Runaway, Tattletale

So I was sitting here last night, half-heartedly reading a book after catching the end of a truly disturbing documentary on the Green channel. (More about that later.) We're going through a cold front, so I'd had the back door closed all evening. I'd just openened it maybe 10 minutes prior, and the dogs were outside. Leia has this habit of running back inside like she's being chased, making a circuit of the living room, and then going back out. It's as if she's checking on me or letting me know she's still around.

Anyway. She ran back inside after being out only a few minutes, stopped just in front of the sofa, stared at me, then ran off. Except she came back within seconds and stared at me again. It really was as if she wanted me to follow her. So I did. She was soooo excited I was following her she twirled in place a few times. Then alternately led/followed me outside.

I called for Max because he is usually the one that sticks close, and Leia's behavior made me a little nervous. She was definitely acting like something was wrong out there. No Max. I called again. And then heard a little jingle from a dog collar, and saw a tiny shape running up to the fence...on the neighbor's side.

The front gate had gotten unlatched somehow (it's been a bit breezy shall we say?) and he went exploring. Leia apparently didn't like this. I've been practicing training them to stay in the yard when the gate is opened. I guess it's taking with her. (Too bad she doesn't understand this includes going under the fence!) She came to get me because Max had gotten out of the yard. Who knew?

When I brought Max back in the house and put him down, she jumped all over him, sniffing him, etc, making sure he was okay. LOL. Too funny. I still can't believe she tattled on him. :)

Almost a month already?

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post. Things have obviously been crazy busy here. We held our annual convention for work last week. It was a great success, but the weeks leading up to it were insane. I hate having the convention so close to a major holiday. Getting off early on a Friday and having a Monday off should be fun, not stress-inducing!

The 4th of July weekend was fun. On Saturday I cleaned like a madwoman, including renting one of those steam cleaners for my sofa. Little Sis' family came over to watch the fireworks, and we barbecued. Actually, I think it was the first barbecue of the season. That's how late summer has come to us! We had a lot of fun, especially Shanni's SIL. We introduced her to Sin.gs.tar for the PS2. I had no idea she loves karaoke so much.

Anyway. Fireworks were spectacular. No fires set by any neighbors, no runaway dogs...I was in bed by midnight and sleeping. A first for the 4th since moving into my house. It made me miss Scully, though. She hated fireworks and would bark all night long. Max and Leia aren't fazed in the least by the noise. A blessing!

That week a virus got let loose on our network (thankfully only affecting my laptop meaning I downloaded it! oops!) but it was a nightmare to clean up. Took three different antivirus/spam programs. The following weekend Shanni and I went rafting on the Missouri with a neighbor of mine. But that's a story best left to its own post.

Then the convention, which meant a week out of town working 15 hour days. Ughh. Last weekend I was pretty much a slug. Went on a puppy hunt (for someone else!) that Saturday, and mowed and grocery shopped on Sunday. This week has been all about playing catch-up both at home and at work!

Awesome Weekend

Sitrep: Gaining weight and not happy about it! But do you think I can make myself exercise? Nope.

Do you ever have one of those weekends where everything just seems to fall together? I just did. And it was wonderful.

Saturday I had a "free" day. Slept in, then headed down to the bookstore. Then I hit the used bookstore, then the independent bookstore downtown, and the library. After that I went home and read the whole afternoon. It was a beautiful day, sunshiny and breezy, temps in the 80's.

Have You Ever...

tried to take a pee sample from a skittish miniature poodle? I don't recommend it. Unless you like pee all over your hand and nothing in the jar. Except dirt. Did manage to get dirt. [sigh]

Leia has a bladder infection; doc gave her an antibiotic shot last week Monday, but she started licking herself again this weekend, and not in the usual dog-licking-themself kind of way. The vet had given me a sterile sample jar in case she got worse, not better. He wants to do a urinalysis. (Thank goodness I got that pet health insurance!)

She won't pee if I'm bending or squatting next to her, and it's hard to walk her in that position anyway. [g] And even as short as I am, by the time I bend down to stick the jar's cap under her (vet tech suggestion), she jumps away. I think I'll bring her in and let them get the sample. They offered to do that if I had problems. For some reason I don't like starting my day by getting peed on.

