Had a super fun weekend last weekend:
Our foundation is supposed to be poured Tuesday/Wednesday at this place:
And I guess if you saw this behind the gate ... you might think twice about coming into our yard. But once you got back there ... he'd just lick you to death.
Monday when we got home from work -- there was a black spaniel hanging out at the gate -- trying to get into the backyard with MacGyver. Steve and I went over to check it out and the dog was obviously well-taken care of, not a stray. His tag said his name was Ripley and gave a phone number - so we called. His owners weren't at home -- so we told them where Ripley was. By the time we went back outside -- Ripley had squeezed between the gate into the yard. He and MacGyver did the whole sniff each other thing - and then started running around a little bit. Steve went inside to get some treats for both of them -- and that's when I looked over and Ripley was licking MacGyver. And not on his face. :shocked: Then ... he starts humping up against his leg. Mac thinks he's playing -- and swats him away. Mac starts with his playing -- where he puts his front paws flat down on the ground -- and leans down with his head - and then jumps at Ripley. Then Ripley starts trying to hump his leg again. I was like -- STEVE! COME OUT HERE AND STOP THIS DOG FROM MOLESTING MACGYVER!!! Mac has finally figured out that Ripley "plays for the other time" and is not, in fact, interested in playing. He runs up to me and looks up at me like "what is going on here???"
Look what's living at my house for the next few weeks. We got two dachshund puppies for my grandmother's birthday (my grandparents have always had dachshunds and their dog, Brownie, died about 10 months ago; I know they miss having him around. These two will definitely give them some smiles!!!!) They're six weeks old - and they weigh TWO POUNDS each. I took a picture with a DVD for a size reference ;) I've never taken care of puppies before ... and I must say I"m pooped and we've only had them for two days now. They've woken me up 3-4 times every night ... and they're mischevious little buggers too! I think they plot to go in different directions to see how far one of them can get by the time I've caught the other one. And the pee! And poop! Oh my! I posted several pictures of the puppies ... and an OK of them with MacGyver (who weighs more than 26 times what they weigh). He's very curious about them ... and doesn't relax when they're outside with him. It's too funny. I'm just relieved he knows they're dogs (and not rabbits -- but that's another story for another time .... )
We spent this past weekend working at my parents old house (my childhood home). They have already moved into their new neighborhood (less than two miles down the road!!) and are going to rent the old house once they get everything cleaned out and spruced up. Steve and I painted a few rooms and helped mom with a garage sale.
When we headed back over to the new house — we were bringing over some outdoor furniture. MacGyver always travels to Cleveland with us — so he was in the backyard at the new house. Someone had the bright idea of putting him inside the fence around the pool while we were moving the outdoor furniture into the backyard. The pool was still covered — but it had been raining all week and the cover had little ponds of green, gooey, yucky leaf filled water all over it. We figured he would just run around a bit or sit at the gate and wait til we were finished unloading furniture.
Not our dog. Nope. MacGyver never does what you expect him to do. MacGyver, the dog who runs to the back of our property when the water hose is brought out (not even turned on yet!) — dove right into the yucky ponds on top the pool cover. He’s diving in — putting his head under the water — like he’s looking for something — and then he crawls out and runs at mach4 around the pool. It was like a dog on crack. He’s covered in green goo and we’re all laughing so hard — and he jumps in again. We’re worried the pool cover will collapse around him — so we try to get him out and he gets out only to jump right back in. My brother said he’s [MacGyver] probably not had that much fun (or been that cool) in a long time! It was soooo funny! We finally managed to get him out — and got him out of the fenced pool area — and he just runs and runs and runs around the backyard. That green gooey water energized him!!
Thankfully I had my camera out there - to get pictures of Sarah, of course - so we were able to capture a few of the pool-cover swimming moments!!! Click here for pictures!
;)
We watched one of our friends dogs this weekend ... a black mixed-breed named Chloe. We joke that she's MacGyver's girlfriend - they get together as often as they can, and quite frequently have sleep-overs when their owners go out of town. And as some ladies are, she tends to lead MacGyver astray. As in - to bad behavior and craziness that he normally doesn't partake in. Like - destroying his bed. Or chewing up all his toys. Or - the latest - escaping from our very well-fenced in back yard.
