Catching Up

We've been a bit quiet lately. I haven't had many chances to blog because we have so many other things going on. Some are fun and some, not so much. We decided to let you in on what's happening around here. Let's start with the fun stuff.

I want to share some art work by a talented lady. Her name is Debbie Kendall and she owns a Portuguese Water Dog. So naturally we were immediately interested when she told us about her new piece. Here it is.

Debbie plans to do dog tag prints for other breeds, too but wanted to start with Porties because she loves one. We think she's done an amazing job of putting together so many breed attributes in one piece. She also offers framed pieces.

You can see her work at her site The Enlightened Hound.

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Remember this?

It's finished. It was fun to do because of all the bright colors and got me out of my creative funk.

Now I'm designing my next piece. I sat down last night with pencils and graph paper, but I'm spoiled and will instead do my designing on the computer. Much faster! I'm not telling you what I'm working on, so it'll be a surprise when it's done.

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A while ago Rob and I thought the little girls, Sydney and Mackie Doodle, needed harnesses. They're pretty small dogs and when they spot a rabbit or squirrel or bird or leaf or imaginary friend, they pull very hard on their leashes and choke themselves. We looked at cute little harnesses in the pet stores but wow, what prices. At that time we didn't know how big they'd get and we didn't want to buy new harnesses each week as they outgrew the old expensive ones.

So, I turned to one of my favorite places Ebay. Yes they had harnesses but the same situation applied. What size to buy. Then I made an incredible discovery. Someone was closing out a pet store and wanted to sell off all the harnesses in one box. The listing said there were 40 pieces, harnesses of different sizes. t sounded good to me and I bid $20 for the box.

When it came there were over 60 pieces, harnesses, collars and leashes. They all are new with tags on. Some are Martha Stewart, the pink and blue ones, and some are Kong and there are other brands.

It was like Christmas. There are some that fit the little girls and some that fit Morgan and the Portie girls. There are collars and leashes to fit the boys, too.

There are some that are too small for our dogs and we'll  donate them to the C.A.R.E. shelter.
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In dog news, Sebastian likes his new food and there have been no vomiting episodes from him. We'll check his weight in a couple weeks to see if it's working.
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Now for the bad stuff:
The fireworks are still going strong. Last night they were especially loud as we were trying to get to sleep. I'm hoping that tonight may be the end of them for awhile. My dogs are very stressed and several are experiencing some intestinal issues. I've been taking them out every two hours day and night to avoid mopping pens and cleaning crates. I have the four Portie girls on medication for their diarrhea and I've resorted to giving Mac valium at night to calm her. This had better stop soon.
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So there you have some of what we've been up to. Fudge tells me he's going to take over the blog if I don't get my act together, so I guess I'd better get to work.

Diet Is A Four Letter Word

Poor Sebastian, when we found us he was a skinny fellow but in no time, before Rob and I even really noticed it, he had put on weight plus some extra pounds. We tried to help him reduce by feeding him smaller portions and walking him in the park, but it didn't seem to help.

Early this year he was diagnosed with pancreatitis and the vet said he needed to lose about five pounds. We've had great success in the past with getting our dogs to lose weight and thought we could do it again with Sebastian. But it didn't work.

Last Friday Sebastian went to see Dr B for his annual checkup. Imagine my embarrassment when Sebastian got on the scales and had actually gained weight. He was slightly over 70 pounds.

The doctor suggested we get his activity level up. He asked if Sebastian liked to chase a ball. No. He asked if Sebastian liked to play frisbee. No. He asked what does he like to do. This.

Sebastian will occasionally run with the Portie girls or with Noah if the temperature is cool. He avoids the water and spends most of his outdoor time doing this, another version of his favorite inside activity.

His pancreas has been acting up a little and we really want to help him shed his extra weight so Dr B examined him and did some blood tests, then he called the veterinarians and nutritionists on staff at Hills, the company that makes his dog food. With their help we've come up with a diet to help Sebastian lose some weight without too much effort and without feeling hungry all the time. It has to be easy on his tummy and low fat. He started his new diet yesterday and we'll have a weigh in a couple weeks from now.

 He says it's pretty tasty. Now, will it work?

Things That Go Bump In The Night

I'm in a bad mood. Some of you may not want to read this but since it's my blog I guess I can say what I think and get it off my chest.

Rob and I both love fireworks. When we were first married we always went to the public display on the 4th. Then one year things went very wrong. Some of the fireworks, put on by professionals, landed on the roof of a building and started a fire. Since then we stay home and watch the fireworks in Boston on television.


Most cities and towns across the country have public firework displays on the 4th and I think it's wonderful for families to go and enjoy them but fireworks can be dangerous. This year in California 28 people were injured when the public display went out of control.


Fireworks in the hands of untrained people, especially those who have been drinking or children, are not only a danger to them but to everyone around them.  We had a totally terrible weekend because of people with no concern for others.


With ten dogs we were prepared for a rough 4th, but here the neighbors started shooting them on Wednesday and continued thru last night. We'll probably hear more tonight. Sydney and Mackenzie are now both afraid to go outside after dark. They'll run to the door to let us know they need to go out, but when we open the door, if it's dark they run back inside and hide. Our house training has been set back days and maybe weeks.

Sebastian not only won't go out after dark but he's having a flare up of his pancreatitis which I know is caused by his fear of the noise that continues for hours every night.

Norma Jean, who has never been afraid of anything in her life, now doesn't want t go outside after dark and doesn't want to sleep in her crate. She's afraid to be alone. I feel like we're living in a war zone.

Yes we live in a free country, but what about my rights? Why do I have to lie awake at night listening to your loud noises and worry about my dogs who are whining and whimpering from fear? Why do I have to ask you not to shoot your fireworks toward my roof? Why do I have to pick your debris out of my yard? Why do you have more rights than I do?

Reborn On The Fourth of July

It was one year ago today that Sebastian found us. He was very thin and his hair was sticky with a tarry substance and covered with burrs. His eyes were red from the sun and his foot pads were burned from the hot pavement.

He was tired and hungry but friendly and trusting.

Today while the rest of the country is celebrating Independence Day, we're celebrating the wonderful changes in our dog.

We've packed a lot into his first year with us. There have been rides in the car.

Medical care.

Good food.

Treats.

A soft bed to lie on.

A dog house to call his own.

A yard to play in.

Holidays with gifts.

An important job to do.

And people to love who love him in return.

We're very glad that Sebastian turned up on the Fourth of July.

Fudge's Poem

Today it's July
And Mom made a pie.

It smells really nice
And we'd each like a slice.

 She says there's enuf
 Other good stuff

For us to eat
And enjoy as a treat.

There's biscuits and cookies and dog treats galore
And if we run out, she'll go to the store.

It doesn't seem fair 
That our parents won't share.

So what do you do
When your peeps ignore you?

Do you just sit and stay
While they pack it away?


Do you whimper and whine
While they continue to dine?

Do you jump, bark and spin
Till they finally give in?


A puddle of drool
Is not really cool.

Guess we'll start yellin
For some more watermelon.

Finally we got her, she told us to wait.
If we'll be quiet, we can all lick the plate.

Great!

Have a safe and fun July everybody,
Your pal, Fudge

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