Hidden Treasures and Beirut

 My house is looking like Christmas now and we have Carols playing all day. I particularly like The Little Drummer Boy. you know the part where Mary nods and the Ox and Lambs keep time. I can see them humming along....

Mom had to go out for a short while yesterday and DOD had a meeting ...so...Me and Lacey decided to get to the bottom of our treat and toy basket in case Mom had hidden any of our presents in such an obvious place! Wow! I had forgotten so much of the stuff we had in there...parts of chewed stuffed toys and old biscuits and treats...a bone I had put aside for a late-night nosh....a sock,some underwear (yuk).  No presents. Of course I didn't really think she would be so daft as to put them there. And then...when we had checked it out thoroughly we tipped the basket over and ran around the house playing pull-tag and singing Jingle Bells at the top of our voices!

How were we supposed to know it was full of crumbs and debris???

Obviously Mom is not a good housekeeper!

So Mom came back a bit early ....and she said she could hear us clear across the street before she even opened the car door. When she came into the kitchen she said ..'OMD' ...this place looks like down-town Beirut, something must have exploded'!!!

Well I have never seen down town Beirut but I don't think they have exploding toy baskets there. Mom is often prone to exaggeration.

We helped clean up and put all the stuff back except for the sock, underwear and crumbs. And now we are sniffing out the next best hiding place. They have to go to Nogales on Wednesday that sounds like a good time for more detective work!

And the Stress Got Worse

Mom and DOD had to go back across the Border a couple of days ago to get their last bits and pieces of teeth. As usual they left Me and Lacey behind. Okay they left treats and water and treats and Mom took us for a long walk before they left...but there we were...home alone.

So, Luis the Mexican fellow who looks after our house in the summer came by and he had stuff to drop off for DOD....and he has a key to our house ...so he opened the door and put said stuff in our garage.
What he did NOT see was Lacey behind him in the garage and he came out and locked her in!!!! YUP, he did!

Now anyone who knows Lacey knows she suffers from separation anxiety in the worst way. And when she is stressed she chews up whatever she can find. I barked and barked and told her not to worry ...I told her I was in the next room and that Mom and DOD would be back VERY soon. I told her to go to sleep.

She didnt listen.

 I barked so much that the neighbours came over to see if I was okay. They let me out to pee and then I raced back in and barked at the kitchen door to the garage.....they followed me to the door but they don't understand Dog and they thought Lacey was hiding somewhere (which she often does) and they left! ....EEK!

By this time Lacey had torn up all of our full bags of dried dog food...over fifty pounds ...(Mom likes to prepare for all catastrophes) and spread it evenly around the garage. She topped the food off with Mom's laundry and some Christmas decorations she found behind the hamper. And then she set about trying to tunnel through the door!

I heard the garage door open open. I heard Mom say What The Hell!. I heard Dad say way worse than that!

Lacey was SOOOOO glad to see them....

They sort of slid into the kitchen on the dry food. I was happy to see them too. Mom kept saying, 'Robbie  what happened'.? 

Well now you know the whole story.

Cross-Border Stress!

We had a tense weekend after DOD lost his tooth on Friday evening. It didn't hurt or anything but he was embarrassed with his gap-tooth smile and it didn't help that it was Halloween weekend and lots of people were trying to look just like him! When he smiled they all waved back and gave him the 'thumbs-up' sign.

So they went to a Dentist on the other side of the border today in Nogales, Mexico. Mom checked them all out and they looked just fine...lots of positive reviews etc...and she chose the best one. I wasn't happy that Me and Lacey had to stay home.....I mean we have all heard about how dangerous it is in Mexico and to think of those two heading off without MY protection made me feel quite ill.

It didn't make me feel any better when I heard Mom tell DOD to leave a door unlocked in case they didn't make it home early and she had to phone Frances and Cathy to let Me and Lacey out! I think she was scared they would not get back alive!

Me and Lacey paced back and forth while they were gone. We ran around and savaged our toys...ate all our stash of treats...checked Mom's crochet stash and re-arranged it... and I peed on the upstairs carpet to warn off any and all predators that this was not a burglar friendly home.

We were rather surprised when they arrived home after only three hours...one of which they had spent having lunch at Wisdom's Cafe in Tumacacori.  They had NOT been abducted OR kidnapped OR shot... DOD's tooth  was back in his mouth and it looked just great. They did NOT bring treats.

I ask you, wouldn't you have been just as worried as Me and Lacey? Is this any way to treat your fur kids?

Anyway, I think they were impressed with the evidence of our concern.

AZ Nights

I have noticed that things happen here after dark. All seems quiet during the day and I get the feeling that it is a safe and calm place...and then...in the middle of the night all hell breaks loose!

