I'm BACK!!!!

Ohmigosh, I never thought I'd miss Mom's typing, but I DID! Her computer was actually gone for a while. I really mean GONE - not here - no news - no way to talk to you! And then she brought it back and didn't type much on it at all. Actually, she was everywhere but here, sometimes taking me with her, but mostly not. It was very distressing! I asked and asked about my cyberfriends, but all she would say was that her computer was 'not safe yet'. FINALLY, tonite, she said I could at least say "Hi." So, hi. I've got lots to tell you, but Mom says there's not time tonite. I'll try and get her to do it SOON.

I missed you all!

New Friends!

MORE new friends - I LOVE SPRING!!! Ginger is a beautiful fellow female that I can appreciate, but her mom and dad are even better! They quite liked me, even though they didn't offer a single treat. Ginger's mom is a woman of good taste, as evidenced by her open admiration of my coat and overall attractiveness. [Aside from Moxie's Mom - you can tell that 'humble' is not in Moxie's vocabulary.] What was that? What did you type Mom?!? Ooooo, it's so frustrating that I can't read or type for myself!!

ANYway, Mom's been talking about a road trip this weekend. Don't know what in the world she's talking about, but she promises I'll like it. Rest assured I'll tell you all about it and let you know if she's right or not.

Bye for now!

New Friends!

Aaahhhhhhhhh, spring is in the air and mom is taking me for long walks again. High time too, but then, my paws would get cold about the time mom said it was time to turn around on our winter walks.

And you would not believe all the people! We hardly saw anybody for months, and now, well, it's not just the plants bursting out but the houses too! You can barely walk by them and someone's coming in or out or working in the yard or biking down the street. Wow! I forgot what our neighborhood is like when it's warm out! And best of all - THEY REMEMBER ME!!! When we see people they all call out 'Hi Moxie!' and some even come running over! Forget Mom, it's all about me! Well, you can imagine that I lived up to their expectations and performed all of my best tricks as fast as ever I could. Sure enough, Mom had treats to give them to give to me. Oh bliss!

Just this week we made three new friends too! Strawberry Girl, Jet Boy, and their mom. Oh my goodness, Strawberry Girl was just as sweet as could be. She knew how to introduce herself to me, admire me out loud, and stroke my fur just right. Jet Boy was much younger, so he has a few things to learn about making a dog happy, but with Strawberry Girl teaching him he should come along quickly. I can see that I'll have to be out and about a lot so he can practice!

Mom says I should thank the people who work to set up dog parks because they're the ones who created one close to my house! Mom takes me there a LOT, and even did when it was cold, and best of all when it was super muddy! Oh - I told you about that already. Anyway, no mud now, so no baths when we get home. That's a LOT more fun!

You can come see me there sometime if you want. I like to meet my cyber friends in person too! Mom says her fingers are tired cuz she had to type a lot at work this week, so I have to sign off. But know that I'm thinking of all you friends out there! Happy Dreams!

New Friends!

Life has certainly been busy, what with the ground drying up after the snow left, going to the new dog park, seeing my old neighborhood friends cuz everyone's outside again, and meeting new people.

Mom told me that someone named Kari was coming to meet me, but I wasn't sure what it was all about. I figured I'd think about it when she came. Well. She did. And right from the start she made me THINK! What's with that?!? Mom and I had a routine. Someone comes in, I bark to let them know they should think twice about pulling any funny business, they come in the house, where I bark to emphasize that I'm in charge, although I also have to keep away from mom. If she catches me I have to listen to her and at least sit, even if I don't stop barking.

Kari stopped on the OTHER side of the gate! She changed the rules! AND she brought CHEESE! Ohmigosh! What's a pup to do? I barked. She turned around. You heard right - she turned around and ignored me! How rude! I ask you, what's the point in barking if the person I'm barking AT doesn't pay attention? So I stopped. And she turned around. So I started barking again, and she turned around AGAIN. I was stumped. I just stopped barking and stared. She turned around fast, and gave me some cheese!!! Wow! Suffice to say that it was a very confusing visit, but very rewarding too! There was learning to look at her face instead of the treats, sit and be quiet (yuck!) instead of barking, and then this weird thing where she kept moving the cheese over my shoulder until I laid on my side. Hey, I got cheese when I did it, so okay, I'd lay on my side.

As if all this weren't strange enough, MOM's been acting this way ever since Kari left! And there's something about 'at ease' and 'relax', but just telling you this much has worn me out all over again, and I haven't told you about my other new friend.

Yesterday Mom and I went to the dog park, and there were WAY too many rowdy, noisy dogs. As usual, Mom was talking to everybody (Note from Mom: I was not!). Well LOT'S of people anyway. In fact, at one point she went out of the park to the car and left me inside! Yes, she came right back, but still....

