Yipee!!

Charlie was born in Indiana and I grew up in Indianapolis, so to have the Indianapolis Colts playing in the SuperBowl today was really special! And to play against neighboring Chicago (the Bears)... excellent!! It's been decades since either team did so well, so we're happy for both of them, but we do have a soft spot for the Colts.







First we got our snacks together, because what's SuperBowl without some chips?














At opening kickoff, when the rival Chicago Bears immediately scored a touchdown, it looked like we were in really big trouble!












First quarter: "Oh, woe is us! The Colts look terrible. Freda and Wally (who are Bears fans) are probably pretty happy about now, though...














Then the game turned in the Colt's favor. "Mom? Can this be happenin? Suddenly we're not lookin' so bad..."














Yippeee!! An interception and a touchdown!!!






"Ok, Mom, our little horses won; they beat those big bad bears! Now let us play some ball!"

Charlie Antics

Why is there never a camera nearby when you really need one?

Yesterday Charlie and I were working in the backyard when the zoomies hit. You know, the tuck-tail, crazed-eyes, dash-around-the-yard ZOOMIES! So we took a break and zoomed. Or, more accurately, Charlie zoomed and I encouraged him, clapping and chasing.

Charlie has an old fabric frisbee that he and Gabbie tore the middle out of this summer. It's really more of a ring now, but it still sails fine, and Charlie loves to chase it. Well, I picked up his ring and sailed it, and Charlie zoomed after it. He grabbed it in his mouth, turned to start to run, and almost (but not quite) tripped -- he had put his paw in the middle of the ring, and, as it was caught on his forearm, he couldn't get that paw to ground without letting go of the ring. Which he wasn't going to do. He wouldn't let go and he wouldn't give up trying to run with it, either!

I finally rescued him, but not before I'd laughed myself silly. Just wish I'd had a camera!

Doggie Impressions

Charlie seems to take on the expression of other dogs sometimes. I'll think "Oh, that's Freda's serious look" or "how Tin Tin" or notice generally how much Charlie looks like Hammer. So, here is Charlie performing impressions of some of his dogblog buds:

Whatever...

Bang!

a li'l Roll of Approval

Cools!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Snow Feet

The fur on Charlie's feet really picks up the snow. Great globs of it!

More Snow Dog

Snow Dog

This morning we awoke to SNOW! It had accumulated overnight and was still coming down heavily when Charlie went out to explore and experience it.

This is probably the most snow Charlie's seen. We had some twice last year, but never this much. Gosh, there's almost enough for a little x-country skiing!

At first Charlie wouldn't leave the patio - he walked around and around it, trying figure out what the white fluffiness was. But with a little encouragement he ventured forth. Here are his first steps into the white stuff...

Play Day!

This morning, Charlie awoke to a wonderful surprise... Gabbie! She had come to spend the day while her mom skied.

We started them in the back yard, to play hard and work off some energy. Thus, sunrise found the duo racing and jumping and rolling and playing over the frozen ground!


By 8:30, they were tiring and quieting down a little, so we began letting them in the house. Although big, Gabbie is skittish and afraid of new things, so in and out and around she went for almost an hour, with Charlie close behind.


She had just begun to settle down, when Charlie began to pester Gabbie. First, he slowly walked over her. Then he turned to carefully drape his shaggy tail over her face, and then he leaned in to make sure she couldn't ignore him.

So back outside they went, for some more hard play.




After awhile, it was time for a little lunch and a serious indoor chew session.

Charlie finished first and then carefully watched Gabbie, waiting for an opening to move in and steal the chew. Gabbie, however, was extremely alert and careful not to give Charlie such an opportunity!

Then back outside again for a little terrace-jumping and kitty-hunting. And in again for a little doggie snooze.

So back and forth it went; sometimes outdoor play, sometimes indoor quiet time, but never leaving each other's side... all day long!


I'll bet they both sleep soundly tonight!

Hail to our Chief!

Having lived in Portland now for a little over a year, Charlie has become accustomed to rain. But it doesn't often get very cold here in the winter, so the frozen forms remain a novelty!

Chase Charlie!

Now if Charlie will just work a little harder on his New Year's resolutions... ;)

Happy New Year! - Wanna Play?

Charlie's New Year's resolutions (as suggested by Mom):

1. I will not get frantic and bite at Mom's clothing when she leaves the house
2. I will not chew on Mom when she is toweling me off or brushing me
3. I will try hard to "take it nice" when offered a treat
4. I will not "pogo stick" my favorite people
5. I will quit trying to get between Mom and the counter when she is cooking

Mom's New Year's resolutions (as suggested by Charlie):

1. I will take Charlie for a walk whenever he wants
2. I will play "Chase Charlie" every day
3. I will find more fun places to take Charlie in Portland
4. I will get rid of all the babygates ( hey, Charlie! -- NOT HAPPENING!! )
5. I will take Charlie on another camping adventure soon

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all have a great 2007!!

