Reflections of a Dog Mom

Dogsitting

2012-02-06T13:48:00.000-05:00

Mommee and Daddee went down to Disneyland, so that Mommee could run in a half-marathon. While they went down to Disney, we stayed with our friends Rhett and Jessie, and their kids Locke and Shepherd. Jessie and the kids really want a dog, so mommee thought they might like watching us for the night.

Well, imagine our surprise when Rhett and his friend Link ended up talking about us on their daily internet show! Mommee did not know about Rhett's history with dogs, but they ended up doing okay with us. We had a great time with them, and we look forward to seeing them again!

Here's a picture of Locke with Gus and Waldo:

Gus and Waldo: My Movie Stars!

2012-01-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

Gus and Waldo are movie stars!

Yes, you read that right...movie stars. At Girls on the Run, I met a girl named Kelly, who is studying film at a local college. One of her student projects is to produce a film--and when her group decided to do a dog-based story, she cast Gus and Waldo in the film!

Here are some pics from the filming they did today at our house. I was shocked at how well Waldo did! He was very nervous about all of the equipment and people. But his part was to follow the treats--and he didn't need any coaching or encouragement about that! He "sat" and "stayed" until they called Action, then I said, "go get it" like I usually do, and he followed the treats just like a seasoned veteran! I was so proud of him. Not only did he do it that one time, he did it several more times as the camera crew got different angles of the shot. He had a couple of moments when he didn't "stay" through the whole shot, but it was mostly because the wind was crazy, and it would knock the light and make a loud noise, which would freak him out a little. But he always listened to me, and did a great job! A couple of the crew asked if he had done stuff on camera before--they were impressed at how well he did for the first time.

Gus had a small part--the actor brought him to the front door, and the owner of the house paid him for the dog. Turns out, the owner of the house that they cast was me! I was not expecting to be on camera, so hopefully not much of my face is in the shot--I had crazy hair because of all the wind! But because I was in Gus' scenes, there aren't any pictures of his scenes. He did such a good job, though! He stayed right where he was supposed to. The crew was actually surprised about this, because Gus had been kind of hyper around the set up to that point. But when the camera started rolling, he acted just like a pro!

It was fun for me to be on the set, seeing what goes on, and the cameras and crew members as they did their work.

Gus liked getting lots of love from all the crew:

Getting the shot set up:

Here's Waldo, waiting for "Action":

"Go get it!"

This is Kelly, and Waldo was enjoying the rub-down:

Here he is again, shooting another angle:

This is what he was acting in front of. For a dog that tends to be skittish, he did a really great job! Again, I was so proud of him!

Gus getting some lovin' from the director, Erika.

Thanks for the opportunity, Kelly!

Air Bud

2012-01-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

Mommee's new friend caught this picture of Waldo jumping to catch a ball. He is like Superman!!

Mango Minster Retrospective

2012-01-13T13:17:00.000-05:00

Way back in 2009 (!), Waldo was the first winner in the better-than-Westminster doggie show, Mango Minster!! The festivities are underway again this year, but Mango's momma took a look back at Waldo on her bloggie. You can check it out here!

Shadow Ranch Park

2012-01-05T18:42:00.000-05:00

Took the boys to Shadow Ranch Park today for some pics. They had fun running around, and meeting some new friends.

Great Commercial!

2011-12-25T22:31:00.001-05:00

Waldo and Gus love this commercial. Can you guess why?

Grrrreat Gift Idea!

2011-12-04T23:34:00.001-05:00

My cousin Shelly has started to make handmade felt ornaments that are personalized just for your dog! I commissioned her to do Gus and Waldo's likenesses (as it is nearly impossible to find ornaments that resemble Gus and Waldo), and she did an AMAZING job!!

All you do is send her a "headshot" of your dog, and she makes an ornament to fit!

Here's what she came up with for my boys:

If you are interested in having Shelly do some ornaments for you (or a dog-lover if your family), just email me (allison at allisonlaura dot com) and I will get her info for you! These make great gifts!

To the Beach!

2011-10-26T03:02:00.000-04:00

Mommee loves to take us to the beach. We go to a place called Summerland. It is like, an hour from our house, but it is the only beach that is close to us that is off-leash.

On this day, Papa (mommee's daddee) came with us! He was visiting from Ohio, and mommee thought that he would like to see us playing in the sea.

Hope you like the pictures of our day!

Wuv,
Gus and Waldo

Watch out, Waldo! The wave is coming!!

Mommee loves Summerland because they have a handy-dandy washing station.

After swimming, mommee and Papa ate lunch, while we sniffered around.

This picture is right before Waldo got major sickies. When we plays fetch for a long time in the ocean, we swallow a lot of sea water, which hurts our tummies. Waldo gets sickie easily. Thankfully this time, it was outside, and not in the car (like last time!)

Summerland's view is so pretty.

Silly Waldo

2011-10-23T21:40:00.002-04:00

Daddee took this picture of Waldo during Sunday afternoon football. We love it when he catches Waldo's lip like this!

Gus iz Weerd.

2011-10-20T17:15:00.002-04:00

Big Nooz!!

2011-04-18T06:30:00.000-04:00

It haz bin weerd in arr howse latelee. Daddee haz bin wurking arownd da howse a lot, and den win he iz not wurking, he iz not at home. Mommee haz bin putting a lot uv stuff in boxes (dat we HATE), and piling dem up in a room. Da room yoozd to have a table and chayrs in it, but dey selld dem to somebuddy.

Wee keep heering deez straynge words, like "mooving" and "chayngez" and "Kaluhfornya". We iz not shur wat dis meens, but we fink it is sooper big nooz.

Snow Day!

2011-01-23T16:41:00.000-05:00

Mommee iz a teechur. Wen dere iz a lot of snowies, she getz to hav the day off, and dat iz arr fayvrit ting!! We went owtside in da snowz and played!! We WUV da snow!!

We gitz to da parrk and Waldo getz da zoomeez!!

And Gus jest wuntz to eet da snowz.

Arr fayvrit game iz to play tugz ov war wif da frizbee...

Wee iz redee fur arr closeup!

Mommee finks arr frozin parrtz iz furry funnee!

We hope yoo liked arr snowee piktures!

Happy Howlidays!

