Cozy Baby Bed

What does it mean when your pup spends a couple of hours in his baby bed?  Yes, he is afraid of the cat and the cat has been stalking him.  Yes, he is checking carefully around the corners when he follows me through the house.  Yes, he is looking with pathetic frequency to be sure his Mama is paying attention.

Have you seen "Big Trouble," the Tim Allen movie? If so, do you remember the dog and the frog? Well, that is an exaggeration of Henry and Vivika.  Poor baby. No injuries to date, but Henry seems to be anticipating something scary and serious.

New Family Members

Life just gets better! 

We have two new family members.  Henry has not met them yet, but he is anxious to romp with these guys. 

Wyatt is a new pup living in Okanogan.  Wyatt is planning to keep his mom entertained and busy this school year.  He has a big spot to fill.  Henry's best buddy and Wyatt's sibling recently scampered off to join friends in puppy heaven. 

Wyatt's mom says, of course he is brilliant as well as handsome and funny.

Bentley is the new addition to the Toutle River site.  Daisy Mae is Bentley's sister, and he is just what she needs to keep her happy and busy when her Mom and Dad are at work. 

These two have already escaped their huge yard to spend a day on the river.  I have a feeling they will be collaborating on a regular basis to keep Roger and Karrie on their toes!

....yes. Here they are planning their next adventure. Shhhhh. Quiet. Roger and Karrie are listening.

Sunday - National Thank A Dog Day

Thank you Henry.
You give me puppy sloppy kisses.
You welcome me with enthusiasm every single time I return - even if I've only been gone for a few minutes.
You demonstrate that even a dirty smelly pup can enjoy life with enthusiasm - and humans should should not be so self conscious about appearances.
You categorize life items in terms of their importance:

1. Friends
2. Food
3. Sleep

Henry responds, "What's the big deal? That's how it is, silly."

Sue replies, "And that is why you are so loveable Henry."

Power Shift

After a summer on the road with Henry and our little Bennie Burro, there has been a power shift at home!

Cast of characters:
This is, of course, Henry. The sweet, the loveable, the clueless travel companion.  He is excited about everything and sometimes not quite cautious enough....I mean, as far as he is concerned, who wouldn't like him?

The handsome black and white cat is Otto. He has gained a lot of weight over the summer. His adoring summer pet sitters took great care of him and his sister, Vivika,  during our months away. They both ended up fat and sassy.  Vivika is the charcoal beauty on Otto's right.

When we left, Otto teased Henry; Henry chased Otto; Vivika stayed way out of the way of Henry but occasionally attacked Otto. On our return, Otto sits on the couch top waiting to be petted and admired but lords it over Vivika; Vivika stalks Henry; Henry cuddles with his human watching Vivika with some trepidation. The whole power structure has shifted along some summer fault line.  

As in Rodney King's oft quoted lament, "Why can't we just all get along?"

Rules??

Mama says we do need rules. Humph. So what if it was 107 going over Grants Pass in Oregon. Mom says she really likes me a lot, but with no air conditioning in Benny Burro, there will be no cuddling tonight. The plan is - wait till she is asleep and she won't know I'm sleeping on her feet until morning.

Elvis and Hot Burro

This is the first hot night for Henry and his parents in the burro. Oh my goodness! It warm and even with our fan, it is way too hot. On top of that, we are in a college town tonight and there is a party nearby. Brings back memories, but does not induce sleep. So far, our boy has barked at three passerby's -- protecting his parents from those university students no doubt.

On an exciting note ... We passed a motel where Elvis stayed in 1962. Henry's parents stayed there twenty two years ago and the only thing it had going for it then was Elvis. It actually looks like it has improved since that visit.

Fair?

Henry asks - is this fair? He did get to spend great quality time with Uncle Rob. That was great! New cousin, Nick and new Auntie Michelle visited with Uncle Rod. Henry got fish in a bucket but not pictures offering proof yet.

Now another trip with Bennie the Burro and the family. Corn, wheat the scablands and finally Woodinville.

Absence

Henry is with his Uncle Rob. Yellowstone without the pup? He is probably getting super spoilt! The bison are beautiful but they don't jump with excitement when I enter the room.

Another Kind of Squirrel?

