‘Double the trouble’. That’s what people said when we got a second dog. Naturally, I’d respond with “double the fun!”, which is still true. But double the trouble….seems that although I hate to admit it, there is some truth to that statement.

I work during the day, and so Bonnie is crated and Bailey has free range. It’s not to be mean, or to clearly play favorites. Bonnie is new in our house and tends to have some anxiety when we walk out the door. I learned this through the untimely death of our guestroom mattress. But hey-  you live and learn. We learned that Bonnie being free in the house is a no no.

Bailey on the other hand had begun being out of the crate about a month before we brought Bonnie home. She was doing awesome possum the entire time. Well, obviously not the entire time- otherwise this story will be pretty boring. For the last week she has decided that she would like to be the ‘bad dog’. This decision means that helpless bystanders like my leopard print high heels, Scott’s running shoes, throw pillows, remote controls and my ‘delicates’ have become victims. It’s easy to know when something is up, because her little face isn’t peering through the window as I pull into the drive way. So I’ll be driving home, all “Tra La La” and suddenly it dawns on me that her little face isn’t in the window. Then I’m praying to the powers that be that my new slippers will live to face another day.

Let me paint you a picture. It’s called ‘Yesterday’. Or Wednesday. I come home, open the front door to see a pukey stained crate containing Bonnie and the reminisce of her lunch. Then, I veer to the left and see Bailey crouching down in the corner, guilty as can be. Tuffs of pillow everywhere, random chewed objects blocking my path. And right in the middle of the carpet I see it. That box, all chewed up. The silver wrapping still intact on one side- with five pills remaining. I don’t know where she found it, but Bailey got her paws and chompers on a box of Reactine.

So what do you assess first? The heartworm positive dog puking for no reason, or the dog who may very well be hopped up on allergy medication. I call the vet, they squeeze me in a half hour before they close, and into the car we pile. Two hours later…..I don’t know what’s going on with Bonnie. Bailey had to be brought into the back and forced to vomit in an attempt to get anything pill like out of her stomach. After a mix of charcoal food to absorb any Reactine, we went home. Both dogs were insanely happy to get out of there, and oddly enough both Bailey and my wallet were lighter than when we got there.

In case you’re wondering, it’s $175 to have your dog puke and get the charcoal treatment.

Double the trouble, that’s for sure.  

 
When I was 8 years old, my mom organized a family portrait. I remember it specifically because I had a side pony and retainer, while my brother was rocking the mushroom cut. I am now 24 and have this family shot haunting me since that fateful day at Walmart photo centre. The thing is, I love pictures. They are EVERYWHERE in my house. And although I do love my family pictures from the wedding, I wanted to have some that were a tad bit less formal. With Bonnie being officially a part of our family, it seemed only fitting to get some shots of everyone and their dogs. I think this was the fourth time Liz and I had to reschedule due to the weather. Waking up Sunday morning and seeing those clears skies definitely invoked a happy dance!

You know what is really difficult? Getting four dogs to sit still. If it wasn't Liz behind that camera lense, I'm sure all those shots would have been us surrounding by blurry dog bodies.

Here's my favorite shot- the whole fam jam plus those four legged ones. Below are some more shots of the dogs
I'm going to have to hit up IKEA for some more frames. Yay!!!
 
A friend of mine sent me this link to a site called 'A Letter To Your Dog'. Before y'all click on that link, I suggest you grab a box of kleenex. Maybe even clear your schedule, cause you MIGHT be bawling by the end of it.

How awesome would it be if we all wrote letters to our dogs. Heck, how awesome would it be if they could read them! I'm sure they'd appreciate our witty humor, rolling their eyes as they read over how much we love them. I know my dogs would probably blush saying "Jeeze Mom....why'd you have to be so gushy about us". Then I'd fix them a snack and we'd all cuddle up to watch Long Island Medium, cause that's how we roll in our house.
 
So, here's what I'd like to ask. If you have a dog blog (which by the way IS cool), write your own letter to your dog(s) and post it on your site. If you don't have a blog (which you might as well should), then post your letter under the comments section of this one. It's okay, we can share! (Cough...clearly directed at you Laura. Let's get some Loki stories up in hurrr). Let's face it- there's nothing better than getting a good laugh in the morning at a hilarious letter someone wrote their pet. And you know what- you don't have to be a current pet owner! Ya, that's right Kimmy. Heck- write a letter to your bunny, cat or fish! They will appreciate it, I'm sure :) And we can all benefit from a funny read during our morning coffee.

