Here in this house....

Here in this house...
I will never know the loneliness I hear in the barks of the other dogs "out there."
I can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake my world will not have changed.
I will never know hunger or the fear of not knowing if I'll eat.
I will not shiver in the cold or grow weary from the heat.
I will feel the sun's heat and the rain's coolness,
And be allowed to smell all that can reach my nose.
My fur will shine and never be dirty or matted.

Here in this house...
There will be an effort to communicate with me on my level.
I will be talked to and, even if I don't understand,
I can enjoy the warmth of the words.
I will be given a name so that I may know who I am among many.
My name will be used in joy, and I will love the sound of it!

Here in this house...
I will never be a substitute for anything I am not.
I will never be used to improve peoples' images of themselves.
I will be loved because I am who I am, not someone's idea of who I should be.
I will never suffer for someone's anger, impatience, or stupidity.
I will be taught all the things I need to know to be loved by all.
If I do not learn my lessons well, they will look to my teacher for blame.

Here in this house...
I can trust arms that hold, hands that touch...
Knowing that, no matter what they do, they do it for the good of me.
If I am ill, I will be doctored.
If scared, I will be calmed.
If sad, I will be cheered.
No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful and thought to be of value.
I will never be cast out because I am too old, too ill, too unruly, or not cute enough.
My life is a responsibility and not an afterthought.
I will learn that humans can almost, sometimes, be as kind and as fair as dogs.

Here in this house...
I will belong.
I will be home.

Author unknown

Belly Rubs,
Tasha and Eva

Happy Holidays

We wish everyone a happy holiday and may the coming year be filled with a warm house, good food, yummy treats, SNOW (for those who enjoy it), new toys and most of all, a loving family.

Love to all,
Tasha, Eva and family

P.S. Momma loves our picture in this card but if you look really close you can tell that we were rolling in the snow. And yes, we were very uncooperative until Momma started running out of treats. This was the 26th or 27th shot and a lot of treats were involved.
P.S.S. If you love them, spay and neuter.

Few Words Friday

Hi everypup, kitty, and GG, Eva here. Wow this Holiday card exchange has just been sooooo much fun!! Tasha and I want to thank all the pups that sent us such great cards. It has been fabulous to get to meet so many new friends! We have a lot of work to do to update our Dogs with Lots to Say list in our sidebar. Oh, sorry, this is Few Words Friday, isn't it. Since so many of our pup buds like seeing the snow, here is a little video of Tasha and I playing in the glorious white stuff!!

I know I chew on Tasha's neck a lot, but I just can't help myself! Everypup, kitty and GG be good, cuz Santa Paws is almost here!! Belly Rubs, Eva.

P.S. I almost forgot. Its Sitka's mom and my barkday today. I don't know how old Sitka's mom is, but I turn 4 human years old today! Eva.

Our Cards (Episode 2)

Hello furkids, Tasha here today. First of all we want to issue an apology for not visiting all of our friends blogs much lately. With all the DWB Holiday Cards coming in we just have to go check out all the wonderful pups out there. We sure do enjoy going to all the blogs of our new friends!!

We got our first Christmas present the other day from MayaMarie and Missy . Dad opened the front door and a package fell out. He saw it was a CD mailer and saw who it was from. He said, "Tasha and Eva, Mayamarie and Missy sent you a present!" When I heard the word "present" I had to investigate. This smells like it HAS to be for Eva and me!

Oh, Dog, Three Cheese Biscuits!!

Thank you so much Mayamarie and Missy! We loved the card, too! MayaMarie and Missy's Mom even sent the recipe for these fabulous treats. Now all we have to do is claw the humans to make us MORE!

Come on, dad, we need to sample these!

We did get to taste them and they are OOOOHHHH so good!!

And speaking of Holiday cards, let's update the card count.

Humans: 4

Pups: 64

No doubt about who has more friends. Here is a picture of the magic cold box last week.Lots of open space.

Now here is a shot of how the magic cold box looks today.
Aren't I Cute?!?!? (except for the Devil Dog eyes)

Momma and Dad had to take down their four measly cards to make room for ours. Plus it is getting harder for them to get to the ice maker and water dispenser!

We hope all our old friends and new friends are having a super Holiday Season. We'll try really hard to make the rounds to check out all your adventures! Belly Rubs, Tasha .

P.S. Eva chewed on my neck until I posted a picture of her. So, here you go, little sister.

The Postman forgot us

Everyday when Dad or Momma brings in the mail, they tell us how many cards we got and let us sniff them. But yesterday, Momma told us the bad news "no cards for you today". We were so disappointed cuz we were getting used to sniffing our new friends.

