Our Friends

These are hard times in Blogville for some of our friends.

Anyone who has ever loved a dog knows that their lives are much too short. Better nutrition and advances in veterinary medicine have helped extend the life expectancies of our fur kids, but our time together is still too short. And way too often we discover that they are dealing with terrible illnesses that will rob us of even those few years we had hoped for.

This week we have our paws and fingers and toes crossed for some of our friends who are fighting terrible illness. Little Mr Pip, that sweet little guy who is always there when anyone else needs help, now needs it himself. The little guy with the big heart is fighting heart disease.

Benny is now dealing with liver cancer. The little guy who loves to model the latest fashions for all of Blogville has turned his attention to sharing his remaining time with his family, especially his sister Lilly.

This week we learned that our dear friend Thunder is suffering from cancer and is having a very hard time. Thunder is a young dog and it's hard to accept that he's so very sick.

We know how awful it is to accept these sorts of illnesses in our dogs. Last year our family had to accept the loss of three pack members and one was only six years old. We all do our very best, but some things are simply out of our control.

When we were going thru the bad times, visits from our blogging friends helped so very much. Knowing that we weren't alone in our fear and grief was what kept us going at times. If you can spare some time this week to visit and leave messages for these families, I know it would be appreciated.

Let's not forget that there are also families that are dealing with illness on an ongoing basis. These families are also feeling the daily stress and worry that their dogs are ill. A few of our friends that are coping are here.

Zeus and Lola

Jed and Abby

Ernie

Wrigs

If you can stop by and wish them well, you'll be helping more than you can imagine.

Sunglasses

Hi Everybody,
We didn't even know it was Sunglass Day until we started seeing all our blog buddies wearing theirs.

We told Mom she had to help us find our glasses so she did but only a few of us like to wear them.

Anyway we didn't want to be left out of the fun, so here we are. Aren't we handsome?

Your pal, Fudge

Just As We Thought

This sign showed up at the end of our street. As soon as we saw it Rob and I agreed that it just confirms what we all thought.

I think the arrow must be pointing toward Washington DC, don't you?

Wait Till Next Year

We want to say congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks and their fans. It was a tough series and everyone played well. There was plenty of excitement for all of us.

Now have a great summer and the skaters will start again in October. Maybe Mom's very favorite team the Montreal Canadiens will make it to the finals next year.

Now we're going to go jump in the pool and slurp up some watermelon.
Your pal, Fudge

Because It's The Cup

Are you ready, everybody?
It's me Fudge and there's lots of excitement around her today because there's a game tonight.

The Stanley Cup series is tied at two games each, so every game now is an important one.

The game doesn't start till 7 but we have a lot to do to get ready.

Mom told Dad that they're eating New England clam chowder and Boston baked beans for dinner. Then she says they're having Boston cream pie for desert. It looks like a cake to me, but she called it a pie.

We're having fishes for dinner. Mom says people in New England eat lots of fishes. That's fine with us, we love fishes.

 

Then after dinner, we'll all find our places in front of Mom's big TV. She bought it just for hockey games though we watch other stuff on it too.

We dogs will probably fall asleep during the game, we usually do, but Mom wakes us up yelling when the players score goals.

We're dressed and ready. Drop that puck and let's get this game started.

Your pal, Fudge

Mom says: Here's the graduation picture. This is Ann Marie and her brother Eddie yesterday.

A Special Day

Where are you going, my little one, little one,
Little dirndls and petticoats, where have you gone?
Turn around and you're two,
Turn around and you're four,
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of the door.

by Malvina Reynolds 

Today is a surprisingly emotional day for me. It's a day I've known was coming for many years but suddenly it's here and I've been on the verge of tears all day. My niece Ann Marie graduated from high school today, the same high school I graduated from.

Let me introduce you to Ann Marie. She is the daughter of my brother, Dan and my sister-in-law, Michele. She has an older brother, Eddie.

Eddie and Ann Marie have always been best friends.

Ann Marie has always been stylish.

I think this is my very favorite picture of her taken on her first birthday.

She and I have a few things in common. We both love to read.

And we both love animals.

She has been brought up knowing that girls can do anything, so when Eddie started playing hockey, she decided to play, too.

 

 

If you're a hockey fan, or even if you aren't, you should go to a pee wee hockey game. You'll laugh till you cry, but you'll admire the heart and effort those tykes put into the game.

Though she played for a couple seasons, Ann Marie left hockey for the soccer fields. While Eddie was winning hockey trophies, she was winning soccer trophies.

She continued playing all thru high school.

I remember her in pre-school as if it were yesterday.

And this morning she was preparing to graduate from high school.

Her parents have raised a beautiful and talented daughter.

We're all so proud of her.

Michele has promised to send me a picture from graduation and I'll share it.

Rough Week?

Has it been a long week? Are you feeling frazzled and there's still one day left till the weekend?

Do you need a laugh?

You can smile knowing he isn't yours.

This is my favorite. I think he's a Portie, though not one of mine. Wonder what he'll look like when he grows up.

Now back to work.

A Puzzlement

I have an interesting little puzzle that is driving me crazy. I know I'm a bit obsessive about dogs but I always have been and I don't expect it to change now. I also know that many people aren't all that interested in breeds and to them a dog is a dog. For instance, before Bo went to live in the White House, most people had never heard of Portuguese Water Dogs. Whenever I took one of mine out in public people would ask me what kind of dog he was. My favorite was a man who asked me if Fudge was a Pitbull.  Here's a Pitbull....

Here's Fudge. Do you see a resemblance? When I told him what breed Fudge was, he just shook his head. I'm sure he was convinced that Fudge was a Pitbull.

When Sydney and Mackenzie came to us, they were still in the soft round puppy stage that just looked pretty much like any other puppy. The man that gave them to Rob said they were Beagle and Brittany.

As the girls have grown I've become convinced that they may be part Beagle and part Brittany, but there are some other parts that he didn't mention.  Notice how long their bodies are.

The Beagle standard says:  Back short, muscular and strong. 
The Dachshund standard says: The trunk is long and fully muscled.

See their front legs and feet.

The Beagle standard says: Forelegs straight. Crooked forelegs are a defect.
The Dachshund standard says: The joints of the wrists do not appear absolutely straight. The front feet may be equally inclined a trifle outward.

Sydney has a bit of a Spaniel look to her head and face except for her big floppy ears.

Notice Mac's face.

 

 

The Beagle standard says: Muzzle of medium length- straight and square. Skull should be domed, broad and full. Ears set moderately low.

The Dachshund standard says: Head tapers to the tip of the nose. Skull slopes gradually, neither too  broad nor too narrow. Ears set near the top of the head.

The Beagle standard says: Chest deep and broad.
The Dachshund standard says: Breast bone is strongly prominent in front.

 

The Beagle standard says:
Tail set moderately high, not turned forward over the back.

Syd's tail now curves slightly over her back.

I suspect that the man who bred the girls didn't know his dog breeds very well and what he thought was a Beagle may have actually been a Dachshund. Does any of this matter? Not really. The girls are a hoot and I like their long faces, floppy ears and crooked feet. The long bodies could be something to watch in the future as long bodied dogs can have back problems. They're mixed breed dogs so they'll not be judged on their lack of standard, they'll just be loved for who they are.