Gentle Giant *Small Update*

Friday started off so well. It really did. We had plans to meet up with my father, finally. But since we were already going to be in town and we weren't going to see my dad until the mid to late afternoon we decided to stop at my mom's house first and visit for a while. We brought our dog with us. He had a great time running around and playing. Master and I had a good time as well.

When it came time to go to my dad's house we headed out and when we showed up we kept our dog on his leash for a while so that he would calm down. My dad has a cat and they had never met before. Honestly, we were worried about our dog hurting the cat. Not because our dog is aggressive, but because he's a hound and well... sometimes ya worry about the dog looking at a cat or other small animal as prey and going after it.

After a while the cat was up on the kitchen counter relaxing and stared at our dog. No big deal. Our dog pretty much completely ignored the cat. But since everyone was calm we asked Dad if it would be okay to let our dog off the leash. He said fine.

So our mutt starts walking around my dad's place smelling absolutely everything because, like I said, he is a hound mix.

I stood in the kitchen just to make sure that our mutt didn't try jumping up on it. He's very tall. Since that is where the cat was I didn't want the mutt popping up onto the counter.

Well, apparently it wasn't the dog we had to worry about. My dad's cat is not declawed. We knew this and we also knew that his cat had lived with dogs before. Granted they were smaller dogs but we had seen the cat running around and playing with the dogs that were living there until my dad's girlfriend at the time moved out.

Our mutt started sniffing along the bottom of the counter, right under the lip of it that protrudes from the cabinets. The cat was pretty far back on the counter so I didn't think anything of it. Then as quick as fucking lightning the cat moved forward and swatted at the dog. He was like a fucking cobra. That's how fast it happened. Our mutt barked and then tucked his tail and ran into the other room. I was honestly very surprised by this and so was everyone else. Normally when an animal attacks another animal they react in kind. But not our mutt. Nope. He ran.

I honestly thought at first that the cat had clawed our mutt's muzzle like a warning shot. Like I said the hit was so fast that it didn't even really register until after the fact. After a few minutes though we all noticed that our dog wasn't opening his eye. Guess where the cat got him? Yep. The fucking eye. This fact only surprises me more in so far as our dog not trying to hurt the cat afterward.

But nope. We all gave him pets and cuddles telling him it would be okay. We left shortly there after. I called our vet about it. He was still keeping his eye closed most of the time but was trying to open it now and again. I've scratched my own eye and I know how much it hurts and burns so I figured that was why he was keeping it closed. Our vet clinic was already closed but I got a hold of the on call vet and he said to take our dog in as soon as the clinic opened in the morning. He said to just occasionally put a damp washcloth over his eye very, very gently every now and then. 

The vet clinic opened yesterday at 9am. Because I thought traffic was going to be worse we actually ended up getting there at 8:30am. So we just sat in the car. I kept the windows open and all that to make sure we were cool.

About two minutes before they opened we were waiting at the door and as soon as it was unlocked we walked in. Apparently the on call vet from the night before had called and let the vet on duty yesterday morning know that we were coming in and why.

They had to put drops in his eye to stain it so they could see it better. The cat had scratched the lens of his eye. There is an opaque spot right where the scratch is. She told me that she was prescribing him with an anti-inflammatory/pain killer that he can take orally, half of a pill twice a day. She also prescribed an antibiotic ointment that we have to put directly on his eye three times a day.

She checked and he still has partial vision in that eye even with the swelling that was occurring. She did tell me that she wants us back there in a week. I immediately made the follow-up appointment for this upcoming Friday. That's technically a day before a full week since the appointment has passed but she said that would be fine. She told me to continue to use the pill and the ointment everyday until the appointment.

She did tell me that there is a possibility that he either may only have partial vision in that eye after it heals or no vision at all after it heals. She also stated that if his eye ruptures he would have to have the eye removed. That is the absolute worst case scenario although she assured me that if that should have to happen, gods forbid, that the quality of his life would not go down at all.

