Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas, everyone!
I can't believe how quickly this past year has flown. I think I've said THAT  for the last four years really.
Christmas was nice this year with my parents flying over to spend time with Mr. K, me and the dogs. We had a wonderful meal cooked by my parents  consisting of turkey, SALMON,  salad, mashed potatoes, dressing and chocolate cake for dessert. I was so full after supper was over, I could hardly move; exactly THE way Christmas dinner should be. MOM AND I HAD ALSO ATTEMPTED A TRADITIONAL BRITISH DESSERT RECIPE  EARLIER IN THE WEEK CALLED MINCE PIES WHICH ACTUALLY TURNED OUT QUITE WELL. THERE AREN'T MANY LEFT OF THOSE.
Our day started with my mom making French toast, bacon and cinnamon coffee. I'm a huge fan of flavored coffees and finding them this side of the pond has been difficult. When we visited the German Christmas market on Sunday evening, we came across a vendor that sold a variety of flavored coffees and I made off with a package of Irish Cream and Cinnamon. I was really torn as there were so many choices, some of which included Blueberry Muffin and Chocolate, but I settled on the two aforementioned flavors. Mom and Dad also brought two big bags of Hazelnut coffee with them and we've been enjoying that as well. We may have also enjoyed a little Bailey's in that coffee as well this morning.
After breakfast it was gift opening time for everyone. I got a pair of "feety" PJ's (I love the silly things), a casual dress, Body Shop products and a tea set with Cavalier King Charles Spaniels on it. Winter boots and coat, new walking shoes and a hoodie were also gifts I got earlier. I was a very lucky girl this Christmas season.
Tenie and Lindsay didn't forget about us either and sent gifts with my parents for us. Mr. K got a Lego Star Wars tree ornament and I got a Tim Horton's coffee mug ornament. If you're Canadian you'll understand my ornament. If you're not, look up Tim Horton's or "Timmy's" as we Canadians like to call it and you'll understand. :) The girls also sent over a singing card that played "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" with a Dachshund on the front. For those of you WHO   don't know, Lindsay adopted Baloo, one of our Dachshunds, when we moved over here and so the card was defiNITELY fitting. They put some cash in the card so that Mr. K and I could go out to dinner together. All very thoughtful and sweet gifts.
The dogs weren't forgotten either. Hermione got her Kong Wobbah, Otis his elk antler chew and Roscoe his squeaking squirrel. I also made a batch of banana and honey treats and some sweet potato chews. Everyone seemed happy with their presents. Hermione has gone crazy death shaking her replacement toy-the last one had to be thrown out due to over use-Roscoe walked around happily wagging his tail and softly squeaking the squirrel and Otis made off into a corner to be alone so that he could chew his antler.
Once presents were opened, mom started on getting the turkey into the oven and then she and I took all three dogs for a good long off leash run. It's done nothing but rain the last week or so and it was nice to have the sun poking out today. We returned hOME nearly two hours later with three very tired dogs. Hermione was so muddy that I spent nearly ten minutes wiping her down once we got home. Her feathers are so long and SHE   is so low to the ground that the mud just clings to her. Roscoe needed toweling off as well as he decided that prancing through mud puddles and splashing about in little pools was a good idea, but he wasn't nearly as difficult to clean as miss princess butt.
We finished the evening off by calling various family members. We even got to talk to Mr. K's family via Skype. I can't say how fantastic Skype has been for us since moving so far away from our families. It was great to see everyone laughing and all of our nieces and nephew got to see us and the dogs too.
So, with a full belly and heart I am writing this out; sitting snugly in my bed in my feety pajamas. NO JUDGING! TRY THEM ONCE AND YOU WILL NEVER GO BACK. Roscoe is asleep on my feet and Otis is on my lap. Hermione took herself to bed. She actually likes sleeping in her own crate at night and will voluntarily go in. I think she needs some alone time sometimes and that is where she gets it. So, from my snug, sleepy self to you: Merry Christmas! Hoping that you had a wonderful day.
XOXO

Our Household: Part 4

First of all, I'd like to start today by thanking my new readers for inspiring me to do this series of posts. I am having a lot of fun revisiting the people, and creatures, that make up my life and why they are so special to me. So, thank you. :)
Second of all, I have a question for those of you who may be more technologically advanced than  me; is it true that Blogger is forcing everyone to adopt the same template in the future? Apparently, this template change is inaccessible with screen readers, which means, blind folk like me will have to move blog sites. I've stuck with Blogger for so long because it's been one of the most accessible blogging websites I could find. I will be very sad if "At A Glacial Pace" will have to find a new home. Anyway, on to today's family member.
Let's get back to the dogs.
We've met Jetta, our oldest family member, so why don't we meet our newest?
Hermione is a 12 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She will be three months this upcoming weekend and she is growing only as a puppy can grow. She is a cinnamon colour with white markings and has  a slightly indistinctive "Buddha's thumb print" or "kissing spot" on her forehead. This marking is particular to her colouring and is very sought after for show dogs. It is a chestnut marking on the dog's head, right in the middle of a white blaze. Hermione's hasn't developed fully yet and it may never, but either way, we think she's beautiful. We don't plan on showing her or breeding her, so if the mark never shows itself fully, life will continue on as always. She has curly fringes on the ends of her ears, feathers on the backs of her legs and a perfect ringlet at the end of her tail; this last feature will probably go away with age and turn into a big fan. We met her Mom, Queeny, and she had a beautiful full feathered tail.
Hermione was purchased from a breeder in England and we had to drive four and a half hours one way just to pick her up. She was in a litter of seven and was the only girl. Five of her brothers are the same colouring as her and the other is a tri-coloured, which means he is black, white and brown. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels come in four different colourings:
tri-coloured
Ruby (deep reddish brown and it is ideal that there is no white on these dogs),
Blenheim (which Hermione is  and may be spelled incorrectly),
and black and white.
With Hermione being the only girl, she was a bit more expensive and very sought after. Luckily for me, I put a down payment on her right away as other people called for her just minutes after Mr. K and I laid claim to her. One woman even went as far as to call the breeder three to four times and suggest to the breeder that she just tell us that Hermione had been sold. Her remark to the breeder was:
"Well, I'll get there faster..."
Thankfully, Hermione's breeder is a stand up citizen and told the woman that that wasn't going to happen. The breeder figured that the very persistent and rude woman was a breeder as well. We had already paid for the puppy and were already on the road. The nerve of some people.
There were a couple of reasons for us getting Hermione, but the main one was that I want to train her as a therapy dog and use her skills as a part of my Master's degree dissertation. Not to mention, I was really craving puppy breath, teeth and sleepless nights. Also, when we moved, we re-homed our three Dachshunds and I was missing having a dog that I could treat as a  dog and not my working partner. Mine and Glacier's relationship has a very particular balance and too much mothering on my part can tip that balance in the wrong direction. I wanted someone who could be my princess and baby.
With all of that in mind, Hermione is definitely a diva, but is definitely not allowed to be a little Hellion. She has been working on going potty outside for just over a week and aside from an accident here or there, she is doing very well. Pee is the hardest to catch for me. She also knows how to sit and can hold a stay for about ten seconds. Yesterday we started working on down and that is coming right along. She can be a diva, but she will be a well behaved diva.
Some of Hermione's favourite pass times are trying to play with Glacier, tug of war, getting in the shower stall for no reason  and napping. Since she does like tug of war so much, we are also working on "drop it" as I don't want her to think that she can just take off with whatever she wants. She also loves going for walks and actually has half decent leash manners considering her age and that she's only been on a leash for about a week now.
Hermione is the perfect size and will probably grow up to weigh about 20 LBS, making her smaller than the Cocker Spaniel, but larger than the King Charles Spaniel. Confused yet?
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is considered a toy even though the King Charles Spaniel is smaller. The King Charles Spaniels are also more rare than the Cavaliers. Cavaliers were bred to be lap dogs, but they still have a lot of energy and spunk. I had been through several breeds, trying to decide on what small breed would be appropriate for a therapy dog, and after hours and hours of research I came to the conclusion that a breed that had been bred specifically to be a companion was probably the way to go. I'm a big dog person, but our flat is small and Mr. K prefers the small breeds. So, in order to make us all happy-Mr. K getting a smaller breed and me getting a puppy-I found what I hoped would be the perfect little dog for us.
In her short time with us, Hermione has accumulated a few nicknames,; just like every other animal that has lived with me. So far she is called:
Hermione Sophia (Sophia after my mom LOL),
Jumping Bean (which has been shortened to Bean),
and Goob (which is substituted for Scooby-doo in the Scooby theme song and is sung to her).
I may be biased, but Hermione has been the easiest puppy I have ever had to train. She just wants to please you and your praise is reward enough. She is incredibly smart and that coupled with her wanting to please makes her a dream puppy. We can leave her on her own for a few hours and she doesn't tear anything up or bark/howl/whine. We did start leaving her for small time periods pretty much from the second day we had her to teach her that us leaving wasn't a bad thing. She just goes to sleep. She has also started "holding it" until we get home and I can take her out to the bathroom. From time to time, she still sneaks off to potty in a secret corner, but if I stay on top of taking her out every two to three hours, she doesn't have an accident. I love my Dachshunds and I miss them very much, but this puppy is a cake walk in comparison to them and she hasn't lost any of the "'tude" that I loved about the Dachshunds. The only thing we do have to be concerned about is the health risks associated with the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, but that is with most breeds.
To give you an idea of Hermione:
if she's not napping, she's attempting to battle with one of the big boys; if she's not attempt battling, then she is up to her shoulders in Mr. K's shoe mining for toe fuzz; if I remove the shoe from the situation, which I do, she's dragging the fleece tug I made for her around the living room at top speeds; and if that isn't enough excitement for her then she convinces Mr. K to pick her up so they can "sing" together. That's right, she sings. Mr. K will hold her up close to his face and sing to her and she starts squawking/squeaking/yipping right along with him. She definitely keeps me busy. I'm only able to write this now because she is snoozing soundly on my legs.
So, that is Lady Hermione Sophia in a nutshell. I'm sure you will be hearing more about her as she grows, conquers new cues I teach her and any other silly little things that she does because she is a puppy.
Did I ever mention that there is never a dull moment?

