A Dog's Life through Atticus's Eyes

Spring!!!!

2010-05-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

I smell it! I smell it! I can tell it's spring. My good sniffer tells me it's spring. Today I put my nose right into the middle of the flowers in Charlotte's garden. It made me sneeze, but I didn't care. It's spring! I buried some bones last fall, so now I can dig them up again. I don't chew on them; I just take them and hide them somewhere else. Sometimes I worry that Jamie or Charlotte will go out and dig them up. So far, so good. Pepper dug one up once, but he's my best friend, so I don't mind. I can share with him.
Happy spring everybody! Woof!
Your pal,
Atticus

Lost!

2010-03-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hey, it’s your favorite canine, Atticus.
Yesterday I was dozing in my basket when I heard a scrabbling noise at the window. I sat up with my ears pricked. Every muscle in my body was alert. Then,I leaped onto the couch. I am not normally allowed on the couch, but it is my task to protect my den from fierce outside creatures. The snow was falling onto a thick, white blanket across the grass.A squirrel was scuffling around in the snow under the window. It was up to me to save Charlotte from this fiend.
I dashed out the dog-door and stumbled into the snow. A small gasp escaped my muzzle and formed a cloud in front of me. The snow was two paw-lengths tall! When I reached the area under the window, the squirrel was gone. However, its tracks remained.
Ha!I thought. It can’t outsmart me! Pushing my nose to the cold precipitation (I learned that word when Jamie was doing homework) I followed the squirrel’s tracks. Bump, my snout brushed up against the scraggly bark of a massive tree. I almost continued when I realized that the tree did not bear my scent. I looked around in horror; this wasn’t my yard! I desperately tried to backtrack, but my scent and tracks had been masked by the whirling snow.
I whimpered and shivered.
Where was my den?
Then, I heard my name over the howling wind. Despite the cold, my ears shot up.
“Atticus!”
There it was again! Charlotte! I ran as fast as my golden legs could carry me in the ever-thickening snow. I saw a figure hunched over against the white background. I was almost home.
When I was warm and cozy in my woven basket, I could look back on my foolishness. But out in the snow, I was terrified out of my fur!
Thanks for reading!
Atticus

The Place Where I got Free Snacks {Though I don’t think I should have…}

2010-03-18T17:21:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! How you all doing? I hope well.
Anyway, I had the weirdest experience the other day. Jamie, Haley, and their mom took me to this huge place with a whole lot of big “T’s” everywhere. Maybe decorations. Well, when we got inside, this place was huge – and by huge, I mean real huge – with lots of windows and so many people. There were pictures on the windows {how funny is that?!} that seem to be about this guy in robes. Whatever. Anyway, people started singing, and Jamie used her “serious voice” to tell me to sit and be real quiet. Okay, I’ve gotten in trouble in the past, but this wasn’t too hard. I thought about a scrumptious treat I had last night – was that good. Chicken liver, beef… YUUUM!
Well, about ¾ the way through, the singing stopped and this guy held up a bowl and cup, and before I knew it, Jamie and everyone else were out of their seats. People were passing by like cars on a slow moving highway. I smelled something in a lady’s purse, but I knew better. So I started to pass the time by daydreaming again, when I realized – the humans were getting free snacks! The snacks looked like tan, round, crackers, with those “T’s” on them again. I thought this could be a school teaching the alphabet, but Jamie is in 8th grade - not a chance. But beside the fact, I was hungry. Maybe a few of those crackers couldn’t hurt, I told myself.
Well, maybe I was too hungry, because, before I knew it, I pounced on the guy with those crackers. They smelled so GOOD! I had to have one. No one would mind. Well, long story short, people were screaming and I was being dragged by Jamie out of there faster than a speeding bullet. I licked my chops just in time to savor those crackers when Jamie shouted “BAD DOG!” at me. Oh. I think I did something bad today. At least it wasn’t as disastrous as Christmas {that’s another story}.
Well, I can at least hope for a treat tonight, right?
Your pal,
Atticus

Oprah, here I come!

2010-03-18T17:16:00.001-07:00

Hey, it’s me Atty,

How are my readers doing?

So, today I went on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Oprah was the nicest person I have ever met and being on the show was the most fun I have had since that Christmas last year (oh what good times we have until you get in trouble). Oprah asked me tons of questions. Wow! maybe too many. Well I answered them though! One of the questions she asked me was:

What inspired you to write the book?

