Humans don’t appreciate how interesting bird poop can be.
Tag: seriousdoglover
Post Hurricane Irma
It was our first hurricane to live through in Florida and it was stressful, to say the least. Nemo and the gang also felt the stress. Thankfully, we sustained no damage to the house or boat, but we lost a lot of pieces of trees. Since some lost a whole lot more, we have nothing to complain about. Power came back up within a few days and after a week, we needed some relax time. Since he’s not overly fond of being actually ON the boat, he’s very happy to chill at a dock party.
Awwwww factor
Been awfully busy lately and haven’t had time to post in ages. But we just had to share this absolutely precious photo of Cousin Shadow and her new baby sis, Brookee. ❤ ❤ ❤ Serious puppy love ❤
Housekeeping fail
Love this because it’s true. Thankfully, I can call in Sparky to handle emergencies when Nemo slacks off.
Nemo turns six years old today
The more things change, the more some things stay the same. He may have outgrown the vent and the bathroom, but he is still very much an A/C whore.
Nap time
Nap time at Gramma’s. ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Boogeyman
Phoofie bites toes or fingers or tails if they hang over the bed in the middle of the night. Nemo is fully convinced the cat IS the boogeyman.
Dog sofa
I was looking for something unrelated on craigslist this afternoon and came across this in the free section. I’m still laughing because I know how hard it is to get MY dogs off of their couch when I’m trying to change the slipcover, much less sell it out from under them. Totally made my day.
Monster
I slept through Day 31. Ooops.
When I woke up this morning, tangled in amongst the fleece blankets was Monster. As usual.
I picked up Monster at a garage sale a few years ago as a dog toy gift for the boys. At the time, Rico was still in his rip-and-tear phase, so I held off giving him this blue fuzzy toy with its little appendages that could be nibbled and pulled off. There’s nothing worse than a toy bleeding puffs of polyfil all over the house, except cleaning up the yard after a certain dog has managed to ingest some of said polyfil.
Perhaps because I treated Monster like precious gold while teaching Rico the words “don’t shred,” Rico also treated and still treats Monster like the prize of a lifetime. No matter how many times I place Monster in the toy basket with the other toys, Rico invariably will pick out the fuzzy blue guy and put him on my bed up near the pillows. In fact, the dog doesn’t seem to be able to nap unless Monster is on the bed. I have often posted pictures of Rico napping with Monster tucked under his paw or using the toy as a pillow. Not one other toy in the basket gets as much love and respect from Rico – and Nemo for that matter – as does Monster. 
Since I have been pretty much bed-bound for the past eight months, I actually cannot recall a time when Monster was not in bed with me. I think this poor stuffed guy has been the go-to cuddler when the boys weren’t around, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rolled over onto him, or rolled over and gone face to face with him. The boys have chawed on his squishiness, bopped me in the head with him, held him high with their paws while lying on their backs as though Monster were the baby Lion King, and nuzzled and stuffed the toy under the blankets and up against my back more times than I can count. If he fell off the bed, the boys would retrieve him and replace him up near the pillows by my head. He needs a bath for sure, the poor thing.
I imagine that my In-Home Dog Therapists had somehow decided that if they could not be in the bed with me at every given moment, they needed to entrust the job to someone they could count on. Apparently, Monster was chosen for the job.
I
t amazes me how much dogs really think through things and how they are so often right. One thing I know is that the boys made a good choice in delegating the 24/7 supervision task to Monster. Bless his little fuzzy blue heart, he has been here for the duration. When I went to change the bed today, I had moved him over to the toy basket. After I was done putting nice clean sheets and blankets on, it just didn’t look right.
So I put him back on the bed where he belongs.
Day #32: Cherished gifts from my dogs.
Re-blogged from SuperSparklyMe.
Grey muzzles
My Nemo’s muzzle is gone nearly all silver. He was right up near the pillow when I took this picture and I am surprised it came out in focus. He usually makes the effort to sneak up next to me not so much to cuddle the way Rico does, but because he wants something he doesn’t have thumbs to get. Dogs have no guile.
