Beaches, Swimmin' and Boatin' Oh MY...

You know that saying "The dog days of summer...", well someone had it right! My summers are awesome, especially when I get to go on vacation with Mom and Dad!  We went back down south to Bay St. Louis again to visit my favorite cousins Jim and Nancy.  Our trip started by leaving home on Saturday afternoon and making a pit stop somewhere in Alabama.  That was a long night; I had to sleep in front of the hotel room door to keep Mom and Dad safe all night.  When Mom and Dad got up the next morning, boy was I tired.  I slept all the rest of the way until we reached one of the greatest. places. ever!!!

First afternoon was spent at the neighbors house visiting with them and their two dogs.  Mom seemed pretty excited about this cooler full of crabs...I'm not sure why, if you ask me they looked kinda cranky.

We are on day 5 of our vacation and only have 2 days left before we have to leave.  I'm not sure why we have to leave, something about Mom and Dad having to go back to work???  Anyways, my week has consisted of going and running on the beach (along with taking care of some other business, if you know what I mean), along with swimming in the ocean.  Oh, how I LOVE swimming in the ocean.  We have also been on a boat ride, which is my next to favorite thing, and the walks....oh the walks are full of smells and adventures.  Mom and Dad must think that I am a really good boy, they are not making me be on the leash at all.  I even have gotten in the bay a couple of time, just to check things out.  Nope, no alligators in here!

The only downfall to my vacation is that I have to spend more time, alone, in Jim and Nancy house...but with high 90 degree (and lots of humid) days I guess that is where being a dog really stinks.  Not that I am complaining at all, I use that time to get caught up on my sleep so I am ready for the next visit to the beach and ocean.  Being a water dog is a lot of work after all - I mean, who can complain about these kinda days...

That's paws for now, until next time.....

Wags,
Bailey

Hi there, it’s me again…. I know, I know it’s been a while since I have written about my all so ordinary life.  But, things have gotten quiet around the house again.  Dad is still up to his usual routine, but Mom, however, started a new routine.  She is gone more often and for longer periods of time – but is she a much happier human!  So, really, my life has gone back to the same old sleep, sleep and more sleep kinda days.  Not that I am complaining…I am getting older and all, I need all of the sleep that I can get!

I turned double digits this summer – 10 years old.  For some reason, this seems to be concerning my parents a bit.  Mom and Dad both keeping asking if I am doing ok, and Mom makes a face every time I moan and groan.  I have also become an only child; my canine sister (Annie) and my feline brother (Smokie Joe) and sister (Trouble) all left me this last year…I really miss them, especially Smokie Joe… Man, did we have some great times!  I will have to tell you some of those stories.

Mom got a new car.  It’s ok, I like riding in it, but with all of the moaning and groaning I have been doing, you would have thought that she would get one a little easier to get in and out of.  But it’s all good – a ride in a car is still the best thing out there…..well, almost!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s paws for now….

Wags,
Bailey  

     

 

Bailey's typical day...

Bailey’s typical day…

My days typically start with me sleeping on the couch while it’s still dark outside and the house is quiet.  About the same time each day, I hear Dad stirring, but he is very quiet and not up for very long before leaving on his adventure for the day.  Mom, on the other hand, is louder and takes much more time.  This is when I usually wake up and move to post guard over the bathroom while Mom gets ready for her day. You have to watch her.  She is what they call “accident prone”.  Then I move to the kitchen and wait by the door looking my cutest, just in case she decides that I can go with her wherever it is she is going.  I usually get left behind with a pat on the head and a “Love you Bailey, have a good day” as she walks out the door.  As soon as the door closes, I move to the living room window and look out, making sure she really is leaving and the coast is clear… then back on the couch I go for the rest of my day.  My favorite sleeping position is on my back with all four paws in the air and with my head flopped over the side of the couch.  The world just seems to make much more sense upside down.  This is where I stay for the rest of my day.  Several hours later, when I hear the sound of Mom’s car or Dad’s truck in the driveway, I slowly off the couch with a long stretch, shake and get myself together and go to the door to greet them as they walk in.  For all they know, I have been wide alert and on duty all day.

Mom used to be gone all day, every day, but I have been spending a lot of quality with my Mom lately.  She would get up early and come home late.  She was tired and sometimes cranky and sometimes in a sad mood.  On these days, which seemed to be a lot the last several months, I would have to kick into high “therapy” mode and do some extra snuggling with her and work harder to pull all of the stress out of her so she would feel better.  I know she loved where she went every day because she talked about it all the time. "They" (formely known as Mom's employer) was going through a very ruff (just makeing sure your paying attention) time for about a year now.  Someone evil did something very bad and it made Mom work extra hard. I know she sometimes spent her day with kids, because I could smell them on her.  She usually came home in a good mood on those days.  But then something happened, and I don’t understand what, but now she is home all the time.  Every day.  And my quiet oasis has become a loud world with either the tv on or music playing.  All day.

