Snow fun at all!

Tank O'Saurus here to tell you all that dad took me up the hill to where it's snowy most of the year! Dad says snow is something you should visit when you want it, not something that drops in uninvited. So he took advantage of a work bonus and REI's winter closeout to get him some cross country ski stuff. Since I'm always hot, even at 50 degrees, dad took me with him. It was 20 degrees and I was loving the cool temps, but then some not so cool things happened. First he got me harnessed up, then he put on his skis. Then I knocked him over! He makes this funny noise when he goes down. I was gonna hear that noise a lot, but it was never my fault after the first time. I was sorry and turned upside down to show him. He gave me a little tummy rub and then took 5 minutes to get up. Turns out he hadn't been on skis for 20 years! So he skis across what was once a parking lot and then up this forest service road with me by his side.


Pretty, huh? The ODOT web site said there was 14" of snow so he thought it would be perfect.
Well it turned out the snow was more like 36" deep! I'd take a few steps and POW - one paw would break through the snow and I'd go face first into the snow. I was ready to head back to the car but dad told me to follow him so I got behind and walked in his tracks so that was easier. But then I decided I wanted to walk in front. When we took breaks I laid down right on his skis



After we went uphill, we came back down. Dad thought it would be easier but the powder didn't let him glide at all. But the trail was packed down for me so I ran ahead.

Dad didn't let me get too far ahead so I had to wait for him.

C'mon, slow poke!

Will you hurry up!

Again! Do I have to wait till the snow melts for you?

You really better hurry, it's getting dark.

I was glad to finally get to the car. Now usually dad drives sitting in the front seat behind the round hoop. But this time he couldn't get the car to move so he got out with one foot inside and one foot outside to push. The car started moving and dad slips on the ice and drives with one foot in the car and him laying on his back on the ice. I've never seen him drive like that. But it worked - we got moving for a while and when we stopped he got in and drove normally. Then we went to this big frozen lake and he skied a little without me. I was really worried he wouldn't be able to handle it alone but he did fine. The lake and sky were really pretty. If you enlarge the tall photo you can see a thin cresent moon and Venus toward the top.

Then we drove home and Princess and Isaac and I jumped all over each other.

There's no business like snow business, I say!

See you next time!

Happy Birthday, Princess and Tank!!!

Princess gets the birthday Tiara! Not sure she really likes wearing it, though.

Tank gets a cap so he wont get shot in the woods. Not sure he likes his present, either...

Mr Isaac investigates the Tiara
But then we got cupcakes and chicken treats and smoked salmon and some filet scraps! Dad came through with a really great birthday! Rumor has it we get ice cream later tonight. Can't wait!

Tank sleeps with the Stars

First Nasa discovers Wally (for the full story, click here), now they've discovered Tank!

Stories that must not be forgot.

Dad here, with stories that demonsttrate how amazing these pups really are. Every once in a while, when I have a flashback, I'll jump in with a story that's too good to be lost in the mists of my memory. They're fading too fast as it is. Princess and Tank were littermates. For the first year of their lives they had incredible communication. Tank was amazingly skilled at communication. Princess was really in touch with the feelings of her fellow creatures. These are their stories.

P&T were about 6 months old. I was working with them on pooping on command. I thought they had it and we were going on a long journey. Princess couldn't hold it for near as long as the boys, so I asked her to go poo. She looked at me and I asked her again. She froze. I could tell she knew I wanted her to do something, but she didn't know what. She was such a daddy's girl this stressed her out totally. So I'm standing there, wondering how I can remind her when Tank comes trotting up, slides his nose next to hers and stares deeply into her eyes. You could tell it was as if he affectionately took her face in his hands. They looked at each other for almost a minute and you could see Princess relax. Tank then turned trotted away and with his back to her squatted and pooped. Princess then turned, trotted away, and pooped. Not only did she get tons of praise, but so did Tank. What a great older brother he is!

By Pupular demand: More newf puppy pictures!

Are we cute or what?

Tank's Introduction part Deux

In our last episode, I was born and started growing into the cutest puppy imaginable. Every moring I'd bound out of the puppy room raring to go and ready to chow down! I was almost always first out and first to the food. Until one day...

