My Backyard

I moved into a new house this summer, and I got a backyard!

Mindy came to stay with me for a couple of weeks, and we had fun sunbathing in my yard.

Mommy and Daddy even put some herbs in my yard so I have something nice to smell.

Second Annual Dog Birthday Party

Today is my birthday! Mindy and I had a joint birthday party again this year.

Mommy made me my favorite, carrot cake.

Mindy liked the cake too.

Mindy's lifelong dream of having a bed full of tennis balls finally came true. The stuffed animal on her bed is my birthday present, a gorilla.

Post-Vet Update

I recently went to visit my vet for my annual check-up. Once again, I had the whole clinic wrapped around my paw as they marveled at how cute and smiley I am. My vet said I was the happiest looking dog he has seen in a long time.

While most of my exam was full of good news and praise, I did get some not so great news. I'm still testing positive for lyme's, which is a bummer more to mommy and daddy than it is to me, since I don't really know what Lyme's is anyway. So I got another round of meds and we'll see what happens next year.

My mommy and daddy were also curious about the little "speck" in my right eye that often shows up in photos of me. My vet said it was iris atrophy, which means that when I am an old man, I might have some trouble with that eye, but I see just fine now, so nothing to worry about.

Me and My Lady

Here's a photo of me and my lady, Mindy, in the back of Mindy's car on Easter. Everyone thinks we are super cute together, mostly because we are.

My First Trip to Gettysburg

Mommy and Daddy took me to this place called Gettysburg this weekend.I got to ride an elevator...
...and then I slept in a hotel for the first time...

...and then I met President Eisenhower...

...and then I found a cave...

Double Doggy Badness

I went to visit Mindy this weekend to enjoy some spring time sun.

We ended up enjoying a midnight raid on the trash. I never go through the trash at my house, but Mindy said it was okay because she does it all the time. We had a great time spreading the trash out over three rooms while the people were sleeping.

Learning new things with Mindy

My best friend Mindy and her family came to visit me this weekend.

I learned to give eskimo kisses.
I also learned how to play tug of war with Mindy.

More Snow!

We got so much snow last night that it even snowed on my deck. I like to sniff snow. You can probably see the snow stuck to my nose from all of my snowy sniffing.

Snowy Night

It finally snowed here in Charlottesville enough for me to make tracks!

Mommy let me run around in the snow without having to wear a leash. It was so much fun. Too bad the snow was all melted by noon the next day.

Brodie v. Brodie's Daddy and the Couch

Daddy and I have a lot of extra energy to work off over our Super Bowl excitement. Daddy's most favorite team in the whole wide world, the Steelers, are playing. I can't wait! You might even notice the Steelers pillows on the red couch that Mindy's mommy made. I love it when Daddy chases me around the house.

Mommy and Daddy think it's funny how for a second, I laid down on the couch like a person.

Why I Didn't Get a Baby Brother for Christmas

One afternoon, just a week or two before Christmas, I had a momentary lapse of reason and did some badness. I pulled out two paper grocery bags that were tucked neatly behind the kitchen pantry shelf (my parents used them to take out the recycling), dragged them into the hallway, and tore them up into lots of pieces.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I'll share with you what I learned from the experience:

1). Never do any badness on a day when Mommy is in a really bad mood because her job situation is very stressful and she had to walk the whole way home from work in heels because she was 2 seconds late for the bus.
2). When Mommy and Daddy said "Santa Claus is watching," they weren't joking. I wanted Santa to bring me a baby brother for Christmas, and sure enough, I didn't get one, all because my one badness of the year happened right before Christmas.
3). Should I ever have any badness again in my life, I should probably not leave the evidence right next to the front door.

Cute Cuddling Canines

Mindy and I have decided to take our relationship to the next level.

We now will share a bed together, and sometimes, when we think the people aren't watching,

we will cuddle.

First we shared one of my beds at my house.

And Mindy put her arms around me in a loving embrace.
(Although, maybe I was snoring and she was trying to get me to stop)

Then Mindy got a new bed at her house for Christmas.

It didn't take me long to figure out that her new bed was clearly big enough for the two of us.
I love Mindy.

Canine Comings and Goings of 2008

The last couple months of 2008 brought many changes to my canine social circle and blog cast of characters.

I got a new neighbor named Cooper this fall. Here's a picture of Cooper nibbling on my ear. Cooper lives next door to me, and his daddy is in med school like my daddy. He's grown a lot since this photo was taken. I think he's going to be bigger than me soon.

In early December, my daddy's childhood dog, Ollie, passed away. We think he stuck around long enough to see my daddy one last time when we went to visit him for Thanksgiving. I liked my cousin Ollie a lot because he let me nap with him on the couch. He also taught me how wonderful bone toys are. Ollie is survived by his little sister Maggie, who also happens to be my cousin too.

I'm very happy to have a new cousin, Josie! Josie's mommy is my mommy's cousin, Lindsay. Just like me, Josie had a mysterious life before she was adopted by her mommy and daddy. I haven't met Josie yet, but I heard she's really tiny. My mommy said Josie loves people and likes to cuddle a lot, just like me, so I think Josie and I could be good friends.