Royal Mail & Made in Taiwan!

I received two packages the other day from very different parts of the world. The first package was from my friend Bobby (aka Grumpy Bobby). I know I'm really special because his package is Royal Mail! Do you think that means Bobby is related to the Queen? Bobby lives in Sunderland, UK, which is 3,349 miles (5,390 kilometers) from me. Bobby holds the record for the longest ever Foster Dawg! I couldn't verify that claim in the Guiness Book of World Records but I'm taking his word for it. Personally, I think John and Brenda should adopt Bobby because he loves them so much and it's pretty obvious they love him too. I think if they permanently adopt Bobby his name will change from Grumpy Bobby to Happy Bobby! Would everybody please go visit Bobby's blog and support him in his quest for adoption by John and Brenda??? Now, the pebbles Bobby sent me are sooooo cool! They are round and all different colors, kind of like marbles. They're definitely unique. Bobby didn't send me any pictures but I took a couple from his blog. This picture shows him running around on the beach the day Ben the Rotti brought home his adopted sister Millie. Thanks so much for the great pebbles Bobby! They look terrific in the table.

The next package I received was from my friend Dino all the way from Taipei, Taiwan. This is by far the greatest distance a rock has traveled to be in my mom's coffee table! Dino lives 7,797 miles (12,549 kilometers) from me! Holy dawg poop that's far, far away! I've noticed on the international packages I've received that there is a little description sticker where the contents of the package are declared. I know some dawgs were concerned that they wouldn't be able to send rocks or shells through the post to me but it doesn't appear to be a problem! Dino is a good lookin golden retriever!He had a great time looking for rocks for me. The first few he found were a little big to send and definitely wouldn't have fit in the table!But then he found the perfect rock! Thank you Dino! I have the perfect spot for that perfect rock and we will think of you whenever we look at it!

Spanish Shells

Yesterday I received a big package from my friends Byron and Xinver all the way from Spain! As usual, I went online to see how far away they live from me. This is the first package I've received that I cannot get driving distance to. If I were to drive to Byron and Xinver's house my car would have to be either a boat or an airplane! I did find out that from Westhampton, New York to Alicante,Valenciana, Spain it is 3,738 miles (6,015 kilometers). That's a long way!

Byron and Xinver went to a beautiful beach on the Mediterranean and found so many beautiful liitle shells! I can't believe how many they sent me! In addition to the little shells there was one really big shell!
The story of the big shell was so meaningful, I thought I'd post the whole thing. For more beautiful pictures, please be sure to visit Byron & Xinver's blog.
Hi everybody. Once Pedro has received our conchas (shells) we are ready to explain the meaning of the big one. Ok, it's Byron who writes now. Santiago (James) was one of the twelve apostols, and it is believed that his bones rest in Santiago de Compostela, nowadays a big town in Galicia (Northwest of Spain). So, since the Middle Ages, people from all over Europe went walking there to make their offers to the saint. This is a tradition that is still alive and we can see people going there all year round. Not so long ago, when I was just a year old (now I am three) but Xinver wasn't been born yet, the Boss was determined to travel to Santiago. If you want to be a real pilgrim you must get there walking, and you must walk a long distance (more than 100 Km). When you start, you are provided with a personal chart and you have to ask for stamps wherever you pass through, as pointers of your journey. This is the proof you have made the travel on foot (it is possible to go on bycicle, too; or on a horse). There are many different motivations to do this: religious, personal, promises... It doesn't matter if you ara a catholic or not, this journey has many more meanings... It is supposed you're going to travel humbly. There are lots of places to stay for just a few euros along the way, but you have to share everything there, even the room to sleep. Ok, the Boss planned this adventure with a friend of his in April. Galicia is a cold area, and one of the most beautiful in Spain... They walked 250 km in ten days and they thought they couldn't do it because of serious inflammation of their knee and ankle joints... But they finally did it... Cold, rain, snow, ... but wonderful places and thoughts. What about the Big Shell. As you can see, the Shell is everywhere. It is called vieira, a kind of mollusc from Galicia itself. It is a symbol of the Camino de Santiago (Santiago's Way). The pilgrims wore one of these shells in their luggages, so that everyone could see they were on a pilgrimage. Now we do the same. As a symbol, it is seen everywhere and if you follow the shells, you won't get lost and will arrive to Santiago.The Shell we gave to Pedro was one of the shells the Boss took with him during his journey. That's why it is so important to him. So, Pedro, you have some small shells from the Mediterranean Sea and one Big Shell from the Atlantic Ocean in Spain. We hope you like them.
Byron and Xinver check out the shells before they're packed up for the long flight to New York.Tris the cat does a final inspection too. Hey! Doesn't Tris look like Libby???I don't even have words for how much your gift of shells means to me. They are all so beautiful and are a wonderful addition to the collection. Thank you Byron, Xinver, Tris & the Boss!

