Moles and Obsessions

Dear Gavin,

I keep waiting for the air to become warm, cause I know that means you will be coming soon. But, I have to tell you it has been downright cold at night. I don't mind cold air so much. I sleep next to Papa, under the covers, and we stay all nice and toasty warm. The thing I don't like is thinking it will be longer until I see you.

I think it is supposed to be warm by now. I heard Gramma say so. Gramma was busy all day yesterday. She only came into the house to let us dogs out every few hours. Yesterday morning, the most disturbing thing happened. Gramma was brushing her teeth and us dogs were waiting on the love seat for her. Oscar and I always try to get to the warm spot she leaves first. Oscar was going to beat me again, I thought. But all of a sudden he jumped up and started barking his warning bark. He was mad, let me tell you! The hair on his back was standing straight up! Have you ever seen this happen? When Oscar and Emmy get mad or scared, a line of hair straight down the middle of the backs stands on end. What? Oh, Gramma says this also happens to me. Well, as you know, I cannot see my own back.

But, I digress. I like this new word 'digress' and have been waiting so long to use it. It means that I got a little off subject. So, as I was saying, Oscar jumped up and I thought I was going to get the warm spot until I looked up to see what had him so riled up ............ there was a man close up to our window looking in!!!!!!! Emmy and I joined in to let Gramma know that we had an intruder on our front porch. It was still early in the morning. Gramma's computer was still open on the table beside us. Gramma takes her computer into the store when she goes in to open it up and talk to all the campers.

Gramma came into the living room and she was still in her nightshirt, the great big t-shirt that your Uncle Jeff gave her from his work. She saw this intruder and the others with him. She was not very happy, either. She went back to her room and got dressed, then she went to the door and asked these people what they wanted .......... after she called Papa on her cell phone to tell him that we were being invaded by imbeciles. I am not sure what that means. Neither does Oscar, but we don't think it is good. After that, we hardly saw Gramma all day and she was so tired last night, she didn't even play with me before we got into bed. I sure hope that you will be here soon. A young dog like me needs to play!

Do you see this creature? Papa found it in the pool skimmer and brought it up to show us. Oscar and Emmy knew what it was and so did Papa. Do you know what this creature is? It is a mole. He digs tunnels under ground. Sometimes we see the dirt where one has been. It makes Papa crazy when he is mowing. He buys these stick things that make smoke to scare the mole away. Gramma says it is an obsession of his. I think this means he really likes doing it.

This mole drowned in the pool. Gramma said the water temperature was too low to be swimming. Wonder why this mole was swimming? I have never been swimming. I am not that fond of being wet. Gramma makes us dogs have a bath once a month ........ is this an obsession of Gramma's? Emmy tells me that she went into a mole hole once when she lived in Minnesota and pulled the mole out! We have agreed that moles are really ugly creatures. I was wondering, though, would Gramma bathe this mole and cut his toenails if he lived with us? Oscar says I am being silly. Gramma says that I am curious.

Whatever I am, I am always your dog first.

Your curious, silly dog ............. Wall-E

Toenails, She Wants To Cut My Toenails!

Dear Gavin,

I must tell you that I am feeling a little jealous seeing the picture of you and Kiley with Laila. You look so cozy there with her. You have not forgotten me, have you? Gramma says that boys never forget their first dogs. How does she know this to be true? I will admit that I have not found anything that Gramma does not know so far, but how can she know so much?

I saw that Papa filled the pool with water, so that means that it won't be much longer until I see you, right? I see other people all the time and that is nice; but it is you that I want to see the most. I like your mom, too. And I love Gramma, but they are girls and it is just not the same. Only you can understand that.

Gramma has been stalking me for two days with the toenail clippers. She is obsessed with the idea of clipping my nails. I am perfectly happy with them the way they are. Why must she insist on clipping them? She says that they are too long and that I will feel much better after having them cut. No, I think I will be quite stressed after such an ordeal. It is so scary to have those clippers around my nails. What if it hurts? Oscar tells me that once Papa clipped his nail into the quick. Quick? What is a quick? I thought quick meant fast. Oscar says that this is part of the nail that has feelings and it will actually bleed!

His bled. He says it was very traumatizing. So traumatizing that even the sight of those clippers causes him great anxiety. Emmy says he is just a big baby and only carries on so that Gramma will hold him and kiss him. He tries to act like he doesn't like it when Gramma holds him and calls him her handsome devil, but I know better. Sometimes Gramma will pick up his paw and ask if she can clip his nails. He will howl and cry and she will pick him up and hold him. I think this is their special thing! Like my special thing is helping Gramma make the bed. I am so smart. Gramma told me so.

