Mud Puppy

As is the case every morning, Canyon, Sky and I awoke as the first dawn's light began to come through the window. Dad and Mom aren't too happy with us most mornings because we are rising before 6am. This morning, the dawn came a little later than usual because the sky was black with thunder clouds. Every few seconds a big flash of light and a terrible noise occurred. Mom woke up and wondered aloud what time it might be. She put on her glasses and looked at the clock - OH NO! THE POWER WAS OUT SHE SAID. Quickly she ran to the dining room to look at the battery powered clock. She came back and told Dad it was 6:05am. They got up and Dad took us to the garage to wake Brook and head outside for our morning trip to the dog yard. While we were out, we got soaked (Dad said later the rain gauge had over an inch of rain from the 1 hour deluge this morning). I was thirsty, so I decided to dig a hole that could fill up with water for a drink. Dad came back from his trip to the big white porcelain water bowl in the basement to let us in and found me with my paws covered in mud. All of us got our feet wiped when we came in and I got put right in my crate. I sat and cried because Brook wasn't with me and Brook sat and cried in the dining room right by the door to the garage and cried. Finally, Mom was headed to the basement to get clothing from the laundry baskets in the laundry room and let Brook into her crate next to mine. Dad took some pictures of me and my muddy paws to share with you.

Butt Wiggles, Meadow

Calling All Royal Subjects to Protect My Castle

Hey Pups,

On Saturday morning suitcases were loaded into the car and the family left. I thought we were going to be home alone for a while... but Dad came back without Mom and the Little Biped. Apparently, it was a vacation for the women only. Dad returned home and let us out. Shortly after, he put the girls back in their crates, left Canyon and I in the house and got his tools. I watched from the window to see what he was doing in the backyard. He spent several hours out there, drank a lot of beers, and worked on the Little Biped's new swing set which is going to be a birthday surprise for her when she returns home on Saturday (her birthday isn't for several more weeks, but this will be an early present).

Sunday morning, a man-who-visits-us-sometimes showed up in the driveway. Dad left the teapot on the stove, and put us in the dog yard (fortunately Dad heard the smoke detector and came in the house in time to save us from disaster - the only loss was the teapot). The man-who-visits-us-sometimes and Dad spent all morning working on the swing set. This time there were no beers because the man-who-visits-us-sometimes said he had to go to work later in the day. We overheard the man-who-visits-us-sometimes suggesting that the dogs be the first to try out the sliding board. Dad thought it would be funnier to find a cat to do the honors. The man-who-visits-us-sometimes left around lunch and we got to come in. After lunch, Dad got his tools and beer again and we spent the rest of the day in the house.

Several problems in this situation... 1) We are left in Dad's care - can't complain about this too much because we are still getting regular trips out, food and water - the only problem is weekends are supposed to be time to play with doggies and we didn't get to play with Dad at all because he spent all weekend outside with beer and power tools. 2) Dad had beer and power tools - enough said. 3) Dad tried to burn down the house by leaving the teapot on while he went out.

Royal Subjects, King Skyboy hereby demands that you come and help me protect the house. Dad has beer and power tools... Who knows what could happen.

Kisses, Skyboy

P.S. Dad wants me to add that the only power tool involved was a cordless drill. He didn't have anything that could have injured him severely. The only injuries involved were a few splinters resulting in the necessity to dig them out with a pocket knife blade, but it wouldn't have been a man project if he didn't bleed on it.

Can Dogs Get the Flu?

