National Dog Day 2020

It's National Dog Day, which we unofficially celebrate every day!

There's not much I can say today that I haven't said a million times before...we simply don't deserve dogs. Steadfast loyalty. Ceaseless devotion. Tireless companionship. Unbridled happiness.

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures;

they give unconditional love.

For me, they are the role model for being alive."

- Gilda Radner -

No matter what I'm doing, Ginny wants to be a part of it; she's always up for adventure, even if it's just going to get the mail! Honestly, what did I do to deserve this unmatched level of friendship?!?

No matter what, dogs make things better!

Feeling awesome? Play with your dog!
Feeling hungry? Get a snack with your dog!
Feeling sad? Hug your dog!
Feeling tired? Have a nap with your dog!

I can't think of a situation that cannot be improved upon by the presence of your dog!

Since it's actually National Dog Day, this seems like a perfect post to share some recent pics of Ginny!

She was wagging her tail while she was sleeping!

Joyful dreams!

Happy Tails to you...a fitting closing given the day AND the video!

So Much Time Has Passed

I had planned to write about getting my office set up for the new year, but I didn't finish everything today, so I'll have to hold off on that post for now!

However, while I was at school today, I was reminded of how long it had been since I'd spent any significant time in my office. Back in June, when I was there to pack up my stuff, I was struck by the winter gear sitting by the door because I realized that it had still been winter when school closed and there I was, packing things up for summer.

Today was something much more personal. As I was moving furniture back into place, I looked up at my bulletin board, which had not been touched in June because we were told we could leave our bulletin boards up over the summer. On one section of the bulletin board, there were individual photos of Chelsea, Molly, Gunni, Maddy, Duchess, and Sadie, each with a heart sticker. On another section of the bulletin board, there were pictures of Ginny and Riley.

Back on March 13, the last day of school, we still had Riley.

That's how long it's been since school was normal.

An eternity.

I shed some tears as I put a heart sticker on her photo and moved it over to the other section of the board. Then I shed a few more tears for Ginny having lost those seven sisters and now being all alone.

It's funny how I know in my mind exactly how much time has passed, but seeing things like hats and mittens in the summer or a pictures of Riley and Ginny side-by-side make me feel in my heart just how long it's been.

Happy Tails to you…

Ginny & Max

My brother and SIL moved to New York to start new jobs today and we're so excited for them! While we're going to miss having them live close by, we now have an excuse for weekend trips! We're also going to really miss their two dogs, Max and Kazak. Ginny, in particular, is going to miss Max like crazy. When my brother adopted him ten years ago, the two of them lived with us and Ginny was smitten from those very first moments! She absolutely adores him! We refer to them as "brindle buddies"…she has light fur with dark stripes and he has dark fur with light stripes. He's a pitbull/dutch shepherd mix, but he learned some Dachshund tendencies early on that remain to this day – like climbing up on top of the back cushions on the couch and chairs to curl up in a ball and sleep. His long legs often hang down and it's pretty comical, but so heartwarming at the same time! Ginny's a bit of an oddball, but Max's sweet and gentle nature kindly tolerates her skittish nonsense and pesky behavior as she follows hm around wherever he goes!

Here are some of my favorites pics of them together:

this was their goodbye
moment a few days ago
<3

I guarantee a long car ride to visit Max in New York is in Ginny's near future!

Happy Tails to you!

Weirdo About Walks

Back on July 31, Ginny had her follow-up appointment at the neurologist, and we were directed to start taking Ginny for walks to strengthen some of her muscles, as she'd been on restricted activity for more than a month. She has never liked walks, even before her surgery in 2014; she tolerated them when we took our other dogs over the years, but even then, she sometimes just stayed home because she would refuse to walk and we'd end up carrying her. Yes, she can be very dramatic, so we'd admittedly gotten very lazy about taking her walks because it was just easier not to!

A perfect example of this is when I was babysitting my niece last year. I put my niece in her stroller and put Ginny's harness and leash on, with plans for a nice walk around the neighborhood. Ginny had other plans, and after struggling, tugging, pulling, and pleading, I finally gave up and just put her up on top of the stroller where she happily rode for almost an hour. You get the picture. She's historically been completely ridiculous about walks.

she was very happy to just ride
on top of the stroller

Despite her disdain for walks, we obviously wanted to follow the doctor's orders, so during the first two weeks of August, we took her for a walk every second or third day, to build up her stamina. Last Saturday, the 15th, we decided we would start taking her for a walk every single day. Today was the NINTH day in a row she went for a walk! That might not seem like a big deal for most dogs, but it is a HUGE deal for Ginny! We're so proud of her! She still doesn't like it, but she's getting used to the routine, and she seems slightly less terrified with each passing day! Progress!

August 15

August 16

August 17

August 18

August 19

August 20

August 21

August 22

August 23

Happy Tails to you!

New Dog Bed!

We'd noticed over the past several months that Ginny would sometimes bunch up a blanket under her neck/chin or rest her head on the edge of a bed or her car seat. Given that the most recent disc issues were in her neck, we obviously want her to be as comfortable as possible. One thing we've done is replace all of her beds that are circular with rectangular ones so that she can stretch out and not have to curl up in a ball. She used to really love those circular beds, but she started awkwardly trying to lie lengthwise in them, so her head or her tail or both were often hanging over the edges.

she was using the side of the
crown to support her head/neck

she was stretched out in
such an awkward way

Not too long ago, I saw an ad on IG for a dog bed that had a bolster pillow and was pretty intrigued. I decided to order one for Ginny, so I selected the bed and the bolster in the fabric I wanted, added them to the cart, and began checking out. I noticed there was something called a "stuff sack" in the cart, but its price was $0.00, so I just figured it was a bonus/freebie.

Our order arrived the other day and the box was a lot smaller than I would have expected for a dog bed. Well, it turns out that I didn't order a dog bed; I ordered a dog bed cover. That stuff sack was the actual bed and it needed to be filled! It was recommended that we fill it with old blankets, t-shirts, toys, etc., but that seemed a bit strange to us, so we ordered ten pounds of memory foam filler from Amazon, hoping it was an adequate amount!

When the filler arrive today, I immediately thought it would not be anywhere near enough for the bed and the bolster, but once it was opened up, it expanded, and we followed the directions to break it apart and fluff it up as we put it into the stuff sack. The ten pounds actually proved to be the perfect amount to fill the bed and the bolster! Ginny was pretty curious about what we were doing, and when we put the filled stuff sack on the floor to even out the fill, she immediately climbed up without the cover on it. We took that as a good sign!

I can now safely say that it's a big hit with Ginny! As I type this, C and I are sitting on the couch watching hockey and although she would normally be sleeping on the couch between us, she is sleeping on her new bed instead!

bed cover, stuff sack,
empty bolster pillow

ten pounds of memory foam filler

five pounds of filler in the stuff sack

five pounds after it had expanded

memory foam filler inside the bolster pillow

the stuff sack with filler inside

very eager

bolster pillow completed

bed completed

all done

finally ready for Ginny

would definitely recommend this bed

happily NOT sitting on the couch with us

Happy Tails to you!