Our Household: Part 3

Before I start today's post, I had an interesting question from the last one. It was  asked if it was true that Sugar Gliders hate dogs.
In our household, our Sugar Gliders do not hate dogs. In fact, when Fiona, Yoda and Plato are out and about, they often jump on to Glacier and Roscoe and scurry around on the boys. Both boys are incredibly patient and just ignore the Sugies. Hermione has only been introduced to them through the cage so far, but eventually, we hope to teach her that Sugar Gliders are friends, not food.
I thought today we could be introduced to one of the two humans in our household. We are definitely outnumbered by animals here, but I don't think we'd have it any other way.
Introducing Mr. K.
Mr. K was born and raised in Michigan, but moved around a bit in his early adult years. He attended college to become a minister, but realised that that sort of work just wasn't for him. He started working for Best Buy and quickly climbed the managerial ladder. He worked in both Michigan and Florida and was very successful. At age 25, just six months after he had bought a brand new car, he lost his sight to a neurological condition. Apparently it had been going on for a while, but there was nothing gradual about the onset. At one point, he was totally blind, but after under going some heavy steroid treatments, he regained some of his light perception, which he still has today. This means, he can see bright lights on TV screens or even outside, as long as there is enough contrast.
After this very obvious life altering experience, he attended the Commission for the Blind in Michigan, which is a facility designed to assist totally blind and visually impaired people learn important life skills, such as reading braille and Orientation and Mobility. (Orientation and Mobility is what we are taught to allow us to be independent travelers). After four months at the Commission, Mr. K attended Leader Dogs for the Blind and was matched with Roscoe. This is where we met as well.
Our"courting" story is kind of funny, but quite lengthy. So, perhaps I'll leave that for another day.
Mr. K decided to go back to school and in October of 2009, he entered Liberty University for Psychology. He is currently a "Senior" and will probably graduate in the fall of 2013; unless he decides to do a double major in Psychology and Criminal Justice. His future plans include attending the University of Edinburgh for his Master's in some kind of Neuro Psychology program that I can never remember the name of; it's just that impressive.
Mr. K is six foot five and his height is often a conversation starter. We always tease him because Roscoe is shorter than Glacier, but realistically, personality wise, Mr. K and Roscoe were matched perfectly.
Mr. K likes to draw and after not drawing due to his sight loss, my mom convinced him to try again with some very impressive success.  He also started painting when we moved with even more success. One of our friends has commissioned him to paint him a series of paintings, with the Yorkshire rose as the focus. Everyone who sees the paintings are floored at how good they are. Mr. K, of course, does not think they are brilliant, but many people would beg to differ. He also comes from a musical background in that he played the guitar in a metal band in high school and continued playing music, just with different instruments. When we lived in SC, he picked up the banjo and thoroughly enjoyed it and now he is taking online lessons for the mandalen. He is actually talented and I am impressed at how quickly he has learned to play each new instrument.
Mr. K is also the biggest nerd around, but I love him for it. It's funny because if you were to see him, you may not believe me. He has several tattoos and his hair used to be shaved into a mohawk, but underneath all of that, Mr. K loves electronics and videogames. Cameras, computers, new cellphones, anything that may be related to technology and he's going to be excited. His favourite are speakers though. When we lived in SC, he had a crazy sound system and whenever someone gets a new one, he is always over hooking it up properly.
Mr. K wasn't really an animal person until he met me and was matched with Roscoe. Actually, I think the various dogs we've had in our considerably short relationship have all brought him closer to being a dog person. He has completely fallen in love with Hermione and as I mentioned before, the Sugar Gliders have attached themselves to him.
As for me and Mr. K: we are best friends. Sure, we have little spats as any friends or married people do, but at the end of the day, we like doing things with each other and love being around one another. We definitely complement one another  well and I think that is what makes our relationship work. I think sometimes it is easy to forget, in the craziness of the day to day, how important someone can be to you. Sometimes I forget to tell him how proud of him I am and how lucky I am to have him in my life. I mean, really, who else would put up with my crazy dog antics?

