Misery loves company. What’s worse than a PON with a cone, who had surgery on his private parts? How about a Saint Bernard with multiple bouts of explosive diarrhea? Seriously. Is not the vision of that enough to make your blood run cold? It could be a wartime weapon of mass destruction.

Poor Dudley. He’s the Saint owned by our friend Marvin. Seems he took a cue from Einstein and decided he wanted to see the interior of an emergency clinic too. All joking aside, we hope he is soon better. Or his family will have to move.

Meanwhile, Einstein has moments of drama – but overall we are seeing a tiny light at the end of the Chunnel. He slept a lot yesterday- although he did take time out to play his favorite game- shower barking. You know that one. You wait until the human has stepped into the shower and then you bark like an army of burglars has invaded your home. But of course, no one is really there. He plays the game very well – on a fairly regular basis. So you know that he’s feeling more like himself.

Yesterday morning, because he couldn’t go on our usual long walk, the FG and I went together. That’s a rare pairing. But it was productive. And her highness didn’t end up in the ditch at the side of the road. So she was happy.

Her highness took like a 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon. The woman has no stamina. We need to work on building that up.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

The good news? Einstein survived his surgery. The bad news? He is going to kill the rest of us.

All went well with his surgery. BUT he is on a super restricted activity level. He can only go out for a pee on leash. And back in. The surgical area was tricky to repair. So he can’t take any chance that he injures himself. As for the procedure itself….He was not keen on them giving him the anesthesia. He probably didn’t like the needle in his leg. No surprise. He squealed when her highness attempted to brush his head before he went to the vet.

It’s interesting to see the household dynamic when one of the pack is missing. The FG and I were rather out of sorts all day while he was gone. Einstein is the household moderator, first alert canine and the dog with the most opinions on things. Which he boldly proclaims. Loudly. And frequently. The house was very quiet without him.

He was in moderate discomfort last night – but that was to be expected. We knew it – so we didn’t even bother him. Honestly- you have NO idea how dramatic he can be.

Her highness’ friend Joanie came over last evening to keep her company. So they ate junk food and had the odd alcoholic beverage. Einstein slept through the whole time. But of course when it was time for his pee before bedtime, he woke up- and the squealing and panting began. Her highness hopes this thing heals quickly. Very quickly.

Thanks to so many who sent good wishes and prayers for his surgery. They worked. And hopefully in no time, he’ll be back to his role as household boss. And we won’t have to listen to his mournful squeals. It was a long night…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Today Einstein goes in for his surgery. One of the trickiest parts of the day will be no breakfast for him. He is NOT going to be happy.

He was feeling much better yesterday. Although he definitely still exhibits signs of being uncomfortable. Hopefully this surgery will make him feel all better in a few days. Paws crossed.

Yesterday her highness took the FG downtown for a walk on the boardwalk. She was feeling sorry for him because his partner in crime was not really being allowed to play with him. They actually DID get into one of their barking and rolling acts at one point yesterday, but the exercise police put a stop to that. As I said earlier, Einstein was definitely feeling better.

The FG was so desperate for a playmate, he even tried with yours truly. I’m fine with him, but we don’t really play together the way that he and Einstein do. Yesterday he laid down 2 feet from my face and squeaked to play. I just ignored him. That’s why HE got to go for that walk.

Please keep Einstein in your thoughts today. We’ll be glad when this day is over…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

So Einstein went to the vet yesterday. He woke up at 4AM and started his moaning and groaning and panting. Her highness managed to semi-ignore him until 4:45 when she got up and took us out. The funny thing is that when he gets moving outside, you wouldn’t know he has anything wrong with him. He trots merrily along – although he has a hard time finding a place to pee because he is reluctant to lift his leg. When he gets home, his appetite is GREAT. He forgets he is uncomfortable when there is food around.

Her highness was skeptical that they would be able to do the laser treatment because he wouldn’t even stay still enough for her to look at his nether regions. He was NOT a happy camper when they pulled up at the vet clinic. Her highness’ dear friend, Joanie happened to be in town and agreed to meet her highness at the clinic – for moral support. Einstein put on the brakes as they went in the clinic door. Once inside, he did a 360 and wanted to head out the door. He was not given the option.

I think the clinic staff was prepared for the circus. One of the technicians who had not been present the day of the last circus, had obviously heard about the spectacle and commented about it. They had probably drawn numbers to see who was going to be involved this time.

Einstein very reluctantly let both vets look at his nether region. I should note that although it is clear he is in pain, he has never, ever once acted aggressively. He has not snapped at anyone. He has not growled – despite the fact that he is clearly uncomfortable.

