So Many Fun Things to Do!

It has been quite a week for me and my family. Mama and Papa went to the North Carolina State Fair on Wednesday and had so much fun! I don't know how much fun they could have had since doggies weren't allowed, but whatever. They had a good time. They ate yummy things and played games and rode a big wheel with seats on it! They said they could see the whole fair from way up high and it was so fun. They also saw giant pumpkins and big cows and goats! The fair sounds really cool. I am sorry I missed it.

But today I got to go to my own fair! The SPCA hosted a fundraiser at a place called Seaboard Station, which is one of Mama and Papa's favorite spots, because the nice wine store is there. I like it too-- my favorite doggy store, Phydeaux, is there! So we went over to give the SPCA some money and see all the doggies, and we had such a fun time! There were FREE TREATS. Mama got some yummy coffee, and she entered something called a raffle. We went into Phydeaux and Mama and Papa bought me lots of treats and chews and got me a new toy. It was amazing! I had the best time. And everyone was so nice to me.

While we were walking outside, I met this man, who is an SPCA volunteer.

He had two doggies with him, and one was very pretty and brindle, just like me. Her name is Lola. (Mama asked me to say here, "She is not a showgirl." I don't know why. Mama is silly.) Here we are saying hey.

Then Mama asked what breed Lola is, and the man said she's a Mountain Cur-- just like me!!! I haven't seen another Mountain Cur since I left West Virginia! It was so cool! She is probably my cousin or something, Mama said. It was very nice to hang out with her. Here she is getting cuddled by my papa.

It was a very fun day. We also ran into Miss Barnes, my neighbor across the street. She was getting ready for a costume contest and she was dressed up like a pumpkin.

Miss Barnes said she didn't like the costume, but I don't believe her-- she was getting a lot of attention, and she likes attention! I think she kinda liked it. She is a silly puppy, but I like to watch out for her. We keep watch for the cat together.

After we spent time at the fundraiser, we went into the wine store. I met Mr. Corbett, and he rubbed my butt. I liked him.

We went to the back of the store so Mama could drink wine. There were lots of other doggies there too.

Mama and Papa chatted a lot with the people there, and they were very nice, but I wanted to leave because I was so tired.

We left a little while later and dropped Papa off at campus. Then Mama and I were close to home when she got a phone call-- she won the raffle! We went all the way back to Phydeaux, where Mama got to choose a basket of stuff, all for me! She got to pick a bag too. She said I have bully sticks and a new toy and a bag of new treats and a new leash and a new harness! It was so exciting! And on the way back, she let me sit in the front seat. It was a very good day.

New friends!

What a week I have had! I've made a few friends here-- Olive and Frankie and O'Malley, and some buds at daycare but I don't know their names-- and Mama is always encouraging me to make more. This week? I made two new ones and it was so fun!

On Thursday, I met Miss Trouble. She is very silly! Mama took me out for our lunchtime walk at about 2:15, and when we were on our way back, a doggy came running up to us. She was so cool! She sniffed me and I sniffed back, then she bowed to me (when we doggies bow at each other, it means we want to play and play!), but I was on my leash. She ran off after a squirrel, then she came back to me and Mama. I asked Mama where her mama was, but there was no mama or papa in sight. So Mama started to put her jacket sleeve around the doggy's collar (she had a nice pink and brown collar, with flowers on it). Then two nice men in their truck stopped and offered Mama a rope-- one of the nice men attached the rope to the doggy's collar and made a handle! A nice girl walked by too-- she was on her way home from school-- and she stopped and gave me and the other doggy rubs. We were having a great time. The nice men said goodbye, and Mama, the doggy and I went on our way. I had a new friend! It was so cool. I like walking with other doggies. Mama said it was tough, though, because the other doggy kept pulling. Then I had to poop really bad, so Mama had to make sure not to lose my new friend while she picked it up. But she did ok. Mama is very good at picking up poop. Then we all went home. I was so excited to show my new buddy my house! Mama tried to keep her outside, but she made her way in and started exploring. We had the best time! But then Mama took my leash off my collar and attached it to my friend's collar and she asked me to stay inside. She took the other doggy and got in the car. I was disappointed! I wanted to play, and I liked the new doggy.

