Where's My Bed?

Something is going on at our house, but I'm not sure what it is.  At the beginning of April, Mommy moved our crates into the garage for two weeks.  It was HORRIBLE!!  It was COLD and DARK out there.  Mommy did feel sorry for us; she put our blankets in the dryer before leaving for work so that we'd have a bit of warmth until the sun came up.  She also covered our crates with blankets to help with the draftiness.   This new location had both me and Dixie totally confused.  We couldn't tell which crate was which!

I will not be able to get those two weeks of my already short life back!  Mimi said for once we were actually treated like dawgs, but doesn't she realize that's NOT how we expect to be treated?!?!?!?

Have no fear, we didn't have to sleep in the garage at night.  I guess we weren't treated THAT badly!  [whew]  You need to understand we LOVE our crates.  We sleep in them all the time even without the doors closed.  I tried and tried to find a comfy position on the carpet in the evenings before the official bed time, but to no avail.  Instead, I just went upstairs and made myself at home on my parents' bed.

Dixie didn't suffer the way I did.  She's made Hunter's orthopedic bed her own in the last few months.

Our crates are now back in the den, but not quite the way they used to be.  Mommy had moved an end table into place in the absence of our crates and now she won't move it.   Apparently the end table was in place before I joined the family.  Personally, I think it needs to GO AWAY, but Mommy feels differently and she's in charge of the decor.  Dixie's crate is back in its original place, but mine had to find a new home.

I am NOT happy with this new position.  Mommy doesn't understand why.  She says I still have the best view.  I just can't seem to remember this new crate position.  When Mommy gives me the command to go to my crate, I immediately run to its former location.  It's a wonder I haven't run into the end table!  Then I try to run to Dixie's crate, but she's already in there giving me the evil eye.  I can't seem to manage finding my way to my crate until Mommy shows me the way!  It's very frustrating.  [sigh]

Lost in my house,
Jenna

I've Got My Eye on You!

I had to go to the vet this past week because I had some sort of eye infection.  Mommy had applied a topical steroid left over from Hunter, but it wasn't working.  After two days with the whites of my eyes turning a nasty shade of red, Mommy bit the bullet and took me.

I was such a good girl.  Truly I was!  I deserve a trip to an all-you-can-eat-buffet somewhere!  For starters, I've lost weight.   I guess I can't say for sure that I've reclaimed my Supermodel title because Dixie wasn't there being weighed as well, but I had lost about FOUR pounds!  For you humans that's not that much, but for us dawgs, that's HUGE!

Second, when Mommy said that Dixie wasn't experiencing the same eye problems, I think the doctor thought something might be terribly wrong with my eyes!  Dr. O tested my eye pressure to make sure nothing was pressing on the backs of my eyes like glaucoma, and she tested my tear ducts to make sure they were producing the right amount of tears.  Thankfully all was normal.

Before Dr. O did all of these tests, she showed me her instruments and told me exactly what she was going to do.  She spoke to ME, not Mommy!  Seriously!  And she did all of this in her amazing Australian accent.  I think I might have a girl crush on her!  Dr. O was AMAZING!  Mommy liked her too.  Dr. O is new to our usual practice.  She was so super understanding, she even let me lick and sniff all of those instruments before she used them on me.  Well, all except the most expensive one!

The most expensive tool was for looking at my corneas.  Dr. O had to first put a neon green dye in  my eyes.  I felt like I was glowing for a while.  She looked at my eyes with a special light to make sure the corneas weren't scratched.  That test result was normal but my eyes were a different story!

Since nothing serious was wrong with my eyes, the vet gave Mommy a steroid ointment to put in my eyes twice a day.  We've learned that I do NOT like anyone messing with my eyes  . . . except maybe Dr. O!  I looked quite pitiful on the ride home and slept pretty well that night.

I'm back to normal now, and I'm keeping my eye out for another possible visit to see Dr. O.  Or that all-you-can-eat buffet!
Jenna


PS: Although I was a good girl, I did leave my mark on the vet's office . . . no, not what you're thinking . . . Maybe we should have weighed me after my exam?  I may have lost another pound or two in fur!

Here's Your Sign!

As you know, Mommy LOVES to take pictures of anything and everything.  She has even been known to take pictures of street signs.  When our parents are on vacation and she sees a really neat sign, Daddy will turn the car around and go back just so Mommy can snap that photo.  Isn’t that super sweet of him?   (Remember one of his mottoes is "Happy Wife, Happy Life!")

