Why We Decided to Vaccinate

With the vaccine debate raging right now among bloggers all over the world... I decided it was time I put my opinion on there on why we decided to vaccinate our babies.

The biggest reason we chose to vaccinate was because by law, if your dog, cat, or domesticated ferret is not vaccinated, is not up-to-date on its vaccinations, or is not properly confined after biting someone, as the owner you are subject to a fine not to exceed $200 for each offense.  Additionally fines may apply locally as well.

And who wants to be penalized by the government?  Not me.  Especially hard-earned money that could be going towards buying more fro-yo at Yogurtini.

Dog Drama

 Just a quick update on Mr. Sam.  The Valley Fever test came back negative and since the blood tests were inconclusive it was either get x-rays and/or antibiotics.  We chose the antibiotic route praying that it would help and we wouldn't need to do x-rays.  Before we could even get the prescription filled, he started eating again and slowly started regaining some energy.  Now, I have to stay in the kitchen and keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't eat Sadie's food too when I'm not looking.  Now that's my boy!  We are so relieved that he's okay and that we don't have to spend a million dollars figuring out what's wrong with him.  Now if we could just find a remedy for his awful dog farts.  They're HORRIBLE!

I couldn't find any recent pics of Sam for this post but I did find these!

Cute pic of Sam from Valentine's Day of last year.

Funny accidental pic of the dogs a few months ago when we were trying to take a Christmas photo.  Love Scott's face in this one.  He told me not to post this so we'll see if he notices and makes me take it down later haha....

Down with the Sickness

It's crazy what a couple of trips to the vet and a sick animal can do to my stress level and my checking account.  

Mr. Sam is sick....  He started acting weird last week when he stopped eating (usually swallows most of his dish whole in about 2.5 seconds) and being his usual perky self (he's a 1 year old pup... energy level: abundant).  My normal happy loveable teddy bear has turned into a lethargic unmoveable mass of saddness on my floor.  

We paid $200 some dollars to do a blood test that was inconclusive... so just shelled out another $130 today to pay for a Valley Fever test which would mean he would then be on meds for anywhere from 6 mo-1 year.  We'll find out the results of the test in 2-5 days.

If it's not that, it's very possible that he could have ate a tennis ball, river rocks, or some other large foreign object that I have not found missing in my house yet.  So that would require x-rays, possible surgery, and who knows what else.  Why can't he just tell us what's wrong?  And how can vets be so expensive?  I feel really bad for Sam... and am also wondering how vets can charge so much. 

Oh, Sam.... (sigh).

Just Another Day in the Life

Dog Destruction

First it was the couch pillows.

Then it was their dog bed.

Then it was the carpet.

Now it's our bed pillows.

Soooooo not okay. And this isn't even including the coffee table, the rugs, the kitchen towels, the stucco off the walls, the couch arms, or the sticks/dirt/rocks/treasures they find outside and bring into the house on a daily basis. Oh.My.Goodness. I don't even know how we do it.

Summer is here!

Summer is here and that means only one thing in Arizona... choose to die a slow and painful death or go on vacation for the whole summer! Just kidding... but it does allow us to do one fun thing... SWIM! We're having lots of fun swimming with the dogs this summer as they absolutely LOVE the water! We have a community pool by our house but there is a "no pets allowed" rule (Boo!). Mom and Dad Van Sande have been nice enough to let us use their pool though! The other dog in the picture is their dog, Shelby. The pups love to play fetch in the water. Sadie just had her first birthday yesterday and Sam is getting big! We're going to take them camping next weekend with some friends. It'll be Sam's first camping trip and the first time we take both of them at the same time so hopefully all will go well! We're going to go back to Heber next to Bear Canyon Lake so the pups will have plenty of water time there. We've recently acquired a lot of new camping equipment too so we're excited to put it to use. Pictures to come soon!

The joy of being a dog owner

I feel bad because I don't write blogs nearly enough. I started a couple a long time ago and I'm sure the drafts are saved somewhere, but it's always hard to go back and finish a thought you had months in the past.

