December 16th Annie and I were packed up and sent to the kennel until December 21st. This is what happens when your human sister gets married in Austin and you live in Spring.
Mom thought Annie and I would make darling flower girls (or flower puppies) but Jenny said there were already two flower girls, two ring bearers, eight bridesmaids, eight groomsmen and some ushers. So Annie and I missed the whole thing and hung out with the crew at Puppy Camp, which is what Mom and Dad call it. (You know, staying at the vet center overnight.) Even Ellie missed the wedding festivities. Eexcept for the family poker game the day after the wedding which was at her house.
It was excellent. Ellie came and the house was full of people and dogs and happy times.
Hats on dogs, really?
Then Ellie’s mom (Kristen) and dad (Ryan) left without her, and she was worried for about two minutes. She had Annie and me! But then Melissa packed her up and took her to Fort Worth. Ellie hates to ride in cars (what’s up with that?) and from what I’ve heard, she was happy when they got there.
New Year’s rolled around. Seems in our neighborhood, they start celebrating almost right after Christmas. Fireworks scare Annie to death. Mom gave her pills that made her curl up and snooze. No fun at all.
December 31st: Suitcase Alert!
Annie told me that whenever she sees Mom pull out her big suitcase it means we’re heading to the kennel at Kuykendahl Vet Center and the rest of the family is going on vacation. Mom calls the Vet Center “Puppy Camp” and we love Dr. Gunn and her helpers, especially Samantha, Melissa and Judy. Judy has a dog named Layla—that’s where Mom came up with my name. PJ liked “Layla” a lot and now I hardly ever remember that my name was Allie and Ellie’s name was Nicki.
Back to suitcases. Mom’s packing the big one. I’m worried. Yes, I love my people at the vet’s clinic but I love my mommy more!I guess we’ll see what happens next.
January 1st
Okay, Mom didn’t pack a bag for Annie and me. She didn’t make meal-sized ziplocks of our puppy chow. Irm talking to. “Behave yourselves and take care of the boys. I’ll be back in two weeks.”
TWO WEEKS? How long is that? I guess I won’t be posting blogs until she’s back! Mom and Dad left in the car, and Dad came back without her. Where is Mom?
January 3rd This to report: On Dec. 30th Grandma Bergman had a heart attack in Arlington Heights, Illinois where she lives. Mom flew to Chicago, rented a car and has been camping out at the hospital. Grandma got out of ICU yesterday. I wonder if it’s like a kennel. When Annie and I were at the kennel at Thanksgiving there were a couple of dogs in for surgery. Grandma got a stint in an artery. I guess that’s surgery, right?
January 4th Talked to Mom on the phone. Hey, not fair! Grandma got to visit with a dog at the hospital. It was a big yellow lab. I want to go to Chicago and visit Grandma! I bet I’d cheer her up for sure!
January 5th Grandma was moved to a nursing home. I don’t know what that is but I talked to Mom on the phone and she sounded like this was a good thing. Mom sounded tired. I wished she’d come home, but I guess Grandma needed her. Annie and I love Dad and PJ, but we need Mom too.
January 7th This to report: Grandma and Mom got a visit from a rescue Australian shepherd named Cody and a gray rescue poodle named Tink who looks a lot like a fluffy Annie. Mom said she forgot to take a picture, but Grandma loved the visit. Tink sat on Grandma’s lap and really cheered her up. Cody and Tink liked Mom a lot (of course) and Mom has decided visiting nursing homes is something we might want to do someday. She thinks I should settle down a bit first. I think racing up and down long hallways and herding little old people in wheelchairs ond with walkers would be a blast. After all, I’m a “working dog.”
January 8th I taught Annie to push open the gate on her crate when she’s done eating. It’s not locked. I don’t know why she’s been sitting there after she’s done with breakfast and supper. FREEDOM!
