Junie in the Springtime

One pretty (and very large) pup who has no idea what is about to hit her.  We're trying to take every opportunity to play outside with her and give her all the love and attention we can before Pud makes his/her way in!!!  She is loving the warmer weather and will sit on our front stoop for hours in the sun.  It's precious!

Today it's pouring out and she's sitting by the backdoor whining away wanting to go out and play.  She doesn't understand that momma is NOT about ready to throw balls and play tug in the rain.  Poor girl. 

Snow Day!

Okay, the snow day wasn't for me.  Hospitals run regardless of weather.  However, our precious pup certainly enjoyed playing with B outside today!! 

B will throw snowballs to Junebug and then she'll chase them all over the yard.  It's hysterical to watch her get confused as she looks for the "ball" in the snow after it lands.  Today he also shoveled snow off the deck and she would leap in the air to catch the snow in her mouth.  She loves being outside and is then absolutely exhausted when she comes in!  It's great exercise for her, and we love that she'll nap for a long time once she's done!

(That's our railing on our deck and part of our backyard)

Junebug's favorite Christmas present

A few other bloggers have talked about these darling dog collars from Mascot.  I think they are the CUTEST colloars I've ever seen and asked my brother and his girlfriend for one for Christmas for Junie B.  They were so sweet and got us the navy and yellow one for her.  While I adore the pink, she has had nothing but pink collars since we've had her, and B was getting a little sick of them.  So, navy and yellow it was!  I think it does make her look a little more like a boy, however, I still think the collar is the coolest!  I'm going to order the matching leash- I'm a big fan of matching :)  We've had it on her for a few weeks now, and it's held up SO well.  The dirt doesn't show, it's really thick and sturdy (great for a 106 lb puppy), and the yellow bone is the perfect accent color around her neck.  I would highly recommend it!

My mom also got us a darling collar and leash that match.  They have a navy background with a ribbon sewed on top that has all colors of sailboats on it.  It's super, duper preppy and darling and is going to be her summer set.  I may see if I can find the ribbon online somewhere as I'd love to sew some across a white sleeper and have Junie and the baby match!  If nothing else, it'd make a darling picture!!

Love this face.............

Just look at those eyes..................she's such a spoiled baby because of them!

(please ignore the drool on the back of the couch........it comes with the wrinkles!)

Today I am thankful for the library system.  I am a voracious reader, and I could NEVER afford to buy all the books I read.  I'd seriously be broke and naked!  I love that the library system here in Chitown allows me to reserve books I want to read by going online- I hope it's the same way in GR (and I hope there is a library that is close to my house)!!  BTW- I need some new books to read..........any suggestions?

One sad puppy!

Today was Junebug's visit to the vet for her spay.  B dropped her off this a.m. while I was on the phone with the new hospital and then he also picked her up this evening when she was done.  I can't believe how sad she looks, how lethargic she is, and how sad it makes me!  While I know that it is necessary for her to be spayed, it's still hard to see her acting like this, you know??  She doesn't get to eat tonight which is a good thing because she's already dry heaved twice.  Poor, poor thing!!!!!!!!  They said she can eat tomorrow, so hopefully she will also be a little more active as well.  Right now she can barely even lift her head or her paws off the ground.  She normally plops herself on the couch right between Blair and I, and tonight she is just looking soooo pathetic and laying on the floor.  Situations like this make you realize how important dogs become in a family!!!

Today I am thankful for.................FINALLY receiving my Michigan RN License.  The process took forever, and I was very concerned about not being able to start my job on time.  However, everything worked out, and I will be starting my job on November 30th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Today I am thankful for.......

one clean pup!!  Last night B and I gave Junie a bath in the bathtub (hilarity ensued!!), and by the color of the water running off her, she definitely needed it.  She smells so much better and her coat is so soft! 

I had to take her to the vet last week for what I thought was a yeast infection in her ear (and I was right).  We're now cleaning her ears every day and using a cream in them twice a day.  So far the redness (beefiness) has definitely improved and the smell (it was AWFUL) has gone away, but there is still some leftover redness, and she is still itching the area.  I'm going back next Monday for a recheck, and if it's not completely better, she'll probably be put on an oral medication.  Vet bills aren't fun!!  Luckily I can see her feeling better, so it makes it worth it. 

So clean pups, fun in the bathtub, a horribly messy and then completely spotless bathroom are my thanks today!!