However, she did say since that since he still has partial vision in that eye currently it is a good sign.

Our mutt has been eating and drinking and using the bathroom normally. He is sleeping a lot but the vet said that the pill and ointment may make him tired. Needless to say we are letting him sleep as much as he wants. Sleep promotes healing after all. I just pray that there are no complications and that he gets a clean bill of health next Friday.

Both Master and I are very upset. The more we thought about it the more upset we got. Of course we are upset about our pup and hoping that everything turns out okay but we are also upset about it happening at all.

We understand that the dog was just being a dog and the cat was just being a cat however... it's really, really hard to not be pissed off about it. I mean he is our kid. Plain and simple. And our kid is hurt and we can only do what the vet prescribes and hope for the best. That is a horrible feeling. And it's not even like it was an accident. I mean I know none of us thought that this would happen, obviously. Because if any of us did we never would have brought our dog down there with us to visit. This is a fact where basically someone's kid injured ours. And while that saying of kids will be kids, just like dogs and cats will be dogs and cats, it doesn't stop you from being pissed off about it.

One of the things that pisses us off is the fact that if this had been the other way around and our dog hurt the cat, our dog would most likely have been put down.

But not our gentle giant. Not our hound dog. Nope. Rather than retaliate, when he had absolutely every reason and right to, he ran and found his dad, Master, to seek comfort. And even though it hurt he has been the same sweet and loving dog he always is. When the vet was checking him he obviously didn't like it and kept trying to move away, but he didn't growl or even raise his lip at any point and he doesn't know her.  I mean this is the same vet clinic we go to all the time but he has only ever had to go in for his yearly checkup. The only other time he had to was shortly after we got him because we discovered he had a wheat allergy and a tape worm. So we had to go to an appointment for that as well as a follow-up. But that was four years ago.

The vet did send us home with a "cone of shame", which is actually called an Elizabeth collar. She said that he doesn't have to wear it as long as someone is able to keep a close eye on him because he cannot be allowed to paw at his eye at all as he could easily damage it further without meaning too. This means he has to wear it at night because we'll both be sleeping. Neither of us are crazy about that idea as he has never worn one before, at least not while he has been with us.

So, I took a nap earlier this evening. Now Master is in bed sleeping and I am staying up late so our pup doesn't have to wear it any longer than he has to. I'll put it on him right before I go to bed and I'll be sleeping out here, in the living room, with the dog just to make sure I can hear him if he tries to take it off or anything along those lines. I don't want to make him have to wear it but I am also not going to go against the vet's advice. I want to give him the absolute best chance possible of having his vision go back to normal. We've already had to stop him from doing it while we're in the same room so I can't imagine how much he'll try to do it when we're sleeping. And sure as hell I just had to stop doing my post to tell him to leave his eye alone. He literally woke up just to try and paw at it. Yep. No way we can sleep without him wearing it. I don't want him to injure himself further. I mean, he obviously wouldn't be trying to but that's because he doesn't know better.

Master and I are both very emotional and will be quite some time. The emotions range from worry to being utterly pissed off.

I will say that we are spoiling the hell out of our mutt. The vet said that was just fine, especially since he should get his rest and have food in his stomach through out the day so he doesn't have an empty stomach with the meds in his system. We can't allow the pup to eat his actual food whenever he wants, he has a very specific feeding schedule, but instead we give him treats.

I will also say that putting that ointment on his eye is a huge pain in the ass. I don't get mad at him for it or anything. I just try and make sure that I get enough on there without over doing it. The vet told me how much to put on but she also told me that because no dog wants their eye to be messed with, it would be difficult and to just do the best we could. Trust me, we are.

I just want to say this one more time... That cat is damn lucky that our dog didn't retaliate. 

