Hip, Hip Hooray!!!

The New Year is almost here!

Even though 2008 has been VERY GOOD for Puppy Fenway and his Alphas, we can't wait for the next year and and even better times.

Don't get me wrong...there's been some concern about $$$, politics, global warming and other things that the humans screw up. But in my little world, things couldn't be better.

We have our health and are gloriously happy about sharing love with one another.  For me, the sun rises and sets in the eyes of my beloved Alphas. And with just a little glance from them, I can tell they feel the same.

So, it's been a wonderful year of growing, learning and joyful, zany fun. We look forward to more adventures and also the Small Times that make us live in the moment.

My Alphas never thought they'd find such peace & happiness on a quiet, bone-chilling early morning tossing a ball or frisbee.

So let's all celebrate that we have one another!

Join in and smile...get happy!

Even my nostrils are happy!

While the Alphas pop the cork on some champagne, 

I think I'll pop Vet Man's head just a little more. 

Shredding makes me deliriously happy!

Dog Park Paradise

My big Christmas Day treat was to go to a new dog park. We were on Long Island visiting Ms. Alpha's brother. He's a savvy guy who knew the perfect place to go. It's called Coindre Hall Park and it's in Huntington.

There was a medieval style mansion—an 80,000 square foot French chateau that was built in 1912. Ms. Alpha liked this place as much as I did since it's dripping with Long Island history of the Gold Coast. I can only imagine the size of the kitchen! Lots of storage for Bully Sticks and bones for sure!

This place is 34 acres of doggie paradise that has sweeping views and overlooks Huntington Harbor and the lighthouse. You can see it off in the distance. That's the boathouse down by the water. Do you think there are bedrooms for the boats in there?

There are signs about leashes...but we never saw one. 

The humans told us that this is a place where Dogz Rule.

And what a friendly pack we found! Natually, all the fun starts with a first sniff. Got to get to know one another, right?

Then my beloved Everlasting Fun Ball appeared and I got a serious skedaddle on! 

Just look at all that land I had to get some run.

I ran so hard that I had to take a break and catch my breath. 

It's hard to wear out a border collie!

I made sure that my ball was safe. 

I liked the other dogs, but I NEVER share my beloved EFB.

A smart border collie knows just the right place to cool off!

Holy Christmas!!!

I was up before anyone on Christmas morning....

I did my best to herd the humans out of bed.

C'mon people....let's get going!

Lots of wrapped stuff appeared. 

And inside of one box was a present for me...

I got a mechanical Lil' Kitty and it screeches and walks!

Lil' Kitty's head went straight into my mouth!

I will quiet this sucka for good!

My next present needs no comment. I'm just dismayed. 

The antlers made me take out my frustration on Lil' Kitty.

Let's just say that the poor creature now has three good paws..

After the presents it was time to start fixing dinner.

The best present of all was being invited into the kitchen.

Mr. Alpha asked me to be his sous chef.

Since I am on the raw food diet, 

Mr. Alpha asked me to inspect the tenderloin.

My refined canine palate says 

this lovely hunk of beef is good to go as-is.

I was congratulated for my sniffing work.

"Good job, Fenway!"

I returned the thanks with a hearty slurp.

I love kitchen duty!

We toasted one another with a glass of vino,

I felt very sophisticated.

While the humans ate their Christmas dinner on chairs, 

I found the best seat in the house—under the dining table.

This is proof that Border Collies are very smart!

I was tired after so much fun and had a lovely

nap by the fire.

Lap Dance!

Ms. Alpha just took me to meet a new human that she called Santa Claus. And get this! She wasn't impressed enough with the Santa Claus Human at Petsmart. We both recognized him as really being a rather thin and pasty college student. Also, he was wearing some ratty fluff on his face but it didn't cover his swarthy whiskers.

So, Ms. Alpha said, "No, no, no. This won't do at all for Mr. Fenway."

Instead, we drove to a department store called Neiman Marcus. What a glamorous place this was. I saw lots of bear-humans and they had the most lustrous coats. Ms. Alpha said they were minks, not bears at all. I even saw the largest fox-human in the world. She had a luxurious silver coat.

Ms. Alpha pronounced this new Santa to be a proper Santa. She said he looked like Father Christmas and we both liked his throne chair. He even had elf-humans helping with crowd control. Hmmmf. A border collie could have done a better job.

