VISITORS FROM AFAR

The day is finally here, I have been waiting so long!!!  Today I get to meet my Granny and Grandad from Scotland!!!  The Nice Lady told me they are coming in on a tiny little airplane this morning and bringing lots of belly rubs and back scratches with them, enough for me, Mo, and even Morrigan.  I can't wait!  I am wiggling from nose to tail with excitement.


I am already planning to show them how fast I can chase my orange ball and how I can snatch my tennis ball from midair.  I have been working hard on my "play dead" trick too.  I can sense the excitement in the house that always comes with visitors.  Mo got a bath last night, The Nice Lady says she "smells like flowers."  She even put silly pink bows in her ears (I don't get that, but whatever, as long as she doesn't try to do the same to ME!)  

My favorite babysitter, Hannah, even came yesterday to play and clean the house a little bit.  It was Mo's first time meeting Hannah too.  Mo is real friendly, just like me, so meeting new people is fun.  Especially when treats are involved.  Speaking of which, do you suppose Grandad likes bacon?  If so, I'll share mine with him.


Well I need to catch a nap before they get here so I am all ready to show off.  I sure hope they love me the way I already love them!  Wish me luck!


Love,
Merlyn

TREATS TO DROOL FOR

Every dog has their own favorite treats.  For some it's cheese.  I happen to like cheese just fine on the way down, it's the second taste of it that doesn't sit so well with me.  And trust me, I taste it twice every time, so The Nice People tend to shortchange me in the cheese department.

Other dogs love chicken.  I'm not a huge chicken fan either, it's a little on the dry side for my liking.  I'd much rather be chasing a chicken than eating one.

Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:

1.  Bacon.  I LOVE bacon.  Even the butcher knows when The Nice People order steaks that they don't need to bother wrapping them in bacon, the bacon just goes in with the steaks and gets cooked for me.  I can smell bacon a mile away, and once I smell it I can't keep from pacing, whining, drooling, and generally making a pest of myself until it winds up in my bowl.  When I'm done, my bowl is shinier than the day The Nice People bought it.  Lip smackin' good!

2.  Tuna.  Not the kind The Nice Man grills, but the kind that comes out of the can.  When I hear the can opener twisting I just know that I'm going to get to lick the can of it's leftovers.  The Nice Lady hates the smell of tuna and always can tell when I've had some.  At least she doesn't give me a bath every time, I'm not sure it would be worth it.

3.  Shortbread.  Oh my goodness, break out the Walkers stuff in the little plaid packages and I am a puddle at your feet.  I hear that plastic wrapper scrunching and I come running from the far corners of the house to sit pretty at The Nice Man's feet.  Even though he complains I know it's really that he loves shortbread as much as me and hates parting with it.  But to his credit, he always shares, even if it's just the crumbs.  He's an ole softy.

I hope your family keeps the pantry stocked with all of your favorite treats too!

Love,

Merlyn

A Teaching Exercise

The beautiful weather continues here in Iowa.  Of course anything would feel better than what the whole month of July had in store for us with the high humidity and sweltering heat.  The best thing about cooler days and nights is that I often get TWO walks each day instead of just one.  On the evening walks The Nice Lady often comes with us, I just happily trot along while The Nice People chat softly in the twilight.  

Well last night there was a big change in the form of a small, furry, black and white body:  Mo got to go for a walk too!  She had never been on a long walk before and I was dubious that it would go well.  When she first came to live with us she hated the leash and would bite at it and pull on it or just sit down stubbornly and refuse to move.  She's had a little more practice since then because Sam and The Nice Lady walk her half a block to the post office most days.  She even got her picture taken there by the UPS man one day so he could show his girlfriend how cute she was.  I guess that was her 15 minutes of fame.

Much to my surprise, and The Nice People's too, Mo was a trooper!  She didn't pull on the leash, she walked right alongside of me, keeping up with me, and walked the whole way without needing to be carried.  For every one of my steps she has to take about 4 since her little legs are so short but in true Havanese fashion she just bounced along like she'd been walking on a leash all her life.  The Nice Lady kept commenting on how pleasant it was to walk with us and even gave me credit for teaching Mo how to walk so nicely.  I felt very proud of myself and of Mo!

When we got home Mo crawled into the bed in her pen to rest and I jumped up onto The Nice Man's lap, baby style on my back.  I may have fallen asleep for just a minute, but I was awake enough to hear The Nice Man say that this pose was pathetic even for me.  I just kept my eyes shut and pretended not to hear him, but I was thinking he must like pathetic because he snuggled me a little closer and sighed his happy sigh that he saves for only when he feels like all is right with our family.  It was a very nice way to end the day.  

Love,
Merlyn

Welcome Home

Last night The Nice Lady opened the front door just after dark and let Mo and I out onto the big front porch to patrol the neighborhood.  I take this job very seriously.  You never know when a rabbit will sneak into the yard to nibble our pretty plants, or when someone might walk on the sidewalk in front of our house and need to be announced.  I pace from left to right against the railing checking things out, reporting back to The Nice Lady for an occasional pat on the head or belly rub for doing such a good job.


Suddenly, my ears pricked up high and I raced to the side of the porch by the driveway and began to whine loudly to get The Nice Lady's attention...The Nice Man was coming!!  I could hear his car from a block away (my gorgeous ears are super tuned to anything related to The Nice Man).  By the time he pulled into the driveway I was in full HAPPY MODE, tail wagging, barking, and jumping at the front door to be let in (how disappointed The Nice Man would be if I wasn't at the back door to greet him when he came inside!)  The Nice Lady understands how important this ritual is so she let me in right away and I raced to the back door and began to howl, letting him know I was waiting for him.


