I Could Be a Star

I was hanging out with my people today, and suddenly we all saw something unbelieveable on the TV. Two new movies are coming out soon and both star dogs that look exactly like ME! First Marley, and now this! Here are the two movies: The Dog Who Saved Christmas and The Dog Named Christmas. The picture on the right is from The Dog Named Christmas.

I really need to start looking for an agent. If those dogs can make it big, surely I can, too! I've got the looks. I've got the attitude. I've got two people at my beck and call to take care of the details.

Watch out world, here I come! Here's a little inspiration for any screenplay writers out there looking for a a new star. If this picture doesn't say Christmas, I don't know what does.

Swim of a Clete

This weekend we did one of my favorite activities - we went swimming! I love the water. It's like I was born to swim! We went to the Independence Grove People Exercise Area and it really works to wear my people out so they are more relaxed for the rest of the day. Well, I could tell you more but I hear that a picture is worth 1000 words...so I figure a video would tell you the whole story!

Play With Mii!

You won't believe this. Just now, I was taking a well-deserved nap (these people need a lot of attention on the weekends) and when I woke up I saw something very disturbing. Something that I can hardly describe.

I opened my eyes to find my people playing a game on the big TV, which isn't unusual. What was unusual was the fact that the game they were playing was Frisbee Fetch! With a fake dog!

The betrayal.

I would blog more, but I'm off to find a game where I can pretend I have different owners. Hmph.

Snacks, Drugs, and Rock & Roll

I had the best weekend, ever! We made the most of the longest day of the year. I finally got my visit to Bentley's Corner Barkery and the nice people there even gave me some delicious frozen yogurt. I love summer!!

There has been a new development in my life, however. Over the last few weeks, something strange has been happening to me. I'm living my usual happy-go-lucky life, when all of the sudden I get the shakes and then I black out! After I wake up, my people look worried (although they try to hide it) and it takes awhile before I'm feeling up for my next round of fetch. 15-20 minutes at least, I'd say. An eternity!

I figured it was bad doggie dreams or something until the morning Stacy and Ryann forgot to feed me. I couldn't believe it! I begged. I pleaded. Nothing. I've never seen them this strict!

I thought things were looking up when they asked me if I wanted to go for a car ride. You can imagine my disappointment when we got out of the car at the White Coat Hotel. Last time I checked in here, I got new knees. This did not look good.

We went inside and soon we had a room to ourselves while we waited for the White Coats. When they arrived, they gave me lots of attention and ran me through a bunch of tests. It's hard to tell if I passed or not, but at least I didn't have to spend the night at the White Coat Hotel. That is not my type of vacation, if you know what I mean.

So, I get a little extra something at dinnertime now. I have no idea what it is, but it tastes like chicken. On my meager diet, I'll take what I can get.

This new food hasn't slowed me down any. Just last night I decided to strut my musical talent while Stacy was practicing his drums. We're not too bad, although a few more lessons wouldn't hurt Stacy any. We're quite the musical family! (I still think I should get to be in parade, too. Hmph. Maybe next year.)

Timing Is Everything

Even though it may seem like I lead a pretty busy life, in reality my schedule stays pretty open. The sun comes up, I go for a walk, eat breakfast, and then take a nap. Later in the afternoon, I go for a walk, eat dinner, and then sleep some more. Needless to say, I could use some excitement and right now my humans are holding me back.

First, they thought I wouldn't notice that I was invited, via email, to be in a local 4th of July parade with Critter Nannies! So rude for them to not tell me since the Critter Nannies people are my friends. They never come visit Stacy and Ryann - they come visit me! We walk, we talk. It's nice.

But, did they bother to even tell me about my own invitation be in a parade? Noooo. So, what choice did I have but to read through the rest of their email and it seems like they are already in another parade! Urgh. That would explain the reappearance of the shiny instruments. Terrific. 5 more of my 15 minutes of fame down the drain.

Then, was it too much to ask for some fun on a beautiful Sunday afternoon? All day long they kept saying we would do something fun after we got our work done. I don't know about them, but my work was done before noon. I slobbered my people with love, I chewed up some toys, the usual stuff.

So, hours and hours later, we finally got in the car to go to one of my favorite places: Bentley's Corner Barkery! I spent the entire car ride deciding which treat I would choose from the display case and then, when we finally arrived, disaster struck.

They were closed.



Thanks a lot, people! You just couldn't wait to clean the kitchen until tonight, could you? Come, on!

