Filed under: animals, border collies, canine, dogs, life, pets | Tags: animals, border collie, dogs, life, mutts, pets, veterinary
oh my GOD a STICK!
should i be sad that there is nothing in this world that gets me as excited as my dogs get when they see a random 14 inch piece of tree branch?
i mean….i love a good meal with friends, an outrageous sale price is nice, a pint of guinness always hits the spot, but NOTHING gives me the wide opened eyed joyous “holy shit” look on my face that the dogs get with a stick or a piece of beef or a new squeaky.
check out pickles….
also, they’ve got the “no worry” thing down. mommy foots the vet bill, food bill, pharmacy bill…which is high. at the end of october vet bills will be more than….$1600/month.
so keep smiling pickles. keep grabbin’ those sticks cody bear. just please….stop eating dangerous shit and chasing things that will bite you. that’s all i ask. that and for cuddling and some laughs each day.
and thanks.
Filed under: animals, border collies, canine, dog, dogs | Tags: animals, border collie, canine, cute, dogs, pets
what a joker….
Filed under: animals, border collies, dog, dogs, love, pets | Tags: animals, border collies, dogs, love, pets
hey, i don’t WANT to eat those damn girl scout cookies!
but the little kids are standing out there practicing their guerilla cookie sales techniques. i’ve just come from a vet appointment so i’m feeling depressed and vulnerable. i’m looking for a pick-me-up.
the box is 4 bux. i hand her a fiver. the neighboring brownie says “would you like to donate the remaining dollar to…?” i say sure, but i have no idea what for. could have been brain melting girl scout research. could have been homeless pigs in south america. i don’t know.
just keep the change. i have my cookies. i’m going home with them.
why the need for thin mints? after years of obsessing over cody bear’s ailments and flippantly mentioning my cheap dog, my healthy dog, pickles, she’s been costing me about 300 bucks a week. the dogs….are killing me. and i’m letting them.
i’ve talked about wine and beer pairings in the past. tonight’s pairing?
well, nothing goes better with 100 dollars worth of dog pills like a 4 dollar box of thin mints.
ahhhh. self medicating.
now, back to pickles…
she is overly enjoying her patient role. she is capitalizing on the fact that i don’t want to lose her and hopping in the car whenever she can. “rub my head”, “let me linger”.
“and isn’t it time for medicine? and doesn’t my pill need to be slathered in peanut butter? yes? that’s what i thought.”
meanwhile, the bear is fit as ever. you should see him.
my one wish for all of you is that you can some day cuddle him and feel how thick and plush and luxurious his fur is. but…be warned: if you get to close he’ll suck you in with his gaze and next thing you know…..
you’ll be giving him money for vet bills.
that’s how he got me!
jk. i love them. just venting.
good night everyone.
no really….that’s how he got me….
Filed under: animals, border collies, dogs, love, pets | Tags: animals, border collies, dogs, life, love, pets, valley fever
pickles has been my healthy girl. my cheapie, so to speak. from border collie rescue, for the most part she has cost no more than routine exams with clean bills of health, holistic pet food and an occasional supplement for a healthy coat. while cody bear has averaged $2000-4000 annually in medical expenses it’s been relatively smooth sailing for the last couple years with miss pickles.
until 3 weeks ago when she became visibly lazy, slower and just looked….depressed. on 12/31 she was fine: perky at her annual exam. 100% healthy. weeks later she turned into a different dog. blood test which immediately showed a thyroid condition and something else. valley fever. the doctor said we found it early; it would probably be another month before she started showing physical symptoms of the illness.
my last border collie mix, loki, died of complications from valley fever in 2004. it was the worst thing that i have ever gone through. it was a hard battle we thought we would win and it was a terrible ending. and while every keeps telling me they know so many dogs that have survived VF…that’s fine. my dog died. all the stories of survival aren’t able to shake the trauma i went through when i lost loki.
we started pickles on her thyroid meds monday night. maybe i’m imagining it, but she seemed perkier yesterday morning. after confirming the VF with a second bloodtest, with fear and sadness i started pickles on fluconozole last night. the doctor is positive and i am a mess.
for years my hyper dogs have taken the sound of the morning alarm clock not as a signal to get up and run and play, but as a signal snuggle in tight for cuddling before starting the daily romping. this morning the clock buzzed, i shut it off and the dogs opened their eyes and then buried their muzzles into the covers and wagged, ready to receive their cuddles and kisses.
one dog on either side of me, they both rested their heads on me as i kissed their muzzles and scratched their bellies. pickles followed me around while i got ready for work, always getting a kiss on the head or a squeeze.
i can’t lose you pickles. i’ll die, i swear.
Filed under: animals, beer, border collies, canine, dogs, friends, life, pets | Tags: animals, beer, border collies, canine, dogs, friends, pets
let me just preface this by saying, no dogs were given alcohol while these events took place. or ever, actually.
ok! it was tuesday night and pickles decided to go to the bar with some of her friends from border collie meetup! so we went to pickles’ favorite local brewery. all 6 of us packed into rehmy’s landrover and headed to the bar to freeze on the patio!
you know pickles. here is ashleigh…
here is frank….checking out the menu and considering my mocha java stout…
the dogs did well, but as we usually do, after a couple beers we get a little silly and take turns making our dogs do tricks at the bar. they love it because they love treats and attention.
