Oh Snap!

Dr. McNaughton testing my leg

Hi! Stephen’s home, and I am so happy to see him. He picked me up and put me in the car this morning for Mommy to take me to my checkup at the vet. 

Now Mommy left to go take care of some business, so Stephen, Dakota and I are chilling.  Here’s the news. 

I tore my ACL. Yup! Just like my Momma. The swelling has gone down quite a bit. It doesn’t hurt too much when I put it down, but it feels weak. 

Doc gave us some options, so I’m relaxing in the sun pondering. 

1. Wear a brace. Not all dogs like this, but it would keep my leg stable. 

2.  Do nothing. Let it heal and do my thing. I have a higher risk of tearing my meniscus, the other knee, and getting arthritis. 

3.  Tight Rope ACL surgery. It was interesting listening to Doc talk about it. It’s like bionic string replacing my knee part that is broken. 

4.  Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO). A plate is put on my bone and it changes the mechanics of the knee. Healing with this surgery is quicker. 

Any thoughts out there from my four-legged pals and their parents? I may need to do a kissing booth to raise some funds!!

Zoey limping out!

Oh Man, my ACL!

Hi. Mommy and Daddy are back from their trip to Miami. Mommy left to restock our food supply.  Dakota and I had a wonderful time with Marisa watching us. 

I don’t really know what happened, but when she let us out one more time, I slipped and suddenly I couldn’t walk. It hurt so much. Luckily I have three other legs and was able to get back inside.  Marisa was very concerned. 

Marisa and her friend carried me upstairs. Even Dakota was nice and didn’t run me over. I wasn’t any better the next day, so Mommy called the vet. She has often said that it takes a village to raise a child, and I think she now extended that phrase to her dogs. 

Aunt Colleen came and got me, and just because he’s that kind of guy, our neighbor, Chris, went too. I missed Marisa, but know she had to work. She took good care of me. 

Thank goodness Dr. McNaughton was there! He was so loving and patient. I may have strained or tore my ACL. That’s on my knee. It was so swollen, he gave me medicine to help it. So I need to wait and see what happens. 

Uncle Jason and Uncle Scott watched me over the weekend. They made sure I didn’t run around. 

They were wonderful, but I really couldn’t wait for my Mommy to come home. 

Monday morning Lauren and Owen came over to check on me. 

That made me very happy!

What made me even happier was when my parents came home. I let Dakota go first, because let’s face it–he’ll plow me over when I have four legs!

Mommy hugged me and petted me and rubbed my leg. 

So now I’m waiting. I want to run around and go for a walk, but I can’t. I miss it, and hope I will be all right. Please send me some cheer and well wishes.  We know the power of good thoughts. 

Thank you to everyone who took care of me when I needed it most!❤️

When a Cup is Not a Cup

Hello! Zoey here! Momma is not! She is with Nanny on this beautiful sunny day. Daddy isn’t home either, so I’m enjoying some quiet time. 

Yesterday Mommy and Daddy took us to see Dr. McNaughton for our annual checkup. We were both very good! We each had to have two shots and blood drawn. Dakota tooted, because he was scared, and he smelled the whole ride home. 

Daddy asked about how much food we should eat. Dakota is 109 pounds having gained 9 from last year, and I gained 6 to bring me to 69 pounds!

Mommy explained that she gives us one cup of food in the morning and one cup at night. When Dr. McNaughton asked how much it was, my mom said, “1 cup.”

This is the cup Mommy uses and yes it is a cup. But the question asked was is it really a cup?  Well we know it’s a cup, because you can drink out of it, but is it 8 oz or 1 cup  as a measurement?

That was the question of the day! Now let me tell you something about my Mommy. She is a talented writer and editor. She loves to read and digs history. If there is a typo on an ad, on a menu, on a sign on the highway, she will find it!

However…my Mommy is not very, how shall we say, good at math and measuring. She tries and she does well with basic math and balancing the checkbook. Man! I could write a book listening to her and Daddy’s conversations about running the finances. Yup. You got it. Mommy does it!  Luckily a lot of the time when she screws up, it’s in their favor. Except when she lost that envelope of money.  Yet again I digress!

Anyhoo! Mommy came home, scooped up a cup (ha ha) of food and measured it. And it was–2cups! 

Lucky us! We have been eating twice the amount than we should be eating! Dakota can probably have 1 1/2 cups, but I’m petite, and if that food is there, I don’t have any control!

So now Mommy is slowly weaning us down to a smaller amount. I helped her by drawing a line on the cup. 