The thing that really inspired me the most was all my fans. They really keep track of every time I blog on my website and they bring my book across the world including lots of countries and more than half of the states in the U.S. They will follow me from the beginning to the end. Also, something else that inspired me was one day when I was walking in the park (actually my owner was walking me, she is so nice) I met this dog who told me about being locked up in a cabin, but not knowing why and then it struck me. Why don’t I write a book about a girl whose passion for her K9 friend is too strong to let go? What great ideas I get when I am going on a walk. It can almost make me famous!

What is the book about?

A quick preview of the book is when Jamie’s father passes away her life is turned upside down but when I come into her life she puts her father in the back of her mind. But when I have to get sold to Mike Williams Jamie does things she normally wouldn’t do and gets into a big mess. What will happen? Will I come back to Jamie? Will Jamie ever get over, or not be so depressed all the time, over her father's death? You will have to read the book to find out!

Well I am so proud of myself for going up on TV and not being scared! Yippee, well talk to you soon have fun living your human lives!

Your Pal,

Atticus

Catching Leprechauns...well, kind of...

2010-03-18T17:03:00.001-07:00

Hi friends,
Atticus here. Haley is really mad at me. Here’s what happened. Well Saint Patrick’s Day was coming up, so that means that leprechauns are coming to JAMIE’S house! I saw Haley today making something like a trap. I was going over to see what she was doing but she said, “Not now, Atticus, I’m busy.” So I left her alone and came back later. After supper I go into Haley’s room to see what she was doing in there. I see something I can’t explain. There was a box with green paper all over it. There was a tag on it and it said WELCOME. On the front it said HAVE FUN and it had things hanging all over it. I used my nose to lift up the box. It was so paw-some inside. There were streamers hanging everywhere. Also little stamps and stickers were on the sides and the ceiling. Then, in the back was something so amazing. It was gold! I never knew Haley’s family had gold.
Since I didn’t want them to lose it I stuck my big nose in and tried to get it out.
I pulled down all the streamers and ripped down the sides, apparently not knowing what I was doing. Finally I get to the back of the box and a get the gold and then I found that there was a string attached to the gold coin. So I pulled really hard and tugged really hard. Then I finally got the coin and I was so happy for myself. But then I heard a sound. It sounded like something was falling from the table. I looked under the table and I saw a rock falling from the table and every side that was open, closed. I was nervous that I did something wrong but it looked like everything was okay, until Haley came up. She was so mad. I was sent to Jamie’s room for the rest of the night.
Keep it real,
Atticus

Olympians! They Love Me!

2010-03-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Hello my tall friends! Jamie took me to this crazy place. She said it was called the Olympics in Vancouver. There are millions of other friends here but none of them have fur. Jamie said that after these Olympics there would be other Olympics with more dogs like me! Sadly, Jamie said we were going to leave before they ever start.

Today we are going to see this sport called hockey. They have these little black things that they whack with sticks. Once one went into the stands and I went to go catch it but instead someone reached out in front of me and caught it before I could. I wasn’t very happy about that. When I trotted back to Jamie she seemed mad at me because I went to catch it. I was confused because I thought she should be mad at the other person for not letting me catch the black thing. Then I got mad because she put my leash on me.

We went to figure skating and speed skating today also. At figure skating there were these men dressed in funny outfits doing twirls in the air. I didn’t really care for it too much. The other event, speed skating, was really cool. The people went really fast in these cool skates. Also, whenever a person in orange was ready to skate all of these other people in orange would stand up and cheer. There were some other people too but most people were in orange. I had so much fun at speed skating.

The next events we went to were snowboarding and skiing. At snowboarding there were women on snow that was packed into the shape of half of a pipe. Jamie called it a half pipe. They would do tricks when they were in the air. That was really cool. The other event, skiing, was cool too. It was also women but this time they were on long skinny pieces of wood. They raced down the mountain and were faster than the speed skaters! I loved watching them, especially since we won the Gold and Silver Medals in that event.

The last two events we saw were curling and luge. The luge was my favorite. It was two people on top of this sled and they went flying down a track made of ice. The timer would record their time and then other people would go. Who ever had the fastest time won! The other event was curling. I thought it was the most boring thing. I do not want to go back there again.

My experience at the Olympics was cool. All of the medals that I saw won by the USA was awesome. I would love to go back to the Olympics (but see the one with the dogs).

Love,

Atticus

P.S. At the airport we ran into an Olympic hockey player. He loved petting me! He even took a picture with me.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2010-03-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

I’m Two Years Old! (But I Got In Trouble) 

4:15 p.m.

