Packin' It Up!

This is a photo of us last year at Linville Falls. Mom calls it our "family portrait". :)

We're getting all packed up. Mom says we have about as much stuff as they do!! Whatever...well...maybe....

Dad says we're leaving in the morning no later than 7 a.m., which should be interesting since mom doesn't do well nor function nor is friendly before 7 a.m., but she said she would make an exception since this was for a fun roadtrip not a "going to work" roadtrip.

The petsitter also came by last night to go over Simon's drugs and food routine (he's still stealing turkey noms). She was very nice, and one of mom's friends. Simon was not happy though that someone else is going to be giving him his pills, and that we would be leaving him. Maybe I'll get him a pinecone or something as a gift? Do kitties like pinecones??

Anyway, last year, when we went to NC this time of year, the leaves were just starting to turn (seet here's a lot of green in the photo above). But this year, they've had some freakisly cold weather so now all the leaves are turning early! Here's a photo from the BlueRidge Pkwy. Daily Facebook page:


Jennifer DeSimone Mesk took this wonderful photo off the BRP. Aren't the colors AMAZING?!?!
And since the leaves don't tecknikally change until mid-late October, we should she beautiful leaves while beating out the "leaf people" who schedule their vacay's that time of year! Booy-yah!!



And since it's still cool, mom and dad are going to make S'mores which means I get Marshmellows!!! And maybe a fire-cooked hotdog! NOM!!

So stay safe my friends. I'll see you all in a week and a half. I'm sure I'll have tons of photos!

B'day Presents have Arrived!

Well it finally happened....I got my b'day presents!! They came in the mail Friday. So, what did mom get me??

Oh yeah, that's right, a personalized PINK leather collar!!!!

I can't wear it everyday, just for outings (which don't involve water) and stuff. It's pretty cool!

I told mom she did very good in picking out the color and the font. My name is in chocolate brown. She got it from out GSD mom-friend at Pikoda collars. She sells nylon ones too, but mom said it was time for me to take the big-girl step into leather!

My next present was not something you'd get everyday...it's my....

NO HUNTIN' ME VEST!! For when we go to the mountains in three days. I like it. it's very bright and fits well. And now no one will think I'm a lone wolf or bear!

Mom and dad also had to get up early Saturday and go drive two hours to get our noms. Ususally the nom lady delivers but she couldn't make it this week and we had to have noms to travel with so the parents went to go get them. While there they got us some b'day cookies!

Sorry the photo is blurry. It was with mom's phone and she was worried she was going to lose a finger cause Dunc was all about NOM NOM NOM!!!

Hope you had a great weekend! We'll be packing up all our stuff here and getting ready to make our road trip! I think I have more stuff than mom!!!

Who you talkin' to Willis?

A lot of peoples think mom is crazy....for obvious reasons aside, because people says mom "spoils us rotten." Now, I don't know what this means...I mean, just because we have a lot of toys and collars and packs (which all serve a purpose) and cause mom and dad do stuff with us and take us on vacayshion with them we are apparently "spoiled". Pfft...if I was truly spoiled my custom B'day present would have been here YESTERDAY on my b'day served with a nice homemade doggy cupcake...but that's beside the point.

Now mom thinks other peoples are crazy cause they don't love their critters as much as her and dad do (and all your moms and dads...high five!). But Tuesday, mom got looked at like she was REALLY bonkers.

Mom took me out for an evening walk. It was nice, relatively cool for Alabama. And when we walk, mom talks to me.

Mom: Oh Anna, I'm so ready for next week! It's vacation!

Me: (run back to mom) I know! We need a rest! I'm stressed!

Mom: Just think, you get to run around and chase turkeys...

Me: Dinner will be served! Nom!!

Mom: And you'll be wearing your new "no huntin' me vest" so no one thinks your a bear or a wolf!

Me: Whew! And a wolf? Seriously? People are so....hey mom, that woman's staring at you...

Mom turns and sees some of our elderly (who am I kidding, they're all elderly in our hood) neighbors staring, mouth open, at us.

Mom: Hello!