And just like always, The Nice Man came inside, knelt down on one knee and scratched me behind the ears good and proper; he doesn't even put his bag down first.  He is as happy to see me as I am to see him!  He eventually gives a little belly rub to Mo too, but I'm first cos I'm his best buddy.  I like that he counts on me to welcome him home every day, it makes me feel important and loved.  I hope your Nice People are as happy to see you at the end of a hard day at work as mine are.


Love,
Merlyn

Hooray!

This past weekend started off like any other; a few walks, chasing my tennis ball, running from Mo, laying on the tile floor to stay cool, nothing special.  UNTIL I went outside last night after dinner, and what do I see???  A brand new doggie pen, built just for me!!!  It has pretty black fencing and two fancy gates, lots of grass to lay on so it tickles my belly, a sidewalk to walk on when the grass gets too wet, and best of all there is plenty of room to chase my beautiful orange ball.  The Nice People worked on it all afternoon yesterday in the hot sun, just to make me happy.  They know how I love to lay in the grass, dig a little, play ball and soak up the sun's rays while the summer breeze blows through my golden fur.  I am so lucky to have a Nice Family.

Last night, even though she was tired from working on my pen, the Nice Lady practiced some new tricks with me and Mo.  I am working on "Play Dead", and "Give Kisses".  Mo needs to work on not stealing my treats.  The Nice Lady also tried to teach me something called "Spin", but I outsmarted her by figuring out if I just sit still she eventually gives me the treat anyways.  Mo, on the other hand, turns around in a big silly circle when The Nice Lady says "Spin", as if turning a circle is going to impress anyone...

I hope you all had a nice weekend like we did.  Don't work too hard this week, and remember to show your nice family how much you love and appreciate them for taking good care of you.

Love,
Merlyn

PLAY BALL!!!

Want to know what makes me happy?  I mean, tail-wagging, butt-wriggling, pitter-patter-heart-beating-really-fast happy???  Playing B A L L !  There is NOTHING I don't LOVE about playing BALL!!  

Inside, I have this tennis ball that Stella helped me chew all the yellow fuzz off of (The Nice Lady was SO impressed).  The Big House is open floor plan so I can chase that ball all the way from the front door to the back door without anything slowing me down.  I can do this really fast too, even though I have to go up and down some stairs (which I've gotten very good at).

Outside, ohhhhhh booyyyyy, this is my favorite part, OUTSIDE I have this lovely ORANGE SOCCER BALL that is deflated just enough that I can grab it on the run, or pluck it out of the air on the bounce.  I can dribble it with my nose and even The Nice Man has a tough time getting the ball off of me and he is a soccer champ!  I don't mean to brag, but I'm tellin' ya, I am REALLY GOOD with that ball!  I have other balls outside but this one is my FAVORITE, CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT, ball.  In the Small House I had a pen in the backyard just for ball chasing, I could do it for hours before collapsing in a panting heap happy as Larry.  At the Big House I don't have a pen, yet, but The Nice Man promises me that I will have one, and it will be wonderful, maybe even with a tunnel system and lots of room to dig to Scotland (my granny and grandad live there.)

So I hope this hot Iowa weather lets up soon so The Nice People can get my pen built and I can get back to chasing my orange ball.  I hope you are all blessed with that one special toy that you love more than all the rest.  Isn't being a dog great?

Love,
Merlyn

Puppy Pranks

Now that Mo is settling in, I am starting to see little glimpses of my puppy self in her and can only ask, "What were The Nice People thinking?!?!?!"  Although I was six months old when I came to live with them, I still had plenty of puppy power in me to give their patience a run for their money.  Let's take a walkie down memory lane....

I happen to have a cute mouth with a slight underbite that gives me the appearance of smiling when I look at you.  My mouth is full of healthy pearly whites that I have honed to perfect sharpness through countless hours of chewing.  On everything.  I mean EVERYTHING.  Examples, you say?  How about shoes, shoestrings, The Nice Man's jacket (hung on a chair), Sam's Celtic shirt (left on the couch), a dining room chair (the lattice back of it, not the legs), the wooden ironing board cabinet (even after repainting), kitchen cabinets (originals and their replacements), wall trim, and last, but not least, The Nice Lady's newly refinished 1920's wicker rocking chair (this one was almost the end of my stay with The Nice People).  Luckily, The Nice Man is an incredibly good tantrum thrower the likes of which have never been seen before or since.  It was after that incident that I realized that all of those items put together didn't taste so wonderful that it would be worth losing my place in The Nice Family, so I changed my chewing ways.  

Now I restrict my chewing to The Nice Man's ABC gum (when he leaves it for me to find in the yard), rawhides or flossies, food (including the occasional ice cream cone), and treats (preferably the soft chewy kind).

As I hear The Nice People say for the umpteenth time "No Bite, Mo!" I find myself hoping that she catches on quickly that they are not chewtoys and neither are their nice things.  I might have to have a muzzle to muzzle chat with her the next time I see her proudly carrying The Nice Lady's flip flop through the living room.  Big brothers gotta look out for their little sisters, don't they?  Here's hoping that your Nice People surprise you with a yummy flossie as a reward for good chewing behavior real soon.


Love,
Merlyn