What a Fun Day!

Today started out like any other day. We did lots of wrestling while Mom and Dad got ready for work. Then Mom stuffed our Kongs full of yummy stuff and told us "kennel". We ran into our kennel and started working on our yummy Kongs. After the yumminess was all gone, we noticed something interesting. One of the doors of our kennel (we have a three door one) was open! Well, there was only one thing to do - get out!!

We had such an adventure! We had the entire house to ourselves so we could do whatever we wanted. I'm not going to post about everything that we did because I think my mom reads this blog, but I will say that we chewed the rug by the front door up. (She already knows about that.) Here's a picture of the view from the front door. See all those little things on the floor? Those are pieces of the rug. Here's Dad showing off the rug, first front, then back.You should have seen Mom and Dad's faces when they got home. They opened the door and we were standing there waiting to say "hi"! They didn't know what to do since we weren't in the kennel! It was such a surprise. I hope they leave the kennel door open every day. There are more rugs in the house that are just dying to be chewed up!

Kat

Wide Awake Now!

I want to let you all know that we are wide awake now and rested up after Blogathon. Mom is still yawning. I don't know why. It's not like I was trying to chew on her toes yesterday when she was trying to nap.

We forgot to mention that if anyone wanted one of the special Adopt a Husky of Dallas prizes that we gave away, but you didn't win one, you can visit their store and pick out whatever you want. The store is here. Shop, huskies, shop!

That's all I have to say. My claws are really worn down from all of the Blogathon typing, so I'm going to keep this short!

Steve

And we're done!

Whew! This is our last Blogathon post. It’s been really fun and amazingly, the time has gone by really quickly. We hope everyone had fun. We’ve just sent out an email to all of our sponsors with instructions on how to fulfill their pledges. If you've won a prize, be sure to send us your mailing addresses if you haven't already.

Thank you to all of our sponsors for helping us raise money for Adopt a Husky of Dallas. Also thank you to everyone who stayed up with us and commented on the blog. A very special thanks goes out to Sitka who, according to our calculations, commented on every single one of our posts. Wow! That took some work on her part. We also want to say thanks to Holly, Tasha and Eva, who were our main supporters during the night, along with Sitka!

See ya later. We’re going to get some sleep.

Steve, Kat, and Wilbur

Grand Finale Drawing

We still had some more prizes to give away, so we went crazy and held a bunch of drawings at once. Here are the winners for another coaster, ornament, and T-shirt. We had a hard time getting excited for this drawing since we are so tired.

After that drawing, we drew for the magnets. We had 10 magnets to give away so we thought that would be kind of boring on the movie, so we didn’t video it. Plus as soon as the other drawing was over, Mom ran into her bedroom to put on her pajamas. She won’t let us video her like that. So here’s a list of the magnet winners. Winners, please email us your mailing addresses. We’re listing the names you used in your profile on the Blogathon website. Thanks!! (One more post to go!)

Tasha & Eva

Five Happy Hounds

IcePrinceZZ

The Dachsies

Turbo

Bailey

Cubby

Waterdance

SibeLover

Margaret D.

Cleaning? Is she crazy?

Mom is getting really tired, but if we can’t go to sleep, neither can she. She’s started cleaning the house to stay awake. We can’t believe it. If any day was a good day to get a free pass on cleaning, a normal person would say that Blogathon day was that day. Apparently Mom is not normal.

Once the vacuum came out, we got annoyed and went to hide on the bed with Dad. (Mom’s covering her face with her hands because I’m posting a picture of the bed not made for the whole internet world to see.) We don’t have a Dyson, but we have a Hoover and it’s annoying. From what I hear about the Dyson, it must be like a zillion times worse, so I hope one never shows up at our house.

Steve

SKW IQ Answers #3

Okay, the contest is now over.

Here are the answers to the SKW IQ Test #3. Holly won the purple bear and Sitka won the pig. (We let them win a second prize since no one else played.)

1. I’ve been to the emergency vet. Wilbur! When he was about 5 months old, he got stepped on while trying to sneak out of the front door. (It was an accident.) At first Mom thought he was okay, but then she found him hiding under the bed and panting. So she took him to the ER vet. He had to spend the night there because he had some internal bleeding, but luckily it was in an area where the organs just smoosh together and it didn’t require surgery. He got to come home the next day. (That’s as technical as I can get. I'm not a vet.)

2. I’m the only pet who won’t fetch. Steve! He just looks at the ball like he doesn’t get it.

3. I drool when I’m waiting for Mom or Dad to put my food dish down. Steve! Mom and Dad make us sit and stay while they put our food dishes down. Then we have to stay until they tell us “okay” and then we can eat. Steve usually gets drool all over the floor while he’s waiting for the “okay”.

4. I once French kissed a stranger. Me, Kat! Once I was on a walk with Mom and this lady wanted to pet me. She bent down and I just took the opportunity to get up close and personal. I think Mom was embarrassed.