Here is my letter to my furry monsters, Bailey and Bonnie.

Dear Dogs Butts that take over the couch,

You’d think that when I wake up each morning, cold and shivering, that I’d be upset with the sheet stealing dogs lying comfortably beside me. You’d also think that I’d be mad when I leave the room and return to the remains of a once expensive dog toy all over the place, leaving tuffs of fake snow in its path. Sure, sometimes I wish that you wouldn’t eat the cat’s poop. Actually, I wish that all the time. But there have been times where I do things I’m not proud of, and seeing as how you don’t judge me, it seems only fair I return the favor.

Although I pretend it doesn’t, it makes me incredibly happy when you go crazy the second I walk through the door. The destruction of the blinds covering the windows and intensely high pitch dog scream seems like the right price to pay just to have something be so incredibly happy that I’ve come home. I love the craziness that ensues when I show you both your leashes and the realization on your faces when you figure out we’re going to the dog park. I know there are moments where I can simultaneously embarrass both of you around your dog friends by being too lovey, and I think it’s hilarious that I can do  this to dogs.  I know you don’t agree, but those sweaters I buy you are both adorable and very fashionable. I’d love it if you’d just please Mom just this once and wear them with no arguments.

I know you love me, because it’s written all over your faces. There’s never been a doubt in my mind that the two dogs that I call mine love me until the end of time. But I don’t know if you both know how immensely I love you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect or care for you both. I’d spend all the money I have keeping you healthy and happy. I spend hours telling friends and family all about you, whether they asked about you or not. Doesn’t matter because I’ve developed the amazing ability to relate any story to something funny you’ve both done. I don’t care when a strand of dog hair ends up in my baking; it’s my special ingredient, and makes everything taste better.

You’ll always have a home with us. It doesn’t matter where we live or move to, because we will always take you with us. You’re not just our pet, you’re a crucial part of our funny little family. I’ll always have a warm bed waiting for you. And maybe, just maybe, there might be some Dentabones waiting for you too. I know you don’t know this, but aside from being yummy, they’re good for your teeth. See? That’s how much I love you.

Thanks for being my dogs. In exchange for the awesome devotion you’ve given since day one, I’ll pretend that while you’re drooling on my foot at the sight of some delicious meal that it’s just lightly raining inside. You can do no wrong my two sweet dogs. Even when you eat my shoes I’ll forgive you. But touch my Christian Louisboutin and we might be in a pickle. Either way, it doesn’t matter because life with my dogs is better than anything I could have planned.

The adoption papers are misleading. They show our names clearly printed along the ‘adopters’ line, with your name scribbled on ‘pet’s name’ under the Adoptee section. They say we rescued you, which I suppose technically is correct. The truth however is that you rescued us from a boring, dog-less life. Where would we be having not known the love you can only receive from a pet? Thank you for making sure we never have to find out.

I love you both more than you can know.

Lots of embarassing kisses and cuddles,

Mum xoxo

Ours

10/8/2012

3 Comments

 
A French bear.
Just kidding!
This post is about Bonnie, and her new forever home. Well, I suppose this home isn't new since she's been living there for the past month. It's our house. And Bonnie is now our French bear.
I had postponed posting on here that we were officially adopting her. I was incredibly happy when the hubby said the words "She can stay" that I think I thought I would jinx anything by announcing to the world that she was going to be with us until the end of her days. This weekend was her maiden voyage up to Scott's hunting camp, where she and Bailey ran around like crazy donkeys all weekend long. Some times I wish I could sit the dogs down and explain certain aspects of life to them. What wouldn't anyone give to be able to calmly have a conversation with their dog about not pooping in the house. I admit, I do worry that pointing at a mound of fresh poop on my carpet and getting upset isn't accomplishing a whole hell of a lot. It would be nice to be able to say "Bailey, when you poo in here it makes everything smell like your poop, and it's really hard to clean up. Please don't do it again", to which she'd reply "I'm so sorry Mom. I will never poo inside again". Perfection!
This weekend though was one of those times I was thankful that I can't simply explain things to the dogs. Over the last month, Bonnie has inherited a home of her own, other furry family members, two people that love her to death and four grandparents that spoil her rotten. She's got a bed with her name of it, countless of things to chew and a bunch of people rooting for her. I'm sure for her, she thought she hit the jackpot. But.......she had NO idea what else was waiting. You see, between Scott and I we've got a cottage on a lake during the summer months, and a hunting camp on a mountain for the remainder of the seasons. These dogs literally have TWO playgrounds to run around and be dogs. My little Bonita probably thought that our backyard was an oasis. Well, let me tell you- this dog had a HUGE doopy dog smile on her face the entire weekend. She woke Scott and I up one morning by licking our faces like mad. I swear, she was saying "OMG THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU".
So instead of sitting her down and explaining that we have a cottage and camp, I got to watch her realize it. I couldn't help but think about how far this dog has come in the past month.

This is Bonnie when we picked her up in Toronto.
And this is the picture that made me fall in love over the internet. This is Bonnie in Cozumel.
And this is my Bonnie now.
I love my pets more than anything. Our family is officially complete, and I couldn't be more content. I had a sneaking suspicion that something was always missing....I guess all we needed was our french bear. I've never been so happy about failing at something. Yes, I am officially a foster failure. And I gotta say, failure has never felt so good.

Welcome to the family my little Bonnie. I promise to take care of you for the rest of your life. You will never ever again experience loneliness, abandonment or sadness. We don't know what the first two years of your life was like, but that's okay. It's the life you have now that matters. Enjoy your world, and know that you will always have two owners that love you more than anything.
-Love
your Mum xoxo
 
You know what’s stupid? Heart worms.

You know what’s even stupider? How long it takes to get rid of them.

Bonnie was tested in Mexico and was found to be heart worm positive. That’s how this whole shebang happened really. I saw she needed a sponsor for her medication, so I pulled out the good old Visa and paid for her first round of medication. Funny how this stupid health problem that is driving me crazy is actually the culprit behind Bonnie being here in Canada, with me. I’ll give you that one Heart Worms- but that’s all you’re getting from me!

The last few days I’ve noticed Bonnie coughing. Typically, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. But let me tell you, when your dog has heart worms, you take every single cough, sneeze and sleepy afternoon seriously. Monday night we zipped down to the lovely people at the Bells Corners Animal Hospital to get things checked out. Let me just say, these people are basically angels in scrubs. They are SO patient with Bonnie (and me). They have spent close to 40 minutes trying to cut Bonnie’s nails. And when there’s white fur everywhere, crumbled up dog treats all over the floor, and me sitting on the floor desperately holding on my dog, they simply say “Well that was MUCH better than the last time. Good job Bonnie!”. I mean, holy crap! I know I take the victories as they come, but seeing someone else do it makes your heart melt.

The HW medication Bonnie was started on in Mexico is on back order. Which basically means there’s nothing the vets, Hopeful Hearts or I can do. Our hands and paws are tied. In my head, this is what heart worms look like. I imagine them attacking Bonnie on purpose, with the sole intent of bursting her poor sweet heart.

As much as I’d like these ridiculous little waste of space worms to be cartoon like and easy to smush, they’re not. In fact, they’re very real and are putting Bonnie in danger. Here’s what heart worms really look like. Here is my biggest fear of all. This is the picture I saw in the examination room at the vet. I thought I was going to puke. THAT what was going on in Bonnie?!? If I can’t get my hands on the right medication, I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s not like I can perform open heart surgery on our kitchen island and take all those little buggers out. Heck, I can’t even try and get my hands on the medication because it’s on back order for everyone in the country! At this point, there’s nothing I’m able to do. And I HATE it.

After a consultation with the vet and the God sent people with Hopeful Hearts, we’ve decided on a new course of action.  Until Bonnie’s regular HW medication comes in, she’s going to go on the ‘slow kill’ meds. We’re also going to have an X-ray to see what’s going on inside my little Bonita. Until then, I suppose I’ll have to wait and see what the results are before I react.

But worms, consider this your official eviction notice. If I have it my way, you’re going to get out of my dog A.S.A.P.!