A Tart Turns Ten

Today is Cali's 10th Birthday.  She's had special treats, extra snuggles and everything a diva deserves.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!  And now..everyone is double digits...

For her birthday...or for St. Patrick's Day...or because it was Saturday, we had Kristen and Gyeong over.  We both had quite a few boarders.  So we had 4 people and 15 dogs.  There are a few missing from this photo.

We had Doc, Dinah, Smokey and Coco this weekend.  So quite the houseful!  And Doc, Dinah and Coco are younger and still like to play.  I call this one Demon Doc

 Smokey joins in

Coco reminded me of Cali..

The season of festivals, vacations and greyhound activities is approaching! Once the weather warms up a bit!

Getting old sucks..

I remember wanting to get older..looking forward to that 'magical' birthday that meant something (driving, drinking..but not together of course).  I definitely make sure and live every day as full as possible..thinking as positively as I can and doing everything now.  So aging for me isn't a big deal..I love life and every minute of it is great.  But watching my dogs age has been hard. 
Two days before my birthday, my heart dog and best friend had a horrible seizure that lasted more than a minute.  I've had Shiloh since 2 days after I graduated college and she was 9 months old.  now she is 15 years and 7 months (we count months now..).  To say we've been through a lot together is an understatement.
The seizure definitely took a toll on her.  For the first 12 hours she was mostly blind and barely able to walk.  We took her to the evet b/c I needed something to calm her.  They gave me Xanax which has helped.  The next day she had regained sight and can walk relatively well. She is very unstable and her right side shows significant weakness.  She still has bouts of manic excitement but not like before Sunday.  The vet says her ataxia may improve if it was just a minor brain bleed..but if it was a tumor or something that didn't stop..it will only get worse.
So far she has remained the same.  And she reminds me of the Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon's Christmas vacation.
She seems comfortable most of the time, exceptionally happy a lot of the time and knows who I am some of the time..
So now...I live every minute with her. 

Cali seems to want to spend time with her too..or maybe she was tired of all her attention and wanted to get in the middle..not sure which.

 What will I do....

Pouty face

We went to the Pet Expo on Saturday. I couldn't resist a quick post to show Cali's pouty face. 
 When we first arrived..bright eyed and relatively happy to be there.

 Just a few short hours later....squinty eyes, scrunched lips and not happy. This wasn't a 'photo caught in a bad moment. I have 10 of these..

 

Luckily, Shane and Dana are much happier about going places and appreciate being with me ;-)  They were up and meeting/greeting with the best of them. 

She is such a diva...but we do love the little Diva..

A little variety

Well, I am happy to announce that Shane FINALLY figured out a bed!  Costco had a new kind of bed and everyone loves it.  And Finally..after 2 1/2 months of access to a bed..he figured it out.

 Maybe the hedgie helped? 

The days have been getting ever so much long which means I sometimes have enough light to play with everyone after work. 
Cali has a big nose!  This is her saying "throw the stupid stuffie!"

 And Cali proves that you can still be pretty even with a red bird in your mouth..

But for the variety..we are watching a co-workers mix breed dog, Rafa.  He is young, big and bumbly..so the EXACT opposite of everyone in the house currently.  So he has been bored...He tries playing with Cali. But I think she scares him just a bit.

 But he is very cute and has been a good boy.

 His features actually made him a great photo candidate..

 But normally, he is very busy and just ran around like a goofball.

 He goes home today and I'm sure he will tell the tale of the 'weekend with the old folks home' to all his friends at the dog park. 

Happy Birthday, Dana!!

Friday was Dana's 12th birthday!  She is out first greyhound and very special indeed.  She isn't the bravest or the most snuggly one..but she is the sweetest one!  She is definitely in the "spectrum" but that is what adds to her 'special-ness'.  And boy does she love to roo and dance!
Happy Birthday, Roo Roo Pants!!!

I think 2013 will be the year our house moves from "senior home" to "holy cow, how old are they?"..at least I hope so!!!
We spent a day at the new Park house. i think my kids approve.

And no, Shane has not figured out how to lay in a dog bed yet.  His aim is just a little off every time.

My parents visited for the weekend.  It has been so cold and subsequently very dry. Which leads to lots of static electricity.  Normally, that just means we shock the dogs and each other often. But for a Shih Tzu..it means something totally different!

 And our stairs are complete.  We know have a very chimeric deck, but oh well. The stairs are now composite and easier for the dogs to maneuver.  We still have to apply the grippy tape stuff, but it has been too cold for it to stick.  So far they seem to like it.  Dana was petrified of it at first, but now she gets it.  Hopefully, by this time next year, the whole deck will look like this.

Stay warm!!!!

Like Diamonds in the sky

Big, wet diamonds..falling for days!  It has rained and rained and rained lately!  I had no idea when I took this photo of a beautiful sunrise on Monday morning, that I would not see the sun again until Friday.  Not even a peep!

We were watching Zephyr, Devo and Rocket during this monsoon. I felt bad as they really didn't get to enjoy the yard at all. 
Zephyr is a lurcher and a sweet old lady.

 Her whiskers were so cute

 Devo is a snuggly Whippet

 And Rocket..the "Oops" greyhound.  Props to his owner for getting him as a puppy.  He is striking..very interesting color!

 They left just in time for the diamonds in the sky to turn to crystals in the sky!  It was such a wet week.  At 10PM on Thursday..we were a little worried for our tree.

 It was a wet snow so the dogs had nothing to do with it.  But the next morning, we saw the sun again for the first time in 4 days..albeit to a different looking landscape!

 BUT luckily..this is Virginia.  So this very day, it went to 50 degrees!  So by the next day, the snow was gone.  And on Sunday, we were able to have friends over!  The next few shots are courtesy of Nerice.  She forgot her memory card, so I lent her mine.  Cali tries to tell Doc that the rules are she has control of the toy!

 Doc, Dinah and Cali

 Shiloh..we started her on 'old lady meds' this week.  The dementia symptoms had gotten pretty bad..we are seeing a little improvement.

And in other news.  Take your last look at our deck steps as they are now.

We want to remodel the deck, but a little at a time. First priority, the dogs are all having trouble with stairs these days. And these stairs are particularly hard.  So far Shane has injured himself pretty badly twice and Cali has scraped herself up once.  Shane just leaps from the third step now..which isn't safe.  So tomorrow..they will be remodeled and revamped in to composite.  Hopefully, next year the rest of the deck will catch up.  But the wallet can only support one upgrade at a time.  The kids will love it..and it will be so much easier and so much safer!  I am excited!!!

Marrow Bone Sunday

Everyone once in a while (usually the week before "Steam Clean Sunday") we give the kids a fresh marrow bone. The last time, they spent most of their time and energy cleaning the outsides of them.  I refroze those bones and brought them out this morning.  They did MUCH better and cleaned the completely!
Cali shows everyone how it is done

 Dana showed a lot of tenacity. She chewed until she passed out!

 Usually Dante doesn't play well with others in this situation, but under CLOSE supervision we let him chew with the others (in the past we have put him in a crate with his bone).  He did pretty well..but I think it is because everyone knows to leave him alone and I kept him from challenging the bigger dogs.

 The girls chew in tandem

 Shane now believes he has truly died and gone to heaven..

The greyhounds play very well with each other..they chewed on their own bones and not a growl/confrontation occurred.  I love my pack.

 So if you wonder where Shiloh's photos are chewing peacefully on her bone, she isn't in to that now that she is very old.  And those of you who know her well, know exactly where she was

 Now, I boil the bones so they can be put out with the rest of the sterilized bones/stuffies.  I have more marrow bones for future Sunday fun.