**UPDATE**

It's honestly not much of an update. Last night I stayed up until about 5:30am to keep an eye on the mutt. Right before I wanted to go to sleep I put the "cone of shame" on him. However, it is the kind where you have to slide it over his head so I didn't really feel that comfortable once I saw how close it got to his eye when I was putting it on him. And of course as usual when you put one of those on a pet they bang into shit. I took it off as he couldn't lay down comfortably with it. As a result I set four alarms on my cell phone. I set each a hour apart. I slept on Master's recliner so that the dog could have full use of the couch if he wanted to sleep there. Each time my alarm went off I checked on the mutt to make sure he wasn't pawing at it. I caught him doing it once. I immediately got him to stop. I stayed up for about 20 minutes after that to make sure he wouldn't try to do it again but he just fell right back to sleep.

After the last alarm I just stayed up. I gave him his pain pill/anti-inflammatory. After that I somehow managed to put the ointment in his eye by myself. Admittedly it is a lot easier when Master is helping but it needed to be done.

After Master got up I gave Him the update on how the night went and that I already already given him the meds. I then I ran to the pet store. I had bought him a fleece bed for his crate but it was too small. So I exchanged that for the correct size. I also bought a nylon "cone of shame". I don't have to slide it over his head so I don't have to worry about it coming too close to his eye when I put it on and it'll do the same job the plastic one would do. Also it'll conform so that when he lays down he will be more comfortable. And since it is nylon and not hard plastic he shouldn't bang into things and have a hard time backing up or anything.  

Going For Walks

This post will probably show up as late since I'm starting it just before midnight. This is supposed to be my 06/13/14 post. I was sitting there watching TV with Master when suddenly my blog ran through my mind and I wasn't sure if a post was due on the 13th of the 14th. I looked and it was in fact due for the 13th. My days are running together. I've also been sleeping more during the day. I think it's stress and emotions. I took a nap for no reason yesterday and another unnecessary nap today. I wasn't even tired. I just drifted off for some reason. I hate that. I'm chalking it up to stress and high emotions. *shrugs* Not sure what else it could be.

I wanted to do a post about our pup today. Why? Because today something amazing happened! Okay, maybe it's not amazing but it's still pretty awesome. *laughs*

About two days ago we took him into the vet clinic to get his rabies shot and to test for heart worms. Thankfully he only needs to get his rabies shot once every three years. He is always such a sweet but hyper mutt and going to the vet clinic is no different. Our vet really likes him and treats him very well. As usual the shot and the blood test went smoothly. The results came back that he was heart worm free so we could proceed with giving him his monthly dose of heart worm prevention pills.

Like I said our dog can be very hyper. He's a good dog but when it comes to talking him for walks he pulls like there is no tomorrow. We had purchased a training collar, other wise known as a choke chain, and his pulling went down a little bit but not much. (To clarify I do not mean the pinch collar. I hate those and refuse to use them. However, the "choke chain" is something all of Master's dogs have had and He feels they are more reliable, as far as not breaking, rather than a typical collar. Our dog still wears a typical collar which his tags are attached to.)

As a result, Master had to take him out to the car while I paid the bill so he wouldn't be trying to drag Master all over the office. Our dog is almost as tall as me when he's standing on his hind legs and weighs about 67lbs. He is very strong.

As I was paying the bill and waiting for the receptionist to give me the new rabies tag and certificate the vet himself was standing there finishing up our dog's paperwork. The receptionist and I were joking around a bit about how our dog is so happy and hyper all the time. That's when the vet popped in and suggested a head collar. He said that our mutt should be a lot easier to handle during walks and better behaved when we take him to the vet or to a store.

Aside from pulling our dog is very well behaved. But he's 5 years old and has always pulled. Always.

After we got home from the vet visit I talked to Master about it a little bit and He told me to look into it. I did some research on it and found that the best place to go would be to Petco.

