Dad has control of the wheel!

On the way To Santa Fe

We are on the road again, but only for a couple of days. Blogging from a nice hotel in Gallup, N.M. right on historic route 66. Get your kicks, and all that.

Anyway, we had a rough night last night, because Tika had eaten something that turned her puppy tummy and intestines inside out!! Wow...what a smell. So, this morning, muzzer took her dog food up and put it in the cupboard, and she cooked Tika some very fine looking Basmati rice. When my sister Elizabeth got out of bed, muzzer told her what was going on and said "nothing but white rice today, tomorrow you might try a little applesauce. If it lasts beyond noon tomorrow, you will have to call the vet, because she might start getting dehydrated. "

Having settled that little problem (I hope) we loaded up the car yet again, and put our little selves on the road to Santa Fe. If that sounds like a bad version of a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movie, don't blame me. I wasn't even born then. Must be muzzer, since Dad is too young also...hehe.

I made an early escape from the back seat, and got to ride up front until the first rest stop in Payson, when it was back into the harness for me. Here are some photos of my brief taste of freedom, and the exceptionally fine views from the front seat. Muzzer will be more careful with the latches from now on, so I may not have another opportunity until Dad gets to put me in the harness. I think he is secretly on my side, since he laughed a lot when muzzer told him she had purchased my doggy seat belt contraption at PetSmart in Charlottesville.

OOOH...before I forget. Tonight after dinner muzzer was sucking on a lollipop. Having never had a taste of such a thing, I expressed an interest in sharing it with her. Imagine my surprise when after I got my first good lick in, she let me have the whole thing!!!!! Ymmmy. Even if she did insist on holding on to the stick so I didn't get my lovely clean self all mussed up.

See additional pictures of my dad the driver

More Pictures with Travis

Dad and Mary with Travis and Tika in the study
















Tika with Travis' Tail...a Study in Perspective


















Travis and Ribbit the Frog

Our New Friend Travis

Here are some pictures of me and Tika with our new friend Travis. Travis is NOT a terrier! He is part Great Dane and part Black Lab, and he is really big. His mom is a friend of my muzzer and dad, and she is going to Oxford on a fellowship this fall. Travis might get to come and stay with us. So today we had a play date, to sort of see if we could get along, ya know? And it worked out pretty well. Except Travis got all of the rawhide chews, and me and Tika didn't get any! But, to make up for it, we had our own hamburger patties (no salt, no onions, no tomatoes) and some Frosty Paws things for dessert. I like Steak 'n Shake better than muzzer's bbq burgers, and I like REAL ice cream (like from Cold Stone Creamery!) better than that Frosty Paws stuff, even if it does make my tummy hurt. [real ice cream, not Frosty Paws!]

Anyway, here are some pictures of Tika and Travis and me, Gussie playing and romping. We think it will be cool to have Travis come stay with us, but we don't know where muzzer and Dad are going to sleep. Don't think we will all fit on the bed, and you know....terriers rule. Plus there is something called species specific loyalty, so we'll make room for Travis in our king size bed. Maybe dad and muzzer can sleep on the trundle beds again.

Take your muzzer to work day

Today, June 23rd, was officially "take your muzzer to work" day. Now, I've been taking my muzzer to work all along. The nice people at the Habitat store in Lexington were very happy to let me come in with her. I bring a bit of cheer into their lives, you know.

But today I got to take her to work in Arizona, in the store she owns where Barb and Marlene have been taking care of things while we were in Virginia. So, first we told Tika she couldn't come along. haha, she was pissed. And she did, all over the floor in the kitchen. Then we cleaned up her mess and packed my bag and set out in our trusty auto.

We stopped at the bank to make a deposit, and WOW! They give out the same flavor dog biscuits that my favorite bank in VA. does. Isn't that a marvelous coincidence? Do you think there is some big international cartel supplying all the banks with the exact same flavor of dog biscuit? Do you think I could get a job there?

Then, we went to the store. First order of business, make sure the computer is working properly. I am the tech guru in our household, you know. Muzzer wanted to blog for their sabbatical last year but could not get it working. First try, I got my stuff on line! Now...who would you talk to in an emergency, huh?

Then, I checked to make sure the tickets were printing properly! Gotta be able to match the items with the prices, right?

Tickets seem to be OK, wouldn't want a steady diet of them though.

Got to meet lots of new folks, who all told me I was adorable. And this is BEFORE I get my grooming taken care of next week. Catch me on a good day next time, folks. You won't be able to walk a straight line.

One of the ladies had a squeaky toy in her purse, so she let me play with it. I like a woman who is prepared for all eventualities. Muzzer often forgets to pack an extra milk bone for my longer walks. Still a lot of work for me to do there to bring her up to speed.

