My owner & I first met on:  January 4th, 1986

My owner took me home from:  Driftwood Pet Shop in Dayton, Ohio

My owner first fed me:  Marion's Piazza (good stuff--pizza became my favorite food after that!)

My favorite toys were:  My "ducky", my "green head", my "blue porko", my "ring-toss" and of course - my tennis ball!

My nicknames were:  Spunky Boo, Colonel, and Kern

Some tricks and other cute things I did were: 
(1) I caught my tennis ball in my mouth when my owner threw it for me - I was really good at that trick!  My owner always said I had good "eye-mouth coordination"... 
(2) I could lay on my back and play with my toys using my two front paws - that was fun when no one else had time to play with me.
(3) I would beg for food and treats by sitting on my bottom and waving my paws up and down.  They couldn't resist that - it worked almost every time!  CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO!
(4) If you take a look at our family photo album, you'll see a lot of me...  Wherever there was a picture being taken, I would turn up there!  I guess I just didn't want to miss out on anything...
(5) I would do what my owner called "turbo-ing" when I was especially feisty... I would run from one end of the house to the other growling and "digging" into my owner's bed sheets, the carpet, a pillow, whatever - then I'd run back the other way and start it all over again! The family always got a big kick out of that...
(6) Yes. It's true...  I did jump in our bathtub (empty of course) during a thunderstorm in Colorado.  I've never been a big fan of loud thunder.
(7) And yes, I did lick up my owner's kids' spit-up when they were babies...  I figured - it tastes pretty good, plus I'm helping out, so why not???
(8) OK,  I did on occasion "pee" on white drapes when I was young.  First I was told to pee on a newspaper in the house, then later they decided outside peeing was better...  I guess I just missed my white newspapers...
(9) Now my owner never knew this, but when she would say the word "bath" or "nail trim time" or something undesirable like that, I would nonchalantly mosey out of the room, pretending I didn't hear a thing.  Sometimes it worked... well, OK, not very often! 

Some things I especially liked:
(1) I liked to sit by a toilet when I was especially stressed.  Sure, it may sound funny to you, but it was quiet and peaceful there - I could take a break from all the chaos around me.  I often liked to sit under things - my favorite was always my owner's desk, cause she was usually close-by...
(2) To be outside, running free and sniffing the grass was heaven!  I liked it best when my family was outside, too, and I would always drop my tennis ball at their feet hoping they would get the hint that I wanted to play...  I remember how they would tease me about my "green paws" when I would run through the freshly-cut lawn!
(3) To eat!  I would eat most anything, but here are a few of my favorites:  chicken, cheese, steak, pork, ice cream, and even green chili gravy poured over my dry dog food.  I'd say I adapted to the culture down here in southern Arizona pretty well...  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!?
(4) Snuggling with my family - and if no one was available - crawling under some blankets felt pretty good too...  CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO

Some things that I didn't like:
(1) I didn't like it when my owners would give me a big, juicy prime rib bone and then look at me and say "it's gonna be gone!" and then tease me and try to take it away from me.  Didn't they know that taking a bone away from a dog is - well, kinda crazy???
(2) I didn't like when I got left outside for hours and hours.  I knew that meant they forgot about me...  But it only happened 3 times, once the day Matthew was born and twice down in Tucson.
(3) I really didn't like it when I went blind.  It was bad enough that I kept bumping into things, but Bali and later Skinny would always climb in my cage with me and try to play.  It's not like I felt much like playing - I was over 110 years old and couldn't see!  CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO
 

My best friends:

All in all, I had a great life.  My owner adored me...  The rest of my family loved me too.  Now that I'm gone, I hope they know that they gave me the most precious gift of all... a life filled with love and affection -- and lots of good treats too!   And when they step through heaven's gate one day, I'll try to be there to greet them with a big, wet kiss!