Happy Halloween all!
It's that time of year again when little ghosties and witches roam the streets, knocking on doors and shouting:
"trick or treat!"
I've always loved Halloween and still do, but this year Halloween is going to be a fairly low key event at the Mr. and Mrs. K homestead.
To be honest, Halloween sort of snuck up on me this year. Usually I've thought of my costume months in advanced, but with my MSc program starting mid September, my brain has been mostly filled with research methods, coping/stress/control and so much more. Sometimes I feel like I hardly have time for my poor puppy dogs, or even for poor Mr. K, for that matter. I also have been focusing on Christmas since my parents are coming to visit and that will be the first time I've seen them in over a year and a half.
I have always enjoyed getting my dogs dressed up too. Some would disagree with that, and that is fine, but I don't have kids and never will. Thus, I need someone to dress up.
Jetta probably got the brunt of it with her having to be a ballerina princess (she ate the crown and peed on the shoes), my evil minion (she wore huge, black bat wings and I was a vampire), a Lost Boy (I was Tinkerbell of course) and a wizard (her friend Cessna from Ruled by Paws got to share in that joy that year as we made their costumes for them). We really wanted to make them "My Little Ponies" that year, but couldn't quite figure that one out. So, wizards it was.
Glacier was a bit luckier with only having to be the donkey from Winnie the Poo twice. Aria was a lobster and Kyo was an athlete.
This year Hermione, Otis and Roscoe have managed to side step the costumes. We really don't have anywhere to go with them dressed up and so what's really the point? However, I think Otis would have made the cutest pumpkin with his gigantic puppy belly and squat little French Bulldog stature. Hermione most certainly would have had to be a princess because, well, she is a princess. And Roscoe? He probably wouldn't have tolerated it so well. So, perhaps a Halloween themed bandanna would have done for him. That is, of course, if we were actually dressing them up.
Halloween doesn't seem to be quite as a big deal here as in North America and so perhaps that is part of how it snuck up on me.
That's not to say we haven't done, or won't do, a few Halloweenish things.
First of all, I had a "ghost" cookie at the cafe this morning after I spent an hour and a half with my class instructor going over inferential statistics for my exam tomorrow. The cookie was quite cleverly made and was quite tasty.
Everyone needs a 3D ghost cookie after that much Stats.
Mr. K and I are also going to carve a pumpkin tonight. We've always carved pumpkins together; last year being the exception. One year he carved a scene from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" into the pumpkin. Quite impressive if you ask me. So there's a bit of our Halloween tradition. We can't do much tonight anyway with me having to write this crazy exam tomorrow.
Originally, I had asked people over for a pumpkin carving party last night, but since my idea was last minute, no one was able to come. Again, probably for the better: it gave me more time to study.
So that is about it. It's going to be a quiet Halloween this year, but that's okay. There's always next year.
Showing posts with label Princess Puppy Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Princess Puppy Love. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, March 08, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
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
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
Monday, October 17, 2011
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.
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.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, August 12, 2011
International Assistance Dog Week: Never to be Left Behind
Here we are just six days away from mine and Mr. K's adventure across the big pond. It has been an interesting, exciting and stressful process to get us, all of us, ready to enter the UK. Almost six months ago, we headed into our vet's office and had them perform the preliminary work to prep the dogs to enter England. This included an International microchip, a Rabies vaccination and a blood draw. The blood sample was to be mailed off to the University of Kansas in order to be tested for the boys' levels of Rabies antibodies present in their bloodstreams (AKA a Rabies tider test). It is imperative that steps are taken in order and performed correctly. If one element is not present or was done incorrectly, our dogs would not be granted permission to enter and stay in the UK.
Tuesday of this week, we had Glacier and Roscoe checked over by their vet, had the paperwork we needed stamped and signed and then took it over to the USDA office. Luckily for us, the USDA office is right in the city we live in, so that was one thing that went smoothly for us. However, it was at the USDA office that we realised just how fragile this process really is.
"You won't be able to get in."
That phrase rings in my ears even three days later. Sitting with Glacier sprawled at my feet, unaware of the chaos ensuing around him, I felt like I was going to throw up.
"Well, you could go," the vet amended "they just wouldn't let the dogs enter."
I felt the tears coming. I forced them back. Getting all emotional and having a breakdown wouldn't fix the situation. The problem was that the Rabies vaccination the boys received nearly six months ago had not been documented. The USDA vet said he had spoken to our vet's office and they were adamant that they had not vaccinated the boys. Without this vaccination, despite them having received the shot just two months prior, they would not be allowed to go to Scotland with us. It didn't matter that their Rabies Tider test came back stating that they did not have and could not contract Rabies. None of this mattered. It only mattered that the vaccination had not been given on the correct day. Do you ever wish you could turn back time? Just grab a hold of a huge handle and turn it, watching a clock's hands flying in reverse?
All I could say was,
"she did!" over and over again. I knew she had because I had been holding Glacier on the waist high, stainless steel table trying to keep him from jumping off. When you have a 75 pound dog trying to lunge off of a table because he is not happy about being poked and prodded, you remember.
Mr. K said he'd call her and insisted that they had vaccinated Glacier and Roscoe. He told her that he remembered because he kept telling them what order to do the different procedures in because we were paranoid; turns out, we had a right to be.
I also remembered them giving the vaccinations because at that point we were taking Aria and Baloo with us. Baloo always has reactions to Rabies vaccinations and so we had taken some medicine home with us to make sure he wouldn't swell up. Aria is also quite vocal and let us know that she did not like getting poked with a needle; poor little peanut that she is. Mr. K called the vet's office and, of course, they were out to lunch. He told the receptionist the issue and that we needed to talk to the vet right away. She said she'd get a hold of them and within fifteen minutes, Mr. K's phone rang. It was one of the longest fifteen minutes of my life. The whole time I kept running my hand over Glacier's side, willing them to find the vaccination record.
How could I possibly move to another country without a guide dog? How could I possibly move away without this dog I had worked so hard to form a good working relationship with? How could I possibly leave this dog behind that I am completely in love with?
I'm not sure what we would have done if the vaccination record had not been found. We may have just stayed in the United States. I could not leave Glacier behind. He is not only my working partner, but my safety net, and we have bonded in such a way that is difficult to explain.
Thankfully, after some assertive talking by Mr. K, the vet Tech remembered the vaccination did happen. They had not charged us for the shots, which we greatly appreciate, but because of that, they had not been recorded; bad time not to record things. She set about making new vaccination records and faxing them over to the USDA vet so that he could put his stamp of approval on the documents. The only slightly worrisome thing is that this particular Rabies vaccination is not recorded on the Tider records from the University of Kansas because it had not been recorded before that document was sent off. We have spoken to Animal Reception in England and explained the situation and have also made them aware of the discrepancy on the paperwork. We are not trying to fool them. The woman Mr. K talked to at Animal Reception in London, assured us that everything should be fine as long as everything was there. Guide dogs are kind of a special case as well, so all we can do now is pray that everything goes as planned and that we will be leaving next Thursday; all four of us.
To me, leaving these guys behind is not even an option. They are such an integral part of our lives that I don't know if my heart would ever recover if we just decided to go even if they couldn't. I know we've sunk a lot of money into this move, but you can make more money, you can't replace the guide dogs you have been working with for nearly three years.
This experience lends itself well to our celebration of Assistance dogs, since it is International Assistance Dog Week. These dogs will do anything for you , and you as a handler, will do anything for them; including canceling your plans of moving across the world. That said, let's hope that will not be the case.
Tuesday of this week, we had Glacier and Roscoe checked over by their vet, had the paperwork we needed stamped and signed and then took it over to the USDA office. Luckily for us, the USDA office is right in the city we live in, so that was one thing that went smoothly for us. However, it was at the USDA office that we realised just how fragile this process really is.
"You won't be able to get in."
That phrase rings in my ears even three days later. Sitting with Glacier sprawled at my feet, unaware of the chaos ensuing around him, I felt like I was going to throw up.
"Well, you could go," the vet amended "they just wouldn't let the dogs enter."
I felt the tears coming. I forced them back. Getting all emotional and having a breakdown wouldn't fix the situation. The problem was that the Rabies vaccination the boys received nearly six months ago had not been documented. The USDA vet said he had spoken to our vet's office and they were adamant that they had not vaccinated the boys. Without this vaccination, despite them having received the shot just two months prior, they would not be allowed to go to Scotland with us. It didn't matter that their Rabies Tider test came back stating that they did not have and could not contract Rabies. None of this mattered. It only mattered that the vaccination had not been given on the correct day. Do you ever wish you could turn back time? Just grab a hold of a huge handle and turn it, watching a clock's hands flying in reverse?
All I could say was,
"she did!" over and over again. I knew she had because I had been holding Glacier on the waist high, stainless steel table trying to keep him from jumping off. When you have a 75 pound dog trying to lunge off of a table because he is not happy about being poked and prodded, you remember.
Mr. K said he'd call her and insisted that they had vaccinated Glacier and Roscoe. He told her that he remembered because he kept telling them what order to do the different procedures in because we were paranoid; turns out, we had a right to be.
I also remembered them giving the vaccinations because at that point we were taking Aria and Baloo with us. Baloo always has reactions to Rabies vaccinations and so we had taken some medicine home with us to make sure he wouldn't swell up. Aria is also quite vocal and let us know that she did not like getting poked with a needle; poor little peanut that she is. Mr. K called the vet's office and, of course, they were out to lunch. He told the receptionist the issue and that we needed to talk to the vet right away. She said she'd get a hold of them and within fifteen minutes, Mr. K's phone rang. It was one of the longest fifteen minutes of my life. The whole time I kept running my hand over Glacier's side, willing them to find the vaccination record.
How could I possibly move to another country without a guide dog? How could I possibly move away without this dog I had worked so hard to form a good working relationship with? How could I possibly leave this dog behind that I am completely in love with?
I'm not sure what we would have done if the vaccination record had not been found. We may have just stayed in the United States. I could not leave Glacier behind. He is not only my working partner, but my safety net, and we have bonded in such a way that is difficult to explain.
