The Thanksgiving Trip at Bethany

One day, I was sitting on the couch. As usual, I was chewing on a bone, enjoying myself, as my teeth crushed through each layer of bone, thoroughly. It made me feel tough and my salivation strong! Then, I saw there were lots of clothes and suitcases. And that made lots of sense: I was going on yet another vacation. Our family must've been going out of town for Thanksgiving. It was that time of year, after all. I was excited to go on a vacation again. I always have many adventures. And lots of new things come to me.

My Mom grabbed the family hamster, Patrick's cage and put in the van so we could take him to the family we had take care of Patrick. The other pets managed their selves, however. Later that day, everyone in the family packed up. And the van was ready to roll. It pulled out the driveway. Then, Mom turned the steering wheel, and we were on the way. I cherished the car ride. For one part, I occasionally was able to poke my head out the open windows of the van. I loved the feeling of lots of wind and breeze blow through my fur. It makes me feel GREAT! And then, I got to sit on a pillow set between the two seats where my Mom and Dad sat for napping to pass the time while the trip to wherever we were going.

About 4 hours later, Mom stopped the van at the sacred place of BETHANY! It was this place again. It was a miracle! Of all the places to vacation on Thanksgiving, this place was the most predictable! But if only I had known! I jumped out the van door on my leash. I was so eager to get to the cottage, my running trampled nearby puddles that formed after a current rainfall, and made the water splash all over the place! When I got to the front, I "marked" my scent on the lawn to leave some of my poochie-memories here for when I'd leave by skidding my butt against the asphalt.

Then, I ran up the porch stairs, and through the door. I used my back paws as breaks to stop from gliding across the carpet when my wet paws from outside made me lose control! I out the screen porch, and ran in circles around the cottage. My excitement was so energy-requiring and confidence-consuming that I collapsed to the floor with exhaustion. I was so tired.

2 hours later: I woke up to the fragrance of an old, raggy, chewed-up, rough dalmatian hand puppet toy that was possessed by the dog I saw when I woke up. It was the only cousin of mine who looked like me when I'm older- Carter. We went around and ran in joy as usual when us two are first united. The moment didn't last long when I heard the words "Lucy, let's go on a walk!!!" Dad was taking me on another walk. I loved seeing Carter, but I guess I did need a walk after my long nap! Outside, the air remained humid, and all like autumn air should be. Like I typically am, I was in the mood for sprinting! Dad and I took off like there were jet packs at the bottom of our feet. "I could do this all day!" I said, feeling maybe a little too authentic. One thing I forgot to mention, I can only run very fast for only a few minutes. Then, I'm like a tractor struggling to clear giant cow manure and feces on a field! That's how slow I am when I'm weak. The bad news, my dad is always jogging at a faster pace than I can for about 75% of the time. When I got back from the walk, I felt fulfilled, but tired out. I was panting like crazy! I didn't even rub my head against the carpet like I do on every other walk. It was very tiring!

That evening: I was yawning. I couldn't feel my spine because I was so tired! Carter came walking along. "Pretty long day for me, what about you?" I asked Carter. "Hmm, the usual." Carter replied. "Oh." I said. My response may've been awkward, but hanging out with the family I'm stuck with now, I've learned that being more awkward with responses can pay off eventually. It's Lucy family stuff. Anyways, I couldn't wait to dream tonight. I left off at a good spot last night. So I went in my dog cage, and fell asleep.

Thanksgiving day: It was my first Thanksgiving at Bethany. I like to get up earlier than Carter for a few reasons. He's my favorite cousin and all, but Carter likes to eat MY food instead of his. I went in the kitchen, and saw my Mom and my Mom's Mom, (grandma), with Carter. He looked like he was fed, but he looked hungry! Mom prepared my food. She put it on the floor. I took 3 bites, and then a second muzzle appear on my left. "Carter!" I snapped. "It's hard to be a more mature dog. You must 'help your immune system' by eating a lot!" Carter replied. "Fine, you win!" I reluctantly replied. That afternoon, the family was going to go to some relatives' house for Thanksgiving. Thanks to newer technology, I got miniature spy cameras from my Dad's old things back at home. I wanted to use it to see what this family gathering was like. I've always wondered. I attached the camera to my Mom's ankle while she was napping a couple hours ago this afternoon. Then, I let them go! And the family left.

