Orion's Blog Spot

Aquila's Birthday!

2009-01-10T20:55:00.004-05:00

Aquila turned 5 years old!

"What Was He Thinking?" #6

2008-11-07T16:15:00.007-05:00

Poor Orion. Now that 'Kee is comfy, what do you think is going through his mind? Of course, you could post what was going through her mind, as well!

"What Was He Thinking?" #7

2008-11-07T16:15:00.006-05:00

This one is "What was She thinking?" (featuring Aquila):

"What Was He Thinking?" #5

2008-11-07T16:14:00.005-05:00

Photo # 5 awaits your caption....

"Is this what they mean by doing crack?"
(Cindy)

"Oh ha ha, very funny Orion......Im going to scratch your nose off, as soon as I can figure out how to get out of here!" (Tara)

"Great...
JUSSSST great!" (Tug)

"The stewardess said I would find an inflatable life vest under here! LIES!" (Nessa)

"ORION, Heeelp me! I'm Sinking! Save me, Orion!" Glub, glub, glub ( as even the tips of the ears disappear into the couch). (Trish)

"Maybe they'll think it ran away Whoopee!!!!" (Kodys Grandma)

"Ahhh….pewwww! I thought this was a good hiding place but all I see are butts….and that big black hairy guy can really fart! Ahhhhh….pewwww!"(Hope)

"I love playing hide and seek. This is the best hiding place I have ever found. I wonder if they will find me!" (Cheryl)

HA! "Maybe if I stay here really still, the Newfs won't find me..." (Bojie)

"HELP ME, I've fallen and I can't get up!" (Abbey)

"The first bed was too hard, the second bed was too soft, but THIS bed is just right!"

"Must've been some really good cat-nip..." (Allise)
"Help mum the newf sat on me" (Victoria)

The Count Walking away from the couch, contentedly thinking......."I love it when I can hide a snacky for later".......the count then brusts into song (to the tune of Mr. Ed)....A snack is a snack, of course its a snack, what would you do for my snack?, it really, really is a wonderful snack, thank you Commander TED!"

"What Was He Thinking?" #4

2008-11-07T16:13:00.003-05:00

Here's the photo for today's caption(this is Oscar):

Behind the camera, the Count Opens Wide.....................

“Here kitty....kitty, come here....that's a nice Kitty (snicker)! GULP!”
(Commander Ted)

"I am fed up with these newfs always being in the frame"
(RTaft)

"IZGETZCHEEZBURGERZ?" (Michelle)

“You said WHAT???” (Allise)

“Hellooooooo, Is this thing on??? Hellooooooo!” (Abbey)

“mum I'm on catnip (poor pun of candid) camera” (Victoria)

“It’s the Avon lady calling!”

“Is anybody in there?”

“Is that catnip I see on that camera lens???” (Annette)

“Hey, hey you. Do you see that booger in my nose?” (Hope)

“Is it... DELICIOUS?” (Roy)

"You say you dropped it in here?"

“I just want to apologize to Mike's mom and Josh's mom and my mom
and I'm sorry to everyone. I was very naive. I am so scared. What was that? I'm scared to
close my eyes and I'm scared to open them. I'm going to die out here. Every
night we just wait for them to come.”
ala "Blair Witch Project" (Tug)

What was he thinking #3

2008-11-05T17:00:00.003-05:00

Here's photo #3, please post a caption to go with the photo.

“It's tough work being me!! “
(Jacqui)

“Ah...sunshine....good food and my own porch. Life just doesn't get any better than this!” (Susan)

“I told you I was a Bear (skin)”

"Gravity feels especially strong this morning."

“Just got back from Marlis' and Gloria's...Oh my aching head...but do they know how to party! And where's my dang key. UGH” (Tara)

“Anybody have any Alka-Seltzer?” (Allise)

"Maybe they won't see me if I lay real still" (Jane)

“Wait, you’re not even going to cut it up for me to eat?” (Bojie)

“Owwwwwwww........................I knew I shouldn't have drank all that Salmon Oil last night. Owwwwwwwwwww.................Where's the ICE BAG!!!!!! That's the last time Wet talks me into anything! Owwwwwwwwwwww........................Aspirin Please!” (Commander Ted)

“I'm never going to go out with the boys again, what did I drink?” (Victoria)

“How do you spell relief? R .O .L .A .I .D .S” (Abbey)

"sigh....."

What was he thinking?

2008-11-03T18:06:00.006-05:00

"What was he thinking?"
photo #2 (submit a caption to go with this photo):

Click on the "comments" below to leave your caption, email it to me, or post it on newf-net.

"“This is the largest fish bowl I've ever seen!” (Bojie)

"Damn....if they find out it was me who dropped that fish head...I am gonna get whooped." (Susan)

"Hey…kitty…you look like me!" (Hope)

"There's gotta be a fish in here somewhere.... " (Allise)

The Count (Out of the Picture):
"Hmmm......Let's see Kat, Wet Kat....Kat's don't like water.....BONUS!!!!!.....Nudge SPLASH!" (Commander Ted)

"If it's not too much to ask......next time could you use a smaller dish for my water, PLEASE?" (Abbey)

"The big guy doesn't seem to have a problem..." (Tug)

"water water in the pool who is the fairest of them all, why me of course not that cute newfie" (Victoria)

"Hmmm... Nice kittie pool! Think I'm gonna need a Cat-armaran." (Sue)

"Hmmm...it's gonna take a lot of sand to fill this litter box!!!" (hsemko)

"Hmm, how do you get in?"

What was he thinking?

2008-11-03T13:23:00.006-05:00

I think it is time for a new game. Here I will post a photo every day and you post a phrase to go with it. You can post the caption to any or all. If you can, post the caption in the comments section below the photo. Let's see who can create the most creative captions!

Here is your first one:

Here are some of the first responses (from newf-l and newf-net):

“MMOOOOOOMMMMMM! Wet is doing IT…AGAIN!” (Hope)

"Ah Mom...I like my kitten kibble with Cat-chup!" (Sue M.)

"But, I don't like hair in my food!" (Abbey)

"Mom!!!!! Cool A Snacky worth my attention!" (Commander Ted)

"If this is what they mean by raw-diet then no thanks!" (Brainwashed by Newfs)

"mum kitty's eaten all my food" (Victoria)

"What do you mean I can't eat the cat?" (Mudji)

"A little whip cream on the top please.." (Jennifer)

"I am the Count; I am not named ALF and my dinner shall NOT Purr" (Susan)

"Whoa, is that for ME?"

Vacation (newfs version)

2008-08-23T20:55:00.002-04:00

(Orion) Mom started hauling stuff out of the attic. I know what this means. This means they are going somewhere without me. Aquila doesn't know or understand, and I can't convince her something is going on. She believes Mom won't go anywhere without her. I used to think that, too, until I found she does go places without me. The whole pack does, and they are gone for, like, forever. I'm sulking.

(Aquila) Orion's in a mood, he has this idea that Mom is going someplace without us. Now I know Mom is an awesome hunter, but she doesn't take very long to bring back some cow, pig, chicken, and lamb, so I don't see what the big deal is. What is she gone, maybe an hour? I don't understand what these totes and stuff are for though.

(Orion) The truck is packed, that means I'm going to Grandma and Grandad's, maybe? I like visiting them, they spoil me. I can handle that.

(Aquila) Well, my crate is in the truck. Wonder what that's about. Are they going to send me away? Oh no! Maybe that's it! Was I naughty? Maybe I shouldn't have gotten into the food and ate it all. I wonder if that's it. When I knocked over the plant Mom didn't seem to care, she said she knocks them over all the time. Maybe that was it. I thought Mom loved me. Why would she send me away? She wouldn't, she couldn't, could she?

(Orion) Mom and Dad took us to visit our newfie friends, Mackenzie, MuggS, and Mulligan. They are fun, MuggS is huge and very playful. I like visiting with them. Then Mom and Dad left and told us to be good. They left. They left without us. They left us....here.

(Aquila) I love visiting my friends, but I couldn't believe when Mom walked out the door and left me here. She gave me a kiss, told me she loved me, and then left. Of course, she'll be right back, she always comes right back. I'm not worried.

(Orion) I'm giving everyone the cold shoulder and not eating. I'm going on a hunger strike until I am hand-fed. Works with Grandma and Grandad. Doesn't seem to be working here, though. Wonder when Mom and Dad are coming to get me. I think I will go play.

(Aquila) Okay, I'm worried. I slept here all night. I miss my Mommy. She didn't come back. Did she give me away? Where is she?

(Orion) Another day, no Mom and Dad. 'Kee seems to think they have left us for good. We are now in a new pack. I miss my kids, but a kid comes here to visit so I have taken him as my own. I follow him everywhere and try to kiss his face. He's pretty cool.

(Aquila) I'm so sad without my Mom. I guess we have a new pack now. Just when I got comfy in my old pack. I just don't understand it. I love my Mommy so much, I just don't know how she could have left me.

(Orion) I've had to take up eating, no one is going to fall for my tricks here. It's eat-it or lose, so I guess I'll eat. I still feel in my bones that Mom and Dad will come back soon. I know they go someplace without me, but they do come back, so I'll just keep a look-out.

(Aquila) Another day, no Mom.

(Orion) Another day, and it's almost bed time when the doorbell rings. All the dogs line up quietly to greet the visitors, when who walks in the door? Mom, Dad, and kids! They're here! I KNEW they'd come back for us! I have to count them, are they all here? Yes! Wow, they were gone for so long, I wonder what they were doing. Oh Mom, I'm so glad to see you, I could just eat you up! Are you coming for a visit or to take us home?

(Aquila) Another day, no Mom, but I am getting used to my new pack. The doorbell rings and I see someone walk in who looks like Mommy. I must be dreaming, that can't be Mommy, can it? Whoa, Orion is going nuts, it must be Mommy. She says, "Aquila, my baby girl!" and I know it is true! She came back! She does love me! Boy I sure hope she brought us back a bison or something, they were gone so long I'm sure they hunted something delicious!

(Orion) We get in the car for the ride home. I'm sitting next to Mom and Dad, I won't let them out of my sight. Oh I just love them so!

(Aquila) We are going for a ride, are they taking us home? It's great to be back in the truck with my humans. I sit between the kids, I missed all of them.

(Orion and Aquila) Yeah! We're home! Oh my yard, I love my yard! I must mark it here, and here, and here....Oh, you wnat to play chase? Look there's the potty pen! Let's go check it out. Look, my house, and my favorite ball, and my...Oh, this IS heaven! I'm so glad to be home. Now, where's the goodies you hunted for us?

Vacation (Mom's version)

2008-08-23T19:55:00.004-04:00

Ahhh, there is nothing in the world like a few days basking in the sun on the glorious beaches of NJ. Really does a body good. This was our tenth year going to the same spot for vacation. Where we go, dogs can't come, so we made arrangements for our good newfie friends to take our two for the five days we would be gone. This left them with a total of five nooves in their house! The dogs got along very well, ate, slept, and played, and since I knew they were in good hands, I did not worry about them.
We camp in Cape May. You know, the whole tent and sleeping bags sort of thing. Not the kind where you bring your TV, fridge, and everything else. We prefer to "rough" it, as long as it's not too rough. Like tenting in a rain storm, now that is rough.

Day 1
We arrived bright and early and headed straight for the beach. The ride went quickly, it took us 4 1/2 hours. We spent the morning and early afternoon on the beach, where Thing 2 found some really awesome fossils. He is very good at fossil hunting, and has found the beaches of Cape May to be great sources of small coral and other fossils. After some sun, sand, and waves, we headed to the campground to set up the tents. The boys each set up their own tents, with help from sis. I usually set up their tents, but figured by now they ought to be able to set them up, and they did a great job. While setting up a line to hang wet towels to dry, we spotted our neighbor next to us who was camping in a trailer. They had a small yappy dog they thought was so fierce. While the wee thing was yapping at me, the woman said, "Oh, he gets riled up when he sees another person or animal." Hmm, now I'm wishing I had brought the newfs. That would give him something to yap at, from the safety of a tree. They might not think their dog was so fierce and scary if they caught sight of almost 300 lbs of black fur and spittle. Orion would have thought it was a "keeetty!"
Next we met a young boy walking a teenie dog, and I ran to ask if I could pet his dog. He told me the dog was 9 weeks old, they had had him for two days, and he was a chihuahua/poodle mix. The wee thing might have weighed a pound, if that much. I told him and his friend that I had two newfies. He didn't know what newfs were, but his friend's eyes got big and wide and he said, "Oh man! Those dogs are HUGE!". They sure are, compared to this wee beastie. This tiny pup might have been the size of Orion's snoot. Funny how when we are not with our dogs, we seek out other dogs. We found ourselves doing this for the remainder of the trip. We did find a doggie day-care on the way to the beach, so who knows, maybe we will bring the newfs next time.

Day 2
Another perfect day at the beach. Lots of sunshine, the waves were great, and the weather perfect. We went up to the Lobster House and bought some fresh salmon (caught that day!) then headed to the lighthouse beach where hibachi grills and picnic tables are set up. After rubbing pepper seasoning on the fish, we grilled corn on the cob, veggies, and the fish for a delicious dinner that beat any you could find in a restaurant.

Day 3
More perfect sunshine and waves. I found reason number 2 for not wearing a one-piece bathing suit to the beach. I was in the water when a huge wave came up and I faultered. Should I take that wave or should I duck under? That split-second thought was just enough to have the decision made for me, as the wave roared over me, knocking me under and dragging me through the sand and rocks. The force knocked the top of my suit down (but I repaired that quickly while still under) and used it as a scoop to pick up rocks. I scraped my shoulder and I was so mad at myself for not being quick enough. I went back in the water to try to dislodge the rocks from my suit, and thought I got most of them until I headed for the ladies room and ejected the rest. A kid with a bucket and a shovel couldn't have scooped up as many rocks as my suit. That was the last time I wore a one-piece. We won't even get into the rocks and sand in my hair, which was up in a braid. I had to shampoo it twice to get most of them out.
One thing about leaving the nooves at home was that I was able to wear (gasp!) WHITE PANTS. Anyone with a huge black slobber dog knows white is never worn, so I was thrilled to wear my favorite white cropped pants. This is the only place I get to wear them!
For dinner we stopped and bought a couple of steaks, some salads, and fruit. Back to the lighthouse to grill them, then we hit Washington Square for a round of shopping. Washington Square is one of my favorite places in the world, all these tiny shops open until 11 pm. The kids got custards while I bought a fruit smoothie. Yum!