2011-01-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, we haz bin gone fur a furry long time in bloggyland. We haz missed reeding all yur bloggies and seeing yur adventurez. We would blame mommee, but we reelee need hur uppozable tumbs to bee able to type fur us. Plus, she has bin bizzy wif hur noo bizness. She selubrated a yeer of taking piktures ov hoomans and doggehs and reely big animulz dat luks a lot like Waldo (we fink mommee sayd dey iz called horsez?). Plus, she iz still teeching ittle bitty hoomans abowt how to reed and rite. So she duz not haf lotz uv time fur riting fur us.

No worriez, dough. Shee still givez us lotz and lotz of snuggle timez and treets and walkies. In fact, we haz been doing extra fast walkiez deez dayz cuz mommee is dooing a long rayce called a marathon. She getz mad at Waldo cuz dey run 5 milez togefur, and Waldo iz not even breefing hard at da end.

Heer arr sum piktures uv arr Cwissmas. Mommee wuz soo happee dat Waldo stayed in da room wif us dis yeer. He yoosally getz furry skared uv all da boxes and da crunchee papur. But dis yeer he did not leev da room lik last yeer. Maybee bekuz ov all ov da treetz.

Heer we iz, reelaxing at Grandmaw's howse.

Grandmaw's hubby iz alwayz giving us snuggle timez.

Heer iz mommee'z familee all togefur! See how BIG Stella iz! She ways more den Waldo now.

Great-Grandmaw luvs to give us treets and snugglez.

MMM...Smellz yummee, mommee! Wat iz it?

Deez treetz have gud names fur us. Cuz we iz good buddyz, too.

Hey Stella! Yoo iz not a boy! Yoo kannot hav arr treetz! And stop slobbering on mommeez legz!

Mewwy Cwisstmas frum Gus and Waldo!

2010-12-16T11:16:00.000-05:00

Dog Day at The Beach!

2010-09-13T06:43:00.002-04:00

Gus, Waldo, Nick and I met halfway with Ashley and Stella to enjoy a fun morning at The Beach Waterpark. Stella is not a big fan of the water, but you wouldn't know that! (this is video #2--make sure to watch the one I posted yesterday, too!)

Doggie Dive

2010-09-12T22:46:00.002-04:00

Welcome Home, Mommee!

2010-09-11T10:27:00.002-04:00

This is what I come home to everyday!

DoG and GoD

2010-09-09T19:34:00.000-04:00

This may have already made its way around the internet and back again, but this is my first time seeing it. It's a little cheesy in it's delivery, but by the end I was giggling with glee over it.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T09:45:00.000-04:00

Waldo's Day Out

2010-07-13T22:29:00.000-04:00

Waldo and mommee went to the Walk for Strays, a walk benefitting a local no-kill shelter in our area. We have done this walk for the past 2 years, and always enjoy it. This year, Waldo and Mommee walked alone. Gus has been having some leg issues: if he walks too far, he gets a limp. So mommee has been limiting his activities for now.

So Waldo and mommee had a Waldo's Day Out! Lots of people at the park recognized Waldo. Of course there were the normal comments of "Wow! What a big dog!" That is, until we entered Waldo in the "Tallest Dog Contest". Waldo didn't even place!!

The winner of the Tallest Dog contest was.....get this.....10 inches taller at the withers than Waldo. 10 INCHES!!

Waldo did win 3rd prize in the Longest Tail contest. Go, Waldo!

Mommee didn't take her camera with her to the walk--something about it maybe raining. So you will have to imagine the super huge doggies that were there!

Hey there, Delilah...

2010-07-04T06:36:00.002-04:00

Many of you know that mommee started her own photography business about 10 months ago. It's been going really great! (you can see her website here)

One of the specials that she did was in June...a Pet Special! She got to take pictures of all kinds of doggies, and even a horsie!

One of the sessions she did was with a sweet girl named Delilah, a 15-year old lab. Mommee particularly loved this picture she got of Delilah and her mommee Claire:

Claire wrote to mommee this morning and said that sweet Delilah crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. Mommee doesn't know how she'll be able to get through editing the rest of the session now! So happy to know that Claire will have a sweet tribute to remember her by. When you live over half your life with one doggie, they leave imprints on your soul. We're keeping our paws on our hearts for Delilah's mommee today.

Love your doggies!!

Happee Favur's Day!

2010-06-21T11:01:00.002-04:00

We WUV arr daddee!!

GRRRREAT Day!

2010-06-18T23:12:00.000-04:00

Tooday wuz a grrreat day! We starrted owt wif sum swimmin...

We gotched da mommee and da daddee all WET!

Den we went on a walkee wif mommee and daddee arownd a parrk and fownd sum jeeo-kashiz:

And den, mommee and daddee let us hav sum AISS KREAM!!

BEST. DAY. EVUR!!

Mommee'z Fayvrit Parts (Part 2)

2010-06-14T23:26:00.001-04:00

Sum uv woo may remembur arr post abowt da parrts abowt us dat mommee wuvs da most? Well, she tuk sum more piktures reesentlee, and wanted to shayr sum MORE uv hur fayvrite parts!

Gus' eyebrows:

Waldo's wrinkled forehead:

Gus' funny whiskers:

And both of their feet (espeshully Waldo's diffrint colurd toenaylz):

An Open Letter to the EVC

2010-06-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

Dear friends at EVC,

I just wanted to write you all to say thank you. In November of 2008 my husband and I brought our Great Dane Waldo into the EVC on Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. When we came in, we really thought that you were going to tell us that there wasn't anything we could do. We had been battling mange with him since August, and the mite had completely taken over his body. When we came to see you, Waldo had almost no fur on his hind end or his snout at all. To make matters worse, he had a large area of infected skin that was oozing blood and pus. To say that I was distraught would have been an understatement. We had taken him to our family vet just a couple of days earlier, and they brushed off his condition with medication, and no understanding.

When we came in, we were brought in right away, over many other pets that needed care, as well. Dr. Czonka was patient and kind, and assured us that it was not the end for Waldo. She gave us practical steps to take, and encouraged us that we WERE doing the right things.

