Well, it's as I suspected!

Just as I suspected, the new puppies are getting all the attention and Jodie and I are getting squat. I'm a little tired of playing second fiddle to a bunch of half pint pups. They can't see. They can't hear. They can't even walk. And another thing..........the folks are going into OUR cookie box to give Sandy a cookie............so there.

Hold on Cuckoo.....opps.....I mean Coco, are you getting less attention than you usually do?

Well, no, but any attention they give Sandy and the pups they could be giving to me.

You know that the folks are not petting us constantly or giving us cookies all the time. I'm still getting my share of attention and cookies.

Yeah??? Well, they could be giving us more.

I don't see how you can say that. You're getting all the attention you used to get and you're getting all the food and cookies you used to get. You shouldn't complain.

Well, if the new dogs are getting attention and cookies, there has to be a change someplace.

I agree with you there, but did you notice how little TV they watched last night and today? Did you notice that Dad didn't do any reading in his reading chair last night or today? Did you notice that Mom didn't do anything in the yard today? So yes, things have changed a little, but not in the way they treat us or feel about us. Does Sandy get to lie on Dad's bed? Of course not. Have you seen her in our room? Definitely not!

OK, I think I'm starting to understand. When I go up to Dad when he's at the computer, he still takes the time to give me some scratching, and Sandy NEVER comes into his computer room.

And where do you see the puppies? Are they running around causing all kinds of trouble?

OK, the answer is no. They can only crawl around their cage. They don't eat cookies and they don't actually demand attention.

Did you happen to notice that we get all our cookies at the normal times, AND if Dad gives Sandy a cookie, we automatically get another one, too?

Is that true or are you making it up. Remember, I'm not as dumb as I look.

Oh, I KNOW you're not as dumb as you look, but you're getting pretty close.

Huh???

Exactly!!!

More Dogs

Jodie and I get in the pool almost every day. Sometimes we play fetch first and sometimes we don't. It doesn't really matter as long as we get in the pool.

The pool is nice and I have to agree with Coco, but it's not just the pool, it's the whole spa experience, chasing the ball in the pool, running around the pool paying "chase me", and then getting the blow dry and towel rub. "Ahhhh it sure feels good on these old muscles.

Saturday we were left alone while Dad and Mom took Keaton and Kyle down to watch their cousins play football in Brandon. This I don't understand! Keaton and Kyle are Dad and Mom's grandsons, yet they are not related to me. They say I'm related to Keaton and Kyle's dog Patches. Now, how can that be???

Don't think about it too hard Coco, you'll strain something. Much more important is the news that we now have ten more Labs in the house! Yes, that is correct. Mom and Dad drove off today, just the two of them, and when they returned there were ten more Labs in the back of the Jeep. We got to meet Sandy and her nine pups.

Yup, they did this last year and we had a lot of other dogs in the house for a while. They were a hoot, but all too quickly they were gone.

Yes, that's true, just as we got attached to them, they were given to other people in new homes. This time we're trying to be a little aloof, but it's going to be hard as Sandy is a real dear. You can see her and the pups below.

She seems to have a great disposition and personality, but as you can see, she really has her....er........hands full. In this picture the pups are only four days old, but they crawl around pretty good and they really yelp if they can't get in the chow line.

I think that you will find that Jodie and I will have a lot of comment to make in coming weeks as the puppies get bigger and start to stink.

What do you mean, "start to stink"? They are PUPPIES and they are cute, but they have to do what they have to do and you shouldn't complain.

OK, I won't complain as long as nobody blames me.

With Coco here, it might be a LONG eight weeks, folks. More later.

Home again in Twenty Ten

It was a rather LONG trip that we were on for sooooo long and I'm glad to be back in my own yard with my own toys and my own pool. We have gotten into a ritual of swimming every day. First Dad or Mom takes us outside where we run into the woods to take cawer of business before we get into the pool.

Yeah, and yesterday morning we chased three deer out of the yard.

That's true, but I was talking about swimming.

Yes, we've been swimming almost every day and having a BALL. Below you can see Jodie getting ready to grab a toy I got off the bottom of the pool. That's the only way she can get a toy that has sunk, because she can't retrieve off the bottom.



Just shows what you know, Coco. I don't get the toys off the bottom because it would get the top of my head wet. However, I will play "chase" and "Tug" for ever if you would only give it a try.



