Ice Is Nice

We had more snow on Friday and it came along with freezing rain. It was messy and cold and very unpleasant. We had to reschedule our vet appointment because we live on a steep hill and it was so slippery that we didn't want to try it. The dogs didn't even like the 'wintry mix' as it was termed. I'd let them out and they'd run right back in again.

Yesterday was a gray day but at least nothing was falling from the sky. We managed to make it to the vet clinic so that Morgan could have her sutures removed and Fudge had his annual checkup. He did great. I overshot the mark with the dieting though. Fudge has dropped six pounds since last April and Dr B said he should gain one of those pounds back again. He told me not to be so stingy with the treats. Fudge gave him a big kiss for that. Don't you wish your doctor would say that?

Today the sun is shining and the temps are above freezing so the dogs decided to enjoy their outing. Sebastian thought it would be great to lie in the sunshine. It didn't seem to matter that he was lying on snow and ice.

The girls were looking for things hidden under the snow. Mac found a ball and Sydney found a walnut.

Then they discovered that by jumping on the trampoline the ice would break into little pieces. Everyone wanted a piece of ice to chew on.

Here's Norma Jean with her piece of ice.

Tess is selecting her piece.

Fudge was having trouble choosing which piece he wanted.

Sydney and Fudge made an important discovery. The wading pool is full of ice.

Meantime Sebastian was feeling sleepy from the warmth of the sun.

Fudge was enjoying the warm rays, too.

Bailey grabbed one last chunk of ice to bring inside with her.

Sebastian decided it was time to go inside for a nap.

They don't know that another storm is heading our way and they'll get more snow to play in by the end of the week.

Breaking News !!!

Ladies and Gentlemen 
We have important breaking news!

As you all know each December Time Magazine announces their choice for PERSON OF THE YEAR. Tomorrow is the day that the choice will be announced.

Here is the list of finalists for Person Of The Year 2013.

Bashar Assad, President of Syria

Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

Ted Cruz, Texas Senator

Miley Cyrus, Singer

Pope Francis, Leader of the Catholic Church

Barak Obama, President of the United States

Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and HUman Services

Edward Snowden, N.S.A. Leaker

Edith Windsor, Gay rights activist

All of these people are interesting and deserving of acknowledgement for their activities, for good or bad. But late today there was an important announcement. Though Time sees reason for each of the above individuals to be considered, they have decided on another individual who they feel is more deserving.

We are proud to be the first to announce Time Magazine's Person Of The Year 2013.

Because of his story telling abilities, amazing blogging and just being an all round handsome and charming fellow, our very own Fudge is the unanimous choice. Congratulations Fudge.

More Snow!!

Hi Everybody,
Guess what!! We got 5 more inches of snow last night. When we went out this morning everything was sparkly and clean. But we didn't leave it that way. We ran all over the place and rolled and ate snow and even turned some of it yellow.

Here's the front of our house this morning. There's so much snow on the bushes that you can't even see the house.

Here's the side.

And these are the big rocks in the front yard that we all like to climb on.

We went in the back yard and had a great time. It was really cold this morning so Mom only let us play for a few minutes, but later we went out and got a chance to chase each other thru the snow.

Silly Sebastian was chasing the girls, then when Dad called him to go inside, he jumped into the wading pool full of snow and laid down so Dad wouldn't see him. Dad knew he was there and made him go inside with the rest of us.

 Everyone was running and ears were flying.

Look who was running in the snow with us. Miss Morgan didn't want to stay in the house. Don't tell Dr B that she was playing in the snow. She doesn't get her stitches out till Friday.

We're all having a really good time with this present from Mother Nature. 

Mom said she needed a picture of a snow face, so Lola gave her one.

Mom gave the girls an early Christmas gift last night, brand new blankets for their crates. They really liked sleeping on them after playing in the cold.

We hope you all get some sparkly snow to play in. 

Your pal, Fudge

Sled Dogs?

Last week we got ten inches of snow and we got another inch yesterday. The weather dude says more is on the way. We wish the temperature would come up a little so we could stay outside and enjoy the white stuff.

Rob dragged the sled out of storage and everyone was very interested.

We've had some funny times with that little sled. When the Portie pups were about six weeks old we had a snowfall. I took them outside one afternoon and they all climbed on the sled and sat down. Under their combined weight the sled took off down the hill and all eight of them just sat there and rode down the hill. Of course I didn't have my camera with me and they never could be coaxed back onto it again.

A couple years ago Rob decided to slide down the hill and the Porties all ran along beside him, but Morgan thought he was in trouble. She raced after him and sank her teeth into his leg to save him. She didn't break the skin but he had a big bruise for a week. Now I hold her if he decides to go sledding.

Everyone was having a good time checking out the sled but no one volunteered to go for a ride this time.

I Love Snow

Look everybody, we have snow.

I love snow.

I love to run in the snow.

I love to lie down in the snow.

I love to roll in the snow.

Isn't snow wonderful?

I love snow! 

Love, Sebastian

We Had A Scare

Morgan is a lumpy dog. A lot of you live with lumpy dogs too and know the worry that goes along with it. For the past six months we've been keeping our eyes on a cyst on her left side. It had a little wart on top of the cyst but Dr B didn't think it was anything to worry about.

Last month when Morgan went in for her six month checkup, I thought about the cyst and since I hadn't checked it in a while Dr B said he would. He whistled and said that it had really grown. When I looked, I was shocked. It was very large and very red. He said that we should probably remove it because if it continued to grow, it would be much more difficult to remove.

This morning Rob dropped Morgan at the clinic bright and early. He and Nurse Sara looked for the cyst and couldn't find it.  They called me, but I wasn't much help. We decided to leave her there and let the doctor find it. He called me a bit later and said he had found it but that the cyst must have recently ruptured and it was very small. The little wart was still there. We had to decide what to do. We could bring her home and hope the cyst wouldn't fill up again, or he could remove it and the wart and we'd be finished with it. I decided to go ahead and have it removed. He said there was also a small cyst on her leg that he'd like to remove at the same time. I told you she was lumpy.

A little after 2:00 we drove to the clinic to pick Morgan up. When we arrived the receptionist said that the doctor wanted to talk to us. Then she escorted us to an operating room and said he'd be right with us. I told Rob that this didn't sound good and he thought that Morgan might have died during surgery.

When the Doctor and Nurse Sara came in we were prepared to hear the worst news. But we were wrong! Morgan breezed thru the surgery. He removed both cysts easily. He wanted to talk with us because he had planned to use a local for the surgery, but he gave Morgan a very small dose of valium and an even smaller dose of acepromazine and she relaxed so much that he was able to operate. He said she was still pretty out of it and he had wanted to warn us. He also wanted to tell us that she had done so well on such a small amount of drugs that we could use this safely in the future regardless of her age. He was very pleased.

She was wobbly as she walked to the car, but once she was home she demanded her dinner. She's resting now and I'm sure will be back to normal in the morning. She's a tough old girl.

For those of you wondering about Sydney, we have started her on a daily dose of Clomicalm along with her pheromone spray. The combination seems to have mellowed her out a lot. She still needs a lot of exercise during the day, but she and Mac are getting along pretty well. We still monitor them when they're together, but they're currently both sleeping on the same sofa. This may work out after all.

A New Song To Share

Our brother Tsar loved to sing and he loved this time of year when the weather got cool. That's when he did his best singing and he always loved to have us join in, though he always got a solo. Today to celebrate the start of December, one of most favorite months, we have a new song to sing for you. Mom says if you want to sing along, there's a people song called Silent Night that sounds a lot like ours. Our song is called Obedience School.

Obedience school,
Learn every rule.
Down is hard,
But stay is cruel.
Mom, it's time to start getting real,
Dogs like us really don't need to heel.
Let's just go home and play....
School is a waste of a day.

Obedience school
Is not very cool.
Lots of hair...
Lots of drool.
This is not what a dog wants to do.
I should be home chewing on your new shoe.
Please Mom, head for the door....
Then stop at the nearest toy store.

So there you have our first song of this winter. We have a couple more that we're rehearsing for you. We all hope you got a chance to sing with us. 

Your pal, Fudge