Anyway, today we decided that since he just had his rabies shot booster done we could take him to the store and look for a head collar. The most talked about one one the internet was the Halti head collar. As a result that is what I looked for first. I found it but Master pointed out the Gentle Leader head collar. It stuck out more because rather than just a size, it came with a weight recommendation. Since he is a bigger dog we feel better whenever we see a weight recommendation on the package. We also didn't have to try it on the mutt since it was fully adjustable. Awesome.

We went home and I was a little surprised at the instruction booklet that came with it. At first I was thinking that this was going to be way too complicated just because of how many steps were listed. But once I read through them all it was actually pretty simple once I got it fitted properly. From now on putting it on him will be easier.

As soon as we were sure that it was on and sized correctly we took him for a walk. Of course at first all our dog wanted to do was wipe his face with his paws to try and get it off. It didn't hurt him or anything, he just didn't like the way it felt. It allows his mouth to open and close all the way. It isn't a muzzle. But once we got on with the walk it was amazing how well behaved he was. Rather than trying to pull ahead he walked at our sides.

It has been a long time since I've actually been able to walk our dog. He weighs about half as much as I do and he's muscular. I could take him out to use the bathroom and take him in and out of the car with no problem but during an actual walk I wasn't able to comfortably control him.

But this time once our dog got a little more use to the head collar I was able to take the leash and walk him with absolutely no problem. It was awesome! I am very glad that we took the vet's advice!

Now, to get our dog use to the head collar, Master wants it put on every time we take him outside. There is the hope that we won't have to put it on him after quite some time (Master said about a year) of having it on but I have a feeling that once the dog knows it's not on he'll go right back to pulling. Only time will tell. For right now it was worth every penny and we've only had it one day.

I'm only raving about it because it was so nice to be able to walk our dog myself rather than just walking beside Master while He held the leash.

Big Heart

I have a big heart when it comes to animals. I feel bad every time I see one without a home. This is why we adopt our animals. I prefer to save one basically. Yes, dogs born from breeders need homes too. But there are a lot of people who want pure bred dogs and are willing to pay for it. Not everyone wants a mutt. Me? I love mutts. As does Master.

This is why I cannot go into an animal shelter unless I'm there looking to adopt an animal. I would walk out with one or at the very least feel horrible leaving without one.

The other day my cousin contacted me via text. I haven't talked to this girl in years. Anyway, her and her husband are looking to re-home one of their dogs. What amazes me is they literally got her five months ago. I told her that unfortunately we don't have the room or finances for another dog right now, other wise I would love to. It was hard saying no, but I know we have limitations and if you cannot care for the animal properly, you don't get the animal. That's all there is to it.

Although, since they had the dog such a short period of time I did ask why they were looking for a new home for her. Apparently she is currently pregnant with child number three. They didn't know this when they adopted this dog. This dog isn't even a year yet. She won't be a year old until October. So, since she still has a lot of puppy in her and she is a high energy dog, they know that they can't take care of her and a newborn at the same time.

I'm glad that they are being responsible about it though. I wished her luck in finding a good home for the pup, but that was all I could do.

We have been watching that Dog Whisperer show again. I love that show. But I get a little jealous whenever you see his pack of about 30 dogs or so. I would love to be able to have a large pack of dogs like that. Don't get me wrong, I love our dog very, very much. But it would be nice to have more dogs for us to love and care for and for him to be friends with.

Another Goodbye

Today started as any normal Sunday would. Master and I sat in the living room, drinking coffee and waking up a bit more. Master went to go take His shower and on His way to the bathroom He opened up the second bedroom door. The room that we call the bunny room. Every night after we feed them and say goodnight we close the door. Then every day we open it in the morning.

It was different today. He opened the door and I heard Him walk into the room, just as He always does to say good morning. I was literally about to ask Him how they were all doing when I heard Him say, "Hun!"

Our eldest rabbit passed away last night. He walked out into the hallway, where I met Him, and we held each other. He was crying. I had just started to but didn't fully until we held hands and went back to see him.

That's when I fully broke down. I was bawling. I know some people are probably thinking, "It's just a rabbit."

