Ori's Favorites

Ori LOVES popcorn.  No matter where she is in the house, when she hears and smells the tell tale signs she comes running.  She especially loves kettle corn though.

We found another favorite today, sour cream and onion chips! 

My silly girls isn't as food motivated as Moo (good thing) but she does like to eat!!!

Remembering her Legacy

 

Memorial roses with her beautiful picture

Today marks 1 year that Tink crossed the rainbow bridge.  It seems to hard to believe that a whole year has passed.   Nick bought us roses much like we did for so many months after her passing as a reminder of her life and beauty.

 Up close and personal

I thought it was fitting to have the girls pose with the flowers.  Of course we had to bribe them with cookies so Ori would eat the roses...silly girl.

another pretty pic of the girls

After dinner, Nick and I looked through the scrapbook I'm working on and shared a good cry together...we remembered our drive to Atlanta, how much Tink hated the rain.  She would toss her pretty little head, and stamp her little feet until I gently toweled her off when we came inside.  How she loved to snuggle and loved her mommy more than her daddy (ok, so i had to bring that up, but still : )

While we were walking, Nick and I laughed with Ori and her zest for life.  We think that Tink would have hated Ori, but we think Tink would have been a lot like O when she was younger.  Which also means there might be hope for Crazy Ori to not be quite so crazy as she ages.   Tink was an amazing little girl...she wanted nothing here while as a part of our family.   We had the privilege of caring for her until her last day... she passed in my arms knowing she was loved.  I love you Tinker.

The Destroyer

 Scarf Carnage, 9-2010

So as we all know by now, Ori likes to destroy things.  Sometimes she gets in a mood and seems to go on a rampage looking for things to get herself in trouble with.  A week or so ago, O went on the hunt and after ripping the zipper out of the bed, she went for a scarf she pulled from the closet.  The problem is, when it's something that isn't a big deal to have destroyed, I usually just let her do it.  I don't wear the scarf she destroyed so it was fun to watch her pull the yarn out of the ends of it.  She definitely keeps us laughing (and cleaning!)  This picture doesn't quite do the scene justice.  By the end, yarn was all over the bed and floor (of course my camera battery died before more evidence could be gathered.)

I watched her grapple with destroying a throw pillow (which she knows isn't ok) and an easy "Ori..." caused her to sheepishly turn her head towards me.  She tried one more time and with another "Ori..."  she actually stopped and found some other trouble to get into!  Love my little girl...

Gluttony, the almost deadly sin

Last Sunday, we gave the girls chew snacks which we do fairly regularly around here.  Ori was given a flossie and Molly was given a bully.  Somewhere, fairly early on, the girls switched and I honestly didn't think anything of it.  We kept an eye on them like we usually do.  Ori typically chews and pulls bit by bit and doesn't make big chunks.  Molly likes to make a big part soft and then chew it off.  Well this flossie apparently was really good.  At one point Nick said to me we need to watch Molly she's getting really aggressive with the flossy.  So I went over and looked at it.  She still had most of the 6-7 inch flossie so I said we'll just keep an eye and pull it in a bit.  Well, Molly decided she was going to shove 3 1/2 inches worth of flossy down her throat. 

As you can imagine, she was gagging and foaming and trying to get the flossie back up but trying to get it back down too.  Nick grabbed some gloves and we tried to stick our hands down her through to grab it (we could feel it, but couldn't get a good hold of it.)  We put her in the kitchen as she was gagging up foam.  I called every NEBTR person that I thought could help us out.  (at this point she was still breathing on her own and was acting ok as far as breathing and movements were concerned.  Nick kept moving his hands in front of her face to make sure she was responsive.)  Ginny answered her phone and explained what was going on.  She talked us through and said if we had any concerns to take her to the e-vet.

Moo finally got it down far enough that she stopped gagging.  She laid down on the floor in the living room and Nick hovered over her like a Mama duck.   She wasn't comfortable and she kept sitting up then laying down again.  Finally about 10 minutes after she laid down, we got her up and she walked over to the dining room.  She started to hack it up again.  Nick picked up Ori and Moo proceeded to make a mess.  The flossie FINALLY came back up and Nick yells to me "Pick up the flossie!!"  So I grab the grossest, slimiest flossie every and run it to the trash.  Blah!  Moo instantly felt and acted better (and looked for the flossie to try and shove it back down her throat.)

