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Thanks and hope to see you soon!

Random Encounter

Recently a co-worker and I were heading out for the day and as we approached the big glass doors of our building, I saw across the street, a young woman walking her dog. "Look! A dog in a coat," I said, and my co-worker replied, "Don't you just love that? You know when you see a dog in a coat, they are well loved and cared for."

At just about this moment, the gal stopped to take off the jacket as it was still fairly warm out and as we crossed to her side of the street, I gasped, "Oh! It's a Pit Bull!" The girl quickly turned and tried to hustle away, when we shouted, "Wait, can we pet your dog?"

She then turned with a pleased smile on her face and we got to pet the sweetest little guy, he gave me kisses and we chatted a bit. He was on a Thunder Leash and we discussed the merits of that versus the Freedom Harness that we use then we all went on our merry way.

I wondered if my initial exclaimation of Pit Bull was seen as negative but was happy to see them both and though I didn't whip out my phone then, I actually saw them as I was in the Pittie Van and heading home so I snapped a picture for a random post.

Speaking of Long Haul

We have been blogging for well over a decade on this platform and while it has been relatively easy in many cases, we are making the move to WordPress.

We will keep this blog active-ish but we hope that you'll come visit us in our new home at PeaceabullAssembly

Don't leave us, because who knows.  We might be back...

UPDATE. We fixed the link.  Thanks, Beagle Bratz!

For The Long Haul

One of the most inspirational bloggers and doggie moms I know once wrote a post that so deeply resonated with me that I doubt if I could put into words how much it impacted me.  It ripped open a bandage that covered a gaping hole in my upbringing that I will spend the rest of my days trying to make up for.

Other than Samantha, who belonged to my grandparents, I didn't really have a stable animal presence in my life.  While my dad was/is an animal lover, my mom isn't really even an animal liker.  I remember several dogs in my early years.  They came and they were gone.  I don't know where they went other than "to live out in the country."  Given my parents m.o. I assume they were given away.  Rehomed.  Some may have run out in the street and perished.  I just never knew.

I don't have the foundation of respect for our furry friends that some people have and that is just where I came from.  It doesn't make my parents bad or necessarily wrong,  it just is how it was with them. 

I'm actually not even certain when the forever pet concept jelled in my conscious but I do remember the early days with Ray which were such a challenge. Before we adopted Ray, I wanted an elderbull.  I wanted an ambassador who could be a therapy dog if that was the path they were destined for.  My husband wasn't convinced and was dead set on a puppy, so it seemed only natural that we adopt one of the "Sparkle pups."

To say Ray was a challenge as a puppy would be to say that Chicago can be a bit breezy.  Ray and his litter mates were separated from Sparkles at around 5-6 weeks and really had no social skills.  While my mission was to socialize Ray as much as I could, I also found myself disinclined to do so.  My ambassabull was so prone to leaping up from his diminutive stature and ripping the fabric from my sleeves.  He "mouthed" my hands, passing feet, toys, furniture, leashes, and anything else he could find.  I was the redirect queen, with antlers, chew bones and stuffies shoved into every pocket but there were plenty mornings where I sat on the kitchen floor and cried bawled, "Oh my god!  Pit bulls live for nearly 17 years!  I have to endure 16 and a half more years of this!"

That's right.  I was discouraged, disheartened, angry, humiliated by my failure, and still it never crossed my mind to do anything  but get through the next 16 and a half years.  My first milestone was set at 2 years.  I had read his personality would be shaped and I was hoping for a glimpse of my future ambassabull.  In the meantime, it would be work, work, work, lessons, lessons, lessons in  an effort to have the dog I knew Ray could be.  It turns out that around 18 months, he became just that dog.  A dog who I think may still one day be a CGC.  If he doesn't, will he be a failure?  Will I?  If success is measured by certificates and awards, maybe. 

If success is measured by eternal love and devotion, which I suspect it is, then I'd say we are doing just fine.

