A Life Well Lived

Blog Mom says she has to download and resize pictures from Passover and she's pretty tired right now, so I guess we won't be able to post about that until tomorrow or the next night, It was lots of fun, though.

I don't really mind waiting because I've been meaning to post about this story that we saw  at the USA Today Paw Print Post the other day. On the one paw it made us sad because Reddog, the Shar Pei in the story, has crossed over, but on the other paw, it made us happy that he had a long, good life. Look at him smiling on his 14th birthday. Speaking as a Shar Pei, if you could guarantee me 14 and a half good years I'd have to take the deal.

Most of the humans in the furryshpere would probably do as much for us as Reddog's Mom did for him. I know mine would, but it's good to point out ways they can be creative while making sure we're as happy and feel as loved as possible. You know we'd do the same for them, within the limits of our abilities.

We hope that Reddog's human finds another Pei so they can make each other as happy as she and Reddog were together.

Happy Holiday(s) Week

The internet seems to be working at the moment, so I thought I should try to get in a post before it goes off again. We have so much going on this week, too. There are three big events going on. Tomorrow evening Alpha Mom is having a big Passover seder and I will, of course, be helping out with hostess duties. I am quite a good hostess. Then on Sunday there's Easter and my Gotcha Day which I like to call my Lolaversary. Blog Mom is planning on brunch for Easter to be followed by Gotcha festivities. . Not everyone gets to do both holidays, of course, but Blog Mom says our family is rather ecumenical. I think that means I'm the only purebred in the bunch, That's just fine with me. There's chicken for Passover and brunch usually involves bacon in some way  and holidays usually mean company, so I'm happy to keep an open mind. Here's what I'm wearing for Passover -

Alpha Mom ordered my Passover bandana from Designer Duds for Dogs and they do a great job. The first thing Alpha Mom wanted was backordered and Debbie called up personally to see what could be done instead. They consulted and collaborated and this is the result, which I think is quite nice. She sent a Hanukkah one, too, as an extra, so we'll be completely ready for that and I abolutely am going to have a careful look at the site before making my Christmas list. Plenty of time to worry about that, though.

Internet is too bouncy

Hi all. Just a quick note to say we might have a little trouble posting or visiting for a couple of days. Our internet is on and off and off and off and on and it'll probably be off again soon. The Moms spent a lot of Sunday on the phone with the cable people and then went out and got things to try and nothing worked for long. Someone's coming Tuesday. Until then we just don't know when it'll work and when it won't. I can tell you this, if it's not working when the Moms get home from work tomorrow night I'll have my paws full dealing with them. They both suffer from Internet Separation Anxiety. I hope they don't start chewing up the sofa.

One is the Magic Number This Weekend

It so happens that two of my new doggie friends are celebrating very special firsts this weekend. Of course we've visited them on their blogs to offer our good wishes, but since these are very special firsts I wanted to observe the occasions here, too. In chronological order:

Toby, guide dog in training, celebrated his first birthday yesterday. He has accomplished so much in just one year in life. Happy birthday, Toby.

And Mayzie is celebrating her first Gotcha Day. She's written a delightful and wise post for her special day I think everydog will want to read it. It also wouldn't hurt for a couple of cats I happen to live with to give it a look.

So, Toby and Mayzie, this cupcake is for you both. May you both have many, many more special days!

Mixed bag Saturday

Saturday, which is already yesterday, was for the most part a pretty quiet day around Chez Lola. Blog Mom says everyone's under the weather. She's had a relapse. She was getting better and went back to work but feels awful today. Her boss, who is also our friend, feels the same way and can't seem to get rid of it either. Then Daddy, who had been in charge of everything while Blog Mom was sick, finally succumbed as well. Thank goodness Alpha Mom is still OK. Of course, that meant that she was able to take me for my bath and then could be out doing things that don't have anything to do with me, Lola, all afternoon, so when I say thank goodness she's all right I'm speaking very unselfishly.