Part of us really thought we were going to loose Moo over this.  If she stopped breathing there would be no way we could get her to the vet in time.  Fortunately it didn't come to that.  Next time though we'll have hydrogen peroxide handy to aid in the removal of the flossie.

2 morals I learned from this experience:  1) Don't give Molly a flossy and 2) be the 1 to hold the other dog so you don't have to pick up the grossness!

A little bit of this and that...

Molly has continued to "recover" from not feeling well and is doing fabulous!  She's get a great little bounce in her step and seems to be loving the longer walks we've been able to take in the cooler weather.  (the cooler weather we had before fall officially hit-  you figure that one out!)  Her intelligence continues to show through more and more.  Some nights she goes into a crate to sleep, other times she chooses the dog bed next to the bed and other times she jumps up into bed and won't take no for an answer.  She's smart because Ori generally jumps right up into our bed and Molly will choose the dog bed.  Which usually means O gets put in a crate and Moo gets to stay out all night : )

Molly truly makes me smile when she jumps up into bed in the morning and pushes Ori out of the way to snuggle with me.  She has turned into such an affectionate little girl.  It's such a stark contrast to a year ago.  Yet more proof that no matter how old or how long a dog has been in certain conditions, they can still grow and change into the dog they've always wanted to be!

Ori has also been doing quite well.  She gets into mischievous moods and starts grabbing and going for anything she can get her mouth on.  The dog bed in the living room has permanently lost its zipper.  She went for my bath towel the other day and wouldn't let go.  She likes to go under the bed and pull things out we didn't even know were under (to help clean of course, she would never think of destroying anything!)

We had friends over last night who brought their big handsome boxer, Porter.  We met out front for introductions and true to form, Moo wanted to eat him at first and then settled down once we were in the apartment.  True to form, Ori was fine initially, then played submissive and then wanted to kill Porter as the night progressed.  I was getting really stressed about O's behavior.  Towards the end of the night O was in my lap and Porter was on the ground and O was fine until Porter got too close.  He wanted to play and for whatever reason, big dogs that want to play and won't leave her alone, really stress her out.  She's fine with big dogs like Maddie who wander around and leave her alone, but the persistent lets play types really seem to stress her out.  At one point she went over to Porter on her own and everything looked ok, but then he moved his paw to play and his big paw smacked her on the head.... yeah that wasn't as positive as it could have been.  I think over time she would get better with specific dogs.  I'm glad we know her type, because now we can watch out and then work on helping her become more comfortable around them.  I can't say that I completely blame her though.  I wouldn't want a big 'monster' bothering me all the time either. 

Everyone was fine when I was handing out cookies (I was trying to give some positive experiences and I knew no one was food aggressive.)  Poor Porter put 2 cookies on the floor for further inspection and Moo the hoover came over and snatched them up so quickly!  Porter looked at me like "you've got to be kiddin' me!  Can I have another?"  So I gave him 2 more and he ate them without putting them on the ground. 

I really want to get some video footage of Molly doing her sing with me.  Her song list is getting quite long including "You are my sunshine,"  "C is for Cookie," "Do your ears hang low," "Hello my name is Molly," and others I'm sure I can't think of right now.  As soon as she starts singing O comes to the kitchen in a flash knowing she'll reap the benefits of Moo's concert!

Ori is also a shameless seat stealer!  It doesn't matter what side of the couch or who leaves, if you're up, she's in your spot!  Unfortunately she's so cute, we usually just push her over so we can squeeze back in.  We're definitely snuggled up tight all 4 of us on the loveseat.  Good thing we don't have a great dane!

Fall weather

Oh I love the fall!  This cool weather has been a beautiful opportunity for longer walks and watching Ori run around even more like a crazy nut!

We've been calling Ori "squirrely" lately as she loves to pick up acorns, chew them up and spit them out!  Sometimes it's a race to see who can be faster on the draw, O  to grab a nut or me to keep her moving!  She also loves to take off running full tilt down the road and I love watching her love and enjoy life!

