Treats and Dogolanterns (by: Carlo)

For Halloween this year, we made a dogolantern! It's like a jackolantern only better cause its name isn't Jack and it looks like a dog. We actually haven't named it yet, but, I'm thinking Carlo sounds pretty good... as in Carlolantern!

We also went to a harvest festival where my pal said that I was a total kid magnet. Every kid there wanted to come over and pet me. It was great! All of the kids smelled like yummy treats... and they had gooey good smellin' stuff all over their hands... so, being the helpful dog that I am, I helped them clean their hands!

The trick-or-treaters are now about to arrive, so I've gotta get going. Hope you all have a Happy Halloween with lots & lots of treats and dogolanterns!

Stinky Stuff and Showers (by: Carlo)

Earlier this week my pal came home and told me she had a shower at work. I didn't understand why the heck she would need to shower at work since she takes a shower every morning before going to work. But, I thought that maybe she did something extra fun that day to make herself really stinky. I know from experience, that the best days are the days I roll in stinky stuff!

I told my pal all of this and she rolled her eyes and said, "No, Carlo, unlike you, I do not like to roll in stank!"

"Then why the heck would you take another shower at work?!" I asked.

"Follow me, Carlo," she said, "I'll show you!"

So, she led me out to her car, where she proceeded to unload a bunch of boxes and bags. I didn't really find it all that interesting... until I saw IT. A soft stuffed froggie toy was hanging from one of the bags! I LOVE soft stuffed toys almost as much as rolling in stank!

My pal noticed my interest, and said, "Check out what this toy does, Carlo!" and she pushed the belly of the froggie. You'll never believe it, but the nicest music started playing! My pal said the music was called a lullaby.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" I shouted as I tried to put the stuffed froggie in my mouth, "What else did you bring me?"

My pal pushed my nose away from the froggie, but before she could answer my question, I had already stuck my head in another bag... and saw... a STUFFED DOGGIE TOY!

Smiling, my pal pulled my head out of that bag before I could grab the stuffed doggie and then told me that these toys weren't for me.

"Huh?" I asked, dumbfounded, "but I thought ALL stuffed squishy toys were for me!"

She then told me that these toys were for the soon to arrive baby boy. She went on to explain that the stuffed toys were just a few of the wonderful baby shower gifts that she had received at work. She said that she had the best co-workers in the world and they had given her a really nice baby shower. Excitedly, she showed me other things she had received... like a diaper genie.

Noticing that I was looking a little bummed that the toys weren't for me, she said softly, "Carlo, I'm sure that the baby wouldn't mind playing with his toys with you some day when he is big enough... but, we have to wait awhile before you can do that. And, when you do play with him and the toys, you have to be careful to keep these toys in really nice shape... that means no getting them dirty... and definitely, NO PULLING STUFFING OUT OF THEM."

I pondered what she said for a few minutes, and then gave her a big lick on the cheek. "Ok!" I said, "I'll wait for baby boy! I can't wait to play with him and the toys!" Then, I got distracted and said, "Hey, what are you supposed to do with this diaper genie thingy anyways?!"

My pal explained what the diaper genie was used for. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" I shouted, "Forget the soft stuffed toys... I really can't wait to play with the diaper genie... stinky stuff here I come!"

My Baby Boy! (by: Carlo)

Today my pal was putting away a bunch of itsy bitsy miniature clothing. I'd never seen such small clothing before! I looked inquisically at the mini clothes and wondered what they heck they were for...

The clothing was so tiny that I started worrying that my pal was planning on replacing all of her socks with the tiny clothes. I LOVE socks... and couldn't imagine a house without socks laying all around for me to carry from one room to the next. But, the clothing was so itsy bitsy, I also couldn't imagine it fitting anything but perhaps my pal's feet!

My pal noticed my fretting and when I told her my worries about a house with no socks, she started laughing.

"These clothes aren't for my feet, Carlo", she said with a giggle. Then she sat me down and explained to me that the clothing was going to be for a new addition to our family!

"You mean we're going to get another CCI puppy?!" I asked in excitement. The mini clothing still puzzled me... but, I thought, that maybe they were some type of new assistance puppy in training capes.

"No," my pal laughed, "we're not getting another CCI puppy... or, at least not for a little while," she said, as she winked. "We're going to be getting a different kind of puppy... a human puppy... a baby boy!"

I sat back on my haunches in stunned silence. "A BABY BOY!!!" I then shouted as I pounced on her and licked her face. I've visited lots of little boys while doing my therapy work at Shriners Hospital for Children and I've loved them all... but, I've never had my VERY OWN BABY BOY! "When, when, when?!" I asked as I danced in circles around her.

She smiled and said, "Well, it looks as if he will be arriving in December."

I ran over and grabbed my toy... my favorite toy... the toy that I won at Woofstock a few weeks ago. I proudly put the toy down on the mini clothing and exclaimed in excitement, "I can't wait to share my favorite toy with my VERY OWN BABY BOY!!!"

Surfin Paws Dog Surfing Competition

SURF'S UP DUDE! Today was the Surfin Paws Dog Surfing Competition in Huntington Beach! It was the first annual dog surf contest to benefit the Orange County SPCA. I sure do wish we could have gone!

Those of you who know me well, know that there is absolutely NO WAY I would get on a surf board. That is just way too scary for me. But, I still wished we could have watched the competition. I would have kept my four paws where they belong... on dry land! And, I would have been the official greeter... greeting each and every dog as they surfed ashore! I would even have brought them a toy!

While we didn't get to go, we did have fun watching the video from the event...

Woofstock (by: Carlo)

Today I traveled back in time to the 60s, put on a tie dye shirt, and wore flowers in my fur! Ok, ok... not really... but, I did go with my pal to an event where other people and dogs did dress up like it was the 60s! The event was called Woofstock and it was a benefit for an organization called PAWED (People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado County).

There were lots of people and dogs there... and like, I said, many were dressed up for the occasion in 60's attire. My pal and I didn't dress up... but, I did sport that cool bandanna my pal got for me when we went up to Tahoe a few weeks ago. Oh yeah, I was lookin' sharp!

There were all kinds of dog organizations at Woofstock. My buddy Hope was working with her human at the Lend a Heart table. Lend a Heart provides animal-assisted therapy to local facilities. At the Lend a Heart table, there was a game where if you rang a bell, you could win a prize. So, I rang the bell and won a toy! It's a plush bone... and I lOVE it! Since winning it, I've been carrying it ALL over the place.

And, guess what else? We ran into my buddy, Jake (aka "The Other Sandy")! If you don't remember, about a year ago I was in a stage production of Annie. I played the role of Sandy. Because there were so many performances, two dogs were selected to play the role... me and Jake! It was good seeing him again and we both agreed that we missed the ole' stage life!

We also chatted up the lady from Music Plus Dogs. This organization teaches the art and sport of musical canine freestyle. My pal and I have been wanting to learn this for awhile. It looks super duper fun! I can't wait to learn some boogie woogie moves! If you've never seen musical canine freestyle, you can check out one of the BEST musical canine freestyle teams EVER here:

.

Woofstock sure was loads of fun. I wonder if that's really what life was like in the 60s? Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you about one of the BESTEST things... I got a yogurt treat in a cup! It was sooooo good! I licked the whole thing clean and would have eaten the cup too, if my pal had let me! I LOVE the 60s!