Later that evening: It had been a long time since everyone got back, but I understood, as the humans always chat at these various types of events. I went an concealed my presence. I then went in the bathroom when Mom was taking a shower. I grabbed the miniature spy camera, which I acquired earlier that afternoon, and put it in my cage. I wonder if maybe I'd see a new animal in the footage, maybe one I've never seen! That night, in the dog cage of mine, I had the footage on the small camera and transferred it to Mom's video camera that I could see what I was missing out on. I fast forwarded the parts where Mom would sit there on the couch and do nothing but mingle.

I played the footage normally when I saw something so awesome and cute I was about to keep my eyes glued to the camera. I saw a cute, calico, female, copper, black, and white, beautiful, adventurous, little kitten! She made a little "Meoww!" It was so cute and high, it was like a miniature flute sound was making part of the noise. But it wasn't. I wondered what the kitten's name was. I heard someone say the name "Cally." Cally must've been this beauty's name. I thought it was so cute I hugged the video camera! Cally was playing around. I saw a cat toy with a string and a stuffed fish tied to the other end. Cally would paw at it and hold it tight with her paws. She'd go crazy with it like the world's oldest person and a bingo event! Cally was having a blast! Next, she went to one of those cat-playground and things that cats climb on and stuff. Cally jumped on top level of her cat-playground. She napped on the platform once she got on it. She was tired from all that playtime. She was cute when she napped. She looked like a baby in a cradle. It was so eye-gluingly worth to watch! When everyone was done having their Thanksgiving meal, Cally woke up. Or maybe it was someone who woke her up. I couldn't tell, but she got up. Cally was in a shy mood at this point, and went inside a large paper bag, which was tipped over, so Cally didn't have to jump to get in it. It looked cozy. Smaller dogs and cats have all the luck! Later, the whole family put in some DVD called "Cat Sitter," (TM) which I saw was some DVD with different recordings of squirrels, rats, mice, birds, a macaw with a canary, chipmunks, fish, butterflies, and all those other animals cats are addicted to. Cally got on a toadstool-like chair, which was placed in front of the TV just for her, and she watched it. Cally was so addicted. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Cally was like a human watching NFL! Cally was amazing! She was like nothing I've seen in my life- in a good way! She was cute and playful, more unique than any other kitten I've seen! I even recognized "Cally" as a new code: Cute, Astonishing, Loving, Loved, You, Madison and Mojo have competition! I spent the rest of the night watching the Cally footage.
When I heard footstep noises coming from upstairs, I hid the miniature camera, and put Mom's video camera where it was earlier yesterday, the coffee table. Next, I pretended to be sleeping. And I saw it was Mom who came down. I stopped fake-snoozing when Mom came down. I wagged my tail, which is turning into a useless one-inch piece of bone anatomy-wise. "Lucy, we saw the cutest kitten last night! Her name was Cally, who was named after her being calico! I'm just so sad that you had to miss out on it, Lucy Pooch!" Mom said. Oh, don't be sad, I haven't missed out on one thing! I said in my mind. I went to the kitchen, and had my last breakfast for this visit at Bethany, for this was my last day at Bethany!

1 Hour into the car ride to Indiana: Now that my Bethany vacation is over, I was on my to Indiana, where there's some more family to visit! But on the car ride home, I couldn't think of that though, when Mom went to check on her video camera. "Hey, I don't remember this being on 'transfer miniature camera to video camera' mode! Who did this? Whoever did this is in trouble..." Mom yelled. Yep, I love it when you least suspect dogs! I had the best Bethany visit ever! I got to see Carter again, I got some use out of my miniature spy camera, and even the best cat at Bethany, Cally! I hope next time's vacation at Bethany will be as fun as this one was- just as long as get free food. Just as long as I get free food!

THE END!

Louisiana Lucy- An Almost Competely True Story

I'm a lousy cockapoo. But I may have to be a Cool one for a while. I guess it all started on a beautiful morning. I found out an amazing fact. I was going to Louisiana for vacation! It was going to be great. There was a Golden Retriever over there. His name was Rudy. My owners also told me that there were two cats: Patches and Cooper. I was looking forward to it. So later on, everyone in my family started packing. I decided that I needed to pack things, too. I could just stuff them in a small box and conceal it somewhere in the van. So I went to work.