Day 4
This was our last "beach" day, and some clouds and wind came through. Enough wind to blow sand in my ears while soaking up the rays. We sunned ourselves until afternoon, when we headed back to the Lobster House for swordfish (caught that day!) for dinner. Picked up some more corn, rubbed the fish with pepper rub, and served some more side-salads and fruit. The fish was the best fish we have had since, well, last year when we came here. Really, fresh fish is like home-grown tomatoes, the store bought stuff just isn't the same. Hubber took the kids to Stone Harbor for ice-cream and shopping while I took my ease at the campsite, visiting friends who were there.

Day 5
Today we headed home. We decided to skip the beach because there were a few things the kids wanted to do (like visit Clary's Country Kitchen in Cape May Courthouse for breakfast). After breakfast we took down the tents, loaded the truck, and checked out. The kids wanted to visit Sunset Beach (Thing 2 wanted to get a few bags of rocks there), so daughter and I hit the stores there. They have a couple of nice shops there, so daughter got herself a few articles of clothing and jewelry. I bought Thing 1 a tee shirt I though he should really have. Once he saw it, he agreed. By now I am really missing the babies, so we headed to the Lobster House for a lunch of fried seafood (I skipped the fried seafood, had some smoked fish I picked up in the fish shop), then hit the road for the ride home. We were making great time until we hit a spot of "repaving" in CT which held up traffic for over an hour (and no one was paving at that time, either; guess people were just afraid of the bumpy pavement?). We arrived at our friends' house to get our babies, and at first 'Kee just stood there, looking at me as I walked in the door. Orion knew we were there to get him and ran to "count" everyone, jumping to kiss me and bite my chin. Once 'Kee saw Orion kissing us, she burst into the room for her lovin's. These were two very, very happy dogs, and getting them into the car for the ride home was no trouble. Once we arrrived home they tore out of the car and raced around the yard, jumping on each other, wrastling, and coming back to make sure we were for real. I've never seen such happy dogs in my life, and their joy at being home made my heart burst with happiness.
Overall, a great, relaxing, and fun vacation. I can't wait until next year.

Wow, a whole month has gone by...

2008-08-09T20:29:00.002-04:00

I can't beleive Mom hasn't posted anything on my blog in a whole month. Now is she lazy or what? I had so much going on, you'd think she'd be filling pages and pages.
First, there was my long awaited visit to the library! Of course, Mom forgot the camera (sigh, she'll never learn, will she?). Aquila and I were rushed to the beauty parlor for a bath, then whisked to the library before we even had time to drool on ourselves. Mom took the advice of her friends and told the kids how to approach an unfamiliar dog, then she brought us in. The usual "Oooohs and Ahhhs" ensued as Mom talked about Newfoundland dogs, what we were bred for, our webbed feet, and then answered the usual questions (Do we eat a lot, do we shed, lol, do we always drool that much, etc.). She also explained what dog shows were about, why a reputable breeder is important for any breed, and about newf rescue. At the end, the kids and families came up to adore and pet us and give us cookies. Aquila got way too much attention, probably because Mom likes to put a bow in her hair.
The next big thing was MY BIRTHDAY! That is just my favorite day. I get blueberry kuchen, lots of presents, and the day is all about me, me, me. I love it!
Shortly after that Mom took Aquila and me to the nursing home for a visit. I hadn't been in a while, and this was 'Kee's first time. She did very well, she really loves be petted by everyone. Mom is going to take her back for another visit, but hasn't figured out how to bring us both, and you know she wouldn't want to leave ME home.
So that's what I've been up to, summed up in a nutshell. Maybe Mom will stop reading books and spend more time writing down my every move for your enjoyment. I'll keep pestering her, and reminding her that we are due for some new photos.

Himself

2008-07-01T10:27:00.003-04:00

Just a reminder of how fine and handsome I am.

And another:

A close up:

Here, I will smile for the camera:

Who, me?

Thanks for visiting my blog to see my beautiful self.

From Orion

2008-07-01T08:52:00.006-04:00

I just wanted to let you how pleased I am that my humans brought me home my own dog. Although she has much to learn from me about being a totally cool, laid-back refined canine worthy of the Drulzelot title, she is coming along very nicely. What I particularly find useful is she makes a suitable 'taste tester", so I have employed her in that position. When Mom hands me a piece of cheese, I sniff it with my fine nose, and then I turn my head away. Mom then hands it to Aquila, and if she eats it, I know it is safe for me to ingest. Being royalty, you just can't trust anyone with your food. All royal canines should have their own taste-testers, in my humble opinion.

She's also a good toy-tester. If it's a good toy, she will play with it, which means it is good enough for me. Since she follows Mom everywhere, I don't have to, so I can leave my fine specimen of a self right where I am, usually in the primo spot on the kitchen floor where it is nice and cool. She has also decided to help me with my daily chore (I know, it is hard to understand the cruelty of these humans to make me do any kind of labor, but I do it to amuse them). It is my job to bring the newspaper down to the house.
Every morning the first activity of the day is for me to attend to my "toilet", and after that I amuse my dog with a game of tussle, then my humans head over to the driveway to collect the paper from the tube. We sit on the hill with Mom while Dad fetches the paper (hahaha!) and then Dad hands the paper to me and we all run down the hill to the house. Last week after Dad gave me the paper and we started down the hill, Aquila ran up to me and grabbed it. Even she understands One So Important as Myself should not be doing such work. Dad's solution? He brings yesterday's paper out, hands it to 'Kee, and gives me today's paper, this way we both have a newspaper to carry. Can't understand those humans.
Now I'm off for my after breakfast nap. I must do something about that Beastly Baby, it makes the most horric noise to disturb me from my slumber.....

Aquila's toys

2008-07-01T08:21:00.004-04:00

The Canines have way too many dog toys. In spite of that, Aquila never showed much interest in them. As I've written here before, Orion loves nothing more than playing with his stuffies, hiding his toys for us to find, playing ball, and chasing a cuz ball. Try to play "toy" with my girl, however, and she was totally uninterested. Until she visited The Vet.
Aquila visited her doc for her spay. Shortly after she came home from her surgery, she had a "false pregnancy" caused by the change in hormones. She took hold of Orion's newest toy, a pink elephant, and tried to nurse it. She carried that squeaky pink toy around until Orion hid it on her (Maybe he didn't like the noise, or maybe he thought he was playing his favorite game, but whichever, it was several weeks before we found where he hid it!). Never having had a female, this was quite confusing to us. We went out and bought her a new toy, a yellow squeaky bear.
Yellow squeaky bear was carried around everywhere. She kept that toy in her mouth, took it on walks, took it in the car for rides. Now add to the fact that Aquila is quite the slobberdog, and you can imagine how gross this toy became. We dubbed it, "Yucky Baby". Long after her hormones settled, she still carried her Yucky Baby, or if we threw it, she'd fetch and bring it back. We were so pleased she was learning to play with us, we bought her another toy, "Weenie Baby". As you may be able to guess, it is a squeaky hotdog. Son has a strange sense of humor, and wanted to add a squeaky rubber pork chop as well. Imagine the names we could have come up for that one!
Dear Son found Pink Baby in his garden, so her collection has grown, and she delights in playing. She has learned to play "chase the cuz ball" and she and Orion both chase after the same toy, taking turns bringing it back (she will drop it, he will not, if it's in his mouth, you have to play "tug the cuz" before he'll let you have it).
Yesterday both visited the beauty parlor for much needed baths and trims. While there, I bought The Count a new stuffed octopus; he had removed, via tug games, all the legs from his old one, so I felt it was time for a new one. You can't get a toy for one and not the other, so I found a nice rubber squeak toy for 'Kee, a rubber chicken that sounds like a deranged crow. She loves this new toy, it is in her mouth right now, and she (thankfully) didn't bring it to bed last night, instead she left it downstairs. The noise this thing is raucous, so we have named this one "Beastly Baby". Orion still takes whichever toy she is playing with, I think he is trying to teach her how to play hide-n-seek. Her preferred game to play with Orion is chase-me, chase-me, and doggie wrestling. She's teaching him sports, he's teaching her cerebral pursuits. They are perfect compliments to each other.

2008-06-16T19:39:00.002-04:00

My Mom called the other day. She was very excited, and not in a good way. She called to tell me she had two newfs in her garage, one black, one brown, no collars, no tags. What should she do? She had called the dog warden, who told her to call the police. What on earth the police would do with two newfs was beyond her, so she called me. I told her to keep them in the garage and make sure they had plenty of water (which, of course, she didn't need me to tell her as she had already done just that)and I'd be over her house ASAP (she lives almost an hour away, depending on traffic). When I arrived, she had already gotten in touch with the local vet, who thought she knew who they might belong to. She told Mom a family lived about 1/2 mile away who had newfs which fit the description, she'd try to get hold of them and call my Mom back.
When I saw these two, my heart sank. Both were very friendly and cheerful dogs, both had been trimmed (all over, their coat was short), both matted, especially the brown. I couldn't even tell the sex due to the amount of matting, I could tell by the head the brown was a female, but the black I wasn't so sure. Had a narrower head than most males, but had male eyes, those deep, soulful eyes. They both were emaciated, the black about 90 lbs and the brown about 80. They were tall and long-legged, but very thin. The brown had obvious hip problems, and her entire spine was visible. Neither knew any commands, both very hungry. The brown ate all the cat food, and I had brought some of our food, which they gobbled right up. I would have thought they were abandoned but for the trimming and the very cheerful, friendly disposition. They also smelled. They smelled really bad, talk about wet dog! Wet dog times 10 is more like it. They were obviously outdoor dogs.
Finally, after lunch a lady calls. "You have my dogs, I hear." Uh, you want to tell me who you are and describe the dogs? Yup, they were hers. We chatted a bit, and the more I found out, the more upset I got. She has more than two newfs, all intact. She's breeding them, the brown had already had a litter. She wanted to recoup what she paid for the dogs, and make enough to build a new kennel, because the one she had wasn't containing the dogs. She said one of her kids must have left the kennel door unlatched when feeding this morning. Then she said I could just let them loose, they'd find their way back home, they run away every day. Uh, aren't you afraid they might get hit by a car? The road they are on is not the same dead-end road they live on, and cars fly by here pretty fast. I told her I'd bring them home, but if they showed up again at my parents house, they would not be able to bring them home.
So I asked the two if they wanted to go for a ride. They jumped to their feet and into the back of the wagon. They didn't like it when I closed the door, though. I drove them home, and that was when I saw the apalling conditions they lived in. Perhaps there was another pen they are kept in, if so I did not see one, all I saw was a 10' x 6' pen with a gravel floor. For four newfs. No one left the pen unlatched, no one had put them in the pen at all. I had to struggle to get it open, and the latch was way above my head. The food dish was outside the pen, as well as half a bag of Pedigree dog food closed up lying on the ground next to the dish. All dogs were thin, and one was pregnant. None looked older than two years. Poop everywhere. It broke my heart to have to put these dogs into that tiny pen, but I also couldn't leave them out. She had told me her neighbors are ticked at her because her dogs are always running loose. I cried all the way home.
She probably doesn't think she is doing anything wrong. This was how people kept dogs 20 years ago. But here she is breeding and selling dogs with no testing, no regard for the displasia she is passing along, and who knows what else, her only concern was to make a few bucks. I wanted to vomit.
I went home and hugged my two beautiful, happy, healthy newfs.

The words my newfs know

2008-05-30T20:18:00.002-04:00

After almost six weeks in her new home, Aquila (formerly Nova) has settled into our routine, and is showing her personality. She has quite a fun personality, is a Mommy-magnet, and likes squeaky rubber toys. She is the sweetest thing, but she definitely has a few quirks (as we all do!). One in particular is her difficulty understanding "our" language. For example, The Hubber dug a trench in the back yard, and to keep the rain from moving the soil back in, he covered it with a tarp. When I go outside, the dogs go out with me, and they follow me everywhere, sometimes under foot, and other times they mosey. So when they reached the tarp-covered trench, I said, "Orion, stay off the plastic." He looked at the plastic, looked at me, and went around it. Good. He understands! Next comes 'Kee. "Aquila, stay off the plastic." 'Kee's head is transparent, I can see what's in it. And you know what she was thinking? "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy...." So I yell, " 'Kee, walk around the plastic!" 'Kee says, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy...." I yell, "No! Not on the plastic!!" 'Kee says, "Mommy, Momm--whoops!" Into the hole she goes. This is pretty typical Aquila. So it got me to thinking, what's the different words my two newfs understand?
Orion knows all his commands (sit,stay, down, go around, wait, come, etc.), plus things like, "Go for a ride" "Go for a walkie" "Go potty" "Go poop" "Eat" "Go in your crate" "Daddy's home" "Bed time", and "Drink of water". What he doesn't know for certain, he pretty much figures out.
Aquila knows (so far) "Drink of water" "Go potty" "In the potty pen" "Go poop" "Where's the yucky baby?" and "Where's your squeaky toy?" Everything else is "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, must find Mommy, must be near Mommy, etc." We've been working on the commands, but she is still finding our language to be alien. Nonetheless, she is just the most cheerful thing, especially first thing in the morning (when The Count wishes he were still in bed, His Highness prefers a late get-up time). This morning when I let her out she ran all over the yard just as happy as a clam. If a dog could show pure joy, this was it! Of course, if she's running like mad all over the yard, The Count must come out to see why. Was he ever happy to find her feeling playful, he has been waiting for her to play with him since we brought her home. So the two bears ran all over the yard, wrastling each other, tackling, jumping and playing. It was truly an awesome sight! Tomorrow I will bring out the video camera in the hopes of capturing some, I'd probably do best to bring it every morning, since you just never know when they'll want to be playful puppies again.