(last time we went out rehmy gave pickles have a sonoran hot dog. that is NEVER happening again. what a mess.)
we got really cold and decided to put the rovers back in the rover and head home. a fun time was had by all!
Filed under: animals, border collies, dogs, love, pets, photography | Tags: animals, border collies, dogs, love, paws, pets, photography
oh the drama!!!
“what is it NOW, goodbear?!” you ask, exasperated.
well, turns out the running lifestyle has taken its toll on our dainty border collie friend, pickles. after intervals for almost 3 miles, she was spent and looks like she has worn her toenails too short. (picky may have to jog in booties or get nail protection) her quicks are exposed and way too tender.
she is really milking it, too. i sure hope that’s all that is wrong. i mean, she has learned her acting skills from the “poor me” master, cody bear.
oh, the pleading stare!
cody bear and i have been overly-babying her. he’s actually quite concerned. (and the anthropomorphic side of me assumes he may even be a little relieved it wasn’t him having to go to the vet this time.)
here’s to her up and running on 4 paws again!
hop….hop….
isn’t she just freakin’ cute!!!
i can’t handle it!
Filed under: animals, border collies, dogs, mutts | Tags: animals, border collies, dogs, fitness, life, mutts, pets, running
….we’ve been running again, the dogs and i. nothing funny about that, right? first of all, border collies do NOT respect the practice of stretching. apparently they don’t need to stretch so …why should anyone else?
but if i don’t stretch properly i get shin splints. must…stretch…fastidiously. so, i get down, start doing the stretches and puppykin comes up with a full body wag and jams her head under my chin and tries to push my head up. she growls and pushes and wags. i move to another stretch: more growling and pushing and wagging. her whole body wiggling, her little paws dancing up and down in excitement. she gets me laughing so hard, then she starts jamming her muzzle in my pony tail. growl. wag. meanwhile cody bear is about to explode, he’s so excited. you see…he thinks running is hunting.
so dangerous running with these two. every time cody bear sees a tiny animal i have to brace myself for “trials of life”. last week we were running towards a pomeranian. we didn’t see it and we were running very fast to cross the street before being hit by a car. said pomeranian starts SCREAMING in this otherwordly pitch. my dogs went bonkers, pulled me across the rocks where i took a face plant in a grassy area. the lady wouldn’t move away,she just stood there holding her pommy while i pulled and tugged at my dogs. she was frozen, looking down at me as the wires to my ipod strangled the life out of me….and just then….the sprinklers went on.
here they are with their game faces on.
“what up g?”
now, i’m totally addicted to mapmyrun.com. i’ve got all our jogs and all our dog walks mapped out to the exact hundredth of a mile.
it’s been in the high 90s when we go so hydrating is very important. (note, one should not do a wine tasting before running in 98 degree heat) also, it’s dark. thankfully noah gave me a flashing bracelet from the “three olives vodka company”. (classssyyyy) makes it easier for the drunk guys to spot you and shout their “damn you look good” at you as they walk into circle K for their next 12 pack. sigh.
last night’s play list: “butterfly” – crazy town (i like running to one hit wonders), “not an addict” – k’s choice, “all mixed up” – 311 and “leave home” – chemical brothers.
Filed under: agility, animals, border collies, dogs, pets | Tags: agility, animals, border collies, bull, dogs, pets, ranching, random
so, last night pickles had agility. i can’t think of a better way to celebrate st. patrick’s day than to spend it with your celtic dog…
anyway, our class is at a horse arena. something was different this week.
that’s some scary agility equipment!
then the teacher yells, “put pickles on it!”
now…you KNOW i was already considering it!
oh pickles…you’re such a good sport.
Filed under: animals, border collies, canine, dog, dogs, mutts, pets | Tags: border collie, canine, desert, dogs, mutts, pets, pictures, random
innnnocent, miss pickles???? i think NOT!
cody bear is innocently running around the yard….hunting cats…..and you clearly have your jaws poised above his withers.
what do you have to say for yourself???
Filed under: animals, border collies, canine, dogs, mutts, pets, wildlife | Tags: animals, aussie chow, border collie, coyotes, cute, dogs, pets, wildlife
here’s a small update on the dogs since the coyotes arrived(click)
pickles thinks she is SO tough when cody bear is around, but the truth of the matter is, until these coyotes finish eating the ferals and move on, little miss gran pick macgregor is NOT allowed in the back yard without her big brother.
she’s too small. a delicate flower, really.
cody has the ability to fluff up and make himself look very big. and he moves fast, and he barks and the coyotes look at him like, “ok, dude! what’s your problem?”
plus, he is well versed in weaponry. here he wields an intimidating stick.
but seriously,….do you see how the sunrise makes his bun fur just glow in these photos?
…..
