(almost) Wordless Wednesday

It is suddenly Fall here in Ohio.  Brutus celebrated by cozying up for a long nap:

Sung as a bug in a rug!

Coming to you from The Shoe...

Hi everybody!!  

Brutus, here!

Mom is too busy fixing teeth, so she said I could do the post today!  Sorry it's a little late - slow typing with these fat paws of mine....  My pack had a fun weekend, with lots of adventures to report from the field!  

One day last week Dad came home with this piece of paper, which he & Mom both seemed pretty excited about. They said Big Earl was excited too.

Sure enough, on Friday night Dad brought Big Earl home from his sleeping place.  Early on Saturday morning Mom dragged me out of our cozy bed and before I knew it, her sister Aimee was here along with her husband Andy and daughter Mayna (remember them from the post with the greyhounds??).  They loaded up big Earl with all sorts of foodables and got in. 

Everyone had on red and grey clothes, which I thought was weird....

Mom said we were going to see the Brutus' home.  I put two and two together (now I get the red clothes...), and realized we were headed to Ohio State!!  I was so excited!  

Even though Mom didn't sit in here usual place (she let Andy sit there), I did what I must to be up front to ensure our safe arrival, even if it meant - gasp - sitting on someone else's lap!! Mason sat in his usual spot on the floor next to Dad.  If I look worried here, it's only because of Dad's driving!

In my role as chief of security, I also made sure that all our passengers traveled safely.  Here I am checking on little Mayna, giving her a big kiss for good measure.  It must have tickled, as it made her giggle and wiggle around a lot!

About 2 hours later, we arrived in Columbus.  I hoped that the Buckeyes wouldn't mind the rain, because there sure was a lot of it!  Nonetheless, we were directed to our assigned spot and got Big Earl comfortable.   Here is the view out the front windshield, complete with Brutus and some team bobble-heads.

There were lots of other Big Earls around, some that had been seriously customized by some Buckeye-crazy folks!!  

It's all about the details!  If you are an OSU fan, Mom says you'll appreciate this:

We even saw a bus on top of another bus!

I decided that I'd better put on my jersey & get on security duty to make sure none of those crazy busses got too close to our precious Big Earl!

The rain stopped, so we decided to take a walk over to "The Shoe" (Buckeye Stadium, it's shaped like a horseshoe).   That's the Olentangy River in the foreground.

Once we crossed the river to campus, it got really crowded.  It seemed like everyone was wearing red (Mom calls it "scarlet").  I didn't mind all the people one bit, especially since most of them wanted to either pet me, take a picture of me, or even have their picture taken with me!  I was in my element for sure!! 

 

Step aside folks, Brutus is in da' house!!  Hey, buddy - watch the paws!!

There were people selling these yummy-looking nuts.  I got excited when Mom bought some, but then she said they weren't for eating.  Why would you want to buy foodables to wear, not eat??  That's just nuts.....

After a long walk we finally made it to the stadium.  Everyone was lining up, and I wondered why....

Pretty soon I heard a noise, and it kept getting louder.  Apperently that's why everyone was standing there - they seemed to be really interested in these people that were walking up banging on things.  I only got a little worried when they passed by, since Mom said it was "just the Band".  I didn't like them very much, too loud for my ears!  They looked nice enough, marching along in their spiffy uniforms, but why do they have to bang on those things so much?I don't get it....

Thankfully they marched by quickly and kept on going.  Everyone in The Shoe sounded pretty happy when "the Band" got in there, I was just happy that they left!  We left soon too, but not before Dad took a picture of me & Mom in front of the stadium.

Good thing we left when we did - got back to Big Earl just as the rain returned.  It seemed strange to drive all the way to Columbus just to watch the game on TV, but Dad said it was called "tailgating".  Must have something to do with Mason, since I don't have a tail...  

At any rate, I wasn't excited about getting wet, so had no complaint when Dad said we should go inside.  Mom said it rained cats & dogs, but when I looked outside I didn't see that either.   So very confusing.....

In the end, our Buckeyes walked all over Illinois, winning 38-0!!   Mom says that makes a shut-out two weeks in a row, which hasn't happened for 13 years!  Manya got to honk Big Earl's horn (it sounds like a fog-horn) every time OSU scored!  I guess they didn't mind the rain after all, and Mom said they were glad we came to root for them!

We packed up Big Earl & headed back home after the game, getting in at around 10PM.  I was one tired bulldog, but happy to have been able to go along and see where the other Brutus lives. All the humans seemed happy too, and were all really tired as well.  I guess a tired human is a happy human!  Wait, where have I heard something like that before??

Anyways, Mom promises she'll try to get back on her regular blogging schedule soon.  I guess these other humans' teeth must be pretty important, she sure spends a lot of time fixing them lately!  I told her she better get her priorities straight, having obligations to a certain Frenchie, plus she sure has a lot of our furiends' blogs to catch up on!!

Gotta go, time for my belly rub!  Brutus over & out!!

Our Centennial Post... AND a contest to Celebrate!!

Can you believe it???  This is Brutus' post number 100!!

I knew it was coming, but in the end it sort of snuck up on me.  Time has flown since we started in May, and the blog has certainly taken on a life of its own!  We have 58 followers officially, plus others that keep up via our posts on Facebook.  Visitors have come from as far away as Malaysia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Norway - 32 countries in all!  Who'd of thunk it???

We so appreciate all those who take the effort to stop by.  We love it when you leave comments, but are thankful for the visit even if you can't leave a note.  The number of friends (and furiends) we have made is amazing, and to see how the DWB community pulls together to support those who are in need truly warms my heart!

So to thank all of those who have made our blog what it is today, Brutus and I are hosting a little contest!  We are trying to be original, and hope we have come up with a fun format!  We enlisted the creative services of the one and only Purple Hatter to come up with a fun button to commemorate our contest

We want to know what the most ridiculous thing you humans out there do for your loyal doggie companions.  It might be special food or some sort of grooming or spa treatment to pamper your pooch, or perhaps a crazy ritual that you must indulge them in.  If it raises an eyebrow from you, your significant other, your neighbor, a passerby, or your whole neighborhood -  if it's ridiculous, we want to know about it!

So, without further ado, here are the rules for the contest we are calling:

"That's Ridiculous"

1.  Each entry should consist of two things: a photo (or photos) as well as a short story (a few sentences) to explain what it is that you do, and perhaps why you do it. 

2.  Your contest entry is a post on your blog.  Please include our "That's Ridiculous" button and link to this post/our blog.  It would be helpful (but not mandatory) to also post the button on your blog to help spread the word (it certainly can't hurt your chances of winning, wink, wink)! The more the merrier!!   Oh, and if you don't have a blog, you can still play - just email your entry.

3.  Once you have posted your entry, just let us know we need to come & get it!  You may comment on our post to notify us, or if you would prefer (or don't have a blog), you can email the notice and/or the entry to hrnchardds@yahoo.com.

4. We will accept submissions until 12:00 EDT on Friday, October 16th.  One entry per dog, please (for those of you with packs, each dog can have their own entry, or submit one entry as a group - humans' choice!).

Since this is our first go around in the contest-hosting department, understand we are learning as we go!  I plan to post the entries weekly so that everyone can see who's in the running.  I'm not going to spill the beans and tell what the prize is, but we promise it will be a very cool, one-of-a-kind sort of thing!!!  At this point I plan to assemble a "committee" to help chose the winner.

So to start you off, here's a sample entry.  I do so many things to pamper Brutus, it's hard to pick just one! 

"Hey Mom, I need a drink"

As you might guess from the following photos, Brutus sleeps in the bed with us.  Some might consider that ridiculous in itself, but it gets better!  If you look closely on the nightstand, you'll see a bottle of water for me.  Closer inspection will reveal a small bowl - that's Brutus' water! He wakes me up during the night when he gets thirsty; so to avoid escorting him to the kitchen, I keep the water nearby.  All I have to do is roll over to take off the lid & hold it for Brutus till he drinks his fill.  My husband thinks it's ridiculous, I just think it's practical!

Hopefully that will give you all some ideas and inspiration for your entries!  We can't wait to see what you come up with!!

Have a great weekend.  Go Buckeyes, beat Illinois!!!

Havin' a Ball!!

Recently I discovered something new that can drain Brutus' endless energy: a tennis ball!

I had tried to get Brutus to play with balls in the past, but he never had much interest (other than chewing on golf balls).  Then I happened across a tennis ball the other day - it had been in our gift bag from the dog party!  Brutus wasn't doing anything at the time, so I gave it to him.

At first he just stared at the ball, sitting on the floor in front of him.  He considered trying to eat it, but it's size and texture was not conducive to swallowing.  Then I tossed it just to see what would happen.  Not much initially, but then Brutus realized Mason wanted to play with the tennis ball.  When you are the little dog, there's nothing like a good game of keep-away!!

That's not a golf ball, mom.  But still, I do find it interesting.  Let's have a look at it...

Hmm...  Too big to eat...

 

And that furry stuff feels funny on my tongue.  Wonder if it'll even fit in my mouth?

Mwff fumph wif dis?

(it was hard to understand what Brutus said here, as he had a tennis ball in his mouth....)

Oh, wait - Mason wants it??  

Well then - game ON!!

Can't catch me!!  Yeehaa!!

After some near disasters involving my interior decor, I decided we should take it outside. Mason lost interest (he's having a bad time with allergies right now, on antibiotics and prednisone for the itchies), but Brutus was all about chasing the ball around the back yard!  He even brought it back to me multiple times.  So funny to watch him bolting around with the tennis ball jammed in his big mouth!

What a mouthful!

Room to run now!

Right back at ya!!

Frechie-robics!!

I think we need to do this more often, Mom!!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

I got up earlier than usual a few days ago and was treated to this beautiful sunrise right in my own backyard!  A crisp early fall morning, steam rising off the nearby lake, birds starting to migrate over head....  Honestly, does it get any better than this???

The boys also appreciated being outside, although for a different reason!  We call this phenomena "simultaneous relief"!

Come meet our New Friends!!

In what has become a common phenomena, Brutus' cute, extroverted self brings a significant amount of attention my way by virtue of being on the other end of his leash. Whether it is through blogging, obedience training, agility, dog shows, canine fun events - the list of people who I otherwise might not of had the pleasure of meeting if it weren't for the irresistible Brutus keeps growing!  And then when they find out that Brutus has his own blog...  They might think it's nuts at first, but before they even know what hit them, we have another follower!

We love it when new people start following our blog, especially those who had never even visited a blog before, or thought that a dog could carry such a thing on his own content!  Now we have something new to be proud of - all our fun has inspired one of our new friends to start a blog themselves!!

Brutus & I met Courtney through our agility club, Medina Swarm.  She competes with her Brittany spaniel Sadie Lou, but shares her home with quite a few other animals as well!   She has two labs, what seems like a zillion other Brittanys (there are actually 6, mostly rescue dogs), a few cats, and a herd of 13 miniature donkeys!  Sounds like an awful lot of great blogging material to me!!

Some of you might recognize Courtney, as she has made a few cameo appearances on our blog, most recently tending to the dogs in our dog party post from last weekend. Please go pay a visit to her and her menagerie over at her new blog, Kennedy's Funny Farm!  They've only got one post under their belt, so I'm sure they'll love a big, warm welcome from the DWB community to inspire them to do more!  Stay tuned there for posts not only for Courtney's adventures with her dogs, but also with some totally cute, fuzzy little equines!!

We went out to visit Courtney last weekend, and Brutus got to meet her pack as well as her herd!  He felt an odd kinship with the donkeys, their disproportionally big ears and all...  So, to give you a taste of some of the members of the Funny Farm, here are some pictures of Brutus meeting his first equines!  

Intruder alert!  Intruder alert!

Boy, he sure is funny looking!  And what's that strange noise he makes?  Sounds like he's yelling "yabba, yabba"??

Hmm...  He doesn't smell like a donkey, but doesn't look like any dog we've ever seen!

Don't know what you are little guy, but we've decided to be friends with you on the basis of that fantastic set of ears you've got!!

Rub-a-dub-dub. Brutus in the Tub.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  We had more uncharacteristically nice weather here, so Brutus and I had lots of fun outside.  Agility, football, long walks - it was great fun.  But all good things must end, and that end came in the form of a bath for Brutus!

Brutus has never appreciated being clean, and having his coat look its most lustrous, glossy best. He certainly doesn't appreciate what it takes to get clean, soapy & wet in the laundry room sink.  The Brute pretty much fills up the sink, and he fights me the whole time.  He spends most of the time standing on his hind legs, resulting in me holding the bulk of his weight in one hand, trying to do all the wetting/soaping/scrubbing/rinsing with my free hand.  I usually do it solo, and it's a little bit of a feat to keep him from getting out prematurely.  

The end result is a clean & fluffy Brutus, and a wet & hairy Michelle.  They say he's a "wash & wear" kind of dog - think that means I wash him, then wear all the dirt & hair myself! Thankfully he is a pretty clean dog, so it'll be another couple weeks before we have to do it again! 

Oh, no - bath time.  The injustice....

 

Ugh.  This can't be over soon enough.

Can't we skip the sudsy stuff and call it good??

This is humiliating.  AND she is taking pictures!  I can't look...

Woe is me....

A light at the end of the tunnel - a towel!

Oh, the disgrace... Cleanliness is certainly overrated.

Alright.  Enough.  Stop taking pictures and get me outta here!

I'll find it in myself to forgive you if I get a treat!