March - A Great Month

Tomorrow is the first day of March. Mom is looking forward to March because it has the first day of Spring, but we're looking forward to March for a much better reason.


March is National Peanut Butter Month!!!


We sometimes get treats that are flavored with peanut butter....


But we prefer the real thing. Look, Mom buys two kinds of peanut butter. She likes the crunchy kind and Dad likes the smooth kind. We like them both.


A lot of mornings Dad puts peanut butter on toast or pieces of bagel for us.


Today he spread some on our dog biscuits. Yum!!


Noah can practically taste it already.


Everyone has to sit.


Samba always gets the first piece because she's our leader.


It looks like this piece is for Sky.


At last Noah gets his turn.


Fudge has been patient and now it's his turn.


Finally, it's Morgan's turn.


It's so good, it almost melts in your mouth. Just imagine a whole month of peanut butter. How great is that??

Goodbye To A Friend

We received very bad news yesterday.


Our friend Trixie died suddenly of acute pancreatitis. It was very unexpected and we at Legacy are very sad for our friends at Dog Woods.


Tsar wanted to express our feelings to our friends Tuffy, Snoopy, Joe, Anna and the pups.


We know what it's like to lose one of our pack suddenly and much too soon.


Goodbye Trixie. We will miss you.

Keeping That Pretty Smile

Before I get back to the weekend activities, I have an important public announcement.


Did you know that today is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day? We were very surprised to hear this, because we thought every day was dog biscuit appreciation day. I don't think we've ever experienced a day without dog biscuits and they are always appreciated. Anyway if the human part of your family is holding out, the canine members need to remind them of this special day.


Saturday we went to a special event at our vet clinic. This is JuJu, the official greeter. She loves Robert and chats away with him whenever she sees him. They also dance together, hopping up and down and flapping their wings together. It's pretty funny to watch.

The event was a mini-class on doggy dentistry, designed to make me feel guilty. I have to confess, I'm not very good about brushing my dog's teeth. I do it occasionally, but some days it's all I can do to find time to brush my own teeth, and the ten canine mouths don't get done.


This handsome fellow is Michael and he was the demo volunteer for the day. I'm not sure the poor guy actually volunteered, but he was a good sport about it. We learned why it's important to brush the doggy teeth and all the awful things that can happen when we don't.


We were given tips on how to make it more fun or at least less awful for everyone involved.


We talked about different types of brushes and toothpastes and most important the rewards given afterwards.


Then poor Michael had his teeth cleaned to show us the proper technique.


The little guy was a good sport and didn't struggle or put up much of an objection to the treatment.


When the brushing was over, he got a very tasty treat.


Then we were shown the torture instruments that are used when we don't brush and our dogs have to have a full dental cleaning.


They explained what each was used for and described some of the awful things that show up on a cleaning.


This should have made me rush home and throw each of them in the bathroom and brush away for the rest of the afternoon. It didn't. I have good intentions of doing a better , more frequent job of brushing, but I can't promise daily brushing for all ten of them. The best I can do is say, I'll try.

Monday the four boys went for their vet visit. Sky had a couple of tiny cysts on his back, but they're nothing to worry about and next time he's in for something, they can be removed with a local.

Noah had a broken nail on a back foot and a splinter between his toes on a front foot. The splinter is causing a sore, so he's taking antibiotics for a few days and we'll be soaking his foot twice a day to get the splinter to work it's way out.

Fudge is missing a tooth. We don't know what happened to it, it's just missing. He must have broken it off while playing and the one next to it is chipped. He hasn't exhibited any pain, so I had only noticed it a few days ago. I don't know when it happened. We'll x-ray to see if the root remains.

Tsar is a little weak in the hindquarters, but Dr B didn't note any arthritis. It may be a nerve in the back that's causing him some trouble. He gets around OK, just a little slower.

The boys were all very well behaved and I was proud of them. Fudge jumped onto the table by himself and didn't need to be held for the blood draw or his vaccinations. He can be a good boy if he wants to be. We'll be getting the results later this afternoon. All in all they did well and were much calmer than the girls.

Non-Stop Weekend

This was one busy weekend and it hasn't stopped yet.


First, our pink post, the one before this one, was number 400. I never imagined I'd find enough to say to fill 4 posts, let alone 400. I had been thinking of having a contest to celebrate it, but 500 seems more appropriate to celebrate. That will give me time to think up a really nice prize or two or three. So later this year when we hit 500, be ready to join in.

On Thursday I fed the dogs early and got them settled in, then Rob and I went to see a local production of The King And I. It was my birthday present from Rob.

I love the play and especially the music from this show. I was a little apprehensive about seeing a local group tackle it because in my mind Yul Brynner will always be 'the King'.


We've been season ticket holders for the Springfield Little Theater and attended many shows. I've been pleasantly surprised many times by what good performances we've seen, but this one was special.


