Adopting a Buddy

Today my pawrents took me to the place that steals hair. Again! How many times are they going to do that before my Moomie and Daady figure out not to take me there? Me's tried to tell them it's cold outside and Levi needs his hair but they wouldn't listen. After those thieves did that and other embarrassing to me everyone kept saying what a handsome boy me is. But when Moomie picked me up she just said Levi didn't look like me's needed to go on a diet anymore. Last week she even started me on adult food more than a month before my first birthday 'cause she thought the puppy stuff was making me fat. Well, not exactly. Me's gets baby food half and half adult.

On the way home we stopped at Starbucks for a cup of cream and then Moomie said we were going shopping for a belated Christmas present. Oh, Boy! Levi LOVED that idea. She said me's needed something big so me's would quit molesting pillows…whatever that means. Levi can't help it that they keep trying to run away from home and me's have to stop them.

The selection was picked over, Moomie said. They only had two big stuffies left---a frog and a monkey---so me tested them both out. Mr. Froggie passed. It cost a whole $20.00 to adopt him! Is that fair? He's so homely that no one wanted to take him home before Christmas. But to tell you the truth, it didn't matter that he was the last of the froggie in the litter to go. It was love at first sight.

When Froggie got to our house he tried to get into the refrigerator but Moomie made him get down from there. Mean Moomie! He was hungry. Then we played and got to know each other better after that. Me's showed him my bed in the kitchen and then we got tired and took a nap together in my other bed 'cause it was quieter in the bedroom. ©



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Christmas, Bah Humbug!

Christmas was a GIANT big disappointment. Me's read all over "Dogs with Blogs" how we're suppose to have a good time on Christmas day and get lots of pretty presents but all me's got was this dumb banana---oops, bandanna---and a bag of my favorite treats. Then me's got left alone all afternoon because my daady got sick with the dreaded cabin fever. At first me's was really worried when Moomie said the only thing that would cure cabin fever was to go see a dog named Marley at someplace called Showtime. Then it came out that Daady is in LOVE with Marley's moomie, Jennifer Aniston, and me's got suspious. If you ask Levi me would say that Daady was just pretending to be sick so he could be with that Jennifer woman but Moomie didn't seem to catch on to his charade. So no one tell her, okay?

While they were gone Daady's pillow tried to run away from home. Since Levi is the head of security when Moomie's gone it was up to me to stop it. Me wrestled the pillow in the living room but he kept trying to make a break towards the back door. Then Levi accidentally bit a hole in it while me was dragging it into the library. After that Daady's pillow gave up and me was able to hold him down until my pawrents got home.

Daady and Moomie smelled strange when they returned. Like corn on the cob with lots of butter on it and me's couldn't smell that Marley dog anywhere. Me checked their pants, their shirts, their hands and faces. No dog essence anywhere. Me guesses that Dr. Marley dog was zipped up inside one of those isolation bodysuits to keep himself from catching cabin fever while he treated my daady. Me's didn't smell another woman on Daady either. That Jennifer woman must have been wearing a blue bodysuit, too.

Me's is getting a headache and my tummy hurts. Oh no! What does it feel like to get cabin fever? ©

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Levi and the Snow Machine

Me's got up this morning
and found the most beautiful white stuff
all over the deck.
Moomie called it snow and she moved a lot of it out of the way
so I could go down to my yard to pee.

My yard was so full of snow my four foot fence was only was only 18 inches high.



Me's decided to dig my way to the fence so I could stick my head out between the slats to see what was going on in the street. Moomie said cars were stuck all over the place.


This is me still trying.....trying, trying to dig.



Me had to give up so Moomie could take this silly picture. But Levi did get the eve trove pipe uncovered. That's important.


This is me back on the deck taking a break and watching Moomie shovel my dog yard.



This is what it looked like when she got through. Me's don't know why she did that. Me's was planning to eat it all up when me got finished playing in it. Snow tastes DDDDDDDDDelicious!



This is Moomie trying to take a picture of herself. She's laughing. Me's don't know why.



Me had snow in my beard for a long time after we came back in the house.

Levi LOVES snow!

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Gold Stars for Good Puppies

Anyone there? Levi has some news. Me's got a new gold star on my 'Good Boy' chart. Well, me don't really HAVE a chart but Moomie pretends that Levi does and she just added a shiny pretend star for OUTSTANDING big boy behavior!

Every since Levi came to live with Moomie and Daady me's been practicing, practicing, practicing like a fire drill in case Daady would fall on the floor. He can't walk, you know. Me didn't really know what that meant to "fall on the floor" but me figured it must hurt like when me rolls off the couch by accident. Anyway, we kept drilling for me to sit-stay out of the 'fall zone' every time Daady transfers in or out of his wheelchair.