Anyway, the next thing you know, there's a really nice young lady who's talking to Mom, but really looking at me. So of course I showed her my best tricks - Toast, Touchdown, Rock & Roll, and such. And of course, she was impressed! We kept running into her the whole time we were at the park, which was just fine by me because I knew she was admiring me the whole time she pretended to talk to Mom. They eventually sat down at a picnic table and were just yakking and yakking, so I took a nap underneath the table. I must admit, Cutie (that's what I call her) was very dog-sensitive. She helped Mom keep the water bowl full, and admired all the pups that came up to take a drink. A very well brought up girl, I thought.

Soooo, now we have 2 new friends! And it's not even full Spring yet! Looks like this is going to be a very fun year!

A Very Special Gift!

Mom has been gone a lot the past few days. Not good. I'm telling her so quite loudly as she's typing, so I'm getting a lot of "Moxie, that's enough!" and "Moxie, GO LAY DOWN". What doesn't she get about me having my say? After all, she's supposed to be typing FOR ME! I mean, she did take me to the dog park this afternoon as soon as she FINALLY came home, but what did she do when we got back to the house? Put me in the BATHTUB! So what's a little mud got to do with anything? I thought she'd be happy it wasn't icy outside anymore!

Sheesh!

After she gave me a pretty good towel hug, I got my supper. Then she pulled a big book out of her bag and told me it was for me. What?! Why would I want a book? Then she read it to me. It's written by and about Hanni, a real working dog! Hanni is a genuine Seeing Eye Dog for her partner Beth. Beth is a writer, and she actually helped Hanni write the book and get it published! She did for Hanni what Mom is doing for me on my blog! I didn't know any other dogs had human partners that typed for them!

Hanni helps Beth all day, every day. She keeps Beth safe indoors and outside. The book title says it all: Safe & Sound.

I don't do that for Mom, but I do keep her safe when we're together - especially when we're at home. I bark every time someone walks by, drives by, or comes to the door. I bark whenever I hear something that could mean someone's trying to get into the house. But you know that. You've read my profile. I protect Mom and our house. Just like Hanni makes sure Beth is safe and sound.

Anyway, Mom actually met Hanni! Beth too, but to meet a real Morristown, NJ Seeing Eye Dog, well, now THAT's something. And do you know what Mom did for me? Well yes, she bought the book, but she got Hanni to SIGN IT. AND Hanni signed it to ME! Wow. I haven't ever had something like this. Thank you Hanni! I'd sure like to meet you myself someday.

Lost Weekend Part 2

The warm feeling stayed with me all weekend, even when I came home, got sick that night, and Mom had to take me back to the doctor place. She was really scared, which made me scared. They did the thing where I had to lay on a table and this machine kind of buzzed again, but since I'd been through it before, and nice people were petting and talking to me, I was okay with it. They let me go back in the little room where Mom was, but only for a little while. Then it was back to my spot.

A little while later they poured some stuff down my throat, then waited, and then did the buzzing machine a lot of times. After that, it was really boring until Mom came to visit! YEA!!!! We even went out for a walk! Oh I felt sooooo good! And I really wanted to go home with her, but she explained the doctors wanted to be very, very sure that I was absolutely not sick anymore. Then she gave me a big hug, and I went back to my spot. *sigh* It wasn't until the next day at suppertime that they finally let Mom take me home. Thank goodness I'm still here! And thank goodness for whoever sent the warm love hug too. That kept me from feeling afraid, and even made me a little less lonely.

Lost Weekend

*sigh* I can talk about it now, but it was pretty horrible for a while. I'm back home with Mom, and we're kind of on track, but there have been no treats and I'm getting very different food.

I got really sick last week. I don't know why, but this time tossing my cookies didn't make me feel better. I wasn't hungry, only wanted a few laps of water, and had to turn around and come home after walking just a little way. Mom got really scared. We went for a long ride in the car, and went into a place I think I might have been to before, but it was a really long time ago. After one lady talked to Mom and checked me out (yes, even took my temperature - very uncomfortable!), another really nice lady came in. Dr. Kati, I think Mom called her. Wow, was she gentle. Just like the first lady I could tell she really cared about how I felt, and she wanted to help me. Unfortunately, that meant Mom had to leave me there! I can't say by myself, because there were all sorts of nice people around, but Mom wasn't with me.

Just when I was feeling better enough to start being scared, I got this warm feeling all around me. It felt like when Mom gives me a big hug and tells me she loves me, only there was nobody there. Well, there was no person there, but there was someone with me - and it even felt like more than one someone. They loved me and let me know they'd be with me until I was all better. With them comforting me, I finally fell asleep.

I have to admit, I'm tired right now. I hope you'll understand if I finish this later....