Thank you for making this the Best Birthday EVER!!!

From my girlfriend Willow

Yesterday was the Best Birthday EVER!  I got a gazillion birthday greetings from my friends -- photos, videos, e-cards, a virtual birthday cake, and many other very kind birthday wishes.  My friend Tim took me to PetSmart and let me pick out my very own treat, and I went on a hike with Tim and Nicky.  Then I got to eat the treats!

From my dear friend Hero, who moved
across the ocean and I miss terribly (see My Hero)

From my great buddy Juneau,
who believes that birthdays are serious business

From my friend Rita the Naked Pit Bull

It was threatening rain and there was thunder in the distance, but we were still able to get in a GREAT hike.  Tim takes me and my friend Nicky hiking every Wednesday while mom & dad are at work, and we always have fun, but today was EXTRA fun!  (Photos by Tim Kondas)

I love to hike!!

This is SO much FUN

Leapin' Labradoink

Me and Nicky

When I got home, I was very tired.

But I perked up when mom gave me the bone that Tim bought for me at PetSmart.  (He even let me pick it out myself.)

Nom nom nom

Tim also got me a Pup-Pie,
which mom said we had to save for tomorrow

. . . but I convinced her that I should have a little piece

I am such a lucky pup to have so many kind and thoughtful friends.  

Thank you ALL (especially Tim) for making this the Best Birthday EVER!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today is my birthday!  I'm five years old!  

I'm sure there will be great celebration and revelry, but that will likely have to wait until the weekend when my parents can orchestrate it.  Meanwhile, here's one of my puppy photos so you can enjoy my unbearable cuteness.

This is me at 3 weeks old
(Photo by my Grandma Shar)

Booga's Birthday Bash - Part 2

One day of partying just doesn't seem sufficient to properly celebrate turning 80 years old, so the immediate family (mom, her brother and sister, and their respective spouses and dogs plus one of the grandchildren) had a family get-together at Uncle Randy and Aunt Cara's house a couple weeks after the official party (see Booga's Birthday Bash - Part 1).  All the family labs were there!

My cousin Mia

My cousin Sadie

Uncle Randy and Aunt Cara live on a big river near the Chesapeake Bay, so it's always fun to visit them.  The  weekend get-together was particularly fun because we had the whole family together, which we haven't done in a really long time.

We started out with a game of fetch

Chuck it

Then we proceeded to destroy Sadie's throw
toy, with a game of 3-way tug

When mom's family is together, you can totally see where she gets her silliness and her sense of humor.  Grampa Booga is hilarious and Uncle Randy is also very funny.  Uncle Randy is especially fun because he knows how to throw a ball and a stick really well.  And he has lots of boats! 

Uncle Randy demonstrating his stick-throwing technique

Could I take out one of the kayaks, Mom? Pleeeeze?

Uncle Randy took all of us (dogs too!) out in one of his boats to an island in the Chesapeake Bay.  It was my first boat ride ever, and although I hopped right into the boat with no hesitation, I got a little nervous when it started moving.  I sat on the floor of the boat and huddled up against mom's leg and wore a very worried look until the boat came to a stop.  But then we hopped out into the shallow water next to this beautiful sandy island! 

My first ever boat ride

Sure, I'm ready for a boat ride

Mia, Sadie and I ran on the beach and we followed Uncle Charlie way out on a sandbar into the bay.   We romped and fetched stuff and romped some more.  The island was shallow on one side for running and leaping and splashing in the water and deep on the other side for swimming.  Uncle Randy said it was called Hole in the Wall but we all called it Dog Beach because it was the most perfect place for dogs.

After we had gotten our fill of romping and fetching and swimming, we all piled into the boat to go back.  I was much more relaxed for the boat ride back.  I declared my first boat ride to be a success and I have determined that boat rides are generally a good thing.

