New Dog Treats Site!

Momma has just started a new blog site - recipes for dog treats!! Boy are we excited about that! Some of the recipes are hers, some she's gotten from others, and others she's found but has not had time to try out. I don't know WHY she hasn't had time to try them out yet... I think that should be her FIRST priority!

You will find not only recipes there, but also links to other sites where you can buy gourmet dog treats or even links to more homemade dog treat recipes! Here's the site: http://dogyummies.blogspot.com/

Time to Sun!

Sorry, not much to say today.... now that momma is home, it's time to lie in the sun on the deck...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Isis is doing Great!

As many of you know, our sister Isis had a bad accident in late April of 2007 with injured her rear end and aggravated a serious heart condition that was hiding. She was given just a month to live...

Here we are in July of 2008 and Isis is still here and doing great! I know Momma has not done an update on her lately, so since I (Cleo) have taken over this diary, I thought I'd let you all know how she was doing.

Naturally her favorite past time is lying in a sunbeam.... I think that's the #1 favorite past time of ALL whippets! Turns out it's also a favorite past time of chihuahuas too - here's a photo Momma took of Isis and Sequoya sunning together. Doesn't Isis look great? She's finally put on just the right amount of weight.

Woof at ya soon!
Cleo

Momma Dog is taking over!

Hi!

"Momma Dog" is one of my nicknames - actually this is Cleopatra. Our momma - Laura, does NOT seem to be doing a very good job at keeping our page updated. So I have decided to take over.

I know she's very busy with her business and taking care of the 5 of us, but there's people out there who want to know what's going on with us Girls! ;)

Woof at ya soon!
Cleo

A word about Greenies - a dangerous treat!

A couple of years ago I had a teddy bear artist friend who lost her dog to Greenies. He did not choke on it, he chewed it all the way. But it did not go all the way thru his digestive tract, needed many surgeries, and eventually died from infections from the surgeries.

I was reminded of this as I was flipping thru my recent pet catalog - and noticed that they have greenies for sale.

Here is a link to a post on Whole Dog News about other people who have had similar problems with Greenies: http://quikonnex.com/channel/item/15930

I thought it would be a good idea to post it. We tossed our Greenies in the trash when I first heard of the problem my friend had :( Yes, I could have sold them on eBay and made some money. The package was unopened. But I didn't want to be responsible for the death of someone else's pet either....

Lost a Friend Sunday :(

Last Sunday we lost a friend - Scotty. I used to dog sit him when his "parents" would go on vacation. I'd bring him over to play with the Girls so he wouldn't be lonely while they were gone.

Sunday they went out to breakfast for just 45 minutes and came home to their home on fire. Scotty didn't make it :(

We are now in the process of having a smoke/fire detection system installed that will alert the fire department right away if there is a fire. We didn't know those types of systems existed!

We'll miss you Scotty!!!

Fun Photos

Are You Looking for a Chihuahua? or Whippet??

Although we found our wonderful Chihuahua, Sequoya - I still take a peek at the Chihuahua Rescue USA site to see who else is now looking for their "forever homes" Sadly, there is a constant flow of Chihuahuas that come into rescue.

You can read bios and see photos of the Chihuahuas (and Chihuahua mixes) available at Chihuahua Rescue USA here.

I know that some people think that all dogs in rescue are there because they are "bad dogs", but that just isn't true!! Sequoya was given up by her owner due to allergies and landlord issues. Her sister Flower was too! That's Flower's photo below... she's still looking for her "forever home". We met her too and she was just adorable!

This adorable little boy below - Pistol Pete - ended up at CRU (Chihuahua Rescue USA) because his Daddy passed away :( Just look at that face!!

Cha Chi is another sweet boy whose owner passed away :( The family didn't want him so they dropped him off at a shelter. Fortunately, CRU got him out of the shelter and he is still looking for his new "forever home", but is out of that scary shelter!

There are some Chihuahuas that don't have the reason they are in Rescue posted in their bios like 1 year old Bellamy below.

But the great thing about adopting thru Rescue is that the foster moms and dads do TONS of work with them, get to know the fosters in their care in order to match the right dog to the right people. Bellamy LOVES being held... and when his foster mom bends over to pet other dogs he will jump on her back to crawl up on her shoulder and reach over to give her kisses!!!