Gramma clipped Emmy's nails last night. She just sat there and let her. Sometimes I just want to bite her! She is always so perfect. Gramma told me to watch and she even let me smell the clippers. I will admit that I smelled no blood and Emmy was fine, but I still would not allow Gramma to clip my nails. Gramma was telling Papa all of this and I was listening. Before I knew what was happening ......... she cut my nail! Okay, it didn't hurt, but I still jumped down lickety split before she could trick me again.

I suppose Laila, the boxer, is okay with having her nails clipped. She is, after all, a girl. I will never understand them, will you?

Your boy dog, Wall-E

Why Do I Need A Bath??

Dear Gavin,

I am confused. Really. Gramma mowed grass yesterday and today. I was good. I did not roll in the fresh clippings until my white hair turned green. I did not go near the bag that held all the poop Gramma removed from our yard. I did not leap into the air and bounce off the side of Gramma's leg causing her pain. I did none of these things. I was good, I tell you. My behaviour was very close to perfect! So, why, I ask you, did Gramma insist on giving me a bath today?

Gramma actually missed the monthly washing of us dogs last month. Emmy wanted to remind her, but Oscar and I threatened to tell on her for getting out of the fence and show Gramma where the opening was. Gramma found it anyway, so I guess it was just a matter of time before we would have that bath ............

Oscar just closes his eyes and lets Gramma bath him. Really, there isn't much he could do to stop her. When Gramma decides it is time for a bath ..... it is time for a bath. Gramma says that Oscar was starting to smell like a hound. I thought he was a hound. But, Gramma says that if you sleep in her bed you will also have a bath.

Emmy likes a bath. Her hair gets curly when it gets wet. She likes for Gramma to hold her all wrapped up like a baby. Oscar and I prefer to shake and run round and round in circles. You should try it, it is fun.

After I run in circles and am almost dry I snuggle up on this blanket. Do you remember this blanket? You gave it to me when I was a little puppy. You told me that it was your blanket when you were a little baby. It doesn't smell like you anymore. Gramma washed it. She sure does like to wash stuff, doesn't she? She sat down with me tonight after I ran round and round in circles. She picked me up and held me. She told me that I was a good boy for not fighting with her while she washed me. That made me feel better. Then she told me that you hated to bathe, too! She told me that you did not want to take a shower while she was there and that she had to make you get into the shower and then she had to make you use shampoo and soap. Then, she said you would not get out of the shower!!

Gramma says that when you talked later you admitted to her that the shower made you feel good! She said that you told her that you didn't know why you hated to get in. This is amazing! I feel exactly the same way! Gramma scrubbed me until I was squeaky clean and I have to admit that I feel great! We are alike, you and I. I am missing you tonight, my boy. But, the weather is getting warmer every day and I know I will see you soon. I will make a pact with you. I won't give Gramma a hard time about my bath if you won't give your mom a hard time about your shower. Deal? Okay. Don't forget that I love you!!

Your deal making dog, Wall-E

Hide And Seek

Dear Gavin,

Gramma said she felt uninspired to write, so I am taking over today. She wanted to show me pictures that she took of you, but she lost her camera cords at your house. She was looking to buy more, but your mom called and said she found them! Gramma was very happy about that, let me tell you! You know she loves to take pictures, but she couldn't even charge her camera!

Enough about that. Uncle Jeffy sent this picture to her so that she could show me. She tells me that you were at the American Girl store. Were you the only boy there?? Gramma says that you were a good sport. Sport? I thought that was playing baseball. Words are very confusing sometimes. Is that Kiley? How did she get there? Gramma says that Kiley flew on a plane for the very first time to go see you. She says that you guys were busy the whole time and had great fun.

I am happy that you had fun, but I wanted to tell you about some of the fun I have been having. Did you know that it has been raining almost every day this month? This month is April and Gramma tells me that April showers bring May flowers. She has lots of these sayings; Papa told me so. I don't know about flowers. There are these yellow flowers everywhere, but Gramma says that they are weeds. The way she says it make me think that weeds are not good things. She pulls them up and puts them in a pile that she burns. I don't think she likes them. They are everywhere and I kind of think they are cool. In our yard they grew very tall. Gramma wanted to mow them down, but the rain keeps coming and Papa tells her it is too wet to mow.

