Much to be Thankful for

The last few weeks have been very trying. Grandpa had the most horrible, nastiest fall that I could have ever imagined. He had to be taken to the hospital, nothing broken, just badly bruised, BUT he had to go back to Canada as he has to go to a Long Term Care Facility. Mommy said that is somewhere people have to go when their families cannot take care of them anymore. I have had to be SPECIALLY kind to Mommy as she has cried a whole lot and it has hurt her heart. I can tell this because when I put my head next to chest, I can hear her heart crying.

Mommy went to see Grandpa and that made her feel MUCH better because she could see that he was happy and feeling pretty darn OKAY. He just loves to sit in his easy chair recliner (Mommy dragged that ole' thing 500 miles to where he is at) and my Uncle John made sure that he has a TV. Uncle John goes to see Grandpa 2 - 3 times a week to make sure he is okay and has special treats that he likes. Gee, I wonder if he likes the Milkbones I like ... I will have to send him some!!

Despite the changes for Mommy, she still cuddles us and loves us all so much. We are all well and getting ready for the holidays. We hope that you are all OKAY and have a lot of fun and a lot to eat on Thanksgiving!

Oh, here is a picture of Mommy and Grandpa at Niagara Falls about 5 days before his bad fall!!

Love y'all!!

Minnie

The New Guy in my life.

Well, as some of you fine folks know ... my brother Raggamuffin was "robbed ... burgalerred ... dognapped" from us about a month ago. Mom and I were very unhappy ... well, it is a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG story, but Mom got me a new buddy. Jack ... that comes from "one-eyed" Jack. He is totally blind and has a neurological disorder that makes him wobbly. He is a Puppy Mill rescue ... his first few years were pretty rough until he got to his foster home. His Foster Mom, Dorothy, was pretty cool and did him very well. She waited TWO years until the RIGHT forever home came along and that was my Mommy and me. Jack is pretty cool and pretty smart. He knows how to go potty outside a little better than me (00ps). He is able to find my Mommy just by her calling him and he even climbs up and down the stairs of the back porch. He loves to wrestle with my Mommy, but MOST of all he loves to cuddle with Snickers, Mommy and ME, of course. Here is a picture of Jack and his Foster Mom, Dorothy. We all need to honour folks like her as she does Furbaby Rescue!! In other words ... Dorothy is an ANGEL!!!!

You can see how much Jack loves her and he should as she saved him. Now he is in his forever home with all of us.

Sad News

Life isn't always fair, is it. In the last month my big brother Raggamuffin was STOLEN (yes .. I said STOLEN) from the back yard tether. Mom spent three weeks trying to find him, but it seems to for naught. We can only hope ... :(.

Then, my grandpa's brother passed away suddenly, so the house has been a little sad. Guess I haven't been much in a mood to talk lately ... forgive me ...

The Bath

Today started out so lovely. The temperature was great ... 80 degrees, humidity was low. This is the first day like this in 10 days. Mommy took me outside and played with me ... I was one happy doggie ... then it happened. She got out the clippers ... I knew that it was going to be bad. Sure enough ... she shaved me ... clipped me ... cut and filed my nails ... cleaned my ears ... brushed my teeth ... did something TOTALLY unspeakable to my little hiney ... then the worst. She stuck me in a tub of water, soaped and conditioned me ... granted I am absolutely lovely and I smell fabulous, but this was NOT my favourite activity.

To make matters worse ... my big brother Raggamuffin was also cleaned and he LOVED it ... he LAID QUIETLY on the grooming table and enjoyed it. Grrrrrrrr ... Mommy did this outside and ALL of the neighbours could see ... er ... ah ... if they wanted to.

There should be a law against this.

Pouting rather feverishly
Minnie Mouse

Hot like H - E - double hockey sticks

"This heat is oppressive". That is what Mommy walks around and says. She said that it would hurt little furbabies like my two brothers and I. She won't take us out for walks, so she plays with us in the house to give us a little exercise. When I have to go outside to do my uh-hem "business" it feels like when Mommy opens the oven it is so hot. So, I am just hanging here in the "air-conditioned" house and "chillin". Oh ... today is my buddy Lucie's 1st birthday. She lives in Caracas, Venezuela. I would LOVE to be there for her birthday party. Mommy says it is too long of a drive. Oh well. My birthday is on New Year's Day and I will be 3. Anyway ... Happy birthday LUCIE. Feliz Cumpleanos!!

Love Minnie Mouse

My Mommy

This is my Mommy ... aka Carolyn, but known to most as Wolfie. (Long story that I quite can't figure out) In the picture is my niece Hannah. They spend a lot of time together which is great because I am usually with them.

Mommy is about 7.3 years old (in Dog Years). She works in Health Care and specializes in Palliative Care. The thing that I like about her job is she does most of it from HOME. She uses the telephone and computer and works 2 1/2 days a week. Mommy is pretty laid back most of the time unless I do something really bad and then she scolds me. I don't understand what the fuss is all about, but I can tell by her voice that I am not one of her favourites at that time. She gets over it really quick though because I give her my trademark nose kiss. That gets 'em all of the time. Most of the time Mommy is laughing and singing around the house. She cooks really good and she makes Raggs and I special treats that are okay for dogsters, like us, to eat. Mom shows me love and gentleness all of the time. She snuggles and cuddles and kisses and all the stuff that I like BUT ... yep there is always a but ... she gives me baths about once every three weeks. I hate them, but I do smell very good afterwards. The things a Diva must endure, sigh.

