December 2018 – Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

The end of 2018

December 31, 2018Leave a Comment

December 31. The end of 2018. It was not the easiest of years. It started off with pretty regular seizures for me, followed by two very long stretches without any- and then a bit of a relapse a few weeks ago. Paws crossed we are back on the heathy road.

But of course, the hardest part of 2018 was the passing of my human’s mother. We all miss her. A great deal. Things will never be quite the same. But we know she’s still “with us” and will always be in our hearts…

We lost a number of canine friends this year…Jessy, Charlie, Hudson, Mischa, Wiggles….They are running free at the Rainbow Bridge – because their work here was done.

We didn’t win any big dog show ribbons this year – probably because we didn’t compete! Maybe next year.

But all was not bad and sad news… Einstein became a Dad – and I became an uncle. Little Indi is 5 weeks old – and growing like a weed. We’ll have to post some updated photos. She’s supposed to be sweet – but also vocal and bossy. Sound like anyone you know?

We had a wonderful new dog sitter this year and we pray we didn’t scare her off. That’s our fifth one…they all seem to have excuses about why they can’t come back….

Other good news – no calls to poison control or the Lost Dog Network. No bunnies lost their lives. We never met the bear face to face. And we didn’t get apparel for Christmas.

My human announced great news – and come the end of January, she’ll be retired. Retired from gainful employment- but she’ll now have a full time non- paying job – with US all the time. I think she’s already planning a vacation.

In keeping with her hobby of taking literally thousands of photos of us, she HAD to go to the Dollar Store yesterday- to buy New Years attire. Two of us were compliant for the photo shoot – but one was not nearly as impressed. Guess who.

Tonight we have an exciting evening planned with my human. We are all taking bets as to whether or not she stays up until midnight…

Have a safe and Happy New Years Eve. And I’ll write again- next year!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days:22

BS Day

December 30, 20181 Comment

Well guess what today is? December 30 – AND it’s National Bicarbonate of Soda Day!!! Which is also known as Baking Soda! I wonder if you are as excited as I am!

OK. I’m being a bit sarcastic. BUT there are a NUMBER of uses for baking soda if you are owned by a dog. Now it’s NOT something we should eat. In raw form. But it can be helpful in other ways. For example, if you sprinkle some on carpets, on our bedding or even in thevcar, and you let it sit for 15-30 minutes and then vacuum – voila- ode de canine aromas are gone!

You can also use baking soda to give us a “dry” bath. Sprinkle some on our coat, brush it out and we will smell all better. Unless we have been christened by a skunk. Then baking soda on its own will not help. But- a recipe of 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 quart hydrogen peroxide, and a teaspoon of liquid soap is supposed to work at getting out skunk smell. I think you’ll still probably stink every time you get wet for a month or so – but this stuff is supposed to help.

If your human it cutting your nails and accidentally cuts too short (yow!) , you can use baking soda to stop the bleeding. In a crunch my human has even used plain old flour, too.

I’ve also read that you can dissolve 4 tablespoons of baking soda in a quart of water, make a paste and apply it to clean our dog toys. Scrub with a brush and they are again clean! That’s not for stuffed toys though. Not that we know much about them in this household – because we don’t OWN any. At least not ones that are left out to play with. As you know, we are stuffed toy surgeons. But for those who are not interested in surgery- you can just sprinkle baking soda on your toys (like on carpet), let it sit and then brush or vacuum them clean.

So baking soda has a host of uses for us dogs. You can probably also use it in baking treats for us – but since we haven’t seen any Christmas baking for us yet, I’m not holding my breath for that particular use. In this house anyway.

Well – time for our morning constitutional. Here’s hoping it’s not icy like the past few days. Our walks have been relegated to the backyard because my human is fearful of breaking bones on the luge run driveway. Probably a wise idea.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 21

Hudson

December 29, 20181 Comment

Well after writing about the FG’s exploits yesterday, it got me thinking that I have been pretty well behaved lately. Save for a few pillowcases. So I decided to go on a bit of a walk about myself…But there was a reason for my trip…

In telling the FG’s story, I neglected to mention that there was one day last week when we ALL went AWOL. And yesterday I did the same. We all keep heading over to Hudson’s house – the other Labrador on the street. We have always found him interesting- and whenever we hear him bark, we head up there. But we’ve been a bit obsessed about going there – that’s three times one or all of us went there in the past week.

