Stop staring at my puppies

Back on the Air

2008-09-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

OK. I'm finished with my break for the moment. Every month I get this wave of horomones that take everything out of me. I mean it's a struggle for me to get up and shower. I have zero energy when that happens so forgive when I take large breaks. It's just me trying to recover. Anyway...

We had such a good time in Montana. So good in fact that I gave myself permission to take a break. I only took 3 pictures while I there. All 3 are of a double rainbow that we got after a thunder storm. I took 2 more on the drive home. Both are of Mt. Rainier from eastern Washington. I never see it from that side so that was pretty cool.

We got there on Friday evening and just laid around after the 8 hour drive. It took longer than usual with the dogs. We had to drug Angus to make the trip easier. He gets pretty severe car anxiety and my vet gave me something just to take the edge off. He was out of it most of the day.

We mostly spent our time sitting around. We did go to the Sanders County Fair. It was just a little fair but full of the small town charm. I had such a good time. I got to play farm girl for a few days and fed the cows and chickens.

All and all it was super relaxing and we didn't want to leave, but real life was calling us so we had too. The dogs had a blast and I think in a lot of ways they had more fun then we did.

Tomorrow is my 27th birthday. I've been pondering what that means for me exactly and I'm not happy about it. But I'll take it in stride, like I always do. I've always loved my birthday. I'm hoping certain people will pull through for me this year. * nudge-nudge, wink-wink*

We're back

2008-09-04T12:51:00.001-07:00

We came home last night and we're still pretty wiped after a 7 hour drive home from Montana. So, I thought I'd show you the pictures from the baseball game my sister and I went to last week.

We don't get to spend much time together and it was a blast to finally get to see her for more than an hour at a time when I stop at Mom's house.

The view from our seats and the Mariner's dugout:

After that, we sort of just played around and took pictures of ourselves. Thanks for coming with me sister, I had a great time.

Puppy Cuteness

2008-08-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

We came home yesterday after a weekend with my in laws. I should be good for a while. We went to the zoo and went blackberry picking. We picked so many blackberries that we were able to make 3 pies, 12 jars of jam, and my mother in law still had enough left to freeze some to take home with her.

We'll be heading over to Montana on Friday to spend Labor Day weekend with her and we'll be coming home on Tuesday. The dogs will be coming with us which is exciting. Angus hasn't been over yet and Dove hasn't been since she was 5 months old. They'll have a good time I'm sure.

I managed to take a few pictures of the puppies while I was at my BIL's. They're 4 weeks now and as cute as can be. I even have a favorite.

He's as cute as can be. My neice named him Hank. If I didn't already have dogs, I would bring him home. He has the best personality out of all them, I think. But I don't really want anymore so I'll just enjoy him for the next few weeks and someone else can love on him after that.

Here's the rest of the litter:

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Busy

2008-08-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

My mother in law came into town last night and we went down to see her. She lives in Montana and trys to make it over every few months to see everyone. We'll be staying down with her this weekend at my brother in law's house. That works well for me since I'll get to see the puppy cuteness everyday for a few days, and I'll be sure to take new pictures of the babies and post them here on Monday. Since we'll be gone, I hope everyone has a good weekend and I'll blog on Monday.

Here's some new pictures of the puppies I took just a few days ago. They'll never stop being cute.

Se7en

2008-08-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was tagged my asthmagirl to do the seven. I'd like to let it be known that I'm not great with these and I do embarrass myself often when I take questionnaires. So here I go....

Se7en

7 things I plan to do before I die

1) Go to Scotland

2) Have my own farm. Possibly in Montana.

3) Have a family

4) Learn to Salsa dance

5) See a Kentucky Derby in person

6) Go to Australia

7) Ride on an Airplain. Otherwise it would be a long swim to Australia.

7 things I can do

1) Make a fabulous garlic bread

2) Be a good listener and problem solver

3) A word find

4) Train dogs

5) Keep a Betta alive

6) Clean the house in 3 hours

7) Make my own household cleaners

7 things I cannot do

1) Handle a spider in my house

2) Drive a stick shift

3) Wear a bikini

4) Stop looking at and petting my dogs

5) Go a day without a shower

6) Spend a day without my husband

7) Go without a bra

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex

1) Make me laugh

2) Intelligence

3) Inner Strength

4) Can go anywhere at the drop of a hat

5) Loves Dogs

6) Can sit and enjoy a quiet moment

7) Confidence

7 things I say most often

1) Noooo! (think Rachel from friends)

2) Dovey Dog!

