Dear Oscar, What kind of energy does a 1-year, 4-month-old puppy have? -- Pupped-Out in Pensacola

Dear Pupped,

Let me put it this way. I happen to live with a 1-year, 4-month-old. And that dog is crazy! Take this morning, for example. We went for a 4-mile run with our human. At the very end, in the fields, he let us run off our leashes, and we got a pretty good sprint in. At one point, I gave her a head start and showed that I can still run the 100-yard dash faster and bowl her over. But, for the most part, I just sort of rambled along, while she ran helter-skelter all over the place.

But that's not the crazy part. After a quick dip (and she doesn't hesitate jumping in; it's all or nothing with this pup!), we got back on leash and ran the .6 miles back home. We came inside, un-did our leashes, and that's when she went berserk. Jumping this way and that, hopping on and over the couch, she wanted to play! We ran out the dog-door into the backyard and she launched into full-on puppy play! Running circles in the yard, jumping on her back legs, rolling over... you just don't get that kind of enthusiasm out of anything but a 1-year, 4-month puppy. She is totally bonkers.

Hope that answers your question!

Oscar

Winter One More Time

I always say that my favorite season is the one I'm in right now (for example, rain and mud is my current fave -- not that I love having to get toweled off everytime I come back in the house). However, this weekend, we got one more taste of winter, and boy was it fun.

In the midst of Mud Season, the way one experiences more winter is to go where it's still winter. And here in the East, that's in the White Mountains. And not just anywhere in the Whites; we had to visit Tuckerman Ravine.

Gladys and I served as important crewmembers of Tuckerman Mark Aiken at this weekend's Tuckerman Inferno. That's right: Mark is a "Tuckerman" -- that's what they refer to individuals who compete in all five events that make up the event (run, kayak, bike, hike, and ski). And, yes, individual women are "Tuckerwomen."

I am sure that each individual will tell you they could not do it alone; the crew is the most important part. Our crew consisted of Ali, Heather, Sheila, myself, and Gladys (Sarah was around for moral support -- and to give Mark a Coke), but, as I am sure you assume, Gladys and I played the most important role. Whenever possible, I attempted to sample any food items Ali tried to give Mark (I didn't want anyone poisening him) and we wagged our tails whenever we saw him.

Then we hiked all the way up to Tuckerman Ravine to see him ski. I have been to Tuckerman's Ravine before, but it looked alot different in April -- especially this April. There were crevasses and falling ice -- not really the sort of place dogs should be running free. And, sure enough, Ali had us on leashes the whole time until we finally started down. What does she think, I'm going to jump into a crevasse? Well, seeing as I didn't even know what a crevasse was, she might have had a point. Anyway, I doubt I would have jumped in one anyway; none of the tourists with food were hanging at the crevasses; they were all at the floor of the Ravine. Doesn't take a wonder dog to know that that's where the action is.

Anyway, I'm not expecting too much more winter from here on out, so it was nice to get one last taste.

Dear Oscar, How did your annual check-up go? -- Vet in Victoriaville

Dear Vet,

Yes, I went to the dog doc this week. Also with me at the same visit was Waffle the cat. Let me say this: we go to Richmond Animal Hospital, and that place is top-rate! Everyone pets me, and they have treats there. Did you hear me? Treats!

Waffle, on the other hand, doesn't share my enthusiasm about the vet. Mark had to crawl into the attic area to corral him. Then he meowed all the way while we were in the car. Once there, he slunk around in the corner, like a party-pooper. Not me, though. I was in the middle of everything!

Things didn't get any better for Waffle during his examination. Dr. Dan observed that Waffle gained a significant amount of weight -- the equivalent of a human gaining 20 pounds in a year. Bummer for Waffle, Dr. Dan recommended a diet -- ouch! Well, maybe if that cat got off his rear end and chased some mice every now and then. Or at least feigned enthusiasm while at the vet... maybe then you'd get some love, Waffle!

Case in point: Dr. Dan mentioned that I had gained 5 pounds since my last visit. He emphasized that this is not cause for concern! He said any weight I gained seems to have been in the form of muscle, and that I am a picture of perfect health and fitness!

So keep the treats coming! Whoops... but none for you Waffle. Sorry!

Talk soon, Oscar

Dear Oscar, I noticed you weren't keeping up your running log. And now that it's updated, where did the older entries go? Just asking -- Mile-Counter

Dear Miley,

It's never a bad thing to quantify your activities. Whether it's a fish you caught (how many inches and pounds?) or a run around the block (time and distance)... the specifics are never bad to have.

Which is why, as you have noticed, I keep a running log. In January, however, I stopped being able to enter more runs. Since then, each time I tried to update the Log, my computer would freeze up. You can imagine how disconcerting this was; dogs aren't even supposed to be playing with computers in this house!

Two months of dates and distances (in addition to whether or not I had a small black four-legged running partner, and, if yes, for how far) were beginning to weigh down my walnut-sized retriever brain, so I did something drastic: that's right, I deleted all of the past Log entries and restarted in February.

So far, it's working pretty nicely. If you have questions about past runs no longer listed, I will take the angler's approach: They were BIG runs. And LOTS of them.

Your friend, Oscar