That's a Croc!

Ha woo, everypup. Dave here. Spring is coming, you know. Eventually, anyway. And you know what that means - Spring storms and wet grass. I started thinking about my feety-feet and how I really don't like to step in the wet grass and thought there have to be some sort of preventative measures I can take.

Sled pups wear cool booties on their feet - have you seen them? We saw some gorgeous pictures on the Snørokk Siberians' blog of their pups and other pups running in their boots - you can see them here. The 5th and 6th pictures down really show cool booties. They live in Norway, but I think the race is in Sweden. Beautiful!

Pups in the Iditarod wear booties sometimes, too. In fact, we just read in the Stars and Stripes about an Army National Guardsman from Tennessee who is running his first Iditarod! You can see a cool picture of him and his pups here or read the full article here. His puppers are wearing booties on their feet! Good luck to Master Sergeant Rodney Whaley and his team!

Our bee-woo-tiful friend Khyra told me about some police doggies in Germany who are wearing booties now, too. You can read about those guys here. They're wearing the booties to protect their feety-feet from broken glass and stuff. That's nice that their biped partners are taking care of them like that. And their booties are pretty cool-looking. Not exactly what I had in mind, though.

See.... I had something else in mind. Something that looks MIGHTY comfy to me.

What do you think? I'd probably want some purple ones to match my collar and leash, but these do match my eyes.

Oh, c'mon, Mom! Please!?!

Can I get some pairs of Mammoth Crocs of my own then?
What do you mean they don't make them pup-sized?!?

They just look so comfy and I know they'd keep my feety-feet dry! Woo.

Luv,
Dave

We're Funky!

Hi everypuppy, it's me - Amber! I'm so excited! Our very handsome and sweet friend Thor has presented us with the Funky Blog Award! Thank roo, Thor!

That was very kind of you! We are going to pass this along to Joe Stains, who writes one of THE funkiest blogs out there, Sitka and Tia - because they're a Sibe and a cat working together and that's mighty funky!, and lastly to Meeshka. We know she's already been given the Funky Blog Award, but we thought her human would enjoy having the song "Funkytown" rattling around in her head as she paints.

Won't you take me to ... FUNKYtown? Hee hee hee. And Meeshka doesn't think we do enough HULA-worthy things! Ha rooooo!

You know ... I know Thor is planning to try to win the Ram-a-Lamb and matching Hold the Phone! Bag for his mom in the upcoming MaPaw fund-raiser.

I'm going to try to put my scent on it as a special "thank roo" for this award just in case he makes the winning bid! :)

Love,
Ammy

Do I Hear the ...

dishwasher!?!?

Ha roo, pups. There I was, daydreaming about my cappuccino foam State of Texas design and how I was going to make millions off it on eBay ... when I heard the unmistakable sound of Mom starting the dishwasher! Oh NO!

My cup! What about my cup!

Mom came in and said, "Don't worry, Zim. I saw your cup on the counter and put it in the dishwasher. I didn't miss it."

Oh........ no!!!!!!

Mom tried to console me with neck rubbies ....

...but really. I missed out on millions! Millions!

I had to go drown my sorrows. Sigh.

Ah well. Easy come, easy go. Hey... this piece of kibble looks like Colorado!

Play bows,
Zim

Texas!

Hey everypup! It's me - Zim. We've been experiencing technical difficulties today. We couldn't get the camera to talk to the computer. Mom thought she broke something, but Dad thought and thought and thought - then fixed it all! Way to go, Dad! He's really smart. Actually, he said he asked Stormy. Dad sure knows who to turn to! Ha roo roo roo! Thanks for fixing everything, Dad!

Something came to me when Dad and I were sharing a cappuccino yesterday. He was almost done, almost about to let me have the foam in the bottom, when I looked in and made a startling discovery! Check this out!

See that on the side of the cup!?!? What's that look like to you? Looks like the outline of the state of Texas to me! Ha roo! Here's Texas, for those who aren't familiar with it:


Pretty close, no? Since Dave's from Texas, I thought he'd think it was really cool. He wasn't overly impressed - can you believe that?!?

As for me, I'm considering selling it on eBay! I could make millions off this! Wowzers, think about it! Oh, pup ... I sure hope Mom didn't put that cup in the dishwasher!

