A Case of the Zoomies

Hi Furiends,

Some people call it "the zoomies," some people call it "THOE" (Thundering Herd of Elephants).  Well, whatever you call it, I did it the other day in the backyard.  Oh, yes, I zoomed and thundered real good!  Check it out:


What do you call it?  Do you like to do this too?

I am feeling pretty energetic today too.  When Mommy got home from work, she threw my wubba snugga for me.  I love my wubba snugga!!!  Grrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Om Nom Nom

I looooove apples!  I nom nom nom this apple!!!

It was deeelicious!

Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Dig Dig Dig

Hi Furiends!

Bed digging is serious business!  I do this every night.

Bye for now,

Poppy the LBC

Tomato Blocked!

Hey, what's the big idea?!  Somebody put this fence here to block me out of my favorite part of the garden!  Now how am I supposed to reach my tomatoes?

                                   


I tried asking nicely to get in there, but Mommy wouldn't let me.  She thinks I've been eating too many tomatoes lately.

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua

Pee Ess:  Even though I was tomato blocked, Mommy still gave me two tomatoes because I'm so cute!!!

I'm a Trail Dog!!!

Hi Furiends!

I went on a big hiking adventure and I want to tell you all about it!  We went to the forest where there were lots of big trees.  There were so many good things to sniff and smell.  I was so excited and I said LET'S GOOOOO and I started walking down the trail.

We found a big mossy stump, and of course Mommy made me sit on it for a picture.  But I only had to be there for a second and then I got to walk some more.

We encountered an OBSTACLE!  I thought about whether to go over or under, and for me under was the better choice.  Mommy and Daddy went over.

Hiking is very tiring for my little legs and my sore back, so after a couple of miles I decided I was done walking.  Luckily, Mommy and Daddy always plan for this by bringing my orange backpack.  They knew I wanted to get in when they put the pack on the ground and I ran over to it and looked up at them.  Then I got to ride.  YAY!!!

At the end of our hike we were tired and hungry, so we stopped and had a snack at the picnic area.

What a fun day we had!  I hope you had a nice weekend too.

Bye for now,

Poppy the Little Blonde Trail Dog Chihuahua

I Love Froooooot!!!

Hello everybuddy!

Today I will tell you all about my recent fruit adventures.  I got to try HONEYDEW melon for the first time.  Oh wow is it good!  Daddy cut off the very end of the big giant fruit and gave it to me.  He thought maybe I would just lick it a bunch, but I actually developed a pretty effective method for digging out some of the frooooty goodness.  I used my tongue to get the juice...

...and my sharp little teeth to get the fruit.  See what it looked like when I was done!

Do you remember my greenbean adventure?  Well, I had a TOMATO adventure the other day!  I really really wanted these tomatoes soooo bad, but nobody would help me get them.  Mommy kept saying the were too green.  Hey, I don't care what color they are.  All I know is they smelled goooood!  (If you turn the volume way up, you might be able to hear me gruffing and whining in the video.)

And then last night I got to share Mommy's late night snack!  She had peaches and soymilk.  I LOVE PEACHES AND SOYMILK!!!  I got to have a little piece of yummy peach all soaked in soymilk, which is my favorite liquid ever, even though it gives me gas.

I hope your days are filled with froooty adventures!

Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

A Garden Morning

Hello Everybuddy,

I had a super fun time in my garden yesterday morning.  I found where the greenbeans were hiding!

I decided to pick a few beans for a little snack.

Mommy thought I had had enough, but I pretended not to hear her. Who, me?!

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua

Movie Friday: I Waaaant!

Excuse me please...why am I not allowed to have this burrito?



I asked so nicely, but they didn't give it to me! At least they gave me a few beans from it though. I'm lucky because I always get some beans when Mommy and Daddy have Mexican food. Yay! But that burrito was so huge--couldn't they at least have given me a bite?

Bye for now!
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua

Lunch Time!

My recovery is going really well. The problem is that I feel so good that I want to get up and run around! That would be very bad for my back though. I have three more weeks of crate rest to go. :(

This picture was taken six days after my surgery. Look at me standing up!
Later that same day Mommy and Daddy decided to take me out for lunch to Chipotle. I love this place because they always feed me beans if I ask nicely! I sat in my carrier during lunch so I wouldn't wiggle around too much and fall off the chair. It was pretty comfy!


