Hey Anipals!

Is your summer in full swing yet? Ours sure is here in Germany. It’s been hot enough to make a dog’s paws sweat…and I tell you what – that is HOT. We’re talking 95F and up in a country with no air conditioning! Mom and dad did buy me a portable a/c unit last year but we rarely use it cause it’s wicked expensive to run. Tomorrow might be the second time we turn it on this year because it’s supposed to be over 100…doG help us!

Thankfully there are lots of corners here on the farm with thick, stone floors which stay nice and cool. And I do my best to sleep most of the day whenever it’s warm. I’m an expert sleeper. You wouldn’t think it, but sometimes the task is not easy. We’ve had people here working with loud tools and saws, the baby is babbling and squealing all the time now and mom flies around the house trying to keep up with everything so I rarely find peace AND quiet at the same time. I show my disdain about being awakened by barely opening my eyes and otherwise remaining very still. This way I can usually fall back asleep quickly. Sometimes I’ll actually let out a groan and stretch.  But when it seems that sleep is not going to happen where I’ve wrongly planted myself, I have to actually get up and move. It’s the worst. Thankfully mom usually notices my move and tries to steer clear for a while until I’ve settled into a nice, strong nap complete with snoring and foot twitching.

But what I really wanted to report about this week is a FABULOUS trash pile I found. I was out walking with mom yesterday morning (it still gets surprisingly cool at night and is nice until about 10am when the sun really starts beating down) and I went over to explore a new hall that one of our local farmers is building for his tractors and such. All the sudden, I got a whiff of one of the most glorious smells. It was sort of like standing behind a garbage truck for mixed trash on a summer day. You know– the smell of spoiled food mixes with cardboard and maybe a little bit of baby diapers in there. PURE HEAVEN!

Mom was busy looking at the hall, checking out the progress from the day before, so I decided to bring some of that smell over to her…on me! I was rolling and having a great time –until the yelling began. For reasons I still cannot understand, humans just do not enjoy the finer smells in life: manure, spoiled garbage, cat pooh on your breath. What’s with that?

I took off running in the opposite direction and thought I could convince mom to come play in the garbage with me. But she just started walking away from me. I guess she thought a game of chase would be a better idea right then. For some reason, I got praise, a treat and then put on the leash…and I was not released until we got inside our gate at home. It sucked. The good news is, even though I heard a lot of discussion about a bath, they decided to let me keep the eau de Garbaage odor for a while longer. Mom sprayed me from head to toe with doggie deodorizer (her own special concoction which she’s been testing for her bath & body collection – that’s right call the authorities, we’ve got animal testing going on!) but it only slightly got rid of my lovely scent. Now that’s some good stink!

Go cause some mayhem and brighten your human’s day!

Smelly Newfie kisses to all,

Ayla