My Friend Is On a Mission

Ha roo, pups! It's me, Zim. I've got a new, little friend here and I've sent him out on a VERY important mission!

OK, little guy! You know what to do, right? Find her! Find her and tell her!

I sure hope this works!

Play bows,
Zimmie

Kinneared!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! Did you see the latest post our dear friend Pippin put up on her blog? She explained about "kinnearing", which is basically someone holding his or her camera at hip level and pretending not to be taking a photo even though he or she is! Mom thought this might be a good way to get a picture of me, since I'm not thrilled with the camera. This is what she came up with:

Yep. Like Pippin, I knew what Mom was doing the whole time. Maybe it only works for humans on other humans; Stormy said canines are smart enough to know what's going on.

It's not a bad picture, though I look a bit squinty. It's because of the sun reflecting off all the snow. Oh! And it's from last week. Most of our lovely snow is gone now - except for in the shade and where the snow plow piled it up!

Love,
Amber

Sunday Salute - Dogs With Blogs!

This week, our Sunday Salute goes out to Dogs With Blogs (DWB)! We've saluted this incredible organization before, but wanted to tell you more about how it all started and see what's new in the works! Do you realize DWB is over 800 bloggers strong now?!? Ha rooo!


Stormy recently interviewed Greg, Opy and Charlie's dad and co-founder of DWB. Here are excerpts from that interview!

SZK: Thanks for agreeing to this interview! I know you're a busy guy - between work, all the volunteer activities you're involved with, and the really important things like giving Charlie and Opy hamburgers and all! I'd really like our readers to know more about the heart, the origins of Dogs With Blogs! How did it all start?

DWB: Dogs With Blogs was an idea that I was never initially able to fully realize. I volunteered to build a website for a doggie rescue organisation in Queensland Australia, and had planned to use the "dog blog" idea to draw attention to the cause. Ironically, I was literally fifteen minutes too late in my offer. Someone else got in before me. I felt the idea was too good to waste, and started thinking about how I could make the idea stand alone.

SZK: AH! Doggie rescue! We love that, you know! All of us are former pound puppies except for Amber; she was a "late adoptee" off a farm! We love helping rescue groups! Was there one special event or pup who inspired you?

DWB: Yes! I used to own a retail outlet, which had its fair share of "strays" wander through the parking lot. One day, a Blue Cattle Dog took refuge on our doorstep. She was the most beautiful puppy I had ever seen. She was so sweet, and we came to calling her Marny. We knew if we didn't act, Marny would have been run over by a passing car, as our store was located on a very busy major roadway.

SZK: Oh, no! Poor little Marny! What did you do?

DWB: We took her to the local Animal Shelter who informed us that if Marny wasn't claimed in 7 days, she would be put to sleep. We were shocked and astounded, we could not believe it.We were on the phone day and night and at the 11th hour, we found a friend of a friend of a friend, who was a carpenter, and he was ecstatic to learn that his life could be blessed with the companionship of this beautiful puppy, Marny.

SZK: YEA! I'd sure like to lick that guy's nose! Yours, too, come to think of it! So what became of Marny?

DWB: We paid $110 to have Marny released from the shelter we left her at seven days prior, and drove her to meet her new human. They hit it off instantly. The last we heard, Marny had taken to the building site like a duck to water. Sleeping on the end of her new daddy's bed each night, it was so rewarding for us to know we had saved her from certain death.

SZK: What a special puppy - and what a special thing you did for her. We canines never forget kindness, you know! How did this lead you into launching DWB?

DWB: That was just one dog. There are hundreds, maybe thousands of beautiful pups, with hearts full of love, that are put to sleep everyday. Both Brooke and I cried many tears after learning this. Like a bolt of lightning from above, our urge to do something to help dogs on death row, and the "dog blog" idea came together. Dogs With Blogs was born.

SZK: That is so special! It's a great blogging community!

DWB: Right! Some two years later, Dogs With Blogs is easily the best online community on the planet. We now have over 800 members from all walks of life blogging harmoniously together, with no controversy or conflict. Dogs With Blogs is truly a case study in Social Science. It defies the patterns seen in all other public gatherings. We are all united by one common cause which completely negates all of the other issue's which under normal circumstances, would divide us. We all LOVE our dogs, flat out, no questions asked.

SZK: And us pups love you guys! Tell me more about how DWB helps doggie rescue! Like helping Monika's Doggie Rescue! That's such an important aspect of the organization - though sometimes, sadly, that gets a bit "lost", if you know what I mean!