Thankfully, after some assertive talking by Mr. K, the vet Tech remembered the vaccination did happen. They had not charged us for the shots, which we greatly appreciate, but because of that, they had not been recorded; bad time not to record things. She set about making new vaccination records and faxing them over to the USDA vet so that he could put his stamp of approval on the documents. The only slightly worrisome thing is that this particular Rabies vaccination is not recorded on the Tider records from the University of Kansas because it had not been recorded before that document was sent off. We have spoken to Animal Reception in England and explained the situation and have also made them aware of the discrepancy on the paperwork. We are not trying to fool them. The woman Mr. K talked to at Animal Reception in London, assured us that everything should be fine as long as everything was there. Guide dogs are kind of a special case as well, so all we can do now is pray that everything goes as planned and that we will be leaving next Thursday; all four of us.
To me, leaving these guys behind is not even an option. They are such an integral part of our lives that I don't know if my heart would ever recover if we just decided to go even if they couldn't. I know we've sunk a lot of money into this move, but you can make more money, you can't replace the guide dogs you have been working with for nearly three years.
This experience lends itself well to our celebration of Assistance dogs, since it is International Assistance Dog Week. These dogs will do anything for you , and you as a handler, will do anything for them; including canceling your plans of moving across the world. That said, let's hope that will not be the case.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
"Oh Where Oh Where Could My Little Dog(s) Be?"
It's been over a month since Aria and Doc were rehomed and about three since Baloo found his new Mama. It's been quiet around here without those little monsters running around and I miss them like crazy, but they are all doing great in their new homes. The best part is that all three Dachshunds went to family members or friends, so we are able to get updates every once in a while. Here is an update on each pup.
Aria: Aria went to live with Mr. K's mom and is the Princess of the house. She had her first birthday on June 10th, just a few days after she moved into her new home. She has the run of the house and is a good girl while Mr. K's mom is at work. She doesn't need to be crated anymore and uses the puppy pads during the day while she waits for her new Mama to come home. She loves to go out on the front porch, attached to her little doggie leash, and watch the neighbourhood kids playing. Mr. K's mom takes her for car rides, to her son-inlaw's baseball games and wherever else she knows she can get Aria into. Aria also has her own spot on the couch and Mr. K's mom put a blanket there for her. Sometimes Mr. K's sisters will stop by the house and check on Aria while their mom is at work. Aria also gets to go over to the ball diamond that is just around the corner, when it is not occupied, and run around like a little maniac. Aria loves when the grandkids come to visit because she gets to play with them. The girls like to take her for walks and brush her. She holds still for them and is patient with their efforts to beautify her. Whenever she is given a bone, she runs about the living room and hides it. She later goes looking for it and has to check all of her hiding spots until she finds the one she left it in. True to her nature, she did escape from the house one day. Mr. K's mom left the window open for Aria so she could have some fresh air. Miss Aria, being the escape artist that she is, figured out how to open the screen, squeeze her little butt through and took herself for a romp. Thankfully, a neighbour saw her and put her back on her doggie leash where she safely waited for her Mama to come home. She sleeps in her crate at night and will go straight in when her Mama opens the door and says, "go nigh' nigh'." We were worried she'd be lonely without having other dogs, since she was always with other animals, but she seems to have adjusted to being the only one getting attention just fine. She has adopted a giant stuffed, cat hand puppet as her "baby" and carries it around with her; despite it being waaaaaaay bigger than her. All in all, she is doing well and loving her new home and she also seems to be good for Mr. K's mom who was living alone.
Baloo: The little Kissie Monster is still his kissie self and is happily kissing the crap out of my friend Lindsay. The quiet, shy puppy that used to live with us has become a crazy, energetic dog. He will be 1 on August 22nd and has grown exponentially since he moved out. He has gone from 8 pounds to about 12 of good solid dog. He barks now, which he never used to do, but I think it's good since Lindsay lives alone. He is still confused as to why Lindsay's two cats, Zelda and Articia, won't play with him and he tries every day to engage them in playful battle: they just powder puff him in the face and he moves on. He too gets to have a lot of outings and if Lindsay can't be with him, her dad gladly takes over; bringing Baloo everywhere. Baloo's interests now include yard saling and long, walks/runs on the beach. He sleeps with his Mama and insists on bringing toys to bed, like his favourite stuffed duck. This duck happened to be bigger than him and he decided putting a hole in it and de-stuffing it was a good idea. He looked very upset when Lindsay removed it. If he is upset, Baloo will sit down and put his nose on the ground and pout. Whoever says that dogs don't have emotions, has never had one, or has never gotten to know one. Baloo is a joyful little guy who loves going for car rides and outings with his new Mama. He too adjusted well to being the only dog and feels that it is his sworn duty to aerate Lindsay's lawn. He loves sticks and going to the dog park and thinks he's a big dog. Again, another happy pup in a good home.
Doc: Doc was the one who was with us the shortest time and he has gone to live with my uncle, his wife and her kids. They also have a rescue dog named Beatrice and Doc and B have become the best of friends. They play wrestle and run zoomies out in the fenced yard. Doc gets to go for walks and to the dog park. At first, he was afraid at the dog park, but he has since opened up and has a great time. B had some dog sensitivity issues, but since Doc came around, she is doing much better. They play a game where Doc will attack her face, she'll swat him with her paw and if she can't pin him down that way, she'll lay her chest on top of him. This game goes on forever. Doc also likes to chew the knotted ends off of the rawhide bones and chase them around the house. He also thinks that the big bones belong to him and B thinks the little bones belong to her. They are a tag team. One day their Mama came home to find Doc on the table eating dog cookies and B on the floor eating the ones Doc had pushed down to her. There was an incident where Doc sunk his little teeth into my uncle's hand, but he accidentally did the two things we told him not to do-don't corner him or grab him if you've cornered him. His Mama had called him to go out before bed and being the stubborn Dachshund that he is, Doc ran the opposite direction. My uncle went after him and went to catch him to take him out and Doc bit him, drawing blood. After a good talk, my uncle understood why Doc had bitten him and everything was good. Both B and Doc are rescues in a sense, since we got Doc when he was 9 months old and had been living in a kennel from birth. That experience left him a bit skiddish at first and a bit defensive. When you take on rescue dogs, you accept that they may have certain behaviors due to their past. Another time his Mama and Dad came home and could not find him. They searched everywhere and were very worried. They finally checked the basement where they found Doc lying still: they were convinced he was dead. My uncle approached him and realised he was not only breathing, but that he was wearing a chip bag on his head. Once they removed the chip bag, Doc hopped around happily, probably thankful to be rid of the torturous contraption. They figure he hopped on the kitchen table via a chair, stole the chip bag, emptied its contents and then got stuck in it. He then probably tried to get out by walking farther into the chip bag and not being able to see where he was going, he crashed down the basement stairs. He then got stuck in the corner where they found him and gave up until someone came home to rescue him. This story proves that he is still the crazy, silly little Doc man that lived with us. He too is a happy guy with a lot of people to love him, take him for walks, feed him treats and a big sister, Beatrice, to play with.
As you can see, all of our rehomed little guys are doing very well. They are all eating good food-especially Doc who is eating some crazy healthy thing that I would feed them-and living in very loving homes. All of their new owners always say how much they love having them and it makes Mr. K and I feel better about having to give them up. Sometimes rehoming really is the better option. I'm just really thankful to the people who took our dogs and made them an important part of their families.
Aria: Aria went to live with Mr. K's mom and is the Princess of the house. She had her first birthday on June 10th, just a few days after she moved into her new home. She has the run of the house and is a good girl while Mr. K's mom is at work. She doesn't need to be crated anymore and uses the puppy pads during the day while she waits for her new Mama to come home. She loves to go out on the front porch, attached to her little doggie leash, and watch the neighbourhood kids playing. Mr. K's mom takes her for car rides, to her son-inlaw's baseball games and wherever else she knows she can get Aria into. Aria also has her own spot on the couch and Mr. K's mom put a blanket there for her. Sometimes Mr. K's sisters will stop by the house and check on Aria while their mom is at work. Aria also gets to go over to the ball diamond that is just around the corner, when it is not occupied, and run around like a little maniac. Aria loves when the grandkids come to visit because she gets to play with them. The girls like to take her for walks and brush her. She holds still for them and is patient with their efforts to beautify her. Whenever she is given a bone, she runs about the living room and hides it. She later goes looking for it and has to check all of her hiding spots until she finds the one she left it in. True to her nature, she did escape from the house one day. Mr. K's mom left the window open for Aria so she could have some fresh air. Miss Aria, being the escape artist that she is, figured out how to open the screen, squeeze her little butt through and took herself for a romp. Thankfully, a neighbour saw her and put her back on her doggie leash where she safely waited for her Mama to come home. She sleeps in her crate at night and will go straight in when her Mama opens the door and says, "go nigh' nigh'." We were worried she'd be lonely without having other dogs, since she was always with other animals, but she seems to have adjusted to being the only one getting attention just fine. She has adopted a giant stuffed, cat hand puppet as her "baby" and carries it around with her; despite it being waaaaaaay bigger than her. All in all, she is doing well and loving her new home and she also seems to be good for Mr. K's mom who was living alone.
Baloo: The little Kissie Monster is still his kissie self and is happily kissing the crap out of my friend Lindsay. The quiet, shy puppy that used to live with us has become a crazy, energetic dog. He will be 1 on August 22nd and has grown exponentially since he moved out. He has gone from 8 pounds to about 12 of good solid dog. He barks now, which he never used to do, but I think it's good since Lindsay lives alone. He is still confused as to why Lindsay's two cats, Zelda and Articia, won't play with him and he tries every day to engage them in playful battle: they just powder puff him in the face and he moves on. He too gets to have a lot of outings and if Lindsay can't be with him, her dad gladly takes over; bringing Baloo everywhere. Baloo's interests now include yard saling and long, walks/runs on the beach. He sleeps with his Mama and insists on bringing toys to bed, like his favourite stuffed duck. This duck happened to be bigger than him and he decided putting a hole in it and de-stuffing it was a good idea. He looked very upset when Lindsay removed it. If he is upset, Baloo will sit down and put his nose on the ground and pout. Whoever says that dogs don't have emotions, has never had one, or has never gotten to know one. Baloo is a joyful little guy who loves going for car rides and outings with his new Mama. He too adjusted well to being the only dog and feels that it is his sworn duty to aerate Lindsay's lawn. He loves sticks and going to the dog park and thinks he's a big dog. Again, another happy pup in a good home.
