On The Job With Duke!

Yesterday morning, we loaded the pups in the truck with us and headed to work. Lucy spent the day with her Daddy, and Duke spent the day with me! I just love having the big guy here to keep me company, and of course, to protect me!

Once a month, my Mom & Dad come down to Pittsburgh. My dad is receiving some kind of injections to help him with the back problems that he's having. While it's a horrible reason to have to come to Pittsburgh, they usually swing by the store to visit me, so I get to spend an hour or so chatting with them which I otherwise wouldn't be able to do. Yesterday was that day! Duke was so happy to see his Grandparents! He was so excited that his enthusiasm was impossible to contain for the first 10 minutes that they were here!

I'm usually the one behind the camera, so I don't have that many pictures of myself with the kids! Yesterday when Duke plopped down on my lap, my mom couldn't resist taking a picture of me with my "lap dog"! I love it! As you can see, he doesn't quite fit on my lap, but that doesn't deter him!

My parents aren't quite used to my wild kids, and my mom told me yesterday that she thinks Duke looks like he wants to eat her.... What this sweet face? He's a big love bug! I'm pretty sure it's just the size of his head that makes her think this way.

Duke settled down shortly after my parents left, he curled up at my feet by the heater and took a nap. Then he helped me eat some carrots at lunch time. We took several walks to take full advantage of the 60 degree weather and sunshine that was here yesterday. By 8:00, he was more than ready for his Daddy and Lucy to come pick us up. He was so ready, that he ran straight to the door, and waited! I can't lie and say that I wasn't ready to go home and see Rob and Lucy too!

I must say that I feel very lucky to be able to bring my boxers on the job with me! It's always great to spend the day hanging out with either one of them!

The Best Spot

The last several nights we have had a battle of sorts in the bed. For many months now, Lucy has been very content to let Duke sleep at the top of the bed next to me. For whatever reason, she's just not content with that anymore. Maybe she's decided it's her turn, and he needs to retire to the end of the bed and give her a shot at snuggling with her mom, but he has no intention of doing that.

Last night started out like every other night. Duke jumped up into the bed and got comfy; the top half of his body on my chest, a paw on either side of my head and his head resting dead center on my chest. Within minutes, he was snoring. Lucy had curled up on the other side of me by my hips. She kept looking up at Duke and I, and she would sigh! I knew it was only a matter of time before she decided to correct the problem.

Somehow I managed to wiggle part of Duke's body off of my chest, which is no small task with an 80 pound boxer I can assure you. I had just settled in and started to get comfortable when I noticed that Lucy had gotten up and was making her way slowly up to the top of the bed and my pillow, with her little bottom wiggling the whole way. She knew exactly what she was doing, and didn't much care what Duke thought about what she was going to do.

It took her only a minute, she circled a couple of times, still wiggling, and settled down right next to me with her head on the pillow, and this time when she sighed, I knew it was a contented sigh and not a frustrated one.

At 4:00 AM, I was awakened by the fact that the room was so hot that I could barely stand it. I got up and turned the space heater off and made a trip to the bathroom. By that time, both kids had gotten up to and figured if I got to make a pit stop, so did they. I let them both out for a quick tinkle, and then we all climbed back into bed. This time Lucy jumped into bed and got first pick of the best spot, right next to my head while Duke had to settle for snuggling in at my hip!

The "Best Spot" in our bed is very clearly next to mama's head!

Moving On...

The stolen porterhouse steaks of a week ago are still a very sore subject in our house. Not so sore that Lucy & Duke's Daddy didn't think of them when he was standing at the butcher's counter ordering a bunch of thick cut porterhouse steaks last evening because those steaks had awesome bones on them!

Rob and I were more than happy to share our bones with the kids, after they sat and waited patiently, of course....

Poor Lucy still doesn't get why Daddy and I are saying funny things to Duke about "The Circle of Trust!"

Be Careful What You Tell A Boxer....

...Because they just might hold you to it! And if they can't make you comply, they're probably going to take matters into their own paws. Let me tell you the story so you can relate to what happened...

You remember that Duke was at work with me on Sunday, and he was such a good boy all day long, greeting customers, making new friends and making people fall in love with him. At the end of the day, I told him that he was being so good that he deserved a steak!