I'm sure you get lots of stories where you help people by bringing their pets back to life in a dramatic way. Ours is not that kind of a story. In fact, I think Dr. C just told us to keep giving him baths, and gave us an ecollar. But her kind demeanor, her understanding, her compassion for Waldo and for us were just what we needed at that time. I am eternally grateful to the EVC for saving Waldo. When he was given his final "all clear of mange" test from the vet that April, I knew I had you all to thank for it. Thanks for all you do for pets in the area every day. This is one Dog Mom who noticed.

Allison
Dog Mom to Waldo and Gus

Gus and the Helicopter (part 2)

2010-05-25T23:18:00.001-04:00

Gus and the Helicopter (part 1)

2010-05-25T07:14:00.001-04:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Gus!

2010-05-10T07:30:00.000-04:00

My little man is 4 today!! Hard to believe that he's growing up so fast. :)

Best Study Buddies Ever!

2010-04-24T22:39:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday--2-Year Old Edition!

2010-04-07T07:27:00.000-04:00

Daddy is Funnee

2010-04-05T20:49:00.000-04:00

We WUV arr daddee! He iz alwayz beeing funnee wif us. Heer iz sum ov da tings daddee duz wif us.

On anufur note, Wednesday iz a big day in arr howse! Can aneewun gess wat it iz??

Sleepy Boyz....

2010-03-29T00:34:00.002-04:00

Gorgeous Day at the Park!

2010-03-25T22:41:00.000-04:00

Seriously--does it get better than this??

Cute Boys

2010-03-21T23:30:00.002-04:00

Our New Book!

2010-03-13T20:44:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of Blog2Print?

We hadn't. Though, we wish we had heard of it earlier!

We saw an ad for it through Facebook one day, so we decided to check it out.

Basically, it is linked through Blogger, Wordpress, or TypePad accounts, and it takes all of your posts (or the ones that you choose), and turns them into a book!! We've been wanting to do this for a while with our dog blog here, so mommee tested it out to see. Wowwee, was she excited to have it arrive in the mail!

It is like a yearbook of Gus and Waldo! The cover is just like a school yearbook--it is very sturdy and has a nice sheen on it so if mommee spills something on it (which she does sometimes), it won't get messed up.

You can choose the cover (hard or soft), the design of the cover, and the pictures you want on the front and back covers. You can also choose to add your comments (though, with Blogger blogs, they only have the most recent 20 posts available with this option, so we would suggest not doing that).

They also just started a new feature called Snapshot, where it keeps your text and photos associated together as they appear on your blog!

Right now, Blog2Print is offering 15% off of their books! Just enter the code newb2p at checkout!

Strange Searching

2010-03-10T07:34:00.000-05:00

I love Google Analytics. If you're not sure what it is, you should check out this post, where I detail what you can do with it.

Anyway, I was checking in with my report about this site. I love seeing how many people are coming to see the adventures of Gus and Waldo. I know it hasn't been as many lately because I've been too busy to go and see others. To receive you must give, you know. But one of my favorite parts of the report is where you can see what people are typing into Google when they find your site. There are many funny (and disturbing?) things that people are searching for. Here are my favorites:

1. "blogspot dog mom gus waldo" -- This shows me that people know about the site, they just can't remember my long blog handle.

2. "a dog that looks like dug" -- That's probably from this post!

3. "contest for dogs tricks" -- Ooh, what a fun contest we hosted! We're planning something for Gus and Waldo's next birthdays, so stay tuned!

4. "dog end moms" -- Umm....this is mildly disturbing. This isn't Michael Vick's blog, people!

5. "dogs run free rainbow bridge". -- *sniff* Chloe Amelia.

6. "good dogmom" -- aaw, thanks.

7. "son slobbers kissing mom videos" -- Umm...this is highly disturbing. *shudder*

8. "swirly fur on dog tail" -- I love my swirly butt boy.

9. "the infurminator" -- Is Ah-nuld visiting?

10. игра тайкн три -- Any ideas what that means??

Waldo Wuvs Mommee

2010-03-06T17:09:00.000-05:00

Me and Mommee went to a biggie parrk tooday. She tuk me on an ekstra long walkie throo da woodz. Hur furiend Amy took dis pikture ov us. It iz a gud pikture to show all of woo how much I lovesies my mommee!

Da Boyz Like Chikin

2010-03-04T20:13:00.000-05:00

Please to let us have some?

Toby Wuz Heer

2010-02-28T22:00:00.002-05:00

Toby wuz heer dis weekend. He had lotz ov fun terruryzing Waldo. He runz arownd da back yarrd, biting at Waldo's tayl. Wat iz he tinking? Waldo iz not a sheepie! He iz a verry small doggeh wif a verry small brayn, so we will furgiv him dis tyme. Tankfulee Waldo iz not a meen doggeh, and one tyme wen Toby bited Waldo'z tayl sooper hard, Waldo just runned back insyde to get away, and did not hurt da littul guy. Efurrywun beed okay. We miss arr little buddee sinss he went back home tooday.

We thout dat woo mite like dis pikture dat mommee tayks ov him:

Gus is Dug!

2010-02-20T08:59:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the movie "Up"? If you haven't, go and rent it today. It is heartwarming, charming, and gorgeous. One of my favorite characters in the movie is Dug, a dog that the 2 main characters stumble across.

They soon discover that Dug has the ability to talk, because of a special collar that has been created for him. Throughout the whole movie, all I could think of is Dug is Gus! "I have just met you, and I love you!"

Here's the original scene:

Here is Gus' interpretation (you may have to turn the volume up):

Crazy Snows!

2010-02-09T16:17:00.000-05:00

Wowwee! We iz having sooo much fun in da snowz! We lovez to dive arr heds in da snow, and den come up and rub aginst mommee and git her all snowee, too! Mommee shur duz luv tayking piktures ov us in da snow!

Lots of deez iz taykn befur da BIG SNOWZ dat came throo! Now Gus has to jump throo da snowz, and Waldo iz up to hiz neez! OH! Mommee jus findidz one:

Poor Gus!

The End of an Era

2010-02-08T21:07:00.000-05:00

Waldo's year as Best In Show respresentative of Mango Minster is now over. Congratulations to the new winner, Clive--a very worthy next Best In Show!

