Peanut Butter Delight Doggy Birthday Cake

Herman (9) and Feo (6) celebrated their birthdays today by sharing a doggie birthday cake with Simon. Herman, in top form, managed to gulp his piece and Feo's in nanoseconds. Simon was quick enough to snarf his own piece of cake down before Herman the Hoover moved in.

Here's a video of them on their second helping later on. Note how Feo so graciously shared with Herman.

It's tough being a 9 year old Corgi. But I'll make it, I think if I get some more cake.

Don't hate me because I am beautiful . . .

More Ducks

Herman can wrangle just as many ducks as Simon can. He can also slurp up his food quicker, bark louder, and locate more disgusting things to eat than any dog I have ever seen. Sigh.

Got Duck?

I do. I gots twos ducks.


I picked up the one duck then I picked up the two duck then I sat down with the one and two ducks and slobbered.

We all went for a walk together.

Uh huh. We did. We went for a walk. We're all happy and slobbery and worn out. And friends.

Lotsa Cat Hair

People wonder why I have cat hair everywhere.

Introductions

Today was the big day to introduce Simon to Herman. Feo has already started to tolerate Simon, but just barely. We were a little scared when Simon and Herman first met as Herman got his man-feelings hurt and decided that he didn't care if Simon did outweigh him by 45 pounds, he was gonna show him who was really the boss (Feo). So after some growling and grandstanding, Simon was more than happy to play low-dog-on-the-totem-pole as long as it made Herman happy. :)

So, after the dust cleared, everyone was getting along. Getting 3 dogs to line up for a photo is a chore, but honest, that's Heman on the left through the bushes.


Herman decided the stars were properly aligned so he went off to chase flies while Les threw the giant tennis ball for Simon.




Feo finally decided the boys had had enough attention...


...and poured on the theatrics.

"Oh woe is me! I.... I.... I have the vapors! Take these filthy heathens away!"

Simon!

Comes home! I adopted him Friday, but because I had a scheduled business trip he is making the transition at a friend's home who runs a rescue group (couldn't bear to think of him spending one more week in the pound). He is in a VERY warm and loving house right now, and come this Friday he should be with me in his permanent home. :D:D:D

Vet gave him a decent bill of health (lots of issues, but all manageable, we think -- skin and ear infections being the biggest right now).

Here he is at the vet that first day. I'll be sure to update as he "moves in." ;-)

Edit: After seeing Les's comment about her holding him, here's the full pic. I love this -- as Les said to me earlier, this picture fits her whole personality. :)

Al is gone . . .

Al is gone for work, Feo is visiting, it's raining, and I have to share my chair.

Torn

Yesterday there was a stray Lab wandering around the neighborhood. I went out and called him, but he was a bit leery. So I got down on all fours and he came over and dipped his head and let me pet him. Next thing I knew he and I had a definite bond.
Anyway, he had a collar so we took him to the shelter. He fell right into a heel and jumped into the Subaru like he knew what he was doing. I told him to sit and he did. No microchip, though. They took him in and said if the owners don't claim him in a week he'll go up for adoption. He was very thin and greasy and had obviously been out for a while. I'm thinking he was abandoned.

Well, I couldn't stop thinking about him (he even has a name in my own head -- Simon -- don't know why Simon, it just popped in to my head). So Les and I visited him today. He warmed right up to me and snuzzled my cheek through the fence and licked my hand a bunch. So friendly and calm.

So now I am really considering adopting him if he's not claimed. There's all sort of reasons to, and I can't think of too many not to.

Will have to play the next week by ear and see what is meant to be.

Guilty

"I did it. I limped for treats. They were good too."

FYI - Actually we don't know what happened. One minute Herman was running around the living room, and the next minute he couldn't put any weight on his right front leg. He wouldn't let us look at it and was whining in pain. I got all upset and called the vet who told us to give him his arthritis meds and one of Feo's pain pills. Twenty minutes later he was fine and chasing cats again. I don't know if the pills really could have worked that quick or not?

Remembering Brenda and Cian

My sister and nephew. Killed by a drunk driver on October 30, 2008.

Hurt my leg today...

Got lots of treats, but now I'm all better. Feo was worried, but I pulled through.

The proper way to dry a dog...

...let her do it herself.



Thank goodness my mother doesn't blog -- she'd have a coronary if she saw Feo drying herself on that comforter! :P

What diet?

Okay, it's no secret Hobbes is a heavy cat. 20 pounds. Almost twice the weight of Feo. Two-thirds Herman. Boogs is no stick-figure, either. He's about 13 pounds, but has a seriously floppy belly (cat owners know this one -- dog owners will just have to use their imagination).

So, I put them both on a diet. Cut their wet food in half. Followed the instructions on the Science Diet Adult Light food for weight loss.

Both cats gained weight.

Great.

Of course, Boogs has been acting especially hungry, and Hobbes acts like he could care less about food.

So, Les had the great idea that maybe a webcam would show us what was going on as far as their eating habits go.

