INTRODUCING D-O-G

Ain't I cute? Well, maybe except for my snout. It got badly frostbitten a couple of winters ago, before the girls rescued me. It's red most of the time now, and no hair grows. When it's really cold (like during this past winter) it stings a lot. But rubbing it with my paw doesn't help - in fact, it makes things worse. My paws got a bit frostbitten too. They bother me sometimes, but the discomfort doesn't stop me from racing around the yard at top speed and leaping over obstacles like bushes, rocks, logs, and my dog friends, Peter, Gibbs, and Lola.

I weigh 61 pounds, which is about right for a mostly-Dalmatian dog. My tail is very strong. If I wag it too close to a plant it chops the stalks right off. My humans aren't too happy about that. As you can see, I'm white with a few dark spots here and there. I have a big black patch around my right eye. People say it make me look very distinguished.

Uh oh, here comes Gracie. I'd better stop writing. See you soon.                              ©2014

The Indian Hunter at Central Park

Gracie Roosevelt's favorite place in all New York is Central Park. And her favorite statue there is the "Indian Hunter". It was while standing on this statue of an Indian and his dog that she first spied me shivering in the deep snows of the park. We pass this sculpture often when she takes me for walks. I guess I like it too - especially because the pair helped with my rescue. But it does feel a little bit spooky to me. Maybe that's because both man and animal seem so ferocious.

The other day Gracie read to me about the statue. I'll share with you what she told me.

It was created by an artist called John Quincy Adams Ward. Grace said he was named for the sixth president of our country. My history is a little rusty, so I'll take her word for it. Ward's "Indian Hunter" was the first American sculpture to be placed in Central Park. It was installed in 1869. She says it's made of bronze, and stands on a granite pedestal.

And there you have it.

Cheers, D-O-G

Autumn Is Here

Can you believe it? It's already Autumn. What happened to Summer? Yikes. Well, this photo was made earlier in the week during a spell of really nice weather we call "Indian Summer." That's a few days of nice weather slung in between weeks of chill. It looks as if Indian Summer is going to end tomorrow, and we'll be in for a long, cold Winter.

I like Winter - as long as I wear my jacket to keep me warm. You see, my fur is really, really thin, and I get cold very easily. How thin is it? Well, you can see my pink skin back around my hind legs and along my belly. So, I like Winter - like getting to tear through the snow like a "banshee" (one of Teddy's favorite words). But I do not like being cold.

Think I'll go outside now and soak up the rays of the waning warmth (Gracie suggested using "waning." You can look it up in the dictionary, if you like). Until next time.

Bye! D-O-G

Hot Days at the Pond

Central Park in New York is huge - over 800 acres. There's lots to do there, in all seasons. It's been pretty hot this summer, so Gracie and Teddy take me over to the Pond near 59th Street, hire a row boat, and we all go rowing around the waterway. It's great fun, and it's a great way to cool off, especially if you're a dog. But there is no swimming allowed.

I get around this by "accidentally" falling into the water. I paddle around until one of the guards starts to blow his whistle, then the children haul me back aboard, shouting, "He just fell in! Sorry." Boy that little dip is so refreshing.

This picture shows the boathouse where we rent the row boat. Those women standing there are Laura Roosevelt and housekeeper Hannah Orlin. Neither of them like rowing in Central Park, but they do like to keep an eye on kids and dog.

Have a refreshing summer.   D-O-G

A Visit To The Dairy

On hot summer days like we've been having, Gracie likes to take brother Tedddy and me to the Dairy in Central Park. It's this neat old building (built in 1870) close to the playgrounds. It used to serve just milk and snacks, but now they're trying ice cream. Gracie usually gets me a vanilla, and a strawberry for herself. Teddy likes chocolate. Sometimes we get the ice cream in cups, but lately we've been trying something new called an "ice cream cone." It's a lot like a small waffle wrapped into a cone shape. The cold stuff is then scooped in. Dr. Roosevelt says the cones were invented by the French. Smart people, those French. Merci.

We eat the ice cream on the way back home. Gracie always remembers to get extra paper napkins, because Teddy makes a mess of things. But I'm very good at licking off all the excess with my long tongue.

Hope you have a place to go for ice cream where you live.

More soon.   D-O-G

p.s.: the picture of the Dairy is double because it is a "stereo view". With the right kind of viewing device you can see the image as if it was in 3D. Swell, huh?

Tardy Post, Sorry

I am so sorry that I've not posted anything recently. My nose has been giving me lots of trouble, so lots of trips to see the vet, Dr. Flagg, were in order. The skin gets all red and crusty, and sometimes sores develop. It sometimes hurts quite a bit. She thought it might be related to the frostbite I got before Gracie rescued me.

