behind the scenes

Hi Everybody-

Im sure you have seen when a few of us got to be in a famous sports magazine a while back. It was a lot of fun meeting all the magazine folks and getting my picture taken. Picture time means lots of cookies come my way. The people always hold cookies next to a camera so I will look at it. Then I get one. Heh, little do they know, I got them all figured out. I only look for a second or two, then turn away. I get way more cookies doing that. Mmmmm, cookies.



Anyway, my dad thought I should share this " behind the scenes " photo of my bud Cal and me working it for the camera. He said it was too cute not to share. Phooey, cute is for girls. We don't do cute. What we do is look cool. Yeah...Cool.

My dad also said I shoud thank everyone who helped, and for once, I think he might be right. So, BIG THANKS to, Jim and Deanne for the great story and pictures they put in thier magazine. Also big thanks to Cal for taking pictures with me, even though you didn't get any cookies. And I can't forget Brian, Asha, and Debbie down at Peninsula Humane for helping me score this great job. You guys are more than cool.

Life is good,

Jonny-

Introducing Mr. Barker

My whole name is Iggy Piggy Barker,
but you can call me Iggy.

As an explanation of why I haven't introduced myself until now, I will just tell you that I like to take new things sorta slow...like the other day I got a new bed in my crate, and I decided that I shouldn't touch it for at least 24 hours...no sense in rushing into things if you ask me. This is me 14 months ago...

and this is me now...

Every morning I wake up really early, just before the sun and I peek one eye open to see if I am still in my cozy bed in my new life and when I see that I am, I am so happy that I get up and do a little dance in my crate...it makes the people here think I need to go outside and pee. I don't have to pee, I am just glad that California isn't a dream.

Week Six and Steep Next Steps

Thursday was my six week surgery checkup. The surgeon said my x-rays look great and my knees are most definitely on the mend. If you’ve been following my little story, at my 3 week blog I complained of being picked up, put down, and picked up yet again because I just wanted to have some fun and RUN. I heard the surgeon say the next step in my rehab is lots of steps, as in lots of stairs. My first thought was boy, oh boy, freedom at last! It started this morning, up the stairs, down the stairs, up the stairs. It’s not what I thought it’d be. This is hard work. I look up at her, but she won’t pick me up by my handle. She ignores my big round pleading eyes and I have to do it on my own. Those stairs are so steep and my legs are so tired. I wish I’d never complained about feeling like a purse. Now will you puleez pick me up!

My New Years Workout

Since the New Year, my people have been helping me workout more. They have been letting me run on my treadmill almost everyday. I LOVE running on my treadmill, it is so much fun!  

I got this cool new harness called a back pack to help me work out while the tiny human was here. My people say I am a real working dog when I wear it. When I am more used to wearing it and I don't bump in to things so much, I can carry stuff around for us all, like water and treats. That will be really cool. I like to work and be a good boy. Here I am getting ready to go for a walk in my back pack. I was wondering what was taking so long - lets go!

I have been helping my dad on his bicycle, too. When we go to his races I run next to him after his race to show him that I am a good athlete too. I can run so fast I'm sure he has a hard time keeping up with me. Here we are resting after our workout.My people say a tired Uba is a good Uba, so I hope all my working out makes me a good dog because I do get tired.

hugs,

Uba

A Very Important Day

Hey Everybody!

I got long snuggles with my lady this morning while she watched TV. It was great- just like a whole extra Saturday! I even got a cookie! She said it was a Very Important Day because of something called Politics. I don't know much about Politics, but she said the man on the TV was our new President, which is like a pack leader. She said he talked about freedom and respect for everybody no matter who you are or what you believe. That sounds just like what pit bulls need, too. Sometimes people make faces at my man and lady or say mean things about us, and they haven't even met us! But this year things seem different. Lots of new friends are finding forever homes, and more people are getting a chance to learn new things about all of us. Maybe they'll keep letting us be ourselves and not judge us just because of where we came from. I sure hope so.

Well, after all that hard TV-watching I was ready for my nap, and today I'm just glad I'm free to be me in the sun.

Love,

Ernie

It's the Jhumpa Cam! Say "Cheese"!

You are never gonna believe this! Back when we had the real tree in our house and all the pretty lights everywhere, I got a whole bunch of new toys and fun games and lots of treats from my person and my Gramma and Grampa and my Uncle Glenn and my cousin, Kapowie. See, Powie is my favorite friend in the whole wide world - he's a dog, like me, but he's really big and so silly and fun and he makes me want to jump and play a lot. He's so cool.