White Noise, Black Hole

If you've tried to visit the Peace-a-Bull Assembly anytime in the past 5 or 6 days, you've probably been greeted with an error message. Either that or zero people really have visited us. Well, we sincerely apologize for the interruption in posts and access, especially since we were honored to be a featured blogger in the Oh My Dog! newsletter.

Well, the problem is that we are now the proud owners of the domain peaceabull.com however after the first, second and third attempts, I still haven't gotten it set up correctly. Bear with us, we haven't left, we are just inept.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Thoughtful Thursdsay

The one constant is change. The fact that things change, people change, and circumstances change is usually a good thing. We hope we can adapt to change and make it a positive even when it is something that we either didn’t foresee or plan. I consider that while I am usually open to change and adapt pretty easily, I can be set in my ways. But rather than change, I think I’m talking about evolving. We learn and we grow and I hope that while I’ve aged, I’ve grown and evolved into something better than I was a week, a year, a decade or more ago.

I strive to surround myself with people who inspire me; people who make a difference in the world and strive to make it a better place than it was before. I try to be more thoughtful in my speech and actions, which includes my “posting and sharing” by being more inclined to post positives rather than negatives. I’m not 100% there yet, but the road is long and hopefully I will be traveling it for quite some time.

Speaking of inspiration, I would like to begin a new project inspired by the fact that this is a milestone year, however I need some help and ideas from you, the people of blogville who inspire me every day with your passion and commitment.

My project is going to be called “Fifty Shades of Kindness” and while I strive to perform an act of kindness each day by either word or deed, I really need some ideas to help me toward a formal fifty acts. My plan is to document my journey via a newly created Facebook page, which I hope you’ll join. Follow along with the progress, suggest new ideas and even post an act of kindness that you have performed or received.

I’m really excited about this adventure and even more so if you’ll join me.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

First, thanks to all of you for being such good sports. Last year Corbin did something similar and I nearly freaked out reading it. I actually am not a fan of April Fool's pranks, but this one just set itself up so nicely. Anyhow, Tora was on television yesterday and I'm confident that she will be in a great home soon.

So, as you may have seen, we've been hinting about the fun place Asia went over the weekend and about who she got to meet. I think she is going to guest blog about it soon, but here's a picture to whet your appetite.



That's right, she got to meet the fabulous Miss M, Miss M's "servants" and her dog, Mr. B! WOOT! (I'm not even jealous only a little jealous completely jealous.)

Tora Tuesday

If you’ve been following along at all on Facebook, you know by know how much our entire family has fallen in love with Miss Tora. She is everything I had ever hoped for in an adoptable dog. She is an elderbull, she is sweet and gentle with the baby, gets along great with Julius (who doesn’t?) and probably a very good candidate to be a therapy dog.

The only drawback is Ray, of course. He always needs to go so much slower with intros and can be so cranky. It’s a major production to take him to the Vet, to trim his nails, to put drops in his ears, etc. He is my heart dog, but Tora is my ideal. Julius, of course, is nothing but easy. He adapts to everything and just rolls along with his wagging tail and sweet personality.

With all the pressure encouragement from my Facebook community, and after many heartfelt and heart wrenching conversations, we have decided to add Tora to our household and to make Ray available for private adoption to a good home where he will be the only dog, or at least to a home that will have more time to work with him on his desensitization. Preferably to a home nearby, where I can still get updates on him.



"You know she's kidding, right?"


Yeah, Duh! April Fool's!

Which Craft?

As happens every so often, I get the urge to be all crafty and such and so this weekend I decided to make some jewelry and some bandanas. If you don’t really know me, you don’t realize that those two simple things can take on a life of their own and simple projects always become bigger than intended.

I had ordered some charms a while back and felt that with only the four-legged boys and myself at home, I would be able to procrastinate doing my housework get a lot of crafting done. The intent was to pick up just a couple of things I needed from the craft store (ha!) and return home to finish. Naturally, I came away with the things I needed, plus items for another project and an idea for a new type of project I want to learn to do.

Bad Droid pic

The first new project was pretty simple. I grabbed some brightly colored bandanas and for the lettering, there were these great iron-on embroidered letters and nearby were some sparkly paw prints to add. The project was so simple, but here’s where Iget lost in the rabbit hole. After realizing I had enough left over letters to do a “Ray” and a “Julius” bandana, I went back to a different craft store the next day and bought them each one. But of course I couldn’t stop there. Having made a pink and a blue “Adopt Me” bandana the first day, I decided to make some gender neutral ones, so I picked up two more. Plus more letters.

What we ended up with was a pink and a blue with black embroidered letters, a purple with gold puffy letters and an orange with blue puffy letters. The plan is to use these when taking some photographs and also when we go to Pet Expo in May, we usually don’t have enough “Adopt Me” vests available for all the dogs, so this should help supplement.

Julius got one in what is becoming his signature color, lime green, or Juli-bean green as we like to call it. And although Ray’s signature color (in my mind) is turquoise, he got one in yellow, to signify he sometimes needs space when we are out and about.

So naturally, after the projects were done, we had to do a photo shoot. It’s kind of a given, right? With a handful of treats and my camera and we headed to the living room where Julius was bounding and leaping in the air trying to grab the treats until I got them safely tucked away in my pocket. I turn to look for Ray and I see him sitting on the mat in front of the fireplace because naturally, that is where we usually do the pictures! I moved another mat to our shoot location and of course Ray knew the drill. Juli finally settled in and here are the results.

Strike a  pose!



Double profile!

We're really looking forward to getting some adoptable pics soon, too.

How was your weekend?  Any crafty projects in your house? 

PS. If you follow us on Facebook, you know Asia met some pretty special someones, so stay tuned for the scoop!

Pretty Boo Kitty, Goodbye.

When Kevin moved into his house out in the country in 1997, there was a gray and white cat who would stand by the fence and meow at him. He assumed she was feral and never approached, but also never tried to deter her presence. When I met him in 1998, that same kitty was still hanging around and with the offering of a can of cat food on a paper plate, the Booger-nose Kitty, or Boo Kitty decided we were hers.

We quickly set up a small dog house, full of warm blankets on the covered porch, set out food and water and in exchange for these luxuries, we were gifted with rabbits, birds, mice, and moles. She also gifted us with kittens. Lots of kittens and though we kept many, many others were given homes by passersby attracted to the “Free Kittens” sign. Yeah, that's how it was done in the day. It was difficult to catch Boo Kitty between pregnancies, so we eventually had her spayed while in the family way and though she was an excellent mother, I know she appreciated the retirement.

There were challenges with her as a roving pair of ferals who became known as the Bush Kitties eventually became trusting of us enough to partake of the porch food and eventually oust Boo from her coveted spot on the porch. We truly believe that she lured both to their untimely deaths on the road because what are the chances that they perish in the exact same spot, weeks apart from each other? Once they were gone, she became the Queen of the Porch yet again.

She travelled with us to a new home in a new town, became a house and yard kitty and eventually settled into retirement on a sunny cushion on the new porch or on the patio during the warm months. For the cold months, a sunny cushion on a chair or a blanket in a sun spot did the trick and her life consisted of relaxation and sunshine.
Over this past winter –her 16th that we know of- we dramatically saw the signs of aging creeping up with her. Our smallest cat by far, she lost more weight, though she was still eating and we came to realize she was now deaf. Each morning I sought her out to make sure she is still alright and each morning she greets me with a slow raise of her head and an even slower approach from her soft “cube.”

Then came the day that we realized she could no longer climb onto her ottoman, she could not walk  right and the day came when we realized we needed to  put aside our feelings of loss and help her over.  This week, as my friend Jessica puts it, we sent our Boo Kitty off to college with pets, hugs and kisses, surrounded by her loving family. 

We love you and will miss you terribly.  Until we meet again at the bridge, enjoy the sunshine.

Wordless Wednesday

Boo Kitty does her egg imitation.

Bully Bash

“I might pick her up after work for a sleep over,” I said to Jessica. “That’s fine, just text me if you decide to, I’ll be here.” Then after work, I texted her, “I forgot I have to pick up Julius, I guess Tora will have to stay in the kennels tonight.”
Her response was simple and yet I still felt crushed. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”
I couldn’t let it go and since traffic was light, and I picked up Julius easily, I called our long suffering Shelter Director yet again. “If you’re going to be there for a little longer, we’re on our way.”

She and Tora met me and Julius at the door and we decided to do a brief interaction out front and when it became apparent that the combined 160+ pounds of dog were going to get along, we let them play out in the yard for a few minutes where 8 year old Tora became a bouncy happy spring chicken (or perhaps a cougar with her platonic interest in that young stud gelding).

Familiar pose, different bully.

Satisfied that the Pitty Van would survive the boundless joy of these two, we loaded them up and I headed for home where Asia was already preparing the house with gates and closing Ray off for a while before any introductions could occur. Julius and Tora bounced about the yard and after a bit we decided to do some brief intros with Ray. I put Julius in the garage for a while and Asia and I did some leashed brief meets with the two American Bulldogs. Ray, who has way fewer social skills, seemed eager to meet this buxom beauty, but was somewhat over stimulated (though not nearly to previous degrees) and he did snap at her a couple of times. Tora, in her eternally sunny manner, just ignored Ray’s rudeness. We decided to let Ray decompress for awhile upstairs and after about an hour, he was happy to be downstairs with the rest of us, though behind a gate.

Asia, who is obsessed with Miss M, loves, loves, loves Tora.

So, how did our Bully Bash go? Well, Tora (or Big Girl, Big Mama, Mama as she responds to) was probably the worlds most perfect and appreciative guest. She wore a huge smile on her face the entire evening, and was eager to do anything we asked of her, which mostly consisted of receiving treats and lovings.

Please do not notice the poor condition of our yard.

So if you don’t want an affectionate dog, don’t adopt her. She settled on her mat and helped cook dinner without being a beggar-face, so if you want a rude dog, don’t adopt her. She got along really, really well with Julius (my rock star) and did really well with Ray, so if you aren’t looking for a friendly, mature dog with lots of life to live and lots of love to give, don’t adopt her.



Sweet houseguest

I love how she just found a cozy spot in the kitchen to settle in for the night, but upon learning she would be sleeping with the girls, she just grinned from ear to ear and settled in like the perfect dog she is.

American Bulldogs-Johnson type and Scott type.  Oh, and the AmStaff.

When you first meet this Big Mama, and move to pet her, she lays low on the floor and wiggles her tail, but after about an hour, she was confident and readily accepting of attention and even nudged Julius out of the way (nicely) to get her share of lovings. She is not a resource guarder as well as we can figure, because she and Julius were taking treats together, and he even stuck his big head in her breakfast bowl and she just backed up to let him have a taste. She did really well with the baby and with friends who stopped by and although she is 8, she has so much life and love yet to give. People often say they won the jackpot with certain dogs, but with Tora, you’d be winning the Powerball Mega Millions. So if you don’t want to win the Powerball Mega Millions, don’t adopt her.

Sunday Shopping

Since Julius goes to doggie daycare several times a week, I try to make sure Ray, who is still on limited activity, gets plenty of mental stimulation and Mommy time.  This weekend I had to go to the old house and make sure the pool drain was low, so I loaded Ray into the Pittie Van and we set off.  Ray got to play around in the yard which was nice and grassy in comparison to our yard here which, despite my efforts looks like poopageddon in a mud hole.  After we finished that task, we ventured over to TSC where Ray's "friend" was working.  We also had to replentish his kibble, so we went to Petco to wander about and although they were out of his food, we scored big time with a Kong backpack, originally $50 and on sale for $12.

Ray didn't actually like it much but Julius put it on and really felt like he was stylin'.  Now we just need a place to take him hiking. 

What was your fun purchase of the weekend?

This and That

We obviously haven't been around lately.  We haven't blogged in well over a week and we are dreadfully far behind in our blog reading, so bear with us as we catch up.

First and foremost, Ray's knee seems to be healing quite well.  He is still on very limited activity and the good news is the lost a pound.  Hey, baby steps.  He went to the vet today for his annual vaccinations and we had him armed with the Adaptil collar, dosages of his Anxitane and a Thundershirt.  The result was that he was much less anxious going into the office, he let the doctor near him much sooner and didn't start screaming until nearly half way through the visit.  Yes, we still have work to do, and I don't want to have a zombie-like dog, so we'll keep working at it. 

As for the Adaptil collar, though,  Mr. Car sick Julius wore it yesterday to his vet appointment and then we ran errands all over the place without any pukey incidents, so for the milder cases of anxiety, it's definitely a winner.

Last week I had a quick two and a half days in Coronado, California for work and fell in love.  I'd say anyone who doesn't like the San Diego are might be a bit off their rocker.

Dipping the toes in the Pacific Ocean

While I was gone our sump pump failed and the basement flooded a bit.  Kevin was doing his best to keep up with the water.  He ended up calling Roto-Rooter, Serve-Pro, a handyman and the insurance company.  Long story short, we got the damage contained to a very minimal amount after several nerve-wracking days. 

I've been off work for the past couple of days following a quick out patient surgery.  Nothing huge and I'm feeling fine.  It's been nice having some extra days to spend with the pooches though I should find a place to take some more pictures of them.

Speaking of pictures, they are entered in a PetCo Foundation photo contest with our "team" asking for votes in order to benefit the Allen County SPCA.  The voting is a dollar a vote, and the theme is the Power of Together.  Such a good theme for my boys.  Ray was pretty lonely being a large dog with no social skills until we found Julius.  I hope you can spare a dollar and will consider voting for the boys. Or perhaps you have an entry yourself?  Let us know! 

ACL Update

Frog dogs

Since Ray's ACL scare, we've been super, super careful in getting him lots of rest in hopes that it was maybe a sprain. With his anxiety over being in a Vet's office, I didn't want to subject him to several consultations if it wasn't necessary, but I also don't want him suffering physical pain as a trade off.

I'm pretty happy to report that since the initial weekend, we've limited his movement enough that he hasn't limped in nearly two weeks. He is allowed to go upstairs at night for bedtime and down for the daytime. He and Julius are not allowed to rough house (of course) and they do separate potty breaks outside. Ray and I haven't had our walks since that weekend, but I'm thinking we may start very, very short walks next week and see how it goes.

Our Vet said that although he isn't limping any longer, it could still be a partial tear that may re-tear with too much exercise. I'll keep a very close eye on it and, if necessary will take the next step, but after the skin tag scare, I'm not going to rush to surgery unless I truly feel it is warranted.

I want to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and words of concern. We appreciate each and every one of you.

TBT-Happy Adoptiversary

Today is the adoptiversary of my special boy, King.

Your presence at the shelter represented a watershed moment for Pit Bull types. You were the best of the best and you helped open a door to so many success stories. I hope you are living the good life in your forever home.

I will always have a special place in my heart for you, King.

Love,
"Mama"

You Ain't Nothin' But A...

On Sunday I volunteered with the ACSPCA by handling a dog at the Home and Garden Show. Our booth was in the children's area with a few petting zoo type places, balloon figures, face painting and lots of children (of course.) Because of the increased possibility of chaos, we only brought one dog at a time to the event throughout the course of the weekend and one of the other criteria is that we tried to only send out a dog that didn't currently have an application on it.

Salsa

The really good thing about taking Salsa, is that she was one of the very few without a current application and that I was familiar with her, having spent some time with her earlier in the week.  She is listed as a Redbone Coonhound blend and to tell you the truth, other than her need to smell absolutely everything in the building-twice, she could have been a Man in the Moon blend, for all I know about hounds.




Redbone Coonhound

I took to Google to see just what this Redbone Coonhound is and found dogs that look strikingly similar to Salsa, though we got scads of guesses that she was a Viszla mix as well, and having a friend who was interested in Viszlas made me more aware of that breed.  I admit to having "seen" Viszla in her myself. 

