Hair cut joy for Mommy

We're in the middle of Spring in North Carolina. Tommy has had his second haircut of the season and right after that hair cut, the weather got cool again. This means LOTS of snuggle time for Mommy!

Thomas is THE best snuggler ever! He will snuggle as long as you will and sometimes he wants to snuggle longer than you.

He'll lay across my lap in the evening. Yes, I know, a 65 lb dog laying on your lap, really? Yes, really. What can I say, no need for a blanket.

You all know they sleep with us so the fact that I've had to "cover" Tommy up with the edge of the comforter these past few nights should come as no surprise to you. We have the windows open and the ceiling fan on just a bringing in that cool night air. Last night, it got down to 44 degrees. My short haired little man was curled up so tightly I felt bad for him. Hence, the corner of the comforter was truned down to cover my little man a bit. This act gained me a very sweet kiss on my hand.

I just loe this kid!!!!!

Here's a photo of him on the bed at the top of his ramp, just before his haircut.

Three legged Jack update

It's been 10 months since Jack had his hind leg amputated. What a difference some time and good meds make. Dr. Lasalles, at the NCSU Vet Hospital, is an amazing doctor. Jack has had some minor discomfort since the amputation but all due to "carriage shift" which is another way of saying his body had to change the way it carried itself. He has some tenderness in his spine, L5-L7 and is on a low dose of Prednisone, probably for the rest of his life, but is doing incredible.

He does everything the other dogs do without a thought about it. He jumps on the couch. He runs through the backyard. He even plays ball again (he still isn't very good at it though and that had nothign to do with the surgery. He's just never been a good ball player.)

He helps himself up on the bed... he does the first two thirds and we lift the back end. We think it's his way of getting an extra hug before bed time.

Here are a couple of photos of out boy on three legs. Hard to tell, if you don't know what you're looking for.

Wooly Bear/Naked Bear

Spring time at our house means, "Tommy gets a haircut"! We have the best groomer ever too! Ricky, from Pet Spa Daze (petspadaze.com), comes right to our driveway to groom Tom. Ricky puts up with a lot too. Tommy gives Ricky hell every time he comes. He throws his head up and "Woo-woo-woo's" poor Ricky until our hair curls. This kid can really carry on. But good ole Ricky doesn't pay him any mind. He gets him in the trailor, on the spinning table and takes charge. Tom does what he's told and comes out looking fabulous. Now, he has shown Ricky his teeth the last couple of haircuts but doesn't act on it. Ricky says he isn't fond of having his front feet trimmed. Who knows why. He's had haircuts from Ricky for the last three or four years and just recently decided he doesn't like his sissy feet trimmed. Ricky does it any way and to show Tom who's really in charge, he sends Tommy out in a pink animal print bandana! Little does he know, Tommy likes pink!

Any way, here are some before and after shots of our wooly bear kid. He's just too cute for words.

The Aspenator has a new home!!!!!

Wow! What a ride its been for our Baby Aspen. Looks like Tanya's baby foster girl dog has found a forever home with Carl and Jackie! YAY! for them and Way Yay for baby Aspen!!!!! Tanys says it feels right in her heart and that Carl and Jackie have good "dog mojo". We all know that mojo is important to a long lasting canine human relationship.

Seems everything has clicked and they are learning each others language nicely. Hopefully, an overnight visit will take place this weekend and all will be right with the world!!!

I'm so excited for Aspen and for Carl and Jackie..... they are getting an amazing little girl who just wants to love and protect her people. Her quirks will work out with time and the patience Carl and Jackie seem to have.

Congrats to all!!!!!

The toughest part will be for Tanya and Chester Montgomery. They will miss baby Aspen so much! I'm hopoing Carl and Jackie will send lots of photos to Tanya so we can all see how she's progressing.

Merry Christmas to all!

