My sick friend

My friend Willie has been very unwell for several weeks. He suddenly just slowed right down and got very bad tempered. He stayed in his cage and didn’t want to play or even eat!!  I was very worried.  Steph and Sally took him to see Dr. Keller.  She did some tests and gave him fluids.  They put the fluids (I think that’s a doctor name for water) under his skin. It makes a big lump, but it goes away. Then he got even sadder, and Dr. Pasdo decided to remove a lymph node to “see what was going on”.  He gave Willie pills. Willie licked the wound and made it all nasty so now he has to wear an e collar – that’s like a lampshade. It’s healing very quickly. Dr. Pasdo also gave him some pills called Pred. My goodness. What a difference they make! He rushes around, eats everything and has improved a lot. He still isn’t being like himself, but he’s much better. It seems he might have some sort of weird illness caused by a tick bite.. probably from years ago! Before he came to live with us! Isn’t that terrible? Ken, Sally and Steph have been paying him a lot of attention. A lot. Of attention. I don’t mind. I understand. He’s very sick. I’m not. A lot. Of attention. I hope he’s all better, very soon, so that things can get back to normal.

My new toy

This morning I told steph that I would like to do one of my blogs.  I was very worried because I haven't done one for a long time, and so many things have happened in that time. Steph told me not to worry – we would have a “Fresh Start”. I told her that sounded like a shampoo. Steph said it meant we would just start talking about new things, and not bother ourselves with what was past. I liked that idea. Steph is very smart. I want to tell everyone about Mollie and the new toy. Sally bought a toy dog at the pet store. It cost $5 and the money is to help little dogs who don't have homes. I used to be one of those, but Sally found me and now I am the luckiest dog in the whole world. Anyway, Sally let Mollie play with the new toy (really it was for me, but Mollie thinks everything is for her. Very spoiled little dog). Every time Willie and I walked towards her, or even just looked at her, that naughty Mollie snarled and growled and snapped at us. It was terrible! Then – it got even worse! Steph put her hand out to pet Mollie and tell her to calm down and Mollie snarled and snapped at Steph! Oh my goodness! Steph and Ken are the rulers of this house – even Sally has to listen them (sometimes). We all know that you never even growl at Steph. Well, she was very upset. She took away the toy and told Mollie she was a very bad little dog. Mollie was so mean – she kept snapping at me and Willie and  Clarence. He wasn't even interested in the toy dog! So then Steph said Mollie had to have a timeout. That doesn't mean you have to go outside, it means you get put in your cage, without any toys, and stay there until you are calm and nice again. That never happens to me because I am always calm and nice.  Sally suggested that we buy two more toy dogs then we would each have one. Steph said “I think not” and Sally said “I concur”. They often talk like that. Isn't it funny?  I love them very much, although Sally is my favorite. I'm very pleased that I've had a “Fresh Start” with my blog. From now on I'm going to blog every day. Or nearly every day. It makes me happy. Oh, Mollie stayed in her cage for one hour. Then Steph cuddled her and everyone was happy again. 

Sitting on the Couch

My blog today is more about Willie than me. Well almost!! When I want to sit on the couch next to Sally or Steph, I jump onto the couch and lie down. Now that seems the right thing to do, but quite often, everyone yells, "Harvey, what are you doing?" and  it turns out that I'm on top of Willie or Clarence. Sally and Steph and Ken make a big fuss about rescuing whoever I've sat on. I don't know why because it doesn't bother me in the least. I'm quite comfortable as long as they don't move too much. Last night, I landed on Willie and he poked his head out from underneath my tail and it made everyone laugh because it looked as if he had a wig on. Sally says my tail is so beautiful that it makes a lovely wig. Willie must have thought so too because he stayed there long enough for Ken to take his picture.

Mollie's party

I promised Mollie that I would tell all my friends about her birthday party. Her birthday was on July 13th, but we had the party last weekend. She was 10 years old. We had our funny pointy party hats to wear, but we also used them like little dishes, hanging around our necks - Sally put special little treats in them. She thought it would make us like the hats more. It didn't, but the treats were lovely. We gave Mollie some toys and we sang "Happy Birthday Dear Mollie" and then we had a big fight over who would play with the new toys. Ken took photos and it was a lovely party. Even Mollie enjoyed it and she is very hard to please.

