The Orkin man to the rescue!

Gracie is still not a camera ham.  She lays her ears back when the camera comes out and the flashy thing goes off. 

It started innocently enough.   The one who is paw challenged noticed that a swarm of ants was covering the front driveway.    The warm spring sun had brought them out to do their thing and apparently their thing is forming large swarms in sunny places.   He grabbed his spray gun and went to work on them.     Shortly thereafter he was out back and on the logs by the garden was another swarm of ants.    

So a real search was conducted.   He was searching for swarms of anything.  He found another one.   He called the Orkin man.    The Orkin man made an inspection of the house, looking everywhere.    Then he delivered the bad news.

"You have a terrible infestation!  One of the worst I have ever seen, it will be terribly hard to control this one."     He then took some photos to document the extent of the infestation.   Below is his photo of the worst Infestation of Golden Retrievers he had ever seen. 

The photo was a little blurry, the pest control man took the photo as he was fleeing out the front door, he was in fear of his uniform.  His black pants were rapidly being covered by golden hair.  We did not think it was funny, and we think the resident chauffeur should be ashamed.    Besides, the infestation will cure itself tomorrow when our cousins family gets home from their vacation and we are back to being just three.

Mogley G. Retriever

A Lazy day!

Above and below, Molly is the only one up and about today.   We had a little snow last night and Molly is the only one that wants to be outside playing.   The rest of us are napping.   Each of us has our own nap place.  Our cousins are here often enough that they each have a place to nap.   People wonder how we handle this many guests.   It is easy, everyone has a place for their food dish and when it is dinner time, everyone has to go to their place and wait for their bowl.  Gracie is learning where her place is, so she gets fed second, right after Nala.   Nala can't hear you tell her to go to her place, so she gets fed first to keep her where she belongs, besides, Nala is the slowest eater in the house,  we are all done long before Nala is done.   Gracie then is taken to her place, then while she is busy the rest of us get our bowls.    Then it is off to our nap places. 

Below is Molly in her favorite nap place, where she can keep an eye on the squirrels in the back yard.   Remember that Molly is the only member of our pack that has actually caught a squirrel.   We are waiting for her invitation to become a member of the Golden Retriever Hall of Fame. 

Bella and I share the couch on the front sun porch, as the sun moves around we get warm sun a little later in the day.  

Nala always claims her Golden Senior right to nap in the warm sun inside the front door. 

Below, Gracie naps under the computer table, that is where people are all day long and she keeps everyone close.  

So goes life in the Golden House.   Another lazy day!

Mogley G. Retriever

The wild bunch Rides again!

The Wild Bunch is assembled for treat time.   You can see the newest member of the bunch, Gracie, on the left, behind Emma.   Gracie is fitting in just fine.   We were told she would be a little shy around new dogs, but she is taking it all in.   Day two of the Wild Bunch reunion is going fine.    We had three children over to play with us Saturday.  We had a wonderful time running with them, chasing tennis balls, and getting attention from six friends that just stopped by to get a much needed golden fix.  The Wild Bunch lived up to our name, we played hard and entertained everyone.   But we have a big legend to live up to.  Here is part of the legend!

Our dad has told us tales about the Wild Bunch when Butch Cassisdy and the Sundance Kid hid out in the Hole-in-the-Wall near Kaycee in Northern Wyoming.   He is obsessed with the Hole-in-the-Wall.   Everytime he went to the old family home nearby, he would do an off road trip into the Hole-in-the-Wall.   I have gotten to run there several times and it is great.  No fences, no boundaries.  I can be out of sight and only be 10 feet away.  They made me stay close, too many rattlesnakes and too many places where a flat trail skirts a 1,000 ft drop into a black hole.  Once I barked at a bear that was only 500 feet away, but it was across a chasm on the opposite edge of a cliff.   It would have taken us a day to travel around the canyon, or a day to climb down one side of the cliff and up the other side. 

