Winston's Defense

Hi Basset friends,

It's me, Winston McFreckles. My big sister is sleeping and doesn't know I took over her blog. She'll be MAD when she finds out. She says I steal everything from her - treats, toys, Momma, and now this? Guess I should write something nice here.

Do you know what it's like to be Molly's baby brother? It's good and bad. It's good because she is an awesome big sister. Except for the time that she was sick last summer, she ALWAYS plays with me. She usually lets me have any toy I want (she says I am stealing, but I think she LETS me have them) and will wait behind me for treats. Only once did she take a treat I dropped. She's very nice and has good manners. She never barks at people or other dogs. She listens to Momma and she knows to go potty outside. And she doesn't chase kitties...anymore.

All that good stuff is also bad stuff! Molly is so nice and sweet - this is a lot to live up to. I bark A LOT! I don't always listen to Momma (ok, maybe one out of five commands get through my thick skull) and I think it's easier to pee in the dining room than in the yard. And yes, I chase kitties - often getting my nose swatted in the process. It's hard for me to be as good as Molly and I think that the expectation only sets me up to fail. Then I am called naughty, mischievous, a brat...it's so unfair!! I'm a sweet boy. I'll cuddle with you and kiss you on the nose. I have cute brown eyes and big bumbly feet. I have floppy jowls that are usually wet. My ears are long...and they're usually wet too.

I'll work on being a good boy, but remember that I am still a baby with a ton of energy. It's tough work trying to be like Molly. She's the best sister in the world and I am very lucky to have her :)

Homemade Treats!

Momma bought a dehydrator last weekend and it got here a couple of days ago. I saw it and thought, "Jeez Momma, why did you buy that big ugly thing when you already complain that we have too much junk in this little house of ours?" Then she said something about making treats for me...and Winston. Well, there it sat for days and days. I would go check on it to see if there were any treats in it, but it was always empty. I thought we got ripped off by the people who sold that silly thing to my Momma.

Then this morning came and Momma got up early (we were hungry and crying). After we pottied and had breakfast, Momma started making lots of noise in the kitchen and it started to smell like food. People food. Hours and hours later, we had treats! We had nice little sweet potato snacks. We never had them before and Winston and I spit them out at first. THESE ARE NOT PUPPERONIS, MOMMA! But we got used to them and now we can't get enough! Momma made so many that she is going to share with a doggy that belongs to a lady at her work. I told her she needs to share with my basset friends :) Now we are trying to convince her to make banana snacks. She said next weekend when she is off.

What kinds of dried treats do you all like, my basset friends??

How I got my name...

I forgot to tell you this part of the story. Ever wonder how I got my name Molly McFreckles? Well, after Momma and Daddy decided to get a new friend and they had fallen in love with my picture, they decided to name me. They hadn't even met me yet! But Momma has a good sense about these things and she looked at my picture and tried to come up with a name that suited me AND that Daddy liked. She had all kinds of crazy ideas, but she said she kept coming back to the name "Molly." Finally, she suggested it to Daddy and he liked it immediately. So there they were, on Cape Cod and they decided to take a walk around downtown Falmouth (where they were staying at my Aunt's house). They stopped in for lunch at an Irish pub called "Liam Maguire's"...Momma and Daddy love Irish pubs. Momma is Irish...Daddy can vouch for this, since she has that Irish temper.

Anyway, they were sitting in the pub having lunch and drinking Smithwick's beer. They started discussing my name and Daddy said how much he liked the name "Molly." Momma said it needed a little flair, since Molly is a common name (I say that's because IT ROCKS!!). Then she said, "How about Molly McFreckles, since she has a spotted nose and some freckles in her white fur?" Daddy loved it...and I was named Molly McFreckles!!

That's how it happened...I was named in an Irish pub on Cape Cod.

True Story...

Yesterday was Momma's last puppy's birthday. Zoey would have been 13, but she went to the bridge a little over a year ago. That's a sad thing. Momma thinks of her a lot...I mean A LOT! But there's always a silver lining, right? Because she lost Zoey, I got to come live with Momma. She was so sad and the house was so quiet...the kind of quiet that can make you crazy (even Winston and his tearing around the house until 1:00 this morning is still better than this type of quiet), so Momma decided that she needed another puppy to bring some life back into the house. Not a replacement for Zoey, but a new friend. So while Momma and Daddy were on vacation on Cape Cod last year (this week last year, in fact), they firmly decided that there would be a new puppy when they got home. They had been talking about it and decided that a Basset Hound was the perfect dog for them (uhhh duh!) and they even found the breeder where I was born. They got pictures of the puppies and instantly fell in love with me (and who wouldn't). They emailed the breeder from vacation and set up an appointment to come meet me the day after they got home.

Momma and Daddy had to drive an hour and a half to meet me. There was a really bad thunderstorm and it was a tough drive, but they got here just as it ended. They were feeling a lot of guilt for going to pick out a puppy so soon after losing Zoey, but Momma said she saw a rainbow in the sky as she got out of the car and decided that it was a message from Zoey. Zoey was telling them that it's ok to get a new friend, since she can't be here anymore. That made them feel better about everything.

I was 5 weeks old, so I couldn't leave my doggy Momma (her name is Dahlia...Daddy is named Buster). But I remember when Momma and Daddy walked in. We were in our doggy area and were allowed out to play since the rain had stopped. My doggy parents checked out Momma and Daddy and decided they were ok. So that's when we got to play. Well, I had 4 sisters (no brothers in this litter) and they all ran out into the yard. I stayed behind and nibbled on Momma's toes and her nice leather Kate Spade bag. Momma just laughed and said I had good taste (then took the bag away...boo Momma!). After that, I took a nice big poop and pee and set about winning Momma's heart. It didn't take long and before I knew it, I had a new home that I would be going to in 3 weeks. I knew I'd miss my doggy parents and my sisters, but these people seemed ok.

That was a year ago this week...I'll continue the rest of the story later. Until then, this is what I looked like when I met Momma and Daddy. I was a cute little bugger!