Busy week!

Ok. We dogs really have no concept of time, so I'm not sure if it's been a week or what. But what seems like a number of sleeps ago, my cousin Harley showed up for a visit, and he's been here ever since. I really want him to play with me, but he doesn't want to. I even "bluff-charge" him, and he doesn't budge!

I guess it has something to do with his size (or mine?) and the fact that he's much older than I am. Who doesn't want to play with me? Anyhow, after a few sleeps, we went down to the cabin for a couple of sleeps. On our first day, after our morning walk, Richie unclipped my leash, and I ran straight for the ditch! The water in it was wonderfully smelly, but this did not make him happy, and I ended up getting a rinsed off and put onto a long tether.

I don't really have much wanderlust, and for the most part, prefer to be as close to Richie as I can. Sometimes, my rope would get caught on patio furniture and stuff, and I'd end up either dragging stuff around, or someone would have to get up and free me from the obstruction. Other than that, Point Roberts was pretty uneventful, but with the nice weather, we spent a lot of time outdoors.

When we got home, Richie and Christine were busy getting the patio prepared for an evening with some friends. And then my brother Cooper and his humans showed up! We played and played... sometimes right in the middle of the patio, until someone would shoo us over onto the grass to wrestle instead.


And then the next morning, we went for a car-ride down to the river, and who shows up but my other brother Winston and my sister Rilee! How this happens, I'll never know, but it was really fun!

Another couple of Berners showed up at the beach too, so there was a total of six of us Swiss-made doggies running around and wading in the river! Phew... that was a lot of action for one week.

Buddy

My spring vacation

A while ago, Richie and I went for a car-ride (remember the time when I didn't like to go for those?) and after a while, we ended up at Cooper's place! We went out to the backyard to play, and when I came back inside looking for Richie, he was gone! Turns out, they went away on vacation, and left me with Cooper and his humans. I was a little freaked out at first, because Richie and I are almost always together... where was he?

Not to worry, as Cooper and I got along great, and after a while, I settled right in. When we weren't outside exploring (he has a much bigger backyard than I do), digging or playing in the pool, we'd hang out together inside. Wherever he went, so would I. If I got up, he'd come along - we were inseparable. 

Twice the Berner Love on the Bed!

We'd also go on outings to the park or the beach, and we'd play and play! I over exerted myself a bit, one day, and I got limpy again. I'd have something to eat, and then my leg would feel better for some reason. 

We played lots of at the beach again, and I got a bit limpy near the end of our day. When will I learn? But Cooper's humans thought we needed a cleanup, so we went to this place:

Here I am, getting blow-dried after a bath. This is a special doggie-wash section of the wonderful-smelling place that Richie takes me to. I didn't mind too much, and after a short while, we were back at Cooper's place.

And then before you know it, Richie and Christine were there to pick me up! I was excited to see them, and gave them my big Berner hugs! I had a great time with Cooper and his humans, but I'm really happy to be back home with mine.

Buddy

Charlie's visit

I have met this little doggie on other occasions, when Christine takes me out for a walk with her human. But the other day, Charlie got dropped off at our place to stay with us!

Ok, so she's not too fond of me - I've been told that I can come on a bit too strong sometimes. She growls at me when I'm getting a little too close, and so I have to keep my distance. As much as I try, she really doesn't want anything to do with me. Even when we go for our walks, she stays on the other side of Richie, so I can't get in her face.

This is pretty much the only time she will allow me to be nose-to-nose with her - when one of us is on the other side of the door. I go out, she comes in. I come in, she goes out. Hmm... I think there is a message here, but I'm not getting it. Anyhow, after 2 sleeps, she went back to her human. Oh well.

Buddy

Is it finally Spring?

We dogs are pretty smart, and can tell when things are-a-changing. Like when we had all of that snow a while ago - that signifies the season that humans call Winter. When it's really hot, and all I want to do is hang out on the cool tile - that's Summer. Anyhow, I think it is Spring now, as Christine and Richie are doing more things outdoors. Like the other day, when Richie put some weird shoes on that had spikes on the bottom - he walked slowly around the backyard, apparently "aerating" the grass. All I know, is that he wouldn't play with me while he had those silly shoes on. So I bit him on the bum.

And then today, we went for a nice walk out to the UBC Endowment Lands again. I like going there, but sometimes the humans don't want to go because it will be too muddy - whatever. It was great today though, and all of the water holes were fresh and clear. Great for cooling my paws and getting a much needed drink!

Back at the house, Richie was busy in the garage doing something - I heard some noisy stuff, and then he was washing the things on the bottom of the car that go around... "changing the tires" or something like that. I guess it really is spring? Then we went out to the front yard, and I got some brushing, and then a little ear trimming. I make like I'm putting up a fuss, but it doesn't really bother me - it's just fun to make Richie work harder to get it done. Anyhow, I'm glad Spring is finally here, cuz it means that we will be spending more time outside.