With the arrival of his "sister," Stephie, henry has discovered another unattainable tree ... up the ladder bedroom.  Henry's mom and dad don't climb that ladder much -- and the cats aren't here this summer to use their ramp -- and Henry is way too big for that ramp. So Stephie is the exciting indoors squirrel. Mama hopes this means there will be no more pitchy outdoor tree attempts. Ha! That's not going to happen.

Discoveries and Mentors

Despite humans doing construction, life is good in the dog world here. Henry has a fishing mentor named Greta. Greta does not bark at the fish and she demonstrates focus and patience! Both worthy attributes, I've heard, for fisher dogs.

Then another bit of excitement. Squirrels have been discovered...and with that, tree pitch. Tree climbing attempts have left sticky bits on the tummy hair. For some reason Henry's human wants that gone and is coating it with butter in removal attempts. Other ideas would be appreciated since that isn't much fun - although licking off the residue is good.

The daddy human is still busy with his mess, but he is finding time for Henry back rubs at lunch and nighttime. So I guess it's okay as long as there are fish and squirrels!

B

Construction Advice

Henry just wants us to do it right - so he is watching closely to be sure we remove every bit of dry rot hidden in our current project wall.

His advice is not always practical, but it is sincere. Good doggie!

Fish Discovered

So exciting! There are things moving under the surface of the water! It took forever to figure out where my treats were disappearing. Proving dominance, they got the food and avoided the dog ... definitely no sunfish were injured in the pup attack.

Harlow Jean

Two weeks ago Henry celebrated Harlow Jean's second birthday. Just last weekend Harlow and her human came to visit. Harlow and Henry are enthusiastic wrestling buddies.

Today the vet center at Washington State University gave sweet Harlow Jean just two weeks to live. Her local vet couldn't understand why her blood count was so terrible and sent her to the specialists to figure it out. The pathologist said there were no options. She'd just lose interest in food, become increasingly lethargic and then be gone.

You would never guess she is ill. Harlow is in love with food, wrestling, playing fetch, cuddling with her human. Things don't always go according to plan. Harlow and Henry are suppose to grow old together.

Wrestling Companion

Henry and Harlow Jean are back together for the weekend and Henry is beside himself with glee. Such fun. This visit they have discovered two dog tug-a-war. Harlow sits and holds on to one end and Henry rips and snaps the other end attempting to dislodge. Of course when it comes loose, he politely returns an end to Harlow so she won't feel left out.

This isn't heavy duty exercise for Harlow. She just reaches out with one of her beautiful long legs and takes Henry down.

Rainy Day

Another rainy day with thunder and lightening! So exciting. Amazing how long Henry can wait to go out to do his business.

Of course when I keep putting the toys away, there is endless distraction pulling them back out again.

The Olympics - a contender!!

Henry has signed up for a couple of events in the doggie blog Olympics!

He will, of course, be joining in for opening ceremonies but you must also watch for him in the following events:

July 28th - free style swimming with the splashing salmons
http://sargespeaksout.blogspot.com/2012/0D7/Olympic-swimmers.html

July 31st - couch potato peeling
http://lovablelily.blogspot.com/2012/06/couch-potato-peeling-blogs ills-Olympic.html

August 4th - Competitive Digging
hosted by Puddles
http://wethreedoxies.blogspot.com

Henry plans to enter more...but he is exhausted from the workouts he has had to do in preparations. More later!!

Zoie

We met another pup. She could be Henry's sister. They were hilarious together....racing in circles, jumping in the water, leaping in identical bounds! So cute.

Rainy Day

Henry and I will not be watering the gardens in the next few days. We have lightening and thunder and a cement sack splitting downpour.

There is a line of cars filled with disgruntled Sunday vacationers going over the bridge and heading back to town.

So much for the dock repair Greg planned or the clever cement sack stack bank reinforcement I planned. It has turned into a clean the house and replace the blinds day instead.

Henry is not silly enough to go outside to help with the rainy day put away tasks. His birth mom did not welp any dumb pups! Supervision through the window is good enough.

Exhaustion

Harlow Jean turned two. Henry celebrated with enthusiasm! He is pooped but dreaming very happy dreams. The huge bone was exhausting - the most tiring part of the day was stealing that bone from Harlow!