Per Ardua Ad Astra
“Maybe if I grab this rail like so,” Bernie said, “and put my other hand …” We were in Vegas, working on a missing persons case, which is our specialty at the Little Detective Agency. Bernie’s Bernie Little. I’m Chet, pure and simple. Once someone asked if Chet was a nickname for Chester. What was up with that? But the point is we were working on a missing persons case and the missing person was Astrid Jason. Also maybe her son Ray. We were outside the gate of Albie Rose’s mansion, no one answering the buzzer. Why we were here was something about Foster. If Foster was here, too, it meant he wasn’t in L.A. Because this was Vegas, right? And if he wasn’t in L.A., that meant … something important. Bernie’d been talking about that in the car on the drive. Now we had to get inside Albie’s gate. What had Bernie said? He was going to climb the gate, then open it up for me from the inside?
“Maybe it will be better if …” Bernie said. And he put his hand somewhere else, and reached as high as he could with one foot. I watched that for a while and then all of a sudden – does this ever happen to you? – I was charging around in a quick tight circle – my windup, Bernie calls it – and then racing straight at the gate, top speed. Leaping’s one of my very best things – I was the top leaper in K-9 school, although things hadn’t ended well, but no time for that now.
I leaped.
Tags: Albie Rose, Astrid, Ray
This entry was posted on Monday, June 7th, 2010 at 9:36 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
5:08 am on June 7th, 2010
Melanie: What a lovely prayer Rio said for Gracie last night. She's in all our thoughts as we await becoming cyber parents.
Per Ardua Ad Astra = Through Adversity to the Stars.
Staff: Relief, I hope.
Wolfie: I will add some Frosty Paws to the menu for the puppy shower. The only food you should have to get is some steak tips for Chet.
Lexi: Rio is allowed to drink a few beers at the shower. Remember, that's how we enticed him to come.
5:14 am on June 7th, 2010
Melanie, We are all thinking of Gracie, and we loved Rio's prayer. He is the best! I grabbed Mom's steak knife and I am all ready to assist in any way. I could help cut the cords, or heck, I will even help with the c-section if you wish. Let us know and we will be there in a jiffy. Mags
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1275920057-Maggie grabbing knife (Small).jpg[/img]
5:21 am on June 7th, 2010
Maggie: You are beautiful! And I love the knife.
Melanie: How is Grace?
AbbieKat's staff: Tooth fixed?
Per Ardua ad Astra: Literally, over a towering place to the stars. Nice image.
5:24 am on June 7th, 2010
Magpie, what a beautiful picture! Careful of those steak knives.
Riö, you made us cry. Gracie is at the vet's. Within the last 24 hours, she lost a lot of weight. The pups were really smooshing her stomach and she couldn't eat enough to get her weight up. Keep paws and fingers crossed.
Chet remarked: "If Foster was here, too, it meant he wasn’t in L.A. Because this was Vegas, right? And if he wasn’t in L.A., that meant … something important. Bernie’d been talking about that in the car on the drive."
The Pack and I wonder if Foster is not in LA AND not at Albie's does this mean that Astrid is there in Vegas? Is he with Astrid? Are they getting money for the both of them? But why settle for just the $1,000?
Can you tell I need to think of something besides Grace?
5:36 am on June 7th, 2010
MagPie! Did you jump up on the sofa with that knife in your mouth? Do I have to talk to you on our next mission? Yes. Right after I talk to Lexi.
5:50 am on June 7th, 2010
MagPie!…. Now is the perfect time to go after some chickens!… snicker!
6:29 am on June 7th, 2010
Foster!… If Foster is not at Albie’s then Bernie has to assume he went to L.A., right?… snort!… I mean how would he go about finding out if Foster actually did go to L.A.?… grunt! … Anybody see that great movie called, “LA Confidential”?… wheeze!….I guess they have to get over this big gate first and find out why there is no security.
6:36 am on June 7th, 2010
If Foster isn't at Albie's I don't think Bernie cares where he is. Wonder what they'll find. And who told Bernie that Astrid is missing? Col. Bob? And did he hear that from Ray? If so, when? And is Ray missing?
6:40 am on June 7th, 2010
Mollypop, I grabbed the knife off the kitchen counter and then played a brief game of keep-away before leaping on the sofa. Mom took it away right after she took the picture (she is no fun). I coud probably arrange to get my teeth on another one if needed for any future missions.
