The Dogfathers

Beach Bums In Action!

2008-10-06T05:00:00.002-07:00

Ryan took a small video of some crazy lady and The Canine Mafia at Dillon Beach. For those of you that were wondering how small Carmela really is (or even perhaps how large Bruno really is!), this might give you an idea.

Chewy Carmela

2008-10-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

"GIMME!
I don't care if it's bigger than me, GIMME! NOW!"

"Okay, how should I tackle this thing?"

"Maybe I can drag it over here..."

"Drats! Too heavy!
I guess I'll just start nomming on this end."

"Are you laughing at me?
What, you didn't think little dogs could handle big meaty bones?!
Oh, you're laughing at my ears.
Hmmmph!"

Beverly Hills Rescue!

2008-10-04T10:50:00.001-07:00

Daisy has brought it to my attention that this poster needs to be spread around.

Please, help spread the word by taking this poster and passing it to others. Let's do what we can to prevent the purchase of Chihuahuas from back yard breeders (BYB) because of the release of this movie. Carmela sends her thanks and promises to add your names to The Book if you do so. :)

Beach Bums: Carmela and Gino

2008-10-03T05:00:00.001-07:00

Gino is such a nice big brother to Carmela. This was Carmela's first trip with us to the beach and Gino was there to guide her.

"First thing you do when you get here,"
explains Gino, "is run really fast."

"Run as fast as your little legs will take you!" encourages Gino

Great. Thanks to Gino's advice, now Carmela flies, too.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Next, we check out the water," says Gino.

"Yeah, no thanks!" says Carmela
I'd like to stay warm!"

"But it's only barely freezing!" shouts Gino

"Ma, why doesn't Carmela trust me?
Is it become of the sand on my face?
That's it, huh?"

"Nah," says Vinnie.
"It's cuz youse ugly."

"No," replies Carmela.
"It's because you are a stinky black Pug.
You smell like stinky gym shoes.
Peeeeeeeee-uuuuuuuuu!"

Not to be outdone, Carmela and Gino also
leave behind their autograph at Dillon Beach.

Beach Bum: Vinnie

2008-10-01T05:00:00.001-07:00

"Double Woo-hoo!
The beach!!" shouts Vinnie.

"I love the beach.
I do my best road runner impersonations here!"

"I can also just let my tongue hang out!"

"What do you mean I do that all the time anyway?"

"I can also peel out faster on the sand.
Gino hates that because he can't catch me.
Muwahahaha!"

"Carmela was right! You are a stinky black Pug!
A slow, stinky black Pug!"

"Oh shoot!
Gino's catching up!"

"Better slam on my brakes to throw him off!"

"Can we live here on the beach, Ma?
Pretty please?"

Carmela Receives Mail

2008-09-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Miss Thang today received a present in the mail from our good friend Benny. It's a shirt that appropiately says "Yield To The Princess."

She wears it proudly! It's like a uniform!

Thanks, Benny!

Carmela shall strut her stuff in full style thanks to you. :-)

If you have a moment, please be sure to visit The North Carolina Saint Bernard Rescue. Benny works tirelessly to rescue Saints in need. If you have any spare pennies, and can part with them, a donation to the NC Saint Bernard Rescue would help greatly. For those of us that are tight on cash, perhaps we can part with a few collars that are laying around or old leashes and towels...the rescue can always use these. :-)

Beach Bum: Bruno

2008-09-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Woo hoo! The beach!" exclaims Bruno.

"Wait! Wait! I think there might be
something important buried here!"

"Must! Find! Buried! Treasure!"

"Just a little bit more..."

"Uh...there really isn't anything here.
I just wanted an excuse to get sand
all over my freakishly large head."

"This weather is a lot less cooler than
the weather back home!
We should bottle this stuff Ma calls 'fog'
and bring it back home with us!"

"Alrighty before I go,
I just have to leave one thing behind..."

"My autograph.
Ha ha!"

Sharing What We All Already Know...

2008-09-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

Carmela is here to stay.

She's a bonafide Canine Mafiosa.

The books have been opened and her name was added.

Her owners never came forth and I think I've exhausted every effort trying to locate them. She's weaseled her way into my heart and we've got along road ahead of us together.

