Archive
September
I met my human mom when I was about 5 weeks old. She got to pick me from at least 7 others. (One sister was already picked out.) I think she picked me because when she took me out of the box I waddled all over the place! Hey, when you get the chance, you take every opportunity to explore!
October
A week later she brought my human dad to visit and I got to go outside with them and my littlest sister! It was GREAT! I think my littlest sister might have been in competition with me but I WON! It was my winsome personality I bet! That's when my original owner started calling me Rocket, my new mom told her that would be my name. It's a great name too! I have no idea how she knew when I was that small that I would take off like a Saturn V!
She picked me up for good on Oct 13 1998. She put me in a box in her car and I spent the next half hour trying to tip it over. I whined! I was the last one to leave my doggie mom and dad, and I thought I was lonely then! She talked and sang to me all the way home but I didn't understand.
Then we got to my new home and she let me out. WOW! At my old house all the houses were right next to each other. But out here, they were spread WAY apart! I mean, there were 3 houses where at my old house they would fit 25! And all the new smells were wonderful! And then the lady next door came over and said hello to me. It turns out she's Samson's human mom.
Later my dad came home too and I got introduced to my crate. And there were all these big gates in front of all these neat carpeted rooms that they could go in but not me! It was frustrating. My crate was kept in a pen in the kitchen and had lots of neat paper to tear up into little bits and pee all over! But when it was time to go to bed the first night, I was scared! It was such a big house and I was the only puppy. They put on a little light and left something that ticked but I cried so loud! Mom came in a couple times and took me outside to piddle, she looked really tired.
The next day I got to meet a really nice doctor and sat up on this really high table while she looked me over and gave me a biscuit! She said I was a cute healthy little dog. She called me MR. Rocket! Later that night something strange happened. Mom and dad came back downstairs and put a piece of plastic on the floor of the downstairs bedroom and put my crate in it! Then mom crawled into the big bed and stayed next to me all night! Dad went up the stairs and I didn't see him till the next morning. I didn't have too much trouble sleeping after that! A few days later I got moved into the hallway but mom still stayed in the bedroom next to me. A few days after that I was back in the kitchen and then mom went back upstairs, but that was okay too. I got the impression that dad was lonely and he's so BIG I was afraid to hear him cry.
November
In November something really weird happened. Mom let me out in the morning and there was all this white stuff on the ground! It was cold and it stuck to my nose! Mom took big chunks and threw them, Gosh those was fun to chase! Problem was I never was sure I found the right chunk each time but she didn't seem to notice. It went away after a few hours and I sure missed it.
I think I also met Samson this month, it was along time ago, but mom and Samson's mom wouldn't let us meet sooner because they were afraid he's SIT on me! Of all the silly things to worry about! It sure couldn't be as bad as when I ran between moms legs while she was running and she stepped on me! It Hurt! I yelped and yelped and I bet I looked really sad. Mom looked so scared! But I turned out to be fine, she really just kind of rolled over me, but boy did she get a big bruise! We didn't get to run together much after that. But anyway, Samson and I met on leads and we got to sniff and wag our tails! He's a great friend. Later when I got bigger they let us romp together. I always ended up pinning Samson to the ground. I was a strong puppy!
The little house on the opposite side from Molly's house had a new family move in. Two nice humans and SMOKEY! He's my best buddy now because I don't see Samson as often anymore. I would run over to his house every morning to play with him before they left in their cars. I go over in the evenings lots too. (I've even snuck into their house just to see what it was like. It's nice and has lots of nooks and crannies.)
December
I LIKE December! Mom and dad put my crate in the car and took for me rides around the neighborhood. They fed me biscuits. It was fun. Then one day they put me and my crate in the car with a lot of other stuff including my food and water dish. I was surrounded! And then we went on a drive and kept going! They stopped at this really noisy place with lots of other cars and these really huge trucks! They were scary. I didn't like it there. I think they wanted me to piddle but no way was I going to do it there! They stopped a few more times I got more biscuits and water but I wasn't gonna go for nothing!
The scenery was really pretty. Lots of BIG hills, bigger than the ones in my back yard. Then as it got dark it got colder and when we got out of the car there was that white stuff everywhere! There was more than I knew what to do with. They let me out and I sank in over my head! It was great! I met all kinds of family. My mom said they were hers. And that's where I met cousin Shadow! I loved chasing her around through the snow and through the house. I didn't understand why she kept trying to hide from me! I don't bite. (Mom told me later it was because she wasn't raised with other puppies. That's sad).