Moo is hanging in there, walking, and snuggling with the best of them!  She and O have been snuggly on the couch and the beds lately!  I was brave and left the 2 of them out for 45min while I had a chiropractor appointment on Wednesday morning and when I can home both were on the couch.  I opened the door, 2 heads popped up and then they jumped off to say hi.  I was so proud of them both!  (This is by no means going to be a habit, but I thought I would see for a once in a great while deal.)  They're really good little girls and I love them so : )

Bring on the snuggly down comforter, walking in hoodie with the girls weather!

Moo & O update

 Labor Day Weekend '10

O's foot healed quite nicely and she has been very sound since the surgery.  She continues to love life and manages to get herself into trouble every day.  Unfortunately, we can't help but laugh at most of it.  The 2 commands we need to teach and be consistent with are "leave it" and "drop it."  We'll get there, I'm sure :)

Molly has had 2 real good weeks.  Prior to that she had us both nervous.  About a month ago now we were at the vet having blood work done.  Her appetite and drinking had significantly increased and we couldn't seem to keep her poop under control.  She does not have diabetes but we confirmed that she wasn't regulated in regards to her cushings.  We increased her trilostane to 15mg twice a day and added flagyl to the regime as well.  We're down to 1/2 tab in the evenings and this combo seems to be working well.  We were able to finally get Molly back on her regular home cooked diet which has allowed her to gain just a little bit of weight back.  (she only lost 1/2 lb since Feb but it looks like so much more!)  While she tires more easily, the spark is still in her eye and she seems to still be enjoying life here with us.

Molly and Ori really seem to enjoy each others company which was really exemplified this weekend.  We typically bring 1 bed out by the campfire for the girls.  The first time we brought them both up they typically didn't lay together.  This time however, they snuggled up together more often than not.  Others noticed too and commented on the difference.  Things take time and I was happy to see the gradual change that has been going on with these 2!

Molly, despite her ups and downs, continues to blossom with us.  It's been so neat to watch her personality grow.  She jumps up on our bed on nights that she feels like sleeping up there and pretty much refuses to take "no" for an answer.  She likes her routine and she likes to snuggle more and more.  We've been taking each and every day we have with her as a gift. 

Moo was with us for an entire year on Aug 15th.  We celebrated her 12th birthday on Aug 29th with some yummy treats for the girls and an order of things to chew from onlynaturalpet.com which should be here any day now.  It amazes me where the time goes.  As we watch Molly gracefully slow down I am reminded of Tinker in so many ways.  I try to think of the positives, but I see what is happening and I'm doing my best to treasure the little things like Moo's singing and snuggling and her chewing on bones and playing keep a way from Ori with the Kong.

Molly did lose her bottom left canine tooth this past week, root and all.  The vet has checked her mouth on several occasions (including the last visit we had) so I'm not sure how crazy to get by it.  I know the signs and we're just taking things 1 step at a time.  For now Molly is happy and pain free so we take each day for what it is.  Nick suggested adding more calcium to her diet though.  I think it's a good idea and we'll get it rolling just in case.

This has gotten long!  We had a beautiful time at the cabin and both girls are tired!  Ori was a great snuggler in the evenings under the blankets and she snored beautifully too!  Molly decided to snuggle up under some covers and chew on a bone last night : ) When we came home this evening, everyone got a bath and is shiny clean again.  All the blankets and towels are clean as well and as much as I hate to say it, it looks like we're ready for the week ahead of us : )

Fall is coming and change is in the air!

Over a month?

Where does the time go?  These pics are from my phone from the LAST trip to the cabin we took in JULY with Linds, Jason, Christina, Ben, & Nate.

They really do love each other!

sniffin' around...

my pretty girls 

Linds and I worked hard to get this shot!

Doing exactly what the cabin is for.... a whole lot of sleeping!

Ori Update 8-3-10

Well there's no doubt in my mind that O is a trooper!  While she knows how to make the best of a situation and get pity and extra TLC, she has bounced back today in a way I did not expect.  Now she is on a pain killer and I'm trying to keep her somewhat quiet, but she seems to be feeling good!  She hasn't even been dropping her shoulder when first getting up or moving around.  I'm wondering if this bump was bothering her before it became a bump?  I don't know, but she's moving smoothly and quickly already!

