The Best Surprise Ever !!

Hi Everybody,
I have to share something wonderful with all of you. It's a good story with a fantabulous ending and it made all of us smile.

Want to know why we're all smiling in these pictures? Well, listen to this story and you'll be smiling too.

 You see, back in the olden days before Mom and Dad met, Mom used to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. She and her Mom would go to the stores and shop for each other and have a relaxing lunch, then go home and play with their new stuff.

But about the time Mom and Dad met, that day got named Black Friday and became a real terrible day to go to the stores. People got crazy and started pushing and shoving and being mean. Mom stopped shopping on that day. Mom doesn't go to the stores much anymore, she shops mostly on her computer and the stuff gets delivered to us.

Last week, on Black Friday, Mom was reading her emails and there were lots of companies trying to sell her stuff but she wasn't buying. Then one email caught her eye. It was from our favorite store, Chewy. They had some sales, so Mom looked thru them and one really got her attention.

We love treats, most all treats. But some treats come in little bags and cost a lot. A 4 ounce bag of treats doesn't go very far when there are nine of us sharing them. Don't get me wrong, we have those treats around here and Mom uses them mostly for training or special occasions. 

 For our regular treats at bedtime, or after taking our pills or for coming in when we're called and things like that, we get Milkbones.They come in big 10 pound boxes and last, especially since Mom usually breaks them in half.

Mom saw that Chewy had a BIG sale on Milkbones, so she went to her computer and ordered some.
They came today. Look at this.

This is what 80 POUNDS of dog biscuits looks like. Can you believe that all those biscuits are here at our house? WOW, is this the best surprise ever?  Now you know why we're all walking around with smiles today. Thanks Chewy and thanks Mom and Dad.
Your happy pal, Fudge

Something Fishy From Chewy

Hi Everybody,
Now that the holiday weekend is over, I want to tell you about something new that Chewy sent us. It's called Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets White Fish and Sweet Potato Formula in Broth. Wow, that's a big name!

This is good stuff except that Mom says it really stinks. It smells very fishy, which means it smells extra good to us, but peeps don't appreciate the better smelling things in life. The food comes in these little plastic containers and Mom usually splits one between two of us. 

It has big pieces of fish and little pieces of sweet potato. It's yummy good. If your peeps can't stand the smell of fish, it also comes in other flavors like chicken and duck and combos.

You can see that the girls really liked this food.

 The bestest part is that those little containers are lickable so Sebastian and I got to taste this food too. We can't eat a lot of fish yet, but we can enjoy the flavors left behind. It's a nice change from turkey.

 Chewy sent us these little containers of fishy food at no cost to Mom and Dad so that we could report to you on how they tasted. We think they're really good and that your peep should order some so you can taste them yourselves. 
Your pal, Fudge

The Best of Times/ The Worst of Times

Hi Everybody,
We hope you all had a super holiday with lots of good food and treats. We thought you might like to see what our Thanksgiving dinner looked like, so here's how Mom put it together for us. 

First she mashed up a sweet potato.

Next she stirred in some cooked rice and three packets of FortiFlora.

Look at this plate of turkey!

 The turkey pieces got stirred into the rice and potato mixture.

 Then she scooped the mix onto tortillas.

Dad folded them over and put cheese slices on top.

Mom stuck them in the microwave till the cheese got all melty. Then Dad cut them into nine nice big pieces and we each had one with our kibble.

Oh boy, were they ever good!!!!!

 The next day there was some of the turkey and rice mix left, so Mom put in the leftover mashed potatoes and gravy from their Thanksgiving dinner and mixed it into our kibbles for our dinner. It was just as good on the second day and we all gobbled it up.

After dinner yesterday we were on our way back upstairs when Mom yelled for Dad to come help her. Little Mackey was having a seizure. Dad sent the rest of us outside and he and Mom helped Mackey get thru the awful seizure. It lasted twelve minutes and poor Mackey was really scared.

When it was over, Dad took her outside to poop, then she was kind of wobbly and scared, so she hid in the dark bedroom for about an hour. Mom called Dr B and discussed it with him. He said that since the seizures are coming more often and lasting longer, it's time to consider some medication to try and control them. Mom and Dad talked about it a lot last night and they're going to talk with Dr B again this week to come up with a plan. 

Today, after a good night's sleep, Mackey seems fine and is running around with the rest of us, but these are scary situations for her and the peeps. Mom says we're waiting a few day for the birthday party till we're sure Mackey is 100%.
Your pal, Fudge

Fudge's Holiday Advice

Hi Everybody,
Today is what the peeps call Thanksgiving. It's one of the bestest days in the whole year because there's lots and lots of really great smelling foodables in the kitchen. It's enough to make a guy drool all day long.

This year it's a triple holiday for us. Not only are we looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner, but today is also Syd and Mackey's birthday. The two little demons are four years old today.

 The past four years have been a challenge for all of us, but somehow these two have managed to turn out pretty well.

Mom says that because we're having a super special holiday dinner, we'll wait till the weekend for our cupcakes with sprinkles. She says we're having turkey enchiladas for dinner. That brings me to my advice for all you celebrators out there.

Sometimes peeps can overindulge on a big holiday like today. Well, we dogs sometimes do too. When that happens we can have some upset tummies and even some not so great poops. For some reason peeps seem fascinated with dog poop. If it isn't 100% perfect in amount, color and consistency, they get all excited and sometimes even get the vet involved.

