Every Day Matters

Isaac in the Gravy

 

The above photo of Isaac, taken by Bob about 4 years ago, has appeared in many ads, articles, on greeting cards, on posters, and in a book. Most of these appearances had to do with "fat pets"......he was used as an illustration in several articles about how to get your pet to lose weight; in ads for diet pet foods, etc. The greeting card company made him even fatter by expanding his bottom half. He was not all that big when the photo was taken! Poor guy.

This week, someone spotted him on a new product and it does not refer to his weight - in fact he looks pretty slim and trim:

VITA GRAVY - available at Amazon!

Charmer update

I have been here in Baltimore with Charmer and her three-family since Sunday. She is doing okay...seems very tired, but happy and holding her own. She has been showered with lots of love and lots of food treats (sausage, chicken jerky, bacon and eggs for breakfast, whipped cream, ham, cheese, cheese puffs and more things than I can even think of). I am certain that she already thinks she has died and gone to Golden heaven.

We know every hour she is here from this point on is a gift, and we are making the most of that time. It is going to be very difficult to leave here tomorrow.

Charmer likes to put her head up against ours....I always thought it was her way of talking to us.

 

 

She loves to keep watch out the front door

Isaac is no Dewey

I saw this post in a blog that I read:

Win a book if your kitty's a Dewey look-alike

so I sent in this photo of him with some biographical info - which you can see by clicking on the above link:

Got the bad news today....Isaac was edged out by a pretty girl with a sad story:

The Dewey look-alike contest: We have a winner!

We are not going to tell Isaac this news.....he is still a winner to us!

Recognize anyone?

A friend of Laura's saw a poster - for the Combined Federal Campaign -  in her office and immediately e-mailed this photo to Laura.

This charitable campaign involves all federal employees....http://www.opm.gov/CFC/

Here is the entire poster:

and a progress "thermometer"

Bob took this photo of Laura and Charmer a couple of years ago and it has been sold through iStockPhoto so many times. iStock also offered it as a free download and it was downloaded 35,000 times in one week! It has appeared in a German magazine

and many other places.

Charmer - Back by Popular Demand

My friend Nancy*** has shamed me into posting some new photos of Charmer. I am happy to report that Charmer is doing much better, hardly limping at all, and seems to be over the loopiness that results from the use of phenobarbital. She is a bit stiff when she first gets up, but other than that, her gait appears normal.

Charmer is begging --- so we know she is feeling better. She was throwing some of her toys around today, which is another good sign.

***By the way, Nancy's blog (click here for Terra Firma) entries are always well-written and entertaining, but she does not post often enough for me. Hint!

Here is how Charmer looks when I peek around the corner in the morning - she has heard me coming down the stairs and is waiting in her "apartment"....



Charmer with her "friends"


Begging at the dinner table (notice her back left/bad leg in the next two photos)




 She is one sweet doggie and I am just hoping that her bad times are behind her.

A Quick Charmer Update

Yesterday I took Charmer to our vet. Getting her in and out of the car was a challenge but she is so co-operative. In the waiting room, full of various animals, the only time Charmer got excited was when a woman came in carrying a baby in a car seat. I guess she was thinking it was her Charlie.

Our vet is so calm and reassuring. She said that Charmer's leg is healing well and that it was a good repair but that her walking should be kept to a minimum for now. She told me that two weeks is usually when the loopiness from the phenobarb is greatly lessened, and yesterday was two weeks. Charmer will need to be on this med for the rest of her life, but maybe after two months the dosage can be lowered.

Anyway, I felt quite reassured. Thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts about our girl!

Charmer's new/temporary "apartment"

Charmer arrived at our house in PA on Tuesday evening and was very glad to see us. My sister Debbie had gone to Baltimore to see Charlie and drove Charmer up for us. Her car already had a lot of dog hair in it from her two Goldens!

Charmer quickly settled in, wanted to lick Isaac, and even went down the stairs yesterday looking for him. This is something she is not supposed to do (stairs) and it was a challenge to get her back up!

We have her bed, quilt, and bowls in the family room. I have barricades up to keep her confined to the family room and half of the kitchen, but last night she kept trying to push one out of the way. THUMP THUMP THUMP....until I added something else. She is persistent!

I think she is walking better and am looking forward to seeing what our vet has to say tomorrow. Her walking is odd...for 15-20 steps it looks like she is walking normally and then it looks like her rear legs forget what to do, and then the next instant, all is well. I think she is happy to be here but am sure she is a bit confused and misses her family. We are trying to give her as much TLC as they do.

Isaac - Mr. Photogenic

Who wouldn't love this face? (Besides Charmer and Ken!)

This is how he coped with the heat - reclining on his back under the ceiling fan

Looking peaceful, emphasis on "looking" ....

And I think this is so funny...a ball of fur with a tail!

Or if you look at him sideways, a fat "Q"

Weekend visitor

Charmer came to visit at the beach this weekend (she did bring her humans) - this was her last visit as an "only child". Or, as Laura says, before they ruin her life! I suspect that she may visit us by herself this summer to get away from it all -- with "all" being defined as a crying little interloper.

She actually spent a lot of time in her Orvis dog bed...

 
...when she was not looking for Isaac, who spent most of the weekend guarding his food bowl. On Saturday, he spent six hours in this spot without moving


If Isaac only realized that Charmer just wants to LICK HIM!

Charmer is such a preppy girl....love her new collar!

What a Life

We REALLY did have some sun this morning, and Isaac decided to bask in it.

Now he is hiding - from who knows what! This is his new "spot".

I have had a crazy busy week, lots of time-consuming nothingness, including back and forth twice to the body shop. I decided NOT to post a photo of the rental car I had to drive - a neon-blue PT Cruiser. It was soooo not me!