5. I’m often referred to as my mom’s shadow. Me again! I like to follow my mom from room to room. During Blogathon, I’m getting a workout because Mom keeps going from her computer room to the kitchen to the living room and back to the computer room. It’s so tiring!

Breakfast Time!

We're exhausted, but we can always wake up for breakfast, especially Steve. We're each having 1/2 cup of Canidae for breakfast. Wilbur's having some canned Friskies. Mom is having some Doritos. Dad is sitting on the couch in a daze, so we don't think he's going to have breakfast. What are you pups having?

Kat

Don't forget the contest. Only 30 more minutes to get your answers in! Maybe some slackers will wake up and decide to play! (Just kidding about the slackers part. Or am I...)

T-shirt Drawing

We just held our first T-shirt raffle. Here’s the video! Congratulations to our winner. Winner (we’re not going to say who you are because we want everypup to watch the video), please email your mailing address to us. Thanks!!

Don't forget we still have this contest going on for another hour.

Interview with Mom

A while back several bloggers were interviewing their parents. We never participated in that, but we are going to now. This interview is with our mom. Hopefully it will answer any questions you’ve been wondering about her.

Kat: How are you fairing thus far? We just have three hours to go!

Steve: Can I have a treat?

Valerie (aka Mom): Oh, I’m doing okay as long as I don’t sit down. Steve, I don’t think you need a treat. It’s almost your breakfast time.

Steve: Oh, goodie!

Kat: So during the Blogathon, we have revealed to our readers the fact that you had some other dogs before us. Do you feel like you were adequately prepared?

Valerie (aka Mom): Not really. Those dogs were outside dogs and so I didn’t know the first thing about house training a puppy. I thought I was going to go crazy when I had to get up with you several times every night for weeks on end.

Steve: I think that was only Kat who needed out. Not me.

Valerie (aka Mom): I think it was both of you.

Kat: So what do you do all day when you leave us?

Steve: Yeah, I want to know that too. I don’t appreciate being deserted.

Valerie (aka Mom): I go to work.

Kat: Yeah, but what do you do?

Steve: Great Office Space quote, Kat!

Valerie (aka Mom): I’m an engineer.

Steve: You drive trains? Why didn’t I know that?

Valerie (aka Mom): No, I don’t drive trains. I design and analyze stuff.

Kat: Like what?

Valerie (aka Mom): Airplanes.

Steve: Oh. I’m not sure if that’s as cool as being a train driver.

Kat: Why did you move to Texas?

Valerie (aka Mom): Because that’s where I got a job after college.

Steve: Yeah, but couldn’t you have gotten a job in Siberia? Or at least somewhere where it snows?

Valerie (aka Mom): I don’t think I could have gotten a job in Siberia.

Kat: Like you can never get a job in Siberia?

Valerie (aka Mom): Probably not. But maybe we can move somewhere cooler eventually.

Steve: Tomorrow?

Valerie (aka Mom): No, not tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m going to sleep. Or today. I’m not sure what day it is.

Kat: We better end this interview then. We’re not going to get anything good out of you.

Valerie (aka Mom): Good idea.

Steve: Breakfast time?

Blog Takeover!

I was getting so cranky, I decided to take over the blog for this post. I feel like I don’t get the attention I deserve on the blog. It should be called “The Adventures of a Cat and His Furry Beasts”. Anyway, I want a lot of attention from all of you readers, so I’m posting these pictures of me from when I was a kitten. I want to hear you say how cute and adorable I was.

Thank you. That is all.

Wilbur

Oh, and I'm supposed to mention that in case anypup just got up, we still have these prizes to give away! We'll leave this contest open until 6:30 AM central time. Then the prizes will be awarded.

Steve's Favorite Toys

Finally, my turn to talk about my favorite toys! I thought it would never be my turn!

I really like my cuz toys. First I had two little ones and I broke the squeakers. Now I have bigger ones and I chewed the feet off of those. Here’s a picture of my de-legged Cuz. (Mom says that “de-legged” is not a word. I told her to look it up in the dictionary. She says she’s too tired. I said that I win.)

I also have a new found favorite toy in my rhino from Sitka. It’s awesome and it grunts. I love it and if Kat even tries to play with it or even sit near it, I bark at her until she moves.

I know this sounds really predictable, but my other favorite toy is Kat. She's just so interactive. We can chase and wrestle and jump on stuff and get in trouble and it's just the best, most awesome fun ever!

Steve

SKW IQ Test #3

We got Mom a refill of Mountain Dew so now it’s time for our last installment of the SKW IQ test. I’m not sure whether you will be happy or sad that it’s the last test. So here are the questions. You know the rules by now.

