Axel:The Wire Haired Terrier's Blog

Just playing

2010-12-02T20:49:00.001-08:00

Dog is back

2010-05-03T17:33:00.001-07:00

hahahaha

Off on sabbatical

2009-12-04T22:34:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

I am off on a sabbatical for a while and will not be blogging. I will still be following your blogs avidly as I kick up my heels and take a break. If you are not a member of FTN (why not? its the best foxie group around!!) and want to stay in touch, you can contact me via Mom at editordan2002 at yahoo.

Toodles for now.

AGC

Free Dog Treat Sample

2009-10-14T06:10:00.001-07:00

I'm all about snacks so when Mama Dee found this offer to try Exclusively Dog Cookies, I signed up immediately. Mama Dee is a genius at getting free stuff and finding the best coupons. Every day a new freebie arrives in the mail!

So click here for your free treats! By the way, anyone ever get those Science Diet free snacks that I also publicized. Mine never arrived and its been quite a while - were they yanking our tails in an effort to collect our info while NOT sending the booty!? Never thought much of Science Diet to begin with, now I really don't like them! No one pulls one over on Axel G Chocholoza!

AGC

Farewell Dad

2009-07-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

My Dad passed away yesterday morning - we were all with him and it was peaceful.

Dani

Mom Not Coming Back After All

2009-07-06T08:05:00.001-07:00

Mom called us this morning with the sad news that they were told this morning by Grandpa's doctors that there is nothing more they can do to save his life. Grandpa is going to die in the next few days but he will be on morphine, with no pain, just deeply asleep.

Mom is of course very upset but she is also relieved because it has been torture watching her beloved Dad suffer through 5 surgeries in 3 weeks and go through so much. She has decided to stay with her family until July 15. Though I wish she was coming home as scheduled, I understand that she needs her family now, and I am okay with that.

I love my Grandpa so very much - it was only because of him that my name is Axel (Grandpa has a big Axel manufacturing company) and that Mom came to love wire fox terriers. Grandpa is a big fan of Johnny Walker Whiskey and I've spotted some on the shelf in the kitchen. I am going to ask Dad if we can have a wee nip tonite to salute Grandpa and his wonderful 85 years on earth.

AGC

Update on Grandpa

2009-07-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Axel's Mom here. I am still in South Africa. I wish I had good news for you, but the fact is that Dad is critically ill and has been for some time now. Since his heart surgery, he has had 4 additional surgeries and one setback after another. For the past 5 days he has been sleeping and unresponsive. Though I have been praying for his recovery, I believe in my heart that it probably is not to be. He is in a very weakened state now after almost 4 weeks in ICU and he is 85 after all.

On Tuesday I am planning to leave South Africa after a month and return to my life in Philadephia. Of course I leave with a very heavy heart and deep sadness because I do not expect to see my beloved father alive again. I have struggled with the decision to leave, but I knew Dad would be the first one to tell me its time to go, that I need to get back to my life and my work in Philadelphia.

I can't wait to hug Axel - I have so missed his little furry presence. I have no doubt I will be leaning on him when I get home.
Please keep Dad (and me) in your prayers. This is the hardest time in both our lives I expect.

Dani

PS Please note the NEW button on the top right of the blog - please click to find out more about Sweet Cecil and open your hearts and wallets to help this dear boy restore his vision.

Prayers for Grandpa

2009-06-17T01:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for a while because my paws are being used for more important purposes - that of holding them together in prayer for my dear Grandpa - Mom's Dad who is very ill. He is 85 years old and last Thursday underwent triple bypass and valve replacement surgery. This is horrendous surgery at any age, but can you imagine at the age of 85 what a shock it must be to his body?

Mom tells me lots of stories about Grandpa and what a strong man he is mentally and physically even at his age. Grandpa is really responsible for my existence because it was he who fell for the wire fox terrier breed years ago and insisted on buying Mom her first wire when she was 12 and wanted a maltese poodle instead!

I miss Mom very much, she flew to South Africa to be with her family last Monday, 5 hours after getting the call that her Dad was so sick. I'm not sure when she will be back, but we are hoping this weekend or early next week. Mom doesn't want to leave until her Dad is conscious and on the road to recovery. Right now he is still ventilated and stable...

Please join me in praying for Grandpa's complete and rapid recovery!

AGC

Axel does Monet

2009-05-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

I went swimming in the pond today. Mom got this lovely photo of me. It made us think of the impressionist artist Monet. We think he would have liked it.

Here is a long shot of the beautiful area around the pond:

AGC

Groundhog Day

2009-04-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

So Mom came home from work and said, "C'mon Ax, let's go to the park, it finally stopped raining." On the way to the park is a railway crossing surrounded by high weeds and lots of mud. As we crossed the street into this wasteland, Mom and I spotted a fat groundhog -- he looked like that fella at left. He was almost as big as me!

I must take a minute to compliment my Mom. I am a good teacher. The old lady learnt from her prior experience. Of course, the minute I saw the groundhog, my terrier instincts kicked in and I pulled that leash like there was no tomorrow. Mom had the sense to let go of me before I pulled her over head first into the mud. I took off after the hog, and followed him into a grassy mound of earth. At that point, Mom reached me somehow and took off the leash so I wouldn't get caught on the undergrowth. She also, generously, decided to let me enjoy myself. (Not like she had a choice, I was NOT leaving!)

There was an entrance on both sides of the mound, so I stuck my whole body in there, and then started digging and digging. Mud was flying everywhere! When I couldn't find the hog at one entrance, I ran over the top of the mound to the other side and tried from the other end. I could smell the rascal, but I couldn't get him. Throughout the pursuit, other dogs walked by on the way to the park and I raced to the top of the mound and barked at them -- this was my groundhog and I was NOT about to share it!

I know its hard to make me out in the photo at right - it was taken on Mom's cell, but you get the idea. That's my bum and tail you see sticking out the hole.

An hour passed by, the sky had blackened and a downpour was imminent. Mom was now worrying about how she was going to leash and drag me home - you can't really see so well in the pic, but the mound was surrounded by bramble, rocks and undergrowth. When the rain came down, Mom took the plunge and managed after some time, to catch and drag me away. Man, I was pissed. I could have stayed there all night.

Of course I was filthy by this time, and Dad was not home, so I knew no way was Mom going to manage to bath me alone. I was excited to think that I'd be able to stay this dirty for a while. I love being dirty.

No suck luck. Mom sequestered me in the kitchen. Dad came home and 5 minutes later, lured with a big piece of provolone cheese, I found my self in the bath being shampooed. Drat!
I'm gonna get me that groundhog!!! He lives to see another day, but not for long. Heh heh.

AGC

PS Happy Passover and Happy Easter everyone. How come the Jews get the bum deal again - cardboard, yuch, even I won't eat that! And the Christians get gaily painted chocolate eggs? Geez.

Chef Axel

2009-04-01T19:33:00.001-07:00

So Mom often complains that Dad never cooks. The other day, he was sort of forced into it. Mom took a very yummy looking beef brisket out the freezer (or the icy snackbox as I like to call it) planning to cook it as soon as she got home so it could be ready for a late-ish dinner. But then she got delayed at work and called Dad. The conversation went like this:

"Babe - I can't get home for another 2 hours. If you want to eat, you gotta cook!"

{silence}

"Hello?"

"I'm here. You know I don't cook."

"Well, times are about to change, I promise you even Axel could cook this brisket"

["Grrrr, I resent that!!!"]

"Are you sure?"

"Quite confident. This is what you do...Take the brisket, put it in a large pyrex dish. Take the bottle of bbq sauce I left on the counter, pour it over the meat. Take the packet of onion soup mix I left on the kitchen counter, and pour that over the meat. Finally, take a can of coke and pour THAT over the meat. Cover it and put it in the oven."

"Then what?"

"Then nothing, that's it. Do it now and it will be ready in 3 hours!"

So Dad and I got to it and it took about 2 minutes to mix the ingredients and put the beast in the oven. Over time, the house filled with the most delish smell!

When Mom got home, Dad took it out the oven and sliced it with an electric knife while I supervised (with my mouth open). It was scrumptuous, soft and tasty...heavenly.

And Dad strutted around the kitchen like a proud peacock like he'd given birth to the brisket. Mom was most amused. But alas, Dad has not cooked since!

AGC

PS The parents saw a house they liked primarily because it was above a creek and they pictured me running amok and frolicking in there....don't forget to check out mom's blog to read more...

Bad Dog and New Blog

2009-03-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Don't I look like a sweet angel snoozing on my fox toy? heh heh.

Sorry I haven't written much. It is mother's fault. She just started a new blog at http://firstabode.wordpress.com/, and I now enjoy even less time online! It's not fair. The only reason I am not having a hissy fit, is that I guess it is for a good cause. The parents are looking for a new home for us. I already submitted my wishlist -- big back yard full of critters, friendly neighbor dogs, window seat from which I can peruse the street and a doggie door so I don't have to give the parents funny looks when I want to go out. I'm keeping my paws crossed. I just don't understand why I don't get to go with to see the potential homes...that ain't right!

In other news, I was a very naughty boy last week. Mom was taking me for a walk when I spotted my friend Sophie and yanked the lead so I could catch up with her. Uh oh. Down went my wee Mom, her knees hitting concrete. Boy was she mad - mainly because I didn't stay by her side to see if she was ok, I took off after Sophie and didn't give a poop. Well that's how she saw it. I see it differently - I took off cos I thought Mom would prefer to weep alone and I knew she had her cell and would call Dad. I thought it would be less bother if I just went to the park with Sophie. Of course Mom didn't buy this for a second and now at every opportune moment she lambasts me and shows me her knee (pictured above a week later) and says, "You see this big colorful bruise - you did it!!"

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, mea culpa!!

AGC

Hero Dog

2009-03-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

I was humbled when Mom showed me this amazing video which portrays the amazing character and loyalty of us dogs:

I would like to meet that heroic dog and shake his paw. But he's in Chile and noone was ever able to find him after this incident, though many tried...There are apparently thousands of stray dogs in Chile. Sadly, the injured dog crossed to the Rainbow Bridge despite the valiant efforts of the nameless, heroic stray.

By the way, you have a chance to be a hero too - please click on the image of Zazoo (top right) and vote for him in this contest that could win American Fox Terrier Rescue $10,000! We need your help!

AGC

Winter is for Hibernating!

2009-03-03T19:01:00.000-08:00

We hope the title of this post will explain our absence. Just last week I got a very rude email from my grandma in South Africa calling me a quote, "Lazy Hound" for not blogging! I was most offended. I think she needs to apologize and send me some "Good Boy Treats" - they are these yummy treats Mom brought me from SA - little round pieces of fake chocolate that tastes like the real thing...

Anyway, so I'm back. It's been a very sad week in doggie blog land - Bogie's beloved daddy Klaus passed away after a sudden and awful illness. We were all praying so hard for his recovery, but sadly he crossed over to heaven on the weekend. We can't stop thinking of Bogie and his Mom Lulu and the sorrow they must be going through. Please keep them in your prayers.

Yesterday, the white stuff came down - all 8 inches of the stuff. Today I had a grand old time in the dog park. Humans were sledding with their dogs and I ran up and down barking at them. I am known as the Dog Park Referree because I bark at any dogs who get out of control. Of course, often I get yelled at by the humans, they accuse me of getting the already worked up dogs, more worked up. Go figure! Dumb humans.

Not much going on. With the weather so cold, we've been indoors a lot and as a result I've been subjected to mindless TV drivel like The Bachelor and Idol...More proof I'm afraid to say it...dumb humans.

AGC
Superior Being.

GET YOUR FREE SNACKS!

2009-02-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Breaking News!

Remember a while ago Jackson sent me some DoggieLicious gourmet treats for a holiday gift? Well, Mom wrote a review on the awesome DoggieLicious products and they set up a page to invite everyone to sample their treats!

So click to http://www.doggielicious.com/sample.htm to claim your piece of the action.

I have to tell you they are really the most wonderful treats ever - I especially loved the pumpkin flavors and the carob coated bones.

AGC
Connisseur of the Superlative Snack

We're ALL on the mend

2009-02-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

Well the good news is that Mom is doing MUCH better, she is almost back to work full-time now - just coughing still and a bit weaker than she was, but definitely eons better every day. She has taken to smiling a lot and appreciating every little thing every day. Guess it takes getting sick to do that to one.

She might also be losing her marbles a bit. Yesterday we had a big snowstorm here in Philly - we got about 5 inches of snow! But upon arriving home from work, what did you think Mom did? I'll give you a pictorial clue:

Yes, she decided to BBQ steaks on the grill outside surrounded by the snow. These South Africans will stop at nothing to BRAAI (the SA equivalent of BBQ - pronounced to rhyme with CRY) And note to Grandma in SA - yes, Mommy is not wearing a coat, hat or gloves while she cooks. She is very silly indeed. LOL. But in her defense, she was in and out very fast and the fire from the grill was toasty! So we ALL had delish steak and mash potatoes for dinner and I got to chew the bones and get some flesh. Yummy.

You will also be happy to know that my hotspots are getting better. This is what it looked like about 5 days ago after the vet cleaned it up (for $282!!) [warning: photo may make you barf]:
This is how it looks today:
So it is much better. I am still licking a bit but so far have been spared the dreaded collar which Mom says she is going to return to Petco and get her $35 back!
Now if only Dad felt better - he is going through a box of Puffs tissues every 5 hours - I can't believe how much snot one guy can have! Heh heh.

Not much else to report folks. Hope everyone is doing swell.

AGC

Big Thank You from Mom

2009-01-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

Mom is dictating the following message:

Dear Friends,
Thank you for all the wonderful well wishes received via Ax's blog. I am deeply appreciative of all the kind, encouraging words.
Today I feel so much better I am almost ready to do a jig! I have been eating a lot and today at my check up was happy to hear I had gained back 5 pounds! I am half way there!

Unfortunately, tomorrow Ax has to go to the vet as instead of eating my snacks, he has taken to eating his leg and tail!

{What??? hang on Mom...I'm not writing that....argh! Ok, yeah, so I've made a big mess of my leg and tail - it's red, sore and swollen and hurts like hell...I didn't mean to do such a good job on myself, I just got nervous with you being away....boo hoo....}

Anyway, he definitely needs antibiotics and I fear he might get the dreaded collar if he can't leave his skin alone....

So thank you everyone from near and far and all the virtual nursies who have done a very fine job getting me back to strength....I hope to go back to work part time next week and get stronger every day!

Mom

Ok, I'm not adding anything to Mom's post, I'm a bit miffed that she thinks I enjoyed eating my leg and tail! Not so. I couldn't help it. I'm a very very sensitive guy.

AGC

Mom Sick

2009-01-27T13:42:00.001-08:00

Just letting you know I haven't been blogging cos Mommy has been pretty sick. She just came home from a 5-day stay in the hospital as a result of a very bad virus that affected her breathing so that she almost had respitory failure. She was very scared but is doing better now and I'm glad she is home. Any wires who can offer some nursing assistance, please drop by and bring food as Mom has lost almost 10 pounds and she was little to begin with! I promise I will not eat food designated for Mom. (Well, I'll try).

Thanks.
AGC Chief RN.

Totally Off Topic - But I Like Music with a Message

2009-01-14T20:43:00.001-08:00

Hey All,
So let's take a break from talking about hot spots and doggie issues and let's turn to world issues. Mom has been very upset by the war going on in Gaza and we all pray every night before we go to sleep that the madness will end and peace will one day come to the Middle East. But I tell Mom there is about as much chance of that happening, as there is of me turning into a cockapoo overnight.

So I found this very inspiring, upbeat and optimistic video on Youtube that I want to share with all of you tonite - so turn up your speakers and clap your paws and spread this message of reconciliation and hope!

AGC
Part-time peace activist, full-time snack fiend.

Of Crocodiles and Crazy Boo

2009-01-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

Well much has happened in the last week.

First, the Crocodile (pictured right with us) finally arrived. Crocodile is Mom's great old friend who was visiting from South Africa. Her real name is Suzie but Mom's Dad gave her the nickname Croc many years ago because she is very tall and long. Mom's nickname is Mouse because, well, she is the opposite of the Croc - she is small and squeaky. Heh heh.

So Suzie came to visit us for four days - so not only did we have a crazy pup named Boo with us, we had a Croc too. Luckily the Croc loves dogs though she is partial to labs and retrievers...but we were great ambassadors for our breed and she now loves Wires too.

We were on our best behaviour...well, I was...Boo kept playfully attacking me...

Let me tell you, that pup drove me nuts much of the time...he is crazy. He loves to play but gets a bit carried away sometimes and never stops. I like to play too, but I like to snooze as well and often the only way I could do that, was to beg the parents to put him in his crate. Sometimes I had to fiercely defend myself against him but I never snapped ever...I just had to give him a certain look, and he'd get the message...well, for about 3 seconds!

Can you believe that's me? You don't often see that side of me - I'm a mellow, gentle type of guy.

So Croc and Boo had a bit of a love affair. Boo mistook her for a pillow and loved to cuddle with her. I didn't mind, I just appreciated the break! Don't they look cute?
Boo is a funny character, especially when he was asleep. Just look at him sleeping in his crate (grinning in his sleep!) and on my couch:

Anyway, so yesterday, Mom, Dad and me drove Boo to Maryland where he will be living with dear friends M and S and their furkids Mackie, Finn and Ollie, who are charged with finding him his new home. I got to play with Finn and Ollie and check out their lovely house and huge yard - and then I wished Boo well and said farewell.

