Butt massage

I hope you are not offended. Yes, I do like a good butt massage every now and then.

To make sure we are communicating, we pronounce it 'MAH-sajz'.

There you go, now you understand what I'm talking about. Oh, that feels good!

Protective Gear

Hey, no laughing. We live in the boonies, ya know. And there are hunters during hunting season.

So Mom got me this cool safety orange vest, to make sure I don't get shot when I'm in the woods. And then she got Alpha this, um, hat.

Hey Mom -- perhaps that is just too much of a good thing ;-)

Me and Mr. Bear

Sometimes you just want a buddy. Even if they aren't very interactive. This here's Mr. Bear, and he's been my Bro's stuffed animal (handmade by Mom) since he himself was just a pup.

So when I visit Alpha in his office (aka Greg's bedroom), sometimes I sit on Greg's bed and just hang with Mr. Bear. He's a bud.

Cared for

It's nice to know ... when you are not feeling well ... that someone is there to care for you.

That's how I feel. Thanks to everyone that makes me feel that way. I love you all.

Earlier ... A little worried

Perhaps you can tell. This is when we first went to see the Vet. I'm a little worried. And Mom's a little worried. And Alpha? Taking more pictures ;-)

Basically, I seemed perfectly normal the night before, but then in the morning, I was lethargic, and would not eat my breakfast. Now anyone that knows me, knows that means something is wrong.

Mom and Alpha figured it was probably just the doggie-flu, but since this was a Saturday, and it would be hard to see the Vet on Sunday if I hadn't gotten any better, they brought me in.



The Vet has Yorkies of her own, and was worried that it might be Pancreatitis. So I checked in to the doggie hospital. I am now out, and recuperating, but it was a good thing I was treated aggressively. No fun, but still a good thing.

Thanks everyone for caring and worrying about me. I'm going to be fine, and in the process, hope to get Mom and Alpha healthier as well. We are all going on diets!

Recuperating

It may be hard for you to tell. But I'm recuperating. Perhaps you can see the shaved spot on my right front leg. That's where the IV was located :-(

I was a pretty sick puppy. In the hospital for five days. Turns out I had Pancreatitis. Probably from not eating a healthy diet. So now, it's going to be very strict -- no cheese (even low-fat), and all snacks will have to be Mom and Alpha approved (and they've been suitably scolded by the vet). Right now, I'm getting boiled chicken (so hey, it could be worse).

I'm definitely getting better, but probably still only at about 70%. I'll tell you more about it later. Right now I need to rest some more ;-)

Shaggy Smile

Just had a bath. Just rolled vigourously on some towels and my bed upstairs. Just had a treat. Now I think I'll just sit on the sofa, in the sun, and dry myself completely. Look out the window. And smile.

Oh yeah, and blow kisses to Alli.

Respite

After a nice game of keep away, when I get a little tired, I just take my ball and head under the table. That way they can't steal it from me. But, alas, Alpha's camera can still find me. Oh well, it's hard to keep a cute dog hidden ;-)

Up close and personal #2

My what big eyes I have. My what a big nose I have. Alpha, do you really need to get that close with the camera?

Oh well, better to be seen by Alli!

Say hi to Crispy

This here's "Crispy". Or so Alpha tells me. He is also a model (though clearly not as cute as moi). But a different kind of model.

He's a model for some sort of logo that Alpha is trying to create. And he's trying to rope Mom into the idea too, since she's the only artist in the house.

Oh well, we'll see. I'm just giving him a peace-offering "sniff". I'll try to restrain myself from considering "Crispy" just another of my chew toys.

(OBTW, in case you can't tell, Alpha tells me that Crispy is a dragon -- a happy dragon -- but sometimes when he laughs dragon flames come out and he burns up whatever's in front of him. Boy, I hate that when that happens.)

Alpha, you really do need to get a life ;-)

Blow me over

Woah! That wind is really strong. Wind chill below zero. And I can hardly stop from being blown away.

