Sshhhh.... I have a secret!

GUMBALL IS A ZOMBIE!

Just look at those glowing green eyes!

I have watched enough spooky movies with my Mom to know a zombie when I see one, and Gumball is definitely a zombie!

His eyes glow like this all the time; Mom NEVER sees them, but I see them all the time, especially in the dark!

And he has magical powers, too - like, we went on vacation again last week to see our friends Kathy and John in the mountains, and believe it or not, Gumball came, too. And he got to sit in the front seat with Mom, and she rubbed his head and his back a lot all the way up there, and all the way home. I never get to sit in the front seat - Mom says it is because I am too big, but I think front-seat-sitting is a magical power, sort of. Of course, I don't really want him riding in the back seat with me, either.

Whenever we are going anywhere and we stop for gas, he hops out of his seat and over the divider thing and into the back seat with me.

But anyway, back to our vacation. BTW, Kathy and John still have Princess Nummy and Tai living with them, and they were not very excited to see me OR Gumball.

So Mom took Gumball's special bed (he needs it for his arthritis), but she said my special bed is too big to take, so I always have to sleep on either her bed (which isn't big enough for both of us!) or on the floor. But I also get to watch TV in the big recliner!

And Mom put Gumball's bed in our bedroom, and then put a nice comfy comforter, all folded up, down on the living room floor for when we were watching TV, or whatever, and he didn't want to be in the bedroom. Because evidently it hurts his bones to lie on the floor.

So everyday Mom and Kathy would drive off somewhere, and John would hang around for a little while, and then he would leave, and it would just be us 4 dogs alone in the house all day long. I always just chilled out on Mom's bed. But whenever John or Mom and Kathy came home, they would find Gumball's special bed out in the hallway. For a long time they tried to figure out how it kept getting moved, because Gumball doesn't have any jaw or any teeth, and he is pretty tiny, so they didn't think it was him. One time they tried to blame me, and said I was trying to move him out of Mom's bedroom 'cause I was jealous, but it wasn't me, either! And then Kathy told Mom that John was doing it so that Gumball wouldn't be lonely in the bedroom (but I was there - how could he be lonely?) So everyone was very confused, until the day after we got back to our own house.

Mom had put Gumball's bed back in its usual spot as soon as we got home, but she had to go to the doctor the next day, so she left us 2 dogs home alone. And when she got back, she found Gumball's bed out in the hallway at the top of the stairs, and she realized that whenever she leaves him at home, he must be somehow (magically, I tell you!) dragging his bed trying to go in the car with her, but it is a big bed for him to drag, so he finally gives up and just sleeps in it wherever he dragged it to.

So this morning, Mom and I went for a long walkie because it has started to be a little cooler here in the morning, and to stop the bed-dragging, Mom took Gumball's bed downstairs and left it by the door. But when we got home from our walk, Gumball wasn't in his bed, or any of his usual downstairs spots (like my downstairs bed, or on the sofa, or on a chair), so she went looking for him, and found him lying on the floor where his special bed usually is. So now Mom says she gives up, and he can move his bed wherever he wants. But she still wants to see how he is doing it. But of course, he doesn't do it when Mom is around. Zombies are sneaky like that.

Mom says she wants to get a Gumball cam.

But back to our vacation - we both had a really good time in the mountains! I watched a lot of TV in the big recliner, and Mom took me for lots of walkies in the cool mountain weather. And Gumball even liked walking around Kathy and John's yard. He is getting stronger and stronger everyday, and one day he even started running down their driveway (he was just trying to find a good spot for pooping) and you should have seen Mom chasing him! There's no cars up there, so she wasn't making him wear his leash, because he is usually a slow walker. HA! He showed her!

Here is Gumball licking one of those delicious cheddar cheese rawhide chews in his bed on vacation. He licks, and licks, and licks.... and mostly I steal them eventually. They leave stinky stains on his bed, too, so Mom says no more chews in the bed!

But Gumball doesn't seem to like his chews very much anymore, and Mom just bought 1000 of them (because SuperPetz here was going out of business, and had them on sale!) and Mom says I can have them now! Yay!

This is my vacation pout - I am on Mom's vacation bed, with my new elephant, but pouting because Gumball has a special bed, and a cheddar chew, and I know Mom is getting ready to leave!

I am glad to be back home, and when Mom and I went on our walkie this morning lots of people came out of there houses to speak to me. At the end of the cul-de-sac where we walk I met a nice little boy named Ben, and his Dad, and they both gave me pats and rubs. And then we walked around the cul-de-sac, and 2 doors across from Ben's house there was a man and a lady with a gigantic golden retriever, who was straining at his leash trying to meet me (I was way ahead of Mom, as usual). The lady said they see us walking a lot, and wanted their Golden to meet me (and they were complimentary about the way I carry my own leash - they said their Golden doesn't do that). Their Golden was 7 years old, and he was a boy dog like me, and the same color as me, but he was huge! And very very active! But he was a nice dog.