Anyhow, Uncle Glenn and Powie gave me this awesome present when we had the real tree in the house called a camera. I know my person has one of those but it looks real different from the one I got. Well, my camera snaps on the fancy necklace I wear every day and it clicks pictures of the stuff I'm looking at. Like this:

That's in my dining room and I'm sitting up on top of a big snuggle box (my person calls it a 'kennel' or sometimes a 'crate') so I can see out the window. I learned that cool trick to jump on top from one of my cats, Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion and now I can jump up high just like him. Sometimes we sit up there together in the sun and I love it.

So then I wore my camera on my walk with my big brother, Pig, and got this funny picture of him walking. I like to walk back behind Piggy next to my person and my person says I heel real good. I don't know what that means but I really like to be by her so it works out great. Anyway, we all had to wear our warm coats today cause it was colder than ZERO degrees. Brrrrr. I still liked it anyway cause I got to see a lot of stuff with my camera.

Well, I'm real tired from my big Saturday so that's all for now. Stay tuned for more adventures from the Jhumpa Cam!!!

There's a Tiny Human in my Sunny Spot!

Last week my people cleaned up the room where Lulu and I nap in the sun and they closed the door and wouldn't let us in there. It was kind of annoying but they said someone called godson was coming to visit so we couldn't spend time in that room for a little while. Eventually a nice lady showed up with a tiny human. I've seen these tiny humans out on walks and at class, but never in my house before. I was kind of nervous. Maybe the tiny human would make everything change! He definitely seemed pretty scary.

The next day my dad said it was time for me to meet godson.
He let me and Lulu go into the room with our sunny spot and asked me to sit nicely and say hello to Khari, which is another name for godson, apparently.
hmmm... this tiny human may not be so bad. I gave him a cautious sniff, and a good lick to see.He didn't really like the lick, but he didn't seem too bad to me, so we enjoyed the sunny spot and talked about being small
This human puppy gets a lot of attention, and he still does scary things sometimes, but I am getting used to him. I hope I get to lick him again soon.
hugs,
Uba

I am not a Purse!

Tomorrow marks the 3rd week since my knee surgery and Iʼm supposed to avoid any rigorous activity for many more weeks. Things are going well and Iʼm feeling much better, though I keep getting picked up when I try to run after squirrels, when I try to run up or down stairs, and for that matter, when I try to do anything fun. Seems the surgeon had this all figured out and made sure I came equipped with a handle on my jacket. I feel like a purse.

They Took It Away!!

Hey everyone...The Inspector here! Sorry I haven't been around much, but I've just been trying not to freeze my tail off here in Minnesota. I need to figure out how to get M-guy and M-gal to move. It's so cold here a few weeks ago they even brought a tree inside to keep alive. It was even one of those trees that live through the winter for crying out loud. When they brought it inside, M-guy was watching me closely like I was going to do something to the tree....not sure what that would be though. Sniffing it made me want to pee, so I unfortunately had to take a break and head outside to color some of the snow. M-guy told me I was a very good boy. Not sure why the big fuss since I always go outside to go pee. Anyway, I got to go back in after that and investigate the tree some more to figure out what they didn't want me to do to it. The green pointy things smelled good, so I took a little taste. That must have been what he didn't want me to do because he opened my mouth, reached down my throat and pulled out all the skinny green things I snagged off the tree. They tasted so good though, I just couldn't help myself from trying again and again and again. They caught me most of the time unfortunately, but I was able to sneak some green goods off the tree here and there.

Then it happened - they went and took the tree away! If I would have known they were going to take it away because I kept eating it, I would have been more discreet. I figured I was golden until it warmed up at least. Don't they know that tree is not going to survive out there?!? I guess I'll have to settle for all these bones and new toys laying around that we got in these big socks that are hanging in the house for Christmas. Oh wait....I saw Santa this year and we hit it off.....maybe he'll get me another tree I can eat.

H

Christmas vacation!

