Howl-o-ween

Muzzer is mad and will not help me post this. We (canines) won the discussion/wrestling match over howl-o-ween costumes. tehehehe

So, here is the outcome....



I, gusdagger wft am wearing my costume as Asta, from The Thin Man!









My Pal Travis also has a literary theme. He is wearing his best makeup and glow-y eyes and is costumed as The Hound of the Baskervilles.









Teka, who doesn't read much, and probably wouldn't know a record player if she peed on one, was hard pressed for costumes. A child of the TV age, she has heard of Frasier on TV, but while she and Eddie are the same breed, right now the nipple situation would clue people in that she isn't EXACTLY a double for Eddie.

So, we compromised, and she decided that she is dressed as Nipper from the RCA Victor label. I have a bit of a problem believing that she would respond to her "master's voice" but it is easier than Eddie, since fewer folks our age know what she is supposed to look like.

To all of you out there wearing Howl-o-ween costumes, we salute you for your bravery and muzzer salutes your human parents for their creativity, talent and sheer disciplinary magic.

In our house, it was a toss up until Travis ate the pitchfork for the devil costume that Teka was supposed to wear. Way to Go Travis.

Yours in my natural wirey state

Gussie

Fun for my wirey friends

Inspired by the wonderful costumes that Butch and Snickers' mom made for Halloween, and intent upon foiling my muzzer's efforts to dress me for Howl o ween, I am suggesting that you all visit this web site to see some dressed up cats! Cats deserve it. Terriers don't.
http://www.stuffonmycat.com/index.php?itemid=2483#more

Love
Gussie
leading the revolt

ps...you guys really look cute, but that elastic stuff itches!

Happy Bark-Day to Travis.

Today we had a Bark-Day party for Travis. His mum could not be here, so she sent steaks from England. via Omaha. These are the steaks before they got grilled.

We do not have pictures from after they got grilled, because they disappeared so fast. Yummy. Then we had Frosty Paws for dessert. Double Yummy.

But do you know what the best thing about this party was? NO FUNNY HATS! Travis' mum says he is too dignified to play dress up, so muzzer did not get any hats or stuff for this party! Yeah, Yeah Travis' mum.

But wait. Howl-o-Ween is Tuesday. I think muzzer has funny hats for me and for Teka to wear. O well, it was a bit of a reprieve anyway.

Yeah!

The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series. My Dad is very happy. Here is a picture of him talking on the phone with my sister, E.Rabbit, right after the last out in the series. She is very happy too! Now she can stop eating all that Ben and Jerry's ice cream and get back to work on her dissertation.

There were some tense moments in our house tonight! I could feel the tension in the air, and had to really concentrate to maintain my terrier savoir-faire. It required drawing on all my yoga skills from Santa Fe to continue controlling my breathing. Muzzer got a picture of me meditating. She got a picture of Teka meditating too. Travis was meditating with his head propped on Dad's foot. Hmm. Does it look like we all took the same yoga class? Whatever, we did our bit to support the harmony of the universe while Dad was busy coaching the Cardinals to their big win.










So, we have a whole lot of things to be thankful for tonight!
I am thankful that I can put my Cardinal scarf away for next year, and start wearing my Halloweeny scarf.

Muzzer is thankful that she and Dad can go back to eating dinner at the table, not in front of the TV. Three weeks of finger food haven't presented too many culinary challenges. I mean, what can you do with sandwiches, hot dogs, pizza, burritos, calzones, flautas, chili etc., etc., etc. that hasn't already been done?

Travis and Teka and I are thankful that we can get evening walkies back on the schedule.

My Uncle Ray (94) and my G'PawPaw (88) are thankful that they got to see the Cards take yet another series. Uncle Ray is more of a fan than G'PawPaw, but this one was special to both of them.

And Dad....well, he's thankful that HIS team won the Series. Muzzer says, "you can take the boy out of St. Louis, but you can't take the Cardinals out of the boy" Silly muzzer. We know that the Cardinal is on his T-shirt, not really in Dad. Sometime she doesn't make much sense to a terrier.

Thanks to all my terrierist and blogger friends who sent good wishes along for the team. Now we can move on to bigger and better endeavors....world peace, a Democratic House and Senate, and getting Trav's mum home for Christmas.

G'night for now
Think I'll go meditate some more.


