Happy 1st Birthday Zoey!!! 🎈🥳🦴

09/18/202309/18/202317 Comments

It’s hard to believe that this sweet, loving, precious angel-with-paws was born a year ago today! And it’s hard to believe that she was once this small….

I remember trying to “will” her to be born the day before, on Zen’s half-year birthday, so I’d have another pair of puppies born exactly six months apart. Well, one day’s not a big deal. 😊

Long-time readers may (or may not) remember that my first two Golden babies were born exactly six months apart…Callie on April 16, 2004 and Shadow on October 16, 2004. (And their Gotcha Days were also exactly 6 months apart, June 7th and Dec. 7th.) But I’m drifting here, so back to Zoey.

This sweet little girl has brought Zen and me so much joy! She’s just what we needed…Zen needed a playmate and I needed another little girl, but one who would snuggle with me like her angel-brother Bogie used to. My two Z Kids bonded right from the start into a mutual adoration society.

And as she grew, big brother Zen let her climb all over him…

Zoey still climbs all over her brother and loves to curl up and snuggle with him….

Happy First Birthday my sweet and sassy little girl! Zen and I love you to the end of the universe and back! You complete our little family. Today is your day. Thankfully the sun is shining again after yesterday’s rain made Zen’s half-year birthday kinda gloomy – weather-wise only – so we can spend time playing in the sunshine like we all love to do. ☀️☀️☀️

A Very Thankful Thursday

09/14/202309/14/20234 Comments

How appropriate that the 14th day of this month should fall on a Thankful Thursday! Why? Because it’s a very special day in my life…it’s the Z Kids’ Monthly Gotcha Day! Zen has been with me for 16 months; and Zoey has been with us for 10 months. And in less than a week, Zen will be 18 months old and Zoey will be a full year old. But more about birthdays next week.

I can hardly believe my Zen has been here 16 months already! Most of last year was so dark; but this sweet boy was my one ray of sunshine after Ducky got her wings. Knowing Zen was on the way is what kept me going. And when he was born on St. Patrick’s Day, he became my little leprechaun, my Golden Boy.

He grew up to be my best friend; my Ducky’s facilitator – she visits me often through the baby brother she picked out for me; my guardian angel with paws; my watch dog; my confidant; my helper; my mostly independent, self-confident hooligan. And a wonderful big brother to Zoey.

And, while Zen stayed here at home with his human uncle, I drove up to his Golden Family’s house to get Zoey. I had hoped that Zoey would be born on Zen’s first half birthday, but she had her own plan. That’s okay. I could still make her Gotcha Day the same day of the month as Zen’s. ❤️🐾 And here she is as that 8-week-old puppy.

She’s nearly a year old! I can’t believe how fast these 10 months have flown by! She’s growing up, but she’s still small for her age. I love how her tail feathering is so “floofy”! It’s hard to see in my photos of her, but here she is now…

This little girl is my kindred spirit…as much a “tomboy” as I was when I was a little girl. I climbed trees with the boys next door; Zoey’s happiest playing catch in the dirt and dust of the back yard with her brother.

Happy (Monthly) Gotcha Day my sweet hooligans!! I love you both with my whole heart! 💚🐾💜🐾

Zoey’s Home!!

06/14/202306/13/20236 Comments

I’m not sure who’s happier, Zen or me!!

Zoey adores her Grandpa, and her older sister Skye. At first I wasn’t sure she wanted to leave! But once we got home, she could hardly wait to get out of the car and in the house where Zen was waiting for her. I wish I’d had my phone handy to video the greetings!

After the greetings, the three of us went outside to play for a while. Now it’s time for a nap.

And, now that they’ve had dinner and done their business, it’s time to get “down and dirty”.