A little more about me

Today I suggested to Sally that we tell people a little bit more about my background. Before I came to live with Sally, I belonged, together with a lot of other dogs, to a nice old lady lady who had trouble caring for so many dogs. We never went outside. She had newspaper on the kitchen floor for us to use and she didn't have visitors, so I wasn't used to other people. The lady fed us properly and loved us but then she died. I was taken to a shelter and they didn't really know what to do with me because I was so frightened of people and frightened of being outside. Sally came to the shelter and rescued me. We loved each other very much right from the start, but it has taken me a long time to accept other people. I love Steph and Ken but I'm still worried about strangers. Sally has been very patient and I now understand that I have to make my bathroom visits outside, like Mollie and Willie. For a long time I didn't want to go in the dog run. Now I go outside and everyone is very pleased with me. When I want to come back inside, I stand up on my back legs and hit the screen door. Mollie and Willie are very impressed. They never thought of doing that. Sally says now we are going to take lots of walks with me on a lead. I'm not sure about that, but she seems to think I'll enjoy it eventually. I like seeing other dogs, but the people with them always want to pet me and that bothers me. Did you know that you don't have to run in a dog run? You can just walk. And when you go for a walk, you can run. And if you poop on a walk, they carefully put your poop in a little bag and bring it home again! It's very confusing!! I love my family. 

Behind The Story - Harvey's Blog

Today was rather a quiet day. When Steph is doing her errands and Sally and Ken are at work, we have to stay in our cages, so we just sleep. All the adventures I talk about in my blog really do happen, but for adventures to happen, we need to be out of our cages. Steph says that all families have adventures like ours, but generally people and dogs don't think to talk about them. In this family, we are easily amused and easily shocked, so there is always something to talk about. Ken keeps his camera on the table, ready to record the events. Yesterday, Mollie went to work with Sally, and Dr. Pasdo removed her third eye. I felt quite sorry for her when Steph brought her home because she has stitches in her face. She slept the rest of the day and we left her alone. That is always a good idea with Mollie because she can be quite nasty anyway. I didn't understand why Sally took Mollie out and not me but when Mollie came back, I was glad it was her and not me. Steph said "I don't know why you're upset, Harvey. You don't like going out anyway", which is true!! So when you read my blogs, you will know they really happened. We're not including Mollie in the blog photo today, because she wouldn't let anyone to see her cosmetic surgery.

Willie's Hideaways

My friend Willie, the mini pini, did some-thing quite amazing the other day. He is very fero-cious most of the time, but some-times he is a big baby. There was a thunder-storm and the thunder frightened him, so he ran into the laundry and hid behind the laundry basket. Ken wanted to give him his supper, so Steph lifted the basket and told him to go and eat his food. Willie was so scared he jumped into the tumble drier that Steph was taking the clothes from. We all laughed and Steph and Ken couldn't decide who was going to risk lifting him out. Steph made Ken do it. She told Willie that going round and round in the drier would be a lot worse than listening to the thunder. He usually hides under the couch. When he does that, Ken has to use the broom to sweep him out. I find it very odd that Willie is frightened by loud noises that can't hurt him, then tries to bite Steph and Ken and Sally, who would never hurt him. I guess mini pins aren't as smart as I am. 

The Brown Bear in Camp

Last night was very exciting. Sally and I went camping and I had a fight with a brown bear. It started because Sally's bedroom was too hot so she said we would sleep downstairs in the living room, on the couch. Sally took pillows and her brown bear called Jewel and we got ourselves all comfortable on the couch and then Steph came to say goodnight. Steph picked up Jewel the bear and held his arms and made him jump around and box at me and then he made a very rude gesture with his arms. Steph laughed and said, "Harvey, Jewel is being very rude to you". I stared at Jewel and then I jumped forward and grabbed his face in my mouth and tried to kill him. Steph and Sally laughed and laughed because they said they didn't realize I understood what Jewel was doing. I was very cross so Sally had to hide Jewel which was really quite silly because I knew exactly where he was. I just couldn't be bothered to kill him. 

