Thursday, January 31

Frosty Paws, a Penguin and a Bowl full of stamps...



The following is somewhat of a "Catch Up Post".

This past monday the girlz received a special package from their friend Garth over at The World according to Garth Riley. You see a few weeks ago Garth and Frosty Paws had a terrific giveaway (some certificates for some FREE Frosty Paws and a stuffie!! Well, the girlz were one of ten lucky winners. Many thanks to Garth and Frosty Paws for these yummy treats. I do think we will wait til it's a bit warmer to get the Frosty Paws though. Their paws are pretty frosty now!!

as you can see here is the box from Garth
Gracie wasted NO time ripping into the package.

She was so excited to get into that box.

Here's the loot...certificates for 2 boxes of Frosty Paws, a Frosty Stuffie (not for dogs) a nice letter that Garth dictated to his human to write,
 Garth's business card--
he's a famous Trick Dog/Philosopher, a therapy dog, entertainer and a MODEL!!!

Schatzie with the prizes.

On to another subject....
Wednesdays post included a photo of 
Gracie either yawning or reacting to having to wear her boots.  
The answer was YAWNing... she had just woken from a nap!!


Penguin
So what's up with this penguin??? This is Schatzie's favorite toy. He is only about 4 inches all and 2 inches wide. She got him for Christmas from her Santa Pal Joules at Fear the Beards  I just love to watch her groom him, snuggle with him and best of all keep him away from Gracie. You just never know where Penguin will pop up!!  Penguin STILL squeaks and that's a miracle around this house with Miss Gracie. 

Another Prize!!!
In December we were lucky dogs again when we were winners in the PBU daily Christmas give away.
We opted to get this fancy dish with Gracie's name on it. 
Many thanks to Pam and Oskar at Pet Blogs United for this very useful prize.
It's holding all of our used postage stamps!!
What are we going to do with these stamps--glad you asked!!
We are saving them to send to our friend Lori at What Remains Now
she then sends them to her friend in the UK to help with Grey Hound Rescues.
Something easy and for a great cause--join us!!


last but not least it time to get some color back in my life!!!
I've had enough of these gray days :)

Hope you are having a great day.

Wednesday, January 30

Wordless Wednesday....


Is it a yawn or a reaction to having to wear her purple boots?!?!?

We'll be back tomorrow--gotta shovel some snow!!

Sunday, January 27

When I listen...

It was another gloomy day for us, it would have been easy to curl up on the sofa and watch movies, 
read a book or maybe just take a nap.
but....I decided to listen to the girlz urging me to take a walkabout the property late this afternoon. 
 At first the girlz weren't too excited because they had to wear their purple boots, 
but once out the door we were destined for a messy walk. We love messy!!

Come see what we found.

 The trees looked as though they were weeping...

or did we find a diamond in the rough

 A milkweed seed in slumber

and some were all exposed...

oh yes, it was messy

 at times the girlz were barely visible...

the sound of silence was so peaceful.

there was so much to explore and sniff 

 Look what I would have missed had I neglected to listen.
.
Thanks Girlz :)

Have a great week.

Val and the Girlz

Saturday, January 26

January Blues...



I've been in somewhat of a frump the past week, guess the January blues bit me in the behind. 
It was past time to take the girlz out for some photos, 
 They made me laugh, they knew just what I needed. 
Happy Sunday

val

Monday, January 21

Cuz, I'm the leader...


Whenever possible I love to take the girlz out on our property (80 acres) and just let them be, well...dogs!
They are not leashed, they can run, sniff and chase to their hearts content. I usually have the camera in hand, you know just in case there's a photo opportunity. We have a number of  wooded areas, 4 ponds  and  3 small pasture areas and  a number of pheasant and quail, so the girlz have plenty to explore. I do my best to give the girlz variety in their adventures. If I'm moving they're moving.  But, what I find amusing is that once I plop myself down to observe my surroundings they follow my lead. Bottoms down!! 
They watch my every move...
 I smile...
I guess I really am their pack leader. 

watching the world

Gracie's turn to watch me

 Schatzie's  turn

So do your dogs follow your lead??

***30/30 Challenge Update***
the Girlz have only missed 1 day due to pouring rain.
I have missed 2 days due to the dreaded flu.

Happy Monday Everyone.


Saturday, January 19

A New Hat...



