Happy Thanksgiving, one and all (humans and dogs)! We here in the Valley of the We-Do-Mean Sun hope you're not having to cope with inclement weather by way of getting your families together and your TG feast under way.

Today the high is supposed to be 80 degrees. We'll be feasting outside at the home of my son's friends, the parents of a fine pair of lively twins. Once a year, on Thanksgiving, they invite all their friends and relatives over, trotting out the old folks to parade…

Costco has new Dog Toys (wooHOOO!). Bought Cassie and Ruby a lifetime supply of three stuffed, dog-proof (har har!) "Dragons." Very cute, these objects.

As we scribble, the two Mistresses of the Universe are having it out over the Blue Dragon. They're profoundly engaged in a tug-o'-war. Ruby has one end of the B.D. and Cassie the other. Ruby drags toward the far end of the hall, going wrrrlla wrrll wrrlllll!  Cassie drags toward the end of the hall, going wrla…

Holeeeee Mackerel! I walked in the door from this morning's meeting to find a chewed-up lamp cord scattered all over the living-room floor! Mercifully, Ruby picked the lamp that's plugged into an outlet operated by a switch on the wall. That's all that saved her from being badly hurt or electrocuted.

She's been at large in the house since she learned to work the doggy door and so quit defiling the floors. She has never been a chewer, never been a digger, never been especially…

It's two steps forward and one step backward here of late. Ruby is making great progress toward becoming a grown-up corgi; Ruby and Cassie have become a mini-pack consisting of two fast friends allied in the single goal of bossing the human around; and Ruby has kindly racked up another $350 in vet bills.

1) Step forward

As reported the other day, Ruby finally figured out how to use the dog door and then became so enamored of it the trick was not to get her…

So tonight, it being 10 p.m. and after the mosquitoes' bed-time, we were a-hunting the little bugs on their favorite nest, the ceiling. We'd patrolled most of the rooms, Cassie barking every time the Human cocked the fly-swatter, so as to warn her little winged friends so they could escape. As an afterthought, we dodged into the former TV room, now rarely used since I replaced the television with Netflix.

This is the room where I used to hang out almost every evening, and…

Do your dogs seem to  be conspiring at building an international global alliance with the Tribe of Mosquitoes? What is it with dogs and open doors?

 Ruby Doo and Cassie the Corgi have decided that the kitchen door must remain open to the Wide World at all times. At this time of year, when the weather is spectacular and the air is clean, that rule would normally be OK. But this year we're having the most amazing plague of mosquitoes I've ever seen.

In the Golden…