Minky's interview

Princess Minky lived for a while at the MaxFund no-kill animal shelter. Her mom does volunteer work there, and her name is Tami. I haven't met Minky, but the Human Assistant knows Tami.

Minky asked me to interview her. And she said it was okay to post the interview here. So here ya go, Punkin! Let the Pomeranian speak!

Tucker:  1. As the shortest member of your family, what do you see that others miss?

Minky:  I see a lot of carpet lint, of course, as well as places where I've stealth-peed that no one has found and OxiCleaned yet.   Dad tries to keep up with me by steam-cleaning the carpet every couple of weeks, but I can outsmart him easily!  I'm not spayed (I was found that way by Maxfund a year ago, and my vet says I'm too old and frail to go through the procedure), so I just haven't been able to break my marking habit, especially around "those times of the year."  I also like to pee in my crate, or on any available dog bed, even though I'm taken outside numerous times daily.  My humans don't like it, but I say, "deal with it!"

Tucker:  2. What will you wear for Halloween?

Minky:  Mom doesn't think I remember this ... but a few weeks ago, she tried a ladybug costume on me.  Horrors!  I think she's going to put me in it for Halloween.  She'll probably take pics this weekend and post them here.  That has been the scene of many a humiliation for me!!

Tucker:  3. Do you like to dance when you're dressed up?

Minky:  I do not like to dance when I'm dressed up. I strike a pose when I'm in costume. I dance when I'm happy or excited, like when I see I'm about to go for a walk. That's when I do the Minky-dance: tilt my pretty little head, play-stance, bark, pirouette, bark, play-stance, bark, pirouette, and bark!

Tucker:  4. It's not well-known that the Siberian Husky breed has a high prey drive. Some of our owners call small dogs "yappetizers," especially when the little one is off-leash in public. Have you had any close calls with big dogs?

Minky:  I'm well aware that some of the attention I draw is not based on my extreme cuteness, but rather, my potential tastiness as a snack. I'm never off-leash in public, though, unless I'm sitting in the kangaroo pouch that dad sometimes slings around his neck. This summer, Slappy/Copper, a 65 lb. lab-shepherd type, came to live with me and my two brothers. He gave me an opportunity to exercise my defensive skills, although he seemed more interested in sniffing me than in eating me, thank dog! Although I was 1/10th his size, I showed him who was boss in our household with growls, hissing, and a few actual attacks. Of course, I only have one tooth, so I'm not able to do any real damage. With Tucker and other smart doggies of the Siberian persuasian, I'm not sure my posturing and bluffing would work. I'll depend on my mom to scoop me up and protect me if I ever meet any of you!

Tucker:  5. If you had to have a celebrity mom, would it be Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie?

Minky:  Well, there's room for only one shallow, self-absorbed celebutante with an eating disorder in this house, and that's me!! But if I had to choose between the two, it would be Nicole Ritchie. I've seen them both on TV, and Paris is like a container made of a cheap, shiny plastic with nothing inside. I read that when she was a kid, she said she wanted to be a veterinarian, but later, said that she could just buy a lot of animals. Grrrrrr, hissss!

Tucker:  H.A., I'm not sure you should have that picture of Minky here. You stole it from her dogster page.

mr_ed:  I didn't steal it! It's still there - go see for yourself!

Tucker:  Okay, well, you borrowed it.

mr_ed:  I linked to it.

Tucker:  Whatever.

mr_ed:  I think it'll be okay. I have Nikki's permission to use pictures she takes for MaxFund.

This one is from Maxfund's Lucky Mutt Strut, like it says on Minky's dogster page. And Nikki used the photo in Denver's Luckiest Mutts calendar contest, and the calendar raises money for MaxFund. (By the way, Minky, I voted for you guys! I think the seniors that get adopted are the luckiest of all!)

But I'll tell you what. I'll let Nikki know that the photo's here, and if she or Minky or Tami don't want it shown, we'll pull it down.

