Where the Wild Snorkies Are – A bed time story for naughty doggies!

By Storese Meatstack as told to Opie’s Mom

Inspired of course by Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are – Our family’s favorite bedtime story!

The night that Opie put on his Human suit and made mischief of one kind

And another

His mother called him “WILD THING!”

And Opie said “I’LL EAT YOU UP! Or GRRRRRRRR!”

So he went to bed without eating anything.

That very night in Opie’s crate a blanket forest grew until his ceiling hung with soft flannel and the wall became the world all around and a freeway tumbled by with a private van for Opie and he drove all through a night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are.

And he when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws. They also yipped their terrible yips and barked their terrible barks and howled their terrible howls!

Till Opie said “BE STILL!” And tamed them with the magic trick

of sniffing all of their butts and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all

and made him King of all wild things.

And now, cried Opie, “Let the wild rumpus start!”

Play Wild Rumps Video Now Please 🙂

 

“Now Stop!” Opie said and sent the wild things off to drink water.

But Opie – King of the Wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.

Then from far away he smelled duck, potato and liver treats and little boy feet.

So he gave up being king of the wild things

But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go we’ll eat you up – we love you so!”

And Opie said, “No!”

The Wild things yipped their terrible barks and howled their terrible howls and sniffed each other’s butts, but Opie got his leash and caught the magic van ride home

And drove back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own home

Where he found his supper waiting for him

And it was still…. In the bowl!

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Friendly Friday – Opie and Friends!

My Buddies – Doggy and Human!

 

Hi All, Opie here. I thought it might be fun to show you some of my buddies!

So here they are – Opie and Friends!     

Poppy and I are really “gettin’ it on” Good times!

Here’s a better shot of Poppy!

This is Woody! We are just reacquainting ourselves.

It was a good day at Oberrieder Dog Park. Don’t know these guys but we had fun!

I didn’t catch this guy’s name either, but he was only interested in a quick sniff. He didn’t stay long.

And here are my best friends in the whole world! My big hu-brother Greg!

And my little hu-brother Michael!

They are my “bestest” friends in the whole

DOGIVERSE!

 

What I got for my Birthday and How I scared the Stuffing Out of Mama!

Sunday was my actual birthday! When I woke up mama wished me a happy birthday and then rushed off to take Gregory to some kid’s house. When she came back, I got a lovely piece of turkey sausage in my breakfast and lots of tummy rubs. Turkey Sausage is so, so yummy. I had a smile on my belly all day after that! Mama promised me that my next presents would come on Monday. And they did! But before I tell you about them, I have to tell you about how I scared the stuffing out of Mama.

In the afternoon, Mama took me with her to pick up Gregory from that kids house. We drove a long time, longer than it takes me to go to the far dog park or to pick the kids up from school. It was a great ride. Mama let me ride in the front seat and let the window down a little. I had my head out the whole time! It was great! That was a present in and of itself. We finally got to the kid’s house. Mama turned off the car and my leash to the arm of the car seat and let the window almost all the way up. There was only a little bit of room left. She told me she’d be right back. She was getting Gregory from the kid’s house. I could hear lots of kids and even some dogs barking. I didn’t want her to leave me. I wanted to come too. She took the key out of the ignition and got out of the car. She locked the car with her car keys and made the car beep.

Mama waved at me and walked up the driveway. She said she was sorry, but she’d be right back. Well, I knew she would be but I couldn’t help whining and crying. And I really wanted to go with her into the house. There were more kids and dogs in there. So I jumped around a lot in the car. Guess what? The leash came loose. It just came off the arm of the car seat! Wow! Then I put my paws on the door of the car. I put my paws on the special button, and the window started to go down. Yippee! Usually only Mama can make the windows go up and down! So, being a dog of action I jumped out of the car and went looking for my Mama, my leash dragging behind me.