My Grandpa

This is my Grandpa ... Paul. He is Mommy's Dad. Grandpa is almost 85 years old and suffers from Dementia/Alhzeimers. It really is very sad that so many people, especially older ones, suffer from this problem. He is pretty good, he just forgets a whole lot and Mommy has to remind him. Mommy decided that Grandpa was better off here than in a nursing facility. She stays home a lot and works, mostly, from the house so it makes it good for Grandpa.

Now, Grandpa says that he HATES dogs and doesn't want them around him. Well, here is photographic proof that I have the ability to win even the "Scroogemeister's" heart. He lets me sit on the arm of his recliner or behind his head on the chesterfield. He doesn't pet me, really, but he looks at me and I can tell that he thinks that I am more than cute.

My job is to be there for him and stay next to him so that he doesn't feel alone. It is no good to be alone ... ever ... that is why we are a family.

Grandpa is on a very difficult journey, but I will do all that I can to make him smile.

love ... Minnie Mouse

My niece

If I am Mommy's baby and Hannah is her granddaughter ... that makes me Hannah's Auntie, right?? Well, that is what I figured out.

Hannah is six years old and really kinda' cool for a human kid. She seems to have a real knack for handling me and my siblings. Mommy calls her the "dog whisperer" as she does so well with animals. It comes naturally. Hannah is wonderful at rubbing my belly and she feeds me treats. All she has to do is call me and I will come running to her ... wherever she is. She is one of my favourite humans!! I love to give her kisses on her nose. It makes her giggle. Hannah and I sleep together when she spends the night at Mommy's ... which is a WHOLE LOT of the time. That is fine with me.

My Interspecies family ... THE CAT

THE CAT ... actually, he is my cool brother. He hasn't been with us long, but he has made a lasting impression. Mommy brought him home from work one day. She deals with palliative care, whatever that is, and one of the patients asked her to take care of her cat as she made her final journey. So, being the soft hearted mush that she is ... Snickers (Mommy's name for him) joined our family. Snicks and I get along GREAT, but Raggamuffin still hasn't accepted the InterSpecies family concept. Too bad for him as he is missing out on a lot. Snickers is a Maine Coon mix and about 5 years old. We play chase, but he CHEATS. He jumps on the chairs that I can't get to and he "bats" at me. Mommy says it is because he is a cat and they do things different from dogs. Whatever. Snickers and I love to sprawl out with Mommy when she has the time for one of her afternoon special naps.

I have noticed that Snickers, maybe ALL cats, likes to sleep a whole lot and he seems to like window spaces the best. We share nap times and food and we discuss current events, but he has a weird accent. That is okay ... we get along just fine. I will keep him

My Brother Raggs (Raggamuffin)

When I arrived here, two years ago, there was already a resident pooch. Raggs is a Lhasa Apso/Poodle rescue that my Mommy brought home in 2002. She said that when she brought him home he was pretty "broken up", but he recovered and has done well. Then I came along. He wasn't the chairperson of my welcoming committee, I can assure you, but after a while he realized that I was going to stay.

Raggs is really attached to Mommy. He sometimes will push me away when he thinks that I have been on her lap too long. He loves to join us for an afternoon nap and he will sprawl out over the entire bed!!! That is the Lhasa part of him ... this long body. He is only 14 lbs, but he is ALL muscle.

Our favourite activity is playing "chase". We can do that for hours. First he will chase me, then I will chase him ... then we just chase ... not sure what or whom, but we chase. When we catch each other we will wrestle. The best part of him is his bushy tail. I love to bite it and he runs through the house ... dragging me along. Woohoo!!! I am sure that there will be lots of adventures that I will share with you about him ... but I thought that I better mention him. He really gets his feelings hurt easily ... that is the Poodle part of him ... French ya' know ... sheesh.

The truth about this picture

Okay, okay ... let me get this straight. I know that a lot of people and dogsters think that this is the only activity that I do for most of the day, but what you see is deceiving!! Haven't you ever heard don't believe anything that you hear and only half of what you see? You have? Whew, good ...

... so this looks like a dog sleeping right?? WRONG. My eyes are closed to keep myself in FULL concentration as I listen to CNN. The news broadcast was of the utmost importance and I didn't want any distractions so I reclined out on Mommy's most comfortable, soft and inviting throw pillows, lowered my head, closed my eyes and concentrated. I think that it was some stuff about Bush or Barry Bonds ... somethin' with a "B", but I knew that it was very important and required my undivided attention. In fact, I stayed in this position for an hour and a half pondering. (I like that word.)

So that's the TRUE story and I am stickin' to it!!

This is Me, Minnie Mouse

My name is Minnie Mouse. I live with my Mommy, my brother Raggamuffin (a very confused Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix rescue), my other brother Snickers (a Maine Coon/mix rescue who is the coolest living thing I know, two turtles ... (sorry, don't know if they are two boys or two girls or an assortment thereof ... just known as Tommy and Tina) and my Mommy's Dad, Paul. I live in Park Forest, Illinois in a two floor townhouse ... I was born pretty close to here in Crete, Illinois on January 1, 2005. I guess that this is just to let you know who I am and that I will posting my little adventures to share with one and all. Stay tuned!!! Now about me being dressed up in these prissy outfits. It was Mommy's idea. She thinks that I look adorable all dressed up. Yeah Right!!! Well, I have found if you just keep the darn things on for a bit, pose for the pictures and humour her ... she takes the things off and puts them away ... and you are FREE. We will talk about Mommy's another day ... I am still shivering with contempt when I look at these photos.