Morning Yard Zoomies

02/08/202304/10/202316 Comments

🤪 PLAY TIME!! 🤪

The back yard isn’t one for a “Better Homes and Gardens” centerfold layout by any means; but at least it’s finally safe for my puppies to really have fun together in with just me to supervise. HUGE thank yous to the pups’ “Grandpa Chuck“, his friend and neighbor, Josh, and Josh’s employee, Aron, for ALL their HARD, back-breaking work!!

Since this is supposed to be “Wordless Wednesday”, I will limit my verbosity for this post 🤣 and just say I hope that everyone has a great hump day!!

Sleepy Sunday

10/20/201910 Comments

Such a sweet sight – you can’t really see Ducky’s face because her head is right next to Radar’s back.

We had a stressful day yesterday. After two full days of almost perfect behavior around her Uncle Doug, yesterday Ducky was grumpy and vociferous all day. Yet, she didn’t take it out on Radar like she used to do to poor Shadow at times. She even let him chew on her Nylabones. She never let Shadow do that.

Anyway, her loud grumpiness made hubby grumpier, and his louder grumpiness made me “testy“. Not a good day. My brother – bless him! – stayed in my office most of the day working on my computer. Smart man!!

Anyway, Ducky woke hubby and me before 5 am this morning – barking, crying, and whining – not really surprising considering she doesn’t like being closed in her crate, especially if I’m not nearby. But she had slept quietly in her crate all of the two nights before. I came out to the living room to calm her down, but five minutes later she was complaining again. So I grabbed my pillows and a blanket and came out to sleep on the couch. But even opening the crate didn’t settle the little princess. And I just gave up on the idea of going back to sleep. I got dressed, grabbed my jacket and the flashlight, and took her out to the back yard. She did her business and we came back inside. But she still wouldn’t settle down. And Radar started getting “antsy” in his crate, so I opened his crate too. Then we all made two more trips out to the yard (about ten minutes apart).

Finally! Peace and quiet, and an end to Ducky’s earlier restlessness. I was – of course – wide awake after three trips out to the sloppy, rain-saturated, back yard; but my dogs settled down in close proximity to each other. It was when I looked up from my reading – I was catching up on some blog posts – that I saw the image I captured in the first photo. Now look at them.

And here I sit, still over-tired, groggy, and on my second cup of coffee. I’m going to have to keep a watchful eye on Ducky today. Normally she’s not grumpy, just demanding. If she’s back to her normal self today, I won’t worry; but if she’s grumpy again, I’ll call the vet tomorrow morning. When this little girl is grumpy, it’s normally something physical making her that way. And hubby’s impatience doesn’t help, either. Maybe she just needs more “Mom and Me” time.

Oh well, the sun is trying to come out from between the clouds, so maybe we’ll have a brighter day. Happy Sunday Everyone!

Seven Years and Counting

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Oh, Ducky! Seven years ago today I found your name (and photo) on the shelter’s super urgent list in the morning, and by 1 PM you were officially a member of our little family.

Seven years ago today, my life – and your Daddy’s, Callie’s, and Shadow’s lives – changed forever. I had no way of knowing then what it would be like raising a shelter pup. I started thinking you’d be better off with a different family; but then you spent a day at doggie daycare and your demeanor improved so much that I couldn’t give up on you.

Callie helped me so much with you. So did Maria and the other girls at A Dog’s Day Out. Daycare was great for you. It taught you how to get along with other dogs, helped you spend all that turbo-charged energy, and gave you some socialization time, too. And it gave Callie and Shadow a needed break from your rowdy puppy playfulness. As well as the quiet time together and with me that they cherished, that I cherished.

You were a little stinker. Always wanting to leave Shadow out of your fun with Callie. But Callie didn’t let you.

And that awful morning when we had to say goodbye to Callie. You gave her puppy kisses that said “I love you, sis.” And your attitude toward Shadow started to improve. Callie had taught you well.

