Superbowl Sunday

My sisters and I are having a problem. We have reached an impasse regarding the Super Bowl. I want us all to root for the Steelers Just like Joe Stains.

THEY want to root for Green Bay because they thought they could munch on their new hats as they watch the game.

I vote for the Steelers, because I have muscles of steel. The Steelers are a football institution. Oh, sure, so are the Green Bay Packers. They have a long history of great footballness. But, I cannot root for the same team as my sisters. That simply is NOT done.

After all, I am a terrier. I like to fight. Now, when the Steelers whomp all over Green Bay, I'll be able to take their hats and have a snacky.

KATIE HERE ..... When the bonehead of steel loses, Zorra and I will still have a snack. Muscles of steel my arse.... When Mr. Steel head gets out of hand, I will just sit on him!! BOL.

Good luck to both teams, I say!!!

The year in review, according to ME, Sam.

Hello Pals,

As I take paws to keyboard, I am thinking of all the experiences that my sisters and I have had this year.

This has been a great year of change for all three of us, not to mention Mother. Zorra competed at the CPE Nationals (Agility) in Kissimmee, FL. She took a long trip with Mother and the Supreme Commander through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida to go compete for 3 days. Katherine and I were forced to stay home with Auntie, and we did not have as much fun as Zorra.

We've all competed in agility trials closer to home. We have all done very well and have had fun. We've all gained a couple titles or so in the past year as we go toward the ultimate goals of the top titles.

Katherine has started a new sport that Mother says is just for her. Hurmph. I am going to try it one of these days when Mother isn't looking. It is called lure coursing and Katherine loves it. She would rather do that then anything else.


Most of our time and adventures have been gained through Flyball. When we go to flyball tournaments, we tend to go with the Supreme Commander and stay in her RV trailer. It is usually Spirit and Yippee, who are in charge of the Supreme Commander, and all of us. We like traveling with the trailer, as it is:

• airconditioned
• has a bathroom
• roomy
• has a kitchenette

Mother says that at some point, we may have to sleep in our tent like we used to, but she can stay in that leaky tent. We want to stay in the cushy surroundings!

Although, at times I do wonder about Mother's mental state. Earlier this summer, she managed to lock the Supreme Commander and all of us..... (wait for it) INSIDE the trailer. Yes, you read that right, pals. We were locked inside. At some point when Mother walked inside, she managed to somehow break the door mechanics and we were imprisoned! Luckily, The Supreme Commander got on her cellphone and called our teammates Boogie and her mom, Gloria. They came over right away (ten feet) to release us. It was the worst 10 minutes of my life. Seriously, there's something wrong with my Mother sometimes. It is a good thing that she was with me, and I was able to bring a calmness to the situation.


Of course, now for me. This year I took up the fast and exciting team sport of Flyball. Oh my goodness pals, it is the best thing. I can run as fast as I can, retrieve a tennis ball (which I love to do) and bring it back to the Platoon Sargent. I started in March, and now I am the top Wire Fox Terrier in U-Fly and the #8 in NAFA. I can't tell you how much fun it is, and I wish everyone could play with us.

I've met lots of interesting friends on our SWAT team. They are from Ohio and we don't see them often, but when we do it is a grand time.



Our own team is Extreme Insanity Flyball team and we have a grand time together. We competed in the NAFA nationals where I received one of my flyball titles this year.

We lost our beloved kitty brother, Harley, who we all still miss terribly. Out of respect, we have given DaKota (our kitty sister) a pass for a while before we start chasing her again.

We're ending this year and beginning the new one at an agility trial with our cousin Cal. Some of our friends are going to be there as well, and we can't wait.


Katherine, Zorra, mother (Platoon Sargent) and I are wishing all our pup pals a very happy new year with many treats, pats and hugs.

Athletic Endeavors

Ahhh, hello mates.

Yes, again, we have been MIA. But, I must tell you that since our last meeting I made my flyball debut with outstanding results! However, I am sure my dear friends knew that whatever I do, I do with style and success.

Over the July 4th weekend, I went with my flyball team to Sandusky, Ohio and the Fur In A Blur tournament. This was my debut to run on a team. Of course, I walked in with my usual self confidence. I was measured in to determine my jump height. You see, since I am one of the shorter members of the team, it is imperative that I am measured properly. I came in under 16 inches, so it was a thumbs up.

I shared the height dog spot with my dear friend Scrubby, an older Sheltie. Scrubby has many trick to relay to me, but every time I tried to talk to him about his experiences, he was off to find a treat from one of the hoomans.

