Meet Sam

This little kitty is 23 years old! Despite being just a little grumpy (can you blame him?), he was really quite lovely to photograph.

Having a senior myself, I understand just how special these guys are...our time with them is so very precious. A big thank you to Sam's mom for allowing me to meet and photograph this very special kitty. :)

Hooray!

The spotted monkey seems to be feeling good and back to his usual antics...running around the backyard like a loon, whining for his toys, and pestering Indy. :)

I took him over to a friend's house this morning and played around a little bit on her agility field. We didn't do much, but I wanted to get him out of the house and see how he felt. I think he might still be a little tight in the hind end, but otherwise he looked pretty good and was very happy to be out playing again.

Here are a few fun pictures of him out in the backyard today...wheeeeee!

SOTC Demo

Today we have a few pictures of our SOTC friends doing an agility demo at last weekend's pug parade...

















And a fun picture of Rascal, just because he's super cute. :)

We Love Our Friends

Because when we're feeling down, they really know how to cheer us up! Check out this awesome picture of Mac and Mozart (the nicest Rotties you'll ever meet) - aren't they clever? I just had to share... :)



Peyton would like his friends to know that he's feeling much better today. Not quite 100%, but a huge improvement over the past few days. Personally, I think he found out that I was thinking about taking him back to the vet and decided he needed to shape up...and quick!

No offense to my super awesome vet, but Peyton's not a big fan of going to the clinic. In fact I knew he was feeling really bad last week when I picked him up and the tech said that he was a *perfect angel* all day (even before the meds) - um, that's not my spotty. He generally cooperates, but not without first letting everyone know that he would rather be elsewhere. :)

So thanks again for the good thoughts - paws and fingers crossed again that the spotty boy is on the mend!

Exhausted

Wow...what a busy weekend. Between the pug parade, the pet fair, and worrying about my spotty boy, I'm exhausted.

I have some more pictures from the pug parade to share, but for now here's one that just makes me smile. Meet Strider...who reminds me of a cartoon character in this shot.

"Oh hi! Is that a ball you're holding?"



I suspect we'll be back at the vet's office first thing tomorrow morning. In addition to the trembling in his hind end, now Peyton seems to be having some difficulties eating. But other than that, he acts like he's feeling better so I have no idea what's going on. My poor spotty. :(

Pug Parade Fun

Today I attended the 12th annual Pug Parade in Lakewood Ranch. This was my first time attending this event and it was um, interesting! I've had no idea there were so many pugs around here...there had to be at least 100 in attendance - pug madness! :)

A big congratulations goes to our friends Jill and Lu Jack (aka "King Pug") for taking home best of show in the costume contest!













And just in case you're wondering...that last picture is not a pug dressed up as a llama! :) There were a few therapy llamas in attendance.

Tomorrow will be another busy day - I've got a booth at the Sarasota Pet Fair held at Animals By Nature in Sarasota. If you're in the area, you'll have to stop by! The event is from 11-4 pm.

A little Peyton update...he seems to be feeling better today, but I'm still noticing some trembling in his hind end. I'm reluctant to give him more pain medicine (Metacam) because I'm thinking it might be causing some (unproductive) retching - any thoughts on this?

Poor Peyton

My poor spotty boy is hurting...I guess I spoke to soon when I said he wasn't hurt after our tunnel incident on Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning he woke up feeling fine and had his usual run around the backyard. He ate breakfast and spent the morning napping. Around lunchtime he starting acting like he wasn't feeling good and by the afternoon he was trembling on the bed. I called my vet and decided to take him into the clinic. He didn't show any obvious signs of discomfort during the exam, but his right hip seemed a little off. Because it was late, we decided to give him some pain meds and bring him back in the next morning for further tests and x-rays.

Peyton spent Thursday at the vet - his blood work came back fine and his x-rays looked good. Apparently he was still very reluctant to move his hip, even when sedated, and he had some tightness in his lower back. Soooo, either his muscles are just really sore and/or he experienced some kind of whiplash effect in the tunnel.

My poor spotty boy was pretty drugged up all last night and has been resting all day today. This morning he acted like he felt a lot better, but by this afternoon he was trembling again - especially in his hind end. I gave him some of his pain meds and now he's back on the bed sleeping.

I just feel terrible for him...I guess all I can do is let him rest and hope he starts feeling better soon. :(

Ouch!!

Peyton got in a fight with a tunnel in class tonight...thankfully he wasn't hurt, but it sure scared me. The tunnel was located under the dogwalk and the crazy fast (but very cool) lab who ran before us caused it to shift so when Peyton ran through it, he hit the legs of the dogwalk - big ouch! Poor guy can't seem to catch a break lately.

This was our second class on our new field and I think it's going to take some time for Peyton to adjust - the new field, new dogs...it's a bit much for his spotty brain to process at the moment. I can't say that he's doing terrible...he's just a little on the over-stimulated side (more so than usual) and I'm having a hard time keeping him with me. Hopefully he'll settle in soon.

On a good note, our start line stays are looking much better. I can tell that he's thinking...which is a good thing. Really, he's been giving me a decent level of focus given the new environment - it's just that if given the slightest opportunity - he's off running across the field like a loon. I think a little more management on my part will help. A bit of a challenge since he doesn't-want-to-stand-still when working. I see a lot of downs in his future. :)

Here's a little video which includes Peyton's little tunnel mishap. My handling was *really* bad - talk about giving lousy direction. I guess we both were a little on the flaky side tonight...

Paws crossed that Peyton will still be feeling good tomorrow! :)

Smiles!

I finally managed to capture some Peyton smiles on video! These were taken with my little pocket camcorder - the quality isn't great, but you get the idea. :)



And a few video snapshots...silly smilin' spotty! :)

Indy Dogs!

It's been a very busy week! Here's the last of the photos from my trip. First is Bela, proving he can look serious...









And Sadie, who reminds me a little of (my) Indy...





Frankie, the newest addition...





And finally, a kitty! :)



Now back to spotty business - we've got a new session of classes starting this week on our new agility field. Should be fun!

Silly Weim Faces

Meet Bela - The biggest. baby. ever. I'm still going through pictures from my trip and I have to share some of these shots since I *love* funny faces - and Bela sure gave me some great ones.

This first one reminds me of a high school yearbook photo... :)

Horses!

While in Indy, I stayed with one of my best friends and all of her critters - four dogs, seven kitties, two fish and three horses. (!)