And hello again!

Winter's in full swing and the doggies are restless inside the house. My treadmill is my best friend and our 20-something recent graduate is theirs. Jono takes them out for runs and plays fetch with them at the schoolyard.

Spike went to a happy home 1.5 years ago: we traveled for the summer and our friends fell in love with him. So... Bella - whom we call Missy -  needed company. Purebred, stocky Ziggy came along.

Ziggy joins the family. Ready for his
second grooming to turn him
into a poodle

He had the strangest haircut and I wasn't sure that he was ever going to look good. But our groomer Yvonne is a treasure, and Zig now looks like a poodle. He's friendly, outgoing, barks when people come to the door ... and adores Missy and me.

Dog wrestling while I study

Ziggy has a different temperament to Missy. She's the twirling princess. The ballerina.

He's our linebacker, our always-up-for-a-chase 6-yr-old toy poodle. Ziggy grew up with a grandma and grandson on an acreage. When grandma had knee replacement surgery, she had to rehome the instigator of trouble in her pack of 5 (German shepherd, lab, and 2 other big dogs). She was afraid that Zig would get hurt when she couldn't keep her eye on him: he loved to run up and down the opposite side of a chain link fence to be chased by the big dogs.

Eager for a treat: Missy and Ziggy in January 2013

Long story short - Ziggy became ours in October 2011. He and Bella sleep in the same crate, play tug-of-war and other games, and groom the yuck from each other's out-of-reach places like their tear ducts. They're great mates.

On the coupler, ready to go

Our granddaughter loves to take them for walks, too. Good doggies!

A one-year-old, ready to go with the dogs

Of course, I check in with Spike regularly. He lives in a walking suburb and his people adore him and have spoiled him to death. Life is good in doggie-land!