There was a tree in the house too! It had really neat things to play with hanging from it but mom wouldn't let me. Then my uncle showed up and he got on the floor to play with me! I really like him! He said I was very well behaved! Not bad for 4 months old!
January
I think it was in January (of course it could have been sooner too, there was so much going on to keep it all straight!) I got a big surprise. One of my sisters lived next door! She got named Molly. It was so great to be together again! There was a little stream between our homes but that didn't stop me from visiting. It took Molly longer to learn to cross it. She likes to leap across, I just plow right through!
The last of the gates in the house came down too. I've got the full run of the house now except for mom and dad's room. I try to sneak in once and a while but dad gets gruff and cross so when I want to get closer at night I leave my bed and lay in front of their door.
This is when I got sick too. I felt awful, my tummy hurt and it hurt to go to the bathroom. Mom says she'll talk about it later on, I don't want to think about it. I like to talk about fun stuff!
I also went to the vet over night and when I woke up some of my parts were missing! When I got home mom had a nice big bed waiting for me upstairs in a corner outside of their bedroom. It was kind of hard but smelled really good. Later on she put stuff in it to make it softer. It's really comfy now.
May
I got to back and visit Shadow again. Just with mom this time but we stayed a whole week! And we didn't take my crate (I'm too big for it anyway) I got to wear this harness thingie and a strap that snaps into this strap stuck in the seat. I can't figure out why Shadow seems so much smaller now! I'm actually bigger than her!
September
Again I got to go see Shadow! Me and mom and dad went in this really weird car where I had to sit on the floor in the back! Still they made it really comfortable for me. We just went up for 4 days, something about grammy and grampy being together for 50 years. When we left we took a big sofa with us! It sat in the back of the car with rope all over it. I think it might have been kind of fun to ride back there but I had to stay inside with my seatbelt and harness on.
October
Dad got really mad at me. Well how did I know that the deer hanging outside wasn't meant for me to nibble on? I just ate the few tasty tid bits I could reach.
November
It's a lot colder now and mom and dad have got stuff all over the place! They've put lots of my toys in bags and stacked everything near the cars. Oh boy! Maybe I'm gonna see Shadow!.. I'll let you know.
Oops! I didn't see Shadow, we went on a really LONG drive to some place called Michigan, near Alpena I'm told. It was dark and cold when we got there and after I got out to stretch my legs and run around I got put in a barn all ALONE! It was awful, no one would let me in the house no matter how much I whined and begged! Mom put a new bed onto a pile of straw and gave me a big blanket lots of toys and water and there was this strange red light hanging over me all the time that I was warm underneath. But it's not the same as going in the house! Mom said her in-laws don't have pets and want no animals in their house. Supposedly I was lucky not to be left in a kennel. What the heck is a kennel?
Every day Mom came out to play with me a lot, I didn't see much of Dad. She even let me out of the big doggie run attached to the barn so I could run around on the farm. She made we wear this itchy bright orange vest though, said it was to make me safe if I ran off the property, but I never did that!
The farm was BIG! Bigger than my home place. There were corn fields to run in and flush out birds, little ones and big ones. There were all kinds of deer tracks and animal tracks I didn't recognize. There were lots of big furry green trees, and streams and a HUGE pond and COWS! I liked cows. We stared at each other alot. But Mom got mad whenever I tried to crawl under the fence so we didn't get to play together.
Horses are neat too, there were three and I did sneak under the fence once but Mom made me come back out. Still, I didn't like getting put back in the barn/run everytime Mom went back inside. At night she would come back out and play and then give me a milkbone and send me back to bed. How I couldn't wait for the next morning.
Oh Boy oh Boy! My photos got found! Dad scanned some in and Mom made them more browser friendly! Click here to see my November 1998 Photo page in Michigan!
December
After we cam back from Michigan Mom got sick but after a couple of weeks she and I got in the car again without dad this time and this time we DID visit Shadow. Shadow and I really got to run aound this time though sometimes she snapped at me when she got tired. We stayed a week and there was tree in the house! Just like the one Mom put in our house before we left! It was covered with all sorts of neat shiny things that made noise when I wagged my tail.
When we got back home Dad was waiting for us and he stayed with us for days and days, not leaving every morning! He even played with me sometimes. Dad doesn't play very much but he does let me chase him on his ATV! I love racing with him! Then came the day we got to tear up all this paper! I didn't do much tearing it made no sense when I'm told not to do that all the other days. But Mom and Dad seemed to enjoy it. They gave me all kinds of neat things to play with and eat.