But hey, I've got lots of fur (er hair, I mean LOTS of hair), and this really nice polar fleece bathrobe, so I'll survive, even if my hairdo is all a tussle ;-).

Plus, at least I'm out for a walk -- that makes everything OK. But still, starting to look forward to spring ;-)

Too early for photos

Oh Alpha -- don't you think it is a little too early for more photos? I'm still in bed, for goodness sakes.

I can't complain too much, however, since Alpha has already been up (at 5:00 AM) to take me out and fix me breakfast. Oh yeah, and I sleep on his old bathrobe as my bedding.

OK, Alpha, fire away

On thin ice

Hey, look at me. It's my glamor shot -- backlit from the thin ice I was skating on.

Actually, the ice was plenty thick, and the water was very shallow -- so don't worry Alli ;-)

But it was fun sliding around. Woo hoo!

Oh Please

Oh please, Alpha. Now you are just plain silly. Well, you've made me look just plain silly. Would you please take froggy off my head. Oh wait, I can handle that.

{drop}

Oh for goodness sakes. Don't put it back! Mom! Can you rescue me here? Perhaps take his camera away. Make him take a "time-out".

Alliiiiiiiiiii - help!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from all of us! (See, I get to be the spokesdog for the whole family ;-)

And to my favorite girl (Alli) and my special 'bro (Greg), a woof-woof and wet slobber to you guys.

We miss you and hope you are bundled up and comfy today. We're having a major nor'easter right now. Sounds like a good day for some hot cocoa (and extra treats for me).

We love you guys!

And will you be my Valentine?

That feels good

Ohhhhh, that feels gooooood.

Yeah, this is a new thing for me -- getting brushed. You see, Yorkies have "hair" rather than "fur" (or so I am told) and do not shed. So I never needed to be brushed for that reason. And my fur gets some tangles in it when it gets this long, so using a comb or wire brish really doesn't work (I don't like it).

But this brush feels good. Mom took off my collar and is brushing under my neck. Keep going Mom. I'm there for you.

Split Second

Tell me I'm not the cutest dog around. Just look at that adorable face, the furry Ewok chops, those cute and perky ears. The fluffy legs and overall svelte physique. After all, I'm a professional model. Just ask Alpha ;-)

But wait a second. Literally, just one second.

You see, Alpha's new camera can take continuous pictures at the rate of just under once per second. It's a really good way to capture action photos.

But would you believe ...


... this is the same dog as above, only one second later.

It's true -- I made Alpha check the time stamp.

Look at me! In one second, I've become the hunchback of Amherst. It looks like I put on 10 pounds! And where did that 5-oclock shadow come from? It wasn't there a second ago! I'd be lucky to get fed, much less a modeling job.

Just goes to show you -- cuteness comes and cuteness goes -- its kindof a state of mind. Alpha says he thinks I always look cute :-) But he also says I have reaky breath :-(

Mr. Porcupine

Let's hear it for bath time! Yep, I got a nice long walk yesterday, and since it was just a tad warmer, the road had mud and dirt all over it, and let's just say I was a mess!

But Mom gave me a nice bath (which I really am starting to like), and then Alpha dries me off as much as he can. But you see -- my fur is very long at present (one must keep warm, you know), so it takes a lot of extra effort to get totally dry.

First comes the full body rolls on the towels, You've probably seen movies about this in the past.


Then comes extended froggy legs to get the belly dry. I'm very thorough you know.


Then comes time to fluff up the fur (and shake out any excess water). And that's where Mr. Porcupine comes in. I'd never noticed this before. Must be thanks to Alpha's new camera. Woo hoo.

Check out the new camera

Oh boy, oh boy! Big day in the Crisp household. Alpha got a new camera. Look out blogosphere, you ain't seen nothing yet.