Guess who won?
I never thought I would actually be the type of person to take Christmas photos of their pet. Oh well ... that was pre He's-so-cute-MacGyver-World. My mom sent Mac a Christmas scarf in the mail - so I had to get a few shots to email her. (And there's another thing ... I never would have believed my mother would be sending my dog things in the mail. What's up with that? He's a charmer, that's for sure!) And I was at Walmart the other day and saw this little Santa hat for 96 cents - and thought I would try and get a few shots of him with that on. Here are my favorite two:
How did I ever think he was going to let me put the hat on him?? He had a GREAT time ripping it to pieces though ... and I got some fun photos ;)
We got MacGyver, our dog, from a couple at our church. Their niece was moving, didn't want to take him with her, and was going to put him in the pound. !!! The aunt/uncle stepped in and said - no we'll keep him until we can find him a good home. Two weeks later, we learned about Mac and jumped on the chance to adopt him. We had been looking for a siberian husky for a while ... and here was someone who was going to give us one?
He's been with us now for more than five months. We love him. He's a part of our family. We thought long and hard before getting him ... because we knew it was a lifelong commitment. This was going to be our dog for forever.
Last week, I got a phone call from the girl who wanted to take him to the pound. She wants to see him. I figured, hey ... why not. We arranged for her to come over yesterday morning. She shows up, with a guy ... and they stay for about an hour before asking us if they can have him back. They really miss him. Yes, they're living in an apartment and would have to keep this big dog inside all day long - but we miss him. :censor:
It's like -- they didn't even take into consideration that MacGyver is a much happier dog now. He's bouncing around with so much energy. He has 3 acres to run and play on at our house. We walk him every day. When we first got him ... he wasn't as active. He was used to being cooped up inside all day long. He's a SIBERIAN HUSKY. They LOVE to run. They HAVE to be active. Anyone who has read anything on the breed knows they need frequent exercise.
I couldn't believe they had the nerve to ask for him back. What did they think? We were just going to say "Oh well... here you go! It's been fun, Mac ... but they MISS you. And don't you want to go hang out in a 800 square foot apartment? Woohoo!" Uh ... no!
These two people who were going to give him to THE POUND. They weren't even going to make the effort to try and find a good home for him themselves. Huskies sell for at least $250 -- and MacGyver is a registered purebred so he would have gone for way more than that. Geez - it would have taken one ad in the pet classifieds here in Nashville to find that dog a good home. But they were just going to take him to the pound.
And now they expect us to just hand him over? So that in 6 months when they get tired of having to take care of such a big dog again, they dump him again?
:yell: Uh no. He's ours now. He is loved. He's part of our family. We have his best interests at heart ... and you don't. :mad:
So, obviously - we said absolutely not. I told them they could visit him (but I'm hoping they don't, because now I dislike them even more than I did before) - but that there's no way we could give him up. No matter what the situation.
Steve and I were even talking later - and if for some horrible reason we had to move to a tiny apartment and couldn't have Mac with us - we would give him to my parents or my grandparents who both have huge yards and they already love MacGyver anyway.
Am I being unreasonable? I don't think so.
Grrrrrrrr.
It's been so hectic in Lacyville here lately. What with dealing with my grandfathers cancer diagnosis and surgery, MacGyvers mite infection, our upcoming two week vacation ... we haven't had much time to just "hang out".
Don't you always find that it's during these busy times that things go wrong. On the day we were supposed to drive 3 1/2 hour to see my grandfather, the brakes on the Escape suddenly starting making this scraping sound. So off to the mechanic we go - and there went $$$. Last week, our washing machine decided that it wanted to keep the water in the machine. Why spin? We've been tricking it into spinning for the last week -- by doing the regular cycle for washing and then switching it to the delicate cycle and doing that spin cycle twice. We just have not had the time to go looking for a washer - and we won't be here for the next two weeks to have it delivered. Sooo we're trying to make do until we return in October.