And then things got worse. Momma made a bunch of really good smelling foods that she called appetizers: bacon wrapped beef tenderloin (yum!), mini crab cakes (we were willing to try those) and spinach artichoke dip with toast (Of course we thought of Pippa at the mention of toast) and left. That's right, she made all this food and left with it. Bad Momma!!!!

Dad was innocent in all of this but he did leave with Momma and did carry the food. Hmmm, maybe he isn't so innocent.

One nap later, Momma came home to check on us and brought us the good news. The Postman didn't forget us. He just wanted to show the neighbors that we have more friends than they do and delivered 6 cards for us to their house.

This included the cards from Holly and Steve, Kat and Wilbur along with some new friends. We have to claw Dad to go leave "Thank you"s on their blogs so that we can put them on the magic food box. He's a few days behind in the comments so we hope to catch up tomorrow and post a new picture.

Belly Rubs,
Tasha & Eva

P.S. One Wheel of Weather indicates possible snow on Thursday and the other Wheel says maybe on Saturday. Either way, next times it snows, you're all invited over to play.

Few Words Friday

Hi everypup, kitty and GG, Tasha here. Just a little video to show you how much I love the snow. I call this little film "How to Make a Pup Angel" Its easy for me cuz I'm already an angel!

Thank you all again who have sent us snail mail and e-mail holiday cards. We'll post and update soon on what the magic cold box looks like and what the card count is between the pups and the humans. I bet you'll never guess who has more friends! Have a wonderful weekend, furkids! Belly Rubs, Tasha.

P.S. Please say a puppy prayer or two for Maryann and the Brat Pack. Thrawn crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. We will miss you very much, you big, cuddly handsome boy. Now you can run and play pain-free with your brother Dakota.

Just say No

As lovable as we are, Momma's got the baby itch. No, not human, she's got puppy on the brain. She belongs to a Belgian board and she has shown us so many pictures and videos of recent litters.

It won't be soon because this is what happens when you get a pup when there is snow. Notice all the dead spots by the edge of the patio.

Dad only shoveled the snow a few feet away from the patio when they brought Eva home. So she thinks that the three foot radius is her potty zone regardless of the presence or absence of snow. (Have I ever mentioned that Eva would not be the smartest dog in a pack of one?)

Yes, the Momma is considering adopting but she wants another Terv and there are so few of them. Only 434 were registered with the AKC in 2006. The reputable breeders prefer show or performance homes but maybe in the spring Momma can find a Terv in rescue or another pup that the breeder will allow to go to a companion home.

Most reputable breeders within the Belgian Terv community do follow the philosphy that "if you don't rescue, don't breed". As a result many of the Tervs in rescue/rehome situations are being fostered with breeders.

My thoughts on the subject:
Pro: Eva will have someone else to chew on
Con: Dad only has two hands so he can only pet two at a time but he has mastered playing ball with multiple dogs

Momma also has forgotten that Dad has to agree to expanding the pack. Not sure that will happen.

I will always be the alpha dog,
Tasha

P.S. From Eva to Tasha: I may not be smart as you but I'm the pretty one

Cards are done!!!!

Finally all the snail mail cards are sent. All the e-cards are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Except for two that came up as invalid email addresses. We'll touch base on their blogs so that we can complete those.

Momma said she'll be having nightmares about the music on the e-cards (heard the same tune for an hour).

If anyone who was not on the card exchange this year would like to receive our e-card, just leave us a comment.

Watching Momma is hard work, time for a nap,
Tasha and Eva

PS. Yes for those who know our email address, Momma put Dad's email on the distribution list instead of ours but we'll still get them. Stooopid Momma.

Our Cards (Episode 1)

Hello all furkids and humans, Tasha here. We just can't tell you how exciting it is to be getting all these fabulous Holiday cards from all over the place! The magic cold food box is quickly becoming covered with all the beautiful cards. Let's take a look at the tally so far, shall we?

Holiday cards for the humans: 1

Holiday cards for the pups: 29

Who has more friends and a better social life? Its Eva and I by far!

Here's a picture of the magic cold food box as of today.

Can you see Eva's nose in the lower left-hand corner? We really like to come check out all our cards. They smell great!
I like admiring all the fabulous pup pictures and warm holiday wishes from DWB dogs from all over the world. Eva stops by to look every once in a while, too. She is still having to adjust some to the new floor, but she's getting better about it all the time.
Tasha, get your tail out of my shot.

