Dawgs in the Ruff (by: Carlo)

The 8th annual Dawgs in The Ruff Golf Tournament for CCI is almost here! It's on Monday, September 22... that's just a few naps away from now! If you think you might wanna play the game where you hit the little white ball all over the big green park (aka Granite Bay Golf Club), then you can register here: Dawgs in the Ruff.

Also, we are having a really cool raffle this year! You can win all sorts of baskets full of neat stuff! If you go to Raffle Information you can see photos and descriptions of the baskets and you can find out how to get raffle tickets! I've already told my pal that she has just gotta win item 5: Dog Toy Chest on Wheel!!! Check it out...

Life is Good! (by: Carlo)

My pal bought me a cool new collar the other day! She said it's going to be for special occasions (like when we start doing therapy work... if we pass the evaluations in October!). The collar says "Life is Good", which is my motto! Life is good! Very good!

Case in point: Yesterday my pal took Gerrit and me out to the lake to play with our buddies Skipper and Hope! Talk about a good day! Here's me hanging out in the water.

Gerrit and Skipper swam really fast and always got the stick. If you ask me, they were total stick hogs...

Here they are with Hope. She was a bit of a stick hog too... but not nearly as bad as Gerrit and Skipper...

Since I had no stick, I resorted to other activities... like helping my pal out while she took photos. Here I am helping her... errrr... frame the photo with my tail! Notice who has the stick!

My pal and her friends finally made Skipper, Gerrit, and Hope sit while I got to swim and retrieve the stick all by myself! It was nice cause I could take my sweet time. After all, what's the rush?!

An afternoon at the lake... what could be better! Life sure is good! :-)

Check Out My Bro! (by: Carlo)

Check this out! The first dog in this video... Chisum... is my brother! He graduated in the North Central region in June!

Phelps Ain't Got Nothin' On Me (by: Carlo)

This weekend I've been practicing my swimming skills. And, let me tell ya'... not to brag or anything... but, that Olympics swimmer guy, Michael Phelps, ain't got nothing on me!

I used to just like to get my paws wet in the pool. I'd stand on the first step and just hang out there. But, my pal taught me that if I go all the way in... that's where the fun really begins! My pal throws a really cool toy in the pool (you can see it in the photo above) and I get to swim out and get it! The only problem is Lucky and Gerrit. They both don't like swimming in the pool. Instead, they lay in wait as I go swimming to retrieve the cool toy. And, as soon as I climb the steps to get out of the pool, they pounce on me, and steal my hard earned toy! Then, they go running off with it! Fortunately, my pal makes them give it back.

Well, I've gotta go... it's time for some more swimming!

Dog Level (by: Carlo)

Today Gerrit came home from work and asked me what the heck was up with people at work always using the phrase high level. I laughed and told him, "my friend, even when you are an old and wise 2 year old like me, you will still never understand some of the things people say and do."

I still vividly remember the days when I was an assistance puppy in training. My puppy raiser would take me to meetings and between my snores and dreams, I would hear, "Let's keep this at a high level discussion..." and "We are going to provide just a high level overview..." and "On a high level blah blah blah"… SNORRRRE! (the snore part was me… not the people in the meeting… they all just wish they could have tuned out and snored with me!).

So, what the heck is up with work people always saying high level? My pal tried once to explain it to me. But, I still didn't get it. For me (and any other dog out there), there is just one level. And, that is… DOG LEVEL. If us dogs crouch down low, we might be able to see, smell, and eat (if our humans aren't watching) yummy morsels of food just a little better. And, if we do an "up" or a "lap" we will be at a level high enough to give our humans a big wet kiss. Nice! But, even those lows and highs all fall within... DOG LEVEL.

DOG LEVEL is the best level ever! From this level, you can get pats on your head and scratches behind your ears, you can receive treats for being a good boy, you can easily play with other dogs (even if some are smaller or bigger than you), you can fit on those comfy doggie pillows that humans leave on the floor for us, and you can run fast and the wind will hit your ears just right so they flap in the wind.

So, I ask you… why on earth would you want anything to be at a high level, when there is a DOG LEVEL?

Thirsty (by: Lucky)

My dawg days of summer have been interrupted lately with some visits to the vet. Just because I was drinking a little water (ok, ok, a lot of water) and having a few accidents in the house (seriously, it hasn't been all that many!), my pal got all concerned. People tend to worry about EVERYTHING... especially my pal. And, she especially worries about me. Anyways, before you know it, she was whisking me to the vet for blood tests and stuff.

The longest vet visit was today. I was there ALL day. It really wasn't all that bad cause all the people at the vet's office are REALLY nice. Plus, today they kept taking me outside on short walks. The weird thing is that there was this guy with a bowl that stood behind me and caught my pee every time I went to the bathroom. I'm serious!!! People are so weird!

At the end of the day, my pal came and picked me up. She was waiting for me in the vet's office and gave me a big hug when she saw me. Then she and the vet chatted for a long time. To be honest, I wasn't listening all that much to what they were saying. I was ready to go home. Plus, I was thirsty. I was so thirsty I felt like I had just run a marathon. I wanted big ole bowl of water. But, every time I thought the conversation was coming to an end, my pal would ask yet another question. UGH!!!

Finally, my pal was done with the questions and we headed home. As we were driving, my pal looked in her rear view mirror and said, "Lucky, did you hear my conversation with the vet?"

Uh, no... because I was too THIRSTY! And, by the way, can you drive a little faster?

"Well," she went on, "The vet says you have something called diabetes insipidus."

That's great. But, did you have to stop at the yellow street light?!

"That's just means that for some reason either your pituitary gland or your kidneys are not doing what they should be doing... producing an adequate level of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), so you are not concentrating your urine."

Yada, yada, yada. The speed limit is 40 mph on the street, you know? And, I'm probably not concentrating on my urine cause I'm so dang thirsty! And, what's up with everyone's obsession with my pee?

"...so, there is no cure for this. We can put you on meds (which have side effects). Or, we can do nothing and you are always going to be thirsty. And, as you know... what goes in, must come out. Also, it's important that water is always available to you."

Did you say water?! Now we're talkin'!!!

She sighed and her eyes, which I could see in the rear view mirror, looked distraught. "It could be dangerous if you don't have enough water."

Well, you might want to put the pedal to the metal then!

So, after the longest 10 minutes ever, we FINALLY get home. Yeah, yeah, 10 minutes may not sound like a long drive, but hey, I was thirsty! But, get this... my pal gave me rationed water. She said I couldn't drink too much at once. I tried sneaking a drink out of the pool, but she yelled at me to stop. And, I headed to the toilet (hey, I was desperate!), but, she was right behind me and said, "Lucky, don't you touch that toilet water... I promise I'll give you some more water in 30 minutes."

Sure enough, after 30 minutes I got more water... non-toilet water. Ahhhhh. I love water. Now, I'm ready for a nap. But, I still don't get people's obsession with my pee. People are so weird...