Henry Goes to the Races

Last year, I wrote about my experiences at the Buda Weiner Dog Races.  I had a great time.  Unfortunately, because of my IVDD surgery, I was not able to go this year.

However, I am very excited that a friend of mine got to go this year.  In fact, he competed and did very well!  I'm very pleased to announce a return of my friend Henry as a guest blogger.  He had an amazing time at the Buda Weiner Dog Races.

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Hi, my name is Henry James.  Cody invited me to do a guest blog and share my weekend with you.  I am very excited to tell you all about the Buda Fair and Weiner Dog Races! 

It first started on Friday afternoon. My persons and I drove three hours to a place called Buda, which is just south of Austin, TX.   When we arrived at the hotel, we saw lots of other Weiner Dogs and their persons checking in too.  The other dogs said they were nervous about the Weiner Dog races that would be taking place in the next two days, which made me feel better because I was nervous too!

The next day we got up really early.  There was a dog costume contest and dog parade that my persons really wanted to attend.   They spent the past week creating a costume for me that consisted of a sombrero, mini tequila bottle, trumpet and a fiesta vest.   I’m not sure what I was supposed to be, but at the fair, everyone kept calling me Señor. 

Henry In His Costume – Ready for the Dog Costume Contest and Parade!

My Persons and I led the parade as we marched around Buda Park into the stadium.  It was lots of fun. There was a small band and everyone cheered!

Later that day, we walked around the fair and prepared for the races.  There were so many Weiner Dogs.  Little ones, big ones, round ones, and then there was Holly!  She was so beautiful!  We met in a vendor booth while my persons were looking at jewelry.   She was petite, shy and had beautiful fur!   We played some while the persons talked.  It was then time to say good-bye and we wished each other luck in the races.  

At the Fair -Henry Meets Holly (another Weiner), Love at First Sight!

Henry In His New Doggie Carrying Bag and Cap

At the Fair --Henry In the Mini Weiner Mobile

It was time to race!  I was nervous as the persons put me in the starting kennels.  So much barking!  I knew that I had to run fast, and I did!  I got second in my race.  When I crossed the finish line, one of my persons held me up high for everyone to see me.  I heard cheers as they called my name that I would be going to the Quarter Finals the next day. 

Henry Posing With His Medal After Winning Second In His Race

As the day wrapped up, I was exhausted!  My persons drove into Austin to eat and see the sixth streets in Austin.  What is so exciting about 6 streets? Oh well, I slept. 

On Sunday, we had to wait until 3pm so that I could race.  It was a long day.  We walked and shopped more at the fair.  I kept looking for Holly, but I didn’t see her.  Finally 3pm came and it was time to race!   I was with the fast dogs now.  They were much bigger and barked louder.  I felt small, but my persons kept saying that size didn’t matter!  That was my mantra as I shot out of the starting kennels.   I got third.  It wasn’t good enough to move on to the Semi Finals, but it was good enough for my persons.   They said I was still their number one and held me up high!  That was good enough for me – I left the races proud that I did my best. 

Henry Gets Third in the Quarter Finals, But He Is Still Our #1 Weiner!!

IVDD Surgery Today...

My back started hurting and I didn't want to walk.  I felt better when I went to the vet 11 days ago.  I got an x-ray, anti-inflamatories, and felt better.  However, in the last few days, I've had wobbly legs.  I'm having trouble standing, and my butt runs into things. 

It turns out that I have Inter-Vertabral Disc Disease or IVDD.  I am getting surgery today.  Wish me luck.  I'm scared.

My back hurts

Update on Monday, April 16, 2012 at 04:08PM by CTP

Cody is too groggy to give an update.  This is his person writing.  Cody's surgeon just called and said that the surgery went well.

Uggie the Pup - Wins an Oscar for The Artist!

Just when I thought that Snowy of TinTin was the awesomest dog ever, I saw The Artist, starring Uggie!  Did you know that he won an Oscar for Best Picture?!?  He won a Golden Globe and a Golden Collar award as well!  What an actor!

Uggie at the Golden Collars

Uggie with his Golden Globe

Uggie with an Oscar!

Here's a clip from the film that shows what a great actor Uggie is.  Look how the "Best Actor" winner has trouble keeping up with Uggie's greatness!

 You can get to know Uggie a little better by watching this exclusive interview with the big star.

OK.  I admit that I'm a little bit star-struck by Uggie.  I admit that I'm pretty crazy about Uggie.  He's the biggest dog star of my lifetime.  I'll just show one more video.  He now is the official spokesdog for Nintendo Nintendogs plus Cats.  He even gets to meet the owner of Nintendo.

OK.  I'm done gushing over Uggie for now.  I'll talk more about my life again soon.  I just had to share my excitement.

Big News! (but not the biggest news)

In a recent post, I mentioned that there was some big news that occured while I was at Camp Taurus.  There was actually two pieces of big news that both rocked my world.  I'll share the big news now but save the biggest news for later.

As you know, as head of security for our home, I spend a lot of time patrolling the backyard.  Whenever a person, dog, cat, or other animal dares to come near the yard, I let them know, in no uncertain terms, that they should stay away.  So far, I have an 100% success rate in keeping the yard intruder-free.

Here is a video of me in action before I went to Camp Taurus:

Obviously, I take my job seriously.  I know every inch of that yard like the back of my paw.

However, things have changed...

I have recently learned that having a popular blog can have a downside.  Shortly after I wrote about how great it was to dig in the yard, I came home to find that throngs of readers showed up to join in the fun.  I wouldn't mind one or two readers digging with me, but this was ridiculous:

Annoyed by the digging

Since most of my readers don't have paws capabale of digging, they brought in digging equipment. 

Soon, I realized that I could put these digging efforts to good use.  I had some ideas for improving the security of the yard, but I didn't have the means to make all of the changes myself.  I told my fans that they could continue to have fun digging on the condition that they also work to implement my vision for a more secure yard.  They enthusiastically signed on, and they completed the work while I was at Camp Taurus.

The results were quite striking.

Inspecting the viewing platform and new fenceChecking out the varmint-resistant garden Now, I'm able to guard the yard better than ever!  Check out my new technique that involves using the viewing platform to get a better angle to survey the property.

As you can see, the changes to the yard were a big change in my life; however, this was not the biggest change.  Stay tuned!

SNOWY!

This is just a short post to tell you about my new hero: SNOWY!  He is so awesome!

I love Snowy!

I just saw the movie Tintin, and I don't know why the movie is named after Tintin.  The true hero of the movie is Snowy.

Here's just a short clip showing how awesome Snowy is:

I can't wait for the next Snowy movie!