Today was a really special day.
I have one birthday every year at which time my parents usually give me a special treat such as potatoes or potato chips or something that I love. They also sing me this song; tonight they sang me a song with a really joyous melody that made me really happy. At the end of the song they said “Joey” then “Yay!” and that made me really happy. Then they sang it again and then once more. I love my parents. They teach me new words so I feel smart and smarter. They try to understand me even when we have trouble communicating. I have friends who let me jump up and kiss them, even when my parents say “Joey, off”. I have doctors and technicians who are kind who let me kiss them and who really care about me and about dogs. I have everything!
here's a picture of me on my 10th birthday. if you look carefully, you can see the full moon and the crescent moon in my eye.
I pose for my birthday photo in a moment of peace the garden
Dear Joey,
Happy Birthday!
Yuki, my daughter, who likes you and your blog, is sleeping now and she goes to her first one-night-camp tomorrow, so I’m writing by myself.
How old are you? I guess you are ten, aren’t you?
It is nice to see you by photo with no bandages. The orange lilies are very beautiful.
Did you enjoy your special potato chips and parents’ song?
I’d like to see you.
Atsuko
I hope your daughter has a really wonderful time at camp.
I did enjoy the potato chips – anything potato, chips and boiled potato that my mom cuts into cubes for me. My sister and littermate, it turns out, doesn’t like potatoes or potato chips; she likes carrots and her mom gave her carrots for her birthday.
The song was really nice but I didn’t pay much attention to the lyrics; it was mostly the melody and the happiness in their voices that made me happy and I swing my tail a lot and start jumping around and then I put my heads in their laps. The happiness goes right to me!
Happy Birthday, Joey. Wow! 10 year old, that’s awesome! Personally, I don’t eat potato chips or anything fried, don’t like ém, but to each his own, right? People eat cake with candles in them, weird, huh?
How does your garden grow? That’s a saying, but I actually mean it. My garden is full of weeds that I pick out, but I don’t know how to plant grass. You, or maybe your mom and dad, did a great job on yours.
But most of all, Happy Happy Birthday! And celebrate it, but carefully!
We have a nice garden; it’s a place where I love to go. When I was in recuperation, my mom would me outside every day and lets me relax in the garden. Now that my bandages are off and I’m in rehab, the takes the lead off and allows me to walk around freely (within the gates and fences) but she keeps her eyes on me at all times. I wonder why she does that. When I go behind the trees and come out, she has her eyes on me. I look at her looking at me. I wonder why she doesn’t take her eyes off me.
Thanks for the birthday greetings. It was a fun night of potatoes and song.
Hi Joey! Dr. Kiko Bracker here. You look great! I’m so glad you got all your bandages off and the ankle has finally healed. Dr. Mahn, one of your surgeons, has finished his residency in the Boston area and he is off to the Midwest to work where he calls home and where people still say ‘Howdy’ and mean it. My words of advice are to stay in your yard, listen to your mom and dad, and always keep the tail waggin’. Hope I never see you in the hospital again – just at the dog park!
Best of luck, Kiko
Howdy, Kiko!
It’s so great to hear from you.
You know, my parents call you “Dr. Bracker” but you and I are really buddies, so I’m glad we are on a first name basis! I prefer that. Also, it’s so much easier for me to understand my instructions when my parents say “Joey, go to Kiko” than “Joey, go to Doctor Bracker”.
Thanks for the update on Dr. Mahn….I don’t know where the midwest is but I guess it’s not near here because people around here don’t say “howdy” much (just me, I guess). “West” to me means going straight down our driveway to the street. Is that what you mean? If you keep in touch with him please tell him “Howdy!” for me and that he is a really great and nice surgeon.
About all your advice to me, I respect you so I won’t contradict your advice but only time will tell if I’ll actually fully obey it, except it remains to be seen how my parents will reinforce the perimeter of our home and continue to monitor me. If I’d have to project into the future, I’m not going to have much opportunity to get away. I’m not much looking forward to this – though it may be my destiny. I think I’ve changed a bit since the trauma in a way you would approve of: Since my parents have monitored almost every step I’ve taken, I’ve become a little more obedient. “Good dog” you might call it. When I am off-lead and in the home, I sometimes (sometimes, not always) wait at the bottom for my parents to give me permission to go up, or (sometimes) wait at the top for them to give me permission to go down. This is new, completely.
The part about the tail waggin’ I promise I’ll obey.
Hope to see you around too. Dog parks may also be in my future.
Yours,
Joey
Joey,
Happy Birthday! Bet you’re real excited. I know you’re really busy, being a public figure and all, but if it’s not too much trouble, when you write to me, feel free to add the link to your blog. you’re a mature thinker (that funny word again, huh?)