It's Opie's Barkday!

Hi Dawgs!

First, dogmom says I have to tell everydog that Floyd is doing fine after his bout with pancreatitis. We have to watch him, cuz he eats a whole lot but isn't gaining weight. I think it's because I chase him around the apartment. Dogmom says that wouldn't account for the calories he's eating. Whatever.

Anypaws, today's the day we celebrate my barkday. 'Course, we're not sure really when my barkday is... or at least I've not told dogmom... but the guestimate when I invaded Gomer's heart and dogmom's house back in 2001 was that I was born around this day. Dogmom says I'm 9 years old today (or is it 10?), hmmm. I'm not tellin' !

So, me thinks that everyone should do three things in honor of my barkday today...

• Lick your human on the face and tell them you love 'em. 'Cuz they're kinda forgetful and might not know it today.
• Click on the animal rescue site button on our blog (or someone else's) and donate a bowl of food to a shelter pet. Better yet, buy some of your Christmas gifts there and donate even more.
• Run and play, beg for treats, take a nap and relish the fact that you have a great home. Oh yeah, and say your prayers that a lot more dogs, cats, puppies and kittens find a forever home this season.

Chase ya later!
Opie

Floyd is Sick

Yo Dawgs!

Before you tease me about caring about the cat... you have to understand a couple of things, ok?

When Gomer crossed the rainbow bridge a couple of months ago, Floyd would let me chase him around the apartment. And Floyd would let me eat his food sometimes. And I could chase him around the apartment. And I could kiss him in the face when it smelled like tuna. And I could chase him around the apartment.

Anypaws, Floyd wasn't feeling too good when dogmom came back from her conference late Monday night. And he vomited breakfast on Tuesday. And he vomited breakfast on Wednesday. When dogmom came home for lunch and saw that Floyd didn't eat his breakfast but vomited anyways... she took him to Pet Crossing Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic in Bloomington.

Floyd doesn't like Pet Crossing as much as Gomer did and I do. He's a cat. He likes everything to always be the same. Dogmom says that's why she thinks I'm part cat... but Floyd's worse than me about learning about new things and new places.

Anypaws, I was scared that Floyd wouldn't come home. You know, like Gomer didn't come home when he was sick. So dogmom brought Floyd home last night; but, he has to go back to the hospital today.

Dr. Roth says that Floyd has pancreatitis, likely due to the stress of being away from me while dogmom was at the conference. He's dehydrated and he lost almost a pound in the past week. And his liver enzyme is raised a bit.

Anypaws, put your paws together and say your puppy prayers that Floyd is ok soon. I miss chasing him around the apartment.

Chase Ya Later!
Opie

It's DogMom's BarkDay!

I've got lots of stuff planned!

First, she's going to take me outside to the little off-leash area in the apartment complex so I can do my business and get ready for the day.

Then, she's gonna feed me breakfast. (And, maybe Floyd can have some breakfast, too.)

Then, she's going to give herself a rainy bath so she can take me on a walk around the preserve trail.

Then, she's gonna come back in and snuggle with me since it's kinda cold and drizzly outside. Once I'm all warm and toasty, maybe I'll let her give me a massage.

Then, we'll both take a nap... although usually when I take a nap is when she plays with Floyd and moves stuff around in the kitchen and makes the dishes have no taste and stuff.

Oh well... gotta get going!
Chase Ya Later - Opie

Yucky White Stuff...

Yo Dawgs!

It's back. I mean, I'm so flustered about it that I don't know what to do. I thought Gomey and I chased it away for good. But, alas! It showed up again last night while I was sleeping.

I'm not sure what to do. Gomey always helped me out with this. DogMom is trying... but it's just not the same at all.

Anybody know what I can do to make the wet, cold, fluffy white stuff to get off my grass so I can go potty?

I mean... well, it's not so bad right now. It's more just like a blanket on top of the grass and you can see bits of grass peeking through the holes in the blanket. But, remember, it seems to always want to go get its friends and then, before we know it, there is tons of the stuff piled all over.

