Afternoon Action

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Wow, my house hopped yesterday afternoon.  I loved it!  Usually, JJ and I patiently wait for Mom and my human sister, Rachel, to return to the house in the afternoon.  We enthusiastically greet each other, visit a bit and then the house returns to a routine hum.  Not yesterday.

Rachel’s rehearsal got cancelled allowing her to return home earlier than anticipated.  We learned that Mom stopped by the grocery store on her way home from one job to purchase the few items remaining for her University of Miami Authentic Northern Italian cooking class.  Oh did those grocery bags smell divine, nice and fishy! Jet, may I share something?  Sure Mom.  We prepared tilapia with an orange sage sauce topped with toasted almonds.  Thanks for filling in the details for our readers, Mom.  Welcome Jetty.

Next, the bell rang and Rachel unlocked the front door for one of my favorite humans, my neighbor, Ruby.  She’s 6 ¾ and gives JJ and I hugs, belly rubs, gets in my day bed with me, pretends to dress us and other stuff!

Rachel rocks with young children; she played with Ruby and then they baked sugar cookies.  Over the weekend, they baked dozens of cheesy rolls and homemade yeasted crescent rolls from Rachel’s new cookbook below.

As Mom prepared to leave for class, Ruby chatted with her a lot. Mom somehow answered her questions and loaded her car simultaneously.  All of a sudden, Mom saw another golden feathery tail in the garage; Simba pulled his human sister so hard, she let go.  Of course, he wanted to join the festivities, so Mom invited another super wagger into the house with his human sister.

Oh, while this next item gets a little personal, I’ll share to convey the essence of the activity level in the kitchen.  Turns out, while everyone told Mom JJ was this thing called spayed, whoops, they made a mistake.  Angela and Rachel fashioned a hind-quarter cover-up with this pad thing inserted out of an old t-shirt to keep the surfaces below JJ stain free.  (Mom said you can read between the lines!)

K9s, kids, Angela, Mom – happy energy…

Another really great day.

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She’s Got the Symptoms

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

As I learn more and more about JJ’s personality for my Scooby Doo Academy independent study course, I’ve noted the following symptoms unfolding:

• She enjoys her pink accessories – leash, collar, and now scoop the poop holder and bags.
• She appreciated the invitation (well, invitation is a teensy stretch), participating in wardrobe selection with my human sister, Rachel.
• She CONSTANTLY jumps up to the counter, (in K9 terms – counter surfs) when:
  • Mom’s cooking.
  • Mom’s washing dishes.
  • Mom’s feeding the felines and K9s.
  • Mom’s doing the laundry.
  • Mom’s taking care of personal grooming tasks.
  • Mom’s reviewing a knitting item.
• She hangs out with Rachel when she watches What Not to Wear, Toddlers and Tiaras, Dance Moms and other similar shows which Mom and I try to escape.

Add to the list, yesterday morning’s occurrence.  Mom, JJ and I took our usual weekend morning walking route.  Towards the end, we must cross a major intersection.  We practice listening to Mom’s “Wait (I count to 10) … Ok” command as we cross from east to west and again as we cross north to south at the traffic light.  While waiting for the second cross, JJ grabbed a dark item out of a littered food container.  Speedy Mom dropped the scoop bags and pried her mouth open and retrieved the item before JJ could close her jaws for the second time.

I heard an “Ewww” and saw Mom toss the item and then wipe dark goo off her hands on the dewy grass.  Mom gave JJ a “Naughty” synchronized with a two finger swat to the muzzle.  Can you guess what the item was?  Here’s a clue:

Aside from chocolate topping the dangerous for K9 list, this proved my prior observations…

SHE’S A GIRLY GIRL!  Jet?  Yes Mom?  Making generalizations about a being does not allow the fullness for who they are.  While JJ indeed possesses many traditional feminine qualities, she also loves to wrestle, play, fetch & retrieve, carry items, chew, and other traditional masculine traits.  Remember, you do not like when some humans think you’re just one thing (scary – because of your coloring and size), right?  Also, you have quite the gentle side and we still consider you quite the manly man.  Wow, Mom, you opened my eyes, you’re right.  Ok, I’ll amend my observation, how’s this?  JJ balances her character with equal parts girly girl and masculine traits making her a great sibling.  I LOVE it Jetty, A+!

Another great observational day.

Style Opinions

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Yesterday, my human sister, Rachel, had a special event to attend.  She wanted to look lovely and asked Mom to visit her room to review outfit possibilities.  Mom, JJ and I shook off the leftover fogginess from a late afternoon nap since I woke everyone about 4:30 a.m.

