New year, big changes

Hello all. I hope everyone had a good holiday. We celebrated Einstein's first Christmas with us. We always wrap the dogs' presents and he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. But he caught on pretty quickly and ran around the house with his new toy once he opened his first present.


Lady still hasn't quite figured out what all the present business is about.

Sophia also turned three on Sunday. We sang "Happy Birthday" to her, but didn't give her anymore presents because she got so many for Christmas.

Now for the BIG news. Before we left for Christmas, Adam caught the kids next door throwing ice over the fence at the dogs. He yelled at them to stop but they didn't. Unfortunately we know from experience that talking to their mother doesn't help.

The incident was the straw that broke the camel's back and Adam finally agreed that we could buy a house. We have an appointment with a loan officer next week and I called a realtor one of my friends used when she bought her first house.

Our priorities for a house are that it has a fence, a basement, three bedrooms and that it be in a neighborhood with well behaved children in Illinois. Sorry Iowa fans, but my Champaign, Ill., native husband feels a little bit like a traitor living in Hawkeye country. That and our car insurance will be less over there.

A birthday card for Sophia

Sophia will turn three on Sunday. She's the only dog whose age and exact birthday we know.

Our veterinarian sent us an e-card for Sophia. It even has a cocker spaniel on it. You can check it out here.

I'm so proud of Einstein

I've been teaching a co-worker to quilt.

Our first lesson was at my house where we cut out all the pieces to a table runner. She brought her 3-year-old daughter along and the dogs were pretty well behaved around her almost 3-year-old. Although I did crate Sophia during the lesson so I could concentrate on teaching my co-worker to quilt instead of a hyper Sophia investigating a small human.

Yesterday the lesson was at my co-worker's house. She graciously offered to let me bring all three dogs over. But I said it would be mass chaos if we had to watch all three of my dogs, her dog, Guinness, and her daughter, so I just brought Einstein. Her daughter remembered Einstein, who she calls "Einstar" from her visit to my house and thought he was a nice dog.

None of my dogs have spent too much time around children, so I was very proud of Einstein when he let her daughter pet him, hug him, throw his toy for him and even lay on him.

I was also proud of my co-worker whose table runner is turning out very nice, especially for her first quilted project. We sewed until 11:30 last night and then she kept on until the quilting was finished around 12:30 a.m. Then she was up and moving early this morning and into work by 8:15.

I said I didn't know how she got up so early after going to bed so late. Three co-workers (all parents themselves) said, "Just wait," in unison. Apparently functioning while sleep deprived is a skill that comes when you have a furless baby.

We're back from Hawaii

We're back and somewhat settled from our honeymoon in Hawaii.

We had a great time, but we were very happy to get home to the dogs. Adam kept pulling pictures up of the dogs up on my cell phone to look at while we were gone and we seemed to see dogs everywhere we went, which made us miss them more.

The dogs were equally excited to see us. Sophia, who hasn't peed in excitement for me since she was a puppy, created quite the mess on the floor. And all the dogs ran all over wagging their tails with excitement.

My mom reports that the dogs were very good while we were gone. Lady clung to her like glue, Einstein brought his beloved frog toy to anyone who would throw it to him and Sophia didn't care what was going on as long as she had a lap to climb into.


We brought them back doggie lollipops for a treat upon our return. They loved them and ate them up right away. Sophia ate hers so fast we couldn't even get a picture of it.

Einstein napping with his beloved frog

Good times at the dog park

Einstein comes home

Here are photos from when we adopted Einstein in February. He was very hairy and full of fleas, but we loved him.

Smokey can see!

Smokey had cataract surgery this morning and he can see!

They only operated on his left eye because his right eye was too far gone and the veterinarian was concerned he'd lose his sight completely if they attempted surgery. Smokey does have partial sight in his right eye though.

Smokey is awake but a little out of it. But the veterinarian said he can definitely see and should regain 100 percent of his sight in his left eye.

The veterinarian said he got there just in time because if another three or four months went by, then they wouldn't have been able to operate on that eye either.

He'll stay at the veterinary hospital overnight and then will go home tomorrow. Jeanne is going to take some video of him tomorrow. I'll post it as soon as I get it.

Thank you to everyone who donated or bought jewelry to help pay for Smokey's surgery. You all had a hand in helping him see again.

