Snotface & Twiggy

Happy New Year From Snotface & Twiggy!!

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and prosperus 2012!!

Wordless Wednesday #42: Twiggy and Snow

Onyx, the Gift Thief!

We had a wonderful holiday and Twiggy and Onyx were spoiled as usual! We all got a laugh from Onyx running off with Twiggy's gift so I had to share. Enjoy!

Really? The Vet on Christmas Eve's Eve??

Yup, we went to the Vet today. Earlier in the week my husband noticed that Onyx seemed to be having some eye discharge and then we noticed Twiggy's right eye was pretty red. I called the vet and made an appointment on Wednesday. Onyx needed some booster shots anyways, and they both needed a nail trim. So, today we loaded up and headed to the Vet's office to get it all taken care of.

Twiggy actually likes going to the Vet. Maybe "like" is too strong. She just doesn't have any issues with it. We basically lived at the Vet's office for 2 months when she broke her leg and they always loved her and gave her treats so she's a pro when it comes to Vet visits. Onyx, being curious, just wants to sniff everywhere. So, lucky for me, the Vet usually is no big deal.

What I did notice today though, was that they did not like being separated. When Onyx left the room Twiggy just stood by the door whining and when Twiggy left Onyx did the same. Onyx did seem pretty glad to get back to me after they took him back and gave him 3 shots! We were only expecting 2, but I wanted to get the canine influenza shot for him too. There have not been a lot of cases in CO, but there have been some, and I take them everywhere with me so you never know. Plus, canine influenza has a higher mortality rate in greyhounds. Not sure why. I do know it was discovered at a greyhound racing track, but I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it. I just know several Vets have told me that. When it comes to Twiggy I take ALL precautions!! :)

Here are photo visuals of our vet visit today and a little video showing how happy they both were to be home and playing in the snow! (Some of the photos are not the best quality. The lighting in there was messing with the camera on my phone and I just couldn't get it right!)

Where did they take Onyx?

Mom, where. did. they. take. him?

Wordless Wednesday #41: Ferret Wrestling

Remembering Reznor

Four years ago today we lost our very first family dog, Reznor. He was only 5. It was probably the hardest loss of any animal I had ever experienced because it was so sudden and surprising. Plus, it's really hard to let go of the "what ifs" - even to this day.

Reznor never got the pleasure of having a blog because when he was around I did not blog about my pets, just my business. He did get a few mentions over at Scratchings and Sniffings though.

He was a sweetheart as long as you had two legs. If you had four legs...well, no guarantees. He seemed to think he was Kujo sometimes, which was always surprising because he had such a laid back demeanor otherwise. He was Miah's first dog. She loved him!

On December 19, 2007 Reznor ran into the backyard after a squirrel or a rabbit, nothing out of the ordinary. He was out there for a bit and when we let him in we noticed he seemed to have a slight limp. And I mean really slight. So slight we watched him walk around for a bit trying to decide if he was limping at all. We were headed off to a holiday party and decided we would see how he was doing when we got back. (First "what if" - what if I had paid more attention then and done something right away...)

Reznor was home for about 3 hours while we mingled with friends. When we returned his limp seemed to be about the same and he wasn't whining when we felt around his leg trying to trigger the injured area. So, we decided that again we would wait and see what happened. (Second "what if" - what if we had taken him in then? Would it have made a difference?)

Monday morning came and was a complete rush of getting Miah to school and myself to work. Reznor was the same. He definitely wasn't worse, so we headed out the door. (Third "what if" - what if I had paid more attention to him? Would I have noticed that he was indeed worse? Was I too caught up in my own morning to give him proper attention? This is the hardest "what if" for me.)

Then, at about 3:30pm my husband called. He said Reznor was much worse. He was now dragging his hind leg, and it seemed like his other hind leg was also being affected. My stomach immediately flipped and I felt a lot of guilt for not paying closer attention to him that morning. I should have noticed something and rushed him to the Vet right away. But, I didn't. That event still makes me really sad.

Matt rushed Reznor in to the Vet and I waited for the phone call. When it came, it wasn't good. Apparently Reznor had a degenerative spinal disorder. The Vet actually asked us if he had ever had any trama, like a car accident or something because having it so bad so young was very rare. Not to our knowledge, but we adopted him from the local Humane Society and he was always a bit skittish around men. I had wondered for some time if he had been beaten as a puppy. He even had an odd little scar on his side. I have no idea how Reznor ended up with such a terrible spine, and was devastated that we couldn't really do anything about it. That poor little spine decided it could no longer support his wild ways, and it broke, and it slowly began paralyzing him. His spine was so far gone it was hard to even tell exactly where the bone was cutting into his nerves and spinal cord.

