Springtime in Seattle

It was a long winter and I spent most of my time sleeping ~ except to work on my web pages and periodically harass the cat. Now the days are starting to get longer and I am up at the crack of dawn rattling and chewing on the bars of my cage, hoping to wake everyone up in the house and get some well deserved attention. Unfortunately, Mom has learned to ignore me during this time and sleeps till she is darn good and ready to get up. But she makes it up to me...I am the first one she comes out and talks toeach morning.

I can't wait to get outside where I can run through the grass and nibble on the fresh leaves. It will even be worth wearing that harness and having Mom only a couple of feet away watching everything I do. I know, I know, she is only protecting me and trying to keep me out of trouble, but she takes all the fun out of it.

I love to make my Mom and her friends laugh. I finally taught her one of my favorite games. She calls it "hand-wrestling". I run around in circles and under the table and she starts chasing me with her hand. I jump out and "attack" her. We can do this for a long time. Sometimes I get so excited, I jump back and chuckle. We also play hide and seek a lot. I have found some great places to hide...the closet is a good place, and so is the dirty clothes basket. Another good place is under the comforter on the bed. I try to stay quiet and still, but when I know Mom is close I get excited. I can't wait for her to find me. Because when she does, she always makes a big deal over it and tickles and cuddles me.

The one thing I really hate is that Mom only spends a little time with me in the morning. After she plays with me, she runs off to get in that funny white thing and let water fall on her. Then she races around the house drying her hair with this loud thing that blows hot air and getting dressed. Then she says good bye to me and gives me a treat and heads for the door. I give her a really pitiful look and I can tell she doesn't want to leave. She says she'll be back soon and goes away. She's gone a long time and I miss her. I try to keep myself occupied all day, but I do get bored. Amie just likes to sleep and the fish ignore me. The birds make so much noise between themselves, I don't think they even know I exist. I usually end up sleeping most of day. When I hear Mom's key in the door, sometimes I get all happy and bark and yip to let her know how much I missed her, and other times, I just ignore her. I get as moody as anyone else.

Now that I am older, Mom lets me help her with the chores around the house. One of my favorites is making the bed. As she pulls the sheets and comforter up, I crawl under and make sure nothing is lurking in the dark. Another chore I get to help with is folding the laundry. It's so nice and warm when it comes out of the dryer. It's my job to inspect each and every piece and make sure it's clean. Sometimes, I'm not sure I thoroughly inspected a certain item, so I go back and do it again...even after it's folded. Hey, this is an important job and I have to make sure I do it right. My most important job is checking everything in the house. I climb up on the back of the chair or the couch and stand on my back legs. After several minutes of sniffing the air, I feel sure that my family is safe and I run to the next room and make sure everything is secure there too. I even inspect the bathroom sink to make sure nothing is coming up through the drain.

This month I celebrate my first birthday. Since Mom's birthday is this month too, I have a feeling we are going to have a party. Amie has told me all about the cake and ice cream but just between you and me, I am not going to wear a silly hat, but I might consider opening the presents and blowing out the candles.

Ya know, Mom and I have gotten a lot of mail from some really nice people here on the Internet. They ask all kinds of questions about me and my life with my family. We don't mind answering the mail at all, but I thought I might answer some questions that are asked most often. Please check out my FAQ page. If the answer to your question is not there let me know and I will find out the answer for you.