Hey Pups,

Can dogs get the flu from their people?  I really hope not.  Mom and Dad said the Little Biped threw up at the grocery store last Saturday night.  She seemed to be OK after that; however, Monday night she woke up crying and said she was cold.  Turned out she was running a fever.  She went to Gama's Tuesday and threw up at Gama's house.  Tuesday night her fever was up to 103.4.  She went to Gama's again Wednesday.  That afternoon, Dad came home and said he didn't feel good. He got the thermometer and found out he had a fever too.  Thursday, Dad had to go to Maine for some meetings so despite not feeling well, he got out of bed at 3am and was on a plane before 6am.  He got home around 10:30pm.  Meanwhile, the Little Biped spent another day at Gama's.  Dad tried to get up for work this morning, but Mom insisted that he take a sick day.  So, the Little Biped and Dad stayed home.  The Little Biped hasn't thrown up since Tuesday, but now says she has an earache.  Tomorrow, she'll go to the doctor.  I am hoping that this can't be passed on because I really don't want to be stuck laying on the couch all day with pillows, blankets, and dirty tissues...  Wait a minute - that doesn't sound so bad!  Well, maybe we will get the flu from the people.  

Brook did throw up tonight.

Oh, and Canyon just sneezed....it's going to be a long weekend...

Kisses, King Skyboy

Road Trip!

I found out today that I'm going to get to go on a road trip tomorrow. Mom said it's not far but it's a car ride nonetheless! Mom, Dad and the little biped are excited about getting to see somepuppy named Biloxi. I don't know who this is but I wonder if he's cute. Do woo all know if he has a girlfriend yet???

Mom and Dad said we're going to some event in Harrisburg called Pawsabilities. It sounds like a lot of fun. Mom said it would be good for me to work on my socialization with people and other dogs. Biloxi's mom said she's entering him in the chow hound contest. I wonder how I can convince them to let me enter the contest???

In other news, Dad's been gone all week in Mississippi. This is the longest I've ever been away from dad and I really missed him.

"Yeah, Mom what do you want?"

"We're just sitting here watching for Dad"

I'll have the full report tomorrow!

Zoomies, Brook

Snow Day

Hey Pups,

Turns out everyone got a three-day weekend.  The snow had started falling around 4 am this morning.  We woke Dad up when it started so we could go out and check it out right away.  Dad wasn't too pleased with getting up at 4 am so we could play in the snow.

At 6, his alarm went off and he got out of bed to get ready for work.  Mom found out school was on a 2-hour delay so she went back to sleep and had Dad reset her alarm for 7:30.  Dad left for work a little earlier than usual.  After picking up some cardboard boxes from the neighbors yard that had blown around in the wind overnight and putting them back with our garbage, he got in the car.  Twenty minutes later, he was back.  Turns out, he had gone 2 miles towards his 27 mile trip to work.  It had taken him 10 minutes and he slid around a bit too much for his liking.  He got home, and sent his boss and HR department an email that he was using a sick day for the snow.  Shortly after, Mom got a call that school had changed from a 2-hour delay to closed.

Mom said she hoped the new Wii would show up sooner than later so that they could spend the day playing.  We were really excited because the last box that got delivered to the house had a new collar and leash for Brook, new leash for Canyon, new bed for Brook and a new dish for her too.  We were hoping that this Wii thing was something for us.

A few minutes later, we heard a truck outside.  Woo-woo, the Wii!  Oh, darn - just the trash truck.

Mom, looking for something to do, started to clean out the cupboards and figuring out if there was old food in there which wasn't any good anymore.  She found some chocolate chips and the little biped asked for cookies.  Mom told her that she could have cookies, but someone would have to help her make them.  Mom graciously volunteered Dad for that job.

Brook thought that the cookies smelled really good and wanted to try.  She didn't know we wouldn't get any because chocolate isn't for doggies.

Around 2pm, the big brown truck showed up!  The Wii got here!

Here's the little biped getting to play.

The Wii hasn't been off since it got here.  The little biped was so tired out by bed time from all the jumping around that she was doing that she went right to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Well, back to watching the bipeds play sports games.

Kisses,

King Skyboy

A New Furry Member

I would like to take the time to introduce myself. My name is Brook and I'm the newest member of the Kapp Pack. They are now 16 paws strong. I came here as a foster puppy and fit right in so this is where I will stay. I've found my furever home! I thought I'd hijack the computer for a little bit and tell you more about my stay so far.

