Introductions

On Thursday morning, I took Baxter over to Riverside Park to meet my best friend Laika, and the entire Riverside Social Club. Everyone got along famously and we all enjoyed a beautiful spring morning.

Three's Company

Tonight Baxter attended his first dinner party, hosted by me of course.


We invited over Ralph Furley (just called Furley for short), a 3 month old Border Terrier puppy and his parents Kavin and Reshma.

What fun!

We wuffed chasing the little guy around and around the coffee table.

We played in Central Park, chewed hooves together, and generally made a mess of things...

In the BX

New York City is comprised of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Queens and the Bronx.

Until today, I had visited every borough except the Bronx - aka the Block, the BX, the Boogie-Down, and Home of the Bombers. This is where mom's friend Holly lives, and is also the home of Jozsi and Momo.

Mom had an extra special treat for us today. We all went for an afternoon run in Van Cortlandt park with these two crazy V's and their dad, Mr. Andrew.

We had fun exploring this 1,200 acre "wildlife preserve" leaping over logs, rushing through streams, and being chased by a couple Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome types on very loud and smelly motor bikes. My Vicious Vizsla ferocity put the fear of the mighty V's in them and they didn't other us too much.

Here are some glamor and not-so-glamorous shots of us rocking the park.


BTW, I really wuff Mr. Andrew -- he refers to me as Her Majesty and The Queen.

So appropriate.

I wuff him!!!

Expedition: Central Park

This morning, I thought it was time to give Baxter a full tour of northern Central Park. We met some of my favorite morning buddies: Khaluah, Eray. And some new friends too.

Showing Him the Ropes

Being an aunt is tough work. I have the great responsibility of showing Baxter the way an urban mutt lives. We actually have a lot of rules in the Big Apple. And I think some of these he's having a hard time figuring out.

Rule 1:
There is no crying in the apartment

Rule 2:
There is no crying in the apartment

Rule 3:
There is NO crying in the apartment

Today he broke rules 1 through 3, and added the ultimate sin on top.

HE BARKED

It was a horror scene. He was wondering where everyone was and called out to me.

"Brisztow!"
"Brrrrrisztow"

I said "Quiet! Quiet!"


"Brisztow!"
"Brrrrrisztow"
"Quiet! Quiet!"


"Brisztow!"
"Brrrrrisztow"
"Quiet! Quiet!"

All of this back and forth had the other dogs on the floor quiet worried. They didn't know what the trouble was and why Baxter was creating such a fuss.

So they joined in.

"Brisztow!"
"Brrrrrisztow"
"Quiet! Quiet!"

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Trouble!"
"Trouble!"

Which in turn got the dogs on floors one and three to chime in...

"Brisztow!"
"Brrrrrisztow"
"Quiet! Quiet!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Trouble!"
"Trouble!"

"Helllllllooooooooooooo! Helllllllooooooooooooo!"
"Danger! Da, da, da, danger!"

Until finally all six floors' dogs were alerted to the fact that Baxter was wondering what I was up to.

"Brisztow!"
"Brrrrrisztow"
"Quiet! Quiet!"
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Trouble!"
"Trouble!"
"Helllllllooooooooooooo! Helllllllooooooooooooo!"
"Danger! Da, da, da, danger!"

"POLICE! Somebody call the POLICE!"
"Oratleastaboarddirectortogetthemtobequiet!"


___



Mom said that was the point at which she was called to come home. From work. In the middle of her morning.

The doorman said in all of his 19 years with the building he never heard such a cacophony.

She wasn't happy.

But she learned to keep the TV on.

A Brief Pause

[Pant, Pant]
I am just ... pant pant.... going to take a brief pause in my playing here....
[Pant, Pant]
to say -- YOU WERE RIGHT!
We did pick up another Vizsla!
[Pant, Pant]
Baxter is my 8 month old nephew it turns out!
[Pant, Pant]
Brother Owe'n has done it again and now...
[Pant, Pant]
...I am stuck training this youngster and showing him
[Pant, Pant]
what New York City is all about
[Pant, Pant]
Mom and Glenn say baxter is staying
[Pant, Pant]
with us for only a month
[Pant, Pant]
but I wuff him and
[Pant, Pant]
want him to stay FOREVER!

