Pretty Please!!

I'm not proud of myself right now. I almost committed suicide by front door earlier. Linda was leaving for the YMCA to teach her kids TKD class. Since she is only gone 1 hour, she decided to leave Chimmie out of the bathroom. He was in there from 8-1 today, and she was feeling guilty cooping him back up. I was so distraught that she was leaving without locking him up, that when Linda opened the front door to leave for work, I bolted down the stairs and out the front door to try and go with her. She did not know I was escaping and shut the door on my belly before I ran outside! She caught me right away and scolded me. I was OK, not hurt from the door... but I'm begging you Linda.... until Chimmie relaxes, pretty please don't leave him out of the bathroom when you have to work!

Am I Better?

I've got Linda so confused. I seem better one second, then then the next I'm vomiting. I tell her I'm hungry, then I don't eat. I'm so tired that I just want to sleep, then someone takes me for a walk and I'm perky. She needs to find a new vet because she was not happy with Chimmie's experience getting his surgery. I'm sure they are all capable Dr.'s, but only one of the Dr's in the practice is respectful and nice. The other 3 are kind of sarcastic and snooty. Plus, there was a host of miss communications (lies?) from the staff. She said she will ask around at church and see which vet all the other little dogs use. So far, I've turned my nose up at breakfast. If Chimmie comes out of the bathroom, I won't even be eating it later because he'll gobble it up in 9 seconds flat.

Tier... I LOVE YOU

What a day! First Jerry came over to visit and love on me. Then Linda ditched her party to spend time with me this afternoon. Much to my surprise, Tierney came over tonight to cheer me up. We all sat down in the big TV room to watch Netflix. Chimmie was super wound up, but Tier used her inside voice and did the Cesar Dog Whisperer tricks to calm him down. It actually worked too. She saw first-hand what a wild boy he is. Up, Down, Jump, Sit, This Toy, That Toy, Pet Me, Kiss Me, Run Upstairs, Sit On You, Bite, Bark, Cry... Then start all over again because he does all of this in 30 seconds!

Suicide by Bear

No silly, that is not what I'm thinking! I may be a little blue of late, but I would never think of committing suicide and certainly never by getting eaten by a bear. A prisoner who escaped from jail was hiding out at Yellowstone National Park. He was so despondent and panicked, that he decided to end it all by becoming bear kibble. I'm not sure how he was going to get the bear to come and eat him up, but he changed his mind and decided not to go through with it.

Yeah for Jerry!

I had the best day in a very long time. Jerry came over to visit us while Linda was teaching. It was so good to see him again that I forgot all about being sad and did a happy dance! He gave me more love and attention then he gave Chimmie. One time Chim was so jealous that she nipped at my back legs but Jerry made him stop by giving him a swat with the rolled up paper. After we visited a while, he put our coats on for a winter walk. There was no grass to smell, but it was amazing to be able to run and get some exercise. I know it's weird that Chimmie is wearing a pink coat and he's a he, but Linda has not been able to find a boy coat with a "D" ring on the back for the leash hook.

Perfect Baby

Tell me this isn't the absolute cutest baby ever! It's Noah. Sarah's sisters little boy. He is honestly the best baby ever. When Linda watches him in the nursery at church, he never cries and is just happy, happy, happy! Even though he is only a few months old, he laughs like a big boy. He stayed home from the basketball game tonight to take a nap. Linda loves him so much!

I Need a Friend

Linda told me some good news. She has to work from 8 a.m. til 1:00, then go right to a friends party until 3 p.m. (That is not the good news.) The good news is that Jerry will be able to finally come and spend some time with me while she is gone! It's been so long since he has come over. He's been out of town or sick for so many weekends. I am going to wait very patiently for him to come. Whenever Linda tells me "Jerry's Coming", I don't move from the top of the steps until he gets here. She's seen me sit there for an hour waiting for him. I hope it cheers me up some. I know Chimmie will get some hugs too, but I hope he hugs me most. I wish Snickers was here. He made me happy every second of the day. Nothing against Chimmie, but as you can tell... Snicks and I were a match made in heaven. He loved me so much.