More from Miss Nova

2008-04-22T11:12:00.000-04:00

Hi my new friends. Last night was the first night in my new home. It was very, very quiet, except for the sirens (brush fires in the neighboring town--Mom). I slept in my crate downstairs, and slept all night. I was so tired after all the excitement yesterday. This morning Mom got up before the sun and took me out of my crate for a walk. We walked around the yard, and she gave me a drink. Then Orion was up so we went for another walk with Orion. I was very nervous, but I find Orion's presence very calming, and when he's around I know I have nothing to be nervous about. Mom took us in, and then Dad took me out, where I went potty, then we came in and I was served a delicious breakfast. Now I am napping with Orion.
As for me, I am four years old and all black. I came from a very nice home where I was very much loved, but I just was not happy. I had been a show dog, but I did not like it. I was also a Mom, but didn't like that job either. What I really wanted was to be someone's pet. My loving family knew this, so they set out to find me a home where I would be an inside dog, preferably with another newf. See how wise they were? I'm still uncertain about all this, I don't know what is expected of me, but I do know that Orion is very spoiled and gets lots of treats, toys, and pats, so I think I will like to live like he does.

A Note from Nova

2008-04-22T11:08:00.004-04:00

Hi, my name is Nova and I am a Newfoundland Dog. Yesterday I had a grooming and some special attention. I did not know why, but I was soon to find out.
Today some people came to my house. We hung around outside with my owners who discussed food and shots and such stuff I am not interested in. The new people pet me, and a small human gave me a lot of petting while I sat in the shade. They also had another dog, but I didn't pay it much mind. I was stunned and thoroughly confused when they opened up their car and put me inside. I love going for rides! This car smelled different, no familiar smells, so this was strange. We drove for a long time, then stopped for a walk. When I stepped out, I was not home, but in a very strange place called a "Rest Area". I heard the humans discussing this, that's how I knew. I looked for my family, my pack, the other dogs, but no smells were at all familiar. I was scared! The Man gave me some water, but I just wanted to get back into the crate. The Woman took me for a walk but I just wanted to get back into the crate. So they put me back in and we drove for a long while.
The next time they stopped, we were at a park. The whole human pack, plus the other dog, got out for a walk, but I did not want to. They coaxed me out, put a collar and leash on me, and we started walking along a brook. The Woman decided to take the leash off so I could walk with everyone else, which I did for a while. Then I got scared, and I panicked! I just wanted to be at home with what I know, so I turned and ran. That was when I learned The Woman can run faster than I can. She caught up with me and snapped th leash back on me. I turned around and saw the rest of the humans waiting. We walked together down to a brook, and they let me wade in where I took a drink. I got to get my feet wet, but the Woman did not let go of the leash. We walked and walked and walked, and I walked very well, right by the side of the Woman. I like her, since she came back for me.
We all got back into the car and drove for about two minutes when the Man said, "We are home. This is your new home, Nova." I was terribly scared! Where was my pack? Where were my owners? What is going on here?!
The humans took me in the house. Now that was strange, I am not a house dog, but a show dog who hated the show ring. I liked being in the house. The Man gave me some water, which I drank. The Woman took me and the other dog for a walk around the yard, where I finally peed. Do you know what the Woman did when I peed? She said, "Go pee. Go pee. Go pee." Then she gave me a cookie for going pee! Can you imagine? I got lots of praise and pats. I walked on-leash around the yard, then we went back in the house. In-the-house! Next the humans were preparing dinner. Boy was I hungry! I heard the kibble go into the dish, and I came right up to the Woman who was preparing it. She gave the other dog his first, then gave me mine after he started eating his. You won't believe what I had in my kibble: meatballs! I had kibble with meatballs! Yum!
Next we went outside into the fenced in area. The Woman said, "Go poop," so I sat down. I had no idea what she was talking about but I figured I'd wait until she showed me. I guess she wasn't going to show me, as she took my leash and led me to the front porch where the Man, the kid, and the other dog were sitting. The woman spoke to me, "I am Mom." She pointed to the Man and said, "This is Dad." She pointed to the other dog and said, "And this is now your brother, Orion Count Drulzelot......"

I can't understand it....

2008-04-13T19:58:00.002-04:00

Whenever I take a few days (okay, weeks) off from posting, when I revisit my blog a bunch of my links are missing. I can't tell you how many times I have edited my links only to have a huge chunck of them dis-right-appear from my page.
So for those of you who do not see a link to your blog/business and would like one, please let me know and I will add you. Somewhere I will just have to keep a list of them on my computer, because I never can figure out which ones are missing. Just that I had about 20 and I come back and there are five.............

We've (finally) been invited!

2008-03-22T16:50:00.003-04:00

After meeting us at the school for the Read Aloud Day, the new children's librarian at our public library called today to ask if we would like to give a presentation in July on Newfoundland Dogs! She was so impressed by The Count's behavior, calm disposition, and of course, good looks. We are so thrilled to be able to visit the kids and to tell about this magnificent breed.
When I first had Orion trained for entrance into the Pet Partners program with the Delta Society, I visted the children's librarian which had recently been hired. As I am a fixture at our library and my kids grew up participating in the programs presented by the chilren's past librarians, I was eager to let our new one know we'd be happy to offer our services (I've also taught origami to the children for many years there). She was one of those who asks a question then answers it herself, and she didn't even take my number. I also offered my origami skills, but she wasn't interested in that either. She had her own, different way, in which she wanted to do all the programs herself, and I respected that. It is her choice, afterall. A few weeks later when I visited to check out some books, she scolded me for not bringing my library card (well, everything is computerized, so they just type in my name, I don't even know where my card is). I visted the library every week for close to twelve years, so everyone there really knows me! I'm not exactly a kid, and I really don't care to be scolded by someone younger than me for something as trivial as my library card, so I found her a bit annoying. Whenever I visited, I tried to avoid her since she always had something to say which I found impolite, or if I asked someone a question, she'd answer from across the room (plus, I never brought my library card). For the next three years I rarely visted the library. So when I read we had a new children's librarian, I returned. She is a sweet, soft-spoken, very polite lady, perfect for a children's librarian. She has some great ideas for programs where she is once again getting the community involved in the programs, which I think is great.
Plus, she doesn't ask me for my library card.

Orion visits the school (by Mom)

2008-03-22T16:30:00.002-04:00

I received a call from a dear friend of mine. She had been asked to read to a second grade class for the annual "Read Aloud Day" where community members are invited to read to the elementary classes. As a former teacher she loves children and is great with them. But unfortunately, she had just been diagnosed with pneumonia, and would not be able to attend. Might I be able to fill in for her? Absolutely! I ran to the school and left a note for the teacher whose class I'd be reading to: Could I bring Orion? She called me later that evening and said she'd be delighted to have him visit.
The next day we arrived bright and early, all brushed out, clean ruff, chili bandana tied around his neck, and his bright blue "pack-pack" on his back, which was stuffed with treats, some books about newfs, and a T/Y gift for the teacher and class. We didn't go directly to the class, but instead were invited to a breakfast with the other readers while the kids went to their classes and tended to their morning routines. While visiting with the other readers, I had the opportunity to introduce Orion the both the librarian and the children's new librarian at our public library (which I visit weekly, but they had not actually met The Count). He also met several other big dog owners (who did not have dogs with them), so he could give sloppy kisses to people who appreciated them.
Next, we were given a fourth grade escort to take us to our class, who was smitten with His Highness. While walking past other classes, we could hear kids saying, "What was that?!" "I just saw a horse go by!" "Holy cow, did you see THAT?!" Then we arrived at our class, and the kids were stunned, then delighted. They all sat on the reading rug, and Orion lay by my side as I read, "I saw an Ant in the Parking Lot", an amusing, rhyming book perfect for kids to listen to (it would have been in my home library had it been published when mine were little). Following the reading, I told the kids a bit about Newfoundland dogs, then had them each take turns feeding Orion a home-made seaweed cookie. They were very amused to find dogs like seaweed, carrots, and green beans. Orion was on his best behavior. Next, several of the kids shared their pet stories with me, which I always love. Then it was time to go, so we said our goodbyes, and Orion and I left the way we came.
Once we reached the top of the stairs we met a teacher out in the hall with a couple of her students. Not just any teacher, but a fourth-grade, big-dog loving teacher! She and her students had to come get newfie lovin's which caused the other studnets to come to the door to find out why the teacher was taking so long, which menat her class started filtering into the hallway. I asked if I could bring Orion into her class, and so we all went in, to the delight of her students. I told them about newfs, and walked around the class giving each studnet a turn to pet him, then he lay down on the floor and they all came over to cuddle with him. By the time we were done and left that room, then spoke with several other teachers in the hallways on our way out, we had been there for two hours! Orion was in his element; lots of fans, lots of little kids, lots of faces to kiss, lots of treats, it doesn't get any better than that for a newf.

One busy Newf

2008-03-22T16:19:00.002-04:00

Gee, it's been a long Winter. I have been pretty much lying around, slugging by the fire, holding down the carpet, and leaving puddles of drool as I wait for Spring to arrive. With Spring, we can resume our walkies, you see. I LIVE for our walkies. So you can imagine my excitement when Mom loaded me in the car the day the kiddos missed the bus. I figured she'd just take them to school, but instead she drove right past our house after depositing them at their assigned places. Where was she going so early in the morning? Is that her turn signal I hear???? I jumped up from my spot in the back of the car, cuz I knew what the turn signal at that particular spot meant: A walkie!! I started bouncing around the car (shaking it, Mom said) and wimpering with delight. When she opened the door, I shot out at full speed. It had been months since I'd last been here, and all those smells, all those rocks, all those trees, and that was just next to the parking lot. When I noticed two other cars in the lot, I knew who they belonged to, so I ran as fast as I could to see my human friends and their doggers. They were all happy to see me, and I, them. The trail was perfect (perfectly ICY!) so Mom walked very slowly to enjoy the scenery. She has since taken me back, it's less icy now but much, much more wet, which is even better, though Mom is thinking she'd prefer it a little drier. Don't understand why she doesn't like to get her feet wet, it is so much fun to slop in the mud. Especially since I had just visited the beatuy parlor, and you know how dull it is to be clean.
So Spring is here, the crucus are blooming, the sun is warming things up. Life is just delicious!

Games

2008-01-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

Orion has a few games he likes to play, and we thought we would share them with our friends. These are in addition to the traditional games of "Chase the Kitty" and "Chase the little Girl".
The first is a hide game we call "Hide the Bone" although the "bone" can be a toy, stuffie, towel, cookie, anything he wants to play the game with. First, I give him the "bone" and he walks into the livingroom, sniffing and looking for just the right place to "hide" it. After several trips around the room, he will place it in its hiding spot (usually in plain sight, can't make it too hard on the humans). Then he sits by the sofa. If we don't notice he has hid the toy, he will let out a loud "sigh" to get our attention. Then, I'll say, "Where's your bone?" and he will keep his head very still and move only his eyes in the direction of his toy(I'm not supposed to notice, but it's funny that he does this). Then I make a big show of searching for the bone until I find it. Upon finding it I take it into the next room and "hide" it, coming back empty-handed. He then runs into that room to search for it, and re-hides it in the livingroom for me to find. This is HIS favorite game and he will play for an hour.
Another game we enjoy (which is MY favorite game)is the "Yawn" game. Orion has a tendancy to let everyone know when he yawns. The variety of noises he makes is very entertaining. So we will go lie down on the floor next to him and loudly yawn. He lifts his head and, since yawns are contagious, he loudly yawns back. Then we will either go around the room, with each person loudly yawning and the newf yawning back, or, if it's just the two of us, we'll go back and forth until he "Woooo-woooo-woooooo"s at me. This never fails to send me into a fit of giggles.
The last game is our own version of Monty Python's Fish Slapping Dance, only we use a cooked green bean. Very, very funny.

Wet's Gone Wild

2008-01-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

Wet has taken a liking to his reflection, and can be found at all times of day and night playing with the kitty on the other side of the door. We finally caught him on tape, this guy is a maniac cat!

You can see him here (until I get it to upload on the blog)
Wet's Gone Wild

Count Drulzelot's New Year Resolutions

2008-01-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

One of my fellow Newf-Listers posted her dogger's ten resolutions which prompted Orion to come up with a few of his own:

I will not lick people's faces right after cleaning my...oh, never mind, I broke that one this morning.

I will NOT chase kitties. I will NOT chase kitties. I will NO...Oh look! A KEEETTTTTTYYYYY!

I will not tear up Mom's magazines before she finishes reading them.

I will greet each of my people first thing in the morning when I get up. I had, up to this point, only greeted Mom and Dad. This very morning I opened the doors to the rooms of each of my kids and smooched them on the face. They all said their own versions of Happy New Year to me, and I liked it so much I shall continue on a daily basis. (Note from Mom, they screamed bloody murder as they were all still sleeping when he "greeted" them.)

I will sniff both ends of the kitty.

Orion Count Drulzelot

Musings

2008-01-03T08:52:00.000-05:00

Happy 2008, I hope your year is filled with too many blessings to count!
I had a good semster, earned As in the two courses I took (Psychology and Geography). Both very interesting classes, though I really loved the Psychology. We spent some time on the brain, which, of course, is my favorite topic, as well as sleep and the importance of a good night's, development, and much, much more, all of it so fascinating. So now I have a bit of a rest before my next class, Anthropology. I may only take one this term, with The Nationals coming up, and posiibly hosting a foreign exchange student, plus gardening season, etc., I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew. I wish they offered Winter semester courses (accelerated 18 day classes), as January is the month to pretty much stay in and curl up with a book. It was -4 when I took the kids to school this morning, so The Count did not get his walkie this morning. Instead I will be making an appt for his yearly check-up, and Wet's first visit to the Vet.
Enjoy your day!

Introducing Wet

2008-01-03T08:39:00.001-05:00

Although he has been a part of the family for a few months now, I've been too busy to even read any of my friends' blogs, let alone update my own. So now I have a few weeks' lull between classes and decided to introduce the world to Orion's new buddy, partner-in-crime, and confidante, Count Drulzelot's Aquarius, aka "Wet". For those who have read older posts about Orion's favorite stuffy, you know where we came up with Wet's name.
Wet is very confident, playful, and cuddly. He cuddles with Orion, always wants to be in a lap (like Orion), eats from The Count's dish (even with The Count's snoot in it), and bathes in the dog's waterbowl. He's fearless, which is not hard to be when you grow up around a huge, black Newf, but is "skeered" of anything that moves outside (which makes him run at the door, body-slamming it to get in). Overall, he is a very entertaining addition to the family, although Oscar puts up with him, and Sophia will not demonstrate even an ounce of tolerance for him in the presence of others (though they are both sleeping on my bed right now, thinking no one else knows).

I'm back!

2007-08-10T17:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay, but as the saying goes, "Life comes at you!" Things are slowing down here, and as you can see, I've even had some time to mucky-muck with the format here (I don't know if I'll keep this format, we shall wait and see). Next week I will be working on a website (for a school) so I have a bit of time to play.
Reading the paper today I saw an article about burglaries in the neighboring town (which is less than a mile from me), and it reminded me of an incident which happened about 6 weeks ago.
The Count sleeps in our room with us. He rarely barks, unless he's playing with the kitties or with me. So we were surprised one night when Orion woke us by jumping to his feet and barking. We jumped out of bed, I thought he had seen a firefly out the window and it startled him, but he was very agitated. Once we were out of bed, Orion ran to the stairs, with Hubber in pursuit, and as soon as Hub opened the door, Orion shot out, racing through the yard and into the neighbor's field, all the while barking furiously. Whoever (or whatever) it was can consider himself very lucky, as Orion was fierce and furious. I've never seen him like that before. I ran around the house turning on all the lights and Hub flashed lights outside, but never found anything. Orion came back to the house, still very agitated, and spent time outdoors patrolling the house, then he came back in and patrolled the inside. It took some time for him to settle down. I am sure glad we have him, he's a super watchdog!

I've been tagged!

2007-06-27T08:49:00.000-04:00

That's right folks, I'm IT! I always wanted to be IT, IT is what I AM....

Anyway, Mom has been very busy so she allowed me to come here and give my update. Mom decided to take three accelerated courses this summer, all online. Instead of 18 weeks, each course is 18 days. So she has a week's worth of work to do each day. I guess she did not have the ol' brain in the cavity the day she signed up for them, because she took two at the same time. So she has neglected all her housework, ironing, blog updates, and cooking for the pursuit of knowledge. So please forgive her for not updating and keeping everyone axiously awaiting a new update. At least she still can't resist the sight of a Newf sitting in front of her with a stuffie in his mouth. I am the only thing that can get her away from her studies! She promised to update my blog with some new fancy, smancy stuff when she is done with these courses, vacation, and catching up on her laundry. So life has been very dull here, except all my kids are home from school, so that does change the dynamics here a bit.

Now, on to the game of tag.
I've been tagged by Ayla, a Newfie friend of mine!

Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post with their 7 things as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Here are my random facts:
1. I love to have my ears rubbed, I groan with pleasure.
2. I love to chase woodchucks, they look like fat kitties when they run!
3. I think pugs are funny; when my cousin pug comes to visit, he thinks he's bigger than I!
4. I love Brussels Sprouts.
5. After I drink, I like to use a napkin. Laps make excellent napkins.
6. I love to go for rides. Going to Grandma and Grandad's house is one of my favorites.
7. They love me at Petco. When I go, they announce my presence over the loudspeaker so the employees can come give me some lovin's.

Now I get to tag 7 of my doggie buds, this will be FUN!

1. My cousins, Nanook and Pooka
2. My good friends, Tank, Isaac, and Princess
3.Kodos who needs an update!
4. Mollie and Zander, whose Momma makes the best dog cookies, which I love, love, love!

I only have time to tag four, since Mum needs to get back on the com-futer. I will have to think up some more and get back to ya.
Later dudes and dudettes!

Meatball!

2007-05-11T20:22:00.000-04:00

The other day, Orion went with me to get the newspaper, when we found a delightful treat in the box, a meatball! Our next door neighbor made special doggie meatballs for her doggie, Anabelle, and shared her bounty with The Count. I let him sniff the bag, and he knew something very special would be his for breakfast. He was so thrilled, he forgot the newspaper and ran down to the house without it! He was dancing around the kitchen as I prepared the meatball to mix into his kibble. He greedily devoured the meatball, leaving the kibble in his dish. For Orion to greedily devour anything is quite a shock, he is extremely selective about what he ingests.
I was very pleased to have found something which made him eager to eat, so I asked my dear neighbor to share the recipe, which she enthusiatically did. I made up a batch of these delicious meatballs, which contained shredded carrots and cheese, and eagerly awaited their cooking so I could share them with my newf. I waited until they were cool enough, and crumbled one into his bowl. He didn't touch it. Not even a bite.
Now, I doubled the batch when I made them so I had a huge bunch of these meatballs which His Highness has decided he wouldn't eat. Hmmm. I served them for dinner with pasta. The hubber and kids thought they were delicious. Maybe The Count will only eat them with pasta and sauce.....

No Known Drawbacks

2007-04-09T18:09:00.000-04:00

At one of my painting groups, we were discussing how to paint dogs. A friend brought in some books, and I copied the picture of the Newfoundland dog. Along with the picture was a write-up about the breed, which I had to bring home to show The Hubber.
First, the person who did the write-up and the picture had only a vague idea of what Newfoundlands look like. Other than being black (which some are)and having a fat fluffy tail (as The Count does) not much else in the picture was accurate. The color description said they come in "dull black and white with a black head and saddle." Orion is a very shiny black. No mention of the greys or browns. The part which struck me the most were the feet. The dog's feet in the picture (which was a painting)looked like chicken feet. Okay, not literally, but I can assure you, no dog of this size could walk on those front paws. They looked like skinny, lab puppy feet on a full-grown newf. Newfs have paddle-paws. The front feet on Orion can be confused with a club. Trust me, I've been batted by one while he was stretching.
The next thing I found amusing is the comparison picture. In order to demonstrate the massive size of the breed, a silouette of a newf is standing next to the silouette of an airdale. The airdale comes up to the newf's armpits. The airdale could walk underneath the newf without ducking, according to the author of this book. Holy cow, that is one massive dog. Mine is not so massive, I've not yet met an airdale who could walk underneath him.
It gets even better in the written description!
Advantages of the breed:
"Good guard dog" If you can wake one, he might sniff you. If he's already awake, he might follow you to the door to greet "his" guests. Anyone who comes to the door could only be there to see HIM. Oh yeah, good guard dog, right.
"Fierce when provoked" You'd have to do a mighty lot of provoking. I think most folk would get tired before he'd get provoked. I guess if you provoke him with a stick he will fiercely chase it. Then again, he may not.
"Good swimmer" This he is. He's also good at trying to drown people while rescuing them from knee deep water. He's just doing his job.
"Good with animals" Unless the animal is a kitty. Or a squirrel, which looks kinda like a kitty.
"Good with children" The breed is very good with children. Orion is especially good at removing munchkins from unsuspecting children's fingers. Saves the kiddies from a life of ill-effects caused by jelly-filled donut holes. Taking good care of kids is his primary responsibility.

The very best part of all, though, is that part which lists the disadvantages:

"No known drawbacks of this breed."

Wet

2007-03-21T14:10:00.000-04:00

Orion loves his new pal, Wet. He loves toys, all toys, and he is pretty gentle with them. He carries stuffies to whomever he thinks should play with him, and he will sit and entertain himself (usually while I'm on the phone) by searching for the squeaker. Wet has no sqeaker. Wet meows. Wet, by the way, is a battery powered FurReal kitty. Orion treats Wet very differently than he does all his other toys. He takes Wet into his crate, he carries him very gently (though sometimes he carries Wet by sticking Wet's entire head into his mouth), and I think he knows if you press Wet in just the right spot, Wet will meow or purr. Last night, he carried Wet upstairs to bed. That was the first time Orion ever carried a toy up to bed. Wet, it seems, is very special.

Orion and Oscar

2007-03-16T17:37:00.000-04:00

The Newf and The Feline have been plotting, and I caught it all on "film".

First, when they thought no one was looking, they starting having secret meetings.

What they were plotting has yet to be determined, but I know they are up to something....

Several times I have found these two, and they look pretty suspicious to me.....

"I'll check and see if anyone is looking...."

"Yup, someone's looking..."

What are these two planning? We will have to wait and see.....

Orion's new pal

2007-03-15T17:42:00.000-04:00

After dear daughter took her Orange Kitty, and won't let us play with it (because, she fears, Orion will get it all slimey), I found Orion a kitty of his own. This one is a kitten, and he is "getting to know" it. For obvious reasons, we named the new kitty "Wet".
This video is not for the weak.

(no real kitties were used in the making of this film, even though it does kinda sound like it)

Sleeping with the Newf

2007-02-20T08:55:00.000-05:00

Just before our summer vacation, Orion confronted his fear of our stairs and started joining us in our room to sleep. Upon our return from vacation though, he resumed his old spot at the bottom of the stairs. That lasted about two weeks. Once he remembered he could go upstairs, he took up the job of tucking everyone in at night before retiring next to our bed. We are getting used to his rolling around on the floor (which is pretty loud since the floor is hardwood), snoring, getting up to find another spot on the floor, yawning, and general newf noises. Several nights ago though, Hubber and I were awoken by a strange noise. I whispered to Hubber, "Sounds like air in the pipes." Since the heat had turned on in the night, that's what it sounded like, very loud thumping and banging. Hubber looked over the edge of the bed and giggled. "Orion is running in his sleep," he whispered back. "No way, that's air-in-the-pipes sound." "Look for yourself, he's running." Sure enough, he was in hot pursuit, most likely of one of our kitties. Our whispers and giggles must have been enough to wake him as he woke suddenly and looked at us, kind of embarrassed.
Last night when everyone was sound asleep, Hubber and I were starled from our slumber by the newf growling. Both of us bolted upright, disoriented, when hubber looked over the bed and saw the newf still sleeping, talking in his sleep. Hub thought he might have been having a bad dream; I think he was either giving the neighbor's dog a talking to, or trying to coax a kitty out from under the kitchen table for a game of chase. I'm not sure if he woke up, once I determined everything was well my head hit the pillow and I was back to sleep.
Ah, life is so busy when you are a newf.

Sledding in the yard after the snow

2007-02-18T19:19:00.000-05:00

You know your Newf is big when.....

2007-01-23T12:29:00.000-05:00

All newf owners hear it at one time or another. "Man, that dog is HUGE!" To us, our dogs are proper sized dogs, it's everyone else's dogs who are small. A friend (Jack V.) posted this observation to the Newf-List, and fellow listers chimed in with their stories, which they have kindly allowed me to share here.

You know your Newf is big when......

... a first-time visitor to your house is greeted in the foyer by your 8-month old 80lb female Newf and he says "Wow, what a big dog." You then say "Actually, she's our small dog; the big one's over there" while pointing to the family room, where your 7-yr-old male Newf is getting a belly rub from a couple of kids and doing a very good imitation of a bear skin rug. Visitor's jaw drops perceptibly. It's a funny reminder of perspective: Newfs long ago stopped seeming big to me; most other dogs just seem small.... ;)
Jack V.

...Or when people say, "You're going to put those dogs in that car?" or stare & point when we go down the road.
Susan, Deacon, and Lyric

...ah yes, the stare and point ... my daughter always laughs her head off in the car when that happens! She'll tell me to drive over to a crowd of people just for the reactions. Or here with a snow covered street we hook them up to the sled and you should see the people looking out their front windows as we pass by!
Dorrie and Sammy

...When people comment on Rocky's size, I always deny that he's a dog, and say "Oh, you mean my web-footed Holstein?"
Demeter and the gang

...Yes, I have to agree. Here's a quick little story about Watson and the FedEx guy.

Watson loves spending time out on our fully enclosed porch. He has his box which he sits on, a box of old magazines that I never got around to throwing out. It's now officially 'Watson's box". He also sits in a wicker chair positioned right up near the window so either way, Watson has a great view of the entire block.

Well, a few days ago, I received a delivery from FedEx. I keep the door locked, so he rang the doorbell. Watson went with me to answer the door. Watson stayed on the stairs while I opened the door and greeted the FedEx guy. When I looked at him, his eyes were totally focused on Watson. He never said a word to me...not Hi...nothing. So, I said.."This is Watson...he's a Newfoundland." Watson never moved and the guy never said a word. Just kept looking at Watson. I wasn't sure if he was in shock or awed. Very politely, and trying to distract him, I thanked the guy and he very slowly walked away from my house. Watson watched him walk all the way back to his truck.

I guess I, too, forget other people's reaction to a big, black Newfoundland. So, was it because he saw a big black dog sitting in a chair on the porch? Or possibly that he had never seen a dog that big, I don't know. Whatever it was, Watson left him speechless. :)
Sharon and Watson

... I have to chime in here, too. The other day, while Brogan and Weezie were out in the backyard, a guy from the gas company came to the front door to check something in the house. I directed him on thru the house following behind him, when he passed by the back door. Unknown to me, Weezie was standing up on her hind legs peering in thru the screen door to see who came. All 125 lbs. of her, stretched out full height. When the guy abruptly stopped dead in his tracks and clasped his heart with both hands, I ran smack into him. He didn't even notice. Continuing to clasp his heart in his hands, he simply said....."Dear God!" : )
Pat

...My own favorite big dog story was driving with my Mack, who was a very long slabby dog, and when I was in paying for my gas, the teller asked me how many dogs I had in the car. I answered "Just one..." and then followed her line of vision, to see Mack standing in the back seat of my car with his head out one side window, and part of his tail sticking out the window on the other side, wagging...
Cindy

...My favorite just happened again this morning! Jade, my very tiny 7.5 year old granddaughter is bored, she wants to take the dogs for a walk. We bundle up and put leashes on 135 lb Zulu and 25 pound Chewy ....
We go out the door with Grammy holding both leashes until the boys figure out we mean to WALK not take a run down the hill. Then, Jade takes Zulu (who has manners on a leash) and I walk Chewy (who will still cut and run, or try to, after the squirrels in the trees). We stop traffic, and people ask Jade how she walks a dog that is 6 times her size.

Jade responds: "It is easy, because he knows I'm the boss. I just walk and he comes with me."
Good boy ZULU!
Mary

...We actually put our meter reader to a run one morning when we surprised her checking the meter. We were going out for our first tinkle of the day, and she was checking our gas usage. She almost howled when she saw Nanook coming out the door, yelled, "I'm just checking the meter!!!" and RAN for her car.
Bwa ha ha ha.
I'm hoping she misread it that day in our favor.
Vanessa and Nanook

...We had gotten a 5 month old Dogue puppy. She has now topped out at about 100 pounds. My Mom keeps telling us we need to get her to the vet because 'There's something wrong with her - she's not growing.'
Our UPS guy tosses the packages from a distance and runs like hell!!!
Lori

...
This thread is so funny! My son had 3 teenage girls over last night...he said they squealed and yelled "OMG BEARS" Wish I would of been downstairs for that one!

...Tonight at Petsmart...granddaughter brought grandmother over to see what she found. All she could say was "oh, oh, oh, oh, oh" each "oh" got higher pitched then the one before. I had a friends Newf with me, so maybe thats why she hit such a high note. : ) After she stopped doing, whatever it was she was doing, I told her they wouldnt hurt her. She finally came over and pet Josie, and seemed to have a little bond going....til Josie laid the "Newfie lean" on her....luckily she was close enough to the shelves, and she didnt fall far....she picked up the treat that got knocked down, and that bond was broken. And she had nothing else to say to me. I dont see a Newfie in her future...EVER!
Tara and Josie

...We took Nanook shopping today and one little old lady exiting the store saw Nanook and said, "do you have a trailer for that thing?" with a smile on her face. I laughed and told her, "heck no. I rode him here!"
Vanessa and Nanook

... My favorite moment was when I was taking Elvis on his daily walk, and a delivery man yelled out his window that he thought it was illegal to keep bears as pets!!
Bronn

...I like to get folks before they can ask. When we walk on our favorite trail and I see another dog-walker's mouth open, I say, "Wow, that's a tiny dog you have!"

Now I'm going to make a bumper sticker which says, "Newfs are normal-size dogs, all others are stunted."

Kitties--Part 3

2007-01-17T21:05:00.000-05:00

As mentioned in my previous posts, Orion has a special affection for kitties. Kitties are meant to be chased. Kitties are great, because if you run AT them, they run away. That's what he was thinking. Until he met Orange Kitty.
Orange Kitty was sitting on my livingroom floor when The Count walked in. Orange Kitty turned her head and meowed. Oh, look! A kitty! Orion ran up to Orange Kitty, Orange Kitty did not run away. Orange Kitty stayed still, and purred! Orion backed up, Orange Kitty turned her head and meowed. Orion play bowed, Orange Kitty purred. Orion backed up again, Orange Kitty moved forward. Orion barked. Orange Kitty purred. Orange Kitty moved forward again, Orion barked and ran out of the room! Orange Kitty meowed, Orion creeped back in. Orange Kitty moved forward, Orion ran and hid.
This was a fun game, until Orange Kitty's batteries ran down. I have to remember to pick up some C batteries.....

Good Count, Bad Count

2006-12-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

After hearing some stories last night about naughty newfs, I got to thinking mine is amazingly good. That is, when he's good. Yesterday was an example of his angelic behavior.
I take The Count pretty much everywhere. I even take him to church (he sits in the truck while we are in for 45 minutes, then we take him for a walkie around town). I took him grocery shopping yesterday, as I normally do. He takes the cargo area of the station wagon, and the groceries go on the back seat. We have a cargo barrier, so I know he can't get to the groceries if he wanted to. Yesterday I took the truck. This means no cargo area, no barrier. Nothing to seperate The Count from the goods. I arrived at the store pretty early, got a nice spot near the sidewalk, "primo parking." I ran in to get the week's worth of grub while the Heavily Upholstered One sat in the truck. On my return I loaded the parcels into the truck with The Count, and looked across the lot at the Walmart Parking. I had to make a stop at the Wally to pick up some goods, but the lot was filling up fast. Hmmmm. I decided to leave the Newf, groceries, and vehicle right where they were and run over to the Wally on foot. Faster than finding parking, that's for sure. I told The Count I'd be right back and shut the door, ran over to finish the shopping, and returned in about 20 minutes. You are thinking, "I can't believe she left that beast in the truck with groceries! Didn't she have fresh meat? Fish? Loaves of bread? Vegetables? Is she out of her mind?" Well, when I returned, all was exactly as I had left it. Orion never touched a thing. I really didn't think he would, he doesn't even take his dinner until I tell him what to do with it ("Eat it!"). When he's good, he's so good.

All things have their darker side, and my angelic one is no exeption.

He has a job, a very important job which gets done every morning. It is his job to bring down the newspaper. He takes great pride in his job, and if he drops it, you can forget about reading it, because he will not let anyone pick it up; he will try to pick it up himself, which usually results in it being ripped, muddy, and disassembled. He takes his job that seriously.
Let me paint a picture of our daily routine. Up at 5:30 -6am, I make coffee, then take His Highness out for his morning duties. He has a pen by the front/side of the house where he tends to his needs. The pen is far too big for a lavitory (we thought he might like a pen to go out and play in, but he rejected it for that purpose), so when he goes in his pen in the morning, he can spend a good deal of time looking for "The Ideal Spot". I wait outside the pen, watching the sun rise. From there we walk across the yard to the driveway and half-way up the driveway (my driveway is a hill, half-way up the driveway is the top of the hill). He sits at the top and waits for me to walk down to the road and retrieve the paper from the tube. I bring the paper to him, he takes it and we race each other back to the front door (I even win, sometimes!). He carries the paper in the house, hands it to Daddy, and gets a cookie for a job well done.
This particular morning Daddy had to leave for work early, so I was pressed for time getting him ready. I took Orion to his pen, and instead of waiting by the pen, I snuck off to get the paper. When I retrieved it and came down the driveway, I stopped where he could see me, and I could see him exiting the pen. I called him, "Where's my baby?!" and he spotted me, I said, "Orion, Come!" and he took off at full speed toward me. Now how do we all stand when we tell our dogs to "come"? Right, bent over a bit with arms open wide. That's how I was standing when he ran full speed into me, his concrete head hit me right in the chest, sending me airborne, knocking me to the ground, feet in the air. From there he decided I must need help, so started licking me, which got me rolling down the driveway trying to get up (and away from the slurps), with him trying to "rescue" me. Did I mention I was also wearing a skirt?
I was so glad hubber was still in the shower and did not witness this scene. I'm sure he would never let me live it down!

Orion and Oscar-kitty (part 2)

2006-11-12T17:57:00.000-05:00

At night we put the kitties in the garage for bed. They have their pillows and cushions there as well as their "necessity box" so it is a comfy place for them. Last night I hoisted Sophia-kitty from my bed and put her in the garage for bed. Then I checked the other bedrooms for Oscar-kitty. I had seen him earlier in the day eating crunchies in the kitchen, but since he goes in and out all day, I had lost track of him. So I opened the door to the outdoors and called him. He responded with a gurgled cry. I freaked, was that Oscar? I called again, got the same answer. It wasn't the sound of two cats fighting (the neighbor's cat and Oscar have been at war for 8 years, so I know their sounds), but it sounded like a very strange cry. I panicked, is he hurt? I called again, trying to place his location. Suddenly, Orion, who had been asleep in another room, was squirming past me through the door, down the steps and around the garage. that's when he saw something, gave a low, loud "Woof!" and took off at full speed. I ran in to turn on the outside lights in front of the garage and to grab a flashlight (it's really hard to find a black dog at night!). I saw Orion run across the property and into the neighbor's field, and I caught the sight of Oscar running under the porch. Once I knew Oscar was safe, I called Orion back. He came marching back, stopped at the bushes bordering the neighbor's field, and marked his territory. Oscar was extrememly grateful to Orion and they have been chummy today. I think Oscar has figured out what Orion's purpose in life really is.

Caught!

2006-11-12T17:55:00.000-05:00

Evidence.

Orion and Oscar-kitty

2006-11-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

We have two kitties, the aforementioned Sophia, and Oscar. Oscar is Sophia's brother, and her nemesis. Where Sophia is very lazy with an attitude, Oscar is as playful as a kitten. He's very trusting, comes to me whenever I call him, and will pretty much play with anything, which makes him a very entertaining kitty. It took him a bit of time before he realized Orion wasn't going to use him as an appetizer, so he is beginning to get used to having a dog. He even will sometimes willingly play, "Chase the Kitty" with The Count. Orion likes him best, I think, because he seems to be able to read Oscar's language better (perhaps because Oscar does more than growl and hiss). When Oscar wants to be chased, he runs, when he doesn't want to be chased, he sits. Orion understands this.
I realized they had some kind of tolerence for each other when I discovered they both act differently when they think no one is watching. If the family is about, Oscar will act scared of Orion, but when no one is looking, Oscar will walk right up to The Count, climb over him, saunter under his nose, you name it. I have caught him on several occasions, so Oscar knows I am on to him.

Orion and Sophia-kitty

2006-11-12T17:28:00.000-05:00

The Count has a thing for kitties. He is convinced they were put here on this earth for the sole purpose of being chased, preferably up a tree. We live with two kitties, and needless to say, he keeps them in tip-top shape.
Orion met Sophia-kitty the day we brought him home. Sophia is a fat, lazy, black and white kitty with a real bad attitude. When I brought Orion home at the tender age of 8 weeks, I took him for a walk around his new yard. Perched on a low stone wall was the corpulent one, Queen Sophia. Now I have often heard dogs don't exactly have the best eyesight, so his response to her was quite understandable. Orion was one of a litter of three, his two brothers are Landseers (white and black) so it was an honest mistake that he thought this corpulent, black and white being was a fluffy littermate. Boy, was he ever glad to see one of his brothers! He happily approached her and she had no idea what on God's Green Earth this thing was but she was pretty certain it was a) stupid or b) going to eat her. She stood up, growled and hissed. Orion didn't get it, he just playfully trotted up to her. She swat, he jumped back. "This isn't my brother!" I don't know what he thought she was, but when she took off, he stood there completely stunned. His future run-ins with her were met with the same hissing and growling. She couldn't believe the beast was actually going to live in HER house.
One day he figured out if he marched right up to her, she would run. Hence the invention of "Chase the Kitty". Now, whenever Sophia so much as walks into a room, Orion is on his feet and off like a shot. Sophia, I must add, is no longer corpulent.

Election Day Poem

2006-11-07T21:15:00.000-05:00

Pregnant chad
Political ad
All this talk about Baghdad

Turning coats
Cutting throats
All to see who wins the votes

It's pretty lame
They're all the same
They just want their claim to fame

Come what may
We'll shout, "Hurray!"
'Cuz all of it will end today

Why you should have a cargo barrier....

2006-11-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine sent this story to me, reminding me I had sent it to him. I'm very glad he saved it! We were discussing cars, and I told him the car I drive is a Passat station wagon, which has plenty of room in the cargo area for one newf. Then I told him why he should get a barrier....

We have a barrier in the cargo area (his crate does not fit in), and I would recommend getting something which covers the back of the back seats, as well as the floor and wall to make it easier to remove hair and slime. One of his favorite things to do was to sit up while riding, chin resting between the two headrests of the back seat, and slime drooling down onto the horrified child below (to the amusement of her brothers). Once, while training him I gave him a mini marshmallow in order to coax him to get into the vehcle himself. After the kids were fighting in the back seat over who was going to sit where, they finally settled (pretty much had to, since I was leaving with or without them). Daughter was pretty smug since she won the arguement and got the spot of her choice. A few minutes down the road I heard a load "Haaaack!" and looked in the rearview mirror. He had coughed out the marshmallow. I'm not kidding. All down the front of daughter's jacket and seatbelt. I had to pull over because I was laughing so hard I couldn't drive, though my precious daughter was shrieking. We bought the barrier shortly after, the barrier keeps his head in his own space.

Lessons from Sweetie

2006-10-23T10:02:00.000-04:00

Greet every morning with a song.
Take a nap every day.
Flirt with disaster.
Talk to yourself.
Talk to everyone else.
Tell yourself how pretty you are.
Yell at the TV.
Go to bed early.
Play.
When you see a swing, get on it and swing.
Have a special friend to tell your secrets to.
Shiny things are pretty.
Let people know you love them with your eyes.
Play with your food.
Strut your stuff.
Listen.
Love life and every single minute you are given.
Life is too short.

