Pest Side Story

“Sigh”

I have been a pretty morose doggie lately.

You know, my sweetie Miss Asta is moving to Pest

With her Mommi and Daddi. And while I know that

my friends will help me get across the Pee, it just won't be the same.

So, as a WFT who was pretty much raised on American Musicals,

I have created a new masterpiece!

Based on the Classic West Side Story,

I present the story of star crossed lovers Asta and Gussie, who

mix and mingle with the Pets and the Barks, supported by their cast of

blogging friends.

Act I

1. "Overture" – Orchestra

2. "Prologue" – Orchestra

3. Pet Song" – Buster, Pets

4. "Something's Coming" - Gussie

5. "Dance at the Gym" – Orchestra

6. Sweet Asta– Gussie

7. "I like to Pee in America" – Gussie, Duffy, Scruffy, Jakie, Pets

8. "Tonight" – Gussie and Asta

9. "Gee, Officer Krupke" – Archie and the Pets

Act II

1. "I Feel Pretty" – Asta, Lacie, Agatha , Fergie Koobie, Khyra Lolaancisca

2. "One Paw, One Heart" – Gussie and Asta

3. "Quintet" – Asta, Fergie, Buster, Jake and JH, Pets, Barks

4. "The Rumble" – Orchestra

5. "Somewhere" – Asta, Gussie

6. "Cool" – Pets

7. "A Dog Like That/I Love Him" –Asta and Aggie

8. "Somewhere (Reprise)" – Asta

"Finale" – Orchestra

For Winston, Webster and Willoughby's dad:

Yesterday when we were on one of our walkies, this lovely blue grey car pulled up to the curb, and a man got out and said "more Fox Terrier people, how wonderful."

While the humans never got his name, he did smell wonderful and familiar, and he told me how handsome I was and made lots of friendly noises. He also gave good scritches.

We got to talking about training. And we promised to put our trainer Valerie's contact information here for him.

Muzzer and dad say we are a lot better since she began working with us (and them) and we do appreciate her efforts on our behalf.

Here is what she has accomplished in just about 90 days:

• The magic work is AAAAACKKKK
• Teka and I SIT
• Teka and I STAY
• Teka and I respond to "let's go" with a good strong heel.
• Teka and I SIT when our leashes come out.
• Teka and I will walk by dogs fenced in yards and behind doors and mostly ignore them. Muzzer and dad have learned to "talk" us through the challenge of not responding and it is effective about 85% of the time.
• The other 15%, the humans will put us in a strong heel by turning 180 degrees and walking away from the challenge, then they put us back through it until we hold our heel. And no, no other dog has jumped the fence to get at us while we do this, though there is a Pomeranian a block away who is considering that as an option.
• Teka and I each have a PLACE where we go when directed to do that, like when people come to the door.
• Teka and I have learned to love Turkey hot dog bits. This was not hard.

On the other hand, we still do not respond well to other dogs, particularly those who are off lead and come running toward us. But we will be working on it in the future.

So, if you click here, or on the "here" up above, you can go read about her and find a few of her secrets. And a big Thank you from the humans for a successful training program.

gussie n teka

6:45!

is still not 5:30

News Flash

To Blogging Pals Everywhere

And all the ships at sea.

Teka slept in this morning until

7:00 a.m.

Thereby giving the humans a

wonderful Holiday Pressie.

Way to go little snot.

gussie

Thinking.......

Thinking about the past year

Wonderful and sad

All the places we have been

And all the fun we've had.

Missing all the pals who've gone

To the Rainbow Bridge.

Missing Grandpa Ace but know

He's up there raiding the fridge.

Thinking 'bout the year to come

And the changes there will be

Already missing my Asta Sweet

Wish she could stay with me.

Thankful I have my family

And even Teka Toy

May be sad and pensive now

But I'm a lucky boy!

Hope that all my doggie pals

Will have some time today

To think about the happy times

And the good things on the way.

Sending love to all the world

And lots of kisses too.

Oh, and Teka sends her best

To every one of you.

Happy Howlly Dayz

Teka joins me in wishing you a most happy of holidays.

but first: a disclaimer...

It is really not us in the picture, but muzzer could not resist this card.

Wonder Why.

kisses to all

Gussie n Teka

Teka has been banned from Stony Point!

OK. Yesterday while I was at the dog spa getting clipped, dipped and squeezed, my no good human parents took Teka to Stony Point.