While it was pretty quiet around the house there was this one interesting thing. There were a bunch of men I didn't know working at a house that's right in back of mine. Some of them were up on the roof hammering things and making all kinds of noises. I decided to hang around and watch the show for a while through the chain link fence. Pretty soon one of them came over to visit with me. Then another did, too and we all stood around chatting and the work they were doing had to wait a while. I hope they come back soon. I just love making new friends.

Speaking of friends, since Blog Mom has not felt up to much in the way of new photos this week it seems a very good time to introduce you to my very best through-the-fence neighbor and friend. She lives right next door and she's just my age.

 

Here she is. Her name is Sambuca. Isn't she beautiful?

 

And she's always such an elegant lady.

We like to meet at the fence and talk about the other neighbors. She always knows what's going on.

Please excuse our appearance tonight

We're trying out the new Template Designer that's available in Blogger In Draft. Things are going to look a little funny during in between phases.

Awards from Sugar

Sugar the Golden Retriever has done me the great honor of  conferring two awards upon me, Lola, and recipients are tasked with passing it on, as I understand things. Thank you, Sugar. This is pawsome.

Here are the rules for the Happy 101 Award

Copy the image and paste it to my blog

List 10 things that make me happy, and do one of them today

List 10 bloggers who brighten my day

This not a toughie. One of the greatest things about being a dog is that so many things make us happy. The list of things that make us not happy tends to be much shorter. Here are my most favorite 10:

• Love and attention from my humans. That's the most basic thing.
• Walkies! I love walks so much that it's very hard to stand still while they put my harness on. Impossibly hard, in fact.
• Chasing squirrels. My humans really hate when I try to combine chasing squirrels with walkies, as we Shar Pei are medium sized but just as strong as much taller dogs. But when it's two of your favorite things at once it's awfully hard to resist. 
• When my humans come home. I don't care for it when they go out and don't take me with them, but the joy of reunion is almost worth it.
• Treats. Who doesn't like a nice treat? What I like to do is keep my humans guessing as to which treat I'll be in the mood for at any given time. This results in quite an assortment of treats in the house. They really are eager to please.
• Company. I enjoy entertaining quite a bit. 
• My through the fence dog neighbors. Now that it's spring I'm seeing more of them.
• Belly rubs. They are the best thing and I've got my humans trained to give quite good ones.
• Toys - with special emphasis on ring shaped rawhide, squeeky toys and, of course, tennis balls.
• Cheese. I am very much a cheesehound.

I think that's ten. Counting is not one of my best things.

: 

Here are the rules for the Sunshine Award

Post the award

Send the award to 12 bloggers

Post links and leave a comment on the 12 blogs

Put these instructions in my post so they'll know what to do

I would like to pass on these awards to...

Mayzie, Toby, Hero, Mango, (and Dexter, too if Mango wants help), Bolo, Lorenza, Lois, Gentle Ben, Farley, Loki and Juno, Tommy, Bernie, and the gang at ABSharpeii. If any of you got tagged while we were working on this post, well, it's just because you bring sunshine to many.

On edit: I just realized I was supposed list 10 blogs that brighten my day for the first award. Well, all of the 12 of the bloggers  right above would be in that list, plus quite a few others, so perhaps we can leave it at that.

LolPei

When the Loldog is a LolPei a Shar Pei must take note. It's an unwritten rule.

see more dog and puppy pictures

Mayzie tagged me!

I'm honored, being so new to the furrysphere, to have been tagged with a meme and I thank Mayzie for thinking of me. The rules for this meme are as followes:

 Go to your first photo folder, find the 10th picture, post that photo and explain the story behind it. Then, tag five blogs to do the same. 

Well, when it comes to the photo, this is just a little embarassing. Here it is:

There really isn't that much of a story behind this one. It was the last snow of the season. I love the snow. In all my seven years I've never seen snow like we had this year. It was wonderful! This last one wasn't so deep here, but it was still fun. Here I'm in back of the shed, checking under a wood pile just in case there was a squirrel that required my attention. Blog Mom thought it was soooo funny to snap a photo of me in that position. Moms are embarassing sometimes. I prefer number nine, which I like to think makes me look like a St. Bernard, making my way through the snowy mountains to rescue some humans from an avalanche.If you don't happen to know that it was taken  right behind my shed. And if you ignore the chainlink fence there.

