12/28/2007

MY BOY!

Wooos & A-roos everyone!

Oh yes, it's good to be home! My boy was there when we arrived, we were very happy to see each other. I wooo'd & talked to him & did little zoomies!
Jack made himself right at home...

Jack was happy cause my boy knows how to play with huskies. Wrestling, chasing, faking, and learning new tricks, Jack got to do it all with my boy. I got a bit jealous and gave my boy the cold nose treatment till he relented & paid attention to ME, like he SHOULD! He let me sleep in his room to try & make up for this lack of attention. It worked, I can't stay mad at him...he's so cute (for a human puppy).


We all went to the beach on Christmas morning- what a treat!

Jack & my boy...

Me & my boy running on the beach!


...and we got to "meet" a new puppy "cousin", Beau...isn't he adorable? We didn't actually meet him, but we got good sniffs from everyone's clothes.


Overall, a pretty good homecoming! We got to spend a whole week with my boy, I'm kind of sad now that my boy had to leave. But he'll be back when he can, I know he misses me!
Hope you all had a howling good Christmas, too!

Wooos & a-roos,
Star & Jack-a-roo

12/24/2007

NPA - Ch.10: HOME!

Home Sweet Home!
Our North Pole Adventure comes to a close as we set paw back on familiar ground. It is good to be home! It is good to see our bipeds, including my boy, who traveled a long way to spend Christmas with his favorite huskies! It is good to snuggle into my very own bed again, and I think visions of sugar plums will dance in my head tonight.....right before a visit from our new friend, Santa Paws! Our trip was wonderful, and we waved to our Ohio buddies as we traveled home (we miss all of you!) We have so much to be grateful for, including many friends around the world... Santa Paws will be coming to see you, too. We'll leave you with this special post card from the North Pole!
Best woooos,
Jack, A. Penguin, & I wish you & yours a very Merry Christmas!

12/23/2007

NPA - #9 Visiting Steve & Kat

After leaving our Wandering Spirits friends, we stopped by to see Steve & Kat in their new home. It was lots of fun playing together! Steve & Kat were excellent hosts, but we're getting anxious now to be home. We'll use a few of Santa's shortcuts, and we should be back home by Christmas Eve! Good thing, too, cause my boy is there waiting for me now!!!
Be sure to put out some treats for Santa's sled team as well as his reindeer!
Wooos to you from the home front soon!
Star, Jack a-roo, and A. Penguin too!

12/20/2007

NPA: Ch. 8- visiting the Yukon Pack

Wooos everyone!
We had such a great visit with Santa! He's looking forward to bringing us all treats for being such good dogs this year, so be good & don't blow it now.... it's only a matter of days!

Jack is happy - and he has a very special picture of himself he wants to save & put on our blog on Christmas Day, kind of a "North Pole Postcard" for everyone. Penguin is happy cause he's just happy to know he's a perfect penguin in spite of appearances. We told him that, but I guess he needed to hear it from Santa to believe it!
And I'm happy about everything. I got to spend one more night wooing to Sherman , and asked him to say hello from several of you humans to your pups at the Rainbow Bridge. He promises that each husky there hears every sweet word whispered to them by their people. He says they all come visit us often, and when you think of them, they really are nearby. I find that very comforting.


We're taking the long route home, because we have some special friends over in the Yukon at Wandering Spirits Kennel. We know Glacier's pack from another forum, and our trip north wouldn't be complete without stopping by to see them! Now there's 23 huskies there, so we couldn't get pictures with all of them, but we're posting a few of them.
Here I am with Chase, he's very happy to have visitors!


This is Anvik with Tehya, and Jack. Tehya is adorable - and really bossy with the boys! I think it playing with Tehya reminded Jack of his sisters Diva & GiGi back in Ohio - they loved to chew on him, too!


And here I am enjoying some one on one time with Muskwa. We've been woo'ing to each other for several years on Pettalk, so it's a real pleasure to finally snuggle up to this handsome boy!
Tomorrow we'll put our noses in the air and our tails to the wind and head south. Santa gave us a map of secret shortcuts, so we should be home on Aquidneck Island in just a couple days. It's a good thing, too, cause my boy is coming to visit me. See you in a couple days!

12/17/2007

NPA Ch. 7: SANTA!

WOOOS & A-ROOOS EVERYONE!!!
We made it! We made it to the North Pole!
We arrived late yesterday, thanks to Santa's back-up team of huskies. Santa's North Pole home is wonderful! Everything everydog could want is here - bones, toys, sleepy beds, treats, and the best food! We ate, we played, we napped. And... we met Santa! He was very busy, going over his list of good dogs, because it's almost time for his big run. You'll all be very happy to know that EVERY one of you was on the list - all our blogging dog buddies, and all of our Petalk pals, too. (Even demon-puppy Juneau, in spite of those little sock & blankie incidents. Santa said he makes allowences for huskies who act like huskies...whew!) So be watching for the goodies to arrive!



