A few posts ago, I mentioned that Max received a very special little toy as a gift. And after his initial "pooh-pah, gimme bacon", developed a bit of an obsession.
Well. Guess who is now mysteriously missing an ear.....
Max's story is it "just fell off". Uh-huh. If it just fell off, there would not be evidence of teeth marks!
Nice try, fluffy. Let's see if we can prevent the other one from "just falling off", ok Max?

Minneapolis Stone Arch Festival

A few weekends ago, we caught the Stone Arch Festival in Minneapolis. It was such a nice day to be outside, and we snapped a few pics of some neat and unusual things we came across.

The first thing to catch out eye was this:Can you imagine owning this thing? That would be cool.

These next few are a tribute to recycling junk into....well...more junk. But junk people talk about! And take pictures of!
See what a little free time, spark plugs and kitchen utensils and appliances can turn to?
I am going to go pull the spark plugs out of my car now.....

Enough on that - as we worked our way to the end, we came across a few more vehicles that we thought were kinda neat:
This one just looks like it woudl be fun to own and drive down the road.....
There's always something interesting to do in Minneapolis, I say!

Max Updates

Max seems to be slowly returning to his old self, though he still seems a little unsure about going outside sometimes.

Today, we let him outside on the deck, and he was so focused on a squirrel off to the left in this shot, that he totally missed the fact that there was a bunny right in front of him!
The bunny froze for the longest time, and it wasn't until it decided to continue eating, that Max finally spotted it.
Surprisingly, he first just watched. Eventually, he decided it was time to get a closer look, at which point Mr. Bunny took off.

Meantime, we had a visit last week from Mari K., mother of Benson, and she brought Max a small squeak toy. Said toy barsk when you push it's middle.

At first, Max was rather indifferent. "This ain't no bacon", I suspect he was thinking. But by today, he can't seem to let it go....
"You can rub my belly, but I am not letting go!":
Mine.
I think he has issues.....

Storms Storms Storms!

Lots of storms in the mid-west today. Welcome to June! We even had a small, quick outburst of hail at one point:
Thankfully, they were only pea-sized and did not damage.
I am sure summer weather is right around the corner! Though I am glad we are not still in Maryland, based on what our friends back there are telling us it's like this week.

Dear Spike.....

Dear Spike -

Hi, old boy. I just felt like writing you a letter today :) Daddy and I really miss you alot.

It's really quiet and lonely around here without you. There are so many little things that we are noticing every day.....and it's hard to get used to life without them and you.

Your wicker bed made SOOO many creaks when you got in and out - I miss that :) We also miss the thumping of you making your way down the stairs. I have to say, you took those steps much better than I ever thought you would at your age! And nobody starts to grunt and bark at 5:30 am saying they want to be fed! As much as we complained about that, we miss it.

I had gotten very used to our little routine when I got home from work. I loved your little waddling over to me and letting me get down on all fours and give you a great big puppy-dog bear hug as you rubbed your snout against my leg. Max really does not do that right - you were the master of that one!

Speaking of, Max really misses you. He has been pretty quiet lately. He seems to be looking for you. As much as he harassed you, it's pretty clear he looked up to you :) He often just sits on the deck quietly, sometimes looking around like he's expecting you to mossie on back from your trek around the yard.

Do you remember when we lived in Phoenix, and you, Max and Miss Kitty made Daddy Joe a garden stone, and I helped you put all your little paw prints in the cement? Well, I put that on the deck, and caught Max putting his little nose up to your paw print:
...and then just kinda look around.....
I told you he misses you :)

So many people have sent us notes and thoughts - you certainly left an impression. You had 79 messages over on Joe's blog - can you believe that?!? Joe wrote a beautiful tribute to you that had everyone in tears. He also said you ran like a bunny :p That was cute. And you know it's true, so don't get all riled up!

I still cry when I think about you - there's just a really big hole in my heart. I never would have guessed when we came into each other's lives 18 years ago that you would be such a great companion.

This is the very first picture of you that I ever took - do you remember it? It was taken right after I brought you home from the rescue shelter, when we lived in that apartment complex in Frederick. You came home and jumped right up on the couch. Our friend Christine took the picture and had it made into a mug that says:
You know I am keeping this forever :)

There's nobody like you, Spike, and there never will be. We hope you are making many new friends and telling them about the amazing and fantastic life you had - and all the adventures we put you through.

I am guessing you have a crowd gathered around right now, telling them about your travels from Maryland to New Jersey, to Minnesota, then Phoenix, back to Maryland and then Minnesota. They must all think we were nuts! But you have seen so much and are probably the Wise Old One up there. That's our boy :)

Anyhow, I just wanted to say how much I miss you, my big old puppy dog. Send us a little sign every now and then to let us know you are ok and thinking about us :)

Love,
Daddy