Grooming on Awww Monday

Lucy, Ace Reporter here on the Groom Beat with another new groom.

Hi folks! I’m back with another happy grooming report. Once again, this new groom was referred by one of our newer clients. Shadow is a nine-year-old miniature schnauzer who looks silver. She probably started out as a salt-and-pepper, which is Xena’s coloring. In any case, she’s a beautiful silver now. Her 87 year old Mom has been in physical rehab, and is being released soon to her home in Alabama. Shadow has been staying with her peeps sister who lives near us. She wasn’t in bad shape – except for matting in her skirt – so we didn’t take a “before” picture. Here is Shadow after her groom.

Her feet were already shaved, and her legs had been trimmed short. Since Shadow’s mom is elderly, it’s hard for her to keep Shadow’s feet cleaned, so she likes them with less hair.

Isn’t she a beauty? Shadow talked to Groomer Mom a bit after her groom and thanked her for taking good care of her. Groomer Mom’s sad that she probably won’t see Shadow again since she’s going back to Alabama. She told Shadow’s care-taker that she would keep this one — as in for good — if her Mom ever couldn’t keep her. Personally, I think the Groomer needs to stay more objective and stop falling in love with these dogs. The Reporter doesn’t need yet another sister.

We are joining Comedy Plus with much thanks for hosting Awww Mondays.

Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off with *wags* and *licks.”

Xena and Chia Playing

Wednesday, Lucy and Chia got the entire post. Today is my turn. I know at first I was pretty mean to Chia, but you’ve gotta understand, I had to teach her some boundaries and make sure she understands who is in charge. Lately, it’s been said around the house that Chia has brought out the puppy in me again. Well, I guess it’s possible to be a four-year-old puppy, right? However, I am secretly practicing pretend submission in case I ever need it, as well as honing up on my Warrior Schnauzer Princess skills.

Chia: OK, so here’s how we’re gonna play…

Riley: Hmm, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Xena: Bwahahahaha. So you think that you can set down the rules? Bwahahahahahaha.

Xena: That’s right, head over my shoulder, then step to the side. Be sure to cross your legs. This is how you dance.

Chia: I don’t wanna dance. I wanna wrestle! Gotcha! Now I’m gonna flip you on your back.

Xena: *thinking* That’s it. I’m playing dead.

Chia: OMD! Did I kill her? C’mon XeXe, wake up! Please don’t be dead.

Xena: I’m not dead, you fool. But come any closer and I might hurt you.

Chia: Can we play again?

Xena: Sure, let’s play “dance”.

And on it went. For an hour. Or maybe 87 minutes.

Xena’s 4th Birthday

We are joining Comedy Plus with much thanks for hosting Awww Mondays.

It’s my birthday and I’ll bark if I want to, bark if I want to, bark if I want to…
Two people for me to bark at already stopped by the house today. I wonder how many more I’ll get to bark at before we quietly go to bed at the end of my special day.

I started the morning with a nice bowl of cauliflower and cubed deer steak with a topping of finely ground eggshells (for calcium), a squirt of krill oil (to lube me all over), and a dollop of tumeric paste (for allergies). Yummmmmmy!

Then Mommy and Daddy took me for a cooler-than-later morning walk through the neighborhood. Well, Lucy and Chia went too, but I know it was specially for me today. (Riley was still in bed.) When we got back I got my legs and face rinsed off to help keep away the allergies, then played with Chia for awhile before we all settled into our post-brekkies naps. I woke up with all my stuffies wishing me a happy birthday!

Oscar the Schnauzer: We’ve been in hiding since Chia arrived. But our best friend Xena is worth taking a chance for. We love you, Xena! Happy Birthday!
That’s when I got a birthday present – a new member of the stuffie family.

I think he’s a lemer. He’s really soft and cuddly. I might call him Jim. Or Tom. Or Larry. Larry the Lemer. Has kind of a ring to it, doesn’t it?