As you know, I, Axel G Chocholoza, am always honest, so I am not going to lie on my blog and say that I was heartbroken, bereft and in a state of abject despair to say goodbye to Boo. I enjoyed his company and having him as my playmate most of the time - but he was too hyper for me and sometimes his need to wrestle and play was too much for me. I was always patient and never once hurt the fella, but there were times where he really tried my patience. And, I am not ashamed to admit, I love my Mom and Dad, and did not enjoy sharing them with another dog. I also love my home and park and friends - it was hard to share all these things with Boo, though I never once openly revealed these feelings while he was with us. I was always gentlemanly and generous. I even shared my waterbowl, food and treats! Afterall, I am unique!

After we got back from Maryland - I fell into a most delicious slumber, free at last of the stress of having Boo about and having to entertain him.
And I had special one on one huggies/snooze with Dad...

I wish Boo only the very best life with a very loving family. I guess that means, I wish Boo everything that I have.

AGC

Boomer and Me

2008-12-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

Well, you've all HEARD a lot about Boomer and seen a few photos - how would you like to see him in action and see what I put up with every hour, every day? When he leaves (possibly) this weekend, I think I deserve a week at a health spa in reward for putting up with his antics. Agree?

AGC

Boo Blogs...well, sort of.

2008-12-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

Hi, my name is Boomer. Axel told me about his blog and he said I could give it a try. So I'm with Ron, Dani and Ax for a while and it's been fun. Oh hang on, what's that I hear? Gotta go check it out, be back soon....ok, I'm back. It was Axel biting his bum. So where was I? Yeah, so I came to Philly from NY via North Carolina, it's all a bit confusing. What was that? I smell something weird...hang on...gotta go check. Ok, I'm back, it was the Hanukkah candles dying out. So I really like Axel, I especially enjoy dive bombing him and jumping on his back. Uh oh, something moved downstairs, be right back. Oh, it was Ron, he's putting the trash outside....

SCREEEEECH....THUD....WOOF!

Ok everyone, it's me Ax. Clearly Boo's ADHD is too profound to render him a competant blogger. The bloke can't sit still for 2 minutes. So I told him I heard a mouse and off he went. Heh heh. These pups are so easy to trick - Boo is especially niave!

Let me tell you, this guy never lets me rest. It's a tad irritating sometimes, but I just have to give him a look or bare my teeth and he gets the message.

Yesterday he very skillfully jumped up on a shelf and grabbed a whole bag of treats while the people were sleeping late. He then brought the bag to me and we enjoyed the spoils. So I really do like having him around. He thinks of crazy shit that doesn't even cross my mind and he can jump real high - just like Pacco de Mongrel!

Boo is very agile, he can get into tight spots becos he is so skinny (he'll never qualify for the Substantial Wires Club!) - so is very good at retrieving Snax that roll under furniture. He has also proven to be quite a barker - and he doesn't even need me to set him off! And like all us wires, he likes to walk and sleep atop our furniture.

Looks like he will be leaving us next weekend, and I will miss the little fella. He is a sweet soul who though a tad cuckoo, will grow into a very wonderful companion and best friend to the lucky family he adopts.

Besides, he does slow down sometimes, and when he does, he looks like the most angelic, adorable creature on earth:

Enjoy your weekend! Mom keeps telling me that the Crocodile is arriving tomorrow. Huh? Sounds kinda scary, but she told me that she will be bringing me treats, so I guess it must be a benevolent Crocodile...do such reptiles exist?

AGC

Crazy Boo

2008-12-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

I tell you, this Boomer dude is nuts. He is hyper ADHD wired 24/7. He never slows down. But I'm sweet on him, he's certainly fun to be around...and exhausting. We had some drama yesterday when Dad sprained his ankle and Mom was forced to become sole dog walker last evening and this morning. Poor Mom, she had to take us separately. Anyway, pleased to report, Dad is MUCH better and managed to take us out this evening.

I thought you'd enjoy some more photos of the two of us. Here is a rare moment when we are chilling on top of the couch...

Here is Boo enjoying one of my many Snax toys:

I tell you, he is quite a little rascal. We already have a few nicknames for him - Wee Willie Winkie (cos he loves to run up and down steps on his walks), Love Bug (cos he loves to love and be loved), Skinny Malinky Long Legs (he sure is thin and he has long legs!) and Crazy Boy (no need to explain).

We hear there are a few families lining up to give him his forever home...so fingers crossed he will have a wonderful new life by his first birthday on January 14. Though he is a bit of a pain, I reckon I'll miss him when he goes....

AGC

Our Hanukkah Guest

2008-12-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Boomer Newman - he is our house guest for the next couple of weeks. Boomer is almost a year old and he's been with us for 4 hours...and I can tell you, I'm pooped already. This guy is a wire on speed! He is GO GO GO all the time...wrestling, mouthing, bitey face...boy I tell you, I could use a rest.

I've been the perfect host, allowed him to share the affections of my parents, play with all my toys, jump on MY couch and MY bed...the parents are rather impressed with me. Boo tried to hump me a few times, and I let him - I mean he's trying to be boss which we all know is rather hilarious, cos he ain't going to be the boss of me in MY HOUSE.

Mom and Dad took us for a walk. Boo was all over the place, deliriously happy to be outdoors in the ice and wet. I showed him my park and he enjoyed it immensely. I teased him a bit 'cos I, Axel G Chocholoza, being an unusual wire, was off leash most of the time, while Boo had to be tethered of course, 'cos I tell you, off leash, that guy would be half way to Florida in a nano-second and he'd probably make it there by nightfall!

We ran into a few dogs and Boo was very interested in sniffing butts.

The good news is that Boo is not much of a barker, that was Mom and Dad's only wee concern due to noise intolerant neighbor to our right. We expect he might have a heart attack the first time he spots me and Boo walking down the street - his ultimate nightmare - two barking wires! Mom and Dad thought of forewarning him with a note, but then decided it was stupid and unnecessary - if and when we bump him, we'll just explain that Boo is a temp wire.

I hope you will all welcome Boomie to the blog world.
Happy Hanukkah to all - it starts tonite at sundown.

AGC

Happy Holidays All!

2008-12-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays!!!

So the other day a box arrived for me from North Dakota. The parents and I wracked our collective brains to try to figure out who we knew in Fargo! We'd loved the movie, but we couldn't think of anyone there.... So we opened the box and inside was a littler box for me and a card. On the cover of the card was a PUG! We have a few pug friends, but none we know well enough to get a gift from, and none in Fargo! But then the mystery was solved - for the card read, "Happy Holidays love Jackson" and there is ONLY ONE Jackson! We realized that our pal in London had ordered me this delicious holiday gift ONLINE and they'd mailed it out! Doesn't it look like the best gift ever!? The company who made these tasty carob bone-shaped biscuits is called Doggielicious - and boy were they yummy! The parents are rationing them out to me 'cos they call me Fat Boy now. Isn't that lovely! Not!

Mom wrote to the company to compliment them on their fine merchandise and asked if we could sample a few more to review on www.theswankypup.com - and they said YES. So more cookies coming MY way...though mother is threatening to hire new biscuit tasters given my girth. Harumpfffff! By the way, for the record, I think our favorite friend Christina's gourmet cookies from her biz called Woofs and Whiskers are equally delicious! I never turn down a good treat!

In other news, I got one of my hanukkah gifts from the parents...a silly looking loofah penguin in a red Xmas hat with a pom-pom. Mom knows I like pom-poms, which is why she chose this. I must say, I do dig Mr Penguin. I've had him 5 days and he's still in one piece...a hanukkah miracle?

Finally, I have a complaint. Mother is working too hard on MY computer. Look carefully in the picture below and you will see clearly that this laptop is MINE. Mom is addicted to this silly machine - I only use it for blogging - which as you can tell, I don't do very often 'cos Mom uses it all the time! I am forced to draw up a chair next to her if I want any quality time....

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah and Kracking Kwanzaai to all my friends around the world!

AGC

The Big Scare

2008-12-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I frightened my parents half to death this weekend. I don't know what happened, one minute I was happily walking with Mom in the park, even ate a snack I found on the ground, jumped in and out the car....and then I didn't feel good and lay on the couch and found I wasn't hungry, didn't even try to eat the parent's take out Chinese. Unusual.

Then, I couldn't get up. I couldn't move. It was horrible. Dad tried to help me but oh, the pain. I cried. It was after midnight and Dad was so worried, poor Dad, he went and woke Mom. Mom then came down and spoke to me and tried to coax me off the couch. I wanted to please them, but I couldn't get up. It broke my heart to see them so upset and scared.

Dad lifted me off the sofa and put me on the carpet. I just stood and lifted my leg. I couldn't walk. Dad had to carry me up the stairs and we all got into bed and tried to sleep. I know Mom didn't sleep much, every 20 minutes I felt her put her hand in front of my nose and on my belly - I think she was checking I was breathing! I didn't move all night.

First thing Saturday morning I was carried to the car and taken to the vet. Two vets felt my legs and knees and hips. They took my temperature, checked my eyes, ears and bum, and decided I must have had a bad hip/upper leg sprain. They prescribed anti inflammatories and told Mom and Dad to watch me and check in in a few days, and to keep my activity limited. Mom said, unfortunately that won't be a problem, since I wasn't walking very much. I walked a bit at the vet, mainly 'cos I just wanted to go home. All the leg/hip manipulations hurt! Actually, at one point, I was so unhappy I snapped and growled, so they "Hannibal Lecter"ed me!

I think it was most cruel of Dad to snap a photo of me at my worst moment! And Mom laughed through her tears!

When we got home, we stopped in the park and I took a good poop. Boy I felt better! Nothing like a good poopie! I then rested at home for 2 hours but then Mom and Dad forced me to get up and walk a bit. Mom's theory was it was important for me not to be scared to walk. So they carried me down our front stairs and stood me outside. I took a few steps and it felt ok. I took more...then I took off down the road...Dad in tow. Mom grinning from the door. I walked all the way round the block to see my buddy Elvis and his Mom P. I told Elvis all about my ordeal, he was very sympathetic!

Anyway, since then, I have felt so good. Today I am back to normal, running, playing with toys and demanding many snacks. Mom and Dad are totally mystified!!

I am Axel G Chocholoza - Wire of Mystery.

Thanks for everyone's love and prayers. I think they helped a LOT.

AGC

Mouse Wars

2008-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

I have to brag. I caught a mouse last night in the basement. Ok, so it was already dead, so what? I, Axel G Chocholoza is the one who FOUND it and alerted Dad by barking solidly for half an hour while staring at the spot of death.

Dad did the heavy lifting - crawling behind the stairway to retrieve it, but I grabbed it and did a happy dance around the room with it in my mouth and then handed it over to Dad for disposal.

I've been after these buggers forever. At last I got one!

AGC

Mouse Slayer...ok, more truthfully, Dead Mouse Locator

My Fave Day of the Year

2008-11-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving! I inevitably amass a large amount of yummy turkey, and tonite was no different.

Here I am posing with the parents and our nieces and nephews - aren't they cute kids. We love to chase eachother - I adore them and they adore me. Foxies not good with little kids? Bah humbug, I'm brilliant with little kids. Dad took a video, that will go up soon...

There was a GREAT BIG turkey. I watched uncle Craig carve it up, my mouth was drooling and I was praying it would slide off the counter and on to the floor. I spoke to Jake, the resident dog, and we had a plan for making off with the whole bird. Unfortunately, it didn't happen...

At first I was forced to sit under the dining room table and pop my head up near Mom and Dad to ask for turkey (got plenty) but after a while, they let me sit at the table, where I really should have been assigned my own seat from the beginning!

After all the turkey, the dessert was laid out...oh boy, cherry pie, choc/marshmellow pie (Mom made it), pumpkin pie, cheese cake, banana cake...I thought I would have a heart attack...

Mom and Dad tried to distract me by offering me a fake rubber lizard instead. What kind of an idiot do they take me for??? Any terrier worth his salt can tell the difference between a cherry pie and a toy reptile!

So I didn't get any dessert - for that I am NOT thankful - Dad convinced me to chill with him on the couch. The minute we sat down, that triptofin stuff kicked in and we were in SnoozeWorld in seconds...

Other than the deprivation of dessert, it was a lovely thanksgiving! Hope you all had a good one too.

AGC

The NEW Me

2008-11-19T16:56:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am. Debonaire, handsome and no longer Scruffy. It's a good thing you can't smell me, Mom says I smell like a cheap whore. MOM!!! Not my fault they perfumed me. Mom said she wished I'd rolled in poopie in the park after my haircut, "anything is better than that cheap perfume reek!"

I'd like to give a hearty shout out to two new wirey friends from Sydney, Australia - Bacon and Tuesday Jones - a brother and sister act. Please visit their new blog and say hi.

AGC

Fuzzy Wuzzy

2008-11-18T17:34:00.001-08:00

So as you can see, I'm a very fuzzy guy. My hair is super long which is just as well 'cos today it turned arctic in Philadelphia and we even got some snow flurries.

Part of the reason my hair is so long is because my groomer hurt her finger so she had to postpone our appointment over 2 weeks ago. I was not upset as I like looking like a scruff-muffin.

But I'm afraid my groomer is all fine now and tomorrow my friends, I get the spa treatment with stripping....Hmmm. I prefer to stay home and snooze on my spot on top of the couch!

So take a good look at me now for tomorrow I will look like a different dog. Here I am ensconced in velvet on my spot. Me and George from Seinfeld love the velvet. I feel pawsitively royal...

So come on back tomorrow night for pics of the new ME...I just hope Dad remembers to tell the groomer not to strip me to the skin cos I don't want to freeze and you know I will NOT wear a coat or sweater!!!

By the way, tune into Animal Planet at 8PM EST Saturday night - they are profiling Wire Fox Terriers on Dogs 101!!

AGC

Our New President, Torn Toenail and Mom's Debut

2008-11-05T16:46:00.000-08:00

I was fast asleep around 11PM last night when I heard mom SCREAM. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I ran to Mom and she was jumping up and down and then she started to cry. I thought she had lost her mind but then I heard the TV announce that Barack Obama had won the Presidential Election! I was so happy because the old geezer guy was scary and his side-kick even scarier (not to mention I was horrified that she hunts polar bears from helicopters!). I then sat on Mom's lap listening to his amazing acceptance speech. And just when we thought it couldn't get any better or more historical, Mr. Obama told his beautiful girls that they were such good kids that they would be getting a puppy in their new, big white house!! Hurrah!

Congratulations Obama Family.
Congratulations America for not messing up this time!

Mom felt very left out yesterday. She would have so loved to have voted for Obama but because she only has a green card and is not able to apply for citizenship for another 2 years, she is precluded from voting. She came home feeling sad and said to Dad, "I have to have my say. Please get the video camera." So Dad set up the camera and filmed Mom talk for 2 minutes about how she felt and what it was like to vote in South Africa in 1994 in the first Democratic election. She was in her pajamas and had no make up on. She didn't even rehearse. She just spoke. She then uploaded the movie to http://www.ireport.com/ which is owned by CNN. Not thirty minutes later, our phone rang. Mom joked with Dad, "oh, that's probably CNN!"

And guess what! It was!! They said they liked what Mom had to say in her video and asked to use it on CNN.com and television. Mom nearly fainted. For the rest of the night all Dad and I heard was Mom moaning about her lack of script/make up/wardrobe etc....boring! Click on Mom to see the video or click here.

Finally, can I talk about myself? I was running in the dog park 2 days ago and tore my toe nail. Yup, split it in two but not enough to pull it off. So this morning Mom shlepped me to the vet and she cut it off at the split and put a silly green bandage on it. Do I look silly?

Anyway, at least I only have to wear it for one day and take a few anti-biotics. I'll be ok.

AGC

Do What Mom Can't Do!

2008-11-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

(Thanks to our friend Amelia for the cute pic)

Mom is very miffed that permanent residents (green card holders) in the USA do not have the right to vote. She says it is not fair - she isn't going anywhere (well, actually that's not true - if Geezer and Dingbat win tomorrow - she will be looking for continent #4 to move to - Australia or Canada?) - she should get to voice her opinion on who should serve as President of America.

We'll be crossing paws here tomorrow that everyone goes and casts their vote undetered by record lines at polling stations. Mom well remembers the incredible lines in the first democratic elections in South Africa in 2004 - they were so long, they had to extend voting by another day. Here is one pic from that momentous day:

Peace to all.

AGC

Message from Mom (again!)

2008-10-08T13:24:00.001-07:00

AGC: Mom is hogging my blog, again...MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

Mom: Hello everyone (get down Ax!),
I just wanted to tell you that I will be going to South Africa tomorrow to see my family - Ax will be staying home with his Daddy. I'm not sure if he will have computer access while I'm away...

AGC: "What? No way!!!"

Mom: Sorry Ax...but it is just so. I promise to bring you a big piece of South African biltong (beef jerky SA style - incomparable to American beef jerky) to make up for it. How does that sound?

AGC: Hang on, I have to google biltong to see if it is a fair bargain....Well, after looking at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biltong - you got yourself a deal Mom. That looks yummy!

Mom: I do need to add one word of caution Axie Pax. For some reason it is illegal to bring biltong into the United States, so your Mother will have to smuggle it in. I'll gladly risk imprisonment so you can get your snack...but if you can send word to those airport dog sniffing beagles...that would be wise.

AGC: I'll see what I can do! Have a good trip Mom, we sure will miss you.

Mom: And I will miss you every day too Axie Pax. Be a good boy and look after Daddy.

Mom Steals my Blog

2008-10-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

Mom tells me she is stealing blog time from me to report on todays Free Bruce Springsteen/Obama rally on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philly. Mom went alone since Dad and I went to see Dad's parents and we went for a nice walk and swim in the Pennypack Creek Park, even though it was a bit chilly. Ok, over to Mom...