Grocery shopping

2006-10-18T10:27:00.000-04:00

Usually I do the grocery shopping on Monday mornings. Same store, same line, same check out gal (Judy), and same bagger (Dan). They ask how the kids and dog are, I ask about their grandkids. I will wait longer if I have to just so I can stay in my same line. They know me.
This Monday I had to make a change in my routine. I had to clean daughter's room. It took all day, so I didn't get to shop in the morning as I usually do. I waited until the younger kids came home, threw them in the car and went shopping. Since we were in a hurry, the two kids helped get the items on my list, and when we had one item left (bathroom tissue), I asked daughter to pick us out a line and wait, while I ran to get our last item. When I returned, she had selected the shortest line and they were already unloading the cart.

I forgot to remind her the shortest line is not always the fastest line.

It turned out the checkout boy was being trained. The trainer was also a boy. The checkout boy had also never seen produce before, at least, not in its natural state. As he picked up a baggie he would hold it up and ask me what it was. Holds up garlic, "That's garlic." He looks it up on his chart for the produce code, types it in, and picks up the next bag. "What's this?" "Potatoes." Looks it up. Next. "What's this?" "Broccoli." Looks it up. Next. "What's this?" "Rutabega." Looks it up. Next. "What's this?" "Celery." Looks it up. Next. "What's this?" "Shrunken heads." Looks it up. Stops. Looks at the kid training him and says, "What do I do?" Trainer says, "What did you say these were?" "Shrunken heads." By now my kids are in hysterics, I'm standing there completely straight faced, and these two boys are totally baffled. I took pity on them, and told them it was celery root. "Is that celery root spelled with a C or an S?" "It's spelled with a P." I don't think they believed me. They couldn't find the code for it (nor for shrunken heads, BTW), so they had to ask.
When we came home daughter regaled her Daddy with the story. Eldest son thought it was good sport, and suggested I might have identified alll the produce as the cheapest thing I could think of. Holds up garlic, "What's this?" "Onions." (celery) "What's this?" "Onions." (broccoli) "What's this?" "Onions." (bananas)"What's this?" "Onions." "These look like bananas to me." "They're banonions. Look it up."
Next Monday, I'll go in the morning. Judy and Dan will love to know who's working the evening shift.

Confucius Say....

2006-10-15T15:44:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine from my newf-list was looking for some ideas for fortune cookie filler. So she presented the idea to the list, and the listers came up with some marvelous words of wisdom. With their permission I have posted them below.
Newfucius say: Newf who eats clock is just killing time.
Newfucius say: Play nice with others and they will play nice with you.
Newfucius say: When life gets busy, take a nap.
Newfucius say: If you want something, put on your cute-suit.
Newfucius say: Shady area make good place to sit.
Newfucius say: Long walks are good exercise.
Newfucius say: Life is a winding staircase, best taken one step at a time.
(Mine)

Confucius say Newf who snores rattles the windows.
Confucius say Newf with drool bib loves to kiss.
Confucius say Newfie in the water means sand in your car.
Confucius say Newfie smelling the roses means thorn in nose and trip to vet.
Mary

Confucius say: He who is blessed to have a Newfoundland in their life is truly blessed.
Susan and Deacon

Confucius say She who drools, rules.
Abbey J.

Confucius say: Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
Noofucius say: Better a Newf with a flaw than a Poodle without.

Confucius say: Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.
Noofucius say: Every slime has beauty but not everyone sees it.

Confucius say: I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand.
Noofucius say: I see, I remember. I sniff, I know. I eat, I run.

Confucius say: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Noofucius say: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a long nap.

Confucius say: It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.
Noofucius say: It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you stop to sniff.

Confucius say: Study the past, if you would divine the future.
Noofucius say: Study the counter, if you would divine the roast.

Confucius say: The object of the superior man is truth.
Noofucius say: The object of the superior Newf is salmon cookies.

Confucius say: The cautious seldom err.
Noofucius say: The cautious seldom get caught.

Confucius say: The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.
Noofucius say: The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the refrigerator door.

Confucius say: When anger rises, think of the consequences.
Noofucius say: When anger rises, think of escape.

Confucius say: You cannot open a book without learning something.
Noofucius say: You cannot own a Newf without learning something.

Confucius say: Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
Noofucius say: Wherever you go, go with all your heart, a slime towel, a coat rake; in a minivan, with your human.

Confucius say: To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.
Noofucius say: To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. Looking innocent doesn’t hurt.
Jane

Confucius say: He who droolz, is very coolz!
Confucius say: He who likey hair, have Newfie in Lair!
Confucius say: He who have slinger, knows Newfies are King'er
Confucius say: Your fortune for today, is to have Newfies to play!
Ted & Judy

Newf who run in front of car get tired.
Newf who chase car get exhausted.
Newf hit by car feel run down.
Vegetarian Newf owned by lousy hunter.
Newf is friend who wag tail and not tongue.
Enjoy life like Newf and work not.
Man who sleep in cat house during day, sleep with Newf at night.
Newf who run through screen door will strain self.
Friendly Newf get crack in face.
Newf say: world smell different when on 4 leg.
Newf who surf prune will run.
Jack

Confucius Say.... It is wise man who puts toilet lid down before getting kiss from Newf.
Sharon and Watson

Confucius Say.... Newfoundland Dog who eat photograph will be spitting image.

Confucius Say... Newfoundland Dog who fart in heaven must sit in his own pew.
Joan

Chinese

2006-10-13T21:20:00.000-04:00

I am taking Chinese. Folks keep asking me why in the world would I want to learn Chinese. Because I don't know Chinese, that's why.
Plus, wouldn't you like to know what they are saying when you stop at the Chinese Buffet?

Speaking of the unmentionables...

2006-10-13T21:15:00.000-04:00

This happened about ten years ago. I was outside working in my front garden. The area I was working in was right near where the road used to be before the state moved it, but there was brush between where the road was and where I was working. Here I am, minding my business tending my plants when this cop pulls up off the road, gets out, walks over to the edge, unzips, and, you guessed it, takes a whizz. Right there, near where I'm working. Might have been ten feet away or less. I could hear everything, but didn't dare look or stand up. When I heard him replace his machinery and zip up, I stood up and said, "You know, you really shouldn't pee in peoples' yards."
I think I scared him.

Port-o-lets (not about the dog)

2006-10-13T20:53:00.000-04:00

I have this aversion to port-o-lets. Portapotties, as they are also called. I come by this aversion with good reason. It all started with one by the side of the road. This particular portapotty was placed by the road in front of my house when road construction was going on. The road was being moved, a curve straightened out, and the workers needed a potty to keep them from urinating in my yard (for which I am very grateful). The only way to access this 'let was by driving halfway up my driveway.
The amazing thing was the number of other people who would see this potty and suddenly feel the urge to use it. With a firestation and gas station 1/4 mile up the road in one direction, and several restaurants 1/4 mile in the other direction, couldn't they just wait? I came home from Church one Sunday and as I was driving up the road a jogger was making a bee-line for the potty! Didn't she go before she left? Once, this one guy drives up my driveway (essentially blocking it), gets out of his car while I am standing in my yard, looks right at me and goes in. He was in there for a loooong time. Twenty minutes at least. Gave me plenty of time to think. I thought about having my boys go tip it over, but they were too small at the time. I did consider it. When the guy finally emerged, I leaned on my gate and yelled, "You know, you really ought to eat more lettuce!" The guy was horrified, ran to his car and drove off. I mean, what is it with the public toilets?
My driveway is a hill with a slight incline from the road. This means at night, around 2am, someone would come up the driveway, radio blasting, THUMPAH, THUMPAH,
THUMPAH; lights blaring in my bedroom window, and someone would get out and go. This drove me absolutely crazy. I plotted my revenge: placing one of those toilet monsters under the lid, a tape cassette with ghostly noises set to go off after the person sits, saran wrap on the seat; you name it, I thought of it.
Unfortunately, the road crew moved up the road a bit and took the toilet with them before I had the courage to pull something off. Maybe next time I see a potty by the side of the road, I'll grab my plastic wrap and make a pit stop.

A Most Deserving Newf

2006-10-03T19:29:00.000-04:00

Hi all, This is Orion here.
Since you all thought I was very deserving of my Eggs Benedict yesterday, I thought I'd pass along that I had a a blueberry pancake and a sausage on my kibble this morning (Mom brought 5lbs of tiny blueberries from Nova Scotia this summer. Dad thought she was crazy, but she popped them in the freezer and has been adding them to her pancake batter. A little bit of Nova Scotia in my tummy! Yum!). I love Mom's pancakes, she even puts on a bit of maple syrup on mine (Dad does not). Then for dinner she served Chicken en Croute, which is chicken, Canadian Bacon, and a stuffing made of wild mushrooms, shallots, dates and pistachios (Mom made it up, she's so clever!) all wrapped up in a puff pastry. Mom had the meatless version (just the stuffing) and shared some of that with me, and one of my boys shared his chicken on my kibble. Mom says I earn my keep by just being so darned cute. I love it! Ahhh, life is good. I wonder what's for breakfast tomorrow.......

Orion in 1966 Karman Ghia

2006-10-01T20:02:00.000-04:00

Orion going for a ride with his Daddy

The License Plate to be

2006-10-01T19:39:00.000-04:00

We bought a van. A full size van. A huge, monstrous house-on-wheels with loads of room. I'm a small car person. I like the idea of me driving around with my newf in the passenger seat of a mini cooper, or the 1966 Karman Ghia. Now wouldn't we look cool? The kids are getting big, and need more room (notice, the dog doesn't need the big vehicle, it's the kids who do)so hubber bought this van. To pacify me, he might get me a vanity plate (I already put on the newfie decals). So I posted the idea to my fellow newf listers who helped me come up with some license plate ideas. In my State, they have rules about these things; only six letters/numbers combinations, no numbers between two letters, and I have to check to see if the plate has already been taken (TROUBL is taken, MONSTR is not). Here is the list which has been edited to fit the rules. Perhaps my faithful readers will take a vote and let me know what they choose. I left out the Drulzelot ones, they might be taken that the driver drools, and we wouldn't want to send that kind of message, now would we? All of these are available as of this date:
GWF-NWF, NWF-MOM, NWFR-US
CT-NEWF, MYNEWF, NEWFY, MY-NEWF, NOOFY
NUFSRL, NWFLVR,
(okay, that last one looks like New Flavor, doesn't it? I'll skip that one!)
GO-NEWF, 4D-NEWF, 4Z-NEWF, COUNT, D-COUNT, GOT-NWF
BEARDG, SEADOG, CRZY-DG, WOOLEY, FLE-BAG, GOOD-DG, ROYL-DG, DOGGIE,
DOGVAN,
THOOP (the sound the newfie makes when he is licking his nose!)
BURP (teenage son's idea, maybe I'll save it for his car)

So the list is out, now go ahead and send your vote.

And More......

2006-09-26T09:36:00.000-04:00

Billowing clouds long ago friend floats above Missy, my newf JS	Resting my head back, I raise my eyes to see slimers, Shining Stalactites. LH
Four newfs on my lawn, Grazing happily on greens, Two black bears and two Holsteins. LH	Buying groceries, Clerk asks, "holding a baby?" Slime on my shoulder. LH
Pressure on my chest, Waking to see slimey jowls, Happily hovering above. LH	The legacies abound - The memories astound! Where would "Best Friends" be If it wasn't for Cree. This was one written by Jane Evans Cree passed away. LSC
My Newf Boy Zander Not as pretty as Mollie But loves Mama, too. SA	Our newf cora is the sweetest girl around town quick she needs a treat! AM
Our newf kira is celebrates her sixth birthday the second of may! AM	Our newf Sailor man waits patiently at the bridge we miss him so much AM
Sun gleams off black fur Catch the butterfly in flight Newfy pas de deux RK	Look! a broken limb Grab the stick before it runs Prance with the treasure RK
Muscles tensed, on alert Dad is cooking, what will fall? Cleanup is my job RK	Two Newf boys are love Their sweetness oozes throughout Come see them today ED
The clouds settle in Two newfies begin to play Storm brews in the West ED	Fresh toilet water Dripping from black hairy chin Let me kiss you now JK
Dead stinky reeking I roll my body with glee Pet me I love you JK	Pounce kill shake kill toss The squeaky toy will not live Sleep and dream of cats JK

More Newf-Ku

2006-09-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

I posted some of our newf-ku in a previous post which is way at the bottom of the page, so I have added some of the newf-kus sent to me by my newfie friends. I know many creative folk read this blog, so I want you to post a reply with your own newf-ku. We should share our incredible brilliance with the rest of the world. I used the writer's initials instead of name, but we know who you are

Dead Toy Sniff, snort, roll What a lovely smell Human runs LH	Rainy Day sudden Spring downpour splash and roll in muddy pools find a dry lap quick! JK
Dad's Towel The towel on the Rack It is calling Zander back Watch out boy…Dad’s Mad	It’s Dad’s towel Zander Not for you to slobber on But Mom…it feels good SA
slurp; pummel; forget. but nostalgia overwhelms cottage cheese exhumed RC	Little Newfy girl Eyes alert and shining bright Near her nose – a treat JW
three newfs in a row aroma tempting; steak gone. too tired to run RC	Sleeping black Newfie On his back with legs in air Drooling, needs a bib MW
Scary insects moving look, fright, catch, stomp, scream, Scurrying, NEWF HAIR JS	oh da pooh on my mom's shoe, now it's stuck on my webbing. follow my mom around the yard
Shovel and bag in her hand I look at her with wondering eyes and alas make another pile. D~	Josie is my name Im a Newf without a doubt Naughty is my game T&J
White billowing clouds parade of memories float Draw Missy, my newf JS	Maddie, happy girl Slinging slime above her head Angel Newf is she. RL

Or perhaps a "toy haiku" should be 3-5-3...

eat, slap, what?
Distracted.
not for long... RC

I am a newfie
I am brown
I am a handful NH

Dog-gone, Dogged Dog

2006-09-24T12:09:00.000-04:00

Two weeks before we left for the Canadian Maritimes this summer, Orion decided we were taking too long to get up in the morning and decided to come get us. We sleep upstairs. Orion doesn't like stairs. He doesn't like us lingering in bed even more, so he decided this was the best time to tackle his phobia. After climbing the stairs, he rushed into our room, and since dear Hubber's side of the bed is closest to the door, he was greeted face-to-face with the wet snoot of the newf. Then he ran over to my side to snoot me, but I was able to roll out of reach. He did this every morning until we left for Canada. In Canada, he either slept by the door of the motel we were staying, or in our bedrooms if we were at a B&B or cottage. When we returned home, he took up his place at the foot of the stairs, guarding the front door, having forgotten how he came to greet us. That lasted two weeks. Then he started coming up to get us out of bed every morning. Which leads to last night.
A couple of nights ago, Orion thought he might like sleeping upstairs in the Master bedroom. Hubber didn't really think that was a good idea, so when Orion came up at 9pm, Hubber took him back down and placed him on his chill-bed. He came up to wake us the next morning. Last night, Hubber was out so when Orion came up at 9pm, I told him he could stay until his Daddy returned home, then he'd have to go downstairs to his own bed. Hubber came home, Orion jumped up at the intrusion downstairs, ran down to see who it was, saw his Daddy, turned on his heels and ran back up! Hubber came up and told The Count, "No, young man, you do not sleep up here." He stood by the door and called him. Orion didn't budge. Hubber called him again, The Count just pressed himself firmly into the side of the bed. Hubber called again, Orion lay down. Hubber came in, took Orion's collar, and led him down to his bed. Hubber gave him a drink of water, some cuddles and affection, then came back up to bed. I was sure Hubber would give in--Orion is so incredibly cute, even when he's being stubborn--but Hub stood his ground. Lights went out, all was quiet. 30 minutes later we hear, "Galump......galump....silence....galump, galump, galump......silence. I whisper, "I think he's coming back up," to which Hubber replied with a giggle, "I think you're right." Galump....galump, galump, galump....silence. A few minutes later, someone quietly creeps in, walks over to Hubber's side of the bed, sits there for a minute, and, taking Hubber's silence as surrender, lies down on the floor by the bed.
He was still there when we woke. I told Hubber, "Before you know it, he'll be on the bed." Hubber replied, "There is no way that drooling, drippy-nosed bag a fur and bits is going to be sleeping in my bed! I will definitely not give in!" Yup, Hubber's real good at not giving in....

The Count in New Brunswick

2006-09-24T12:08:00.000-04:00

Looking for sand dollars and fossils

First Day of School (March 2005)

2006-09-24T11:37:00.001-04:00

Orion had his first day of school today. This has been a big deal since dear doggie is terrorfied of......stairs. Yes, those awful scary things you have to climb up or descend. Now he will go up the two front steps to the front door, no problem. Never has been. It took some begging and coaxing, but I did get him to go up and down the four steps out the back door. The stairs going to the second floor, however, he will not go up come hell or high water. The class was on the second floor.
There were two Bernese Mountain dogs and one St. Bernard, so I was glad he could be around a couple of dogs his own size. The Berners went up the stairs with some coaxing and pulling, but as soon as Orion saw the steps, he bolted right out the door. I can tell first hand that the rubber leashes do burn, it took the skin off my fingers! I tried pulling, bribing, pushing, but in vain. He was not going up those stairs under any circumstance. I fianlly had to carry him up the first six (not an easy task, I only weigh 40 lbs less), then on the landing he huddled in a corner and wimpered. There was no way he'd go up the last six. He's as stubborn as one of my children! I finally carried him up the last six, burst into the class, landing on the floor just inside the door, which was very embarrasing since they could hear all the commotion on the steps. I was glad I arrived early, as it took 20 minutes to get him in.
He was perfectly behaved for class; demonstrating his sit, down, and leave-it, which he already knew. When he had to go from a stand to a down, he put his paws on the ground, rump in the air, and when he didn't get the treat, he slammed his backside down into a roll. He was quite the clown. Then it was time to leave, and once we headed to the door, he turned and bolted in the other direction! I waited until everyone left and the instructor and I pulled him down the stairs, then back up, then down, then up and down again. Now I think he knows he can do it, but we will see what we get next week! Needless to say, I had quite a workout. He came in, took a nap, and that is where he still is. School is such hard work! : )

No Steps, No STEPS! (March 2005)

2006-09-24T11:37:00.000-04:00

Orion is seven months old, and he hates stairs. We have two long steps leading to the front door, which he learned to go up and down with no problem. We also have four steps leading in the house through the back door, and with some coaxing, was able to navigate with no trouble. It's the long flights that get him. I think he's afraid of heights (he's quite the wuss), so as soon as he sees them he runs. He's never, ever, even tried going up or down them! He just looks, turns and runs. When he was very little, I carried him up the stairs the few times he needed to go up.
He did this with the car, as well. I drive a station wagon, and the cargo area is his. When he was little, there was no way he could jump in or out so I always lifted him in and out. As he reached 80 lbs, I figured he was big enough to learn himself. He was so stubborn I could placed a raw steak on the ground and he wouldn't get out. My breeder had no idea why, neither did my vet. I found out he was playing me when we went to visit my parents and my husband was driving. When he opened the trunk, Orion jumped right out! I said, "Look at that, he can get out all by himself!" and my husband said, "He never has a problem getting in or out when I take him places." The beast! I bet if my husband took him to school, there would be no problem. We practiced those stairs at school, going up and down, so he has no trouble now, but he won't try the stairs at home. I think these dogs get ideas in their heads, probably sitting there right now plotting his next move as we speak...

Mommy's Little Helper (NOT!)

2006-09-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

January, 2005

Ahhh, New England weather. Last week was snow, then ice, then snow, then ice, then 60 degrees and rain which cleared away the above mentioned. Last night old man winter dropped about 4 inches of powdery snow. Dear hubby was in a hurry this morning so I told him I'd clear the driveway (and my boys would take care of the deck and patio). Now if I go outside for any reason, I must be accompanied by my guardian angel (lol), Orion. He decided he would "help" me shovel the snow by grabbing hold of the lower part of the shovel while I was pushing. After ten minutes of this "assistance", I handed him the other shovel so he could "shovel" his own snow. Of course, once I got going again he dropped his shovel and ran back over to "help" me. Just like a kid, when they "help" it takes twice as long to do anything. When my imaginative hubber gets home tonight, I will set him to work straight away to invent a snow shovel for a newf.! Now that would be something to see!
Donna (with frozen fingers)
and Orion Count Drulzelot (I love to help my mommy!)

me, again

2006-09-23T10:56:00.000-04:00

me in the h2o

2006-09-23T10:17:00.000-04:00

Does Your Dog Like Spicy Food?
May, 2006

One friend asked me this question as we were discussing what beggers our animals are. Her dogs like chili, the spicier the better. This got my fellow newf-listers talking about the spicy foods their dogs like. As for spicy food, does anything get spicier than candied ginger? This he loves, and when he finds out I have a piece, he will sit, stare, and salivate until I give him some. Drip, drip, drip; the saliva drips from his jowls as he gives me the begging-look. One can only eat two or three pieces before the tongue is really burning, so you'd think a doggie wouldn't like it, but perhaps it doesn't burn his tongue (or he thinks, "If she can do it, so can I!").

2006-09-23T10:11:00.000-04:00

Orion's New Toy
May, 2006

This morning, Hubber and I took a walk around the yard before hubber left for work. Orion always joins us for our morning stroll, and this morning he was feeling very frisky. At the end of our walk he started making "play-with-me" noises, grunting, growling, woofing and running in front of us and then darting back. Not really wanting to play "chase the puppy," I looked around for a stick or ball. I did spot an old lime I threw out the door for the crows. It was hard as a rock, having been neglected at the bottom of the fruit bowl. I picked it up and tossed it, thinking Orion would never find it in the tall grass. Find it he did, though, and he picked up his prize and started back toward us when he stopped in his tracks. He dropped that lime so fast and jumped back shaking his head, as if it had bitten him, then he batted it, pounced on it, tried to pick it up again, flung it, and ran around it. It was so funny, my stomach was hurting from laughing so hard. He was sure it was still alive, and waiting to bite him again! He played with that thing, batting, pouncing, picking up and dropping, for a good ten minutes! Finally, he figured if he gently picked it up he could carry it without it "biting" back, so he trotted with his prize to the front door, where he fully intended to bring his treasure back into the house. I had him give it to me and I placed it by the front steps, where he could (and did) grab it on the way to taking my daughter to the bus. After playing with it some more at the bus stop (by this time it was pretty soft and squishy), he finally did lose it in the grass. Someone once said dogs can't taste sour, but I can tell you, this one certainly could taste lime!

2006-09-22T18:26:00.000-04:00

Orion Saves Me (or so he thinks)
August, 2006

I really would love to get into the brains of these nooves, especially the one I reside with. First, I'll give you a bit of background info. It's been cool here in New England; 48*F when I awoke this morning. Definietely light sweater weather. Second, I have some neighbors who live behind me, I have a field which comes between my house and theirs, and I walk Orion around the perimeter of the yard, including this field. Third, the neighbors can see us if they look out thier window.
I noticed a huge black, furry rug on my livingroom floor this afternoon, and it had been there for quite some time. I decided the rug needed some exercise, so I called Orion to join me for a walk. He was a bit miffed I had roused him from his slumber and headed out with an attitude and, as I went out, I tossed my black shawl over my shoulders. We walked around the yard until we reached the field bordering my neighbors' front yard. I noticed he had been lagging behind--sniffing the hedges and grass--when he noticed I was ahead and took off at full speed (flews aflappin'). When he reached me he started barking and acting crazy. Okay, he must want to play. A bit unusual, as he prefers to play in the front yard, but I figured, whatever. So I started jumping around, playing "I'm gonna get yer tail", and "chase the puppy" (in full view of the neighbors, who think I'm a bit nutty anyway). I found my shawl was getting in the way, so I stopped, took it off and tied it around my waist and continued playing. When I was done I told him, "All done!" and had him sit for a few minutes to settle him down. Then I turned and headed back up to the house. That's when he came barrelling up behind me and bit my butt! I turned and he was barking and pulling on my shawl! It suddenly occurred to me he figured it didn't belong there. I took it off and tied it around him, then he strutted off as if he was the "finest tiger in the jungle". Either he figured the shawl was attacking me and he was to save me from such attacker, or he just thought it pretty and wanted it for himself. Fortunately, I am well padded on the backside....

2006-09-22T18:24:00.000-04:00

The Count Loves Licorice

After dinner this evening I went to my cupboard and pulled out a bag of licorice. I love licorice, turns my teeth black, tastes so yummy, and two pieces make a lovely after dinner dessert. Of course, The count came up after eating his dinner and sat in front of me with his "cute suit". Hubber said, "He won't eat licorice!" I must mention Hubber hates the stuff. Orion kept begging, so I looked in his empty bowl and said, "What a good boy! You ate all your dinner!" and I handed him a piece. He loved it (of course, I knew he would, since no one could eat licorice without him finding out and begging for some!). Hubber said the dog was out of his mind and wouldn't dare eat another piece. So I gave him one and sure enough, he snarfed it with glee and begged for another. Hubber is astonished, but I told hub it was good for digestion (is it? I have no clue, but it must be good for something...). I bet it makes your hair grow or something.

2006-09-22T18:23:00.000-04:00

Orion visits the Local Elementary School
June, 2006
Today Orion was a surprise guest at my daughter's school! Her class had just started reading Thunder from the Sea which features a Newf as an important character, so we thought this was the best time for a visit. Her teacher and I planned the visit and kept dear daughter in the dark (VBG). So, after his grooming and a nice long walk this morning, we put on his new backpack loaded with books, and his fancy bib from Newf Emporium, and off we went. We talked about newfie anatomy (why they have flews and jowls, webbed feet and a rudder tail), talked about his training and the Delta Society, Newfie temperament, and their search and rescue abilities, ending with showing the photos from Hugger to the Rescue. Then we asked the children (who were leaning on him and hugging him) to go to their seats and we proceeded to walk around and spend a few moments with each child. He behaved marvelously, I was very happy with him. Some kids who were previously afraid of dogs were put at ease when they fed him a frozen green bean or carrot.
Since several of the teachers, the secretaries and the nurse remembered when I first got him, they were thrilled to see him at almost two years old. My, how he had grown!
I'm afraid I didn't get any photos since we were a bit busy.

2006-09-22T18:22:00.000-04:00

Orion Makes a Mess
May, 2006

The past few days have been most entertaining, from this dog-owner's point of view. Twice in as many days I've wished I had the camera -the video camera, that is-with me. Yesterday, I left The Count home with my oldest son and youngest daughter, as I took younger son to his piano lessons and picked up groceries. As I came around the corner to my sliding glass doors to go in, arms full of groceries, out runs Oscar-the-kitty with Orion in hot persuit, nearly knocking me off my feet. What greeted me in the house was my oldest son is laughing uproariously, while my daughter is shrieking, dog food is scattered (no, flung!) all over the kitchen floor and a pile of yogurt is splopped right in the middle of it, the table is skewed sideways, the chairs are tipped and pushed every which way. I stopped dead in my tracks and said nothing. Son finally gathered his wits about him to explain what happened. It seems that Orion was getting ready to eat his crunchies, topped with the aforementioned splat of yogurt, when Oscar walked into the room. Now Oscar was put on This Great Earth for the exclusive job of being chased by the huge black wooley creature, and Orion knows his job and does it well. Oscar took off under the kitchen table, under which Orion doesn't really fit, but that didn't stop him from trying. As Oscar ran one way, Orion countered, moving both table and chairs in the process. Oscar tries to make a run for it, but, while turning, skid and lost his footing. Orion turned the corner as well, nailing his food dish and scattering the contents, and also lost traction on the tile floor. So you have these two critters, legs moving madly but neither of them going anywhere; Oscar heard me coming and shifted direction, which gave him enough traction to bolt out the door, with The Count right behind him, with laughing son yelling, "Where's the kitty, Orion?" and daughter shrieking "Knock it off!". Definitely camera worthy.

