STRIKE!

It doesn't seem that we hear about strikes as often as we used to. Part of that is due to organizations that bring construction unions, for example, and contractors together - often before the issues get to the strike stage. The parties work issues out before the contracts are settled so that there are fewer surprises later on. Everyone gives a little, but everyone wins in the long run because strikes cost everyone money, time, hard feelings, etc.
I am not in a union; I don't think I have ever been directly affected by a strike. But I have great respect for people who are willing to go on strike for what they believe - expecially after they have tried to work on the issues through mediation. Striking can't be easy - standing outside in all sorts of weather; being yelled at by people who are inconvenienced by the strike; worrying about their jobs, their benefits, and their paychecks.
And for what? To get rich? Hardly. These working people are trying to get a living wage; trying to keep up with the skyrocketing inflation; trying to keep or get health benefits for their families. Let's show these people support and respect when we see them on the picket line.
Our thoughts are with the striking teachers, aides, and other employees of the Grundy County (IL) Special Education Cooperative.

MORE SNOW

We were supposed to get 4-6 inches last night, but it appears to be more like 2-3. Plus, it's 34 degrees, so it's pretty melty; not bad for us corgis. 4-6 inches would have meant that my woodle would have been freezing in the snow whenever I went outside. My brother Jordy loves snow; but he's a Husky! The Weather Channel says that it's going to be in the 30's and 40's for the next ten days or so. Yippy!

OSCAR NIGHT

My mommas went to an Oscar party at last night; so we kids watched the Oscars alone and uninterrupted. My sisters aren't really fashion concious, but their outfits are cuter than some of the dreses we saw on the Red Carpet. Do some of these humans really think they look cool?
Not many surprises in the awards ceremony. The rat won best animated feature; my cousin Emy loved that movie; it was the first one that she saw in a theatre. No Country for Old Men swept the main awards, with the Coen brothers winning big! Daniel Day-Louis took best actor, as we expected he would. Who is better at playing a totally believable bad man? Remember Gangs of New York? Don't come to my house!
Anyway, then my mommas came home, and the fun was over. Such is my life.

RYA'S GOTCHA DAY

Whoops! Yesterday was my sister Rya's Gotcha Day. Five years ago (can it be?), my momma brought her home from her rescue home and family in Washington, IA. I remember that she was so scared and that she obviously realized that I am alpha. She took a while to warm up to my other momma; but my mommas were very patient with her, and eventually earned her trust and her love. She's a very good sister; she shares her treats with me (well, if I take her treat, she does). Anyway, we are very happy she came to stay! Love you, Rya!

WHO WON THE DEBATE?

My mommas are for Barack Obama; of course they thought that he won last night's debate. My momma wants to share this interesting article from SLATE online magazine:
"How do you stop the progress of a stratospheric object filled with rocket fuel? This was the Navy's task Wednesday and Hillary Clinton's task at Thursday night's debate in Austin, Texas. The Navy hit its mark. Hillary Clinton didn't. She didn't really even take a shot.
"Clinton was occasionally aggressive, but not enough to shake up the dynamic that has her nearly tied in polls in the crucial March 4 primary states of Ohio and Texas. Clinton's game plan was to connect with voters, not to tear down Barack Obama. She took pains to show that she understood the concerns of regular folks and that she had plans to address them. She did this well at times, particularly in her final answer of the debate, but Obama turned in one of his strongest performances so far of this campaign. In an even match, the tie goes to the front-runner." Read the entire SLATE article here.

DEBATE

My mommas are settled down to watch the Democratic debate on CNN. They are looking quite serious; my mommas are hoping that Mr. Obama will win the debate. They don't think he has to try too hard--he just has to not mess up! I hope it goes Obama's way; if it does, I know there will be treats for all afterwards! Go Obama!

BUZZTIME TRIVIA

Friday nights, my mommas frequently take me to Sports Fans Pizza to play Buzztime Trivia. They take me along because I'm a better trivia player than either one of them! Sometimes, I win a game for them; last night, I was champion of the DUH category. When I win, I get to see my name up on the TV screens all over the place! It's a pretty heady experience for a corgi boy! Once in a while, my mommas take one of the other kids instead of me. BIG MISTAKE! They may do OK, but they never get first place like I do! What can I say? They know I'm their trivia numero uno!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My pack wants to wish everyone a very happy Valentine's Day! Don't forget to tell the one(s) you love how much they mean to you! I'm hoping to see my girlfriend, Cassie, so I can tell her she's my true love. (blush)

PRIMARIES

It's hard for my mommas to contain their excitement as Barack Obama's momentum is increasing! They have CNN on more than they have since the 9/11 disasters! I find all the political fuss quite boring; but if my mommas are in a good mood, usually it means more treats for me! Go Obama!!!

SNOW & COLD

This is one of Zorro's mommas. I have to say that I'm totally over the snow and totally over the cold. Really. I can sort of handle the snow; in fact, early on in the season, I even kind of like it. But now, in mid-February, it's getting old. Our street did not get plowed after the latest snow; so there are huge linear ruts running the length of the street. After the snow before the latest one, our street did get plowed; but because of the COLD, we have not been able to shovel the huge hump from the end of the driveway. Thank god we both have SUV's, or I don't think we'd make it out of the driveway! It's making me re-think the whole Prius idea for my next car.

DIABETES (Part 3)

My momma is very happy today! It's because I have had no accidents and I seem to be feeling really good! My problems yesterday must have been caused by the outside foods I ate; so momma is kicking herself (you have to see it to believe it!) for letting me do that. Anyway, everything is okey dokey now, so I'm hoping my momma will give me a big treat!

