my entries. Take your pick, Honeygirl.

I only drip-slobber at the dinner table. Sometimes I shake my head and paste my spit right to the diningroom wall. Ha Ha. That's so much fun.

Sometimes I bubble-slobber.

Don't forget to post your best slobber photos on your blog and let Honey know you're in the competition.

Have a great week, everybody.

Play ball!

July 18 /09

A very special friend

July 13/09

MEET COREY-BETH

I want to introduce you to a very special Boxergirl I met at the show in Vermont this past weekend. Her name is Corey-Beth and she's lO years old.

Corey-Beth suffers from a degenerative spine disease and has lost the use of her hind legs. But her Papa, Bill, vowed not to let her lose her quality of life and had her fitted with this special cart that helps her get around.
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Now his fiesty girl enjoys life to its fullest.

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Corey-Beth, a former showgirl, now goes to Bill's job every day so she'll get her exercize and won't be lonely staying home. She goes on regular walks and even travels with him. In fact, they drove all the way from their home in Taunton, Mass. to watch their friends in the show.

Corey-Beth gets tired easily because of her age, and because she's using muscles that that weren't intended to carry her weight. But we know she's happy for the chance to do what able-bodied dogs do.

I met Bill and Corey-Beth outside the arena where the show was held in Essex Junction, Vermont. She was a happy, playful girl. In fact, when I came face-to-face with her, she gave me a no-nonsence stare and let me know she's the boss. What a girl!

She really warmed our hearts and we have a lot of admiration for Bill for being so kind to his sweet dog.

Corey-Beth and Bill didn't compete in the show but as far as I'm concerned, they're the big winners.

Don't you think they're both really special?

Shows and a tag

July 11 /09


I've really been neglecting my blog lately but that's because we've all been so busy around here. My apologies for not visiting you for a while. But I will play catchup this coming week.

I've been doing a lot of weekend shows. Last week, Mama even worked up the courage to show me in the ring herself. This time, I decided to behave myself. Remember last year when she showed me for the first time? I was a very bad boy and lied down in the mud and gave her a real rough time. But this time, I was much more co-operative. Truth is, I was more co-operative because this time she brought liver with her.

So what went wrong? Let's see.... she had her arm band on the wrong arm, something the judge pointed out to her the second we walked in the ring - and she didn't stack me too well for the mouth check. I almost sat down but changed my mind considering the witch face Mama was giving me. Yikes. Scary.

Luckily the judge was nice and he even laughed about it. "You're new at this, aren't you?" He said to Mama. I was so embarrassed. But I'm letting her think she was a great handler, so don't tell her I told you.

Here is our very average stunning performance:

Anyway, it was no big deal. I won Best in Breed.

BUT .... I have a confession to make: I was the only dog in the ring! Which is why Mama agreed to show me in the first place!

The day before, I took Breed ...

... and Group Four

This weekend we're in Vermont for a Triple S - Show, Shopping & Supper.

Emily's handling me, thank goodness.

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My friend Abby tagged me for a fun game where I have to post the sixth picture from the sixth folder in my Picture File. Thanks for tagging me, Abby. Here's my pic.

This was taken last summer while doing errands. I love putting my head out the car window and watching the world go by so much faster than it does when I run.

Once I had my head out the window of Papa's truck and I stepped on the button and the window started closing on my throat. Luckily, I pulled my head in in the knick of time. And a couple of months ago, I actually opened the window with my paw and jumped right out of the car. Now my parents keep the buttons locked when my head is out. And they keep them locked when my head is in. I have real serious issues with car windows. Oh, I could write a book ...

Anyway, here are the rules of the game:

1. Go to your photo files and select the sixth folder.

2. Select the sixth photo in that folder.

3. Post the photo along with the story behind it.

4. Tag five friends to do the same thing.


I'm tagging:

Homer, The 4Bs, Hero, Peanut and Butchy & Snickers

I'll be visiting your blogs this week, promise. I can't wait to see what all of you have been up to these past couple of weeks. I have missed you all - xoxoxo.

Bye for now.

Happy 4th of July !

HAPPY 4th OF JULY

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TO ALL MY AMERICAN FRIENDS

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Anybody there ....??