2006-09-22T18:21:00.000-04:00

Dogs Do Talk (in their own weird way)
April 2006

I've been teaching The Count how to say, "yes". Not by barking though. Today I was nibbling on a coconut macroon, when he came over to me; I ignored him. He poked me in the belly with his nose, so I looked down at him. He sat down and gave me his "Cute-suit", so I asked, "Do you want a bite?" and he replied by theatrically licking his chops twice. So I gave him a bite. I took another cookie and walked to another part of the room, same thing. Called hubber in to watch, and he did it again. And again. Too funny! Now he is sitting by me giving me that "cute-suit" and chop licking while keeping his eye on my glass of wine. Macroons I'll share, but my vino is a no-no! When he tried the same trick with my eldest son, dear son replied, "Grrrr, I have food aggression! Back off!" I guess it doesn't work on everyone....

2006-09-22T18:19:00.000-04:00

My "Talking" Newf
April 2006

Orion "talks" when he first gets up in the morning and we come down stairs. I first feed the bird, then make coffee, and then call him over for his morning attention (he will follow me at a distance until I call him over). Then he gets a big hug, lots of kisses, and then ear scratching to which he will moan and moo. He flops himself down for a belly rub, and if he thinks he ought to have more, he will "give me a talking to". This he does every day as part of his "routine". When Hubber is giving one of the kids a talking to, Orion will come over and first stand by Hubber and "talk" then move over to the kid being scolded and "talk" back to Hubber. This makes everyone start laughing but, needless to say, drives poor Hub crazy. Throughout the day he will occasionally talk, first by looking at the person he's talking to, then he starts "raawWooWoorawwoo" and if we mimick him, he will get louder and eventually start barking, to which we bark along with him. When he finishes, he will always try to get the last word in, with a "RawRawRaw" which sounds like he's muttering under his breath. It is hilarious, though I don't know what he's saying or even whether or not he thinks it's funny. Knowing him and his sense of humor, he probably does.

2006-09-22T18:11:00.000-04:00

Morning Musings....
September 2006

I was going through some of the stuff I have for Therapy Dogs, looking over books and articles so I could refresh my mind before Orion and I go off visitin' some area nursing homes, when I came across this photo of an elderly lady in bed looking up at a llama. Now I don't know about anyone else, but if I were an elderly lady in a nursing home and woke up and saw a llama peering down at me, I'd sh*t the bed! I mean, really, I know what went through that old lady's mind (I've worked in retirement and nursing homes), and it probably went something like this:
Someone comes to the door of the lady's room, knocks, and says, "Would you like to see my llama?" Now this old lady is thinking, "Who on earth is this? Am I supposed to know this person? I must know this person, but for the life of me I can't think of who it is!" She's also a bit hard of hearing, and trying to be polite she says, "Uh, yes, sure." In through the door comes this person, followed by a LLAMA! Now it"s not likely the old lady has ever seen a llama before; basset hounds, yes, llamas, no. When asked if she wanted to see a llama she was probably thinking it was another resident or maybe a piece of jewelry and she hadn't heard correctly. The lady is thinking, "What the...Holy Geez...Are you trying to KILL me? I know, it's that no good son of mine and his greedy wife, sent this person here with this creature to give me a heart attack so they can get their greedy hands on my money! Well, I'll fix them! I'm calling my lawyer and having them removed from my will! Trying to scare the life out of me, I'll show them!" The visitor and llama leave, the old lady calls her lawyer, and when she dies her loving son and his sweet wife are completely baffled that they've been disowned. The old lady must not have had all her marbles or something, they think.
All because of a llama......

2006-09-22T17:47:00.000-04:00

"How Much Does He Eat?"
January 2006

The last time I was out walking Orion with my kids, someone stopped and said, "Wow, he's a big one! I bet he eats a lot!" I looked at my 5'10 190 lb teenage son (standing next to his 5'2 mom) and said, "You bet! I can hardly keep any food in the house, you should see my grocery bill!" My son was embarrassed, but we all had a good laugh. Now why don't people ask me, "Do you have a huge house to have such a big kid living in it?" Since the kid (who is only 14 and still growing) takes up a whole lot more space than the dog does.

2006-09-22T17:43:00.000-04:00

Spontaneous Generation
January 2006

I had an amusing situation with the kids. We used to have a little coffee shop right up the road. The owners were very nice and since I live in a small town, they knew everyone, and everyone stopped in there for coffee and a chat. One day I came in with my three rambunctious urchins (at the time 6,4,and 3 years old) in tow when one gent, sitting at a table having coffee, said, "Where are the rest of your kids?" I gave him a puzzled look, and he said, "Don't you have, like, six of them?" I nearly died laughing! Told him it sure seemed like there were a half dozen of them on some days!
Hubber just said this morning (while perusing the paper for a bigger vehicle), "If we didn't have to drive Orion around, it would be a whole lot easier to get a bigger vehicle. Some of these cars are quite roomy." I told him the fact is we now have four children (I now consider the dog a kid), and why didn't he say, "If we didn't have to drive Thing One around...." since he takes up the most room!

2006-09-22T17:40:00.000-04:00

Orion To The Rescue
December 2005

Last week the morning temperature was zero degrees (F) here in Northwestern CT. I had to bundle up to take Orion for his walk, get the newspaper, and bring in a load of wood for the stove. I put on my long, wool coat, a wool cape over that, leather work gloves (with shearling lining), cashmere scarf, and topped it all off with a new hat, sheepskin with the fur on the inside, with a huge shearling brim around the outside. Looks like a Swedish kind of hat, or maybe Russian. Now take a moment to form a picture of this spectacle in your head.

I take Orion to his pen for his morning "chores", then up to get the paper. I hand him the paper to carry down to the house, which he takes and runs off at full speed down the driveway. The driveway having icey spots, I was walking slowly and carefully. Orion noticed I wasn't keeping up, so he stopped, turned around, took one look at me and dropped the paper. Bummer, now I have to remove my gloves to pick it up and it is soooo cold outside! I take off the gloves and bend down to pick up the paper when Orion jumps up, grabs the hat off my head, SLAMS it on the ground, and backs up to see if it was still alive! I was laughing so hard at the thought that he just saved me from having my brains sucked out. Now I have this really warm hat, and I can't wear it!

2006-09-22T17:33:00.000-04:00

The Count Has a New Friend
November 2005

Thanksgiving came, bringing with it 3-4 inches of snow (our first this season here in CT). My dear daughter and her cousin went outside after dinner and built a snowman in the front yard. A cute thing with two sticks jutting from the sides for arms. That evening when all company had left and I set myself down with the last of the champagne and dear hubber let the doggie out for his evening business, I heard a ruckus coming from the front yard. Orion was barking and growling up a storm. Yes, the same dog who wouldn't bark to wake up his daddy when I was locked out was barking at the snowman! I called hubber over to see this, as we watched him give that snowman a talking to. Finally, Hubber called Orion in and told him he was very silly for barking at a snowman. The next day when I went out to get the mail, I noticed Orion had decided the snowman "belonged to him." I figured my daughter would be very upset, but when I returned to the house she came in the room, set her arms on the table and gave a deep sigh. "Orion marked my snowman," she said. I guess he wasn't afraid of it anymore.

2006-09-22T17:31:00.000-04:00

How I Burned My Fingers....
October 2005

Well, my dear younger son (11) came home yesterday and went off to play. I hollered for him to do his homework, which he said was already done. Right. I told him I KNEW he had homework (since he didn't seem to have any the past few days) and he brought me over a paper with the instructions for a project he was to do. "Wow, this looks like a fun project, when is it due?" I asked. "October 28," was the reply. "You mean it's due tomorrow?!" This was at 5pm (he is in a math club at school so arrived home late), I had to leave in fifteen minutes to take older son to piano theory class (a 15 minute drive, one way, for a 45 minute class, which means I had to stay there). This meant arriving home after 6:30, making dinner, washing dishes (did I mention my dishwasher broke?), and helping him with his project. So needless to say, I was not happy. On the way home with eldest son (whose lesson ran late, of course), my darling daughter (9) informs me she is going to have a terrible day tomorrow. "Why?" I ask. "You don't want to know," she said. "Okay." After a few minutes she changed her mind and decided to inform me (now at 7pm-with no supper yet) that she has a project due tomorrow as well! She "forgot" about it, and now she knew I was going to be upset. So, while making stir-fry for dinner, I was on the floor with the hot glue gun, gluing penguins to posterboard (and before anyone cries "animal cruelty", they were origami penguins!), when I stuck one finger into freshly squeezed hot glue, and to get the glued object off, stuck another finger in more glue, and then again, by now yelling, "Son of a ....gumball machine!!!" So the tips of several fingers on each hand have second degree burns. Makes typing a tad difficult and slow. By the way, the projects were finished (I don't see any A's coming, but at least they were done), and all the children are still alive. Where was dear hubber? Trying to unfold black paper cranes (from my thousand paper cranes, the only black and white origami paper I could come up with in a pinch) so they could be refolded into penguins.

2006-09-22T17:26:00.000-04:00

The (Mis)Adventures of SuperNewf
November 2005

We finally finished putting together costumes, gathering up pumpkin-shaped goodie bags, and had everyone loaded in the car for our annual visit to "all the houses with the lights on". After stopping at our first house and exchanging pleasantries for candy bars, we returned to our darkened car to behold the greatest fright of the night! There, in the back of my stationwagon, loomed the figure of a newf, GLOWING IN THE DARK! I had put him in the car dressed as a Superhero, but this was not part of my costume. My oldest son (who is too big to t-or-t) is laughing his a** off, my dear daughter is standing, speechless, with her mouth wide open, and my younger son is saying, "Oh, no. Oh, no." I'm staring in horror when I turned to younger son and ask, "Where did you leave your glowstick?"
Flash back to fifteen minutes earlier. I am rushing to get the kids ready, since we are pressed for time. Two of my kids have piano lessons (a 20 minute drive one way) we have to head to at 5:45 and they would return at 7:30. So we figured, with the time change and all, that we would head out at 5 and hit a couple of houses in the neighborhood before going off to the lesson. It was just getting dark, so I gave each of the kids a glowstick to wear so they would be seen. As I was stringing them, younger son comes up, grabs his stick and goes off. "Where are you going with that? You need to get ready and brush your teeth before we go!" So off he went to finish getting his costume on as I strung the other two and handed them to my daughter and my eldest son. After gathering everyone into the car younger son says he can't find his glowstick. "Go look upstairs," I tell him, as I get out and help him look. We can't find it and it's now 5:15, so we decide to go without it. Well, we did find it, a few minutes later. It would appear my superhero found it on the sofa, carried it out discreetly as any newf would do, and when left in the car, punctured it. It would appear that when you puncture one of these glowsticks, they "explode", which is exactly what this one did. All over my car, all over my black newf. I rushed him home, dropped him off with younger son and told him to wash him, and ran the other two to piano where I called dear hubber, stuck in traffic, and told him to finish washing the dog. Fortunately, he didn't get any in his mouth (I should say, nothing in his mouth was glowing!), and they are labeled as non-toxic, and a call to the vet provided him with the most unusual halloween story he had heard. Fortunately, he knows us pretty well, and he's already seen everything (except this, of course).
No, I did not get a single picture of super newf, glowing or not, nor did I get any pictures of the rest of my trick or treaters.

2006-09-22T17:25:00.000-04:00

A Song I Wrote

A fellow newf owner was telling me about his dogs in the car. He stopped off at McDonald's for a quick breakfast before heading over to the feed store to buy grum for his three newfs. He left the dogs in the car while he ran in for all of five minutes, jsut enough time to grab a bag of nuggets and pay for them. When he returned to his vehicle, he found some very satisfied doggies awaiting his return. I wrote him this little song....
To the tune of Michael Jackson's "Beat It"

I picked myself up an Egg Muffin with cheese,
I rolled the bag up tight as I heard the newfs' pleas,
"You dare to touch my grub and you'll be in the deep freeze!
So Leave It, just Leave It!"
I set my coffee down and stepped out of my car,
I had to make one stop, wasn't going far,
"You stay in the back seat, this ain't no snack bar!
So Leave It, you don't wanna be bad!"
Just Leave-it! Leave-it! Leave-it! Leave-it!
Now doncha go ahead and eat it!
I already fed ya, this is my feed,
don't ya dare touch it, my words you must heed!
Just Leave-it!

Two newfs in the back seat, Mc Dee's on the dash,
Do I dare trust them? Will they loot the cache?
"You two sit tight, don't you dare touch my stash!"
So Leave It, just Leave It!
I come back to the car and to my shock I do see
Ollie in the front seat, smiling with glee,
Muffin crumbs all over, paper bag debris,
They ate it, yes, they wanna be bad!
Just Leave-it! Leave-it!
Leave-it! Leave-it!
Now doncha go ahead and eat it!
I already fed ya, this is my feed,
don't ya dare touch it, my words you must heed!
Just Leave-it!

2006-09-22T17:20:00.000-04:00

Newf-Ku

Good morning all. Last night Hubber and I decided to think up some haiku about newfs (we think up haikus about everything). Here are a few we came up with, wonder how many more the listers can come up with! Haiku has a rhythm of 5 syllables for the first and third line, and 7 for the second line (5,7,5) and the object is to capture a moment in time. Here's a few we came up with:

Time to light the grill,
wet chin marks on the counter,
sausages are gone.

Gloppy bowl of chow
newfie gobbles greedily,
brown chunks on my pants.

Newf takes a long drink
turns his head to look at me,
stringers reach the floor.

Running like the wind,
tongue and flews madly flapping,
grinning ear to ear.

I had a good one about goobers last night, but forgot it, I'll have to think of another. Come on, gang, lets add to the list!

newf-dude

2006-08-18T17:19:00.000-04:00

This is The Count, Orion