The Beauty Shop

Saturday was a very special day for me. At first I wasn't very happy because Sally went to work. Then I got quite worried because Steph and Ken put me in the car and said, "We are going to make you look all beautiful," and away we went. Sally tells me every day that I am beautiful so I didn't understand why they needed to take me anywhere. We went to see Al at the Bark-A-Lounge Groomers. Al is very nice but I was still worried when Steph and Ken left. Al had to carry me to the back because I wouldn't stand up and walk. Al picked me up and told me I was a big scared baby. I think that's a compliment. The groomer shampooed me and dried me and cut my hair and my nails and brushed and brushed me and tied a pretty scarf around my neck. Then Steph and Ken came to take me home. They were so happy to see me and kept telling me I was very beautiful and smelled very nice. Going home in the car, I was so happy I forgot to be frightened. I sat up on the back seat and looked out the window and when the car stopped at the red lights, people in other cars smiled at me. Steph said I was very brave. When I got home, Mollie and Willie were very pleased to see me and kept sniffing me because I smelled so nice. Then Sally came home from work and she was so delighted with me. She said my tail looked like a cheerleader's pompom when I wagged it. Usually, Mollie goes to see Al with me, but as I mentioned before, she has a lump between her eyes that Dr. Pasdo is going to remove on Wednesday. Steph says it is not a third eye. When that has been seen to, she can go to the groomers. The people at Bark-A-Lounge are very nice. Steph said perhaps she should have her hair done there because her hair dresser never gives her a pretty scarf. 

My favorite day of the week

Today is Sunday and I think that is the best day of the week. Sally and Ken don't go to work on Sundays. We get up late so I can stay snuggled in bed. After I've had my breakfast and run around with Willie for a while, I have to go in my cage for just a little bit while Sally and Steph and Ken all go out to breakfast. I don't understand why they go out to breakfast but it seems people like doing that. When they come home again, they let us out of our cages and then we can just mess around all day. We get on and off the couch and we follow Sally and Ken and Steph round and round and they talk to us lots. We can play games and chase around and have naps as well. It's a really nice day. After we've all had supper, we sit in the living room and we all watch that thing they call the TV. Mollie seems to understand the TV more than me because she barks at it. So I join in, but I don't know why. And that's why I like Sundays.

My favorite game

My friends Willie and Ken and I have a favorite game that we love to play. The game even has a name. It is called "Take Mollie's bed out of her cage". We started playing this game when Ken and Steph got Mollie her new bed not too long ago.  Willie and I take turns pulling out the bed and Ken puts the bed back into her cage.  Sometimes, Willie and I play tug-o-war with it.  Today, Willie sat on it and I pulled him along. We have never played that part of the game before and Willie thought it was a lot of fun.  I don't think it would work if Willie tried to pull me because I weigh a lot more than Willie does. I think Ken likes the game a lot because he laughs and says "Oh Harvey, not again" and then jumps up to put it in the cage right away. Mollie doesn't play the game with us, although we have invited her. She is just too serious. 

My friend Olive

I have a friend who is like a secret friend. Olive is a small, pretty, gray cat with green eyes. She is a very shy cat and stays upstairs most of the time, unlike Clarence. Olive sleeps on the bed with Sally, Clarence and me. Although she is a very little cat, who is shy about strangers, she is actually very bossy. She's like  a Mollie-cat. She gets very annoyed with me and with Clarence when we mess around and she hisses at us and smacks us with her front paw. She is very little but she is very greedy and she panics if she thinks the food dish might soon be empty. She makes a terrible yowling noise and Steph and Ken yell "Sally, what is wrong with that cat?" She doesn't like the dogs very much, except for me, of course. Olive likes to lie down where it is warm, like the bathroom floor and Sally's TV. One day, she fell off the top of the TV and tried to pretend that it wasn't an accident but we all laughed at her anyway. Sometimes, she makes a terrible noise and throws up things called hairballs. Not very ladylike if you ask me!! I like to chase Olive.  It's not exactly a game because she gets very annoyed with me and Steph says, "Leave that cat alone!!" 