My mother, sigh... oh, she tries. However, she ruined 2 of my runs by making a mistake. I guess she should have had more training. Luckily, the other hoomans are assisting her.

Pals, I ran like the wind every time it was my turn. I raced to the box, grabbed the ball, and raced back to the end. Unfortunately, no one was able to document my historic runs, and we will have to wait until Auntie can attend a flyball tournament in October. I have another tournament next Sunday and I am sure I will set the place on fire.

In an earlier tournament a couple of months ago, I was running a single dog race all weekend. Oh, it was fun. I raced against other dogs. It was extremely exhilarating. And, not only was I recognized for my sheer speed and stature, I also received a very special award. I received a reward for "Most Unusual Dog." I was ill prepared for my acceptance speech, as I did not even know I had been nominated. Before I knew it, MY MOTHER went to accept the reward on my behalf. WHAT?? In the introduction, I briefly heard them say something about "We're giving this award to Sam, the wire fox terrier. None of us have ever seen a wire fox terrier do flyball. They are a rare breed in this."

Well, hoomans.. OF COURSE I am a rare breed. I think hey were just so amazed at my talent and sheer athleticism that they had to honor me. Everyone seemed to be quite pleased with their selection, but I feel I was a shoe-in for this award. What do you think, friends?

As a result of my racing skills in Sandusky, I have new initals after my name for my flyball title, FDX. After all, Zorra is only an FD in flyball. LOL.

Until next time,

Sam

Spendid, I was

Hello Pals,

Again, long time no chatting from me. We have been extremely busy. We have been in the midst of agility trials, and FINALLY Mother came to her senses (what she has left of them) and remembered to send in MY entry. It is terribly frustrating that Mother always seemed to lose my entry, while Katherine's and Zorra's always made it into the envelope. I just contribute that to her senility. (Zorra here. MY comments are in red. I read this and needed to explain a few things that Sam seems to have stretched a bit.)



I primped the night before the first day of the trial. My mustache and goatee were perfect-o. I was really getting ready to see my one true love, Maizee. You may remember her from previous posts. (She cannot stand him. She really doesn't like him). I had heard through reliable sources that, she too, would be there competing. I thought I was quite the dashing young lad. My skills had been honed and I was ready to compete. I could not wait! (What a loser. He normally looks like this:)


However, Katherine got to go first. Age before beauty, as they say. There she is jumping through the tire. Oh, I suppose you could be impressed, but I knew most everyone at the trial (and especially Maizee, I hope) was really waiting for ME. After all, I am the mere picture of canine perfection.


I sat quietly meditating in my crate. (No he wasn't he was barking like a crazy dog. Auntie kept telling him to be quiet. He was soooooooo annoying).

I was ready to go, when Mother returned and said it was Zorra's turn. WHAT? How can that be?? (Because I am better than you, dogbreath). I watched Zorra zip and turn over jumps, tunnels, and teeters. I shouted out words of encouragement showing brotherly love. (No you didn't you were trash talking both Katie and me the entire time).


Finally, it was my turn. If only you, my friends, had been there. You would surely be amazed at my athleticism. I am sure that there has never been a dog as fine as I that day. I jumped, I lept, I climbed, I went through chutes, tunnels. I darted and dashed. Mother was so amazed at how well I did that she stood in the middle of the course speechless. (She was speechless, all right. She was amzed that you got some things right!!)


Everyone cheered me on. Oh, to bask in one's adoring fans admiration is something that cannot be described adequately. (OH brother, and I don't mean Sam). Mother was quite impressed with my actions and allowed me to continue competing for the entire weekend.

All were very impressed with my skills, and I assume Maizee was as well, as we were forced apart by stupid hoomans. Maizee sat on the other side of the trial site and I could not whisper sweet thoughts into her ear. (No one separated them. Mommi and Maizee's mom just didn't sit next to each other this time. What a whiner).

I was competing in the last run of the trial. I started out showing how handsome I looked flying over jumps, when all of the sudden, I got pee mail. Someone sent me a telegram right there on the course. I stopped to sniff it out. Mother was starting to turn various stages of red and purple by this point. She was insisting that I finish the course and leave ".... what ever you are sniffing... LEAVE IT). Well, as you all know my good friends, one cannot leave important pee mail. It needed an immediate response. So, I lifted my leg in response and.....

(He was dismissed from the ring BOL. Mommi was M-A-D. BOL.)

Getting back at mother

Pardon me pals... I was in the middle of my mudpie treatment and, well, I dug too deeply and now, I do not know where the Spa is.



I looked over there, and the spa isn't there.




My feet, belly and beard have had the deluxe treatment.