Which one do you like best, Tasha ? I think every single one is special, Eva.

We haven't been able to spend too much time outside the last day or so. Friday night the temperature got down to -7 degrees F (-21 degrees C) and high temperature was only+2 degrees F (-16 degrees C). Our paws get cold in about 15 minutes. Even when we are running around playing ball! The Wheel of Weather says it should be in the mid 20's F (-single digits C) later this week. If it does, dad said we might be able to go on a trip to the dog park. Have a fun Sunday! Belly Rubs, Tasha.

Few Words Friday

Here is what our lawn looked like last Friday.

And here is how it looks this Friday!
Where did you go, lawn?!?!
I wasn't looking for anything I just love to stick my face in the snow. Have a fabulous weekend furry buddies! Belly Rubs, Tasha.

Reminder of the Dangers.......

The Momma wanted us to remind everyone of some of the dangers of the holiday season.

1. The following plants can be toxic: Holly, Mistletoe, Lilies, Poinsettias, Ivy , Balsam
2. Holiday trees: Keep thirsty pups away from commerical "tree water". It can be mixed with fertilizers, which tend to upset the stomach. If tap water is used to water the tree and has been sitting for a while, it may harbor potentially harmful bacteria
3. Pine needles: If swallowed, they can pierce the stomach or intestines
4. Place breakable ornaments above their reach.
5. Do not use tinsel, angel hair or fake snow
6. Place lit candles above wagging tail level

Edited to add a very important comment: the lovable Holly and Ivy are not toxic and are actually a very lovely addition to your life!!!
Play safe,
Tasha and Eva

PS. We did the best we could about sending snow to those who want some ;-)
PPS. Momma is putting all of our lovely cards on the big white box at our eye level so that we can continue to look at them and sniff all of you. Woof!

Fun in the Snow and 8 Things We Love

Hello all our furry friends, Eva here. Well, yesterday we got another 4 or 5 inches of snow. We haven't had this much snow this early in the year in my life! OK, I'm only almost 4 years old, but according to dad, this is the most snow we've had this early in quite a few years. I know that we have only posted about the snow the last few days, but we love it so!! Since I'm reporting today, here's a picture of me being cute in the snow.

OK, I guess I can include one of Tasha, too. Here she is telling dad she wants to play with her basketball. She always seems to get her way!
Sometimes I have to tell Tasha that I want to wrestle. Here I am trying to convince her that it would be fun! We didn't feel like staying out very long today because it was only about 7 degrees F (-14 degrees C.). Our paws got cold really fast. Dad knows that when I start holding my paws up and Tasha lays down, its time to go back into the house.

Here is what comes out from between the pads of our paws when we come in. Sometimes its more and sometimes its less. Those snow balls can make our feets really cold!

We were tagged by MayaMarie to tell 8 thing that we love about ourselves. We are going to do 4 things for me and 4 things for Tasha. I'll go first.

1. I love that I am the greatest snuggle puppy in the world. They say that Belgian Tervurens are Velcro dogs, which means they love to stick to their humans. I prove that!!

2. I love that I can get dad to play ball with me just by dropping my ball at his feet. He's sooo easy!

3. I love my long, luxurious fur. I get complements on it all the time.

4. I love to be dad's sleep aid. As soon as he goes to bed (which is usually a few hours before momma) I have to be there to make sure that he gets to sleep. Plus I get lots of petting. At least for a little while.

Hi all, Tasha here . These are the things I love about myself. I could list more but this is a good start.

1. I love that I love to eat! I just love food. I am called the Great Consumer around here as well as the Scavenger. I'm always looking for anything edible that may have fallen on the floor.

2. Like Eva, I love my furry coat. It always gets me lots of pets and scratches. Anything that gets me more attention is a very good thing.

3. I love that I like to go for rides. Whenever we go to the truck, it always means fun! Except when I end up at the V-E-T. That's never good.

4. I love that I can tell time. I always know when it is 8:00 p.m. because that means its time to go outside. Daylight saving time goofs me up for a little while, but I think it does the same to some humans around here. I also know when its time to get dad up for work. Even if its on the weekends when he doesn't have to go to work. He thanks me every time I wake him up!

Eva back here again. We heard on the news that we might get another 2 to 4 inches of snow tomorrow. We're just loving this, but dad said he's getting tired of shoveling snow already. Poor dad. Momma said that she got most of our Holiday cards in the mail today! About time that got done. She also said that she's going to get the e-mail cards out soon, too. We'll believe it when we see it. Yap at you soon! Belly Rubs, Eva.