Chase and tug are boring! Unless it's Dad or Mom throwing the ball some distance. Then it's fun. Chasing you around because you have something in your mouth doesn't interest me in the LEAST, unless is food. Below is a picture of me fetching something off the bottom. Here I'm pretending to be a submarine.



Below is another picture of Coco as she makes contact with the underwater toy. I think this is Coco's best side.

You are one perverted pooch!



Here are the two of us swimming together .....more or less. Coco is retrieving a toy and I'm the official escort in these underwater missions.



OK, ok, I admit that I'm running out of steam for a minute. Dad throws a bunch of toys in the pool, so it take me many trips to get them all back on the deck. Them he'll come by and throw them in again. I could do this all day, except I get tired and when he thinks I'm tired, the game is over.



Yes, this is when he sprays us with the hose to get the chlorine off, and I kind of like that.

And then he blow dries us with the hose from his air compressor, and we both REALLY like that. In fact, after he blows all the water off me, he starts on Jodie, then I stand right beside her and let him blow the water off her and back on me. then he can blow the water off me again.

Well, Dodo, have you noticed that after he does you he shoos you away so he doesn't have to do you again.

No, I thought that he wanted to give me a towel rubdown and put me inside because he likes me.

Well, I'm sure he likes both of us, but if we kept taking turns sitting beside each other and kept getting wet, we'd never get in the house.

So.......what's your point?

Eventually, we're miss supper!

A very good point!

Hey Riggs, The water's great and there is room for at least one more Lab. C'mon down.

A visit with Riggs and then Home Again.

Well, folks, we're back home in Florida and it's a good thing that Dad got the pool ready so fast as it is very hot. These may be the dog days of summer, but to me and Coco, our days are either in the pool or in the air conditioning.

We were not able to post earlier as our posting person was unable to use the computer for a few days. He finally had a technician here today to solve the problem. Know what??? The problem was that Dad disconnected the cable before we went on vacation and forgot to reconnect it when we got back.

Geez Coco, I don't think we were supposed to tell anyone. Dad was quite embarrassed when the man pointed out the problem.

If he was too stupid to miss the connection, he'll never catch on to this.

I think you are walking a fine line........again.

Oh, well, back to our story. On the way home from way up north we stopped in Missouri to see Riggs. You may have seen a picture or two on our blog before, but this time we actually got to meet Riggs and he is a HUNK!!!! If I wasn't spayed.............

Yes, I agree, Riggs is a very handsome specimen of a Labrador Retreiver, but he is also an awesome swimmer. This is Riggs below.

This is my first meeting with Riggs and I was a little cowed. He is such an active dog and so handsome. I was overwhelmed on so many levels.

I consider myself to be a VERY good swimmer and Coco is no slow poke in the water either. We couldn't begin to compete with Riggs. He's so fast in the water that he's more like an otter than a dog. With his bulging muscles and big paws, he easily beat us to any of the toys.

This is Jodie, slowly paddling back with a ball.

And this is me and Coco coming back to shore.

Coco likes to drop the ball where Dad can't get it. It's so funny to see him chasing the ball, too.

Another shot of me and Jodie.

Jodie has the ball in this picture, but Riggs and I are closing in. I think Jodie spit it out before we could catch her.

And here I am alone with Riggs. There is some talk about him coming to Florida in the Fall and I hope it works out. I want to see if Riggs will jump in the pool. I really leap in the pool to fetch a toy. but Jodie will only go in at the steps. I'll have to wait and see.

Going in at the steps is the lady-like way to enter the pool. Jumping in like some out-of-control mad dog isn't something to brag about.

I guess some of us are braver than others, the way some of us ride in the motorhome better than others.

Are you going to bring up the time I looked to you for comfort?

Of course!

Same old same old!

Not much to report from the dogs point of view. Yesterday we rode and rode and rode. And I got more agitated as the day progressed. I have no idea what is wrong, but I get so nervous riding in the motorhome.

Yes, Jodie, you do. You huff and puff and huff and puff some more. You can see how easily I ride. If I'm not actively navigating at the window, I'm asleep someplace. In fact, I know you know that I'm comfortable and sleeping because you come and lay on me.

Well, that's true. Mom won't let me on her lap and the steering wheel prevents me from getting on Dad's lap, and I don't like to be on the couch by myself, so I look to you for comfort.

Comfort? Is that what you call it, comfort? Phooey, you just flop all over me, and sometimes you hurt me, that's why I snap at you.

