I’m plagiarizing myself. Because sometimes the same message bears repeating….

Today is a day that we remember and honor those men and women and even canines who have served their countries in times of war – and during peacekeeping times as well. We call today Remembrance or Veteran’s Day. In the dog show world, the term veteran is used to describe an older dog. In the human world, the term Veteran means so much more.

Veterans are very, very special. They defended our rights and our liberties and without them, many of us would not enjoy the freedoms that we do today. The poppy has become a symbol of this day with its connection to the poem “In Flanders Fields.” The poppies bloomed across many of the battlefields of WW I – and they became symbolic of the blood shed on those fields.While we have this special day to honor Veterans, we really need to keep them in our minds and hearts all year round.

We also know that due to the often unthinkable challenges of war time service, many Veterans have after effects – known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As I understand it can be a difficult condition, not only affecting the Veteran, but family members of the Veteran as well – who see their need for help. And that’s where, in some cases, we canines can come in. We can work as Service Dogs to help Veterans suffering from PTSD. We are specially trained and we can detect when someone is feeling anxious or depressed or provide comfort if someone is having nightmares. We provide a service that is often life-saving. When you look for websites and organizations that provide dogs to Veterans, it seems that there are a number of options. I even found one group in the US that has Veterans training the dogs to serve other Veterans. Now that seems like an excellent idea. I urge you to research these organizations – and consider supporting such programs for the men and women who have given so much for you. It’s a wonderful way to say thanks…

And today – take a minute to think of and honor those who have served – and still do serve. They deserve more thanks than we can ever give them.

Have a good one. PEACE and paws up.

So yesterday, her highness got together with two friends and went to some kind of “Expo” thing. As I understand it, it was a bunch of booths with art, wine, crafts, cider, food,whiskey, rum, and even dog treats. Apparently though, there were more booths featuring alcohol than dog treats… All the goods were made in the maritimes and were great for Christmas shopping. But more on the booths in a minute…

There were also dog displays – including a local group demonstrating agility. AND there was even a sheep dog demo.

One of her highness’s friends is owned by Shelties. So she was interested in the demo being a herding human. Her other friend, Glenda is owned by Bernese – and she likes anything dog – so she was also interested in the demo.

They all watched with interest as several herding machines aka Border Collies worked the sheep. One was only 10 months old- and CLEARLY knew what to do. When the man who was doing the demo was asked if he ever trained any other breeds, his response was “Are there other breeds?” I’m thinking that he would not have been impressed with my herding instinct test where I sat like a stuffed dog in the center of the pen and never moved. On the other hand, he MIGHT find the FG interesting….

Anyway, her highness did feel guilty about leaving us for the afternoon, (even though Anna came by and gave me my meds and let us out. ) So she HAD to buy something from a dog vendor. She bought some yummy dried beef liver. She noted some dried capelin in the booth, but said she wasn’t sure one of her dogs would eat it. The woman said “here are a few samples – try it out.”

Her highness happily took the stinky, dried fish.

When she got home, we were excited to see her – even though Anna had just been here less than an hour before.

To appease her appropriate sense of guilt, she immediately pulled out the treats. She gave each of us a dried capelin. Einstein and I sniffed them for .06 seconds and promptly ate them. As predicted, the FG dropped his. And stared at it. Einstein and I tried to steal it, but her highness put us in the hallway to give the FG a chance to try it. He stared at it. He tossed it. He rolled on it. And then he got up and walked away from it. The decision: the FG is currently eating his meals and even treats like blueberries. But he draws the line at tiny dried fish. And her highness didn’t mind because frankly, the vision of those crunchy pieces of seafood did not appear that appealing to her either.

Einstein and I were happy because we got a few more samples. We PONs will eat ANYTHING.

Today we have a lazy day planned. Except of course for guard duty…It appears we ate all the capelin samples – but not to worry- there is still a bag of beef liver.

Seriously. Life is good.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Well we can officially call the FG a rock hound. But before we get to that, I need to update you about him in general…

Something is going on with him. It is literally like a switch has been flipped. He’s crazy. No. I mean more crazy than normal. I think it started since that time change.

For one thing, he CANNOT walk on leash. He stops to sniff and then leaps as he continues on. His nose is working overtime.

He is also countersurfing like a PON. Big time. Her highness now has to watch him like a hawk.

He is also eating his meals. All his meals. And when her highness spreads kibble on the floor when she is going out, he’s right in there with me and Einstein snarfing down every piece.