None of our animals are "just pets". They are members of our family and we love all of them. When one of them passes away, a family member has passed away.

Master and I said our goodbyes and pet him for a little while before proceeding with burying him.

We said our goodbyes once more before going back inside.

We have both been in a daze since then. He was very old for a rabbit, honestly. He was 11 years old. That is well beyond a rabbit's life expectancy. And we knew it was coming. We knew he was old. But even when you know it's coming, it doesn't cushion the blow of when it actually happens. We had gotten him very early in our relationship and he was already a year when we got him.

I am grateful that he went peacefully in his sleep. We know it was in his sleep and without pain just by how he was laying when we found him this morning. I am very, very grateful for that. I'm also grateful that we both said goodnight last night. Normally just one of us does. One of us takes out the dog and the other feeds and says goodnight to the rabbits. Well, last night after I came in from taking out the dog Master had just gotten back there so I went in and said goodnight too.

We will miss him as we miss all of our pets who have passed away. He will always have a place in our hearts and we will always love and miss him greatly.

Spoiled Mutt

Master accuses me of spoiling our dog. He's four years old now. We got him when he was 1. And I'll admit that when we first came home I went completely overboard. However, I did that because I had no idea what he would like. So I came home with like eight different toys, five different kinds of treats, and of course the necessities. Dog bowl, new collar, etc.

Since then we have of course learned what the pup likes. He's our 80lbs lap dog. If he can try to find a way to curl up on you somehow, trust me he'll do it. Granted he'll be crushing you a little bit while he does it, but hey... that's what happens when large dogs think they are small.

Anyway, I had some errands to run today. One of them was running to the pet store in order to get new litter for our three rabbits.

While I was there I browsed a bit but didn't see anything else we needed. We get the bunny food from another store and the pup already had treats. So I went to the check out line. While I am standing there they have those impulse buy items. The line was a little long so I look a little bit. I normally don't do that. But for whatever reason I did.

That's when I saw it.

I kind of have matching accessories for our dog. He is black, white and caramel brown. The caramel brown is mainly just small highlights here and there.

So, his leash is black. And his harness and collar are black with small white jolly rogers all over them. I think it looks fucking awesome!

So what do I see today? A dog tag that has a jolly roger on it. It is one of those dog tags where you pay for it and then go to a little machine in the store to get it engraved right then and there. The dog tag he currently had is a blue bone. I decided to go ahead and get the jolly roger one.

I checked out and then went over to the little machine. Once that was done I left and went home.

After I got settled I showed Master the new tag. He rolled His eyes at me and kind of smirked. It's not that He doesn't like it. He just commented on how I spoil the mutt and that there was nothing wrong with his current tag. He knows exactly what I bought it. Because I thought it was awesome. So He put it on the pup's collar.

He then said that I should gotten him a new collar too because the jolly rogers on his collar are wearing off. So a little later in the afternoon we took the pup and went down to the store. Unfortunately they didn't have it in his size. So instead we bought a new leash. Since spring is coming up we decided to change his current leash to the one he is tethered with outside and buy a new one for walks and going outside.

At least it wasn't a wasted trip. After we got home I decided to "fix" the tags a bit. I wanted them in a different order and all on one ring instead of two. Yes, I know I'm weird. But hey, the dog is styling so what do I care? *laughs*

At least I get him interesting stuff that is practical. A dog tag, a leash, a harness, things of that nature. I don't buy little doggy clothes or anything like that. He does have two bandanas but Master wanted them. We do plan on getting him a backpack for this summer. One that can go under his harness. But that will be practical too. He can wear it when we take walks and carry bottled water in it. It'll give him more exercise and make him feel like he has a "job" while we walk him.