3) Mini Mini! (Angus' nickname)

4) Your what hurts?

5) Stop doing that!

6) Leave it alone!

7) Do I have to?

7 celebrity crushes

1) Robert Pattison (He plays Edward in the new Twilight movie)

2) Leo Dicaprio (Titanic)

3) Val Kilmer (in Batman)

4) Orlando Bloom

5) Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing)

6) Jason Statham

7) US Olympic Men's Swim Team

This was hard to do. But hopefully now you know a little more about me. Thanks Asthmagirl.

Tired

2008-08-19T12:21:00.001-07:00

I'm exhausted today. I'm not entirely sure why. I think it was because of all the hoopla yesterday with my interview. I'm not expecting to hear back from them until next week at the earliest. I'm sure they've got a bunch more people to talk to.

I think it'll be a pretty good job for me. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is giving shots. I don't like them and I'm not sure I could ever do it. But only time will tell I guess.

I've got a ton of stuff to catch up on at home today, as much as I would like to just have a chill out day, that's just not gonna happen.

Nerves

2008-08-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

I've got an interview this morning with a vet's office. I'm applying for a vet kennel assistant position and I think I've got a good shot at it. I have to run out the door now but I'll let you know how it went. Wish me luck.

Update: Everything went really well. So good in fact that I got a second interview! YAY! I'll let you know when I get that set up.

History

2008-08-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

I would just like to start out by saying that watching Michael Phelps this last week has been the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I think he's the greatest athlete I've ever seen and I couldn't be more proud if I wanted to be. Congrats Michael!

OK, now that that's out of my system. The last few days here have been overwhelmingly hot. Much hotter than normal. But I'm trying not to complain too much. February will be here before I know it and we'll all be bitching about the rain and cold. So enjoy it while it's here people!

In the mean time, take some time to enjoy the small things today. Like this flower we snapped while in Oregon.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Update: I was woken up at about 4 am from some wicked heat lightning that parked over our house. It's so strange to have the thunder and lightning without the rain. This is very strange weather.

Puppy Fix

2008-08-15T14:49:00.001-07:00

And now for something much cuter than a big hairy spider.

My brother-in-law's Lab had a litter of 6 a few weeks ago. I saw them first about 4 days after they were born, and we just saw them again on Sunday. I figured we'd go back every week or so and show how fast they're growing and how very cute they are. My niece and nephew are in the pictures too. So, enjoy the 2 week old puppy cuteness.

Spider Attack

2008-08-14T10:46:00.001-07:00

That's something a lot of people know about me. I'm deathly afraid of spiders. I've heard all the reasons I shouldn't be afraid, and I'm here to tell you that it doesn't make a bit of difference. They can go be helpful and eat bugs outside. They do no good in my bedroom at 1 am.

Normally I can handle a spider attack and be ok after a while, but this was not a normal spider. It was a giant, brown, hairy, toxic waste spitting spider. It was so bad that I woke Ogre up at that ungodly hour to go in the bedroom and kill it for me. At that moment I had enough brain capacity to go "This would be a great blog topic." So I grabbed my camera and took pictures of him before Ogre squished the life out of him.

This is him from across the room about 2 feet from my bed. He could have killed me at any moment.

This is him with as much zoom as the camera could go. Notice how he's only got 3 legs on one side, he left the other one in my bathroom a week ago.

This isn't the first spider attack in a while. This is in fact the 3rd spider attack in 4 nights. All of them emerged in the twilight hours while I read, waiting for me to fall asleep so they could strike.

I was so freaked out after this that I had to sleep out in the living room with Ogre and the dogs. I still can't even really go in the bedroom or bathroom without checking the perimeter for spiders. I hope they stay outside so hubby won't have to keep getting up at 1 am to squish spiders for me.

Now I hope you all understand if I never come back to this post because just posting the pictures is setting my alarms off and I never want to see that hideous thing again. I'm going to go attempt to scrub myself clean with bleach and ajax, it gave me that bad a case of the heebie jeebies.

Update: I showed this to one of my friends, and she counted the legs and that spider does in fact have 8 legs. Which means there is still a 7 legged spider some where in my house. I may have to move.

