Tootles Speaks

My 6th Gotcha Day!

2011-04-11T01:22:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's been six years? Half a lifetime!

Crystal Does Her Chore

2009-07-06T23:47:00.000-07:00

Just because I learned to wash dishes, now the Queen has to show me up. Humph.

That's me flittering back and forth in front of the camera. The one WITHOUT a bowl in my mouth!

I learn to wash dishes

2009-05-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

Went to visit the cracker lady again. We do that quite a bit. Nice up there. And I'm learning a new job. Dishwashing! First, you have to patiently wait for the human to dirty the dish. The red dog gave up and took a nap. I almost did, but kept one eye on the dish.

Ah, here we go. Good stuff in there. All I have to do is get at it. Hmm. Let's see. No, the nose definitely doesn't fit.

OK, maybe the answer is to chew your way in.

Nope, that didn't work. Wait--I think I've got it--YES!

My 2nd Gotcha Day

2007-04-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

We went to see the Cracker Lady for my second Gotcha Day. I got lots of crackers and a bully stick and got to hang out all day with the human beans. Didn't get locked up and left alone at all! That was the best part. Mom was kind of cranky because of the white stuff coming down out of the sky. She really doesn't like it. I don't like it either--it's cold and wet! I do what she has convinced me I must do outside as fast as I can and then I go right back into the warm house where there are soft things to lie on and always the hope of another cracker or bullystick

The picture? That's me and my sis on Dog Mountain. I'm the one with the longer tail. She got short changed.

Another Visit with the Fat Guy

2006-12-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

Apparently, this is something Mom likes us to do from time to time. I'm the one on the far left, looking right into the camera. I think you can see what I think of the whole idea! Oh well, Mom's getting a kick out of this, I guess I'll go along with it. It's not much to do for a warm bed and two squares a day plus all the treats I can cadge. Not to mention the occasional adventure to places where I can run and run and run and run.

The red dog got cookies from the fat guy. I don't know what's so special about him. I can do a sit-up too. Just 'cause I don't put my paws up like he does....I still do the hard part! I think it's something about his being fuzzy. Human beens are kind of strange when it comes to fuzziness. They think it's cute.

There are more pictures of our visit with the fat guy here. Enjoy, and happy howlidays to all!

I'm a grandma!

2006-12-07T23:46:00.000-08:00

Well...I could be! The gray one in the picture came from the same shelter as me and I had had babies when I arrived there and she's about half my age. She might be one of my babies. Isn't she beautiful?

Her people decided to take her to the shelter when she was about to have babies of her own. They left her tied up outside all the time and the neighbor's collie came visiting her when she was feeling very lonely. Could be lots of other boys came to visit her too--you get really lonely when you're in that special mood, and you're just sooo glad to see any boys who come visiting!

Anyway, a nice lady volunteered to take care of this gray one (she calls her Tiki, Mom said) while she had her babies so that she wouldn't have to have them in the shelter. When they're old enough, they'll go back to the shelter to find their own homes and Tiki will be up for adoption too. If anyone who's reading this might be interested, please contact Mom by writing a comment and she'll set you up!

Travels

2006-11-11T17:44:00.000-08:00

We went some fun places before it got cold and the days got so short. First we got in the wheelie thing and waited just a little bit and then we got out and Mom turned us loose and we ran and ran and ran and played with other gray ones! The red fuzzy one really stood out. Everyone else looked like me and Queen Crystal. There was a pond and lots of good food smells but they kept the good stuff up above nose level, darn it. I got a few tastes of people food though. It was so good. I wish I was a people and could eat like them all the time. Don't get me wrong, I love my kibbles, but boy--people food! Yum!

Then, after a bunch more regular days, we got in the wheelie thing again and waited a little bit longer time and when we got out we were at this place where there were lots and lots of huge dogs with long legs, long tails, long noses, long fur--long everything! Really skinny, too. Some of them snarked at us but mostly they were okay. They had a great collection of bones that they didn't mind me chewing on. We stayed there two sleeps and then we got in the wheelie thing again and this time, we waited a long, long time. Mom let us out one time to pee and get a drink and then it was back in the wheelie thing and more waiting! Good thing I'm a good sleeper.