I decided I couldn't miss the historic free Springsteen concert/rally today so I walked there this afternoon. I'm not sure how many people were there, probably over 20,000 and the atmosphere was one of great hope and longing for a change in November. I must say, at some point, while Bruce was singing The Rising, I got all choked up. I felt very much like I did back in South Africa in 1994 on the eve of the referendum to decide whether SA was ready for change, for an end of Apartheid. Hope was so huge then too amongst most South Africans, it was palpable eventhough we knew the referendum was a farce (only white people could vote - Yes for Change; No for status quo). The result was an overwhelming YES and thus SA was set on the path to non racial democracy and free/fair elections.

I hope too, that in November, Hope and Equality, Decency and Good win out as it did in SA.
It was amazing living through one peaceful revolution. Is it too much to hope to live through a second on November 4th?
Here are photos from today's rally/concert. Bruce totally rocked! I couldn't get very near - ironically I sat under the Pakistan flag!

YES WE CAN!
God Bless America. God help America. Obama/Biden 2008

Happy 5769!

2008-09-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

I am blessed!

2008-09-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Today Mom and Dad took me to The Carnivale of the Dogs in Rittenhouse Square Park. We went a few years ago and it was fun, so we decided to go again. I'm not too fond of crowds and gatherings of little dogs, especially little dogs dressed up in ridiculous costumes, but it was kinda fun. One thing I remembered from last time was the big pond in the middle of the park, so I immediately pulled my humans in that direction and jumped up on the ledge. Imagine my disappointment - NO water! Someone stole the water!!!

That's me at left smiling, but actually I'm just in shock that all the water is missing!!!

I tried to hide my disappointment, but it wasn't easy. Many people came up to us to enquire what breed I was...got some new guesses today -- Is that a Lakeland terrier? Is that a Dandy Diamont terrier? I mean please!! Do I look like I have pom-poms on my ears? The silly enquiring lady said she thought I was a Dandy cos I look a bit like a sheep!!

We only spotted two other terriers, a Scottie and a Bull Terrier. The rest were those very irritating tiny dogs like teacup things and a zillion Yorkies. Yeah, I know they are terriers, but I think they need to be reclassified as toy dogs!

So we walked around, Dad enjoyed the free hotdogs and drinks; and I got plenty of treats. As we were leaving a lady came up to us and told us to come on over to the church across from the park for the blessing of the animals. Mom embarrassed Dad and Me by asking if the service was non-denominational because "our dog is Jewish!" The lady said that indeed it was for dogs of all faiths. So we went. The priests were very kind and humorous. Father Neale spoke about his beloved terrier who had lived for 15 years and died in August.

I liked him very much especially as he was kind enough to have one of my nicknames enscribed upon his very impressive robes:

So prayers were said and hymns were sung and at one point they mentioned Jesus and Mom gave Dad a dirty look as if to say, "non denominational my ass!"
We then had to come forward and Father Neale threw water over our heads - that was a tad confusing since the only time people throw water on my head is when I lose my head in the park biting other dogs! There was also a very strange animal in the crowd, I'd never seen one before, Mom said it was a hedgehog! He was a very prickly guy...bit of a weird pet if you ask me!

So I am now a blessed dog - and it feels pretty good!

AGC

Bark for Obama!

2008-09-25T17:52:00.001-07:00

The world has gone mad. The TV is on every day and I'm hearing about greedy, failing banks being rewarded for greed and incompetance by being bailed out. I am hearing Obama and Biden, McCain and Palin debating the issues - not with each other mind you...that's tomorrow night! I'm even hearing about pitbulls with lipstick - as you know I don't think dogs should wear clothes, let alone MAKE UP! Gross.

I am not a political animal, but I have to state for the record that I am for Obama - I bark LOUD and PROUD for Obama! I'm looking forward to getting my Obama Bandana from Lenny - thanks dude.

I'm not the only Obama Dog fan - have you heard about Lilly Boxer, known as Obama Dog? She is doing her best to support Barack Obama for the 2008 presidential election and we are calling on all our dog pals to bark for Obama on November 4.

After looking at all Lilly's videos I saw one that shocked me for a moment - it is entitled - Obama Dog Tired of Hearing About Terriers!!! But after I watched it, I understood and could not agree more - that's all the Old Geezer and the Alaskan Woman Killer of Moose/wolves and bears talk about... {{shudder}}

So there you have it. Will you join me?

AGC

Saturday with the Folks

2008-09-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

I am feeling a lot better - not as itchy - but the drugs do make me very thirsty and very tired. So I don't have much energy.

Yesterday there was a lot going on in our neck of the woods. There was a big Arts and Crafts Festival around the Eastern State Penitentiary (now a museum) and there was an Indian Festival on the Parkway. Not Native Indian, East Indian. It was pretty hot out so at times my energy flagged, but all in all we had a smashing good time - well except for the Crafts Festival which frankly Dad and I found rather boring....

That's me and Dad at the Crafts Festival pictured left. Can you tell we are bored?

The Indian festival was more interesting and very colorful. But the best thing about it was its location....right next to two of my favorite fountains! I was hot after the Crafts Bore, so the parents let me take a dip before we took on the Indians.

Then it was time for me to get out, but the fountain is deep and I always need help getting out:

Then we walked about the Indian festival. I got very excited when I saw this sign - FREE FEAST! But turned out we were early, the feast was not ready yet. Very disappointing! My predisone makes me ravenous and thirsty all the time.

This "thing" freaked me out some...it was a huge puppet thing sitting by a tree - Mom said it was a snake charmer...

And then we just cruised around reading about Vegetarianism (boring), reincarnation (I think I used to be Prince in my former life) and meditation. And wherever we went people asked if we were registered to vote and me and Mom had to say that we weren't qualified to vote and that makes us very very sad because Obama and Biden need us to beat the Geriatric and the NRA touting/censoring/moose murderer/former Miss Alaska Runner-Up Woman! We don't like to get political on here, but seriously, even I can't fathom how anyone can want another 8 years of those Republicans...

On our way back to our car, Mom and Dad allowed me another dip in the fountain and then I sat on Mom's lap for a while to cool her down. I'm very accommodating.

AGC

Mr. Miserable Itchy Guy

2008-09-09T19:28:00.001-07:00

HELP!!

Please don't laugh at me in my booties. This is NO laughing matter. I am having a bad allergy attack. I'm itching all over and can't help scratching and biting my legs, paws and back. To stop me ripping my skin and bloodying myself, Mom insists on putting on these ridiculous booties. They tried to cheer me up by giving me a peanut butter kong, but I wasn't in a licking mood.

This morning I went to visit the vet lady. She felt very bad for me. She said my whole body was inflamed and infected, and I had a bad ear infection.

We were sent home with antibiotics, Predisone cortisone pills and ear wash stuff and ointment. And a high vet bill.
The Predisone is supposed to make me drink a lot and pee, but I've peed ONCE all day and I just do not feel like going out to make pee-pees. Frankly friends, I'm pretty depressed. I hope these drugs kick in real soon....

Until then, I am staying on my spot on the couch trying not to lick, bite and scratch. But boy it's hard...
AGC

LABOR Day Weekend

2008-08-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

I now see why they call it LABOR day weekend. Boy I've been working hard!

First Dad's niece who he calls Baby Bubba (though she is already 7) came over. She is very sweet for a small human, but she required careful supervision and I was put in charge, especially during dinner!
I made sure I sat right next to her and kept my eyes peeled on her plate...ahem, I mean on HER. Dad was transfixed by some silly show called Spongebob Square Pants which Baby Bubba insisted on blaring all evening. The show is not for erudite young Wires like me. Drivel!

The whole evening was very tiring indeed...

And my reward for my hard labor? A fry or two. The child was not very generous!

Then this morning, Auntie Lynne arrived at the ungodly hour of 6.45am to take me hiking. Despite the early hour, I was thrilled to see her and to go and experience the great outdoors. We had a fabulous time as always with the whole hiking crew. As usual, my behaviour was impeccable! Afterwards, Auntie dropped me at home, and she went out with Mom and Dad for breakfast at the diner up the road. I was a bit peeved to be excluded...but I was rather exhausted and enjoyed a snooze.

When they came back, Auntie was having issues with her computer - so generous wire that I am, I gave her a lesson in computer maintenance and operation -- and didn't even charge her for my time or expertize. I figured I don't pay her for our hiking exploits, so I let it slide.

I am very pleased that Mom and Dad are off work tomorrow -- I just hope they won't put me to work! A dip in the fountain would be more like it....I've been three times this week...with Summer drawing to a close, I need to get in as many swims as I can...

AGC

PS Prayers to all my canine and feline buddies in Gustav's path...and humans too.

Hurrah for Gus

2008-08-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

I would like to honor my dear friend Gus with a very special award. Yesterday he had surgery to remove a big lump called Rodney from his neck. We were very worried what the lump might be made of...maybe horrible evil cells...but boy were we delighted to hear from Gussie's Muzzer that Rodney was made of 100% FAT!!!

And that is what we expect from Gus, member of the Substantial Wires Club! In tribute to Gus having EXTRA substantiality in his neck, I hope he will accept this award and put it on his blog:

Well done Gus! And feel better soon! You look gruesome dude...

AGC

All I got was a cow tail!

2008-08-22T17:11:00.000-07:00

So wait until you hear this! Talk about injustice! Every so often Mom meets up with Aunty Lynne and her friend Sheila and they get together and bake, often experimenting with new recipes. So this week, they decided to do pies again, rich and decadent ones!

Mom opted for a Chocolate Marshmellow Pie made from Hershey's almond chocolate, heavy cream, marshmellows and graham cracker pie crust. It's only about a zillion calories. Here are photos of the ingredients in the pot and Aunty Lynne making funny faces. Mom could kick herself, she didn't take a photo of the finished product, she just managed to take a photo of the last slice, that was saved for Dad. Me, I got NOTHING. Not even a lick of a spoon.

Aunty Lynne made a chocolate banana pie and Sheila made and peach/cream cheese pie. Don't they look delish? Do I need to point out again that I got NOTHING, again?
Not even a taste...I mean peach and cream cheese isn't chocolate, I don't get it!

Is this an injustice or what? Dad was even complaining when he saw his slice. He had the temerity to wonder aloud why he didn't get the whole pie! Dad is not given to exaggeration, most of the time when asked if he likes something, he responds, "its ok." So for him to say the chocolate pie was AWESOME, means I really missed out. Mom took 3/4 of the pie to work and her co-workers gobbled it all up and asked if Mom was taking orders! Mom smiled and gave them the recipe - "knock yourself out," she said. Mom confessed to me she didn't even dig the pie - she hates Hershey's chocolate and would frankly rather have toast and Marmite than a slice of chocolate pie....yeah, she's PSYCHO.

And psycho moms need wiry straight-jackets...

When I sit on my little Mom, she can't move. LOL I weigh almost as much as she does. She should eat more chocolate marshmellow pies.

To make up for this scandal - leaving me out of Pie Night - Mom came home with a new chewy for me. A delish stinky cow tail! I really enjoyed it, look how I was savoring it...

It ain't chocolate marshmellow pie, but it was a tasty treat!

Finally, very delighted to report that my pal in England, Master Jackson Sullivan, is well on the road to recovery. He had 22 staples out today and didn't even flinch! What an inspiration he is!

Mom and Dad are watching the Olympics for a change...so that's my cue to go for a nap. Here I am snoozing on Dad's pillow on the couch...

Sweet dreams,

AGC

Mom Goes on a Tirade

2008-08-13T18:24:00.001-07:00

As you can see, I have been very busy having heartfelt conversations with God asking him to please look after my pal Jackson who underwent very serious surgery on Tuesday. So far he is doing pretty good and with continued prayers, he will be home Friday in time for his 9th barkday. All of his pals have been pulling for him and his parents - and we like to think it has made a difference and that Jackson can somehow feel our love and support.

While Jackson was in surgery, I was at the Groomer having my coat stripped cos I was one shaggy puppy! As usual, they did a good job except for the two bald spots on my back. When questioned by Mom, the "stripper" (she had her clothes on) explained she'd "over-pulled" and apologized. So now Mom gives me a bit of a "comb-over" like I'm a bald little man. That is a picture of me (right) after my haircut.

Speaking of bald men, Mom asks Dad every night as they watch NBC coverage of the Olympics (personally I find the Pawlimpics far more exciting - eventhough Mom failed to enter me!!) whether host Bob Costas is wearing a wig. Dad says No. Mom says Yes! What do you think? I have it on good authority that Mom is right on this one!

I find the Olympics a bit of a snore. Besides, I'm boycotting. Call me unforgiving but I will never forgive host China for clubbing 50,000 innocent dogs to death in October 2006. Maybe some have forgotten, I will never forget or forgive no matter what bogus reason they gave at the time - rabies fears etc. They are also the worst environmental polluters and their human rights record is well, how should I put it. Abyssmal. Not to mention their trafficking in children. But hey, it's the Olympics...put on a smile, spend billions on opening ceremonies, and countries of the world unite, forget war and hatred, and let's compete in the all-important sports of pistol-shooting, beach volleyball, BMX racing and Badmington.

Speaking of Badminton - Mom is totally confused for a change. All her life, she's been calling that "sport" badmington and this week she discovers its called Badminton (pronouced Bad Mitten - as opposed to Good Glove?). Poor Mom.

Oh, and she went ballistic today when she heard two Olympic updates on NPR and NBC that said, and I quote here, "Michael Phelps is the WINNINGEST athlete in US History." Well you should have heard her..."America is massacring the English language again! Winningest...are you kidding me? What kind of stupid American concoction is that??!!" and on and on she went, until Dad shut her up by going to Dictionary.com and lo and behold, there was the word. It exists. Mom says she doesn't care if it is etched in gold on the Rosetta Stone. It is NOT a word. Ok Mom, take a chill pill...sit and stay.

Oh I do love my Mom - she cracks me up when she gets on her soapbox - she has a terrier spirit just like me. That's me and her before my haircut.

Got to go watch Project Runway now...I have a great sense for Fashion. Funny isn't it from a guy who hates wearing clothes... Then it's off to bed, I'm zonked as Aunty Lynne took me on a 6 mile hike this evening. What a treat!

AGC

PS Happy birthday to my darling Daddy for yesterday. He is about 6 years-old in dog years.
PPS Thanks to Asta in NY for giving me an award for being "a vewy cawing , kind doggie" I'd like to pass it on to Scruffy, Lacey and Stan.

Prayers for Jackson

2008-08-01T11:41:00.001-07:00

God of the universe, be present with this your creature. Bless Jackson and Jackie/Jamie who care for him, now and always. Amen.

We were deeply upset, and frankly angry with the Lord above, to read of our dear, sweet friend Jackson's latest health affliction - a mass in his lung. Mom and I both looked at eachother with tears in our eyes, slowly shook our heads and didn't need to even say it - "Why? Why Jackson again? Hasn't he suffered enough for one little wiry guy?"

We have no answers. We will just continue to keep him and his parents in our thoughts and prayers. We are thinking of you Jackson - your indominatable strength and bravery are always an inspiration and your mischievious, toy-destroying ways are always such a joy to hear about. We love you buddy. Keep fighting!

AGC and family

My Worst Fear Realized

2008-07-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

Remember friends when I wrote and told you that Mom was now a senior writer for The Swanky Pup Web site? Remember I told you I was excited that we'd be getting samples of doggie products to test? And how it occured to me suddenly, that we might get clothing to try out and how this made me feel sick with angst? You see, I hate wearing any clothing - from booties to sweaters in winter to raincoats. It can be zero degrees and a blizzard outside but I will NOT agree to wear a coat! I feign paralysis and refuse to move. If I get dragged out the door, I will walk very reluctantly but weild ultimate power in refusing to pee or poop while clothed - which infuriates the parents.

So it was all going well, enjoyed a few toys, books etc. Until today, when a large package arrived! Mom was her usual excited self explaining to me how I would LOVE this new product as it was connected with swimming!

Out came a doggie LIFE JACKET made by Paws Aboard! Now I love to swim as you all know, but I'm a darn good swimmer, I don't need any help thank you very much! But Mom said she wanted me to model it for her and she relentlessly pursued me until she had me cornered in the kitchen! Here dear friends, is the sorry result:

I stood dead still and would not move until she took the floatation device off! I have to admit, it fit very snug and has a very pretty pattern, and very secure velcro and buckle closings - no doubt an excellent product for poor doggie swimmers...but I prefer to swim in my birthday suit!

AGC

Oh, Life is Swell!

2008-07-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Been battling to get to the computer...sorry...just been really busy! Take yesterday for example. In the morning, I went to Doggy Day Care - how I love going there and playing for hours with my friends. The place is called The Urban Dog:

Yesterday when Dad came to pick me up, I was running about with my pals:

Can you spot me?
Then later in the day, we went to Dad's parent's house for dinner. I got to hang out with the newest addition to our family, baby Devon. I let her pull my beard and grab my fur 'cos she is just a mini-human, and anyway, she is a messy eater. I was on hand to catch anything that she dropped on the floor.
We all hung out and had a delish dinner - corn and London Broil on the barbaque. Yummy. That's Dad with his sisters and nieces:
And here I am, on Dad's lap sniffing the table, which was sadly, devoid of food at the time:
Then this morning, at 7:30am, there was a knock at the door, and WOOHOO, it was Aunty Lynne to come and get me for our weekly 6 mile hike/swim/run! I jumped into her car and off we went. Three hours later, Mom and Dad picked me up from her house, and now I'm heading for a big snooze.

But before I do, I want to thank Jackson from the UK for sending me a most delicious package in the mail. When Mom was in London, she mailed him a SNAX, so he reciprocated with SNACKS. Beautiful baked goods - some even had my name on it! Thank you Jackson, I am still enjoying these a week later as Mother is rationing them....