As I sit here, in my living room, with the fire glowing nicely and candles lit, I'm relaxed. My three happy hounds are laying at my feet and around the living room. Jilli is at my feet, Jack is stretched out in front of the fireplace on the rug and Thomas (Tommy) is sacked out on the love seat. Ed is out in the shop working on his trays. Life is truly good. We're surely blessed. Tomorrow, Christmas Day, we'll have friends over for some great food, great conversations and lots of laughter... laughing until we can hardly breathe. That's how it usually goes. I wouldn't trade this for anything. This is a special Christmas for me. I received a Christmas card from my very best friend from elementary school. I haven't heard from her in almost 30 years. We lost contact with each other, went our separate ways and she tracked me down. What a treasure... we had been such great childhood friends. I've missed her over the years and think of her often. I'm so happy she took the time to find me. We're just getting started in reconnecting. I emailed her today to thank her for finding me again. The holidays always take me back to my past, to my memories. I'm so content. Life is SO good. We have our health. Our dogs are all healthy again. We have great friends and family. Best of all, I have reconnected with someone who used to be so very dear to me. I hope we can be that way to each other again. Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all have a great holiday and a healthy, prosperous new year.

Long time between posts...

It's been a long time since my last post. We've so busy with Jack and trying to figure out what's going on with him. Surgeries, drugs, amputation and still pain. More drugs, some more legal than others. All worked for a while, none were consistent. Back for a follow up appointment in early December and all looked uneventful but we were still having pain. Long, all night long, painful bouts about twice a week. No sleep for anyone in the house and jack was so uncomfortable it made us doubt whether we had done the right thing for him. The physical exan showed pain in L5-L7 on Jack's spinal column. Could be a pinched nerve, nerve root impingement, ruptured disks, and the list goes on. X-rays showed nothing. The Neurologist couldn't find anything wrong during his exam so the next step was an MRI. $2,000 we just didn't want to spend unless we knew we'd find something conclusive. Dr. Lascelles said, "we'd start out treatment the same way any way so let's just start treatment and see where it leads us." We did... 30 days of Prednisone and rest. Outside, on a leash only for "doing business" and that's it. We're at day 14 and still pain free!!!!! Jack has become the dog he was almost two years ago, when all this started (April 2009). He is full of life and light! Wants to be a part of the family all the time now. He wants to play with his brother and sister! He wants to play with us!!! Jack acts as though he is three years old rather than the eight years old he just turned. It's totally crazy! We're loving it and hoping it lasts. We are half way through the first taper down of the Prednisone and still having great results. We taper down again this coming Wednesday. Hope it all stays as it is. It's nice to know we've finally found something that works. Since the x-rays and Neurological exam didn't show anything there isn't really anything we can do but keep the swelling down in the L5-L7 area. If Prednisone is needed for short periods of time, then so be it. It's much cheaper than anything else we've done and it works!!! Yay Jack!!! Merry Christmas to us!

What's in a name?

Do you have a "pet name" for your "pet"? Our dogs (kids) all have human names and middle names. Jackson Philip is our oldest, Jilli Anne is our middle and Thomas Michael is our youngest. They all have so many nicknames that it's a wonder they come to us at all, when we call them. Jack's special pet names are: JP, Jax, Punim, Puney, Randal Francis, Randall and the newly added "Nub" to name a few. Jilli and Tommy probably get the worst of it. Jilli has: Jillibean, Willi, Jilli Vanilli, Willimina, Jay to get started Tommy, well, get ready... Thomas Michael, Captin Tuney, Tuneymelt, Milton, Melton, Smelton, SmellyMelly, Boo-boo bear, Fatty Bear and Fatty McFattington. These poor kids!!! Again, I say, it's amazing they come when we call them! But, we can call them by any of these names and they come to us. Individually and as a pack. I know, you can call whatever you want but it's the tone that brings them. Most times, I agree but not always. When I call Tommy, he will some times just look at me from across the yard, like "yeah, Mom, I hear you but it isn't dark yet...the street light isn't on. I'm staying out longer." and doesn't come regardless of how I say it, what I call him or how stupid I look. He's in the safety of his own fenced back yard and thinks why shoudl I go in if I'm not ready? He's right... why should he? The kids all come when it's urgent and necessary and that's what's most important. How many names do you have for your kids? Fur kids or human? I had several nicknames growing up too. Some worth keeping and some worth forgetting.