Stony Point is not far from our house. Both of my Sissies have been there, and Mom and Dad go there every once in a while to look for "stuff." Plus, there is a Three Dog Bakery there, so every time they go we get treats and goodies. (Three Dog is on the left hand side of this photo, it has the dog out front.) Stony Point is "animal friendly" which means that most stores which do not sell human food let dogs come inside, and there are water bowls and treat stops.

AnyWay! Their excuse for abandoning me and taking Teka on this outing was " so we can see how well her socialization training is working!"

YEAH. Right.

So off they went like the naive and trusting humans they are, and they were feeling pretty good about their experiment. Got past a Great Dane without Teka attacking. Walked past a couple of Bernese with no ill effects. Had a bit of a moment when she spotted the Westie and the Westie spotted her, but hey...they are terriers after all.

So, they were supposed to be Christmas shopping for the sissies. And they went into Dillards and back to the pajama department, because it is kind of a "thing" for the muzzer to get the children pajamas for Christmas. So. ..... Teka takes one look around, sees there are no pajamas with Jack Russells on them, and takes a BIG (I mean Gussie sized!) poop dump on the carpet.

Now, y'all don't know the parents around here. But they are pretty uptight, and look very Republican and proper. (Even though they are not either, but that is another story and maybe Emily will help me type it at Christmas time.) Can people in their 60s still Blush? Ummmm Yeah Shur, you Betcha!

So, as Teka tells the end of this, Dad picked her up, Muzzer picked up the poop in her handy dandy bio degradable environmentally proper baggie, and they both left the store by the nearest exit. Wish I had been there to take a photo ;)

Hehehehe...Teka spent the rest of the visit in the car. Did the sissies ever get their pajamas? Only time will tell, but muzzer and dad did come home with little umbrellas from their drinks at Starbucks. (and I know they don't put umbrellas in the drinks there, because Miss Lacie told me!)

See. They took the wrong doggie. But I get to go next time, Muzzer said.

kisses to all

Gussie

Kicking off the season

My Pal Bussie reminded us today of this wonderful video (see below) that Pappy and his dad made - lo those many years ago, when DWB was young and new, we were all younger than we are now, and I still got the occasional chicken jerky treat. (don't ask, it is not a pretty story)

Sigh...but this is worth sharing. Maybe you want to pass it along too?

If you are a sad type of human and given to overflowing, you might want to skip this.

None of us are as young as we used to be, and some of us have crossed the bridge. The spirit still lives and we are all better for that.

Blessings to all.

Gussie n Teka

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OUR PALS !

WE ARE SEARCHING FOR A NEW SECRETARY, BUT UNTIL THEN, WE ARE THANKFUL WE HAVE YOU FOR FRIENDS!

GUSSIE 'N TEKA

Eartha's Birth-a-day Wishes

Good Morning, Dogs of the Blogosphere. It is I, Eartha Kitteh.

This lady I live with E. Rabbit says it is a very important day today. At first I thought she was still just happy from watching those Cardinals from St. Louis win the baseball game last night, but it turns out she was talking about it being that lady named Muzzer's birthday.

Here is a picture of that lady named Muzzer with that dog who is my cousin, Teka.

(I am not sure if that dog Teka is in disguise now, or if she is usually in disguise, and this picture reveals her secret identity)

I have only met this lady called Muzzer once, and it was on MY Eartha Birth-a-day. And she bought me all kinds of presents -- anchovies and sardines and caviar!

So I have to work on finding a good present for her. To that end, I am watching the area that MOUSE I gave E. Rabbit came out of, in the hopes of catching one for that Muzzer.

She can either have it stuffed and mounted as a decoration, or enjoy it as a side dish with her birth-a-day cake.

Until I catch her a mouse, though, I thought I'd enlist all of you doggies in helping me and that dog who is my uncle, Gus, and that other dog who is my cousin (and maybe a witch), Teka, and E. Rabbit and E. Beth and that guy they call dad in wishing her a HAPPY BIRTH-A-DAY.

Eartha's Welcome Home Present

Hello, Dogs of the Internet. It is I, Eartha Kitteh.

All you dogs who read this blog know that that dog who is my uncle, Gus, and that other dog who is my cousin, Teka, are in St. Louis for awhile because they went on a ROAD TRIP.

But did you know that this lady I live with, E. Rabbit, went WITH THEM???

And that while she was on this road trip with those dogs, she left ME, Eartha Kitteh, at home in our apartment? ALONE? With only some dude to come in and feed me and cuddle me a few times a day?

Now, it is not that I object to having the apartment to myself for awhile. As long as some dude shows up to feed me once in awhile and clean my box, and as long as I have plenty of cat toys to play with, I am ok on my own. In fact, I stayed on my own for a whole WEEK last year while that lady went to Italy.

But I cannot have her running off to travel with D-O-G-Ses all the time. She was gone for five and a half days and came back with terrier hairs all over her clothes! Only MY hairs are supposed to be all over her clothes.

So when she got back last night, I gave her a PRESENT. Can you guess what it was?

It was a MOUSE. I killed it for her, and left it right in the middle of the kitchen floor, where she would be sure to find it.

I must say, she did not seem terribly impressed with this present. She just sighed, got a paper napkin, picked him up by the tail and dropped him in the trash with my most recent poops and some spinach that had gone bad while she was away.

I will have to think of some better presents for next time. Perhaps she would prefer a small lizard?

From Lexington, KY

Teka Toy here

Reporting from Lexington KY

Did you know that there are

these really big dogs that are

called horses? Taller even

than Miss Honey!!

And they have their own trailers

that their humans drive for them

that are called "horse trailers"

And did you know that in Lexington KY

at this time of year there are LOTS

of them

AND THEY SMELL WONDERFUL!!!!

respectfully

Teka Toy

On the Road Again!

Me and Teka on the way to St. Loulis

photo courtesy of E.Rabbit.

Have a great weekend.

Gussie and Teka

All is revealed.

Ok, so we had 28 comments on the two posts combined.

We will be making a slightly larger than that donation to

the Gas Fund over at Khyra's Rescue Wagon.

Now we will tell you who you are seeing in the photo(s)

This is Aunt Marie holding E.Beth.

Neither of them is the small child about to become bird food.

This is the muzzer with Aunt Marie.

The muzzer thanks all of you who guessed

that the photo was of her. UhUh.

She is MUUUUUCHO Older.

see photo above.

This is the Photo in Question.

Did you Guess it was E.Rabbit?

She is saying hello to Fred Bird

the OFFICIAL mascot of the

St. Louis Cardinals.

They are very close to the same age, ya know?

And it is not my dad inside the Fred Bird Suit.

Though for a long time the muzzer believed that

FredBird was really their friend from St. Louis.

I think it was the nose that convinced her.

Drumrollllllll Please!

The following friends guessed correctly:

Miss Asta

Miss Koobus (she was the first)

The Lamb Family

Opy

Scruffy, Stan and what's her name?

Two (very) Special Wires.

Early next week, we will put those names into a dog food bowl

and I will select the winner.

Congratulations to the correct Guessers

Thank you for coming along to help us raise some

moneys and cheer for the Cardinals.

Gussie

Everybody Guess Again!

That is NOT our muzzer!

That picture is about 30+ years newer than our muzzer!

Plus...our muzzer is so old, teams didn't have that kind of mascot!

The Lamb family are close, no cigar yet.

Guesses will count whether you post them here or there.

And each place will count for one.

Sheesh

Gussie

Go Cards!

Who is this small child about to be eaten

by a large and voracious bird.

The GusMeister knows!

If you know - post the answer.

We will make a donation in your honor

to the "keep Albert in the lineup" fund.

No, no.....

how did the Dad get in this blog post?

We will follow Miss Asta's good example

and make a donation in honor of our friends,

furred and otherwise,

to Miss Khyra's gasoline fund.

Then we will have a drawing and send the winner a

Cardinal T-shirt, size to be specified by the lucky dog

(or cat) who wins.

Rules.

.....comments must be made before midnight on

Friday - September 30th.

...........No family members (adopted or otherwise)

of Gus Dagger WFT are eligible to win the T-shirt.

(this means you! Eartha Kitteh)

....Oh Yeah...and I will count each comment by an individual

poster, so if you have multiple email accounts, you can use each one

but if you post multiple times under a single email, I will only count it

as one.

THE GUSMEISTER

Time to Celebrate, Internet Doggies!

Good Morning, Doggies of the Internet! It is I, Eartha Kitteh.

I woke this lady E. Rabbit up early this morning, because it is a VERY IMPORTANT day. "Hey lady," I said to her. "Wake up! It is time to CELEBRATE."

Do you know what we are CELEBRATING today, doggies? No, it is not the feast of St. Ceolfrith. It is not the day the Bill of Rights was passed. It is not the birthday of William Faulkner or Phil Rizzuto or Shel Silverstein or T.I. or Frederick William II of Prussia.

All those things happened on September 25, but we are CELEBRATING today because it is my EARTHA-VERSARY!
This is what I looked like ONE YEAR AGO TODAY when I first came to live with this lady E. Rabbit. She and some of her friends came and got me out from under the house where I was living with my Dad Cat and some other stray kitties after my Mom Cat and her people moved and left me behind.

