That is a wrap

Dear world,

Words cannot express how appreciative I am that you have faithfully followed me on my journey with the sitter.

Words cannot express it, but my poetic barking can.

That is a wrap, folks!

Wish me luck, world!

Love always, Gracie

Day 63: Reunion!!!

Dear world,

I could barely sleep last night. The anticipation of seeing my Mommy and Daddy again was too much. How could any puppy be expected to sleep?

When the sitter put me in the car this morning, I expected that we were heading back to my house to see my Mommy and Daddy, but instead we went someplace new. My sitter brought me to her "job," which I now realize is a place and not a disease. It still sounds terrible to me.

Here I am meeting everyone at the "job." See how they are standing around to admire me?

After some time at daycare (after the "job"), the sitter picked me up and we finally went home. Here is the moment we have all been waiting for.

So I am now home and so very happy!

Wish me luck, world! No more days to go!!

Love, Gracie

Day 62: A clarification

Dear world,

If all goes according to plan, tomorrow I will find myself in the loving arms of my Mommy and Daddy. I have missed them terribly.

I am not the same puppy that they knew when they left. I am two whole months older, bigger, stronger, and more independent. Some of my greatest accomplishment during my stay with the sitter include:

• learning to love going to daycare;
• learning a new trick (shake a paw);
• learning to jump up on the dining room chairs, and the coffee table (I am still working my way up to the dining room table); and
• making new friends at daycare, and with the sitter's neighbours.

It sounds like I had a great time with the sitter, but just to clarify...

MOMMY AND DADDY -- I AM READY TO GO HOME. COME AND GET ME!!!

Wish me luck, world! Only 1 day to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 61: Good morning smiles

Dear world,

This is what I look like when I wake up to realize that there are only 2 more sleeps until my Mommy and Daddy are supposed to get home!

Wish me luck, world! Only 2 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 60: Security guard Gracie

Dear world,

Last night, I was shocked to learn that if you poke your head behind the kitchen curtain, you can see the roadway beyond the sitter's backyard.

The sitter must be relieved that I discovered this little trick, and that I can now contribute to her personal safety by barking at every car, person, and animal that passes by.

I am astonished how the sitter was able to manage before I came for my stay.

Wish me luck, world! Only 3 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 59: Weekend zzz

Dear world,

Weekends really take it out of me.

And we are only halfway to Monday.

Wish me luck, world! Only 4 days to go.

Love, Gracie

P.S. Happy International Women's Day!

Day 58: Talented Gracie

Dear world,

I have been dreaming of Horton lately. Is that normal? This morning I decided to make him a present. Everyone likes to receive presents! That is how you let someone know that you love them. That is why the sitter always gives me bully sticks, and why my Mommy and Daddy will be bringing me a box full of cats when they get home next week.

I decided that I would draw a self-portrait for Horton. That way he will always think of me. (I am a smart gal!)

Here is my first attempt. It can be tricky to sketch, but I think I got the hang of it.

Because I could not be both the model and the artist, I had to sketch from a recent photo. Look how my eyes sparkle with the thought that Horton will see this soon!

Wish me luck, world! Only 5 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 57: Gracie's unexpected date

Dear world,

Last night my heart was performing in a circus of flutters! It was after supper, and then the doorbell rang. There was a person at the door, and a dog. I mean... a HORTON!!

I am fairly sure I know how he had found me. We had been set up on a secret date. I have been telling you that you cannot trust this sitter, but this time it was a good surprise.

He was just as perfect as I remembered from daycare. Would you not agree? Here we are playing.

I like that he is just as agile and athletic as me. Look how easily he makes his way up to one of the best spots in the room!

He also likes to ring the puppy bells at the door, just like I do. (I hope he was not telling his Mommy that he wanted to leave.)

Having spent some one-on-one time with Horton, I still think he is super swell. Gracie's first date was a success!

Wish me luck, world! Only 6 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 56: TBT Gracie (again, again, again, again, again)

Dear world,

This morning when the sitter and I took a walk, something was unusually bright. I could not put my paw on it until I decided to look back at my photos and found one of me taking a morning walk in the dark. That bright sparkle in the middle is the special light my sitter made me wear. Because my fur is so dark, it is difficult to see me at night.

This is from a time when the sun was lazy, waking up late and going to bed early. Thank goodness the days are getting longer. It means my Mommy and Daddy will be home soon.

Wish me luck, world! Only 7 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 55: Gracie has a crush

Dear world,

Today was just supposed to be another normal day at daycare. Except it was not. Today I met a new dog and he was handsome!

I hope he did not mind that I was staring from afar. He was absolutely dreamy and his smile was adorable.

His name is Horton. Could you even pick a sweeter name? (Besides Gracie, of course.)

I wish I had been able to snap a picture, so my paw-drawn sketch will have to do.

Now, I do not want to get ahead of myself, but do you think it is possible that Horton may like me too? He is older, more mature. Are there any rules about age difference when it comes to puppy love?

Wish me luck, world! Only 8 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 54: Play ball!

Dear world,

It is hard to believe that we are now into the single digits of days remaining. It is also hard to believe that baseball season is about to start!