Now excuse me while I go eat crow. :-)

Training...

2008-09-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

The boys taught Carmela how to properly kill a stuffed toy.

"Yup! Good job!
Excellent damage done to the stuffie.
You'll learn the ropes in no time!"

One more skill added under her belt!

Five Years!

2008-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I celebrated our 5th year wedding anniversary this past week. Huzzah! Traditionally, we always go on long hikes with the crew. This year's anniversary hike was special because Carmela was able to join us.

It was a trying time for her...would she able to hang with the boys and integrate in our crew? Could she handle long hikes without us having to carry her most of the way?

"Don't you worry about what
I can or can't do!"

"Quit standing there!
Let's do this!"

Well, I guess Carmela quickly proved all my fears about her not keeping up wrong. She kept leaving me in the dust!

We hiked along beautiful Echo Lake with the crew. The water was crystal blue and gorgeous.

"Yup! The water is so clear I know
just which rocks I am going to dive for!"

What we wouldn't give to own a cabin up here!

There were also lots of beautiful rock walls along the trail.

Along with lots of Pugs in rocks.

"Hmmmph. This is the puny trail
you thought I wouldn't be able to do?!"

"Puhlease! This is easy peasy!"

"Shame on you for ever doubting me!"

"Ok, seriously. Is this blog going to always
be about Carmela or what?!"

Sorry, Vinnie! Back to the agenda!

We made our way down to the lake so that the crew could cool down their paws.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"I'll soak my paw for just a few before I start..."

"Rock diving!"

"Ma! Ma! Look!
I'm a seal! Ha ha!"

The crew had a blast and Carmela proved she could hang on our long hikes without a hitch.

"Woo hoo for annivesary hikes!"

P.S. Things We Head In Abundance During Our Hike

Put a saddle on that dog and you'll have an easy hike!
What a menagerie you have!
You win the award for the largest dog!
Whoa! Your Chihuahua hikes?!
Pugs! Pugs that hike! Cool!

This Is How We Eat

2008-09-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Carmela is now eating raw bones as part of her raw diet. Her little mouth is able to handle bones effectively, providing they aren't too large for her to get into her mouth. Currently, she can handle quail and Cornish game hens like nobody's business. Chicken wings, however, are too large for her.

This morning, as I was feeding the crew, I got a great chuckle out of the size difference of the dogs' meals.

While we are on the topic of raw, can someone please tell my dogs that never again will I thaw whole roosters in my tub for them? This past weekend, I scored an awesome deal on a case of whole roosters. And by whole, I mean whole: beaks, heads, feet and all! We thawed them in the tub to expedite cutting them up into manageable pieces. Now, everywhere I look, I see minuscule feathers from the thawing process!

Ryan kept harassing me to take a picture of all 40 roosters thawing in the tub and post it on the blog. But I spared you all from that sight! I ixnayed his idea, because, aren't all boy ideas silly? ;-)

Ryan also manages to embarrass me at the Korean store where we purchase raw items for the dogs and I am no longer taking him with me. In our cart were items such as pork and beef tongue, chicken hearts and livers, frog legs, duck gizzards, frozen cod fish and quail eggs. I also grabbed a bottle of oyster and sweet chili sauce for when I cook since it is cheaper at the Korean store than buying it at Safeway.

The cashier at the Korean store always gives us a weird look when ringing up our items. I don't blame her! She has no idea this is for our dogs and probably thinks we are eating all of this.

Cue in Ryan..."Oh man, I can't wait to just throw some oyster and sweet chili sauce on all of this and have it for dinner! YUMM!"

I looked everywhere for a hole to crawl into, but couldn't find one anywhere. See what I mean about boys being silly?

Blue Business

2008-09-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

As soon as I finish this blog post, I am making sure my will is in order.

I caught Blue talking to Carmela about turning over to the dark side. With the dark side being the side that is all about hating me. Ayyyyy!

The Incredible Pulk

2008-09-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot I had these on my hard drive. I think I was laughing too hard that I might have fallen off my chair and bumped my head, causing a memory lapse that I had these pictures.