Yesterday it happened. Daady fell while trying to sit on his shower bench. It happened so fast! He hit his head and was moaning and acting kind of scary. Moomie was acting all scary, too, checking for blood and trying to pull Daady by the feet so his head could get away from the shower wall. Then she put a pillow under his head and made a telephone call. All this time me was the perfect little schnauzer, still sit-staying out of the fall zone which is right along side of the wheelchair, real close-like to the brake lever should you ever have to learn to do it.

Finally, Moomie scooped me up and put me in the kitchen behind the baby gate. Me's didn't even let out a peep then or when a noisy truck roared up to the house and two guys came inside. Five minutes later two MORE guys came in. Me could hear them all asking Moomie and Daady questions. Daady can't talk much---just one word at a time---but when he said, "Gas" Moomie said, "He fine now. When he starts giving tours of the artwork, he's fine." (The bathroom is decorated with photos of old gas pumps that Daady used to collection.)

Then at night another bad thing happened. The lights went out and they stayed out for four hours. It was getting really cold in the house, too, and me didn't even fight Moomie when she put a winter coat on me. Daady didn't fight when she made him go to bed early either. Poor Moomie. She had quite a time getting Daady out of his electric La-Z-Boy in the dark. She was holding a flashlight in her mouth trying to put the back-up batteries in a thingie. Earlier she had hooked my flashing light on my collar and a clip-on light on Daady's shirt until she got us both where she wanted us to stay until the lights came back on. Moomie said to pretend we're all camping. Me doesn't know what camping is but me's don't think Levi would like it. Anyway, me's got another gold star but it was kind of dumb to get that second one just for not getting lost in the dark. Moomie doesn't seem to know that we doggies can see in the dark. ©

Smell ya later,

Love Levi

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Christmas Time at the Bridge

The holiday season up here at the Rainbow Bridge is a busy and happy time. There are parties and bark-alongs and lots of speculating on what our humans are giving each other for Christmas. We've even got a good natured pool going. We're trying to see which of us angel dogs can guess the most gifts correctly. No way can I win the pool because there is just my mom, dad and Levi to exchange gifts in my family but Dad and Levi can't go shopping so that just leaves Mom to buy two gifts.

The Christmas gift pool has made the lines up here at the magic water extra long. The magic water, you'll remember, is under the bridge and it allows us to view our humans down on earth. But even waiting in the lines is fun because we all exchange stories about our holiday times on earth when our humans would dress us up in reindeer antlers or velvet bow ties and other silly things like the blinking, light-up collar I had for many years. We'd also swap stories about the trees that accidentally got peed on and the gifts that got ripped open.

One day after waiting in line I finally I got my time at the magic water and I could see a red Christmas fabric neck scarf for Levi sitting on the dining room table and an unopened U.P.S. box sitting by the front door as Mom and Dad came back from the grocery store.

"I think Cooper's Christmas present came!" Mom told dad.

A gift for me? I thought. What on earth could they get for me? I've been dead for ten months now.

I couldn't wait to tell the other angel dogs what my quirky Mom was up to. I couldn't wait myself to see what she was up to! But imagine my out right shock when she opened the box and revealed a custom make grave marker. No more magic marker on a patio stone for me! I'm getting a REAL memorial marker and if Levi pees on this one like he does on the homemade marker the little bugger is going to feel my wings fluttering my anger in his face. ©


P.S. The photo above was taken of me about six years ago. Mom found it on an old roll of film she just had developed. The memorial marker came from www.harrietcarter.com

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Pies and Pretty Things

Does anyone know where me's can find a Grievance Committee to hear my complaint? My Moomie---who me's don't like very much at this moment---has been calling me 'pie face' for a long time. Me's thought it was a nice nickname until today when she brought this pie home from the bakery---it's the first one me's ever seen. You tell me, how could ANY human think me looks like a pie! Do you see any resemblance?





Not only that, me just learned that Levi is famous and me's picture is hanging in an art gallery. Do you think they would do that if me was as homely as that brown pie thingie above? No, they wouldn't. Me's is cute and that pie looks like mud!




And my friend, Mona, just sent me this award. Isn't it pretty? Moomie made me promise not to eat that butterfly. Well, that's no fun---me's a boy, you know. So Levi is going to pass the award on to Lacie. She won't try to eat it. But the point is no one would sent me an award like this if I looked like a dish of mud!



Someone needs to make my moomie quit maligning me with that 'pie' talk. Levi just learned that word especially so I can file a complaint. 'Maligning' means "to say something misleading, false; to misrepresent someone giving them a bad name." That's exactly why Moomie has to stop calling me pie face! She will ruin my reputation as a pretty boy. She does smother me with kisses when she calls me that so maybe she's just getting that old people's thing---senility---and she forgot how ugly pies look? Oh, me's getting confused. What should Levi do? Help!

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Did You Get My Pee Mail?