He says that Historians have gotten the story wrong, the real story isn't about Butch Cassidy, it should have been about the place.  The Hole-in-the-Wall is about 10 square miles of impossible canyons and rock cliffs, places that you can not even imagine can exist.  It is where Chief Little Wolf and Chief Dull Knife led their band of Cheyenne and Arapaho after fleeing the Custer Battle in 1876, the band of 300-600 hid from the 6th Calvary and remnants of the 7th Calvary for three months before escaping out the west side.   The rugged land is the reason the Wild Bunch could hide out from hundreds of lawmen so easily and for so long.  So he named us the Wild Bunch in memory of his child hood when he would climb the rocks and ride horseback with his father up the network of cliffs and canyons of the Hole-in-the-Wall.

There is an even more compelling story about his trips into the Hole-in-the-Wall to join a search for a friends daughter who's murdered body is hidden in the wild canyons and impassible rock cliffs of the Hole-in-the-Wall.  Over 400 searchers spent months in the mountains and along the cliffs.  They found several bodies, some thought to be from the Wild Bunch gang, but even now they have not found the young lady.   He had started a book on the lost lady and tried to interest Ann Rule into taking up the mystery as a book.  It is just one more testament to the labyrinth that is the Hole in The Wall.  And a story waiting to be told.

Mogley G. Retriever

Introducing Gracie, our visiting foster.

Introducing Gracie, our newest foster lady.  We have already sent over a write up on her for the adoption site.  She has been with our cousins for a week, and she has proven herself to be a real lady.    When she first arrived here last night, she was a little uncertain about the wild pack of goldens that she was going to spend the next week with.   This morning she is finding her place in the pack.   Below, Gracie and Nala are becoming friends, they both like to relax and let the world go away. 

With some prompting from our cousins and an interview with Gracie, we sent over her write up for the adoption web site.   Gracie says that she will take any home just as long as it has a very high hand to dog ratio.   She likes attention and she is very good at giving petting therapy.  If you need to relax and just enjoy some Golden love, she is the dog for the job.  Below is our write up on her:

Wine, Scotch and Golden Retrievers! The question was "Name three things that get better with age"? Gracie is proof that Goldens don't get older, they just get better. She is a very quiet lady, with the manners of a queen. She is a wonderful companion. No bad habits, no chewing on shoes, no barking at neighbors, no chasing cats. She is cat friendly. Tell Gracie to "Go Potty, Gracie" and she runs to the nearest grass. She uses the dog door when she needs to. She likes tennis balls. She is slightly overweight, but that is easy to correct with a leash and walking shoes or just a some regular ball tossing. She is very affectionate. If you don't like petting a golden head when it lays on your lap, if you don't like to scratch a golden tummy, then she is not for you. If you are looking for a loving lady with great manners and a very calm disposition, Gracie will make you a wonderful companion. Gracies family went from a home to an apartment, she was not mistreated, she was not homeless on the street. She was surrendered very reluctantly because she was very loved and well cared for. Give Gracie a second chance at a happy home, she knows how to be your best friend.

Below, Gracie and I get our photo taken together.

Mogley G. Retriever

Dead Toys!

As you can see, Bella killed my new Blue Huron.  She is taking a nap after demolishing my new toy.   She had already demolished her new toy, a squirrel.   She said that it was the only way to save them.    She has been watching too much TV news from Washington DC.  

Late tonight, Friday, we will be invaded by our cousins and Gracie.    That's right folks, the "A" team of demolition will be arriving to spend a week with us.   Molly, Piper and Emma along with Gracie will be staying with us for a week.     Bella said that she just as well rip the toys up because they would not survive the first ten minutes of the invaders.     She made so much sense that I found one toy that still had some stuffing left in it, and I tore it out also.     Because by this time tomorrow we will have no toys left alive.  

We do have fun when they are here.   There is always at least one dog that is ready to go play.  If we wear out, then someone else takes over.   Piper and Molly can wear us all out, then they wear out each other.  

We also have some work to do.   We have to take good photos of Gracie so she can go up on the web site.  It will take some time, but we have to get acquainted with her and do a nice write up so that she can find her new home.    Since she does not like crowds and wild playing, we wonder how she is going to fit in.   She will probably follow Emma off into a quiet corner and hide from the madness.

Nala is doing better each day.   She is back to the energy level she had before she was treated for HeartWorm.  She does not hide when the going gets wild, she holds her own in the house, making everyone walk around her.   She is second in command, behind Bella.  She does not outrank me, but I do defer to her as she is senior and she gets our respect.  Stay tuned, we should have photos of our newest 11 year old foster lady, Gracie, by Sunday.

