Comet's Blog - July to December 2007For past blogs see: Right after that, things changed again; they started doing deliveries. I was allowed to run loose around the "barn" where there were a bunch of Christmas trees with special ribbons on them. They'd load some of the trees on the back of a big truck, then I'd hop into the middle seat and Papa Stan would drive the truck. It was rather cramped, so I had to either curl up tight or put my head on Mama Jo's lap. I couldn't sit up because then Papa Stan couldn't see out the side window. To find our various destinations, he used a small box he said was a GPS system. The Two Leggers nicknamed it "Lola" after one they saw in a movie. Sometimes Lola didn't work too well and Mama Jo had to look up where to go on a map. We stopped at many houses - sometimes very big, fancy ones. A few times we pulled up outside office buildings or banks. There were a lot of steep, winding roads and some of the driveways were challenging. Papa Stan did A LOT of backing up and turning around... When they got to each stop, the Two Leggers would get out, untie ropes or bungee cords and take one or two trees off the truck to carry inside. Most of the time I had to stay in the truck when they did this, but sometimes they let me run around and I'd get to sniff and look for cats. One night a scaredy cat on a balcony saw me and did a flying leap over everybody's heads! Sometimes they'd be a while because the people inside wanted them to fix something with their tree. Once we got back to the barn, I could run around again - there were some nice grassy areas to run on and the Two Leggers played WhipWhir with me almost every day. A guy inside a kind of tent in the barn was spraying white stuff on trees all day long. The humans called it "flocking." When the trees were dry, they would put the flocked trees in big plastic bags before they loaded them onto the truck. The really big ones would be wrapped in a tarp. The flocking made a big mess and also made the trees heavier to carry, so the Bipeds didn't like delivering the bigger ones much. After a bunch of days working, the Bipeds finally got a day off and were so tired they slept most of the time. The next day off was sooner and we drove in our own truck to Sacramento to visit with the girls and meet some relatives. The final day off, Papa Stan didn't feel good. He got something called a "charlie horse" in his back muscles and was throwing up all day and half the night. Mama Jo and I were very worried. Luckily there were suddenly only a few deliveries so the next day the owners said they didn't need my humans any more, the job was over. Hooray! The Two Leggers went to the other tree lots to say goodbye to the nice people who worked there. Papa Stan was still sore but able to walk. That night we packed everything up and drove to Sacramento again. Wonder what we'll be doing next month? My ears tell me this time called "The Holidays" is crazy busy for a lot of you. Just remember your dog needs you just as much as ever and might not understand some of the things you're doing - in fact, maybe you could think like me - don't work too hard unless the treats are worth it! Snooze whenever there aren't any cats to chase...Comet P.S. I'm not wearing any antlers this year - didn't want to get mistaken for a reindeer - ho, ho, ho! NOVEMBER 15, 2007 
Has another month really gone by? Last time around we were in that Los Gatos place. I forgot to tell you about our neighbor dog there, Lowboy, kind of a wiener dog with long legs. He let Mama Jo take photos of him with a necklace on. Fat chance you’d catch me doing that! He and I got along okay though.
The lady in the office where we parked our trailer had four big dogs. The biggest one was an English Mastiff and she was really huge. As you can see, she liked to put her paws up on the desk to say hello.For walks the Two Leggers took me to the beach a couple of times. We also walked into the surrounding neighborhood where I could go off leash in some areas. There were some other dogs running loose but no one came running after them or yelled at me. Refreshing! There were also chickens loose in some yards. Birds don’t interest me as much as cats or squirrels so I left them alone. I can tell when my Bipeds are packing up now. First they pack up all the outside stuff, then they put away stuff inside and crank in the couch that sticks out. Then they back the pickup to the trailer and hook it up. This time we left in the middle of the night. The Two Leggers said they didn't want to deal with a lot of city traffic so we got to our new place very early, before my usual waking time.
