It's Dad's birthday!

Today is Dad's birthday and we're having Salisbury steak for dinner! I'm not sure what kind of steak that is, but it's STEAK! This is a good thing! 

I'm not sure what we're going to do special for Dad's birthday. He had one of those weird video chats with his litter ma.......er........siblings last Sunday. Mom's home today and I heard them say something about going to pick up Walther. All I can say is birthday or not, Walther had better not be another cat. 

Dad and I have spent a lot of time together over the years. Mom's been off working, but that's changing. She's going to be home more now and we like that. It'll keep me busier, having two parents to watch every day, but I can do it.

Keeping an eye on Dad is harder than you'd think. He goes outside and has me stay inside. I do not like this. He worries I'll get into some mischief or even get hurt while he's puttering around in the shed or using the John Deere 1023. Do you think now that he's had another birthday that will change? Me neither. 

Dad takes me down to the creek almost every day when the weather is fit for him to be outside. He gets the mail and I splash around for a bit. Then I look for the frog and he laughs at me, but that's ok. 

A lot of days we guys just hang out and that's pretty cool. We can't do that when Mom's here. Dad's not constant movement the way Mom is. 

So, happy birthday, Dad! I'm really glad you're my Dad and we get to take care of each other, sort of like it was meant to be. You're a great Dad! 

Now, who is Walther? 

That thing is ugly

Our pack lives in the country and that means we have a lot of critters around. We have deer, foxes - I don't like foxes. They pee in my yard and I'm not happy about that. Plus, they have a weird bark that wakes me up at night. Someone said there's even been a bear spotted around here but I've not seen him.

We have squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums, all sorts of birds including wild turkeys, snakes, frogs, fish, salamanders, and we have toads. 

Toads. Toads are sort of ugly and they sing. At least singing is what Mom calls it. I call it noise. 

Last night, when Mom and I went out for my last trip before bedtime, there was a huge toad on my patio. I did not like this. Where was Loki? Loki likes to chase little critters off the patio. He was falling down on the job. 

So today, the toad was in the flower bed beside the patio and it was making a warbling, high pitched noise. It wasn't singing, it was making noise. 

And all Mom did was smile. 

No, Mom. We really don't want to keep the toad. Let it go....

They're going again...

This is getting old. Mom and Dad are bolting out of here again today. I thought I was going to get to go along. They keep saying "truck." It's truck this and truck that. Am I going for a ride?

NOOOOOOOOOO. 

They did this to me before. They left in my very first truck, a really nice and roomy silver truck, and came home with a big blue monster that shows every little hair I shed. Dad sighs when I shed in his truck, but I can't help it. Shed happens, you know. 

I've got the scoop on it. I listened really close to what Mom was saying. They want to get rid of the little red truck that belonged to Jack and bring home another truck. I never ride in that one. It's way too small for me to get in the back. Dad even took the seats out and I didn't have enough room. 

This will be Mom's truck but Dad will be allowed to drive it. And of course, I will be allowed to ride in it. This is a good thing! 

I hope they won't be gone too long. I'm Deuce, and I'm a good dog, but the last time took hours and hours and I really had to pee-pee by the time they got back. 

Hurry up, guys! Get it done so I can ride in a new Colorado!

Thirty Days of Deuce - Day 20 Just chillin' at home

Deuce, March 2016

Even I know ice is bad if Mom's car doesn't break through it. Seriously. 

Mom and I were up at our usual time this morning. Mom put on grippy shoes and we walked out the lane. Very slowly and carefully we walked. I knew better than to run. My paws couldn't get a grip. Dad told us not to worry too much because it would warm up and melt some today. 

It did, but when Mom when down to visit Grandma, her car didn't leave tracks through the ice at all. Is almost four-thousand pounds very heavy? I bet it is. 

Beyond the need to be very careful outside, we didn't do much today. Mom did a load of laundry but I can't help with that. I'm not allowed to go to the basement because Loki's food bowl and litterbox are down there. He shares my water, not that I agreed to that but Mom said...

Mom didn't take her phone outside because of the ice. She said with her luck, if she slipped and fell, she'd fall right on the phone. So because Mom didn't get a picture of me today, she said we'd share an old one. It's one from when I was a little guy and had a puppy day bed. I've grown a lot since then but I can still sleep like that on Mom's bed. 

Dad likes to watch a couple of cooking vids on this thing called YouTube. A lady made Sloppy Joes from scratch and Dad fixed her version of them for supper. It smelled wonderful! And Mom and Dad both gave me the last bites of their sandwich and it tasted even better!! I think Sloppy Joes might be my new favorite supper. 

The pack had a quiet weekend at home. It's been a while that we stayed home so it was a good thing, ice and all. Sometimes a guy just needs to chill. 

Thirty Days of Deuce - Day 18: Sleet is worse than rain

I love Saturdays! Mom's home and we do stuff. Not so much today, but usually. 

Today, nasty little pellets of ice fell from the sky. Mom and Dad called it sleet. I didn't like it much when I went out to pee. I had to close my eyes and that made it hard to pay attention to what I was doing.

Snow would have been a lot better. Mom and I can play in the snow. Instead, we stayed indoors. Dad fixed bacon and eggs for brunch - I love bacon and eggs!! Then he watched tv, Mom worked a bit, and I just lazed on the bed and looked out the window. Loki was asleep on the cedar chest. It was all okay because the pack was together and that's a good thing.

Maybe tomorrow Mom and I can go for a short walk if it warms up, that is. Mom says she doesn't like to walk on ice. We'll have to wait and see. 

Thirty Days of Deuce - Day 15 - Turkey pot pie is really good!

 Sometimes it's really good to be the dog. Like tonight. Mom had some turkey pot pie filling in the freezer, but didn't want to make a crust. So she heated the pot pie in a skillet, put biscuits on top, and put it in the oven to bake the biscuits. 

I watched her every step of the way. I heard Mom and Dad talking about turkey and, hey. I'm Deuce. I know all about turkey because I'm smart. That and my nose told me what Mom had in the skillet. 

Mom makes her turkey pot pie filling to be dog-friendly. I think it's just dog delicious. 

I know how to behave, too. While Mom and Dad ate, I sat still like the good boy I am and waited. And I waited. And I waited. And I waited. You'd think people could eat faster, but noooo. 

Finally, Mom held her plate down for me to finish. We know a lot of people really frown on letting a pup have people food, and a lot of people think it's terrible to let a dog lick a plate. 

In my pack, we share. My parents are careful I don't get too much (I'm still svelte!), and Mom says hot water and dishwasher pellets will kill any germs I have. 

I have germs??? Seriously???

After dinner, Mom snapped a picture of me going down for a nap. It woke me up for a bit, but then I did go to sleep while Mom wrote this blog for me. I think we're a good team!