Dr. Trout goes Commercial

I saw a commercial for Angell Medical Center the other day. I cannot remember what channel it was on, but there was Dr. Trout talking about the quality of care at Angell. I'm not sure how I feel about the commercial. We are indebted to Dr. Trout for his wonderful surgical skills. We trusted Riley to his care and he returned Riley back to us better than we could ever hoped for. But commercializing health care makes me uneasy. On one hand, I think these type of commercials are good to bring awareness to ignorant pet owners who do not seek medical care or even general care for their animals. But the commercial highlighted the state-of-the art machines and technologies the facility has to offer. Kinda left a bed taste in my mouth, but I'm having trouble articulating my feelings about it...maybe you can tell me why?

How does the Berner know there's snow? I say, OH NO!

Came downstairs with the dogs this morning and Riley immediately walks over to the sliding glass door and "knocks" to go out onto the deck.

"You wanna go out? Okay." Strange, but whatever.

I pull the drapes aside and see a thin blanket of white outside.

AAAAAAAA....

Now really. How did he know? The drapes were drawn, even if he really could see the snow outside, he couldn't. Couldn't smell it. Berner 6th sense?

He was quite pleased to go outside and stomp around in the fluffy stuff for a few minutes. I realize that it actually IS snowing still. ARGH! This is good for the Bernerboy but not for Berner Mommy.

You see, this Sunday, Boston Chinatown is celebrating the Lunar New Year. HAPPY YEAR OF THE PIG! I have been a member of a lion and dragon dance troupe for over 8 years now. GUND KWOK ASIAN WOMEN LION AND DRAGON DANCE TROUPE We participate in this once a year celebration on the streets of Chinatown. Still don't know why this little bit of snow is so bad? Well, we typically start at about 11am and proceed to visit each Chinatown business owner to do a lion dance blessing on their business. That means our 2 lions (2 people in each lion as a head and tail) need to be continuously performing until we finish, usually at around 5-6pm at night. We have performed in freezing temperatures in past years, but last year was one of the warmest days we ever had for the new year celebration. This year, however, with ice still on the sidewalks and streets, plus the semi melting that occurred over the past few days has just left a lot of standing water in the gutters.

In the gutters of Chinatown. Yuck, yuck, and triple yuck.

Our beautiful lion tails will inevitably get soaked from accidental drops onto the ground, drawing up disgusting Chinatown muck. And then we have to put that soaked tail on our back and continue throughout the day. Nothing. NOTHING is worse than being wet all day with dirty water and there's nothing you can do about it.

Sounds kinda crazy right? Well it is.

Back To Work

The Boston Children's Museum has been closed through the winter due to construction. They are planning to reveal a new and improved museum in the spring. In the meantime, they have relocated all of their staff to a very cramped conference room where they are working furiously to meet their deadline. Their Science Program Manager decided the staff would need some way to relieve their work stress and contacted Dog B.O.N.E.S Therapy Dogs of Massachusetts Dog BONES for help.

Yesterday, after 6 months of short term disability leave, Riley returned to therapy work with his lil side kick Mandy by his side. I was so proud of the two of them. They took the assignment with no hesitation and seemed to thoroughly enjoy being back at work. It was a good opportunity to see if we could manage going back to therapy work. Firstly, if Riley was ready, and secondly, if Sabrina was ready to be left behind. I had to leave her in the car with a bully stick and a frozen kong. Although we were only gone for 35-40 minutes and a regular visit would have been an hour, I'd say that was a pretty good start. My car was not shredded to chewed to pieces. YAY!

Riley and Mandy visited with a room of museum employees happy to step away from their desk for a few minutes to socialize and pet the dogs. It was good to be back at work. Job well done guys!

A Hearty Canine Meal

Today I received my first order from Hare Today-Gone Tomorrow, HARE TODAY a raw food distributor located in PA. It was an exciting event! The products were nicely cut, packaged, and labeled in plastic bags and kept cool in a foam insulated box. The bones were absolutely beautiful! I had been preparing for the arrival of this box so Riley and Sabrina only got a small dinner last night and I fasted them through this morning's meal. I was so excited to give them a nice hearty beef meal. Here's what Sabrina and Riley each got for dinner:

1/2 pound of BRAVO beef blend (ground muscle, bone, organs)
1/2 pound of BRAVA beef tripe (ground stomach and some spleen)
1/4 pound of HARE TODAY'S beef trim
1 beef marrow bone from Whole Foods Market

It was so satisfying to watch my dogs eat their meal with such gusto. They just seemed to savor their meal and I was so proud to be able to give them such a nicely balanced meal. I held off on the HARE-TODAY beef marrow bones cuz they look like a beautiful snack in themselves. I'm saving it for a day when I feel guilty about not letting them out as much as I should. These beef marrow bones were surrounded by a good 3 inches of meat!