Thought I would share a shot of Gracie and her new Heidi hat that she got from Auntie B.  Auntie found a lady in Minnesota that makes these cute hats for dogs. Well I had to have one for each of the girlz.  As you can see in this photo Gracie was not as excited about the new head gear as her momma.

Want to thank you for the kind words of encouragement for Miss Gracie. She received her 3rd Adequan shot yesterday.  I don't know if I am seeing much change in her movement yet, but it maybe cause I just want her to be "perfect" again right now--Patience is not my best virtue. She is also taking extra fish oil, cosequin plus and receiving lots of EXTRA belly rubs while resting on her big bed in front of the woodstove.
We continue to do our walkabouts as it is important that she keeps those knee joints moving. She seems happy to be with her pack exploring the farm. I have noticed that when she stops the rear legs just quiver. That makes me nervous.
I have some questions to throw by Dr.J. when we see her again for Gracie's evaluation. Thanks to you I will ask about water therapy, cold laser treatment and pain meds.  I am thinking just like us humans with arthritis the cold temps must be dreadful on her joints---wonder if I could talk my husband into moving back to Hawaii for the dogs sake??

I must apologize for not visiting and commenting  your blogs lately. I am having issues with my computer again and do believe it's about ready to head for the technology junkyard. Been busy backing things up (especially photos) cuz, I know one of these days ---bam it's going to be gone.  Plus, living in rural America has other issues with internet connections. Let's just say that satellite internet providers are not what they're cracked up to be....Hopefully these situations will be remedied in the near future.

Happy Saturday.


Thursday, January 17

The Journey...

As you journey through life,  choose your destination well, 

 but, do not hurry there. Avoid the shortcuts

wander the back roads.

 enjoy the scenery

and remember the true worth of your travels lies not in the destination


 but in who you become along the way.



*author unknown*

Wednesday, January 16

A few words...


"which one of my photographs is my favorite??
the one I'm going to take tomorrow."

*Imogen Cunningham*

Monday, January 14

Mischief Monday...

Whacha got  in your mouth Miss Gracie????


oh, I see, a mouth full of SNOW!!!
you are such a cool dog :)



We want to thank all of you for your concern about Gracie. We've been doing lots of research
 concerning her situation all weekend.  Lots of  things to consider and ponder.
We've  shed a few tears for our girl the past few days.
Thanks again for your concern. We'll keep you posted.

Val and Ron

Saturday, January 12

Hips and Knees...Knees and Hips


Friday was spent at the veterinary clinic having Gracie examined, x-rayed and given a shot!!


The good news is....Gracie's hips are GREAT!!!  
 The bad news is her knees are terrible... :(

The past couple of months we have noticed that Gracie has had more difficulty getting up and tends to not want to stand for any length of time. We would find her plopping herself down or doing what I call a lazy dog sit. There are times we find her also tip toeing on her hind feet. After viewing her x-rays we now understand the problem(s). 

 The left knee(teal arrow) is actually the worst. The xray shows degenererative joint disease (DJD) which basically means the cartilage around the knee is breaking down. With this she is experiencing stiffness and pain in that left knee. Her range of motion is restricted and we are finding that it's painful for her to do full extension or flexing of that knee. She would make a good soldier dog.  Dr. J  is finding a "thickening" around the joint which indicates swelling or possible collapse of the joint. Not much can be done with the left knee other than pain meds and physical therapy (such as water walking) But we do need to keep her active and moving!!!

The right knee (pink arrow) appears to have a ACL tear (not uncommon in larger active dogs) and some DJD but not as severe as the right. Surgery is an option to repair the right knee and it would give Gracie at least one good leg to stand on. The surgery would require Gracie to be confined for the first 4 weeks in her crate--only to be let out to potty and for therapy. The  next 4 weeks would be very light and supervised activity until she is fully healed. My concern here is that the right knee would then be totally  inactive thus causing more stiffness and possible atrophy of that joint.

At the present time we are going to treat Gracie with Adequan shots (2 shots per week for 4 weeks) we will then reevaluate with Dr. J  and decide if surgery is the best option.

I do need to clarify...Gracie was x-rayed  2.5 years ago for a possible injury to her back/hip/knees when Schatzie t-boned her. At that time nothing showed on the x ray indicating that she had injuried
her hips,back or knees. She was placed on light exercise and seemed to heal from the injury. Hindsight would led us to believe that it is this injury that is causing the issues now.