More Snow

We've been tagged by the lovely MayaMarie for 8 things we like about ourselves. We'll get to that later this week. Right now we're too busy playing in the snow. We got 5 more inches of snow today!!!! Bewootiful white fluffy snow!!! We looooove snow. We wanted to share by putting some in our holiday cards but allegedly it would melt and make the cards soggy, Boo Woo! For those who live in non-snow regions, we found a site where you can make your own snowflakes.

Time to claw the people to let us out to roll in the snow again.

Later,
Tasha and Eva

PS. Yes, we are easily distracted by fresh snow.

More snow pictures and The Momma is Stooopid

There is no nice way to say this but........The Momma is stooopid. She is having a problem printing the envelopes for the holiday cards. She keeps muttering something about too far right or left and upside down. Please be patient, she is blonde for a reason.

But on to better things. We thought we would share a few more pictures from Saturday.

Tasha loves snow piles.


And I love a snowy breeze.

We're so excited, there is more snow forecast for Tuesday.

Belly Rubs,

Eva

It's Happening!!

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! Tasha here. What do you know, the weather people got it right. They said it would start snowing around 8:00 a.m. and sure enough it was about 8:30 when it started. Here are a couple of videos. This is about 10:00 a.m. We'll give you an update later today to let you know how much beautiful snow we get. Enjoy! Belly Rubs, Tasha.

It is now about 5:00 p.m. and the wonderful snow just keeps on coming!! Eva here for the rest of our report for the day. Here is how things looked at 10:30 a.m. when dad took the videos.

Here I am struttin' through the snow.

Tasha and me playing ball with dad. The bright spots are from the flash lighting up snow flakes.

UUUMMM SNOW!

Here is how it looked at about 3:30 p.m. Doesn't it look wonderful?!?!

AAAHHH. This Snow Feels Great!

Dad clears off the backyard patio and makes piles of snow for us in the yard. That is what Tasha is laying in in the picture above. SOOOO fun to jump into and bury your head!

The Happy Pups.

Here is our neighbor, Bob, with his snow thrower.

And here are dad's snow throwers. He says he gets a better workout than Bob does.

I'll close with this picture of me! We'll report the final snow fall total tomorrow. Dad estimates that we have had between 4 and 6 inches so far. The snow is supposed to stop about 8:00 p.m. tonight. We would rather have it snow all night long! Belly Rubs, Eva.

Sunday update: We ended up with 6 inches of snow. Not bad for the first real snowfall of the year. We're sorry the update is so late but someone was busy watching the Vikings game and we can't spell. Also, We don't know what the final score was and we don't care.

Few Words Friday

You Know It's Winter When...

This is where our patio furniture was...

and this is where it is now...
and this is what dad's motorcycle looks like.

The high temperature the last two days has been 11 degrees F, and 18 degrees F (-11 and -7 degrees C). Delightful temps for us pups. The only problem with this winter so far is that the snow that we have had has all melted. That might change tomorrow! Hope all our furry buddies have a great weekend!! Belly Rubs, Tasha & Eva.

New Ball

Hey all our furry pals, Eva here. Momma found this for us at Chuck & Don's Pet Food Outlet where she gets our kibble. Not only is it a ball but it has a great message. We thought this is a great expression of how we feel about all our blogging friends, be they pups, kitties or hamsters. We wish happiness to all during this holiday season!

Belly Rubs, Eva.

PS. The Momma has ordered some Paw Wax so that I don't slip and hurt myself on the new floor.

P.P.S. I was just listening to the Wheel of Weather with the Momma, and they said 4 - 8 inches of snow this weekend. I better not tell Tasha or she sit by the patio door waiting for it to start.

Grandma's & the Floor

Hello everypup, Wilbur, Tia, and GG, Tasha here. First of all let me start by apologizing for us not posting and commenting this weekend. The humans have been making all kinds of noise with the new floor and painting a bunch of walls. We couldn't even do a Few Words Friday! As soon as we were up on Friday, the commotion started. I hid in the basement by the pool table and Eva cowered in the humans room practically under the bed. Oh, well, today both humans went to work so it was nice and quiet so we could get in our naps.

Now I would like to tell you about our trip to our Grandma's for Thanksgiving. This is how it looked in the back yard Thanksgiving morning. Wonderful snow on the ground!

Here is Eva and I waiting for Momma to come back when she went into a store to get something to drink on the long trip. We get anxious whenever momma or dad get out of our DUV (Doug Utility Vehicle) when we go on an adventure. It wasn't long before she was back and we were on our way...
Over the River (Minnesota River)

And through the Woods. (Sorry the picture of the woods came out really blurry)

To Grandmother's House We Went!

