Ready for Sand instead of SNOW!

River here. Jasper is still in love with snow (because Jasper loves EVERYTHING) but I want to go to Florida. Yesterday it was really really freezing so instead of walking Mommy was playing with us outside with that blue and orange thing - Chucky-chuck it - and it was so windy that Chucky landed on the roof and the game was over. Then today we FINALLY got to go for a walk and it was fun at first sniffing deer tracks and stuff. Then we found a deer carcass that the crows were into and it looked and smelled delicious but Mommy pulled us away, and THEN one of my paws hurt so I just sat down in the road. I didn't even care that we were 1/2 mile from home I didn't want to walk any more (except maybe back to the deer carcass). So I just sat in the road and Mommy tried to brush off my paws and then my backside was getting cold from sitting on the road so I decided to walk back. I felt better after we got back up the driveway and I got off the leash and wrestled Jasper in the snow, but I still want to go to Florida.

Trying to Catch Red Dot

River Here! We just came in from outside chasing Red Dot! I don't know if you can see Red Dot in the picture but this is one of our favorite things to do and it's EXTRA fun at night when there is snow on the ground. Red Dot hangs out in the drawer by the door. We get so excited when Mommy opens the drawer because we know what is going to happen next...RED DOT is getting turned LOOSE and we get to try to catch him! We chase as FAST as we CAN across the yard and back and down by the pond and in circles and then zig-zagging but we never catch him. After about 10 or 15 minutes we are tired, even Jasper, and Red Dot just disappears! Mommy why are you laughing?????

Snow Dogs

River and Jasper Here. We got lots of snow the past couple of days and now we get to PLAY in it! Mommy just came back from Florida and she couldn't wait to get outside and play with us. Oh wait, she says she COULD wait. Anyways, she put on more clothes than she wore all week in Florida and she did come outside! We chased the Red Kong Disk and wrestled and had fun until we both got big snowballs stuck in our paws. Do you know the best thing to do when you get paw snowballs? Come inside the house where they melt REALLY fast! OH, sorry Mommy - maybe you should wear shoes in the house. Welcome Back!

River and Ripley's Beach Trip

River here. Just in case anyone thinks Jasper has all the fun...I have to tell you about my trip to the beach last weekend WITHOUT JASPER. Boy, was Jasper ever mad that he had to stay home (in his crate, no less) alone! He barked and whined and carried on but Mommy was firm and said she was just taking ME. She fixed him a yummy Kong with some peanut butter and biscuits and he didn't even care - he just kept squawking. I have to admit, if it were up to me, I would have a hard time choosing between a trip and a stuffed Kong in my cozy crate, because I do love Kongs!
Anyways I am glad I got to take the trip to the beach. It was kind of wavy and I am a little nervous about waves, so I stayed away from the water and spent my time sniffing. Now, you might not know this but there is GREAT sniffing at the beach. Old leaves, sticks, other dogs, and, best of all, DEAD FISH! Cousin Ripley (on the left in the photo) found good dead fish right away and rolled and rolled in them for a long time before Aunt Susan caught her. I am quite selective about what kind of dead fish I want to smell like, and I didn't find quite the right dead fish until we were almost ready to go home, but it was really good and stinky! What a FUN DAY!

Race Day!

Hi! Jasper Here! Another great day! Today I got to RUN in a RACE! There were lots of people and I was so excited. Before the race I could not contain myself and I jumped on a few unsuspecting runners and walkers but hey...how often do you get to run with a few hundred other people? Fortunately (says Mommy) they didn't seem to mind.
Anyways, the race started and we had to start in the back, even behind all the walkers, so we didn't trip anyone up. But then we started passing people and dogs - cousin Ripley walked in the race with Aunt Susan and Grandpa and Aunt Amy ran - and I got in my groove. There were even people dressed up! One girl was a Christmas Tree, and Heat Miser and Cold Miser were there, too! I finished first dog and Mommy didn't place but she it pretty sure she would not have run as fast as she did if it wasn't for me. I love races! They are so much more fun than running alone! See my race number in the photo? I am proud to say I paid for my own entry and I even got a sweatshirt. The race was for sending kids to camp and scholarships in memory of Amy King, who was a victim of the 9/11 attacks. What a great event for a great cause!

