It's time for the Bad Sport Category!!!

And now we move on to the Bad Sports in MangoMinster. My little big sister TaiChi is entered as a Bad Sport, and boy is she ever!

You would think that this cute little 18 year old miniature poodle would be just that: a cute little fluffy dog.

But no. But let me tell you, underneath that innocent-looking face is the brain of a scheming and cunning Mastermind. If SPECTRE was still around, TaiChi would be running the world, and having 007 bringing her filet mignon on a silver platter. Being as old and venerable as she is, she has learned a lot of sneaky tricks, and has done very well in passing them along to all of her charges over the years (and I think that she should get extra points for not only being devious and sneaky, but also for being a mentor to others). What, you ask, could she possibly do at her advanced age and at a mere 14lbs? I’ll give you the short list:

Used to sneak into Mr. Bufus’ lair and to eat all his food;

Sneaks her snooter closer and closer to Dad’s dinner plate while he is eating until he gives her tasty tidbits;

Sits on my head! (This was NOT staged. She just walked over me and sat on me!)

Did I mention that she walks all over me?

Steals food off Mom’s dinner plate when she’s not looking;

Convinces Dad that Mom hasn’t given her a treat for going outside, and thus gets ‘double-treated’;

Gets under Mom’s feet while she’s making dinner and waits for anything that might ‘accidently’ get knocked off the counter when Mom is trying not to trip over TaiChi;

Bites the hand that feeds her (Dad has the scars to prove it);

Refuses to eat her own food, and then will eat all of Dad’s and Mom’s;

Suddenly, and without warning (but with complete malice of forethought) piddles on the floor;

Pretends she’s blind and walks over Mom and Dad and me, and into food/water dishes, and yet can find Dad’s dinner plate with No Problem;

Pretends she’s deaf until she hears the treat bag being opened (from two rooms away);

Has always decided when she wants to listen to you (which is pretty much only when Mom calls ‘Dinner Time’), and when she doesn’t (which is pretty much the rest of the time);

Stamps her feet, spins in circles, and whines under the dinner table until someone slips her a snack, thus inciting a riot among the rest of us;

Demands to be carried, despite the fact that (when she chooses) she will wander aimlessly around the house for hours on end;

And that’s just the short list. I could go on and on. And yes, I have A LOT to learn from this Criminal Mastermind. She is my hero; I want to be just like her when I am old and venerable!

So please go vote for Methuselah, erm, I mean, TaiChi as the Bad Sport dog!

Weekend update, and a little rebellion...

*Heavy sigh* I was a Bad Dog today. I'll get to it in a minute. But Mom says if I behave tomorrow I can redeem myself.

First, the weekend. Hmm.. Let’s see. On Saturday we woke up to a rainy cold day, and so Mom and Dad decided that this was the perfect morning to catch up on a little sleepy time.

Here I am, trying to curl up into A Very Little Ball. Mom says I get extra points for tucking my nose in to my paws.

Me and TaiChi, snoozling together.

In the afternoon, it stopped raining, and Mom and Dad decided to go on a bye-sickle ride. From what Mom says, it was Very Windy and Cool. Dad had a fine time, but Mom was struggling in the wind and came home Very Tired. So Tired that she made soup for dinner, and was in bed by 9:30.

Of course, Mom and Dad both went to bed early on Saturday because they had another car race on Sunday. TaiChi and Bufus and I stayed at home - it was a local race, and Dad didn't want to drive The House With Wheels down for a one-day, close-to-home event. It worked out okay because Uncle Larry came over a couple of times so TaiChi and I could go outside. And TaiChi is on some meds for her eye that makes her all sleepy (even sleepier than usual!), so she wanted to stay home and sleep on the Big Dog Bed. As an aside, I don't know what the official diagnosis is for her eye - Mom says the doctor didn't mention 'irisitis' but Mom also asked to vet to speak in English rather than vet-ese, so the vet might not have mentioned the actual disease name. Regardless of what it is called, they think they can cure it. So she will just keep her pirate hat for dress-up time. However, even when this is all better she still won't be able to drive. So I have told Mom to stock up on Frosty Paws!

So, Mom and Dad got up Super Early and drove to Salt Lake where they met Uncle Charlie and family, and everyone (well, except their daughter, who has her own little cart) drove The Big Yellow Car. Because Uncle Charlie and Aunt Linda are Very Fast drivers, the idea was that Dad would drive with Uncle Charlie and Mom would drive with Aunt Linda. And apparently Dad did Very Well, while Mom did pretty okay (but she hit a lot of cones....). We are working on getting some pictures, but this is all we have so far.

Dad in the Big Yellow Car.

Mom and Dad apparently had Lots Of Fun, and Learned A Lot, so they considered it a Very Successful Day.

So, now on to my disgrace. *sigh*

Mom and Dad took me to The Park today, and it started off fine. Much chasing of the football:

And then, well, and then I got a little, ah, distracted...

I decided that the little kid playing in the sandbox was Far More Interesting than returning the football to Dad in a timely manner. And when I went to visit the little kid a second time? Mom and Dad decided that if I couldn't do what I was told (i.e. bring the football back to Dad without running over to the sandbox) then it was time to Go Home.

*sigh*

Here Dad is telling me that I am a Bad Dog. *sigh*

So I am in disgrace until I can prove to them that I really CAN behave at The Park.

I will be a Good Dog in the future. I promise. It would just be A Lot easier if there weren't So Many Interesting Things Going On at The Park!

Note from Fi's Mom: She's still learning; we're a little disappointed because it looked like she was making good progress on running free in the park, but she's still got puppy-itis, and so we'll work with her to stop this running off thing. The good thing was that when I went over to the sandbox, and told her to go back to her father, she did go running back to him. So there is hope! ;-) And it's not like we're going to send her to bed without her supper!

*kissey face*

-Fiona the Disgraced....

UPDATE - Okay, so I am out of the dog house, so to speak. Mom and I had a good play session in the backyard (even though Mom can't through a football To Save Her Life!!! *ahem), and I was on my Very Best Behavior. And I've been sucking up to Dad all day, so I have been forgiven! ;-)

And even though we don't have any pictures of Mom in the Big Yellow Car from yesterday (we're getting some, we just don't have them yet..), here's a picture of her from last weekend in Idaho, before the car broke... Just so you don't think Mom sits on the sidelines...

And yes, I think that IS a cone under the car...