1/11/99 - For a little puppy who just turned six months old on Friday this has been some week. It started Monday when she went back to Mulberry Farm Kennels for her first real grooming - Carol and Karin were delighted to see her and spiffed her up just grand - nothing fancy, just enough to make her look like a dog instead of a mop, and let us see her face and eyeballs. Wednesday was another trip out but this one wasn't so nice - it was time for Puffin to be spayed. She did just fine and came back home late Thursday afternoon. She was of course rather down that night but still glad to be home, you could tell - and after an evening of extra (albeit gentle) snuggling she was quite content to be tucked into her blanket and bed around 11pm, and had a quiet night. Friday morning she snuggled right into Ginny's side on the human bed and spent the morning - when she got moving at noon things were a bit brighter and perkier. She still needed to stay a little on the quiet side and wasn't to be jumping (hah!) per Dr. Relyea's instructions, but she seemed to know her limits instinctively and took good care of herself. Each day has found her more and more herself - and today (Sunday) has her looking just about all aok - right on time, as her instructions had said about five days for her to be healing. Of course she still has that to do - and get some fuzzies back on her belly.
        Friday was a day of more wonders though - Puffin's half sister (the same daddy toy poodle) came to live next door. She's a honey-blonde puppy, two months old and has been named Zoe (click here to meet Zoe) and she was a birthday present for Lauren who turned 12 on Friday.  Zoe is just adorable, and she took to Puffin like peanut butter goes with jelly. She was put down on the floor while Puffin was still in her crate and just waddled right on over and went nose to nose, tongue to tongue with Puffin, who responded in kind (we didn't think Zoe would have a problem just having come from company of the kennel, but Puffin hasn't co-mingled with another pooch since she came to us). Puffin was then let out and the two of them were snuggling and nuzzling....Puffin being very gentle with Zoe. Zoe had brought Puffin a vegetarian dog biscuit (her new home is a vegetarian one) which Puffin enjoyed immensely, and while chomping it down Zoe spied Pod and merrily climbed up into the middle of it and plunked down. The next thing to investigate was Puffin's blanket (even though Zoe has her own pretty pink one) - and she had a grand time rumbling around in all the nooks and crannies and chewing on the corner. Puffin seemed delighted to have a buddy and had no problem in sharing her belongings. It would seem that this is the start of a snuggly friendship....
        And then last night Uncle Richie came to visit. Adopted as he may be he holds a special place in the family - and when Puffin merrily slurped him across the nose much to others' embarrasment, Uncle Richie proclaimed that he'd been kissed by worse (but that certainly didn't include Aunt Lee!).....I think they quite enjoyed each other. (Proof in the picture - click here ).
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1/17/99 - Sort of quiet week as Puffin continued to heal from the spaying - as of now she's totally back on the beam and even has fuzzies coming back on her belly. The itchies are still going strong but that seems to be the only reminder. She continues to expand her horizons - we've had a few days of snow and ice so going out isn't up there on the hit parade unless it's snowing - that she loves. She is dedicated to burrowing her snoot in it - and then of course coming in and burrowing her snoot in us. She has re-discovered the spring door stops in each room and has a grand time twanging them - usually when the human in the room is least expecting it. Trust me - the noise is impressive. Another adventure was investigating a stack of empty grocery bags - until the pile came tumbling down on her and one kept chasing her - since she'd stuck her head through the handle. Not to worry - Mom to the rescue. Jaws Junior (click for the Toy Tally ) managed to chew the end out of her fleece football, and is still having a grand time each night playing with her spools - a big part of it being hauling them one by one from Ginny's room to Mom in the living room. Of course this does set up a bit of dilemma - she thinks that all spools are hers, whether there's thread on  them or not (naturally she only gets the empites). Sneak Thief made off with a full one, duly rescued and lesson told. Now she sits and watches, all aquiver and snorting and squeaking while Ginny empties  them one by one (the thread is used in a craft that takes a spool per project)...being told that she can have it when it's empty. As soon as Ginny says OK - off she goes. And even though she has about ten in her collection each new one is greeted like it's the best thing there is.
        The excitement for the week occured when Zoe (click here if you haven't met her) came to visit again, a week now that she's been in her new home. It's the first we'd seen her in the week and she has definitely grown - on all counts. Not only is the body a little bigger but so is her confidence level. The quiet little thing that was stumbling around last week is not lacking for spunk or energy. Zoe and Puffin did the usual things doggies do when they get together; Zoe did turn submissive to Puffin by laying on her back. That however didn't really signal the truth - as soon as she was up she was launching herself at Puffin and doing a good job chomping on her ears. Puffin took it all in good stride, and when the going did get a little tough had some extra snuggling because Lauren's friend Mary came along for the visit. Mary was sure to give Puffin some extra TLC, and Lauren did too. Zoe went at it, exploring all over again and having a grand time with Puffin's toy box, blanket and Pod - and Puffin was a good big sister and shared everything, including food and water dishes (Zoe didn't get too far with the food raid thanks to Lauren, but did bring Puffin some more vegetarian biscuits, which Puffin snarfed down with thanks). After about an hour and a half Zoe conked out cold, flat on the floor. She was eventually transferred to Mary's lap which didn't phase her - and was still pretty sleepy when she was woken up to have her collar put on to go home.
        Tonight it was time to do some spiffing up - Puffin now has her ears, face and muzzle trimmed up a bit so that she can see where she's going - and others can see her. Bright eyes passed the time while all of this was going on by chewing up the comb.

1/25/99 - Puffin did a lot of dicovering this week. We had some off-beat weather for New York State in January and Monday found us with heavy rain and wind plus thunder and lightening. The lightening didn't seem to interest her - but she very definitely did not like Thunder playing in her back yard. As each long rumble started she started woofing and barking at the window, and kept it up until we were long safe from that particular event. After about four or five of these Thunder went to play somewhere else, so she thinks she succeeded in scaring it away. Puffin, by the way, was not in the least fazed by Thunder (this was her first experience with it since coming to live with us, and I suspect her first experience with it overall as I think back over the summer from when she was born). She also discovered that the lower rack of the dishwasher, when it's open and the rack pulled out, has wonderful dirty dishes that just absolutely have to be dog-tongue pre-washed. Her particular favorite seemed to be the serving dish that had oil and vinegar salad dressing left on it (huh?).....considering that Puffin doen't get table treats or anything besides her Iams kibble and Iams biscuits this was quite a find. And the last time she'll find it.
        Reflections in anything besides a mirror also seem to hold special enthusiasm for wooffing. So far she's found the screens of turned-off TVs, the door of the microwave oven, the glass doors on the fireplace, house windows after dark and before the shades are pulled, and glass doors in two different curio cabinets. Put her in front of a mirror and she looks at you like you've got three bolts missing. OK.
        We've got a good crop of fuzzies coming back on her belly after being spayed and physically she certainly is fully recovered, just two and a half weeks later. She's also now an official Dog, having gotten her NYS Dog license this week. The clerk at the town hall looked a bit befuddled after having admired her "cute" picture and then being asked "What happens if she chews up the tag?" Huh? Yup - she's already massacred an ID tag as well as her Rabies tag. Well, it tuns out we can order a new tag if she does - but someone got smart and they're made of stamped stainless steel as is her second ID tag. The Rabies tag is aluminum - and in the seven weeks she's had it has too many teeth marks in it to read. However, the three tags on her collar now provide quite a set of sound effects - sneaking up on someone is well on impossible by Jingle-all-the-way.
        It's certainly looking like Puffin's in the adolescent puppy phase - sometimes still that wriggling lump of fur that can't get out of her own way (I still haven't figured out how her rump and tail can wriglle so fast) and others as agile and assured as you could want. She's learning some commands but we've got a ways to go yet. Working on sit - using her "cookies" - bicuits - and now when she knows it's cookie time and is asked to sit that little rump goes down so fast and hard you have to laugh. Other times it isn't as direct - but we're getting there. She usually does pretty well with stay, but that's not totally reliable yet either. She's got time to learn - in some ways it's hard to remember that she's only six and a half months old - stil very much a puppy/baby, albeit a little smart, coniving one.
