Rub-a-dub-dub...Bishop in the tub!

I survived Christmas day. My foster home was so full of people and dogs that I considered placing myself up for a foster-foster home! Those two female dogs in this family are so prissy and annoying. They don't want to play with me. They just want to sit in someones lap and ignore me.

Thankfully Santa didn't ignore me. I had toys and chew bones in my stocking. But the most fun was the wrapping paper and ribbons...and boxes! So much to choose from! Making a mess is so much fun!

But Christmas is over. They tree is gone, the lights are no longer blinking everywhere, and (best of all) there is more room in my house for me to run around! My Aunt Bonni really thought I was cute, but I didn't impress Aunt Brooke at all. (But then, what doggie does?) All I know is that I am here in my foster house where my Mommy loves me very much and it is very peaceful and quiet.

Mommy did, however, make me question her love when she threw me in the bathtub for a good scrubbing! I thought the bubbles were quite interesting until I tasted one. Believe me. They are ONLY for looks! Mom had the hardest time getting me wet and said I was like a duck! When she finally got me soaked down, I decided to soak her down, too....and I did a very good job of it. Then I soaked the bathroom down. I also found out that I could shake real hard and make those bubbles stick to the wall! It became quite a game, and I am proud to say that I won!

Mommy finally made all the bubbles disappear (it seemed to take forever!) and she let me get out of the tub. I shook...and shook...and shook....and shook! Then came that very embarrassing moment. She wrapped me in a hooded towel! Who ever thought of putting a hat on top of a towel was nuts! I couldn't keep it on my head and spent half the time trying to see out from under it. Mommy laughed. I didn't. When the towel didn't work, she got out this gun that blows air (thankfully not bullets!) and started shooting at me. I tried to escape, but how far can you run in a bathroom with the door shut. No matter where I turned, she would shoot me with a blast of hot air on whatever was sticking out in her direction. She got me on my head, on my back, on my bottom, and even on my tummy. Slowly...very slowly....my hair dried.

But all is well now. I am clean, brushed, fluffy and very content to be laying on my sheepskin rug snuggled up in the living room eating a chewy treat while Mommy and Dad watch CSI Miami. I think I might ask one of those detectives to investigate why my mom gave me a bath tonight so that I can try to avoid one in the future! Maybe I liked it when I was a baby, but baths and little boys just don't go together.

Twas the night before Christmas...

Dear Santa,

I have made a special effort today to be an extra good boy. I got up early to go with Mommy for one last time at ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. The people scurrying into Walmart were different this time. They mostly were men with frantic looks on their faces, acting like they were on a very serious mission. They didn't pay much attention to me going in...they were all staring straight ahead and walking in very fast. They were much calmer when they came out, carrying such things as crockpots, toaster ovens, coffee machines, electric blankets and other small appliances. They were usually pretty good about stopping and giving me a dollar or two. I'm glad Walmart is such a comforting place for them.

Mommy spent the afternoon trying to clean up the house and get some food cooked for a dinner tonight. I stayed out of her way and behaved very well. Did you notice that, Santa?

Now I am ready for you to come fill my stocking. I am keeping it very close to me so that you will know which one is mine. I know that you have been watching those other "princess dogs" very closely, and they have not been very good lately, so I want you to be sure and put the good gifts in my stocking, and the coal in theirs. Remember: mine says B-I-S-H-O-P.

Love, Bishop

What is worse than living with Linni the Princess?

"Princess" Linni, my foster sister dog, is slowly getting used to me being around, even though she still pouts and ignores me. I can handle her snippy-ness. But this week, Zoe, my foster cousin, came for a Christmas visit. Zoe is a miniature pincher that belongs to Mommy's daughter, Bonni. What is worse than one princess in the house? Two princesses! Especially when one bites and growls at me! Zoe is pretty sure that SHE is the most welcomed guest and let's me know that I am the newest member of the family, giving her an undeserved status of seniority over me. She growls when I get too near to her, growls when I get too near Bonni, growls when I get too near Bonni's luggage...and growls, and growls. And if I get really close, she snaps at me. I am just a baby, so I don't know how to stand my ground yet, and even though I tower over her, she rules over me. All I want to do is play with her and be her friend.

