On Friday Angela came to pick me up and take her back to her house mid-day, rather than just walking me and keeping me at home. It was different than my normal routine. Later, though, Shane and Cassandra showed up way earlier than they normally do to pick me up, like around 5:30. That's when they told me that we were going on a vacation. I had never been on a vacation before, so I didn't know what to expect, but I was pretty excited anyway. It started out with a two hour car ride to Maine. I don't know where that is because I can't really read maps, but I figure it's somewhere near the water, because ummm, I saw a bunch of water on the way. And there was a bridge.

We ended up at a really nice pet friendly hotel called Inn By The Sea. The people were very nice and I was instantly adored as soon as I walked into the lobby. Everyone talked about how beautiful I was and how well behaved I was. If you read this blog much, you already knew that though. Our hotel "room" was actually a suite with a lofted bedroom. When I walked in, I was very excited to explore my new surroundings.

I enjoyed sniffing everything in the room, looking at all the new furniture, and taking it all in. This place had stairs, just like in my house, which I quickly learned that the "go upstairs" and "go downstairs" commands applied here as well. I really enjoyed running upstairs on my own, and then being able to look down on the people when they were downstairs. I like to be tall.

That night, I found that I still got my dinner the same way, even though it might have been out of a different bowl.

Of course, I also had to test out the bathroom...

...and ALL of the furniture...

I found the bed suitable, so we went to bed for the night. The next morning we all got up nice and early and Shane took me for a walk around the hotel where I got to meet several other dogs. One was about twice the size of me and looked like a bear! Afterwards, we came back to the room, the people got ready to go, and soon, I was on a beach running and having a great time!

I even sprinted through the water and got myself soaking wet. Halfway through, I started getting really thirsty, so I did what I normally do. I bent down and started drinking the water in the ocean. Ewww! It was not at ALL what I expected! I was very surprised.

Next, the people went to play some tennis. I got kinda bored and lonely while they were playing, so to keep myself entertained, EVERY time they would turn their backs to me and start running in the other direction I acted concerned that they were going to leave and forget about me, so I would let out a yippy high pitched bark at them. Then they would turn around and tell me it was okay and to be quiet. I eventually got tired of that though, and ended up like this the rest of their game.

FINALLY, they got done, though, and then it was adventure time for me again. This time, we went to a state park where we got to walk on some trails and I really enjoyed looking out over the ocean.

That night, I got dinner again, but while the people were at dinner afterwards, I found three packages of food samples they were planning on giving me later. When they came back, they found me... and three wrappers that used to contain food samples. Yummmmmmmmmy.

That night, I was exhausted.

The next day we had to come back home after I got another walk on the beach, but we stopped at Dairy Queen on the way back, and overall it was a great doggy weekend. I am looking forward to coming back. Maybe I can take my doggy friends with me next time. Hey, Brutus, do you have any money? Or a driver's license?

You may remember a couple of days ago when I talked about how my people noticed that I had been sneaking on the leather furniture while they were gone. Well, for the last three days that they were away from home, they've been trying to fight me about this couch thing. The first day, they put my bin of toys on the loveseat thinking that I would decide I couldn't sleep there and go back to my bed. Seriously? Weak attempt. I just spent that day on the big couch.

The next day, they thoght that putting a single folding chair laying across the big couch. Too easy. At first I just laid on the side of it, but by the end of the day I had just pushed the chair off the couch onto the ground and had the whole thing to stretch out on. So yesterday, they put a folding chair AND a wooden folding table on the big couch, the toy bin on the loveseat, and honestly thought i was too big to fit on the recliner. Me? Too big? HA! I may or may not have hung over the edge(s) a little, and I might have looked really awkward, but I am NOT sleeping on the floor after feeling the comfy leather seats. The recliner it was... all day long.

So today, they get ready to take off, and they put another folding table in front of the chair, in addition to all of the junk they have been throwing on the couches the last couple of days. They're really going at me hard, it seems. Just look at this scene on the couches.

Pretty obtrusive right? Well their stupid little tables are no match for me. Just take a look at my form as I leap OVER the corner of the table and onto the luxurious leather.

Aaahhhh so comfortable. Now that I'm here, why not practice sitting like a person in the char? "Bring me dinner to my table, please!!!"

And if the people are going to put a table in my way? I'm going to use it for comfort too!

