A Long Overdue Post

Perhaps tonight will be the night I finally get a blog posting out, fingers crossed cause here we go. I sat down and realized that it has been a ridiculous amount of time since I have done any writing on this blog pertaining to the antics that go on in this house on a daily basis. So far this year has had its share of ups and downs, with the ups outweighing the downs for once. My baby boy is now three years old and is still his same combination of lovable goofiness, frustrating bullheadedness, and undying loyalty all wrapped in the bundle that on some occasion can fart hard enough to gag the humans and peel the wallpaper. With Torean I never have to worry about running out of writing material when I do write a blog. He got some new treats and a stuffed toy for his birthday, and a short stay in boarding while I visited my sister in PA. Unfortunately Torean also came home with medicine for the lovely skin infection he gave himself thanks to an allergy outbreak. He is on his way to recovery now thankfully, and I hope it will be his last outbreak for awhile.
 

Simon is, well, Simon. He continues to have vision problems, more so at night than during the day, and he is loving a summer filled with walks down to the river so he can play in the water. Both dogs think this sport is the greatest thing ever, although I am pretty sure Torean is eagerly awaiting winter more. Simon has yet to experience being boarded at the vet but it is my hope that he will enjoy it as much as Torean does. Simon recently turned two and we ended celebrating his birthday with Torean. As usual, neither boy would look at the camera for anything, so old shots will have to do for now.

                                 

This year has also brought some heartache with the loss of Mom's beloved cat Blizzard who passed away after suffering a grand maul seizure at the vet. After a little over a week, after stays at the vet, rushing her in for emergency visits, a feeding tube, and countless medicines, our beloved Blizz was gone, leaving a massive hole in our hearts. Blizzard was my rescue kitten who quickly wormed her way into our hearts and gave Mom undying love and devotion. She was loving, she was feisty, she was mouthy, she was playful, a little Toothless in a cats body really. Her loss is still felt greatly, especially by Daisy who became inseparable from Blizz once they got over hating each other. Blizz came back home where she belonged and is buried in the spot where I first found her as a starving kitten, under a perpetual blooming lilac hedge. We were blessed for the five years we had her, and she will always be loved and missed.
                                 

With that being said, Mom swore up and down that she would never get another black cat, but it didn't take long before a little black kitten up for adoption at the vets office wrapped her tiny paws around Moms heart and came home with us the day we picked up Torean from boarding. So once again our madhouse has another addition in the form of Nyx, a seven week old bundle of love and mischief. Nyx loves things that rattle, she eats like a horse, she perpetually purrs and she loves using people as her own personal runway during her tearing time. So far she has met Torean, Emmeline and Daisy, and she has discovered that my table is an endless source of fascination, and a great place to perch and catch the fan. Nyx fit right in immediately, and I truly believe she was sent by Blizzard. Just another treasured pet in our already blessed house.
                                   

 The next pet I have to cover is of course, my bearded dragon Emmeline who went to PA with me, and handled it all very well. It is my fondest dream that some day in the future Torean will come with me to PA, but until we can work over his anxiety at being in a car, we are working on just small trips right now. Seven hours in a car is an awful long time when you hate being in said car. Emme on the other hand seemed to enjoy her trip. She got to go Lake Erie, a park where she got to sun and look out at the water, a baby shower where she was snuggled and admired, several rest stops, and she got loved up on by quite a few people including children who weren't sure what to think of her. On the trip back Emme was content to snooze in her tank and be left alone, especially because she did not have to wear her harness, which she hates with a passion by the way! Emme finally got to meet my sister and brother in law, and did so with her typical indignant attitude turning away every time my sister went to look at her.
                                                                           

                                                                  Emme the rebel!

                                           Posing with me and Mom on the shores of Lake Erie


                                                                             

                                           

I am sure I am forgetting plenty to write about, but hopefully I can get back into this blog with more and more antics from Torean, Emme, Tiber, Simon, Nyx, Lindbergh, Tom and Tia, Sophie, Bond and Malcolm. Have a great week everyone, and love your furbabies!



