ZORRO THE DOG

On Monday I found a very large sparerib bone during my walk. I picked it up to carry it home but Mommy made me drop it because she is mean. I tried to get it the next day but she was too quick and pulled me away before I could grab it. I did not see it yesterday, when Daddy walked us, and Momma would not let me near the spot to check for it today, so I fear that another dog may have taken it. Sigh. I would so like to have that sparerib bone!

I am working on a plan with Cruiser. He will try to distract Momma tomorrow near the place I found the bone so I can look for it. He will have to keep distracting her all the way home so she does not notice it but I think he can do it. If that does not work we will do the same thing but with Daddy. He does not know about the sparerib bone.

One day the sparerib bone shall be mine. Oh yes, it shall be mine.

Hi everybody this is Cruiser! How are you? I am very happy! Did you know that I got THREE new tennis balls last month? I did! It is so exciting! Momma gave them to me because I am real good!

I can play with a tennis ball for hours! In the picture I have the purple one which is my favorite. I like to fetch the tennis balls outside and then I bring them in and wave them around and toss them in the air and roll them and chew on them! It is SO FUN!

I am having a good day today! I slept in and then I played with my orange ball some and then Momma petted me and then we went for a walk! When we got home Momma gave us a new toy and we all played tug with it! I helped rip it! I am very good!

love,
Cruiser!

Hello internet. It has been a difficult month. First Sugar got bronchitis. She felt okay except she coughed a lot and her cough sounded like a goose honking. At first it was funny but then it was just annoying to hear HONK HONK HONK all the time. She would try to bark at the contractors outside and instead just HONK HONK HONK would come out. Fortunately she would realize that she was not scary at all and would take a nap instead.

After Sugar got better I got sick. Momma took me to the vet and she said I had something called an allergic reaction. I have never had one before. It made me itchy. I am all better now but I had to take an antibiotic for a while and also something called Benadryl. It made me sleepy.

Worst of all is that I have been fighting with Mommy a lot. She won't listen to me! I keep telling her that it is too dangerous to sleep in the bedroom because the roof is going to fall in. We need to sleep in the living room all together! This is very important! But she WON'T LISTEN! She says the roof is not falling in and that it is just acorns falling on the roof but that is ridiculous! The bedroom is VERY DANGEROUS! I yell at her at night and she gets frustrated with me and scolds me and makes me lie down and even my medicine was not helping very much. I was really mad at her for a long time and scolded her a lot, even during the day.

I missed Mommy though and really I think I just need to be held and snuggled more. So I have been more snuggly with Mommy and we are both happier. She says that the acorns are almost all gone and the ceiling has not fallen in yet so I guess the bedroom is okay for now.

I think I need more treats.

Here in Massachusetts we did not get much of a summer. It rained for all of June and most of July and when it did not rain it was very muggy and there were lots of mosquitoes. Because of this I did not stay outside as much as I would have liked.

But now fall is here, and it is cooler and there are far fewer mosquitoes. It has been so nice outside and I have been spending a lot of time in my holes. It is a joy to dig in the cool air and then rest and observe my yard. It is going to be a very good autumn, I am sure of it.

We would like to announce that as of today, Sugar is officially a member of our pack. She is fully licensed by the state and tomorrow she will get a tag with our address on it!

Please welcome Miss Sugar to our family. We do not know if we will let her post here or not. (She is a whippersnapper.)

Yours truly,
ZORRO
and Cruiser!

Cruiser mostly likes to play with tennis balls, but Sugar and I like to wrestle. We wrestle together a lot. (I always win.) Sometimes I do not feel like playing but when I do want to wrestle I am glad that Sugar always wants to play with me!

My tip is to work the legs. Also do not let other dogs sit on you if you are the alpha.

I have not been groomed in some time, so I have grown increasingly fluffy. I have also begun to shed so I have required a lot of brushing, which is very nice. I like to be brushed. It feels very nice and it is soothing. Also, it means my fur is very shiny and well cared-for. I am very handsome.

I will need to be groomed before Thanksgiving, but in the meantime I am enjoying this more-wild look. I am Zorro the Wild-Dog, King of the Yard and the Forests!

Hi everybody! I am Cruiser! My momma says that normally I am very silly but I am very serious about popcorn! I had a piece last week and now Daddy says I have a taste for it. Popcorn is so yummy!

Daddy has a little popcorn a few times during the week and when he does I sit near him and watch closely to see if he will give me any. Popcorn is very yummy and I take waiting for it very seriously!

love,
Cruiser!

Now that it is cooler there are fewer bugs so it is very nice to be outside. I have spent a lot of time outside yesterday and today. It is very nice to be able to dig and enjoy my holes again! Also it is nice to take naps in the sunshine on the grass.

I would like to sleep outside too but Momma and Daddy say no. It is not fair. I think we should all go camp in the yard. I will dig a nice hole for everyone so we will all be comfy. And we can barbecue for dinner and for breakfast! I think this is a very good plan.

Hello everyone. I apologize for not posting very often. I have something important to write today but it is sad. One month ago today, my aunt Belle passed away. You may remember Aunt Belle as the doggie who lived with Mommy's father and stepmother. Everyone is still very sad.

Aunt Belle was a very nice girl who was always kind to me. She let everyone play with her toys, even her rawhides, and always let us sit on her couch. She was friendly and gentle with everyone and even though Sugar barked at her the first time they met, Aunt Belle knew that Sugar was just a silly girl who was nervous about meeting a new dog. We will all miss Aunt Belle very much.

Momma was away on a trip when Aunt Belle died. When she came home and found out she was very sad and she snuggled with me and held me for a long time. She told me that I have to live forever. I told her I would try my best.

