My Pooch Life

How to lose 10 pounds in 3 hours!

2009-07-23T18:35:00.011-05:00

Hey guys, you are gonna be shocked! I had to wait around a year after I could overcome one of the biggest traumas of my whole life and be able to write about it and worst of all, show you these horrible pictures. Anyway, it's all part of My Pooch Life, so it has to be registered here.
I'm not sharing a quick and miraculous weight loss program here! Sorry, it only works for hairy people like me!
So, one year ago, Mama and Daddy decided to try a new groomer and a new summer haircut for me. They were thinking "puppy cut" but, one thing they didn't realize is that my neck is way too long and I'm a big Shih Tzu and no way a "puppy cut" would suit me but, I have no voice in this house so they didn't need my approval to go ahead and give me this awful haircut. After I left the salon, no joking, it looked like I lost 10 pounds in only 3 hours!

BEFORE: Fluffy and cute

AFTER: Looking sick and undernourished.

Daddy was so excited to see me that he asked Mama to wait at the salon near the train station where he gets off from work so they both could walk me home showing off my new cut. After they saw me, I don't think they liked the way I looked but, they tried their best not to make me feel bad, but it didn't work because I did feel terrible!
I didn't even wanna walk! I was sitting all the time! My butt was shaved so bald it hurt so bad!
My only consolation was knowing that my hair wouldn't let me down and that hopefully within a year I'd be back to Old Fluffy Me. And it did a great job of growing fast in just 3 months so I wouldn't look anorexic anymore!
Ok, right now I'm the hairiest and the cutest I've ever been and no more "puppy cuts" for me!
Do people think I'm hot in Chicago summer? The summer here is a joke! I'd better be prepared for the winter, because winters here are no joke! And nothing is gonna stop my hair from growing until I decide that I want a new look. Be warned Mama & Daddy, no more haircut decisions before my approval!

Here are some more pics of me. Mama put my sunglasses on in an attempt to make me look cuter but she failed BIIIG time. Sorry about the way I look in these pics but don't worry, I'm far from looking this skinny and I'm back to Old Fluffy Me!
Thank God for my hair!

"Wooftop" petting event

2009-07-23T17:12:00.010-05:00

It was one of my exciting summer outings last year. The rooftop of the Chicago's Anti-Cruelty Society hosted a summer event that both Mama & Dad, especially Dad got really motivated to go because he thought there was going to be a display of woofies for him to pet...
When we got there around 11:00 AM, it was nothing like Dad was expecting; it was just a lot of food stalls selling both human and woof foods and treats, some loud music, a radio station was there giving away freebies and of course, Dad got the chance to pet some friendly woofs, most of them were nice and let him do it.

There were several different kinds of woofies including a very strange one: a huge two-legged blue and white doggie that Mama found interesting and asked him to be photographed with us. She didn't need to speak WOOF to him, just English and he got it! He must also be a smart doggie!

Daddy got me some free doggie ice-cream and even though I was really hot and thirsty, I didn't care for it at all. So Daddy gave it to another woofie.

Then I saw a red bowl of water and thought Yipee! I'm gonna quench my thirst right there! Once I started drinking someone else got his face in there too... Hey mate, I can barely get a drink now that your whole face is in the bowl! I told him to wait for his turn, but he's not polite or respectful and carried on drinking... Some people just don't know how to behave in public... so rude!

Now that he's gone, let me get my drink very fast...

Before this sausage doggie gets in the bowl too!

Next, I saw some wet doggies and water on the floor so I went to see what they were doing.

They were cooling off in a mini swimming pool full of rubber duckies but, I didn't feel like going inside after I saw the Ballerina Poodle monopolizing the whole pool! How ridiculous!

Yuck, she was drinking that water.... ewwwww!

Look at her! Does she think she's sexy in this tutu? Poor lady...

Well, although I was bothered by some people during the event, I really enjoyed being outside for a few hours with my lovely parents.

My new house/observatory

2009-07-10T20:37:00.008-05:00

I'm so happy it's summer! YAY! And I am so proud to show you guys my new house/observatory. Well, it's new to you but to me it's getting old. Mama bought this online for me last summer because she was sick and tired of setting up my old observatory in the balcony whenever I wanted to take a peek outside.
Now it looks like we've found a solution...only 2 little problems...
What was the house builder thinking when he attached those steps to it? That I am the size of a squirrel? Honestly, not even the tiniest tea cup Yorkie would be able to climb up those steps.