Mogley G. Retriever

Adopt a dog to go green!

Above, I am ready to do my part in cleaning up the earth.  

Our family is not one of the new "green" families.  In fact, with the paw challenged one's (PCO) history of oil and gas exploration, gold mining and other such activities, they think that trees grow on trees.   Silly people!  The PCO even thinks that gas comes out of the ground.    He should know better, he sleeps with up to 8 golden retrievers some nights, with the window closed yet. 

Bella, Nala and I are helping them turn green.   Recently the trash company started picking up two different trash cans.   One can is brown, for the trashy trash.   One can is green for items that can be recycled.    We were having trouble getting the PCO convinced that most plastic items should go into the green can to be recycled.   Immediately there was trouble with the concept.   For one thing, the green can did not have a good lid and it was pretty low.  When they would throw a TV dinner plate into the green can, Bella and I would take it out and clean it.   After all, they were supposed to recycle "clean" plastic.   We just took it upon ourselves to clean it before it was recycled.     We had long used this concept with empty ice cream containers, they always gave them to us to clean, we just had to extend the concept to all ex-food containers.  

While we are going green, we also reminded them to stop using the garbage disposal.   It takes elecricity, it puts pollution down the drain and into the waste treatment plants where it takes extra work and power, and its wastes water.    Use the Golden Disposal Service instead.    

Finally we have reached a truce.   Instead of just throwing dirty containers into the recycle can, they give them to us first.   We lick them clean, then they can put them in the green can and all is good.   We have had a treat and the world is cleaner because of it.   Plus we don't waste soap and water in cleaning up the recyclables. 

Which leads us to the main theme.    Want to go green?   Adopt a dog.   That way you can clean up your recyclables without wasting soap and water. 

No, no!  No need to thank us, helping the earth stay green is reward enough.   Well that and a few more dogs adopted into homes and out of kennels.   Maybe we can start a new slogan:   Adopt a dog and save the earth!

Mogley G. Retriever

Nala's progress

Nala enjoys her days in the sun.  She still spends most of the day sleeping.   She sleeps so well that people come in the front door, step over her and sometimes she does not know we have company.    Since she does not hear anything, we have to wake her up by touching her, then she jumps.    Mostly we just check to make sure she is breathing well and then we leave her to rest.  

She is doing much better than she was doing.   This evening she even trotted in from the back yard instead of tottering in.   She stands pretty firmly, not swaying too much.  She still does not get up and down well, but when she is up, she is moving much better.    Her appetite has returned, she is eating very well now.   She still gets spoiled, she gets canned dog food mixed in with her dry bites.   She even gets a little grease on her food to make it more interesting. 

Bella and I were given new toys today.   Our cousins always tear up all of our toys, so we have some new ones to play with until Friday when they arrive and tear them up again.  I have a Blue Heron.

Bella has a Squirrel, but she won't share.   

  

Spring is coming and life is good.

Mogley G. Retriever

Nala has a visit to the Doctor and A new lady in town

Nala just can't seem to get a break.    Friday when she came home from the vet after her heart worm treatment, she was not feeling very well.   We decided that she was functioning at about 40% of the normal Nala that we know and love.   By Saturday afternoon, she was up to about 60% of normal.   She was walking better, still very unstable, especially on her rear legs.   But her tail was up and she was wagging pretty constantly instead of just from time to time.    Sunday morning we were seeing more of our friend, Nala.   She was even showing some enthusiasm when breakfast came.    Nala is usually a chow hound, and when she does not eat, we all worry.  

Then came Sunday afternoon.   She slept almost all afternoon.   But worse, when dinner time came, she sniffed her plate and wandered off.   She did not want to eat anything.   She would not even take her pills with peanut butter, or with some bread or cake.   She had to be forced to swallow the pills.

Monday morning, she did not want to even go to her breakfast plate, she refused to eat anything.   Her tail was down again, she was walking pretty stiffly.    We loaded her up and off to the vet we went.    We had to leave her there for observation.   Later Monday we went back to pick her up.    She was sure glad to be out of the pen and back with us in the car.   She said that the floors in the pen were pretty hard and her favorite bed was not there.   She was afraid we were going to leave her again.

