Category: Lexi

Meeting at the Bridge on Thankful Thursday

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia35 Comments

First, thanks to Angel Brian, who is hosting Thankful Thursday, as well as Angel Sammy for the great picture every week!

Xena: We’re especially thankful to Miss Pam at Two Spoiled Cats who hosts the poem every week. Me and Mom were real late even thinking about doing our weekly poem, and got over-excited when we saw what is this week’s poem. Yep, we wrote the poem for it and posted it last Thursday. Miss Pam loved the poem and told us to go ahead and post it again this week. So for those who didn’t see it then, here you go. And those who did, well, maybe you would like to read it again. Oh, and I do want to clear Angel Lexi’s name for the mistake. She didn’t know when it was supposed to post. (Whew, glad I got that off my chest.) Here we go…

I’ve been consulting with Angel Lexi about today’s picture. She said she could jump into the picture and help me. Y’all know that our Riley crossed the bridge a year ago last Thanksgiving. He and Lexi didn’t have a great relationship cause she always tried to boss him around and he wasn’t allowed to do anything about it. But that all changed now that they are angels. You’ll see…

Meeting at the Bridge by Angels Lexi and Riley

Lexi: Riley, I’m happy to see you again.
You’re somewhere safe, and here we’ll be friends.
No need to fear, Ri; let me take your paw.
The Bridge is safe, soon you’ll be in awe.

Riley: I feel much younger, with no aches and no bloat.
I’m feeling like I have wings and can float.
I’ll run to you, Lexi, to the other side
Where I’ll feel the peace and love our Lord provides.

Lexi: This is my unicorn, Spike is his name.
Riley: A unicorn, huh? We’ll all play a game!
Lexi: Hurry on over, we’ll go see the Big Guy.
Riley: I know he’ll love me. Watch! I think I can fly!

Lexi: Well, that poem worked well, Riley, What do you think?
Riley: I’ve got a warm, tingly feeling in my heart.
Lexi: It’s probably just indigestion.
Riley: It’s *blaaat* yep, at least it doesn’t smell.

The End

Xena: Wow, I sure didn’t expect that! I’m thankful that I’m still here with my Mommy, and well. I hope I have many more years with her and Daddy. But at least I know that when it’s my time to go, I won’t be alone at the Bridge, and I’m thankful for that too.

Lucy: Even though I’m really healthy, I’m older than you, so I might get to see Angel Riley again before you do, Xe. We used to be good friends and I’m sure we will be again some day. In the meantime, I’m hungry and want more food! I’m thankful that Mom got me some chicken from the grocery with bones in it to crunch! Yummm.

Chia: I’m thankful Mom lets me have the wings to eat. She always watches me while I eat them (I think so Lucy doesn’t steal it away from me). It’s been cold this week, but I’m thankful for the sunpuddles to nap in!

All: We’re thankful for you, our friends, and how much we know you care about us!!!!

National Schnauzer Day (Late!)

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia24 Comments

Xena: Mom really tried to get this post done Friday, but it just wasn’t to be. So she finished it on Saturday. Then, she forgot to tell it to post. So now it’s Sunday and here we are. We guess it’s better late than never, right? Anyhoo, our neighbor/friend, Gay, sent us this picture.

In honor of me and all schnauzers, join me in celebrating National Schnauzer Day. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of me and of course of Angel Lexi (before she was an angel). Oh, and Shania asked to be included.

Me, Xena. The top right is at an Air B&B when we were on vacation in Fort Wayne. Re: the bottom right pic, I don’t usually like clothes, but these are my special “Mommy made” sock monkey jammies!

Here are some special pictures of Schnauzer Lexi, my predecessor.

1st day home at 8 weeks old
Lexi on her pontoon boat
Headshot from the Wizard of Oz
At a reception at the Theatre Center of Chattangooga
Lexi in the play The Wizard of Oz

Below are the pictures Shania picked for today.

