Dave-a-Versary 2009!

Woo, everypup and everycat!  It's me - Dave!  Did you see what Zimmie said about today being a big day here?  Well, if you scrolled back in the Ao4 Digest archives to this post and this post, you could figure it out - today is my Dave-a-versary!  That's right - my homecoming, my Gotcha Day, the day Mom and Dad brought me HOME!  Wooo!

Back at those posts, you can read the story of how I got here (oh, and at this one, too) but the short version of the story is that I was in our local shelter for over a month screaming the Siberian Death Scream, hoping my Mom would hear me.  Oh, she may not have known she was my mom at the time, but I did!  I knew the right mom was out there somewhere!  And oh, she thought I was just a "foster" for a while... but seeing as how my Homecoming was in 2002, I don't think I'm going anywhere!  (Not that I ever did think I was going anywhere!)

As some of you know, our old PC died and we lost most of our photos.  Fortunately, Mom had burned some of them to a CD, and the very first pictures she took of me are on it!  So now... never seen before on this blog... I give you my puppy pictures!

Quite the cute little guy, wasn't I?  I think I was about 4 years old, but I can't really remember. 

 

The pix were taken in an exercise yard at the shelter.  The nice people there let my mom take me out there.  We played and she gave me cookies.  Mostly I wanted to hug her.

Here's a good shot of my lovely freckles:

I think I was crunching a cookie there.  

My friends Rubi and Denali sent me a Haik-woo they wrote to commemorate my special day!

Remember the day 

Dave found his forever home: 

Army of Four. Woo.

Wow!  Thank woo, you pups.  That is so special!  I just love it!

I hope you'll help me celebrate today!  I see some special walks, naps, time with Mom, zoomies with Zim, Happy Hearts cookies.... come to think of it.... how about one of those right now!?!?

Mmmm!  Happy Me-a-versary!

Luv,

Dave

Sunday Surprise!

Ha roo, pups and cool-cats!  It's me, Zim!  The weather was just horrible on Friday:  sunny and almost 60 -- can you believe that?  Not a snow cloud in sight!  "Horrible" if you're a Siberian in January, that is.  Anyroo... we all went on a long morning walk, then Dad went out golfing in the afternoon and Mom was going to hop on the treadmill.  I gave her "the look", letting her know,  "Hey, we might not have sub-zero temps and a bunch of snow out there, but apparently it's a nice day for bipeds..... so why not hook me and Ammy up and let us take you for a walk instead of doing the treadmill?!"  (My looks can say a lot!)  She caved, naturally. 

We were just going to go to the corner or so, but one thing led to another and we ended up walking her for over an hour and a half.  It was great!  I'll fill you in on everything we saw come Tuesday (tomorrow is a special day here!!!) but for now ... here's the Sunday Surprise!

The OCEAN!  I've finally found it!

That's right!  After years of searching for it, of dreaming of it, of wanting one for us so badly here in Kansas I could almost taste it ..... I found it!  Our very own ocean!!!!!!!!!!!

Please join us for a special celebration tomorrow, then hear more about the Kansas Ocean Tuesday!

Play bows,

Zim

Prince!

Tail wags, pups and kits.  It's me, Stormy.  Did you see my very handsome boyfriend Prince's blog the other day?  He posted a secret message to me.  It was very special!  The redheads here are chomping at the bit to post about their cool adventure they had yesterday, but I'm going to let them start tomorrow.  I need to send this message out to my Prince!

I'm pretty sure Prince knows what I mean.  And thanks, Ammy, for coming in for moral support.

Tail wags,

Storms

Fun With Photos Friday

Mom played around with a photo of us from a few weeks ago.

That's what I'm talking about!  Ha roo!

Tail wags,

Storms

Can I Buy You A Drink?

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me - Dave.  We just got the word that our friend Khyra gave us the "5-Star Blog Award".  

I think this calls for a celebration, don't you?  I offered to buy Zim a drink.

Belly on up to the bar, Zim!  I'm buyin'!

What?  It's water!  What did you think it was!??!

Thanks, Khyra!  We are honored you've shared this with us!

Luv,

Dave

Grazin' in the Grass is a Gas....

...baby, can you dig it?!?  

Ha roo, it's me, everypup and kit-cat - Zim!  This post really isn't about grazing in the grass or digging, but click on that hyperlink under "can you dig it" anyway for some great background music while you read!  This post is about grass - the decorative grasses in our landscaping.

We've shown you a lot of pictures of our gardens in the "growing" months, but the grasses also add great touches now - like movement, screening, and warm colors.  Aunt Janet posted cool pix of some of her grasses on her blog, so we thought we'd show her (and you!) some of ours!  Let's go!

This is a Feather Reed Grass. 

It's a tall, slender grass.

Further down the brick path are some Dwarf Fountain Grasses.

They stay small and are like puffy, little mounds.  They get a poufy seed head that looks soft - almost like Sibe fluff!

