Miss Meg wants Hello Kitty

Meg: Is the manicurist here yet?

Jean: Not yet, my sweet.

Meg: But I have a date at eight, and my nails look terrible.

Jean: Your nails are the least of your worriest, dearest one.

Meg: I want pink nail polish with Hello Kitty decals.

Jean: Whatever your heart desires, precious girl.

Home of the Whoppers

You thought Burger King was home of the Whopper? You were wrong. 9 Dogs Howling is the real home of the Whopper. Four of 'em.

We took the pups to the vet for their annual exam and shots today. This is a major project, along the line of dismantling the Empire State Building and reassembling it on the top of Mount Washington. We take two dogs at a time, each in a crate in the back of Mr. P.'s pickup truck, using a handtruck to wheel the loaded crates in and out of the animal hospital. When we get the first two home again, everyone has a cup of coffee or a Valium, then we do the next batch. No one enjoys the outing, but it must be done.

Thank goodness it's over for another year, and we didn't get yelled at because Meg and Berry are so fat. In fact, we had been overestimating their weights, which we were convinced were 60 pounds or more (each). These puppies who weighed under a pound when they were born 17 months ago now weigh:

Teddy: 47.4 lbs
Jinx: 51.4 lbs
Berry: 54 lbs
Meg: 55 lbs

Like I said: the whoppers.

Food

A favorite topic here at 9 Dogs Howling is food. It's a subject that has fascinated me for over 50 years (sometimes to my detriment), and it fascinates our dogs, too. The nickname Mr. P. and I use for each other (which will never be spoken or written in public) is a food name, and we call the pups "The Whoppers" or "The Whoppalators". I associate the individual dogs with foods, as follows:

Meg - pork chop (thick cut)
Teddy - deviled ham
Berry - one-pound cheeseburger
Jinx - beef jerky
Polly - Hershey's kiss
Georgie - blonde brownie

Well, I must run now. Gotta get me a Hershey's kiss.

Froggy went a courtin'

Frog went a courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh

Frog went a courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh

Frog went a courtin' and he did ride

With a sword and a pistol by his side, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh

He rode right up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh

He rode right up to Miss Mousie's door, uh-huh

He rode right up to Miss Mousie's door

Gave three loud raps, and a very big roar, uh-huh uh-huh uh-huh

Box Addiction

The wonderful cuteoverload.com devotes a lot of space to the curious phenomenon of cats' attraction to boxes, and often suggests box-hab for addicted kitties. Here you see Fritz & Ziggy's shy sister Pashmina, who couldn't resist the Yahtzee box and stayed to advise the players on winning strategies.

I've posted this photo of Blackie before but will post it again to illustrate that box addiction is not limited to cats.

Don't worry, buddy, I got your back

Double decker dogs

Did you ever love someone so much that you just couldn't get close enough to them?

I don't know who's more adorable in this photo, Miss Polly with her anxious little head stacked on top of Georgie, or Georgie with his block head tilted to the side so that a slice of sunshine falls on it.