NEALEE

A couple of months ago, my momma heard about a sad little kitten whose arm was so badly broken that the arm had to be amputated. Our friend, Mary, was screening applicants for adoption. Only one person applied, and Mary wasn't particularly impressed; so my momma offered to take him.
Momma drove to Washington, IA, to pick up Neale, who was only 15 weeks old at the time. Neale turned out to be Nealee, when at the vet for neutering. Nealee learned very quickly to jump on my momma's desk and chair, and how to live with our other kitties. She and Hector and Snoopy have formed quite a bond.
Rya was very interested in Nealee for the first several weeks. She followed Nealee around the house, sitting out side the room she was in, waiting for her to come out. During this time, Rya and Nealee were forming a bond too. Now, Rya often lies with Nealee, sometimes holding her down and washing her fur and her ears. Such a good big sister.
I pretty much ignore Nealee; but if she gets into my space, I usually chase her a few feet to let her know who's alpha! But I have to admit, she is pretty cute! And a real survivor!

DIABETES Part 2

This afternoon, I had two accidents in the house. I ate some extra foods outside, so my momma is hoping that the foods caused my blood sugar to go up, which then caused me to have an accident. If it's not that, then she is worried that my diabetes is not as regulated as she hoped. Bummer. I can tell I'm not feeling 100% this afternoon.

DIABETES

A few weeks ago, when I started to have some "accidents" in the house, my momma also noticed that I was drinking a lot , and took me to the vet for a check-up. Dr. Hahn checked the sugar in my urine, and found that it was "off the charts" it was so high. She gave me an insulin injection, and did some other tests, and kept me there for the day. When she called my momma with the news, my momma was not really surprised; she had had a couple of diabetic cats over the years, and knew some of the signs.
When my momma picked me up, Dr. gave her a supply of needles and insulin, and instructions on how to live with a diabetic dog. Dogs' systems don't metabolize the insulin as efficiently as cats', so most dogs need two injections per day - at meal times.
I had to go back the following week, to check my levels in order to make sure my blood sugar was getting regulated properly. Dr. said that I needed to have one more unit per shot, so now I get 12 units twice a day. I don't really mind the shots; the needle is so tiny, I hardly feel it. And I can tell that I feel better! No more accidents! Not as much obsessing about food! And I get canned food now, because it has more of the protein that I need.
Some dogs' families are not willing or able to give insulin or in other ways cope with a diabetic dog. Such a situation significantly shortens the dog's life! My moms say it's easy and not very expensive to deal with my diabetes. If you want more information on diabetes in dogs, check out vetinfo4dogs. Your dog will thank you.

LIVI

I haven't yet told you about my new sister, Livi (next to Rya in the photo). She is a Corgi, or possibly a corgi mix, but she acts an awful lot like a true Corgi girl. My momma's friend told her that there was a sweet little Corgi girl at the Scott County Humane Society. My momma went to visit the two-year-old girl to check her temperament, size, behavior, etc, so that she could report to the Corgi rescue people. Momma said that Livi (Libby at the shelter) was very sweet, but very confident, and barking her displeasure at her surrondings like a true Corgi. After several weeks, Livi had still not been adopted; and Momma was getting nervous because the shelter is NOT no kill. So my momma adopted Livi. She came into MY house like she owned the place. She acted very nice, but she didn't seem nervous to meet me or my brudders and sister. She didn't even seem to be nervous around Morry; and Morry couldn't understand that! Now, a couple of months later, Livi (or Wittle Wivi, as my momma sometimes calls her) enjoys her new home. She and Rya act like good sisters and girlfriends; they like to play and race through the house and around the backyard. She likes to help Morry be official watch dog for the whole neighborhood! I guess she's going to stay.

GROVER

As of today, I have lived with my mommas for 6 years. My brother, Grover, at right, was a Corgi mix; he died six years ago this past Sunday, October 8. My moms were heartbroken. One of my moms found me at the local Humane Society, and fell immediately in love. What can I say!? I have been King of the household ever since.

GRAMMA'S

Jordan, Rya, and Morry, and I had to go to our gramma's house today. She has a nice backyard that we always enjoy. The trouble is that she also has a little Jack Russell Terrier named "Devil Dog" - OOPS! I mean "Maddie." She's smaller than most cats I know; she yaps a lot; she doesn't seem to understand the word "NO" - so what's to like? Last week, one of my moms and I had to chase her around her neighborhood because she got loose from leash. She ran like the wind! We just waited for her to tire out. Finally, she crawled under a garden shed, and then came up inside the neighbor's garden fence. My mom grabbed her muddy body and took her home. We spent 45 minutes on that goofy little dog!

JORDAN'S GOTCHA DAY

Today is my brother Jordan's Gotcha Day. In 1998, Jordan ran into our yard, and my mommas gave his some water. He had a collar, but no tags. One of my moms took him to the city pound so that his owners could find him. Because the pound only keeps dogs for one week, my moms checked on him on Friday; no one had claimed him, so they adopted him. He's a handsome, friendly Husky-mix who has been certified to do Dog Therapy work. He and one of my moms regularly go to a local hospital to visit patients. Jordan's a good big brother!

DA WIDDLE WIST

We love "da widdle wist" - meaning Corgese-L at Yahoo Groups - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Corgese-L/. It is a list dedicated to the fun, adventure, and mayhem that corgi kids so frequently get into. Not your typical list, though; the furkids are the ones posting and they are all fluent in "corgese" (of which there are many dialects). Check it out!

CRUMB-DROPPER

I just found out that Emily, the little crumb-dropper is coming tomorrow. She's my moms' granddaughter who is 20 months old. I love when she comes: she leaves graham crackers and Goldfish crackers (in the cup in the photo at right) all over the place! I wish she lived closer so that she'd visit more often!