                                                                               

Ode To The Boys Part 2

 S is for the silliness you exude
 I is for the intelligence you possess
M is for the monster that you are
O is for your outrageous antics
N is for your never ending energy

As you can tell that spells Simon aka Baby Shark. Toreans best friend, partner in crime, and overall favorite doggie. You bring your own uniqueness to the mix and some days we can never tell who is causing more problems. Love you too baby monster shark

Ode To The Boys Part 1

T is for the trouble you managed to find.
O is for the outrageous antics you perform
R is for your rowdy ways
E is for the exuberant way you greet us
A is because you are simply awesome
N is for the nose you can't shut off.

Put together that spells Torean, the greatest dog we ever could have asked for. Love you, you frustrating, goofy, mouthy bundle of love who continually enriches our life.

Catching up

Hello all. This blog post has been a long time coming and I am attempting to type it off my phone since my laptop is down so bear with me.

   Starting off, a happy belated second birthday to the star of the blog, Torean Alaistair, who turned two on July 21st. Unfortunately Torean celebrated his birthday by presenting us with a nice juicy hotspot when he woke up. He suffered the indignity of the cone when he saw his birthday chew toys and was even content enough to share them with his baby shark little brother Simon Winston. Torean has since recovered from his hot spot but the cone remains when we found a cyst near the hot spot. Torean however has decided that the cone is not so bad. It has it uses. Reason one, it is an excellent barrier to prevent Simon from getting something Torean has that he does not want to share. Reason two, knocking someone in the knees with the cone is great, great fun. And reason three, Torean LOVES hearing how his bark echoes inside his lovely cone. An Elkhound after all is only as perfect as his voice. Torean is such a special dog and a never ending source of joy in our lives. He and Simon are as close as ever and both are eagerly anticipating fall and snow, while us humans dread the inevitable white stuff.
   Torean and Simon have been spending so much time together that we decided to buy one of those leashes that you can walk two dogs on for Toreans birthday. After the boys burn off sone energy we discovered that the leash was one of the greatest things we could have ever bought. Torean proved that he will be an excellent guide dog for Simon if and when Simons vision goes completely. They walk perfectly together and Torean is such a wonderful big brother to Simon.
   We have had our fair share of problems and hurt aside from Toreans hot spots and cysts. One of our cats Sophie ended up having to be rushed to the vet but she has recovered completely thankfully. And lately we mourned the loss of a wonderful woman, my grandmother Sarah. Grandma passed peacefully in her sleep at 89 and her loss is one the family will be feeling for a long time to come. Grandma was wonderful, caring, generous and possessed so many different talents that were part of what made her so special. My Mom put it aptly when she said that heaven received another special rose for its bouquet. With that being said I have rambled enough on this blog and it feels great to be writing again. Here is to remembering our loved ones, cherishing our pets and to everything in between.

A Little Slice of Spring Cuteness

Just a little something adorable for all of you!

Simon's First Birthday

Our little bitty Simon celebrated his first birthday on the 28th with a day full of romps, treats, and the destroying of his birthday toys. It is hard to believe how far he has come from the little bitty shy puppy we brought home, to the fully grown, mouthy, confident, pain in the butt best friend to Torean. Simon has developed a very loving personality when he isn't trying to chase kitties, or chew on big brother's tail, or find something he knows shouldn't go in his mouth. Which by the way is nearly every day. His birthday started early in the morning with a bag of treaties, then as the day progressed he got unlimited time with Torean, plenty of photos taken, and yes, he got to wear the birthday boy ribbon and the birthday hat which he still has not forgiven us for. Little did we know, that like Torean, Simon would end up changing our lives the way he has. Here is to many more birthdays for both dogs, and pictures from his photo shoot. Enjoy!

                                                                     Simon's First Photo

Itty Bitty Simon Is Turning One!

Yes, the time has flown by and Simon is going to be turning one next month. Since I doubt mother nature is going to be cooperating, we will be planning Simon's birthday for indoors, and to celebrate I thought I would share some of Simon's very first pictures. I hope you enjoy them!

Our itty bitty baby who has grown up so quickly. Here is to you, Simon Baby Shark.