You Think It's A New Puppy????

WAIT A SECOND PEOPLE!

From all of your suggestions it seems like you think I am going to get another brother or sister.... but mom has already explained the birds and bees to me and I know babies have to be DELIVERED, not PICKED UP.

It MUST be something different.

I just know it is.

How could they do that to me? ANOTHER Vizsla? I mean, that is just not necessary -- I am a complete package. Forty pounds of complete Versatile V. I wuff. I run. I play. I hunt. I win championships. I 'nuggle.

I TYPE -- for heavens sake!

What more could mom and Glenn want?

...sigh...



Well, in T-minus 4 hours 8 minutes we'll be meeting this "Baxter" character and see who this fella really is...

I'll keep you all posted!

A Change of View

There have been some funny things going on around the apartment this week. There are pieces of furniture that are being moved and lots of new dog things are beginning to arrive... I wonder what in the heck it going on and why am I always the last to know?

Urban Mutton

This coming weekend, I'll be traveling to Pennsylvania for a visit with Mutti and Papa-Dino.

It is Easter time and mom says that means it is the time for chicks and lambs.... all cute and fluffy.

I wuff both chicks AND lambs... I have them for dinner nightly. yummy.

In other news, I have noticed that there is the something peculiar on the calendar.

On Saturday, March 22, it says "Pick up Baxter in New Jersey".

hmmmm...



I am wondering if it is the same scary, fur covered mascot that I met this past Saturday in Binghamton, NY???



Mom, Glenn and I went up there for a visit with Ms. Sue and Mr. George. Mom and Glenn were also entered a 5K memorial race in honor of Glenn's fallen friend John McKenna IV. The money raised went to support the Binghamton University Crew Team and the John McKenna Memorial Fund.

Before the race began I met this Baxter character and I didn't like him one bit!

I howled and roared! Eventually mom forced me to go over to him and actually get to know him. Once I did he didn't seem so bad and I allowed him to take a photo with me.


I did my best to cheer and wave as Mom and Glenn rumbled by, and they wanted me to make sure everyone know that they finished in 32:20. I don't know what that means, but I was sure happy to see them when they crossed the finish line.

So, I am thinking that I am going to have some sort of reunion with this Baxter character...

I'll keep you posted.

Such Sad News

I am very sad today.

I just found out that one of my across-the-pond friends, Radio, has died. For a long time he suffered from Myositis, a rare muscle degeneration disease, and on February 23 he lost the battle.

I never met him, but he was my first pen pal and I miss him.

Except for my Grandma Erin, I don't know anyone else who has died so I am hoping that he has crossed the rainbow bridge and they are running and playing together.

The dogs that are effected have problems swallowing both food and water, excessive foamy drooling, and usually also muscle wasting around the head. You can see that in Radio's photos.

So far, I have only heard of Vizslas in the U.K. suffering from this sad condition, but mom said that now there is a survey being done here in the US, too. The researchers are trying to figure out the causes of this and perhaps your moms and dads could fill out this survey to help them out.

Go to the Vizsla Club of America Welfare Foundation
2008 Health Survey (http://ipgwcu.org/vizsla/)

A Walk in the Woods...

Today, I am channeling Henry David Thoreau.

A 19th century philosopher, he preached naturalism, simple living and civil disobedience. And he lived in the woods for a number of years.

I have been thinking about him because this weekend I went on a road trip to the suburbs of Boston for a walk in the forested Blue Hills Preserve with my new friends Tosci and Gigi.





Mom, Glenn, Mr. Steve, and the three of us youngsters rambled around the 7,000 acres getting soaked by the rain and having to leap over-flowing creeks.

We romped and ran, stirring up the sleepy birds who were trying to stay dry. We had a fantastic time and I am hoping that I get to hang out with them again.

Afterwards, mom Glenn and I went for a visit with the Freyman's. Spencer and Morey live there and are very good hosts. We spent the night and I enjoyed listening to mom and dad get trounced in Trival Pursuit. Woah... they never got a break...

On Sunday, after a delicious breakfast, we drove up to Salem to visit Great Grandma Spinney and spend the afternoon with her. I wuff spending time up there - but I think Mica and Pepper don't enjoy it one bit!

I leave you with this:

"Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you."