Taco Bell, Part 2

Taco Bell is fighting back about the claims that their beef is nothing but water, oats, things I can't pronounce and a smidgen of beef flavoring. A full page ad in today's Wall Street Journal says that Taco Bell meat is 88% beef and 12% special seasonings. I wonder if Taco Bell started the rumor to get a lot of publicity. The old saying "No press is bad press" (or something to that effect) might be true. Maybe everyone will run out and buy a taco at the Bell to see how they really taste. If Linda would buy me one (just meat and cheese, please) I would be able to tell if it is the real McCoy. I'm finicky when it comes to my meats.

Maybe He's a Bed Wetter

Update on my funk. I ate all of my breakfast this morning which made Linda happy. She did notice something that upset me. While she was preparing our food bowls, I went to go use my pee-pee pad. I was smelling it and ran off before using it. She followed me and saw I was about to go on the carpet instead. She picked me up and put me on the pad, but I ran off again. That is when she figured out the Chimmie already had peed a little bit on it. When she replaced the pad with a clean one, I did my business and was fine. Could my sadness in part be because Chimmie sometimes uses my pad instead of his own? Its bad enough he chewed up most of my toys, commands a lot of attention from Linda, takes my bed, and wears me out playing. Now my pee-pee pad too? If he starts sleeping on it, he's outta' here!

Happier Times

I just don't know what is wrong with me. Linda said she has never seen me like this. I'm super depressed. I haven't smiled in days. I don't have an appetite. I don't want to play with Chimmie. All I want to do is sleep. I am super clingy. It's even hard for me to jump up on the couch like I usually do. My knees are OK, I'm not limping. If I've had any seizures, Linda doesn't know about it and I can't tell her. I'm acting just like a depressed person, except I'm a little dog. I'm sure if I go to the Vet it will cost $100's of dollars for them to do tests, blood work and x-rays. If it is just a bad case of the blues, they put dogs on the same medicines as humans. The articles Linda read said it could be anxiety from missing a human, change in my regular routine, or any number of things. It's been weeks since I've smiled like this. I miss it.

More Snow?

Even though it is almost 40 degrees out, the main roads by our house were horrible. Linda still had to go to work. She left at 10:00 a.m. The Parkway, a 4 sometime 6 lane road was ridiculous. There were abandoned cars in the main driving lanes. It looks like the snowplows just gave up. She did see one snowplow man kind of weaving along gabbing on his cell phone while he was plowing. The place were she teaches was on liberal leave policy and there were about 6 people in the whole building. She got paid to sit there for 2 hours reading and studying. When she got home, she shoveled some more and even shoveled her neighbors out since they are old and live alone. I hope they think a snow angel did it! The radio said we might even get a little more snow tomorrow.

So Tired....

I've been feeling a little off the last few days. I don't know what is wrong, but all I want to do is sleep. Linda is a little concerned and said a trip to the vet might be in order if I don't perk up. She thinks it might be because Chimmie has been left out of the bathroom the last week while she is out teaching. I'm just so worn out from his wild playing that when she is home, I catch up on my sleep since she keeps him away from me. When she leaves today, he is going in the bathroom so I can catch up on my beauty sleep. If I'm still lethargic tonight, she'll call the Dr.

Ugg, Snow.

Linda is thankful that she did not have to shovel this much snow. North Dakota got a little more than we did in Virginia. She did all the steps to our house, the driveway and the sidewalk all along the front of our house. The wind was whipping little ice crystals into her face, ouch! She kept her head down and hood up the entire hour. Her parka from LL Bean is rated 50 below zero. her boots from LL Bean are super warm and waterproof. Her gloves were terrible. (Too bad she did not get those Ugg gloves from Nordstrom's while she was shopping with Tier on Monday.) When she finally looked up after all her hard work, everything she shoveled was already covered again! It's OK. She actually likes to shovel show.

