A Tail of Two Cities

Hello, this is Toby Larone speaking. I figured it is about time that my voice be heard around here.
Over the couple years that I've lived with Nick and Katie, we have been on the move several times. On the weekend I moved in with them back in August '09, they were already packing it up and getting ready to move into another place (lucky for me, it was much bigger and had lots of stairs for me to run up and down, up and down). A year after that, we moved into another place with an icky landlord, which consequently forced us to move down to Concord for a few weeks in November last year. I liked it in Concord because my grandma spoiled me with daily walks and lots of love. Plus, I was finally allowed on the bed.
Then Katie brought me down to Garden Grove, which I didn't mind because I got to torment Peanut (I won her over with my good looks eventually, and now we're friends) and I could go outside whenever I wanted to because of this thing called a "doggie door." Katie was always resting, and she let me keep her company on the bed each night. When Nick came to visit, we would go to the dog beach, which is my favorite place ever. I could dig, chase, and rough house without any punishment!
On January 1 we started a long and painful drive up to Portland. I do not like long drives. I'm thinking that my parents get the hint, because I avoid eye contact and don't respond to their pets while I'm in the car. Well, that 11-hour journey was a doozy. Luckily we ended up at a nice couple's house with a super huge backyard for me to run and play in. I think it was worth the drive.
A month after that, we moved into another place-- this time with a tiny backyard, but no roommates and lots of 4-legged friends nearby. We've lived here for about 8 months now, but I think something's up again.
I noticed it when Katie and Nick started packing both of the cars full to the brim. They even took the futon from the guest room-- that was my favorite hiding place! We went on a two hour drive and arrived at Auntie Linda and Uncle's Mike's home. Next to the beach, this is my favorite place to be. There are tons of deer to chase (the chase is worth getting yelled at), and SO many squirrels that tease me-- they're so fast, but I know I will get one someday.


Nick and Katie unloaded their cars and moved everything into the little cabin on the property. The cabin has some scary spiral stairs--the first few nights I was too afraid to climb them, but Katie gave me so much love after I climbed them myself that I realized it's not too bad after all.

Here's what the cabin looks like from the inside:

We stayed at the cabin for a couple nights, then Katie took me back to Portland. Lucky for me, we went back again that next weekend. I got to run and sniff every inch of their 6 acres. On part of their land, Mike and Linda are putting in a lake! It's going to take a while for the rain runoff to fill it, but next summer I'm going to have a lot of fun swimming for sticks--and maybe even fish!

Mike and Linda are also getting a Border Collie puppy in the next couple weeks-- that means I'll have another friend soon. She's less than two months old right now and shares a birthday with Nick. Katie is so excited to meet her... I hope this doesn't mean that I get less attention.
This weekend Nick is coming up again. I like it when he comes because they stay home with me and my dad and I wrestle. Don't worry, I go easy on him. Katie says that I am going home with my dad next week, which I am really excited about. The puppy won't be there yet, but I'll have lots of fun sniffing deer tracks.
Now I'm just waiting for my dad to get here...