Laurie, Fudge, and Vern's Blog (342)

Several posts about disposable pets, got me thinking about our rescue dog. They say the right dog finds you, but in our case we have had the right dog find us "Four" times. First, our family dog, Hershey, who we got when our children were young. We did almost everything wrong with her and she blossomed into the absolute best dog. Hershey will be forever the standard for all of our other dogs. The last few years of her life were very hard. She had the audacity to get old. She had trouble…

Many of you know my daughter has a French Bulldog, named Bonzai. This weekend she picked up her new puppy, Jazz. Yes, another French Bulldog.....she does not listen to her mother :) Here is my new grand dog!

Jazz:

Here is Big Brother:…

Last week I wrote a blog in the training group because I was so upset about Fudge and Vern on a recent walk. It seems we do fine individually, but when I take them together, all hell breaks loose. I deleted the blog within a few hours, because I thought it sounded whiny, but not before a few people read it. Later that night, I got on DK and found I had several nice supportive responses in my Inbox. One was from a member who I will not name, that recommended a trainer to me that lived near…

This week has been a tough week. My DH has been gone most of the week and with Vern getting up a lot at night, I was not getting enough sleep. I have posted before about Vern being a bit of a night owl and got some great feedback and suggestions. The one I liked best was from a member that said they let there dog roam at night. If that didn't work with Vern, we were going back to crating every night. Right now, they sleep in our bedroom with our door closed. Out of sheer frustration the…

In this day and age, when it seems that everyone is fighting, two women came together right here on Doodlekisses. Recently, Donna (Donna K & Quincy) posted a discussion called Limericks Anyone?  I have to say, this was one of my favorite discussions and I went to bed giggling almost every night. What caused me to giggle? Well, I found out there is another member on DK that has the same sense of humor and competitive spirit (maybe even, some would say,…

Tonight, we had a vet appointment for annual shots, etc. for Fudge and Vern. My DH got home early from work to help me take both dogs. Upon arrival, Vern saw himself in the mirror they have in a bookcase in the entryway and promptly wet himself. He then started barking his fiercest bark which is a cross between a deep, low bark and a beagle howl. It is always impressive when the receptionist has to come out with a mop and place a cone over the wet area made by your dog, before you have even…

I thought this was a very touching story. What are the odds of a guide dog losing it's sight?  I think it is amazing that another dog could be taught to help both dog and master!

http://www.urlesque.com/2011/03/11/blind-dog-guide-dog/?icid=maing|maing6|dl8|sec3_lnk1|49731

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I think everyone has heard the expression, "Scared of Your Own Shadow".  Well, I would like to introduce you to Vern, who was in a panic yesterday at the park because he could see our shadows moving along the tree line.

He spent the entire walk on high alert and would growl occasionally if I lifted my arm and my shadow did the same thing. I only wish I had brought my…

The other day I went out and got Fudge and Vern identical bones. Vern gets so excited with anything new for about two minutes. As soon as he figures out Fudge has a bone or toy or anything, that is what he wants. Fudge uses this to her advantage and loves to sit close to him and chew away. Fudge is not a big chewer, but I swear if she knows Vern wants something she has, she makes sure to chew it just a little longer than usual. Vern will stop chewing his bone and lay his head down in the…

Our dogs have the biggest basket full of toys in our living room. Vern loves to pull the toys out and put them all over the house. Fudge is more selective, but usually likes the toy she thinks will catch Vern's attention for a good chase. Today, I had to take the cat to the vet and left the carrier out in our foyer. Mind you, the cat was not in the carrier or they would have liked it even better. All day, they would not leave that carrier alone. First, Vern tried to get in it...think Winnie…

Well, I have finally achieved my goal of becoming a Hopeless Doodle Addict on DoodleKisses. Maybe I should say I have been recognized publicly as a HDA, because my family has known this to be true for quite some time. When I told my family I was going after the title of HDA, they wanted to know what happens when I get there. I told them I might get a really cool trophy that has been kissed by lots of dogs and a box of stuff picked out by the previous HDA. When they asked where I would put…

I got this as an email the other day and thought I would pass it along.

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Vern is watching the Grammys with me, while Fudge snoozes beside us. Fudge goes to bed early, so she misses a lot of shows at night. So far, Vern does not like Mick Jagger. He started panting...I think he thought Mick's pants were too tight or maybe Vern was just hot. He seemed to really enjoy Miranda Lambert, but he loves my daughter and she is blond, so maybe it had nothing to do with the music. He wasn't sure about Emimen, but he has heard loud voices and cuss words (especially when I am…

My day started when Vern fell off of the bed while sleeping. This scared him to death and he ran as fast as he could over to my side of the bed for a hug. Fudge stood up to see what all the commotion was, gave him a look like, "how stupid can you be?" and went back to sleep. It was just going to get worse for Vern, because he had to go to the groomers today. I used to schedule the dog's grooming appointments on the same day, but I really like spending one on one time with each of them, so…

My dogs are getting less and less walks these days because everywhere I go it is icy. We have been going to the nearby tennis courts and letting them run, but that is getting old. Luckily, my Vern is a good natured guy and just plain happy. Here is what he looked like sleeping next to me last night and one picture when he woke up. He makes me smile everyday!!…

I am taking a moment to brag about my daughter. She just returned safely from a trip to Muscat, Oman (borders Saudi Arabia). She was there for three weeks, traveled the entire way by herself, and had an incredible time. When she told us she was going to Oman, I have to admit I was so worried. She got her PhD in Special Education in July and wants to travel the world. She was able to combine both by taking a temporary position to help teachers in Oman set up an inclusive school. Within one…

When I was adding pictures today, I was struck by how much Vern has grown over the past year. Fudge used to tower over him, but not any more. Now she has to watch her P's and Q's.…

We have had a lot of snow lately and Fudge and Vern want to be out as much as possible. I am the least crafty person you will ever meet and I think my homemade gators prove this once again. Last night, the dogs came in with snow everywhere and we spent a long time getting all the snow off of them. So, today after the plows came through, I went to Target in the hopes to find some stretchy PJ's to make into snowsuits for the dogs. I found this idea on DK from some truly crafty members. When I…

It seems like I have been posting a lot of blogs about Vern and not so many about Fudge (and I apologize to Fudge), but here goes another one. Last night, my DH commented that Vern is like a big, goofy boy and I think he hit the nail on the head. I came home from grocery shopping and Vern kept trying to inspect the groceries, so I asked my DH to entertain (yes, these are the words I used) him while I put the groceries away. Outside they all went and pretty soon, I could hear Vern barking…