Condolences

Every other day, after I give Leo his ear medicine he slinks off to find a quiet place to sulk. I normally don't see him for the next few to 12 hours. This time, however, he chose an easily visible sulking corner and I caught Rambo giving his condolences.

Charlie's New Castle

I spent last weekend building Charlie a doghouse. As per usual Messinger style, I over-built it. It's way bigger than necessary. Partly it's big to accommodate another dog (coming this spring) but partly it's just big. Here's the almost finished product--I still have to shingle the roof and paint the walls. The painting may be a long time coming since I doubt we are going to have a 24 hour period of 40 degree weather anytime soon.

Ear Mites

I've discovered that both Charlie and Leo have ear mites. Yuck.

Doggie Play Time Cancelled

Can you believe it? Doggie Play Time has been cancelled for good. Some higher up in the AA government made a personal visit to doggie play time and warned everyone that the fun times are over. Since they've put in a nice 5 foot by 5 foot fenced-in "official" dog park that costs $50 a year to use (per dog) they've decided to put their foot down. Sigh.

Shadows

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

Yep, Rambo is the fairest of them all...

Copy Cats

Leo and Rambo are like two peas in a pod.

Darn Cute

It's Official

Charlie and Rambo are officially friends.

Rapt Audience

When I'm at the house, I often find myself being watched or followed by at least one of the three children. Sometimes, if I'm doing something really interesting, I get ALL THREE to stare at me.

Leo gets Trimmed

Every few days or so we have to cut Leo's toenails so that he doesn't draw blood when we pet him at night. He will usually tolerate it, but not without complaint...

Who needs a towel?

Charlie doesn't particularly like getting wet. I've managed to convince him that wading and calm swimming is ok, but he doesn't really like it. The rain can be especially maddening to him. Rain or shine, he still has to go out to check if the squirrels have taken over the world. When he comes in from the rain he immediately tries to find somewhere to dry off. Much to my dismay he often chooses the couch. Today he particularly chose the decorative pillow on the couch. Here you can see he has strategically situated himself around the pillow so that it will soak up all the icky water that is hanging off his belly.

Can't you see I'm working here?

So whenever I bring my laptop out into the livingroom, Leo jumps up to sit on it. I think he thinks its his turn to work on it, but he doesn't really know what that means so he just sits on it. That or he's trying to prevent me from working so that I'll have more time to pet him. Lord knows he doesn't get petted enough around here.

Maggie died this morning. She will be greatly missed.

Parvo Sucks

Maggie has Parvo virus. For those of you who don't know what that is, I just found out and it sounds like it sucks. Basically, the virus strips the lining from the gastro-intestinal tract. Without a lining, the body can't absorb nutrients. When a puppy gets Parvo, it's especially bad because they are still so small and so easily dehydrate and starve. Since it's a virus, there's no treatment, but by providing the puppy with nutrients via an IV throughout the infection, the puppy can usually fight the virus and get better. The recovery rate overall is 70-80% but the clinic that Maggie is at has a 95% survival rate. They seem pretty competent there. And Maggie was still in OK shape when we took her there. Sometimes owners don't catch the parvo until the puppy is already pretty far gone. So, I think the prognosis is good. Well, we wanted to rescue a dog...I think we got what we wanted : ).

More Maggie

Maggie is at the vet's today. She got pretty sick starting on Saturday night and hasn't been feeling well since. She hasn't eaten at all, so she's getting fluids pumped in by IV today. Hopefully it's nothing serious. Anway, before she got sick, she was a regular happy puppy. Here are some pictures of her.

Double Teaming

Remember the chinese food bag? Well, the other night we had a potluck dinner at our house and some of our friends brought their contribution in a paper bag. The guests eventually went home, but the paper bag was left behind. Leo discovered said bag and hid inside. A few minutes later Rambo also discovered said bag and was thrilled that there was something inside. This is a little video of the two of them playing.

MAGGIE!!

Yep, we did it. We adopted another furry child. I know, I know, when will it stop? The thing is, God came to me in a dream and asked me to gather together two of every animal. Now we have two dogs and two cats...maybe we'll move on to fish next. But she's so adorable and she and Charlie are going to have a blast playing together--as soon as she gets big enough.

Do you have a picky dog?

I do. Charlie is the pickiest eater ever. He doesn't even like treats--and believe me, I've tried a whole range of different shapes and flavors. It's especially trying when I want him to take a pill. I can smother it in a half ton of peanut butter (the one treat he does like) and he'll still manage to spit the pill out. Well, here's the trick. Get a cat. Seriously, it's a godsend. I can get him to eat pills without any peanut butter now. Here's a video of Charlie with a treat I just gave him. As you can see, he is less than impressed by it. All I have to do is call the kitty and wah-lah, the treat disappears! Granted, he still doesn't seem impressed by it, but at least he ate it.

Squirrels

Charlie is obsessed with squirrels. Every morning, he gets up and immediately goes to the back door. It's not that he has to pee, he wants to be certain the squirrels didn't take over the world while he was sleeping. He diligently does his rounds and comes back inside to eat a well-earned breakfast. Then he posts himself by the back door and waits. He knows they're out there and that it's just a matter of time until they come out. Finally, a brave (or stupid) soul will venture down from the trees. Charlie responds, not so subtly, by whining, pacing, and occasionally barking. Never one to spoil the fun, I oblige him by throwing the door open and yelling "GO GET EM!". What fun.

