Pedigree: Write a Post, Help a Dog

     I just heard about this from My Life with FlyBall Dogs.  It's kind of cool that Pedigree does stuff like this to help out different shelters.

     From now until midnight on June 30, for every blog post written that mentions the "Write a Post, Help a Dog" campaign and Pedigree's commitment to adoption and finding shelter dogs loving homes, Pedigree will donate one 17 pound bag of their dry dog food to shelters in need, up to a grand total of 450 bags!

Picky Eater

     Annie will eat almost anything from just about any one.  She'll take treats from everyone, old and new friends alike.  Paul on the other hand is more discriminatory.

    There are only certain people Paul will take a treat from, and only certain treats he will eat.  When we last saw the vet and discussed raw diets, she said to be sure to add in fruits and veggies with the meat and protean.  Annie has no problem with this and chows down.  Paul sniffs first and then eats, and in the case of today, stares at me as if to say, "Mom, what did you cook?"  I added in bananas to crockpot chicken (just water with chicken slow cooked), dog cream (yogurt, cream cheese, and peanut butter), an egg each, and cut up bananas soaked in the chicken water (I thought I could fool Paul into eating it if it tasted like chicken).  As it's baseball season, I think I can say I struck out with this idea.

     Chicken soaked bananas = Epic Fail.  Annie will usually eat the bananas, even she wouldn't eat these. 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Paul looking at the table he's about to tip over. (It fell on the grass, not him.)

Annie being afraid of the camera (why, I don't know.).

"I is a good boy, Mommy!?" Yes, Paul, you are a good boy.

"Ok Mom, I'll let you take my picture, finally." 

     With the begining of summer comes more time to take the pups places.  Any time I've got to walk Annie and Paul by myself, I prefer to take them to the "dog mall."  It's an outdoor shopping mall that allows you to take your pets into many of the stores.  The realy nice thing is walking here on supper hot summer days.  A mile long walk can take you into and out of stores and therefore in and out of the air conditioning.  Here are a few shots from our last trip to the mall.   

Before Annie and Paul

     We've had Annie and Paul now for 5 years.  But 6 years ago, we eloped.  Among the many reasons to elope were the fact that we come from 2 different parts of the country and trying to blend both parts for a wedding ceremony is a huge challenge.  The hubbs and I got married under a 100+ year old magnolia tree with just the 2 of us an a JP with a simple civil ceremony.  Fifteen minutes and we were heading for sushi for dinner.  (Our first date was for sushi).
     When we got married, most people that we knew were a single race couple.  We were the only ones that are of 2 different races.  This is one of my favorite things about Blogville: we're not the only multi racial couple here.  
     One of my favorite blogs to read is Two Pitties in the City who did a fabulous post about Miss M: 100% Mutt and how she'll be a great roll model for any future children they may have  because Miss M is a mutt who doesn't care "what type of dog is she?"  She just know's she's loved.  And in the end, isn't that all that matters?
     Somewhere along the last 6 years, I heard of Loving Day from my friend Shar.  Loving Day (June 12, 1967) marks the day each year that the Supreme Court handed down it's ruling in the case Loving V. Virginia.  Loooong story made short, the Lovings were a couple in the 60's who got kicked out of Virginia for being a multi racial couple.  The ACLU took their case all the way to the Supreme Court, and they won.  Giving multi racial couples across America the right to marry.  The main celebration is in NYC, but smaller celebrations are found all across the US.

Our Family Copyright 2010 by Rich Terrell

The Clean Plate Club

     Remember growing up and being told you couldn't leave the table until your plate was clean?  Well, Annie and Paul are creating this club all on their own.  Let me explain.
     With the last week of school, I had gone back to kibble for the simplicity of it.  I've got 2 scoops in the food bin that are 1 cup each, A&P each get 1 cup and I'm out the door, or half asleep (or both).  And I don't have to worry about feeding them majorly.  Back came Annie's red bumps, and both needed their ears cleaned out by Sunday.  And with the start of summer vacation, we went back to the raw diet.
     So last night, I made A&P boiled chicken (just water and chicken on the stove) and added in rice, apple sauce, and canned pumpkin.  I grabbed their food dishes and divvied up the food to the tune of 2 dancing pups on hardwood floors.  They sprinted down the hallway, almost knocking me and the food over and sat for their food dishes.   Then, they inhaled everything in the food dish and I heard the metal clang of clean dishes.
     About an hour later, while I ran across the street, the hubs said he heard an odd noise.  He looked into the pups room where the noise was coming from, and discovered Paul was still licking at his food dish, an hour after I fed him.  He was trying to find any of the yummy food left in there.  Well, I had to make him and Annie a good night nosh just in case they were still hungry.  So scrambled eggs and rice worked for a 2nd dinner of sorts.  Another meal gobbled down in 2 minutes.

     I'll add video later today when I can get all of it to work.

First Day of Summer

     I took Annie and Paul into school with me for my last day of school.  For anyone who isn't a teacher or who isn't married to a teacher, the last day of school for teachers is usually a day or 2 after the students last day.  It's the teachers chance to get the room cleaned up, stuff put away, teachers desks cleaned out, computer files that can be tossed get tossed and all of the paperwork that needs to be caught up with gets caught up.

     Paul's first action was to walk into my room, wait for the door to close and his leash to come off and started running laps around the island in the middle of my room.  (9 computers and 2 printers sit on this island, so it's a good size to do laps around).  I crawled around the floor tucking in loose cords and cables and watching Paul and Annie go into chase and play modes.

     Thankfully, anyone who needed computer help on the last day was a dog friendly person.  In fact, one of my friends walked in and asked A&P, "Ok, whose going to pee on me?" Paul simply sat on one of her feet and drooled on the other foot while she petted him.  (Yea, progress for Paul!)

     Several other friends walked in just to pet A&P and talk for a bit before our summers began.  And 2 friends were fabulous enough to keep an eye on Annie and Paul while I ran off and did different things.  My colleague Paul (my present next door neighbor at school) was kind enough to hold their leashes while I pushed 2 laptop carts down the hallway.  (Each cart weighs as much as I do, so holding dogs and pushing carts wouldn't have been a great combination.)  And my former next door neighbor Michelle (now Kindergarten teacher and halfway down the hall) came in and watched them as I transferred her computer files around and ran into the office to drop off paperwork and grab dishes for water.  

     Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of any of the trip to school for Annie and Paul.  But I am a bit excited that the 2 people I work with who are named Anne and Paul did get to meet A&P.  

Last Day!

     Ok, this mornings lesson: while trying to shake the dust out of your stockings, don't wave them back and forth in front of Paul.  He thinks it's a game and "catches" them with his teeth, thus putting a hole in the stockings.  Oh well, happy last day of school for summer!  (Our 5th Graders will be promoted to the middle school today, so I need to be dressed up for running all of the AV equipment in front of parents and grandparents.  Blue Jeans are in my book bag for later :-D ) 

Annie's Gottcha Day

     I shared the story of Paul's Gottcha Day for Corbin's Birthday, so it's only fair if I share Annie's as well.
     We got Annie around the end of our 1st year of marriage, and she was my birthday present, but before we got her on June 17th, she had a bit of a rocky start to life.
     She came from a county humane society when she was a pup and went to her first family when she was only 4 months old with the breed "Beagle Mix" attached to her.  For whatever reason, from what I'm told, she was on a running leash in the back yard and brought into the house only in bad weather.  When the spring came, the family was looking at moving and decided they really didn't have time for a dog.  The mother in this house was a teacher at a friend's school and mentioned to that friend (N.P.) that she had a beagle she was looking to re-home.
     My friend, NP, already had 1 beagle at home, but jumped at rescuing Annie and getting her out.  The night before she went to pick up Annie, NP had a dream that she wasn't a beagle at all.  When N showed up at the house to pick up Annie, she discovered a "large beagle!"  Annie got a trip to PetSmart for a bath (she was really stinky) where they discovered she hadn't had her spay stitches removed (they had been in for 4-6 months).   Then she went home that night with NP to chill with her new friend Percy and hang out with NP's parents, who were up visiting.
  NP belonged to a group called the Beagles of Richmond and had posted info about Annie on the message board.  She knew she couldn't foster Annie, but another member, DC stepped up.  DC had fostered before (cats and dogs) and had a home with 2 dogs and 2 cats in it already.  Annie went to DC's house to be fostered and learn what the word house and home meant.  (Annie still knows DC's house and whines like crazy when we pull up outside of it to visit.)
     About this time, we started looking for a dog.  My husband had talked to colleagues at work about wanting a dog, so friends were on the look out for us.  One of his coworkers said he knew of a dog who looked like a beagle on steroids that was looking for a home, he got the address from his girlfriend (years later wife and Aunt and Uncle to Annie and Paul) and we drove up to meet her.
     One of Annie's foster sisters, Belle, made herself quite comfortable in our laps and Annie realey only wanted to see us to see Belle.  But even at that, we decided we wanted Annie as our own.  We needed DC to hold onto her though for a week because our house wasn't ready for a dog.
     We went home to settle things at our house in place and purchase things such as food, water dishes, and try to figure out what to do for dog toys and places for her to sleep.  (Neither of us grew up with indoor dogs)
     A week later on June 17th, we headed up to Washington, DC and on the way home, we stopped at DC's home and picked up Annie.  It broke our hearts when we picked her up though because she knew DC's house as home in every sense of the word to her.  I picked her up, put her in the car, and we drove home with a very winy pup.

Sitting on Mom and Dad's bed looking bored!

Annie's wordless Wednesday

I decided to join Mom on her bed to get pets tonight!
Hahaha.....I is a smart Annie Girl!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Paul giving me kisses, and Annie looking left out.
Happy Wednesday.

My Favorite Paul Story

In honor of Corbin's Birthday, I'm adding to the Blogville Pitty Post Day.

(Picture from Corbin's Blog, Oh, Corbin)

     While many people I know are terrified of Paul for the simple reason of "he's a pit mix", I've seen a completely different side of Paulie from day 1.

     When we chose to adopt Annie, it was summer for me and my husband was working full time.  She had come from a foster that had 2 dogs and 2 cats for siblings and she was NOT happy being an only pup.  About August she started giving me the "oh, it's you" look.  So we decided to get her a friend.  After looking at different shelters and getting heartbroken over a few different pups, we ended up at the Richmond SPCA.  After 3 dogs, in came Paulie.

     He and Annie spent some time sniffing each other before she went for the play bow, leashes were dropped and they were running back in the small hallway sniffing at things.  But before I could take Paulie home with us, he still had to meet the hubs, who was at work at the time.  I put in the request for Paul to be on a 24 hour hold, told Dexter that night about him, and dragged Dexter up to the SPCA the following night.  

     Please let me set the stage for a moment: Dexter's a big guy.  He's 6 foot and 200 pounds of solid bone and muscle.  I love bringing him into class because his very presence scares the kids.  Which is hilarious because he's such a gentle giant.

    So, I run into the SPCA about an hour before closeing find the person who was working the adoption the night before, and introduce Dexter to him.  We go into the same small hallway from the night before and Paulie comes through the door tail wagging.  He ran to Annie and sniffed her like, "hey, I remember you", came to me and got petted, and slowly made his way over to Dexter.

     Dexter bent down to pet Paul.  Paul flipped onto his back, which Dexter took to mean "rub my belly".  The second Dexter's hand touched Paul's belly, Paul peed all over Dexter.  

     Dexter took Paul to the gift shop to pay the adoption fee and snag a collar and leash (Lupine purchase number 1) while I filled out the paper work, got a 7 day supply of seperation anxiety drugs (what?), and read the paperwork detailing him as an "All American Mixed Breed"(Michael Vick's dog fighting trial was about to begin a few miles from this SPCA) , and listened to his list of fears (elevators, stairs, bouncy balls, and a possible fear of cars.  I still remember thinking, how are we getting him home if not in a car)

    We got our new dynamic duo out the parking lot, unlocked the car, and opened the doors.  Paul pancaked onto the blacktop and peed a 2nd time.  I picked up Annie (she got car sick before we got Paul) and put her into the car and went to pick up Paul, just as Annie jumped out.  Picked up Paul to put him into the car to have him pee all over me, the car seats, and Dexter.  Promptly put Paul back on the ground and proceeded to giggle uncontrollably.  

     I picked Annie back up and Dexter picked up Paul (more pee) I put Annie into the car and crawled in behind her to keep her in the car as Paul was put in the car behind me and the door quickly closed.  I crawled from the back seat to the front (2006 Honda Civic), giggling the entire time.  We pulled out of the parking lot excited for Annie's new friend and onto I-95 South.  

Paul, we found out was afraid of the musical instruments in this picture.

     Somehow, Paul took my climbing from the back seat to the front seat as something he should try doing on I-95 at the end of rush hour traffic.  We spent the half hour drive home trying not to allow him to sit on Dexter's lap.  (We joke now that Paul ate the memo saying he's not a lap dog).  So Paul spent most of the drive to the new house running from the back seat (with Annie trying not to puke) to the front seat to look out the front window and back slobbering the whole time.  

     I tell this story each year to my students when I have to teach them how to use the online writing tools. It's a quick way of teaching them how to do a rough draft on the computer about a memorable event.  By the time I finish the mini lesson, they're rolling on the floor with laughter over Paul, know how to use spell check, and the tab button, and have a different view of Pitt bulls than they came in with.  I've also had a few colleagues who have invited me to their homes with Paul just to see him scared of something and pee on their floor.  (For the record, I haven't taken anyone up on this offer)

Paul at the dog park (Why I love rainy days, it was just him and Annie).

     Any of my co-workers who ask me, "how can you own a pitt?  Aren't you afraid he's going to turn on you and kill you?"  I just lean back and think of all of the pee on that first day, and I can't help but laugh.  

Cooked Raw Diet: take 2

It's been a few weeks since Annie's UTI when we took her off of the raw diet and went back to kibble, and the problems that we had with the kibble have come back.  Red ears, lots of black earwaxy stuff, itchyness, and lack of interest in food. Anne's also gained a few pounds on the kibble that she had lost on the raw.  So we're trying the raw diet again.
The vet last time also voiced problems with too much meat and not enough veggies, so I've added in more carrots now.  Another friend of ours feeds their dogs chicken, rice, carrots and celery, so I'll probably add that in later as well.  Also in the mix now is yogurt with peanut butter blended in (Paul gobbled this up right away).
Added to all of this, it's been nice and cool here this weekend, so I've had the chance to turn on my oven and bake several batches of treats for them (mini muffins and peanut butter cookies) with rice flour.  Most of it has been put into the freezer in tupperware containers for later this summer when it's too hot to bake and they need treats of some sort.
The mini muffins have rice flour, caned pumpkin, honey, olive oil, baking powder, and eggs while the peanut butter cookies have peanut butter, apple sauce, canned pumpkin, oatmeal, and rice flour in them.  They smell fabulous when they're baking and the whole house smells of peanut butter!  Maybe that explains why Annie follows me around the kitchen when I'm baking.

I know this is not the best shot, but it works.  She loves to try to help me bake.