When we finally got out of the wheelie thing, we were at a new place with no other dogs. Mom took all of our stuff in one big room with a huge bed--enough for her and the three of us and then some! Here's a picture of us on the huge bed. We needed it after the next day, because she took us to a place she called Dog Mountain. I know what a dog is--that's me! I'm not sure what a mountain is but if it's this place, I like it. We got to run for a long time. The picture of me and the red fuzzy one is after we'd been running a long time. That's why we look sort of pooped. We were! But it sure was fun.

We slept hard on that huge bed that night. The red fuzzy one lost a lot of his fuzz because it got all tangled up with sticky things from the mountain and Mom had to pull them all out while he was trying to sleep. I'm sure glad I'm not fuzzy!

We went back to Dog Mountain another time and then there were lots of other dogs there and good people food smells and stuff like the other time before that I told you about, only the Queen and I were the only ones there that looked like us. There were all colors and sizes and furrinesses of dogs there and they were all running and jumping in the ponds and playing with each other and with the people. It was the most fun I've ever had! I never dreamed when I was in the shelter that dogs could have so much fun, or that there were so many people in the world who loved dogs so much.

My Safe Spot is Getting Crowded

2006-09-17T15:53:00.000-07:00

Oh well. She's warm and she's sort of soft. I can share. As long as I'm on top.

It's my First Gotcha Day!

2006-04-07T02:03:00.000-07:00

Mom says since she doesn't know what day I was born, we'll celebrate my Gotcha Day instead of my birthday--and today's the day! One year ago today I was got by my current Mom. Some nice people took me out of the shelter and put me in a wheelie thing and we went a long ways. Then they stopped, and I got out of that wheelie thing and got put into another one with a strange lady and a strange gray one! The strange lady turned out to be Mom and the other gray one is, well, the other gray one. OK, her name is Crystal, but she thinks I should call her The Queen. Fat chance of that!

I'm the Weimie looking right at the camera in this picture. See what a big happy family I'm now part of? And that man is very generous about sharing--that's why we all gather around him when he's eating. We love it when he comes to visit!

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all, and may Santa Dog give every little shelter dog her heart's desire--a home where she is loved, cherished, valued, trained, and spoiled rotten.

Recycling Day

2005-10-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Mom (the lady says I can call her Mom now) went off today like usual, but I forgot to poop when she let us out before she left. So there I was in my kennel, and I had to poop. I didn't want to make a mess in there, so I pushed the one wall out and let myself out into the bigger room. Ah! Sweet relief. Hmm, now here I am, loose. The red fuzzy one and the other gray one are still locked up, but they're watching me. Let me check out some of the stuff in this room. Mmm, a big bucket full of our dog food cans! YUM! Mom washes them out after she takes the food out, but they still smell good. I take a bunch of them out and chew on some and just toss the others around so the red one and the gray one will know I'm out and having fun and they're not.

Well, the other person got back before Mom, and put me back in my pen. She picked up my poop but didn't bother the cans. Guess she didn't mind them scattered all over the place. I waited in the pen for Mom to get home, since I didn't have to poop anymore. She didn't seem as happy to see me as usual, but you know, humans are moody. We stayed out in the kennel room a long time and Mom and the other gray one played some sort of silly game where the other gray one picked up the cans and brought them to Mom and she put them in a bag.

Once they finished their game we went into the house. The other person and the guy were there. They had been eating and I could smell good stuff on the white thing that's just above nose level, but every time I tried to push my nose up high enough to see what was up there, something would come flying at me! First a big bucket--then a cardboard box! It was so weird! I decided it was safer to stay away from the white thing even though it did smell good. I found a tasty piece of paper--Mom called it a paper towel when she took it away from me--and tried to eat that, but she didn't want me to for some reason. Like I say, humans--moody.

Anyway, Mom wasn't too happy with the other humans, either. See, she lets the other person's dogs out every day so they don't have to poop in their crates, and she thought that meant the other person would take care of me and the red one and the gray one the same way. But the other person didn't bother to let us out--she had to go someplace she called Samsclub--and that's how the whole thing started. So, when the other person called me Tutu--like when I first got here--Mom said, "Her name is Tootles. It hasn't been Tutu in months." The other person said, "Well, whatever. She's just a rescue dog." That hurt. But Mom came through. "She's MY dog," she said. If she'd been a dog she'd have growled it. I know that tone even in a human voice.

