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Hello fans and friends -
Once again, we're a little late with the November edition. Sorry! But the good news is that starting in January, my assistant Tracy will be working in ILLINOIS!!! Rather than leaving me every week to travel to New York for her other employer, Tracy will now be home every night to attend to my needs! Check out my Halloween Contest Winners in this month's edition. We had some fun entries!
Next month's edition should be very exciting. I'll be providing first paw coverage of the AKC Agility Invitational in Long Beach, California! Yes, Tracy is escorting me to the event - just like last year. I ran my first Excellent B Agility competition last weekend, to ensure I'm prepared for the California competition. Boy is it fun to be running again! But all that excitement makes it even harder for me to hit those darn contacts!
Bianca
Bianca's Fourth Annual Costume Contest
And
The Winners Are...
It was a very tough competition this year. My cousins Maddie, Maggie, my 'sister' Mary and brother Wes were judges. There was not a clear cut winner. The votes were all over the board. So this year, we have a tie for FIRST and another tie for THIRD. Both first place winners receive a $25 PetSmart Gift Card - in perfect time for getting some new winter fashions!
Of course, EVERYONE that entered is a winner in my book - it takes a pretty special pup to be secure enough to wear a costume!
FIRST PLACE - a tie between:
COOKIE MONSTER Max & DUNCE Puck
Anyone that knows Max - knows that he really is a monster for cookies! But underneath that blue suit, the real Max, is a Westie (just like me!). He was a very good sport wearing his blue suit - winning him 2 votes!
Halloween is a great time to dress up pretend you're the opposite
of what you really are. And Puck is doing just that pretending she's
the class DUNCE! I know what a smarty she really is!
Two votes for Miss Puck too!
Check out the third place winners and out other great entries!
Just click on any of the images if you want to see a larger view.
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BIG THANK YOU!!! to all my great buddies for their fun entries. Start thinking of your ideas for next year!!
Autumn List
by Maribel Lopez
Big thanks to my friend Maribel for sharing this great article with us...
This past weekend I
attended a talk by Dr Karen Becker from the Natural Pet Animal Hospital
in
Bourbonnais (
http://www.drkarenbecker.com ). The talk topic was: "Winding
Down: Understanding and Appreciating Those Last Years". Aside from an
overview of different kind of natural therapies and modalities available
to support your ailing senior or chronically ill pet; she discussed the
importance of having an "Autumn File " for each of our pets and update
it as often as necessary. An "Autumn File" is a a kind of Living Will
for our pets.
We hate to think about the dead of our beloved companions, but sooner or
later, no matter if we are prepared or not, that day will come. For
some, it will be sudden, for others it comes as a slow fading. But one
thing is for sure; those last few minutes, days or weeks will be a big
blurring of conflicting emotions for all of us. And no matter our poor
state of mind, we will be ask to make some decisions, very hard calls,
that sometimes could be regrettable and; or end up been not fair for our
beloved companions. That's when the Autumn file becomes handy.
What should you write down in your Autumn file:
1. Your ideas, thoughts and concerns regarding your pets care and
quality of life.
2. Numbers to Emergency Clinics.
3. Names of people that will be part of your accountability team. These
can be
Veterinarians, friends, family members that know were you standing when
it comes to the care of your pets, or your belief. They have the hard
job to keep you grounded and look out after your pet's well-being during
that thought time, they will be trying to tap into the logical you, when
you are trying to make some decisions and not the irrational/fearful or
selfish you that may be ruling your decisions at that time of stress.
They will keep you straight.
4. How far are you willing to go/push when it comes to your pet care ?
5. How much are you willing to pay for that care?
6. What will be the most peaceful transition for your companion?
7. Your thoughts about cremation vs burial, autopsy.
8. Write down Plan B, C and D considering different scenarios and the
point of life
the animal is currently at and its state of health. Some scenarios to
consider could be: sudden paralysis, diagnostic of terminal cancer,
organ failure, sudden trauma (ACL tear, hit by car. etc), glaucoma,
diabetis,seizures, acute systemic infections (septicemia).
After recently going through the sad lost of my beloved Pacey, I
definitively see the value of having such a file. Things kind of got
crazy in the end. I will forever be grateful to those that became part
of my "Accountability Team", as they kept me grounded and tap into the
logical me and guided me into making what was the right choice for Pacey
and me. A choice I had thougth and planned for ahead, but was having
trouble committing/sticking to during that crazy time.
In loving memory of
Pacey and Clyde, who are whole again roaming the hills barking their
heads off, free of seizures and pain.
SWM Loves Cow Ears
I'm sure many of you get those crazy emails in your inbox, offering things you would NEVER use or can't even imagine what they're talking about. Well, there are also individuals out there looking to find a friend. Just be careful when you meet strangers on the internet. When you're famous like I am, all kinds of dogs seek you out. I recently received a "Personals" type of solicitation. It really caught my attention, because of the title "SWM Loves Cow Ears". You see, I love cow ears too and Tracy never gives them to me. Hmmm... maybe this would be a good opportunity to meet a new friend AND get access to cow ears. Here's the solicitation:
Hey Doll,
I'm Jack. How ya doing, babe? I hate these blind date situations, but my maid, Diane, said you're a great gal and I absolutely had to contact you. She says we have a lot in common, like chasing balls. I'm a single, mostly white (former) male, 6 years old, 18 lbs and just looking to meet dogs, smell butts and have a good time. Diane is thinking about taking me to the camp where you go next summer. Whadayathink?
