Checking the mailbox

I haven't checked the mailbox in a long time.  Would you like to come with me to take a look?  Come on, let's go.

First, we go down the hallway.

And through some doors.

Then we go down some stairs.

You are still following me, right?  Okay, good.

We are almost there.

Ah, here we are!

I wonder if there is anything in the mailbox.  There could be a lot of stuff, or there could be nothing.

There is only one way to find out --

WHOOSH!!!

There was a lot of stuff in the mailbox.

There is a homemade greeting card from Beanie Mouse along with a homemade envelope!

This is what the card looks like.  It is greeting card #1,732 which I have to register on Beanie's Found-Art blog.

And inside the card is a London bus keyring that I won in Beanie's Birthday Trombola.  That is beary cool.

I will put my keys on it right now.  Thanks Beanie!

And next we have a postcard from Sandy.

"Oh that is a beautiful postcard!" said Feathers.

It is indeed a nice postcard from Quadra Island, B.C. where Sandy has been having some fun adventures lately.  Thanks Sandy!

Next up is a postcard from Jerry and Ben who have been tagging along on a recent trip to Ohio!  I guess it is nice to be on saBEARtical.

"Coooooooool," said Ooogie.

Thanks Jerry and Ben!

And finally, we have a letter here from... huh... Sandy... again?  Yes, that's what it seems to be.  There is a cool bear sticker on the envelope!

"Woof!" said Parker.

Here is a closeup of the bear sticker.

Inside the envelope is a card and an extra prize magnet from the 2015 Spring Photo Contest. It is no ordinary magnet, however.  The magnet is a magnet of protection by the sacred bear spirit to ward off evil spirits.

But it also does double duty as a refrigerator magnet for shopping lists.  Thanks Sandy!

Well, that was quite a mail haul, don't you think?  Thank you everyone, thank you beary much!  Have a beary good day!

My puppy

Over a week went by, and still no one contacted me about a lost dog.

"Well, I guess that means..." I paused, then turned to reach for the flyer.

"...YOU CAN STAY WITH US!" we all cheered.

"Woof!"

The puppy jumped on me.  Again.

"What will you name him, Ajdin?" Uncle Tibbs asked.

I scratched my head.  I hadn't thought about it too much.

"How about... Fido?" I said.  The puppy shook his head.

"Rover?  Clifford?  Lassie?  Jerry?  Sequoia 2.0?"  The puppy yawned.

"Ah.... hmmm... how about... since I met you in a park...  how about... Parker?"

"Woof!"

"Okay then... everyone, meet Parker, my new puppy!"

"Woof!"

Bathtime

It was time to give the puppy a bath.

I found a small tub and added some water and soap in it.  Then I also got a big towel and took my hoodie off just in case things got a little messy.

"Alright," I said to the puppy.  "In you go."

He didn't budge.

"Come on now, hop in.  The water feels real nice!" I tried again.

He still did not move.

"Okay," I said, picking him up.  "Maybe you need a little help getting in ---"

He slipped out of my paws and made a run for it!

"Hey come back here!" I called.

"I'll stop him," said Feathers.  She flew over and stopped his escape.

The puppy quickly changed directions and ran the other way.

"I wiiiiiiiiiiiill stoooooooooooooop hiiiiiiiiiiim," said Ooogie.

"Oooooooohhhh... wheeeeeereeeee diiiiiiiid heeeeeee gooooooo?"

"He's on your back Ooogie," I said.

"Alright, enough is enough," I said.  "Come here right now or ---"

SPLASH!!!

The puppy jumped on me and I lost my balance, falling backwards straight into the tub of soapy water.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"  Uncle Tibbs tried to cover his mouth.

"Oooh Ajdin!" said Feathers.  "Who is taking the bath - you or the puppy?"

"Haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa haaaaaaa," said Ooogie.

"You know what?" I said.  "Taking care of a puppy is a lot of work."

"Woof!"

The puppy

Continued from here...

As I was walking home, I had a beary strange feeling as if I was being watched, as if something was following me.  I turned to look over my shoulder.  The puppy I had met in the park followed me home!

"What are you doing here?" I said.  "Go home!"

It looked at me with sad, puppy dog eyes (I am a sucker for those).  Then I realized that it didn't have a home.

"Hmm," I said aloud.  "No puppy should be alone by himself.  And you must be hungry.  Perhaps you can stay with me for a while."

"Woof!" he said.

"But let me go inside first and explain the situation to everyone.  You stay right here and don't go anywhere.  I'll be back in a few minutes."

I opened the door... and the puppy darted inside!

"Hey come back!" I yelled.

The puppy headed straight for Uncle Tibbs who was curled up on the couch taking a nap.

"No!  Come back here!" I said.  But it was too late.  The puppy had climbed onto Uncle Tibbs.

"Woof!"

"Unggrrrmmm... eeerrr... mmm..." Uncle Tibbs murmured.  Then he rubbed his eyes and sat up.  "IT'S A PUPPY!!!"

"Everyone come here!  Look, it's a puppy!" he exclaimed.

"He is so cute!" Feathers said.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww," said Ooogie.  Apparently everyone loves puppies.

"I can explain," I said.  "I was taking a walk in the park like you told me to, Uncle Tibbs, and I met this friendly puppy there.  He followed me home."

"He has no collar," said Feathers.  "Does he belong to anyone?"

"Caaaaaaaan weeeeeeee keeeeeeeeeep hiiiiiiiim?" asked Ooogie.

"I think we should put up some flyers," said Uncle Tibbs.  "And if no one calls about him in one week, then we can keep him.  How about that?"

So we made signs.  Everyone helped put them up.

"Well that's that," I said, putting up the last sign.

"Woof!"

"Yep, it's been quite a day..." I paused.  Something smelled... stinky.  And it wasn't me.  I got closer to the puppy.

"Pee-yew!  I think you need a bath," I said.

"Woof!"

I had never given a puppy a bath before.  I guess I'll need a tub, some soap and water.  This should be easy, right?