Pooped out of ideas

The family is still trying to sort this all out. No, not the President's speech last night. It's the whole diet thing!

I'm a delicate eater. I nibble. I crunch. I sit down and take a break before my bowl ever becomes empty.

Mauly is different. She inhales her food in seconds every morning. Her bowl is clean before Mom or Mr. Food Boy can turn their backs on her.

Mauly is the only one in the family, who believes she is starving. If I have an accident in the house, she will clean it up. And, I really mean eat it up. Mom's been on a mission in recent days to investigate ways to correct this behavior. Mr. Food Boy suggests that if Mom would correct my behavior -- make sure I go outside, then there wouldn't be an issue.

Mom happily points out to Mr. Food Boy that those crunching noises from the yard are Mauly and me eating dried poop. While Mom and Mr. Food Boy pick up ours, there are all types of animals that appear in the yard under the cloak of darkness. I agree it would be difficult for them to pick up all of this poop. That's where Mauly and me get to work.

I don't really know how Mom will resolve this issue. One online article suggested splitting up our feeding. Instead of giving us food only in the morning, Mom and Mr. Food Boy are splitting up our daily rations into a morning and evening serving.

One TV show offered pineapple as a solution to this problem. It apparently makes the poop taste icky. But, I wonder (primarily, because my food will be spiced with it) how it will make the food taste I eat? I might not want to eat my food with pineapple chunks.

And, this is a bigger issue? Just like the president has to look at the full picture on this financial crisis, so do Mom and Mr. Food Boy? Mauly and Me aren't the only ones dropping things in the yard. Can they feed pineapple to the deer, cats and possible javelina, skunk and coyote that hang out around our house?

I don't think so. I'm glad it's them that have to worry about this stuff and not me.

New discoveries

Mauly did it. Today, she found the tub of toys that Mom had collected. They were around the house. There was a Wub-a-wubba, a Kong or two, the smiley lips and bunches of bones -- big ones and little ones.

Mom found them in the office, in a bedroom, in the kitchen and around the living room. She thought it would be good to put them in one location. It was more for her than us. It's a metal tub, basket-thingy. I don't know the exact name, I just know I'm too short to get in it.

Mauly is tall enough to poke her head in it. The toys were collected over the weekend, but it took her until Wednesday to figure out how to poke her head in the tub and pick out a treat. It's like a treasure chest, but for dogs!

While Mr. Food Boy made dinner, Mauly picked out a toy and dropped it near the French doors. She went back and selected a bone. It was dropped on her green pillow. Before long, she had chosen and discarded several toys.

Mom went around and picked them up from the floor. This must be a new game. I'll keep you posted.

I'm going to sleep on this

Here we go again.

The Dow Jones Industrial average took a dive (382 points) today after the Obama bailout plan did little to persuade investors this was a good idea. We're back to a low point in the market that we last saw in November 2008.

We've been at this recession for 14-months now -- I'm not that much older than this thing (as long as you are counting in human years). I'm young, but I don't get what the government is trying to do.

They flushed a bunch of cash (billions) into the economy last fall and it didn't seem to work. As the President talks up the stimulus plan, I keep hearing everyday Americans saying: "My bank won't refinance" or "I can't get a house loan." The more important question is: "How will this plan create a job for me?"

True mortgage rates are low. The stimulus plan includes a lot of nice features to give homeowners incentives to buy a house, but I don't know that it is enough. People are paying too much for these dog houses.

Mom said some people were irresponsible when they purchased their homes. The banks and all the people involved in the homebuying process should have been more responsible. If you make $25,000 a year, you should not be getting a mortgage for a $400,000 house.

Where did logic go? I don't know, but I think I'll sleep on it and see if I can come up with an answer. I'll get back to you.

Is it time to hide?

These numbers are getting a little high. It's enough to make one dizzy. Mauly-Bones got so tired of it, she stuck her head in the sand (well, under the bed anyway).

Senators decided Saturday (Feb. 7) to cut the stimulus proposal from $900 billion to $780 billion. A vote is expected this week.

That's a lot of money and dog treats. It's a little overwhelming to think about how this "package" is going to stimulate the economy. Businesses, employees and just general dog bystanders are learning every day how the U.S. economy is solely built on spending.

With people losing their jobs or fearing the loss of their jobs, they don't spend as much. Mom keeps saying that she has limited spending to food and gas. She's been doing that since August.

Mom made an exception recently after Mauly and I destroyed a bed I had had since I was a puppy. We made a hole in it. We played around until we could get the white, fluffy stuffing out and eat it. My first bed went in the trash after Mom and Mr. Food Boy bought a new one for $18.95 plus tax.

Oh, she and Mr. Food Boy will occasionally go to the movies (the matinee is a steal at $3.25) and will treat themselves to a meal out – once or twice a week. Mom says they don't have to worry, right now, and they're lucky. Others, who are losing their jobs and homes, are not so lucky.

I hope these lawmakers know what they are doing. The proposal has some good projects like school nutrition and adding money to government agencies. The media-types keep talking about dollars, but I don't recall seeing any story looking at the economic impact.

Is it one of those scenarios like every dollar spent is multiplied in the community. I'll keep my paws crossed that it means something like that. If it doesn't, I'll find a bed to hide under, too.

No treats for you

That was a close one. Mom was about to hit the roof on Tuesday (Feb. 3) when she read about Wells Fargo sending employees to Las Vegas. The company just took over Mom's bank (Wachovia), so she was a bit mythed.

So, the story goes that Wells Fargo, who just reported $2.83 billion in losses in 2008, and took $25 billion in government bailout money was going to send some of its employees to Vegas. Other banks and financial institutions have been smacked on the nose for doing the same thing. AIG spent around $440,000 on a spa event after taking $85 billion.

While Wells Fargo tried to defend it. It didn't really fly with everyday dogs, Americans and elected officials. "What the crap?" was a valid question.

The bank's response: "Recognition events are still part of our culture," spokeswoman Melissa Murray said Tuesday afternoon. "It's really important that our team members are still valued and recognized."

The fact the spokeswoman said it was "part of our culture" ticked Mom off. From everything I hear on the news, the culture is currently failure. Banks are losing money. Executives took risks that were too risky. So, what's an appropriate recognition? Are they getting kicked out the door or fired. No, they are getting bonuses, free trips and corporate perks; because it's part of the culture.

Wells Fargo changed its tune later on Tuesday night. "In light of the current environment, we have now decided to cancel this event as well," the company said in a news release that also said the it had never planned to use taxpayer bailout money for the trip.

A Republican lawmaker said it best. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, said. "They're tone deaf. It's outrageous."

How is it that these financial men and women think they're entitled to these perks when their companies are failing and need government cash to infuse their businesses. And, why is it that humans are looking to the same people, who got the economy into this mess, to fix the problems?

I'm a dog. I like treats, but I know Mom won't give me one when I do something wrong. I bark, "No treats for them."