And so it begins..

Yes, it has happened. Torean has gotten his first cyst under his left leg. And it was only by pure accident that it was found. Thankfully we already had a vet appointment made for Torean so hopefully this will be taken care of. Torean seems oblivious to it all, but I think he knows the dreaded vet is coming. I am hoping this will be Toreans first and last cyst, and what a place to get it!!

The Dreaded Grains

Yes, grains are apparently the enemy for our beloved and mischievous Norwegian Elkhound puppy. Since Torean has been on his salmon and sweet potato dog food we have seen a tremendous change in him. His bowl is cleaned when he gets his food, and his coat has become so soft and fluffy. It is a relief to see the changes in Torean after our first incident with the hot spot. I hope we never have to go through it again for his sake. Having to be good in a collar is such torture you know, and we dread the inevitable knee knocks from him. Through all of this we have come to realize that Torean's grain allergy is pretty severe so we have to be extra careful he does not get into them, including keeping him from surfing his favorite spot,  Simon's crate. When Torean does get grains he almost instantly gets to gagging and throwing up to the point we are worried sick about him. When it passes he is back to his normal self, which as you know from previous blogs, means giving us gray hairs when we are not shaking our heads at him. When Torean and Simon are together, the aforementioned emotions increase in fold, and we are resorted to basically emptying the room out to save things from total dest ruction. Calm has not entered their vocabulary yet, but their bond is stronger than ever. Torean will be lost when Simon visits the vet for his neutering and micro chipping, and the healing separation will be awful for all of us! Simon is growing very well with his own quirks and habits including tormenting our shoes and the cats who have lost patience with him. His vision is still spotty but he functions so well now that we often forget he has problems seeing, especially when he is raising trouble which as you know by now almost always involves Torean. With Christmas coming and two puppies in the house, the Christmas tree does not stand a chance in hell of surviving, and the fragile ornaments will stay put away until they both calm down. But come Christmas morning, the discarded wrapping paper will be fair game for them along with their christmas stockings to keep them busy. I hope to have plenty to put up during that time, and if I do not write until them, enjoy your Christmas everyone. Happy Paws!!!

The Love of a Medicine Pet

I can't believe it has been as long as it has since I wrote a blog. I am definitely slipping, or suffering from severe writers block. Not sure which actually, but here is my attempt to put one out tonight since I love writing this blog so much. And as always, the topic will be about Torean, our goofy, loveable, socially obnoxious LoveHound. Tonight Torean has done something that never fails to amaze me, and can almost bring a tear to my eye. The love a medicine pet can show. My husband threw his back out again this morning, so he is stuck in the chair with his heating pad so that he does not hurt himself more and end up on the floor in pain like last time. It has been this way all day so I took Torean outside to his kennel so he could enjoy this beautiful day. The second I brought him inside Torean calmed right down, and marched over to my husband sitting on his feet and looking at him with nothing short of absolute love. Now Torean is sound asleep on his feet. The second Will shifts or moves Torean is instantly awake to make sure Daddy is ok before he goes back to sleep. The last time Will hurt his back I waited until he was mostly recovered before I let Torean see him. Torean ever so gently jumped up on his lap and laid down, ears back so far they were almost touching, and he laid there like an Elkhound puddle until I finally had to put Torean on the floor so I could adjust the heating pad for Will. All of our animals, past and present have had some form of medicine petery (is that even a word?)but none of them had had it to the extent Torean does. He has been devoted to Will from the second he chose him, and it only deepens as Torean gets older. Torean loves all of us, don't get me wrong, but he definitely has a soft spot for Will. A special dog we love more and more each day <3


  Since I have not written awhile I might as well update on what our therapy hound has been up to. A few weeks ago Torean got his very first hot spot and we had to take him to the vet to have it looked at. It turns out that Torean has a possible grain allergy, so in order to make sure he stays healthy, Torean is not getting any grains whatsoever. He is on Aqualuk dog food, and so far it seems to be making a huge difference in him. Torean has an appetite again, and his fur has become so fluffy and soft. But during his recovery he of course had to wear a cone, which meant limited play time with Simon, and limited time outside to keep the wound clean. Torean decided to take out his boredom on our knees, and his cones. Two plastic cones, a blue soft collar, and a donut all bit the dust within a few days of him wearing them. Torean proved that he was not only determined, but very flexible. He proved that the donut could not stop him from licking that tasty hot spot, and the soft collar could be moved back so he could do the same thing. He also proved that he was too smart to take his pills. Pill pockets did not fool him for long so it became a twice daily battle of giving him the pills then distracting him with a treat so he would swallow the pill pocket to get the treat. All of this became a joke at the vets office but it was all worth it to have our baby boy healthy and happy again. Ok, I am done being gooey about Torean :) Have a great week everyone.

