The Excellent Adventures of Carver...Reality Choice #2

Friday, May 11
TBG delivered me to two of my favorite puppy raisers at their work this morning. He unloaded all my gear into Aunt Linder's car and then away he went. Not even a kiss for my sweet little head! It appears I will be spending quite a bit of time at MetLife.  I've seen lots of little Snoopy's but no one will let me play with them. Of course, I'm  being an excellent boy and Monday I will pose for my official ID badge. TBG also reminded me to call SWMBO on Sunday so she'll know I'm okay and am being good!

Friday night......
Just met Divot.  What a hoot!  We had a great time playing in her backyard. Got to meet her neighbors. I think they're dogs but I'm not sure......they sure weren't very friendly.  The THREE of them might weigh 30 pounds. Brother!   Wasn't happy where Aunt Linder wanted me to sleep Friday night so she told me to move to her side of the bed.....ON THE FLOOR OF COURSE! It was much better.....could see her all night.

Saturday/Sunday
Aunt Linder and Aunt Debbie had to move Debbie's Mom so they were pretty busy but they remembered I needed to go outside. It didn't take all day on Saturday so got to spend some more time with Divot in the back. We ran and played ball and got a drink and went hurry and ran and played ball...you get the idea. Sunday went back to Grammy Mammy (Debbie's Mom)....at least that's what I'm  calling her.  Just about got her settled in. Again spent the afternoon on a beautiful day with my pal Divot.  Aunt Linder said she has to get busy packing. guess she's going somewhere. I hope I get to stay here with Divot.

Monday/Tuesday

Pretty  calm days. Hanging out with A.L. (Aunt Linder) at work then spending my evenings with Ms Divot.  She's pretty fun but likes to spend most of her evenings gazing at the garden next door and the neighbors whom she loves.

Wednesday, May 16

Holy Smokes.......doesn't anyone ever sleep in. This morning A.L. had us all up very, very early.  We all got in the car and went to Aunt Debbie's. Lo and behold there  was my pal Feldon and his friend Leitner.  At 5:30 am let me just say there was a lot of dog action. 

And next, my Aunt Marty  (of cookie fame) shows up!!! WOW!!! We all visited a little bit  while A.L. fooled around with her car and then Aunt Debbie starts hugging everyone.....even me.....and helped get Feldon and me in the car with Aunt Marty.  Maybe we're going to MetLife. Maybe we're going to Council Grove. Not sure.

Later the same day.

Good grief .....we just keep driving and driving and driving. Occasionally, we'd stop and get a drink and use the "facilities". Aunt Marty  keeps taking pics of Feldon and me. I think she'd rather  be in the back with us. We're having much more fun than A.L.

We stopped in Florissant, MO and the ladies got some coffee  and a little snack. Us boys, got to lay on the cool floor, get a drink and check out the grass! Pretty good stop, I'd say. Kept on truckin' until we got to Terre Haute, IN. About an hour later, our friends, Charon, Orella, Debbie, Sandy, Clark and Aunt Sally arrived.  WEE HOO......we're gonna have some fun now. They have an outdoor grassy area where we could all run and run and run. Silly Debbie tries  to keep up but I'm  very hard to catch. I designated myself the leader of the pack. Those black dogs had to keep stopping to lay in the shade. WIMPS!!!  The humans went to eat at some pie place while the rest of us took a nap. Feldon is like a commando dog. A.L. puts him in one place and he starts scooting to whoever he wants to visit with. Aunt Marty (hereafter called A.M.) had me by her and I just took a snooze. Back to the hotel, humans had pie and then it was time to sleep. Met everyone in the breakfast  room on Thursday morning.......! I had room service. Not feeling very well.......not sure what's going on but hope we get to where we're going soon.

Thursday

We have finally arrived in Ohio. Went to lunch at the Cracker Barrel and then checked into ANOTHER hotel.  Still not feeling great but I like playing with Feldon. A.L. has called SWMBO and TBG to tell them about my restroom issues. Brother!   A.L. and I went for another short ride.  Now I'm in the stinking hospital. Some nice lady (or so I thought) came in the room and had the nerve to stick a big Q-tip up my butt.   What's wrong with these people. That area wasn't feeling great anyway and then she does that.  Well, it appears I'll have to spend the night....they want to get some fluids and meds in me and make sure I'm getting better. I hated to see A.L. leave me but these folks seems pretty nice.

Friday

I have no idea what everyone is doing, but this is Ansel's big day and I guess I'm going to miss it!  Putnam and Pluto are graduating also. Hope someone takes notes and tells me about it. A.L. talked to the doctor Friday afternoon and they want to keep me for another night.  YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!  I didn't come to Ohio to stay in the hospital. I could have done that back in Council Grove with my good friend, Mona.