Speaking of Jackson, we also have to thank him for introducing the Dog Brick toy to us. Mom reviewed it on Swanky Pup this past week. Happy to report that some doggy product samples are on their way to us for review including a doggy life jacket and some toys! Woohoo, no silly clothes! Well, does a life jacket qualify? I mean where the heck is mom going to test that out? The pond? Stay tuned people...

AGC

Hurrah!

2008-07-02T20:05:00.001-07:00

I am thrilled to announce that Mom now has her own blog - finally (hopefully) she will leave me alone and stop trying to hijack my blog!

Mom will be a senior writer on the very hip dog blog called The Swanky Pup. She will be testing and reviewing various dog products along with a team of other writers. Of course, I am psyched because I get to be the beneficiary of the products she gets to review.

Oh wait a minute...what if I have to try on silly designer dog clothes? Or silly bow-ties? Oh geez, remind me to tell Mom to only solicit treats and toys to review!!!

Please support Mom's new gig - it is a very cool site even if I say so myself. I like the design and the founders are cool women who do a lot for dog rescue and adoption. And as an extra incentive - of course I will be featured frequently!

Oh, Mom says to tell you...if you have any products you love that you think should be featured, please email her!

AGC

Summer Loving

2008-06-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Sorry I've been rather lazy about updating my blog. Unlike wintertime, I have better things to do than to sit at my computer when the weather is balmy outside. I've been having a glorious time!

Aunty Lynne has been taking me on many combo hikes and swims in the woods. Sorry no photos, but they are coming soon, as Aunty did take photos this weekend on her new digital camera and she promised to let me have some for the blog. We do six miles at a time, and I love every minute of it!

Mom and Dad try their best but they are lazy! On Friday Mom took me to Fairmount Park near our house where there is a small pond. I met a new Rottie Mix friend who's name I forget, and we had a swell time running and jumping in the pond. Actually Rottie pal doesn't like to swim, go figure! Here are some pictures of the good times spent...don't I look like a skinny guy? I think the hiking with Aunty has caused me to lose a few pounds!

Summer in our house also means great snacks! The ice cream man drives around every evening and Mom and Dad usually share a soft serve ice cream with me. And every night more or less, we braai - that is the South African word for barbeque (its pronounced BR-eye) - hotdogs, burgers, steak, fish and of course, buttery corn. I love corn but I'll be damned, the stuff goes out in my poo in the same form it went in...have any of you noticed that?

Not much else to report, it's lovely outside today - around 80F and due to rain soon. I have been thinking of my pals Butchy and Snickers in Iowa a lot, I hope everyone affected by the horrid floods are doing okay. I'm going to say good bye for now and go back to sitting on our front steps with Dad as I was doing before I came in to blog...

You may notice I have black stripes on my head - after my walk with aunty yesterday I was so tired and hot, I crawled under her car and result? Greasy head! Heh heh. You will also notice that Dad shaved off his goatee and mustache (and chimes in Mom from the passage, needs a haircut, "he looks like Crusty the Clown!"). Mom didn't notice at first, and then when she did, she decried its removal and demanded its return. Dad is contemplating...he, poor deluded soul, thinks no beard means he looks younger! That theory doesn't fly with me, I have a beard and I still look like a young, dapper Wire! I kinda like that we looked like father and son...I too hope he grows it back!

AGC

The Return of Mr. Handsome

2008-06-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Mom came back from London on Sunday. I ignored her for a while eventhough I was thrilled to see her. Humans need to understand that they can't just up and leave us for vacation and not expect us to be miffed!

On Wednesday, Mom dropped me off at Pooches Choice for my haircut. Seven hours later, Mom picked me up and she went into raptures about how magnificent I looked! That's me on the couch taken a few days later. Don't I look handsome? I should for $96!

This morning auntie Lynne picked me up and took me on a 6 mile hike. We had a blast though it is a heatwave here (95F) and I had many swims and dips in water. Auntie was very impressed with my swimming. Afterwards, Mom came to pick me up from Auntie's apartment where I hung out with Auntie's kitty Lucas. Here is a picture of me and Mom taken at Auntie Lynne's place...

Mom, you need a tan woman!

Tomorrow is the annual bike race in Philadelphia and my pal Finn is coming up from Maryland with his parents. I can't wait to see him again!

AGC

Appeal From Mother

2008-05-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

I, Axel G Chocholoza, 3 years, 33lbs - am generously and without malice turning my blog over to my Mom tonight as she has a special appeal. Never mind that she is abandoning me for a week....grrrrrrrrrr.

Hi Everyone!
Dani here. Thank you Axel for allowing me a few lines on your precious blog. Now go away and stop breathing down my toes...

So, today I spontaneously decided to fly to London on Sunday as my Mom, aunt, uncle and cousins are there for a week and after seeing photos of all of them together, decided to join them! I am very excited.
My appeal tonight goes out to any wire reader living in London! Whenever I travel, I always like to visit a wire - so if any of you are out there and don't live too far from Stanmore - please email me at editordan2002 at yahoo. I always get wire withdrawl when I travel, so I would love to meet a British wire!

Thanks, and now back to Axel.

I am too pissed off that you are leaving me for a week. I have nothing to say.

AGC

Dragon Slayer Extraordinaire

2008-05-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

Not 24 hours after my birthday, did I, Axel G Chocholoza, slay my parental birthday gift, the mighty purple dragon with scaly back and scary unfurling tail and tongue! I was very pleased with myself as you can see! Note the huge hole in the dragon's side! And also notice, that even though a toy is NOT a bone, nor messy, I know to eat/kill anything ON A TOWEL! Mom is very impressed that I figured that out myself!

The party continued today folks, with a box arriving from Switzerland! It came from one of my favorite Airedales Faya, who is very clever indeed as she blogs in both English and French! We love reading her blog because not only is it fascinating to learn about life in a neutral country, but we also learn some French! Faya sent me a wonderful postcard with her face on it, a bag of beef rawhide bones, a cute bandana with cows on it, a bouncy purple ball and this wonderful, colourful toy that has a ball on a rope that you can hide in an attached pouch! It's all terribly exciting!
[By the way, Mom insisted I photoshop her out of these photos, she was muttering something about "God I have a hideous nose!" - not wanting to hear her drone on, I just did as I was told!]

I played with the Hide-A-Ball for some time, and then insisted on a bone. I promptly ran upstairs and hid it behind Dad's pillow to retrieve later. My theory has always been that a bone that is hidden for a while always tastes far better post hiding! Sort of like a marinade! Thank you dear Faya - you are a very kind and generous friend!

Unfortunately, my wish for Mom's event did not come true. It poured and poured buckets of rain for 4 of the 5 hours of the event. Poor Mom came home looking like a very tired, irate, soggy fishfinger! She seemed to take out some of her angst on me and Dad. Geez Mom, you didn't really expect us to attend your event in the pouring rain, did you? We support you wholeheartedly but we aren't bonkers! We had a glorious day indoors, on the couch, watching TV!

AGC

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY TO ME

2008-05-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today, May 17th, is my third birthday! Hurrah for me, and thank you to all of you who emailed or left me messages. Thanks Faya for mailing me a gift, I love late birthday gifts, it makes the celebration last longer!

Well, I've come a long way - I sure was cute at 3 months old, the day Mom and Dad took me home. Just look at me at left - even though I've changed a lot and become a substantial chap, I think you can still see its me. My coloring was slightly different and my tail was straight...hmm, never did figure out what happened to my tail....

Anyway, I've had a fantastic birthday - been spoilt rotten. I've had three long walks - 2 with Dad, one with Mom; 2 car rides - ok, it was only to the Toyota dealer to get Dad's car inspected...but I still hung my head out the window and barked at everyone to inform them it was my birthday! I have also been showered with snacks and love and many gifts!

First up, Mom and Dad gave me a squeaky, scary looking dragon whose tongue and tail unfurl when you squeeze it; a pack of fresh beef bones (unfortunately they won't give me one today cos I've exhausted my snack quota); a pack of "decadent" Dingoes (they are new and have cheese on one end!) and a pack of not-so-decadent 100 calorie peanut butter dog snacks. They are putrid. Sorry Mom. Good try.

Then the mailman arrived and TWO packages were for me!! One was from my beloved Miss Amelia in Washington State...she sent me two stuffy/squeak toys and a bag of six big dingoes! A girl after my own heart!

The other package was from Amelia's brother, Bigfoot Fletch and his sister Maxie who live in California. They sent me a hilarious Loofa surfer toy with red hair like Mom, and a bag of these little but very yummy treats. Mom loved them (no she didn't eat them!) because they are so little and being the snack fiend that I am...she is glad to have little snacks so I don't become too substantial, if you know what I mean...

I was napping when Mom produced Fletch's gift, so forgive me for looking so blase in the first photo....

So as you can tell...SPOILT!

Around midday, Mom took me on my birthday walk to what we like to call, The Enchanted Forest. Only readers in the UK will understand the reference to Mom's favorite author as a child, the now contravercial Enid Blyton. She wrote about enchanted forests, magic wishing chairs, faeries, wolves and all sorts of stuff. Mom read all her books...

But we digress...the forest is not really a forest, it's just a lovely area of our park that is covered in trees and stuff.

I love to sniff the grass and ground in these parts ...at some point I went tearing into the undergrowth after a scent...and ended up having a good old birthday roll in something stinky. Mom just sighed and said, "Ok Axie Pax, it's your birthday, you can roll in poop if you must!" So I did, and came out stinky with a black neck. What fun!

Upon exiting the forest, I ran into a sheltie...she was sweet, but frankly at my age, I'm pretty aloof and disinterested in most dogs...I mean there are just so many butts you can sniff before it all becomes dreadfully tedious!

So as you can see everyone, splendid birthday! Thanks Mom and Dad, thanks Grandma and Grandpa in South Africa for the lovely birthday email. Seems Dad's parents forgot. Ahem!!!

As its my birthday, can I ask you to pray for two wishes please?

1. No rain on Mom's parade and festival tomorrow please! (Besides, I also plan to attend with Dad)
2. Full recovery for Auntie Lynne's cat Lucas who has heart issues and diabetes. I wrote to my pal Joe the Cat for advice as to how to make a sick cat eat...and got a heartwarming and very informative response. Read it here. Besides Blanche the Bitchy Cat next door, I really do like cats (and proud to say it in public!)

Sorry, one more...

3. No more itchies. Two plus weeks post cortisone shot and I am still feeling great, no return of the itchies, and as you can see, I am in pollen areas with lots of grass! I am sooo happy. Hope it lasts and lasts!

Love you all. Thanks for making my day and life so special!

AGC

Mother's Day Pillow Dance

2008-05-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Today is Mother's Day.

So in honor of my dear, wee Mom, I did a special extended Pillow Dance this morning while she was waking up. I am not quite sure she realized the dance was in honor of her being a super Mom or not - actually, she got a tad irritated. I'm not sure why, I can't think of a nicer way to wake up than with a vibrating bed and a wire fox terrier panting in your ear.

Go figure.

Hope all the Mom's are having a swell day!

AGC

PS Mom says I need to act my age now that I am almost 3. I will be three on May 17. Hint hint. All gifts in the form of edible snacks are welcome :-)

IT IS OFFICIAL: NO DOGS FOR LAPORTE!

2008-05-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

I dedicate this blog post to the Honorable Judge Sirois who today rendered final judgement against Marc-Andre Laporte, convicted animal abuser of 97 dogs, mostly wire fox terriers.

I had wanted our friend and Laporte survivor Bingo to give us his report - but he is out celebrating and I was too impatient to share the good news!

Judge Sirois sentenced Laporte to 200 hours of community service (the maximum by law is 240), plus a fine of $2000. He will serve THREE years of probation during which he is NOT ALLOWED to own a dog. The best news is that the so-called Red Collar Dogs (the 18 wires Laporte still owned and wanted returned so he could breed them again) are safe. The Judge severed Laporte's ownership rights and said he would send him to jail if he contacted any of the foster families. To see the video in English that reports on the case's outcome - click to:
http://montreal.ctv.ca/cfcf/video_popup?news_id=21840

There you will see my friend Bingo (I'm almost sure that is him in the black coat - also pictured top left) and I think there is a glimpse of Honeybee too. And our dear friend and savior, Elizabeth Pierce is interviewed too.

Oh Happy Happy Days my friends! Though we would have liked to see Laporte banned from dog ownership for life or sentenced to hard jail time or the electric chair - the Judge handed down the most severe sentence he was able according to the Montreal law. It is indeed more than we could have ever hoped for.

Thank you to everyone for signing the petition and supporting out cause against Laporte. It's been a 3-year struggle, but we were victorious in the end, for the just always triumph my friends, and evil gets what it deserves.

AGC

Substantial Wires Club

2008-05-04T15:24:00.001-07:00

I am proud to announce that I have been accepted as a member of the Substantial Wires Club started by founding member Jackson from the UK. To be a member of this coveted club, you have to be over 26.5lbs. I am 32lbs and 19" tall at the shoulder. I do not believe I am overweight, I am just, well, substantial! I am proud to be a big guy, and have a heart to equal my stature!

Good news to report. My itchies have vanished! POOF! One day I was red, hot to the touch, and itching like crazy, and the next day, one shot of cortisone later, I am cured. Please God we hope it lasts as cortisone is not very good for me! I am so much happier you wouldn't believe. The weather is warm again after a few cooler days - and our street is littered with pink blossoms all over the pavement and street - it is messier than snow, but thankfully it isn't slippery. Can you see the pink carpet in the photo at right? It looks really pretty at a distance, but up close it is kind of smelly and the petals get into everything - car, house and oh yeah, paws!

The best thing about spring is the arrival of Mr. Softie The Ice Cream Man. Everytime I hear the musical van, I rush to the door and start to bark to alert dad to his arrival. Dad loves ice-cream almost as much as I do! If he is putering in his basement, he can't hear Mr Softie, so I go crazy to tell him to hurry up, grab his $1.25 and get the hell outside to buy an ice cream. Then from the moment Dad steps in the door holding his cone, I pester him until I get some. Dad, unlike Mom, is not a sucker for my cute behaviour, he ignores me and always leaves me the very last bite of his cone. I tell you, waiting for him to eat the whole thing is pure torture!! Below you can see me pestering Dad in stages - first I sit next to him and tap him with my paw. Then I jump up behind him and breathe in his ear, and finally I jump in front of him and bounce up and down until I get my way!!

A reminder that Tuesday is the final hearing in the Laporte case - let's hope the judge has done all his work and will deliver justice for the wirey survivors of Blainville House of Horrors. Another report will be in from Bingo as soon as the verdict is delivered...so watch this space...

AGC

Not-so-dreaded Vet Visit

2008-04-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

I know this is difficult to believe, but I was actually happy when Mom told me she was taking me to the vet this morning. I was that uncomfortable. My itchies were driving me bonkers.

So off we went on the 15 mile drive to Boulevard Animal Hospital in the Far NorthEast of Philadelphia. I was quite calm when I walked in, greeted the two German Shephards, beautiful Akita, Puggle and trio of kitties. I patiently waited my turn and then I saw Dr. Brett. He announced the obvious, that my skin was very inflamed and infected, and Mom and Dr. Brett decided I needed a cortisone shot and anti-biotics. I agreed!

The only part of the visit I did not enjoy was the thermometer up my behind! Oh, and when blood was drawn for a worm test. But at least I left the practice knowing that in a few hours, I would feel much better. And it is now almost 12 hours later, and indeed, I am itching less. I happily went on my evening walk and even played with my friends. For the past few days I wasn't up to that.

Thank you for all the well wishes left in the comments. Mom did look into homeopathic solutions but the homeopathic vet told Mom itchies was one of the most difficult afflictions to treat and it would be a very slow process. Seeing how miserable I was, Mom knew we could not afford to be patient. Maybe in the fall, when typically my itchies desist, we will explore that again.

Oh and Jackson, Gus and Mackie - you had better sign me up for the Big Wires Club -- Mom nearly passed out when she saw that I now weigh....32lbs (14.5kg)! Dr Brett, bless him, didn't seem very concerned. He said I should maybe lose about 2lbs as I am a big guy by design. He did remind mom though that the cortisone would make me ravenous...not the best time to put me on a diet Mom!

AGC

PS Mom has meant to tell you all the good news that her eye is almost back to normal - the retinal bleed has cleared up pretty well. We are all very relieved indeed!

Itchy and Miserable

2008-04-27T16:41:00.001-07:00

It is only April, yet my seasonal allergies have struck with a horrible vengeance. I am uncomfortable in my own skin, I itch all over and my skin is hot to the touch. I just have to scratch and bite myself all the time. I'm driving Mom and Dad crazy because I am hurting myself and they don't know how to stop me. They keep giving me pills hidden (not very subtley) in cheese - but Benedryl and fish oil don't really help me.

Mom put one of her tshirts on me in the hope it would stop me hurting myself when I scratch - I look pregnant - honestly, I am not THAT fat!

As you can see (right), I am doing harm to myself - this wound is one of a handful -- Mom rubs Resicort lotion into the wounds or hot spot spray, and it makes me yelp as it stings. But it does help soothe eventually.

I haven't felt like doing much except chomp on myself...I didn't even want to go for a walk this morning...I am miserable. What can I do to stop this itch...I can't exactly stay inside all Summer!

Mom is taking me to the vet on Tuesday and I guess I'll get more powerful pills (Temaril P?) or a cortisone shot and probably antibiotics cos I've probably caused infection on myself. I never thought I'd say this...but I can't wait to go to the vet to get some relief.

In the meantime, Mom and Dad are doing their best to distract me from eating myself alive - I had a kong with peanut butter this morning, and tonight Mom gave me little pieces of london broil - when she sees me attaching myself, out come the snacks. I guess you could say that is the only silver-lining in this abyssmal situation.

