Escape!

Last summer, I snuck some cookies to the fella who built the fence around our yard in exchange for him suggesting to papa that we add a gate back behind the garage. He told papa it was so he could get out and get to the utility easement area if he needed to. But really, it was so I could bust the gate open without mama & papa noticing. See, the gate is hidden from view unless you are actually behind the garage.

After nearly a year of laying low & playing it cool, today I finally found the perfect opportunity to sneak out through the hidden gate (papa had just woken up, so he wasn't really perceptive enough to catch on). Oh what an adventure I had! I sniffed lots of neighbors' yards, I peed in lots of new spots, and then I heard papa calling me. So I decided to cross a busy street. And then I realized I was next to the forbidden railroad tracks! Of course, I had to go across the tracks to explore the other side. There wasn't much to see over there, so I decided to just walk on the tracks for a while. I really don't know why papa was freaking out so much. Something about a train coming. I got bored after a bit, so came back over to our side of the tracks. And then papa grabbed my collar and carried me home. Sigh. At least I got the chance to laugh at him in his slippers.

When I got back inside I realized that Mugsy was the one who tipped papa off to my adventure. While I was out exploring the world, Mugsy was standing in the back yard staring at me through the fence & looking all worried. So papa came outside & looked through the fence to see what he was looking at.

Moral of the story: best to wait until Mugsy is inside before I sneak out the back gate.

-SylvieDog

p.s. I think papa's on to my secret gate...I saw him screwing boards into it in an attempt to permanently close it. No fair!

Where's my spinach?!

Three weeks ago I helped mama, papa, and the boy kid plant a lovely row of spinach in the garden. Two weeks ago, we thinned it out so we'd have some nice lovely plants. This weekend, I went outside and to my horror discovered that all my lovely spinach was gone! Can you believe it?!?!

I have some theories about who might have eaten my spinach, but I need help. I've put together my top 5 suspects:

1. @ZackRabbit

2. @PerrytheBirman

3. @JedBramwell

4. @LouPeb

5. @MugsyDog

If you have reason to believe that one of these anipals is guilty, please vote & let me know:

http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1734467/

-SylvieDog

p.s. a bitey on whoever ate my spinach.

It's barkarita time!

My twitter pals know that I enjoy mixing cocktails during our monthly #pawpawty events. All to raise money for charity, of course...it's not that I serve barkaritas and niptinis all the time. Well, I guess I do serve some drinks in between pawpawty events sometimes. But not every day. Anywho...when my twitter pal @EarthDoggy tweeted about a new product they got in their store, and even offered a 10% discount to twitter anipals, mama simply couldn't resist buying it for me. And today, it arrived. It's finally barkarita time!

Mugsy & I inspected the barkarita glass

Mama distracted Mugsy with the lime squeaky toy

Mama filled the glass with barkaritas

Mugsy & I were suspicious...

But then we drank it up

I don't quite remember what happened the rest of the evening

p.s. you can get your own Barkarita bowl from Earth Doggy's store!

Twitter anipal party prizes!

A few weeks back I went on a fabulous #weekendroadtrip with all my twitter anipals. My friends @flicka47 and @GD_Kenworth hosted the trip. We had fun tours of cities all across the world (I even provided an insider's glimpse of Chicago), we danced to great tunes from anipal DJs, I served up my famous barkaritas & niptinis, and we raised money for America's VetDogs. And along the way, we had some games and trivia contests to win prizes. I even managed to score a prize from @SamsonCatt who lives all the way over in Australia. And today...my prize arrived!

Look how cute these Australian toys are!!!

Samson even included a sweet note. He said he knew Mugsy would try to steal my toy, so he sent one for him too. Wasn't that nice of Samson?

Hey! Get away from my toys, Mugsy!

HEY! I said get away from my toys!

Fine, you can have the yellow toy.

I'll just take the pink toy, thank you very much.

What the...

*Sigh*

Thanks for the prize, Samson! We love our new toys.

-SylvieDog

p.s. I'm looking forward to another #pawpawty with all my twitter anipals this coming weekend, June 13-14. Check out @FrugalDougal's blog for more details: http://frugaldougaldog.blogspot.com/

Adventures with Bullybells

Papa's fancy phone records videos now. Be prepared for endless videos about my adventures in cookie eating. And bully stick eating. And napping. Here's the first series: "Adventures with Bullybells." Enjoy!

Papa said it's bully stick time!



Eating a bully stick is very serious business



Mugsy is working on his bully stick technique



Thanks @BabyPatches for telling us about these delicious bully stick bullybells!!

-SylvieDog (and Mugsy too!)

p.s. we spent 1 1/2 hours chewing our bullybells and barely made a dent. Then mama gave us some cookies. And then I couldn't find my bullybell. I'm launching a full-scale investigation into the disappearance of my bullybell.

Thank you from Orphans of the Storm & Sylvie!

I wanted to share this lovely letter I received from Orphans of the Storm. Many thanks to all my friends who made donations, as well as to those who helped spread the word about my fundraising efforts for this great shelter (I may be biased - they took fabulous care of me before papa took me in).

It's not too late to help this wonderful organization! Donations are still being accepted through my FirstGiving page.


-SylvieDog



June 1, 2009

Dear Sylvie Dog and Friends,

Orphans of the Storm has received the $1,003.44 you helped raised for the animals at Orphans.

This donation is very thoughtful and on behalf of the animals here and the staff and volunteers, I thank you.

Orphans of the Storm has a long history of adopting lost, neglected and unwanted dogs and cats. Started in 1928 by silent film star and animal lover Irene Castle, the shelter has been the last refuge for countless animals waiting to be adopted into loving homes.

Orphans of the Storm has the largest selection of dogs and cats available for adoption anywhere in Illinois. This emphasis has the benefit of allowing prospective adopters to have a large selection when they visit our facility. This approach is very costly, however, as Orphans has annual expenses of $1.4 million which is primarily funded by private donations. Orphans of the Storm receives no grants from any government agencies.

We appreciate your support of our humane work. If you would like to be part of our mailing list please contact us at barbaragorphans@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,

Barbara Gucwa