Meet My Friend Patsy - Dozer's Notes

Check out my friend Patsy. She has the best ear hair I have ever seen - no one can come close if you ask me. She belongs to Mum's pal, Leanne. So Patsy's full name is..Patsy Pitts! BOL! (Mum says to stop making fun of Patsy's name and get on with it). So this is Patsy having her hair styled by a friend. Notice his wonderful hand technique so that the hair is fully elongated. Obviously this friend is a pro.
It looks like Patsy stuck her paw into an electrical socket! I wish I had hair you can style but Mum says with the amount of fur I shed that it would be one more nightmare in her life. Nightmare? What nightmare does Mum have in her life. Not me.

So we leave Patsy with her hair styled for success. If it ever stops raining we are going to have a play date but Mum says it requires a back yard for games. You tear up one couch and you are forever marked as a trouble maker, sheesh! It wasn't like we ate the couch, we just got it wet with drool and then pulled out the stitching a bit. Still, there is lots to do in the backyard once it dries out. Digging under the fence comes to mind.

We're Back - Dozer's Notes

While I am glad to be back, it was horrifying to find out that Mum was seeing "others" while she was away. And they aren't even of our species! Mum swears this is just a metal turtle at a park (yeah, like I just fell of the turnip truck) and they were just "friends". How dumb do I look? She's covering its eyes up - just like those black squares censors put over folks when they want to hide identities. And Mr. Turtle looks pretty darn happy if you ask me. Fortunately Dad picked us up from The Farm - where it was one long party for three days! We had a ball and Dottie got into party mode like a pro. When it was time to leave she wasn't so sure that she wanted to come. Dad told Mum that Dottie wasn't exactly running for the door when he arrived - she was checking out McDuff the Scottie Dog who lives in the front office most of the time. Apparently little Miss Dottie had a small crush on you-know-who!
Try as we did, the ladies at The Farm decided baths and nail trims were the order of the day and then they topped it off with scarves around our necks. Even Cooper was slightly embarrassed (I was simply appalled - we're guys after all, we don't wear neck ornamentation. How hard is this to understand ladies?) Anyway, Dottie apparently looked "absolutely adorable" according to Mum who went just a little crazy when she got home. There was the usual round of kisses, hugs, rolling on the floor, little squeals of delight, and general greetings and that was just Cooper !

Dottie went a little overboard - like Coop - and did a major roach on the living room floor. Like I have said before, there are piggies on farms and there is Dottie in our house. Honestly, if she had cloven hooves, you would never know the difference.

Cooper decided Dad making spaghetti was the place to camp out. It wasn't like we didn't get good food, it was all great. But Dad's spaghetti is world famous (thanks to the Ragu folks who put that red stuff in the glass jar).

I thought I would leave you with my tres chic visage (that means good looking face - I learned it from a French poodle at The Farm). We are home! Hooray!

I'm at Camp! - Dozer

Mum took us to Inavale Farm on Thursday because she has taken off for Arizona to see family. This was a bit of a shock because she didn't tell us but we love the Farm so it was a nice surprise too! It seemed like a lot of work because Mum had to load three beds into the car - even though Inavale has nice beds in each of the giganormous kennels. But Dottie has to have her giganormous bed for her joints. Then we helped Mum pack our medicines, chewies, one bone each and an assortment of toys into a bag (it was giganormous too). Finally she took Cooper and me to the car and Coop immediately jumped into the passenger seat. Then Mum brought Dottie and had to lift her in because she is so low slung she can't jump that high.

We love Inavale because it is a giganormous horse farm and also has a two story dog and cat kennel with an indoor play area and an outside play area, field trips, walkies, and lots of loving time on laps. Cooper spends most of his stay making time with the ladies who take care of all of us, but I am into major play time. Everyone gets a free bath before they go home which the pawrents seem to think is a great idea but I think everyone would agree we could pass on that. We also are getting toe nail trims which we all hate but you cannot fight the ladies at the Farm. When they say you are going to get a trim, you are going to get a trim.

Everything was going pretty well until Mum started to leave. Coop and I waved her off - we had to get serious about getting to our kennels and meeting our pals. But Dottie hasn't been to the Farm and she didn't want Mum to leave. She followed Mum to the door and then pulled on Mum's pants so she wouldn't go. Cooper immediately felt bad and went over to her which only delayed our play time. The ladies told Mum to go and they would get Dottie inside and busy so she wouldn't miss Mum. I think they said Cooper and Dottie would bunk together, I prefer a private suite myself.