Stay tuned for more photos of Chihuahuas looking for their new "forever homes"! I'd love to adopt them all, but I can't. So I'll try to do the next best thing... helping to find these loving dogs their new homes! :)

And as Whippets are our first breed... I must mention at least one of the whippets currently looking for her "forever home". Fortunately for the breed, Whippets have never been in movies or commercials... and have not gained the popularity that the Chihuahua has. Thus, there are not nearly as many Whippets in Whippet Rescue as there are Chihuahuas in rescue. But it does still happen!

This is Penny. She's a 6 year old female whippet who loves to play frisbee! (non of our Girls ever got the hang of that LOL!) She is looking for her new "forever home" with her "sister" - 8 year old Paige. They have been together since Penny was 8 weeks old! If you think that 2 whippets will be harder to care for than one whippet, let me assure you - 2 whippets are much easier!! Whippets LOVE to cuddle together and almost need another whippet to be with (although yes, there are some people who have just one whippet and they do just fine)

You can read more about Penny and Paige... and the other whippets looking for their new "forever homes" on the Whippets for Adoption Rescue page.

More Photos!

I have not been a good blogger!! I had promised Sequoya's foster mommy - Marg - that I would take lots of photos!! Well, I guess I've been taking them, but not sharing - and that's almost as bad! So here are a few that I was able to edit today! If you click on the photos it will take you to the larger one I have on Flickr if you are interested. I hope you enjoy ;)

Eagle Pack Holistic Select Dog Food COUPONS!!

Sequoya's foster mom had her on Eagle Pack Holistic Select Chicken Meal and Rice dog food. Bob's Auntie Jan (big dog lover!!) also loves this brand. I emailed them for coupons and they sent me a pdf for a $10 off coupon!!! It's only good until March 10th, but there's another one for $5 good until the end of March too. I thought I'd share it with you too! I'm always looking for good deals :)

The coupon is in PDF format and you can download it here.

Shopping Again ;)

OK I can't help myself!! I was on eBay and found this adorable Chihuahua Pillow here, how cute!!!

Save Money on Medications

I'm not talking about mail order meds here.... but other kinds - like heart medication.

We finally learned that we could save some money on Isis' heart medications. She takes 4 different Rx's plus Pepcid AC. Her Rx's were adding up to $100 a month. I've heard much worse, but still...

Then one of the girls at the clinic told Bob that he could have 3 of her prescriptions filled at a regular pharmacy. She's already taking the generic versions (Lasix, Digoxin and Enalapril) So we took them to Walmart and brought a $50 cost down to $18. That's $384 a year!

We still have one $50 Rx we get from the vet as it is a canine only heart med - Pimobendan. This drug has just recently (in 2007) been approved by the FDA for use in the US. It has done wonders for Isis!! It will not "cure" her, but it has certainly given us more valuable time with our Sweet Girl Isis!

Fun Whippet & Chihuahua Shopping!!

When we first got Cleopatra (our first whippet) it was hard to find Whippet stuff to buy. The Whippet is not a popular breed, so it doesn't make a lot of sense for stores to carry products that will take up shelf space and not sell quickly. Thank goodness for the internet!!

The Chihuahua IS a popular breed!! So it is easier to find cute Chihuahua stuff locally than it is to find Whippet stuff -- but I still love the internet! There's such a wider variety to choose from ;-)

Here's a couple of cute things I found tonight at CafePress.com
- you can click on the pictures if you want to see them in the store....




And I think this is definitely true of us.....

This is what Sequoya Thinks of her "Belly Band"....

Our little princess is doing just fine! I did take her to the vet yesterday because she started acting funny. Her spay area opened up a little and it was hurting her :( . She's been licking a lot even though I've tried things to stop her. She's able to get out of the cone collar!

She's back to her frisky self today but I keep her a bit quieter. She's taking some antibiotics to help. I also finally figured out how to keep her from licking... withOUT the cone collar!!!