Now these may not seem like a big deal, but trust me – things are different. For her highness, it’s like being owned by three PONs.

Anyway, yesterday morning he threw himself on the front door to go on the first walk shift. Her highness agreed to take him first – so she littered some kibble under the dining room table to keep me and Einstein occupied. For 37 seconds anyway. She then had the drag the FG out because of his newfound interest in that game.

They leaped down the road. Well the FG did. The thought of her highness doing that is too ridiculous to imagine – especially since she’s been working on all the leftover Halloween treats. Again.

The FG and her highness got to the beginning of the trail down the road and that’s when they spotted it. A rock. But not just any rock. A painted rock. The FG checked it out and was intrigued.

The rock is part of a local initiative called Maritime Rocks. People paint rocks and then hide them for others to find. When you find a rock, on the reverse side it asks that you post a photo to the Maritime Rocks Facebook page and then to either hide it again – or you can keep it. It was started to simply spread joy. School kids paint the rocks. Adults paint the rocks. All are different but all have the same happy intent.

This is the first rock her highness and the FG found. He was somewhat cooperative in taking the obligatory selfie. Then he tried to bite the rock, which was quickly discouraged. The duo decided not to keep the rock, but instead went on a longer walk and rehid the rock for someone else to find. They came home or should I say leaped home and posted the FG’s photo to the site.

Einstein and I are a bit jealous that the FG found a rock. Now we want to find one too. We need to keep our eyes open. It’s such a fun way to spread a little joy. Maybe we can even paint our own! Stop laughing….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

On Monday, her highness wanted to attend the funeral of the mother of a dear friend. The only challenge was that the funeral was in a town 3 hours away.

She had checked to see if Anna could come by after school to let us out and give me my pills- but since the funeral was scheduled at 2, she wasn’t sure she would make it back for my supper time meds. And she hasn’t shown Anna how to do that. She knew that Einstein and the FG could wait a bit for supper – but not me.

So the only solution? Road trip for yours truly.

Einstein and the FG looked a bit shocked as I got into Ludwig. They initially assumed I was headed for the vet – until they saw that her highness had a ziplock bag with food, a jug of water, a ziplock bag of medications and my food bowl. Clearly this was no vet visit. She gave the surprised duo some extra treats, and off we went.

Unfortunately, her highness made a mistake. She put the crate in the back, and put me behind it. For some crazy reason she thought she would let me be free for part of the ride. Big mistake. Before we made it off our road I had managed to bend my body around the crate and I was making my attempt to get into the passenger seat. I like to see where I’m going. One quick stop and I was ushered into the crate. Party over.

I did get to go out for several short walks, so I saw a bit of the province that I had never visited before.

The funeral ended just in time for my 3 o’clock meds. If you’re wondering- I stayed in the vehicle during the funeral. The temperatures are nice and cool now – and her highness also left the windows open. Taking me into the chapel would not have been a good idea. For obvious, reasons not the least of which is the fact that peeing on pews is frowned upon.

After the funeral, her highness went to the reception for a bit, and then I got to go for another short walk before we headed home.

She stopped for gas at 7- and got my meal time meds ready. She parked in a dark corner of the gas station lot, hoping nobody was watching her measure out syringes of my liquid meds. Picture the scene….I was secretly hoping a police car would have come along- just to hear her tell my story.

All in all, it was a good day. The other two stooges were let out by Anna – and they survived getting their supper a bit late. Mind you, it’s not like the FG cares.

Time for my morning constitutional. And MAYBE we will get to go to the fenced baseball field – it reopened to dogs on November 1. Something tells me that it won’t be all three of us at once though….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Well it’s official. Einstein is back to being himself -110%.

On Sunday, her highness examined his incisions and deemed that he could officially go coneless. There was much barking, jumping and rejoicing. By her highness.

Yesterday morning, though, she decided she would still do one more walk with me and the FG together. She figured Einstein would be 2 weeks to the day since his surgery – and starting today, he could go back to his full routine. So yesterday would be my last morning walk with zig zag.

I’m here to tell you that Einstein had other plans. As her highness opened the door to let me and the FG out (on leash of course), out of nowhere, Einstein bolted around her and out the door. He has never done this during the previous two weeks of his recuperation. Her highness shouted “Frodo you get back here.” He stopped, looked over his shoulder and trotted away. Meanwhile, the FG and I are standing there staring in disbelief. I mean this is the “good dog.” Her highness must have said, FRODO here,” about 38 times- breaking the primary rule of dog obedience training – which states you don’t keep calling when you KNOW we are not going to respond. Einstein trotted part way up the driveway and stopped to smell something. He then ceremoniously turned around to face her highness (and two fascinated canines) and promptly had a big pee. He then kicked his back legs, to add a finishing touch and trotted back to her highness- who happened to have a treat in her hand. She debated whether or not to give it to him – but caved – and ushered him into the house.

Zig zag and I then went on our merry way. I must say that with the time change, it’s nice to be walking without a headlamp. But the new daylight scenario made the FG even MORE crazy on our walk. I call it Time Change Fever. Actually, both of us were a little more crazy than usual. As a result, her highness shortened our walk. She was not thrilled about being dragged down the road. Spoil sport.

We came back and she took Einstein out. They took a trail down to the lake and her highness snapped some photos of the misty lake. Einstein sniffed around and then happily posed for some shots- he was just so happy to be out for a walk that extended beyond the backyard.

I cannot tell you how overjoyed her highness is that Einstein is feeling better. It’s been a rough couple of weeks – I hadn’t even mentioned that I had two seizures a week and a half ago. Just to add a little drama to the mix. That’s why we are thankful for every drama-free day we have. Much as we love our vet, we hope to stay away from that place for the rest of the year. Or at least the rest of this week!

And on that happy note – tune in tomorrow when I’ll tell you about my trip to a funeral. Yup – I went to a funeral. And a looooong road trip….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

What’s the one sound that can make any human (even the most sound sleeper), wake up faster than a sprinter at the start line of a race? The sound, that to two PONs in this house, signals an unexpected jackpot- like a win at the casino when you only had one coin to spend? The sound that is almost akin to the sound of kibble being placed in our bowls. Or the sound of the treat jar opening. What’s the sound which happens in the dark of night that causes lights to be thrown on and humans to jump out of bed? Why the unique and deadly sound of the urky gurkies. That’s my name for them. The sound we dogs make before we are about to throw up.

We dogs love it. Humans not so much. And we heard it the night before last.

On Wednesday, the FG decided he was doing one of his occasional fast days. It’s that Picard thing. He doesn’t do it all that often now- but every now and then he decides he is not eating – like some kind of cleansing ritual. It’s a concept that to us PONs is so foreign- it’s more frightening than any Halloween costume. (Speaking of which we only had 5 kids come to visit. Her highness will be able to grumble about eating Halloween treats until mid-November. And then the after- effects for 4 years.). But I digress.

The FG was fine – but he didn’t eat all day. He was happy, trying at every chance to give Sue kisses. He was totally himself. And when he announced his fast, her highness just ignored it. She no longer stresses if he doesn’t want to eat. She knows he will the next day.

Anyway, when one doesn’t eat, though, sometimes one gets a buildup of gases because one has an empty stomach. At least that’s my observation.

So at 3AM, the FG was comfortably sleeping in his pony sized crate- with the door open. Einstein was on her highness’s bed and I was next to the bed.

And suddenly, that horror sound to humans which is music to canine ears, erupted from the crate. Einstein and I rushed to the crate door, with her highness flying off the bed. I tried to throw myself ahead of Einstein who growled to get me out of the way. Meanwhile, the FG barfed up bile. Just bile. No food. Just bile. Still we PONs wanted to clean it up – but her highness, in one swoop grabbed both of our collars and pulled us back through the entrance to the crate. She pulled the FG out, trying to get him to avoid stepping in the puddle and somehow she did it. She closed the crate door while she went to get paper towel – leaving me and Einstein to stare inside. While the FG stared at us. The joys of late night pukes.

Sue is leaving us today. We are going to miss her! Not only did she give us lots of hugs and pats – but she also brought us toys!! Very cool fetch toys! One for each of us. We loved them – but because the destruction team will destroy them if left alone with them, we need to be supervised while playing with them. It was so nice of Sue to think of us. We wish she could stay longer. But I guess she needs to get home to Scout, her almost 2 year old PON. He’s a typically brilliant PON. He can open doors, climb fences and he knows that if he goes to his crate when told, he will get a treat. So sometimes he just goes in and sits and stares at his humans – letting them know he’s waiting for a treat. Sounds like a smart guy.

Anyway, we will miss the company- as will her highness. But her highness never has to worry about being lonely- we’re great company. Even at 3 in the morning….

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.