Winter Skin

Hi Everybody,
This has been another crazy winter, hot one day and freezing the next. Mom tells us some days that it's too cold to play outside, then she says, "Don't worry, tomorrow will be warm and you can stay out for a long time."  We had lots of ice a couple weeks ago, so when it all melted, it left lots of mud and Norma Jean and Sebastian have been rolling in the mud almost every day. Mom says that those two are her itchy kids.

Sebastian and Norma Jean have the 'winter itchies'. Mom says that the dry indoor heat causes their skin to itch and their furs to get dry. She says it happens to peeps in the winter too. She gives them extra fish oil and Benedryl to help them. But now, thanks to Chewy, she found another way to help.

Earlier this month when our Chewy box arrived, there was a mistake. Someone had sent us cat treats instead of dog treats. When Miss Natalie found out, she sent us a bag of dog treats and they are especially good ones for the itchy guys.

We received Halo Healthsome Skin and Coat treats with wild salmon. We've tried Halo food before and loved it, but these are super good. These are made with wild salmon, a natural source of omega oils. They have lots of healthy ingredients  but also contain salmon oil, soybean oil, wheat germ oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, anise oil, garlic oil and cod liver oil. Boy, that's a lot of oils but Mom says that they help prevent our skin from getting dry and keep our furs looking shiny.

They taste good, too. 

That's the most important part, right?

These biscuits are a nice size, but mean Mom snapped them in half. Oh well, more for later.

If you have the winter itchies, try these great treats. Just call Chewy and tell them we sent you.

Oh by the way, Chewy sent us this bag of Halo treats at no cost to us in exchange for an honest review. We loved the taste and Mom liked the oils. Win-win.

Your pal Fudge

Guess What Happened

Hi Everybody,
This afternoon the rain stopped, after four long, dark, wet days.

Then the sun came out. So what did we do?

We had a party.

Hang on everybody, Spring is coming.
Your pal, Fudge

Why?

Our weather man is notoriously bad. He'll tell us it's raining when the sun is shining brightly. He'll say the high temp will be 70 and it goes to 90. One day he actually said that you never see clouds in the summer. What???

Yesterday he said that we'd get an ice storm starting just after midnight. When I got up with the dogs at 6AM it was raining but seemed like it had just started. The rain was freezing as it hit the ground. I hurried everyone out, back in and then back to bed.

When we got up again a couple hours later, we found this.

It was raining so hard and freezing immediately, that the dogs didn't want to go out.

At 9AM, as Rob and I were sitting down to breakfast, the power went off.

 The dogs were nervous and I was worried about facing days of darkness again, but the power came back on after two and a half hours.

The rain has almost stopped, but this is what the yard looks like. Wish us luck.

Why did that stupid weather man have to be right this time?

Forecast of What??

January 12, 2007 was a pretty good day. It was a Friday and I had my left wrist in a cast because I had slipped on some black ice in mid December and fractured it. Other than that things were going smoothly. As smoothly as things go when you have six dogs and eight puppies in the house.

In the afternoon it started to rain but the pups were doing well with their house training, so after dinner I took them all outside for a post dinner scramble in the yard. We didn't stay long because it was still raining and the temperature was dropping. Still I wanted them to have the chance to get outside.

At 6:20, just as we were coming inside, the electricity went out. The rain continued and the temperature continued to drop. Ice started covering everything.

The power stayed out for 12 days.

Have you ever tried living with a no electricity, no heat, no hot water, no cell phone or computer, or television, with fourteen dogs, six birds and a broken wrist for 12 days?

We were actually the lucky ones because we had a gas stove in the basement, so we were able to stay in the house and keep the pups and birds warm. Most of our neighbors left to stay with family or friends.

24 hours a day it sounded like a war zone as the trees cracked and came crashing to the ground. The  big dogs were only allowed out for seconds at a time and the pups couldn't go out at all because of the possible danger of trees falling on them.

This is our neighborhood.

 This is the house across the street.

This is our house and yard.

 The pups wanted to run and play, so for several hours a day we allowed them free run of the kitchen. I felt like I was on constant mop duty.

 Then just when I thought I wouldn't survive another day, the power came back on and the cleanup began.

Today is the tenth anniversary of that awful experience. Yesterday it was 70 degrees here. Today the forecast is for ice!!!

