Welcome To My Life, Ed. 2, Vol II

The other night, Cowboy H and I were trying to get cozy on the couch, enjoy a fire and watch a movie. I was doing something (can't remember what) and I looked over to see Cowboy H tearing the pillows and covers off the couches, mumbling.

Where the heck is the remote?

So we start looking together. Under couches, under beds, under pillows, under cushions. Cowboy H even lifted the recliner completely off the ground to check under there.

Oh well, it'll turn up eventually.

My brain was turning, however, since I really hate when I can't find what I'm looking for. I will continue looking until I find it. Even if it makes me late to something.

How funny would it be if my dog had dragged it into the backyard. Actually, that wouldn't be that funny. Do you have a flashlight?

Sure enough, there it was, sitting right smack in the middle of the backyard grass.

Welcome to my life. You should visit regularly.

His Ba-Ba

I realize, after two Hanky posts in a row, that I needed to talk about Huey a little.

Don't think that Huey doesn't get any attention at home; he is very well loved. Its just very difficult to get good photographs when there are two puppies. Most all of them look like this:

Another issue: Huey likes to hide under the couch. Maybe he's just camera shy?

So Huey has a ba-ba.

It is an itty bitty stuffed squirrel with a squeaker inside.

Somehow, this one little toy has managed to escape the plight of every other toy that has met the Hankster: a swift evisceration.

Don't ask me how, but he is the last man standing. A wounded soldier, yet still standing.

Huey loves his squirrel. I think that's why he still has his guts (and his squeaker).

If there's one thing Huey will stand up to Hank for, its his ba-ba.

And that's my boy.

On The Home Improvement Front

Home improvement is starting up again at The Homestead. We've been in the house for almost a year now, and so far we have remodeled a bathroom, fixed up the front yard, put in new windows and had shutters installed.

The next project was supposed to be the garage and painting the interior of the house during Christmas break. In the garage, we're going to rebuild the shelving (which you can see in the above photo), put an industrial sink in near the washer/dryer and possibly put peg-board on all the walls. A month or so ago, I decided that I wanted to paint inside the house because right now none of our walls are the same color white. Cowboy H suggested adding some colored accent walls in as well.

Well, of course, as always, plans are a-changin'. Instead of the garage we are going to give our bathroom a minor make-over. Apparently we have mold growing in our shower. I would have never noticed this because I am blind when I shower (no glasses/contacts) but once Cowboy H pointed it out to me, it was quite obvious. So, a new shower liner is now in order and we might as well replace the cracked and separating linoleum while we're at it.

Secondly, the painting project is being replaced with the Fixing Up The Backyard To Accommodate The Dogs project. Right now the dog kennel is smack in the middle of the lawn. We would like to move it into a corner, up against the brick wall, but have to move some plants and level the ground first. So now y'all know what I'll be doing on my 12 day break off work.

Lastly, Cowboy H has started on the exterior trim for the new windows! The windows that face out front have thick dark brown trim around them. Cowboy H is going to add trim to all the backyard windows and the two windows by the front entry to match the existing trim.

We're going to make this:

look like this:

Lastly, I have an update on the doggies for you guys. Thanks for sharing your trouble-pups also! I know for a fact if we had more time for these guys they wouldn't be so bad, but hey, we have to work!

So, they actually seem to like their little kennel. For one, they don't see it as punishment, which is good. Secondly, they get treats (stuffed Kong toys) every time they get put in it. So far, there has been no whining, howling or barking AT ALL. While the first night they dug a little at the gate, they haven't done any more digging. They are still tearing up their bed, but thats ok. Beds can be easily and fairly cheaply replaced; sprinkler heads and wiring cannot. As much as we didn't want to do this, it seems to be working out for the better. Another plus about having a dog run, is that when we have non-doggy people (some of Cowboy H's co-workers) over for dinner and such, we have a place to put the pups where they can't bother the guests, but aren't locked in the crates or a bedroom.

Don't forget, Mama H's Big Quiz #2 starts tomorrow morning!!! Be there or be square!!!

Didn't Want To

We most definitely didn't want to, but we had to.

See, we've kinda got bad dogs. I mean, they're puppies, so a certain amount of rambunctiousness is expected, but these two cross the line.

It began with tearing out one plant, then digging a few holes here and there. Next came raiding the wood pile, and scattering their loot across the whole backyard (in the same fashion as the yard sale), after they figured out how to remove the tarp with their teeth. Then, they discovered the wiring for the sprinklers, and we now have so little slack left that if anymore is chewed, we will have to tear out the concrete to replace the wiring. And, if that wasn't enough, once we finally got an effective cover for the wiring and they could no longer get to it, they started in on the sprinkler heads themselves.

Lastly, as if to put a cherry on top of their destructiveness, they did this two nights ago:

Notice even the cover of the book is gone.

Now, this was totally my fault; I left the door to the office open, forgot about it, and then kicked the dogs out when I started cooking dinner later that evening. But, seriously dogs?

Honestly, we are not lazy dog owners, which some people are, and they end up with destructive (i.e. bored) dogs. We take these guys on nightly walks (sometimes twice nightly!), they go out to the ranch with the horses, when we're home they're usually in the house with us, they're learning obedience, and goodness knows they have toys coming out of their ears. But the fact remains that we have a smallish backyard, and an ADD heeler.