Here Lizard, Lizard

This lizard was found wandering the streets in California. Can you imagine how it would feel to be taking a leisurely walk and coming up on this beast? Officers captured him and took him to the animal shelter. I just hope they fed him because that Chihuahua in the photo might become his supper!

Vampire Lightning

It's thunder-lightning snowing right now! I don't like the thunder one bit. I have to stay glued to Linda's side so it does not get me. The weather guessers on the news said we will get 8-10". I'm a pro from the last snow storm when we had 3 feet. I can handle 10" no problem. I'm not sure why this drawing of the lightning has vampire fangs with dripping blood. I think I might actually have a nightmare about it chasing me though.

Sweet Dreams

Spike and Beast all tucked in after chewing their bones. They are so adorable. This is exactly what I envisioned when Chimmie came to live with us. We would be best buddies and snuggle together under the blanket. Not likely to happen anytime in the near future. If Chimmie gets within 6" of me, he wants to play. He could be so tired that his eyes are closing and it does not matter. The only way we sleep near each other is when one of us is when Linda is between us on the couch or bed. She tried putting our puppy beds next to each other but Chimmie just keeps switching beds and pushing me out of whatever one I'm in. I loved it last night when Chip cat got in his pup tent and would not get out! Pay back for all the times he did it to me.

Holy Bat Babies!

These baby bats were rescued from the crazy flooding that is going on in Australia. They are 5 of 130 baby orphaned bats that are currently staying at the Bat Clinic. When not wrapped in comfy blankies, they are hung upside down on a clothes line. Who knew baby bats were so adorable? It's making my Chorkie heart melt.

Chip is the Big Dog

I wish we had a video camera. Chip cat has camped out inside Chimmie's pup-tent. Chim is just besides himself! He is afraid to get close, but he is freaking out because he can't bully her out of his fort like he bullies me around. The cat is hunkered down on his blanket and does not seem like she has any interest in moving out. Poor Chimmie's anxiety is starting to push him over the edge. Linda should really do something about it, but she said it's good for him to get a taste of his own medicine. Maybe he won't bully me off my bed tomorrow.

Wonder Dog

Chimmie is a beast. Like the Incredible Hulk for dogs. Amazing, gigantic, can he get any bigger, what the heck is going on, kind of dog!! Linda said he was a good boy at his vet appointment today. No crying or whining at all. They checked his incision (it was perfect), took his temperature (normal) then weighed him. That is when Linda almost fell off the stool. In two weeks he has gained almost a pound! For a Chihuahua, that is just ridiculous. He is now almost 8 1/2 pounds. His body fat is probably 0%. He is so skinny that not only can you feel his ribs, you can see them. The vet said he looks perfect, he is just going to be a very large Chihuahua. He is already towering over me. Soon Chip cat will be hiding from Chimmie, not the other way around. We saw Chim's parents, they were about 4 and 6 pounds each, both pure Chihuahuas. Maybe his great, great grandfather was a doberman! That could be why he looks so much like Snickers. The vet did mess up and forget to do his micro-chip during his surgery. Now he has to go back and get it implanted. He better not get lost between now and then. Here is a photo of him at his very first vet visit. He was just over 3 pounds.

P.S. Looking at his paws in this photo, we should have known he was going to be a beast. His paws are already abnormally large for a 3.5 pound dog.

Fab-U-lous!

Linda took Tierney dress shopping for her birthday tonight. They had dinner and then went to the mall. Tier tried on so many cute dresses, this was Linda's favorite. Tier did not pick this one, but got two others and a pretty retro-clutch. Happy Being Born Day Tierney!! Chimmie and I love you bunches.