These flowers that Gramma calls dandelions are not yellow anymore. They are very tall and have these fluffy poms poms where the yellow flowers used to be. Us dogs pretend that we are in a jungle when we go out between rain storms. I even managed to hide behind a big clump of these dandelion weeds. I blend better, since my fur is white and Oscar and Emmy have black fur. I like to hide and wait for Oscar to walk by, then I jump into the air and pounce on him. He will chase me round and round the yard. Sometimes he will growl and snap at me, though. That means he doesn't want to play. Gramma says that we are playing hide and seek. She told me that you like that game, too. Maybe you will want to play when you come to see me this summer.

Now that I have told you about the game, I think I will go to the door so that Gramma will take us outside. Remember that I love you ........... and don't get lost in the dandelion fluff!

Your clever dog, Wall-E

Gramma Is Home!!!

Dear Gavin,

She came home yesterday. Papa went to the airport to get her. He did ask us if we would like to go, but we took a vote and decided to just wait here. As you know, I do not like long car trips unless Gramma is holding me. Oscar has been bothered by his shoulder and did not want to go, since his favorite thing to do is stand up against the door to look out the window. Emmy decided to just stay with us. She is pretty easy going, you know.


We heard the sound of Gramma's car as it came into the park. I went to the window to let the others know that it was indeed our car, with Gramma in it! I saw her first! "Hurry!!" we all barked and then Oscar started to howl with joy. Emmy joined in. I tried, but I don't do so well with this howling. Oscar says my pitch is too high and the sound I make is annoying. Can you believe he said that to me? He called it "constructive criticism", I called it rude.


Finally, Papa opened the door and we all ran to greet her. She was so happy to see us. She was talking to us and petting us. I am tallest, so I got the very first pet! While she was petting the others I leaned against her leg and sniffed ................ I smelled you! I did!! I jumped and ran in circles. Then I ran to the car to see if just maybe you might be in it! I knew that Gramma said that it would be a lot warmer before you came to see me, but I just wanted to make sure. You were not in the car. That is okay, I will just go sniff Gramma some more.


So, there I was sniffing sweet boy smells, and I detected more smells. I smelled the girls. There was a strong smell of Jada on Gramma's neck mixed with a little bit of Zara. I bet Jada gave Gramma a big hug before she got on the plane. Maybe Zara was not in a hugging mood. I did not detect any Maya smells either. I suppose she must have been in school. I could smell your Uncle Jeff, too. I continued sniffing and ................. I smell another dog! I smell cat, too. No, wait, I smell even another dog on her shoes! It is that giant dog, Georgie, the one who lives with Gage and Layla and Aunt Jill and Uncle Nick. I am so scared of her. But, don't tell her, okay?


I smelled another smell of a dog and I searched my memory, cause I think I know this smell. It is the smell of a Boxer. Not Rocky, but I think I must have been very young when I knew this dog. There was a spot on Gramma's leg. I think this dog from my past may have licked Gramma's pant leg. I thought and I thought. I kept going to that one spot and sniffing. I know this smell. I knew this smell when I lived at your house when I was just a pup. I got it!! I remember this Boxer .... her name is Laila! She is Leah's dog. How did her smell get on Gramma? I remember playing with Laila when I lived with you. Did Gramma go see her while she stayed with you? I heard Gramma tell someone that she would be keeping a bride's dog while she took care of you. I don't really know what a bride is, but I guess that Leah must be one.


I sent Gramma with lots of kisses for you. Did she kiss you a lot? I told her to give you all my kisses. I am glad that Gramma went to see you and take care of you, but .......... I am really glad she is home!


Your very happy dog, Wall-E

I Did A Bad, Bad Thing

Dear Gavin,

The day began so nice. Gramma had good sleep and we played on her bed while she made it. I like to jump onto the bed while she tries to pull the covers straight and get under them. She pulls me out and we do this over and over again until she claps her hands and says "Enough!!". That is my signal to stop and let her finish making the bed and putting all the pillows on it. Then I jump upon the bed again and run in circles while Gramma laughs at me. It is our thing. Just me and Gramma. The other dogs can't jump up on the bed and, as you know, Papa does not make beds.

We did our thing this morning and then Gramma had her coffee. She asked Papa to please get the mower into our back yard so she could mow. I was really happy to hear this, cause the grass in our yard is getting pretty tall, let me tell you! Makes it hard for a fella to do his business! But, you may be wondering why Papa had to get the mower into the backyard. Well, the wind was blowing so hard the other day that it took the gate down and Papa nailed it shut. Gramma cannot open the gate to bring the mower in. I will tell you a secret that Papa does not know. Gramma tried to bring the mower through the house, but it was too wide to get through the doorway in the kitchen. Gramma thought about turning it on it's side, but she was afraid she would get gas on the floor. That would not be good. Gramma has been a little hazardous with all things related to fires lately.

