Buster: Hello from Georgia!

Greetins from Georgia! I know it's been a real long time since any of us Coleman dogs have written, but when I explain myself, I do believe you'll see that we've been might busy.

Ya see, we now live in Georgia! Maw and Paw decided it was time for a change, so they got to lookin' down south for a new place to live. After one visit to see friends (Mr. Ken and Miss Grace) in Lake Oconee, they just knew that was where we had to be.

It's been a big change for us pups. Hobbit and Abby did just fine traveling' eight hours in the car, but Gus and me, well, we weren't so at ease. We didn't do too bad, though. Maw and Paw were real proud of us. When we got to Lake Oconee we were invited to stay with Mr. Ken and Miss Grace for two nights 'cause our furniture hadn't arrived, yet. Isn't that awfully nice of them to let all four of us come stay in their house?! They made us feel very comfortable there.

Movin' into our new house was new and interestin' to us. It was a little confusin', too. It's taken us all a little time to get settled, but we are finally feelin' at home. It didn't help that I got real sick, though. Maw and Paw found a nice vet who took good care of me. I had a very high fever and she put me on IV fluids for a couple of days. Hobbit got sick around the same time. He was at the vet, too, and kept me company. We both had ultrasounds. My insides look great, which is a big deal after my illness last summer. The vet who did Hobbit's ultrasounds used to teach at the University of Georgia vet school and he said that Hobbit has pancreatitis. Maw's got him on a low-fat diet now and he is doin' much better. Whew! What a few weeks! All of this on top of unpacking' and getting' settled! No wonder Maw and Paw are exhausted!

It's been real excitin' livin' in a new place. Gus, Hobbit, Abby and I are enjoyin' diggin' in the red clay and smellin' all the Georgia smells. One of my favorite things to do is go down by the lake. Maw and Paw are gonna get a boat someday and I just may want to get on that thing with 'em!

People out in the bloggin' world have been so nice to check in on us. Sure hope they're all doin' well!

Love,
Buster Brown Boogle Bear

Running down to the lake!

Enjoyin' a walk with Maw and Abby on a beautiful day!

Abby: Merry Christmas!

I just got back from a walk with Mommy and Buster. It's a beautiful Christmas Eve Day - bright, sunny and brisk!

My brothers are happy that Mommy didn't insist on a family portrait for this year's Christmas cards. Instead she decided to make a collage with pictures she took of us this year. That made it much easier on everybody. It's pretty difficult to get all four of us to sit still for a picture!

We have so much to be thankful this year. It was a tough summer with Buster's illness, but we made it through and he's doing better than ever. He's back to eating his regular food and he hasn't gotten sick in over six weeks! Mommy and Daddy said they are so thrilled and grateful.

Mommy tells me that Santa Claus will be filling out stockings again this year. Apparently, we've been good! We already got our big Christmas presents from Mommy and Daddy: four fluffy memory foam dog beds! Oooooh, they are so comfy!

Merry Christmas to all our blogging buddies!

Love,
Abby Grace xoxo

Buster: Pet Blogs United!

We're all purdy excited around here! The Doggy Diary is featured on Pet Blogs United this week. That's quite an honor! Maw helped us out by submittin' our diary for consideration. We hope this opportunity will allow us to meet many more bloggers (both human and furry). We love to hear from others.

In the meantime, all is well around here. Things weren't so great earlier this week, though. Poor Hobbit got sick. Remember that hole to China he was diggin' in the backyard? Well, apparently he ingested some sort of organism that gave him lots of tummy trouble. Poor little guy. He had a rough few days. But as I write this he is hangin' out on the new dog bed as comfy as can be. He's definitely all better. I had a little of the bug, too, but I got over it right quick. I've been eatin' good and feelin' peppy these days. That's a big improvement from last summer when I got so sick.

Gus is doin' okay, too. Maw started him and me both on some sort of vitamin to help our arthritic joints. I sure hope it starts kickin' in soon. I'm not one to complain, but my hips do stiffen up a bit ever' now and then.