Mama came back a bit later and told me the whole story. She took the doggy to the vet nearby and scanned her for a microchip, but the doggy didn't have one. This is not good! I have a microchip-- all Badass doggies do-- and that means that if I ever get lost, someone can take me to the vet and find my chip and call Mama or Papa to come get me. But this doggy wasn't chipped. This is very frustrating. So Mama put the doggy back in the car-- Mama said she was very good in the car-- and decided to drive very slowly around the neighborhood. She went down Rosemont Avenue and passed a car that was also going slowly, but the woman in it didn't notice Mama. But my mama is a quick thinker! She put down the windows and heard someone calling. She turned around right away and pulled up next to the lady. "Ma'am, is this your dog?" And it was! The lady was so happy! She was crying. Mama hugged her and said it was ok, here's your doggy, please get her chipped. That's when Mama found out the doggy's name is Trouble. That is so silly! Apparently she got out of the backyard and dropped her tags when she was running.

So Mama came home, but no Trouble! I was very sad. I liked her. I thought I would have a playmate for the day, just like Jackie back in Harlem, but nah, it was just me again. Oh, well. So this morning, after our walk, Mama got her stuff together and grabbed my collar, and she and Papa and I got in the car! Papa put on my car harness. Where were we going???

Turns out we went to meet Mr. Lee and Miss Jodi and their doggy! His name is Newton. He is very handsome. Here we are saying hi:

This is their backyard! It is so nice, with lots of trees.

Newton and I ran and ran and ran. He was so cool! But at one point he wanted to sit with the humans and I kept bugging him to play. But Papa said no, that I have to let Newton take breaks. OK. I let him take breaks for about two minutes! Then I nudged him and we played.

Eventually I got tired too. 

Then I hid under the deck. It was so nice and cool down there! It was a beautiful day. I liked Newton and his mama and papa. Mama says we are going to do this again, and next time, Newton will come to our house. I am so excited to show him my plants and my shed!

Besides my friends, I am enjoying fall. Here I am with my porch pumpkins:

The weather is getting chillier, so Papa takes out more blankies. Here we are the other night, snuggling on the sofa:

We have been very busy, so I sleep a lot because I am so tired. But that's ok, because I like to sleep and I have a comfy bed. I also have my antler to keep me company. It's a nice doggy life.

My Routine

We have been in North Carolina for two months now. As far as I'm concerned, that makes it home, because it's home when I know the way back, no matter where we are. I definitely know the way back to my house and my yards! Mama, Papa, and I are building up our daily life, which Mama says takes time because we have to get into our routine. We have one now! I figured I'd share.

In the morning, it's my job to wake Mama. When we first got here, I slept in my crate in the bedroom, but lately I've decided to stay in the living room so I can keep watch during the night. It's very comfortable, but last night it got super chilly, so I went back to my crate to be with Mama and Papa. That was nice. But I licked too much and Papa kicked me out at 6am. Oh, well. Anyway, I get up every morning at about 6:30 and I walk over to the bedroom door. I used to have to wake Mama by punching her foot with my nose, but now I just have to walk-- she says she can hear my nails clicking on the floor. Sometimes I give a little warning bark-- "Mama, get up, get up!"-- and I can hear her stirring. She washes her face and brushes her teeth and puts in her contact lenses, she puts on her yoga pants, and we're off!