1. I’ve been to the emergency vet.

2. I’m the only pet who won’t fetch.

3. I drool when I’m waiting for Mom or Dad to put my food dish down.

4. I once French kissed a stranger.

5. I’m often referred to as my mom’s shadow.

Good luck once again! We’re going to select two winners this time. The first winner will receive this purple bear stuffie (yes, it's purple even though it looks blue in the picture) and the second winner will receive this pig squeaky toy. Let's see if anypup is still awake.

Kat's Song #2

At Sitka’s request, I wrote a new song. Many of my loyal fans will remember my first song, “Before They Leave”, which is sure to be a number one song on the Dogboard Music Charts any day now. This new song is titled “Traction (I Can’t Get No)”. I was inspired to write this song after one too many days of trying to run through the house only to find that I can’t get a good grip on the floors. And now, without further ado, I hope you enjoy my new song. (You should sing it to the tune of The Rolling Stones’ song “Satisfaction (I Can’t Get No)”.)

Kat

Traction (I Can’t Get No)
By Katherine Olivia

I can't get no four paw traction
I can't get no four paw traction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm runnin' in my house
And I want to run to the patio
I keep slippin’ on the floor
That useless hardwood floor
It keeps me from where I want to go
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no four paw traction
I can't get no four paw traction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm sleepin' on the bed
And that cat comes up and hurdles me
I want to chase him down the hall
But I can't because I just slip and slide
Then he goes and gets away
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no four paw traction
I can't get no four paw traction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm chewin' on my Nylabone
And I’m gettin' barked at by silly Steve
And I'm tryin' to ignore him but it’s hard
I want to jump up and chase him away
But if I do, I’ll probably slide into the wall
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no, I can't get no
I can't get no four paw traction
No four paw traction, no four paw traction, no four paw traction

Cranky Pants Wilbur

Wilbur is getting cranky. He normally has the run of the house by this hour because we are locked up safe and sound in the bedroom with Mom and Dad. Just look at him in this video! He’s relentlessly attacking Mom!! I think that’s his way of saying, “Go to bed woman!”

Kat

Coming up next, my song. Try to stay awake, Sitka's mom!!!

Baking to Stay Awake

Mom’s getting tired, so we made some homemade dog treats to wake her up. (No, we didn’t let her eat them, we just needed her to do the kitchen work since we don’t have opposable thumbs.) The recipe is called “Goldie’s Peanut Butter and Honey Canine Cookies” and is from the MaPaw Recipes for Rescue cookbook. The recipe was submitted by Kathy’s K-Nine Kitchen. We took some pictures during the baking process.

Here’s the dough after it was mixed.

Here’s me helping. Yes, I really am helping! I have to bark orders and this relaxed position is the best for doing that.

Here are the cookies getting ready to go in the oven. You can see the cookbook there on the left. These cookies were meant to be drop cookies, so they aren’t shaped in a cool dog bone shape, but they were easier for Mom to make, which she said was good since it’s in the middle of the night.

Here are the cookies after they came out of the oven.

Don’t they look delicious? Trust me, they are. I have taste tested them. Mom made a double recipe, so I’m going to send half of the cookies to the first pup to post a comment saying “I love cookies”. I made it easy on you since you’re staying up late with us!

Steve

Tricks for Treats

As mentioned earlier, Mom and Dad like to make us earn our treats. Something about “Nothing in Life is Free” training. I think treats should be free, but since I am smart enough to realize that I have to do what they ask to get my treats, I humor them by doing what they ask. In this video, Mom puts us through our paces. We had to work really hard on the one where she puts the treat on the ground and makes us stay. It wasn’t so hard for Kat, but I could barely stand it.

Steve

Ornament Raffle

We held our second raffle of the Blogathon, this time for an ornament. Once again, in lieu of a live webcam, we just videoed the drawing. Congratulations to the winner! You’ll have to watch the video to find out who won. I bet the suspense is killing you! Again, our dad videoed and his video is kinda blurry.

How Dad's helping

Meeshka has been talking about how her dad is "helping" her with Blogathon. He sounds like he's helping about as much as our dad.

Dad has been really helpful during Blogathon. He’s totally keeping us awake. First he spent several hours reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (He’s behind in the series, I know.) Then he decided to spend some time playing some Xbox game where he shoots stuff. Then he went out in the garage to work out. Then he took a shower. And now he’s back to reading. Boring.

Oh, he says that he took us to the dog park so we should stop complaining. I guess he has a small point. I'm still going to post these pictures of him. He probably won't like it, but if he would start keeping me more entertained, I wouldn't have time to take his picture.

Steve

Home Improvement Huskies

The other day we helped Dad put up a storm door on the back of the house. Unfortunately we didn’t get to meet Adrill like some of you lucky puppies, but we did have a giant box to chew on.

Dad wants us to tell you all that he normally doesn’t let the grass get so tall, but it had been raining and too wet to mow. I don’t know why he’s embarrassed for you to see it. He should have been embarrassed for us to see it. We were the ones who had to do our business while the tall grass was tickling our bums!

