My JAKE is FOURTEEN!

Look at him! Isn't he just about the cutest 14 year old you ever did see? I let JAKE stay home for his birthday today. He slept in, got up around 10:00am (because he stayed up until 2:30am), then we went to lunch. Just me and my JAKE. Then we checked out the various Guitar Heros (Aerosmith versus Rock Legends), made our purchase (He says thank you to Grammie & Papa for his birthday present, by the way), then we came home. Skipper is begging to come in and play Guitar Hero with him. Too bad, Skipper.
Happy 14th Birthday, JAKE!
We Love You!
(JAKE is his preferred name of choice these days, FYI)

Two and a Half Weeks and Counting!

To answer Natalie's questions,
Yes, Skipper is still here. We have had a few rough howling spells, but have finally figured out that he simply likes the front yard better than the back. That works for me. He has not been snuck into the house yet, however, Chad goes out of town Thursday and we'll have to see what happens then! Personally, I think Skipper likes being our "Guard Dog" of the front yard. Anyway, I promise the next blog
will not be about Skipper, even though he is pretty cute!

Skipper Is Still Here!

Skipper came close to going back to his previous owners last thursday. I opened the garage door and PU it stunk. Then the SPCA came out because someone complained about his howling. But Chad and Caroline gave him a bath and threw out his old blankie (I know, I'm surprised Caroline let that happen, too) and the garage didn't stink anymore. Then we figured out that he doesn't bark if we put him in the garage. He really is a good doggie. He just wants to be with us. Oh, and Chad took him for a ride and he loved it! He knows that I am the one with the treats, because I've been using treats to cut out the barking. His tail wags when he sees me. Kirk, I think, is feeling a little displaced. We're trying really hard not to pay more attention to the dog, but even he has to go see Skipper (pronounced "Skippa" by Kirk) before he goes to school. I still can't believe we have a dog. Atleast, it gives me something to blog about, right!

The Muhlesteins Have a Dog?

Meet our new addition to the Muhlestein Family!

He's a two year old beagle who likes to "howl."

The kids are in love with him,

There is just no other way to put it!

His name is Skipper!

No Ben. No Carlo. Sad.

You can't imagine the sorry at our home today. After spending all day Monday building a home for either Ben or Carlo, we found out Tuesday that they won't let us adopt a dog. "Why?" you ask. Because we were going to keep the dog outside. Now, we weren't going to let him freeze outside. And we wouldn't let him sweat it out in the sweltering heat. Dogs were not put on this earth to live inside the home. They are animals; they started on this earth living in a den, outside. You know, like wolves. So, I don't get it! Someone please explain. I have four very upset young people at my house.

I thought maybe it was just the "Humane Society" because, well, they like to be humane. But then I called the SPCA.
"We don't generally let them go to homes where they live outside," they said.
"Is it a DE law that they can't live outside," I asked.
"No, it's just our policy," they said.
"So, let me get this straight," I said, "You have dozens of dogs who need a home, but instead of letting them live outside with a family who feeds them, etc., you euthenize the ones that have been there too long? That's what your website claims."
No answer. I hung up. I'm not even an "animal lover" and I'm disgusted.

This will not derail us. We will find a dog!
Anyone know a good beagle breeder?

By the way...Carlo had been adopted already. Yeah Carlo.

Carlo or Ben?

The whole family went to the Delaware Humane Society today.

That was an eye opener!

We took a look at about 25 dogs big, medium and small.

We picked Carlo, and the worker guy brought out Ben.

We romped and ran with both.

The kids were in heaven! Chad and I were in shock that we were looking at dogs!

This is Ben. He is two years old. He's cuter in person.

He's mellower, shorter and Kirk votes for him.
This is Carlo. He is 4 months old.
He's younger, taller and everyone else votes for him.

Both are Beagles. Both are short haired and don't shed "much."
Whatever that means!
Both will live outside, and will run around on a dog run in the back.

Who do you vote for?

Chad, Kirk and a Bet!

Last Sunday, on the way to church, Chad made a bet with Kirk. It went something like this....

"Kirk, if you can guess who sings this song we'll go get a dog tomorrow."

(Side note: all four kids have been hounding us for a dog unmercifully all summer! Ha, no pun intended!) Anyway, Chad never, ever thought what happened next would happen next! Kirk guessed "The Beatles" and he was right! How does a 1st grader even know about the Beatles? Needless to say, we've been on the internet looking for the perfect dog. My criteria is that it doesn't slobber, shed or leave "anything" in the house or live in the house! We're still looking. Chad, Chad, Chad. What are we going to do with you? And you know, we're going to have to name it "Beatles."