Happy Gotcha Day, Dixie BlackPearl!

So, they say it's your Birthday! A day to celebrate the wonder that is YOU! The one word to describe our darling Dixie? JOY! Not joy. JOY! Happy, happy, JOY, JOY! The JOY in which you approach the day. The JOY you make us feel when you're with us. The JOY that explodes from you when we're together. Happy 9th Birthday, sweet baby girl. We pray for many, many, MANY more!

Dixie Doodle-Bug

Three years ago, after losing Remo and Lucy, we were no longer a Triple-Dog Family, for the first time in over 20 years. How very, very strange to have just one dog. Dogs are like Potato Chips--you can't only have one!

But our hearts were very bruised, and we hesitated to open ourselves up to love, and eventually lose, another dog. Lose yet another piece of our hearts.

But we took a chance on Dixie BlackPearl, and she took a chance on us. A shy, timid, frightened shelter dog, the volunteers had worked with you for over six months. You needed someone to believe in you. To take a chance. And little did we know how much more we would need you just three weeks later.

Dixie, thank you for saving our hearts.

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Dixie has been having episodes of irregular, slow heartbeat. Please keep her in your thoughts as we begin this journey with her, exploring any and all options.

Thundershirts Ordered!

So, the Mom hopped on the internet and ordered Burt and me our very own Thundershirts! The website not only offered the original Heather Grey Thundershirt, but also a Pink Rugby and a Navy Rugby Thunder Shirt--perfect for diva Dixie and dashing Burt. We'll be stylin' real soon and we'll be ready for the next TStorms that roll through ChiTown!

For those pups not up on what Thundershirts are for, well, the name says it all. From their website, www.thundershirt.com :

With its patent-pending design, Thundershirt’s gentle, constant pressure has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited. It is this pressure that has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or over-excited. From real world experience, we know with certainty that Thundershirt DOES WORK. That is why we are able to offer a money-back guarantee. Based on surveys completed by over 1,000 Thundershirt users, over 85% of dogs show significant improvement in anxiety symptoms when using Thundershirt.

Thousands of veterinarians and dog trainers now recommend Thundershirts for their anxiety cases. We recommend just putting on a Thundershirt and observing the results (No training!). You very well may see significant improvement for noise, crate, travel, barking and others with absolutely no training. For more complicated anxiety cases, we recommend using Thundershirt as part of a behavior modification program.

One thing is for certain, for a very large percentage of dogs, Thundershirt’s gentle, constant pressure has a terrific calming effect. This has obvious benefits for most types of anxiety. But Thundershirt is also a very useful tool for managing excitability or hyperactivity with strangers, on the leash, or in a training environment. Thundershirt’s calming effect helps a dog to focus (or refocus) her energies in a more constructive direction, allowing training to be more effective.

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We'll bark back about our results ASAP!

Seizure Activity Ramping Up

My seizure activity is ramping up. The Mom had to take Wednesday off when about 4am I went into overdrive with panting. My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest. The Mom gave me 2 Melatonin, but that didn't even take the edge off. I was moving around a lot, and burping from all of the air I was panting in. The Mom first thought I had bloated, but my tummy was soft and there was no retching or drool. Nothing the Mom did could calm me down. The Dad said It was like I was on doggie uppers.

The Mom finally remembered about applying pressure (TTouch, Anxiety Wrap, Thunder Shirt...) so she slung her leg over me and pressed down on my flank. She put one hand on my breastbone, one hand on my spinal column mid-back and pushed. Holding me firmly like that, I finally closed my mouth and started breathing through my nose, but still fast. Slowly I came down, and finally fell asleep. Trouble was, if the Mom started to drift off and loosen her grip on me, I'd wake up panting. This went on for about 4 hours.

The Mom picked up the Comfort Zone DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) diffuser and that seemed to help me. Instead of sleeping in the pawrents bed or on the wooden floor, I laid in the dog bed right by the DAP. I seemed ok for the most part on Thursday, just a couple of fly-catching incidents, but this afternoon I had a smaller episode with the panting and racing heart. It's a concern because I can't take most sedatives--I go too far under. Vet gave me Acepromazine (sp) once and almost lost me when my heart rate slowed too much. The Mom is going to order the Thunder Shirt ASAP.

It's always something, isn't it?

...something wrong with your life.