The Vet did the only thing he could do and gave Reznor a shot that would hopefully subside the swelling and get him back on his feet.

It didn't work.

Tuesday morning he was no better. The Vet said if it was going to work we would notice a difference within 12 hours. So as I called the Vet to report this with tears rolling down my face, my doorbell rang. Still on the phone I answered the door to find my neighbor holding her hand under my daughter's chin because it was cut wide open and bleeding everywhere. I had to re-prioritize and hang up with the Vet.

I spent the next several hours in the ER while Miah got 11 stitches in her chin and had her other wounds on her nose and forehead cleaned up. She was a trooper through it. And, luckily, my neighbor agreed to stay with Reznor and watch him until my Mother-in-law could come over and stay with him until we got back home.

Once I was back home and Miah was at school - she really wanted to go back and show off her stitches - I got back on the phone with the Vet. By this time Reznor could not really move his hind legs at all, but he was still trying to move around. He was lifting himself up with his front legs and trying to drag himself around. I ended up using a towel to hoist up his back end and help him outside to relieve himself, but I knew I could not do that forever.

Greyhounds: Did You Know??

I wanted to share the below partial list of historical facts I came across on the Greys Landing Greyhound Placement website. I have not done complete research to know that each of them are 100% true. But, I believe them all, some are easy to verify and some I can guarantee are true!! Thank you for posting and sharing Greys Landing!

Greyhounds are the only breed of dog mentioned in the Bible; Proverbs 30, verses 29-31. (Looked this one up and sure enough, it's true!)

Greyhounds appear in both Greek and Roman mythology. The Greek poet Homer, in 800 BC was the first author ever to mention the dog in literature.

Alexander the Great’s favorite dog was the Greyhound.

In 1493, Greyhounds became the first European dogs in the New World.

There is evidence of Greyhound-like dogs living with humans almost 8,000 years ago.

Greyhounds first appeared on coins in 500 B.C.

Greyhounds were treated with almost god-like reverence by ancient Egyptians and highly regarded by other cultures in the Middle East. (Still should be, imho.)

In the late eighteenth century, the Earl of Orford was obsessed with the breed and set about to produce the “perfect” Greyhound that we know today. (All dogs are perfect. Again, my opinion.)

Greyhound racing, as we know it today, developed in the early 1900s. (That means the graceful, loving greyhound has been subject to racing for over a century. A century too long.)

Each year in the United States over 18,000 retired racers begin new careers as pets. (Where they belong!)

(Per Greys Landing: Reference: The Reign of the Greyhound: A Popular History of the Oldest Family of Dogs, by Cynthia A. Branigan (Howell Book House, 1997) & Retired Racing Greyhounds for Dummies, by Lee Livingood (IDG Books Worldwide, Inc, 2000)

Hope you enjoyed these!

Wordless Wednesday #40: Greyhound Private Party

I picked this up at BlogHer 2011 from Susi Zeremy who sells them over at KnobNots - they make great stocking stuffers! 

5 Reason to Adopt a Greyhound

In my youtube perusing I came across this video that I wanted to share. It was posted by Bilked Productions. It's just simple and cute and reason #5 is the best one! Enjoy.

P.S. Anyone else ever notice how greyhounds resemble little deers when they have their ears up? :)

A Poem By John O’Hurley to Warm Your Heart

This poem by John O'Hurley was televised during the National Dog Show that Purina does each year on Thanksgiving Day. Although I didn't watch the program, the poem really speaks to me. It's something that puts a smile on my heart, and I love when my heart smiles!

I give pause to my paws on this day of Thanksgiving,

Whether wide-eyed, or doe-eyed, or with eyes that seem hidden,
They're focused on you,
As I watch for a clue
Just wink or a touch,
Says I'm important to you.
But my words sound like woof
My voice kind of gruff,
So I know that
My thanks may seem never enough,
But this secret I share
With you on a whim
All dogs speak best with what's farthest from them,
Whether fluffy or skinny, full-sized or "a la carte"
Always watch for our tail,
It's attached to our heart.