Like most dogs, I have to take heartworm and flea and tick medicines once a month. Well, Mom gave me the last doses she had in February, so last Thursday we went to my veterinarian’s office to get more. Mom called and told them how much she wanted before we left.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I got excited because I like to meet other dogs and I know I usually see several at the veterinarian’s office. Sure enough, when we walked in, there was a man sitting in a chair with a black Labrador Retriever sitting in front of him. I met the dog on our way to the desk.

When Mom told the lady at the desk what we were there for, the lady asked Mom her dog’s name. She said, “Harper.”

The lady looked at her and said, “Are you setting me up?”

Mom looked at the lady in confusion and turned to look at the man with the Labrador Retriever. He said, “This is Harper.”

Yes, his black Labrador Retriever’s name was Harper too!

So, anyway, the lady got my medicine and began ringing the purchase up for mom, when an older gentleman came into the office with a smaller black dog. It was obvious it was still a puppy, but not a real young pup. Anyway, he stopped with the lady at the first desk because he was there to drop off his puppy. Mom thinks it was to be spayed.

Okay, so here’s the shocker — Mom heard the man tell the lady his puppy’s name, but she couldn’t believe it. She looked at the gentleman with the black Labrador Retriever and he had a big grin on his face. Mom said, “Did he say…?” And the gentleman nodded.

So Mom says, “Harper! She’s another Harper? So, we have three Harpers here!”

The older gentleman then brought his puppy to meet me, then took her to meet the Labrador Retriever. Mom asked him what kind of dog his puppy was, and he said, “She’s 53% Boxer, 43% Pitbull, and the rest is a hodgepodge of several different things.”

After mom paid for my medicines and we turned to leave, she stopped to talk to the gentleman with the black Labrador Retriever. She said, “So, how did you decide on Harper for her?”

He said, “Well, my wife and I are Harper Lee fans.”

Mom said, “Me too!”

Then he said, “My wife already has a cat named Atticus. So we decided to call her Harper. And friends of ours have a dog named Scout.”

Mom said, “I was planning on getting a male and naming it Atticus, but a friend offered her to me, and I wasn’t going to turn down a free dog. That’s how she became ‘Harper’.”

Mom really wanted to ask the other man how he decided on Harper for his dog too, but he was too busy with the receptionist and getting his puppy taken care of.

The lady who waited on Mom at the check-out desk couldn’t believe it when the third Harper came in. She stood up so she could see over the desk, and she said, “And all three of them are black! This won’t happen again today.”

Meeting two other black Harpers was fun!

Hi Everyone! In the picture above, the yellowish-tan thing to the right under my face was one of my favorite chew toys. I say “was” because Mom had to take it and throw it away about a month ago because I had chewed it down so small, she was afraid I’d choke on it. It was made of bamboo and in the shape of a “T”.

Now you might be asking yourself what does that have to do with this post’s title. Well, I’m sure I’ve told you before that I love to chew things A LOT! Though Mom keeps me well-stocked in chew toys and chewy treats, I don’t always only chew the things Mom gives me for that purpose.

For instance, Monday is laundry day and I follow Mom up and down the stairs and watch as she throws clothing into the washer and dryer several times on that day. I stand very close so I can see everything and sniff some things, and I wait for an opportunity — an opportunity to snatch something and run off to play with it and chew it! My favorite things to grab are socks, and Mom chases me up the steps to retrieve a sock from me. Another thing I like to try to grab and run off with are the white fluffy balls she throws in the dryer. I don’t know why she puts them in the dryer and why she doesn’t want me to play with them. Balls are a great doggy toy! Do any of you put balls in your clothes dryers? If so, do you let your dog play with them or chew on them?

Hi Everyone! Today I’d like to tell you about my favorite treat. Can you tell what it is in the photo above? It’s peanut butter! In the above photo, Mom emptied a large jar of peanut butter the best she could, then let me have a try. As you can see, my tongue isn’t long enough to reach the bottom of the jar, so I couldn’t get it all.

This is me with one of my brothers. He’s holding one of my Kongs — that’s the best way for me to get peanut butter, so, of course, I’m trying to get it from him! A Kong is a hard rubber toy with a hole in the center that has a wider end and a narrower end. Mom puts peanut butter into the middle and freezes it, then she gives one to me a couple times a month. I have 6 Kongs! Mom puts plain peanut butter in 2 of them, peanut butter mixed with banana in 2 of them, and peanut butter mixed with pumpkin and kibble in the last 2. She rotates the ones she gives me. YUM! I’m not sure which one’s my favorite. They’re all delicious!

The above photo is another photo of me before I was a year old, but as you can see, I’m in a car — Mommy’s car. Mommy has been taking me for rides in the car every since I live with her. Since this photo was taken, Mommy got me a new harness that was specifically designed and tested to keep me safe in the car. Also, instead of sitting on a towel, like in the photo, Mommy got a seat cover for me that I sit on now.

I love going places with Mommy. She used to take me along when she had to take the youngest son of the family to work or to pick him up from work, but now he can drive himself to work and back, and other places too. I’ve even gone on some longer trips when Mommy, Daddy, and the youngest son went on vacation two years in a row, and this past year, Mommy and Daddy took me along when they went away for a few days for their anniversary.

Now Mommy will be home with me more because she won’t have to take the youngest son to the places he needs to go, but she’ll still take me places she goes as much as she can. I love riding in the car with Mommy. I see lots of interesting things like other dogs and cows!

However, when I ride with Mommy in the rain or after the rain, I get scared when Mommy drives through a puddle because I think it sounds like the rain’s trying to get inside the car. Sometimes the big trucks scare me when they go past us or stop next to us. I don’t really like big things or lots of noises, but I sure am glad that Mommy’s right there with me when those things happen.

Do you like riding in the car?