Ruby Woo Red

At least Chimmie did not get into Linda's makeup today like this curious pooch. I'm official exhausted. I am so tired that I wish that bed time was right this second. Chimmie spent the entire day having the run of the house while Linda was in and out. That means that for the last 13 hours I've been having to deal with 7.5 pounds of TNT. Chimmie only stops playing or running when he's eating. As long as Linda's out, he can't eat... so that means he is annoying me. He wants the bed I'm laying in, the toy I'm playing with or the snack I'm chewing. Why doesn't he just calm down? ! ? I'll cut him a little slack because he has to go back to the Vet tomorrow and get his stitches out. oh no.... he is NOT going to to be happy.

So Pretty!

Tierney had a great birthday weekend. She had dinner out with friends Saturday, breakfast out with Linda this morning, lunch out with her Dad and step mom today AND Linda is taking her shopping tomorrow for a new little camera. Now that Tier has her own blog (rubywoolovesyou.com) she needs a good camera to take photos for her posts. I hope she features me one day! It's all about fashion, but she is taking photos of models wearing the clothes she highlights. I'm only the best dog model on the planet. I will sit forever and let Linda take photos of me. Linda said every single girl at the party was beautiful. Here are three of her 20 friends who were at the party. The redhead is Emily, the blond is Dawn and the brunette is Megan. Even all the boys were handsome!

Dónde Está la Carne?

In English words.... Where's the Beef?? Taco Bell is being sued by a law firm in Alabama because if you advertise beef, it should be "flesh of cattle." Apparently, Taco Bell's taco meat isn't. The side of the box that the consumers don't see says the "meat" is actually:"Isolated Oat Product," wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodrextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch and sodium phosphate as well as beef and seasonings. You know that the ingredients are listed in order of how much is in the product. So basically, your Taco Bell meat taco is water and oats. There seems to be a tad of beef and beef flavoring, so technically it's not vegetarian meat. Wait till Taylor reads this! He loves him some Taco Bell tacos!

Best Friends

Today's experiment leaving Chimmie out of the bathroom went great. He didn't do anything bad and it was fun having a playmate. Linda's happy too. When she got home from her dinner with Tier, we where both so tired that we crashed on her lap right after we ate our food. She even left Chip upstairs tonight. Chimmie is going to have to learn to leave that cat alone or get swatted. I don't know who these little wiener dogs are, but they sure are adorable. Their eyes are so expressive. I think they are saying, "Are you done taking photos yet?"

Happy Birthday Tierney

Linda, Tierney and 15 of her closest friends went out to a fancy Italian resturant for dinner tonight to celebrate Tier's 24th birthday. Not much has changed over the last 24 years. Tierney still plays with her food!

Do You Want Fries With That?

Chimmie is now being his normal annoying puppy self because he was cooped up for 4 1/2 hours while she taught her classes and went to the basketball game. Linda had fun at the concession stand tonight. She served all the food and Tierney collected the money. They sold chicken nuggets, fries, fresh pop corn, candy, and drinks. She must have said "Do you want fries with that?" 50 times. Towards the end of the game, Tierney's back started really hurting her because of her car crash. Once Linda put her hand on her back and Tier cried out in pain. It was a spasm or something, we just hope there is no permanent damage. Her birthday is this Sunday and Linda wants to take her out for dinner and some girl time. Lets pray she is healed!

Zooming Around Town

The great thing about getting up at 5:00 a.m is that we've had 6 hours with Linda before she has to leave for work. I hope she feeds us lunch soon, I'm starting to get hungry since breakfast was so early, Technically, breakfast was yesterday because it wasn't 6 a.m. yet. After her class, she has lunch with friends. She'll zoom home to visit us before she goes out to her next class at 4:30. Another quick trip back home before she goes back out to work the concession stand at the basketball game. It's a good thing she bought a car that gets such good gas mileage. Both Taylor and Sarah have motorcycles. This is us posing this past summer on the back of Taylor's bike. If Linda got a motorcycle, it would have to have one of those little side cars for Chimmie and I to ride in.

