Pupdate on Penny. Sorry we are a couple days late!

Hi, every buddy! It's me, Penny! My mom promised you a pupdate a few days ago, but she has been spending most of her time taking care of me. It seems that I have an enlarged heart which causes me to pant constantly. I also have a thyroid problem so I will be on medicine for the rest of my life. My kidneys are doing something weird...my BUN is off the charts, but my Creatinine is at high normal. My liver enzymes are elevated and so is my Potassium. Oh, yeah, and with my right eye, I can still see a little bit of light, but not much else. My left eye is a little better, but not much. It is getting harder and harder for me to get up and down the steps even with my mom's help. I will GO out the front door, now, but I won't do my bidness on a leash. Sorry, that's just the way it is! Sometimes, when I sit down on the kitchen floor (which is wood), I can't get back up without my mom's help. I think I already told you that I have skin cancer. Right now, all I have is one lump on my back and it doesn't bother me at all. Mom leaves my hairs a little longer so no one gets grossed out.

A week ago today, my mom took me to see a new v-e-t. It seemed to take us a looooong time to get there. Lately, it seems like our regular v-e-t is trying to pay off his new building by charging us way too much. Aunt Wendy told us about a v-e-t who is just getting started in our area, so off we went. He was very nice and even though he stole my blood, he seemed to really care about me. We were planning to have my toothers cleaned, but he said it would be an extremely high risk to put me out. He gave me 3 different medicines and we went back home. I am still interested in my foodables and once I get down the steps, I can move pretty darn fast. I'm not having any accidents in the house. Mom talked to the dogtor about accupuncture for my leggies, but he said that with all my other problems, he is not sure he would recommend it right now. We will be going back to see him again in 40 days from last Saturday. He will re-evaluate my situation then. In the mean time, I am just doing what I normally do...eat, sleep, pee and poop. Oh yeah, I beg for foodables whenever Mom eats something!

And now, Princess Patches wants to tell you how she was humiliated yesterday. Hi, it's me, Patches. We already told you that our vet charges an arm and a leg, so Aunt Wendy told us about a place that gives affordable pet vaccinations. I was due for mine at the end of June, but my mom didn't have an extra three or four hundred dollars laying around! Yesterday, my mom loaded me in the Aire-mobile and we drove about 15 miles to a pet store. Nope, NOT a vet's office...it was a pet store where they sell stuffs for pets! The dogtor and vet techs only do the vaccines from 4 to 5 p.m. We got there at 3:30 so we were only about 4th or 5th in line. Thank doGness, my mom is ALWAYS early. There were about 50 peeps there and about 30 doggies and kitties. We met a cute little Italian Greyhound named Dash. Boy, could he jump! He jumped almost as high as his mom's head! I was pretty sure he had springs in his leggies!

The peeps started giving the vaccines right at 4 p.m., so we were out of there by 5:05 p.m. Woohoo! I gots all my shots and even a heartworm test! Mom bought a 6-pack of my anti-heartworm pills and our whole bill came to about a third or fourth of what it usually is. Woohoo!

Well, everydoggie, that's about it for today. Sorry it isn't happier news, but somehow, we will get through it! We hope everydoggie has a great August!

Aire-hugs,
Penny & Patches

We interrupt this bloggy for a public service announcement (aka advertisement)!

Hi, everydoggie! It's me, Patches! I get to do the posting today because I am a toy HOG! We have been asked by the nice peeps at the Kong Company to test out one of their new doggie toys. It is called Kong Squiggles and boy, is it FUN!

They each have a stuffie head with a squeaker inside and and a teeny tiny bit of stuffing (so we make less of a mess once we do surgery on them. The butt (or bottom end) has a squeaker inside, too for twice as much fun! The middle has some kind of twisted squiggly thing and when you shake it, it's kind of like playing tug-of-war with YOURSELF! It's a good thing too, 'cause Penny thinks she is too dignified to play tug with me!

Aunt Wendy happened to be at my house when the Kong Squiggles arrived. She grabbed one and made me chase her to get it. She let me jump on the big peepol bed! (Normally, I am not supposed to be up there. Shhhhhhhh...don't tell my mom!)

I have been having loads of fun with our new Kong Squiggles! And our mom is looking forward to a much smaller mess when I go all "ninja" on it. I haven't done it YET, but believe me, the time WILL come!

Penny (who is usually the squeaker queen)has even played with hers a few times! That's when I LET her! She might be the squeaker queen, but I am the keeper of ALL the TOYS in this house. We give the Kong Squiggles 8 paws UP!

We know a lot of you are wondering about Penny. We will be back in a couple of days with a PUPdate! (She's doing okay, for now)!

Aire-hugs,
Patches (and Penny too)

Please send us the power of the paw, Aire-zen, Wiry-zen or whatever you have!