If you plan to eat a little extra or try something new and different, tell your peeps to get some of this stuff. It's called FortiFlora and don't worry it tastes great.

Inside the box are all these little packets.

Inside the packets is some brown granular stuff. Mom sprinkles it on top of our dinner and it adds some extra good taste. That's not why she does it, though. You see, FortiFlora is a probiotic. It has good things in it that help our intestinal tracts deal with all that holiday food. It also works on your regular everyday food, too. It keeps our tummies from getting sick and makes our poops perfect. We get it every week if we're all healthy and if one of us gets sick, then he or she gets it every day.

We first learned about FortiFlora from our vet, Dr B, but now Mom buys it from Chewy. It comes right along with our dog food and we always have a supply on hand for emergencies. Mom has told our friends and family about how good FortiFlora works and most of them use it now, too.

 Chewy sent us this box of FortiFlora at no cost to Mom and Dad so that we could remind all our Blogville friends to stock up during the holidays. Then you can safely eat a little extra of the good stuff.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it. We'll let you know how the party goes when we have out sprinkles.
Your pal, Fudge

New Guy In The Neighborhood?

When we lived in Maryland I grew hollies in the yard. We had four big beautiful holly bushes across the front of the house and an even larger holly in the yard. I really loved them because they kept their glossy green leaves all year and in winter they were covered with bright red berries. Three of the smaller plants and the large plant all had lots of berries because the smallest plant was male and with the help of the birds and bees that visited, he pollinated the female plants.

I used twigs from my trumpet vine to make wreathes and decorated them with holly branches complete with red berries. Add a ribbon and we had wreathes that lasted all winter.

About two years after we moved here I planted a holly in the back yard. I had noticed that a couple of neighbors also had hollies, so I expected them to get along well. The first winter we had no berries, but I thought maybe we needed more time. Well, I've waited fifteen years. Surely that's enough time. Obviously all the neighbors also had female hollies.

Over the weekend, I was wandering around the yard with the dogs when something caught my attention. Look...

My holly has berries all over.

I guess a new male holly has arrived somewhere in the neighborhood. Things are looking up.

Sunday Surgery

We have a ferocious creature living here that attacks much larger prey and eats their noses off. The vicious nose eating creature is our little Mackey. Doesn't she look dangerous?

Over the last week she attacked Sebastian's big bear and Fudge's lion.

This morning Rob decided to perform reconstructive surgery.

First up was Big Bear. He needed eye surgery.

Everyone watched the operation closely, especially Mackey.

 It took a while, but finally Big Bear was ready to play again. Sebastian claimed him immediately.

Next Lion was ready for a nose job. This was Lion's second nose job. Mackey likes to steal him when Fudge isn't watching and rip his nose off.

Fudge was keeping a close eye on his friend to make sure Mackey didn't get another chance to hurt him.

Surgery went well and all are happy once again, till next time.

VOTE!!!

It's here. This election campaign seemed to last forever, but today is the day. Go vote!!

I try to avoid politics on this blog, but today I'm making an exception. My Grandmother was born in 1902. Growing up she probably didn't expect to ever have the opportunity to vote. Women in this country finally got the vote in 1920 and my Grandmother got to cast her ballot as an adult. She and my Grandfather didn't agree on politics, but they did both agree that it was their responsibility to vote. They instilled that belief in their children and grandchildren, too. Very early every election day morning, my Grandfather would phone me and remind me to vote. I got in the habit of getting up and voting early so I could tell him that I'd already voted when he called.

I've voted in every election since I've been eligible and this morning Rob and I voted. I have to admit that it was an emotional experience casting my vote for the first woman to run for President. I felt I was casting a vote for my Grandmother and Mother at the same time.

My Grandparents would be proud today, as their surviving daughter, two daughters-in-law and five granddaughters as well as a number of great children all got to make history by voting for a woman for the first time.

Today I wish I lived in Rochester, New York. That's the burial place of Susan B. Anthony. This is what her grave looked like last week.

 This is what it looks like today. I would love to be able to paste my voter sticker on her tomb. It's been a very long road to get here, but we won't go back.

 So many women fought for your right to vote, be sure to make them proud and vote today.

Fall Back

It's really starting to feel like Fall to me. The nights are cooler even if we do hit the mid 80s during the day. It's dark at 6:30 , both AM and PM, when we have dog outings and leaves are dropping even though there hasn't been much color change. After tonight it will be dark when I feed the dogs. That will seem strange for a few days. It takes me about a week to adjust to time changes and the dogs take about the same. Strangely, the birds seem to adjust much more quickly.

Having grown up in Central New York, I'm used to much cooler days at this time of year and possibly some snow. I believe the was a snowfall last week.  I look forward to sweater weather and hope we get some soon.

I know that most of my friends look forward to Fall for all things pumpkin. They love the pumpkin flavored coffees and ice creams and pastries. I'm the only person on earth that does not like pumpkin, not pumpkin pie, not anything pumpkin.

However, as a Central New Yorker, I love apples and crave apple flavored edibles at this time each year.

Central New York, specifically Oswego County, is apple country. As you drive along the back roads you see miles of dairy herds grazing and miles of apple orchards.

Around the beginning of October I enjoy a big mug of hot apple cider each evening.

A couple days ago I made my first apple pie of the year. It went fast and I'll make another tomorrow. I've been reading recipes for apple cookies and I have a great recipe for apple cake.

You can keep your pumpkin stuff and I'll stick with my New York State apples.