Here is the final photo of me and the toy toward the end of the day. I love my new power cord, I love going to work with muzzer, and I love ladies who have toys for dogs in their purses.

Love, love love

Gus

Walks with Tika

Every morning when we finish breakfast, muzzer takes us for a walk. These walks are not as good as my Lexington walks, but they serve basically the same purpose.

These excursions have been described by muzzer as "Square Dancing with two partners. One doesn't know the steps, can't hear the music, and is legally blind." Never having been to a square dance, I cannot vouch for the description, but it is an interesting experience!

Tika wears her halt-her, and I wear my beautiful red collar and leash. Even at 7:00 am it is quite warm, so muzzer wears her sandals and a hat with her sundress. We are out the door in a flash! Tika wants to go North. I want to go West. Muzzer wants to stay out of the street. We are a funny sight!

Having settled upon a direction, we proceed at a fast pace until Tika spots something on the sidewalk or in a yard that looks like it might be edible. I am very sure that she has sampled more things in her young life than I, with my wisdom and maturity, have ever even considered. Today she sampled: a cactus pad, four different colors and sizes of gravel, a bit of bird poop, a dead flower, several leaf skeletons, and three different kinds of seed pods! And we don't walk that far, really. I have tried to explain that many, if not most of these things are very bad for small puppies, but she does not listen. I think the cactus pad may have made her a believer, at least until she saw the bird poop.

Can you believe this child? All this and she tries to steal some of my dog food every time we are fed! She is absolutely indiscriminate. See what she did to a packing box we had shipped from Virginia? (fortunately, NOT the one with my toys inside!)

I am at my wits end, and really looking forward to our trip next week to Santa Fe. There, in that tranquil spot high in the mountains above Albuquerque, I can once again be what I am meant to be....an only dog of aging and devoted parents. Plus, I think I can count on muzzer and Dad to eat their own food and not filch from mine.

Until we can get more pictures to load, I remain

your pal
Gus

Two Words

Wrong Cord!

or as muzzer said "*brk%^^& %^&&*(. We were shipped the &^% (***&^%# IIII wrong cord!

Walking with Tika in the morning:

Tika and I take muzzer for walks in the morning, while it is still cool (82 degrees!) Tika has this funny thing she wears for walks. It is called a Halt Her. But it doesn't even slow her down. I will try to post pictures tomorrow so you can see how her baby fat laps over the sides. hehehe.

All picture posts depend on arrival of the new cord. Keep your paws crossed.

Gus

Tika is in trouble

or, whiy you have not seen me online recently!

Tika is in deep trouble. A couple of days ago, she chewed through one of the wires that makes the laptop go whirrrrr! Now we are waiting for the new cord to come in the mail, and all of us have to either take a number to use the old desk top or hike down to the Library (at 104 degrees, I think not!) to get on line to go on-line there.

Tika-toy must've gotten a surprise when she bit through the cord, cause muzzer says she heard something go "pop sizzle" but she doesn't seem to have learned her lesson at all, and she is now banned from the study as well! I won't be teaching her to use the computer anytime soon, let me tell you.

This situation may also inhibit my e-mail capabilties, so forgive me if I am a bit late in answering any notes you may send.

Oh, Yeah. And I can't take the time I need to download pictures either, so it is back to black and white and read all over!

your friend
Gus

Me and Tika in the Great Outdoors

Here I am investigating this strange AZ thing called "sprinklers" Here the water comes UP out of the ground instead of down from the sky like it does in VA and MD and other reasonable places. I have decided this must be the reason for the terrible weather we have here where it is hot and dry! I tried to stop it with my nose and got my poor terrier face drenched! And water up my nose! Ishy Ishy Ishy as muzzer says.

Tika prefers her grass very dry, and has written a small poem about it:

I love to sit in this dry grass

Except at times it tickles my ........

Regards

Gus and Tika

Me and Tika at home

I know, I know. It has been DAYS since you last heard from me, and you are worried about how I handled the road trip and what we found at home in AZ.

I did mention that I have a "niece" named Tika who is a 5 month old Jack Russell Terrier, didn't I? Well, upon safe arrival in AZ, she was the first face I saw at my new home. Let me tell you, I recognized right away that I was going to have some work to do with this young lady.

I have been so busy keeping her in line that I have not had time to write on my blog. First, I had to establish my dominance. I did this by fierce growling and yipping, and also by pinning her to the floor while chewing on her neck.

My muzzer was sooooo upset with us. Dad and Elizabeth were cool, and they convinced muzzer to go sit in a quiet room and let us work through it.