Kat

Emergency post

For some reason blogger just deleted our post. We're still here, but we have to retype it all!!

SKW IQ Answers #2

The winner of SKW IQ Test #2 is Kelsey Ann! She was the first to answer and she got all five questions right! Super job! Here are the answers.

1. I am the best at jumping in the car. Kat! She is way faster at jumping in the car than I am. Wilbur doesn’t get to jump in the car since he has to ride in his carrier and usually doesn't go anywhere anyway.
2. I have ridden in an airplane. Wilbur! Since Wilbur’s name is Wilbur Kittyhawk Barker, of course he has been in an airplane. He’s been copilot for my mom when she has flown a small plane from Texas to Missouri to visit our Missouri grandparents. Kat and I haven’t gotten our airplane rides yet, but Mom says she'll take us when it gets cooler.
3. I am the noisiest pet. Me, Steve! I bark at Kat whenever she has a toy I want. Then I make this low growling noise when Mom tries to hug me. When I want outside during the night, I bark. Kat just licks silently.
4. I like tummy rubs the most. Kat! Whenever she’s lying on the floor and Mom or Dad reaches down to pet her, she immediately rolls over so they can give her a good tummy scratching!
5. I like to have my ears massaged. Me again, Steve! Dad is really good at massaging both ears at the same time and that puts me in heaven.

Thanks for playing! Kelsey Ann, please email us your address so we can send you your prize!

Steve

Welcome Home Video

Every day when Mom and Dad get home from work, we like to give them a greeting they deserve. We had them video us greeting them on Thursday so we could share it with you during Blogathon.

This greeting is quite a change from when it was just Mom and Wilbur and she had to bribe Wilbur to give her a kitty hug.

Steve

SKW IQ Test #2

Back by popular demand, it’s another installment of the SKW IQ test! (Okay, so there was no popular demand except that Steve demanded that we either give this toy away or he was claiming it.) It’s really cute and it giggles when you shake it.

Same rules as last time, just take a guess and see if you get the questions right!

1. I am the best at jumping in the car.

2. I have ridden in an airplane.

3. I am the noisiest pet.

4. I like tummy rubs the most.

5. I like to have my ears massaged.

Good luck!

Kat’s Favorite Toys

Well, my favorite toy is probably the yellow ball but you’ve already seen me playing with it. Another toy that I like is my Nylabone. For the longest time we wouldn’t give Nylabones the time of day, but then Mom got smart and got us some that are chicken flavored and now we love to chew on them.

I also like the cuzes, particularly the ones that Steve broke the squeakers on. They don’t squeak, but they still make a weird noise, so I still like chewing on them.

My other favorite toy is probably Steve. I like chasing him and then throwing him to the ground by grabbing his tail. He outweighs me by about five pounds, but when the wrestling starts, he doesn’t have a chance!

Kat

Tagged by Indy

We were tagged by Indy earlier during Blogathon. We are supposed to answer a series of questions. Here we go!

• Where is your favorite place to sleep?
• Steve: In front of the shower
• Kat: on Mom and Dad’s bed
• Wilbur: on the back of the couch
• Is there a specific trick your humans make you do to get treats?
• Steve: I always have to sit and sometimes I have to do down, or up, or stay. Whew!
• Kat: Pretty much the same as Steve, but I have more patience for it.
• Wilbur: No. I get treats when I want them, no questions asked.
• If you could spend an entire day doing anything at all with anyone what would you do and with whom?
• Steve: I would spend the day with Mom because I can give her the sad eyes and get treats. Heck, I even got her to talk Dad into buying me some ice cream at Sonic.
• Kat: I would probably spend the day with Dad and he would take me to the dog park.
• Wilbur: I would spend the day with Mom after I commanded Dad to take the furry beasts to the dog park.
• What is your favorite toy?
• We’re answering this question in individual posts, so stay tuned.
• If you could change one thing in your life, what would you change?
• Steve: Mom and Dad would win the lotto and buy me lots of treats.
• Kat: Mom and Dad would win the lotto and not have to go to work anymore so they could stay home with me all day!
• Wilbur: Mom and Dad would win the lotto so they could get me my own house with no furry beasts.

PS. Sasha, could you email us your address so we can mail you the prize you won? Thanks!

Also, we still have two rawhide twists to give away. I know some of you aren't allowed to have rawhides, but if you are, the first two people to answer the question right in this post will win. I'll open this contest up to previous contest winners now since no one has responded.

Shower Device and AHDI Contest #2 Answers

Look at what showed up in our parents' shower a couple weeks ago. To the casual observer, it looks like a simple shower head. To the Siberian observer, it is recognized for what it is: a Siberian Torture Device. With this device our parents now have the power to bathe us in the shower where before it was too small for us to be in there with them and still get any water on us. This is way worse than outside baths. At least outside there is the chance that we can get away. But in the shower, we are stuck! Surrounded by four walls. What should we do?