I have no idea how much the Farm costs, Mum said I shouldn't ask because my allowance will never cover it.
Dad is coming to get us on Monday so we are going to get plenty of time to play. I told the staff that Mum said it was okay for me to make phone calls and to just put it on my bill. I am going to call Gerald and Janice in British Columbia and see if they will send me a case of Guiness. And then I am going to text Howie PeePants in Texas and see if his mother will send me some scrambly eggs and kibble. This may be my once chance at decent chow and I have to make a break for it!

They Shouldn't Have - Dozer

Look, I'm at the inauguration! Yes, I am the handsome one by Michelle (she told me to use her first name). Her brother, Craig (again, we're on a first name basis), brought me with him. He is the basketball coach for Oregon State University so we thought we would carpool. They were so nice to insist that I sit right up front for the oath - really, I would have been fine inside with the party sandwiches - and the view was great.I told Mum if she had bought new shoes (like these Corgi Keds!), I would have brought her with me but she didn't, so I didn't. This was a grown-up affair and Mum needed to look her best - but she said $60.00 for a pair of tennis shoes wasn't happening on her watch. What her watch has to do with new shoes is beyond me but so be it.

Mum says I have rounded the corner on insanity and I have taken a deep dive into the pool of no return. I think not. And Mum wouldn't know if I went to the inauguration 'cause she goes to work and I can do anything I want when she is gone. And Cooper lies. A lot.

We Celebrate! - Dozer, Dottie and Cooper

We had extra treats this morning and we get new bones tonight - all to celebrate our new 44th President of the United States! What a great day to be an American and to get to live history as it is being made. Mum says the most wonderful part of today is that for this moment, no one is a Democrat or Republican, we are all just one celebrating the new President, Barack Obama. How cool is this? It would be even better if the family got a corgi and a cocker spaniel for pets! BOL!

Sleepy Sunday - Notes from Cooper

Mum could not wait for the HGTV folks to declare her messy office worthy of a make-over and she spent all day Saturday moving everything out. She still has 4 brown grocery bags full of paper that she needs to go through - some goes to the recycling bin and some need to be filed. Today she put things away and made a whole lot of labels - she even labeled me which she thought was very funny. Dozer didn't think it was funny and he ran under the bed before Mum could label him! I took some pictures of Mum's craft room/office (I think we need to give Mum positive reinforcement so she continues this path of organization.) I just hope we never have to move because Mum uses so much of her craft things and if we moved somewhere she might have to get rid of some of the things - and we like to "grab and go" - grab something off the table and make Mum chase us! BOL!

Dozer decided to check out the napping on Mum's chair mat. There's so much room now it is scary.

Toilet Paper - Another Food Group! - Dozer

Apparently Mom has a low threshold for destroying toilet paper. It isn't as though we don't have a ton of it. While she was in the shower I took a new roll off the shelf and tore into it. Took a nice big chunk right out of the middle of it and then left hundreds of small pieces all over the bathroom. I found the texture most satisfying, Mom found the whole incident alarmingly messy. I managed to put her off from disciplining me by doing some reverse sneezing and going into my soulful stance. There are fourteen rolls left on the shelf and I hear them call my name.

Mum thinks she is sooo funny - Dozer

Mum found this in one of my old blog entries and it cracked her up so she decided to post it again. I am so embarrassed I don't even want to talk about it. There has to be a law against this sort of thing.

I am Little Red Riding Hood, why don't you let
me carry that picnic basket for you? It looks
very heavy and I don't want you to strain yourself.
You can trust me, I won't touch a thing inside.

Potpourri - Dozer

I was surfing blogs with Mum this morning and found some delightful new friends and places to visit. First you must go visit Noisy Dog Studio and see what wonderful treasures Leigh Jackson has created. This Chihuahua is just an example. And Leigh is having open entries to paint portraits (no obligation). Just send your picture and story of your dog and you might end up in her next calendar! Isn't that just fun? I hope she picks me because I am incredibly handsome and the ladies love me. Click here to visit Leigh.

Then there is a wonderful lady who does PenPets. Look at her pen and ink drawings and wood cuts! She is very talented and has incredibly good taste since she did a woodcut of a corgi!