Much to my dad's horror, I was the last one out, todddled uncertainly toward the food, sniffed it and walked away. He knew I had parvo and took me right to the vet. I had IVs going before I started losing fluids both ends. After 3 days I could go home. Two of the other pups got parvo but we all got to the vets before any vomiting or diarrhea started and we all did well. This is me with my leg shaved where the IV was. After me, Shazaam and Tracy got it, too. So when I came home it was Isaac, dad and I, then the other two joined us. They went from here to their forever homes. After her second shot, Princess came to live with us. I was really glad to see her again. Parvo was a rough thing but it doesn't seem to have stunted my growth any. I'm solid muscle and 30 lbs heavier than my dad, 40 lbs heavier than my mom and only 19 months old!

Of course Isaac was a great dad. He loved to play with me. He let all us pups climb all over him. That kind of backfired on him 'cause as we got bigger we still climb on him. Now that we out weigh him it scares him and my human dad makes me stop. But I really love my dad and stick up for him if there's any trouble, like birds invading the backyard or a motorcycle going by.

I'm a great big brother to Princess, too. I let her win wrestling matches all the time. I love to lick people and if they squeal it drives me wild and I lick even more! I'm also a clever climber. At 4 months I could escape from baby gates that even Isaac couldn't get over. I can push out slats, squeeze through, dig under or climb over. I'm a great talker, too. I've even taught my human dad how to speak some dog. More later - Tank

Tank's Introduction, Part 1

Hi, adoring fans everywhere! My turn to tell a little of my story. It all started in the belly of my beloved mother, Georgia. My canine paternal progenitor, Isaac, has already told you about her, so if you want to read the romance and see the honeymoon photos, go here. It's a sweet story and I'm a sweet boy! Soon after I came out my dad gave us all temporary names just to tell us apart. Mine was "Hook" Most of the rest of the pups had similarly dorky names. Thanks, dad. Mine was based on the white behind my head.

Above to the right you can see the white on the back of my neck. I guess I'm lucky he didn't call me 'coat hanger'. Then to the left, you can see all of us puppies nursing. This is the most orderly we ever were. Don't be fooled! We were a rollicking madhouse of puppy flesh jockeying for position. There are 6 puppies in this picture. Can you find us all? Princess is being coy waaay off to the left - left of Georgia's hind feet. I'm in the center - you can see my hook! That's 'cuz I was the coolest one. Still am! That yellow thing on the bottom right was Georgia's favorite toy before my dad gave her a Cuz. They called it her ice cream and even though she destroyed it she still carried it everywhere. Kind of what you might expect for a teenage mother. I was a bouncy, enthusiastic pup. I was the first-born, the biggest and the first to learn to walk. Only problem was I didn't know how to stop. So I'd walk up to my sib-pups to say hi! They were doing well just to stay standing. So I'd come up, not stop in time and knock them right over. Bowling for newf-pups! My dad knew it was a sign of things to come. Not wanting to call me 'bulldozer', for which I'm eternally grateful, he named me Tank. I was the second to get my final name. Later on he named one of my favorite sisters 'Shazaam', 'cause she learned to pounce first. She pounced on everything - leaves, us, you name it. We just went to visit her a few days ago. Her people call her 'Maggie', but I still think of her as Shazaam! That was a cool name, dad! I did one other great thing as a puppy. Feeling frisky, I climbed up my mom's back while she was laying on her side. When I got to the top of that huge mountain of Newf-flesh, I looked around from my high vantage and then slid down her belly like a big slide! Wheeeeeeeee! it was so fun I climbed up and did it again. Wheeeeeeee! Then one of the other pups saw me and they came over and did it, too. Then a few more came and then they all came. We had a line of pups waiting their turn to climb up then slide down mom. It was a riot! I tried it again 2 weeks later and it wasn't fun any more. I'd gotten so big that it wasn't even a climb any more to get up on mom, and when I tried to slide down my front paws were on the ground while my back paws were still on the other side of mom. Oh well. The rapidly fading joys of puppy-hood. I was also the last one to stop nursing. One day I tried to nurse and mom gave me a kick and a growl that scared me but good! I wasn't going to try that again!

Then came the worst day of my life. You'll hear that story in part deux...