Now look at this door, how many pounds do I have to shed in order to walk through it? :(

So, we had to make some adptations and the first one was replace those ridiculously narrow steps with a decent, though made out of plastic, ugly-looking set of steps.

Ok, no I can go up to the rooftop and that's what matters to me. I don't wanna be inside this house and never will, once I have so many interesting things out in the street to look at from my own rooftop!

Or...just close my eyes and enjoy the sun... Oooh how much I looooove summer!
Have a great summer peeps and enjoy it while it lasts!

Wordless Wednesday: Shoyu rock star

2009-07-01T00:07:00.011-05:00

Guess who's the new KISS member?

My Uncle SHOYU!

End of Spring/Beginning of Summer in Troy,MI

2009-04-19T13:10:00.022-05:00

Hi guys, woofies and meowies! Long time no see! Sorry...
Just lazy I must confess. When I start something I wanna finish and I hate the idea of leaving something half done. However, I'm way behind my blogging posts and activities and I'm not properly catching up with other dear bloggers and involved in the blogosphere like I was some time ago but, I need to blog because I wanna make my book of memories so, when I'm older I can take wonderful walks down memory lane (sometimes not so wonderful...)What's more, I love writing...when I'm in the mood :):)

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who still pops in for a quick visit, leaves a comment and supports me and MPL. Thank you so much guys, you know who you are! You guys keep my blog alive, many thanks for your TLC! WOOF!

So, where did we leave off? Ok, my last post was about our time in Detroit,MI. In this post, I'll tell you about my time in Troy,MI ,which I liked much better. Mom & Dad couldn't carry on living in that hotel apartment with that horrible kitchen so, they started their search for another woof friendly hotel and were only able to find one in Troy, MI. So, we came back to Chicago for about a week to celebrate Mama's B-day and also to drop some stuff and repack to go to Troy. Mama's B-day this year fell on Memorial Day and her friend B, who graduated with her in London, came over from the Big Apple to visit with us on Memorial Day weekend. E also came all the way from STL but, no singing this time :):) Here is me and Mama on her B-day last year. We didn't take pics together this year, the weather was gloomy and cold and she was not into taking pictures this time.

We stayed at the Residence Inn in Troy for about 3 months and it had a huge green area, a backyard where I could play and run freely. The kitchen was much better than the one at the Holiday Inn in Detroit.

I also enjoyed staying out in the "porch" but, Dad had to improvise a fence by putting their largest suitcase to block the passage to the staircase so, I could be protected. I think they thought I could run away but I'd never do that.

At this hotel, there was no corridor for us( me and Dad) to do our tradition but, I was happy with so much green and many trees around me. There was a swimming pool and a gym in the common area but woofies were not allowed in those facilities. In spite of that, one day late at night Mama & Dad took me to the gym to see if I'd enjoy working out but I didn't like it so much. First, I tried the treadmill which I needed help from Dad... Pathetic! Then I moved on to the stationary bike but my arms and legs were too short to reach the handle bars and pedals(even more pathetic than the treadmill!)

I already got my driver's license so, I thought I'd give it a try at the wheel,and it'd be a good chance to practice since I was completely useless on both treadmill and bike and Troy was a quiet town. Once in a while, I'd give Mama a ride to the Sommerset Mall not far away from our hotel. In the beginning, it was not easy to drive without Daddy's help but, as time went by I learned to steer the wheel like a pro. Now I drive even better than Mom & Dad. Woof!

Even though I enjoy driving there is something that I like much better :Blogging!!!

That's it folks, that was our time in Troy. I hope you guys liked it!

Heading to Detroit

2009-04-19T09:51:00.014-05:00

After 6 weeks at Grandma J´s and the kindergarten playground episode, we finally made it home! Mom & Dad did their research and found a woofy friendly hotel in Detroit for me! YAY! This time I was able to join them for their second phase in Detroit ( 6 more weeks ). So, we barely had time to pack everything, including pots & pans and had to hit the road and endure the long 5-hour drive from Chicago to Detroit. We stayed at a hotel downtown close to the Tiger Stadium and Greektown for the first couple of days, since we didn´t find availability at our permanent hotel. Dad and I didn´t miss the opportunity to do our tradition again. Then we moved to our hotel downtown Detroit, which was within walking distance to the COBO Center, Detroit Red Wings(hockey team),Detroit Riverfront and GM headquarters. When we got there, our room was not ready yet so, Mom & Dad ordered lunch at the hotel restaurant and ate outside while I sat under the table in the hopes of getting some food they might accidentally drop on the floor. No luck :( but, the weather was beautiful that day!
Along the Detroit river, where I always went for a walk, we could see the city of Windsor, Canada across the water on the other margin. To get to the riverwalk we had to go down a lot of steps and go up on the way back. I enjoyed going down as you can see below,but neither me nor Mama liked going up.