Back home she has a pill to make her appetite better, another pill for her stiffness in her hips, and a pill to keep infection away.   She is just having a bad reaction to the drugs.   The drugs do not wear off easily when you are 13 years old.   She needs more rest and more food to build herself up before she can recover.    She will get all kind of special food in hopes that between the good food and the appetite stimulant, she will get some nourishment and some strength.    We are all just thankful she is recovering here instead of having to spend another night in the vet office.

Meanwhile our cousins have a new foster.    We have not taken on another foster because we want Nala to get healthy before we bring in someone else.   But our cousins were called to go out of town and pick up a wonderful 11 year old golden lady named Gracie.    Her family was moving out of their home and into an apartment.   At their temporary apartment, they were not allowed to have Gracie in the house, they had to leave her in the garage.  They quickly determined that was no way to treat a 11 year old lady.   The called the rescue and asked to have someone pick her up so she could have a better home, the kind of home she deserved after a long life of faithful service to her family.   We are told that Gracie is not used to a lot of dog friends, she takes a while to get used to new friends.    People are fine, but dogs are not as quickly accepted. 

We have not met Gracie yet, but we will.   Our cousins humans are going to be gone for a week to some terrible place they call Hawaii.   When we asked about going along, they said we would not like it there, there are no squirrels, no snow, no ducks, or anything fun.  So our three cousins, and Gracie, will be arriving here on Friday and they will spend 7 or 8 days with us.   Hopefully, Nala will be feeling better then, but Gracie is a laid back kind of a dog, so we don't expect any excitement with her around.    Having Molly, Piper and Emma is easy, they stay often enough that they know the rules.  Gracie is not a puppy anymore, so we don't expect that she will be any problem.  We look forward to having Gracie visit for a few days, we will introduce her to life in a wild and ferocious pack of Golden Retrievers. 

Mogley G. Retriever

NALA is Home!

Nala is tired after her ordeal.  Tuesday when we went to the vet for shots and our annual check up, we took Nala along.  When the vet told us that Nala was heart worm positive again, and we had to leave her for treatment, we were very upset.  Nala took it all very well, until she went back to the kennel area by herself, then we heard her barking her "I am lost, come get me" bark.   At home when she can't find the rest of her pack she has a special bark to call us.   Because she can't hear and her sight is limited, she has her own way of getting "found" when she feels lonely.    We felt terrible to have to leave her behind, calling us. 

She arrived home around noon, still a little shaky and unsteady on her feet.    The vet tech told us that she had not eaten all of her breakfast.   If Nala did not eat her breakfast, she must have felt bad, she is a real "chow hound".   At home she had a hard time getting settled down on her favorite bed, she just could not find a comfortable way to lie.   She was still feeling pretty bad.  She finally went to sleep and slept soundly most of the afternoon.  By 6:00 when dinner was served, she was showing some energy again.   We think she will need another day or two to recover, and it probably will take a week or two before we see the real Nala.    Below, I am helping Nala relax by setting an example and hoarding her favorite bed. 

Luckily our human is busy procrastinating, it his special gift.   We did get him to take some photos and we will share so you will have something to look at over the week end.    Below you can see Mini cat checking out the front drive while Bella checks out Mini cat. 

While we are sharing photos, we just as well introduce you to some more of our resident zoo.   Below is Mushu, our long fin Koi.   She is spending the winter inside in the 65 gallon tank, soon she will go outside where she will have a warm summer vacation in the pond.   Mushi has several gold fish friends to keep her company till the outdoor pool warms up a little more.    Most of the fish spend the winter in the pond, but this tank full of fish were just recently re-homed and coming from warm water they could not go out just yet.  

Mogley G. Retriever

It is getting very bad around the house.   Nala always barked at 6:00 sharp to wake everyone up.   She is spending the night at the Vet's office, so we slept in this morning.  Apparently the alarm clock was not moved up to daylight savings time.   It's that International Association of Procrastinators (IAP) thing again.   We stumbled across a post-it-note reminder to set the clock forward.   We left it out where he could find it, but it turns out the note is last years reminder, so he says it does not do any good this year.   He says he left himself a note this year and when he finds it, he will change the clocks.  That explains why we were late to so many parties this year. 