Anyone there? Levi here. Me is having a strange week. It started out good. On Monday Moomie and me left Daady sleeping in his La-Z-Boy and we went to the place that gives money to Moomie and bones to me. Then we went to Starbucks where me's got a cup of cream and Moomie got a caramel macchiato. Levi even got to check for pee mail and leave a few at the river park on the way home.

Tuesday Moomie was glued to the TV and the computer. She was watching something called 'hearings' and she told Daady if they don't turn out good for GM we'll have to live in the car. Levi doesn't see how we can do that! Me's don't understand why Moomie can't just go back to the bank and get more money if GM stops giving it to us. Life is really hard to understand. Last night Moomie woke up in the night a lot, walking the floors and disturbing my sleep. She is spooky when she gets like that.

Today Moomie and Daady had to go someplace to get a thingie fixed on the Blazer---a lift for Daady's rolling chair. While they were gone they put me in charge of guarding the entire house. Usually they only assign me the kitchen and laundry room to watch. So Levi was proud of my expanded duties.

When they got home, Moomie took me for a walk in my new jacket. When we got back to the house, Moomie said that jacket must have been made for a girl and was a waste of money. Me's had peed inside it. Levi wanted to tell her that me's did that on purpose so no one could follow me around. You can't be too careful when you've just been promoted to head of security. But she wasn't listening. She went right back to ignoring me and glued herself to the TV again.

Love, Levi

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Levi, Naughty or Nice?

I've been remiss in checking up on my baby brother from up here at the Bridge, and it shows in his behavior. Lord, I don't think he'll ever grow up. He's nearly ten months old and look what he did to the carpeting---he pulled a thread and made it run. Our parent's new house is taking a beating, thanks to Levi. He's even put teeth marks on the rungs of a chair. It's one of those two-seater benches and not one of Mom's favorites so the carpet caper trumped his wood craving attempts on the naughtiness scale. It took Mom two minutes to forgive Levi for the chair damage and two days for her to quit mourning the damage to the carpeting.

On the niceness scale, Levi loves to sun himself in front of the glass door off the living room. He thinks he's a cat or something. He pulls his bed from the kitchen through the dinning room, plops it down in his favorite sunny spot, and crawls inside to enjoy his chew stick. This would be okay if he had 'normal' parents. But hauling his bed around turns our Dad's wheelchair path into an obstacle course. Dad doesn't seem to mind, though. He just laughs and uses one of his few words---shit---and Mom comes running to clear him a toy-free path. And when Dad moves around half the time Levi is right there edging backwards in front of the chair as he tries to pull the sock of Dad's paralyzed foot. Most of the time Dad laughs at that, too, unless he's in a hurry to pee. That's when Mom hears, "Oh, shit!" with some urgency that causes her to run faster than the laughing 'shit.'

Levi's puppiness was good for a few smiles this week. It snowed where my folks live and it was the first time he's seen the white stuff. Snow was on the deck and Levi was so joyful, shouting in his little brain, "Frosty Paws, Frosty Paws!" as he tried to eat it all up. I can't wait to see how he acts when they get five-six inches of snow. Mom will probably have a hard time getting him to come inside.

Guess I'd better get back to my heavenly duties. There's a line of angel-dogs behind me waiting to look down through the magic water to check on their humans. ©

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Handsome Little Me

While Levi was banned from the computer---which seemed like FOREVER---me graduated from adult obedience school. Me was the smartest dog in the class, but Moomie says not to brag about that because there were only four dogs in the class at the end. Two dogs dropped out along the way. They had whiny pawrents and they didn't do their homework, Moomie said. This photo was taken the last night of class. Doesn't Levi look happy?



Guess what! My friend Ted got to come over for a play date. This is him and me taking a break from playing bitey face. He wasn't too happy that Moomie made us sit to get our pictures taken. Or maybe he's not smiling because he's not cute like me. Well, he WAS cute before his daddy took him to the place that steals hair. Why do humans do that? You'd think they'd learn from their mistakes and stay away from that place.





This picture is Moomie's favorite "big boy" picture of me. It was taken a few days ago after me had to go the hair stealing place like Ted did. Maybe it's a cult, those grooming places. They make humans keep bringing us back with some magic spell, do you think?



Love, Levi

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First Family's New Puppy

Moomie says the election is over. Me don't know if Moomie's guy won or lost but Levi is glad it's over so she won't be so busy typing, typing, typing on those election debate sites she goes to.

Anyway, Moomie is all happy that some puppy she never met is moving into a big white house far away. We live in a big house so me don't know what the big deal is. Our house is gray and that's almost white, isn't it? It's not like that puppy and me can have play dates together. We won't be able to send pee-mails back and forth. Why is a puppy moving into a white house making Moomie happy? Me asked Moomie that and she gave me homework. Homework! Me has to read these articles before she's going to let me blog again. Darn it! Me wanted to catch up with all my friends here at Dogs With Blogs.