Hey, we all have our strengths!

Zoey out!

Holy Poop Batman!

Hi! I’m sending this out as I watch my momma pick up pounds of dog doo in the backyard. She’s looking like she’s ready to go off the deep end. 

I’m hearing phrases like who poops this much and what did you eat and can’t she poop in a pile and not like Hansel and Gretel leaving a trail?

Really Momma! Who would follow that trail? Well maybe Dakota. He loves his poopsicles. But they have to be frozen solid. He doesn’t like the pudding cups that are currently sloshing around in the melting snow. 

You don’t want to get too close!

Uh Oh. Now Mommy has moved up to a bigger bag. The other one exploded and poop is all over the driveway!  No one tell my daddy!

Mommy is screaming at Dakota because he wants a taste!

Now Mommy is gagging while pouring water over it. 

Do you think my Daddy will notice? Probably not. As long as we all keep our secret!

Looks like she done. Man that bag looks heavy. At least 40 pounds. That’s a lot of biscuits and meals!

Just shows how much Mommy loves Daddy by making sure the poop is picked up before the snowfall. Hmmm. Just in time for Valentine’s Day. She’s as sneaky as I am!

Hopefully she’ll recover by then!

Zoey out!!

Daddy is a Softie

It’s after the holidays, and Daddy is taking a break from packing lights from the Christmas tree. Mommy is catching up with housework since Stephen went back to college. She had a lot of cleaning up to do! Luckily she left her computer in the library so I could sneak in a post.

You may not know this, but my daddy is a softie. Oh yes, some may think he has a rough exterior, because he doesn’t say much, but I get him. He’s a sucker for big eyes. So when he was taking a break and eating some pretzel rods, I knew it was my moment.

I sat in front of him, not too close while he chomped on a pretzel. He ignored me as he watched a show. I sat all prim and proper, good posture, my tail curled cutely to the side. And then I stared. And I stared. And I stared.

OK. Nothing happened, but no one has ever said that Zoena Maria Cucina was a quitter!

I inched a little closer and opened my eyes a bit more to give him that “Oh poor me” look. “I’m so hungry and destitute!”

I can be patient. It’s in my DNA. I watch birds for hours, silently waiting for them to get closer and closer. I lull them into a false sense of security and then I pounce! But I can’t do that with Daddy. He’s not prey of course! Just the pretzel in his hand. I’m such a good girl! Notice me!

Suddenly he does! I wag my tail and shift a little closer. Daddy has the pretzel held out to me. I think he wants me to take it. I come close enough so that I could take it right from him. I latch on, he looks at me, smiles, and then lets go.

Yes! The pretzel is mine!

I could have stayed there all day, but in reality Daddy is such a softie with all the gals in his life that this was a piece of cake (or should I say pretzel!)

Some of my favorite things…

As I languorously soak in the heat of the roaring fire, I revel in the warmth and joy of having Stephen home. 

Mommy has been very busy this fall. She has been coming and going so much. I’m not too shy to say that I miss her. You would think that I’d have more chances to write, but I’ve had a dry period. 

Today she is at a yoga class. But before I could sneak away to her computer, Stephen lounged in the library and turned on the gas stove. I was drawn by the fire and lulled into a state of euphoria as I cozied up to Stephen. 

I didn’t worry about what I would write or whether Dakota was chewing on my favorite bone. Rather I enjoyed my quiet time with my human brother. It had been almost three months since Stephen came home. Sleeping in his room when he was gone felt cold and lonely. 

When he came home, Dakota shot out first and enjoyed his reunion with his best bud. I know DK has a special place in Stephen’s heart, but something happened this time that brought us closer together. 

Stephen and I connected, and it didn’t stop at our reunion. We have been sleeping in late and cuddling more. So when Stephen sat on the floor with me, I was encased in a warm cocoon of love. How lucky am I to be surrounded by so much love and recognize it?

Having Stephen home has also slowed Mommy down so that she is soaking in these moments, these heart-growing memories that  get us through the times of separation. 

So my favorite things–warm fires or the hot sun on my fur, cuddling up with my loved ones, and yes, tricking Dakota into giving up a bone so I can eat it–keep me in the moments when I feel the love of my family. That’s a lot to be thankful for, and I hope that everyone takes the time to not only spend time with those you love, but also recognize the gift. 

How sweet it is!!

Smarter Than I Knew!

