Touching Poem

This was just too touching not to share. We've all faced the pain of saying goodbye to one of our beloved fur companions. I'd like to think this is true:

NOTE FROM THE BRIDGE

author unknown

To my dearest family, some things I'd like to say.

But first of all, to let you know,that I arrived okay. I'm writing this from the Bridge. Here I dwell with God above. Here there's no more tears of sadness. Here is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy just because I'm out of sight. Remember that I am with you every morning, noon and night. That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through, God picked me up and hugged me and He said, "I welcome you.

It's good to have you back again, you were missed while you were gone. As for your dearest family, they'll be here later on." God gave me a list of things that he wished for me to do. And foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.

And when you lie in bed at night the day's chores put to flight, God and I are closest to you...in the middle of the night. When you think of my life on earth, and all those loving years, because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears. But do not be afraid to cry, it does relieve the pain. Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain. '

I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned. If I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand. But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is o'er, I'm closer to you now than I ever was before.

There are rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb. But together we can do it by taking one day at a time. It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too, that as you give unto the world, the world will give to you. If you can help somebody who's in sorrow and pain then you can say to God at night..."My day was not in vain." And now I am contented...that my life was worthwhile. Knowing as I passed along I made somebody smile. So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low, just lend a hand to pick him up as on your way you go. When you're walking down the street with me on your mind, I'm walking in your footsteps only half a step behind. And when it's time for you to go...from that body to be free, remember you're not going...you're coming here to me.

-- author unknown

Tummy Troubles

Hi Everybuddy -


Today I'm going to talk about our poor Shadow. She's got tummy troubles. She doesn't feel good. See......


Mom was kinda worried and took her to the vet this afternoon. I told her to watch out for that guy cause he likes to tell Moms to cut back on the treats. Harrrmmmph! I just cannot believe that Mom pays money for advice like that! Turns out he didn't take just treats away from her....he took dinner and breakfast away too! Mom said it's not that bad. She can have rice (what self respecting Lab/Whippet wants rice instead of kibble??!) and a tiny bit of chicken. She has medicine to take too. He told Mom that Shadow should be fine. It's a "bug". What does he mean by "bug"?? Would that mean me he's referring to? I'm so confused! Shadow was mad at Mom for taking her there but she got back at her. She schmood the windows up on Mom's brand new Jeep. HARRROOOO! Oh well. I guess this means I have to be nice to her and not body slam her into the sofa for a few days. I'll find something else to do. In the meantime I'm wishing Shadow a speedy recovery. I miss her old grumpy self.

A Day To Remember

Today is the day that we recognize all of those that have made our freedom possible, in the past and the present. It is to recognize those that are fighting hard today to maintain our world as we know it. We all need to be grateful for the opportunity to leave our homes when we choose and know that we're safe, for this opportunity would not be here without the men and women who are sacrificing time with their families today. So as we're going about our daily lives today, enjoying the sales and the picnics, remember to take some time to thank those that are responsible for it and continue fighting for this precious gift.

Where's the snow??

I don't think our weatherpeople understand one very basic fact......Siberians are SNOW dogs! Heloooooo - that means we NEED snow! It's not even summer yet and already it's hot. For those of you who aren't familiar with the unique (and sometimes challenging Mom says) breed that we are, we don't like hot weather. It gets pretty boring around our house when it's hot. When the thermometer climbs outside, we climb inside where the air conditioning is. Air conditioning is our friend. There's very few zoomy moments. Here's Meeka and Shyla demonstrating typical Sibe play when it's hot outside. Note the advanced form:

So it's a lazy day at the ranch. How's everybuddy else staying cool?

Website Wednesday (on Thursday)

Haroo Everybuddy!

My Mom's been so busy that she didn't have time to do Website Wednesday. I reminded her and she said we could just do it today. Silly woman. We have another great website to share.

www.IGive.com

All you have to do is register and pick your favorite cause (which in this case is MaPaw of course!). Every time you get a hold of your Mom's plastic cards you log on to I Give and shop till you drop. A percentage of everything you buy for your Mom goes towards MaPaw. Isn't that great?! Right now they have a deal where they give an extra 5 bucks to MaPaw if you simply log on as a new customer and shop within the next month. The nice lady at MaPaw (Magnum knows her. She has bagels.) gets a check several times a year that they use to help other dogs that come to visit. And they have TONS of online stores to shop from.....Staples, Barnes and Noble, Drs Foster and Smith, Lands End, Petsmart, Dell Computers..........over 680 stores to shop in. We can even buy stuff on Ebay and get even more money for MaPaw by logging on to IGive first. Many times they offer deals that you wouldn't normally get on their regular website, like free shipping or a discount. Imagine that! A discount for treats! Tell your Moms today!

Vote for my friends!