Beach Glass!

Last Friday I received a special package from my friend Dobby the chihuahua. Dobby lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, which is approximately 620 miles from my house. The interesting thing about Greensboro is that it's pretty much smack in the middle of North Carolina. I would imagine it would take Dobby quite a few hours to drive to the ocean from where he lives, so you can understand how surprised I was when I opened the package and found three beautiful pieces of beach glass and a really cool green rock!On the note Dobby's mom said she'd email me pictures of them picking them out. Dobby's mom was so nice to share these treasures from her own collection of beach glass that she displays on her fireplace mantle. Dobby looked them all over really carefully and chose the pieces he thought I would like the best. Thanks so much Dobby! My mom and I love the pieces you chose and it was so nice of your mom to share with us! Look how great the beach glass looks with all of the rocks and shells we've received so far!

Grooming

While Leah was home she noticed I was a little smelly so she decided to give me a bath. Ziggy loves baths (Leah gave him one too but mom wasn't home to take pictures) but I am not a fan. I tried to hide, I tried to run away, but Leah was too fast and I was captured and subjected to soapy water torture. She suds me up and laughed at my shaking. Mom was there too and she did nothing to help me. All she did was document the torture with pictures. Doesn't she know it's a bad idea to photograph your crime? Well, she's in trouble now cause I got the pictures and I'm posting them for the world to see the abuse I was forced to endure. Can Amnesty International help me??

Today my mom voluntarily went for a grooming herself. She went to Toni's Barber Shop in Westhampton Beach. She says she loves that place. Humans are so weird. Toni's dawg Bernie was there. Mom calls him Bernie the Barber Dawg. He's a Wheaton Terrier. Today he was really tired cause he and his sister went for a play date last night and, believe it or not, Bernie was subjected to soapy water torture too by his babysitter! Yes friends, Bernie had a bath. When will this abuse ever end?

Rocks from Mexico!

I received my first international rocks today all the way from Mexico from my friend Lorenza. Lorenza is probably one of the most famous Dogs With Blogs members and was one of the first friends I met after joining DWB. Lorenza is absolutely THE best dressed dawg I know. All of her dresses are originals, designed and sewn by her grandmother. I'm always telling Lorenza that her grandma could get rich selling her beautiful creations! Inside the envelope was all kinds of information about where these beautiful, smooth and flat river rocks came from. Look how nicely Ziggy can balance the rock on his face!Looking at the map it seems that the Rio Nazas runs by the town Lorenza lives in - Torreon. Torreon, Mexico is 2,410 miles from where I live and, if I could convince my mom to hop in the car, we could actually drive all the way there in about 38.5 hours. Unfortunately, I don't have a passport so we can't go. Darn! The rocks fit perfectly under the glass are are a terrific addition to the coffee table!

Hector & Lola Send Rocks & Treats!

I received another package in the mail from my friends Hector and Lola who live in Nashville, TN. That's 975 miles away from me and it would take us 16 hours and 9 minutes for my mom and I to drive there. That's twice as long as it takes to drive to Leah's college. Mom opened the package for me and helped me read the letter. Hector and Lola had sent me some pictures of them searching for the rocks. Lola thought maybe she could get a better view of the land and potential rocks from atop the picnic table. Hector was on the ground doing his own search and find mission. In the end they found two perfect little rocks - Lola found the white one and Hector found the orange/brown one. Inside the package there was another surprise and it was NOT for my mom's coffee table. Hector and Lola made me delicious all natural apple and oatmeal treats! Being the generous dawg that I am, I gave Ziggy a whole one for himself. I even gave Libby a little piece of mine. That was enough sharing though! I ate the rest of my treat before Tommy made an appearance! Thanks Hector and Lola for the rocks and the treats!!!!