You had your spats with Shadow over the next 3-1/2 years, but you always made up with her. And when I was at Uncle Doug’s house last year, you were a good girl for Daddy. Then, when Shadow got sick in February, you watched over her for me, along with Callie. You were always right there, keeping her company whenever we had to go out. And you looked for her that weekend when she was at the hospital. And that horrible Monday when we said goodbye to Shadow, you “protected” her in the exam room. And you kissed her, as you had Callie.

You’ve been my and Daddy’s rock since Shadow reunited with Callie. I don’t know what we would have done without you, especially those first few weeks. I know you’re fine on your own in the house when Daddy and I have to leave you for a time; but I miss you from the minute we leave to the minute we get home. If I could, I would take you every place I go, just so you wouldn’t have to be alone in the house. But, then you’re not really alone during those times. Callie and Shadow are here with you, in spirit, watching over you for me.

Ducky, you are definitely one of a kind! You exasperate me, you push my patience to its limits, and you make me question my sanity at times. BUT you are sweet, loving, fun, silly, challenging, and precious all wrapped up in one 30-pound package. And every day I thank God I adopted you from the shelter that warm September afternoon seven years ago!

Not-So-Lucky Ducky

07/14/201907/14/201910 Comments

Well, it’s Sunday again; and the beginning of a brand-new week. And time for a new post about #thisdog who keeps us on our toes constantly.

Remember on Friday last when I wrote about the charmed life that Ducky leads? As a reminder, you can read that post here.

Well, she wasn’t so lucky yesterday. As is our normal routine, after Ducky had her breakfast, she and I came out to the yard for a while. After we’d been out here for about an hour, I noticed she was making faces 🤪 and pawing at her nose. She looked like a pup who had just sampled a spoonful of vinegar. And then she started hacking – like she had something caught in her throat – so I opened her mouth but couldn’t see anything.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but the hacking was what the vet world calls a “reverse sneeze”.

Anyway, it was time for me to get our roast started for dinner, so I brought Ducky inside and put hubby in charge of watching her. She seemed okay, so I took care of a few other things and went to check on her myself. And she started hacking again. So, I decided to take her to the emergency vet to see what was going on. She obviously wasn’t feeling up to par.

We got to the emergency vet, checked in, and I put Ducky in my lap. I turned her to face me and that’s when I saw it. Her upper left lip was swollen to where it was drooping over the lower lip even while she was panting. So I tied her leash to the bench and walked over to the receptionist to tell her what I’d just discovered. I went back to get Ducky so I could put her on the scale.

The receptionist and I put 2 and 2 together and decided Miss Ducky was having an allergic reaction to something. So one of the techs brought her to the back, the vet gave her a shot of Benadryl, and then they put her in one of the kennels so they could observe her for a little while. And I kept busy texting with two of my friends.

About half an hour later, the same tech came out to get me and we walked back to one of the exam rooms. We talked about what had been going on the last couple of days with this crazy dog. Then the vet brought Ducky into the room. In her attempts to make the itch go away, she had rubbed a small spot on her nose raw. And she had pooped in the kennel, so it was time to let her be with me. I noticed the swelling on her lip had gone down considerably already.

The vet, tech, and I talked a little bit and decided that Ducky had probably air snapped at a bee 🐝 buzzing near her earlier in the day and got stung in the lip in the process. Ouchie!!

While the tech printed out the discharge instructions back in the treatment area, Ducky and I waited in the exam room. I could tell Ducky was already starting to feel better: she started whining and pawing at the door. “Let’s go home, Mom! I wanna get outta here!”

She slept on the couch most of the rest of the afternoon and evening and went right back to sleep in her crate at bedtime. 😴

She awoke this morning, “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed” as usual, and in full-on, turbo-charged mode. Ready to beg hubby for some of his cinnamon roll.

I wonder if this will be one of those life’s lessons learned for Ducky? I hope so!! If not, I at least have more Benadryl in the house now to treat her with. My crazy, lovable, challenging dog! I don’t know about her sometimes, but I love her to the moon and back! ❤️❤️

Lucky Ducky

07/12/201907/12/201910 Comments

A few weeks ago I shared a story about Ducky’s curiosity when it comes to bees and other “critters” in our backyard. If you missed it, you can find it here.

