GREAT walk at Bronte this morning. We had a bit of snow, which put me in a particularly playful mood. The human and I met up with a lady and her yellow lab, Koby at the very beginning of our walk and we all stayed together the whole time. I totally liked Koby. We played and hung out, wrestled a bit in the snow and generally had a fun time together.

Ran into a dog I really liked and haven't seen since, oh, 2004, I think. I was totally floored when I saw and sniffed him - I remembered Bali right away, and he definitely remembered me. We had a fun reunion. Lots of sniffing and playing. He's got some gray around his muzzle now, too, but he's looking good! I wish we could have spent more time together. Maybe I'll see him again soon and we can play. I used to love spinning him around on his back, using his neck as leverage. Yep. Those were the good ole days.

It's now just after nine. The human is salivating in front of the tv over some guy named Hugh Jackman, who's hosting the Oscars. I'm going to finish this post and hit the sack, with duckie, goosie, piggy and koala.

My neighbour, Calais, gave me a rawhide bone for Christmas. As with all rawhide, as soon as the human handed it to me, I put it in my mouth, went to the back door and cried, because I desperately needed to bury the rawhide as soon as possible. Understanding my urgent need, she let me out. I secured the bone under a big pile of snow, and further disguised the spot by piling more snow on top of it with my snout.

Imagine my dismay when I went into the yard last night and discovered my treasure laying out in the open, robbed of its snowy hiding place. I immediately went to work to fix the situation. After approximately ten minutes of focused effort, the bone is once again hidden beneath a large pile of mud and dirt.

I am pleased.

GREAT time at the dog park today.

Everyone was there. Diane, Cosie and Kammy drove up the same time we did. Then we saw Quinn, Paris, Boscoe. Met Mika, a GSD puppy. Who else...Chance and her new puppy sibling Button (who had a total case of the puppy crazies). Dollar...I just know I'm forgetting some dogs.

We walked in a big pack. I found a woman who had cookies in her pocket, and decided to stay with her pack instead of following my own. They walked on ahead, and even when I lost sight of them, this new cookie-laden pack was more attractive to me. I eventually left and rejoined my group.

I chased a huge hawk across the field and tried to smush a dead mouse into my muzzle so I could eat it.

I've had a good weekend. Yesterday we hiked the Bruce Trail with Cosmos and Diane. I had a bad case of wanderlust, and took off to chase things a lot. Felt really playful too - Cosie and I had a couple of totally silly play sessions. Sometimes it's fun to visit your inner puppy. I was really tired last night after all that running, leaping and hill climbing, so while the human watched a sappy movie, I snored on my dog bed.

Today we went for an off leash walk at Bronte. Less strenuous but still got plenty of exercise chasing squirrels and hawks. For some reason, my mood on this morning's walk could best be described as "pushy and bitchy" so it's a good thing the human had me muzzled. Even with the muzzle, I got in trouble once for bullying a dog (look, in my estimation, it wasn't really a dog...it was small, fluffy, white and scared s******* of me; it was prey). Lesli did the collar grab/eyeball thing to me, and the next time I passed the small white piece of prey, I gave it a pass.

Heading off for a nap in the sun now. It's such a nice, sunny day.

It's Valentine's Day, and, even though I'm a dog and we do not celebrate your strange human holidays, I have a story to tell you.

I met a cute guy online!

He left a comment on my blog, so I checked him out.

OMG.

You know how I like men of my breed...how, even though I'm a tough girl, I go all silly around them. Vimy in Ottawa, Riley here in Burlington, that handsome shepherd I met at Bronte a few weeks ago and exposed my belly to. This guy is gorgeous - and I think he's sable, just like my mom was. His name is Gundo....how cool is that? His favourite foods include small dogs and cat fritters, just like me. He doesn't cry, just like me. He watches people carefully and protects his human, just like me. He has a strong prey drive, just like me. He says he likes watching Shutzhund. If he does Shutzhund, well, I'm toast. The canine version of my human's SWAT weakness. Can't fight it.

Is this the canine version of online dating? If only we were truly capable of communicating. If I met him, I'd likely exhibit all of the behaviours that prompted Tara and Heidi, our former neighbours in Ottawa, to refer to me as a tramp (whatever that is).

My human and I are spending Valentine's Day together. Went for a nice walk early this morning and saw a really pretty sunrise, very pink. In about an hour, we're meeting up with Cosmos and Diane to hike the Bruce Trail. Then I suspect we'll come home for nap before enjoying a yummy dinner.

I'm going back to my power nap in preparation for a hard hike.

I've had another case of canine writer's block. Actually, there hasn't been a lot to tell you about. Snowy walks, stuffing my muzzle full of snow, the usual stuff. Right now it's warm and rainy and all the snow is melting, so I get soaked with salt and sand and muck every time we walk. This requires a thorough rubdown with a towel when we come back to the house. I do not like towel rubdowns.

Despite the warming trend, our house has been super cold at night lately, so the human has taken to covering me up with a blanket in my little doggie bed beside her big bed. The other night, I must confess, I was super cozy and happy. She'd covered me with a blanket, and I had both my Christmas goose and ducky in the bed with me (photographic evidence included here). Total bliss.