See, it's not all yucky dog food, meat posts!

Alright, I do eat meat, like chicken. And, good meat at that. None of that yucky MSM stuff for me; I think I have forever been turned off processed chicken burger patties. In any case, while this is not dog related (although they both were in a lovely stay through the cooking of this meal!) here is what I prepared myself for lunch.  It's Chicken with Cauliflower and Parsley. Yum. It's hands down, one of the best things I have cooked in a very long time. (And, I LOVE to cook and do so regularily, when not working or in grad school. Which, just for the record means I don't get to cook nearly enough lately, but when I found this Martha Stewart, Everyday Foods recipe I HAD to try it. So worth the effort!).

Anyway, may I present my lunch.

And, my lunch nicely plated, ready to eat. Yum, yum.

Needless to say, this is one meal the dogs won't be getting to try! Sorry guys!

Announcing Spike, SJATD!

Yes it's true. I have FINALLY put a title on a dog! :)  And, yes it's true. It's St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog. I am sooo proud of Spike, I can't even begin to tell you. Someday soon I will share the story of Spike because there was a time when I could never see this happening. But, my boy has done me proud, rocking that test and charming people all over the place!

But of course, with a face this cute, how could he not charm everyone?!?

And, once more for good measure (and in front of the tree that so far remains untouched by dogs! It WILL be knocked over eventually, I am sure!!)

Adventures in Dog Food

I bought approximately 120 pounds of MSM chicken this weekend. What's MSM you ask? Well, that was my question and this is what I learned....

This is MSM, in all it's grossness.

Yes, it stands for Mechanically Separated Meat, or some such name and it's used to create chicken burgers for humans. Somehow, I don't think I'll be eating that any time soon!

Anyway, this was an adventure because it comes in 33 pound boxes and I tried to defrost two in the shower last night. One is now safely back in the freezer, let me tell you since I DID NOT want to work with that much meat this morning.

It was not nearly defrosted enough to parcel up into 3 pound bags (about 2 days of meat for my two dogs) and so there is now a huge gross block in my sink....

Yes, it's covered in green garbage bags in an attempt to keep Sophie away.... she keeps telling me she is innocent, and she was innocent in the kitchen fiasco I discovered this morning after I showered the bits of chicken off myself. YUCK! It's very messy.

The leftover box. I foolishly left it out, in a garbage bag where roving bands of labs and lab mixes could fnd their breakfast treat.  You guessed it... dogs in bag. But not the usual dog, let me tell you, it was Spike. Now I know you all think Spike is an angel, but he couldn't contol himself. I called him away from the bag, and turned my back to get coffee and he was right back into it.  I have proof that Spike has some bad dog in him too.... yucky bits of chicken stuck on his head.

Yes, that really IS chicken bits. GRR. And it's now all over my kitchen.

Something tells me the bleach and I will be having a little party later on!

So, where was Sophie in all of this?  Being shockingly innocent. I put her in a stay and she STAYED. Can you believe that?? My girl is learning!!

Yup, I'm innocent, she mubbles under her breathe.  In all honest, Sophie isn't moving so good this morning, post long walk and run yesterday. She had hours she couldn't put weight on her back paw and today she isn't in any rush to go anywhere. So, it seems that my poor girl was happy to stay mostly because it hurt to move.  Don't worry, she's off to the vet today for an acupuncture treatment and some advice about activity levels. There may not be any agility for Sophie for now.

But, until then, she is content to lie and watch me get her breakfast ready!

Bring on the cold weather!

I took the dogs shopping today. We bought winter coats, mostly because I am worried about Sophie getting too cold in the winter, with that bad hip of hers. And, well Spike needed a coat too, just because. :)

Sophie was miffed by this new coat experience; she stood frozen in the hallway and wouldn't move at all. I finally had to grab her collar and help her along, to get her to go into the living room. I have no idea what that's about and she better get used to it; we'll be walking LOTS this winter!

It was a super long day, with flyball this morning, a trip to the SPCA in the afternoon plus shopping then agility after. He wouldn't move either. Poor, exhausted Spikey!

Things I do while under the weather...

I have been home the last couple days recovering from a fairly serious bout of asthma. In the midst of all of this not feeling well business, I managed to drag myself to Petsmart on the way to class at the University the other night. You know, console myself with some routine retail therapy and in the process soundly embarrass my dogs! Good times!

Yup, I did it... I bought Halloween costumes, on a very good sale. I swore at one point in my doggy mamahood that I would NEVER dress my dogs, but I crumbled this year. LOL, poor Sophie Ballerina!!

Perhaps even worse is LadyBug Spike. Yup, it's true. He really DOES want to bite me.

Here's to feeling better and not taking out my need to spend money in useless ways on my poor babies!