I like all the teams but as a proudly Canadian puppy, I must cheer for the Blue Jays. Plus birds are fun to chase.

Today is the first preseason game for the Jays. They play against the Pirates. In honour of this special day, I say "Play ball!"

Wish me luck, world! Only 9 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 53: Pooch is pooped

Dear world,

I am still tired from yesterday. I suppose it means that I had a nice time at my play session with Penny and the other dogs. Tired is good, the sitter always tells me.

This is how I like to lounge on the couch sometimes. Having paws in the air is fun, but so is dangling my head off the couch.

Going to keep this short so I can rest up for the week.

Wish me luck, world! Only 10 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 52: Bonus post

Dear world,

Send help. So tired. Cannot lift head.

Wish me luck, world! Still only 11 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 52: This is Penny

Dear world,

Today, the sitter brought me for another play session at the doggy day care. As expected, it was really fun and I made lots of friends.

And this time, the sitter did slightly better and took some pictures of my new friend, Penny. I say "slightly better" because some of them were not very good and Penny's Mommy and Daddy had to send me some of their photos so that I could at least have some quality pictures for my blog. (Thank you to Penny's Mommy and Daddy!)

So here is Penny. She is very friendly.

This is when we first met. I am taller than Penny, but she is older than me, so I think it all averages out.

This is us sharing a treat. It was another dog's birthday and we all had "pupcakes." How clever!

Hydration is very important when you are playing. This is Penny and me visiting the water station.

So we had a great day running around and chasing each other (although it was usually Penny who was doing the chasing.)

Here we are saying goodbye. I hope that I will get to see Penny again soon.

Now that I am home, I am exhausted, barely keeping my little eyes open as I finish today's post.

Looking forward to a well-deserved rest on the couch.

Wish me luck, world! Only 11 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 51: The 7-month debate

Dear world,

I am confused. It is the end of the month, but it is not the 31st. I was born on July 31st, so am I now 7-months old? Or do I need to wait another 3 days?

Please help me figure this out!

Is Gracie now 7-months old?

Just in case, here is what could be my official 7-month photo.

Wish me luck, world! Only 12 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 50: Sitter will be pleased

Dear world,

I know I am taking a risk that the sitter will read this blog and find out about my new skill, but it delights me too much to stay quiet.

I have figured out how to jump up on the dining room chairs! I have been able to do this for about two weeks now, but am only practicing when the sitter is not watching. I want to surprise her with my acrobatics after I learn to how to jump from the chair to the table.

I know she will be pleased when she finally learns about my new ability. She may even reward me with treats (and cats.)

A girl can dream!

Wish me luck, world! Only 13 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 49: TBT Gracie (again, again, again, again)

Dear world,

It is Thursday again, and perhaps the best day of the week.

This is a picture from the first few days during my stay with the sitter. I was playing dress-up, going for the newborn human baby look. (It made sense at the time.)

Am I not the cutest puppy ever?

I got into a little squeeze trying to pull the onesie off over my head, but the sitter helped.

I still play with the onesie, but now I just throw it around in the air. I would not want to get stuck again. I have grown a bit since then, I believe.

Wish me luck, world! Only 14 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 48: A bittersweet reminder

Dear world,

It would not be an exaggeration to say that I miss my cat toy. So please imagine my little heart breaking even more when I learned that my cousin Sam has his very own cat toy!

Remember Sam? Here he is.

This is the picture that Sam's Mommy sent me. Do you see his cat toy? It is a real cat. What a fun toy! I want one!

Forget about sending cat toys like the one I used to have. Now the only way to repair my fractured heart is to send me my very own live cat.

Wish me luck, world! Only 15 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 47: Cat toy imposter

Dear world,

First I would like to say that there must be something wrong with the mail service because my not-so-subtle hint for cat toys did not result in any cat toys.

You should know that I still look longingly at the table where the cat toy used to live. I may even whimper. That might explain why the sitter tied my red ball to the old cat toy string.

She had me fooled for about five minutes, making me believe that the new toy could possibly fill the void left by that little stuffed mouse's untimely departure.

Not quite. Five minutes of play was all I could manage until my tender little heart was overcome by grief and I had to lie down.

True story.

Wish me luck, world! Only 16 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 46: Play time with the sitter

Dear world,

If my Mommy and Daddy ever leave me with the sitter for another 63 days, I may have to post to my blog twice a day. When I posted my playlist yesterday, I thought that would be the most exciting thing that I could possibly do on a Sunday. I was wrong.

This may come as a shock to anyone who has heard about the sitter's career as a trickster, so believe me when I say I too was shocked by her actions.

Yesterday, she packed me up in my travel crate, we went to the doggy day care and then she stayed with me! All of a sudden it was puppy and people day care.

Lots of other people came by with their dogs and we all played together. There were balls and a rubber chicken and a tunnel toy (which was too dark and scary for me.)

This is me playing. The sitter was kind enough to take my picture.

I wish that she also took some pictures of my new friends, but that kind of oversight is typical for the sitter. So here I am playing again.

After we got home, I curled up in my day bed in the kitchen while the sitter cooked her dinner.