Well, this morning, while we were enjoying the fresh air – and, I, my first cup of coffee – I noticed Ducky rubbing her snout in the grass by the narrow end of the driveway.

I walked over to investigate and guess what I found?

Only, when I first found him, he was resting in the dirt next to that blade of grass. Right where Ducky had been rubbing her snout! (I didn’t have my phone with me when I first went to investigate.)

This crazy dog of mine had been rubbing her snout on the bee!! My crazy, lucky dog! I don’t know how she managed to not get stung! She’s staying away from him now, just chilling out not far from my chair, with her favorite toy.

Thanks to our friends The LLB Gang for hosting the Nature Friday blog hop. Please visit them and other blogs through the links below!

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Ducky’s Nemesis

06/22/201906/22/201910 Comments

Ducky – like Callie and Shadow before her – is curious about almost everything in the backyard. But sometimes her curiosity turns her into her own worst enemy….

See the hole on the right side of the photo, where the dead leaf is? Well, that’s the entrance to a beehive. I’m not sure how many bees are living in there, but I’ve always only seen one hovering around the hole.

A few days ago, Ducky’s curiosity got the better of her and she started digging and sniffing at the hole. And a bee came out to chase her away. And harass the living you-know-what out of her. I don’t know for sure if it stung her – I couldn’t feel or see any welts – but I brought her inside and gave her a Benadryl just in case. She settled down for a nap and I sat down to read for a while.

Then, when we came outside on both Thursday and yesterday, her curiosity got to her again. And her nemesis came after her, again. She just does. not. learn. 🙄

So far this morning her curiosity has been overruled by her prey drive. She’s only been interested in chasing the resident squirrels and chipmunk around the yard. And trying to find the chipmunk’s nest under the leaves against the back wall of the house. She hasn’t found one yet, but she’s been sniffing like crazy. 😂 At least the chipmunks won’t sting her. Or harass her.

Right now Miss Ducky is interested in one thing: chillin out in the fresh air and sunshine.

An Awesome Day

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Happens when you leave your comfort zone way behind you and aren’t disappointed.

Today has been one of those days. I wish I had photos to share but I don’t. Please just enjoy the one at the end of the post.

I had to take Ducky to the vet for a weight check. I figured she would at least bark at Rachel or Morgan, but no. Once we got inside, she was quiet as a church mouse. And no resistance to being on the scale.

Then, I needed to go to our local pet supplies store to pick up some more “backup food” (for when I get low on homemade and don’t have time to make more).

Ducky has never been inside that store because I was always afraid she would try to bite another human who got too close to me. So, naturally, I was prepared to have hubby take her back outside if she got too anxious.

Ducky, Hubby, and I walked into the store behind another shopper and it was like we were the only three beings in the store. Not a sound, not an anxious look, not any reaction at all from Ducky. We walked to the back of the store where they keep (some of) the food I needed and back to the front where the rest of it is kept. All Ducky was interested in was all the new smells. 🐾🐾

So, hubby brought our items up to the cashier’s desk while I walked Ducky around the store. Her only reaction was a little growling at another dog on the other side of the glass door to the grooming room. And she stopped as soon as I asked her to and went back to sniffing. She even sniffed the cashier’s hand when the girl rolled out from behind the counter in a wheelchair!! 🥰

My little girl made me – and her Daddy – so proud today! I know her Golden Angel sisters are proud of her, too! 😇😇

Now Ducky and I are enjoying sunshine and fresh air in the backyard as we chill out. Ducky’s on squirrel patrol, and I’m about to start my walk around the yard. (Beats the boring old treadmill any time!)

in my heart 4ever

Lovingly Dedicated To All My Furry Kids

Tag: backyard