She stinks from when she made a mess of her crate right after surgery but I don't want to bathe her until the stitches are out....I guess a little sponge bath is in order later on... : )

Oh Miss O, we are so glad you're on the mend!

Ori Update 8-2-10

So I took Ori to the vet and ended up leaving her there for what turned into surgery.  There's a new vet at Valley and I really, really like her.  (we took her over there 'cause Dr. Haver is on vacation until the 9th and Valley knows Ori the best.)  She spent lots of time looking Ori over, learning about her and gathering the information she needed.  She was easy to speak with, she listened to me and spoke to me like I knew what I was doing with my little girl!  It was a pleasure working with her today.

O weighs 16.4lbs!  She was such a good girl even with the thermometer and then a needle into the lump.  She drew a sample and looked at it under a slide.  After discussing the options and the route she would take with Ori, I left O and waited hoping not to hear from them later in the afternoon.  No news = good news as we left it.  I would call later in the day to check in.

When I called later in the day, the bump wasn't a puss pocket like we were all hoping.  Which meant the lancing didn't work and O had to be put under for the surgery.   Because of the location she wasn't able to get clean margins (in order to get clean margins O's 2 middle toes would have been removed) but I'll wait for the test results before I worry too much.  Obviously we're really hoping it wasn't a mast cell but we'll see. We'll know what is was when the test results come back Thursday or Friday. 

I picked her up after work this evening and she was the most pathetic little thing.  I went in the back with the vet and O acted all excited 1 minute and then next she was sleeping again with her face pressed again the metal bars, snoring!  Everybody loves her over there and I know they took good care of her.  I picked up the tired little munchkin and she snubbed the vet when she went to say good bye to her!  We have some antibiotics, painkillers, 4 stitches in her paw and a potential cone head if need be : )

She traveled home like and champ and has been here resting the remainder of the evening.  She acted hungry when she came home so I did give her a few bites of cooked ground turkey.  She's kept it down and has been resting on my purple down comforter that Tink used and I use and now O is using when she's recovering.  She reminds me of Tink when she's not feeling well like this and I find myself struggling to call her by her name: Ori!  Hopefully, recovery will be quick and relatively pain free with positive test results later in the week!

Bed Time Routine

We do our best to maintain some semblance of routine around here.  Ori is doing better in so many regards that we can flex that routine around and she is fine (aka: no accidents!)  Evening routine though is pretty standard-- except for 2 nights ago!

Nick took the girls out for bed time potty then came it to give them their bed time snack.  At that point O boogies down the hall and usually jumps up into our bed as if she is staying the entire night.  Molly hangs around the kitchen in hopes of another turkey meatball.  2 nights ago Nick watched Ori run down the hall and take a right towards the crates instead of jumping up into bed.  When we get back to bed, Ori has stolen the crate that Molly usually climbs into to sleep.  Molly goes to go to sleep and is stopped in her tracks.  She looks up at Nick as if to say "hey dad, the brat's in my crate, help me out here!"  She then wandered around the room and kept returning to the crate O was laying in 3 or 4 times.  Ori definitely wasn't moving and Moo didn't know what to do as her routine was now messed up!  At 1 point it looked like Molly was ready to step over Ori into the crate but she decided against it.  Molly finally decided she was jumping up into our bed for some rest since O had stolen her sleeping quarters.  It was a Saturday night so she got to stay!  Moo snuggled up against me and was a good girl all night long!

Ori slept in the crate until 2am (with door hanging wide open!) when Nick got up to use the bathroom.  She jumped up into in his spot and surprised him upon his return : )  2  snuggly little doggies in bed helped me to be 1 happy little girl!

So yeah- for those who think crate training is mean and cruel- I beg you to argue with my 2 who will steal the others crate at night for sleep!  They practically kick me out of the house in the morning to get their kongs and they sleep peacefully all night long in them as needed!  The crates are definitely their dens and they don't mind them at all : )  Of course we always seem to get the best little dogs in the entire world, so maybe that's it!  Regardless, Nick and I had a fabulous laugh at the 2 of them Saturday evening!

