Merry Christmas!

We wish you and your peeps the merriest of holidays! Stay safe, eat lots of treats, and if the turkey presents itself --- well, try not to get caught!!


Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Blazing a Trail for Pouncer

With over a foot of snow on the ground, the only way Pouncer can get anywhere is to follow in Charlie's footsteps.

Where Charlie goes...
...kitties follow.

OMG - Charlie's Up to His A(xle)s in Snow!

This morning we awoke to another 6 inches of snow, for a total of 12. It wouldn't be that unusual in Indiana, where Charlie & I are both from, but here... WOW! They're calling it a 50-yr snow in Portland, so we'll be out enjoying it -- probably won't see it again like this here!

Winter Snow

We had an amazing snow yesterday. Usually Portland gets a little bit in the winter, but there's 5 or 6 inches on the ground now. Apparently we got a little liquid precip last night, too, because this morning there's a thick icy crust on top -- almost thick and strong enough to hold Charlie up. Almost.


While he likes snow just fine, Charlie doesn't like breaking through that crust one bit, and for awhile pretty much refused to go back outside. Now I've got a path broken and, with a liberal sprinkling of treats, convinced him that it's kind of ok. But it may take an actual "walk" to get any business going today. We'll see.

Shaking Off the Winter Doldrums

A Pressie from Down Under

Recently Charlie received a very special package -- a stuffed 'roo from C$ and his family in Australia.

"Hmmm... smells good."
"Hmmm... tastes good."
"What's in there?"
"Here, I'll help."
"C'mere, you!"
"What are you? You don't look like a cat..."
Getting the cat "treatment", anyway.
Charlie and Roo.
This is Charlie's first stuffed toy in a long long long time. Not because he doesn't like them (he loved them) -- but because he eats them. As in "down the hatch", "chew, swallow, and repeat"... you get the picture. So I was curious to see his (supervised) reaction, now that he's a few years older.

At first, Charlie didn't seem to know what to do with the toy. He sniffed it cautiously and went to lie elsewhere. With some coaxing he gradually warmed up to it a little, even giving it the kitty 'sniff under the tail' routine. But he still wouldn't play with it.

I went in the bedroom to do some things, (accidently) leaving Charlie unsupervised in the living room with the toy. A few minutes later, I looked over and there it was - on the bed! As I watched, Charlie came back in the room, picked up the 'roo and proceeded to pace the house, carrying it in his mouth.

So now it's not "the toy" or "the 'roo", it's Roo. And Roo now plays a prominent role in "Chase Charlie", replacing the ball that Charlie likes to run with. Charlie still only gets supervised visits. But he often initiates them, going over to the mantel where Roo lives and staring longingly.

Thanks C$, Brooke, Greg, & Opie! For the toy and for helping Charlie show me how much he's grown up.

Playing With Fire

Charlie's lucky that Jessie seems to almost like the whole-body massage, because while she's clawless, she's NOT toothless...

Happy Howloween!

"Whoah, 'trick or treat'? Did someone say 'TREAT'"?

"I'm up here. Come feed me treats!"

"I'm waiiiiiting..."

 

Dog Whisperer

"Oh, Mom... for me?... you shouldn't have!"

"Mmmmm... could it be a delicous new box of chews?"

"Who's that guy?"

"Oh, Mom... Cesar Milan?... seriously, I wish you hadn't!"

"I'll never get away with nuthin' around here anymore..."
Lest you all think that I think Charlie's a problem dog, I should confess that, up till very recently, I'd never heard of Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer. The folks who are releasing this DVD set somehow came across Charlie's blog & offered a promotional copy in return for a review post. Cool. Because Charlie does have his issues.

Now if I can just get him to sit still long enough to watch the darn thing... ;)

Anyway, I plan to try this out and see if it works for us. And, of course as promised, we'll post the results.

Singing with the Pack

Charlie's Uncle Ben is getting ready to record a new CD with his band, The Blackwater Collective. And Charlie just had to get in on some of that action.

