Guest Post: Tipper the Dog

I'm about to become a celebrity! Beatrice the Bold (and Beautiful) has deigned to interview me. You can also go over to her place to read her own interview, and to see just what a special puppy she is.

1. You said you are part dachshund. Which part?

The long and low part. I'm part beagle, too, and probably some other things. I used to have beautiful dachshund coloring, but the brown parts have mostly turned white. And like Gannet Girl, I have decided to accept the signs of aging with good humor.

2. The dog that interviewed me was named after Paul Newman. I'm named after a Princess. Are you named after Al Gore's wife ?

Nope; I am named after a restaurant on an island in Lake Erie. Chicago Son named me; he was 13 when I showed up and had just been on a class trip to the island. Everyone THINKS I am named for Al Gore's wife because they know the politics around here. But personally I find politics remarkably tedious. And I expect that I will hear a lot about them in the next 12 months. As long as the food shows up, I don't care whether it trickled down or trickled up.

3. Your mom is a great photographer. Does she ever take you along when she is shooting pictures in fun places?

She takes me on great walks, but you could mention to her that she doesn't take me as often as she should. And she won't take me and he camera at the same time. I think that she worries that she'll drop the camera into a lake or down a gulley or something when I lunge for a squirrel or rabbit or Canada goose.

4. Who takes care of you when your mom is at seminary? And what is seminary anyway?

I am afraid that Soccer Dad has to take care of me. It's much harder for him than it is for Gannet, because I am getting along in years and he doesn't appreciate cleaning up my mistakes. You probably know that Gannet doesn't have a sense of smell, so certain tasks are not as onerous to her as they are to other people. And Gannet is not overly concerned about matters of housekeeping, which is a good thing from a canine point of view.

Now the seminary thing: I have been wondering about that myself. All I know is that Gannet comes home full of excitement about things she is learning and full of complaints about Greek. She loves to talk about archeaology and spirituality and theories that hold history and Biblical studies together, but she DOES NOT LIKE GREEK. She keeps asking how the Greeks created such a magnificent civilization when apparently they could not communicate with one another. Between you and me, Beatrice, I think that Gannet does not like to acknowledge that she has limitations.

5. What is your favorite treat?

CHEESE, glorious CHEESE. But now, tragically, thanks to my almost-demise a few weeks ago, no one around here will give me any.

Thank you, Beatrice! for giving me the opportunity to share my dog's life with the world.

Now, if there are other dogs or other fellow creatures who would like the opportunity to express themselves, here are the rules, as laid out by Beatrice:

RevGalDogPals or CatPals (or humans, for that matter) (or any other blog-hungry pets), would you like to be interviewed by Tipper?

1. If you are interested in being interviewed, leave a comment here on my mom's blog saying, 'interview me.'

2. I will respond by posting five questions for you. I get to pick the questions.

3. You will update your blog with a post with your answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Thanks for reading, everyone! I'll try to find a picture this weekend to post for my adoring public.