Vizsla

Now that I've Googled both, I have to hand it to my friend, Amy, who upon seeing Salsa's picture, asked, "Some kind of Hound or Viszla?" 

 

I don't really have a point, other than I don't know my hounds and Salsa is available for adoption at the Allen County SPCA.  She is sweet, takes a while to warm up to some people, has an amazing sniffer, knows sit, takes treats like a butterfly,and loves to give face kisses.  She seems way more independant than my needy Mama's boys and was very well mannered.

 

If you know anyone looking for a loving and independant red-head, send them to the ACSPCA to meet Salsa.

Food Snob

A few weeks ago, one of my favorite dogs bloggers wrote about a very touchy subject.  What you feed your dog(s).  The jist of her article was about how divisive this subject is and how so many people get so passionate about their opinions.  It's often too easy to fall into a debate of "if you really love Fido, then you would feed him this." 

Now fortunately, all of the blogs I read are written by people way smarter than I who know their stuff when it comes to all things dog.  I also do a bit of research on my own and truly believe that I make the best decisions I can based on the information I have at hand.  I once read a quote, "When you choose your advisor, you choose your advice."  Of course that is true.  I have my local experts who give me advice on good, holistic foods for my dogs.  I also rely on Dog Food Advisor to give me a starting point and a high-level overview of my choices.  I talk to people and I see the reactions of Ray and Julius (ok, just Ray.  Julius will eat anything that isn't green.) 

I realized though, that while there may be a multitude of people who may try to bully convince others into spending beyond their budget on food for their canine companions, there are just as many people who truly believe they are feeding a high quality kibble to their dog, though it might be something I wouldn't really feel comfortable feeding to the boys.  I'm of the mindset that if it works for you and your dog, then great!  If you ask what I feed, I will tell you.  If you want to know why, I will tell you why.  When you tell me what you feed, I will say, "great," and leave it at that, so don't feel the need to convince me to change.

The challenge for me is when our Vet pushes recommends a food that I wouldn't dream of feeding.  I've noticed at their office a lot of literature supporting why corn is good, why fillers are good, why animal by-products are good and I just cringe. I know that this food company really has an "in" with veterinarians and our vets really don't do a lot of research on nutrition so I just nod. One of our vets even was recommending a food for Ray to loose weight and said their dog ate it and lost weight but they had to switch because the dog lost too much weight. Do you think maybe because it wasn't getting any nutrition?

I feed a 5 star rated food to both Ray and Julius, but that is because they love it, I support the ingredients and it fits my budget. Ray is overweight and I know that.  He will be sedentary for several weeks, if not months and I know that, too.  I've switched him to the reduced fat version of his regular food, switched out as many treats as possible with fresh vegetables.  I commit to a slow and steady rehab for his leg and by the end of the summer we should both be lean, mean fighting loving machines again. 

So tell us, what do you feed and why?  How do you handle the food controversy or have you managed to stay apart from it?

Bad News, Hopeful News

Throughout the past couple of weeks, you may have seen me make reference to Ray’s “sore foot” while discussing our new walking strategy. With this winter being so bitterly cold, we’ve had (like so many others) challenges getting the dogs out to do their business and back in in a timely manner. These boys are young and energetic. They want to go outside to play and by the time they realize they still haven’t pottyed, their feet are very, very cold. Often we ended up taking them out singly but with any weather break, we did let them carouse a bit more.

With the cold, we noticed a few times that Ray favored one of his back legs, but usually this only lasted a short time. After all, when they both would dally outside, they’d end up standing with a paw in the air, looking at me as if I had forced them to play and get cold. As we modified our rotation and the boys played outside with each other less, Ray’s “sore foot” would get better and as they played more, he would favor the foot again.

