Sunny Saturday

I kid you not, it was actually sunny today! After yesterdays 24 hours of torrential rain I had given up all hope of the weekend being anything but a washout, but, the day has been dry and sunny, which somewhat goes to prove my theory that the weather folks are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard and about as trustworthy as a magpie with the crown jewels!

I got my tush outside to enjoy the fresh air and that is pretty much where I have been all day. It seems I wasn't the only one out enjoying the sunshine either..



and this little guy took a shine to Mum



They were quite cute in an un-furry critter type of way. Mum and the beans let them jump all over them for a while and were quite amused. I was my usual indifferent self after all they were too small to chase and they didn't look like they would taste that great!

Do you like Mum's bracelet? The littlest bean made it for her and she hasn't taken it off since! hurrumph, I give her loads of little gifts.. piles of my shedded floof, muddy unidentifiable treats i find in the garden, drool portraits on her leg etc etc.. and does she treasure them??

No.. she makes disgusted noises and gets rid of them! They all beat a bracelet if you ask me, she is soooo ungrateful! and since i have started ranting i may as well get it all off my chest..

We all know she has an obsession with Sherman, but what you probably don't know is that it doesn't stop there..for sometime she has been obsessed with Boston Terriers (You have a lot to answer for Mack, Joey and Tanner!!) and has now developed a thing for Huskys!! Oh and lets not forget the Airedale obsession.. in fact... to cut a long rant short, it's a good thing we are not millionaires or I would probably have several thousand brother and sisters!

One brother or sister might be nice though Mum.. *hint hint*

Ben xxx

Had to share this

I just had to share this photograph of The Mop from over at Bobby's Place



Mum laughed so hard that coffee flew out of her nose (not the most dignified look Mum!!) and i was speechless!

Just don't go getting any idea's Mum.. NO WAY NO HOW!

Hmm actually on closer inspection I'm not sure that is the Mop, it may be just some random Photo John found somewhere, I guess I will have to wait for Bobby to clarify.. but either way its just hilarious!

Ben xxx

7 Months in...

Mum and Dad have this board that has on it the names and dates of birth of all the family and extended family. I've looked at this board a lot, My bridge brother is on there even the two bridge bunnies are on there, but someone was missing.. ME.
Every so often I will wander over and have a look.. just to check if I am on there yet, I don't know why but I always feel like seeing my name on there will mean I am truly here forever. I have never had any reason to believe I won't be, but not being on that board sometimes gave me an uneasy feeling.
Yesterday I looked and FINALLY there I am!!

Benjamin Samuel Bear 26th January 2007.

Great huh? Except for one fundamental issue. 26th January is my Gotcha Day. Mum and Dad brought me home on 26th January 2008! I decided to point this out to them. Mum told me that I was 11 months old when the rescue got me in December 2007 so they figure my birthday is in January sometime. Since they brought me home on the 26th January they have decided to take this date as my birthday.
This is where the humans are assuming I am a dumb animal. Am I fooled into thinking this is a great idea?

NO

by doing that they have cunningly ensured that my Gotcha Day and my Birthday are celebrated together and you all know what that means! One Cake.. One set of gifts!

the words.. tight and asses ... spring to mind!!

To add to my grumpiness we are in the midst of ridiculously heavy rain, according to the weather forecast (and i trust that like i trust a magpie with the crown jewels!) we are in for a month's worth of rain in three days. I have news for them, we have had a months worth in the last 12 hours! I think I may have my own personal lake in the garden if this keeps up for three days!! Mum keeps trying to drag me out for a walk.. hmmm I don't think so Mum.. you be a fool and go out in it if you like, but no way no how am i taking any leisurley strolls in that!

On a happier note, my lucky winning streak continues and it seems that it is catching.

The eldest bean won a PS3 and Kung Foo Panda game, My Mum just got an e-mail to say she won a DVD (Everyones Hero), and I won this wonderful booty..



over at Meeshka's Blog and all for doing what I do best.. moaning about my Mum!! If you haven't been over and checked out the "Week of 100" Challenge then do it NOW!! It's full of hilarious posts and is all in aid of a very good cause. Thank you Meeshka and Khyra!

Oh and last week I was in a magazine here in the UK!

Maybe I should pick the lottery numbers this week!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Ben xxxx

All bow to Queen Meeshka... In my Nekkid Glory

I can't believe I'm going to do this, but Meeshka is our very own Queen and she is doing an awesome job of raising funds for Harnessed to Hope Northern Breed Rescue by doing the week of 100 (100 posts in a week!!) You can read all the details and see her (soon to be) centenery of posts (and of course how to donate) on her blog Here

so...


deep breath....


hold onto your drool girls.....






Don't tell Mum about this.. I'll be grounded for the rest of my life!!

and yes Huffle.. you are braver than me.. I kept the collar on!

Ben xxx

Pity The Fool...

Before I start.. please could you vote for my dear friend Lady Kaos in the Jeep Dog Photo Contest. You can read how to vote at her blog Here.
Make sure to ask your friends to pop along too.. thank you


Well the day didn't get off to a great start. First Dad went to work, then the little beans started getting ready for their first day back at school. I moped around feeling sorry for myself while Mum was chatting to the kids about their new teachers. Then I heard Mollie say... Mr T.

My ears pricked up at that, Mr T?? What does he have to do with school?? Mum said that Mr T was going to be Mollie's new teacher this year.

WHAT???!!! Mr T???!!!

You mean to tell me Mum that Mollie is going to have to face this every weekday for the next year??



at this point I placed myself in front of the door and decided that no way on planet earth was i letting Mollie go to school.. That Mr T is big and.. to be frank.. scary looking!

