WE’RE BAAACCCCKKK

 

JODIE: Home again, that is. We’d have posted sooner but we had a hard time getting the Dad (notice I didn’t call him the Old Man) off his ass-ignments. He’s keeping pretty busy with the motorhome.

COCO: That’s not true! He has been staying in his room reading and muttering about how cold it is here and how warm it still is in Playa Del Carmen.

SANDY: I think that Coco is right this time. Dad has been puttering around the house and he has been moping, but until yesterday, he really didn’t do much on the motorhome.

JODIE: OK, ok. I just didn’t want to make Dad look too bad. He got the cover off the pool quite a long time ago, but I don’t know why it took us so long to get back in the pool.

COCO: Well, Dad feels the cold a lot more then the rest of us. Unlike Mom or us, his fur is a little light on top.

SANDY: Light on top? He’s BALD!!!

COCO: Exactly, but I was a bit more diplomatic. That’s part of the reason he’s always cold. He probably thinks that the water and the weather was too cold for us to go in the pool. After all, it’s not the warm water of that beach in Mexico. At least we got in the water today.

 

Here I am pulling in a double! I think that before the summer is over I’ll be able to get a triple!

Here’s Jodie running around the pool because Dad is chasing her. I like to keep fetching the ball, so I keep bringing it back and dropping it at Mom or Dad’s feet. They throw and I fetch. I could do it all day. Sandy likes to get a special ball and keep it in her mouth all day. That results in such a gooey ball that Jodi and I have no interest in it and Mom and Dad don’t really want to touch it.  Jodie has her own agenda. She likes to take something and have Dad chase her to try to take it away. Her favorite  toy is a set of rings, but almost anything will do, as long as Dad will chase her.

Here’s  Sandy with one ball in her mouth. As I said, she usually keeps the same one in her mouth all the time, but she very often has two. When Mom or Dad is throwing the ball, speedy Sandy will always get the first one. Then she will often get the second one. The third goes to Jodi and I get the fourth. The thing is, while Sandy keeps her two and Jodie runs around with hers, I keep returning my ball so that I can continue to fetch.

Sometimes Sandy doesn’t play fair. She’ll keep her favorite ball in her mouth and then when she sees mom throw my ball, she’ll leave her other ball somewhere and take mine.

Today was a great day! We played in the pool for a long time. Then Mom gave us a bath and Dad dried us off with the air compressor and rubbed us down with fluffy towels. It doesn’t get much better than that, and it’s just the beginning of the season.

That’s all for now from your local dog correspondent, Coco.

WOW!!!!! What a Christmas

COCO: Did we EVER have a GREAT Christmas!!! But, It wasn’t anything we had planned in advance.  See, Dad was in a good mood and thought that he would take us three girls for a ride to Playa. Hew made a couple of stops, each time stopping where he could park in the underground parking so we were shaded and cool.

JODIE: Yes, he is actually a pretty nice guy, but SO naïve. Still, he should have known better!

SANDY: You two are being cruel!!

COCO: Eh? You’ll get over it. I’ll start from the beginning. Dad wanted to take us for a ride. That’s simple enough to understand, right?

SANDY: OK, right, so far.

COCO: And we behaved ourselves pretty much, right?

SANDY: Well, except for Jodie always crawling onto Dad’s seat and drooling all over the window, steering wheel and the seat.

JODIE: Whoa there Sandy. Don’t take that tone with me! I ALWAYS jump in the front seat. I keep it warm for Dad.

COCO: Sure you do……and you even drool for him and rub your snout all over the window for him……gimme a break!

JODIE: Why not leave me alone and get back to your story.

COCO: OK…….so to get going, Dad opened the back of the Jeep and let us out of the camper. With great agility, we three leapt into the back of the Jeep and the trip began. It was a nice ride and we enjoyed being with Dad. As we returned, Dad mentioned “SUPPER”. Usually that really gets us going because there is NOTHING in the world more important than supper.

JODIE: Amen!

SANDY: Amen!

COCO: So now, Dad has us in a lather just waiting for our supper, or so he believes. Like Jodie said, so nice, but sooo naïve.

SANDY: Oh, boy, here comes the good part………

COCO: So Dad drove the Jeep up to the camper, got out of the car and opened the door to the camper……all the whi,e he kept mentioning “SUPPER”. I KNOW that he fully expected us to race into the motorhome for our food. SURPRISE……….SURPRISE!!! We three BOLTED for the beach!!!

SANDY: It was really a little mean…

JODIE: How can you say that, Sandy? You were in the lead!!! As I rounded the dive shop, you were already in the water!!!

