It’s not my dog, but it is my kid and I can’t get over how cute this pic is!!
Tag: dogs
One Sad Puppy
Mr. Bear, our sweet old man Wheaton Terrier had a little doggie lypo suction this week. He has had two fatty cysts for over a year and one keeps getting infected. The vet said they were having a teeth cleaning special that included anesthesia and then while he was under, they would lop off the offending lumps.
I was nervous dropping him off yesterday. All I could think was “Are we being silly about this? What if he doesn’t make it through surgery? What if he doesn’t recover because of his age?”. But I trust our vet and have always appreciated her realistic approach to pet care so we kissed him and he scooted through the swinging doors.
They called a few hours later and said he did great. The surgery went very smoothly and the cysts didn’t look cancerous so that’s another win. I picked him up that afternoon and they carried my old man to the car practically held together by what seemed like 1000 metal staples. He sat next to B in the backseat and she said softly “I no touch your ouchies, ok Bear Bear? Feel better Bear Bear” all the way home.
After removing his cone and making him a special dinner of kibble and chicken stock, he started moving around. He is standing awkwardly which I’m praying it temporary, but he’s wagging his tail and moving around so I think he’s on the mend. I can’t believe I’m actually excited about the return of our kid toy eating, jumping on guest, rug peeing fur face. But I am. Get well soon Mr. Bear!
“Seriously Girl? Pictures? I’m trying to recover here. I’m so peeing on your rug when you leave today.”
Phun with Photos
If you could get your DAMN kid’s DAMN coloring book out of my DAMN bed, that would be helpful. I’d like to get some DAMN sleep!
“Mommy, I really loooove your shoes! Are you suuuure I can’t wear them a little longer??”
The real question is; who DOESN’T wear a knit cap and Little Gym medal to walk their dog?
The Good, The Bad and The Punishment
I came home to find this yesterday:
The good news? Bear’s breath has never been fresher.
The bad news? I have no idea if this stuff will kill him. But since it was yesterday and he’s his bad/usual self, I think we’re in the clear.
The punishment? The EARS
“Whatever. You think you’re sooo funny. First this stupid haircut and now the freaking bunny ears. Laugh it up guys. Laugh. It. Up. Because I’m so peeing on the rug tonight.”
What’s in Baylie’s Bag? – 2 Edition
This is the second edition of “What’s in Baylie’s Bag?”. In case you missed the first, I am documenting the crazy things that Ms.B likes to carry around with her in an edition posted each week.
This week, Bay chose the baby buggy that once belonged to her Aunt Ali and myself as her method of transportation of her treasure. The contents? Why Barbies, of course.
Contents:
Peter Rabbit themed Barbie
Bath Tub Barbie
Barbie brush
A bowl that once contained Goldfish crackers that were most likely stealthily eaten by Bear T. Dog – now containing a play food ice cream cone
A wiffle ball
The instructions to her Peg Play game which she opens and pretends to read by saying “read read read”. Also a few pegs and the strings from the game
The bathing suit and towel costume from her new and very much loved Build-A-Bear brand “Kat”. We can’t be normal and just build a bear, we build cats
UofA Wildcat puppet – BEARDOWN!!!
Ode to Mr.T
Last week, we said good bye to our dog Travis. I think I’m finally able to write this without the words blurring from tears and hoping it makes me feel a little better.
We were lucky to have had Trav in our lives for twelve years. He has been there for so many life events for us – he licked high school and college graduation invitations. He chewed up a few wedding invitations. Drove across the country from Phoenix to Washington DC four times happily panting in the back seat of our car with his brother. He was totally terrified of Baylor when she was born, but knew she was his to protect so he always sat inbetween her and any visitor. And while he was always gentle and even a little skittish, he always was up for a good game of “pin the yard guy to the wall”.
Travis was a volunteer with Pets on Wheels and visited many infirmed and elderly always greeting them by sitting sweetly next to them or with gentle paws on the side of their bed. We called him the love sponge because it was impossible to pet him too long – he could have gone bald and would have been perfectly happy to stay there a little longer. We were warned by the breeder that he was “kinda bad” and he lived up to that now and then. He couldn’t leave a giant cube of Costco toilet paper sit idly on the floor – it had to be shreaded into a million pieces and some of it consumed. Upon discovery, he would only look at us with a happy face and wagging tail and an expression that said “isn’t this AWESOME?!”. It was always hard to get mad at that face.
Travis had kidney failure that started several months ago and it became noticeable that it was getting worse over the last few weeks. We knew it was time. Our house feels off balance without him stretched out on the bed, snuggled in the closet, barking at the window, sneaking goldfish crackers with Baylie or enjoying his rediculously tedious meal of kibble, beef broth and ground turkey “al fresco” on the patio. The thought that he’s not just around the corner is crushing.
Travis went by many names: Travis, Trav, Trav Trav, Travie, Trav-meister, Mr. T, Little Man Tate, Tatetells, Tate…he answered happily to all of them.
Some of my favorite pictures of our buddy.
Painting our house in DC
Always the guard dog
Always willing to wear the stupid antlers I had for Christmas
Always watching over his girl
Enjoying a Greenie in the sunshine
Just A Girl
Happy Valentines Day
What says Valentine’s more than a dog being tortured with love bug antenna? A love bug herself, that’s who! And if heart-shaped glasses at a friend’s party and a loving cousin who is willing to brave the “Mystery Machine” Jump house with a hundred ankle biters isn’t love, I don’t know what is. Happy Valentines Day!