One of the last things that Waldo was blessed with as Best in Show winner was a gift from Pamela Fleming at The Magic Sleigh! She made this beautiful ornament for Waldo--and how perfect it is!! His colors and spots are impossible to find in any Great Dane ornament, so it is so great to get something made just like him! And how cute--he's posed with a tennis ball!! Check out Pam's website--http://www.pamelasart.com/ for info on how you can get your own hand sculptured ornament!

Love These Babies!

2010-01-30T22:29:00.000-05:00

Lost and Found

2010-01-21T21:41:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a day.

Felix's real name is Ripley. Yes, believe it or not (haha), we were put in contact with his real mommee today! Amazing thing is, he lives over a mile away from our house! He certainly had a long journey on Saturday morning.

Mommee and Daddee put up "Found Dog" signs in our neighborhood, while a mile away, Ripley's mommee was putting up "Lost Dog" signs in her neighborhood. Because our neighborhoods aren't anywhere close, we never crossed paths. Ripley's mommee was going to go to SICSA today to ask about him (where we had gone first on Saturday), but they are closed on Thursdays. Then this morning, she got a call from a nice worker from our city. He had seen both the "lost" and "found" signs, and put two-and-two together. He called Ripley's mommee with our daddee's phone number! AMAZING!!

We really liked having Ripley at our house, but we are glad that he found his home. Waldo is especially glad, since he and Ripley got in a big-time fight yesterday, and Waldo ended up with a canine-tooth-sized hole in his shoulder. (mommee couldn't break them up in time) Mommee and Daddee were happy that they had done a "good deed" for Ripley. His mommee was sooooooper excited to see him, and he bounded into her arms when she came in.

Thanks to all for your pawsome thoughts for Felix/Ripley. We love happy endings!

Unexpected Guest

2010-01-16T23:54:00.001-05:00

We have an unexpected visitor at our house today. Mommee saw him wandering up and down our street this morning. He had no collar, and he was very skittish, so mommee went back inside and got one of our leashes and some treats to see if she could round him up. We live pretty close to a very busy street, and she didn't want him to get run over!

She was able to get a leash on him, and get him into the car, where she promptly took him to SICSA, a local rescue agency. They don't accept strays there, but mommee put in a notice about him, and also got him scanned for a microchip--which he didn't have. She also had them check to see if he was neutered, which he wasn't. This made her a little nervous to take him home, because Waldo is intact.

He was filthy dirty because of all the melting snow here. Mommee drove him up and down the streets in our neighborhood, to ask if anyone was missing a dog, or recognized him, but no one did. Mommee took him to lunch with her (drive-thru), and then stopped at the vet that is close to our house to put his name there, and see if anyone recognized him (nope).

So, she brought him back home. She put the big dogs in the back room so she could clean him off. He wouldn't go into the tub, so she just cleaned him with a wet towel. He didn't mind mommee looking inside of his ears (clean), and cleaning between his toes, and checking his teeth (there, and clean). He was a very nice doggie. Mommee decided to introduce him to us--which didn't go so great at first. He growled a lot at us, and he tried to bite Waldo. Mommee figures he must be an only dog. Mommee was very proud of herself, though. She says she went "all ninja and Cesar Millan on him", and flipped him over on his side and put a bite hold on him so that he would know that mommee is the boss! He's much better with us now. He still growls sometimes, but mommee gives the "ah ah" noise that she gives with us, and he stops. (edit: he tried to bite Waldo again tonight, but daddee did the Cesar move on him)

Mommee called the local Humane Society, and put his info there, too (no one had called). And daddee put an ad on Craigslist about him. Tomorrow, we are going to put up signs in our neighborhood, and we'll take him for a walk to see if anyone recognizes him.

We're hoping to find his home--otherwise we'll have to take him to the Humane Society. The people at SICSA all loved him, and said he would be a good candidate for adoption, and for low-cost neutering. He's super-sweet, though, and mommee is growing attached to him. She's named him Felix for now.

We thought that you all could cross your paws for him, and that we can find his forever home!

p.s. Mommee giggled when she went into SICSA, and a couple of patrons there said, "What a big dog!" I said to them, "He'd be the smallest dog in our house!" (he's about the same size as Gus--a little longer--but he's very fluffy. Lab face, maybe Shepherd/Husky body and tail?)

Snow!

2010-01-10T13:02:00.002-05:00

A lot of people have asked me how my boys like the snow. I think these pictures will help answer that question:

I love how Gus looks like Dug (from Pixar's "Up") in the 2nd one (point!). And I love the game of chase they always start around the tree in the backyard.

Also, if anyone is keeping track, this is our 200th POST!! WOW! We will do something special, but mommee's been sickie, so it will have to wait. Maybe we'll celebrate our 210th post. :)

Gus and Waldo's 2009

2010-01-08T13:21:00.000-05:00

We got this idea from Honey, and thought it would be fun! Enjoy this year-in-review video from Gus and Waldo, and may you have a brilliant 2010!

Dog Shampoo

2010-01-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

I'm always on the lookout for good dog shampoos. Both Gus and Waldo tend to have dry, flaky skin. Gus also gets hotspots. So, I was excited when a friend of mine found this link, and I thought I'd share it with you!

Free Dog Shampoo sample!
Click here (US residents only):

https://forms.netsuite.com/app/site/crm/externalleadpage.nl;jsessionid=0a0114481f43466868b8508a4c1dbc7b8102b0adc6ca.e34Nbx8KaxuLaO0Lbh0Mch0MahiPe0?compid=578086&formid=53&h=896f190e8419620258e8&redirect_count=1&did_javascript_redirect=T

Stride For Stride

2010-01-05T20:06:00.000-05:00

DWB Card Exchange

2010-01-03T23:06:00.000-05:00

Mommee took all of our cards to her school, where she put them up on a map for her students to see. They were always excited to come in each morning to see the new additions! This picture was taken on the last day of school before vacation, so a lot of the cards we got didn't get on here. We want to thank everyone for sending cards to us!

Snow Day!

2010-01-02T01:01:00.000-05:00

Christmas Day in Indiana

2009-12-31T17:35:00.001-05:00

We went to Indiana on Christmas Day to see daddee's mommee. She was sooo surprised to see us!

We also had a good time in the SNOW! We've had a few flakies at our house in Ohio, but not as much as they got in Indiana! WHEE!!