Then Chia showed up again. She plowed her way through my stuffies like they were celebrating her! Her first victim, er, choice was Chippy, probably ’cause he was out front.

After tickling him and throwing him across the room, she played with Eleephont and dug out two balls and a bone and finally retrieved Chippy and settled down on the couch with me.

You’re disturbing my nap.

Later me and Mommy are going to work on our Freestyle. I’m learning to run over to a pole and touch it with my nose, and then get a treat tossed to me. Then I run back to Mommy and get another treat. This stuff is soooo easy, but I still insist on getting paid. I’m also learning to do pivots with Mommy – I mostly just march in place with my front feet and move around in a circle with my back feet. We do that until Mommy gets dizzy and almost falls over, BOL.

First, though, I get to chose which tuna steak I want for supper. That little blue sticker on the package says fresh caught.

Mmmm, I think I’ll take this one, and Lucy can have the other one. Chia eats kibble, so no sharing with her. Mommy, can we give her just a bite, do you think that’s ok? OK, we’ll offer it and if she doesn’t want it, well, it won’t go to waste.

I am the four-year-old Xena Schnauzer Princess Warrior *woof* *woof*

Happy Father’s Day, Dad(dy)

Xena: I love my Daddy soooo much. He is kind and sweet to me and calls me “Little One,” cause I’ll always be his puppy.

Lucy, Dad and Xena

Lucy: I love my Dad sooo much. He never raises his voice and is always my safe place when I get scared, and calls me “My Big Girl,” cause I’ll always be his best girl.

Happy Father’s Day, and we love you, Dad(dy).

Your girls, Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess (and now Chia, too)

We are happy to join The Cat on My Head for Sunday Selfies.

Someone Stole my Picture

There’s a picture thief out there, and we wouldn’t have known it if Mommy hadn’t randomly watched a You Tube video, “10 Facts about Miniature Schnauzers.” If you want to see my picture in this video, go to fact #8 where the timer is 5:53.

That person sure didn’t get all her “facts” right. She said we are all brave. Angel Lexi was fearless, and I really try, I really do, but….well. (I really try, I really do.) She also said we are great with kids. Mommy’s first schnauzer, Freda, was good with her peep siblings, but Lexi never liked kids much until she got her role as Toto and found out that the kids almost worshiped her. She was willing to take their adoration (and candy). She ended up being a fantastic therapy dog for the children’s hospital for 10 years. Frankly, I’m scared of kids. (See how that makes 2 of her “facts” totally wrong?)

You want some facts, lady? Here’s some facts.

Fact #1: We love our stuffies. It’s a fact I’ve only hurt one of my stuffies. Someone else hurt the others.

We love our stuffies.

Fact #2: We are dominant. Daddy always lets me dominate him before we cuddle up to go to sleep at night.

We are dominant.

Fact #3: We hate wearing clothes. And harnesses. And anything that restricts our freedom or hides our pretty hair.

We hate wearing clothes.

Fact #4: We love to cuddle.

We like to cuddle.

These are all facts specific to this schnauzer. Your schnauzer may be different. Just like people are all different, right?

Anyhoo, what do you think about someone using other’s pictures without permission on an “informative” video?

I am Xena Schnauzer Princess Warrior with a stolen picture.

Pee Ess: If you dont wanna watch that video, this is the picture she stole:

Our Trip and Chia on Wordy Wednesday

Thanks to Comedy Plus 
for hosting Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

Xena: Hi friends, we’re back! Did you miss us? Me and Lucy, we went away – way away. We rode in the car for 14 hours. Really! I know sometimes I egg zagerate a teeny bit, but I actually heard my folks say it was a 14 hour drive! Our supper was 87 hours late.

Riley: They went away and left me.

They even took that annoying Chia somewhere. I was just starting to like her – kinda.

Lucy: Our neighbor Mr. Ron was thinking about keeping Chia for good, so he got a “test drive” for four days.