Raccoon Scare

Chimmie thought it was a great idea to wake the whole house up at 5:00 a.m. He was starving (what else is new?) and made his demands loud and clear. I was so comfortable cuddled up in the warm bed that Linda had to pry me out of the covers. One funny thing did happen though. Because she was so tired and it was pitch black, she thought Chip was a giant raccoon hunkered down in the living room. Her silhouette in the dark did not look like a cat! I think she would known that if a critter came in our house, I would have barked and alerted her to the stranger.

She's OK

Tierney was involved in a car accident last night. She has a concussion and a spinal sprain from being rear-ended. As you can tell from her photo in the ER, she is feeling much better. Her biggest complaint was that the beds were way too short for her long body. Only Tierney could still look pretty in ugly hospital clothes.

Litter Box Woes

Some people are just too lazy to scoop poop. There are all sorts of companies that come into your back yard and take care of all the little packages we leave. Linda actually thought about hiring one of these companies when she had Sheba and Snickers. Together, the two giant dogs left some colossal piles around the yard. With Chimmie and I, this is definitely not a problem. It is super easy to clean up after us. She does have to do the cat box everyday, and that's no fun. Now, one of those companies has started cleaning cat littler boxes too. They deliver a self-contained litter box that is fitted with a tight lid right on your doorstep. After a few days of use, you put the lid back on and put it out on your doorstep. The company picks up the soiled box and leaves a new one. Sounds pretty good, right? Except what does the cat use for her bathroom between the pick-up and drop-off of the new box? Plus, the cost is $16 a visit. If you average 10 times a month, that's a lot of money to pay for just 30 seconds a day of scooping yourself. Linda wants one of her handy friends to make her a litter box holder like this one. Lot's of people train their Chihuahuas to use a litter box. If we had something this pretty, maybe Chimmie and I would use it.

Rise and Shine

We slept so late this morning. Chimmie did not wake us up like he normally does. Ever since he came to live with us, he has been our alarm clock. Just after 6 a.m., he announces "Get up and feed me NOW!" Last night, Linda gave him a little dry kibble when she put him in his bed for the night and shut the door. I guess the extra food did the trick because he woke us up at 8:30! It's a good thing Linda did not have an early class. She better start setting her real alarm clock now as back up.

My Guard Dog

Another owl attack on a 4 pound Chihuahua is in the news. This time the Chi was on a leash and the man was able to keep the owl from flying away with it's intended prey. Linda is always on the lookout for hawks and owls on our trail walks. We also do a lot of late night walking, but we stick to the sidewalks. Most people have front porch lights on and it's not too dark, so I hope that will keep Mr. Owl away from us. Maybe Chimmie is big enough to frighten an potential bird attack. They will see his size and won't swoop down on little old me. When 80 pound Snickers was my walking pal, I was safe from everything.. other dogs, birds, foxes, deer. This photo was the taken the day before he went to dog heaven. His back legs were already not working and he was in so much pain. What a great old dog he was! Linda misses him everyday. Chimmie looks like a mini-Snickers, so she remembers Snicks every time she sees Chim.

I See You, You CAN'T See Me!!

We had an incredible ice storm last night. First it snowed about an inch. It started coming down right at the end of our night walk. Luckily, we were already near our yard because it would have not been very fun if Chimmie and I got wet. This morning, Linda's car was covered in at least a half-inch of ice. She bloodied a knuckle, broke her ice scraper in half, almost got her eye poked out by a chunk of flying ice and came close to slipping under the car while she was trying to hack the ice off her back windshield. There will be no walks today, that's for sure.

First Lesson: NO CHEWING!

We are so proud of Chimmie. He is not chewing anything he isn't supposed to chew. Not shoes. Not furniture. Not pillows. He does love the little tie string on Linda's bathrobe, but he just likes to suck on it. It must feel like his Mommy's milk in his mouth. If he could consistently get the pee-pee pad down, he could stay out all day with me. His crazy energy even has abated a little bit. Most times he sits quietly on the couch with us and does not insist on jumping on us every 3 seconds. He did not chew this DVD, some other dog did that.

