Ethel's ear infection is back, Sally's hair is badly matted, and Lucy? She's keeping her Food Bowl safe from any and all Interlopers!

Ethel's right ear was seeping goo that smelled so horrible I had to take her to the Vet. The cost was $317.+ Three days later the vet called, says the analysis of what was in Ethel's ear was pretty dire, and I drove over and picked up $43.00 worth of Meds. That put Ethel's Medical expenses since January 1st over $600.

Then there's Lucy and her Tumors. $280 for her first diagnosis and her shots, and another $876 for her surgery and aftercare. That's $1156+ for my Toodlebug. Those two dogs together were almost $1800 dollars. How about managed Care for Pets?

Question: Do I love my Dogs?

Answer: What do you think?

Now Sally needs a haircut, and the only way for anyone to survive it, is to sedate Sally.

God help me.

Lucy Survives her Surgery!

I'm looking forward to seeing my lollydawdling Lucy today. "Lollydawdling" is a word I made up to describe her, combining "lollygagging" and "Dawdling". I like the alliteration of it.
I made that word up to perfectly describe a dog who sets her own schedule when it comes to life in our home. She had surgery to remove three tumors last Thursday, and today she comes home. I missed my little black shadow.

Lucy, (Or Loodely Doodles as we call her) has a few health issues.

I took Lucy to the Vet, and we discovered that besides the large growth of fatty tissue on her chest under her collar, and the unsightly red splotch below her left eye, she has two other other tumors, one in the "armpit" under her front left leg, and another back near a nipple.

Preliminary testing shows them to be benign, but we are going to play it safe and schedule precautionary procedures and have them removed and biopsied. Yes, it is an expense to consider for an 11 year old dog, but she's a better friend than many people I have had the pleasure or displeasure to know, so I feel she's worth it.

Ethel has another ear infection

To be exact, she has a different infection in each ear, but her right is the far worse. Why?
Ethel has a terrible addiction. She likes to go out and lay in the poop of some of our wilder residents that live in the nearby forested/swampy areas. She likes to roll around in the poop, and get it into her ears. My wife and I try to get it all off and out, but she just goes right back out and gets in it again. Ethel will turn 12 years old on June 26th. She is still pretty spry, even if she is deaf, and her cataracts are getting bigger. She isn't due for any more shots until her B'day, when she gets her Rabies. She is the happiest dog in the world, the vet says. I wish we all had her outlook.

A.A.R.P.D. The American association of Retired Puppy Dogs

Ethel turned 11 on June 26th, and Lucy turns 11 on October 17th. That's retirement age for Cocker Spaniels, and after many years as vital members of the Trexlertown Homeland Security force, they will be retiring October 31st and collecting their pensions. They have just received their A.A.R.P.D. cards in the mail, entitling them to 10% off all purchases of puppy treats! It's the least we can do to show appreciation!

The Sad, Sick, Sally

Sally's a little under the weather. She's had a lot of goop around her one eye, and not quite as much bounce in her Sally Strut, or when she's running Sally Circles in the yard. It's probably just a puppy cold, God knows they have all been sneezing quite a bit, but if it doesn't clear up soon, off to the vet we will go!

The priviliged life of Lucy the Dog

Lucy in the foyer with her puppy treat!

Lucy is a fat little black cocker that came onto our home in 2000 just before her 4th Birthday. She was obedience trained, but a few months in our lackadaisical household broke her of that. She has incredible hearing, and can hear our cars approaching before we even turn onto our street. She has gotten up and waddled to the garage door before the telltale sound of the motorized remote activating to lift it.
Lucy's life consists of being extremely vigilant in guarding her food bowl. Even Though our property is equipped with an invisible dog fence, Lucy only ventures far enough into the yard to "perform" then immediately scurries back, to protect her food dish from any and all invaders.
She will play fetch, unfortunately, once she has the ball, the game is over, as she will take it and lay on the porch. She is portly to the point that she cannot rollover on her back, so she does a :"half roll", incessantly wagging her stub of a little black tail while waiting for someone to scratch her ample belly.
We call her "loodle Doodle" which I believed evolved from her habit of lollygagging around when called to come in the house. She would take her sweet little time when you were in a hurry to leave, and in contrast, if it is cold outside, she would run out, "perform" and immediately return to the door and start barking loudly, as if we had left her out, unfed, for days on end.
Patience is not her strongest virtue.
I find her most endearing quality her most annoying. She snores like a train, and grunts and snorts like a pig in a pen. Considering her Physical resemblance shape wise, to a little pig, it's no wonder we have nicknamed her, "our little Pork Roll."
Lucy, a fat black affectionate little cocker spaniel whose somewhat annoying bark is far worse than any bite, is our lovable , entertaing little pork roll, who loves us almost as much as her food bowl, but I wouldn't bet on it, Because We love her more than that.
We call her a lot of things, and you can guaranatee that no matter what, the words "puppy treat" always get her attention. She most deservedly has ours.

