A Word From the Dogs

A Pet's Ten Commandments...

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any seperation from you is painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want from me. Don't break my spirit with your temper but know I will always forgive you.

3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well being. 

4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment. I only have you.

5. Talk to me. I may not understand your words but I understand your voice. It is the best sound I will ever hear. 

6. Treat me kindly. Take me inside when it is cold and wet. I am a domesticated animal and am no longer accustom to the bitter outdoors. I ask for little beyond your gentle hand, a clean bowl of water,  and good food. Feed me well so that I may share my life with you, for that is what I live for. 

7. Don't hit me. Remember that I could hurt you in turn, but choose not to. 

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative ask yourself if something might be bothering me. I have no voice to tell you my ailments. 

9. Take care of me when I get old. You will grow old too.

10. When I can no longer stay on this Earth and go to join the Lord, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone, everything is less frightening with you by my side because I love you. 

*Take a moment today to thank God for your pets. Enjoy and take care of them while they are here. Life would be much duller and less joyful for us without God's creatures. 

Genesis 9:8-13, 1:24-25

Good news!!!

Good news on the Sunke front. We got a "letter" from him today saying he was doing great up at CCI and his trainer is Meredith. So far he's made it over the hard part, in my opinion. My two pups that "changed careers" had called me by this point. Zastrow for medical problems and Pismo had behavior problems. So I'm holding out hope for him. He's such a smart boy! 

I got my Christmas gift from Lacey's new mom, Caren. It's a calendar of all these wonderful photos of that awesome girl doing what she does best. I loved showing these to my friends and colleagues, it helps them to understand exactly what my dogs are working towards. And of course Lacey is just so cute! Photos of her doing anything make me happy! Pismo (Ty) was also kind enough to send Belle a Christmas present. I have been working on their gifts but haven't sent them out yet. I've been lazy. 

Genevieve is turning into quite the handful. She's got such a personality. She reminds me a lot of a young Yancie or what Lacey must have been like as a puppy. She's got a stubborn streak a mile wide and wants to be the top dog. Belle, surprisingly, has on problem with this!

In my front, I have a Wii now and Wii Fit and love it!!! So much fun! I don't think it will help anyone lose weight but it sure is fun. I took the RICA too, not fun.

And the best news of all...

 *drumroll*

School is OUT!!!! 

(and I'm almost done with my TPA)! 

On to student teaching... 

(hopefully with Mr. Hulin).

Sunke is Gone

As most of you well know Sunke went on to Advanced training about two weeks ago, on November 15th. Needless to say it was a very bad day. I can finally talk about it two weeks later. I know he is ready to be a big boy now but it doesn't make me miss him any less. He was still one of the biggest boys there and was one of the best behaved (IMO). We also got to see his sister, Suki, who looked NOTHING like my boy. Below is his "slide" from the slideshow. 

In other news: I can't figure out why some people still ask "How was giving him back?" or "Do you miss him?" It irritates me. Of course I miss him and it wasn't fun! He was half the reason I got out of bed every morning for the past year (the other half is Belle). He is my boy. I even had one woman in one of my classes ask "Where is he?" Everyone except her apparently knew.  ::eyeroll:: And of course I burst into tears right there in the middle of class.  That made me so mad, good thing she was two tables away. 

One  good highlight of the day is that we got to see PISMO!!! (and his human, Ty). He looked so good and still obeys. Ty is a the best "dad" to 'Mo. 

During turn-in I thought Vieve would lose her hair. She was going to need puppy-Rogaine EVERYONE had to pet her and they loved the little sling I carry her around in. 

Christmas Photos

No one will know how hard Christmas photos are to take until they try to take it of three dogs. All three are puppies.

To start, I took Vieve to the potty to make sure she's okay. I got my little "studio" set up and had the two dogs lay down in their spots. I turn the camera on, and the battery light is flashing. Crud. I need to power up the battery. So I have the "big" puppies down-stay. 

Genevieve is bouncing all over the place. Belle gets up when I accidentally say "Let's go." Crud. So I let them up, try to keep Vieve from chewing their Christmas collars apart, and try to keep them from wrecking the "set". 

The camera is now powered up, a little. I put the big dogs in their spot and make sure they are all lined up. Vieve has had an accident at this point. Crud. At this point my mom has come home, distracting ALL the dogs. Crud. I clean up le petite accidente. I put the camera battery on the power for a moment. I put all the dogs back in their positions. 

At this point Belle is refusing to 'sit' she wants to lay down. Lazy dog. So I reposition them so that I can throw Vieve in and have a great photo. Everything gets positioned. I get the treats out and Belle crawls forward a half a foot to get closer to the treat. Crud. She gets put back into position. Sunke is now drooling over the treat. Crud. I wipe that up. 