When Ray was a teeny pup, I took him every month for regular nail trims. At first there was no issue, until the first day he was “quicked” and the next visit, there was more anxiety. I jackpotted treats but he was more and more anxious. The last time, I went to this location, he was in high anxiety, and I didn’t know enough yet, to call it off. Very luckily for us, we then installed and inground pool and the concrete surround kept his nails filed down to acceptable levels. Desensitizing at another location was not looking good so we are now doing desensitizing at home and I am able to clip a nail at a time and he doesn’t growl or try to bite the clippers. Much.

Similarly with the Vet. I take him monthly to hop on the scale and purchase his heartworm cookie so he has a comfort level with the office. However, last year during his vaccination visit, he had the Doctor who isn’t so into large dogs and to say that visit went poorly would be a severe understatement. I abashedly admit to putting off taking him to the vet because of his anxiety. Of the two dogs, Ray is the one I take out shopping more because he is so calm and well mannered. Juli-bean is great but we still have some leash manners and vocalization to work on, so Ray is my ambassador. The Vet’s office is a totally different matter.

Last week, however, the limping got worse and I was able to get an appointment with the Veterinarian who has a better relationship with Ray and who also owns a Pit bull mix. She is patient and caring and aware of any stigma that may stem from a frightened Bully type dog. I must say, our doctor spent nearly an hour and a half with us, watching Ray walk, sit and interact. She worked on getting him comfortable enough for a manual evaluation but at the end of the day, we came away with a diagnosis of a suspected torn ACL. The muscle in Ray’s leg and Ray’s anxiety did not allow for a completely thorough exam. I was left in the exam room while the staff checked him out and the sound of his terrified screaming and moaning will haunt me forever. I’m glad I left my phone in the car, because I may have been tempted to record that sound and really, no one should ever hear that sound.

We came away with some meds for pain, a referral to a surgical vet up here, discussion about weight loss and some brochures about Anxitane and the Adaptil collar and strict orders for no activity for Ray. The good news is that after 2 full days of doing nearly nothing, the limping is dramatically decreased so we are hopeful that we’re dealing with a strain or a sprain rather than a full on tear. Regardless, we’ll keep everyone posted on the happenings with our high maintenance pooch but in the meantime, has anyone had any experiences with Anxitane or the Adaptil collar? Thoughts? Opinions?

Cold Weather Stylin'

With the balmy and welcomed temperatures we had in the forties, I hesitate to say this, but I'm hoping for a few more days at least of some cold temps.  Not because I like the cold but because the boys have some new clothes to show off! 

Recently I was lamenting how hard it is to get a coat for a big chested dog that wasn't way too long and spamming Facebook wishing aloud that the talented owner of Lamae Designs would branch out and add jackets to her repertoire when she graciously agreed to make one for each of the boys!  We already had cozy and fashionable snoods and knew these jackets were going to be great. 

L., the owner and I messaged back and forth discussing fabrics and I told her my secret wish was for the boys to have their NFL teams but Ravens material is nearly impossible to find here in Indiana.  Luckily for me, she loved the idea and found some great fabric online and we discussed the lining colors as well as additional things like collars and such.  After measuring the boys for the golzillianth time I hopefully suggested that since she'd have to order x amount of fabric, wouldn't it be awesome to make them matching snoods!?  Luckily for me she not only agreed but allowed these snoods to qualify for her giving back project, so a portion of the price went to ACSPCA!

Ray-Ray Suavay

Keeping warm enough for a rousing game of bitey-face.

Julius might be too handsome for words.

These are great, because I really wanted them to velcro across the chest and under the belly.  If the fabric is stretchy enough I can usually get them into a pull over, but it's hard and for anyone else in the family who needs to let the boys out, the velcro is the way to go.

L. even came over to triple check the sizing on the  boys before putting the final touches on.  This was great just because we could really visualize the changes that needed to be made, if any.  As if that wasn't enough to knock my socks off, she made matching snoods for the Doggy Daddy as well, so Kevin will be styling with his boys.  (Keep checking Facebook to see if we can get him to pose for a Dad and Lad(s) photo.)

If the day ever comes that the Bears and the Ravens face each other in the Super Bowl, this should be their logo!