Special Thoughts for Honey

Mom and Dad read the very sad news this morning about Honey. There isn't a whole lot to say except that our thoughts and very best wishes are with Honey, and especially her parents right now. We hope the medicine your vet gave you helps to ease any pain. We also hope your mom and dad find peace and comfort from their family and friends. You have given them wonderful memories and unconditional love, and in return, they have given you a fantastic home that many humans would envy, along with that same unconditional love. I know how much my mom and dad care for me, but you reminded them of how short our time together is, and how important it is to take advantage of every day. Thanks so much for sharing a little piece of your life with us through your blog.

Love,
Harry

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday, Dad and I celebrated my birthday in a subdued way - no cakes or candles. Since I turned three, and am now a mature adult, we sampled a couple of nice cigars and some single malt scotch. I'm really just kidding, although I have sniffed my dad's scotch from time to time and I think I would much rather sniff another dog's butt. That stuff is truly nasty; I don't know what he sees in it. Now red wine, on the other hand, is a completely different story. I do enjoy that a lot. I particularly love the subtle aromas, and the earthy textures and tanins that massage the palate and dance across the tongue. Dad and I are big fans of Dorothy Gaiter's and John Brecher's Tastings column in the WSJ. We especially like that they take the snobbery out of wine, but also provide a nice education every week about different varietals, vintages, regions, etc. Dad is a closet oenophile; I just like to drink it.

I think Dad and I will have a little post birthday celebration over a couple of glasses of Pinot Noir this evening, and talk about what a great choice President Obama made for his new first dog, Bo. Congratulations to Bo and the Obama's, and Happy Birthday to me.

TODAY I AM THREE

Today is my birthday! I'm three...I've learn a lot in the last few years mostly that I'm one lucky Golden Retriever to be living with Robert and Dena. I think they have something special brewing because Gram is coming on Friday and I heard them talking about my favorite store Polka Dog in the South End.

Random Easter Ramblings

As nice as the weather was on our walk around Beacon Hill the other day, the weather today is pretty miserable, especially if you are a human. It doesn't bother me so much, and I actually think the rain is kind of fun, but dad always gyps me on my walks when it rains. I try to encourage him to stay out longer and just shake a few times like I do, but he hasn't gotten the hang of it even after all this time. You would be amazed at how much water you can get off your body just by shaking.

Spring time is rainy season in New England, and this year is no exception. Dad says it's all part of the changing seasons, but mom doesn't buy his argument for a minute. She says the weather in this part of the country sucks, and we should move to California, where it's sunny most of the time. My cousin Joe the Cat is always bragging about how great the weather is in CA, and how he gets to go surfing all the time. He sends me emails and tells me how "totally rad" the waves are out there. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding what he says with that surfer-speak. Now if he would just say he went to the beach and had a "wicked pissah" I would know exactly what he meant.

I noticed a lot of my online friends are sporting silly rabbit ears and other assorted head gear for Easter. I'm so relieved my packies didn't make me do that, but I have complete confidence that they will think up something else with which to embarrass me in front of the world in due time. Packies do those things because they think it's so cute and entertaining. I find it neither amusing nor endearing, and I just wish that sometimes they would get a life. As for all my friends out there, I'm really sorry for you guys, and I feel your pain. Unfortunately, we all know that a dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta do. We earned the title, "Man's Best Friend," after all; it wasn't just handed to us on a silver platter.

The other thing that has been on my mind lately is when is President Obama ever going to fulfill his campaign promise to his daughters, Malia and Sasha, and get them their puppy. I know he's been a very busy man, with trying to fix the economy and his recent trip to Europe, but Vice President Biden was able to get his own puppy, Champ, several months ago. If the president needs a special adviser on canine affairs to get this job done, I'm perfectly willing to submit my candidacy for the vetting process. I don't have any problem with delinquent tax issues, or undocumented domestic help. Every year when I go to the vet for my check up, he takes my temperature the hard way, so how difficult can the vetting process be. I think this has waited long enough now, and it's time for President Obama to move this up on his agenda.

Well, that's all for now. I'll be scouring the news, and listening to the Sunday talk shows with dad tomorrow, and post you next week. To all my Jewish friends, belated Happy Passover, and to all my Christian friends, Happy Easter. As for my atheist and agnostic friends, just keep wagging your tails.

Beacon Hill

I'm recuperating today from my walk all over Beacon Hill yesterday. Dena thought it was such a lovely day that we should go to see how many flowers have popped up in The Public Garden. I kept trying to tell her that we need a few more days of sunshine before The Garden will look like a paradise....did she listen...hummm! We did spot the unusual beauty above hiding behind some bushes.






