Where the heart is

Mommy says we're 'moving,' I'm not sure what that means but things have been so confusing lately!  “Home” isn’t home anymore – I sat by and watched as mommy and daddy took everything apart, carried it out and scrubbed head to toe until there was nothing left in my “home” aside from the nails in the walls that our photos hung from.  I searched for my kennel and toy box but they were nowhere to be found until daddy brought me to a strange new building that contained with all of my things!   

I didn’t like it one bit when he left me here and went out again – it seemed like they had left me here on my own!  I sat by the door and cried, no longer interested in my toys – why was I alone with all my things?  Then suddenly, I could smell mom!  I got my courage up to go and find her, following her smell to where I thought she was… but it turned out to be a box full of mommy’s clothes.  Still, I decided this meant that at least mommy would be coming to live with me and this perked me up.  I nestled into her things and went to sleep feeling silly, when has she ever left me before? 

I was right!  Mom came back later that night and with her came dad and all of his things!  They set up our bed almost straight away because they were tired and when we went to sleep I left my usual spot at the foot of the bed and snuggled up to mom all night. 

After that, mom and dad came and went a lot over the following days – each time bringing more and more things that smelled like home.  Now most of what we had at “home” is at the new place and it’s starting to smell like home did.  Mom and dad haven’t brought anything else into the house for almost a week now, so I wonder if that means we’re settled?  I for one, still don’t like it here and I miss home. This place is very loud at night and I get startled frequently by our neighbors out in the hall or wailing sirens and tooting car horns out in the street.  S'pose we are all together though and I definitely like having mom and dad near me better than when I thought I would be alone.  Maybe home isn't in a building at all...

A walk in the nick of time

I'm glad mommy took me for a walk when she did today - otherwise we would have been rained on!  Not that I mind getting wet but mommy would have hurried home and I would have missed out on a decent play in the park. 

It was lucky she put my sweater on too cause it sure has gotten cold outside over the last two weeks!  Although the good thing is that Mom's walking a lot faster in this cold weather and I like that since usually I can't wait to get to the park and I pull her along but now she's keeping up with me and we are at the park in no time!



Howl-o-ween

Halloween turned out to be so much fun!  I’d heard mommy talk of it and I knew it would involve me partaking in the humiliating spectacle of wearing a costume – but I didn’t realize that Halloween would mean me running around outside and all over the place with my two best friends (Roxy and Bella), or that they would be wearing costumes too!  Their ones were even more embarrassing than mine:  Roxy was dressed as a pumpkin and Bella, a unicorn!   I jumped around them in my football costume (which all of a sudden seemed pretty cool) and teased them relentlessly!

Yep, I felt proud of my football jersey and even posed proudly for mommy while she took photo after photo; I just didn’t like the “helmet” on top of my head since I hate my ears being covered. 

The other two insisted that their costumes be removed as soon as possible. he he he. Here’s a photo of me and my best friend Roxy resting on the ottoman after a long play. 

Here's a photo of me playing with the kids.  Kids really love to play with me since I'm so easy going.  I just sit there and let them do what they want to me.  Sometimes it hurts me when they pull my hair or try to get me hyped up; but mom's never far away to set them straight.  They're so little that I just don't know how to play with them! 

Here's a photo of me outside by the scarey yard decorations.  They move about and make all sorts of sounds when you walk past them and I had to stay very still for this photo so that they wouldn't detect me.

Reunited with mommy

Mommy got back to Little Rock last night and we spent all day today playing in the leaves and running around - then she fed me my dinner so life is great again.

Hunger pangs

Well mom wasn't back to feed me my dinner on Monday night so I got confused and didn't eat at all since I wasn't sure how she was and whether she had any food or not. On Tuesday, dad and I had a big day so I was famished and gladly ate but I missed my mommy very much yesterday and once again didn't eat. I now realize that four days is a very long time and I miss her very much today.  I still don't feel like eating and I don't even want to run around. 

Daddy keeps trying to engage me in play time but he doesn't get it right!   We have never been alone for this long - we're quite unsure of each other, not knowing what the other wants - which makes me think of my two favorite things about my mommy: she always knows how I like to play; and she knows just how to pat me right!  Somehow mom always knows what toys I want to play with too because no matter what I'm doing, when she picks up a toy: THAT'S THE ONE I WANT!

Daddy says she'll be coming back tomorrow but I don't know when tomorrow is and miss her NOW!  I overheard him telling her on the phone last night that I've been difficult, so hopefully that will tell her how much I need her to come back to me today.  I honestly thought that if I stopped eating all together, mommy would be so worried that she would fly back to Little Rock as soon as she could - but It's not working!  I'm on day two of my hunger strike, but still daddy says she won't be back until tomorrow. As soon as she's back I plan to eat and eat! 

... Although, maybe I will act upset at mom first and ignore her for a while so she realizes that leaving me for 4 days and flying home without me (for whatever work is) is NOT ok!

:-( from Baxter

What's good for the gander

Today I had a great time with my parents in Little Rock!  We went to the Old Mill but I wasn't allowed in there so I waited in the car while they checked it out, then on we went to the park with all the geese and squirrels! 

I ran and ran my head off chasing those critters but mom and dad's highlights were different to mine. They thought it was exceptionally funny when I got into an argument with a Canadian goose - only I wasn't laughing!  He made me so cross by saying I couldn't come towards the water!  "It's a free country buddy," I tried to explain as he flapped, hissed and honked at me.  Although dad pulled me away before I could show him a thing or two, I feel like I won the argument and marched around proudly afterwards thinking: no body else better mess with me!