Love Levi


Move Over Barney, a New Dog is Moving in to the White House An article with a brief history of dogs who've lived in the White House


Obama Family Dog First on the List An article about the kind of dog the first family is likely to get. More than 42,000 voters at the American Kennel Club have nominated the poodle over the soft-coated wheaten terrier, miniature schnauzer, bichon frise and Chinese crested since on of the daughters has allergies.


First U.S. Presidential Victory Speech to Mention an Animal? This article includes an amazingly photo of Obama with "Baby," a three-legged dog that lost its fourth limb following years of mistreatment at a California puppy mill.

Presidents and Pets 1953 to 2008. Includes links to photos of all the presidential pets.



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Funny Dog Photos

Anyone there? Levi here. Me got my very first e-mail and Moomie said I could share the photos that came in it with my friends here at Bloggers. My favorite is the next to the last, the doggie in the seat belt. Me wishes Moomie would buy a good camera so she could take pictures of me and make me famous like these doggies.

Devil Cats

Levi met his first cat. She's the resident feline at Chow Hound and minutes before they came face to face she'd been hiding behind a bin of pig ears that my baby brother had his face buried in up to his schnauzer eyebrows. When she peeked around the corner of the box and mellowed a greeting, Levi fell back on his haunches and cocked his head back and forth like one of those plastic robot dogs. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't inclined to run. He was a fool. Cats are devils with sinister whiskers and evil eyes.

The first time I met a cat I was about the same age as Levi but I weighed ten pounds to his twenty. At the time I still had the nickname of Parrot, rightfully earned because I had a habit of crawling up shirts to sit on shoulders where the view of the world was better. My humans had taken me over to the neighbor's house and there in the corner of the living room giving me an evil stare was what I thought was a lion. They called her a chinchilla golden Himalayan Persian. But I don't care what they called that hoity-toity cat with piercing green eyes, to this day I still think it was a lion. She was huge and she out weighed me by a hundred pounds.

That lion stalked me around the couch. She stalked me into the next room and around the dining room table. She stalked me like a gazelle she wanted for dinner. She stalked me until I had no where else to run. And what did my Mom do about it? Nothing! She just sat in the middle of the living room floor talking and paying no attention to the fact that my life was in serious danger.

Finally, I'd had enough. I ran up Mom's back to her shoulder and from there I crawled even higher to balance on the top of her head like a circus elephant on a pedestal. At last I had everyone's attention but did they help me as the devil cat sat staring up at me? No! They all laughed and I mean seriously as in-pee-their-pants laughed at me. Forever and day later the lion's tamer got her back in her cage and I was taken home where I had a nervous breakdown in private. To this day, they still talk about my hair-raising experience as "the day they wished they'd had video camera."

For the rest of my life I gave cats a wide birth, never seeing one I wanted to meet up close and personal. Levi is going to be different. He's going to have to learn the hard way to stay away from those devil-eyed monsters, at least the yellow ones that look just like the lions on Animal Planet.

Or maybe he's going to learn how to hunt and kill those devils. Already he tracks the neighborhood cat's scent across our back yard and when he finds her droppings, he tosses them in the air like a trophy-toy reward for his efforts. Heaven help that boy if she ever finds him first. Oh, wait! That would be me as Levi's guardian angel that has to help him. Gosh, I'd better go get some advice on how to handle that, should it happen. That where-no-angel-fears-to-go rule has a major flaw in my case. ©

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Levi, The Material Boy

Things up here at the Rainbow Bridge are slowing down for me. We had so many volunteers wanting to do extra duty to help with the displayed dogs down in the hurricane areas that I got rotated back to my normal job of watching over my earth bound family. A few nights ago when I checked in on them I had to laugh at Mom. She was lying in bed wide awake and watching CNN at 3:30 in the morning while dad slept on one side of her and Levi slept on the other. She's got a not-so-secret addiction to politics which explains why Levi's blogging time is getting short-changed lately.

This morning Mom was talking to Dad about how many material things they've acquired since Levi came along. In the garage are two expandable, freestanding garden fences plus a foot high wire fence. They keep Levi from getting 'lost' while bug hunting in the corners of their three stall garage. It's his favorite play ground. Another expandable garden fence is at the deck steps to keep Levi down in the dog yard when it's raining. And I can't count high enough to catalog all the new toys in the house plus all my old ones that Levi inherited.

Mom's also hauled my old plastic crate and wire cage up from the basement to use for Levi. The plastic crate she's been using in the car since adoption day but she'd been resisting having the wire cage in the laundry room until about a month ago. (I didn't use either one in the last years of my life.) It was something the obedience class instructor said about dogs that aren't used to cages having a hard time when they have to be boarded or go to groomers that made her decide to get Levi cage broke. That and seeing all those hurricane dogs having to be caged while they wait to be reunited with their humans. But Levi hasn't had a bit of trouble in the cage. He's quiet, doesn't try to get out so Mom's no longer worried about him being cage savvy.