As you can see, it is "Frito-approved" -- its one of the new Nikon D40 dSLRs with a 18-200 mm telephoto zoom (equivalent to 24-300 mm in 35mm format) with vibration reduction. Alpha says it is virtually impossible to find one of these babies (the lens), and he was just lucky. He says it pays to buy local (whatever that means).

It's going to be a lot easier for my big furry paws to use as well. Have you ever tried holding one of those pocket cameras?

And I hear it will accentuate my beauty. Not that it needs it, mind you.

Snow spray

Still cold around here, so I don't get out as much as I'd like too. Alpha and Mom apparently don't have adequate fur ;-)

But when I do, I like to run around, and sometimes create a little snow spray. Maybe you can see it in this picture. It's one of the ways I get snowy chops. Of course the other is sniffing in the snow.

But to give you an idea of the temperature (and especially the wind), I thought I'd include this picture. It shows Mom trying to keep warm. Needless to say, fur just makes you more cuddly ;-)

All the world's a stage

But right now, its Greg's bed which is also in Alpha's office. Let's see, Alpha's playing some music. What is that I hear -- oh, that's a catchy beat. It's the Beach Boys, "Fun, fun, fun". Ever hear it? Well, why not sing along (just like me):

Bad hair day

Well, it may be morning, but who sez I have to get up?

OMG, look at my hair. There is no way I'm going out in public like this!

Although I do kinda have that Rod Stewart look, doncha think?

Wait, let me try some primping, and see if this works. Nope.

Never mind, I'm just going back to bed.

Dinner Now Please

Quick, Alpha, Quick.

Before my transformation into a wild and furry beast is complete.

I need my dinner now to return to my cute and adorable self.

Yum, that's good. Thank you!

Snowball Chops

You can see one of the occupational hazards to playing outside in the snow (and espcially sniffing the ground a bit too vigorously).

Yes, that's right: Snowball Chops.

But never fear, Alpha cleaned them off, and we continued our nice walk along Purgatory Brook. I'm always excited to get to take a special outing for a walk. It was great fun.

Yippee it snowed!

Well we finally got some snow. Well, still only a modest 3 inches, but hey, that's the biggest storm of the season so far. And you can see that I got to go out and play snow bunny.

Here's a video that gives you a rough idea of why I'm called a snow bunny. But because this snow isn't all that deep, my bounding leaps aren't what they usually are. But you can check it out anyway:

Frito speaks out

Well, now that I've got my own voice, I thought I should take the podium. Don't you? But I'm afraid some will think it is still Alpha pulling the strings behnd the scenes. So I thought I would speak to you on video -- more personal and direct, don't you think. OK, now, listen up!



Now I don't want y'all getting spoiled. I can't give personal video presentations every day. Gonna have to go back to simple pictures, until the spirit moves me again. OK?

Now it's my turn

Stop the presses! This is big! Frito gets his own voice and full editorial control of his blog. Read all about it!

Yes, that's right. In this picture, you can see Alpha and his camera in the shadows, while I am sitting clearly in the sunlight. That's a nice metaphor for this change. I'm coming out of the shadows, so to speak.

Even though Alpha has been faithfully portraying my thoughts on the blog for quite some time, finally the day has come where I get to make my own entries. Really. Check out my profile! I even have my own e-mail address -- how cool is that ;-)

Anyways, it's cool, I'm cute, and I'm ready. Are you? Check out these special feature movies below. They help show just how adorable I can be.





Oh, and thanks to Alpha for all of his work the past year or so, and of course, for the continuing photography. After all, I'm just a dog! You ever try to hold one of those tiny cameras with furry paws? -- ain't gonna happen. Typing is hard enough ;-)

Let's Play Anyways

So even though we didn't get much snow, we should still play, don't you think? I just love to run around in the snow!

And where did that snowball come from? Looks like a caught one in the chops, doesn't it? But actually, that just a result of my deer sniffer having to work through the snow. Woah -- that's cold on my nosie and my chinny-chin-chin!