Rio, Knife….chicken…I think I am almost getting an idea!
6:46 am on June 7th, 2010
Chet!… Here’s what Chet thought up above, “But the point is we were working on a missing persons case and the missing person was Astrid Jason. Also maybe her son Ray.”… snort!… So we have to go with what Chet thinks, me thinks…sneeze!
6:56 am on June 7th, 2010
We've been on this case for a very long time. I want action and some answers.
7:03 am on June 7th, 2010
Stover!… I’m with you!… snort!… Talk about beating a dead horse… sniff!… or whatever that saying is. This is taking way too long…. Cough!… Perhaps someone is really busy writing his new kids book and doesn’t have much time to devote to his blog and his loyal fans… snuff!
7:09 am on June 7th, 2010
Is the new kid's book going to involve Ingrid, or is for really little kids? We would love another Echo Falls book, perhaps I mentiond that before.
7:13 am on June 7th, 2010
MagPie!… Don’t quote me, but I thought he told us he had something different in the oven at one point… snort!… I don’t think this new series has Ingrid in it…. grunt!… I may be wrong though…
7:25 am on June 7th, 2010
The new book is not an addition to the Ingrid series. It has drawings by someone else. We saw one on the blog with the info that it was coming out "Opening Day 2011" which I think meant opening day of baseball. There was also a comment by Admin (?) at one point about there being nothing yet in the works on Ingrid.
I wonder if it would be difficult for a writer to stick to one character/storyline. Conon Doyle got so tired of Sherlock Holmes that he tried to kill him off and apparently succeeded for a number of years. But no one could get tired of Chet. And when it comes down to it, it really doesn't matter what I want.
7:29 am on June 7th, 2010
It was the post of April 11 and the cartoon was titled "Quacky."
8:15 am on June 7th, 2010
Hmmm!… For some strange reason I was under the impression Quacky is something different….snort!… He doesn’t usually put illustrations in his novels…cough!… Although, anything is possible I suppose. I thought he was working on another kids series with new characters…. Who knows!?… grunt!… Maybe Admin will give us a clue in tomorrow’s post. … wheeze!
9:49 am on June 7th, 2010
Hooray! You’re back Chet, and in fine form.
9:51 am on June 7th, 2010
Go, Chet, Go!!!
8:52 am on June 7th, 2010
I thought I saw the name of the illustrator somewhere. And I thought Spence said in an interview (the one when Chet was supposedly "talking" first) that he had had a new idea that he couldn't talk about. What did you think the "Quacky" illustration referred to Rio? Anyway, interesting….
10:02 am on June 7th, 2010
Chet!… I hope it’s one of those gate handles he can open once he is on the other side….snort!… Poor Bernie is having trouble climbing over… heh!
10:05 am on June 7th, 2010
I can see Chet leaping to the stars through adversity. Go Chet the Jet.
9:06 am on June 7th, 2010
Just back from the vets. Grace is doing fine TWELVE pups! The last one had trouble breathing, but is doing okay now. We just have to get them through the next 3 weeks. 6 black . . . 6 Irish Spotted.
7 Females . . . 5 males.
Will know more later. Need to get back to them. Congrats to all the cyber God-parents!
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1275933971-P1010003.JPG[/img]
9:22 am on June 7th, 2010
Oh My Gosh!!! I'm passing out cigars at the dog park tomorrow. I am so relieved. What a fine bunch of puppies, and I am so glad Grace is doing well. They are just adorable. I think I've been holding my breath for 24 hours. Melanie, thanks for keeping us updated through all of this.
Rio, thanks for the prayer last night. As others have already said, yours are the best.
9:31 am on June 7th, 2010
Melanie and Grace: Wonderful!
9:33 am on June 7th, 2010
Chet, I wish you wouldn't leap, but you have already leaped. we don't know if Bernie can get in there, and we don't know what dangers await. I'd rather Bernie go first.
9:33 am on June 7th, 2010
Zowie!… A full dozen!… grunt! … Is Gracie and puppies at home now?? …sniff?
9:58 am on June 7th, 2010
Congrats to Grace and her babies… all 12 of them! May the God of all creatures human and dog (and cat) keep them all safe .
9:58 am on June 7th, 2010
Oops!… I guess Melanie already said they were back from the vets… snort!… I may have to start reading every word of her posts again… heh!