Abby has been behavin' like a little lady lately. Well, not so much this mornin'. She was up and at 'em awfully early. Thank goodness she's restin' right now.

So, I just wanted to catch you up on what's goin' on. Like I said, I sure hope to meet new people and fellow furry ones through Pet Blogs United.

Love,
Buster

Hobbit: I've been a busy boy!

Hello, Diary! I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. We've been pretty busy around here. Abby and I found a great digging spot. It's taken a lot of work, but we've gotten the hole about as big as we had hoped. You would be impressed. I know my mommy and Poncho are amazed. They don't seem to be too fond of the mud that's involved with our work. I've found myself in the sink a couple of times. I'm not exactly fond of that myself. Abby says she echoes my sentiment.

Mommy and Poncho have also been busy. They have made numerous trips to the veterinarian for Gus' laser treatments over the past few weeks. He had six visits and seems to be feeling better. Buster's health continues to improve. He only gets sick about every five days or so now. Other than those moments he feels good!

This past week we stayed home with Miss Debbie while Mommy and Poncho traveled. Abby went to Aunt Mary's house. She likes it there and they like her. It works out for all of us. Gus, Buster and I get a vacation from our crazy sister and she gets to spend time with a family that loves her almost as much as Mommy and Poncho do. They even have five dogs for her to play with, so she never gets bored.

We are expecting company tomorrow night. Three family members will be staying with us. I am normally excited about having visitors, but two of the three guests are not exactly dog people. I can't imagine. I say they are missing out. Dogs have a lot to offer: fun, comfort, kisses, cuddles and, of course, unconditional love.

Well, it's cold outside and that puts me in the mood for a nap.

Night, night,
Hobbit xxoo

This picture doesn't do it justice, but the hole Abby and I created really is quite impressive!

Buster: Good things are happenin'.

I'm happy to report that I'm continuin' to get better. I'm eatin' good, enjoyin' the outdoors, and haven't gotten sick in nearly a week. It's hard to believe that almost four months ago I was strugglin' just to make it through surgery. I'm real lucky to be here. Well, actually, it's more than luck. I'm alive and well because of prayin' friends, our veterinarians here in town, the surgeon and student vets at Virginia Tech Vet Hospital and, most importantly, God. In Maw and Paw's eyes, I'm their Miracle Dog.

I'll tell ya who else is happy and thankful today: Kenny the 16-year-old beagle and his owner! I can't imagine the harrowin' ordeal Kenny went through when that bad stranger stole Mr. Fannin's truck with him in it. Here's the full scoop in the Charleston Daily Mail.

Yup, life has been real good lately - and busy, too - so Maw has had fun documentin' what all we've been up to. Here are some pictures and even a video.

One beautiful October afternoon when Maw and I were walkin' she noticed my shadow and thought it looked purdy cool. I think my shadow looks like a wolf!

On another day when maw was cleanin' she stacked our dog beds in a big pile. Well, that looked right comfy to me, so I climbed on up and you can see how much I liked it. Talk about cushy!

Speakin' of gettin' comfy, here's a picture of Hobbit fast asleep on Paw's lap. I think he stayed in that position for nearly two hours!

Below are a couple of pictures of Gus gettin' his laser treatments. He's had three sessions this week and he says he feels a lot better. I can tell 'cause he looks like he's walkin' better, too. He said the laser light felt nice and warm. In fact, he was so comfortable with the procedure he nearly took a cat dog nap!

And then there's the Abster. While we old guys are always lookin' for the best place to sleep, Abby's usually somewhere causin' trouble. As you can see from the picture below, she was quite busy this mornin'. If you think she looks bad, you should see the yard!

Abby Grace may play hard, but that also means she sleeps hard!

So those are a few snapshots of our lives over the past week. I think I'll turn in for the night. I hear tomorrow might bring us the first snow of the season and I can't wait!

Love,

Buster xoxo

Gus: Thinking of the shelter dogs.

