he who lies with cats

There are two cats that live in the House of Eva. A little grey one and a loud orange one.

I used to think I wanted to nibble on those cats. They were so fluffy and chubby and tasty-looking. And they move really fast, which made my ears stand up and my eyes go all buggy.

But the people said no, I could not chase them. And then Eva showed me how she just ignores them. That seemed to work pretty well; so I tried to do what she does, and now we're friends.

See?

one hard-working boy

I'm a busy little guy with lots to do. Besides my regular everyday jobs of taking my people for walks, showing Eva Peace my happy teeth, watching for squirrels in the backyard, practicing not itching and eating up all my food like a good boy, I have four different jobs that I go to during the week.

On Mondays, I go to Auntie Shannon's with Eva and we play with our friend Jackson and see Auntie Shannon's dogs. I love going to Auntie Shannon's. I get to sit on the big bed, play on the deck in the sun and show off what a beefcake I am. On the mornings we go there, Eva and I get up early, go for a walk, eat breakfast and then we get in the Man's big truck and drive to Auntie Shannon's. She meets us at the door and is so excited to see us. She always makes a fuss over how sweet Eva is and how handsome I am. It makes me feel special.

Eva and I doing our important job of helping Jackson take a nap.

Here is Eva holding hands with Jackson.

Then there are the days I go to work with Lady at her office. Sometimes I go together with Eva Peace and sometimes I get to go all by myself. I get to sniff and explore, and there is a special blanket just for us so I know exactly where my place is when it's time to settle in. I like to sit and watch the Lady working, and the other people who work there come and talk to me and pet my head. Sometimes I even get cookies.


Here I am practicing my "give me cookies now, please" look.



Eva and I share the blanket and watch the Lady work.

Mister has his very own classroom, so sometimes I get to go and hang out with his students as another one of my jobs. Everyone thinks I am so cute and funny. At first, some of them didn't know what to think of me. And I didn't really have much experience with teenagers, so I didn't know what to think of them. They can be very loud and move fast. But the Mister told them how to come up to me quietly and let me sniff their hands so I could meet them, and once I was comfortable, I showed them that I have happy teeth and a soft head that likes to be petted. So now, everyone is excited to see me.

Here I am getting a cuddle at school from one of my new friends.

On some other weekdays, my job is to stay home and make sure that everything is safe and the cats are behaving themselves in the house. On these days, I get a special treat like a peanut butter Kong or a bully stick. Then I settle in on my big bed and chew and lick and listen to the radio until the Lady and Eva come home at lunch. Then we'll go out and play in the backyard and enjoy the sunshine. These days are nice and relaxing, and they give me a break from all the hard work that I do the rest of the days.

Here are Eva and I doing our very important job of chewing our chewies at home.

can't a guy get some sleep around here?

Oh, I see how it is.

Every time a guy tries to catch some beauty sleep, someone's either flashing the camera lights, putting a blanket on me, cooing about how cute I am or putting their big ol' feet on my head.


Sheesh.

our day in the country



Here are Eva Peace and I getting ready to go.

Eva Peace and I love to go for walks. It's fun to stretch our legs and smell things and meet new people, and I  love to leave proof that I've been everywhere by kicking up dirt and making piddle on every tree and bush  and clump of grass we walk by. We usually go for a walk in the morning, a walk in the afternoon when the people get home from work and a walk at night before we go to bed.

Us, still waiting. The people are always soooo slow.

But there are special times when we get to go for extra long walks in new and exciting places.

One day, we went to a big park where there were trees and rocks and grass and leaves. We spent  hours and hours walking and jumping and sniffing and digging and piddling on everything. It was great!



We sniffed and snorted and looked all around while the people got ready. I could hardly wait to get moving!

 

Here I am waiting for everyone else to catch up.

Along the trail, we met a few other people and dogs, but it was mostly just us. I got excited whenever I saw birds in the bushes, and there were places on the grass and rocks that I could tell other animals had been. I sniffed and sniffed and sniffed, and I kicked up dirt and tinkled everywhere I could. I wanted to be sure anyone else around knew I'd been there first!

Eva and Mister jumped up on a big rock and posed for the camera. I was to shy to jump up that high, and I didn't want to be picked up, so I just stood on the ground and wagged and wagged while they were up there. Maybe next time I'll be brave enough to go up high, too.

We spent all afternoon walking and exploring. I like my walks around our neighborhood, but this was extra great! I'd never been able to walk so far and smell so many good things all in one place before. We even got to run up some hills and down others. I smiled the whole time.

Here I am saying goodbye to the park

It was warm in the sun and we'd been working hard. Eva Peace and I were so thirsty when we got back to the car that we drank a whole bowl of water together. Then we napped on the backseat while we drove home.