Buddy

Film star

Yesterday, I fulfilled my destiny to be on film (my first name was Brando)! It all started with a car ride to a place I had not been before; it had all of those film trucks and trailers that I have seen parked in front of our house in the past. We parked the Rover, and then we got into another big van that dropped us off at a big place with other humans hanging around. Apparently this is called "Background Holding"; where us budding stars hang out while we wait for our scene to be shot. We spent a long time hanging out here, but I didn't mind, as I was getting lots of attention and love, and even some cuddles from another performer who put a blanket on the ground and sat with me. Everyone wanted to take "selfies" with me - I must be some sort of star?

My human and I get some fresh air waiting for our scene

If I could tell time, I would say we spent hours doing nothing (ok, Richie was reading a book). Once in a while, the "Background Wrangler" would come in and ask for a few performers to come to set to do their thing. Then later on, the crew came in and had their lunch - I got even more attention then. I had mine too, and we would also go for short walks around the set. Then finally, the wrangler comes in and says, "man with dog", and we were off for our scene!

On my first mark watching the AD and crew

Just around the corner from Holding, there were all these humans with stuff hanging about. Another human came up to Richie and gave him instructions on where we were to go, and when to do it. So we went to our "first mark", and waited for our cue to go. Everyone gets ready, and then we hear "Roll sound! Rolling! Background! Action!". The Assistant Director (AD) gives Richie a tap on the shoulder,  and we are off walking past the cameras and actors, and then another human says, "Cut!". We did this three times (I think); you are supposed to do it exactly the same each time, if possible. I performed admirably, walking straight, without being distracted by the other performers, or the other humans, and I didn't look at the camera (which is a no-no). When we finished our scene, I was mobbed again by crew members who wanted to meet and pet me. We then went back to Holding, and after gathering our things and saying goodbye to our new friends, hopped in the van and got taken back to the Rover for another car ride home. What a day - I wonder if I will be on TV again soon?

Buddy

Editor's note: The TV show, "Somewhere Between", premiered recently, but unfortunately due to the camera angle, Buddy did not get seen in the final cut.

Cooper Sunday

Cooper in mid-flight

We went for a car ride again yesterday, and we arrived at this park by the river, when who should we find there, but my brother Cooper and his humans! We immediately started exploring this new area, and we ran around on the grass and looked for muddy areas to play in. 

Not to worry, because after we got good and dirty, we went down to the river to get cleaned up. I ran back and forth, then up and down the bank, with Cooper chasing me the whole time. We got back up to the play area, and we played chase, and wrestled around on the ground for a bit, so it was back to the river for more rinsing.

"Thirsty anyone?"

It was also great to grab a drink while rinsing off all that mud. For some reason, I still got a bucket wash when we got back to the car. I like to push my head through Richie's legs when he's trying to towel me off, and he ends up getting just as wet as me. BOL!

After another short drive, we ended up at Cooper's place! I explored the backyard with him, and then we sat on the floor as they had lunch. That Cooper kept trying to nip my paws, and so we would end up getting into it right there in the TV room - much to our humans' dismay.

But after a week with Linden, it's really awesome to have another doggie that would actually play with me. I didn't like their stairs however, as they seemed too steep - so I went down on the back patio stairs. I hope we get to do this again soon - thanks Cooper and humans!

Buddy

Linden sitting

You know that retriever from the next block down? Yeah, the one that barks at us when we walk by the front of his house? Well, the other day, we went walking down their block, and Christine went into a backyard, and brought Linden home with us! He's a little bit older than me, and I don't think he really likes it when I try to egg him into some wrestling. But I was really good, and I gave him his space.

You can see above, that I'm not crowding him on the bed - he would give a little warning when I was getting in his face too much. For the most part, we spent our days sleeping, so not much of an issue, really.

We went out to the Endowment lands one morning, and that crazy Linden would lie down in the mud puddles! That was ok apparently, so when we got to the big puddle, both of us went in for a dip. It didn't get all the mud off however, and we both got a bit of a cleanup when we got home.

Here's a new spot that I found to sleep in... most of the time, I hop up here at night, and grab a few ZZZs before I move to my next spot. But Linden must have seen me up there, as he decided to try it out:

You'll notice that he doesn't "fill" the space as well as I do however. Anyhow, he spend most of the time sleeping on the bed - something I can't do for very long, as I get too warm up there.

After about 5 days (who can count, really), Linden started to warm up to me, and on a couple of afternoons after returning from our walk, we actually did some wrassling! I went easy on the old guy, as I could have easily taken him.

Here we are, hanging out in the front yard, on Linden's last day with us... the sun came out, and I got a nice brushing out on the grass from Richie. I liked it so much, that I bit him on the bum.

Buddy