Hermione Health Report

Today was Hermione's second vet visit. She was due for her second set of vaccinations as she was 10 weeks old over the weekend. She had a skin reaction to her first set of shots-the vaccination site swelling up like an egg-and so today I gave her a Benadryl before heading over to the vet's office in order to attempt to avoid the same reaction this time around.
Glacier accompanied us as is to be expected and I was very impressed by his guiding. He ignored other dogs and a yowling cat in order to make sure I made it back to the examination room safely. He lay quietly at my feet during Hermione's appointment and sat alertly while I paid our very hefty bill. I think he thought that if he stayed quiet the vet would forget he was there and not do anything to him.
The visit really didn't take long, with the vet checking Hermione's ears, eyes, lungs and heart. Hermione also was given her vaccinations and we were pretty much good to go. There were a few things that were a bit troubling though.
First of all, it would appear that the ear mites that she had been treated for after her first vet visit have not completely cleared up. I had given her the ear drops for the full seven days and she has been off of them now for another seven. I was sent home with ear cleaner and instructions to administer that once a day, while starting up the ear mite drops twice a day again. Not so bad, but slightly irritating.
I remember when Baloo, our Dachshund, had ear mites. The vet just gave him a tablet twice and the mites cleared up without any further problems. Granted, Baloo is a short haired Dachshund and so his ears are not nearly as furry as Hermione's and therefore breathe more, but you'd think there would be an easier way to take care of this. The ear mite drops are so gross, leaving Hermione's pretty, curly ears all greasy.
The vet also said that Hermione may have a heart murmur. This is a bit more concerning as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are prone to a condition that leads to them having leaky valves.  It is completely possible that she could outgrow it as heart murmurs can show up in puppies as the thickness of their blood is different from an adult dog. I'm hoping for the latter. I also don't wonder if perhaps the heart murmur appeared because I had given her the Benadryl.
Benadryl usually wouldn't cause her heart to race or anything, except that I didn't realise that this Benadryl wasn't the sleepy kind. Mr. K pointed out that perhaps there were stimulants in the tablet and this could show up as a heart irregularity. I didn't mention that to the vet as we're going back in two weeks and we'll check her heart then. The murmur wasn't there two weeks ago and her breeder checked her heart as well. So, here's to hoping that it's nothing.
Aside from that stuff, I also asked the vet about Hermione's incessant pooping. Mr. K and I thought we were over feeding her, but seeing how she gained only 250 grams, we definitely aren't. We had given her a de-wormer that the breeder gave us and the vet thought that perhaps that it wasn't a strong enough de-wormer. It is working a bit, as Hermione doesn't look skeletal the way Aria did when she was riddled with worms, but Hermione's  appetite is ferocious. No matter how much we feed her, she never seems to be full.
I explained this to the vet and also that Hermione's poop is incredibly soft and sometimes runny. She sent me home with a different de-worming tablet and Hermione will get that tomorrow. We figured that vaccinations and a de-wormer all in one day may be a bit much for her system.
The thing that I find strange about the de-worming process here is that puppies are de-wormed every two weeks up until they are three months old. I don't remember doing that with any of our Dachshunds when they were babies. Aria had worms so badly when she came to us, but she was given one tablet and she was good to go. I asked the vet why and she explained that the worms lay dormant as do the larvae. Thus, it is important to keep treating the puppy. Her answer was less than satisfactory for me. She explained it in very simple terms. I understand that vets are probably taught to use laymen's terms to explain medical conditions and so I understand where she is coming from, but at the same time, she didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I probably should have pushed the issue. Regardless, we are back in two weeks and I'll ask better formulated questions then.
As I mentioned above, we'll go back in two weeks to have Hermione's heart listened to again and also to have  her ears checked. If the crazy poop machine hasn't calmed down by then, then I'll have to bring in a fecal sample as well.
Despite all of this, Hermione seems fine. Sure, she's a pooping maniac and sometimes she itches her ear, but her energy levels are great and her appetite is through the roof. She likes to play and is so easy to train. She already knows "sit" and we'll be moving on to "watch me" and probably "down" in the next few days.
As for her heart, pooping and ears?
I'm not really that concerned yet. We'll take it as it comes. I'm just enjoying the antics that only a puppy can bring into your home. That said, if you can spare some of your good thoughts for us with regards to her heart, I would really appreciate it.

Hermione Sophia

Yesterday was March seventh and do you know what that means?
It means that the newest member of our family turned two months old. She is the  sweetest, craziest puppy I have ever met. She plays hard and then sleeps hard to. I don't know how people with jobs ever raise a puppy from eight weeks. Maybe that is why so many end up being re-homed?Practically every night, she is waking me up every two to three hours. Sometimes it's because she has to go to the bathroom, sometimes she wants to play and others she's just hungry. I get up every time though because her house training is not entirely there yet and   I don't want her to need me to take her to the bathroom and I ignore her, thinking she jut wants to play. It really is like having a new born baby in your home. You try to sleep when she is sleeping and hope that you get enough to stay patient and consistent with her.
When we had our Dachshunds, Mr. K was heavily involved in training Aria when she was this small because he kept irregular hours and would be awake when she was.
I'm definitely not complaining. she is quite the character and keeps me busy when she is awake. Her potty training is coming along quite nicely as well and I think she'll be pretty easy to obedience train. We're still working on name recognition.
When we first brought Hermione home she was so small and clumsy. She could hardly walk without tumbling over. Now, a week later, she plays tug of war with me and can keep her feet. It's amazing how fast they seem to advance. We will start introducing her to the clicker in the next few days and then "sit" will be the first cue she learns.
Glacier still seems to be doing fine with the new addition. His work is excellent and although he ignores Hermione, I think he's slowly getting used to her being around. As I've mentioned before, Glacier is quite sensitive to other dogs being near is girl, so I have ben  aware of my time   with him and have made sure to work at least once every day since Hermione's arrival. So far, so good.

What about Yoda, Plato and Fiona?
Hermione hasn't exactly met them yet. She's watched them through the cage, but usually when they are awake and running around, Hermione has gone to sleep for a few hours of the night. fiona has come out a few times when Hermione's been awake, but they just seem to ignore each other. That works for me. If Hermione doesn't find the Sugar Gliders interesting, then she can't accidentally hurt them.
We have so many animals now, some of a stranger variety, perhaps I need to change the name of this blog. LOL
PS: I was going to post photos today, but Blogger will not allow me for some reason. Will try again soon.

I am "It!"

I Glacier have been tagged. My loverley Lady, Nola, has tagged me. I haves to be tellin' you ten thingies bouts me.
You ready fur this?
1. Use seven words to describe yourself.
Big, goofy, smarter than you think, loving.
(Hows was that)?.

?!

2. What keeps you up at night?
Erm, nothingy. I am a heavy sleeper just like my girl...oh, sometimes Roscoe squishes me because he's a bed hog and that wakes me ups.
3. Who would you like to be?
What kinds of question is that?! I would likes to be me. I'm cute and handsome and a charmer...what else could I ask fur?4. What are you wearing right now?
My black working half check collar with my Rabies/microchip/working dog tag...oh and my lovely yellow/whiteish furs. (My girl says we needs to be replacing this boring black collar).5. What scares you?
Not a whole lot. I can't be scared because I have to be my girl's eyeballs. If I'm afraid of thingies then she'll walk into thingies...I guess I'm scared she'll leave me home and walks herselfs into traffic. Hers is a flake, you know.
6. The best and worst of blogging?The best: all of my wonderful new furriends and the worst is spammers and word verifications. My girl is always goin' on and on bouts hows word verifications aren't blind friendly.
7. Last website you've visited?
Oh, that is easy: my loverley Lady Nola's blog to gets these questions.
8. One thing you'd change about yourself?
Hmmmm...there is always room for improvement, rights? I wish I knew hows to swim. I'm a Labrador who doesn't swim-I may be slightly defective.

9. Slankets or no?!!
What the woof is a "slanket?"10. Tell us something about the dog or person that tagged you: Hers is a beautiful,-a rare colour-Dachshund who is afraid of big dogs, but is not fraids of me 'cause I'm a nice guy. Hers is my beautiful date for the big Blogville PAWTY on Tuesday! Oh, and hers and I both likes to destroy toys that are supposed to be indestructibles.

I knows this tagging thingy has been floatin' around the Blogosphere in the last little while, so we'll say that if you haven't beens tagged yet, then you should join in the fun and copy these questions and tells us all bouts yourselfs. Oops, I am thinkin' that was a runs ons sentence.
Happy Sunday: love Glacier
P.S. Don't furgets that there are two days left for votin' fur your Valentine's Day King and Queen. Oh, and my girl also says that there are a few raffle prizes that don't even have tickets bought fur thems yet. So, the chances of you winning are probably pretty good...I'm just sayin'. ;)

Raffle Prize Run-down

Hello to the beautiful people of Blogville: Glacier here to tells you all bouts the raffle prizes we have for you to choose from. The Daddy told my girl that she should tells everyone what was available and that maybe not everyone knew what everythingy was. So, heres I am to tells you all bouts them. There are  thirteen, not eleven we miscounted yesterdays, thingies up fur grabs, so you may want to get comfy...or a pen and paper to takes notes.

First of all, The Kong Company was incredibly generous and gives us three prizes. And, I'm not talkin' little prizes. No ways! Three big prizes and different prizes for different needs. They was thinkin' when they picked what to donate to us. There is a Senior Kong, which is the purple and white Kong, with a mini Kong key chain. Whats you needs a key chain fur I haves no idea, but I'm a dog, I don't haves keys. My girl says the key chains are adorable. Hmmm, I'm adorable. Does that means I'm up fur rafflin' off?

Anyways, the Senior Kong is fur the older citizens of Blogville whose gots softer mouths than us youngsters. I suppose gentler chewers could probably plays with the more flexible, soft Senior Kong, but that means that toy is not fur me or my loverly date, Dachshund Nola: we gots some powerful chompers goin' on. That's whys we are a pawfect match!
Oh, I ams gettin' side tracked by hers loverliness.
The next thingy the Kong Company sent us for the Raffle was an XXL Classic Kong. That means, it's of the red variety and for normal chewers; nots the freakishly strong chewers likes me. Both Kong products are lots of fun 'cause you can stuffs thems with delicious treats and play fetch. This Classic Kong comes with a mini key chain too. Again, apparentlys very adorable. I'm startin' to think my girl's gonna raffle me off if the only criterias is thats you have to be adorable.
The last and most excitin' prize from The Kong Company, at least Roscoe and me thinks it's the most excitin', is the Kong Wobbler. This toy is fantabulous! It wobbles alls over the floor, likes its name says it does, and treats come fallin' out of a little hole in the side of the toy. Oh, but your human needs to remembers to put treats in it. The lid screws off, treats get dumped into the sand weighted bottom, lid goes back on, toy goes on floor and doggies goes crazies. My girl says the best pawt is that the Kong Wobbler only wobbles; it never falls, which means doggies cans whack, and push and roll it and the human nevers has to put it upright again.
On a rainy day, whens we were eatin' kibbles still, my girl put our suppers in it to keep us occupied. Nows, she puts treats in it. Apparentlys I play wrong because I takes off in a corner and tries to chew the top off, but I thinks it's a good game. Roscoe gets it better and our little brother Baloo, who has gones to live with another Mama, loved the Kong Wobbler and he was a little guy! He nevers let anyone else play with it when he was around.
Oh, yeah. And of courses, an adorable Kong key chain comes alongs with the Kong Wobbler too. I am gettin' mores and mores concerned heres...movin' rights along.
Another excitin' item for doggies is the Valentine's basket Baloo's new Mama donated. It's full of fun stuffs for us, like cookies, poop bags and a squeaky stuffed heart. My girl says I'm not allowed to bid on that prize 'cause I ams a strong chewer and wills destroy the stuffed heart. I has no idea what hers is talkin' bouts: that hockey puck needed shreddin'.
Next on our list are the really cool toys donated by VIP. I loves these toys and my girl said I can buy tickets fur these ones 'cause I have a hard time destroyin' thems. There is the Ultimate ring, complete with squeakers. I have one of these and Roscoe and I loves it. We play tug with it and we haven't ripped it yet; erm, yet. The squeakers are stitched into their own little section so it's ways harder to pulls them out. The edges of the toy are soft so it doesn't hurt ours mouths. The Toughies line is the only stuffed toys I'm allowed to have 'cause I can't eat thems and they don't resemble any children's toys. Roscoe and I work in public and so can't be thinkin' that kids' stuffies are ours.
The other item VIP donated was the very cool Lion from the Mighty line. I can't says what this toy's like 'cause I've never had one, but if it's anything likes the Ultimate Ring or the Ultimate Square, which I've also had, this toy is a must haves.
The rest of the prizes are fur the humans. I'm not so interested in these, but my girl says I still have to tells you bouts them. So, heres we go.
H Gibson, a very talented Scottish artist, has generously donated four prints of hers work and two hand dyed/painted scarves. I don't knows much about art, but I thinks they are all very pretty. Well, they'd be pretty if I was a girl and a human. I ams not gonna be wearin' hand painted/dyed scarves. My girl says that the scarves are very silky and soft feelin'. Again, I have no idea what hers is talkin' about; except that I have ben told I have soft, silky ears.
OMD! Hers is gonna raffle me  off fur sure!
The last item that might be of interest to the humans is the hand made bath salt and soap package that my girl will be makin'. The bath salts are made from Dead Sea salt, epson salt and whatevers scent the winner chooses. My girl uses mostly essential oils fur makin' thingies stink, erm, smell good to makes sure people don't have weird itchies from artificial perfume thingies. The salts can also be used as a foot soak if you have tired and sore feets. My girl also makes soap with olive and whatevers essential oils you likes. To be honest, I said that they stink, but her Apple Cinnamon one smells likes pie and even thoughs I've never had pie, I wants to eat it!
So, theres you have it! An explanation of all of the pawsome raffle prizes. My girl is shippin' everythingy so you don'ts have to worry about the shippin' costs. If you go on overs to the Pawsome Raffle Prizes page, you can sees images of the fantabulous prizes fur both dogs and humans.
So, what's you waitin' fur?! Hurry and start buyn' tickets before my girl adds me to the page!

GET READY BLOGVILLE!

"Let the PAWTY Begin!"

Hellllooooooo Blogville! Glacier with the mostest excitin' news! It's so excitin' I might have to sit down for a minute...

Okays, are you ready for the excitin' news?!

Maybe you should sit down too.

Are you sittin'?

Okays...

*Drum roll and sparkly thingies, please*!

 

Ooooo, very nice.

The most excitin' thingy has happened. My girl and her IT supervisor have worked very hard and everythingy is ready for kissin' and votin' and rafflin'.  

 

That's right! We get to start smoochin' and browsin' the beautiful faces of Blogville to pick our Valentine's Day King and Queen.

What ya think of that? 

I know I'm super excited! There's a very loverly lady Dachshund wearin' a pink boa that I must be off to be kissin'. 

So...pucker up Blogville, for Dog Foster Mom's privacy fence and remember to vote because every vote also helps hers get that fence too!

Enoughs typin'!

More votin' and kissin', and rafflin'!

*****

If you don't want to pawticipate in the activities but still wish to help out, use this button and enter your donation amount. Every little bit helps!

Sneakings and Discoverings

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for a very impawtant news release from our under cover Dachshund who has boldly gone where no Dachshund has gone before, or should go. To give you this impawtant report, our very own Glacier.
Take it away Glacier!
****
...Is this thing on...?
Helllooooo...
Oh, ahem.
Hello Blogville. This is Glacier reporting to you from a very secret location. It is so secret that my camera dude, Roscoe, was not allowed in.

What?!
What does that thingy have to do with my very impawtant report?
Why is we showin' our readers that our agent stoles my bone?!
Watevs...
Where was I? Oh yes...
..
We have received a very interesting report from our under cover Dachshund that the construction of the Valentine's Day Queen and King crowns is well under way. Our agent risked his life to bring us the report that the crowns are still in their beginning stages, but that he saw a lot of shiny stuffs in the room where the crowns are being held.

Our agent. Isn't him handsome? He's quite brave too, ladies.
He had to traverse rough terrain, fighting gale force winds and deep snow.

And had to be the sneakiest of sneaky as the crown making room is under heavily armed guards.

*shudders*.

Brave, brave Baloo, erm, I mean, Special Agent Spotty Man.

This is all of the informationals Special Agent Spotty Man was able to give me as of right now, but he plans a sneakier, secret attack on the Crown Making room. So we will know fur sure that the crowns are bein' made and that the armed guards aren't just keepin' the shiny stuffs for themselves. Thank you Special Agent Spotty Man for going where no Dachshund has gone before and should never go.

This is Glacier, signing off fur now.

Just a Shy Guy

Hello everyone: Glacier here with a very impawtant question.
Oh, I am so nervous.
*Ahem*.
It would seem that Blogville is really gettin' ready for the big PAWTY and my girl and I are very excited bouts that. Seems like everything is comin' together and now that we know this thingy is actually happenin' I began to notice that
This guy

has been cruising around Blogville and working his magic.
  It seemed like everyone was lining up dates; everyone  except me.

*This is me. Just in case you didn't know*.
But then, I noticed this lovely Sable girl and gots to thinkin' that maybe, just maybe she'd want to go to the PAWTY with me.
*shuffles paws nervously*.
I first saw hers when her photos came in for the Valentine's Day Queen vote and the Kissing Booth. I didn't know then that I was allowed to ask anyone to the dance, so I was thinkin' I'd just give her a smooch in The Kissing Booth. But, after
Max
asked
Puddles
and
Max, DaOdder Weenie
asked
Anna Rose
I gots to thinkin' I should ask my Sable girl too.
So...
*Ahem*.
Dachshund Nola
I may be 66 pounds bigger than you,

See? I'm kind of big.
but
I am a gentle, shy guy who would love it if you would go to the PAWTY with me?
Please?
 My girl always says "please" goes a long way. Here's to hopin' she's right.
Oh! I almost furgot....
 These are fur you!

Blogville PAWTY Updates

Are you getting excited?
Have you been practising your moves?
How about picking out the pawfect outfit?
Things are heating up around here, Blogville!
How so?
***
Pictures have been coming in for The Kissing Booth, and let me tell you, four and two legged kind alike are going to have a hard time dragging themselves away.
For those of you who don't know about the Kissing Booth, allow me to fill you in. The Kissing Booth is going to be set up right here under the title "The Kissing Booth." Pretty simple so far right? On February first, the booth will open with lovely ladies and real gentlemen for your smooching pleasure. Just simply scroll through the page of "Kissables" and select the one you'd like to smooch. From there, you click "smooch" and you will have planted one on the pup, cat, crab, hamster, horse, Sugar Glider Etc Etc of your choice. Now, if there are just too many fabulous faces out there that you simply cannot resist, then smooch as many as you'd like. Each kiss costs a dollar, but all of the proceeds, minus Pay Pal's fee, will go towards assisting
Dog Foster Mom
build her well deserved and very needed privacy fence.
Now that we know what The Kissing Booth is, is there anyone else out there who'd like to be a "kissable?" If so, send me your photo to:
purple DOT tidalwave AT gmail DOT com
with the words "Kissing Booth" somewhere in the subject line. Also, don't forget to tell us who you are so we can put your name up with your picture at the booth.
*Note: The deadline for photos is January 31 at midnight*.
Photos for the Valentine's Day Dance King/Queen vote have also started arriving in my in-box. If you need more information about this activity, or you would like to pawticipate please contact me at the email address above. (I heard roomers of prizes for the winners of the King and Queen titles, respectively).
  Information about all activities can also be found on the Update page found on this blog.
*****
On to the new stuff!
Yummers fur Your Sweetie has been added to our activities for the great Blogville bash.
Sarge
suggested that snacks would be welcome at any PAWTY. Glacier fervently agreed and so "yummers" can be purchased for a dollar for your special someone. You know Labradors and their stomachs. As of right now you can go and gawk at the mouth watering treats that are on sale, but they are not quite ready for purchase. Ordering will soon be available. Once you can place your order(s), I would encourage you to take the image of the treat you purchased, display it on your blog and let whoever you bought it for know that a treat has been purchased for him/her. Also, I will keep a list of who bought the treats and for whom they were purchased and make that list public. So, you will be able to check if you got a Yummers; or two.
*****
Our raffle prizes just keep growing. A wonderful donation from H Gibson, a Scottish artist has brought our prize count up over ten prizes. H Gibson has generously donated three prints of her work and two hand painted/dyed scarves. Photos of all prizes will soon be available on the Pawsome Raffle Prize page. If you have anything you would like to contribute to our raffle prizes, please do not hesitate to contact me at the email address listed above.
Currently, I am awaiting a response from Nylabone and a few other pet product companies to find out whether or not they would be willing to donate raffle prizes.
***
I have also heard roomer of the Valentine's Day King and Queen crowns being crafted in a secret location where no one will be able to find them until February fourteenth. I have heard, from a very reliable source, that armed guards have been put on patrol to ensure the safety of the crowns. I will give you more information when my informant has gleaned details from his snoopervising assignment. He's a Dachshund, so I am very confident in his snoopervising abilities.
*****
So, isn't this all exciting? The plans have been made and we're going to give you a great PAWTY!
As always your suggestions, comments, questions Etc, about any of the activities are welcome.
Oh, and don't forget to take the PAWTY badge for your blog if the fancy to write about the PAWTY should strike you.
Happy Sunday, Blogville. :)

Are You Ready Blogville?: The Unveiling!

Look at it!

Isn't it beautiful?!

