Big drumroll pul-ease: Next week, September 18, I will be 3 years old! I expect lots of yummy treats and an extra toy or two or three or plenty. Anyhowls, my big birthday seems to be a reason to dwell on my puppy photos and has led to my own Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/dogtor_benji/. I hope the humans know that there is only one account that really counts: it’s my treat account!
Benji
Guess what we got for Christmas; a DIY seesaw that works! When I saw it installed in the backyard, I had to try it. I approached the beast like you would any unfamiliar animal: with caution and one paw at a time. Once I knew I could trust the thing, I climbed on its back to the top of the world. I can tell you, the view is amazing. Experience has taught me that its great to try new things. It expands your mind and you always end up with lots of delicious yummies in your tummy. I think that’s how I solved the riddle of alternate realities. I discovered that when you climb the seesaw beast fast enough, you come down with a Big Bang. They say that without a Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago, you and I wouldn’t be woofing to each other now. It’s now my theory that all new Big Bangs create new realities. Next time when I climb the seesaw mountain I need to set my mind on creating a new reality with an endless supply of yummies. That’s definitely food for thought.
We are wishing everyone from here to all the way around the world, happiness and full tummies fur-ever and ever. Hugs and a gazillion doggie kisses from the ZAB team.
Happy Howlidays
The forbidden fruit is oh so tempting. This is the first year our apple tree is producing apples. The name of the apples is promising: Joy Apples. Last year I was too small to help myself to the Fuyu Persimmons; believe me, I tried. The apple tree will be so much easier as I have grown and the apple tree is still a youngin. Supposedly the apples will even get bigger. I am not sure if I want to wait to see that theory come to fruition. I can wait a little bit but hey where is the joy in waiting much longer?
Have a great weekend, and may the rewards be big for those who wait,
Benji
As promised, here is the new addition to my uniform. Ms. Zulu assisted me while I posed for the first time with the new scarf. So this time it was Dogtors with Borders. Yes, Ms. Zulu is at least 50% Border Collie as far as we can tell. If you would like to know more about my Dogtors without Borders work then go to my resume page. We updated it recently.
As you can see Ms. Zulu and I took our job very seriously and we were very focused throughout the photo session. This may or may not have anything to do with the treats in front of us. You be the judge.
OK, gotta run, I have a farewell party to attend to say goodbye to my best buddy Capone and hello to a new CCI friend in training. Yeah, Capone is leaving us in 1.5 weeks to start professional service dog training in South Florida. We will miss him for sure. I (well maybe one of my dedicated assistants) will try to capture some nice photos so you can see Capone one more time and to introduce the new CCI puppy. I’m sure you will get to see more of the newbie because when Capone is traveling to South Florida we get to babysit the new 9-week old pup for four days. That oughta be fun.
And remember, be dedicated and thou shall be rewarded,
Benji
Upon special request, here a picture of my big sis. Since she often has to stay home while I go on my secret missions, she gets to bicycle more with M. M says she still runs like a five-year-old although she will be twelve in August and had an ACL repair more than a year ago.
Here, on the photo below, Ms. Zulu is trying to catch her breath on one of those outings. Like me, she loves to run. “Edible treats are not necessary, the run is my reward”, she says. Can you believe that? I can’t imagine a life without treats.
Happy Monday guys and girls;
Treat yourself to something nice today,
You deserve it!
Benji
Sunday was an oopsy kind of day. What happened? Well, it started out with one of my favorite activities: agility training. I was happily running from one obstacle to the next with Mach 3+ speed until we got to the tunnel. That tunnel was waayyy too small for me. Treats were inside the tunnel but pretty much in the middle. So I ran from one side to the other to get to the treats all the while trying not to get stuck in that tiny obstacle. Next thing I know the trainer is teasing me to enter the tunnel by swinging a great looking furry feathery thing in front of me. The thing looked like a cross between a rabbit and a squirrel. I decided to catch it and run away so I could check it out. Supposedly, that was not the idea and I was offered a tiny treat in exchange for the thing. That didn’t seem fair so I took the treat and swallowed the crossbreed as well. It turned out to be non-edible. Oops. You should have seen the look on the trainer’s and M’s face when they registered what had happened. All I can say is hey, I’m part retriever. I heard from my retriever fur-iends that you ain’t a retriever if you don’t have at least one foreign object in your stomach.
Anyhowls, out of thin air a brown bottle that said “hydrogen peroxide solution” showed up and before I could say “no sirree”, a tablespoon of said stuff was put in my throat. Yikes, that didn’t taste good. But like any good soldier, I swallowed that too. M and the trainer were waiting for something, not sure what, but when it didn’t come the vet was consulted and I was spoonfed more of the stuff. I can tell you the second time was less fun and the third time it was just gross. And then all of a sudden I was down on my stomach and throwing up everything. Yes, that meant my breakfast, treats, and prize! M and the trainer were dancing and partying when that happened. And I was thinking “hey I am not having so much fun right here; can you pul-lease stop the racket”.
Once at home all was well; meaning no more liquidity stuff was put in my mouth. Ms. Zulu checked me out and we are now back to my regular meals and treat schedule. I even played some with my stuffed friends. This was after they had barely survived an unannounced security check. They all had to line up and were threatened with scissors or even the dump. This was not the first time either. Everyone that looks raggedy has to surrender in those instances. That’s just wrong. I thought it didn’t matter what my friends looked like but somehow it does. I like them all and care for them. Especially the shabby ones; I nibble passionately on their tattered parts. I don’t even hesitate to do heart surgery on them when needed. Lately, they have been quite healthy so there have not been any recent surgery attempts.
