And, now, from the REAL family here...

Hello, everyone.
I am Smokey, AKA Smokey Cat.  I came here as a feral kitten.  I was brought into Mom's rescue by some nice ladies who were feeding my mother.  They said I was about 4 months old and a girl.  Well, Mom picked me up and was holding me, (I was spitting at her, MOL!!!) and she mentioned that her very first cat as a teenager was a smokey black longhaired male cat.  She looked closely at me and exclaimed that I WAS a male, and was probably only about 7 or 8 weeks old.
So, the rest is history.  Mom took me home and stuck me in her bedroom.  All those small dogs she has were running up to the babygate and barking and barking at me.  I hid under the bed and hissed at them.  The next morning Mom tried to catch me to take me back to the kennel.  I was smart, I kept hiding!!!
That night when Mom got home and let the dogs out I came out to see them.  This time they weren't barking as much so Mom opened the gate and let me out.  I immediately made friends with Ali, and then checked out all the others.  NO ONE bothered me, and I certainly didn't bother them, so all was well.
As I grew up, I still loved those dogs and when Mom took them down to the big field for a run I would follow along and play with them.  FUN!  Mom hates that I go outside, but so far, so good and I do stay away from that road and come home every single evening. 
Mom is happy that I live here now because now she has more mice in the house each Fall to catch.  You see, I find it totally MY JOB to bring them into the house when it gets cold outside.  You wouldn't want to be stuck outside in the Winter, right???  Neither do those mousies!!!!
I also bring in a few birds and butterflies, some bats now and again, and lots of frogs and toads.  Mom is thrilled with all the gifts I give her!!!  As for being the first kitten here, I must have been good cuz now there are FOUR of us cats here!!!
Well, nuff about me, I need to leave some room for some photos!!!!

 He may be bigger, but he respected my CLAWS

 I love to make Riley look into my eyes!!!

 A more sedate moment

 Run, Riley, RUN!!!

 

 In my "secret" hiding place...Harvey won't know what hit him, MOL!

My turn, by Ali

I am Ali, I am a toy poodle and I am Mom's first poodle champion.  Like Toto, I also came from Kansas, but I already had a name so I didn't have to be from the Wizard, BOL.  Just for your information, Mom also had Timan and Dorothy, both from Kansas as well.

I am known as a bit of a prima dona, but I can also get down and dirty with the best of them!  When I was being shown I would not walk on wet grass, and count me out if it was raining!!!  Finally, the handler guy got smart and only entered me at indoor shows.  I finished my Championship on the Fourth of July!!!

Before I was a champion I had to pretty much live in a bubble so I wouldn't hurt my show coat.  Being white made it even worse.  When I was about ready to go to my first show silly Toto cornered me under Mom's desk and he ate ALL my hair off my neck and mane, right down to the skin.  Mom nearly killed him.  So did I cuz it took another whole year to grow it back!!!

After my championship my life changed dramatically.  Suddenly, I could go anywhere and do anything I wanted.  Do you know how great it is to roll in cool, wet mud on a hot Summer day??  How about sleeping in a warm waterbed on a cold Winter day?  I drive Mom crazy cuz I do not chose to get up in the morning and insist she leave me in the warm bed. 

But the best part was all the nice people that come to visit.  Most of Mom's friends are not real fans of Toy Poodles, they met Mom when she had all those real dogs...the labs and the German Shepherds.  Well, they come in and sit down and I go to work.  I dance around them. just tapping my feet on their knees, and I do a soft whine.  Mom tells me to stop, she reminds me that the person doesn't like us toys... that makes me work even harder.

Sure enough, pretty soon they pick me up and I climb up on their shoulder and work my magic.  When they get ready to leave, Mom has to frisk them because usually they have me hidden under their jackets!!!!

But, best of all was when Mom's niece spent the WHOLE Summer here.  She adopted ME, and I went everywhere with her...camping, work, kayaking, visiting, we did it all!  Kayaking was the best part, I had no idea how much fun that could be.  When Mom's niece left after her Summer here, she even took my son Tanner with her. 

I do have an issue, however.  My issue is that I gnaw holes in things.  I especially love to gnaw holes in pillows and comforters because then I can pull all the stuffing out!!!  Great fun!  But, I also gnaw holes in clothing like Mom's new jeans and expecially her nightgown, BOL!

Well, enough about me, here are some photos to introduce you to me:

 Me finishing my Championship

 Peeking out of the Kayak

 Playing at agility

 On an evening cruise in the kayak with Beanie

Me with my first son Tyson, who also is now a Champion

MY turn... by the Beanster

Finally, Toto has decided to allow me to write a chapter in OUR blog.  I don't know why the location AND the title are both Talking with Toto... doesn't he know we are ALL going to post our own blogs in this same place?
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, er, remind me again, what WAS the subject at hand????

First, let me introduce myself.  I am Beanie, also known as Beanster.  I am the reason ALL of us pups ended up on Dogster, I joined way, way back in May, 2008.  After I checked the place out and found it to MY liking, all the rest of my family joined, too. 
Over the years we have had lots and lots of family!  Our Mom is a dog person, she owns a kennel and is a full time groomer there, as well as the main "kennel girl", and the obedience class instructor.  She has done this stuff her whole adult life!  She also bred and showed Labradors, and also had a GSD that she showed in obedience trials.  She also dabbles in French Bulldogs and has since the 90's. 
But, she got old, the labs got BIGGER and bigger or so it seemed and along came us poodles!
First there was Jenny and Toto, both mini's.  Then, along came us toys.  I came via a huge rescue Mom and her friend did, I was one of fifteen and the only one that stayed here!
Now Mom doesn't breed anymore, and I have two hairless and one puff Chinese Cresteds, two Frenchies, three toy poodles and one mini  poodle, (yes, it's Toto), that I share my house with.  I also have ONE Labrador brother, named Quincy.  He is the youngest of us all.
I am the smartest, cutest, nicest, etc., of the bunch of us dogs!  I am little so I can pretty much get thru all the babygates and blockades Mom uses to keep us contained.  I also have the uncanny ability of knowing exactly when Mom is going to put us in our day crates and go off to work, so I know exactly when to duck under the desk and hide.  Since I am so little, I usually get away with it, too, BOL!
Well, I guess I have sufficiently introduced myself and my family???  Now that is taken care of, I shall return on another day to actually WRITE something of interest.  Meanwhile, I will leave you with the following photos to remember me by!!!!

A test and a blog??

Okay, ladies and gentlemen...we finally found a place to make our diaries, but alas, we are still working out the bugs!!  Mom thinks we can all post here, but isn't sure if we all need a profile or if we can all work under Toto's profile.
At this point, this is but a test and hopefully someone will comment so we can tell if anyone is even reading it, OR, more importantly, if anyone CAN read it!
Mom was testing out inserting photos, so here is one of me with my girl, Skye.  I think we were at the ocean when this was taken.
Too cold for the ocean today... our high was 9 degrees F.  Brrrr.  Frankly, I stayed in my dog bed under Mom's desk all day while she was at work.  Don't worry, I was pretty good and didn't get into any trouble while home alone.
Love ya all,
Toto