Beard Competition Winners

Welcome to the Finals of the 2nd Annual GooberStanian Beard Growing Competition! Since Stella & I are your hosts, and therefore ineligible to compete, we wanted to start things rolling with the beards of GooberStan.

We had a little trouble getting a photo of my official measurement ceremony, so you're just going to have to take my word that my beard is a whole 2 3/4 inches of lusciousness.

Stella, on the other hand, proudly displayed her beard...

until she found out she was going to have to get measured. Then it was a wrasslin' match between her & our girl. Our girl won. Stella's golden beard weighs in at 3 1/4 inches, and she's going to keep growing it (so she says).

Now, let's get started with announcing our competitors and the winners! We have quite an international contingent this year!

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Our first award tonight is in the Muddiest Face Division. Here are our competitors.







Faya from Switzerland







Finni from England






Petey from New York City

(He asked if he could enter a snowy-face photo, and we said, "Sure.")








and Eric Square Dog from England.

An independent panel of GooberStanian aunties served as our judges.

(Drum Roll Please....)

And the winner of the first Muddiest Face Division of the 2nd Annual GooberStanian Beard Competition is...

Eric Square Dog!!!

(The crowd goes WILD!!!)

Congratulations, Eric! That is one very juicy face!!

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Our next award goes to the pup with the Most Improved Beard. This year, it wasn't a tough one to figure out. With an initial measurement of 2 1/4 inches, a final measurement of 3 1/2 inches, the winner of this year's Most Improved Beard Division, with a net gain of 1 1/4 inches in 4 months is...

Mitch the Airedale!!!

The initial measurement - 2 1/4 inches

The final measurement - 3 1/2 inches

(The crowd rushes the stage...)

Congratulations, Mitch! Your apple treatment really did the trick, man!

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Our next prize is for the Overall Longest Beard for pups 25 pounds and under. We had two fierce competitors this year. First is Miss Nelly the Airedale pup (sister of Finni the Airedale).

Her sweet little puppy beard came in at a respectable 1 1/2 inches.

Our other competitor is Moe, the Welsh Terrier from right here in the Kansas City area. Moe and his mama read my blog, and decided to enter the contest this year.

Moe's beard came in at 2 1/4 inches, which makes him our winner!!!

Congratulations, Moe!!! Way to Go, bud!

(Moe starts crowd surfing as they body pass him around the auditorium!)

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Now for our last award for Overall Longest Beard! We had several competitors this year, and the ladies made quite a showing.

All 3 Leuradale competitors suffered from SBS (Shrinking Beard Syndrome). Here's Lucy from Australia. Her beard came in at 3/16 of an inch.

Willow, her sissy, had a beard measuring in at 1/4 of an inch.

And Noah, their brother, came in with a beard that's 3/8 of an inch.

Our only non-Terrier competitor this year is Mama Pajamas from the Whippet Waggle. Her whisker beard, which is very full for a Whippet, measures in at a hearty 1 inch. (Major props to Mama Pajamas for going up against the Terriers!)

Miss Molly the Airedale (our only female Brit entry) also suffered from Shrinking Beard Syndrome. Her final measurement came in at 2 3/4 inches.

Speaking of Brits, next is Finni the Airedale. He was a double competitor this year, having also entered the muddiest face competition! Here he is proudly displaying his 3 inch beard.

Now we come to seasoned American competitor, Bogart Handsome Devil the Airedale.

As you can see, he too had some difficulty with the measuring of his beard.

A very respectable showing for Bogart at 3 inches.

You will all recognize this next competitor, weighing in with 3 1/2 inches, it's the winner of our Most Improved Beard, Mitch the Airedale!

Now, our next competitor is where this competition began. She's a sweet Airegirl who did a little trash talking with me about our beard lengths over a year ago, which prompted a little friendly beard-growing competition between the two of us. Then, we decided to open it up to all the pups we knew. Here she is weighing in with a bootifully full 4 1/2 inch beard, this year's 3rd place winner, Maggie the Airedale!

These last two competitors brought it down to the wire. They come from the same bloodline, so it's no wonder they are beard-growing phenoms! It was a close call, but 2nd place goes to the magnificent Kerry Blue Terrier, Ms. Blue, with an amazingly gorgeous ebony beard of 5 3/8 inches.

Which brings us to the winner of the Overall Longest Beard, weighing in with 5 1/2 inches of lusciously dark curls, Kerry Blue Terrier extraordinAire and daughter of our 2nd place winner Ms. Blue and sister of last year's winner Buster... Persephone the Kerry Blue Terrier!!!

WAY TO GO, Persephone!!! Looks like we're keeping this award in the family! You're an even more gorgeous winner than Buster was last year!

(Persephone prances her way up to the stage & takes a bow with her proud mama Ms. Blue.)

I guess it IS true ~ Chicks with beards ROCK!

Now for a recap of our winners:

Muddiest Face ~ Eric Square Dog

Most Improved Beard ~ Mitch the Airedale

Longest Beard (25 lb & under division) ~ Moe the Welshie

Overall Longest Beard ~ Persephone the Kerry Blue

(The prize committee will be contacting each of you to ensure you receive your awards.)

We will leave you with a photo of my dearly departed buddy, and the inspiration for this competition, Dovah Doo! We miss you and that magnificent beard, man!

Congratulations to all of our competitors! GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!!!

GooberFest Part 1

So. It was my birthday a week ago, and after 1 week of being 2 years old I've decided that birthday hats are WAY overrated. (This psycho deli hat comes from an era in my girl's life I don't even want to KNOW about.) My girl calls it the Groovy Hat, and breaks it out for birthdays.