There was a line to meet this new Santa and some noisy, overdressed and shiny clean small humans were in front of us. A human puppy was even there and when it's Alpha handed it off to the Santa, the poor thing whimpered, screamed and cried uncontrollably.

That got me all super-amped and I strained at my leash to control the situation. The elf-humans were useless. If only I could herd this strange human pack into a tight circle! All chaos would then cease.

And, then it was my turn to meet the Santa Human.

I had no idea I, Fenway, would be placed on his lap. He was affable about it and tolerated my writhing around and general excitement—up to a point. I was like a whirling dervish.

We wonder if Neiman Marcus will change the rules about who gets to visit Santa next year.

Santa asked what I wanted for Christmas—

I barked out my wish list loud and clear!

Santa's beard caught my attention. 

Oooh, he's a human stuffie!

I slurped Santa fiercely and his beard tickled my tongue!

This is the moment I decided I was done with Santa.

Poor Santa is staring off into space while I danced on his lap, 

From this point on, everything 

is out of focus 'cause I was on the move!

I was a whirling, twirling demon of a border collie.

I've had enough of Santa.

He's probably had enough of me!

I just want off this dude's lap pronto!

Me vs. Them

It started with a trickle. And then a flood of Christmas cards, photos with Santa Claus and happy tidings came into my house.

And guess what!!!! Almost all of them were for me! But, I guess that's not news to any of my canine bloggerini's, is it?

I have so many Christmas cards that they 

can't even fit into one picture!

Now, my friends at DWB, let's contrast my 

card largesse with that of The Alphas.

I don't want to be cruel, but I'll just say that 

the next picture speaks for itself.

Sad display for The Humans, isn't it?

Which leads me to ask—rhetorically, of course—who is is winning the popularity contest in my den?

All I can say is,

Dogz Rule!

True Blood

Against her better judgement, Ms. Alpha is hooked on the new HBO series, True Blood. It's about vampires and humans in the dating pool. So complicated...so silly, yet so entertaining.

I stayed up to with them to watch a marathon session they TiVo'ed. It was scary, especially when the sun went down and the fangs came out. And guess what!!!!!????? A border collie is featured in a cameo role!

I've learned some new skills and am ready 

for the next vampire blockbuster! This is my method acting.

Hunky, lovelorn bar owner Sam occasionally pauses from restocking the beer case to scratch behind his ear when he turns into a border collie—and a red border collie at that!!! It seems that Sam's a shapeshifter. And, though Sam may look a bit clueless and confused in his human state, he is wise enough to morph into the smartest dog in the pack.

Now I understand why Sam is always licking himself—because he can!

Sam was kind enough to lay out the shapeshifting rules:

1. He can turn into any animal, but leans towards dogs, because everyone loves a dog.
2. He needs an actual animal to use as the shapeshifting blueprint.
3. He can't do humans—too complex.
4. He can usually control the impulse, except on a full-moon night, at which point he can only turn back into a human once he falls asleep.
5. But that DOESN'T make him a werewolf—got it? But yes, werewolves do exist.
6. There's several thousand other shapeshifters out there, but he hasn't found them, and he doesn't know if it runs in genealogy because he was adopted. (And abandoned.)

That still leaves a lot of questions unanswered: 

• Should you feed your shapeshifter gluten-free kibble?

• Should shapeshifters avoid rawhide?

• Would a raw diet make shapeshifters more blood-thirsty like a vampire?

• What do you do if your shapeshifter doesn't get along well with other shapeshifters at the shapeshifter park?

Meanwhile, we are left wondering what kind of tricks Sam has mastered. Can he balance a biscuit on his nose and flip it into his mouth?

Oooh, yes he can! Good boy! Attaboy, Sam! Whozagooboy? Yes you are, Sam!

Open Wide!

It starts with a little grin...

Then I start to spread my lips...

I crinkle my eyes in delight...

And then the happiness floods all over my face...

Until I smile confidently....

And I'm pure joy!

(Ms. Alpha calls me Happiness)

My big brother Chance gets the prize for the longest grin!

Profiles of Indignity

I ask, "Have you ever seen a filthier show dog?"

I always have to ride in the back like a bag of groceries.

I am NOT luggage!

Holidays bring out the worst in my Alphas.

Being decorated is not my idea of fun.

I can only hang my head in shame.

This sorry incident speaks for itself—I HATE Halloween. 

It's designed to degrade dogs: it's full of annoying costumes 

and poisonous chocolate. What's to like?

You expect me think this contraption will save my life?

