Branjolina's baby's got nothing on the Taterman

I've been seeing babies with mohawks all over town this year, thanks largely to celebrity children's hairstylists. But Tater just turned eight and he's had a mohawk every summer for years! Yeah – before it was cool.

This is the latest version. It's not quite done yet – still needs some cleaning up around the back of the legs, and I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to do anything different with his tail. Last year we shaved it all the way to the end, leaving a fabulous sort of tassle like the kind lions have. This year I decided to leave it long, at least for now, and also to leave the luxuriously soft and silky fur around his throat and chest long – it's my favorite part of him to snuggle my face up into.

In this photo you can also see how much his right front paw is twisting. It's been bothering him more regularly now, to the point where he has to be extra careful jumping off the bed and will limp for a day after any kind of exertion, even just a run to the back of the property and back. We've been giving him glucosamine, which seems to help, but I really worry that the inability to exercise much will shorten his life. There will never be another dog like him, and I want him to live forever.

Right now he has some kind of infection or irritation that is making his left eye weepy and sore. I thought I had it cleared up last week, but yesterday he was scratching at it again so I'm taking him to the vet. I always worry when I have to take him in, because he hates it so much there and because I'm always afraid they're going to find something wrong with him. In addition to his weepy eye, he also has his messed up foot that's getting worse, and a couple of those little lumps that dogs get that they tell you not to worry about but how can you not (and which I will have removed next time he goes under anesthesia to have his teeth cleaned), and also this little weird skin thing kind of like a wart on his elbow, which I also want removed and analyzed.

Other than that, he's a wonderfully healthy, happy, sweet dog who seems to enjoy his life very much. And he loves his new haircut. We made up a whole new song about it: Tater With A Mohawk! (Sung to the tune of that old English Beat song, Mirror in the Bathroom.)