Saturday

YAHOO!  They're springing me at last.  A.L., A.M., Aunt Sally and my good pal Feldon all met at the "joint". Boy, was I happy to see some folks I know. Well, as luck would have it.....Feldon and I took a little stroll outside, grabbed a beverage and in the car we go. BACK TO KANSAS CITY!  What's wrong with these people? I barely got to see Columbus. We stopped pretty often so I could have a drink and hurry  and then we arrived in Florissant  again. No coffee this  time but we went to a great Italian place for dinner.  Then A.L. and A.M. took Feldon and for a long, long walk. Felt good to stretch our legs.

Sunday

Up and at em again! Grabbed some breakfast (for everybody) and in the car once again. Today was a relatively short  ride.  Stopped by Aunt Debbie's....played with Leitner  and Divot and then I got to go to my temporary  home. It was nice to be off lead and just roam around Divot's backyard.  Had a good dinner and a great  nap on the carpet  instead of in the car.  Happy to be home!

Monday  May 21

Back to the old grind again. Went to work with A.L. and I'm enjoying sleeping on my little gray mat.

Thursday May 31

Been pretty quiet since we got back to KC. Been going to work with A.L. and hanging with the Divo-nator  in the evening. Feeling great and have had no more "ugly" episodes. A.L. called Dr Mona and told her what I had been through and she said it sounded like I was doing just  fine.

Saturday
Feldon, Aunt Debbie, A.L. and went to visit two 5 year old boys. Everyone let us all out back for awhile but Feldon and I were more interested in each other there.  Back in the house and we got to hang out with all the little guys' toys. It was a very fun time and A.L. took a few photos.

Sunday, May 27
Leitner, Feldon and I went to Aunt Sally's. WEE HOO....it was a birthday party for Aunt Charon. There were 9 pups/dogs and 1 puppy (Kindy). She's cute but she had to stay in an x-pen or we would have trampled her.  We had a great, great.....did I say GREAT time? Toward the end of our stay we all put on birthday  hats and had our photo taken with Aunt Charon. She thought that  was pretty special. We all loaded up in the car and two blocks later we were all sound asleep. Feldon couldn't even go to work on Tuesday.......he was still tired.  Not me....back to work I went.

Tuesday night, May 29 
A.L., Aunt Debbie, Leitner and went to visit Aunt Debbie's Mom. We call her Mammy. We met her in the lobby and got to visit with her and some of her friends.  They thought I was awfully cute.  What can I say? I  AM!

I have one slight confession.......... I lost my mind at work yesterday and when A.L. was busy pecking away at her computer, I started chewing on my leash. Needless to say, the two of us had a very serious conversation. However, today I am the proud owner of a new leash that  is just beautiful.  A.L. feels really bad. It's still usable just not as pristine as it used to be.

I hope you guys get  back soon..........I'm anxious to be out in the country and checking on those cows.  A.L. still  hasn't got any for her  backyard.   Just those silly little dogs next  door.

I miss you, I hope you had a good time, I can't wait to see you. Hugs and hugs and hugs......

Your not so good traveling  pooch...............Carver

What Is With Aunt Linder's Hair?

The Excellent Adventures of Carver...Reality Choice #1

Friday, May 18
Finally! My vacation from TBG and SWMBO and all things assistance-dog-in-training has arrived. Here I am in the airplane on my way to Greece.

Saturday, May 19
Arrived in Athens and went for a walk to get oriented to the city. I also walked by the Old Stadium. Greeks' definition of "old" is quite different from mine! Sadly, I couldn't find a cutie pie to take my photo for me. I almost did a self-portrait like Ansel used to...

Sunday, May 20
I did some more sightseeing. I stopped at the Roman Baths and the Temple of Zeus. Awe-inspiring!

Monday, May 21

I thought about attending a conference that was occurring at my hotel...but...decided to go to the Acropolis instead. Here I am at one of the buildings, but sadly, my tour guides were so excited to be at the Parthenon that they never bothered to get a photo of me. But I was there; really!

Wednesday, May 23

I hopped on a boat tour to three of the islands. I think my tour guide had a sense of humor with this photo. What do you think?

Thursday, May 24

I took a trip to Delphi, and I can't say enough about what a great experience this was...here are some views from the Temple of Apollo.

Friday, May 25

I hopped a flight to the Island of Samos. Paradise doesn't quite describe it! And a few neighbors welcomed me with some Ouzo!

Saturday, May 26

Here I am, relaxing at the seaside...ahh! I love sand in my fur and pebbles between my toes!

Monday, May 28

I did quite a bit of hiking around the island across several days. The photos really don't do the beauty and grandeur justice at all. I really liked the seaside/mountain juxtaposition.

