Happy Belayed Valentine's Day

Kyra decided she couldn't be outdone, so decided that today she would offer Gene a double Q. Her JWW run:



And, her standard run:



So--out of 10 runs this weekend, we managed to pull out 5 Q's. 50% Not a bad haul for this couple. Hemi is slowly improving with each run. Once he gets his head together, he's going to be great!

Happy Valentine's Day

Agility competitors are a superstitious lot. I think this is true for most all athletes. You have lucky Q shirts that competitors will wear day after day after day. That lucky leash that your dog Q'd on for the first time. I would even bet that there's more than 1 pair of "lucky agility undies" out there.

I would guess I'm no different. Upon arriving at the arena this morning after a 1 hour drive, getting to the restroom facilities was a top priority for me. Inside, someone had decorated one of the stalls like this:




Weighing my options, and counting the number of heads waiting in line for the "lucky stall", I decided that the need to empty my bladder was more important than waiting on the magic toilet at this point, so I chose to use the only open stall at the time. The one at the far end. The one with the broken door that doesn't close all the way. The handicap stall.

Our first run was in JWW. Someone must have told Boo that it was Valentine's day. Since we all know how much Boo loves his Momma, he decided I needed something special. So, he focused and managed to pull out a JWW Q this morning with a first place! WAHOO!.

Subsequent trips to the lavatory brought with them a great quandry. Do I contnue to use my own, personal "lucky" stall, or do I risk it and use the club proclaimed "lucky stall". After much debate with myself (and more than a few odd looks), I decided to continue using my own personal "lucky stall".

In Standard, Boo managed to once again pull out a Q with a first place!

Poor Gene, there was no lucky stall in the men's room. Because of this, Kyra got 1 Q in JWW with a 3rd place, and Hemi took the "walk of shame" after the first 2 jumps.

I will have to watch closely tomorrow and keep Gene out of the ladies room!

First Day Back at Work

Today was to be my first day back at work, having discussed the start with my boss nearly a month ago, I didn't expect any issues.. It should be an easy transition, since I have worked there before, and have been doing some "moonlighting" as well.

I decided I would start my work days at 7 am. While I am not a morning person, I hate afternoon traffic even more. It is much safer for all involved if I get up early and miss traffic driving home.

Being slightly OCD about being on time. (For anything) I arrived at the office at aprpoximately 6:45 am. I had already received an e-mail from my dear friend Vici telling me which lovely cubicle was reserved especially for me. I decide today is going to be a good day, since the doors are NOT locked when I arrive. (yeah!)

I locate said cubie with no problem. (Because I had been there before.) The desk contains a CPU, a Monitor, a phone, and desk chair. That's it. I look around, and notice a few desks that are empty (or at least appear to be) so my first mission is to pilfer (aka steal) supplies from these desks. This amounts to a trash can and broken tape dispenser.

6:49 am- unpack, and realize there is not a plug in for my alarm clock. Once again, pilfer through unused desks and *obtain* a power strip

6:59 am- turn on computer and attempt to sign on

7:00 am- realize that I do not have enough information to log onto the desk top

7:01 am- locate Team Leader (TL), and find out that boss is off that day. Inform TL of my sign on problem.

7:03 am- TL calls Computer Geek (CG) to tell her that I need a sign on. (CG is not in yet, so we wait.)

7:15 am- make a cup of hot tead and scour empty desks once again for supplies

7:20 am- realize I have a calendar in my car, and leave to retrieve it

7:30 am- hang calendar on cubie wall with the help of a push pin donated from fellow co-worker

7:35 am- inform friend and cubie neighbor (CN) that I am unable to sign on

7:40 am- Sign onto desktop with CN's sign on. (Thank you CN!)

7:40:39 am- Get to second screen of log in- and use my own- and wait

7:42 am- still stuck at screen #2

7:45 am- go to the bathroom- to waste time-

7:50 am- return to desk to find computer has timed out and is "locked"- requiring CN's password- again

7:51 am- still stuck on screen #2

8:00 am- attempt to call mother- get answering machine at all phone numbers

8:10 am- switch from ice tea to water

8:20 am- do some research, find out that it takes me EXACTLY three spins in the desk chair to get dizzy. Debate furthering research to see how many spins until I puke. Decide puking on your first day back is not acceptable

8:30 am- find out that private e-mail is blocked on work computer, but porn is not

8:31 am- find out that computer is too slow to download porn

8:35 am- start a grocery list

8:36 am- realize I don't need anything at the grocery store

8:45 am- call sister to inform her of the numerous job opportunities at the office

8:50 am- notice that someone has stolen the bulbs from my cubicle light fixtures

8:55 am- sign on the chat board, only to find new computer is also to slow to load it

9:00 am- discuss interesting radiology report with co-worker, and the pros and cons of coding on a post gender- reassignment surgical patient

9:12 am- discuss the need for a pre-break in order to make sure that break time is used to it's full capacity, and the draw-backs of not planning ahead

9:15 am- call Mom again, reach her this time. Discuss the finer points of my day up to now

9:30 am- TL comes by to check status of computer- still stuck on screen #2

9:45 am- TL comes by once again and advises me to go home until problem solved

9:46 am- leave CN a note, and drive home

So, 3 hours later, I had done exactly ZERO work. Here's hoping day 2 runs a little smoother!