Now comes the hard part: Tagging five friends. Because I know this meme has been going around but I can't exactly remember who's done it and who hasn't. So, if you already have, or if you don't want to that's fine. But here goes. I tag, Hero, Lois Lane, Bernie, Tommy, et al and Lorenza. Let me know if you decide to go ahead and do it.

Edited to say I'm tagging Toby, too. I just kind of figured he might be busy with school, training as he is for such a serious job. I'm glad that guide dogs still get to have some fun.

Nurse Lola Has Been Doing Double Shifts

I have been hard at work since last we met. On Monday Blog Mom came home from work feeling sick. It just got worse overnight. If it's not one of them it's the other.

It's good thing Daddy was feeling well on Tuesday. He took her to the vet and she got some really huge pills. She's not the best patient in the world. She's not exactly the stoic type either.  She spent most of yesterday moaning and whining. I suggested that she might feel better if I took her out in the fresh air. A nice brisk walk  is good for the health.  That was quite self-sacrificing because it was raining on and off but she didn't want to do that anyway. How about playing with a dog, then? There's really nothing to set one to rights like a little tug of war or a bit of a romp which culminates in a 45 lb mass of muscle careening into one, is there? No to that suggestion as well.

Next she started clutching her tummy with the hand that wasn't affixed to the heating pad and complained that the big pills were upsetting her stomach. Well, first off, she didn't take them the right way.  You're supposed to wrap them in cheese. That's how I take my colchicine. She just took hers with a glass of water. Nonetheless, I felt confident I could help with the  new problem. I have had some occassional experience in the area of  tummy aches. We'll go out and find some good grass for you to eat, I told her. I'll point out patches that I've never peed on. Eat that, and then you can come in and vomit on the carpet. That works a charm for me, but no, she didn't want to do that either. Really, if you're not going to help yourself, how do you expect me to help you is what I want to know. She said it was just nice to have me around,  Well, that's a given, but  it doesn't seem enough somehow.

Despite herself, she's starting to feel better this afternoon and expects to be able to go back to work tomorrow if things continue this way. I hope so. I need to rest and regroup.

Rainy Days and Mondays Don't Get Me Down

Our string of nice days has ended and it's going to rain for days. Also Monday means that both Moms go back to work. I don't care for rain and in an ideal world the whole pack would stay home, preferably in the same room, or we would all go places together. But this is the real world and one must cope.

Our side lost the battle of the clogged toilet, which wasn't really so bad for me. Daddy made a phone call and my friend Mike the plumber came right over. I helped to explain the problem and stayed around to offer assistance or just chat while he worked. I know he appreciated it.

Simone, who isn't as inclined to make friends as I am, waited until he left to check things over and make sure it was a good job. She's the skeptical type. Also just a tad sociopathic, but that's neither here nor there.

After that Daddy and Rob and I spent a companionable afternoon until Daddy and I took our naps. Blog Mom came home early, which normally would have been a nice surprise, but it was because she was sick. She's a little better now, but not all that much. If she's like this tomorrow I think she'll have to go to the vet. Now it's Alpha Mom's turn for attention. A Shar Pei's work is never done.

Sunny Sunday

It was a quiet day here today. For me, anyway. Blog Mom and Daddy have been struggling with a clogged toilet on and off all day. Blog Mom says it's the most stubborn clog she's ever encountered but she thinks she's winning. I'm not sure if I'm rooting for her or the clog. If the clog wins we can expect a visit from my friend the plumber in a day or so. The rest of us took advantage of the warmest, sunniest weekend we've had all year.

The window sill is open for business at last.

Mom, you're blocking the sun!

That's better!

Ahhhh

A Home for me, Lola!

After the Moms decided that they wanted to take me, Lola, home there was still quite  a lot to do before we could be on our way. There were references to be checked. Lots of them. I was put in the holding cell - a crate in the Hamilton Doghouse, which is the pet supply shop connected to the Sean Casey Animal Rescue.