Wow...after a couple of days we are fast friends. We play together and wrestle all the time. We both sleep on the parental bed until Elizabeth comes home, then Tika switches to sleep with her. We go for walks, though she is not nearly as well behaved as I am. We fight over who gots the best chew stick. We wrestle for my favorite tug toy. We play tug with her stuffed animals. (Score = Terriers 3 Animals 0) We share water dishes. She tries to eat my food. I try to get more treats than she does. I have my muzzer convinced that Tika is eating my food, so muzzer slips me treats from my private stash.

These are pictures we took this morning as we played with the tug. She is not really a devil dog like the last picture in the group shows her. That is muzzer not knowing how to keep flash eye from happening with this camera.

It is very hot here. I drink a lot more water. I am glad there is lots of tile in this house so I can have my belly cool. I am glad the parental units sprang for a king sized bed (we used to have a queen sized bed in VA, but Emily took it away?) since that means much more room for me! I miss my friends in VA and my sister Emily and my friend Garth from Asheville. I will try to be more regular about these blogs now that I have Tika mostly trained.

PS...She is not "quite" toilet trained, so I have a lot of work to do!

Gus

more tika piz

"Well I was standin on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, Lord such a fine sight to see......."
Except I didn't get out of the car in Winslow, AZ. I got out of the car in Gallup, NM. and I got out of the car in Holbrook, AZ and I got out of the car in Flagstaff, AZ., but we zoomed right on through Winslow! I thought I might get my picture taken on that famous corner. Nope. Guess I'll have to try again next trip.

This is the next to last day of our journey home to Tempe, AZ. At least, it is home for my folks and it will be my new home too. This is my third new home in less than a year, not counting all these hotel rooms and stopovers with friends like Jack and Kathy Connors. See, I had one home with my foster family in northern Md., and then I went to stay with my new family in Lexington, and now we are going to our home in Tempe, AZ. I have had some tremendous wirey adventures.

On this trip, I learned a lot of new words. Almost every day since leaving West by Gosh Virginia we have had road construction, with a few delays when they cut the lanes down to one in each direction and we get behind big trucks going up the hills. Dad is pretty cool, he just takes things in his stride. Muzzer has more of a terrier personality, and she starts yipping! Let's see, I learned *&^^% and !!**&&?? and #$%++ and a few more. I can't repeat them, because I have to watch out for the word police on my blog, but you know what I mean, right?

I will take some pictures tomorrow when we go to the bark park here in Flagstaff, and maybe a few more when we get to our home in Tempe. I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks in the same place before we leave for our trip to Santa Fe in July. Watch for updates. I don't have to be on the road to do fun things.

your pal
Gus

Land of Enchantment

I am trying to figure out what is enchanting about heat, dust and big black ants. So, muzzer had Dad walk me over to get my picture taken, and I refused to pose. IF there had been enough shade, I'd have refused to move. I am a grumpy terrier tonight.

This was our longest day in the car so far.
I couldn't even listen to the radio because NPR fades in and out so badly in this area.

It is a good thing I got bacon scraps for my pm treat or this would be a total loss.

My friend Vexie wrote that it is so hot in Tucson he doesn't even go out and play ball! Keeping Vexie away from his ball is unimaginable. I may have to become a night owl. How can I get my daily constitutional in if it is going to be this hot?

Tomorrow we are heading for Flagstaff. Muzzer says it is cooler there. It better be! If not, I will call my friend Eleanor in Virginia and ask her to come and get me. Or maybe I will move in with my sister Emily.

A terrier must have options!

Gus

Oklahoma posting

We went out early on my walk
And here is what I've seen
The stuff they think is grass out here
Is only barely green
It pricklies on my tiny feet
And itchies at my nose
It makes me sneeze
It makes me scratch
Take me back home now please!

I really love my people
And I do not mind the car
But when they mess around with grass
I think they've gone too far.

Now I am not the brightest dog
I'm not fast, but I'm clean
This dusty stuff they think is grass
Is only barely green

It really is more brown and tan
Can't tell it from the dirt
And if I roll around in that
I know I would get hurt

So start a new petition now
And send it to my mum
Tell her to take this doggy home
And wait til winter comes.

Your pal
Gus

I am one traumatized terrier. Do you know there are hundreds of dogs in the kennel? Do you know they bark all night? Do you know there are no computers to work on your blog at the kennel. I did not like the kennel. I am so glad to be back with my people. More Later.

Kennel!!!!

I heard the parents talking in the front seat this morning. They said the "k" word. I think I am being incarcerated while they go to the ball game this evening. Please send dog treats with metal files!

Gus