That night on our way home, Rob and I stopped at the grocery store and bought a bunch of steak with the intention of cooking it for dinner. It was a nice thought, but there was something wrong with the grill. And while Rob messed around with the grill and tried to get it to work, I pounded out (2) very thick porterhouse steaks. He came back into the house, and was in the kitchen getting something to drink. The steaks were on the counter, and I had to pee. I figured since my husband was in the kitchen, it was probably safe to go to the bathroom, but what I didn't take into consideration (silly me!) was that there was a football game on in the living room and my darling husband wasn't paying any more attention to what our sweet counter surfing boxer was doing than the fact that I had left the room.

When I came back to kitchen, the steaks weren't on the counter.
Me: "You got the grill fixed?" "No, why would you say that?"
Rob: "No, what made you think that?"
Me: "The steaks are gone!"

I immediately turned around to see my sweet Duke chowing down on the remainder of the porterhouse steak, and poor Lucy trying to get a bite of it for herself! Needless to say that Duke's amazing performance at work with me on Sunday was usurped by his stealing 3 pounds of porterhouse steak from our kitchen counter...

Our Perfect Picture...Almost

This picture of my kids was almost the perfect picture! If only Duke had been looking at the camera like Lucy was! I guess it's proof that this isn't a perfect world that we are living in.

I snapped this one, and then Lucy (who has a harder time sitting still than Duke does) jumped up to come say hello to her mama! And there wasn't any treat that would lure her back up there beside Duke. She was probably thinking that her mama has enough pictures!

Sometimes I wish I had more of these perfect pictures. I guess we just need to keep practicing and hope for the best. In the meantime, I do really love this picture of the kids. I should tell you that this is one of the kids favorite spots in the house to hang out. I wonder what it is about this spot?

Duke's Take... On The Job With My Human

Hey, guys! It's me Duke, again. I'm on the job with my Mama today. Lucy went with Daddy, and I'm gonna help mama out today. Here's how a day on the job looks...

This is me standing guard at the front door. I have to protect my human from any unsavory characters because my Dad isn't around... Sure hope that I don't have to throw anybody out of here today!

I must be doing the job right because my human has dried lamb treats in her hand. I always sit and wait patiently for her to give them to me. Sometimes a paw on her leg speeds up the process. These humans can be slow sometimes...

Gotta chill out for a little while, you know, take a load off and get ready for all of those unsavory characters.

A boxers work is never done!

Perps In The Yard

On Tuesday afternoon, it was beautiful here in Pittsburgh, and I was lucky enough to have my 2nd day in a row off (don't hate me, I worked 21 days in a row to get 2 days off in a row!) Okay, it was beautiful for January in Western Pennsylvania. I spent as much time outside with the dogs as I possibly cold. Even though it was a tad chilly, the sun was out and it felt great to all 3 of us!

I knew as soon as I looked at Lucy and Duke that they were paying very close attention to something going on in the yard, although I had no idea what. At this point, any rabbit stupid enough to still be hanging out in our yard, is fair game! They've had plenty of warning, and more than ample time to get the heck out of Dodge!


Within seconds of my pondering what the kids were watching, and my managing to snap a picture, they had both taken off across the yard- full speed ahead, and they both went straight to the shed. I haven't been down to the shed in a while because our yard is basically a big mud hole, so I had no idea that Lucy had managed to dig a hole to China underneath the shed! She can get her whole body under there, and she managed to come out pretty muddy, which Duke wanted no part of! He was very content to stand on the sidelines, supervising the whole raid!

I still don't know what's living under the shed. I do know that there should be a lot less mud underneath the shed because Lucy tracked a whole bucket full of it into the house! I'm just thankful that at least one of my children has sense enough not to get covered from head to toe in mud every time he goes outside... I love you Duke!

Friday Business

I have two very important things to blog about today... So, I guess I had better get started! Times a wastin, right?

Here's a cause that we can all get behind: The Coalition to Unchain Dogs. I cried when I saw this beautiful brindle boxer, Tiger chained. And I cried tears of relief when he was un-chained. He probably ran for days, and days! Without further ado, meet Tiger!:



Lucy, Duke and I were thrilled to be the recipients of an award. We received the Pawsome Blogger Award from our friend Basset Mama... We love visiting with her and her two little basset sweethearts! As many of you know, my first puppy love was brought on by a sweet little basset hound named Nicky! So, it's always a happy visit for us!



