You Make My Day!

Thanks to Agatha and Archie, and also The Thuglets for giving me this nifty award! It's a special treat to receive an award because someone likes to read my blog. Thanks, guys and dolls!
Now I'd like to pass this award on to someone who made me smile today. Mackie, here's to you for your hard work in placing not just one, but TWO wire fox terriers in forever homes this weekend! Casey and Maggie are two very lucky dogs.

You make the world a better place, buddy.

~Tell

Girl Dogs

Don't get me wrong, I like girl dogs, especially my little sis, Glynn. Although she doesn't play Tug-of-War, she will give a good game of chase (which is my second favorite game). We share our dinner bowls every day. Her favorite place to sleep is curled up next to me. Anywhere I go, my little shadow follows.

But girl dogs sometimes give mixed signals that we fellows don't understand. Mom and Dad have a hard time figuring out Glynn, too. Is she spayed, or not? The rescue group didn't know. I don't even think Glynn knows for sure. Don't ask me, I plead ignorance. Cap's also confused, but with his age I'm not surprised.

Last week, College Kid took Glynn on a long car ride to the big teaching university in Stillwater. The vets there looked Glynn over from tip to teakettle, poking and feeling all around. Glynn has always been a shy girl, and this was not something she enjoyed very much. She said the scariest part was when they rolled her over and squirted cold goo on her tum-tum so they could see her insides with an ultrasound. She was so tense and nervous that the doctor leaned over and told her, "It's going to be alright, sweetheart, really!" Maybe he likes his tum-tum rubbed, but Glynn doesn't.

After all the tests, the doctors said that Glynn has been spayed, but a remnant of ovarian tissue was left behind and is still producing hormones. I don't know what any of that means, but at least she won't be having surgery or puppies. Glynn says that's just dandy with her.

When Glynn got home that night, she was stressed and tired from the long day. She's definitely a homebody and doesn't like leaving the house or yard. I worried about her for a little while, but she settled down soon and went right to sleep.

The next morning, Glynn was bouncing around and nipping me like she always does. She ate a big breakfast, then we romped around the yard. Things are back to normal.

Well, normal for Glynn, anyway. And that's fine by me, too.
~Tell

The Thin Man Cometh

Look what we got for Christmas! It's a movie starring my favorite actor, Asta! College Kid brought home the fourth movie of the Thin Man series, Shadow of the Thin Man. There are a couple of minor actors named William Powell and Myrna Loy in it, too, but we all know that Asta is the real talent in the film.

Here's a bit of trivia I found when researching this movie. After Nick (William Powell) gets off a merry-go-round, there is a close-up of Asta also jumping off the merry-go-round. If you look closely, you can see the straps and fishing line attached to Asta's legs. They used it to make him walk like he was dizzy from going in circles. There's also a scene where you can see a reflection of someone giving Asta his cues.

Yeah, as if Asta needed any help acting. He was a talented pup, and except for that little mishap where he nipped Myrna Loy for bothering him, a true professional in his movie career.

So when the ice and snow blows in later tonight, we're going to be curled up with some popcorn and fudge and watching my favorite film star in action. We hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season, too!
~Tell

I'm Feelin' Mighty Woozy...

Yesterday started off nice enough. Instead of getting breakfast, we were asked, "Who wants to go for a ride?" Well, ask a silly question! Cap, Glynn and I jumped in the pickup for a trip to town. I rode shotgun.

We ended up at the vet's office. No big deal there, we like our vet and all the people at the animal hospital. They drew blood from all three of us, I guess to see if we had some. Then I was hefted up on the table and stood there wagging my tail, enjoying all the attention and hugs. There must have been a bee buzzing in the room, because the next thing I knew, I felt a little sting in my shoulder. That's the last thing I remember for awhile.

I don't know what happened next, but when I woke up I felt wobbly, my head was spinning, and I'm not at all certain I hadn't been abducted by aliens when I wasn't looking.