After both vets tried to get their best look, they agreed that laser would probably not be the best option after all. It could take weeks to heal the site- and after all that wrestling and pain, he could still require surgery. So they recommended just doing that instead. Her highness agreed. So on Monday he will have ablation surgery and he will hopefully be back to normal in a week to ten days. The vets DID witness that when he is doing something else – like getting treats – or looking at other dogs in the waiting room, he does not appear to be in great pain. He even jumps up on her highness for treats. And remember, he is eating well, peeing and pooping fine AND his surgical incision looks PERFECT. It’s the sore area that causes such discomfort – and he could win a dog Academy award for his over the top agonizing performance. Remember- he IS a drama king.

In the meantime, we have to put up with his theatrics. I’m feeling 100% better – so much so that I didn’t even need a cone yesterday. I’m definitely on the mend.

Someone said that if they saw our story on a sitcom they would say it’s too crazy to be true. And we have a whole new meaning for the phrase, “getting your knickers in a twist.” I thought that was funny.

For some reason, Einstein didn’t…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

With all the drama and trauma of what will from this point forward be referred to as the Orb Ordeal, we never talked about Thanksgiving! The holiday here in Canada was celebrated on October 14. It will be celebrated in the US on November 28.

Thanksgiving is a day to sit back and reflect on all we have to be thankful for. It’s also a day when many North Americans gather with family and friends and eat until their clothing is too tight. The good news for us dogs is the potential for leftovers – and more walks, because humans feel they need more exercise after all that food.

Thanksgiving is a great day to reflect on the many good things in our lives – things that we may take for granted. Like full food bowls, clean water, toys to chew on, and even that dreadful attire. Which DOES keep us dry in bad weather.

Food, clothing, shelter, health, family and friends – they are all the big thank you items. But really we should be thankful on a daily basis- for the little things that we may not always think about. For example, waking up in the morning after a night with no seizures. Getting out for a good morning walk – before the rain starts. Good poops. A newspaper that is delivered on time – and that the FG carries and doesn’t shred. A huge tomato crop. Beautiful fall colors. An encouraging note from a blog reader.

Life can be tough at times – like when you have your orbs removed. But in the big book of your life story, you will hopefully add up the many things to be thankful for in all your chapters and you will see that life is good -very good. And it’s extra good if you are owned by a dog.

Thanks for reading!

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Just when you think things are going well…you discover that you need to finance another vet vacation….

So Marvin has left us. He was probably a tad relieved to get on that plane – and who could blame him? A week at the Canine Chaos Centre would drive anyone a bit crazy. Good thing Mother Nature cooperated with some pretty nice leaf colors.

So he left on Tuesday night, and it was later that evening that Einstein clearly looked uncomfortable. Again. He wasn’t due for his pain meds until morning. Her highness had made an appointment at our vet – just for a routine post-surgical re-check for 3:40 on Wednesday. But when he was clearly in more discomfort on Wednesday morning, she called and begged to have an earlier appointment. They said they could squeeze Einstein in at 1:00.

Now I don’t REALLY want this to be a horrible blog post – but there is kind of no way around it. Long story short…the torsion of his testicles cut off the blood supply to part of his scrotum. Resulting in necrosis- and a nasty lesion. It literally appeared in the previous 24 hours. So. The vet said they would try to laser it- to help healing and hopefully to avoid more surgery.

Her highness let them take Einstein to the back room to do so. It took two veterinarians and three technicians to do the laser. His mournful squealing could be heard throughout the clinic. By the time he emerged, his entire face was soaking wet with drool. The vet techs had their hair standing on end. One of the vets jokingly offered to give her highness the laser machine to do the treatments at home – thinking Einstein might be more relaxed. Seriously? She obviously doesn’t read my blog and know that if you have to tug at a mat, he screams like you have cut off his leg. This is Einstein. There is no way her highness would be doing at home laser treatments.

They came home with more pain medication. And they have to go back tomorrow for more laser work. Send positive thoughts that this works- and be doesn’t need more surgery.

Her highness wondered why they didn’t sedate him – but then wondered if it has to do with his cardiac issues and the meds he takes for that. She will definitely ask tomorrow when they go for round 2. Mind you, given the expressions on the faces of half the staff at the clinic after the “procedure” – I’m sure if there is ANY option – they’ll be taking it tomorrow.