Mom & Dad didn´t like the kitchen there because when they used their own pots and pans to make dinner, the electric stove got so hot that the room got all smoky and the fire alarm went off. So they swtiched to the proper crockery found in the cabinets but, the performance was poor. To prepare a meal in that kitchen was hell! So we only spent half of the time there,cooking everything in the microwave for 3 weeks, and then we moved to another hotel in Troy,MI. Good thing I never need to cook my food :)
Even though my parents were not happy with the hotel, I was pretty happy with my daily walks along the river especially after the Detroit´s Downtown Hoedown, a huge country music event, when I could find loads of chicken and rib bones on the grass which made Mama´s face look really panicky. She kept an eye on me all the time and I was safe from swallowing those bones but, she missed the piece of chewing gum that got stuck in my hair under my right foot. Gross!!! She cut part of the hair and got rid of the remaining gum using olive oil. Also gross but, my foot got very smooth.
That was my time in Motown. Next, I´ll tell you about our time in Troy. Stay tuned!

Trouble in kindergarten playground

2009-04-12T12:38:00.004-05:00

Last year in April on the way back home from Grandma J´s, we stopped at Grandma A´s for the night and the next day Mama took me for a walk around the neighborhood. We passed by a day care facility and saw a bunch of kids playing in the playlot and when they saw me, they started to wave at us and asked Mama to come closer to the fence so they could see me better. They begged Mama to put me on their side of the fence and their teacher said it was ok... Why did you do that Mama?

Once on the other side of the fence, one boy asked Mama for the leash so he could go around with me, then all the kids wanted to do the same and they started to fight for the leash and scream very loudly : It´s my turn, it´s my turn!!! Uh-Oh!

While she and Mama tried to calm the hysterical kids down, others started scooping sand and pouring it over my head and that was the end of the fun for them. I got pissed off and so did Mama. She picked me up, I shook all the sand up from my hair and we carried on with our morning walk.

I bet Mama and that teacher regret what they did; now I stay away from kids´s playgrounds. No more sand or loud kids for me!

I miss Mommy and Daddy!!!

2009-04-12T12:32:00.003-05:00

Just letting it all out: I miss Mommy and Daddy! Especially when they call and I hear their voices on the phone. I know they are far away but I look around for them in the house anyway and this drives me crazy! I feel kinda sad today, to top it off, for no reason, Uncle Sammie peed in my head when we went for a walk with Grandma. I need my treats!!! I need Mom & Dad! Woooooooooof!

6 weeks away from home.... again!!!

2009-04-12T10:43:00.004-05:00

Last year in March, my parents got rid of me and this year they did it again, also in March, for different reasons.
Daddy was working in Detroit last year and Mama needed to go with him but, Daddy´s hotel did not allow woofies so, they had the trouble to take one whole Sunday in early March and drive all the way to Des Moines, crazy 7-8 hours by car each way, to meet Grandma J, who also drove all the way from KC about 3 hours each way, so I could be dropped off and stay with her and Uncle Sammie for 6 weeks. After lunch, I had to say bye to Mom & Dad, and it was hard but, at the same time I was looking forward to staying all this time with Grandma J and Uncle Sammie.

Mid-March this year the same thing happened but, this time for a different and better reason: Aunty H´s wedding in Brazil. I was happy because this time, both Mom & Dad would be on vacation and again I would be on vacation too with Grandma and Uncle. This time Mama stayed home and Dad drove me all the way to Grandma J´s but he took it easy and did this over the weekend stopping in Saint Louis on the way back at cousins´ E & L. I´m still here at Grandma J´s where I don´t usually find time to sit at her computer to blog because I´m always busy playing with Uncle. Dad´s already back home but he´s still waiting for Mama to come back from Brazil to pick me up at Grandma´s in the end of April. When Mom comes home, we´ll all be together again :):):)
Thank you so much for looking after me Grandma J!

This is the route Dad took to drop me off this time.

Modeling agency SCAM!!!

