Close your eyes... Now count to 20!

Did you count to 20? Cause otherwise, from what I understand, if you didn't count all the way to 20, you're disqualified.
But either way, I thought it would be fun to play a little round of hide-n-seek with you from afar....
Can you find me? Cuz I'm hiding.

Well, I've learned a few things about hide-n-seek, as you can see. And I'm pretty darn good at it, if I do say so myself. I'm pretty sure I'll win this round of hiding...

Although, I've not had the best experiences on the other end of the game, as I tend to stand right at the place where the little people are hiding and wag my nub. The finder LOVES ME! But the one hiding always seems ticked off at my excitement to expose the other. Like "it's so horrible for me to be excited for them to be found" or something. I just don't get it! I love finding things. Especially little giggly boys!!! Yee Haw!!! This is my game! (Dad would be so proud!)

In other news, I had my first bonfire at the Gore home. "Uncle Nate Lorenzen" came to town for a couple days, so apparently we burn wood in his honor. (This is my assumption since we haven't done this before since I've been here). Or maybe it's because it's getting chilly at night... which by the way, makes me SPASTIC in the mornings, as you know. Woo freaking Hoo!!! Cool weather makes me go crazy!!!

Movin' on... here's a photo from the bonfire...

It's actually just a picture of my butt, by as I've heard, it's considered "a beautiful butt" in some circles, so I didn't hesitate to put it in my post. I wouldn't want to deny anyone a peek at my good side! :)

I'm having alot of fun here. I hope you're enjoying yourselves in Taiwan! I overheard my foster mom talking about going out for sushi last night and I thought, "Psshhh... whatever. My real mom eats serious authentic sushi in Taiwan. AND she speaks several languages!" But I didn't say that out loud to these people. They think they really have somethin' going on with the sushi thing here in "Alabamer". Hee hee... but that will be just our secret! :)

Anyway.. one more week closer until I get to lick your faces!!! But don't forget how much I actually lick my butt. That surely makes "kisses" less enjoyable, I'm sure. But whatever! I'm a dog... I lick whatever I please! :)

But I do love you. And I miss you lots & lots!

Your "Little Stinker", Tica-Lica

Jumpin, Chewin, Sniffin, Snoozin, & Motor-Boatin too!

Well hello! Did you miss me?

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I sleep ALOT (as you know) so there's little time for rambling on and trying to type with these crazy long black nails that I have buried beneath this unruly Sesame Street monster fur that surround them. Oh, but I do have some new doggy moments to share with you...

The first is a story....

One of my most favorite things to do these days is go pick up the boys from school. I just can't tell you how exciting this is!!! Let me explain... you drive up in a line and inch forward... ever so slowly... while foster mom says, "Where's Bubby??" over and over as I jump frantically from window to window trying desperately to find him. When I do, I can't help but react as if I haven't seen him in decades. I go crazy and it's all just so exciting! It's a happy reunion each and every day.

Now I did get banned from going for a few days at one point. It was in the beginning, though, before I knew all the rules. I was in my foster mom's lap. (And as an unimportant side note, I'll throw in that her window was down) Anyway, next thing I knew, a bell rang and suddenly hundreds of gloriously playful running children appeared out of nowhere!!! It was divine!!

So I jumped out the window.

My new mom was not happy about this at all. She said not only could I have gotten hit by a car, but that she had on jammie pants and a sweatshirt with no bra and could not be chasing me around like that. (I didn't see how this detail was my fault, but anyway...) Fortunately, I didn't get that far. This has mostly to do with the fact that she had me by the collar, so I was practically dangling from the window for a moment until she pulled me back inside. Whew!! Stressful moment for her... importance of "oxegyn to the brain" moment for me. I'm guessing when there's a "no bra/jammies situation" involved, one must act fast and kick in the super-strengths!
So she pulled me in the window and called me a "Little Turd!". (Umm... what's a little turd??)

Anyway, here's some other things I have enjoyed lately...









chewing my toy... see how much progress I've made?








Sniffin' some 'shrooms...












Crashin' on foster mom's sacred silky pillow case... (she doesn't even let her kids or her husband touch this thing!!)

I so rule this roost!!




But just between us, she pets me (rather agressively I might add) with her teeth gritted and sings, "Leepy and Weet, Leepy and Weet. Leepy an Leepy an Leepy and Weet"". I'm guessing this means "sleepy and sweet"? She's so odd, mom & dad. And she pets me rather hard. Sometimes she reminds me of Lenny from Of Mice and Men. So just so you know, I could possibly be squeezed or petted to death on account of being so darn "Leepy and Weet"! (And you should hear her after my bath... "Weaky Lean & Leepy & Weet"). It's just ridiculous. I miss smart people. Smart, bilingual people that are educated and sophisticated. *sigh*

Well... until the day we meet again...
I think of you, Papa & Mamasita bonita!! Mi amore and mi lovey you mucho mucho much,
Tica

P.S. Here's a little video of me & foster dad playing "motor boat".

Oh, and did I mention I miss you? We all do... Tica-Lica

Riany Days & War Eagle!!!!!

Mom & Dad,
It's been raining alot here. I mean ALOT. And you know how much I hate "goin' bidness up in da rain", so you can imagine the stress it's been on me me to "get my poop on", etc etc. I'm growing more accustomed to it however, as it has been raining for awhile now.
My new mom lets her boys play in it though, so I obviously have to participate in that! (Where they go... I go! That's the general rule.) Or else I run back-n-forth from the living room window to the dining room window... trying to "catch a glimpse" so I can whimper accordingly until my mom feels the guilt and lets me out.
But the actual point being, my new mom has been associating this rain with me & my feet.
But I totally don't get it... So I always shoot her that look of "Huh???" whenever she addresses the issue and that seems to work just fine....


But even so, here's a mysteriously random photo of some unidentified footprints on the comforter...

"What!??" (Oh wait... that's my innocent look of , "Huh???"


So anyway, getting back to the actual happenings of my life...


I dressed up for y'all cuz Auburn kicks off this weekend!! Woo Hoo!! War Eagle M&D!! Do you like my outfits??




Don't I look so confident and proud? The truth is the hat was terrifying and quite frankly, just plain humiliating. Possibly traumatizing.

And the jersey??? I stood there in that one position for about 2 minutes just looking around for some help. But eventually I hobbled around a bit until my mom freed me... Then I shook wildly and ran up the stairs for escape...





...which led to the dead end of a door. But I patiently waited with high hopes of some kind soul (with no costumes in hand) to open for me so I could retreat to beddie-by time on my "non-puppy-paw-printed bed". (hee hee) Nighty night!

And from me to you: "War Eagle and I love you!!"

Love, Tica

"Chief" Inspector Forfleas

What do I hate more than anything in this world???? That's right... bath time! But I did get one today, much to my chagrin. My foster mom found me hiding (huddled up really close to Elliot in hopes that she wouldn't see me). But she saw me alright, scooped me up, plopped me in the tub, and dumped water on my head. She then said (in an obnoxiously cheerful voice), "Where'd Tica go?!" (Like she didn't know I was standing there with water dripping down my face). She then said that she thought I had been replaced by a skinny greyhound. (She's a strange one, mom & dad... really odd!) Here's the wet greyhound shot...

Now here is a humiliating picture of me with a mustache. My foster mom laughed as she twisted the "stache" into points and asked, "Does your dog bite?" in a bad french accent. She said you would appreciate that, mom. But I just thought it was plain ridiculous.

So I started in with my "pitiful shivering" and it worked! Even though the water was comfortably warm, she fell for it and hurried to get me finished so I wouldn't be "freezing". Then she let me out, dried me off and I proceeded to shake furiously all over the bathroom and the downstairs den. (And then up in the kitchen.) See??

Then I did the "spastic dance" all around the house while my new mom squealed with glee in a high pitched voice, "Aaaaw Tica!! Hers feels so good!!" And feeling as if I was pleasing everyone to the fullest extent (which seems to be what I live for) I ran up the stairs, then down the stairs then up the stairs, then down again. Then I came back up, did a few laps around the upstairs and went back down again. And let me just tell ya... It wore my ass out! So now I'm totally asleep on the sofa as my foster mom ticks away on the keys, turning around every once in awhile to say, "Aaawww, Tica!! Why you love me so much, huh?".

So bath time makes me crazy. You know that, but I thought I'd post a few pics of the event, just as a warm reminder of how lovely I am in everything that I do. Everyone here seemed to get into it... They were all cheering and giving me cookies as I SPAZZED OUT.

Oh, it's so good to be me. Need I say more??

This is me as "a wet rat" (from what I hear.) I think that's rude, as rats are disgusting, but I pose for the pictures when I'm told..

But in the end, everything is worth it because I get "cookies". And I get these when I go potty... do tricks... take baths or get haircuts. And I gotta say, I think you guys jipped me in the "cookie" department. But I don't hold it against you because I love you and I miss you. Plus I think I'm getting fat, but that's another blog...

I hope you are having a great time in Taiwan.

All my love & licks & snuggles,

Tica

A Little of Mom, a Little of Dad

So I've made pretty good friends with the cat. "Cinco de Frio de Mio de Miles" is what they call him. And having been raised by a mom who is fluent in Spanish, I am certain that this makes no good sense at all. However, I'm not one to judge, so I just go along with it.

Miles & I like to sniff each other. Then he rubs all over me which is kind of annoying, but I guess that's what cats do. Annoy me. Oh, er.. I mean rub all over others.


And then, after what I always feel is more than enough "lovey cat play", I cannot resist the urge to challenge him to some"dog play". That would be my dad's influence, being a coach and all.


So he gets that oh-so-annoyed-by-the-stupid-dog look, accompanied by what is known as "airplane ears" around here, and tries desperately to ignore me.

But I'm persistent and typically get my way when it comes to playing with Miles.

And of course, I always win. Oh it's good to be me. "Who's the stupid dog now, huh?"

So "High Five!" to my dad...

And "Cheers!" to my mom!

I miss you both. And can't wait to see you again!!

Love, Tica

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

"And a Poop Underneath the Pear Tree"

OK.

So I totally pooped in the neighbor's yard today. There a new obsession I have with racing out to chase birds under Mimi's tree, but today I decided to drop a teensy surprise under there while I hunted. It was great.

My new mom however, did not think this was "appropriate behavior". She came out with a triple layer of Wal-Mart bags on her hands whispering, "Tica! No ma'am!" (Which I thought was respectful) "We are not wild animals. We are civilized animals and we only poop in our own yard." And she was kind of tip-toeing as if the neighbors couldn't see her when she walked that way in their yard.

Anyway... the good news is, I still got a cookie when I got inside. Yep... I have a jar of "cookies". I am learning new tricks with them too. I'm such a good dog. And apparently I smell "good-n-stinky, good-n-stinky". Uh... yeah. My new mom squeezes me and smells me and says that to me with her teeth gritted "good-n-stinky, good-n-stinky"all the time. What does this mean? How can you smell good and stinky at the same time? Frankly, (and just between us)... she's a little strange.

I will try to post some video of my new tricks soon... Love you!!

Balls, Bugs & Bedtime for Bonzos!

I've been a very busy pooch lately.










Chewing my ball...









Catching crickets...














Posing for pictures...

And at the end of the day...

I'm just pooped!