We also had a good time meeting this alien creature. We had never seen anything like him before! His name was Bill, apparently:

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-30T10:42:00.000-05:00

Christmas is....Fun??

2009-12-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

Gus is very interested in the gifts....

This is as close as Waldo would get. Turns out, he's afraid of boxes and wrapping paper! He spent the whole night in the other room, away from the scariness.

Gus enjoys the gifts, though!

Waldo got a Waldo! Here they are, posing together...

Merry Christmas from Gus and Waldo!

2009-12-28T17:49:00.002-05:00

Run Free, Chloe Amelia

2009-12-21T19:21:00.004-05:00

Today, Chloe Amelia crossed the Rainbow Bridge. She has been in mommee's family for 13 1/2 years. She was at the doggee daycare and got stomach bloat. Mommee's mommee was able to be there to hold her paw as she took her last breaths here on earth. She's now able to run free again, sniffing the grass with her little stubby tail wagging as fast as she can wag it. Mommee's sister Ashley (shown here in the photo) bought Chloe by saving her lunch money every day for a year. She took it to the breeder in a Tootsie Roll container.

We'd appreciate pawsitive thoughts for mommee and nana today.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Video Viernes

2009-12-17T20:12:00.003-05:00

Gus and Waldo have always had trouble with boxes. Not sure why, but the hubs and I have a good time playing around with them! If you don't want to watch the whole movie, skip to the 3:00 mark--Waldo makes me laugh!

Presenting: Gus and Waldo vs. The Box!

Giveaway Results!

2009-12-14T17:26:00.001-05:00

Great Gift Idea!

2009-12-04T16:47:00.008-05:00

A few months ago, I was contacted by a publishing house to review a couple of new books that they had coming out by the end of the year. I'm excited to say that I received them, and they are so great!

Here are some descriptions from amazon.com:

"In Dog Lover's Daily Companion Wendy Nan Rees shares her invaluable knowledge gleaned from 25+ years in the pet industry. She has created a unique, irreplaceable, easy-to-use—and inspiring—handbook filled with 365 helpful tips, easy-to-build projects, practical advice, and insight into the canine-human relationship for all dog owners to use every day of the year. This book will provide you with a lifetime’s worth of practical tips for living with your dog, no matter the breed. Wendy brings her expertise—and genuine love for dogs—to every topic under the sun needed to raise a healthy puppy into a happy adult dog."

"Cat Lover’s Devotional is a unique, easy-to-use, and inspiring handbook filled with a year’s worth of insight, helpful tips, and practical advice into the feline-human relationship for all cat lovers and owners. Whether you’re a cat owner yourself or someone who just loves all things cat, this book will provide you with a lifetime’s worth of ways to enjoy and appreciate cats, whether or not you have a house full of cats, or just a shelf full of books. The format of the book—a year-long, day-minder-type book—is not meant to be read cover to cover; rather, the book can fall open on any given day and still serve its designated purpose. Cat Lover’s Devotional will be completely indexed so readers in search of specific content, not just dabbling, will be able to navigate it."

The pictures are beautiful, and the text is easy-to-read. A great daily dose of dog and cat info for the pet-lovers in your life.

I'd like to offer these books to someone as a special holiday gift. To enter the drawing, just post a comment on this post, saying if you would like the DOG LOVER'S book or the CAT LOVER'S book. I'll put the comments into a drawing, which I will draw on December 11th! Feel free to share this drawing with friends--if you post on your blog and let me know, I'll put another entry in for you!

Gus and Waldo are in LOOOOOVE! (take 2)

2009-11-29T08:01:00.004-05:00

Sorry about the last post. I embedded the video from Facebook, so it must not appear unless you have Facebook, or are friends with me. Anyways, trying again!

Actually, they love the Bichon Frise. They were doing this and I stopped the video to get my camera. We came back, and the Chow Chow was on. They weren't interested! So, I rewound the video to the Bichon, and look what they did. :) Who knew that Waldo and Gus were into high-maintenance frilly dogs? After all, notice what they do when the Chow Chow comes back on!

Giveaway!

2009-11-27T21:37:00.002-05:00

For those of you who live in the Ohio area, you might find my photography business' recent giveaway interesting!

http://www.allisonlaura.com

Recent Dog Shoots...

2009-11-19T21:57:00.005-05:00

A Nap, Please?

2009-11-19T21:57:00.001-05:00

An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.

He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out..

The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour.This continued off and on for several weeks.

Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'

The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 -he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'

2009-10-29T21:42:00.003-04:00

Rainy Day Activities

2009-10-28T22:24:00.005-04:00

Honey recently made a post about her rainy day activities. Since it's been pretty rainy and cold here, we decided to do the same!

Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade

2009-10-25T19:29:00.005-04:00

It was a rainy, cold day at the Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade. A stark contrast from last year, when the weather was so beautiful. I took the dogs out in the morning, to run around the park for an hour, but they still seemed to have copious amounts of energy left, and they pulled me most of the way around the mall. Everyone seemed to enjoy the costumes, though some were confused as to what they were (I guess you can't tell what we are from the front, only from the side). The judges weren't confused, though....we got 2nd place!

A little disappointed that we weren't first, but the video gamers were well represented--Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi took 1st place overall. They were cute. Waldo and Gus were DEFINITELY the biggest pair there. There are sooooo many little dogs in our area, and it just makes Waldo and Gus seem that much bigger.

Here's hoping for better weather next year!

Happy Howl-O-Ween!

2009-10-23T18:33:00.005-04:00

Thanks, everyone, for all of your Howl-o-ween guesses! We cannot believe it, but no one was able to guess! Mommee posted an easier picture last year, we figure.

We has to post 3 pictures, one of each of us, because it is nearly impossible for mommee to take care of the flashy-thing, and post a picture of all of us together, especially since our costumes will involve our leashes, and whenever our leashes come out, we go all nuts-o. Anyways, the little balls mommee will attach to our leashes, so it looks like she's after us.

Here we are!!

We are in a costume contest tomorrow--wish us luck!!

Wordless Wednesday, (prep-for-Halloween edition)

2009-10-20T19:31:00.007-04:00

Any guesses?

Also, on a different note, here are our entries for Dora's Smiley Contest:

Gus is smiling because he knows how much smarter he is than his dopey big brother:

Waldo is smiling because he knows that even though his brother is smarter, he can reach the countertops to grab food:

Special Delivery

2009-10-19T19:46:00.006-04:00

Look what came in the mail today!