Moving along the path, here's a gorgeous Maiden Grass by the entrance to Mom's favorite part of the garden.

It sort of announces that you're at the special entrance or something.  Here's a close-up!

Mom (and Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind) love the rich, warm colors in there!

Here's a look at that special part of the garden:

There is another, smaller Maiden Grass, a couple Dwarf Fountain Grasses, and a couple Zebra Grasses!  Here's another look at one of the Zebra Grasses:

It's on the "tall, thin" side, like the Feather Reed Grass.  Here's a close-up of the "flower":

Let's keep moving!  Down at the bottom of the yard is this huge Pampas Grass:

Or as Ammy likes to call it, the Pompous Grass.  Ha roo roo roo!  It's probably about 7 or 8 feet tall.  

Also down at the bottom is another line up of Maiden Grasses:

And sort of in-between them and the Pampas Grass and up a tier is a line-up of more Feather Reed Grasses.

There are some other ornamental grasses in the backyard, but they look really bad and Mom is thinking of pulling them up, come Spring.  They're little blue things that have really never taken off.  Speaking of taking off, let's go out front!

Here are some Japanese Silver Grasses:

They're a little beat up from the snow and ice and wind, but still provide a good screen from the neighbor's house and driveway.  Here's a close-up:

Hey, Aunt Janet!  Do you know what else the grasses are used for?  Bunny hide-outs!

I know you're in there, Oswald!

Hey, are you sending this picture to Aunt Janet?  Tell her "hi" for me.  And to send more poppy seeds!

That guy is really getting bold, isn't he?

Anyroo, I hope you enjoyed my Winter Garden Tour!  We'd love to see what you all have growing!

Play bows,

Zim

Work Day-ve

Woo, everypup and everycat.  It's me, Dave.  As Zimmie mentioned yesterday, the holidays are over and it was time for us Sibes get back to work.  We all have our assigned duties, and among mine is helping Mom in the Studio.

Here I am at my work station.

Woo!

Note my cool, fluffy Texas flag pillow behind me.  Mom made it for me last February.  I just love it.  

Mom finally got back to work on a quilt for my female non-fur cousin #1.  It's been a long time in the works, but she finally finished quilting it!  Here it is, only without the binding:

Looks good, Mom!

You'll note I'm right there, helping.  It's got lots of purple in it.  Since my collar is the royal color purple, I'm quite partial to it.  I thought we should add even more in for the binding.  Mom agreed, but we had to move on to something else for the moment!  

Mom got a new bag order in and we needed to gather fabrics.  I LOVE that part!  She told me what the nice person was looking for and we came up with these:

It was pretty tough mental work and I needed a break.  I spent a little down-time with a Nylabone.  Mom lets me take breaks like that; she's careful that I don't over-do.  The client is the mom of one of Zim's friends (well, we're all friends with him, but Zim is in particular!) so he came in to make sure everything was going OK.

Dave, how's it going?  You're not working too hard, are you?

No, I'm good, Zim.  Thanks.

He's the best kid brother a guy could ask for.  Seriously.  

Mom and I shot pictures of the fabs to send her, then got back to work on the binding for the quilt.  Mom usually makes those out of more than one fab, but since the quilt is so scrappy, we went with the purple the whole way around!  Woo!

She got the machine part all done!  Now she just has to sew it to the front by hand, make a label, and wash it up.

It'll look better once we're all done.

Thanks for coming to work with me!

Luv,

Dave

The Holidays Are Over

It's true pups and cool cats.  Ha roo, it's me, Zim.  And the holidays are over.  Back to work and all that.  I don't know about you, but I know what I need right about now.

I'll be here in the bedroom if anyone needs me.  Oh, don't worry.  I'll keep an eye on the living room, too.

Nothing will get past me.

Play bows,

Zim

Sunday Salute/Birthday Shout Out - Denali!

This week, we are combining our Sunday Salute with a delayed birthday shout-out to our pal Denali of Pittsburgh, PA!  You may remember we saluted Denali once before and posted about him and his bee-roo-tiful sister Rubi a bit more the next day.   Denali sent Zim a happy honorary birthday email the other day - and let us know that the 1st of January is his honorary birthday, too!

Denali turned 11 on his honorary birthday!  Ha roo!  To celebrate, he and his sister Rubi went to play at the Hartwood Acres dog park.  Check him out in this great action shot!

Denali celebrates his birthday!

While he was at the park, he met an 11-month old pup and had a great play session with him.

Check out this next shot, where he's "catching some air"!

Ha roo, Denali can FLY!

Rubi is is about six years old.  Her mom told us, "She doesn't like to play rough ... not the in-your-face slam/tackle variety that Denali likes!"  Look at how bee-roo-tiful she is!