While I love my Mommy, this is putting a kink in my daily routine of sleeping, sleeping and more sleeping.  She simply does not stay still for long.  She comes and goes. Just as I think she is going to stay put for a while and I finally get to takes a nap, she gets up and moves from here to there.  At first I was following her around the house, just in case there was a magical moment that I may get to leave the house with her.  But I have realized the last couple of weeks that she is most likely not leaving the house, instead, is just burning off some energy around the house.  So I just watch her from the couch these days.  I have even learned how to do this with only one eye open.  Only if she reaches for her coat do I lift my head.  Then, if she goes for the bag that she takes everywhere with her, that’s it, I am up!  Where are WE going??? Have I said how much I love to ride in the car?

Oh, and I am not going to blog everyday, btw.  Just playing catch up so you understand my point of view.

That’s paws for now….

Wags,
Bailey

  

First Post

Bailey Wags!

So here it starts.  I was a pretty chunky pup that waddled when I walked and would often trip over my own big old paws (some would say this is perfect match for the family I belong too).   I don’t remember the day that I first met my Mom, but she has told me the story many times before.  It goes something along the lines of “…and your eyes weren’t even open yet when I picked you out of the litter”.  This is also a precursor to my life today – there simply are not enough hours in the day for sleep!  I am a Flat Coated Retriever and had eight siblings.  My birth Mom was a yellow lab mix.  My birth Dad, well, he is the unknown factor.  Some say he had to be Retriever because of my coat, but there is also something else swirled in my mix.  All I know is that I have my birth Mom’s love of water, running and hunting.  However, I totally don’t get the retrieve part.  Me, run and bring something back to you?  Really?? Unless it’s dead, it can stay where it is and in my opinion, if you want it, you go get it.

To fast forward through the last eight years and get you all caught up to the present, I have had a pretty average life.  Now keep in mind that your idea of average and my idea of average may be completely different. My current family consists of my Mom and Dad.  I also have a canine sister Annie, a feline sister named Trouble and a feline brother named Smokie.  You will get to know my siblings soon enough, especially my best est pal Smokie. Man, do we have some stories to tell, but that is for another time.  Also in my family is my Grandma and Granddad that near us in Lexington, and my other Grandma and Granddad that live on a farm in Springfield.  I have lots of four legged cousins too; nine to be exact.   Anyways, the first four years were very interesting; full of growing, teething, playing and learning.  For whatever reason, my Mom and Dad must have thought that I was having a hard time learning my name.  They certainly said it enough.  Bailey, Bailey, Bailey.  Yeah, I got it the first hundred times you have said it.  I loved all kinds of toys; remotes, shoes, clothes, pillows, cell phones and whatever else was left within my reach.  Now that I am grown up, and much more mature, I just like to tear open any stuffed animal, commonly known as “my babies”, and get every bit of its innards out of it and then play with the empty shell.  I have gotten pretty good and the ‘snuff and spit’, leaving a trail of fiber fill throughout the house for Mom to pick up.   Like most young lings, I have had my share of ER visits, which have included 3 surgeries thus far due to my adventurous nature. Mom was awesome though.  She sat with me for hours while I looked up at her with my most pitiful eyes.  I also love to travel.  I have been all over the state of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana on a variety of camping trips.  I love camping!  I have also been to Montana and Yellow Stone State Park!  Man, was that a long car ride.  But it was very cool to go visit my Auntie M and two very cool four legged cousins.   I have also been to Charleston SC (twice), Ashville NC and Bay St. Louis MS (very near to New Orleans).  I love the ocean even more than anywhere I have been on my worldly travels. And I have come to the conclusion that I most certainly could totally be a beach dog for the rest of my years.  I have the coolest Mom and Dad who take me on vacations with them.  I am the luckiest dog.

These days, I spend a lot of time sleeping, or at least that is my Mom interpretation of what I am doing.  She does not realize how much work it is to keep watch over the house.   Surveying my yard is hard work too.  We have lots of visitors (aka, SQUIRRELS) in our backyard and it’s my job to keep the house safe 24/7.  I also like to help with the housework every now and then.  I use to help with the laundry by taking clothes out to the backyard to dry in the sunshine.  For whatever reason, Mom just does not appreciate the neighbors seeing her pretty underwear, so I now leave the laundry to her.   I also dust the furniture with my nice long tail and make sure that our vacuum system is working OK by giving it a regular work out. 

 

That’s my back story.  My future posts will be random thoughts, insights, opinions and hopefully funny antidotes of my lovable family’s everyday life…and promise to be much shorter.

Wags,

Bailey