Happy Canada Day!

July 1 /09 Mama insisted on posting a video of the Canada Day fireworks from a couple of years ago on Capital Hill in Ottawa, and I'm not hanging around while she watches it. I'm going to go hide under the bed and I suggest you do too if your moms want to watch it. By the way, that's our very own Céline Dion singing O Canada.

I'm outa here.

Being cool / Praying for Laska

June 26/ 09

Today it was so stinkin' hot that even after a short walk, I came home panting. Boxers don't tolerate the heat too well because we're bald. On days like this, I sure do wish I had lots of furs to keep the heat out. Anyway, when we got home, Mama gave me a ton of water. Imagine - we had no ice cream in the freezer. Geesh, I better get that woman over to the grocery store like right now!! Then she put a cold wet towel on me and I felt much better.

But I think the heat got to my brain. I put on all the ribbons I won at a show a couple of weeks ago, figuring they'd keep me nice and cool on my next walk.

But, um ...

I'm ready for my walk, Mama.

... I looked in the mirror and O-h m-y -G-o-d. Did I ever change my mind. Oh, the embarrassment I almost caused myself.

Daniel said something about a court jester. I don't know what that means but I have a feeling that's what I looked like.
z

.....................................

Now for some serious stuff: I want to ask all of you to concentrate on the picture of Laska below. We all know Laska from our friend Khyra's blog. He is lost and there are no leads on his whereabouts. Khyra's mommy spoke to an animal communicator named Irinas and she says everyone should picture Laska coming home surrounded by gold. We can't give up on Laska. We have to keep having positive, golden thoughts about him. So please look at his picture here and visualize that he's coming home safely and soon.

Post Script: OMG! OMG! I just found out that LASKA CAME HOME !

All our prayers and positive thoughts worked.

Welcome home, Laska.

Have a great week, everybody.

Thanks to a very kind policeman

June 22 /09

Hi everybody. I want to tell you about something that happened last Tuesday, the day that Beauty went to the Rainbow Bridge. Even though it was a sad, sad day, something happened during all the chaos that was so amazing and worth sharing.

As Mama was rushing to the vet, Beauty was in the passenger seat of her car wrapped in a towel. At that point, we're pretty sure she was no longer alive. We think she died on the way to the car, or at least that's when she seemed to be taking her last breaths.

Mama must have run a stop sign. She's not sure because she was crying hysterically while she was driving, and she kept glancing at Beauty and caressing her. But suddenly, there was a police car behind her with the siren blaring and lights flashing. She had enough presence of mind to pull over and thankfully, the policeman approached her right away. Sometimes they just sit in their vehicle for ten minutes doing I don't know what. Mama pleaded with him to let her take her cat to the vet quickly. He glanced over at Beauty and his whole demeanour changed. He asked Mama where the vet is. She told him the street and he waved for her to go, saying, "Vas-y donc, madame." ("Go ahead then, madame.")

As Mama continued down the road, the police car pulled up in front of her and led the way with the lights flashing (no siren), all the way to the vet's clinic. He actually gave her a police escort! What kindness!

There's a point in the road, just before the clinic, where you can make an illegal U-turn which gets you to the clinic sooner. A ticket is handed out automatically to anyone who makes that turn (like Mama once got when she was rushing me to the vet *) So the policeman actually blocked the road with his car, stopped the traffic, and let Mama make the U-turn right into the vet's driveway.

The time she saved would not have changed Beauty's condition, but that simple act of kindness meant so much at a time like that, and Mama says she'll never forget it. The next day she wanted to call the police station and find out who he was so she could thank him personally, but Papa said not to because maybe he wasn't supposed to let her make that turn and he could get into trouble.

But we hope he knows how grateful she was.

* Last year I was bitten by a dog at the park. He was much bigger than me and he had practically my whole face in his mouth. By the time Mama separated us, my eye was bleeding. Mama couldn't tell if the blood was coming from my eye or from around the eye but it was scary. (It turned out to be just above my eye.) She hustled me into the car and sped to vet. We got to that point in the road where the U-turn is, and she just ignored the sign and made the turn. Wouldn't you know it? A policeman flagged her down to give her a ticket.

