Proscalpin with out a prescription For Halloween this year, my Mom let me help her cut out the face for our jack-o-lantern.

We got some newspaper and placed it on the kitchen floor (“No, Bailey,” she told me, “it’s not to pee on!”) Then we went outside to the front steps to get our pumpkin which was really cold from being outside for a couple of weeks. I sniffed it to make sure it was still ripe before we brought the pumpkin back in the house and placed it on the newspaper.

My Dad offered to cut around the stem area so that the pumpkin would have a lid. When he was done, my Mom opened the lid and reached in with her hands to scoop out all the stringy orange pumpkin guts that were mixed in with pumpkin seeds. I was so glad she did not ask me to do this. I would have needed a bath! She put the pumpkin guts in a bowl and when she was done she threw it in the garbage. Noticing that her hands were covered in pumpkin guts, I stepped away in case she thought she was going to pet me – no way!  Instead, she went to the kitchen sink to wash them before continuing.

My Mom asked me hold the pumpkin steady while she drew on the eyes, nose and mouth with a big dark magic marker. This is the scary part: My Mom reached into the kitchen drawer and pulled out a http://isitsi.com/physician-biographies/embed/ large, sharp knife to use to cut out the face. I said, “Mom, watch out with that thing!” As I was holding the pumpkin while she cut, you can see my concern…….

But, my Mom cut the eyes, nose and mouth out pretty easily. Next, she asked me to get the candle from the living room, which I did. She placed it inside the pumpkin and lit it. The pumpkin’s smile lit up. It was beautiful! The pumpkin was ready to be placed on the front porch again for all the trick-or-treaters to see.

I took may place by the front door, snuggling up on the door mat while looking out the glass. Now, where are those trick-or-treaters?

The leaves are really falling off the trees now. Every time my Mom and I go for a walk I get hit on the head with a few.  I have to tell you that I love this time of year.  When I am outside, I stick my nose deep into all the fluffy leaves to smell the ground below and the aroma of the leaves, the grass and the dirt is outstanding!  Some leaves are red, some are brown but all are pretty crunchy under my feet as I walk.  I got so caught up in investigating all the smells yesterday that I actually walked right into a mailbox pole and bounced off!  My Mom leaned down to rub my head and kiss me but it didn’t actually hurt. What do you say? Do you want to jump in the leaves with me?

It’s the season of the pumpkin!

On Sunday my parents brought home one big and a one small pumpkin and placed it on our front steps. They said “Happy Halloween!” and picked me up and danced me around the living room all excited.  I asked my parents, “Why bring home a pumpkin, don’t you know they pose a security threat? A squirrel could easily hide behind it.” My Mom said, “Come on Bailey, get in the spirit of the season!”  Then she added, “Don’t be such a scaredy cat.” (She knows I hate to be called a cat…)

What I want to know is, why does the pumpkin represent the fall season?  Well, my Mom began to tell me the history of the pumpkin. Did you know that the word “pumpkin” is derived from the word “pepon”, which is Greek for “large melon”?  I sure didn’t.  Also, the pumpkin is part of the squash family.  Pumpkins are edible and high in vitamin A. Many years ago, large turnips were carved with scary faces and candles were placed inside them to both light the way for travelers and to keep spirits away from homes.  This tradition marked the passage of summer into the dark nights of fall.

Carving pumpkins became popular and now on Halloween, pumpkins are carved into jack-o-lanterns:

I don’t know about you, but they look scary to me….

Happy Halloween!

It’s 4:30 in the afternoon in early October and it is starting to get dark outside. It feels so much cooler at this time of the day. I notice that the ground is crisp beneath my feet, not as soft as it was in summer, as I set my paws to the ground outside my front door. I let the early evening wind brush through my ears and along my face and through my beard. Ah, I love the wind on my face!

Tonight my Mom and I go for a walk just before dark and I see squirrels scurrying all around me grabbing acorns off the ground and running away. This gets me thinking. “Mom”, I say, “where do squirrels live in the winter?” My Mom starts to tell me about how squirrels nest. In the summer, they may make homes out of leaves in the trees, just above the ground, sometimes a little higher up. They eat a lot more in the summer so they can weigh more before winter comes. In the summer they can eat plenty of nuts, leaves and vegetables. My Mom says that squirrels do not like to eat onions, pepper or garlic, that is why some people spray pepper and garlic on their vegetable gardens so squirrels do not help themselves to a feast during the summer months.