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2/1/99 - Sort of a routine week for a puppy - the usual endless rounds of play and belly rubs (tough life). Puffin continued to be spoiled with yet more new toys (ok, blame Ginny) - a hard rubber bone, a hard rubber tug loop for her to play with Mom with since her (Puffin's) teeth seem to cnnect with Mom in not too nice ways, and - oh joy!! - a BIG rawhide bone. And we mean BIG - about a third of her body size. And while she enjoys her other new goodies, this is the best thing since sliced bread. She's not fazed in the least by it - it was given to her amid much "she'll never be able to lift it!" opinions - not to worry. It didn't even hit the floor in the kitchen before she had it up in the choppers and was off to the living room with it, and settled in for a good long chew. I've never seen anything chew with such fervor anddedication .... truly her talent it would seem. And just to prove how much we like it, when she did finally get pooped out she slept on it in Pod. Oh yes - Rover is now minus the other ear (looks sort of pathetic...)
        Of course all of the presents came only after she spent an apparently lonely evening even though Mom was here taking good care of her. This was the first Ginny had gone out and left her - and it seems Puffin was rather forlorn until the return home. (Good thing Ginny brough presents or it really would have been a bad day). Things brightened up of course with her haul - and also the chance to play with Vickey, who also brought a treat - another peppermint stick now that candy canes are out of season. This is a good big one shaped in a ring, so at three minutes' worth of licks at a time it should last for a good while. Then, after that treat it was time to chase the cars - there are now two of those rotten radio controlled things, and Vickey and Mom were having a high old time chasing each other and someone's four paws. She does pretty good keeping up with them - and out of the way.
        Puffin has also become a fashion model. In light of most of us still not being able to tell which end is which unless the light is right being that she's an all-black doggy, Vickey decided that she needed a pink bandana. Quite to our surprise when Vickey put in on her Puffin didn't even blink, and enjoyed the whole evening all dressed up. We had figured Jaws Junior would take care of this in short order, but she really was quite content. It did eventually get in the way, and don't ask me how but she got it off - by untying the knot. Honest. No damage to the fabric, no chews - just a nicely undone tie. It's been put away for special occasions.
        Tonight was spiff-up time; she got brushed and combed, her eyes and ears cleaned, and the monthly hit of Frontline to keep the tickies off. Just as long as she has her own brush handle to chew during all of this she tolerates it just fine - and I suspect actually enjoys it (especially the brushing part) - but won't admit it.

2/8/99- Well, a most-long awaited event finally happened - Aunt Ellen came to meet and visit Puffin!! Aunt Ellen and Uncle Alan (of the bag of bones fame) go together of course - and Uncle Alan was two visits up, so this had to be fixed. Puffin had a grand time being snuggled and ooed and ahhed over and admired...just like being a brand new puppy again. She had gotten all spiffed up by being brushed and combed, and even had her pink bandana on. A joyous good time was had by all.
        Puffin continues to show us her meddle and what she likes - and doesn't like. On the like list is watching television - preferably the Animal Planet on cable, thank you. In keeping with her fascination with airplanes that was soon discovered upon her arrival with us, she now apparently doesn't approve of them flying through her airspace as demonstrated by her diligent woofing as long as it's in hearing range. The other item that has earned her disapproval is the "Bag Lady" - a fabric kitchen accessory that looks like a Colonial lady, but whose skirt is a big section for stuffing the plastic bags from the supermarket into to store them. It hangs fairly high next to the back door -  Puffin met her the other day. And didn't like her very much, making it very clear.
        Self Throw-the-Ball/toy is getting perfected each day due to constant practice. The rules of the game are dump (by Puffin) a toy or ball in the middle of Pod and then shake the guts out of Pod - said ball/toy goes flying. Puffin goes flying after it, retrieves it to Pod and repeats the process, over and over, and over and over.......
        One of her favorite toys is nearing the end it seems - her beloved plush football had been sewn back together no less than four times this week. The repairs hold but Jaws Junior proceeds to mangle another part of it. Ginny's running out of viable fabric to put stitches in, but we're trying our best. Of course while the football is in the shop Puffin is just beside herself -
        And tonight finds Puffin wishing fast healing to Zoe's buddy Lauren, who fell skiing on Saturday and broke her leg. That meant that Lauren and Zoe couldn't come play this weekend and we missed them very much, not to mention that Lauren's a pretty sore little girl right now. We all hope that she feels better real fast. But, we do have the pictures back of when Lauren and her friend Mary brought Zoe to play with Puffin - click here to see them.
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2/14/99 - A good week in Pufferdom. This week Puffin discovered tennis balls. They've been in her toy basket waiting for her, and she finally decided they were pretty neat, especially since they ricochet off things that they collide with. There are a few problems, though - Jaws Junior's jaws aren't quite strong enough to hold on to them as securely as she'd like, so jumping up with one in her mouth is a quick-time event for her to catch your attention, convince you that it's your sworn duty to toss it, and get it out of her mouth into your hand before she drops it - not an easy accomplishement. It's great fun to chase them down, especially on a bounce or two. There are problems though when they roll under things like the bed or footstool - she can grab them if she comes down over the top of them, but if she has to do a side-approach things get tough. Her mouth isn't quite big enough to surround it for a good grab if it can roll. So, recovering them from under things turns into a rather frustrating situation, usually requiring assistance from the nearest human.
        She also dicovered the bathroom trash basket. Wednesday night was "wash the eyes night" (not up there on the all time hit parade in Puffin's opinion), using those nice little cotton cosmetic squares and warm water. Puffin decided she liked the cotton squares enough to watch them being put in the bathroom trash and then go dig them out the next morning, trot them all over the house and shred them to smitherines in the living room. A followup session Friday night found her doing the same thing Saturday, but this time expanding to more varied contents of the trash. Of course both of these adventures led to the life-learning experince of "Puffin does not help herself to the trash".
        Life got better though - Valentine's Day certainly did find her neglected. She got her own footstool to get up and down from Ginny's bed (so Ginny can have hers back); a new Doll (Doll II) to replace some of the toys that are on the last hurrahs; supper time found her finally winning everyone over for a taste of Chinese Spare ribs (just a few licks off a bone) YUMMY! - but the most wonderful happening was getting all of the tissue paper wrapping from everyone else's gifts  - balled up to start then off she goes into the living room, where in less than a minute the floor is covered with pieces less than two inches in size, not to mention a few hanging from the whiskers.
        This was also Make Puffin Pretty Week - a bath, eyes and ears cleaned, coat brushed and combed. Vickey came to visit Sunday night and became the third assistant needed to tackle the toenails. Vickey and Ginny made one attempt - failed as seven pounds of squirming puppy overcame two fully grown humans. Then Vickey had the brainstorm of Mom running decoy with Puffin's candycane (the real kind). Eureka! Puffin merrily licked and chomped her way along with Vickey holding paws in place as Ginny merrily manicured 16 toenails, thank you. Who has who trained?
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2/21/99 - This week wasn't one of the better ones - Puffin was one sick little puppy (actually Ginny dubbed her a pukingpooping puppy). All was going fine till Wednesday night when Puffin started shivering.....and a few minutes later even though she tried hard to make it to outside - didn't. After cleaning up the soupy poop and cleaning her up she was bouncing around again and the rest of the evening looked fine, till 3am. Puffergirl started whining and we did manage to make it outside, but this time it was both ends to the middle. Again we got her cleaned up and tucked back in only to repeat at 5am - this time only made it to the kitchen. The 7am edition didn't even make it out of Ginny's room (just for future reference Resolve Pet Stain remover is a bottle of magic - it got brown souppoop out of light beige carpet). The vet's answering service got the call and Puffin took a nap in Ginny's arms until the 8am trip out....
        The trip to the vet was of course no fun - an xray to check for obstruction (no, thank goodness), a big shot of fluid under the skin in her shoulder to keep her from dehydrating, a rectal exam (and we all know what those are like), her heartworm test, and the first dose of one of two medicines she needs to take for five days, plus she would need to be on some soft, bland food rather than her kibbles. Dr. Tully felt that she probably had doggy flu or maybe had eaten something that got into her run outside.
        Puffin came home and was bouncing around pretty well.....but a suppertime try of Science Diet i/d that they gave her came up almost as fast as it went down. So, we left things alone for a while and then Ginny made her some soup - plain boiled beef. First try was just the broth a few hours later and that was just wonderful... then a little later she had some more with a few tiny peices of the beef in it. Next day we did fine with broth with more and more beef in it...Dr. Tully called to see how she was and said her soup was just fine...we could add rice, and cooked chicken would be good too. Suppertime we tried some i/d again but it sure wasn't up there on the hit parade, so Ginny boiled up some rice and mixed it with the beef - oh joy!! Puffin decided that was pretty good stuff - and was a much happier puppy with some solid food in her tummy again. It even stayed down - and in. By Friday night things were coming out in much better form again.
        Her two medicines are going in without a problem - one is powder that is mixed into her food twice a day, and the other is a liquid that is put into a syringe  - put it in front of her nose and squirt slowly. She licks it up for all she's worth (it appears to be beef flavored) - and doesn't loose a drop.
        All in all she is much, much better....very happy to not have sloppy poop anymore so Ginny could stop washing her butt all the time (not a favorite of either one of us, trust me), lapping up all the extra attention without complaint, by Saturday trooping around like her old self (even though she has two days of medicine and soft food to go), and having great fun playing with Teddy - the present Mom got her at the vet on account of her not feeling well - a real bonafide Vermont Chewman teddy bear that's practically as big as she is - not that that phases her in the least.
        And in the middle of all of this it seems Puffin has discovered that ahe can bark - unless she's playing or sees a reflection in something she's a very quiet puppy. This week has found her much more vocal -at what, we're not sure - we think it might be talking about sounds she hears. Now if she can only figure out to bark when the doorbell rings.....
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2/28/99 - One Puffin, happy and healthy once again ( of course Ginny's just about had it but that's ok). We finished all of the medicines on Monday, and that was the last day of soft food - Puffin's not to sure about that part since Puffin Hash (either the beef or chicken varieties) wasn't too bad. But - there is a pay off: being back on puppy chow also means we can have "cookies" again - her Iams biscuits which are just the best thing in the world in her opinion.  At first things were coming out sort of goopy and as much as Ginny tried to keep the duper clean (not one of Puffin's favorite necessities - Ginny's either, trust me) by Tuesday morning we lost the battle and Puffin got an unexpected bath at 7:30 in the morning. Twenty minutes of soaking and working at it finally got things clean as a whistle - and of couse we ended up with an overall soft and shiny puppy again, head to tail -and I do mean head since this time she was bound and determined to see what happened when she stuck her head under the shower nozzle. Ginny rescued the ears but Puffin got a surprise.
        It took a few days of being back on her regular diet for things to get back on schedule - and the one hang up was she would continually wake up crying at three am. Ok, Ginny got up and got her out - but after a few nights of this things were getting fishy - she'd been going through the nights dry for months. We finally figured out the problem last night - in the mishmash of getting things back in order and cleaned up and the like we didn't get Rover back in bed where he sleeps every night with her. So, once Rover found his way back everyone was snuggled in just fine and sleeping through again.
        We seem to be in the mode of learning how to make noise for the sake of making noise. The toy of choice this week was her jingle ball. It was great if someone would play with her, thank you - and she is very persistent in inviting you to play with her - but it was also great fun to trot all around the house with it and give it a little toss and let it go - thunk, jingle, jingle. Thunk, jingle, jingle. Thunk, jingle, jingle.... nonstop during her waking hours for what is now four days running. This was interrupted only one night when she seemed to figure out that she can bark to make noise - not just when she gets excited playing and it comes without forethought. She practiced this one night very diligently using Mom as her assistant.....Puffin had a grand time sneaking up behind Mom and letting rip with a good woof. The two of them would then look like something out of the cartoons with Puffin sitting there so prim and proper looking so proud of herself and Mom hanging from the ceiling. We also seem to be barking at a whole bunch of unheard-by-human-ears sounds.....if she could only figure out how to bark when the door bell rings we' d have it made.
        Puffin has also learned her first trick (of course things like sit, stay and down are still in the "Huh?" department...) - playing fetch with her football now becomes playing catch - she's gotten the hang of catching it in midair. And is proud as punch with herself about it, too. Speaking of Football he's been in the repair shop again - four times, along with Doll, Doll II, and BIG ball. Just to add to the inventory she got a new BIG Rawhide bone (one of those eight inch jobs, and she weighs seven and a half pounds) since she's started breaking the other one apart - and also a real, official Kong. If she chews that thing up we all ought to run for cover.
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3/7/99 - Puffin, Defender from the Chickens Extraodinaire!!! Yup - sometimes I'm not sure what ticks in that furry little head - Puffin definitely has learned how to bark over the last couple of weeks and now seems to quite enjoy it. Tonight she decided that we had to be mightily defended from the chickens - Cornish Hens, actually - that were being prepared for dinner. From the time the two bodies appeared on the counter until we were safe by their being confined in the oven Puffin woofed her little lungs out at them.....nice to know that we are so well defended.
        Yesterday was a trying afternoon - it was time for a Puffin haircut. Ginny had groomed Schnauzers in the past so tackling a Cockapoo wasn't too difficult - and the results are a sassy, snazzy doggy (that actually looks like a DOG again) - but Puffin could have done without it. Actually she was pretty good - but took it for just so long. It took a cleanup trim after dinner to finish things off nicely but all in all everybody's happy.
        Puffin made an exciting discovery this week - she knows how to steal. As easy and natural as could be she decided to help herself to the Wheat Thin crackers that were on the side table by Ginny's bed....easy as pie she snuck behind Ginny (who was sitting on the bed) and stuck her head to them, very neatly extracting one with the tips of her front teeth - and then stood there looking like "Gee!! Look what I did!"  - and then decided that she better get rid of the evidence so crunch, crunch. She's also now decided that she likes them - so peaceful snacking is a thing of the past.
        She is also learning that Ginny isn't Pod - although this is taking some doing. You'll recall that one of her favorite self-entertainment talents is to place a ball or toy on Pod and shake the guts out of it to send said toy flying - self fetch. Well, Ginny got a fleece jacket similar in color to Pod. Now Puffin can't quite understand why when she dumps a toy on Ginny's back or chest and attempts to shake the tar out of her it the toy doesn't go anywhere.....but it's not for the lack of continued experimentation.
        We continue to work on expanding - more like creating - Puffin's working vocabulary - the English one that is. Puffinese is quite well established, but the English half is still under construction. She has however, continued to perfect her ability to stand on her head. She's done it since she was a puppy when she plays/snuggles/tumbles with you - the back legs don't quite make it airborne but other than that it's as close as a dog can get.....
        The toy inventory increased again - Mom bought her a new Rover since the original is totally non-descript, but still we (and I do mean WE) do not sleep at night unless the remains are in bed with her. Football has been repaired four more times - not much left. The Toy of Choice for the Week continues to be jingle ball...thunk, jingle, jingle....thunk, jingle, jingle....thunk, jingle, jingle....thunk, jingle, jingle.... to the point where two nights Ginny actually was an awful meany and took it away from her - at 2am. She got it back during normal daylight hours....and the game goes on.