Things started getting busier at the lot. We had a few people coming in applying for jobs. Then the owners arrived one night and asked my Two Leggers if they wanted to start work a week early at the main lot. They agreed. The next day they started work there, putting the fence up and putting a bunch of poles in. Later, everyone moved their trailers to the other lot. The Bipeds moved our trailer three times before everyone agreed it was in the right place. It sure confused me! I've been allowed off leash here too, so far. Today several other humans helped my people unload trees and put boards and some lights on the poles. I watched Papa Stan chainsawing the bottoms off some of the trees and putting them in stands. It's a lot more interesting than some places we've stayed. There's also a little dog to chase after and a cat that lives in one of the motorhomes. So I'm counting my blessings right now. I get to go to work with my humans and get petted any time I want 'cause all the humans like me. Hope you can see all the good stuff in your life too... Till next month, here's a paws up from me!Comet OCTOBER 15, 2007 The Two Leggers left the trailer somewhere in Sacramento and we drove a very long way. They let me out a few times in places with grass and dog smells. When it was really dark, they stopped at a place where we went into a room. They went to sleep on the beds; I got to sleep on the floor. The next day we drove a whole bunch more before we got to a house with a very big yard. I was so glad to be off leash, I didn't even growl when Mama Jo's brother petted me. The Bipeds were very busy the next few days and only took me for a walk at a park the last day. A big Golden Retriever named Shilo was using a dog ramp. The humans started talking. They gave us two books with Shilo's pictures on the cover, saying Shilo had written them. Mama Jo has been reading his stories to me. They're pretty good. Early the next morning we stopped to visit with Papa Stan's sister. She took us for a nice off-leash walk in some woods near their house. I had a lot of fun running up and down and back and forth a big dip until I was tired. Their young son was scared when he saw me running 100 miles an hour at him, but Mama Jo made sure I didn't bump into them. The Two Leggers got a new camera at a store (although no pictures yet because they're waiting for a special wire) and then drove to a farm that grows tons of Christmas trees to talk with the people who lived there. Back in Sacramento we stayed with the daughters, then said goodbye. With the trailer in tow, we drove to the place we're in now. It's called "Los Gatos," which means THE CATS and there are a LOT of cats here. But I'm not allowed to chase any of them and I have to be tied up. However, Mama Jo made a new fun thing for my WhipWhir. It's like a giant sausage made of socks. I sure like it because I can pretend it's a cat I'm catching and shaking. And we take walks up the road to a trail that goes uphill through giant trees. There are some animals called donkeys in a field at the top. The noise they make is much louder than my bark. Sea lions are also louder than me. We've been to a few different beaches in the past couple of weeks and heard them. I only tried to taste the water twice. Yesterday we went to an off-leash dog park at a beach. I sniffed noses with a Great Dane. When I barked at him, he jumped back. His owner thought I was going to cause a fight. But I don't like to fight - I just like to see things run away from me! Guess I look scary because my ruff goes up when I get excited. It's rained a couple of times so the ground's been wet and I've been inside more. Not my favorite thing to do but at least I'm around my Two Leggers most of the time. Well, time to go - gotta let that cat walking by know I'm watching. Hope you enjoy the Fall weather with your dogs! SEPTEMBER 15, 2007 About two weeks before we left the campground, a lone coyote started coming by across the river in the evenings. The first time I saw it, I wasn’t tied up and chased it. The coyote was so upset it yipped for the next fifteen minutes! – That earned me my latest nickname, "The Intimidator." One day we took a trail hike to Shadow Lake and back. It was lovely to be able to swim in the lake after the hot climb. Later that day, a human teenager came up to the Two Leggers while they were cleaning one of the pit toilets and told them his father had fallen down a glacier a couple of days earlier and broken his ankle. The kid needed Search and Rescue services so we drove him to the nearest phone. Fortunately, the man survived the 150-foot drop. A helicopter was able to airlift him to a hospital the next day. We got to play cowboy with a bunch of horses and mules that had broken out of their pasture. The humans and I were in the work pickup truck and discovered about ten critters wandering in the road, determinedly heading back to the main pack station. We first had them follow our pickup, then later herded them from the rear when a wrangler showed up to lead them along the last four-mile stretch with his flatbed and a bale of hay. The biggest danger was, of course, traffic – there were several buses and SUVs driving too fast around the steep curves. Luckily there were no accidents. It sounds like we’ll be in our present location another week, then it’s off to the Santa Cruz mountains where the humans have another job lined up. It’s supposed to be some miles from the nearest town so should be a more dog-friendly environment. I’ll let you know how it goes – till then, here's a thought: do whatever you can to keep your dogs happy, ‘cause that’ll keep you happier too! Ciao! (Chow?) - Comet P.S. The camera's broken so no pictures until we get another AUGUST 15, 2007 Campground life has continued pretty much in the same vein. There've been a couple more potlucks and quite a few more explorations.
