And I can't wait to meet the legendary Wyatt Ray Dawg and pawrents.

cemil said:

So, is Bernie calming down any?  You haven't posted any pictures lately.

     True, I've been slacking off a bit in the photo department.  As for whether Bernie bin Laden has calmed down, read this story and decide for yourself.

     The dogs were restless and bored at home last Saturday, so Diane decided to bring them to my station in Newport Harbor for a visit at work (which is always allowed, since I'm the sergeant in charge on weekends).  Bernie and Linda have visited many times before, so the station staff was looking forward to seeing them.  Di arrived sooner than I thought, and I was in the back of the station in our galley.  I was eating lunch with Jim (one of my deputies) when I heard panting, gasping, and the rattle of tags, then Bernie and Linda burst into the room dragging my wife helplessly behind them.  After assaulting me and trying to help himself to our lunches, Bernie started chasing Jim up and down the station hallway (although Bernie turned into a total chicken when Jim started hiding in doorways and pouncing on him when he didn't expect it).  

     We then went to the front of the station, where Bernie squealed and squirmed all over our dispatcher (who fortunately likes him, although she was shocked at how much he's grown since she last saw him a couple of months ago), then he ran into the front office to see Sally, the lady who works at the front counter.  The dogs love Sally, who has her own dog and always has some sort of treats in her purse.  Bernie showed his love for Sally by promptly jamming his nose into a spot that usually involves buying a lady dinner first.  Fortunately dogs can't get sued for sexual harassment.  Sally had some egg bread that day, which the dogs inhaled and begged for more.  Once treats were over, Bernie took a flying leap onto the sergeant's desk in dispatch so he could glare out the window and growl at random boats passing by (it offends him when they do that).  Linda fished around dispatch for trash pizza.  She found some pizza crusts in a dispatch trash can last Christmas when I took the dogs to watch the boat parade, and ever since then she's convinced she'll find it there every time.  

     We went out to the construction zone next to the station, where our seawall is being rebuilt.  It's mostly finished, but there's a big dirt patch where the paved maintenance yard and Coast Guard station will eventually be.  Bernie went crazy, tearing around the lot, running up and down a dirt pile and digging holes in it, then peeing on a bulldozer.  He then pounced on and murdered a burlap sack someone had left there, and pranced around shaking it and showing it off to Diane and Linda and I.  After another round of glaring at passing boats, he got a long drink out of a hose and went down to the docks with us so he could jump on and off the fireboats.  

     There's a launch ramp with metal tracks next to the station that our maintenance shop uses to pull boats out of the water for repairs.  Our dogs use the ramp for easy access to the water, especially when we're trying to keep them dry.  Not that day.  Bernie went about knee deep, then slipped in the algae that grows on the ramp, which put him chest deep.  He immediately tried to save face by jumping on Linda and biting her neck, which soaked her thoroughly.  We finally coaxed them out, and Bernie jumped up on me to make sure my uniform pants got good and wet and covered with mystery muck from the harbor.  We got them to run up and down the seawall in front of the station, which didn't do much to dry them off.  This became obvious once we went inside and Bernie jumped up on the desk in the watch commander's office, which has a glass top.  It soon had a hefty dose of wet paw prints as well.  

     After going back to the front office for more snacks from Sally and a quick round of chasing Jim around the desk, it was about time to go.  Then a family walked in to rent a mooring, and Sally went over to the counter window to help them.  Bernie joined her, standing up on his hind legs with his front paws on the counter so he could peek over it and inspect the family.  They had a couple of little kids, so Bernie ran out the door into the lobby to meet them.  Fortunately, the parents didn't seem to mind their kids being greeted by a wet dog.  We leashed him up and wrangled him and Linda out of the lobby and into the parking lot, and back into Di's car.

     After all that, Bernie went home and took a nap.  Diane did too.

Cherry said:

At the moment, the prediction for Livermore, CA, Sunday November 28, 2010, is Sunny with a low of 43° F, a high of 63° F, and a 0% chance of rain. Considering just how great our weather forcasters are - that translates into a flood or blizzard.

falling on the ground laughing!!!!  Someone said it is the only job you get paid for when you are wrong so much of the time....how can it be that things are not more accurate with the satellites and technology .... seems like it is pretty much the same as it was years and years ago....

Hoping to see Wyatt Ray and his people within the next day or so....SR is now dry but boy is it threatening...Whiskey took me for a walk earlier, and I wish now I had chanced the dog park...it wears him out sooooooooo good (did I REALLY mean to get a puppy and a kitten who thinks he is a puppy before WINTER?????????) sigh.  (chanting to myself: exercise, discipline, affection) 

Thanks to Magic, for whom I bought a zillion non slip throw rugs, I now won't slip on sheets on the floor during the rain....I am going to track how deep the water gets in the kitchen since it certainly doesn't stay on Whiskey's  body......