Mooching Lesson Field Trip

My sister Dingo's humans are on a tropical island vacation so she gets to come spend 10 days sleeping over with me. It is working out great. We can double team the cats but what is really great is we can double our take at drive in windows.

Live Mooching Lessons (This is not a drill)

My human mom needed a new bible so we all went on a ride to Hearts & Minds bookstore. On the way we stopped by the Wells Fargo drive in window so I got to teach Dingo how to mooch.

Pulling into the drive in window. I told Dingo to get ready to look like a sad
hungry deprived undernourished puppy.

Once my owner guy put the window down I had Dingo change positions with me so she could take the lead. I coached her how to look really hungry and to try to induce sympathy from the teller.

Dingo takes the lead as I back off. She was really good at it. I think it also helps that my
owner guy is letting his beard grow out white, giving that homeless guy look.

We anxiously waited for the drawer to come out to see how she did. The suspense was killing us.

She scored! Two milk bones! One for each of us! What a great mooching session. 

Not only did she score a milk bone but she also got one for me. And the lady even asked if there were any more dogs in the back seat so she wouldn't miss any. Dingo is really good at looking pathetic. I was so proud of her.

Future Plans

Now I have an idea. If I can get Hank, Izzy, Zeke, Callie, Mia, Storm, and Valley to all pile into a big van and they bring their friends, and maybe if I pick up some of my doctor's patients at Cape Horn Veterinary Associates we may be able to score the entire box of milk bones at once.

Anybody have a really large van we can borrow?

Mooching Lesson

Today was the first day of spring and I scored really big time. We took a ride in the car to buy some dog food and on the way back we went through a drive in window at a CVS drugstore. Well I have been at several drive in windows lately and have developed a technique that seems to work very well. Here is a rundown of my routine.

How to mooch at a drive in window

 Step 1

Position yourself before the window opens so you will be noticed.

 Step 2

When the window opens lean forward and look hungry.

 Step 3

When you see the treat try to climb in the window, there may be more in there.
(Note: Your owner probably will grab you and yell)

 Step 4

Focus! Be sure to put your tongue under it in case they get nervous and drop it.

Step 5

Once you get a grip on it withdraw back into the car quick.
If you drop it good luck getting your owner let you out to get it back.

That is all there is to it. Five easy steps. This will work at Hardee's, Chic-fil-a, and believe it or not this works at our CVS drugstore. Who would have thought a drugstore would have treats?






More mooching tips

I had a great mooching day today for the first day of spring. You don't have to wait for a drive in window to mooch. Today I scored 4 different flavors of Rita's Italian Ice. All you have to do is stare at people and when they are done they usually let you finish up.

I got 4 flavors. Grape, Sour patch, Mango, and my favorite, Vanilla.

This morning my grandma gave me 3 meatballs. She even heated them up in the microwave. Grandmas are pushovers.

We stopped to visit an elderly gentlemen who is a shut in. You might remember me blogging about him before. He gave me some milk bones. He doesn't have a dog but he keeps a box of milk bones around.

And I finished my mooching day today (unless they break out the ice cream later) by finishing some delicious tomato soup.

Ha Ha! He thought he could trick me. It says Chicken Noodle but I knew it was Tomato.
I could smell it!

Happy Mooching!

Emergency Vet Visit

Good News and Bad News

Jannessa says I look like Amelia Earhart

First the good news. Nothing is broken or torn. The bad news is I hurt and no running and hiking or playing rough for a week.

This morning there was a squirrel outside real close to the door. My job is to keep them out of the yard and away from the bird feeders. Well when I took off to chase it I made a sharp turn at the tree to the right and slipped on the ice. I yelped really loud and hobbled back to the house on three legs. It is good I am a dog. It is nice to have 3 other legs to use when one goes out on you.

My Doctor checking me out. She saw swelling in my patella (that's doctor talk for knee)
and gave me x-rays.

My human mom called my doctor, Cape Horn Veterinary Associates, and they got me an appointment really fast. I got a couple of x-rays and even had laser therapy. I am glad I didn't need acupuncture.

I think these shades look good on me. I will have to get a pair.

So for the next week I will take it easy and my humans will try not to use any words that get me hyper. They will be spelling out words like

s-q-u-i-r-r-e-l 

m-a-i-l

h-i-k-e

b-i-r-d-s

m-a-m-aw

M-i-a

D-i-n-g-o

Every time they use those words I get all excited.

Here is a video clip of some of my laser therapy. It didn't hurt at all. It took a few minutes and my leg was sore but it felt good. I hope to be good as new in a week and back on the hiking trail. Hope the cats enjoy their break.

New Year's Hike

Happy New Year

I haven't been on a hike or seen my friend Mia since last year! So at 9:00 AM I hooked up with her at Apollo trail north and we went on a hike to the cliff overlooking Safe Harbor Dam. Our trip ended up being quite an adventure.

The Hike Out

A sunny but crisp 25 degrees when we started out at 9:00 AM

The way out to our destination went fairly smooth. We took the upper trail and met a hunter all dressed in orange. She said she was hunting squirrels but her husband was down in the valley along the creek trail (Wilson Run) hunting deer. Mia and I both got to give her kisses.

This is the only deer we saw. Mia's owner said it would make a good European Mount.

On the trail out we found a deer skull. Mia's owner, George, said it would be a good European Mount. I had never heard of that before. George likes to bring back "treasure" from his hikes but for some reason he didn't carry this back to his truck. It is still out there and if you want to go get it there is a good kit you can get from Amazon to mount it. Click here to see it. Ican't believe George didn't add it to his "hiking treasure" stash.

We made it to our destination. You can see what a beautiful morning it was.

The Hike Back 

The hike back was even more exciting. Remember how last post George ended up taking back about 7 or 8 sticks? Well he had one of the sticks with him. I am glad he has a walking stick now. And, as you probably could guess, on the way back he was on the lookout for more "treasure". He did  come up with a great find. A part of a stump with all kinds of grooves in it from bees or termites or something. He says it will look really good when he varnishes (he has this thing about varnishing stuff) it and puts it on display. He is going to label it "Nature's Art". I am sure Teresa, his wife will be really thrilled to see more "treasure" coming home.

George's find. "Nature's Art". It may be for sale soon.
He carried it through the woods for a mile so it won't be cheap.

Mia is good at finding stuff in the woods too. Guess what she found. Below is a picture of her bringing it back the trail to George.

She is so proud to be bringing back a hornet's nest!

You want to be really careful if you go hiking with Mia in the summer. I would hate to have her bring you a nest that is full of hornets! Thank goodness there weren't any hornets at home in this one.

George hauling out his "treasure". I don't think the hornets nest made it back.
See Teresa, it could be worse. You could have a deer skull and bees nest also on display. 

George got lost on the way back. He wandered off the trail. He might have been looking for more "treasure": Mia and I had to go get him back on track. If you look close in the picture below you can see Mia and I fetching him.

George takes a wrong turn but we found him. 

Mia was a little concerned that George didn't understand the trail markings so she tried to get him to see the blue blazes for the trail we were following.

Mia kept checking to see if George was still coming.
Notice the blue blaze on the tree she is pointing out to him. 

We all made it back to the parking area. It was a great way to start the New Year. Only 365 hiking days left in the year. Get out there and get some exercise! 

Mia Teaches Her Owner To Fetch

Last Sunday I finally got the cone removed from my head. This Sunday my friend Mia got her cone removed. I know how it feels to be running around not being able to see and bumping into and knocking everything over so I told Mia to meet me at Urey Overlook trail and we could go hiking and celebrate. Check out how happy she was in the video.

It was great seeing Mia again.

While our owners looked for eagles we played until we were exhausted.
click to see the pictures better

Our owners didn't see any eagles and we were really thirsty so we went down to the river for a drink before we headed home. 

That's Holtwood Power Plant on the far end of the dam.

Fetching Sticks

Mia taught her owner how to fetch sticks! Most people collect things like rocks or leaves or coins or stamps or baseball cards. But her owner collects sticks. He must have fetched about 7 or 8 of them. He said he got them for himself and some for his family. Lucky them. At least he said he is going to dry them out first then maybe varnish them. He called them "walking sticks" but they don't walk. They just lay there. 

They must have had a really sad Christmas if he can only get them sticks. And Christmas is already over. Geee I got lots of neat presents. Maybe I should give Mia one of mine. So sad, giving out sticks you find along the river. Poor Mia. 

If you like to collect sticks I guess this is the place to go.