I sewed up a piece of fleece with some velcro to go around her entire body area from just behind her front legs to just in front of her rear legs. Kinda like a belly band for boys, but much wider. It covered (lightly - air can still reach it) her spay area enough so she can't get at it.

First time we tried it on her, she was sitting with Bob, and I left the room. She hopped down, did a little wiggle on the carpet and off she went without her belly band! Smart little girl LOL!

So I've added one more thing... I put her harness on her and have attached the belly band to the harness so she can't wiggle out of it. She's resigned herself to wearing it now, but at least it's not for long :)

Sequoya's Portrait

I wanted to take a picture of our little girl "au naturel" so you could see how pretty she is! She was such a good girl.... it was sunny in the family room at this time so it was warm then. But shortly after this... the sweater came back! I can't wait till it's up in the 50's temperature wise!!

Brrrr it's Sweater Weather for Sequoya!

Holy COW it's cold!!!! When you are short haired and less than 4 pounds - you certainly need a little help to keep warm during the winters in Chicago. Fortunately, it can be a lot of fun too!!

Sequoya's foster mommy Marg very generously gave us a couple of sweaters to start Sequoya's wardrobe. Isn't this adorable!!! It has a faux scarf on it too!

I'm looking forward to adding to Sequoya's wardrobe.... there's TONS on eBay! Check out the ones I found below. I love eBay - I can shop in my PJ's if I want to LOL!!

Getting to Know her Big Sisters

The second day... but still the first 24 hours in her new home.... Sequoya has decided to get to know her big sisters! Sequoya has no fear of the "big Girls" now and just trots along with them to see where they are going.







Sequoya's favorite place is Mom's lap - but she also enjoys a sunbeam when it decides to show it's face....

A New Addition!

We'd like to introduce you to a new little addition -- Sequoya! Sequoya came to us from Chihuahua Rescue USA. Her original owner had to give this little darling up due to allergies and landlord issues.

Sequoya is a Chihuahua. She's almost 1 year old... her birthday will be this weekend. She weighs all of 3 lbs 10 oz.

Sequoya is doing wonderfully! We got home about 4pm Sunday evening - right at the Girls' dinner time. I had Bob take Sequoya into the bedroom and then first took the Girls outside, then gave them dinner.

After they calmed down a bit I brought only Cleopatra into the bedroom. Bob was on his knees looking at Sequoya on the bed. :) Cleo came over very gently and sniffed. That's why I wanted Cleo first.. I knew she'd be gentle. But this big dog was kinda scary for Sequoya and she growled a little.

Cleo backed off no problem. I took her out and brought Isis in. We figured she has to meet them soon anyways. Same thing... So then I picked her up and let ALL the Girls in. It was OK cause Sequoya was up high.

We all went into the living room and I sat in my chair with Sequoya. All the girls came up sniffing of course... and Sequoya growled a bit. We got the Girls to back off - they went to lay on the couch.

By 5 I wanted to start dinner. I was going to put her in her crate but Bob said why? So I put her with him and she lied down on his chest in his recliner - it was so cute! I did get a photo but I still need to download it. This little dog already had Bob wrapped around her tiny paw LOL!!!





At dinner time I brought Sequoya's pup tent carrier into the kitchen and she layed in there while we ate and while I cleaned up - so Bob could catch up on his lap top.

After dinner we took turns with her :) while we watched TV and then a movie (300 which was awful by the way). Then it was bed time.





Sequoya had a wonderful night last night. We had purchased a little dog bed and put it in the headboard between our two pillows. Bob turns over a lot in bed and didn't want her getting squished.

Bob was already in bed and I was still getting ready... so the light was still on. He kept putting Sequoya into her bed and she kept coming right out and sitting on his pillow next to his face LOL!!!

I finished getting ready for bed, got a blanket for her, turned out the lights and set her in her bed and covered her. Well, let me tell you she was in heaven!! She stayed cuddled in there all night till it was time to get up in the morning.

Today she's walking around sniffing everything... checking it out (well, except now cause I'm sitting... so as you know... she's in my lap ;). The Whippet Girls still sniff her - but it doesn't bother Sequoya one bit now. She knows that they won't hurt her so she doesn't care a bit!

