Greetings from the Planet Zot

**Jenny's note:  This post is about our trip to California and was written by my 14 month-old pup-in-training, Dorian. I claim no responsibility for the validity of Dorian's report.

Waiting to board the spaceship for Zot.

This week my raiser and I took a spaceship to the planet Zot. Amazingly the spaceship ride was not as long as you would think. The spaceship landed at the bustling city of LAX which is the capital of Zot. How did I know I was on another planet? Because everything was so different. For starters it was night. We went out to a wide, noisy sidewalk with cars crawling by and climbed into a van. The inhabitants of LAX talk fast, walk fast and drive even faster. They are none too friendly and honk horns a lot. I was very tired and the rest of the trip that night was a blur.

We go with "Dad" to Zotco - a very busy store.

In the house we stay is a man called "Dad". He doesn't seem to walk very well and is kind of wrinkly. My raiser says he is 91 years old, but I don't believe her because that is almost 650 in dog years, which is impossible! But Dad is very nice. I put my head on his knee and he pats me. Dad has a cat. Cats on the planet Zot are very spoiled and get fancy soft food which I think is not fair. It smells delicious but I barely got to try a taste before my raiser put the bowl up high. Rats! I am making the best of the Zot cat and have not chased him once. Actually, he just stands his ground so he's not much fun.

My raiser and I make shadows across the ground.

Every day my raiser and I take a long walk. On the planet Zot the houses are in long rows with strips of grass in front and sidewalks everywhere. We do not have that many sidewalks on the planet Virginia. Also there are tons of brand new smells, which drove my raiser crazy the first day because I just had to stop and smell everything - even the dirt, the grass and the sidewalks! Behind the houses my raiser walked me on a dirt trail. That's when I smelled the most incredible object of all - poop from an animal that was like a dog...but not a dog. My raiser called its maker Coyote. The pieces were here and there and full of hair, seeds and tiny bones. Most interesting! However, although I continue to search I cannot find Coyote's house.

I mingle with a young native, known as a Zot-ling.

 Because of all the sidewalks on Zot, my raiser is practicing walking in straight lines with me when I have my Superman cape on. It sounds easy, but it can be hard with smells and distractions and all. But I am trying not to smell unless it's something very enticing. Wherever we go we also practice making right angle turns. She tells me that it must be 90 degrees - not 72 or 55 or 38 or...well, you get the idea! This is so a person who can't see can stay on course when they make a right or left turn. Such a clever dog I am to learn geometry!

Soon we leave the planet Zot and head back home. I will miss "Dad" and the Zot-ling. But not so much the Zot cat.