Tanqueray & Tonic in hand, I wander back to the computer this snowy, cold day. Granted not really either when compared to friends in Minnesota or Canada but, certainly cold/snowy enough. A trip to the computer also serves as an excuse to get away from the football blaring from the TV in the front room. A sometimes fan, today isn’t the day. A pan of brownies is cooking in the oven to go along with the pork tenderloin, steamed broccoli and stuffing to be fixed later for dinner. It’s been a reading-by-the-fireplace and dog weekend … Teller got brushed/bathed/trimmed Saturday; Frankers and Dante were brushed out today in anticipation of a trip to the groomer sometime in the coming week. Hopefully when it’s warmer as I always feel bad when they have a spiffy new short ‘do and then the temps drop and the snow flies.
The time since my last posting has been hectic, to say the least. A major surgery the third week of November, trying to keep Teller mat free during my recovery with him having a major coat blow and then getting ready for Christmas was, ummm, interesting. Hubby informed me the surgery was karma for taking so many fosters in to get spayed … I say it was good karma for warding off some more-than-likely major problems in the future. The three weeks off work has been dubbed my “spaycation” … hmmph, some vacation!
For the second year in a row, one of our adoptive families (Judy and Magoo) made a Christmas donation to rescue. The only “condition” was that I write a letter to her great-granddaughter telling her what it meant to rescue and how it was used. The back story … Judy had inquired of her grandson what the baby could use for Christmas. He replied that the baby had more than she could possibly use and that if Great-Grandma wanted to do something, make a donation and then explain what that donation meant to the receiving organization. The letters would be kept and read to the child when she was of an age to understand giving and sharing. Kudos to these parents for instilling empathy and compassion early on in this child’s life … and thanks to Judy for including rescue in her holiday charity.
We also heard over the holidays that Bubba (n/k/a Max) was doing fine and that Sammy’s family (f/k/a Wrigley) added a new Tzu named Budha. Little red Tess in Golden continues to do well and pretty much rules the roost at that house.
Senghe … adopted in 2007 and n/k/a “Peanut” … continues to do well in his new home even with some major changes. Here’s what his Mom has to say …
I thought you’d like to see Peanut’s big transformation today! We had been growing him out and while he looked so adorable with his topknot (I took it out for the before photo for dramatic impression), it was obvious he is much happier with his close puppy cut. As evidence of that he has been a complete ball of happy energy ever since I picked him up from the groomer this afternoon. He even gets to wear his sweaters which he absolutely loves – weird, huh? He will follow you all over the place if you have one of his sweaters in your hand and will hound you (no pun intended) until you put it on him. He wasn’t able to wear them with his longer hair since they had a tendency to mat him up and he really hated the unmatting process!! He also wasn’t real fond of the topknot so that was a constant battle. Oh, well, now he will just look like a puppy all the time!
We got married this summer … Peanut absolutely loves his new dad and pretty much ignores me when Christopher is home Christopher has been awesome for him too – he is very structured and does not let that little darling get away with anything. Peanut is his first ever dog so I’m quite surprised at his ability to handle him – I’m sure you remember that Peanut is quite the strong willed little thing. I think Michelle would be shocked and amazed at the different little man Peanut is now. He has learned so many new commands of which the most amazing is wait. He will wait for quite a while even with a treat right in front of him on the floor and he waits for his dinner quietly until you tell him he can go eat. Another cute thing he has started doing all on his own is to put himself away. He is way too curious for his own good so he has to go into his kennel when we leave the house. We used to tell him “kennel” and he would go in and sit down. Now…all I have to do is grab my purse and he runs to his kennel. I think the treat he gets when the door closes has a lot to do with it! It is awful cute though – although sometimes I am just grabbing my purse to get something out of it and then you have to convince him you aren’t going anywhere.
Unfortunately, our little ones age right along with us and I got word that Oscar lost his battle with Cushings. He was such a nice foster with a sweet, sweet face! I know he is greatly missed by his family.
On the home front, Teller is being shown on a limited basis … and probably even more limited (read that “not”) until his side coat gets longer :::sigh:::. Dante sired a litter here in Colorado in August and his two daughters (BeBe and Lily) will hit the ring sometime this spring. Frankers is, well, Frankers and at 13.5-years old, he’s entitled to his off days. He’s still pretty spry, all things considered, and we’ve had really good results using Dog Gone Pain (DGP) as recommended by my vet. Definitely something to consider if you have older dogs with arthritis issues. And while we’re on the issue of older dogs, studies have shown that it is easier to prevent joint problems than fix them after they develop. For this reason, I start my dogs on glucosamine/chondroitin once they turn 7-years old. We’ve had really good luck with Glyco-Flex II, a half caplet every Mon-Wed-Fri. Don’t be put off by the price … a 90-caplet bottle will last you a year+ on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule. And, yes, Frankers gets the Glyco-Flex as well as the DGP. He injured an SI joint several years ago chasing squirrels and this regimen keeps him both comfortable and mobile.
Wishing everyone the best of the coming year! May the snows fall lightly on your winter … and may you always find a heartbeat at your feet …
ApsoRescueColorado 