One Cone Head Coming My Way . . .

Mommy says this all the time.  She recently dragged out some old pictures of my big brother Hunter to show me EXACTLY what this phrase means!

This trip down Memory Lane is because I've tweaked my ACL again!  [sigh]  I'm so sad about this turn of events.  The doctor has said I can't play with my beloved soccer ball for FOUR WEEKS!!!!!

I first pulled my ACL last spring.  After a visit to the vet for some pain killers and anti-inflammatory meds, I recovered and was back to my usual energetic self.  It happened again last summer, but with all the walking we do during the summer, I strengthened my knee in no time.  Mommy was sure this little knee problem was a thing of the past.  Then Daddy took me hunting with him in the fall.  I came home and was just fine, but woke up the next day favoring that leg again!  I seemed to recover within a couple days.  Up until now, I've only limped around while still putting weight on all four legs.  I don't know how I did it, but this most recent time I was truly only moving on three legs.  Mommy was really worried and with good reason.

The vet has decided that I've built up scar tissue on my knee from my injury a year ago and that I've recently strained that tissue.  He wants me to refrain from any major physical activity and build the scar tissue back up since it's helping hold my knee together.  So that means no ball for FOUR WEEKS!  Mommy told me I am to follow the doctor's orders or I could end up like this:

This is Hunter ten years ago when he tore his ACL.  This injury required surgery and weeks of at-home physical therapy.  It was stressful for all parties involved (at least that's what Mommy tells me).

Hunter couldn't use the stairs for weeks following his surgery, so the dining room was turned into a large kennel for him!  Daddy even set up the air mattress and slept downstairs with Hunter since he hated being away from our parents (I know the feeling).

Mommy says it was a loooooooong, sloooooooow road to recovery.  You know what the worst part was?  Besides wearing the cone?  There's a fifty percent chance that if a dawg has surgery on one leg, he'll have to have surgery on the second leg.  Mommy should  have gone to Vegas with those odds because Hunter was definitely part of that fifty percent.  Almost a year to the date, he tore the other ACL . . . I guess on the bright side, he didn't have to wear a cast the second time.  Mommy says there wasn't a bright side.  Well, maybe the fact that dawgs only have two ACLs!

Now I know what it means when Mommy says it's all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone!  I've learned no amount of begging and pleading will coerce Mommy into throwing the ball for me.

In fact, my favorite toy seems to have disappeared recently . . .

Here's hoping there won't be any surgery in my future.  Cross your paws!
Jenna

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This is a first for us.  We've never truly celebrated Cinco de Mayo, but we are this year!  Yippee!!  We're hoping something extra good shows up in our water bowl today instead of you know . . . water!

In honor of this fun and festive day, Mommy tortured us took pictures of us in what has to be the world's largest hat!  She says it's called a sombrero.  Please don't ask why or how we own one!  That's a question for Daddy.  As big as this hat is, it still would NOT stay on our heads.  The wind was working against us too!  It's a miracle Mommy got any decent pictures during this twenty minutes of our lives we'll never get back!  But thank goodness she finally did, or we'd still be sitting and posing.  (The woman doesn't give up easily!)

Senorita Jenna

Senorita Dixie

Finally, decent pictures of us both!

Just in case you're wondering, that's our Japanese teapot in the back left that came in our birthday BarkBox!  That's all, nothing more.  We promise!

We hope you have a fun and festive day!

Dixie and Jenna

Birthday Yumminess

Mommy surprised us with a yummy birthday treat!  She ordered a cake for us at the local barkery.  Before you panic, we know it LOOKS like chocolate, but it's not.  It's actually peanut butter icing with carob chips.  It was seriously YUMMY and we're going to make it last for the rest of the week!  YIPPEE!

We're surprised you can't see the drool in these next few pictures!

As soon as the plates were sat down outside, that cake was GONE!  Poppa was concerned that Mommy had made us eat outside, but when it comes to birthday treats, you never know where the crumbs will fly!  Don't worry, Poppa.  We weren't offended!

It was a great birthday!  We're looking forward to many more years of happiness (as well as many more pieces of cake this week)!