Gussie

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's Birthday. He and muzzer are only six days (and two years) apart. As a measure of my laziness, please see the picture posted by E.Rabbit for muzzer's birthday a few posts ago. Not that he doesn't deserve his own art work, but without opposable thumbs, it is very difficult to work with Paint Shop. It is all I can do to type with my nose and one paw. I need help with taking pictures, and muzzer has been lazy lately.

Oh well.

Happy Birthday Dad. I am glad you are not old like muzzer.

Love
Gussie

The Cardinals Win the First Game

Yahoo. Much leaping. Much jumping. Much yelling. Much dog noise. The Cards won the first game. Yahoo.

I found this picture on muzzer's computer. This is Nigel, who owned my humans until he went to the rainbow bridge last June. He was a great fan of the St. Louis Cardinals also. He is probably pretty happy today!

your pal
Gussie

Gotta be quick!

Go Cardinals!

I bet you wonder what these funny looking guys are doing on my blog!

This is my dad and his buddies from college, taken in St. Louis this summer.

They graduated University in 1968, and the St. Louis Cardinals won the National League Pennant that year too! Right now they are all headed for the nearest church to pray for a different outcome this year!

I am happy and excited. This means more dinners in the family room in front of the TV with Dad! And he is so cute when he gets happy!

On a different note entirely: Thanks to Miss Fee who explained about girl dogs and heat in her blog. That meant that I could explain to Travis and Teka what was happening to her. Muzzer says that we need to protect Teka from other male dogs who are not "fixed." I'm leaving that up to Travis, since he is so much bigger than I am. I guess this means I have to let her have my treats for a while! Oh well, that's no big difference from usual.

Your pal, Gussie

Hop, Hop, Hop on Pop

This morning we discovered a new game that all three of us can play together.
Dad was tired because Teka was up early early this morning. So while muzzer was getting ready to go to work, he tried to sneak back into bed without telling us.

Well, you can fool some of the canines all of the time, and all of the canines some of the time, but you can't fool all the canines all of the time! Particularly not the wirey ones!

So, here we are very early in the game, while we were just working out the rules. At this point, Teka seems a little confused. She thinks the game should be hump on Travis. (well, maybe she is more than a little confused.) But I am on the sidelines, acting as her coach and mentor. See how I have an encouraging facial expression and positive body language?

Once I had explained it to her, I could then also join in the fun. Muzzer was quite busy taking pictures, so she was not going to be the one to make us stop. Dad was playing possum, and you know how terriers love to run possum to ground, right?

Anyway, here we are at the end of round 3. You can see how quickly Teka learned the rules, obviously a result of my fine coaching skills. Dad is more fun to hop on and romp with than muzzer. She is OK for one on one romping with me, but Travis probably outweighs her, and when he gets involved, she puts a quick end to the game. Muzzer is better at some games, but not this one. Anyway, we had a fine time for quite a little while. Dad grumbles and rumbles, and Teka runs backward and barks. Sometimes she forgets where the edge of the bed is, and falls off the side. That is pretty funny, but tt is a good thing it is such a Big Bed, so that doesn't happen very often. Travis has a well defined role in this. He is big enough that he can keep just about anyone from rolling over and covering up with a pillow. Even Dad has a hard time pushing him away enough to make good an escape. Sometimes though, I have to correct Travis and remind him of his role, because he wants to be the one doing the hopping, and that is a better job for smaller dogs. People last longer that way. Here I am helping him remember his true calling.

There comes a time when every really great coach knows that it is time to call his players off the field and get on with the really important things in life. That is a role I excell at also, I happen to have a very big voice for such a medium sized dog, and here is a photo of me demonstrating my excellent vocal range.

After a bit of player jubilation, we decided that we would all join Dad for a short nap. Do you know what he did then? He got up and said he might as well take a shower! Just when we were getting to the most important part...the post game roundup and nap. Next time I will have to coach him a bit before the game, and if he is not receptive, I will let muzzer post her more recognizable pictures.

G'nite from here.
Gotta rest up for our game tomorrow

smelly kisses
Gussie

Hello dog bloggers. This is Gus's sister E.Rabbit writing to you from D.C. Gus called this morning and asked me to do a guest post to surprise our muzzer because today is her birthday (he would've done it himself, but since he needs her help to use the computer, that wouldn't have been a very good surprise). So per his request, I made her a birthday picture: We couldn't get Teka to wear a party hat, but we did manage to find a picture that we feel captures her personality perfectly:
Happy birthday, muzzer!

