Paisley went on a diet

For the past few weeks or so, Paisley hasn't been eating as much as she normally does. I mean, she typically wolfs down her food so fast, I've barely touched the surface of my food! This had Christine and Richie really worried, so they were making her all sorts of special dinners - eggs, bacon, chicken burgers, rice medley, pasta n' cheese, you name it. Sometimes she would eat a few bites, but what she didn't eat, I would happily finish off! Because she wasn't eating well, we both got to sleep upstairs the whole time - I of course, would stake out a spot on the bed!

During this time, Paisley went for many trips to the vet, and on one particular visit, she stayed there the whole day! When she came home, I wanted to play, but she didn't, as she could barely stand up. Christine and Richie carried her into the house, and she lied down where they put her (in her spot) and she didn't move for hours!

She stayed downstairs the whole evening and into the night. Richie stayed down there with her, and apparently she was not feeling well. The next day, she was up and about, but she smelled funny, and had a big patch of her tummy fur shaved off. I didn't like it, so I kept my distance.

Then Richie put on the cone of shame... I've had to wear that damned thing a couple of times - it's not much fun, as you end up bumping into everything with it! It didn't last long however, as Paisley had no interest in licking her tummy - I think she was too sore to do anything.

But after a week, Paisley has started eating normally again, and really is getting back to her old self. I'm not getting any more special meal leftovers anymore, but I really happy that Paisley is healing up and happy again!

Mischa

Editor's note: Paisley had an 8 cm growth in her spleen that was removed last Monday. It turned out to be a high-grade spindle cell sarcoma - not a good thing. We'll cross our fingers that the cancer doesn't come back too quickly, but for now, Paisley is happy and eating well!

A stormy weekend in Point Roberts

We went down to Point Roberts again this weekend, but it was really stormy down there. Of course, Paisley and I don't really care, and to be quite honest, we prefer it cool out.

We went to the beach in the morning, but it was so windy, that we didn't dare go into the ocean. I did go a little "crazy puppy" however, as the beach was clear of seaweed and was just the right texture between our paws for tearing around on.

But with the yucky weather, we are spending a lot of time inside. Paisley of course, felt like she belonged on the couch with Christine.

I hope it gets warmer outside soon, so we can spend more time outdoors with our humans.

Mischa

What a comfy spot...

I have frequently (I mean frequently!) seen Richie napping on the couch downstairs, so the other day, I thought I would give it a try myself. Now I know why he spends so much time down here - nap-time bliss!

White wedding

Well, Richie and Christine took off on us again recently. Apparently it was for good reason - something about getting married in Jamaica or something. Not that it really matters to us, as we've always been one happy family. Anyhow, Ian and Lauren came to stay with us while they were gone, and it was tons of fun!

I can't tell you all the hijinx we were up to when our guest humans were taking care of us, but we did get busted for stealing a loaf of bread off the kitchen counter. Not caught in the act, mind you, but the trail of bread crumbs that led outside to the backyard gave us away (Paisley, I told you to eat them up!).

While Richie and Christine were away, it was cold here - but we like it cold! There was a little bit of snow around the house, but Ian and Lauren took us up to the mountains where there was a lot of snow! They were walking on these funny things called "snowshoes"; Paisley and I thought they looked strange.

We met other doggies out playing in the snow as well - it was fun tearing around in the deep powder, as shown above!

Paisley was extremely well behaved, but I think that it was too much exercise for her. When we got back home, she would not put any weight on her paw, which had Ian and Lauren really scared. They ended up taking her to the emergency clinic, but I knew it was just too much playing for her; she was fine a couple of days later.

It sure was fun having them take care of us, and we were pretty happy puppies. But now we're happy to have Christine and Richie home again.

Mischa

Pics from Christmas

Hi everyone. Sorry about not putting any recent posts up here, but Richie has been pretty lazy.

We went to the spa again before Christmas for our semi-annual fluff-up. Somewhere along the line, Richie found some seasonal doggie attire. I wouldn't wear the silly Santa hat, but Paisley didn't seem to mind it.

I however, was ok with the jingle bells - but as usual, I was more pre-occupied with the goings-on in front of the house than worrying about my new necklace.

After the Christmas tree got set-up, we did some silly posing in front of the tree - here's a rare pic of both Paisley and I looking in the same direction - Grandpa Chin was standing behind the camera fussing about, so we had no choice but to look that way!

Our Swiss visitors!

This weekend, our old friends Sami and Sylvie from our home country of Switzerland came to town! We had not see them since our last trip to the yurt a long time ago. We went for a walk in the hot sun down to Granville Island, and we sat on the patio while they had something to eat.

Then one night they came over to our house for a BBQ. We hovered around the table while they ate (as usual). They were eating those crawly things that Paisley and I often find at the beach - they were apparently different ones called "King crab", but they looked kinda the same to us. After they finished eating, Paisley and I got to eat some of the hard, crunchy shells... they were yummy! I think I like crab now.

After dinner, they sat around the fire when the sun went away. It has been really warm here lately, and even though the evening chills down, they stay nice and warm sitting by the fire.

Paisley and I however, don't need to be close to the fire to stay warm - we've got thick fur coats for that. So instead of lying close to them, we were sleeping on the cool tile patio behind them.

Mischa

The big black (bad) snake

A while back, this new creature appeared at our house. It comes out of the closet about every week or so, and it makes an evil hissing sound. For the most part, I left it alone, and it left me alone. I would have to get out of the way once in a while, but I could lie around and we pretty much got along.

Then one day when I was minding my own business, it came by me and as I was getting up to get out of it's way, it bit me on the paw and would not let go! I squealed and yelped but it had sunk it's teeth further in! It scared the poop out of me - literally! Finally, after pulling with all of my strength, I managed to get away from it!

Now when the big black snake comes out, I give it a wide berth. But I need to make sure no one else gets attacked by it, so I stay close and watch to make sure that it doesn't bite Christine or Richie. They don't seem to be fazed by the snake, and shoo me away when it starts hissing - don't they know how dangerous snakes are?

Mischa

Editor's note: Mischa got her paw stuck in the floor vent just as the vacuum came by - of course, she thinks that the vacuum hose was hanging onto her paw, not the heavy brass grate.