SANDY: OK, ok, I admit it, I was off and running and I never looked back. I heard him yell for us and I can imagine what he looked like, standing there with his mouth wide open in disbelief.

COCO: Yessiree, it was quite a coup. I have been waiting and waiting for just such an opportunity and today fate looked down on us. AND….. we had a great time, did we not?

JODIE: Oh, we had a great time for a while. We were the center of attention on the beach until Dad arrived with the leashes.

SANDY: And the plastic bags.

COCO: Yeah, when that guy came over and told Dad that one of us had left “A DEPOSIT” near his kite-board, I could almost see the steam coming out from Dad’s ears.

SANDY: You have no compassion for the man!

COCO: I do, too, but sometimes you have to grab for the gusto.

JODIE: Perhaps, Coco, perhaps. But if you think about it, Dad and Mom always take us to the beach during the week and early in the morning, so we do not offend too many people. They also take us way down the beach where we are more secluded, except for a few people walking the beach.

COCO: Are you implying that there was something wrong with invading the beach, right in front of the restaurant, with hundreds of people , on a Christmas Day?

JODIE: I’m not IMPLYING….I’m STATING A FACT. I know, I’m in the same boat as you and Sandy and I ran to the beach also, but I suspect that this INCIDENT is going to come back to haunt us and we will not get the chance to bolt away again.

COCO: Wanna bet? We’ve done similar stunts before and eventually Dad forgets or trusts us more than he should………..and the next time that happens……I’m off. I could add that you and Sandy can join me or not, but I know and you know and I bet Sandy knows………….given the opportunity, a little opening, a lapse in Dad’s attention, and we are off, all three of us.

SANDY: Oh, now I feel so bad. I didn’t think. The door was open and I ran…………and it felt so good. It WAS nice playing with all the people in the water and having so many people take my picture.

JODIE: Well, that was our Christmas celebration. We had a nice ride in the car, a fast and furious romp to the shore, a bath, and supper. Aah, that all important supper……..Now…….I …….want……..to…….sleep.

JODIE, COCO, SANDY: Feliz Navidad!!!

Coco…….in trouble AGAIN!!!

SANDY: Don’t tell me that Coco is in trouble again!

JODIE: Of course, you know that she’s NEVER out of trouble for long. This time she has Dad a bit upset with her.

SANDY: Why is that?

JODIE: OK, do you know how you and I get to be “Walked” off leash?

SANDY: Sure…….Mom or Dad puts on the collar and leash and leads us to the road, then they unhitch the leash and off I go.

JODIE: Same here. I get to run free to “take care of business”, run a little and explore a little.

SANDY: Right, and for our Last Out before bedtime, I go out with out a collar or leash. In fact, I’m pretty sure that you do, too.

JODIE: Correct again! Do you notice that Coco ALWAYS goes out with a collar and leash, ALWAYS?

SANDY: Now that you mention it, yes. Why is that?

JODIE: The first reason is that without the leash, Coco would make a break for the beach in a heartbeat. This not MAYBE she would head for the beach this is that she MOST DEFINITLTY would head for the beach, and Mom and Dad don’t like to always be washing us off and drying us.

SANDY: OK, I get that, but I often head in the direction of the beach when I’m not on the leash myself.

JODIE: Then what happens?

SANDY: Then Mom or Dad calls me to go up the road and I turn and run up the road.

JODIE: Precisely!! That’s what I do, too. But Coco runs to another voice in her head and once she heads for the beach she is unstoppable. She puts her head down and races like a guided missile around campers, buildings, cars, whatever until she makes a bee line to the water. Then she races in the water and turns toward Mom or Dad or who ever is trying to catch her and she has this look that says “Aha, I made it and you couldn’t stop me, ha, ha.” Of course that tends to rile Mom and Dad because she will absolutely not come back until she is in the water. Now, on land, she may roam ahead a bit in the woods or trail, but when the folks say “Come”, she’ll come back. When water is in the area, she gets a bug up her butt and will only head for the water and nothing, but NOTHING will deter her.

SANDY: So, that’s why Dad’s a little cross with her the last few days?

JODIE: Oh, no! Coco went above and beyond to reach that point.

SANDY: So gimme the rest of the story.

JODIE: Well, only because you asked. We all get taken out several times a day for a pee or a poop. Right?

SANDY: Right!

JODIE: A couple of days ago, Dad walked Coco up the road and decided to try her off the leash, and Coco had a poop.

SANDY: So, that’s what I do every day.

JODIE: Let me explain. When we go out we make a poop. When Dad let Coco off the leash, she immediately went to the side of the road and HAD a poop, as in HAD a cookie, or HAD a snack.

