Ohhhh weeeeee what a night!

I suppose anesthesia affects everyone differently; for Charlie it made him very scared of everything. At first he was VERY happy to see us, he was happy to get home, but he was afraid of everything, grass, water, noise, quiet... the three of us slept very little last night. He wanted to be near Fred who comforted him all night, we both tried but he was very restless and just didn't want to be sleeping. So with no more than a few minutes sleep here and there, here we are today... ugh, Fred had to work (I can't imagine)... Charlie started out extremely scared, but once the garbage men started down the street I opened the front door so the solid glass door was there so he could see. I put his bed in front of it with his Flossie (that he's been eating since 5am), Fred's sock from yesterday (which he cannot part with) and a new red rope toy (I used to lure him to get him to go outside... had to catch him)... for now i have the leash/collar on him so that it's easier to catch him next time... I am not taking my eyes off him (so he doesn't lick or get the leash tangled around anything). We have the e-collar, but have opted to not use it since he was so fearful of everything, we didn't want to make it worse... They didn't do the surgery until noon (or a little later) yesterday so maybe it just takes a while to get out of the system... I have the french door slightly closed so it acts like a mirror, I can see his every move... so a happy 'ab-bup' sound stops the licking. he's happily looking out the window now... I would plop myself down on the floor next to him and take a nap if the mail lady wasn't going to be coming by shortly... if i fell asleep on the floor i'm afraid she'd call 9-1-1, ha ha... Hoping we all sleep this evening! I cannot wait!

You're taking me WHERE????????????????

Today Charlie gets neutered, getting ready to drop him off shortly... by the look on his face he's not too happy about the prospect of spending his day at the vets office, especially when it's supposed to be sunny and nice...

He said to tell y'all he's accepting cards and gifts... some flowers... specifically tulips... hee hee... organic treats, etc. etc... he is registered at DOOLITTLES... ha ha (am kidding!!)...

Say a prayer for the beasty one!

Charlie doing some reading for first day of school!

Charlie spent some time this afternoon reading over the paperwork we received for his kinderpuppy classes, he would really like to be a step ahead of the others... He's been working hard in the sun by the pool... I hope he can stay awake until 7:30PM when class starts. Matter of fact, I hope the three of us can, ha ha...
OH! By the way, happy 6 month birthday Charlie! You're the best!

Play date with Winnie next door!

Today Charlie had a play date with Winnie next door... they play quite nicely through the fence. They sniff, stare, run and play. It was a beautiful day out in the yard, so much fun eating wood, rocks and dirt! Long walk, fun in the sun... life is good...!

And what am I supposed to do with this braided thing?

Something new every day! This weekend, after Charlie had chewed the top off of THREE Kong's (the last one being an 'extreme kong' which took all of 5 minutes) we pulled out the big guns. A Christmas gift from his Aunt Bridget/Bill/Max... he went nuts, swatting it back and forth, jumping on it, playing with it and then he got down to serious business. It's lasted a few days now and there is still some left! It's in the secret drawer and will be brought out soon! We're giving Kong one more try, bought a medium this time, for peanut butter and cookies so we can go to the first puppy class tonight (no dogs)... Wish us luck, ha ha

Looking so forward to another fireside weekend!

Well it's Friday (thank goodness!) and Charlie is ready for his fire to be built! I swear he's like a little kid at Christmas... he knows it's Friday and Fred will be home for a few days, he got up extra early this morning and is oh so happy it's Friday! His normal routine is to get up at 5AM, then stretch out on his loveseat wrapped in a polar fleece (to block the annoying light) and nap until breakfast at 8! But he got up early, ate his bully, just had a bully burp and is ready for the day!
Almost time for breakfast and barking at the kids as they make their way to school! Oh yes, big plans for the day!

What a day!

Oh what a day it's been! Someone appears to be very exhausted and we haven't even walked yet! I wonder if it could be the previous marathon walks... about 80 minutes with me, then when fred gets home another hour... hmmm... outside playing today, chasing squirrels, digging up dead worms (at least they were dead this time! omg) and eating them along with leaves, rocks and anything else he could get his mouth on. Then he got a scent under the house (should I run for the hills yet??) so he was sticking his face through the vents that go underneath the house... OK... if he pulls something out of there i'm flying over then fence and i'll just sit on the front steps until fred gets home, ha ha... ugh... i think by the time spring rolls around and the roaches, snakes and various other critters appear once again i will need therapy in the biggest way imaginable! Anyone know someone who can hypnotize me? hee hee...

My name used to be ROOSTER... I wonder why?

Charlie wonders why he was originally named Rooster... As he gets a little older and a little more fuzzy it's pretty clear why he was given that name! If I fluff his hair backwards I can make it twice as big, ha ha...