Mommy will also take pictures of bumper stickers she spies on the road or in parking lots.  On a recent outing with friends, she saw this magnet stuck to a car and just had to capture the moment.

She immediately texted the picture to Daddy so they could both enjoy a laugh.  The same car also sported this magnet:

We’re all pretty sure this won’t be true for us, but it's still funny.  Of course there are famous, wealthy (insane?) people who have actually left their millions to their dawgs, but we don’t think our parents fall into that category.   You can figure out which category we refer to for yourself!

Have you seen any funny signs lately?  

Dixie and Jenna

My Flying Squirrel

Do you know what a Flying Squirrel is?  Have you ever seen one?  I'm not talking about this . . .

Or this . . . 

I'm not even talking about this!  Although some of you may think of this type of flying squirrel when you hear those words.  This is the image Mommy used to think of when hearing those words BD (Before Dawgs).  There were a few instances when a flying squirrel got into her house while she was growing up that caused a bit of chaos.  

At our house, THIS is a Flying Squirrel:

This is my FAVORITE toy to play with (currently) and it's made by the same company that makes the Chuckit that throws Dixie's favorite toys!  The Flying Squirrel was also Hunter's favorite toy.  Mommy says she's purchased at least a half dozen of these over the past thirteen years.  They have the ability to last a while, but they don't always stand up to a really good game of tug-of-war (full disclosure in case you were thinking of getting one for yourself!).  

These pictures were taken before I was part of the family.  Had I been around, I'm SURE I would have been the winner of this game.  But maybe not --- Hunter was a fierce competitor when it came to his favorite toy!

The Flying Squirrel provides maximum aerobic exercise for me.  And acrobatic exercise!

This is what the Flying Squirrel looks like when Mommy gets it stuck in a tree . . . you know, like a REAL flying squirrel!

I would definitely recommend you try a Flying Squirrel for yourself.  It's sure to help you get your body beach ready!  And as the resident Supermodel, I would know! [wink, wink]

Jenna

How's the Weather?

No matter where you live people always want to know what the weather is like.  Mommy and Poppa have a sort of competition going between them to determine who has the coldest morning temperature.  If it's really unseasonably cold, they call each other to brag about it (or lament, we aren't sure which).  This past weekend Mommy was able to win the weather competition with all relatives and friends, paws down!

This was our Saturday weather:

This was our Sunday weather:

We are hoping this might be our last snow of the season, but who knows???  We can only hope Mother Nature will read our garden flag and follow its advice!

Here's to future spring-like weather . . . hopefully!
Jenna

Sleeping Beauty

About a year ago, I showed you my new bed cover.  I  have tried REALLY hard to take care of it and not tear it up, but it's such a hard job.  At first Mommy stitched my little rips and you couldn't even tell where I had torn the bed cover, but eventually she had to start patching just like the last time.  Mommy says the worst part isn't really that I'm tearing up the cover, but that I'm tearing up the BED!

I honestly can't help it!  What's a girl to do when she's cooped up in her crate for several hours a day??  I need to make myself comfy.

So Mommy did what she always does.  She repaired my holes.  She told me it wasn't gong to be pretty this time.  She said she really didn't care where the patches went so long as they covered the holes I had made . . .

I can feel Mommy's disappointment in me when she's ironing the new patches on.

Here's Miss Goody Two Paws supervising my cover being put back on.  She thinks she's oh-so-wonderful since she doesn't tear holes in her bed cover.

Here it is!  Back in place and ready for another snooze.  As promised, it's NOT pretty, but it is functional.  Hopefully these patches will last a while.

 Yes, Jenna's bed looks prettier than mine . . .

But we all know who the pretty DAWG is . . .

Lots of love to you,
Sleeping Beauty
aka Dixie

Road Trip Without Us

During Mommy's spring break, Mommy and Daddy took a road trip to Texas.  They had a pretty good time driving and driving and driving.  We aren't sure why they didn't take us with them.  Lately we take only road trips to the kennel.  Mommy said not to worry that we would be going on the next road trip with them.  Yeehaw!

As is usual for her, Mommy took LOTS of pictures along the way!

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a fabulous Easter brunch in Texas.  It's a bit weird for them to eat out on a major holiday, but they both thought it was money well spent (if you have to eat out on a major holiday!).  Lucky for Mommy, the Easter bunny found her even on the road.

While on this adventure through Texas, Mommy noted the terrain changed several times.

Mommy also enjoyed checking out prairie dogs up close and personal.  Do you think they might like to have their name spelled "prairie dawgs"?

Until next time,
Dixie and Jenna
Cowdawgs in Training