This, Blogville is the badge designed for us, by Baloo's now Mama, for our Blogville Valentine's Day PAWTY. It's your badge too, so feel free to display it proudly. :)
Now, if you'll excuse me: I have a badge to add to a few pages. ;)

Blogville Valentine's Pawty Update and Reminders

I'm gonna sing it from the mountain tops; yell it as loud as I can:
Blogville is having a Valentine's Day PAWTY!
Do you remember the date yet? No? Perhaps I should remind you.
On February 14th, Blogville is gonna have a pawty like no other; at least that is the plan. ;)
The only way that's gonna happen though is if everyone is there. So, tell your furriends to get their best dresses out and their dancing shoes on so that this Valentine's Day Pawty Benefit will be a huge success.
If you already didn't know, and even if you did, the Valentine's Dance is being thrown to benefit
Dog Foster Mom
and the wonderful foster animals she loves and cares for.
Since we want this event to be huge there is a lot of planning to do. This is where we stand so far.
-Raffle Prizes: I put up a call out on my personal Facebook page yesterday to see if anyone would be able to contribute a pawsome prize. To my great surprise and pleasure, Fiona and *angel* Gus's breeder said she would donate an item for you lovely folks. What a sweet and generous thing for her to do. I'll let you know more about the item once I have more details.
I have also been in contact with a few  big names in the pet industry in the hopes that they may donate a few items for prizes, but I've only heard back from one such company and since I'm not a registered charity, they will not donate. Let's keep our paws, fingers, toes, claws, Etc. crossed that The Kong Company and VIP comes through for us.
The page for the raffle tickets still needs to go under construction.
-Photos: We need 'em. There are two activities at this pawty that requires your smiling faces.
1. The vote for Valentine's Day King and Queen needs contestants. Send me your photos to:
purple.tidalwave@gmail.com
with your name within the body of the email, a photo of you in all of your Valentines Day glory and the words "Valentine's Day Queen and/or King vote" in the email's subject line. Easy enough right?
2. The infamous Kissing Booth is going back up. So, if you think "you gots the moves" then send me your photo to:
purple.tidalwave@gmail.com
The email must contain your name, the most kissable photo you've got and the words "kissing booth" in the subject line of the email.
*NOTE: If you want to pawticipate in both the Kissing Booth and Vote just let me know and your wish is my command*.
The deadline for photos for both the Vote and Kissing booth is January 31 at midnight. Got it? January 31 at midnight. If anyone knows how to set up a page with "vote" buttons" and Pay Pal, would you like to give me a tutorial?
-The badge: That is currently under construction as we speak. I've got a very techy friend of mine-Baloo's new Mama-on the job. So, have no fear.
-Yummers For Your Sweetie: Another page that needs to go under construction.
So, as you can see, we have a lot of work to do, but it is so worth it. If anyone thinks they can lend a hand, paw, talon, flipper...even if you think it's in the smallest way, please let me know.
Now, I better go find Glacier: I think he's practising his dance steps...no one's told him that "the Sprinkler" is so 1980's. ;)
*****
Update: Right after this post was published, I received an email from Kong stating that they will send an item for the raffle prizes. Way to go Kong!

Dear 2011

Dear 2011:
I cannot believe that you are already drawing to a close. So much has happened this year. So much so, that I have no idea where to begin. I think, besides the first year I made the Paralympic Games in 2000, or perhaps my first year of university in 2002, you have been one of the busiest, craziest years I have had. So many wonderful and amazing things have happened and for those I m grateful. There have been a few tenser moments, but I am just as grateful for those as well. The harder moments have taught me much about myself and have helped me grow. Looking back, I am still in awe at half of the things that happened and feel very blessed.
***
2011 In All Its Glory
1. In January of 2011, Mr. K and I lived in a house that was not ideal; not even close. The water shut off nearly every other day and was off for at least two to three days at a time. We started looking for a more suitable living arrangements even though we had intentions of moving to the UK as soon as possible. We had four dogs living with us: Glacier, Roscoe, Aria and Baloo.
2. In February we moved into a much better dwelling and Doc joined our ranks. It was then that I really started noticing problems with Glacier's working. This was also the month that solidified our plans to move to Scotland. Before Doc moved in, we had Roscoe, Glacier, Aria and Baloo Tider tested in order to begin the paperwork to bring everyone to the UK.
3. March was filled with puppies and their pooping issues. Dachshunds who were potty trained decided that they liked the carpet of the new house instead of going outside. We knew all three Dachshunds could not come with us, as we had originally bought Doc for Mr. K's sister, and the more we looked into it, the more we realised that we should re-home our little family members. It was a painful, and difficult decision. Glacier's guiding issues were becoming more apparent. I contacted Leader Dogs for the Blind in the hopes that they could help Glacier and I.
4.. In April, I headed home to Canada with Glacier and Baloo. Glacier and I were going back to Leader Dogs for the Blind for retraining and Baloo would be finding a new home with a high school friend; as long as they liked each other. It turns out, they fell in love almost right away and Baloo moved in with her just days after getting to my parents' house. Glacier and I worked hard for twelve days at LDB and left a much happier, confident working team.
5. May came quickly and I spent the majority of the month getting things in order for mine and Mr. K's wedding. I loved being home with my family, but I missed Mr. K terribly. May was also the fateful month that started making my triathlon dreams into a reality. Our wedding was fabulous and I couldn't have asked for a better day or husband, for that matter. May was also the month that saw Doc and Aria re-homed as well. It was difficult and parts of me still wishes that I could whisk them across an ocean to be with us.
6. June was a crazy month, attempting to finalize my passport and my Portuguese identity card. It was this card that would allow us to move to the UK without having to worry about Visas. I also found out that I could in fact get pregnant, but that it was not medically advisable.
7. Glacier and I returned to SC and sweated the month out,packing and planning to leave. We had vet appointments and we tried to sell, or at least, give away our belongings that we could not take with us. My parents visited for a while and helped us get a lot of things done in preparation for the move. The house felt so empty with only two dogs in it.
8. August snuck up on us and we worked feverishly to ensure that everything was set for our departure. We ran into a few glitches, such as the State vet saying that we may not be able to fly with our dogs because things were not documented correctly on our forms. We nearly watched seven months of planning go up in smoke. I worked to get as much of the house packed up as I could and some patient friends assisted with getting the rest of the stuff out once we had flown away. We ran into a small glitch in Boston when we tried to transfer flights and the guy assisting us through the airport didn't speak english. Then, on top of that, the airline didn't have record of our guide dogs, despite Mr. K speaking at least three times to them about it over the phone. After standing at the counter for almost an hour, we were cleared. Our flight was pretty good, considering we were flying so far and we had no issues once we entered London England. We spent a few days touring London and almost walked our feet off. We arrived in Edinburgh and stayed in Tenie and Carmen's flat, which they shared with two other girls. We stayed there until we could get things straightened out for our own flat. We did a few touristy things, like going to the zoo and a few festivals as well.
9. It was in September, after some waiting and assertive conversations, that we were able to move into our own flat. Tenie and Carmen had picked it out before we had even arrived, but it took nearly three weeks for us  to be able to move in. When we finally did move in, the hot water didn't work, but it was resolved. We spent the month settling in and getting to know our surrounding area.
10. It wasn't until October rolled around that I started feeling more comfortable with walking around on my own. Glacier and I experienced a huge regression in his guiding when we first arrived, which followed us basically through September. I worked hard with him, being consistent and resetting my mindset. I was to look at him as a working dog, not a pet. I knew that, but somehow in the move, I had lost that perspective. We celebrated Halloween dressed up in the Steam Punk fashion.
11. November was a great month for me. Triathlon training really started coming together with me finding a guide and receiving a whole lot of help from various sport minded organisations. Mr. K and I also brought Gus and Fiona home, our two little Sugar Glider joeys.
12. December was a  month for the Holidays and even though Mr. K and I didn't go home, we had a good month. We went to the Christmas market and had a great time experiencing the food, drinks and crazy crowds. Gus and Fiona joined us that day in their bonding pouch, but Glacier and Roscoe stayed home as we figured the crowds would be liable to crush them. We had a few dessert parties with the people living at Tenie and Carmen's flat and went out for drinks one night, sampling nearly every festive mixed drink they had on the menu. The night before the girls headed home for the Holidays, one of Tenie's flat mates had us over for a delicious dinner and we were able to say farewell to everyone. Mr. K and I spent Christmas together and it was enjoyable, despite our families being far away. Even though December was a joyous month, it also brought sadness when Gus passed away due to an unfortunate accident on Boxing Day.
As for today, December 31?
Mr. K and I will be going to pick up Yoda and Plato, two new Sugar Gliders, so that Fiona may have some playmates. Tonight, we may wander to a local pub and have a few celebratory drinks and talk about 2011 and maybe even of 2012 and what it will bring.
To everyone out there: Happy 2012. May it bring you joy and be everything you hope it to be. :)
Love,
Jess, Glacier, Roscoe, Fiona, Plato and Yoda