I found her. She was just walking back to the car with Gregory. She was really surprised to see me — really, really, really, really surprised. Gregory was surprised too. Mama grabbed my leash and asked what I was doing out of the car and how I got out. She told me what a good boy I was for coming straight to her and for not barking at any of the people in the driveway. She rubbed my head, scratched my hears and told me what a good Opie I was for being so smart to come straight to Mama. She wasn’t the least bit mad!

When we got back in the car, though, she was really upset about the window. She couldn’t figure out how I got it down if the car wasn’t on. I think she’s still scratching her head about it. She kept playing with the window and turning the car on and off when we went on my B-day trip to the Dog Park. On the car ride back she told me that I was a good boy, but I scared her really badly. She said I could have gotten really lost and that would be such a tragedy on my birthday to be lost. I could tell she was really scared. I wondered if she’d ever let me ride in the car again. She muttered something about it being a cold day some place (I didn’t catch where. She was muttering) before I got left in the car again. That’s fine by me. I don’t like being left in the car. Maybe from now on Mama will take me everywhere. Wouldn’t that be great?

Oh My Presents!

 

Okay, let me tell you…

I got three happy birthday tennis balls. I got Mr. Greenie to replace Mr. Weenie (I tore up Mr. Weenie a few days ago. He’s in the toy hospital.) Here is Mr. Weenie. I had him a week but then I tore his head off. He has the best little hat to chew on. I guess I got carried away.

 

Here’s my new Mr. Greenie. He’s got a cool head to chew on as well. Mama hopes he’ll last longer than Mr. Weenie.

 

I hope so. Mr. Greenie squeaks. So do my tennis balls. I also got a tennis ball bone. It’s great! It squeaks too. I also got my own personal portable water container for any dog park we got to.

Here I am playing with Mr. Greenie and my tennis ball bone. I can’t decide within one I like better. I love them both. I fetch and play tug of war with both of them. They are so fun!

 

 

 

Mama got me a new seatbelt harness too. I’m not too fond of that. Daddy and Mama put me in it today and adjusted it so I can’t get out of it and I can’t bite it very well. Mom muttered something about seeing if I could escape from this. I don’t’ quite know what she meant by that, but she kept telling dad to make sure it was good and snug. I kept thinking, “Okay, already! It’s snug enough!” I’m not keen on this particular present, but I am still grateful for ALL of my presents.

Best of all, Mama got me a beautiful doggy blanket. It’s just for me. I can sleep on it in my bed or on the couch or have it in the car. It’s soft and it has bones all over it. This will make for good dreams, right?

Oh and I went to Oberrieder Dog park today too. I hadn’t been in a long time. Luckily, there were some dogs there this time. I played with a little grey dog for a while. I tried to race with another dog, but she just wanted to smell everywhere. I did that for a while too but I was itching to play.

I had a great time. I’m going back again soon I think.

I want to thank all of you for my birthday wishes. It feels great to be 1. Michael says that I’m really 7.

I wonder if that means he’ll let me play Legos with him.

 

Getting back on my feed! Revving up for Crate training.

Mom says I'm eating like a little monster, but I have a puppy tummy. That's not good.

Hi there,

Opie here!

According to Dad, I’m “back on my feed.” I hadn’t been eating all my food. I’d eat part of my breakfast and then Mom would take it up. I eat two meals a day. At about 6 PM I’d get my dinner but I’d only eat about half of that.  I was eating really only one meal a day.  I wasn’t getting very many treats either.  I dont’ know why I didn’t want to eat.

My tummy felt okay, just a little full.  Mom has a theory.

I’d been eating things I shouldn’t eat and that robbed me of my appetite.

Things I’ve eaten that I shouldn’t:

1. Eraser ( 2) –   They were hidden under the boys desk where they do their homework

2.  I think I ate part of an ink pen.

3. Michael’s wood project — It was this really neat catapult that he built from scratch. He’s a little mad at me right now.

4. Paper napkins off the dinning room table

5. Corner of Gregory’s Student Atlas book

6.  Mom doesn’t know it, but I’m chewing on a piece of the living room rug. It’s in the corner.

7. Dust balls ( Mom wouldn’t like me to tell you that there are some really huge ones under the book shelf.)

8. I ate a bug outside — I don’t know what kind it was, but it was tasty. I usually look for them when the squirrels aren’t in my tree.

