Florida Vacation - Final Installment & My Hurt Paw

After a crazy New Years Eve, Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Uncle John were up early and heading out of the house, leaving me home with Grandma. I was a bit sad.
They left me to drive up to Tampa Bay to attend the Outback Bowl featuring Mom's alma matter, The University of Iowa!

Mom said it was a great game, very exciting and they all had a great time!

The game was played at Raymond James Stadium where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play, Mom was bummed that the pirate ship was closed, she's always wanted to check it out.

The best part was that Iowa won the game! Wooo hooo! They really beat up South Carolina....go Big Ten!!!

A few days later Uncle John and Mom took me and Spencer for a walk. Check out this great creek that Mom wouldn't let me play in, cuz apparently there are alligators in there.

There were so many great smells, I was in heaven!

I finally gave in and did what I was meant to do, so I ROACHED!

And I roached some more!

Fine Mom, I'll stop. I just can't help myself.

As our time was winding up in Fort Myers, we decided to go back to dog beach one last time. It was so great to be back on the beach, but I was sad knowing we were going home soon.

Spencer came too and was having a great time in the water!

It was so sunny, I had to squint. Good thing Mom uses a lotion on me with sunscreen!

Look at Spencer pose. That fella loves the water!

One last palm tree photo before we head home to cold, snowy Chicago.

On the road trip home, pit stops are necessary. Here we are lunching at Chick-fil-A in Georgia. People, let me tell you, their nuggets ROCKED! I wish there were one of these in Chicago.

Come on, one more nugget for the road....please????

Are we there yet? This is one long trip home.

What a great vacation I had. I will remember it forever! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for such a wonderful time!

Now, on to my hurt paw. I've been limping for the last week, and Mom and Dad thought I had hurt my paw on the snow and/or ice outside, but as Mom was inspecting my paw pad, she saw what she assumed was a cyst, so off to the vet we went.

The vet, the bestest ever, Dr. Marks, checked out my food and thinks it's not a cyst, but a puncture wound just off my paw pad. The cyst like formation is a bacteria buildup. Dr. Marks cleaned me up and sent us home with antibiotics to take to kill the icky bacteria that is hurting my paw. I'm already limping a bit less, so hopefully, I'll be back to normal soon!

'till next time,

Kirby

Florida Vacation - Part 2 (Christmas and the beach!)

We had a wonderful Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Florida. Grandma spoiled me with so many prezzies, so I was super happy. I got most of the toys and Spencer got most of the treats, so I'm not sure who did better. He he! Since Spencer has gotten older, he's not into toys like he used to be.
YES, tennis balls, my favorite. I managed to break all three balls within five minutes, Grandma was amazed!

Spencer loves to open presents, especially since so many of his were food related!

I have paper issues, so I managed to eat a whole lot of paper while I unwrapped. What can I say, it's so yummy.

Got anything else with my name on it?

Mom bought Spencer one toy that she felt was appropriate for Florida, a Sting Ray.

While Spencer was napping I stole his Ray and introduced it to my Hippo. Both make absolutely wonderful pillows.

Since the weather was so nice while we were visiting, we decided to go to dog beach. This place is totally PAWSOME! Even Spencer, who hates to swim, enjoyed himself.

I was so excited, I couldn't stay in one place for too long.

Spencer was loving the feel of the water on his achy hind legs. He stayed in the water for over an hour!

Even Grandma got in the water with me. She had to hold me back when a boat came in a bit too close for comfort.

Look, my orbee made the trip to Florida too! Man, I love my orbee!

What do you mean we have to leave soon? I don't want to go!!

I got a big pat from Grandma for being such a good dog at the beach. And my good behavior was rewarded with a trip back before we headed back home!! More on that in a future post.

Ahh, it's so nice to look back at all the pics of my vacation to Florida. Especially since I'm sitting here in single digit temperatures and tons of snow. Man, I can't wait for summer!!

'till next time,

Kirby

In the doghouse at dog beach

This morning, we all headed off to the lakefront for our Sunday morning jog. I was a bit confused as we didn't run to the lake, but we drove up there. Then, once we were finished jogging, we didn't get into the car, but we headed over to DOG BEACH! Woo Hoo! I was so excited. There were lots of dogs at the beach including two other Airedales!

I hit the lake as soon as I could. Ah, how I've missed you my friend!
I played and played and ran around and swam, but I wouldn't play with my new aqua boomerang that we brought with us. I found everyone else's toys so much better. Even if I have the same one at home and don't play with it, I wanted it this morning.
This ball wasn't mine
This toy wasn't mine either...he he
I love playing with other dogs toys!
Uh oh, I got stuck in a time out due to bad behavior. I wouldn't come when called and kept stalking everyone else's toys. Dad, please let me go, my friends are all in the water.
Mom, will you let me go? Don't you love me?
So, the evil people were convinced I wasn't going to behave, so they packed me up to go home.
Note from Kirby's Mom: Kirby was released after his time out and he ran off and jumped all over a little boy who was so scared of him. Kirby knows better than to jump on anyone, but he was super hyper and we knew it was time to go home and relax.
Here's hoping you don't end up in the dog house when you are at the dog beach. It really sucks!!

'Till next time,

Kirby

Dog Beach

Today was very exciting. Mom and Dad loaded me up into the car, and we were off to dog beach! It was 80 today and sunny in Chicago, and Mom said she didn't know how many more nice weekends we would have like this, so I got to go to the beach!

Mon Dog, or Dog Beach, as most Chicago dogs know it, is a great beach. It is situated right on the shore of Lake Michigan, and it is HUGE! The area is fenced off, so no doggies can escape, so it is off leash fun for all dogs. Mom took this picture to give you an idea of the size of the beach. Today, we went around mid-day, so it wasn't as crowded as it is when we go in the mornings, but there were still plenty of pooches to play with.
When we go to the beach, I always bring one of my 'water toys'. Todays choice was my aqua kong. Here I am with my trusty kong after a big wave hit me.
My Dad likes to throw the kong out really far, so I have to work hard to get it back. Today, they were a lot more waves than normal, so I had to fight through those to get my kong.
Besides swimming, the beach is great for socializng. I love to meet and greet all the different doggies.
Mom likes when I check in with her while I'm playing. She says I'm a crazy fool at the beach, so every so often she calls me over to make sure I'm behaving myself. Yes mom, I'm being a good boy.
I love to play with all the doggies at the beach, and even more I like to play with the toys they bring with them. Here I am chasing this guy down with his great training toy.
After our time at the beach, Mom and Dad decided I was too sandy to go straight home. They felt I needed a bath anyways, so off to Soggy Paws we went. Mom loves the Soggy Paws motto, "Wash your dog, dry your dog, go home, we clean up the mess." I'm not a fan of baths, so I have to be attached to the tub. Apparently, I'm known as an escape artist.
Here's Dad washing me down. It took nearly two bottles of shampoo to get all the sand out of my fur!
The do it yourself bath does come with a professional dog facial. Here they are cleaning up my face with a mango face wash. Not only does this stuff smell good, but I kept licking it, so it must taste good too.
Are we done yet? After a quick towel dry, Mom and Dad decide there is no need for the dryer today. I will finish drying off at home. Finally, we're going home. I'm pooped after this super busy day.
'Till next time,

Kirby