Mollie seemed quite relaxed about the whole thing and Mum didn't seem troubled at all!! What kind of Mother is she?? How could she send my precious bean to school knowing THAT huge scary guy will be in charge of her ALL day? My Mum went right down in my estimations at that point!

After 10 minutes of them trying to move my substantial sized butt from in front of the door they finally confessed that Mollie's new teacher is in fact not the very scary Mr T in the picture above, but a very nice Mr T (who was in fact a teacher at Mollie's school when my Mum went there so he must be at least 150 years old) and poses no threat to my little beans safety whatsoever.. well that was a relief.
I relented and let them all out of the door, relieved but still not happy that they were abandoning me all day!

Mum tries her best bless her but it's just not the same without Dad and the beans at home.

Me and Mum had quite a relaxed day. Mum was pottering around doing housework and I was pottering around in the garden (trying to look like i was on guard duty but i was actually trying to remember where i buried my frisbee).

Finally it was time to go get the little beans and I could see by their happy little faces that they had enjoyed their first day back and that none of their new teachers were gremlins... Mum asked how their day had been and Mollie told Mum that her first lesson (Literacy) had been about Greyfriars Bobby. Mum loves that book (even though it is guaranteed to make her cry the big nancypants) and oddly enough she had been reading about another dog just the other day with a very similar story so she sat me, Mollie and Lilli down and told us the story of Russwarp a very brave dog. Again it is a sad story but both these dogs are inspirational so I decided to share their stories with you today.Both are true stories.. do you have the kleenex to hand?

Ok.. then read on

Greyfriars Bobby.

Russwarp.

Do your love your Master/Mistress that much?

I know you all do.

Ben xxx

Treats,Prizes, Cuddly Pals and Caught Red Handed!

What a great week I have had!

Firstly Mum, Dad and the beans popped over to Wetherby to spend my Pet Idol prize vouchers. They came back with an impressive haul!

Booty!!



Yummy..Treats! Sea Biscuits (these are so smelly!) Salmon Crunchies, Peanut Butter Bones and a big ole bag of crunchy bones!! Mum says these are my training treats.. I say.. Bring on the training!



Toys!!



And the slightly boring practical stuff (Sorry Mum) Travel Bowls and Bottle, Clippers (shudder) and a baggie for Mum to carry my training treats.



So once again, Thanks to all who voted for me in the Pet Idol competition and a big thank you to Tim and Vicki from Trophy Pet Foods. If you are ever near Wetherby Market on a Thursday you should stop by and say hello, they have sooooo much stuff.

I've decided that I need some assistance with guard duty (I need my nap time) so I would like to introduce you to Ben Jnr who takes up the post when I am napping, eating, playing, unavailable (basically 99% of the time). The theory is that Mum and Dad won't notice that i'm slacking because they will think he is me hehehe



Do you think I will get away with it?

I won another prize.. Mum says I must have been born under a lucky star or something!

Check this out..



How awesome is that!! Huge thanks and Rotti-Smooches to all over at Patience Please. You made me one very happy dog!

Now onto the more serious issue of my family trying to get away with telling a few untruths! (They really ought to know better than to try and get one past me!)
Yesterday they *claimed* they were popping out to do some really boring chores.. I was immediatley suspicious when Mum took the camera, then they came home with all these strange smells on them and with smiley faces (not the kind of face you would have if you had just spent the morning doing boring chores!!) A quick look at Mum's camera revealed what they had really been up to!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Moral of this footage... If you are going to sneak off without your lovable canine pal then DON'T take the camera!
In fairness to Mum and Dad (She made me add this bit) there are no dogs allowed at the farm... in my opinion they shouldn't have gone then!! They owe me BIG TIME!!

and finally I'm all sad and crabby today. Dad has gone back to work after being at home with me for nearly 3 whole weeks, and the little beans have to go back to school tomorrow after nearly six weeks of being at my beck and call. Back to just being me and Mum.. no offense to Mum cos I love her lots.. but no Dad and no beans just SUCKS!

Ben xxxx

I'm Alive!!!

Where have I been? Well actually nowhere.. as in I didn't leave the country or join the witness protection program or anything. As Mum would put it.. life got in the way of blogging for a while. It also got in the way of me visiting blogs.. which annoyed me somewhat.. but as Mum pointed out, a break is as good as a rest.. whatever that means!

So much to tell you and i'm not even going to attempt it in one post, so for now a little catch up via the power of photographs (Mum got a new camera and boy oh boy don't me and the kids know about it!!)

So whats in the slide show? Well.. My handsome self of course! My little beans.. Moll turned into a biker chick whilst I was on hiatus and both the beans had birthdays! Moll turned 10 and Lilli was 5 a few days ago!! Look out for the photos of my new girlfriends Sheba and Penny.. umm actually Sheba hates me and trys to chew my face off everytime we get together but i'm sure my charm will win her over in the end! Ooooh OOOhhh OOOHH and look for the photos of me wearing "DOGGY CAM"!!! More about that soon! In addition to the new camera the oldies have a camcorder now too so no doubt there will be footage appearing at a blog near you sometime in the near future.

I'm well.. and i grew a few inch and filled out some too! I missed all my bloggy pals and promise to catch up on your blogs very soon, and of course update mine with all the tales of what i have been up to!

Love, licks and tailwags,

Ben xxxx

PS: I apologise for the song choice on the slideshow.. and yes Mum actually sings that to me!! as for Mum's singing.. how can i put this.. umm.. lets just say that if she auditioned for the XFactor then Simon Cowells ears would bleed!! Feel free to heap sympathy on me!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com