SANDY: Surely you don’t mean that she ate………………

JODIE: That’s exactly what I mean. Now I might have had a bite of that once or twice myself, but NEVER in front of the folks, it grosses them out!

SANDY: Ugh, Ugh, Ugh, It grosses ME out. I’m kind of finicky about what I eat, and I’m gonna keep it  that way.

JODIE: Well, it seems to me that you were not quite as finicky last year at Hacienda Contreras after they got the Burro.

SANDY: As far as I’m concerned, this conversation is OVER!

JODIE: Fine, but it is what it is, like it or not!

It doesn’t get much better than this!

JODIE: I think that the girls and I have hit the jackpot here in Mexico. Most of you know that we’ve been swimming all over North America, but this place is Dog Heaven.

COCO: Yup, it’s heaven and there sure are a LOT of dogs here. Most of the dogs run free and there are no fights.

SANDY: Well, there is that little black dog that barks at us and the little brown one that bares his teeth………

JODIE: That was when we first got here, but they know us now and we all seem to get along. Some of them have been here a long time and we are new to them. Once we were introduced (sniffed) we all became friends.

SANDY: And the beach here is about as nice as a beach could be…

COCO: And the surf is….is…..fantastico! How do you like that little Mexican flair, fantastico?

JODIE: I think you’re losing it, Coco. If you think about it, we can hear English, Spanish, French, and German spoken by the people here. However, we three and all the other dogs here only speak Woof.

SANDY: Only speak Woof? How can you say that? I understand Mom and Dad when they say “cookie”, or “come”, or especially “supper”. Would we understand them if they spoke one of the other languages? They NEVER say “woof”.

COCO: Sandy has you there, Jodie. You are pretty smart, but sometimes you try to be too smart and you actually look stupid.

JODIE: OK, OK you two. I was trying to slip that one through. The truth is I do understand Mom and Dad, but I don’t understand Nicole, the French lady next door. I also don’t understand Deiter, the German guy two campers away. But I do understand what I’m supposed to. Now lets get back to the beach.

Here we are crashing through the surf!

And this is Jodi body surfing. Can you imagine what she could do on a surfboard?

And what is really great is that we will have at least another month of this. We wish all our friends, Riggs, Patch, Sadie, Tucker, and all the rest could be here with us. There is enough beach here for all of us, and then some. Woof at ya again.

We know it’s been awhile

JODIE: Yes, it HAS been a while since we last posted and it has been VERY difficult for the three of us. After Isla Aguada, where we had a SWELL time, our swimming opportunities just dried up.

COCO: Dried up? Our swimming stopped completely! Our next stop was Progreso, Yucatan. We were in a campground just two blocks from the beach and yet we never got to see the water.

SANDY: That’s not true, Coco. We could see the water from the camper window as we approached the coast.

COCO: Would you like a couple of fat lips? You know what I mean. We never got to the beach to swim and play ball.

SANDY: Heck, Coco, don’t get so insulted. I was only pulling your leg.

JODIE: Oh, I thought you were pulling all four of ‘em.

COCO: Make fun of me if you want, but the truth is that we didn’t get to a beach or lake in a long time. I would languish (like that word?) in the motorhome, pining for a day at the beach. I had to settle for a walk from time to time and that was all.

JODIE: I heard Mom and Dad talking about it. When Dad went into town to get something, Mom took a walk to the beach with Robb and Percilla. She told Dad that the beach was no place to take us because of all the rocks and broken glass. They actually look out for us, you know!

SANDY: Well, I don’t want any cut feet or broken bones. I love the beach, but I don’t want to get hurt.

COCO: Yeah, I know, but I get cabin fever if I spend two much time alone with you two. We spent almost a week in Progreso and never got to swim. Then we went to Chicken Pizza and we didn’t get to go swimming there either, but Mom put on her bathing suit and came home wet.

JODIE: Yes, Coco, I noticed that too and I was waiting for her to take us someplace to swim, but it didn’t happen, Oh, by the way, the place is Chichen Itza. It’s a famous old Mayan ruins.

SANDY: Well, it’s all in the past. We’re camped near Cancun and we’ve been to the beach twice. A couple of days ago and again today.

COCO: Yes, wasn’t it an odd day today? I saw Mom gathering towels and our leashes, and Dad getting our water dish and a cooler. He opened the back of the Jeep and in we went. As he started up the street I KNEW that we were headed for that same beautiful beach.

JODIE: Sure, but your wild, out-of-control, ear shattering whine almost had Dad turn back. That noise is not making it any easier for Dad to take us somewhere.

