A wild visit to Ho Ho

I cannot believe that it has been a whole year since the last time I saw Ho Ho.

(Well, it has been two years since I visited the real Ho Ho. He sent two sad fakers last year. Ho Ho and I are old friends. They did not fool me...)

It was cold and icy, but I was so excited that I ran to the building - I was going to see Ho ho, after all. We got into the building, and there were lots of nice girls there just waiting for us. They said I was the first puppy to visit them and have my picture taken. They were glad to see me. They petted me and told my parents that I am very cute. My parents already know that, but I like to have girls say so.

After they took Mommy's money, the girls said, "Go that way." They pointed to a little room where Ho Ho was waiting for me. Before I could get to where Ho Ho was sitting, some other girls tried to put a hat on my head. I did not like putting on the hat, even though it was just like Ho Ho's. But I got pets and pretty words - and a cookie - from the girls, so I let them put it on. I do pretty much anything for a cookie.

Then I turned around and I saw Ho Ho. "Ho Ho!" I said. "It's me - your friend, Dewey." Ho Ho knew me, since we are old friends. I tried to be good, but I was so excited that I got all wiggly and wild. Lots of girls tried to help Ho Ho make me sit pretty, but I am a big boy (I am 94 lbs. of labrador wildness. Ho Ho called me a "wide load."). It took them lots of tries. My Daddy stepped in and tried to make me behave. Mommy moved behind the photo lady and started calling my name. I stopped, not for very long, but long enough that the photo lady could take a pretty picture of me. Mommy was happy - this photo lady knows how to take pictures that make moving labrador boys look really pretty.

Before you know it, my time with Ho Ho was over. Other puppies were waiting to see him, and we had places to go. I did whisper - well, bark - what I want for Christmas in Ho Ho's ear while he was wrestling me to his side. I was a little sad to have to say bye-bye to my friend, but I know I will see him next month, when he leaves my gifts in my house.

I just hope he remembers more of the good-boy things than the naughty things I did this year. Ho Ho is a forgiving guy.

Flying fish, fun with Mommy

For lots of years, I thought Daddy was the fun parent. After all, he keeps telling me he's the fun parent. But I spend lots more time with Mommy. She makes sure I have fun toys (well, fun toys that I cannot destroy), and we play games with them.

One of my favorite new toys, which I got for my third birthday, is Flat David. He is flat; because if he was not flat, I would tear him apart and take out all of his guts. Mommy does not like fish guts all over her house, so Flat David is flat.

Mommy throws Flat David. I fetch him. He would go farther if he was not flat, at least that is what I thought. Until this morning.

Mommy threw Flat David. I fetched him a few times. Then Mommy threw him again. She tried to throw him downstairs, so that I would run up and down the stairs and get tired. Mommies are tricky that way. But Flat David had other ideas. He flew. He flew high. He flew to the top of the ceiling and landed on the twirly thing that blows air around.

"Mommy!" I cried. "Look where Flat David went!"

Mommy saw, and she started laughing. That wacky fish, she said. She laughed some more. Then she said she would get him down; but first, she took a picture. Nobody would believe it, she said. Here is the picture, in case you do not believe it.

What a funny fish. Mommy got the broom that she uses to sweep up my fur and tried to knock Flat David down. That wacky fish did not want to come down - he twirled around and around. When he came back around, Mommy whacked him again. This time he fell down - to the basement.

Mommy and I have quiet fun, but it is fun. I love Mommy.

Fun with parents

Even though my mommy and daddy are really old, they still like to have fun. Best of all, they like to have fun with me!

I am a rough and tumble boy. My daddy used to be a rough and tumble boy. We like to have rough and tumble boy fun. We wrestle and play tug of war. We go on long walks. And guess what! Daddy started taking me running with him. Daddy runs a lot. I am glad that he decided I can be part of his fun time and that I get to learn how to run with him. Running is hard. I like to stop, and Daddy does not like to stop. But he says he will keep trying. He needs a running buddy.

My mommy is old, and she had old knees. Her fun with me is quiet fun. When the weather is good, we go for walks. Mommy tries to go fast when she walks; I like to stop and smell stuff. And potty a lot. But we walk, because it is good for both of us. When the weather is not good - and it is not good a lot here - we fetch. We fetch so much, we have no more grass on our yard. Mommy throws. I fetch. Then she throws again. We fetch until my tongue hangs out. I like fetching. Sometimes, we fetch inside. Silly Mommy. She keeps throwing stuff down into the basement. Then I have to run all the way down the stairs and all the way up the stairs to bring it to her so she can throw it again. I get tired doing that. Mommy seems to like that.

Now that I am becoming a big boy, Mommy and Daddy are thinking about ways to have new fun with me. Mommy wants to take me to school, where I can learn new things and remember the rules that they keep trying to teach me. I do not know what therapy dogs do, but Mommy says she thinks I would be a good one. Baby Royko was a therapy dog. She liked little kids and older people. I like kids. I do not know many older people, but they sound fun. If Mommy thinks I would be a good therapy dog, I will be one.

There are lots of ways that I already have fun, and even more ways that I can have fun. Pretty much, whenever Mommy and Daddy and I are together, there will be fun.

My scariest day yet

I did not know it, but I had my scariest day ever last week. I could have died.

It was really cold, too cold for little boys, last week. It was not safe to go out to my giant dog house (garage) like I normally do, not even with my big pile of bankies. Instead, I had to stay in the house for many days. It was good, because Daddy stayed late and Mommy came home at lunch to play with me and to let me go tinkle.

But it was bad, too. I do not like to stay inside so much. I like playing outside (and barking at the people in the yard next door) more. Still, I had to be safe. Not freezing is safe. So I stayed in the house.

What my Mommy and Daddy did not know was that the house was not safe, either. The blowy thing that makes the house warm was spitting out stuff (carbon monoxide) that was making us sick. It was spitting out so much stuff that a guy who came to our house to check something else said, "Oh. You must get out. Now." He turned off the blowy thing, made Mommy open all of the windows, and waited until we wouldn't die anymore.

Mommy and Daddy went to work in the days, but I was in the house all of the time. I was getting all of that poison stuff all over me. I got it all in my blood, too. I got really sleepy. At night, instead of being a poo(h head) because Mommy said it was way too cold to exercise outside, I just slept on her feet. If my Mommy was paying attention, she would have known that I probably was getting sick. But sometimes, even mommies miss things.

It was spitting out a lot of poison stuff Thursday, so much that it made the man's little machine (carbon monoxide sensor) go crazy-daisy when he first stepped into our house. I was in the poison stuff in the morning, but Mommy let me out when she came home for lunch. She says that probably saved my life, because I was breathing other air when I went outside.

I am better now. The poison stuff is out of our house and going out of my blood. I am getting sassy again. But my mommy and daddy were really scared. We almost went to sleep forever. I want to meet Royko and Aunt Emma. Mommy and Daddy want to see them again, too.

But not right now. We have too much fun stuff to do down here, together. Oh, and maybe with a sissy some day. We all are really glad that we get another chance to do all of that.