Uncle Charlie and Sadie, on the way home

Of course, as part of the festivities, the humans had to have cake from Sugar Cain Bakery (for info, see Sugar Cain Bakery).  Mom got two cakes, an angelfood cake (Booga’s favorite) and a chocolate cake.  Booga is very picky and doesn’t eat many sweets, but he liked the angelfood cake so much he had two pieces!

Booga was born & raised in Chapel Hill
North Carolina and attended UNC

I love seeing my cousins Sadie and Mia and all my human aunts and uncles and of course Grampa Booga and Kay.  Our weekend together was simply awesome.  Booga enjoyed himself immensely, and he really enjoyed seeing how much fun we all had together.  He was impressed by how well Sadie, Mia and I get along and how well behaved we all are. 

Sadie and Mia

Sadie and me relaxing on the dock after a swim

We are SO grateful that Grampa Booga is healthy and happy at 80 years old.  Getting to spend time with him and the rest of the family was priceless.

Booga's Birthday Bash - Part 1

On July 3, my Grampa Booga turned 80 years old!  His birthday festivities began on July 3 and continued for several weeks afterwards.  The humans and the pups had such great fun celebrating!

On July 3, we went down to Beaufort, North Carolina for the first party, which was a joint party for Booga and David, who share a birthday.  It was David's 50th birthday, so the two of them celebrated 130 years!  

Everyone had a wonderful time and no one was ready to go home when the party was over, so they all (including Booga) went to a nearby bar and continued to celebrate until the wee hours.  (how many 80 year olds follow the "young" people when they go out carousing?)

Grampa Booga
July 3, 2012

I wasn't able to go to the party because it was in a restaurant, but I went along for the trip anyway because we found a dog-friendly hotel, and mom & dad hate to go places without me.  I'm a very good traveler and I love to walk and sniff and pee in new & different places.  Plus it was 102 degrees F in Richmond when we left but only 85 down in Morehead City where we stayed, so it was a nice break from the heat.  And our hotel was a short walk from a beautiful neighborhood for walking, so I got to walk and pee and sniff in a new place.

Walking near our hotel in Morehead City

Making sure they don't forget me

It was an extra special treat that mom & dad were able to make it to the party in Beaufort.  It was such a fun group of family and friends, and they all really enjoyed themselves.  

Grampa Booga, Grandma Gayle, & Amos
circa 1950s
(Apparently being a dog person is hereditary)

Birthday Hike Number 2! -- and a minor mommy mishap

It was cooler today, and since we're still celebrating Mommy-Dog's birthday, we went on a special mommy-and-me birthday hike.


Mom checked the river level and the river level forecast as well as the weather forecast (high of 78 - TOTALLY AWESOME) and we set out early, which is our preference.


The river was beautiful, and there was hardly anyone else on the trail, since it was early and overcast.


We hiked out to the secret island, and I splashed and swam and retrieved my ball. We were having lots of fun, but then mom stepped on a wet, slippery rock. She slipped and fell, and reached back with her left hand to catch herself. She may have said an HBO word or two. 


After righting herself, she looked at her wrist and knew it was broken because it looked kinda' funky. So we had to stop playing and head back. It was starting to rain a bit anyway. 


After we got home, Dad took mom to this awesome place called Ortho On Call. The people there were really nice. They xrayed her hand and found out her wrist is broken into a bunch of pieces and she will have to have surgery to fix it. Mom says it's no big deal. She doesn't think it's as bad as when she broke her elbow hang gliding and they had to wire the pieces of bone together for it to heal. She's kinda accident prone, you know.


So I may be blogging a bit less for a while (although she does pretty good with the iPhone Blogger app and typing with just her right hand), and the contest prizes may take longer to complete, but the bright side is that I may get some extra snuggle time out of this. Fortunately her right hand is her dominant petting and belly-rubbing hand.

This is where we started

We stopped at one of my favorite swimming spots

I can walk on water

Early morning river

You have to walk across a dam to get to the secret island

I'm a very brave puppy

We had the island all to ourselves

This old sycamore is one of our favorite trees

Splashin'

On the way back, in the rain, with an injured photographer