Xena: We thought we would miss her…well, at least a little bit…but how could we miss her when it was like she was there with us at our Grandma’s house in Ill in noise? That’s our Aunt Jenny’s puppy, Jemma, bothering me on my Grandma’s deck. (Aunt Jenny is not to be confused with our Auntie Jen) I had to keep putting Jemma in her place. She doesn’t understand boundaries because she hasn’t had other dogs to play with and she’s only 11 months old like Chia. Those two would really hit it off.

Everyone left us alone and let us work it out. I was a good teacher. We played a little bit, too.

Lucy: We were at our Grandma’s house, and our Dad’s two sisters were there. They are our Aunt Jenny and Aunt Bobbi. The other pup behind Xena and Jemma is Aunt Bobbi’s dog Daisy. She’s a farm dog from Indiana. She was real nice, and pretty much left everyone alone.

We were way out in the country in an area called The Territories. Xena and I got to play outside in the big yard while Mom helped Aunt Bobbi and her husband Uncle Dennis pull weeds and make the area around the house look better. We ran and ran and chased each other. Then we saw a baby deer, so we chased it! We got called back before we could catch it, though.

Xena: I wasn’t sure about Aunt Bobbi at first, and wanted to go to my Uncle Dennis. But when Mommy handed me to Aunt Bobbi I could tell how much she wanted me to like her, so I did. I even let her baby hold me.

Early Monday we started on the 87, er, 14 hour ride home. No one was at our house when we got home that night exceptin’ for Riley. He was real happy to see us, too. Then Mommy disappeared for a little while the next morning and came back with…guess who. Yep, you probably guessed…it was Chia. She was over the moon excited to see us.

Lucy: She was moving so fast that she was a blur, not just in the picture, either. I was still a bit groggy from all the Sea Beady oil I took on the way home, so I hid from everyone the rest of the day.

Xena: The next morning I played with Chia for a while after Mommy told me to stop being so ugly to her. She finally wore out and slept most of the day close to where Mommy was working for the synagogue.

Chia

Later, I got to laugh at her, cause she had to wear my big girl panties! BOL, BOL, BOL! Can you see the look she’s giving Mommy?

Then Mommy forgot to take them off of her when she went out to potty. ROTFL (Roll On The Floor Laughing)! At least I never pooped my pants! For once in my life I’m glad we’ve got two more pair, a purple one and a green one. She’ll probably be wearing them for another week or two.

Lucy: At least she went out to potty, even if she did it in her diaper!
Mr. Ron said “he” was a very good girl the whole time “he” was there. “He” didn’t mess in the house at all and didn’t tear up anything. But “he” did try to take off when “he” saw a squirrel on their short walk, and “he” pulled Mr. Ron over a fence. Poor Mr. Ron has a lot of physical problems because of being in the service. We don’t know what all happened to him, but he’s not got a lot of strength and has had lots of operations on his back. Anyhow, Mr. Ron said he didn’t get hurt. Whew! About then Mom gently said, “You know Chia is a girl, right? She’s in heat.” Mr. Ron said he knew that, and had been thinking about a new name for “him”, like Rocky or a couple of other boy names that he said. Again, Mom gently reminded him that Chia is a girl. We think Chia may always be a boy to him.

Mr. Ron wants to keep Chia or Rocky or whoever. He fell in love with him, er, her, just like Mom figured he would. Chia cuddled up next to him all the time, or laid in the same “baby hold” that Xena does. But his son was coming with his German Shepherd that would have attacked and killed Chia. After that he has several trips planned. So Mom suggested that they share her. She would live with Mr. Ron when he was home and it was safe to do so. We would keep her the rest of time, even if Mr. Ron just needed a “time-out.” He had to think about that for a minute, and then decided he liked that idea.

Xena: I like that idea too. That way I can still be the baby most of the time. She will still come here and we can play and have fun and be a bigger family. And when she’s gone we can rest and play with each other and take trips and do Freestyle and, and, and…. maybe miss her, too.

Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess, Riley and Chia wishing you a happy Wordy Wednesdy.

Grooming with Mom: Gus

Lucy, Ace Reporter here on the Groom Beat.

Once again we have a new pup to groom. And when I say pup, I mean a little, four-month-old puppy named Gus. Do you remember at the end of April when one of Mom’s wonderful long-time clients suggested that little Jo Jo’s mom bring her to groomer Mom? If you missed that one, just click here to see an adorable yorkie!

Then Jo Jo’s mom told Gus’ mom, and Gus came for his very first groom at 7:30 in the morning. I’d had my breakfast and didn’t really want to get up out of bed again so early, but I knew puppy’s first groom would be good reporting material.

Here is Gus before his first groom. He is a shih tzu, maltese mix. We couldn’t find the maltese part.

Gus only weighs about 2 or 3 pounds, so you know he’s tiny. He’s a happy puppy, too. While he got his nails cut he learned to count how many feet he has and how many toenails on each foot. He liked that, too. Won’t his mom be surprised when she says, “Give me your paw,” and he answers, “Which one? I have four.” BOL

Oops, I think Xena’s long, rambling stories have influenced me! Back to reporting.
Gus didn’t much care for his bath, but then who does?

Groomer Mom took her time with him, kissing him and talking to him and showing him all the grooming tools before she used them. He was very interested, too!

About an hour or so later, Gus wanted to know if it was time to go and what would happen if he jumped off the table.

Thankfully, he didn’t get a chance to find out. But he did get a little scarf and a big kiss goodbye!

Uh Mom, it looks like you missed some hair under Gus’s wiggly chin.
I am Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off with wags and licky kisses. Oh, and we are very Thankful today for Gus and all the other wonderful pups – big and small, young and old – who come to my Mom for grooming.

Today we are joining Brian’s Thankful Thursday, with special thanks to Brian for hosting it!

Xena Reports on Chia

Many thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting Happy Tuesday.

Many of you have asked what’s been happening with Chia, the pup our brother Andrew brought home. Here’s a couple of videos. Watch part, watch all, you’ll see Lucy and Chia bonding. It gets pretty boring after a while.

That’s how Lucy used to play with me when I was a puppy. Now I’m a big girl and can run with the big dogs! I never stay on the porch — unless Mommy tells me to.

Right after a storm Lucy fell sound asleep while Chia sat on her and gave her raspberries. She can be a real brat.

This pink and purple shirt is way too long for me, as it was for Lexi. So Mom figured it would fit this little half doxie just right.

Seems she didn’t like wearing it any more than me or Lexi did.

I’ve started playing with Chia too. She likes to gently comb her teeth through my eyebrows and beard. That feels really nice and I stand still and let her do it. Except one day she grabbed my beard and started pulling! Mommy said if she had know I was going to attack Chia for so long, she would have caught it on video. Of course, this is a G-rated site, so there may have been too much violence to post it. Don’t worry, no one was hurt — except me where she pulled my beard. She sure hasn’t tried that again.

The house breaking is going pretty well. She had one accident first thing in the morning as she was coming out of her (my) kennel. She tried to hold it but had to go too bad to make it the few feet out the door. No one blamed her for that and it cleaned up ok. She has learned to go to the back door when she needs to potty. But she hasn’t quite gotten the hang of ringing the bell or barking or giving some noisy sign that she has to go out. Today she pee-peed on the little rug in front of the door while Mommy was in the other room (office) working. Chia knew she was in trouble, but she didn’t get scolded, cause she at least tried to go out.

Today she sniffed noses with Riley and he wagged his tail. Looks like he’s coming around, too.

Riley: I can be nice.

There’s a wonderful man who lives up the road who we love to visit when we go for walks. His wife died a few months ago after years of him taking care of her. He said he would like a dog, especially a rat terrier like he used to have. Since me and Lucy and our folks are driving up to visit our grandma in less than a week, Mr. Ron said he would keep Chia for us. And maybe forever. *wags* We could still visit with her when we go for walks, and we could dogsit her if Mr. Ron goes somewhere that he can’t take her but I’ll be Mommy’s baby again and won’t have to share the bed after breakfast and get my kennel back.