Nothing Doing

Didn't do much over the weekend. Was rather lazy. Didn't help that the lilacs are blooming. Ugh. It's pretty miserable the few weeks they are in bloom. Darn allergies. This year it's affecting my eyes/head. Minor tension type headache and sore/blurry eyes. Keep wanting to rub them which a) makes it worse and b) messes up my contacts.

Took Leia Saturday morning to the local "Strutt Your Mutt" fundraiser for the Humane Society. Didn't sign up for the walk because I'd forgotten about it until the week before, and with all the rain, wasn't sure I'd want to go. And let's face it. It keeps getting pricier each year. No wonder the turn out is smaller and smaller. Minimum $35 pledge to enter, and they want you to get additional pledges. And that's per person/dog. Not per family. Ughh. Knocks me and Shannon out of the running. I know it's a fundraiser, but I think it knocks a lot of people out of the running.

Anyway. The pet fair was free and I figured it would be good for Leia. Then we went to the farmer's market. She did beautifully with all the people and other dogs. Especially the farmer's market. It was packed. Turned out to be a beautiful morning. Even if the lady with the fantabulous banana nut bread wasn't there.

Sunday afternoon we had quite the storm. Dime sized hail. It even spawned a tornado in the eastern side of the state. Right in downtown Billings. Yikes. No one hurt, thankfully, but definitely some damage!

Last night my two oldest nieces called. Only got to talk for a few minutes, but I really liked that. :)

An Excellent Weekend

The weather was wonderful this weekend. Up in the high sixties, just a little rain Saturday afternoon/early evening.

Did a little grocery shopping Saturday morning, got some things to fix up the yard, and then spent the rest of the day until dinner crashed on the sofa. Started on a head cold last week. In an effort to head it off I took some cold meds that clogged up my ears. Nothing is working. Not Sud.a.fed (the real stuff you get from behind the counter), not the Mullein Garlic drops. My head hurts from doing the "fish" face trying to get my ears to clear. So this pm I'm off to the doc for stronger meds. Four days is long enough!!!

Little Sis and her family came over Saturday for dinner and cake. All of which they cooked. Including the cake in my brand new 9" spring form pan. (Thanks Sis!). That was awesome. No struggling to get the cake out of the pan. Then they came back on Sunday for my birthday present. This year they gave me, drum roll please, free labor. Yep. They spent about 3 hours working on my yard. Doing that wonderful spring cleanup stuff. Raking, mowing the weeds (hate hate hate Foxtail), and raking that up. Amazing how much stuff gets piled up against the fence on the inside of my yard. Especially considering I don't have any trees! Edging got done, too.

Along the west side of the house, where it's only 3 feet between house and fence, Little Sis and I got the weed blocker put down. At each end I put up decorative border. Now just need to get the pea gravel/rocks to lay down in there and it'll be done! No more weeding, no meters blocked. Love it.

Spent a considerable amount of time blocking holes so Leia will stop escaping. Bad thing is most of the chain link fence bottom is just against the ground. So she can dig a little and then push her way out. Sigh. But we got the worst of it blocked off, I think. Also got the gazillion rocks (former flower bed border) picked up. Now just need to get someone with a truck to take them to the dump. Going to call a landscaper/sod company about extending the yard along the garage. Hopefully it's within my budget. Otherwise, it won't be happening this year!

Only thing left to do is the front flower beds, and creating my patio out back.

Oh, and used the clippers I got for my bday (thanks Mom & Dad!) to cut the hair on Little Sis' Westie. The grubby little thing. Worked great. It was like a knife through butter. Amazing. And this dog has a LOT of coarse hair. :) All in all, it was a good weekend.

Yawn.

Weekly Goal: Exercise 2x (30 mins each)
Sitrep:  Sun - Swimming (30 min, treading water mostly)
            Tues - Treadmill (40 min, 2 mi), Abs & Inner/Outer thighs (20 mins)

I'm exhausted today. Partly the workout, partly the weather, mostly Max. Just about every night he sneaks up onto my pillow. Normally I don't realize it until the alarm goes off in the morning. Except for the nights he and Leia decide they both want my pillow, and the "silent battle" forces me off the pillow - and awake. And yes, I put an extra pillow on the bed. They don't want that one. It has to be the one my head is currently on.]