Appointment for the Pup

It's about that time of year again. Our dog recently turned four years old and we got his yearly check up reminder in the mail today. However, along with that reminder it informed us that the vet we have been taking him to has changed owners. Apparently one of the vets is still there but the other one has left. And we're not sure if the one that stayed is the one we really liked. Such things always make me a little leery. I don't like the idea of new doctors or new vets. After all, our dog is a part of our family and so his health is very important to me as is the way he is treated by his vet. I like a vet with a good bedside manner so to speak. I don't like cold doctors and I don't like cold vets. They may be just as good at their jobs but it their bedside manner comes off as uncaring. I don't like that at all.

And with that vet you can make an appointment but you can't dictate which vet you want. It's a very small vet office and so you take whichever vet is there and available. After all it's just the two.

I called down there today to check on prices. Since they changed owners I wanted to see if their prices had changed. And sure as shit they did. It went up.

I talked with Master about it and He said to call around to check on prices at other vets. After all it might as well be like if the vet were new anyway. With new owners in place, who knows what else they changed with their prices.

So I called around. And honestly it seems that the vet we are currently going to is the cheapest. I called Master back and told Him. He said to just go ahead and make the appointment then. So I did. It's for the middle of April. The pup isn't due for anything until April anyway.

I just really hope two things. I hope that the vet we liked stayed. And I hope whoever the new owner is they pretty much keep things how they were.

So in about a month the pup will be getting his distemper shot, a heart worm test, and a physical exam. Thankfully he doesn't need his rabies shot for another year. I made sure I had the day off of work for the vet appointment. I know Master can handle it but I prefer being there, especially since I want to know how the vet office works now and make sure it's still the kind of vet we want to go to.

I trust Master with those things completely. I don't need to be there. The pup's health is as important to Him as it is to me. But I just want to see it and experience it for myself. Also, since we'll both be there we can talk about it afterward without my having to as 101 questions.

Handle Your Animal

We live in an apartment complex that allows animals. Well, I'm sure that's obvious given the fact that we have an 80lbs dog.

Anyway, there are specific things in our lease regarding the pets. One of them is that if you have a dog you are not allowed to keep them tethered outside unattended.

Master and I will sit on our porch with our dog tethered up. But we never, ever leave him unattended. It isn't that we're afraid that he'll do anything, but it's just we don't know what other people or animals will do. That and it's just responsible as a pet owner to do that.

We have two neighbors that tether their dogs on their porches and just sit in the apartment for hours on end. At first no one saw fit to complain about it but it has gotten worse and worse.

Now the two neighbors that do this have let them shit and piss all over their portion of the lawn. One of the dogs could almost reach the main sidewalk in between the two apartment buildings and would basically charge it if anyone was walking by.

Now today a new neighbor was trying to walk her dog back and one of the dogs literally made it half way out into the sidewalk. The new neighbor stood there, backed up and held her dog up so that nothing could happen. She stood there frozen. Master and I both stood up and walked over there telling the dog that was tethered to back up so she could get through.

The neighbor that owns that dog finally came out to gather his dog up and I told him that he should shorten the lead as she literally made it half way onto the sidewalk.

As we walked back to where we were sitting with our friends we were all pissed. If they keep this shit up the landlord may just decide that some people can't be responsible pet owners that they just won't allow animals anymore. Fuck that.

So one of our friends/neighbors is going to be calling the landlord tomorrow. I will also be typing up a letter and mailing it to the landlord depending on what the landlord says to our friend.

It's oh so much fun. I just don't want to assholes fucking it up for the rest of us.

Bath Time

We had been meaning to give our dog a bath for some time now. It was really nice out when we started thinking about doing it. But then it got cold again and then it was bouncing back and forth. Ugh.

We have always given our dogs baths at home. It's just cheaper and easier for us. We did that with our last pup and we have been doing it with our current one. Finally it was nice out enough. Now some of you may wonder why we were waiting for it to be nice out. Well, after we give the dog a bath we take him outside so he can sun bathe and we can brush him out without making a complete mess out of the apartment. Plus the extra fur can be used by birds to make a nest.

