first, the good news...

...mom bought a comforter for their bed that matches me!! way cool. & so after a few weeks of letting the dust settle on her purchase, i decided that she was sufficiently complacent.


waiting until she exited the room on a day with a particularly magnificent sunbeam in just the right place, i was so *on* that comforter. totally camo'd. thinking, 'she'll never notice.'
nope.
she'll never notice a BIG WHITE DOG on her cushy bed!


well, i was wrong. her rapid room re-entry became a stunned-in-her-tracks stop, followed by a slow edging toward the camera. always the camera...maybe if i look the other way...or the other-other way...if i look down...or close my eyes...nope. no use. once again, i'm phil-ibusted!!!...dog vs. mom official score...

dog - 0 mom - 2

phil-ibusted!!!!

hey, you know you would have done the same thing.

mom was sitting on the comfy deck chair in a sunbeam & alas, her coffee cup was empty. i was laying on the cold, hard, wood decking wishing i was a lap dog. mom will not tolerate an empty coffee cup & since she does not have a waitstaff at her beck & call, she was inside in a flash.

problem was, she *stayed* in there a bit longer than usual (problem with L.? Little Man in need?), who knew why.

after awhile, her comfy chair that was being warmed by the sunbeam started whisper my name. as the minutes tic-toc'd away the whisper became a scream. hmmmmm...no sign of mom returning & i was up!!!...oh yes i was...on people furniture! loving the sun on my fur....Zzzzzzzzzz, when suddenly creeeeeeeek...my ear caught a subtle door movement. i settled lower in the cushion, trying to blend. no such luck! the boss returned, fresh cuppa in hand - i was phil-ibusted!!!...no amount of cute-face or sad-eyes would cut it & i was back on the deck where she says i belong. hummmmphffff.

my new gig!

do *not* try to tell mom that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. according to my dog food bag label i am old (senior formula food...ugh.) & mom said i needed to learn something new. but before we discuss my serious talent, we must have some background info...first, there's L. there's always L.!...L. taught *herself* a new trick & that trick would be how to scam me outta my fair morning portion of dog food. uncool!


you see, mom used to feed us at precisely the same moment & just around the corner of the food pantry from one another. L. couldn't see me. i couldn't (didn't care to) see her. all was well...until the day she decided to 'turn the corner' & ambush me!!


mom was nearby (whew!) & was able to save my dignity &, most importantly, the food. all of us thought it was an isolated incident (though Little Man was quite amused & secretly hoped for a repeat...humph.) & so mom laid out breakfast the next day in the usual manner. WHOA!!! L. did it again! basset thy name is *stalker*!...& so began the journey of food bowl separation. now we must eat 3 rooms apart to contain the beast otherwise known as L. & mom must be nearby to guard me. very uncool!...people, L. has even tried an under-the-end-table sneak attack & an under-mom's-desk lunge. her daring knows no bounds! well, she has seemed to settle a wee bit lately, but mom has decided in the name of running an efficient household that if i will not defend myself in front of the smaller dog, i must clean up after myself. that's right...i must now put my own bowl away!!...hence, new trick...after 3 days of mom & Little Man explaining this to me (& me silently asking why L. isn't the one made to clean up), i got it & now i do it *with style*~~on command i pick up my bowl...run to the pantry...& put it away...of course, i still need someone with opposible thumbs to open the pantry door, but, hey, i've got it goin' on!!!

dog tag!

somewhere in the recesses of mom's bookmarks, she found a meme just for me...oh yes she did!! since i am such a ham, you get to indulge in yet a bit more 'o me as i answer profound questions that certainly plague your deepest thoughts. ready? here goes...

What breed are you? full-blown yellow lab, baby!!!How old are you? today i am officially 8 years old. yes, i was born on *thee* 9/11...not a day i would have chosen, but that's the way it is.

What is your full name? high flyin' phil. tre cool, huh?!? it's a name i take very seriously!