*sigh*

After much deliberation, we purchased this:

Yesterday, Cowboy H spent an hour or so setting it up.

Of course, Hank had to help. He really is a good little dog. He just needs a lot of supervision.

We put the sucker to the test last night when we headed over to another couple's house for dinner. The dogs were surprising good; no barking or howling or even whining when we first put them in there. All was even quiet when we returned home; not a peep from the backyard. However, we discovered what kept them so quiet:

At least the disaster zone is contained.

Cowboy H is going to throw together a little doggie house today and before he heads to work he'll dispense a few of the new toys, which Hank discovered last night.

Hopefully, they'll shred the toys and not their bed anymore.

So, how about you guys? Do any of you have "dog areas" in your backyards? Do any of you have dog runs like we now have? Neither Cowboy H nor I have ever had to confine our dogs (while growing up, etc.) to one area of the backyard, so this is completely new to us. I'd love to hear any and all solutions/suggestions for problem children!

Post-Op

Sooo, little Huey went under the knife on Nov. 7th, and had a little extra weight removed. You know those two little orbs that dangle between the male canine's legs? Yep, they're gone now.

Surgery went well and he came out with four little bitty purple sutures.

Now, those four little sutures are supposed to be removed this coming Saturday, as in two days from now. Sutures need to stay in for 12-14 days to make sure the incision line is completely healed and there is no risk of the skin opening back up.

See, I know this not because the vet told me, but because I also work for the vet. On the weekends and some holidays, I work part-time for a day clinic (the place you take your dog for vaccines and that dang ear infection) and also an emergency clinic (the place you take your dog when it gets hit by a car in the middle of the night, or on Sunday). So, I know all the rules about post-op care for your little doggie.

Only, I didn't follow them very well.

Last night I picked my Huey-duey up to check on his sutures, and there were only two.

Hey, Cowboy H, help me a sec. How many sutures do you see?

Two. Wait. Nope, only two.

A few hours later, I checked him again.

This time, there was only one hanging in there.

Oops.

I guess I don't need to take him in on Saturday afterall.

Would This Be Considered A Problem?

If I brought this guy home, would that mean I have, like issues? A really bad habit? Or even an addiction?

I really need some answers here, because this little guy just became the fifth four-legged member of the Homestead.

And I think Cowboy H is going to stage an intervention.

Company

This face showed up at The Homestead the other day.

Hank thought she was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

After a proper introduction they played for hours.

Hank even showed her the ins and outs of rolling in the front grass.

Cowboy H and I liked her so much we even let her stay the night. Or two. Outside.


But I let her do this.

And then this.

Oh man, that face just kills me.

Its a good thing my friend was looking for a dog like her or I'd a been sleeping in the doghouse with her!

Broken Puppy

When we met Hank, before bringing him to the Homestead, we knew he was broken. His previous owners had ran him over (in their garage!) and then turned him over to the Pet Emergency Clinic when they decided they didn't want him anymore, his being broken and all. The above x-ray was taken the day after he came into the clinic and shows a minor fracture where the femur and femoral head meet. (Eventually these two fuse together, there is a growth plate there at this point in this puppy's life.)

Hmmm... not so bad, we thought. He's got a lot of growing to do and his grown-up bones will be twice as big as his puppy bones. Calcification will develop and engulf the fracture. So, we took him home, excited to be adding a canine to the (overwhelming) feline population at the Homestead.

A week later, we took Hank back to the emergency clinic just as a precaution, to make sure the leg was beginning to heal and everything was moving in the right direction. Well, after a bit of attitude adjustment (on Hank's behalf), Cowboy H and I had taken the desired pictures. I looked at the screen... and my heart sank.

Now, it was obvious that the femoral head had completely separated from the femur. It was not what we expected at all. On top of that, there were these strange bone-like pieces "floating" next to the femur. Bone shards? Pieces splintered off the femur? Our hearts were heavy when we left the clinic that night.

Fortunately, I work for a vet who does orthopedic surgery, and commonly does a procedure called an FHO (Femoral Head Osteotomy). An FHO involves actually removing the femoral head and has proven successful in dogs with severe hip displasia. Wait, hey, didn't Hank's femoral head remove itself?? All it was doing was taking up space in the hip socket (and cutting off the blood supply to his precious growth plate!).

So, three days later, Cowboy H had a consulation scheduled with Dr. Clark and Hank's x-rays. After much talk about growth plates, arthritis, surgery, and roping steers, Hank had an FHO scheduled for 2 days later!

Meet Hank!

I may be jumping the gun, but I just had to introduce this little guy! Hank is the newest resident of the Homestead, having joined us on April 5th. He had a bad time of it before settling here; his previous owners ran him over then decided they didn't really want him that badly after all. Cowboy H has been talking about getting a blue heeler since we bought the Homestead. I think fate brought these two together:

Currently, his favorite activities are snuggling with his daddy's stinky horse shirt, "heeling" the cats, and gutting all his stuffy toys. He has already de-tailed his moo cow. He has surgery scheduled for this Friday, to fix up his bum leg from the vehicle encounter, so hopefully he'll get to upgrade soon to heeling real cows and smelling real horses!

I'll get to the important stuff like falling in love and buying a house eventually. But Hank has already doubled in size since we got him, so I have to indulge in as much delicious puppy smell as I can before its gone!