Being Like Mango

Our friend Mango is having a contest.

Mango is a very accomplished fellow and has set several categories where we can compete. Since we mostly act as a pack or wave, this is our team entry.


We help out around the house, both inside and out. We love to help with the gardening


We keep the equipment in good working order.


Working in the soil is one of our specialties.


Preparing for planting is important.


Yard cleanup is also important to keep the place in top condition.


Digging a pond is hard, dirty work.


It's our job to protect the homestead from marauders such as mice.


It's also important to let the humans know when giant green caterpillars attack.


We're just as helpful inside. We like to help load the dishwasher.


We help plan the day's menu.


We observe preparation of meals. If something falls on the floor, it's our job to clean up.


We take treats gently without bruising human fingers.






If we need a drink, we can adapt to a water bottle or water gun without complaint.


We are aware of current events and take part, even running for election when necessary.


We are athletic and try to keep in shape in all seasons. There's sledding in winter.


In the summer, we excel in swimming. After all Water is our middle name.


Swimming can be an individual activity,


or it can be a competitive sport.


We try to fly.


Sometimes we dance.


All four in the air. I think that's a square dance call.


Sometimes we sing.


Tsar is our best singer, but we all join in on the chorus.


We use our exercise equipment, sometimes individually,


sometimes with a friend.


We even try out the agility equipment Mom bought.


It's lots of fun.


We play team sports, like baseball. Morgan at bat.


Bailey likes to pitch.


Fudge is team captain.


In the fall we play football.


Football requires a lot of running.


We need a rest after each touchdown.


This year we played soccer.


Teamwork is a specialty of ours.


We dress up sometimes.


Some of us wear hats.


Mom thinks we should dress up for holiday cards, but we didn't sit still for her.


It got pretty boring, but we looked good.


We love to ride in the car and hop right in whenever we see the door open.


Usually only a couple of us go at a time. Mom keeps track of whose turn it is.


We always hope we're going for ice cream and not to the vet.


Mom does class work with us, but Samba, Tsar, Lola and me, Fudge have been to real doggy school. We all passed except Lola. She wouldn't pay attention. I went on to win a title in obedience. Now Noah and Norma Jean are learning and then they'll go to school, too.


We love stuffies.


We each have favorites and we like to carry them around with us.


Some of us like to play tug with them.


Morgan walks around with hers in her mouth and hums at the same time.


Bailey got upset when I hid her stupid monkey.


Sky and I like to fight with ours.


We think we're pretty handsome dogs and I guess the judges agreed.


I didn't especially like the dog shows. They were boring and Mom didn't want me to show off my best moves.


Our friend Mango is a full figured dog. One on one we can't compete, but we do have some interesting statistics. We eat 27.5 cups of dog food a day and consume 10 pounds of dog biscuits a week.


We eat 90 containers of yogurt a month and altogether we weigh 559 pounds. That's a lot of muscle and curls.

So Mango, how do we stack up?