Our dog had baths all last spring, summer and fall and he didn't really mind them. He wasn't exactly happy about it but he would tolerate it just fine. But today for some reason he really didn't want to go in the tub. Master had to literally pick him up and put him in there. I then shut the door behind us so he couldn't run out. Once he was in the tub he was fine. Master is the one who washes the dog. I hand him the shampoo and large measuring cup (used to rinse) when He needs it. I also help make sure that he doesn't bolt out of the bathroom when it's done and start running around the apartment like a crazy wet dog. He gets really hyper after a bath.

So we made it through the bath and got him outside. After we brushed him we just sat on the little slab of concrete that is our porch and let him run around a little on his leash and lay in the grass.

As we were sitting there we were talking and decided that he is just too big to get baths at home now. Our last pup was, at his largest, 65lbs. Our current one is only three years old and he's on his way to 80lbs. The funny thing is he's not fat at all. Not even a little bit. He's all muscle. He's a very lean, tall and long dog.

Now when you consider the different between almost 80lbs and 65lbs it doesn't sound like a lot. But it really is. It's not that he misbehaves or anything like that. He doesn't. But since Master had to lift him and everything and he doesn't have much room to move around.

So the next time we are going to take him to a professional groomer. We don't want all the bells and whistles. We just want a bath and an ear cleaning. We don't want his nails touched. He has all black nails except for one on his rear paw. The quick in each nail is really long. He was a stray before we adopted him. We don't want to risk anything. Yes, I know they can stop the bleeding with a gel. But honestly he doesn't ever needs his nails trimmed. Believe it or not he trims his own nails. He will literally lay on the couch and start chewing on his nails until they are where he wants them. This includes his back paws. He just pulls them up to his face, pins them down with his front paws and commences his beauty treatment. The rest is taken care of when we take him for walks due to the concrete.

I called a local place that has pet grooming and they aren't expensive at all. We are, however, very particular. We only want oatmeal shampoo used. We don't want any "scenting". We just want him to get a bath, have his ears cleaned and dried. After that, we'll happily take him home.

Once he was dry enough we all went back into the apartment and he got treats for being such a good boy. He's been tired since then though. Lots of fresh air and excitement will do that.

Post About Our Dog

I figured I'd be as up front as possible in the blog title.

Today our pup had to have his yearly check up. We've had him officially a year. It's amazing that it's been that long. When we first got him he was 1 year old and weighed 65 lbs. He was still growing at that point. (Maybe he still is. I'm not sure.)

Now he's 2 years old and he went to the vet to get a once over. They drew blood to make sure he doesn't have heart worms, got a physical, got his distemper shot and his 3 year rabies shot.

We have to wait for his blood work to come back but other than that he has a clean bill of health! Yay! And I'm 99.9% sure his blood work will come back fine. I'm leaving the 0.01% the hell alone just so I don't jinx the dog.

Well they weighed him today as well, as part of his physical. When Master told me how much he weighed I was floored. Seriously. Our dog weighs 72.5 lbs. 72.5! That is not a typo!

I only outweigh the dog by about 37lbs. It's a good thing he listens to me other wise I'd be dragged around whenever I took him outside.

Apparently the vet isn't sure what he's mixed with. They are seeing the traits of the breeds we think he is but they aren't sure what else he would be mixed with. Now that's a mutt. When you confuse your vet, you have a mutt on your hands. So Master and I are very happy that we have a healthy puppy. Although he's not a puppy anymore. That's okay, we still call him a puppy. He'll always be a puppy.

Radar Day

Today was one of what we call "Radar Days". Radar is our 18 month old Blue Tick Coonhound/Australian Cattle Dog mix. And at least once a month we decide (out of no where usually) that it's a Radar Day. It's a day where we focus pretty much the entire day around the pup.