Help me!
Chase ya later... but I'm gonna go hide under a blanket now.
Opie

Wow! Yard Sale Results!

Hi Dawgs!

So, DogMom sat outside in the rain all day on Saturday (after being sick for three days... stupid human) so that she could help with the yard sale for pets needing veterinary care... (see previous post).

I guess I can forgive her for not spending the day with me. I mean, well, it was raining anypaws... so I didn't really want to walk around the preserve and get all wet.

Anypaws, Pet Crossing raised more than $1200 !!! for the animals!

Chase ya later!

Opie

Gomer Has Crossed The Rainbow Bridge

Last night, at 7:15 p.m., I held Gomer's head as he quietly walked across the rainbow bridge.

He noticeably hadn't felt well for about a week, which I attributed to the stress of moving to a new place, then leaving on vacation, then bringing back a puppy from Ohio to live with us for a week. But, when he wouldn't eat at all, I noted that he was severly jaundiced and rushed him into the vet at Pet Crossing Animal Hospital. The bloodwork, of course showed very high liver values.

I tried very hard to ignore his pleas to let him go; I wanted the analytical me to win. To run all the tests and get all the information before making the ultimate decision. But, after five hours of treatments and IV fluids, I looked into his eyes and he asked me to please let him go. It was one of the most difficult things I've had to do. But I know in my heart that I did the right thing. Maybe not for me, but for him.

I miss him horribly and expect that I will for a very long time. I take comfort in knowing that I am a much better person for having accepted the scared little dumpster dog into my home, my life and my heart.

To steal a post idea from Hercules' dad when Herc crossed the rainbow bridge, here's a short list of things that I learned from Gomer. As those who knew him will understand, he taught me so much more than the items listed below... but these are the things I remember today.

Things I learned from Gomer...

• This world is a scary, dangerous place. But, with the right people to watch your back, everything will turn out ok. That... and a lot of the things that we fear the most aren't really all that scary once we understand them.
• Every single being, no matter what their faults and how mean they can be, has value. Even the guy who threw Gomer in the dumpster had value… if he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had Gomer as a part of my life for the past nine years.
• With the right encouragement and acceptance, every single one of us can excel at fulfilling our purpose in life. Gomer’s first evaluation was that he’d always be feral and never be a good pet. Luckily, enough of us believed more in him than in the opinions of the “experts.”
• Don’t always act in the way that someone else believes is appropriate. Sometimes you need to run around like a crazy person and release pent up energy. And, sometimes you just need to lie down and let someone who loves you rub your belly.
• Life is what you make it. You can be scared, dissatisfied and blame others for your problems… or you can accept what it is and hold onto the hope that the rewards and treats will always come later.
• If your people can’t hear your words, talk to them with your eyes, your paws and your tail. And keep communicating how much you love them until they understand.

Opie and I are doing fine, all things considered. Thank you for listening with your eyes today.

Dogmom

Hey Dawgs! - Help us!

We've been banned from the computer ever since dogmom got her two new jobs.

First, she got a different computer. And she kept hogging it so that we couldn't post.

Then, she actually started taking it with her places so that we couldn't post.

Now, she's saying something about we should tell people that a new Dogs' Aye View is coming soon. Something about new design and features or something. We think she's lost her dog biscuits.

Help us, paw-leeese!
Wuf Ya!

Floyd Bit Dogmom

Again.

He's a naughty kitty. I think that's why she's packing her suitcase and she said that Randi's going to come and take care of us for a few days. She says no... but I think that's it...

See?

I mean, well, I'd leave if Floyd did that to me! And I'm not too upset that we don't spend too much time with him... if that's what he does to dogmom.

Anyways, she said she's been planning this trip for a while. She just didn't tell us about it because we aren't going to Dog Pad. Instead, Randi's going to come and visit three or four times a day to make sure we're behaving ourselves.

Like we don't always? Harumph... as Tosca would say.

Anypaws, we hear that Gemi's doing really well since her surgery. Her recheck appointment is on Thursday, so if we can pry dogmom away from the computer, we'll post what Randi finds out.