Mama and I walk about 5000 steps every morning, unless it's raining. We take new routes all the time. Sometimes Mama lets me pick, sometimes I follow her. We go to Jaycee Park, which is a block away, or we walk all the way to Oberlin Village, or we just walk through the neighborhood. A lot of times we walk all the way to campus! That's where Papa works. Mama says it's about a mile away. I like it over there-- it has restaurants and coffee shops and people, just like when we lived in Harlem. When we go to campus and turn back, we walk by the new apartment complexes near Cameron Village, where there are nice new stores and we can watch people exercising! [Note from Mama: there's a gym in the building on the ground floor.] It's fun to watch people exercising, because they jump a lot, but Mama doesn't let me watch them too much. If we walk by there, we go through Cameron Village where there are lots and lots of stores and restaurants, and people are there getting ready for their days. Sometimes we see other doggies. I pee on alllll the trees (so many trees!) during our walk, and I find some good poop spots. Mama won't let me poop on nice lawns. She is a mean mama. But I learned and now I poop on corners and on the grass between the sidewalk and the street. I try very hard to poop before we get to a trash can; Mama says one thing she misses about New York is all the public trash cans-- here in Raleigh there are only a couple, but now we know where they are! But sometimes I make Mama walk for a long time, swinging a full poop bag. Sorry, Mama.

Here we are on our walk the other day. After I poop, I have to kick up the dirt to hide it from the other doggies, but this time I kicked the street instead. Oh, well. I filed my nails!

We usually get back from our walk a little before 8am. Papa is usually up by then, so I say hi to him while he drinks his coffee. I get my food and Mama makes her breakfast, and I sit with her while she checks Facebook and reads her email.

Papa says goodbye and walks off for the day with his backpack-- he goes to campus too! I am very happy that I walked first and made sure he wouldn't run into any mean cats. Then I take my nap while Mama showers and gets to work.

Mama works from home. Her office is right next to the living room. It's so nice to have my mama around all day! I go to her all the time for playing and rubs, but sometimes she doesn't like that because she's busy, so I make her let me outside. I love to be outside! I like to lie on the deck and nap in the sun, and sometimes I like to go under the shed and hide. I like to run around the outside of the fence and sniff and eat all the grass! Sometimes I even pee behind the big tree. It's so fun. Sometimes Mama comes out and throws a ball to me and I run and chase and get so tired. Then I nap some more. Sometimes I stay outside but make sure to keep watch on Mama inside, which is very important.

Mama also started giving me big chewy things to enjoy, like the cow's ear I wrote about already. I like to chew. So I chew and Mama works and we're busy together. Then we take our afternoon walk. Sometimes we run into Miss Dawn and Olive and Frankie at the park near our house, and we run and run and run! That's the best.

Sometimes during the day we have stuff to do, but not often. One day, Mama took me with her when she went to drop of the dry cleaning! That was fun. Then last week we had to go to the doggy doctor. I didn't like that very much. But the nice vet tech, Miss Courtney, gave me rubs and told me I was handsome, and the doggy doctor told me I was a very good boy. It was ok, but I don't like getting the stick up my butt. I like all the treats, though! Mama said I get lots of extra treats now because I lost another 4 pounds! Everyone thinks this is so great. I do too, because it means I get all the Wellness Bites I want.

Back to our normal day! Papa comes home in the afternoon, and hoo boy, I get tons of belly rubs! TONS. Papa is the best at belly rubs. Much better than Mama. Except this one time-- that was pretty good.

And that's our day. In the evenings, after I eat my dinner, I usually end up curling up on the sofa. Mama sits there to watch TV or read, and sometimes Papa joins her if he doesn't have too much homework and studying. Depending on when we took our afternoon walk, Papa will take me out to pee before bed, but only if I need it. I don't need it a lot here. I don't really like night-time walk in Raleigh; in Harlem it was so nice to go out one last time and see all the people and all my friends, and there was a lot going on, but in Raleigh it's very dark and quiet. Sometimes I think I see cats and I get all growly and agitated, which isn't very fun. But if I gotta go, I gotta go, and Papa will walk me down the block and across the street to a parking lot where there are lights and trees and I can see where I'm peeing. Then we go home and I curl up again and I sleep. Mama says I snore. Mama is silly.

We do other things, like go to dinner or watch a movie, but that is our regular day, and it is very nice. Lots of naps and treats and belly rubs-- that is all we need!