Echo here -

This is important! My friends Steve and Kat have entered a bewootiful contest for dogs. We must vote for them! Please click on this link and vote today!

http://pictureperfectpuppy.we.tv/profile.aspx/stevekatwilbur

WOO HOO....go Steve and Kat!

Very cool!

It's a beautiful, sunny spring day and Kellie did a wonderful job capturing some beautiful moments. These dogs always amaze us. Enjoy.
http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=2c4fabef9958a41cc3b923

Places We Do Not Fit

Hi Everybuddy -

Did you ever have a spot you really, really like to be but don't really fit? For some reason this seems to provide endless entertainment for humans. Mom always tells the story of when Merlin was a little pupster and loved to sleep underneath the microwave cart. He went there for a nap one day and must have had a growth spurt because he couldn't get back out! Mom had to pull and tug. I've always kept this in mind when putting myself in various places. After all, he is who I need to look up to and admire so we don't want to make that mistake again. One of my most favorite spots is the living room chair. Mom thought she had it all figured out when she finally ditched the sofa. We used to take flying leaps into it when we had the zoomies so it wasn't looking too great. When she got these living room chairs she joyfully announced that she would no longer have to de-fur the sofa....because there would be no sofa. WHAT?! NO SOFA? What is she thinkin???? Sure enough, there was Dad lugging our faithful and comfortable friend out the curb. Shadow was very distraught as she looked out the window and saw it out there alone in the cold, harsh world. If that wasn't bad enough, in came these chairs. I knew what her theory was. She didn't think we'd fit. Shadow fits....see:





Meeka found a way around the entire situation. He thinks he's so smart.













And then there's me. Imagine Mom's surprise when she walked into the room and saw this:






The moral of this story is - never underestimate the Siberian will!
And I just want to add.....I DO TOO FIT!

Siberian Bling

Hi Everybuddy -

Today I'm going to talk about our lovely collars. My friend Zim made a post all about their collars http://armyoffourdigest.blogspot.com/2007/05/cool-collar-color.html so I'm sharing pictures of what our bewootiful collars look like. Mom LOVES to find spiffy looking collars for us. She says it's a real challenge since we're such knuckleheads (that's going to be a future post) and destroy stuff that's pretty and not designed for dogs like us. Hmmph....I'm not sure what she means by that.

This is my collar. It has lovely swirls of turquoise and green. Nice huh? :

Here's Meeka's. It's multicolored like his "multi-faceted personality" (GAG!):

This is Shadow's. Mom was real happy when she found this one:

And this is Shyla's. She was a bit tricky Mom said. It's hard to find a girly girl collar that doesn't clash with her redness:

We used to have collar charms. Yep.....Mom just had to buy them for us. Mine said "DUDE" on it. Meeka's was a sparkly crown (since he thinks he's a Prince), and Shadow's says "DIVA". Shyla wasn't living with us then. Wellllllll - my charm broke when Meeka and I were playing. Mom's not quite sure how we managed that one since it's hard metal. And somehow Meeka's crown got bent (I thought that was appropriate) and he lost 2 sparkly thingies. But guess who still has hers? That's right! Shadow. Figures. (rolling eyes). She thinks she's so perfect.

Anyway, that's our Siberian bling.

Website Wednesday

It's that time again! This is the day I get to share one of my favorite websites. I have another good one. It's a live Wolf Cam. If you're patient enough and a little bit lucky you can see the wolves who live in the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota.

http://www.elyminnesota.com/content/view/46/95/ Be sure to click on "Meet the Wolves" to see all of the beautiful wolves that live there.

Look real close and you might see Maya:

Or Malik:

So grab a few dog biscuits and a bowl of water, pull up Mom's chair and enjoy.

Tummy Tagged!

I've been tummy tagged by Magnum! That meant Dad had to do some camera stalking to catch me at just the right moment. He said it has to be harder than being the paparazzi to the stars. He got me!




I fussed and fidgeted as much as I could but they wore me down. Slightly humiliating but all in the name of good fun. The rules state that when one is tummy tagged, one must post a photo of their tummy and then tag three other bloggers. Sooooo...........

http://bisbetica-denise.blogspot.com/ (Jake, Shiloh, and Guinness)
http://www.howlinghope.blogspot.com/ (Hope, my sister)
http://mapaw.blogspot.com/ (Since I'm kinda new at this blogging stuff and so many have already been tagged, this is Magnum's blog but I'm tagging Codey! )

TAG, YOU'RE IT!!!!

YUM!

Did I ever mention how much I love food? Yep, it's true. I consider myself to be a true connoisseur of dog treats. Ever since this big pet food scare Mom has been very, very careful about every little thing she feeds us. Some things she brings home aren't as yummy as others. A couple weeks ago she found a new biscuit treat called "By Nature". http://www.bynaturepetfoods.com/productpages/dogmain.php

We got to try the Fruit and Nut treats and they are YUMMY!

Make sure you remind Mom to look for them next time she goes out shopping. You won't be sorry!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Today's a special day! It's Mother's Day! Today's the day we say "Thanks Mom!" to our moms who take care of us all year long. They clean up after us, teach us right from wrong, keep us healthy, and make sure we're happy.

I have two Moms......how lucky can a guy get?! I live with my human Mom. She loves me a whole lot. But my canine Mom - Sissy -needs a big thank woo too. So this is a tribute to her. Isn't she pretty?

THANKS MOM, for keeping me and my four sisters safe in a very dangerous situation. Despite no food and horrible conditions, she did what she had to do to make sure we were born healthy. She never gave up no matter how hot and long the days became. Now THAT is a special mommy!



Sissy adopted a family in Pennsylvania and is spoiled every day. Her story is an inspiration to dogs and humans alike.
We wish all the mothers - human, canine, feline, and others - who tirelessly give their love and compassion to us, a wonderfully relaxing day filled with everything they love the best.


Love, Echo, Hope, Tela, Kiley, and Mischka

Happy Birthday To My Buddies!

I have a very special announcement to make! This weekend marks the 3rd birthday for two of my best buds.......Conan and Moose!

Just look at those faces! They're such good boys. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS! A round of Frosty Paws and cookies for all!!

My Surprise For Mom

As we all know, Mother's Day is coming up quickly. This is a very, very important day for us to show our Moms how much we appreciate their patience. Of course some Moms need to be more patient than others but we won't talk about that. Anyway - I had such an amazing, stupendous gift for Mom that I had to give it to her a little bit early. I just couldn't wait. I had to call in many, many favors for this one as you'll soon see! WHEW! It pays to have friends in high places - literally!
I had a subtropical depression named after my Mom - Andrea! LOOK! :


I know....can you believe it?! It'll be hard to top this one. She's amazed that I was able to pull this one off. She said she knew she should never underestimate my persistence but this one really blew her away....almost literally! I figure I'm good for another year. All those little mischievous moments I've had just faded completely away in her mind. HA! I'm so tired from the stress and effort that I need a nap. Catch you all tomorrow everybuddy.

Website Wednesday

Hi everybuddy! I've decided to make Wednesday, Website Wednesday. Every Wednesday I'll share a cool website with everyone. Can you guess what today's is?



One of my Mom's favorite places is the Lakota Wolf Preserve (www.LakotaWolf.com) in Columbia, New Jersey. It's not a real large preserve but they three different types of wolves there.......the Artctic, the Tundra, and the Timber. The wolves are kept safe in large fenced areas in natural surroundings, with plenty of space to run and play.





They have scheduled daily talks from the caretakers who know each wolf individually.



If you're within driving distance, Lakota is a wonderful place to go to appreciate the beauty of these wonderful animals. Mom says it's definately worth the trip!

Dumb Gate!

Did I mention how I hate gates? I don't know why Mom thinks we need them. I did the typical Siberian stuff which is required by the Siberian Behavior Manual and either jumped over, knocked down, ate, or broke the traditional "baby" gates. They don't call em "baby" gates for nothin ya know. So Dad went and built a gate for the kitchen. This one's pretty darned near Sibe proof I'd say. That means....it works. Mom doesn't use it too much anymore. Baking day is one time that she does. DARN! I'm hoping someday she'll forget. There oughta be a law against this. Just look at what's on the table:

Biscuits! And do they smell great or what?! Any self respecting Siberian would have to taste test right? Well - just look at this:

This is just not fair! She expects me to sit here, see them, smell them, and be content. Women!

Silly Picture Of The Day

Every once in awhile we all need a good laugh. Especially on a Monday. As you all know, Meeka is our resident Prince. That's why it's such great fun when we catch him doing something non-princelike. Like any good Sibe, Meeka takes his napping very seriously. He's a pretty sound sleeper too. We like it because that's when we get to take all the Nylabones he's been hiding. So for a bit of comic relief on a Monday, I share with you our Meeka:

Happy Monday!

I Love Meet & Greets!

Did I mention that I love Meet and Greets? As you know, I've been practicing to be a good husky at today's Meet and Greet with MaPaw. It was a sunny day and there was lots of people that came by to see me. Well okay.....it wasn't just me they came to see. I think it was but Mom says no. Here I am looking handsome so that people will come to say hi.

Note the nifty MaPaw tent behind me. And see all those people? Everyone loves the snow dogs!

I just love the short people! Mom calls them kids. Here I am with one of my favorites. She really loves MaPaw dogs. Isn't she the cutest? I'm greeting her with Princess Chloe - The Fairest Husky Of Them All. We're letting Emily know how happy we are that she came to play.

Emily brought her two brothers, Conan and Moose. They're both MaPaw dogs. They look different than us and boy are they BIG! They are mixed with Mastiff. Mom really loves them alot and was so happy to see them and their Mom and Dad again.

We had a very busy day, meeting and greeting many new friends. Here's my girl Kellie and a MaPaw volunteer with Dawkin. Dawkin is the newest MaPaw dog who will be needing a very important and costly surgical procedure so that he can see better. They walked around introducing Dawkin and asking people to sign the Get Well card for Jasper and Dawkin. Many people were interested in their stories and were eager to make donations so that they can both get the care they need.

It was a very good day and I didn't steal anyone's stuffies. Mom said she was very proud of me.

It's naptime now. All that hard work made me tired. See ya tomorrow!

It's a Meet and Greet!

I'm very excited! This Sunday (May 6th) I'm going to one of MaPaw's busiest Meet and Greets! Sunday is the Chester County SPCA's Walk For Paws Event at Brandywine Valley Association’s Myrick Conservation Center (1760 Unionville-Wawaset Road, West Chester, PA). The event starts at 9AM and ends at 3PM. We always have so much fun at this event. There's lots of dogs to meet and everyone always seems happy to see us. We are Snow Dogs after all and they're always very popular, especially with the short ones. Here I am getting briefed:

I have to work hard on not stealing the short one's stuffies. Little ones often come up to pet me and if they have a stuffy in their hands wouldn't you think it was for ME? Well, apparently not. At one event Mom and Dad had to replace a stuffy cause I didn't want to give it back right away. I got it all gushy and made the little boy cry. Geez. How did I know he didn't really want to give it to me? I've been practicing hard all year to give things back. It's not fun but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.
I hope some of you can come out and say hi!

Meeka The Toy Hog

When there's four of us fur kids living under the same roof, there's bound to be some mighty big personalities to deal with. Meeka is a self proclaimed Prince. He's in charge of everything, everwhere, all the time. Especially the toys! It's usually not a real big issue but on some days, sharing just isn't on his list of priorities. See for yourself:

Now just what dummy would go for one of those bones?? I can't usually be bothered but sometimes when I'm feeling particularly Echo-like, I will lie right near him and stare at him. It drives him NUTS! But then again....that's the point right?

Just take a look at this:

It's a good thing I'm a patient kind of guy.

Stupid Nicknames

I don't know how the rest of you feel, but this pup thinks nicknames are DUMB! What is it with humans? They spend days choosing just the right name for us. They lurk on dog name websites, pull out the baby name books they had stashed away in the attic, and research meanings of names. They carefully and painstakinly choose some regal sounding name and announce it to the world with great pride. Then they come up with some ridiculously stupid foo-foo name that they want us to answer to. Geesh! By now you probably want to know what my nickname is. Here goes........it's "Bug". How stupid is that??! Mom says it's perfectly justified and explains how in her infinite wisdom, she came up with it. This is me when I came home:

Mom was so taken aback with my cuteness that she started to call me "Bug-A-Boo". I know - ridiculous huh? She claims I began to respond to it, especially after she shortened it to "Bug". If only I had paid more attention. So now I'm stuck with it. Bug. How humiliating. Now really. Do I have antennae or wings?

Apparently Mom felt compelled to give the others nicknames as well. It's only fair after all. Meeka - who feels he's the resident Prince, is stuck with a doozy. HAHAHAHAHA! This one was chosen by our girl. Meeka HATES it. Here goes......Meeky-Beeky-Bonker-Boos. I do believe that's worse than mine. Bwwwaahhhh!

Shadow has one too but she claims she likes it. Shadow Missy Muffin Twinkle Toes Prissy Pants. Yikes! So far Shyla seems to be stuck with Princess Pea or Princess Runs-Like-Wind.

Why do they do this to us? Do any of you have silly nicknames??

Race Day

There's something that happens on Sundays (well, mostly on Sundays) that Dad gets VERY excited about. Sunday is Race Day. That's the day he tries to get us all to sit on the sofa with him and joyfully watch cars go round and round and round. We don't quite get it. Shyla and I sometimes go round and round the living room chair but he says it's not the same. Every Sunday he says he's going to watch "his race" with all of his huskies lying next to him. Well, you know how THAT goes. This is what happens after about 10 minutes of us racing around the room:

Shyla loses interest real fast. Above you can see her hoping that "race day" will soon be over.
Here's Meeka:


He gets bored pretty fast too. Just what IS it about this car thing? I heard about a dog that chased cars. Mom says that's not a good idea. I don't see any dogs chasing the cars on TV. Once I saw a bunny run across the track. They had to stop the race to let the bunny cross. I like bunnies! That was an exciting race.
That's what we do on Sunday afternoons. I say it's a good time for a nap: