Sad News

This is a portrait my Mommy did of our cyberfriend-pup Blaze. Blaze's person took a picture of him and my Mommy made a painting of it.

Isn't he handsome? I think he looks kinda like me.

Mommy and my Big G have been very sad today because they found out that Blaze was very sick and he died yesterday. I'm a little confused because I don't quite understand what "died" means. I think it means you don't get to run on the beach with your person anymore. That makes me feel very very sad.

Blaze and I had a lot in common. He loved tennis balls and ice cream and schwimmins too! Lucky Blaze also went to work with his person every day until he got too sick, so she quit her job to take care of him at home. I think that's what they call "wicked awesome" here in Boston.

As I said, my Big G and Mommy have been sad. I tried to cheer Mommy up by sticking my nose in her crotch but that kind of backfired so I took a nap instead. Big G did fuss over me and gave me an extra cookie today. I ate it just to make BG feel better.

I'm still a little confused about what "died" means but I know from the sadness that Blaze was very loved. And that's something I do understand.

I'm Back!

My Big G is sitting in front of the funny little box again. You know, the one that has all the tiny people and dogs and stuff with noises coming out of it? Big G is saying a lot of bad words and Mommy went to bed, so I know it has something to do with those "red socks". I guess it's a kind of laundry.

It's weird though. The only time Big G does the laundry is when the red socks are in the little box. Otherwise, Mommy & I go downstairs to the bigger boxes in the room with all kinds of interesting smells.

I love smells. They entrance me.

I took a break from blogging because I heard something on the funny little box about the "dog days of summer". Sweet! Our own vacation! So I packed up a bag full of cookies & sat by the door, waiting to go somewhere fun but nothing happened. Well, I did go bye-bye to get a frappe and that was cool but...nothing else.

It's okay though because I found out that what "dog days" really are. It means that it's so hot out, all dogs should stay inside in the air conditioning with their peeps. I don't like the heat. It makes me shed buckets of fur. Big G suggested to Mommy that she knit a sweater with it but she didn't laugh.

Bye!

The Early Years, Part Deux

(I speak a little French, a little Italian, and a little German. I know "manger", "mangiare" and "essen".)

So I started to talk about my early years in my last post but I got hungry & had to go get a cookie. Then that made me thirsty, so I took a long drink-water. Then I got tired & took a nap.

Where was I? Oh yeah, puppyhood. This picture was taken right after I got to my new home. I look a little sad because I was missing my brothers and sisters and all the other dogs. I had also just met the cats. If you look closely, you might see a little scratch mark on my nose.

I forgot to tell you my fancy name. It's kind of embarrassing if you ask me, but my Big G likes it. Big G likes to go for obvious puns (um...what's a pun?), so I had to get a Christmasy name. A coworker suggested "Jesus McPup" but Big G thought that was a little over the top and settled for "Erinhill's Christmas Carol" because that's Big G's favorite Christmas story. I have a brother named "Erinhill's Stocking Stuffer" (aka "Cole") and a sister named "Noelle", too.

Humans think funny sometimes, don't they? But they're loveable and they supply the cookies, so it's all good.

The funny thing is, most people think I was named "Dickens" as in "naughty as the...". I don't know where they get ideas like that.

My first year is a blur. I went to my new home with the cats, then we moved, then we moved again back to the cats. Along the way, I learned how to sit, stay, come, heel, and do all the tricks that silly people like. My favorite is "Bear" because my grampa DJ does it and it always gets me at least one cookie.

Speaking of cookies, I'm hungry. Bye!

One Lab's Journey - The Early Years

Wow! That was a great nap - Mommy turned the air conditioning on for me. My undercoat really traps the heat. Sometimes I get chafed. And now I've had a go-eat! & a good walk, & I took care of my business & checked my p-mail on the rosebushes outside. I sent a few p-mails too & I hope the two Abbys get to read them before the scent wears off. Oh well - I can always send more tomorrow!

Maybe now would be a good time to talk about my puppyhood & how I came to be the dog you see before you. My puppydog tale began on Christmas morning 1999 at Erinhill Labs. Yep, that's right - Jesus shares my birthday! I really like him a lot - I think he'd probably always have cookies on him. I don't know when Lord Buddha was born. I like him too, but he doesn't have cookies, just tofu cakes. They make me sneeze. What was I talking about???

Oh yeah - my birthday! Here's a picture of my birth mom Rosie. Her fancy name is Erinhill's Wild Irish Rose, but she'll always be mom to me.

*sniff*
**baroooowoowoo**

Sometimes I miss her.

And here are some pictures & info about my pop Baloo. His fancy name is Lobuff's Bare Necessities. He was a real big shot champion early in his career, then he got hurt somehow - I don't know the whole story. I think he was working deep undercover for the Secret Service or maybe it was the X-Files. Mom never would talk about it. After his war wounds healed he decided to try a career change & went into genetics. He's an intellectual type, my dad. A literary guy. He's been published! Twice! And now, look! I'm published too! That's my pop on the cover of both those books about the best dog breed there is! Very handsome, my pop. And quite the ladies man, from all my brothers & sisters I keep learning about. Whew! I'm glad I don't have to buy Christmas presents! I think I look just like him, don't you? The puppy doesn't fall far from the sire, as they say. Hah!

Mom says pizza's on its way, so we'd better go now. I can't miss the chance to wheedle my way into a pizza crust! I'll talk some more tomorrow! Bye!

Hello World - Dickens is in the House!

Hi! I'm Dickens & this is my blog! My mom &
my Big G said they'd type it for me 'cause I don't have opposable thumbs. Hey, that's what packs are for, right?

Me & mommy were surfing the net this morning & we found some other blogging dogs & I thought that was just the coolest thing! So I sat pretty & then I did bear & finally mommy said ok, I could have a dog blog of my very own! And here I am!

Mostly I'm a laid-back kinda guy, as you can tell from my picture. Hah! It was Halloween & I was being a bat. It was fun, but then I got dizzy & I had to get a cookie. I'll probably blog a lot about cookies because they are just the best! But I'm also a deep dog, a noble dog, a dog of wisdom, so I may blog about serious stuff sometimes too. You just never know! It's all good! I'm going to nap now. Bye!