Today is my birthday!

7 years ago today, I was born, along with my twelve littermates! It seems like so long ago - all of us little puppies crawling all over each other... I don't even know if I would remember them if I sniffed them.

They say that for every one of our years, it's like seven human years... that means I'm now as old as Richie! Sometimes, it certainly feels like it, as I really don't have the energy that those young dogs do - even compared to Toba, who is only one year younger than me. I don't mind however, as I get lots of time to sleep and hang around the house.

Happy birthday to all my brothers and sisters!

Mischa

Toba is here for the holidays!

Richie went away again (seems like he is doing that more often, these days), and while he was gone, Toba showed up! It was as if she never left, and made herself at home right away - as you can see from the photo below.

A couple of sleeps after Richie got home, it snowed! We Berners just love the snow, so he took us up to QE Park for a long romp!

We had lots of fun rolling around in the fresh white stuff, snuffling it up, and trying to catch the snowballs that Richie would throw towards us.


These days, I've not been much of a runner, but when Toba decided it was time for some wind sprints, it was game on! I'm still way faster than she is, even if I am turning 7 this year.

Now that Richie is back, we've resumed our daily walks to Starbucks - but with the Christmas season upon us, we've been wearing our jingle bells, much to the delight of the other humans we meet.

Here's the annual family photo - with of course, our visitor Toba sharing the season with us. On Christmas day, we received some new toys in our stockings:

I got a squeaky, chewy thing, and

Toba got a chicken leg! Ok, not a real chicken leg mind you, but fun to chew on nonetheless!

Here's a funny one of Toba - she likes to roll around on her back (doesn't everyone?), but when she does, she digs her head into the ground too. As you can see, it sometimes makes her blaze all dirty!

Finally, we went back to the University Endowment Lands... we hadn't been there in a while, but there was lots of fresh water for us to drink. Toba ran so hard that day, that later she could barely walk and get up the stairs on her own!

Mischa

Under the knife - again

I went to the place called "the vet" again recently. I am always happy to go there, as I can jump up on my back legs, and get a cookie from the jar on the counter there. However, when we went to the back room, I didn't want to go any further, and hit the brakes. Unfortunately, my claws don't get any grip on the floor there, and I got dragged back there. Then I had a big sleep.

When I woke up, I was really groggy, and I cried a lot. Then later, Richie came to get me, and I cried even more. We walked home, and I was really unsteady - good thing I have four (who can count, really) legs. I couldn't really stand up without leaning against something, and so I went back to sleep. When I woke up this time, I had that damned lampshade on again! But it doesn't really bother me, other than I keep bumping it into things like the doorways and chairs. Something on my leg is itchy, but I can't really get a good look at it with this thing on. Anyhow, after a while, my leg stopped bugging me, and I've stopped wearing that silly thing.

Mischa

Editor's Note: Mischa had a 5 cm lipoma on her right rear leg. The vet decided he wanted to remove it, as it was right at the knee joint, and was concerned that it might create issues for her later.

Autumn is when all the leaves fall

Around the same time as squirrel hunting season, the big trees on the neighbourhood streets lose all their leaves, and the humans spend hours piling them up on their lawn. These piles collect all sorts of good smells, and when we go for our daily walks, I love rummaging through the leaves!

 Here's a good one with Christine and I posing in a huge pile of leaves that one of the neighbours was raking... he thought it was funny that I wanted to play in his pile.

We also went up to Kamloops again recently, and we went to that place near the river where there was HUGE amounts of sand! I ran around and played, but it wasn't as much fun as the time I was here with Paisley.

Mischa

Squirrel season

It's that time of year again, when all of those trees along the streets where Richie takes me for my walks, are dropping these things called 'nuts'. I like to pick them up and roll them around my mouth, but don't crack them open and eat them. But apparently those squirrels love these things, as they are everywhere right now.

This afternoon, we went for our walk, and there's lots of leaves on the ground. We walked by a huge pile of them on a lawn where a human and his little one were playing. I decided to join in and frolicked in the leaves. I dug around with my snout, as if I was looking for something hidden beneath them. Then I rolled around on my back and made a comfy bed.

Further down the street, Richie stopped me, and pointed at something. I didn't see what it was that he wanted me to see, until it moved... there was a squirrel on the tree only a leash-length away! It saw me and started climbing the tree, and so I jumped up on my hind legs as if to pursue it. The squirrel got up and away, but then it must have lost it's grip, and it fell right in front of me! If Richie didn't have the leash tight, I could have gotten that one for sure!

Mischa

Johnson reunion weekend

Here we are in Point Roberts again... I think this is my second home! This time we went down there because of the long weekend (whatever that means), and there was a bunch of Christine's relatives there; that means they share common parents or grandparents or something - kinda like how Toba is related to me.

They sat around all afternoon, eating yummy things - I hovered around them, until something fell off a plate, or got tossed my way. I love these group meals!

The small humans had a play tent set up in the front yard, and when they had finished playing, I decided to check it out. What a great place to get out of the sun! I normally sit in the shade by the Rover, but this has more protection from the heat.

Anyhow, the humans have a new game they play - it's called Cornhole, and they thow bags of uncooked corn (phooey), and try to get it through a hole in a board. All I know is that it doesn't involve me, so I thought I would lie right in the middle of their fun.

Mischa

The big doggies...

We went down to Point Roberts again last weekend, and were joined by our friends Chelsea, Spencer and their doggie, Miley. It's a little bit cooler than it has been, so we were able to go for some walks in the sun, right by the farm with the big doggies!

Each time I walked by, I would cry for them to come over so that I could greet them. This one time, the big brown one (kinda grey to me) came right over and we sniffed each other nose-to-nose! I would love to go play with these doggies, but I'm not allowed to run around in there.

Those big doggies eat a lot of grass... I want to be a big doggie like them, so I thought I would try munching on some of this tall grass too. It tastes ok, but I'd much prefer the bacon that those humans have been eating!

Mischa