Shania consulting Lambie about spiritual matters
Shania and Lucy having a tender moment

We hope you enjoyed our presentation on (the day after the day after the day after) National Schnauzer Day!
XOXO and *big wags* Xena

I Won’t Do It! by Lexi the Schnauzer

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia20 Comments

As a theater star I put my paw down about one thing….

When I visualized being Toto in the Wizard of Oz, it did NOT include being trampled by moving trees!

I won’t do it!

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I keep adding things to my part as Toto, as the audience notices and responds. If they don’t respond, I never do it again. I have, however, decided to leave one thing out. Mom has finally stopped trying to make me do it, because I am not going to do it anymore. Period. End of discussion. Those trees scare me. They walk around and dance and act entirely not like trees. They got in my way as I (sort of) skipped with Dorothy and the Lion and the Tin Man and the Scarecrow across the stage. It is the third time I sort of skip down the proverbial yellow brick road during the play. The first two times went fine. Then, that third time, those trees, oh those nasty moving trees, got in my way and it scared me! I thought they were going to trample me! I will not go on the stage again when they are there. Not for treats. Not for applause. Not for love or fame. Absolutely, positively not.

LexiToto

Angel Lexi’s Poem

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia13 Comments

It’s been a long time in earth years since I’ve hopped into my blog. But time moves differently where I am. I know it’s been ages since I’ve therapized at the children’s hospital or was Toto in a play or, well, any of the important things I used to do there. 8 years, 5 months and 10 days to be exact, but it seems like just yesterday. I’ve watched as finally, this year, Mom’s been able to tell people, without crying, about all the wonderful things I did. And now I’ve been called on to write a poem. Here’s why. 1. We were at my Auntie Jens and had just gone to bed. The bedroom had what I now know was a closet with full length mirrors on the outside. I couldn’t stop staring at the “other schnauzer” across the room! and 2. When I went on walks with Riley and he lifted his leg, I always walked under the stream.
OK, come on, let’s do this.

The Other Me by Lexi the Schnauzer

Hey you there, you baby boy,
Are you here to steal my toy?
Or play a game? It seems a shame
That silly dog we can’t annoy.

Let’s make a plan, just you and me,
To see how naughty we can be
And chase her from our room tonight.
Hey let us both on her hair pee!

I’ll hit her with my super power,
But first I have to drop my trouser.
Why is she walking close to me?
Oh no! She likes a golden shower.

Xena: Thank you, Angel Lexi, my mentor and my friend. I’m so very thankful that you sent our Mommy way down into southern Georgia to adopt me. We do some of the same things you used to do together, and it’s a lot of fun. She’s my Mommy and I’m her baby girl.

Chia: Well, if that’s the route we’re going, I’m thankful that Andrew brought me here and stuck me in a grooming kennel and Dad heard me crying and Mom found me and fixed up the nice kennel upstairs that I still love to lay in. And that Dad wouldn’t let me go when Mom found me a new home and that Mom finally fell in love with me and won’t let me go either.

Lucy: OK, so I’m thankful that Mom brought me to my furever home. My first year of life I lived with a mean man. I’m thankful that no one has ever, no, not ever, been mean to me here in my furever home. Now my name is Lucy and I smile a lot and people say, “Awww, I love you, Lucy.”

Angel Lexi: My work here is done, at least for now. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m gonna go back and hang out with Spike, my unicorn friend.

Oh, and thanks so much to my angel friend, Brian, for continuing to host Thankful Thursdays every week.

Thankful Thursday with Halloween Poetry

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia27 Comments

First, thanks to Angel Brian who is hosting Thankful Thursday as well as Angel Sammy for the fun picture every week. 

Xena: Chia asked to do the poetry this week, so, since I’m a good sister, I said ok.

The Halloween Disguise by Chia

It’s the No Clue Dog Clan
To do the worst they can.
Disguised on All Saints’ Eve
Dressed up just to deceive.

“Let me at em!” Chia growls,
Or they’ll rip out that cat’s bowels.
Ri! Bark real loud and roar!
The cat will lock the door.”