In order to accept this award, I must pass it along to 8 blogs that bring me fun, love, laughs and furiendship.

1. Maggie Mae Says
2. The Antics of Two French Bulldogs
3. How Sam Sees It
4. Oh, Corbin
5. From Sophie's View
6. Browndog CBR
7. Downunder Daisy
8. Gardening With Wyatt

I wanted badly to bring the children to work with me today, but it's 16 degrees here (even less if you factor in the windchill), and we had to switch vehicles, and unload a truck. So, I figured it was in their best interest to stay home today and snuggle up with each other and keep warm! I gave them strict orders to keep each other warm today as I handed each of them a biscuit! I'm sure that Lucy's taking my orders seriously, she always does, especially if the orders have anything to do with striking some odd pose at her brother's expense! Hopefully, their Daddy and I will be home early tonight!

Duke's Take... My Sassin Little Sister

It's me, Duke. I've never blogged before, but Lucy convinced me that I needed to do it, so I guess I had better listen. Making Lucy mad just isn't a good thing- take it from me, I should know! And I guess in order to get some fair representation in our house, I should probably speak for myself once and a while. So, here goes...

I'm a pretty quiet, laid back fellow. I don't have much to say, except when mom is taking too long to get my dinner ready, or when Lucy takes a toy from me that I want to play with. Other than that, I just keep to myself, although I love to snuggle with the human, and because Lucy likes it so much, I let her snuggle with me too. Gotta keep the ladies happy. I'll never get any peace and quiet if the ladies aren't happy, ya know? I guess I'm one step ahead of the game since I already know that. My Daddy is still working on that- I keep trying to explain it to him, but it's taking some time to get the message across!

Anyway, moving on to other topics, I want to tell you how much I love my new family and my new home. Having a little sister is great, although, I must tell you, she can be a bit much to handle at times. Daddy always says that I'm way to easy on her, but I don't think I am. I'm a polite boy, and she's littler than I am, and well... she's a girl. How hard can I be on her?

Sometimes, I do have to put her in place. This morning, for example, she was being really mouthy! Mama calls it "Sassin", and she just wouldn't stop "Sassin", so I had to do my best to help Mama out, and calm her down. Sometimes there's just no other choice but to grab that little darlin' by the neck and chomp down a bit... I don't ever hurt her, Mama says I'm very gentle with her. And sometimes, she even stops "Sassin" when I do it. This morning wasn't one of those mornings though!

Sometimes, you just have to step back from the situation, and hope that some miraculous force may be with you when you return to take care of the "Sassin" little boxer named Lucy!

Mama laughed at me this morning when she saw me up on the ottomen with my eyes glowing! I don't know what came over me, I just knew that if I didn't stop Lucy from "Sassin" Mama was gonna go crazy! See sometimes, she wakes up with a headache, and that horrific noise my sister makes, just doesn't go well with Mama's headaches!

I don't know what happened to me this morning, but by the time I jumped off the sofa, Lucy had quit barking, Mama was laughing, and once again, I had managed to save the day! Gosh, sometimes I think my work will never be done. Especially if my job is keeping Lucy in line. I'll tell you, it's a challenge sometimes, I don't know how my Mama ever did it before I came to live with her!

Well, I guess I've said everything I need to say for now, I sure had fun! I'm betting my Mama will let me blog again soon, but only if she thinks I did a good job! I'm sure she will, she's always telling me that I'm a very good boy! I think that's a good thing.

Oh, she just asked me to tell you, that she's got a surprise for you all tomorrow! She got an award today, and she's going to share it with you all tomorrow!

A Pouncing Boxer Puppy

Lucy has this thing she does. I've never quite been able to describe it. And I've never been able to catch her in the act either. But, one night last winter, Lucy came across a frozen cube on our deck... The next 20 minutes were minutes that I'll never forget. The following video took me back to that moment when I saw it. It's exactly what Lucy did to that ice cube on our deck!

I hope you get as many giggles out of it as I did!

Lucy's Take... I's Finally Got My Blog Back!

I know's whats you are all tinkin, dats I let da human take over our blog. She's been doins such a good job of it, that I've just been lettin her takes it over. And Duke, well he's not really interested in bloggin... I's was sittins on da deck dis mornin wishin dats I would gets a chance to talk to you alls, and wonderins what I would tells you about if I did! After alls, it's been months since I've been able to write my own blog.