My mom told me today that October is Adopt A Shelter Dog Month. I think it's important to remind people that there are lots of dogs who need homes. I was one of those dogs twelve years ago. I don't remember much about how I ended up in the shelter 'cause I was just a pup. What I do remember is the smell of chocolate, sugar, brightly colored wrappers and lots of human feet. I'm pretty sure that was before I went to the shelter, 'cause when Mom told me the story of how she found me it all made sense.

Mom stopped by 7-11 to pick up a newspaper. It wasn't the usual 7-11 that she went to. For some reason, and now we know why, Mom went to a different store that day after work. She walked in to find a little tri-colored puppy (me!) cruising the candy aisle sniffing all the goodies. There were plenty of people walking around in the store, but nobody paid much attention to me. The store clerk said she thought someone in a black truck dropped me in the parking lot. She'd tried to keep me out of the store, but I kept sneaking back in. Well, you know Mom, she couldn't leave me there. Dad and she were headed for vacation the next morning, so she took me to the animal shelter where she was a volunteer and asked them to keep a special eye on me. Two weeks later she was told I was adopted. Turns out that was a mistake. It was three months before Mom realized I was still at the shelter. She came to get me immediately. I was so happy to get out of there. I know the workers and volunteers tried to help, but there were so many of us animals that they couldn't give us much individual attention.

I remember the shelter being loud. There were lots of barking dogs and banging food bowls. Every now and then someone who worked there would say, "Hey, buddy," as he cleaned my run or fed me. I also remember that it wasn't very comfortable. The towel provided me wasn't much protection from the cold, hard floor. Looking back on my stay at the shelter, I think I know why I have a few nervous tics today. I guess when you have bad experiences as a puppy, you can't help but carry those feelings the rest of your life.

The good news is that my life today is much, much better. In fact, it's almost heaven! I sleep on Mom and Dad's bed, play with my own toys, and get lots of big hugs and kisses.

I love to lie on Mom and Dad's bed with my red Kong, Sebastian Bunny and Molly Meerkat.

My prayer is that all shelter dogs could find a family like mine who will make them feel safe, warm, and loved. If only every home could have a dog and every dog could have a home.

Love,
Gus

***My mom is trying to get the word out about Adopt A Shelter Dog Month, so she wrote about it in the Daily Mail's blog Cap West's Pet City.

Abby: Citronella Cinderella

About a month ago Mommy decided she had to do something about my barking. She said it's excessive and loud. I say it is necessary. Like I wrote in my August 8th entry, I have a job to do and to get that job done I need to bark.

As the only little girl of the house I believe my purpose is to keep the other boys in line, especially Buster. Mommy and Daddy say it's not. We have a difference of opinion. Anyhoo, after much consideration Mommy ordered something called the Gentle Spray Citronella Anti-Bark Collar. I have to tell ya, I wasn't too keen on this idea. I mean, me, Mommy and Daddy's Little Princess, wearing an ugly black collar with a box on it? And on top of that, what little girl wants to smell like bug repellent?

I thought wearing the collar would be a lot worse than what it is. It actually isn't too bad. I learned really quick that if I bark while I'm wearing it, then a funny smell is sprayed just under my chin. I picked up on that connection real fast. Bark = funny smell. I'm pretty smart. So smart I figured a way around it. Being the boss doggy I need a way to communicate to my brothers when they are irritating me. Yes, I am the boss. Buster thinks he is and no matter how often I try to correct him he just ignores me. Talk about infuriating! Basically, that's what usually gets me barking. But, like I said, I've learned that I can communicate with him in quieter ways. I can stare at him and growl just enough so the spray collar won't detect it. Or I can initiate a standoff with him. He usually gives up first and just walks away. I think he's slowly getting the message.

I'm happy to say that the citronella collar was a success. So much so that I almost never have to wear it anymore. I think my mommy and daddy are pleased. And that makes me happy.

Goodnight,
Abby, aka Little Princess

***Oh, by the way, my mommy wrote her version of this experience on the Daily Mail's pet blog, Cap West's Pet City.