We Went to the Beach

Mom and Dad took us to the beach on Saturday. We ran and ran and ran! Cooper was more interested in the bushes, but I really liked the water. Mom took 56 pictures - thank goodness for digital cameras(!). She was constantly trying to get us to pose but Cooper pretty much ignored her and I was too busy running after the birds. The shore birds are a bunch of teasers - they would let me get pretty close and then fly away once I got close enough to touch them. There was a negative tide and we bounced out on the rocks and got to see starfish and shellfish stuck on the rocks. It was a beautiful day and we were soaking wet when we got back into the car. Dad said someone smelled like a wet dog in the car and then he would look over his shoulder at Coop and me. Well, what did he expect? He takes us to the beach, we play in the water and he is surprised we smell like wet dogs? How long is it going to take us to raise our pawrents I ask you? A loooong time! BOL!

Sunny Day Today

It feels like spring today - the sun is out and all the daffodils and crocus' are coming up. Our backyard still feels like a mud pit but not as damp. Mum took us for a walk down to the park last night and hopefully tonight we will go to Bald Hill for a turn or two. We didn't get Mum anything for Valentine's Day, we pretty much tell her how much we love her every day.

Dad has cleaned out the laundry room and it is freaking us out. Can't decide if they are taking a trip and leaving us or throwing us in with the recycling. Suitcases are not our favorite objects - we figure they are leaving us and we get very clingy. Of course, we are pretty much clingly all the time in case treats are dropped. BOL!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So Much Politicking

Cooper and I have been watching a lot of CNN lately and it seems like politics are all the rage. We aren't sure who we will be voting for - we are still waiting for our voter registration cards to arrive. But we decided we should be proactive in this year of voting and created our own buttons. If a beagle can win Best of Show at Westminster, there's room for a corgi in the White House!

Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

Mum is better - she was sick all last week which was soooo boring! We love a good biped as much as the next canine, but when they get sick, the whole fud chain stops. We spent most of last week on the bed with Mum and slept about fifteen hours out of every twenty-four. Our play time came to a total standstill which was almost grounds for mutiny. Once she saw the doctor and got on some medicine she was on the mend. She felt so good the day after her office visit, we got a walk down to Philomath Park which was pawsome! The creek was flooding so we did not get to do the whole circuit but it was a good walk nonetheless.

Tonight Mum felt we should break out some Valentine duds and take pictures. She began the process by bribing us with dental chewies. For some reason I (Dozer) took three times longer to finish mine and Coop managed to have 4 chewies! I think they were smaller than mine or at least that is what Mum says.

Next thing we knew, Mum had us on chairs, looking out windows and generally behaving like super models while she snapped away. We should get paid for looking so good!

My profile pretty much sets the ladies' hearts to pitter-pattering. There is nothing like a good Pembroke profile to set hearts aflutter.

Time for us to reclaim the bed and get our beauty sleep.

Got My Teeth Cleaned

Cooper here:

That's me over there, feeling a little woozy.

This morning Mummy did not feed me breakfast. I knew something was up. Dozer was going ballistic for his kibble.

Mum put my leash on and put me in the car and then ran back in to feed Dozer before he gave himself a fit for lack of food.

Mummy took me to Ark Animal Hospital where they love me. I tried to show them how much I loved them by peeing on the floor. Sharon the receptionist cleaned it up and was very nice about the whole incident.

I was a very good dog. I was nice enough to let them take x-rays of my teeth without even being under anesthetic. Everyone was very impressed that I laid on my back and stayed there while they took the magical pictures.

I don't remember much about the day except that I slept a lot. I did mange to poo in my kennel and got it all over my butt, so the staff got out the water and cleaned me up. When Mum picked me up I was a bit wobbly and feeling very stressed. She carried me out to the car and got me home where I kept walking around and giving Mummy strange looks - like I didn't know where I was or who she was.

