Happy New Year, everyone!

So much has happened since I last wrote! I've had a lot on my plate. It's a full-time job overseeing the house, especially since Mom has been glued to the computer for months now. Besides guarding against strangers, I have to take care of everything else she doesn't get around to.
We have a young fellow living with us. His name is Jorge, but he pronounces it "George" - go figure. He has a big black dog named Barret. But Barret shed so much hair that Mom had a big allergic reaction and he had to go live somewhere else. Jorge goes to visit him on week-ends. We also took in a little Maltese for three weeks named Luna. She was young and very teachable, so we taught her a lot. She reminded us how to play.
We continue to get our monthly massages at the dog palace, and I had really sore paws over the summer, but they're better now.
Here's wishing you all the best in 2013

My sister's latest accomplishment

It has taken her more than three years, but my sister Snow has finally learned how to use the steps to get up on Mom's bed. All that time, she refused to use the steps that Uncle Eric made.
Of course, I don't have a problem. I just DO it. But Sis has to think about everything 20 times. Mom has been trying to tempt her with treats, to no avail. I get up on the bed ahead of her to try to cheer her on, but that hasn't worked either. Mom finally closed the gate to keep me away, and that's what made the difference. She learned to do it by herself with me watching on the other side of the gate.
I'm a little hurt that she wanted me out of the way, but I'm really proud and happy that she has overcome this challenge.

Have Merry Holidays and a Happy New Year!

My wishes are a bit late but very sincere.
I've been helping Mom get ready for Christmas--she even had the carpets cleaned, which left us one night with no place to sleep except the floor (Shudder! Horrors!).
We had a lovely Christmas with friends for dinner, including our pal Gilligan, and relaxation in front of the fire. We hope you did, too.

We are Valley Girls!

Last Saturday Mom and some good friends drove up to Los Angeles and took us along. We felt very important. We got to see Mom's family up there. But it was a looooong ride--3 hours each way. We were glad to get home, but now we can boast that we are Valley Girls.
I'm busy helping Mom with our annual Christmas letter. I write it because she's very busy. Then she sends it by e-mail to our friends.
Here's wishing everyone Happy Holidays!

We have a house guest

His name is Barrett, and he's black and very big. He could be part Lab. He and his humans have been here 6 days so far. His dad has trained him very well, and our Mom is always telling him that he's a good dog. I suppose so.
Here's the thing. He knows better than to play with human toys, but he has found ours. How does he know? He figures it out somehow. He extracted the squeaker of our favorite teddy and bit off the tail.
Sigh!
Plus, he peed and trampled on Mom's favorite flowers that she's been trying to grow for years. Now she's saying "Sigh!"
Hopefully he'll be gone pretty soon and we can get back to normal.

It's our birthday!

Mom gave us real meat to celebrate. Mmmmm!
Sis and I are doing great. We go regularly to the Animal Healing Center for our massages. At first Sis was a little hesitant, but now she makes a beeline for the little massage house as soon as we get out of the car.
Mom is also giving her homeopathic remedies to calm her down. If she skips a day for any reason, she starts to act out again. As long as she's getting her medicines and her massages, she's got her act together.
For my part, Mom gives me vitamins, salmon oil, and some herbs to boost my immune system so that I will never get a bladder infection again.
We've never been better. Wish it weren't so hot.

Bees!!!! Yikes!!!!!! Bee sting!!!! Ooouuuch!!!!!

Oh my. Why does everything always happen to me? When we woke up this morning, the house was full of bees! Yes, BEES!! Thousands of them. Mom posted pictures on Facebook. They were all over the windows, the floors, the walls... It was a royal mess. The whole house was buzzing with the noise.
I ran upstairs to get away from them and managed to step on one. OOOOOUUUUUCH!! I let out a big scream. My paw got all red and the pain was AWFUL. I kept crying and gnawing at the spot. I couldn't put my foot down. Mom gave me a homeopathic remedy, Apis mellifica, and a couple of Snow's antihistamines. And she put something really cold on it, which didn't help much.
A man was on the way to remove the bees, and as soon as he came, Mom took me to see Dr. Hani. He pulled out the stinger, and I screamed the whole time. I am NOT a good patient. Then he gave me two injections, and I calmed down. I'm sort of zoned out now, exhausted from the whole ordeal.
By the time we got home, the bee man had vacuumed most of the bees out of the house and was removing a hive from under the deck on the patio. It was GINORMOUS!! About 4 by 6 feet, spreading out under the deck, attached to the planks. Mom was taking pictures, and then SHE got stung!!