2009-02-19T22:17:00.010-06:00

Last February Mama was on Craigslist browsing around and found a job ad for me! Yippee! I was so happy because that was my dream job since I was 10 months old. They were looking for models to do all kinds of work in the modeling industry like magazine covers, movies, catalogues etc so, on a freezing and snowy Sunday, Mama, Dad and I went to the casting call. Upon arrival, we were told by the receptionist to fill out a form with our contact info and have a seat. The room was packed with all sorts of aspiring model woofies; some were tall and slim, others were chubby but, anyway everybody basically stood a chance of getting the job since the modeling agency stated in the ad that all looks, heights, and weights were welcome. Once we completed the form we handed it back to the receptionist who told us to wait about 20 mins for our turn. 20 minutes went by, and the room got more crowded, another 20, then another 20... finally after a little over an hour we were called to come in the interview room.

We sat down and the interviewer, a weird looking guy, started asking questions about Mama's availability to take me to bookings very early in the morning, on weekends or any day and time of the week. He wanted to make sure that I was well behaved and sweet(c'mon just look at me!) And so, after he asked all questions and explained to us how things worked and how I'd start getting some work, he asked me if I had a professional picture portfolio so he could show his clients in order for them to pick me for a job or not. Then we told him that I've never had any pictures taken in a studio and the pictures we had were good enough for his clients to look and make a decision to hire me or not.
Then "weirdo" insisted that with my pictures my chances of getting hired would decrease almost to zero and, if I wanted to increase my chances, I'd have to take professional pictures in the room next door for 200 dollars!!! What a rip-off! What a SCAM!! No wonder in the ad, they said they were looking for all types of woofies...
Anyone can be good enough to get ripped-off in one afternoon, right? NOT me!!!
He said I didn't need to do it, and that I should send him some pics by e-mail, but, of course, he would never want to hear from me again. What he wanted was to get money from all those unaware woofies and obviously only those who paid that fortune and fell prey to his promises of a brilliant modeling career, were the ones who might have gotten a few bookings.

We left that place really frustrated and thinking... We wasted our Sunday afternoon! Well, the only positive of this all was I got to socialize with other woofies a little bit.

After that bummer, I decided to go out knocking on doors and pursue my modeling career goals. Got lots of NO's but, I'm happy with my achievements. Now, "weirdo" and his SCAM team can definetely regret for the rest of their lives for not having given me a chance on the casting call after seeing me in the covers of the best magazines in the world.
SWEET revenge!!! I don't need those idiots to make my dreams come true anyway!

I was in denial but it's over now...

2009-02-05T20:42:00.004-06:00

I have to face it and admit it! I am a..a..a D-D-DOG!!!!!
All this time I've been calling myself "a four-legged person", "a Woof speaker"," a fluffy"(Gosh, fluffy is not even a noun but, you guys know what I mean...just look at me and all my hair),"a woofy"(another crazy word),"a child" and very rarely "a pooch" which is the sanest word to define what I really am : a DOG!!!!

I've always known I'm a dog. I get reminders all the time like when I hear people ask Mama in the streets," what kind of DOG is it?" OMG! "is IT?" It's so annoying when people use "IT" to refer to me, just like an object. Well but, I must say it's better to be "IT" than "SHE"!!!
A lot of people think I'm a girl! Or in the doggie language, a BITCH!(ain't that horrible?) By the way, I'm pretty cool with the name doggie, it's kinda cute.

Another reminder that I am a dog, is when I hear people say: What a beautiful dog! I like the "beautiful" but, don't like the "dog".

Anyway, with the acceptance of the fact that I AM a dog I realized that I was not only using other words to describe "dog" but, I was also using all possible words to make myself feel more like a human being.
So my doctor has a special name of VET, my hands and feet are my PAWS, my arms are my forequarters, my legs are my hindquarters, my hair is my COAT or fur( ain't that weird?),my nose is a SNOUT(Really?),even the way I walk or move forward is called gait.
I don't go to hair salons, we dogs go to groomers...
Now worst of all: I don't speak WOOF, I BAAAARRRRRKKKKK....sad but true...

Another bothersome word is "breed". Can we say "human breed" ? Not sure... I know it's human race. By the way, I'm proudly announcing here that I am a SHIH TZU, which means "lion dog" in Chinese! Isn't that powerful???

Well, I am big for a Shih Tzu(16lbs)but, most guys, I mean most Shih Tzu dogs, are sweet and sassy little lion dogs and they can be found in all colors. Look at my Uncle Shoyu. He is a beautiful black and white Shih Tzu. To learn more about Shih Tzus visit the American Kennel Club website.