Go Cards!

Remember that I mentioned that my sister E.Rabbit was sending me a present? Well, here is a picture of me wearing my present, and just in time for the rest of the season!

And here is another one of me, taken while I was lying down on Travis' rug in the kitchen. The figure in the backgound is Travis,
looking enviously at my new neck scarf.

It was pretty hard to tell who was happier about my new apparel item, me or Dad. Dad is the one in the family who does not think canines should be dressed up funny, and he thinks we should not be anthropormorphized by things like blogs and dogster and stuff. But he sure did have a happy look on his face when muzzer helped me open my package. He and E.Rabbit are the big baseball fans in the family, and they both root for the St. Louis Cardinals. E.Rabbit has a picture taken sometime in the dark ages (1980 or so) of her and her pal Robby with Fredbird. It is so old, it is in black and white!!!!

Now, for my final bit of vanity this evening, here is the obligatory "cute Gussie" picture that muzzer always takes.

And for those of you who want to get your very own neck scarf from your favorite team, even though it may not be the St. Louis Cardinals, you can learn more at www.sportyK9.com and here is a copy of their hang tag, just in case.

Love from Gussie

( eat your heart out Albert )

Updates and Et-cetera!

I had an e.mail from my sister e.rabbit yesterday telling me to watch for a package in the mail! Oh boy. She is a talented lady, and is superior in the gift department, as well as giving the best butt scritches in the world. (don't tell muzzer that, she'll be jealous) So, I have something to look forward to besides Teka's antics.

On that front, Muzzer has begun to call Teka "Spawn of Satan." I think "heiress to Houdini" might fit better, because she is so good at getting out of the yard or off of her lead.

See, my muzzer and Dad are waaay old. Even in dog years they are more than 8 years old, figuring by the older method of computing comparative ages. And when Teka takes off, she is very fast! She goes speeding off, with muzzer or Dad in pursuit. And unless she stops to sniff, they can't catch her! So sometimes they run and run and run. And when they come back, they are all out of breath and upset. But Teka thinks it is fun. Me and Travis are trying to tell her that it is not good to do that to humans, but she is not listening. She is just always looking for ways to get loose. This week she snapped the lead line that her run leash was hooked to in the back yard, and off she went. Good thing I am always outside with her, and I can raise a ruckus.

She must have a lot of energy, 'cause she is up very early in the morning, and she is usually the last one to come up on the Big Bed at night. Muzzer pointed out this morning that she (muzzer) gets really nasty when she gets overtired. Teka better think about sleeping in later than 4:30 for a few mornings.

Anyway, what with Uncle Ray in the hospital in St. Louis, Teka and Travis here on their visits, feeding and watering the three cats next door for a week, and a benefit thingy coming up this weekend, muzzer is pretty stressed. That is why I am going to make her a marrow bone like Axel's Mom makes him. I think chewing on it will help her out. Or maybe she will share. Then I can be less stressed.

Until my package arrives from E.rabbit, or Teka pulls another terrier-ist mission:

Best Regards
Gussie

The Race is not to the Swift ....

Ecclestiastes ix.11.
Gussie here. Reporting on the Phoenix Race for the Cure. More than 41,000 people took part in the 5k walk this morning in Downtown Phoenix. Let me tell you, that is a lot of feet! From a wirey perspective there were all sorts of interesting smells, sights and sounds. If we figure that most of the walkers were of the human persuasion, that means more than 80,000 feet to sniff. Busy Busy! Plus, there was a considerable opportunity to help clean the streets and sidewalks of various crumbs and particles. Mmmm.

The race started early this morning, and since we had already been for AM walkies in the "hood" I was not sure I was up to another 2.5 miles. But, family comes first, and this event means a lot to muzzer, who is now at "6.5 years and counting." Whatever that means.

Here is another photo of what you can expect to see at the Race for the Cure. And then yet another. Even though dogs weren't supposed to come along, we were well representedd. Lots of little dogs, Yorkies and Chi Hua Huas, Daschies and Terriers. Plus some of our bigger relations, like Labs and Goldens. There was even a rescued greyhound. The cutest bunch of doggie participants were a couple of Basset Hounds who were wearing angel wings and halos. Their mom is a survivor too, and she said they were her angels while she went through chemotherapy. Whatever, they sure were cute.

note to Muzzer...Don't even think about doing that to me next year, the hat was bad enough!