Last Jumps of the Year?

Jasper here! It's almost Thanksgiving and we don't have snow yet, so I can STILL SWIM IN THE POND! In the winter, we don't get to go near the pond because Bob and Lisa are afraid of us falling in through the ice. Moe fell through the ice once, and we hear it was not pretty, what with Bob and Lisa being out of town, and Cam calling the fire department, and Moe had to take a warm bath in the bathtub after he got out, and Ellie had to keep taking his temperature (and you know how to take a dog's temperature? EWWWW!) He was fine! Since Moe's adventure the electric fence gets rearranged in the winter so we can't get to the pond. I miss it like CRAZY because I would jump in the pond no matter how icy the water gets! I LOVE the pond!
So, anyways, I am trying to get my pond time in before the fence goes up. Here are some photos of me jumping in the pond last week. I never just run into the water, I HAVE to jump, and I REALLY like to make big splashes! River likes to walk into the water. Funny how people are like dogs...some like to jump in all at once, and some walk in!

Alice needs a home!

UPDATE NOV. 20! ALICE found a HOME out in the country, with other dogs to play with! HOORAY!
River here! Alice is a red-bone coonhound that has been at the Humane Society Shelter way too long. We hear she is a great dog but she really needs a home with space to play outside AND people to play with. She would love to be your jogging or hiking buddy!
Since she is a coonhound, our cat Tundra said Alice absolutely cannot come live here with us, (daddy seconded that opinion) so me and Jasper want to find her a home. Can you help? If you go to www.spcapets.com and look at available pets, you will see her!

Run Turkeys Run!

Jasper here. Today on our morning walk we saw turkeys! Lots of them! About 11! They looked funny crossing the road, one at a time, one right after the other. They must know thanksgiving is coming and they are going to hide in the woods til it is all over. OK, so they are not nearly as exciting as the bear, but it's still fun to see other animals. I wanted to go play with them!

We Saw Bears!

River here. You won't believe this, I can hardly believe it myself! This morning I was walking with Daddy, Mabel, and Moe, and 5 bears crossed the road in front of us!!!!! One big Momma Bear and 4 cubs. Me, Mabel, and Moe just stopped in our tracks like we couldn't believe what we were seeing. They just kind of wandered out of the woods on the side of the road. We were all too surprised to even bark! I finally recovered enough to let out one of my squeaky barks, and the Momma bear turned and looked at me then looked at her cubs like she was saying "hurry up, kids!" and they took off into the woods across the road. Daddy had all he could do to hold on to us three. Too bad Jasper and Lisa missed the whole thing because they were jogging way ahead of us, but they saw the tracks when they came back. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be fast!

Cats are lucky AND useful!

Jasper here. I just have to tell you, cats have it made. They can climb up all kinds of places and do fun stuff like knock things to the floor. Today our cat Tundra was sitting on the nightstand and she knocked a chapstick down for me! I LOVE to chew chapsticks!!!!! They are even better than pens and pencils!!!!!! This one was orange-flavored and it was going to be yummy but then Tundra made it roll way under the bed. I tried to get under the bed but I didn't quite fit. Between me and Tundra and the chapstick we made too much noise and you-know-who caught us and got the chapstick out and put it in the drawer. Just think how much fun we could have if me or Tundra could figure out how to open drawers! Here is a picture of Tundra.

Fun Stuff!

Jasper Here! Another great day! Last night I found a cough drop with the wrapper and ate it, but even though my breath was a little honey-lemon-menthol for awhile, I was fine. Lisa thought I was chewing a nylabone till the last crunch, then she figured it out.
We went for a run this morning and guess what we saw? BEAR tracks! It was not nearly as exciting as the time me and Lisa saw a bear cross the road in front of us, but still pretty cool. As least this time she did not scream and wave her arms in the air and generally make a fool of herself like when we saw the bear!