Sharing

Hi Everybody,
We have a really nice shelter in town that rescues dogs and cats, and sometimes other animals, from death row and gives them a safe warm place to live till they find their forever homes. It's called C.A.R.E. which stands for Castaway Animal Rescue Effort and the peeps that work there are really nice and caring.

For many years Mom and Dad have been taking them things they need like detergent and bleach and old towels. We also send them our old collars that we don't need anymore and we always take a box of treats when we visit. We think homeless animals would enjoy a treat, too.

Well, Mom has been getting a box together to take to our shelter friends and we'll give you a peek. See, sometimes peep make a mistake or their ideas just don't work out exactly as they planned. This box is all about that.

Back before Mom's hand needed to be fixed, she used to do a lot of knitting. She made these blankets for the shelter dogs.

 She also made a bunch of fancy dog sweaters. They're too small for most of us. They'd probably fit Mackey, but she doesn't know that she's a little dog. She thinks she's as big and tough as a wolf and she doesn't want to wear a sweater. So Mom decided to send the sweaters to the shelter so that some little dogs can have something pretty to wear when they go to their new homes.

 Then there was Mom's big Ebay find. When the two little spotty girls came to live with us, Mom and Dad thought they should wear harnesses to save their necks. Mom went to Ebay and found a pet store that was going out of business and was selling a bunch of harnesses in different sizes for about $20. She thought it was a good deal, but she had no idea, because when the box arrived there were more than thirty harnesses, five leashes and a bunch of collars. She was really excited.

 Some of the harnesses are big enough for us Water Dogs, some fit the little spotty  girls and we can all use the leashes. But we still have a bunch of harnesses left over, so guess where they're going. Some of the shelter dogs are going to look pretty spiffy in their new harnesses.

Then a couple days ago when our Chewy review items arrived, we were surprised because instead of dog treats, someone at Chewy had grabbed the cat treats and sent them. At first Mom was going to let us have them anyway, but after reading the ingredients, she changed her mind.

The ingredients are all good things but one of them is cat nip. She thought the kitties would enjoy them a whole lot more than we would, so they're going to the shelter for a special treat for the kitties living there.

Mom says she needs to pick up some detergent and bleach for the box before we deliver it because shelters have tons of laundry to do and they need all the help they can get. Don't forget, if you're going to take a gift box to your shelter, most of them list their wish lists and there are things you probably wouldn't think about, like office supplies and cleaning supplies, trash bags and even paper towels. We use a lot of paper towels for the nine of us, imagine how many a shelter uses. C.A.R.E. even has an Amazon wish list so stuff can be sent directly to them, and don't forget about Amazon Smile. Maybe your shelter is listed.

 So, when your peeps start their spring cleaning this year, remind them not to throw out stuff that the shelter could use. Keep a box or bag around to fill for them. You won't miss the stuff and it will make life sweet for them.
Your pal, Fudge
 

New Year - New Review

Hi Everybody,
It looks like lots of you are having some snow days. It's great fun, isn't it? But, after a day spent playing in the snow, a guy likes to have a tasty meal to help rebuild his energy. 

 Well, our friends at Chewy must know that because they sent us a great new food to try. This  is Blue Buffalo Healthy Starts and we tried the Country Skillet with Turkey and Egg. Yum, sounds good, doesn't it?

I wasn't kidding about this food helping us build energy. Right on the Chewy site, it says it has vitamin B12 to boost energy and improve gastrointestinal health. I asked Mom what that meant and she said it helps keep my tummy happy.  It also has chelated minerals to boost my immune system and keep my skin and furs healthy. That's very important in winter when dry air can make us itchy.

Mom was surprised when she opened the little packages because unlike other food we tried in these little containers, this is like a pate. It doesn't smell bad either. Mom's only complaint was that the containers are hard to open. They used good glue.

Noah and Mackey were the test subjects. They ate before the rest of us. So did they like it? See for yourself.

 Then the rest of us came in and gave it a good test. Norma Jean didn't lift her head even once till her bowl was shiny clean.

I thought it was great. I think I'd like some more of this tomorrow, Mom.

Tess says Chewy will be happy to send some to you, too. If you don't like turkey and egg ( who doesn't like turkey and egg?) it also come in other flavors like Southwest Skillet with beef and egg, Sunrise Skillet with chicken and egg and Northwest Skillet with salmon and egg. They all sound wonderful to us. Chewy sent us a case of Blue Buffalo Healthy Starts at no cost to us in exchange for our honest review.

Bone appetite!
Your pal, Fudge