They are moving forward rapidly with the organization of the International Association of Procrastinators (IAP).    They are going to schedule their first annual meeting,  they called a hotel and explained that they wanted to reserve a meeting room for their meeting.   They suggested that we send the notices out calling for a 9:00 a.m. meeting, but the hotel will reserve the room for 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. to allow time for the people to arrive.  Luckily it is the same hotel that was going to host last years meeting, so they know about such things.  

Several people thought that an honorary membership certificate was a good idea.   We will ask for some volunteers to work on a committee to design a nice certificate.   We do have an idea for the design for the crest for the organization.  It would probably look a lot like the Honorable and ancient family crest of our dad.    Their ancient family crest is "two gold bricks on a four poster bed, on a field of poison ivy".

Mogley G. Retriever

Will a blogg post write itself?

Will a blog post write itself?   We think not.   The resident "one who is paw challenged" or OWPC, is busy writing a proposal for a new company and hogs the computer.    So we have to sneak on the computer when he is not looking.   

Today we went to the Vet for our annual shots and our heart worm test so we could begin our heart worm medications before the mosquitoes start flying around.  We took Nala with us even though she had been to the vet last week and had her blood draw for the test.   When we arrived at the vets office, we learned that Nala is heart worm positive.   Whether this is an "again" or a recurrence of the prior infection, we don't know.    Nala is spending the night at the vet's office and we won't be able to pick her up till Friday.    Poor Nala, she was getting to where she was living a comfortable life, now she has to go through the treatment again.   Hopefully it is a light infection, as it has not been too long since her prior test.    Good Luck, Nala, we will see you soon.  Sorry you missed dinner but they promised they would feed you.   You will be missing your friends, we heard you barking as we left, and we will be missing you. 

He says he is also going to work on the new web site for the International Association of Procrastinators (IAP),   Last week you learned that their association has been slow to get off the ground.    We had scheduled the organizational meeting but no one showed up for it.    That is just as well, he did not get to the meeting location until two hours later.   The hotel did not mind, the reservation clerk did not get the meeting room reserved anyway.   We may have to give her an automatic membership, obviously she qualifies.  If this keeps up we may have more members than AARP in a year or two.     We may sell membership certificates, when someone does not get a job done in time you can present them with a certificate. 

He put out a request for suggested rules for the association.   The only suggestion we have received back is that we should have a rule that our members should not sky dive, procrastination in pulling the rip cord could have severe consequences.  

Mogley G. Retriever

To Post or not to Post, that is the question?

As our photo shows, we are still waiting for the chance to leap into action, we have not moved a muscle.  But first, a nap.....
Our dad has been slow in letting us post on my blog.   It turns out that the delay is part of his overall program to become more active in clubs and organizations.  Several years ago (2001)  he thought about joining the International Association of Procrastinators (IAP), the foremost organization for procrastinators in the world.   He figured that if he was going to join, he just as well join the very best.  Then a few weeks ago (a fitting delay for such a momentous step) he downloaded the membership application.  He wrote them a check for his dues, but it is still in its envelope, with a 12 cent stamp on it, laying in the "out basket". 

He went to their web site to see what he has to do to qualify for membership, but their web site is still under construction.   They had hoped to have their site up before their next meeting which was scheduled for May of 2005.    Of course, their meeting date has been slid a little bit.   Apparently no one told any of the membership about the meeting time and location.   That could be because since the inception of IAP in 1990, all membership applications that have been received were rejected due to lack of qualification of the applicants.   If you expect to join the foremost procrastination association in the world, then sending in your application on time will automatically disqualify you.   Duh!

Meanwhile, the association has been suspended due to lack of filing, but they plan to appoint a committee to handle the filings that will be needed to reinstate it, as soon as they get members.    Several people have said that they will make donations, very soon, but the bank account is not yet open so bills can't be paid.  Which works out surprisingly well, the association has not yet purchased office supplies to establish its office anyway.  