Hey everybody! I've been so busy with school and playing with my friends that my people said I needed a vacation. Well, okay, they said they needed a vacation but I got to come too so that was fine with me. We went up to the mountains, and it was really, really cold but I got a new red jacket so I didn't mind very much. At least it wasn't a SWEATER. My lady says she's going to make me one soon, and if I don't watch out it might be pink. ACK! I sure hope not. My friend Hana would really look better in pink 'cause she's a girl. But this vacation was fun! We went for lots of walks in the snow, and I kept trying to dig to the bottom of all that cold stuff but it turns out it's really, really deep. We went for rides in the car and had lots of cookies, and my people were with me all the time so I showed them all kinds of things and brought out all my toys for them to play with. My man and lady laughed and said I'm cute when I'm tired.

I don't know what they meant-- I'm cute all the time! But I really was tired. This vacationing is hard work. Here's me on the way home right before my nice long nap. Zzzzzzzz.....

Love,

Ernie

My Merry Little Christmas

Hey, all -

Check out my latest vid! I recently celebrated my first christmas in my forever home here in new york. It was snowy and amazing!!!! Thanks to all for all your good wishes and support! And thanks to John Denver and the Muppets for a great song! It certainly is a very merry little christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 2009! This is gonna be our year, pibbles!!!

jhumpa

Do I Look Like a Cookie?

I've noticed a funny trend in my life - everyone is always biting and pulling on my cheeks. One of the first things my favorite friend Tim did to me when I got to California was to nibble on my cheek. I wasn't sure how much I liked it, but I like him, so it was OK. Now he does it every time I see him, which is FUN!

Then I moved in with my family, and my dad starting doing the same thing. Sometimes he pulls on both of my cheeks and we both make funny faces.

Even my newest girlfriend Sydney nibbles on my face. I love Sydney - she is so pretty and fun. She came to California and Bad Rap from New Orleans because someone called Katrina flooded her house.

I'm starting to think my face must look like a yummy cookie or something. I think its a good thing to have cookie cheeks because it makes everyone wants to play with me, and that means lots of FUN and I can bounce and zoom around and its ok to be crazy.

Happy New Year!
Uba

Ouch! My knees hurt!

What is going on around here! I finally get comfortable around this place and then she hauls me off to the vet and next thing I know, they hack off and move part of my two knee bones and now they're full of pins and staples. So, here's what I know. I had medially luxating patellas, grade 3, and they hurt all the time. Now, they still hurt all the time and my legs and butt are bald! Well, I have to be honest, the pain is starting to go away and I'm being treated like a little prince. So, it's really not all that bad.

She snapped a photo of me when I got home last Thursday. It's the most pathetic look I could scroung up at the time.



Then a couple of days ago, my staples started itching really bad and I needed to lick them. A lot. I got really scared when she put on the plastic cone, so I decided to stand in one place without moving for a couple of hours. Well, I guess my pouting worked. She got concerned, called my vet, and went out and got me some toddler pants. It's humiliating wearing these toddler stretch pants, but at least the cone is gone. I've figured out how to take off my pants a couple of times, but she just puts them back on.




I suppose I'm complaining a little too much about the pain and my pants. I am starting to realize that there are people out there who really do mean well, people I've never even met, and I think they are actually looking out for my happiness. So perhaps I'll make everybody happy and leave the pants on (for now).

I Think I Might be a Movie Star...

This might be as crazy for all of you to believe as it is for me, but here's the skinny: I am a movie star! Or at least that's what my person says. You will not find me in the latest Batman movie (it was a really cool movie, though, and I would have been really good in it!) or in any Disney animated flick. But as proof of my small-screen stardom, my person helped me put the movie here, so you can see my big premiere for yourself...

Cool, huh? I love being in the movies!

And the rest of my life is, well, great. My person actually brought a real tree inside a few weeks ago and it made me so excited that I ran around the house, smashing into stuff and grabbing toys like a total maniac. I didn't knock the tree over onto the floor yet and my person says that makes me a really, really good girl. The weatherpeople say we're going to get a big snowfall here in New York today (a "foot" of snow - funny, cause I have four feet and they seem really normal. So what's the big deal about one foot?!?!?) Anyway, maybe we will get some pics of this big snowy deal and show them to you.

My Friend Grace

Hi Everyone,

Me and my friend Grace have been hanging out a bunch the last few weeks. We get to go on walks together, run, play, and tear up my dad's lawn. I don't think he likes that too much, so we try to do it when he is not looking.




My dad says we are two peas in a pod. What's a pod ? I still don't get half of what people say. But they are nice, so Grace and I just go along with it. Besides......they have all the cookies.
















Jonny-