Yappy New Year - Woof Woof!

There have been some nosy pups out there that have been curious as to what I’ve been up to over the past few weeks, and all I’ll say is that it’s been a dog’s life! 

First and foremost, I found a girlfriend :o) She’s a bit of a wild lady – I think mum and dad said she’s called Coyote or something which is a funny name but still. I met her late one night in the field when walking with dad, and she stopped and kind of barked at me. Well, I shook my toy bunny at her and barked back and she ran off but I’ve seen her a couple of times since although she is quite shy and doesn’t come too close. I saw her again when we went down to Fish Creek Park for a walk, and she was playing in the snow and I wanted to go and say hello but mum and dad shouted me back, so I looked on longingly from a distance.  I can smell her all the time when I’m out for a walk and she smells so different from any other dog I know, which makes her unique and I can’t wait to get to know her better if I’m allowed to.

Mum and dad are still on about getting me a friend so if I am a good boy, maybe Coyote will be allowed to move in with us although I’ve heard mention of lady huskies, border collies and retrievers, so I suppose I just have to wait and see what happens.

I’m also now officially a mature boy as I was 2 years old in December. I had an ace birthday as mum and dad let me watch Snow Dogs and I couldn't contain myself - I had to keep jumping up and barking at the telly and shaking my head every time the big huskies appeared on the screen. The telly is so big, I thought they were real dogs and I got all excited at the thought of playing with them, but then I felt stupid when mum and dad laughed at me. I got my own back though as it was dad's birthday too, and he had a stupid film about aliens or something called "Men in Black 3". Like a stupid human, he left it on the table when he was out with mum and I was curious to have a closer look and before I realised what I was doing, it was in my mouth and being shredded. I spat it out as it really wasn't very good, and it was in shreds - I howled with laughter as I knew how annoyed dad would be, but at least he wouldn't laugh at me again. It backfired though and he didn't get angry - he just started calling me names, some of which I'm too young to repeat on here!

Me and my brother Khayman

Now I am a big boy and no longer a puppy, mum has allowed me to be a proper whippet at last and takes me out for training runs. We’ve had some ace runs together and I’ve got up to a whopping 12 miles but didn’t feel tired at all, and so we spent another half an hour playing ball in the garden afterwards, but that just got me even more excited, so I ended up playing “Chase the Cat” in the house with Khayman instead. Khayman torments me and likes me to chase him, but he has nasty claws so I'm always wary as he's really grumpy sometimes when I catch him and punches me which hurts.

I know when mum is going out for a run as she puts on her smelly, scruffy shoes and her daft woolly hat, and I get all excited and jump around her. Then she puts my harness on and well, that’s it – I completely lose control and can’t keep still, howling and barking with excitement, and then we hit the street and I’m off, dragging mum behind me like I’m the one in control – it is so much fun! Mum lets me off the lead when she  can and I sprint off ahead of her before charging back at full pelt to see if I can knock her over with my body weight when I jump up at her in my excitement. I feel so free and I do get overly excited but I am a good boy when I go back on my lead, although I do have to bark at other dogs I see to let  them know how happy I am, which usually results in mum nearly falling over on the snow and ice, and scowling at me like I’ve been a naughty boy. I just smile back at her, giving her my Wilson grin and waggy tail, and she'll ruffle my head and call me a silly pup before we carry on.

We had a really good run the other day and I ran and ran and ran. Mum let me off the lead, it was cold and snowy but really sunny and I just couldn’t stop! Before I knew it, I’d lost mum and couldn’t see her and all I could hear were the ducks and geese on the river. Then I saw mum in the distance but I was on the wrong side of the frozen pond and I couldn’t get back to her as I knew ice could be dangerous. Mum was shouting me by then and I could tell that she was worried about me, so I ran all the way back around the pond to find her. I was so relieved to be back together, and she gave me a big puppy cuddle and I couldn’t stop kissing her and wagging my tail, and didn't leave her side after that.

Me and Jakey on Christmas Day

It’s been Christmas too, and I had an ace time as we had loads of snowy walks and also we went to see Jakey and had a play around the lake on Christmas Day. We tried to see who could find the deepest snow and the most mouses, and I won both because I’m not as tall as Jakey so the snow touched my belly despite my long legs, and because I am a good hunter and have a good sense of smell, I found the most mouses. We both had sausages and turkey for Christmas dinner, and Santa bought me some new toys including a new ball that I absolutely love and I can’t stop throwing it at mum and dad hoping they’ll play with me. I even take it to bed with me in case I wake up in the night and want to play.

Spud and Khayman – my two half brothers – also had stuff, but I didn’t see the point in a bunny having a full packet of carrot yoghurt drops all to himself so I merrily chomped through them, whilst Khayman never plays with his toys so I’ve now got loads of cat toys with little bells on them to keep me amused and to destroy. I know that I shouldn't have the bells, so I make sure mum and dad see me playing so they rip the bells off first and then I have a line of defense when they accuse me of damaging everything.

It went really cold over Christmas too and because my ears make me look like Dobby from Harry Potter, they got really cold and my hair stood on end. Mum and dad blamed it on me being part whippet, and whippets are usually skinny with very little hair, so they bought me new coat and some booties to stop my pads getting ice and snow in them and to prevent frost bite. If I say so myself, I look quite handsome in the coat as it’s a bright red colour and I really stand out, and it’s fleecy lined and really warm, and I feel all special when it’s wrapped around my belly to keep me warm. The booties are a different matter and when I first wore them, I felt stupid and lost all control of my feet, waddling around and slapping my feet down like a stupid frog or a duck or something. They felt weird and mum and dad laughed which made me get all embarrassed. But then I got used to wearing them and as I only wore them when going out to play, I didn’t mind them and now when I see them, I get all excited as I know we’re going out for a play. I do make my legs go all rigid though to make it harder for mum and dad to put them on my feet, and I secretly laugh when I see the frustration in their faces – revenge is sweet!

Me, my coat and my booties

It’s now 2013 and I am so excited that I have nearly been here a year and I haven’t had to go back to England on a big aeroplane all on my own again. I hated that, and have now decided that I no longer want to be a pilot when I grow up, but would much rather be a doggy of leisure but with the opportunity to train as a semi-professional ball and Kong chaser, both of which sound far more appealing. I’ve heard that we are moving house again in the next few weeks, but I have been assured that it’s only down the road, and I have been shown the new house and it is massive with lots of rooms and stairs to play on,and a big garden and lots of open space.  We went there the other day and I saw 3 jackrabbits running around nearby so I know there will be plenty of things to chase again when I move, and mum has said that we will still run and will go around the nature reserve when it opens, although I will probably have to stay on my lead because of all the animals there.

As I said at the start, it is indeed a dog’s life having so much fun, love and attention, but I guess one of us has to do it :o)