Also new: Levi first winter coat. Pretty macho, don't you think. Mine was too small for him.

Below is Levi's 90 foot clothesline that Mom uses in the back yard and his Easy Walk harness. The little blue thing is a Bling Blinker for Levi's collar. It turns on at night and can be seen up to ½ mile. The first night of adult obedience class Levi managed to chew the front off the harness while in route to the class, a ten minute trip---while he was wearing it! Mom bought a cheap dog collar---for the
fabric---and located an upholstery guy who was able to sew and save the pricy harness. The obedience class instructor helped Mom get it adjusted properly so he can't get it in his mouth again. But Mom's not taking any chances. He only wears it when he's working.

Look at all the grooming tools Levi has! Only one is a left-over from my days on earth and Mom plans to buy a table clap and hook like groomers use because Levi is still fighting getting brushed out.

But the real topper is that Mom talked to an electrician a couple of days ago about putting a spot light in the dog yard so she can see him and the toads better at night. That Levi, I don't get his fascination with toads and slugs. Me, I stayed away from these critters. Flies, yes, in my younger days I chased them around the house but I don't recall catching as many as Levi does. Mom says it was nice not having them in the house this past summer. (She's not good at closing doors when she lets Levi out so they sneak in.) But one day she purposely let a fly come inside just to keep Levi busy while she and Dad went away. Sigh, he's just as spoiled as I was.

It's time to get back to my nap. There's a big feather presentation ceremony tonight and I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a few permanent feathers added to my training wings. But you know what? I'm not as excited about that as I was when I got my first feather because---well, how do I say this?---because I'm learning that helping those in need has its own awards. ©

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They like Me! They Really, Really Like Me!

Look what Levi got---awards!! My friend Happy sent me this beauuutiful one....


And my Friend Abby gave me this pretty one....



And my friend George sent me this sparkling one...



Me isn't sure what awards are for but Moomie says it's an honor to be picked. Me asked her if I can eat them. Nope. Me asked her if I can wear them. Nope. She won't let me. She says me can't take them to obedience class either. Why can't Levi do that? If it's an honor I should show them to my teacher. She's judges awards...or is it she get awards for judging? Levi is confused. Oh, well, me don't care. They are pretty and they are mine.

Just a minute Moomie is talking.

She says me has to pass these awards on to other friends. Is that fair? Levi just got them! She can't make me do it now. Me's going to tell her I need to go outside to poop.

Smell ya later. Love Levi

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A Jolly Old Butt Smelling Day

Me missed Schnauzer Saturday but it wasn't my fault. Levi couldn't figure out how to turn on the computer. Moomie and Daady had gone away so I was trapped in the boring kitchen ALL afternoon with nothing to do but try to catch the spider in between the window and the screen. They went some place sad. At least I think it was sad because after they got home Daady pretended to cry---waw, waw, waw---many times that evening and Moomie would console him with soft words. She wrote about it in her blog but she says I'm too young and have too many legs to read Accepting the Failings of Age and Disabilities.

Today was very special. We went to a place called a dog park with my cousin Ted. Ted and me never met before but he is part schnauzer and part poodle so we had lots in common. We are the same size, age and temperament. I don't know what that last thingie is but we have good ones, our parents said. At the park we didn't get to know each very well because there were so many other dogs to meet and greet but on the way home we stopped where Ted lives. Boy was I tired when I finally got home. We played and played and played until our tongues hung all the way to the ground and I thought me would step on mine and trip. Moomie and Ted's parents are going to set up play dates for us. Isn't that dogtastic fantastic!

The dog park is far away but the minute Moomie and Daady turned in the driveway Levi knew it was worth the ride. Moomie said there were 50 dogs there between the big dog side and the small dog side. A man at the park said we just missed a Chihuahua club of 100 dogs! He was nice. He helped Moomie push Daady's wheelchair over the dirt so he could sit with all the other dog parents. But Moomie got in trouble for bringing a pocket full of kibble into the park and the man made her take it back to the car. Moomie said she felt like the Pied Piper of Hamelin going back to the entry gate. Levi doesn't know what that means but she was laughing so it must be good.

Well, me has to go hide. Moomie is looking for my hair brush. Smell ya later.

Love, Levi

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Report from the Bridge

When I was on earth I lived in a circle of love. I never knew what it was like to worry about where my next meal would come from nor did I ever experience the fear of not knowing if I'd ever see my home and humans again. Since the hurricanes came to the south I've been getting an angel's view education and it's not an easy lesson to learn. I can look down on earth and see Levi living the life I once lived then in the blink of an eye I can view the displaced and weary dogs who came through hurricanes Gusto and Ike. The contrast makes me so sad.

