Tinker's growing up...

Tinker slept in her own bed last night and did pretty well. She was up twice trying to get into our bed, but we figured she can't see so she doesn't know that its still night time. So we put her back into her bed and she went back to sleep.

Tinker also met Joy and baby Gavin and did very well! What a sweetie... sat and snuggled, but let me hold the baby and even let Joy take her out to use the potty!

Tinker looked like she was going to PLAY this morning... she was dancing around and coming towards me then running away quickly... when i tried to play with her, she stopped! haha, anyways, its a start and i'm happy to see her even the least bit playful!

She likes to climb into my purse when we're at other people's houses. She did it first at Nana's and Papa's and now today at Joys... she tries to dig the stuff out thats in it and put herself in. Its very funny to watch!

I was offered and accepted a job at Living Unlimited as a full time music therapist... many changes will be coming but we will do it together as a family, one step at a time.

She loves to walk!

The pretty girl is sitting on her Mama! (not the camera AGAIN dad!)

Up close because we can!!!

Getting a picture of her sleeping isn't tough!! She loves to snuggle in my arms!

This little girl loves to go for walks! Aby at home is about as fun (and willing) to walk as a pirhanna so i figured Tinker wouldn't walk very often... WRONG!! We'll go out for 20-30 minutes at a time. When its cold she wears her hoodie (yesterday we put the hood part right over her head to keep her dry from the rain. It was so cute, the hood part flopped back and forth as she walked and she was so snug and warm!! The rain didn't even phase her!) Today, after my interview (which went very well) I took her down to the park. Boy does she love to explore. So we walked and trotted around. She's not afraid of anything. I thought a 5 foot lead would be long enough, hehe she could use a flexi lead and run around the park! We'll work up to that. What a trooper!

Walking and cuddling. Yesterday after church we spend all day snuggling (and some parts walking of course). A nice relaxing afternoon for the 3 of us. She's still settling in nicely... gets excited when people come home! Which is always nice for me!!

Daddy's Perspective

So the little princess has been here a week and I haven't had my chance to put my 2 cents in yet about this wonderful little bundle of joy. She is just that. I'm very proud to have her as the very first dog that we have ever owned. She is so loving and I think that she is the most adorable thing that I have ever seen. She has been here only a week and I can't imagine our little family without her. She greets me every day I come home for work and snubs me whenever Vicki comes around. I know that she prefers Vicki and gets jealous of me being around her but I was here first. But I'm willing to share.

So she's quite an adventuress weekend. She got to go the gathering on friday night then on Saturday she finally got to meet Matt and Amanda. I can tell that she likes them a lot. After that she had to stay home by herself for 3 hours while we went to Matt and Amanda's. She had to stay home because we didn't want her to go after little Plato (Their dog). What is significant about this is that it was her longest time by herself since we've had her. When we got home she was very excited and did a little dance for us. The next morning she had to stay home while we were at church so that meant another 4 hours by herself. She did well with all that time by herself in her crate.

I love this little girl so much. I can't wait for EVERYONE to meet her.

The White Elephant (or a Good Ole Yankee Gift Swap)

So 5 of us young married couples from Etown got together last night for a time of food and a gift swap. And i didn't want to leave the little girl in her crate all evening to be in it all night. Well Leanne and Peter were gracious and said Tinker could come. Now i KNOW that i said we wouldn't be bringing her places the first week, but she is sooooooooo good and likes going places with mom. So anyways, there were 10 of us and we were eating and playing games and being normal young people and she either slept on my lap or quietly visiting people to see who was there. No begging, she wasn't nervous or anything. a complete love. Which was awesome to see. So i got to thoroughly enjoy the evening and not have to worry about my little baby.

She was soooo excited to get home though. You should see her when she climbs those stairs and is back in HER living room. She dances around and snorts a little and is just a very happy and animated girl.

You should have seen her last night when we got home. She was all excited until her crate moved into the bedroom... when she realized it was there, she got really stiff and unhappy. So as usual, i put her on the bed for a few minutes (to help her warm up from her potty walk) and she snuggles down so quickly and still manages to give daddy the eye "can i stay please?!??! i'll be really good, i promise!!!) Hehe, but she knows the rules and still gives daddy a hard time getting in her crate a few minutes later. But she always gets a treat for going into her crate. And then of course at 730 the next morning she goes out and comes in to cuddle with mommy. I think she may like sleep better than food, because i had to wake her up at 845 to give her breakfast!

Knock on wood.... no accidents in the house for 3 days straight ; ) We're staying in today... we'll see how she is with the vacuum. Hehe, love this munchkin... i can't believe its only been a week today that we adopted her.... happy 1 week! haha ok, thats enough : )

Tinker Time

Hi everyone, this is Tinker. Since this is about me, its my turn to rite. I really like it here alot except its COLD right now. But mom and dad usually put my hoodie on so i'm not toooooo cold. Mommy feeds me yummy food, i have a warm bed, and i get to snuggle a lot. Mommy says i'm doing better with not going potty in the house too. (but thats partly cause she takes me out when i even look like i'm thinkin about peeing!)

I guess i've been more ak-tiv lately.. whatever that means. All i know is i'm having fun exploring my new home. I've found out whats underneath the bed (some dust and some small boxes), the clothes basket, the CD's and new stereo speakers that grandpa brought over last night and i learned that chair legs are never quite in the same spot. But i'm smart cause mommy keeps a good eye on me and when i hear her say "careful" i know to stop and not bang into something hard. I'm doing pretty well if i do say so myself. I don't sleep as much cause i want to see whats going on. This morning i helped mommy wrap a gift : )

Sometimes mommy holds me real close and talks to me in a soft voice and tells me how much she and daddy love me and how perfect I am for them. I like to kiss her at that point to let her know i love them too. Something i sit and shake a little... I'm still getting used to this new place and sometimes i miss the people I left behind. But mommy keeps a good eye on me and gently pats or cuddles with me to let me know that i'm ok.

I stayed home with Dad last night... I helped him write a paper for class and then helped him play video games. I got to meet Grandaddy too. But boy was i happy to hear mom's voice when she came home!!! I love it when daddy comes home and rubs my belly.... i also really like it when people rub me behind my ears....

I guess thats about it guys...I'm really liking this "forever home" thing, so don't worry about me. As ak-tiv as i am, its time for me to take a nap!

Tinker meets Nana and Papa

Tinker and I headed over to Nana and Papa's this afternoon and again, she was a saint. Sat in the car the whole ride over and back, sat nicely for Nana and for Papa.... slept on my coat during lunch and peed outside like a good girl. Her only bad habit is snoring and no one is faulting her for it : ) It was a nice time visiting and Tink was good as Nana held her. It was so cute to watch her sitting there. It was a wonderful visit : )

Tinker is a bit possessive of mommy when daddy gets home, however. She will easily sleep in her bed for hours during the day as i get things done around the house, but as soon as daddy gets home Tink will not leave mommy alone. What a brat : ) its tough, she's so good with so many things, but i need to keep reminding myself that its been less than a week. She's still going to get nervous when we leave, she still wants to stake her ground and she's still getting used to the environment. Once she realizes we always come back, i'm sure she'll be less nervous.

We're starting to get a better routine down and Tink isn't having nearly as many accidents. I know i can't wait even 5 minutes after she eats else she'll pee. (she's good at training her people!) And while we snuggle a lot she is learning that we can't snuggle all the time. At dinner she stays in her bed and in the car she stays in her seat (of course the harness helps with that!)

I do want to get some nylabones and a kong if i can find a small enough one eventually as Charli suggested. I watched her pace inside the kitchen gate last night and something tells me no toy is going to help that yet... but with time i'm sure she'll settle. She's just so much fun to have around. Since we've gotten her, i havent had to take my "itchy medication" as often, which is nice too. (wow that was a random paragraph!)

I'm going out tonight and Nick's staying home with Tink... it will be interesting to see how she settles in with him. I'll have Nick write about the experience. It will be good bonding time too. She's such a snuggle muffin!

A dog is a great way to meet your neighbors

Hehe, like I said, a dog is a great way to meet your neighbors, at least for me anyways. I met this sweet older lady today who was literally crying when she heard we adopted Tinker this past weekend. People act like we did such a heroic thing adopting an animal that can't see. I think we've done what was natural. And besides, she's been a joy and Nick and I have benefitted probably just as much as she has, if not more, from this arrangement.

But anyways, I bought some greenies to see if she would like to chew and boy does she ever. Aren't greenies supposed to be tough and last a long time? she ate a petite one in 30 minutes! It's so funny to watch her with something like that, she looks around for the best place to eat it when we both know she's going to end up in her bed to chew! She still checks out all her options first though.