I sat quietly, waiting to see what would happen next. The Moms use their time productively, purchasing a leash and collar and some chew toys and less productively, buying a humongous bag of the healthy kibble I'd been fed at the shelter. I guess they didn't realize that I was thinking to myself, "If this works out, as Dog is my witness, I'll never eat kibble again!"

When we were free to go  there were still good-byes to be said. My mustached friend was there and we needed a few minutes. He got a bit leaky, but he was happy for me, too. He told the Moms that they'd made the best possible choice. Then, after a little walk we piled into the car. At that point I got a rare case of nerves, so I threw up on the back seat. It was quite theraputic. I felt much better after that. We drove for what seemed like a very long time. We drove right out of Brooklyn!

Well, this certainly seemed to be for real. Time to start bonding! I moved up between the front seats and offered prodigious licks to both Moms. That was well received so I pretty much kept it up the rest of the way home. Those were two damp Moms by the time we got fifty miles out on Long Island. I helped to drive, too. Do you know it turns out that putting the car in neutral while moving on the Belt Parkway is not such a good thing? Well, it's not! I'm sure because I did it several times and it seemed to cause some alarm each time.

 We finally arrived at the end of the earth my new home. It was dark by the time we got there. Of course,  tired as we all were, I still had to start learning about the household right away. Blog Mom and Daddy live downstairs and Alpha Mom lives in her own separate apartment upstairs. I sleep upstairs with her, but I live in both places. I'm the upstairs/downstairs dog. Keeps me busy. There were three cats, none of whom seemed overwhelmed with joy to meet me.

I sniffed around  to get the lay of the land. A lot of animals and humans have passed through this house. I can tell you that for sure. Something appeared to be missing, but then the Moms produced a dog bed and everything fell into place. Especially me.

Daddy was nice but not well. He's got something wrong where he'll be in pain and hardly able to walk for days at a time. When that's going on he doesn't even want to eat and he stays in bed or lies on the couch and tries to sleep as much as he can. Then he'll be OK for a few days. I think it must be similar to Swollen Hock Syndrome. Well, he wasn't feeling well at all that night, or for a few days afterward so it took a little longer for us to really get to know each other but better late than never. He says I'm the best dog he ever met. Before I moved in he really wanted a Golden Retriever. The Moms realized that a Golden wouldn't be practical given the facts and circumstances of their lives, but Daddy was stuck on the idea. Now he never, ever mentions wanting any dog other than me, Lola.

There are two other young human adult males who weren't home that first evening. There's Rob, who is Blog Mom and Daddy's adult offspring. Then there's a bass player who was without a home and I guess my humans are fostering him until he finds a forever home. They both come and go a lot, but Rob's home more than he used to be, which is a good thing. It might be because of me. All I'm saying is that Rob was a touring musician for most of a decade. I move in and after a few months he wants off the road. Just connecting the dots is all. They're both quite pleasant and when they're around I try to take them for walks as often as I can.

And that's the end of the happy ending and the beginning of a wonderful life. Humans like to say that when one doggy door closes another opens. I wish it was always true for everydog, but it's certainly been true for me, Lola.

Lola's Featured Pet of the Day and Wimsey's Birthday

As I mentioned below, there's a widget that shows a Featured Pet of the Day from Petfinder.com.  That's all well and good and I have fun playing with it, refreshing the page to see who'll show up next. However, sometimes there are animals who just catch one's eye. I wish we lived nearer to New Rochelle, because I would love to meet Gotti. He's part Shar Pei and part Jackelope, I'd have to assume. Or maybe donkey. I think he's just as cute as anything. Someone's going to be lucky to adopt him, soon I hope. If not I may have to try to talk the Moms into a road trip. I don't know. Sometimes I think I'd like a little brother. Other times I just think it's good to be Queen.