DWB: Yes! Even though we have created this clearly remarkable online community, it has only generated $500US in two years, chiefly through the sale of our annual calendar. As great as Dogs With Blogs is, it has not been able to generate the support we had hoped it would, to help save the lifes of the hundreds of other doggies like Marny... Hopefully, the re-Incarnation of the Dogs With Blogs' online store will change that.

SZK: A new on-line store with really cool stuff, right? I've taken a peek and plan to order some things for our mom and dad! You're using artwork and images donated by DWB members! Everything is so cool! We love the items you made with the Ao4 logo on them! Thanks so much for doing that!

DWB: We hope [that will] generate sales and create interest in what Dogs With Blogs was originally designed to do. We realise that there is so much work to be done locally, and it's hard for people to support a dog rescue charity in Australia, but believe me, there is nothing we would like more than for Dogs With Blogs to be supporting many doggie rescue organsiations all around the world.
The biggest journey starts with the smallest step, and we are hoping that the new and improved online store will start a worldwide journey that enables Dogs With Blogs to save the lifes of thousands of dogs all around the world.

SZK: What an outstanding goal - we are so honored to be a part of the Dogs With Blogs communtiy.
Thanks so much for the interview, Greg. And a HUGE thanks to both you and Brooke for starting this remarkable Dogs With Blogs organization! We salute you!

I'm going to do my part to help raise money for rescue right NOW! Now ... where is Mom's plastic card ....?

On behalf of the Army of Four,
Storms

Mystery Blogger Revealed!

Ha roo, pups! It's me ...... Zimmie! That's right - and a big "way to go" to the lovely Dakota, our pal Louka, those cool Beagle babes Jazz & Dixie, and the bee-roo-tiful FloPuff for guessing correctly! I am the mystery blogger from the other day! Ha rooooo!

Thanks for all the guesses! Thanks, too, for all the cool comments on yesterday's post and the pictures of Dave and me playing. I mean "working". I also built a couple cool new snow forts! Here's one I really liked:

I claim this as Ft. Zimmie!

Yeah. It's so cool, I stuck a flag at the top! Ha roooo!

Sadly, it's mostly gone now. I don't know who's been taking all of our snow, but whoever it is sure is leaving a soupy mess out there! Not that I mind that part, but the whole having to get your paws wiped off after you're outside thing isn't my bowl of kibble, if you know what I mean!

I decided to make some snow angels this snowfall, too. It was pretty fun! Here I am, on the approach:

Yep! The perfect spot!

The flop-down and twist:

Ha ROOOOO!

And stopping to admire my work:

Oh, yeah! Totally cool!

I've heard some of our pals in Pennsylvania are finally getting some snow. I hope you guys have a BLAST in it! Don't work too hard!

Play bows,
Zim

It's Snow Fun ...

It's snow fun ... being a a silly Siberian! (With apologies to Genesis ...)

Woo, everypup! It's me - Dave! Sorry we're late posting today; we've had places to go ... people to see ... work to do ... you know, the basics. A Sibe's work is never done. Especially if there is snow on the ground. Here are me and Zimmie hard at it!

Oh! Hey, guys!

Time out! Is that Oswald?

Ha! Made you look!

Gotcha, Zim!

Yep ... busy, busy, busy!

We didn't want anypuppy to worry about us! We've been busy Sibes! We'll do a longer post tomorrow and will reveal who the mystery poster was on yesterday's posting! Woo!

Luv,
Dave

Tagged by the Captain!

We've been tagged by Captain Maverick! We're supposed to reveal 7 weird facts about ourselves then tag more bloggers.

We decided to carry the game a little further by having one member of the Ao4 respond and to let who that is remain a mystery! It's up to you to figure out who it is!

(Members of the Siber-Mal Society have already seen the following silhouette and are asked to please not reveal who the mystery blogger is!)

Ready? Here goes!

1. I love to watch people work. Or basically to stare at anything that moves.

2. I have no dew claws. I don't know what happened to them or where they went.

3. I am usually a little bit skittish when meeting people for the first time. This did not apply when I met the Mala-moms! (That says a lot about how wonderful they are!)

4. I couldn't learn the trick "Gimme 5" when I joined the pack. Mom tried saying "Gimme 4" as a joke (see item #2 above as to why) and I did it - so now that's my trick.

