I was good today.....

Well, dogfriends I was a good boy today. At least that is what my Mom told me.

First of all, I must apologize for not blogging much lately. Mom has been really busy and ... well, she just hasn't been too attentive to my blogging needs. (She also told me she is running out of things to blog about.) Anyway ..... back to being a good boy.

Mom stayed home from work for four days and I was very glad to have her for company for a change (it wasn't just for you Copper.) When she went back to work today, she says she tried an experiment (it was an experiment Copper.) She locked me in the evil (Copper, it's not evil!) kitchen and gave me a white towel to lay on. No fuzzy soft $10 Wallgreen's bed, or downy soft blanket like I usually get (and that you tinkle on Copper.) Just a single white towel (it was white so I could see if you tinkled on it Copper.) It was .... Spartan .... but I survived. Then, she emptied my big water bowl and gave me a little drink of water in it, (maybe 1/8th of a cup or less). She turned on the radio for me and then she gave me my Kong with a tiny bit of peanut butter and my toys and my bone and said, "I'll be back at lunchtime." "Back at lunchtime?" I thought.

I waited. I napped. I chewed. I drank the water. I napped. I waited. I listened to the radio. I napped. But I did not tinkle. Then ... I heard the car in the driveway ... I know that sound. It was Mom's car! And it was .... LUNCHTIME! I greeted Mom and showed her the towel .... no tinkle! I went outside and went poddy and got a "GOOD BOY COPPER!!" I was so happy to have her home and at lunchtime!!! Then ............ yes, you guessed it .... Mom ate lunch. I did not eat lunch. (You don't eat lunch EVER Copper.) Then, after about 15 (very short) minutes, Mom locked me in the kitchen, gave me the same toys and and the same towel and the same radio and the same bone and the same little bit of water and left for work AGAIN. I napped and I drank and I chewed and pretty soon .............. Mom was home again. And I didn't tinkle on the towel this time either!!!!! (We had a little party didn't we Copper.)

Mom says she is going to try to do this for a while, even though it uses a lot of gas and wastes her lunch hour, whatever that means. I think I am loving it. Mom says to tell you all I really am housebroken and except for this "I hate you working tinkle on the blanket thing." I am a really good boy all the time..... except ......

.........I found another escape place in the fence this weekend. But I am not telling you where it is because Mom will find out where it is. Mom says no more staying outside unsupervised. Shucks. I guess that means I am on restriction. Miss Cindy says I am "clever." mmmmm ... 'Clever Copper' .. has a nice ring to it ......

My big Friday adventure.....

Hello dog friends,

Tonight I am taking a break from my poetry streak to tell you about my big Friday adventure. I just can't write poetry about it because it's just too exciting.

Friday was a beautiful day and so my Mom left for work and left me outside in my little front yard that I love so much. It is cute and just the right size for me and I have a great big front porch to lay on if it rains. My Mom and Dad had fixed all of my escape places and so she felt is was safe to leave me.

Well, as soon as my Mom left, I noticed that Miss Cindy's car was next door and I am a smart dog and I know that if her car is there, that she is there.

I was bored and so I decided to find a new escape place and go see her. It was very very hard but I sucked in all of my bones and squeezed through a slightly larger place in the gate. (The same gate above but that is a picture of it after they fixed it.) Miss Cindy saw me do it and she said I had a really hard time wiggling through and that I got stuck some but that I finally make it. She put something over that hole and put me back in my yard. I was so sad ... and still lonely, so I looked and looked and I found another escape place that I had never noticed before. Notice my muddy foorprints?

I had never noticed it (Mom - and I hadn't either) because there used to be a big great smelling bush of lemon balm over this place. Mom had trimmed the bush lately and boy am I glad. It was realy huge! (Mom says if you ever want a nice smelling big bush, plant lemon balm.) So, I hopped through the hole and escaped and went to Miss Cindy's house again and rang the doorbell ... er rather, cried at the door. Can I tell you how awesome it is to be free and run to the neighbors when you are bored? They let you in the house and let you smell all their smells and lay on their sofa! (I bet she even gave me snacks!)