Making a deal with the devil

Agility addicts are such superstitious beings. You'll often here, "This is my lucky Q shirt!"




Anything that happens before, during or after a run can be taken into account. For instance, one might think, "I got a Q the last time I wore my blue silk undies". So, and agility addict might wear those same silk bloomers until it's effectiveness wears off.



Favorite shoes, leashes, socks, even treats.



One of these days- I'll find that magic pair of undies, or socks, or treats, so that the Q's will start rolling in! But, since I don't have that---I have my friends!

2009?????

How is your 2009?

For me, so far, I have to say- not a big fan! If this continues, 2009 may go down in history for me as the year that I bought my vet a new Mercedes. (Or would she prefer a Hummer? Or a swimming pool? A house on the beach? Retirement?)

All of this started last year, near the end of October. Kyra had a cyst on her shoulder that was getting larger. Plus, she has had this little mole on her eyelid that, according to the vet, was a melanoma. Details of that surgery have already been chronicled, so I'll not bore you with further details of that. I will mention, however, that in doing the pre-anesthetic work-up, they did a urinalysis and came up with some *odd* results. They did an x-ray of her bladder, and an ultrasound. Both of which showed nothing. They went ahead with the surgery but wanted to check the urine again. That was done shortly before Christmas, and was still off. Because it was not normal, the vet wanted to recheck one more time.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where all this shit started. (bad pun- you'll get it later. Just go with me, I'm sleep deprived!)

Hershey was due for shots, but I had decided that with her age, I would prefer to do titers. I had previously discussed this with the vet, and we had both agreed that this was a valid course of action.

We also noticed that Hemi has what appears to be a cavity on his tooth.


This past week, Hershey went from drinking like a camel to drinking like a fish- which resulted in potty runs every 2-3 hours. Regardless of time of day or night.

Off to the vet we go, knowing that this drastic of a change can be serious. After tests, it was determined that Hershey was not diabetic (yeah!) and was not in kidney failure (yeah!), so that only leaves cushing's disease. However, in order to diagnose that, we'll be reguired to perform yet another pricey test.

Meanwhile, it's time for Boo's shots. Since we travel to so many dog shows, we really try to keep their vaccinations up to date. We set a date for this past Friday and take in Boo for his vaccinations, Hemi to have his tooth checked, and a urine sample from Kyra for a final recheck.

We had noticed a tapeworm in Boo over Christmas and had treated with an over the counter wormer, and are instructed by our vet that we had wasted our money, so she gave us something else to treat him with. But, other than that, Boo seems to be healthy. (Knocks on rather large piece of solid wood.)

The vet was unsure whether or not Hemi had a cavity, and said it can only be diagnosed positively with a dental x-ray, and that he does need a cleaning on his back teeth. She refers us to a specailist for this. (oh, goodie!)

The urinalysis on Kyra comes back. She has more debris in her urine than urine. She has crystals, red blood cells, white blood cells, epithelial cells and her pH was too high. The vet thinks she is trying to develop bladder stones, and would like to get another ultrasound of her bladder. She also mentioned she would like to change Kyra's diet. When I began to cry and throw myself on the floor, she decided it was okay, we wouldn't have to do that. (I have finally found a dog food she can tolerate. I refuse to change it now!)

Friday night, Hemi begins to pace. Knowing that he has no off switch, and if he isn't ready to go to bed, he can be a pest, we tell him to lay down and go to sleep. I awaken at midnight to the lovely aroma of diarrhea. Poor Hemi had to go out. And then again at 3. And then again at 5:30. This continued throughout the day on Saturday, being reduced to only a few drops of liquid, since the poor fellow got no food.

We decide to make an entrance at our agility club's holiday party, but don't stay long. Between Hershey requiring a bladder void every 4 hours, and Hemi requiring a bowl evacuation every 2-4 hours, we weren't sure what we'd come home to if we left early, much less if we stayed for the entire party.

We get home, and everyone seems to be doing well. For a couple of hours at least. Then, Hemi begins to vomit. Since he refused all food, even treats, all that came up was water. He also began to pant and belch. Off to the emergency vet we go.

3 hours later, we leave with a handful of drugs and a CD with x-rays on it. These to be exact. (And, for the price we paid for the x-rays, they should be rimmed in solid gold!)




After a fecal test, bloodwork, x-rays, and a bout of bloody diarrhea in the back, the vet decided that Hemi has giardia. He got several injections and oral medications to help calm his tummy. We get home, feeling better and more confident. Let all the dogs out, and Kyra now has diarrhea.

Gene calls the emergency vet about getting medication to treat Kyra, since we were told how contagious giardia is. We were told they would not do that without seeing her. Oh, yeah. Another $700?

I've had enough of 2009. I'm done. Anyone with me?

Now, excuse me while I go steam clean my carpets.

Success, Silliness, and Second chances

This weekend, Hemi and Boo were both entered in obedience and/or Rally. Glen Rose is a large show that has conformation and obedience. Boo did Rally on Saturday (which Gene failed to tape) But, we did manage to get a Q out of it. Which, is nice, since one of the stations called for a "back up three steps". a move I have not taught him yet. Because of that, I'll take my green ribbon, and my sucky score. Hemi did Rally on Saturday. Gene looked at the course, mumbled something under his breath about "he's never even done that before" and took Hemi off to the side to teach him 3or 4 of the signs. Both dogs Q'd, but it was certainly nothing to write home about. The best part, is that the AKC doesn't put the scores on the title certifications. Today, we went out and had a few, bobbles, so to speak:

Check for yourself:



I will spare you the rest of the performance. After we slunk out of the ring, a steward came up and told us there was a problem with the score sheet, and we needed to re-run. Since we were going to get a new score, too, I decided to go for it. Maybe *I* could remember how to do the stations this time.

Boo's second shot at Rally:

That run gave us a 93 out of a possible 100, and his 2nd Q in Excellent Rally!

Novice was full yesterday, but Gene was able to enter Hemi in Novice B today. His bright spot is, by far, his recall:



Considering the fact that we still haven't found a good place to train, and the amount of practice in obedience has been somewhat slim, his heeling didn't seem to be too bad:



With his Q, Hemi received his Novice Title, he is now:
U. Ch. Tintlet Grab Life by the horns, CD.

I also saw the first corded poodle I've ever seen in the flesh:



Both dogs were also CERF'd on Saturday, and were clear.

All in all, it was a nice weekend! Until we find a place to train obedience, it may be a while before we enter another obedience trial.

A Christmas Holiday

I realized over this holiday, that sometimes there are traditions that we don't realize are traditions, until they aren't there anymore. That realization hit me several times this year.

The first such incidence was at the Candlelight service Christmas Eve at my parent's church, the church I grew up in. It had always been standard that, during the candle lighting ceremony, the congregation would sing "Silent Night". It has been very much a part of my Christmas. This year, the new music director at the casual service decided that he had another song he preferred. A song I didn't recognize. There was much grumbling amongst the congregation, myself included. A Christmas tradition by the way-side.

Another such instance occurred when I arrived at my mother's house. I mentioned the cookies and party mix that she always made for us. Mom greeted me with a suprise look and a comment on how she didn't make cookies or party mix for the kids this year. Needless to say, I didn't believe her. After much whining (and crying and a small temper tantrum that any 3 year old would have been proud of) Mom produced the usual bags of cookies and party mix. However, I realized that this was another one of those unspoken Christmas traditions.

There are other traditions that we know about, that we discuss openly. Virtually every year, once presents are open, Mom looks around, surveys the damage, and then will ask someone if we got a specific present. It is at this point that Mom realizes that she has forgotten to wrap someone's present. This year, it was some Petit Jean bacon, something we can't get locally.

Another such tradition is when Mom watches someone open a gift and utters the phrase, "There's a story behind that". This year, it was Dad's "Mental Memory" gift. Since all of Dad's gifts (or most of them) seemed to pertain to memory of some sort- the computer, blackberry, etc., This was Dad's *mental memory* gift.



One of Mom's *gag* gifts this year, was the present she received from Hemi and Boo. Pictured here, you can tell from Mom's face she was quite pleased with their gift of choice.



There is also the fairly new tradition where Dad "picks" on one of the dogs. This year was Hemi's turn. (But, let's face it. Hemi's a pest and deserves every bit of picking he gets!)



Of course there is always the tradition of placing a bow ontop of one (or more) of the dogs' noggins during the present opening ceremony. Such as these 2 from this year:





One Christmas tradition that I'm sure is common in most families, is the pre-lunch nap.





And then, invariably, someone has a little too much to drink:



In the end, being with family is about renewing old bonds:


No matter how old I get, some things just never change. Kyra will ALWAYS beg for food:



The table will always be festive:



And there will always be that photo that is worth a thousand words:




All in all, it was a lovely Christmas. The dogs are worn out, and haven't moved from the assigned places on the floor since arriving home. There are more photos to share. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed being there and taking them!

Group shot of the puppies:


Hemi's favrotie spot at Grandma's:



Another group shot:



I hope you all had a ver MERRY Christmas!