SANDY: And we didn’t even go to the beach, at least not then. Dad drove into a parking lot near the water, but there was a fence between us and the water. In a little while a man motioned for Dad to drive forward and he DID! Right onto a BOAT. There were other cars and some trucks and some men in uniforms and we waited on the boat for a while.

This is the boat and all those cars are coming off to make room for us. We were heading for Isla Mujeres and the beautiful beaches there! You know how I am about noises, well after a while the whole boat started to tremble and shake, and so did I. I would have liked to be under Dad’s legs, but that wasn’t going to happen.

JODIE: And soon we were at the island. Now, we could see the water and the island is very small, so Dad started driving down one side of the island looking for the beautiful beaches. We didn’t see any as all the land between the road and the water was privately owned by people or hotels or resorts. Dad came to the end of the island and headed up the other coast.

COCO: JOY!!! The waves were breaking as big waves washed to shore. At first there was no place to park and then Dad pulled over and Mom went down to check the water. She said NO!!! Too dangerous for the dogs! Jagged coral rocks that would tear our feet and break our bones.

 

SANDY: Ooh, the thought of torn feet and broken bones scares me. I’d hate to get hurt on vacation.

COCO: Big deal, you’re afraid of almost everything anyway. But to continue, Dad drove up this coast and all of it was the same, rocks, rocks ,rocks. He got to the north end of the island, but it was not easy. There were a bunch of roads that showed up on his navigation thingy, but we would suddenly come to a dead end. But we got as far as we could and started back done the first coast again. We saw some AWESOME beaches, but they were for people only. Can you imagine? They could have a LOT more fun playing with a dog.

JODIE: Long story,short, we ended up back at  the boat which I believe they call a ferry. It was supposed to have already returned to the mainland, but had been delayed for some reason. Dad turned into the lot and asked an hombre (that’s Mexican for man) if there was still time and he said yes. So we were back on the ferry and having another ocean voyage.

COCO: Here comes the good part. When we got off the boat, Dad didn’t turn to go back to the campground, but turned the OTHER way. I was puzzled at first because we were a bit forlorn at not going to a beach, but soon I recognized the road.

SANDY: Yes, she certainly did, and she started again with the whines and squeaks of a mad dog .  If there was another dog on or near the road, Coco would raise such a ruckus!!! Mom and Dad were becoming angry and Jodie and I were becoming deaf. When she gets into that mind set, she is OUT OF CONTROL!

JODIE: In spite of Coco’s lunacy, we got to the beach OK, and we did have a marvelous time.

So, you can see that we were having a marvelous time. Finally we were worn out, me more than the other two. We went back to the camper and got an after ocean bath and were towel dried. After we had supper, we were three zonked girls. I think that the dry spell for swimming is over as I think our route in the foreseeable future is down the coast staying at ocean front campgrounds.

SANDY: I think you’re right. We should be seeing more frequent swimming, but Coco is in hyper mode at the beach and she gets sore in her back end, so if we have a busy day, like today, we probably will not be visiting a beach tomorrow.

JODIE: That suits me just fine. I’m not a spring puppy anymore.

SANDY: Well, I’m the mother of nine, so I’m not a spring puppy either!

COCO: Ugh…….wimps!

 

More and more of the same

COCO: Yup, same ole, same ole, different day. It’s getting so…………..

JODIE: What in the world are you having Dad write now? Same ole? What same ole?

COCO: Well, you know, we ride and ride and then were walked and walked and then more ride. It gets old after a while.

JODIE: Are you nuts? Has someone been slipping something in with your cookies? Sandy, do you hear the line of bull Coco is trying to pass by Dad?

SANDY: Yes, I heard her, but I thought she was having Dad write down some fictional story that she thought up. It SURE hasn’t been the same ole, same ole. The rides the last few days have been bumpy with some areas of sheer terror. That’s when I was trying to hide under Dad’s legs.

JODIE: I can agree with you on that. Mexico has some of the worst roads we’ve ever been on, but you can’t hide under Dad’s legs, He’s driving. What if he needed to hit the brakes and you were in the way? Did you happen to look out and see the cliffs that we were near? Brrr! No way I would interfere with the driver.

SANDY: Yes, but that was only part of what Coco had in mind. Certainly she’s can’t be thinking same ole, same ole when were camped 20 feet from a beautiful beach that we have to ourselves.

COCO: Private beach…phooey!  Where’s the surf?. It’s not much of a beach without surf. Last year we stayed at TWO campgrounds by the ocean. OK, we weren’t 20 feet from the water, but when we got to the water we had SURF, beautiful surf, surf to run into, surf to chase sticks in, surf that breaks over my head. That’s what I’m talkin’ about.