Well, the white Three Dog Bakery chew toy bit the dust this morning, after a very active few hours of some major chewing (I can't believe he doesn't need a bite guard for TMJ!) it was in a million pieces... after chasing him around trying to get every last piece I racked my brain for another good chew toy... BULLY!! Thank goodness there was a spare bully in the drawer! Mental note: GET MORE BULLYS THIS WEEKEND!

how can she think I'M a beast?

ahhhhh charlie! granola was finally in the oven... uh oh... wait! why has it been quiet for a few minutes and WHERE IS CHARLIE...???? I sneak around into the dining room to see the beasty one WALKING ON THE DINING ROOM TABLE... deciding what he's going to take off with... I know, you're probably wondering... hmmmm, why would charlie be walking on the dining room table?? well... we might want to ask his father, i believe he taught him a little something this weekend... ugh! charlie does have a good life, i have to say!

while walking down the greenway today there was a weird looking cat in the middle of the walkway... i shuffled my feet loudly so it would move on... I made noises, but nothing, charlie was getting a bit crazy, so to avoid an encounter, i picked him up... i stomped my foot and the 'cat' jumped the ditch into a tree, only then did i see that it WASN'T a cat it was a sick looking racoon! after a safe distance of running i set charlie down to run with me... i'm not a runner, but i ran with goosebumps like you wouldn't believe... for what seemed like MILES... ok, it wasn't that far in reality, nowhere near it, but eek... hey fred... i think i need to get a stun gun just in case... or mace or maybe a trial size can of hairspray, ha ha... oh boy... i should be down to size 2 jeans shortly (yeah right!)...

Charlie the angel... ha ha...

Well, good news, the beast LOVES the loveseat in what is now 'his room'... he sits on the arm of the loveseat and looks out the window for hours... growls and barks at the kids going to school in the morning, the mail lady (ugh), and any car that slows down to go over the speed hump. Other times he just sits contently watching everything, as if he's watching the best TV show on earth! He often takes little cat (GASP!) naps, ha ha... I guess it's kind of like his 'glass of wine', he seems so much calmer when he can see outside... Glad you like it Charlie!

Change the furniture around... Charlie needs to see outside!

There is nothing Charlie likes more than looking out the window... he is so interested in, well, anything that moves; leaves, SQUIRRELS, CATS, people with dogs... and of course, while waiting for Fred to get home from work you can always find Charlie at a window patiently waiting...
We moved the loveseat out of our bedroom and into the 'library' which I guess is now the CHARLIE ROOM, ha ha... it actually looks very nice and is very comfortable... we're thrilled with the configuration! And... so is Charlie!

Fireside weekend... coming soon!

New Year's weekend we had the best time by the fire, and since it's going to be chilly this weekend... we have another weekend spent around the fire planned... Charlie is READY... he can't wait for Fred to build him a roaring fire! As you can see, he loves it... Nothing like a weekend by the fire with good food and a wonderful husband and a sweet little beast dog...

Charlie is officially enrolled in school!

The end of beasty ways is near! Charlie has been enrolled in kinderpuppy class which starts January 19th! The three of us are going to have a blast! WOOHOO Charlie! This picture cracks me up; he was in one of his beasty wild moments... check out the eyes... ha ha...

On unending patrol... No time to relax for this pooch!

The beast is constantly jumping up on either his ottoman or one of the many chairs we have have placed in front of windows. He's constantly on patrol, letting us know when someone is walking down HIS street... and the darn cats... they're everywhere, they keep him very very busy! I think this weekend we are going to rearrange our house (once again) and move a sofa in front of the windows in the library to afford him a better view of what's going on in the neighborhood!

WHO KNOWS HOW TO TRAIN A DOG??? ugh

This is an older picture of Charlie (now fondly referred to as 'the beast'), angel that he is, he hasn't pulled this stunt lately (could it be that there is no toilet paper on the roll any longer? that was a luxury from long ago!)... the beast escaped from the backyard this morning (chasing a cat)... scooted right underneath, so i'm running around the neighborhood (ok, next door) like a crazy person trying to persuade him to come to me... i desperately need to learn how to teach him to COME to me! So the fun of this morning has been to drag out anything I could find to block the fence and gate (sorry Fred, looks like Sanford and Sons)... taking the beast for a frozen walk right now... then when i get back just might post a picture of how nice the gate area looks, ugh...

HAPPY (although belated) NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year everyone! Charlie has had a big time over the holidays, especially New Year's weekend where we had roaring fires every night. He loves to be cuddled in his bed in front of the fire... Happy as a clam (how do we know clams are happy? hmmm). His teeth are falling out like crazy... he gets a little moody when that happens, his ears get hot and he does nothing but chew all day long... I'm trying to walk him enough to wear him out but BRRRRRR! I need to get some pics on here of his favorite places (i.e. greenway/shopping center where he loves to sit on a bench while people come up to him every few seconds to tell him how cute he is, ha ha)... We wish you all a healthy and happy new year!