But along with the sadness comes a sense of pride and renewed respect for what humans are able to accomplish. From my vantage point up here, I've seen the animal rescue workers work until they are bone tired doing what they can and by watching them I've come to understand the true meaning the term 'angels on earth.' I'm glad my mom has written a check to help them out. My angel team is trying to whisper heavenly messages to as many earth bound humans as we can in hopes that they'll all do the same. There is still so much work to be done to help those pets who lived through the wrath of nature.

Speaking of nature, the rains have quit where my humans live, the dirt has dried up and Levi is back to getting off the deck to do his business. And he's back to inspecting the fence in the dog yard in hopes that someone had cut an escape hatch since his last sentry duty. When I checked on him today I had to laugh. Mom had hooked an umbrella to the bottom of the deck steps so the little imp would have a place to hide from the "evil rain" that he hates so much. It looked pretty silly on such a bright, sunny day---a big red, watermelon slice design umbrella popped up and point right at me as I was looking down. Like I said, Levi lives in a circle of love and I pray for all I'm worth that that never changes.

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Big Green Dragons and Pantie Surfing

Levi is back for Schnauzer Saturday. Me missed you. Did you miss me? Do you have time to read my diary? Levi had a weird week.

Monday: Moomie and me went back to obedience school. Only one of my friends from puppy class was there---Miss. Rat Terrier. Rat and me played a little while before class but during class we wasn't allowed to do that. All the trainer did was talk, talk, talk and I had to behave myself at Moomie's feet. The trainer told Moomie I settled down since puppy class. Me guesses that is a good thing in their eyes but I was bored. Two of my new classmates are chocolate labs. They were both as BIG as Daady's La-Z-Boy chair but I didn't care. Me ran right up to Mr. Lab and tasted him because I heard that chocolate tastes good. Me thought he tasted just like Rat.

Tuesday: That nasty thingie called a vaccummmm trapped me in the corner of the bedroom and I couldn't get away from it without running past it and Levi was afraid to do that. Me had to wait and wait and wait until Moomie discovered I'd been missing for an hour. She came and put the thingie back in the vaccummmm's cave so I could escape.

Wednesday: A huge big green dragon snake came in the house and breathed fire and steam all over the carpeting. Daady and me stayed in the kitchen but Moomie is a dare-devil so she made friends with the dragon handlers. Me was jealous because she seemed to like that dragon spitting up all over the house. Levi hopes he doesn't come back again. He stole all the good smells in the house!

Thursday: That evil rain came back and me had to keep my pee inside all day until my eyes shined yellow and it was about to spill out of my ears. Moomie is mean, though. She kept trying to make me go outside even though I used my very best manners to say, "No, thank you."

Friday: Me girlfriend at the Starbuck's window gave me another cup of cream. Levi lovvvves her. She is pretty.

Saturday: Well, that is today and Moomie is cleaning the closet and said I couldn't help. Me don't know why. Me is good at dragging panties out to the living room for Daady to see.

Well, that's all I have to say this week.

Smell ya later,

Love Levi

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Blood, Pee and Poop Everywhere!

I've hardly had a moment to myself up here at the Rainbow Bridge since I volunteered to help with the dogs in the path of the hurricanes. Those poor dogaroons down there really need what our angel dog team is doing to help calm their fears. It's rewarding work but I feel a little guilty for not being around for my baby brother, Levi. His problem is getting worse.

Levi will be nine months old at the end of the month and he's been housebroke for five of those months but it's been raining a lot where Mom and Dad live and Levi is giving Mom fits about going outside when it's raining and when the dirt in the dog yard is wet. He's even started peeing and popping on the deck. He'll also ask to go out one door and when he finds out it's raining there, he'll run to another outside door and ask to go out, thinking it might not be raining on the other side of the house. Mom has gone back to square one and is sitting outside with him until he goes where he's suppose to go, regardless of the rain on his back or the wet dirt under his paws. He's making progress. This morning he peed on the rubber mat at the bottom of the deck steps and pooped while squatting on my grave stones. That kid has scrambled eggs for brains when it comes to respect for the dead.

Mom's got the right idea about going back to square one, and I'm sure the problem will work itself out, but I did feel sorry for her yesterday. She woke up with Dad saying the S word over and over again. At first she thought he was trying to pull on his pants while Levi was trying to pull them off. But the tone of the word was different this time, not filled with laughter but panic stricken instead. He'd transferred to his wheelchair, cut his foot and had bled all over the carpeting from the bed to the bathroom and Levi was licking it up. Dad is taking a blood thinner so there was a LOT of blood. Mom jumped out of bed---as much as an old person can jump with arthritic joints---to get Dad and the floors cleaned up and to shut Levi out of the master bedroom while she worked. It took a long time and in the meantime Levi pooped and peed in the living room. That was not really his fault given the circumstances but still it wasn't a great way for Mom to start her day.