Itch itch,

AGC

Bringing Cheer to Wiry Couple Stuck in Philly

2008-04-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

A month ago, Mom heard via the wire fox terrier Yahoo email list, that a couple from a small town called Center in Texas were literally "trapped" in Philadelphia. Larry and Lisa had come all the way from Texas to visit their son at Fort Dix army base in nearby New Jersey - actually to meet their new grandson. During what was supposed to be a 5-day visit, Larry got very ill and had to be transferred to Jefferson Hospital in Philly. There he underwent serious back/neck surgery. That was weeks ago - Larry is now slowly recovering at a first class rehab hospital also in Philadelphia. (As mom reminds Lisa, if you had to get stuck anywhere - Philly is a first class city for medical care!)

Larry and Lisa breed wires and are members of the Lone Star Fox Terrier Club - their kennel is called Aerostar and they have had a few champion wires like their little gal Wyrelee Miss Money Penny. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for them to be stuck in Philly, so far away from home, their family and all their animals (wires, cats, horses, goats, chickens etc). When Mom heard their plight she was very moved and made contact and visited them 10 days ago. Mom thinks about them a lot and is full of admiration for Lisa having to cope with living in a big city for the first time, for being on hand to support her husband 24/7, having to stay in hotels alone etc etc. So whatever little thing Mom can do for them, she so wants to do!

So last week, she faxed all my vet records to the hospital, and today Mom, Dad and me, went to visit Larry and Lisa in the hospital. I felt it my wiry duty and honor to bring some cheer to them. I hope I did - as you know, I'm a bit of an aloof fellow...but I did my best and I think, accomplished my mission. The photo on the top left is of Mom, Me, Lisa and Larry. Notice that Lisa is holding the Fox Terrier Network newsletter - Mom gave it to her cos that edition was full of funny foxie photos she know they would enjoy!

I'm thinking I might become a therapy dog because I see how rewarding it can be...I just have to learn to be a bit more friendly I guess. Yesterday I did a good deed too visiting Dad's 95 year old Grandad in his Old Age Home. So I am becoming quite a pro.

It looks like Larry will need treatment for another month or so. Please join me in wishing Larry a complete and fast recovery so that he and Lisa can finally return home to Center, Texas and resume their happy, healthy lives.

AGC

Matzah anyone?

2008-04-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Mom and I are still quite tired from doing our happy dances at the news that little Precious, the Bolting Wire, was found safe and stinky after her 3 day absence. Sounds like her Mom Michelle was drained too, as it took her over a day to report on how Mizz Precious came to be found. Michelle finally explained that a man saw Precious's photo in the local paper and called in his sighting. Then, Precious's Dad rounded up some friends and they went to search that area: "About an hour into the search with the help of binoculars he spotted her in a field behind a factory. He said she ran to him as he ran to her. He then called me at work and said MICHELLE I HAVE OUR LITTLE GIRL IN MY ARMS. At that point I think everyone in the factory could hear me hoot and holler that WE FOUND OUR DOG." That is Precious, top left, relaxing after a trip to the vet to make sure she was A-OK. PHEW!!! Don't scare us again Precious, please!

As some of you may know, Saturday is the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Mom tried to explain what it was about...something about the Jews being slaves in Egypt and escaping into the dessert for quite a time. They didn't have time to prepare meals, so they left with unleaven bread and due to these poor time management skills, Jews forever after are forced to eat a cardboard-like substance called Matzah. Mom says it has interesting effects on poopies.

Before the festival begins (it lasts 8 days), you have to clear your house of all "chametz" - these are foods that contain yeast, but lately, again says Mom, rabbis have taken this to ridiculous lengths by banning everything and anything that does not get their seal of Kosher for Passover approval. In some super religious homes, even the dog food has to be Kosher for Passover because humans can't be anywhere near Chametz. Mom grew up in a Kosher home, and grandma there still cleans and changes all her cutlery and crockery to passover wares. Mom sort of ignores all this craziness - her token act to ready for Passover has been to buy a single box of matzah. She is still debating whether or not she will desist from eating bread for 8 days...I enjoy toast and pizza...so I know which way I'm leaning!!

I leave you today with a recent photo of me and my dear pal Elvis. Here we are, hanging out on my couch.

AGC

Where is Precious?

2008-04-13T17:52:00.001-07:00

THIS HAPPY NEWS JUST IN (4/15 - 8:20pm):
PRECIOUS WAS FOUND (STINKY AND DIRTY, A MILE FROM HOME) AND IS HAPPILY HOME IN THE ARMS OF HER ADORING PARENTS MICHELLE AND TOM. ALL OUR PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED.

Please help us find Precious, a beloved wire foxie bitch who bolted from her Daddy in the town of Lincoln, Illinois.

Precious is a 9 year old wire fox terrier. She was rescued 5 years ago from a puppymill, and is still very timid and fearful. She is very loved by her family who are heartbroken and worried sick about her. She bolted before her Dad could put her collar or leash on. She was last seen about a fourth of mile from the intersection of Rt. 10 and interstate 55. Precious weighs 21-22 lbs.

Please email Michelle or Tom at wagner4929@insightbb.com or call 217-732-6734 or 217-638-6734 if you've seen her.

Precious, PLEASE go home!

AGC

LIVE Laporte Hearing Update

2008-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Two days ago, on April 8, Marc Andre Laporte, convicted abuser of over 100 wire fox terriers, had his day in court. I turn my blog over to Bingo, survivor of Laporte's House of Horrors, who attended the hearing, and renders this report:

Greetings from Quebec - my name is Bingo Mayer, and I am coming to you LIVE from the courthouse in Saint Jerome, where my former owner and abuser, Mr. Laporte, today faced Judge Sirois. Today the learned Judge, stated on several occasions, that he WILL NOT under any circumstances remit any of the remaining Fox Terriers that survived the kennel of M. A. Laporte. This INCLUDES any of the “red collar” dogs that were picked out from the bunch by Mr. Laporte back in November 2005 at the time of his arrest to be returned to him for breeding purposes. The judge expressed his disappointment that Mr. Laporte has not recanted his claim to those dogs.

The prosecution today requested a fine, 4 or 5 years probation during which time he would not be allowed to keep ANY animals, community service, and a substantial donation. At least that is what I understood. [Of course, if a Wire like me was sitting in judgement, we would sentence him to life in prison, to a cell with no toilet and little food and water. We believe he deserves to be treated as we were treated by him!]

However, friends, remember the judge MUST sentence according to CANADIAN LAW…(not moral law). Canadian law states that animals are considered PROPERTY - therefore, the defense requested that Mr. Laporte have his “property” returned to him AFTER he has served his time. The prosecution, in turn stated that, since the “property” that was confiscated by police was used in the commission of a crime (animal cruelty, of which Mr. Laporte has been found guilty), then he is not entitled to that property, any more than a convicted felon would not be entitled to reclaim his or her cocaine or gun confiscated from a crime scene.

The final outcome was that the judge wishes to investigate the jurisprudence on this point of law before making his final decision on May 6 so that it CANNOT BE OVERTURNED on appeal. All things considered, the outcome was positive, given Canada ’s antiquated laws (dating back to 1892).

This is Bingo Mayer, signing off and reminding you all to be good to yourselves, and to be good to your animals. I was unlucky to endure time with Mr. Laporte, but I now live very happily in a loving and wonderful family. I am truly blessed. Goodbye.

Thank you Bingo for that illuminating report. We will check in with you again on May 6, when we hope Judge Sirois will have found some legal precedent for making sure Laporte cannot reclaim the red collar dogs EVER.

AGC

What the heck is that?

2008-04-06T12:50:00.001-07:00

Mom asked me to thank you all for your warm wishes of sympathy on the sad occasion of Aunty Jo's death. Mom is still sad, but the whole thing is still so unreal as she couldn't go to the funeral or be with her family in South Africa during the shiva. She told me that maybe it will hit her when she goes home in October and Aunty Jo is not at the airport to welcome her. Aunty Jo was ALWAYS at the airport to meet every family member whether in transit or visiting for a while.

If Jo's sudden loss wasn't traumatic enough for Mom, 4 days later, her vision went haywire (heh heh, good word...hay + wire) in her left eye! She saw colors and flashes, and she said I looked I was ringed in silver lights when she looked at me. After seeing many doctors, they told her she had had a retina bleed but as yet, they cannot find the cause. Since the bleed, Mom's vision in her left eye is somewhat blurred.

When all this happened, I got scared too, as I thought I might be forcibly enrolled in "Seeing Eye Dog School" so that I could help Mom navigate the world. I have the utmost respect for those seeing eye dogs - but let's be honest, Wires are not very well suited to this work. I would likely lead Mom, accidently of course, into a tree!

Anyway, thank God Mom can see well enough to drive and work and walk me about - the doctors hope it will heal in time, but they aren't sure what the future holds. Mom could use your prayers please.

Last week we visited Dad's parents. I have to admit, I never noticed a big glass box in their living room before. I was just minding my own business, sitting on top of the couch, when I heard a shuffling sound to my left!! I immediately jumped up and looked into the glass box....and there my friends, was the oddest looking creature I've ever seen. So odd in fact, that I let loose a high pitched barking fit so as to warn everyone in the neighborhood, that we'd been invaded by a scaly looking 4-legged creature with something akin to a hard pigs ear on his back which he kept on ducking into!

I ran to Dad and he explained that the creature was known as a turtle, her name is Mister Turtle (yeah, don't ask me to explain that...) and she was rescued from the side of a road when Dad was just a wee boy. So she is about 25 years old and lives in that box under a light and mostly eats worms and salad. Yuch!

Mr. Turtle was quite fascinating to watch creeping about, but after a while everyone tired of my barking and carrying on and they forcibly evicted me from the couch!

AGC

A Very Sad Day

2008-03-22T19:15:00.001-07:00

Mom received very sad news this morning from South Africa. Her beloved Aunty Jo passed away suddenly after undergoing surgery on Wednesday. Aunty Jo is my Granny's younger sister, she was only 66. Granny is the oldest of three sisters and they are all very very close. Mom spent a lot of her day crying and thinking about the wonderful memories she has of her special Aunt. Mostly she missed being at home with her parents and family so she could share in the grieving process. It is very hard to be so far away on dreadful days like today.

I did what I could to comfort Mom. Whereever she sat, I sat next to her or on her lap. I knew something was wrong. I kept watch all day and barely barked 'cos I sensed it wasn't the right thing to do. Dad called me a sensitive fellow, Mom agreed and told me that she was grateful for my love. She also told me stories about Aunty Jo. I did have the honor of meeting this fine woman when she shlepped to Mom and Dad's wedding almost 2 years ago. That picture was taken after the wedding when the family went to NY for the day. That is granny (left), Jo (right), 3rd sister Flo is in the back behind the bald guy at right (Uncle Dave, Flo's hubby) and cousin Neil (Flo's son). Looking back, Mom sure is glad she got to do NY with her beloved family.

Mom told me that Aunty Jo was the most giving, kind person ever. She never forgot a birthday or anniversary, she was always there for her friends and family and just gave, gave, gave all the time. This made me remember that she gave me a gift when she met me, so I guess this is all true. Mom told me that Aunty Jo was so creative - she wrote poems and songs, and when she had family over for dinner, she spent hours making special nicknacks to decorate the tables - flowers out of special paper and pipe cleaners for example. [That picture at right is of one of her table settings last September. The photo is lousy, but you can get an idea of her talents - Mom got teary looking at the fried sole on the plates...nothing quite like Aunty Jo's fried fish.]

She was also full of fun - loved to tell jokes, and always joked about putting off the housework, especially defrosting the freezer. Mom and Aunty Jo kept in touch often via email and in their last email Monday, looked forward to being in touch when she got home from the hospital. But it wasn't to be...

Rest in peace darling Aunty Jo. You will forever be remembered and missed.

AGC and My Sad Mommy

Transformation

2008-03-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,
Sorry I've been away from my blog awhile - guess I've been hibernating in the cold weather.
This morning, I woke up and Mom took my picture. She said Ax, this is the "before" photo. I didn't know what she was talking about:

Then she invited me to go for a ride in the car - I love the car - so I jumped right in. It was pouring rain so I was hoping we were going to doggy day care. But alas, we pulled up at Pooches Choice - the place I go sometimes to get groomed! I was bummed out!

I spent almost 7 hours there, and at the end of it all - I was exhausted. I curled up on the couch and Mom took my photo again. Ax, she said, this is the "after" photo. Now I understood what she was talking about:

Boy, I look like a different species! $101 later...and I look slimmer and more like a wire fox than a sheep. Hee hee.

AGC

Fave Auntie

2008-02-24T16:12:00.001-08:00

This morning at 7am the phone rang twice and stopped. I woke up and listened and knew immediately that it was the signal from my favorite auntie Lynne that she was leaving her house to come and get me and take me for a magical hike! That's Auntie Lynne pictured here - she is always so much fun. We went for a nice long walk with some other friends in what was left of the snow, and then came home to Mom and Dad for breakfast. Every Sunday after our walk, Mom makes us all breakfast. I got a fried egg - yummy. But it gave me the poos later. But it was worth it I suppose, all that yellow runny stuff...

After the hike I was tired and yawned

and had a lovely long nap.

AGC

Stymied...for now

2008-02-23T12:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was supposed to be Laporte's hearing and sentencing, but the defense lawyer asked for a postponement and got it! We are all very disappointed as we were so ready to champion our cause. Our friends in Montreal were armed with binders of our petitions and CDs that Mom, Christine and Elizabeth worked so hard to compile; the media were all coming and many others including foster parents; people who helped in the rescue of the wires and even my pal Bingo!

But, I Axel G Chocholoza am the eternal optimist. This setback is not going to make me depressed. Instead, I see this as an opportunity to add to our petition binder print outs and get many more signatures! We are now at 13,766 - I am sure we can get to 20,000 by the next hearing date scheduled for April 8. And I am very proud to tell you, we have signatures from 64 different countries, WOW!

Besides, word on the ground in Montreal is that the press are still interested in the story and were very impressed with our petition. They interviewed Elizabeth and Bingo - I hope to get that link on the blog soon so we can all watch it.

Mr Laporte, enjoy your freedom for 2 more months, you will get your just desserts yet!

In local news, we got 3.2" snow yesterday. I've been having lots of fun hopping about. Photos soon, me promises.

AGC

Snax for everyone!

2008-02-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Many of you have written and asked where you can buy your own Snax toys - those fun, round, squeaky rubber toys from Petco - you can see me at right with my Snax collection. Some of you went to Petco and asked for Snax - that made us laugh a lot around here cos Snax is our pet name for the product, not the official one! Some of you tried describing them to the salespeople, but could not find them. They are also NOT on the Petco website.

So, Mom wrote to Petco for more information - and we are happy to say we got a great note back (Mom sent a link to my blog photos of me and Snax - and note that he said I was "a beautiful dog!" ). The Petco rep even referred to them as Snax too - I thought that was lovely. Here is the letter:

Dear Daniella,
Thank you for contacting PETCO. I am excited to hear that Axel has enjoyed having Snax around. Axel is a beautiful dog.
The product you described is the 2 inch Puppy Sweetie Latex dog toy SKU 938424. Regrettably, this product is not available on PETCO.com but can be found in various PETCO stores. I have notified our E-Commerce and Merchandising teams of your suggestion to have this product available online. I would advise your readers to contact their local PETCO store and provide the SKU 938424. They will be ble to verify if the physical product is available in their location.
For assistance with finding store locations, please visit www.petco.com/storelocator
Thank you for your continued patronage. We greatly appreciate your kind comments and we will continue to serve you as best we can.
Sincerely,
Manny B.Customer Relations Floor Supervisor

Mom was impressed with Manny B's lovely note and appreciation for my good looks. So go out and find your Snax people - just take the SKU number along. Let me know if you enjoy them as much as I do!

And in other breaking news: Our petition JUMPED up another 500+ signatures. Mom can't believe it and nor can Dean-O's mom - many jigs continue...

AGC

WE DID IT!!!!

2008-02-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

I was fast asleep on the couch when I heard mom SCREAM. I got a big ugly fright. Then I saw mom grinning from ear to ear. A smile wider than any I'd ever seen before lit up her narrow face.

"Axie Pax, We did it!!" she yelled.

The crazy woman tried to lift me in her arms (fat chance mom!) and do a jig, gave up and did a private jig by herself around the coffee table.

"We exceeded our goal of 10,000 signatures Axie Pax, can you believe that??!! 10,000 people said No More Dogs for Marc Andre Laporte!"

Then I understood her joy. I felt this feeling of intense joy creep from the tip of my tail all the way to my little black nose. It was a wonderful feeling folks! I thought of Bingo and of Honeybee and all the survivors of Laporte's hell, and of all the wonderful people who cared for those wounded dogs and all the special people who answered our call to sign the petition, and of our relentless partner in this campaign Christine and Dean-O in Montreal. And it was a very special moment indeed.

We will be printing out the petition and our dear friend Elizabeth will be presenting it to Judge Sirois at Laporte's hearing on February 22.

Stay tuned...we will of course update you as to the outcome.

A great big thank you to everyone out there who helped us attain this awesome accomplishment.

AGC and one happy Mom

What I've been up to...

2008-02-03T16:50:00.000-08:00

Yeah yeah I know. I've been on blogging sabbatical. Sorry fans. Mom has been hogging the computer building websites and working a lot. I've been busy myself:

First, I've been busy playing with my favorite toys - we call them Snax and Little Snax. You remember Balloon Man, right? He is now renamed Snax and you can now get Little Snaxes at Petco. I love them. Ok, I'm obsessed! I can't get enough of them. I now have one Snax and 4 Little Snax. I love them all. I take a Little Snax with me on my walk practically ever day. Mom pockets them if we are around big dogs cos she is afraid they'll swallow them. They squeak until I kill them, but even without their squeak they are such fun to play with and I amuse myself for hours throwing them up in the air!