.........Nice try, suckers.

And before we all start getting judgemental, just know that it's not because I don't want to get married. It's that the state won't let me. Now that we have that out of the way...

 ...My girlfriend spent the night last night! We had so much fun together. Raynah's people had plans to go sit in the rain at Fenway Park. Usually I'm very happy when Shane and Cassandra come home and I greet them at the garage door, but today, I turned the corner of the garage doorway, and there was Raynah! I jumped up and down with excitement, and did my big greyhound smile for about five minutes straight. Actually, now that I think about it, I looked pretty dumb.

First, we had a nice romantic dinner together with side-by-side bowls.

Then, we went for a walk, where we sniffed everything on the block together.

Raynah played a little football.

Then, the people took us both in the CAR! They went out to get dinner for themselves and brought us along. We LOVE the car. And we loved to cuddle.

We got home and the people watched a little basketball while Raynah and I tried to figure out how to get both of us on the same circle bed. It was difficult at first, but we got it eventually.

Finally, it was time for bed. We managed to fit both people, me and Raynah all in the same bed upstairs. The next morning, they took her back home, but I really liked having her here!

I've lived in my new home long enough now to know the rules. I'm not allowed in the kitchen unless I'm running through it to get to the deck. I'm not allowed on the bed unless the people are up there. I'm allowed on the downstairs couch but not on the upstairs couch. I have to pee outside. You know, stuff like that. The people know I know these rules and they are happy with me.

But I learned something.

The other day, Raynah was over with Angela while we were going for my walk. While at the house, Raynah saw the black upstairs couch and jumped up on it, and laid down! The best part is, she didn't even get yelled at because my people weren't home. I learned something that day. Without people, rules aren't as important. That's why the next day, after spending the first half of the day on my circle, I went over to the loveseat by the window and slept there the rest of the day. The people had no idea because they couldn't see me on the camera from work. They hadn't seen me for so long, they even had a neighbor come over to check and make sure I was all right. They thought I was just on the wood floor. Psh! I don't sleep on hard things.

When they got home that night, though, somehow they knew... They gave me this long talk about how I was clever, but not that clever and that if I were really smart I wouldn't have left an impression of my head on the armrest, or I would have cleaned up the ridiculous amount of white hair I left on the black leather and, oh yeah, I shouldn't have left that big puddle of slobber where I was laying my head. I guess that kind of gave me away.

So, they're back to work today, and this time they put my big bin of toys on the loveseat so I can't jump up there. They also put a metal folding chair on the long couch, but now who's the idiot? I found a little corner of the couch that I can still lay on, and you guys are all the way downtown. Chew on that, suckas!

(I'm on the right side of the picture... On the couch!)

I will admit, for the most part, my relationship with the people is a one way relationship in which they provide for me and I basically do nothing to earn anything they give me or do for me. Well, today it was time for me to help them out a little. It had just gotten dark outside. The people were settling down to watch an eighth episode of Lost on a Sunday, and had just gotten about five minutes into the show when Cassandra got freaked out and Shane woke me up from my sleep. I was curled up comfortably on the floor when he shook me and started pointing like a crazy guy.

It took me a couple of seconds, but finally I noticed a little mouse running around a pile of clothes in the middle of the basement. My sighthound instincts sprung into action and with one leap, I had the creature firmly between my teeth right where it belongs. After I captured it (and pretty much killed it) I followed instructions very well and brought it outside, put it down, and then came back in. They were very happy with me. They kept telling me what a good boy I was and how happy they were that they didn't have to kill the mouse and throw it out. Yep... Today I worked for my dinner, and it felt good. 

This is a little trick I like to call "Sleeping like a snake."

You would think that my head just happened to slip off the couch this one time and that I never woke up to realize what happened. Nope. I sleep like this a lot. It is comfortable for me. I like to use my long nose to hang off the couch while I'm laying with the people. It's my couch, I can lay on it however I want.

That's why the people like to call me "Long nose face." Of course, it has its disadvantages. Not more than five minutes before posting this I ran my nose into both a metal chair and a door frame just from swinging my head around to look at stuff.

I never got to be a puppy with my people... so when Shane was sick this weekend, I cuddled up with him on the couch and let him treat me like a baby. Besides, these guys need practice for when they get a real person-baby. You know, if that baby ends up beng 90 lbs.