Um... notice that it doesn't even fit.

Believe it or not, there are dogs who suffer far more 

humiliation. Bows? Huh?

This poor dude was stripped of his pants 

for all the world to see.

Oy, it's a dog's life some days.

Jiffy Pop

I didn't believe this story until I saw the photo and video for myself. I know we all joke about feasting heartily, but let this be a warning to both dogs and their owners. LOVE DOES NOT = FOOD!!!

I cried when I watched poor Jiffy, rumored to be between 120 and 150 pounds, depending on which news story you read. True to the border collie nature, Jiffy was smiling, affable and eager to please his rescuers. This broke my heart. Border collies are so trusting.

How could this happen? Why, oh, why?

Jiffy, still smiling, is now in protective custody.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis.—A woman was arrested after she left her dog outside in 6 degree weather, causing it to freeze to the sidewalk.A neighbor called police after the dog was stuck to the pavement for more than 12 hours. Jiffy’s owner, a 59-year-old woman, was taken into custody on suspicion of animal neglect.

Here's the video. WARNING: This is disturbing.

Animal care providers had to use warm water to gently pry Jiffy free from the ice. Locks of his hair are still frozen on the pavement in front of his house.

Jiffy, an 11-year-old border collie, can now crawl but is too heavy to walk. The extra 50 pounds he’s carrying almost cost him his life.

"It is very disturbing to see a dog that overweight and then to actually come up and see the dog frozen to the sidewalk. It was very, very traumatic for me,” said Carey Payne, who is with the Sheboygan Humane Society. “I've never seen a dog actually frozen to a sidewalk before.”

The owner told police she made frequents trips outside to check on the dog, but workers at the Sheboygan County Humane Society suggest the dog was abused long before he was frozen. "You can overfeed a dog, and when you do the dog becomes extremely overweight, it cannot move properly, it puts a strain on all of their organs,” said Payne. “It's abuse. That’s plain and simple."

Todd Wagner, the neighbor that called police, said the owner tried to free the dog. “I tried to help (the owner) with it on Wednesday night, but I got bit by it so I left it alone. She had other people coming to help and everybody did make an effort, you know it's not that it was total neglect on her fault,” he said.

Investigators said the owner was released shortly after she was arrested, and it will be up to the district attorney to decide what charges she will face, if any.

Aside from being overweight, the dog is in good health, according to the Humane Society.

Thanksgiving Redux

Hello Bloggerinis!!!

Long lost Fenway is finally back. Through no fault of my own, my daily exploits have not been chronicled in a timely manner. Ms. Alpha has all sorts of excuses related to traveling, work and other mundane matters, but I indicated to her she needed to sit and stay at the computer AND UPDATE my thrilling life.

We traveled back up to Martha's Vineyard for an old fashioned Thanksgiving holiday. This is my favorite spot by far because it is like a Canine Sports Complex. There are ponds and bays to swim in, fields to run in, big yards for frisbee and ball play, hills to climb and lots of bunnies and critters to chase.

And, I discovered an entirely new creature! Martha's Vineyard has wild turkeys!!! These fellows were on a sidewalk, calmly pecking at a hedge in the middle of Vineyard Haven. 

I was simply mesmerized and stayed so still that they 

didn't even sense that stealthy Fenway was there.

I was very impressed with the Alphas hunting skills.

They brought home a fresh-killed Heritage Turkey from a farm. 

This fellow had a delectable neck that I feasted on for two whole days!

It was too cold for any competitive swimming 

but I still insisted on dipping my paws in Vineyard Sound. 

I am wistfully dreaming about summer sports.

When Ms. Alpha sensed my disappointment about swimming, my favorite toy magically appeared. I got so excited that the frisbee gave me the Crazy Eyes.

Check out my set 0f Vampire Fangs!

Ready to launch!

(check out my lush ruff...I have a built-in Santa Claus beard!)

Then it was on to the next sport...

Who can resist my formal invitation to play?

I assume the position of the greatest Border Collie shortstop.

Ms. Alpha cleverly chose this spot so I could run up and down the hill, all the while building up my leg muscles.

After cornering my Everlasting Fun Ball, 

I stand pretty for a moment and soak up the scenery.

I can drink water and still keep an eye on my EFB.

We had such a good time cross-training that I finally closed my little eyes for some sleepies. It was a very cold day and we enjoyed some snuggly schnoozing.

A tired Border Collie is a good collie!