A (Bent) 'Tail' of Two Puppies: Part 3

Despite my initial concern that another puppy would increase my workload (IE potty training) exponentially, I simply had to have him. After all, who could pass up ANOTHER! SNUGLY! PUPPY!?!


Welcome Flash!
(Thunder, curled up behind him, is obviously happy with the new addition.)

But I kinda forgot to let Dorkfish know that I was going to get the other one. I mean, he had already agreed that it would be a GREAT IDEA probably be okay to bring him home. Ironically, I remembered this little detail as soon as Sheshe asked me what the hell I was thinking...

So when Dorkfish came home, I did the only logical thing. I hid Thunder in the bathroom and acted like Flash was Thunder. I mean, eventually he would probably notice we had two puppies, but he does work A LOT.

After all, their markings are very similar with their white paws and white marks on their necks.


Thunder is on the left and Flash is on the right.
(And yes, they do cuddle like this constantly.)

The only big difference is that Thunder is fawn colored and Flash is red. Oh, and the little 'bent tail' thingy... But otherwise, they're almost like twins! Heh....

He had been home about twenty minutes when he did a double take and said, "Hey, I thought your were gray..." BUSTED. So I brought Thunder out and he was overcome with joy, giddy, less angry than I had imagined.

But over the past few months, he has really taken to the little guys. I mean, he hardly complains when our "special dog", Thunder, poops in his closet. The crate training is finally going better too. The first night, they both cried like babies. Dorkfish wasn't nearly as heart-broken as I was over the sadness emanating from the tiny box. "Can't you do something about that?" he said in his overly sensitive voice. "I certainly can. I can put them in bed with us and they will hush immediately," I responded, because I am an enabler a great dog trainer. "Don't even think about it. Can't you put a blanket over their crate or something?" he growled. "Um, I hate to break it to you, but they are puppies, not parrots."

The rest of the house is adjusting well too. Molly even shared her bed!



All together now..."AWWWWW...."

But only that night. I am pretty sure she hates puppy breath.


Yes, she is in their bed which is half the size of hers...

In all, we are all loving the new additions. Even My Beesh can't help but snuggle with Flash!


Although he hates it when I call the puppy by his full name, "Flash Dance with the Fancy Pants." snicker

A (Bent) 'Tail' of Two Puppies: Part 2

Out of all the puppies in the litter, I knew Thunder Pup was the perfect fit for us as soon as I saw his bent tail.




Apparently, it was wrapped around his leg in the womb and the vertebrae in those two spots are completely twisted. His bent tail does nothing more than give him character and in my opinion, makes him a perfect addition to the quirky two and four leggers we have around here.

Not long after bringing him home, I noticed he seemed to have some vision problems. He would miss balls thrown, run into furniture, etc. After a thorough examination by both my vet and a canine ocular specialist (yeah, those aren't cheap), we found out his ocular nerves are undersized thus resulting in poor vision. In his right eye, he can only see light, no movement, and the vision is poor in his left eye. Apparently, this is a pretty rare condition and since the puppies are born with poor vision, they act like normal puppies. In fact, if you didn't know about it, you would just assume he was clumsy and a 'very cautious runner' as he totally runs like his emergency break is stuck. Fortunately, the vision won't get worse over time and Thunder Pup doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all. So truthfully, this was good news to me.

Before we even got home from the veterinary hospital, the breeder was calling me. The veterinarian had called her to let her know one of her dogs was a carrier for the disorder and she was mortified. Honestly, I believe she was more upset than anyone else. After all, only in the Davis household would we end up with a half-blind sight hound. Typical, really.

After a long conversation, the breeder tells me that she wants to give me Thunder Pup's brother, who she had kept to breed and show, as a 'helper' for Thunder Pup. My initial response, was 'no way'. I already had enough work with my 'dependent puppy' and couldn't envision taking on another one. After all, Thunder had become a constant companion:


Yes, he is sitting on my feet as I use the bathroom.



I don't think he liked the water, but the thought of being on the OTHER! SIDE! OF! THE! GLASS! was just too horrible.