Walk the walk

2008-07-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

Good news from my end. I've been walking the dogs lately, and I'm finding that i really enjoy it. I mean don't get me wrong, I come home all sweaty and gross, but I'm finding myself feeling better coming home then I did before I left. The dogs are really enjoying it too. They look forward to getting out as much as I do. Hopefully I'll keep up with it and shag a little weight off my behind.

Another lovely little picture I took while in Rockaway. This is one of my favorites.

Cheese

2008-07-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

About 15 miles south of Rockaway is the town of Tillamook. The land of cheese, trees and ocean breeze. For those of you that don't know, Tillamook is world famous for Tillamook cheese. Every time we go, we stop at the cheese factory. I've done this since I was a kid and my parents took me.

They have a great gift shop and free samples of cheese, which I have to say is my favorite food group. When you go upstairs you get to watch people make and package the cheese, always fun to watch.

Of course they don't do just cheese, but an array of diary products which are very tasty, and in fact, we actually only buy tillamook cheese and ice cream. I find it to be far superior to other brands. I'm sort of a dairy snob.

If you ever stop in Tillamook, go there. It's fab.

The Trip

2008-07-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have never had the joy of going to the Oregon coast, I have a little photographic tour so show you just how amazing it is.

We went to Rockaway Beach, Oregon. Which is about 200 miles and a 4 hour drive away from where we live. We ended up taking 101 south the whole way, which I rather enjoy. I think it's the most scenic route but it's definitely slower than I-5.

When we left home it was cold and drizzly, but had cleared up and was beautiful just as we reached the top of Neahkahnie Mountain. The views are spectacular.

We got into town safely and got to our condo that we had rented while we were there. It's right downtown with a lovely ocean front view. After we'd checked it out, we went back downstairs to unload the car and passed another family who was going to their place. When we went back to the condo, the same family was unlocking the door to the condo we rented. We told her that we had rented that one and she informed us that she owned that condo, had a timeshare and that we would have to leave. Essentially telling us to go away and fend for ourselves. Once she found out that we'd already been inside and that we had no intention of leaving, she stomped off to the realtor that rented the condo out to find out what was going on.

We called her too after the obnoxious woman had left and Barb (the realtor) told us she was on her way to the office now to find out what was going on. She told us she'd call us back in about 15 minutes. 10 minutes later the obnoxious woman came back, told that there had been a misunderstanding and that Barb was looking for another place for us to stay.

We went to Barb's office, which was right across the street and found out that woman showed up at the last minute without calling to find out if the condo had been rented. We had wondered if they had double booked it and just didn't say anything. That was not the case at all. In fact this was the first time that anything like that had happened to them. She really bent over backwards to find us a great place and make sure we were satisfied. She found a great ocean view house for no extra charge, and in fact, she paid the difference for the house and paid for use of the hot tub as well. I couldn't speak anymore highly of Barb and her company. In fact, she told us that because of what happened to us, she will no longer rent out that condo, so that what happened to us won't happen to anyone else.

Here's where we were suppose to stay:
http://www.tcroman.com/V1040/V1040.htm

Here's where we ended up staying:
http://www.obvr.com/greatescape/greatescape.php

We clearly traded up. I sent her a great email to thank her for what she did. Companies generally only hear from people if something goes wrong, rarely do they hear if their company went above and beyond and did the very best they could in a difficult situation.

Once that passed we did what we usually do, beach, cheese factory and what not. But that's all for tomorrow.

Home Again, Home Again

2008-07-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

We made it home safely at about 10:30 on Monday night. We're still pretty exhausted from the vacation and traveling so until later when I get my groove back, here's a lovely picture we took while in Oregon.

Wait until you hear the stories.....Well, just the one story.

On our way

2008-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

We're on our way home today. We may stop and do something along the way, not exactly sure as my psychic abilities aren't developed yet. We'll probably get in late tonight, and we still have to pick up the dogs on the way home. I'll tell you all about our fabulous adventures tomorrow as well as showing you all some fab pictures. See you tomorrow!

A new obsession

2008-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've had various things that I've obsessed over in my life, I had a brief thing with the Lord of the Rings movies, still some of the best movies ever made. I also, being a young girl, had various obsessions with boys in hollywood. But nothing could possibly top the one I had with the Backstreet Boys. It started when I was 16 and ended when I was a little past 18, with the introduction of a real life boyfriend. It encompassed all aspects of my life, just ask the bff, she was right there with me. But after that, I never really had anything that again. I had things I liked, things I enjoyed, somethings I thought were pretty great. But, ladies and gentleman, Pinup Girl has aquired a new one: the Twilight book series.