“Then run fast!” whispered Luce.
The cat yelled, “Bones for truce!”
The three sat up and begged,
But later that house egged!

I was going to say I am thankful Mom didn’t embarrass me for Halloween like she did a couple of years ago:

2022 – How embarrassing!

But then this happened:

How humiliating!

She even faded the background to make me stand out more! She’s been calling me Sausage, as in “Come here, little sausage.” Grrrr. I give her a dirty look every time she does it. I mean, she’s starving me and I still put on another 1.5 pounds. Yep I went from 15 pounds to 21.5 pounds! (Riley’s food sure is tasty!!)

Xena: I’m thankful I’ve stayed nice and slender…although I’d rather get more food! And I’m thankful Mom took the day off work today so I didn’t have to dress up as a skunk…or a vampire dog!

I’ve already done that. Here’s a couple of throwbacks.

I’ve come to suck the blood out of all your steaks! Vampire Xena

Our first vampire on All Hallows Eve was our Angel Lexi. She popped into a party some of her friends back here on earth were having. She said,”“I am back for the party ’cause there are so many good food things and all my friends are gathered together in one place, but please don’t think I turned into a vampire dog when I died. I am not really a vampire! It is just a really great look for All Hallow’s Eve! Bwahahahaha – I have come to suck your blood. (barked in Transylvanian accent, of course)”

Hmmm. It seems like there is something just wrong about the title Angel Vampire, don’t you think? Happy All Hallows Eve, my sweet angel girl and to all our friends out there in Blogville.

Annie Awards: By Lexi the Schnauzer

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia23 Comments

As many of you know, our Angel Lexi was a theater dog (among many more things). She rehearsed for six weeks before performing 27 times on stage in the main theatre at the Chattanooga Theatre Center. She made a great impression even before the show opened…and later, after the closing of the Wizard of Oz – which, by the way, brought in a record crowd of 7,000 people, Lexi won her own Annie Award, the first ever given to an animal at that theater.

Annie Awards

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Wearing my tux collar at the Annie Awards
Wearing my tux collar at the Annie Awards

You should have seen me at the Annie Awards just before the show opened. I wore a white tux collar and red bow tie – I just knew clothes were going to enter into this at some point! Mom says it was, after all, a black tie affair. So where does this red bow tie come in? Mom wore a red gown to match my red bow tie. I worked the crowd. Pet me, feed me, adore me. And they did. Mom managed to ruin it a bit when she stood up on a chair and warned everyone, “Do not give any ham to the schnauzer.”

After the social hour in the lobby, I sat on Mom’s lap for the awards in the auditorium – the one where I will be performing. At first, all the clapping, yelling and hooting bothered me. After about 20 minutes I decided it didn’t matter and settled down to watch the awards, even taking a little nap at the end. Then back to the lobby for dessert! I found the cream puff table and stood with my front paws on it, looking longingly at the treats – not without reward! The director is extremely impressed with my behavior, everyone’s reactions to me and my reactions back to them. What does he expect? When I am nice everyone feeds me treats and pets me. Isn’t that what life is all about, anyhow? So Mom says I don’t have to wear any more clothes during the play. That’s good. Now, if I could just get rid of those darned flying monkeys.

Woof, woof! LexiToto

Thanks Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Mondays.

Happy World Unicorn Day

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia12 Comments

Thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.

Angel Lexi: National Unicorn Day on April 9th each year celebrates the mythical horse-like creature with a single, pointed horn growing from the center of its forehead. Some day, many years from now, perhaps I’ll move from applauded and celebrated to mystical, like Spike.

Me and my buddy Spike up here with the Big Guy

May all your days be full of rainbows and unicorns.

Awww Monday’s Birthday Boy!

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia37 Comments

Thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!

Hi! It’s me, Riley! I’m RiBoy, the BDay boy today! And I’m 13 years young. Mom Amy’s got a special treat for all my friends…13 pictures of me! She’s gonna start with when I was just a whippersnapper, and work her way up to now. I hope you enjoy them!