In any case, here's a little nugget of information for you. Today Brianne and I were getting ready to go and I thought to myself: "Self, the dogs are rather quiet..." I just as quickly dismissed the thought and continued to groom myself. After I had showered and brushed my teeth and gotten dressed and was satisfied (see: certain my wife would allow me out into public, but beyond that not really caring) with my appearance, I went downstairs...

No dogs. Hmmm... So I go to our back doors and look out the window. I scan the yard from left to right... No dogs. Double hmmm... So I open the door and step outside to have a look-see. The only place left for them to be then would be the side yard. And there's really nothing back there.

Nothing back there except their water dish. Their large self-refilling water dish with a five gallon water jug on top that I filled yesterday. Their large self-refilling water dish with a five gallon water jug on top that I filled yesterday that is NOW nearly empty. Why was it empty you ask? Well I'm glad you asked!

As I turned the corner upon leaving the house, I found out. Samson comes bounding around the corner because he heard the door, smiling as huge and bright as ever. But his coat wasn't quite so bright... Because he was coated in mud. Sadie came skidding across the concrete right behind him also covered from paw to belly in mud. Apparently they had been playing in the water dish and then wrestling in the dirt. And water + dirt + dog = muddy dog.

Of course they were ECSTATIC to see me and immediately tried to jump on me. So I retreat back towards the door deftly playing dodgedog, and I somehow manage to make it inside without getting muddy. The next hour or so involved bathing Samson and drying him, then carrying Sadie upstairs and bathing her as well, all the while Samson was crying and pawing at the bathroom door because I took away his friend. The amount of dirt and mud that flowed down that drain was appalling. Did I mention I just cleaned the whole bathroom yesterday?

Ah the joys of being a dog owner...

The good news is both dogs are now SUPER soft and cuddly and cute. So I guess that's a plus.

Best friends

Welcome Home Samson!!

We have been thinking for awhile now that Sadie needed a friend. We have left for work too many days looking at her sad face watching us walk out the door feeling guilty for leaving her at home all day. We knew we would get another one eventually and were just waiting for the right time. Sadie is 8 months now and we thought of her as very well behaved having been through puppy classes and working hard with her over the past 6 months so we decided it was time. Mr. Samson or "Sam" Van Sande came home with us last Friday night. He is another Golden Retriever and is now 9 weeks old. He is quite a bit larger than Sadie was at this age and much more wild/adventurous! He is already using the doggie door, climbing up and down the stairs, and able to take Sadie's rough play full on! Sadie can be a little rough at times but if he can wiggle away he usually responds by taking a running pounce at her head or running around and biting/tugging her tail.

Sadie was VERY jealous and anxious at first, but she is definitely getting used to him and responding better now. Her behavior has done some backsliding as she is much more interested in playing with Samson instead of listening to us, but hopefully that will pass too. She watches him like a hawk and won't let him out of her sight for more than a few minutes. She used to not want anyone to hold him either but with a lot of love, attention, and treats, she's becoming a little more generous now.:)

We are tremendously enjoying having a little one around again and it is bringing back lots of fun memories from when we first got Sadie. We love to cuddle with him, watch his clumsy run, and take in that glorious puppy smell. We love our pups!!!

It's official.