Good-bye Gus

I know to some he would be considered just an animal. I know some wouldn't understand how a human would grieve for an animal, but he wasn't just an animal to us; especially not to Mr. K. Gus was Mr. K's little buddy. Mr. K worked so hard to get to know Gus, to teach him to trust Mr. K. How is it that one minute, he is running around the living room, chasing Fiona through the Christmas tree, and the next, somehow, he is gone? How is it that we missed him leaving? We still don't even know how he got out into the bathroom. We read all of the warnings; we knew. I was usually so attentive to make sure the toilet lid was down, but for some reason, this morning I didn't check.

Gus left us this morning some time around 7 AM. He died in one of the ways we were warned a million times about; he drowned in our toilet. Thinking about it makes me sick. When one is charged with the responsibility of another's life, it is difficult to accept that you have failed as a care giver; that you have failed to keep him safe. It happened so fast and all of the "what if's" keep running through my mind. I feel responsible because I suggested letting Gus and Fiona out to roam the living room this morning. I feel awful knowing that his breeder entrusted his little life to us and Gus is gone. I feel horrible. I think some of the grief I feel towards his death may have to do with giving up our Dachshunds seven or so months back. I never really grieved re-homing them. Some of the grief comes from knowing that Mr. K is hurting. and some of it comes from knowing that our little Gus is gone.

My heart hurts, but it hurts more for Mr. K and Fiona than for me. How do you explain to someone that you hurt for them; that you grieve for them? Gus was Mr. K's and it hurts me that someone that I love is so sad.

I feel horrible for Fiona because she is alone now. She doesn't understand, and part of me is glad she doesn't. Thinking about how Gus died brings tears to my eyes. Sugar Gliders are colony animals: how is Fiona going to do on her own? We could get another Sugar Glider I suppose, but right now I feel like I don't deserve another one. I feel like I don't deserve Fiona. I think Gus's death is so hard to handle because it was so unexpected and because usually we're so careful-it just takes a second and everything can change.

Never in my life have I wished I could turn back time; not until now. This is so hard to take because   it could have been prevented. The tears just won't stop coming; tears for me, tears for Gus, tears for Fiona and tears for Mr. K. Even though we only had Gus for a month, he touched our lives and taught us great lessons in patience, persistence and love.

Rest in peace Gus and I am so, so  sorry.

Signs of Aging

Just one phone call yesterday managed to put me into a bit of a tizzy. It's not horrible news, but it was news that bothered me nonetheless. Partly because I feel responsible and partly because I am not there to do anything about it.
It's been pretty much decided that Jetta is developing cadderacks. She will be eleven this December, so I know that aging is bound to happen, but I guess I never thought that the dog whose eyes worked as mine for six years would be what signified her growing older. Mom says she still gets around fine and sometimes just needs someone to turn on the light so that she can hop on the bed. Sometimes if she goes out to "park" she will wait for someone to come out with her and then she'll head down the stairs to do her business. At camp a few weekends ago she did fine, touring around on her own, but still it worries me. She still can hear and her hips and elbows seem healthy, which is a blessing, but no matter how you prepare yourself, you are never ready to know that your dog's getting older.
When Jetta retired in August of 2008, she was only seven and a half. I have seen her quite often since then and it just didn't seem like she would ever slow down. For me, it's hard to realise that she is growing older just because she did retire so young. I haven't lived with her for three years and so haven't seen her age progress.
I know there are a lot of dogs out there who are blind. In fact, some are born that way or go blind quite young, just like humans do. They can adapt and she will too. It's not the low vision itself, it is its  implication.
The next thing that got me all worked up was finding out that my uncle and his girlfriend cannot take Aria. I had held off from announcing her second re-homing until now because I wanted to make sure things were set in stone before telling everyone. Turns out I jumped the gun. I completely understand their reasons why and can appreciate that they at least decided this before having her for a few months and then moving her again. I am just frustrated because I can't be there to help find her a home. Actually, if I was there, she wouldn't need a new home. If getting her into the UK wasn't so expensive and nearly impossible, I would just bring her over. The stress from the flight underneath a plane might be just too much for her though. I miss her so much and I feel responsible for her having to go through this.
Mom said that they will still pick her up from Mr. K's Mom's house and that Aria will stay with her until they can find her a good home. Mom really wanted to keep her because she is such a sweet little dog, but they already have Jetta, Flash, Sisu and Loki. Even though Aria only weighs about eight pounds, an extra dog may be too much for them. I do feel better knowing that Mom is willing to look after her until a suitable home can be found.
Both of these situations could e way worse and so I take comfort in  knowing that both girls are looked after, but I wish there was something I could do.

A Little Bit of Everything

As the title of this post would indicate, today's entry may be a bit all over the place as there are some small things vying for my attention.

First thing's first, our Wodent Wheel arrived today. (I may be spelling that wrong). The wheel has a closed design with large spaces on the side for your little critter to get in and out. The wheel is a favourite amongst Sugar Glider, rat and Chipmunk owners since the design of the wheel keeps the animal's tail, paws and anything else from getting caught. We also bought an insert that replaces the standard track that assists with grinding down the Sugar Glider's claws while they are running. Apparently, you need to trim their claws and they are not big fans. From everything I have read, this insert should help a bit with that problem. The wheel comes in many colour combinations and sizes, so you can select the correct size for your precious pet.

We picked one of the larger sizes and a maroon/black combination. There was pink and black, but I wasn't sure Baby Boy would like that very much.

These wheels are very popular even with hamster owners. Rats, apparently, take longer to warm up to it, but eventually love it because it is closed. Not that I am a rodent expert by any means. Once our babies arrive, I'll be able to give this product a better review. So far though, I am quite satisfied with its construction.

Our next order of business is my triathlon training. I haven't written much about it as of late because the training is not really...well, happening. I've tried to do home workouts with yoga poses, core exercises and various forms of push-ups to try and maintain some level of strength. I also walk a lot here, so I know that will help a bit, but I really need to get this whole thing worked out.

Training as a blind athlete, as I've mentioned before, is difficult unless you have a guide and the special equipment you need. This weekend I am supposed to call a potential guide to discuss training options and so I really hope that is a fruitful phone call. None of my friends are very athletic, so finding someone to even just go jogging or running with isn't really an option. If I could see, I'd just get up every morning and at least get the running in on my own, but being blind and all, a guide is necessary to ensure I don't run into things or out into the road. :)

Mr.  K and I are also supposed to go to the gym and actually sign up in the upcoming days. When  I was in talking with one of the trainers about joining, he seemed excited and totally willing to have Glacier and I present in the gym. Attitudinal barriers can be as much as a difficulty for disabled people as structural ones, such as not having ramps. He also mentioned something about the gym being able to sponsor me and my triathlon endeavors. If they would, that would be a dream come true as training seriously for a sport is costly and when you are blind you pretty much have to double those costs since you are paying for a lot of your guide's stuff. Not to mention, I still need a tandem bike and someone or some way to transport it to and from training and races. That alone will cost thousands of pounds and/or dollars. I know that these guys are trained to say whatever it takes to get you to join, but I really do hope he and I sit down and have a conversation about sponsorship.