Guess what today is? IT… IS… MY BIRTHDAY! My party is at the kennel. Do you want to come? Well, I want you to, so come on in! Brandy, Trixie, Princess, Pepper, Jamie, Haley, and Charlotte are coming. I bet you will have a fun time if you can join us. The party starts at exactly 4:18. That's the time I was born. Yippee! Woof!

4:18 p.m.

“Ding dong!” Someone’s here. I was dancing around, and opened the door with my paws. Guess who’s here? … It’s Jamie and Haley. Jamie and Haley yelled “Happy Birthday” to me and you all know that I’m excited! I sniffed the gift in Haley’s hands, and grabbed it. I ended up ripping it open. Guess what it was? … It’s a dog bone with my name “Atty” engraved in it. Before I knew it, I was chewing on it.

4:25 p.m.- 7 minutes later

“Ding dong” It is the rest of the crew. Trixie, Brandy, Princess, Pepper and Charlotte came with a large gift that looked like a box. I barked at them as if I was a parrot singing songs, ready to grab the gift. Charlotte carefully opened the large box for me. It was a statue of me wearing a ribbon that I won at the show! “Bark, Bark!”

4:27 p.m. – 2 minutes later.

Now it’s cake time! I have 2 cakes for my party. One was made out of my favorite dog food, “Dog Chum” with a bone on top, and another one made with sherbet. Yum…I jumped to the table, and the dogs were barking me “Happy Birthday.” I thought the person having the party was supposed to eat the whole cake, so I dived in head first to eat it. Brandy, Trixie, Princess and Pepper were barking angrily like a bulldog because they wanted some too. Jamie shouted “Bad Dog” at me. I hid under my bed until the party was over.

:( Bad Me!!

-Atty

2010-03-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

Hey, it’s me, Atticus!

I bet you missed me! Yesterday I was thinking about Thanksgiving Day. I won't forget that I was just laying by the door and something caught my eye - the most delicious, juicy turkey surrounded by steaming hot gravy and soft, velvety peas. I was sucked into dog heaven. I scrambled onto the table, my mouth watering like crazy. Suddenly, I kicked a plate of treacle tarts (yeah, Jamie read Harry Potter to me, so I know what treacle tarts are) and all the plates filled with food landed right on the maroon carpet. I realized right away that was a terribly wrong move. I put my paws on the floor again, ashamed at my greed. It was even worse when I saw Jamie’s face. It was frightening enough to give me nightmares! She sent me to the damp, musky basement with only a cold slice of basted turkey in my mouth.

A few minutes later, mouthwatering smells wafted through the locked door. I scratched, whimpered and even barged right at the door! All I got was a huge lump on my head. Oh, Atty, what did you do? Well, I learned a valuable lesson. It’s not all bad. At least I have the turkey!

Your naughty friend,

Atticus

Christmas! (And the trouble I got in...)

2010-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hello all of my two legged friends. I bet you wonder why I haven't written anything on here. Well, I was busy getting ready for Christmas. This year I got to spend Christmas with Jamie and Haley because Charlotte went away. Can you believe Jamie had a real tree right in the house? I was careful to not use that tree the way I use trees out in the woods.

There were presents for ME - yes ME - under the tree. I found them on Christmas Eve when everyone was eating a roast beef dinner that smelled SOOOOOO good. (Grandpa Reston snuck me a couple of pieces of roast beef when no one else was looking. MMmmmmm Good!) Anyway, I went to sleep near the tree because I really liked the pretty twinkling lights. Well, I had just stretched out when all of a sudden I smelled something under the tree.

I got up and started digging through all the papers that were all over things. What a mess! Someone had put paper on books and games and clothes. They even hid them in boxes. I chewed those boxes right apart because they were in the way of me finding whatever that marvelous smell was. I figured I was helping the family out, too, because how would they know all these great things were hidden in these boxes if it weren't for me? I had almost everything so I could see it when I finally found what I was looking for. It was a HUGE, and I mean HUGE, rawhide bone with beef broth on it! I was in heaven, I tell you.

I ripped all of the silly plastic off the bone and went to work. I guess must be I sounded like I was enjoying it too much, because all of a sudden Jamie's mom came in and found me. Wow! What a noise SHE can make! I think there are probably still claw marks in the ceiling from me jumping so high because she scared me so much. (What was she thinking scaring me like that?) I ran and hid by the side of the couch and peeked out to see if it was safe.