Of course, the thought of Mother's face when she sees me will be priceless. We are at a bit of a war with each other at the moment. BOL. I wrote about our feud in a previous post. BOL.



Day at Mud Spa 1 day of digging
Tip for worker @ spa dozen kisses
Mother blowing her top PRICELESS

working, working

Hello Pals,

Spring sprung in Metamora, and we are back in the swing of things. Again, I must go help mother and grandmother run the store. It's hard work, but some terrier has to do it. Katherine and Zorra sleep all day, so I must go make a living to support them and our hobbies.

One bright spot of working in Metamora is there are many, many things to see and do. Mother wanted to have a photo op over by the old sitting tree. OH, I managed to sit still for a moment and grace her with my photo.


We have been practicing our agility and flyball quite a bit, and we walked a few times with Auntie while she was training for the mini-marathon. We are so excited to let you know that she completed it! We are so proud. Now Mother must fork over some cash to the Indy Husky rescue for our cousin Avery's honor. BOL. Mother doesn't mind though, she is proud of Auntie, as well.

On a sad note, I recently learned that one of my mentors, Ralph, and very athletic and mischevious WFT went to the rainbow bridge. We are unsure of the details, but it was way too soon. He used to advise me on how to really make the hoomans crazy on the agility course by going right up to a jump or tunnel, then taking off at the last second to go to the corner and bark at someone. Good thoughts go out to his mom and dad and his sisters..... RIP Ralph, we barely knew ye.

We hope that we can chat, blog, and visit more often now. Mother isn't going to India and she promised not to hog the computer so much. After all, we need a voice! We'll be by to visit all of you soon.

Blogging and Digging

Mom has been super busy with work since before Christmas, and well... that is not great. She hasn't paid a lot of attention to us lately, and hasn't let us blog or nothing. So, as they say... idle paws are the devil's workshop.

So, what happened when mom let us play outside for the afternoon, unattended in the backyard? Sam decided to become a mudpie baker. We had a lot of fun playing mudpie baker. But, Sam REALLY had fun.

It started to get dark, and Mom called for us to come in. I guess Sam forgot to wash up like the rest of us before Mom saw him..........

Here he is trying to explain what transpired over the afternoon.


Mom was really not happy, especially since Sam has WHITE fur on his legs. You know, I tried to step in and say that Joe Stains is the king of a certain KIND of stains, but surly Sam is at least the crown prince of mud stains.


Yea, here he is.... trying to look like a good boy that just got his with mud. Nothing of HIS doing, of course.


When Mom saw HOW muddy he was, she about fainted. He had it caked all over. He had big, fat droplets of mud on him. Auntie could barely lift him up because he was so mud caked!
I told Mom that we should just get a sand blaster for him. She didn't think that was too funny. Obviously, no sense of humor!


So, off Sam and Mom went. There was splashing, yelling, yelping, strange sounds from the bath. I guess there was some really hard scrubbing going on.

But, when they emerged, Sam was back to normal. Here is is at the agility trial a day later.


We'll write about the agility trial with our next post!

Holidays, etc.

Hello Everyone,

First, the girls and I would like to thank everyone who has sent us Christmas cards already! We are having such fun at mother. We have received close to 20, and... how many have you received, mother? What's that you say? NONE? Zero, Zip. BOL.

Well, we have been very busy with the holidays. First, on Thanksgiving, we took a delightful 6 mile hike with Auntie and Mother. Auntie and the girls had not been on this particular trail, so I was delighted to show them the way. Zorra, there is a very good scent here... see?



And, so we started on our quest to hike the trail, 6 miles round trip. The trail goes along the canal. Part of the old canal tow path is now a railroad.


Zorra and I were walking with Mother. It takes two of us to watch her. We have a long way to go! So, let's get moving.


Auntie and Katie seem to have a difference of opinion on where to go. Here's a clue.... the trail continues straight!


Those two led us along until we reached the end of the track, as noted here. But, it wasn't the end of the trail!



We saw a lot of things along the trail, like this old piece of farm machinery. Of course, I had to bark at it.


Mother decided this was a perfect time for a photo shoot. Oh, how dimwitted she is at times. First, she made ME sit next to Katherine. Blech....


Katherine was more interested in the birds, than getting her photo taken. C'mon. The faster we get our mugs shot, the faster we can go sniff!


Did someone say treat? Do try to stay awake, Katherine!


Katherine has the attention span of a GNAT. LEAVE THE BIRDS ALONE!

OMD. NOW, SHE'S LOOKING FOR SQUIRRELS! We will never get the perfect shot.



I grew tired of those slackers, and now, I am off on my own trailblazing trek!