He also spent most of the winter riding in our clothing:


He seemed to prefer my puffy coat over all the others.

He wasn't even picky on who's coat he was in:


I never said My Beesh had good taste in sports teams... *snicker*

But in all, he was fitting in to the Outdoordogs household perfectly.


Dorkfish was actually more excited than he looked.

In fact, I think he was my cure for mono.


Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but the picture would have been just as bad if it had been in focus.

But honestly, could this household really handle ANOTHER PUPPY?!

To be continued...

A (Bent) 'Tail' of Two Puppies: Part 1

After my mom passed away, I decided that the next dog we owned would be an Italian Greyhound. Mom had owned two and they were the best dogs. (Okay, one had health problems and the other preferred to potty inside.) But their dispositions and attitude and cuddlebility (totally a word, hush) was just perfect. This would be our next pet.

I am a firm believer that there are too many homeless pets out there and adoption is typically the best option. However, the last dog we rescued was a German Shepherd who was terrified of kids and being left alone. Not really a good fit for a growing, busy family. Also, considering my mother's pet store (probably puppy-mill) dogs both had health issues, I decided that it would suit our family best to find a local breeder. When I found that the most recent litter had been born the day after my mom's birthday, I was convinced it was time.

Time for the scheming to begin. Heh.

So, I casually mentioned it to Dorkfish. "Hey, baby, don't you think Molly would be happier with a companion?" I would ask while batting my eye lashes.

Sadly, his response was always the same, "When Molly dies, we aren't getting any more pets."

Fortunately for us, I am an optomist and realized that what he was really saying was, "We better get another dog before she dies because we will be too forlorn to get one after." It's a good thing I can translate 'man talk'.

I had already gotten my animal lover, Bonus, excited about 'helping Molly by getting her a puppy' so that was sorted. Deuce hasn't ever really taken notice of animals, so we left him out of the equation. I even took Bonus to the pet supply store so we could discuss all the things a puppy would need. As we walked in the door, he spotted the kitten adoption area. Immediately, he was struck by a little, black cat that he just knew Molly would love. Ironically, this little encounter sealed my 'gotta getta puppy' campaign...

As soon as Dorkfish got home that afternoon, I cautioned him that Bonus had found a kitten that he REALLYREALLYREALLYREALLY WANTED and to proceed with caution. When Bonus came in and began his kitten begging, Dorkfish said the phrase I know he now wishes he could take back, "Bonus, I would rather have a puppy than a kitten." (In case you need translation, that means 'I want a puppy'.)

SOLD!

The next step was to figure out how to pay for this puppy and smuggle it into the house. Ironically, this step worked itself out when I told my bestie "My Beesh" as I lovingly call him, that I wanted to get the family a puppy for Christmas. I'm still not sure if he bought the puppy because he loves us and considers us his family or to get 'one up' on Dorkfish in their 'I got you first' game... Regardless, the 'gotta getta puppy' plan all came together nicely and I picked up 'Thunder Pup'! Our first 'new addition'...



To be continued...

200th Post! (But really, who cares?...)

You know how organized, well-planned, REAL bloggers other bloggers do a GRAND! GIVEAWAY! or offer a SPECIAL! DEAL! for their 200th post?

Yeah, I ain't them.

And that's why you love me.

So, my 200th post is going to be about sick kid crap from this week.

But at least it will be funny...

Remember last winter when the ENTIRE HOUSE contracted mono except Deuce? Yeah...we had a mono scare this week with him. Fortunately, it turned out to be most likely be a coxsackie virus. (Say that without snickering. Yes, I'm 12.) I think my favorite part of the entire adventure was when Dorkfish tried to convince Deuce to eat dinner by telling him he wouldn't get better without eating and that meant he would have to go back to the doctor to get blood drawn. Honestly, the kid was 12 hours away from that exact fate, yet I had managed to keep him from realizing it. Until. Then. (In case you're wondering, he did not eat his dinner. But he was terrified of going back to the doctor...naturally.)