Everyone else came running in. I wasn't sure if the gasps were because they were so happy I'd found the things in those boxes for them or not. Jamie came over to me and I could tell by her voice that she wasn't very happy.

She took that wonderful, fabulous bone away and made me go to her room. I cried when she closed the door because I wanted to be where everyone else was. I had to stay in there all night, except when Jamie took me outside for .... well. you know what!

I couldn't believe it the next day when we came down stairs. All of my good work was undone. Everything was hidden in boxes and papers again! Jamie gave me a big piece of paper wrapped around something. At soon as she got near me I knew what it was. I scratched at the paper with my paw, but that didn't work, so I had to use my teeth. Underneath I found my beautiful, partly chewed bone again! It turned out to be the best Christmas ever, but I'm not sure I'll ever be invited back again. :>(

I hope you had a good holiday.
From your pal,
Atticus

Here Comes the Snow!

2009-11-15T20:57:00.000-08:00

Hi friends and pals!
Since I last wrote, I've traveled to lots of places, but I still love it back here at home with Jamie. We already had snow here. I jumped around and chased the snowflakes, but there weren't any snowballs yet. I keep waiting.
Remember that woodchuck I told you about? Well, I think he may have moved out. I can't smell him anywhere anymore. Now I'm on to my next adventure and trying to find something else to chase. I hear rabbits are fun. I don't want to hurt them; I just want to play with them.
I'm off to find a fluffy tail!
Atticus

Thanks to the Woodchuck Under the Shed

2009-10-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! I know it's been a long time since I've written, but I've been busy traveling. I went to Costa Rica and Arizona since I last wrote! But, since I returned home, life is back to normal. I had a big surprise when I got back home. I was out in the back yard when all of a sudden I caught a whiff of something. (No, it wasn't a skunk!) I put my nose in the air and followed the smell. It led me right to the big gray shed where Charlotte keeps the lawn mower.

I noticed a hole in the ground in the side. Well, I stuck my nose right down in that hole, and I couldn't believe what I smelled. A woodchuck! (Some people call them groundhogs, but here in New York we call them woodchucks.) Well, I decided I wanted to see what his hang out was like, so I started digging and digging to make that hole big enough so I could get under the shed. What I didn't notice was that as I was making the hole bigger, some of Charlotte's favorite plants were flying behind me. I had my head buried under the shed so I didn't notice I was digging up everything along the side. She came out of the kennel and saw what I was doing and had a fit! All she had to do was yell my name in that loud "I mean business" voice, and I knew I was out of luck for an extra treat tonight. I was so far in the hole that when I went to pull myself back I bumped the top of my head on the bottom of the shed. Wow, did that hurt! I turned around in time to see Charlotte picking up big plots of dirt with grass and flowers sticking out of them.
"Uh-oh," I said to myself, "this can not end happily."
Sure enough, Charlotte came and grabbed me by the collar and marched me to the kennel. Usually she doesn't lock me in, but this time.... well, let me just say, thanks to the woodchuck under the shed, there's no more play time for me today AND no special treat after dinner. Darn woodchuck! Wait until I get my paws on him...
Your friend,
Atticus

Dock Dogs! I want to be one!

2009-09-13T16:14:00.001-07:00

Hi everybody!
I want to be a "Dock Dog"! I want to try this new sport. You probably wonder what I'm talking about.
Today I saw a competition with "Dock Dogs". These dogs run down a long runway then leap into a pool of water. The goal is to see who leaps the farthest. One dog jumped 24 feet! All the kids standing on the side got splashed. They're so lucky! I bet I can jump even farther than 24 feet.
Here's how it works. Their humans threw things in the water for them to chase. One guy had a frisbee, someone else had a stuffed goose and others had these big colorful things that the talking annoucer guy called octopuses. Then, the dogs (like me) would run as fast as they could down this 40 foot runway and LEAP into the air like they were flying. If I entered this competition, I bet Jamie would throw a tennis ball for me.
I'm going to start practicing now in case I can get into a competition some day.
Rrrrruffff!
Atticus

I'm in Penn Yan, New York!

2009-08-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hey, I have a joke for you. What does a builder put on top of a house?
Do you give up?
A "woof"!

I guess my jokes aren't very good, but I'm so excited! I met my friends Benny and Megan today in Penn Yan, New York. We had our pictures taken in front of this big black thing with lots of words on it. I don't know what it says, but I think it might be a pan to make big dog treats! My favorite flavor is bacon and cheese. YUMMMMY! I'll do almost anything for a treat. Today, I sat for three whole minutes without moving because I was told to "stay". I gobbled that treat up fast when I was done. I didn't want my friend Pepper to come and eat it!