5. I own my own vacuum.

6. I have lingering heat exhaustion issues, dating back to before I found my fur-ever home.

7. I've never met another pupper I couldn't win over!

We are going to tag Marvin, Echo, Team Husky (Summer and Prince), Sitka and Tia, Holly, Khyra, and Jazz & Dixie. Have fun!

Now, 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.

Any guesses as to who is our mystery blogger? GOOD LUCK!

Lots of Work Today!

Ha roo! Drill SGT Zim here. Lot of work to do today. This is what we woke up to this morning. That's our street in front of me, in case you can't tell.

After Dad and Mom shovel the driveway and sidewalk, I'll get to work. I'll make sure Mom has the camera handy.

Play bows,
Zim

Hot Dog!

Or as Amber would say ...

... it's a dog eat dog world out there!

Ha roo roo roo!

Play bows,
Zim

Editor's note: No hot dogs were administered to the above Siberian ... or any other Siberian ... in the filming of this blog post. He was rewarded with a dog treat for posing for the picture.

E For Excellent!

Ha roo, pups! Our friends over at Jan's Funny Farm have given us the "E for Excellent Award"!

Thank roo so much! This is most kind of you and we feel quite honored! Thank you for your kindness!

According to the gang at JFF, this award is given to bloggers who have wonderful outstanding styles and a fantastic ability to keep us thinking, amused and entertained. We now need to send this to ten writers of outstanding style and ability. We gave this a lot of thought and would like to present the award to:

Frankie & Maddie

Jazz & Dixie

Tubey

Sitka & Tia

Xsara

Kelsey Ann and the Kapp Pack

Marley & Ziggy

Holly

The Cyber-Sibes (Star & Jack)

Pippin and her Pack

We'd really like to give the award to all of you, but worked hard to limit our selection to ten!

Thank roo again to our friends at JFF! You guys ROCK! Oh! And Samaritan asked Zim about his eyes the other day ... for a good look at all four of us, please click here!

Tail wags!

Storms

Sunday Salute - Luna, Kito and Timber!

This week, our Sunday Salute goes out to our bestest friends in all of Miami, Florida - Luna, Kito and Timber! You've read about them before on our blog; the latest adventure was when our very sweet friend Luni helped gain Ammy's freedom during the great Reindeer/Hostage situation. We've been thinking about them a lot this week and thought we'd give them a well-deserved Salute!

Here's a great picture of Luna and Kito in their Cinnamon Roll poses.

Luna (top) and Kito - Cinnamon Rolls!

Am and Zim, Luna and Kito's cosmic cousins, love doing Cinnamon Buns themselves. Mom showed Dad that picture, and he thought it was Ammy and Zim at first. Ha roo roo roo! Dave wrote a Haik-woo about those four; since our link to the Haik-woo page isn't working quite right, here it is -- Haik-woo #21:

I think you can see the similarities!

Anyroo, also curled into a doggy doughnut is Luni and Kito's brother, Timber! Here he is, in a Hostess Cupcake pose:

Well, OK, he was coming out of the pose.

How am I supposed to relax with that camera going off?

It's hard, hard work being Sibes, especially with the pup-arazzi around. We totally understand!

For all you do, and for helping us fool Dad with another great picture of you, Luna, Kito and Timber ... we salute you!

The Army of Four

Big Day Today!

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! Today is the big day! It's Groundhog Day! For our international readers who may not know about Groundhog Day, please click here to go back to last year's post. Stormy gave some really good links to explain all about Punxsutawney Phil and how he decides if we're going to have six more weeks of winter or an early spring. This year, he decided we're going to have six more weeks of winter! YEA, Phil!

Stormy also explained last year that coincidentally enough, I was born on Groundhog Day! Given my ability to predict whether or not we're going to get snow, it's rather appropriate, don't you think? Hee hee hee!

Mom took me outside this morning to get my prediction. I got my snooter busy ...

and checked for any lovely snow in the area. (I look a little bit like Meeshka in that picture above, don't you think?)

I gave the forecast a lot of careful thought, as you can see. Sadly ... our immediate forecast is ...

... no snow. Sigh. If only I could request and not just predict!

Yoplait has a new snooter-friendly yogurt cup. I predict we'll get to share some of that to celebrate my birthday! I hope you'll join us in the celebration - I'm NINE today!

Love - and paws up to Punxsutawney Phil!
Amber

I'm Such a Cut-Up!

Woo, everypup! It's me - Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind. It's been a busy time around here lately. Mom's been trying to put the finishing touches on one of her bags - the Storm Bag - and is also busy putting a quilt tutorial together for her other blog - how to make those cool fray-edged quilts. I thought I'd give her a paw by cutting the denim for her for the tutorial.