Dixie and Jenna

Lucky Number 7

Happy birthday to us!!!!  

We are SEVEN years old today.  Can you tell which of us is the good girl??

In traditional human to canine years we're 49 years old, but scientists don't really rely on the old 1:7 year ratio any more.  Mommy saw this chart on Pinterest recently posted by the American Kennel Club.  Our weight falls right on the border of medium to large breed dawgs.  That means we are somewhere between 47-50 human years old.  No matter which end of that range we think we are closer to, that makes us the oldest in the house!

We had a super quick photo session before church Sunday morning.  One of us was better at posing than the other!

Happy Birthday, Jenna!

Happy Birthday, Dixie!

To celebrate, Mommy ordered our first BarkBox.  Apparently she can order us a box each month, but she told us to keep dreaming!  She said we have PLENTY of toys already and definitely do not need to add two more every month!  We tend to disagree, but we're not paying the bill!  If you haven't ever seen a BarkBox in person, there's a theme each month.  This month's theme honored springtime in Japan with items you might take on a cherry blossom picnic (that's what the enclosed card said)!  Mommy was hooked with the adorable tissue paper that had cherry blossoms and dawgs on it.  It could have been elevated to "labadorable" status if it had had drawings of us on it!  In addition to the yummy treats in the box there was a sushi toy and a teapot toy.  Both squeak!  Yippee!

Jenna loves to chew the manufacturer's tag off any new toys first!  One day Mommy is going to have to remember to buy one of those cloth baby books with all the tabs on the edges.  Those would be right up Jenna's alley!

Dixie is wondering if the Japanese play tennis much . . . she'd probably prefer a tennis ball!

Jenna loves BOTH toys!

Mommy tried to capture a picture of each of us in a party hat as well, but . . . once again, one of us was better at posing than the other!

Mommy says there's a surprise for us tonight.  We wonder what it is . . . we'll be sure to take plenty of pictures (as if you had any doubt) and share those with you later in the week!

Dixie and Jenna
The Birthday Party Girls

Soccer Genius!

I've recently discovered I'm a genius!  Alright, we've all known that for a while, but this is in a whole new field.  I recently told you about my new favorite toy, the SOCCER BALL!  It turns out I can retrieve that ball like no other.  I LOVE IT!!!!

I love the soccer ball so much, I even take it to bed with me!

Mommy recently captured me in a few of my favorite moves about a month ago (when we still had dead looking, horrible, dormant, grass) and I wanted to share those pictures with you.  Please don't think I'm showing off.  I'm really not, I promise.  I just thought the world should be aware of my talent!

Mommy says it's all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone . . . wonder what that means???

Jenna

On the [Egg] Hunt

Mommy was inspired by one of our Instagram friends, Pups On Par, to have an Easter egg hunt!  Yes, she's officially lost her mind!  However, I certainly won't be the one checking her into the looney bin since I totally benefited from this Crazy Dawg Mom move!

Mommy broke milk bones in half and stuffed them into a few plastic eggs to hide in the backyard.  Daddy said this was a really bad idea.  He just knew we were going to chomp down on the plastic and eat it too!  Mommy said HER dawg had a soft mouth and would be fine (Dixie); he only had to worry about HIS dawg (me)!  Gee, thanks, Mommy!

It turned out, they didn't have to worry about a thing!  I rushed right out and found every egg!  I also was able to pop open each egg with a little pressure from my mouth.  Mommy didn't even realize I had cracked one of the eggs until she was washing the slobber off later.  NO pieces fell off and NO pieces were swallowed!  Milk bones were enjoyed by all!  Okay, so that last statement isn't true.  Dixie was oblivious to the game.  She just walked around and watched me.  I enjoyed ALL the treats!

Mommy cleverly hid one under the outdoor dawg bed.  The blue egg blended right in with the blue cover (not that I can see colors anyway).

A good hunt was had by all . . . well, by me anyway and that's all that matters, right??
Jenna


PS: Apparently Mommy couldn't resist the lure of the bunny ears after all . . .

That's me, Master of the Egg Hunt