Much More Than A Pretty Face

So it seems Tucker will rise above the antics of his meddling little brother, Young Harlan Pepper (YHP). It seems that for the past month or so YHP has been telling Tucker to erase his digital footprint for fear of a cyber-attack or worse. So, Tucker, always erring on the side of what would keep his secret identity secret, chose to stop blogging.

Ahem. Then one fine day, Tucker came across this Blog and realized he had been duped once again by the disreputable YHP. Oh, the blood boiled and the whiskers flashed on Tucker's face. But only for a minute, because beneath 60 pounds of fur, Tucker is magnanimous and understanding. And in his wisdom, he knows that he is more than just a blogger with pictures and snappy phrases. He, Tucker, is a dog of deep thought, warm feelings and flickering tail. So he has decided to revise his text and image foray into the electronic note keeping world. And he will welcome, even follow, the fun picture-based blog of his brother, YHP.

Because Tucker, unlike the vain YHP, has been paying attention to the flurry of excitement and the changes around the house. And he thinks his parents might be getting another puppy soon. He will keep everyone posted. Although, his father seems a bit distracted to take the time to help him with the longer posts (he thinks his father may secretly be helping YHP with his blog).

baron is the baby 4evah! (or, an open letter to everyone)

dear everyone,

my name is baron von dachsund, and i would like to point out to you all that i am now, and will forever remain, the baby of my mother's heart. she loves me best among all my siblings, even if she pretends otherwise. who gets the bread crusts? ME! who gets to be on the couch whenever he wants? ME! who gets to sleep under the covers? ME! who gets daddy's undivided attention during fetch-the-sock? ME!

all i'm saying is, any new babies out there, look out. there's already a baby here, and i'm him, so keep on moving. find someone else to play fetch-the-sock with, because there's no more room at this inn.

signed, yours barkingly,
b.v.d.

Apologies to the Squirrel King

Tucker would like to take this time to make his apologies to the squirrel kingdom public. Yesterday, Tucker did something not so nice. There was this nice fluffy tailed critter running along the chain link fence. Tucker decided it would be loads of fun to play with him. So the two of them played "hi there, I am a dog and I will chase you, squirrel" back and forth and back and forth. It was a good game.

Until.
All the fun and excitement caught the attention of Tucker's somewhat less than friendly brother, YHP. YHP, it has been noted in the past, will stare for hours at squirrels like Michael Myers of Halloween lore. He can be a ruthless killer like some prohibition era gangster. YHP has in fact asked for a tommy gun and fedora for Christmas in the past.

Anyhow, once mean Mr. Pepper got involved, there were some regrettable fouls made. And if Tucker's dad hadn't grabbed YHP and helped the little squirrel, it could have been worse. All the shouting of his father and mother even raised the attention of the neighbors. Tucker, for his part, didn't understand that the squirrel was not having fun as he previously believed.

Accidents happened. Mistakes were made.

And for this, he is sorry.

Grandmother Uber Alles

Tucker & co. were happy to have their grandmother come visit them recently. They like her a lot. She is very nice and pets them a lot. She also feeds the apples every day -- something his parents can't seem to grasp as a good idea.

They spent almost 2 whole weeks playing with grandma. They played "everyone crowd the bed" and "let's all follow this person around the house" indoors and "let's run like crazy monkeys" and hey, let's bark at the tree" outdoors.

Tucker thinks it would be super nice to go visit his grandmother in California. He remembers her house as a puppy. He visited his cousin Coco there in 2005. He also remembers Mr. Ninja -- the desert tortoise who nipped at his tail and chased him around the yard. Tucker is 50-50 on whether he wants o hang with Mr. Ninja. But that tortoise is a fun guy when he isn't on a mission to eat flowers.

Tucker's brother, Baron von Dachshund has never been to his grandmother's house. Tucker tells him stories of palm trees and lemon trees and other exotic plants. There are lizards, too. Baron just stares at him dubiously, as if Tucker is making all of this up.

"And where is this magical fantasy land you call 'California' meine Tucker?" Baron asks.


"It's not far. Let's get in the car and go see for ourselves," says Tucker.


"Maybe one day, kids, we will move back there and then you all can see or yourselves," says dad.



"What's this maybe? As if there is any doubt," says mom.

The Path Less Taken

Tucker gets a lot of compliments about how he is such a good natured kid. The truth is, Tucker likes being good. This doesn't mean that he is always obedient or always listen to his parents. Sometimes he makes up his own mind.

And this leads to Tucker's personal philosophy -- "Why take the path less taken when this one is paved and has lots of nice new things to smell?"

dog day

Sometimes summer days are good for staying inside and doing just about nothing. YHP likes to lay on the bed and think about space travel, Mayan architecture and nibbles.