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3/14/99 - We now have a movie star. And critic. A few weeks ago we borrowed a camcorder to be able to take some videos of Puffin to send to family out of state. It  was one of those nifty hand-sized ones so the friend that loaned it had to take everything back home and transfer the video to a regular VHS tape, which we got back this week and of course had to review. Everyone settled into the living room for the show. The tape started with Puffin playing with her squeaky soccer ball - and that started the second show. The poor dog couldn't for the love of her figure out where the ball was and who was squeaking it. She ran the house down looking for it. Then we switched to bedtime one night when she gets her cookie - and of course she's being asked on the tape if she wanted one. Puffin Real Life wanted one too - to heck with whether it was a real person asking her or not (yes, she got one). The next segment was of Puffin woofing her heart out at nothing in the dark window one night - but we filmed it to prove that she really could bark (at that point she hadn't learned that she could)...and that finally got her attention hooked to the TV. Puffin Real Life had a great time woofing at Puffin On Tape woofing up a storm, so we had it in stereo. And of course the accompanying actions, reactions and positions of Puffin Real Life just added to the act. She'd stomp right up to the screen and go to it - until Puffin On Tape turned so that she was "looking" at you from the screen - and little brave soul retreated in a hurry to about mid-room. When the view zoomed in - well then, we just hightailed it right back to Ginny to be protected from that huge doggy in the TV. Next we taped Puffin playing in the living room - fetch (of course) with her jingle ball. The room is fairly long with the chairs at one end and the TV at the other - and the ball was being tossed from the chairs to the TV. Puffin is watching this quite intently and then took to trying to crawl in back of the TV - very diligently. Took us a bit to figure out that she thought for all she was worth that her ball , as she watched in roll "into" the TV on the tape, had to be behind the TV. Of course - where else would it be? The last section of the tape had two grown adults playing with the two remote control cars from Christmas - and Puffin was just as determined to catch them in the TV as she was in the kitchen.
        Puffin the Wheat Thin Thief (of last week's edition) has now expanded into the Cookie Thief - seems that nothing on the side table now is safe. We are working on the manners in that department... so then she decided that she'd investigate Mom's coat pockets (coat hanging on back of chair rather than in closet). Out came the gloves, tissues, and a few other assorted items not of Puffin possession status.... we are definitely in puppy adolescence. (She was eight months old this week). So to celebrate - oh joy!!!  - a new football (see the Toy Tally) - and a latex (not vinyl) squeaky hamburger. The new football has already been in the repair shop...  but the hamburger is still intact. Place your bets for how long.

3/21/99 - In comparison to the last few this seems like a "dull" week. We had to say goodbye to one rawhide bone.... not that it really is missed that much in the overflowing bakset of toys. The toy of choice is still jingle ball - virtually 80 percent of her waking hours are spent thunk-jingle-jingling.... if you'll play along that's fine but if you don't Puffin goes along her merry thunk-jingle-jingle way without you. Ginny gets dubbed the meaney periodically when she takes it away from her at say, three in the morning. And she even still has all of her teeth - despite Ginny having tossed the ball and it bouncing off the door straight back at her, totally unsuspecting fro all of us. Her mouth happened to be open and in just the exact right place for jingle ball to thunk itself in. After the rather HUH? look vanished from her eyes she came right back for more - shaking her head a little bit but not crosseyed anymore.
        Puffin's latest possession is a puppy booster seat. Her vet is very sincere about Puffin going for some car rides to places other than the vet's  - but all eight pounds of her can't see anything when she's in the car. Mom decided to order her a car seat - quite a contraption. It's a square bucket sort of  - made of foam with fleece lining. It gets strapped in with the seat belt and then her harness hooks to the belt.... but to get her used to it it's been on the floor in the kitchen - by the back door. She has come to be quite comfy in it in the sun during the day - and if the weather allows the back door to be open she can get in it and look out and see the birdies, and the squirrels, and the leaves and the wind....  not bad.
        Puffin's other great accomplishment this week was winning the campaing to sleep with Ginny. Up until the last week or so around midnight she would be tucked into her crate and bed with blanky and binky and Rover - but of late she has made it known that she wants out when Ginny is getting ready for bed (Ginny is a bit of a night owl). She has her tumble and snuggle and then claims the middle of the bed. Ginny has to admit that after having had a cat for thirteen years that helped to keep the bed warm it's sort of nice to have a furry body back snuggled into you.
        We were on a roll today - Puffin had to have her nails clipped so it was the old fake out with the candy cane again - worked even better than the first time. Then Zoe's mom calledand asked if we could do Zoe's, so she and Puffin had a high old time romping all over the living room. This was a graduation for both of them - usually when Zoe comes to visit they had been confined to Ginny's room. Both did just fine; and then Ginny and Billie and Zoe retreated to Ginny's room to get the job done - not bad, 32 nails in one day.

3/28/99 - Thunk, jingle, jingle...thunk, jingle, jingle....  and the beat goes on. Without a doubt jingle ball is still holding the prime spot in her heart. So much so that we've gotten to the point of it "takes a rest" during human meal times and after midnight... much to a little doggy's dismay. There's nothing wrong with her memory - she'll take specific note of where jingle ball was put to take its nap - and either keep vigil or spend an extraordinary amount of effort to remind you where it is. It also appears to have a good scent of its own (unnoticed by human noses) since if Ginny manages to pop it into her jacket pocket unbeknownst to Puffin it doesn't take long for her to have located it and attempt to "dig" it out....  and one night Mom decided to bury it in all the stuff in her bed. Puffin merrily chomped down her biscuit and made a beeline for her bed - in a few short moments she had rooted it out.
        We discovered toes and ears this week. Human ones that is. Mostly Ginny's.. and they appear to hold a wonderful fascination for her. They have to be totally investigated whenever the opportunity presents itself, and then completely licked. Haven't figured out the wonderment of these yet - but perhaps someday we will be enlightened. Have you ever had a puppy tongue stuck in your ear?
        Puffin has decided that her booster seat is kind of neat - now that warmer days are beginning to roll around a bit and the inside back door is open she has the opportunity to either stand up on it or sit in it and birdwatch - as well as anything-that-comes-along watch. She generally tells them off too - although many times she appears to be telling the wind off since there is nothing in reach of human eyes or ears to make one get excited. Then again - she had a grand time telling the empty cereal boxes off that were standing on the counter ready to go into the garbage... and I'm sure that they weren't moving or making any sound, human or dog available or not. And, this week she got to go out in the back yard on a tether with Ginny - oh joy!!  Twenty feet of freedom to tear around on!!!  All those things that she could only look at and whiff from her run - now to be explored in person (dogson?). Both decided it was a pretty neat way to spend an hour.
        Although the house rule is no goodies from the table.... Mom holds out just so long before giving in. This week she had a container of yogurt after dinner one night... Ginny had pushed away from the table and Puffin had settled in on her lap quite nicely to survey the view. Well....  needless to say Puffin had her first taste of yogurt - and certainly seemed to enjoy it. The tongue went forty miles and hour, and of course as the upper part of the container got licked clean that just meant that you have to dig deeper - right? In went the snoot up past her eyes - the container at this point didn't need to be held bu human hands - and the tongue never stopped. I think it will be a long time before Mom is able to eat a container of yogurt in peace again, but she went looking for it.
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4/3/99 - Oh, what an exciting week we've had!!  Thursday was a just-gorgeous burst of spring, so Ginny and Puffin were out in her run getting it cleaned up a bit and playing with a tennis ball. We hear something crashing through the fence and here comes Zoe with Billie (Zoe and Lauren's mom) on the other end of the leash...   Billie had been working all day and still had to get lunch and a few chores done - but Zoe had been in her crate all day and was raring to go. Puffin invited her into her run - the first "outside" play date for them both. This was also Zoe's first introduction to Astroturf which she thought felt pretty good when she was rumping along on her back on it. She and Puffin had a grand time romping and tumbling - and for Zoe it was a neat treat to be outside and not on a leash. They also had a grand time trying to decide if the broom should be attacked or hid from. Two on a tennis ball even worked out ok - they shared better than some humans do - the water bowl too. Ginny and Puffin Zoe-sat for about an hour in total and a great time was had by all.