Lessons We Learn Having Two Puppies...Part Two

Since I am still struggling a bit with writers block, I thought I would branch out from another blog and bring up the new lessons we have learned as Moose Mutt and Baby Shark are getting bigger.


Lesson Twenty One (continued from the other blog post)

   When playing with Moose Mutt, do not put your face down near him because you will either get a face full of warm puppy fart, or a deliberate sneeze (anyone with an Elkie will get this)


Lesson Twenty Two,

   When Baby Shark is full, or feeling very hyper after a session with Moose Mutt do not think that picking him up to put him in his crate is a good idea, because Baby Shark will either sink his weight straight to his butt so you nearly drop him, or he will let some very nasty puppy farts in hopes this will get him out of crate time.


Lesson Twenty Three,

   When it comes time to flea Moose Mutt and Baby Shark it is a good idea to separate the boys because word will get around that the dreaded vial is out and you not only have to chase down the remaining puppy but the cats in the house as well. And nobody wants to go that route.


Lesson Twenty Four,

   Do not assume that a basket full of toys will be shared equally between Moose Mutt and Baby Shark. No, they instead choose to pass their time by fighting over the same poor toy that eventually will have to be taken away to be sewn up extending its life just a little bit.


Lesson Twenty Five,

   The store sales on dog toys are your best friends, so is buying a particularly durable toy in bulk so that the children can continue to fight over their beloved same toy.


Lesson Twenty Six,

   When the boys are fighting it is wise to put up feet, and any valuable electronics because chances are the fighting will come to you, and you may or may not get caught up in another deliberate sneeze because Moose Mutt does not always get his aim right.


Lesson Twenty Seven,

   When taking both children out to play, be prepared to have long leashes on both dogs, and be prepared that you will spend most of the play session untangling leashes, and that both boys will play until they are tired and you have to carry the growing little Baby Shark inside, which is a chore in itself.


Lesson Twenty Eight,

   Moose Mutt loves his Kong Wobbler and he is incredibly skilled at launching it across the room. Be prepared that you will inevitably be hit by it more than once, or that he will shoot it just right and knock Baby Shark over thus starting another play session.


Lesson Twenty Nine,

   Baby Shark is just that, a baby, so it is expected that he will think the cats are his own personal play toys, and that he will think biting the grumpy one in the tail is great fun, which causes the grumpy one to become offended and use you as a launching board so that she can make it into the dining room for safety. Once Baby Shark gets a warning scratch across the nose he will then come to you with that wondering look on his face, with the awe I was just playing attitude.


Lesson Thirty,

   And this is another good one, poop bags are your friends, and whoever invented the decorative bone you can hang from your belt loaded with poop bags, is a genius. When taking Moose Mutt or Baby Shark for a walk, do not think that one poop in the yard will be enough, no, after walking and playing, they will decide that the neighbors lawn makes an excellent potty spot and you will then become a balancing expert holding said dog and picking up poop. I have become quite skilled at this thanks to Baby Shark, who finds the pickup process hysterical.


Lesson Thirty One,

   And the final lesson for this blog, cords, cords, and more cords. Cords are a nightmare when you have a three month old puppy, and even more so when Moose Mutt comes into the monkey see monkey do stage of having a baby brother. If Baby Shark can do it, Moose Mutt thinks he can to, and it is double the trouble and the gray hair. Nut brothery at its finest I tell you.


   This concludes another blog about the adventures of having two puppies, and again, please, in no way think that I am complaining about Simon or Torean. This is another blog meant to be nothing other than silly. Both Torean and Simon are precious to us, and even though Simon is facing a future where he could eventually go blind, he has not let anything stop him. He is facing the world with the exuberance of a puppy, growing like a weed, and loving life. We love these two with everything we have, and I would not have it any other way.