Based on the first night and day I've decided I actually have two pigs wearing cat suits.

Night:


Day:

Peaceful

Hanging out

My dad's dog Kaycee at lunch today. He thought he needed to go into Quiznos and eat too.
"A 12 inch milkbone sub on wheat please!"

What's the difference between a bicycle?

Okay, cryptic title, I know, but there is a twisted logic to it all. A while ago Cheryl aka WHOSYERGURL ran a fun little contest. Well, I happened to be reading Alice in Wonderland at the time (very odd coincidence as I had never before read it), but had not actually made it to the point where the question, "When is a raven like a writing desk?" is bantered about so I actually did not know that there *is* no answer. So my response/answer/entry was, "An orange, because a vest has no sleeves." The riddle seemed fairly nonsensical and reminded me of a similar one I had heard long ago:

What is the difference between a bicycle?

An orange, because a vest has no sleeves.

It turns out my answer cracked Cheryl up (wish I could take full credit for it, but I can't) and I won her cool contest! Woo-hoo! The prize was an ATC -- Artist Trading Card -- of Cheryl's. I was stoked. Her cards were clearly works of art in of themselves and I was really looking forward to getting it.

Well, life sometimes gets in the way of life. I got uber sick shortly after that and was slow in getting Cheryl my address. Then I had to travel for work to Portland for a week and was still feeling puny when I got back. I finally picked up my held mail on Tuesday and boy, was I stunned when I saw the card from Cheryl. Even the envelope was a labor of the artist, and the Corgi stamp on the seal that made me chuckle:

But what blew me away was the card, and what was inside. Les hand makes many of her own cards as well and I have seen the effort and time that goes into them, so I am completely blown away by what Cheryl sent me. There's even an Alice stamp on the front of the envelope, and the card (not the ATC, just the card the ATC was in) was a beautiful collage of Alice imagery:




But really, it's the ATC that I plan to frame. So cool!

To top it all off, Cheryl also tagged me as a "Beautiful Blogger" after being tagged herself and sharing 10 things we, those online friends that follow her blog, may not know about her. I am honored that she thought of me to tag.

So, I get to share 10 things about myself others may not know. Here goes...

1. I am a pretty private person. Most of the sharing/social networking options on my Blogger/Google profile are turned off. I don't Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace. I don't AIM. Maybe it's partly because I don't trust myself in being able to keep up with it all and not let folks down by being less than active. More likely, I just don't want most of the people from my past being able to find me so easily. I had a friend I hadn't seen in almost 20 years (since high school) find me and it was so sad that he was still stuck at 18 years old... Just not a life I want to go back to.

2. I own 166.4 square feet of my house outright. The bank owns the rest.

3. I'm a geologist and have wanted to be a geologist since I was a kid. So, I am doing what I have always wanted to do. :)

4. I have a brown thumb. Relevant since it's spring (though it snowed a couple days ago) and I have succulents a friend in California sent me that I have to try to plant. He sent me some last year that I killed. :p Brown brown brown thumb. Maybe that's good since these succulents are one of the carrion flower species and stink like rotting flesh when they bloom.

5. I drink pickle juice. There. I said it.

6. Did I mention I'm a geologist? Have you ever met a geologist that hasn't been to the Grand Canyon? Now you have. Oh the shame.

7. I'm named after my maternal grandfather, and I took on my step-dad's last name in college (he's the only father I have ever known and he is the man I strive to be).

8. I can't stand pudding or tapioca. Anything with that kind of texture makes me gag. Quite literally. Yet, raw oysters I can do (and love).

9. Even being a private person online, I have a really hard time thinking of 10 things most folks don't know about me. (I know, that one is a cop-out.)

10. I am an amateur silversmith and find a real zen like quality to spending an afternoon creating something or just tinkering in my studio (laundry room).

That last one was really two, so that makes up for number nine, I think. ;-)

I think I am supposed to now tag ten other bloggers as Beautiful, but I only have had any real interaction with three, so tag, you're it!:

1. Les
2. Cathy of Stilwellian
3. Art, my dad, of Art's Meanderings.

Happy blogging, everyone!

Under-the-weather travel blog

Okay, by travel I mean business travel to Portland, Oregon for a week long conference, and by under-the-weather I mean sick-as-a-dog for 5 out of 6 days (and I'd already been sick for a week).

I'm home now and feeling mostly better so I figured I'd share a few pics before I got too involved in playing catch-up at home.

Feo was pleased as punch to be spending the week at Les's house, and even more pleased when she figured out she could go places Herman could not. Here she is mocking him while he mopes:



Anyway, the first 4 days of Portland are picture-less. I was really too sick to care, the weather was icky, and I was busy attending conference talks. By Thursday night I was feeling good enough to venture a bit farther from my downtown hotel and ended up at a brew pub called Deschutes (recommended by friends Cathy and Dean). Yummy yummy beer (fish and chips was fantastic, too), but I was really struck by the fact that I traveled all the way from Wyoming only to see a pronghorn antelope carved into the wood at a brew pub:



Luckily by Friday I was feeling well enough to make it on our field trip up to Mount St. Helens. The weather was uncooperative, but we had high hopes. About half-way there we stopped for lunch (some darn fine Mexican, and I can't even remember where we were). Mini Hobbes digs Mexican:



Washington has some big trees (and these aren't even anything special):


This was at the lowest visitor station for the park. When the interpreter told us the mountain was socked in and snow was falling, AND the road to the top was closed we started to get worried...