So, Papa goes off to work and Gramma and us dogs go into the back yard. Gramma cleaned a section at a time and then mowed with the blade high, then again with the blade low. I must admit that she does a fine job mowing. But the clean up part is where I got in trouble. Gramma had some of those handy dandy WalMart bags in her pocket. She put one over her hand and held the other one in the other hand while she put all the things that dog, Zeek, had chewed up in his short stay here. She also picked up our poop. She was singing this song about tootsie rolls and laughing. She likes to make up songs, you know. Oscar says she has been doing this for as long as he can remember. He says the tootsie roll song is one of her favorites to sing while she is on poop patrol. Whatever it is I think I see becomes a tootsie roll to me .......... then she laughs. But back to my little escapade ...........

I thought since she was in such a good mood that she might enjoy a little game. She had been throwing the frisbee for me and had complimented me on my ability to run with it in my mouth. Oscar cannot do this ........ his legs are way too short and he ends up tripping himself. I was so happy to be outside and playing games that I got a little carried away. Gramma was holding the handy dandy WalMart bag full of poop and I jumped up and grabbed it. Apparently this is not a good thing to do. I sort of ripped the bag open and all the poop and trash fell to the ground and before I could stop myself I took a little roll in it.

Yes, I knew I shouldn't, but I have impulses. Sometimes I just can't help myself. Gramma is no longer singing. She is not very happy with me and I had to have a bath. Did you know that I get way more baths than Oscar and Emmy? This is just not fair! The sky is even unhappy and it looks like it is going to rain. I wish you were here to play with me and the frisbee. I will show you how great I am at that game when I see you this summer. I suppose I will just go take a nap now that Gramma is so grouchy. When she gets grouchy, us dogs get grouchy, too!

Your grouchy dog, Wall-E

Getting The Store Ready

Dear Gavin, I wish the weather would turn warm! I know that Gramma and Papa will be very busy when it gets warm, but I am really tired of all the ice and snow, aren't you? Gramma said that soon you will be playing baseball. I wish I could go watch you play. I would be so good. I would sit in Gramma's lap and I wouldn't even chase the ball. Really. I wouldn't. I would want to, but I wouldn't. Gramma told Papa to get in her car the other day. She said they were going to Sam's. Who is Sam? Papa said that they should take the truck if they were going to get supplies for the store. Gramma said they should drive her car because she got better mileage. What is this mileage she speaks of and who is Sam? Papa said okay, but that they would have to cram everything in tightly and that Gramma may end up without any leg room. Leg room?What does that mean? Leg room, mileage, and who is this one they call Sam??

They got into Gramma's car without answering any of my questions. I think that is very rude, don't you? They were gone a long time and Oscar was in charge. He insisted that we nap the entire time. The fire went out and they did not turn the furnace up, so we all snuggled together with a blanket and slept. Well, they slept, I was still wondering about Sam and why they went to see him and why Gramma would have to hold her legs in the air while something called mileage was low. I was very confused.

Finally, they returned. Sam's is a store. A really big store were you can buy lots of stuff. Did you know that? Papa and Gramma were bringing all kinds of boxes into the store and the house. Us dogs went out the front door to let them know how much we missed them. Really, we just wanted some treats from them. If you are very careful and really cute ...... you can get a treat from Papa and then another one from Gramma. Bet you didn't know that!

I saw Emmy get into the car. She was looking every where for treats for us dogs. She even checked the front seat, but she could not find any.

I climbed in and helped with the search. There was lots of candy. See that big bag called Hot Tamales? I tried one and it burned my tongue. I spit it out and Emmy ate it. I won't be doing that again!

I was very disappointed. A bunch of candy and crackers for the store, but no yummy treats for us dogs!

Emmy looked to the right .........

and she looked to the left while I continued to search for those treats. Emmy told me that my efforts were useless and she was looking for Gramma so that she could get down.

Turns out that they did get treats for us, but they took them in first and they were waiting until they unloaded the car to give us one. Gramma was happy to report that she had plenty of leg room and that they saved a lot of money driving her car instead of Papa's truck.

I will be waiting patiently for you to get here when the sun starts to shine and melts all the ice away. I know that you will not forget to bring me a treat! I just might have a treat for you, too, my boy. Don't forget that I love you!

Your patient dog, Wall-E