Hi, every buddy! It's me, Penny! Mom let me do the post today to ask all of you for a BIG favor. Lately, I am having trouble getting up and down the steps and I HAVE to get down there to do my bidness. When I am coming back up, I do pretty well until the top step. Mom has been helping me! She goes down the steps with me every time I go and she's right behind me when I come back up...just in case I need some help. Most of the time, I need at least a LITTLE help! Mom has been trying to get me to go out the FRONT door because there are only 2 steps there. It's not likely that I will go out that way any time soon! For the more than 11 years that I have lived here, I have always known that I wasn't allowed out the front door. And NOW she WANTS me to go out there! What is WRONG with that woman?

I would really appreciate it if you could all send me some Aire-zen, Wirey-zen or whatever kind of zen you have! I know that the Power of the Paw works and I could sure use some right now!

Yes, I am almost 12 1/2 years old, so this is no big surprise, but it would sure be nice if I could have some more time to go up and down the stairs by myself. Two days ago, I made it to the top step, but then I couldn't stand all the way up to walk into the house. My mom REALLY freaked out then! Once she got me settled and I was stretched out on the carpet, she jumped into the Aire-mobile and went to the health food store. She got me some soft chewy peanut better thingys that are glucosomine and condroiten. They are suppose to help strengthen my back leggies...at least that's what the man at the store said.

Mom went to the v-e-t and got me some pills for pain. I only have one week's worth because they want to SEE me! (Of course they do, they can't charge my mom for an office visit if they don't actually see my beautimous face!) Other than the issue with steps, I'm doing pretty well! I am still snarfing my food down really fast and Aire-snapping at Mom and Patches. Yesterday, I even had a bath and toenail trim. My mom took me in the shower and we BOTH got clean! That wasn't exactly how it was supposed to go, but that's how it worked out! I laid down and let my mom cut my toenails! All 20 of them! Mom thought it was a miracle! Too bad she can't do that to Patches! Not even with a muzzle! I don't need no stinking muzzle, because I'm a gooooood girl!

Well, every buddy, my pain pill is making me kind of sleepy zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Aire-hugs and big thank yous to everyone who sends me healing thoughts!

Penny (and of course, Patches)

We still need a new dog-secretary!

Hey, everybuddy! It's me, Patches! Yep, we're still here and still in need of a new secretary that speaks and understands Airedale-ese! We have our own language, ya know! It's not bad enough that our mom won't post for us, but 2 days ago, she disappeared for almost ALL day! First, she and Aunt Wendy came home smelling like a ginormous Japanese or Chinese Mastiff. (Can't remember which!) He was only 7 months old and and already weighs well over 200 lbs. He is going to be a biiiiiiig boy!

If that wasn't bad enough, later they came back smelling like a bunch of horses! Mom said she trimmed Aunt Wendy's horsie's mane and tail. Tipper was a good girl and stood pretty still while Mom trimmed her hairs! Normally, our mom is kind of scared of horsies because they are sooooo big and with her dental implants, she is always afraid that a big horsie could break her jaw. She wasn't afraid of Tipper at all...Tipper is so gentle and doesn't make any sudden movements. She's in a barn with lots of other therapy horsies and we sure wish we could meet them!

Well, once again, since our mom doesn't know which picture loaded first, we'll just tell you...the cake is one that our mom made with pineapple and raspberries. She force-fed it to Aunt Wendy and Unkle Bill! The other two pictures are me and Penny! I'm keeping an eye on my new stuffie leopard. He has a tendency to roll over on me when I perform my secret ritual on him! And he's sooooo big that he makes ME look small! Usually, I don't let Penny get anywhere near him, but last night, my mom told me that Penny was sleeping with her head resting on him! The NERVE of that doggie! It's a good thing I didn't see it!

Last Saturday, another huge piece of a Bradford Pear tree came down between our house and our neighbor's house. This time, we were lucky...it missed our fence and our house by about 6 inches. It did crush our Gardenia bush, but we think it will be okay. This time, our neighbor (who owns the trees) has decided to have all 3 Bradfords cut down. Normally, our mom is always against taking down healthy trees, but this time, she has to take the risk into consideration. It's just a matter of time until one of the trees damages our house or fence. We still haven't figured out why they ALWAYS fall towards OUR house instead of the owner's! We are very lucky that the tree owner is willing to cut up and haul off the broken limbs because the law says that if your neighbor's tree damages YOUR property, it's YOUR responsibility to cut up and haul-off the broken tree! (Unless the tree is dead and you have warned the owner to take it down.) We would like to bite THOSE law-makers in the butt!

Well, everybuddy, I think the rain has stopped so we need to go outside and make sure there are no skwerrels in our yard!

Aire-hugs,
Patches (and Penny too)

Before and after the Aire-cut!

Hi, everybuddy! It's me, Princess Patches. I wanted to show you my before and after pictures, but for some reason, the AFTER pictures loaded first. I think it's my mom's fault! Anyway, yesterday, Aunt Wendy and Mom lured me down to the basement and gave me a serious Aire-cut!

And if that wasn't bad enough...this morning I got a bath! Mom tricked me into the bathroom and then shut the door. She knows that I always show up whenever she sits on that porcelain thingy. It's almost like there is a string tied to my body. EVERY time she sits down, here I come! Anyway, she sat down like she always does, but this time, she grabbed my collar as soon as I made my appearance! Soooooo NOT fair! Penny didn't have to get an Aire-cut OR a b-a-t-h. Mom says her turn is coming!

In my BEFORE pictures, I kind looked like a wooly bear! And that was AFTER Aunt Wendy trimmed my face so I could see again!

Sorry it took so long for us to post. It's been way over a month and our mom has used every excuse in the book on us...it's too hot. It's too dry. I have too much to do!...the list goes on and on. Well, Penny and I aren't buying ANY of it! We know she spent a lot of time making devilled eggies and macaroni salad when she could have been posting for US. And did we get any? Nope, not a single bite!

Mom is almost always in front of the 'puter or weed eating or mowing grass. And when she's in front of the 'puter, it's always for the wrong reasons. We need to get her in front of it more to post for US! She KNOWS we need to keep up on what's going on with everydoggie! We were very sad to learn that the famous (or infamous) Joe Stains made his journey to the rainbow bridge yesterday. Run free, Joey and torment all the other doggies!

Aire-hugs,
Patches (and Penny too)

Good news! Happy Passover and Happy Easter!

Hey everydoggie! It's me, Penny! Again! Can you believe it? The doggie in the picture is ME! I'm a little hard of hearing now, so my mom was able to sneak up on me with the camera. Actually, she didn't sneak...she had the camera on the table next to her chair so she was ready whenever she could see my beautimous face!

I have some good news to share! It looks like I had an infection instead of kidney disease! Woohoo! Mom is still thinking about putting me on some kind of kidney diet, but it's kind of tricky since I have skin cancer. It seems that some kidney diets can actually aggrevate skin cancer. Mom will be doing lots of research before she changes my diet.

The second picture, above, is our guest bedroom. Do you think any guests would want to stay in there? I don't think so! It seems that our mom's eBay activities have spread out from the garage and the computer room to the guest bedroom! In fact, it's worse now, than it was when she took this picture! Unfortunately, right now, she's buying more than she's selling. I don't think it's supposed to work that way! We're hoping that changes soon!

We would like to say Happy Passover to all of our friends who celebrate it and Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates Easter! All you doggies...stay away from the chocolate bunnies and eggs! Uh oh! Now my mom has an overwhelming urge to go to the grocery store! I guess I'll let her go, but she better come home with something good for US!

Patches says, "Hi". She's totally jealous that I have done the last two posts! Neener, neener, neener! Besides, our mom says that anydoggie who barks at the birdies chirping, doesn't deserve to do any posts! Ha!

Aire-hugs,
Penny (& Patches too)

We need some advice!

Hi, everydoggie! It's me, Penny! Yeah, I know...I hardley ever get to post, thanks to that "other" dog! Today, we are looking for some advice. A couple weeks ago, I had all my yearly shots and the v-e-t removed a mass from the tip of one of my ears. It kind of looked like a raisin but it kept bleeding. Yep, it was skin cancer. I had one sort of like it, a few years ago, on the same ear and didn't come back until now. The problem is that he didn't get all of it, so we are SURE it will come back (or go somewhare else!) This isn't our biggest concern, though!

Mom let the v-e-t do all the blood tests on me since I am 12 years old now. One of the results has our mom really concerned. My BUN is elevated, but my Creatinine(sp?)is okay. He says I also have very dilute urine with blood and lots of protein in it. Right now, I am on a course of high powered antibiotics and 7 days from now, when I finish them, Mom has to chase me around the backyard and catch my pee in a paper dish! (I can't WAIT to see THIS!)

For now, my mom is trying not to freak out from the possibility that I may be going into kidney failure! She's probably going to put me on a gluten free diet whether I have it or not. We just don't know what kind to get. Some peeps don't like the KD, for some reason and we got a $5 off coupon for Nutro's new grain free. Anybody got any ideas?

If you could see how I act, you wouldn't know that I had anything wrong. I can still make it to the gate in 3.2 seconds and since I have been on the antibiotics, I'm woofing down my food like I used to! I am getting a little hard of hearing, though. Mom says that may be a GOOD thing since I don't bark so much at the thunder. Hey, I don't need to bark...Patches does enough barking for BOTH of us! (That's why our mom is kind of cranky today...it thundered most of the night last night!"

So...if anydoggie has any ideas about foodables or treats, we would really appreciate the advice! I need to go back outside, now, so I can bring in some more red clay. Lots of rain overnight = nice gooshey mud between our toes! Good times!

Aire-hugs,
Penny