Doc: Doc was the one who was with us the shortest time and he has gone to live with my uncle, his wife and her kids. They also have a rescue dog named Beatrice and Doc and B have become the best of friends. They play wrestle and run zoomies out in the fenced yard. Doc gets to go for walks and to the dog park. At first, he was afraid at the dog park, but he has since opened up and has a great time. B had some dog sensitivity issues, but since Doc came around, she is doing much better. They play a game where Doc will attack her face, she'll swat him with her paw and if she can't pin him down that way, she'll lay her chest on top of him. This game goes on forever. Doc also likes to chew the knotted ends off of the rawhide bones and chase them around the house. He also thinks that the big bones belong to him and B thinks the little bones belong to her. They are a tag team. One day their Mama came home to find Doc on the table eating dog cookies and B on the floor eating the ones Doc had pushed down to her. There was an incident where Doc sunk his little teeth into my uncle's hand, but he accidentally did the two things we told him not to do-don't corner him or grab him if you've cornered him. His Mama had called him to go out before bed and being the stubborn Dachshund that he is, Doc ran the opposite direction. My uncle went after him and went to catch him to take him out and Doc bit him, drawing blood. After a good talk, my uncle understood why Doc had bitten him and everything was good. Both B and Doc are rescues in a sense, since we got Doc when he was 9 months old and had been living in a kennel from birth. That experience left him a bit skiddish at first and a bit defensive. When you take on rescue dogs, you accept that they may have certain behaviors due to their past. Another time his Mama and Dad came home and could not find him. They searched everywhere and were very worried. They finally checked the basement where they found Doc lying still: they were convinced he was dead. My uncle approached him and realised he was not only breathing, but that he was wearing a chip bag on his head. Once they removed the chip bag, Doc hopped around happily, probably thankful to be rid of the torturous contraption. They figure he hopped on the kitchen table via a chair, stole the chip bag, emptied its contents and then got stuck in it. He then probably tried to get out by walking farther into the chip bag and not being able to see where he was going, he crashed down the basement stairs. He then got stuck in the corner where they found him and gave up until someone came home to rescue him. This story proves that he is still the crazy, silly little Doc man that lived with us. He too is a happy guy with a lot of people to love him, take him for walks, feed him treats and a big sister, Beatrice, to play with.
As you can see, all of our rehomed little guys are doing very well. They are all eating good food-especially Doc who is eating some crazy healthy thing that I would feed them-and living in very loving homes. All of their new owners always say how much they love having them and it makes Mr. K and I feel better about having to give them up. Sometimes rehoming really is the better option. I'm just really thankful to the people who took our dogs and made them an important part of their families.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Wedding Day Part 1: The Beginning
I think it's Murphy's Law for things to run late on a wedding day. Despite my very careful planning and vow to be on time, I managed to start our wedding day off a bit late. The night before had been the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and between waiting for part of the wedding party to arrive from out of town and finishing people's nails, we had a very late night.
Saturday morning began with my mom knocking on my bedroom door and asking what time Tenie, my Maid of Honour, would be picking me up. I said quarter after nine through a mouthful of pillow and Mom informed me that it was nine. I sprung out of bed and had the world's fastest shower. Thankfully, when one is going to have one's hair put up, one must forego washing one's hair the day of the hairstyle. That made my shower even faster. I just managed to pull on jeans and a zippered hoodie before Tenie knocked at the door. We had a few stops to make before we could get started, so we piled into Tenie'sMom's car and headed out.
The first stop was at Tenie's Grandma's house. She had orange and purple tulips growing in her garden that she said we could use to decorate one of the tables in the Hall. We had wanted them fresh to ensure that they would look nice for the reception, but we hadn't counted on my sleeping in or the rain that was sprinkling down. I've been told that rain on a wedding day is good luck. If that is so, then Mr. K and I are quite lucky. After our brief detour, we rushed over to the hair stylist's salon and dropped off one Bride's maid, a friend who had ridden a bus for two days to get to our wedding and our friend and soloist for the ceremony. We then drove over to the international bridge and waited for Mr. K's sister, another bride's maid. She did not take long to meet us and we were off again, swinging back to my parents' house as we had forgotten my tiara and hair pins. We were told by our friend-who also played the piano to accompany our soloist-that Mom had already brought the hair accessories over to the salon. With that in order we raced to Timmy's where we placed a gigantic breakfast order. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Timmy's, it is a coffee chain in Canada that has sort of leaked over into the United States. Canadians swear by Tim Horton's). With five coffees and six breakfast sandwiches in hand we made our way back to the salon. As promised, the hair accessories had been dropped off and the soloist, now referred to as S, was already being attacked with curling iron and hair spray.
Each girl had their hair done and we spent the rest of the morning, and well into the afternoon, drinking coffee and chatting. My uncle who was acting as our photographer stopped in one point to capture the action. I thought he left, but as our hair stylist secured the tiara to my head I heard,
"Look this way Jess."
"What?!" I exclaimed."I thought you left you sneaky man." The perks to having a blind bride-you can sneak around and take photos without her even knowing. :)
Glacier was with us of course and behaved himself very well. Even when I was off being primped, he lay quietly on my sweatshirt and snoozed. He was probably thankful it wasn't him; images of his previous day's bath flashing through his doggie brain.
After much coffee and extra strength hair spray, we headed back to my parents' house to get ready via a white, stretch SUV limo. I had never been in one before and was tickled pink at the music and air controls, the chilled bottle of home made wine and how perfectly Glacier fit snugly at my feet. The limo company was amazing and didn't charge my parents for this extra pick-up as they knew who I was and that was their "way of supporting me."
Back at the house things went a bit crazy since we were much later than we should have been. We only had one hair stylist and she did five very nice up do's. The ceremony was supposed to start at 4:30 and we made it back just before three. I managed to shovel a few heaping spoonfuls of leftover potato salad into my mouth before brushing my teeth, having my make-up applied by Bride's Maid Carmen and stuffed into my dress by Tenie and my mom. Somewhere in there I somehow found time to put Glacier Aria and Jetta out and also feed them all their respective suppers. The guys phoned at one point to tell us they were lost and couldn't find the Portuguese Hall where they were to be picked up by the beautiful stretch limo to be whisked off to the chapel. It seemed that their GPS malfunctioned, but Tenie gave them solid directions and they were soon where they needed to be; be it half an hour late Apparently the driver didn't mind though because little old Portuguese ladies were feeding him so when the guys finally did arrive, he told them to take their time.
With my Tinkerbell garters in place, blue shoes jammed on feet, pearl jewelry in place and gigantic train bustled, it was time to hop back in the limo. Dad was ready, my girls looked gorgeous and the driver had made it back from his afternoon snack. I tiptoed carefully over our driveway since the dirt driveway was soft from the on and off rain we had been getting all day. Tenie, my dad and Mr. Driver helped me up into our "wheels" and I was tucked into the back seat, surrounded by satin, ivory wedding dress. The girls were close behind me and Dad was the last to hop in. Just as the doors were about to close, Carmen realised we were missing our bouquets and sprinted back to the house in swirling African Violet Georgetta. She returned brandishing five bouquets of tangerine orange Gerber daisies and we finally set off. Mr. K's sister noticed that "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas was a part of the play list and asked Tenie to switch to that song. She obliged, turned it up and we grooved all of the way to the chapel. I wasn't nervous, worried or excited until we were about two minutes away and Tenie said,
"We're almost there." Then my hands began to sweat and my heart started knocking out a pretty loud rhythm against my ribs.
As we pulled in...oh, wait that is a part of Part Two. ;) Tune in tomorrow for the continuation of my Wedding Day tale. :)
Saturday morning began with my mom knocking on my bedroom door and asking what time Tenie, my Maid of Honour, would be picking me up. I said quarter after nine through a mouthful of pillow and Mom informed me that it was nine. I sprung out of bed and had the world's fastest shower. Thankfully, when one is going to have one's hair put up, one must forego washing one's hair the day of the hairstyle. That made my shower even faster. I just managed to pull on jeans and a zippered hoodie before Tenie knocked at the door. We had a few stops to make before we could get started, so we piled into Tenie'sMom's car and headed out.
The first stop was at Tenie's Grandma's house. She had orange and purple tulips growing in her garden that she said we could use to decorate one of the tables in the Hall. We had wanted them fresh to ensure that they would look nice for the reception, but we hadn't counted on my sleeping in or the rain that was sprinkling down. I've been told that rain on a wedding day is good luck. If that is so, then Mr. K and I are quite lucky. After our brief detour, we rushed over to the hair stylist's salon and dropped off one Bride's maid, a friend who had ridden a bus for two days to get to our wedding and our friend and soloist for the ceremony. We then drove over to the international bridge and waited for Mr. K's sister, another bride's maid. She did not take long to meet us and we were off again, swinging back to my parents' house as we had forgotten my tiara and hair pins. We were told by our friend-who also played the piano to accompany our soloist-that Mom had already brought the hair accessories over to the salon. With that in order we raced to Timmy's where we placed a gigantic breakfast order. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with Timmy's, it is a coffee chain in Canada that has sort of leaked over into the United States. Canadians swear by Tim Horton's). With five coffees and six breakfast sandwiches in hand we made our way back to the salon. As promised, the hair accessories had been dropped off and the soloist, now referred to as S, was already being attacked with curling iron and hair spray.
Each girl had their hair done and we spent the rest of the morning, and well into the afternoon, drinking coffee and chatting. My uncle who was acting as our photographer stopped in one point to capture the action. I thought he left, but as our hair stylist secured the tiara to my head I heard,
"Look this way Jess."
"What?!" I exclaimed."I thought you left you sneaky man." The perks to having a blind bride-you can sneak around and take photos without her even knowing. :)
Glacier was with us of course and behaved himself very well. Even when I was off being primped, he lay quietly on my sweatshirt and snoozed. He was probably thankful it wasn't him; images of his previous day's bath flashing through his doggie brain.