The positive side to his week-long illness is being surrounded by concerned friends. For example, when I told my friend Carebear we were concerned he had mono and couldn't figure out how he didn't get it when we were all sick she said, "Well, it says something about his immune system. You better get him in boys scouts cause if we have a plague that wipes out all human kind, he is gonna live a few months by himself...he should know how to shoot a squirrel." (Touching, isn't it?)

Now that we are almost twenty-four hours fever-free, I feel confident in complaining that I only have FIVE MORE DAYS of him being in preschool and this whole sick thing has cost me TWO DAYS OF FREEDOM. Selfish, possibly. Self-preservation and his own safety, ABSOLUTELY.

You Can't Fake the 'Look'

In a hilarious twist and a perfect ending to the 'tooth saga', Bonus brought home his Spring pictures yesterday.

Let me just warn you, the apple doesn't fall far from the Dorkfish Tree...



But he obviously was paying attention when I showed him how to hide the beaver teeth.

Obviously We Are Paying Good Money

Yesterday, I was sitting at the gazeebo, waiting on Bonus' bus. One of my neighbors, who is also the boys Sunday school teacher, stopped by.

Her: "Oh, did I tell you about Easter Sunday and what Deuce said?"

(This always causes great fear, an overwhelming sense of dread and a teeny bit of nausea...)

Me: (flinching) "Um....no? Do I really want to know, though?"

Her: "Oh, yes! It was adorable!"

She then went on to tell me how every symbol they held up to represent a different part of the Easter story, Deuce knew. She held up a piece of cloth and he told them that it was the linen they used to wrap His body. They held up a nail and when all the other kids yelled, "NAIL!" Deuce went on to explain that they used it to nail His hands and feet to the cross. Apparently, Deuce not only could answer all their questions, but gave lengthy descriptions as well.

I have to admit, I was feeling pretty good about my parenting until she said, "So we asked him where he learned all this and do you know what he said?"

(This is the point in the conversation where the nausea returns...)

Me: "Um....home?" (hoping....)

Her: "No, he said that he learned all this from his preschool. He calls it the Jesus School."



Yeah...oops.

All I Want for Christmas is My...well, you get it.

We have finally hit the tooth-loosing stage in the Davis household and let me say, it's about damn time. Bonus was so proud when the first one came out and he got to experience the magic that is the tooth fairy. Well, until I screwed up and he found it in my drawer the next morning...

While we're on the subject, this 'tooth fairy gifts' crap is something we all need to agree on. Giving your kid $5 or $10 per tooth is really just making the rest of us look like schmucks. I mean, what do you expect the rest of us to say when our kid comes home and asks why the tooth fairy cheated him out of $9? I will just go ahead and tell you that telling your seven year old that the tooth fairy must have needed it for gas and whiskey isn't an acceptable answer. So let's just get on the same page, drop a buck every time and move on. Mkay?

Lately, we have been having some 'dental issues' around here. Specifically, Bonus's front teeth started bucking out when his upper pallet hit a growth spurt. At first, it was kind of funny and he started calling them his beaver teeth. Then the novelty wore off and I found myself coaching him on how to hide them for picture day. I mean, look at those things:



For the record, he wasn't even trying to show them off....

On Easter, Deuce helped him out and kicked one of those bad boys out. Bonus was pretty angry yet I don't think I've ever seen Deuce prouder, "Momma! I knocked out one of Bonus's beaver teeth and he didn't even thank me!" Truthfully, that was the only way it was coming out since the kid wouldn't let us near it.

Sadly, that sigh of relief quickly changed to panic when the remaining beaver tooth went all hillbilly on us:



You can hear the banjo music, can't you?

I begged for an entire week for him to Just. Pull. It. Out. PLEEEEEAAAASE! Nope.

Then, a miracle happened. It was totally one of those awe-inspiring, hearing-angels-sing kinda moments. The dog jumped up and knocked it out. (Best. Dog. EVAH.)

So now we have this:



And as scared as I am to say it, I believe this is a grand improvement.

Now we just have to wait for the obnoxious adult teeth to come in and pray his lips will cover them...