My Letter to Barbara

Barbara took this after I got to her house.
I was not very happy, but I forgot about that
 and had a really good time.

Hi Barbara,

I thought I would send you a letter before I came to spend some time with you and Johnnie, so you could get to know me a little bit. My mom also told me it would be a good idea and since I like to make her happy I’m doing this (I would rather be playing, but oh well).

Sometimes I get up two times during the night; once to pee on the pad and the other to play.  Even though I jump on my mom’s bed and sleep there a little while after I get up, I don’t mind at all when she puts me back in my own snuggly bed in my own playpen.

I usually wake up at around five o’clock and cry a little so mom knows I’m awake. She lets me out of my playpen and we go into the guest room so as not to wake up daddy. We snuggle for a while and then fall back asleep. But at six I hear a noise and I bark a lot to protect mom. Then I remember it’s the man who comes to help daddy. He’s a nice guy and I remember that he comes every day and he is not going to hurt mom or daddy, so it’s okay to go back to sleep with mom in the guest room.

We get up after the guy leaves and mom gets dressed really fast and takes me out for a walk to poop. I’m still half asleep so I do my business as fast as I can then we go back home and I go back to sleep in my secret place for a little while until I get hungry.

Sometimes I feel like eating and sometimes I’m not that hungry.  Mom says I’m being fussy, but really, when I’m hungry I eat. I know I’m growing because I used to hug mom and had to reach up high to lick her chin. Now I can lick her ear and make her laugh, then she rubs my tummy, which is my favorite thing.

Mom cooks chicken and I like to eat it frozen.  She cuts my Vital log into bit sized pieces that don’t get my beard messy, and maybe I’ll eat the kibble and maybe I won’t. Mom picks up my bowl after a little while so I have to eat quick or it is gone till the next meal. She puts food out three times a day, and most times I eat it – or part of it.

I don’t like a dirty beard and Mom usually cleans mine with a wet paper towel after I eat, but sometimes she forgets and I clean it myself by rubbing my face all over the sofa, and then mom looks mad at me and we play a game of chase until she throws her hands up in the air and walks away shaking her head.

During the day I nap a lot and if I’m not doing that I’m playing with my toys or, as mom says, bugging her to play with me. Sometimes I get excited and run around with the ‘zoomies”. Mom says I’m really wild, but she and daddy laugh while I’m running around.

Often mom and I “train”. I like that because I get a lot of treats all at once. I can sit, lie down, sneeze, shake, beg, stay and sorta heel. I don’t like heeling, but I am going to have a test and I need to heel to pass it, so we practice that a lot.

I used to be afraid of big barky dogs, but I’m older now and mom says I have grown out of that phase. I also went to a school that taught mom and me how to help me when I was afraid. I thought it was stupid, but I liked the other dogs and I’m not afraid any more, so I guess it was okay.

Mom takes me to different parks around town and I have some friends I play with there. I also have friends in the building and we play up on the roof of the parking garage. I love to run around without my leash, but when I go on walks with mom I like to wear it because it makes me feel safe.

I can’t wait to play with Johnnie. I liked him when we met. I will bring some toys for him to play with too.

Bye Bye….