Pet Pride - Happy Birthday Sasha!

JD - Hi everyone! Happy Pet Pride Sunday! We're so pleased that a little earlier today we discovered our broadband connection had suddenly lurched back into life...

Max - We kept checking to see if it was working....

JD -"Hey - human! Is the 'pooter connected yet?"

JD - ....and finally, today, it did!

Max - So, without further ado, we'd like to wish a belated happy birthday to the gorgeous, the wonderful, the intelligent and beautiful Sasha...

JD - Sasha - wistful sigh!!

Max - We're sorry we couldn't do this post on your actual birthday Sasha - stoopid Internet! - but we hope you were spoiled to within an inch of your life and received piles and piles of pressies!

Happy Birthday Sasha - we hope you had fun!

JD - We're so mifffed that our little gifts to you (and Oskar and Ruby and Penny) are STILL in transit - bloomin' post!

Max - So we decided to give you a small 'sneak peak' of one of the items that will - eventually and hopefully! - arrive with you very soon!

JD - Here is a snapshot of us modelling it for you! The photo is a bit dark we're afraid, but at least you can see ONE of the things you'll be getting - it's a comfy, schnauzer-specific pillow!

All this plump comfiness will soon be yours - he he he! - at least we darn well hope so, if those snails and fishes EVER get a shift on and deliver your parcel!!

Max - We thought a beautiful, fragile little puppy such as yourself could never have enough soft cushions around to sink her delicate little head into!

JD - We're now off to check on all your blogs - oooh, we've missed you all!

Max - We really have - and we hope you've all had a great weekend!

Join in the fun at Pet Pride....

We DON'T have the technology....

JD - Hi everyone - we are without broadband again - a big truck drove into our exchange and took it out!

Max - So we can't post or visit blogs - this is being written at a pal's house....

JD - So, until it's sorted, here is a 'test card' (bit blurry as taken from the puppy-cam!) showing us lazing around waiting for broadband...

Max - We hope to be back on line soon!

Goodbye to our hero

Most of you probably know by now that our wonderful blog friend Mr Darcy has made the journey to the Rainbow Bridge. Mr Darcy was wonderfully gentle and kind and - along with everyone else - we immediately fell in love with him. We couldn't help but look up to him, and not just because he would have towered over us!!

We already miss him terribly, but we realise that it was simply his time to leave us, even though he was still young. Sometimes the very good and the very best amongst us are taken first and it's not our place to question why, we simply have to try and say goodbye and remember all the love and joy that surrounded them.

We're just so pleased we got to know you and your family Mr Darcy. Run free with the wind at Rainbow Bridge big guy - you were and always will be our hero and we'll play with you now in our dreams. Much love to your family - JD and Max.

(If you haven't done so already please visit Mr Darcy's family to let them know they're in our thoughts at this difficult time.)

Pet Pride - Birthday Boys, Guests of Honour, and Some Great News!

JD - Hi everyone - it's us, the birthday boys, he he he! This is quite a long post because there are a lot of photos in it - we hope you all enjoy!

Birthday posing - don't we look all grown up and handsome now that we're one year old?! He he he!

Max - Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes so far! We're having a great time - we know we're being thoroughly spoiled but as they say- 'every dog must have his day' - so we don't mind if we do, he he he!

JD - We'd like to say a huge thank you to Bozo for featuring us on his Pet Pride meme today - we were so excited when he mailed us and asked us if we'd like to pen a few words!

Max - Yup! Pet Pride is our favourite meme, so if you haven't already joined in the fun why don't you swing on by there and check it out - after you've finished reading our post of course, he he he!

JD - Yesterday we had a small barkday pawty and invited some of our pals over. It was great fun - here are a few photos of the event...

There we were, playing in the garden and when we came back into the house loads of our pals were here - it was so exciting!

JD - "This is me, Pippa and Archie in the conservatory. Can you see my 'birthday boy' badge that I'm wearing on my collar?! He he he!"

Harry enjoyed his piece of birthday cake so much that he took it out into the garden to make sure no one else got even one crumb!

Max - "Do you need any help finishing that piece of cake Millie? I'm more than happy to step in if you need me to - that's what friends are for you know....!"

Max shows off a bit sitting on the table so he can look down over Archie and Millie!

Archie 'stole the show' really - he is so photogenic, and doesn't he know it, he he he!!

Pippa liked the look of of one of Max and JD's stuffies!

Archie poses with a football - he's always smiling!

Archie strikes a pose again - every side is his good side!

Max - Although it wasn't officially our birthday yesterday we nevertheless opened the parcel that the gorgeous Sasha had sent us....

JD - ....yes, yes - we openly admit it, we were simply showing off in front of our friends that we had received a parcel from such a beautiful pup all the way from Australia. They were everso impressed!

JD poses with a letter that Sasha sent explaining what she had sent us....

This is Rat - he is wonderfully squidgy and chewy. Erm - you can see that we have already nearly chewed off his front two teeth, he he he!

This is Flea - he squeaks! He is SO much fun....

Max - "Um, s'cuse me female human, but I think you'll find that Sasha sent Flea to US, so can you stop with the flashy box thing and let me HAVE him please? Ta everso.....!"

JD - "S'mine!" Max - "I think you'll find s'mine!" JD - "But I want him!" Max - "Well, so do I!"

JD and Max - "We LOVE Flea!"

JD - Sasha is so generous! She also sent us some great 'boy bling' in the form of some wonderful, glittery initials for us to hang off our collars!

JD shows off his 'boy bling' - looking good!

Max - We LOVE them! When we went out on our evening walk we really did STRUT! We felt so cool and handsome!

Max - "Sasha explained in her letter that Rat makes a very comfortable pillow - she's not wrong!"

JD and Max settle down for a recuperative snooze with Rat!

JD - Sasha also sent some kangaroo treats and kangaroo burger bites - wowee! They're very healthy food and we can't wait to try them out.

Max - Thanks SO much for all your great pressies Sasha - we absolutely LOVE them - and you.... *blush!*

JD - Yes Sasha - you are simply wonderful......*blush!*

Max - We slept for most of yesterday afternoon after all the excitement of our party, it was a great day!

JD - So, today is our actual birthday - we can hardly believe it, it's all gone by so quickly!

Max - We started the day by opening the pressie that our lovely treat lady 'M' had brought round for us....

"For US? Why thank you, we don't mind if we do!"

Max - Rip! Tear! "Nearly there, just a bit more chomping and I'll have unwrapped it...."

JD - "Mmmmm, treats! Oooh, they're yummy!"

JD and Max really enjoyed ripping all the paper off their pressies - and then they brought Flea over to enjoy all the mess and fun!

Max is torn - Flea or paper? Paper or Flea? Decisions, decisions.....!

JD - We got two lots of treats from 'M' - and some doggie shampoo....

Max - Eeeek!

JD - It's especially mild shampoo Max, without any soap or irritants, as 'M' knows I suffer a bit from itchy skin. Isn't that kind?

Max - 'M' is the best!!

JD - We then went for a lovely walk at the park and met up with loads of our pals, including everyone who had been at our party the day before!

Max - Everypup said they had enjoyed the party - we were very pleased! When we got back home we were allowed to open ANOTHER pressie that we had been given by another generous friend.

JD - This is Lily - a very beautiful GSD friend of ours. She's an excellent swimmer and wrestler - and she's very pretty! Um - I look a bit goofy in this photo, but that's the effect a pretty girl has on me you see.....

Lily's presence makes JD act a bit goofy!

JD and Max - "Ooh, oooh - for us?! It smells so GOOD....mmmm!"

Max - "What can you see JD?" JD - "So many good things Max!" Max - "Well, hurry up and choose us something already.....!"

JD and Max - "Darn humans with their flashy box - hurry up and take the picture so we can eat our goodies!"

JD - "Chomp! Chomp! Delicious!" Max - "Snarfle! Chew! This tastes divine!"

Max - Lily got us a huge bag of treats - there were chews and biscuits and almost every treat that a doggie could possibly imagine - wow! We love it - thanks Lily!

JD - Yes, thanks Lily - you are wonderful!

Max - We still have some pressies to open from our humans - we'll post some photos of what they got us a bit later on in the week! They're waiting to give us our birthday stuff a bit later on as they don't want us to get over excited - and we've been having a very exciting few days!

JD - We sure have! But before we leave we'd just like to say, much as we have LOVED all our pressies and all our spoiling we nevertheless think the BEST thing that has happened over our birthday weekend is getting the news that our handsome bloggie pal, Mr Darcy, who had a major operation on his back last week, is slowly getting better.

Max - It'll be a long haul for him still, but he's heading in the right direction. Keep on going buddy - we're all rooting for you and we're sending you big hugs and snuggles!

