One cat down, more to go

One of the rescue ladies in the next county came and got one of the cats tonight. She (the cat, not the lady) has a sick ear and mom said she (the cat) would be better in rescue where she can see someone like Dr. Amy who can fix her up and then she (the cat!) can be placed in a new home where no one will make her stay out in the cold.

Mom said the rescue lady wasn't too good at listening but she seemed nice, anyway. I'm glad she got the cat. This was the nice cat but she was kind of like me when it came to strangers. Watermelon Head is the other cat and he isn't really nice. Mom says he is feral. That means wild. Mom said he is always all beat up and when he first started coming around his head was all swollen and that's why she calls him Watermelon Head. She said he is the most spoiled wild cat that ever lived.

As soon as he stops getting mad when Mom tries to pick him up, Watermelon Head is going to go to Dr. Amy to be fixed. Boy, I'll bet that makes him really mad!

Big doings

Mom read me a note from a friend of hers, Aunt Jer. Her dog is named Quincy and we are almost the same age! Quincy just turned one and I will be one next month. I will try real hard to get used to strange people and things, Aunt Jer!


Lucky left today for a brand new family. (That's him, above) Mom said Lucky hasn't been real lucky in his life and she hopes this adoption will work out for him. He is getting a mom and dad, plus a little girl to take care of. Lucky loves people and mom said he really liked the little girl, so I guess it's good that he went away. He took up too much room on the bed, anyway. (I know that's mean but I want to sleep by my mom and Lucky hogged that side of the bed!)

Zipper and Brother both got new collars today. Brother was very happy and insisted mom take him for a walk right away - and then he got into trouble because he saw a cat and tried to chase it. I didn't get a new collar. I already have a good red one. Zipper got a red one, too.

Mom let dad sleep all day long. She said he needed to get some good sleep before he went to work tonight, so ZipZip, Doll Baby and I slept near him to keep him warm and comfy. I didn't even weeble him until it was time for him to get up. Then I weebled him good!

Mom said another sugar refinery worker died the other day. She said the family wants their privacy and so the worker's name wasn't ever said. Mom says that's okay, you can mourn someone whose name you don't know. There was a memorial service today for the whole county to say goodbye to the ten workers who died and to pray for the ones still in the burn center. Mom said she wished she could go, but we can't afford not to work. She watched some of it on the news and said she thinks she recognized one of the photos they showed, but she wasn't just crying for the loss of a customer but all of them. She said you never know when your time will be up. That kind of scares me. I don't really know what all that means but I don't know what would happen to me if mom and dad went away forever.

I think I'll cheer mom and myself up. I got a new ball today and we should play a lot to keep our spirits up, so I'll go now. Goodnight!

Poor little ZipZip

Zipper is my dachshund buddy. He is what mom calls the beta dog, second in command to Bingo, who is the boss dog in our pack. When we're away from Bingo, Zipper is in charge. He is a pretty good boss. He doesn't get mad too often and even when he does, he doesn't stay mad. Sometimes he is trying to sleep while I am playing ball and he gets mad and yells at me or punches me with his nose. Then I kiss him and kiss him until he stops being mad.
He is dad's boy like I am mom's boy. Zipper is so unhappy that dad is working another job that he just sleeps and sleeps when dad is gone. Poor ZipZip.

Week's end

This has been a looooong week for everyone. Mom works all the time. Dad does, too, but sometimes he works somewhere else and mom has to do everything at the store.

Mom said it's been a sad week for the whole town because of the big fire last week that killed nine people and hurt a bunch more. Mom said she doesn't know if any of the ones killed or hurt are customers because she doesn't know all the customers by name, just by face. By smile, she called it. She cries sometimes when she watches on tv about the fire.

Mom and dad are trying to collect money to help the families and the victims. Mom said she is real proud of our customers because they are so good about helping whenever she asks, even though none of them has a lot of money. Mom said people do that sometimes, help each other when something bad happens.

I hope the people don't hurt long. If I weren't so scared of strangers, I might be willing to give away a few weebles to help them feel better. I am really good about giving kisses when someone is unhappy. Mom said that's okay, she and dad and the customers will do what they can and I can keep on making her and dad happy.

It's been a tough week for mom and dad. Dad's working another job and mom has to fill in and take care of everything else. They're both tired and cranky. They should take more naps.

Adventures in food

I got to try something new yesterday morning. Dad called it a doughnut but it was a lot like bread if you ask me. Bread with sugar on it. I liked the sugar, it was powdery and floaty and felt funny on my tongue when I licked it.

I got sugar all over me!

Weebling Dad

Dad is being weird. He was gone all night and said he was tired so mom wanted him to take a nap today. She locked the other dogs out but she let me and Doll Baby go in the bedroom with dad. Of course, Zipper was already with dad because he is always with dad. I was glad to have dad there because I miss him when he's gone and I don't like him being away all night long. Mom doesn't like it, either, but it's harder for me to get used to changes. I have trouble with little changes and dad being away all night and then getting in bed after lunch is a big, big change. I don't like change. Plus, Zipper was upset and sad because dad was out all night and I get upset when Zipper is upset, so we had a really tough day today.

I thought maybe dad wasn't feeling well, what with Zipper so depressed and the other dogs unhappy about being locked out. I decided I should keep a close eye on dad. I thought maybe that's why mom wanted me to be in there with him, so I could watch over him for her.

Since I am a good dog, and since Zipper was asleep (he didn't sleep well last night with dad gone), I got up several times to check on dad and give him a little reassuring kiss. I usually do that once or twice a night, mostly to mom. She calls it "weebling."

Dad told mom I weebled him too many times and he couldn't sleep. Mom thought maybe I did something wrong, but dad said it was okay.

Note from mom: That Baby is sometimes unsteady on his feet, especially on surfaces that "give," like a mattress. Once or twice a night, I come about half awake, feeling him wobbling towards my face, his feet on either side of me. He's coming to give me a kiss and I know it, but by that time it's too late to ask That Baby to just lie back down and go back to sleep. He's on the way, and he's determined. The long, slimy kiss from chin to forehead is inevitable. So I just put my hands up to help steady him, wait until that super-long tongue finishes giving me a kiss, and wait for him to move back over to the side and lie down again. Since, like the Weeble toys, That Baby wobbles but he doesn't fall down (most of the time), we call these middle-of-the-night episodes "weebling." End of note.

Mom says it's okay for dad to sleep during the day and I don't need to weeble him so much. Well, I'm not sure she's right about that. It's important to make sure my humans feel safe and loved. I will keep her advice in mind tomorrow, when dad takes another nap. Mom said he will do that every day now because he has a second job, whatever that is. If Zipper feels better and dad doesn't sound so tired, I won't worry so much (I weeble Zipper, too). I'm sure they will both need at least one kiss so they can rest more peacefully. I'm sure dad won't mind.

Well, mom says it's time for bed. She looks tired, so I'll go just to make sure she can rest. She might need a couple of weebles, though.