I am slowly waking up but Mummy is putting me to bed early and I get to sleep in the big bed with Dozer and Mummy! We just have to wait until 8pm for dinner and I only get half of my usual fare. I don't care, I just want Mummy to hold me and tell me how nice I am.

My teeth are all clean and I didn't have any extractions or anything like that. They did clip my nails which aren't easy to find with all my fur. For a whole lot of dollars Mummy said I should be in tip top shape! But Mum said I am worth a million bucks, so a couple of hundred is just a drop in the bucket!

Look What We Grew!

Mum planted a lot of veggies this last summer and she dug up the last of the potatoes this afternoon. There were 11 pounds of potatoes in the raised bed (and we are not entirely sure she got them all) and she found two that look like Mr. Potato (in his younger days we think). She added some eyes and voila(!) Mr. Potato Head and his brother, Teddy Tuber are alive and living in our kitchen. Cooper started licking them and I think was going to make a snack but Mum nipped that in the bud (or eye). BOL!

Snowing!

We love snow and it doesn't often come to visit us. This morning after Mum took her early morning walk it began to snow. She went to work to get the work she needs to do today so she can stay home with us. Unfortunately the snow has stopped and now it is just mush, but while it came down, we were stoked!

Cooper likes to eat the snow off the deck but I like to check it out in the yard. It made it hard to find my Kong Wubee but eventually I found it and Mum threw it.

Then it was time for naps by the fire!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

So we are camping out by the fireplace and napping until the rain and cold passes by our part of the country!

Home Again!

Mum bought this atrocious fence-thing for the car which made Coop and moi sit in the back and gave us no access to the front of the car. This was incredibly rude of Mum and I found it quite depressing. Unfortunately, Coop was not able to stand with me on this one. Just as I was showing him how to give Mummy the stink-eye, he completely lost interest and fell asleep. How worthless is that? It made my job must more difficult but fortunately our cousin, Benny, did his best to make up for the lack of energy on Cooper's part.

Mummy drove most of the way home and we hit a sandstorm in Arizona before we crossed over to California. It has probably made Mum's air filter one gummy mess, but it kept the car going and none of us opened a window or anything silly like that. It made the sky pretty dirty but before we knew it, the storm was gone.

We drove a long, long way and made it all the way to Yreka, California before we stopped for the night. The pass was a mess with snow and ice and Mummy and Uncle Anthony said we needed to sleep and make a start in the morning. The Best Western Hotel only had one room left and we had to all sleep in one bed, two people and three dogs. I slept between Mum and Uncle Anthony, Cooper slept just above me so he could have his head on the pillow and Cousin Benny slept under the covers next to Uncle Anthony. It was a zoo.

It is good to be home but we miss Dad a lot. Mum has been cleaning the kitchen and a lot of the house like a maniac which is troubling. It means a lot of our best toys are going into the dishwasher to be cleaned which means all the good smells go away. To retaliate, Coop and I took two rolls of toilet paper out of the bathroom last night and destroyed them. Unfortunately, Mum has a sinus infection so her reactions wasn't worth the effort. Tomorrow is another day.

In Arizona and Totally Confused!

So the next thing we know, Mum has us backed into the car with our cousin, Benny, a dachsund. We picked up Benny in the morning and then we were off down the road to parts unknown. Mum spent a lot of time saying "Stay Back!" when we tried to get into the front seat. Our Uncle Anthony was co-pilot and made sure there was plenty of Red Bull to drink. It was raining in Oregon and Mum said we even had horizontal rain at times with snowflakes. The first night we made Bakersfield, California because we drove until 8:00pm. Mum seemed a bit tired and Uncle Anthony was just happy to get out of the car and move again! BOL!

The next day we set off again. Mum and Uncle Anthony were really tired because Cousin Benny and I barked our fool heads off most of the night at any little noise we heard. Coop seemed a bit tired as well and he tucked into Benny's bed and slept most of the day. We made lots of potty spots and water. Mum said we needed to drink more water than usual because of the change in temperature.