Do you have any nicknames? as a matter of fact i do...waaaaaaay too many of them. for starters, there's philip, philibuster, felipe, filippo, philly, big guy, BG, big white dog (yeah, my peeps aren't very original, but they are prolific!) this list is not exhaustive by any stretch, but it is all i am willing to share & still keep a public persona!Where do you usually sleep? do you mean when my peeps are home or away?!? because that is significant...;-) let's just keep things cool for me & say on the downstairs dog bed during the day or on the one by mom's side of the bed at night (i am her bodyguard, you know!)...now if there are fireworks or thunder involved i will sleep in the shower or bathtub~ true!

What is your favorite thing to do? eat/sleep/chase balls/eat/sleep/chase balls...repeat ad nauseum... throw in an occasional foray into a body of water & my life is golden!What is something unusual/interesting about you? people, EVERYTHING about me is interesting!!! unusual...not much~~ i'm just a regular guy!

Who is your best friend? well, some would say the elusive L., but really, she's more like the alpha dog than a peer....soooooo...i'm gonna go with mom (she controls all things food!)

Did you go to obedience school? If yes, were you Top Dog or did you flunk out? really, i could have done without this question. i did indeed flunk out of duck-hunting school. am i proud of that fact?! eh, whatever! it actually is why i am now comfortably living a life as a family dog as opposed to rambling around in nearly frozen water fetching dead ducks. (go here & scroll down for the nitty gritty details!)

Can you do any tricks? ha! i may have failed duck-hunting school but i'm no trick-fool! for evidence go here, here & here!

Any last comments? yes...i am hoping that miss liza, auntie K., & michelle will take on this meme so that i am not the only dog out there revealing embarrassing secrets! consider yourselves dog-tagged!!!!!

yo, i've got somethin' to say...

geesh, mom! a little blog time for me, m'k??!?!...i mean, look at this *face*...my adoring public has been missing me! heck, i even got a bath just for the occasion...& L. too...yo, L., get that leg outta your mouth...& smile for the blogosphere...yep, we're back from summer break! let the fall fun begin...

sweet...

...potato! i heard the peeler slide across those lil' fellers...like a shot, i was off the dog bed & into the kitchen ready to do my duty, cleaning any spare peels that land on the floor...but wait!...what is L. doing in there??...*she* doesn't eat sweet potato peelings...heck, she doesn't eat any vegetables or fruit!...how rude!...look at her just hanging by the peelings...growling at my every move & for what?...she just wants to deprive me of one of my simple joys...good thing mom is onto her...after she accrued a rather hefty pile o' peelings, mom gave her the boot so i could properly clean up the floor!!...yummy!!! i'm such a good boy!...mom said!

life as it should be...

the top down...the wind in my ears...& spring-scents on the wind...yeah, i'm livin' large!!

L. contemplates the meaning of life through a screen...

sibling rivalry...

can you dig it??

aaaahhh...thank goodness mom's loooooooooooong blog fast is over! i'm not sure i understand why her break was mine too, but i'm back...though mom did make me wash my paws before posting. why, you ask? just take a look...the ground was moist...i had energy to burn...& a biscuit to bury...L.???...she had other ideas (her biscuits are buried in the furniture when no one is looking)...first she lured me away with a full-on dog battle...pretending to be large & in charge...then she took over...& took a nap in **my** hole...not cool.

dog vs. dog...

basset - 1

lab - 0

going to pieces...

ok. so i'm not exactly sure what these things are on my nose...were they worth the interruption of my power nap??turns out they were just biscuit **pieces**!! all that work & not one whole biscuit in sight...did you ever have one of those days you just wish you could cover your eyes & it would all disappear?mom, please assign Little Man more school work so as to avoid these unnecessary nap intrusions...

just grape!

i've dealt with biscuits, doggy Christmas cookies, even an apple core (i know it's gross, but i am addicted to these...will raid trash for apples)...but today takes it all...grapes!!!...my new love...yes, i will even pose just to get one...or two (please send grapes!)