January 9th Okay, speaking of freedom. The mesh screen over the backyard gate? Not a great barrier after all. Dad and Annie left me in the backyard. Annie’s picky and likes doing her business in the front yard better. Heck, they’re not leaving me behind! I showed them!
January 10th I decided Mom really needed to come home. I had so much to tell her. Annie was snubbing me. PJ weighed me and said I was twenty pounds. My harness was getting kind of tight.
January 11th was the new kind of ordinary day. Hmmm. I wanted Mom to hurry up and come back.
January 12th Chair legs. Yum. And they sure feel good on the incoming teeth. Dad and PJ said No. PJ sprayed the chair legs with something Annie said was yucko-nasty. She wouldn’t go near it. I thought the taste was exotic. Slurp.
January 13th I’m not sure if I’ve got the right dates. I would have been writing things down myself, but Dad thought I’d eat the pencil. It was hard to dictate my blog over the phone and Mom couldn't post from Luther Home where Grandma Bergman was staying. I told Mom to tell Grandma I’m blonde like Mom and Annie’s gray—like Dad. J Mom said she’s given Grandma pictures of Annie and me, and Grandma has shown them to everybody who likes dogs.
January 14th Annie is so prissy, I can’t believe it. She doesn’t like wet grass or mud or puddles. What’s the big deal? I say, fun fun fun. Annie gets really nervous and hides when it thunders—and she is terrified of fireworks. Mom said Annie was found on the side of the road the morning after a bad storm the weekend our big sister Kristen got married a year ago in November. Mom and PJ had driven home from the post-wedding festivities the night Annie might have been all alone in the storm. Lightning, thunder, pouring rain. They said it was scary. So if that’s why Annie’s scared of storms, Mom says it’s okay and I must be patient. I wonder how long it will take for Annie to trust Mom will always take care of us and would never leave us outside in a storm (nor would Dad or PJ if Mom’s away.) Poor Annie. A hint of thunder or rain and she’s under the bed for the day. Bummer.
January 15th One more day without Mom!
January 16th MOM'S HOME! MOM'S HOME! I couldn’t bark it loud enough. There was no time to blog. Had to play with MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM!
Finally, January 28th, back to blogging. Finally. Mom has been so busy, first putting away Christmas and next talking to Grandma on the phone all the time. I’m supposed to be blogging. It’s almost February and I have not posted one single thing this month.
Here’s the scoop to keep you up to date.
Of course, Mom noticed my harness was much too small and went right out and bought me a new one which is just a little too big. It’s blue, and you’ll see it in pictures. I like it. Really. And I got a new collar too.
So Penny, my birth sister formerly known as Carly, had a DNA test. It said she’s half Chow/Belgian Malinois AND, get this!, half Chihuahua. No Australian Shepherd at all. Mom is curious about this and thinks she might spring for a test by another DNA testing company. Chihuahua??? Aren’t they really small? I’m now twenty-one pounds. Come on… Chihuahua? I’ve never even tasted Taco Bell.
Coffee doesn’t taste good. And it’s hot.
Mom gave Annie and me baths. Annie went first, and she said it wasn’t so bad. I went next and was terrified until Mom grabbed me by the scruff of my neck. My last two baths (first in the kitchen sink and then in the bathtub) didn’t go so well, but now there’s lots of me to hold onto and it didn’t hurt at all. This bath was in the bathtub again. And you know what, it wasn’t so bad. I’m not a lab, for crying out loud. Water is something I drink, not play in. Anyway, it took THREE hours for my fur to dry because it’s so thick.
Annie and I watched The State of the Union Address with Mom and Dad. I think Mr. President better spread some of his concern and support for education to the folks here in Texas.
Mom has been working on her novel every single day, obviously NOT posting my blog. But I’m patient and sit at the base of her swivel chair and lick her feet when I think she’s forgotten about me. I try to trip her when she gets up. She says that’s not funny. But it is. It really is.
I think her novel should be about me. Just sayin’.
Love ya!
Layla
Great Post! Very accurate summary of the time that Mom was away helping with Grandma!
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