Reporter Fudge

Hi everybody,

Do you all remember us? It's been a very long time since we've posted because Mom says she's busy with the taxis. We've looked everywhere but we can't find those taxis she keeps talking about. They're not in the garage or in the driveway. They aren't in the yard or on the street. 

Maybe she's taking about these kinds of taxis. She sticks notes on the board in the kitchen with these sharp things, but that doesn't take much time at all. 

Do your peeps ever talk about invisible taxis?

Anyway, here's what's been going on while Mom pretends to play with taxis. She still makes Noah's special food every few days. We told her it wasn't fair that he gets special food every day and the rest of us don't, so she made a big pot of turkey vegetable stew for us. It tastes yummy.

Last week Sebastian was scratching his ears and shaking his head a lot. Mom cleaned his ears but he kept scratching and he started walking around with his head tilted so Mom took him to visit Dr B. Poor Sebastian has a yeast infection in his left ear and Mom puts lots of medicines in there to make it better. Sebastian doesn't like it and tries to hide when he sees the medicine bottle, but we know that he's feeling better because he's not shaking his ears and scratching anymore. The medicine is greasy and he looks pretty funny with his wet greasy ears. He likes to rub his greasy head on Mom's pants and it makes her yell.

Mom finally finished this winter cross stitch picture. She says it took almost as long as winter did. She started it the day after Christmas and didn't finish till the beginning of March, but she did do two other pieces for friends during that same time. Now she's working on something for Spring but I can't tell yet what it is.

A lot of you are posting pictures of flowers but we don't have any yet. Our trees are just starting to leaf out so pretty soon the flowers will be here. So for now that's about all I have to report. Mom promises that she'll be done with her taxis this weekend and we can get back to having fun soon.

Your pal, Fudge

Stop That Noise!

Yesterday was a perfect first day of spring. It was warm and sunny with not too much mud. The dogs played outside most of the day and slept in this morning. It doesn't get much better than that. Now, however, I have a rant. I just can't hold it in any longer. So go drag out your soapboxes because today we're taking on TV commercials, yet again.

What is it with advertising agencies and the companies who hire them? What is their obsession with doorbells????

Every day there seems to be another commercial with a doorbell. I try to get to the mute button before the bell rings, but I can't keep track of them all and I can't always drop what I'm doing to  hit mute.

Don't any of these people live with a dog? 1-800-Petmeds, especially should be ashamed of themselves. They should know how dogs react to doorbells. There are ads for pizza and car repairs and I could go on and on listing them. There are too many to even boycott, but I should send them a tape of the barking and the shouted HBO words pouring forth from my lips.

I often write to companies who annoy me but I'm sure they wouldn't pay any attention. I just have to try to be faster with the mute button. I can hear you saying why not train the dogs better. Remember I have ten of these noisy creatures and part of their job is protecting me and our home from intruders. I try to explain that a burglar isn't going to ring the bell before entering, but they can't grasp the concept.

Ok, rant done. I feel better already.

A Spring Song For You

Take us out to the dog park.

Take us out for a run.

Buy us some Zukes and some Milkbones please,

We promise we won't pick up any fleas.

We'll have so much fun at the dog park,

If we don't go it's a crime.

We'll be woof, woof, woofing it up,

For a real good time.

Happy Spring Everybody!!

It's Almost Here!

Hi everybody, it's me Fudge.

Mom hasn't been sharing the blog lately but I told her I had a lot to say so she said I could post today. I need to catch you up on everything that's been happening. First Mom told us that Spring is coming this week. 

Can you believe it? It sure has been a long time since winter came to town. Last week was pretty warm and nice. We got to play outside a lot. The only bad part was that we got our feet washed every time we came in. Then on Sunday morning Mom opened the front door and look what we found.

This is just wrong! It wasn't even the nice snow  to play in. It was icy and nasty. It snowed all day and we wound up with about three inches. Then on Monday it all went away again. How does that work anyway?

Now Mom says that Spring will be here tomorrow. We're watching and waiting. Mom's little tulip plant is growing and she says that's a sign of spring along with the mud in the yard.

I have to tell you about the exciting thing that happened the other night. It was bedtime and Dad put leashes on Syd and Mac to take them out for a final pee. When he opened the front door he didn't know that the cat was asleep in the chair on the porch. Mac saw it first before the cat even woke up and charged toward it. Noah and I were watching from the doorway. Mac made a grab for the cat but  there was one problem. The cat is bigger than Mac.

That cat jumped in the air and wade a big yowling noise. Then it flew off the porch. Did you know that cats could fly? We didn't either, but that cat flew. I don't think it's feet ever touched the floor. Mac was left with a mouth full of cat hair. She and Syd made an awful racket, barking and whining and it took a long time for them to settle down and go to sleep that night. Nice try, Mackey.

Well, I guess I'd better go watch for Spring. I don't want to miss it when it gets here. I have a new springtime song to share with you tomorrow after Spring arrives. See you soon,

Your pal, Fudge

Another visit to Dr B

This afternoon we took Morgan and Noah back to see Dr B. This was just a recheck to see how they were progressing.

First was the weigh in. Morgan's weight was unchanged, but Noah had lost another 4 pounds. That boy is way too thin.