Sometimes, though summer days are perfect for putting on obnoxiously loud clothing and going outside where the neighbors can see you. Once outside you can have a picnic or a bbq or even a mixture of them with lots of things to drink, like what Tucker's father likes to do. In addition, you can set up a movie screen and speakers and wait until dark to watch.


But the best thing to do on summer days is to just hang out with your friends after a long say of chasing each other in the yard and playing with lightning bugs at night.

Tucker likes summer days the best because his daddy seems to spend less time at work. It may be that there is more sunshine; and it may be that his dad likes to leave work on time when he has the opportunity and nice weather to play with the kids.

On the set of "Indiana Baron and the temple of Woof"

Tucker likes his big back yard. Especially in the summer when it is wet and soggy and fun to romp in the mud.
This year, the father is building a patio at the top of the yard. It looks like the movie set to some Indiana Jones type movie.


He and his brother Baron like to run around where his father is working and get messy.



And then come inside and live like adventurers on the nice pillows their mother makes for them.

Summer Tuck

The greatest thing about summer is that the sun and the rain and the WSSC water and the stuff from Home Depot makes this place grow and thrive.

Jinxy No Like

Poor Jinky cat. He got sick and had to go in the pokey to meet the good doc.

The humiliation of having to ride in the carrier was bead enough. But the cries of the other cats in the M.A.S.H. were too much for him and he had a little accident. What? He was nervous. Last time he was in a clinical environment, he lost two very valuable appendages.
Mr. Jinx had a decent time, all in all. Sure he is still FIV positive, and sure the doctor suggested his eye was a result of Feline herpes or chlamydia, but, hey , he's a pretty rough and tumble sailor. I mean, he lives with four dogs and can hold his own at dinner time!

"No worries, young Chester Copperpots," says Young Harlan Pepper. "If you are too unhappy to eat your breakfast, I will help you finish it off. "

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

More Sun Makes the Green Grass Grow

Some sunny days


The kids just like to play outside in the nice green grass.










This makes it a wonderful place to live.







And soon, the vegetables will be up and there will be fun things for dogs to eat.

Sunny Days

Tucker is enjoying the sunny day's return today following what seemed like 20 years of rainy days. In truth it was more like 6 days, but in Tucker time, it really seemed to be a big hassle. But starting yesterday afternoon, the weather cleared, the sun came out, and Tuckers dad let him and his siblings romp about the yard as he mowed the overgrown lawn.

This morning his dad was wiped out from allergies so Tucker got an extra 4 hours of play time outside before taking a nice afternoon nap. Tucker wanted to commemorate the day, even though it is not over yet, because it has been super so far. Tucker doesn't necessarily hate the rain so much. It's just that since he is a native of arid Phoenix, Arizona, these East Coast Spring seasons are really making him wish his parents would move back. His sister, Dexter, on the other hand, prefers the weather. A native from San Francisco, she likes the misty, rainy, dirzzling cool weather just fine. She would prefer a gentle sea breeze and fog, but she takes what she can get. YHP and Baron could care less what the weather is like, so long as they don't have to be pestered to go outside if they are otherwise napping.

Revenge of the Cat

Tucker is non plus (as the french and literate say, he thinks). It seems Chester Copperpots, the house cat, has taken to a slight binge of revenge. This are no worries to old Tuckerino as the cat, being short, can't revenge upon his tall stature. Much.

So the what here is that since Chester arrived and began taking residence in the basement, Tucker's brother, the evil dark lord known as YHP, has been sneaking downstairs to eat poor Chester's food. Atrocious behavior, right?

YHP's parent clued in fast and kept a fast eye on his badness. But this does not mean they catch him every time.

Now, nearly every morning and evening, Ol' Chester is at the dogs' bowls waiting for a treat. It started with Chester smelling the pill Baron gets for his cushings. Once he had a taste, the poor cat was hooked. He's in the kitchen eating the dog food as the good dogs line up on the threshold for their teeth bruishing. But the thing is ol" Chester ain't so tall so he scores off the Baron's bowl every time. Eating up the Wellness senior program like he's some dog with a need to show.

Baron, by the way, is cool with this, as his real terror with the cat is at night. Seems the nights Baron can't pass the threshold to sleep in the bedroom with the rest of the pack is because there is a Tucker blocking him, So he sleeps in the living room. The living room is the cat's nocturnal playland. He is part feline, part demon, part bored old Italian paisano. And he just wants to hang out, chat your ear off and make with the vino.

Anyhow, the bottom line here is that Tucker's dad is starting to notice how the "cat" is starting to mix this whole dynamic up. So he's wondering if the spray bottle, the "uh uh", the shoe or the open door to the outside is the best way to fix the revenge of the cat.