When I get tired of Snax and Little Snax, I wrestle with Ike, my stuffed Wire Fox. Mom puts him on her lap and pretends to cuddle him. This gets me very riled up and jealous so I attack Ike and shake him about. Then we throw him all over the house and I retrieve him. Poor Ike is now blind, I took out his eyes and there is not much left of his nose. Oh, and he's missing some stuffing too.

Which brings me to Duck. Duck was a challenge. He was a gift from Miss Amelia for Hanukkah. He made (notice past tense friends) this amazing honking noise. I tried for weeks to kill him, but he would not die. However, after days and nights of persistence I got that bugger. Duck is now honkless and missing most of his body fat too. Heh heh!

Now that its cold, I have not been groomed for a while. My coat is thick and rather shabby, but it keeps me nice and toasty. Mom doesn't have much body fur, so she relies on hot baths ever night to warm her up. I always accompany her into the bathroom as I'm sure she gets bored lying there sighing or reading her book. I like to hop about and put my front paws up on the bathtub rim. The bath is a clawfoot tub and rather high, so its not easy for me to jump in. Which I do so like to do. But at least once a week, I succeed and SPLASH, Watch out Mom...you got company!!! At which point, Mom jumps out just as fast as I jump in. She's no fun. I then take to drinking all the warm bath water and wading about... When I finally jump out, I always run like the dickens down the stairs and out the back door for a very long pee-pee!

So as you can tell, I have not been just sitting about doing nothing (or watching 14 episodes of Dexter in a row MOTHER!) while you were all left to wonder why I haven't blogged!

AGC

P.S. Snax also make neat hats!

Meet My New Cousins...

2008-01-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

Mommy's brother B who lives in South Africa has acquired some furkids. Unfortunately for me, they are not doggies but kitties. Also unfortunately, I am not very likely to ever meet them as I can't imagine flying 24 hours on a plane to South Africa. In any event, I wanted to introduce my new cousins on my blog as they are very cute, even if they are cats! They are Bengal cats, when they are babies they are referred to as cubs and not kittens cos they are descendants of some wild cat, maybe a leopard as their coats are similar. Tosca the girl and Jupiter the boy are bro and sis. Their ears look a lot like Foxie ears don't you think? Heh heh.

Mommy got an email about a missing Smooth girl in Oklahoma. Her name is Foxy and she is 6 years old. She has been missing for a week. Her mommy is very upset of course, so I said I would help to publicize the story in the hope that someone in OK will find her and call her Mommy - night or day at (405) 826-2012 or (713) 562-5968. She looks like a very spunky gal - in the picture she is standing on a billiards table!!

Not much else to report...it's been very cold here but still no snow. Mom is wishing she was back in South Africa this weekend because it is summer and because her cousin Mike is getting married and all the family is together...We take this opportunity to wish Mike and Tessa a very happy marriage forever!

AGC

Congrats to Grandpa and Grandma

2008-01-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

I call on all my wirey pals to join me in drinking a grand ol' toast to my Mom's parents, Grandpa Abe and Grandma Reeve who live in South Africa! Today, January 14, they are celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary! Can you imagine living with the same person for that long? That's 322 dog years!!

Below is a picture of the happy couple taken in South Africa when Mom and Dad were visiting in September last year. I don't know who the wooden man is...he has an awfully big head!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! WE WISH YOU MANY MORE HAPPY AND HEALTHY YEARS TOGETHER!! Come and visit us soon - we miss you. I have met my Grandma twice and Grandpa once when he came for Mom and Dad's wedding. He calls me his "Michel" dog. Don't ask me what that means, I don't question him as he is the man responsible for bring wires into the family and for my name Axel (Grandpa owns a truck-axel manufacturing company in Johannesburg called Go Axels! I am named in his honor).

AGC

Of Visitors and Snoozings

2008-01-12T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hello friends. Sorry I have been away for almost 2 weeks. The year has not been off to a great start - we had some disappointing news last week and none of us felt much like blogging. But terriers that we are, we are BACK now and feeling ready to push forward!

Over new years, we hosted a little visitor named Sheina, a chihuahua mix. She lives in New York but has cousins in Philly who have a wee human, and the family didn't want Sheina around, so she ended up at our house for a few days. At 10 years old, she was an old grumpy bitch, uninterested in playing with me so I can't say I enjoyed having her around very much. She also tried to eat all my food and steal my Daddy's affections, so I was quite pleased when her humans came to take her home! Look, if you are going to come and stay at my house, you better make an effort to be nice, especially to ME!

This week, my good friend Sophie also dropped by to visit. She lives around the corner with her Daddy Vince. Sophie is also an old girl, but unlike Sheina, she has a kind spirit and enjoys my company. We are good pals. Mom had just got a new CD in the mail and she wanted to share it with Vince, so we all sat on the sofa and listened. It was some French lady called Piaf singing her lungs out. It hurt my ears, and I wish Mom would realize that she can't sing!!! If I hear her "sing", "Non, je ne regrette rien" once more, I am going to have to dive out the window.

Otherwise, not much to report...I've mainly been hanging on my couch and snoozing a lot. Winter makes me lazy...

AGC

A New Year Beckons

2007-12-28T09:02:00.001-08:00

Here I sit, on my favorite spot in the whole world, on top of the couch's arm, contemplating life and the year that has passed.

I had a jolly good year! I went to the ocean on holiday in Cape May, NJ; I visited Gracie in Maine. I spent an interesting 2.5 weeks with the Daschund/Beagle brood while Mom and Dad went to Africa. I made many friends in the dog park and ran and ran. I enjoyed the daily services of my dogwalker. I spent many afternoons at Daycare which I love. I went on many many walks with Mom and Dad. I destroyed many toys and removed many squeakers. I partook of many treats and chews. I swam in many fountains all through Summer despite being warned that I was not allowed to. I connected with many amazing dog bloggers and cyber dog friends. I launched a heartfelt campaign to stop Marc Andre Laporte from abusing any more of my Canadian brothers and sisters...

BOY, 2007 WAS A GOOD YEAR! (Well, except for the itchies over summer)

Here's to another happy, healthy year in 2008!
Happy New Year Everyone!! (Hope there won't be any fireworks!)

AGC

Merry Christmas to my Non-Jewish Friends

2007-12-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

Enjoy your holiday, hope you find yummy treats in your stocking and many gaily wrapped gifts under the tree. Hopefully your parents won't follow's Doug's lead and hide your gifts IN the tree:

Special holiday cheer to our wiry friends in Montreal. The signatures continue to rise on our petition...don't forget to sign!! We're at 8,374!

Cheers!
AGC

Laporte Crusade Hits YouTube

2007-12-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our friend Nancy for creating this moving YouTube show to highlight our all important campaign against Mr. Laporte:

Please spread it around, everyone should see it!

I end with this petition entry which made Mom laugh out loud...

# 7792: Dec 18, 2007, Claire leone Domney, United Kingdom
Lock him up i his own filth with a dead convict for dinner the ba**ard

We are 3 entries away from 7,800 signatures!!

AGC

A Message from BingoLaporte Survivor

2007-12-13T12:47:00.001-08:00

Who would believe by looking at that beautiful photo at right of smiling, happy Bingo and his Mom Helene, that Bingo survived the Laporte House of Horror? In two years, they have travelled a very hard road together, Helene helping Bingo overcome his traumatic past. When Mom and I look at Bingo and his Mom, we can't help smiling and feeling warm all over. To think of what Bingo survived shows just how resilient and special our breed is!

Bingo was very happy to see himself on my blog with his pal Honeybee that he wrote me an email:
I diid see mee an honeebee!!!. Wee wur so happi to bee onyur paige dat we juzt leeped inde aire wit joy! Wood uue tell awl de peepol onyur blog how happi wee R?
Woof …oops I forgawt…I don’t bark anymor.

Well Bingo, you just told everyone yourself. Well done buddy!
Bingo sent other wonderful photos of himself which I'd like to share with you here at left. Mom says he reminds her of me!

By the way, unbelievably, the petition has now accumulated 6,548 signatures! Even the Russians have found us and the Christmas Island people - what do you think they call themselves? Christians? LOL!
I liked the post today from Mary "Mare" Moore #6,539 from Canada - she wrote:

"I am simply appalled at what this man (and others like him) has done to those poor dogs. I'm even MORE appalled at the thought that the judge just might allow him to get some of his dogs back!!!! Only a LIFE-TIME BAN on owning ANY animal is what this guy needs! He doesn't deserve to own a lowly slug let alone anything higher up on the food chain!!!! There is absolutely NO excuse in the world to justify either what he did, nor being allowed to ever own another animal for eternity! "

We couldn't have said it any better Mare. We just hope Judge Sirois feels the same way.

I wonder if the good judge would appreciate an artistic interpretation of the Laporte legacy? Bingo's Mom Helene goes to Honeybee's Mom for art lessons and painted "a series of little dogs coming out of the darkness" to represent Bingo's journey. We think that the painting speaks volumes! I am sure Asta's Mommy who is a great artist, will agree that this is a pawsome picture!

Keep up the good fight! Tell your friends to sign the petition!
Oooh, and before I forget - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR CANADIAN PAL DEAN-O! WHO IS 7 TODAY! He and his fabulous Mommy Christine have been working flat out at promoting our petition! Wishing you many more happy and healthy years pal!

AGC

Happy News on the 8th Night of Hanukkah

2007-12-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

Mom has gotten me hooked on refreshing the No Dogs for Laporte petition website every 5 minutes! We have been doing jigs around the room all day because the numbers keep jumping upwards! First we aimed for 1,000, then 2,000 and then so many came in today, that Mom kept yelling, "Ax - we need to up the goal dude!! What do you think?" I give a wag for every 1,000, so to date, I told Mom to go with 4,000, but I might have to wake her in the middle of the night with 5 wags if the petition continues to rise. I will be on refresh duty tonight!

Boy the jigs and refreshing is getting tiring, I haven't even had time to eat my Dingo which you can see I left on my keyboard...helping other wires is more fun and gratifying than eating a million Dingoes. That much I can tell you!

So in between the refreshing and the jigging - we did still make time tonight to light our menorah. Tonight alas, is the last night of Hanukkah, so as you can see, we lit 8 candles and the chief candle in the middle known as the shamash. We didn't get to play dreidel again - but when we were doing our petition jigs, we made sure to jig in many circles so we became canine/human dreidels instead!

We also found time to snack as we need our sustenance to keep on fighting for the Blainville wires! Dad worked late tonight and came home with some KFC chicken - I LOVE chicken - eventhough Mom had coincidently barbequed chicken for his dinner already (and I got half of that too!). I won't tell you which chicken I prefer - the Colonel's or Mom's 'cos, I live with Mom!

I'm sad to see the end of Hanukkah - but who can be sad when one only has to run upstairs and hit refresh on the computer. In the time it's taken me to write this blog post - the number has jumped from 3,782 to 3,865 (and I'm a fast blogger!!). Pawsome! And also, I still have one more Hanukkah gift - the postman left a slip in our mailbox to pick up a parcel - I suspect it is the package from Ricky Pepper and his family that "got lost" for a while! Woohoo!

AGC

Meet Laporte Survivors: Bingo and Honeybee

2007-12-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I'd like to introduce you to two very special friends, Bingo and Honeybee (that's Honeybee snuggling on top of Bingo in the photos, they love eachother very much). What makes them extra special is that they are survivors of Marc Andre Laporte's puppymill in Blainville. Forty other foxies who they lived with were not so lucky and did not survive the horror and neglect.

Yesterday these brave pups, met with a journalist from "Journal de Montreal" to tell their story in the hope that it will stop any of the ridiculous talk of Laporte getting his wires back! "Bing and Bee" as they are known, meet every week for "coffee" with their Moms Helene and Elizabeth G. It's a kind of therapy session for everyone. When the wires think of what they have suffered, they get very very sad. In fact they cannot bear to even think about going back to that life again. They are very grateful to all the humans campaigning against such a notion and appear on the blog today to beg you to sign the petition and write letters to Elizabeth Pierce on their behalf (119 16th Street, Roxboro, Québec Canada H8Y 1P1). And speaking of their friend and protector Elizabeth Pierce, here is a photo of her with Honeybee.

All the foster moms explained to the journalist how excruciatingly difficult it was caring for Bingo and Honeybee after they were rescued - they had so many scars from their life with Laporte, it took so much love, patience, medicine, training and effort to nurse them to health. One thing they pointed out to the journalist was that most of the rescued wires have/had conjunctivitis and some are blind because they had lived their little lives in the dark at Laporte's puppy mill.
Can you imagine? I, Axel G, am afraid of the dark, I do not like to go for walks when its dark out, so I shudder to think of what those wires endured living 24/7 in the darkness.

Bingo's Mom told me that when she first acquired Bingo (after one foster family gave up on him), he could not be taken outside! He yelped non stop and at first she had to carry him and put a blindfold on him. One day she lost patience and yelled at him to be quiet, and believe it or not, he responded. After that breakthrough, he made giant leaps of socialization.
"He is so happy now!" she tells me, "He likes old people and children the best. He has other dog friends. He still doesn’t understand toys and if a job is too difficult he easily gives up (eg. a Kong with a cookie that doesn’t come out, gets left there). "

Sometimes she says, he stresses and starts to “make circles”. And not surprisingly, he has nightmares! He sleeps in his Mom's room, in her bed, and when he starts crying and yelping she tells him it’s ok and he calms down.

"I think I have a harder time with his beginnings that Bingo does. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the hell he lived in. "

Well, friends, there is no doubt about it, Bingo is one lucky chap to have found such a great home and Mom. Can you just imagine Bingo having to leave this loving home and return to Laporte?! No we can't either and we won't allow it to happen!

Our story has now hit South Florida thanks to the valiant efforts of my Florida pals Jake and Just Harry. Ellie Brecher, general assignment reporter, best known as the Pet Lady for The Miami Herald, blogged about our Laporte campaign after being notified by the Barkalot Boyz and their Mum J1. You can see it here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/crazy_for_critters/
Well done chums - hopefully all the Montrealers vacationing in Miami will see it!

AGC

"FERMEZ LAPORTE" Update and Don't I look dashing?

2007-12-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

Mom and her friends continue the crusade against Marc-Andre Laporte - the convicted wire fox terrier abuser in Montreal, Canada who has the gaul to ask the court to return the very dogs he abused back to him on February 22, 2008. To all sane humans and dogs, this is clearly an INSANE proposal, so the petition, aptly called "No Dogs for Laporte" or "Fermez Laporte" continues. Signatures now stand at close to 1500! If you haven't signed yet or told all your friends to sign, please do now at:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/no-dogs-for-laporte

We also ask you to write a letter of protest and mail it to:
Elizabeth Pierce
119 16th Street
Roxboro, Québec
Canada
H8Y 1P1

We are hoping that both the petition and the letters will be presented to the Judge Sirois, and that as a result, Sirois will say, "No dogs for you Laporte, get your pathetic ass to jail!"

And now in other, more cheery news - I got a haircut Friday just in time for the holiday bash at Asta's place in NYC. As you recall, I had a horrible haircut courtesy of Pet Stupid a few months ago - they destroyed my coat by shaving it. Color and texture went out the window. But thanks to new groomers, Pooches Choice, I have been restored in two sessions over 3 months, to my former glory. This is what I looked like before my session on Friday:

I do look cute as can be in my scruffy mode and you can see that the colors were starting to return on my shoulders and back. But look how dashing I looked after my appointment:

Mom and Dad did a jig when they saw me, they keep oohing and ahing about how handsome I am, and who am I to protest their praises?

Hanukkah continues, sans latkes - my mother is very lazy indeed. Today is the family party at our cousins and I am NOT invited because they have a new Yorkie pup and I guess they're nervous I might mistake it for a hairy, yappy latke? Harumpf! So I get to stay home - at least Mom gave me a juicy marrow bone to enjoy to assuage her guilt.

Thank you to Bigfoot Fletch and Maxie for the cute Hanukkah gift that arrived on Thursday. It's a blue Hippo with his name "Zaftig" embroidered down the side. Mom explained that "zaftig" means "FAT" in Yiddish. Amazing that they're making Yiddish/Jewish Hanukkah gifts in China! Mom went holiday shopping yesterday for today's party and was dismayed to see that practically everything she picked up to buy is made in China! We are trying to boycott due to their terrible record in animal rights and environmental issues - but holy cow, it's difficult!

Now, don't forget to sign our petition!

AGC

On the First Night of Hanukkah...

2007-12-04T10:36:00.000-08:00

Tonite is the magical 8-day festival of lights: Hanukkah! It celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple at the time of the Maccabee rebellion. The festival is observed by the kindling of lights on each night of the holiday: one on the first night, two on the second, and so on. Here in the USA it is also celebrated by the buying of copious amounts of gifts. But as Mom is not American and never experienced this as a child in South Africa - she doesn't "buy into that shit" to quote her direct. Sure, Dad got a gift (he basically pleaded with Mom to buy him a watch with a built in compass - Mom gave in thinking it would help Dad not get lost so much). So far, I have had one gift - a big furry rat toy from Dad (So far it is still in tact. I am giving myself 8 days to get the squeaker) and of course, the lovely gifts from Miss Amelia.

Hanukkah is Mom's favorite Jewish holiday and I like it too. I especially like latkes. So before we go on, I am going to don my apron and teach you all how to make latkes - pieces of potato fried in oil and topped with either sugar/cinnamon (South Africa) or sour cream and apple sauce (USA). FYI - in Israel, where Mom spent 6.5 years of her life before meeting Dad and Me, they also eat lots and lots of donuts, known as sufganiyot during the holiday.

