The welcome home happy dance

When Christine or Richie comes home, I get so excited that I do a little dance against the back door:

Mischa

Paisley gave us a scare...

Sometime last week, Paisley barfed up her dinner out on the patio. Then in the morning, she decided she didn't want to eat her breakfast. This was really strange, as she normally eats her bowl of food in about 1/2 the time it takes me to mow through mine. But it was obvious something was wrong. She didn't want to play with me either, as all she wanted to do was lie on what was left of the snow in the backyard, or the cool, damp dirt in the garden.

This really concerned Christine and Richie, and so he took Paisley over to the vet that day. He poked and prodded her, and figured that she ate something bad that might have been rotting under the snow since December. Anyhow, whatever it was gave her a bad belly, and so Paisley didn't want to eat at all! So for days, Richie and Christine would pry Paisley's jaws open and put stuff down her throat - you could tell that she didn't like it, but she would still let them. There's no way I would let that happen, as I would run away at the first sign of those little white things!

Paisley sporting her new pink "wrist-band" where she was given the IV

But Paisley still didn't want to eat, and it made me not want to eat. But I would eventually break down and eat a half bowl now and then. She on the other hand, was getting really weak, and had trouble getting up and going down stairs. After 4 sleeps, she had to go back to the vet again. This time they took those special pictures of her insides and the found out that her stomach was still very upset. Don't ask me how they know that, they just did. They also stuck a tube in her front leg, and gave her "intravenous fluids" because Paisley hadn't been drinking as much water. So she came home with this bandage on her leg, and a new set of pills that would calm her stomach down.

Christine trying to hand-feed Paisley one evening

This time, after about a day of taking these new pills, Paisley started to feel better! She even started eating a few treats. Another day later, and we found out that her blood tests showed a "high white blood cell count", which apparently means she did indeed have some sort of bacteria in her stomach. She went back to the vet one last time, as they were going to put a camera on a long tube and see what was going on in her tummy. But since she was starting to feel better, they decided not to do the camera thingy. They put one of those things in her leg again (the other one this time) to top up her fluids, and she came home happy and hungry!

Paisley with her two pink wrist-bands - feeling much better now!

You can tell that Paisley is getting back to normal - she's eating lots of food, is happy to go out for a walk, and play with me in the backyard. We don't quite know what happened, but she sure did give us a scare! We are thrilled to have our old Paisley back again.

Mischa

Cousin Max

Christine's sister dropped by the other day with our cousin Max - a brown lab cross. We'd met before, but he's never stayed over with us overnight. So when Marla left and left Max behind with us, I was thrilled! The two of us played all afternoon, and when we stopped, we napped. When we woke up, we played again! It's funny, because he's so much smaller than both Paisley and I, and for a boy doggy, he's not nearly as, you know, "male" as some other boy dogs can be.

The next day, we all got in the Rover and went to the University Endowment Lands for another long walk. Here we are stopped for a drink and a romp in the water. As usual, we ran and ran, Paisley would wander around looking for squirrels, and I would chase her into the woods. Max was having a great time too, as he would tear back and forth - alternating between watching our six and taking point.

After a long walk, we were all tired, even Christine! So while Richie cleaned up the "man cave" getting ready for something called "Superbowl Sunday", we all had a nap in the living room. That's Christine under the blanket on the couch. Max - well, he's in the bedroom sleeping beside their bed. It's kind of funny, as I had heard that one of the stipulations that Richie had to adhere to in order to have puppies like us around, is that we wouldn't be allowed in the living room or the bedroom. Hmmm.

After we all woke up, we headed out to the deck and Max got a good brushing. He also got looped into one of those things that Paisley and I hate - a bath. He didn't understand that when the hose comes out, and you get hooked up to that wooden post thingy, that nothing good happens and you get really wet. Both Paisley and I managed to dodge the bath for some reason.

Here we all are, last night after another scrumptious dinner, hanging out on the TV room floor. Then to round out our evening, we all went downstairs and watched a movie. Well, I went outside to patrol the perimeter, Paisley slept, and Max, well he actually watched some of the movie.

