Before I tell my story, I want to wish Noodle, my almost brother-in-law, of the Adventures of Noodle, a very happy birthday. Noodle was Lexi’s boyfriend, and they had lots of wonderful adventures together. So, from me and Lucy and Mommy, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOODLE!
Well, it’s been six days and Louis and Laila are still with us. And they are still alive and unharmed. Just wait til I tell you why I said that. Monday morning, Daddy got up extra early to go in to work. He doesn’t usually go to work on Monday and neither does Mommy, but he had a lot to do. The invaders were sleeping in my kennel in the living room, and he tried to sneak past them. He was trying to be quiet so they didn’t wake up Mommy. When that didn’t work, he let them out of my kennel, which is right next to the back door, and was about to open the door for them when Laila peed on the floor. While he was trying to get that cleaned up, Louis ran around the house lifting his leg on everything! Daddy tried to get that cleaned up, too, but, well, he had to go to work. So he woke up Mommy and told her what happened. That was probably his second mistake, right after letting the invaders out of my kennel. We won’t get into that, though.
Soooo, in order for Mommy to keep her sanity and in order to help Daddy stay out of trouble, we now have a protocol. It goes like this.
- Both Laila and Louis have to wear my big girl panties at all times, except when they are outside.
2. The first thing in the morning, Mommy fixes their breakfast and sets it out back on the patio. Then she takes them out and removes their diapers. They stay there until it is time for her to go to work. Then she goes outside and puts their diapers back on them before bringing them in and telling them to go into my kennel. (grr)
3. After work, Mommy fixes their supper and sets it out back on the patio, then takes them out back, removes their diapers, and leaves them there until me and Lucy eat our supper.
4. Then Mommy goes back out, puts their diapers back on them, and brings them in to spend the evening with us.
The funny thing is, I have started liking them being here. I firmly told Louis, “No!” and he has stopped sniffing my bee-hind and trying to climb on me. And I keep trying to get Laila to be my friend. I gently put my paw on her and wag my tail. She mostly ignores me, but last night we all played together, even Lucy and Louis.
Mommy admitted that she had hoped I would make some friends my own size and have someone to play with besides Lucy, who is 87 times bigger than me. I still get to snuggle up close to Mommy all night long, and now I get to stay out of my kennel during the day because Louis and Laila are in it. And I get to play with them after supper. Maybe, just maybe, Mommy knew what she was doing.
Love and wiggles, Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess
Mommy: I love you so much, baby girl. Yes, I believe you, and you are still going to have to tell Lucy the truth about Brownie Bear and tell Brownie you’re sorry.
I was shocked when Xena said, “OK, OK, are you happy? Now leave me alone, Lucy! I’m doing something important out here. I brought you over to help, but all you want to do is get your picture taken.” She kept her mouth closed the whole time she said that so that the picture would be over with fast. I don’t know how she woofed at me with her mouth closed; maybe it was the beard. Anyhow, I have never known my sister to be a serious type of girl, so I didn’t quite know how to take it.
Next thing I knew, she was barking her fool head off at something. Her bark sounded different than usual, maybe a bit less sure, but still insistent.
Yep, a four-foot long snake on our side of the fence! Once we all backed away — at Mom’s urging — it wove its way back and forth through the chain link fence and into the woods from where it came. I guess I owe XeXe an apology…nah. But I am going to tell her how 
I know you liked squirrels, Angel Lexi, and that you even had a back yard living arrangement with them when you were young. It didn’t make you too popular with the other dogs, but you couldn’t have cared less.
Where are you going, Lucy? 
He tried it out and got so comfy he fell asleep for the rest of the day. The next day I offered Rudy my special Blue Bone. I thought he could chew on it if he got hungry, or use it as a pillow. When I took Rudy over to it, he licked it for a while, then laid his head down and fell asleep again.
I guess if I went all winter without eating -except for the occasional midnight raid on the fridge – I would be like a brain-eating zombie, too.
They were happy I got help for my allergies, and that I passed two agility classes, and that I love dancing Freestyle with Mommy. I introduced them to Jen-Jen Bear, who immediately became a part of their clan. I think she and Sweetheart are going to be BFF’s.
When Bro Andrew came in and said he was done, Mom said, “No, no, you missed one,” and sent him back out. So he went back out and even dug up most of the roots. End results:
People were buying children! I’m letting you know so that if you have any of those noisy kids that you don’t want, you can call this number and make a lot of money.
Why is this mess good, you may ask. This is Maggie. Previously, we asked for POTP for her Mom, who was battling breast cancer. During the final stages of the battle (wait, don’t cry yet, it’s good, I promise) Maggie didn’t have time to come for a groom, and ended up looking like this when she came a couple of weeks ago.
Her Mom had been going through reconstructive surgery and is better now. She didn’t even have to do something called chemo. We want to thank everyone for all the POTP’s that helped give this story a happy 
Do you recognize Maggie (L) and Dora? No, no, they’re not bad. They’ve been coming to us for years and we know and love them. Here’s the bad: their grandpa died and their grandma is not handling it well. It’s causing a lot of stress with their folks which, of course, trickles down to them. We know that some of you have recently lost close relatives and close friends, too, so you can empathize with Maggie and Dora. POTP for their family, please.
Roxxii is pretty adorable, right? It’s what happened in her family that is so ugly. Her Mom’s boyfriend died suddenly, and her Mom was right in the other room when it happened. They are young people, and no one should ever feel so bad that they should die like that. Her Mom is having a real, real hard time right now, so we ask for lots of POTP for her, too. Because she isn’t in a good condition to keep Roxxii brushed, she asked Mom to just shave her hair short. Mom thought she might get cold, so she gave her Xena’s first-ever hoodie,
It’s too small for you now, Xena. That means you can’t wear it cause it doesn’t fit you anymore. Our Mom was wondering what to do with it, and this seemed like a good way to pass on the love you always felt when you wore it.
Xena: Ludwig! Is it really you? Where have you been?
Xena: Everything is kinda’ tilting and I may be turning green.
Mommy was not amused. She stood perfectly still, looking at it like she had never before seen anything that a dog had destroyed. #poormommy. We found a few small pieces on the stairs. Other than that, we think Lucy might be protected from fleas until after her next good poop.
Now I have a duck-taped seven month flea collar. I wonder how many more months I have to go with it like this. Probably just until Lucy chews it off my neck again, he, he.
Achilles
Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess with Lucy and Chia 