So tomorrow the carpet cleaners are coming. Between having the blood removed and sanitized—a $95 requirement for "health reasons so says the cleaning company"---and having the floors in three rooms cleaned and the pets stains deodorized that have accumulated since Levi joined the family it will cost Mom $239 total. If I had time, I'd mental telepathy a little humor down to Mom and remind her that puppy stains might be a good reason to get the hardwood floor she wants installed. What the heck, I'll take the time. What's my angel-brother going to do if I show up late for work? Kill me? I'm already dead. ©

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My Flaky Human

Levi is back. Can we talk? Me needs advice on what to do about Moomie. Me loves her but she is a flaky human. How do I help her understand that boy puppies are suppose to do the things me does? Like yesterday we were in the back yard and I was tracking rabbits when me found where they hide their jelly beans in the grass. Levi was enjoying those tasty brown things when Moomie grabbed me and dug them out of my mouth! What self respecting boy puppy dog wouldn't eat bunny beans? Moomie doesn't know the first thing about raising baby boy schnauzers.

Then Wednesday me found Moomie's boobie hammock hanging in the bathroom. Levi is smart. Me figured out how to get it off the hook and I turned it into a pull-toy for my stuffie, Mr. Goose. He was having so much fun riding through the living room and Daady was having fun watching the two of us play until Moomie came along. End of fun. End of Daddy, Mr. Goose and Levi being happy.

All week long it was, "Levi, no!" "Levi, drop it." Levi, Levi, Levi---she is going to wear out my name and I'm not even 9 months old yet. If she does, will she have to start calling me by my middle name? Me doesn't even know how to pronounce it. All I know is it's spelled s-t-r-a-u-s-s and me thinks it is going to sound like a sissy name.

Levi did do one bad thing this week but I can't talk about it. It might get back to Moomie and she hasn't found the friend I brought inside the house yet. (I'm not suppose to do that for some flaky reason.) To tell you the truth I can't find her either. She got away.

Me has to go. Oh, guess what! I heard Moomie say we get to go back to obedience school on Monday. Maybe someone there will set Moomie straight about what boy puppies are suppose to do. Keep your paws crossed for her to learn before she turns me into a girlie dog.

Smell ya later, Love Levi

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Rain, Rain Go Away!

Lord almighty it's been a busy week up here at the Rainbow Bridge. My angel brother, Jason---affectingly known as Mr. Do-Good----gathered up a bunch of us dogaroons to help the displaced canine from hurricane Gusto. He's an angel trainer so I'm learning a lot about using our powers. We've been doing our best to help calm the fears of all those displayed dogs caught in Mother Nature's path and I'm learning more about pushing the envelope of what we can and can't do to interfere with life on earth. As I've blogged before, there are rules for being an angel and Jason says I have a tendency to overstep what angels are suppose to do. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I just don't see why I have to be so subtle about helping where I can. But I like earning those pretty, permanent feathers to my trainer wings so I'm trying hard to tow the line.

Speaking of rain and nasty weather, Levi has been giving Mom a fit about all the rain they are getting and I haven't had the time to help out with his fears of going outside when heaven is crying---you know, there are priorities and hurricanes trump plain old rain. This morning it took Mom over an hour and a half to get him to go outside. Even holding an umbrella over his head didn't help. In and out of the door leading to the garage he went---he really had to GO---but Mom had to literally push him out of the garage and onto the deck. Poor Mom, it's supposed to rain all week. She even tried putting my old raincoat on him but he's a nudist and fought that idea tooth and nail.

Well, I've got to get back to work before Jason finds out I took a break. He's a slave driver about his do-good projects and he's extra hard on me. I do have to admit he's pretty inspirational. He doesn't have much trouble getting newbie angels to volunteer to take on extra angel work. I grumble a lot, but secretly I admire his wise and patient teaching methods. It's not like we HAVE TO take part in any of his projects. We can take all the time we need to learn all the ins and outs of being a full-fledged angel-dog. ©
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Levi is Back!

Anyone there? Levi here. Boy, I had a busy week since the last Schnauzer Saturday. Wanna read my diary?

Sunday: Moomie let me sleep in the master bedroom for the first time. Me forgot to kiss her goodnight at first but I remembered around 4:00 AM so gave it to her then. She wasn't very happy about that. Levi doesn't know why. I give good kisses.

Monday: Moonie and Daady took me to a park to look for sticks. Me found bunches of them but she wouldn't let me take them to the river to wash them off.

Tuesday: Me found a GAINT toad in my dog yard and Moomie almost wet her pants when I told him "hello" and tried to kiss him. She got so yellie it hurt my ears. He was almost as big as me. No, really, he was. I hope he comes back but Moomie scared him pretty bad. He hopped away before she could kidnap him and put him in her Relocation Program.