Here's one photo of Sherman's Stinky Salmon Treats that my girl made for me. (See the cheesey "S" on top? It stands for Sherman, but it also conveniently stands for Stanley.) Let me tell you, Sherman KNOWS all about stink & treats!

The rest of this post is an embarrassing chronicle of the birthday bomb that exploded, and all the presents that were found in the aftermath (an INDECENT amount of presents, my girl says). Each one represents pups who love me and whom I love. So, enjoy, and please don't hate me...

As we all know, package demolition is one of the BEST parts of opening a present.










This lovely duo of gorgeous pink flamingos made their way to GooberStan weeks in advance of my birthday, but were given in love! The cute one on the left came from Moco's mama, my sweet Grammie! The larger leggier one on the right came from Lacie, Scruffy, and BabyStan's Mumsie!






A goob can NEVER have too many flamingos.

Thank YOU, Grammie & Mumsie! Your ever-lovin' goober smooches are in the mail to you NOW! You sure know the way to this goob's heart.

Weary from package demolition, this photo shows me redolent, reading Asta's birthday card and getting to know Orange Smoochie Chicken. (She said he's a timed release Smoochie Chicken. Every time I squeak him he releases smoochie kisses.)

Demonstrating the Smoochie Chick.

Her card is an X-Ray of her. It proves that I am the goober in her heart!

Along with the X-Ray she sent the keys to her heart. Stella likes to play with them ~ she says they smell sweet. But, they don't work for her. They only work for ME, Asta's Goober Boy!

Obviously, she had to send her heart to GooberStan if I'm the one with the keys!

I found this bootiful silky scarf in the package and tried it on. We weren't sure WHOM it was for, but it definitely wasn't for me. Not my style.

It's definitely NOT for Stella either. It makes her look too much like Mother Teresa.

Merv liked it, but we decided to give it to our hoogirl.

There was a sweet & saucy smell eminating from this tiny box. I had to investigate.

No wonder! Look what it was filled with ~ Asta Fuzz!! THANK YOU ASTARONI! You really ARE my Sweetpea Fuzzbutt, and you know what I like! I LOVE you and will safely guard your sweet heart!

Not only did all of that super gooberlicious stuff wing its way to me, but I also received a package full of bodacious Boston goodness from my pupgirl, Ruby Bleu.

First off, I must direct your attention to the gorgeous portrait above. She sent it to me for Valentine's Day, and it graces the side of our cold eatables box, just above where my food bowl is.

Now, look at this haul of lovin' I found in Ruby's package!

I first went for this fabulously funky chicken. He is made from totally recycled materials, per my Ruby's GREEN DOG New Year's resolution!

But of course, this bone filled with bacony goodness caught my attention RIGHT away! There was even a Stella-sized one.

Ruby Bug! This bacony filling tastes just like your kisses! How perfect is THAT?

Stella took hers to the relative safety of her bunker.

After all the bacony goodness it was time to test out the new Tug a Lug Rings from Ruby...

... and my new rubber flying frisbee! I'm a fool for anything that I can tug or anything that flies (just ask my pink flamingo). There was even a present in the box for my girl, but we can't find the photos of the funky flip flops you sent! My girl's feet say, hey, thanks Rubinator!

Merv had to read Ruby's letter to me, I was wiggling too much from BEST (Birthday Excitement Syndrome & Trauma)! Thank you, Ruby Bug! You are the only "Bug" I love, and you are always way too good to this goob!

As if those presents were NOT enough, you'll have to see some of the funkilicious treats I received from my Connecticut Dale buds, Maggie & Mitch! This is just a sampling of a FEW of their gifts!

Those hoofers look menacingly tasty. I can't wait til I get my gnashers on them!

And, we got new cow snouts!

Here we are modeling the MOOZLE! (Is that not the BEST treat name you've ever heard?)



As if the fantastically funky treats weren't enough, M & M's mama sent this Stanley spoon that she MADE HERSELF for my girl. (Looks to me like my girl is cleaning up on the prezzie front as well.) Thanks, Maggsie, Mitch, and your mama! Your birthday efforts on my behalf have already garnered me hours of pleasure (and Stella too).

Bet you're wondering how these 2 porkers got to GooberStan. (The larger one is already marked with my goober slime, thank you.)

My sweet honorary Swiss Dale Sissy, Faya, chose these gifts for me and Stella with love and care. When you snuggle up with them and squeeze them they say OINK like real piggies. I'm welcoming Big Porker with a goober smooch.

Well... maybe a few more goob smooches are in order to make you feel REALLY welcome.

No offense, Taffy, but I think Stella is IN LOVE with Little Porker. She totes him all over GooberStan. When she and I are both at it, it sounds like a little porker choir is rehearsing right in our kitchen. THANK YOU, Sweet Faya! You have given us another tool in our arsenal to drive our girl bananas! And, thanks for all the sweeeeeet tasty treatables you sent. There are still a few left!

My girl wanted you to see one last photo of me in the Groovy Hat. Because she is the one behind the birthday eatables and the one to clean up the debris from the Birthday Bomb, I accomodate her wishes.

I understand that the birthday celebration is not even CLOSE to being over. There is a package waiting for me at the post office from Singapaw, and several of my buds have sent ecards and have sponsored homeless pups and kitties in my honor! I am touched to the core of my goober heart, and you can bet I'm feelin' the love! More on those prezzies in the next installment!

You guys, yep, YOU GUYS who are reading this post are the REAL gifts as far as I'm concerened! A goob can never have too many friends. I'm sending out universal goober smooches 'round the globe to all of you! Thanks for loving me just as I am.

Overwhelmed by love,

Stanley