I have several friends in their early teens all the way into their early 20's and they were all talking about this book called Twilight. After DAYS of having to listen to them, I decided I would pick up the first book and see if I liked it. I ended up getting the first 2 and finished them both 36 hours later. That's 1061 pages. Yes, I actually added up the pages. I'm most of the way through the 3rd book, and the fourth and last book comes out August 2nd. Guess who's going to be at the bookstore at midnight to buy it? I really don't think I need to hand you that obvious answer.

I will not give you plot or characters or anything like that. I will say that it's based in the little town of Forks, which is close to me. I'll also say that while it's geared towards teens, the subject matter can be considered for people older than that. The books are not for everyone, of course, but if you're opened minded you'll really enjoy it, I think.

There are 4 books all together: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. They are written by Stephenie Meyer and you can find them at any major bookstore right now. So, if you're looking for an easy read that sucks you right in, these might work for you.

I hope so, I'm tired of being the only one around me locally that reads these.

Outakes

2008-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Things are always pretty funny when I get together with my family. We joke and laugh together and of course the hilarity ensues, so with that I give you the birthday party outtake pictures. With a few faces you might recognize.

And of course, a few shots of the birthday girl.

Just remember family, I love you very much and you can yell at me when I get back.

When did that happen?

2008-07-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm the oldest of 3 kids, I'm in my late 20's, the middle one recently turned 22 and now my youngest sister just turned 18, on Sunday. This of course brought it all home of just how old I am now. I remember vividly my mom and dad bringing her home as a baby. She was great. I bonded with her really strongly despite the 8 year age difference. And now here she is, a legal adult, able to do things that I think she shouldn't because in my mind she continues to be the 4 year old that I took care of because my parents were working.

So I want the know when the hell this happened. I feel like I was just in middle school. The BFF and I running to the playground to swing. And now I'm suddenly approaching 30 *gasp* and wondering why I can't stop time and just enjoy life for a moment. But time refuses to listen to me and the years keep going by faster and faster.

I'm wondering why at 26, I feel so old.

Suprise!

2008-07-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

Ogre and I are headed to the lovely Oregon Coast. We just decided to go one night and found a condo to rent on the beach with 2 weeks notice. How lucky was that. We're leaving Friday morning and we'll be back Monday night. The doggies won't be coming with us, they'll be playing and running around on a farm while we're gone, and hopefully exhausted when we come back. People have asked us why we're not bringing them and I equate it with taking kids on vacation. (Bear in mind, I have no children) It's fun to take the kids and you'll still have fun, but you can't do everything you'd like cause you have them with you.

So, I've set up a couple of posts to 'go off' while we're gone, and I would ask one tiny favor. What would you like to know about Pinup Girl? What should I blog about? Frankly, I'm still pretty new to this so I'm fast running out of things to discuss.

I'll leave you with this lovely picture we took years ago on our 1 year anniversary to Rockaway Beach, OR.

The Hike

2008-07-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ogre and I went on a wonderful hike up in the mountains on the 4th. We hiked along side the Taylor River and got about 3 miles in before my new hiking boots rubbed my heel raw and we had to turn back. We also forgot about mosquito repellent but I got out with only one on my elbow.

The trail was very rocky all the way in but at certain points little creeks crossed over the trails which gave the dogs the opportunity to drink along the way. The trail was an old logging trail at one point and a developer had planned to put houses along there, but thankfully the deal fell through and it was made into a hiking trail.

I caught this picture of the river as we hiked in.

The dogs had a great time but had a hard time walking over the large rocks in the middle of the path. We asked a ranger on the way out why the trail wasn't in better condition, and we were told that not enough people used the trail to consider making it in better shape.

There's a small campground right next to the trail head and we stopped to eat a small lunch and I grabbed the camera to take pictures of some of the flowers.

I have no idea what the red flower is, but it really grabbed my attention. It's quite beautiful.

I hope everyone had a safe 4th. Have a great one.

Funk

2008-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Pinup Girl has been in a funk the last few days. Thus no posts. However, the Ogre and I had a wonderful and safe 4th. We enjoyed the local fireworks show in town. We also went for a hike, but I still have to upload those pictures. I'm also running out of things to post about, so while I gather my thoughts and upload some pictures from the behemoth, please enjoy these pics of Dove as a puppy trying to make friends with my Mother in Law's cat.