Dr. Flagg gave me all sorts of different medicines to try. Some were pills. Some were salves. And for the longest time nothing worked. But this week she started me on a newly developed treatment. The crustiness has started to go away and hair is growing again. So maybe this will work. I sure hope so.

Now maybe I can get back to a regular schedule of posting on my blog. Until next time (soon, I promise).                       Cheers, D-O-G

Yikes! Back To The Vet

I had an accidental fight with my friend Peter the other day. Teddy threw a ball into the air and when it landed we both chased it. We collided with a huge "THUMP!" and I think that set us off. It was not a pretty sight, and I'm not proud of my part in it. Big Mac had a heck of a time separating us.

I ended up with a seriously bloody nose. And poor Peter . . . Dr. Flagg had to put five stitches in his left paw. He's confined to home for two weeks, and I think Gracie is going to keep me on the leash for a few days to make sure I stay out of trouble.

Me, Peter (center) and his cousin Gibbs, playing in Central Park last month.

Peter, my friend, I am so sorry! Get well soon.

Your Pal,   D-O-G

The Bicycle Craze

Yikes! I almost got run over the other day in Central Park by a crazy lady on a bicycle! The Park is full of people of all ages riding these infernal machines. JW read in the New York Times this week that there is a bicycle craze sweeping the country. Jeez, this craze of crazy people almost swept me off my feet over by the Dairy. It's dangerous out there, folks.

JW is a part of this nonsense. He just got a custom-built Jersey Skeeter, made by the famous racer, Augustus Zimmerman. It's a beaut. At least that's what Dr. R. says. It's red. And it has all sorts of fancy fittings. Laura was pretty sore when she saw how much he paid for it.

It's surprising how many girls and women have taken up the sport. This picture was taken by Gracie over by the Sheepfold. The two ladies live a couple of blocks up Fifth from our house. They're very nice people. And they are very responsible cyclists (unlike some of those reckless speeders in the Park).

Gracie hopes father will buy her a cycle soon. Mr. Zimmerman has offered to teach her to ride. You won't get me on one of those things, but it would sure be fun to chase her up the drive.

Happy Riding!        D-O-G

Visit to the Vet

This week Gracie took me to see Dr. Frances Flagg, our vet. It was just a routine checkup. I really like this doctor. She helped save me after the rescue, so I owe her a lot. Anyway, she took my temperature - normal. She weighed me - 61-1/2 pounds. She looked in my mouth. "He could use a teeth cleaning," Dr. Flagg told Gracie. Boy, that didn't seem like fun. She spent a good bit of time studying my snout, and didn't seem too happy with what she saw. You see, it's really red and there is almost no hair, on account of the frostbite I got last winter. So the doctor told Gracie to keep a close eye on it, and to keep the skin clean. Dr. Flagg checked my legs and paws, and she thought they were in pretty good condition. Last, but not least, she had me wag my tail. "Lot's of strength in that tail of his," she told my human. When we were done, John Jay drove us home in the carriage - and Gracie took this picture of me. Nice huh?

'Til next time.     D-O-G

Our House

Our house - well, the Roosevelt's house - is on East 64th Street less than a block from Central Park. The outside is covered with "brownstone" (like a lot of homes in New York). It has three stories.

Just inside the front door is the vestibule, and past that is the parlor, where the family spends a lot of time, and where I often sleep. Further back is the dining room. Beyond that is the kitchen. And there is a nice, but small, garden in the rear.

The second floor bay window you can see in the picture is Gracie's room. Sometimes I get to sleep in there, too.  And in the rear is Laura and J.W.'s suite.

Up on the third floor, Teddy lives in the front, and housekeeper Hannah at the back. There is a nice guest room in the middle. Both the second and third floors have big bathrooms with "claw-footed" bathtubs. The children love baths. I hate baths.

Gracie usually takes me down to the Park every day. We enter through what is known as the "Children's Gate," which is near the menagerie. If we keep on walking we get to the playground, and how I love to spin on the little merry-go-round, the breeze blowing in my face. Ah, the life of a dog.

Toodle-oo!     D-O-G                                                                                               ©2014
     

A Taste of Mr. Sherry's Ice Cream

It was such a pleasant, warm day today that Mrs. Laura Roosevelt took Gracie, Teddy, Hannah, and ME for some ice cream at Louis Sherry's confectionery shop on Fifth Avenue - the most famous in all New York City.