After much coffee and extra strength hair spray, we headed back to my parents' house to get ready via a white, stretch SUV limo. I had never been in one before and was tickled pink at the music and air controls, the chilled bottle of home made wine and how perfectly Glacier fit snugly at my feet. The limo company was amazing and didn't charge my parents for this extra pick-up as they knew who I was and that was their "way of supporting me."
Back at the house things went a bit crazy since we were much later than we should have been. We only had one hair stylist and she did five very nice up do's. The ceremony was supposed to start at 4:30 and we made it back just before three. I managed to shovel a few heaping spoonfuls of leftover potato salad into my mouth before brushing my teeth, having my make-up applied by Bride's Maid Carmen and stuffed into my dress by Tenie and my mom. Somewhere in there I somehow found time to put Glacier Aria and Jetta out and also feed them all their respective suppers. The guys phoned at one point to tell us they were lost and couldn't find the Portuguese Hall where they were to be picked up by the beautiful stretch limo to be whisked off to the chapel. It seemed that their GPS malfunctioned, but Tenie gave them solid directions and they were soon where they needed to be; be it half an hour late Apparently the driver didn't mind though because little old Portuguese ladies were feeding him so when the guys finally did arrive, he told them to take their time.
With my Tinkerbell garters in place, blue shoes jammed on feet, pearl jewelry in place and gigantic train bustled, it was time to hop back in the limo. Dad was ready, my girls looked gorgeous and the driver had made it back from his afternoon snack. I tiptoed carefully over our driveway since the dirt driveway was soft from the on and off rain we had been getting all day. Tenie, my dad and Mr. Driver helped me up into our "wheels" and I was tucked into the back seat, surrounded by satin, ivory wedding dress. The girls were close behind me and Dad was the last to hop in. Just as the doors were about to close, Carmen realised we were missing our bouquets and sprinted back to the house in swirling African Violet Georgetta. She returned brandishing five bouquets of tangerine orange Gerber daisies and we finally set off. Mr. K's sister noticed that "I Got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas was a part of the play list and asked Tenie to switch to that song. She obliged, turned it up and we grooved all of the way to the chapel. I wasn't nervous, worried or excited until we were about two minutes away and Tenie said,
"We're almost there." Then my hands began to sweat and my heart started knocking out a pretty loud rhythm against my ribs.
As we pulled in...oh, wait that is a part of Part Two. ;) Tune in tomorrow for the continuation of my Wedding Day tale. :)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Retraining Day 1: Leader Dog Bound
Today is the day we leave for Leader Dogs for the Blind in order to begin mine and Glacier's retraining. My suitcase is pretty much packed and Glacier had a visit to the groomer's yesterday to have a bath and get his claws trimmed. I wanted him smelling his best. :)
I'm not really sure what to expect. I've gotten a new guide dog twice now and have an idea of what that process is like, but I have no clue what to expect when we arrive just before supper time today. One thing I do know is that Leader Dogs for the Blind feeds their clients very well and there is an endless supply of coffee. :)
There are a few things I do want to speak to my trainer about. I don't know who he or she is, but it's not my original trainer from when I was issued Glacier the first time. I actually think this will be an advantage as it will give the trainer an opportunity to see habits with a fresh pair of eyes. Our first trainer will be a part of the training group as well and I also think this is advantageous. I think her input will be helpful, but the indirect observation may be more productive. Anyway, I got off track.
I would like to have an equipment change. Since being at my parents' house, Glacier and I have worked a lot and I've had my mom walk a fair distance behind us to give me some visual feedback. I'm glad I did because she confirmed something I have suspected for a while. Glacier's belly strap of his harness slides up under his armpit and rubs the tender skin that is under there. It is the adjustable metal buckle part that inserts itself between his leg and belly whenever he puts any amount of pressure on the chest strap. I believe this is contributing to his guiding problems. It forces him to cross over a bit into my walking path and I think after a while, the rubbing gets to be too much and he stops leaning into the chest strap. This causes an issue as most guide dog handlers read their dogs' body language through the pressure that starts at the chest strap and then works its way up the harness handle. I wouldn't want to pull either if a piece of sharp metal was digging into my armpit.
I also want Glacier's working collar switched to a bigger one. I thought it was too small when we were at Leader Dogs for the Blind the first time and Glacier has filled out since then; gaining seven pounds of muscle and bone structure. With the collar being so small, my collar corrections turn into me yanking Glacier around instead of snapping the chain link collar to make a zinging noise. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, the choke chains that working dogs wear are not for choking/yanking, but for making a lot of noise. It is the noise that is the correction. I am hoping with these two vital equipment changes that I'll see some improvement in Glacier's work ethic.
That said, I have been trying to expose Glacier to a myriad of working environments to see what are our problem areas. It was confirmed that we struggle in wide open areas like large hallways in malls or the Concourse at my old university. I don't know if it is because he doesn't have a landmark like a wall to follow, but it will be something I will mention to our trainer, whoever he or she may be. We also struggle in sidewalkless areas. Sometimes he is fine, but other times he tries to cross diagonally or just quits guiding because I corrected him for trying to walk his own route. He can be a bit people and dog distracted, but I know those two things can definitely be worked on since I have been cracking down on his looking about at people or dogs when out working.
What is exciting though is that I have seen a lot of improvement just in the last week. We've ben out working every day because we have the opportunity and I think that is helping. Baloo has also found his forever home and I think that one on one time that I am able to give Glacier is improving the situation. Jetta is living here at my parents', but she is low maintenance and I don't think Glacier feels threatened by her presence. Mr. K still has Aria and Doc with him for now, but they are back in SC. So, that gives Glacier and I a lot of "us" time, which I think was long over due.
As I said above, I have no idea what the training regiment is going to be like, or who my trainer is, but once I get to Leader Dogs for the Blind (AKA LDB), I will fill everyone in. I want to thank you all for the encouraging words. I am always blown away how amazingly supportive this blogging community is. Your comments have really helped me along in this confusing time. So, THANK YOU!!! :) :) :)
I'm not really sure what to expect. I've gotten a new guide dog twice now and have an idea of what that process is like, but I have no clue what to expect when we arrive just before supper time today. One thing I do know is that Leader Dogs for the Blind feeds their clients very well and there is an endless supply of coffee. :)
There are a few things I do want to speak to my trainer about. I don't know who he or she is, but it's not my original trainer from when I was issued Glacier the first time. I actually think this will be an advantage as it will give the trainer an opportunity to see habits with a fresh pair of eyes. Our first trainer will be a part of the training group as well and I also think this is advantageous. I think her input will be helpful, but the indirect observation may be more productive. Anyway, I got off track.
I would like to have an equipment change. Since being at my parents' house, Glacier and I have worked a lot and I've had my mom walk a fair distance behind us to give me some visual feedback. I'm glad I did because she confirmed something I have suspected for a while. Glacier's belly strap of his harness slides up under his armpit and rubs the tender skin that is under there. It is the adjustable metal buckle part that inserts itself between his leg and belly whenever he puts any amount of pressure on the chest strap. I believe this is contributing to his guiding problems. It forces him to cross over a bit into my walking path and I think after a while, the rubbing gets to be too much and he stops leaning into the chest strap. This causes an issue as most guide dog handlers read their dogs' body language through the pressure that starts at the chest strap and then works its way up the harness handle. I wouldn't want to pull either if a piece of sharp metal was digging into my armpit.
I also want Glacier's working collar switched to a bigger one. I thought it was too small when we were at Leader Dogs for the Blind the first time and Glacier has filled out since then; gaining seven pounds of muscle and bone structure. With the collar being so small, my collar corrections turn into me yanking Glacier around instead of snapping the chain link collar to make a zinging noise. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, the choke chains that working dogs wear are not for choking/yanking, but for making a lot of noise. It is the noise that is the correction. I am hoping with these two vital equipment changes that I'll see some improvement in Glacier's work ethic.
That said, I have been trying to expose Glacier to a myriad of working environments to see what are our problem areas. It was confirmed that we struggle in wide open areas like large hallways in malls or the Concourse at my old university. I don't know if it is because he doesn't have a landmark like a wall to follow, but it will be something I will mention to our trainer, whoever he or she may be. We also struggle in sidewalkless areas. Sometimes he is fine, but other times he tries to cross diagonally or just quits guiding because I corrected him for trying to walk his own route. He can be a bit people and dog distracted, but I know those two things can definitely be worked on since I have been cracking down on his looking about at people or dogs when out working.
What is exciting though is that I have seen a lot of improvement just in the last week. We've ben out working every day because we have the opportunity and I think that is helping. Baloo has also found his forever home and I think that one on one time that I am able to give Glacier is improving the situation. Jetta is living here at my parents', but she is low maintenance and I don't think Glacier feels threatened by her presence. Mr. K still has Aria and Doc with him for now, but they are back in SC. So, that gives Glacier and I a lot of "us" time, which I think was long over due.
As I said above, I have no idea what the training regiment is going to be like, or who my trainer is, but once I get to Leader Dogs for the Blind (AKA LDB), I will fill everyone in. I want to thank you all for the encouraging words. I am always blown away how amazingly supportive this blogging community is. Your comments have really helped me along in this confusing time. So, THANK YOU!!! :) :) :)
Friday, April 08, 2011
Fun Fact Friday
Hi everyone! Miss us yet? :) Roscoe's birthday was on April sixth, so i thought I would feature him on today's Fun Fact Friday. (I will try to give you a very long winded update tomorrow. So, if you stop in, make sure you have some snacks stock piled).
Fifteen Fun Facts About Roscoe
1. Roscoe is a 68 pound black labrador.
2. Roscoe is one of the shaggiest labradors I have ever seen. His coat is quite thick and a bit fluffy. One of his nicknames if Shaggy Dog because of his fluffiness.
3. Roscoe is a talker. If you get his harness off the hook to go out to work, or if you are getting the dog dishes ready for breakfast/supper, he is constantly talking to you. He gets particularly vocal when it is working time though. No barking, just kind of grumbling. :)
4. Roscoe has the worst doggie breath you will ever smell. We don't know why. The vet says his teeth look good. I brush his teeth on a regular basis and he eats hard food and chews bones, which should help the breath situation. We had to switch his food a few times to find a food that didn't make his breath so bad. So, it's better than it was, but it's still awful.