We didn’t hear the news, though – but my human did. The news about Hudson.

Hudson was over 12 years old and last year he had a major health scare. In fact, his humans had been told that his days were numbered. His humans, feeling awful, took him on a special road trip to all of his favorite places. They thought it was for the last time. But low and behold, Hudson had been misdiagnosed- and although the road trip was wonderful- it wasn’t his last! He had a good year and although he was slowing down, he still enjoyed his daily walks. He was a kind old soul, who loved the niece of one of his humans. And he was very tolerant of three canine neighbors who often arrived uninvited on his doorstep.

But suddenly, two weeks ago, he awoke and well – he was not OK. His humans rushed him to the emergency clinic and after numerous tests, it appeared that Hudson had cancer. Bad cancer. So his humans made that heart-wrenching but selflessly loving decision to help Hudson on his next journey. His humans never dreamed went he went to the clinic that he wouldn’t be coming home…And as heart broken as they were – they took some solace in knowing that they had made that special road trip the year before….

It’s funny. We didn’t see Hudson all that often really. And nobody told us that he was gone. But we thought something was up – we could feel it. So we have gone up there three times now to check for ourselves. I think we now understand…

Hudson, please give our greetings to Paxton at the Bridge…Oh. And don’t worry – we’ll take care of your property. And we won’t poop in your vegetable garden. Maybe.

Hudson with his best girl. Taken by one of his humans.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 20

FG exploits

December 28, 2018Leave a Comment

Now that Christmas is over, and it is unlikely that Santa will return to take back gifts, I can tell you a little tale about the FG. That happened on Sunday. Before Christmas. I figure Santa was so busy getting ready for the big day that he overlooked some indiscretions.

We got up early (so what else is new?), came home and had breakfast. My human also had her breakfast. She then went in the bedroom to make the bed and tidy up. She didn’t let us in because trying to make the bed while each of us keeps jumping on it is kind of like trying to block the flow of Niagara Falls with a paddle. Good luck.

While she was in the room, a friend called so she sat down on the bed to chat. After a few minutes, she heard what sounded like barking in our yard. For some unknown reason, she didn’t have her glasses on. As she was chatting with her friend, she looked out the window. She said “Hey – there appears to be a pack of DOGS in my yard. Hold on while I get my glasses. One of them looks pretty big”. She puts her glasses on, looks out the window and exclaims “Those are MY dogs – gotta go!!!!!!!” She raced to the front door and realized it was open. The only thing she could figure was that it hadn’t been fully closed – and the wind blew it open. And of course, seeing the opportunity, we all went out.

She called to us and both Frodo and I came running in. But the FG, seeing that he was completely FREE, heard the call of the wild. Plus he saw that my human was wearing slippers – so he knew he had a good head start. He bolted for the backyard. My human raced in, put on some shoes, threw on a coat, grabbed a leash, a whistle and a tug toy.

By the time she got to the backyard, he was nowhere in sight. She took the path down to the lake and circled back to the house, futilely blowing the whistle like she was some kind of train engineer. It OBVIOUSLY wasn’t working, but she kept blowing. Three short bursts. I think she was actually signaling SOS. She followed the trail back to the house and then headed to the neighbors’ place. No sign there. She cut through their yard and went to the next neighbors’ place. And there she spotted him on the edge of the woods. And he spotted her too. And he saw the leash. And he said “See ya.” He raced up their driveway for the road – where my human could see two other neighbors walking. One of them is not what you would call a “dog person” so she didn’t yell for help. Besides – the FG wasn’t even wearing a collar – so what could they do? He apparently greeted them and ran off. When my human got to the road, he ran to the house across the road. At one point he started running toward her, and suddenly did a total 360 and headed behind their garage. She went around the garage from the other side, thinking she would head him off. But he was GONE. Must have run in the woods. By this point she was starting to really begin to panic – so she called Jackson’s house and asked if his human could come and help her.

Within less than a minute, Jackson and his human were in their truck – and they drove to where my human was. They agreed to head for the golf course – as it was possible the FG could have headed that way. Mind you, they both knew he could be anywhere – and he was running like a cheetah with a mousetrap caught on his tail. Just as they started to head for the course – they spotted him- at the entrance to the course. The previous neighbor who had been walking on the road, had come up her driveway – he had apparently been at her place and she had tried to capture him too. When he spotted my human – he froze. You could see the wheels turning. Run or come back. But then he noticed something so much more appealing than my human. Jackson. Who was right next to my human. He came racing over to see his buddy at which point my human hurled herself on him – and threw a lasso around his neck – kind of like something you might see at a rodeo. He was again in captivity. The whole fiasco probably took 20 minutes, but it felt like hours to my human.