Our winner for the ADHI contest #2 is Sasha! Way to go! Here are the answers.

1. Makenna
2. 6
3. All Breed Obedience Training Club of Dallas, The Dog Training Club of Dallas County, DFW Metro All-Breed Obedience Club, or Dallas Clickers

AHDI Contest #2

Here’s our second contest based on the Adopt a Husky of Dallas website. Same rules as before, but this time we are only asking three questions so that it won’t be as hard. The winner will get this “red hot” lobster stuffie that has a squeaker.

1. Name the pregnant husky who is used as an example of why the rescue needs so much money.

2. How many huskies are currently in vetting and evaluation? (Hint: they haven’t been listed with pictures yet.)

3. Name one of the local obedience clubs listed.

Good luck!

PS. Sitka, Kat's working on a new song, but I hope you're willing to stay up late to see it when she's done! She's got a lot more work to do on it. But as she says, "I have to give my fans what they want."

Wilbur's Favorite Toys

We’re halfway through Blogathon and I thought I would show you some of my favorite toys. First is my tent, which was one of the answers to the trivia question. I like to climb in it and sleep or attack people who walk by the tent and don’t know I’m in it. It’s great for the shock factor.

I also like my Christmas Beanie Baby. It has a jingle bell in it. Every day my mom puts it back in my room so the furry beasts don’t eat it and every day she comes home to find that I’ve carried it back out of my room to the living room where I want to keep it.

Then there is my tunnel. I commanded my mom to video me so that Tia could see that I do actually go through the tunnel instead of jumping over it. My mom talks to me like I'm an infant. It's so annoying, especially when you have extreme intelligence like I do.

Wilbur

Steve's Movie Review #2

My dad likes to watch movies and I like to watch them with him. You might remember a while back when I did a movie review of Little Miss Sunshine. Well, the other day we watched Best In Show. I was excited about this movie because, unlike Little Miss Sunshine which had no dogs in the movie, this movie had dogs on the DVD cover! So I just knew it had to be a great movie.

The basic story of the movie is that it’s a documentary following several people as they get ready for a big dog show. I have a few comments that I noticed during the course of the movie. The first one is that there is a dog who’s owners think he’s just GOT to have this bee stuffie. I’m sure he likes it good enough, but his people are just trying to cram it down his throat. I think that if people are going to insist that a dog have something at all times it should be an unlimited supply of treats. My second comment is that there is this couple in the movie with a terrier. Terriers are fine dogs and these people love their terrier so much that they wrote songs about it. I think this is a great idea. All dog breeds should have songs written about them. I have some suggested titles for the Siberian Husky CD. How about “I’ll Never Mush Without You” or “I Love You So Much, We’re Moving to Siberia”? I know those would be great songs. My last point on this movie is my biggest. None of the main dog stars are huskies, which is bad, but there is a husky in the movie. He’s the working dog winner but does not win Best In Show. What a crock! Everyone who ever watches dog shows knows that the husky should always win Best in Show. The only time a husky doesn’t win is when there isn’t one in the show and in that case, a Malamute would win. These movie people need to understand that we northern breeds are clearly always the Best in Show.

So my final movie rating is 3 out of 4 paws up. My dad thought the movie was very funny, but I found the glaring oversight of Siberian presence in the majority of the movie too much to overcome.

Steve

SKW IQ Answers

Well, I guess the SKW IQ test was harder than we thought! The winner, with 3 answers correct, is Peanut! Congrats Peanut!

Here are the answers:
1. I have a tent. Wilbur! Wilbur loves his tent from Ikea. He sleeps in it a lot.
2. I like being Furminated. Wilbur! Steve tolerates Furmination better than me, but Wilbur actually starts purring and rubbing against the Furminator! He has his own small one.
3. I will do anything for a treat. Steve! I think everyone got this right. Steve is very food motivated.
4. I want to be outside more than any of the other pets. Wilbur! It's really shocking, but the only time Wilbur doesn't try to sneak out of the house is when it's raining. All other times, he's waiting at the door for Steve or me to have to go out and sometimes he manages to get past Mom or Dad and then they have to chase him down. Steve and I would much rather be inside in the air conditioning.
5. I sleep on the bed the most. Me, Kat! I start every night curled up at the bottom of the bed between my parents. Usually I am lying on Dad's side more that Mom's. I don't spend all night up there, but I start every night like that. Steve rarely tries to get on the bed and Wilbur has to sleep outside of the bedroom so we don't have a chance to chase him while Mom and Dad are sleeping.

