Thank you for fighting for our freedom...

52 Weeks of Murphy - 21/52

Guarding the House

Trip to the Betterinarian

Mom said it was that time of the year. Time to go to the Betterinarian for my annual exam and vaccinations. Ruh Roh! That doesn't sound like much fun!!

Luckily, their office is only about 3 blocks away from our house, so ever since I was little me & Mom would stop in often on our walkies just to say "woof!" and get a few treats. That means I'm not scared to go at all!

Ok...I take dat back a little. Going in and sayin "woof" to the receptionists and gettin cookies is one thing...havin to go into an exam room is a COMPLETELY different experience! I was a little nervous, but Mom just ignored my nerves and kept makin me do different obedience commands (sit, down, stand...all things I'm pretty good at!) to keep my mind off of things.

Since Fergie had an upper respiratory infection when we first got her, she hadn't gotten any of her shots yet so she got to come along! I think Mom shoulda bought a bigger carrier...she looks like she's gonna outgrow this one pretty quick!

She was a lil more tentative about comin out of her carrier this time.

But she once she was out, she did lots of explorin!

Fergie just got her FVRCP vaccination. She'll get another one in 3 weeks and that will probably be it for the rest of her life. Since she's an indoor kitty only, her risk of exposure is super duper low. Lucky for her, she won't have to get a rabies shot at all!

I was a good boy and laid down patiently waitin for my checkup. The Betterinarian said I look GREAT!! She said Mom was doin an excellent job of keepin me at a good weight. So many doggies are obese, its so sad. Not only is it hard on their joints and skeletal system, but bein overweight is also hard on their heart and can cause them not to live as long as they should! Its even more important for giant breed doggies like me. In a dog who is at a healthy weight, you should be able to feel the ribs super easy. Even if the last rib is visible a little...that's ok! Obviously, you woudn't want all the ribs to show, and if the backbone or hip bones are visible then your pup is too thin, but Mom feels its much more healthy to be a little on the underweight side than overweight at all.

Mom really likes my Betterinarian cuz she doesn't push vaccines on me. She drew some blood to do an antibody titer test, and if the titer comes back low, then I'll probably have to get vaccinated, but if the my antibody levels are high then we get to wait til next year and do the test again!

Since I go to the dog park, and dog beach, and lots of doggie festivals, I did have to get a Bordatella vaccine. Luckily, it wasn't a shot though, all she did was put some funny stuff up my nose.

Penasquitos Canyon, Foxtails & Creepy crawlies

Last week, we met up with some people & doggies from the Sandy Eggo Off Leash Meetup group and went on a great hike thru one of the open space preserves here in Sandy Eggo. Its called Penasquitos Canyon and its a big park, with lots of trails for hiking, mountain biking & horseback riding. We saw 2 horses while we were hiking...boy are they big!!

This past winter was a pretty rainy one for Sandy Eggo, so that means everything has been growing like crazy.  Now that it hasn't rained in a while, everything is done growin and is drying up. All the tall grasses have turned a pretty golden color, but they have also gone to seed which means one thing. Foxtails!!

Mom says these guys are evil. They are super pointy and only like to travel one way once they get in a doggies fur, or ear, or even their nose!

Mom kept me on leash the entire time, but I still managed to almost get one in my nose! All I did was go out in the field a little bit to investigate a smell, and WHAMMO! I started sneezin like crazy! Sheesh...I musta sneezed about 20 times in a row, but luckily one of those sneezes musta gotten the bugger out, cuz after that I was fine. PHEW! She was pretty worried about it for a while...most of the time when a foxtail goes into a doggies nose it requires some sort of sedation to get it out! That would NOT have been fun!

After the foxtail scare, she made sure to keep me on the trail at all times.

In the middle of the preserve, there's a small little creek. Its surround by lots of trees and plants, cuz I think they really like the water! Mom says there are often deer and other wildlife that hang out in that area, cuz its one of the only water sources around. During our hike, we saw a bunch of bunnies (which are everywhere!) and we even got to see a cyote! He ran off as soon as he smelled all us doggies, but boy did it get us excited! Good thing we were all on leash!

There were even some areas away from the creek that were fighting hard to stay green & flowery. It was a super nice hike!

or at least that's what Mom thought back then! This morning, she was petting me & givin me lovins, when she felt something different on my side. After closer inspection, this is what she found!!

A grody tick!! EWWWWWW!!

Mom's not sure how long its been there, but it didn't have a very good hold of me, and wasn't full of my blood but it was still super icky! Mom quickly removed it and plopped it into a capful of alcohol. Die you little parasite! Die!!!

Now, both Mom & I have the creepy crawlies. Even though she checked me out super good...I still feel like I got one on me! YUCK!

16 month measurements

16 months, 140.7 lbs, 36.5" tall

Totally Fergie Tuesday

Fergie's growin up!!

Mom says she might return her though. She says she thinks there was a bait & switch somewhere along the way. You remember when Fergie was just a lil tyke? She was all full of grey fluffiness.

And now look. She's striped!

Lil Miss Fergie may look all sweet and sugary in these photos, but I tell ya...there's an evilness behind those golden eyes.