By 6:30pm we were pulling into Happy Trails where Mum and Dad have our house and we jumped all over Dad. It was a great time and we were really happy to be home, although totally confused as to where exactly we were. I tried to stay awake and play but before long I had fallen asleep on the couch with my walking vest on.

The next day, Dad and Mum took Cooper and me to the Dog Park in Surprise, Arizona. It was sooo much fun! We ran around and chased tennis balls while Mum talked to new friends, some of whom live at Happy Trails.

When we need to go outside, Mummy takes us outside and down the lane to the dog run that Happy Trails has and we sniff the tumbleweeds and leave messages. The cactus are kind of confusing, so sharp and so un-pee'd upon! Cooper is a lot of braver and barges right into the cactus but I choose to skirt the issue.

Christmas was great! Cooper waited for Santa but fell asleep before he came. Mum took us to the Dog Park again and we played with 5 West Highland Terriers who were great fun. There were three pugs, a greyhound and a bunch of other dogs too.

We will be leaving the day after tomorrow to return to Oregon which will be sad because we have to say good-bye to Dad but we will see him again soon. Mum and Uncle Anthony will try and be home by Friday so Mummy has a couple of days to get things organized before she goes back to work.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday and a Happy New Year!

Going on a Road Trip

In just a few days Mum and Cooper and I will be driving down to Arizona to spend Christmas with Dad and to learn all about the desert. Coop and I have never been out of Oregon so this will be a big driving adventure with Mum. We have to get the car ready with our toy basket, our traveling water bowl, our dog food, treats, a bed and bones to chew on. Mum says we will stop at almost every rest stop for a short walk to stretch all our legs (there are ten legs between the three of us) and have a pee-pee break.

There is a bad weather coming so we are going to leave a day early so we can get to the Siskyou Pass before the storm arrives. Once we are through the Pass, it is smooth sailing down to Arizona. We may get to stop in and see Uncle Alex in Bishop, California if he has not already left on a business trip. We sure hope so.

Tomorrow is my third birthday but Mum says we won’t celebrate until we are with Dad. I think this is a good idea. I am sure Dad will have lots of presents for me. I need to email and let him know that he does not have to wrap them, just make sure there are lots of squeaker toys to rip up.

Cooper and I have been sleeping on the bed every night with Mum. It is really nice but I am not sure we get to do that in Arizona. Mum says she is bringing beds for us because we have to sleep on the floor. Well, we will have a lot of exploring to do so I guess maybe we can sleep in our own beds.

Christmas Cards - A Time for Indoor Snow!

So Mum was being so boring tonight sitting at the kitchen table doing the family Christmas cards. I sat under her chair with my head on her foot but didn't get much attention from her. She seemed driven to get them done - she is a terrible procrastinator (not!). I kept telling her we could do it tomorrow or even next week. But she kept saying "shush!" because she was listening to The Golden Compass on her iPod. I hate it when the pawrents multi-task like that!

Eventually Mum realized it was incredibly quiet in the house...in fact, too quiet for that matter. She got up very quietly and looked down the hallway and Cooper had taken a roll of toilet paper out of the bathroom and was destroying it in the hallway. It was great! Just like snow inside the house. Mum started laughing and laughing until she cried! That was all the encouragement I needed and I took off like a rocket and grabbed the roll and brought it into the living room for a fight to the death. It was no contest and I had the toilet roll on the ropes and down for the count in no time.

Cooper meanwhile did some clean-up work in the hallway and then made his way into the living room to find the remnants of what was once the roll of toilet paper. I find once the battle is over I have no further need to the remains. Cooper, on the other hand, enjoys actually eating the enemy and leaving very little trace of the former evil alien once known as "TP". So Coop tossed a bunch of the toilet paper around and then sat and had a short snack of what was left.

The Christmas cards? Oh, Mum never did get those done! Aroooo! BOL!

One dead toilet roll 12-11-2007

Cousin Lou, A Big Cat

Mum went and visited our Uncle Andy and met his cat Lou. Uncle Andy works for the Oregon Zoo which makes him our favorite uncle. They have all sorts of wonderful poop at the Zoo and Uncle Andy has access to it all! Cooper keeps hoping that Uncle Andy will send us a kangaroo but I told Coop that packaging a roo to send is almost an impossibility. But I am pretty sure they have a lot of fish there and probably some small rodents. Anyway, Uncle Andy doesn’t actually work with all the animals but more on the Zoo Lights which is a HUGE display at Christmas and other times of the year. Uncle Andy does all the programming and design with the help of volunteers. Uncle Andy says his volunteers are great.

Anyway, Uncle Andy works out of a HUGE warehouse in NW Portland where they keep all the forms and lights. And he saw this man practically stomp this cat, Lou, to death. Fortunately Lou got away and hid in the warehouse and Uncle Andy has been taking care of him ever since. Lou eats two cans of wet fud every day and he has a lot of fur. He also has a lot of mats in his fur but in the spring Uncle Andy is going to get Lou a haircut and get rid of those mats. Right now it is too cold to do that and Lou doesn’t seem to be bothered with his mats.

We think Uncle Andy has a heart of gold to take in Lou. After all, who takes in a 14 year old stray cat that looks like a bad rug? So if we don’t get a roo for Christmas, at least we know Lou got what he wanted for the holiday, a new home where he is loved.

Check out Uncle Andy's Zoo Lights!

Cooper On-Line

I was watching Mum and Dozer play ball and Mummy thought I struck a rather regal pose and got the camera out. Normally I am not a camera hound but I have to agree, I do look pretty good! Dozer was a bit miffed but he got ball time so who cares?

Softest Paws in the West

Mum took this picture of Coop's paws this afternoon. He fell asleep in front of the electric fire and was making z's so she got a quick snap. Cooper does not like posing for the camera like moi; he must have had a bad experience somewhere along the line with a flash attachment. But Mummy loves his paws and the soft fur he cultivates there. Naturally as a Corgi, and a working dog, I can't be messing with groomers and having my hair done like the Coop does. But I guess it does look pretty soft.

Christmas is Coming, Send Us Chukars!

We just found out that Pat Wray (below) is an author on how to hunt and kill chukars. We aren't sure what chukars are per se, but if they have feathers and wings, they sound tasty. So we decided we would put a link to his book here on our blog and perhaps Mr. Wray will send us some of those chukars. No need to de-feather as such, we can handle that here at home. Of course Mum will be slightly peeved if she comes in from work and the house is full of feathers, but a present is a present and we will have eaten the evidence before she rolls in.

And speaking of Christmastide, Mum finally got around to getting a Christmas card organized! Both Coop and I have been posing all over the place and Mum was not catching the hint at all! Finally I got the calendar down for Coop to chew on and Mum caught the hint. She went to Shutterfly (the photoshop of choice for Dogster groupies) and ordered a bizillion cards with my picture on it! How cool is that? Cooper doesn't really care because Mum also created a collage poster of us and he got to star in that. Check out our card below. Mum did a pretty good job if I say so myself.

Advertising Me Blog

Technorati Profile

Mum thought it might be a good idea for us to get on the search engines so she has signed up with Technorati which was recommended.

Pat Wray's Article on the Parade

What waddles around, comes around
By Pat Wray

I occasionally poke a little fun at people in print. It is my nature, and I justify it because my barbs imbed themselves in me far more often than in other people.Nonetheless, a few of my targets take it personally. I suspect them of an overly developed sense of self-importance, or perhaps strict toilet training.

Most people respond with good humor and poke right back in letters to the editor and e-mails. But very few poke with the light-hearted efficiency of the Corgis of the Willamette Valley.

Last year, while writing about the Corvallis Christmas Parade, I mentioned that the corgi owners showed a great deal of courage by appearing in public with their short-legged dwarf dogs, a friendly sideways swipe I thought would elicit a smile or two.