Unfortunately for Max (and me), he is wearing the "cone of shame" for the next two weeks. So when he tries to sneak onto my pillow, that darn cone smacks into me and wakes me up. Fun. I tried getting the inflatable donut collar. Yeah, that didn't work too well. He needs a small, which they didn't have in stock. The medium is actually the perfect width to keep him from his back legs, but it's super heavy. And awkward for him to lay down in. Too much "pillow" under his chin. So. Back it goes. The small will most likely be too narrow to keep him from the back legs. Which many reviewers of the product pointed out, which is why I went with medium. Oh well. The plastic cone from the vet it is.

Max is doing well. He pulled out one staple right before the bandages came off. Vet put that back in. He walks funnier now than before, because he doesn't know to bend his knees. So having the knee caps staying in place is causing him to walk stiff-legged. And side-ways. (But that last might be the cone around his head. Hard to see through.) No physical therapy for two weeks. Staples come out Thursday next week. He looks pretty funny. My scrawny-chicken-legged-naked-butt dog. ;) I definitely need to get some pics.

"Mighty" Max Surgery Update

Weekly goal: exercise 2x
Status: 1x Perfect Cardio - warm up & abs

Max went in for his knee surgery today. He is out of surgery and doing well. Dr. T says the knees had definitely gotten worse since I first brought him in in November. The knee caps wouldn't stay in place at all. Which I was suspecting. That's why I moved up the surgery date. Poor little Max. No wonder he would refuse to walk during obedience training.

So they had to do more during the operation than planned. I was half expecting that from some of the research I've done on Luxating Patella. In addition to the Trochleoplasty, Dr T performed a Tibial Crest Transposition (see 3rd set of pictures here http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/patella.htm):

...The groove at the base of the femur may be surgically deepened to better contain the knee cap. This procedure is known as a trochlear modification [or Trochleoplasty]...The bony protuberance at the site of the attachment of the quadriceps tendon on the tibia may be cut off and then re-attached in a more lateral position. This is termed a tibial crest transposition. (http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1569&aid=457)

I'm relieved he's doing well. Bummed he has to stay overnight at the vet. I get to pick him up tomorrow morning at 11:30. The vet will explain everything needed then as far as what Max can and can't do. They didn't do post-op x-rays today because Max' body temp was getting too low from the anesthesia. They're going to do those in the morning before I come pick him up.

I wonder how Leia is going to do tonight without Max. She's been alone for the day before, but I've always come back with Max. Wonder how she's going to act? Hopefully better than Tuesday (with Max in the house!). She finished off a bag of dog treats and nibbled on the corner of a paperback book I just bought. I hope Max was able to get a few of the treats...Ahhh, the joys of puppyhood!

Monday Morning

Oh boy, it's only 10:30 am and I'm ready for bed. Did not sleep well last night. Woke up about 3 or 4 am singing "John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith". I so do not want to know what I was dreaming about. Went back to a fitful sleep where I dreamed a combo of "Emma" (watched last hour on PBS before bed) and a hurricane and a crime show. Holy smokes. So should not have had that ice cream last night. :(

Have a board meeting this afternoon. It's via conference call, which I hate because I have a hard time hearing and making out voices. Makes it difficult to take proper notes. Although maybe I can get our new secretary/treasurer to do this. Last one wouldn't....I'm nervous about it because while we did okay overall, we did lose money on a few classes. I've stream-lined the classes we were losing money on, but we're packing so many new things into the schedule (at the demand of the boss) I'm worried about the impact on attendance. It's a tough economy, agencies are being stricter on what they'll pay for, and so on. There're also a few areas I just can't seem to make progress on and it's frustrating. But overall I think the meeting should be positive.

