Friday Fun

Hi Everybuddy -

I just came from Holly's Blog and she played a really cool game! Here's how it works:



Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions. They must be real places, names, things ... If you can't think of anything, skip it. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.You take the first letter of your first name, and then answer the questions using only that letter.



What is your name? Echo
4 letter word: Exit
Vehicle: Eclipse
TV Show: Everyone Loves Raymond
City: Endicott, NY
Boy Name: Eric
Girl Name: Evelyn
Alcoholic Drink: Eggnog
Occupation: Elephant Trainer (LOL!)
Something you wear: Earrings
Celebrity: Elvis
Food: Endive
Something found in a bathroom: E-Coli (Sorry! It's all I could think of!)
Reason for being late: Everybody on the road
Cartoon Character: Eeyore
Something You Shout: EXCUSE ME???!

That was FUN! Now it's your turn!

Website Wednesday

Hi Everybuddy -

We all know what today is.....WEDNESDAY! That means it's time for my ever-popular Website Wednesday. This is a very special Wednesday indeed. I want to remind everyone that it's time to lace up their hiking boots! Saturday is the first annual Hike & Howl! The hike website has been set up to provide everyone with a glimpse of all the fun activities they will be offering. Mom is interested in how to make a blanket out of husky fur. I'm not sure it's a good idea to give her any encouragement to chase us with that evil brush any more than she already does, but I'll be a good sport about it. Dad can't wait to meet everyone's dogs and also some of the new foster dogs. I hope he doesn't get any ideas. I think there's enough of us here but it's fun to just look. As you can see, I'm very excited about this event and I've posed for this inspirational picture:






We've been watching the weather very closely and it looks as if it will be perfect.....low 80s and sunny. Not too bad at all. Snow would have been better of course but we'll take this. Many people have worked very hard at making this a fun day for dogs and humans alike. Hours and hours have been dedicated going over each detail to try to make this the perfect day. For that, we give those volunteeers TWO PAWS UP! I won't be there myself but Mom, Dad, and my girl will. Mom will be there bragging about all the wonderful dogs all 3 groups have available for adoption. She said she'd be very tempted to adopt them herself so she wonders how anyone can resist them.

I leave you with a tip to make it even a better day. Be sure your boots are tied before starting the hike:

Echo's Dream Come True

Hi Everybuddy -



I have some exciting news to share! The other day, Shyla went to visit her previous Foster Mommy. She had such a great time playing with her old Foster Sibling, Oreo! She visited all of her favorite rooms in the house and found all of the her Foster Boy's stuffed animals.....just like old times. Little did I know, Shyla was planning to bring home a BIG surprise for me! Look what she found!:

CAKE TRUCKS!!!! Oh my Dogness! I thought I was having an hallucination! Shyla had Dad take this photo but she noted that there was an entire parking lot just FULL of cake trucks! Judging from the size of these trucks I estimate there must be HUNDREDS of cakes sitting there! This was all just so overwhelming to me:

Once I regained my composure, I noticed that Shyla brought home a present for me. She's such a thoughtful grrrrl! Take a look:

"Woo Shyla! Thanks!!!"

"Ummm.....did Dad get to this before me?"

"Wait.....there's a couple crumbs there!"

"What a great present! I'm keeping this furever!"

What Kind Of Puppy Is Mom?

Mom took a fun quiz she found on Kelsey Ann's Blog. Check this out! Hmmmph.

You Are a Boxer Puppy

Energetic, playful and good with kids. You've also got a wild spirit that can't be trained or tamed.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

Back To School Poll

Hi everybuddy -

In honor of Back To School time, I've posted a new poll in the sidebar. Take a look and cast your vote!

Rainy Days and Chicken Filets

Hi Everybuddy -

It's been a nasty, rainy day today....and yesterday....and even the day before that! This is just wrong. We did discover that the new ahhhning comes in handy when it rains though. We can go out back and not get quite so wet. The nice thing is that it's not a gajillion degrees out anymore. It's a very cool 60 something. We like that!