Adele Ullman, leader of the corgi crowd, sent me a pleasant riposte, which was followed by a dozen more e-mail daggers from corgi companions across the country.Members of the corgi clique, it turns out, take their dogs very seriously. Luckily, they don’t take themselves nearly as seriously.More than half of the e-mails I received shared stories highlighting the writers’ own dog-related wackiness, while emphasizing their pets’ absolute perfection.

Adele felt I had unfairly insulted their noble animals and thus owed the group penance. She mentioned walking with the corgi clan in the Fourth of July Parade.“Darn!” I said. “I will be out of the country then. I’m sure sorry. I always wanted to walk in a parade with corgis. Oh, the disappointment!”

For the next 10 months, my mind was corgi-free. But then came November and, with it, an e-mail reminder from Adele that I still owed Corgi Nation some sort of atonement.

Who would have thought corgi cohorts would possess such long memories? But having once agreed, I felt morally bound to take part. I was to walk, as it turned out, at the head of their parade contingent, wearing a Santa hat and carrying a sign: “I love corgis.” This in lieu, I suppose, of being placed on a rack.I searched far and wide for a good disguise, but settled, in the end, for hiding behind my seasonal blond beard. OK, it’s light blond.I learned a lot while standing there on Washington Avenue with the corgi contingent, waiting for the parade to begin.

Adele explained that corgis were developed in Wales to replace border collies. The collies were being kicked regularly by unhappy cattle so the Welsh decided to breed a herding dog so short the cattle couldn’t kick them.I believe it. That is, I believe she believes it.A more likely scenario, if you ask me, is that a mad 19th century geneticist, fresh from his work developing tumbling pigeons and fainting goats, decided to breed legless dogs.When asked why, he would cackle wildly and say, “To crawl in after ground squirrels and force them to the surface, where we can stew and eat them, har, har, har!”

So, while the corgi coterie thinks of their dogs as the successful end of a long breeding effort, I suspect they are simply a hesitation on the downward trajectory of the evolutionary elevator. Next stop: a belly covered in scales and an undulating slither.Naturally, I did not mention this theory to the corgi cabal. They were busy by then following behind their dogs as the little animals waddled from one side to the other of Fourth Street, visiting every smiling child under the age of 90.

Perhaps that is the fundamental truth about corgis: It is not possible to look at them without smiling. And corgis love smiles; they gravitate toward them, use corgi magic to expand them, then share them back around to the rest of the crowd.Corgis don’t even mind if you are laughing at them, because they know they have the last laugh. No matter who’s leading, who’s following or who’s holding the leash, corgis are in charge.

Pat Wray is a free-lance writer and longtime local resident. His general-interest columns can be found in this section on Fridays.

Corgi Christmas Parade

The day after Thanksgiving was the annual Corvallis Christmas Parade, celebrating 150 years of Corvallis. Naturally, Mum signed me up for the Willamette Corgi Group float and she was off throughout the day helping make the float, working on my costume and attending to my needs. This is a picture of me pre-Parade before we got ready to leave the house. I was already overwhelmed with the paraphenalia I was required to wear - walking vest, 2 Christmas collars, etc.

We joined about 29 other Corgis at the staging area at a little after 5pm and then had over 2 hours before the actual event started. It is hard to be a diva when you have to wait so long. But there were alot of butts to smell and alot of people, including our local columnist, Pat Wray, who wrote a rather un-flattering column piece about Corgis last year...something about us being short. Anyway, he has a great sense of humor and agreed to walk with us. We had young Corgis, old Corgis and even disabled Corgis. Mr. Wray met them all and was very nice to all the pawrents as well. Which was a good thing since our group won 2 awards! Best use of Lights and something else, I can't remember. So, finally, the parade starts and by this time, I am cold and tired but I put my best paw forward and march on. I let Mr. Wray walk with me for a bit but eventually he struck out on his own so I could be more accessible to the crowds.