Torean and Bond

Yes, Torean and Bond, normally two names that would not go together in a blog, but this story is too good not to share, and concerns both of our beloved critters. The other day Will took Torean out to go potty after letting him out of his crate for the day, nothing unusual there, right? Wrong. All of the sudden Will comes racing back in, Torean is nowhere in sight, so I assume that Torean has gotten free of Will. No, Will came in to tell me Bond is on the roof over the back porch. Naturally, I had to wonder how the heck he had gotten up there, since we no longer have any trees around the house, or places he could climb. So I go racing out in my bedclothes to hear Torean barking his head off, and to hear a cat meowing his heart out. Yep, Bond was on the back porch roof and trapped because he had no way down. Will grabbed the stepladder and set it up, but Bond would not come to him because Torean was barking his head off. So, while Will took Torean inside I climbed the stepladder in hopes of getting Bond to come closer to the edge so we could grab him and get him back inside. After about a million good kitties, come here butterball, that's a good kitty, come on and how the hell did you get up there, Bond finally came closer, tongue sticking out, purring his head off. As Will came out I had to make a grab for Bond before he decided to run away from me again. Bond was all teeth and claws but I had his enormously wide butt, and I was about to let him go. Pieces of the roof went flying but Bond was passed down to Will safely and escorted back into the house. As Will was taking Bond in, I felt something running down my nose, yes, Bond got me good across the nose and mouth, but he was inside where he belonged. While Bond licked his wounded pride, I had to wipe the blood off my face. Cat gratitude at its finest, but I would do it again in a second for him, or any of the animals for that matter. Once my nose had stopped bleeding, we had to figure out where Bond escaped from, and it did not take long to find out where. In our old room. We think that he was sun bathing his lard in the window, and pushed the screen out, and then decided to take a leisurely stroll all over the roof before he realized he was in trouble. If the saying is true that cats have nine lives, Bond is rapidly using up all of the lives he has. First, it was him being abandoned by some careless idiot who left him to freeze the tips of his ears off in the middle of a very hard winter. Then Bond was attacked by an animal that left him with the skin below his jaw ripped off, and now he is cavorting on roofs. Not bad for a cat who was banned from going outside ever again after he was attacked by the animal. I am thankful Torean was outside during some of the roof incident because he kept Bond from wandering off on me. Torean can't let anything happen to the cat he loves to pick on, now can he? Not that Bond would admit it, but he loves Torean to death, and delights in getting a mini spat started before he hides his lard beside the toaster and dares Torean to step into pawing range. Now Simon has taken up on teasing Bond, even though Bond is bigger than he is, and the results will not be good, but he will learn. Well...maybe....

Cleaned up and looking better.

Torean Is One

Yes, today was the big day! Torean is one!! How time has flown by! We are busting with pride at how good Torean was today, and I think he is extremely satisfied with the way his birthday went. Both he and Simon are exhausted, and haven't moved from the fan since they got to come in. Torean started out his morning with a birthday bandana, a new rope toy, and a special treat since it is his birthday and all. He and Simon got to go to the overlook and the boat launch where they played their hearts out for almost two hours. Once they were done playing Torean got a little bit of ice cream to mark his special day, even Simon got a little bit. Once the ice cream had time to settle Torean got his doggie cupcakes complete with his special candle. One burned thumb later, the candle was lit, Torean posed for pictures with his birthday hat, then he promptly devoured his cupcakes. I think he approved of them. When the boys were done goofing around, it was present time. Torean got plenty of chew toys, squeaky toys, tug toys, treats, and a new squeaky fox. Grandma even put the presents in a nice bag for him. Torean could not believe the toys he got, and spent several minutes sniffing them all over before he settled on one toy before he went to sleep. I do not know who had more fun today, us or the boys, but today could not have gone any better. If only every day could go so smoothly! So in short, happy first birthday Torean. You are one of a kind, and so very special. There aren't enough words to describe you, so I will settle with this. Love you dearly, you little monster <3

Flower and Ring Photography Play

Yesterday the weather finally broke long enough for me and Mom to go outside and take some photos. After awhile we decided to play around with my rings, and I love the shots we got. Calla lilies hold a special meaning to me as my grandmother carried them on her wedding day, Mom wanted to but hers did not survive the shipping, and my sister and I carried calla lilies as well since we all share the same anniversary day, a neat tradition for all of us. So, instead of getting mushy and rambling on, here are the photos we took.