Air Control!

"Don't even think about, Meathead!" threatens Gino.

"You don't have clearance!
STOP IT!" shouts Gino.




"Ma!!!!!
Bruno's flying without
permission again!" tattle tales Gino.

Blue 2002 ~ 2008

Thank you all for your kind words, support and prayers. It's been rough; but I get through the day knowing that Blue is in a better place void of pain.

Blue was full of attitude and fire. She taught me that you could be a bitch and still have people eating out of the palm of your hand. Blue was special like that.

Blue has a distinctive look of disdain she would reserve for me and, every now and again, the dogs. When she used to give me that look, I would tell "Please! I'm not intimidated by your sour face." But secretly, I was. I'll admit it out loud now, Blue. That look did scare me. :-)

Ryan found an old video I took of Blue where she throws that distinctive look towards Bruno. In this video, Blue was recovering from having her pelvis shattered by a car. She walks kind of funny and you can see she has a slight shuffle in her back legs. But that still didn't stop her from reminding the dogs who exactly was the boss around the house, shattered pelvis be damned.

I wanted to share this video with all of you so you could see just how special Blue was to me. And just what a butthole she was towards the dogs. :-)

Why I Constantly Laugh

Pia at Just Another Dog Blog tagged us to participate in"Five Things I Laugh At, But Shouldn't."

So here we go...

1) Gino "Attacks" Bruno

I should not laugh at this. In fact, I should never even let this occur.

Whenever Bruno is playing fetch, whether it be with a stick or ball, he gets into a state that my friend Lisa calls "Lizard Brain." He cannot focus on anything else but the object being thrown and will obsess his full focus on the object until it is thrown.

This pisses Gino off. I've never understood why, but perhaps having a big brother who goes into "Lizard Brain" mode so quickly annoys Gino. Gino will first bark at Bruno...that never works. Gino then launches himself with full force and latches onto Bruno's jowls. Bruno is in la-la land and doesn't notice Gino. This will eventually continue until Bruno's jowls are bloody.

From The Dogfathers

Those who have witnesses this in person will ask in amazement "Bruno lets Gino do that?!"

I don't think it's a question of "letting" but more a question of "Does Bruno even notice that a black pug is hanging from his jowls?!"

I try not to let Gino do this. I will hold him back if Bruno is playing fetch so that Bruno can go home with his jowls intact. But every now and again Gino breaks free from my grip and runs full force towards Bruno, ready to taste some American Bulldog jowls.

From The Dogfathers

2) Carmela Doesn't Share

One weekend, Ryan built a beautiful bed for the crew. He painstakingly designed it, began to build it and stained it a beautiful, rich color (not shown in the picture below).

The entire time he would comment to me "I hope Bruno loves this bed. This is mainly for Bruno and his hips. Hopefully, his hips will hurt less on this comfy bed."





Enter Carmela.


She decided that Bruno is not allowed on the bed and, if he stupidly decides to try, she'll bite his freakishly large head off. And she has. Frequently. Which results in a lot of this...



Yes, that is a three pound dog preventing a hundred plus pound dog from sharing a very large bed. Yes, that is my hundred plus pound dog with hip and elbow displaysia laying on the floor (albeit with a small rug runner for some comfort). But what can you do? Every male knows it's in their best interest to not mess with a b*tch.

3) Bruno's Fear of Binder Clips

My big, tough, muscular American Bulldog ...


can be brought to quivers with the mere possession of a binder clip.

Yes, that's right, a binder clip.

Close your eyes Bruno!

He can spot them a mile away and run for the hills. Or, if the situation is dire, move full-sized mattresses out of the way to escape them. Right, Lisa?

I have to give him credit; he tries. He barks at them ferociously and sometimes even cautiously approaches them.

But it always ends with the binder clip winning. Call me cruel, but witness it for yourselves...

"Oooh! A cookie! Cool!
WTF?!? That's not a cookie!"

::::stress yawn::::






::::low rumble growl::::

notice event #2 occurring in the background



"That's it!
NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!"

We're working on this issue. Step one is for me to stop laughing as soon as he sees the binder clip.

4) Vinnie Has Limits

This is Vinnie.



Vinnie eats cat poo whenever the opportunity presents itself. In fact, all poo is a delicacy. Cow poo, fox poo, geese poo, duck poo, horse poo...all excrement titillates his palate.

But heavens forbid you fart while he is in the room with you. He'll give you a face of utter disgust and leave the room. Honestly, he acts like you just unleashed a weapon of mass distruction and the smell is too much for him to take. This from a dog who eats poo! I wish I had a picture of the face he makes, but that would mean I'd to admit to farting. And I don't do that. Ever. Only Ryan. :-p

5) Gino's Ego

Gino has a huge ego and a fierce competitive streak. Specifically when it comes to anything that Bruno does. Anything Bruno does, Gino can do a thousand times better. Never mind that pesky little hundred pound difference!

Fetching logs from the river?

No problem!

Fetching logs and swimming at the same time?

Easy peasy!

Catching snow balls?

Any idiot can do that!

Lunging for Frisbess?

Please! That's child's play!

We try not to laugh at him too much. He's entitled to his little Napoleonic ego. Having a large meathead brother constantly overshadow your skills can be frustrating. You have to remind people every now and again that size is not a limiting factor!

Secretly, I know he idolizes Bruno. He just won't ever admit it.






And there you go, folks. I hope you had a good laugh with me. This was a fun thread, despite the fact that it took me eons to finally reply. But I have a good explanation! My computer pushed daisies when I first tagged by Pia, taking along with it some of the pictures I wanted to use in this thread. But excuses are like asses, right? Everyone has one and they all stink.

At least it was worth the wait, right? ;-)

Now, we're tagging Buzz's Food Lady. We want a glimpse of Buzz Buzz Full O' Fuzz's inner most life.

Get at it, Rossie! Gimme some Buzz!

Chihuahua PMS

"Get. That. Thing. Outta. MY. FACE.
NOW!"

A Year Ago: I'd Eat You First

A Sister Helps A Brother Out

"Are you going to be able to finish
all of that bone?" asks Carmela.

"I can help!
Don't be afraid to ask for help!"

What The Mafiosos Were Doing A Year Ago: Neo-Maxie-Zoom-Dweebie!

Tiny Tot

Nothing tans my ass more than seeing backyard breeder (BYB) ads for "teacup" dogs. First most, there is no such thing as a "teacup" dog. Secondly, I cannot stand it when they place the pups next to a can of Coke or, better yet, inside an actual teacup to emphasize how how tiny the dog is in real life.

Presenting Exhibit A:








and Exhibit B:



Carmela has decided that it's time they stop using the usual teacups and cans of Coke and move on to something more creative.


Why not a bottle of ranch dressing?









Or better yet, why not a bottle of olive oil?







Wait! Don't let the creativity juices stop flowing there! If you're going to advertise "apple head" chihuahuas, why not post them next to an apple scented candle?






I tried to pose Carmela in the typical "teacup" pose, but she wasn't having it...

"I'm not getting in there."

"Why don't YOU stuff your ass in there?"

But if you really want to be different, why not try something completely out of ordinary? Why not a sprinkler head?

"Ok, you've really lost your marbles now."

"I think the readers get the point now.
Enough with the charades!"

As you can see, this whole topic makes my head throb.






Carmela's about to pick up the phone and give these "breeders" a call...or report them to the IRS for all of that undeclared income I'm sure they conveniently forgot to declare on their taxes from the sale of these "teacup" puppies. She hasn't decided yet.

Strike A Pose!

Gino and Vinnie: This Is How We Chew It

Gino was given a beef neck from the lovely bounty, but he kept dragging it all over the place. Maybe it was too precious to chew and he wanted to save it...so he proceeded to bury it!

I quickly traded him the beef neck for pig femur and that seemed like a fair trade to him.

"I'll be wanting that beef neck back!"

Ok, so I was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. :-p

"Pffffffffffft!"

Vinnie took his time pondering which end of his raw meaty bone he should tackle first. He's a thinker, that pug.






He quickly decided that he should start from the middle...

"Just like a Tootsie Pop!"

And then he figured out a better use for his long tongue...

"Sluuuuuuuurp!"

Holy!! Vinnie, that's just obscene!

"My bad!"

Bruno & Carmela: This Is How We Chew It

Alright, I'm back in business! Slowly, but surely, I'm back to taking pictures and uploading them to make up for all the pictures I lost when my computer pushed daisies. Sadly, I had my picture set ready to post a "Things I Laugh At But Shouldn't"...but the computer eated it. :-( That's my next homework assignment and I haven't forgotten!

But enough about me... ;-)



The Canine Mafia is in raw meaty bone heaven. My local raw food co-op recently located a beef supplier willing to sell lots of goodies to us raw feeders. I was able to get a case of some very meaty beef necks.

"Yummmm...
beef neck!"

Seriously, they are very, very, very meaty...








And for some odd reason, they make Bruno chew like a cone head!

"Shaddup."

Of course, since these beef necks are bigger than Carmela, I had to give her one! But that didn't quite work out.

See, Bruno became somewhat of a butthead with these necks. He wanted them all and darnit if some little Chihuahua was going to get his precious lot of beef necks. As soon as I gave her one, he ditched his and tried to punk her. Yeah, she didn't back down and I could see this quickly leading to no good, so instead she got a smaller sized bone.

"Are you serious?!
This is what I get??"





"I guess this will do for now."




She was content for a while.



"So are you going to get out of my face,
or are you going to get out of my face?"

She Fits Right In...

Today marks six months that Carmela joined The Canine Mafia. Can you believe time has flown by so quickly?



She's quickly learned the ropes. Especially the part about keeping the boys in line.

"I am a force to be reckoned with!"

Far cry from the dog I found wandering straight into traffic that fateful night, isn't it?

Photo taken by Letitia