We also have several relatives down in Florida dealing with hurricane hell. My great aunt has lived on the beach in Cocoa Beach for practically her entire life. Growing up, I used to spend summers down there - it was great her house was right on the beach. You walk off her back porch, and you're on the beach. They had a forced evacuation last week - they were told the storm surges alone would go over their homes. Get your insurance papers and family mementos, and be out by 2 PM. She went to stay with her daughter ... who lives in Melbourne, FL. THey were in the path of the hurricane as well ... but only lost a section of their roof and several trees. My aunt was finally able this week to go down and check on her house ... it was flooded. Pretty much everything mildewed and ruined ... all her furniture, appliances - damaged beyond repair. Now we just pray that her insurance carrier will do what they're supposed to!
My grandfather is doing amazingly well. He has surprised all his doctors (and his family!) with his quick recovery. The surgery he had is a brand new procedure ... so both his surgeons were just so pleased that he has come through so well. He still has to go see the oncologist next week ... but they don't think she will recommend any chemo or radiation. They just want to have him in every few months for a new set of xrays. It is simply a miracle. When we first learned about his cancer, the pulmonologist told them he had maybe 6-9 months. It was that bad. Thats why I say it was a miracle. Because less than three weeks later, he has a cutting-edge surgery with not one, but two very talented surgeons and they are able to remove all the cancer. It hadn't metastasized. I believe God truly had his hand over my Grampy; miracles aren't just when someone is inexplicably healed; sometimes miracles occur in the form of just making a cancer treatable.
As for MacGyver, he is almost back to normal. His behavior has improved dramatically; he's running, eating, and more playful; his hair is growing back quickly in some places, and not so quickly in other places (his tail is really slow in growing back hair!). But I think we've gotten the infection taken care of. We go back to the vet tomorrow afternoon, to see if he needs another shot of Ivermectin. AND to see if we still have to do the baths every two days. Let me just say thats been such a joyful experience. He hates water, doesn't like the medicated soap, and he especially doesn't like it that we have to leave the soap on him for 10 minutes before rinsing him off. Soooo, maybe we can get down to once every 3 days. Nonetheless, I'm just so glad he's feeling better and not constantly scratching and biting himself.
And now, I'm off to try and trick the washer into doing a load of laundry that we need for our trip next week! ;)
Our beautiful white, blue-eyed, thick-haired, sweet siberian husky MacGyver has sarcoptic mange. :worried:
As is typical of his breed, MacGyver has been shedding his second coat all summer long. We brush him daily - and usually get about half a garbage bag full of loose hair. Brushing him is supposed to help relieve the scratching that would result from having the loose hair in his coat.
About two weeks ago, we noticed that he was scratching a lot. More than normal. So we got some hypoallergenic shampoo ... thinking maybe he was just having a reaction to the White Dog shampoo we had been using. This didn't help.
A few days later, when we were outside working in the yard - we looked over and he BIT his tail. Drew blood. Today - you can see his tail. As in ... only the bottom half of his tail is covered in hair. The scratching continues.
After a phone call to our vet, we put him on benadryl on a trial basis for 3 days - to see if that would help. No effect. Still scratching.
So yesterday we had our appointment at the vets office. They took blood. Skin scrapings. All those turn up normal - but there is obviously something wrong with him. His hind legs are almost completely bare. His left side .... the hair is so think you can see his skin. He looks absolutely pitiful. :cry:
After two weeks of trying to figure out if he had allergies - the vet finally "gave in" and decided that it must be sarcoptic mites. You can't see them - so it's hard to diagnose. They burrow under the skin ... and then reproduce.
:book: So - last night I came home and researched a bit - and sure enough. All the pictures of the dogs on the pet websites - they look exactly like MacGyver does. Their ears, legs - everything. If only I had known to look for sarcoptic mites as a diagnosis ... I thought for sure it had to be allergies since there was nothing crawling around on him.
UGH!!!! So - the vet gave him a shot of Ivermectin. He's on prednisone for 10 days (to try and help with the scratching) - and we go back in two weeks to see if he needs another shot of Ivermectin. Starting this Monday - we have to give him medicated baths 3 times a week. That should be fun. We've also got him taking the de-worming pills. And when he finally is healed up from this ... he gets to have his annual shots. It's not going to be a fun month for Mac.
:pi: I'd never even HEARD of sarcoptic mites. And how do they get them? I still can't find that. They can catch them from other dogs and from foxes ... but he's only been in close contact with two other dogs ... and they're both healthy.
So ... at least he is on the road to recovery. Poor MacGyver. :sick:
