A door

I'm sure you've heard the famous Ogden Nash quote: "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of."

Well, Abby IS that dog.


Seriously. When she's out she wants in, and when she's in she wants out.


Mom was all into the idea of a doggie door until somebody pointed out that the racoons would LOVE for us to have a doggie door. So, either Abby has to learn to open the door herself, or we have to hire a doorman.

Heehee.

And, Mom seriously hopes this will be the last bitey-face-in-new-snow photo for a few months. (This was taken on Friday...)


Seriously? The last snow of the season? I think Mom's being a little unreasonable. I mean, it's only the end of May...

Heehee.

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus

Happy Fourth of July & The Name Game!

Happy Fourth of July everybody! And for those of you non-Americans, well, it’s still the fourth of July, even if you aren’t setting off fireworks, grilling things and keeping bugs out of your potato salad, right? Anyhoo, because it is the Fourth of July, it is time to play Frankie Furter’s Name Game. Which basically (I think) means telling how you got your name.

So, me first. Because I’m the older sister and everything.

**The very first part of this story is kind of sad, so you can skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read sad things.** Mom and Dad had a standard poodle named Ben (actually, he was The Majestic Ben Gurion, from the Majestic line of poodles, and was this super-handsome show quality dog). Because he was Super Handsome (and had such great bloodlines), he was never tutored, ah, neutered, and as he gold older (9), Mom and Dad decided to breed him with a local Golden Retriever girl, so when Ben finally crossed the bridge they would have his direct descendant, and a goldendoodle, to boot. They also knew that TaiChi was not a Spring Chicken, and thought a puppy would be a good thing. Unfortunately, the girlfriend they had picked for Ben was sickie-poo when they were supposed to have their big date, and shortly thereafter (and here’s the sad part), Ben was diagnosed with bladder cancer, and he was not able to have kids. When Ben it became clear that Ben was not going to be a father in his own right, Mom started looking for Goldendoodles.

Mom insisted on a female because she was sick of the boys “marking their territory” in the living room. *ahem* She looked in the local papers and she found me! A family west of Salt Lake City had a female standard poodle and a male red Golden Retriever than they had bred. Mom talked with the lady, and they only had 2 girls left, but Mom and Dad could come visit. After checking out my biological parents’ medical histories and genetic tests and blah, blah, blah, blah, Mom and Dad saw a whole pile of squirming little things, and Picked Me!!! I wasn’t quite ‘done’ when they picked me out (I was only 7 weeks old), and so after saying they would be back, they got all prepared for a new puppy.

Here's my Mom:
And my Very Handsome Dad:

Keep in mind that Abby and I share the exact same biological parents - so my Mom and Dad are her Mom and Dad, too.

And here I am as a wee bitty youngster:

You can't quite see my redness here because the picture is a bit overexposed. Here I am in all my red glory:


And here I am with TaiChi, and my big brother Ben, both of whom Taught me Much About the World:

Heehee. I was so little. And the older dogs didn't know what to make of me!

Because I was Very Red as a youngster, Mom wanted me to have some sort of Irish name. Around the same time, Mom and Dad became very enamored with a teevee show called Burn Notice. In the show, one of the main characters is a woman named Fiona Glenanne, who, in the show, is a former IRA member and likes to blow up things.


Mom thought the name was perfect, and Dad totally agreed. So I was named after a teevee character. Even though I don’t generally blow things up. Heehee.

And in case you've forgotten what I look like when I'm not chomping on my sister, here I am!


Now, on to Abby. And proof that Mom and Dad probably watch too much teevee. Mom and Dad thought I was Such A Wonderful Doggie (no, really, they did) and they knew that TaiChi was becoming extremely ancient and venerable, and thought that I could use a “younger companion” (whatever that means) and on a whim, Mom and Dad emailed the family who own my biological parents, and it turns out that they had decided to have One More Litter of puppies. So Mom immediately said “Oooh, oooh, oooh! We Want One!!!” and because they were so enthusiastic, Mom and Dad got first choice.

And they picked this:


Seriously. They picked this thing:

In all fairness, Mom and Dad both said that it is pretty tough to identify personality traits at 5 week old. Not really being able to tell much about her, Mom and Dad felt that they should just give her a name (so her ‘first family’ could start using it, so Abby would get to know her name). Mom and Dad are also big fans of the teevee show NCIS and really like the character Abby Scuito, the Goth self-proclaimed “Energizer bunny of forensics”.