And if you want to be really impressed, check out this video of my first post-surgery walk six days after surgery:

I can actually walk without my sling, but I'm not supposed to. Sometimes I walk around the living room just a little bit. But really I want to run and play!!! Being relaxed is soooo hard!

Bye for now!
Poppy the LBC

Recovery, the Sequel

Hi Friends!

I am feeling pretty okay after my back surgery. Mommy and Daddy are really pleased because I am already way ahead of where I was in my recovery last time. Maybe even a whole week ahead, and it's probably because they caught it early this time. I can already be picked up and put down without screaming. And I can move my back legs and tail a little too!!!

Mostly I am feeling a little sad and am spending a lot of time resting in my bed:
I'm on pain meds and also a sedative, which is helping to keep me relaxed. I moan a lot, and the only thing that makes me stop is being close to Mommy and Daddy. I put my paw like this in her hand all by myself:

Yesterday morning Mommy took me outside to watch Daddy while he watered the garden and I was really happy to be out there looking around and smelling everything! I didn't moan or whine at all! I had such a good time, in fact, that they decided to take me out to a birthday party! This party is a yearly summer event for Mommy and Daddy's close friends' kids. They've been looking forward to going for a month now, and they were sad that they were going to have to miss it. But after I had such a good time outside in the back yard, they thought maybe they would take me--just for an hour or two.

So we packed up my pee pads and my stroller and my blankie and hit the road! I really did enjoy that party, even though I ended up moaning the whole time. It wasn't because I was in pain though--it was because I wasn't allowed to do anything! I had to just sit there and rest. But it was awesome because I got to see some of my best friends and everybody said, "oh, poor Poppy" and gave me gentle pets. And I really loved having some fun things to see and smell. (By the way, please excuse Mommy's slipper foot--she had toe surgery last week and this is the only shoe she can wear!)
It was fun, and boy was I tired when I got home!

Last night Mommy made me a treat Kong with crunchy foods and frozen peanut butter. I licked my way through the peanut butter, but I wasn't about to be tricked into eating crunchy foods at a time like this! It's wet treats all the way for me!



Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Look What I Found!

Hi friends!

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but don't worry--I'm okay! We're just busy around here. Now that the weather is warmer, this is how I prefer to spend my afternoons (and mornings and evenings):

The other day Mommy took a cute video of me playing with a ball. After my surgery, Mommy and Daddy put away all my balls because I'm not really supposed to run a whole lot. So I usually don't have any in my toy box. But the other day, Daddy put a big blanket in the dryer with some tennis balls to help it dry well, and when he took the blanket out, the tennis balls came with it into the living room to be folded. And guess what--I found one!

They let me play with it a little bit before they took it away:



I hope you enjoyed my movie! I have to go get ready for a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house now. Have a great Sunday!

Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Beeeeeean Holloooooow!!! (now with pictures)

Hi friends,

We went to the beach last weekend and I had so much fun running around! I have such good traction in the sand that Mommy and Daddy don't have to worry about my back end slipping out from under me and causing another back injury. Yay! But don't worry; I'm still careful.

On this day, I found a stick. I grabbed the stick and ran all around with it. Check out these action shots:







Daddy took me for a little run-around and then I remembered that Mommy was sitting all alone on the blanket, so I had to run back and say hello!



Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Pee Ess:
I just realized that Bijou tagged me for an award! It is called Neno's Award, and here is what the award is about:

"As a dedication for those who love blogging activity and love to encourage friendships through blogging. To seek the reason why we all love blogging. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award. Answer the Award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging. Tag and distribute the Award to as many people as you like."

Thanks so much, Bijou! Here is why I love blogging: It lets Mommy and I tell about all my adventures and people actually listen! Sometimes in real life people don't want to talk about dogs all the time. (Weird, huh?) So my blog is a place we can do it!

It's My 4th Birthday!!!

I started out my special day by sleeping in. It was awesome!



