The Santana Chronicles

You may remember my trip across the country to get to Seattle?  Now we have headed to Berkeley, CA to celebrate my good friend Steven’s wedding.  To get the most out of your long 12 hour drive from Seattle to Berkeley, here are some helpful tips from your puppy friend, Santana…

1. If you’ve got an afghan, use it! Investigate it! Dig it!

2.  You don’t want to wear yourself out, so take a little rest.   Let yourself refresh so you can fully enjoy the drive.

3.  Get some shut eye.  Very important for maintaining safety on the road.

4.  Keep your eyes on the road!  You can do this by sitting in the front seat if that is allowed.  If not, keep an eye on the front window by stepping on the middle console between the front seats.  If you keep getting yelled at for doing this, just stick your head right out the window.  Be warned: your lips will flap up in the wind, your eyes lids will get pushed back, your fur will be sticking up all over the place, you’ll get an adorable runny nose…but stay strong!  This is worth it. And oh so important, guys.  Stay alert!  If they close your window, feel free to stick your head up near the driver and push your nose out her window (this sometimes results in treats from folks at the gas station). 

5.  Travel with stylish companions.  Here’s a picture of Matt, with freshly shaved head and fancy ironed clothes for the rehearsal dinner.

And just as a reminder, here is how to really get the most out of your afghan in the back seat!

On Sunday morning I got Matt and Mallory up nice and early so they could have breakfast and we could get moving!! Of course, they were lazy bums and took forever to shower, make eggs and cinnamon rolls and we didn’t even get picked up by Nicki until 10:00am! We lost so much morning fun time!!

A little history:

As a puppy, which I am, I love people and people love me! They pet me, they feed me, they think I’m cute, they walk me, etc. It’s great!! As a dog, Bonnie does not do any of these things! In fact, when she has visited us, she has done such things as lay on my blankets, sniff my toys, jump on my couch, get scratched by my Mal! This is ridiculous! Needless to say, we have been arch rivals for a while.

So that’s our background…well guess what! When we went downstairs to meet Nicki, there was Bonnie!!! We had to ride in the car together!! IN THE CAR!!! Can you believe this???

So I sat in the back with Matt…it worked out nicely. I could see out all the windows and sometimes I popped my head up front to check things out. When we first hopped into the car, I offered to drive, but no one was cool with that. Whatever guys…I’m a puppy!

Here’s the kicker…Bonnie sat on Mallory’s lap!!! ON HER LAP!!! I kept a close eye on that situation, believe me.

We got to Twin Falls…this place was wonderful! A long car ride for a little pup, but there were SO many new smells! I pooped right away! We got that taken care of and started off on the hike…off we go…hiking away….

Then Bonnie stopped me and let me know that it was time to poop!! WHHHAATT?! I just pooped! Well, it was time, according to Bonnie…so I pooped again!! We pooped at the same time and it was glorious! That trail was ours! Strange thing was, after we finished, we all had to turn around and head back to the trailhead…we walked back to the garbage area and then turned right back around to go back to the trail. I have no idea why the led us back there…it’s like walking in circles guys!!

We hiked and hiked and hiked and hiked. Bonnie took the reins for marking the rest of the trail…there wasn’t quite enough grass for me to pee on (Bonnie is apparently not as picky and sophisticated as I am). We stopped a few times for some water and I had a treat. Bonnie didn’t want any water, so I drank it all! YUM! I kept trying to drink out of the bottle while Matt poured, but he just kept pushing my little fold-up bowl in my face…psssst, Matt, THAT IS NOT AS FUN!

FINALLY, we got to the stopping point…some waterfalls! This sounds like a lot of fun, you’d think…falling? That’s like rolling and jumping sort of! Great times!

NOPE, you’d be wrong if you guessed that. IT’S A BUNCH OF WATER! And we stood over it on a tiny bridge! I was pretty sure I was going to get thrown in the water! Matt and Mallory think I would love to swim, but boy are they wrong! I will do everything I can to keep myself out of the water!

Mallory did manage to pick me up for a group photo! Happy times!

We had some more water and treats and THEN we walked back down! Walking walking walking! So much walking!! Once, Mallory almost fell off the edge of the trail and we had to sit down for a minute to make sure she wasn’t hurt…I tried to tell her that off the trail there is lots more to smell and lots of dirt to run in, but she just wanted to get back up and stay on the trail! Whatever!

Finally we got back to the trailhead and then into the warm warm warm car! It was a sunny day and I panted the whole way!

We stopped at a Burger King, where I found some nicely cut grass and could finally pee in comfort! Matt, Mallory and Nicki had a quick bite to eat sitting out in the grass while I watched from the car…Bonnie was lazy and just laid in the back seat while I jumped from window to window to keep an eye on them in case they wanted to give me a fry!

We were almost home! I could tell that we were on my street…THEN we turned left instead of right! Do you know what happens if you turn left onto that road??? RUB-A-DUB DOG!!! NOOOOO!!!

As if spending the day with Bonnie wasn’t hard enough, she then watched me get a bath!! And I couldn’t even watch her bathe because I had to get my nails cut!! The only benefit of this was that I got lots of treats and got to walk home from there. What a day!!! I thwarted their attempts to throw me in the waterfall only to end up in a bathtub!

Truth be told, it was a great day guys. As a puppy, I’d recommend this hike. It was especially full of yummy scents! And, it turns out Bonnie’s not so bad! I definitely don’t like her coming over to steal my bed and toys, but she’s alright when we’re on neutral ground! We walked together the whole time and even did some sniffing of each other! Puppy bonding!!

We were home by 3pm, which meant I’d missed my first three naps of the day, but I made up for it that afternoon!

Here are some great pictures from the day’s adventures:

Last weekend, Mallory’s Mom and Dad came to visit!! Guys, you have no idea how fun this was!! I did so much running, and jumping, and running, and barking, AND sleeping!

So great!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

You can see in this one that I am working on my blog. Hard at work, as always.

Zen Puppy

It was so great to see these guys! I lived with them for a while and really miss them! How fun to show them around my place! I even took them for a walk up the street!! Read about some of the other things they did while they were here on Mallory’s blog.

In other news, Matt has started working from home on Thursdays…this is really starting to get on my nerves. Apparently they think I do NOTHING around here! I have lots to do during the day! (Keep your eye out for some direct evidence of this soon)

But this week was different, Matt let me know he was interested in learning how to do the Shred! You all know I am the master of the shred for puppies, and Matt just wanted to take advantage of this.

When he got down to do some pushups, I quickly had to correct him! The best way to correct a boy’s pushups is to run underneath him and fix his form! Some pouncing is also ideal. Seriously. I’m glad I helped him with this! He was doing his pushups ALL wrong! He is a stubborn guy…he tried to do some in the bedroom, but I kept my eye on him the whole time!

I guess his being home all day isn’t so bad if we get a good workout in like this! To Matt, I would like to say, you are very welcome for the exercise tips.

Puppy Out.

-S.

Guys guys guys!! Guess what!! I’m Santana! And I’m a puppy! AND I’m a member of the Dog Time Network!!  I’m a Dog Time Blog Star!!! Could this day get any more exciting??

The Dog Time Network is a great network of bloggers who love dogs, bloggers who know dogs, bloggers who ARE dogs (ME!).  This is AWESOME!  I’m really excited to be a part of this network and can’t wait to connect to other puppies around the internet and enjoy the dog fun!

To celebrate my new Dog Time status, I decided I needed a new Summer dress! It was a gorgeous weekend and we went to the dog park (where I successfully avoided all other dogs and got to spend some time all by myself in the park) and then we walked around Green lake.  The path around the lake is about 3 miles long, but when you zig and zag back and forth the entire time, I estimate that you walk at least twice that distance! How fun to be a puppy like me!!

The wonderful weather really made me want a dress, and we searched high and low in all the fancy boutiques around town.  The one we decided upon was actually at Target!! Hooray for Target finally updating their puppy clothing selection! Look how pretty I am!!

In other excitement, at the beginning of May, Mallory’s parents are coming to visit!! I used to live with them sometimes and I rode with Mallory’s dad across the country to come to Seattle!!

THEN at the beginning of August, one of Mallory’s best friends from KY is coming to visit for two weeks!! This is super exciting because this friend is the one who bought me and gave me to Mallory for a graduation present three years ago!! And she hasn’t seen me since I was a tiny tiny tiny baby puppy, like this:

She will be stunned to see how big I, Santana, have grown!! Get ready for fun!  She is almost done with Vet school right now, so she knows all about how to take care of puppies like me! I will show HER how to run in big circles and it will be glorious!

Last excitement! Dori is giving away a doormat! A doormat! Guys these are hilarious! About DOGS!!!!!

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.