Snow Week

    Well I got more than I bargained for, four snow days! This is especially great because I had more time to play with the dogs. Of course, I will have to make up these days later. I'm not too happy about that. There is another downside of a snow day, I had to shovel our long driveway. However, I had some company this time. Hoover felt it was his duty to watch me while I was out shoveling the snow by myself. Wherever I went, Hoover followed by the fence so he could keep an eye on me. Hoover was protective of me as well. When the neighbor's dogs came out, he would not stop barking. I tried to calm him down, but he still kept barking. Hoover even followed me around the house when mum was gone for a bit. 
     Hoover was rewarded for his companionship by going sledding. Lizzie, who didn't do much during the week, got to tag along. We went sledding on Saturday and Hoover got to have a once in a lifetime experience. He was able to run along with me down the hill. It was a such a blast going down with the giant fur ball. Lizzie preferred to explore everywhere but the sledding hill. Hoover found a fan club at the hill. There were about five other people at the hill and they adored Hoover. They were taking pictures of him non-stop and he loved it. He was even in a few selfies! Lizzie is more timid around people. She may not have absorbed the attention like Hoover did, but after awhile she warmed up a bit. After tromping up and down the hill over and over, the dogs and I were all tuckered out. 

      Nikita did not have the best Saturday night. Mum and dad tried to trim her nails. Nikita absolutely hates nail trimming. We gave her further reason for hating it. It takes at least two people to hold her down and trim her nails. Mum tries to keep Nikita calm while dad attempts to trim her nails. I usually hide because I don't like to hear Nikita moan. Lizzie and Hoover watch on in horror. My parents usually only get two paws trimmed at a time. This time they only got one paw trimmed, then came the blood bath. Nikita's one nail would not stop bleeding. They tried to contain her and in the process they got blood all over their pants. It took about half an hour for the bleeding to stop. We thought all was well. Oh how we were wrong. Before going to bed, mum let Nikita out. When Nikita came back in, her paw was bleeding again. Mum would have to cope with this by herself because dad and I were in bed. Mum had to contain the blood from getting all over the floors. So her quick thinking was to put her sock on Nikita's paw. It may not have been the best plan but it worked.  We don't take Nikita to the vet to get her nails trimmed because she freaks out at the vet office, although mum and dad may be rethinking that option. 

     The dogs were able to go on a snow walk Sunday. I did something different on this walk, I wore snowshoes. A part from my turns, I think I was successful. Hoover also had some fun exploring. He buried his head in the snow numerous times. He expanded on this by trying to make a snow cave.  
     I enjoyed going out in the snow with my dogs. I hope to go out a few more times with them before the snow is gone. It was an amazing snow week!
     

Snow Day!

     

    This first information is not dog related, I'll talk about the dogs and snow later. I was able to make it to phase 3 of ODP soccer. I'm proud to have made it to phase 3 because this means I was not cut. I can still practice with some of the best players in the state. The next thing to work towards is to be on the 18 person Indiana state team that goes to regionals. I try to set high goals. I like the high intensity at ODP and I get to play against older kids who are better than me. These practices make me work hard and I'm always learning new things about the game.

     The dogs and I were able to celebrate Valentine's Day. The dogs may not have gotten any of their own Valentine's, but they were content picking over mine. I dumped out my school Valentine's and Lizzie came over and examined all the stuff. She then proceeded to grab one of my chocolates and scramble away. Luckily, we caught her before she ate it. Mum said Lizzie had good taste. Lizzie took the Dove chocolate and not the Hershey Kiss. Hoover tried to eat my cereal heart. Mum was examining it when Hoover tried to chomp on it. Fortunately, mum was able to protect my cereal heart.   

   For once this winter, we weren't cheated out of our snow. All the other times the weather people said snow was coming, it either missed us or we got rain. This time we got enough snow to have a snow day. I got to stay home and play with my doggies. Mum and I took all three dogs out for a small walk. By the time I got the leashes, Nikita was at the door. We took her for a short walk around the park. We wanted to make sure Nikita had enough energy to make it home. 
    We then took the other two to the woods by our house. We had to be cautious of the tree roots hidden under the snow because the dogs were dragging us along down the hill. They have four wheel drive. I had a good time rolling around in the snow with the dogs.  We ended up at Lower Cascades park. I started to exercise the dogs by jumping across a small ditch. Lizzie is very athletic so she could very gracefully glide across the ditch. Hoover is not so graceful, he lumbered across the ditch. He still had fun doing it, his tail was wagging. Going down was easier than going back up the hill. I wanted Hoover to pull me up the hill but he is not that strong. When we got back home, we were all tuckered out. I was also extremely hungry! I started off with half a bag of popcorn. I then commenced to eat an ice cream sandwich, carrots, and a slice of cheese. Mum didn't know this, I ate a few chips after all the other snacks. I was REALLY hungry. And tomorrow is another snow day! Wonder what adventures it will bring?

A Strange Night

    It may not have been a full moon, but at my house it sure seemed like there was a full moon. Mum witnessed me throw off my covers. Walk up to her, swing my arms open and say, "Hug!" Mum wasn't sure what was happening when I hugged her, but when I walked down the hall, she realized I was sleep walking. It's not the first time this has happened. One time my mum found me in the bath tub. I then walked into the living room and curled up on the sofa. When my mum started talking to me, I just gave her a big silly smile. She decided it would be okay for me to sleep on the sofa so she brought me some covers. Mum then let Hoover in. As soon as Hoover saw me on what he thinks is his sofa, he rushed over and started giving me big licks. I guess I got up and went back to my bedroom at that point. I remember none of this, but I do remember what Hoover did at 3:00 a.m. 
     At 3:00 a.m. Hoover walked into my room. He woke me up with his whines. I saw him crawl under my bed. Soon the only part of Hoover I saw was Hoover's rump. He started whining again, crawled out and tried to lick me. Then he went to the other side of my bed, Hoover crawled under there. He basically did the same thing again. After Hoover crawled under my bed three times, Hoover just left. I know my next inquiry project, "Do Dogs Sleepwalk?" While Hoover was crawling under my bed, Lizzie decided to leap onto mum and dad's bed and lick them. This is unusual for Lizzie. Lizzie ended up sleeping on their bed. Mum had to sacrifice some of her leg space. 

     Today at the animal shelter I started off reading "Old Yeller" to the cats. I soon diverted my attention to a two year old dog named Maybelle. She is a blue tick coonhound She is far more skinny than she should be. There are clear signs she has had a rough life. Mum was sitting with Maybelle while I was reading. When I met up with mum in a visitation room, I met Maybelle for the first time. She didn't come running to my like I would have hoped. If she would have come towards me, she would have been as fast as a turtle. Maybelle doesn't make sudden moves like most two year olds. Maybelle moves at a very slow pace. Maybelle is very shy. When mum saw her in her kennel, she was glumly staring at a wall. 
   

   A staff person asked us if we wanted to take Maybelle outside. They thought it would be good for her. I tried to read some of "Old Yeller" to Maybelle. Not sure that helped. When we took Maybelle to the enclosed yard, she stood next to the wall and wouldn't move. She did move when the dog in the yard next to us jumped up against the wall. It scared Maybelle so much, she actually trotted away. She slowly started to explore the yard. She made her way around the whole yard. We then discovered a ball. I rolled the ball to Maybelle but it rolled between her legs and she didn't do anything. I was glad we had time to be with Maybelle and maybe help her build her confidence. I hope Maybelle is adopted soon. She can be a good girl, any dog can.