I'm Doing Great!

Well, I've been gone about a week now, and while I don't think I'll be able to write very often, I thought I'd just let everyone know I'm doing very well. Like I think I mentioned before, there are dogs in Heaven, and now I'm one of them!

Because of certain rules, I can't tell you everything I've seen up here. God is really into the whole "big reveal" thing when the time comes, and so everyone up here has to be quiet about how things are. But I've been cleared to share a few things...

1. There's something in the Bible about a lion lying down with a lamb. That's true. They live just down the block from me, and they pretty much just lie there all day, just to show everyone they can do it. That's their whole day. Seems a little showy to me, but hey, it's their thing and it doesn't really affect me, so no problem.

2. Some of the Biblical people, in fact, most of them, really like it when you talk to them and ask questions. And for some reason, they have no problem understanding me even though I'm a dog. But there are other people, Jonah for example, who really seem to understand what a pain they were on Earth, and would just as soon put that behind them. Some of Joseph's brothers are like that too; but not all of them are up here, for some reason.

3. The biggest celebrity up here, other than Jesus of course, is Adam. Man, that guy... anyplace else, he'd be a psychiatrist's dream. Talk about guilt. But up here, there seems to be such a sense that sin really has been taken care of. So it turns out that Adam is really one of the most interesting people up here, because he has a perspective no one else has. The down side is that it's really hard to get an appointment with him because everyone wants to talk to him, and frankly, vent their frustrations to him. But I'm on his waiting list, and I have an appointment for March 16, 3742. So I have time to think about it.

Well, I'm on the verge of giving too much information, so we'll leave it there. But let me just say that I'm fine. I can hear again, I'm gaining weight, I can run, and I smell a lot better. My former next-door neighbor dog, Herschel Nowatka, is up here. I always thought he was Jewish, but whatever. It was good to see someone I knew the first day. We're actually roommates, but it's all just friends at this point. If anything further developed, one of us would have to move out until we were married. They're really strict up here. But I don't think anything's going to happen; I'm saving myself for my special friend, Goofy Shields. And he's not going to move up here until (CENSORED).

Gotta go - I have choir practice.

The End, for Now

This afternoon, at around 2pm, Mabel passed away peacefully in the vet's office.

Thank you all for your prayers for her and for us these past few weeks.

Sincerely,

The editor of Mabel's DogBlog

Still Hanging!

Don't worry folks, I haven't gone anywhere yet!

I haven't had a chance to go to the vet yet, so I don't have anything new to tell you. But as far as how I'm feeling, I'm basically O.K. I'm more tired and my walks are much shorter.

I'm having trouble remembering things. Sometimes I just stand there for awhile, and my family's pretty baffled by it, but it's just that I start to do something and Sometimes I just stand there for awhile, and my family's pretty baffled by it, but it's just that I start to do something and Sometimes I just stand there for awhile, and my family's pretty baffled by it, but it's just that I start to do something and...

Wait a minute - I may have said some of that before. Oh well.

On a lighter note - these two cats go into a bar at the same time, though they don't know one another. A priest and a rabbi are also there, but they're part of a different joke. After being there for awhile and becoming a little wacky (even for cats), one cat looks at the other and says, "Hey, is that the sun or the moon outside?" The other one says, "I don't know, I don't live around here!"

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA I just crack myself up sometimes.

(A big shout out to my friend Roscoe!!)

Hanging In There!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers for me and my family.

We told 15-yr-old Courtney this afternoon. She had a tough time with and there were tears, but she's accepting it and she'll go through it just fine. Actually, "we" means the parents; I wasn't involved in the announcement because I was outside at the time because there are men working on our house this week, and I've found the coolest stuff to eat left over from their lunches every day.

I think the plan for me is to just let things take their course. I'm old - I think I've mentioned that many times - and treatment would be painful, with no real guarantees of a positive outcome. Plus, I've heard bad things about that chemo stuff. Believe me, no one wants to see a bald Cocker Spaniel. Although Melissa Etheridge looked pretty cool at the Grammys with her shaved head. But I'm not Melissa Etheridge; for one thing, I'm a dog. Plus, there are other differences - I don't play the guitar (and if I did, I wouldn't play an Ovation guitar), and I'm not a lesbian. I don't know many dogs who are lesbians. But I digress.

So, basically I'm feeling pretty good most of the time, but I do have good days and not-so-good days. I don't want to eat as much as normal, and my walks are getting a little harder. But I'm pretty happy, and it was so great to see Courtney when she came back from camp last night.