Tuesday, May 29

I was a little tired of hiking; what with my pads being sore from the pebble beach and all...so I hired a driver to take me all around and stop at a few historic sites. It's hard to see, but there is a big fortress in the background.

Wednesday, May 30

Time for some more relaxin'! Here is the view from the front porch of my digs in Samos!

Thursday. May 31

Time to head home! I wonder if TBG and SWMBO missed me?

Humans Are A Species Unto Themselves

WARNING! A POTENTIALLY DISTURBING PHOTO IS AHEAD! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!



Humans, and particularly SWMBOs, are an interesting species, yaknowit? Of course, everyone is all excited because Ansel III and Putnam are graduating tomorrow. Just so that she could feel a part of the celebration and "honor" them, SWMBO went off and had a pedicure. Not really so bad in and of itself, I guess, but look what she did to her toes!

Tell me, is this really an "honor"? If so, leave me out!

I Was Naughty!

As you may be aware from following Ansel's blog, my household has been in quite a tizzy lately, what with Ansel making a match at Team Training. However, life does go on, so SWMBO and I headed out to K-State this morning (we also went to the eyeglass store, the drycleaners, and K-mart, but that is not the focus of my storytelling here today).

Well, unbenownst to me, humans graduate too! Only they have to make such a big deal of their accomplishments that they have to drag it on for a few days. I guess K-State is hosting ceremonies Friday AND Saturday. Anyway, a lot was happening on campus with students flying around and faculty picking up their regalia and leaving it in their offices for tomorrow...

I have to admit, what with Ansel's news and all of the goings-on, that I was curious. I never imagined that I would get caught in the act! I just wanted to know what it might feel like one day. And as I have always said, if you're going to go, go big! So, I thought I might as well try on the doctoral hood. A pup can dream can't he?

Worked at the cabinet shop today!

TBG said the shop needed some temp help, so off to work I went.

Got there and after the orientation, I helped wrap the cabinets and loaded them into the trailer.

I did that for a few hours and then convinced the head honcho that I was better suited running the CNC machine.
Here, I was getting ready to lift a sheet of particleboard onto the table.

And here I was positioning the sheets.

After a few hours of this, I earned what the humans call a "break", so I took a nap.

What a Day. I'm Pooped (Hahahaha...).

TBG and SWMBO are certifiable. Not that you didn't know that already, but I'm just validating. Here's what we got to do today...Saturday...the weekend....PLAY DAY!

Started with a 3 mile walk (sorry, no pictures). Just imagine being up and at it at 7am. Thanks, SWMBO.

Then, packed into the blue bomb for a run into CG to give my dogmobile its annual bath (sorry, no pictures. Nothing to see there anyway. Don't know why Jeb-the-wonder-dog got nervous for THAT, of all things).

Next, a drive to Emporia so TBG and SWMBO could get new communication-thing-a-mi-jigs. Wish they would just learn to bark. Here I am giving SWMBO my opinion.

Off to Staples to buy envelopes. Boy, that was easy!

Off to the humans' food bowl so they could rest and and enjoy some refreshments. I just got to rest. No pics from there, either!

Last stop: the playground. TBG and SWMBO were eager to introduce me to the teeter-totter. I guess this is similar to a test I'll have to pass when I get turned-in. The humans were anticipating a bit of a trial, I gather, based on former experience. Well, hey! I'm no former experience, I'll tell ya'! I'm all Carver II and nothing they threw at me at the park fazed me one bit! All it needed was a little up...

a little balance...

...and a little down. No biggie!

Then we got to do some climbing.

And be cute.

And then climb down.

After that, TBG and I just goofed off! Where is he at, anyway?

I had to pose for the camera.

One last bathroom break and it was time to head home. Boy, I'm pooped!

Weighing In

I see everyone else standing on this square thing, so I thought I'd try it as well! Weighed in at 56 lbs today.

Dinner with a Friend

I got to go out for dinner last night. Well, technically, I had dinner before leaving, but I got to go to a very nice restaurant !

I think this place was called 4 Paws (just kidding).

I was on my best behavior and no one else in the place even knew I was there!

Here's a pic of my friend Andy getting some good scratch'n in. I sensed he needed it, so I happily obliged!

Had a busy day

We started off our Saturday making a run into Manhattan. Deb had a spider bite and she wanted to get it checked out.

Here's TBG and I parked.

and here I am in the waiting room with chicken legs.

We went over to Wally World so Deb could get her medicine. I thought I'd give this bench a try.

Then we went to get me some reading glasses. Don't I look like Mr. Limpet?

We headed off to Winslow's crib for some playtime.

While there, Brie gave me a lesson on how to ingest information.

Someone had an accident (not me) so I pitched in and helped with the clean up.

We did a little work up high as well

Then it was nap time. Well, for some it was!

Once Bonita arrived, it was group photo time. They say, blondes have more fun!