And if that isn't bad enough, yesterday Mommy and I went for our regular neighborhood walk and the neighbor's chihuahua (Jerome) came out the door and charged after me and Mommy. I was quite frightened and tried to hide behind my Mommy but that crazy little dog kept biting at my back paws. I could SQUASH that dog if I wanted to!

One of these days I am going to learn to stand my ground and let those other dogs know who is really the boss...and definitely WHO is BIGGER!

Today, though, is off to a better start. Mommy and I got up really early to walk, but since it was very, very cold outside Mommy and I went "early-bird" shopping to finish up the Christmas shopping. Boy, they sure have slick floors in Penney's! I thought I was ice-skating! Somehow I managed to stay on my feet and make it around the store (getting plenty of attention, of course). Mommy said I was an angel and that I did very well. I have learned to sit when she is looking at clothes on the racks (I seem to do a lot of sitting...). The one thing that baffles me, though, are all these people who are standing around on little platforms being very, very still. I kept trying to "pick up their scent" but oddly they seem to not have one. Mommy told me I couldn't sniff them anymore...she said it looked tacky. Well, I think THEY are tacky because everyone else talks to me, but they just stare straight ahead and won't even acknowledge that I am trying to be their friend.

I hope my future home is NOT with their family!

Three days until Christmas! I am still being good, Santa. Don't forget me!

My visit with Santa

Today I met Santa for the very first time! I was very fascinated with his long, white beard, as well as the fact that he was passing out candy canes. He made an appearance at the Joni and Friends Christmas party at Farragut Church of Christ for all of their friends with disabilities
and their family members. Even though the weather was really wet and very cold, we had a great time with the ones that were able to weather the storm and join in the fun. There was a lot of food (thank you to all who dropped things under the table!) and lots of entertainment from all of those who sang karaoke. I got a ton of attention, especially from the children! The only "not so fun" thing is that my mommy made me wear my Santa hat again.

But the highlight was truly getting to meet Santa and sniff him. (I know this sounds silly, but he kinda smelled like a deer!!!) He scratched my ears with his gloves on, and I loved it! He's definitely a jolly ol' fellow. He asked what I wanted for Christmas and I told him that I was wishing for a very special family that will need me to help them when I get a little bit older. He promised to start the search really soon, and feels like he will be able to find the perfect match for me when I get ready to be a full-time service dog. He has some elves named Erin, Tiffany and Elaine that specialize in just those kind of special requests. Now I have an incentive to really be a good dog this year!
When I got home from the party I was exhausted and have now fallen asleep...with those sugarplums dancing in my head again. Life is good...and it's going to get better. Thanks, Santa!

Molly and Me!

This is Molly Marie. She is my foster parents grandaughter and the sister of Gavin. We call her Molly-pop. I am a little bit taller than her, but she is still able to stand up to me when I get pushy. In fact, she just giggles and pushes me back. She calls me "Arf". I am so lucky because Molly and Gavin come to see me almost every day. We have become very good friends.

Molly-pop is teaching me to share. She usually has these really cute pacifiers in her mouth and she will take it out of her mouth and pretend like she is giving it to me! When I start to take it from her, she puts it back in her mouth and laughs at me. She does this over and over and over again. So I have learned that after about three times, if I am very quick, and can run up to her and snatch it out of her mouth! She thinks that is funny, too, and she laughs at me and tries to snatch it back. I think it is so nice that she shares her "paci" with me. Why doesn't my foster family think so?

My very first Christmas party!

First of all, don't make fun of my "Happy Holidogs" hat. I do not like it, and I don't even pretend to like it. I think it is itchy, the elastic bothers my ears, and everyone is so "goo-goo" towards me when I wear it. First chance I get, it will be eaten!