Even though they didn’t know how Abby was going to turn out, they liked the name, and she became Abby. And while my sister isn’t much of a Goth (other than her lighter hair and dark eyeliner), she is most definitely an Abby. For the record, Abby is often known as ‘Scrabby’ or ‘Abby Scrabbington’ as well as ‘The Mutant Puppy’ and ‘The Little Monster’.

Here she is, at almost 7 months. Quite a bit different from the little squirt Mom and Dad picked out, huh? And note that dark eyeliner she uses!

And no matter how big she gets (there is some debate as to whether she’ll be bigger than me) she will always be my little sister, and thus ‘Little’. So there. Neener, neener. And I’ll have the psychological advantage For Ever!!!

*ahem*

So, to sum it up, Mom and Dad named us both for strong female characters, and I think we are both living up to our names quite nicely!

And for the record, I really do love my little sister - I'm super lucky to have a fun sister - thanks, Mom and Dad!!!!


So, on that note, I’m off to make sure that Mom has all sorts of yummy foodables prepared for today. Dog bless America!

*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby (the Mutant Puppy)

Abby's First Hair Cut

Heehee! Abby got her first haircut over the course of yesterday and today. It took two days because her little puppy brain couldn't handle the excitement of having her entire body washed and trimmed at once, and when they got to her face, her brain exploded. Or something. So they called Mom to take her away and bring her back again today. Hah! She is Such. A. Spaz!

Anyhoo, here's her picture from yesterday, before they cleaned up her face.

And now?

Hahahahah!!!! Look at that snooter!!!

Here's a side-view, so you can get the full impact of her haircut.

Teehee!

Um, Fi, my dear? She looks an awful lot like a little you.

Me? Nope. No way, Mom. There is No. Way that Abby looks like me.

Yes, you do.

Oh crap. You're right, Mom. I've got a mini-me! Good thing she's cute.

And maybe she does kinda look like me.

Yes, she does, dear. She looks like your, erm, how can I say this? She looks like your sister!

Good grief. She does. All I can say is that it's a good thing I'm so good looking! Teehee!

Hmmm. Sisters from the same mother?


Oh wow. This is just Too Weird. I've got a sister. That looks like me. Wow.

She even is starting to do snow zoomies like me....


Seriously. This is just too weird.

Now, speaking of haircuts, I know that I mentioned that TaiChi is pretty much bald after her haircut. Well, lemme tell ya'. This girl has the life! Because she doesn't have much (read: any) hair, she gets to wear a sweater all the time, and (and this is the best part!) Mom set up the heating pad on the bed and covered it with a towel, and turned it on low, so TaiChi has a nice warm spot to get all snuggie in. Being 5,000 years old clearly has its benefits.

A happy, snoozling TaiChi!

On a final note, here's a picture from the "It Should Be in National Geographic" files.... (My little sister is becoming not so little...)



*kissey face*
-Fiona

It's MY bloggie and I'm going to vent. So there.

If I hear “cute puppy” this or “smart puppy” that or “what a good puppy” One More Time, I think I’m going to hurl. Seriously. The Little Monster goes to PetCo for her Puppy Class and Mom comes back gushing about what a wonderful puppy the beast Abby is, and how everyone at the store thinks she’s So Cute. Oh please. They only see a hotdog-eating, eager-to-please little ball of fluff. They don’t see the monster that she becomes at home.

Good grief. You can see her tonsils.

That's my ear!!!

Even Mom and Dad buy into her shtick. I mean, they get so excited when she poops outside. Woo-hoo. That’s definitely Nobel prize-worthy. *sheesh*

And yesterday? Yesterday totally takes the cake. Mom takes The Monster to puppy class (which is still a class of one – probably because no one else wants to contaminate their dog by being around the Spawn of Satan), and the store is hosting a pet photo thing. So Mom gets some pictures of Abby looking (and I quote) “angelic”. Angelic?!? I think Mom must be stopping by the pub next door or something while Abby is sucking up to the dog trainer, because “angelic”? Not the Abby that I know. I take that back. She can work it when she wants to. I mean, here is the face that she puts on when she's suckering people into buying her Cute Puppy Act.

