Australia Day

 

Happy 225th Birthday Australia !

Update From Life Under The Table

We thought we would give you an update on the progress of the 'above' table stuff - we noticed a few of you have mentioned you would like see it.  Here I am beginning my BORING life 'under' the table (that is where I am to be found when ever the Mom is working of "DAD'S" silly train thing.


 In the beginning it was just a flat old surface and some weird shaped thing on the end.  Well as you can see - Mom has turned that into a mountain with the railway going over it and under it. She modeled it on a roadway she went through while in Italy.  She made this using paper mache - (Finally something to use all that shredded paper on - the best way to deal with bills!) At the moment they just have a base coat of paint on but eventually they will be covered with trees and greenery.





Mom has added some more hills to the other end of the board and the side - they are still in the process of drying so have not been painted yet. As you can see the roads (and YES - sidewalks) are all in place. Mom has never understood why so few American cities seem to have sidewalks - in fact there is none where we live so Mom said "her community was going to have sidewalks no matter what!!"  We also have a lake in place - it is still drying so it still looks a little cloudy but it will eventually be clear and look like real water!  She has just started putting down the grass and some shrubbery and it is actually  a much prettier green then the photos show.  Mom says she will do another update in a few more weeks and I in the meantime will be found 'under the table' - the ever faithful dog at Mom's feet!

Snoozing the day away

Mom braved the cold today - (mind you 36 is not really cold considering some of the temps we have seen in other parts of the States) and took us off to the pet store today to get some dry food. She was most happy as our bags of doggie food were on special - a buy one get one free!!  Because of all my allergies the food she buys us is very expensive so this was a really appreciated surprise today.  Mom says we may go back tomorrow and buy some more while it is on special! MMMmmm that means more treats from the nice gals at the store too.  Apart from that we are having a lazy day and doing a lot of snoozin on the nice cold tile floor - some of us prefer the cold Mom!

Cruel Jokes Moms Play

The Mom says - Okay boys - we are ready to go to the dog park. We start jumping around and barking all happy like - but then I "Reilly" stopped and thought 'what dog park - we don't have a dog park where we live?'   Hmmm maybe she is taking us somewhere new? But NOOOO she wasn't referring to us "REAL" boys - but the silly 'boys' she had just painted for that stupid railway dog park!  Now these 'things' are tiny - so tiny she had to use a magnifying glass to paint them and see that finger - that is Mom's little pinkie finger. And then here we are in 'our' dog park - hey what are those people doing in OUR dog park????? Okay fellow doggies - let's herd them up and get them out of here and make sure you close the gates so they can't come back in!!! Let them get their own people park!
 

It's all to much for one little dog

It is sad and depressed little ole me. YES ! I am still here - Other-Mommy got the weekends wrong.  Not that it matters - SIGH ! I have taken to my bed and I refuse to move. My Mom is taking me to Nebraska with her this weekend and that means no more "other-mommy" to look after me, cuddle me and make me yummy foodables and coats. And the weather girl says it is soooo cold in Nebraska and snowy and I don't like either of those things. I know the BIG DOG won't miss me (cause between you and me - he doesn't like me very much - he nips at me if I get to close to him) but who is Denny-wenny going to have to play with - we are  co-conspirators in trouble making being good,  bark buddies, amigos and bitey face champions? Sigh - it is all too much for one little dog {Insert sad violin music here} please pass me some tissues while I cry and whimper my little heart out.

Musing on Monday #5

D.I.E.T.S - Dogs Inadvertently Eating Tasty Snacks

The Mom in all her craziness wisdom decided that we furbies needed to loose some weight and she put us on a strict diet. Now since this happened - and it is PURELY coincidental - DIET monsters have also moved into our house.

It began when our WHOLE box of bedtime cookies disappeared while Mom and Dad were in San Antonio. Gone - the box and cookies just seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Then last week - a half a packet of buttery crackers went missing off the Dad's coffee table.  Saturday night - half a container of Pringles went missing off the same coffee table - although the monsters are getting clever for this time they left incriminating evidence to try and frame US! - the chomped up container - minus the contents was found out in somedogs favorite corner of the garden.

Now we know you are thinking - that one of us dogs is to blame but may I point out that since December 25 which is when mom forced encouraged us to go on this diet (great Christmas present MOM!) - I have lost 2.5 pounds and Dweeb Denny has lost 2 pounds. The proof speaks for itself don't you think - if we were to blame for these foodibles going missing how could we possibly loose weight at the same time? It's a dilemma I think but you know what fellow furbies - I would highly recommend this "D.I.E.T.S"  thing cause it seems to be working for us!