Our resident human says that very soon the organization will be up and running, it just takes some effort by the founders.   Plans for the organization include a special TV channel that will provide 24 hour news, delayed five days from the current news casts, for those who missed it when it was on.  Kind of like CNN does now.  It will partner nicely with the cable TV shows that replay old Super Bowl games.
There will be big demand from advertisers and sponsors for our TV programs.  The day old bread shops should find us a great place to advertise.   Liquor stores should be great advertisers, last time we looked, all of the wine in the store had old dates on them.   Maybe not, when we asked the clerk for a 50% discount on a bottle of wine because the date on the bottle was old, he refused. 
Based on the number of old movies and last years sports events  that constantly play on cable TV,  a large number of the US population can be expected to join the organization, as soon as we set our membership requirements.  

More on their progress when we make any.......   

Mogley G. Retriever

A word from the cats

As you can see, Buddy cat is very angry that the dogs are trying to balance the household budget on the backs of the cats, we are going to get our side of the story on the table, or on the bed as the case may be. 

Mini Cat is not very angry, her status as the spoiled cat in the house is not in danger.   She has the best bed, and she has the best food.  As you can see below, Mini cat gets a gourmet choice at every meal.   It is the only way to keep the birds safe from her attacks.   The sun is shining on her coat and it makes her look like she is silver, fear not, she is solid black with only a tiny spot of white on her chest. 

Mini points out that we can not cut the household budget by reducing her food choices.   She will simply add birds to the menu.   Buddy does not care much for the great outdoors, he likes the indoors and the soft beds. 

Buddy Cat is the quiet one in the house, quiet until midnight that is.   Buddy has to talk to us all about midnight or one in the morning when he wants attention and no one is awake to pet him.    So he wakes someone up to get his attention, then he goes back to sleep.    He is spoiled too. 


At least we dogs just sleep quietly all night, we only bark if there is a real disturbance outside.   Then we do our job as watch dogs.    

Meanwhile, we still have not balanced the budget.   There was a wonderful suggestion that treats be cut back with a substitution of cake from the day old cake store instead of treats.    We tried that one, but the day old cake did not get any older.   The humans brought it home and promptly make it disappear.   The good news is that the day old cake store is the same store that sells day old bread.   So we ended up with bread treats and the human ended up with day old cake.

So we are still trying to balance our budget.  

Mogley G. Retriever

Balancing the Budget

In order to balance the budget, some of us are still working hard.   Above, I am bringing in the morning paper, rain or shine.    I watched the Westminster Dog Show, they had Golden Retrievers in the sporting class.   I think we need to send them my pictures bringing in the paper, then we can enter in the Working Class of the show.   If the judges had to swim out into a cold lake to bring a dead duck back to shore, they would realise that fetching is real work, more work than following a dumb sheep around all day. 
See below what I have to go through to deliver the mail. 

We had so many great ideas about how to balance the budget that we hope you will go back and read the comments.  If you will recall, we needed to cut $1.35 from our annual budget in order to match the cuts they were considering in Washington D.C.  Cheyanne in Denver had one of the better ideas.  Since having a dog helps people with their mental health, which in turn leads to better physical health, more exercise, etc., we should send everyone down to adopt a homeless dog, then everyone can save money.   Maybe she would like to head up a "Adopt for your Health" day.    Then we were told that day old cake at the bakery is much cheaper than dog treats, and much better as well.   Let them eat cake was the cry.   

We thank Jack, at a Daily Dose of Jack, who offered to save us money by not buying his new book.    What a sacrifice he was willing to make to help us with our problem.   That is the true spirit of dogs, he scrifices a sale to help us.  What a dog!   We want to point out that Jack's new book is one of the few books where the dog does not die at the end, so it won't cause you to cry.   If you hurry to his web site through the link above, you can enter a contest to win a copy.

One of our readers sent an e-mail suggesting that the tall ones simply squeeze the toothpaste tube a little harder.   If they could get one more brushing out of each tube, then after 5 years they will have saved the necessary $1.35, just like Washington DC does it, promise the savings some time in the future. 

We are still working on how we will finally save the $1.35 that we need to cut out of the budget.   More ideas are still coming in. 

Friday the tall one had to go to an office.  He took Nala along for the ride, then stopped by the vet and got her blood test and her heart worm meds.   Nala had heartworm when she came into rescue, so we are very careful with her, we don't want her to fight that battle again.   Bella and I have appointments next week to get our tests, our annual shots and our heartworm medications.    Yes, spring is coming and it is time to get ready.  Nala said she got lots of attention at the office.   Now Bella and I are now due a ride to the office. 