*gag*

Note from Mom: PetCo was doing one of those fund-raising things, and well, I couldn't help myself. And actually the first 6 pictures we got were a disaster as Abby couldn’t sit still to save her life. But we took a few more after class, after we had been practicing ‘sit’ and ‘down’ for quite a while, and yep. She’s cute. Painfully cute. We are getting hard copies of the pictures (alas, we couldn’t get digital copies), so when they arrive, I’ll figure out how to post them. But OMD. Abby was really working the Cute Puppy thing. Unfortunately, the photographer won’t be there tomorrow when Fi has class, so we’ll have to wait to get her portrait done…

*sigh*

But, at least I can still bitey-face her.

And while she thinks she can do snow-zoomies...

Here short little leggies means that she pretty much sticks to the places where the snow has melted.

While I can enjoy the snow in all its wonderfulness! Because I am all long-leggity-like.

*neener neener*

*kissey face* (unless you are Abby, in which case it is bitey-face all the way)
-Fiona

Winter is here, finally! (Hopefully)

Tank says Spring is coming, but looking at my yard, I think Winter has finally decided to pay us a visit. Given that our snow pack is at 60% of normal, we'll take all we can get! I mean, look at the utter lack of snow on our front porch!


We only have a bunch of snow in the back because Uncle Larry shoveled off our roof...

But, the snow is falling now, and we can do zoomies in earnest!

Even Abby's starting to figure out this snow thing...


Hey, Khyra, if you want to come visit, you are more than welcome!!!

Hopefully we'll have some Most Excellent snow pictures tomorrow - it has been storming since Mom took these pictures this afternoon!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

All sorts of excitement!

I'm afraid that if I keep starting posts with "Mom is such a slacker" that I'm going to just sound like a broken record. "Broken record." Teehee. Raise your hands if you've never seen a record before! Oh. That includes me. What is a record? Maybe Dennis knows...

Anyhoo, let's just accept as a postulate that Mom is a slacker. No proof is needed, and it doesn't need to be stated again. Okay? Okay. Let's move on.

First. Mom thinks that maybe she should change TaiChi's name to Lazarus. Because she's back to eating 2-3 meals a day with vigor. Obviously, anyone who is as old as Methuselah TaiChi is always day-by-day, but given what was going on a week ago, Mom thinks that TaiChi returned from the brink yet again. Which, of course, is very exciting for all of us! However, I think if Mom changes TaiChi's name now, everyone might get confused (especially since Mom seems to have a tough enough time getting our names right... I mean, I've been called 'Abby' on more than one occasion. Mom says it is genetic, but as usual, I have no idea what' she's talking about. Maybe Granny and Grandpa can shed a little light on that...), so I think TaiChi will remain TaiChi. Just so Mom's brain doesn't explode.


Now, on to the whole "school" thing. Hello!!! If someone (Mom!!!) had told me that there would be turkey hotdogs there, I would have insisted that I started school A Long Time Ago. I mean, I can deal with A LOT for turkey hotdogs. And the teacher? She suggested that Mom go buy some turkey hotdogs as special treats, so I totally like this teacher!!! Class itself was actually kind of fun (I got a toy to play with, as well as the turkey hotdog pieces, so that right there makes it a winner!). There is one other doggie in my class, an 8 month old terrier of some sort named Bella. She came with her whole entourage, including her two human brothers and her mom. The first 45 minutes of the class was spent doing stuff where I was supposed to focus on Mom rather than all the other Very Interesting stuff in the room. Our class is in one of the storage rooms for PetCo, so there are big pallets of bags of dog food, and treats and stuffies, and people come in and out of the room getting stuff, so it was Very Hard to focus on Mom. (But the turkey hotdogs really helped!) But, once I figured out that Mom was The Source of the turkey hotdogs, things went pretty well. Then, for the next part of the class, we did a 'socialization' exercise. Which seemed to consist of walking around PetCo and me meeting some other doggies. Mom seemed to be happy with how I dealt with the other doggies in the store. Then, at the very end, Bella and I went back into the room and we got to run around while the humans talked about "homework". I haven't seen Mom hitting the books, but Mom and I have been doing some stuff that involves turkey hotdogs (and other treats). I don't want Mom to get in trouble at the next class, so I hope that Mom is doing her homework, too!

Mom apologizes for no pictures, but she says that I have to be a little calmer before she can manage me, the turkey hotdogs and the camera. Hmmph. I wonder what she means by that.

Now, on to the next order of business. Pressies!!!

Mom actually feels guilty about this next part, but I keep telling her "better late than never".

TaiChi and I got a box from Mango yesterday, and Mom let us check it out...

But Mom said before we opened the box from Mango, we had another box to open.

Another box?!? Apparently Mom was part of Twix's Paw-It-Forward back in November (!), and a box arrived while we were in southern Utah, and because Mom wanted to get pictures, she wanted to wait until she had the time where she could devote a post to it, and things got busier, and, well, to make a long story short, we still had another box to open!

Abby offered to help me give Mom a guilt trip about waiting so long. (Twix even included a Christmas card - which should tell you How Long we've been waiting to open this!)

(Mom feels totally guilty now. This look gets her every time!)

Anyway, it was Well Worth the Wait!!! The box was jam-packed full of goodies!

A Most Excellent package!!! Thanks, Twix!

Needless to say, Abby generously "helped" me test out the goodies.


So even though it too us For Ever to get this box opened and the pictures posted, Thank You So Much, Twix!!!! You are the bestest!!!!

Now, we have to live up to our part of the bargain; the first 3 people who want to be part of the 'Paw-it-Forward' should leave a comment, and Mom will get in touch with you, and will send you a box of goodies; then, when you open your goodies, post pictures, and invite others to play.

Thanks again, and thanks for your patience, Twix!!!!

Mom says that we'll get the box from Mango opened in the next day or two; Abby and TaiChi have been sucking up a ton of Mom's time, and she seems to be tired all the time, so she's slow on getting posts done, and on following on other bloggies. Hopefully in time Mom can catch up on her sleep soon, and get back on track.

I think Abby is finally settling down for the night, so I'm going to nap while I can!

*kissey face*
-Fiona

My Cracker Dog Sister, and an Update

The Little Monster My darling little sister Abby is a cracker dog. Mango warned me, but I couldn't get Mom to listen, so now I've got this crazy cracker dog little sister.

I know this picture is out of focus, but I think it pretty much says it all.

If that's not a cracker dog, I don't know what is.

And another thing about this little monster. She totally works the whole "cute puppy" angle. I mean, she's got our (it should be mine, but since we play tug-of-war with it, I'll call it ours, to be generous) rope toy, and is trying convince me that I don't want it.

Like I would be a bully if I took it away from her or something. *sheesh*

So she's all innocent-looking, and yet, she does this:

If you can't tell, her hind feet are in the air, and she is in mid-pounce on my poor unsuspecting self. I'm telling you, she's crazy.

Do you need more proof? Look at this:

Cracker dog. I'm telling ya!

And the worst part about this cracker dog I've been saddled with? Mom and Dad are so easily suckered by this:

And this:

*sigh*

At least she's good at tugging.

I guess I'll keep her for now.

*kissey face*
-Fiona, the Plagued.

Oh, yeah. Mom wants to add something.


Thanks for all the comments regarding TaiChi. TaiChi was spitting out every food option I was giving her, and so I had resorted to the peanut butter because it was the only thing I could think of that she couldn't spit out. I know that heavy protein isn't optimal for kidney disease, but I figured that too much protein was a better alternative than her not getting any calories. As soon as Twinkie's Mom told me (and others followed up) about Nutri-Cal, I tracked some down, and started to give it to TaiChi today. It is perfect because she can't spit it out, and is certainly better for her than peanut butter. She's not "actively" eating it (i.e. licking it off my finger when it is in front of her nose), but she'll eat it when I put it in her mouth. Knowing that she's getting "good" calories is a huge relief for me. I know it won't cure her long-term issues, but I feel better knowing that she's not starving. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, and thank you for helping me find something that works. And thank you for the support; TaiChi was my husband's dog long before I met him, but (I joke - mostly!) I married him for his dogs, and TaiChi adopted me very quickly and has been my "little girl" ever since. She was even my de facto bride's maid.




She has taken very good care of me over the years, and the least I can do is take the best care of her that I can.

Again, thanks for all the advice and support.

-Dr. Liz