Max goes in for surgery on Thursday. Trochlear Modification is what he's having done:

The patella rides in a groove at the bottom of the femur (thigh bone). In toy breed dogs this groove is shallow, which allows the patella to slip. If the groove is deepened, the patella stays where it belongs. The normal groove in the femur is lined by slippery lubricated cartilage, called hyaline cartilage. This cartilage is peeled or cut away, the bone underneath is sliced out to form a deeper groove, and the cartilage is replaced. Techniques that do not preserve the original cartilage are no longer recommended. (http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2448)

The quoted cost is about $1200 total for having both legs done at same time. It includes the surgery & miscellaneous stuff surgeries require, pre- post- surgery x-rays, follow up/recheck visit, rehab evaluation and visit, post-op meds, stitches removal, etc. Not too bad.

I moved the surgery up after talking to the doc, because Max seems to be having more weakness in the hind legs. I've removed the box spring and frame from my bed, and now sleep on a mattress on the floor. Less stress on his legs. He's fast, and just so darn hard to keep from jumping on/off things. He's also walking a bit more bow-legged to my eyes. So I talked to the vet. I'll just have to be very careful to keep his bandages and the incision as dry as possible. (Easier said than done...still have 6+ inches of snow on the ground, more in forecast!) Rehab exercises can be done indoors as he is so small.

Of course, this means he won't get to finish obedience training. But we've made it to the halfway point (this week), and I'll finish with Leia so at least I can continue his training on my own later.

Leia is doing great with training. We walked to the post office on Saturday and she did fabulous heeling and ignored some big barking dogs that we passed. Ones that used to make her refuse to walk further. She does "sit" and "down" like a pro. We're still working on her understanding of "stand". And she doesn't like to have me stand too close to her. It's hard to get her to sit right next to my leg and look forward. She wants to sit angled so she can keep an eye on me. We're working on that...

It's Raining Dogs and, well, Dogs

I'm sure you can guess today's post is about dogs! This week begins the 9 week dog-training classes for Leia and Max. Leia went to her first class last night. She did great. A bit overwhelmed at first, but interested in what was around us. Actively looking around. After a few minutes sitting in my lap she stopped trembling, so I put her on the floor by my feet. She moved around, looked at the other dogs. Her tail wasn't completely up, but it wasn't tucked underneath her, either.

As to the actual training, she did great considering! She distracted easily if someone got too close/walked by, or another dog barked. But overall paid attention. Loves the treats, naturally! Since we've already worked on "sit", how to walk on a leash, and she's learned I go through the door first, we were ahead in that respect. Just need some practice. We're also learning "come", "come-sit", and responding to her name.

There were 24 dogs in class (not including her.) At least half of them small dogs.

There was this one dog, very adorable. I had to ask what it was. It's a Biewer Yorkshire Terrier (or Biewer Terrier, depending on who you talk to.)

<------Here's a pic I found online. The cutest dog I think I've ever seen. The one in class is pretty similar, just has a bit longer coat. I was surprised to hear it's bred from a Yorkie...didn't look like one to me.

Anyway. Tomorrow night is Max' night. I'm a bit more nervous about how he'll do.

What's in a name?

Sitrep: No exercise since last Thursday. Ackk. Tonight is a gym night, though.

And PERFECT CARDIO is now launched. For those of you who've been reading my blog for awhile, this is the latest and greatest from BodyRev, the workout I've been so successful on these last years. Check out their site. http://www.perfectonline.com/store/index.php/cardio_home (Don't forget to read the testimonials.)

I'm being reminded there is quite a bit to choosing names. And that there are way too many choices. I'm having troubles choosing a name that fits my new puppy. I've been calling her Leia, but it's kind of an "eh" name for her. Not like Max, whose name came to me while I was thinking of him, and everyone agrees is his name. But Leia...eh. I'm used to calling her that. She doesn't come to it half the time. Max has come to his name from the get-go.

She is a sweet, loving thing, and looks like a little bear. So I've tried several incarnations of that. Little Bear is too long. And my neighbor's dog is Bear, so there'd be some confusion. The Spanish version is Osita, but the beginning is awkward.

I spent several hours in Barnes & Noble & Borders last week looking up names in baby name books and in pet name books (only one, but they have it!). I've also looked online. Came up with a list of names that I liked. Only they fell flat when I came home and tried them out on her. Names sure are different when you say them out loud.

