Top Dog

So, we headed out a bit late today. It ended up working out just fine however. We saw a beautiful yellow Lab puppy named Sam with Buddy the Bichon Frise. Shortly there after we ran into Fergus. Fergus wins the Top Dog Award for today. My person took a picture of him but it came out bad so you will just have to picture in your mind the handsome Yellow Lab who is a very cool guy. Guess who he saw today. A snapping turtle. I do not know if it was Snappy or someone different. Guess what my boy Fergus did? He barked at it. You go Fergus you brave soul! (singing) Go Fergus, It's your birthday. Go Fergus, it's your birthday.

Anyway off we went and we ran into Sally. She saw some ducks in the river and she dove right out there to chase them. I was proud of her until I realized how high the river is and how swift the current was. Sally's person went over to the top of the hill and kept calling her until she could swim out. It was a little scary. Glad you are OK Sally.

At the beach we saw Ollie, (Golden Retriever) Cashus, (Boxer) Ziggy, (Dalmatian mix) and Sally of course. When you look at the picture, think about this. What are they all looking for? The ball of course. Who is the only dog laying down and relaxing? Me! I have the ball! Tee hee. They finally figured it out and Ziggy got the ball after I was on shore with it and it rolled down the hill. I was having a good 'ole time playing with them that time.We walked out with Ziggy and Cashus. They played keep away from each other the entire time. I got the ball once and my person made me give it back. No fair!

Anyway, I am glad it stopped raining long enough to get a walk in!

Merlin the ball hider.

blah

Tons and Tons of rain makes Merlin a sad boy! I am dreaming of sunny days.

Merlin the Drenched

LUCKY TO HAVE THE PARK

I am just so happy to have the dog park today. It was just one of those days when I we would just zip through the park without the socialization portion of the walk. I don't know why I ever think that. First of all we know a lot of dogs and peeps there. Plus, if you know my person you know she just loves to talk!
Anyway, we headed down the path the way we used to always go . Down at the river there were a few dogs I did not know but I took a big long dip in the water. I felt to good.
Off we went and walked alone until we got to the top of the big hill. We saw Cody with the beautiful tail. I was so glad that my person brushed me yesterday because that Cody really does have a tail that makes him a contender!
We saw Amber with Pierre, Benji and the lovely little Trixie in the distance. We stopped and hung with them for awhile and the socialization began. Yap, yap, yap! I really like all those dogs so it is good to hang with them. We also saw the family Elvis. That includes the 2 Bassets, Elvis and Bessie (I think) the Dachshund Brewster and the Mastiff puppy, Henry. Boy, I thought we had a big family. Henry is not even a year old yet and he is starting to get almost as big as Abby the Mastiff.
Daisy showed up a little ways down the path. Wow! 2 days in a row. Lucky me. OK now here is the part that I do not want to tell you but my person is insisting. I did not report this the other day and I thought I had slid under the radar. My person and I saw Josie today and my person had to stop and tell her this story so she is now insisting I blog about it. OK we were leaving the park on Saturday morning and we saw Josie's person but Josie was not right next to her. Neither of us thought much about that. As we continued down the path we saw Josie on the right hand side of the path intent on something on the ground. I hurried up to see what she was up to. It was a little tiny mouse. It was as small as the fake ones we have at home for our feline siblings. So, Josie was bating it back and forth. What my person also wants me to tell you is that as I approached them I jumped backward and almost fell over. My person thought that I had been stung by something so she hurried up to be sure I was OK. Once she saw the mouse she laughed her head off. It startled me is all. I was not afraid. Well, sort of not afraid.
Anyway, there I told the whole story!
Merlin the fearless.

Oh Happy Day!

So today it looked like my person was not going to get me to the park. I would have been one un-

happy dog. She finally said the magic words "OK Merlin, lets go load up" That means that I should jump into the way back of the car. Last week I jumped to soon and banged my head because the hatch back was not all the way open yet. OUCH! I gotta watch out for that.

When we got to the park there were very few cars in the parking lot. This made me very sad. We started walking and before long I heard a "hello" from behind us. It was my buddy Daisy~ I was happy to see her. We all walked together and before long Daisy and I were running around having a wonderful time. I felt OK about Daisy's person and my person being on their own. Daisy's person is one of my person's original canine cronies.

We ran into Watson and Willie. The 4 of us chased... Well, I don't know what we chased. all I know is that Daisy took off running with Watson hot on her tail so Willie and I followed suit. Whatever it was we were chasing I can tell you no body caught.