Thanks for playing!
Kat

I'm a Siberian, I fetch

I like to play fetch. I know that's not a very Siberian thing to do, but I still do it. I think maybe other Siberians don't fetch because they don't have the right ball. I only fetch one particular ball and that's my yellow daisy "Life is Good" ball. My mom said it cost an arm and a leg, but she says it was worth it since I love it so much. (I don't really understand how it cost her an arm and a leg. She bought it in the Atlanta airport while waiting to come home to us in March, but she showed up with both arms and legs.) The other day I was playing fetch with Mom and Dad videoed us so I could share my fun with you. Please ignore Steve. He's jealous of my playing with Mom and is therefore climbing all over her and trying to play bite her arm. That's why he's getting in trouble constantly in the video.

Kat

It's snowed...

...no, not really. You would think that with all the time we are spending typing and coming up with things to write about during Blogathon, Mom and Dad could leave us alone. But no, even though it's Blogathon day, we still have to complete our Saturday afternoon ritual of Furmination. So while it might look like there is snow in our yard, it's really just the fur being taken from us against our will. If you think this post is short, blame the parents for taking us away from our typing. Steve

PS. Still no winner in the SKW IQ test. If we don't get any comments with 5 correct answers by 7 PM central time, we'll award the prize to the entrant with the most correct guesses. Even if you don't know the answers, come on and take a guess!!!

How I Got Here Tag - Husky Edition

We wrote about how Mom and Dad decided to get Siberians earlier today, but you might be wondering how they came to pick us exactly. They had their eye on a planned litter from one breeder, but the litter never developed, so Mom started looking around on Puppyfind. She was mostly just looking to find different breeders so that Mom and Dad could get their name on a list for two puppies. However, she found my picture. Mom wanted a girl husky that was black and white and "had a lot of black on her face". (That's how Mom described it.) I was perfect for that job. Then Mom discovered that the same litter had a boy that was gray and white and didn't have a lot of color on his face, but still had a little bit. That was exactly what Dad wanted. Then to top it all off, those two perfect puppies were only about 30 miles from where they lived. The only problem was that Mom really didn't want to adopt puppies until after she and Dad got married. (Something about no puppies out of wedlock.) She found us in November and they were getting married in December. However, once Dad looked at our pictures online, he told Mom that those two puppies must have been meant for them: two puppies, so close to home, that looked exactly how they wanted. So Mom bended the rules, and they adopted us. To top it all off, we have the same birthday as our Missouri grandpa. So I think we found the family where we belong!

Kat

We have two of these twisted rawhide bones. These prizes will go to the first two doggies to correctly name the breeder we came from. Hint: We mentioned it on the blog in March when we posted puppy pictures.

SKW IQ test

Here's another set of questions where you can win a prize. We have the same rules as last time, except for this time the answers aren't from the AHDI website. These questions are all about Steve, Wilbur, and me. I'm not sure if every question has been answered on the blog in the past, but just take a guess if you don't know the answer. You have a 1 in 3 chance of getting it right. For every statement, the answer is either "Steve", "Kat", or "Wilbur". You just guess which one of us said it.

1. I have a tent.
2. I like being Furminated.
3. I will do anything for a treat.
4. I want to be outside more than any of the other pets.
5. I sleep on the bed the most.

Here's the prize you could win. It's a fun toy that has elastic in the tail between the body and the tennis ball, so it's very springy.Good luck,
Kat

From MayaMarie

While we were at the dog park, MayaMarie wrote in and asked, "We look about the same age, maybe 8 or 9 months. Are you'all totally house/potty trained? You see, when she takes me out, I will go outside, but if I have to go when I'm inside, my potty pad better be in the place it has been since I got here, or I'm gonna go in that spot no matter what. I'm not being very cooperative in the learing to go outside ordeal. Any suggestions. I'm sorry if it's a "not so pretty" subject, but I thank you for your help."

We must be about the same age! Our birthday is October 14, so we're a little over 9 months old now. Don't worry about this being a "not so pretty" subject. It's an important one for us ladies who don't want to embarrass ourselves with accidents.

We are pretty much completely potty trained. Steve has more accidents than I do, but he rarely has them anymore. Has your mom tried putting a bell on the door? That's what really helped us. Before the bell, we would go to the door and if they didn't notice us in the millisecond that we gave them, we peed in the house. Then we got a bell and learned that if we pushed it, Mom or Dad would come running and magically the door would open. That really worked for us.

I still have a problem of when I'm out in public and I see another dog, I crouch down really low and potty a little bit. Then I roll over on my back. It's really embarrassing, but I haven't figured out how to stop. Mom heard that my muscles just have to develop. So if anydoggie has suggestions about this issue, let me know!

Kat

We're back!

We just got back from the dog park. Dad went crazy taking videos of us. We're going to post them all, but I don't know if you'll have enough patience to watch us. They had TWO pools! We loved it!

Steve and Kat

Dad's Previous Pets

Since Steve wrote about the dogs that previously owned Mom, I am going to write about the cats who previously owned Dad.

