The Blizzard of 2010

I'm not sure where to start.....the past few days have been an experience like no other in my short 2.5 dog years. It was the day after Christmas and there was all kinds of excitement about this thing called a 'Blizzard' that was coming. Whatever it was, it had folks dashing around picking up supplies & such. It wasn't supposed to hit until Sunday night, but it showed up early and barreled in without excuse, like accountants heading for the Top Pot donuts back at the Amazon.

We couldn't even see out our window for most of the night and we moved my dog bed away from the window once the thunder and lightening started. Monday morning we woke up to a scene like nothing I'd ever seen before. There was snow taller than me just about everywhere, and my normal exit door was blocked by snow that had blown into the building. Even with my sweater and wool jacket it was so cold! The wind still howled and was blowing the snow all around. I was forced to stay outside until all of my business had been completed - torture I tell you!

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur - something about cancelled flights, staying here a few days longer, lots of phone calls, etc. I pretty much stayed out of the way and hoped they wouldn't make me go back outside. We did get in a good fetch session in the hallway - the hotel knows me by name here and gave me this awesome ball with a squeeker. It got even better when dinner arrived and some hamburger and fries made their way into my bowl. Tasty!

We were able to get out and about a little more today, and I hear we're heading to the airport tomorrow. It'll be a quick trip to Seattle, but we're going back to pick up one of my cats before heading out to the Philadelphia. Hope everyone is staying warm!

Wall-e

Me and my BFF - Miss Sabi Kilroy

I'm a little late with this post, but wanted to get a shout out to my (now former) office mate & BFF, Miss Sabi Kilroy. Sabi is a wise old girl who worked part-time here in the Amazon. When she would come to the office, Sabi set the standard for good dogs & was always a picture of grace and calm. 

Sabi has some special skills, most notably the ability to eat and drink from bed while fully laying down. Its something that will take me years of practice, but I'm committed to perfecting it. One of her skills that I will likely never obtain is the ability to entertain myself. Sabi is the only dog I know that didn't have an array of toys surrounding her. This is both impressive and unbelievable, not to mention frustrating for me given my knack for swiping my fellow canine's playthings. 

When I first started sharing an office with Sabi, she would grin at me. It was pretty clear that this wasn't a  'hi, how are you?' type of welcoming grin; it was more of a 'stay on your own side of the office little boy' type of grin. It took some time, and a lot of treats, but I eventually endeared myself to Sabi. Like any good relationship, it was all about compromise - I learned to respect my elders, and she came to tolerate my adolescent outbursts. 

Sabi - I will miss you. :-)

Don't Fence me in!!! - Midnight

Happy Friday! Today my good friend Midnight came to the Amazon. She only comes in every so often, so I know when she's here there's a special occasion. Midnight lives out in the countryside in a place with so much land that there aren't even any fences or leashes. It sounds fantastic!

We are all excited to have Midnight come visit us here in the big city. The excitement was a bit overwhelming, and Midnight forgot that office life means doors and lots of people. In all the commotion of going out for an urban walk, she got a paw caught up in the door and hurt one of her pads. Luckily, there are lots of dog friends here in the Amazon and after a quick bit of triage she was back ready for action. The rest of us are a little bit jealous of her new shoes, but she tells us she'd rather be barefoot.

So what's the special occasion? It my last Friday in the office. There's beer all over the place and we're heading out for a party later this afternoon. I'll make sure and get some pictures.

Philadelphia?!?!?

The past few weeks have been pretty exciting....I'm told that we're moving to Philadelphia! I'm not quite so sure what this means, but everyone at work looks at me like its not a good thing.

For as long as I can remember, my day job has meant heading to the office. Its a pretty cush job - I sleep, eat, pass some gas, and play with my fellow office dogs. Every once in awhile I tear up a box or play fetch. There are treats everywhere and people to visit and lots of other dogs with toys.

From what I hear about this Philadelphia place, my job is about to change in a big way. For starters, no more heading to the office. And there's a lot of snow there, like really super freezing snow. I have a feeling there will be plenty to blog about in the coming months.