Maybe the tall one will balance the budget in another way, he has an offer to go back to work.   Maybe the offer will get good enough to make him go back, then we won't have to balance out budget by cutting.  Think of all the dog treats we can buy then!

Mogley G. Retriever

Dogenomics

Our cousins have gone home this evening.   After two days of playing and wrestling, Nala, Bella and I are ready for a nap, we crash in the entry and sleep till dinner.   We earned our nap, so we will be turning in early tonight.   We hope that sleeping is free because the financial times are changing.

The Bumpass Hounds set our human to thinking, which is a dangerous condition.    The Bumpass Hounds pointed out that President Obama has proposed cutting $100 million from a $3.5 Trillion Federal budget.   That amounts to 1/35,000 of the budget.   Now that our family is retired, we budget about $50,000 per year for our household budget.  Using this as a guideline, we have proposed cutting our annual household budget by $1.35.   That way we will be exactly in line with the cuts proposed by the president!   He said that we all need to tighten our belts during this fiscal downturn, and we want to do our part, no matter how much of a hardship cutting $1.35 will be.

The chauffeur began by soliciting suggestions from each of us as to how to cut the family budget.    Being an expert on Dogenomics, I immediately suggest that the tiny cans of canned cat food that Mini cat eats are 50 cents per can and she eats two cans a day.   We could balance the budget pretty fast and help her lose weight at the same time.   The reason they feed Mini cat special food is because Mini cat likes to hunt birds, and she is very good at it, if she is hungry, she goes out the dog door and finds her own dinner which means there will be feathers on the floor.  As far as Nala, Bella and I were concerned that is a great solution.   But it turns out that they don't  want her to hunt birds, so they won't let us balance the budget that way.  Something about protecting the birds.  Several nights ago, Mini caught a midnight snack, a mouse, and brought it alive into the bedroom and then chased and played with it till everyone in the house was awake.  Feeding Mini became a much higher priority.  This is going to be harder than I thought. 

Nala suggested that we could cut back on the use of dog shampoo.   She said we could save three or four times that much per year.   An eight dollar bottle of shampoo does not last long with all of the fosters coming through the house.    Besides, Nala does not like baths much, so she was willing to make the sacrifice.   But that idea was vetoed by the chauffeur as well.

Bella pointed out that it was time for the dreaded annual shots.   She would be willing to stay home when the rest of us went to the vet to get poked.    Then there is the cost of the heart worm medication that will be starting soon.    We could balance our budget in a hurry with her suggestions.    Again, the chauffeur said no, we all have to get our annual check up.

Mini cat suggested that if we limited the dog treat time to once a day from twice a day, we could save a lot of money.   I think she is still mad because I suggested taking away her food for three meals.  The chauffeur said that treat time is important, twice a day we all get to bond and he says that is important.   Something about making sure we sit and stay on command. 

Buddy cat said that she would be glad to go without a new collar this year.   She very seldom goes outside and no one sees her collar under her thick white coat.   The chauffeur pointed out that the reason Buddy cat is getting a new collar is because she pulled her old one off and lost the tags, she has to have her tags on, it's the law.   Once again we are stopped.

So we ask you, our readers, how would you reduce our annual living budget by $1.35 so that we can share in the huge sacrifice that our leaders in Washington are facing.   After all, that is a big cut to make.   So leave us your suggestions about where to cut.

Mogley G. Retriever

Visitors, again

Life has been pretty quiet.   Just Nala, Bella and I have been being lazy for several weeks now.   We have been taking it easy and waiting in the sun for the summer to come.     Above, Bella and I enjoy the morning sun on the front sofa.   Below, Nala keeps a watch out of the front door, waiting for company.   Nala has such an expressive face, she is always the star of any photo shoot.

Today, our cousins came to visit again.   They are having a sleep over while their humans are traveling.  It gives us all a chance to get together and play.   We all look forward to our over night play dates, and we are also happy when they go home and we quiet down again till the next trip.    Below are photos of all six of us sitting for our morning treats. 

Mogley G. Retriever