"if you don't own a dog,
at least one, there is not
necessarily anything wrong
with you, but there may
be something wrong with
your life."
--Roger Caras

Today I Went & Burt Stayed Home

Of course, it wasn't anyplace FUN... I went to Samantha's (the Groomer). The Mom said my fur was out-of-control, so I had to go in for a bath, blow-out and trim. Burt really, really wanted to go with me. But if he knew where I was going, I think he would have changed his mind. The first and only time Burt went to Sam's he hid in the corner of the shop until the Mom came to get us. I stayed with him in the corner--for company, you see.

The Mom said that HoneyBunny (one of the Chicago Crew of Angels) would actually walk up the ramp into the tub all by herself! Without the Bather even telling her to--she liked bathes that much! The Mom said that since I put on weight I look more and more like a Black Pearl version of HoneyBunny. The Dad really loved her very much (still cries about her even after four years) so to be compared to HB is a GOOD thing!

Why Not Both?????

The current Dogster poll has got my backhair up! And Burt's too!

The question: If you could add another pet to the family, what would it be?

The first two answers:
- A wonderful rescue pup.
- A beautifully-bred dog.

My question: Why not both?

Over 25% of dogs in shelters on any given day are pure bred dogs. Pure. Bred. Dogs. Or, as the poll so cleverly words it "beautifully-bred dog(s)". So how about SAVING a life and adopting your next "beautifully-bred" dog?

If you are leery of shelter dogs (and, as a shelter dog, I ask Why???????) you can contact any of the hundreds of reputable "beautifully-bred" Rescues across the United States. For info on breed specific rescues, go to www.akc.org, and click on Breed Info, select the breed you are interested in and then click on Breed Rescue for lists of breed-specific rescues by state.

So, again, I ask, why not both?
Why not a Wonderful, Beautifully-bred Rescue pup and save a life?

Until there's NONE, rescue ONE!!!!!

I am Fly-Catching

I went to the vet yesterday for some shots and my semi-annual checkup. I have been coughing a lot, and the vet took xrays to make sure I had no growth or obstruction in my esophagus. Everything with that was a-o-k.

The Mom talked to the vet about my "fly-catching". It's a very mild form of epilepsy. It's call "fly-catching" because of the behavior. The dog or cat will fix their stare off into the distance, staring at nothing in particular, their eyes fixed, non-blinking, and almost pop-eyed. In my case, my mouth is closed and I breath really fast through my nose (I'm normally a mouth-breather).

Nothing disturbs me when I go into one of these trances. The Mom can be right next to me, calling "Dixie", "Dixie", "Dixie", but I don't even hear her or even blink. The vet asked the Mom to keep a diary of when I have these episodes. The vet didn't seem too worried about it, and neither did the Mom. Just another part of the uniqueness that is Dixie!

Queen of All Things

So, the Burt got up from his dogbed in the TV room. To get a drink. When he came back into the room, I was laying in the dogbed. So Burt jumped up onto the daybed. With the Mom. Doesn't he know that is MY place?

Later, the Burt left his cushion that's between the Mom and the Dad's chairs in the Living Room. To go outside. When he came back into the room, I was laying on the pillow. So Burt jumped up onto the couch. And laid down on my couch pillow. Doesn't he know that is MY place? (Later I got back up on the couch and sprawled out in the middle--just in case Burt had any more smart ideas...).

The Mom and the Dad have started calling me "Queenie". The way they say it, I am NOT sure it's a compliment...

Crazy Little Thing...

I'm told it was a Chihuahua. The smallest, itty-bitty, teacuppy Chihuahua ever seen. Off it's leash. At the park this afternoon. Luckily, Burt did NOT mistake it for a squirrel or I shudder to think of what might have happened!

Here we were, minding our own business, enjoying the park on a warm Saturday afternoon when we were swarmed by this little yappy thing. Circling and circling and circling, and yapping and yapping and yapping. And it's people trying to dodge our leashes, chasing it around in circles (have to admit it WAS pretty funny how this little itty bitty thing had these people all in a FRENZY).

What a panic! Guess they thought Burt and I would eat their baby for lunch (us being big mean lookin' black dogs and all... BOL). Would have been TOTALLY avoided if they'd OBEY THE LAW and LEASH their dog. And me and Burt? Totally calm, totally in control. Totally on a harness and leash.

;D