They took a couple of shots of me, one you'll see I'm on the bridge trying not to think about the tasty ducks in the pond behind me. The other is in front of our favorite breakfast spot The Paramount.

Tagged by Brind'Amour

Five random things about me, Harry the Wonderdog!
1) I LOVE wine especially when it is red and expensive.
2) I burp like a sailor.
3) I love lotion and licking lotion off feet and hands.
4) I love to swim in the ocean but I get diarrhea afterwards.
5) When my tummy gurgles at night it scares me so I get in bed with Robert and Dena. They say I crowd but Dena is the biggest crowder in the world.

Now may I tag my buddies Homer, Tucker,Daisy and Leo and Wembley

My Cousin in NJ

I have quite a few cousins but one of my favorite canine cousins lives in Middletown, NJ. She is quite the dog and as you see has royal blood coursing though her veins. Check out the picture we found, it has a striking resemblance to her don't you think? Chelsea is a West Highland Terrier. As you may know they are spunky, alert and full of energy. Chelsea has a lot to say, which is not unlike human women. I often hear her trying to get her two cents in when Robert and Dena are talking to Paul and Gladys. Paul usually says some really bad swear words to Chelsea, which I think makes her bark even more just to annoy him (Paul loves her more than he likes to let on)...Gladys on the other hand realizes she is doing her job (there are motorcycles, birds and bunnies she has to sound warning) and moves to another room to talk. I follow Dena and Robert where ever they go because usually there are some funny stories exchanged in these conversations. My humans and Chelsea's humans love each other and wish distance didn't separate them.

One thing I am looking forward to doing with Chelsea is taking a nice long walk in her neighborhood; then we can go to this place called Dogs on the Farm. It would be fun to stay overnight, it'd be like summer camp for us. I understand they have all kinds of activities like digging, going into puddles, swimming and laying in the mud. Since it is a farm I can only hope they have some nice fresh horse poop to eat and some dried poop to roll around in. Robert thinks this activity is gross (sometimes I sneak some horse poo when we are walking in The Garden or The Common when he isn't looking). This is one of my all time favorite things to do. Chelsea and I won't tell Paul cause he will think it is the most disgusting thing ever.

G-20 Summit

Well, I've been here with my dad, desperately trying to get his attention, but for the past couple of days, he has had his nose pressed against his monitor reading the online NY Times, when it hasn't been buried in the WSJ. He's kind of a news hound you know. He chews up the news the way I chew up tennis balls.

I'm still trying to understand what all the fuss is about with this G-20 Summit Meeting that was just wrapped up in London. Dogs have summit meetings too, but we just call them meet ups, and they're usually held in a park somewhere. Our summit meetings look much more fun than the one in London. I would have thought President Obama would have thrown a ball to Gordon Brown at least when they were outside 10 Downing Street. I can understand not playing ball in the house because I'm pretty sure there are lots of expensive things that could break if Mr. Brown went chasing after the ball.

Judging from the appearances of most of the attendees, the G-20 Summit was not a walk in the park, or a day at the beach, both of which I think should be tried the next time. Everyone looked pretty serious and somber, especially Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel. I'm pretty glad that President Obama didn't try to play catch with them because they both looked like they would turn on him and bite him on the hand. In fact, I swear I could see Mr. Sarkozy's lip go up on one occasion when they were talking about expanding financial regulations, and seeking to blame the United States for the global recession.

It seems to me like pointing blame at the U.S. for the recession right now is like blaming a fire for destroying a house. All the while, President Obama, while admitting the failures of the American financial and regulatory structures, has tried to muster every fire department in his command to put out the flames. Tom Friedman is right. We live in an interconnected world - what originates in the U.S. has repercussions in Europe and Asia - and vice versa. Erecting barriers and enforcing restrictions are not solutions, and in fact will only cause greater problems and prolong the current pain every nation is feeling. What is needed instead is improved coordination and better oversight. Free markets work best when the playing field is level, when there are clear rules for participation, as opposed to no rules at all, and strong punishment for those who would try to break the rules.

Clearly, we need to rethink and reset the way our financial markets work, but right now the most important response is to put out the damn fire before it causes more destruction. Once the fire is extinguished we can search for the bogey man, and beat him with sticks when he is caught. And then we can get to work on finding workable solutions to prevent a similar series of events from happening again. Personally, if they ever get around to finding the bogey man that caused this, I would like to take a big bite out of his derriere.