Fall is in the Air

For any of you who know me, you know I have had a hard fall so far. For whatever reason, I caught a cold three and a half weeks ago, and couldn't shake it. Now, it's moved into a lovely sinus infection and my asthma that I like to ignore has gone completely haywire. So, in the midst of shortness of breathe and mind numbing pain, what do I do? Yard clean up.

Yes, it's true. I raked leaves. And, with the dogs in the yard. Because that all makes SO much sense!

So, my day of raking leaves began with Spike bringing me his soccer ball. He LOVES that ball. Too much. He spent much of the time dropping that ball at my feet, begging to play.  So, how could I not?

C'mon Spike, bringing it here, buddy!

Hurry up and kick it already!

Even in the midst of working, it was punctuated by Spike returning with that silly, flat soccer ball!

When I finally did get down to work, there was Sophie, quick to pounce into the leaves. Her way of helping is to make sure her favourite ball, the little bouncy one didn't get swept away into one of the many garbage bags.

See, I DID accomplish something! 13 bags later, and I have lots left to go. Ah well, it will have to wait for another nice day!

Lazy Sunday Morning

I woke up at 5AM, which really isn't that unusual for me. So, what I tend to do is grab a cup of coffee and settle in with a book or the TV until it seems a more appropriate hour to be up and about. Not this morning; for some reason, long about 6, I decided it was a great time to start cleaning the house and doing laundry. The dogs, of course, are happy to oblige by getting out of the way.

 Sophie attempting to lounge on a pillow, brought to this house by one of the fosters that moved in here for a short time. His new parents didn't need the pillow, so I am hanging onto it for the next crew moving in... I think I am getting a couple of little Spike's as soon as they are old enough to leave the nest and venture out into the world. They are three weeks old or so right now, but with 11 puppies, and all black with bits of white, it's a foregone conclusion they won't all be adopted by 8 weeks old. Sigh. Nothing like puppy breathe! ANYWAY....

Spike, hiding from the vacuum, in his crate. He won't even look at me when the vacuum comes out! Anyway, whatever. The house needs to be cleaned.

The other night, I took the dogs over to Rebecca's place for a run and attempted to get some photos. What resulted was a bunch of blurry pics as they sped back and forth, through the field, running for the joy of it. Here they are anyway; it gives an idea of the speed and fun they had!

Spike, sniffing something. 

Run, Sophie, run! Look at her ears fly!

Speed demon, Spike. Look out flyball world, here we come!! 

I think this is where Spike started to notice the horses, up at the top of the field, along the fence. It was all downhill from there, as he decided he must attempt to herd the horses, from this side of the fence. The horses of course, were less than concerned and all came running to see who was soooo upset they were there! 

It's always nice to have tired dogs after a good, hard run. It was a cold night out there, but somehow having two tired dogs, ready to cuddle made it worth the chill I got.

Breakfast!

Alright, anyone who lives with labs or lab mixes knows how important food is. So, just to demonstrate the principle, here's an average morning in my house... dogs, waiting for breakfast, and of course me not able to move fast enough for them!

That above is Elk. I have never fed elk before, and now I know why. I didn't think to ask the price until I got to the counter, and was mid pay before it dawned on me.... tres expensive! 8 pounds, which is roughly 3.5- 4 days of food for my critters cost me a mere $35.98. Yup, the most expensive meat I coulda bought. Oh well, it's because of these faces....

Please Mom! Please, maybe if I look more longingly and adoringly at you, you'll move faster!

Oh come on, seriously!

If I don't look at mom, maybe she'll feed me. Please?!?

Alright, if a do a trick like lie down and lick my lips, maybe that'll help!

FINALLY!  Veggies, yogurt AND elk! Yeah mom!

Really?  That was it! Cheap!

Yup, typical morning getting the dogs their food. It's a very important job, clearly to be the one who provides food. :)

Rescuing Dogs

Anyone who knows me knows that I rescue. That's part of who I am. And, so true to form, of late I have been taken by two dogs who are desperately looking for new homes. 

First, there's Kita. She's a black lab, so of course, very close to my heart! But, she is stuck with her sister in a shelter in Southern Saskatchewan because their former family had no time for them. Doesn't that tug a little at your heart strings? Well, it gets worse. Kita has Epilepsy, but apparently a mild form of it. And, she needs, NEEDS her sister Kasey to be adopted with her. Kasey is a Nova Scotia Duck Toller and she has a gift; she is Kita's seizure alert dog. Kasey can tell her family when Kita is going to seizure and she keeps her safe. So, she is a very special dog with a gift that can be used by a family and she must find the right home.  So, dear readers (of which I know there are few! :) ), if you know of anyone who would like to help these lovely girls, please contact us at New Hope. Or at the Estevan Humane Society.  

Here's the link for the girls....

Kita on Petfinder

Kasey on Petfinder

And, the rescues to contact...

New Hope Dog Rescue

Estevan Humane Society

If you want to spread the word, PLEASE DO!  Help us find these girls the best home possible!