First off.  Thank you for your notes, good wishes and prayers.   While I am not going to share the details of our request right now – this much I will tell you.  This is not about me.  I am doing well.  Overall.  I did have some additional seizure activity this month and my human was also extra concerned because some of my blood work came back wonky two weeks ago. But one ray of sunshine yesterday was a report from my Vet saying that the repeat blood work we did this week was great.  No problems.  So THAT was one reason to celebrate.  

We saw some other rays coming through the clouds yesterday – and they make you realize that even SMALL things can make challenging times so much better.  A kind word or gesture.  A message.  Just a smile.  Sometimes humans need to think about how a little “nice thing” can change someone’s day.  

And then of course, if one is having a difficult time, focusing on or being grateful for GOOD things is important.  Like the PPPs. 

PPP stands for several good things in our house.  

For example, PPP can stand for Precocious PONs and Picard.  Yup that’s us.  And we ARE a good thing.  Sometimes. 

Another thing is Picture Perfect Poop.  I’ve talked about this before.  People who are owned by dogs obsess about our poop.  When we go.  How we go.  And if a dog has been having issues, PPP can brighten a human’s day.  Heck, even if a dog ISN’T having issues, humans are usually happy about PPP.  Seriously.  Hard to believe – but true.

And of course we have the other PPP- Painful Puparrazi Photos.  Especially during the holidays.  In our opinion, not so good – but humans seem to enjoy them, so we humor you – AND they brighten your day.

And lastly we have the Power of Positivity and Prayer.  This is a BIG one to focus on.  We saw it yesterday – and again thank you for it – so much.    You will never know how much it can mean to someone – and how it can help those clouds to part.

Have a great one.

Sometimes life is hard.  Just plain old hard.  The skies look grey.  And dark.

But you know, if you fly in a plane above those clouds, the sun is shining…even if we can’t see it from the ground.

Things are hard here right now.  And we need your good thoughts and prayers.

We’ll share when we can…

It’s June 27 – and it’s also the birthday of Helen Keller.  In 1980, on the 100th anniversary of her birth, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the day, Helen Keller Day – in honor of the famous American lecturer and activist for the disabled.  Helen was born with the ability to see and hear, but lost both senses to illness when she was 19 months old.  Helen met Alexander Graham Bell – who was working with deaf individuals at the time, and he suggested she work with a teacher by the name of Anne Sullivan.  Anne taught Helen to communicate though sign language – by spelling words in her hands.  The incredible story of their relationship and her ability to effectively communicate, despite the fact that she was blind and deaf, has been the subject of books, play and movies.

And while you may know those facts about her, what you may not know is that she had a special relationship with dogs!  She had a number of canine companions in her life and when she wrote about what she would do if she could suddenly see, she wrote the following:  “I should like to look into the loyal, trusting eyes of my dogs…whose warm, tender, and playful friendships are so comforting to me.”

The following link tells all about Helen and the dogs in her life.  I want to share it, as the photos are quite wonderful…
http://www.perkins.org/stories/helen-keller-a-life-with-dogs

It looks like Helen’s dogs were quite well behaved. Note there are no PONs or Picards in the photos…

But speaking of good behavior… the FG is REALLY starting to become better behaved.  Remember how he used to drag my human down the street?  Well, not that he NEVER would do it – BUT now she just stops, he stops and comes back to her side and walks with her quite nicely.  IN FACT, at times he is almost TOO close.   He could make her walk into the ditch at the side of the road – he pushes her so much.  I mean he is walking like he is glued to her.  Again – I wonder who has trained who….

Anyway – it’s Tuesday.  Have a good one!

So there was a murder committed in our garage on Saturday.  OK.  OK.  Not a REAL murder.  But it did sound like it.  Saturday was “grooming day” for all of us.  And let’s just say that Einstein gets a BIT dramatic when brushing is involved.  And especially when his coat is – how do I say this – a bit “tangled”.  Perhaps it is due to the foggy weather we have had lately.  While it does wonders for skin, it wreaks havoc with coats.  Top that off with the fact that the FG and I LOVE to lick Einstein’s head and ears – and well, you end up with a very tangled dog.  And although my human TRIES to be gentle in detangling the mess, sometimes she does need to tug a bit.  And you would THINK she was pulling off his toenails!  Now I am really good – she can tug and brush and even work in “delicate” areas and I don’t care.  She’s doling out the treats every 15 seconds – so why complain?  But Einstein moans and pants and lets out the occasional yelp for good measure.  And of course, the instant she stops, he pops up like nothing ever happened.  I should add that grooming Einstein is a bit like the sport of calf roping.  First she has to catch him to get him to come in the grooming torture room aka garage.  Then she lifts him and places him on his side.  And he squirms to get up.  His squirming went on for about the first 20 minutes until my human had enough of the wrestling and firmly said “knock it off!!!!”  He stayed in place for the next 5 hours.  OK.  It wasn’t 5 hours – probably closer to 2 hours.  And yes, he still got a break probably every minute or so with a treat.  She had done my grooming first – which lasted about an hour.  

And then the 2 hours with Einstein.  And finally 15 minutes with the FG.  That’s ALL it takes with him.  Lucky guy. 

When she was done, she wanted to get a photo with all of us standing and looking wonderful.  Good luck with that.  She did manage to get Einstein and I – but there is NO way the three of us can stand together.  The best she could get was a sitting shot:

We’ll see how long our coiffures last.  Actually, while my human was brushing the FG, I had already started touching up Einstein’s hair the way I like it.  My human shouted “NOOOOOOOOO”.  Sometimes she is just TOO serious….

Happy Monday!

June 25.  Exactly 6 months until Christmas.  Time to start my list.  And this year, there will be only one thing on the list.  Good health.  For all my family and friends.  Because IF you have that,  the rest of the “stuff” is gravy.  Sometimes we tend to forget about that.  If you wake up and you feel good, the day is yours to create.  OK.  So that’s my list.  For now.  I might add a bone to the list, because the “good health” thing is a bit abstract for Santa to bring down the chimney.  And we don’t want to take away the guy’s job.

So let’s review the past week.  I wrote about the alien tick – and to make matters worse, he had a roommate.  Which my human again discovered on the FG.  He was promptly removed, put in two plastic bags and placed in the garbage can outside which contains the bags of dog poop that are picked up by the garbage man.  The tick.  Not the FG.  My human was in SUCH a state when she found this one, she wasn’t thinking straight.  She probably should have flushed him – like the last one – but she instead threw him outside.  OF COURSE, she later regretted her decision – but wasn’t about to go searching for him through the other bags in that can.  And let’s face it – he has probably been gassed to death in there.  Although I have heard that the buggers are pretty tough. 

I hate to write this – but I had another seizure this week.  But we are adjusting my medication again – and HOPEFULLY this will do it.  Like I said, don’t take good health for granted….

And in lighter news – my human posted this video of the FG and Einstein. 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gdDKuk2lXI

As you can see – Einstein is a VERY patient dog.  But lest anyone THINK that he is being taken advantage of – TRUST me – HE IS THE BOSS.  Here is another SHORT example of their playing.  My human didn’t include the part with them racing around the kitchen.  And attempting to hump each other…  While the first video may look like the FG is a bit pushy – you can clearly see that he DOES respect Einstein!  Einstein starts coughing part way through – because he has no doubt swallowed a fair bit of Picard hair at this point.  But the body postures really show that these two guys are pretty comfortable with each other. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf8Pihq_VZ8

I just watch the two of them and roll my eyes.

So that’s the news from this front.  And remember – if you feel good today – make the MOST of this day that you have been given.  It’s the best gift of all!

On this day in 1901, a 19 year old young man by the name of Pablo Picasso had his first exhibition in Paris.  I must confess, I haven’t ever been a HUGE fan of the artist – but after reading more about him, I think I may reconsider.  You see,  it has been said that Picasso had a number of passions in life – including his art,  his image, women AND dogs!  Who knew he was a big lover of canines?  He reportedly owned many different breeds and was said to always get a NEW breed because he wanted each dog to be an “individual” and he “didn’t want to live with the ghosts of other dogs.”  Interesting. Breeds he owned included terriers, poodles, afghans, a boxer, a German Shepherd and Dachshunds – including one named Lump.  Lump was featured in many of Picasso’s paintings, and there is even a book about Picasso and Lump.  Apparently, Picasso “borrowed” dogs from friends – and then often kept them – that’s how he got Lump.  If you Google “Picasso and Lump” – you can see many photos of the pair.  Many of his paintings featured other dogs as well.

So Picasso had lots of breeds – but no PON or Picard. Too bad for him. 

Well it’s Saturday – time to get my human up and moving.  No point in wasting a perfectly good day off!  And all this talk of art – let’s just SEE what I can create today.   Besides havoc.

Have a good one!

According to the crazy calendar, today is Let It Go day.  I’m assuming it is a day to let small problems go – and to let bygones be bygones.  Humans DO tend to carry around “stuff” that they shouldn’t – they really need to be more like us canines.