Tucker:  Okay. Then it must be time for supper.

mr_ed:  I'm hungry too. Give me a few minutes to tweak the format here, and I'll get right on that.

-- photos of Copper and Minky by Nicole Howard

Komment ketchup

Minky, the Human Assistant emailed the questions to your mom! We'll watch your dogster page for the answers!

Holly, if I could be taste tester I would be sure to bring some home every day for my dogfriends like you!

Sky, thanks again for the questions! Say woo! to KA for me!

Maddox, please tell Shelby I will come up with some questions and have the H.A. post them on your blog for her!

And thanks for making sure Mystique hasn't come back!

We don't actually know how she's doing. Not that I care. But she was a cute little stinker. Not like in that picture up in the corner where she has her mouth closed. I never saw her with her mouth closed! Maybe she shut it when she was asleep. But that was the only time I could rest, too.

Her family's trial adoption was for around two weeks. It's been close to three weeks, so H.A. emailed them. But he hasn't got a reply. So he asked MaxFund to call them and find out what's up.

H.A. says I've been happier than he's ever seen me. I'm bouncier and more playful and talkative. And I've been here almost a year. Of course, I had a new monia when I got here. So I wasn't very happy then.

[Like Worf, he was not a Merry Man  -- mr_ed]

But this is the first time in all that time that nodoggy is here except who belongs here. So H.A. better not bring home anydoggy else!

Not only that. I have not felt too good the last two days. I hear that it's a bad allergy time. After my new monia and ummm ... [pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration  -- mr_ed] ... yeah, that, sometimes I sneeze and cough and stuff. Probably allergy thingies in the air make it worse.

And when I have this problem, other doggies really, really bug me. Tuesday Gremlin was just lying there. She was about five feet away from where I was lying. She wasn't doing anything, but she bugged me. I barked at her.

The Human Assistant said not to do that, so I waited a minute. Then I barked at her again. He told me to stop it! So I waited and barked again. H.A. got up and went outside to distract me, and it worked.

But one time when we went outside, Gremlin was too close behind me. I turned around and was starting a fight with her. But H.A. said to stop it! I wasn't really in the mood for a fight anyway. So I stopped it and we went outside.

Anyway. I don't want more dogs here. And H.A. thinks it wouldn't be good for them to be here either. He says Gremlin is no bother. If I can't get along with her, then there's no hope.

I know he thinks he may sneak one in here once the cold kills all the allergy thingies. Maybe another older doggie who just lies around all day. But that's pretty much what Gremlin and I do, too. So I don't think so. Unless it stayed in a crate or a closed room all the time. [Or Tucker did  -- mr_ed]

The Human Assistant is sad he can't bring more friends home. But I don't think it would work.

Diane (Kolfinna the Berserker), thanks for visiting! H.A. says Leif Erikson Day snuck up on him this year. But he'll be spreading the word next year! Come visit us again! I love visitors!

Time to rest my new monia. Which is getting pretty old. I hope that H.A. snuck me a pregnazone pill in the treats! I don't like pills, but he can hide it pretty well. And it does make me feel better.

Five questions

The Human Insistant says I have to announce that October 9 is officially Leif Erikson Day in the U.S. (But not because of anything Leif Ericson actually did on October 9.) You can probably read more about it on his blog. (H.A.'s blog, not Leif Erikson's.)

If for some strange reason you want a Viking name for the day, try here. I am Jörund the Clumsy. Hmmpf. I don't have thumbs, you know! Gremlin is Þóra the Comedy Sidekick. (Pronounced like Thora.) That doesn't sound like a Viking name to me.

The Human Assistant cheated and tried different things. The one I like best is Eirík the Berserker (for mr_ed).

I wonder if Vikings had dogs. They must have. Don't you think? But you never hear about them. Something else dog related ... October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. The ASPCA is having a photo contest you can check out.

