St. Patty's Day Tag!

I just got Tagged by my pals Finey and Darby! They asked me...
(*Directions on bottom)

Q.-Are you Irish?
A.-Ach, no! I'm a Scottish lad.

Q.-Do you and /or your family celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
A.-No, not an Irish one among us.

Q.- How?
A. -...

Q.-Will you wear Green?
A.-No

Q.- What?
A.-Maybe some grass will get stuck to my coat.

Q.-Do you like Corned Beef and Cabbage?
A. Never had it, but I really can't see myself passing it up.

Q.-Do you believe in leprechauns?
A.-Yes.

Q.-Why?
A.-Because who else would make all those animal noises on the tv? I know there's SOMETHING in there!


Q.-What would you like to find at the end of the rainbow?
A.-TOYS!

I am off to tag some furiends...

1. Attie
2. Maggie
3. Duncan Tryon
4. Vinny
5. Rudy

*Here is what you have to do now. Copy & paste this entry into your diary. Please include these instructions, also! Delete my answers and enter your own. Be sure to mention or thank the furiend who Tagged you ! Send a paw-mail or zealie off to the furiend/s you would like to Tag. That's it! You may want to read your furiends Diary entries afterwards and thank them for playing. Have fun!

May the Luck of the Irish be yours, my furiend! Happy St. Paddy's Day! :)

I've Been Tagged!

So I was tagged by my friend Darby and I'm supposed to list things I love.

1. I love my little yellow chicken head.
2. I love my squeaky chickens.
3. I love my blinky ball.
4. I love my small green styrafoamish ball
5. I love tennis balls.
6. I love any stuffed/hard/sqeaky/not-squeaky toy.
7. I love my Mom and Dad.
8. I love my Patah (grandpa) and my Uncle Adam.
9. I love all the other toys I didn't list. :)


Now I am tagging:
1. Atticus Finch
2. Finley
3. Duncan Tryon
4. Sailor
5. Jolly
6. Kyotofu
7. Sparky

In remission

Mom took me to the vet on Monday and we got good news! There is no longer any disease in my eyes! My left eye's retina came back very well, and the right eye healed some, but there was definately damage to it and the nerves. The disease rarely re-occurres, so.......my vet doesn't have to see me again and I never have to go back on prednisone (knock on wood)! Woo hoo!

The prednisone made me gain a bit of weight...ok more than a bit, so now I'm on a diet. It's called the Pumpkin Diet and basically my regular kibble is reduced by 1/3 and replaced with 2/3 canned pureed pumpkin. And you know what? I LOVE IT! Yummy, filling and good for me! What a perfect trifecta!

Hope all you pups are doing well!

Benny Blanco

Feelin' Good

Well, my mom and dad took me off of prednisone a few weeks ago and man, what a difference! I feel like my old self again! I'm playing fetch non-stop and wrestling with Riley. I'm even back to running, which I hadn't done in months! Mom and Dad were so excited until...

Apparantely I felt SO GOOD this week that I just couldn't contain my energy and had to find an outlet. The outlets were: dad's favorite hat, the windowsill and a cardboard box - all chewed. :) Hey, I was feeling frisky! What's a dog to do...play with his toys? LOL!

Happy Spring to all my pals. If you find yourself near a box, take a bite out of it, just for me. :)

Benny

Second Lease on Life

Well folks, it's been a crazy month...or several months, really. Back in September, the end of September, I got an eye infection that wouldn't go away. The vet tried for several weeks and then sent me to a doggie opthamologist. The opthamologist tried a couple of things and then finally my eye got better by November!

Things were fine until the week before Christmas when Mom and Dad noticed that my other eye (the left eye) was infected. They took me back to the opthamolgist and now my right eye had no sight! Since that isn't normal, off to the neurologist we went. That was the Saturday before Christmas. That neurologist did a spinal tap and diagnosed me with GME. If you've never heard of GME (which most haven't), it's an awful autoimmune infection. They don't know how dogs get it and the infected dog usually dies very quickly after diagnosis. They doctor perscribed corticosteroids (prednisone) to help stop the autoimmune response. Unfortunately that is bad for my live and makes me have accidents in the house.

After being sad for a week, Mom and Dad decided to enjoy me while I was healthy, because I was acting just fine. After two weeks of the prednisone, I needed to go back to the neurologist, but they were too far away and wouldn't accomodate us on Saturdays, so we switched neurologists. By this time, my sight was back in my right eye. The new neurologist couldn't understand why I had been diagnosed with GME when, according to him, it can't be diagnosed from a spinal tap. He said that an MRI would show if there were lesions on my brain, and therefore GME.

Well, I got my MRI on Friday and got the results back yesterday - I do NOT have GME!!! The new neurologist says that I have optic neuritis, which is an autoimmune disease that attacks the optic nerve. It's treatable and curable and the doctor has had a lot of luck with saving dogs' eyes, so I might not even lose my sight!

Let this be a lesson to all that second opinions are important!!!

Hugs,
Benny

Tagged!

Well, Boo, Riley and I have, collectively, been tagged by 13 pups! They are:

Atticus Finch, Petey (2x), Daisy, Cooper the Westie, Cooper the Lab, Benoni, Wesley Boo Radley Mueller, Meg, Toby, Furby, Albert and my beautiful girlfriend, Nola! Whew!

