The Santana Chronicles

Hey guys! Don’t worry! I’m still a pup! It has been a crazy holiday time for me!

Look at all the things I’ve been in to:

I know…it’s exciting! I’m working hard on my New Year’s resolution for “More Sleep!”, so I’m off to get back to that.  Coming up: a recap of my most recent stay at PetSmart!

My good friend Dori is coming to visit soon, and in preparation she is trying to be more like me! Here are three ways that she is working towards a very very noble puppy goal.

1) She’s following me on Twitter!  Guys, this is a GREAT way to learn what goes on in a puppy’s life.  A surefire way to get as close as possible to a puppy!

2) She bought a jumpy machine that lets her practice the puppy jumps! Check out her pictures! Puppies like me LOVE to jump! Straight up in the air!  This is how I will greet Dori when she gets to Seattle, and hopefully she greets me the same way!

3) She’s admiring (and assumedly imitating) my blogging puppy skills!  In the same jumpy blog, Dori gave me this award!!

In order to accept this award, I need to answer the following questions with just one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? butt
2. Your hair? furry
3. Your mother? beagle
4. Your father? chihuahua
5. Your favorite food? butt
6. Your dream last night? running
7. Your favorite drink? float
8. Your dream/goal? digging
9. What room are you in? mine
10. Your hobby? licking
11. Your fear? alone
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? pooping
13. Where were you last night? undercover
14. Something you aren’t? clean
15. Muffins?  yes
16. Wish list item? chewy
17. Where did you grow up? Binghamton
18. Last thing you did? sleep
19. What are you wearing? collar
20. Your TV? incomprehensible
21. Your pets? Dangles

22. Your friends? people
23. Your life? privileged
24. Your mood? sleepy
25. Missing someone? Freckles

26. Vehicle? Honda

27. Something you’re not wearing? T-shirt
28. Your favorite store? PetSmart
29. Your favorite color? pink
30. When was the last time you laughed? vomit
31. Last time you cried? off-leash
32. Your best friend? Matthew

33. One place that I go over and over? couch
34. One person who emails me regularly? Palin
35. Favorite place to eat? garbage

I would pass this along to other bloggers, but a) I can’t read and b) my blog is the best, so you should just keep reading this one.  Thanks for finally getting wise to the facts and reading my blog! And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, where I’ll keep track of all my exciting activities during the day!

Just a quick post to let everyone know I’m back at home!  After a fun and relaxing weekend at the PetSmart PetsHotel, Matt and Mallory finally came to get me on Tuesday!  I was SO excited to see them that I tried to jump through the door before it was opened…BAD idea guys!

I got lots of treats, extra cuddles, and just to make sure Mallory knew I was happy to be home I barked every few hours throughout the night so she could come and hug me.  It was great!

Today Mallory and I have the day off and we’re busy cleaning the apartment and packing up for our next adventure.  Matt is in a wedding on Saturday!!! So we’re taking a road trip to Berkeley and I get to stay in a hotel! THIS is exciting!

In the meantime, take a look below at my report card from PetSmart! I did so great!  I had group playtime on two different days and was actually very social with other dogs…guys I’m growing up!  But I’m still a puppy!

It was hard to leave Matt and Mallory behind, and I have to admit that at the last minute I had cold feet and tried to turn back.  Thankfully the woman who had my leash picked me up so I couldn’t make any rash decisions.

Good thing too!  I got ICE CREAM!!! Mallory hardly ever gives me ice cream!  I’m glad to be home, but would definitely not be against going back to PetSmart for some vacation time in the future!

As a puppy, here are the qualities I look for in a toy:

• Shreddable– This way I can spread all of the pieces around the apartment as I tear the toy apart!  The best of these are the rope toys!! I have a feeling Matt and Mallory don’t like this type of toy because I hardly ever seem to get them anymore.  I’m currently working on a rope ball…it’s pretty great, but not as fun as the typical rope toy!

• Tugable – This is what makes the regular rope toy stand out! Not only can I shred it and lick it as much as I want, I can also share it with my friends and PULLLLL! I have also had other toys that are good for this!

• Fluffy – When I was a baby puppy, I had a lot of fluffy things! Balled up socks and gloves, a fun stuffed cow, other stuffed animals.  It was great!  Some of them accidentally got peed on (whatever happened to those ones, I wonder?!) and some I TORE APART! It was spectacular! Come to think of it, I don’t really get these ones anymore either.

The photos above are actually of my torn apart fluffy bed and me as a tiny baby chewing on some balled up gloves!!! Below, me in my baby baby cage, with my first best friend, the cow, and later with my second best friend, Dangles!

• Textured – I like to keep my teeth and gums nice and clean, so I tend to lean towards toys that have some rough edges, bumps, etc.  They’re great! I work hard at them and break them apart AND get my teeth clean at the same time…what a deal!

The sharp toy…this thing is my life.

• Edible – uh, duh.

I recently got a great toy that incorporates almost all of these qualities…I efficiently shredded the rope out of it, but Mallory accidentally threw it away! The rubber part of the toy is still great for tug-o-war, puppy style! 

Anyway, none of these qualities apply to the toy I just got for my birthday, so I was skeptical at first.  I mean, look at the thing:

Not exactly shreddable, tugable, fluffy, OR textured! In fact, it’s the smooth, rubbery material that I usually ignore!

