True Colors Thursday -- Brown

Hi Everybody!

Today is True Colors Thursday and I am going to play along. Our color of the day is brown. We are supposed to show you some brown stuff that is a part of our lives.

This is a brown bunny hiding behind a brown tree in my front yard. Humph. Where was I? I must have been taking one of my numerous naps.

This is supper the other night. Brown steaks and not yet brown chicken breasts. Me? I'll take mine raw, or cooked, or both, or...

A brown box that arrived with my birthday prezzie from my darling sweet little Scruffy.

Grandpa's brown shirt and my curly brown head.

Our new brown rug where I am not allowed to eat bones and do certain other things.

The brown of winter at a nearby lake.

My favorite brown chair.

My brown eyes.

Chocolate! This needs no description.

Our dining room. The dining room suit was handed down from grandpa's mother, almost 100 years ago. Yikes!

And finally, a brown sunset, taken from our downstairs front window.

Some Privacy, Please

I found a nice cozy, comfy spot to hide.

So what if it's in Koobie's front yard.

Who's this?

Maybe if I keep perfectly still...

I'm trying to blend in with the tree.

It's not working.

I'll remember this.

Soon there will be a lot more bunnies. We will be everywhere. That's a promise!

Sunday Morning

Hi Friends,

This is the best way to spend a cold, snowy late Sunday morning in February. Wake me when it's spring.

The Big Changeover

Hi Everybody,

February 17 was supposed to be one of the biggest days in our history. It was originally scheduled to be the day of the Big Changeover. I am not talking about Inauguration Day, although that was a big changeover, but that changeover is over.

This new changeover is so big that they have extended it all the way to June 12! Now any changeover that changes over four months has got to be big! Life will never be the same again. The changeover will be everywhere. In our living rooms, kitchens, family rooms, bedrooms, waiting rooms, bathrooms (bathrooms?), and whatever other rooms there are. Say “Good Bye” to life as we know it, my friends, for after June 12, the entire nation, all of us everywhere inside our borders, will now have changed over. From that time forward, we will ALL be digital! WOW!!

See ya, analog!!!



Now what does all this really mean? I’m not sure. I know that I already have some of my own digits that I came with. You know, the usual standard equipment of four legs, some toes on each, and a cute little tail with a white tip. So, I guess that I’m already digital. As for my family, they are analog. Even though they have some of their own digits, my mom and grandpa aren’t really digital. They are too old. Digital is a new thing. And besides, they are not nearly as cute as me, so they can’t be digital. They have to be analog. Everybody who is analog has between now and June 12 to become digital.



So, how do you become digital? First you will have to get a converter box. They sell converter boxes in stores. If you are lucky, you have a $40.00 coupon from the government to help you pay for your new converter box. Once you have your converter box, you have to go on a diet so that you look more like a digit and less like a log. Then when you connect your converter box, all the snow will go away and it will be warm. Probably because by then it’s June and the big change over will be over.

So there you have it. That’s what’s going to happen.

Love and Koobuss Kisses
Koobie


Pee ess Are you digital or analog? Will you be part of the big changover???

President's Day

Hi Everybody!

Do I look like Abraham Lincoln? That’s the look that I want for today, President’s Day.

In honor of President’s Day, my mom came up with this stuff. We know that President Barack Obama has many presidential “firsts”. Here are some other presidential “first facts.”

1. The first president to wear trousers – James Madison
2. The first left-handed president – James A. Garfield
3. The first president to live in the White House – John Adams
4. The first president to serve eight years in office – George Washington
5. The first president to marry while in office – John Tyler
6. The first president to be a bachelor – James Buchanon (His girlfriend’s parents thought that he would never amount to
anything. They may have been right.)
7. The first president elected to a third (and fourth) term – Franklin D. Roosevelt
8. The first president whose two terms in office were not consecutive – Grover Cleveland
9. The first president to visit all 50 states – Richard Nixon
10. The first president to be born in the United States – Martin Van Buren (The previous presidents were born in the colonies
before the Revolution.)


Other presidential facts:

Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president at 6’4”. James Madison was the shortest president at 5’4”.

President Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize (1906).

The coldest Inauguration Day was March 4, 1873. (Ulysses S. Grant). It was 16 degrees F with wind gusts up to 40 mph.

Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest person ever to be president, age 42. He became president when William McKinley was assassinated in 1901.

John F. Kennedy was the youngest person elected President, age 43.

Ronald Reagan was the oldest person elected President, age 69.

Raw Diet Week 1, or Where to Put the Chicken Wing?

Hi Everybody,

Koobie's Mom here.

As you may know, last Saturday I began feeding Koobuss a raw diet. I did it because I was not happy with the way she was eating. She was getting too many treats, and eating way too much. She had become lazy, was not playing, and was having difficulty jumping. I felt that it was time to act. A change was needed. When my cousin Ruthie, Layla’s mom, called and told me that she was going to put Layla (a two-year old female cocker spaniel) on a raw diet because Layla was getting too many treats and was eating way too much, etc. Ruthie asked me if I would go along with her and put Koobie on the diet, too. I had already done some research on the raw diet and considered putting Koobie on it before. So when Ruthie called and asked me about it, I was ready. We started the dogs on the diet on Saturday, February 7. It’s been an interesting week, especially the last couple of days.

For the first few days I gave Koobuss eight ounces of Nature’s Variety raw chicken medallions. She readily ate these, but I wanted to give her other things as well, so after almost a week, I branched her out to raw chicken wings. This is where it gets interesting.

Oh, and before I forget, after one week on raw, I have noticed that Koobie is regaining her dog shape and she has more energy. She is also very happy, but she always was, so her beautiful “personality” has not changed at all.

Now for an account of what living with Koobuss has been like the last two days.
Chicken Wing, Part 1

Koobuss is a real nut.

After several days of feeding her Nature's Variety chicken medallions, tonight I gave Koobie a raw 3-ounce chicken wing and an ounce of frozen green beans for supper. She licked it, stared at it for a long time, and then looked at me in disbelief. Standing by her dish, she started to cry. I finally realized that the chicken wing was too big for her so I broke it in half and gave her a piece. She wagged her tail, and carried it over to her bed. There she comfortably devoured it, crunching the bones like cookies. Next I gave her the piece with the knuckle, but she ran away with it! She went into the living room and dining room, checking out all the corners, looking for a place to hide it. She doesn't know yet that there is a lot more where that came from. Then she stood by the front door, wanting to go outside, so I put her out. I looked through the two rooms searching for the chicken part, with no luck. When I opened the front door to check on her, she was sitting by the mulch. I brought her in, she ran to the back door, I put her out on the deck. My father brought her in. Koobie checked her dish, sniffed the frozen green beans, and then went to the front door again. I let her out once more, searched the house a second time for the chicken wing, to no avail, and then checked on her outside again. There she was, standing in front of the mulch, and chomping away. Mystery solved.

I hope that she's not going to do this every night.


Chicken Wing, Part 2

It’s after 11 PM on a Saturday night and Koobuss is walking around the deck in the snow with a raw chicken wing in her mouth trying to find the perfect place to hide it. After circling the deck numerous times and checking out all its corners over and over, she finally found the ideal spot to deposit her treasure. At 26 degrees, at least it’s cold enough to keep the wing edible until tomorrow. Wherever she put it though, it’s in a better place than it was before.

I gave her the wing this afternoon for “lunch”. She immediately took it to the front door, so I let her outside, figuring that was better than having her hide it in the living room. The first place she headed to was the mulch. She loves mulch. It’s black and soft and adheres to your white fur so that everyone knows where you were. What could be better? A raw chicken wing covered in black mulch. Sounds like an exquisite menu item at a fancy expensive restaurant. Certainly works for Koobuss.

The day wore on and Koobie did her usual dog things, knowing all the while that her precious piece of bone and meat was waiting for her in the cold wet mulch. She had a small supper (4 ounces of raw ground turkey breast) so by 10 PM she was hungry. The 10 PM apple treat that she shares with her mom and grandpa was not enough to satisfy her. Lying on the blue recliner, a light went on in her cute furry little head and she remembered the hidden chicken wing. She jumped off the chair, ran through the house to the front door and began to bark. I followed her and then put her outside. She went straight to the mulch behind the shrubbery and retrieved the foul looking piece of fowl. By now her cord was tangled around the bushes and she was trapped. She just stood there with the chicken wing in her mouth. Feeling sorry for her and not wanting her to get cold, I went to her rescue. So, there I was in my pajamas and bedroom slippers, walking around mulch and thorny shrubbery in the snow and dark after 11 PM on a mid February Saturday night in 26 degree temperatures to free my dog. After I finally untangled her, she ran up the steps, in the front door, through the house, to the back door, and out to the deck. And this is where we began our story.