I, on the other hand, am still swollen and milking it after my surgery on Monday. See?

Wuf Ya!

Back Under the Knife...

So, dawgs...

I think some of you know that I went in to see Dr. Kate last week to fix the tooth that I broke the top off of... again. It was the lower right canine tooth. I had a root canal on that one I think with Dr. Visser in Arizona before I moved to Minnesota. Or maybe he did the upper right canine tooth. I don't remember exactly.

Anypaws, it was the lower right one that had a root canal a long while ago and then last week I broke off the restorative sealant off the top of the tooth. So Dr. Kate sedated me and tried to fix it even if it was only going to be temporary until next time I had to get the anesthesia.

Well. Dogmom says I must have decided I wanted some more surgeries. Cuz I broke off the restorative again over the weekend and had to go back to Pet Crossing yesterday. I had lots of stuff done and could feel that Dogmom was anxious about it. She kept saying "Awe, Gomer!" and "Geesh." and "Now what?" while I was sleeping.

I had to have two more big teeth pulled that were broken. Dr. Kate was able to fix the canine tooth so it didn't have to come out. (Dogmom says to tell you it's the nubby little one closest to my tongue in the top picture below.) And, Dr. Kate lanced my eyelid where the wasps or spiders bit me a couple of weeks ago and got out bunches of gunk and probably a stinger or two.

Dogmom says I don't look nearly as georgeous as Gemi when I wake up from anesthesia...


She says I look more like a drunken sailor that lost the bar fight. Not sure what that means, but it kinda made her laugh. Today... I'm hiding in the corner with my swollen cheek and eye...


Trying to avoid the dreaded ice hand that wants to hold my head.


Wuf Ya!

Yucky Ice

Ok dawgs. I'm not 'xactly sure what's up. My eye feels kinda funny.

Dogmom says I have yucky ice. I like ice. I don't think it's yucky at all.

But, she keeps on going "Eeeyoooh! Gomey, you got yucky ice." And then it doesn't stop there. She keeps wanting to look at it and put ice on it.

I mean if the ice is yucky, why in dogdom does she think I want her to put it on my eye like that?

Anypaws... she says I have to go with her to work today so that Dr. Kate or Dr. Barghusen can take a look at it. I think you guys should look and tell me what YOU think! The first two were taken before she put the yucky ice on it. The last two are taken after she put the ice back in the cold box where she keeps the good food.

Wuf Ya!

UPDATE! Gemi's at "All Funds Raised" !!!

HI everydog!

We just heard the news that the fundraising through IMOM.org has Gemi's surgery cost at the "All Funds Raised" level! This means that Randi can schedule the surgery!!! Wonderful animal angels across the world (including some DogsAyeView readers!) donated money for Gemi's surgery.

The funds will pay the low estimate for the surgery. Hopefully, the costs won't be more than that! So put your paws together that that is the case!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! to everyone from Dogs' Aye View who sent some monies in!

If you missed Gemi's fundraiser and you still feel compelled to donate, IMOM.org is dedicated to removing the financial burden that keeps pets in pain or in need of medical attention from getting the care that they need. This weekend is an excellent example of the work that they do...

Gemi has waited almost a year for Randi to raise the funds for her surgery. Randi, who single-handedly works two jobs to live with and care for her ailing parents, had managed to raise about $800 in that time.

This weekend - with your help - IMOM.org raised $1200 to get to the estimated $2000 cost for the surgery! That is totally PAWSOME, don't you think? We do.

We just have one more request.

Would everyone who reads this and has a blog or a Web site please put up a link to IMOM.org on their site? We've got to help spread the word about this fantastic volunteer-run organization! For 10 years, they've been helping to pay for surgery, medical care or medications for animals that wouldn't get it otherwise.

Oh yeah... Randi will be putting updates on IMOM.org regarding the status of Gemi's surgery -when it will be and how it went - so you can stay posted if you want!

Wuf Ya!