After that, I had a birthday bath. That was less awesome, but it's always good to look nice and clean for your birthday, right? Besides, Daddy fed me treats during the ordeal, and then afterwords Mommy gave me a peanut butter kong! Look how much fun I'm having:



Next we went for a walk to the park. We saw lots of pretty flowers, including my Mommy's favorite: poppies! She tried to take a picture of me with them, but I was not really into posing for her.



What a nice birthday it has been!

Bye for now,
Poppy the 4-YEAR-OLD Little Blonde Chihuahua

K is for Kale!

I don't usually care for leafy green vegetables, but last night I went bananas over some kale that Daddy dropped on the floor while he was chopping it for dinner. When I was finally able to grab a piece, I ran with it into the living room and started chowing down. At first Mommy thought I was just going to shred it and leave little wet pieces all over the rug, which is what I usually do. But this time I actually ate it!

Mommy took a video of me eating my second leaf:



I'm going to Lake Tahoe this weekend, so...

Bye for now!
Poppy the LBC

I'm Feeling Fine

Other than the fact that Mommy just brushed my teeth, which I don't really like very much, I'm feeling pretty good! My big esophagus has gotten a little smaller, and I hope it will get even smaller still. I'll have some more x-rays soon and Dr. D will tell me if I'm all better.

In the meantime, I get to eat wet food all the time! Woo hoo! Hence the aggressive tooth-brushing, which is the only downside as far as I can tell. Oh wait...there is one other downside. Farts! I never used to fart at all. Now I do these SBDs (Silent But Deadly) and sometimes I have to smell my own butt afterwords to make sure it actually came out of me. It did.

I have gone on a couple of good walks this week in between rain storms. The other day I found a big branch at the park and I climbed inside it. Somebody must have peed on it, because it smelled really interesting.


This is an action shot of me on my weekend walk:


And now, Movie Monday! I know it's not really Monday, but today is the first day of the week for Mommy, who had Monday and Tuesday off. So it's kind of like Monday, but even better! This is a video of me plaing Bitey Face with Daddy. And then at the end I do some of my tricks: sit, down, spin, shake, gimme five, and prairie dog.



Bye for now,
Poppy the LBC

Pee Ess: IVDD stands for InterVertebral Disc Disease.

UPDATE-2/19/09: I do not have megaesophagus! It was only temporary!!! Woo hoooooo!

New Year's Day Was Great!

Last night was very low key, but today was awesome! This afternoon we went to Fort Funston, which is one of my most favoritest places ever! It was very cold today, so I had to wear two jackets, and Mommy did too.


And yes, if you look carefully, you will notice that I am not wearing a leash so much as a pair of earphones with a long cord. That is because my parents are silly and they completely forgot all of my stuff when we left the house. No leash, no harness, and no poo bags! Luckily I always have a harness with me because of my seatbelt car harness. And we had some napkins to pick up my poo, but they reeeeally had to improvise about the leash. The ended up tying the connector end to my harness and Daddy made a hand loop out of the earphones.


They were a little nervous about it pulling apart, so they were extra careful with me near other dogs and cliffs and stuff. They have decided, on my advice, that from now on they will keep a backup leash and some extra poo bags in both cars. That way I will not have to wear earphones ever again.

When we got home Mommy started packing my overnight bag (more on that later), and she put two of my freeze-dried chicken treats in a little container. Then she threw the package in the trash and the paper insert that was in the package into the recycling bag. That was a mistake. For her. Not for me.



The end of the video is a little cut off, but what she said is, "Okay, maybe you can have it." And then she gave it to me! It was just a little piece of paper, but it smelled and tasted so great! I licked it and then shredded it into tiny, wet pieces.


Now more about my overnight bag: Mommy and Daddy are leaving me with Grandma and Grandpa OVERNIGHT because...well, mostly because Mommy needs to practice leaving me. It is very hard for her. It used to be easier, and they left me with Grandma and Grandpa for weekends several times before my injury. But this is the first time they have left me overnight since my injury. It is very difficult, but they need to do it. You always read about dog separation anxiety, except with us it's different. I don't have it, but my Mommy does!