Dog Park?

Remember how Mom gave Dad a train set for Christmas - yeah well now it is just Mom's train set cause she's doing all the work on it !!!!  Anyway - things are slowly moving along but one thing Mom has finished is the Dog Park. Thanks to Lassiter Chase and Benjamin for the idea. So far we have found some scottie dogs, collies and german shepards to put in it. And you can see - we have some roads down and a lake !!!!  Dang - now if only this was life size - I sure would enjoy going to that dog park!

It's a small world !!!

Remember when Mom and Dad abandoned us went on vacation to Texas - to San Antonio. Well they were down visiting the River Walk area and were on their way back to car when Dad's niece wanted to stop and look at the Crazy Mirrors thing at Ripley's Believe it or Not - across from the Alamo. Mom and Dad said they would wait and have a look around at some near by shops - well as they were waiting Mom spied a lady with and Australian T-Shirt on (it had Australia written across the front)  and she was just about to ask her if she was indeed Australian when Dad interrupted her about something. When she turned around the lady and her friend had moved on and she couldn't see them anymore.  Well guess what - it turns out that was more then likely  Daisy, Bella and Roxy's Mom (From Daisy Downunder Blog).  They were there the same day visiting the same area - what are the odds!!!  Mom wishes she had been able to say hi - but it was fun almost meeting them. It is a small world after all :)

My Buddy

You know - I was only a little 14 week old puppy when Jacky left the first time and I don't remember it all that well - but I sure remembered him coming home and all the fun we had playing. And now he is leaving me again and who I will have to play with and get in trouble with?

Reilly will play sometimes but not for long - he is the BIG DOG after all and much too dignified to do things like play - especially if anyone is watching!

So in this week dedicated to my little buddy - I will share some of my favorite times, laying in the shade together, rolling around, playing on the grass and just chillin out. Mom says Jackie is going to have some new buddies to play with in Nebraska - a doggie and a kitty - but I bet they won't be as good as me! Do you think he will miss me?

What I Will Be Missing Wednesday

Sigh....I am going to miss when "Other Mommy" goes shopping cause she buys all the GOOD stuff that my Mom won't buy for  me.

Bully Sticks
Venison chews
Char-tar cookies
Fresh Breath Cookies (Those are for me..I have stinky breath)
Moo Tracheas
Pig Ears
Hoofies
Fresh Bones
Cheese, cheese and more cheese
Yummy Venison Kibble
Duck Jerky

Cookies!!!!!!!!!!

Cookie - what cookie?
I don't have a cookie!
Where is the cookie ?
I want a cookie !
Can I have a cookie please?
I really love cookies
Does Reilly have a cookie?
Does Denny have a cookie?
Am I missing out on a cookie?
Look how cute I am - I deserve a cookie
And I am only here until the weekend
And I looooooovvvvvvvve cookies
So can I have a cookie pleaaaaasssseeee.
What do you mean it's already in my mouth
How did it get there?
Mmmmmmmm cooookkkkieeeeee


 















We knew you wanted to see him before he goes so here he is in all his dorky glory - once a dweeb -always a dweeb.

Musing On Monday #4

Hunting Dogs in Trucks - The other day when we were driving Mom and I counted 5 open backed trucks that had dogs in them untethered. We were horrified when we stopped at the traffic light to see a truck in front of us with a yellow lab in the back suddenly take off quickly when the light changed -  the dog in the back which was STOOD on the left hand side - untethered -  slid quickly to the right and almost out of the truck. There were two lanes turning so if the dog had slid out - he would of been under the wheels of the car next to the truck and would of been killed or severely injured.   Sadly we live in an area that is hunting crazy - and this is a very common sight but what I do not understand is WHY these owners do not take the simple precaution of tethering their dogs. I heard from our local vet the other day that the hunters in our area spend thousands of dollars on their hunting dogs - so it seems even crazier to put such an a prized pupster at risk. Whether they are worth thousand or not  - EVERY dog deserves to be looked after properly and this is not proper at all! It is time this practice was made illegal for it is not only putting us pupsters at risk but also the hoomans who have to swerve or slam their brakes on to avoid missing a dog that has fallen from a truck. The only thing I can say to these irresponsible hoomans is BAD hooman - BAD hooman !!!!!!