10:53 am on June 7th, 2010
Gracie, congratulations! Those are beautiful puppies.
Melanie, how much does a brand new Newf baby weigh?
11:04 am on June 7th, 2010
Melanie!… How much does a Newf puppy cost?…. snort!… What’s the bottom line here?… grunt!… I’m guessing 12 X 1500 = 18,000 GRAND!…. Wooo! … We are rich!…Godparents get a cut, right??… Wooo!
11:07 am on June 7th, 2010
Melanie! That's FANTASTIC!!! They're so cute!!! Aww!!!
Chet! I told you to wait for Bernie! But, you're right. He was taking WA-AY too long a time climbing!!!
Oh, wait, MollyPop!? I'm still getting the talk? Grr! Bark! WOOF! Oops, sorry.
Wait a second….this title doesn't make any sense to me. I don't even know how to pronounce it. Chet, what's it mean?
12:04 pm on June 7th, 2010
Lexi!…. Per Ardua ad Astra means “Over a towering place to the stars” according to Stover… snort!… Whatcha been up to all day long little missy?… heh!
12:17 pm on June 7th, 2010
Gracie — Way to go, that is just terrific news!!!! (Yabba-dabba-doo!) Certainly brings to mind the book/movie — Cheaper by the Dozen (great book by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gibreth Carey; original movie was excellent, remake less so). And Rio, as virtual godparents, I think all we are entitled to is a virtual cut of the proceeds. In any event, you have seen how much the Newfs eat; Melanie needs the money much more than we do just to keep feeding them. You wouldn't want your precious Bess to starve, now would you. Wookie
12:21 pm on June 7th, 2010
Sam, all of them are over one pound. Most are about 1 1/2 pounds. That's a lot to be lugging around.
Riö, LOL here . . . Make money? What's money? The stuff we pay the vet and the grocers right? So after we pay everything off the Godparents get a cut, snicker, what's a part of 0?
This was my parent's retirement project instead of traveling. We didn't quite mean to end up with ten, but they are all so sweet, so we ended up having a retirement village along with a kennel!
Leap high Chet. Leap for the stars!
12:27 pm on June 7th, 2010
Sooo which one have you already decided to keep? (LOL) They are all so adorable and am glad that Gracie is doing well also. Gee, just the thought of trying to feed the 12 of them – does Gracie get all the steak tips she wants while they nurse??? Hugs to the new Momma. Blessing to you for caring for your beautiful and prolific pack.
12:49 pm on June 7th, 2010
Bess!… Okay Barney Rubble, you can’t blame a guy for trying to grab part of the pot! …snort!… No I would not want Bess to go hungry, not at all….sniff!… I’m still waiting for her top-notch to grow out…sneeze!
2:51 pm on June 7th, 2010
Wow!… My friend and I literally dropped our jaws to the ground at the end of the episode before the last episode of Breaking Bad….wheeze!ohhhhh!wheeze!… What good freakin’ writers they have on that team….snort!… Ours hearts are still pounding and now we have to control ourselves and go outside and water stuff before it starts dying again…crap!…Hot summer time routine is ‘on’ around here… sniff!… Geeze I sure wish someone around this here blog liked that show too… dammit!
Puppies!… I wonder what kind of stuff Melanie and crew has to do to help Gracie keep her puppies alive in the next few crucial weeks??….. snort! … I thought that was all left up to Mother Nature and Mother Gracie….grunt!…But what do I know about puppies??
3:21 pm on June 7th, 2010
~Maggie, you are so beautiful. Love the colors of your coat.
~Melanie! TWELVE!!! OMG! I can't wait for more pictures. They are just an adorable puddle of puppies today. Poor Gracie is in for a lot of work. Is is normal for Neuf's to have this many babies? TWELVE!!! No wonder you went in to the Vet for the delivery.
~Mollypop, I watched the Barn Owls leave the nest box last night before turning in! Way Cool. Man those people blog so fast you can't read it. Have you ever looked at this Hummingbird Cam?
http://cam.dellwo.com/ The baby just fledged this last week so there will not be anything for a while now. I don't know how long it will be before we have another set of eggs.
The root canal went OK this morning. Because it took so long before I got an appt. I still have some pain, but it is much better than before and I am taking lots less pain medicine. Hopefully it will get less and less painful over the next couple of days. I am very relieved. It was a bummer to travel 300 miles (one way) to get it done, but I am glad I didn't wait until Thursday. Very very glad.