JD - Hope you're all having a great weekend everyone and thanks again for all your kind birthday wishes!

Join in the fun at Pet Pride....

Camera Critters - Mud Glorious Mud!!

JD - Hi everyone! Now, we had quite a confusing day yesterday!!

Max - We sure did! Do you remember the exciting parcel we got from Singapore?

A parcel all the way from Singapore!

JD - Well - this is what it contained.....

Ooooh - a pot of dead sea mud - excellent!

Max - It's dead sea mud - a special spa treatment for us doggies!

JD - Our great pal Cobi sent it to us after we commented that JD suffers a bit from itchy skin. Isn't Cobi - and his humans - wonderfully kind and generous?

Max - He's the best! Anyway, yesterday our humans decided it was time to try it out!

JD - So they scooped some into a bowl....

JD and Max - "Sniff, sniff! Oooh, can we eat it?!"

Max - ....and then mixed it to a lovely, sticky, muddy consistency with some water....

Gooey messiness - doggie heaven!

JD - .....they took us outside - and proceeded to slather it onto us!!

JD and Max - "Are you SURE we can't eat it?!"

Max - To say we were confused was putting it mildly!

JD - You see, only the other day we rolled in something equally muddy and got told off very sternly!

Max - So why, a few days later, are THEY rubbing this glorious mud into our fur!

JD - So, let me get this straight.... When we do it, it's WRONG. But when THEY do it, it's perfectly okay? You know Max - sometimes I think I'll NEVER understand humans....

Max - Oh - I hear you bro!! Anyway, this mud stuff was wonderful! It felt so good!

JD - It sure did - you can't really see it very well in the photos below - for some strange reason our humans didn't want to get too close to us after we'd been slathered....!

Max - "Aw, go on female human - let me run into the grassy part of the garden and roll in the leaves! I'm sure it'll make this mud pack even more organic!!"

JD - "Sniff, sniff! Why Max - you smell divine! He he he!"

Max - Our humans took us directly to the groomers wearing our mud packs - they said it was quite hard to wash off, he he he!

JD - We now look wonderful - our coats are so shiny and we feel great! We can definately recommend this 'being pampered' malarkey - thank you SO much Cobi - we feel everso stylish and everyone we've met since has told us how soft and shiny our coats are!

Max - We also want to show off the GREAT present we got from our wonderful groomers for our birthday. Look.....

Exciting birthday presents from our groomers - our humans are delighted at just how squeaky the toys are, he he he!!

JD - Look, look! Two squeaky toys and a MASSIVE bag of doggie chews - how lucky are we?!!

Max - We LOVE our groomers!!! We're not allowed to play with our toys until tomorrow as it's not our birthday until then.....sigh! Our humans are so strict with us......humph!

JD - BUT - one thing that female human did today was bake some cakes for us and our friends.

Max - Yup - male human couldn't believe what he was seeing! Female human doesn't 'do' kitchens, apparently, so for her to actually bake - well, needless to say she must obviously love us VERY much!

JD - She used the recipe that Oskar posted and baked a big cake and lots of little ones for us to share with our pals....

Scrummy peanut butter and honey individual birthday cakes - super yum!

Max - They smelt SO good that we DEMANDED to try them! Well, we wanted to make sure they were definitely okay before we served them to our pals...

JD - Yes, we were only thinking of our friends.....

Max - ....we're good like that you see, he he he! In the photo below we are snarfling them down at about one hundred miles an hour - oooh, they were fabulous!! You can't even see one crumb on the floor - we didn't want to miss a tiny piece!

JD and Max - "Snarfle, snarfle - burp!! Hey - look how SHINY our coats are in this photo! That's the mud treatment y'know!"

JD - They were wonderful, one of the scrummiest treats we've EVER had! We could hardly believe that they had been baked by female human....

Female Human - Hey!

Max - ....which just goes to show how great Oskar's recipe is, he he he!!

JD - Before we sign off today we'd just like to say that - thanks to many of you - we have now donated £192 to Dog's Trust! That was due to 50 comments being left on our 100th post....

Max - ....and 46 signatures being left on our guest book....

JD - ....timed by 2 - because there's 2 of us - which equals £192!! We are very proud.

Max - Have a great weekend everyone - if you can, please swing by tomorrow to see what we get up to for our first birthday!!

Find out what all the critters are up to at....