Lady and Sophia's first Christmas

As you can tell, Sophia likes the snow.


The girls REALLY loved that bone.

Pool party

Here are more pictures from Sophia's first year. I don't know why I let her get so hairy.


I had just gotten Lady, and she didn't want anything to do with the pool.

Sophia as a puppy

These photos were taken the first night I brought Sophia home. She was a seven pound ball of energy.

Can I come too?

Not wanting to be left behind, Einstein thought he'd make a good carry on to Hawaii.

Smokey is good to go for surgery

Smokey's left eye is good to go for surgery. The veterinary ophthalmologist is very confident that surgery will be successful and he'll regain sight after the surgery.

His left eye is almost completely blind, so the surgery will be life changing for him.

His right eye is a little more complicated. The retina has begun to detach so if they are able to remove the cataract, then they also will need to repair the retina. The additional procedure is expensive and well above the amount raised for Smokey's surgery, but Jeanne and her husband have decided to go ahead and approve the surgery if the veterinarians are able to perform it.

Before Jeanne even knew she was going to adopt Smokey, she helped raise $2,000 for his surgery through her Etsy shop, Jeanne de Andrade Designs. She is hosting a sale on her site right now where all jewelry is 40- to 50- percent off.

I bought a pair of earrings when she was having the sale for Smokey and I love them. So if you're still looking for Christmas presents, check out her shop. The money will help Jeanne and her husband pay for Smokey's surgery.

Update on Smokey

Smokey is having his final pre-surgery test today to make sure cataract surgery would be successful.

The veterinary ophthalmologist said at Smokey's first visit that she would be very surprised if he didn't pass this test, so after today he should be good to go for surgery on Dec. 9.

On the home front, Smokey and Jeanne's husband have fallen in love with each other. Jeanne said their other two dogs, Rudy and Riley, always follow her around and now her husband has a little buddy following his steps too.

Smokey also is getting along really well with Rudy, who he is pictured with above. He nudges her to play with him and they cuddle together while Jeanne works in her home office. Riley, the dominant dog in the house, is still getting used to the new member of the pack, but they have learned to tolerate each other.

As long as everything goes well today, Smokey will go in for cataract surgery on Dec. 9. They will keep him for one to two nights at the veterinary ICU which is staffed 24 hours a day. It sounds like Smokey will get even better care than a person getting the surgery. And then he'll be able to see again. I can't wait to hear Jeanne's description of Smokey's life when he has his sight back.

For a bloody eye, it could have been a lot worse

Over the weekend I noticed what appeared to be a small growth on Sophia's eyelid.

After close to three years of being a pet owner, I've finally learned not to take the dogs to vet for every little bump and minor ailment. Plus it's not unusual for dogs to get growths, so I wasn't concerned. I still wasn't concerned when hair started falling off around the area yesterday.

But when she came in from outside this afternoon, her eye was all wet. I wiped it off and came away with a bloody paper towel. I knew it was time to call the vet.

It turned out the "growth" was either a stye or an ulcer that burst, causing the bleeding. Our veterinarian said Sophia was probably feeling better now that it did burst and the pressure was gone, even though it was a little gross.

The treatment is simple too. We just have to put a little ointment on the area three times a day for a week and watch to make sure it doesn't get infected.

Of all the things that could cause bleeding around the eye, I think we lucked out on this trip to the vet.

Best of all, I was able to pay cash for the visit. Last fall I started putting aside a set amount of money each month to go toward veterinary expenses. And unless something dramatic happens in December, that fund will have paid for all of my trips to the vet including their annual exams, heartworm medication, a double ear infection and a trip to the emergency veterinarian when we thought Einstein tore his ACL.

If you don't have an emergency fund for your pets, I would suggest starting one. Ours has proven to be very useful this year.

Doggie caregiver list

My parents are going to take care of the dogs while we're on our honeymoon and my mom wants me to make her a list of things to do.

The last time I made a list for someone who was watching the dogs, it was three pages long single-spaced. I'd like to not go that overboard again, but am wondering what I should and should not include.

Obviously I need to include details like how much to feed them and their mircochip numbers just in case they got out. But what do you all include in a doggie caregiver list when you have to leave your dogs overnight with others?