You must go visit her blog and see her other artwork, it is just as wonderful as these two images. Click here to wander on over.

These are Portuguese Water Dogs and Mum loves this drawing very much.
Sadly, Leslie Moore the artist made a tragic error in doing a woodcut of a Cardgian Corgi. Leslie, you need to do Pembrokes not Cardigans, we are much more handsome. Plus you will save on ink because we do not have tails to print! (Mum disagrees with me and says this is a Pembroke and that I need my eyes checked. I think Mum is wrong and that there are lines that look like a tail. Mum says there are not, I say there are!)

Finally, Jonquils and Ladybugs is having a giveaway today for a felted purse which I don't want but Mum seems to think would be quite nice. (Click here to see and enter). Guys don't carry purses so why Mum would think winning it would be a good idea is beyond me. Cooper says he would like it to keep his chewies in. (I think we all know this is not a good sign. Cooper needs to seek professional help because he is letting his species down!)

Let's Go Pub Crawling! - Dozer

My good friends, Gerald and Janice, live in British Columbia (BC for short). They are building a house on an island which sounds grand to me. They sent this picture to me - Janice is always so thoughtful, always thinking of me.

So I thought it might be a good time to visit Gerald and Janice at their house. Their blog is so inviting and although they haven't actually asked me to visit, I can tell they really want me to stop by.

So I asked Mum if we could do a road trip up to BC to visit Gerald and Janice and go to the pub they mention in their blog. Being a Welsh Pembroke Corgi it is practically in my genes to visit pubs and they have the best snackies at these establishments. Not to mention Guinness!

So Mum sits down and looks at me and asks me if I am serious. Serious? Of course I am serious. Mum looked down her nose and said "I am not driving you hundreds of miles North to cross the Canadian border and having the custom agents ask me the purpose of my visit and have to say I am taking my corgi to a pub to meet Gerald and Janice to drink Guinness and eat snackies."

Mum's attitude mystifies me. What is wrong with a social visit to BC to have a drink? I have all my vaccinations and I am up-to-date on my shots. What is the problem here? Coop says apparently there is a big problem because Mum rolled her eyes and left the room muttering something about having an insane dog. Since Dottie is the only insane one here, I think Mum is mistaken if she thought I planned to bring Cooper and Dottie. They can stay here in Oregon and get the mail.

Janice, don't get the snackies out just yet. I'll keep working on Mum.

Save the Shredder! Too Expensive to Die!

Suddenly I am not such a "wild child" and my behavior isn't the focus of Mum's attention and discord! Bad Dottie (my new name for her) decided to take down the shredder while Mum and Dad were in the house! (She is so dumb! You always wait until they leave the house or at least the room, it is written right there in the Book of Dogs. Maybe she can't read?)

I am not sure what Dottie thought the shredder had inside that was worth eating but she tipped over the shredder and when Dad put it back up, it kept saying "Door Open". And there was, of course, a whole lot of shredder guts on the floor. With the shredder crying "Door Open" all the time Mum and Dad couldn't use it to shred anything. Cooper thought this was hysterically funny and sat on his chair watching Dad try to fix the shredder. Finally Dad figured out that an important piece of plastic tabbing had broken off so a sensor wasn't getting punched. He jerry-rigged something together but now we have to unplug the shredder whenever it is not in use.

Mum says that even though the shredder has a smile on its little face, it is not a happy machine. Dad says that there is a lady in Vancouver, Washington laughing herself sick over Dottie. Mum says he is referring to Betty (Dottie's previous owner) and that Betty is not laughing, giggling perhaps but definitely not laughing. I really don't care myself as long as Dottie is the one being focused on for bad behavior. After all, anything that makes me look good cannot be all that bad!

Ooooo, a giveaway! - Dozer

Look at what Mum found - a giveaway on another blog! (click here to visit) The giveaway is being put on by...(drum roll please)....Corgi News! There is a bunch of neat stuff to sweep the winter doldrums out the door and onto someone else. There is even hot chocolate with marshmallows - delish! And a puzzle (we love puzzles), a good mystery book and a chocolate bar, and playing cards! We're making Mum enter for us. Since we cannot have chocolate if we win Mum has to read the entire book out loud to us before bed each night, Cooper gets to play solitaire under the bed and Dottie and I can do the puzzle.