My friend Mollie (I think)

Tonight I am going to tell everyone about the third dog that lives in this household. Her name is Mollie, and Steph and Ken and Sally sometimes call her Princess Mollie.  I think it's because she thinks she's royalty. It's very difficult to tell you fun things about Mollie because she is actually rather crabby. If I try to get on the couch that she is on, she tries to bite me. Sometimes if I just walk past her she tries to bite me. In her defense, I must say I think she hates all the dogs and cats in this house, but she does love Ken and Steph and Sally very much. Mollie has grown a lump between her eyes.  I try not to laugh but I think it looks as if she is going to get a third eye. I hope it doesn't hurt her but it does look funny. It's very strange but Steph buys her collars and harnesses and leads that are very pretty.  I think she should have things that have spikes on them because that is more her personality. She is very clever about one thing.  She watches TV and barks at animals on the TV and she actually makes them go away.  I don't know where they go but they do disappear. She is a very good dog about going outside and it's sort of annoying because when she tells Ken or Steph or Sally that she wants to go out, they make all of us go outside. I suppose that's because she is a princess. I must admit I am a little bit frightened by her. Every now and then I try to be her friend, but she doesn't seem to understand the rules. Instead of playing, she just tries to bite me. 

My friend Willie

Tonight I would like to introduce my friend Willie. Willie is a very unusual little dog. He is called something like Mini Pini.  We have lots of fun together.  Today we were chasing each other round and round and round and jumping on and off the couch. Steph was laughing at us.  But then it went wrong!! I thought Willie was going to jump on the couch, but he didn't, and I jumped on the couch and saw him on the floor and jumped straight down and landed right on top of him and squashed him!!!!! He made a very funny noise, just like our squeaky toys do.  Steph yelled, "Oh no Harvey, what have you done?" I just sat there and looked at Willie who was lying on the floor. Steph picked him up and patted him and said "I don't think you broke any bones".  She put Willie down and he rushed into his cage, and he wouldn't come out and play with me for a long time. But I was happy because then I sat with Steph. This evening Willie and I attacked Steph's slipper, so now we are friends again.

My friend Clarence

I have lots of friends.  Clarence is one of them.  He is a big orange cat and Sally says that he thinks he is a dog.  I like to chase him around the house, although sometimes he gets a little bit angry when I catch him, and I don't like when he is angry with me.  Clarence eats delicious food.  Sometimes I try to steal it, but then Sally gets mad at me.  One really odd thing about Clarence is that he uses the bathroom in the house, in a box in Sally's room.  If I poop or pee in the house, Sally gets mad at me (so do Ken and Steph). I have never seen Sally get mad at Clarence for pooping and peeing in her room. I just don't understand Sally sometimes.  Clarence and I snuggle up sometimes. He is cuddly and warm and makes a funny noise, as if he had a motor.  That sometimes disturbs my sleep but I always manage to get back to sleep.  Another thing Clarence can do is jump over the gate at the bottom of the stairs.  I can't seem to do that no matter how I try. He also jumps on tables and counters, all sorts of places I can't get to.  Still I'd rather be a dog, even if it means I can't get to all the places Clarence can. Clarence did a naughty thing today.  There was a lovely vase of flowers on the table and Clarence knocked them over.  It was like it was raining under the table.  I thought it was quite funny, but Sally and Steph seemed annoyed.  I tried to drink some of the water and Sally shooed me away.  I don't understand why it is alright to drink some water, but not other water.  Things can be a little bit confusing for me sometimes. 

The Power Cut

Something very exciting happened today, while Steph and I were home making phone calls.  Well, I wasn't really making phone calls, but I was sitting with Steph while she was.  Steph was in the middle of a phone call when all the lights went out.  I was very worried because I didn't see Steph turning off all the lights.  Nothing worked - not the microwave - not the fridge - not the television - not the computer - nothing.  Steph told me that we shouldn't worry because this was a power cut and the lights would come back on as soon as the power company fixed it.  Well, I was quite worried, so I decided to have a nap to take my mind off things.  It worked because when I woke up, the power was back on.  I was very relieved.  

My first entry

My name is Harvey and I am a very handsome dog.  My best friend is Sally and she thinks I have so much to say that I should have my own blog.  Today was a great day because Sally was home almost all day so I didn't have to go in my kennel except for a little while when Sally, Ken and Steph went out to breakfast (they didn't tell me where they went but I smelled egg on Sally's shirt when she got home).  I have lots of friends here.  I will tell you more about them and our adventures in later blogs.  I know lots of words because I look at pieces of paper and books and things with words on them all the time.  I am going to go now because it is almost bed time and I am very tired after a long day of lying on the couch.