JJ pranced into Rachel’s room and headed directly into her closet to determine options.  Then, she stood still as Rachel held up two choices for Mom’s opinion.  JJ sat politely on the floor waiting her turn to express her views.  No offense to Rachel, however, unless the clothes adorn my fur, fashion doesn’t do much for me.  I felt that staying at the door showed sufficient support.  Mom and Rachel laughed because usually, I cannot wait to enter Rachel’s room and my self-imposed restraint fascinated them.  The three females agreed quickly and disbanded.

You know, now that I think about the subject, I do have a few opinions about human fashion.  I believe scents make the clothes.  When Rachel sprays perfume on herself and the scent permeates her garments, my interest perks up.  I think I’ve previously shared that I enjoy the smell of shampoo, creams and lotions.  Mom has this stuff called chemical sensitivities.  She does not add much scent to her clothes except the natural essential oils in her personal grooming products.  I like her current shampoo which smells like chocolate mint.  Whoops, I digress.

Mostly, I enjoy relocating garments, particularly Rachel’s.  (She provides endless opportunities;  after all she is a teenager!)  Sometimes finding a garment in a location other than where you left it allows for increased creativity. I help her think of new pairing combinations.  I’ve watched enough What Not To Wear episodes with Rachel on the couch, so, we’re on the same channel page.

Another great, stylish day.

And My Endorsement Goes To…

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Generally, I mind my own business, herd, protect and care for my family, serve as Boy of the House, and go about my daily routine.  What I know of the human world derives from personal observations, my pack and my family.  I share my blog with you in a politically neutral way except… well… this is an election year.  As a Florida K9, I feel compelled to participate in the process, since voting is a privilege.   Luckily, K9s do not register along human party lines.  We support candidates by barking.  Important platform items include:

• Do you support “no kill” shelters?
• What is your position on pit bulls?
• Do you support spay/neuter programs?
• Would you ban chemical pesticides on lawns where we empty our tanks?
• Do you support more dog parks? (How do you plan on keeping glass shards out of them?)
• To scoop or not to scoop?
• How do you feel about digging? Chewing? Wrestling?
• Do you support sleeping on human beds? Human furniture?
• Dry or wet food?
• Allowed in the car? Seat belt or no seat belt?

I tried to keep up with the debates; however, Mom said she found me passed out on the couch/bed each and every time.  So, after much reflection and in time for the Tuesday Primary, I officially support – Drumroll please….

BOOZER FOR PRESIDENT!

Boozer, adopted from Golden Rescue South Florida, like Koko, JJ and me has a mission statement I believe in.

Hi all, I’m Boozer but my dad calls me Boo. Tonight we were sitting out by the pool talking. He told me , “Boo ,I’m so proud of you. Only in America can a redneck construction dog run for president.” He told me there’s a lot of dirty dogs in Washington. I told Dad, no problem man. I swim in the pool a lot during the day and I’m a clean dog and those with me will be the same. I told Dad, the White House will be the nations largest dog park, with a sign on the front gate saying no dirty dogs, idiots or politicians poop allowed. Dad said ” Boo, thats a step in the right direction. It should eliminate 97.6% of the traffic”. VOTE FOR ME!

Another great patriotic day.

YESSSSS!

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Mom told me she listened to this human named Marv Alpert call the NY Knicks’ games on the radio as a young girl.  If you’ve read my posts for a while, you know Mom LOVES basketball.  Now, this Marv Alpert guy calls games for the whole NBA on television.  In sports, commentators become famous for certain phrases they say during games.  Mr. Marv loves to say YESSSSS! when a player makes an outstanding play or shot.  Here’s a link so you can listen and know what Mom’s talking about.

Tonight, Mom, JJ and I headed out for our evening constitutional.  As you know, I’ve struggled to complete my evening walks.  My courage meter quivered over the last week and a half for a few different reasons:  the booms, the neighbor’s car door, the sirens, the helicopters and other assorted sonar experiences.  We tried taking our left square route, which I have refused to follow of late.

I felt good.  I emptied my tank here and there, did two solid businesses reminding everyone Jet Was Here and practiced my trot and swagger.  Mom said “Uh uh” in her deep, “I’m serious” voice twice along the way when I started to hesitate and assume my, “I’m not budging stance.”  Otherwise, we pleasantly passed familiar houses and lawns.

As we rounded the corner on our street, Mom heard Mr. Marv’s voice say YESSSSS! in her mind and knew that I would share the same feeling of accomplishment.

Another great, “YESSSS I did it!” day.