Tucker's dad, who just read what Tucker was writing, just said, "acceptance and stable guidelines" will do the trick.

Tucker wonders if there is good tennis ball he can chase to work off some of this anxiety.

Dear Rain

Dear Rain, while I appreciate the fact that you make the flowers grow, kindly take the rest of the week off. Let your friend, the sun, come visit my house so that I can play outside for hours with my brothers and sister. Baron promises not to bark at you so much if you would just take some time off.

We don't want you to go away forever, just a few days to let us stretch our legs some.



Thanks for understanding,
Tucker

Rainy Day Pokey Poke

Tucker is sad for himself because it is rainy and he doesn't have much to do. He is not a fan of puzzles or coloring books, so when he has to stay inside, he mostly just sleeps and watches his parents pad about pretending to have important things to do.

But this morning even they weren't around to partially entertain him. They took his little brother, Baron, to the vet around 8:30 am to have his blood drawn and have him all poked and prodded. Seems he isn't such a healthy little man. But he is getting better. This makes Tucker sad to think his brother is sick. In fact, Baron has Cushings Disease. And although it is very expensive to treat, his parents don't mind putting the patio, mom's new car, the new kitchen, family savings, and other frivolous items on hold to keep him this side of healthy. Apart from initial lab tests, regular followups and change in diet, they also get to buy him medication every month.

But the news is good. Tucker has noticed his little brother is much more lively since he started his treatment. He hops like a bunny through the tall grass and acts much more endearingly toward their father. Tucker is glad his brother is getting treatment and doing better.

But.

Tucker wishes all that time and attention and fussing could be spent on him a little more. He's not complaining per se. He's just saying that since he is a bigger dog, proportionally, he should be getting more attention. Just saying. On a rainy day, there just isn't much more to do than think about universal canine fairness.

Yawn Over Lawn

Tucker is enjoying the long winter nap as best he can. He likes the cold cause it makes him run faster. Or so he believes. But he doesn't like the fact that it means he gets to spend less time outside.

He likes how he seems to get to spend more time on the bed when it is cold because his parents are more willing to let him and his siblings up. But he thinks this is all some ruse they are playing to steal cheap dog warmth instead of turning the thermostat up at night.

As you can see, Tucker is a conflicted gentleman. But what he really wants to do is play fun games with his human friends. And soon Spring will come and there will be warmer days and mud puddles and lots of things to chase in the yard.

So for now Tucker will catch up on his sleep and think about which games he will like to play first when the warmer weather comes.

Chip!

Tucker and the gang had a friendly visitor this weekend. The lovable ragamuffin known as Chip! came to stay for 2 days whilst plans were made for his adoption. You see Chip! was surrendered to the pound early Friday morning by a woman who could no longer afford to keep him. She claimed he had too much energy as well. All his papers were in order and it seems he had been well looked after. The woman had paid a handsome sum for Chip! when he was a baby. She bought the pure bred Wheaton Terrier from a place that sells cute little balls of fluffy responsibility to people who tend to think of animal life as some form of commodity.

Now Tucker and his dad are trying really hard to not be judgmental. Even though li'l Chip! wasn't fixed and likely to meet a nice girl and start a family of his own if the lady had just dumped him on the streets, Tucker and his dad are glad the lady brought Chip! in to get placed. Now this doesn't happen to all animals that people drop off. Most don't get a second chance. And that makes Tucker and his dad incredibly sad. Chip! just happened to arrive when another nice lady was there who happened to know someone who could foster him until a rescue group could place him with a nice family.

And that is what happened. Although Tucker usually snubs his nose at purebreed anythings, he has to admit that ol' Chip! was a good egg and he was glad he got the chance to play with him.

Warming up to Winter

Tucker has not been so active on the Interwebs lately, mostly because he is a dog and preoccupied with other things. These other things include laying about, grooming himself, sniffing the cat, watching his dad and yawning. Tucker sure seems bored with the cold and the dark. He wishes hw could move back to the sunny warm south and west.

Although the crummy weather does afford Tucker some highjinx. Just yesterday he laughed as his brother YHP did a faceplant on the ice-covered snow. Little YHP slid a good 5 feet and faced while chasing Tucker. Tucker, on the other hand can run super fast and turn corners like a ninja. Take that little dog who gets all the ladies -- Tucker has some winter skillz.

A New Day Dawning

Tucker is, on the whole, an optimistic dog. He looks at the glass and can care less whether it is half full or half empty so long as he can get a chance to sniff it and stick his tongue in it to taste what is in there.

And with that perspective in mind, Tucker would like to welcome the new president and his friends. He would also like to know if he could play tennis ball chase at the White House now and then.