It’s tough being a furbaby mom, especially if you have more than one. We love Hope and Scout, and we enjoy giving them treats, but sometimes it gets a little confusing.

You see, this morning I visited the new pet store in Troy, and they had pork bones on special for the grand opening, so I bought two: one for Hope and one for Scout.  Simple, huh?

Well, not so much. I unwrapped them and gave one to each girl- they got up on their sofa and started chewing away.

Everything was great so I came back to the office to start back to work. Soon they came down the hall; Hope had this piece of bone in her mouth, and Scout was barking at her.

So, it comes down to a tough decision- did Scout eat all of hers, and then try to take Hope’s away?

Or…. did Hope eat all of hers, and then decide that Scout wasn’t eating hers fast enough?

I ended up giving it to Hope, and then found another piece hidden in the blankets and gave it to Scout. Hoping that settles things.

Feeling a bit like Solomon in the story of the two mamas – though not quite that dramatic.

This weekend is Father’s Day – so you should make sure you tell your dad how much you love him!

Dad does an awful lot for us- he gets us meatballs and makes sure we have a bunch when he and Mom have to go somewhere. And when he’s making a grilled cheese sandwich, he always gives us some cheese too.

Best of all, he loves us and takes care of us…. so we’re gonna give him some extra doggie kisses this weekend.

Give your dad a call!

Earlier this week, our friend Ms Liz came over;  she brought her new baby,  a tiny little puppy whose name is Trixie.  Mom let me come outside to meet her, and we played in the yard a little bit. She would run at me, and then when I ran back towards her, she would hide behind someone’s feet. After a few minutes, Mom picked her up and started talking to her- then she told me that Trixie is my little sister! I couldn’t believe it.

She said that Trixie and I have the same mama (not Mom), so she really is my little sister.

Mom wouldn’t let Scout come out and meet her this time- Scout might accidentally knock her over and we didn’t want her to get hurt.

I’m so glad to find out about my little sister; even though we won’t live together, it’s nice to know that I have family in other places.

Mom says sometimes people get adopted too, just like me- ’cause you know Mom isn’t my ‘real’ Mom, right? Sometimes people aren’t able to live with their ‘beginning’ family, so someone else who loves them a lot adopts them and they become part of that family. I think that’s pretty cool.

If I could have a wish, it would be that every dog and cat, and every person, could have a happy family who loves them forever. I’m gonna put that in my prayers tonight.

Ya’ll are not going to believe this! There were monsters in our yard this last week. But let me start at the beginning.

First, Dad told Mom that the air unit outside wasn’t working, so we just threw all the windows up and turned on the fans ’til Dad figured out the best thing to do. This gave Scout and me lots more stuff to watch outside- in fact, one day we got so excited about something outside that we pushed the storm window loose and Mom had to fix it.

Then Dad bought a air conditioner and put it in the window in our bedroom (we are very nice and let Mom and Dad share it with us) – boy it feels nice and cool, but it blocks the window.

So Scout and I have to get up on the bed and watch that way. Which is exactly how we found out about those monsters. Yeah, they looked like regular people, but they kept walking around in our yard, and digging holes and sticking little flags in the grass. What real person does that?  I knew we had to keep a close eye on them – they even parked their truck across the road – and I don’t care what anybody says, that is still my yard because I can see it.

We kept a close watch til Mom started laughing at us – she even took that picture to show Ms Leah and Ms Kimmie and Ms Jamalyn and my BFF, Jordan.

They’re laughing now, but just wait til somebody tries to eat them all up while they’re sleeping – then I guess they’ll believe us.

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For thus the Lord says to me, “Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees. Isaiah 21:6

PS- thank ya’ll for praying for our buddy Carl- he’s doing great and should be coming back home before too long!

You may not know, but before Scout came to live with Mom and Dad and me,  she lived with Jennifer and Daniel, who  have Fat Boy (her dog dad), Deedee, Petey and Monkey (her dog mom); Jenn and Daniel kept one of her brothers, and his name is Carl.

Well, the other day Carl was outside playing, and all of a sudden, Daniel and his friends heard him screaming, so they ran outside.  One of his legs was broken, and another one was scraped up real bad, and his mouth and his back were hurt.

Jenn and Daniel took him to the vet and he’s going to be all right – but he’s gonna have to stay with the vet for a while ’til his legs get better. Mom and Dad were scared, and so were we – we like Carl and we didn’t want him to get hurt.

When we say our prayers every night, we’re praying for Carl to get back as good as new, so he can run and play.  We hope you’ll pray for him too.

And if you’re out driving, please watch out for kids and dogs and cats. Sometimes we’re playing so hard  we get distracted and don’t realize we’re too close to the road. If you do accidentally run over someone’s dog or cat, please be kind and stop to let someone know. It’s the human thing to do.

I know Mom has told ya’ll about how Hope likes to chase the ‘possums when they’re on the porch at night. And I’m sure you remember the night she ran right off the end of the porch. Well, now she’s done something that even tops that!

The other night when we were going outside, Mom put my harness on me and we went out the door- I guess one of the ‘possums was on the porch, but instead of running off the end, it just ran down the steps and out into the yard.

Of course, Hope jumped right over the steps to get to it- Mom was yelling at Hope (boy she sounded scared), trying to get her to come back on the porch, and Hope was barking at the ‘possum, and the ‘possum was hissing at Hope! They were circling around each other, and it looked like Hope was going to bite the ‘possum. Meanwhile, I was pulling on the leash- I just knew I could get in there and help Hope…. Boy what a lot of excitement! I loved it.

But Mom finally got Hope’s attention, and when she turned around, the ‘possum ran around the house.