JODIE: The picture above doesn’t show a dog pining for the fun of surf. She’s kicking up a wake, chasing the ball.

COCO: I was just making the best of a ho-hum situation. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

SANDY: I do believe that you are a little addled. You were enjoying yourself as much as we were. Oh, I like the surf, too, but I’ve had a grand time at this beach. I get to roll on my back and wiggle back and forth getting  the coarse sand well into my coat. It sure feels good, though Mom has a hard time getting it all out when we’re washed.

JODIE: You younger girls may not have noticed, but there has been a male around here the last couple of nights. I’ve noticed and even Dad noticed. I smelled a male! Dad complained that some male had “marked all the tires on the Jeep and motorhome”.

SANDY: So, we’re had two days in a row at the beach with no riding in between and you’re complaining.

COCO: OK, sometimes I just like the attention. Can we drop it now?

JODIE: OK, we’ll drop it. I’m just going to have Dad add a few pictures.

That’s all until later. Dad says this can’t actually go out until we have the internet again. What does that mean?

Barkin’ at ya from Cholula

SANDY: I thought I’d start this blog from a place that’s supposed to be a small city in Mexico. It may be a small city here, but it’s HUGE compared to Inverness. The folks have been doin’ a bit of sight seein’, but I’m not sure what they’ve actually seen. There have been no foreign objects brought back to the camper.

COCO: We have been three lucky pooches in the campgrounds that the folks have found. We are in a campground that is like a central courtyard with buildings and walls all around it. The only way in is through a gate and it’s closed at night. The best part is that we can spend so much time here off leash and get to play a lot of fetch, and we all love that!

This us the back part of the campground. LOTS of room to play fetch.

JODIE: I have to agree that we’ve been having a great time. Most of the campgrounds have allowed us to run off leash. Do you have any idea how hard it is to play fetch with a leash on? If it’s Mom, it’s not too bad and I can drag her right along, but chubby old Dad is an anchor!

COCO: Oh, come on! We never play fetch while we are on a leash.

JODIE: Hold your Frisbee, Coco. it was only a joke.

COCO: It didn’t sound like a joke to me!!!

SANDY: You guys don’t think I’m too bright, but I knew it was a joke. Ha Ha Just the thought of dragging Dad around makes me laugh.

COCO: Well, brain of the pack, you were not with us one time in Canada when Dad walked me and Jodie on the leashes. We saw a long eared bunny and both of us took off like a flash, pulling Dad behind us until he fell. Then without him dragging us down, we really tore after that rascally rabbit.

JODIE: Oh, we took after that rabbit all right. He just made fools of us. He zigged and zagged through the woods until you got all tangled up in the trees.

COCO: Yeah, I remember. It’s a good thing the collar slipped over my head, or I’d still be in the wood yelping my tail off.

SANDY: So you guys had some cool adventures before I joined the pack.

JODIE: THAT is a fact, Sandy, and we’re still having adventures. Remember last year in Mexico when we spent so much time at the beach? Or the trip last summer when we went to Massachusetts and swam in the ponds there? How about DOG BEACH in Pensacola? Together, the three of us always seem to have a great time.

COCO: Except that when we play fetch, Sandy always gets the first two balls because she has such a BIG mouth.

Here’s the picture to prove it.

JODIE: Actually Coco, at home in the pool you OFTEN have two balls in your mouth and then you have one more along the side of the pool trying to make it three.

COCO: What can I say? I’m good!

Here we are playing the fetchin’ game the way it should be played.

And here’s Mom trying to pry the second ball out of Sandy’s throat.

SANDY: Not my throat, stupid, my mouth! Mom INSISTS on taking the two balls at one time, but I can keep one in my mouth and still fetch another.

JODIE: Actually, Sandy, you DO kind of hog the balls. Just because you’re younger and faster than we are and you have such a BIG mouth, you try to do all of the fetchin’

COCO: Yeah, but Mom’s cool. She throws one ball one way and while Sandy is chasing that one she throws another the other way just for me.

JODIE: Well, what about me?

COCO: I really didn’t want to go there, but what you do is fetch ONE ball and keep it in your mouth. Then, as I try to fetch you keep bumping my side trying to keep me from getting the ball’

JODIE: That’s because I don’t really like to play fetch, I like to play keep-away and I want you to try to get the ball away from me, like we do with sticks.

SANDY: Seems to me that we’ve got to play the game we’re given. If it’s chasing balls in a yard, then it’s fetch. If we’re all going after one stick in the surf, then its keep-away.

JODIE: For a dumb blond, that was a most intelligent statement. I think we’ll end on that note.

WOOFS to all from Las Tres Perras en Mexico