Have a great week, stay out of trouble and I will try to do the same,
Benji
Ahoy! The boat is back in the water, so we are sailing again. It had been at least a half year since the last time I sailed. So understandably, it took a couple of minutes to get my sea legs back. Yummies did help; every sailor knows that you get seasick with an empty stomach! It was fun once I found my sea legs. Of course, they were on the boat in case you were wondering …
Today, I also got a new cape. I haven’t tried yet if it is a magic one, you know the one that opens doors. Ms. Zulu was MIA as she needed her beauty sleep. I will include a photo of her from a while back so she doesn’t feel left out. I was dog tired after all that steering. Luckily I was able to confiscate the only two pillows that were on board. After all the captain always gets first dibs.
Night, night, Benji.
Me, after my bath
Dorn, I thought I had dodged the bullet, but no, no such luck. What happened? Well, the other day I had what I thought was a great field day. You know exploring the forest and getting up to snuff with the latest and greatest. There were lots of new perfumes that I had to try out. It helps to get rid of the weird smells that the humans put on me and the ladies seem to like it. So, I had just taken a nice stroll, hmm roll, in the forest when mom pulled me aside for THE sniff test a.k.a. the S-test. This test is not to be taken lightly and involves several steps that you have to pass before you are cleared to continue your business as usual. I have written down the steps so that you are all forewarned:
Step 1. The first step consists of a good sniff over. It is a 50-50 chance that I pass this test as mom’s sniffing capabilities are not the greatest. Ms. Zulu sometimes messes up here because if she starts sniffing me in unusual places, mom is on Code Red Alert (CRA). CRA means business or immediately go to step three. However, if I pass the S-test I am safe and I can go to the last step. If the S-test is inconclusive or directs the tester to some wonderful forest perfumes (for some reason humans call these the smells of death), I have to endure step two.
Step 2. For step two, white doggie wipes are being pulled out. My goodness, do they have to be used everywhere?! If the plastic gloves come out at this point you might as well give up and put all paws in the air because this means in human terms that you are too dirty to be touched. If the white wipes stay white while I am wiped all over, I am probably good. If the wipes show some, and I mean really some MINISCULE speck of dirt, then I am basically screwed and we immediately end up in the next step. If the second step is inconclusive we also go to step three. So basically I can’t win here.
Step 3. Step three is the bath of shame, where I am washed with shampoo all over AND that means I get WET everywhere!!!!!*
Step 4. Step four is the good part and can show up right after the second step or during the third one. If I behave well I get lots of treats. I have conquered this step really well and make sure that this step is never forgotten. P.S.: I have a secret weapon that works like a charm: always put on your most pitiful face while you make it look like you are really trying your best to endure this horrible, horrible act and I guarantee you that you will get more treats than you probably deserve.
* No, no pictures of me in the bathroom in my birthday suit here. After all, this a decent site.
I have to say, and I wouldn’t have thought so a half year ago, but my modeling career is taking off very nicely. Maybe one of these days I can even bring up a raise. Here you can see the results of my third paid gig. Just to refresh your memory, this is in anticipation of Drake and Sol’s wedding. So I am happy to report that my treat account is growing. On the other hand, I seem to be using more too so not sure about the balance at the end of this month. I hope I’m not in the red, except for the bow tie. After all, the humans decided that I was too skinny and there is only one remedy for that. So, keep it coming or the tummy will grow hungry.
As you can see, both Ms. Zulu and I are taking the wedding preparations quite seriously and we are putting our best paw forward. -You are correct, that is our right front paw in both cases.- This time I am showing a red bow tie as it was decided by higher authorities that it might look better than the blue ties. My suit will remain the same brindle pattern, decorated with a white front. I have grown quite fond of it, so that stays. Sometimes you have to know when you can put your paw down. There was enough shopping to do as it is. I never knew that weddings would require so much preparation.
So, what do you think of the new addition to my dressing room? How does it compare to the two blue outfits? Light conditions were still not up to par according to my assistant. I hope to finagle another gig out of this. For some reason or another, Ms. Zulu’s pics are less of a problem. I don’t mind though; working long hours means more treats. Besides, I can always sleep in the next day.
Enjoy the good life: make room for play and take lots of naps between work,
B.
The letter N stands for Nononsense*. I try to keep a no-thrills attitude and am enjoying the simple things in life. Treats are Numero Uno on that list. I bet you hadn’t seen that one coming. The N also stands for November. That is the month of happy new beginnings for me and my new family as I was adopted into my furrever home in November 2015.
Me, Benji
* Yes, that looks like drool on that sock. And no, I wouldn’t know how said drool got on the sock. I don’t recall getting a treat that time. And if I did, I would plead the fifth.
My pretty Sis
May your tummies always be full with yummies,
Benji
Mom is teaching me how to spell my name. We started with the letter B which stands for Braveheart. She says that I am a braveheart because I am courageous in anxious times. I barked at this lion when I was a pup but learned that when someone else is different it doesn’t mean they are scary. Lion and I are now best buddies and share our treasures.
Puppy kisses, Benji
Ssshhhh….Benji is practicing Zuluism after a morning of intense focus and dedication (okay read playing hard) at doggy day care. We believe he is getting better and better. This type of meditation is bound to be helpful in Benji’s therapy dog practice. And practice makes purrrfect! On that note, Ms. Zulu reports that she is now convinced that there is such a thing as the P-state, short for Purrring-state. Previous research hinted at this and Andy the Cat has now proven that it does exist in feline species. However, there is still doubt that the P-state exists in canine species. A research proposal for a treat-grant has been submitted to ABC (Academy of Brave Canines).
P.S. Be on the look out tomorrow for a rerun of the interview between Ms. Zulu and the two cats Andy and Dougy.
Benji’s assistants.
Life of Benji 