Chia: I’m not goin’ anywhere. I already proved that. I slipped out the front door without my new Mom seeing me, and guess what? I came right back and whined until Riley told her I was at the door and she ran and let me back in. I got lotsa treats for that one.

Chia’s future is still uncertain, but one thing is for sure. Wherever she lives, whether it’s here or somewhere else, we’ll do our best to make sure it’s her furever home.

Xena, Chia’s friend and boss Wait! I didn’t get my picture in this one…let’s fix that.

Grooming with Mom on Sunday Selfies: Gus and Millie

Lucy, Ace Reporter here on the Groom Beat, reporting to you from just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee. I’m not reporting from outside, or watching the groom from outside, it’s just that we don’t actually live in Chattanooga…oh, never mind. I really am starting to sound like Xena.

*Deep breath* Today I introduce to you two new pups coming to Groomer Mom for the first time. They are what’s called litter mates. Xena and I are sisters but we’re not litter mates. I’m sure my savvy readers already know the difference.

BTW (that means By The Way, he, he), Gus and Millie asked if they could be featured on the selfies today, and the only reason I could think of to say no was to not upset Xena. So, Millie and Gus are happy to join The Cat on My Head for Sunday Selfies.

Gus and Millie are two four-year-old shih tzus whose groomer just died. As a reporter I’m not supposed to state the obvious or express emotions, but, well…that’s just so sad! After that happened, they were referred to us by Griffin’s mom. If you missed that new groom story, you can catch up here.

This is Gus before his groom.

We are guessing it had been a while since he’d been on a grooming table. He got a longer shave per his mom’s request.

Here Gus is after his groom.

Yep, same dog. We aren’t making this up. Just look at those pretty eyes. Mom tried everything to get his chin beard to look right and it always came back looking fuzzy like this. Maybe next time Groomer Mom will try some hair mousse!

Next up is his sister, Millie. We didn’t get a “before” picture of her, but she was in about the same shape as her brother.

Here’s Millie post groom:

They don’t like to be separated, so they waited together on the table with Groomer Mom very close-by for their ride to come get them.

We’re going to see these sweet pups again in four weeks.

Lucy, Ace Reporter, signing off with wags and kisses.

Purrsuit of Flavors: GF Muffins for Sandwiches

Thanks to Shoko and Tyebe of the Canadian Cats and Nelly and Phenny of Easy Blog for hosting this yummy day.

Today we are taking the challenge from Shoko, Tyebe, Phenny and Nelly to post a sandwich recipe. How easy is that! Well, with Mom and Dad both on special diets, it really isn’t easy at all.
However, Mom has been making what she calls “muffins” out of tapioca flour, and it’s dairy-free too. It’s super easy and fast; just dump everything into a blender, then pour into the muffin tin and bake! The real name on the recipe is Mexican Cheese Bread, Here is what the muffin looks like before being made into a mini-sandwich (slider):

This recipe is geared toward our family’s special diet, but you can make a few changes that will be noted in the recipe below. Mom knows this recipe by heart, so here goes:

Mexican Cheese Bread, aka Muffins

Preheat oven to 400F. (Seriously, preheat it. Prep time is 5 minutes or less.)

1/2 C shredded Manchego (or cheddar) cheese
1/4 C olive oil
2/3 C coconut milk that comes in a carton in the dairy department (or regular milk)
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/2 C tapioca flour (I don’t know if this will work with any other flour)

Put everything in a blender and blend well. Pour into large muffin/cupcake cups — the size that comes 6 to a pan. One pan will do it. Fill halfway or less.

Bake at 400F for 20 minutes. We like them just a bit crusty, so we bake them 2 or 3 minutes more. We use a non-stick pan, so they just dump right out.