~Staff
~Staff
3:23 pm on June 7th, 2010
Hmmm. Looks like staff signed out twice. She must be getting too many pain meds, no matter what she says!
Alice Johnson
3:26 pm on June 7th, 2010
Glad it went ok, staff, and good to hear from you. I think you will be feeling much better in a few days. Three hundred miles is a long way to go when you don't feel good.
3:32 pm on June 7th, 2010
I don't know anything about newborn puppies either, Rio.
Melanie, why are the first 3 weeks scary?
3:39 pm on June 7th, 2010
Crown!…Does this mean AbbieTheKat will be back soon!…snort!…. Not as soon as Alice Johnson I see….hmmmphf!!!
3:42 pm on June 7th, 2010
Oh Rio,
AbbietheKitty is downstairs making the other staff be a lap. She was extremely pis…er annoyed at them for leaving and is making him pay! He is forced to sit on the 'good' chair with his feet up so she can lounge.
~Staff
[img ]http://chetthedog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/1275957743-small lap abbie.jpg[/img]
3:43 pm on June 7th, 2010
Crown vs Root Canal!…. What’s the difference pain wise???…ugh!… My friend has really good teeth so she never has to undergo these strange dental procedures…snort!
3:49 pm on June 7th, 2010
Look!… AbbieTheKat almost covers the size of a man’s thighs! …whoowee!…That’s alot of Kat….snort!… Hi Abbie! I am watching the Rockies finally at home again going against Houston… grrrr!… in between going outside and watering stuff… yeesh!
4:02 pm on June 7th, 2010
Melanie and Gracie: Yippee! Congratulations on the Newfoundland dozen. They are absolutely the best looking Newf pups I have ever seen. If you need any help pup-sitting, let me know.
4:41 pm on June 7th, 2010
Rio: When I had an abscessed tooth I had to have a root canal. It was extremely painful beforehand but they froze it during the actual root canal. The crown I'm getting this week is to replace a chipped tooth.
4:49 pm on June 7th, 2010
This must be dentist day. Mom went too, however, the Kat's Staff had a much bigger procedure plus a 600-mile round trip. Mom says when you have a tooth problem, ya gotta go.
Mom's big tooth problem is almost over – her magical tooth screw looks good and the doctor says she's ready for the next step. She was taking lots of pain pills a while ago, but that's over with now.
4:56 pm on June 7th, 2010
Ugh!….My friend wants to know if you guys, Stover and Staff, ever brush your teeth and then floss the ones you want to keep???… snort!… I have no idea what that means myself…grunt!… So once you get your Crown Stover, do we have to call you Queen Bee???…heh!… You aren’t related to Ray or Astrid are you??…What with that chipped tooth thing that ‘someone’ thinks is hereditary…heh! (He used it in the last book I read and I had to laugh out loud!…snicker!)
5:15 pm on June 7th, 2010
Rio,
I have had both Crown's and Root canal's before. If you need a root canal and get it done in a timely fashion (not waiting almost 2 weeks)then it really is not a problem.
Mine came upon me on Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend and my dentist got me in to check it on that Tuesday (4 days already)but then said he didn't have enough time, unless there was a cancellation, for another 9 days. It took me a while before I figured out that waiting was NOT A GOOD IDEA. Travelling 600 miles, to a specialist who did it in 45 minutes, was.
My husband and a friend finally talked me through it. It helped that the dentist who didn't have the time was taking that next Friday off. I felt like he didn't need my money (1400) enough for me to wait that long.
YUP,
Feeling better. Starting to whine.
~staff
5:28 pm on June 7th, 2010
Golly!…That Root Canal almost cost as much as a Newf puppie!…snort!… I do hope you are feeling better and there is no infection left behind… gruff!… My friend had all her teeth trouble when she was very young, teeth pulled, braces, surgery, wisdom teeth out…etc. Now she has no problems and swears to Gawd there will be no others ….wheeze!…But she does need to make an appointment soon…heh! She deserves some dentistry for letting me swelter in the hot for so long… snuff!…
5:31 pm on June 7th, 2010
Hey!…Rockies are still winning and we are still watering… snort! .. I figure if we keep watering while they are winning they have to win!… grunt!… How’s that for baseball superstition…heh!
5:54 pm on June 7th, 2010
WE HAVE TO RESCUE PEPPER FROM NEXT DOOR!..yeep!
