Hello! It is I, Baar. Baar has been feeling itchy lately so Emily and Joe took him to the vet. Baar did not want to get on the flat thing with numbers that would tell how much Baar weights. Emily and Joe tried to get Baar to go there with treats but him said noooo, not Baar! Him is soo smart.

Baar was very good for him's check up and Dr. Thompson of http://www.thefamilypetclinic.com/ said him would find out why Baar is feeling itchy.

Emily and Joe decided that Baar needs health insurance. Emily said it won't cover him's rash because that already happened, but it will be there just in case him gets sick or hurt at the park. Baar does not think him will get sick or hurt though. Baar is very healthy and smart!

January 17, 2007
Emily XXXX
RE: Pet's Name BAAR
Policy No: XXXXXX

Dear Emily XXXX:

Thank you for applying for a XXX for BAAR. We are pleased to inform you that the review of your application has been completed. The policy packet will be sent once payment has been received and accepted. Please refer to your policy regarding the effective date of your pet's coverage and other important information about your rights, duties and coverage limitations.The application has been reviewed and approved.

The following medical condition(s) fall within the EXCLUSIONS section of your policy.2305 otitis externa and *1322 atopic dermatitis*

Condition that will be permanently excluded from coverageYou may request a review of a temporary exclusion only when a claim for any condition is submitted. Be sure to write "exclusion review" on your claim form and submit along with the medical records that include the doctor's notes and detailed exams with the results of all tests performed during the past year. Note: for any exclusion to be eligible for review, the condition must be deemed cured and not likely to require additional monitoring or treatment.

Hello! It is I, Baar.

Baar is happy to tell him's blog friends that Ralph found a family of him's own.

Ralph went home with a person a couple of weeks ago but it did not end up working out. She gave Ralph a new bed to take with him. Ralph was happy to make a new friend even though it did not work out. Plus him loves him's new bed. Here is a picture of him chewing a bone on it.

You would like to see a picture of Baar with a bone too? Ok, here him is. Baar loves him's blue blanket.

Emily posted information on Ralph on www.petfinder.com. If you are looking for a new friend and have already called Emily Baar thinks you should check out petfinder.

A number of people called wanting to give Ralph a new home. One family in particular stood out and Ralph went to meet them at a dog park. Do not worry, Emily, Joe and Baar went with him.

Ralph really liked the people and they liked him. They decided that they wanted to have Ralph be in their family. Baar, Emily and Joe all went to take Ralph to him's new home. Here is a picture of Ralph relaxing on him's beds in the car on the way to him's new families house. Baar and Ralph were both tired from playing. Yessss that is Baar's tail in the picture too!

It was sad to say goodbye to Ralph. Him cried a lot when Emily and Joe left but our friend Karen from www.dogownerconnection.com was there to help Ralph get used to him's new home.

Emily was very sad that Ralph was so upset. Her cried on the way home but do not worry, Baar and Joe made her feel better. Baar misses having a friend to wrestle with whenever him wants but him is happy that pink bunnie, pink doggie and him's other stuffed animal friends got to come back downstairs. Plus no one sneaks Baar's bone anymore!

Emily and Joe told Baar that they heard from Ralph's new family and that him is happy and they love him very much. Being a foster family is hard when it is time to say goodbye but Baar hopes that him's blog friends will volunteer anyway because it is so important. If Ralph hadn't have had him's foster families to help him recover from bad things that happened, him would not have been able to move in with the family he was meant to be with. Noooo Baar does not think Ralph would have had much of a chance without him's foster families.

So, do not be afraid and sign up to be a foster family for a rescue by where you live. The happy is more then the sad and we animals never forget those that help us.

Hello! It is I, Baar. Ralph and Baar went for a visit to what the people call Stichcomb in the Cleveland Metroparks. It is a park up on a high hill. There was lots of rain so we could see the river flodded all the way to the bike trails down in the valley. Baar and Ralph got to sniff around at everything and go for a long walk with Emily and Joe. It was fun.

Here is a picture of Baar and Joe at the monument. Wait, is that a squirrel?

Since Baar was not looking Emily tried to take the picture again. This time Joe thought he saw something on the ground. Joe and Baar are just alike!

Look how fast Baar and Joe run!

That is enough running. Now Baar is tired. It is Ralph's turn.

Ralph does not have trouble focusing usually. Him is very on task. Since Ralph when up for adoption Baar does not have to blurr out him's picture anymore.

Ralph and Joe went for a run to.

After Ralph and Joe were done running Ralph relaxed for a few minutes and we had some water. Then we got to go on another walk with Mikki and Brutus at Edgewater! Baar does not have pictures - Emily said it would be too hard with so many dogs. We saw geese and waves and Brutus splashed around in the water. Emily's dad got to wear his hat and Ralph did not bark at all! Him is learning.