I seriously need to learn how to tell time.

The Graduate

During the last few weeks, I have been studying hard to pass my first class at the Family Dog Center. School there is loads of fun. I see lots of other dogs and people and everyone seems to like me, even if Stacy and Ryann think I am a bit too talkative in class.

Nevertheless, I graduated! Here's Stacy and I right after I received my diploma. I'm thrilled with my scholarly accomplishments, but I am not sure why Stacy looks so surprised. I always get a lot of attention in class. Probably because I'm never shy about sharing my wisdom with the young pups in my class. Don't hide your light under a bushel, I say.

But what next? In this economy, finding employment as a new grad will be tough. I may have to do a lot of searching to find just the right job for me.


Still - I think I have options. I could be a....

Synchronized Swimmer


Landscape Architect
(I am really good at lawn mowing and fertilizing.)

Home Furnishings Quality Control Officer
(I have a natural aptitude for this.)

And those are just a few of my choices! Good thing I have some time before I need to make a decision. I heard that Grandpa Murphy used to say, "Stay in school as long as you can because you'll have the rest of your life to work." Sounds like a good plan. Besides - I'm happy with my current role in our household:

Man's Best Friend

Park It, Doggie

Stacy and Ryann are stressed out. I've been noticing the signs for sometime now. I have had more time on my paws than usual and when they are home they are seldom very far from their computers.

Enough already! They needed to do some serious de-stressing so I convinced them that we needed to take an outing to somewhere new. Sure, we go shopping. We go to the coffee shop. We've even been to the forest preserve, but there I need to stick close to them so they don't get lost.

So, I finally convinced them to go to a park just for stressed out canine caretakers! Let me just say, I think it did them some good. Here's why:

1. They can walk wherever they want, even without me minding them.

2. They can save money because I love to find abandoned tennis balls all throughout the park!


3. They don't need to worry about me getting too hot, because I can take a dip while they relax along the water.

All in all, we had a wonderful time this weekend visiting two different local dog parks! We all are more relaxed now, even me.

Clete 101

Let's face it, I'm no dog of mystery. I love fetch, food and sleep. Which is why I was surprised when my good friend Rose invited me to her house for a sleepover and Stacy and Ryann thought she would need need an advanced degree in Canine Caretaking to spend the weekend with little ole me.

First, they packed up nearly all of my belongings: crate, bed, food, toys, treats, food dish, fancy papers, vet phone number more food, etc. For a quick second, I thought maybe I was moving out!

Next, they created a list of the words and what they think they mean. Boy are they confused. I picked a few of my favorite examples.

What They Say / What I Hear

NO. / You can never have fun.

Sit. / Put your butt on the ground and you'll get food.

Leave it! / Don't eat that!

Come / I'm lonely, Clete. Come play with me!

Be right back! / Enjoy the couch.

Go Potty! / Explore the yard.

That was how my weekend began! Even with this misinformation, Rose was a wonderful hostess! It is clear she loves fetch as much as I do because she couldn't play it enough. A few times I even acted like I was tired to see if she would stop.

She spent a lot of time working in her garden when I was visiting, and I helped, too! She had a lot of water puddles everywhere in her yard and I ran through them over and over to get the water mixed in real good with the dirt around it.

She even made me get up really early to go out and play more fetch the next day, but I put my paw down. No fetch before 6:00 a.m., maam. (Sometimes you have to show tough love.)

Later on, I indulged her love of fetch for a few more hours and continued mixing up the garden until Stacy and Ryann came to get me. They seemed really happy to see me. But not happy enough to let me sit in the front seat of the car, apparantly. Honestly, what's a dog have to do to get some love?

I really enjoyed me weekend at Rosie's. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go visit again sometime. Her big backyard needs a dog like me to tend to it properly!

Sunday Walk in the Woods

I love comfy-shoe days! These are days when Ryann does not put on pointy-shoes and stays home with me and Stacy. Usually, comfy-shoe days also mean that Stacy does not have to stare at the electric box all day! Yes!

We almost always get to do something special on comfy-shoe days. Yesterday was a comfy-shoe day and all three of us went for a hike! I love hikes - I get to smell and see all sorts of new things! There are, however, a few tips that I would like to pass on in to my canine friends.

1. Always hike with a buddy-preferably a non-grumpy type like Stacy!

2. Always look both ways before crossing the road.

3. Sometimes you need to point out cool stuff to your humans. Their noses are inferior to our own advanced olfactory sensory systems.

