A Very Special Day

Today was a very special day.

My joints still ached and my muscles were still weak and tired. I still felt dizzy and unstable when I got up from my bed. I still couldn't see or hear, and my mouth and nose were still sore and tender when I sneezed or tried to sniff things.

But today my breakfast was topped with freshly grated aged Parmesan. Today my lunch was a delightful medley of corned beef, smoked salmon and chicken, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and topped with shredded mozarella. Today I got to eat cheese whiz and chocolate sauce! 

And today was truly very special because of the loads of extra hugs, kisses, and love I got from my family.

Peace out,

Elston

RIP Elston Kumar McLovin

2007 - 2023

Elston's Big Adventure

I may be 14 years old, blind (my glue-coma [sic] got really bad), and mostly deaf, but that's not going to stop me from having a good time.

I was out in our yard the other night when I noticed that the wind had blown the gate open. I wandered out to the sidewalk, sniffed around, and decided to go explore my neighborhood. Carpe diem! Or carpe noctis? I wondered down the street and encountered all kinds of interesting smells (my nose still works pretty well). Naturally I headed in the direction where I could smell food far in the distance, and with the all of the dogs marking the sidewalk every day, it was easy to find my way and avoid being in the street.

When I finally got to the area where the local restaurants are, I was totally bummed to find them all closed! If they'd been open at 1am, I'm pretty sure I could have scored all kinds of treats by just sitting in the doorway and using the good ol' head tilt (works every time!). 

So I ventured on, and found a nice park to explore. Lots of interesting scents from eagles, rabbits, squirrels, and from the beach below. I was getting pretty tired since it was waaaay past my bedtime, so I found a nice sheltered spot under a bush to take a nap. I was starting to miss my comfy home and my family. And food. I was really, really missing my food.

A few hours later I woke up to the sounds of chirping birds. I'd been out all night! I wandered around the park for quite a while, partly because it was interesting, but also because I'd kinda gotten lost (and beagles never ask for directions).

Eventually I reached the road again and continued my way along the sidewalk. I was checking out a front yard when a strange lady suddenly started to pet me. She seemed nice, but she wouldn't let me leave. Then I heard her talking on the phone and she mentioned my name! 

A few minutes later Mom and Dad showed up. I was so happy they had come to get me, and they were very relieved that I was okay (not a scratch on me). They said I'd been out for 16 hours and was over 1.5 miles from home! It had been a big adventure, and perhaps a little too big for an old beagle like me.

Old Fart Beagle

Big little sister said something about a birthday today, so I got my hopes up for cake! But then I found out it was my birthday, so no cake (bummer). Everyone seems to be giving me extra love and attention today, so its still a great day.

Turns out I'm 12-ish human years old today! Wow, how time flies. I can still remember how excited I was 11 years ago when my family brought me home, and how wonderful my life has been ever since.

Yes, I'm an old fart beagle, but also a very lucky one.

I'm Back!!!

I'm sure you've all been wondering where I've been for the last 4 years. No posts about stealing food, getting stinky, cheating death, etc. Well, my computer got a virus. But now I have a new one!

Much has changed since my last post. First, my family and I moved to Seattle for Dad's new job. I got stuffed into a crate a loaded into the cargo hold of a plane for the 4 hour flight across the country. No drinks, no peanuts, no in flight movie. I tell you, it was worse than flying coach!

Once we got to Seattle, we stayed in a downtown apartment for 3 months while my family looked for a new house. I really missed having a yard, but it was fun to try stealing whole fish during our regular visits to Pike Place Market. I also discovered a new hobby: affixing my poops to the sides of lamp posts!

Finally we moved into our new house, it's so sweet! It has three different levels, a nice yard, and I can lay on the new couch and get a commanding view of my territory.

Then things changed again a year ago when Mom's belly got big and she had another litter! Now I have two little sisters, and the new one has just started eating so I'm stoked about gaining 8 pounds again. The little one pulls on my tail, pokes my eyes and whacks my head, but as long as she keeps dropping food, I think I can live with that.

I Haz Acquired...

the wonderful smokey odor of rendered brisket fat. That is all.

I Love You, Man!!!

Sparkee and I have finally forgiven each other for our, ah, transgressions. We just had great time chasing each other through the yard and play fighting. It had been over a week and both of us had a ton of energy built up, so it felt so good to play together again.

Any dogs can fight, but only real dog friends forgive each other.

The Big Fight

As anyone who's seen a Jude Apatow movie knows, the big fight and subsequent falling out are a key part of the bromance genre. And sadly, Sparkee and I got into a huge fight earlier this week.

At this point I don't even remember what the fight was about, all I remember is that we beat the crap out of each other for about 10 minutes before our humans were finally able to break us up. Sparkee gave me a nice gash near my eye, and I think I gave Sparkee a nice gash on his side. And both our ears got pretty torn up.

It's been a few days now and I really miss my friend. :-( Hopefully there'll be a happy ending just like in the movies.