Since there's not much to do when it's raining for forty days and forty nights (other than build an ark but Adrill wasn't available) Mom had a surprise for us! We LOVE surprises! She had a new treat for us to test. It's called Zuke's Glazed Chicken Filets. MMMMM! They are very, very yummy! This is what the bag looks like:

Mom likes these treats because they use premium grade chicken with only natural ingredients.....and no wheat or glutens. She was particularly amused because they have maple syrup in them.....Mmmmmm! You will also see on their website that they support canine and feline cancer funding to help provide treatment and education to pet owners. We love that. Zuke's Chicken Filets get two paws up from us!

Bird Dog Meeka

Hi everybuddy -

Today I'm going to talk about Meeka's security mission last night. Apparently he was able to break the security seal into the secret room! He's a sneaky guy sometimes. He said it wasn't too difficult. He charmed Mom into thinking he was going to say goodnight to the girl and guess where he very quietly ended up? I have to question just how sneaky that mission really was because obviously the room contains security surveillance cameras. But look what he found!:

"Hello! My name is MEEKA! Why are you hanging
way up there??"

"Smells like sticks and twigs to me"

You'll remember Meeka's last adventure with the other secret residents in the house. Despite his very cool, laid back demeanor Mom says she doesn't trust him for a minute which is probably wise. She's smart that way.

Mom and our girl have a soft spot for little critters and were made aware of about 800 birdies that suddenly came into rescue a few months ago. That's a lot of feathers! So despite trying to restrain themselves, they brought home a few of them. I don't see the point. They seem to make a lot of noise and I haven't heard any howling from them yet.

I guess this gives a whole new meaning to "bird dog". And I don't think Meeka will be visiting them anytime soon again, or so says Mom. She said Meeka looked a little too interested. He needs to learn how to be aloof like me. Darn!

Cake Day!

We'd like to send out BIG birthday wishes for our girl who always loves us no matter how annoying we can be! It's officially a cake day and I'm on my best behavior. Have a great day Kellie and I'd like a big piece please! And we'll try not to shed on your black velvet riding helmet this year (even though we still think it brings you good luck).

Middle Name Fun

Hi everybuddy -

My good buddy Shiloh posted this new game and tagged me. So here we go! This is what you do:

List one fact that is somehow relevant to you and your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

Let's see now. My official name is Merlin's Echo so that would mean my middle name is Echo:

E = Extraordinary
C = Cute
H = Happy
O = Obnoxious (Meeka picked that one)


Hmmm....Meeka doesn't have an official name so we'll go with His Royal Highness which would therefore give us Royal:

R = Royal (of course)
O = Obstinate
Y = Yacking
A = Affectionate
L = Loyal


Shadow - well.......she's often known as Shadow Missy Muffin so we'll go with Missy:

M = Manic
I = Intelligent
S = Sensitive
S = Sweet
Y = Yodeler

Shyla - let's think - Mom calls her Shyla Pretty Princess so we'll go with Pretty:

P = Pretty
R = Red
E = Exceptional
T = Tiny
T = Tail - and BOY does she have a tail!
Y = Young

There! That was a fun one. I tag Cosmos & Juneau!

Website Wednesday

It's Wednesday! That means it's time for me to share an interesting website. Today we're going to talk about......windows. Not the computer kind of windows. Doggie windows! Isn't that cool?! Take a look:

This is called a Pet Peek window. What a clever idea! Especially for pups like me who like to socialize with the dog next door. We're always trying to peer between the cracks in the fence but it really doesn't satisfy us. I suggested that since Dad was running low on home improvement projects, we order one of these nifty windows so that he can install it in our fence. I'm always thinking about him and we wouldn't want him to get bored or anything. So for all you Pups who are slightly nosey....errrr....I mean interested in the world around you......this might be just the ticket for you!

Mopey Meeka Monday

Hi Everybuddy -


It's Monday. Traditionally, Mondays are known in our house as "Mopey Meeka Mondays". Meeka and Dad are best buddies. Weekends are glorious for our royal guy because he has Dad all to himself for 2 days in a row. But as we know, all good things must come to an end. That brings us to Mondays. Dad has to go to work. This is what happens when Dad goes out the door:

Evenutally, he will move out of his crate but the mournful look remains:

Pretty soon, there's nothing left to do but.........