Can't wait to see where I show up next.
Your pal~
Atticus

Summer Fun!

2009-08-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

I had the BEST day today! I went to the pond to go swimming and got a wonderful surprise! There were these things floating on the water. They had feathers and funny-looking feet that paddled them fast through the water. On the front of their faces they had this tannish-orange thing that stuck out. I think it was their mouth because when I charged in the water to find out what they were, this loud kind of honking sound came out of the tannish-orange place. They had wings that they flapped around. I know they were having the best time, too! I'd try to catch them and they'd dart just out of my reach. I couldn't swim as fast as them, but we did lots of circles until finally they ducked off toward the shore. Wait! DUCK! I think they were DUCKS! I bet they can't wait until I come back to play with them.

I'm On My Way!

2009-08-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

Rrrrruuffffff! I am soooo excited! I just heard that one of my first travel stops is to Rochester, New York. That's very near where I live with Charlotte (near Keuka Lake), but it's a good start. I was told this would help me get my feet wet, but then I heard it doesn't really mean I'll be near water. It just means I'm starting out close to home and then heading farther on my travels. (That's okay, but I really, really like getting my feet - and the rest of me - wet in ponds, puddles, the lake, pools, rain - the BATHTUB.) I DON'T like thunderstorms! (That's another blog!)

SQUIRREL! Gotta run! (I should be in a movie!)

Until next time - a-woooof!

Atticus

VACATION!

2009-07-29T18:54:00.001-07:00

This week I've been busy trying to pack for my adventures around the country. I have lots of friends who have promised to be my "travel agents". Thanks Christopher, Carley, Haley and Pam for getting me started on my travels. I can't wait to see our beautiful country.

Here is my packing list:
Milkbone dog biscuits (small size because then I can have more!)
one Frisbee (in case I go swimming)
two green tennis balls (because I can only fit two in my mouth)
my special brush (to keep my fur soft and ready for shows)
my squeaky fox (special toy I've had since I was a pup)

I can't wait to tell you where I've been, so hopefully my travel agents will check in soon on the website. www.lauriegiffordadams.com

Woof! Arf!
Atticus

2009-07-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Map taken from http://www.worldproutassembly.org/

Here it is! Look at all the places the book about me has gone!
I'm hoping to end up in all states and even in other countries.

Getting ready to travel

2009-07-22T06:13:00.001-07:00

I can't wait! I'm getting ready to head out to lots of different places to see the world. Have you ever heard of Flat Stanley? Well, I'm going to travel just like him. I can't go all over the place, but my picture can! I'm hoping lots of people will take a picture of me in different places, send a picture to my webmistress at laurie@lauriegiffordadams.com so she can show everyone where I've been and then send my picture along to another person somewhere else. She said she's going to put a map up, too, so we know where I've been, but I haven't seen that yet.

What gets me most excited is knowing that if lots of people send this around then all the dogs around the country (or maybe even the world!) can bark at the mailmen and women. That's great fun!

Do you know anyone to whom we should send this to get it started? Let us know. You can e-mail us at laurie@lauriegiffordadams.com

SQUIRREL!!
Have to run! Arrfff!
Atticus

Where I've Been and Where I'm Going!

2009-07-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Woof woof ruff grrr woof

Oh, sorry. I was thinking I was blogging for my fellow four paws. I guess I better not write in caninish. (That's a canine language. Most humans think they can understand it, but you know what, they really don't!)

I'm Atticus, the Golden Retriever from the book Finding Atticus by Laurie Gifford Adams. I'm excited to find out that I can keep you up-to-date about where I've been, what I'm doing and all that fun stuff. I'm just learning how to use this blog stuff, so keep checking to see if there's anything new.

I hope you'll check back often. (Sometimes it's hard for me to get the author to type for me. I'm sure you can imagine how much trouble I have typing on a keyboard! I'm trying to get me the voice to text software, but I'm not sure if there's a good translator on it. Maybe soon. Until then, I have to rely on Laurie.)

In my next post, I'll let you know what Jamie and I have been up to in more detail. We've been practicing for shows and eating treats and taking walks and eating treats and playing with the t-ball (tennis ball) and eating treats and swimming in the pond and eating treats. As you can see, I have so much going on.

Talk to you again soon.
Woof!
Atticus