Clockwise (Mom Amy told me how to do clockwise)
1. My first week in my new home, November 2010
2. My first birthday, May 1, 2011
3. Me with my girlfriend Maebe in 2012. We’d been working on our joint Freestyle routine. A few days later when we got to the venue where we were to perform, Maebe dumped me and wouldn’t even do our routine. (She found out I’d been making eyes at a gorgeous white standard poodle.)
4. Me with my boy. He and his Mom and my person Andrew lived with us for 2 years. I moved out with them when they left. I’ve been back to stay several time since then, and I’m pretty sure this is my real home again.

Here we go with years 2014 through 2017
1. Me and Lucy were great friends (and still are) and played together and sometimes even ran away together. Mom always found us.
2. That’s me and My Person Andrew up at Rock City for Rocktoberfest.
3. 2016 is the year Lexi crossed the bridge. We’re at My Person Andrew’s house. I was telling her everything was going to be ok.
4. Me and my Little Buddy Piper in 2017. He joined Lexi the next year.

  1. Me, Lucy and Xena. I think Xena’s a bit afraid of me, so that would be why she doesn’t bother me much. Here, taken in 2020 we’re the 3 amigos!
  2. Chia appeared on the scene, as they say, and brought out the puppy in all of us.
  3. This is from Christmas last year (2022). I got my Racky D, and he’s only the second stuffie who I haven’t deadied. Right now he’s soaking up some sun in a lawn chair in the dog lot. I might go out and play with him.
  4. Chia can be braver than she is smart. Earlier this year she slid off the top of the couch onto my back, pulled the blanket down to make a bed and settled in for a nap. On me! I decided to let this travesty go and save my energy for bigger fish, as they say.

I hope you enjoyed my meander down memory lane in pictures. I hear My Person Andrew is coming over after work today, and I think there may be an order in for pizza. I love my raw diet…I’ve never had such a good appetite as for that food. I come running every morning and evening when I hear it being prepared. But pizza…*drool*

Hoping to see you again in May 2024 and lots of times in between!

Big wags! Riley the Birthday Boy

Health Updates on Thankful Thursday

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia32 Comments

First, a big thanks to Brian for hosting Thankful Thursday!

Hey friends, this is Riley. My first thankful today is that I get to do a post a lot more since Xena took over the blog. Angel Lexi was very selfish with her blog, and only grudgingly let anyone else (me) post anything. So thanks, little sis.

My second thankful is even better. It has two parts.
Part one: My Person Andrew came with me and Mom Amy to the vet for me to get my diagnostic X-rays and an ultrasound on my tummy and chest. It was to see if I had a heart murmur or what was going on. Even though I was really high on some good sh*t Mom Amy gave me, I still knew he was there with me and it made me feel even more good than the drugs.

Part two: The tests showed no fluid in my abdomen or in my chest. It did show my heart is slightly enlarged, but all y’all already know I have a big heart, right? *grin* No heart drugs or anything else is needed. I’m feeling good and am eating all I can get ahold of and playing with Chia a little bit and also my stuffies. Hey, I’m gonna be 13 in just under a month, woohoo! Hope I get something good for my birthday!!

Xena: Thanks Riley. I’m glad you understand this is still my blog that I inherited from Angel Lexi. And you can use it anytime you want, since you inherited the position of alpha dog from her.

I’m gonna be real thankful when my right ear is back to normal. The culture the vet place did showed it’s full of yeast, but no bacteria. the new med that Mommy has to put in my ear every day hasn’t helped at all. So now — because we’re at the “end of our rope” — I have to take a half a pill called prednisone. I sure hope that works. I hear everyone gets extra hungry when they take that pill, but I’m a schnauzer, meaning I’m always extra hungry!

Those are our Thankfuls, so next up is our picture poem! Oh, and thanks to Angel Sammy for another great picture.