Rubi

She sounds a lot like Amber to us!  Here's another look at her:

Their mom sure takes some great pictures, doesn't she?!?  Their no-kill shelter even uses an older picture of Denali to advertise their winter activities!  You can check it out at this link!   That photo (from the Animal Friends site) was taken in 2006 at another park in their area. The shelter produced a print version of the webpage with the title "BEST IN SNOW"!!  How apropos!  It really made Denali's mom smile!  She said, "Yes, he is best in snow/best for snow."  Ha rooooo!

Denali and Rubi are also into scootering!  Here is a picture of them from back in November, learning how with another pair of rescued Sibes!

Denali said the "dryland sport" is great for dogs who "love to pull but live where there is limited snow".  Hmm.  Sound familiar to anypup?  If anyone is interested in learning more about scootering, they can visit this link.   

Denali and Rubi participated in an event called "Dogs Across America", designed to get dogs doing dog-powered activities (Dave wonders if power naps count?).  They add up all the mileage everypup put in for the given day!  There is also more info on that at the link provided above.  (And Dave... no, I don't think power naps count.  SZK)

Denali's mom also told us that next week, he will be visiting at Children's Hospital, "so he will have to tuck his wild persona away and become Mr. Snuggles!!  I love that Sibes can be both crazy and gentle, tough it out in the cold and snow but then insist on making a nest in the blankets on your bed....they are always interesting!"  Denali, it is so wonderful that you do therapy work!  We hope you'll give those dear little bipeds some extra snuggles from us!  Denali's mom said, "He has touched many lives with his pet therapy visits and just by going places and meeting people and representing his breed."  You do us all proud!!!

Happy belated birthday, handsome Denali!  And for all you do -- we salute you!

The Army of Four

Toy Talk

Ha roo, readers!  It's me - Stormy.  Thank you so much for the kind words on the photo I posted yesterday.  Mom is still learning a lot about that Adobe Photoshop Elements program;Tia and her Sibe sisters' mom gave our mom a heads up about some helpful tutorials she could download through iTunes and I think they're paying off!  Here's a pretty cool one Mom did of Dave:

Dave

Wild, isn't it?

Anyroo, some of you asked about the cool real dinosaur bones we play with.  They are made by -- err, I mean excavated by the people at Nylabone.  I heard through the grapevine that Santa got ours at PetsMart, so I'm sure they're widely available.  They're hard rubber and can last the average hard-chewing Sibe a long, long time.  I'm talking years.  Unless the Jaws of Steel is around.  Here is what our real dinosaur bones looked like after she had them for about 10 minutes:

Yikes!

Sorry the color is a bit off, but you get the idea!  We recommend them... but recommend you check on their status frequently!!!  Not everyone can be gentle with things like me.  I can be trusted with more fragile things.

What?

Oh, I know what you're thinking.  You think this looks like a squirrel, don't you?  Well, I thought about that...

Hmm...

...but I decided it's a puppy.

Stay here with me, little one.  I won't let Dave or the Jaws of Steel anywhere near you!

I only get to play with my new puppy when it's just me and Mom.  Or maybe if Zimmie's around.  It's just better that way!  Breed-appropriate and pup-specific toys!  We're careful about both around here.

Tail wags,

Storms

Fun With Photos Friday

Tail wags,

Storms

Happy 2009!

Ha roo, everypup and everycoolcat!  It's me - Zim!  Let me offer our very best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year to all of our readers, from all of us here at Ao4 HQs.  

It's a big day here - we're also celebrating my honorary birthday!  Ha rooooo!  I got here in July of 2001 and was about a year and a half old.  Mom and Dad wanted to pick a "birthday" for me (in addition to my Gotcha Day!) - and decided 1 JAN 00 was perfect!  So here I am - celebrating the big day!

Anyone who wants to come over is welcome.  We don't have snow... and it's going to get up to almost 50, but nothing's perfect.  Here's what I can offer, if you swing by!

We'll go on a walk or two:

Me, making the rounds

We'll check on our friends!

Meow, Zim!  Tuxedo Cat and the Huffle Impostor send their best!

Oswald already hopped out to say "hello" when Mom took Ammy and me outside earlier!

We'll work on our new dinosaur bones:

Catch some zzz's in the sun:

Do a little Zim-stigating!

Ha roooo!

Get some tubby rubs:

A little to the left, please!

AND there will be tasty treats involved!

Huffle had these made just for me?!?

Huffle sent us all some delicious Happy Hearts cookies for Christmas, but there was one package all wrapped up real pretty and it was just for ME!  It had a note from the Huffster and everything!  I could have opened it on Christmas, but I wanted to save it for my birthday!

Look at that!  Isn't it special!?!

And then came "crunch time", as they say!  (Ha roo roo roo!)  

Happy Heart Cookies!!!

I think you can tell by the size of my pupils just how much I love these!

Hurry on over if you're coming!  As you can see, it's going to be a VERY busy day!

Play bows and Happy New Year!

Zim