Thank You

I have some of the best Twitter pals a dog could ask for! So many of you have done wonderful things for me, sent me thoughtful gifts, exchanged helpful emails... and I realize I don't do the best job of sounding grateful for all you do.

So I'm writing this post because I want to shout a big THANK YOU to all of you super pals. Whether it's sending a package that brightens my day, hauling me around Barkworld taking funny pictures, commenting on my blog posts or wishing me sweet dreams when I sign off Twitter at night, I appreciate everything you do!

Thank you for being my friends!

Camping

We went on a little camping vacation at our cabin in the mountains. We decided to go for a little hike...




J. Bear: Well, Maximus hiked. Bianca and I kind of "rode along."

Bianca: At the bottom of the hill, J. Bear tried to impress me with his tree-climbing skills.


J. Bear: Did it work?



J. Bear: We thought we'd take a little break before hiking back up. Too bad *someone* ahem, didn't think to pack a picnic lunch.
Bianca: I imagine The Girl neglected to pack lunch because we'd just had breakfast.
J. Bear: I don't see what just having breakfast has to do with anything.





Maximus: Here I am, hiking back up that hill. I don't really know why we hiked down it just to turn around and hike back up it, but whatever.


J. Bear: Dinner that night was chili with cheetos sprinkled on top.
Artie: SHIBBERING CHEETOS?
Bianca: No, Artie, just regular cheetos.
J. Bear: Um, Artie, I think that is my spoon you've got...

The next day...

J. Bear: Who's ready to go for a ride!
Artie: I'll drive!


J. Bear: What a peculiar landmark.
Maximus: The stick points North.
Bianca: Where's Artie?

J. Bear: Once again, it appears *someone* forgot to pack us a picnic...



Maximus is a professional adventurer.



This cow appears to be thinking, "What the hell is that in the sagebrush?"


Artie: WOW!
J. Bear: What do you suppose Artie's seeing through those binoculars?
Bianca: Nothing. The lens caps are on.
J. Bear: Well, I want to look!
Bianca: Go ahead. But I advise you take the lens caps off first...

Artie: Crikey! I don't know what it is, but it's HUGE!
J. Bear: Bianca! Bianca! Come look!
Bianca: Oh, that's alright. I have a feeling I know what you're looking at.


Maybe they were looking at the two bucks? Can you see them, the little pale dots in the picture below?


Artie: Hot dogs for dinner! Yay!
Bianca: And look, roasted marshmallows for dessert.
J. Bear: There are four marshmallows and three of us. So that means one a piece...
Artie: And two for me! *CHOMP*

After dinner we hung out on the deck for a bit...


If you're not a blind dog, this is the view from the deck:

Artie: Here, I'll read us a bedtime story!
J. Bear: But, Artie, it appears to be upside---
Bianca: *shh!* Oh, the Moomins, my favorite!


J. Bear: Sleeping by the camp stove isn't quite the same as sleeping by the campfire...
Artie: I like it! And I found this sleeping bag, so cozy and just my size!
J. Bear: Uh, Artie--
Bianca: Yes, it fits you wonderfully, Artie. Good night, boys!

J. Bear: All in all, it was a great camping trip, wasn't it, Bianca?
Bianca: Yes. It was wonderful.

Good Bye, Riley

This morning on Twitter @Ri_Guy's mom announced that Riley had gone over the Rainbow Bridge.

I had been following Riley's tweets and blog about the problems with his eye and had been praying for him and cheering him on when he got good news. Today came as a shock.

I know that Riley is in a better place and free from pain but I still feel heartbroken for his family. I know he will be missed more than words can say.

5 Questions

My pal @SpencerTeddy got asked some questions by @Kolo_Martin as part of a blog game...and now Spencer is asking me questions!

The rules of the game say I should answer these questions, make up five new ones, and ask them of five pals. I thought about it for some time and most of the pals I would pick have already been asked (from looking at other bloggers) so I think I will only do half of this game. What can I say, I'm a rule breaker!

Spencer asked me:

1. If you could meet someone famous who would it be?
I think I would meet @ZackRabbit!

2. What is your favorite cartoon?
Oh, we watch a lot of cartoons. So hard to pick a favorite. We like to watch He-Man and She-Ra.

3. If you were castaway on island what would you do?
I would probably sleep a lot. And cross my paws and hope they have wi-fi for my iPawd!

4. What is your favorite Twitter event?
Oh, I do love all pawties! Especially when the @ShibberingC play!

5. If you won the lottery what would you buy?
Mountains of treats and Play-N-Squeak toys! BOL!

If you are reading this and would like to play along, I've thought of some questions for you to answer. If you answer them, please leave a comment to let me know so I can read your post! :)

1) How did you get your name?
2) How do you feel about baths?
3) What is your favorite food?
4) If you could have any animal sibling, what would you pick?
5) On a scale of 1-10, 1 being "roses" and 10 being "kill you dead" how bad do your farts stink?

A Little Help From My Friends

This isn't something I do often because I know there are squillions of animals out there looking for good homes. But my friend needs help and it's the nature of friends to help each other out.

The owner of this beautiful girl Patty

has to relocate for his job and can't take her with him. She's an older dog, good with kids, and really needs a good home. Patty currently lives in Alabama. I would really appreciate my readers getting the word out; with a little help from my friends, I just know we can find this girl a nice home.

Any questions/suggestions/interest in adopting, please contact me or my pal @marshallsheldon.

Thanks, everyone!

Sadness

I didn't really want to write this post but I can't get it out of my head. So here goes:

I want to talk about sadness. It amazes (and saddens) me how many of my animal friends who seem so full of sunshine, who make me smile when I need it most, struggle with deep, dark, long sadness. Sometimes they tweet something so you know what they're going through. Sometimes they just disappear for a few days or a few months and all you can do is send a message, hope they respond, hope they're alright.

This is hard for us because we like to help-I think most anipals fit in that category. But this kind of sadness is a slippery, tricksy thing because while I think we all can relate to it, it remains unique to every person who goes through it. Meaning that the only person who can fix it, is the one whom it's affecting. Those on the outside are more or less helpless. All we can do is care, offer to lend an ear or a shoulder, and pray.

I think so many anipals experience this sadness because anipals tend to be a very open, sensitive group. I believe we gravitate toward the anipal community because it feels very safe and loving. However, once in a while there is drama or a misunderstanding or an intentional fight. It's hard for me to see this (well, it's hard for me to see, period, but you know what I mean) because it doesn't accomplish anything. Sure, there are times when I disagree with someone or heck, even know for a fact they are just plain wrong. But if I find myself about to tweet a response, I usually erase it. I'm not a milquetoast by any means, but what does it accomplish asides from hurt feelings? Is it worth ruining someone's day to prove a point? So unless it's a very big deal and/or is directed at me, I usually just keep my paws quiet.

By all means, if something is important to you, speak up. But please keep in mind that we don't always know what the other person is going through and so we can't know the impact our words might have.

Brofurs

Sooo today I was chatting with my pal BorisKitty and we were talking about how I became blind.

So we started talking about cats and claws and things of that nature. I told Boris about how sometimes the debil kittehs will swat at my ears or tail when I walk by (they don't use their claws, though).

Girl's been a little photo/video-happy since getting a new phone, and we just happened to find this video...