She showed him how I was bleeding in the back seat and she begged him to let her through. He wouldn't. She asked him to meet her at the clinic, which was just a couple of yards away, and she would show him her licence and registration once I was seen by the vet. He refused. He continued to argue with her about the traffice sign and if he let her through, he'd have to let everyone through ... Rather than waste anymore time, Mama just gave him her wallet and insisted he return it at the vet, with the ticket. And she drove on, come what may.

From the vet's window, she could see the policeman standing in the parking lot waiting for her to come out. He didn't even have the decency to come in and give her back her wallet. He stood there for 20 minutes doing nothing, when he could have been out on the road doing his job.

I know policeman have very important work to do. I know it is their job to keep our streets safe and to make sure that everyone obeys the laws. But aren't there times when exceptions can be made, when a little kindness and compassion should prevail? I could understand that this policeman wasn't willing to ignore the violation. That's his right. But he could have obliged Mama by not delaying her and by agreeing to meet her in the clinic to give her the ticket, instead of arguing about it.

Anyway, I just thought that the policeman who stopped Mama on Tuesday was a very kind man. Although we don't know who he is, and probably wouldn't recognize him if we saw him again, we want to thank him for being caring and compassionate and for having the wisdom to know that being a good policeman also means being a good human being.

Happy Father's Day!

June 21 /09

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, PAPA!

And to all my friends' Papas too.

You're the best Papa in the world. I'm very grateful that you take me to the office so often so I won't be alone. I'm grateful when you fill my water bowl and give me hamburger and liver with my kibble.

I'm grateful that you keep me healthy and safe.

Thanks for the tickles, the belly rubs and hugs.

Thanks for always taking good care of me!

xox

Love, Cheffies

n n n n n n n

Thank you, everybody, for all your kind words after my sweet little catsister, Beauty, went to the bridge earlier this week. We've all been very sad and sorry to see her go, so your sentiments and support mean a lot to us. You are all such good friends!

Goodbye Precious Beauty

June 16 /09


We lost our precious Beauty today. We are totally heartbroken. She was the sweetest, most loving girl every minute of the 17 years that she was part of our family.

We will love and miss you forever, sweet Beautygirl.

Run free and be happy.

Boxer extravaganza

June 14 /09

I'm so far behind on my blog - here I am posting about last week's show while I just finished this week's competition. I think I better catch up before I forget which show is which!

Here's some coverage of last week's huge Boxer Club of Canada extravaganza. There were over l00 Boxers competing. Oh, by the way, there was no party at the motel. The parents wised up and left each of us alone in our own rooms while they went to party at that Awards dinner. Hmmph. Next time, we're going to make a better plan ...

Anyway, so I walked out into the holding area and couldn't believe my eyes - there were Boxers everywhere!

......................It was like landing on Planet Boxer.


I had just one thought in mind: If all the parents and handlers would only leave, we could have so much fun. I can only imagine what havoc this rambunctious bunch of Boxers could wreak if we were only unsupervised ...!! I wonder how many of us were thinking the same thing. I bet over 100.

Then I was introduced to my handler for the day, Mimi. Emily wasn't at the show. I was shocked. "What?? No Emily?? Who is this Mimi and does she have liver?" I decided to be totally unco-operative unless I knew for sure that she had my favourite bait ...

Mimi is very nice but a handler without liver is like working for minimum wage. So I went on strike til I was sure my efforts would be worth while.

z

OK, so Mimi had liver. But I think I kind of messed up anyway. So did I win any ribbons? Nope.

But I did help my father, Zeus, win an Award of Merit. My sister Rose and I were proof that he's Stud of the Year!

That's Rose and me behind Dad who was very proud to show off his progeny.

But the highlght of the weekend was the first public appearance of my new little cousin, Solo. She's only l0 weeks old and as cute as all get-out!

♥*`’•.♥*`’•.

Do you like Solo's hat? Actually, she's healing from her ear-cropping and the cup keeps her ears up. But it kept falling over her eyes when she played, which made her look drunk. She's so cute!

Solo and me saying hello.

I'll get back to my blog next week and tell you all about this weekend's show. It was a stunner ...

Bye for now. Have a great week.