It got warmer as the day went on, and it sure was a good thing we had all those frozen water bottles in Muzzer's carry-bag. We saw all sorts of folks walking at all sorts of speeds. Muzzer is not a patient person, so she spent a lot of time "improving our position" with the end result being a time under 50 minutes for our "walk." It may be a walk for her, but she needs to be thankful I'm not one of those yippie yuppie yorkies, or she'd have had more in her carry bag than just frozen bottles. Bet that would've been the only cool spot on Central!

There was lots of different music, and the radio station that carries Dad's homie had their truck out in the middle of the street. Muzzer gives Dad a hard time about this, because he and Mr. Limbaugh were born in the same little town in Southeast Missouri, and the family plots at the little cemetery off the highway are very close to one another. She says it just goes to prove that environment has a lot to do with who you grow up to be, and two native sons couldn't be much farther apart in philosophy and practice. See, I told you they let all kinds of folks do this walk.

Finally, we could see the finish line ahead. Whew. Now only 12 more blocks to the garage where the car is parked on the 6th level. We may have walked down those steps, but I bet we take the elevator back up.

Tired and Happy

Gussie

The continuing saga of Teka, pain in the back

Gussie Here! Greetings to all and sundry. We are having a quiet Saturday evening at home, relaxing for the big Komen Race tomorrow and getting ready for an intensive Sunday of baseball playoffs. Go Cards! Go Fred Bird! Go Marty H.

Meanwhile, having Travis here is giving me a chance to watch Teka interact with other dogs and have a bit of a rest from her constant demands for attention. Travis is MUCH bigger than I am, so it sometimes seems like he hardly notices her when she cavorts over, under and around him. See picture for proof of this. Let me tell you, I wouldn't be smiling like that if it was my back she was bouncing upon. Luckily for her, he is a good natured fellow and when he has had enough, he just gets up and walks away. Sometime between the initial upward push and the second step, she tumbles to the floor and yips at him. So far, he has resisted batting her across the room. I am advising him to consider that as a course of action.

Of course, I am merely an observer in all of this. I find that chewing on my orange bouncy fellow helps me achieve a zen state, which allows me to keep my composure and mostly ignore Teka and her antics. We do, however, have a bone to pick, since I haven't had an entire chew bar since Teka arrived last week, and now Travis wants his share of the protection money too! I may have to involve the WTB (Wirey Terrier Brotherhood) to get my share of the goodies. I think it is possible that Travis and I are simply too nice to Teka. Suggestions on behaviour modification techniques appreciated.

Happy Birthday to Butchy in Iowa, who turned 6 this last week. His mum took some great pictures, and you can see them on their blog.

Hello to E.Rabbit in DeeSee, Dad says to tell you he will talk to you AFTER the ball game tomorrow. Maybe.

Wistful good wishes to the Eastern US contingent of the WTB who are going to the show at Montgomery County tomorrow. Wish we could join you, sniff the autumn air for us.

And, of course, Best Wishes to Muzzer and Dad who will be getting up very early tomorrow to go to the Race for the Cure in Downtown Phoenix, along with about 40,000 other folk. Muzzer is taking the camera and promises pictures for tomorrow, I still don't understand why I can't go. (though pink is not my best color, I'd do it for muzzer)

Goodnight for now.

Gussie

hehehehe

Oh boy! Me and Teka are in such trubble! Today when Noni was comin in the door me and Teka got out.

Mom was just out of the shower and SO not dressed. But she chased us across the street anyway in her tank top and towel. No shoes! No Makeup! No Hairdo! (no undies! hehehe)

She grabbed Teka quick and stuck her under one arm!

She reached for me with the other hand and dropped the towel.

Muzzer mooned the neighbors!

He He He He

I am sorry I didn't have my camera along, but I wouldn't have gotten the right angle.

Anyway, me and Teka got scolded bad! But it was worth it!

Gussie

Bullwinkle Tug

Teka and I have a new game! We call it Bullwinkle Tug. It is a variation on Elmo Tug, which is a variation on Green Tug, which is a variation on Sock Tug (which we are not allowed to play any longer, because the result is unauthorized unmatched socks!)

Bullwinkle tug is the best yet! Bullwinkle has four legs, two ears, two moose horns and a nose! That makes one more way to tug on him than any other toy we have! Sqrll was not a good tug toy, may he rest in peace, and Octopus did not even last long enough to write about. But Bullwinkle is a STRONG moose, and we can even let Travis grab on to an appendage without serious damage.