I know you all need your basset fix.

Have a great day Everyone!

What's a Basset Hound?

2008-07-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

When we went to the beach this weekend, we had a lot of people stop and ask us about the dogs. Most people just want to pet and touch them. We had several requests for people who just wanted to pet their ears because they 'looked so soft'. Which they are.

While we're walking the dogs around we also hear a lot of comments. "Oh my gosh, what kind of dogs are those."
"Look at the weiner dogs!" Are you kidding me? "Oh, can we pet your beagles?"

"Those are bloodhounds right?"

So I decided to put together this helpful guide to help you tell the difference between those breeds of dogs, and the basset hound.

This is a basset hound:

Angus is fairly deceptive because he's whats known as a 'long legger'. Notice the long body, short legs, long wide muzzle, very long ears, and the very saggy skin. He has all of those things to help him scent.

Now for those breeds that aren't basset hounds:

This is a Dachshund.

Much shorter legs, shorter ears, long pointy muzzle. The only thing these two have in common is the long body. Not even close to the same dog.

Bloodhound:

Much taller, not so long bodied, same long ears, but clearly not a basset hound.

Beagle:

This is a bit trickier. Both are short, both have longer ears, but there is one major difference: the length of the body. While beagles are short with longish ears, basset hounds are much longer in the body, have much longer ears, and much shorter legs.

Just to summarize:

These are basset hounds:

These are not basset hounds:

Now the next time you see a basset in public, you will definitely be able to tell that it is in fact a basset and not a beagle, bloodhound, or dachshund.

The New Camera

2008-07-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

For the last few years I've been using a decent camera that takes pretty good pictures. It wasn't until recently that it became a problem. It still took decent pictures but now the delay between pictures was 10+ seconds. I like to do a lot of wildlife photography and having to wait that long between shots just wasn't cutting it anymore. So when we decided we'd be going to the beach, I told him it was time for a new camera. He balked a little bit but didn't fight me too hard on it.

We stopped on the way there and I picked out a new one. I got a Kodak EasyShare Z1012 IS. It's so unbelieveably fab. It takes such brilliantly clear pictures without any delay. I love it super hard.

Here's some pictures of the old camera:

Notice the major problem with this camera? It's viewing window is only about an inch wide and an inch tall. Like I said, it still takes great pics but it's just not as good as it once was. Now the Behemoth:

Notice the difference in the picture quality? I love the new camera. I have the ability to change the shutter speed and such with this camera, but at the heart of the behemoth, it's a fancy point and shoot. Which is what I think I like most about it.

What was your last electronics upgrade, or any upgrade for that matter? How wowed were you by the difference in the old and the new? Pinup Girl must know.

The Coast

2008-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

With the heat in the area the last few days, Ogre and I decided to escape to the coast to beat the heat.

When we left our apartment at 10 am, it was already 80 degrees and very sunny. By the time we got to the beach, it was 62 and overcast/foggy right on the beach.

We got out and let Angus have his first taste of the ocean, and I got to dip my feet in the very cold water.

We went and grabbed some lunch and walked the dogs and then I saw it: horses for rent on the beach. I usually go riding when we're at the beach and it's something I love. For $25 you get to ride for an hour along the beach. So much fun.

Everything was great after I mounted the horse. They gave me a lovely mare who they called May. She has a fab dorsal stripe going down her back. We started off and one of the guides who rides with the group starts screaming at me, "May likes to bite and kick, get her away from me!" Why do the give me the problem horse? Because when you sign up they ask you what kind of experience you have. I rode quite a bit as a kid and I only ride about once a year nowadays.

So I spent the majority of my trip making sure my mare had open space in front of her and no one was sneaking up on her from behind. Even when she was in the clear, she would actively look for horses to go after and bite. Lucky me. At least she listened to me when i pulled her head in the opposite direction of a horse she was going after.

Even though I hadn't ridden in a while, I wasn't sore at all after an hour in the saddle. I didn't even get that feeling like I'd been riding a barrel. I had a pretty good time.

All in all, it was a good trip and I'm glad we got to get out. I think the dogs appreciated it more than we did.