5. Roscoe loves to give kisses. He is good at sneaking and giving you a wet one when you least expect it. His saliva is also slimy. We tease him by saying that he has Slimer tongue and that he should have been a Ghost Buster character. :)
6. Roscoe can kind of swim. If he is swimming out from shore and into the waves, he waves his front paws around like a maniac and ends up whacking the water up into his face. If he is swimming back to shore, with the waves, he does much better and his paws stay under the water where they belong.
7. Roscoe doesn't really have any bad habits except for having a certain affection for stinky things. If there is animal poop-not dog or cat-he will roll in it. We took him camping once and let him and Glacier off leash for a run and Roscoe found the dead fish along the shoreline and rolled in those too.
8. Roscoe is very patient. For a while he was having a lot of ear infections and I had to clean his ears quite frequently. He hates it, but he would hold still and let me pour the solution into his ear. He hates having his teeth brushed, but he waits patiently for me to get that done as well.
9. Roscoe may be patient when he is being groomed or if a little kid is pulling on his ears, but have him wait too long for a light to change so we can cross the street and he starts talking. He also talks if he thinks we've waited long enough for the bus. If the harness is on, he figures he better be moving.
10. Do any of your dogs snore? Maybe we should have a snoring competition because Roscoe is the loudest snorer ever! :) Sometimes he snores so loudly he wakes himself up. Once he was snoring away and Glacier got annoyed and kicked him to wake him up. You'd think they were married.
11. Roscoe is a good sized lab, but because Mr. K is six foot five, they have the longest harness handle that Leader Dogs makes. Next time, Mr. K may need a taller dog. He definitely couldn't get anyone shorter.
12. Roscoe is one of the best guidors I have ever seen. (I'm not sure that is a word. lol). If we go into a place once, it is a guarantee that all Mr. K has to do is tell Roscoe to "find the door" and he will get us right back out.
13. Roscoe also has quite a few nicknames.
-Moscoes (Mr. K's niece was not even two when he got Roscoe and that is how she pronounced his name).
-Shaggy Dog (for the reasons outlined above).
-Roscoe P Coaltrain (I'm sure you can figure that one out). :)
-Mr. Rudeness (given to him by our vet tech when he sat on Glacier's head when they were getting their annual check up).
14. If Roscoe is asked to "park," which is our "do your business" cue, he will squeeze out the smallest of pees just to make you happy. He was very helpful in potty training the puppies.
15. Roscoe and Glacier are best buddies. If we are out working and Roscoe is leading, he always looks over his shoulder to make sure we're right behind him. He loves curling p with Glacier on the same doggie bed even though we have two and ever since we left last Saturday he has been giving Mr. K a hard time because he misses his friend. If they both retire at the same time, we would have to find them a home where they could both go because by the time they are nine or ten, they will be incredibly attached to one another. Either that or we'll have to keep them with us together through their retirement. :)
So there is a small glimpse into the wonder that is Roscoe. We always joke that we have a polar bear (Glacier), a monkey (Aria), and a Moscoes (Roscoe) who is an animal all on to himself. :)
Fifteen Fun Facts About Roscoe
1. Roscoe is a 68 pound black labrador.
2. Roscoe is one of the shaggiest labradors I have ever seen. His coat is quite thick and a bit fluffy. One of his nicknames if Shaggy Dog because of his fluffiness.
3. Roscoe is a talker. If you get his harness off the hook to go out to work, or if you are getting the dog dishes ready for breakfast/supper, he is constantly talking to you. He gets particularly vocal when it is working time though. No barking, just kind of grumbling. :)
4. Roscoe has the worst doggie breath you will ever smell. We don't know why. The vet says his teeth look good. I brush his teeth on a regular basis and he eats hard food and chews bones, which should help the breath situation. We had to switch his food a few times to find a food that didn't make his breath so bad. So, it's better than it was, but it's still awful.
5. Roscoe loves to give kisses. He is good at sneaking and giving you a wet one when you least expect it. His saliva is also slimy. We tease him by saying that he has Slimer tongue and that he should have been a Ghost Buster character. :)
6. Roscoe can kind of swim. If he is swimming out from shore and into the waves, he waves his front paws around like a maniac and ends up whacking the water up into his face. If he is swimming back to shore, with the waves, he does much better and his paws stay under the water where they belong.
7. Roscoe doesn't really have any bad habits except for having a certain affection for stinky things. If there is animal poop-not dog or cat-he will roll in it. We took him camping once and let him and Glacier off leash for a run and Roscoe found the dead fish along the shoreline and rolled in those too.
8. Roscoe is very patient. For a while he was having a lot of ear infections and I had to clean his ears quite frequently. He hates it, but he would hold still and let me pour the solution into his ear. He hates having his teeth brushed, but he waits patiently for me to get that done as well.
9. Roscoe may be patient when he is being groomed or if a little kid is pulling on his ears, but have him wait too long for a light to change so we can cross the street and he starts talking. He also talks if he thinks we've waited long enough for the bus. If the harness is on, he figures he better be moving.
10. Do any of your dogs snore? Maybe we should have a snoring competition because Roscoe is the loudest snorer ever! :) Sometimes he snores so loudly he wakes himself up. Once he was snoring away and Glacier got annoyed and kicked him to wake him up. You'd think they were married.
11. Roscoe is a good sized lab, but because Mr. K is six foot five, they have the longest harness handle that Leader Dogs makes. Next time, Mr. K may need a taller dog. He definitely couldn't get anyone shorter.
12. Roscoe is one of the best guidors I have ever seen. (I'm not sure that is a word. lol). If we go into a place once, it is a guarantee that all Mr. K has to do is tell Roscoe to "find the door" and he will get us right back out.
13. Roscoe also has quite a few nicknames.
-Moscoes (Mr. K's niece was not even two when he got Roscoe and that is how she pronounced his name).
-Shaggy Dog (for the reasons outlined above).
-Roscoe P Coaltrain (I'm sure you can figure that one out). :)
-Mr. Rudeness (given to him by our vet tech when he sat on Glacier's head when they were getting their annual check up).
14. If Roscoe is asked to "park," which is our "do your business" cue, he will squeeze out the smallest of pees just to make you happy. He was very helpful in potty training the puppies.
15. Roscoe and Glacier are best buddies. If we are out working and Roscoe is leading, he always looks over his shoulder to make sure we're right behind him. He loves curling p with Glacier on the same doggie bed even though we have two and ever since we left last Saturday he has been giving Mr. K a hard time because he misses his friend. If they both retire at the same time, we would have to find them a home where they could both go because by the time they are nine or ten, they will be incredibly attached to one another. Either that or we'll have to keep them with us together through their retirement. :)
So there is a small glimpse into the wonder that is Roscoe. We always joke that we have a polar bear (Glacier), a monkey (Aria), and a Moscoes (Roscoe) who is an animal all on to himself. :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
As you can probably guess, things are a bit crazy around here as of late. With wedding planning (which, thankfully is pretty much done), mine and Glacier's retraining, applying to Grad school and working on moving to Scotland, things can seem a bit overwhelming at times. Leader Dogs for the Blind emailed me back and said that they wanted Glacier and I to come in from April tenth until the twenty-second. That will give us about ten days of training, if you exclude travel days. That makes me feel a bit better about the whole thing; just knowing that we'll be there a bit longer than a week.
The other big change is that Mr. K and I have decided to find new homes for our Dachshunds. This was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. These little guys are our family and I didn't want to just give them up. I sort of felt like I had failed as a Dog Mom. I mean, I want to open a rescue one day and here I am giving my dogs away. However, maybe that is even more motivation to open a rescue. I can't tell you how many times my eyes have sprung a leak the last couple of days, but we are really doing what is best for everyone.
Our reasoning for rehoming our dogs is simple, if I retrain with Glacier, or have to get a new working dog, I have to give that new relationship 100 percent. I cannot be giving love to other animals or attention for that matter. Glacier and I are already so rocky, reducing the factors that may cause us to not work out as a team is probably the best idea. If I get a new dog, we have to bond and that means giving that new dog all of my attention. That could even be applied to Glacier and I. We have been together for two and a half years, but this retraining is our opportunity to bond again as partners and having the little guys around will just be a distraction for both of us. If Glacier was just a pet, this wouldn't be a concern, but he or the new dog are responsible for my safety. Some guide dogs can have other dogs in the home and that could be the case if I et a new dog, but I think having to share me does not work for Glacier. His confidence is so shaky that I think the time and attention I give the Dachshunds make him even more insecure. Also, I will be starting a brand new program, in a new city at a new school. Did I mention it was in a new country? All of these factors have the potential to create new challenges for the bonding process. It also is not fair to Aria, Balloo and Doc if I am not able to give them the love and attention they deserve. Dachshunds are a fantastic breed if you love little cuddle bugs and I love cuddle bugs, but I would not be equipped to snuggle them as much as they would want or need. I'm not sure if I am explaining this well.
The good news is that we have found homes for everyone already. We wanted to keep them in the family or in our circle of friends so that we know how they are doing and also know how they would be treated. We have two people lined up to take Doc, who was never supposed to be ours in the first place. We are going to meet one of the potential adoptees tomorrow. He is a friend's Uncle who is a widower and has had dogs pretty much all of his life, but after his wife died so did his dogs and he has been without dogs ever since then. When he heard that we were rehoming Doc, he jumped on the chance. If he meets Doc and decides that the little guy is not what he wants, one of the vet Techs at our fabulous vet clinic said that she wanted him. You can't go wrong with a vet tech adopting your dog. :)
Balloo is 99 percent going to one of my best friends who lives in the town where I grew up. Originally, Mr. K and I had agreed that I would take Balloo with me for the two months that I am gone just because Balloo is a Mama's boy and it would be easier for Mr. K to handle his school work load with two little dogs instead of three. That plan turned into Lindsay agreeing to meet him and decide whether or not she wanted him. She has been in the market for a small dog and after talking on the phone last night, I think Balloo will go to live with her. She has already applied for a "New Puppy" kit to welcome him into her family.
Aria also has two options for her new home. We have asked Mr. K's mom if she would like to take Aria because she is a single woman and she loved Aria so much when we were visiting at Christmas. We know she would be well looked after there, but if she decides that she works too much our friend from down here has called dibs. Aria already knows him and loves him because he takes her for car rides. I actually think she would be quite happy going to his house. There are quite a few people living there, so she would get a lot of attention and there is another Dachshund named Precious. Precious is six years old and a bit out of shape, but two weeks of Aria living there and Precious will be losing the weight her family has wanted her to lose. I like that Aria would have another dog there because she has always had another doggie companion.
Our decision to re-home them was quick. We decided on Tuesday night and people have stepped up since then to take them. It eases some of the guilt knowing that there are loving, caring people out there who volunteered to take these dogs and love them forever. We have made the agreement with them, though, that if anything comes up, they are to contact us first if the notion of giving the dog up ever crosses their mind. Moving them into a new family once is probably stressful enough and if the situation wasn't what it is, we wouldn't even dream of finding them new homes. But it is what it is and I have to do what is best for my working relationship with either Glacier or a new guide dog.
The other big change is that Mr. K and I have decided to find new homes for our Dachshunds. This was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. These little guys are our family and I didn't want to just give them up. I sort of felt like I had failed as a Dog Mom. I mean, I want to open a rescue one day and here I am giving my dogs away. However, maybe that is even more motivation to open a rescue. I can't tell you how many times my eyes have sprung a leak the last couple of days, but we are really doing what is best for everyone.
Our reasoning for rehoming our dogs is simple, if I retrain with Glacier, or have to get a new working dog, I have to give that new relationship 100 percent. I cannot be giving love to other animals or attention for that matter. Glacier and I are already so rocky, reducing the factors that may cause us to not work out as a team is probably the best idea. If I get a new dog, we have to bond and that means giving that new dog all of my attention. That could even be applied to Glacier and I. We have been together for two and a half years, but this retraining is our opportunity to bond again as partners and having the little guys around will just be a distraction for both of us. If Glacier was just a pet, this wouldn't be a concern, but he or the new dog are responsible for my safety. Some guide dogs can have other dogs in the home and that could be the case if I et a new dog, but I think having to share me does not work for Glacier. His confidence is so shaky that I think the time and attention I give the Dachshunds make him even more insecure. Also, I will be starting a brand new program, in a new city at a new school. Did I mention it was in a new country? All of these factors have the potential to create new challenges for the bonding process. It also is not fair to Aria, Balloo and Doc if I am not able to give them the love and attention they deserve. Dachshunds are a fantastic breed if you love little cuddle bugs and I love cuddle bugs, but I would not be equipped to snuggle them as much as they would want or need. I'm not sure if I am explaining this well.
The good news is that we have found homes for everyone already. We wanted to keep them in the family or in our circle of friends so that we know how they are doing and also know how they would be treated. We have two people lined up to take Doc, who was never supposed to be ours in the first place. We are going to meet one of the potential adoptees tomorrow. He is a friend's Uncle who is a widower and has had dogs pretty much all of his life, but after his wife died so did his dogs and he has been without dogs ever since then. When he heard that we were rehoming Doc, he jumped on the chance. If he meets Doc and decides that the little guy is not what he wants, one of the vet Techs at our fabulous vet clinic said that she wanted him. You can't go wrong with a vet tech adopting your dog. :)
Balloo is 99 percent going to one of my best friends who lives in the town where I grew up. Originally, Mr. K and I had agreed that I would take Balloo with me for the two months that I am gone just because Balloo is a Mama's boy and it would be easier for Mr. K to handle his school work load with two little dogs instead of three. That plan turned into Lindsay agreeing to meet him and decide whether or not she wanted him. She has been in the market for a small dog and after talking on the phone last night, I think Balloo will go to live with her. She has already applied for a "New Puppy" kit to welcome him into her family.
Aria also has two options for her new home. We have asked Mr. K's mom if she would like to take Aria because she is a single woman and she loved Aria so much when we were visiting at Christmas. We know she would be well looked after there, but if she decides that she works too much our friend from down here has called dibs. Aria already knows him and loves him because he takes her for car rides. I actually think she would be quite happy going to his house. There are quite a few people living there, so she would get a lot of attention and there is another Dachshund named Precious. Precious is six years old and a bit out of shape, but two weeks of Aria living there and Precious will be losing the weight her family has wanted her to lose. I like that Aria would have another dog there because she has always had another doggie companion.
Our decision to re-home them was quick. We decided on Tuesday night and people have stepped up since then to take them. It eases some of the guilt knowing that there are loving, caring people out there who volunteered to take these dogs and love them forever. We have made the agreement with them, though, that if anything comes up, they are to contact us first if the notion of giving the dog up ever crosses their mind. Moving them into a new family once is probably stressful enough and if the situation wasn't what it is, we wouldn't even dream of finding them new homes. But it is what it is and I have to do what is best for my working relationship with either Glacier or a new guide dog.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Cloth Monster On Wheeeeeels
Herro: Aria here.
I have stolen Mom's Laptop so I can clarify for you and Balloo what the "big cloth monster on wheels" is.
I used Google of course, because I wove Google, and I looked for pictures of cloth monsters on wheels. It took some very careful detective work, but I have learned that cloth monsters on wheels are called suitcases. Did I mention I wove Google?
Little brother Balloo thought that Mom fell in the suitcase and that he had to save her, but Mom was just getting more coffee. I'm not sure why he worries so much because I, Aria Marie, am always on high alert and will make sure Mom does not get eaten by suitcases.
There is one thing about this suitcase that concerns me though. There is only one and there are only Mom's stuffs in it. Where is Daddy's stuffs? Where is my stuffs? Balloo's coat is in there. I saw it! But there is no coat for me. Where is Mom going without me?!
Oh! There is a squiwwel. I hear him in my front yard! I must go see if I can figure out how to open this window thingy because I must catch him! He must not escape!
Oh, I almost forgot, Mom said something about getting Canada, or maybe going to Canada...is this Canada thing a treat? I will have to Google it, but first squiwwellies look out! Ready or not, here I come!
I have stolen Mom's Laptop so I can clarify for you and Balloo what the "big cloth monster on wheels" is.
I used Google of course, because I wove Google, and I looked for pictures of cloth monsters on wheels. It took some very careful detective work, but I have learned that cloth monsters on wheels are called suitcases. Did I mention I wove Google?
Little brother Balloo thought that Mom fell in the suitcase and that he had to save her, but Mom was just getting more coffee. I'm not sure why he worries so much because I, Aria Marie, am always on high alert and will make sure Mom does not get eaten by suitcases.
There is one thing about this suitcase that concerns me though. There is only one and there are only Mom's stuffs in it. Where is Daddy's stuffs? Where is my stuffs? Balloo's coat is in there. I saw it! But there is no coat for me. Where is Mom going without me?!
Oh! There is a squiwwel. I hear him in my front yard! I must go see if I can figure out how to open this window thingy because I must catch him! He must not escape!
Oh, I almost forgot, Mom said something about getting Canada, or maybe going to Canada...is this Canada thing a treat? I will have to Google it, but first squiwwellies look out! Ready or not, here I come!
Mama! What Are You Doing?!!!!
Hiya!
This is Balloo the baby typing to you. I neeeeed to type to you today because something veeeeery strange is happening at my new house. Mama has started running about washing, and folding, and repositioning things and sticking them in that big monster on wheeeeels that eeeeats her clothes. At first, I was thinking that we were moving into a new house again, but there aren't any paper crates being filled. Then, I remembered in my little puppeeee brain about the last time that cloth monster on wheeeeels came out of the closet. Mama packed big sister Aria and I up in our crate, made us ride in the car for a veeeeeery long time and then took a veeeeeeeery long ride on a big shiny beast that was noisy.
Am I going on the shiny beast again? I am thinking that that is just not natural. Birds aren't shiny and they fly, but they aren't as noisy as the shiny beast. I don't think I can ride them either. Actually, I kind of want to chase them. I can't help it. My little puppeeee brain stops working and my feeeeet take over and I start running. And running and running, soooooooo fast!Oh, but I was typing to you about the shiny beast. I think I have to ride it again. Hmmmmm. I am thinking I don't know if I like this, but if I don't ride the shiny beast, will Mama leave me heres? Oh, we can't have that! Next time Mama starts putting her under pears, erm, under bears...hmmm, under thingies in the cloth monster on wheeeeeels, I will get in it so she does not forget little meeeeee.
Mama? Where did she go? Mama! Oh no! I am thinking the cloth monster on wheeeels got her. I must go save her!
Mama!!!!! I'm coming!!!! Don't let the under pears suffocate you....
This is Balloo the baby typing to you. I neeeeed to type to you today because something veeeeery strange is happening at my new house. Mama has started running about washing, and folding, and repositioning things and sticking them in that big monster on wheeeeels that eeeeats her clothes. At first, I was thinking that we were moving into a new house again, but there aren't any paper crates being filled. Then, I remembered in my little puppeeee brain about the last time that cloth monster on wheeeeels came out of the closet. Mama packed big sister Aria and I up in our crate, made us ride in the car for a veeeeeery long time and then took a veeeeeeeery long ride on a big shiny beast that was noisy.
Am I going on the shiny beast again? I am thinking that that is just not natural. Birds aren't shiny and they fly, but they aren't as noisy as the shiny beast. I don't think I can ride them either. Actually, I kind of want to chase them. I can't help it. My little puppeeee brain stops working and my feeeeet take over and I start running. And running and running, soooooooo fast!Oh, but I was typing to you about the shiny beast. I think I have to ride it again. Hmmmmm. I am thinking I don't know if I like this, but if I don't ride the shiny beast, will Mama leave me heres? Oh, we can't have that! Next time Mama starts putting her under pears, erm, under bears...hmmm, under thingies in the cloth monster on wheeeeeels, I will get in it so she does not forget little meeeeee.
Mama? Where did she go? Mama! Oh no! I am thinking the cloth monster on wheeeels got her. I must go save her!
Mama!!!!! I'm coming!!!! Don't let the under pears suffocate you....
Friday, March 25, 2011
Fun Fact Friday
TGIF everybody! I thought today we could learn a little more about Balloo since he was the second Miniature Dachshund we brought into our home.
Fifteen Fun Facts About Balloo
1. Technically speaking, Balloo is called a Black and Tan Piebald, but in reality there is not a spot of tan on him. He has the coolest black and white markings, but according to Dachshund standards, he is not ideal for showing or breeding because they typically don't like the unique markings.
2. Balloo was born August 22, 2010 and we brought him home in November of 2010 when he was about twelve weeks old.
3. Balloo's favourite pass time is sleeping. He will have little ten minute bursts where he races around like a crazy man, but then he jumps up in my lap and passes right out.
4. Speaking of sleeping...you can do pretty much anything to Balloo when he is asleep. He sleeps like the dead. I take this opportunity to trim his claws because he doesn't fight me at all.
5. Balloo is a burrower. He usually sleep sunder the covers at night. He may get hot and come out for a while, but you can be sure that in no time at all you will feel a little nose rooting under the edge of the blankets looking for an entrance.
6. One of Balloo's nicknames is "The Kissy Monster." He loves to give kisses and if you get him really excited he will kiss you so much and so fast that you can hardly catch your breath. The harder you laugh, the faster he kisses.
7. Balloo is uncommonly quiet for a Dachshund. Usually Dachshunds have big barks for such little bodies and aren't afraid to use them, but not Balloo. Two days ago he actually barked and Mr. K and I were shocked. We're not complaining about his lack of barking though. Aria and Doc make up for it.
8. Just like his big sister Aria, Balloo prefers the big dogs' toys to the little ones. He drags the two to three pound elk antler we have around like it is a fluffy, light pillow. When he gets it to where he wants it, he settles in for a good chewing session. I just can't believe he can fit his mouth around it enough to chew.
9. Balloo is a Mama's boy. He follows me everywhere and gets very upset if I leave him. The funny thing is that we got him as Mr. K's dog because Aria was supposed to be my little girl and now I can't even go pee without Balloo busting in on me.
10. Balloo is a grunter. He will snuff and grunt when he is trying to find a "comfy" position and once he's situated he lets out the biggest snuff/sigh I have ever heard come out of a nine pound dog.
11. Balloo is a short haired-or smooth coat-Dachshund. This means he gets cold much easier than Aria and Doc. That may be why he is always under the covers. Mr. K and I bought him a little plaid coat for our upcoming trip.
12. Balloo is a shy boy until he gets to know you. If someone comes to visit, he gets all excited, but comes to see me and bestows his "welcome" kisses on me instead of the new arrival. Once he gets to know you, he will be your best friend. He's not aggressive, or stand offish, he just needs to come to you on his own terms.
13. Remember last week how I told you that Aria has two speeds; fast and faster? Balloo has two as well. Faster or sleeping. He runs everywhere and is quite quick. I think Aria may be a bit faster, but they both can keep up with Roscoe or Glacier if they are jogging.
14. Neither of our Retrievers will retrieve in our house, but Balloo loves fetch. We used to play it all of the time before Doc came to live with us. Now that there are three dogs though, if I throw something they would rather chase each other instead of bringing the toy back. That said, get Balloo alone and he will fetch.
15. Balloo also comes with a plethora of nicknames, some of which are:
-Balloo Bear (of course),
-Squirt (because he does the submissive squirt thing when Mr. K makes him nervous),
-Chompers (he has a nice set of teeth on him and he "chomps" when he eats anything),
-Nom Nom (because he goes "nom nom" when he is eating or trying to lick your face),
-Balloo Clancy (he inherited his Dad's middle name)...the list could go on and on.
So there you have it: a small introduction to the wonder that is Mr. Balloo.
Happy Friday
Fifteen Fun Facts About Balloo
1. Technically speaking, Balloo is called a Black and Tan Piebald, but in reality there is not a spot of tan on him. He has the coolest black and white markings, but according to Dachshund standards, he is not ideal for showing or breeding because they typically don't like the unique markings.
2. Balloo was born August 22, 2010 and we brought him home in November of 2010 when he was about twelve weeks old.
3. Balloo's favourite pass time is sleeping. He will have little ten minute bursts where he races around like a crazy man, but then he jumps up in my lap and passes right out.
4. Speaking of sleeping...you can do pretty much anything to Balloo when he is asleep. He sleeps like the dead. I take this opportunity to trim his claws because he doesn't fight me at all.
5. Balloo is a burrower. He usually sleep sunder the covers at night. He may get hot and come out for a while, but you can be sure that in no time at all you will feel a little nose rooting under the edge of the blankets looking for an entrance.
6. One of Balloo's nicknames is "The Kissy Monster." He loves to give kisses and if you get him really excited he will kiss you so much and so fast that you can hardly catch your breath. The harder you laugh, the faster he kisses.
7. Balloo is uncommonly quiet for a Dachshund. Usually Dachshunds have big barks for such little bodies and aren't afraid to use them, but not Balloo. Two days ago he actually barked and Mr. K and I were shocked. We're not complaining about his lack of barking though. Aria and Doc make up for it.
8. Just like his big sister Aria, Balloo prefers the big dogs' toys to the little ones. He drags the two to three pound elk antler we have around like it is a fluffy, light pillow. When he gets it to where he wants it, he settles in for a good chewing session. I just can't believe he can fit his mouth around it enough to chew.
9. Balloo is a Mama's boy. He follows me everywhere and gets very upset if I leave him. The funny thing is that we got him as Mr. K's dog because Aria was supposed to be my little girl and now I can't even go pee without Balloo busting in on me.
10. Balloo is a grunter. He will snuff and grunt when he is trying to find a "comfy" position and once he's situated he lets out the biggest snuff/sigh I have ever heard come out of a nine pound dog.
11. Balloo is a short haired-or smooth coat-Dachshund. This means he gets cold much easier than Aria and Doc. That may be why he is always under the covers. Mr. K and I bought him a little plaid coat for our upcoming trip.
12. Balloo is a shy boy until he gets to know you. If someone comes to visit, he gets all excited, but comes to see me and bestows his "welcome" kisses on me instead of the new arrival. Once he gets to know you, he will be your best friend. He's not aggressive, or stand offish, he just needs to come to you on his own terms.
13. Remember last week how I told you that Aria has two speeds; fast and faster? Balloo has two as well. Faster or sleeping. He runs everywhere and is quite quick. I think Aria may be a bit faster, but they both can keep up with Roscoe or Glacier if they are jogging.
14. Neither of our Retrievers will retrieve in our house, but Balloo loves fetch. We used to play it all of the time before Doc came to live with us. Now that there are three dogs though, if I throw something they would rather chase each other instead of bringing the toy back. That said, get Balloo alone and he will fetch.
15. Balloo also comes with a plethora of nicknames, some of which are:
-Balloo Bear (of course),
-Squirt (because he does the submissive squirt thing when Mr. K makes him nervous),
-Chompers (he has a nice set of teeth on him and he "chomps" when he eats anything),
-Nom Nom (because he goes "nom nom" when he is eating or trying to lick your face),
-Balloo Clancy (he inherited his Dad's middle name)...the list could go on and on.
So there you have it: a small introduction to the wonder that is Mr. Balloo.
Happy Friday
Friday, March 18, 2011
Fun Fact Friday
Inspired by a comment I received on Glacier's Fifteen Fun Facts, I thought that for the next few Fridays, I will do fun facts on all of my dogs; just to give you guys an easier and interesting read. I thought I would start with the Dachshund that started it all.
Fifteen Fun Facts About Aria
1. Aria weighed 1.8 pounds when we brought her home at the age of eight weeks.
2. Aria's birthday is June 10, 2010.
3. Mr. K found Aria on a website through Pet Finder. The woman selling her said that she was selling all of her puppies and breeding stock because she and her husband were now expecting a baby. We met them in a parking lot and took Aria right away and realised later that she was riddled with worms, but a quick visit to the vet the next day solved that problem and she quickly began gaining weight.
4. Aria now weighs a healthy seven pounds and thinks she is the boss in the house.
5. Aria has green eyes.
6. Aria barks at cats/squirrels and I think she thinks she should hunt them. (Made for a very interesting trip to my parents' at Christmas as they have two cats).
7. Aria's favourite pass time, when she is not running as fast as she can, is climbing. She will scale couches, climb piled boxes and managed to figure out that if she used the lattice work of the little pen we bought them to stick her little paws in, she could climb out of that too.
8. When Aria is not running or climbing, she is shredding paper. She even tried to shred an empty box that we had left over from our move.
9. Like a typical Dachshund, Aria is a burrower. Once everyone is settled in bed, she finds a place in the blankets where she can shove her nose under and wriggles her way deep into the blankets.
10. Doggie toothpaste is one of Aria's weaknesses. If I am brushing anyone other than Aria's teeth, I have to put her in her crate or outside because she will try to get into their mouths so she can have toothpaste.
11. Big dog toys are the only ones Aria wants. She carries around beef femur bones like they are toothpicks and lays claim to most of the big dogs' toys if they happen to show interest. That said, she is not toy aggressive and knows "drop it" and "leave it." She will also share when she wants someone to play with her.
12. Toys are not the only things that Aria has plenty of. She has at least five nicknames I can think of off the top of my head. They are:
"Fluffers," because she is a long haired Dachshund
"Fluffer Nutters," because she is a crazy long haired Dachshund
"Puppy Love," the first nickname I ever gave her
"Aria Marie" used when she is in trouble
"DJ Pee Pee Pants," given to her by Mr. K when she was still a tiny thing and learning how to potty outside and not in her crate.
13. She is a very tough little thing. When she was maybe two and a half months old, she was playing with Kyo, her most favourite of her brothers. She bit him with razor puppy teeth and he jumped back from her, but when he came back down from his leap of shock, he accidentally landed on her; all 80 pounds of him. I was not home, but Mr. K thought she was dead, but within a few hours she came around and is still completely fearless.
14. Aria has the smallest tongue width wise, but it is very long and if you are not paying attention, she will dart it up your nose. Yuck! :)
15. Aria is not only our only baby girl, but she is our little Snow Queen. Not because she is cold and frigid, but because if there is snow outside, she is not coming back inside until every inch of her little body is covered in ice. She'll even wait for you to put her coat on if it means she can stay out and play in the snow longer.
Now you know a little bit more about Aria. Isn't she fantastic? I may be a bit biased, but it's impossible not to love her; even when she is pulling Doc's diaper off in an attempt to shred it. (More on the diapers later). :)
Have a great Friday.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Impending Doom
Hiya!
This is Balloo the baby typing to you. Mama says I can use the 'puter thingy this morning 'cause I asked her. I don't sneeeeeak like big sister Aria does. Oh, but I alreadeeee told you about that.
Anyway, I wanted to borrow the 'puter thingy 'cause I am thinking that there is impending doom. Like my words? Big sister Aria used Google for meeee and found them for meeee. Okay, back to my impending doom.
I am thinking that Mama's been thinking 'cause I heard her say something to Grandma over the ringing, ear monster that I am going somewheres on Friday. I didn't hear it all 'cause I was too busy sleeeeeping 'cause that is what I do after zoomieeeeees with big sister Aria and big brother Doc. But, I am thinking that it has something to do with the doctor. I don't know why. We alreadeeeee have our own Doc. Why do I neeeeed to go visit a different one? Besides, I like our Doc better 'cause he doesn't use pokey tooks, erm, tubes...um, tools. Yes. That's it, pokey tools. I am thinking that I don't like the pokey tubes, I mean, tools.
I heard Mama tell Grandma that the sugary, no the supery...surgery? Well, the thingy will help. Help what? I am thinking she might be talking about my little habit of thinking I am in charge of big sister Aria, Doc and Roscoe. There's big brother Glacier too, but he mostly ignores meeeee. I'm not sure how though 'cause I am the baby and very cute. Anyway, I can't help it. If big brother Roscoe goes pee outside, 'cause that is where you are supposed to go, I have to pee on top of it. I can't stop myself. The other day, my leg lifted on Daddy's weight bench. I was sooooooo embarrassed. I swear! My leg did it on its own and suddenly I was peeing. I went and hid under Mama's legs because I was so aflamed...erm, ashamed.
So, you seeeeee? There is impending doom! I Balloo the baby, I am thinking, am going to the doctor's on Friday and will have to have sugar. Hmmmm, isn't sugar yummy stuff that Mama says I can't have? I'm confused...
This is Balloo the baby typing to you. Mama says I can use the 'puter thingy this morning 'cause I asked her. I don't sneeeeeak like big sister Aria does. Oh, but I alreadeeee told you about that.
Anyway, I wanted to borrow the 'puter thingy 'cause I am thinking that there is impending doom. Like my words? Big sister Aria used Google for meeee and found them for meeee. Okay, back to my impending doom.
I am thinking that Mama's been thinking 'cause I heard her say something to Grandma over the ringing, ear monster that I am going somewheres on Friday. I didn't hear it all 'cause I was too busy sleeeeeping 'cause that is what I do after zoomieeeeees with big sister Aria and big brother Doc. But, I am thinking that it has something to do with the doctor. I don't know why. We alreadeeeee have our own Doc. Why do I neeeeed to go visit a different one? Besides, I like our Doc better 'cause he doesn't use pokey tooks, erm, tubes...um, tools. Yes. That's it, pokey tools. I am thinking that I don't like the pokey tubes, I mean, tools.
I heard Mama tell Grandma that the sugary, no the supery...surgery? Well, the thingy will help. Help what? I am thinking she might be talking about my little habit of thinking I am in charge of big sister Aria, Doc and Roscoe. There's big brother Glacier too, but he mostly ignores meeeee. I'm not sure how though 'cause I am the baby and very cute. Anyway, I can't help it. If big brother Roscoe goes pee outside, 'cause that is where you are supposed to go, I have to pee on top of it. I can't stop myself. The other day, my leg lifted on Daddy's weight bench. I was sooooooo embarrassed. I swear! My leg did it on its own and suddenly I was peeing. I went and hid under Mama's legs because I was so aflamed...erm, ashamed.
So, you seeeeee? There is impending doom! I Balloo the baby, I am thinking, am going to the doctor's on Friday and will have to have sugar. Hmmmm, isn't sugar yummy stuff that Mama says I can't have? I'm confused...
Sunday, March 06, 2011
The House of Poop
So it would seem that Mr. K and I have moved from The House From Hell to the House of Poop.
When we first moved in, just over a week ago, our three miniature Dachshunds-Aria, Balloo and Doc-decided that their potty training no longer applied and that they could use the carpeting throughout the entire house as their very own gigantic pee pad. In the week or so that we have been here, the inside bathroom mishaps have decreased and we think Doc is the one doing most of the indoor pooping. We have only had him for three weeks and he was a kennel dog until we brought him home. He is already eight months old and did not have any kind of house training. That alone helps us to understand his choice of toilet a bit more.
On top of the inside pooping, we do get them to poop outside in our back patio area. It's not a huge area, but it's big enough for them to run about even with the patio table being back there. The other day I was hopping around like a fool, tossing a Kong ball we had just purchased for all of our fuzzy family members, and I hopped myself right into poop. Every day I go on poop patrol, but as a blind person sometimes you miss, either that or someone went without my noticing and I didn't get it picked up before I plunked my shoe down in it. At least I was waring shoes.
On top of the dog poop we have had a human poop problem. Well, actually we're not sure if it was human or dog, but our main floor toilet over flowed. At the time I noticed it, I had just run in to wash my hands and there was water on the floor. I didn't think anything of it and carried on. I knew Mr. K was better at fixing toilets than I was, so I opted to wait for him to get home.That was probably a bad idea. By the time he got to it, the door had been closed all night and apparently what I thought was just water was waste product as well. The bathroom smelled horrible when he opened the door! We had been flushing paper towel down the toilet after we had cleaned up puppy poop-I know, toilets don't like paper towel-so it is entirely possible that this is what it was. Regardless of where the horrible stench originated from, it was not pleasant. Thankfully with some fantastic plungering by Mr. K and a few Swiffer Wet Jet pads and a lot of cleaner, the bathroom has been restored to its original state.
As you can see, our housing situations have been interesting, but if I was given the choice between the House From Hell and the House of Poop, I pick Poop.
When we first moved in, just over a week ago, our three miniature Dachshunds-Aria, Balloo and Doc-decided that their potty training no longer applied and that they could use the carpeting throughout the entire house as their very own gigantic pee pad. In the week or so that we have been here, the inside bathroom mishaps have decreased and we think Doc is the one doing most of the indoor pooping. We have only had him for three weeks and he was a kennel dog until we brought him home. He is already eight months old and did not have any kind of house training. That alone helps us to understand his choice of toilet a bit more.
On top of the inside pooping, we do get them to poop outside in our back patio area. It's not a huge area, but it's big enough for them to run about even with the patio table being back there. The other day I was hopping around like a fool, tossing a Kong ball we had just purchased for all of our fuzzy family members, and I hopped myself right into poop. Every day I go on poop patrol, but as a blind person sometimes you miss, either that or someone went without my noticing and I didn't get it picked up before I plunked my shoe down in it. At least I was waring shoes.
On top of the dog poop we have had a human poop problem. Well, actually we're not sure if it was human or dog, but our main floor toilet over flowed. At the time I noticed it, I had just run in to wash my hands and there was water on the floor. I didn't think anything of it and carried on. I knew Mr. K was better at fixing toilets than I was, so I opted to wait for him to get home.That was probably a bad idea. By the time he got to it, the door had been closed all night and apparently what I thought was just water was waste product as well. The bathroom smelled horrible when he opened the door! We had been flushing paper towel down the toilet after we had cleaned up puppy poop-I know, toilets don't like paper towel-so it is entirely possible that this is what it was. Regardless of where the horrible stench originated from, it was not pleasant. Thankfully with some fantastic plungering by Mr. K and a few Swiffer Wet Jet pads and a lot of cleaner, the bathroom has been restored to its original state.
As you can see, our housing situations have been interesting, but if I was given the choice between the House From Hell and the House of Poop, I pick Poop.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Moving Day 1.0
Hiya!
It is Balloo again. Mama says I can type on the 'puter thingy this morning, but I have to be speedeeeee because we are moving today. And we're moving tomorrow too. It takes two days to do this moving thing? Maybe I should help more so it only takes one day.
I was helping Mama last night. I got in the paper smelling crate thingy and super vised. Super vising is a very impawtant job right? I climbed on to a higher paper smelling crate thingy this morning to make sure she was making the coffee right. Mama is stressed and she needs to be super vised. I am super, so I am thinking that I should be the one to super vise.
I know Mama is stressed because she dumped the coffee stuffs on the floor last night and she used words with a lot of F's in them. Mama never uses that word...not that many times. I am thinking that she needs a vacation. Aria showed me a "spa" on the inter knot...wait no, the inter met...hmmmm, inter neck. Um, the inter thingy and I think Mama should go there, but not for too long because I will miss her too much.
Okay, I am thinking it is time for me to go for now. Mama wants to pack up the 'puter thingy. So I am thinking no more typing for me for a while.
Thank you to everyone who liked my typing yesterday.
Love
Balloo the baby
It is Balloo again. Mama says I can type on the 'puter thingy this morning, but I have to be speedeeeee because we are moving today. And we're moving tomorrow too. It takes two days to do this moving thing? Maybe I should help more so it only takes one day.
I was helping Mama last night. I got in the paper smelling crate thingy and super vised. Super vising is a very impawtant job right? I climbed on to a higher paper smelling crate thingy this morning to make sure she was making the coffee right. Mama is stressed and she needs to be super vised. I am super, so I am thinking that I should be the one to super vise.
I know Mama is stressed because she dumped the coffee stuffs on the floor last night and she used words with a lot of F's in them. Mama never uses that word...not that many times. I am thinking that she needs a vacation. Aria showed me a "spa" on the inter knot...wait no, the inter met...hmmmm, inter neck. Um, the inter thingy and I think Mama should go there, but not for too long because I will miss her too much.
Okay, I am thinking it is time for me to go for now. Mama wants to pack up the 'puter thingy. So I am thinking no more typing for me for a while.
Thank you to everyone who liked my typing yesterday.
Love
Balloo the baby
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