I decided to get Madison and Mojo to help me pack. "Madison and Mojo, I need to help me pack for Louisiana. I turned to you guys because for one, Mojo is in very intelligent, and for two, Madison is-uhh-Cool. So help me now!" I demanded. The cats went to work. "Here's that toy you call 'Jack,' a loofa dog, and that chewy doggish-toy thingy that you love." Madison said. "And I gave you a photo album I found, one of those puffy balls that Madison and I always go bonkers for, and some lint I found in of our owner's old jeans pockets." Mojo said. "Thanks guys. Well, I guess it's bye." I said. I put all of my luggage in a small, cardboard, state-of-the-art box. I hugged the kittens bye. Then, I hid the box in the van.

It moved out the driveway, and we drove on the highway. I poked my head out of the window. The wind blew threw my ears. It gave me a feeling that Mojo would hate forever if he could. But I encourage him to like it a little bit. So anyways, we picked my Mom's Mom, and went on the highway for real. We drove all day. It was kind of boring. I went to sleep on a pillow Mom kept in the front of the van. It was comfy. It was covered in flowers. The background was a creamy, light, rich blue. It was a comfortable as it looked.

I was on hinker hooks to get to a Hotel. We finally went to a hotel. "Ahhhhhh, perfect!" I said when I set foot on the parking lot ground. I really was happy. I just went on the bed. The hotel was pet-friendly. That was a relief. Now, to save time, I'm not gonna tell you the details at the hotel. All I'll say is I did my daily morning walk, and I got a bath.

So I finally got to Louisiana the next day. It was very hot, just like most other southern states. I finally got inside. "Air conditioning-a bit more decent." I replied to myself. Then, I went to explore. Only his scent showed that Rudy lived here. But I couldn't find her. I was introduced to Rudy's family. They were real nice. I don't want to talk too much about them, for I didn't get permission to mention their names on a website.

I went into the family room. There were either couches placed against each other. High on the wall was a flat-screen TV. It had golf on for a huge portion of the vacation. I wasn't focused on furniture at that time. I was, however, focused on a seemingly tricolor cat. She looked pretty old. She bumped into a wall. "Are you okay? And who are you Patches or Cooper?" I asked. "I'm fine. It always happens. I'm Patches, and you must be some stranger animal." the cat said. "I think you're mistaken. I'm Lucy. And why did you bump into a wall?" I asked. "I am pretty old. And it was an accident. I'm blind. That is why I may be seemingly clumsy. But I think many younger pets don't care. I know this place a little more now that I've lived here for a pretty long time. So, Lucy, you may wonder where Cooper is. You'll see him later. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go. It's cat stuff." Patches explained. And she left the room.

I went to the kitchen. There was good stuff that looked like that was in stake. I wish we had "steak" for dinner. But we had turkey. At least it was meat. My owners chopped some turkey up into tiny pieces and served it to me. They combined the turkey with regular dry food. But they wet a little bit. If it's "overwett-ed" I don't care, but the food should be preferably wetted. I had fun for the rest of the day.

Then, it was time for me to go to sleep. I went in my kennel, and even though I was tempted to escape, and even though I knew how, I was too tired to escape. So I went to sleep. I dreamt that in my home state,everyone was so depressed and bored and clumsy. But when the Illinois people came to Louisiana, they transformed into a new mob of persons. They were- Terrific! Then, I woke up.

I went outside on the leash I used for walking. I needed my fresh air. My brother went on the computer for a long time. He and Dad were always wanting to be on it, but there was only room for one. I tried to work on this blog, but it was a doggie-no-no. I'm too messy, and they had a new desk, and that was where the computer was set, and the people who owned the new desk wanted it to be clean. I'm trying to work on my etiquette, so you get the idea. I went outside that afternoon.

There were two halves to the backyard. One half had the garage. I hadn't gone in there before. Not yet, anyways. It was a pretty compact space. I'm a land lover, so the only thing I may not completely have liked was the pool in the middle. The people loved it, obviously, but it was a big no-no for me. I may be part water retriever, but I know that I'd rather be on a jog with Dad than a swim with Mom. So I never bothered to go in there. The second half of the back yard was large. It had an old storage shed. There was a lot of grass, and space, with only a few large trees. It was perfect for running. I went to explore the second half of the yard. I saw an old Golden dog. He was medium-largish in size. The dog approached me. I thought: This must be Rudy. If it's a Golden than it had to be him! We sniffed each other. "Eh, the youngsters." Rudy mumbled. And he retreated instantly. "I thought he'd like me for certain!" I said to myself. I slowly walked inside. The day slowly went by. I spent all day lying on the couch.

