Here I come to save the day!

Guess what?  It's been really, really cold here.  We all have to wrap ourselves up a lot to go outside.  And my Dad has been going into the city lately.  I don't know where that is, but it must be far because he is gone all day.  

Anyway, it was cold and already dark. Ugh. I don't like going out in the dark, either.  And Dad needed money for the city.  He was going to have to go out into the dark and cold to get it.  But, hey!!! I have money!  I do!  'Cause all year long when I sell my books, I get money for my buddies at Almost Home Dog Rescue of New Jersey!  SO, I gave him some money.  Well, I don't have fingers, so Mom had to get it out.  But I saved him from the cold!  I bet he knows how lucky he is to have me around!    And he paid me back the very next day!

Yes, indeed, Harry saved the day, or night!  Each year Almost Home gets their donation thanks to the sale of Harry's books.  They are both on Amazon.  In the U.S. you can contact me directly at junivolz@gmail.com.  Not only will you get discounted books, but bookmarks, magnets, signed copies and I am happy to ship for free.  They make great gifts for dog lovers and anyone who can read!! 

 

He's so hard to see....

Hey, folks!  You guys know I'm a real dog, right?  I just don't like having my picture taken.  Nope. I do not. I do not like it one little bit!  But I got distracted yesterday and Mom was sneaky!  So, here I am, on camera! 

Harry was "taking care of business" and didn't know I was taking his picture....once he caught on he tried to run back in the house, but I still managed to get a little footage of the boy!  The real, live Harry Spotter!

A wiggle in the walk....

Oh, boy!  I just love my second breakfast.  It's getting chilly outside and inside, so I go out to the big room and sit in the sunshine that comes in the window to warm up.  That's when Mom is making MY second breakfast.  She has it first, then I get my shnibbles.  Today it was WONDERFUL!  It was so wonderful I did wiggle worm in the big room!  I'm such a lucky dog!

Yes, anyone who has read Harry's second book knows that he wakes up happy and proceeds to do his wiggle worm across the bedroom floor.  Today I decided to make some eggs along with my English muffin, which was burned to absolute perfection! (If there isn't smoke coming from the toaster, it isn't done.)  Harry gets a small piece, about the size of my thumb and he gets to lick the plate when I'm done.  He was so delighted that he did another full tilt wiggle worm in the living after his little nibbles. It is one of the more hilarious things he does.  So cute!
 

It's a marvelous night for a moondance....

So, wow! What a big day we had!  I knew something special was going on right away because I missed my morning nap! Oh, boy, oh, boy!  We got in the car and it was one of those things where there's all kinds of hoomans and dogs and stuff going on.  

Lots of people came to pet me, lots and lots.  And there were gagillions of dogs, too!  There were little tiny ones......

And there were medium ones, like me!

And even a great, big, giant dog! 

I got really, really tired.  But I had my suppertime when I got home and Mom gave me ice cream!  Yay! My favorite!  I'm still a little tired today, but I had a really good time!

The Octoberfest could not have been held on a nicer day.  It was simply gorgeous, with a clear, blue sky, some fall color in the trees and perfect weather.

Many thanks to all of the people who bought Harry's books - especially because every purchase results in a donation to Almost Home Dog Rescue of New Jersey, the same folks who rescued our boy!  And thank you, too, to the people who made donations.

Harry was so distracted, I even got to take his picture (Harry HATES his picture taken) and so did someone else!

He was not his usual, bouncy self this morning - he is playing bed bug today.  But I'm sure he will be back to doing wiggle worm by morning.

 

 

I came to travel upon a road that was thorned and narrow....

Doot, doot, doo.  Dum diddy dum.  Walking with my pack.  It's really nice out.  I just had my suppertime, which was way yumbers.  I saw my buddy, Snow, this morning.  Nobody else is around right now.  Oh, hey!  Let's go by the creek.  There's always fun stuff to sniff over there....  Yipes!  What was that?  Ow, my foot hurts.  Let me see....I can walk. Sort of.  Ow! No, it really hurts!!!  