So if that wasn’t bad enough…

Her highness noticed that yours truly was licking MY private parts a LOT the last two days. They looked FINE on Saturday when she actually used them to compare to Einstein’s parts. Anyway, she looked at my parts – on the grooming table – and ta da- they were all red. So guess who went to the vet last night? My problem is NOT the same as Einstein’s. I saw all the attention that he was getting – so I decided to make my own problem. The vet said it looks like something he sees in the winter- when a dog sits on ice and then stands up and yowza- rips his skin. So. Yours truly is on anti-itch medication and antibiotics for good measure – and I’m also sporting a cone. We MUST be setting SOME kind of Guinness record for number of dogs in the same household who have private parts problems – and are also wearing lampshades.

Meanwhile the FG just walks around squeaking because he is living with two cranky dogs who do not want to play and who definitely do not want their private parts sniffed. Her highness can totally empathize with parents of two year old triplets, who are have head colds. She was thinking there could be money in respite care for pet owners. Yup. We are totally driving her crazy. Good thing she loves us. Anyone want to come for a visit?

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Well after all the drama and trauma, we are home. We DID have a good time. Overall. But I think her highness needs a vacation from the vacation.

So when we last left off, you heard that Einstein was hungry after his big surgery. BUT …what I didn’t talk about was the evening after the surgery. Yes- he was hungry. And yes – he ate. BUT- he was miserable. He was squeaking and crying and every time he moved he was moaning and groaning. So here we are – in the middle of nowhere again – and the fog surrounding the cabin is thick as pea soup. Not that I’ve ever actually eaten pea soup – but it’s a think humans say. At midnight, out of desperation, her highness called the emergency number they had given her. She wanted to know if she could give Einstein more pain medication. Unfortunately, the vet said no. The vet suggested a cool compress. Einstein wailed when her highness tried that. The vet said to call back if it didn’t get better.

Two hours of miserable grumbling continued. Now we should keep in mind, that this is the dog who squeaks and moans when you groom him. He’s a drama king for grooming – so IMAGINE when he has had surgery. To remove his…um…private parts. Her highness called the emergency number again. Not because she really thought the vet would have a solution- but because she just wanted to talk to someone. She was also concerned that the people in one of the other rooms of the cabin (it was a four bedroom unit- and Marvin was in one of the other rooms) would be awakened by the noise. The vet again had no suggestions unless her highness wanted to drive two hours back to the clinic – over two mountains in thick fog. That didn’t seem like a reasonable option although for 1/100th of a second she did consider it.

Instead, she carried Einstein down the flight of stairs and took him for a walk. At first, he squealed and sat down and refused to move- but then once she enticed him with a treat- he merrily pranced along. They walked a bit- and then miracle of miracles, he had a poop. Her highness prayed that would be the answer. She came back, carried him up the stairs, put him in the room and took me out. There weren’t many other guests out at 2:30 AM. No surprise there. We came back in the room, and found that Einstein had jumped on the bed, and was all comfy cozy. Her highness didn’t want to move him- so she quietly lay down sideways on the bed – with her clothes on – and they both fell asleep. Mind you, every time I walked around, or Einstein changed his position on the bed – she woke up. It was another long night.

On Sunday we drove along a scenic route and while her highness and Marvin had planned to do some hiking, that idea went out the window. They couldn’t leave us alone in the vehicle together- for fear I might lick Einstein’s incision. Even though he was wearing a special body suit and a lampshade. But you know us PONs – we can work our way into anything- so her highness didn’t want to leave us alone for any length of time. And she couldn’t take us – because the vet had recommended no long hikes. So the humans had to resort to lots of picture taking. And EVERY time they left us – for literally less than 3 minutes- yours truly would climb over the barricade they had created – and I would snuggle down on the floor of the driver’s side or the passenger side. The first time it happened, they got out to take a few shots and when they came back and looked for us in the car, her highness’ heart began to panic because she couldn’t see me. Then she found me. She dragged me out of my hiding place and put me in the back of the vehicle with cone head. But not to worry – EVERY time they stopped, I did it again. Einstein never did it – he wouldn’t fit through the barricade with the cone.

On Monday, we headed for home, but not before they had to stop at her highness’ favorite sea glass beach. They didn’t want to leave us in Ludwig – so her highness took Einstein and Marvin took me. We knew that Einstein was definitely feeling better – as he started barking at people on the beach. After all, he had been there for 10 minutes – so he now owned the place.

When we stopped to pick up the FG on the way home – he was SO happy to see us. Although when he realized what had happened to Einstein, he said he was glad he didn’t go along. He was nervous it could have happened to him. When he got in the vehicle, Einstein quickly informed him that there would be absolutely no sniffing of his surgical site. Really- no sniffing of anything. I sat on the floor by Marvin’s feet for the ride home- and the FG, who was now afraid of even glancing at cone head, squeaked and squealed for the hour drive home. Her highness was NEVER so happy to pull in our driveway.