Now that’s NOT to say that we dogs don’t SOMETIMES carry a grudge – or act a bit cranky.  Some dogs ignore their human if the human was away on a trip – and the dog didn’t get to go.  Usually we may be cranky for a day or so – but we then forget about it – and we basically let it go.  We may also be cranky if another dog gets an extra treat and we don’t – that sometimes happens here.  We also may be cranky if one dog gets a longer walk.  But within minutes, we let it go.  And honestly, we don’t think about it again.  We don’t think “Hey last week HE got a longer walk.”  And it’s NOT like we don’t remember things – we dogs have GREAT memories.  If we found a treat in a certain area- we’ll go back to look there later.  We DO remember.  We just choose NOT to hold onto “stuff.” Other than our bones…

But humans – well they have a hard time “letting go.”  But really, if they DID, they would probably have fewer health problems – fewer headaches and stomach aches.  Bottom line, they just need to be a LOT more like us dogs.  Wag more.  Bark less. Roll in the freshly mowed grass.  Play ball…

So let it go today.  And have a good one!

Well here is an interesting tidbit in the world of dog news… It seems researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology Animal-computer Interaction Lab are working on ways to help us dogs call for help – in the event that our human needs assistance.  They are training canines to use dog-friendly touchscreens to dial 911.  They also have these cool high tech vests for dogs, equipped with sensors.  If there is an emergency the dog tugs a rope that is on his vest and it activates a sensor on the vest which communicates with a computer in the vest.  The computer will then either make a call, send a text or will even broadcast an audio message. 

This all sounds so exciting and progressive and such a cool technological advancement in canine communication.  What a far cry from Lassie running for help and barking when Timmy fell down the well. 

But seriously.  I can’t EVER see it working for any of the dogs in THIS house.  I mean the FG would chew the tug with the sensor within 3 minutes.  And I can see Einstein smashing his face into a touchscreen and barking madly.  And he would no doubt figure out how to call numbers OTHER than 911.  I can see the phone bill now.  Not to mention accidental calls for help – which are CLEARLY dangerous, and which could probably result in some hefty fines. We love our human – but counting on us in an emergency…well…remember how Einstein and I  stood and stared at her when she broke her wrist a couple of years ago?  We obviously need more emergency training….and hopefuly we don’t need it any time soon!

Have a good one.

June 21.  Well it is official.  The first day of summer and the longest day of the year.  And of course, it’s National Daylight Appreciation Day.  Here in Nova Scotia, the sun will rise at 5:28 and set at 9:02.  Of course, it is light out even before 5:28.  That’s why we continue to get my human up at 5AM.  No point in wasting a perfectly good day.

So yesterday we met an alien.  That’s what I’m calling him.  And my human was totally, completely, thoroughly disgusted and grossed out…

She was petting the FG while she was eating her breakfast.  Breakfast is a one-handed meal – as her non-dominant hand is used to pet the FG.  He pokes her and puts his paw on her arm if she doesn’t pet him.  As I have said – he has her VERY well trained.  So she was scratching his ears, and rubbing him under his chin and patting his head and she ran her hand down his side.  And she felt a lump.  A BIG lump.  So she got up and parted the hair on his ribs – and that’s when she saw it.  The alien.  A TICK.  The size of an orange.  OK.  Not that big.  Maybe the size of a grape.  OK.  A blueberry.  But STILL – it was the biggest tick she has ever removed.  She whisked him onto the grooming/operating table in the garage and searched for the serious tick removal tool.  It looks like a pair of scissors and it has a magnifying glass on it.  She didn’t need the magnifying glass – it was CLEAR what she was dealing with.  She got a hold of the alien and pulled him off.  Then what to do with him?  Last time she smashed a tick intruder into pulp – but this one was big – and she did NOT want to see what inside HIM.  So.  She flushed him.  She cleaned the area and put on some antibiotic cream.  The FG stood like a soldier – he was SO good.  She then took the dryer with the airplane motor – the one that blows enough air to send a chihuahua flying – and checked him all over for any relatives of the alien.  None. 

And in that momentary instant, my human was wishing for a cold snowy day – one without ticks.  But the thought quickly passed – and we’ll take the long balmy days of summer. For at least a FEW weeks!

Happy summer!  Have a good one.

June 20.  And according to the crazy calendar, it is Plain Yogurt Day.  A day to celebrate plain yogurt.  With parties and parades.  Just kidding.  I don’t KNOW of any yogurt parades…but maybe there IS one.  Somewhere.  Anyway, in honor of yogurt – here are links to four EASY recipes for frozen dog treats with plain yogurt.  They are SO easy, even MY human could make them.  Could being the operative word.  If she can find the time.  Maybe on the weekend….

http://irresistiblepets.net/2014/09/diy-frozen-apple-dog-treat-recipe/

http://thebark.com/content/simple-frozen-yogurt-treats

http://www.akc.org/kids-corner/games-activities/dog-crafts-recipes/frozen-pumpkin-dog-treats/

https://brucebradley.com/recipes/blueberry-banana-frozen-dog-treats/

If you try them and you like them – let me know – and spread the word.  If you don’t like them, don’t tell anyone I told you about them…

Have a good one!