CATCH THE SQUIRREL

March, 2003

Hi, World! It’s me, Taffy! I know I haven’t written in a while. There are just so many things for a little puppy like me to explore and play with that I have been quite busy. I have been in my Forever Home for three months now and I love it more every day. I love my People more every day, too, especially my Mommy. She takes me for a walk when she gets home and we get to explore all sorts of wonderful smells.

Yesterday was what Mommy called “A really nice day.” She snapped on my leash when she got home and instead of just taking me for a walk around the park near our house we took a really LONG walk to a place called “The River.” My paws needed to walk really fast and in the end Mommy picked me up for a bit. When we got to The River, Mommy said dogs like me were not really allowed it, but she wanted me to see something called “Boats”, so she carried me in anyway. There weren’t many other people around, but there were a whole bunch of funny looking birds. Mommy said they are called “geese.” They honked and waddled and flapped their wings and just acted silly.

Anyway, Mommy took me right up to the edge of The River and pointed to some big things floating on the water. She said they are called Boats and they carry things and people to other places. I don’t know why anyone would want to go to other places, because here is just perfect.

We sat on a bench for a while and Mommy said it was time to go back. I was getting a little sleepy, so I was glad. I jumped off the bench and Mommy and I ran for a few minutes on our way back home. Then, I saw the funniest thing! It was a little animal, smaller than my cat cousins, and he had a long and bushy tail. He made funny little chippy sounds and Mommy said he was called a Squirrel. I thought it would be fun to play with him, so I chased after him, barking out “Do you want to play?”I guess Squirrels do not understand Dog. He looked sort of scared—which I was sorry about—and then he scampered up a tree as fast as he could. I ran right up to that tree and kept telling him that I only wanted to play. And although I do not understand Squirrel, I am pretty sure he said something rude.

Mommy laughed and bent down to cuddle me. “What were you going to do if you caught the squirrel?” she asked me. I did not have a good answer, but I thought about it on the way back to my Forever Home. I got really tired towards the end and Mommy had to carry me. When we got home, I took a great big drink of water and curled up for a nap.

When I woke up, I thought again about what Mommy had asked me. What would I do if I caught the squirrel? I guess I knew that he was faster than me and that I couldn’t climb the tree. So why do it? After I thought about it for a while, I came up with the answer and I want to share it with the World. I know that sometimes Humans try to do really hard things and they cannot always do them. Sometimes they even know they cannot do them. But  that is not what matters.

The fun is not in catching the Squirrel. The fun is in the chase!

More later on, Friends! Now that I’ve had my nap, I’m going to see if I can catch a cat!

Love,

Taffy

YOU CAN BE BRAVE

February, 2004

Wow! Something awesome happened today, human friends. It SNOWED! I did not know what it was at first and I barked at it. I don't bark a lot--apparently humans frown on it--but it just scared me when we opened the door this morning and there was lots of white stuff on the ground. And MORE falling from the sky! Mommy said it was snow and she left the door open so me and my cat cousins could watch it come down. It got pretty cold, though, and the cats wandered away after a while. I just stayed and watched it. It was so pretty!

Later on, when it stopped falling from the sky, Mommy said we could go out in it. I was so excited that I thumped my tail really hard and I even peed a little but Mommy wasn't mad. She put on my sweater while my human brother Allen went out the back door. We couldn't even open the front door, the SNOW was so deep! So Allen had to shovel out the walkway.

Mommy picked me up and carried me out. It was so cold and clear outside. The air smelled interesting, sort of like when I get a bath. Then Mommy put me down in the SNOW and I squealed! It was really COLD on my paws. But also soft, like my blanket. I gave it a lick and, guess what, it's really water! WOW! That was a surprise!

Mommy had on boots and when she stepped in the snow it sort of went "crunch!" and then she sank down into it. She called me to  come to her, but I was a little worried about it. I'm still a pretty small puppy and I was afraid I would sink into the snow and disappear from my Mommy and my Forever home. But Mommy came back and petted me and said I could be brave.

I didn't know if I could. The SNOW was very deep and I was very little, but I also thought it would be fun. Allen was making round balls from the snow and sliding down the hill and I really wanted to do it, too. So I stuck out one paw and felt the cold and heard the crunch. Then  stuck out another paw and I stood on TOP of the snow.

It was FUN! I ran to Mommy and left paw prints in the snow! She picked me up and laughed and I licked her face because  I had been SO BRAVE!!!

Here is what I want my human friends to know. It is  okay to be scared of something that is new. But if you know your people love you, you can still step out and be brave. It might turn out to be something really FUN!

Now, I love the snow. I played in it for a really long time, then Mommy and Allen and I went inside and Mommy wrapped me in a warm blanket. I fell asleep by the fire. It was a really good day.

So, don't forget to take a chance. Be brave! 

Love,

Taffy

LET EVERY DAY BE A SURPRISE

January, 2003

Hi, World!

I haven't written in a while because I have been busy getting bigger and stronger and finding out more about my people and my forever home. Right after I came here, I went to visit my new Granpa at a place called THE BEACH. It was a little scary at first because there was SAND that stuck in my paws and made them feel tickly. But the sand was great fun to sniff and poke my nose into! There was also something Mommy called an OCEAN. It was big and noisy and I did not like it at first. But Mommy carried me down to it and put my paw in it. GUESS WHAT? The OCEAN is really water, like what is in my dish, but it is a lot louder and bigger!

It was such a SURPRISE! I decided that I liked surprises and that everyday I would try to be surprised by something. It seems to me that there is such a great, big wonderful world and most humans don't take the time to enjoy it. They are always worried about bills and work and stuff. Dogs aren't like that at all. We like surprises!

Speaking of surprises, my cat cousins had a fun surprise yesterday! My legs are getting longer and it is easier for me to chase the cats. But they like to tease me. They are not really mean, they just do not know what a nice little dog I am. So they sort of swipe their paws at me then when I try to play, then run up the stairs. My legs were too short for the stairs. So the cats sit up on the top step and laugh at me.

But yesterday when they teased me, I found I was big enough to run up all the stairs! I was so happy that I barked. You should have seen those cats. Boy, were they surprised! They both jumped up onto the railing. I think they are starting to like me.

Well, I'm pretty tired so I am going to take a nap. Mommy will be home soon and she will take me to the river on our walk. I bet I will find some new surprises along the way!

You should go find something that surprises you, too!

Love, 

Taffy

FIND YOUR FOREVER HOME

Taffy joined our family on Christmas Day, 2003. She left us for the Rainbow Bridge on January 1, 2017. Every day when I came home from school, Taffy would greet me at the door with "woo-woo-woo" and tell me stories about what she'd been up to. I accused her of making them up. But then I began to realize the words of wisdom she was imparting to me and that I best pay attention.

This blog is Taffy's, tales that she told me to encourage and love me while she was with us. I will always remember her love and I hope others will benefit from her gentle way of seeing the best of everyone.

Linda

December, 2003

Today I found my forever home! I was in a cage with my litter-mates since my birthday in October, but a man came in a couple days ago and said he wanted to buy me for his wife. ME! I felt so special that he picked me out of all the other dogs in the shop and so I jumped up and licked his face to show him how happy I was. He picked me up and cuddled me and I just knew he would make a really good daddy. 

So he brought me home and on Christmas Day I met my new Mommy. She is awesome and I already love her a lot. I have a bed to sleep in and toys to play with and my own bowls that I do not have to share with my brothers and sisters. I have two cats that are supposed to be my cousins. I want to play with them, but they don't want to play with me. Yet, anyway. I'll wag my tail and smile and we'll all be friends soon.

I am so happy I feel that I just could bust!  I have never wagged my tail so hard in my life! My Mommy took be for a walk and I got to sniff lots of interesting things. Then I had to take a nap because I  was so tired. I also have a new brother and a new sister. They are humans, not dogs like me, and a lot bigger than me. I think that's a good thing because they can help take care of me.

I want to tell you about my new forever home. It is not really big, but it is big enough for me. And the yard is pretty small, but that doesn't matter at all. There are still plenty of interesting things to sniff! 

I may be just a little dog, but I have big long ears. I heard what people said when they would come into the pet shop. Sometimes people would complain that they did not have a big house or a new car and other things that dogs do not think are important at all. Dogs know what is important. 

All  you really need in your forever home is people to love you, a warm place to sleep, yummy food to eat, and a few toys to play with. Did I say people to love you? That's the most important thing.

I'm going to go try to get the cats to play with me now. But I've decided I am going to keep writing because I'm a pretty smart dog and I think humans can learn something from me.

Gotta run!

Taffy