Down at the river we saw Big Scout. He and I are also neighbors. You can see what a handsome guy he is in the picture. He is so mellow I sometimes try to make sure he is breathing. I took his ball from him and he did not care one little bit. I went and chased Daisy again just because I could. Clyde showed up as well as Bandit. It was a nice small pack of mild mannered doggies all sharing space. Fergus came by to say hello just as we were leaving. Daisy and I walked out together with Bandit close behind. The weather was not too hot and the river was so cool that the day was nothing short of perfect. My person is waving a brush around which can only mean one thing. I have to go and hide.

Merlin the invisible.

What are those peeps up to?

OK, so splain' this to me??? Last night my peeps went out with out us dogs. When they came home I immediately knew they had been with Benji, Pierre and the lovely Trixie. After further investigation I could detect Fergus, Winnie, Scooter, Ziggy, Dexter, Fred, Rosie, Rio, Piper and their other Beagle, Amber, Daisy, Rascal, Oliver and maybe some more. Where in the name of Lassie were these peep? I was not amused by their silence and their sneakiness.

The dog park was a fun time this morning. We saw Abby the Black Lab right away and walked with her for awhile. Soon, we ran into Pierre, Benji and Trixie. Guess what? My peeps were at their home yesterday with all these other peeps. I am shocked and hoping that all the peeps come to my house soon. I feel a little left out!

Anyway we walked with those 3 for a bit and ran into Sonic, Sculley, and Holly. You know that means only one thing. My person goes gah, gah over the people puppy! Those peeps are way cool though because she bent way down so I could give that little guy a sniff. He smells of all kinds of good stuff! Hooray!

So, off we went again and we saw Fergus who was also wondering where his peeps had been. Pierre and the crew filled him in. I think we need to unite around this issue. Doggies for gathering together everywhere. Or something like that.

Anyway, we saw lots of dogs at the river today. Ziggy (pictured above) was there and looking splendid as ever. Get this there were 2 dogs there together. Their names were Nula and Luna. Can you see what makes those 2 names so cool together? Can you huh? Anyway I gotta fly because my peeps are taking a day trip and they are leaving us at home. They better not be going to hang with my BDFF's peeps without me again! That would be just wrong.

Merlin the Misunderstood

mysteries

Well, the mystery of why my persons pictures of me are not coming out good anymore has been solved. The lens on her camera phone is cracked. Probably happened on one of her many trips from the upright to the prone position. I sort of like how I look in this picture though. Sort of mystical and esoteric.

So, I did get to go to the park today but I did not see Bosco! I ran into Ziggy and we walked a long time together. I chased her a little bit but mostly I did my run like the wind through the high grass dance alone. Down at the river I saw Cashus and a few other dogs but I did not really know anyone. I was hoping to see some of my BDFF's but I was disappointed. So, off we went after I had a refreshing lay down in the river. We saw Nesta but they were headed in the other direction. Too bad because Nesta's energy was exactly what I was looking for this morning. I saw Nanook who was flying solo today. I guess they have a new brother so there are some separate walking arrangements going on. I bet Mimi would have liked that when I was a puppy. I made her nuts.

We ran into this family of 3 who are an Irish Setter named Anna Bell, a Lab named Chloe and a little Yorkie named Oliver. I see this family regularly and always give a little "Whas' up, dawg?" but today I walked with them briefly. That Anna Bell is a looker I tell you. The other 2 are pretty sweet too. It was nice to make acquaintances friends.

I saw Jack the Rhodesian Ridgeback on the way out. He does not try and dance with me like Cody does. I find that refreshing. Manny, Amber, Beara and many more were all near the parking lot as we left. It is so humid today that I actually laid down in the way back of the car on the way home.

I hope it cools off some so I can really enjoy the great outdoors.

Merlin The Wizard of Northampton

bummer

Hey Bosco thanks for the note. I totally understand what you have to deal with with your person being a wimp. Yesterday my person was not feeling well. Today, we have some strangers doing work on the house so I have to wait until they are done before I can walk. I mean what is more important here!
Next week we will be at the park between 8:45am and 9am. Our girl has to be dropped off at camp at 8:30 so I have to wait until that is done. Again, something before me!
My person has promised me a LONG. walk tomorrow.
I should cut her some slack because I woke her up at 2am to let her know that someone was lighting fire crackers on the next block over. I just thought she should know. It was not because I was scared.
Merlin the second class citizen!