Mr. Sherry is a friend of the family and we often visit there to buy cakes and pastries and ice cream. Mr. Sherry himself waited on us. Gracie ordered a cup of vanilla and strawberry. Hannah and Laura got chocolate (with chocolate sprinkles), and I was allowed to have a small bowl of vanilla (under the table, of course). Little brother Teddy out did us all. He ordered a Super-Duper-Double-Whammy Banana-Split with Extra Chocolate Sauce and Cherries, and no Peanuts. The huge silver platter barely fit on the table. To his credit, Teddy ate the whole thing - though when he was finished his face and the front of his suit were covered in a gooey multicolored mess. Mr. Sherry personally escorted brother to the kitchen where the cooks sprayed him down with warm water and dried him off with towels. I am proud to say I made no mess at all, and even got a nice pat on the head from Mr. Sherry.

Afterward John Jay drove us home in the carriage to East 64th Street. Hannah offered to make dinner, but we were all so stuffed with sweets that everyone said no - even me. It was a wonderful outing.

Happy Day!    D-O-G    (oh, that's me in the photo, sitting in front of Mr. Sherry's shop) ©2014

D-O-G's First Video Post

Gracie! - post on your own blog (see below), not mine. Jeepers, snapping me when when I'm sound asleep - that's not fair!

Anyway, hello again! I thought you'd like to see a video of me and my Cousin Lola playing at a friend's house in the woods. We're well matched. She can out turn me, but I can out run her. We have lots of fun when we play.

Cheers.  D-O-G                                                                                                        ©2014

Picture From Gracie

Hello, everybody. Gracie here. I wanted to show you this photograph I took with my Kodak Box Camera of D-O-G napping on the sofa. He grins when he sleeps! That's pretty funny. And I think his teeth look so human. What do you think?

All the best to you,  GRACIE ROOSEVELT                                                             ©2014

Our Friend, Officer Big Mac

Big Mac is a patrolman in the New York City Police Department. His beat includes the Roosevelt house on East 64th Street, all the way over to Third Avenue. They call him Big Mac because, well, he's a big fellow. Gracie says he's well over six feet tall, and he weighs a lot (I think because he eats a lot - like me). She said he's about 250 pounds. I'm only 60. And Gracie is about 75. So to us little folks, Big Mac is gigantic. He's a very friendly person. He smiles a lot. And his laugh is loud and "boisterous" (that's a word Gracie told me about).

My human and I sometimes walk the beat with Big Mac. He carries a stick with him, and he's really good at swinging it back and forth and around and around without hitting anybody. He wears a dark blue coat with a row of shiny brass buttons down the front. Pinned on the left breast is a brass badge (Mac calls it his "shield"). His hat is kind of funny looking. It's tall and tan and looks a good bit like a spittoon.

Big Mac is somewhere in the back

Once, when were out strolling with Big Mac, he saw a man push a woman down to the sidewalk, grab her purse, and run. The thief wasn't very smart. Instead of running away, he ran right toward Mac (I guess he didn't see him - though how you could miss a policeman standing there is beyond me). Anyway, the bad guy ran straight into Big Mac's arms. "Gotcha!" he said. And we waved goodbye as Mac marched the thief back to the station.

Until next time.  D-O-G                                                                                               ©2014

A Visit With Lola

My friend Lola came over for a visit yesterday. Brother Teddy took this picture of us on the sofa getting ready to take a nap after a hard play date in Central Park. Don't we look cute?

Lola is a pure-bred brindle Boxer. She's very smart. And she has almost as much energy as I do (I can still outrun her, but she can out turn me, so we're pretty well matched). Her human is Geoff, who got her when she was just a few weeks old. Lola is now almost five - the same age as Teddy.

We wrestle a lot, which is fun. No biting allowed, of course (but we do growl at each other). It's all great fun.

Nap time. See you soon.   D-O-G.                                                                             ©2014

A Stroll in the Park

Gracie took me to Central Park today. It's the first week of April, so it's pretty early yet to see signs of spring, but on this sunny, warm day there were a few. We saw some daisies poking up through the ground, and lots of tiny buds on the trees. And we watched robins hopping across the still brown lawns looking for a tasty treat.

Because it was Sunday there were a great many carriages on the roads. Some had two wheels, but most had four. Some had a single horse, most had two, and a few really fancy ones had four or six - just to impress dogs like me, I guess. New Yorkers love to drive through the Park.

There were lots of dogs, too (but I didn't see any of my friends). They were barking up a storm. Between the barking dogs, the clip-clops of the horses' hooves, the sound of the wheels grinding on the gravel, Central Park was a pretty noisy place today. The skating rink was closed. The dairy hasn't opened yet. But it won't be long.

On the way home Gracie stopped by a sidewalk vendor and bought a pair of pretzels - one for her and one for me. It was the first time I'd every tasted a pretzel. Good, but awfully salty.

Have a nice day.    D-O-G.                                                                                        ©2014