The details are kind of fuzzy. Dad doesn't have the memory that Mom has and I really am convinced that if he didn't have it written on his drivers license, he'd forget his own name. Here's what I do know. My Texas grandma likes cats (as all people should) so Dad grew up with cats around. He had a cat named MJ who I believe is sitting on his lap in this picture.Pictures of my dad are very rare and valuable, so you should consider yourself lucky to have seen this picture. My dad will barely stand to be in a photo.

From what I hear, and can tell from this picture, MJ was quite the large cat. Dad says he was a great cat who would just curl up and sleep on a person. I don't quite understand why a cat would want to do that when they could bite or scratch, but apparently some cats like that sort of thing.

Dad had a few other cats growing up, but MJ was his favorite. Dad doesn't like being interviewed, so that's all of the information I could gather from him without clawing him up too badly.

Wilbur

How I Got Here Tag - Wilbur Edition

Sasha tagged us to blog about how we came to live with our families. I’m going to do my story first and then the furry beasts will do theirs later.

It all started on March 31, 2005. My name was Scampy then. I was living in a cold metal cage with my brother at the Fort Worth Animal Control Building. This lady came and took my brother out of the cage. I started to panic. Where was he going? Then, while the first lady was still holding my brother, another lady came in and took me out of the cage. She was holding me and talking to the first lady about how cute I was. Then the first lady took my brother out of the room, and the second lady put me back in my cage. I was petrified. I was now alone in my cold, shiny, metal cell. I spent the night alone, and the next afternoon, the second lady returned. By this point, I had been moved to a smaller cell, but I wasn’t going to let that lady get away again. I jumped up on my cage door and started meowing for her. She turned, looked at me, and told the animal control worker that I was the one. At that point, the animal control worker took me out of the cage and boxed me up. When I emerged out of the box, several minutes later, I was in a room with white tiles. The lady was there and calling me Wilbur. There were these purple furry things on the floor and I did not want to step on them. I found out later that they were called “rugs” and are actually quite nice to step on, but at that point, I had only known hard surfaces. I learned to call the lady, “Mom”. She claimed that she didn’t take me the first time she saw me because she didn’t want to leave me to go to work the next day and preferred to get me on a weekend. I know that I had worked my magic on her and she couldn’t refuse me and that is why she returned.

And that is how I came to be the first (and thus best) pet in this house.

Wilbur

P.S. Good job, Tia, you win the cat toys! Mom and Dad were dressed up as Dr. Meredith Grey and Dr. Derek Shepherd from Grey's Anatomy. It's a good thing you won because you're almost the only cat who reads our blog!

Another torture example

A while back I posted about when my mom dressed me up in a shirt to match her. I decided to post another picture of torture. This is last Halloween. They dressed me up as a pumpkin.I'll give these two cat-sized toys to the first person who guesses what my mom and dad are dressed up as. I'll give you a hint: it's based on TV. Here's what you could win.Wilbur

Wilbur's Gymnastics

Well, now that the furry beasts have left and I have some peace and quiet, I'm going to do some blogging. Sitka and Tia asked how I get into my jungle. Specifically they asked if I scaled a wall. The answer to that is "no", although, as this video proves, I could scale a wall if I needed to do so. This was a video from the good ole days when it was just Mom and me in the house and we had carpet for me to sharpen my claws on. Ignore my mom's cackling in the background.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I get to my jungle by first jumping on the counter (I'm not supposed to do that, but I don't listen) then jumping on the refrigerator, then jumping on the DVD shelf, and from there, I can jump into the jungle. If you look closely at the picture of me on the ledge, you can see the top of the DVD shelf in the lower left corner. I am a very athletic cat, so I can pretty much go where I think I need to go.

Wilbur

PS. Maya Marie, I got your question, but I'm going to let one of the furry beasts answer after they get back.

Drawing #1

We just held our first drawing for a prize. If you sponsored us, your name was entered. I volunteered my food bowl to hold everyone's names. Steve was very confused as to why there were pieces of paper in a food bowl instead of food. Anyway, we don't have a webcam, so we just videoed the drawing. This drawing was for a coaster.

Sorry about the video. Dad was being the cameraman and he's not that experienced with the high tech equipment we use for blogging.

Congratulations to our winner! I'm not going to say who it was here because then why would you have to watch the video? Okay, I guess I will.

Kat

We're going to the dog park now, so we'll see you when we get back!

Time Capsule Tag

We’ve also been tagged by the Army of Four to play time capsule tag.

We’re supposed to think of 5 things that we would put in a time capsule if we were making a time capsule.

1. Wilbur would put rubber bands in the capsule because he loves to chase those.

2. Steve would put treats in the capsule because he’s the most food motivated of all of us.

3. Kat would put a yellow “Life is good” ball in the capsule because she loves playing with hers so much that she knows future dogs would want to play with one too.

4. Wilbur would also put blueprints in the capsule for houses that have “plant ledges” like his house does now. Mom put lots of fake green plants up there and Wilbur like to hide in his jungle where he can peek out and look down on the rest of the house. Future cats would probably enjoy that too.

5. Steve and Kat would put banana tree seeds in the capsule because bananas are only the best special occasion treat EVER!

Resting and Sitka's question

I bet you're wondering what we do during the 30 minutes between posts. Here's a picture from earlier.Also, Sitka asked us another question: "So, I have a question for you. Not that I wish your mom had not gotten you and Kat, but why did she decide on Siberians with all of the Shepherd's that she grew up with?"

The decision to get Siberians instead of a GSD was a joint decision between my mom and dad. They started just looking for one dog because Dad has wanted a dog named Steve pretty much forever. Mom wasn't sold on the idea of a dog living in the house, so she thought that a GSD would be too big for in the house. Dad didn't want a lab because he knows too many people who already have them and he wanted something different. Neither one can quite remember how they got started researching Siberians, but once they started, they liked everything they heard about them, except the part about not getting along with cats. Mom read some more that said if a Siberian was raised with a cat from puppy hood, then the dog might do okay with a cat. Dad persuaded Mom that a Siberian wouldn't be bad in the house since they don't smell like other dogs. (I think he didn't mention the shedding.) Then he read that if you have more than one Siberian, they keep each other occupied and out of trouble. And that's how it came to be that they started looking for two! We're going to write more later about how they picked us exactly.

Steve

Our first winner!

Tasha won our first contest and therefore she won the tennis ball on the rope prize! We think that perhaps the contest was too hard, so for our next contest, we might not ask so many questions. Let us known what you think. Thanks to everyone who played.

Here are the answers:
1. Katarina
2. Rave Motion Pictures, Hurst TX
3. Any of these would have worked: Oatmeal Cyber Crunchies, Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits, Veggie Bones, Healthy Dog Snacks, Bad Breath Banishers, No Flea Dog Biscuits, Texas Pet Biscuits, Hanukkah Noshers, Fleas Navidad Nibblers, Christmas Mint Cookies
4. $35
5. A New Owner’s Guide to Siberian Huskies by Kathleen Kanzler, or Siberian Huskies, A Complete Owner’s Manual
6. Hazel

Mom's Former Owners

I thought I’d take this time to talk about the dogs that have owned my mom before we owned her. There have been three major dogs in her life before we came along and started ruling it.

The first dog was a German Shepherd named Nip. Nip was kind of a rescue in that he showed up on my grandpa and grandma’s farm one day. They tried to find his owners, but they never had any success with that, so they just adopted him. My grandpa says that Nip was the smartest dog he’s ever had. He lived with my grandpa and grandma before my mom was born and then he adopted my mom when she was a baby. My grandma says that Nip was protective of my mom and they got along great. Another cool thing about Nip is that sometimes my grandparents would take him to McDonalds and he liked hamburgers, but he always took the pickle off. Here’s a picture of Nip, my mom and my grandma.

The second dog that owned my mom was also a German Shepherd named Nip. (I know, you’re thinking that there already was a Nip. They weren’t very creative with names. This was actually Nip the Third since my mom’s grandparents had also had a Nip.) This Nip came to live with my mom when she was in elementary school. Then on the first day of her 7^th grade year, he was stolen from her yard. She rode her bike around every day after school trying to find him but never did. Then one day, six weeks later, my grandpa found Nip chained up about 40 miles from where they lived. Nip was very skinny, but recognized my grandpa right away. So my grandpa went to the door and someone was in the house, but wouldn’t open the door, but my grandpa said he was going to take his dog home and they said okay through the door. That was a very happy day in my mom’s life because Nip came home. A unique thing about Nip is that he liked to eat sour cream and onion potato chips. Those are probably not on the approved dog food list. Here’s a picture of my mom and her sister with Nip. Look at those ears! Here’s another picture of my mom, Aunt Kari and my Missouri grandparents with Nip. They loved him so much he got to be in the family picture. (My mom wants it said that she did not pick out that shirt.)

Finally, the other important dog in my mom’s life was Ruger, another German Shepherd. (Wow, they finally thought of a new name!) My Missouri grandparents like German Shepherd Dogs. Ruger started owning my mom when she was in high school. His claim to fame is that he could run like a cheetah. My aunt Kari used to ride her 4-wheeler in the pasture and Ruger could totally keep up, even when Aunt Kari was driving as fast as she could! My mom and my aunt also used to take Ruger fishing, but he would always scare all of the fish in the pond away because he would swim around. Here’s a picture of my mom with Ruger when Ruger was still a puppy.

So those are the dogs that trained my mom for having Steve and me. I think they did a great job!

Steve