Fast forward:

It's 12:30 AM, and as I am finishing this post, Koobie, who had been upstairs in bed, came down the steps and straight to the back door. I let her out, thinking that it may be an emergency, and in some ways, it was. She went straight to where she hid the chicken wing, retrieved it, walked around the deck a few more times and then came to the door. I let her in, she walked right past me with the chicken wing in her mouth and took it upstairs to bed with her. Before I could finish typing this she came back downstairs and jumped on the living room couch to go to sleep on her red blankie. Now I wonder what I'm going to find when I go up the steps.

It's been interesting.

Happy Valentine's Day

To all my friends, both furry and non-furry:

Happy Valentine's Day!! I love you all. Thanks for being a part of my life.

Koobuss Kisses for Everybody!!!!

Ho Hum

Hi Everybody!

Tonight was the first round of the annual Westminster Beauty Contest. It's kind of like the Super Bowl for dogs.

Needless to say, I was interested in watching, especially the Terrier Group. So, I stole Grandpa's chair and TV and made myself comfortable. And, of course, I was rooting for the wire fox terrier. Here he is. He's very handsome. Sexy, too. A real chick magnet.



I watched him do his routine and then I realized that I'd rather be here, cozy and comfy in one of my favorite chairs. Now look at the sad expression on this poor guy. He doesn't look happy at all. He wants to be home cozy and comfy in his chair, too. Or else he has to go to the bathroom and is embarrassed to do it in front of the judge and on national television.

And how about this little cutie. Look at those eyes. (Please bigify.) He looks scared to death. Maybe he has stage fright. Or else he saw something that he shouldn't have.

Oh look! There's Lacie!! Or is it Stella? Or is it Toby? I don't know. It's hard to tell from here.

And the Terrier Group winner! A Scottie. I don't know any Scotties, and I've never been to Scotland. But he is very distinguished and dapper looking.

So, the wire fox terrier didn't win. Humph. Wait 'til next year!!

Help!!

Hi Friends!

Looks like life as I know it may be about to come to an end. Today my mom and my kousin Layla's mom talked about putting the two of us on a raw diet. Since Layla and I are both becoming more substantial every day (we say it's because we haven't had our walks for so long due to our excessive winter weather), our moms think that we need a change in cuisine. I suggested Mediterranean, but mom has something else in mind. RAW FOOD! YIKES!!!!!


Koobie's Mom: I won't make such a drastic change in little Koobie's life without first giving it a lot of thought. Now she is eating 4 ounces of Science Diet Lite Chicken kibble and numerous treats (grandpa carries them in his pockets) along with four ounces of cooked low fat ground turkey breast. She gets one Beggin Strip and two Guilt Free treats around 10 PM. She also manages to squeeze whatever she can out of grandpa and me. She is quite good at this.

Koobie: If you remember, you already put me on a diet last year. I have to eat this diet dog food and diet treats that you keep feeding me. Isn't all this diet stuff working?

Koobie's Mom: Koobie already eats some apple and banana almost daily. And she will eat most vegetables. It is the meat and bones in the raw diet that I am concerned about. Many of you have experience with raw diets. I welcome your ideas, thoughts, suggestions, or other information that you can share with me. Do you think that a raw diet will work for a spoiled but lovable two-year old wire fox terrier? Will she eat it? What problems will she have getting used to it? What problems will I have? What kind of treats can we give her? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a raw diet for a dog like Koobuss? Any input that you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.



Koobie: Bananas? Apples? Maybe this won't be so bad after all. Is ice cream on this diet?

Oh No, Not Again

Hi Friends,

This is the beginnings of the fringes of the East Coast storm that is supposed to miss us. They said it would be further out in the Atlantic. Gee, I'm glad that it's not directly over us, or we'd be buried.

Super Sunday

Hi Everybody!

I'm all ready for the big game. GO STEELERS!!!