Names I liked but failed: Osita (little bear), Fala (a crow in Choctaw & also the name of FDRs dog), Lucy (light), Mina (strong willed warrior, blue glass/gem, or south), Mhina (delightful), Olivia, Livvy, Trixie (bringer of joy)...

That last one almost worked. I like the meaning of the name, and it's also the heroine of one of my favorite book series as a kid "Trixie Belden Mysteries". I was going to go with Trixie Belle. Just calling her Trixie. It's still a contender, but is only just above or tied with Leia.

Here's the latest list: 

• Zoe (life)
• Sophie (wisdom)
• Bella (beautiful)
• Esme (Spanish, from Emerald)
• Michi (Guarani, means "little, small", commonly used to call cats in Paraguay).
• Flora (for flower, and for the Skunk in "Bambi". That always tickled my funny bone, and her markings are upside-down skunk; also one of the fairy godmother's in "Sleeping Beauty")

Right now I'm leaning toward Esme or Michi. Will have to try them out verbally later. What do you think?

Define: Luxating Patella

Sitrep for Last Week:  60 mins treadmil x 2, 30 minutes weights (arms), 50 mins weights (arms & legs).

After the good news I get to keep Max, and a really great weekend that included a "Girls Day Out" along with a trip to the gym, yesterday sure was a rude awakening.

Took Max to the vet for his initial exam. Weighing in at 6.8 pounds & at least 2 years old, here's the summary:

Diagnosis: Loose and infected tooth. (No wonder I have to coax him to eat.)
Remedy: Tooth gets extracted on Thursday.

Diagnosis: Luxating Patella, Grade III (Basically means dislocated knee cap. Both rear legs.)
Remedy: Surgery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxating_patella
http://petsurgery.com/medialpatellarluxation.html
http://www.cpvh.com/Articles/78.html

So. Along with tooth extraction this week, they are going to do x-rays of both knees to see how bad it is and the vet can decide which type of surgery is necessary.

Max doesn't seem to be in pain, and moves around. But this could be why he's not as playful as you'd expect a 2 year old dog to be. Today at lunch Max jumped up on the sofa into my lap. I checked his knees and actually felt one pop back into place. Gross. Poor thing. Except for a flinch around the eyes, which I'd've missed if I hadn't been looking so closely, he didn't let on a bit. He's probably had this for quite awhile.

I've been gong to this vet for about 8 years now, so I don't think he's scamming me for money. Especially since Leia does that funky hop-skip with her back right leg when she's on the grass. But only on the grass. Vet says her knees check out fine; her feet are very soft so it could just be the grass tickles/pricks her feet. Makes sense as to why she only does that on the grass. And she runs like the wind, so...

I'm really bummed. I don't want to take him back to the shelter, because you know no one else will adopt him with this issue. But I'm so bummed because I thought I'd done with medical issues, and was going to get him insurance, just like Leia. But they require the initial exam, and it's now a pre-existing condition. Which basically means that even after surgery, anything that goes wrong with his legs, period, won't be covered. And while surgery very much decreases chances of arthritis and torn ligaments (both of which he'd almost certainly get without surgery), they are still a possibility. Sigh.
 
So I've had custody of the dog just over a month, been official owner for a week, and already have a vet bill nearing one grand. Good thing I got that bonus last week. And a very small payraise. Ain't life grand? [g]

Max is Mine!

Whoo-hoo. Just got the call from the shelter and Max is all cleared for adoption. What a relief. I was getting a bit worried about how attached he is to me and to Leia. Now just need to get him neutered and up to date on his shots and we'll be all set. Yippee!! :)

Warp Speed Ahead!

Sitrep: Painting low walls & sloping ceilings = squats. Oy, do my butt muscles ache this morning!

Mom & Dad arrived Friday evening. It's great to see them again. The dogs are doing okay with them, I supppose, although they were both intimidated by Dad. Max warmed up to him first. Leia is still a bit skittish. But whenever he or mom walk into a room the dogs are in and I'm not there, they freak out barking. Ughh. And this morning, when Dad got up, Leia flipped out which set Max off. Poor thing. Half the time I don't think he has a clue why they're barking. Just knows something upset her so he must need to bark as well! But he settles down much quicker when I tell them to be quiet. Definitely need to start working on that!