Here we are helping Momma and Grandma get all the food ready. I don't know how that they could have gotten all the goodies ready with out Eva and I helping. We got so many pieces of delicious food! We especially liked the turkey.

After the wonderful meal (We had to stay in the entry way during the humans meal time) we played with our cousins.

That is Briana sitting on Nicole and our Grandpa is in the background. Grandpa and Grandma just love it when we come to visit. And we really have fun when we get to go see them. Always lots of love when the family can get together!

Now I want to report on the progress on the flooring project. I am very happy to report that the kitchen and dining room is now finished. That is a very good thing, but I heard a rumor that the living room and hallway still need to be done. That can only mean much more noise from Acompressor and Astapler. Those two cause A LOT of anxiety for Eva and I.

Here's a pic of the completed floor. Notice that the first thing placed on the new flooring are our food dishes and water bowl. At least the humans have some of their priorities straight! Eva is having a bit of a problem with how slippery the floor is. On Saturday she went down really hard when we were going outside to do our business. She's slowly figuring out that she has to be more careful when walking on the new floor. Then there's me.

As you can see, the new floor is just fine with me.

We promise to get around to all our friend's blogs very soon to catch up on all the news. Thanks for being patient with us. We love you all!! Belly Rubs, Tasha.

Nap Time

We back from Grandma's house but we're full of turkey so we need to nap. We'll try to post pictures from our trip tomorrow.

Eva can nap anywhere

Sometimes I just use my bed as a pillow

So sleepy,

Tasha

A Noisey Day

Hello everypup, kitty and GG, Eva reporting today. It has been a very stressful for Tasha and I. There have been a lot of loud noises happening. Adrill started all the commotion. Here he is after he got done doing his work. He helped dad put down some new sub floor in the dining room. Adrill isn't so bad, but he had a bunch of friends that caused all the stress.

Here are those friends of Adrill. There is Acompressor, Asaw, Anailer, Astapler and Avacume. The worst one is Acompressor. When that darn thing turns on it is just awful. We hid in momma and dad's bedroom all day. We even had our dinner in there. Those humans are just out to make our lives unbearable.

After all that noise and stress, this is all that momma and dad got done today. That's right, morning to night and that's all that was finished. Momma did the lay out of the wood and dad did the hammering and the stapling. There was the normal excuses of having to go to the home improvement store and the flooring store in the afternoon. Tasha and I just think they are slow and lazy. We told them that and then they said that they had never done a hardwood floor before. After all that commotion, you would think that everything would be done.

Tahsa mentioned that I had done something that surprised everyone here. As some of you may know, I sometimes have a problem with strange surfaces that I have to walk on. Well, I shocked everyone by walking on the new sub floor with no problem. Then dad got this picture of me when all the nasty noises were over. See, I don't mind the new floor!

It is pretty slippery, but I can handle new things. Those humans just don't have any faith in me.

Now on to some really exciting news. About 5 o'clock today, it started to snow!! Here is a shot of the wonderful white stuff on momma's car.

If it is like the snow we got on Saturday, it will probably melt, but a pup has to take what a pup can get. We got to go out and play ball with dad in the dark while it was snowing. What fun!!

We have this video from Saturday when it was snowing. We should have posted it days ago, but those humans of ours are just too busy to attend to the important things like our blog. Hope you all enjoy it!

Tasha and I want to wish everypup, kitty and GG a very happy and safe Thanksgiving! We are going to grandma's house tomorrow to have our very own turkey! We just love our grandma! Belly Rubs, Eva.

P.S. Please keep Zimmy from the AO4, who has back problems, and Sitka and Tia's grandmother who was in a car accident in your thoughts and prayers. We hope both are back to health and vigor very soon.

Dreaming of Turkey

We are soooo excited because the Momma and Dad are home with us all week. But they are trying to work on a few long outstanding projects. Dad is installing the new floor and the Momma is painting again. She just left for the home improvement store (Dad's been there twice today) to buy more paint.

We'll post pictures tomorrow to show the progress and give a weather update. Hopefully it won't snow on Thursday cuz we get to go to Grandma's house down near the MN/Iowa border. She called and told Dad that she is making us our own special turkey. Yum!!! We have to give Grandma extra kisses this year because it is the first holiday since the Momma's brother died. We love the Grandma and don't like it when she is sad.

Dreaming of turkey,

Tasha

P.S. Eva did something that surprized everyone, even me. Pictures tomorrow.