Gino will do anything for Ryan to play with him. Gino doesn't want Ryan focusing all the attention on Bruno, so Gino will start to emulate anything Bruno is doing while interacting with Ryan. It's quite a hoot to watch a 16 lb black Pug try to carry sticks that are larger than him!

"I don't need your stinkin' help!
I can get it myself!"

"See! Told you!"

But what's even funnier is the faces he makes while trying to swim with a huge stick in his mouth!

Quick! What's your first name? Who is our current President? What year is it? Just checking to make sure you didn't bump your head too hard when you fell over laughing at the Incredible Pulk's face!

And The Award...

2008-09-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

For goofiest faces while running goes to Gino and Carmela!

Helping Hands! (Or Paws!)

2008-09-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Readers, here is your chance to help shape the destiny of Carmela.

Please take the poll on your right!

Motivator Of The Day

2008-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

When faced with big obstacles, don't move out of the way.

Gather up the courage to stand where you are and tackle the problem!

Bark! Bark! Bark!

2008-09-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

"I sense a Nosey Nelly in my yard!"

"Hello! Anybody home?"

"Who are you?? Why are you spying on us?
Who do you work for?!
Introduce yourself!"

Since he won't do it, let me introduce all you readers to The Corgi From Hell. He is our neighbor. Our very not-so-friendly neighbor. He likes to bark, bark, bark, bark, did I mention he likes to bark?, all day long through any opening in the fence.

"What? What did you say?
You have cookies??"

"Well, then, Helloooooooo lover!"

Success!

2008-09-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Carmela went out and got herself a bullet proof vest (a.k.a. Puppia harness) like the Pugs wear.

She wanted to be just as cool. Look, she's even mastered the "Youse gonna swim wit da fishes!" look.

Actually, that's a "Go stick it where the sun don't shine!" look. It's the look she gives me whenever we are "training." And by training I mean that I ask Carmela to do something and she runs away laughing at me hysterically.

It is a size XXS. I have underwear bigger than her vest! Wait...not that my ass is big or anything. Wait...dammit, this is totally not working!!

Today I decided to try and walk all four dogs to the park. Crazy you say? I agree with you! Considering Carmela never has had a leash on her and not leash trained, I think I was crazy when I decided to do this!

We started off with everyone sitting nicely before exiting the door. Except for Carmela, because she gives the equivalent of a doggie F U whenever I ask her to do anything.

Bruno asks "She's behind me isn't she?"

We only managed to get tangled 132 times (thanks Carmela!). Only 53 of the neighbors laughed at us. In that 53, Vinnie's included because he laughs at everything.

Did I mention it was really hot?

But then Carmela starting voguing for the camera and I forgot what a headache it was walking all 4 dogs to the park. :)

I need to figure out the kinks for walking four dogs at once. Does anyone have any tips or advice? I use a coupler with the Pugs and was trying to come up with a way to use one with Carmela also.

Now everyone is fast asleep in their crates, snoring the day away. Carmela is using her crate on her own. If I ask her to go in it, yup! you guessed it, she laughs at me hysterically and runs away. But if she's tired, she'll trot into it and nap the day away. I'll take that for now!

Continuing our theme of success, I am happy to report that Carmela is doing very well on raw.

"Yum!"

She eats like .00000000000000000000001 ounces a day and her poops are almost nonexistent on raw. That's a plus, right?

"Nom, nom, nom!"

We have yet to try any bones, but tonight, she is having her first serving.

"Delish!"

We did have one day where she didn't want to eat anything and I thought perhaps she was being picky. I found myself trying to entice her with different foods (baby food, cottage cheese, tuna, scrambled eggs) in an effort to eat because I am deathly afraid of Carmela obtaining hypoglycemia.

I decided that if indeed she was being picky, then I needed to just offer her the food later that evening and if she refused it then, off to the vet we'd go. But she ate it like she was starving and since then, she hasn't refused a meal since. Now she's back with the appetite of a gorilla!

"More please!"

We also had a Spa Day. I washed all the filth and grim off of her. I also trimmed the rest of her nails back and now they are at a decent length. The good part about a dog this little is that you can wash them in the kitchen sink. The bad part about a dog this little is that you have to make sure they don't go into shock from the cold. I had to put a bath towel in the oven so I could get her back to normal body temperature quickly. See, this is why I call it Spa Day. :-)

Even though it looks like E.T., I promise you, that is Carmela in the towel.