All the leads had strong voices and the king played by Derrick King was so good that he was a worthy successor to Yul Brynner. We sat in a box so we had plenty of room and we both had a wonderful time. We've been humming the songs all weekend. What a romantic play that is.

Friday was a big day. It was the day the four girls, Tess, Lola, Bailey and Norma Jean go visit Dr B for their checkups.


The girls get all revved up for this and are spinning and jumping and get their temps and blood pressure up as high as they can. They also get all the humans excited and our blood pressure goes up.


Weights were all perfect. Eyes, ears, etc were all perfect. They tried to take each of the girls to the lab separately to take their blood. That didn't work out so well. Tess, Lola and Norma Jean went along and soon came racing back to us, but Bailey went reluctantly and was gone for a very long time. Rob finally walked back to the lab and found Bailey muzzled and struggling to keep the three techs from coming at her with the needle. The doctor walked in and tried, but Bailey was frantic, so Rob brought her back and we let her hang with her sisters.


While each girl was on the table being examined, the others were playing in the sink. Rob turned the water on and they liked drinking from the faucet.


When we finished the exams, Dr B suggested we sedate Bailey and try again, but Rob suggested that he try taking blood from a back leg so that she wouldn't see what he was doing, while I hold her and talk to her. I stood in front of her holding her head with one hand and feeding her treats with the other. The doctor was able to get all the blood he needed.


I learned from this not to split them up when they're so excited and to stay with them as they depend on me to protect them. Bailey was just trying to defend herself from people with sharp objects and once I was there to protect her, she stood still.

When they got home, they ate dinner, then they slept all evening. They were exhausted from their big adventure. The blood reports were back on Saturday and they were all perfect.

The activities continued on Saturday as Rob and Morgan and Fudge and I attended a mini-seminar on Doggy Dentistry at the clinic. I'll post more about that in my next post.

The Pink Parade

Sissy, with the help of her secretary, Chan, is presenting the Pink Parade to bring attention to the fight against breast cancer.


Morgan is joining.


Morgan knows that breast cancer strikes not only humans, but dogs, too.


Samba knows that human ladies must do monthly breast exams to check for lumps and bumps.


She says be sure your Mom does a check for lumps and bumps when she gives you those great belly rubs.

One day while rubbing my dog Libby's belly, I noticed a little lump, about the size of a baby pea. I took her to the vet the next day and she had a partial mastectomy. Libby lived another six years in good health, so those quick exams are very important for all of us.

My best friend Sue is a breast cancer survivor. Just five months after we moved here, she found a lump and it was malignant. We talked on the phone daily, sometimes several times a day, for two years while she went thru treatment. Now she's been cancer free for eight years and counting.

Call or email the people you love and even those you just kinda like and urge them to get a mammogram.

The Sun Is Shining, Let's Play Ball

Yesterday the sun was shining, the temperature was in the mid forties and the birds were singing. When we went outside for our mid-day play, they all sat around looking at me.


It was like little kids saying they were bored. There's no more snow, what are we going to do now?


Then they got together and held a conference.


It was a unanimous decision. We'll play ball.


Everyone ran around picking up balls that had been hidden by the snow. Samba found one.


Tsar doesn't play ball, but he likes to chase the others as they race after the thrown balls.


Suddenly I was very busy throwing balls, one after another. The whole pack was in action.


Sometimes more than one dog ran after a certain ball. Then a big chase happened.


As soon as they could grab them, they came back for me to throw them again.


We had mainly glow balls, but Morgan found a tennis ball that she liked. She loves to peel them, but this one still had it's skin.


Hurry up and throw it.


They were coming back faster than I could throw.


Everyone got into the game.


Here they come again.


The dogs were getting a lot of exercise running up and down the hill retrieving balls.


Noah complained about getting straw in his mouth. I had to stop and remove it for him.


Sometimes I was surprised to see who got to the ball first. They have very competitive spirits.


As they started to tire, some of them used the safe spot under the swing to get a little rest. Here Tess is in the safe zone and the others are waiting for her to come out with the ball. They all respect the safe zone.


Samba made many trips up and down the hill.


She drops the ball for me to throw again.


They stare at the ball as if it's going to move on it's own.


When she gets tired of waiting for me, she barks at the ball.


The game went on for well over an hour and everyone was having a good time. There were enough balls in play so that they could all play and there were no arguments.


They were finally starting to slow down a little and just stroll up the hill.


There was still enough energy for a good chase.


Tsar, the cat-dog, found a good seat to observe the silly water dogs wasting all that energy.


And the winner, as usual, is Morgan. When everyone was tired and ready to go inside, Morgan brought the ball in with her and napped with it beside her.

Then last night the temperature dropped to 11 degrees and there was frost on the ground this morning. More snow is supposedly on the way. I'm glad they got a good ballgame in before winter hits us again.