We did eventually make it up to the second highest observatory (Coldwater Lake), but no farther. I don't think judging by the view it would have mattered:


Yes, I am taking my own picture in a mirrored window. I am dork personified.

Mini Hobbes had to strike a pose. The rain didn't seem to bother him.


There's a lot more to my pics of Mount St. Helens, but I would bore you to tears if I posted everything I took (for crying out loud, I have pictures of the USGS seismic traces of the activity around the mountains in the region from the Cascades Volcano Observatory -- I am a double dork).

Anyway, that night I wandered over to Chinatown for dinner. Ate at Uncle Louie's. Not too shabby (but the Mexican for lunch was way better).


That was about it. I caught a plane back the following day. In addition to watching Feo, Les had also been checking in on the cats. Apparently they had really enjoyed the dog-less time. Neither were all that happy when they found out it wasn't permanent:

You talkin' to me?

Well are ya, punk?

Herman Update!

There is nothing like starting your day by following Herman around with a bread tin trying to collect a urine sample. He looked at me like I was nuts. For future reference those little disposable bread tins are the perfect height and size when trying to do this procedure on a Corgi. We circled the yard many times before Herman just gave in. He kept giving me odd looks the rest of the morning though.

Of course this was much better than when they tried to get a sample at the vet with a needle and an ultrasound yesterday. I had to leave the room and left poor Al in there to comfort Herman. I could hear Herman crying in the hallway. Herman wanted nothing more to do with the vet after this horrible procedure. But then the treats came out and Herman was ok. The vet was quite impressed that Herman could snarf down four treats in mere seconds. We told him this was one of Herman's many talents.

The good news is they think Herman's stomach pain is caused by back pain and he has his own prescription of Rimadyl when he needs it. They are using the urine sample (which I delivered this morning in a little bag labeled with Herman's name and date) to further check his kidneys and make sure he is not dehydrated.

Odin's 8th Birthday!

Odin celebrated his birthday yesterday with a birthday cake fit for any spoiled cat - Poulet En conserves pour les chatons gâtés.

Odin is the shyest of my two Ragdoll cats. With my rambunctious Corgi/Cat family he tends to always be lurking around the edges or hanging out in his favorite spot - the bathroom sink. Odin is a striking cat with rabbit soft fur that he loves to have groomed. He can hear me get out the comb and comes running. This shy guy definitely seemed to appreciate being cat of the day.

Ori, Odin's older brother, tried to steal the spotlight.

Oz, the rescued Tabby, got in on the eating.

No, we didn't forget Herman. He ended up with his own bowl of chicken too. A Corgi-sized portion.

No, you can't have him, Cathy.

Honestly. I know he acted like he wanted to come home with you. I know he's warm and fluffy and makes a great lap cat, but you can't have him.



Besides, Dean doesn't look like he would know what to do with a 19 pound cat. ;)

Keep Your Paws Crossed!

Herman's bloodwork from the vet comes back today. They are checking to make sure his kidney levels and thyroid levels are stable. Herman is on meds for both issues.
Our vet also found Herman had some pain in his stomach and back along with arthritis in both front legs. They put him on some doggy arthritis meds and he has to go back in 10 days to be checked up again. ):

Rough day

Sometimes even a routine trip to ths vet can take it out of even the most mighty of Corgis. Nothing like a warm lap-Chihuahua bum combo to help relax.

Never give up

Sounds like a motivational poster, huh? Never give up! Well, sometimes I look at Herman and Hobbes and that's what comes to mind. Hobbes's previous owners were afraid he wouldn't get along with their young girls, so he had to go live in the basement and eventually outside. Herman, on the other hand, was truly neglected. He was used for breeding for most of his life, and then abandoned at the pound when he was past his reproductive prime. He'd pretty clearly never learned to do anything other than be a tool for his owner's financial gain.

But Herman and Hobbes never gave up hope. When they came into our lives, you could watch, quite literally, each of them try to readjust to life in their new homes. Both started out very shy, very standoffish, and unsure how to play. But both kept trying -- and so did we.

Eventually, both learned to play. Herman found his Corgi voice; Hobbes found his, too (his is less Corgi, though ;) ). They both use them to get attention. Both would be happy to be pet all day long. Well, all day in between feedings, that is (though both have lost weight on their diets). Most importantly, neither gave up, and now even get along with one another -- enough to hang out on the couch together (as long as there is petting involved).

Sure do love these guys. :)

Do you need me to get closer?