As for next September, Queen Margaret University contacted me to ask if I wanted to still be considered for the Physiotherapy program. I was going to say no, but thought better of it and said yes. Sure, I've applied to the University of Edinburgh for Performance Psychology, but what if I don't get in? I can't put all of my eggs in one basket, so to speak. So, I've even thought of applying to the Sociology department at the University of Edinburgh as well for a research Master's program. That way, next September I may have three areas to pick from.

If that's not enough, my soap/bath salt making is starting to come together. I bought a bunch of jars last night to house my finished bath salt concoctions and now I'm looking for a "butcher's" paper to wrap the soaps up in. It's mostly a hobby, but if people want to buy them, that is okay by me as well.

Aria, our first miniature Dachshund and our only girl so far, is going to be moving again. I feel very badly for her because she will be incredibly confused, but she is going to a fabulous home. Mr. K's parents' divorce is going through and so Aria needs to find a new home. I reached out to friends and family, hoping that someone would want her. It was only in May that we gave her to Mr. K's Mom and I was worried no one would take her.

Thankfully, and to my pleasant surprise, my uncle and his girlfriend, who adopted Doc one of our male Miniature Dachshunds, said they want her. They are really looking forward to having her and I know she will be well loved and taken care of. Plus, she will be reunited with Doc and will get to have a new big sister named Beatrice, a rescue dog. This past weekend my uncle and his girlfriend went camping and Beatrice and Doc went with them. Aria is a rough and tumble girl despite her small size and so I think their home will be a dream come true for her.

Again, I feel badly, but at least she knows the people she is going to and she will have one familiar dog to play with  and another to get to know. She loves the companionship and the house is also full of three teenagerish kids. So, she'll get a lot of attention. Doc also won't be so lonely when he gets crated when my uncle and his girlfriend go out because he and Aria will be able to share a crate. They have a large crate that is meant for a big dog, so there will be plenty of room for both Doc and Aria. Beatrice does not need to be crated when left alone because her house training is stellar, but Doc still has accidents and the crate keeps him from leaving surprises for whoever gets home first. I guess you can't really blame him: he's only been out of the kennel and into a home for seven months when he had lived there for about eight. They are working with him though. He also went into get fixed yesterday and had a small benign tumour removed from his nose. Mr. K and I had no idea he had it, but are glad that it was nothing to worry about.

So, there you go. A whole bunch of little updates rolled into one. :)

The Name Game

Ever since Mr. K and I found out we were getting a boy and girl Sugar Glider we have been trying to settle on the perfect names for our perfect little bundles of fur. Part of me thinks that we probably won't settle on anything until we meet them, but it's still fun to think of different names.
We have been going through famous girl/boy duos such as "Ariel and Sabastian," "Yoda and Padme," "Louis and Ella," (the singers), but none of the names have stuck.
Most recently we talked about "Gus," for the boy-inspired by the little mouse in Cinderella-and "Hime," pronounced He-may, for the girl. Hime means "princess" in Japanese and if you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know that the dog I rescued from a shelter and is now, as far as I know, in for service dog training in South Carolina was named Kyo. Kyo is "big" in Japanese. So, Hime would fit Mr. K's love of Japan and  Gus would fit my Disney obsession. Two of our Miniature Dachshunds who were  re-homed because we moved to Scotland, were named for Disney's Doc and Baloo. Aria, our little girl Dachshund also re-homed, didn't really fit either themes, but she was a character in a book series Mr. K and I both enjoyed.
I'm sure November 26th will arrive much quicker than we think and the moment of truth with it, but until then we will be playing the naming game.

It's Twins!

...a boy and a girl! How absolutely precious...
They arrive in eight weeks.
Now before you go thinking, "Jess, have you been pregnant this whole time and not said a word about it?" I will have to stop you. No, they are not human babies, but fur babies. It's something Mr. K and I have had in the works for a while now, but I didn't want to write about it and jinx it. So, here it is, our official birth announcement:
In just eight weeks-around the first week of December-Mr. K and I will be the proud new parents of twin Sugar Glider Joeys.
A Sugar Glider Whoie?
Sugar Glider Joey. They are little critters who are native to Southern Australia and somewhere else-I can't remember-and they have really caught on as pets in the last ten years or so. They have been quite prevalent in North America for about 25 years, but have only been around for about ten in the UK. There is so much information about them out on the internet, that at first, we weren't sure they were the right fit for us. After some more research and finding credible sources, we began to realise that they are exactly what we are looking for and that we were falling in love with a little creature we had never even held. We spent time looking up breeders, diet, play, bonding and anything we could find. We eventually ran across the breeder we settled on and conveniently for us, she lives in Scotland's Highlands. That means, that we will be able to pick up our new bundles of joy relatively stress free.
As I've mentioned before, Glacier and I have had to redefine our relationship in order for us to keep working as a cohesive team. With the move, we re-homed all of our Dachshunds and I'm really missing something small and fluffy to "mother." I also found out in July that me being pregnant is very unhealthy and so human children are a no go. We can't get another dog for a few reasons. First, having an extra dog in the house really throws Glacier into a tizzy. He gets stressed and that jeopardizes our working relationship even more. Second, our lease explicitly states no dogs other than our guide dogs may live in our flat. So, even though a dog would be my first choice, having one would not be feasible right now.
We threw around the idea of a cat very briefly. I mean very briefly. Mr. K is extremely allergic and my parents had taken my cats, Sisu and Loki, for me when Mr. K and I decided to make things a little more permanent. It's sad because he loves cats and cats do not seem to threaten Glacier's security, but we scratched them off of our list quite quickly.
We then moved on to other rodents: rats and bunnies, but I wasn't satisfied with any of those. I wanted something affectionate and with decent recall if we were going to get something small. Somehow we visited the idea of a Sugar Glider. I had heard of them before and at first, I was a bit resistant to the idea, but with a good three to four weeks of research under our belts I am feeling much better. So much so that we found two little guys who have been OOP (or Out of pouch) for a week and a half and agreed that we wanted them.
The breeder is very knowledgeable and helpful. She told us that when the joeys are four weeks old she will move them into the living room so that they can get used to noisy spaces and start handling them on a regular basis. She also said she will send baby pictures to show us how they are growing up. In a few weeks, Mr. K and I will cut up pieces of blanket,  ziplock them, mail them to the breeder and she will put the pieces of warm, cozy, stinking of us material into the joeys' sleeping nest. This way, they will get used to our scent and won't be as afraid when we actually take them home. Sugar Gliders bond primarily through scent, so it is important to get them used to your smell as soon as possible.
In the next few weeks we will slowly start collecting the things we will need to make a fun, safe and ideal home for two Sugar Glider babies. We've already started pricing the proper cages, toys and how to make sleeping pouches ourselves. We even have looked into what it would take to make our babies' cage by hand.
So, it would appear that fur babies are the way to go and that Sugar Gliders are going to be our newest family members. The only thing is, we still don't know what to name them. :)