Friends, I know this post is going to be really long, but our meeting with Santa was so awesome, I had to put it to rhyme last night. This post ends after our meeting, but we will be posting a couple parting shots tomorrow, before we start the trip back home. Stay tuned!
******************************
OUR MEETING WITH SANTA
By Star

Dear Santa,

We’ve brought our Penguin friend to you, over ice & snow,
we’re hoping you have time for us, because we want to know
if you can make him whole again, replace the chewed off parts.
it really means a lot to us, he’s special to our hearts.

Then Santa sat beside us, took our Penguin in his hand,
He raised his eyes towards heaven, looking far above the land.
The sky was full of dancing lights, whose magic filled our eye,
and I thought of my dear Sherman, and I began to cry.

Santa quickly reached to pet me, “Don’t you fret, my pretty Star,
Sherman’s dancing in those lights above, he’s never very far.
And Penguin… as for Penguin, I shall tell you what I know:
“Whole” doesn't mean a body.... it means “a well-loved soul”.

“Now Penguin, from what I can see, you’re loved beyond repair,
Your ‘perfect’ to these Huskies and they both must truly care,
to make a long hard journey to where Santa’s workshop lay,
to ask if I could patch you up, extend your life a day.

But you’re not in need of fixing, you are fine the way you are,
So there’ll be no new limbs for you, just a change of heart.
From now on, you’ll see beauty in the way you have become,
by tenderly de-stuffing you, they’ve given you their love.”

The lights above us danced again, and we will never forget
what Santa said next to us all, he said “Have no regrets,
for in the dancing Northern lights, the souls of huskies play.
Star and Jack, now be assured, you’ll join your friend one day.

“The Huskies there are not alone, each one may bring a toy,
a special gift that they have loved, because it brought them joy.
These toys, made whole by Husky love, will never break again,
but squeaked and tugged and Husky-loved, will take their place as friend.

Then Santa stood and turned to go, he gave our Penguin back,
Penguin looked a little brighter now, his eyes beamed shiny-black.
We looked at him through Husky eyes, and saw him smile wide,
He seems content and whole and loved, quite happy by our side.

The Northern lights danced once again, and I saw Sherman there,
and we could see some toys, but Sherman’s wasn’t anywhere.
“I left the thing that brought me joy, to bring the same to you,”
he woo’d to me, “Keep Penguin safe, because I loved him too.”

No one can give a better gift than something that they've loved,
so Penguin stayed behind with us, while Sherman went above.
One day we’ll all play once again, in dancing lights, with joy-
three Huskie souls, and the friend we loved; the soul of Penguin toy.

~Merry Christmas!
Loving woos and a-rooos,

Star, Sherman,
Jack-a-roo, and A. Penguin too!

12/14/2007

NPA Ch. 6: LOST!!!

Well, one thing we've realized is that the North Pole is much further away than we thought! (but we're not exactly sure how far away at this point, Mr. Phred) The arctic is very beautiful, and we've met many interesting friends along the way. Take yesterday, for instance. We were traversing crevasses & glaciers - very tricky business cause it's really easy to slip. We kept our claws dug in as much as we could. At one point we had to jump to another glacier top, and we made it, but dear little Penguin did not! I thought had him firmly in my teeth, but somehow, he slipped away mid-jump. We stood looking down at the water (which is VERY cold), and watched him slowly sink beneath the surface (toy penguins don't swim near as well as real ones). We were about to give up, cause neither of us wanted to dive in after him, when WHAM! This big sleek black shape skyrocketed out of the water, with Penguin balanced on the tip of it's muzzle! It looked like one of those Shamu things I see on the SeaWorld ads on TV. It flipped Penguin high in the air, and Jack jumped high, stretched out, & caught Penguin mid-flip! Jack is very very good at catching things that are tossed to him, it's one of his talents.

The Shamu guy crashed back into the ocean, then it was gone. We howled with delight! We had A. Penguin back!

About mid-day, a big snowstorm hit. I guess it's what they call a white-out, cause we couldn't see anything. We walked as long as we could, looking for shelter. It felt like we walked for hours, then finally we curled up into little balls and just let the snow bury us.

It sure felt good to get in a good nap! But when we woke up, we looked around and had no idea where we were! We sniffed left, we sniffed right.... we walked in circles.....but nothing smelled like the right direction. We walked around a bit, then finally admitted it, we were lost. We'd lost our trail in the snowstorm.

When you don't know where you're going, sometimes it's best to stop going nowhere. We sat down to think. We thought for a long time. We finally started howling and wooing, maybe somewhere out there, someone would hear us & find us. We did that till we were exhausted, then laid down again.

Then the most amazing thing happened! A spot on the snow began to glow brighter, and brighter, and brighter! I squinted, then sniffed the air and caught a familiar smell --- it was Sherman!!!! We huskies know that sometimes we're allowed to appear on this side of the Rainbow Bridge for a brief visit. Sherman heard us wooing and came to our rescue!

He woo'd back to us not to worry, we were doing fine, and it's not much farther to the North Pole. He said a whole team of huskies who were headed for the North Pole were right over the next ridge! He showed us which way to go. He told us he would be watching over us the whole way there & home again. Then he woo'd it was him for him to go. I woo'd my saddest woo when he faded from our sight and smell. I felt like I just lost him again, and I miss him so. Jack was very sweet, and gave me a few minutes to gather myself up. Then he picked up Penguin & nudged me. "Better get moving, Santa's waiting!" Sure enough, over the hill, we met up with a pack heading North.

"We're Santa's back-up for ground travel" they told us. "You two look tired, hop on the sled, and we'll be there in no time! Woooo-wooos!"
It won't be long now............

Wooos,
Star & Jack a-roo, Arctic Explorers

12/12/2007

NPA: Ch. 5: Penguins & Polar Bears

Woos everyone! We were traveling along at a pretty good clip for most of the day. we stopped for a snack at the BIGGEST pile of bones you ever saw!!! Come on, what husky could resist whale bones!

When we finished, we looked around....uh-oh...Penguin is MISSING!!! We searched all around. We sniffed the air and caught Penguin's scent- we started that direction & noticed a set of very small footprints leading around a big mound of snow. We slipped quietly over the top & saw this-
...
...
...
...

What a cutie pie! And what a problem - now what we are going to do? We woo'd and woo'd at the little guy, trying to distract him so we could rescue Penguin. Nothing worked. He made a lot of noise for such a little guy! and when mama came back, mama wasn't happy either! She ran over to him, and then towards us and we began to wonder if this was the end of our adventure!
BUT.....


She dropped Penguin right at our paws and said "That cub of mine just doesn't get that not everything is HIS. I hope he hasn't hurt your Penguin! Now apologise, Little Bear" and the cub said "Sorry".
Jack was too stunned to say anything, but I thanked her for being so gracious, and told her I would ask Santa to bring her cub a penguin toy of his own (although I think his mama would like to have the real thing!)

Jack curled up with Penguin for the night, and wooo'd him a lullaby.

And for the first time, we saw the Aurora Borealis dance in the sky above.
(Happy Birthday, Sherman)

Wooos,
Star

12/10/2007

NPA Ch. 4-Beyond Baffin Bay!

Woos and a-rooos! She did it! Hu-mom got the slideshow we sent her posted! Yeah, Hu-mom!


..............................................................................................
Yes, it's beautiful here, snowy, cold - perfect husky weather!
But I'm very sad today, because today marks 5 months since my Sherman left for the Rainbow Bridge. I miss how we used to play in the snow together....



They say we huskies go north beyond the Rainbow Bridge & become part of the Aurora Borealis. I hope to see that while we're here. I hope to see my Sherman dancing in the lights. Today's post is dedicated to his memory, with all my love.
Star

Woos & a-roos, hope you are all enjoying our cyber-adventure! I found out a little something about Santa... he doesn't use reindeer up here, oh no. This is how he gets around:

A-rooos,
Jack the Arctic Explorer!

12/09/2007

North Pole Adventure #4


Due to technical difficulties, our next post isn't here yet.... Mom's trying to figure out how to post a little slide show...soon as she figures it out, we'll be back on our adventure....
in the meanwhile, "woos & a-rooos to your from Star & Jack"

12/07/2007

NPA #3: Greetings from Halifax!

We're having a howling good time here in Halifax - these humans are NUTZ about huskies!!! Everywhere we go, we see caps, jackets, & scarves, buses & billboards with pictures of us huskies on them! Banners and signs say "Go Huskies!" and "Good Luck, Huskies!" We love this town! I thought at first that HULA had finally succeeded in taking over, but we didn't see any HULA operatives around. I guess these bipeds just have the common sense to appreciate the finer qualities of our noble breed. Very refreshing!


Jack & I met a beluga whale we were out on the ocean. He told us all about his adventures swimming in the arctic waters, and gave us pointers, like "avoid the white bears". "Don't trust anything with tusks." How can we not trust him, with a face like this?

Jack's got quite a face right now too. He followed his nose right into a mud puddle! Ha-roo-roo-roo! "Got Puppyhead?"

OK, ok, it's just mud. Gotta go - don't want to miss the next boat out of here. On to Baffin Bay!

Wooos and a-roooos,
Star and "MudPuppy-head" Jack
(sending special ha-roos to Mikki - how do you feel about mud? ~ your Jack-o- hearts)

12/06/2007

North Pole Adventure #2

Wooos and a-rooos! Star reporting...
To research our trip to the North Pole, we spent a couple days in Maine at Bowdoin Uiversity - does that ring a bell, anyhusky? A-woos, of course it does! That's where the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum is! They have tons of stuff about Peary's trips to the North Pole. Hu-mom remembered it from her visit there in 2000, and I remembered it from her stories.

I copied the maps of Peary's journey, and researched through pedigrees of some of his huskies. We'll track down their descendants, in hopes they can help us on our trip to the NP.

I could have stayed in that place for a week! So much to see - all very interesting. Dog sledges and tools and stuffed critters, photos & smelly stuff of all kinds. Maybe you'd like to spend some time there yourselves - http://www.bowdoin.edu/arctic-museum/index.shtml

Here's a few "postcards" from the Peary collection:




this last photo is of Kashe-a-how, MacMillan's favorite dog. He brought him back to Provincetown where Kashe-a-how ran around the sand dunes & played in the Atlantic ocean...just like us!
After having a few red-dogs in the local park (a Maine delicacy), we headed North again, and got into Halifax a few hours ago. It's time to rest up, then begin plans to continue North to Baffin Bay!



Wooos and a-roos!
Star & Jack a-roo
(and Penguin, too)

12/02/2007

Our North Pole Adventure: Ch. 1

AHOY, ALL YE HUSKAROOS, TIS I, BLACK JACK O HEARTS, HERE TO SPIN YE A YARN ABOUT OUR ADVENTURE! T'WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT IN DECEMBER, WHE---

*Ahem* Star here, just ignore Jack, he's such a puppyhead. We're here to invite you along on our cyber-adventure to the North Pole! Yup, we're traveling to the North Pole! Remember the story about poor little A. Penguin? Well, we're going to try to get him back to Santa's elve's workshop at the North Pole for some long-overdue repairs. It may be a long and dangerous trip, but we're hearty brave Siberians in it for the long haul. We expect there to be a lot of fun times as well, so if you're up for it too, stay tuned!

We're leaving from our home on the Atlantic coast. We sat on the rocks by the shore to make a plan. Jack was peering north intently, trying to see how far it is to the North Pole. I consulted my google map and quickly concluded we weren't going to get there soon without some major help. I spotted a cruise ship in the harbor and figured if we stowed away on it, we'd be North in no time!

Even though I hate water that isn't frozen, we dog-paddled out to the ship, and let's just say that we're on our way now.... all tucked into a nice hiding spot. We'll send a "postcard" from our next port...

Wooos & a-rooos,
Star, Jack a-Roo & A. Penguin too

11/24/2007

An Award! - thanks!

Wooos and a-rooos!
Hope everyhusky & dog had a good Thanksgiving Day.
We sure did! The day started out with a surprize - our bi-peds took us back to the dogpark! It was a banquet of smells!


We were joined by some other big dogs (thankfully). There was a big ole Borzoi boy and his 3 Silken Wind Hound sibs, and a boxer joined us. The lady with tose SWH said they are a "rare breed". Looked like everydog to me - four legs, 2 eyes & ears, lotsa fur and a tail. Jack seemed to be having fun tormenting one of the females, but she was a tough little thing & gave it right back to him.
Then a boxer showed up - I love to play with boxers! They're so much fun! This one ran so fast & Jack couldn't even catch up - and he's FAST!

We got back home & hu-mom cooked one of those very tasty big birds. We were treated to a scrumptious Thanksgiving Day feast. We finally made it on-line - and guess what? We were given the Be the Blog Award...not once, but TWICE!

We'd like to say thank-you Team Husky's Autumn & Summer, and thank-you MayaMarie in the window. We are really enjoying your blogs too. A-wooooooos!
They said that the BTB award is "presented to a successful blogger, one who can be the blog, make it our own, stay with it, interact with our readers and just plain have fun." We are honored to accept it! We're glad our hu-mom she stuck with it till she figured it out, with a little help from a few bloggin dog's owners. We feel like all our bloggin'dog friends here are our extended pack members. We love coming here to howl our stories, and to have hu-mom read yours to us. (and we love looking at your pictures!)

We'd like to pass this give a BTB award to Hollyballyboo, cause we love reading her blog. We think she's pretty terrific!
Can we give this award to a dog for the second time, too? We'd like to re-award the BTB Award to Meeshka, she's the reason we started bloggin, & she is the Queen of bloggin' dogs, for sure!

Woos and a-rooos,
Star & the Jack-a-roo


PS - Mikki, not even my cute little Penguin that I really really really like can take your spot in my heart! Wooo are silly to worry!
~ your Jack of Hearts