Scared Neighbor: Are you talking to....your dog........(takes a step back)

Mom: Umm...yeah....

Scared Neighbor: Umm...hmm.....nice backpack. (scampers inside)

I guess a lot of peoples don't think talking to us critters is normal. I say POO on you! POOOOO! Mom and dad talk to all of us all the time. Riddle me this: how can you not talk to a critter that lives in your house people?!?!

So as we walked off, Mom laughed.

Mom: What's her deal, Anna?

Me: I haz no idea...now about those turkeys.....

GUESS WHAT TODAY IS?!?!

It's ANNA DAY!!!

Yep, I turn the big O-3 today!!! Look at me above...aren't I cute? Yep...then this morning mom did this to me:


Is that how you treat a dignified lady such as myself?? AND mom and dad are both working all day today, AND they don't have my present yet! Mom said it should be here either tonight or tomorrow....this just will not do!

So I'm going to hit them with my lazer eyes, take off this stupid hat, eat it and probably take a great nap! At least we're going on vacation in ONE WEEK!!! So that makes it okay I guess. And I did overhear dad say something about going to get a puppy-cookie this weekend!

Fashionista

My dear friend Bunny over at Tales and Tails asked me about something dear to my heart...FASHION!

Bunny has one of the best eyes for fashion I've ever seen, but it seems now that her dear GSD sister Morgan has been taken over by her Mom, Morgan is about to enter the fashion world! Bunny asked about what's in my closet, and man, have there been a lot over the years!

First off, I like pink. Everyone always thinks I'm a boy, so by wearing pink it helps to say "I'm a Lady!" although you'd be suprised how many times still call me "He and Him". Oh well.




These are two of my first hand made collars mom ordered for me! They are a chain martingale, because I had a bad habit as a puppster to back out of my collar and running back to the car. Not fun when Mom was in Petsmart! I don't do that anymore, but mom just likes the way they look. The chain makes me a little hard-core!

This is my current collar and matching leash. Mom buys them all from Fido's Fashion Collars. They hold up great, even at the beach. Hmm...looking at the site I think it's time for a new collar!!!

This is my pink tracking harness. I only wear it when I'm workin' the nose. It allows me to get my nose on the ground without the leash/collar pulling on my neck. And it stands out wonderfully against my furs!

Then I have my Doggles. I think I look very Jacki-O, no? Mom got these for me for my Pannus (an eye condition that I need to keep the UV rays away from). I don't wear them much, but if we ever go to the beach again, they're a must. We'll take them to NC on vacay as well, since I'll be outside a lot.

Speaking of Vacay, here's my backpack. They didn't have pink, but it's okay. Blue is cool too. I wear it on walks around the hood as well, so mom can put stuff in it, like keys, phone and poo bags cause Duncan ALWAYS poops on walks.

Then there's GAMEDAY!! Awwww yeah boyyyeee! Mom made me an Au bandANNA!

Then mom ordered my LUCKY Auburn Collar! The Tigers are undefeated since I started wearing this! I only wear it on gamedays. Mom got it from a friend of Aunt Temple at

Designs by Trucks. I highly suggest this if you need your team to pull out a W!

But I have a super secret with my collar...it's only lucky if I wear it upside down!! Hey, whatever works, right?

Mom said I'm about to add to my collekshion....an orange No Huntin' Me Vest for when we go to the mountains. We may go get it tonight actually at the Bass Pro Shop.

Mom also said that I might get a suprise from our friends at Pikoda Collars for my b'day that's coming up...hmm....wonder what I'll get?

So there you go! What are your favorite fashions you have and where do you buy them? We're always looking for a deal!!

You have TP on Your Shoe

Toomer's Corner after the 2010 BCS Title Game Win

This weekend was pretty low key. But I was a bit worried when mom and dad got up WAY early on Saturday. I mean, Saturday is sleeping days. But they got up, and before they left they put my lucky Auburn collar on me.

Yep, mom and dad went to gameday in Auburn and left Dunc and I at home. But at least they left the game on for us too!