Summertime, Summertime! It’s so difficult to keep up with my writing when I want to bask in the hot July sun. But I always have to take any opportunity to get on the computer. Mommy is outside and although she isn’t basking in the sun, she is enjoying the warmth while pruning her tomatoes. Nanny would be so proud!

I joke about Dakota (DK) and how he leads a simple life and sometimes can appear to be simpler than we think. This photo reflects his inability to learn as Dakota will salivate and try to bite a brick when he sees a shadow. No matter how many times Mommy tells him to stop, he just can’t help himself.

As you know, DK absolutely loves balls. He will chase balls for hours and as I blogged before, he is relentless trying to get people to throw balls for him. A couple years ago Daddy bought a GoDogGo Remote Fetch system so DK could have balls tossed his way over and over and over again. It was a great idea, but no matter how hard he tried, DK could not learn to put the ball back into the bucket.

Remember how DK always places the ball behind someone sitting outside? Read my last blog for that one. Well, Daddy in his infinite wisdom decided to place his chair next to the fetch system so that instead of placing the ball behind Daddy, he would place them in the bucket. Guess what? He did it! At least for a few times. Then instead of putting the ball in the bucket, he put it in the front where the ball shoots out. Hey, whatever works right! What a happy dog he is now and I’ll give him credit for being smart!

Relentless Passion

Happy Summer! 

Momma is lounging on her new swing outside. Now is my chance to use her computer. 

Passion. It’s what moves us to action, gets us off our dog bed, and inspires us to try. People may look at me and laughing say, “Ha! There’s Zoey wasting her life away watching the grass grow. There’s nothing out there.” 

They don’t know what’s inside me. I am meant to hunt and protect. Our backyard is my territory. It’s where my family relaxes and enjoys life. I have their back. 

You may think I’m twiddling my paws (really how can I even do that). But I’m observing the movements in the trees and the grass. I scent changes in the air: a bonfire, food on the grill, or a neighbor’s cologne. I feel the vibrations in the earth. I hear the teeniest tiniest swish of a tail or the wiggle of whiskers. This is my passion. This is who I am. 

Everyone has their own passion; as unique as they are. 

Take Dakota. He leads a simple and happy life. He is relentless and tenacious in his pursuit of . . . his ball. 

He will sneak that slimy, gross, and poop-covered ball behind an unsuspecting visitor and wait until the ooze seeps into the back of their pants. Today he was putting his ball in Nanny’s plant bin. 

They don’t really want to throw it. They just want to get it away from them. 
But then the ever determined DK has them in his four paws. He brings it back knowing that eventually they will break down again. 

Now that is true passion! Embrace yours!

May Music Feature: A Choice Bit of Calico

A Choice Bit of Calico is an up-and-coming band based in Asheville, NC. The band was formed and founded by members Mishelle Stapleton and Sal DeTillio, a real-life couple who met in college and con…

Source: May Music Feature: A Choice Bit of Calico

Nutmeg!

Hey there, readers! Zoey is in the house and  Momma is not! She is teaching her kids’s writing class at the library. 

I was basking in the warm spring sun when she left. I reluctantly popped upstairs to her office. Luckily she left her computer on her chair. She has copies of her latest book on the floor because she is doing her final edits before sending it to editors. 

Made it easy for me to type! Well now to the exciting stuff! Daddy was home with me and Dakota this weekend. Mommy was away. It was beautiful out. Nutmeg, the ginger brown puppy next door, was barking at me and wagging her tail. 

She is 9 months old and we have met close up a couple times, but haven’t played together yet.

Daddy took off my electric collar and tried to get me to walk over to her. No way! I wasn’t getting zapped! Then he put on my leash and led me to the front lawn to cross over. I pressed my paws into the ground in desperation. No!!!!

Finally he walked me onto the road and up their drive. Then he removed my leash. Nutmeg was excited. I growled a little just to let her know who was boss. Kind of like I did when we first got Dakota. 

When she ran into her yard I followed. I thought I may as well enjoy myself and ran with her. We actually had a great time! 

  
She’s little so I had to be careful. She didn’t jump on me like Dakota does.

  
Finally we were exhausted and lay on the floor in their garage. 

I came home and of course Dakota was all over me, sniffing here and there. He wasn’t happy, and I don’t blame him. I hope he can eventually chill and be nice to other dogs. We could have so many play dates!

When Mommy came home, daddy told her all about it, and she was so happy. They took the three of us for a walk. Dakota kept a wary eye on Nutmeg but behaved. 

I can’t wait for another day to hang with Nutmeg! Some day she’ll be able to come to my yard!