Happy 2012!!!

Happy New Year! The last time I posted was shortly after we said good-bye to Maxie. Well, a lot has happened since then. We have two new members of our family -- Mooch and Beans! Mooch and Beans are girls -- about 9 months old at this point. We got them from the same shelter we adopted Woody from -- West Suburban Humane Society. It's a great shelter and I recommend checking out their website and donating to the good work they do for our four-legged friends. Woody tolerates, I'd say even likes, his new sisters. There is the occasional nip when Mooch gets too close. But, overall, I think he enjoys having other animals in the house. I think Maxie was so sick those last few months that Woody didn't even notice he was around. So how is Woody doing? Well, we're still challenged by his bladder. The diapers are a life saver. We can't figure out what is going on so he is going to a doggie urologist. Yes, a doggie urologist. He's going to the bathroom about every 2 hours -- so something isn't quite right. I don't think it's a matter of old age -- so we'll see what happens. His stomach has been good -- no issues there. He farts a lot. And I mean a lot! My goodness -- he's worse than any old man. It's pretty funny though. So I'm hoping 2012 holds good things in store for all of us -- minimal doctor visits and no surgeries! That goes for our two and four legged household members! Attached are photos of Mooch, Beans and Woody's annual visit with Santa!

c

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!