Dear Oscar, What's the big rush lately? -- Puppy Trainer

Dear Trainer, Nobody's in a rush... unless you count my humans to train the new puppy, Gladys. What you are hearing are the words "Hurry Up" -- the new code word for "Gladys... go to the bathroom!"

Here's what happened. My humans were those people who claimed that they would never baby-talk if they ever got a puppy (or those other things that you've seen people baby-talking to). Then, of course, they got me. I was so cute, next thing you knew every word you heard was baby-talk. And they trained me to go to the bathroom when I heard the words, "Go potty!" (An aside: if you don't think it was humiliating then, think of how I feel now -- a fully grown dog -- still being subjected to "Go potty!"

However, there's an upside to the story. Someone called them on the baby-talk... it was Mark's little sister Lisa. "What's with the baby-talk?" I believe were her words. I guess they figured they had already trained me -- that there was no turning back. But they've gotten ahold of themselves. It's all grown-up talk so far with this new puppy, and they seem especially business-like when it comes to doing her business. "Hurry up," is the code. And, so far, Gladys is hurrying.

From a dog who never hurries (unless there's food involved), Oscar

Dear Oscar, Why have you been listening to soul music lately? -- Motown Marvel

Dear Motown, That's just "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips! The reason I've been listening to it is to honor the new addition to the team here in Richmond: Gladys the puppy! Gladys comes from a litter of six that were taken in as strays when they were 3 weeks old in Tennessee. Also in the litter were Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, and Percy Sledge (Percy was actually adopted by another Richmond family!).

Anyway, Gladys arrived yesterday, and it really brings back my puppy days. I may be big, but I'm still a pup at heart. In addition to playing, wrassling, running, and licking, I've been humming all the Gladys songs I know -- that is, the only one I know... "Midnight Train." Long live soul music!

Oscar

Dear Oscar, Is Spring ever going to come? -- Desperate for Warmth

Dear Desperate, I have good news: I have seen three sure signs that it is Spring. 1) My human took the plow and the tire chains off his truck this morning. Granted, it was snowing while he did this, but he didn't seem to think it was going to accumulate. 2) He is no longer shouldering those long 2x4-looking things and heading to Stowe every day. Instead, he is sitting at his computer, writing. And you know what that means... lots of walks to the river for yours truly! (He really likes his breaks, it seems!) Finally, 3) That same human participated in the annual "Bring Your Dog To Work" day! Does it matter that nobody else ever participates? No! Does it matter that there is a strict rule prohibiting dogs from work? No! Because it's spring! Every year, it's the same thing. We work, then we hike up to the top of the ski area where all the lifts are closed. Then we ski down. The down part, is the hard part for me. My human can actually go pretty fast on those groomed ski trails -- faster than me, that's for sure. In the backcountry, I can keep up. The photo above is how tired I was on the way home. That was a lot of running.

I hope this answers your questions!
Oscar