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.

It's met Woody day!

Today, 2 years ago, is the day we MET Woody (as opposed to GOT Woody day which happens in a few days).

This morning I went for a walk and when I came back Andrew said "thank God you're home...this dog hasn't stopped yelping at the door since you left". Yep, co-dependent and proud -- both of us. :)

I love my dog. That's it.

Happy Halloween!

Today is Halloween...Woody has a costume but he refused to walk in it this morning. He has bat wings...bat beagle. He wore them before but, apparently, he was embarrassed by them this morning. He had an interesting walk today. He decided this morning was the morning to chase every squirrel he saw (he's usually hit or miss on squirrels -- mainly miss) and there was a guy playing in the park with his dog and Woody was very interested in the exchange. It was odd. He is terrified of most dogs and he doesn't like to play but he saw this guy playing with his dog and he just stopped and watched. They he howled at them. Then he wanted to walk home. When we were out later in the day he was interested in some of the dogs outside -- maybe he's learning to get over his fear of dogs. I dunno. It's just so hard to tell since when they're face-to-face he is hit or miss on how he reacts. Andrew took video of him (posted) of how he acts when I buzz the door and come home. Unfortunately Andrew didn't realize you can't rotate a flip video -- so this video is sideways. Nothing I can do about it -- but it's enjoyable and it's how I get greeted every day. Not a bad gig for me. :)

This dog loves to eat rebate forms

Today Woody ate his second set of rebate forms. The first forms he ate were the rebate forms for our new cell phones...we had to go back to T-Mobile and ask them to print new ones because "our dog at the first set"...they were like "really"? Yep, really...REALLY...

Today I came home and he had pulled the forms for our tax credit for our new windows off the table and he ate 3/4 of the form.

I don't know what he's trying to tell me...he eats bills, checks, money, rebate forms...he's his own financial institution. Such a goof!

October

Wow, I can't believe it's October. At the beginning of next month Woody will have been with us for two years. It feels like a lifetime -- in a good way. :) He's still eating paper -- now he prefers our building's bills and check register -- and he still has a taste for cat poop -- but we're doing our best to deter him in that area.

Woody and Max are buds now. They hang out in the hall together and when Woody runs -- Max doesn't flinch. He just hangs out and enjoys the show. Maxie is good -- at 17 years old he seems to be doing alright. He waps at Woody every now and again when he's hanging out on the sofa with me and Woody gets too close -- but it's a friendly wap.

Woody's tummy is somewhat under control. He's on pepcid and pepto and tylen powder. It acts up every now and again but we manage to get it under control. I think we're in maintenance mode. I hope we are!

We've also discovered that I can't leave through the front door without him. He's fine when I leave through the back door. I think he knows that as my "exit" door. When I go out the front door, which I think he believes is his "exit" door he will sit at the door, sometimes for hours, waiting for me. Andrew says he cries, whines and will, occasionally, throw himself at the door. Poor little guy. So I do my best not to exit out the front door. I don't want to stress him out.

The good news is that my foot is healed enough that I can walk him again. Weekends are my days to walk him. And he knows it. We go to the park. I can't walk him in any direction except towards the park on Saturdays and Sundays. It's pretty funny to watch us if I try to veer him in another direction. He plants his feet and won't budge until I give up and we go to the park.

We also bought him a halloween costume -- bat wings. And he loves them. Which is hilarious because he hates wearing anything -- but the bat wings must be coooool. :)

I hope to post more...things have calmed down a bit...no more PT, work is somewhat under control -- for now -- and I do want to make sure I document our time spent with Woody. I read beagles average life is 12 years. Woody will be 11 years old this year. He seems, most times, spry as a puppy but the 12 years is in the back of my mind and I can't imagine our lives without him now.