Hello everyone. Today is very special for two reasons. It is Independence Day here in the United States, and also it is my birthday! That is right! I am now eleven years old. I think I look very handsome and have improved with age. Don't you think I look very distinguished? I think I look very distinguished. Other dogs are jealous of my handsomeness.

We had a lot of fun today. We went up north to visit Mommy's father and stepmother and brother and I played in their yard. I also sat outside on their porch and I cooled off under the deck. And THEN we got a bit of hamburger with our dinners! That was very special and the hamburger is very tasty. I think Mommy's father makes the best dinners!

I am very sleepy now but it was worth it to have such a nice day! I hope you had a good 4th of July too, everyone!

Yours truly,
ZORRO
who is now ELEVEN
and very handsome.

Hi everyone! The last two days have been very hard because there has been rain and thunder and wind all day and night and Zorro was scared so I was scared and now we are all very tired. But it is quiet now so instead I will tell you about our new frisbee! It stopped raining one afternoon this week so we could play outside and Momma gave me a new red plastic frisbee! I like frisbees very much and so did Sugar so we would race to fetch it (I won every time!! I am very good at frisbee!) and then we would tug on it. We had such a good time!

I hope it stops raining again so we can play with the frisbee some more! Frisbee is so fun!

love,
Cruiser!

It has been raining a lot and sometimes there has been thunder. I am very scared of thunder and even if I take my special medicine I still need to be held. If my people snuggle me I will calm down. It is really the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to have good snugglers for people.

Hi everybody! Here is a picture of me and Sugar looking out the window. There have been so many animals in the yard this year that it is good to have help with my sentry duties! Zorro and I are thinking of making Sugar Vice Sentry in charge of the Department of Squirrels but we haven't decided yet and Zorro says not to tell her anything because she will get a swelled head. Zorro says she is still a whippersnapper!

It has been raining a lot and I do not like it because then we can't play outside after dinner. I would like it to be sunny again please. Also I need more petting.

love,
Cruiser!

We have a new neighbor. Her name is Buffett (after someone called Jimmy Buffett) and she is a Wheaten Terrier and she is very pretty. I do not know what it is about her but she makes me and Cruiser crazy! (Mommy says that maybe she is not spayed but I do not see what that has to do with anything.) She lives behind us and I would like her to notice how handsome I am so sometimes I pose in our yard so maybe she will see. Here is a picture of me earlier this year. As you can see I am showing off my fabulous tail, which is the best of my very fine features. I hope she noticed.

Cruiser and I have been trying to teach Sugar how to guard the house. It is very hard though because she is scared of strangers so she barks at anyone she sees. We have been trying to show her that we just bark at delivery-persons who come to the house, hawks, and dangerous yard-animals, but she is very stubborn. She says that all strangers are scary bad people who want to come to the house and take away Momma and Daddy. Sigh. She has a lot to learn. (Fortunately I am a very patient teacher.)

Hello everyone! I am Cruiser and because I am a Sentry Zorro said that I should update about the animals that are near the house. The biggest threat to the security of Zorro's kingdom this year is RABBITSES! Zorro says there used to be a lot of rabbitses when he first lived with Mommy and Daddy but then there were a lot of hawks and no more rabbitses but now they are BACK! They like our yard very much and eat our grass and they groom themselves in front of the window to tease us, which is not very nice. Also they like to hide in the brush pile and in the day lilies I think. They are very dangerous animals so one day I slipped out the door when Daddy opened it so I could track them and give chase! I did not catch any rabbits but Zorro said I did good reconnaissance, which means looking around. Daddy said I was very naughty for sneaking out the door but Zorro knows that I was being very brave!

There are lots of other animals too. There are a lot of squirrels but I do not think they are that interesting so I let Sugar and Zorro bark at them. There are lots of chipmunks too and I catch their scent a lot outside and I think maybe this will be the year that I catch one! I hope so! There have also been groundhogs but I will talk about them later!

love,
Cruiser!

Hello everyone! It is I, Zorro, your King!

The past few months have been very exciting. There has been a lot of playing, some park trips, and special treats. There is a lot of wildlife in the yard now, which Cruiser will tell you about shortly. Also this week the deer have started to attack again. You should know that one attacked the house on Thursday night and TWO tried to attack while we were out for our walk on Friday afternoon but everyone was saved by my heroic barking. I will show those deer who is boss! And King!

Last month Mommy and Daddy did a very bad thing. There was Unauthorized Leaving for a whole week! I do not think I have ever been without both of my people for that long before. We went to camp and I had a nice time but I missed Momma and Daddy and I was glad when they came home. They say they went some place called London but I do not care! They must never leave me again! Also I should get extra treats for a whole year! Humph!

Sugar is still with us and I think she is going to stay. I am a very good big brother so I think she is lucky to live with me. I will teach her more things. Already she has learned to bark at deer!

Well that is it for now. I hope you are well, internet people!

Hello everyone! Momma said I had to come to the vet today. She said it looked like I had a hot spot on my leg and I did not think so but I had to go. The vet said Momma caught it very early so I do not need antibiotics, just spray! And I do not have to wear a cone! That is good because Zorro says cones are bad.

I also had a blood blister and a black-haired wart on my back legs. Those should be fine on their own but Momma is supposed to watch them.

I was very nervous going to the vet by myself but I was braver than last time! And afterwards she took me for a special treat!

love,
Cruiser!

It has been rainy all day today. I do not care for rain and I especially do not care for wet grass. I do not want to go in the yard to pee and we could not go for a walk and this is all very bad. Momma did give us new toys to play with, though. The playing was fun.

I hope tomorrow will be sunny and nice again so I can play outside.