So Long Summer

I know Summer does not end until September 21st but for me it ended this weekend. These are the signs that summer has ended on Saturna what ever the calendar says.

 Last night we went to the Sock Hop which we always go to at the end of summer but this year I had to stay in the car with Bond because Mom said he was too young to be thrown in with the Gang! You know when she got a new puppy she did not mention that I would have to puppy-sit the little pest! So I could hear the music and see everyone dancing inside....I could see my old Gang outside the hall just sniffing butt and catching up on summer gossip... but I was tied to the back seat so the little twerp could see me! I am not kidding, I was harnessed to the seat....dear Dog give me strength!

Our last lot of company left this morning and no one else is scheduled to come ... another sign that summer is over. And this afternoon I went to the Saturna Lion's Labour Day, Dog and Dog Show. Now everyone knows Me,  Saturna Robbie, and they know I am a bit of a celebrity (if I do say so myself) but this year everyone was fawning over Bond. As if that weren't bad enough Jenn offered to register Bond in the show so he could compete! There he was strutting his stuff in the puppy class with Ruff Ruff. Of course he got a prize...how could he not when Mom is a Judge and DOD is the Emcee??  If you think that was bad next thing I heard was his number being called for the Obstacle Course...yes, Obstacle Course. The little twerp can barely walk on four legs but somehow Jenn made him look like he knew what he was doing and he got another prize!  I was beside myself with embarrassment.

Anyway, I am not going to bore you with more tales of my tormented life.

Summer is over and by the time next summer happens Bond will be over a year old and a gangly teenager. We will see who thinks he is so cute then. In the meantime I will continue to behave like the mature dog that I am.

Bond

Most of you know by now that I have a new brother and that his name is Bond. You also know I wasn't too keen on getting a new family member after my sweet sister Lacey died. But Mom was moaning and weeping and I thought to make her happy again we should get a puppy. I chose a brother just so it would be a very different relationship from the one Me and Lacey had ..and I chose a Tibetan Terrier because ALL Terriers are a lot alike. Of course after I chose him I found out a Tibetan Terrier is not a Terrier...now does that make sense to you?

So Mom went over to Vancouver by float plane on Wednesday to pick him up. His birth Mom Anne, had put him on a plane in Los Angeles and he had flown all the way to Vancouver by himself...in a crate... in Cargo!

He cleared customs without a hitch and Mom paid sales tax on him so now he is a true Canadian.

 He is feisty and cute for a guy dog...and at first when he wanted to be friends I gave him the cold shoulder...I even snarled (yes I know, not good manners) a time or two when he went too close to my treats. But today I had a change of heart, after all I am a mature dog and Bond is my brother now ...so I laid down beside him and we had a chat. He knows it will take a while ....but he also knows that we are going to be friends.

I am happy to know however, that he is going to be neutered in a couple of months! I don't want THAT sort of relationship and he is already...well you know, trying!

Looking Back at Royal Warrior

Do you know that my real name is Royal Warrior? It is. Robbie is just a nickname that the breeder gave me. I was destined to be a show dog because of my good looks but the breeder thought my personality was just too strong and she didn't want my genes passed on to my sons and daughters. So she put an ad in the paper saying I was for sale to a good home and Mom and DOD answered the call!

I was on my best behavior when they came to check me out, although the breeder was honest about my terrier nature, but Mom just gave her the look...Puleese...this cute little guy! And they put me in the car and brought me to Saturna.

I still remember coming home for the first time. Oreo was my sister then, she was a big old Shar Pei. Well my first job was to show her who was boss, how lucky was I that she didn't chew me up and spit me out!!!

And then my adventures began. I climbed up what looked like Mount Everest not far from my house (of course I know now it was only a small mountain but I was a Pup) and after exploring for a while I knew I couldn't get back down. It took DOD and Hugh hours and hours (well maybe one or two) to find me and rescue me. Mom said she was sending me back to the Kennel!