Play bows,
Zim

I've Got the Woos

Woo, everypup. It's me. Dave. I've got a bad case of the sad woos here today. Mom has to go to the dentist and apparently I'm not allowed to go with her. This is horrible! She might be gone a whole 45 minutes to an hour! Oh, sure, Dad will be here with us, but not Mom. MY Mom.

Here's a picture of us from yesterday.

Me and Mom

I'm going to look at this the whole time so I don't miss her too much. Woo.

Is 45 minutes up yet?

Luv,
Dave

CSI: Siberia

We interrupt our normally scheduled Sunday Salute to bring you the following bulletin from CSI: Siberia.

Pursuant to the accusations raised on Friday
and Saturday
of this week, a full-scale investigation has been launched into the case of Sibe Hairs on the Sitzbank. True, reddish-brown hairs were detected on
the sitzbank. True, Siberians are not allowed on said piece of FURniture. And
true, some photographic evidence of the alleged perpetrator of the crime were
released, as seen here
and here.
And lastly, true, Zim and Amber both have hair that could possibly be a match.
There is, however, one more possibility. Someone who had free access to the
sitzbank and has reddish-brown hair. I give you .... Exhibit B:

Mom's hair

Clearly Amber and Zim get their coloring from Mom's side of the family.
It easily could have been her hairs on the sitzbank.

Add to that, scientific testimony from an impartial by-stander, Holly, who said, "Actually, I'm inclinded to think it's more a matter of physics.
When you 'shake' around the house, all that fur that goes up into the air, has
to come down somewhere! It just happened to land on the sitzbank!! So, no doggie
is 'guilty'. Really." There is no debating science.

Lacking further definitive proof that either of these sweet, innocent,
darling puppies have been on the sitzbank, I hearby clear Amber and Zim of any
and all charges associated with the sitzbank and declare this case: CLOSED!

Tail wags,
Stormy
Head Investigator, CSI: Siberia

Sibe Hairs, Part 2

Ha roo, pups. It's Zim again. Thanks for the comments on yesterday's post. I would like to comment back on my buddy Steve's remark (I'll quote him in a sec!) and to Holly's. Oh! And thanks to all who admired my doga pose by the window. Where I was the WHOLE time. RIGHT there by the window..... doing doga. Yep. That's it.

Anyroo, Holly said she didn't think we were allowed on the FURniture. We aren't Holly! (Except for the bed.) That's why I was over by the window doing doga the whole time.

Steve's remark about the alleged red and white Sibe hairs allegedly found on the sitzbank was, "I bet those were Ammy's hairs." Brilliant, Steve! Brilliant! I think you're on to something!

I talked to Dave about this, since he was there on the scene. I got him to sign the following afi-david:

I, Dave, cannot say for certain that any Sibe hairs that may have been found on
the sitzbank belong to Zim, my very favorite brother and playmate. I would add
that Mom cannot be counted on to identify them, as she is color blind. Zim's
coat is more brownish and white, while a certain other member of the family's
coat is red and white. Not meaning to point the paw at anyone. Besides, I was
staring out the window at the dogs in our yard the whole time and didn't see
anything behind me. Respectfully submitted - Dave

I asked Stormy for some advice. She pointed out that try as I might to deem myself innocent, there was a question of some photographic evidence on yesterday's posting. Which gave me an idea.

I give you ... exhibit A!

This photo is totally undoctored. Really.
Run it through Snopes - it is not listed there as a hoax, so it must be real.

Steve - you were right! It was Ammy! And Holly - you were right, too. We aren't allowed on the FURniture, so it most certainly couldn't have been my Sibe fluff up there! Ha roo roo roo!

Play bows,
The Zimstigator

Sibe Hairs on the Sitzbank?

Ha roo, pups! It's me. Zim. Over here by the window.

Hey! Yeah. Here I am. Soaking up some sun. I've been here the whole time. Seriously. The whole time! Even when Dave told me about those little dogs that were out in our front yard. I wouldn't have been able to see past him anyway, once the dogs headed north.

Hey Dave! Move over! Oh, wait; never mind. I have an idea.

And I know nothing about red and white Sibe hairs on the sitzbank. Really.