I'm her dog. :o))) She stuck up for me. I'm so happy.

I'm home

2005-10-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

The lady hugged me today and said I had been with her six months and that I could call her Mom from now on. I guess maybe that e-mail thing that I was worried about was a good thing after all.

What's up?

2005-10-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

The lady went off and left me and the red furry one awhile back and was gone for two sleeps. She took the other gray one with her. SHE, the high-eared hussy, lorded it over both of us when she got back. She thinks she is such a queen! That's her in the picture.

The lady's been looking at me funny the past week. Sometimes she pets me and hugs me more than usual and tells me what a good dog I am. Tonight she told her friend that someone had e-mailed her about me. I think she would have said more but he just laughed at her and said, "She's not going anywhere. She's yours." The lady just shut up then because he laughed at her. I wish he had listened to her kindly because I would like to know why someone e-mailed her about me. What have I done? What did they say about me? Am I really a good dog? I'm not sure I know what a good dog is. Aren't all dogs good?

For that matter--what's e-mail? If it's about me I should know. The lady seemed happy about it sometimes and sad about it other times. How can I know how to feel if she can't make up her mind?

The Cracker Lady

2005-07-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here I am with the cracker lady. She's hanging onto my neck. The other gray one and the red furry one are just standing there--I'm not sure why. Anyway, the cracker lady is this person we've been to visit a couple of times. Here's how it works--we get in the wheelie thing and then wait awhile and when we get out, we're at her house. She gives us crackers every day when we're there so we like her. The lady, I mean my regular lady, watches me like a hawk when we're at the cracker lady's. She pretty much always knows where I am and what I'm doing at our usual place, but she's even worse at the cracker lady's. "Tootles, where are you? What are you up to? Stay where I can see you!"

She must really need me!

Me? Old?

2005-07-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

Here's the proof I'm not old and decrepit. That's me playing with the other gray one. We really tear up the place. Sometimes I get a little carried away but she never seems to mind. I think I could be the boss of her, but the lady won't let me. She says, "That's enough!" or "Calm down!" when we get too rowdy. So then I put my ears back and give her a big smile, because I don't want to do anything to make her want to send me back to the shelter. I like it here!

My Safe Spot

2005-07-16T22:54:00.000-07:00

This is my safe spot. When I get scared or worried, I curl up here and try to blend in with the comforter. It doesn't usually work--the lady finds me and makes me do stuff. You know, like, go outside when it's raining--YUCK! I hate that! But she pitches a fit if I don't do it. As soon as I do what she wants, though, I run back to my safe spot.

See how much better my eyes are now days?

Hoovering

2005-07-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ten days the lady made me wear that thing! What did I do to deserve such punishment? I still don't understand it, but I learned to do stuff even with that awful cone around my head. Nothing keeps me from eating, by the way! It's about my favorite thing. Looks like I could just lower the cone over the food bowl and hoover it up, doesn't it? And that's what I did!

The Conehead

2005-07-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Here's me on June 11, the day after my eye surgery. Pretty awful looking, huh. But you know what? I was just glad to be back in the same place I left the day before. When the lady dropped me off at the vet's, I figured, "Here we go again." But she came back for me. She actually came back.

Introduction

2005-07-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

Hi. I'm Tootles. At least, I am now. This is me on April 7, 2005. I'd been used up and thrown away a few weeks earlier at the Zanesville, Ohio animal shelter. I was bone thin and my boobs were hanging halfway to the ground. I sure hope someone took care of my pups because I gave them everything I had and then the next thing I knew, there I was at the shelter, all alone. My people didn't even stay to make sure I was okay--just left me in the middle of the night.

The people who found me there in the morning didn't know my name and I couldn't tell them, so they gave me a number. I was number 2216. The lady who takes care of me now just called me 22 for short at first. But now she calls me Tootles.

My eyes were always sore and goopy because my eyelids were too long and rolled in so the fur side was rubbing against my eyeballs. Because I looked such a wreck, they thought I had to be an old dog, but you know what--I'm not. I mean, I'm no pup, but I'm not decrepit either. In fact, since I've had good food to eat for the past three months, and no little pups sucking on me, and a doctor fixed my eyes, I'm looking pretty darn good. Can't tell you how much better I feel, either! Wait till you see what I look like now--you'll see what I mean.