So with apologies to Rachel Ray...

Step 1: Peel the potatoes

Step 2: Grate the potatoes - you can use a food processor but doing it on a tiny grater has better effect says Mom...watch those fingers/paws everyone..

Step 3: Grate onion (try do it with your eyes closed as Mom started to weep half way through...)

Step 4: Beat 2 eggs and mix with some flour and baking powder

Step 5: In true Chanukah spirit, drench a pan in oil and add latke mixture.

Step 6: When browned, remove latkes and place on paper towel to absorb all the oil.

Step 7: Transfer latkes to a pretty plate and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar - that's how Mom likes it. Dad prefers the sour cream/apple sauce but Mom forgot to buy any!

Here is a picture of me from 2005 enjoying my very first latke. Boy I was thin in those heedy days:

I am really looking forward to going to Asta's holiday party on Dec. 6. Me and the Barkalot Boys Jake and Harry, being of the Jewish persuasion, will be bringing our latkes, donuts, dreidls (spinning tops) and Hanukkah music along to share our holiday spirit!

Dreidls (pictured right) are a big part of Hanukkah, and playing the Dreidl game is so much fun, it's even better than poker. Dreidl is a spinning top in Yiddish. They are known as a sivivon in Hebrew. Players use pennies, nuts, raisins, or chocolate coins (gelt) as tokens or chips. When us canines play, we will use pennies, Pupperoni, Milkbones, Wellness Wellbars, Natural Balance mini-logs and other delectable treats. Here is how it works:

Every dreidl has 4 symbols on it as it's a 4-sided top. These are letters of the Hebrew alphabet:

These letters mean "A Great Miracle Happened There". In Israel the dreidel is a bit different in that their letters mean " A Miracle Happened HERE!" The player spins the dreidel. When the dreidel stops, the letter that is facing up decides the fate.
NUN - nothing happens - next player spins the dreidel
GIMEL - player takes all tokens in the pot
HEY - player takes half of the pot
SHIN - player must put one token into the pot

See, its very easy. The challenge dear friends will be spinning the damn thing using our paws! Maybe we can just toss it in the air instead?
Or, we can do what George the Boxer does:

There are many wonderful songs associated with Hanukkah - I have two favorites, "Oh Hanukkah!" and "The Dreidl Song". The words of the first song capture the spirit of the holiday:

Chanuka, oh Chanuka

Chanuka, Oh Chanuka, come light the Menorah
Let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora
Gather round the table, we'll all have a treat
Sivivon to play with, and latkes to eat.
And while we are playing
The candles are burning bright
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.

To hear the tune, you can watch this movie I found on Youtube of little kids giving it a go - sing along, it's good practice for our party on Friday.

And while we play the Dreidl game we will sing The Dreidl Song:

I Have a Little Dreidel
I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!

(Chorus)Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!

It has a lovely body
With legs so short and thin
And when my dreidel's tired
It drops and then I win!

(Chorus)

My dreidel's always playful
It loves to dance and spin
A happy game of dreidel
Come play now, let's begin!
(Chorus)

Here you can see some cute kindergarten kids at their holiday concert singing the song. Sing along everyone!

HAPPY HANUKKAH EVERYONE!!!

AGC

500 Signatures and still counting

2007-12-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who has responded so enthusiastically to our "No Dogs for Laporte" campaign. We are thrilled to see over 500 signatures to our petition and many promises of letters being mailed to Canada. Please be sure to include the zip code on those letters (H8Y 1P1) - if you already sent one without it, don't fret, it will get there, it will just be delayed.

Every minute Mom hits the refresh button on the petition page, she whoops in delight and we do jigs around the living room. We are amazed at the countries represented - from Australia to Greece, Costa Rica to Poland, Malaysia to Italy, South Africa to Sweden and on it goes. It is good to see such evidence of love and concern the world over.

My astute Canadian Buddy Dean-O has been helping me a lot - today he sent me some links to videos of the coverage of the case in Montreal TV.
Click here to see a report in English:
http://montreal.ctv.ca/cfcf/video_popup?news_id=17190
Click here and here to see reports in French.
We understand some French but those folks in Montreal have funny accents. But you don't need words to explain horror at Laporte's house and you sure as heck don't need words to see what constitutes a happy wire in a safe home on her Mommy's lap!

Please continue to tell all your friends about our campaign - to sign the petition and write lots of letters.

With all this activity going on, we've scarcely prepared for Hanukkah. We promise to do a special Hanukkah installment tomorrow, as the holiday begins at sunset tomorrow.

AGC

And now, on a serious note...

2007-11-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

Calling all fox terrier and dog lovers!
Wire survivors in Canada need our help!

See that photo at right? Believe it or not, that is a wire fox terrier like me! An abused, horribly neglected wire who was one of 97 fox terriers found at a Monreal puppy mill belonging to Marc-Andre Laporte. Laporte was found guilty of two counts of animal cruelty at the St. Jerome courthouse in Montreal this week. Click here to see more photos

Almost 40 foxies had to be euthanized. The surviving dogs were cared for by the SPCA and later, with the help of devoted fox terrier lovers, found wonderful foster homes where they have been living for the past 2 years, unable to be adopted until the case is finalized. Laporte is only facing six months of jail time and up to $4,000 in fines. I find that disgusting - he should be locked in a cage forever or put to sleep - he murdered 40 dogs and abused 57 others!!

But it gets worse friends.
On Feb. 22, 2008 he will be sentenced.
And at the same hearing, the judge is to decide if Laporte is to get any of his fox terriers back!

Yeah, you read that right...get his dogs BACK! Are they insane in Canada? Are they blind? What is wrong with these people!? To even consider removing ONE wire from the safety and care of their loving foster families back to Laporte is OUTRAGEOUS!

WE CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN.

So friend, today we are launching a two-fold campaign to prevent Laporte from getting his dog/s back. We know we can count on you to take action and spread the word:

1: Please go to the online petition. Once all the signatures are entered, we will print it out and hand it over to our friend in Montreal who has been instrumental is saving and caring for the Blainville wires, for distribution to the media (unfortunately it is illegal in Canada to hand petitions to the court).

2: Please take a few minutes to write a letter to Judge Jean Sirois imploring him to prevent Laporte from ever taking possession of his former fox terriers or of owning any dog again. If you can, include a photo of yourself and your foxie/dog. All the letters received will be put in a file and also handed to the media.

Letters should be mailed to:
Elizabeth Pierce
119 16th Street
Roxboro, Québec
Canada
H8Y 1P1

Please disseminate this information on your blogs, to your fellow dog owners and friends.
Thank you for your support in this important matter.

A sad AGC and his very angry Mom

Mother Takes to the Kitchen

2007-11-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

On Sunday morning, my best human pal Lynne (pictured with tampons in her ears in my last post) came by in her car, picked me up and took me on a long hike in the Wissihiken Creek. Man, it was a blast! I hiked and swam and had a terrierific time! Mom and Dad said they did too, when I got home they were just getting out of bed. It was NOON!

Mom made up for her lazy behaviour that afternoon, when she took to the kitchen in a cooking frenzy. When we were in Massachusetts, Mom observed Gracie's Mom making what is called a "Yankee Pot Roast". Mom and Dad enjoyed eating it, so Mom decided to try to make her own. I helped!

As you can see, the ingrediants are a big hunk of beef (Mom used rump after questioning unsuspecting housewives in the supermarket); carrots, parsnip, onion, potatoes, celery and beef broth and a packet of onion soup powder. First you cut everything up, then you sear the beef on the stove:

Then you throw it all in a crockpot/slow cooker (first picture) and let it cook for a LONG time. Too long for my patience...at the end, it comes out looking like the second photo:

Mom does not like to waste food. So she had many vegies left, so she thought, "I have a cunning plan, I'll make a vegetable soup!" Not that she knew how, so she winged it. She threw all the vegies in a big pot, added vegie stock and water, spices and let it boil away.

I didn't get any soup, but I have been enjoying the pot roast, it's very yummy. Luckily after eating it for 2 meals, Mom and Dad are sick of it already...I lucked out! Yummy.

Mom's creativity continued into the evening when she started work on a new arts and craft project - a room sign for her good friend's new baby girl in Atlanta. Her name is Hannah. I think it looks pretty cool - Mom should make me one - only I don't have my own room!! She loves doing this sort of thing - personally I think chewing a dingo or destuffing a toy is far more satisfying....

I want to send special love to my pals Ozzy and Romeo and their Mommy Jen who suffered a horrible tragedy on Thanksgiving day - the loss of their Dad and husband. We think of them every day and transmit warm, healing, loving wirey vibes to them up in NY. If anyone out there would like to express your sympathy to them you can visit their blog above or email Mom for their mailing address. They really need our wirey support at this time!

AGC

Detour Back to Puppyhood

2007-11-23T17:26:00.000-08:00

I've been telling you that I am a mature 2 year old boy now. I have stopped chewing things up and getting up to evil mischief. That is not to say I am not a typical Wire Fox Terrier - I am still full of fun and energy!
But I have calmed down so much, that everyone has become very complacent around me, making the mistake of trusting me to behave at all times. Ha!

So the other day, Mom's friend Lynne came over - Lynne loves dogs but can't have her own right now, so she comes to the dog park and enjoys socializing with all of us. So after the park, she came home with us for dinner and while her and Mom were tucking into cottage pie (known as Shephards pie here), I investigated Lynne's purse and had a jolly good time. I especially enjoyed chomping and destroying this cylindrical plastic things...

When Mom and Lynne discovered what I'd been up to, they laughed real loud - and then Lynne started clowning around...

I'm glad they didn't mind what I'd done - evidently I did good as they both looked very happy!

In other news, Miss Amelia sent me the most awesome Hanukkah gift box. I was very naughty cos I totally ignored the big instruction on the box that read, "Do not open before Hanukkah". Sorry Miss Amelia - you know patience is NOT one of my virtues! I did wait a few seconds, but then I opened the box and did a jig. Mom would only let me have one toy at a time, so I chose the awesome duck with the rope neck and squawking voice. I have played with it non stop! Thanks Miss Amelia - and we all hope that your daddy is feeling better after his knee operation!
AGC

PS Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I went to dad's parents last night and had a jolly good time. I spent most of the evening jumping up and trying to get turkey!

Visiting Gracie in Western Massachusetts

2007-11-19T18:02:00.000-08:00

On Friday, we packed up Dad's truck and went on a very long drive to visit Gracie and her peeps in South Hadley, Mass. I was the navigator and made sure I had my map handy.

I was very alert the whole way to make sure that Dad did not get lost. I did not want to land up in Canada!

We pulled into Gracie's driveway around 8pm Friday. Gracie's Mom Di was a bit nervous to reunite us as Gracie can be an aggressive gal when she doesn't know you. Dad was fully confident that we would remember eachother, and disregarding Di's nerves, he opened his car door and literally threw me out. Gracie bounded towards me, Di nearly had a heart attack...but of course we recognized eachother, and boy were we happy to see eachother! Unfortunately it was pitch dark, so we have no photos of the heartwarming reunion.

However, for the next 2 days, all we (Gracie, her little bro Fenway and me) did was play and run and eat a few yummy bones that Mom packed! Gracie has an awesome, huge back yard the size of my park at home! She sure is a lucky gal!

We also played inside a lot! Fenway and I got along real well, Gracie is more mature now and didn't always want to join us in our wrestling!

Massachusetts sure is pretty - we drove around and saw lots of pretty trees and sites:

On Sunday we visited Di's brother Tim - he lives in the woods and has more land than I have spunk! We were supposed to go for a walk in the woods, but the day before a Coyote had grabbed a little dog and nearly killed it, so we didn't want to risk it until the hunters shot him. Poor Coyote. Tim and his lovely wife and kids have lots of animals - 6 dogs and many of these funny birds called chickens. I'd never seen a real chicken before, I just enjoyed eating the featherless product! I was a little scared of them to be honest.

I met one of Tim's bitches - she's a special hunting dog that flew to America all the way from the Czech Republic! The breed is called Cesky Fousek - they have wiry hair like me - Mom thought she was adorable. I was more interested in the Khoi fish in the pond and jumped in to take a swim with them. Dumb move on my part, I forgot it was 25F outside - I soon regretted it when I started to shiver!

I met more dogs at Tim's place - but I didn't really know them and we left Gracie and Fenway at home, so I didn't feel very sociable. Besides, I was freezing my nuts off. Oh yeah, I forgot, I don't have any...but you get the idea!

Between shivers though, I did marvel at the beauty and space around us. I could quite easily adapt to life in the country! All that space to run and play!

I have to admit, I was so nervous when I saw Mom and Dad packing up the truck on Sunday - I feared they might leave me and bugger off somewhere (again) - so I jumped into the truck way before they were even ready to depart. So I never said goodbye to Gracie or Fenway...sorry guys, I do love you, but home is with my humans. Home is in the city. Home is even my tiny back yard, just big enough to pee in. But it sure was GREAT to visit! Hope to do it again soon!

AGC

New Coat

2007-11-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

As you all know, because I keep telling you, I do not like to wear clothes or costumes. I like to go kaalgat as we say in South African language Afrikaans which means, basically, naked. I don't know why humans think we need winter coats when it turns cold out...what do you think our fur is for people??? Thousands of years ago before we were domesticated, do you think the cavemen would knit us coats? Oh please!

But no, humans think just because they need loads of layers to keep out the freezing temps, so do we. Well, listen up. We do not. At least I do not.

Unfortunately, I cannot speak - so when Mom triumphantly came home with a box and said it was for me, and produced a bright orange and silver dog coat - I thought, oh crikey, not a frigging coat again. I had been so happy to see her mail Gus my winter coat from last year - I thought that was it for me and coats. Mom had finally understood my body language...but no such luck.

I didn't even try to feign happiness when she called me over to put it on. I just stood there and let her. So here I am, in all my glory...in my new Landsend coat, or squall as they call it (it is waterproof on the outside and lined with flannel):

What do you think? The only positive thing I will say, is that it is less restrictive then my last coat which ran all the way to my pee-pee and I didn't like that cos it made me nervy to pee in it!

We didn't make it to Gracie this weekend, but we will be going this coming weekend. I can't wait. Hopefully I can leave the coat at home...but Mother keeps yakking to me how cold it is in Massachewsits and yadda yadda, you need your coat!!

AGC

Another Dinner Party

2007-11-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

Our dinner parties are not as glamorous (or delish-looking) as Asta's dinner parties, but they are much fun none the less and I like to take an active part not only in the eating but in the shmoozing. And to do that, you can't sit on the floor waiting for food to miraculously fall in front of your snoot! So about a week ago, when Dad's parents came for dinner, I took every opportunity to take Mom's seat when she was busy serving or adding finishing touches to dishes in the kitchen:

Mom served London Broil with gravy, asparagus (I like it but it makes my pee stink!), caesar salad, roast potatoes with herbs and an Entermann's cake for dessert. Mom says to make it clear this was a spur of the moment affair, nothing fancy. Boy Mom can be defensive. They were actually going to order in, but since Dad had been away working for 5 days on the road, Mom thought he'd appreciate a home cooked meal. And he did.

When everyone left I felt a little sad - so I sat on the front step and hung out. Note I am not tethered or fleeing. I have really mellowed. I only go crazy if a stranger walks past - I lunge and bark...and I don't discriminate between little strangers or big strangers. Mom says I'm silly and shouldn't be mean to little strangers who are likely to get a BIG fright. Too bad I say, it's my turf, STAY AWAY!

Thanks for everyone's nice messages for Ricky Pepper's family - unfortunately the family have decided to find Teddy a new home to appease the horrid neighbor - so if you know of any Doxie-loving family with lots of patience for a special needs boy, please let us know.

AGC

PS Yay, Mom fixed the template. We removed the Google ads cos they were advertising unsavory foxie breeders. Thanks Pat for the heads up!

A Plague of Frogs for a Horrid Neighbor

2007-11-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

Why does the world seem to be full of nasty neighbors? You'll remember we had a run in with our neighbor last year over my barking - he went to Animal Control and then the COPS (who in our city of Philly clearly have more important things to worry about!)

So you can imagine how distressed I was to read my pal Ricky Pepper's blog tonight to hear that their neighbor slipped a copy of their town's ordinance under their door stipulating that households are only permitted 3 animals. How dare this witch threaten Ricky Peppers lovely family! All the doggies are rescues, two are therapy dogs - they don't bother or harm anyone - and their parents are the loveliest folks you'd ever meet. If I was still living there, I'd have to take action. But for now, since the ordinance says you can have unlimited amount of frogs, I think the doxies should round up as many as they can find and ask them to croak day and night along this bitch's fence! Also strange that the ordinance allows horse, sheep and cows - as long as the sum total of animals is THREE.

I really can't suffer humans who don't work and have nothing to do all day but start up nonsense with their neighbors. Get a life woman and leave these people alone!

I know you are disappointed that I ignored Halloween and did not publish photos of myself in cutesy costumes. I don't like to dress up and I don't like to wear anything on my dogen (vs. person). If you like to dress up, that's great and I don't for a minute mock or begrudge anyone who enjoys it. Take Terry for example - I nearly burst my appendix when I saw his costume! How funny is that! A wirey lobster!

Exciting news is that there is a wee possibility that Mom, Dad and me and our neighbors/friends Vin and Sophie (a sweet 9 year old retriever type) will make the trek up to Massachewsitts to see our pal Gracie and her family! We may go in two weeks but there are many factors to work out, so it's only tentative for now, but it sure is exciting to think about!

Prayers to my friend Jackson in the UK who is undergoing many tests to find out why he is having fits. Poor guy is the bravest wire around and he's been through so much already, but we Wires are a tough bunch and we know Jackson will get through this too.

Happy November!

AGC

A Moment for Prayer

2007-10-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

I, Axel G Chocholoza, want us all to take a minute to pray for all the people and animals and creatures of California who are being swept up in relentless and unremitting fires. We pray for their safety and we hope that those unfortunate humans who lost their homes will have the strength and fortitude (and state assistance) to rebuild their lives.

A friend sent me a photo of two fire evacuees - a little wire and his best friend at a shelter. It does my heart good to realize that California allowed humans to bring their pets into shelters, unlike the heartache that was evident in Louisiana during Katrina when this was not the case.

I hope this man and his wire can go home soon.

AGC

Preparing for the Big Party

2007-10-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

So I am very excited to be going to the big Mega Barkday Party being held in honor of Koobuss, Amber-Mae, Lorenza, Lola, Dewey and Precious. I haven't even met half these guys, but I love making new friends!

So Scruffy and Lacie asked if I was bringing cheesesteaks. Hmm, Dad and me like them - but Dad eats them plain, I like all the toppings. Mom can't even look at a cheesesteak. She must be nuts...I mean would you turn away from one? And cheese fried, hmmmmm!

I don't turn away from any food except these potato chips Mom brought from South Africa called Tomato Fritos. You get Fritos here, but not the yukky tomato flavor! Anyway, other than tomato fritos, I love South African food, and I'm bringing some to the pawty! I am bringing boerewors - that is delicious beef sausage that you put on the braai (BBQ) and then slip between a fresh footlong bun. Yum. They aren't much to look at...Mom said they look a bit like something I'd poop out (gross Mom), but I can tell you, they are delicious. Or as they say in South Africa - baie lekker!

Mom also insists that I take a bottle of her favorite spread - Marmite! Dad won't go near the stuff and from informal testing, Mom says she has yet to find any American who likes the stuff. But Mom grew up eating it and can eat it ten times a day on toast or cheddar cheese. I like it too. So I will pack a jar just in case we sleep over and need breakfast fare.

So the party is October 27 and it's in Massachewsits - I wonder if it is anywhere near where my old girlfriend Gracie lives? I think I'll invite her too! I'm planning on hitching a ride with Koobus in her cute red convertible... I'll probably fall asleep, driving makes me sleepy.

Dad left town today for a few days on a job...boy will I miss him. Hopefully he will keep in touch by reading my blog every day. I miss you Dad!

AGC

My Best Treat of All

2007-10-22T11:54:00.001-07:00

It's supposed to be Fall, but I think it got lost on its way to Pennsylvania, because it's still Summer here! Hot! Mom and Dad are thrilled, but I prefer it a bit cooler thank you very much! I'm just grateful that my itchies haven't returned, they disappeared a few days after my shot, that stuff is a dogsend!

So twice a month or so, Mom gives me a big treat. She lets me go to doggy day care for half a day! This past Saturday, we woke up and Mom said, "Axie, how would you like to go to Daycare to see and play with your friends?" People think dogs don't always understand humans, but I understood Mom straight away and ran to the front door in glee! We took the camera along but no sooner had I arrived then the batteries died, so we only got ONE lousy shot:

In that photo, I had just hurdled the gate, I am that enthusiastic to get in there! Can you see my Airedale pal behind the gate? She is beautiful! After Mom and Dad left, I went out to the outdoor yard and played and played.

I suspect the reason Mom and Dad treat me in this way is because they enjoy some "without Axie" time (but they miss me straight after they drop me off!) and because when I come home, this is where you'll find me for the rest of the day/evening....

Yup, that's me. Big couch potato. Daycare exhausts me! And yes, sigh, I do look chunky in that picture...but I had just eaten my dinner - so don't make any disparaging remarks about my freckled belly!

Note from Mom: Yes, Ax seems to have gained a few pounds again...he is such a snack fiend, he tricks his Mom and Dad into giving him treats. We are now creating a list by the treat/chew cupboard so we know who is giving Axel what per day! He doesn't know it yet, but as of today, he is back on diet!

I CAN READ MOM!!!

AGC (Big boned and fabulous!)

With Apologies to the Famous Artist

2007-10-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

The Wire Yahoo Group is running a contest to feature a Wire Fox Terrier in a famous painting. Mom went to work immediately and came up with this...the little known, Surrogate Mother of Whistler:

I am NOT amused as that is ME in the picture! I am a boy first of all, and second of all, I don't think I look good in a bonnet!

AGC

Let Me Eat Cake!

2007-10-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am always envious when I read my pal Asta's blog - it is always full of wonderful descriptions of dinner parties in New York City, with sumptuous food and great ambience. So I was thrilled to hear Mom's plans for her own dinner party that took place last night. Only two people were invited - you'd think she'd invited ten the way she agonized over what to cook/bake! You see these are Mom's cousins and Mrs Cousin is a fabulous cook/baker - so Mom felt she couldn't serve just anything!

Mom set the table with all her African paraphenalia and wedding presents that she'd hardly had the opportunity to use. Here is the table setting - not sure you can see much - but the beaded placemats are African and the napkins are too. (They call them serviettes in Africa!)

I wasn't much interested in the decor frankly, I was far more interested in the menu! As it was Sunday night, Mom decided on hot pastrami on rye (yum), and three different salads -- green bean/red onion/peppers salad; new fangled potato salad recipe; and a green salad that had yummy avo, big mushrooms, green onion, lettuce, green pepper from our garden and other stuff in it. That all looked quite tasty - though I am not crazy about salads - so what really got my attention was the dessert!!

I watched Mom work hard on it - beating yolks and then whites and doing all sorts of things that needed 3 different bowls and many measurements and chocolate too. When it finally went into the oven, the smells were overwhelmingly tantalizing. I stood guard outside the oven door willing it to open so I could free the cakes from their pans. When they finally came out - wow, they looked good! I tried to jump on the counters to get them. I tried jumping on the dining room table when Mom moved them there. But I gave up when Mom put them on the overturned washbasket on top of the dryer. I mean look at this cake - would you not have tried to eat it!!???

This my friends, is called a Chocolate Blitz Torte. Not sure the picture does it justice. The bottom is choc cake with a layer of merangue. It has chocolate cream in the middle and then another layer of cake and merangue that is decorated with flaked almonds and cinnamon. Oh it is simple delicious. I know 'cos I did get a wee taste - but pig that Mom is (yeah, you wouldn't know it to look at her skinny frame), she ate half the cake!

My consolation prize for being a good boy all evening while the guests were there (Ok, I did get locked behind my puppy gate for part of the evening when I was quote, "being a pest") - was a marrow bone this morning, which I enjoyed almost as much as the blitz torte!

Remember. I said ALMOST.

AGC

Scenes from a Dog Show

2007-10-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Remember I told you about little Rosalina, the ginger wire girl from Italy I met at the show yesterday? Well, it turns out that Dad captured her on video, so you can all see for yourself how gorgeous she is. Sorry Miss Amelia, Asta, Koobus -- I have a new love. Quel bella doga (my Italian is not great, I admit!)

Also, I know many of you have never had the pleasure of going to Montgomery or seeing Wires in the ring. So Dad made a video just for you of some beautiful wires competing in the ring. Enjoy!

And in late breaking news...you won't believe this!!
Ricky Pepper has a NEW BROTHER. That brings the Doxie tally to FOUR! A family of 5 dogs including Chloe the Beagle. Welcome Teddy - you sure lucked out with your new family!!

AGC

My Day at the Montgomery Terrier Show

2007-10-07T13:23:00.001-07:00

Today Mom, Dad and me went to the annual terrier show at Montgomery. It was in the high 80's so I got very hot and bothered! Mom was in her usual state of rapture to see so many terriers and to meet new and old friends she'd met online. Dad raced around with his video camera. I mainly snoozed and tried to get comfy on Mom's tiny lap. I saw my breeder but was disappointed that my mom and sister were withdrawn from the competition cos Mom is pregnant and sis wasn't groomed well enough. I was so looking forward to seeing them!

We did get to see Bebe and her folks; Finnegan and his folks, Claudia and her smoothie Sydney, Suzanne and her little Folli and some other wirey folks. Sitting in front of us was a tiny ginger wire from Italy called Rosalina...Mom couldn't take her eyes off of her and I started getting worried that Mom was going to kidnap her!

Click on the image below to see our 23 photos from the show! Note: if you click View Slideshow - you will not see Mom's photo descriptions. Mom recommendes clicking on the DETAIL link so you can see all the photos with their descriptions on one page.

AGC

New Movie!

2007-10-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

Well Mom and Dad are getting better and creating and editing video...I am proud to present my second video to you all entitled, Axel and Dad Have Fun at the Park.

Click on the link below to watch the 1:32 minute video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yL35RyoUFJE

Viewer discretion advised. You may suffer a heart attack if you have never seen a wire running off leash in an unfenced park ringed by heavy traffic. I am an unusual wire in that I am happiest off leash and never stray far from my parents. I have grown up playing in this park from 12 weeks old, so I know the lay of the land very well, as do most of the dogs there.

Before I leave, I want to wish my pal Butchy a very happy 7th birthday!! Sorry I couldn't make the party dude, I heard you needed a passport to travel to Iowa now, and I left it too late!

AGC

Mom's Special Visit to New York City

2007-10-05T09:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning Dad and I dropped Mom off at the 30th Street train station. I heard her tell Dad she was going to New York City to visit her cousin Annette from Australia who was in NY visiting her son. I pleaded to go with, but Mom said dogs weren't allowed on trains. How unfair is that!! So off she went after blowing me a kiss. At the time, I didn't know she was keeping a BIG secret from me!

And now over to Mom. I am generously relinquishing the blog to her...just this one time.

I arrived in NY and met Annette and her hubby at Columbus Circle. We lunched in Central Park in the beautiful weather. Annette is my first cousin and I met her for the first time when she came to my wedding last year all the way from Sydney! (There is a long sordid story...but yadda yadda, her Mom and my Dad didn't speak for 40 years which is why I never met Annette or her family. But then one fine day I thought, enough bullshit - I want to meet my cousin! So I went online, searched and found her in Sydney, wrote and yadda yadda yadda - a wonderful friendship was born and many family reunions ensued. It's been one of the greatest accomplishments of my life!! Healing broken family relations!)Here is Annette and Me and Annette and her hubby Jeff.

What I didn't tell Axel, was that before I left, I emailed Asta's Mom and asked her if she was willing to meet up while I was in NY. I try to make a habit of meeting other wires and their families when I travel about. Last time I was in NY, I met up with Jeeves and his Mom who live on the Upper East Side. I didn't have Asta's Mom's phone number, so I gave her my cell. And, she called!! So after bidding Annette goodbye, off I went on the subway to the "Meat Packing District" - a fine place for a wire to reside.

How wonderful it was to meet Asta and her Mom and Dad! Asta ran out to meet me and disappeared down the passage. When she came back, so pranced about, played with her toys and gave lots of kisses. (Note to Ax: You could learn from Asta "no kisses ever" guy!)

After we had a good shmooze (I felt like I'd known them for years), I went with Asta's Daddy to their Doggie Run and checked out Asta at play with her friends. What a joy it was, Asta is just a delight - she never stops moving and loves her friends:

Before I bid them goodbye, Asta gave me a cute orange squeaky turtle to give to Ax. When I got home, I regaled Ax with stories about the delightful Asta and he was thrilled with his gift:

A wonderful day in New York City! Just wish Ax could have come along! I'll give him the final word:

Thanks Mom. I do so wish I could have met Asta and played with her friends - but at least I got the turtle! And for the record, I just don't like to KISS! Get over it.

AGC

My First Day

2007-09-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Koobuss tagged me and asked me to regale you all with how I came to live with Mom and Dad in Philadelphia. It began thus...

Oh, before I begin, a shout out to Di, Mom of Gracie - if you are reading this please email Mom cos she emailed you and your address bounced. Thank you.

And now back to my story. As you know, Mom grew up with a wire in South Africa named Georgie. In her honor, G is my second name. Axel G Chocholoza. Mom loved Georgie with all her heart and soul for the wonderful 15 years she graced her life. The year she died, Mom left home to live in Israel and then 6.5 years after that, she came to America. She knew her life was not stable enough in all those years to get another wire, so she held off until she met my dad in 2002 and they moved in together a year before they got married (shhh, don't tell anyone), to a little rented house next to a very big park. At that point, Mom said to Dad. We are ready for a dog! Dad was into it too, but he had NO choice in the decision of what breed of dog to get. Mom had her heart set on another wire fox terrier.

But how to find one? Mom, being a web person, went online first and located what seemed like a decent breeder in Mass. She even paid the deposit. Around the same time, Mom joined the Fox Terrier Network and leart from them that this breeder was not "Kosher" if you get my drift. So taking their advice, Mom bailed on the deal and yadda yadda yadda, found a good breeder named Bob, through the Fox Terrier Association of America. Bob told them that in about 2 months there would be a litter, and there was a good chance we could get one of the pups. Mom was overjoyed. I do believe she did a jig that day.

Fast forward to July 16, 2005 - a day before Mom's birthday. The happy parents-to-be drove to Valley Forge to meet me. I was one of four pups, the only boy. My Mom's name is Pompi and my Dad is Sir Walter Raleigh. Here I am with my sisters - I am the one on the far right, I was always bigger than my sisters:

Of course it was love at first sight for Mom and Dad. But it was touch and go whether Bob would part with his only boy - but I think he liked Mom and Dad so much, that he relented. Before leaving, Bob stripped me on the grooming table.

One thing I do remember, that when Dad was holding me on the way to the car to go to my new home, I wiggled and he dropped me...on concrete, on my head. The parents were beside themselves, though I was absolutely fine! From then on, Mom and Dad held me very tight!

So that dear friends are my humble beginnings. Not that exciting I know, I was lucky, I was never a rescue and I've always had a safe and loving home. Hey, in that photo above, see my tail, it's straight...yet somehow within 6 months, it had curled and noone can explain it! Maybe it's the same curious thing that gives me skin allergies...something in the air here makes me itch and my tail curl? Hmmm.

AGC

Handsome Dude (with beard)

2007-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Finally. Finally. I actually look like a wire fox terrier for the first time in a long long time. Yesterday morning, Mom and Dad dropped me off at Pooches Choice salon for a much needed haircut. When they collected me at 3pm, they were so relieved and delighted to see what a great job was done upon me. I don't look like a shnauzer. I don't look like a poodle. I look like a handsome young wire fox terrier, which ladies and gentlemen, is precisely what I am!

As you can tell, my coat is far from perfect, but we are on our way. My colored parts were stripped, the rest of me was hand scissored. After a few more of these groomings, I'm sure my coat will be wirey and my colors will be vivid. It just takes time to undo the damage wrought upon my dogness by PetStupid. I must say, I do love my beard - I look like my dad now!

But best of all, without all that superfluous hair, I actually look THIN! Mom called me skinny butt!! Woohoo. Do you agree?

After my long day, I was dead tired. I just curled up in my favorite positions on the couch and went to sleep, a very happy dog at last.

AGC

Farewell Mr. Scuffy

2007-09-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a big day! I am getting a long overdue haircut! I'm sure you all remember the ghastly haircut I got the last time when PetStupid Grooming lied to Mom that the lady-who-knows-handstripping groomed me, when in fact I was given to a hopeless apprentice who didn't know what the heck he was doing. As you recall, I looked bloody awful...here is a reminder:

Thank God hair grows and grows! That last haircut was on July 10 - so my hair has grown really long and Mom calls me Mr. Scruffy. Of course, we are not going back to PetStupid - instead we are going to a highly recommended (Thank you Bebe) salon called Pooches Choice here in Center City Philadelphia. The groomer there, Lee, has several hand-stripping awards, so hopefully when you see photos of me tomorrow - I will look truly wonderful! (Mom says I better given what this little exercise is going to cost!) While I am away, a company is coming to steam clean our carpets just in case there is something in them making me itch!

In the meantime, here are the BEFORE pictures so you can see how I look now:

I can barely see out my eyes I'm so shaggy. I don't know if you can tell, but good news! My allergies are a bit better - my skin is less red (Thank you to all my friends for your wonderful, caring comments left on this blog). I think that cortisone shot finally kicked in. It must be that 'cos the weather has not cooled down, if anything it's been MORE humid! I still bite my paws and legs, but I don't itch as much as I did last week. Mom is a tad nervy the stripping/scissoring (only my back is being stripped to get my black back) will somehow irritate my skin, but I think I'll be okay. My appointment is for 10am and I don't expect to get out of there before 4pm. Keep paws crossed. If I come out looking hideous again, I may have to run away to New York City and hide out in Asta's apartment (no-one knows me in NYC and it's quite near by for me to hitch a ride). Is that okay Asta? If you like I could help you eat all your birthday presents! Tee hee.

Finally, I want you to meet some of my pals. As you know, I prefer to hang with the big dogs - but I have some little dog pals too. When P my dogwalker picks me up every day, I often get to walk with these buddies - Basil who you have met before (a Cairn Terror) and the two Pugs, Maggie (tan) and Sam (black). Sadly, Maggie left our neighborhood today to live in another state 'cos her parents had a baby and couldn't cope with two dogs anymore. Poor Sam, he must feel sad, he's never been apart from Maggie. Me and Basil will have to be extra kind to him in the coming days...In the photo, we are all waiting for our treats, it's the only time we calm down!

And lastly, I have a new niece - Daddy's sister had a wee baby girl on Tuesday - Devon Delaney - I haven't seen her yet, but hope to when she is a little older. I like little humans.

See you all tomorrow - hopefully I will look like a handsome daredevil!

AGC