It was Wimsey's birthday yesterday and I didn't realize until this morning. I feel just distraught about being late for that. You see, Wimsey's was the second dog blog I'd ever read, Hero's being the first. I count him among my Early Influences and Inspirations. Happy belated bday, big guy!

Now it's off to get my dreaded bath. Ewwww!

Tweaking and Untweaking

I'm utterly exhausted tonight. I spent the day entertaining Daddy. Then Blog Mom came home and I had to pay attention to her for a while. We all played in the back yard for a bit and I had some nose to nose time with my next door neighbor, a lovely husky mix, until I thought it was about time we did something about dinner.  I must say tonight's menu was delicious. Cheese ravioli with four cheese rosa sauce. It's one of my most favorites. I didn't even bother to pretend to be disinterested, which I sometimes like to do.

After dinner we decided it was time we applied some tweaks to the blog. We tried one of the very new templates but decided that for now, this one suited better and we ended up just changing the text around a bit. But the best thing was that we found a couple of most excellent widgets. One is Featured Pet from Petfinder.com and the other is.a Click A Day thingy from the Animal Rescue Site.

It's been an amazingly wonderful first week of blogging. It turns out dogs are just as friendly in the blogging world as they are everywhere else - which we all know is very friendly.. I never expected to make so many new friends in just the first week. I wish I could give everyone who's stopped by my very best nose licks. I guess the best I can do is say thank you all so very much!

And now Alpha Mom is home and as soon as I recharge I'll be giving her my full atttention. But for just right now, I think I need a little nap.

Snores and Grunts from me, Lola

A New Pack for Me, Lola

Once our family moved into the Sean Casey Animal shelter things moved quickly. Puppy Daddy was neutered and it wasn't too long before a human came along and took him home. Puppy was weaned and of course he was adopted soon. To see a Shar Pei puppy is to want a Shar Pei puppy, is it not? I was used to having the pups leave. I'd paid my way by producing puppies all my life, and Puppy's new human got quite the bargain. To get one of my purebred pups for just an adoption fee? Unheard of. It was harder to lose Puppy Daddy. It had never occurred to me that we wouldn't always be together, but there it was. I still had to wait until I could be spayed. I'll tell you that was kind of a relief. Being a mother is wonderful but enough is enough. It was time to stop.

I was sad and confused, but I do think that it's important to keep a positive attitude and life at the shelter wasn't all bad. Things could have been a lot worse.  Quarters were cramped and we had to live in kennels, but after all it was New York. Lots of New Yorkers live in tiny spaces - like this couple for instance. We didn't stay indoors all the time. People came to walk us and play with us and I had a special friend who always made sure he spent time with me when he was there. I called him Mustachio for obvious reasons. He had a huge mustache. I like a little fur on a human. He gave me my name, because even that got lost in the big move. I liked it fine. "Lola" suited me and I decided to start answering to it right away.   The worst thing about the shelter was the food. It was healthy and gluten free, wheat free, allergen free and taste free. Not once did they serve anything au gratin. I like au gratin and al fredo. Anything that involves cheese and no veggies. Kibble is not cuisine, but I supposed they were doing their very best.

It seemed to take forever, but the day finally came when I was ready for adoption but there was one obstacle as I saw it and it came in the form of a leggy, cream dilute bitch named Violet. Now, I don't normally have any problem at all with self esteem, but one must face facts. If someone came looking for a Shar Pei, Violet was going to be chosen first. She was taller, she was platinum blonde, she was two and a half to my six years old. She was a knockout. And frankly, I was not at my best, having just finished weaning a pup. I mean, thing were sagging in places that Violet didn't even have yet. Don't take my word for it. See for yourself in video Mr. Casey made to help humans find Violet.



If there's a video out there titled "Lola Needs a Home" I have yet to find it. And it was Violet, not me, Lola, who was featured on Petfinder.com. And it was Violet's photo that brought the Mom's to Brooklyn on April 4th last year. Blog Mom saw it first. She knew that Alpha Mom wanted a Shar Pei  or Shar Pei mix more than just about anything. Her Shar Pei mix had crossed over at age 15 a few months before and  the whole family was sans chien for the first time ever. The thing was, one of the cats that lived with them was sick. He was recovering from surgery at the time, but the prognosis was bad and they were trying to wait for a dog until....well, you know....so as not to give him new problems at the end of his life. Well, Violet's photo convinced them that they could make absolutely sure that she'd be fine with cats before they took her home but they just had to go see her. And they did.