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua

Thanksgiving Movie Monday

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I did because Daddy made so much food! And when he cooks, there are always droppings! 'Tis the season to eat droppings, fa la la la la, la la la la! Isn't there a song about that?

The worst part about Thanksgiving was that Mommy and Daddy blocked me out of the kitchen! How rude! They were afraid they would drop something hot (like a tofurkey) or sharp (like a knife) on me, or that I would jump into the oven. How silly! So they made me sit in the living room and watch. It was torture!

But my patience was rewarded later because somebody dropped a chunk of dry bread for the stuffing and I captured it! I ran with it to the carpet and devoured it. Croutons rock! Here is a movie of me eating it:



Mommy thinks it's really funny that it took me an entire minute to eat it. She says that most dogs would have eaten it in one bite. What can I say? I'm dainty!

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihiahua

Monday Movie

I just found this great video of me and Sivan playing together in February of 2006. She is chasing her flying squirrel and I am trying to play too. This all happened before The Unpleasantness. If you haven't heard the story, here's the summary: Sivan and I are no longer allowed to have unsupervised visitation play time because once she tried to eat me.

This video was also taken before my injury. See how nimble and fast I am?



When this video was taken, we were on a trip to Fort Funston in the rain. I was wearing a fleece-lined raincoat, so I stayed kind of dry. Sivan doesn't have a coat though, so she got soooooo dirty and wet! She had to have a bath when we got back to her house.

Bye for now!
Poppy the LBC

Grrr!!!

Happy Halloween!

Do I look ferocious? I am trying to use my best scary lizard moves to get the treat out of Daddy's hands.

My costume has these weird leg things that I have to put my feet through. It's not super comfortable, but I think my disguise is excellent because you can hardly tell that it's me!

Come to think of it, my costume also has weird leg things in the front, too. It almost looks like the scary lizard is trying to take a ride on my back!

And now for our feature film: "Poppy-zilla Takes Over the Kitchen"




I hope everyone has a happy Halloween!
Bye for now,
Poppy-zilla

Happy Birthday Clover!

Happy Birthday Clover!!!

Well, actually her birthday was on the 1st, but I don't think she'll mind if I write about it a bit late. Clover is six years old now. That is twice as old as me! She is a good big sister. Especially when she lets me kind of almost play with her. This is a video of us from the other day. She likes to block my path so I have to bark and gruff for help.



Clover got a big catnip log for her birthday. She is sometimes suspicious of new toys, but this one seemed to pass inspection. First she licked it, and then she started biting it a little bit. I happen to love catnip toys, so I was watching closely to see if she was going to let me play too.

She didn't. But I understand; it was her present and not mine. Maybe I'll get to play with it later!

Deefor told a great story about how he and Arrow got their names. Since it's Clover's birthday, I'll tell you how she got her name. The story starts a long time ago...

Several years ago, Mommy and Daddy had a cat named Puck. He was from a shelter too, and he was sort-of-orange. Daddy wanted to name him Puck after a character in one of his favorite plays. Mommy and Daddy had been Uninformed and Unaware, so Puck was sometimes allowed to go outside in the yard. When Puck was two years old, there was a terrible accident. He went into the street and was hit by a car. Mommy and Daddy rushed him to the emergency vet, but there was nothing they could do. Puck died. It was a very sad day. They wished someone had told them how dangerous it is to let cats outside, but they just didn't know. Now they know that indoor cats live an average of 12 years, and indoor/outdoor cats live an average of 2 years. What happened to Puck was very "normal."

For two years, Mommy and Daddy felt sad and alone without a fuzzy warm animal in their family. So when Mommy started working at an animal shelter, she brought Clover home almost right away! Here is a picture of Clover when she was still at the SPCA:
Back then her name was Jilly Bean, which is a teensy bit weird. She was two years old and she hadn't lived in a very good situation before, so they thought it would be okay to change her name. Mommy wanted to name her Lucky in honor of Puck (Puck...Luck...Lucky), but Lucky didn't sound like a very good name for a girl cat. So they decided on Clover, just like a four-leaf lucky clover!

Whew, that was a long story! Thanks for making it all the way to the end!

Bye for now,
Poppy the Little Blonde Chihuahua