However, there was magic to be found within….TREATS!! AND LATER, PEANUT BUTTER!!  How does such a toy exist?? This is like a food bowl I can play with!

Sometimes, my Kong is full of treats…this is delicious and crunchily satisfying.  The only problem is that it’s hard to get them out sometimes, and once the treat comes out, I eat it so quickly!  Then it’s just gone!  Not a lot of long-lasting fun there!

Other times, though, the Kong is full of PEANUT BUTTER!!!! Mallory even went to Whole Foods to grind me some butter made from just peanuts…no added oils, sugars, or salts.  Just pure peanuty goodness for a puppy like me!! I cannot explain to you non-puppies out there how absolutely satisfying it is to lick lick lick lick the afternoon away.  Every lick results in a little wonderfully nutty bit of peanut butter on my tongue! And sometimes on my nose and whiskers, which is a great surprise later on when I find it!  Sometimes, I randomly find the Kong in the middle of the floor, or sitting on my couch, and with a slight sniff I realize that there was some peanut butter in there that I missed, and then the licking begins again! The joy of this goes on for hours!

I have also realized that the Kong is fun when there isn’t food inside of it!! Sometimes, just for fun, I will chew on it a little bit and then drop it in Mallory or Matt’s lap.  They can’t really tug it with me because they REFUSE to use their mouths, but I’ve realized another quality I’d like to add to my list.  This has always been considered when I’ve perused toys, but it is always an add-on, never a quality to be admired in its own right, UNTIL NOW!  It is:

• Throwable!!! – I love to chase things!! And sometimes, a puppy just can’t be bothered with all that tugging, and you just want to say “GET TO THE THROWING ALREADY!!” The Kong does this perfectly!! Plus, when it hits the ground, it bounces and rolls away a little, so I get to chase and jump and catch all in one throw!!

Unbelievable fun!! Four paws up for Kong!!!!

So, one of my best friends, Dori, interviewed me!! I am a puppy and I love these things!

• You are a puppy. What is your favorite thing about being a puppy?

Good, insightful question Dori! The best part of being a puppy is all the cuddling!! I am actually writing this blog post from underneath an afghan, cuddled up by Mallory’s legs…how lucky is that?! As a puppy, everyone wants to love me! Sure, some people get lots of love, but I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t want to squeeze me, or smoosh me, or tell me I’m cute! And sometimes this results in treats, kisses, toys and other fun things for me! Most of all though, I am crazy about curling up with Matt and Mallory…when it’s just the three of us I couldn’t be more content! Sometimes they leave just enough space between them on the couch for me to squeeeeze in there. If they forget and sit too close, I can usually remind them that I’m a puppy with some well-placed kisses to the face and wiggle my way in there! Here’s an example of when I got some prime cuddling in with Carson and Nicki when they came to visit:

• If you could eat just one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Butter wrappers OR fuzz balls from the floor! Tough choice!

• Where is your most favorite place to poop? Your least favorite?

Well, my least favorite is EASILY in the rain. Who wants to poop while they are getting DRENCHED by water…NOT ME! Most favorite…hmm…since I am a puppy, I will have to say, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LIVING ROOM! This doesn’t get to happen very often because I don’t want to spoil Matt and Mallory, but let me tell you…it is a TREAT when it does happen. And then it’s just there all day for me to enjoy and be proud of!

• Who do you like better: people or dogs? What are the reasons?

PEOPLE! Here’s the thing. I’m a puppy. Yes, other dogs are similar because they are furry, like to sniff butts, and poop outside. But listen, I’M A PUPPY! I will always be a puppy! And I’ve noticed that other dogs just aren’t quite as cuddly as people (see #1). When I take Matt and Mallory to the off-leash dog park to let them run around a bit, I just jump right up onto the picnic table top and chat with the folks sitting around there…I really think we are more kin than I am with the other dogs. They just do a lot of aggressive barking and chasing out in the open. I believe there are a few times when that kind of aggression is called for. They are:

- Inside, behind the safety of glass. If people are walking by on the street, you bet I am barking!

- When you smell weakness. Old lady? Tiny toddler? Dog with three-legs? I’m on it!

- Random game play! What better time to get out my aggression than when Dori is trying to nicely play with me!

• What is your favorite game to play? Why is this game so much fun?

Speaking of games! There’s this game. It’s an ancient tradition in the land of puppies. It’s called “Bring it here, drop it, lunge at it, sit, wait, chase it, bring it back, pull it as hard as possible, growl, get annoyed when they stop playing and bring it back to them to repeat.” I have NO idea who named this game, but boy do I love it!

• If you had the ability to speak just one sentence out loud in English, what would you say?

“GUYS GUYS GUYS! GUUUUUUYS! GUYS! I’M A PUUUPPPPPYYYYY! Feed me?”

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Also, the other night while making dinner, we played Hangman on the fridge whiteboard! Here’s mine! The category is “Please”….I don’t really know how categories works, apparently.

Thanks Dori for the interview! Fun!!! If anyone would like to be interviewed by a puppy, please respond and I will gladly interview you!!! I love to ask questions (I’m a puppy!!)

Puppy out.

-S.