We did get to finish our walk, but then Mom took us back inside so she could check Hope to make sure she was OK.  Not a scratch on her; but she sure was scaring that ‘possum!

After we went to bed that night, Hope whispered in my ear, “Let’s do that again tomorrow night!”

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Dad says he thinks Hope’s favorite Bible verse is:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Mom was gone a long time yesterday, and when she got home, she cried.  She snuggled Scout and me up in her lap and told us that she was sad because a friend of hers and Dad’s died yesterday.

They didn’t get to see him very often, but they sure did like him a lot. He used to ride motorcycles with them.

Mom says they’re not sad for him, because he loved Jesus and Jesus loved him, so he got to go to Heaven. That sounds good to me! But Mom says she’s sad for his family and friends – they won’t get to see him for a long time, and that is sad.

I kissed Mom and reminded her what she always tells us – that Jesus loves us too, and He is sad for us too,  when we miss our friends and family. But He promised us a long time ago that we could go be with Him if we wanted to.

So when Dad and Mom pray for his family and the rest of his friends, they’re gonna remember to ask Jesus to make sure He wraps His arms around them and comfort them. I know He will, because He keeps His promises.

The LORD is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

I didn’t get to write anything last week- Mom and Dad were busy  helping get ready for the poker run, and our bike blessing.

Ms Kimmie & Mr Chris, and Ms Leah & Mr Charlie and Jordan (my BFF),  and Ms Jamalyn & Mr Justin and Georgia and Wyatt, and Ms Angela and Ms Sherry  all got together with Dad and Mom and they put together a poker run to raise money for the foster pups and kittens.

And how cool is this? Ziggy and Sharon and John P brought a bunch of their friends down again, and some nice folks from Prattville came down, and of course riders from Crenshaw County came to help out. Dad said there were about 45 or 50 bikes in all- they rode all over the county and then came back for lunch… they had a good time! And then all these nice folks donated door prizes, so they gave them away. I don’t know what poker is, but it must be fun.

Besides all the bikers who came, lots of people around the county helped out- they had a whole wall full of names of people and businesses who helped. I couldn’t read them all.

You know, everybody isn’t as lucky as Scout and me – we have a nice big bed to sleep in, and Dad and Mom make sure we have plenty to eat, including my favorite- pizza ‘bones’…. we get to watch TV and go for rides, and play with the kittens when we want.

And I bet you didn’t know this- but all those cats and kittens outside? They aren’t even ours! I didn’t know that until Mom told me… I just thought she and Dad liked cats a lot. But they’re foster cats from the Animal Society. We just get to love them and take care of them until someone adopts them.  But Dad and Mom treat them like they’re ours. Dad makes sure they have some extra canned food every morning when he goes out to work.

So if you’re a lucky pup like Scout and me, why don’t you think about donating to the Crenshaw County Animal Society? The foster pups and cats there would be very grateful. And while you’re at it, say a prayer that they find their very own person to love.

Prov. 12:10  A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

You’ll never guess what happened at our house this week…. Scout got “fixed”…. at least that’s what Mom said. I’m not even sure I know what that means. (Mom says I had it done too when I stayed at Dr G’s office last year; all I remember is my friend Jordan coming to see me.)

All I know is that Mom left early the other morning and took Scout with her. Dad was working at home so I stayed here to help him.  I stood lookout from the bedroom to make sure nobody bothered anything outside while Dad worked at his desk.

So, anyway…. Mom and Scout left early. I don’t know where they went but it must have been a long way off – they stayed gone all day! Then when they got home, Dad and I came outside. Scout was laying on one of our blankets in the grass. I don’t think she was asleep, but she was being real quiet. Mom sat down beside her and rubbed her. Mom told Dad that the ‘stezia’ hadn’t worn off, so she thought getting some fresh air might help her wake up.

Scout slept the rest of the day- she was no fun at all! She even slept on the floor that night- at least until she decided to climb up into bed and lay down by Dad’s legs.

The next day whatever they had to ‘fix’ but have been working because Scout and I got to play all day long. She ran and jumped and barked like always. She did smell a little funny, but I think Mom had another dog and some cats with her- that must have been it.

I’m glad that whatever was wrong with Scout is fixed now – I missed playing with her that day.

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All the folks at the Crenshaw County Animal Society would like to remind you that spaying and neutering your pet is a good idea- no unwanted puppies or kittens; your pets don’t want to roam as much and it decreases the chances of some kinds of cancer. We have a low-cost spay/neuter program – if you’d like more information call us at (334) 335-2138, or visit us on Facebook.

Boy, we had some excitement this week at our house! Sunday night, Dad watched the weather and said that we might have some bad storms come through, and sure enough, on Monday, a tornado hit during the morning.

Our friend Ms Regina was at home with her kids, her mother-in-law and their pups, when the tornado hit it. The house was torn up, but God must have had His hands on them, because no one was hurt, not even the pups.  Lots of other houses had trees fall on them, and it also messed up a lot of the stores up town.

The lights went out at all over town after that… so we sat in the living room with the windows up to stay cool. The rest of the day and that night, it would thunder and lightning – I don’t like that. It sounds scary. At first I thought I could scare it away by barking, but that didn’t work at all. When I kept barking, Scout got scared and got up under the chair. I guess she thought she’d be safer there.

The weathermen kept saying we would have another round of storms on Wednesday that would be worse, but it never got bad. Some people were fussing because the weathermen got it wrong, but someone said maybe we didn’t have any more bad weather because God answered our prayers. I think she’s right.

Lots of people here gave things to help Ms Regina and her family out – they’ve got plenty of clothes now, but they still need other stuff for when they get moved into their new home. If you’d like to donate, they have set up a Go Fund Me account. I know they’d be glad for the help!