It was a busy Saturday afternoon. I remember that much. They came and took Violet out of her kennel and she was gone for a while. After a half hour or thereabouts I heard a bit of a ruckus upstairs. The sounds told me that it was Violet, scoring a B- at best on her cat test. Then Violet came back in and Mr. Casey took me out. It seems he'd told them about me, Lola right away and they just couldn't make a decision without at least meeting me. I took them for a walk around the block and then we did the cat test and I believe I scored somewhat higher than Violet. Then it was decision time. It was really Alpha Mom who had to make the call. If it had been left entirely to Blog Mom we'd all still be standing there on that sidewalk in Brooklyn. She isn't one for snap judgments, to say the least.

So the choice was made and they chose me, Lola! I was getting adopted before Violet! It's funny how things work out. You just never know. Oh, and don't worry too much about Violet. The Moms did and kept track of her. She only had to wait a few more days for her humans to find her.

Coming soon: Coming home for the first time

Shelter From The Storm

Well, I guess it's time for some of those biographical details. I'm going to do it in a few posts here and there for now. This one is about my stint at the shelter.

My world  turned upside down in January 2009 when I was surrendered to New York City Animal Care and Control along with some of my family. Quite the come-down, that was. We were born to the purple (purple tongues, that is) and now we'd been "surrendered" like an illegal handgun or something. I was still nursing my last puppy and Puppy Daddy was with us, too. I know other dogs have had much worse experiences than we did, but it was scary there for a while. The humans at Animal Control were kind, but it's the things you've heard about it that get you. Like "three days and they toss you off the Rainbow Bridge." Turns out it's not quite like that and there are other resources for animals who are deemed adoptable. We were so deemed and were whisked off to Sean Casey Animal Rescue, as I mentioned in my first post. There, we'd have all the time we needed to find suitable humans of our own. Although it's not meant to be anydog's forever home, it's a very special place in a lot of ways and I can show it to you  right now. This is a video clip of the shelter and Mr. Casey himself on a local news channel telling all about it :



That clip only captures some of the atmoshpere at the place. For example, in the Hamilton Doghouse part there were three ginormous turtles just walking around free. I guess they didn't have to worry about them running out into traffic.

Coming soon: I get adopted

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Faith and begorrah, it's Lola O'Pei, Irish (Setter) for today  wishing everyone a fun, safe and sane St. Patrick's day.

Barkeep, I'll have corned beef if you please, straight up - no cabbage. And keep it coming.

Photo Shoot

It was a rainy day again today. Not so windy, thank goodness. There's a lot of work for someone in the front yard due to yesterday's wind and rain storms. Don't look at me. No opposable thumbs, ya know.

The good part of the bad weather was that no one went out and there was lots of time for me, Lola. The Moms decided we should have a photo shoot because the new bandana I got from the groomers was so much more flattering than the last one.  I think it's a little loud and not very feminine  myself, but they seem to like it and I have to admit that pink sometimes clashed with my fur. Also, Blogging Mom says that I look too serious in most of the pictures she's taken of me. She feels my personality isn't coming across. I say that Blogging Mom isn't the best photographer in the world. She's not even the best photographer in the room, but Daddy hasn't been well so it's been up to her to take the pictures lately. With both Moms on the job we got some decent shots and, more importantly, I got some treats and lots of attention. Here are a couple that show another side of me, Lola.

 Let there be treats!

That treat is not worthy. You may try another.

What A Day!