So doggie bloggy friends, march right on over to Corgi News and get your name in to win! Mum says we cannot stuff the ballot box so I am going to take all my entries and spread them around the living room for Mum to clean up.

Fierce Battle to Save the Bed! - Dozer

Last night as I was helping Mum get ready for bed (she constantly requires assistance in picking out her work clothes, she has no fashion sense at all) Dottie started making fearful noises towards the bed. Normally Dots just lies on her bed next to the big bed and sacks out. But last night she looked to me and then to the bed, she said the quilt was moving towards her! I have been keeping an eye on the green and white striped quilt and I knew Dottie was right and someone had to show that quilt who was in charge. And that dog was me!

This is Dottie telling me about the quilt. You can see how close it is getting to her. In very little time it would have been on her bed and then to her!

I took a subtle approach and started with a short nipping session to make sure the quilt knew I was there.

The quilt got the upper hand and Mum had to pull it off my face. I could see this was not going to be an easy fight but I was ready to defend Dottie!

I went under the quilt to find its weakest point.

I tunneled under the quilt, nipping all the way. It was a fierce battle and the give and take was exhausting!

There were some truces so we could rest before the next assault.

Then I was back to the thick of it. Bitey face into the quilt, taking no prisoners!

Eventually the battle was done and I was victorious and rested on my laurels...or quilt. Mum thanked me profusely for my bravery and skill in conquering the green and white striped quilt. Dottie was of course grateful but Cooper slept through the entire warfare. I told Mum some champagne might be in order but she said "No". She seems to say that a lot to my suggestions though I am not sure why. Still, a victory is a victory!

Finally Something for Me! - Dozer

Tibby gave me this neat award! Isn't it just lovely? I think so. I asked Mum to find a nice gold chain so I can wear it around my neck but she just rolled her eyes and said "No". She said I am not a "gangsta" dog and one does not wear awards around their neck and that my behavior is most unbecoming. I think Mum needs to lighten up a bit, she is way too old fashioned.

This is what the award says:

"This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!" In other words, blogs that receive this award "are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

It is very hard to decide who to pass this award so I am just going throw my list together and hope anyone forgotten is not offended.

Emmit the Pug

Howeee PeePants

It's the Dogs Life

Mango's Great Adventures

Moco Online

Wally the Corgador
The Four Musketeers

River

Thank you Tibby, you rock!

Present for Me? What a Good Idea! - Dozer

A big box arrived for me today. It came from our friend Melanie who has Shop MoeMoe at Etsy (click here to visit). We met Melanie through Melissa and Emmit the Pug (click here to vist them) who are regular bloggers. Like Melanie, Melissa is an artist.

Melanie made a wonderful Sock Puppy for Mum to give as a present before Christmas which I thought we should have kept. I didn't even get to sniff it and apparently de-stuffing it was completely out of the question. I don't remember seeing a note from Melanie saying it was special and could not be played with. Mum ordered a second Sock Puppy for herself (they are made from gloves but Mum calls them Sock Puppies for some reason) and Melanie made one. I pointed out to Mum that it did not look the same as the first one and that perhaps Melanie had forgotten what they were supposed to look like. Mum said Sock Puppies are just like corgis, no two are the same. After I thought about it, I decided that made sense in a strange sewing-machine-stitching-artsy way.

I thought perhaps Sock Puppy would be given to me to play with but Mum immediately took his picture to send to friends and then she parked him on the arm of her lamp in her office. I cannot figure out what is going on because he looks like a toy, he sits like a toy so he should be mine!

This is Sock Puppy. He was very hard to take a picture of because he kept moving and looking around. He has a ski hat on which matches his neck muff/scarf.

Melanie also sent a little Corgi Puff which unfortunately looks exactly like Dottie. Obviously Melanie needs some professional help because no artist would use Dottie as a model. What was she thinking? Mum says it is just coincidence but a magical coincidence. What about me? Why didn't Melanie make the Corgi Puff look like me?

Mum is a bit torn but Cooper says she will probably send the Corgi Puff onto Dottie's previous owner, Betty (click here to read about Betty). That is a very good idea in my book! We don't need Dottie getting any more airs than she already has.

Mum says we have to thank Melanie for Sock Puppy and the Corgi Puff....sheesh, okay, thank you Melanie. Maybe next time Melanie will remember to put care and use instructions when she sends these Sock Puppies out. I could be gnawing his eyes out if she had just put down that he was a toy and not a piece of art!