4. Be courteous and share the road with less fortunate beings that have no legs and rely on feeble wheels. Don't feel bad for them, however, as those guys can really move.

5. Have fun! It is important to take time to connect with your human and with nature!

Life on the Inside

Have you been wondering where I've been? Things are busy in our house and I've been working just as hard as the humans. The weather finally warmed up again for about two hours and then it got subarctic again. Enough already! Dogs and humans need outside time! I am so tired of it!

While we are inside all I get to do is work, work, work. Here's me - Stacy's right hand dog:

Where would he be without me? Lonely and unproductive, I'm sure. He can pay me in treats and outside fetch sessions...if it ever warms up again that is...

Maintaining My Figure

Finally, finally, finally - Spring is on the way! Sure, we got another four inches of snow yesterday, but I heard birds! We are taking walks again! Ryann stopped wearing a fuzzy hat indoors! My favorite walk of all time was a few days ago when we took a nice, long walk to a new place that had human drinks (hmph). The snow had melted away leaving nice big mud puddles, just for me! While Ryann wanted me to stay away from them, I knew Stacy wanted to play in the mud so I took him through the puddles anyway. It was the most fun-I looked almost exactly like a black Lab when we were done!All this exercise means that I can have special treats every now and then - even doughnuts! Ok, so this isn't a real doughnut but it was a real nice treat. Thanks, Auntie Beth! :-)

Brrr-I'm So Bored!

These brutal subzero temperatures are ridiculous! Even being the tough guy I am - it is too cold to stay outside for too long! Of course, even if I wanted to stay outside, my poor people are pretty thin-skinned and they just can't take it.

So I've been stuck inside for what seems like an eternity!!! The walls are closing in! Stacy and Ryann feel bad for me, I know. We all miss the neighborhood patrols. I can tell because while I look longingly outside, they look longingly at cookie and cake recipes. Let's just say there has been a lot of whining from everyone in our house.


Still, they are doing what they can. They have been keeping me well-stocked with new toys to keep me busy and we've been playing a lot of hide-and-seek. We are all looking forward to the warm-up today-it's supposed to get up to 20 degrees! We're so excited!

Of course, it is snowing again, but I don't mind that at all. I'll take what I can get!

What I Did During My Holiday Vacation

It was the day after Christmas, and all through the house Stacy and Ryann were packing up stuff they had decorated and put under the shiny indoor tree (odd thing, that) and cramming it into our car. I didn't think there would be any room left for me and I figured I was destined for a return visit to "Camp" but, to my supreme surprise, they left room in the car for me, too!

I had the best trip ever! First stop: Minnesota. Not only did I get to run free out in the country, but I got treats, too! Some were given to me by human family members (biscuits, a stocking, sugar cookies, snack mix) and some I just helped myself to...including crackers left out on a buffet table just for me. What hospitality. I also found a dead pigeon which I thought was very cool...but no one let me keep it. I guess you can't have your bird and eat it, too.

Next stop: South Dakota - a return to my homeland! The accommodations here were amazing. Again, we stayed in the country and I was allowed to go inside AND up and down the stairs! I'm not used to stairs but I am a fast, fast, fast learner. The food here was great, too: pineapple, more sugar cookies, snap peas, and more. Yum, yum.

The best part about this place - the dogs! My mom and brother stayed here, too! We got to play together and we even took a road trip so I could run and flush out pheasants! Okay, so maybe I didn't really flush out the birds...but I heard all about how to do it from my brother, Smoot and his friend. Here's a family picture. That's me on the far right, my mom (Max) in the middle and my bro Smoot on the left. Aren't we a good looking family?

Final stop: Grandma's House! It goes without saying that I always have fun at Grandma's house. More gifts for me and I gave her something, too. I do have manners, you know.

Then, the party started! Two of my favorite cousins came over for a sleepover and we played video games. It was the most fun. My food discovery here? Blue Jello. Next time I'll pass. I don't know if Ryann was feeling well this trip - she hardly ever stopped me from eating new foods (except for the dead pigeon)! 'Tis the season, I suppose!

My Christmas

Here's a brief video of my wonderful Christmas celebration. Finally, after watching Stacy and Ryann hide stuff in boxes with layers and layers of paper for other loved ones - something for me! I think they read my gift suggestions.

Good humans.

They were so good, in fact, that I suffered through the indignity of wearing (too small) fake antlers. Good grief.