As Told By Mason (The Trip To Albany)

This weekend, Sam and I went on a road trip. I'm not exactly sure where, but I heard Sam refer to the place as Albany. Anyway, we left on Friday, and arrived at an apartment I'd never been too before. However, Sam seemed to know what we should be doing since he got out a key and let us in. I sniffed around for a while, and recognized the smells. They belonged to Sam's friend Sean, and his black lab, Franklin. We hadnt seen them in a few months, and I spent a while looking for them. After all, if their scents were here, then they must have been here at some point. Finally, Sam took me outside, and there they were! Franklin and I were thrilled to see each other, and got a little too excited.
After a while, Sam and Sean put Franklin and I in our work harnesses, and we went out to enjoy a night on the town. First, we went out to dinner. Unlike the dining hall experiense I described in last week's poast, I was a verry good golden. I lay down next to Sam's chair and slept. However, Franklin was horrible. I guess only a lab would never learn that standing up, laying your head in laps, and drooling will not help you get any food. Later, we went to a few stores, and Sam got me some toys and treats. However, I wanted to take a few extra bags with me. Too bad Sam caught me trying to sneaque them off the shelf. That night, I was delighted to discover a soft sided crate kind of like the one I have at Sam's mom's house. I'm a good dog, and never have to be crated, but I like sleeping in an open one anyway. So, since it seemed more portable then the one I keep at Sam's mom's, and since Franklin doesn't use it, Sam let me bring it home. Basically, the night was perfect accept for one thing. I had to share Sam's attention with Franklin. Basically, that involved having to share my late night and early morning park times with him and Sam gave him his breakfast the same time he gave me mine. Sam claims it's because Sean goes to bed earlier and sleeps later, so he figured he might as well take Franklin out with me since Franklin and I like to start playing in the middle of the night and he wanted to make sure that wouldnt mean we had to go out. However, I still wasn't happy about it. Oh well, I guess I'll forgive him. After all, isn't that part of the duty for us loyal canines?
Yesterday, we went to Sam's baseball game. I had to be tied up next to Sam's dad the whole time. It was hot out, so I used that as an excuse to be far away from him, under the bleachers. The game was pretty uneventful for me, and we went home afterwards. I've spent today napping and thinking about what a fun weekend I had. Of course, I allways have fun with Sam, but I enjoyed getting to see a new town where I had never been before. I wonder where we'll get to go next!

As Told By Mason (Dining Hall Troubles)

Tonight, Sam and I went to my favorite place on campus, the dining hall. We used to go there a lot, but now that we have an apartment, Sam does a lot more cooking at home. So, going to the dining hall has turned in to a real treat for me. However, that also means that I have a little trouble behaving myself. When we got there, I patroled the floor for any forgotten food. I dstill don't know why I got a corection for it. I was just trying to keep perfectly good food from going to waste. That's the problem with humans. They're too wasteful. Anyway, once we got to our table, I did pretty good. However, I wasn't exactly thrilled about staying in a down position next to Sam's chair. You see, our friend, Renee, was there and we absolutely love each other. So, I had to make sure she knew I was there so she could give me all her undivided attention. (This usually works because she's not that great about respecting the rules of the harness.) But other than that, and an incident involving me trying to eat some food off a plate that was sitting on the table next to ours, I was a verry good golden. However, I still don't know why I got in trouble for trying to eat that food. There weren't any humans around it, and us dogs like to have a good meal too. So, because of that, and because Sam hadn't fed me my dinner yet, I was entitled to it. Anyway, Sam says it would be good for us to start going back there more often. I would be excited, but I have a feeling it's only because he wants me to work on my mmanners. Oh well, what do you expect from ignorant humans. I guess I'll just have to improve, (and maybe sneaque a couple bites of food when he's not paying attention. Don't tell.) Untill next time, Mason