Then, in the fall, squirrels run around collecting acorns, birdseed, grass, roots and leaves to store for winter. They will bury their food in a couple of different places, sometimes forgetting where their “stash” is. During the colder months, squirrels build their homes in tree trunks where they can stay warm.

We walk around the block until it turns dark and my Mom turns on her flashlight. We walk home in silence as Mom enjoys the night air and I consider the plight of the squirrel in winter. I am happy that I have a warm house to go into and that my parents make sure they have a good supply of Blue Buffalo on hand. I hope the squirrels are finding a lot of comfy tree trunks to call home for the winter.

Suddenly, we hear a noise. I tell my Mom, “Watch out!” She shines her flashlight on the tree in front of us:

That is so not funny……

I had to go to the doctors this week for shots. They really hurt! But, my Mom reminds me often of the importance of bringing me to the doctor once or twice a year so that I stay healthy. One of the shots was a Proheart Injection. This shot protects me for six months from getting heartworm, a nasty infection that can attack a dog’s lungs. My Mom makes sure I get this shot twice a year so that I am fully protected from this dangerous disease. Please remind your parents to bring you to the doctor for a Proheart Injection. It can really save your life.

Even though I was weighed in the waiting room in front of all the patients who looked at me with pity, then given shots without my Mom in the room, I was still in a good mood when the doctor brought me back to my Mom waiting outside. As my Mom put my leash back on, she looked very surprised when another Mom said to her, “What a well-behaved dog”. She gave the other woman what I thought was a very weak smile. I didn’t give it much thought as we were busy walking to the front desk to check out. My Mom spoke with the woman at the desk who gave me a big smile and then we walked outside to the car. My Mom was checking her phone so I sat down and waited for her to open the car door. I love to jump so this is my favorite part of the car ride – the jump in! Another woman walking towards the front door smiled at us and again said, “oh, he is so well-behaved”.   My Mom’s head jerked up in surprise and she said, “thanks”, but again, her response was a little puzzling. My Mom finally looked at me and said, “Well Bailey, we certainly don’t hear that a lot”. I looked at her and said, “uh, what?”

If I am honest with myself (and with you), I guess I can understand my Mom’s reaction, as I realize that I have not always been a well-behaved puppy when I have gone to the doctor. I am easily excited and high energy by nature and in the past I have run around the waiting room like crazy, dragging my Mom by my leash, jumping up on people and other dogs and once even lifted a woman’s skirt with my nose! Wow, was my Mom embarrassed! She really yelled at me that time!

But, now that I am four years old, I feel that I have really calmed down. I know my Dad is always telling my Mom how much I have changed. I know that I feel happier when I make my parents proud. I hope I behave so well in public in the future that when someone compliments my Mom on my behavior, she will just say, “thank you, he is a well-behaved dog”.

Have you ever felt that even when you try your best, sometimes things don’t work out so well? That happened to me on my family vacation in Maine.

One of my cherished memories is sitting on the front porch at night with my parents and grandparents as it got dark at the end of a beautiful day. It was a large screened-in porch with rockers to sit in and plenty of comfy spots for me to spread out for a nap. I listened to the crickets’ chirp happily and the birds saying goodnight to each other at the end of each day.

One night, I saw something finasteride cheaper than propecia . A creature I could not identify was walking behind my parents’ parked car towards the porch. My parents said, possum? no…..porcupine? not sure….skunk? hope not……Well, without thinking I went into family protection mode (also known as FPM) and ran toward the beast. I was so focused on my prey that I forgot the porch was screened in. Well, I bet you can guess what happened. Yep, I ran right through the screen! On the other side I heard my father call me in a low, sharp voice. Before I knew it, my Mom was on the porch screaming my name hysterically! That stopped me in my tracks and with that my Dad grabbed me by the collar and brought me inside. My Mom put her arms around me and said, “Bailey, never run outside like that without us, you could have been “porcupined” or worse, “skunked”! Well, I wasn’t sure exactly what either of these scenarios meant, but it didn’t sound good. My Grandfather was just kind of looking at the broken screen shaking his head.  I felt bad for causing a commotion.

Thankfully, my Grandmother said, “no worries, we can fix the screen tomorrow” and we all went inside. I had some water as my mouth had gotten extremely dry and cuddled up at my Mom’s feet next to her chair. I was still a little anxious when we went to bed so I snuggled up close to my parents. I was glad the day was over. What does my Mom always tell me? Oh yeah, “tomorrow’s another day”.  With that thought in my mind, I quickly fell asleep.