All's I can tell you right now is that during the last few more days at my current job, we're going to have some fun - stay tuned!

The Mayor of Palm Springs

Whew! Here's a shot of me when we finally got off the plane. Ready for some rest & relaxation!

Last week we were in Palm Springs spending Thanksgiving with family. Even though it was sunny and in the 60's, the locals were wearing sweaters and talking about how 'chilly' it was - can you believe it? Seriously, if they lived through the snow storm that hit Seattle just a few days earlier, from my perspective it was a doggone heatwave!  I was running around lovely downtown PS without any additional layers and loving it.

One of the things thats cool about Palm Springs is that everyone is so friendly. I walk up and down the street shopping and saying visiting with folks - you'd think I was the mayor! Here's a picture of me with the real mayor of Palm Springs (back in the day), Sony Bono.

Thanksgiving dinner was super - my favorites were the turkey and the stuffing. The pumpkin pie looked awesome and I did my best to score a piece, but it was not to be. Maybe next time!

Since its so close to LA, you're likely to spot some famous Hollywood-type people hanging out in Palm Springs. One morning hanging out by the coffee shop, we met Brenda Vaccaro. She was super nice and introduced me to her two pugs.

That's all for now. I'm very happy to report that when we got back to Seattle all of the snow had melted. Now if I could just find my sweater - its chilly!!!

Up up and Away

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and successful Black Friday. Just a quick update on my latest travel adventures. Many of you know how stormy, cold, wintery its been in Seattle this past week. Snow is fun and all, but when its up to my belly that's a different story. For as long as I can remember we've spent the Thansksgiving holiday with the grandparents in Palm Springs, and luckily this year was no different.

I love to fly! It gives me time to get caught up on some sleep, and my flight bag is the perfect size to stow under the seat and be a part of the pack. Most of the time the other passengers don't even know I'm around. Unfortunately, this trip was not one of those times......

A little known fact about bulldogs is that 'sometimes' we get gas. I'm not quite so sure why, but admit that its true. Maybe it was all of the snow, or the excitement of Thansgiving, or maybe breakfast just didn't agree with me. Whatever the reason, I knew we were in for an exciting day when we were dropped off at the airport on the busiest travel day of the year - the day before Thansgiving.

All that hype about the full body scanners & protests was just that - hype. We were through the security checkpoint in 10 minutes flat. I'm sure the TSA agent looking at my scan could've told you that my insides weren't normal, and that may have been why we got through the checkpoint so fast. I've been known to clear offices and even a Beer Friday gathering with my gas - its not pretty. Moving us along was in everyones best interest.

The plane ride went smoothly until that last hour, when I just couldn't hold it any longer. When the flight attendant pulled out a bottle of FeBreeze I had to come clean. With all of the babies on the flight, she was talking to the people in my row about dirty diapers and apologizing for the smell. I couldn't let them take the hit for my dirty deeds & owned up to the stink. The flight attendant got a huge kick out of it and so did my fellow passengers.

So in the end, I made some new friends and had some fun despite gassing out the plane. We're going shopping for some stuff called ProBiotics today, which is supposed to help the return flight be a little less eventful. I'll let you know how it goes!

Have a great weekend!

New Dog on Campus

This is my new friend, Kodi. He came all the way from South Carolina in a car - can you believe it? They told him he was too big to fly on the plane so he drove across the country with his mom. For those of you who are wondering, he's a Great Pryenees (all 105 lbs of him!). 
Kodi's toys are so big, his ball is the size of my head! Thank goodness I have ears so hopefully he won't get confused and mistake me for the ball.

Welcome Kodi!

A Wall-e favorite....a four paw rating. They travel well and are just my size. Sometimes travelling is so exciting that I simply don't want to sit and eat an entire meal. Snacking on these keeps me going. On to the next adventure!

Welcome to the World of Wall-e!

The adventures of our favorite brindle french bulldog.