New Heights in Embarrassment - Dozer

So the nice folks at Rubbermaid are having this contest where you throw caution to the wind and upload a picture of your messy kitchen, garage or closet and plead for their grand prize where they get you organized (hopefully without recriminations or laughing). And of course Mum decided to think only of herself and upload a picture and make a case for needing serious assistance. She never thinks of us and how we might feel being paraded around for some big company to laugh at - I bet her entry ends up on the lunch room wall or on the water cooler and the Rubbermaid people get hernias from laughing too hard.

Here is what the grand prize looks like - and it appears to be a kitchen so I hope the Rubbermaid folks are not leaning towards awarding a kitchen the prize. Seriously, Mum does need help on so many fronts but I digress.

Mum sent in a picture similar to the one below. My pathetic looks should make the judges fold like a house of cards, especially after they read Mum's equally pathetic entry. The only good thing is that she did spell everything correctly.

The Entry:

"Somewhere in this clutter is a small Welsh Corgi. I am sure he is there, if only I could find him. I know that all my craft things will fit into the closet - after all it has the shelves already there! But I am in need of guidance as to how to do it.

This was a room as the result of a garage conversion, which was made into a very skinny bedroom. We turned it into my office/craft room. There are built-shelves, as well a bookcase, but things seemed to have gotten away from me. The upstart of the whole problem is that 1) I lose the dog on a daily basis, 2) I don't feel creative with all this clutter and 3) I am afraid if I die my mother will come to the house to console my husband and keel over when she sees this closet/room.

If I am deemed worthy of a closet re-organization you will save not only my sanity, but the life of a dog and my mother (plus other mourners she might drag to the house). The dog has a blog www.dozerandcoop.blogspot.com which is read by many, who would miss him."

Fortunately they had a limit on the length of the pleading part of the entry. If Mum had let me write it we would surely have won...with what she sent in..well, it doesn't bode well.

Pugs - Do They Have Necks or Not? - Dozer

I was surfing the Net the other day and found this video of confused puglets. (It is from Yahoo Videos and specifically StupidVideos.com which in no way means pugs are stupid) I had always thought corgis were superior to pugs because we had necks and pugs did not. As I tried to explain to Mum, necks are an important part of a dog's life because it is integral to accessorizing one's fashions. Without a proper neck it is difficult to wear scarves and bandanas to enhance... well, like my eyes. (This is when Mum started rolling her eyes for some reason)

So I ran smack dab into this video and was shocked to see that that if pugs don't have necks then they must be cousins to owls because they can roll their heads around like no one's business. I asked Mum how they do it and she said "It's a gift" so I guess it is something they got for Christmas. I tried imitating the pugs but I ended up looking a bit cockeyed. Mum also said if I threw my neck out that she was not taking me to the vet for physical therapy because all I do is flirt with the ladies.

I will write Howwee PeePants in Texas and find out if he has a neck and if he can roll his head around like these pugs.

Sleepy Sunday - Notes from Cooper

Yup, it's another grey, foggy and crisp day in Oregon, so it must be Sleepy Sunday. Mum took a three mile walk this morning with her walking group but she does that at 6am in the morning and that is too early for Dozer and me. We like breakfast and a little nap. Besides Mum said it was really icy outside and with Dozer's leg Mum won't let him go skating. Here are our pictures from this morning of our current state. We will be taking walkies this afternoon to the park to see if the creek has gone over its banks again - a lot of rain in the last week and now cold temperatures! Dozer is right under Mum's feet so she cannot move without him knowing it. He has control issues I think.
Dottie started out in my bed...

...but eventually gravity took over and she kissed the floor.

I am parked in front of the electric fire so that all the warm air has to go through me before it hits the rest of the room. Mum says my butt is going to burst into flames if I stay in front of the fire much longer, but she'll have to wake me if that happens, yawn... ~ Coop

First Roach of the New Year

Dottie was finally caught in a full roach in the family room. Mum said the conditions were perfect and she could feel this roaching exercise was imminent. Dottie is an old hand at roaching - I mean she is 13 years old so she should know what she is doing. Anyway, Mum says we have to post this video. Personally I think the first post of the New Year should be about me and I do not like being usurped! But Mum keeps waving a list of resolutions in my direction so apparently there is a message there. Whatever her message is, I'm not acknowledging it. Hey, aren't resolutions made to be broken?