I have a vet appointment later this week, and I'll have more information at that time, including, to be blunt, how much time I can expect to be here. But, contrary to what many theologians believe, there are animals in Heaven, and I plan to continue my blog from there!

Yes, that's right. As long as I can get an internet connection (preferably DSL), you can expect to hear from me once in a while. My only concern is that I've heard rumors they use Mac's up there; I'm strictly a PC dog. But, those are only rumors and even if they prove to be true, I'm sure I can figure it out. I'm sure I'll be able to do lots of things I can't do now, like obey instructions, hear better, and smell a heck of a lot better. But, I'll let you know how it all turns out. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself; for now, I'm still in Torrance (believe me, that's not Heaven), and I'll continue to blog as often as I can.

Well, that's it for now. I'll talk to you later this week.

Why I Haven't Written...

Hello everyone,

It's been awhile since I've blogged. There's been a few things going on.

I've been a little sick lately, and last week the guy I live with took me to the vet to get treatment for an ear infection. What can I say - we Cockers just get weird problems. Plus, as I've mentioned many times, I'm old.

Well - it turns out that the ear infection is the least of my problems. The vet found a large tumor around my tummy, and it seems that I have cancer.

Please pray for me, and for my family as they face some tough decisions about me. And pray for 15-year-old Courtney, who is at camp this week and doesn't know about this yet.

Talk to you soon,

Miss Mabel

Something to Think About...

I'm busy today and don't have a lot of time, but I just wanted to put this out there for you to think about...

Dogs do not have shoulders.

Bye for now.

Small Dog Musical Instrument Case Covers

This week on Mabel's Wacky Website of the Week, I'm not so much showing you a weird website, as much as a weird product which happens to be on a website. I know, this is a fairly new feature and I'm already stretching the rules, but back off and give me a break. You'll just have to trust that I'm smart enough to know what I'm doing. If you don't like that reason, then I'll just fall back on my reason for everything weird that I do - I'M VERY OLD.

I live with a musician, and he has guitars sitting around in the living room, which I run into a lot (the guitars, not the living room). The guitars are in cases, to protect them from scratches, dents, or other guitar-related mishaps. By the way, this guy seems to have named his guitars... he calls one "Martin," and the other one is "Taylor." What a nut.

Anyway, the cases seem to be a good idea, because "Martin's" case is pretty scratched up, but "Martin" himself looks pretty good. I can't help but think that if it wasn't for the case making the sacrifice for "Martin," then "Martin" would look like the case, and that would be bad for "Martin." I'm going to dispense with the quotes now.

So, guitar cases are a useful, good thing. But that should be enough, for heaven's sake. Who in their right mind would think that there needs to be a case for a case? Well, apparently some people think that way, because there's a product out there called Small Dog Case Covers, designed to protect the appearance of musical instrument cases.

Naturally, I was somewhat curious about this thing, for a few reasons. One, I happen to be a small dog, and I made a mistake and thought the thing was "Small Dog Cases," and I thought this could be handy in case I need to go anywhere, because I'm old and I have arthritis. Two, again because after all I happen to be a small dog myself, I'm always looking for products to endorse.

But this is absurd. There's nothing wrong with a few scratches on a guitar case - that's a natural, beautiful thing. Just ask Martin. He won't answer you, because he's a guitar. But you get the point.

To make it even more silly, these Case Covers apparently cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $150, which is a few streets over from the neighborhood where I live. But beyond silly, take a look at the site - that supposed "dog" is just plain creepy. He looks like some sort of amphibious, dragon-like creature.

So to all you musicians out there, don't get sucked into the pretension of this product. And to all you small dogs, like me, who live for the day that we might get into a lucrative endorsement contract, this small dog says "no, thank you." (there are the quotes again).


***Addendum, January 30, 2009:

For some reason, this particular post has attracted a number of comments, trying to correct misunderstandings about what exactly Small Dog Case Covers really are. So let me just address those comments...

You people need to relax. This post is almost 4 years old. It was written in an attempt to be funny. Not everyone thinks it's funny, but some people did. Mabel was a dog. Dogs can't read or write, and have no idea what guitars are, let alone guitar case covers. Therein lies the humor. Or no humor, depending on what you think is funny.

Do you have any idea how stupid you look defending a product on a "dog's blog?" If you don't like what was written - then don't read it anymore. Move on with your little lives and forget about it.