I wonder how long Max will be here? No matter, it's still lots of fun having another doggie around to wrestle with.

Mischa

Special picture day

It was another exciting day for Paisley and I today. We went for another road trip to Richie's sister's place, and we played with our Berner cousin Lupin and all of her toys. There was this awesome squeaky toy that we all wanted, so whoever had it got chased by the others. After a little while there, we got back in the Rover and drove down to the place where I was born!

When we got inside, there were a bunch of my sisters and one of my brothers! Even my old friend Mercedes was there; she was very calm - much more relaxed than when she was staying with us. Apparently she is pregnant, and will be having puppies of her own! I hadn't seen them all in such a long time, but we all got along like the family we are - no barking, biting, or even any hijinx. Here's Paisley, me and Mercedes lined up for what we thought was a treat, but we weren't allowed to eat anything this morning for some reason.

Anyhow, one after another, my siblings would disappear into the back room for 20 minutes or so, and then come out all dopey and slow... I didn't care - I was getting plenty of attention and quality time with my old family members and their humans. But then it was my turn - I went in the back and was given something that made me sleepy. I then had to stand still while they took pictures of my insides. Apparently, I have great joints... I don't really know what that means, but I hear that it will be important to me as I get older. A little while later, I was led back to Richie and Christine and was very happy, but still sleepy.

But we're home after a long drive, and I had a nice big dinner and I think I'll sleep for the rest of the evening.

Mischa

A different kind of doggie

So we went for our afternoon walk when Richie got home from work today, and we came across a strange doggie that I hadn't seen in the neighbourhood before. Sure, we saw the big fella from the next block, who always barks and acts mean to me, but this one was different. He was running along the road, no collar, no leash, no owner. I wanted to greet him, but Richie sensed something was wrong, and held us back. Sure enough, he too, didn't want to come see us, and as he ran in our direction, he ducked across a yard and zipped down 23rd.

Richie figures it was a coyote - too big to be a fox he said. However, it was still a lot smaller than either me or Paisley, but let's face it, street brawlers, we're not. I think the mere sight of us (185 lbs. combined weight) was probably enough to scare him off, not to mention the tall human standing beside us. But I think we could have taken him - you should see how ferocious Paisley can be sometimes. Nevertheless, it wasn't an everyday occurrence - unlike the numerous squirrels that we see almost everyday.

Mischa

Busted!

The other day, Richie was working at home, and we were relegated to the basement/outside again. But after lunch, he let us stay upstairs - I went up into his office and slept quietly on the floor beside him, while he tapped away on that thingy. Mischa however, stayed downstairs, and when we went down to check on her, guess who was sunning herself on the bed!

There was Mischa, wagging her tail like there was nothing wrong with lying on the bed - it's where the best sun rays come in, after all. I of course would do nothing of the sort, and would only lie on my (ok, "our") bed in the TV room, as demonstrated below.

But every once in a while, when Christine lets us, we somehow manage to sneak up on that cozy, soft, human bed... like last night for instance:

Paisley

Getting older...

I don't feel any different - but they tell me that I am 2 years old today - Happy Birthday to me! But I guess I have been growing up... there was a time where you couldn't leave a piece of cardboard unattended or a garbage can lid open - there would have been consequences of that, and frankly, I can't be held responsible for these situations. Don't get me wrong - the old rule of "if it's on the floor, it's mine" still applies, but these days I'm not as obsessive about it. Sometimes, I'll even find something neat on the floor, but I'll bring it over to Richie to see if it's ok if I continue chewing on it. And I still like to dig holes in the lawn, especially Christine's garden, but it's only every once in a while, and no longer a weekly occurrence.

I've actually become fairly predictable in my old age - sure, there is always going to be a few minutes of frantic puppy syndrome, but I think the days of tearing around the house with a sock in my mouth are starting to wind down. It's been a really long time since the dreaded squirt gun has come out, and the only threat of getting wet comes when I start barking in the house. I guess I really am getting old.

Happy Birthday to all my brothers and sisters out there!

Mischa