If I understand correctly, we have only 4 or 5 more days of travel. Then we'll be back home with the free run of the yard with no leashes. Free dips in the pool with no time limits. And NO RIDING!!!!

What do you mean "no riding"? When Dad asks who wants to go for a ride you are the first one in the car.

That's different!

How?

It just is........so there.

Back in the States, Lower 48, that is.

Hello all, Coco and I are back in the ole US of A. How is that different than Canada or Alaska? I don't know. I know the days are shorter, but they are also warmer. Heck, Dad has been in shors and tee shirt the last few days.

This is really a note to Riggs, and our other four legged friends. Riggs, because he has been getting inti mischief. The biggest problem I see with Riggs is that he is just not sneaky enough. I know that it's easier for me because I have Jodie to share the blame, but also, when there are more than one dog, the folks can't REALLY be sure who was being bad. Though sometimes it's just too obvious.

Like the time Coco ate all the plastic stuffing from a toy. Did she ever get bound up! Had to spend the night at the vets where they gave her great doses of laxatives. She was able to go in the nick of time as they were getting ready to operate.

And what about the time Jodie snagged something she shouldn't have. She was in dire straits. It was another late night visit to the vets. A couple of hours and $500.00 later, it was just gas.

And, we're not counting the chicken parts that disappeared from the counter. At home, the folks eat at the kitchen counter, which is much higher than a table, so we can't see much. In the motorhome the table is below my eye level so I can see all that's there, and therein lies the trouble. Mom cooked breakfast on day and served Dad at the table. His plate was only a few inches from the edge. Dad leaned to his left to get something off the seat and without thinking I just reached over his dish and had a taste of his eggs. WAS HE TICKED OFF!!! I just had a taste of the eggs and I never touched the toast or the bacon. Would he finish his breakfast? NO! He ended up splitting it between me and Coco. If he didn't really want it in the first place, why make such a fuss.

When I first came into the Tempesta household, Jodie had a large number of stuffed toys. I just love to chew on stuffed toys and in only a few days I had destroyed them all. Well, actually they we're not destroyed, but some of the stuffing was coming out and that's what I was eating. So...just as soon a toy developed a leak, u=it was thrown away. Not really my fault.

No, Riggs, you are a dog, a special dog, a Lab. We like a dog with a little pizazz, a little life. You've just got to learn how to be sneaky. If Sam and Donna got you another dog, it would be a lot easier. Hang in there.

Back in the States, Lower 48, that is.

Hello all, Coco and I are back in the ole US of A. How is that different than Canada or Alaska? I don't know. I know the days are shorter, but they are also warmer. Heck, Dad has been in shors and tee shirt the last few days.

This is really a note to Riggs, and our other four legged friends. Riggs, because he has been getting inti mischief. The biggest problem I see with Riggs is that he is just not sneaky enough. I know that it's easier for me because I have Jodie to share the blame, but also, when there are more than one dog, the folks can't REALLY be sure who was being bad. Though sometimes it's just too obvious.

Like the time Coco ate all the plastic stuffing from a toy. Did she ever get bound up! Had to spend the night at the vets where they gave her great doses of laxatives. She was able to go in the nick of time as they were getting ready to operate.

And what about the time Jodie snagged something she shouldn't have. She was in dire straits. It was another late night visit to the vets. A couple of hours and $500.00 later, it was just gas.

And, we're not counting the chicken parts that disappeared from the counter. At home, the folks eat at the kitchen counter, which is much higher than a table, so we can't see much. In the motorhome the table is below my eye level so I can see all that's there, and therein lies the trouble. Mom cooked breakfast on day and served Dad at the table. His plate was only a few inches from the edge. Dad leaned to his left to get something off the seat and without thinking I just reached over his dish and had a taste of his eggs. WAS HE TICKED OFF!!! I just had a taste of the eggs and I never touched the toast or the bacon. Would he finish his breakfast? NO! He ended up splitting it between me and Coco. If he didn't really want it in the first place, why make such a fuss.

When I first came into the Tempesta household, Jodie had a large number of stuffed toys. I just love to chew on stuffed toys and in only a few days I had destroyed them all. Well, actually they we're not destroyed, but some of the stuffing was coming out and that's what I was eating. So...just as soon a toy developed a leak, u=it was thrown away. Not really my fault.

No, Riggs, you are a dog, a special dog, a Lab. We like a dog with a little pizazz, a little life. You've just got to learn how to be sneaky. If Sam and Donna got you another dog, it would be a lot easier. Hang in there.