Wednesday: Moomie and Daady went to some place called a car museum and they were gone a LONG time. I had to stay home, they said, and keep the place safe from aliens from outer space. Daady came home with a big smile on his face and all night he kept saying, "old" over and over. "Old" must be very good but me was disappointed that Moomie and Daady didn't tell me what a good job I did watching for aliens to land outside the windows.

Thursday: Levi found a moving stick by our cattails but Moomie got all yellie again and she wouldn't let me play with it. Me don't understand. At the park she didn't care how many sticks I carried around. That one must have been really special. She even gave it a name---Baby Blue Racer.

Friday: Me got to go to Starbucks for a little cup of cream. Moomie and Daady LOVE Starbucks and me loves the girl at the window who gives me cream.

Saturday---today: Moomie FINALLY let me get on the computer. She is still typing, typing, typing ALL THE TIME at the political sites and won't let me at the keyboard. She promises only one more week and she will get back to normal. Where is normal? Where is she going?

Smell ya later.

Love Levi

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Levi's Diary

Me missed blogging on Schnauzer Saturday because Moomie was busy on something called political sites. She was like a crazy person typing, typing, typing. But today she finally said I could post my diary from last week.

Monday: Levi had a stick up my butt. I tried and tried to poop it out but it was stuck and Moomie had to come to my rescue. That was embarrassing. Me didn't want her to help and I kept running away, but it sure did feel better after the bark up my butt was gone. That's what happens when you eat it, she says, it has to come back out.

Tuesday: Moomie took me to a place that dog-napped me from her arms and then they stole all my hair! When she got me back Moomie said I wasn't cute anymore. I changed colors and now Moomie is sad that I am more gray than black. I don't know why. She and Daady are all gray. Me thinks I look awesome.

Wednesday: Daady dropped some good stuff on the floor. Beans and potatoes. Levi learned to sit right by him at dinner time because he spills me treats.

Thursday: The mailman brought a torture thingie to the door called an Easy Walk harness. Moomie says I walk SO nice when I'm wearing it because Levi doesn't pull on the leash. Me managed to step out of it once when some little girls wanted to pet me. But Moomie tighten up the torture straps so I don't think that will happen again. Me likes little girls.

Friday: After dark Moomie let me go bug hunting on the deck for a very long time. Boy that was fun. Me really good at catching flying bugs.

Saturday: Moomie brought me treats from some place called the Farmer's Market. They were better than the beans and potatoes.

Sunday---today: Moomie got all yellie because I was playing with a spider in the house. Me threw him in the air and then would watch him run and then I'd throw him in the air again. Levi doesn't understand. She takes me bug hunting on the deck but I can't bug hunt in the house? Humans have weird rules.

Smell ya later,

Love Levi

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The Long, Hard Cry

Time has no meaning up here at the Rainbow Bridge which is my excuse for not keeping up with my blogging. I just got busy with angel training; I'm learning to give new born puppies a little angel power push into the world. I've also done my share of shade sitting under the tennis ball trees. Some of the dogs up here are crazy about those trees. They're not content, like me, to just wait for the balls to fall on their own. You can always find a few canines jumping on their hind legs, plucking yellow prizes from the low branches.

I haven't been checking up on my earth family much lately either. But I came running to the magic water recently when I heard my mom seriously sobbing like I hadn't heard her do in a very long time. She's not generally a crybaby like that. I could feel her pain all the way up here and it broke my heart. I barked for my angel brother to come along and we saw her standing in front of the Moving Wall, the replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. She was telling her friend that she didn't expect her emotions to boil up like that. She didn't stop crying until she and Dad got back home and she took a long nap.

They had seen the real Wall in Washington D.C. a few years after its dedication in 1982 and at that time they spent a long time looking up names in the book so they could find them on the wall. Mom had been pen pals with over fifty serviceman back then. Boys, really, she says. After one of those servicemen came back home they met and he affected her life in ways she still doesn't talk about to anyone.

"So many wasted lives," she kept saying in her head. "So many families touched by all those deaths." And by the ones who came home with physical and emotional scared. There was one homemade plaque placed at the end of the memorial with a name and the words "death by diaxin." It really affected Mom and Dad. Dad had a friend who fought the effects of Agent Orange for decades and died now long ago. Mom felt so badly that she didn't think to bring any flowers along to place beneath the Wall. When they visited the real Wall she brought a poem she wrote.

Tomorrow is Schnauzer Saturday and I'm hoping Mom will help Levi blog about his adventure in Senior Citizen Land but it might be Sunday. You know how old people are. One day is just like another....except on Saturdays. That's when my humans savor the farmers market. And I need to get back to keeping a closer eye on Mom. She's been a little down lately. ©

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