Junebug's newest friend

My mom and Ralph adopted a Weimaraner dog from the shelter a few weeks ago.  He is two and a half and still a very active dog.  In fact, the reason he had been at the shelter for so long is because of his energy level- many people really couldn't handle him.  My mom and Ralph are both retired and both very active (Ralph runs 6-8 miles a day and mom is an outdoor enthusiast/gym rat in her own right), so Orion was the perfect dog for them.  They've loved having him so far, and it was a great time having Junie, Orion, and Bella (my brother's dog) all around to play together.  Junebug has never slept so well in her life as she did last weekend.  She was just so frickin exhausted!!!  Lovely for us :) 

Orion on the L and Junie on the R

Junebug in the car feeling the breeze

One cute pup!

Dog days of summer

Junebug and I went to the vet this a.m. after I found out that they were cancelling me from work today. When we adopted her, the shelter had told us to bring her to the vet in August for a full check up. Well this last week she's developed an insane rash on her belly and under her armpits, so to the vet we went today!!

The vet was fabulous. I'm so glad we lucked out with him. He was able to answer all my questions and even drew me some pictures. Cute! Apparently, JB has pyoderma (or something like that) which is basically staph infection of the skin. We're on antibiotics for two weeks as well as a special shampoo and a soothing skin spray. She also is starting on an ear wash just to keep her inner ear cleaned out (apparently Mastiffs can be prone to ear infections if not cleaned regularly). YIKES!! We'll be doing lots of grooming over the next few weeks, but as long as she feels better and we can stop this awful itching, it's fine.

We have to go back to the vet in two weeks to see if the antibiotics have cleared everything up and to see if we can figure out why this rash occurred in the first place. The vet doesn't think it's allergies as she isn't really displaying other symptoms, but we'll see. Hopefully it's just a one time thing, and we can all get back to our normal lives! Luckily she is not acting different at all (besides the crazy itching), so we know she's still feeling well.

On the other hand, her momma (me) is not feeling the best today. I felt fine all morning and had a good workout at the gym after the vet apt, but this afternoon I have been insanely dizzy. I have no idea why. Hopefully it's just dehydration or something. I've been pumping myself full of fluids this afternoon. I know it's not an ear infection, and other than the weird spinning, I feel fine. Anyone know anything about dizziness and can help me out???

Fun at the Dog Beach (AKA: Junie B is a wimp!)

My brother and his GF arrived on Saturday afternoon with their dog, Bella. We took the dogs on a nice long walk and then finished getting everything ready for the party. Dinner in the backyard was GREAT- recipes soon. It did start raining around 9:30, and since our apt is so tiny, many left earlier than expected which was disappointing.

Sunday we were up nice and early to get the dogs to the dog beach. We met some friends and their dogs there as well. It was Junebug's first trip to the beach, and while she loved the other dogs and being able to run everywhere without the leash, she was completely terrified too ladylike to get her pretty fur all wet and ruin her gorgeous coat. We weren't expecting her to be an Olympic champion ball fetcher like Bella is, but we were hoping for a little bit of frolicking at least! Hopefully exposure will help her a bit. We'll definitely go back this week to see if it helps!


Our dog beach- look at all the people and dogs!!


Junie B checking out the sand


Junebug and I in the water.


Bella swimming


Our friend's dog, Bruce. He is such a cute puppy!! And so tiny compared to our huge baby!


Here you can see how Junie B was trying to have as little of her in the water as possible. She would lift up one of her paws every time she felt the water- funny girl!


This is B trying to explain something to her. I just love how her head is cocked in this pic.


Our friend, Chris, and his dog Roscoe. Roscoe and Bella loved swimming together.


Junebug was trying to get out of the water and instead of running to the shore, she kept backing up further and further into the water. My brother was out there, so he brought her back in. She wouldn't even touch the water after that!

All in all, our first trip to the beach was great fun. We even met a mastiff who was 170 lbs (with about 20 to go!)- what a giant! He was beautiful and oh so calm. Maximus- perfect name, right?

More on the weekend to come.........

What a weekend!

So, I took all of your advice and my brother's advice and my friend (who's a vet) advice, and we left to go up north Friday afternoon. About 1 1/2 hrs into the drive, guess who pukes again??? Yuppers, Junebug! We had to pull over on the expressway, clean up the back seat (thank goodness I had brought stuff "just in case"), and get her to drink something. She didn't throw up again, but she did spend the rest of the drive coughing and hacking up clear phlegm (which meant I climbed to the back of the car each time to see if it was puke or phlegm and to clean it up). Needless to say, the 6 hr drive was NOT fun.