We just got back from seeing Marley and Me. What is it about those blessed canines that just make their way into your heart without asking permission? I never really understood how people could be so obsessed with their dogs. I guess it's just one of those things that you just really can't understand until you fall in love yourself. It's weird how I cannot even imagine our life without Sadie anymore. She truly is a part of the family. It would be so weird to come home and not see her smiling face with her energetic tail wagging as fast as doggedly possible. In case you were wondering about the word "doggedly," it is a word, because I made it up. Instead of as fast as humanly possible.... yeah... you get it now. Anyway. It would be funny if humans got as excited to see one another as dogs get when they see you for the first time after a long day. Excited high pitched noises... lots of energy... jumping up on each other... maybe a little excited pee.... you get the picture. It's amazing how much a dog can love you without you having to do anything. I mean, Sadie is exceptionally spoiled and loved, but if you take out the trips we take her on, adventures to the dog park, the extra long massages and petting treatments, the special dog bones we buy, her new toys (geez, I didn't mean for this list to get that long....). Anyway... all I meant to say was that I know that she would give me the same love if all I did was feed her twice a day and pet her once in awhile. She asks for nothing really and has unconditional love for everyone. She gives such an innocent, pure love so freely. I'm going to make fun of myself later for writing all of this. But in moments of honesty like this, I can tell you straight out that I'm history. An official, bonafide, crazy, dog lover person.

When Scott and I got our first pet, we went a little over board. Our beautiful blue beta fish (Stuart Little Esquire the I) was very spoiled for a beta. We went all out with a nice size tank, plants for him to hide in, a bridge he could swim under, and special water conditioning treatments. We spent quite a while researching how to make our fish the happiest little fish that ever swam on the earth. When we announced our new pet to the Van Sande family and excitedly exclaimed about our new purchases for little Stewie, Michael (brother in law) said,

"WOW. YOU GUYS REALLY NEED TO GET A DOG."

And that's how it started I suppose. I guess we really need to have a kid now so that we don't sound like such big idiots when we talk about our puppy.

Sadie's bff Lucy and a lazy Saturday

Some of our friends have a golden retriever named Lucy. Lucy came over to play and they were best friends immediately. They drank water together, they ate together, they even squatted next to each other during their potty break ha ha....

The third pic is after a lazy Saturday... this is one of her favorite spots.:)

Sadie's first vlog...

Getting bigger!

Sadie is getting bigger and bigger every day! We have had her for 2 weeks now and it's crazy how much of a difference we have seen in just 2 weeks! She can now go up and down the stairs by herself, use the doggie door, and do a couple of basic commands like "sit," "stay" and "come!" We are having so much fun with her! Here are a couple of pictures of her at 8 and 9 weeks old.

Getting into trouble:


Waiting for Daddy to throw the ball:

Playing in the yard:

Sleeping under the dishwasher:

Playing in Mommy's plant:

Finding secret hiding places:

Looking super cute as always:

This is her morning face:

We love our Sadie!

Ms. Sadie Lady

Just wanted to announce the newest member of our family... Ms. Sadie! She is a golden retriever and is 7 weeks and 5 days old today. We bought her from a breeder on Friday night and she is most definitely the cutest thing I have ever seen. Scott and I are absolutely smitten and head over heels in love!! We intended to shop around a bit and go to a couple different breeders but it didn't really work out that way! I fell in love with her adorable little face and wasn't able to leave her at the breeder's house. She has a dark red retriever dad named Tango and a lighter tan retriever mom named Molly making her a beautiful golden brown. The breeder owned both the parents and Molly (her mother) had 15 little golden retriever pups! Sadie is the runt of the liter and also the cutest and the sweetest! She is enjoying adjusting to her new home and her favorite things to do are snuggling and giving kisses. We are having so much fun with her and are very proud new parents!

HELP US PICK A NAME!!

To answer your question, NO, we do not have a puppy yet.  Here's the deal... Scott is planting grass tomorrow, and it will take a couple of weeks to grow in.  THEN, we will begin our search for the perfect dog.  But right now, I have this problem.  The problem is that I am having this motherly instinct to have something to care for and I have puppies on the brain.  I can't think about anything else.  So I figure, HEY, why not write a blog about it, right?  And even better... while I have a few weeks to kill, why not figure out the perfect dog name?  So take a gander at these pics.  If you had a little girl puppy that looked like this, WHAT WOULD YOU NAME HER?  You can pick one that I like or create a new one!!  Thanks for your help!!

Sadie

Miley 

Lucy

Molly

Lady

Casey