So for the next month we will administer the Adequan shots, moderate exercise and massage the knees before getting up for exercise. The most important thing for us is that Gracie is comfortable, pain free as possible and can live a quality life with the issues at hand.

I would love to hear from anyone that has or is dealing with the DJD and the ACL issues. Please leave a comment or you can email me at vjbloy(at)gmail(dot) com.

thanks,
val






Friday, January 11

{See Beautiful}

 It's the 2nd Friday of the month so it's time to......


Breathe. Let go. Remind yourself that every moment is the
 only one you know you have for sure.
*unknown*


Once again, my girlz help me to {See Beautiful} when I least expect it.


Thursday, January 10

Help Bring Rex Home...

Dear Readers and Followers,
I am sharing a bit of a different post today. This is a story that I have been following on Facebook for a couple of months now and it is just HEARTBREAKING!! Now I know not everyone does the Facebook thing so, I am trying to help spread the word about this dog.
The photo below is of a beautiful 4 month (at time of abduction) German Shepherd Puppy named Rex that is missing. Rex is approx. 9 months old now. This dog could be anywhere!!  He may have been stolen then sold with the new owners not knowing he is a stolen dog.  The dog is micro chipped.  I asked the owners permission to share this information here on my blog concerning Rex. Please if you know of the whereabouts of this dog or know someone who may have recently gotten a "new" puppy PLEASE share this story. Or better yet, be so kind as to share it via word of mouth or on YOUR blog.

thanks so much,

Val :)

The following photos and story provided by:
 Alisia McIntyre/Highlander German Shepherds, Bryan, Michele, & Richard Gosman




Our German Shepherd Rex who was being trained to be a service dog has been missing since
October 01, 2012 from his home in Montauk, NY.  We have been desperately searching and doing everything possible to find him.  He had a collar on with an ID tag as well as the Home Again microchip.  We strongly believe that someone has him.  We have had multiple search and rescue teams come in and they tracked his scent to the parking area of the Edward Albee Foundation where they abruptly lost his scent....at that point someone must have taken him away via vehicle.
 
We have put up posters, sent posters with all of his info to veterinarians, shelters, rescue groups covering the tri-state area.  We have utilized a Pet Amber Alert service, Home Again the microchip company has sent out alerts ....everything you can imagine.  We have a Facebook page set up with close to 2,000 followers who are trying to help reunite Rex with his 7 year old best friend Richard. www.facebook.com/BringRexHome
 
There is an $8,000 reward for Rex's return or info leading to his safe return.  We can be contacted anytime day or night 845-224-9170.
 
Yesterday a man contacted us via email stating that he had Rex and would return him as soon as we had his money ready.  This email correspondence went on all day until we found out it was a scam, and the man was actually from Nigeria!
 
We love Rex and miss him more than words can say.
 
We need the media's assistance.  We are praying that someone will recognize him and contact us.
All we want is for our puppy to come home to Richard his 7 year old best friend.  We aren't looking to get anyone in trouble.  We just want our puppy back.  This is killing us.  Richard is having nightmares and traumatized!  Rex is a very loved member of our family.
 
Please help.
 
Thank you in advance for any assistance that you can provide.
 
Sincerely,
 
Alisia McIntyre/Highlander German Shepherds, Bryan, Michele, & Richard Gosman

(The following photo is of Richard and his puppy Rex. The child is devastated and dearly wants his Rex back.)




Monday, January 7

because...



every move you make, every step you take, I'll be watching you!!

Flip Flop Photo Hunt #1


Participating in
Little Adventures

January  week #1 
Found this fun photo challenge via my new friend Amanda .
each Thursday we are given 5 photo clues, you snap away and than you have
 til Monday evening to post your photos.

I'm going to add an extra challenge to myself by  incorporating
 photos of the girlz (if possible:) in each clue.
Tell me what you think of my shots.

#1 Comfy
who else but Miss Gracie snoozing near the Christmas Tree

#2 New
exploring the *new* day

#3 Feet

#4  Contrast
Silhouette of Schatzie

#5 Teal
This was the most difficult find for me--not a lot of color in my winter world.
As I was out with the girlz yesterday they led me to one of my garden ornaments.

that's all folks....

thanks to Amy at Little Adventures for hosting this FlipFlop Photo Adventure.