Then what ever it is goes away, but it comes back.  I have to keep lifting my leg up.  But I made it home.  Mom is washing my foot and I don't know what Dad is doing.  He isn't taking a picture of my foot, but he is holding something up to it.....hmmmm.  

All that fuss, but it still burns!  It's making me crazy!  I WANT TO PULL MY CLAWS OUT! Agggghhhhhh!

It was a perfectly gorgeous autumn afternoon and Harry was enjoying the evening walk.  Then I saw him look up at me.....wha???  He started lifting his back foot and trying to bop around on three legs.  Uh oh.  We tried our best to check his paw, between the pads, on the pads.  I couldn't see anything.

He managed to get home but was clearly uncomfortable.  So, I soaked a paper towel in warm water and wiped down his foot.  He was still miserable.  We turned all the lights up and got a magnifying glass and inspected his paw.  Nothing.  I was worried there was a sliver of glass embedded that we couldn't see.

With that, my husband walked back to the place where I told him Harry looked at me with alarm.  It was barberry.  Barberry is a thorny bush and someone had just trimmed one but didn't clean up very well.  I've been pricked by barberry, so I know that it can sting and burn for quite some time.  But at least we knew what it was and that the discomfort would be temporary.

Yes, indeed!  Our boy was his happy self again in the morning.  He even did wiggle worm across the bedroom floor!

Be careful out there!

( blog title lyrics from "Play Me"  Diamond, N. 1972)

As long as I'm with you, it's a lovely day.

My happy meter was going strong this morning.  I did wiggle worm before we went outside.  It was MY kind of day!  No snow, no rain, not too hot, not too cold.  JUST RIGHT!!!  I got to chase a couple of chipmunks, too! Haha.

And besides the great weather, something special was going on.  I got presents!  I got fancy biscuits with frosting on them!  Yumbers!  And a new toy!  Mom had to show me what to do.  It has treats hidden inside and I have to get at them!  Like my other toy, but different.  Hmmmm.  I'm a pretty smart guy.  I will figure it out.

Wow! This was a fun day!

Today was Harry's "official" birthday! Of course, we don't really know which day is his REAL birthday, but we had to decide on one for the Dogtor to keep records.  And, we decided on September 21 because we thought Harry was about two years old at that time.  Except he is younger.  :)   In time, we realized that although they said he was about one and half years when he came to us, he was really about a year.  So, Harry is now four and a half, but celebrating his fifth birthday!  Izz ok. No big deal.

He was a happy boy today - raring to go on his morning walk.  We got him a travel water bottle for when we go to the park or on trips or have events.  He won't know how much he likes that until we use it.

And he has a bunch of gourmet doggie biscuits with yogurt frosting!

Best of all, he has another interactive toy.  So now he has two things that he has to think about to play with, but he gets rewarded with tiny treats.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Spotter!

Don't worry, baby......

Oooooohhhh. My tummy doesn't feel so good.  Bleh.  It isn't time for me to go out, but I have to go....now!  Mom?  Mom?   I have to go out!  Please!  Oh, boy....oh, boy.  She understands me!  She speaks Spotter!! Yay!  Here comes my leash.......Phew!  Just in time!  

My suppertime is different today.  Mom is cooking, just for me.  Even though I don't feel so good, I know I'm a lucky boy!  Chicken and rice, just for me.   Mmmmmmmm.  Thanks, Mom.
 

Harry had the runs for two entire days.  I think it's because he chews on grass and the sad fact is that the management here puts too many chemicals on the ground.  I always keep some quick cooking rice on hand for situations such as this.  Poor boy, he was wimpering a bit and made me feel terrible.  If he hadn't improved, we would have gone to the dogtor.  But he bounced back pretty fast once he had a couple of "chicken soup for dogs" meals. 

I watched him closely, particularly to see if he needed to run outside.  He has gotten much better at communicating that to us - and now he runs for the door and puts his nose up to the doorknob!  Yes, Harry, I get the message, loud and clear!