House Hunting

2008-06-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ogre and I went out house hunting today. For those that are unaware, we live in a small, 1 bedroom apt with 2 50+ pound dogs. We are so done living here.

We've been looking with our realtor for about 2 months and so far, not much but dumps. Including one we affectionately called the cat pee house. Mostly for the smell that hit us like a frying pan the moment we opened the front door. Needless to say, we didn't go for that one.

We've seen some that are just teardowns waiting to happen, and just a few that could be livable. So with that in mind we went and looked and hoped we can find 'the house'.

The only one I took pictures of was the first one. I liked it a lot. We looked at 5 all together but only this one was worthy of the camera. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house and it's 1824 sq. ft.

That's the front of the house. Lovely color. The only down side to the outside of the house is that there's no fence. But that's something we can deal with.

This is the entry way. I'm standing in the living room, looking towards the dining room. Brand new flooring, paint, and curtains through out the whole house. Both bedrooms and the bathroom are to the right.

A terrible picture of one of the bedrooms. Isn't the carpet and walls lovely?

The bathroom. As if I have to explain that to you.

This is the reason I love the house so much. This kitchen is to die for. All new appliances, flooring and anything else new you could possibly want.

There's also a basement downstairs where the washer and dryer go. I didn't bother to take pictures of that, cause if you've seen one basement you've pretty much seen them all.

Ogre and I are off to the beach today. Lovely pics of the coast tomorrow.

The Boy

2008-06-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

We were very lucky that Angus didn't have the illness issue that Dove did as a puppy. He brought his own set of issues with him.

When Ogre and I decided to get another dog we went back to the same lady that we got Dove from and picked out a beautiful little lemon colored female puppy that we named Daisy.

Unfortunately, when I called the 'breeder' to find out when we could come get her, she told me that Daisy had died but didn't know what from and to come get our deposit. I was devastated. Not only because we'd lost our beloved Daisy, but because this woman decided it wasn't important enough to her to let us know when she was ill let alone dying.

After getting our deposit back from the 'breeder', we decided that we still wanted a new puppy and despite what had happened, we still wanted to bring one home that weekend.

I found the ad for Angus' litter in our local newspaper and I promptly called to go see them that night.

He was raised in a large house about 40 minutes away from us with a large backyard. They led out 4 puppies into their backyard for us to see. We liked him pretty much right away. Mostly for the cool lightening bolt pattern on his side.

He was such a cute little bugger.

We picked him up with Dove a few days later and tried to make his adjustment as easy as possible. Thank goodness for Dove. Without her I don't think he would have made it.

He was used to sleeping with his littermates and wherever he wanted, he was never crate trained. I would say for the first month when we locked him up at 10 pm, he would cry from 10 pm to 6 am when Joe got up for work. Nonstop.

We eventually worked through it. Then came his potty issues. We live in a 1 bedroom apartment, on the 2nd floor, so he didn't have access to a yard like he used to. Even now, if he has to go, you have to take him pretty much right then or end up with a pee trail on the floor.

Despite his many quirks, obedience, and potty issues, we love this dog. He is the first dog to greet us when we get home. When you sit on the couch, he's the one that crawls in the lap for a cuddle.

He's a good dog now and I'm glad we got him. I'm just glad it wasn't any worse.

Ogre and I are going house shopping tomorrow, so come back and see the possible dumps we went to look at.

Keeping with the title

2008-06-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you who skipped it or maybe weren't wearing your glasses, this blog is called 'Stop Staring at my Puppies'. So I figured in keeping with the title, I would continue the 'getting to know me' series by discussing my puppies a little more in depth. Today we'll begin with Dove.

This was the first time we'd ever seen her. But I think I'm jumping ahead a little bit. Ogre and I had been married for a little over a year when I decided I either needed to have a baby or get a dog. Needless to say he decided that having a dog was the best thing in the world. So after much discussion about which breed and what not, I found an ad online for a litter of basset hound puppies. I told Ogre that we had to go look but we may or may not get one. Yeah right.

We drove for an hour to get to a little farm at the end of a dirt road. The lady met us at the gate and led us into her 'garage' where the babies were. We crouched down in front of a little gated pen and there were 5 puppies. All of them were whining and carrying on and in the corner sat the runt. Quietly sitting, and looking at and wondering what all the commotion was about. Ogre picked her up and handed her to me, and that was that. Despite the fact that there were 2 lemon colored ones, we just loved the little tri colored female. We left a deposit and told her we'd be back to visit before we could bring her home. She was only 2 or 3 weeks when we saw her the first time.