Besides being a hilarious book, full of truths about how awesome dogs are (and how stinky cats are), it also includes one of our favorite big girl models.....the ever-fabulous HONEY!!

We were so excited to get this in the mail, ever since Honey announced its publication. We ordered one right away! We got ours from amazon.com for about $13 USD. Pick yours up today!

Walking for Nana

2009-10-18T22:27:00.005-04:00

Every year, mommee walks in the Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk here in our hometown. It is to honor those who have battled breast cancer. Some of you may know that our Nana (mommee's mommee) and Mamaw (mommee's grandma) both had breast cancer. In fact, Nana is still fighting it today. Mamaw passed away in 2008, but we always think of her on days like this.

Last year and this year, Waldo came and walked with mommee. Last year, Waldo wore a shirt, but this year we couldn't fit it on him! So, we just wore our pink bandannas together.

Please, if you are a lady, and you are reading this blog, take some time to do a self-check every month for anything unusual. If you are over 40 (or over 30 if you're at-risk), go get a mammogram every year! It is important all the time, but especially in October as we observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Run Free, Mr. Darcy

2009-10-06T07:12:00.004-04:00

Our sweet Dane friend Mr. Darcy crossed the Rainbow Bridge today. We will miss him--he was such a sweet big boy. Please go and leave his mom and dad a message--they have already been on an emotional roller-coaster, and I'm sure they would love encouragement from you.

http://mrd23.wordpress.com/

Edited to add:

We have been so busy lately, we didn't realize until today that a couple of our other bloggie friends have also crossed the Bridge. We also want to give sniffs to Angie, who had to say goodbye to her sweet Ruby yesterday:
http://www.angielucas.com/yeahwrite/2009/10/so-long-good-friend.html

And our friend Max, who was one of our first online blog buddies. We know that Sasha will miss you, but we are so glad that you are able to run on those paws again!

http://danesview.blogspot.com

What we've been doing....

2009-09-22T00:10:00.006-04:00

Post 173

2009-09-14T21:13:00.011-04:00

Whew, mommee has been busy. She says thank you for all of the compliments on our pictures! They are from AlleyKat Photography, which is a branch of Allison Laura Photography. Yup--that's mommee's new business! She's been getting her classroom ready, but has also had a lot of business photographing different hoomans and their little'uns. This weekend she's shooting her first wedding!!

But this bloggie is about US! And we'd like to share with you about a SUPER FUN DAY that we had with mommee and daddee last week! Splash Moraine is a local people pool that allows hoomans AND dogs to share the water 2 times a year. Mommee said the water was "nasty" by the end of the night, but we didn't notice 'cuz of all the FUN!

Here's a video that mommee made about our day:

Here's a pic to show that Gus jumped in, too--right by the "No Diving" sign. Can you see the baby Waldo lookalike in the background?
This is our friend Roxy. She liked swimming, just like us!
Family Photo!

Photo Shoot @ the Park

2009-08-31T20:10:00.007-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-25T21:17:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-19T21:34:00.002-04:00

Honey's Slobber Contest Entry!

2009-08-18T20:00:00.002-04:00

Gus and Waldo's entry:

And an entry for Stella the Mastiff, whose mommee's camera doesn't work so well:

Mommee Haz Gud Intenshuns

2009-08-14T10:12:00.009-04:00

Reelee. She duz. But see, she getz dis noo ting called a JOB, and so she haz no ekstruh time to write in da bloggie or check in to all of yur bloggies fur us. We iz soopur sorree. But we iz sooo happee fur mommee! She haz been luking fur a JOB sins last April, and so she iz furry happee dat a reeding teechur pawsishun came open fur hur. She startz on da 24th, but dere iz lotz and lotz of meetings befur den. Mommee also iz tayking lotz and lotz of pikturs laytlee, so all of hur free time iz yoozd fur editing stuffs.

We haz had a noo furiend staying wif us dis week! Hiz name is Toby and he iz a sheltie. Duzint he look like Josh and Jessie? It took Toby a few dayz to like us. Mommee finks dat maybe he haz not been arownd uhfur dogz furry much. But we wurked arr charmz on him, and now he WUVS us! He wuvs to chayse us arownd da yarrd, barking at us and herding us into a circle. He iz soo funnee. A gud esample of how Toby likez us more now iz dat da first 3 dayz, we cood not get him owt of hiz cage. Mommee had to put us in da uhfur room and den coerce Toby to come owt wif treets. Now, mommee can't get him back IN da cage wen she needz to go sumplayce!

We will have Toby until Saturday. We will miss him!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-08-05T14:27:00.003-04:00

Catching Up

2009-08-03T19:51:00.006-04:00

Wow. It has been almost a week since mommee has posted for us! We are so sorry we haven't been commenting on your bloggies. We really miss reading your updates, but mommee gets a bit overwhelmed when she sees over 1300 unread entries in her google reader. We've been reading up on you, but mommee hasn't been commenting. We will try to bite her heels to get her on that.

We thought we would show you some of the pictures and videos that we've been remiss in sharing with you. Here's a pic of the 3 of us when Stella was here to visit. You can see that Stella has gotten a lot bigger!

Stella's favorite place to lay:

This picture of all of us playing makes mommee laugh a lot!

Mommee was happy to see that so many of you liked her pictures of us. She has been super busy lately taking pictures of people's human kids--she has 18 photoshoots in the next 2 months--wow! Thanks for all of your compliments. Mommee says that even though she loves taking pictures of human kids, she likes us furbabies the best. If any of woo want your pictures taken, mommee would love to do it!

Mommee has been taking us to many parks while the weather has been so nice (not too hot, not too cold). Here are two of the videos. The first is of us dock diving at a new lake, and the other is of a new park that we found. Honey, can we have the 2nd video be Waldo's entry in the slobber contest?

Gus Pupdate and Photoshoot

2009-07-28T10:50:00.009-04:00

Thank you all so much for your pawsitive thoughts for Gus. He was slightly better on Saturday behavior-wise, so we didn't call the vet. He didn't really eat all weekend still (maybe a bit here and there) and he was still really mellow. This morning he greeted me like this:

rrgh--blogger is not uploading my video. i'll try again later.