Take last night for instance....the Coyote gang went crazy! What started as a normal Coyote party turned into bash of epic proportions. A roaming alien Fox Gang crashed the party and they all went at it tooth and nail....literally!  There was so much squealing and yelping and carrying on that Me and Lacey thought all the Banshees in Arizona were after us. Then I think the Javelina Gang big guns showed up. Javelina teeth are on the outside you know and they are BIG and SHARP.....the big guys threw themselves at the FOX and Coyote party- animals and the noise got louder and louder with grunts and snorts added to the other noises and a few curse words thrown in. It was a full-blown riot!

DOD woke up and went out onto the balcony to check out what was happening. He said they were probably high on Peyote juice or something. Me and Lacey cautioned him in case any of them were high enough to fly in through the windows...but he said they were all on the ground having a Donnybrook (I think that is an animal RAVE). The fight went on for a long time and then all went dead quiet and we were able to settle down and go back to sleep.

Where was Mom you ask? Well she slept through it!  She said she hears worse than that almost every night in our bedroom and she is immune!  Ha Ha Ha. I will ignore that remark.

It sure make a few Raccoons and Otters seem pretty tame! I will keep you posted

Snakes and Close Shaves

You know how Mom is always going on about rattlesnakes and how we have to be so careful here. Well two nights ago when I looked out of the door there was a rattlesnake! I'm not kidding!

DOD said to just leave it and it might go away....Mom said 'don't be silly, we have to get rid of it'. So then they had one of their discussions about who was going to sweep it away....DOD would not let Mom do it...so he put on his cowboy boots and got the broom.

I think the poor thing was half frozen because it did not put up much of a fight and DOD whisked it over the bank. Well of course now I am watched every minute .....even for my private things...I can't take much more of this torture!

It turns out that people are not supposed to deal with snakes, they are supposed to phone the fire department and the firefighters will come and capture them and take them to a safer place. So now we know in case we get another visitor.

On another almost equally as terrifying note...I got shipped off to the groomers. I mean I look better and that is good....I smell better too...but I don't think a mature dog should have to put up with the indignities! She even shaved my you-know-what.

I made a new friend named Alfie. He is a good sort...not mature and sophisticated like Me...but I tell him about my Island and he likes my stories. Alfie has never seen an Otter or had the pleasure of a roll....I think he would like to visit me next year.

For those of you who care, Lacey is doing well. She had a sore leg....pulled a muscle trying to execute some intricate dance step...I think she was trying to Twerk....but she is okay now. 

Bye for now friends. Send me notes telling me about YOU!

Period of Adjustment

You know it is hard to write about day-to-day life here in Tubac. Yes, I hear Coyotes howling and yes, I smell Javelina pooh but that is hardly the stuff that Blogs are made of.
The weather is HOT. Everyone here says it is cool... but man they don't know from cool...I need a pool or a shower of some kind.
Mom will not let us off our leashes. She says Rattlesnakes are lurking. Let me tell you, as a Mature Dog this pees me off. I need freedom....
I get dirty faster than at home....too much dust. So that means more baths...arggh.
We are not allowed in the car 'cos they have a law here about dogs being left in a car....and Mom won't leave us outside in case a Coyote jumps the fence.
I am not a complaining dog but you can see that life here is not quite what I want or need...sigh.
On the plus side ..I love the sun and the people are so friendly. Everyone knows Me and Lacey and they stop us and tell us how cute we are. I sit outside most of the day and even until it is almost dark.
I think I am going through a period of adjustment...when I am here, I want to be there...and when I am there I want to be here!
Is this normal

Day 4

We are at the Best Western in Kingman AZ.

What a start we had this morning. First of all I HATE continental breakfast! I am not a muffin and cream cheese sort of dog. Lacey will of course eat anything!

Then we went out....OMD it was -2C. Do you know what it is like to have to look macho for all the girl dogs at the motel on a morning like that?? Mature dogs worry about the shrink factor too, you know! Anyway, I think I pulled off the macho look with my usual withit-ness. And then we hit the road.

Well it did start to warm up a bit after a while...but then the wind picked up.

Mom insisted we stop at a wild-life refuge area so we could have a decent walk. Sometimes I think she is clueless! She wouldn't listen to DOD ...no, she dragged us off and left him at the car (one of their little tiffs) but when we heard a grunting sort of noise in the bushes let me tell you she ran like hell! DOD was on his way ...bringing the car around to rescue us and we jumped in before Me and Lacey became some animals brunch! I ask you..do I need this?

So by now the wind was really howling. Wind warnings posted all over the highway. Trucks not allowed to travel at Hoover Dam.

We pulled into the Welcome Centre at Boulder City all ready for a walk in the wind when a truck pulled up with TWO pitbulls in the back....AND ...the owner let them out of the truck without a leash!  Mom freaked and had to race again to save us...we hadn't even peed!

Anyway, as I mentioned we are in Kingman AZ. The wind is still howling. I have a bit of an upset stomach from all the excitement. Mom is drinking white wine and DOD is reading his Kindle. Things are back to normal.

Tomorrow...yes oh yes...we should be at home in Tubac!