My human thanked both neighbors for their help and marched one VERY wet, muddy and stinky Picard home and right into the bathtub. Honestly, I think he thought it was worth it.

It’s funny because the FG has been very good the past few months. He plays in the back with the fetch toys and my human has even been able to let him run free on the golf course. But SOMETHING got into him that day – I think it was the day after the full moon. That might explain it. Might.

Good thing Santa doesn’t come back and recall gifts….Mind you it happened before Christmas. Still – that FG is lucky – in more than one way!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days:19

The new toy…

December 27, 2018Leave a Comment

Time to tell you about our other Christmas gift. My human had read that some other people owned by PONs really liked this toy – so unbeknownst to me she put it on my list for Santa. And we are glad she did. It’s called a Bob-A-Lot -and it’s basically a treat dispenser. It’s different from the Pyramid dispenser because you can adjust the flow of the treats. We each got to play with it – one at a time- so as not to cause TOO much pandemonium. Or is it PONdemonium when Einstein and I play?

Anyway, we played in the rec room downstairs because my human envisioned us bashing into tables with Christmas decorations – and we recall how the magi nearly met their demise the other day when we did that.

I got to go first. Because I would have been screaming if anyone else went first. True -its not very mannerly, but it’s the reality. So here is my video with my technique. With some notes. You will see that I use speed, teeth and brains. I’m the only one who figured out how to get the thing out of tight spots. Like under the table tennis table that is folded in a corner. Mind you, because of my speed, I was the only one who ended up in tight spots. Sometimes I go so fast, I don’t even notice the treats that have fallen out. But my human was impressed with my problem solving ability. And flexibility. In the background, you will hear Einstein shouting out his plea to be released from the front hall where he and the FG were sequestered. Ah the peace and tranquility of our household.

https://youtu.be/VRJkHL-jT0Q

Next we have Einstein. He uses his paws to bat the thing around and moves pretty quickly too. But he does stop to look for treats. Sometimes.

https://youtu.b e/9l3irfsdL-E

And last but not least, the FG. The most quiet dog in this household (relative to us PONs) was the most vocal. My human was wondering if he would even want to play with it – given his fussiness about food. But he did! He was the most methodical and he is also the most entertaining…

https://youtu.be/HpWd5LI35tU

So we give the Bob-A-Lot two paws up! It’s durable and entertaining. And if Bob-A-Lot wants to send us two more, for doing this plug (so we would each have one!) – we would happily accept them! Mind you- the thought of three of us doing this together at the same time is a bit frightening. We could probably charge admission!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 18

Presents!

December 26, 2018Leave a Comment

December 26. The day after the big day. And yes indeed- we DID get presents!

My human and her sister actually went to church on Christmas Eve at midnight. It’s hard to believe they both stayed awake- but somehow they made it through. And THEN they opened THEIR presents. My human said that Santa wouldn’t be bringing OUR gifts until after we went to bed. Seems a bit sketchy to me – but to tell you the truth, we canines were unconscious by 1:30. We knew we would be getting up at 6 AM anyway – so we needed our beauty rest. And sure enough, even though my human didn’t go to bed until around 2:30, we were sure to get her up at 6. Wouldn’t want her to get off her usual schedule.

The photo you see is just before we opened our gifts. We all received another gift too – we’ll be writing about that one soon. Anyway, the gifts depicted included an assortment of Nylabones, a rubber bone, a “tough” toy made of fire hose, and some rope toys. We also received some TREATS!

I think my human must have given Santa the wrong list, though. Seriously. Anything not made of industrial steel or plastic doesn’t stand a chance in this house. Einstein unwrapped and claimed the first rope toy. He “hid” under the dining table and wouldn’t let anyone near him as he attempted to annihilate the thing. He started ripping off sections of rope in less than 3.8 minutes . The first rope toy was confiscated.

Meanwhile the FG unwrapped and was throwing around the second rope toy. It was in the shape of a ball. He was having a grand time until HE started to destroy that. It was confiscated after about 4.6 minutes.