Master and I are huge animal advocates and so when we have the opportunity to spoil our pup just a little bit more, we do. Today we took him to two different pet stores, so he got some car rides out of the mix as well. At one store he got a new chew bone. He had pretty much chewed the other one down to half it's size already, so it was starting to become unsafe. Time to replace it. We normally have to buy him a new bone about once every few months. Thankfully they are rather inexpensive, and for how much he enjoys them we can't really complain.

He got to meet a few dogs, and did a lot of barking. He's normally a very quiet dog, but when he sees other dogs he gets so excited and wants to play, so he barks his fool head off. We're still working on his manners, but he's come a long way. He had no training when we first got him except he knew "sit", kind of.

So he's doing quite well, and we're both very proud of him. Right now Master is teaching him "paw". It's "shake" just with a different trigger word. We want to teach him this because it'll give him something to do when he meets new people rather than just jumping on them. Yeah. He's a jumper. But we've been doing everything we can to make him sit before we allow other people to pet him. He's going with that pretty well, but I think learning "paw" will help him even more to learn that jumping on people is not acceptable behavior unless they ask for a hug.

When we got home he took a nap, and then he watched Rescue Ink on Netflix with us. We all love the show, including Radar. Then Master worked with him a bit on his training, and now he's back to napping.

I think he's a very happy boy.

Busy Sunday

Today was busy, kind of. I mean, I think we got quite a bit accomplished, but it still didn't take up a lot of time. Which I am not complaining about.

We ended up having to go to four different stores today just to get everything the animals needed. Radar came with us, and got to go into two of the four stores. No we did not leave Radar alone in the car. Fuck that! It's fucking hot outside.

I went into the first store and Master and Radar stayed in the air conditioned car while I got the rabbits their food and litter for their cages. It's the only store where we can get both of these things, in the brands we use, at the same time.

Then we go to the usual place that we get Radar's food as he was completely out. Again Master and Radar stayed in the car, while I ran in. No such luck. They were out and wouldn't get a new delivery until Tuesday. Well, our dog has to eat before Tuesday! So I asked her if she knew of another store that sold this particular brand of dog food. He has a wheat allergy, and a somewhat sensitive stomach so I didn't want to get him a different brand, and the kind he's on isn't sold nationally, so a lot of the major pet stores don't sell it.

She did have a suggestion for a store she thought sold it. So off we went! Thankfully Radar was allowed to come into the store with us. And also, they had his food in a 40lbs bag! Yay!

Then after that we went to yet another pet store, and got him some new toys and treats. He is such a mentally active dog that we have to keep a fresh stock of toys around, and keep swapping them out other wise he gets very bored, and very hyper. Even with lots of exercise.

Finally our shopping adventure was done. We went home and Radar had a blast with his new toys.

Master and I relaxed for a little while, and just enjoyed the afternoon. After dinner I took pictures of my new purse and wallet. They aren't the best pictures in the world, cause I'm no photographer, but hey...

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Too cute right? *beams* I love them! The purse isn't a suitcase, but still has plenty of room. Unlike my first purse which was about the same size but basically couldn't hold a lot, and my second purse which was a suitcase. So I threw out the first purse (it was old anyway) and the second one I'm trying to sell.

And I love the wallet. It matches the purse, and also is a lot more compact then my old one. To the point that I could actually put it in my back pocket (if my pants have them) if I don't need my purse.

Then about an hour ago my mother called. It was time to put on my tech support hat again. Poor Mom got virused, and virused hard. I couldn't really walk her through anything over the phone since she has no techie bone in her entire body, and neither does anyone else in that house.

It was getting late, for her, so she said we'd try again tomorrow after I got home from work. Either I would call her as soon as I got home to try and walk her through it. Or I may end up having to go down there. It's a 45 minute drive, but my mom has done a lot in the past to help us, and a little tech support from her daughter is a small price to pay for that. My mom is pretty cool. I don't agree with everything she does, especially regarding my brother, but I love her and she's good to me and my Husband. So I'll help her out.