There are interviews going around! After Sky was interviewed on his blog, he kindly agreed to ask me five questions:

Sky:  1. You recently told us about strange pets that people keep. If you have any pet, what would it be and why?

Tucker:  Oh, that's a hard question! I do like stuffed toys! But I don't think a little furry pet would be as good. I'm sure H.A. would take it away forever after I chewed on it a while. Maybe a monkey that would find the dog food and treats and bring them to me. But it better not try to ride on my back!

Sky:  2. You've mentioned a lot of countries in your blog, i.e. China, Brazil, Egypt, Australia, and Russia to name a few. Have you ever traveled? If so, where and if not, where would you like to go?

Tucker:  I've had six different homes. But I've never traveled otherwise. It would be interesting to see where Siberian Huskies came from! Too bad people don't agree on where that was. Most of all I would like to visit Turkey to see if it tastes as good there as it does here!

Sky:  3. Your profile tells us that 4 poster dogs have lived with you at Mr. Ed's. Which one was yor favorite?

Tucker:  Fooey. Jägermeister, Mystique, Poo-Poo, and Sally. Plus his daughter's dog Zot. They were all nuisances! You can see them on Mystique's dogster page.   [Links to their own dogster pages, and to Gremlin's, added Oct. 14  -- mr_ed]   Well, Poo-Poo the Miniature Poodle mix was okay. She was very quiet and didn't bother me. Maybe Poo-Poo is as old as Gremlin, thirteen years.

She was a stray and got stuck in a crummy shelter all filthy and everything. It took her a while to liven up. Actually she was kinda cute when she started dancing on her hind legs for treats! Just when her personality started to come through, she got adopted to a good home. Good that it wasn't my home so she couldn't bug me!

Sky:  4. If you were human what profession would you choose?

Tucker:  I would be a taste tester in a meat factory! Somebody has to make sure those cans of meat are okay! I'll bet there are lots of people who want those jobs, though. So I could also be a ride checker to make sure that cars ride okay after they're built or fixed.

Sky:  5. With all the grapes in the garden, we can't help but wonder if H. A. will make wine from them. If he does and serves it with cheese--Which will you beg for? Wine or Cheese?

Tucker:  Sometimes H.A. tells Gremlin not to wine. And I like water okay. So it would be cheese for me!

Thank you Sky! If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have thought of these things. Maybe somedoggy would like me to interview them. There are rules. Many of us have trouble with rules. But it's a game! Even Sibe games have rules. And I didn't make them up:

• 1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave me a comment saying, 'interview me.'
• 2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.
• 3. You will update your blog with a post containing your answers to the questions.
• 4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview somedoggy else in the same post.
• 5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

It sounds easier than it is! Try it!

An apple a day

The Human Assistant has been icky-sick for a day. I think he ate a bad apple. He found out from the Army of Four blog that some animals snuggle with their humans to make them feel better (like Sitka and Tia do). Hmmph!

Ignoring that.... A few days ago H.A. picked up all the apples that were on the ground. He kept a few of them for himself. Gremlin and I can get our own because more keep falling down. But we still stare at him while he cuts up his apples until he gives us pieces.

Anyway, H.A. says he forgets that apples from trees don't last as long as apples from stores. So he may not have gotten around to that apple soon enough.

He wishes he had a dog stomach. He says we have tons more acid in our tummies than humans do. So icky things don't make us sick as often.

But dogs shouldn't eat "herbal ecstacy." The athlete drug police say athletes can't have any. But somebody gave some to this greyhound. All you sled dogs out there - don't take BZP!

Here's another tip. Wearing a dog collar can make you get attacked more! It's true! This story only mentions people wearing dog collars. But wouldn't it apply to dogs too? I would think so.

I need to sleep now. I guess it's allergy season. My breathing parts have been stressed the last few days even though H.A. says he's sneaking me my medicine. Happy dreams, everydoggy!