I am a 6 month old Siberian Husky puppy and I love my new brothers and sister. Mom and Dad tell me I couldn't have arrived at a better time because soon after I arrived my big sister Meadow had a seizure. I try really hard to help mom and dad check on her. If she's laying down and I get up to go exploring I always make sure I check on her too. When we go in our crates for the day, mom and dad make sure Meadow and I are side by side. Meadow hasn't had any other seizures that we've seen but mom and dad have taken her to the VET and all of her bloodwork was great!

As you can see my big sis and I are furry close already...

I have been bestowed the title of Princess Brook and the King even let me lay on his tail...I love my big bro, Canyon! Here I am trying to be his mirror image...I look forward to meeting all the pups out there in the blogosphere!Oh, by the way, my nickname is the flying puppy. I like to jump off the ground with all fours to say hi to everyone!

Zoomies, Brook

The Big Reveal!

Hi Puppers!

You all had some really good guesses for what was happening. No, there's not a little biped on the way. One is all we (the pack) can handle right now. I was hoping it was a Siberian play room, but no such luck on that.

Turns out that all that was happening was Dad and Paw paw were installing new carpet. Big letdown there....nothing exciting. 

Here's me enjoying the new, plusher carpet...

Here's  Canyon supervising the final touches...

What do woo think???

It feels really nice on my paws. 

Stay tuned for more girly boy pics tomorrow!

Butt wiggles, Meadow

What's happening???

Hi Puppers!

My mom and dad were moving all kinds of furniture around last night. They completely emptied one of the rooms in the house. Sky and Canyon tell me this room used to be the little biped's room but when she moved in to a big girl bed mom and dad moved her to a new bedroom. Can you figure out what's going to be happening in here?

Please help me figure this out!

Butt wiggles, Meadow

Sleep Study

Hi Puppers!

I've been trying out new sleeping spots and positions lately. Here's what I've come up with so far...

I call this the over-the-top position...

Here's my upside-down head-down position...

The head hang over the couch position...

Here I am utilizing 2 pieces of furniture...

Enjoying some time in the little biped's room. Her bed is furry comfy!

I really like the couch...

This makes it even better....sharing it with the little biped...

This was pretty comfy...

Better...

Best of ALL!

I hope you all enjoyed my sleep study!

Butt wiggles, Meadow

Pee Ess: We're still supposed to get snow tonight!

Daddy's Girl

Hi Puppers,

I think everydog has their favorite biped.  Canyon definitely prefers the little biped and Sky's is a Momma's Boy.  I on the other hand am a Daddy's Girl.  This is my usual position when he's away on business...

Looking out the window and waiting for him to come home.  When he gets home, I snuggle, give hugs and lots of kisses...

Butt wiggles, Meadow

Unveiling!

BEHOLD THE KAPP PACK CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA 2008!!!

This is what Dad aspires to do......eventually......



Enjoy!

Kisses, Sky boy

Exploring the Neighborhood

Hey Pups,

This morning, Dad was looking at That Pet Place's holiday catalog while eating breakfast. He told Mom they should buy me a $200 GPS tag to hang on my collar. That way, they would be able to find me. The device will even send Dad a text message on his phone or send an email to the computer so Mom can tell him over the phone where to look for me. What great extents these bipeds will go to in order to ruin a dog's fun. Mom said he jinxed them by talking about a GPS dog tag this morning...