Angel Lexi the Schnauzer by Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

An empty slate, like an empty plate,
Always leaves you wanting more.
It’s so unfulfilling and makes you unwilling
To turn around and walk out the door.

Our Angel Lexi took steps whence she
Could fill the void on the wall
Our hearts still miss her, our wonderful sister,
But she still has the power to enthrall.

Thanks to  Angel Sammy for giving us a blank slate to work with today!

February Challenge on Wordy Wednesday: Lexi, the Therapy Dog

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia24 Comments

Love. That’s what this month is about. That’s what this post is about.

Lexi spent ten years of her life going the third Thursday of every month (except November, when it always fell on Thanksgiving) to T.C. Thompson’s Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga. Sometimes I took her, and every once in a while the children’s director at the church where I worked asked to take her.

As an aside, I usually visited with the quilting group at the church every Thursdays, except the third one. Lexi would always come with me, and the ladies always made a fuss over her. On one of the third Thursdays that the children’s director had taken Lexi to do her “therapizing,” an older lady asked for Lexi’s whereabouts. I told her Lexi had gone to the children’s hospital to do her “therapizing”. The lady sat very quietly for a moment, then said, “Well, I knew she’s talented, but goodness, I didn’t know she could drive.”

It didn’t really matter who took her; we were just her means of getting to where she needed to be. After receiving her first treat, she took on her demeanor as a therapy dog and it was all business…and love.

One little girl, Kennedy, was there more often than not throughout the many years we visited. We watched her grow, we watched her struggle. During one visit, we walked into Kennedy’s room, where she had her head covered, crying. Lexi jumped on the bed, and the therapy pet coordinator said, “Look who’s here, Kennedy.” She pulled the covers down and a huge smile brightened her face. She grabbed Lexi in a big hug and held her against her chest. Lexi hated being hugged, but understanding how much Kennedy needed this, just laid there, held tight without a struggle until the little girl finally released her.

Lexi also did therapy at Siskin Physical Rehab in Chattanooga. Two incidents immediately come to mind. They both happened on the same day

In the hallway before entering a rehab area, an older man stood guard. He looked down and just stared at Lexi. “I’ve never much liked dogs, been scared of them all my life. I’ve never petted any of the dogs that come here. But this one here, she’s special. May I pet her?” I picked up Lexi so he could pet her, and he continued, “I used to be a pastor, and I do believe that the good Lord sent her.”

In the room, a young man sat in a wheelchair with his therapist standing next to him. After getting his permission, I gently set Lexi in his lap. She sat there while he pet her and the rest of us visited. We usually spent about five minutes with different patients at the rehab. This time, I suddenly realized 15 minutes had passed, with Lexi pawing at the young man’s hand every time he stopped petting her. This was unusual for her. As we walked away I overheard the man’s therapist say, “That was so good! You actually moved your hand!” I will never know how Lexi always knew just what each patient needed.

On the anniversary of Lexi’s tenth year at T.C. Thompson, I got permission for my husband to come along and take videos. Each person and their guardian gave permission to so this. This was planned to be our last visit, as Lexi was already suffering from the cancer that took her a short three months later.

Thanks to  Comedy Plus for hosting Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

February Challenge: Mom and Lexi

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia19 Comments

Love. That’s what this month is about. That’s what this post is about.

Nan wasn’t raised with a dog, and was a bit scared of them. I got my Mom a little dog from the shelter as her gift for retiring from nursing. She wasn’t sure about keeping her until Nan, said, “Aww, Marion, can’t we please keep her?” So they did.

I wish Nan had known Lexi. She would have loved her.

