Happy 2nd Birthday!

Roseland Bianca Coppola (Dane) and "Buddy" (indeterminate mix) both turned 2 years old this week. Naturally, we had a party!

Why did you put this on my head?


I wear this hat under protest.


Some chaotic wrangling...


They are really very, very good dogs.

Flowers!

I got flowers at work just for being me!

Notice the curious snout in the background...

Winter Fun With Unkee Dunkee!

Bianca and Buddy play with best friend Duncan the Mastiff.


Duncan (brown dog, left) had a fleeting notion that he was going to jump up on the hay bale. Then he remembered he weighed 175 pounds and had bad hips.

Winter fun

Bianca and Buddy like to go for walks in the farmer's field and play on/around the hay bales.

Ha! You can't get me!


Hi-yaaaa! I chase you!


Notice the foal blanket on Bianca. A Dane is a big dog.

Yeah, that's me looking like a doofus in the red hat. It's about a half mile walk to the field, then another quarter or so uphill to go somewhere isolated enough I'm comfortable letting them run. (Bianca believes a strong offense is the best defense, where strange people/dogs/sounds/sights/smells/etc are concerned)

Blast from the past

Bianca baby pic. Probably about 4 weeks old? Notice the sweet, innocent expression. Even at 4 weeks, she was a little actress.

I hope I can be brave enough to sniff your hand! For I am small and timid, you see? (yes, yes, they look stupid enough to fall for this.)

Fast forward to today...

Bianca posts this picture as a symbol of her present day suffering. Behold the neglect.

They haven't even tucked in my sheet! And look - my PILLOW is missing, and they've substituted a little fleece blanket. Like I'm going to fall for that.

Buddy is ready for his close up

Unlike my loopy whackadoodle sister, I am a well adjusted, normal dog. My biggest vice is trying VERY hard to make friends with the cats. Even when they are, shall we say, less interested.

A less interested cat

I am hiding under the computer desk. I hate the dogs.

Not letting them lie

Unsuspecting tired dogs, sleeping peacefully...

"Oh crap she turned the light on. Try playing dead."


sotto voice: "Is it working? Is she falling for it?"


Why has the dog-god forsaken me? She won't go away!


Although annoyed, no puppies were injured in the course of blogging...

Puppies who play become tired

Very tired puppies.


Very very tired puppies


Please to ignore the laundry.

Hail + Puppies = Fun!

A storm front blew through town today, so the puppies saw hail for the first time...

At the first sound of hail, Bianca runs to the door. What is this?


Buddy quickly joins...


Daddy, what IS all this?


Whole lotta hail + puppy wading pool


Another view, post-storm (puppy drinking bowl + gazebo)


When the storm breaks, puppies are ON THE MOVE, inspecting this strange event...


*Sniffsniffsniffsniffsniff*


Pretty picture of the hail burning off in the sunshine as steam around the peony bush

Tired puppies

After a 2-hour hike and a play in the yard, they're finally pooped. People wonder why I have no free time...

Hmm, perhaps just a wee little nap...


I'll snooze right here beside ya, sis...


A rare Mischief sighting.
Are those dogs out there? I'll hiss at them if they come in here.

A teeny tiny Dane

Sometimes when a Great Dane is very tired, she wants to be small. Bianca can be remarkably compact when she's of a mind to...

New Brother!!

Bianca has a new brother. "Buddy" (previously "Chappelle") is a sweet tempered, well behaved, shepherd mix. His boundless energy and loving nature are a great match for our giant hound. Bianca loves her new friend so much she's almost forgotten about *us*!

I chase you around this table!






I'm not afraid of you!


When in doubt, CHARGE!


We might be getting a little tired now...


That's it. We're done. Pooped. Couldn't play if we wanted to.


15 seconds later

Puppyzilla

Jumping up on people is FUN!

My husband is 6'4", to give the picture some perspective. Bianca is just over a year old - so still quite a bit of growing to do. We certainly hope that will take the form of filling out, versus getting any taller...


Hard to believe she once looked like this...

Bianca vs. Plastic, Pt. II

Long time readers will recall Bianca likes to shred all things plastic and paper. Here, she engages a left over bag of dog food. (Oh, the joy)

This smells interesting!


Shred, shred, shred...


The horrible aftermath...


Are you talking about me again? I do wish you'd stop it...

You can haz doggie!

Yay! New photos!

I am very dignified and regal. Why do you persist in using such infantile language on my posts?

Oh wookies! Da Puppy haz a nosie-nose!

This is just what I mean. You should not refer to my regal profile as a "nosie-nose". Do you realize there are no less than FOUR AKC Champions in my immediate bloodline?! My grandfather is in international champion, no less!

Peek-a-boo, pupper-wupper-snoogle!

Oh that's just ridiculous. I won't even respond to that.

Bye-bye pupperdoode!

Oh that's just the last straw. Call me when you have a shred of human dignity left. Ciao.