It was all good fun but by the end of the 9 blocks I was exhausted and ready to go home. I definitely did not want any more small hands patting me or telling me how soft I was. Mum sensed my unease and moved me to the center of the pack and we nipped right over to the parking lot where we were going to take the float apart. She parked me against a pole and make sure no one could abscond with me by tying my leash securely around the post and putting my lap blanket under and around me so I wouldn't chill.

Dad found us with the car and he and Mum tucked me into the front seat with my blanket while they helped put the float to bed for the year. By the time we got home I was frapp'd out and exhausted and in a very bad mood. I attacked my brother Cooper for no reason and bit his ear which was a most unpleasant episode and earned me a very long talk outside with Dad (who never hits but can make me feel very bad by telling me what a bad boy I am while making me lie on my back with my paws in in the air). Anyway, Cooper forgave me and Mum looked at me with very sad eyes, so I just went to bed.

It is so hard being a Corgi during the holidays. I think the pressure got to me but fortunately I got a lot of hugs over the long weekend and I am improving my behavior. I am not growling at Cooper when I am jealous and I am going "down" automatically when Mum says I can have a treat. She says no "freebies", I have to earn all my treats from now on. Well, I am a Corgi, I can do this - I have to have treats, that isn't even negotiable!

Dear Santa Claws

Dear Santa Claws,

I am writing on behalf of myself and my brother Cooper this year. Coop can’t type as well as I can. (And I think he enjoys dictating to me and I definitely enjoy editing his comments.)

I have a short list of wishes I want to ask of you.

1. I would like a large jar of the Sweet Potato Treats just for me. The extra large treats would be great and if you could write “These are just for Dozer” on the jar, that would be helpful.

2. I would like a tartan walking vest, preferably in Royal Stewart, for my special walks in parades or during my club visits during the winter. I belong to the Willamette Corgi Club here in Oregon and there are about 30 of us who do the annual Christmas parade and summer picnic. The Cardigan corgis always lord it over us that they have tails and we Welsh Pembroke corgis have bunny butts. A nice walking vest would make them think twice about their bragging rights.

3. And finally, I would like a big, meaty cow bone to gnaw on. Better get one for Cooper too so we don’t fight. I would prefer a really greasy bone, with a bunch of marrow. If it smells stinky, so much the better. If it is large enough to roll on so I smell just like it, that would be perfect. If you can’t get me a bone, I would like a cow pie to roll in. A nice, steamy, smelly one would be heaven.

Here is Cooper’s list:

Hello Mr. Santa,

My name is Cooper and my brother says you bring toys and treats to animals at Christmastide each year. Last year you found me my forever family and got me out the Greenhill Shelter for good. I thought when Greenhill saved me from being euthanized at another shelter it could not get much better, but the family you found me is even more wonderful. So I don’t think I should ask for anything more but Dozer says that this is what we are supposed to do, so I have a short list of wants.

1. I would like a kangaroo to keep in the backyard. I listened to the Discovery Channel and they said that roos are fairly agreeable animals and can poop up a storm. I love to eat poop and I think kangaroo poop would be a delicacy.

2. I would enjoy a glass of wine occasionally, preferably a perky Merlot. Mum says dogs cannot drink alcohol but I love wine and sneak sips when Mum leaves her glass unattended.

3. My brother Dozer is three years old and I am eight now. Could I have a heated bed if they are not too expensive? Mum gives me vitamins and joint medicine but sometimes I think sleeping on a heated bed would feel so good on my weary bones.

4. And my last request is not something you can give but something you could do. Could you put a gold star by my pawrents’ names on your list of good people so they get presents? They have spent a lot of money on me in the last year and I am an old dog. Most folks would not have have had my teeth fixed or spent so much money having the vet get my ears well and make sure I was healthy. I do not have any money to pay my pawrents back and Mum says I am worth a million dollars to her. I don’t know why but she seems to think I am something pretty special.

Thank you Santa Claws and have a nice holiday.