I dropped B off at the bachelor party and finished the drive to my mom's. Junie B still wouldn't drink much and was coughing all the time. She wouldn't even go into the bedroom to lay down on her bed, instead she settled in on the living room floor. I ended up sleeping on the couch next to her because I was too nervous to leave her. Do I sound like a mom or what??? I slept from about 11-1 ish when she had another coughing fit with tons of phlegm all over the floor (I am so thankful that my mom was so kind about her carpet- I felt SO bad!). She settled down and slept, but I couldn't. Then at 3:30 she coughed up some phlegm that was blood tinged. Of course I totally freaked and woke my mom up to come see it. She was concerned but didn't think I needed to call the emergency vet number. I REALLY couldn't sleep at that point, so at 6 a.m. I called the vet's office and found out they opened at 8. She did the bloody phlegm one more time before we left for the vet's office. Oh, by the way, I'm also sobbing hysterically more than one time throughout the night as I was convinced that she was dying of something. The vet's office got me right in even though I didn't have an appt. I think it was because she was coughing up the same stuff all over their floor and I was crying and snotty myself. I'm sure it was quite a site to see!! The vet tech asked me right away if she was my first pet- obvious???

We got Junebug onto the table and got her all checked out. Guess what was wrong???? Oh yes, just a frickin virus!!! My dog has a cold. Did I feel stupid or what????????? What is so funny/amusing/wrong about this situation is that I always have parents who come in with their first child with similar symptoms and they are as upset as I was and I often pooh pooh their visits. Well, no more! This was a great learning experience for me. Had this been a baby, I would have known that it was just sick and needed some clear liquids and lots of rest, etc. But, since I have little dog experience, I totally freak and become that parent. He said that the puke was probably just because she didn't feel well (yup), the eye drainage was part of the virus, and the coughing and phlegm were the cold. He said it was probably blood tinged due to the fact that she was slightly dehydrated and had been coughing so much her throat became irritated. So, we're now on an eye ointment, robitussin for the cough, and an antibiotic. Viruses aren't affected by the antibiotic (as we all should know), but since she just was in a shelter, he wanted to cover any secondary infection that she could possibly have. The vet didn't make me feel stupid at all, and I felt so glad that I had gone, if only to learn so many things! So, Saturday she got fed chicken and rice soup and saltines all day to make sure her stomach was okay, and today she is totally back to normal! Thank goodness!!!!!!!!!

More weekend update to come but I simply must go to bed. The lack of sleep on Friday night is still affecting me. Tomorrow (Monday) I am at the hospital for a double- 16 hrs total! Hopefully there will be some down time so I can catch up on your weekends. I'll be able to post some pics on Tuesday from Gram's 85th birthday party. Later, ladies!

Rain, Rain

GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I'm so over Chicago's weather. Hail, rain, thunderstorms???? Blech.

Also, my pup just threw up. It wasn't bloody or foamy- just breakfast. She looks so sad and miserable right now lying on the floor. It's breaking my heart. We're supposed to leave in two hours to go to Michigan, but I'm not sure what to do now. I don't want to be that far from our vet if it's serious. My brother (dog owner extrodinaire) said it's not that big of a deal. He thinks she probably ate something funny (maybe the magazine she chewed up yesterday???) and she's fine to go up with us. I don't know. She's not even responding to all the thunder. If she were a baby, I could totally handle this, but I know nothing about doggie health!! Anybody out there have advice??

Our newest addition

Okay, I promise to finish up with our honeymoon pics tomorrow. BTW, thank you SO much for all your comments on the pics of our trip. They have meant the world to me!!

This news is so wonderful, I just can't wait to share it with you all! Today...........................................................







We adopted our very first puppy!!!!!! We met her twice last weekend, had two interviews with the shelter, did a home visit today, and she's finally OURS!!

Please meet Miss Junebug!!






Our first family photo!!


She is 1/2 English Mastiff and 1/2 Neapolitan Mastiff. She's currently 6 months old and 60 lbs. She's huge, ladies! She's going to be about 120 lbs by the time she's full grown. That should be by about 2 1/2 or 3 years. She has an incredibly gorgeous shiny gray coat- pewter would be the word I would use. We met her last weekend at an adoption event, went again on Sunday to visit, went through a huge process this week to show we were interested, and then B was able to get her today while I was at work. She's very sweet and docile and just lovely in every, single way. I'm so crazy about her! We will have some work to do because she doesn't really know how big she is, so she definitely needs training! She already is housebroken (mostly) and knows sit and stay :) Huge, right?? Oh, I wish you all lived near me so that you could meet her. I know you would just L-O-V-E her!! We do have an extra bedroom and love to entertain, so if you all are coming to Chi-town anytime soon, you can just holler!!

Right now B is laying on the floor and she is licking him. This could be the cutest thing ever!!

Mkay- off to bed for this family..............(love saying that word!) See you tomorrow (read about you tomorrow??) Mwah!!!