I'm A Unicorn!

 Well! It has been quite a week.

For quite a while now, Momma hasn't been keeping up with my blog - and that's actually wonderful. My life has been filled with trips to Bones Dog Bakery (where Momma can get a people version of a puppacino), shopping trips, walks, playing, baths (YUCK!), sometimes visits with friends (people friends, not other dogs), more walks, naps, treats, frozen Kongs, yummy dinners - life! Things have been pretty ordinary. After the way the first few years of my life went, ordinary was just perfect for me. I like my routine. I like the predictability. I like the safety and comfort. I love feeling loved.

But most of that isn't really fun to talk about or read about. It's like trying to write a Christmas letter (don't ever do that!) when you've had a really ordinary year. "Waited at the top of the basement stairs to be sure Momma was still alive after doing laundry. A dangerous job! Basements are evil! Why does she go down there willingly??" We could have written that every week. 

This week was different. I've been to the vet twice within a week, and the first time the vet tech brought me back out to Momma and said the doctor called me a Unicorn!! She said I was a unicorn because for my size, age and breed, I was the perfect weight, had a nice pink tongue and gums, bright eyes, a shiny coat and a sweet temperament!  (Good thing I'm modest!)  That happened after getting back from boarding with my Aunt Holly and Uncle Craig. I started coughing really hard. The vet thought it was a bacterial or viral thing that I caught at boarding. They gave me medicine that included a steroid to reduce inflammation and a cough suppressant. It made the cough go away instantly, and I felt a lot better. I finished the cough suppressant but still had more antibiotics to go through. The next morning I suddenly woke up coughing harder than ever! I couldn't stop. I couldn't catch my breath. It looked like I was panting - but that was my breathing. Momma got really worried and took me right back to the vet. This time they took an X-ray and figured out that my heart murmur wasn't just a murmur. I have an enlarged heart, and congestive heart failure. 

Momma's been crying a lot.

I have a lot of new medicine, Momma says, but the only thing I've been getting is yummy sardine balls and little peanut butter knots. This is pretty cool!

Momma says I'm not supposed to go up and down stairs or play much. Today I just felt like sleeping all day. After all that napping, I guess the sardines and peanut butter worked their magic and I started to feel better! Momma says she's going to carry me up and down the stairs when she can, but lots of times I beat her to it! She says she'd rather have a happy dog for a shorter time than a sad dog just waiting to die. Geez! She sure gets morbid!

So we finally had something to write about. We're writing about a big change in our lives. A new phase. Maybe I'll get to go on a new adventure someday. I wonder what kind of adventures Unicorns have?

 

National Rescue Dog Day

 

Miss Nicki wishes you a happy National Rescue Dog day!! 

The past few weeks have been pretty tough on our girl. Last month we found out she has developed a heart murmur, which can be exacerbated by stress. Two weeks ago, the project to redo our front and back porches, which was originally supposed to have been started last year, finally began. Strange people hammering, sawing, and making a ruckus all over our house! Then a happy disruption of her routine; her favorite Girl and Girl's Husband came to visit for a few days! But even though that was happy - it was still A LOT! And construction continued! Then, while Girl and Husband were visiting, momma and daddy's dear friend passed away, so they had to go to Florida for several days. Nicki got to visit her Auntie Holly, but it was more disruption! Now, with everyone back home, there's also construction going on at the school right behind us. When they drop the empty dumpsters it sounds like an explosion! Today, besides 80+ degree temps and porch and school construction, people came to replace the power poles right in front of our house!! It's more than a little pup with a funky heart can take! Nicki has been coughing hard and feeling tired. We wanted to pupdate our friends about Miss Nicki's situation - but also take a moment to wish you all a HAPPY RESCUE DOG day! Because Nicki the Rescue Pup, in spite of these ruff days, is still happy! XO

 

Santa Paws!!

Miss Nicki got to meet Santa Paws at PetSaver in Victor! She had a wonderful time. Santa even treated her to some of Bones Dog Bakery's goat milk pup nog!!

That was a lot of excitement, but she wasn't done yet! This year our intrepid girl opened her own Christmas gifts, and she really enjoyed it. She got a bunch of Christmas cookies from Bones Bakery, two boxes of Greenies for her pearly whites, and a Christmas Lamb Chop! Yessiree, Christmas after rescue is pretty sweet for our girl, and she sure deserves it!

Opening the prezzies:

  

Success!

Life is Delicious!