Hoofing It

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Gotta hand it to JJ, she’s quite the archeologist.  Over the last two days, she sniffed and then excavated two hooves buried deep inside the crevice of Mom’s treadmill.  When she finally dug the first hoof out, I tried not to remove it for further inspection.  At some point, I felt the unquenchable need to give her my investigative opinion.  Mom allowed me to take the hoof on our evening walk with Mary Ann and Dixie.   Excuse me, Jet?  Yes Mom?  I would like to add one sentence if I may.  Sure Mom, go ahead.   Thanks, Jetty.  Jet and JJ rotated custody of the hoof on the walk until at some point, I quietly realized they left it somewhere along the route.  Back to you my boy. 

Yesterday afternoon, JJ completed another treadmill hoof excavation.  When I removed it from her mouth, Mom made a mental note to give JJ another after our walk.  For some reason (see above) Mom removed the hoof from my mouth before we left the house. Due to a loud noise from our neighbor’s car door slamming, my personal walk aborted quickly.  Mom and JJ returned me to the safety of the kitchen and resumed their evening constitutional.

Mom did a bit of excavating in the laundry room to determine where the few remaining hooves in a bag were.  Hidden deep in our cat litter pail architecture (to prevent the K9s from visiting the litter box) she selected a hoof for JJ and returned my earlier specimen to me.  For 1 ¾ hours, JJ and I happily licked, chipped, cracked, and chewed on our hooves.  We switched hooves politely a few times to compare quality.  Mom appreciated the uninterrupted time on the computer.

Oh, I realized that some of you may not know the whole hoof story.  You see, in an effort to be wholistic, companies collect, clean and sanitize cow hooves.  We, K9s chew on them as toys and dental treats.  While a bit stinky, for those of us who enjoy a good chew, hooves are a natural choice.  At first, Mom got grossed out a bit, now; she handles the concept in a tip to tail, using the whole animal, respectful kind of way.

Another great chewy day.

Do I Look Like a Pin Cushion?

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Last night, after we returned home from our evening walk, JJ and I enjoyed our Bone-a-Mint treats.  Mom had lots of computer work, so I naturally relaxed in my favorite location under the desk by Mom’s right foot.  She stayed there for hours and hours after she converted my dictation to yesterday’s post.  JJ and I required attention along the way; Mom threw rope toys into the hallway for JJ and gave me some much needed massaging.  When she touched my leg, she exclaimed, “OUCH!”  Mom gently passed her hand through my fur again and extracted this.

While it may look small to you, when you have several poking you like pins, believe me, size doesn’t matter.  Mom said she would comb me out and she kept her promise all the while telling me in her sweet voice that she was sorry those mean needles had the nerve to poke me like that.  My “flea comb” (I don’t have fleas, however, it’s a great tool for sticker and pin removal), caught about 30 of these pins throughout my fur, concentrated mostly on my legs and paws.

Mom ended up sitting on a stray pin as she scooched around the floor to comb my whole body.  Now she REALLY understands my pain!  She told me about the time a few years back when Koko and I found our way into a huge patch of pins and after a Spa Day with pre-combing and post combing, she removed about 200 from each of us.

She also told me that the pins reminded her of her visit to Arizona.  Mom decided to take a trail ride.  The guide warned her about this tree/shrub (she cannot recall the name) which shoots spikes like porcupine quills into the horses if they brush up against it.  YOUCH!

I hope I can remember to be more careful this morning, although we’re not sure what plant to avoid.  After all, do I look like a pin cushion?

Another great non-pin cushion day.

It’s Like a Regular Zoo Around Here

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Since I had so much to share about the GRSF Reunion the last few days, you don’t know that I solved the BOOM, BOOM, BOOM mystery.  Jet, who solved the mystery? Ok, Freddy’s Dad filled in the missing pieces when you asked him Sunday at the Farmers Market.  Then… Then you told me after work and I marked it down for my Scooby Doo Academy Coursework.  Good Boy, Jetty, now you can go on with the story.

As I was saying, Mr. Richard told Mom the house behind Vance and Vilda’s house have this thing called a transformer which blew up.  The power company people said that either possums or rats (ewwwww) got into the transformer and… details not fit for reading.

Dixie’s Mom reported seeing several rats on the power lines across the street from her house on Sunday.  (ewwwww)  She screamed. Completely  understandable.  I, Jet, the Bird Dog (or part bird dog from my retriever heritage) spotted three fat birds on the wire parallel to our side yard this morning.  I monitored their conversation carefully before going inside for a nap.

JJ, our creative girl, has recently expanded her animal mimicry skills.  She imitates a gazelle, deer, ibex, antelope (take your pick from that type of creature) when Mom walks down the hall on her way to take us outside.  Her graceful full body leaps really show off previous ballet classes.  Excuse the situation, however, JJ takes a perfect kangaroo posture when doing her solid business.  She can trot like a Budweiser Clydesdale, too.  When we wrestle, Mom says we look like young bucks seeing who will lead the herd.  Finally, when she grips her chewies and shakes her head with reckless abandon, you know she’s watched Jaws a few too many times.

