Tsar's Day

Hello everyone, I'm Tsar and recently several of our friends have asked Mom questions. Mom isn't very good at answering these things where she has to name seven things about herself, or telling a secret nobody knows. She just lets them slide, so today I'll take over and tell you all about ME.

I came to live with Mom and Dad when I was nine weeks old. The lady who owned my dog-mom didn't want me and my brothers and sister so she turned us in to a shelter. The very day she left us, my Mom visited the shelter and found me. My dog-mom was a Siberian Husky and my dog-dad was a Labrador Retriever and Chow Chow mix. Everybody told my Mom that I would be  a small fuzzy dog, but she knew better. She wanted a big dog and that's what I am. 

When I came here to live there were a few other dogs. There was Lucy who was really little and really bossy, and Monty who was big and scary, and Morgan who was two years older than me. I came here in January and in April, Samba came to join the family. We're only 4 months apart and we became good friends. It was fun to have a playmate my own age.

I was a good puppy except for one thing. I was afraid every time Mom left the house that she was never coming back. I got so scared that I started getting into trouble. I started chewing on things. First I chewed up stuff that Mom had recently touched. Then I started chewing other stuff. I ate the loveseat and part of the carpet. When I started on a wall, Mom said I had separation anxiety and we'd have to cure it. Mom started giving me some medicine that made me feel calmer and then she and Dad and Samba and I all went to obedience school. After that Mom started doing silly things like saying goodbye and walking out the front door and right in the back door. Then she'd walk outside and count to 25 and come back in again. Pretty soon, I started to realize that she wasn't going to leave forever and I could relax. Now I hardly notice when Mom and Dad come and go.

Now to those of you who wonder how I spend my day, here's what I do. The curly dogs wake Mom up about 4:30 every morning, but I don't get up till about 9. I go outside for a few minutes, then come in and get my pills. I take pills for arthritis in my hips and back legs. I get a little yogurt after my pills, then I wait for breakfast. Mom and I share a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. If she forgets to share, I nudge her elbow to remind her. Then Dad fixes toast with either cream cheese or peanut butter for us dogs. He cuts the toast into pieces and we each get two little pieces.

Next it's time for a little mid morning nap. I usually go into the office in the basement because it's the coolest room in the house. I have a heavy coat and the heat bothers me, so I spend most of the day napping in the cool basement.

Around noon we all go outside and sometimes there's a special snack. If it's carrots, I pass, but if it's apples or special dog treats I'm ready to join in. Sometimes Dad cuts up watermelon. It's OK as long as I don't have to compete with the curly dogs. They're too pushy. I like my space.

Speaking of snacks, Mom says I'm her best dog about taking treats from her. I'm always very gentle and never grab. Samba nips her fingers sometimes because she's in such a hurry. I open my mouth and let Mom put the treat in my mouth. No teeth ever touch her fingers.

The curly dogs go out again at 2. I may or may not go, depending on the weather. Lately, I just stay in the cool house. At 4 it's dog dinner time. The curly dogs go bananas. They twirl around and bark, you'd think they were starving. I just watch them. Mom feeds us in two groups, the fast eaters and the slow eaters. The fast eaters go first, eat and then go outside. Then the rest of us go into the garage where we eat. Mom puts our bowls down and stands there and watches us. I lie down till everyone else is finished except Morgan. When everyone else has gone outside, I stand up and sniff my food. Mom usually comes over and puts something special on top of my food and I start eating. I chew each piece of kibble 12 times before I swallow it. I sometimes look out the window as I chew. Mom sometimes tells me to hurry, especially if it's raining and the curly dogs are getting wet, but I just continue to chew. If Mom walks away, I stop eating and wait for her to turn her attention back on me. Finally, I finish my dinner and go outside.

Sometimes I like to chase the curly girls, but they're really fast and I can't keep up. Usually I like to either sit on the hill and watch the trees or to find a stick to play with. I toss it in the air, then pounce on it. I also like to hunt. I've killed several moles and a couple of mice  and not too long ago I grabbed a bird out of the air. I didn't mean to kill it, but it's neck broke. I just stood there looking at it waiting for it to wake up.

Sometimes Mom and I go into the yard by ourselves and we sing together. Mom starts, then I join in. She tells me I'm a good singer. Sometimes Morgan joins us, too. Then on nights when one of our friends has gone to the Rainbow Bridge, we all go outside in the dark and Mom or Dad starts and we all sing together. The neighbors say it sounds kind of spooky, but we all feel better after we have a group sing-long.

In the evening I watch TV. I especially like dancing and cartoons. At 7 it's Dad's turn to take the curly dogs outside. I stay in with Mom and as soon as they're gone, I lead her to the pantry. She knows what I want. That's where they keep the Cheetos and I love them. If I've eaten all my dinner, she'll sometimes get the bag and give me and Morgan each a couple Cheetos. The curly dogs don't even know about it, it's our secret.

I join the family in the livingroom while they watch TV and Mom knits. I like to lie on the loveseat and look out the window. If the curly dogs get too close, I squeal and scare them. When the news come on at 10 Mom takes us to the garage and we have yogurt. We each get three spoons of it, then we go outside for our last call. Usually Mom puts a leash on me because she can't see me in the dark. If she doesn't leash me, I like to play tricks on her. While she calls me, I circle around behind her, then come up and give her a push. It makes her jump and sometimes she  yells. It's lots of fun, but I think I enjoy it more than she does.

Finally, Mom puts the curly girls in their crates and gives everybody a goodnight cookie. Then the others go upstairs to the bedroom to sleep. I stay in the kitchen on the cool tile, but once the lights are out and everyone is quiet and Dad and Samba are snoring, I get up on the couch with the quilt and pillow and go to sleep.


I think I got bitten on my leg by a bug last night when we were outside. This morning it itched a lot so I tried to fix it. First I pulled the hair out, then I tried to scratch it, but I don't have fingers, so I scratched it with my teeth. Mom saw what I was doing and looked at it. Then she helped me. While Dad held my collar, Mom cut the rest of the hair away, then she cleaned the place where I'd torn the skin and she put some nice cool medicine on the itchy place. Then she put a bright blue bandage on my leg. I didn't think I wanted a bandage, but she told me I was a  very good boy and to leave it. So I did. My leg is feeling better and Mom says she'll fix it again tonight before bed.

So that's how I spend my days. I'm not as busy as the curly dogs. They can't leave anything alone, they've always got their noses in everything. But I'm such a good boy that I get special privileges. I'm allowed to go in the library, but the others aren't. Mom likes to read in there and she knows that I'll stretch out beside her and be quiet. The curly dogs try to get the books and don't know how to be quiet, so they have to wait outside the gate. 

Thanks for being our bloggy friends. We look forward to hearing how some of you spend your days.