Catch Up Time

So between grad school and life lately posting seems to have become more difficult!  I'm going to try and catch up a little bit in possibly a few posts. 

Since the day we came back from the Cabin (July 18th) Moo's been battling diarrhea.  I'll spare the gory details this time but it's included late night clean ups in both the crate and on the carpet : (  We finally think she's slowly on the mend.  Everything's been looking better for the past 2 days.  Turkey and Rice, flagyl, probiotics, slippery elm (between meals) and pumpkin seems to be beginning to do the trick.  She continues to drink plenty of water, her appetite is good, but she is as thin as a rail : (  With all the things that don't seem to agree with her I'm not sure how we're going to put any weight back on her, but we'll see.  1 step at a time.

O's been doing well over here minus a cyst or tumor or growth or something that I notice Saturday evening between the toes on her only front paw.  You've got to be kidding me, but no, it's true.  It seems to be growing too.  I have a vet appt this morning to check and see what it is and what we can do about it.  It's not like she has another front leg she can depend on!  I'm praying that it's "fixable" with no long term side effects.  I'll keep you posted!

Time Flies

I can't believe how much time has passed since our last post. Both the girls overall have been doing well. We went to the cabin last weekend and both girls were really great. I have a few pics of them I need to get off my phone. They lounged around, ate marrow bones abs pretty much whatever else they could beg off someone : )

Of course since we've been home Moo has been struggling with some explosiveness. I thought we had it Unser control with turkey and rice but no. Vet said time for 24 hours of fasting. Poor girl. If that doesn't work we'll add flagyl to the mix. She's acting pretty ok other than that.

My girls are real snuggle bunnies and vie for prime bed space in the morning. Aka: as close to me as they can get. I do love my snuggle time with both of my little girls. Getting out of bed can be so hard with the two of them sometimes....

Happy Independence Day!

Moo and O wish everyone a happy 4th of July!  

They also ask everyone to pass the cookies their way in honor of freedom and independence!  

Bone a petite! : )

So far in 6 Months

Sometimes I am struck with profound thoughts while walking with Ori.  Last week I took her to the car to get something work related and as we were walking back to the apartment I realized that theoretically we have 10 years with this dog.  And given time, I am going to fall head over heels for her with a love so strong and beautiful.  The difference is, this love is taking a very different course and time to blossom and grow.  The process is so very different than it was last time....but oh so beautiful nonetheless.

She is my dog.  I have grad classes starting back up and I've been doing my reading in the bedroom while Nick is out front in the living room.  Every night, she comes back not too long after I do to come and keep me company.  She's not always pressed tight against me, but she's on the bed with me.  She follows me around the house and certainly keeps me on my toes.  (2 weeks ago she ate my work flash drive while I was in the shower....)  There isn't a tissue box that she can't destroy or a plant that she can't eat in 2 seconds flat!  Her zest for life and love of the new and exciting puts a smile on my face and in my heart.  There is something about this type of dog that Nick and I are both drawn to.  With Tink we didn't know it until we had her for a while.  Now we quickly recognize the courage and life that dogs who have some sort of "disability" (I don't like that word) tend to have.  Ori has it just as Tink did.

This little monkey has come so far is 6 months.  The potty training has been so consistent and accurate.  She goes to the door when she needs to go out and did fabulous the weekend we spent at Linds and Jason's too!  She's our little problem solver.  At Lindsay's she learned how to knock the gate over and jump over it leaving poor Moo to pace on the other side not knowing how to step on the gate to go through!  Ori can also be caught figuring out an intricate plan to grab something off the table or whatever she thinks she wants!

I was in awe again this morning that we have 2 wonderful little girls.  I'm sitting on the couch and Molly wanted some love so I was petting her.  Ori jumped up for some too and the little interlude that occurred between the 2 cracked me up.  Moo is the dominant one, but she doesn't fight for certain things (like food, you figure that 1 out!) We figured it out, but both girls expressions were so funny "I don't want to share her!"  Molly sat right on Ori's face and O looked at her like "are you kidding me?" Just like typical sisters!
I am so grateful for the love that is demonstrated to me through these 2 darling girls!