        Our next great adventure happened Saturday. Carol from Mulberry Farm (Puffin and Zoe's home kennel) called to see if either one or both could come and show off - she had people that wanted to  see cockapoos but didn't have puppies ready to show yet. So - off went Billie and Ray (Luaren's dad) and Zoe - along with Ginny and Puffin. Everyone had a grand time at the reunion, and the two dogs were puppies on parade on their best behavior. They did all the right things and made Carol proud - as well as all of us. The people had come from New Jersey and had seen Puffin on the web - so it was a riproaring success.
        Puffin is a few days shy of nine months now and full grown. She continues to learn each day - but sometimes we do have to wonder. Ginny was playing catch/fetch with her with Football (II - Football I finally had to be laid to rest) and Football landed in her food dish. Now - she will go through high water and mountains to retreive a toy from wherever it lands - but the simple thought of picking Football up out of her food dish was not in the cards. She then decided that it was time to finish supper, so dug out all of her kibbles from around and under Football - rooting the dish all over the floor (carpet - never tipped it over) - and finally quit after she'd maneuvered it to Ginny's feet, clean as a whistle save for Footbal sitting in the middle of it.
        The time had come to invest is another BIG rawhide or two - Mom did the shopping this time and was limited to flavored varities. She chose a salmom flavored and a hickory smoke flavored Beefeater rawhides. Puffin had no trouble in making her choice after they came home - she was going nuts over the salmon flavored one even before Ginny could get the shrink wrap off. Puffergirl settled in for a good chew...  although we're not sure how. There is no other way to describe the fact that it stank. But that was when it was good. After an hour of dog spit on it stank wasn't the word. Now, Mom doesn't like fish to begin with, so her thoughts on the matter were biased to begin with - but even Ginny (who does) had to admit that it was more than rank and ripe; the majority vote was out it went (needless to say the one dissenting vote was Puffin). The hickory was next on the board - I don't know exactly what it smelled like but hickory smoke wasn't it. Something dead was more like it - but it did seem to fade (maybe we just lost our olfactory ability) and Puffin is still thoroughly enjoying that one.
        And of course the Easter Bunny made a visit - and he seemed to know that Puffin would much rather have her Easter goodies wrapped in tissue paper than arranged prettily in an Easter basket...  which of course was true. She got a new latex squeaky dumbbell to replace the one that popped an air leak and didn't squeak anymore (not that Ginny minded the silence - these particular goodies are labeled as having extra loud squeakers. Trust me - they do) and also what has been named George. George is a latex squeaky too - but rather beyond description. He's crosseyed, got four fingers on each hand, no legs, something growing out of the top of his head and is hot pink, green and purple. Told you. She loves him. And not only does he air-squeak when you squash him - he "rubber squeaks" when she chews him which just keeps the momentum going. Each of course was opened by Puffin unassisted and the tissue paper never knew what hit it. In case you're wondering - new toys not withstanding we still thunk, jingle, jingle all the day long too.

4/11/99 - PTUI!!  Remember that from Snoopy, when he'd play left field during the baseball season and return the ball to Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound and spit it out to him with a good Ptui! - ? Well, Puffin Putis... with a vengence. Jingle ball is still the object of her adoration, and now that baseball season is here Ginny's going to sign her up as shortstop with the Red Sox (Ginny's a Red Sox fan so Puffin is by default). Puffin will stop anything cold - getting the ball past her is really quite a feat   (on a roll or shot hop - throwing over her head doesn't count). And when she brings it back (presuming of course it's fetch and not keep-away) she doesn't just place it at your feet - she ptuis it out with a good shot. When it lands on any part of your anatomy trust me - this is no passive deposition. If it lands on your head (as it is wont to do if Ginny has revved up the oomph to get down on  the floor and REALLY PLAY) it only takes a few well placed ptuis to make you wonder how much it takes to cause a concussion. I've finally figured out that the propulsion results from her letting go of the ball at the same time she throws her head downward (with a good thrust) - and in combination with the inherent weight of that hard rubber - watch out. If you think jingle ball is dangerous - she got a solid hard rubber ball (same size and color of jingle ball) this week (on the foolhardy thought on Mom's and Ginny's part that it would be a bit quieter) and if that's the current choice it's time to run for cover - when she ptuis that one down it registers on the Ricter scale. There is a plus side though - no jingle, so it just THUNKS. And when it thinks on the carpet it is much quieter than jingle ball.....
        We had a few nice warm days that allowed the door to be open to the porch - there are two steps down from the inside to the porch. She discovered it's grand fun to ptui the ball (either one) at the top step and let it thunk, jingle, jingle or thunk, thunk (depending on the ball) down the steps...  and depending on how good the ptui was it gets good roll off the bottom step. Then you can launch yourself off the top step full speed and go get it, bring it back to the bottom step (which is a riser so there's a space under it), ptui it down and push it with your nose so it rolls under the step, out from which a Puffin has NO chance of retrieving it, so you have to sing to Ginny until she gets it out.
        Yup, sing. We've become quite good at it the last several weeks. It's not a squeal, or whimper, or whine - she sings. Sounds pretty much like something that's sprung a slow leak...  and is usually most vocal when she's frustrated or excited - and one breath can last longer than you could ever imagine. Be it the novelty or the ruckus it causes it generally is very effective (from her perspective).
        And Jaws Junior continues - the new squeaky dumbbell no longer squeaks, George has been laid to rest after bilateral hand/arm amputations, Football has been repaired several times this week and is minus its squeaker, and several rawhides became beyond reasonable use.....she did get a new BIG Bone this week so all is not lost.

4/18/99 - Another week in Pufferdom where anything can happen. We were playing fetch with Jingle Ball (what else) when the inevitable happened - it became Dunk for the Apple/aka Jingle Ball, as it landed in her water dish. Of course the simple task of picking it up in her teeth as she does four hundred times a day never enters into solving this problem.... she pushed it around with her nose (snorting and sneezing every two seconds), drank as much as she could hold to get the water out of the way after going in up to her eyebrows pushing it around in the dish.... and finally gave up and "sang" to it until Ginny could stop laughing long enough to catch her breath and wipe her eyes... but by this time Mom came to see what the commotion was all about and rescued Jingle Ball from its certain death by drowning...  only to have restored it to being knocked about twenty hours a day. This experience however seems to have awakened a new sense of protection in Puffin...  the next night Ginny was putting her toys away as Puffin "slept" in her usual spot by the bookcase. She never batted a wink as each toy was picked up and put in the basket until it was Jingle Ball's turn - and then she was quite perturbed. She got up, took it back out of the basket, put it down in her spot and went back to sleep with it tucked at the top of her head.
        Puffin is now -at least physically - a "big girl", so she now has a grown-up collar - a handsome red rolled leather one, with a leash to match. She seems quite proud of it, and hopefully will be more comfortable since it's much smoother and her coat isn't matting under it like it did with with nylon ones. It actually was her nine-month old present but came a bit late -as did her fleece Frisbee. She has always shown a propensity to catch her toys if tossed above - but most of them are too big to get in her jaws on the fly, or too solid so that if she misses she'll knock herself silly. Frisbee solves that just nicely and she's getting the hang of it quite well. It's about nine inches in diameter and also has a squeaker in the middle. Between the squeaker being the preferred place for jaw attachment combined with that if she grabs it in the middle she can carry it without tripping all over it (as happens if she has it by the edge...)  she walks around with this thing looking like it's plastered on the front of her snoot like a nine-inch powder puff.
        Yesterday was bath day, in preparation for her going to visit Carol back at Mulberry Farm today to have her spring spiff-up. She got her nails trimmed ( was good as gold for Carol but for Ginny - forget it) and then Carol did a wonderful job of trimming things up a bit - no more dust mops for four feet, and gee whiz - she has EYES!! Carol we think, had a great time visiting with her as she groomed her, and of course did an extra special job - Puffin is looking just adorable and knows it - she's trotting around here with the head up in the air, proud as punch.