.....sleep. Only 6 more hours to go big guy! Poor Meeka!

"People let me tell you ‘bout my best friend

He’s a warm-hearted person who’ll love me to the end"

Written by Harry Nilsson

Way To Go!!

We're very proud tonight! Our girl did a great job at the horse show today and brought home some ribbons.

WAY TO GO KELLIE! JOB WELL DONE!

Kellie showing "Our Love Song"

I Object!

Hi Everybuddy -

All this obedience stuff has my Mom thinkin. When she thinks, that's never a good thing! Now she wants to try to get us to walk nicely on lead. YEAH RIGHT! Apparently the obedience instructor pointed out some training options to her after class. Oh great. So now, she's inspired. This morning she went online to see other things that might work. Look what she found:

Okay, let's take a closer look at this. This products says it's a "STUBBORN DOG SYSTEM". Look what's on the box! I'm not sure I like this! In my opinion, stubbornness is a sign of intelligence. Why should we get zapped for that? We're free thinkers. We do what's right (most of the time)! Perhaps whomever designed this box needs to do some breed research. How about putting a Lab's picture on that box? I've seen Labs gaze under the sofa for quite some time waiting for the ball to roll back out. That's "stubborn" isn't it? Or how about the dog next door that barked for hours at the new photograph of his boy in a cap and gown? That's stubborn right? And I've never met a cat that's not stubborn. I think this box should have a cat's picture on it. I believe this is discrimination! HARRRMPH! For the record, she's not considering what's in this box. She said we don't have a "need" for that. I just had to share my opinion on what I saw.

Anywoo, this leads me to the original purpose of my post. Check out the poll Mom has added to the sidebar. She thinks this will help her decide which training tool to use. (Pssst......click "other". It'll completely throw her off!)

All this thinkin makes my head spin.

Website Wednesday

Hi Everybuddy -

It's Website Wednesday again and Mom's on a roll.....she's actually posting it on Wednesday instead of Thursday. GO MOM!

I think I have the perfect website to share today since it's a bajillion degrees outside. Just looking at the pictures on this website will make you feel cooler. A good friend of ours told us about a wonderful magazine called Mushing. Here's what the current issue looks like:





It's a great publication that we can all subscribe to and benefit from. You don't have to be active in the growing sport of dog mushing to appreciate this magazine. It has informative articles focused on Siberians and other Northern Breeds, discussing specific diet needs, health issues pertaining to the breeds, and other great tips and facts. The pictures are breathtaking. We've decided we definately need to visit Alaska or some other Northern point. Right after we snag Mom's plastic card and order our subscription!

Jingle Bells!

Hi Everybuddy -

Guess what?? We got mail!! We got a package from the package man. He left it on our front porch. I think he's afraid to ring the doorbell because of the stampede he hears coming for the door. This isn't just ANY package.......it jingles! What could it be? Take a look:

"I know this smell......I think.....it's GRANDMOM!"

"Yep.....I smell Grandmom too!"

"Woo hoo.....GRANDMOM! Are you in there???"

After careful inspection, Meeka and Echo were quite sure Grandmom was not in the box. But what are these colorful things? Could it be.......our stockings??! Mom put our stockings in a box a few weeks ago and shipped them out someplace. Meeka told me that Santa Paws had recalled ours because I wasn't behaving very well. Hmmmph. I was a bit worried but looks like it was all for nothing, cause here they are! I think this one is Shadow's stocking. It has bewootiful satin inside:

"Yup....this one's Shadow's!"

But why do you suppose Grandmom had them? Maybe she went to Santa Paws and told him it was all a big mistake. We're huskies and it's hard for us to be good ALL the time. Hey, look at what's on the front. WOOOO!:

"Look! Grandmom put our names on them!"

They're BEWOOTIFUL Grandmom! Thank you very, very much! Mom told me you have Shyla's name there too and as soon as Mom finds a stocking for her you will do hers too.

"Thanks Grandmom - I love it!"

"Grandmoms are the coolest!"

Two paws up for our Grandmom! She's the bestest!

P.S. Only 139 more days till Christmas!!

Searching For Cooler Weather

Hi Everybuddy -

I don't have to tell many of you.....it's HOT outside! It's been several days here in PA. This is just plain WRONG. I'd consider myself a pretty good sport but this is ridiculous. I am a SIBERIAN HUSKY after all! You know.....snow, freezing temperatures, brisk winds. I think I might have a solution to this heat problem. I'm going to use GoodSearch to search for some cooler weather. Surely there's some I can download. I just have to find it.

GoodSearch is a great new search engine that everyone in MaPaw is using. Not only is it very accurate and helpful, every time someone uses it MaPaw gets a penny! Now that doesn't sound like much but it adds up fast. You'd be surprised how many things you look for.

So please bookmark this site and use it every time you search for something on the internet. Select MaPaw as the donation recipient and they'll get a check every 3 months. It's as simple as that! Free money is a great thing.

Now....I'm off to find that cool weather. Wish me luck!

Whinnies & Woos

Hi Everybuddy -

Today's an important day! I know because my girl is excited. There's a horse show tonight and she's competing. This is an important one because she needs the practice for an even more important one next Saturday. I figured she could use my help to get ready. See:

"This smells funny"

After giving it some thought, I figured since we all know that sometimes horses can be stubborn,

I would volunteer to be her stand-in if things got rough. I can walk and my trot's not too bad. I can wow them with my "WOOOO". How do I look?

"Purple seems to be my color!"

Good Luck Kellie!

Shyla The Scholar

Hi Everybuddy -

We have encountered somewhat of a crisis! Mom enrolled Shyla in Obedience School! I know....I'm as shocked as you are. What's she thinkin?? This IS a SIBERIAN we're talking about here! Time was ticking and I figured I had to take drastic measures and get to Shyla before any obedience teacher did. Our reputations could be hanging in the balance. We had to take action....FAST! Meeka volunteered to guard the books so that Shyla only read the ones I wanted her to. I made him the official Siberian Librarian. See:


"Do you have your Siberian Card?"

I had Shadow guard the stairway so I would have a chance to talk to Shyla without any interruptions:




Then it was time for a heart to heart with our resident Princess. I suggested she read our official manual.......Huskies For Dummies. Surely she would be able to learn how Siberians never make it easy on humans, and how we should be free thinkers, how she should cheerfully take the treats they tempt her with then not do what they want you to. She was a very focused student. See:

"This looks like a good book"

"Oh....I already know all of this!"

"Got a good mystery novel, or a love story perhaps??"

"All this studying is boring. I need a break."

Hmmm.....maybe she's a Siberian at heart after all! I sure hope she got it all down. This could mean horrible things for all of us. We'll let you know how it goes!

Website Wednesday

Hi Everybuddy -

Today's Wednesday which means that it's time for me to share one of my favorite websites.

Now, we all know that our Dad LOVES Nascar! Our weekend is built around when the race is scheduled to be broadcast. We don't mind too much because Dad works hard and deserves to have some R&R sometime. What we DO mind is when he tries to get us to watch with him. You'll recall this particular day. Since then we've learned about one of the drivers who is working hard to help out shelters and rescues, and alot of homeless pets. This changes things a bit we think! Mabye we should pay a bit more attention on race day and cheer for this great guy!

Today I'm going to tell you about The Ryan Newman Foundation. This foundation was launched by Ryan Newman who is a famous Nascar Driver, and his wife Krissie:

They work hard at promoting the concept of Spay and Neuter, providing large funds for facilities that need help to control their local animal population. Their goal is to always spay and neuter, rather than euthanize. They focus on helping kill shelters learn how to become no-kill shelters while promoting rescues and other ways to find good homes for all of the wonderful animals who have lost their way. Ryan and his wife have quite a collection of their own pets, all of which they found in parking lots, on the side of the road, or in dangerous situations.

Through his popularity Ryan has been able to promote something near and dear to his heart, and educate people along the way. They recently had a hand in publishing a book called Pit Road Pets which features stories and photos of the dogs belonging to other Nascar members. The sale of this book has helped fund many of the projects his foundation has become involved in.

With all of the negativity surrounding so many sports right now, I think we need to turn our attention to one sportsman who goes above and beyond to do what's right. This Sunday, be sure to cheer for Ryan!