Where Have I Been? In the Nurse’s Office.

So to speak. After waking up two days in a row with a major sore throat I decided to go to the doctor. I have a cold. It just has to go away. I was thinking strep throat or some other kind of infection. Not that I really wanted that but I spent $25 for nothing. Plus the nurse practically choked me taking a throat culture. I swear I gagged and coughed for 10 minutes straight! No lie!

So all I get out of this is time off hopefully paid but I do not know. Nothing like sitting at home sweating while you feel like crap. I did pick up some chicken noodle soup for comfort. Ok, I got some mac and cheese and mozzarella sticks too. What? Totally blowing the workout schedule too. Not to mention Lucie my big, red dog has not had a walk since last Saturday. She brought me her tug toy last night and insisted I play. So I did. Still have to take care of the kids.

Speaking of Lucie, she got sick on the 4th of July. She started acting like she was going to throw up. Then she started shaking and one eye was closing. Yes, I was freaking out. Never mind that my dog was sick, it was the 4th of July for God’s sake! Oh, not another emergency pet trip. Anyway, she tried to eat the dead grass in my yard so I decided to run up to the pet store and pick up some grass. Yea, for those of you that do not know they sell live grass. I assume for all of us people that live in the desert and do not have grass.

She managed to throw up yellow bile before I left. I came back with the grass and she munched about half of it. Not too long after she perked right up. Maybe I should try some to feel better. I do not know what she ate but I did catch my freako neighbor feeding her yesterday. I jumped out of my house and let him know that he is NOT to feed anything to my dogs. They are not allowed people food since the fight. This neighbor does not like my dogs so I do not trust him. Plus, he keeps calling Lucie a boy. Told him 10 million times she is a GIRL! See nothing hanging out down there dude.

So I will stop ranting now. It is hard when your throat hurts and you are bored. Why is there nothing but infomercials on TV during the week?

Another Update on the Dog Training.

My big, red dog Lucie is a star pupil. She consistently performs well despite the fact that the temperatures are soaring here. Last Saturday was low key because it was too much for the dogs. They did the confidence course again. Lucie jumped through hoops, over bars and ran over the ladders.

She made some new advances by getting into a tub of balls, climbing stairs and TA DA!!! She went on the teeter-totter. Of course once it went down on the other side she jumped off. I did not get her on it again but, hey, she tried it. As far as Buddy, he has learned “leave it” and “stay”, although he does not stay as well as Lucie, but it is a work in progress.

Overall, I am very pleased with the progress. I still keep a good eye on them because given the chance Lucie will try to dominate both me and Buddy. Before I go to work Buddy will every morning stand in the back yard. I think that he thinks if he stays out there I will not leave. Sorry dude, if I do not go to work, you do not eat. Me either. Lucie knows I have to go get him every morning. This morning she bolted towards him like to maybe try and herd him. I ended that real quick. Dogs will be dogs.

At least at this point they know they are the dogs and me, I am the pack leader at my house.

Want the Good News or the Bad News.

This is starting to become a theme around here. Well. I will start with the good news. I won a prize at the Ultimate Blog Party! I could not believe it. I never win anything. Maybe I should start playing the lottery. Anyway, I won an American Express Visa Card worth $100.00. Yes and just in time to replace the initial vet costs last Friday night. I cringe every time I open my mailbox because I am just waiting to get hit with the rest of the bill. I hope they take payments.

I now can officially eat and pay rent next month. Nice to know huh? When things like this happen I get stressed about what to do but some how they always work out.

Now for the bad news. But first an update on Buddy. He is doing fine in his recuperation. No sign of infection and he is getting around ok. I no longer have to carry him outside to potty. Good thing because using my floor is just not an option.

I also found that Velvetta Cheese is great for hiding medicine. That and refried beans. I took him off the pain meds because I just could not deal with the psychotic Buddy. At one point he was lying on my couch and his back was to the back of my laptop. All of a sudden he jumped up and put his mouth over the laptop lid and let out a gutteral growl. I jumped up and carefully removed my laptop from his jaws. Other times he would rare back like a coyote howling at the moon and this sound would emulate from deep inside him. grgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrg…..

Scary crap. He did it once when we where all outside and he was on the porch in front of the back door. Lucie, my big, red dog and I decided to hang in the backyard for awhile. This is what ended me carry him anymore. I only help those that do not bite me.

So on to the bad news. I knew I had to make a decision about this situation because if Lucie gets anywhere near Buddy he starts a fight. So for his own good he is going to a new home. A home with no other dogs and no children. This breaks my heart as I have cared for him for nine years. But, it would be wrong of me to put him in danger even if he did start the whole thing. He has never been tolerant of other animals and children. I can not even have him around my grandchildren. Lucie on the other hand would love it if I had a kid. But that is not an option. Hmm, wonder if I can rent one. For now she will have to settle for visits with the grandkids.

I just hope Buddy’s new home will work. I will be able to visit him so it is not like I will never see him again. Just wish it did not come to this.

See, they were friends. Love you and will miss you Budda.

Can It Get Worse?

I came home on Friday expecting to have a nice weekend at home relaxing and staying warm with my dogs because a cold front was coming through and luckily I have an electric fireplace and space heater since they shut down my furnace and started up the cooler.

I sat on the couch and ate my dinner while throwing a french fry or two to my dogs. I got up to wash my plate and all hell broke loose. My big, red dog Lucie and my Chihuahua Buddy started fighting. I pulled them apart and noticed blood coming from Buddy’s ear and what looked like a puncture in the back of his neck.

Buddy was running around crying and I feared internal injuries. I let him outside and Lucie walked up to him and another fight started. Now, this one I witnessed first hand and I do believe Buddy started both of them. I once again broke it up and put Lucie in the house and tried to pick Buddy up but he just tried to bite me. I went in the house and called a vet and told them what happened and told them I could not pick Buddy up. They instructed me to catch him in a towel and then put him in his crate and bring him in.

I managed to do this and we were off to the vet. I spent four agonizing hours there and thank goodness Buddy only had the puncture on the back of the neck and a laceration in his ear. I am sure Lucie only meant to hold him down. The vet said that if Lucie wanted to hurt him she would have. I really can not blame her for protecting herself.

So, I finally got home at 10:30pm with a freaked out Chihuahua and a freaked out Lab. Needless to say I did not get much sleep. I did get pain meds for Buddy and finally made a concoction of peanut butter and milk that he would eat without knowing what was in it.

Of course it rained all night and most of the next day so Buddy had to use puppy pads in the house. At one point I caught him relieving himself all over the space behind my couch. Yea, that was fun cleaning up in the middle of the night.

So now, today 2 days post attack I am worn out and Buddy is finally starting to take it easy. Saturday I had to basically build a blockade and keep them separate. I think Buddy’s pain  meds are making him a bit psychotic. This morning he was laying on my couch behind my laptop and he stood up and tried to attack my computer. Sorry, teeth on the screen does not work for me.

So I am taking tomorrow off to get some rest and figure out how to keep them separated. I guess I will keep them in different rooms when I am not home. Don’t know what else to do.

Signing off, tired, grumpy and in need of a shower.

My Dog Has A Wart And My Power Cord Is Dead.

Yes, my power cord for my laptop finally gave out and and rolled over to play dead, only it was not kidding. So I was on a mission on Friday to find another one. I had a problem though as I could not read the part number and since I was not using my computer I could not remember exactly what the model number was for that either.

I ended up taking it to work and have a pair of younger eyes read the number. Finally I googled the part number directly and came up with a refurbished one for $19.99. Dell wanted $65.00 bucks for theirs! I do like to get a deal on my purchases so this made me very happy. I just received an email saying that is was shipped this morning. So hopefully, another couple days and I will be happily typing on my little, red machine again.

How am writing this you say? Let’s just say I am in an undisclosed location and leave it at that. M’k?

Now on to dog warts. Lucie, my big red dog has this little growth on her ear. It has been there for a little while. I finally had it checked and it is a skin tag or what is a wart on dogs. Basically, it is not cancerous so it will just stay there unless it get really big and starts to take over her head. That would not be nice.

Ahh, nothing like having a dog with a wart.

Lucie Tails.

I am back guest posting on juliannah’s blog. I learned about guest posting by checking out the interwebs with juliannah’s red box that she always has on her lap. Well, maybe not always since she leaves in the morning and comes back hours later to free me and Buddy from the self imposed prison crates.

She still does not know I can get out. We will just keep that a secret ok? So if you want to read more adventures, please take it with you to your grave!

So Buddy and I were having a nice weekend, you know relaxing on the floor, begging for nachos and such. Then along came Sunday. I like Sundays, because I do not have to go in the prison crate. The only thing is juliannah stays in bed well after the sun has come up. Hey, I might have to pee or something! At least Buddy howls and we get a chance to relieve ourselves.

So this weekend, juliannah tried to cut my beautiful fingernails. I like my fingernails. I am a woman after all. Plus, they come in handy when I want to dig the occasional hole in the backyard. I am a dog too after all. I must apologize for the gash that I left in juliannah’s arm, but seeing that contraption clipping thing coming at my toes scared the crapola out of me. And, I do not care if Buddy is too little to revolt! Alas, I am not. I heard juliannah and Corvette talking about some one called groomer. And a muzzle. This does not sound pretty.

Well, that is it for now. I can be found hiding out under the bed. Toenails intact.



Lucie Tails.

Hi! My name is Lucie and I am juliannah’s big, red dog. I always see juliannah play with the red rectangle thing that lights up, so I decided to see the what the fascination is all about. You see, I secretly know how to get out of my crate during the day when juliannah leaves every morning in the little gray thing that looks like bubble cut in half. She actually makes me get in it sometimes. She forgets I am a BIG, red dog.

Boy, am I glad I did because that red thing is a window to another world. Did you know that there are millions of people out there writing about their lives and taking tons of photos? Well there is. Even juliannah does it. And sometimes she talks about me!

So, I decided to do it too! So, as I said, my name is Lucie and I am one and a half years old. I am part Shepard and part Lab, I think. I have short red hair and big brown people eyes. I like to smile, run and play. I love to torture Angelina, juliannah’s cat. I also like to finish up Buddy’s leftover food. Hey, cannot let it go to waste right? Buddy is the little Chihuahua that thinks he can bite my ankles. I can fit your whole head in my mouth Bud so I wouldn’t try it.

I try to stay out of trouble, but I am young dog and I get very tired of lying around all the time. Like I love to go in the bathrooms, steal the tissue out of the trashcans, and then chew it to pieces. See. Apologies for the blurry photo. Buddy had to jump up on the couch and then push the button on that little silver thing with his nose.

I do not see the problem with this, but when juliannah sees me with the tissue, she chases me around the house until she catches me and then rips the tissue right out of my mouth! Geez, I could keep all the trash cans empty you know! I also get the paper towels that Corvette leaves on that side table every night. These usually taste like last night’s dinner. Yum!

I am not allowed on the couch or bed. Again, why not? I am warm and cuddly. I secretly think that juliannah would let me, but, Corvette, big stubborn boof, will not let me. Sometimes though when juliannah is watching TV in bed I jump on the bed and step on the remotes because I cannot stand to watch on more episode of Wipe Out and those dumb people try to get across the big, red balls. None of them ever makes it so what is the point?

Well, I think I hear the little gray thing coming so I had better get back in my crate. Maybe I will come back next week and thrill you with some more of my adventures.

Lucie, the big, red dog.

Happiness Project – Lucie

This is my first time participating the Leigh’s Happiness Project over at Leigh vs. Laundry. Thanks so much for inviting me Leigh. We can not have too much happiness in our life.

This is Lucie,  my big red dog. Yes, I always refer to her as “my big, red dog.” Why? Because she is and she reminded me of Clifford the big, red dog when I rescued her over a year ago.

She is about a year and a half old and still a big puppy. She loves to play and dig (bad dog) and junp on people (pretty much cured that with a spray bottle!)

All in all, I love her lots and she returns the sentiments everyday. Thanks for visiting from the Happiness Project and please leave a comment and tell me about the pet you absolutely love!

I Took the Power Back

Yes I did. I finally started to seriously train Lucie, my big red dog. I got really sick of her literally walking all over me! From jumping on me to not listening and just generally being a bad dog.

So a couple of days ago I changed my whole demeanor. I started apply tactics like not letting her walk in the house before me and making her stay when told. I have not let up and surprise, she is obeying me! It is not taking her long to catch on either. The dog is very smart. I knew that when I adopted her.

So, I am going to run with this. Corvette was very impressed when I showed him how I can handle her now. We still have lots of stuff to work on, but I will not give up.

Yes  Lucie, I am the pack leader now!

Decorating Woes

My furniture is probably over ten years old. So I have been thinking about either replacing it or maybe covering it. It has a southwestern theme which is fine but I am kind of tired of it. I am striving for a simple decorating solution for my house. Although keeping Corvette from sitting out toy cars and machine gun shells from LCpl Honda is a challenge in itself.

I want to have a mix of Southwestern décor with a touch of modern motif. So of course, I resort to internet searches and I found a site that offers many options for my decorating dilemma. The Furniture Store has solutions for every room of the house. I really liked the selection of living room furniture.

I checked out the dinette sets because when we moved to our new house I bought a set that just does not work in our house. I want to sell it and get something that will work better in the space we have.

There is even a section for pets. I have been looking for a new affordable dog bed for Lucie for awhile now. I love my puppy but I am not willing to take out a loan for a dog bed. I found a large, plush dog bed for about $44.00. Not bad.

I am sure I will find what I am looking for. It just takes some time, but I will persevere in my quest to have my perfectly decorated home!