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4/25/99 - And the jingle ball rolls on. Puffin is actually getting quite adept at left field in addition to short stop (in that position she's a killer. You're lucky if you can anything past her shy of lobbing it over her head) - of course we have to be careful of what goes into left field since she'll try to catch anything - including something big or hard enough to knock her beanie silly or a few teeth out. I'm also beginning to think she's part seal - the way she nuzzles things around with her nose does make one wonder. We haven't had too nice weather for this time of year around here all things considered, but we did get out in the yard today and she had a good romp with Zoe again...  Brendan came to visit too, he's all of almost "fwee" (that's three in Brendanspeak). Brendan is quite used to Zoe since his family is real good friends with Zoe's family, so he wasn't phased in the least with Puffin - and quite quickly defined Puffin as a "Zoedog", but "Puffin black". Doesn't miss much, this kid. Puffin took it all in stride - you can tell that she's grown up a bit compared to Zoe in the roll-and-tumble department, but still enjoys a good playdate. Later in the day Puffin was in her run enjoying the late afternoon sun - and had her first encounter (to our knowledge) with a bumblebee. One of those big lumbering things that sort of hangs in the air like one of those C5 cargo planes - Puffin was quite fascinated and seemd to have a good time "chasing" - but not really wanting to catch.
        We did have a bit of a frustration this week. Ginny rearranged "our" bedroom. Puffin was of course smack dab in the middle of everything as it was being taken apart and put back together and made quite sure that she kept an eye on her toy basket and crate. Things were all in their new place within an hour or so... and she seemed quite happy with the place her crate is in now since she can be in it and still see out the door of the bedroom - something that wasn't possible before. Since that was discovered she has bopped in and out of it more than anytime since we got it, other than when she gets put in it at night (which doesn't happen anymore) or when we go out. The problem arose with "our" bed - Ginny's that is. Puffin got a bit discombobulated and couldn't quite grasp that she could still get up on it using her or Ginny's footstools, since the stools were in different places around the bed than they had been before. The first day and night she was one frustrated puppy - so Ginny took pity and picked her up to snuggle in for the night. Next day her footstool was put back in the same orientation it had been in with the previous arrangement of furniture, and with the urging of her jingle ball waiting on the bed up she came. She tested the system a few times during the day but by evening she was in fine form again, bounding up and down adinfinitum.
        It has been a week of oohs and ahs for her over her spring spiff up from Carol last week - Puffin struts around proud as punch knowing she's a sassy cutie. Part of her growing up was to, this week, graduate to "big dog" biscuits rather than her puppy ones (they are just a bit bigger than her puppy ones, but thicker and apparently a lot harder. They don't claim tartar control for nothing.). Seems that maybe we finally found Jaws Junior's match (hard to believe). She certainly took to them in the taste department..  but the crunching part was another story. After a good session of pushing it around (in and out of her mouth) and woofing at it on the floor, Ginny lent a hand and broke it in two . From there  we spent about ten minutes of staring at it, singing to it and sucking on it until the dulcet tones of "crunch crunch". Chops were licked for considerable period of time thereafter. We're still testing the choppers but for now Ginny is breaking them in two for her and down the hatch they go. One more bag of puppy chow and then we graduate on that too. Sort of sad in a certain way, but Puffin will always be a puppy in heart and spirit, we're sure.
        The time is soon coming that Ginny will have to "retire" some of the toys...  Pinkydolls and Footballs and Quincy have been in for repair many times this week - some of them are getting mighty woebegone. But - retiring the old ones means room for new ones - goody goody!!
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5/2/99 - Spring is finally getting a good grip on us around here now so the back door is open just about everyday, which means Puffin gets to survey her realm (at least the backyard of it) on a frequent basis. She has decided that she definitely does not lke squirrels on her turf and lets us/them know it in no uncertain terms. The birds are still up for grabs - but plastic bags are not. There was one loose in the yard the other day and she was very diligent all day in telling it to go away. The porch has also been set up for summer so she's pretty happy about that too - even though she got locked out there for two hours the other night. Didn't seem to phase her in the least although Mom had a bit of a heart attack over it. We've had several visits with Zoe this week - once Zoe came to play in Puffin's run (which is getting to be old hat) - but then yesterday Mary was over to play with Lauren, and we decided that both Puffin and Mary were grown up enough for Mary to take her out on the leash - so off the four (Lauren, Zoe, Mary and Puffin) went - over hill and dale. Actually they went around the circle of the neighborhood about three times (after all it isn't every day you each get to have a puppy on a leash!), and then had great times romping through both Zoe's and Puffin's yards. By the time Puffin came back home she had had quite an afternoon - came in, took a drink and promptly zonked out for about three hours.
        Today was another adventure - Zoe's yard has a BIG fenced in pool area (pool still covered with a walk-on cover) and Puffin had been invited  to play several times, so we finally took a walk over to try it out. Well - you never saw two puppies have more of a romp in your life. They had a ball together and alone, Puffin exploring all of this new territory - and for her it was the longest free run she'd had since leaving the kennel. Zoe has gotten used to walking on the pool cover - but for Puffin it was quite an unnerving experience - there's about a foot overlap on the edge so that's hard and firm, but when you get over the water it's sort of like walking on a soggy trampoline. She wasn't quite sure about it but sure wanted to test it out some.
        We had two major discoveries this week. The first was ice cubes. She doesn't really want them in her water - but on the floor is just fine thank you. She runs around with it, sucks on it, noses it around, tosses it up, and eventually settles down and licks then chomps it. And will not give it up till it's all gone. Her next eureka moment came when Ginny started blowing bubbles from good old fashioned bubble juice. Puffin took a few minutes to stake the things out then had a wonderful time chasing and trying to catch them. Never did figure out where they went too. And of course jingle ball rolls on and on and on......

5/9/99 - Have we mentioned that Puffin likes to make noise? Not doggy noises, although she's pretty good it that too (she thinks she owns our neighbor's yard as well as ours, but thankfully the neighbor is Zoe's family so it's pretty much ok) - but noises with things, like her toys. Of course thunk, jingle jingle has become part of even our sleep and dreams...  but at this point the guy that invented squeaky toys is not up at the top of Ginny's list of favorites. The super squeaker in the latex dumbbell has (thankfully) been squeaked out (that was a ripper). Now the object of concentration in Puffin's world is finding the squeakers in the fleecies. Unlike the latex ones that perform whenever they are squeezed (i.e., chomped on) in any position, making noise with a fleecy takes talent. You have to find the thing inside first and get in your jaws just right before it makes noise. Therefore, when that skill and talent is attained, you give it all you have. And the more noise you make with it, the more you want to make. Get the picture?
        Mom's birthday was this week along with Mother's Day...  so Puffin managed to get a present out of it when a dear friend came to visit Mom. And of course it also meant TISSUE PAPER. I think we could hire her out as a confetti maker. There isn't a piece bigger than a dime left when she gets done ripping it to shreds...   never swallows it, just delights in mutilating it into the tiniest pieces she can. She can't wait for anyone to unwrap something - her eyes literally glow in anticipation. Ball it up tight as you can, toss it off -a nd she's off on her laps aroudn the house till we find just the right spot to shred it up.
        We seem to have graduated just fine to big girl biscuits - she grinds them up with no hesitation now. The one thing that still has her befuddled is getting things out fo the bedroom door when it's ajar, which means that the baby gate (still in service for Puffin containment when needed) is ajar too. She has managed to figure out how to wiggle herself through...  although sometimes that gets tough too since she hasn't figured out how to used her paw to pull it back open. The problem comes in when she wants to take one of her BIG bones out - holding it of course in the traditional "bone position" in her mouth - which means her side to side clearance factor now is about ten inches. We'll spend about five minutes clangbanging it against the door and jamb...   and them she'll go out without it but not be happy so she's back in trying again...  and then the light bulb finally goes off. She'll wiggle her way out, and then stick her head back in to fetch the bone. We have a few false attempts at that since the size and shape still hasn't changed, only the direction of travel (backwards in stead of forwards). Then - EUREKA! - if we grab it by the end instead of in the middle, it fits through the opening!! And off we go..... not bad problem solving for a ten month old puppy.

5/16/99 - Oh joy, we've learned to sleep on both sides of the bed!! This had been a problem, you see - Puffin's favorite spot is curled up under Ginny' s left armpit. And I do mean favorite. She'll let it be known that the body isn't arranged properly for it too. But - this week she has miraculously learned that it works on both sides of the body/bed, which leaves a few more positioning options for Ginny.  Puffin also dicovered Ginny's chriopractor pillow - one of those things with a sort of hole in the middle of it for your head, so that your neck is aligned properly (quite comfortable, actually). Puffin made the great observation that the hole looked to be just about her size to curl up in (very true). So when we tried it out by curling up in it over Ginny's head since she'd sort of slid down in the bed - oh, how cozy that was! So now we have almost nightly discussions over who's going to use the pillow. Ginny generally wins at the beginnig but it doesn't take much of an opportunity for Puffin to sneak up there when all's quiet.
        We are a soft snuggly puppy again after a bath on Saturday - and as usual she tolerated it minimum dispute. We got things as dryas we could with towels and the like and then took off on a run around the house to fluff things up - somehow a bath charges the batteries up but good and Puffin goes into overdrive. Since it was such a nice day we went out in the run in the sunshine to finish drying off while Ginny swept things up out there. Mom was out watering the plants (newly acquired for the season so this was the first) - and got the bright idea to see if Puffin liked the sprinkler. Which she did - had a grand time dancing in the water drops trying to catch them. Of course, this wasn't helping gettng or keeping a dry puppy....  and this is the pooch that will not stick her nose out from under the overhang to go potty when it's raining. But she's dancing in the sprinkler and loving every minute of it. Go figure.
        She had a grand time with Zoe again - this time Puffin and Ginny went to visit Zoe in her back yard, with a big fenced in area where the pool is. The pool is still under wraps but both puppies had a grand time running laps around the inside of the fence....  ears flying in the sunshine. They go like the wind, side by side. You can read more about it on the Zoe and Puffin Page.
        The big frustration this week had again to do with Jingle Ball. Whilst playing in our room it landed this time not in the water bowl but in the chow bowl. Granted, not as messy as dunking for Jingle Ball in the drink, but just as frustrating. She will retrieve that ball from any and every where - and I do mean EVERY where, but not the bowls. Same food and water that she slurps down all day - but oh no, we're not going to stick our snoot in the bowl and get the ball out. Some day maybe I'll figure out Puffin logic.....

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5/23/99 - Let's see. This week we discovered sheets. As in the ones on the bed. That go with the pillows we discovered last week. Puffin has decided that sleeping ON the bed ain't half as much fun and comfy as sleeping IN the bed. Now, Ginny is a pretty easy going pushover when it comes to Puffergirl, but this one is going a bit far and each night tends to have a discussion as to who sleeps where. Puffin generally accepts her disposition relatively calmly - until Ginny gets a call of nature. Then we take full advantage of the open bed and keep the sheets warm for her. As dedicated as Puffin may be to Ginny's comfort in this regard it doesn't work and she rather reluctantly gets repositioned on instead of in. Her rebuttal is to take the smack dab middle, of course.
        Ginny celebrated a birthday this week so that meant that each gift had an assistant opener. And then when the paper was off there was only one creature in the house that it belonged to of course, and was duly shredded into miniscule shreds. Regular gift paper is ok but tissue paper - now THAT'S what life is all about. It flips and it flies and it floats...  and Puffin sits in the middle of it gloating for all she's worth.
        Last night the local fire company celebrated it's fiftieth anniversary....  and culminated the event with a rather spectacular fireworks display (at least from the sound of it). It seems that sounds that Puffin can't place a source to with her vision really get her buttons pushed, so the fireworks fell into the same category as thunder. Each launch launched Puffin on a woofing and singing spree. Cute the first time but it wore thin pretty quickly, especially since there was a good movie on the telly and eight pounds of woofing machine was not too complimentary. Ginny spent the majority of the time on the floor with her teaching her that there are times to be quiet. By the end of the show (fireworks that is) it looked like we'd made some progress and she was letting the last of them go without adding to the noise factor. Me thinks though that it's going to be a long summer between thunder and the Fourth of July.
    Puffin has also acquired a new nickname. Last week after her bath Ginny was calling her Fluffy Puppy as she usually does those first few days when she's even softer and fluffier than usual... except that one night while doing it Ginny got a bit tonguetied, and it came out Fluppy. Ok - so it was LATE one night......
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5/30/99- Puffin, Defender of the - uh,well, Poo.Yup. Poo. Puffin is in the stage of letting the world know what she thinks of everything in a rather vocal mode...  and we're trying to learn that even if you give off one or two woofs of opinion you don't need to deliver a fifteen minute monologue (we haven't succeeded in convincing her of that yet). Considering that we have some dogs in the neighborhood that do this all day long we consider it very important to teach Puffin her manners in this regard. So, tonight about dusk when she was out in the run and started making a ruckus Ginny went out to try to determine what had her rather riled up. In following her gaze she was not taking a bead on anything out in the yard as might be expected such as a bunny or groundhog.... she was dutifully concentrating on a, ahem - poo log in her run. As Ginny began concentrating on this same wonderfully interesting object she thought that the mind had finally collapsed (Ginny's, that is) - it was moving. Not just moving - rolling. Toward the fence, and not losing a lot of time in the process. Honest. Now you have to understand a dark brown poo log on astroturf at dusk might be wont to play tricks on one's imagination - but honest to glory it was rolling. And Puffin was rather upset about it. Upon a closer inspection it seemed that we had come to play host to a very determined beetle (which was large enough and brown enough to at first glance in these circumstances look to be a poo nut instead of a poo log)...   and he was very diligently marching in a head butt against it rolling it toward the fence. What he thought he was going to do with it once he got it to where ever he was going with it we'll never know because the run got swept at that point in time...   but Puffin was very upset that Mr. Beetle was making off with her poo log. Removing the evidence was the only immediate solution.
        Puffin received an unexpected surprise this week - her adopted cousin Cockapoos in California (spit THAT out three times fast) sent her a present. First of all their mom wrapped it up in about half a package of tissue paper so what was inside almost didn't even matter - the fun started with ripping and shredding and generally having a grand time making confetti as per usual with the paper. However - when she got to the good stuff inside she discovered her very own Mr. Carrot. He's bright orange of course with green leaves on top, a squeaker inside and a face on the outside. She is in love (second still to jingle ball of course but running a close second) - he gets hauled all over the house by his top, and then has the daylights shaken out of him repeatedly until she loses her grip and he goes flying into the next room. She goes and drags him back - and I do have to admit the sight of a black puppy with this orange thing hanging out of her mouth is quite a sight. Puffin sends a big thank you to Tiki and Tiara.

6/6/99 - Well, we haven't had any more attempted poo thefts this week, and it would appear that the suspect has gone belly up. Puffin has been quite perturbed about a watering can that was on the patio just outside the fence of her run - barking at it before all four feet hit the astroturf in her run when she would go out. We finally surrendered and moved it out of site today - and that unearthed the remains. Since we've not seen anything else around that resembled the culprit it would seem a good possiblility - and if he/she had made it home and Puffin had noticed it that fits as to why she was so concerned with the watering can. Now that everything is disposed of the neighborhood is quiet again.
        Mr. Carrot has taken quite a beating this week - he's now bald since all of his tops have been shredded off, and he's a bit stubbier than when he first arrived since once the tops were gone Puffin settled in on his pointy bottom. She got dedicated to unstuffing him per usual, so Ginny recued him and put him back together. He still grins and still squeaks, and still has the little hangerupper loop on his top, so she's still having a grand time seeing what she can do to him next. The loop has become quite the object of concentration and she tries to give him the shake routine with that - but since it's finer than the tops she gets it in her mouth but not with a firm hold on it. Mr. Carrot rocks around a bit out of coordination with her ratting, and she hasn't quite figured out why, or what to do about it. She still lets him fly - and gets almost as good air time, so life is still good.