Play bows,
Zim

The Ram-a-Lamb ... On the Ram-a-Lamb

Hi everypuppy! It's me today - Amber. Also known as The Ram-a-Lamb. Dave asked me to tell you about a new bag he and Mom have been working on for an up-coming fundraiser for MaPaw. Why me? Because it's called ... the Ram-a-Lamb Bag!

Davy's shown you the Storm Bag and the Deeve. We also have a Z Bag, but we'll save that for another day. This one was made with tons of love and the hope that it will help raise money for a very special Siberian in rescue. The very wonderful people at MaPaw are going to do an on-line auction and we'll be sure to let you know when it's up! It will be at the end of this month or the beginning of March.

The Ram-a-Lamb with the Ram-a-Lamb

Mom and Dave used some denim from our friends on the outside and a pretty wolf print on the inside! Let's take it outside and have a closer look! Here's the Ram-a-Lamb Bag:

See the top area? Mom looped new doggie leashes through grommets for the handles! And for the attached "Hold the Phone!" Bag, she used the rest of the leashes! See?

You can hook it and unhook it to whatever you'd like! The "HTP!" Bag is wolf print on the outside and denim on the inside! It has a Velcro thingie to keep your phone from falling out. And has a tag with our logo! So does the main bag! Here it is!

Here's a peek inside! I love those red wolfies!

OK! So that's the Ram-a-Lamb Bag. I hope all of you puppies will get your bipeds' plastic cards ready for when the auction starts.

Oooh, I think the phone's ringing!

Hello? How do I open this?

Love from all of us!
The Ram-a-Lamb

Denim Delivery!

Woo, everypup! It's me - Dave! As some of you know, Mom (and I) are in the bag-making business. All the denim we use is from old, worn out blue jeans! It's a great use for them ... only the challenge now is that Mom is out of jeans! Or she was, anyway! Our dear friend Khyra and our other dear friends Kat, Steve ... uh... and Wilbur... sent us some of their jeans! Woo! Thanks, guys!

Khyra warned us that her box was very heavy, so I knew we should have the strongest member of the Ao4 help bring it in! Oh... uh... not, no me. Um... no, not Zimmie, either. Storm? No ... Storm is not the physically strongest member of the pack. I guess now you've figured it out.

Hi Davy! Whatcha need?

I told her about the box and she came right in to help. Here's the label - see?

It's addressed to me! The Deeve! Woo.

Here's Am, helping to bring it in to the kitchen.

Zim was helping; you can see him in the background.

Well, OK. Zim was watching. He knew she had it covered!

Look! Khyra wrote me a note! She has nice pawmanship, doesn't she?

Woo. And she sent me her picture. She's so sweet! (With all due respect to my Hollybolly-beewootiful-boo and to her Summi!)

Thanks, Khyra! You're such a pal!

And thank woo, too, to Kat and Steve. Umm... and Wilbur. We didn't get pictures of us with your box, but we will get some of us working with the jeans and other fabric you sent! Woo! We already cut up a pair of your mom's jeans to use in a very special Ram-A-Lamb Bag! You puppies did get your mom's permission to send those ... didn't you?

Luv,
Dave

Prince, Trip, Overboard

Ha roo, pups! Storms here. Lots to tell you about, so I'm going to get right down to business! The title of the post was hard not to play with; Amber wanted it to be "Prince Trips Overboard", but I think you all know Ammy. Ha roo roo roo!

First up - have you seen Team Husky's blog lately!?!? That handsome, strong, fast Siberboy Prince has asked me to be his girlfriend - in the most creative way! Make sure you stop by and give his latest post a read. My answer, of course, is YES! What a pup! I am so flattered!

Next up - did you see Tucker's blog yesterday? His Human Assistant offered to give a 13-year-old Sibe named Sinjin a new home, rather than be put down. It's a long story we won't go into here, but a big tail wag to Tucker's H.A. for offering to take him in. He just needed a little help with transport - which is where our dad came in! Our dad headed west yesterday, picked up Sinjin out in Salina, then headed off to meet up with Tucker and his H.A..

On the following map, Dad started at point B, on the far right. Tucker and his HA were in Denver - point A on the far left. They met in Burlington, Colorado, which is point C.

Tucker posted some pictures of the meet-up in Burlington on his blog; here are a couple our dad took!

Here's Tucker. Ammy thought he looked cute here. It was nice of him to make the trip with his H.A.!

Tucker

Here are the boys meeting for the first time.

Tucker is on the left; Sinjin is on the right.

And here is Sinjin after Dad turned him over to Tucker's H.A.

Sinjin

We wish Sinjin a most happy new beginning in his life - and say a big thank roo to Tucker's H.A. for taking him in. AND a big Ao4 thank roo to our dad for all the miles and work he put in yesterday!!!

Lastly, this is for Summit the Super Mal. Summi is rather famous for his love for "livergreat" -- his word for liverwurst. We saw this cartoon this morning, and Summi immediately came to mind.

Ha roo roo roo! That Louie has one great snooter on him to find that pill. Hey, Summi! You don't think your mom hides stuff in your livergreat, do you?

Tail wags, all!
Storms

Morning Walk Videos

Ha roo, pups! Storm here! I thought I'd share a few short videos with you today. These are from the walk Dave and I take in the morning with Mom to go find Am, Zim and Dad. We shot these vids last week. As you can see, most of our snow is GONE. I'm not sure who to see about that.

Ready? Let's go! In this first one, we're heading up the steep hill around the corner from the house.



Mom usually gets a tad winded at the top of the hill. Dave and I don't.

Here we are on the other side of the hill. Mom seems to like that side better for some reason.

The sidewalk ends on the up-hill side, then starts again toward the end of the down-hill stretch. Note I understood what Mom said and got a "Good girl, Storm!" Ha roo roo roo!

Once we get down there, we can see the entrance to the trail! Usually that's where we see Dad and the redheads! Check it out! (Sorry about the wind. Hey... we're in Kansas, what can I say?)

Did you see Dad, Am and Zimmie? Cool, huh?

Thanks for coming along on our morning walk! We always get a cookie when we get home. Since you came with us, you should demand one from you bipeds now. It's only fair!

Tail wags,
Storms

Sunday Salute - Our Fur-Cousins!

This week, our Sunday Salute goes out to our very own fur-cousins, Monroe, Newton and Skyler! Here they are!

Left to right: Newton, Monroe and Skyler

These guys live with our Aunt Janet - you've heard us mention her quite a few times! Yes, she's the Master Gardener who sent Zim the Magic Beans and sent us the flag for Ao4 Headquarters! We thought we should tell you about our fur-cousins now! The group pictures are a couple years old, but currently Monroe is 14, Skyler is 4 and Newton is 5. Here's another very sweet picture of them!

Monroe holding a meeting.

Don't they look sweet and charming? But sometimes, after our fur-cousins have been out playing in the back yard, Aunt Janet hesitates before letting them into the house. How could she do that!?!? Look at these sweet, innocent faces!

Let us in, please!

Why the hesitation? See... apparently Skyler - who Aunt Janet adopted when he was 8 months old - has a bit of ... excess energy, shall we say? Mom has suggested that if Aunt Janet would only get Sky, a young Australian Shepherd, his own flock of sheep to herd, he could work off that energy. As it stands now, he finds his own entertainment.

Have we mentioned there's a canal that runs past Aunt Janet's house?

A canal that's very muddy when the tide is out?

Ha roo roo roo! A big paws up to cousin Skyler for keeping Aunt Janet on her toes! He's real helpful with the gardening, too - maybe he's the Master Gardener, not Aunt Janet! He's always digging stuff up and transplanting it!

Fur-cousins Monroe, Newton and perhaps especially Skyler - for all you do, we salute you!

The Army of Four

Tagged By Quincy!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! My very handsome friend Quincy tagged me the other day in the fun tag game going around! I've been working very hard on my answers and am ready to play! Zimmie played this last week and was very creative. I'm not sure how creative my answers are, but I did have fun thinking about everything!

This is me thinking about my answers!

I have to post 7 weird facts about myself then post the rules! Here goes!

1. I love to herd! Our Siberian ancestors herded reindeer. I mostly herd Mom or members of the Ao4. Once time when we were out walking, Mom slipped and fell on the ice (and none of us were even pulling her!). Even though I had Dad on a leash, I pressed up against Mom and herded her the rest of the way home. She said I was a big help!