Sunday Snippet

We don't often do product reviews and we don't get paid for doing them - but occasionally we come across something that we think is good enough to share. While at Sam Club yesterday (which freaked her out because they have re-organised the WHOLE store and she couldn't find things in the usual place) she came across these doggie cookies. What impressed her was :

1. Made in the USA - in Monroe Wisconsin!
2. No wheat, soy or corn
3. No chemicals
5. Recycled cardboard for the box
6. Price $11 for a 5 pound box
7. Flavors - we got the cheddar - but there was also Peanut butter and banana and something else - Mom forgot!
8. They don't make Denny throw up!
9. Most importantly - the taste test - WE LOVE THEM!

Some news for the Dweeb #1

(Reilly) - So Dweeb - I have some exciting news for you

(Jackie) Oh you do - I love news - what is it huh huh huh..... are we going to the park....wait wait - errmmm the pet store that is even better - what about......

(Reilly) None of those Dweeb

(Jackie) Are we going for a car ride ...oh oh oh I love car rides!!!! Did other Mommy buy me some bones I love bones.....

(Reilly) Do be quiet Dweeb - how can I tell you the news if you keep dogging on like that

(Jackie) But I love news . what is it huh huh huh?????

(Reilly) Dweeb - you are leaving us again !!!!

(Jackie) GULP..........WHATTTTTTTT?

(Reilly) You heard right Dweeb - you and YOUR Mom are leaving again - back to living in Nebraska and there will be no "MY" mom to run to for cuddles all the time and look after you.

(Jackie) Stunned silence.......GULP!

(Jackie) BUT BUT BUT......I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!  sniffle sniffle whimper whimper......

(Reilly) You need help packing Dweeb?

(Jackie) NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO I don't wanna goooooooooo!

Missing beautiful

We don't do blog hops and awards and such - it's is just not our thing but we do so enjoy seeing all the "See Beautiful" posts and although we are not officially joining in - we wanted to share some the MOST beautiful sunsets from Mom's home in Australia. These are old photos of the vintage 1990 so the quality isn't that great but you will get the idea and understand why she misses it so much. She has NEVER seen sunsets like this in any of the places she has lived in the USA although she has seen many beautiful ones that is for sure. They say these type of sunsets are caused from the red desert sands being blown up into the atmosphere. It is quite amazing to see and makes the sky look like it is on fire.

Mom says it is time to a bit of re-vamping on our blog - so don't be surprised if it looks a bit weird and different over the weekend :)

Life under the table

It seems that walkies are out of the question until my paw gets better so I now relegated to a "life under the table".

Under the train table while Mom is working on that - at the moment she is paper mache-ing mountains!

Under the craft table when she is busy making cards - she already has orders for Valentines and Easter!

Under the kitchen table at dinner time - waiting for what ever meager scraps may fall my way.

And under the coffee table next to Mom's rocking chair on the few occasions she sits down - which trust me isn't much!

I think I shall a book on this experience and call it either "Life Under The Table" or "The Urge To Nip Toes" - sigh....I am bored already! And NO MOM you can't take the Dweebs to the park and leave me home - I FORBID it!

The Poor Paw

So off I went to the dreaded Mr Vet today. He checked out my foot and says that basically that weird thing fell off but it has left a big old rough callous in its place and that has rubbed up an ulcer on the pad next to it.

He then ATTACKED me with hardware - yikes can you believe it!!!!!  Actually he took a dremmel to the callous and smoothed it down - much the way the hoomans take a pumice stone to rough skin.  He was surprised how well I just stood there while he did it - until Mom told him that she uses uses a dremmel to do my nails so I am use to it.

I have some antibiotic ointment for the ulcer and some pain meds. He told Mom she needs to soak my foot for about 5 minutes a day to soften it and then use either the dremmel or a pumice stone on the callous and just take a little bit off each day.  REALLY MOM! - get my foot wet - you are kidding right - wet means water and you  KNOW how I hate water!!!!

He also said I need to stop licking it - easy for him to say!!!  Mom has dug out the dreaded  baby sock again to put on my foot  - oh the shame of it!  He also suggested we use some Udderly sMOOth Cream on it - kind of fitting really as their logo is cowpots!!!!!!!!!!

He did say if it doesn't get better that they might have to try to remove the callous but that would be the last resort as it would mean removing about a third of my pad. We will give my new 'beauty' regime a go and see what happens.

As for my toes spreading - he says that is "weird" It hasn't happened on any of my other feet and he thinks it might be some form of arthritis that is causing the bones to grow funny. The X-rays showed something similar to a human rheumatoid type arthritis happening in the joints of my toes.