Years after Nan had passed, Mom finally moved here to Chattanooga into an apartment I had just vacated. I had bought a house only a block or so away. She was in her mid-80’s at that time, and I did not know how unsteady she was, and that dementia was setting in. She was able to hide it on my trips to western PA to visit. Mom delighted in Lexi staying with her in her apartment while I was at work. Mom was usually still in bed in the early morning when I dropped Lexi off, so I would let her in and she would stay with Mom in bed until it was time to get up. One afternoon when I stopped to pick up Lexi after work and visit a bit with Mom, she told me that she hadn’t felt good earlier. She said she was sitting on the edge of her bed when Lexi reached over and put her paw on Mom’s leg. Remember, Lexi was a therapy dog, and they know when someone is hurting or sick; they seem to know what to do. Mom said Lexi helped her feel better, and noted, “She’s a kind schnauzer.”

I noticed that Mom was going through her favorite jam that she used on her toast every morning. She admitted to me that she always made Lexi a piece of toast and jam to eat with her. Since I knew it was useless to try to persuade Mom to stop, I bought Lexi her own, inexpensive, apple jelly. A couple of weeks later I thought to ask Mom how Lexi liked the apple jelly. “Oh,” Mom replied, ” I’m eating that because Lexi likes the black raspberry jam better.” Yes, my Mom loved Lexi.


When Mom fell in the middle of the night, pulling the TV down on her, she wasn’t badly hurt, but it was time to move her to assisted living. She ended up falling there, too, and breaking her hip. She never recovered from that, and ended up in a nursing home. One day I received a call from the home that Mom had aspirated on something she was eating and was unconscious. They didn’t know if she would waken. I immediately called my son and then my husband, asking them to come quickly and bring Lexi. As we sat in chairs on each side of the bed, just waiting, my son and me crying, Lexi sat on the bottom of the bed staring at her grandma. Suddenly, Mom opened her eyes, looked down to the bottom of the bed, and with a huge smile, cried out, “Lexi!”

Today I am celebrating the joy that Lexi brought into my mother’s life, and the love they shared.

“On This Day” on Awww Monday

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia25 Comments

Many thanks to Miss Sandee at Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Monday!

Xena: Hey Lucy, you know Mommy gets pictures of “On this Day” emailed to her from OneDrive. They’re so nice to do that, he, he! You’ll never guess what she got today from 2015! Wait, I’ll show you.

Lucy: Isn’t that Angel Lexi?
Xena: Sure is. I heard she hated wearing clothes, especially costumes.
Lucy: You know she’s probably going to give you nightmares for showing everyone this.
Xena: Mommy wait! Don’t hit Publish!
Lucy: Too late, Dream Bait.
Xena: I’m never going to sleep again.

It’s Noodle’s Birthday

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia11 Comments

 Thanks to The Kitties Blue for hosting Sunday Selfies every week!

If you remember our Lexi the Schnauzer, you probably remember her boyfriend Noodle. Today we are giving him the Sunday Selfie spot.

This photo is from a year ago. Noodle’s Mom no longer has a blog for him, but she does have a FB page. So where are we going with this? Today is Noodle’s 12th birthday! If you like, you can drop by here to wish him a happy birthday.

Noodle was going to be Lexi’s VM when she won the mayoral election (I have to say “when”, since she would have been extremely upset if I had said “if.”):

And he took her on some very romantic trips:

Let’s dance, Lexi!
I love you, Lexi, and to prove it I brought us lunch.
You look beautiful with your ears and beard flying back in the wind!

So today, we celebrate Noodle!

FFF: The Show Opening by Lexi the Schnauzer

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia17 Comments

This is fiction in that I, servant of my dogs, have written it from the dog’s perspective. You will know what in it is true and what is my speculation of her thoughts and feeling. The final line has two connotations. As many know, we lost our Lexi in May of 2016.

The Show opened!