If you love Goldens like Mommy and Daddy love me and River, here are some links you can check out.

G.R.I.N (the organization that rescued us and found us our home) is on Facebook!
click or copy/paste:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=100501817498&ref=search&sid=1410604084.4167097757..1

Guess what else? Some other GRIN dogs have their own Blogs! We are a pretty smart bunch! PLUS you can read all these really neat success stories about lucky goldens who have found new forever homes, or go to "featured goldens" to see other dogs that need homes. WARNING...You might fall in love and want to bring one home, but that is not a bad thing at all!

http://grinrescue.org/success-stories-menu.html

Mommy's Back!

Lisa's Home! Our dog mom came home yesterday. She was gone for almost a week, but we didn't mind too much because dad gives us whole dog biscuits instead of halves like mom does. Even though we knew she was gone, Jasper still ran to the back of the house to look for her every single day after he finished breakfast, like maybe she came back while he was eating???? As soon as he runs back, I check out his dog dish in case he missed a piece of food. It's been over a year since he last left a piece of food in his dish but hey, you never know, so I check every day! Anyways, as soon as she got home she played with us outside and we chased the red kong disk, went swimming, chased sticks, and chased each other!

Here is a picture of me (River) at the door telling her to hurry up and come out, and a picture of Jasper shaking off after he went swimming in the pond! Look at those ears!
Jasper Here. He should talk, look at how big his paw looks in that photo! Yesterday was fun, and today has ALREADY been a good day! I got everyone up early 'cause I had to go outside. Then I ate, and then I took Lisa on a long run around the big block! I love to run, because I get to move non-stop. Mommy says running is the only time I ever focus, whatever that means.

Bye Max.

Sad Day Thursday. Our big brother Max went to dog heaven Thursday this past week. He was ready to go, but we and the remaining "M's" - his siblings Mabel and Moe - will still miss him lots! He was our pack leader and we all respected and loved him. Bye Max.

Trip to Barcelona

Jasper here! Today we went to Barcelona! Me, River, and Lisa! The waves were as big as the ocean and of course I went swimming, even though it was only 46 degrees and the water wasn't much warmer. I went way out and chased waves and chased splashes and Lisa got really nervous. Then I came back and she put me on the short leash and put River on the long leash. Then River started pulling to chase birds and she put ME on the long leash and River on the short leash and I made a total spectacle of myself once again! I LOVE Lake Erie!

See, I run straight into the water until the shoreline drops off and I get body slammed by a wave. Then, I put my head underwater and circle to find the first part of the leash. Then, I hold the leash in my mouth and swim back to shore so I can do it again! I bet I did it 70 or 80 times before somehow I got tangled in the leash.

I tried to swim out again but I was so tangled I could not move, then a big wave came and I still tried to jump in it but Mommy got panicked and came into the water to drag me out. She untangled me and I wanted to go in again but she said no, that now SHE was soaked to the knees and it was time to go home. I don't know why - I was soaked all over but I would have stayed. River says if he could roll his eyes he would have because why does he have to have a little brother who makes a spectacle of himself every time we go to the Lake??

HMMM...No dog treats???? This isn't a very fun Halloween! Maybe I could play with one of these rats. If dogmom wasn't standing right there with a camera, I would take a rat to play with.

Halloween was fun!

River Here! Me and Jasper had a fun Halloween. First Lisa put out a big huge bowl of microwave popcorn, candy bars, and toy rats. Jasper and I checked a few times but can you believe there was not a single dog biscuit in that bowl? We decided Halloween was dumb, until the kids started coming!

We had 10 trick-or-treaters and the kids REALLY liked the rats. We really liked the kids! One had a big furry ape suit and mask on and I thought it was a wild animal that I should chase out of the house, so Lisa put me in a room by myself. Once I calmed down and the kid took that mask off, I came out and they all petted me. I was very good. We left Jasper outside for that group.

Jasper jumped on a few kids but the kids mostly liked it. He gave them kisses and he didn't even try to get their candy. I myself went for the candy first...but I didn't get a single piece. Those kids keep a tight hold on their candy!