Two weeks later we went back to see her and her siblings.

We visited for about an hour and made plans to come back in 2 weeks to pick her up and bring her home.

During that 2 weeks, we'd gone to the store and gotten all the supplies we needed for her and made our little apartment as puppy proof as we could with out testing it out.

Finally, the day came. My sister went out with me to bring her home and it went off with out a hitch. She was very quiet and just walked around. She slept quiet a bit but I figured that was pretty normal. I had her checked out the next day at the vet's office, where I was told she was in perfect health and how lucky I was because apparently a lot of people get very sick puppies.

My parents came and saw her a few days later and asked why she was walking stiff legged. We thought it was because she hadn't walked around much in her short life and was still figuring out how it all worked. My mom seemed unconvinced as she left and told us to keep and eye on her.

My mom called us the next morning and implored us to take her to the vet to have her checked out. I figured I would just to placate her and when Dove came back fine, I'd tell her that we knew that all along.

We brought her in first thing in the morning on Saturday. It was at that point that she couldn't walk anymore and in talking with the vet I realized she hadn't eaten anything for 3 days. Our vet took her back and looked her over and came back in the room to tell us that she'd eaten a can of wet food very quickly but that there was something very wrong with her. They'd need to run more tests to figure out what it was but we we're told to count on the fact that she would be with them for a long term.

The vet called us back within a few hours to tell us that Dove had a massive brain/spinal cord infection. They were doing all they could for her but there was no guarantee that she would survive. Our vet took Dove home with her that weekend, gave her injections every 2 hours in hope that something would save her.

I called the vet that Monday and asked when we could bring her home. I was told that while she was improving they wanted to keep her another day to make sure she was alright. I said that I didn't have the money to keep her another day but if they wanted to do it for free that would be fine. They told me to come get her. I was told how serious her condition was and that she was, in fact, still in danger of relapse, but she could eat and drink on her own but I had to keep giving her her medication. Not only that, but she couldn't go anywhere for 2 weeks because her immune system was so comprimised. They wanted another set of vaccinations in her before she could go anywhere near other dogs.

So, we followed the advice and our world shut down for 2 weeks. Making sure she was eating and getting her meds and lots of playtime. Boy did she do a 180. She was suddenly full of energy and tearing up the world. She became that ball of puppy energy that we kept hearing so much about.

Long story short, she ended up being a wonderful healthy dog. Our vet said that she sustained a small amount of brain damage from the infection but that it shouldn't affect her much. She's a great dog that doesn't get car sick, she travels wonderfully, and most importantly, she's alive and well today. So, a heartfelt thank you goes out to my mother who stuck her nose in where it didn't belong, told me to shake off my stubborness and go get her checked out. Thank you Mom.

She's a great dog and we love her very much. Angus will be getting his story tomorrow.

A very special thank you to Asthmagirl for sending people my way on her blog. You know I appreciate it.

I believe introductions are in order.....

2008-06-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

When I set out to start this blog, I knew this would be the hardest post to do. I go through the typical questions: where to start, how much to reveal, blah blah blah. So I may just start and see how this goes. Let's start with location. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

About 20 miles south of Seattle. I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I have the water and the mountains in the same place.

I have been married for 3 years, to this man:

He doesn't wish to be seen, but he has given me permission to call him Ogre on the blog. Possible name change in the future however.

And now to show you the reason why my blog is titled the way it is:

This is Dove. The oldest of my puppies. She's as sweet as can be but a handful out in public. She's the dog that will leap at strangers in an attempt to show love. She's very sweet but a pain in the butt.

This is the boy. Learn this face. It's the face of deception. Do not be fooled by his good looks. Angus is a little over a year old and the most difficult dog ever. On the flip side of his obedience issues, he is a great dog. Super smart, he just chooses not to show it.

Now for a little bit about me. I'm a 26 year old, stay at home wife, with 2 dogs. I'm currently going to school for Medical Office Assisting. Or a glorified secretary and my father in law would say. But that's neither here nor there.

I spend my days doing the typical housewife thing, cooking, cleaning and taking care of these 2 beasts. Some where in between that I do my school work.

Please come back and see us, we'd love to have you. In the mean time, I'll just leave these cookies out for anyone who happens to wander by.