I have proof, my poor lil nose (ok, yeah...its really more like a big schnoz) has tiny scratches and bite marks all over it! Mom's full of battle wounds too. That Fergie is like a little land shark...pouncing & attacking at the slightest movement.

Like I said..don't let these pictures fool ya.

A light is out...

The world is a little dimmer today, a beautiful light has left this world. Maxdog, you have touched so many lives around the globe and will be missed by all those who were lucky enough to know you.

RIP Max

WHEN TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME

When tomorrow starts without me,

And I'm not there to see;

The sun will rise and find your eyes

All filled with tears for me.

I wish so much you wouldn't cry

The way you did today,

Remembering how I'd lay my head

In your lap that special way.

I know how much you love me,

As much as I love you,

And each time that you think of me,

I know you'll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me.

Please try to understand,

That an angel came and called my name

And petted me with her hand.

She said my place was ready,

In Heaven far above,

And that I'd have to leave behind

All those I dearly love.

But, as I turned to heel away,

A tear fell from my eye,

For all my life I never thought

That I would have to die.

I had so much to live for,

So many sits and downs to do,

It seemed almost impossible,

That I was leaving you.

I thought about our lives together,

I know you must be sad,

I thought of all the love we shared,

And all the fun we had.

Remember how I'd nudge your hand,

And poke you with my nose?

The frisbee I would gladly chase,

The bad guy, I'd "bark and hold".

If I could relive yesterday,

Just even for awhile,

I'd wag my tail and kiss you,

Just so I could see you smile.

But, then I fully realized,

That this could never be;

For emptiness and memories

Will take the place of me.

And when I thought of treats and toys,

I might miss come tomorrow,

I thought of you and when I did,

My dog-heart filled with sorrow.

But then I walked through Heaven's gate,

And felt so much at home;

As God looked down and smiled at me,

From His beautiful golden throne.

He said, "This is eternity,

And now we welcome you,

Today your life on earth is past,

But here it starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,

But today will always last;

For you see, each days's the same day,

There's no longing for the past.

Now you have been so faithful,

So trusting, loyal and true;

Though there were times you did things,

You knew you shouldn't do.

But good dogs are forgiven,

And now at last you're free;

So won't you sit here by my side,

And wait right here with me?"

So when tomorrow starts without me,

Don't think we're far apart.

For every time you think of me,

I'm right there, in your heart.

~Author Unknown

52 Weeks of Murphy - 20/52

Stop Thief!!

Mom took this picture of me yesterday at the Great Dane meetup. One of my most favoritest things to do at the beach is steal other doggies toys. 1) because they usually have REALLY cool toys and Mom doesn't ever bring ANY toys for me cuz she's mean like that, and 2) because it usually gets the other doggie to chase me and being chased is also one of my most favoritest things!

What a day!!

Mom and I had a very busy and exciting day today. Got up this morning and she told me we were going to the Loew's Surf Dog Contest. Nah....I din't compete, just went to watch, but boy did it look fun!

When we got there I realized they were also filming a promo for the upcoming Marmaduke movie! Can you believe it!! I was going to get to meet Marmaduke!!

Boy, was he a good lookin dog. Mom was super impressed with how well behaved and trained he was. He even seemed to have control over his ears and which way they went!

Unfortunately, he was too big of a star to meet his fans. We just got to watch from a distance as he filmed the promo.

Marmaduke is such a big star, he even has his own personal doggie drool wiper upper!

After they were done filming Marmaduke himself, they started filming a couple of dogs who pretended to be in the surf contest. There was a pretty black dane named Luna who they wanted in the shot, but she was a little nervous and wouldn't sit and stay like they wanted her to. Lucky for them, I was on top of things! I quickly jumped in and helped out in their time of need. Boy were they thankful!

Mom had to sign a release and everything! The release was for my "performance", can you believe it!?! My first 'performance'! According to the guy talkin to Mom, this promo was being filmed for Nickelodean TV. She's gonna try to find out when (or if) it will actually air and will be sure to share the clip.

After the quick filming, my adoring fans came over to greet me. I was much nicer than that Marmaduke fella, and made sure to say hi to everyone.

Next, we walked down to watch the surf dogs. Boy were they good! The waves were really big, and really messy...but almost all the dogs still managed to 'hang 20' at least once or twice.

One of the best things about the morning was that I got to spend some nice quality time with one of my BFFs, Ginger.

After the surf dog contest was over, Mom and I headed back to the house for a short nap before driving up to Del Mar Dog Beach for a Great Dane Meetup. There were a ton of new puppy members there today!

Chloe, one of my good friends from the park, was there, so we had fun playin chase in the water.

Cleo also had a good time runnin around.

Tuttle and I worked on a little hole for a while

And the newest member of the meetup group, Atticus, watched on intently.

Worked on the hole again...

thought I saw China at one point, but I'm not really sure what it looks like.

Wilson got lots of luvin from Chloe's Mom

and boy was Bella pooped by the time the day was done.

After the beach, some of us headed over to a restaurant for some grub. Well...Mom got to eat foodables, I just had to lay there and be good. I did a good job while all the humans were eating, and Mom was very proud!

but then, Miss Bella decided to come over and play. But look Mom! I'm still layin down!!

wowza...what a day...I think its time for me to take a long nap too!