All done here, Mom! What's next?

She said I was sooooo helpful that she was able to get the Storm Bag done. (Amber said it's because I'm such a cut-up! Woo.)

Here's how the Storm Bag came out, in case you're interested. It's fully reversible. Here's the one side:

That's a thing of neon orange Post-It Notes in the pocket, so you can see the pocket. Here's the other side:

It has sort of a "day time/night time" thing going on. Siberianly speaking, I like The Deeve Bag better... but I could be biased. Woo.

My work here is done!

Luv,
Dave

The Story of Barbara Walters

Ha roo, pups! It's me - Stormy! Remember a couple of Sundays ago when I mentioned that I can say "Barbara Walters" in Human English? I meant to get back to you about that earlier ... but you know how that goes. Anyroo... kick back and get comfy ... it's story time!

This happened years ago - before Ammy and the boys joined the family. It was just great-brother Booter, Mom, Dad and me. Booter was really great at alerting us of intruders or other important stuff outside by barking - he was a Black Lab/Australian Shepherd mix and was a great protector! (We alert the bipeds to things, too, but do it by silently staring.) Booter was great at getting their attention! Here he is -- handsome, don't you think?

Great brother Booter '87-'01

One night, Booter started barking like crazy at something out front. Mom hooked me up to go out to investigate. We got outside and stood quietly in the yard - looking and listening. Before we knew it, a coyote dashed across the street and ran off!

Mom and I went back into the house to report to Boots and Dad. Dad asked what all the excitement was; I sat right in front of him and at the exact time that Mom said a coyote was out there, I said, plain as day, in perfect Human English, "Barbara Walters."

Dad was a bit surprised, as he'd never heard me speak Human before, but he looked at us again and asked, "Well, which was it? A coyote or Barbara Walters?" I said "Barbara Walters" again ... so they assumed the coyote's name was Barbara Walters. Ha roo roo roo!

I've said it for friends of Mom and Dad's - but only if I feel like it. Mom can ask me, "What was that one coyote's name? You remember her, Storm. What was her name?" And if I'm in the mood, I'll tell her. Barbara Walters!

Until next time!
Tail wags,
Stormy

Look Into My Eyes

Look into my eyes. Look into my eyes ...

and behold the power of the Siberian. You WILL do as I say. You WILL.

Now... how 'bout a cappuccino?

Play bows,
Zim
Top student at the Stormy Zoluschka Kryschtal School of Siberian Studies,
Currently studying the art of the Siberian Mind Meld

Hammer? Is That YOU?

Ha roo, pups! It's me - Zim! Well, yesterday was one of those bizarre January weather days here in Kansas. It reached at least 62 degrees Fahrenheit (about 17C), winds out of the south/southwest at about 27 miles an hour, gusting to 40 mph. Yep. Nice temp for the bipeds, but a bit breezy. Not the kind of day for certain outdoor activities ... and yet ... a biped showed up to fix a few damaged shingles on our roof! Yikes! Storm said climbing on our roof should be on the "not recommended activities" list!

See... we live on top of a hill and have a multi-gabled house with very steep roof-lines. From the side yard, the area the Roof Guy needed to check is two floors up! You can imagine what it would be like to be up there on a windy day! I thought I should keep an eye on him!

Hi, Roof Guy!

I was all excited at first, because I thought he might have my friend Adrill with him! No such luck, but I knew he wasn't out there alone when I heard all the noise! Mom said it was Hammer. HAMMER!?!? I was so totally excited! Imagine Hammer coming all the way over here from Australia just to work on our roof!

Hey Hammer! It's me - Zim!

But Mom said it wasn't "Hammer" it was "Ahammer". BIG difference! Ahammer just says, "Bang, bang, bang!" the whole time; nothing cool at all!

I decided to supervise the Roof Guy anyway; it was exhausting work, as you can imagine. And truth be told, I was a bit bummed after thinking our pal Hammer might be here then he wasn't.

Me, looking exhausted and bummed

Amber tried to cheer me up by giving me the weather forecast. She was right - it's MUCH nicer today. At 1030, we have a temperature of 14 degrees F (-10C), winds gusting out of the north-west at 25 mph, and a wind-chill of -1F (-18C). Oh, and it's snowing like crazy! Ah... that's soooo much better! It still would be cool if Hammer was here, though!

Play bows,
Zim

PS: Please keep our kitty friend Tia in your prayers!

Bag Tags

Woo, everypup! It's me - Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind. As some of you may know, Mom has expanded her repertoire of what all we make in the Quilt Studio to include bags. Now she's doing bags from original designs and she decided a while ago that we should come up with a logo and have tags made to sew into those bags. Cool!

That sounds like a great idea, Mom!

But then ... she showed me the tags when they came in! Here's a close up of one she put into a bag for Aunt Janet.

Can you see that!?!? Can you believe it!?!? The logo isn't based on me - Dave, Guide Dog for the Color Blind! It's Stormy. STORMY! Here was my reaction!

Oh, no!

She said it was because she couldn't resist the pose Stormy was in and that it would look cute to "doctor" it up a little, run it in black and white, and have her sort of peeking out of the seam or pocket. I guess she's right ... but I thought since I'm her Guide Dog for the Color Blind I could be the model for the logo, too! Woo.

At least she has named a bag after each one of us. Remember the fabs she was looking at when I was busy with my friend Wonky? She picked her own to use (so don't hold me responsible!) and used them to make "The Deeve Bag". Guess who that's named after!? Woo. Here it is.

The little bag hanging on the side is a "Hold the Phone! Bag". I think Amber might have come up with the name. Here's a closer look at it:

I have to admit, I do like the tag. Just don't tell Storms I said that. I wonder what bag we'll be working on today!? I'll be sure to choose the fabrics, so the next bag is more colorful!

Luv,
Dave

PS: We put an update on yesterday's Salute to Nikki! It's a link to more really cool pictures of her in her new home!

Sunday Salute - Nikki of Northern Cyprus!

This week our Sunday Salute goes out to our very dear friend Nikki of Northern Cyprus - formerly known as Nikki of South Africa! You may recall that our pal Niks made a very, very long trip recently, moving from her home in South Africa to her new home in Northern Cyprus. We are happy to report the quarantine is over, she has moved into her new house, and her stuff is finally there! Ha roo! Now that she has her computer back, she was able to send us some cool pictures!

Home at last!

Here she is, enjoying her first view of the Mediterranean!

Isn't that view gorgeous? Her dad let her get an even closer look!

Oooh! Salty!

Once she got used to it, she thought it felt pretty good under her paws. Here she is, getting her feety-feet wet in the Med!

And after a dip in the sea, there's nothing like kicking back on the terrace!

This really beats that whole quarantine thing!

She's really glad to be home with her bipeds again. She has suffered some cartilage damage in her legs, but has a terrific vet who is helping take good care of her. Her vet even makes house-calls!

Nikki, for enduring that incredibly long trip so bravely and for helping your bipeds settle into their (and your!) new home in Northern Cyprus ... we salute you! Continued happiness to all of you!

The Army of Four

UPDATE! Nikki sent us a link to an on-line album with more gorgeous pictures of her new home in Northern Cyprus! You can visit the album here! Thanks, Nikki!

The Rest of Us and the Toys

Hi everypuppy! It's me - Amber! I hope everypuppy is having a really happy weekend and had a happy week and is just ... happy. We were all really happy earlier this week when we got the package from Sitka, Tia and their mom! We got to play with some of the toys but then Mom took them into the inner portion of the Quilt Studio so she could monitor us as we played with them while she worked. That was fine, until Dave took all of them. ALL of them! Hrumph!

Here are Zimmie, Stormy and me looking into the inner part of the Studio. Well, I actually was so upset, I couldn't even look!

I really wanted to play with one of our new toys! Stormy looked over and told me,

"Hey, Am. I think he's only interested in Wonky.
Go ahead and play with the others; I've got you covered!"

She's really quite the kind leader, you know! I forced myself to look and saw the other toys all alone!

"I see them, Storm! Can you please make Dave move over so I can play with them?"

I didn't want to make any trouble or anything, and I knew Storm could get Davy to move just by sending him a mind-meld message or something else really smart. And she did! She actually gave up the fluffy bed area, so Dave and Wonky would move over there. Isn't she smart? And really nice? She knew he'd move over there! As soon as he did, I went over to play with the other toys!

"Thanks, Storm! I didn't want to cause any problems or anything!"

Sitka and Tia and your mom, we really love these new toys! Here I am playing with the fluffy brown guy. I haven't given him a name yet, but we DID do a really cute pose together!

Love to everypuppy!
Amber

PS: Everypuppy please keep Flurry in your prayers today, as she makes her way to her fur-ever home!!! (Paws up to Khyra for the posts!)