Gypsy Drama

 Just before Christmas Gypsy seemed to be feeling bad. She was needing to go outside to pee more and seemed lethargic and had some diarrhea.  She would also tire quickly on her walks. The first thing I thought of was a possible issue with her Kidney's. So, off to the vet with go for a check up. Her blood test didn't indicate any problem with her Kidney's but it did show slightly elevated levels for her Liver. The other thing of concern was her weight was down to about 36 lbs. The Vet said we had to do whatever we had to do to get some weight on her.

She gave us this probiotic to sprinkle on her food. I'm making a mix of white rice, chicken parts, peas or carrots to mix in with her food. She has been eating better and seems to be feeling good, ready to walk or play as usual. Her weight is up to 39.5. I am open for suggestions on how to get some weight on this non food driven dog.

Moose post Chloe

It has been several weeks since we lost Chloe and we've noticed some changes. The dynamics among the cats has changed. The biggest change has been with Moose. Moose was Chloe's arch enemy and tried her best to catch him first thing in the morning. Her short little legs would just spin on the hard wood floors as she tried to take off. Moose spent much of the day on the second floor in the office, his safe place. Since loosing her Moose has been out playing with the other cats and just much more relaxed. I guess this is one of those "happy ending" things.

Holiday Grooming

OK, we take Gypsy to the groomer every year just prior to Christmas. This is not one of her favorite things to do but it is nice to have a well groomed, good smelling dog to spend the big day with. And every year she comes back with silly bows in her hair and some kind of holiday scarf. Gypsy is mortified by this and quite embarrassed. So, being the caring owners that we are, we make her wear this crazy costume for a few days. Kind of the same thing as Ralphie having to wear the pink bunny costume in "A Christmas Story." So Gypsy was a hit everywhere we went over the Christmas holiday. I think she actually enjoyed the attention.

After it was over, her bows and scarf came off and she could finally relax.

New Duds

This morning was a bit cold so Gypsy had an opportunity to give her new coat a try. We went down to the field behind our neighborhood and let her run.

She loves visiting that field. Wide open space and lots of things to sniff.

She had a great time, great exercise, and now she is crashing hard.

Holiday Season

Yep, it is hard to believe that the holidays are here. Gypsy loves this time of year. Sandi and I take time off work and spend much more time with Gyp. She goes just about everywhere with us. I came home the other day and Sandi had gone on a shopping spree with Gypsy. Two sweaters and a new coat!

Here she is modeling one of the two sweaters she got. You can see that the cats are envious.
Hello, I'd prefer virgin wool!!!
I know you would.

She likes having a sweater on.

Sandi went all out this year and got Gypsy an ugly Christmas sweater. The timing was great as we participated in an Ugly Sweater 5K yesterday morning.
You aren't going to make me wear this in public are you!!
It was for a good cause. The entry fee was a toy that would go do a deserving kid.

It was cold out but there were hundreds of runners in some very ugly sweaters. Gypsy was obviously a big hit with all.

Happy Holidays!!!

She was a World Class sleeper....

Talk about relaxed. If you listen closely you can hear her snore.

Chloe...RIP

We lost Chloe this past week. A very quick, unexpected turn for us all. Prior to Thanksgiving she was ill and Sandi picked up on it and took her to the Vet for treatment. Chloe showed signs of improvement and we left for the weekend with Gypsy in tow. Whenever we travel we have experienced cat people come in and take care of the boxes, feeding, and make sure they don't burn down the house. When we returned, Chloe didn't seem right to Sandi and back to the Vet they go. That was the last trip Chloe ever took.

I'm not going to dwell on the sadness that this caused. I'd rather think about the life Chloe had, the life that Sandi gave her.

Chloe was in really bad shape when we got her. Her liver was failing and she was way under weight. Sandi had to run her back and forth to the Vet on a regular basis. From an early age Chloe hated the Vet. She was well know by Vet Tech's in our area as a cat not to mess with. Along with her liver problems we found out she had bad allergies and the tip of her tail was missing. We're not sure what happened with that but it probably wasn't good. Anyway, Sandi literally nursed Chloe back to good health. Chloe became the Queen of the house.

She was the only cat allowed outside with us spending many summer nights lounging on the deck. She was the best at finding sunspots throughout the house. She would try her best to run fast but her short legs would just spin on the hardwood floors, making her look like a cartoon character. She would hiss at just about anybody except me or Sandi. She was a Pro lap cat. She was the Queen Mother and Sexy Mama of the cats.

She had a good life with us giving us many happy moments. Come next spring, on the first warm day we spend on the deck, we'll miss her.