9. I chewed some wood bark at Overrieder Dog park. That didn’t agree with me. I threw that up. Next time, I’ll listen to mom when she says “Leave it!”

10.  I ate a hole in Michael’s sock. His socks are the best. I even try to eat them when they are on his feet! He smells so GOOD! He leaves them all sorts of places, even in my bed. I love Michael.

Mom did a clean sweep of the house a few days ago and I haven’t had any of those lovely and tasty things in a couple of days.

I ate all my breakfast yesterday and all my dinner.  I just finished all my breakfast a few minutes ago. I’m waiting on Daddy to take me for my walk.

I am definitely back on my feed.

Mom says that I’m getting into too much stuff. She was on the Internet all day yesterday pricing crates and reading about crate training.  She’s worried I’ll eat something really bad and make myself really sick. 

I might even be able to go on a family vacation with my crate.

 

From what I heard her tell Daddy, I’m supposed to like my crate. I’m going to love all the treats I get to go into it and I’ll have a place to hide my bully sticks. Mom’s even talking about making me plate of chicken breasts to expedite my love of the crate.  She wants to associate the crate with my absolute favorite treats.  I LOVE CHICKEN BREAST– Not that dehydrated stuff but the ones that Mom cooks. She hasn’t made me one in a long, long, long, long, long time.

I think I’m going to like crate training. 

I will miss the occasional eraser though. They’re very nice.

Mom says to expect a series of blogs about crate training and some stuff she’s trying to redirect my chewing issues.  She’s doing research now.

Dog Park Hijinx

Opie and Friends at the Dog Park

This has sound so adjust your volume. Enjoy!

The Boneyard vs. Oberrieder Dog Park

Nothing could have been more disappointing than driving up to the Boneyard and seeing it locked up and covered in  yellow caution tape.  City workers were standing about so I drove up to them   while Opie waved his tail happily at the familiar trees.  Why was the park closed? What happened? 

 PXP – our local BP wannabe 

What happened?  PXP, our local version of British Petroleum, had some weird seepage into our City dog park.  By the way, the Dog park is on the outskirts of a fairly well loved and well used city park. Joggers, children, hikers and dogs are frequent users.  Some pipe of theirs was leaking something icky into the park. To add insult to injury, there was some issue regarding methane gas as well. Our neighborhood association is constantly and justifiably on the warpath against this company. 

I could tell Opie didn’t understand when I didn’t pull into our usual parking spot and get him out of his hated seat belt harness. He’d endured strangers invading the van to get the boys out for school and now no dog park! No wrestling with Poppy, Chase, Isabella, Lola, Woody and his new friend Rocky! Oh Foul, foul despair!   We went home and both of us had our walk with our tails dragging the ground. 

 Saturday, we went to see the Owl Movie, (Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole)  and left Opie at home.  When we returned, we discovered that he’d destroyed two living room pillows from the couch.  The living room looked like a blizzard had hit.  I would have taken a picture but I was too busy trying to pick up up a mountain of cotton batting and forgot all about my camera.  This was PXP”s fault! Not Opie’s! He was bored. He had no fun times with friends!  He’d ignored the pillows for months.  Why destroy them now?  We weren’t even gone that long! 

 Checking out a New Dog Park! 

We got on the Internet and looked at Dog parks in our area. It turns out that there were several other parks i the area.  Yelp.com  had reviews of all of them.  I decided that we would make a game of visiting them all to see  how we liked them.  The first one on the list was Oberrieder Park in Playa Vista, a mere 2 miles from the house. The pictures looked great. Here they are: 

Oberrieder Dog Park

 There’s no doubt about it.  This Play Vista Park is beautiful.  The trees are all grown in.  There is ample shade. It’s nestled in the heart of a rather upscale new Playa Vista Development.  The parking was free and easy and it’s a quick drive from the house.  It was definitely a nice alternative to the Boneyard.  However, I couldn’t help making comparisons to my beloved Boneyard.   To be fair, here are pictures of the Boneyard.