We encountered our first thunderstorm with Tink last night.... wow, Charli you weren't kidding when you said she didn't like them. After the first clap, she let me hold her for a little... then she wanted off the bed.. nick brought her crate and bed into the bedroom and she couldn't make up her mind what she wanted. She hid under our bed a few times and then settled next to our bed. We pet her and spoke softly to her and just let her know we were there for her. She was shaking and quivering.... so as the storm calmed down (it wasn't really that bad either-- probably 7 claps total over 1 hour...) Nick took her out to potty and then I cuddled with her until she stopped shaking, fell asleep and began snoring... then we knew the storm was over.
It's tough to see our little dog be so upset, i can't imagine what its like for parents to see their children upset...

She's continuing to settle in nicely... her coats getting shinier and less flaky and she's put on just a tiny bit of weight. I think she looks really good now. Her brindle markings are coming out more and more too... which strikes me as odd, but i'm not imagining it. And of course, she was a saint when i clipped her nails yesterday. Not as much as a flinch. I barely tipped each one. (i only bled one and i wouldn't have known unless i saw the blood... she didn't cry, yelp, or anything!)
I could write forever about this lil girl, but i have some other things to take care of at the moment--after i snuggle with her for a minute more!!!

Sleepy time pictures ; )

Some more fun pics of the Lil Tink!!

Tinker the Amazing

So i'm still waiting to wake up from this dream.... there is nothing this dog doesn't do well. For those of you who aren't dog people, this might be kinda gross, but last night Tink totally let me clean out her ears. She just laid there on my lap and let me gently clean them!

Tink and I took our first car ride together post operation Atlanta. We got her a harness and short lead so now she safely rieds in the car. And being the angel that she is, she sat/laid right down on the passengers seat without so much as a peep. We walked around Etown campus for a little bit with Tink styling in her red hoodie.

But the highlight of my day with Tinker was actually at the Vets in Leola. What a nice place with nice people! They remembered me from my phone call and really seemed to have a handle on boston terriers. As they were going through Tinker's paperwork they kept commenting on how nicely she was taken care of. Thank you so much Small Dog Rescue and Humane; Your efforts are noted! They were really pleased. And then one of the girls was like "she is so relaxed with you; you can tell she's really comfortable around you." Now, trust me, i can't take the credit for that, she's a pretty laid back girl, but let me tell you I was tickled pink that someone noticed how good a girl she is!!! So we have heartworm medication, nail clippers and her record is all set at the vets!

It's more fun doing errands with the dog.. well, doggie errands that she can come with me to. I just kept talking with her and giving her treats at different places and she was totally cool. Tink always knew mommy was around and that everything was ok. But she was excited to get home! Dancing around the living room making sure everything was in the same place. But after a long adventurous morning, the only proper thing to do is take a nap... and thats exactly what she is doing on my lap as I type. What a complete angel!!! (we'll see how the nail clipping goes later on today! We won't bombard her with too many things at one time!)

And oh, we did have to crate her last night, but man did we all sleep better. Nick took her out around 730 this morning and after peeing she cuddled in bed with me for the last 30minutes. We figure in a few weeks she'll be able to sleep in her bed, but until we can trust her to wander the house unattended, the crate it is (she does have a habit of peeing on the tile if I'm not around for more than 5 minutes... not sure if its spite or nervousness or what... cause both times she peed not an hour before... so we're working on it : )

She was really good with one of the neighbors kids early... We were taking a walk and got stopped, so I held her while this cute little 4 year old was nicely patting her. I didn't think she'd do anything, and she didn't so that was good, lots of praises during and afterwards : )

Have I mentioned that i LOVE THIS DOG?!?!?! Nick does too of course (but he's not writing this post)!!! and I know Tink loves it here too ; )

In fact, she's creating a wish list of "toys" that include:
indestructable bones for her to chew on including some greenies and things with flavor : )

So enough's enough

And yet again the question is raised, why a blind dog? And so we say, why not a dog who happens to be blind? She is a dog with a disability not a disability who happens to be a dog. She can do everything a quote "normal" dog can do (except jump on the bed because she has no idea how tall it is and is that so bad?) and is more loving and caring than most other dogs i know. And trust me, thats quite a few dogs I know. Would you love a child any less if he or she were blind? "No, sorry we don't want that one, she can't see. We'll wait another 9 mos to have a kid that can see." No of course you wouldn't say that! (Or shouldn't-- yes i am "shoulding" right now)

Sigh... there are more important things in life than being perfectly "normal." and i know most of you reading this are on my side. But some people's kids... honestly. It just doesn't make a difference to us. She was a stray and living in a shelter for a year and needed a loving home. Her little face and shining personality stole my heart the instant I found out about her. She has been a complete angel... now of course, the snoring and occasional piddles on the tile come free of charge. But c'mon, she's a Boston, what else would you expect?