Now, let me tell you what my parents, did to me last February! They went to a DOG show and didn't take me! When they came home I knew they've been petting( uh-oh, another doggie word :) other dogs. TRAITORS!
They told me that only show dogs were allowed, what did they mean by that??
Well, after looking at some pictures I guess I know what they were talking about...
These guys look impeccable, take a look at these Shih Tzus and other beautiful breeds.

Well I guess I have to grow my hair longer if I ever decide to be in a show... I don't think this will happen though... It would drive Mama crrrrrazy.

It's ok to be a dog, yeah... but I will always be a 4-legged person, a woofy, a fluffy, as long as this blog shall live!!! And NO, I'm NOT in denial !!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Hugs and Kisses

2009-02-03T23:37:00.012-06:00

To help me stay warm this winter...

A bear hug from cousin S

A sweet kiss from cousin A

Bitterly, BRRRRRRutally, dangerously COLD!!!!

2009-01-10T16:51:00.019-06:00

Last Thursday and Friday in Chicago were extremely cold; about -25 C or single-digit temperatures on the Farenheit Scale. Unbearable! I'm tough but, Mommy is NOT!
I'll tell you here how my winters have been since I moved to Chicago. They've been about the same; only now we are more "prepared".
Snow is soooo beautiful but, reeeeally messy. I love it, Mama does NOT! I loooove digging myself in the fluffy snow, sniffing around, jumping like a rabbit. Mama however... is not happy at all. She has to put on her ski outfit otherwise, she would never be able to stay outside any longer than 2 blocks in this bitterly, brrrrrrutally cold weather. That means I have to do my business in 2 blocks and be back inside so Mama doesn't lose her fingers... or her nose, or her ears... She looks like an astronaut with that silly outfit on and I look cool in my brown coat.

Mama thinks the coat is not enough so she makes me wear this red "suit" underneath it.

I know the coat doesn't go with my red suit, which is actually red pajamas I put on to try and keep my legs dry.

Before finding my red shoes Mama made several attempts to protect my feet from the rock salt on the streets and sidewalks. None of them worked :(
Mama tried grocery plastic bags, cling film, and she even sewed up a whole winter outfit to:
1. prevent my feet from getting hurt in the salt and
2. to keep me dry so she wouldn't need to blow dry me when I got home.

ALL in vain!!!

One day Mama reached her breaking point and decided to take matters into her own hands!
One thing that made Mama decide to sew up pieces of her own clothes to make my suit, was the day that I refused to cross the street when the light turned green for us pedestrians, because my foot hurt and she had to carry me and a car almost hit both of us. She says all this happened because of "this freaking snow" as she calls it.
She used to watch Project Runway at that time, and got inspired by all those contestants' creations so, as soon as she got home she started working on her "project" and came up with something like this:

Mama,thank God you were NOT one of the contestants because I know exactly what Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and Heidi Klum would have said about this outfit... OMG I can picture Heidi "Auf Wiedersehening" you...

This ERRR "wonderful" outfit initially had some shoes attached to the trousers and the soles were made from foam cup holders she destroyed. Well... gone are the cup holders...
I'm modeling this, only because you made it Mama...

Then, we went downstairs to go for a walk and of course I refused to go out looking like a clown... Just walked 2 steps and Mama couldn't pull me any further.

Mama got reaaaaaally pissed off at me.

She cut off the "attached shoes" and started looking for some shoes I would walk in comfortably and all I know is, before we finally got my red shoes Mama looked non-stop everywhere in stores and online and actually ordered several kinds of shoes for me to try on. Sorry about those frustrating, painful returns Mama.
I'm happy we went to that one store together and tried my red shoes on. They were comfortable and... We got them YAY!

I thought she'd be happy but, she also wanted me to wear something like pants so I wouldn't get wet and she wouldn't need to blow dry me. So, she started a relentless search for the perfect snowproof outfit. Then, she came across a "showerproof" trouser suit from the UK on Ebay made of nylon and bought it for me. When we finally got the suit in the mail, I tried it on and...OH NO... way tooooo BIG!:(:(:(

I looked like a red baloon and of course I refused to wear it, thus I made Mama very upset and disappointed. Since she thought it was a hassle to return the suit to the UK, she kept it and took it to the alterations shop and struggled to explain by gestures to the the owner, a Korean lady who barely speaks English, that she needed to adjust the suit for her new 4-legged customer: Guess who! She got kinda startled with the idea and charged Mama exactly what she paid for the original suit. She said: 35 dollar, make new one! Mama haggled : $25... please... :) Then the lady said : OK, pick up next week!