On another part of the hike, we went up a hill made solely of red cinder rocks. Strange to see it sticking out in the middle of the forest with no trees on it. Made for a great view of the Minarets and Ritter Range though.I've had to do some modeling again. Party hats for dogs! (My idea of a good party is to chase a dozen squirrels or cats at once... The Two Leggers haven't ever given me that kind of a party.) On one day off we drove a long way to some place called Carson City. It was very hot. We left the pickup at a garage and walked a long way to a nice green park. Sometimes I had to wait outside a store while one of the Two Leggers went inside. A nice lady gave me a whole water bottle to myself. On the way back we stopped off at Mono Lake, which smelled good to me, although the humans said it smelled bad. We also took another hike around a lake named Convict Lake. There was a roaring creek that we crossed and at one point we had to wait for a string of horses and their riders. They were so close I couldn't stand it after a while and started barking at them! Well, there's more to tell but I think I'll save it for next month. Tails up and wagging, everyone! Life on the chain continues to be rough at times, especially when there are not that many campers. Right now every space is filled and there's a lot more activity with people walking by with fishing rods or dogs or driving by in their cars and motorhomes. Just about every morning we get in the work pickup truck and drive out of here to a bigger campground. I'm allowed to run off leash ahead of the truck in some areas, so that's my morning exercise. The humans clean bathrooms and pick up trash from bins in various places, then drive back here and do the same. After that it's breakfast time. I always get something tasty, as long as I lie quietly and wait. When I get tired of being on the chain, they usually let me inside the trailer. Or else I accompany one of the humans on their bicycle rounds of the campground or ride with them in one of the pickups to another job or town a couple of days a week.
We've also taken hikes out of the campground onto the Pacific Crest Trail. One time I ate a fresh piece of dung that the humans said was bear poop. We heard crashing sounds but didn't see the bear. We had a bear scare in a couple of the campgrounds where a bear was ripping people's tents with them inside. The game wardens trapped the bear before it could seriously hurt someone. They said they'd never had a bear act that way; usually bears will go right into a tent after something that smells like food to them.A couple of times we've had another set of Two Leggers join us in our explorations. They don't have a dog but like watching me do my thing, so I like them. A few times the Bipeds have spent the evening talking or playing music with them or other campers around a campfire. We have also had a group potluck for the workers and I got to taste a variety of good things. The weather has been just about right most of the time. It got pretty hot some afternoons, though, and then it rained, which smelled really good and cooled things down again. Sometimes the humans take me down to the river so I can cool myself off, which feels great. All in all, life's not too bad for this dog! Till next month -
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I was getting kinda bored in that place when we up and moved again. We didn’t go that far. The new place had lots of grass and a pond with plenty of birds but no cats. I wasn’t allowed to run off leash on the grass although it would have been a great place for sprints.
It was an empty Christmas tree lot with a fence most of the way around. I was allowed to be unchained. Made for a nice change, I tell ya. The daughter called Mo visited for a few days and slept with me on the couch. We drove to a big open hill with trails where you could see the ocean and then went to a beach where there were lots of other dogs running around. I got surprised by a big wave - not good for my dignity although I acted as though I didn’t mind. We also saw a very big bird.
During one hike, there was a chimney between some boulders that the Two Leggers could climb up but it was too steep for me. They found a rope hanging there, used it to truss me up and I was hoisted about ten feet. Weird!
Once a week the humans get the day off and we go exploring somewhere. So far we've checked out several old gold mines and a stamp mill, Convict Lake, Rainbow and Minaret Falls, the Hot Creek springs, the Earthquake Fault, Obsidian Dome and the Inyo Craters. Just about every place I've been able to go off leash and chase critters. Somehow I never catch anything.