At first I did not think that living with her was going to be such a good thing. Yes, it was more comfortable than living out of doors, and the food supply was more consistent, but she also made me do stupid things like go to the VET, who gave me shots and put thermometers in undignified places. And then that vet made this lady give me medicines in my eyes and ears because I had infections, and down my gullet because I had wormies in my POOP.

But then I realized that the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. Like outside, I did not have all sorts of awesome toys that I could kill.

And I never had the chance to learn about the finer things in life, like wine smelling.
This one has an excellent bouquet.

And I would never have met my good friend, the Ornj Dog.
I like to carry him around by his scruff, like mom cats do their kittens.

On the other hand... if I'd stayed living outside, I would never have had to wear this stupid outfit at Christmas time.
But I ALSO would've never gotten a lot of TOYS from Santa Claws at Christmas (Santa Claws cannot find kitties who do not have a fixed address).
And I never would've learned to keep myself calm and centered by practicing YOGA.
This is called "Sideways Facing Cat Pose." It is very good for your core.

And I would not have learned about BASEBALL.
This is me saying "Go Nats!" I root for the Nats because Nats rhymes with cats, and because we live in DC (*and because we don't have a Cardinals helmet in cat size. --E. Rabbit).

I would probably not even have gotten a celebration for my first birthday in June...
....much less a bunch of awesome presents like the ones that dog Gus's muzzer got me.

So I talked to this lady about what we were going to do to celebrate our EARTHA-VERSARY. She said I could have a new TOY from the stash of cat toys she keeps hidden (because she thinks I already have too many toys. She is wrong, but there is no convincing her of this).

And she said she would go to the store and get a piece of SALMON that we can share for dinner. I will have mine with kibble; she will have hers with greens or pasta or something lame.

And she said she got me a PRESENT. It is blue to match my beautiful eyes, and it has pirate skulls and crossbones on it because I'm TOUGH.
I am not entirely sold on this present yet. It's very pretty, but it may not be my thing.

I am pouting!

She gave me a bath!

So now I am pouting.

I dried myself on her sheets.

And now I am on her pillows.

I am not getting down

until the whole bed is damp.

Deal with that one, Muzzer!

We just finished

reading this at bedtime. It is not as good as it could be. The dog (ASTA!) does not have any good lines. We will share it with you if you want. Let us know.

gussie

Hurricanes and other stuffs

Teka Here!

I thought it was about time that I got busy and

let you all know that we are F.I.N.E.!

(Frantic, Insecure, Neurotic and Excitable!)

But really. The Hurricane was a non-event for me,

and mostly for Gussie too.

We had no power, so there were no lights in the house

and no cold air coming out of my vents. The humans

were upset for some reason about not having any hot

water for their beloved showers, but I am not all

that fond of showers, warm or otherwise.

(I prefer a bubble bath you know?)

What it meant was that we used up Muzzer's supply

of beeswax candles that match her "special" dishes.

And on Sunday ALL of us got to be piggies with

the shrimps that were residing in the freezer.

After the Muzzer grilled them. YUM!

BUT...on the plus side me n Gussie did not

miss even one walkie. And because the house was

dark earlier than usual, all of us climbed in the big

bed together a bit earlier than we usually do.

Gussie griped because bedtime stories were shorter

and they were almost always ones that Muzzer or Dad

knew by heart. But I like "Goodnight Moon" and "The Little

Engine that Could" and I hardly ever look at the pictures in the

books anyway. So.........

And in the mornings I made sure everyone got up a little

earlier than usual so we could get Dad ready for work on time.

There were lots of trees like this big

one that ended their distinguished arboreal

lives in this most undignified manner. And

that made me kind of sad.

But it brought the squirrels a lot closer to the ground

for at least a little while.

And out on Dad's campus, there were lots

of trees like this one. But they didn't cancel

classes, not even for one day. So all of

the Botany Buffs got to see reality close up

and personal.

And the weather stayed reasonably cool

(for Richmond in August) so even with

all of us in the big bed and no fans available

it was comfortable sleeping.

So I am counting my blessings and saying

that I hope we don't go through this again

too soon, and I hope that everyone

else has their power back and that we

all have a better week than the last one.

Gussie and Asta sure are!

They are at the Pawm, and Asta's

Sweet Mommi shared this picture

with us today. Now I know why

Gussie took Dancing Lessons instead

of obedience class like I did.

Teka Toy

over and out.