The good part about it, however, is that I wore it to my very first Christmas party. This was held at First Baptist Concord Church with all of my new friends at Helping Hands. We sang Christmas carols, and everyone got presents. (Well, I didn't get a present but mommy had brought me new treats and a new toy to play with). We discovered that I am very calm around wheelchairs and walkers, and do great with very "over-affectionate" people. I just like everyone! And I thrive on attention.....and treats!

My nose really perked up when they brought in the pizza. I don't know what all goes on one of those things, but I was eager to find out! (Mommy shut that idea down very quickly).

After about an hour of partying I got pretty tired and slept through the rest of the party. I am really doing good riding in the car, too. Sure hope Santa is watching my very good behavior today (to counteract my behavior earlier this week!)

I have really started to settle into my new foster home. I am calm and relaxed, enjoy laying in the living room while my family watches TV, and have been on my very best doggy behavior. Mommy is proud of me! And she is especially happy that I have not had any accidents in the house! When she says "potty" and points to a spot (outside, of course!), I give it my best "shot" at peeing right where she is pointing! I have also quit throwing a little fit when I am kenneled for the night, and I am sleeping all night long without messing in my kennel or waking up my family! (Santa, are you hearing this????) No more "naughty" list for me! I have become quite the charmer! They say I am a "keeper", whatever that means!

Dear Santa...I can explain!

Today I was feeling much better after whatever it was that happened to me yesterday. My head was more clear, I could walk a straight line, and I was back home with my foster family. I was feeling so good, in fact, that I thought this would be a very good time to look for some new adventures around the house.

My first adventure was checking to see just how well Mommy had hung my stocking on the fireplace. (Someday I want someone to explain to me why she puts everything else in the dryer but hangs up just one of our socks in the living area.) It only took a few pulls to get my sock down so that I could chew on it a little...."little" meaning that Mommy was right there at the first bite, along with the NO word. She told me some wild story about not eating a hole in my stocking because my gifts from some guy, who supposedly was coming right down our chimney, would fall out. (Down the chimney? Maybe my mommy has been sipping too much eggnog???)

The next thing I decided to explore was this tree she has growing in the corner of her house. She had put some really cute balls on it....much cuter than the ones in my toy box. Some of them jingle, and some sparkle very, very much. Without much effort they can be plucked from the tree, and I was having so much fun rolling them around the floor. I even got a sparkling nose from playing with them. I soon came to realize, however, that she seems to think there is a serious distinction between the balls on her tree, and the balls in my toy box. I always let Mommy play with me and my toys, but she won't share the fancy balls on her tree with me! I tried to reason with her and show her how cute I was with glitter on my nose, but she used the NO word (yet again) and hung my new-found toys up high on her tree. I still think I might be able to reach them if I jump from the couch.

Next I turned my attention on Molly-pop, the cute grandbaby. Unlike Mommy, Molly shares... primarily her pacifier and Sippy-cup (I got my first taste of milk!). Molly-pop plays this fun game with me. She acts like she is giving me her pacifier, then plops it back in her mouth. That's my cue to grab it out of her mouth with my teeth and run. We love this game. Mommy doesn't. In fact, she said if I kept this up I probably wouldn't be needing my stocking.

Off I went to find another interesting plaything and I found something that is so much fun! Mommy has these little paper things in all of the bathrooms. I found out that if you grab the end of the paper and run, you can make it follow you all over the place! If it breaks, you just go back and get some more. It doesn't take long to get a whole lot of this paper down on the floor to play with. I just wish Mommy would remember to leave the bathroom doors open! Mommy put a whole new thingy of paper up and then walked right out and shut the door! I tried all three bathrooms and all of the doors are shut. Mommy keeps mumbling something about how I am going to get "coal" for Christmas. Coal? All I want is a few of those paper things!

These rules are growing old really fast. I can't go up the stairs without Mommy. I can't potty and poop in the house. I can't get on the couch. I can't eat shoes. I can't drink out of the toilet. I can't chew on electric cords. I can't hold my own leash. I can't pull the ribbons off the boxes under Mommy's tree...all of these fun things are on something called a "naughty list" that gets checked twice by someone that is watching me even when I am asleep! I think that is creepy!

If any of you need some coal, I think I am going to have enough to share.