Ask Me Again

I don't know why I even bother. Earlier this month I came up with a list of things we could do to save money during the bad economy. Daddy and Anneedabus ignored every one of my suggestions!

OK. I'll admit it. Even though I thought it was a great idea and was only thinking about his health, I never really expected Anneedabus to cut back on treats or food for Tico. He's too nice. Daddy would have, but he never feeds us and rarely gives us any treats.

We still have our dog clothes, too. I'm hoping to unload them soon. Daddy says we're having a garage sale in April. He and Anneedabus have piles of stuff for the sale all over the house. Should be easy to slip a dress or two in here and there between now and the sale.

Tico got a new sheep this week, too. As you can see in the picture, there wasn't a thing wrong with the old one. If you ask me, Anneedabus spoils that dog.

To add insult to injury, Daddy took me to the doctor today. I have no idea what he did to me this time. I heard Daddy tell Anneedabus I had an extra set of teeth like it was a problem. Who ever heard of a dog with too many teeth!

All I know is I can hardly keep my eyes open. Think I'll go take a nap in Daddy's lap. Maybe I will dream up some new suggestions for saving money.

Chi-ao!

Tico Gets Hosed

Except for a short time when I was young, it's been cold outside for most of my life. Lately, the weather has been quite nice. We get to play outside more in good weather. I'd forgotten how good it feels to stretch out in the sun on the sidewalk.

The dog park has never looked so pretty. The flowers Daddy planted last year look great. Tico and I have been digging holes for more flowers. Daddy will be so happy when he finds out!

If we're outside Tico wants to play Fetch. He'll sit for hours waiting for someone to throw his orange ball for him. I'm sending the picture below to Sarah McLachlan. It's so sad she can send it to people who give money to get animals out of shelters.

As with all our toys, I'm not allowed to play with the orange ball. I have my own ball--unless Tico wants it. I enjoy a good game of Fetch as much as any dog. I am just not obsessed with it like Tico. He would ride in a short bus if he ever went to school.

He got us both in trouble a few days ago. We were walking through the garden outside the dog park with Daddy when Tico hit the jackpot. He found cat treats in this weed we both love to roll in. I saw him rolling away and ran over to join him.

By the time I got there Tico was covered in a delicious mixture of cat treats and our favorite weed. But I barely got my nose in it before Daddy snatched me up. Anneedabus picked Tico up, too, then coughed and retched while he carried him up to the dog park.

Next thing I knew Daddy was giving me another bath. I just had a bath not even two weeks ago. Hate the bath but love being blown-out afterward. I heard Anneedabus tell Daddy he had to hose Tico down before giving him a bath. Not sure what that means and hope I never find out.

Chi-ao!

Biting Back at the Bad Economy

Daddy says we need to go on a budget because of the bad economy. I don't know any economy, but wish it would be good. I'm a good girl all the time. Even Anneedabus says so. I'm tired of getting punished for stuff I didn't do.

You know me. Even though I had nothing to do with the bad economy, I will do everything I can to help. Tico and I sat down together earlier today to chew over our options. We came up with several money-saving tips.

Nothing makes my creative juices flow like a good chew. Most of the ideas are mine. Frankly, Tico with a chew-stick and that one-track mind of his really wasn't much help. Here are our suggestions to help Daddy and Anneedabus save money.

1) Stop taking me and Tico to the doctor. He just hurts us or makes us sick. If we didn't go to the doctor we'd never need one.

2) Sell all our dog clothes. Being the selfless, generous animal Daddy raised me to be, I'm willing to part with my entire wardrobe. That's right, all of it, especially including my fancy dresses.

3) Feed Tico once a day instead of twice. He's way too big, anyway. Feeding him less often will help him lose weight and our bag of food will last a lot longer.

4) Stop giving Tico treats. See #3. Besides, he's all grown up now and doesn't need them--especially Puparonis. He gets plenty of treats in the yard.

5) Quit replacing Tico's sheep. I can rip a new one to pieces in a matter of hours now. Why throw good money after bad?

You can only cut so much. At some point you need to talk about increasing revenue. My last suggestion is to rent Tico out to people who don't have a dog. It's a shame he's neutered.

The income and savings from our suggestions adds up. I hope it's enough to make a difference. I'd really miss Tico if we had to become a one-dog family.

Chi-ao!

Can't Have Anything!

Y'all know me and Toodles are maybe a little spoiled. Anneedabus and Daddy buy toys for us all the time. Grandma Buggs sends us toys for presents, too. We have lots and lots of toys.

Some dogs don't play with the toys they have. We do. We play with all our toys.

Our favorite game is hide all the toys. Daddy or Anneedabus puts all our toys in the basket then me and Toodles see how fast we can hide them around the house. It's fun! Sometimes it takes Daddy and Anneedabus days to find them all again.

Out of all our toys, Sheep is the only one I really care about. He was the first toy Anneedabus and Daddy gave me. We've been through a lot together.

I'm not supposed to know they have replaced Sheep with a new one several times. It's cute the way they swap out the old for the new--like I'm blind and have no sense of smell. Here I am with a brand new Sheep.

Toodles has it in for Sheep. When she gets hold of him, she runs off and tries to rip out all his stuffing. Trust me, it's not pretty. She makes strange little noises as bits of stuffing fly around her head. It's like she's crazy or possessed by evil spirits.

Don't believe me? Here's a recent picture of the Sheep shown above. See what I mean?
















Yeah we all know she's teeny tiny and all adorable and everything. You may not know she has more than a little bit of a temper. Daddy thinks it's cute, but me and Anneedabus know better.

Daddy Runs Away from Home

You haven't heard from me because I've been too upset to visit with you. Daddy disappeared. I've been just beside myself with worry.

The day Daddy left started just like any other. Yeah, he made a few extra trips to the car with stuff. But he's done that before. I didn't give it another thought.

Right before he left we played Million Kisses--the very first game he taught me. We still play Million Kisses before we go to sleep at night or when we lay down together for a nap. We never play Million Kisses before I kennel up so I should have known something was up.

When Daddy didn't come home for food I knew something was wrong. Daddy is always here for food. Always. I checked all his usual spots hundreds of times to see if maybe he'd slipped in without me noticing. Nope. Daddy was gone.

I slept without Daddy for the first time in my life. Or tried. I tossed and turned so much Anneedabus put me in my kennel. I was too upset to care.

Days passed and still no Daddy. Tico and Anneedabus tried to cheer me up. They played with me and took me on walks with them. It helped, as did the beautiful weather we've had ever since he left.

I was trying to enjoy the sun while Tico and Anneedabus played fetch in our dog park when I heard the garage door go up. I ran around to the gate just in time to see Daddy's car pull into the driveway. I've never been so excited in my whole life!

Then I heard him calling TooToo!! I ran to him as fast as I could. He swept me up in his arms and we played the best game of Million Kisses ever! I didn't even care when Daddy picked Tico up so he could play, too.

But I'm the one he carried around with him for the rest of the day. And he's the one I'm not letting out of my sight ever again. I'm so glad he didn't run away.

Chiao!