Cap and Glynn hadn't fared much better than me, so that bee must have been going around. Poor Cap woke up missing three teeth, which were getting pretty scarce in his mouth. His breath also smells better than it did before. Glynn just looked sleepy and didn't say much.

Now Mom has a photo of a dog that looks an awful lot like me getting a professional dental cleaning. All I can say is I don't remember that happening, so it couldn't have been me. Handsome devil, though. I'd like to meet him someday.

We didn't feel like eating dinner last night, but this morning we inhaled our breakfast. Cap grumbled over his bowl like he always does, and Glynn and I played switcharoo with ours. We got extra hugs, too, and were told we were the best smelling pooches around.

I hope Doc gets rid of that pesky bee, though.

~Tell

Home Again

We are very glad to be back home after the power outage. We were only in the dark about two days, so we were some of the lucky ones in this area. We were at the Pig Out Palace (I kid you not, that's what they call it) and saw about 75 men in trucks pull into the parking lot. They went inside and pushed all their tables together like an old logging camp, and boy did they chow down. Takes a lot of gumption to stand this cold weather, working hours in it like they do. Those linemen sure do have our respect, and thanks. It's a hard job.

The freezer held out good, but there was some funky stuff in the refrigerator that got tossed. Other than that, everything was just the way we left it.

The birds Petrie and Juliet were camped out at the doggy bed and breakfast place (yeah, they take birds there in a pinch), so things were pretty quiet around here until today. Now they're back home, and things are livening up. Juliet may not have a beautiful singing voice, but she sings with gusto. Kinda sounds like a smoke alarm. I hope they haven't picked up any new words while they were gone.

We're looking forward to the big soup and sandwich meal we have on Christmas Eve. My favorite is baked potato soup with cheese and sour cream, maybe some bacon bits if I can mooch some off the table.

Ah, life is back to normal.

~Tell

Hey, It's Mater!

Well, would you look what we saw while running errands around town. It's Mater, from the Disney movie Cars. You remember, "Yeah, like tuh-mater, but without the tuh." He's even decked out with Christmas lights. Mom just cracked up, which isn't a good thing to do while driving but she couldn't help it.


We've had some foul weather with ice here, and our house has been without electricity for two days. Last night we all went to Mom's office and slept there. That's the thing about being a boss, you can make yourself at home if you want to. We all dog-piled on the floor, and this morning the place looked like a squatter's camp with bedrolls and clothes thrown all around. What a mess. The Family is beginning to feel a big doggy themselves, so it may be a hotel tonight. I didn't mind at all, as dogs can sleep just about anywhere, but apparently humans get up a wee bit grumpy in the morning without their ususal routine.


We're getting excited about Christmas. College Kid came home last weekend and put up a tree with all kinds of decorations and lights flashing. Now the bottom is blocked with boxes and bows so we can't sniff as close as we want to. This is good for Cap, as he gets a bit confused about trees being in the house and just what we're supposed to do about it. Silly old dog.


With all the news about the Montreal WFTs and their horrible situation, and pray that this will be resolved quickly. No dog deserves to suffer like those poor pups, and we have a special place in our hearts for all terriers. Even though we are camping out at the moment, we feel very lucky indeed. We're clean, groomed, well-fed and most of all, loved by The Family. That's the best Christmas a dog could have.
~Tell

Nat's Artwork

A few months ago My Girl started painting lessons, and now we're hanging artwork around the house. It's mostly still lifes and one fox (no, not a fox terrier, just a grey fox but you gotta start somewhere, I told her). We're waiting for the day that she'll paint a picture of us. Since I'm such a handsome devil, it should be a winner. I'm practicing my smile.

In the meantime, we're keeping an eye on Pappy's blog. Pappy's fellow is a painter, too, and has been busy imortalizing all of Pappy's bits and pieces on canvas and postcards. He has quite a collection of paintings on his artblog. If you haven't been keeping up with Nat Dickinson's art, it's worth checking out. You can even enter a contest to win a postcard with some of Nat's art on it. I have to say that Pappy is one lucky dog, being a model for so many pieces of artwork!

~Tell