This day will go down in history.

A professional massage - and a fashion statement

Mom took me back to the holistic hospital for a massage. We went into a tiny little one-room house that was very quiet and calm inside. At first I was a bit leery. I'm not so sure any more about going to strange places, especially without my sister. When she doesn't come along, it's a sure sign that someone's going to mess with me.
When Mom told the massage therapist that I'm 6 years old, the lady said: "Good! She's got another 14 years." That would make me 140 in dog years. I like the idea of having a very long life with Mom and Sis.
I lay on the rug on the floor and the therapist worked on my muscles, which she said were pretty tight. I gradually started to relax. She showed Mom what to do. Of course, Mom rubs me all the time, but now she has special instructions.
The therapist said that the place on my arm where my fur was shaved for the surgery looks like a "fashion statement." That made me feel special. Actually, it does look pretty cute.
Mom also picked up more supplements and a remedy for my ear (ouch!). She's putting the supplements in my regular meals, and Sis gets a little bit, too. She's also adding a hard-boiled egg and organic chicken broth. They gave her some samples of dried food that's supposed to be very healthy. She adds water, and at first it looks like gray soup; then in 10 more minutes it puffs up and looks like gray oatmeal--a little better, but still not great. I hope I don't have to eat too much of it. I like the feel of getting my teeth into my food when I eat.
Sis and I are both upset with the weather. We can hear the rain on the roof and the ground is very, very wet. We want the sun to come out soon.

My visit to a holistic hospital

Today Mom took me to see a doctor who specializes in dog nutrition. She wanted to find out if she has to feed me the special urinary food that our regular doctor prescribed. She doesn't like the ingredients. The main ones are corn meal and wheat. There's no real meat (just "unspeakable" byproducts, Mom calls them--personally, I'm not that fussy), and the list of chemical add-ons is as long as my arm.
She worries about genetically modified food. Plus, she thinks that a lot of grain for dog food is grown in countries on the other side of the world, where it piles up in dockside warehouses getting moldy until some ship comes along and picks it up. Mom herself gets really sick if she eats wheat, and she's allergic to corn. She figures this stuff must be even harder for us dogs to digest. She wants me to be well, not sicker than I have been already.
There's more. My bladder stones turned out to be struvites. Mom researched them on the Internet and found that in dogs they are caused by bacterial infections (which is what I had) almost 100% of the time. The point is to get rid of the infection. The Internet says that commercial urinary food won't make any difference with struvites. In fact, it can be harmful because it's unbalanced and I wouldn't be getting the nutrients I need to keep me strong and able to fight off infections. Fortunately, my infection is cured: my last tests were perfect.
So that's why Mom took me this holistic hospital. At first I thought the place was way too smelly. I could tell immediately that a lot of dogs and cats had already been there. It's furnished like a human home with overstuffed chairs and sofas and a carpet and rugs on the floor. Not at all like your usual veterinarian's office.
The doctor is a lady. She confirmed everything that Mom had read about struvites, and she agreed with Mom about staying away from the commercial urinary food. In fact. she congratulated Mom on feeding us a very good diet. What we are eating now is OK, but she wants Mom to gradually start adding more real food. In addition, I will be taking the following medicines: a special herbal formula for urinary health (UT-Grav), probiotics (because of the antibiotic I was taking), Icelandic salmon oil for my immune system (mmmmmm!), and extra-strength immune and antioxidant support. That sounds like a great plan to me.
The clinic also does acupuncture, but the doctor didn't think I needed it. Next week I have an appointment for a massage. I'm not so sure about that. Mom says it's nice and that I'm going to like it.

Stitches out, donut gone

I'm making pretty good progress--I guess. The Doc took out those big ugly staples in my belly and that was a huge relief. Wow! It felt so good to have them come out. The scar is healing fast. Mom says I'm healing in dog time--seven times faster than people. I don't have to wear the blue donut any more.
The problem is that I still feel sort of sick. I'm throwing up a lot, and I still strain to pee. Mom has been giving me an antibiotic, and I think that's what's making me sick. At least I hope so. I hope it's not anything else.
The whole problem is that I have a bacterial infection in my bladder. That's what caused the stones to form. They're called struvites. Mom has been reading up about about my situation.
Tomorrow I go in for a test to see if the antibiotic is working. She also made an appointment for me to see a holistic vet. She says it's going to be fun. I'm going to get acupuncture, massage, and herbs. And maybe she's going to start cooking special meals for me on the stove. Mmmmmmm!