She is SO cute walking around with her long legged sisters! More photos soon!

She didn't feel like eating much last night.. not surprised. But I did have some chicken baby food so I let her lick a little so her tummy wasn't too empty.

This morning she still turned her nose up at the Eagle Pak (the food she is eating now) -- but loved the Girls' Canidae LOL! The kibble size is the same! I only let her have one though. Don't want her to get sick by eating too much of a new food. I took my blender and chopped her Eagle Pak up, and mixed in some baby food chicken and so she did eat some of that.

Pandora!

Pandora is our youngest whippet. She's a beautiful brindle color with lovely eyes. Pandora came to us from Kathy & Debbie Davenport - Kamada Whippets - when she was around 2 years old.

We first met Pandora when her name was Annie. It was June 2005. She was 6 months old and soooo cute! We had stopped by with Jen and her friend Dawn to see the new 10 week old puppies they had. Just to visit - scout's honor LOL! Here's one of those little cuties....

We visited the other whippets too and I (Laura) fell in love with this beautiful 6 month old brindle whippet puppy Annie. Kathy let her out of her crate and Annie just curled up in my lap! But... at the time we still lived in Streamwood and I took all our Girls outside one at a time on a leash. Besides that, they were holding Annie for themselves to see if she's be good for showing - she was so beautiful! After a lovely visit, we went back home.

17 months later........late October 2006

I was getting ready on a Sunday morning for a teddy bear show where I was selling my bears. The phone rang and it was Kathy. Kathy told me that she remembered how much I loved Annie and would I be interested in giving her a home?

It turns out that although Annie's size was within the standard for a female whippet, Kathy and Debbie felt that she wouldn't show as well as the judges prefer whippets a little larger than Annie was. They had found her a home with a lovely lady who had another whippet from a friend of theirs. Annie lived there for about a year... when the husband brought her back. We're guessing that the couple split up and he just wanted to get rid of the wife's dogs.

To make a long story a little shorter.... the husband made some outrageous claims about both the whippets. He was returning both whippets to each breeder. Although he was entitled to a partial refund due to the contract he had with Kamada Whippets if he could produce the paperwork -- he was not interested. He just wanted to get rid of those whippets.

When Annie came back home to Kathy & Debbie, she was very skinny and smelled like a barnyard! Kathy knew that the husband had 2 large dogs and lived on a small farm. She thinks that the poor whippets may have been made to live outside during the summer. Whippets are NOT outside only dogs! Their fur is not thick, they have thin skin and almost no fat normally! Annie had even less meat on her ribs than normal -- probably because she had to compete for food with the 2 larger dogs and the male whippet.

Also - this family had changed her name to "Pee Pee" - seriously -- that is the name that was on her tag! The husband said they named her Pee Pee because she kept "going" in the house. Let me tell you, she only had ONE accident in OUR house and that was when she first met our other Girls, as a sign of submission. She has not had one accident since then... and that was 15 months ago!

After Kathy told us this entire story, she told us that she remembered when we first met Annie how much I loved her - and would we be able to give her a good home? Of Course!!!!

Since Annie was called "Pee Pee" for so long and then back to Annie - she really didn't mind one last name change - so we called her Pandora. She learned her new name in 2 days!

When Pandora first came to live with us she was very clingy and wanted LOTS of attention. Talk about a "velcro dog"! Pandora was very possessive too. When she would sit with me in my chair, she's growl and snap if any of the other Girls came up to say hi to me. We quickly stopped that by punishing her for that behavior with no attention - she had to go sit by herself. That worked wonderfully and Pandora never behaved like that again.

Now.. Pandora has filled out very nicely and looks like a beautiful, healthy, well filled out whippet. She loves her people, but has enough confidence now to know that she will always be loved. She does not have to be by our sides constantly anymore.

And run? WOW can this Girl run!!! It's her most favorite thing in the world to do. Like Isis, she LOVES to play ball too. Here's a few photos of Pandora having a great time!

And although Pandora is much more self confident now... she still loves to be very near her people LOL!!

Isis!