Me and Eva in the car, dreaming about our next adventure.

i love to sleep on people...

it's the bestest place to sleep!

teaching eva peace

Eva is usually the one that teaches me things, like how to sit and wait politely for food, and how to be brave when loud trucks go by when we're on a walk.

But sometimes, I get to teach Eva things that I'm good at. I try to teach her how to smile with her happy teeth in the mornings, and how to find the best sunbathing spots in the backyard. The most important thing I'm teaching Eva right now is how to be calm and happy in her kennel.

Eva is calm and happy all of the rest of the time, but she does not like kennel time when the people leave us home alone. When it's kennel time, Eva complains by snorting and making little drool bubbles. I think that's silly. I love to be in my kennel. It's got three soft and warm blankets, a water bucket, chew bones and a peanut butter kong. It's even right in the living room, so I can see all of the action and look out the big window. My kennel so much better than the little barrel where I used to live. And Eva has an extra big kennel to make her feel even better, so I can't figure out what all the fuss is about.

The lady and the mister tell me that my special job is to tell Eva Peace that she can be calm in her kennel, since that's one of the things I'm best at. So my kennel gets to be right next to hers in the front room, and when the lady and the mister go out, I lay down and show Eva just how easy it is to be happy and quiet.

And I must be a pretty good teacher, because since I've been teaching Eva the happy-and-quiet game, she doesn't snort and make drool bubbles much any more. In fact, she'll lay right down and chew her chewies and lick her peanut butter kong until the people come back home. I think that proves I'm pretty good at teaching Eva Peace things.

Sometimes when Lady and Mister are home, we even go and hang out in Eva's big kennel and chew chewies together. There's room for two in there, and we fit great. I like to think this is teaching Eva how fun and comfortable kennels can be.

Here's proof:

chunk vs. the angry itch

My itches are less itchy every day, but to help me get better, I have to have special baths twice a week.

I don't really like baths.

It's not that I don't like the extra cuddles and kisses and snuggles I get after my bath, when the people tell me I smell so good. And I like doing zoomies around the living room with Eva Peace after we've both had baths and get all crazy. But I don't like being so wet and having to stand in the tub during my bath. The people turn on the bathroom heater so I'm not cold, and they put a special mat down in the bathtub so I don't slip around and get scared. So it really isn't that bad. I just don't like it as much as I like laying on my bed and chewing on my chewies.

Sometimes I act extra shivery and pathetic so the people don't make me take a bath. But that doesn't work so well. They just pat me on the head and turn up the heater and tell me I'm being a brave boy.

Here I am perfecting my I-am-so-pathetic-right-now look.

After I get rinsed off, I get all soaped up with medicated shampoo. Then I have to wait for five whole minutes while it soaks in. The people usually give me a massage all over while the soap is sitting, so this part I kind of like. (But I try not to let on. That would blow my whole pathetic routine.)

Me, getting un-soaped.

When the shampoo is done working, the people dump water all over me to get the soap off. They're careful not to get it in my eyes. I'm careful to shake and fling water all over, so that way the people have to be wet and soapy, too. I think it's only fair.



 After I'm rinsed, you'd think it would be time for me to get out of the bathtub. That is what happens for Eva, but it's not true for me. Because my skin on my tummy is still itchy and working on getting soft, I have a special medicated rinse that I have to use. It has to soak in for five minutes. I don't think that's necessary. It seems like so much waiting and soaking. But the people tell me I'll feel better when it's done. So here I stand.


Standing and waiting for the medicated rinse to soak in.



Finally, after they rinse me all over again and again, it's time to get dry. I would like this part, but the towel that Eva and I get to use is a big fluffy pink towel. That's when I'm glad the bathroom door is shut so no one can see me getting dried off with a fluffy pink towel.


Here you can see how thrilled I am with the pink towel.



After I get dried off in the tub for a long time and I'm not dripping anymore, New Mister picks me up and puts me on the floor. Then I get toweled on some more until I am mostly dry. I like to get toweled on my chest and tummy, where it itches the most. Sometimes my feet stomp because it feels so good. I also like to get my ears dried off, and I'll even help the people dry off my face by rubbing it on the towel and their pant legs.



Getting my ears dried off.



Me, getting my chest itchies itched with the towel.




This is the part where they call me the Queen of Sheeba.









Then, I finally get to get my shirt back on so I'm not so cold and naked anymore. The people tell me that every time I take a bath, I'm closer to not needing to wear my shirts. We'll see. I'm not sure I'm ready to let them go.









Then, when all the rinsing and soaping and rinsing and soaking and toweling is done, I get to have my favorite part of the baths... the COOKIES!!