Orange Obession...

2008-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

The current flavor of the month for Bruno is an orange ball.

He carries it everywhere...

He even takes it to his bed with him...

And he claims two balls are better than one. Ryan agrees with him. Silly boys.

There's no denying it, he loves his orange ball!

The Mouse and The Elephant

2008-09-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

(Dammit, when she decided to come around and Bruno didn't move, I snatched my camera as quick as I could. Unfortunately, I didn't have the right lens! Arg! Sorry some of them are blurry!)

"So is this all the dogs you have living here?
Anymore I should be aware of?"

"What happened to your nose?
Why you got no nose?"

"Huh? What Chihuahua?
I don't see a Chihuahua anywhere, Ma."

"Where is there a Chihuahua?
Why do you keep saying to look at a Chihuahua??"

"Seriously, did you take your meds this morning?
You're seeing things. I don't see a Chihuahua!"

"Ma, you're starting to scare me.
There is no Chihuahua!"

"La la la! There's no Chihuahua here!"

"Oh...that! Um, that's not a Chihuahua.
It's a figment of your imagination!"

"Why does he keep saying I don't exist?
Are all the men who live here stupid?"

"Ma, she's freaking me out!!!!!!!!!!!"

She's a Tomboy!

2008-09-14T09:32:00.000-07:00

"Play with me! Play with me!
Come on! Notice me!" screams Gino.

"No. You are a stinky boy," replies Carmela.

"Fine. Let's do this MY way!" says Carmela.

"Catch me if you can, you stinky black Pug!"

"See how fast I run?"

"You should enter me in the races!
I could earn my keep!"

"So what's a gal gotta do to join The Mafia?"

Get ready to laugh your ass off...

"Aaaaaaaayyyyyyy! GO away! Go away!
MA!!! She's chasing me! Make her go away!!!!"

According to Tiffany...

2008-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

this is what my "usual" crew looks like these days.

Tiffany, you are NOT helping!! :p

But...but...

2008-09-13T13:34:00.001-07:00

"But why can't I sleep with the big guy behind me?
He's like my own personal heater!"

And folks, I've think this dog hotel
has reach maximum occupancy!

Let Us Also Remember...

2008-09-11T19:51:00.001-07:00

On Sept. 11, 2001, search and rescue dogs were deployed to NYC and Washington DC to locate victims trapped in the rubble at the terrorist attack sites. These search and rescue dogs did not have the benefit of wearing personal protective equipment worn by human handlers. The dogs were directly exposed to numerous airborne and surface toxins during their search for survivors.

These dogs were exposed to toxic and carcinogenic dust and ash as they used their noses and eyes to tirelessly search for survivors. The air during this time was heavy with fine matter like cement, glass, fiberglass, asbestos, lead and the combustion of jet fuel resulted in many other toxins dispersed in the air and ground.

These dogs worked a total of 1,428 days (15,148 hours) and many had health issues during the first week. Many experienced fatigue, eye irritation, and respiratory tract problems. They did the work where our noses and eyes could not go.

In addition to those we have lost to this horrific tragedy, let us remember also these dogs for their efforts during this tragic time. Express gratitude for our four-legged heroes.

Now The Fun Part...

2008-09-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

You didn't really think I'd leave you with a bath time post without some water shaking shots did you?! I saved the best for last!

Let's have a contest...who makes the best faces while trying to shake off all excess water. Place your bets!

Bruno's entries:

The My Face Is Melting Look

The Parker Wombat Imitation Look

The This Requires One Eye Closed Look

The I Might Be Trying To Grow A Snout Look

Gino's entries:

The Grumpy Shake Look

The Using My Ears To Defy Gravitational Force Look

The Mini Jowls Look

The Throwing In The Neck Muscles Look

Vinnie's entries:

The Using My Tongue Look

The Using My Tongue II Look

The Using My Tongue III Look

Just a warning...Vinnie would like to add that anyone that does NOT vote for him might find himself wearing cement shoes. Don't make him unleash Evil Pug on you!
\

Because he will! He's watching!