Some pictures from Christmas

Hello! It is I, Baar. Baar had a lot of fun for what the people call Christmas. Here is a picture of the tree Emily decorated with the presents. Baar got Joe and sweater (ok it was from Ralph too). Joe liked it. Enid and Ezra got Joe a laser level light. Joe played with that a lot.

Yesss there were presents for Baar too. Him got a tasty bone in him's stocking from Santa. Him also got a huge basket of rawhide treats from him's friends in Mentor on the Lake and Streetsburro (Thank You GiaMaria Family!). Baar does not want to share with Ralph. It was for Baar...

Emily also showed Baar something called a Nativity set. Baar did not think it was very interesting although it smelled kind of good. Emily said that when she was little she used to play with this same Nativity set every year and that it was one of her favorite things. Baar does not understand. It is not to chew on or chase and it can not pet Baar. Baar does not know why Emily likes it so much.

Baar had to stay home with Ralph on Christmas Eve. Baar did not like that. Him wanted to go with Emily and Joe. It was not fair. But Baar and Ralph did get to play at the dog park first so Baar was tired. Next year Baar is going to go with them...

Baar has been so busy hanging out with his foster friend Ralph, visiting dog parks, playing with Mikki and enjoying the season that he regretfully hasn't had time to write lately.

Joe and I are excited to be spending our first Christmas with him. Ok, so it's mostly me that's excited about it being his first Christmas - Joe's just plain happy to have him around.

Enid and Ezra are doing well and Enid continues to plot Baar's demise. She is thinking about posting some of her ideas after the new year. Right now she is focused on coming downstairs and attempting to chew as much ribbon as possible since it torments me to no end. Not because of the ribbon but because of how dangerous it is. For the last few years I've used only yarn on gifts but thought I could get away with some ribbon since she's upstairs most of the time. No such luck!

Ezra is being his usual wonderful stuff. He enjoys relaxing in bed and having as many "Ezra snacks" as he can get. He also loves playing with this feather toy and is particularly fond of stalking it when it creeps across the floor.

All of the animals are interested in their stockings. I put a rawhide for Baar in his but he discovered it and it was so cute watching him try to get it out that I ended up giving it to him. I'm sure Santa will bring him something else though.

The holidays are coming very quickly this year. We've been so busy with Ralph that I haven't had much time to do some of the fun holiday stuff like baking, watching holiday shows, visiting friends and just relaxing. Joe and I are trying to figure out how to manage the Christmas Eve and day without having Ralph alone and created a lot of the time.

Thanks for reading and if we aren't able to write again until after Christmas, please accept all of our wishes for a magical eve and a joy filled day.

We've been very busy getting ready for the holidays and taking care of all of the animals.

Ralph is doing pretty good but the two of them are quite a bit of work. Ralph is crated during the day since the boys tend to play rough and get irritated with each other at times. Unfortunately he's had some diarrhea the last few days so we've had to do lots of cleaning when we get home from work.

The other day when we got home, Ralph was crying in his create (you could hear it from outside the house) and Baar was not at the door when I got to it. Of course I panicked and when I opened the door I was hit by the smell of Ralph's accident. Baar was standing next to a crying Ralph howling. I'm really not sure what thats all about.

Sometimes when we foster I feel sad for baby Baar. I think he enjoys having other animals around but we've had to put up all of his stuffed animals (yes even the pink bunnies) because they argue over them way to much for it to be safe. I also worry that he doesn't get as much attention when we foster. However I know that he's a happy dog and is enjoying life. I think he'd want us to help other animals whenever we can.

We took Mikki, Brutus, Baar and Ralph to see Santa at the Cuyahoga County Kennel (www.doglicense.com). Santa is still available for photo's on select days of the week so if you haven't been, I highly recommend it. The price is fair and proceeds benefit the animals they serve.

We have a number of pictures and in most of them Baar is looking forward (he's such a good boy) but I personally love this one. It's like he's excited about Santa. Maybe he was telling him what he'd like this year!

Of course miss Mikkie was gorgeous. She was determined to drink out of the bucket containing ice and soda cans for the people. Brutus was very well behaved and my sister got some great photo's with her, Dick Goddard, the Elf and Santa all together. I don't have digital copies of those but I do have one of Mikki's.

We weren't sure how Ralph would do and were prepared to take him outside if Santa was a bit much for him (Ralph is not fond of hats). However he was amazing. Joe stayed with him for the photo just to make sure he didn't get to scared. He looks a bit serious in the picture. We were so proud of him! I may post his photo later - I need to edit it.

Hello! It is I, Baar. Emily and Joe brought home another foster dog to play with Baar. Ralph is a big dog like Baar. Him is a American Bull Mastiff Mix. Here is a picture of him chewing on one of Baar's bones on Baar's bed. Yes... Baar is very nice to him's foster friends. Ok, it is true that sometimes Baar gets annoyed when other dogs have him's things. Emily and Joe took all the toys away and gave us each one bone of the same size and shape to play with. Baar understands why foster doggies want hims thinks (Baar has lots of nice things afterall). But since Baar is so nice and well share, why can Baar not unshare when him wants to stop?