While the destroyers were at work, I was running around opening the rubber bone and the Nylabones. Frankly I initially had no interest in them. I just wanted treats. For some reason, Santa didn’t leave those wrapped in our possession. I think he knew we would eat them -paper and all.

The FG also unwrapped this owl-like toy made of firehose. It had a big squeaker. He enjoyed punching on it and making lots of noise. That looked like a keeper until my human noticed that the stuffing from the owl’s foot was removed. So much for the owl.

Anyway, we enjoyed opening our gifts AND the treats. We went for a run on the golf course and had a fabulous time. At one point, it appeared that the FG might be feeling the call of the wild- so to get him to return, my human hid and her sister went down on the ground. He went to find my human and then went to see what was wrong with her sister. She grabbed his leash. That’s the new way to recall the FG. Play dead.

So all in all a wonderful Christmas. My human’s sister leaves today for Newfoundland. Some people in Nova Scotia go south for the winter. She goes to Newfoundland. Mind you, there IS a boyfriend there. So that explains it.

My human is off until after New Year so we’ll be hanging out at home, going for walks and playing with our one new toy – and chewing Nylabones. All is right with the world!

Hope Santa was good to you too!!!

Have a good one! Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 17

A very Merry Christmas

December 25, 2018Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas! I am going to keep this short – because remember how I said Christmas is for sharing and spending time with family and friends. Well my human’s sister spent the night – so I really must go and get her up. I know how much she loves spending time with me.

It looks like Santa overlooked the pillowcase incidents- because there are gifts under the tree and at least one has my name on it!!!

Have a wonderful day- and be sure to take time to savor every happy moment.

Have a great one. PEACE and paws up.

Seizure free days: 16

Dear Santa. The ask.

December 24, 20182 Comments

Dear Santa,

I know I’m leaving this until the last minute- but I think you are used to my late requests by now. I’ve been relatively good this year- I never ONCE took off chasing bunnies!!! I didn’t counter surf. At least not as much as previous years. OK I did chew a few pillowcases- I’ll work on that for next year.

My two brothers have been fairly well behaved as well. Although there was an incident with the FG just yesterday…. Perhaps we won’t discuss that until after Christmas. Let’s just say it involved a lot of chasing which required the assistance of several neighbors… but like I said, we’ll discuss it after Christmas.

In addition to my brothers I have a list of dogs who have also been well behaved this past year. This is the short list – I know there are others – and I’m sure you have them in your own records. But I just thought I would give them a good plug so they get some extra treats. Here they are…

Alfie, Ally, Ammo, Angel, Antek, Ares, Arlo, Arwen, Banjo, Baxter, Bayka, Beau, Beckett, Bella, Ber, Bindi, Bisia, Bloom, Bosley, Brandy, Bree, Brick, Brigette, Bruno, Buzz, Captain, CC, Chase, Chievie, Chester, Chimo, Ciera, Conner, Cookie, Creidim, Dharmah, Dipper, Diva, Dixie, Doman, Dorey, Dudley, Dusza, Ed, Edan, Eddie, Edy, Edouard, Ella Luna, Fanny, Fareyn, Finley, Flash, Flicka, Flirt, Flo, Frania, Fred, Fudgee, Fynn, Garcon, Gatsby, Gidget, Gipsy, Gizmo, Goldie, Goro, Gosha, Greyson, Guru, Gus, Hally, Hattie, Hector, Heidi, Henry, Holly, Hudson, Hugo, Icelyn, Idris, Jack, Jackson, Jagger, James, Jasmine, Jerome, Jip, JJ Jones, Justice, Jazz, Kate, Katja, Katt, Kazi, Kiszka, Lafayette, Lee, Letty, Levon, Liam, Lisia, Lizie, Logan, Loki, Lukasz, Luke, Luna, Lusia, Luzie, Mac, Maddie, Maggie, Maisey, Mamie, Mara, Maxime, Meadow, Meg, Merlot, Mia, Milo , Miranda, Miri, Mister, Moo, Moril, Mulli, Murray, Nanny, Nara, Nelson, Nemo, Neptun, Nik, Oly, Ona, Panda, Patch, Panda, Phronsie, Noah, Paulinka, Piper, Red, Rigger, Risque, Romeo, Romi, Rosalie, Rosie, Ruby, Sally , Scarlett, Scout, Shadow, Sherlock, Sinead, Solo, Sophie, Stacio, Stella, Takoda, Taz, Teddy, Teigan, Thor, Tia, Tilly,Tip, Tripp,Usha, Vera, Vulcan, Wally, Watson, Wiggles, Winston, Wookie, Yuengling, Zan, Ziggy, Zuri

Santa, I realize I am a bit boring but my ask is the same again this year. Sure, some treats and a toy would be nice….and I won’t turn them away. Especially the treats… But I am asking for something for every person (and dog) who is reading this blog. I ask that they share the joy and happiness that Christmas is all about. A smile, a handshake, a phone call, a hug – realizing that Christmas ISN’T about the presents – but about those moments that you share with others.