Any time you wanna visit in New York, just say the word Toots. I'll have Diane put out an extra set of bowls.
Gotta run,
Jack
Now in this case, I will probably pursue a
relationship with Jack, since my assistant Tracy knows his maid Diane.
But be careful... There are some crazies out there and you really
have to screen that fan mail carefully!
Taking Dog Training Skills to the Pool!
My friend Gypsy and her mom Karen recently made a big move to Oklahoma. Karen has always had a very fun job - working with animals, both at a local zoo and local dog training classes. She recently got a very cool (and wet) job at a big zoo in Oklahoma. Here she is with one of her students - a sea lion. I never knew those same techniques used to teach us dogs could be used on something that swims! But then again, I do just about anything for fish treats too!
Best wishes to Karen, Gypsy and the rest of the Warda household in their new home!
A Pet Way Bigger than a Mastiff!
Check out this pet... Her name is Jessica and she's bigger than any dog I've ever seen! I wonder if Tracy would get me one of these for Christmas?!
http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=3379
More Dog Camp Alternatives
A few months ago I told you all about the fun doggy summer camp that Wesley and I go to.
Well, there are other fun camps out there too - even one specializing in freestyle (dog dancing!).
Here's a story about another fun camp that my friend Lucy went to recently.
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The first evening we played some fun games. Starting with the game that I won -------- All the dog Mom’s faced the ir partner and threw a treat to us to catch, If I caught it, I got to stay in the game, and Mom had to step back a couple steps. Yep – I was the last dog in the game and won a great prize – a white stuffed lobster. I think that people were surprised that a little poodle could really hold her own in this game. Thanks to Dad for throwing Cheerios to me while he watches TV. I was well prepared for this competition. Who says “Big dogs rule? Another game – a woman read questions and if our Mom’s knew the answer, they had to run to one of the hula hoops on the floor, step into the hoop, with the ir dog partner and who was supposed to sit. Fat Chance. I didn’t like stepping over that hoop thing,,,,,,,,I’d never practiced that and wasn’t ready to start here…………Mom stepped on the hoop and it moved…….and it scared me. Another time, maybe, maybe not. Evening workshops were interesting for Mom – costuming, video taping, and music editing. I could see that everyone was interested in this stuff, so I didn’t mind just hanging out. Mary Ann, Ricki the Dalmations Mom, made ribbon collars for each dog, and they gave us our collar and took our picture. I looked beautiful in the fluffy pink collar. These people thought of everything. Saturday was fun. We were divided into groups based on our skill level. You know, of course, that I was in the advanced group. Then the instructors gave us new ideas to improve our moves and add new twists to old stuff. There was a nice lady laying on the floor taking my picture as I practiced these new moves. She got in the funniest positions and got right in my face taking my picture (because I’m so cute and such a good dancer) She was a reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel and she wrote a story for the paper and my picture was in the paper and on the web site. Mom then told me that the news story was picked up by other big papers like the LA Times, API, etc………people really think that “Dog Dancing” is funny. And the funniest thing Mom heard was that Saturday Night Live made a comment in one of the ir skits - “In Wisconsin, people paid $250 to teach Fido the rhumba, or the Cha-Cha…………………” but they didn’t show my picture, or invite us to the show………….If they knew how much fun we had, they’d want to come, too. Sunday - Bev the instructor, gave a little lesson on Pet Massage. Awesome. Mom keeps practicing on me, and I like it. We learned how to select music based on our normal heeling pace. Mom and I heeled around the ring while Bev played different songs for me. My feet fell into the beat perfectly for songs Whipped Crème, and You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby. Bev had this little device that told us my heeling pace is around 132 beats per minute. I did my best heeling for everyone and they could tell that I know when I need to “show em what I’ve got.” Comes in great for Rally, too. Sunday afternoon I relaxed while everyone watched video tapes…..WOW – more great ideas. This should carry us thru another year of new stuff. I can’t wait to go to camp again!!!!! |
Ab Fabs
Absolutely Fabulous Canine Accomplishments!
Please send your accomplishments to Bianca@2westies.com.
Those Morgan Girls Run their Butts Off!!!
My friends Bunny and Audrey Morgan are shining stars in the agility ring. I should know - Wesley and I have run against them many times when they still lived in this area. Since moving east I don't get to see them often, but I will get to see Bunny at the AKC Invitational in Long Beach - she was in the Top 5 Jack Russells - very cool. Some of there latest accomplishments:
At the recent Jack Russell Nationals, Bunny was the High Scoring Under 12 1/2" - making her a JRTA Agility National Champion. JRTs are awesome agility dogs and this is a very impressive accomplishment, in very competitive group.
Bunny got her SECOND MACH (Master Agility Champion title) the first weekend in November! She's fast and furious, and sometimes loves to show what a crazy girl she can be. MACH2 is very impressive - big congrats to Bunny and her beautiful handler Penny!
Murray Hits MACH 6!
Murray has been one of very first agility friends. At my first trial I met him and Ruthanne; oh yeah, and Scott too! He's really burned up the agility circuit since those first days when I would sometimes pee on the table to distract him during competition!
At Fond du Lac, WI in mid October, Murray accomplished his MACH 6. Pretty darn impressive. He had a tumor removed this past July which was a little scarry, but that has slowed him down a bit!!
Big congrats to Murray, Scott and Ruthanne!
Pup Pics
Those cute dachshund puppies keep growing. Here they are at 7 weeks. They just keep getting cuter and cuter!!
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