Live Long and Prosper!

Mom says she is taking me (Reilly) to the vets tomorrow - a few months back she noticed this weird growth on  my front left foot pad (it almost looked like a nail growing out of it). Mr Vet said it was a callous and wasn't causing any problems so we would just keep an eye on it.

Yesterday I didn't want to walk down to the mail box with her - something I ALWAYS do and Mom noticed I was holding my paw up. She called Mr Vet straight away but it was his day off and he is in surgery all day today so the earliest we can see him is first thing tomorrow. I must admit it has got very ouchie and now I can hardly walk on it and when Mom checked the callous had changed color (it is now black!), shape and size and was bleeding a bit. Admittedly I have been licking at it A LOT - but hey it hurts - so what is a guy to do?

She is also worried because my toes on that foot have suddenly spread too.  Mom says it looks like I am doing the Vulcan "live long and prosper" sign - what ever that means!!!!  Hopefully Mr Vet can figure out what is going on tomorrow.

Musing On Monday #3

What do wolves (in the wild) - the canines we are ALL descended from - EAT?

Hmmm last time I checked it wasn't canned food or food from a tin or a bag - it was dead stuff - stuff they killed themselves and then tore apart and ate raw. Occasionally they will find some remains from a bears killing or if they are really lucky a deer might of died from old age - personally I can't see that happening to often! And of coarse these days (not previously available to our ancestors) they have a smorgasbord of road kill to pick from or goodies from that big food dispenser called a dumpster that resides behind all restaurants. One thing I do KNOW - once they find this stuff - they don't put it in an oven or microwave to cook it first (mainly because Mom says there are no power points out in the wild to plug them into) - they just chomp it down - blood, guts, gore, maggots, packaging and all.

Now I have been watching some silly TV dog food commercials of late where they rave about all the fruits, vegetables and grains and "REAL" meat they use and oddly enough I can't say I have ever seen many wolves out there picking apples from the orchard, digging up carrots from the veggie patch or reaping wheat out the fields.  And just what do they mean REAL meat as opposed to UNREAL meat? If it unreal meat - then how can it even be called meat? Shouldn't it be called unreal something or other?

Of coarse many hoomans tend to think we are farrrrrrrrrr removed from the old wolf - but they are WRONG - WRONG - WRONG. How many stories do you read of where dogs go missing and survives for years "out in the wild".....why do many places in the world have 'wild dog problems' - domestic dogs that run in packs out in the wild and around towns. Back in Mom's home of  Australia the Dingo (Australia's only native dog) had just about been cross bred out of existence because of the 'domestic' dogs that got loose, were dumped or escaped and bred with the dingos.  How do they survive given that they were originally 'domestic?' Admittedly hooman TRASH makes life much easier for a dog out the street - but there are equally as many 'wild dogs' out in the country areas as there are in the city - and just like the clever wolf - you hardly ever see them!


But  back to the issue of food - Now personally I don't care what kind of food I eat - so long as I get fed (of coarse Mom limits it because of my stupid allergies) but  I still have a very varied diet for a dog. I eat a fish based dry food with no grains in it. (Hey Mom - I don't see many wolves fishing either????) I get raw bones as they help keep my teeth all nice and pearly white and give me calcium. I eat vegetables - although mom likes to hide them in a her own special "Reilly Brand Food" that she mixes up. I do love a good bit of apple - especially when Mom adds some cheese to go with it and banana and peanut butter is a yumbo treat.  I bake my own cookies  full of all the stuff that is good for me (well I supervise Mom doing it - I hate when the flour gets in my fur).  Now personally I think all this varied diet stuff appeases the hooman need more than our own....they are told a varied and balanced diet with lots of vitamins and such is good for them..... so it must be good for us too! Again I refer back to good old wolf here - can't say I have seen any at Walgreens Pharmacy vitamin/nutrition section of late - have you?

So whether you get get dried food, canned food, raw food or a mixture of all or a few - I say be happy so long as you are getting fed - because sadly there are way to many doggies out there that are not!    

Cowardly Cowardly Custard

We got to try something we have never had before Custard.  Mom being an Aussie loves Christmas Cake and Christmas Plum Pudding - especially with custard on it. She had the custard this year but not the cake (dad ate it back in November)  or the pudding which she forgot to order. So Mom gave us a little plate each of the custard to try and we loved it. Dweeb #2 splattered his everywhere - he even managed to get it in his ears and the long furs around his face! We think we should have custard on all our food!