This is Isis the very first day we had her home. Yep, she was an adult when she came to live with us! 19 months old to be exact :)

I hope I have the facts in Isis' story correct... but it's something like this:

Kathy & Debbie - Athena's breeders - had a friend in Florida who was a long time whippet breeder. In fact, one of her whippets is the ONLY whippet to ever take Best in Show at Westminster - back in 1963.

This friend was planning on retiring from the dog world - but wanted to have one last litter to show. Right when the pups where born, she ended up in the hospital for 18 months :(

The pups were still cared for by a relative during those 18 months. She came by every day... but they were not socialized at all.

The woman finally was able to come home about the same time that Kathy and Debbie were down for a dog show and visiting. Although she really wanted to try to show the dogs (there were 2) Kathy and Debbie convinced her to let them bring those 2 whippets back to Illinois with them to find them good pet homes.

One day I was off at a teddy bear show when Bob received a call from Kathy. She started the conversation by saying... "I know you don't need another dog, but I have a dog that needs you"

When I got back, Bob told me about her and we discussed it before going to meet her. We knew once we saw her we would want to take her home... so we decided to make the decision of adding another dog to the family first, and then go meet her.

Obviously, we decided to do it!

When we first met Isis (her name was Angel then) she was SO scared and submissive!! We all (Bob, Jen and I) sat on the floor of Kathy & Debbie's living room while they brought Isis out. Isis belly crawled across the floor and climbed right into Jen's lap.

I think that was a Thursday or Friday. The following Tuesday was my last day at work. I had quit my job to do the teddy bear business full time. We asked Kathy to keep Isis till then, so that when Isis was moved to yet another home - I would be with her all day long so she wouldn't be stressed.

Isis was wonderful!!! She didn't even know her name Angel, so there was no problem switching it to Isis. She learned her name in a day!

It took Isis some time to learn that she was finally home -- and she was a part of the family. It took a full year before she would hold your gaze. If you looked at her before, she would always look away (a sign of submission). After the 2nd year Isis was fully her own whippet and full of confidence! In fact, she can be a dickens! LOL!!!

Isis LOVES to drape herself over her people....

And the other whippets!!!

If she wants to sit or lay in a spot that is already occupied... she doesn't care... she'll lay there anyways! If whoever was there first doesn't like it, they can move!

Isis almost never barks.... but when she sees a squirrel... look out!! I never knew she had a voice till then LOL!!!

Isis' most favorite game in the world is ball. But... it has to be a green tennis ball. Yes, I said GREEN. She just doesn't care as much for tennis balls in other colors!

She has another favorite game she plays with Cleo. We call it "Stalk"

Isis and Cleo will lock eyes from across the yard. Then, they start approaching each other very slowly... stalking each other like a lion. It is SO cool to watch... they are able to walk without making their top lines go up at all.

Then... all of a sudden, they both break and start rushing each other... playing and having fun!

-----------------------------------

On a Saturday in April of 2007, Isis was having fun in the back yard when she slipped and fell (not unusual) but this time did something to her back and was paralyzed. I was not home, but Bob rushed her to the vet. I called Kathy while I rushed home. The vet gave Isis steroids... shots and then pills.

Kathy told us to be sure to give Isis time to walk again... at least 2-3 weeks. She said that most vets try to rush this and if they aren't trying to walk in a week try to push you into surgery. We're so glad she gave us that advice... cause that's exactly what happened.

The Monday after the accident - Isis developed a slight cough... which turned out to be a symptom of Congestive Heart Failure. Evidently, Isis had just started developing this -- and then the steroids accelerated it so that is was a horrible case. We weren't sure she would live thru the night. At this time we had found a different vet - as we just were not comfortable with the first.

As of today -- February 8, 2008 - Isis is still with us!!!!! She has outlived what the vets had predicted by many months! She's walking and running again too! We gave her LOTS of time, and did lots of physical therapy with her...After 6 weeks she was walking by herself very well!

Here's a photo of Isis jumping AFTER the accident!

Isis is taking 10 pills a day for her heart condition and is on a low salt diet too. We know our time with her is limited... but we are enjoying every second we have with her!!

If you want to read the diary I kept during her recovery, you can find it here. Just scroll down to the bottom to start reading as the most current entries are at the top.