Slice them cross-wise to use as a bun. So far, we have used them as buns for cheeseburgers and sloppy joes, and buttered the outsides of them to make grilled cheese. Would also be good with tuna or egg salad, or anything else you make into a sandwich.

You can also make these in the regular size muffin/cupcake cups as “rolls” to eat with your meals.

Xena: Lucy, I think we got cheated out of our blog today. Not even a picture of us.
Lucy: Nope, Mom promised at least a picture.

Is Chia still here?

The Video You’ve All Been Waiting For

It’s finally before the end of the month, and my Freestyle video is ready, just like Daddy promised. Mommy wanted me to post this tomorrow morning, but that’s not Before the end of the month! Just to make Mommy happy, and so she stops nagging me about including this, let’s start off with a license plate at the Freestyle trials where I won my Freestyle Title for Level 3:

And this picture of me and Mommy on the Saturday we got our Freestyle Title for Level 3:

And now, with thanks to my Daddy for getting this to me sooner than to anybody else, and Before the end of the month, here’s what you’ve all been waiting for, the main event!

I am Xena Dancing Schnauzer Princess

Chia on Awww Monday

We are joining Comedy Plus with much thanks for hosting Awww Mondays.

Xena: Sunnie? Are you dead? (I hope so.)
Mom: No, Sunnie shed her skin and Andrew found it out front where you used to hunt lizards. (Do you see the end of the tail on the left?)

Later…

Xena: Hey Luce, did you see what’s in the groom room? *shiver* Speaking of things I don’t like, have you heard any talk about that new pup that’s taken over our house? When is she going home? They call her Chia now. Why do they keep changing her name? And why and how does she throw that bone across the room?

Chia: Hi! Hi! Hi! I’m right here! Were you looking for me? Wanna play?

Did you see me throw that bone? Lucy, you’re a great catcher and Xena, you can really run a ball down. We’ve got our own ball team!!

Lucy: *groan*

Chia: Does this mean you don’t wanna’ play?

That’s OK, I can wait. Can I play come on the bed and jump over Lucy while I wait?

Later…

It was fun playing in the dog lot with you, Lucy. You’re the best! After our nap together we can play some more. I’ll try to not bite your ear so hard, BOL!

Lucy: *sigh*

Mom’s note: We have decided to rehome this 10 month old ball of energy who is refusing to be house trained, screams when she’s in the kennel, chews things she shouldn’t, and is generally despised by Riley and Xena.

Ludwig: I’m up here guarding the ribbons Xena won. What are you two doing up here?
Reindeer: Riley put me up here to be safe from Chia.
Sweetheart (the pink bear): I don’t wanna’ die.

Priscilla (the pup): Miss Amy got us out of the kennel before Chia moved in there, but I had to be rescued twice after that dang pup pulled me down through the cage bars. I’m done laying on top of the kennel. I’m just gonna pile up here with all of y’all. Cover your ears! She’s screaming again!

We are wishing all our USA friends a happy and quiet Memorial Day.

POTP for Ella

My bestie Ella has been going through some painful times. She blew out her right knee a few weeks ago and had to have surgery on it. Thankfully, her dad is working from home and has been able to help her do her physical therapy several times a day. But because of putting most of her weight on her left leg, she blew out that knee a few days ago. The pain has been bad, and she stopped eating. She lost a lot of weight.

Even just looking at her face you can see how thin she has gotten. The surgery for her left knee is scheduled for Wednesday. We love Ella, and hope you will send her prayers, healing thoughts, good wishes. We want her back looking like she did what seems like a short while ago.

This was taken in November of 2019 of me and my BFF Ella.

We think she’s on some good pain meds and probably some steroids too, ’cause she started eating heartily just a few days ago. I’m really happy about that. I’ve got my front paws crossed for her.

Ella’s best friend, Lucy

Shadow Dog on Nature Friday

We are joining Arty, Jakey, Rosy and Sunny of the LLB Gang with much thanks for hosting Nature Friday.