One of the big traditions in Auburn is after a win, they roll a tree. With toilet paper. I don't understand this, cause mom yells at Mia when she unrolls toilet paper (TP bandit anyone!?!) but it's fine for the peoples to roll a tree. Maybe it keeps the squirrels out?

Toomer's Pre-Mississippi State Game (with Toomer's Drugs in the back)

Toomer's drugs is on the corner of College and Magnolia Streets, the heart of town, so the area is known as Toomer's Corner and these are the Toomer's Oaks. People have become engaged there, taken thier little peoples for their first gameday experience there and it's just a place where all Auburn Fans unite.

Dad gettin his ROLL on!

They've been through a lot, the Civil War, been caught on fire, but sadly, some freak fan of the other team poisoned the trees last year with some hard core plant poison. Yeah, way to step up and kill 135 year old trees! But the trees are fighting, we don't know if they'll make it or not, so mom and dad were hoping we'd win so they'd get to roll the trees, maybe for the last time. (and we hold no animosity to the other team, just their stupid fan. I want to put the bitey on him!)

Post Win, with Samford Hall in the background

So the Auburn Tigers pulled it off against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (kitties beat dogs, sorry) and mom and dad made it to the Corner with thousands of their other Tiger fans.

Mom and dad also got to see some old college buddies they haven't seen in forever! They then went to their favorite restaurant in town then came home. They credited the win to me wearing my Auburn collar. Well duh!

Maybe one day I'll get to go to Auburn and get some photos of me with the tree. I wonder why we haven't done this yet?!

Mom NOT getting a photo of me! Boo mom!

Dam it!

How was everyone's looooong Labor Day weekend? Mine was pretty good! Mom got to feeling MUCH better by Saturday. Thank god! After a day of crazy football games and yummy noms, Sunday was much more relaxed.

Apparently Tropical Storm Lee was headed our way, bringing lots of rains. But we didn't get much at all Sunday, it was just overcast and cooler, so mom and dad said "Let's take the Anna to the creek!" WINNING!

But we didn't just go to the creek, we went to the dam in town. The creek that runs through town used to help one of the biggest cotton gin factories in the country. Sadly, the oldest mill burnt down years ago (stupid meddling kids!), but the creek area is still a favorite of many, including us doggies!

Wait, I have it allllll to myself?!?! No other puppies!?!

It's not deep in this section at all!


Splishy splashy!


Hmmm...what's over here?

Helllloooooooooooooo! Is this puppy jail?

One of the old mill buildings

I prepare to make my dismount, mom snapped before I made a splash!

Then Monday, it rained alllll day, but mom checked the radar and saw no rains and it looked clear outside. With it being breezy and cool, mom took Dunc and I for a walk...which turned into a wet-t-shirt contest! Mom, Dunc and I got soaked....and for some reason mom kept bringing up the dam again...but I don't know what it had to do with getting rained on..hmmm....

This morning we awoke to a wonderful suprise:

BOO-YAH!!!!

Today is very cool...we went from 90s to 60s! Mom said this is what the mountains will be like in less than three weeks! So overall it was a super dam weekend! :)

Goodbye Sickies Hello Nom Thief

Well, not really. Zombie mom lives. She's at work a half day to get "stuff" done but didn't really argue with dad when he said she needed to come home. Hopefully the new new drugs she's getting today will help.

So, with all this zombie sickness, I decided to share some GOOD news! If you remember Simon had some health issues this year . He went for his thyroid checkup last week and everything is doing good! His thyroid is still high, 5.1 where the normal high is 4.7, but Dr. Vet seems okay with this. She doesn't want to increase his meds.

His liver is doing great, so no more problems there! But there is ONE major problem...now that he thinks he's all better, Simon has become the Nom Thief!

See, mom and dad feeds us puppers a raw diet. I love it. She tried with the kitties but they were all "Pffft, no way! We're kitties, we're superior!" or something like that. So imagine mom's suprise the other day when she was making our yummy breakfast of ground turkey that Simon starting nomming out of the container!

So now, mom is feeding Simon noms from OUR container! Luckily he only eats the turkey and quail mix, he's staying away from our cow. I'm not sure how I feel about this....