Well, Mom and Miss Cindy were not so happy about my escapes. Miss Cindy just brought me back to my house after a while and put me in the evil kitchen and called my Mom (who felt like a REALLY BAD MOTHER over all of this) and I spent the rest of the day in the evil kitchen ... alone.

So yesterday, Mom and Dad worked in the yard to fix all of my escape places. They put more pickets in the gate so I cannot get out there. They also put rocks in the ground under the gate so that they don't get moved by anyone making a place for me to escape. If you look closely you can see the rocks in the ground under the gate.

They also found my most secret lemon balm escape place and put a big metal rod in that place. See the green rod?

This is the face I made when they fixed all my escape places.

Before you all freak out and tell my mother she is a BAD MOTHER, she wants you all to know what she is thinking of doing. First of all she is never leaving me in my little yard again when she leaves the house. For some reason, I only want to escape when she is gone. She will leave me in the kitchen. She is also going to check out a doggie day care near her work and figure out if she can afford to take me there sometimes and if I would like it. She has also thought of getting another dog to keep me company when she is gone. She is also thinking of working with me more to like being my myself more. (She is not sure how to do that.) She already asked Hershey's Mom if I could come live with her but Hershey's Mom said she has a cat and a dog and a baby and so she said No. She is also going to get me microchipped when she takes me into the vet for my check up in a couple of weeks. Gheesh!

So, that's my big Friday adventure. It's over now. I survived and it was a lot of dog fun.

I'm not speaking to her ....

It's time, it's time.

Time for another rhyme.

Time for a rhyme about crummy.

Yes, I said crummy .... my Crummy Mummy.

She packed up a suitcase

and left me and Dad in this boring place.

We fended for ourselves,

and ate stuff off the shelves.

While she went on a business trip,

her very first EVER business trip.

To a HOTEL miles away

and up towards Hershey's way!

She met up with Hershey's baby,

who is becoming such a Cute Little Lady.

She rocks on her hands and knees

and sucks her thumb if you please.

Hershey was not there because he couldn't come either.

It was so not fair, not him, not me ... neither.

We stayed home while they had fun.

I've had it with my Mum.

Would any dog like a new Mother?

Wouldn't you like another?

With my Mom I am perturbed,

so therfore, I'm not speaking to her.

And now a word about Hershey ....

Here I am again dear friends

writing you with rhymes.

My life is so mundane and boring

I do nothing novel with my time.

So Mom decided one day to make a poem,

so her brain would be a little challenged.

She doesn't do suduko puzzles like her Dad;

she thought this was something she could manage.

Some of you have asked about Hershey.

I believe he is as fine as a dog can be.

I know he hasn't blogged in quite a bit,

and of course he hasn't written to me.

I think his baby sister

is taking up his Mother's time

as babies have a tendency to do.

You know, they play and they eat ..... they whine.

Maybe a rescue mission is in order,

we could all go up and see the bore.

We could let him know we miss his tales,

and wish he'd blog some more .

Now I hope he forgives me

for calling him a name.

I hope he know it's only

because my rhyming is a game.

Hershey, I love you buddy. Your friend, Copper

A sudden burst of poetry ...

Today was a Saturday

and I stayed home with Dad

Mother shopped for furniture

to replace the stuff we have.

She wants to have a special dinner

on that day you fix a turkey.

She needs to seat all the family

and what we have just doesn't worky.

Worky is not a real word

but it works in my rhyme

I hope you can overlook it

just this one time.

New dining room furniture

seems to me like a bore

just to have a place to eat

why can't they just eat on the floor?

Dogs don't require chairs and tables

when we eat our dinner.

People should be more like dogs

and their life would be much simpler.

I barked at a bug ....

Outside, outside ... today I'm out here

Mom is at work and I am sniffing the air that's so clear.

The grass is green, and the sun is not hot

I am a happy dog right here in this spot.

I can bark all I want in my little front yard

there are lizards and bugs and chasing them's not hard.

I can bark and bark at people that pass

and nap in my bed and simply relax.

When Mom gets home she'll give me a kiss

and I'll tell her about the things she missed.

She'll take me inside and feed me my dinner

What a wonderful day, I am truly a winner.