Birthday Boy

Today Charlie is 4. He continues to mellow, but still has that puppy excitement about him. Some of this year's developments:

• Charlie's become quite the singer, demanding to harmonize at the end of every human meal. Every. Meal.
• This year Charlie's proved himself a sociable guy -- meeting and playing nicely with several new dogs and even handling himself with composure on walks when faced with aggressive off-leash dogs.
• Wev'e had lots of houseguests and visitors this year, and Charlie's initial reservednesss upon meeting new humans has decreased dramatically.
• Charlie has decided (finally!) that he likes to be brushed. And he's learned the word "brush". "Want to brush?" sends him flying to the appropriate closet.
• Now he allows me to dry even his feet without resorting to teeth. Clipping his nails alone, however, remains an unattainable goal.

What's not changed is that Charlie's still glued to me and I'm crazy about him. Some things are just forever.

 

Debating, Charlie-style

While the adults ate inside, watching Barack Obama and John McCain go at it on television, Charlie and Gabbie staged their own little contest outdoors.

Gabbie took a firm position on the Cuz and commanded an early lead.

Charlie tried to attack her on the Cuz issue, but Gabbie remained unflappable.

Gabbie was the decided frontrunner in the contest.

Still, it was a real horserace.

And in the end, Gabbie won the Cuz.

But Charlie won hearts!

I think polls will call it a tie!

 

Hello, Goodbye

Goodbye, sunny summer...
Hello, rainy fall!

 

Charlie's Day on the Farm

Yesterday, Charlie got to visit a farm just outside Portland. He met (and made friends with) the laid-back farm dogs, and he gave barky Petey a wide berth. He was delightfully startled when crickets jumped and frogs plopped into the pond in front of him. And he saw horses for the first time. What a great day he had!

Wandering
Surveying the pond.
"Plop? What was that?"
Wheeeeeee....
Where's Charlie?
p.s. It took three treats to get him into the car to come home!

 

Rainy Days and Mondays

Pretty quiet around here on this mostly cloudy Monday.

 

Silver Lining

Charlie's fine, but had to go to the vet today. Pictures are best left to the imagination, but we had a conversation there that went something like this:

Dr T: We went through his stool sample, and I have to tell you that all of us back there found it pretty entertaining!
Us: ???
Dr T: I mean it! Did you look through that sample before you brought it in?
Us: Well, kind of. Charlie had some brown rice for dinner last night, and we could see the grains in his poop.
Dr T: Yes, brown rice. But did you see what else was in there?
Us: I don't know; maybe not... like what?
Dr T: Like, for example, a hairball. There was a hairball in there! None of us have ever HEARD of a dog having hairball problems.
Us: Well, he has been shedding a lot lately and he's been itchy so he bites himself...
Dr T: And there were almonds. WHOLE almonds! Several of them.
Us: Well he likes them. Sometimes he gets them as a treat. And he doesn't bother to chew...
Dr T: There was all kinds of stuff in there! But he'll be fine --- I'm sure it's just something he ate.

And he is. Fine, that is. And the vets and techs at our clinic got a few laughs today. Not a bad trade in my book. :)

 

Mom... I'm Not Even Touching Her...

Boat Dog!

Today was the big day! The day that Charlie got in his boat.

"What the heck is this thing?"
"Hey, fishy fishy fishy... are you still under there?"
It required stairs (thanks, Robin & Lavonne).
Yes, treats were involved.
Yes, it took two of us encouraging, cajoling, and assisting.
And, yes, he was scared; shaking even as he wagged.

But he did it. And, most importantly, he liked it!
Checking out the lines
Checking out the cabin
"Just call me Cap'n Charlie!"
"Let's GO!"

 

Happy Labor Day!

-- Boathouse Charlie.

 

This Party's Gone to the Dogs!

45 minutes ago
PORTLAND, OR -

Charlie's anointing Gabbie...
...as his...
... running mate!
------