6:04 pm on June 7th, 2010
Rio, you have to explain or we will all be worried. Is Pepper all right?
6:14 pm on June 7th, 2010
We have been off the computer most of the day, due to meetings with an insurance claims rep, tree trimmers, contractors, etc. Sorry to have missed all the baby news. Congrats, and hope mama and babies are having a peaceful night. They are beautiful!
6:22 pm on June 7th, 2010
Rio, doesn't your friend Pepper live on a ranch? What is he doing next door? Is he being held captive, like Iggy?
Please tell us!!!!!
6:26 pm on June 7th, 2010
Geeze!… My neighbors girlfriends girl-dog, name of Pepper, was tied to one of the front trees.…snort!… We went out to turn our water off in the back and came back in, but my friend noticed that my neighbors sprinkler system started full blast on where poor Pepper was… grunt!… So, she went out to rescue Pepper from the water, me I sat safely and very dry on the front porch watching while she got completely soaked along with poor Pepper, who was beside herself cuz apparently she doesn’t like water like most Labs do…heh!..wheeze! … So my friend, damn her to hell, sat outside with this Pepper feeding her my food and giving her water while waiting for the neighbors to come home… groan!…The Rockies are on for PETES SAKE!…crap!… Well, low and behold they WERE home after all and finally realized their poor Pepper was getting drowned …growl!…Anyway after much Ado About Pepper, she is on her way home and hopefully getting fed cuz she was gobbling down my food like there was no tomorrow right before my eyes!…grump!… Meanwhile we are missing the game, but my friend didn’t seem to mind as much as I do… crapcrapcrap!!!
Hey!…Rockies Won!… frump!…We missed the most exciting part… hmmmph!
6:38 pm on June 7th, 2010
Poor Pepper..that's terrible. Rio, Pepper had a horrible experience, and it is ok if she eats some of your food. She needs some comfort. Your friend did a good thing. My mom is mumbling something about wanting to tie your neighbors to the tree and turn on the sprinkler system.
6:53 pm on June 7th, 2010
Siberh!…. My actual neighbor is not one to own a dog, but his girlfriend, try to imagine those women who are body builders, yeah that’s her – but she is very sweet and she was totally feeling bad about poor Pepper… snort!…She says she “owes us big time”, whatever…sneeze!… My neighbor he is the best and he just needs to figure out his legal watering days… heh! … We may have thrown him off by watering tonight as well, but our crappy sprinkler system doesn’t reach 35% of the area according to my calculations anyway…crappy thing!…grunt!… All it takes is some $$$ and every thing could be fixed and then we could be inside and happy not rescuing others while the game is on!… GRUMP! Cough!
6:56 pm on June 7th, 2010
Sigh!… I think I somehow managed to not say that Pepper is owned by the body building girlfriend and not our actual neighbor…heh!
7:10 pm on June 7th, 2010
Wolfie!…This is not my best friend Pepper who does live out in the boon docks with my friends best friend(confusing) with those horses!…Maybe one day someone will get a photo of this next-door-girlfriends-Pepper since they have now ‘Bonded’ for life… grump!…That makes me so Mad!!…growl !…. NO ONE should have petting OR feeding time from my friend except MEMEME!
7:31 pm on June 7th, 2010
Twilight!? Already?..Really!?
Surprise! Produce puppies and she cannot resist!….groan!
Rio’s friend:
I say Goodnight All and God Bless! Happy Birthday to all of Gracies boys and girls. I can still say that because of the 2 hour time difference! We here are so happy for you and wish we could hold one or ALL of those puppies in our lap (not Rio actually – no way!) What a wonderful day!
1:52 am on June 8th, 2010
Hey! Chet didn't post yet! Oh, whatever. I've been up the whole time, since 2:30am this morning. MOMMY CAME HOME! MOMMY CAME HOME! We had to go pick her up at this weird Limo place, and we had to hurry. Man, was daddy driving fast! Mommy said that she saw a fox nearby her and it wouldn't go away. When we arrived, I jumped oughta Megy's arms and "barked my ass off." I was like, "No one's getting MY Momy, idiots! Jack off!" Ha! It was SO fun. Wasn't able to go to sleep since.
Haha! Rio! Pepper is lucky to have you!
Tailwags and licks. Lexi-the one that protected Mommy, at the same time being told to 'shut the hell up.'