Baar and Ralph have lots of fun wrestling. Here are some pictures of us roughousing in the living room. Yes, Emily loves it when Ralph and Baar play in the living room! We also ran around the garage 17 times the other night (Joe counted). It was fun but at the end we got irritated with each other (it was him's fault not Baar's).

Ralph has to borrow Baar's crate while the people are not home. Emily said it is because if we have one of our arguments there will be no one to tell us to stop. She is worried that there will be an accident. Baar does not mind Ralph using him's crate, but it is Baar's crate. Ralph kept trying to take Baar's bone the other night so Baar went in the crate with it. Baar is so smart!

Now it is time for Baar to take a nap. Yes, taking care of a foster doggie is very hard work!

Hello! It is I, Baar.

Baar was enjoying a quite day at home a couple of weeks ago when a giant noisy intruder got into Baar's house!

Joe said this intruder is called Nelson. Him made this growling noise and kept getting bigger and bigger in Baar's dining room! Baar barked and backed up. Baar did not like it. Joe tried to get Baar to come see Nelson by offering him treats but Baar said no. After a few minutes Baar did not feel like going to visit Joe either since him was trying to tick Baar into getting close to Nelson.

Emily made Nelson be quiet and get small again. Baar still did not go in the dining room. No... him did not trust the big noisy Nelson. Emily convinced Baar that it was ok and him eventually got him's favorite snacks from on top of Nelson (while he was small and quiet). Baar likes playing with Joe, but when him is scared him likes Emily to make him feel better.

Baar knows you would like to see a picture of this terrible intruder. Emily relegated him to the front porch as pictured on the left. Do not let the angels next to him or him's jolly hat or candy cane trick you into thinking Nelson is not dangerous. Baar suggests caution if you decide to approach him.

It was a quiet but enjoyable holiday. After the dog park, Joe headed down to Mahoning county to have dinner with his family. Baar and I when to my parents house for dinner and enjoyed a wonderful meal with my mom, my dad, my sister Danielle, Brutus and Mikkie and their five cats.

When we arrived, Baar and Mikkie spent some time wrestling. It is so much fun to watch them have such a great time playing together. I'm always so thankful that they get along so well and have such an amazing time when they are together. After playing for a bit, they headed over to visit with Danielle and Brutus for a few minutes.

Danielle also got to visit with one of her cats, Monster. Macey (who is also staying with my parents) stayed upstairs to avoid Baar. As you may have read in previous blog enteries, Baar is not a favorite amoung cats.

Danielle has been quite ill (hence the reason all her pets are living with my parents) and it was wonderful to have her home and in good spirits for the holiday.

Two of my parents cats - Eva and Morris refused to be intimidated by Baar. Eva backs down for no one and spent most of Thanksgiving relaxing on the arm of the couch (as shown here in a picture of her, my dad, and Danielle). Eva is primarily my dad's cat and spends as much time with him as she can.

Morris on the other hand is all about my mom. He spent some time relaxing on top of the wardrobe and stretching out above the china cabinet to tease Baar. I personally think that he didn't want to leave the downstairs for fear of missing out on Turkey. Morris is quite dedicated to getting table scraps.

The table was beatuiful. My mom purchased some Party Light candles and candle holders from someone at work and they were absolutely lovely. Party Light stuff is so expensive but I have to admit that it is really high quality. If you have the money, it's totally worth it.

After working spending all day in the kitchen, my mom was finally able to relax when we sat down to dinner. She is pictured on the right with my sister. In case you are wondering, we were eating in a heated house. Quite unlike me, my mom and sister are ALWAYS cold. My mom is sporting a lovely newfoundland cap instead of her usual ear muffs.

The meal consisted of a delicious fresh turkey, homemade gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing (prepared inside the turkey - yum!) and a bag of frozen vegetables I brought instead of greenbean casserole (don't you judge me!) we scarfed down some pumpkin pie. Then my dad and sister relaxed in front of the TV. I swear this picture isn't staged - they really were sitting in the exact same position on the couch.

Baar and I took off and headed to my best friend Beth's house with Hercules, a kitten that showed up at the Under the Wing shelter in time for Thanksgiving. The photo on the right is of Hercules and Colleen, a co-worker of mine. Hercules spent the evening playing in Allie's room with her. I'm thrilled to report that Hercules was able to find a wonderful perment home with Beth's dad!

It was a lot of fun visiting with Beth and her family on Thanskgiving. Unlike my tiny family, the house was filled with several generations of people. Everyone was hanging out having fun, watching tv, talking, playing video games and of course eating too much food. Beth prepared an amazing meal with some help from Ruthie, her husbands oldest daughter.

Baar had an adventure of his own at Beth's house that he'll probably write about in his next blog entry so I'm going to keep it under wraps for now.