So that's my rant... and its not just about little dogs that can't see. Its about people being more accepting of animals and more importantly, people no matter what they look or act like. Everyone needs to be loved period. God didn't come to save the "normal." He came to save everyone, because everyone has made mistakes. And here's a newsflash... no one's normal!!! So that's the deal. "...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:31)" So that's it. Be kind to people, period. End of rant.... for now : )

A rainy monday morning

it's a rainy monday morning, but Tink doesn't seem to mind. After eating a hearty breakfast, we went for a walk. She's helped me with laundry (even climbed in the clothesbasket!), snored through my phonecalls and hasn't stopped cuddling. It makes it tough to get things done around here. All i want to do is snuggle : )

We're looking to get her licence today and tomorrow we'll get a harness and ID tag. We could go out today, but with all the driving we did this weekend, i want her to know this is home and getting in the car does NOT mean another 9 hour drive. So she'll stay in today.

I'm not sure how well the sleeping in the bed thing is going to work. I'll go deaf in my left hear....she sleeps so close to me (her head was on my pillow) and so far the only one who got a good night's sleep was Tink! we'll figure something out!

As far as my phonecalls, still on the hunt for a job. I have an interview next monday, and a nursing home interested in a few hours of music therapy a week and more phone calls out there waiting to be returned. The right job is out there, i just need to be patient and not get discouraged.

So that's it, nothing earth shattering, just a mom and her dog taking care of some things on a rainy morning!

Figuring out how this works....

1-22-06 7:30pm

Ok, here are some more pics of Tink, Charli, and us : ) We're figuring out how all this works (blogging and having an adorable little girl)!!! Charli spoiled us and Tink and bought her an adorable hoodie (which i have been looking for for weeks), a new bed, treats, and some puppy pads to prevent accidents : ) Not every person has a godmother and our dog does!! ooo we are enjoying being doggy parents : ) We'll keep ya updated on the happenings : )
sigh, it was such an amazing experience to take a road trip to pick her up. As my mother would say, we're making memories. And we sure are!!!

Tink in her new bed

tinker in her new hoodie from her godmother!

the 3 of us...

Operation Atlanta Completed

Operation Atlanta was a Success!! We are now the proud owners of an ADORABLE little Boston Terrier, affectionately called Lil Tink : ) Its kind of a long story, but I'll give the highlights

On Christmas Eve, I was casually searching through petfinder still looking for THE dog of my life, when on like page 12, little Tinkerbells picture popped up... i read her profile and was hooked. I HAD to have her. I gave Nick the puppy dog eyes and he knew I was serious... so i sent an email to Linda and she told us we could apply for this special little girl...

Almost a month to the day and many many conversations with Charli, Tinks foster mom and now god-mother, we were ready for the drive! Lil Tink, here we come!

We left on friday and got to Gastonia NC, the 2/3rds mark and where we were staying that night.
After barely sleeping, we got to Petco in Sandy Springs GA EARLY and had to WAIT! talk about suspense!!! We finally met Charli and lil Tink was on another Van... so..... when Charli brought her in, it was TOTALLY still Love at first meeting. Tears and laughs and smiles. Tink wasn't totally sold on us initially, but we brought out the secret weapon-- SNAUSAGES-- and we were in!!!! we played with her and talked with her and Charli for a good 45 min to an hour. We met Linda, Anne, Pat and so many others who helped to make this a reality. WHAT A PLEASURE!!! It was so much fun seeing everyone and just a little bit of what they do. So after some paperwork and hugs and pictures we started the journey home a little before 2pm on saturday.

She was good the first night : ) starting out sleeping in her bed, but then came up to visit after she went out at 1130. Man does she know how to sleep and SNORE!!! she loves to cuddle : )

She was a doll the WHOLE RIDE HOME. Not a word out of her, she slept, she snuggled, she was a comlete dream.

But boy were we glad-- all of us-- to get home. She knew instantly this was home. She ate a hearty dinner, gave her a bath (what an ANGEL!! is there anything this dog gives a hard time about?!?) and now she's here with her little red hoodie sitting on my lap.

So thats the deal... we're here spoiling her. We did make her stay in her bed while we ate (no beggars---the bed was right next to the table for pete's sake : ) and she fell alseep. We'll post pics for all to enjoy the little beauty. This girl was totally meant for us!!!