Isabelle at the Mac today to tell you about my awesome 13th birthday.
Mom bundled me up and took me out to lunch and shopping for the day.
First stop, Burger King for my very own burger!
It was delicious!
Then off to Carealot for some shopping. I got a new orthopedic bed that I picked out myself. The nice lady at Carealot put a bunch of beds on the floor and I sniffed them all, then picked out this one.
Tallulah gives it the paw of approval.
And I got two new outfits.
And this one. Because every lady of a certain age needs an animal print house dress.
Here I am ignoring the brand new bed I picked out.
I'm stubborn like that, but you can relate, right?
Finally, I gave it a try. A lady likes her options.
Yesterday, we mentioned that I share a birthday with my human great-grandma. When we saw her at Christmas, she surprised us with a new skill. At age 79, she decided to learn the violin.
Here's a little video of her playing.
She had only had four lessons when this was recorded.
FOUR!
Just goes to prove that you are NEVER too old to learn something new. Great-grandma is pretty amazing anyway, but this just proves that
SENIORS ROCK!
PS. Isabelle passes her behavioral assessment so please keep voting for her!
We went to the vet today. Petunia had to get her thyroid rechecked, and Tallulah needed an exam. Mom found some spots on her that needed checking, and she's still not gaining weight like she should given all the food that she's eating.
Good news is that one spot was a sebaceous cyst (no biggie) and one looks like "an old dog spot" according to the vet. It's one that we will watch for growth or shape changes, but not a big deal at the moment.
The bad news was that the spot behind Tallulah's big paw pad was infected. Probably a cut. Then the vet checked her other paw and it had a really weird hole in it. All the black was gone from the toe pad and there was something coming out of the hole in her pad. It was a hole about the size of a pencil lead with tissue squeezing out along with what looked like a string. Ick. Hopefully, it is also an injury. We go back in a week to see how it has healed.
In the meantime, Tallulah is sporting some spiffy bandages.
She is not happy with this development.
She will be happy that she gets to eat beef again! The vet thinks that adding a protein with fat should help her gain some weight and keep it on. As long as her tummy agrees, it's hello beef and goodbye stinky fish!
Sunday, we got to be part of something very special for the guy who takes our holiday pictures!
We got up bright and early so that we could be at Carealot at 8 am. That's seriously early for us.
Our photographer Tom was profiled for the local ABC station (which is our favorite because they also show the parade!). And the reporter talked to mom about the rescue!
Now, you have to ignore the fact that the reporter called her Ally (which she absolutely hates), spelled her name wrong (left off the "e") and said that she ran the pug rescue (she's on the board but not the president!) But she got to get the word out about how Tom and his pictures help rescues, including ours! You can even see the rescue's name on mom's shirt!
Sunday, Isabelle has an appointment for behavior testing. Uh oh. She has to prove that she can behave in crowds and with other dogs. Hopefully she passes!
Isabelle is a finalist for Norfolk's first Canine Crusader!
This is a contest to become the city's first spokesdog for cleaner waterways, including our rivers and the Chesapeake Bay! The winner will attend a couple of events around the city to promote earth friendly behavior like scooping poop and recycling!
We need your help for Isabelle to win.
All you need to do is go here, like the page, then vote for Isabelle!
You can vote once per day per Facebook account.
Tell your family! Tell your friends! Tell your neighbors!
We've been trying to gain some weight around here.
Yeah, we know, poor us.
Although we think Petunia's weight loss has been explained by the thyroid medication, Tallulah is still fluctuating in her weight.
What does that mean? We still get to eat lots!
Caught Isabelle in mid-bark!
Popcorn is more of a healthy snack, but hey, it's food and we'll take it!
Petunia
Tallulah
Isabelle
We are gaining weight. Petunia is up to 16.6 pounds, Tallulah up to 15.8. Don't tell Petunia, but she's about to get her food cut back a little. Tallulah will be getting a little more. Fortunately, they eat with a love seat between them so they can't see what the other has. As long as everybody gets something in their bowl, the peace is kept.
Hope everyone remembers to set their clocks forward and check the batteries on their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. And dust off or wipe down the detectors. Puggy hair can clog up those sensors!
So you may know that we all have been really involved in creating a dog park in our neighborhood. It's been a long journey (the whole process started five years ago), but we are finally getting water! The way it works here, the neighborhood is responsible for paying for everything at a dog park except the land. The city will designate land for a park, but as far as fencing, water, benches, etc., that all has to come from the neighborhood. We don't live in a rich neighborhood so it's taken us a long time to raise the money.
The civic league has been fundraising for years, and last year, we won a grant from the city to make improvements. There was some red tape/paperwork delay then the weather has been uncooperative. So yesterday, we finally got started!
A nice man named Richard let us use his special trencher that digs, runs the water line and covers it back up all at the same time. That's important because the ground is still wet from all the rain. And that meant the little dog side could open back up immediately!
These awesome guys have done all the heavy work on the park. And get this, not one of them has a dog! They just agree that this project is really important for the neighborhood. Here they are rolling out the hundreds of yards of PEX, a flexible water line that doesn't freeze and break as easily as PVC.
Here's a video mom took of the trenching. It may not look exciting to you, but we were all tickled pink!
Our next step is installing the water spigot structures.
They don't look like much yet, but at the end of each of the pipes will be a Lixit fixture. It's like the end of a hamster bottle that when a dog licks it, the water comes out.
That will eliminate the need for a bowl to hold the water which eliminates the spills and a breeding place for mosquitos. Very important here!
Below the water structure will be a 4x4 patio paver pad on each side. That will catch the drips and let the water drain back into the ground, filtering it as it goes. That's important because our park backs up to a tidal creek of the Lafayette River. And it will cut down on all the mud under the water spigots!
This is phase one of the project. Phase two will include the installation of the pavers at the water stations as well as pavers in the entrance corral. Grass just can't grow at the entrance because that's where everyone has to come in and out. By putting pavers there, we get rid of the mud (it rains here a lot). And it will make our park ADA friendly. That means people who come to the park in wheelchairs or those who have mobility issues can have a safe way to enter and exit the park. After all, service dogs need exercise, too!
All the work done on the park is by volunteers. People who have day jobs so it may take us a few more weekends to get the water stations going. But we definitely hope to have water by Pugapalooza!
So yay for water! Yay for volunteers! Yay for people coming together to do something that makes the world a better place, even if they don't directly benefit!
