We've got mail!!!

WE'VE GOT MAIL, WE'VE GOT MAIL...We've got MAIL!!!!!



Look at this beautiful package. The first ever to arrive at Jackman Avenue addressed to Sherman, Penny & Lola. AND...it came from halfway around the world!! All the way from Singapore!!





"Who's it from...I can smell him!!"

"Is he in there????"

"Penny, can you help me out because I smell a Boy...I just can't find him!"

It's from Huskee Boy!!!!! And Huskee's Maid, of course.

The Dogs got a wonderful card (with a very personal get well message included) that made my day!! Sherman & Penny's "argument" was felt all over the world & Huskee's Maid is so sweet to send us Get Well Wishes!!

The Dogs also got the Motherload...collars for "special" days. I could not possibly put these nice collars on them everyday...they'd be trashed. We now have nice collars for Everypup for when they go out in public.

They also each have their own Bling Bling.

I also got some Bling Bling that is gonna attach perfectly to my cell phone. The picture doesn't do this justice...I was so giddy when I saw the little bone, pawprint, and Dogs charms!! I LOVE this kind of stuff!!!

And Huskee also sent us Name Plates. I have big plans for these...STAY TUNED!!

A great big THANK YOU to Huskee and Huskee's Maid. We are so blessed to have such caring friends.

My very dear DWB friends make my day...every day.

Who's afraid of a little thunder????

Lola is!!!

This is something brand new. She was never afraid of thunder before. It really didn't phase her.

Last Friday we had some wicked thunderstorms with high wind & lightning. We always sit on the front deck & watch the storms, as long as the rain isn't blowing around too much. Well, the first loud clap of thunder & BAM! She scrambled up onto my lap. I told her "Oh knock it off...you're fine" and put her down on the ground. (Alright, alright...so I cuddled with her for a few seconds and gave her kisses. Bad Jenny.) I got up & moved into the office as the rain was starting to soak us & she was milling around, peeking her head outside to check out what was going on. A big flash of lightning hit close to the house followed by a really loud BOOM! It was as if she were shot out of a canon...she flew across the room & jumped in my lap. I made her get down and she hid under the desk & I ignored her. When I got up, she hid under the bed.

"So I'm afraid of thunder...SO WHAT??? Sherman is too!"

Sherman actually used to be petrified of thunder. I'd wake up in the middle of the night & he'd be sitting on my head. I knew we were having a storm. I started giving him stuffed Kongs or Bullies during storms and pretty much ignoring him & he's fine now. He doesn't want to be outside on the deck with us & but generally sticks pretty close & chills.

So how many of you pups are afraid of thunder????

Penny Puppy Pictures

So many of you got #1 correct as a Puggle. And #3 of course, is a Boxer.


A lot of you thought Penny would have resembled #2 as a puppy & Amber Mae was the only one to guess it correctly as a Rhodesian Ridgeback. They are known for the ridge of hair that runs down their back, but not all Ridgbacks have a Ridge.


They are much bigger than Penny (she's 45 lbs and RR females are generally in the 70-80 lb range).



There are definitely some facial similarities.

But Penny's personality is all Boxer as is her body type. Someone obviously wanted her to look like a Boxer because they had her tail docked & dewclaws removed. So we've always called her a Boxer Mix.

We're going to do the DNA test Gomer & Opie recently posted about in the fall & it should be interesting to see exactly what she really is!!!

Puppy pics of Sherman & Penny

Ike had this very cool idea for the rescue dogs who don't have any puppy pics and couldn't participate in Suki's fun game. We adopted Sherman when he was in 3-7 years old range (we really have no idea). And Penny came home at 7 months.


We can only guess what adorable little puppies they would be. I think this is probably what a

Little Sherman looked like:

Sherman would have been the cutest puppy...like a fuzzy bear cub!

(note from Sherman..."If you would like an exceptionally handsome, big boned adult dog, you may want to check out my puppy twin. He's up for adoption!")



Ike thought Penny probably looked like this little guy:


Penny Puppy #1

But I think this could be what she looked like too:

Penny Puppy #2

Or this:

Penny Puppy #3



Funny those are 3 different breeds entirely. What do you guys think? And anyone wanna try & guess the 3 breeds? #3 is pretty obvious!!!

Training update

I really haven't posted about our training stuff lately, but we've still been plugging away at it.

Lola had been really stellar recently on our walks in regards to her freaking out at other dogs. On our walk this weekend, we ran into at least a dozen dogs and she was chill the entire time. And then ironically, tonight we saw a neighbor (who I know) and her dog. We went over to say Hi and she's usually fine once she can greet the other dog. He growled at her & she freaked out, barking & lunging in his face. I was actually pretty upset about it because she'd been doing so well and now my neighbor thinks my "good" dog is Cujo.

But I reminded myself that regression is an essential part of learning and we'll just take a few steps back and work a little harder. She's made great progress and I can't forget about that just because of one minor setback.

Penny finished up her Rally class this weekend and our graduation consited of running through 3 mock courses and being "judged" by the instructor (who just happens to be an AKC Rally judge). For those of you unfamiliar with Rally Obedience, it's basically a bridge between the CGC and Traditional Obedience competition. The Dog and handler complete a course that has been designed by the Rally judge. The judge tells the handler to begin and the dog and handler proceed at their own pace through a course of designated stations (10 - 20 depending on the level). Each of these stations has a sign providing instructions regarding the next skill that is to be performed. The exercise can be as simple as a Right Turn or as involved as Call Front, Right Finish, Halt or Serpintine Weave. Scoring is not as rigorous as formal obedience.

The team of dog and handler move continuously with the dog under control at the handler's left side, however perfect "heel position" is not required. They perform the exercises indicated by a numbered sign at each station. After the judge's "Forward" order, the team is on its own to complete the entire sequence correctly. Unlimited communication from the handler to the dog is to be encouraged and not penalized.

Although we may never actually compete, it's a lot of fun and a really great relationship builder.

I had my friend Annette record one of our runs. This was very interesting to watch. Penny was great...I am a mess! I'm very sloppy and kind of all over the place. And our finishes need a LOT of work. But of our 3 runs we got 2 perfect scores (100 out of 100) and a 99 (one point off for a tight leash). Of course, our instructor was pretty easy on us! But we had a good time.

Lazy weekend...for the Dogs

Scott spent most of the weekend working on the patio extension. It's almost finished! This will give us more room to entertain. And we won't feel so cramped.

This is the old one.


And this is the extension.


We (Ha Ha...We, like I do any work!) still need to lay the paver stones but for right now, the Dogs are enjoying their very own sand pit. Orson has one of these...but his is staying!


Lola and her dang tennis balls. Boxers aren't known for being ball obsessed, are they????

Then she napped in the shade.

Penny could care less...it was a beautiful weekend and she worked on her tan.

Sherman dug up new spots to cool off. He's the smart one.

I took his stitches out and once the hair grows out, you'll never know he'd beaten up by a girl! The pink stitches were humiliating.

"I'm still tuff..."

Baby pics of the one & only Diva Dog..ME!

"Hey Everypup (and GirlGirl).

That sweet little Suki asked us to all post some baby pics and as my brother & sister lost theirs, Mom said I could send you all some pics of ME! PD (pre-diva). So here ya go!!!!

Here I am at 2 weeks old...just 8 days after I met my Mom for the first time. See how my jowls are coming along. My dot isn't quite formed and my head looks kinda like an egg, but I'm pretty darn cute! Well on my way to being a Diva.

This is the day Mom & Dad came to pick me up. My brothers were very lazy but I was ready to go....see ya later suckas!

I did kiss my brother goodbye. I wanted him to come & live with me but he was going to the Big Apple.

Yes, I loved my big sister Penny right from the start. She's no Diva, but she's my bestest friend in the whole wide world.

This is the second night at my new house with my Uncle DJ. Isn't he handsome? He's very nice to me and let me sleep on him for a looooong time.

I loved my Daddy right from the very beginning. Aren't all Divas daddy's girls???? I still like to sit in his lap.

This was my first day of puppy school. Look at how smart I am! Beauty AND brains...us Divas are VERY smart.

I still run with Penny like this....'cept now I'm much bigger & faster.

My brother Sherman pretends like he hates me...but that's just an act. He knows you're never supposed to bother a Diva. He gives me lots of space.

We love baby pics! So if any of you have some to share, we would LOVE it. Sherman & Penny wanted me to tell yinz guys that they don't have any & our Mom didn't have a good camera when they came home. But if you have any Gotcha pics (when you came to live with your family), we'd love to see those too. Mom's gonna try & dig up some fun ones of S & P!

Review of the Spot Bot

First, thank you all again for caring about our little Princess and sending her lot of healing thoughts. She's definitely on the mend and although she's still a bit "loose", she's back to her normal peppy self and hasn't vomited since Tuesday night. She's enjoying a bland diet of yogurt, canned pumpkin and boiled buffalo meat. (I got a great deal on organic, free range ground buffalo. It was supposed to be mainly for us, well Scott actually (I don't do weird meat), but he didn't like it. The Dogs are thrilled about that. 10 lbs of buffalo all for them. Spoiled beasts!) By the weekend she should be as good as new.

"And I don't look like a Camel any more!"


On to the Spot Bot.

When I told Sherman about it he got very excited. "You brought me DOT SPOT??? Thank you Mom!!!"

Sorry buddy...not Dot Spot, Spot Bot (you see how he could be confused).

The Spot Bot is a compact deep carpet cleaner. I used to have a Little Green. The first day I used it I broke the little hand attachment and had to duct tape it together. It never really worked right & it got really funky & stunk. So I just threw it away.

But I wanted something else to spot clean the carpet because 3 dogs & a very clumsy Jenny make a very dirty carpet. So I got this:

It's way cooler than the Little Green. You just fill the tank with solution, put that little circular thing over the stain & turn it on. 3 minutes later...Voila! Spot gone. I got a chance this week to try it out on fresh pet stains and it works beautifully. I used it on the muddy paw prints and it was great. And I used it on an old stain of unknown origin that I have scrubbed & scrubbed with Nature's Miracle and couldn't get out. 3 minutes and the stain was gone. I used the hand attachment on smaller stains & was pretty happy.

My only complaint is that it cleans a little too well. The carpet in our living room is old & very well used. It's the highest traffic area in the house & we steam clean the whole thing a couple times a year. Using it on that carpet created very clean little circles that stand out like a sore thumb. But if that's my only problem...so be it.

Update on Penny

The Bad News

She was sick all night. From both ends. A few times I woke up to let her out, a few times I didn't hear her :o(. So I basically spent most of the night playing with the new Spot Bot.

The Good News

I took her to the Vet today & they don't think there is anything too seriously wrong with her. She was really dehydrated and they gave her a bunch of subcutaneous fluid. It made her look like a camel! And on the walk home, it all settled onto her left side. Hard to tell from these pics, but she's very swollen.



She's supposed to rest tonight & have nothing but water. If she doesn't vomit again by morning, she can have some boiled chicken (or in our case, buffalo) and rice. Then she goes on Flaygl for a few days & we hope to have her good as new.

So thanks to everypup who sent good vibes for Penny. They've WORKED!!!

I feel icky!!!

Penny was having some digestive issues this afternoon. I discovered the evidence tonight when I came home from work. She also had some issues on our walk and I chalked it up to the salmon she had for breakfast.

As soon as we got back from our walk, she vomited all over the front door. She then vomited a huge amount of water about 1/2 hour later.

Gave me a chance to try out my newest toy (which I'll review at a later date).


She's been pretty much laying around moping all night and has been kind of clingy. I'm hoping & praying this is just a bug and not something more serious. She's going to the Vet in the morning if she's not any better or if she gets sick again overnight.



"No more pictures...I feel ICKY!"


I hate to ask for more good vibes again so soon, but if yinz guys could send us some, Penny would be very thankful (as would I!)

It's growing!!!!!

The hole in the yard is getting bigger!!! It's a perfect spot for Lola to chase her balls around.

And the dirt pile is expanding too. Great for digging...

And keeping watch over the yard.

"Alright squirrels...just try to sneak into the yard on my watch."

The road to recovery

Thank you to all of our good DWB buddies for all of the good thoughts & vibes! We are so lucky to have such a great group of folks looking out for us.

Sherman is doing a lot better. He looks ridiculous (I've been calling him Cyclops), but his wound is healing nicely. I've found 2 or 3 more spots on his head where what I thought was dried blood, has scabbed up.

But he's back to his old cheery self...at least with me.

Penny's leg is fine. She was limping a lot on Friday & but after a dose of pain meds, she was running around the yard on Saturday morning. The tooth holes have closed and are just little scabs now. Today is the first day she's acting normal around me. She's been very standoffish.

Sherman & Penny didn't acknowledge each other for 36 hours. They are now tolerating one another, although he growls at her anytime she approaches me. Not to worry, he's not getting away with that. I get up & move and ignore him when he starts...that's the crap that got him in trouble in the first place.

They have never been good buddies. They fought constantly for the first 6 months and at least once a month for another 6 months. They got to the point where they tolerate each other. And we had no fights for at least 2 years. Sherman's always been the instigator...Penny puts up with a lot. Usually it's over food (Kongs, bullies, marrow bones, dropped cookies) & Sherman is a real PITA. But when she decides enough is enough...she does not back down. It was a pretty even match before and usually ended without any bloodshed. But he's getting older, and slower and more grouchy and he can't back up what he could before.

So, in this case, he started a fight he couldn't finish. This was not Penny's fault...she was defending herself. And he just won't get into his stubborn little head that she's not gonna be the first to wave the white flag...ever. Hopefully, he'll figure it out soon!

Thank you again to everyone for all of the support! It means more than you know!