Look! I’m making good use of matching my surroundings.

I bet you can hardly see me. I’m part of the earth. That’s nature, right? Now I’m invisible except for my shadow. You can just call me “Shadow Dog.”

Wags and happy woofs, Shadow Dog

Xena: Is it Before the end of the month yet? (see here)

Shadow Dog: I have been advised by Dad to always say “No,” when you ask me that question. So, no.

Xena: But you’re not Lucy, you’re Shadow Dog. So you can answer me the truth.

Shadow Dog: Umm, well, umm, uhh…he advised Shadow Dog to answer the same way. (Whew, dodged that bullet.) Now get outa my post.

Shadow Dog, over and outa here.

The Alleged Snake on Awww Monday

We are joining Comedy Plus with much thanks for hosting Awww Mondays and hoping even snakes qualify as awws, BOL.

Xena: So Lucy, remember that snake I barked at in our dog lot last summer? Or maybe it was two summers ago. I’ve lost track of time since we’ve all been home together for over a year. But do you remember?

Lucy: Sorta. You stood there barking until Mom took a look and told you to leave it alone. Are you trying to say the snake we all saw last night – and that brother Andrew saw over the weekend – is the same one that you saw one or two summers ago?

Xena: I think so. It’s grown, too! And it held perfectly still just like when I barked at it in the dog lot. I think Andrew eggzagerated when he showed us how big around it was!

Daddy was quick and got a picture. Him and Mommy got up pretty close to it for a good look-see and declared it safe, just like Mommy used to do when her boys were little. Andrew stayed down in the driveway. Mommy says him and his big brother Adam used to play with snakes when they were kids. They would bring them in the house and play with them on the kitchen counter until it was time for their dad – not our dad, they had a different dad back then – to come home from work. He was scared of snakes, so they had to take the snakes back to where they found them and let them go. Nothing ever got mentioned that snakes had been in the house playing with the kids.

Lucy: I don’t think this one’s coming in. It’s gotta be about eight feet long. I think it’s got it’s own home under the shed, and maybe some babies of it’s own, too. Mom and Dad both said it’s a garter snake. It’ll eat the rodents and some of the bugs and lizards around here.

Xena: No! I don’t want it to eat my lizards! They’re my lizards. We play the hunt game together every day.

They’re MY lizards, now! Hissssssssss.

Is It Before the End of the Month?

Lucy: Hey Xena, whatcha doing? Are you hunting lizards again?

Xena: Nope. Didn’t you hear what brother Andrew said?

While we were all gone, there was a giant anaconda in our yard. It was wrapped the whole way around the shed. I’m trying to find it.

Lucy: Xena, dear sister of mine, there are no anacondas in Tennessee. And the snake was wrapped around the 3 foot section of door under the shed, which means it was at least 6 feet long. He thought it might have been waiting for a rodent.

Xena: OK. smarty pants, so he said it looked like a copper head. That just doesn’t sound scary enough for a good story. He thought it might have been hunting rodents like I do. He used his hands to show us how big around it was, and I’m sure a can of peas would have fit. It was that big around! (OK, so maybe it was as scary as an anaconda.) He also said he ran screaming like a girl back to the house.

And you know what else? He ran around to the front of the house and the other bush out there where I hunt lizards was shaking and making groaning noises. Seriously! That’s what he said! I’m not making it up. And we all know it wasn’t me in that bush because I was in Ohio getting my Freestyle title with Mommy and Daddy.

Now, I’ve got something really important to ask you, Lucy.

Lucy: No, I haven’t heard the refrigerator open lately.

Xena: No, no, this is about when something is. Daddy said he would have my Freestyle video ready before the end of the month. Is it before the end of the month yet?

Lucy: Uh, it’s not the end of the month yet.

Xena: That’s not what I asked. I don’t know when Before the end of the month is. Does that mean the same thing as today?

Yes, I think that’s right.

Then it’s ready! Hurray!

Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, it’s Before the end of the month. That’s the day Daddy promised to have my Freestyle video done. Go get my video from Daddy! Please! Please! Please!

(Mommy under her breath) Oh boy, how do I even begin to explain this one to her.

When Your Son Comes Home with a Dog

6:30 a.m. today

Jeff: Amy, I was meditating downstairs and I started hearing a dog whine. It kept getting louder. Come down and see if you hear it.

Jeff and Amy standing downstairs while Amy tries to not tell her husband she thinks he’s hearing things.

Amy: I’ll take a look outside. Begins to walk through the groom room and sees a dog in the kennel. She walks upstairs and wakes up son.

Amy: Andrew, do you know anything about the dog that’s in my grooming kennel this morning?

Andrew: *yawn* I’m keeping her there until I can figure out what to do with her. She’s only 10 months old and she poops in the house and chews up things. Followed by long explanation.

Amy: No you’re not. I’m going to clean out Xena’s nice kennel upstairs for her. Then we’ll start working on housebreaking her and she can go out in the dog lot to play. When we can’t watch her closely she can stay in Xena’s kennel in the living room. I’ll get the stuffies out of it first.

Meet and Greet

Chica (orignally named Chico, but we changed it since she’s a girl) did her business outside and is ready to play!

The girls were still trying to sort out why this new pup is here and what to do about it. They all went back out a few minutes later and played in earnest. They haven’t had this much exercise in a while. Chica went into Xena’s open kennel and is taking a nap in her own bed. We are guessing she’s a jack russel terrier terrier/dachsund mix. Her body is way too long for just a terrier. She’s good natured, willing to submit to both Lucy and Xena, and full of energy.

Who knows where this will all end…in the meantime, we’re hoping for the best with her. (Stay in a little kennel by herself downstairs indeed! Not on my watch!!)

Riley’s Ophthalmology Re-Check

We are joining Brian’s Thankful Thursday blog hop with a special thanks today!

Hi friends. I went back to see the special dogtor today. Everyone there is so nice. They even understand that I’m not mean, I just get scared. They’re always nice to me, and even told Mom Amy that I’m really a sweet boy. *wag*

Before all that, though, I reclaimed Reindeer from Xena. Me and Reindeer, we’re tight, ya’ know? We hang together and I take him running through the house with me, and we nap together. He’s my bud.

Back to my eye dogtor appointment. My sight has been saved! It’s only slightly “diminished,” but I can still see out of it and it’s pretty much back to normal except for how it looks. This picture is shortly before my eye surgery.

It hurt so much I kept my eyes closed most of the time.

This picture is after my exam today. See how wide open my eyes are!

I know it still looks weird, but it doesn’t hurt. The dogtor, henceforth called the “Good Dogtor,” said it should eventually turn more white, but it won’t ever look like before the first dogtor, henceforth called the “Bad Dogtor,” messed it up. It looks like this because of the “procedure” the Good Dogtor did to save it. The veterinary ophthamologist (Good Dogtor) removed some of my inner eyelid and sewed it with the tiniest of stitches over the large and deep ulcer eating away at my right eye. If you didn’t get a chance to read about that, you can hop here to find out more.

Anyhoo, I was a real, real good boy today at the Good Dogtor’s office. He even said I was like a different dog today, which told him how much pain I was in the first couple of times he saw me. I go back in six months for a check-up on my eye, but that’s a long time from now, so I’m not worried about it.

We are all HUGELY thankful for my eye being better.

Your friend, Riley

Awww Reindeer Stuffie Monday

We are joining Comedy Plus with much thanks for hosting Awww Mondays.

Xena: Why did Riley scoop Reindeer up in his cone before he got it off, then dump him on his bed, and just leave him there?

Lucy: I dunno. I don’t fool with stuffies, and I have no idea why Ri does half the stuff he does. I just try to be his friend.

Xena: Reindeer must be lonely. I’ll cuddle with him for a while.