The lady said it would take her one week to do it. One week later we picked up my new suit. And then I tried it on... OH NO...not good enough!!!! Back to the shop to readjust it and when I tried it on again...OH NO...still not good!!!! Mama gave up!

So now, I just stick to my PJ's which are not very warm but, they're very comfy and somehow help keep my legs dry. I also wear my brown coat Grandma J gave me, my red shoes, my socks now (last winter I didn't have them), my scarf and I'm all set! When it's freezing cold like last THU and FRI, Mama also puts a sweater on me between my PJ's and my coat, so I have an extra layer.

This winter I'm much less of a "Cinderella"( Mama calls me "Cinderello")because with my socks on, my shoes stay put longer. Last year, I lost my shoes so many times. Luckily, we always found them later.

My dirty socks...

This week the temperatures are quite "decent". -5C or about 20F is normal for Chicago. I hope we won't have those subzero wind chills again so I can have longer walks.
Stay warm peeps! We're trying our best here... BRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

Shoyu's warm Christmas

2009-01-09T21:03:00.005-06:00

He lives in the Southern Hemisphere so his Christmas was definetely not a white one but, I'm sure it was a very warm and happy one. Check out his pictures. He's wearing a X-mas themed ribbon in his hair just like Gabi.

He also got lots of X-mas presents including some of my toys and clothing. I gave him my Harley Davidson jeans cap and after all those awesome dance moves like, tango, salsa y merengue and even classical ballet he thought he'd give rapping a shot. Sorry but there was no video of that :( :( :(

Check these pics out guys. YO!! Woof, woof! YO!

YO!!!! Shoyu's in DA HOUSE ! YO! WOOOOOF! YOOOO!!!

My Four Christmases- Part II

2009-01-09T19:10:00.018-06:00

Hi everybody! Did you have a nice weekend? Mine was OK, cold and I basically spent the whole weekend trying to make Windows Movie Maker work for me. It was in such a "bad mood" and suddenly, while I was watching the Golden Globes, it decided to work again. I was soooo pissed off. I was working on the X-mas videos and chose some background music and when I uploaded to You Tube, it told me there was copyrighted content and bla, bla so I changed the music and hopefully I won't get that message again.

I finally managed to finish this post, PHEW!!! Hope you guys have fun reading it.

*******************************************

Still at Grandma A's house, we had Santa Claus visit all of us. His traditional "HO HO HO" could be heard really loud as he walked in carrying a big red sack full of presents! Like I said before, he forgot about me :(

There was this little 5 year old boy M, who got reaaally excited about Santa and I guess he was the only one in the house who still believed in Santa Claus...
So naive...
Cousin A was there too. She will be 2 soon but I guess at this age, kids don't even know who Santa is...

Here are some pics of Santa with M and Cousin A.

Now I'm gonna share the exciting part about this Christmas : Gabi was there!

This year she showed up with some Christmas themed ribbons in her hair like pigtails and she looked grrrrreat!! Here she is playing with MMMMYYYY new toy !!!!

I was fine with that, the thing was she wanted to monopolize it and when I asked her to play she growled at me and I woofed back at her because I felt threatened by her!!
Probably you won't hear her growl in this video, only my Woof but, she was fierce!!

Then she wanted to drink MMMYYY water and eat MMMMYYYY food. I'm a gentleman so I let her eat and drink at MMMYYY corner.

Here she is looking for it.

I showed her where everything was.

There she is at MMMMYYY corner ready to eat and drink...

Well after our Christmas dinner we went down to the basement to play a little and...

UH-OH!!!!!

And after that, look what she did!!!

And here we are just socializing at the party. I miss you my X-mas girlfriend!

The next day we went to Grandma J's and I got to be with Uncle Sammie and also open the rest of our presents. Uh-oh, I didn't like this present at all!
Pedi-Paws!! Some kind of revolutionary tool to trim my nails. They say it's much better than the traditional nail clippers so Mom & Dad got this for me thinking I'd love to have my "pedicure" done but, I don't think so...
With so many other nice Christmas gifts out there, I ended up getting Pedi Paws...
Next year I'll write a list so I'll hopefully get what I want for X-mas!! All in all it was a happy Christmas, I mean Christmases.

Stay tuned for Uncle Shoyu's Christmas pics.

