Hey dog friends!

Sorry I haven’t been around much. We’ve been traveling and had visitors…and I couldn’t get mom to sit down for dictation. You have no idea how hard it is to type on her laptop with these huge paws!!

I haven’t gotten to play with too many of my friends lately, but I did run in to my friend from across the street recently. I also adore his owner, the man doing a funny dance here, because his pocket is always full of treats which he showers me with whenever we meet!

This is Mani the Golden Retriever. Isn’t he cute? His original name was Armani but when our neighbors adopted him, they shortened it. It’s still pronounced Mah-ni. I think both are perfectly acceptable names. Mom calls him Man-ster sometimes (sounding like monster) when he barks at people passing by. We really get each other riled up sometimes.

We had a great time playing in this huge field full of tall grass. It’s a good thing it wasn’t much taller because we might have lost each other in there!

Although we look like we’re ready to eat each other, it was all nice playing. Lots of people think their dogs play too rough…but we just like to play hard. We take all the punishment we can get in a short time span cause who knows when we might get to play together again?!

For some reason, mom seems to have gotten much better photos of Mani than of me. He’s almost always smiling at the camera while you mostly see my rear or the back of my head. Do you think she’s trying to tell me something? Maybe she likes him more??

As you might notice, we had an awesome time chasing each other. Sometimes I was even in the lead which doesn’t happen often since most of the dogs I play with are smaller and faster than me.

Almost looks like we’re just laying down and cuddling, right? But we were actually both up in the air fighting kung-fu style. No flying ropes needed – we’re pros!

Mani finally got tired of playing with me (I can be a bit of a bully) and he eventually went to find a rock for his human to throw. He brought it over to his shoe and started barking until his dad picked it up to throw it. Unfortunately for him, it was launched into the grassy field. I don’t know if he managed to find it, but I guess there must have been more rocks around for him to play with. Personally, I think they need to invest in some tennis balls for the poor dog. I mean really folks. At least I know what to get him for Christmas!

After our play session, I was wiped out. I took a few huge gulps from my water bowl and laid down frogger-style for a nap. Even though the action was really exhausting, I’m so glad we ran into him…and that mom and dad let us have our fun!

Can’t wait to see who’s up next on the play list. I haven’t gotten to hang out with Maya in a long while…but I did see Oscar recently who is a crazy little dog. He runs like the wind! WAY too much energy for me to keep up with him, but we have our fun for a little while. 🙂

Hope you dogs are having a great week. Be back soon with more adventures!

Newfie kisses,

Ayla