Then the next day. The day after that was my brother's birthday on August 19th. There was cake, and presents and stuff. I wish that I could have chocolate, because the cake was chocolate, and chocolate is very deadly to dogs. My brother got something that seemed pretty useless to a dog. I think they call them Leegoes or Legos or something. My brother also got some game called Trouble. It seemed boring at first, considering it wasn't a toy for dogs. But then, it was kind of intriguing to watch him play it. Then, it was night again. The vacation I was having didn't seem fun to you at first when you were reading the previous paragraphs. But then things got interesting.

A cat with some blackish spots and a very pale, dark greeny sort of color with white patches came out one afternoon. I figured that if he wasn't bumping into walls, he wasn't Patches. So I pretty much knew it was Cooper. "Hello, uh- feline. I think you're Cooper. Patches told me about you." I said. "Yes, I am Cooper. I am very timid. This explains why you may not have seen me earlier when you got here on Day 1. Patches is sort of my only 'cat-friend.' She's the only cat around here to keep me company. We've been devoted toward each other for years. I've heard about you for quite a while before you got here, Lucy. I ave always wondered what you looked like. Believe me, I am kind of confident to see you." Cooper chattered. "Well, I've seen assorted pictures of you and Patches. Now that I've seen you, I can always use those pictures as memories." I told Cooper. "Well, Lucy, you are an odd one but I want to say, you interest me." Cooper said. And he left to hide, as he said he had a lack of an outgoing temperament.

So I left to my ways. I noticed the bugs in Louisiana were larger than the ones in Illinois. The nature in Louisiana was very different from the nature in Illinois. There were larger trees. There were also pine-tree like plants over there. But in Illinois, I could find maples and stuff, but not much. And the animals were completely opposite. I noticed dead armadillos on the highway on our way to Louisiana. I've never seen an armadillo, so it was pretty intriguing. I marveled at the backyard by looking out the large glass sliding window. Rudy has stayed outside for a while. 4 days, 3 nights! It must've been hard for him. So that night, his owners let him inside. I felt jealous from all of my attention going to Rudy, but I felt bad for him. I tried to bond with him again. I walked up to Rudy. "So Rudy, how's life up here? Is it fun? Do you ever have any interesting moments here?" I asked. "Life down here is fine, it's sort of fun and sometimes to answer the last question. Now please leave." Rudy said. I went away to the other room. I felt that maybe Rudy and I weren't meant to be together.

I let the next night pass by. Friday was the last day of my vacation. The morning went all right. Rudy was lying down on the carpet. He was in a placid mood. Bacon was served for the humans. I had dog food with ground up turkey again. It was pretty thrilling. In the afternoon, my owners got some very old boxes from the shed. There was a lot of nick-knacks. Mainly models or dishes, but they from when Mom was my age. Then, the day passed by again. Then, it got very dark out. Everyone started changing into their swimming suits. I realized they were going swimming. And I was going to have to go with. I didn't want to swim.

I realized that loving the family I love right now was a bad choice to make. I burnt the bridges behind me when I made that choice, and unless I loved swimming, that choice was a huge regret. There was some light that lit up the pool that changes different colors. But I was colorblind, so it wasn't anything I could really enjoy. It seemed a little cool though. My owners started to kick me in the pool. Closer and closer I went. The dusk darkness wasn't making me enjoyed.

3: Oh no, I was about to enter the pool.

2- Oh crap, I'm on the edge!

1-Helllllllp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was down into the pool. I was swimming though. I was swimming! But I decided- You know- GET ME OUT OF HERE! "Help, I don't want to swim!" I yelled. My owners let me out. They went back to their fun, and went back to mine. I dried myself with a towel. My fun was lying on the couch while my owners' fun was swimming in a pool all night. I wrapped it up, and closed my eyes. It was going to be a long night. I slept through the entire night, however, and woke up on a Saturday morning. I was leaving that day.