Every now and then I see folks asking for ideas for stuffing Kongs. I first started thinking about this when I noticed that stuffed Kongs offered by a local boarding facility were large Kongs filled completely with peanut butter or spray cheese. Nicki's fairly small - and that's a lot of sugar, salt, & fat! So I started thinking about what else I could use. Frozen Kongs not only provide fun and entertainment for our pups, they can actually be used as meals to slow down pups that wolf their food! Over the years I came up with a number of variations, all of which are much healthier. Admittedly, these require more effort than pumping spray cheese, but Nicki thinks it's worth it!

A few suggestions: a small piece of waxed paper, folded in half to strengthen it, then curled into a funnel can make filling Kongs easier. Consider using 2 small sized Kongs instead of one large one. That way your pup can stretch out the enjoyment. (Of course, that means you don't hand 'em all over at once.) Puppy sized Kongs hold about 1/4 cup of small-sized kibble, plus a few tablespoons of "base". Medium sized Kongs hold more than 1/2 cup of kibble + stuff. Large? Don't know! Never had a large enough dog! Keep those measurements in mind to help you avoid over-feeding.

The Bases (use these to bind other ingredients together for freezing):

Any yogurt that doesn't use artificial sweeteners
pumpkin purée
unsweetened apple sauce
mashed or puréed bananas
wet food (use the amount you'd ordinarily feed) 
Yes, soft cheese and peanut butter work - just don't use them for the entire thing. Maybe a bit at the base of the Kong as a big reward. Like the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie pop! Flavored yogurt, even though it contains sugar, is ok, because you're only using a few tablespoons.

The Mix-Ins (all should be plain, unflavored, no sauces, etc):

peas
diced butternut squash
diced sweet potatoes
diced carrots
chopped green and yellow beans
chopped pineapple (just a bit as an accent)
chopped peaches (just a bit as an accent)
raspberries (less than a cup per day)
strawberries
blueberries
kibble

The basic formula: if you're using actual dog food for a meal, measure out your pup's usual serving, and proceed from there. If you're feeding wet food, add in low-cal but rewarding taste treats like peas, squash, berries, then fill the Kong and freeze. If you're feeding kibble, pick one of the bases to hold it all together. Feel free to add in other goodies from the fruit and veggie list. Just making a treat? Combine a base with a mix-in or two (or three!) and fill 'er up!

I use frozen fruits and veggies for this because they're high-quality, cheaper, and easier to handle and keep on hand. There are other fruits and veggies that are safe for dogs, but they're not listed here simply because they don't freeze as well. According to an online calculator I found (I can't math) there are 8008 possible combinations here to keep your pups happy & fed!

What does happily ever after look like? Well, we know how it SOUNDS!

Has it really been so long since we added a post?? Yes, it has. Because we're now pretty settled into our lives together. We pretty much have our happily ever after. Nicki still growls at her Dad when he tries to kiss her Mom, but they're still working on that, too. 

To show you how at home Nicki has become, let's tell a recent story. Nicki's Dad snores. A lot. LOUDLY. He always has. The other morning, very very early, Dad was snoring away. Full on lumber mill mode. Nicki was laying between Mom & Dad, on her back, doing some snoring of her own. Dad's snoring got louder. Nicki began to groan. It startled Mom, who checked to be sure Nicki was ok. Nicki seemed to be sound asleep. Dad started another snore. Nicki started another groan. Dad's snore ended. Nicki's groan ended. Another snore. Another groan. Another snore, Another groan, the duration of which matched the duration of the snore! 

She's complaining about Dad's snoring.

Yeah, she's Home!

Twilight Promenade

I'm finally feeling physically up to a decent length of dog walk! It's been a physically challenging (and expensive!) year for me. Nicki has not been getting the exercise she deserves or needs. Her Dad isn't one for dog walking. There's nobody else available. I haven't been physically up to it. So Nicki has been a little furry couch potato. The most amazing thing is that this has not resulted in any negative behaviors! What she has wanted more than anything was to simply hang with me in whatever convalescing location the moment presented, and nap. Or cuddle. No cushion chewing, no indoor waste management .... just hangin' with Mom.

While that's a minor miracle, and very helpful from a convalescent standpoint, it's not fair to Nicki. So now that I can walk for longer, we've resumed our neighborhood patrols. The squirrels are no longer safe! Chipmunks doubly so!

It has, however, been beastly hot during the day. Stay-inside-and-in-front-of-the-fan hot. If it's too hot for me to exercise, it's too hot for my girl with the luscious fur coat! If we wait until evening, it's much, MUCH better on all of us. But we have to be careful. The waning sunlight means less visibility on the roads, and we need to be smart about safety. Last year, Nicki won an awesome leash in a contest. It's made by Mountain Dog and we love it!

We got this model in the bright neon yellow!

The thing that I initially loved about this leash was its strength. Although Nicki is small, she is mighty! When she first came to us, she was something of an escape artist. On her freedom ride, she had tried to chew through a leash during a potty stop! When she got here, she would vigorously "buck" on the end of the leash. On two occasions, she was able to slip out of, first, a collar, then a harness! She would also buck on the leash when she saw a squirrel. It was scary! This leash gave me faith that I could protect her until she learned she no longer needed to get away. What I noticed yesterday evening, though, was the colour! It's so bright it almost glowed in the dark! That was exactly why I used it for this twilight walk: visibility in the dusk. You may not have seen me or Nicki, but you'd definitely see that leash!

So we wait for twilight. The world cools down. The light softens. The roar of traffic lulls. Kitchen windows glow. The grass is cool. In that gorgeous, soft evening, we walk. The scents are still there, and some are even fresher as other dogs walk their owners in the dusk. The squirrels have wisely gone to bed, so it's a little more calm, too. Our pace is quick, but not hurried. And by the time we get home, we both have slowed down. We've had our workout, but we're also in no hurry for the evening walk to end. At this time of year, and this time of day, our walks tend to stretch themselves out a little. As the days grow shorter, our walks grow longer. Soon walks will require coats and boots and strategy. But for now - there are fireflies!

Toy Story

 Happy Independence Day!!

We're spending the day distracting ourselves with toys and cuddles. Booms can be so unnerving! "Toys?!" you say? Yup - toys!

By now you've probably seen the video of Nicki finally playing with a toy. If not, here's where you can find it. If you love rescued animals - it'll make your day.

I was initially still hesitant to think that this new joy would carry over to other toys. I had shown Nicki squeaky toys before while shopping at pet supply stores. Her reaction was odd. She seemed almost afraid of the squeakers. She would look at me uncertainly while sort of ducking her head and turning away. Because of that, I figured she didn't care for that type of toy. When my daughter broke down that wall with a squeaky Easter Bunny, I dared to hope that her love of play might just have been temporarily thwarted by the abuse and neglect she had endured. I started buying toys. Lots of toys. I soon learned that her preference is squeaky toys that are furry but don't have tons of robust stuffing. She wants to get that squeaker quickly. This has resulted in the untimely demise of a good number of fuzzy squeaky toys.

Recently, my friend Holly suggested an outing to Runnings with Nicki, me, and her rescued Border Collie, Rue. Rue was one of the Sprakers Border Collies. Google that if you can stand some heartbreak. She was virtually feral when Holly got her. Rue has made so much progress it's just heartwarming! Holly's great with her dogs. All ten of 'em! She's also our groomer and pet sitter! And general guardian angel. She thought (and I agreed) that taking Nicki and Rue into a pet-friendly store during less-busy hours would help both dogs with socialization and being at ease with unfamiliar surroundings. Nicki's mastered this already. Stores mean treats, so she loves everyone in stores! If not treats, stores at least mean lots of people who love dogs. Zero down side here! Hopefully, Nicki's example helped Rue to see that the unfamiliar was no longer something she need fear. It's not a done deal. But Rue was much more comfortable with the idea as the adventure progressed.

At one point, we headed down the pet toy aisle. I saw a likely candidate for Nicki, based on the preferences she had recently shown. I picked out a toy and squeaked it for her, then dandled it above her head. No shirking away! She leapt for the toy! She grabbed it and began playing with it! Right there in the store! I was amazed again! She dropped it and turned away, so I picked it up and put it back on the hook, which was just above floor-level. Nicki saw me take away "her" toy, went over to the hook, grabbed the toy and gently pulled it down from the wall. She didn't disturb anything else, she simply went and got her toy. She then proceeded to carry it around the store!

Of course, I bought the toy and we brought it home. When she stayed with Aunt Holly recently, she came home with the same toy in a different colour scheme!! Aunt Holly loves to spoil this girl! She now has two favourites!! But I'll be ordering bags of replacement squeakers in bulk soon.....and I'll be overjoyed to do it!