Good Ideas

~Terrier bookends, Todd and Charlie~

I can't believe that Labor Day weekend is here!  It's the holiday that marks the official end to summer and gives thanks to those who work hard all year by giving everyone an extra day off. I went one step farther and took Friday off work to go to a barn-sale and to meet Connie at Hartwood Roses and make a new friend, Deborah from "Confessions of a Craigslist Junkie".  Connie generously gifted us with 4 dogs beds, which the dogs love.  (Thank-you again Connie, for thinking of us!)

~The Princess and the Pea, or CarrieAnne~

I enjoyed the barn-sale.  But I have to admit that it was a little pricey for me, so I didn't buy anything.

~This broken old clock with no insides was nearly $100~

But I really enjoyed looking at everything, visiting with Connie and Deborah and getting some ideas.

The guineas on the lawn gave me a few ideas too...

I came home afterwards, and all the dogs and I went for a walk.  Cissy continues to do well and has a steady and pretty consistent appetite.  Her coat has become really thick, long, fluffy and soft, making her look bigger than she really is.  

I think it gives her a bit of a bear appearance, don't you?  

Afterwards Todd had a good idea to take a late afternoon nap, and that was just what we did.  It was a pretty good day!!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend!

~Annie~

It Takes Two!

This picture pretty much sums up how our week has been going--Especially for Sonny!  If you look closely at "the cone of shame" he has on, you'll see Sonny is actually wearing TWO of them.

It's a little drawn out story, so suffice it to say that Sonny who is really shedding, and suffering from extremely dry skin among other things was not to be outdone by Taylor's hot spot from a couple of weeks ago--He began chewing on his back leg while we weren't watching him and he ended up a pretty impressive hot-spot on his back leg.  So, we put on one e-collar.  But being a tall and lanky and very determined boy, he was able to find a way around the e-collar and made it worse, and he even added a second hot spot to other leg. We trumped his hot-spots with a second e-collar that added the perfect amount of rigidity to the first one, and it has made him unable to reach his back legs--And believe me, he's tried!!  Sonny did of course need a trip to the vet and he was given some medications and so he's on the mend and feeling a lot better!  And that makes me feel better too!

Living for the Weekend

~Todd who needs a haircut, Charlie and Taylor~

These days I live for the weekends.  Working without a day off during the week is proving to be a little hectic and so I really look forward to the weekends and spending some quality time at home. Cleaning is of course high on the list of things to get done, but I have to be honest and say that it doesn’t always happen. Sporadic cleaning throughout the week is my new tactic--This way cleaning doesn't end up taking over a whole day and I get to do more of what I'd like. This plan seems to be working (at least for now) because this weekend did not involve too many chores indoors.

With the beautiful weather we had, the dogs and I got to spend a lot of time outdoors goofing off!

~Enjoying the shade with Annie (far left) Sheba & CarrieAnne~

We really enjoyed it and I already can't wait for next weekend which will give me an extra day off!  I hope you enjoyed your weekend too!!

~Josh (left) and Sheba~

Annie -- Clearing the Hurdle

Thank-you everyone for the good thoughts for our girl Annie.  They have truly made a difference because today is the first day that she's had an appetite, and is drinking what I consider, a normal amount of water.  The periods of shivering have also (thankfully) stopped, and even though Annie's foot is still pretty swollen and continues to drain, she's starting to put a little weight onto it.

While that is all of course good news, there was a bit of bad news on Annie's blood work that was returned. Some of you may recall that Annie has damage to her liver and kidney's from medication that she was given prior to her coming to live with us.  Her liver values have remained pretty stable over the past 9 months, but there continue to be slight changes in her kidney's.  I discussed what all this meant for Annie and the bottom line is that she only has about 25% kidney function.  Serious health problems occur when the kidney function drops below 25 percent. As I said, not the best of news for Annie, but I'm hoping we can maintain those numbers with the medication she's being given.  However right now, I'm just really thankful and relieved that we are almost over this hurdle with her foot.