I know Bullwinkle will succumb to the terriers some day, but until then he is a great toy! I think he likes this better than chasing after Natasha!

Gussie

AM update

OK, some of the questions from last night have been answered.

We managed walkies by sending two small yippy dogs in one direction, and Travis and Dad in the other. Worked OK. Probably would be interesting to see all of us together. Teka would have to be in front though.

Breakfast is OK. Teka gets puppy food first in her crate.

The Travis and I get breakfast simultaneously (muzzer says that means "at the same time") by having Dad in charge of getting one bowl to the floor, and muzzer carrying the other. Yum.

The Big Bed was a bit crowded, but we all made it through the night. Here is a picture of me and Dad in our space.
And a picture of Travis and his St. Louis Cardinals T-shirt on the corner of the bed.





And one of Teka, looking sweet and innocent, over by muzzer.

It's a good thing nothing important is going on today, I think I need a nap before gametime!

Gussie

Teka provides the excitement!

This is Teka. Is this not the picture of doggy innocence? Do you want to hear what she has been doing this evening?

FIRST, she got out the front door. That was pretty easy, 'cause Dad was right there letting grandpa in, and he took off across the street after her! She didn't get away really. Just across the street to bark at Sam!

And then....she and I were playing in the back yard, and muzzer and Dad were getting things ready for Travis. Teka kept pushing and pulling at the chain link fence, and she wriggled and wiggled until she got under it and made a run for it. I was barking and trying to let muzzer know what was going on, but I guess she thought that Teka and I were just doing our usual routine of "let the neighbors know there are terrier-ists in the area!" I wish muzzer understood me as well as I understand her. We could have avoided a lot of running and hollering and driving around the neighborhood looking for her. I just stayed and helped Grandpa work the TV to get the football game on.

Dad found her, and he worked in the back yard reinforcing the fence, and then TRAVIS arrived!

Wooooooooo! More barking. More yipping. More big woofing! Then muzzer got out the chew bars and we each got one and things have been a lot quieter around here since.

Travis has been here about a half an hour. We have already discovered:

a. He likes chew bars

b. He is not that fond of Teka

c. He takes up lots of space.

Things we still have to find out are:

1. Can Teka really use his water bowl as a wading pool? Pictures at 10:00 am.

2. How crowded is it going to be on the Big Bed tonight????

3. How are we going to manage walkies in the morning?

4. Who gets breakfast first?

For the answers to these and other pressing questions, tune in tomorrow.

I am posting a picture of Travis so his mum can see he is OK. I am posting a picture of Teka stalking Travis with a look on her face that reveals her TRUE personality. I am sure this is going to be an interesting eight weeks!

Gussie

Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy

It is gonna be a busy time at our house tonight!!!!

Remember I said my pal Travis is coming to spend some time with us while his mum is at Oxford? Well, I was beginning to think there was a wrench in the works somewhere, 'cause he isn't here yet.

Then Saturday, Travis' car arrived by special messenger. Imagine, sending your car over ahead of time so it is waiting for you! Wow, I know he is one big dog, but this must mean he is really important.

Yesterday Travis' uncle Tom (hehe) called and said that he will be bringing Travis over tonight(Monday) a bit after 7:00 pm. Whew! I can tell you I am relieved to hear that. I can use some help around here keeping Teka in line.

I imagine that I will be full of news tonight, but a bit too busy to post. So I am dashing this off to you in a hurry, getting ready to go and help muzzer at the store today. Here's my list of the top ten reasons I am glad that Travis is coming to visit.

10. More and better walks, 'cause he is a bigger dog and needs the exercise.
9. More dog food to share, 'cause I hear he gets wet food mixed with his kibble every day.
8. More dog toys, 'cause he is bringing some of his own, and I know muzzer has a stash waiting.
7. Frosty Paws! c'ause they are his favorite, and muzzer feels sorry for him
6. Another guy dog to talk to, 'cause Teka doesn't always understand.
5. Louder barking at the window - you should hear his woof! it is awesome.
4. More dog treats - see number 7.
3. Someone to teach me to play fetch - 'cause I still haven't learned
2. Trips in his big red car, 'cause I know he will let me ride along!
1. Just because he is Travis, and I like him.

Gussie