Basset Hound Update!

Well, I'm really late with updates yet again!! What can I say? I've been busy training Stella, making bears and taking care of our neighbor's dog across the street.

Stella is 6 months old now and she's grown quite a bit! She and Sequoya (our Chihuahua) are best buds!! You can see them play together (and also Cleopatra our whippet) in the video below taken just a couple of days ago....

Long Overdue Update!!

I am sure you are thinking... "Well, THAT'S a funny looking Whippet!"

Well, our hearts are still breaking over the loss of Isis last August. Although our friends Kathy & Debbie did have whippet puppies when we lost Isis, I was NOT ready for another dog or a puppy.

But last November, we went out to dinner with friends. After dinner they needed turtle food, so we stopped in the pet shop that was next to the restaurant. They have puppies. I've always been able to go in here without a problem because I don't have them take the puppies out. Our friend Peggy, however, DID!

She had them take out a cute little Shitz tzu. She was cute, but I had no problems. Then Peggy saw the female Basset Hound puppy and had them bring her out. Bob grew up with a Basset Hound.

My gosh, the look I saw on Bob's face....I knew it was now time. But 1) Did I have the time/energy to raise a puppy? and 2) We really did not want to buy a puppy at a pet store!

Bob and I went back and forth for 2 weeks... and then I realized that I was ready for a puppy (and all the work that goes with one). So I started looking for Basset Hound breeders. They are not easy to find near Chicago. Most of the Basset breeders are down South as Bassets are hunting dogs.

But then I found a breeder just 30 minutes away and she had puppies! A litter of 12 - with only 3 girls. We definitely wanted a girl! She asked us questions and we asked her questions and both decided each other was OK LOL!

So the week of Christmas we brought home Stella Margaret. Margaret cause it was all Peggy's fault that we even thought about getting a puppy LOL!

Here she is the day we brought her home with our friend Dawn:


And here are the Whippets checking out the new kid....




Surprisingly, Pandora is the whippet who decided to be the new momma to this "little" baby!



And so begins a new chapter in our lives! Stella keeps us laughing, that's for sure!! We still miss Isis every day..... but Stella helps to heal our hearts.

Pandora does it again....

Today Bob brought Isis' ashes home and we had another good cry. Just when I think I can't cry anymore...

But Pandora certainly got me running :) I let the Girls out after dinner and seconds after they ran out the door (in the fenced back yard) I spotted Pandora trotting proudly around the yard with the adult bunny she just caught!

Have you ever tried to pry the jaws of a proud whippet off of its prey, with 2 other whippets crowding in on you? It's not easy! I had to take Pandora outside of the gate so when I got her to release the bunny I didn't have Cleo or Athena right there to snatch it away. Didn't have to worry about Sequoya, this bunny was bigger than her!

I have to say, although I did have to pry Pandora's jaws open, she was VERY good and didn't snap at or bite me. I got her and the Girls inside and took the bunny across the street to the woods and weed for the coyotes to find tonight.

I'm certain there's some people out there who wish we never had Pandora spayed... this is her 15th creature captured! And that's in a fenced yard...

Don't Cry... I had a GREAT life!

Hey Guys, it's me Isis. Here's a picture of me my first day (actually my first HOUR) in my new home with Bob, Laura, Jen, Cleo & Athena. Today I went over the rainbow bridge... but I went HAPPY!!!

I've been really acting like my old self lately... doing my tricks, beating up on my sister Athena, racing down the hall to go out, running out in the yard.

Today Mom and Bob were out, but Jen was home with us. She had to run a few errands, but when she came back she let us out in the back yard as usual. She let me out with Cleo, and then I took a flying leap up the deck stairs so I'd get my treat for going inside.

Well, when she let Athena and Pandora out, I wanted to go out and PLAY! I was having my last hurrah. I had a wonderful time playing with my sisters. Then it was time for me to go to the Rainbow bridge to wait for everyone there. Jen was there with me as I passed over. Boy, what a wonderful way to go :) Bob, Mom and Jen are crying a bit cause they miss me, but I wish they wouldn't. I'll see them later when they get here.... and I'll be bringing them my favorite green tennis ball....

Isis Update... by Momma

Yep, that's my sweet Isis girl... asleep in a basket :) We had been noticing her slowing down over the past several months. (she has congestive heart failure) and lately she had been having some IBS problems. But then a couple of weeks ago she stopped eating or drinking. I wouldn't force her to eat, but I knew water was vital so I'd squirt water onto her tongue many times a day.

As you can see in her photo, she can't "not eat" for very long! Besides which, that is usually the sign that they are ready to "go home". We wanted to give her every chance though... and took her to our fabulous vets - Dundee Animal Hospital. We assumed we would be given the worst news....

But our Isis girl, she is stubborn with a capital S! She always has been, and it has certainly come in handy during her illness :) After Xrays of her heart and blood tests to test her organs, (as she is on some fairly strong meds) it appears she was dehydrated. She did start this on the hottest, most humid day of the year... poor thing! (even in the a/c)

The doctor gave her some fluids under the skin - which is tricky with heart patients... so she gave her 1/2 the normal amount. Also some meds for her upset tummy - which actually works on the brain, not the stomach.. cool. And help for her IBS.

The next day she was feeling better... not totally, but eating and drinking! After a few more days I called the doctor back and told her she felt a bit better, but still had problems with the IBS even on the meds. After a 15 minute phone consult, she had me just zip into the hospital real quick to see one of the techs for another dose of fluids, and some more stuff for the IBS. (probiotics) She also decided to go ahead and cut her digoxin in half. That med is the only one that she is on that would cause the IBS.

Boy did we see a difference within a day! Now our sweet Isis girl is behaving like she was 6 months ago! Full of piss and vinegar, trying to playfully beat up her favorite "sister" Athena :) This is certainly a dog with 9 lives!