We're Very Sad about Tasha

We're very sad to report that Tasha (of Tasha and Eva's Blog) crossed over the rainbow bridge yesterday.


We're especially bummed because we had just met Tasha and Eva a couple of months ago when they came to Dog Pad to meet Tory and to stay there with us a couple of days. It's never easy to leave a Dog Pad buddy... but especially hard when they're a dog-blog buddy, too.


We're going to do everything we can to help Eva get accustomed to being the main dog at her house. She's never lived there without Tasha, so we know it will be hard on her.


And, we hope that Tasha's mom and dad know how sad we are about their loss. We think they would appreciate knowing that all our dog-blog buddies care about them, too. Won't you leave them a message at their blog?


Wuf Ya!

We Got Tagged by Key West Collies!

Hi dawgs. Sorry we've not been posting as regularly lately. It IS spring (finally!) and we've got lots of things to uncover and discover and smell in the yard and the wetlands.

That, and dogmom has been hogging the computer. Something about needing to find a job since she was downsized... whatever that means.

Anypaws, our buddies Essex and Deacon at Key West Collies tagged us for the Japanese Name Game. They said they tagged us for it because it is easy. We're trying not to be offended by that comment... since they're going to visit Ohio soon and that's where we want to go this summer, too.

Anypaws... here's how the Japanese name game works: To do this name game use the following key: A - ka, B - tu, C - mi, D -te, E - ku, F - lu, G - ji, H - ri, I - ki, J - zu, K - me, L - ta, M - rin, N - to, O - mo, P - no, Q - ke, R - shi, S - ari, T - chi, U - do, V - ru, W - mei, X - na, Y - fu, Z - zi. Then you tag a few friends.

So... Gomer's name is Jimo Rinkushi.

Opie is Mono Kiku. (Dogmom laughed at that one because mono is monkey in Spanish...)

Floyd is Luta Mofute.

And, maybe best of all... DogMom is Temoji Rinmorin.

We tag Buddha, Butchy and Snickers, Tosca and Wimsey.

Wuf Ya!

Shh.... Dogmom's not looking

At our blog, that is. She's been really busy the past couple of days and she hasn't had time to look to see how many visitors Opie got on his barkday... and how many comments there are.

We think that if you keep commenting and visiting all weekend, that we can beg forgiveness after the fact and she'll still count the comments toward the fundraiser. Cuz she's kinda like that, ya know?

Tell everybody!

Wuf Ya!

It's Opie's Barkday!

Send all your friends to visit our blog today (May 1, 2008)! Dogmom's doing the same fundraiser that she did on my pupped-day!

Each visitor to Dogs' Aye View today means $0.10 to a local animal rescue.
Each comment means $0.25.

The more the merrier! So go tell everydog and everycat and every hampster and, well, everybunny!

Wuf Ya!

Shocking Day and Reminder!

Today's the day that Tory and Mike are going to help dogmom see if Opie can be collar trained like a hunting dog to come back when he is called. Wish 'em luck, so we don't have to find the Dopester a new home.

Also, we wanted to remind you that Thursday is Opie's barkday. And, dogmom is going to do the donation-raising thing like she did with my pupped-day on April 1.

You can find more details here:

http://dogsayeview.blogspot.com/2008/03/shhhh-tell-everydog.html

And here:

http://dogsayeview.blogspot.com/2008/03/1st-dates-to-remember.html

And here:

http://dogsayeview.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-pupped-day-results.html

Opie thinks he'll be able to outdo my results. Ha!

Essentially, every visitor is worth a dime and every comment is worth a quarter. How much is Opie worth?

Guess we'll find out Thursday!

Wuf Ya! - Gomer

No Takers on Free to Good Home...

Dogmom wants to know why nobody seems to want a really cute dog that keeps running away for fun. (Three Times is Dogmom's Limit)

Opie says that obviously, three is NOT the limit, since he keeps escaping and running and more and more people keep trying to get him to come back home, including dogmom.

Yesterday, he ran away again and didn't come when dogmom came home. And didn't come when Randi and dogmom tried to catch him. And didn't come when the neighbors in the neighborhood behind our house (seven of them!) tried to catch him.

And didn't come when dogmom screamed because he crossed Bavaria Road. And didn't come when he was seen running down the new section of Highway 312 (that isn't open yet, thank both dog and GOD!)

Know what made him stop?

He finally caught the squirrel he'd been chasing for four hours.

Dogmom saw him holding something and told him to drop it. He did.

Then he nudged it with his nose. And he started to run away again.

She said, "No, you gotta show me what you got." And he did.

And she nabbed him. And then she buried the squirrel under the pine tree where he used to live.

Damded dog.

Meanwhile, can somebody explain to me why I had to sit in the kennel for four hours while Opie was having all this fun?

I thought not.

Wuf Ya!

Opie Escaped from Randi ...

And Gomer tried to eat the duck eggs.

Dogmom's pulling her grey hairs out.

Dogmom didn't want to laugh at Randi, but she's kind of glad that Opie finally broke her in after three and a half years of coming to walk us while she's at work.

Randi called and said that she was just relishing the thought that Opie was being a good boy on their walk. He didn't tug on the leash. He did his business; both jobs even. He paid attention to her commands and he strutted along-side her.

Then, when he came back inside... he waited for his opportunity. When she wasn't paying complete, 100% attention. When she was busy putting the leash on Gomer. Then, he made his move.

He ran right by them and bolted out the screen door.

He didn't come back when she called him.

He kept running when she tried to chase him.

He ran away whenever she got close to him.

He stopped and stared whenever she got too far away.

Just like he does with dogmom.

Randi called dogmom at work. And she laughed. And then she felt bad. She went home and talked to Randi and walked in the back yard.

When she called Opie...

Know what?

He came.
Right to her.
And stopped.

And she grabbed his collar and put the English rope lead on him. And he tried to bolt again. But couldn't.

So, he's back home (again). And everybody's at their wits' end about how to get him to stop it.

Wuf Ya! - Gomer (the good one)

Uh-Oh... All's Quiet ...

Dogmom says that when things are quiet it means something's about to go awry at our house.

She's silly.

It was warm and springy at our house this weekend. We liked walking with dogmom on the new trail behind our house. It goes all the way under the new highway (that's not open yet). And past a couple of neighborhoods and eventually even links to the trail that went behind the house where we used to live.

We walked all the way over there yesterday and then we walked back. Dogmom was impressed that we didn't bark at the kids riding their bicycles on the trail, even though there were about eight of them.

And we didn't bark at the baby riding in the stroller with her mom and dad walking behind her.

And we didn't bark at the boy throwing sticks in the creek.

And we didn't bark at the neighbor with the Schnauzer while he was mowing his lawn.

And we didn't bark at the neighbor where the rabbits live under the trees when he was pulling the junk from his shed.

And we didn't even bark at Floyd when we saw him sitting in the window! Although, Gomer did think he could climb the side of the house and get to him for a minute.

Anypaws, we went to Dog Pad today to play. (Don't tell Dr. Hollee at Pet Crossing... Gomer's not supposed to go play yet; he has to wear his dreaded basket muzzle so that he doesn't play ball or tear his stitches out.

Wuf Ya!

All's Quiet ...

Things are kind of quiet at our house today. 'Course, dogmom says that's because the noisemakers are going to Dog Pad to play. We don't quite agree with that assessment... Floyd makes lots of noise sometimes...

He knocks things off the counters. And then he runs back and forth like a herd of whatevers. And he meows incessantly in the middle of the night.

Anypaws, Tory asked Dogmom to bring our tie-out stake to Dog Pad so she could alter it so that it has Opie's cable permanently attached and so that he can't get it off. Dogmom will show pictures of it if it works.

And, we're going to try to train Opie with one of those shock-collar trainers and see if it will motivate him to stay close to home... or at least to come when he's called. Nothing else seems to work.

And, oh yeah... Dogmom says she thinks I broke another tooth!

Wuf Ya! - Gomer