And oh, Max can fly. [g] We painted the upstairs yesterday. To keep the dogs out of the way, I put up the baby gate in the doorway from the living room into the kitchen, so they couldn't get to the stairs (off the sunroom you access through the kitchen). Well, they didn't like us upstairs without them. The usual whining, barking, scratching at the gate, etc. After a few minutes of painting, I heard the pitter-patter of little feet on the stairs. And there was Max, looking mighty pleased with himself. The gate was still up, and Leia was still on the other side. So I had to put a second gate up in the doorway above the first. [g]

Later on, Mom didn't realize Dad & I were outside cleaning up the paint trays (she was in the kitchen cooking dinner) and she let the dogs out. Ooops. Of course, they charge through the wet grass & paint splatters. I chased them back inside and Leia went right through a paint spill on the cardboard we'd placed on the sunroom floor. I yelled at Mom "Catch her! She walked in paint!" Of course, the second Mom moved for her Leia dodged and made it to the living room.  I had to come in and catch her because Mom couldn't.Then had to clean up the little white paw prints on the nice laminate flooring. LOL. At least it cleaned up easily. We should have gotten that on tape. One silly little 6.5 lb dog successfully evading two adult women. Sheesh.

Today I'm going to get color samples for upstairs and hopefully we'll paint that tomorrow. Wednesday the trim, and maybe Thursday we'll be able to move all the stuff back upstairs. Whoo-hoo!

First Sighting of the Pink Beast

We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

I've been forced to drag out my winter coat. It's warm, but a bit on the bulky side. And purply pink. Unbelievably so. You can't miss me when I'm wearing this thing. Wind chill was 8* this morning. Ughh.

It doesn't help that I'm fighting off whatever bug is going around. I'm sitting here at work, alone, all wrapped up in a fleece wrap and I'm cold. I better not get the flu. Especially not with Mom & Dad arriving in one week. Way too much to do.  But I'm tired, and have had this headache since yesterday afternoon that nothing helps, and starting to feel achy. Thankfully it's Friday.

Dog Update
The dogs are doing good. Lots of progress with Max. He even ate his breakfast today without my having to stand next to him. I was able to move to the other side of the room and fix my own, only redirecting him to his bowl once. He's been like a shadow. Outside, he doesn't just hide behind my legs, he'll wander now. He and Leia were actually playing the other night. Too bad it was our last potty time before bed...Not the best time to play. [g] But I let them for a few minutes.

Leia is just too adorable for words. They both are. She is a hoot. Every once in awhile while running around the backyard she'll suddenly pick both back legs up and run forward a few steps on her front feet. It's bizarre, and hilarious. I remember Cherie, the mini poodle we had growing up, was finicky about walking on grass. I'm hoping I can eventually teach Leia to do this on command. And why not? There's a reason poodles are circus dogs! I'm thinking of training them as therapy dogs to visit M's group home. They are a good size to cuddle, and love cuddling. Especially as their resident dog is nearing her final years. We'll just have to see how they do at obedience training. So far so good though, just with the commands I'm using at home. Leia is beginning to understand "drop it" and "leave it" as well as "off".

Book Review
But enough on the dogs. I just finished listening to J.Evanovich's last Stephanie Plum novel "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" on audio. I must say, I was a bit disappointed. Was there this much reliance on bodily funtion humor in previous books? I don't remember it that way. Maybe I'm too much of a prude. Maybe I'm just being female. But I don't like the majority of the "humor" being about farts, etc.

Had a couple other quibbles. Like Ranger hiring Stephanie to figure out who was doing the break ins. Huh? Like the guys working for him wouldn't know she'd report everything back to him. And then when they did catch who it was, they never explained how they knew enough about the accounts to be so particular about what they stole. Because the crooks were from outside his organization. And great emphasis was placed on the types of things stolen, etc. I just find it hard to believe that someone with Ranger's background, skills and supposed experience could be stumped that easily...

And the whole Chipotle killer ending...I don't know. Just was off to me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.