Charlie and the Christmas Toy

Merry Christmas!

To everypup, kitty, hamsterrier and human, we wish you all the best for your holidays! May your every Christmas wish come true!!
    - Charlie

Charlie: 52 Humans: 4

It's wonderful to have cards from so many friends all over the world! So wonderful, that the humans aren't even jealous. Well, not too much!!

Thanks from Charlie to all you doggies AND kitties AND ESPECIALLY hamsterriers. You've made this a very special Christmas!



p.s. Thanks to Charlie & Opy's SHD/SHM for the great idea about how to display these wonderful cards!

Christmas Wishes

Charlie's been talking to Pouncer, and she reports that three things that Charlie wants for Christmas are:

1) Mom to play with him however he wants, whenever he wants
2) To eat people food with the people
3) For Gabbie to come over and play every day

Three things Charlie does NOT want for Christmas:
1) A new babygate
2) To be left at home alone
3) To hear the word "No!" for a whole year

What do you want and not want for Christmas?

Sock monster

Charlie has this thing about socks. Noooo... he doesn't chew them. Noooo... he doesn't lick them. Nooo... he doesn't carry them around the house. Nooo... it's different from that.

Putting socks on activates him!

Humans attempting to put socks on anywhere in his sight must guard their feet and beware, because it turns Charlie into a sock-biting fiend! And sock-biting easily escalates to foot-biting, followed by all-out roughhousing.

Charlie's been like this ever since he was a puppy. And now at two, while it's getting to be almost possible to put socks on around him... sometimes... it's never easy.

Maybe he sees it as a great wrestling match (human vs. sock) in which he wants to participate -- on the sock's side. Or, maybe he sees the sock as a monster trying to attack and wants to help the human side.

I don't know. All I know is it's darn hard to put socks on around this house!

Playtime!

On rainy Portland days, it's too muddy for Gabbie to come play with Charlie in the back yard and too wet to play outside generally, so we play ball indoors.

Out for a walk

Sunshade? Freda? Opy? Is that you? Hmmmm... guess not.






Ahah! Lefty!!




Gotta sit at corners and wait for the cars to go by before we can cross.




Make sure no one's sneakin' up on us...





And now back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress.

Vegetabull-terrier...?

... or Golden Retriever? You decide.

Thanksgiving -- gone but not forgotten...

The big day's over, but the turkey leftovers are still going strong, much to Charlie's satisfaction!

Wow, that was fast!

That Comet, BLU, and Lacey are really on top of things! I already got a holiday card today, and it was from them!

The envelope wasn't very yellow, though, so it must have been licked by BLU - - the old-fashioned way.

Thanks, guys!

Rain, rain go away...

It's been too rainy in Portland for Gabbie to come over to play, so Charlie's been relegated to playing ball and "chase Charlie" with the humans.

Needless to say, we're all hoping for a nice long break in the weather soon!

My Boy Charlie - Now Showing on DWB-TV!

The nice folks at Dogs With Blogs have been putting together DWB-TV, a set of all-dog-all-the-time channels featuring videos of many of our blog favorites such as Big Charlie, Sunshade, Bogart, et al.

And our Charlie is now among them! We've posted five of our favorite episodes of My Boy Charlie for your viewing pleasure.

(Click on the button to go to Charlie's channel)
Hope you enjoy them!

Happy Howl-O-Ween!

Hey, where is everyone?

Charlie the Gardener

Gardening, with Charlie in the yard, is always an iffy proposition. He loves being outdoors, but he's just so inquisitive, playful, and mouth-/food- oriented that everything I cut or dig seems to want to end up in his stomach.

And this has always been true. As a puppy, he would mill around where I was working, and he would snatch dirt clods or cut branches or seed pods and run off with them.

Magnolia seedpod in mouth
As an adult, Charlie still exhibits all his puppy characteristics, plus a tendency to want to help... If I'm digging, Charlie feels he should dig. If I cut branches, he pulls off more with his teeth. Heck, I've got him pulling weeds out of the lawn now! And the amazing thing is - he knows what's a plantain weed and what isn't!!

Helping plant tulips
Now if I can just convince him not to eat everything, I think we'll be a great team!

Battle Tactics

It's a hoot watching Charlie play with his friend Gabbie. Their play-fighting tactics are very much like humans. And, while they each have their preferred techniques, they learn from each other and adapt.

Invitation

Ear Chewing

Going for the Throat

The Body Slam

Baiting the Hook

Face Chewing

The Pin

Play Ball