Today, Marvin will be leaving. We are sad to see him go- he was pretty darn tolerant of us canine clowns – and all the drama of what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend. We hope we didn’t scare him off from visiting again sometime. Now he gets to return home to his family including his canine kids -,Dudley the Saint Bernard and Tucker the Boxer. Actually, from the stories I overheard this week – we are not the ONLY bad dogs in the world. No wonder he was so tolerant…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Friday morning, her highness got up early – so we knew something was going on. Frankly, we had seen her suitcase – so we knew that some travel was coming. But to be completely honest, we didn’t know it would involve us! Well – some of us.

When her highness travels with us – she jokes that our bags are bigger than hers. And they are. When she travels, not only does she have to pack our medications, food, bowls, water, rain coats and brushes – should we need to suddenly enter a dog show- but she also packs sheets, to cover beds and furniture, towels and cleaning supplies. We need a suitcase just for our stuff.

We watched her load the car, and frankly thought that the sitter should be arriving any minute. Imagine our shock when she said “get in.” We drove about an hour and then made a stop at Aunt Glenda’s place. The FG is staying there. Aunt Glenda loves him – and her highness said it would be too much of a gong show to take all three of us on the road. So the FG happily greeted Aunt Glenda, and off we went – to Cape Breton to see the fall foliage.The colors – according to her highness and Marvin were quite brilliant. Einstein and I didn’t care- we just wanted to go on the hiking trails. And hike we did! We had a lovely time.

And all was right with the world – until we got back to the cabin where we are staying. And that’s when Einstein started acting weird. It was evident that his private area was bothering him. Remember the time he scraped that area – and he was all upset about it? Deja Vu. We are staying in a cabin at a resort in the middle of no where. So her highness spent half of her dinner trying to find the closest vet. We were about 6 hours from home. And the closest vet was over a mountain and about 1.5 hours away.

Well Saturday morning, after a night of no sleep, we headed out to the closest vet. Einstein barely wanted to eat in the morning- so you KNOW if a PON isn’t eating- things are serious. It just so happened we were having a terribly rainy day. Her highness called the 24 hour vet line and told them we were coming. The clinic opened at 9:00. We arrived at 9:02. And big surprise- there was no vet there! Why the answering service neglected to mention that fact and why the website on the clinic says they are open 9-12 on Saturdays we don’t know. I guess they are open to sell dog food….

Anyway, the next closest clinic was another hour away. So off we went to that one. The vet took one look at Einstein’s private parts and said he needed emergency neuter surgery. Her highness’ heart fell. The vet said that it really shouldn’t wait – and he would do it right then. It was just before noon. He said Einstein would be ready to go back to where we were staying at 4:00. Her highness reluctantly passed him the leash.

While Einstein was having surgery, we drove around in the rain. We actually went to a pet store- where I got some biscuits. Her highness knew I was feeling out of sorts with all the excitement- so I got lots of attention. And treats.

We picked up Einstein at 4:00. He was still drowsy, but the vet said everything went perfectly. There had been a torsion in his testicles (he would kill me for telling this) – but there was nothing else suspicious or odd. No unusual masses or tumors. So that was a huge relief. Einstein was of course, rather sore – and to top it off – it was pouring rain. He was not a happy camper. Marvin drove Ludwig back through the storm – over two mountains and through many dicey road conditions- while her highness sat in the back with us. Einstein squeaked and moaned when he got out of the vehicle- her highness lifted him out. Of course as she turned her back for 1/100th of a second he jumped back in the vehicle. She carried him out again and carried him up the 8 steps to the cottage where we were staying. When she came in – she went to feed us. Suddenly the forlorn, achy, miserable PON came to life. She was told he could have his supper – and he didn’t hesitate for one second when his bowl was put down. That’s when her highness knew he would be OK.

The vet had said we could continue on with our holiday – as long as Einstein doesn’t overdo anything. So he’ll be relaxing lots.

We are staying at a different place tonight- and then we head home tomorrow.

As we always say – never a dull moment. And let’s face it – Marvin is having a vacation he will never, ever forget. Miserable dogs and white knuckle chauffeuring. What an interesting combo. Anyone else want to come and stay with us?