My Four Christmases- Part I

2009-01-08T21:37:00.020-06:00

Before this gets too old let me update you with my Four Christmases. They weren't half as crazy or funny as the movie but, they were great!
Since I always spend my Christmases in 2 different homes every year, I'll share with you the highlights of my 2 last Christmases, 2007 and 2008.

I have been so busy + lazy, more lazy than busy to write my blog that stuff is getting old, I'm getting lost and you readers are getting really confused... aren't you ?
Sorry, sorry, sorry!

But, here we go. If you look at Christmas 06, you'll more or less know how X-mases 07 and 08 went. Mom, Dad and I go to Grandma A's for X-mas Eve and Grandma J's for X-mas day, usually. The past couple of years were no different.

Ok, in 07 I got a Santa outfit, and I wore it on both occasions and of course for my photoshoot. Check it out!

Also for the first time in my life, I tried some delicious canned food and the consequence was disastrous; I got the runs also for the first and hopefully last time in my life. Needless to say my parents have banned canned food for me ever since. Got a nice toy, in fact it's my favorite toy ever and it's called a Babble Ball. It speaks different languages when I touch it like MOO,OINK,QUAK,BAH and so many others including the ones I already speak: WOOF and MEOW. Because I have this knack for languages, I get really thrilled playing with this ball. I also got 2 other different balls but didn't really like them; maybe I'm getting old... So, I recently shipped them to my Uncle Shoyu who's younger and more interested in those toys.

Here is me playing with my Babble Ball:

This was also Cousin A's first Christmas, she was almost a year old then. Check out her Santa outfit and my Cousin S, her older sister. A wanted to play with me all the time!

This year(08), I forgot to pack my Santa costume in my suitcase so I didn't wear it but, there was a REAL Santa who knocked at Grandma A's door and gave presents away to all kids but me :(
Why, Santa? I was a good boy "this" year(08)... Anyway... I got nice presents from Grandma & Grandpa and Mama & Dad!

Really excited about unwrapping this gift!

Daddy helped me out

What can it be??

It's a special massager for me!!

I just....

Loooooove IT!!!

Ok, next present...

Yuuuummmm, a new treat!! YAY!!!

NEEEXT!!!

A new TOY!!! A red rabbit!

NEEEXT !

There I was standing and waiting for the next present when Mama & Dad told me I should wait until we got to Grandma J's to open the rest. So I had to wait till the next day...

My Four Christmas will continue tomorrow, now I'm tired and I need to go to bed.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

See you guys tomorrow!

Shoyu's dance moves-III : Classical Ballet

2009-01-03T23:48:00.011-06:00

Guys I am breathless!! Wow, Uncle Shoyu blew me away with all those HOT Latin routines and now he surprised me with a new dance style: Classical Ballet!!

I'm ready for a break and some classical music to chill :):)

Shoyu told me he watched an old movie from the 80's called "White Nights" with one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all times, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and got so inspired by a scene in the movie in which "Misha" does 11 fantastic, absolutely flawless pirouettes that he thought he would be able to do the same. Watch this incredible virtuoso's dazzling performance below:

Now it's Shoyu's turn. What do you guys think? Is he gonna be able to do 11 pirouettes like "Misha"? Let's watch him below and count... 1, 2, 3....

Hope you didn't get dizzy like I did :):)
Well, I guess you gave us 11 beautiful pirouettes too and you didn't disappoint us Uncle ;)
Well done!

Shoyu's dance moves - II: Salsa y Merengue

2009-01-03T23:23:00.003-06:00

What about some Salsa y Merengue to celebrate the new year?

C'mon let's dance with Shoyu!!!

Salsa!

Ready for more?

Merengue!

Arriba!!! Viva Uncle Shoyu!!! Viva la vida! And Happy New Year again!!!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T23:09:00.003-06:00

Hi guys!! Missed you all!
I'm back in Chicago after my holidays in Missouri with my family :)
We had a very merry Christmas even Santa showed up at Grandma A's house and gave away some presents for the kids there but, he totally forgot about me :(:(
Anyway, I've heard we shouldn't believe in Santa Claus anyway so, I got really happy with the gifts Grandma and Grandpa gave me :):)
I have yet to share my many shenanigans during the holidays with you guys!
I will be doing so after I show you my Uncle Shoyu's all dance moves, so I don't get lost in my posts :):)
So many things happening at the same time makes it difficult for "busy me" to keep you guys updated. I'll try my best and... Happy 2009 everyone!!!!