And seriously. How many years has Stephanie been a bounty hunter now? How many times has she had someone go in the other room to get dressed/used the bathroom/whatever and then sneak out? Or put handcuffs on one of their wrists and they take off? She's not the best bounty hunter, but she's not as stupid as in this book, either. It's getting irritating.

And the paint thing, flour thing, where Stephanie is the only one that gets hit with the stuff, and Ranger never does, even when standing next to her for the paint...Yeah, right. He'd get splattered a bit.

And speaking of Ranger. In this book his interest in Stephanie didn't seem good to me. I can't quite explain it. It just came across as he's just toying with her, she amuses him because she's less. You know, the blond bimbo type thing. More of a paternalistic/superior attitude. I don't know. It's hard to put into words.

I'm starting to wish Evanovich would just finish the series.

Next on the list to read: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Part of the "Big Read in the Big Sky" events this month. The author is going to be here to discuss the book. I'm thinking of going.

Next on the list to review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (Young Adult book). The book series Little Sis and her mom were arguing over.

Puppy Pics

Sitrep: 30 minutes treadmill, 15 minutes swimming pool. Climbing team starts again tomorrow, so my 2x week trips to the gym are back on! Yay!

These are funner to look at and blog about than the snow we've been getting. First snow in town for the year. Whoo-hoo. :(

Here's Leia (much cuter in person)

Here's Max

I'm starting to think Max came from some type of puppy mill situation or one where he was never let out of his crate. Because when left home alone he will pee on his bed and still lay on it. {sigh}. He doesn't go in the house if I'm home...only when I'm at work. Even though I come home at lunch to let them out. So I'm going to have to get him used to feeling clean & liking that, and reinforce potty training. Crate training not really an option since he'd pee in his crate. Lovely.

I'm liking having them around, although it's hard to be out of the routine Scully & I were in. I'm very much a routine type of person. :)

Dogs in the House, Part Two

Meet Max

Turns out his name is actually “Neo” and I heard “Neil”. Neo sounds too much like “no” to my ears, and I don’t like it much anyway. Even though I’m just fostering him, I’m changing his name. Max is the name that came to me when thinking of him the weekend I first met him & Leia, so Max it is.

He is very timid. More so than I expected. I got him to the house and showed him the kitchen, where food & water are set out, and then the sofa. And that was that. He jumped up on the sofa and hid in a corner of it. Wouldn’t come out. I carried him outside to go to the bathroom, to the kitchen to eat. He wouldn’t eat or drink that first day. When I took them out just before bedtime, Leia came back in on her own but he didn’t. Even though he’d used the doggie door when we first arrived. I had to get a flashlight to find him. He’d bedded down in the tall grass along the side of the house. He was trembling so when I got him and took him inside for the night. He stayed where he was put those first days. On Saturday evening, he inched closer to me on the sofa while I was reading. And later that night he came running across the sofa to me when I patted my leg. I’m trying hard to ignore him when he’s being timid…no soothing pats to reinforce the timidity. It’s tough. Poor little thing.

Also Saturday I got him to follow me to the kitchen where he drank; he wouldn’t eat until I tried desensitizing him to my presence/hands with kibble. Sunday he followed me outside. Now he comes outside most of the time when I take them out together, and comes back inside when I tell him it’s okay. Yesterday morning he started wandering around when I wasn’t in the room. Today he learned how to get on and off the bed using the stairs. That was great. I also put the leash on him for a few minutes so he can get used to it.

So slowly we make progress. He is going to be tougher than Leia. I’m not sure on too many details of his past; the shelter wasn’t very informative. I think they can’t say too much because there is a pending court case. I do hope I can keep him. At the least, I’m going to do my best to get him stabilized and have more courage.

I’m currently reading Cesar Milan’s “Be the Pack Leader” which is pretty insightful. If you watch his show enough, you already know most of it. That’s what the first half of the book is about. But now it’s getting to the nitty-gritty. If he is stable enough, we’ll do dog training in January as well.

Dogs in the House

Friday afternoon Little Sis, Mom M and I went down to the shelter in B___ to pick up the dogs. I think we made record time getting there! I was so excited. Nervous, too. Did all the paperwork (they are very thorough, and gave me tons of great info), and then they brought out the dogs.

Meet Leia

The nine month old poodle is adorable. She’s timid, not sure what all is going on, but adapting much easier because she’s so young. She is a hoot. She took to the doggie door fairly easily, and now runs in and out like it’s the coolest thing on the planet. I guess it is, to her! Second best was when she figured out the stairs to get up on the bed. That was on Sunday night. It was up-down-up-down-up-down until I thought I’d go mad. I invited her up on the bed, and then moved the stairs away. She promptly went to sleep. She listens well, but is still a bit skittish coming to me, especially when I put my hand down or lean down to her. But we are working on it and she improves daily.

This morning I actually walked her a few minutes in the house with a leash on. I’d put in on her for a bit yesterday and let her walk with it dragging. Just so she’d get used to it being on. The trainer we’re going to recommended this. The next scheduled training class starts in January, but the trainer is great. She gave me tons of advice and told me to call her if I have any questions or need advice before the class starts.

Today she also started playing with the little stuffed toy I gave her. It was quite cute. We’ve been playing, but without toys. She really wants the Yorkie to play with her, but he’s a bit too timid right now. I'm going to focus on training her on the leash, and getting her to learn her name. Those are the priorities on top of the usual house rules. She's doing great so far.

New Additions

Well, I got the call last night. I'm adopting a dog! They approved me for the 9 mo Miniature Poodle. They've been calling her Sileshia, but I'm renaming her Leia. Yep. Star Wars wins. [g] It was on my list of potential names, and when I met her she reminded me of one of my favorite scenes in the original trilogy. The one where Han says "There's no time to discuss this in committee" and Leia says "I am not a comittee!". (Empire Strikes Back.) So there you have it.

Here's a not so good picture of her from the shelter's website. She's much cuter in person:

I'm also going to foster the 2 year old Yorkshire Terrier, Neil. There's a court case and they don't have custody of him as far as an adoption goes. But I can foster him, and am first choice once they do have custody. So it looks like I get two dogs on Friday. I want to rename him, but am not sure if I should or not. I have a hard time remembering "Neil". Dunno why. Max is the name that comes to mind for him. Clear as a bell, that name is, whenever I think of this dog. I'm undecided on if I should rename him now or wait a few weeks until (hopefully) the court case is resolved.

But in the meantime, I'm elated. It'll be nice having dogs in the house. Although Mom M laughs and says there'll be a ghost dog war. Because Scully came to me last night. I was having a nightmare, and was woken up by the feel of her doing the little walk in circles before laying down manouever. Just like she would do when she got cold in the middle of the night and pushed her way under the covers. I felt her steps on the bed, and then her curling up against my back. It wasn't until I reached over to pet her that I realized she wasn't physically there. But it pulled me out of the nightmare!

And as much as I love her and miss her, and believe she loved me, we can all be agreed on this: Scully wouldn't want me to have another dog. [lol]

Skeptical Me

Sitrep: Move Office. (uck)

So much is going on in the news lately I hardly know where to start. I want to blog about health care, but I haven't quite sorted stuff out in my mind. And then there's Mi.chael V.ick. I had the misfortune of watching/listening to him on 6.0 M.inut.es last Sunday. I don't know about anyone else, but I firmly believe the man is lying. He doesn't give two hoots about animals. His opinion about animals and the way they ought to be treated hasn't changed. He said he was brought up with that attitude toward animals. Well, those kinds of attitudes don't change because he lost his NFL contract (temporarily) and went to jail (temporarily). Oh, he might not participate in dog fights anymore. He might pay lip service and do appearances with the HSUS to save face and get his career back. Frankly, I think it's a crock he's getting back in the NFL. What punishment did he really get? Not much if you ask me. Personally, I think the publicity surrounding his crimes, punishment and subsequent release have only served to increase the popularity of dog fighting, made it more "cool", and encouraged those participating in the minimal consequences endured if caught. More info: http://www.hsus.org/acf/fighting/dogfight/dogfighting_fact_sheet.html http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/08/vick-60-minutes.html http://www.hsus.org/acf/