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Well it’s October 11 and it’s also National Love Your Hair Day. All of us canines in this house love each other’s hair. Sometimes a bit too much. Right now Einstein is sporting gross, chewed pink feet – compliments of his own bad licking habit, and the chewing of his stylist Picardy sidekick. Her highness has to battle to touch Einstein’s feet to trim his nails, yet he will literally allow the FG to gnaw the hair on his feet. Her highness is mortified with the way they look. She warned Einstein that she is going to “fix” the mess that his stylist made. She also said something about the fact that we are ALL going to be groomed today – because we are “going somewhere” tomorrow. Hope it’s not just another trip to the gas station or the mailbox.

And speaking of hair, I’m not sure if I have ever mentioned this, but her highness is a mat freak. What I mean is that she freaks out if she finds a mat in our hair. It’s almost as dramatic as finding a tick on us. She MUST whisk us into the grooming torture palace (aka garage) hoist us onto the grooming table where she attacks the offensive mat. She despises mats….keep that in mind…

So yesterday, after we all had long walks and breakfast, she and Marvin took a drive to admire the fall colors and take 468 pumpkin photos. Better pumpkins than us. Anyway, they stopped in one town to take some photos of some scarecrows. Her highness was snapping away when she noticed a big fluffy dog. So you know she had to say hello. The dog looked kind of like a fuzzy large version of a bearded collie or maybe a small Old English Sheepdog. But she wasn’t sure- so she asked the owner what kind of dog it was. I think I might have heard her scream from 80 km away. It was a Bernerdoodle. I have talked about the doodle debacle before – so I won’t get into it again. Suffice to say, her highness was shocked but tried to maintain her composure. She petted the 7 month old jolly pup. The owner proudly announced that the dog “doesn’t shed.” Meanwhile her highness is internally holding back a trembling sensation and biting her cheeks to keep from saying anything. She pets the doodle with both hands and discovers HUGE mats behind his ears and under his chin. Of course she can no longer stay quiet – so she blurts out “Gee- he has a few mats in his shed-free coat.” “Oh yes,” the woman replies, “ his coat is awful.”

At that point her highness smiled, shoved her fist in her mouth and walked away. As the doodle dragged the woman across the field. Wonder how many thousands she paid for that shed-free friend….We would be more than happy to help style that hair for him…

So today there is grooming on the agenda. And her highness said something about “packing.” So it can’t be a trip to the gas station…

I’ll let you know what I find out.

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.

Lots of change about to happen around here. Change can be good. But change can be hard too. Some humans are better with change than others. And even we dogs have different feelings about change. Change our feeding time, and we may NOT be happy. Most of us dogs like our routines. We had a routine when her highness was working – and now we are finally getting into a new routine. But it took quite a while to keep from waking her highness up at 5AM. Now we can sometimes even sleep in until 7!

The big change here is that her highness’ sister – her only sister – and her only sibling – is moving away. No – we didn’t drive her to it. I think she actually liked us! No – she is moving away to be with her “significant other” in Newfoundland! For those who are unfamiliar with Canadian geography- look as far east in North America as you can. That’s Nova Scotia. Then look for a big Island even further east – and that’s Newfoundland. Affectionately known by many as “The Rock.” As you might guess, farming is not their major industry. It’s a beautiful, rugged province, home to some of the world’s nicest people. True – they are often the butt of jokes by people in other parts of Canada- but probably because people are jealous of them. If you want to understand what someone from Newfoundland is like – go to see the musical “Come From Away.” It’s based on the true story of Gander Newfoundland, who unexpectedly played host to 7000 stranded airline passengers after the tragedy of September 11. Those people got to live and experience true Newfoundland hospitality. Yup – many Newfoundlanders are really that nice.

That being said, her highness is sad to see her sister go. Yup. It will be a big change. But I guess it’s somewhere new to visit and explore! Mind you, I’m not wild about a 12 hour ferry ride and an additional driving time of oh maybe 14 hours. We would need to pack LOTS of treats. LOTS of treats. Anyway, we wish Auntie Sue happiness, health and lots of cool new adventures!

Another change – a short term one is company arriving today. Remember Marvin, her highness’ colleague who escaped his family and came to visit last summer? Well – he’s escaping again -and he’ll be visiting for a week. Marvin is his code name. His name has been changed to protect his privacy. I think he’s a spy in real life. Rumor has it, we may be going on a road trip with him for a few days – something about seeing some fall leaves and colors. The colors are all the same to us canines – but if it means road trip – count me in. Her highness doesn’t have anything packed yet – the whole thing is rather sketchy. I think she doesn’t want to tell us so we don’t get over-excited.

So lots of changes here. Some fun. Some hard. Some are like turning the page on a new chapter in a book. I’m no philosopher- but I think they call that book “life”…

Have a good one. Peace and paws up.