We call her "Fluffernuts"

Ethel on the Chaise with a ball

My lovely wife expressed concerns that Lucy and Ethel, our two other girls, might have hurt feelings because I hadn't written about them. This Morning Ethel, the 10 year old brown and White Freckled girl we rescued in 1998, decided it was a good day to give me a scare.

At 545AM, I let the girls out for their morning potty break. The temp was in the single digits, the wind was blowing, so I didn't think they would take too long. I packed my wife's lunch and made her tea, and when I went to the door, Sally and Lucy didn't hesitate to charge in.
But Ethel? No where in sight. I crept out into the yard, looking all over. No Ethel in sight.

Two big concerns here. Ethel is Deaf, and her sight isn't that great. She also ignores the shock from her invisible fence collar. In fact, we think she likes it, but that's another post another day.

So if she wandered out of the yard in the dark, It's not a good thing. I rushed back in the house, threw on my coat and hooded jacket, and headed back out. She was at the door waiting to get in. Where did she go? What did she do? that's her little secret.

Our Niece once called her Snuffalofagus, because she was soft and cuddly like her snuffalofagus toy, so we sometimes call her "Snuffy", but out of the blue one day, my wife called her "fluffernuts" and it stuck. She is the most passive, affectionate, and loving dog I have ever had in my life. If something ever happened to her, I admit I would be crushed.

Just as there was only one Fred, One Sally, and as I will write soon, one Lucy, there is only one Ethel, or "Fluffernuts."

One Crazy, lovable dog, or demon, if you like!

Okay this picture, shows Sally as a demon dog, like Beelzebub, which is fitting of her nickname, Bubby, or, The Bubba!

I should have just called this my dog blog, but I always compare all Dogs to my Freddog.

We have a Springer/Cocker/Poodle? mix we call Sally. She is black as night and if left ungroomed for more than a month, her shiny black coat begins to curl, giving her Fu Manchu hair around her face and chin. She is very scrawny, maybe weighing 20 pounds soaking wet, but she is a bundle of energy.

Sally suffers from ADD. She is easily distracted when running around in the yard. When first let out the front door, she will charge to the middle of the yard, and begin running large, looping circle 8's as fast as she can, while barking needlessly. You throw a ball for her, and she will run full tilt after it, until a bird flys nearby, at which point she will change course and forget about the ball. then a bug will get her attention. What bird? What ball? then she will run some more.

Sally is the source of much entertainment, occasionally crashing into things like trees and furniture when she becomes distracted during one of her charges. She's not my Freddog, but she is our crazy Sally. and she is always good for a laugh

The Best Friend I ever had

Fred was a Buff Cocker Spaniel who came to live with me when he was only 12 weeks old. I hadn't been out of the Army that long and I was still dealing with a lot of internal issues. I was pretty antisocial and drinking a bit too much. My sister had purchased him as a pet for her kids, but her Landlord said he had to go, and the pet shop wouldn't take him back.

So he ended up with me, and we had 16 years of friendship that I would never trade for anything. I've only been married for 10, so to say our bond was the longest running, outside of any with my immediate family, that I ever had, would be absolutely true.

My wife and I presently have 3 cockers, all female, Ethel, Lucy, and Sally. I love them dearly, but they are not my Buddy-dog, Fred.
Fred never lied to me, betrayed me, or stole from me, although he did occasionally devour a shoe. He always greeted me at the door, and he always barked when people who were up to no good were prowling. He liked to climb up on the bed and sleep on my feet.

Today, for some strange reason, I miss Fred. Maybe it is the stress of the campaign, maybe it's just because, but Today, I miss Fred. I wouldn't mind having him lick my face just one more time, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind my scratching his belly. It is a small pleasure that I miss.