Wahooooo!

As you can see there  are a big differences between the two dog parks.

The most obvious difference is that the Oberrieder Park is greener and shadier.  However,  it is also considerably smaller on the small dog side of the park than the small dog side at the Boneyard.  The Boneyard small dog side is roughly three times larger than Oberrieder’s small dog section.  The ground cover is different as well.  Oberrieder has dark brown dirt and wood bark.  The Boneyard has light colored sandy gravel.  To determine which one is better for our family here are the pros and cons about each dog park.

  Oberrieder Pros 

1. Shady
2. Beautiful Scenery
3. Virtually attached to the picnic area and ideal for full family outings
4. A mere 2 miles from the house
5. Smells pretty good since owners must use plastic bags to pick up poop instead of pooper scoopers.

 Oberrieder Cons 

1.  Tree bark and dirt make it difficult to see dog poop to pick up
2. Water fountain for dogs is shallow trough which creates Mud Dawgs in any weather.
3. It’s tiny
4. The anteroom area where dogs enter is shared by the big dog side. Be careful as you enter and leave with your small dog in case a big dog is leaving or entering as you do.
5. It’s 2 miles from the house, but completely out of my way if I am bring the dog after dropping the kids off from school.
6. Our best buddies are not there — this is a big one.
7. Park and Playa Vista Development are located in a Tsunami zone
8. Residents may have forgotten that the development is sitting on a pool of natural methane. ( Big LA scandal years ago)
9. I was politically opposed to this development since it encroached on the delicate Wetlands area. I feel like a turn coat.

     Boneyard Pros

1.  The park is big on both the small dog and large dog side.  
2. The water fountain is raised to minimize Mud Dawg creations 
3. The sandy gravel makes poop highly visible 
4. Pooper scoopers do not create excess garbage ( i.e. poop bags) 
5. Segregated entrances for big and little dogs 
6. Time out area for naughty big dogs that get into fights 
7. Located within large city park with lots of facilities. Also possible use for a huge full family outing that includes skate park, playground, hiking, basketball, walking and climbing to the top of the hill for amazing city views. 
8. Amazing city views possible at the Dog park.   
9. Our morning friends  frequent the park 
10. Boneyard was created through a grass roots campaign by local Culver City Friends of Animals Group. My democratic tendencies sensibilities feel comfortable here. Power to the People and their pets! 
11. Culver City Police Department frequent drive bys and ( donut breaks in the parking lot next to the dog park) 

  

Getting to know you, getting to know all about your, hmm, hmm.. cup of tea..

 

 Boneyard Cons 

1. Little shade 
2. Sandy and dusty 
3. Smelly 
4. Hot when it’s hot and cold when it’s cold 
5. Owners who don’t pick up poop ( However, from my reading about all the Dog parks everyone has this problem.) 
6. Small crime problem in the parking lot. ( Car break ins. Not to me but others have told me stories. This may be going down with the increased patrols of CCPD. )

 

Faithful as Fido 

Clearly, there is nothing objective about my listing of pros and cons.  The bottom line is that I love the Boneyard. I am a Culver City Resident with a licensed Culver City Dog. I am as loyal  to my city as to my dog.  I’ll visit Oberrieder Dog Park. It’s got some good points, but our hearts will be with Opies’s very first dog park, where people have noticed Opie’s improvement in socialization. They remember when he used to hide under my bench, when he didn’t engage with any dogs at all, when he was possessive and wouldn’t let another dog near me and the boys. They noticed when he fetched for the first time, when he started playing and when he was friendly and easy with everyone in the park — male and female!  So, I’m loyal.  We’ll go the new parks, but we’ll be checking on the Boneyard and agitating against PXP ( Don’t get me started on them! ) to make our park safe for two legged and four legged park goers. 

Related Articles

• Methane gas closes Culver City dog park (latimesblogs.latimes.com)