In addition, I purchased large goat bones and lamb bones. Both come with lovely thick layers of meat still attached. I bought some tripe and beef blend from them as well as chicken. The total, including shipping, came to approximately $2 a pound. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Plus, if I ship the foam insulting pieces back I get $10 back. Just to clarify this for people who think feeding raw food is terribly expensive. I looked online to compare with a "high end" holistic dog food. For a 33lb bag of the holistic kibble, you would pay $40. With shipping charges, you're looking at about $1.50 per pound of dog food. Now I dunno how much your dogs eat, but luckily my two are easy keepers. One meal like the one they had today alternated with a smaller meal every other day would do them just fine. And, I'm assured that the meat they are being fed has been raised on a small farm, without pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, or vaccines. Nothing makes me happier than that!

The Talented Mr. Riley

I finally made it out to the park with the furkids. Armed with long underwear, wind breaker, snow pants, parka, ski mask, and double ski gloves, I have to say, I was well outfitted for the weather. There were only a handfull of other dogs and owners there, most of which were wearing jeans. JEANS! C'mon! Even sweats would have been warmer than jeans?! What are people thinking?

My Riley was so very happy that I've allowed him to romp off leash today. I've been restricting him to the flexi-leash to avoid any slipping accidents as well as excessive swelling brought on by the active snow play. He's been pissed at me. And yesterday he dragged me nearly across the entire frozen field to see his favorite Auntie Dory.

So there was lots of rolling and rubbing and what I call the snow shimmy-shimmy today. In addition, there was lots of ice/snow eating. I was quite surprised to see that Riley can eat snow anywhere, anytime, even if he's got a leg up in the air peeing on a tree, he can still reach down to snatch a couple mouthfuls of snow! Now you may not call that talent, but I was impressed!

Wind Chill

It's a balmly 9 degrees outside today. But if you factor in the 20 mph winds, that takes you down to -14 below. That's COLD! I tried to stay extra long inside my cozy flannel sheets this morning. I was fully awake at 5:15am, but unwilling to get up into the cold. Especially since baby Sabrina was snuggled up beside me adding warmth to my little warm cave. I contemplated staying in bed for a couple more hours but without the morning paper, my laptop, and my cup of tea, I finally decided I needed to get up. It only took me nearly 2 hours after I had awaken to finally crawl out of bed.
I believe a morning walk may be out of the question. That wind is killer! Besides, I just got into my Sudoku from yesterday's paper and I still believe that I can solve this one (without cheating).

And my vacation begins

School vacation week is FINALLY here. It's been a rough school year and I have been looking forward to this break. And nothing makes me happier than a vacation with NO plans. Well, that's sort of a lie. In the past 2 days, I've already started to fill up my schedule, but most of it is social and on my own time. So YAY!
Although you'd think since I'm on vacation I'd at least be able to sleep in, I dunno, maybe even an hour?!?!?!?!
NOOOOOOO, not a chance with my crew. I could barely squeeze in an extra 30 minutes before the pounding of paws on the hardwood floor, cold wet nose on my face, and mournful cries of hungry kitties finally drew me out of my cozy flannel sheets. And that would be at 6am. Lucky me.
So here I am at my laptop cruising around on my Yahoogroups and getting caught up on the blogs I read regularly while I make my laundry list of things I'd like to get done this week. Mundane daily life stuff like buy more kitty litter, and change the bedroom bulb, and giving Mei-Mei a bath. Riley's going to the groomers in half an hour. Poor guy used to never get this many baths. But if you constantly had a puppy pulling on your ears, biting at your neck, and drooling all over your beautiful coat, you'd need a bath now and then too.

I....am getting myself a massage. ;D

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Having two dogs changes everything. And I don't mean the change in amount of food eaten or poop pooped.

Having Sabrina has changed our family. Having Sabrina has changed Riley and changed us as "parents." When we only had Riley, he was such an "Easy Keeper." He needed lots of attention and care as a puppy but once he grew up, he was so easy. He was the only child and we both easily showered our affections on him. I was convinced he was the best dog in the world, ever. How could anyone love another dog more than Riley? He's just too amazing. We took him with us on as many vacations as we could and shared our life with him. He was such a good boy. Always.

We constantly dreamed of having a second dog. We talked about getting another Berner, of course. In fact, we even named her, Emma. And then we thought about getting a smaller dog, a Westie. And we named her Rosie. But for some reason, I never felt it was the right decision. We of course love the breed of the Bernese Mountain Dog, but how could we love another Berner as much as we love Riley? To us, Riley is the quintessential Berner. There could be no other Berner. The Westie was cute, but didn't have the cuddle factor we were looking for. Finally, when Riley turned three, he began to change. We thought he was beginning to show signs of slowing down. He was happy to just hang out with us on the couch. He no longer play wrestled with dogs at the park. I suppose you could say, he reached middle age.

Shortly after, Sabrina came into our lives. Sabrina has become the perfect addition to our family. She is everything Riley isn't. She's mischevious. She's happy-go-lucky. She loves the water. She is agile. She has speed. She has boundless energy. She chases the cats. She has drive in her work as a retrieving dog. She is long and lean. If she breaks the rules because you weren't paying attention it's not her fault. She doesn't believe in sulking. And she loves to cuddle.

But in the end... She, just like Riley, is a wonderful dog. We are delighted to have such a beautiful puppy. She has captured our hearts. She, just like Riley has a heart big enough to love us unconditionally. Sabrina turned out to be more than we could have ever imagined. She has changed our family. She has helped Riley rediscover the world of running, romping, and wrestling. She has taught Riley her happy-go-lucky ways. She has become Riley's constant companion and our little petunia. She has taught us how to love each of them differently for their distinct personalities. Not a day goes by when the two of them don't make us smile or laugh out loud.

CLOSED

What a beautiful 6 letter word. Schools are closed!!

I find it kinda funny that we live in NE and the couple of inches on the ground outside has closed down all of our schools! But hey, I'm not complaining. It's time to bundle up and go play play play!

Cross my paws, look to the sky, hope for snow to fall in my eye

We're very excited to hear about the big snow storm coming our way. We are singing the, "SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY!" chant around here. I'll be sure to charge the camera tonight and get photos and some video footage of Riley and Sabrina playing in the snow. Keep those paws crossed tonight!!!

International visitors

My blog was just visited by someone in Hunan! That's my mother's homeland.

Cool.

A weekend away

We went away last weekend, both me and the hubby and the dogs. But not together. Jeffrey and I went up to Vermont and the dogs went to stay, for their first time, a kennel.

Before Sabrina, we always left Riley with his Auntie Dory and best gal pal Agave when we went away. It worked out great. Riley got to sleep over with someone he knew (and loved), play with his girlfriend, and still go to the same dog park as he always does. When Sabrina came along, two dogs just seemed like a lot to ask of someone, especially when one is a mischevious Flattie puppy! Then with Riley's knee surgery on top of that, we felt it most appropriate to go with a more professional, controlled situation. Riley's bone has not yet healed completely and exuberant playing and wrestling for an entire weekend would certainly not be good for him. Plus, in case anything did happen, I wouldn't want that kind of burden on anyone. At the kennel, we could be sure that Riley's only got controlled on-leash walks, just to be safe.

I had toured this kenneling facility several months ago and decided it was worth a try. They have several different kenneling options, but we decided to go with the posh accomodations and rented a doggy condo for the two of them to share. It was a parent guilt thing. To have the two of them locked up within a small 4x6 foot space for 3 days seemed unfair. But at least they were behind pretty french doors, had tiled floor, and Animal Planet showing on their own TV set. No steel kennels, no crates, and minimal barking in that area. I figured this type of kenneling would be a rarity for them, so spoiling them just a little while we're away was okay.

It turned out to be a great experience and I am very proud to announce that we love BEST FRIENDS (Boarding, Grooming, Training) Facility! Best Friends They were so accomodating I was so impressed. They seem to be a pretty large business chain, but they have a personal touch. They accepted a letter from my vet that exempted them from excessive vaccinations such as Bordatella (Kennel Cough), were happy to feed any kind of food I left them (including raw meat and bones!), and most of all they spent time getting to know my dogs and even gave them a little report card! I signed Sabrina up for a 2 hours play session on Saturday and I got reports of whom she played with and how she reacted to the other dogs. Riley got three Walk and Explore walks a day and I ordered two Suite Treats for the both of them at bedtime (peanut butter filled Kong) to keep them happy. I felt that they truly cared for our dogs while we were away and treated them as if they were their own. We love them!