Two of the three are now in position. I tell mom to get Vieve ready. She hands me Vieve and I toss her in. Of course Belle and Sunk now need to sniff her. My camera is running out of power. They finally ignore Vieve and I push her into position, forcing her tush down. I snap a photo before she wanders away. I put her back snap another photo. Then another. I got maybe six photos of all three, only two are suitable for the holiday card. But at least it's done!

Sunke and Genevieve and Belle and Me

I've had Genevieve over a week now and boy, has it been exciting... sort of. She's a mouthy little pup but cute none the less. She will take a lot of my patience. ::sigh:: She has more toys then some children and yet she's not totally happy. She's so cute carrying around her little teddy bear. She's SO tiny! 

Sunke goes back to CCI with me on Saturday. I will be sad to see him go. He is my "big man" and I can't imagine not seeing his calm, dopey look all the time. Only time will tell how things will go for him in Advanced Training. He's a "rough" player with other dogs, but has a very steady temperament. He is quick to train. I think he has a very good shot at making it. He has the drive to learn. I'm sure Belle will miss him too. 

Right now I'm debating getting a Wii fit. They sound like a lot of fun; I highly doubt it can get anyone in shape. The games sound great. With my life style though I highly doubt my dogs will give me any time to myself. When I stretch out on the ground they think it means to come curl up in my lap! If I'm on the treadmill, Belle lays on the tiny space between the treadmill and the couch. It's sad really. I also am trying to get a new sewing machine, the Disney Brother 270. I was too rough on my last machine. 

A few more photos...

I took some Halloween photos of Belle and Sunke together. Aren't they cute???

This is Vieve's baby photo! She's sooo cute.

Genevieve is Here!

The tiniest puppy in the world now lives in my house. She is all of 10 pounds. But she is 10 lbs. of feisty puppy. She takes on Sunke and Belle without problem and she eats like she's starving. She's adorable though and has got a great "hurry" already. The photo below compares her to my 80 lb. Sunkenator. Belle is being surprisingly good with her. Belle is very cautious and gentle with her. She even lets her lay close to her and doesn't get mad when Vieve grabs a mouthful of her fur. Vieve loves Belle's tail. 

Tahoe Tournament '08

Last weekend Sunke, Belle, and I and the family and the karate school went to Tahoe for the end of the year Finals Tournament with the GSKA. I fight in the women's adult black belt continuous sparring division. The winners of every division get a belt. I don't have shoes to wear my belt with. *eyeroll* Below are photos from the tournament. Belle and Sunke did very well in the casinos. And I gambled for the first time! I managed to double my money (with my dad's help and not-help).

Sunke and I with my belt. He worked so hard, sleeping at the tournaments, being dragged about by Jamie on Friday nights, pets from Andy. Must be a hard life. *eyeroll*

The whole team!

Photo Update!

Possessive of her toys? No... (She was abandoned, she's possessive of everything.)

My big boy playing with his big toys!!!

Pismo and Sunke together at the park!!! And yes... I know which is which!

New Puppy!!!

With Sunke's sudden departure I was on a mission to get a new puppy. Originally I had planned to wait for Shira's litter in January but I cannot go that long with out a puppy! Next week I will get my new little girl. She will be the first yellow puppy I start from as a baby (Lacey was re-homed with me at 10 months old). She is a "G" puppy out of Lilac and OMSI III. I'm hoping she will be mostly golden but I'm not banking on it. Either way she will have a face I will love. I have pics of her mother but can't find them. 

This is her father. Handsome right? ---->

Things I'm Proud Of...

So in an attempt to get over the soon to come loss of Sunke (3 weeks away)... I created a list of things I haven't talked about yet that I'm proud of...

Pismo... just turned 3 years old. He is so handsome! This is a photo sent by his "dad", Ty. Thanks Ty! 

Mom and Bella's Birthday cakes... they came out great. 

Lacey... my little devil turned into an angel with a lot of work on her part. She became the service dog she was always meant to be. 

A National Tragedy

A National Tragedy!!!

Mother's Cookies abruptly went out of business. I will miss the Circus Animal cookies like a left leg. I will also miss the sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies, mini-chocolate chip cookies, and many more. This is surely depressing news. Mother's Cookies are a staple of my household, they are delicious. I feel for my fellows who will also miss these cookies. 

Laugh with me!

So my friend Giselle sent this to me. I laughed so hard I nearly cried. Click on the image to see it better. I definitely cried while watching the SNL re-enactments of the debates. Spot on! And so very funny!

Welcome...

Welcome ALL! 

So this is not my first blog, I started a blog a while back for my third CCI puppy (Pismo) but that was kind of limited. So now I've made a universal one for ALL my puppies. This blog is hopefully going to be used to keep my friends across the country and ocean and my family across the state informed about our goings on. 

If nothing else it gives me a better place to store pictures. 

Everyone reading this should already know me so I don't feel the need to introduce myself, Sunke, or Belle.