That’s me in the middle

Last night the show I’m in–the Wizard of Oz– opened and I got to perform on-stage for the first time ever! It was a Thursday night and there were a lot of older people, which was great, since I really relate to that age bracket. I have had lots of practice with my Grandma, after all. Dorothy was about to take me out on stage with the old-looking new leash she had gotten for the part when Jeffery the director said, “No. We aren’t using a leash.” You should have seen the looks on both my Dorothy and my Mom’s faces. Dorothy took a deep breath and I think Mom started praying. No one knew what I would do since I had never been able to show them that I am a born actor. We had rehearsed a lot and I knew my part and did it. When I first ran out to Dorothy on cue and the audience breathed a collective sigh of “Awwwwww,” that sealed it. I knew I had found my calling. I would have done anything to hear that again. Then when I stole the hot dog from the stick like I was supposed to do and everyone laughed, I knew I loved this job more than anything. Dorothy had treats hidden in her socks and gave me lots of them during the play. Mom helped by always waiting off-stage where I was supposed to run when it was time and she always had a treat for me too. I think I am in heaven.

LexiToto the happy Schnauzer

If you wish to join in Final Friday Fiction, follow the link here.

Publicity Pictures: By Lexi the Schnauzer

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia11 Comments

This is the fourth in our series of blogs about when Lexi was the theater dog. In this one, she is just beginning to feel the importance of her new role as the star of the show…

Publicity pictures

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August 19, 2006

I got to go back to the Theatre Center and got interviewed by someone from a newspaper. I tried to answer some of the questions but I think the lady only wrote down what Mommy said. I had my picture taken a bunch with Dorothy. I decided I like having my picture taken and posed very nicely outside right next to Dorothy’s red shoes. All of her they got in the picture was her red shoes. Ha, ha, won’t she be surprised! The camera lady said I was very photogenic. What’s photogenic?

I sure hope some puppy doesn’t peepee on my picture!

When I was a young pup and having a great time chewing to shreds my potty paper, who would have thought that some day I would be featured in a newspaper?  Yep, there I am, posing so beautifully with Dorothy on the front page of the Lifestyle section of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Maybe the lady will give some of the pictures to my Mommy and she will put them on my web page.

I followed Dorothy everywhere during rehearsal. I was soooo excited to see her. She came over to my house last week and played with me. Then she came back another day just to take me for ice cream. I wonder how she knew I love ice cream best of all? She is my special friend now. I heard her talking to Mommy about coming to see me again. She is going to come pick me up from my Grandma’s. Dorothy said something about taking me on TV with her. That sounds so silly. Why on earth would she want to be on a TV? I hope I don’t have to sit on the TV. It is up a little too high and I might fall off. I am not a cat, you know.

I love rehearsal now. I get lots and lots of treats. And lots and lots of petting and “good girls”. But especially lots of treats. Everyone is very impressed that I bark when Mommy tells me. Once she remembered the right word to tell me to bark, I understood and now I bark every time she says it. It goes back to me learning to “stay” while we were at the park. First Mom would tell me to “heel,” then “sit,” then “stay.” When it was ok for me to get up again, Mom would say, “free!” The first thing I would do when she said “free” was to jump up and bark, then take off running. So now when Mom wants me to bark, all she has to do is say “free!”

It is late and I want to go to bed now. I always get a treat at bedtime!

Woof, woof! (And a special woof at the witch’s old hat!!)

LexiToto

Being Toto Isn’t Easy: By Lexi the Schnauzer

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia21 Comments

We’re very thankful to Fivesibes for hosting Flashback Friday! This is the third in our series of blogs about when Lexi was the theater dog. In this one, rehearsal has just begun for her new role as the star of the show…

Being Toto isn’t easy

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Man, easy street is over for LexiToto (me). I have to go to rehearsals and get dragged out to Dorothy where she always picks me up. I’m not liken that at all. I have to memorize my lines – mostly woof! It’s getting the knack of when to say “woof” especially after a life-time of being told to stop barking.

But then everything changed. Dorothy came to my house! and she played ball with me! and she played platy (platypus) hand puppet with me! and she took me for a walk! and she gave me new treats! She even understands dog-speak!! And she sang to me too! I heard her tell Mom she’s not going to pick me up any more because I don’t like it. Ya know, maybe she’s ok after all. Then we went to the meat market and the butcher came out to see me and brought me a big bone. It is so big I can hardly lift it, and boy oh boy is it good!