So here is how the game will go!
Each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves. Dogs who are tagged need to write down in there own diary about 7 random facts and the rules! You need to choose 7 dogs to tag and list there names. Don't forget to leave them a a comment that they have been tagged and to read your dairy! So here is 7 things you may know or don't know about littlt me :o)

1. I'm very good with children - and when kids are scared of me, I'm extra gentle.
2. I love to be squirted in the face by a hose or squirt gun! I guess I inhereted this from my Uncle Smokey.
3. I will play fetch all day long if you'll throw the ball.
4. I'm slightly possessive over my toys. I may be understating this. :)
5. When I play I make all kinds of growly noises, but when I'm not playing, I hardly ever make any noises, except...
6. I cry at the TV when there are animals on it - even if they are animated!
7. My favorite toy is my Hedgie. It's undergone mutliple surgeries, and only has 2 legs and one eye now, but I still love it. :)

Rather than do this to 21 dogs, we chose to tag 7 for all 3 of us.

1. Finn
2. Kelsie
3. Al
4. Cosmo
5. Duncan Tryon
6. Roxi
7. Gwendolyn of the Highlands

A Rose By Any Other Name...

People are always asking how I got my name. Well, here's the explanation!

First, I am not from the Bronx and haven't been anywhere near New York! I was born in MO and then moved to MD to live with my mommy and daddy.

When my parents were thinking of getting me, they went through several names. Mom wanted Marshmellow (can you believe THAT?) and Dad wanted to name me after a Syracuse University basketball player, Carmello Anthony. Neither one could agree, so Dad came up with something they could both agree on.

My mom's first dog was Benji. He was a Westie, too. Dad's religon has a custom of naming children a similar name of someone in the family who has passed away. So that's where Benny came from.

Now Benny Blanco from the Bronx is a character from the movie Carlito's Way (which Dad loves). Blanco means "white" in Spanish (which Mom speaks fluently), so Benny Blanco just fit! And let's face it, Benny Blanco from Maryland just doesn't sound as good as Benny Blanco from the Bronx.

So there you go, that's the story of my name.

Wags,

Sr. Blanco

Sad Day

Yesterday, my fellow member of Westies Unite, Isis, went to the Rainbow Bridge. Her parents had a hard time coming to terms with their decision, but she was so sick they didn't have a choice.

It turns out that yesterday was also the anniversary of two other Westie's trip to the Rainbow Bridge: Kelsey and Heather. In honor of them and all the other pups who have made the journey, Westies Unite decided to make August 8th our Rainbow Bridge Remebrance Day.

So, though it's a day late, I'd like to remember: Isis, Benji, Sparky, Cyric, Dustin, May, Suzie Q, Kelsey, Heather, Prince, Shamus, Heather, Wendy, Watson, Hagrid, Mishka Ann, Sugar, Glennie, Jamie and all their friends on the Bridge.

Benny

Only Dog

Dear Diary,

Well now that I've proven myself trustworthy enough to be left alone in the house, mom and dad thought it would be a good time for me to get a sibling! They took me to a store to see how I would get along with an 8 week old Cairn terrier puppy.

Let me tell you something, I did NOT like this puppy. Mom and Dad kept petting him and picking him up and loving on him - while I was standing right there! And then this upstart young puppy tried to take the toys I wanted to play with! Well, that did not fly! I showed that puppy who was boss. I took his toys from him and growled at him when he got near me. I even had to nip him on the nose to let him know not to mess with me.

Mom and Dad yelled at me for acting that way, but I couldn't help it! They're MY people! Anyway, it worked because they gave that puppy back and
instead of getting a little brother, I got a new toy.

In the end I got to be what I love best: a spoiled rotten only child.

Wags,
Benny

PS - Please say a prayer for Isis. She's not doing so well right now and could use all the good wishes she can get.

The good life...

Dear Diary,

The past week has been quite hectic! My aunt Boo's birthday was last Wednesday - she turned 13! Boo's a westie, too. In honor of her day, we had a pawtee and my Mommy bought frosty paws for me, Boo, my uncle Smokey and my cousin Ellie May. Those are the best things in the world! I hope Mom gives them to me again!

Then Friday Daddy took Boo and me to get our hair cut. I hate going to the groomers, but Boo loves it. She prances and preens afterwards. I sulk and wouldn't talk to Daddy for a whole hour!

This weekend I got to hang out with both sets of grandparents, Boo, Smokey, Ellie May and my cousin Cappuccino (the brown spotted dog in one of my pictures) and last night I played with my skin cousin, Braeden. Braeden is still a little guy, so he can pull my fur, but it's ok. I love him, so I don't mind so much.

Right now, Daddy has left me to have the run of the house for the first time in months! He doesn't trust me, but Mom is sure that I'll do just fine. It's my house too, why would I want to mess it up? I may be young still, but I'm over that puppy stage.

Although...if they're not looking, I think I'll go jump on that couch I'm not allowed on a few times and then wait at the door for Dad to come home.

Benny Blanco

PS - I made two new friends, Little Bit and Dos Rio Yushula (Rio). They're both sick doggies, so please say a prayer that they both get better.