Here's a picture of me barking my civil rights to him - notice how uptight he is! (You can click on the pictures and they will get really big for a better look!)

PS:  Mommy tells me she's going back home for work tomorrow; she'll be gone for 4 days.   I'm not too worried because even though I don't know how long 4 days is; I know she'll be back in time to feed me my dinner and breakfast. She's always around for that! 

In the dog house, Little Rock AK

Here we are in Little Rock, Arkansas and I'm in trouble with my mom.  See, she went out to dinner last night with some friends while daddy was away and left me by myself in the hotel room.  I am used to this, since we live in an apartment and I have been raised inside, so I know how to behave. But last night, I felt that we had not been here long enough and I was not comfortable staying by myself just yet; so I let mommy (and the rest of the hotel) know this by yelping and crying the whole two hours she was away.

Mom says that when she came back to the hotel, the manager kindly let her know of this and she was embarrassed and very upset with me!  I tried to explain that it wasn't my fault and I was scared to be alone, but she told me that if I want to be treated like a big boy I need to start acting like one. Also she told me that from now on I would be put into my crate when they go out and I don't like that one bit! I am much too old and clever for my crate!

Today I am trying to show mommy just how sorry I am; but she is not budging!  Tonight while they are at the wedding shower - I'll be in the dog house!





On the road again

Today we left the hotel in Dallas that we'd stayed at for the past three nights; just when I was feeling really at home with my surroundings, remembering where everything was and enjoying myself!  We drove for 5 hours to Little Rock, Arkansas and I slept in the car most of the time, in my new spot on the back seat; inside the cubby that daddy made up for me.

I liked my old spot, perched on top of mommy's lap but after last night, when she bought me a costume: I've decided to show her that I'm a big boy now and don't want to be babied.  Daddy encouraged this but I think mommy missed me at times, cause she reached back and tried to pat me - sometimes I let her - but most of the time I pulled away.  She needs to loosen her grasp on me a little and let me be a boy!

I show mom just how much I love her in all sorts of other ways!  Like dressing up for Halloween: I really don't want to and my costume feels weird but last night I stood there patiently while she fitted me into a football costume, with nothing more than a disgruntled look upon my face.  Daddy knows how I feel - he was against this from the start, but we are going along with it for mommy's first Halloween.  Next year will be a different story!

Me buckled in, in my new car spot

A great day in Dallas

Well we're still in Dallas because daddy wasn't quite done with work.  That's ok though because despite the cold outside and cruel winds blowing, mommy kept her promise and took me out to a field so I could run, run, run.  I stay a lot warmer than she does because I'm so fluffy, but that's got its own problems! Mom had to spend 20 minutes pulling all the spurs out of my fur when we got back! 

Mom's telling me my Australian family calls spurs "prickles." Well whatever they're called - they sure hurt the same!  Now we're off to the pet store to buy me a 'howl-o-ween' costume! Neither me, nor my mom, have ever celebrated Halloween before.  She says she's getting a costume for herself too (after the pet store, not AT the pet store!)... I wonder what we will be!  I'll let you know soon.

Have a great day!
Love from Baxter

On the move

At the moment we're on a road trip and I'm having so much fun: that's why mommy's started this blog/ journal for me.  We're on our 9th day of the adventure here in Dallas, TX.  It's not an adventure for Daddy, who had to take this trip for work but it is for mommy (who's from another country) cause she gets to see America... and it is for me too because I get to experience new things and show mom and dad how well I travel for long periods.

After we left Atlanta, we went to visit grandpa in Shreveport LA for a few days which was great fun!  I liked grandpa's place a lot but he has the type of furniture that I'm not allowed on because I can scratch it. 

It was ok though because Grandpa gave me a new plastic bottle to play with on the floor everyday and it turns out they're really fun.  Daddy thinks they're too loud but seeing as most of my toys are at home he knows I have to make do...

Then we went to Abilene Tx, where we saw a life sized statue of a buffalo:

And lastly we were in Arlington TX for a few days where we went to a pumpkin patch and I got to help pick out the perfect Halloween pumpkin:

Next we're going to Little Rock Arkansas for dad's friend's wedding and I want to give them our perfect pumpkin as a gift. I've already been to Little Rock before and I liked the hotel room we stayed in since there was plenty of room for me to play fetch. I hope our hotel room is as big this time too.

Well I've got a busy day tomorrow, mom promised me some more running around time without my leash on! So I'm off to sleep now, thanks for liking my blog.



Road trippin'

One of the reasons I'm such a good traveler is that I love being in the car, usually just curling up and sleeping on either mom or dad.  I can go long distances without any trouble but I love when dad stops the car every few hours because I get to run around, chase my ball, stretch my legs and have a drink.

Sometimes if I'm really lucky, mom and dad will stop at a restaurant for lunch and give me treats too! What's not to love?

Nice to meet you!

Hi, I'm Baxter!  I'm a one year old mini poodle from Atlanta with a very active social life.  Mom and dad travel a bunch and I get to go with them because I'm an excellent traveler and I love adventure.

At Piedmont Park

Mommy thought it would be a great idea for me to keep a journal of my life and share it online with my friends and family around the world.  So I thought I'd give it a go!  Thanks for visiting