Swimming

I like to swim. No, I take that back. I LOVE to swim. When I was younger, they called me Fish Boy. That's how much I love to swim.


Here I am, acting as Chief Lifeguard at Hanging Horn Lake. It was quite the job, let me tell you. The Humans - that's Original Mom on the left - just did not understand the need for safety. They didn't stay close to shore, they were not consistently using the buddy system... the only saving grace is that they were in relatively shallow water, so I didn't have to watch them every second.

But as I've mentioned before, because I am unable to whistle, and the Humans would not provide me with an external whistle, I had to complete the well-known "Nose Check for Safety" constantly. Luckily, and through no small effort on my part, everyone made it out of the water safely. Next time I'm bringing a longer leash. Or perhaps stilts....

In days of yore...

In days of yore, the famous - and infamous - had nicknames, monikers if you will. Or so I've been told. Richard the Lion-hearted, Eric the Red, William the Bruce, William the Conqueror, Bob the Builder, etc. I myself have a nickname - well, nicknames, really - none of which I have chosen, but most of which fit me quite well, if I do say so. And I do.

Some of these nicknames play off of my name, while others refer to character traits (I am quite the character, after all) or physical traits that I exude. Which, by the way, sounds like something you wouldn't want to lick up... "Eww, he exuded! Gross!"

Here is what I am sure is an incomplete list of my akas (that's Also Known As-es), along with a brief description why. Enjoy!

Hagridpants - Apparently my hind legs resemble some sort of pants... either that or I pant a lot?
Mr. Pants - See above; the more formal version of Hagridpants, primarily used for strangers I don't know yet
Haggy - I have no idea, it just happened one day. I have very little control over these things.
Haggers - Ditto.
Goofball - On occassion, I can be a little goofy. But just a little.
Goofy one - A variation of goofball, I presume.
Fishboy - I love to swim!

And now to my lineage, which is apparently rather varied. I had no idea, honest. I have been told that I am part-:
Lion - Have you seen my mane? Quite lion-ish.
Bear - I'm guessing this was before I went on that diet... or perhaps it refers to my hibernation abilities.
Mouse - I think this refers to my face, more specifically my nose... should I be upset?
Bat - Not really sure about this one. Perhaps my ears? I'll have to get back to you.
Dragon - I believe it's all in the tail... although rumors of my breath being able to whither flowers and scare small children may have something to do with it.
Fish - See nickname above. I think I was a fish in a previous life, perhaps a tuna. Maybe a marlin? Some days I'm more fish-out-of-water, though...

I believe that there are others, both nicknames and lineage markers, but that's all I can come up with at the moment. I'll have my Humans go over the lists later and add to them as necessary. Happy napping!

Oh, almost forgot - quotage below!

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. ~Phil Pastoret

It's all in the nose, buddy. All in the nose.