2. I was a Mother's Day present for Stormy!

3. I had a mole removed. Well, actually I caught a mole out of an instinctual prey drive, then dropped it when Mom told me to. I'm not sure why I did that!

4. I have a very sensitive, highly calibrated snooter. I sneeze at car exhausts that aren't up to my code standards and at smoky fireplaces; that same sensitive snooter allows me to predict snow! Dad says I could be used to snuffle out truffles; Mom says the only truffles she's interested in are made of chocolate. Hee hee hee!

5. I can count to 4. Every day we have Banana Formation and we all get 4 slices each. Dad gives one to Stormy and me, then one each to the boys. And he does that 4 times. I walk away after I get my fourth slice, even before the boys get theirs - because I know I'm not going to get any more!

6. When I was a little girl, I was afraid to go down steps and across this wooden bridge in the park. We call it the Trippy-Trap Bridge and it was very scary to me. My daddy helped me conquer both the steps and the Trippy-Trap Bridge, and when I did ... I sort of scrambled down the steps or over the Trippy-Trap Bridge. One of my nicknames is The Scrambler because of that.

7. And one of my other nicknames is Jaws of Steel. No one has invented the "durable" rubber toy I couldn't destroy. This includes the real dinosaur bones made of the black "indestructible" rubber. And a few other things.

That was fun! Thank roo, Quincy, for tagging me!

Here are the rules to the tag:

1. Once you are tagged, link back to the blogger who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Post 7 random or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 bloggers and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Let's see...


I'm not sure who hasn't been tagged yet, so if you're reading this and haven't played yet - you're it! Have fun - I came up with more than seven things, so I'll share more stories later in the week!

Love,
Amber

Haik-Woo #40

Or is that "Haikh-Woo"? Woo, it's me - Dave! I was inspired by our snow-loving friend Khyra to write a new Haik-woo. Haiku is three lines of non-rhyming verse, 17 total syllables: 5 in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the last. In Haik-woo, as frequent readers of the Ao4 Digest may recall, it's the same thing - except the last word is always "woo". That's my favorite thing to say, so I finish every poem with it. Woo.

So... that being said, I give you Haik-Woo #40.

Thank woo, Khyra, for the inspiration and permission to post your snowy photos!

Luv,
Dave

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ha roo, pups, it's me - Zim! On behalf of the entire Army of Four, we'd like to wish a very happy Valentine's Day to all of our special friends out there! We'd like to spread love to all of our bloggging buddies -- and those special puppers and pupperettes ... you know who you are! We love each and every one of you!

Remember a few days ago, I showed you my new, little friend and told you I'd sent him on a special mission? You can follow that hyperlink back, if you need a refresher. Then I posted a video of Mom delivering the exciting news that I had a package from my bee-roo-tiful friend Sitka! Remember? Check out what was in the package!!!

Hi, little pup!

A little stuffie friend! And a wonderful Valentine! Sitka said (in part, 'cuz there were lots of words like "love" and "smooch" and stuff that I'll save for between me and Sitka!), "I wish I could give your snooter a kiss on Valentine's Day, but I hope the little stuffie will do." Oh, wowzers! Siberian minds think alike, don't they? That's the mission I sent my little friend on!

Nose smoochies!

I'm going to hold you REAL close!
I don't want any Sibe to mistake you for a chew toy!

Oh! And she and Tia and their mom also sent a Valentine to our mom & dad, Storms, Ammy and Dave! Isn't Sitka just the sweetest thing?!!? Sigh. I am the luckiest Siberian ever!

Happy Valentine's Day, every pup! Spread the love!

Play bows,
Zim

A Package for ME!

Ha roo, everypup! Zim here! Wowzers, you won't believe this! There I was the other day, kicking back in the ... I mean working! working hard in the bedroom -

Here's a close up...

Close up of me working hard

Anyroo... I was in there hard at work when I heard Mom say those magic words! "Zim! You got a package from Sitka!"

Check this out!

A package! From SITKA! I was so excited! Tune in tomorrow to see what the very bee-roo-tiful Sitka sent!

Before I sign off for the day, a big thank roo to our good buddy Echo for posting about yesterday being National Pancake Day! I sent Mom a mind-meld message and guess what she made for dinner? Banana pancakes! And I helped!

Look at those golden goodies!

I owe you, Echo!

Play bows,
Zim