Dad got off work around 1 today. His company usually closes early before a holiday and today was no exception. He picked up the little biped from the sitter and they came home. We three dogs went outside while the little biped had quiet time on the downstairs couch and Dad downloaded Windows updates and anti-virus updates on the computer. After I while, Meadow started to dig a hole. She dug and dug until her hole was big enough to squeeze under the fence. When she did that, Canyon and I started barking to get Dad's attention. He came out to see what the problem was. By this time, Meadow was no where in sight. Dad asked me where she went and I jumped against the fence to show him the direction she had ran (Mom said later that it was a classic Lassie-move - over there, Timmy!). Dad called Mom to tell her what happened and ask her to head home from work so she would be able to watch the little biped while he looked. Dad brought us in, got the little biped and put her in the car. Off they went looking. A few minutes later, they came back on their way the other direction and Dad saw Meadow in the neighbor's yard chasing a bird. He pulled in the driveway and jumped out of the car. He called to Meadow and invited her to go for a ride. She ran around the yard for few minutes and teased Dad, but after a few laps around the yard, she gave in and jumped in the car. Dad reached in the car and snapped a leash on her.

Total exploration time - less than 10 minutes. Chasing birds - priceless.

Meadow, you certainly don't know how to behave like a husky if that's all the time you're going to spend running. I need to teach you some lessons. So next time, dig a deeper hole because you weigh less than 40 pounds and I weigh more than 80 pounds. I'll go with you and teach you how to run.

Kisses, Sky Boy

Cold Weather in PA

Today Meadow and I spent several hours sitting on the couch watching Dad outside working. He started putting up the Christmas lights. He was all bundled up in about 5 layers of clothing to keep the wind and snow off. What he needs is two layers of fur like we have. That would have kept him warm. The snow didn't amount to anything today. But, earlier this week we got a measurable snow fall. Unfortunately, it didn't last. Here's some pics from snow a few days ago. Let's hope there are lots more days with plenty of snow.

Stay tuned for video of the Christmas lights. Dad hopes to have them finished by Friday.

Puppy Slurp, Canyon

More Whining....

Hey Pups!

This have been really awful around here lately. Mom's been sick for a few days which meant all she did was sleep and not give us extra attention. I rained most of Friday and Saturday and we even had a tornado watch yesterday. Dad's leaving again for another business trip tomorrow. The exterminator is coming tomorrow morning to "take care of the ants."

Worst of all, I am not being treating fairly in MY KINGDOM! The first evidence I have of this is the following picture...Can you believe all this princess junk in MY food dish???? And the biped left it there all day! I mean, did the little biped think my food dish made a good throne for Cinderella???

The next situation is the one I find extremely disturbing. Canyon and Meadow got into a fight yet again over something stupid. To not go into tomany details, Mom figured out what caused it again and the humans are working to help Canyon and Meadow to behave better. Mom told me I'm the good one and I don't need to learn anything else. Well, one of the new routines is that Canyon and Meadow have to be in a "down" at food time or in their crates. We were practicing the down, stay which Canyon and I know, but Meadow still needs to learn this. I kept getting distracted by the TV and other thoughts...Khyra, Holly, Storms, Ammy, Eva, Meeshka, Frankie Girl...and all of a sudden I heard dad say "put Sky in his crate if he's not going to listen"

WHAT?????? Are you kidding me??? Me, the King of Huskies, does NOT get crated. This is an abomination! I haven't been crated since I was a puppy. I've earned my place out of the crate by being trustworthy in the house. I made it difficult for mom to get me in there by dragging my feet. She had to slide me across the floor. I wasn't going in without a fight. They gave me some crap about making an example out of me. What? An example of torture???I was secrectly plotting my escape. I was thinking that pin could have been slid out with my tongue...Then I just laid down and gave mom my best cranky face. You know what she did??? She laughed at me. Apparently there was something funny in the fact that I laid diagonal across the crate and put my tail up in the air in the corner. She even called dad over so he could laugh at me too. She tried to cover it up by saying she was laughing because I was cute. Yeah, right, whatever Mom!

I am so NOT amused with this situation. I have awards to accept, but quite frankly I am just not in the mood to do that tonight!

Kisses, KING Sky boy

The Hike 2008

Hey Pups,

Here's some pictures from the Hike N Howl.

The Hike was at Core Creek County Park in Bucks County. There was a nice lake in the park and Dad took some scenery pictures with his new camera (his old one was replaced under the no lemon clause in the warranty this week), a Kodak Z1015 (10 MP, 15x zoom).