My owner's re-loaded the van for the trip. I stayed in the van. Before I did that, I said quick good-bye to Ruby. "Rudy, we didn't know each other well, but I'll miss you so much!" I said as I hugged him. Rudy didn't reply back, but I wasn't bothered by that. We finally left near 8:30 or something. I poked my head out of the window. "I am a Louisiana Dog! Good-bye, Louisiana!!!!!" I screamed with decent pride. And we left. There was no rain. It was VERY cloudy. The skies were loaded with clouds. Left, right, up, down, even south west. But I was finally going home!

The hotel we went to was pretty cool. My owners left me in the van while they had dinner. I sat there. I looked at a picture of Rudy. "Oh Rudy, you were the best retriever I've ever met!" I said. I felt as if Rudy looked back at me in a happy way as if he was saying: "Lucy, you're a very sweet dog." I smiled. My owners unpacked for the hotel. I'm not going to talk about the hotel just to save time.

So anyways, when I got back home, I was stunned. "Madison, Mojo, I missed you!" I said when I saw them. "Lucy, we missed you, too!" Madison and Mojo said! We hugged each other. "Hey guys, let's go steal some human food- Louisiana style!" I said. "Alright!" Mojo cheered. And we all went. All I had to say then was it was great to get back home!

Lucy's Vacation Up In Michigan (An Almost Real Story)

There is this place in Michigan called Bethany Beach. I went there for vacation. Up there they have cottages, and I stay in my aunt and uncle's cottage. Their dog, Carter is my cousin. I like seeing him. He teaches me how to get food from people, cats, and more. "The secret, said Carter, is patience!" I don't know what I would do without vacation.

Once I got to the cottage, I kissed and barked and said hi to all the people and found Carter. "Hi Cousin Carter!" I said. "Hello Lucy, it's good to see you again!" Carter said back. "Ready for more skills on how to steal food?" asked Carter. "Am I ever!" I answered.

Carter taught me that the better the whimper and the more convincing you act and look, the better of a chance you will be given food by a person. Then, it was time for me and Carter to go on a walk. We got to go to the park.

At the park, I got to run around, but Carter had to be on his leash. I played with balls that would just sit there at the park, unguarded. I fetched them as well when my owner threw them. I was overjoyed. Carter was just sitting there but he seemed happy. I went back to the cottage and then, the family left. Carter and I were in our dog cages.

"This is how you get out of the cages. Just lean against the cage door and push against it" Carter said to me. He leaned, pushed and was out of his cage. I tried too. It was simple. Carter and I roamed the cottage and played. We even chased the cat, Nikki, all around the downstairs part of the cottage. "When the family comes back, go in your cage and lock it, so our owners don't find out we can escape from our cages." said Carter. I heard our owners come in. "Get in your cage and lock it quickly!" Carter said. Carter and I went in our cages an d locked them. Our owners let us out of our cages.

"These vacations are never vacations without you!" I said to Carter. Carter smiled at me and Carter and I napped together for the rest of the day. When Carter and I woke up, it was dark. Carter looked at a clock. "7:06 P.M." Carter said. I was still tired. "Let's go to sleep for the night. It may be early, but gosh, I'm tired." I said. Carter was already sleeping. I slept at his side. The next day began as the usual ones. I was fed breakfast. The only thing that wasn't normal about the days in my life is that Carter tried to steal my breakfast, so my owners had to guard it. I decided to keep a close eye on Carter just in case.

The day went pretty good. I napped on the couch for a few hours, stayed outside for two hours, and then, my aunt made an awesome American flag costume for me. I wore it and went back to the park. Carter was at the cottage. I was running around the park with an American flag suit on my body.

That night, Carter and I watched the sun depart the sky slowly. "It's so beautiful, isn't it Carter?" I asked to Carter. "Yes!" Answered Carter. "Isn't it so amazing that the sky turns all purple, yellow, red, and orange during the sunset and when the sun completely sets, it turns all dark and the moon comes up and once the moon goes away, a new day begins?" Asked Carter. "It sure is!" I said. "It sure is." "Lucy, time to get to the road and go back to our home!" said my mom. "I have to go now Carter." I said."I'll miss you, but I will see you again" I hugged Carter, hoping no other nearby dog would notice. "Good bye Carter." I said.

The van left the cottage and my family and I hit the road. On the way home, I poked my head out the window. The wind was blowing comfortably in my fur. Then I got tired and slept on my mom's lap. It was night.

It was a long vacation. But I like my normal life too. I love a good vacation every once and a while, but my normal life is just as important to me, as my chaotic one.