Ohhhhh so sick yesterday. I was so desperate I went to the bathroom on the carpet. Hate doing that. Tried so hard not to, but, lacking opposable thumbs and therefore the ability to open the back door to let myself out, I had no choice but to go on the carpet upstairs. The human was very understanding, and, after about 40 minutes of work, appears to have returned the carpet to its original condition. I had to go out lots during the night, so neither of us got much sleep. Today, I made it through - partially because of the lack of food. Nothing but rice today, bland but I suppose my stomach is grateful.

Poor me.

More spring grass this morning! I found a great patch of the stuff and ate the whole thing. Barfed it up ten minutes later on somebody's lawn, but that doesn't matter - it was worth it. So delicious.

Yesterday was a blast. We went to Bronte - I hadn't been all week so I was particularly excited and started barking well before we arrived at the park. We saw Oreo, and a couple of labs (labs are, sorry to say, so lame....I like picking on them). Paris and Boscoe came too. We usually just walk along the trail together, we don't play much. Not today! Paris, Boscoe and I ran and ran in the creek, chased each other around, did tons of play bows and acted like a pack of German shepherd puppies. We got covered in mud and made total messes of ourselves while the humans watched (they seemed resigned to it). It was just awesome. I felt like a puppy yesterday. A good day to be alive.

It's raining today, but I think we're heading to the off leash park soon regardless. I'll be a happy disaster once we're finished.

I had my first spring grass of 2009 on my walk last night! Ok, so, the blades were about two inches long and the human had to find them for me. That doesn't mean it was any less wonderful. I keep checking my favourite spot for spring grass - none is up yet, but the human tells me it will be there soon.

One of the many joys of life, noshing on yummy fresh grass.

We're heading out soon to meet up with Paris and Boscoe for an off leash party at Bronte. I havent' seen Cosie in awhile - hopefully will get to see her soon. I miss her.

I noticed the other day that I now have little flecks of grey appearing on my ears.

I'm getting older. And wiser.

Time has taught me some valuable life lessons.

"Dogs" that weigh under 20 pounds are not, in fact, dogs. They are snacks.

Spring is the best time to eat goose poo. Great combo of fresh and cured frozen winter poo.

You cannot afford to be complacent in the car. Threats are everywhere; always protect the car.

Toilet paper can be eaten while still on the wall; no need to wait to raid the garbage for the empty roll.

Puddles are little pools of joy and should be jumped in, run through, and generally enjoyed at every possible opportunity, no matter what your age or how bad your back is.

Joggers are evil.

Rollerbladers and skateboarders are worse.

When you eat grass, it sometimes makes it hard to get the poo out of your bum.

Cats never lose their allure as prey.

Barking is fun and should be done as often as possible.

If you're on the furniture while the humans are out, always be alert so you can hop off quickly and not get caught.

Chasing provincial park trucks and vehicles is super fun.

You cannot smush dead rodents into your mouth through a muzzle. Don't bother trying.

Snow = joy. Don't ever forget it.

If you have a dog seatbelt on, hang your head out the open car window and bark at cows; you can cause mini-stampedes and it's really fun.

Greyhounds and whippets are hard to catch unless you can outsmart them. And that ain't hard.

Don't steal food that has chipotle peppers in it.

Your pack is everything.

Humans are imperfect, but still worth loving.

I had a bath on Sunday after our hike.

I do not like baths.

It's not because I don't like water. I love water. I love puddles, creeks, lakes, rivers, any body of water, small or large, draws me in. I love to bite it, eat it, lay in it, roll in it.

Water and I, we're cool.

So why don't I like baths?

Because I come out all fluffy. Soft. Pretty-smelling.

And that, my dear readers, makes it impossible for the human to resist petting and hugging me.

The past few days?

Hell.

Torture.

Days filled with "puppy hugs". Random touching. Sniffing of my fur. Exclamations of "ohhhhhhh you are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute".

You'd hate baths too if that's what happened after them.

Strange morning yesterday. The human indicated that it was time to get into the car, which, on any given weekend morning means we are headed for a hike. I stepped up to the passenger side of the car and noticed a large envelope on the floor. I sniffed it. Coudn't figure out what that scent was...took me a few minutes of intense sniffing before I realized. It was the smell of....the VET!! They were xrays. I immediately exited the car. To hell with that - I signed up for a hike, not torture.

The human laughed (so insulting) and insisted I get into the car. We drove toward the off leash park, so I got all excited. Perhaps I had been mistaken?

An unexpected left turn shut me up.

We parked, and went into a very nice place that has food. I smelled it immediately and headed straight for the food shelves. Met a very nice woman upon entering the building, and then Dr. Honda came out and said hi to me. I liked her immediately (and not just because she had food in her pockets), gave her some Storm kisses. We spent quite a bit of time together. She felt my legs, back, hips. It felt good, actually. Kind of like a massage. Wasn't so thrilled with her looking into my ears, but I let her. And then she put me in a headlock and someone stuck a needle in me. I forgave her...more kisses. I think she' s my new vet, and sense she'll be a good ally as I move into my senior years.

Met a four month old Doberman named Kato yesterday. He had massive paws! We had a good time on our hike.