Ducks swimming in the lake.

A husky checking out the ducks.

Khyra and Biloxi say hi.

Kisses for the little biped from Biloxi (he's getting really big).

Khyra giving Biloxi a proper butt sniffing

This is a racing cart used by a team of Siberian Huskies from Merry-land that were there for demonstrations.

Brandi, Mapaw's oldest dog. She is a member of husky hospice at 18 years young!

The Hike mascot (costume borrowed from the Dieruff High School Huskies). Thanks Huskies!

Kisses, Sky Boy

Exciting Matchups

Gov. Palin vs. Sen. Biden, Chicago Cubs vs. LA Dodgers... What to watch??? The debate is on and the Cubs are going to try and win one in Wrigley in about 20 minutes. What a decision to make. Oh yeah, we have picture-in-picture. The Phillies and Brewers game just ended and Dad's got TBS on in the corner with the debate live on FOX.

Mom recently got software to edit pictures and she thought we could do some work to try and reverse the curse. Since we weren't able to get to Chicago for the NLDS games (maybe the Cubs will play in Philadelphia, who now lead Milwaukee 2-0, during the NLCS) and they probably wouldn't have let us in anyway, we are there in spirit.

Here's Meadow and I with Dad and the Little Biped "sitting" in the stands at Wrigley.

Here's Sky "with" Dad and the Little Biped when they visited Wrigley this summer.

Well let's hope that some huskies at Wrigley can reverse the curse started 63 years ago by Murphy the Goat. In the words of Harry Caray: "Let's get some runs!!!"

Enjoy the video (at the time, the Cubs were in the NL East - they're now in the NL Central).

Puppy Slurps, Canyon

October

It's October and that means... BASEBALL PLAYOFFS!!! This year is especially exciting for some fans because the Cubs are in the playoffs. If you happen to have been living in a cave for the last six months, you may not realize that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Cubs victory over Detroit on October 14, 1908 to win their last World Series title. Between 1908 and 1945, the Cubs played in many World Series matchups, but failed to win.

Another hot sports news item over the last six months in relation to why the Cubs haven't played in a World Series since 1945 is "the curse." A nearby tavern owner, Billy "The Goat" Sianis bought two tickets to game 4 of the series. He attended the game with his goat, Murphy. It began to rain, and Billy and Murphy were ejected from the game due to complaints from other fans about the stink from the wet goat. Billy Sianis left Chicago and went to his native home in Greece where he allegedly cursed the Cubs that they would never win another pennant or play in another World Series. He wrote a letter to the Cubs organization asking "who stinks now?" The curse legend was fueled by losing seasons for over 20 years after this event and the black cat incident at Shea.

Since then, there have been attempts to break the curse. Sam Sianis (a nephew of Billy's) has been invited to bring a goat to Wrigley and has done so on four occasions (1984 - year of a division win, 1989, 1994 and 1998 - another division win). In 2003, a group of fans took a goat to a Cubs game in Houston. They were, of course, denied entry with the goat. They then proclaimed they were reversing the curse. Houston had been leading the NL Central until that point, but ended up losing to the Cubs. Subsequently, the Cubs lost the NL pennant to the Florida Marlins after the Bartman ball incident (the most recent tragic event in a 63 year history of near misses on a pennant win and a chance at playing in the World Series). In 2007, unknown persons hung a butchered goat from the Harry Caray statue in front of Wrigley. The Cubs have won the NL Central both years (interestingly, the last time the Cubs won their division two years in a row was 1907 and 1908).

I know how important the Cubs are to Dad and although I'm not a goat, I figured I'd do what I could to help reverse the curse. Here's a picture of me checking out Dad's Cubbie bear and thinking good thoughts.

Dad had me do this in the 9th inning tonight when the Cubs were down 6-2 to the LA Dodgers. It didn't work tonight, but there's always tomorrow...

Puppy Slurps, Canyon