City dog enjoying a walk in the park

OK, so it’s not Magnuson in Seattle on the waterfront. And so my mom wouldn’t dream of letting me go off-leash.

“You’d be half way to New Jersey in no time,” she says.

New Jersey? Come on, Mom. I’m a city dog but Jersey scares me, too.

This park is close to where we live. We meet nice dogs there. My mom likes looking at the old houses nearby. And I enjoy sniffing … and sniffing. One thing about Philadelphia: people here don’t toss food around the way they did in Seattle. This park is too clean for my taste. A crust of pizza here and there … an old chicken bone … nope, not here.

Notice my newly svelte figure. My mom’s really proud. She was less than thrilled when I arrived with a few extra pounds here and there. I could say I’m less than thrilled with our diet and exercise regime, but it wouldn’t do any good. A Mom On A Mission is not to be trifled with.

 

I knew it would happen sooner or later. Pumpkin, our adopted cat and newest housemate, isn’t satisfied with dominating the couch and my mom’s chair. She has taken over my bed – my favorite dog bed. As a city dog, I cherish my dog beds as my resting place.

Of course Pumpkin’s getting so fat she almost takes up all the space. She may be an adopted cat but she’s not at all humble about her status. What is the world coming to?

City dog and adopted cat share sofa

Now, what kind of headline is that? We’ve been together about a month now.

My mom’s finger must be getting sore from snapping all these photos. She’s so thrilled that Pumpkin and I share a couch together.

“Living proof,” she says, “you can adopt a full-grown cat and not have ANY problems.”

Well, Pumpkin IS full-grown. If she’d be any fuller … but I’d better not go there. My mom keeps a watchful eye on my waistline and rations my treats.

City dog visits art gallery

The best part of being a city dog is that I get to visit all kinds of cultural hot spots.

On Saturday, my mom and I went on a scavenger hunt to visit a dozen or so places in the neighborhood. As we posted earlier, the event was organized by BoneJour Pet Supplies to benefit Paws.

One of our stops was the Bluestone Art Gallery in our neighborhood. They gave me this beautiful bandanna so I could look like I’m part of the Halloween festivities.

My mom had forgotten her cell phone, so Jeanine took a few photos. Who says a dog can’t enjoy art? My mom admired the fabric art on the wall, but luckily some of the paintings were more at dog’s eye level.

Thanks, Jeanine! .

Resident cat has privileges

Creampuff, our ditziest housemate, has established her favorite spot on the printer, right next to my mom’s computer. My mom loves the printer, especially because she got it as a review product through the Vine program.

Creampuff has taken over this spot. “Let that upstart Pumpkin and the household dog have the couch,” she says, giving us The Look. “Besides,” she adds, “I get to look out the window without moving.”

Even Creampuff is too tactful to acknowledge that Pumpkin won’t fit on the printer. Pumpkin is as round as her name and, alas, growing rounder under my mon’s benevolent policy towards felines.

“Tiger lived to be 20,” my mom says. “I had 15 years of veterinary warnings. No more!”

THOSE dogs get raincoats

Pumpkin’s foster mom, Karen, has two dogs. No wonder Pumpkin isn’t afraid of me! She lived with these two. She preferred the pug.

Well, so would I. I like to play with the smaller dogs myself.

Notice that Karen has her dogs decked out for rain in these beautiful red raincoats. Don’t they look spiffy?

“You don’t need a raincoat, Gracie,” my mom said. “You lived in Seattle for six years. If you can’t handle rain by now, something is wrong!

“Besides,” she continued, “you used up your treat budget when you chewed up that twenty-dollar bill. If I can’t get a new one at the bank, no more treats for six months. Raincoats? Part of your treat budget.”

My mom is tough. Fortunately she responds when I look at her intently, like I’m doing now, and beg to go out. If the power goes off, she says, we have to climb up and down five flights of stairs for EVERY walk we take.

We Canine Urban Princesses know when it’s time to admire other dogs and back off on our gift requests. Yeah, it WAS my birthday, but …

A Dog-Centric Halloween in Philadelphia

A few days ago my mom came home to find a twenty dollar bill chewed up. She immediately identified me as the guilty party.

“Gracie, if the bank won’t replace this bill, it’s coming right out of your treat budget. No treats for six months. Maybe a year!”

No big deal, mom. The fire fighters always give me a milkbone when we stop by the Arch Street station. The new mini-restaurant gives me treats. I get a treat every time we go to BoneJour, which is pretty often, since Pumpkin is eating us out of house and home.

I really scored on Halloween. Our local pet supply store, BoneJour sponsored a sort of scavenger hunt. My mom took me around. We went to a whole bunch of places. Each time I got a treat. After the first treat, my mom announced, “Gracie, we’re holding these goodies for later. We don’t want you to get sick.”

Bummer. But I’ll get them eventually. I saw them disappear into the treat box. And she forgot to put away the BEST treat, which I managed to find and gulp down while she was putting things away.

“You can NOT get sick in the middle of the hurricane,” my mom warned me.

No worries, mom. It’s a wholesome treat and I’m keeping it inside my tummy where it belongs.

Bluestone Art Gallery gave me this beautiful bandanna. That’s my Halloween costume this year. Free!

Adopted cat is taking over nicely

As the adopted dog of the family, I was here first. Does anybody
remember? Creampuff joined Cathy in 2002 in New Mexico and I came in 2006 in Seattle. Creampuff isn’t the type to dominate; she’s much too ditzy. So it’s just me and this new kitty who’s clearly in takeover mode.

There’s nothing ditzy about Pumpkin. She’s not as needy as Ophelia; she’s much more confident. And she’s not the least bit afraid of me either. She’s taken over the sofa. I’m lucky she allows me to share one cushion at the far end.

My mom thinks we look so cute in this photo. Hah. Notice I am covering my eyes, escaping from the fuss over our newest housemate.

“Curled up like a cat,” my mom said, clicking away.

Should I be insulted? Probably. But I’m hoping to use the situation to guilt my mom into more treats.

Adopted Cat Meets Adopted Dog

That new cat Pumpkin is certainly making herself at home. My mom was so excited.

“My family is all getting along!” she exclaimed, racing for her camera phone. She woke me up from a peaceful nap. Pumpkin, of course, kept on sleeping.

Here’s the truth. Pumpkin likes this spot on the couch. So she’s not just being my new buddy. She’s keeping an eye on the prize – my spot.

My mom is doing her part to keep everybody sleeping. She’s started taking me on 30-minute walks twice a day. This Sunday, she says, we’ll make another trip to the farmers’ market and the dog park.

“If I’d thought of this earlier,” she said, “we could have walked to the market at 9th and Chestnut. That’s only a mile each way. Two miles round trip. Maybe next week!”

I can wait.

Pumpkin is … a pumpkin`

My mom has gotten much better at choosing names for her family. She’s come a long way from naming a cat Kitty, as she once did. She didn’t change Keesha’s name becuase it fit – Keesha was a keeshond mix. She tried to change Ophelia’s name when she took Ophelia to the vet for her “new cat” checkup. The vet’s staff was horrified when Mom wanted to call her “Furball.” Later we were all glad; Ophelia was … well, Ophelia.

I am named after the Great Dane owned by Dan Dye, cofounder of Three Dog Bakery. That dog made her owner rich, my mom reminds me. So far I’ve just brought her vet bills.

But she outdid herself when she named Pumpkin. Just look at these photos.