Dots And Dashes

Hi Everybuddy -

A couple days ago, my bewootiful friend Sitka and her Mom discovered a dash on her tail. Then our buddies over at the AO4 discussed it as well. There was even some speculation that the mysterious dots and dashes were from a group of Outer Space Dogs who are trying to send a message to us! We think that's very cool since Mom and Dad have often studied the dot on my tail! Take a look at my dot:

Shyla has been embellished with a dash:

Then there's Meeka. Meeka did NOT enjoy this photo session AT ALL! This was one of the more pleasant photos of his royal belly. There's a story behind that mark you see. When he was a little tyke we noticed the mark and it looked amazing just like a heart. We called him "our Care Bear". Naturally the Royal One didn't appreciate that very much and felt he was worthy of something much more becoming of a Prince. Eventually it morphed into what our boy insisted was a perfect devil face....complete with horns. Yikes! Mom didn't like that at all. Now it's just a .........shape. We're still trying to figure out what it is. Here he is reluctantly modeling his artistry:

"This is SO humiliating and you WILL be sorry!"

You can also see Shyla's serious tail in the picture as well. She has a very, very dramatic tail and isn't bashful about showing it off. Of course that annoyed Meeka even more since he doesn't like to share the camera lens.

And of course we can't forget Shadow. She wasn't thrilled with the photo session either. She's kinda shy and likes her privacy. I heard some rumbling about whether we had spoken to her manager about this photo session. She doesn't really have any unique marks but her tail curls and kind of has a kink in it. So we've concluded that she has a comma! See:

So that's the tail (HA! Get it.....TAIL?) of our dots, dashes, commas, and whatever it is on Meeka's belly.

Catching Up

Whew! Mom's has some catching up to do with some fun games. We were tagged for the Nickname Game recently. We love that! Awhile back we talked about those humiliating names. Not much has changed since then so I'll share what we posted back then:



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.


Another great one is the Song Game. What is our theme song? Mom agrees that our previous choices definately still apply:

Mine would be "I Gotta Be Me" and "I Did It My Way". I really don't understand the entire thing but I guess I'll go with it.
Meeka ended up with "King Tut". Mom decided that Shadow's theme song should be the instrumental "Flight Of The Bumble Bee" because she's so hyper and never sits still, and Shyla got "My Fair Lady".




Shyla said Mom is looking for the camera again. Something about the Dot and Dash post and my tail. ::sigh::

"Pssst! Mom's gonna take a picture of your tail!"

Words Of Wisdom

Hi Everybuddy -

We wanted to share with you the sign Mom found. Look:

She really likes and it and it reminds her how much she loves us......even when we get into trouble.

Taking into consideration our previous post. You know, the one with the people she calls co-workers who are dressed up weird - Halloween is fast approaching! That's such a strange time but Mom say she likes it because it's not so hot out anymore. When I was just a little tyke Mom took me to the school Halloween parade to see our girl and all her little classmates walk by dressed in their costumes. I was a happy lil guy and loved seeing the kids. The scarey costumes didn't bother me at all. I tolerated the monsters and the ghouls who all came up to me since I was so little and so cute. I was fine until the most scarey one of all came up to me! I ran and hid behind Mom! It was horrible. The little girl was dressed as a glittery fairy princess.....complete with tiara, wings, and a magic wand! I was terrified. Okay - did that provide everyone with their Monday morning humor? That was a long time ago you understand. Fairy Princesses don't scare me anymore in case you're wondering. Silly me!

Anywoo....that brings me to the original point. Mom has decorated my Blog in honor of autumn. How do you all like it?

We wish everyone a HAPPY MONDAY!

Mom's "Work"

Hi Everybuddy -

According the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word WORK is defined as:

Activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something: a : sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result b : the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood.

Keeping that in mind, Mom frequently tells us that she's "going to work". We never really knew exactly where she went. We just knew we got a treat before she left the house. She eventually came home to let us outside so we never really were all that concerned. Until now. She has shared some photos of her co-workers with us. Take a look:

Yeah.....see what I mean?! There's something wrong here. Mom says she works in "retail". That would indicate to me that she replaces tails on poor, wayward animals who for whatever reason have misplaced theirs. Obviously that's not what she does. Either she has some very odd....I mean.....UNIQUE....co-workers, or she's not working at all. This is very wrong. Very wrong indeed. I'd say Mom's got some explaining to do! This calls for some serious brainstorming on my part. The clever Siberian inside of me must come up with some sort of solution to this situation. I'll be thinking about it.

Wanted: One Forever Home

Hi Everybuddy -

Today I'd like to tell you about two of my buddies.....Rocky and Buck. Just look at those faces!







Do they not look like instant fun??! These two guys have been guests of MaPaw for quite some time now. We think part of the problem is that many people are afraid of committing to both of them together. But they're so bonded with each other that they would be very sad to go to seperate homes. This Dynamic Duo has it all......they're very friendly and eager to meet anyone who comes along - young and old alike. They are crate trained but they're trustworthy in the house. Puppies are cute but they're not for everyone! These guys are all grown up so they're out of that crazy stage. They are housebroken, up to date on all vaccinations, neutered, and microchipped. No muss...no fuss. Instant couch potatoes. Can you just imagine them curled up with a new Mom or Dad, watching football on a brisk fall day? They need our help. If you know anyone in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, or Maryland area that might be interested in these MaPaw boys, please tell them that 2 are definately easier than 1.....and send them to the MaPaw Blog to hear us brag about them.

Let The Leaf Shedding Begin!

Hi Everybuddy -

It's here! Autumn officially arrived yesterday. Only thing is, somebuddy forgot to tell Pennsylvania. It's supposed to be in the 80s all week again and that nasty humidity is creeping in. The only leaves we've seen so far are the ones dying from lack of rain! Isn't there a law against this? I'm going to think about this for awhile. Maybe I can come up with a solution. I'll let you know.

Napping with visions of pumpkins and acorns dancing in his head

Life's Lessons Learned.....

......the hard way.

Hi Everybuddy -

Sometimes life isn't always easy. Our newest pack addition - our bewootiful Shyla - has been pushing the envelope a bit with our Royal One......Meeka. I have to admit that Meeka has been pretty patient, giving her much more room for error than some of us who shall remain nameless. It appears as though Shyla has used up her "Get Out Of Jail Free" cards. So it happened. The Prince put the little gutsy one in her place. Meeka has a habit if claiming all the Nylabones in a 20 mile radius as his. We all know this and just don't even bother to take one if he's looking as though he's not in the mood to share. This is Rule #1:

Shyla not only tries to take them.....she does....and then barks at him! Oooooh! Mom has warned her and Meeka has yacked at her several times and then looks at Mom as if to say "Ummmm......somebuddy better tell her to read the manual!!". He said that because of Rule #2:

Last night his royalness sprang into action and let her have it. Unfortunately she let him have it back which of course didn't go over very well. They eventually stopped (with some strong encouragement from Mom and Dad) and amazingly enough, no one was worse for the wear. Mom was VERY relieved! I heard the commotion from all the way upstairs and ran downstairs to see what was going on. Shyla was shaking but I think she got the message. Dad caught these pictures of her while I comforted her. Mom said it was an "awwwwww!" moment. See:

"Is your ear still attached?"

"How bout your paw?"

"Is that paw okay too?"

"I'm so glad she's okay!!!"

We're hoping that Miss Shyla learned her lesson and is a bit more respectful now but in the meantime Mom and Dad are watching carefully. Just another day in the pack.

Intruder Alert!

Hi Everybuddy -


What an exciting morning! It's a good thing Meeka and I got outside before everyone else. There was definately something amiss.

"I smell something....amiss"

As I investigated the backyard......I found something verrrrry interesting. See:

I've never seen anything quite like that. What do you think it is? I still smelled something new in the air so I moved on to follow the scent. Look what I found!

It's a BODY! There's a BODY in our backyard! It didn't look too menacing so I decided to get a closer look:

Meeka wanted to examine the evidence too. He does think he's in charge after all so the area can't be deemed safe until we have his final approval ::rolling Siberian eyes::

Mom saw what we were doing and told us that everything was fine. This was her scarecrow. "SCARECROW" I asked?? Okay Mom....whatever. We haven't seen a crow in our yard for years so yeah....we really need his help. I can tell he'll be working overtime! He looks verrrry scarey too. Good choice Mom! She didn't appreciate our commentary so she put Mr. Scarecrow back where he belonged. For some reason I don't think she trusts us. She did mention that his nose was missing. I have no idea what happened to that!

And so ended our morning adventure. It's a good thing Mom has us to keep things safe!

New Game!

Hi Everybuddy -

We're going to start a new game.......What kind of vehicle are you?

It's pretty simple. You have to think of what type of vehicle your personality most resembles. Here we go:

Echo - I'm thinking if I were a vehicle, I would be.....ummmm..... a Sherman Tank!

Yep! Dad says that's definatley me! When I was growing up I was often fondly referred to as "Tank" because I kind of just plowed through everything. I still do that from time to time come to think of it.

Meeka - Let's see.....it needs to be something very attractive yet athletic, slightly moody, with an air of regality. A Dodge Viper!

Shadow - Mom said this one's easy. She would be a sleek yet classic, fast, Jaguar.




Shyla - Dad says she would be a fun, classic red Mustang Convertible! I think he's right.


That's it! Pretty simple and it should be really fun. What kind of vehicle are you? I tag Guinness & Shiloh, and the A04!

Website Wednesday

Hi Everybuddy -

Today is Wednesday so that means it's time to share one of my favorite websites with you all. One evening my family came upon a documentary which was featured on the Discovery Channel, called Wolves At Our Door.

It is the compelling and emotional story of Jim and Jamie Dutcher who have devoted their lives to researching wolves and other wildlife in their natural environments. The couple raised a pack of grey wolves from puppies, feeding them from a bottle and nurturing them as their canine mother would have. As a result, the Dutchers earned the trust of this Sawtooth Pack and were granted the rare and precious opportunity to share their lives in the wild, photographing and documenting every moment. Jim became particularly attached to Kamutz - the pack Alpha and through careful observation was able to learn to communicate in ways that no one else has been able to. This incredibly touching saga can be purchased on DVD, and is one of our favorites. In addition, you can view some of Jim Dutcher's amazing photographs of his beloved Sawtooth Pack here.

Watching the stories unfold about the Sawtooth Pack remind Mom and Dad of just how precious our breed is and the pack behavior they see in their own backyard is so fascinating. We give Jim and Jamie Dutcher two paws up! Through their work we hope others will learn that wolves aren't the ferocious creatures they have been portrayed as.

That's My Mom!

Hi everybuddy -

Mom is rested from our busy weekend at Green Lane and I'd like to share a very special picture of my canine Mom - Sissy - and me!

Dad says we look like bookends in this picture:

You can read about how special my Mom is here. I see my Mom a couple times a year and it's always a happy reunion. My human Mom says Sissy initially has a panicked look on her face as if she's thinking she has to take me home with her. I don't think that's very nice! Anywoo, that's me on the left and Mom on the right. Don't we look alot alike?

Come See Us!

Hi Everybuddy -

Today will be a fun day! Shyla and I are going to join some other MaPaw dogs at the Green Lane Scottish Irish Festival! We'll be there from 12 - 4 today. This is one of our most favorite events. For directions, click here.

I would love to meet some of my blogger buddies so beg your Mom for the keys to the car and we'll see you there!

Shyla's Big Surprise!

Hi Everybuddy -

Today was another busy day for MaPaw dogs! It was the Green Lane Scottish Irish Festival....one of our favorite Meet & Greets. It was Meeka's turn to go for a ride but Shyla and I will visit tomorrow. (Pssssst.....be sure to check the blog after tomorrow. My canine mommy - Sissy - will be there and Mom always takes pictures of us together!). There's something for everyone at Green Lane. You'll see men in skirts....errrr.....kilts I mean, very interesting music, lots of beautiful artwork, and some very interesting food choices. But best of all, Meeka brought home a very special present for Shyla! The Kapp Pack has been very busy baking doggie treats to sell at our tent and they sent a bag of very speical treats for Shyla! Wasn't that nice of them? Kelsey Ann's Mom took special care to make them without wheat flour since Shyla is allergic to wheat. Look:

"That bag sure does smell yummy!"

"It's a present for me from the Kapp Pack!"

"OH WOO! Do you see THAT??!"

"Thanks Kelsey Ann's Mom! These are the BEST!"

Shyla shared with us and they sure are delicious. Thanks Kapp Pack's Mom!

Happy Birthdayversary to.......

SHADOW !!!!

It's Shadow's big day tomorrow and we plan to celebrate! We adopted Shadow from the SPCA on Setpember 8, 2001 so it's her official Birthdayversary. She had big paws to fill since we had recently said goodbye to our beloved Merlin. Mom saw Shadow in the shelter and thought how nice it would be to have someone a bit more compact. She could never walk all 90 some pounds of beligerent Merlin! Our family has grown since then and Shadow - who initially hated other dogs and really spoke her mind to Meeka when he visited the first time - has been such a good sport. For this we love her and feel blessed to have all 45 pounds of her neurotic self with us today.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHADOW!!

Helping Mom

Hi Everybuddy -

As everyone knows, the Hike N Howl was a HUGE success! Mom was very excited that so many visitors came just to meet some of MaPaw's available dogs. She said she was busy all day long! That means she has a pile of applications that she's working through. And I'm sure everyone has heard her whining about going back to work. Hmmmph. Anywoo.....she wanted me to tell everyone that she hasn't run away and she promises to get back to my Blog this weekend when her paperwork is caught up. In the meantime, I think somepuppies need to get ready to go to their new forever homes! WOOHOO! We're real happy about that and I told her it's okay to take some blog-time off for that.