Then there was the time I scrambled  down the bank to the ocean. It was low tide and I was able to walk out to an uninhabited desert island and be a great white explorer of uncharted territory.  Of course I was not a mature dog then and I didn't know about tides and how they came in and out. Well the tide came in and I was stranded! I sent out an SOS for Mom and she had to wade into the cold, fast running water to try to get to me. Unfortunately she slipped and I was worried she would be swept away and I hadn't had dinner yet! But she managed to get back on her feet and was able to grab me by the scruff and throw me toward shore...I think that was a reportable offense. Needless to say I have not been near the ocean since then...oh and Mom said I was going back to the kennel.

I am getting into this remembering now. Then my sister Bella came, she was a wild rescue dog and she had been around the block a few times that girl.  She loved to run and I loved to run with her. DOD put up a fence but I showed her how to tunnel and we would be free again until he blocked the escape route. One of our favourite places to visit was the Pub (although Mom had warned them not to serve us) we would hang out there and chat with the locals until someone called Mom. By this time Mom knew the kennel would not take me back so she switched to threatening to send me to the pound.

Oh and the time I chased a Raccoon up the mountain...BOL! That critter was screaming and hollering at me and making so much noise. Hugh, Barbra and DOD all raced up the steep bank to save me but I thought they we re-enforcements and I went even more ballistic. I finally gave up the fight and staggered down the bank with my face covered in blood...Mom had hysterics...but I had only bitten my tongue in the heat of battle and I was not injured. I think she laid hands on me that time...another reportable offense. And I think she actually called the pound!


I could go on and on but I will stop now as I think you can see that I have not had an easy life. And now I am getting a new puppy brother....hmmm...will I show him the Royal Warrior OR the mature Robbie?

Puppy 101

My friends on facebook already know I am getting a new brother. Now I don't like to post my true feelings on facebook but here on my own blog I want you to know it is not easy to think of a new Bro when I am still missing Lacey. I don't need to say anymore, I know you understand that doggie and human hearts can love something new and be happy...and hurt at the same time.

We have tried to find a way to get my new Bro (Bond is his name) up here to Canada so we don't have to wait so long for him but the airlines will not fly a dog from Phoenix or Tucson in the hot months. And I think this is a good thing. I wouldn't want the poor little guy to get too hot and be hurt... or worse. I offered to go and get him but Mom reminded me that I am a Dog too!  Right!

So it looks as if we will get him when we go back to Tubac which is two whole months away. In the meantime I am reading all the books I can find on dealing with a new puppy. I saw a book on the internet 'Puppies for Dummies'...NO, that doesn't sound good, I think Mom would give me 'the look'  if I gave her that.

I have never had a puppy in the house before, my three sisters were all older than me and I was in charge from the minute they set foot in the door. I gave them the drill about sharing and food hierarchy and respecting property rights ...and they got it! From what I read about puppies they are wild out-of-control things that do what they want when they want. Okay, you are probably going to say it is up to Mom to train Bond...but...look at Me and then ask yourself if she is capable of training anything? I had to train HER and DOD when I first got here.

I know what I will do!...I will ask my blog and facebook friends...my old Gang friends to help me settle the little Dude in and smarten him up. Please forward your suggestions a.s.a.p. keeping in mind the handicap I will have here with You know Who. My main area of concern is teaching him who is Boss from day one....designating food, space, toys, sleeping arrangements, critter control etc. I don't want this training to take more than a day (okay, maybe two if he is a slow learner) because even though I am patient I have my limits.

One thing I know for sure, I am not going to teach Bond to read and write!

Dear Margaret

I have many friends on facebook but my BEST friend is Dear Margaret and her faithful Dachshund Tansy.
Today is Dear Margaret's ninety-first birthday and to celebrate it I am going to tell you about our friendship.

First of all, I have never met Dear Margaret or Tansy in person They live on Galiano Island which is not far from my Island but the ferry schedule doesn't make it easy for inter-island travel and plans that we make to meet never seem to happen.

We do meet every day though on facebook. And Dear Margaret has been in all of my blog adventures. She has been an Indian Princess, a dance hall girl, yup Lake LaBarge Marge was her name... and she has been herself. She has performed marriage ceremonies for dragons, searched for lost treasure, jumped trains, rescued horses and faced bandits and witches just to name a few roles. We have crossed burning deserts, climbed mountains and even shopped at Walmart! And we have sung many hymns and held hands and paws in our paw circles when we needed guidance and strength.

Dear Margaret and I play Scrabble every day and she usually beats me...sigh.

She sets me straight when I get whiny and never lets me forget that I am supposed to behave like a gentleman dog and not a ruffian. She also sets some of my other facebook friends straight when they comment on my posts and she doesn't agree!

Happy Birthday Dear Margaret, I am so glad that facebook brought you into my life. Nose to nose and much love to you from me.

Robbie

DSL (Dog as a second language)

Today I was looking at the Youtube stuff on my facebook and I saw this wonderful video about a Hero dog named Buddy in Alaska. Buddy's owner's home caught on fire and his Dad was injured trying to put it out and could not get out of the house. The Dad yelled at Buddy ' Buddy, go and get help' and Buddy raced off into the snowy night. In the meantime, the Dad had called for help and a lone police officer was trying to respond but it was a very remote area and his GPS was frozen. Then the police officer saw Buddy waiting at a crossroad and barking,  right away he knew Buddy wanted him to follow...so he did. Buddy raced along and kept looking back and barking to let the officer know that they were on the right road. Of course they got to the burning home in time and the Dad was rescued. Buddy was honoured in a ceremony and given a silver food bowl!

Great story huh....and it is true. The officer said in the video that he understood every bark that Buddy made.

Remember Lassie on T.V.?  Everybody knew what Lassie was saying. She would run up to strangers and bark a few times and the people would say, 'OMD Tommy has fallen in the old dry well and this dog wants us to follow her'!!  Okay so it was a show but I think it was based on Reality just like the shows today.

So what does this have to do with me you ask? Well my Mom doesn't understand the most basic dog commands. I have to go mad to get let out... and in... and forget about asking for treats and food...butt rubs etc. without having to almost resort to violence to get recognition.

I want Mom to take a course in learning Dog as a second language. Why is language one-sided? Us Dogs have to learn English (or whatever language their owners speak) should it not work both ways? I understand English very well and I even understand when they spell out words so I won't understand, but I can't speak it fluently.... I think it is my accent that she has a problem with. Is it just MY Mom who is a bit dim? I hate to think so, but when I see these videos where other humans understand every bark I have to wonder.

So I am looking for a course for my Mom....one that specializes in older harder to teach students. Let me know if you know where I can find one.

Should We Or Shouldn't We?

So the place where my Sister Lacey came from has a girl dog that they would like us to have....should we or shouldn't we get her?

I am lonely and that is for sure.

I miss Lacey dreadfully and the walks and talks and fun we used to have. I don't like dining alone, a food bowl for one is a lonesome thing. I miss how we would run into the forest and chase critters and then sneak home hoping Mom had not noticed we were gone (she always had and she was always a bit cranky with us). I miss how we would discuss Mom and DOD when they left us alone and plot how we were going to trick them into getting us more toys and treats. I miss our playing 'remember when' and laughing over Lacey's first few weeks with us. I even miss having to gulp my treats whole so she wouldn't snatch them from under my nose!

I miss HER!

But if we get another girl she will be my new Sister but she won't be Lacey. She will look the same and she may smell the same but her heart will not be Lacey's heart and her soul will not be Lacey's soul. Will it be even more lonely to have a Sister so much like Lacey but who is not her???

This is a difficult decision for a mature dog to make. What do you think I should do?