Mom got me this super yummy treat that is soft and tastes like peanut butter. She keeps making me roll over on my side before she will give me any. I don’t like that. It doesn’t feel right. She said something about poppies and looking like I am asleep. Right now, I am hoping she gives up on this “over” thing. What are poppies?

See y’all at the theatre soon!

LexiToto

I’m Toto! by Lexi the Schnauzer

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia18 Comments

We’re very thankful to Fivesibes for hosting Flashback Friday! This is the second in our series of blogs about when Lexi was the theater dog. In this one, she’s still preparing for her new role as the star of the show…

I might be Toto

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Oh boy, I aced my audition to be Toto in the local production of the Wizard of Oz. I am not quite sure what that means, but Mom said that a lot of people will love me. I like that, so I am going to work real hard with Mom before we go so I can be the best Toto ever. (What’s a Toto?) Now I know all my commands with just hand signals. I can sit and down and here and stay and heel and twirl. Mom has started telling me to bark, which is really confusing since she is always telling me to NOT bark. I wish she would make up her mind.

I went to Grandma’s this morning before Mom went to work, but the screen door was locked so Mom took me back home and I had to stay by myself all day. I didn’t even get my toast with jam from my Grandma. I made up for it by tearing something up and pooping upstairs. So there! It really seemed like a good idea at the time. But, when Mom came home, I felt bad because I knew I shouldn’t have done those things and I was afraid she would yell at me and call me a “bad dog.” I hate that. She didn’t yell or anything. She just picked it all up and then worked with me to get ready for this Toto thing. I got lots of treats, too. Hmmm. I think I like this Toto thing better all the time.

I will let you know when I find out what Toto is. Woof! Woof!

Lexi, now Toto too

My audition: by Lexi the Schnauzer

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia19 Comments

We’re thankful to Fivesibes for hosting Flashback Friday! For the next few Fridays we are going to feature the original author and creator of this blog, our angel sister, Lexi the Schnauzer and her time in the theater. Today we will start with the beginning…

My audition

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I had my audition today to be Toto in the Wizard of Oz. It was no big deal. No, really. I am not just being modest. Come on, think about it— me, modest? Mom just asked me to do some stuff I do for her all the time anyhow, like sit, down, stay, heel, twirl. The guy that was watching me do all this asked Mom if I would walk with him, so she gave the yummy bologna to him and he asked me to heel. He was real impressed, but what did he think, that I was going to let him walk away with my bologna? No way! Anyhow, I have to go back on Wednesday to play with the rest of the cast. He said something about they would all want to feed me cookies. I don’t care if I have to sit or lay down for cookies. I sit and lay around a lot anyhow, so again, no big deal. Cookies and bologna…I knew this Toto thing was going to be good.

Oh, and better yet, this guy wants Mom to let my hair grow out. You know what that means don’t you? No grooming!!!! It only keeps getting better and better. Now, if only I don’t have to take baths, either…

“I’m off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz.” What’s Oz?

Woof, woof!

Lexi, the new Toto

Xena’s Thankful Thursday at Bedtime

Published on by Xena, Lucy and Chia28 Comments

Today we are joining Brian’s Thankful Thursday, with special thanks to Brian for hosting it!

Daddy, thank you for sitting here on the arm of the couch so I have something to lean my back against. It’s mighty comfy here on my princess couch pillow.

Look at those two slackers. You’d think it was bedtime.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Well, I’m thankful for my sister Lucy and for Riley, too.

*yawn* Maybe it is bedtime. I’m thankful for my soft couch pillow and for my soft big bed I share wih you and Mommy.

Chia: Get outa the way, sister. I want that spot with my Dad. Move!

Xena: I can’t wait until that pup goes to the Manners Matter class with Mommy. She’ll probably have to take it about 87 times. Daddy, go ahead and put that long mess in my kennel for the night and I’ll meet you in the bedroom with Mommy.

Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess