Playing

Scout is way too busy playing in the snow to get to her blog today!

Happiness Is...

...a friend you love so much that you bark and wag your tail every time someone says her name.



My friend's name is Dixie.

Happiness Is...

...a long walk and a face full of snow.
















P.S. The black strap across my face doesn't hurt me. It's called a Gentle Leader. I don't like it much, but have agreed to wear it to help me remember to not pull the people over.

Scout Goes to the Doctor

My Kids and I all saw our doctors this week. They went for check-ups; I went because I have been feeling a little bit sick to my stomach. I'm kind of frustrated now because my doctor told The Mom to stop giving me treats like beef, liver, and other stuff that I REALLY like. The doctor said that even though I'm very big, I'm still a puppy and those things might be making me sort of sick.

I had to go to the doctor one other time for a problem. It was this spring after I had been running in woods and fields all weekend with my friend Sammy the Spaniel. (Don't we look like we're having fun?) We got into all sorts of great messy, stinky stuff like ponds and wet leaves and muck. It got under my fur and didn't dry out well and I got an infection on my skin. That time the doctor had to shave off a bunch of my fur. Ouch.

It's not fun being sick. I miss my favorite snacks. But I try to be cooperative and not steal food off the table because I know my family is just trying to help me get well.

Keep sending me emails. I love reading them (when I'm not resting on piles of boots).

A friend of The Mom's sent one recently that told the story of Jan the St. Bernard. Jan's People liked to go swimming at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. One summer they took him to the beach with them.

That sounds like a lot of fun, but I guess it was kind of a problem for Jan. He kept thinking that His Kids were in trouble out in the water. St. Bernards were first bred to be rescue dogs, so if we think there is a problem, we want to help. Jan would swim to His Kids, grab their suits in his mouth, and try to drag them back to shore.

The next time they went to the beach they left him home.

Snow

I was born in snow season. I LOVE snow. So do my kids as you can see below.














When spring came I would look for every last patch of snow to lie on. We're very excited because we heard it might snow this weekend. Do you like snow?

New Friends

Goodness; My Kids have been very busy lately. They have been playing, learning, arguing with The Mom and The Dad, and other stuff. It's been so hectic that they haven't had time to help me write my blog.

So The Mom is helping me today.

I met a new very nice friend this weekend. I know he is very nice because he scratched behind my ears. He is the same age as The Girl. He came over with his aunt who is a friend of The Mom's.

It's nice to make new friends. And exhausting. Here's what I looked like after they left.

Some Smart Cats

Guess what! I'm not the only creature living in this home. I figured that out the first time I went inside. Here are my clever feline friends Espe and Lightning (playing chess with The Boy). For some reason they always hiss and slap at me when I try to wrestle or play. I also share My People with two fish and a snail.

Do you have any pets?

Getting Bigger

When I was born I immediately started gaining 1/2 pound per day! This is me at 8 weeks and 22 pounds!

After winter was pretty much gone My People started putting me in a kennel in the side yard. I liked to eat their raspberries. Sometimes My Kids and their friends would even give me some (because they say they have too many)! I also liked sleeping on the concrete steps.Do you like raspberries?

My New Home

One day The Mom and her friend came to get me at the farm. I slept a lot on the ride to my new home. When I got home I saw something big and yellow. My Kids got off and came over. The Mom opened the car and My Kids were VERY excited to see me. They didn't know I was coming home that day.

Soon I was used to being in the house. And I liked to sleep on the hard floors.

I liked my new home. I missed my parents some, but they were relieved that some of their puppies had moved. I decided to put another picture of them on this site.

Do you ever miss someone?

Growing

Here I am resting when I was very small.When I was first born I was about the size of a guinea pig. Kind of like my cousin who is with me in the picture below, but even smaller (she's two weeks old in this picture). I gain about 1/2 pound every day. Now I weigh about 140 pounds and I'm only ten months old! I have to eat well, exercise, and sleep a lot (because I get tired!) to grow that much.

Here I am with The Dad. Were you ever this small?

The Early Days

Here's my mom when my brothers and sisters and I were two weeks old. I have ten brothers and sisters. That's a lot of babies at one time! Doesn't my mom look tired? We don't keep in touch much anymore, but as you can see we were all very close at first.

The same day that this picture was taken, My Kids came to visit me for the first time. Here we are together. They held me and petted me and I liked them right away. They liked me too. I was friendly and playful, and not bossy or tough. Everybody looks for different things in a friend. I'm glad My People like me just the way I am.

Back in the Day

Meet my parents, Maddison (on the left) and Lucky, when I was still growing in my mom's tummy!

Before I was even born, My People came to visit the farm where my parents live. They met my Grandpa Brutus too. He's huge! He weighs 220 pounds. That's a tenth of a ton! Sometimes he gets cranky, so they just said hi and stayed behind the fence.
Do you ever get cranky?