See you soon!!

Hiya... happenings

Hiya kids!

We finally wrangled the computer away from our mom... don't be bothered with that screaming or anything coming from the garage. We just locked her out so we could post. She never gives up the computer much anymore... she is "supposedly" working. WHATEVER. We need to post......

While mom is working, we get b o r e d with not much to do. I was lying around on the couch... but that got boring. REALLY boring. I am going to go check on Mom. Maybe she's not working.


You are STILL working??!! That is just not fair. Where is my time. Me and you?? Just us? Do you even remember who I am???



I guess I will go lie on the couch in the den. I just can't get comfy.....


Sam get up!!! Let me boss you around and take all your toys! Sam says he's sleeping and doesn't want to play. What a BABY!


C'mon Zorra.. Let's WRASSLE!!!



She says she schnoozing too. Whassup with all this @#@$@$@. I need some interaction!

I even tried to get into a theoretical conversation with Ruthie, who owns my grandpa. Ruthie wasn't seeing my point of view and immediately turned around and went to sleep!

THEN, my mom says.. C'mon Katie. We gotta go! I was like WOW. Let's do it!

We went to a pet expo to do an agility demo to help promote our training center. Now, Mom didn't get any photos of me doing anything, but she did get some of our buddies!


Here is Duffy on the teeter-totter. He and his mom did a great job. And, this photo below is Deeva, Duffy's big sister. She was there to do some agility, too. They are two of my pals from agility trials, and agility, rally, and flyball classes.


This blur is Jet, a min pin. He goes really fast. Mom didn't have on flash, so the speed of the camera was a little slow, but it really makes Jet look like a blur. BOL.



The pet expo was GREAT. I won a bag of really good dog food, got some great treats and mom even bought ME some new toys and leashes. I had a great day!

But, then, we came home and now I am bored...

But, I think I will just rest my eyes for a MOMENT.

Paws in the Park Day

Hello Pals!

I simply must tell you of the grand time that we had recently. Every year, Mother takes us to Paws in the Park. Oh, we have a wonderful time. It is a day mostly for dogs. For those hoomans who are looking to expand their family, they can adopt a dog or cat. (This is where we first met Avery. Don't forget to vote!)

The day is chocked full of marvelous events. There's a doggie dash, musical mats, talent show, frisbee contest, and many other fab things to do. One of our favorites is FASTEST NOSE. The premise of this event is to find a hot dog amongst all these shoes. Of course, I knew that I would be outstanding in this event, and was delighted when Mother and I went to the gate.

Mother asked the nice gentleman at the gate to allow me to get the scent (like I didn't know what a hot dog smelled like. Sometimes Mother is so simple!) The fellow allowed me a small whiff of the ambrosia, and I got a bit carried away and tried to take a small sample, but he did not oblige. He went through the gate ahead of us and "hid" the morsel in a random shoe.



Here is the form of a hunter stalking his quarry. Notice the form. Head low, eyes keen, feet nimble. Ears alert. A hunter........


The scent becomes more pronounced. Oh, I will find you hot dog treat. Your days are numbered!!


I have zeroed in on the exact footwear. There it is. Yes, I have narrowed the field down. Soon, the succulent hot dog will be MINE!!



Oh, that little scamp hot dog has hopped over into this pile. The gentleman who placed the treat in the shoe was very crafty. He tried to put me "off the scent." Ah ha. I am too wise for this trick. I shall overcome this small diversion.


Ahhh, yes. Here it is. See how my nose is deep into this sneaker!! Aha....


WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! I am TAKING OVER this post. Sam is really telling you a HUGE, BIG FAT TALE. I will tell the true version.



Sam couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag! He never found the piece of hot dog after a whole minute, sixty whole seconds! Tick Tock, Tick Tock!

In fact, here is the real picture of him. He sniffed around for a little bit, then started sniffing everywhere else! Then... do you know what he did????!!! I was soooo embarrassed. Sigh...... he lifted his LEG in the corner. Once again, mommi had to go and get him because of his inappropriate bathroom habits.


I am part beagle. The nice man let me sniff the hot dog treat and I knew exactly what I was looking for. I followed the nice man's footsteps by following his scent. I have great beagle form.


Oh boy, I know that hot dog is here. I can really smell it good now!


Ta Daaa. Here it is. Let's see... what was my TIME, Sammy??!! 5.6 seconds?????


Oh, and here is the little piece of hot dog that Sammy couldn't find. BOL. BOL. More for me!


Oh, and by the way, Sammy would never tell you this, but I had the best time on the Fastest Nose event. BOL.