Shoyu's dance moves - I : TANGO

2008-12-20T20:51:00.012-06:00

Check this out guys! I told you my Uncle Shoyu was gonna rock you and you're about to see why. Well, maybe instead of "rocking you" he will "tango you", "salsa you", "merengue you", "samba you"!
Yes, these are Shoyu's many talents and guess why? There is Latin, Brazilian blood running through his veins and he's got rhythm! HOT! HOT! HOT!
He's Mama's brother, or my Grandma C's youngest child now and... he lives in Brazil, so we've never met. I hope to meet him some day.

Aunty H took a trip to Argentina this year and taught Shoyu some Tango moves which he quickly learned. They have chosen a beautiful tango song by Astor Piazzolla for this delightful routine they put together just for us. Enjoy!

I wish I could dance like him...one day...who knows...

Stay tuned for more dance moves with Shoyu!

Wordless Wednesday: My Uncle SHOYU

2008-12-17T12:40:00.005-06:00

Introducing : Shoyu (Japanese for Soy Sauce)

He looks a lot like me, the major difference is our hair colors

He's only 4 months old

but...

he will R-O-C-K you!

More of Shoyu coming up soon on My Pooch Life!

Happy Holidays everybody!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T20:35:00.004-05:00

Boooooo!!

First of all, my apologies for being absent for so long. It's been hectic with so much stuff to do around the house and Mama got a bit overwhelmed with the cleaning that needs to be done but, I always help her by being a good mop and we're getting there... After doing my mopping job, I have to take a good bath.
I haven't written much lately also because Daddy is going deer hunting soon and Mommy is crazy packing, so I'm helping them pack and also packing up for myself since I'm going hunting with Daddy. That means I'll be absent again for a longer period of time(about a month)... I'll miss you all peeps!!
But, before I go on my trip to the "No Internet Land", I have to leave you guys with pictures of my very first Halloween costume! I finally convinced Mama to get one for me YAY! Check it out, BOOOOOOO!!!!( It was several sizes bigger so Mama had to adjust it with safety pins... as you can see it's not a perfect fit...) BOOOOO!!!!

It wasn't scary, was it? I'm going trick-or-treating tomorrow. I hope I get lots of candy and chocolate for Mama. Happy Halloween you all!

Wordless Wednesday: Cozy bed

2008-10-22T01:31:00.005-05:00

I've just taken a bath ok? I'm clean today, so I can lie down on Mom & Dad's bed.

Spoiled? ME?

PS: I can't sleep that long in this bed :(

Hot Spot

2008-10-16T22:54:00.009-05:00

YAAAAAAWWWWN !!!! Sorry!

Wow, this is the longest I've ever slept ! One week! Since I lied down in my bed last WW I could never get up again! Until now... I even missed yesterday's WW and didn't post anything. OOPS!
Don't know how I managed to sleep like that for so long but, I must say this bed is really cozy and comfy... I missed you guys, did you miss me too? :)

Ok, I'm pretty relaxed now and back to work, back to blogging. So, I'll tell you about one of my episodes, not one of the nicest though... Actually, one of the nastiest.

Let me begin by explaining the post's title. Hotspot and hot spot are 2 completely different things. The first is the good stuff like free internet in a public place, also called Wi-Fi. The second however, is something really bad that can happen to a woofie. So, what exactly is it and how do you get it?

Click here to find out.

So, if you took a glance at the quick explanation, you can imagine what I went through. I went to my doctor and he prescribed an ointment plus some warm towel compresses 3X a day, which I refused to have applied onto my skin and thus causing much trouble between me and Dad. I gave him a really hard time when he tried to touch me with the damn towel. It hurt! We fought each other real bad :(
The spot was in my neck area so it was really easy for me to try and bite Daddy's hand. Sorry Daddy...

It took me about a week to heal and that particular week happened to be one of the worst weeks of my life! The medicine was making me sick and I was miserable! Thank God I fully recovered from that and I haven't had another hot spot ever since!

I don't know why I got this because I'm so well taken care of but, you know, maybe one day Mama felt lazy after a walk in the rain and didn't dry me well or I could have a huge hair mat close to my skin and bacteria got underneath it. Lesson learned, now Mama combs me more often and she ALWAYS dries me with a hairdryer when we come back from a walk in the rain or snow. Well, I'm not blaming her for what happened to me; it can happen to anybody. Keep your woofies tangle and moisture free!
No more hot spots!

Look at our grooming session in the video below. I'm sooo hairy!

Wordless Wednesday: Nestled

2008-10-07T18:53:00.004-05:00

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ........