Happy Birthday to the Mommy!

It's the Mommy's birthday! I have to write about it, because I think she is the best thing ever. This is one of my few chances that I get to tell the whole world how much I love the Mommy and how great she is.

What makes the Mommy so great? First of all, she is the one who takes care of me. She takes care of me every day. She wakes up in the morning, gets out of bed early, and takes me to go potty. When she lets me in, she gives me a treat to warm up my belly.  She remembers that it was a lot of hours ago that I ate last. That is why she gives me the treat. Then, she makes sure I have food and water. Sometimes, she makes me a special breakfast. She will make me a Manny pancake, so I can eat what the People eat. I like them best when she puts peanut butter on them. They are so yummy!

She understands that then I need to take a nap because my belly is full. She lets me sleep and relax. If I sleep too much, though, she comes in and plays with me. She will pick me up and hug me, too. Sometimes, she dances with me in the living room and sings songs to me. She talks to me a lot, too. I try to talk back to her and say different things, and she laughs.  I love listening to her laugh and making her smile.

The Mommy also takes me on a lot of walks. She takes me to the park and sometimes she takes me for car rides. We go on long walks together. She makes sure I get plenty of rest when we are walking outside when it is hot. She even brings along a water bottle so that I can get a drink. The Mommy squeezes the water bottle, and I drink the water just like the People do when the water comes out of the drinking fountain. The Mommy is so smart that she figured out that I could do that. She really understands me.

The Mommy takes really good care of me, too. Whenever I have a boo boo or a sick tummy, she takes care of me. One time, I was really naughty and ate some candy. I was really sick. The Mommy stayed up with me all night long to make sure I was healthy again. A couple of days later, I was the same old Manny. The Mommy even looks up special things to feed me on the internet, and she does her best to try to figure out what I am trying to tell her. For example, she knows that when I lick her hand that means I am hungry.

The Mommy is one of my favorite People in the whole wide world, and I am so glad she gets to have a special day. Happy Birthday to the Mommy!

The Park Is My Place

Yesterday, I got to go for a walk with the Mommy, and she took me to the park. I love the park! It is my special place. Every time I go there, I meet a new friend, see a new butterfly, or find a new area to sniff.  Going to the park is the best.

Whenever I go to the park, I am pretty friendly to the other dogs. I see them on their leash, and I nod my head at them.  It's like they are saying, "So they let you out of the house today, too, I see."  The other dogs sniff back. A lot of them will pull on their leash so that their owners will stop and let them play with me. Sometimes the owners let them play with me for a long time.  We will sniff at each other, play bark, and even roll in the grass together.  There is hardly a dog I have ever met that I didn't like. I don't care what size a dog is, I can be friends with them. Big dogs, little dogs, long hair, short hair, young, older, I like almost all dogs. Still, there are a few dogs I can tell right away that they are not nice. They act a certain way or do mean things or my instincts tell me there is something wrong. When I see those dogs, I either stay away from them, start barking at them, or pull on my leash to tell the Mommy, "let's go".

When the Mommy and I start walking again, I quickly forget about the doggy and move on to the next thing.  Usually, it's sniffing a new spot. It seems like every few feet at the park there is something new to sniff.  I can smell other dogs, cats, rabbits, food, people, rain....all kinds of interesting smells are there! I even have stopped to sniff sticks to see if another dog was playing with it.

One thing I don't do when we go to the park is walk through water puddles or the mud. I don't like getting dirty paws.  That's the worst.  When the mud dries, it gets stuck between my toes, and the Mommy has to clean it out for me.  That hardly ever happens, though. I like to stay out of the mud, too, because I don't want my beautiful white fur to get dirty. If you have been paying attention, you know I always like to look good.

I Have A Job, Too!

The People are always talking about going to work or working. Today, though, the Mommy is on this thing called vacation. I guess that means she doesn't have to work at her desk, but she still does all the other work that the Mommy usually does. Except, today, she actually took a nap with me in the afternoon.  Taking naps with the People is the best! I get to snuggle up by their legs, and we have a snore fest. Then, we both wake up and yawn at the same time. I usually win the yawning game because my yawns are the biggest and the longest!

I guess I can say that I "work" too. I protect the People by barking at strangers who come to the house. I also am their therapist that they tell their problems to. And, I am a comedian sometimes and make them laugh. I also have this blog that I write in all the time. Trust me, it's a lot of work to come up with these ideas some days. Other days, my life is pretty exciting, so it comes easier to me.

I also have this job of being friends with the neighborhood animals. Don't tell anybody, but I am the dog who watches over a bunch of cats in our neighborhood. I watch the cats playing outside. If I hear any other dogs barking or growling at them, I give them a bark back or a Manny look. Then, they stop. Actually, one day there was a kitten on our back patio. Another cat was hissing at the kitten. I stood up for the kitten to the other cat, and the other cat just looked at me and walked away. Everyone was happy and played together after that.

I will say that I do not work too hard at being friends with squirrels. I can't be friends with everybody. Plus, their high pitched squeakity squeak bothers me. They also think they are so cool running up and down the trees. I just roll my eyes at them and say "squirrels, you bore me with your silliness." Then, I do my job of snuggling with the Mommy or the Daddy.