Vote Now

Best tee-shirt design of all time! A man named Phil Jones posted his artwork on Flicker. Apparently there is a contest, because he asks for us to vote. Go to his link and vote for his Pooper-Scooper Tee. I want one screened on the back of a little doggie tee shirt. I can't copy and paste the design so I'll try to explain it. Think of every cartoon, TV or movie person whoever had a dog (or a dinosaur.) Then imagine those dogs pooping and the human scooping. There you go!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phildesignart/5357549340/

Nope

Just for Chimmie!

Secretary, Bring Me My Milk!

I've never considered running for office. I mean, Heck... I'm a dog. But I do think I could make some awesome changes to the pet community. My first change: Inside dog parks. Lots of them. With AstroTurf, real trees, fire hydrants, lots of toys and a special area for little dogs. Next on my agenda, all dogs MUST be leashed when not at the dog park or in their fenced back yard. I hate being on the trail and having a huge Doberman almost trample me. Third: I would build huge no-kill shelters that were funded by an extra tax on pet supplies. It would not be much, maybe 1%, but all animals could be adopted for free after an intense screening process. Maybe I will run for mayor after all. In Wisconsin a tabby cat is the official mascot mayor. Freddy runs the Village Hall, visits restaurants and the post office daily to check on things. I wonder what's on his docket? More scratch posts?

Crabby Cat

Whew. What a day for Linda. She had a crazy day at the gym and came home to some very antsy dogs and one mad cat. We still can't walk because of the snow on some of the sidewalk so she played with us a little while to relieve some excess energy. Early this morning (like so early it was still dark) she dropped a plastic coffee cup lid into the dryer vent. In a million years she could not do it again if she tried. Since it might have melted and caused a fire, we had to call Paul to come over with his tools to take the dryer back off and fish out the lid. It only took 5 minutes and thank goodness the dryer works just fine. He played with Chimmie some while Linda vacuumed and shampooed the carpet. Still more laundry, cleaning up and studying for her exam she'll be taking this February. Believe it or not, she is STILL in her Tae Kwon Do uniform from when she got home from work at 1:00! I keep trying to get her to sit still and rest.

My Human Family

It's not always about me, me , me. I know I can become a little obsessed with all things dog, but I wanted to highlight Taylor, Sarah and Tierney.... the three people who Linda love the most in this whole world. In the middle photo, Linda looks all washed out. Tier used photoshop and put a bunch of make-up on her, but we don't have that photo on our computer. Ever since Linda saw this photo, she has been trying to wear a little more makeup. Notice how their hair just blends together. In the last photo of Taylor and Linda, the people at Tier's office thought she was Taylor's girlfriend. (You go Linda!) The top photo is Sarah and Taylor being madly in love, the thing that they do best.

Real Dogs Wear Pink

Chimmie got a new coat today. He outgrew his almost brand new harness vest in about 3 weeks. He was 3.6 pounds when he came to live with us, two weeks later... he was over 5 pounds. Now, he is probably one of the biggest pure Chihuahuas in the world, he is 7.5 pounds. Thing is, he is so skinny you can see and feel every rib. It's that he is so tall and long, Linda swears he is a miniature Doberman and not a Chihuahua. OK, back to the coat story. Linda has been looking everywhere for a warm, furry winter coat with a "D" ring on the back so he does not have to wear a separate harness. She found the absolute cutest fur lined suede coat today. It has a "D" ring, furry collar and it Velcros on the top instead of near his belly. It was only $6.99 too... so what if it's pink? Chimmie is color blind so he won't even know. Today at lunch, Linda's friend said that you just can't dress a boy dog in pink. Especially one that just lost his bits. Too bad says Linda. He is wearing a pink suede coat. We'll post a photo of him wearing it tomorrow.

