It's been a long time

Hi. It's been a long time since my last post. Work, Health, Animals -- all get in the way.

Last Saturday we said good-bye to Maxie. Woody seems to be coping well. To be honest -- I don't think he even notices. That's our observant Woody. I thought he might be a little blue -- nope, not for a minute.

That's been good for us. He's a good distraction.

He's been going through his own challenges lately. All of a sudden his occasional accidents in the house became a daily event -- not acceptable. So we got him a diaper -- one made for boy dogs. It's made by Simple Solution and we bought about 5 of them -- so we can rotate when he does have an accident. They're washable and we line them at night with pads. I know, it seems somewhat ridiculous but it has saved our household. We are no longer frustrated, he is getting better and everyone sleeps better because when he wakes up in the middle of the night we don't jump up. He pees in his diaper -- and we change it out in the am.

He is showing signs of getting older. He is in pain some mornings. He shows new arthritis between 4 vertabrae in his spine. We are giving him injections for the pain. They seem to be helping.

He's still on all of his stomach meds -- pepcid, pepto and the anti-nausea powder. His stomach seems better. He had a flare-up in August but it was short-lived.

All-in-all he's doing well -- just getting older -- like all of us!

I've attached a photo we took of him last Saturday. He was our entertainment after saying farewell to Max. He's such a good sport!

It's Spring

Wow! I can't believe I haven't posted since January. It's not like I haven't had time on my hands!

I've had another surgery since my last post. It was in February and both Woody and Max were my constant companions. Woody has done a good job helping me rehab by getting underfoot and testing my reflexes -- so far I haven't been tripped or fallen.

Woody is doing great. We tried to wean him off his meds but he immediately started to lick -- so we put him back on them. He's been fine otherwise. He's his usual sleepy self. Doesn't move too much unless he hears food. Maxie is hanging in as well. He's losing weight -- he's a few weeks away from 18 years old so I think he's just getting old and enjoying his senior years. He sleeps a lot and meows a lot -- and, my favorite, still cuddles a lot.

What's my least favorite sign of Spring? All the UFOs I have to pull out of Woody's mouth. He is stealth -- so I have to be on my toes. He had something in his mouth this morning that was so disgusting I couldn't even identify it. I pulled it out and threw it and immediately gagged. How could anyone, even a dog, want to eat something so disgusting? But then I am writing about a dog who eats Max's "cat cookies". He is definitely NOT a foodie!

This coming Friday I'm having some people over to watch the Royal Wedding. I'm not a big fan of the Royals but this is total spectacle -- and I am a fan of spectacle. Woody will be sporting a bow tie -- he must dress for the occasion!

Happy 2011

It's been awhile since my last post. Max and Woody had a good Christmas. Woody was spoiled rotten by my mom and dad. He stayed there while we went to Michigan. He's not exactly persona non grata there but he's better off staying in Illinois. The Pepoys aren't exactly dog people. It took me 18 years to convert Andrew...

The weekend before Christmas we had a photographer, www.tailsoflove.com, come out and take pictures of Max and Woody. Jessica, who owns the business, did a great job.

Woody seems to be holding steady. His stomach issues haven't acted up in awhile and he's been a dream. He hasn't even had any accidents in the house lately. I'm sure I just jinxed myself.

I've included some photos from the photography session. I have to include Maxie too -- he should get his due.