        Summer nights with the windows open have gotten interesting - the night sounds are good for Puffin commentary at the least invitation. She's gotten semi-ok with bugs and the like, but we have something prowling out there that makes quite a sound. We haven't yet figured out what it is yet - but Puffin sure doesn't like it. Since it tends to show up when ever it wants all night long one never knows when one will be quite suddenly and completely woken out of a comfy sleep with Puffergirl woofing her disapproval of someone being out so late at night...
        Today she had an absolutely wonderful time catching bubbles. We've played with them before but she hadn't quite gotten into it. Today Ginny got better at blowing them (there is an art to it, you know) - and Puffin alternated between chasing them on the ground being quite taken aback when they "disappeared" as she got them - and flying high leaping to catch them as they floated. That had her going too - the snap of her teeth as she popped them made it look and sound like the bubbles were exploding. I'm not sure that she ever figured out where they went...

6/13/99 - We had a field trip today!! Puffin had her first social outing - a car ride that wasn't destined to end up at the vet, or the kennel for grooming - just a plain old fun RIDE IN THE CAR!!  Her good buddy Vickey rose to the occasion by taking Puffin with us when we went for ice cream tonight...and oh what fun to sit in Ginny's arms not knowing which way to look first - out the front window or sticking her nose prints all over the side one. Then when we got to a multi-lane road so that a car passed us on the right - on Puffin's side - oh boy!! What was THAT? And then another came... hey this is sort of neat! We got to the ice cream shop and of course got carry-out to eat in the car... Puffin had the most wonderful time watching the world go by and of course collecting more than her share of Oohs and Ahhs... and quite captivated two little boys who were pretty fascinated watching her while they waited for their ice cream. Puffin minded her manners - though Ginny made it a bit easier by having a milkshake that had a lid and straw... Puffin did however seem to quite enjoy plastering her tongue on the cold outside of the container. Good thing she doesn't go out far in the winter - she'd be sitting next to a lightpost with her tongue stuck to it.
        Puffin seems destined to be a bug hunter. After the poobeetle experience we then had a smaller version loose in the bedroom this week... a very tiny one in comparison but nevertheless she spent over half an hour "playing" with it... I'm not sure if it escaped or got tasted, but she sure had a conversation with it. As I write this she's hunting down and talking to another crawly on the floor...  seems to be becoming one of her favorite entertainment schemes.
        And - we graduated to Big Girl status in a way today - Ginny packed up and put away the elements of the "cleanup bag" - since her arrival in puppyhood when the cleanup detail had to be on call we've kept a plastic bag at the ready with Resolve carpet cleaner (and yes folks - it really does work), spray disinfectant and a water bottle, plus the proverbial paper towels and disposal bags. Puffin has the go-out system down pat - has for quite a while, telling Ginny when she has to go or answering positively in Puffinese if asked and the answer is "yes".... so we solemnified the trust by putting the stuff away - finally! There is no doubt - when she has to go she romps for the door enthusiastically and loses no time when she gets there - out and do it. And for a little squirt she either has the biggest bladder and/or the smallest peehole I've ever seen going by the length of time she squats.... one would think that the astroturf is watered for the next six days. On the other hand, one buddy has dubbed her "getting ready for number two" the Poo Dance - she manages to scooch herself along for about half a mile in the course of doing things... but she's got herself on a pretty predictable schedule so we're not complaining.
        Ginny's getting ready to start switching her over to Big Girl chow... the Eukanuba kibble is at the ready for her to graduate from Iams Puppy. It seems unbelievable that we're just a few weeks away from a one-year birthday...  plans are in the works. 

6/20/99 - About two weeks shy of her first birthday (it's July 8th) - Puffin is a grown up puppy. She graduated to grownup dog food from puppy chow this week and is now happily chomping down Eukanuba kibbles with seemingly great enjoyment. Forget this weaning over stuff - she hadn't been eating with much gusto so Ginny figured maybe it was time to ditch the puppy chow - started mixing it little by little with the Eukanuba. Puffin very merrily cleaned out the Eukanuba and left the puppy kibbles behind - no upset tummy, so we're now fully converted. There's only one way to describe the crunches as she eats - the chomps at the end of the Burger King TV commercial.
        Seems that her love of playing with balls has no limit on size. We found that we had a kid's playball at our disposal so Ginny decided to see if Puffin would like it. She did. She spent a good part of the evening chasing the thing around the house - and I do mean around the house, trying to pick it up in her mouth but of course just managing to push it all over. She was up on top of it, rooting her snoot under it, batting it with her nose, and doing an admirable job of dribbling it with her front feet - maybe there's a place on the World Cup Soccer team for her. Never mind that it's nearly as big as she stands at the shoulder - she's giving it what for and having a high old time doing it.
        And in the ball playing department, we've discovered a new game with Jingle Ball. There are times when full out throw-the-ball isn't quite feasible, so we play BedBall. This because it's usually on Ginny's bed that it occurs - Puffin lays in front of Ginny who's sitting on the bed, and she bats it around with her nose and front feet with very surprising dexterity - just about six inches in each direction, back and forth with Ginny who of course gets to use her hands but only to bat it back. I'm not sure how long it would go on without end - Ginny always gives up before Puffin does.
        Now we get started on her birthday party plans.....
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6/27/99 - Puffin had a busy week this week. Tuesday night was Create-a-Fluppy-Puppy time (also known as a bath) in preparation for going to see Carol at Mulberry Farm so that she could get Puffin all spiffy for the big day that's coming up. Puffin finally managed to get even and took her chance, jumping over the tub wall so that we had to recorner a very wet, soapy, slippery puppy. Once we got that under control she got done and dried, and then spent fifteen minutes charging non-stop around the circle of the house full speed ahead.She finally ran out of gas and plopped down for a two hour nap. Exhausting things, these baths.
        Wednesday night we headed for Mulberry Farm.  We all had a wonderfully great visit - Vickey, Mom and Ginny had to work real hard cuddling a litter of five cockapoo puppies that were six weeks old and having their first social outing on the patio. There are two sable boys, one with black frosting that looks like he slid down a chimney (face first - his snoot is painted too) - and three girls: a black one very much like Puffin but with a tan chin and four light boots, a white one and a chocolate brown one. When they first came out they didn't have a clue about life in the great outdoors and just stood rooted in their places with glassy-eyed looks. In about five minutes the two little guys were starting to trot around and check a few things out.  The white girl joined the crew and was quite a wanderer...  the black one explored a little and then settled in for a nap. Little chocolate bar was much more timid about the whole deal - but after a bit she too found her meddle and was keeping up with her brothers, swiping the leaves they were toting around. In the meantime Carol and Puffin had some quality time together while Carol trimmed her up and has her looking just spiffy - she's all ready for her big day.
        Have you ever lived with a fourfooted automatic breathalyzer? We do. Puffin has since she was a bitsy puppy been very interested in what you smell like after you eat. Not your fingers or face (although they don't go unscrutinized)...  she waits for you to start talking so she can examine your breath. And after a few sniffs she starts licking it if she decides it requires further anaysis than what her nose can provide. Yup - she licks your breath. Not your face or lips or even tries to stick her tongue in your mouth - just sits there lapping away at the hot air you're creating. When she's satisfied that she hasn't missed much then off she goes till the next time you munch on something and she's lucky enough to be face to face with you. That's of course presuming it's not after dark and she has conned you for the umpteenth time in an hour to go out...  not becuase she has to do anything. She wants to bughunt. Sometimes I have to wonder what bugs she sees to hunt since it appears that she's going after a perfectly empty patch of astroturf...  but she has a grand time doing it and lately has perfected the "Iwannagoout" routine just for that purpose. Not too bad at 9pm, but at 3 in the morning it doesn't have the same cuteness attached to it.....

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Last updated 8/15/99                                                             © 1998-99, G.Thompson