C & C Dog Park

UPDATE: Chimmie is fine. His boy-area is not red or infected. It just looks really weird. I had a great night sleeping and did not wheeze, snore or have any trouble breathing. All is quite and peaceful at our house this morning. Chim is napping on Linda's legs and has his giant head wedged under the laptop since it's warm and toasty there. It makes typing a little tricky. (It's hard typing with furry paws as it is!) We are a both a little antsy since there is snow on the ground and we don't walk when it's snowy or wet. Linda actually looked up indoor dog parks and there are not any in our area. I would love to open my own park. It could be Chalupa & Chimichanga's Indoor Dog Park. There would also be a little Taco Stand snack bar with treats for humans and pets... and lots of bacon!!

Hey, I Live Here Too!

With all the focus on Chimmie recovering from his surgery, Linda has not been paying that much attention to how I'm feeling. Last night in bed I was wheezing and having a little trouble breathing. Today, I keep feeling like I have cotton mouth. I'm eating and drinking OK, but I just don't feel like myself. Linda said if I have trouble breathing tonight, she is going to take me to the Vet tomorrow for a check-up. Chimmie's surgery was almost $500. Her poor wallet is going to be empty if I have to go to the Dr. too. I'm sure it's nothing and I'll be just fine. (Paws crossed!)

Granny Panties

I know, I know.... I said no more stories about people stuffing stolen booty down their pants. I have to make an exception for this story. This women did not mess around by shoving a $2 hot dog down her britches. The item she pinched off the rack was worth $6,500 bucks. The lady stole a mink coat from a Fur Store and of course, she stuffed the fur coat into her underwear. The store employee confronted the only women when she suspected the theft. The crook denied taking the coat, got in her car and drove away. The employee got her plate number and called the cops. Cops found the women and saw a coat hanger from the furrier but not coat in the thief's car. She was arrested, searched for weapons and booked into jail where she spent the next three days. When she was about to be transferred to another jail, the women pulled the mink out of her underwear and admitted to stealing it. First, how fat do you have to be to be able to hide a fur coat in your underwear and not have anyone notice? Second, just how big were those panties?

Way to Go Panera!

Panera is Linda's favorite place to go in the morning for coffee, to read or to study. The one by our house has a wonderful little back room with comfy chairs, end tables and free Internet. I like it too because the outside seating is shady and very near a wonderful grass patch for emergencies. After reading the article about their new non-profit "pay what you can restaurants" she now loves it even more. Panera has opened it's third restaurant where diners can pay what they can afford. The very best part of the story is that the community has stepped up to help. A full 60% of the visitors pay the suggested amount. But it gets even better. 20% pay more than the amount on the menu to help offset the costs of the remaining 20% who pay less. If you can't pay at all, the staff suggests you volunteer your time at the cafe helping out the staff. Stories like this give me a little ray of sunshine in my day.

Is There a WEB MD for Pets??

Something is not looking right down near Chimmie's surgery area. Linda does not know what it is supposed to look like, but she is very worried that he chewed at something he wasn't supposed to. When she got home from her last class tonight, she let him out of the bathroom. He seemed to be acting OK, just a little calmer than normal. She decided to check his boy parts and there is something that is the size of a nickle and looks like a wilted mushroom near the stitches. (Please don't laugh at her, she honestly does not know if it is supposed to be there!) She never saw it before, so it is a result of the surgery. The stitches look fine, just a little redness. She called the vet but they already left for the day. Does anyone know what it could be? Is there a place she could email a photo of the scary looking clump? Maybe we should take him to the 24/7 vet. Oh, what to do???

Sharktopus

We love watching horribly-awesome Sci-Fi Channel movies on TV. There are way too many to list, but next time you have a free Saturday afternoon, tune in and see what is on. One of the top ten of all time is Sharktopus, a cross between a shark and an octopus. I would love to get one of these Sharktopus toys. It would only be mine of course. Chimmie would pull off a tentacle in under 20 seconds. I'm not sure if the girl will make one for me, but here is her site: suzannahashley.blogspot.com