Considering this is dry season, imagine what the rainy season will bring: snakes, frogs, iguanas etc…  Who needs Metrozoo?

Another great creature filled day.

More De”tails”…

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Mom told my Auntie Liz more about the GRSF reunion last night.  I heard Auntie Liz laugh when Mom shared about the agility course.  You see, the park had agility toys for us.  Mom thought I would just love to walk up this climbing thing and run down the other side.  Since I only wore my collar, she held it firmly to keep my attention and sweetly spoke encouraging words with her “You can do it, Jetty” attitude.  Ok, I figured I would climb the first section to give Mom some pawsitive reinforcement.  As expected, she praised my success and encouraged me to continue.  Judiciously (vocabulary expansion), I walked up sections 2-4 until I reached the apex.  Mom congratulated me big time.  She and I were on top of the world… until I layed down and began to do the backwards slide.  Mom tried to slow me down with no luck; I slid right back down onto the dirt.

JJ happened to pass by so Mom figured she would attempt the climb with her.  Little Miss Show Off barely needed Mom’s guidance, she trotted to the apex and posed for pictures.  JJ must have had gymnastic training before joining us because she jumped right off hitting the ground trotting like “no big deal!”  hmpf… She didn’t make dirt angels!  Jetty, each being finds activities right for them; I was so proud of you for trying while the park bustled with K9s and people.

Miss Sharon from the Rescue sold beautiful Golden Greeting cards to Mom.  The proceeds help GRSF with their vet bills.  Ask her to write you a letter so you can see the cards.

Lots of humans wanted to meet Boozer and his family.  His dad puts really cool pictures and stories of Boo on the GRSF facebook page.  I heard lots of clicks from Boozer’s dad’s camera; can’t wait to see the results online.

Oh, two of the Christmas puppies attended the reunion.  I watched one of the puppies play with some pals in the dirt.  He ended up looking like a Dalmatian instead of a golden!  Bet he took a long bath Saturday night.  JJ and I deferred Spa Day until yesterday because of the late return home and subsequent nap.  Mom wanted me to let you know that it took double the shampoo on my back and belly from my artistic dirt expressions.

Another great day.

How Many Goldens (& Honorary Goldens) Does It Take…

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Yup, we’re posting late again today.  You’ll understand why as you read along.  As you know from yesterday’s post, we could not wait to go to the Golden South Florida Rescue Reunion.  We left at 9:10 after Mom harnessed JJ and me and clipped us in to our seatbelts.  (Safety First!)  At 10:00 a.m., Mom called in to Miss Lorna’s blogtalk radio show; we promised to try to stay quiet.  (Yes, Mom pulled over to this thing called a shoulder and put on hazard lights.)  Guess what?  Miss Lorna’s first guest did not call in so she asked Mom where she was going and they spoke about dog rescue, breed rescue, and our reunion until 10:15, Mom’s regular Kitchen Counselor spot.  THANKS MISS LORNA, you will undoubtably help so many of my fellow K9s waiting for adoption!

We arrived at the park promptly at 11:00; stretched and shook to get our bodies ready to play.  Miss Wendy and Miss Rebecca (and Jack) found us quickly.  Miss Wendy gave me lots of hugs, kisses, and attention.  Mom photographed Miss Wendy with JJ because I had K9s to see and places to go.  I loved hanging out with everyone; I trotted from group to group.  OH did we love the dirt.  I decided to try my paws at dirt angels.  Mom said you humans make snow angels in a similar manner.  Lots of humans laughed at my antics, although I’m not sure why.

Several GRSF volunteers doggie-sat us while our humans had lunch next door on the human side of the park.  Miss Wendy, Miss Rebecca, Mom and a few others hung out, swapped stories and enjoyed the sunny day.  After lunch, Mom played fetch with JJ while I enjoyed the ambiance for a little while longer.  Mom brought us to the human side (as did everyone else and their K9s) and we sat in the grass while the leader of GRSF, Miss Carol, spoke to us.  Then, they participated in this thing called a raffle and another thing called a silent auction.  Mom didn’t win anything; she told us she should not play this thing called the lottery.

We said our goodbyes and journeyed home for another 2 hours.  JJ and I totally pooped out and slept almost the whole way home until we hit this stuff called traffic by our house.  That’s how Mom took this picture.  Would you believe all three of us then slept for 5 hours?  We woke up at 9:48 p.m., had dinner, Mom cooked for two hours to get ready for work today and walked us around 11:30.

Another great day (reunion)!