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?)

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

Thanks for the birthday greetings. It was a fun night of potatoes and song.

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!