I'm taking him to the vet today just to rule out anything major, but its nice to see him slowly getting back to normal.

(Edit: I took him to the vet, and she said his blood test results "were practically perfect in every way". They think he might have eaten something weird which caused him to act so strange. He is doing better today, which is great.)

I thought you would like to see some of the pics I took in a Gus and Waldo photoshoot the other day. My boys are so photogenic. :)

Gus No Feel Good

2009-07-24T21:00:00.003-04:00

This is the look of a dog who does not feel well. Poor baby, I don't know what's wrong!

His only "symptoms" are:
- no food all day (unusual for him--he usually is very happy for food)
- not interested in a walk
- not interested in tennis balls
- not following mommee or daddee around the house--preferring to lay in the carpeted room.

If you know Gus at all, you will understand that although he doesn't have severe symptoms, these symptoms for Gus ARE severe! My poor baby just lays on the floor, not doing anything but looking very pathetic.

Mommee left very early today, so she did not notice any weird behavior (both boys were enjoying sleeping at that hour), but daddee noticed at lunchtime.

Can we have some healing vibes for my baby boy please? If he's not better tomorrow, I will take him to the v.e.t.

Wordless Wednesday (video style)

2009-07-22T10:35:00.000-04:00

Mommee and Daddee Arr Home!

2009-07-17T11:29:00.005-04:00

Yes, mommee and daddee came home yesterday--woopee!! We are so happee to have them back. We are sure they had fun--but not as much fun as they would have had if WE had come with them! Stella is here for a couple of days while Aunt Ashley is in a wedding. We like having another playmate around, even though she gets in trouble a lot (she eats daddee's socks and napkins out of the trashcan!). We will show some pics of her later.

For today, mommee thought she would leave you with this email that she got from her friend:

A Dog's Purpose? (from a 6-year-old).

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, ''I know why.''

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try and live.

He said,''People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?''
The Six-year-old continued,''Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.''

Thanks, Addie, Lucie, and Hailey!

2009-07-16T10:37:00.005-04:00

Look what we got in the mail from Addie, Lucie and Hailey! We were cheerleaders in the Biggest Loser: Pet Edition that they hosted, and they sent us a gift! We certainly weren't expecting anything--we had fun seeing the weight our friends were losing each week--but we enjoyed this happy surprise!

Mmm....something in there smells good--what is it, mommee?

Wow! A new cow toy and some lollipops!! COOL!! Thanks, furiends!

Fun in the Sun

2009-07-15T12:16:00.000-04:00

Daddee Iz Not Funnee!

2009-07-13T12:15:00.000-04:00

Gunner's Got a Crush!

2009-07-11T12:07:00.001-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-08T12:15:00.001-04:00

Fun Trip!

2009-07-07T12:04:00.008-04:00

Mommee and daddee took us on a trip to daddee's old town--a place where there are lots of trains, and where he used to go to school. One of his friends was having their 10-year anniversary, so we went to visit them and celebrate with them.

Waldo slept almost the whole way:

When we got to where we were staying, we met these guys:
The guy on the left is Gus! Mommee called him "little Gus". The guy on the right is Rocky. These guys were very fun to play with. They were super nice, and shared their toys and their yard with us. We liked meeting our new friends!

When we got to daddee's town, we went to his friend's house. When we were there, we met MORE doggies!! We met Mateo (a chihuahua), Mercedes (a long-haired dachshund), and Austin (a welsh corgi). Sadly mommee did not take her camera, so we have no pictures of them. Everyone kept talking about how BIG Waldo is, and how friendly Gus is. We know that!

When we got back to the house where we were staying, all of us wanted to show mommee what good "sitters" we are for treats:

On Saturday, we were supposed to go the anniversary party at daddee's friend's farm, but it was RAINING! In fact, it was raining so hard we had to stay at home. :( We were very sad to have mommee and daddee leave. But, we got a surprise later when they came back--it had stopped raining, and they were taking us to a LAKE!!

It was SUPER cold outside (well, cold for JULY), but the water was warm and we had a good time chasing after the geese. Daddee's friend came to watch the boys in the water--she was very impressed with their swimming skills! We didn't jump off of the dock like we normally do--mommee says it was very slippery, so she is not surprised.

We had such a fun time meeting new friends and going to a new lake. We can't wait for our next trip!

pee ess: Mommee says sorry that she hasn't been helping us visit your blogs lately. There was no internet over the weekend, and now she is getting ready to go on a BIG boat to a very warm place with daddee (she says its called the Bananas, but that doesn't seem right). Mommee will set up some posts to show up while they are gone, but we won't be able to visit for a while. Aunt Ashley's sister-in-law Mackenzie will be taking care of us and the house while mommee and daddee are away. She came over yesterday to play, and we know we'll have fun with them (and GUNNER will be here!). We will miss you all, though, and look forward to catching up with you when mommee gets back!

Sad Nooz --> Happee Nooz!

2009-07-03T13:51:00.005-04:00

We seez dis on mommee and daddee'z bed today:

It mayks us furry sad cuz it meenz mommee and daddee be gowing away:

But den we goes downstayrz and seez dis!

YES!!!! It meenz we iz gowing, too! Arr furst roadtrip!! We don't know where we iz gowing, but we iz happee to go! Mommee--get off da compyootur--we iz reddee to go!!

Swimming, Swimming, Swimming!

2009-06-30T09:24:00.006-04:00

Yesturday wuz sooo nice owtside, dat mommee tuk us SWIMMING!! We WUV to swim! Mommee tuk sum piktures and some videeo of us fur woo to see.

Waldo iz not so grayssful in da watur. He swimz up and down so he splashiz a lots. Mommee laffs at him a lotz, too:

As woo can see (and heer), Gus iz furry grayssful. He hardlee mayks a sownd in da watur:

In dis piktur, we iz saying, "Mommee! Hurree up and throw da bonez!"
Aaaaah, much bettur.

Hot Days Need Cooling Off

2009-06-25T22:35:00.003-04:00

Dog CSI

2009-06-22T17:39:00.006-04:00

The crime scene:

The victim:
5-year old female, black and brown hair, brown eyes, approx. 34" in height.
Victim claims accosting by tall woman with brown hair. Victim left stranded in foreign yard, stripped of dignity and significant weight.

The witnesses:
3-year old male, golden red hair, brown eyes, approx. 34" in height
1-year old male, salt-and-pepper hair, black eyes, approx. 42" in height
Witnesses saw female being accosted by a tall, two-legged female. Weapon yellow in color, approx 3" in width, 5" in length. When authorities reached the scene, no weapon could be found. Police believe the perpetrator escaped with the weapon. When police asked witnesses why they did not stop the perpetrator, witnesses claim helplessness due to strategic rump rubbing by the perp. One witness overheard saying "she needed it".

Anyone with any information regarding this case, please comment. Police would like to ascertain the specifics of the case, and demand justice should it be required.

Patrolling the Yard

2009-06-18T15:32:00.005-04:00

In our computer room, there is a window that leads to the side yard. Often, our neighbors will sit in their backyard that borders our property, and Gus and Waldo often go and greet them.

It is not a surprise to find Waldo in this position:

After several days of him at his sentry post, I began to wonder why he was so fixated on the neighbors! He would often stand there and whine or bark--an irritating habit I could not understand. Until one day I took a glance outside and saw for myself what was irritating Waldo. Take a look for yourself:

Poor guy! That tree used to be in our backyard, squirrel-free. But my husband moved our fence (the dogs also used to play chase around it, and there was no grass left), and now he is unable to defend his territory from the eeevil invaders!

Wordless Wednesday/Happy Birthday!

2009-06-17T00:10:00.005-04:00

Today is Aunt Ashley's birthday!! Go to Stella's site and wish her mommee a very special day!

Dogfest 2009

2009-06-16T09:23:00.010-04:00

I took Waldo to the West Chester DogFest on Saturday. As mentioned in my previous post, I didn't take Gus because his scars had opened up on Friday, and I didn't want him to get an infection or anything. I was sad to leave him at home! He gave me a look like, "I know you're going to have fun without me."

Waldo enjoyed the 45-minute car ride down. The whole backseat of my Mazda for himself!

This is my first trip to the DogFest, and WOW! Was it ever BIG! The events here in our hometown usually have 10-20 vendors. The DogFest had over 100 vendors! Lots of rescue groups and pet hotels, foodables for the humans, and games for the kids. There were agility runs and frisbee competitions, and a main stage where there were human/dog competitions (but more about that in a minute).

One of our favorite booths was for the local Boston Terrier rescue. Norwood showed us that he participated in this booth at his Dogfest--so did we, Norwood!

There were lots of big friends like Waldo to meet. This was 9-month old Azul, who was the same size as Waldo already. She's going to be a big girl!

Waldo and I participated in the Biggest Dog competition. There were lots of big dogs! From L to R: a Newfoundland (didn't catch the name), a Mango Mastiff named Brewsky, a St. Bernard named Bill (awesome name!), a Great Dane named Shrek, a Greyhound (didn't catch the name), a second St. Bernard (didn't catch the name), an Alaskan Malamute named Knut (he wasn't picture friendly), and Waldo.

Waldo certainly wasn't the biggest dog there, but we had FLAIR. All the other dogs just walked across the stage. We walked to the middle and then did a model-like spin. :) In the end, Waldo got 2nd place! Not too bad! We got a bandanna, a squeaky toy, and a $5 gift certificate to a local pet store. What is fun is that the other Great Dane came in 1st! I said, "It's a great day for Great Danes!" Here's a picture of Shrek and Waldo:

By the end of our 2-hour stay, Waldo was HOT. Every booth we'd go to he'd find the shade and sit or lay down in it. I poured a couple of bottles of water on him, and he drank a whole bottle of water, but he still panted the whole way home! Mommee was a little worried that he had some heat sickness, but after 10 minutes of all the air-conditioners in the car blowing cold air on him, he calmed down. We're glad we went early when it first opened--there were some doggies getting there at 1:00, when it was the hottest part of the day. We felt sorry for those doggies!

When we got home, Waldo was nice and gave the squeaky toy he had won to Gus. Gus loves it! It is a NASCAR Kasey Kahne bone. Nick said, "Does that make it a Kahne-9 toy?" Get it? canine? :)

Gus Update

2009-06-15T12:36:00.006-04:00

Many of woo have been asking about Gus. We figured it was time for an update! He still has scar tissue on his nose and around his mouth, but for the most part they are scabbed over. The hole on the inside of his mouth is completely closed, which is good. He's been on antibiotics to make sure there wasn't any infection, and it hasn't been swollen since the day after the attack.

On Friday, I took both boys to the park next to our house, and he and Waldo were playing with the frisbee and he opened the biggest spot on his lip (far left in the pic) so it started bleeding again. So, on Saturday I took Waldo by himself to the Dogfest. Pics of that to come soon!

Edited to add: I came home to find 3 large piles of Gus puke. :( Poor boy isn't feeling as good as I thought. We'll probably fast him tonight, then reintroduce food with some chicken and rice. Not sure what is causing the puking.

Team Mascot

2009-06-13T22:13:00.006-04:00

Mommee plays softball and soccer. Sometimes daddee will bring one of us to the games with him. Last week, he brought me to the softball game. I am like a rockstar wherever I go. People stop, point, stare, exclaim, etc. A few brave souls will come and pet me, and I am extremely grateful for it. I love drinking straight out of the water fountain. When I come to the games, my eyes don't leave mommee, no matter if she's in the field, or if she's running around the bases. I need to make sure she comes back to me at the end of the game. She always does. I love being the team mascot!

Good Gift, Good Gift...

2009-06-11T23:29:00.005-04:00

Mommee and Daddee always say, "good gift, good gift" to each other when they get something grrreat. Well, we have reason to say that now!

First, Pruett and Daphne sent Waldo an AMAZING gift for winning the April Showers/May Flowers Photo Contest! We have tried and tried and tried to tear this thing apart, and it just doesn't work! Stella even tried to help us when she was here for a visit.

So, THANK YOU, Pruett and Daphne!! We LOVED it!

Second, Honey passed on a Paw It Forward gift to us!

Mmmm...wow, Honey, do New Zealand creatures make excellent jerky! We love all of our yummies--and mommee loves the chocolate, too!

We are blessed with furiends. WE WUV WOO!