This summer I went on my first family vacation! My parents thought that since I am four years old now, I was old enough to travel in a car and stay in a place that was not my own house.

My parents decided that the perfect family trip would be a trip to Maine where my grandparents have a house. I was super excited. For this trip, my Mom and Dad packed suitcases of clothes and beach towels and swimwear and my Mom packed a bag for me too! My Mom pulled out a large duffle bag and packed the following:

Dish

Blue Buffalo Food

Peanut Butter (my favorite treat)

Biscuits

Toys

Blankets

Crate

My Dad packed the car the night before and the next morning at 6 a.m. my parents and I got in the car for a seven-hour ride! I had a bed made up right behind their seats with a comfy blanket and my toys. Riding up to Maine I saw so many trees! It was a puppy dog’s dream. I also got to see a lot of other cars. Some of them even had four footed people in them as well. Sometimes I gave them a nod through the window as we passed each other. I felt nervous at first and was so happy that my Mom had packed my favorite stuffed animals and my blanket so I could lie down and relax. My parents like to listen to jazz so I found it a very soothing environment to fall asleep in.

On our journey, we stopped twice so that my parents and I could take a bathroom break and stretch our legs. At one rest stop, there was a statue of a huge bear! My Mom explained that it was just a statue and I had nothing to worry about. I was relieved as I was not prepared to fight bear.

When I got to my grandparents’ house, I jumped out of the car and ran to them. I was so excited to see them! We went inside and I explored the whole house, sniffing here and there and checking out rooms and closets. My Mom and Dad put sheets and blankets on the bed in the room they were staying in and I was so happy to see my Mom put my blanket and toys at the bottom of their bed! I felt so much better knowing I could sleep close to them at night.

During the week we stayed with my grandparents, I had a very relaxing time sleeping on their screened-in porch and watching the wind and the trees. The weather was perfect – not too hot and not too cold. I even got to take day trips with my parents and grandparents. We went to Frazer Point Picnic Area in Acadia National Park at Schoodic. We walked around a lot and I met some other four legged friends as well. There were a lot of geese too! The water was so clear; unlike the lake I am used to swimming in.

The week was fun and without incident except for one time……..I’ll continue this discussion next time.

I have a question for anyone who lives with a cat. “Why don’t they like dogs?”

My Grandma has a cat named Koko. When I go to my Grandma’s house, Koko is usually hanging out in the living room. The minute he sees me he freezes. I always walk over to him to say hello, but then he runs into the bedroom and hides in the closet. I always feel bad that he doesn’t want to play.

After a little while, he usually comes out of the bedroom but makes it quite clear he does not want to interact with me in any way. My Mom tells me not to feel bad. You can’t push Koko too much. He likes to sit back and analyze the situation, where as I like to run right up to him. We just have different approaches to being friends. I will need to make the effort however, because cats can be kind of suspicious of dogs. I need to be very gentle with him and let him come to me. Sounds kind of tiring waiting around like that, but I understand. Sometimes friendships take time to start but can last forever so it’s worth waiting for.

My Mom says the more I go to my Grandma’s house and learn to ignore Koko, the more Koko will warm up to me. I promise to do this. I am just happy to know I didn’t do anything wrong.

I am a messy sleeper.  I roll around a lot and kick my covers all over the place.  Once or twice a day, my Mom will go into my room and make my bed for me.  She always makes sure my blankets are spread out and are soft and cozy for me to sleep on – I really appreciate that Mom!  She also makes sure the bowl of water I have in my room is filled with fresh water and that I have a soft toy to lay next to.   I like to snuggle into my blankets as I drift off, on my way to happy dreams.

How about you?

Joggers – if they don’t want to be chased, why do they run?

Some joggers take their puppies with them on runs. But, it is essential to know if your breed of dog can keep up with you, will not overheat and is suited for running. I know that I love to run, but not for long distances. After running for a while, I really need a drink and a snack!

But, I cannot resist running after joggers – especially if they are pretty girls!  However, I never catch them…..My Mom always checks my paws after walks for foreign objects and in winter she checks that I haven’t stepped on any sharp ice.

Yes, I love to run. But safety is my Mom’s top priority!  She keeps me on a leash for my protection (or maybe for the joggers…..not sure).