...strawberry "fresh"...

This is dear old Norman cozied up by the fire after a nice bath with some rather awful strawberry scented (at least that's what the bottle says) shampoo I picked up at the market for approximately one dollar. Perhaps the reason it was so affordable has something to do with the somewhat putrid bouquet of chemical berries.

Smell notwithstanding, the puppy dog is clean and most gratefully, the odor does not linger. :)

I'm not sure why Sir Normie is ever hesitant to get into the tub. He seems to enjoy soaking in the streams of warm water from the nozzle on his aging joints. His favorite part of bath time (still as ever) is playing with his towel as I'm trying not fall victim to the spray off his fur as he wiggles about.

He's become quite spoiled with his puppy bed sitting near the fireplace. He'll cozy up and doze by the fire for hours solo or with one of his favorite squeaky toys. Here's a shot of Norman with his Little Squirrel that Santa Claus brought him for Christmas. I too love Little Squirrel. He is brilliantly designed with a Velcro seam to replace the squeaker if it is punctured---BRILLIANT! I wish I'd thought of this long ago, as many a squeaky toy would have lived to see another day rather than being shredded to fuzzy bits as Norman tried to discover why they no longer squeaked.

Dear ol' Norman will be eleven years old in May. Though quite aged, he's not yet infirm, though a bit overweight. When well rested, on occasion, he still pounces about like a pup. He has arthritis which obviously wears him out, yet he LOVES to walk around outside sniffing and exploring absolutely everything.

He still loves visitors, believing they have solely come to entertain him. Silly old dog!

Anyway...that's all for now...Norman sends his love : )