Since we lived in Mallard Cove apartments, I didn't get much chance to exercise, and Bear, who had just moved from a big yard didn't either, Mom and Dad thought it would be a great idea to arrange "play dates". Bear would come to play, it was fun to play tug of war with the big rope my Dad had bought and Bear would bring his tennis balls. I tired pretty quickly at first. My eyes would practically droop off my face. Over time though I improved my stamina and had a good time. Sometimes Bear even got to spend the night when his Mom was out of town. Some days we would have official "dog day". This meant fun for dogs!! They would take us to a nearby forest preserve and let us run around, we could chase the tennis ball really far, and bark at all the kites.

Once Mom and Bear showed up in the neighborhood, sometimes I had to spend the night at my grandparents. They had a big yard too, but it didn't make up for my not getting to go on vacation. (Mom and Dad had play dates too)It was after one of these vacations that Dad and Mom decided to move to Virginia. Bear got to go first, then Dad came back for me. It was a long ride in the car with Dad and my Uncle Brian-we needed him to help with the driving- even though I volunteered. (I guess it was something about the fact that I have 2 left paws) When the car finally stopped, there was Bear!

 Now Mom, Dad , Bear and I all live together. They haven't really improved much on the yard situation, but I hear that will change soon when we move to our new house. In our current house my favorite spot is the corner of the kitchen by the breakfast bar, they think that I like it there because it is an out of the way spot to hide in, but really it is a darn good place to catch any crumbs that may fall!