My life sure has changed for da better since da hoomans brought Duke home! I luvs havin a brudder and he comes in handy very often. Has da hooman told ya alls what a great pillow he is? I just loves to cuddle wits him and makes sure dat he knows how much I luvs him!

He can be's a little strange at times. For some odd reason, he doesn't always likes to go outside. For xsample, if it's cold or rainin outs, he hates to be outside. And lots of time, he just stands in da doorway, watchin me plays in da yard. I tinks dats he's really just waitens for me to come back inside so he can play wits me! It's whats he would rather do than anytins else!

... And he's really smarts! He tinks I have excellents taste in toys. I knows dis because he always wants whatever toy I's is playin wits! He's go to some pretty extreme measures to get dems off of me too!

Well, I gots to run... Duke just grabbed a toy, so I needs to go plays wit him! i really donts wants to keep hims waiten! It was nice visiten wits you all! Hopefully I'll be's backs soon, but if nots I hope my hooman is doin a goods job of entertain yous! Just be careful, and don'ts believe evertins you reads about Duke & I... sometimes she can be a little goofy, but we's luvs her anyways!

Everyone's A Critic...

One of the sweet joys of life is having the pups in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking. Or, should I say, one of the joys in life USUALLY, is having the pups in the kitchen with me while I'm cooking... Of course, to everything there is an exception and today was that exception.


Lucy: "She's takin ways too long up der. What's do you tinks she's doing?"
Duke: "I agree, it's takins a very long time, and she's not droppins nuttin to us. Are we sures she knows what's she's doin?"
Lucy: "Maybes dats da problem!"
Duke: "I'ms tireds of waiten, I'm takins me a nap!"


"Hey, ma! We tinks it's definitely dones! Buts if you's is not so sure, we'll try its out for ya, okay?"

I had no choice, it was either drop the boxers a piece of chicken, or listen to them protesting loudly over how long it was taking me to cook! And since I've already got a raging headache, I dropped some chicken- and in case you're wondering, the critics were right, it was most certainly done! The critics were correct again! I knew there was a good reason for having them in the kitchen!

Must Be The Brainfood...

"Whats was ya thinkin, Ma? Didja tinks dat I wouldn't finds out?"

Bear with me for a second, because I'm sure this won't make sense right away... But, I've been feeding Lucy & Duke Taste of the Wild, the salmon blend. The other morning, as I was gagging over the fish smell, I started having doubts about giving my already way too intelligent boxers more brain food (and it wasn't just the smell!). I keep hearing on tv about the benefits of fish in relation to brain power... And I have to admit, that there are several times that it has crossed my mind, that my darling little boxers already might be just a tad too smart for their own good.

Yesterday, I posted about Duke being Mama's boy. When I got home last night, Lucy was extremely attentive (way more than usual), adoring (way more than usual) and kissy (again, way more than usual!). She even slept on top of me last night, stayed in bed with me this morning after Duke and her Daddy were up, and wouldn't stop snuggling with me this morning before I left for work. So, what I'm now trying to figure out is, did someone read Lucy my post from yesterday (I'm wondering if her boxer buddy Maggie Mae might have called her in my absence!), or did she just suspect that quite possibly Duke was sliding into her spot?

The Mama's Boy: Duke

Often times, I have a hard time believing that Duke hasn't been a part of our lives for even a full year yet. I guess we were lucky to have a boxer boy blend in so well with our household and the crazy lives that we lead. But, we were lucky in a lot of other ways too, or should I say that I am lucky?

Duke is a Mama's Boy! He loves his mama, and I'm lucky because I'm the recipient of this adoration, and believe me, I don't doubt for a minute that this sweet boxer boy completely adores me. I don't think a minute goes by when I'm at home, that my sweet boy doesn't know exactly where I am in the house, and frankly, he's never very far from where I am. When Duke is on the job with me, he hates being left in my office and protests quite loudly and comically until I bring him out to prove to him that I'm just fine. I can tell without even looking that the tongue on the other side of the shower curtain belongs to Duke. I can tell without even looking that the paw on my knee definitely belongs to Duke. I can tell without even looking that the loud, freight train like snore keeping me up at night, most certainly belongs to Duke!