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
This past Sunday morning we hosted a small brunch for a group of friends. While prepping the delicious dishes we would be enjoying, I noticed two dogs sniffing around in our front yard.
And thankfully this time, they weren’t our dogs out there unbeknownst to us.
At first, I thought they were our drunk neighbor’s dogs who he lets roam the hood to poop in other people’s yards. If the neighbors complain, he comes over and picks up his dog’s “deposit” and claims he didn’t know they were out. Which we all know is a lie, but because we don’t want the drunk a-hole in our yard and he desperately wants to get back to his V-Dub bus with his cooler (not kidding, he sits in the back of it and drinks – we don’t live in a hood, but I see where it sound like we do…) we all pretend that it’s true. Upon closer inspection, these dogs were wearing collars, something our drunk neighbor doesn’t find to be important. So I walked out front with a treat to see if either one of the dogs would come to me.
The Chow mix instantly took off, but the Black Lab came right to me. Her tag said her name was Phoebe and she instantly assumed the “gopher” position – sitting down but with her paws in the air – and absolutely adorable. So I called the number on her tag and left a message for the owner that she was with us and her friend was most likely close by. You see, Bear T. Dog got out of our yard several years ago and was found on a semi busy road by a very sweet woman who coaxed him into her car right after witnessing him almost being run over. So in an effort to repay the cosmos for the favor of returning the sweet and “uses-his-brain-for-evil-rather-than-good” Bear, I tied Phoebe to our bench out front and gave her some water. I was assuming that her owners would be calling any minute frantic that their dog(s) were gone.
An hour passed. Another hour passed and still nothing. We had friends over for brunch and still no call. All the while Phoebe sat on our bench, laid in the shade, barked at passers-by and lapped up her water.
Until her collar broke.
Peter went in from the back patio where we were having brunch to check on the napping kiddo and found that her very old plastic collar snap had broken and Phoebe was nowhere to be found. I called the number from her tag again and still, no answer.
So now in an effort to do a good deed, I’ve not only not found this dog’s owner, but I’ve let her run back out into the wild with no collar. Awesome.
The strangest part is that the owner has still never returned my voicemail. In an effort to keep myself from imagining horrible scenarios and crying myself to sleep while clutching Bear under one arm and Travis under the other, I’ve decided that both dogs have found their way home and the owner chalked the voicemail up to a drunk dial.
Bear says: “What is this ‘uses-his-brain-for-evil-rather-than-good’ business?!? Oh, and do you think you could bother to get me a haircut?? I’m starting to get dreds in my beard. And stop feeding random dogs my treats, damn it.”
My Resolutions For The New Year
I really don’t like resolutions. I feel like they make what is already a sad time of year worse. There’s nothing more depressing than knowing the fun, socializing, decorating, getting and giving, drinking and eating of the holidays are over and now I’m supposed to add a new and undoubtedly unfun thing into my life too? No gracias.
Thankfully for me, I don’t have any vices I’m willing to give up. We’re planning to have more kids some day so I’ll give up the drinking then – why put off that good bottle of wine on a random Thursday night now? I don’t smoke so I’ve got a big check mark next to that resolution and I wear sunscreen and my seatbelt so we’re good there too. I already work out and I’m near wedding weight so that’s covered. I already pinch our pennies, clip coupons and work any discount possible so that’s out.
The two things I’ve come up with are actually very fun resolutions so the chances of sticking with them are good. First, I need to get back into volunteering more. I love Pets On Wheels as written about in Give A Little Bit, but I’ve gotten away from it because it can be a hassle wrangling Travis T. Dog and the kiddo into the car and then through the nursing home. Last time we were there, a resident was coloring which Bay was all to happy to help out with. It’s always a toss up whether someone is a baby person or a dog person and this lady was not a baby person. It was a little exhausting getting B out of her room without the markers and with little screaming. But I think I build it up too much in my head and need to just take it for what it is. If we stay for 45 or 15 minutes, that’s good enough and that’s what I need to focus on.
Second, I’m going to get serious about growing our garden. I love to be in the yard and I love to grow beautiful flowers, but I tend to become a slacker on fruits and veggies once it starts to get hot and requires more work to keep the plants producing and or alive. But I really want Baylie to know that food doesn’t come from the grocery, but from the ground. So in addition to the two beautiful new rose bushes I got for Christmas, we’re going to plant carrots and scallions in the same planter. Then our usual two tomatoes, but I’m going to put in some serious effort to keep them alive past May. The jalapeno and sweet pepper that already exist and produce despite zero attention are going to get some serious TLC. Peter is building us a Martha Stewart inspired lettuce table that will be home to spinach, red leaf, butter lettuce and also strawberries – it’s my damn lettuce table and if I want it to be a lettuce and strawberry table, so be it.
Lastly, as soon as it’s warmer than 60 degrees out, B and I are going to plant the flower bulbs that I put out every year. Growing up, we always had pots of bulbs in the windows of our house. There was nothing prettier to me than the little green shoots on a dark, cold morning. Something about them made me feel like it wasn’t going to be cold and dark forever because spring was just around the corner.
I think any more than this amount of self improving would be like trying to make a sunset prettier…it would just be too much 😉
The Goon Room 