Mom and I kept walking, and she decided to do a 2nd lap around the cul-de-sac, and when we got back to the house where that Golden Retriever had been, the man was outside the house again, this time with a different Golden Retriever, who wasn't on a leash, and she came running straight at me! I dropped my leash so we could sniff each other, and her Dad came over and told my Mom that her name was Edisto. That is the name of a beach Mom and I went to one time! And even Edisto was much bigger than I am, so Mom thinks now that I must have been the runt of my litter, whatever that means.

Mom took me and Gumball to the doctor last Monday (Gumball had to get bloodwork). We both got our nails cut, and we both got weighed. I had lost another pound, and Gumball had lot 6 ounces. Mom was very upset about both of us losing weight. She told the doctor that Gumball eats like a pig, and the vet said not to worry - that he will be OK. Then Mom asked about me, because the doctor had told Mom the last time I had MY appointment that I needed to gain a few pounds, and Mom has been giving me extra food, so Mom asked if I should get even more food! I was so excited, but the vet said NO. Booooooooo! The vet said she has decided that I am just destined to be a lean, mean Golden Retriever (I am NOT mean), and to just leave my meals the way they are. Boooo.

I got to take a Walkie today!

It has been hot, hot, hot, plus Mom has been kinda sick - but today, even though it was 97 degrees when we left work, it was only 82 when we got home. A cold snap!

Mom rushed inside and changed clothes, and asked me if I wanted to go walk with her.

Well, duh...!?!

So we took off, and I walked so much faster than she did that she had to keep whistling for me (she has suddenly quit talking, to everyone - I don't know why. But I know what her whistles mean! I would get very far ahead of her, and she would whistle, so I would kill time by running up to peoples' front doors and peeking in, or checking out their garages if the garage doors were up, or just meeting new friends. I got to meet 4 new friends: a lady who was "weed-whacking," and a man who was shining his truck tires, and a man and a lady who putting their dog in their truck for a ride, and then a nice lady with a toddler - the nice lady called me over (Mom was a long way behind me) - so I pranced over with my leash, and that toddler started screaming bloody murder - and that made his Dad come out of the house, and by then Mom had caught up, and was apologizing because I had "scared the baby", but the Mom and the Dad both knew that the Mom had started it all by calling me over in the first place....

But my point is, I got head pats and butt rubs from 4 new friends today!!

Guess Who??!

Did you guess? It's ME!!!!!

I'm back! Sorry to be gone for so long.

Yesterday was my birthday (now I am 11!) Mom told me that I have not been blogging very much, and I have a ton of stuff to tell you!

Remember when I told you that Mom takes me to work with her?


Well, I stay very, very busy these days!


Mom's store is in a pretty business center, with about 7 big, long buildings full of stores and all kinds of businesses (like restaurants!).


Every morning when we get to work (except some mornings when Mom oversleeps) we walk all around the shopping complex TWO times, so that everyone can know that we are at work now! (Mom says we are walking for exercise. She says potato, I say potatah. Whatever). Naturally, I carry my own leash, 'cause Mom walks too slow. And I get very very far ahead of her, but if it is time to turn a corner, I stop and wait for her, because I like to keep one eye on Mom!






We have been having some really nice weather, so at the time of the morning that we are walking, lots of stores have their doors propped open so that I can walk in and make sure everything is safe, and that everyone know I am there! (Mom says the doors are open to get fresh air. Whatever.) All I know is, everyone is always glad to see me, and gives me lots of pats and rubs! Whenever I see an open door, I start to run, and scoot inside the open door! I have to run, because sometimes the open door leads into a restaurant, and for some reason, Mom does not want me to go in restaurants, and she starts to run really fast to try to block me from getting in those doors. Seeing my Mom run is funny!!


Everyone at the shopping center likes to see me walking, and they think it is funny that I carry my own leash. Lots of people take pictures of me, and one lady always comes out to greet me, and one day she took my picture, and the next day she told my Mom that now I am on Facebook. I do not know what that means.


After our walk, we open up the store, and then my job is to greet all the customers! That is a lot of fun, and more pats and rubs for me! And I get a lot of treats, too, 'cause Mom keeps a big jar of treats on the table for customers to give me!


This is me saying goodbye to a really nice lady that was buying beads at the store at Christmas time.




I also keep an eye out for delivery trucks, and let Mom know when more beads are coming to the shop!


When things are really quiet in the store, with no customers, and no deliveries, and Mom is working with her stupid beads instead of playing with me, I lie down beside her with my Baby.





Remember how sad it was when my poor piggy Baby fell apart suddenly?




Well, Mom got me a new piggy baby to love at her store, and I have started lying down with piggy baby covering my head. Mom always goes "Awww" when I do this. She doesn't know why I do it at the store, but I don't cover my head with my babies at home.







And about a month ago, when Mom and I were doing our walkies, Mom noticed that I was leaving footprints all over the sidewalks! Lots of other peoples noticed, too, and would tell my Mom that they could tell I had been there, 'cause they saw my footprints! But no peoples were leaving footprints -- only me!