The big guy is five and a half years old now. I still remember the day he was born, when the Puppy Fairy delivered nine puppies to Daisy, the pregnant dog I had rescued from the neighbor next door. We won’t go there right now. This is about happy stuff and we did find a good home for Daisy.
Nemo grew up with not one, but two nanny dogs, the first being Emily the Great Pyrenees who passed away when Nemo was just six months old and the second being Sadie, the Yellow Lab who just recently passed away. He has lived with cats and chickens his entire life as well as with Sparky, his elder dog brother by two years. Nemo’s younger dog brother would be Rico, who is just over three years old. Phoofie has been a mainstay and nemesis for Nemo’s entire life so far. Of course, at eleven years old, the cat pretty much just naps all day and ignores the dogs anyway.
When I got sick last year, the lying around staring at the ceiling activity level I have had makes me appreciate that my dogs are here providing in-home dog therapy the way they do. When I get my hair to grow back, I’m not even going to complain about it being all grey any more. At this point, I will be satisfied to simply have hair.
My shiny, black puppy has grown to 140lbs at his heaviest, 125lbs when he’s at his best weight, and has acquired quite a few silver threads on his schnozzola. Grey hairs signify life lived, history made, time spent. Nobody will ever love you the way your dog does.
Day 16: Grey muzzles are beautiful.
Reposted from SuperSparklyMe.com.
Puppy love
For 2016, I have decided to deliberately seek and find at least one thing of beauty every day. Of course, my boys could be featured every day, but that would be too easy.
I invite ya’ll over to SuperSparklyMe.com to follow along and even to join in on the conversation and sharing on Facebook.
Happy New Year 2016
Are you okay?
I’m sure Rico is not the only four-legged alarm clock out there, eh?
Indecision
When you can’t decide whether you want to stay in or go out. Yeah, that.
Sleepy face
Caught Rico starting to nap without me. Such a cutie.
Dog therapists
Thanks to my dedicated team of home health care dog therapists, I am being well looked after today.
Rico turns three years old
Cutest three-year-old ever! Baby Rico is growing up.
Best. Medicine. Ever.
Wow, I cannot believe I missed the entire summer. Those folks who are really observant will notice that my hair in the above photo is barely there. All spring I had not been feeling very well, mostly just drained and had no energy. I needed more and more naps in the afternoon. I had a swollen lymph node on my neck and a dry cough that wouldn’t go away since, like, December. Well, by mid-July, my temperature was spiking to 102, 103 and even 104 degrees, being brought down temporarily by a constant supply of aspirin. And everybody knows that can’t be good.
After nearly a month in the hospital, I received a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – which thankfully is 90% – 95% curable. Heaven knows there are much worse cancers or diseases one can have. Four days after my birthday in August, I had my first chemo treatment and like Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs, who was diagnosed with the same cancer almost a year ago, my expected treatment time is relatively short: six or seven months. God is good that I’ve got something curable and short-lived.
All through my extensive napping this past spring and summer, Rico has been glued to my side and lettering in varsity napping. Of course, Nemo is a professional, but for an active pup like Rico, putting the breaks on, curling up next to me every time he comes over, even not getting up when the other dogs go outside, this was a huge bonding commitment on his part. He’s almost ready to go pro.
I love this picture of him curled up on the pillow next to me, which I’ve often described to folks about his cuddliness, but hadn’t been able to get a good picture of before he’d move. Every night he spends with me, this is how we start off. Can you say, “puppy love”?
Big boys
I always love a nice “Boy and his Dog” portrait. I especially like this one because Charlie is six feet tall and 225lbs, so Nemo sitting next to him gives you a pretty good perspective on just how big my Big Black Dog is! Nemo is a Great Dane in a Black Lab suit. LOL
Cruising
Took Sparky and Nemo for a ride in the convertible last night. Pretty sure they enjoyed themselves.