Next was the exam. Noah went first. He's actually doing better. His stools are firmer and he's not straining. He loves his new food and eats it right up. Dr B agreed that he's too thin and we talked about adding some fat to his special diet. We have to do it carefully so we don't destroy all that we've accomplished so far. Noah will continue to eat his special turkey and veggie diet but I'll be adding a little olive oil to each meal. We'll start with just a 1/2 tablespoon of oil each meal and gradually increase to 1 1/2 each meal. He'll have a weigh-in every two weeks and in six weeks he'll go back for a rectal exam.

The doctor pointed out to me that although he's lost weight, he hasn't lost muscle and has a great coat, so I should stop worrying. He thinks Noah's doing well and will continue to improve.

Next Morgan was dragged out from under the table so we could examine her mouth. The big ugly growth is much smaller and no longer an angry red color. Now it just looks like a small warty growth. Since it responded so well to the steroid injection we know its not a tumor and it doesn't need to be removed. If it should start to grow again, we know it will respond to another injection.

It was a good news day at the vet's and I'll sleep better tonight.

Samba

I still miss you

As the days and years pass

I still miss you

As the pain of grief softens

I still miss you

As new memories are made

I still miss you

As I smile and laugh

I still miss you

Today and every day

Happy Birthday, Samba. We all miss you.

Noah's New Friends

Poor Noah has been feeling sad lately. Sure his new turkey vegetable soup is tasty and he likes his sweet potato chips, but he feels he's being singled out and treated differently. While the other dogs all feel that Noah is getting special treatment, he feels he's being punished for something. Funny how one's perspective changes a situation, isn't it? Noah would very much like to get the same treats as everyone else.

Last week we received an email from Mr. Andrew at Chewy.com telling us about the treats available for review this month. One of them was Newman's Own brand which we've tried in the past. All my dogs loved them, including Tsar who was very picky. The ones being offered were chicken and sweet potato variety. I wrote back to Andrew saying we'd try those and explaining about Noah's new diet.

Well, Mr Andrew pays attention. When the Chewy box arrived yesterday, he had substituted turkey and sweet potato for the chicken ones so that Noah could eat them, too.

Noah was very happy. Yes, this is Noah's happy face. He and all the rest of us think Mr Andrew and all the others at Chewy are pretty nice people. Now Noah can have the same treat that everyone else is having and he knows he has some friends at Chewy who are trying to help him feel better.

Noah and all the others say these are really tasty treats and they highly recommend them. Have you tried them? Chewy.com can deliver them right to your door.

Need A Laugh?

Last night I saw this video and I laughed and groaned at the same time. Then I made Rob watch it and he had the same reaction.


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqa84MgKmLY

This little piggy, I mean Pittie, is named Maggie and lives in Denmark. Have you ever seen such a happy little mess in your life? While we had to smile at her antics, we were really glad she wasn't one of ours.

It brought back a memory. When I lived in Myrtle Beach I had a pup named Libby. She was a Boxer/Terrier mix and she loved to run on the beach.

At that time dogs could run on the beach off season and people often rode horses up and down the beach. It was a more relaxed time. One day Lib and I were on the beach and we ran into Josh and his mom. They were in our obedience class. Full disclosure here, neither Josh nor Libby graduated from that class. They were both kicked out around the same time for distracting the rest of the class.

Anyway, that day Josh's mom and I started walking together and chatting while the two pups raced around and dug up crabs. A pair of horses went by and we waved at the riders and both said how much we'd like to ride on the beach some time.

Then we both noticed Josh rolling in the sand. Libby was watching him closely and we ran up to them to discover that Josh was rolling in horse poop and Lib was waiting her turn. I grabbed her just in time.

Josh got dragged into the surf, much to his dismay and was then taken directly home. Libby was leashed and we continued our walk. Dogs are such wonderful, loving and sometimes disgusting creatures.

My Experiment

Ahh.. March is here at last, the month that ushers in Spring, my favorite season. But something went wrong this time. Last week I was checking our the trees in the back yard to see if there were any signs of budding and there were some early nodules, but not many.

Then this weekend we got hit with grumpy old Winter trying to hang on. The temps took a real dive from 60 one day to 4 the next. That's truly unpleasant. I don't actually mind the snow but we only got a very little of that. The cold I could do without. The dogs are antsy. They want to play outside but this is even too cold for them.

Last Easter Rob gave me these pretty purple tulips. Unfortunately they didn't last long. Tulips are so delicate.

Instead of tossing them out when they died, I stuck the pot on top of my kitchen bookcase. I ignored them as the leaves turned brown and crispy. When the leaves finally dropped off I tossed them but kept the pot of dirt. Once a month, starting in August, I drizzled a tiny amount of water into the pot. Several times Rob asked if I was going to throw out the pot of dirt and I said no, that it was an experiment.

In December I started watering the dirt a little more and in January I started watering it every week when I watered the other plants. And now look what's happening.

The tulips are growing back. I didn't know if the bulbs would grow again in the pot and they can't survive the moles in our yard so this was my grand experiment. Now will they flower?

We still do have some color in the house. My two Christmas Cactus are still flowering.

They started in October and will probably go for another month or two. Ok, we're ready for Spring any time now.