Wanna know why? It's 'cause of pollen! We had inches and inches of pollen covering the ground. Our nice green sidewalks were not green anymore - they were bright yellow. And every time I put my feet down, a big yellow cloud puffed up! We finally got some rain, and all the pollen is gone now.


There is a German deli just a few doors down from my Mom's store, and it is on the way to the place where I go potty. There is a really nice strip of grass with a lot of bushes and stuff at the end of our building, and it is perfect for me. Every time it is time for me to go potty, I walk really really fast towards the potty place - way faster than Mom (duh! She is slow). And Mom thinks I am running to go potty, but actually I am just going to the deli - I stand outside its door, holding me leash, and lots of time (if they don't have customers) they see me, and come outside with treats! Yum!! And when customers come out of the deli with bags of goodies, I follow them to their cars, sniffing their bags. Mom hates when I do this.


Last week I started refusing to eat the nice breakfast that Mom fixes me every morning before go to work. Mom thinks I was doing this so I would have more room for deli treats! She told the nice deli man to stop giving me treats.... that was mean. Now I have to eat dogfood again.

Taking Mom for a Walk

I was so happy today! Mom came home from work early, and she took me for a walk. I love to go for walks. Walks are the best!





This pictures shows me dancing around Mom's legs, carrying my leash, because I am so excited.
















Now I am standing by the front door, patiently holding my leash, all ready to go. But Mom can't find the key to the door, so I will helpfully walk back and forth from the door to the kitchen over and over until she finds the key. This time-tested technique has never failed to turn up the key in the end.















Now I am all but dancing on my back legs by the front door. I really do make a big deal out of going for a walk, huh?

Finally! I'm out in the real world! No stinking fences! I'm the USS Enterprise of dogs - I must explore strange new worlds, seek out new life, and new civilizations...(Mom and I watch a lot of Star Trek.)




















Time's up for today - Now I'm waiting for Mom to make her way back to the porch. As usual, she is not as fast as I am.











Mom is still poking along. I cannot open this door myself unless I put my leash down, and I am NOT putting my leash down. I never put my leash down!

Mom has to forcibly take my leash away from me...

I love my leash.


In other news, I finally, finally smell like a dog again! Mom took me to that place that made me smell bad, and I have worked very hard to get my dog smell back. It is always harder in the winter to find ways to to keep that fresh dog smell, but I am cultivating a few new spots in the backyard!

Live Long and Prosper!

I Have a Lot of Jobs

I have a lot of jobs around the house, and I work real hard, and I do a really good job, so my mom will tell me what a good boy I am.

One of my most important jobs is to guard the house. I do this from my station at the front door. Mom put a pillow there to catch her suncatchers, 'cause they fall down a lot, but this pillow is perfect for me, because hard-working dogs do not belong on the hard floor.

Baby helps me guard the house. We perch on the pillow and watch for all kinds of intruders, like squirrels, and dogs, and cats (there is a new grey cat in the neighborhood, and it comes on my porch all the time!) and people walking by, and leaves blowing on the grass, and the neighbors across the street. 'Cause Mom needs to know about all this stuff! Whenever I see something important, I bark once (unless it is that cat, and then I bark a lot), and if Mom says "Get 'em, Bailey" then I bark and bark and bark, until I scare them away. It is hard work, but I always scare them away! Except for the leaves - they don't listen to me very good.

I do NOT bark at people that come to my door, like the UPS guy, or the mailman, or the Pizza Hut man, or other visitors, because I like company. Mom doesn't understand this, because she can't hear the doorbell ring if she is upstairs, so sometimes I have to go get her when they ring the doorbell more than once. That is another one of my jobs.

I told you last time about how one of my important jobs is to check the trash, and make sure nothing important gets thrown away. I do that several times a day. Mom keeps most of the trashcans in cabinets, almost like she doesn't want me to do my job, but sometimes I can get my paws in there and get the cabinet open, so it's OK.

I take myself for walks, too, because I love to carry my leash. Another one of my jobs is to get the newspaper everyday, and to get the mail, too. I love to carry stuff. One time, there was a hole in the fence in my backyard, and I got out on a Sunday morning, and when Mom found me on the front porch, I had brought her 50 Sunday newspapers from all our neighbor's driveways!

I love to get the newspaper!

I help Mom cook dinner every night. She puts it in this box and pushes buttons, and then goes upstairs, and when it is finished cooking, it starts to ding, but she always forgets to come get it. I wait patiently, but finally have to go tell Mom that dinner is ready, and she goes to get it out of the dinger.

Another important job I have is to tell Mom whenever there is a barking dog on TV! She needs to pay attention to this stuff! Those could be bad dogs! Sometimes she tells me to get 'em, so I bark and bark and bark, and they go away.

Another job I have is to keep birds and squirrels out of my backyard. That is a lot of work! When we go to the beach, I have to keep the pelicans away from the beach, too, and everybody tells me what a good boy I am. I have to swim a lot to keep those pelicans away!

Another one of my jobs is to clean the floor whenever Mom drops food on it. That is one of my favorite jobs!

Well, that is all I can think of right now. Time for a nap!