I really didn't intend to post so soon again. I figure to post once or twice a week most of the time, but today , which is almost yesterday now, was kind of special. Right after we got the first post up I got quite the upset stomach. It's been pouring rain all day, which is something we Shar Pei don't care for. With so much rain I just couldn't bring myself to go outside and eat some grass to settle the stomach. Instead I licked the floor and the carpet for quite a while before vomiting on said carpet a couple of times. In fact, even though my humans cleaned it up and applied carpet cleaner I do believe you can still see the spots. Ah well. Blogging Mom really could use a new carpet anyway.

All this sent the Moms into a tizzy, trying to decide if I was really sick and should go to the vet or if we should proceed with our usual Saturday plans, which include a trip to the groomer for a bath. Baths are another thing we Shar Pei don't care for, but I have skin issues like a lot of my breed and the vet recommended weekly baths. Sadly, I started to get better and they decided to go ahead with the bath plans.

Even after we arrived there,  I strongly suggested that we turn around and take me right home and skip the whole thing, but to no avail.

Once we finally got home the rain had turned into a full fledged storm and the wind is still gusting hard right now. Some of the shrubs in the front yard are now in totally different places from where they were this morning.  As a result of the weather our internet connection has been on and off and it wasn't for the longest time that I learned that I'd been welcomed into the canine Blogaverse.Wimsey himself left a welcome and a comment, even though he's still recovering from his injuries. Gallant, I call that. Another Hound named Bernie, who I didn't even know about before today, also left a lovely welcome message and became a follower. When you're being followed by a Hound, you're really being followed, too. As he mentions in his comment and on his blog, Bernie is also originally from Animal Control It's like we share an alma mater, even if it wasn't the same campus. All this really got my tail wagging and I want to thank them both so much. It even made up for the bath...this week.

A Blog for me, Lola!

Hi! It's me, Lola.  Blogging Mom (I have two Moms and a Daddy, but it's not what you're thinking.)  and I have been working on setting this blog up for quite some time.  After getting it pretty much the way we wanted it, Blogging Mom was just getting to the part where we write out a sort of formal introduction telling all about how I came to live with my humans and other biographical details. But just before we did that she said, "Oh, look! Blogger has a  new Template Designer thingy. Let's try that out before we go live."  I finally had to put my paw down and tell her to stop being distracted with the shiny objects. I'm seven years old - or so they say - I don't feel or look a day over five. But the point is that I'm not getting any younger and, believe me, neither is Blogging Mom. Let's do this while we still can. Blog now, tweak later.

So, on with the introduction - short version. I'm a Chinese Shar Pei, now living on Long Island. I've been living with my humans for not quite a year now.  We can't be sure of my birthday because my papers seem to have been lost in someone's haste to surrender me to NYC Animal Control,  so we'll be celebrating our first Lolaversary together on April 4th.  My place of residence when we all met was the Sean Casey Animal Rescue in Brooklyn, NY. More about that when we get around to the full bio, but suffice to say it's worked out beautifully, especially for the humans. I'm very happy, too, of course. For one thing, they're crazy about me. It's hard to be dissatisfied with constant adoration.

Blogging Mom and I got interested in this project after noticing that quite a lot of dogs were doing some marvelous blogging. One of my particular favorites is by Hero, a Shar Pei in Malaysia. In my mind he's kind of the Indiana Jones of Shar Pei. He has such amazing adventures and no fear as far as I can see. He hikes up mountains, walks over teeny tiny bridges, boats, swims and all without any stress reaction at all. He's also pretty easy on the eyes, if you know what I mean.  

Another favorite blogus canis is by Wimsey. He's also handsome, in a totally different way. Well, a Bloodhound way, to be exact. He's no Shar Pei, but he's got his own special wrinkles. Wimsey lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. That's where Alpha Mom and Blogging Mom come from originally, so he's created a lot of interest around here. By the way, Wimsey was attacked and injured this past week. He seems to be recovering well, but it was a terrible thing to have happen. He may be sardonic, but that's not a reason for an assault.

Now I don't live the adventurous life that Hero does. Nor am I a hip, urban show dog like Wimsey. Well, I used to be urban, ergo hip, but now I'm all suburban.  Still, I think that each dog has his or her own contribution to make and here I hope to make mine.