What I did over my Christmas holidays

We had a fun Christmas holidays - it was great having Christine and Richie around all the time, instead of taking off all day like they do most of the time. One day, Lupin came over for a sleep-over, but she is still kinda skittish around me. I don't know why, as I like to play with all dogs.

The next day after Lupin went home, there was all sorts of fun things to do - we opened presents (I shredded paper off of my own!) and saw what Santa left for us in our stockings overnight.

After all the excitement of Christmas was over, I still had more fun, as my best pal, Idaho, came over for a few days to stay with us. We played, ran, wrestled and farted - phew!

Here we are playing with my new Christmas toys - we look sad because Richie is making us pose while he takes our picture. We're not really sad though, we just look that way.

Happy New Year everyone!

Mischa

Merry Christmas!

So this is some kind of special time of the year or something. Last Friday (apparently - we dogs have no concept of time, let alone being able to track the days of the week!), Richie and Christine took me to their office, and I had my jingle bells on (below) and a harness with stockings attached (stockings are the things that I like to steal from the bedroom). Except these stockings were filled with candies, and I paraded around the building, meeting people, and they got all excited and I gave them candy.

Today is apparently "Christmas Eve", although it certainly doesn't seem like evening to me. It is bright and sunny, so Richie took me for a walk to Starbucks in my jingle bells, and then over to to Douglas Park. Everyone loves to see me, and I return their affection by sitting on their feet!

Anyhow, I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Mischa

Now this is a comfy bed!

The other evening, I was lucky enough to sleep in the bedroom - turns out that when I'm wet from swimming, Christine doesn't like me to stay in my room downstairs, as I might go outside and catch a cold. Not that it bothers me, but I really like sleeping in the bedroom, even though I'm too big now to try and scootch under the bed.

In the morning, Richie got up to make his morning coffee, and I thought I would see what the big deal about sleeping in bed is all about. Let me tell you - this rocks! Not only is it nice and soft, but it also smells like my humans! I still like sleeping on the cool floor however, but this is a pretty nice alternative!

Mischa

Where are you going?

You would think that being a puppy is pretty easy-going, and that there isn't any stress in my life. But there are a few things that upset me. This is one of them... almost every morning, Christine gets in the Rover and leaves. I get upset, and run to the window, and whimper as she drives away.

Inevitably, Christine comes home near the end of the day, and I greet her like I haven't seen her for days! I'm not sure where she goes all day, but I'm just glad to have her back home.

Mischa

Let it snow, let it snow!

I discovered a new thing this weekend - snow! Apparently, this is what happens to the rain when it gets cold enough. I wish it would snow more often, as I love it! This morning, Idaho came over and we played in the backyard - wrestling, tug-of-war and a good ol' game of chase.

After, we all went up to the field at Queen Elizabeth park, and we ran and ran! Richie and Christine made a snowman, while I chased Idaho around with a snowball in her mouth. I used my now-famous linebacker tackle technique, and I took out the silly snowman in one tackle!

Back at the house, Grizzly was over for a visit, so I went over for even more playing in the snow. We ran around and frolicked in the snow for at least another hour or so. When the snow started to turn back into rain, I finally decided it was time to come inside.

Now I am really tired - I think I'll take the rest of the day off.

Mischa

The Swiss cross

If you look at us berners from the front while we are sitting, you might notice the Swiss cross that the white fur on our chest forms. Richie thought he would prove the point with his sweater with the same cross!

As our fur grows longer, it is harder to see the cross, but you could easily make it out when my fur was short as a puppy:


Mischa

An exciting evening at the park

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Christine took me over to Douglas Park this evening for a walk, and this puppy comes up and wanted to be around me. He didn't really want to play with me, but you could tell that something was wrong. He was sniffing around like he was looking for food, and was really shivering. I don't think I've ever shivered, as my thick coat keeps me warm on the coldest of nights. He didn't have a collar or anything, so Christine thought he might be missing. So she waited around until some guy walked by and asked if she could use his mobile phone. Then she made a call and the next thing you know, Richie shows up in the Rover! So we all pile in, and go home (all of 3 blocks!).

When we get there, Richie looks up dog breeds trying to figure out what kind of dog he is. I'm happy to have some company, but he seems to be a little freaked out as he's shaking and stuff. Christine gave him some of my food, and he wolfed down as much food as I eat, and he's not even half my size! Anyhow, we think he's a Weimaraner-cross with maybe a Ridgeback because of his silver fur colour. Christine found a tattoo in his ear, so Richie called the animal hospital to see how that could be used to find his owner. Turns out someone else tried to catch him as well, but he was too skittish and ran off. I guess I have too much allure for him! Anyhow, they suggested that we call Vancouver Animal Control and report him, and they would try to find his family. A few minutes after leaving a message, they called back saying that there's a family that has been looking for a "Thai Ridgeback" all day. So here we are, hanging out together while we wait for the animal control girl to come get him so that he can be re-united with his family.

Mischa