Overall, I was left conflicted about this doggy day care thing. If the sitter sometimes can come with me, then maybe it will not be so bad. Maybe I can learn to have fun when I am there.

Wish me luck, world! Only 17 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 45: Beautiful Gracie -- Part 2

Dear world,

I still feel beautiful after going to the groomer's yesterday. Did you know that I often bark in the mirror because that other puppy is so cute, just like me?!

Here are some songs that always help this little puppy feel beautiful.

Finally, here is yours truly, a real jaw-dropping beauty!

Wish me luck, world! Only 18 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 44: Beautiful Gracie -- Part 1

Dear world,

Today was a special day. I went for my very first grooming appointment. I have had my nails trimmed before, and some parts of my fur clipped, but never before did I get the FULL spa treatment.

I am one lucky puppy! This is me before I went to see the groomer.

For anyone who does not know, this is what it looks like to be at the groomer's. This photo was taken earlier during a quick touch-up visit, but you get the idea.

Finally here I am all pretty and perfect.

Still perfect.

Now I am tired and am going to chew on some sweet potato before heading to bed.

Stay tuned for tomorrow. Part 2 of beautiful me will continue.

Wish me luck, world! Only 19 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 43: A pleasant accident

Dear world,

Sometimes accidents happen and they are terrible (like when my cat toy broke a couple of days ago.) 

Sometimes accidents happen and they may at first seem terrible, but in fact are really, really good.

One of those really, really good accidents happened. My kibble bag fell over and dropped lots of pieces on the carpet.

How exciting and delicious! It tastes so much better directly from the bag.

Wish me luck, world! Only 20 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 42: TBT Gracie (again, again, again)

Dear world,

This is my fourth TBT posting. They are becoming one of my favourite parts of the week. I love thinking back to how little I was. I also like thinking about how long I have spent with the sitter. Only a few weeks to go!

This is me as a baby when I was playing with Blue. He is still one of my favourites, but he seems much smaller now. (That is because I got bigger!)

This is me now.

Wish me luck, world! Only 21 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 41: Sitter sham exposed!

Dear world,

I may be a puppy, but I was not born yesterday. Something felt off last week when I got "lost" for a whole day, so I did not think it was a coincidence that I managed to get "lost" again today under the same unusual circumstances -- early morning departure, car ride, travel crate door opens, scooped up by a stranger.

I spent my day with a pack of other dogs and puppies. They were nice to me, but I am still a little shy around them (and now suspicious!)

Here I am hopping off the pillow bed while "lost." One of my new human pals, Bev, took the photo for me, so I would like to thank her for supplying me with the proof of today's ordeal.

As expected, the sitter "found" me at the end of a very long day. Now if my account of today's calamity ended there, I would not have been so enraged. Once I was returned to the sitter and safely tucked away in my travel crate, I saw something very, very terrible.

A transaction! Suddenly everything made sense.

The sitter PAID for me to get lost today. She outsourced her duties of tending to my needs! When she should be playing with me, and tickling me, and taking me around the block, and giving me food, she had someone else do it for her.

My little heart is metaphorically broken to think that I can be shuffled around so easily. Do not get me wrong -- my human pals at Ottawa Doggy Daycare are nice to me, but I am appalled that the sitter calls herself a "sitter." She is a scam artist, as far as I am concerned. Obviously I will be watching her much more closely now.

Wish me luck, world! Only 22 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 40: That mysterious dot

Dear world,

For months now, I have been tormented by something so small and quick that it is impossible to catch.

The dot.

The sitter lets it out sometimes and it runs around the living room like it owns the place. When that dot is getting really sassy, it even climbs the walls and crosses the ceiling. It is infuriating.

I want nothing more than to catch it in my mouth and finally taste it. I imagine it is delectable like my sweet potato treat.

You can barely see the dot in these pictures, but maybe if we work together we can find a way to corner it and catch it.

Wish me luck, world! Only 23 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 39: Kibble firestorm

Dear world,

It is as much fun as the blog post title suggests. 'Kibble firestorm' is what I call it when the sitter pulls out the treat launcher and starts blasting bits of tasty bliss all over the living room.

That is not dirt on the carpet. That is kibble (and all my toys!)

You may ask what a kibble launcher looks like, so I managed to sneak it away from the sitter when she was not looking.

The launcher is the black contraption at the bottom of the picture. The treats go in under the plastic dome. When the sitter presses the button, they fly out of a hole on the top and soar through the air. So. Much. Fun.

Wish me luck, world! Only 24 days to go.

Love, Gracie

Day 38: A sad Sunday

Dear world,

Today I have the unfortunate duty of announcing that my cat toy is now broken.

It was very unexpected. I was at one end, while the sitter was at the other. Then without any warning, the string that was attached to the little mouse on my end came loose.

Here is what is left of my cat toy.

I know you understand how distraught I am. If you would like to cheer me up, please send more cat toys.

I will miss my cat toy and I feel it is appropriate to look back at the fond memories. Please visit Day 18 when I was playing on my back.

Here is another photo of me with my cat toy. This one was taken very early into my stay with the sitter.

Wish me luck, world! Only 25 days to go.

Love, Gracie