Happy Boxing Day!

Little Dachshund in Big Box

Merry Christmas, Easy!

Today's post is dedicated to my fur friend Easy Rider, who writes the hilarious Easy Weimaraner blog from his home in the North of France.

In early November, Easy selected me as one of the winners of his haunted Howl-o-Wheemeraner house contest and sent me an incredible package of goodies with a sweet note. Can you see what I'm sinking my teeth into?

Look at all the pawesome goodies Easy sent me!

Here's my new all-time favorite toy: the yellow squeaker. That's what I was sinking my teeth into into the first photo of this post.

And here's Mom and Dad's favorite piece of doggy clothing ever designed: my angel suit.

It's so sweet! Don't you love my wings and my sassy look?

Dear Easy, thank you so much for the gifts, and thank you for the Christmas card you sent us! Merry Christmas to you and your staff!

A Tootsie-themed surprise is coming your way; get ready!

The Snout! The Snout!

Have You Been a Good Dog This Year?

This is a card Dachshund Daddy made for Tootsie's Shoppe at Zazzle.

Immediately, I answer: yes! But then I realize it might be time for reflection. What makes a bad dog anyway? Have I been a good dog?

And then I thought, "Oh, no! Is it time for the annual crisis of the down low?" This is so last year.

Last year, you might remember, Mom shoved my head through all sorts of wreaths. She promised not to do it this year.

Sweet Molossus and Hotel California

Can dogs visit the British Museum? Not really, unless you're lucky enough to be a guide dog or an assistance dog, in which case you should be aware that dog bowls are available. If you're not a guide dog or an assistance dog, you can still visit the British Museum if you're a Molossus hound.

Now take a look at me:

Do you think I might pass for a Molossus hound and visit the museum? I think I might. But what if they think I'm the real thing and never let me leave? Kind of like the Hotel California?

P.S. Thank you, Dachshund Daddy, for finding the time to engage both in cultural and canine activities during your recent work trip to London.

Mount Boglia

One of our favorite hikes in the Lugano area is the one from the town of Brè to the top of Mount Boglia. Here I am, near treeline, waddling my way up the recently renovated trail.

And here's a butt-shot of Mom. The huge mountain in the distance is Monte Rosa, Switzerland's highest peak.

Here we are at the edge of the large summit meadow. "Look, Tootsie! We're almost at the tippy top!" says Mom.

"I knew you could do it," I told Mom once we made it to the summit ridge.

Here I am at the very top. The body of water behind me is the East arm of Lake Lugano.

Mom must have been really hungry because she started nibbling my ear.

And here's what Mount Boglia looks like from the top of Mount Sassalto, near Casa Burrow. Well... there are several mountains in this photo; can you guess which one Mount Boglia is, based on the other photos?

Triple Ostrich Pun

This sign is complicated!

"Non fare lo stronzo" is an Italian expression that translates to "don't be a jerk" but literally means "don't make a turd". Because the word "stronzo" ("turd") is too explicit, the authors of this sign write "str... uzzo" -- the Italian word for "ostrich."

"Raccoglila!!!" means "scoop it up."

This is followed by the reminder that "the secret to being welcomed is to be polite and civilized".

So there you have it. The secret is all in scooping the pooping.

This sign, found in Lugano, Switzerland, comes from the wotten waven Italian website DogWelcome.it.

My Head is as Big as Dachshund Daddy's Hand

Love on a Swiss Mountain

Doggy Billboard

Good Memories

I look like I'm laughing in this photograph, but I'm actually eating some grass. There is lots of yummy alpine grass in Switzerland. Can you see the green in my teeth?

In this photograph, I'm trying to make friends with Swiss goats. Mom says if you don't pay and join a club, it is pretty hard to make friends in Switzerland. It's also pretty hard if your mom won't let you get close to the goats. (Notice I'm not even in this photo.)

I told Mom I'm willing to pay to join the local Swiss Goat Club of San Giorgio. She says it is too expensive and that I'm not a goat.

The next photograph is for our dear friends Madeline and Kirk and Jasmine. Mom and Dachshund Daddy and I climbed San Giorgio to remember their special visit over one year ago. (Jasmine didn't visit; she's a cat and stayed home in America.) I think our friends will recognize this view of Lake Lugano.

And this tree!

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Happy (American) Thanksgiving!

From our burrow, to yours,

we send gratitude for your friendship and blessings for your grace.

Love, Tootsie, Tootsie's Mom, and Dachshund Daddy

A 200,000 Lire Fine

Whenever Dachshund Daddy goes on a bike ride, he always meets a lot of fur friends. Here's Melchiorre, a resident of the sleepy border town of Cremenaga, Italy. Despite his cuddle bunny looks, he actually growled at DD.

Here's Aristide, Melchiorre's neighbor, who knows Dante's Divine Comedy by heart.

Aristide has a fur-sister by the name of Flippa, who's writing a novel about James Joyce.

For some reason, the dogs on their "Beware of the Dogs" sign don't look like them at all.

Signage in this area of the Swiss-Italian border is generally odd. The town of Arvigo, pronounced RV-Go (although the vomit road into town is way too narrow for RVs), is home to this "No Littering" sign that threatens violators with a 200,000 Lire fine. That's about $135 with today's exchange rate.

A blast from the past! Italy stopped using Lire in 2002, but apparently the township of Viconago-Cadegliano doesn't have enough Euros to update their signage. Maybe they should start charging for the view, which is truly spectacular.

In the photo above you can see the location of last week's International Pee Spot by the Strait of Lavena. The pretty hill called Monte Sassalto is where we usually go for our walkies. We either go around it, three miles along the water, or over to the top, which requires a 1000+ foot climb. No wonder I'm such a fit little sausage!

Cogito Ergo Sum

Eighties Hair

Do you like my Eighties hairdo? I'm having an identity crisis. Am I a Disco Queen?

International Pee Spot

You may recall that I work part-time as a Swiss border patrol agent. My task is to analyze all pee spots located along the Swiss-Italian border. Here I am in Torrazza, Switzerland investigating a 1974 border marker on the Swiss side of the Strait of Lavena.

You can see the town of Lavena, Italy just across the water. The Strait of Lavena is less than fifty feet wide at its narrowest, but no bridge was ever built due to the Swiss fear of a mass influx of Italian tourists. The one and only bridge to Italy is two miles away and always backed up with traffic.

And here I am, leaving pee-mail by the border marker. As you can see, national security is my number one concern, and I'm really serious about what I do. You cannot protect your border if you don't pee on it first.

I sure hope that Rand Beers, the acting Secretary of Homeland Security in the United States, is up to speed with the latest pee-based border patrol techniques that I apply in my professional life.

Tootsie and the Snowman

Here in Switzerland, with no Thanksgiving holiday, the Christmas and holiday decorations are already up along Via Stazione. That's a little disconcerting! Still, this latest design of mine shows that I'm serious about my Christmas card series. Seriously. Please take a look at the color version!

Do you like my whiskers?

Random Stuff Seen in Switzerland

We saw this on one of our hikes. It gets to the point of things. Do you agree? Actually, it's a flyer for an online first-aid course!

Cane Corso

The Pied Piper of Goatdom

When you hike in Switzerland, there's never a shortage of excitement. Here I am, literally getting carried away as Mom and I cross paths with a herd of goats.

Have you heard of goats? Those cute creatures whose full name is Capra aegagrus hircus?

We often see a whole bunch of goats on Swiss trails, or even on mountain roads.

This particular bunch started following us, probably because they thought that I was a herding dog.

Or do you think I might be the pied piper of Goatdom?

Dachshund Daddy helped the goats refocus by reading them the original story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.