Whole New Dogs!

Jasper here! Mommy and Daddy just got back from a trip and they said it was like coming home to Whole New Dogs!
Aunt Susan stayed with us and not only did she give us MAJOR haircuts, she gave us BATHS! Usually when I need to get cleaned off I just jump in the pond, but these were REAL baths with SOAP!
Me and River were so confused we just stood there and let her lather us up and rinse us off. Then WE thought we smelled funny but Aunt Susan was REALLY happy and she kept telling us how pretty we are. Pretty? Well, anyways, you should see how fluffy I am with all the shampooing I got.
Good thing, because with all that fluffy hair you might not be able to tell that I might have gained a few pounds! From what? From eating about 300 treats in the past two weeks! Know why? Aunt Susan taught me to SHAKE, and it took a LOT of treats for me to learn.
No one is sure if I am just a slow learner or smart like a fox...and I'm not telling....all they know is after 6 years of trying to get me to do it, I now hold up a paw when someone tells me to shake. Then River has to come right over and shake too so if you tell me to shake, you better have TWO hands free and plenty of treats nearby. WELCOME HOME!
Thank you Aunt Susan! We love you!

End of an Era

Hi Everybody,
River and Jasper here. We are sorry to say that our brother Moe is gone and now it is just us golden dogs and Tundra the cat around here. Mommy says it is the end of an era - the M's - Mabel, Max, and Moe - were littermates and they were here lots longer than us so they were kind of in charge. Moe was the last one left. He was something like 14 years old and the vet said his heart was just worn out. Up to the end he still went for little walks with us every day plus his walks all around the yard plus he still had a great appetite, so that's not a bad way to go!

Of course, Mommy says part of his good appetite was all that nice soft canned food he was getting. Chicken and sweet potato - Boy did that smell good! Every day after Moe finished eating, we would run out and see if he left any little smear of his food for us. Sometimes he did!

Anyways, Daddy called Moe a big lug, because if you were a person sitting in a chair, Moe would always try to climb up and join you. He loved people, but he even liked chairs when no one was in them. Here is a picture of Moe in a chair. We miss you Moe!

Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone!
River here with Jasper to wish everyone a Happy New Year! The weather has been really warm for this time of year and we didn't get hardly ANY snow until today. Here we are! It doesn't look too bad right here but there is something like 10" of snow in the yard and it is PERFECT for running in and chasing the red Kong disc!

It has been so mild here that mommy went biking New Year's day, and Jasper even went swimming in the pond a couple of days before Christmas! I did not go swimming with him, because a couple of days before THAT the pond had ICE on it and while Jasper doesn't seem to mind the cold, there was NO WAY I was going in. To tell you the truth, I have really been enjoying curling up in my big chair. Some days I spend almost all day there!

We had a really super fun Thanksgiving with the grandkids here to visit. I got lots of extra nibbles off the kid's table, which is fortunately just EXACTLY the height of my chin. Jasper got most of his nibbles by licking the kid's faces, especially Nydus'...whose FACE is exactly the same height as Jasper's and who laughed and laughed when Jasper licked him. The kids took us for walks, too! We miss them lots.

Christmas was fun too! Our dog cousins Trixie and Ripley came over for Christmas dinner, then Trixie came to visit another day and it got pretty exciting when Tundra the cat decided to show Trixie who is the boss. Boy, I wish I had a video of THAT to post for you!

Anyways, if you want to have a REALLY happy new year, you should think about adopting a dog or even a cat from a shelter or rescue. Love, River and Jasper

Jasper's Trophy Rock

Hi Everyone! Jasper here to tell you about my rock! My friends Kazi (a Brittany) and Libby (King Charles Cavalier) came over to play a couple of weeks ago and they don't like to swim too much so we took a little hike first and THEN came back to the pond. I wanted to show Libby and Kazi how much fun digging is so I started digging by the edge of the pond and found the BEST ROCK EVER! When Mommy saw it she said if the rock wasn't still wet she never would have believed I dug it out of the pond, cause it was so big! It's as big as my head! I admit it was a little heavy so I only carried far enough for everyone to see it. Once I get rocks out I really don't care about them anymore but Mommy kept it and weighed it and she says it was 8-1/2 pounds and I am lucky I still have any teeth left at all. Here is my trophy rock! And my favorite red disk! Today I went digging in one of my mudholes for 2 hours! I hope you have fun things to do where you live.

Fall Mud Season!

Hi Everyone! River here! Me and Jasper are both happy! For me, fall allergy season seems to be over. Of course I had to take 3 weeks worth of pills to recover from all my itching and chewing, and my tail still looks pretty funny with a big bare spot then a pouf of hair on the end, but I am definitely feeling better and I don't even have to wear the lampshade! Of course, there goes my excuse for sleeping in bed with Mommy and Daddy but all in all, I am still MUCH happier.
Now Jasper never stopped being happy because that is just how he is. That is why they call him Happy Jaspy! Anyways, HE is happy because it has rained a LOT the last few days and you know what that means...MUD. Mommy and Daddy were working outside and Jasper dug in his 4 or 12 or however many mudholes that he has going, and he barked the WHOLE TIME. Here is his biggest and best mud hole!

River's New Bed

HI EVERYONE!
Jasper here. Guess what River has been doing again? Yup, chewing. This time on his TAIL and the vet is out of town and Mommy and Daddy are making him wear that lampshade again and he does NOT like it, not one bit. Except...he gets to sleep in the BIG bed. I tried to sleep in the big bed once but I was SO EXCITED that I kept kissing everyone and nudging them to play and stuff and all they wanted to do was sleep but who has time for that when you could be playing? So back in the crate I went.
Anyways, River gets to sleep in the big bed with his big old lampshade on and even though Mommy and Daddy say they don't have enough space with River AND the lampshade, they still let him because if he goes in his crate there is definitely not enough room and the lampshade hits the side of the crate in the middle of the night, then I have to BARK at him, then EVERYONE wakes up.
So, guess who thinks he OWNS the big bed? That's right! And he would not let Mommy make the bed without him this morning, so she just had to work around him. Here is River, owning the bed:

New bones!

Happiness IS a brand new chew bone!