Today, the human went to the meat store and got some smoked bones. Excellent. She also got some other stuff, including beef sticks. When she got home, she found that the beef sticks were gone and the plastic bag was shredded on the floor. So who does she blame? The dog, of course.

*burp*

Last night, the human and I went for a walk in a park at one of my favorite places. It was cold, but there were lots of things to sniff. We saw some things that looked like dogs and barked and howled almost like dogs. But they weren't. The human thought they were coyotes. They ran away from me, and I got the feeling they didn't want to play. It was sort of a relief when it was time to get in the car and go home.

This weekend, the human and I went up to a dog show in Crete. Grandma Breeder was there showing my gorgeous sister Lilly. She showed the human how to groom me. Then we went in the ring for Novice and got a ribbon. Lilly was in a different class, which she won, and then she got reserve winner's bitch. We decided to go home that night, and I got to have a small piece of Italian beef as a treat. It was GOOD.

It was a gorgeous day tonight, and we went to the wetlands. Lilly went to the show today, and this time she got Winner's Bitch and five championship points. Then another flat-coated retriever got Best in Show! The judge must have had superb taste.

We may get to see Grandma Breeder again soon, and I hope Lilly and I get to spend some time playing. It'd also be fun to see my mother and Uncle Irish. If they come up here, Bogart could liven things up even more.

When my human first got me Borat the bear, I was still a puppy and he was bigger than me. Now I can carry him around in my mouth.

This weekend, the human and I went to some dog shows in Springfield. Saturday, it was just me and another dog named Zia, who turned out to be my cousin! Zia won, but that was OK because her people were nice and they let us play afterwards. We went to the grandhumans house and I had to wear mens underwear with my tail sticking out the fly because I was in heat. Not exactly the fashion statement I'd been hoping for.

Sunday, there was another show, and the flatcoat lady was there along with my buddy Spirit, Danica, and Hitch. The judge was really nice and talked to me and my human about what we were supposed to do. Zia won again, but I beat Danica to get Reserve Winner's Bitch. Oh well, she beat me in June to take Reserve, so I guess that makes us even. Danica's pretty cool, except she gets really bossy when we're in her house.

On the way home, I got a few bites of cheeseburger, and then the human stopped by T.J. Maxx and got me some Calvin Klein briefs on clearance. Nothing comes between me and my Calvins ... at least not when I'm in season.

It looks like the heat thing is happening again. The human was going to take me to special dog camp on Saturday, but then she took a look at me on Friday and decided not to. We can't go to dog park or the wetlands because of my extra good smells. We also won't get to start this rally class next week.

Fortunately, my friends Bogart and Hiliute came over to play yesterday. Bogart sniffed my butt more than usual, but this heat thing wasn't that big a deal for them, so we just ran around and had fun.

The weather's getting colder again, just like it did last year when I was still little. The human and I did a little tracking the other night and I found the article. Go me! We're also going to start a new obedience class next week called "Rally," which sounds like fun. It's getting dark earlier, but I hope we can still go to dog park tonight.

Yesterday, I was in the Labor Day parade with mrscake. It was hot, but a lot of people paid attention to me and said that I was very pretty. The best part was the picnic. Not only was there shade, but there were also hot dogs! We sat down with some of the human's friends and she gave me a little of hers. It was GOOD. One of the other humans was just sitting there with a hot dog in her hand, only a few feet away from my nose. So I decided to help her give it to me. Unfortunately, right as I was liberating the hot dog, she said, "Aoife!" and they took it away from me. Whuff. A little later, though, someone was kind enough to drop almost an entire hot dog on the ground. Believe me, it didn't stay there long.

Monday, my LJ buddy doomsey came to town and I showed him my excellent retrieving skills. I now have some dead bird dummies that I really like, and I'm learning about doing doubles.

Tuesday, we went to retrieving class, and they had something different to throw for us. Real dead birds. I wasn't at all sure I wanted to put one in my mouth, and the human said she couldn't blame me. The live bird was a lot cooler, and I liked chasing it. But it cheated and ran under a car and then wouldn't come out.

The human tried another dead bird Wednesday morning, and I picked it up and carried it for a little while. I haven't quite made up my mind on this yet.

I've finally emerged as a dark dog candidate in the presidential race:

http://www1.inews3.com/index.php?first=Destiny&last=Aoife