The Other White Meat
Mongo will eat almost anything. Things he will eat include tomatoes, apples, pears, lettuce, socks, hats, and rocks. The last three have proved costly to remove. During one vet trip for intestinal distress, the vet looked at the x-ray and said, “Well, there’s a few pebbles and some loose change in there, but that should all pass. ” So it did not come as a surprise that Mongo liked cauliflower. In fact, he’s not the only dog in the family to like cruciform vegetables. Back in the day, one golden retriever, Hudson, waited until Dad had planted all the broccoli and cauliflower starts in the garden. Then as soon as Dad went inside, Hudson pulled up all the starts and ran joyously around the backyard munching on them. Dad caught a glimpse of Hudson reveling in broccoli through the window and sprinted out the back door to find more than half the plants gone. A fence was eventually had to be installed around the garden to keep Hudson from pillaging the vegetables, when Dad became frustrated that all the almost-ready broccoli florets were disappearing!
However, none of the girl dogs in the family seemed to enjoy leafy greens. One golden girl, Dixie, did enjoy sneaking strawberries from the planter next to the back door, but that was about it.
So while Dad was using cauliflower as a substitute for cream in an alfredo sauce, it came as no shock that Mongo enjoyed a few cauliflower twigs that Dad tossed to him. The shock came when Mongo missed a piece of vegetable that Dad tossed at him, and it landed near Spork. Spork is legendary in the family for being finicky. She’s been know to turn her nose up at dog food if it has too much filler in it!
Who’s Been Sitting in the Dishwasher?
“Drewbie!” Dad’s voice echoed through the house. “Drewbie!”
The response floated up the stairs to the kitchen in an exasperated tone. “What?”
Dad called back down the stairs, “The dishwasher door is broken. It looks like someone sat on it.”
Where is the Panic Button?
Dad was in a pickle. He had no choice but to head back out into the storm. There was no doubt that he had messed up this time. Now he and Mongo would pay the price; which was strange because it had all started so innocuously.
Doggone Cold
Mongo has a cold. He has been sneezing, and coughing. On top of it, he had laryngitis.
Mongo loves to talk. When Dad or Drewbie wakes up, or if Mom-mom or Kimi comes over, Mongo talks up a storm. He sounds like a real-life wookie as he hoots and warbles to tell everyone about his day. This morning when Dad got up, all Mongo could do was make little squeaking noises. The look on Mongo’s face said he was very concerned.
By the time they got home from their morning walk, Mongo could talk again. He ate well, (he is a labrador), but right after breakfast, he conked out on his bed again. Normally, he checks on Dad throughout the day. Today he just slept.
On any given day, Mongo pesters Dad unmercifully, the closer it gets to evening walk. He paws Dad’s leg while Dad is working at the table. He jiggles Dad’s elbow as he tries to type. Or he just gives Dad’s forearm a big slurp; all to try to get Dad to take him out early for evening walk.
But today, Dad had to wake Mongo up for evening walk. After dinner, Mongo immediately went back to sleep. With the winter storms rolling through Seattle, Dad turned on the gas fireplace.
Backpacker Magazine Award
Mongo is pleased to have Labrador Retrievers listed on the 10 Best Outdoor Dog Breeds.
Of course, they show a chocolate lab instead of a white one, because you can’t see dirt on them as easily as on a white one!
Mongo dresses up as a Weimaraner
Pomme de Terre
Mongo loves apples. Mongo hunts for fallen apples from the Fourth of July through the first days of winter. But not only does he like red and yellow apples, which the French call pommes. He is also very fond of what the French call the “pomme de terre”, i.e. the potato.
Today, Dad came home to find Mongo looking rather guilty.
“Ok buddy, what badness did you do today?” Dad looked around the kitchen and something on the other side of the table caught his eye.
Mongo’s gallery
Mongolope 
Comments: