Images of Easter

As long as I've been around, Mommy has tortured us taken Easter pictures of us with bunny ears on.  This year she took a different route.  I think it's because our grass was still TOTALLY brown and dormant when she was ready to take our traditional picture for the Easter card we send our family.  Hence the reason for our gorgeous double sided pink and green satin bows:

Although Mommy did use these pictures on our Easter cards this year, she was feeling more spring-like during Easter weekend.  She forced asked Daddy to come outside and help her take pictures in the front yard.  She even set the timer on her phone to ten minutes promising we'd be finished in that amount of time . . . we finished in five! 

Despite how quickly we accomplished this photo shoot (probably our fastest ever), we still had a few distractions.  One of the reasons Mommy wanted Daddy to help is because she wanted to take the pictures out front where the grass is a bit greener and the flowers are in bloom.   We NEVER go to the front yard unless we're getting ready to go for a ride.  There were lots of things to see and do out there!

We're sharing several of these pictures because we want you to know just how hard it to be the SUPERMODELS we are!  This really is a ruff life!

When you try to take group shots, there's always someone not looking . . .

Or someone closes her eyes . . .  

 

Or closes her eyes AND lifts her ears . . .

Or your sister becomes preoccupied with the photographer . . . 

 But eventually Mommy's patience pays off and she's rewarded with some reasonably good pictures:

Mommy says I'm smirking in this one . . . 

And attempting a smile in this one. Stone Cold Jenna is so serious!

But this is my personal favorite.  It sums up our attitudes about this photo session!

We hope you had a great Easter!  Enjoy the spring weather!
Dixie

Happy Easter

He is risen indeed!  

Have a blessed Easter!

We hope you have a terrific day!  

Love, Dixie and Jenna

The Unfortunate Incident (Part 2)

The last time we posted, you read about The Unfortunate Incident where I accidentally broke Mommy's finger.  The situation got much worse for both of us!

For Mommy, she says she always thought she had a pretty high tolerance for pain.  That was before The Unfortunate Incident.  Several hours after learning the first joint in her middle finger was broken, the PAIN KICKED IN!  She was miserable that first night.  She remained in pain for a couple weeks, but nothing was quite like that first night.  The pain medication didn't seem to help at all.

My situation became grave as well.  The state in which we live requires the doctor to report all dog bites despite Mommy and Daddy taking my up-to-date vaccination records with them to the examination.  They were not allowed to leave the doctor's office until they met with Animal Control.   Mommy explained that she was the idiot who had willingly placed her hand inside my mouth and that I had no idea I'd bitten her (her words, not mine).  It did not matter and Mommy was in tears when the officer said I would have to be QUARANTINED!!!!  The horror!  I really don't look good in orange or stripes.  Mommy felt sooooo bad for me since it truly wasn't my fault!

On the bright side, I was able to undergo a house quarantine and didn't have to actually be put in the slammer.  The fact that Animal Control forgot to show up and officially "start the quarantine" and then tried to serve Mommy papers for "failure to surrender" me is a whole other story I will NOT be sharing with you!  I served ten days under house arrest.  It wasn't fun, but Mommy tried to make it as pleasant for me as possible.  (These aren't the best pictures, but remember Mommy was operating the camera one handed.)

Over the last six months, Mommy has had several x-rays of her finger and plenty of appointments with a specialist.  We never know what color Mommy's finger will be upon her return!

She is doing physical therapy at home a few times a day and even six months later she's still wrapping her finger for a few hours each day.  She's started buying the wrap in bulk online and we never know what colors will be in each delivery!  For the most part, the finger has healed.  I barely even left a scar.  The biggest issue now is the joints in her finger are still swollen and stiff.  Some days are better than others.  The doctor says it could take a YEAR for it to return to normal!  [gulp!]  Although the fingernail did not fall off (whew!), the nail bed was damaged and there was an ugly ridge across the nail for about three months.  That's now gone.  Finally, something to bark about!

Here's what the finger actually looks like:

In Mommy's mind, here's what her finger looks like . . .

or this . . .

Mommy's very self-conscious about her finger when out in public, especially making purchases and signing the receipt with her right hand.  (Hey, I have an idea.  STOP shopping!  Ha!)  Hopefully with continued physical therapy and wrapping, the finger will return to normal one day . . . We'll let you know in another six months!

So now you know the ugly truth about me.  I was a very bad girl, but I'm trying to make up for it.  I've become much more snuggly in the last six months and do anything I can to stay in Mommy's good graces.  She says she's pretty sure she'll always have her fat joints to remember me by!

[sigh]
Jenna


PS: Happy birthday yesterday to Aunt C!

The Unfortunate Incident (Part 1)

We've been keeping something a secret from you.  Only our closest friends and family already know about The Unfortunate Incident as Mommy tends to call it.  I was a VERY BAD GIRL (or so I've been told)!  It's been six months since The Unfortunate Incident, so I feel safe in telling you all about it now.  Hopefully you won't hold this against me and we can still be friends.  Mommy still loves me, and if she can then anyone can!

I BIT MOMMY!  Not only did I bite Mommy, but I BROKE her finger!  Did I just hear a deep inhale of shock from you?  I truly didn't mean to do it.  It was an ACCIDENT!!!!  Honestly, it was!

Way back at the beginning of October, Mommy was walking me and Dixie on our usual morning route.  For some reason we tend to come across the strangest things on our walks.  Some of these items would be better placed in a trash can than along the streets of our city, but I can't control the actions of others.  Most of these weird items are fun to find, such as a bag from McDonald's that might still have french fries in it.  Or remnants of a biscuit.  Or just a dirty paper towel.  It really doesn't take much to please us with these little morsels of yumminess. We've even seen dirty diapers!  Ewww!  Sometimes Mommy is successful in making us leave the items behind and sometimes not.  Which brings me to The Unfortunate Incident . . .

There on the street curb in all its glory was a chicken bone!  Cue the spotlight from the heavens and the choir!  (Mommy wants to know who in their right mind throws their chicken bones out on the street?!?!?)  As soon as I spied that bone, I had to have it.  I could hear the angels singing . . . or was that Mommy screaming?

Mommy saw what I had grabbed and came right up behind me to try to take it away.  As she knows, chicken bones are NOT good for dawgs!  They can splinter and cause all kinds of problems to my insides.  Instead of coming around and facing me to pry the jaws of life open, she just reached around my head to pry my mouth open from behind.  Fearing my treat was about to disappear, I was chewing as hard and fast as I could.  I never even knew her fingers were in my mouth!  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)  It looked just like this picture Mommy found on Instagram:

Mommy immediately started walking us back home holding both leashes in one hand while she held her other hand up in the air to try to stop the bleeding.  She says she was in pain, but not too bad.  We went home where she cleaned the wound, took a bath, gave us a bath, and didn't think much of it until the bandaids kept filling up and needed frequent changing.  About four hours later, she noticed swelling in that finger.  Fearing it was infected, she made the decision to go to the doctor.  Thank goodness she did.  Her finger was broken!  (On the positive side, her nails were looking GREAT at the time!)

The bite doesn't look THAT bad does it????  Sure there's a bit of swelling, but . . . 

We have these pictures because Mommy sent a few updates to our grandparents during this most unfortunate time.  There's more to the story, but I think I've revealed enough for today.

Until next time, please remember to place your chicken bones (as well as dirty diapers and fast food bags) in the trash!

Jenna

PS: Happy Birthday Mimi!

Off to the Barkery

Because we were such good girls on our visit to the vet, Mommy decided to treat us to a trip to the Barkery.  The Barkery is only three doors down from the vet . . . isn't that a smart idea???  We had never been to the Barkery before although Mommy has stopped in a few times for treats.  And what a TREAT it was!!!!

As soon as we entered the store the smells were so delicious, my mouth started watering.  It was a great improvement over the smells we had just been experiencing at the vet.  It truly was a heaven on earth.

There were soooooooo many options.  It's a good thing they keep all of those yummy options out of reach.  It's also a good thing they keep all of those yummy options at eye and nose level!

Mommy seemed to be having a hard time deciding what to purchase, but I knew exactly what I wanted:

We finally decided on a couple cannolis and Labrador Loaf (a thick cookie made with blueberry puree and other goodness)!  How could we pass on a treat named after us?

Dixie offered to pay with wags and kisses, but apparently they don't accept that form of payment everywhere (kind of like American Express).

I asked if they were accepting applications for employment, but they said no.  Drat!  I would have really enjoyed that employee discount.

Looking forward to our next trip to the vet!
Jenna

Off to the Vet

Mommy recently took both of us for a ride!  Don't be too happy for us.  We were only going to the vet . . . for a vaccine!  No matter, we were still happy to be out and about in the car with Mommy.

Whenever we get into the car, Mommy always opens the second row door so we can both hop in together.   She's wasting her efforts because we NEVER stay there!  One of us moves into the driver's seat and the other into the front passenger seat!  Mommy then has to coerce us to move over so she can drive.  For some reason none of the states we've lived in sees us as good candidates for a driver's license.  Strange, don't you think?

On our most recent trip I settled into the foot well of the front seat!  I was so sure I smelled something good down there.  I should have known it was just wishful thinking.  Mommy rarely eats in her car and goodness knows she's such a neat freak in her car that IF she did eat and IF she did drop something, it's not like it would still be there! But a girl can hope!

I thought I smelled something good on the seat cover too, but nope, nada.  (The seat covers are not there for our comfort, but to protect the leather seats from being scratched by our nails!)

Finally, I was ready to go.  I gave my permission for our chauffeur (Mommy, aka James) to drive us.

Thankfully, we were only at the vet's office for about fifteen minutes.  In and out.  We were good girls.  Well, Dixie was good; I was GREAT!  Naturally!

Jenna

My New Security Blanket

Just a short while back I told you how I loved to carry Leopard and Giraffe everywhere I went.  Don't worry Grandma, I'm sure I'll eventually play with them again.  In fact, they still find their way out of the toy box every now and then.  But they aren't attached to my teeth every waking moment.  I have a new "security blanket" that goes with me everywhere.  Even to bed!

Yep!  It's my soccer ball!  I LOVE IT!!!  Daddy calls it Wilson after the soccer ball that starred in Tom Hanks's movie Cast Away.  I'm not sure why.  My ball should clearly be called Adidas!

Mommy isn't too thrilled about the ball coming to bed with me (not to mention a few other toys as well).  She tolerates the ball for a little while if she's reading, but eventually she tries to quietly put it on the floor.  I'm wise to her ways and I usually hop down onto the floor immediately to retrieve it.  After all, I'm not called a Labrador Retriever for nothing!

Here's to Sweet Dreams!
Jenna

ANOTHER???

Look what the wind rolled in!  Within the span of two weeks, two balls have appeared in our yard.  You'd think the neighborhood children would have learned when their soccer ball disappeared, but apparently not!  This time it was a KICKBALL that rolled in! (With a Halloween theme?!?!?)

Mommy thought we'd be very excited at the prospect of another ball until Jenna put her teeth on it . . . instantly, Mommy realized her mistake. Unlike the soccer ball, the kickball has no inner parts that help it keep its shape.  There's only air in there!

One bite and it was toast!  I didn't mind.  Jenna had her ball and now I had mine!

Along with my tennis ball of course! (Can you spot it?)

Shortly after this picture was taken, one of us began to really try to tear the ball apart.  I won't name names to protect the guilty.  Once the ball was in more than one piece it found its way into the trash can . . .

Oh well.  It was fun while it lasted!
Dixie

My New Favorite Toy

I know what you're thinking.  Another new toy??  I know I just recently introduced you to Leopard and Giraffe, but to be fair they've been around since Christmas.  I have an even "newer" favorite toy that I like to play with daily.  It's new to me anyway.  I truly have no idea how old it is exactly because I found it!

Mommy came home one day and this beautiful pink soccer ball was just sitting in the yard waiting for me to get my paws (and teeth) on it!  It's like it was meant to be!  We do have a few kids in the neighborhood, so it probably belonged to one of them at some point, but . . . FINDERS KEEPERS!  At least that's the philosophy I'm adopting in this situation.  Any child growing up where we currently live should know how windy it is on a daily basis and should know to put their toys away at the end of the day.  If they didn't before, they do now!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

My sister and I both love to play fetch.  Dixie sticks to the tennis balls and I usually prefer my frisbee.  But this toy has given my fetch game new purpose.  I love for Mommy to kick the ball.  If it's early morning and she's about to go to work and is wearing nicer shoes, she'll pick up the ball and toss it for me.  Either way, I can chase after it or try to catch it in my mouth (this happens more frequently than you'd think).

The only drawback to my new toy when it first arrived was that it was so tough and large I couldn't REMOVE my mouth from the ball when I was told to drop it.  My teeth got STUCK in the ball!  It was quite a challenge to give the ball back to Mommy for the next toss or kick.  I learned I had to put it down on the ground and use both paws to pull it from my mouth.

Through all this tugging, pulling, and puncturing, I've kind of deflated the ball a bit.  Don't worry.  No need to feel sorry for me.  It still works!  The ball has kept most of its shape and Mommy can still kick it around the yard.  And the best part is that it's easier for me to drop it now!

When Mommy's not paying attention to me, I try to regain her attention by chewing on my new ball.  She doesn't like that!  She's told me if I peel it too much, she'll have to take it away . . .

I even try to get Mommy to play ball inside the house.  I found her on the kitchen floor recently repairing the rug.  I thought this was prime opportunity to get Mommy's attention!  Don't you agree?

I'm going to enjoy my new soccer ball for as long as it lasts.  Perhaps I'll start training for the US Women's Soccer Team . . . I could be the next Mia Hamm.  I don't really need to be the next Brandi Chastain.  She was the first woman to remove her shirt in celebration of her soccer victory (eighteen years ago . . . do you remember that?).  I don't think my fans could contain their excitement if I removed my fur coat!

I'll let you know when my first official game is and I'll expect to see you there!
Jenna