I've been more observant of these things lately, maybe because Duke is becoming even more of a mama's boy than he was a few months ago, or maybe the love that I've had for him since the first time I saw his sweet droopy face is deepening. I'm not entirely sure, but something is going on between Duke and I.

The other day, I was curled up in the recliner, book in hand, big fuzzy blanket on my lap completely comfortable. Out of nowhere, here comes Duke... He landed perfectly on his mama's lap and proceeded to get comfy with his head resting on my knee. As soon as he settled in, he let out a very deep, very contented sigh. It would seem that as long as he's close to me, he's perfectly happy. (I should mention that Lucy was madder than a hornet by these events and proceeded to let Duke and I know in no uncertain terms that she was not cool with this!)

I finally got a break from work yesterday, and hurried home at 12:30 to spend some time with my pups and hopefully get a nice long nap. When I walked in the door, Duke seemed so relieved to see me, while Lucy darted for the nearest toy. It was a beautiful day here yesterday, and I couldn't wait to spend some time in the sunshine with the kids, and I thought that they would hit the yard running. Lucy hit the yard running. Duke sat next to me on the step with a paw on my leg, and he didn't move until I got up to go in the house.

And when I curled up in bed for my nap, Duke was right next to me. Last night, he and I fell asleep with both of our heads on my pillow, his paw was over my back. I can't think of anything sweeter! There is definitely a special bond between me and my little boy!

Dale: A Tribute To A Boxer Friend

As I get older, I think I appreciate people and things more. And when something bad happens to someone who has made a real difference in my life, it impacts me in a big way.

As many of you may know, since the adoption of my first boxer, I have become a member of a wonderful family otherwise known as the Boxer Mailing List. While I don't know the exact details of when this list was started, I know that it's been a huge part of my life for the last 2 years. I've made wonderful friends, laughed, cried, said prayers for the boxers and their humans, and received wonderful advice and loads of support for many different situations in my life.

The founding father of this wonderful family was a man named Dale Ulmer. Daily he would update us on the activities of his two boxer rescues, Lou and Ella. I would wait for those pictures, and laugh at their boxer antics. In addition to the daily updates is the BML family; a huge group of people from all over the US, Canada and abroad. Over the last two years, I have shared with them as they rescued and adopted puppies, toddler boxers and many seniors. I have cried plenty of tears as fellow members of my family have said good-bye to their precious boxers, and I have learned more about this wonderful breed than I have ever thought possible. One of the greatest things about this list is that even though we're all eager to help each other with boxer related things, there is also a tremendous amount of support here for everyday things that go on in our lives.

Over the last year or so, Dale has had several health problems, and we have all hoped and prayed for the best for him. After all, he's the one who brought us all together. Yesterday, we all received the news that he had passed. I can't help but think of what a better place the world has been because Dale was in it. He was such a sweet man, with a very obvious love for his sweet Diane, his kids, and boxers everywhere. And I can't help but think of all of the wonderful boxer greetings and wiggles that he must have gotten as he went to meet several of the boxers and his friends that preceded him in death. I know that several of my fellow BML members commented that they felt so much better knowing that Dale was now with the boxers that they've lost over the years. I guess you could say that I have an image of tons of boxers running and wiggling to greet him, and it sounds so lovely!

I sat with Lucy and Duke last night and I prayed for Dale and his family, and thanked God for allowing me to be a part of his life and his family. What a blessing it has been in my life, and I know that while I never had a chance to meet Dale, his wife Diane or Lou & Ella, that my life has been impacted in a very positive way.

Godspeed Dale, and thank you for being a part of our lives!

Indoor Games

Winter has finally struck us in Pittsburgh, and I'm left with no other option than to tire my boxer babies out indoors. Lucy doesn't mind the cold, but 3 or 4 minutes outdoors in our chilly temps are more than enough for Duke. Thank goodness for the Christmas toys!

"Here ya go, Ma! Dis is da toy dat we need to play wits tonight. Will yous throw it's?"


Why is it that no matter what toy Duke or Lucy has, the other one always has to go after with it a complete and total vengeance?

It's always easy to tell when the boxer children are beginning to tire out. Lucy always shows signs first, she'll lay down on the ground and get comfy, but she still won't give up the toy!


"We's is waiten here for ya, ma! It's times to go to bed! Are you's coming or not?"