A dryer sheet with claws

I'm pretty sure Rambo's goal in life is to find new ways to startle his dull, bumbling humans. He quite often succeeds. I'm sure he has a little tally board hidden away somewhere with hundreds of carefully and proudly placed claw marks. Yesterday he added another.

In the morning, I went to the dryer to get my running clothes. I left the dryer door open. A few moments later when I went back to go get my socks I found a little surprise lurking inside. I don't know about you, but the last thing I expect when reaching into the dryer is an aggressive dryer sheet with claws...

Chinese Food Is Fun

So the other night Alex and I brought home some chinese food. It came in a paper bag. In my haste to eat the food (you know how I get when I'm hungry) I threw the empty bag onto the floor. About two seconds later Rambo had discovered said bag. He was in heaven for about two hours at which time the noise of a crackling paper bag was about to drive me insane and I had to take it away.

"I can't go to work today, I'm sick"

Mood Swings

I'm pretty sure animals are moody, Charlie in particular.

"Yeah! You're home!"

"Please don't leave me by myself"

This One's For Grandma

My mom took care of Charlie over the summer and I'm sure she misses having him do this to her when she comes home from work...

Did you know?

You can get poison ivy from your dog!! I wouldn't have ever guessed. I'll be more careful from now on.

Leo and Rambo Play

Ok, so now that Alex is back and I have video capabilities, I may be going a bit overboard... But anyway. This is a video of typical play between Leo and Rambo. Leo tries to ignore Rambo and Rambo pesters Leo.

Animals in the New House

So here are a couple of videos of our new house. You'll notice there are animals in all the videos. This was not staged. This is how the animals are. No matter what you are doing or where in the house you try to hide, they will find you.

The Couch

Now that we have sort of moved into our new house (there are still plenty of packed boxes lying around) the animals have been spending some serious time searching for the perfect "hang-outs". Leo tried the boxsprings--you know, in the springs on top of the flimsy fabric that is supposed to protect the springs. Rambo tried out the keyboard of the computer. But in the end, all three of them have settled on the couch. It has so many things going for it. 1) It is likely that when a human is home, it will be sitting on the couch, in easy reach for both petting and playing. 2) The couch offers a spectacular view of the neighborhood. 3) It's really soft.

And the Winner is...

Rambo. Here is a video of Rambo in action...

Recycling

Spaz startled me today when I went to recycle some old mail... I think he got a real kick out of it. Where will he hide next I wonder? The toilet?

Resemblance?

Olivia thought I was crazy when I told her that the panda bears reminded me of Charlie--but just look! Don't tell me there's no resemblance...

Spaz

After a seemingly endless journey across 7 states, Charlie, Leo and I have finally arrived back home in Ann Arbor. The trip was uneventful but long, and I think I speak for all three of us when I say "It's about time". I didn't take any cute pictures of them along the way--that's how bad it was. Well, I guess the trip wasn't entirely uneventful. In Illinois we picked up a hitchiker. Probably most of you that read this blog also read my sister's blog (if not, I highly reccommend it) and are aware that she recently acquired a cadre of kittens. She has been trying to find homes for them, but between helping her neighbor move, starting school, and travelling to China, she hasn't met with much success. Until I arrived that is. Leo was instantly infatuated with the kittens, one in particular. After seeing them play, how could I possibly leave him behind? And he's perfectly comfortable with Charlie, a sure sign he was meant to come home with me. Don't worry, I asked Alex before putting him in the car. He approved, but only as long as he had naming rights. So, until Alex arrives home and sees fit to name our new addition, I will refer to him as Spaz. We arrived home at about 10:00 pm last night. I brought the animals inside and then proceeded to unload the car. Within 10 seconds Spaz had discovered Leo's Kitty Tower (copyright SusMettler). He was trying to make the most of this new found toy which has three fun filled levels. The bottom platform has the ball on a spring, the middle has the catnip dangly, and the top has the beads on a string. He began racing up and down the posts, stopping breifly at each level to bat at the resident toy. This was of course irresistable to Leo who began chasing him up and down the tower. I think they will get along splendidly.

Enzo's Legs

After some intense calculations, I have determined that Enzo is 72.3% legs.

Babysitting Enzo

Dave and Rachel are at a wedding in Minnesota so I am (or I should say, Charlie is) babysitting Enzo for a few days. They are having so much fun! Leo wasn't too pleased to start with, but he has become more comfortable and is now lounging on the couch--big improvement. Enzo stays in his kennel when no one is at home, but Charlie, who is so much more mature : ), is trusted to stay in the house by himself. So, accordingly, I left Enzo in his kennel and Charlie loose when I left the other evening. When I came home, the towel that began the evening INSIDE the kennel was now in tattered shreds OUTSIDE the kennel. Also, Enzo's kennel, which had been neatly aligned with the wall when I left, was now askew in the middle of the room. Hmmmm, I have deduced that they managed to play a game of tug-o-war despite the inconvenience of the metal cage between them! Clever kids...

Just Hanging Out

Leo is getting a little big for his bed.

Toilet Fascination

What is it about toilets that is so attractive?

It's That Time of Year Again....

The wonderful time of year when Charlie begins to shed half his body weight in fur--no, that isn't Leo sitting in front of Charlie.

Bath Time

Naptime