Santa I ask for HEALTH, peace and happiness within the hearts of those reading this – even if just for a moment. And that feeling of pure joy – that we dogs know ALL about. That’s what I wish for.

Santa, last year we had a secret wish – and I just want to thank you for granting it… It was a very special Christmas – and for that we will be forever grateful. So Santa, I hope you get some extra special treats yourself this year. Hey – who do you write YOUR letter to?!

Be careful in your ride tonight. Buckle up. Put on a helmet. Stay safe. Oh. And we’ll try not to eat the cookies we leave out for you – like we did last year…

Wishing a very Merry Christmas to all!!!

Have a good one! PEACE and paws up!

Seizure free days: 15!

Oh and in case you are wondering… yes there is a Christmas photo with all three of us! That’s for tomorrow!!!

Money!

December 23, 2018Leave a Comment

Well thanks to you, my loyal readers – we got our first ever payment from our blog. You know how you click on those ads? And we get a few cents for every click? Well since October, we had a goal to reach $100 – and remember how I told you that we DID it!? Well we got the money!!! So my human went and bought us some Honey Beefers-our favorite treats! Finally I can pay my own way and buy stuff around here. Thanks for reading- and clicking!

Yesterday we had high winds and pouring rain. A PON nightmare. Even the FG came in pretty quickly from his walk. And then what do three wet dogs do? Play attack games around the dining room. Well two dogs played – I just watched. The objective is to bounce in front of your opponent, he jumps at you, you spin around, he jumps at you, you roll on your back with legs kicking, he pounces on you, you leap up…well you get the idea. You continue this raucous battle until somebody hits the table with the nativity scene and the kings fall down. At which point the referee steps in and calls the game over. Hey – the kings were FINE. And it’s not like Baby Jesus got thrown.

Well I had better go and work on my list for Santa. Today is pretty much the deadline. Thank goodness for email.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up!

Seizure free days: 14

Lights.

December 22, 2018Leave a Comment

So I got a gift the other night. Well it wasn’t JUST for me – it was for me and my brothers. And really for my human too. More poop bags!

It seems at this time of the year, that humans take time to get together with family and friends- spending time eating and the having the odd drink. My human went to such a gathering the other night. I’m not sure why dogs are not invited. My human said it’s because she wants to keep these people as friends. Anyway, one of the other guests arrived and said she had something for my human and she pulled out a couple of boxes of poop bags! The kind we like – handles and all. She is aware that with 3 canines in our household, that we go through these things pretty quickly. Especially with serial poopers. It was a MUCH appreciated gift! It’s clear that she reads my blog and she knew about our bag problem. That was so nice of her!

Tonight is a full moon. As the last full moon of the year, it is called the Full Cold Moon. Probably because December is usually a cold month. Except here in Nova Scotia this year. The temperature is forecast to be 12 Celsius or around 56 Fahrenheit- with 100% chance of rain. See. It’s because she put the snow tires on. Mind you….we did have snow this past week too….

Oh and by the way, did you know that on this very day in 1882, the very first string of Christmas lights was invented by Thomas Edison?! That was probably back in the day when one light went out, and the whole line when out. My human remembers that. I wonder if she knew Edison. Tommy would probably be shocked if he saw the lights today. You can get all manner of lights – you name a color and you can probably find it. They come in all shapes and sizes too. Back when my human was a kid, her father would carefully string up the branches on the tree (so they wouldn’t droop) and made SURE that not a single light came in contact with a single needle. And of course, no one was allowed to put any ornaments on the tree until the lighting regimen was complete. It was my human’s least favorite part of decorating.

So in honor of Christmas tree lights – we took a few photos with our own lights. Well we didn’t take the photos – my human did. And yes, the treats were EXCELLENT. I’m not sure who was the best model…you can be the judge!

I hope you have a delightful day!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days : 13