Christmas is about family

Chucky and I in our matching hats

Some of those that I grew up with and called family are not here to celebrate with me anymore. I'm talking about furbabies/fursiblings.

My childhood cat, Chucky Tommy (named after the Rugrats), died a little over a year ago. He was fifteen, riddled with cancer, and senile. He was a great playmate growing up. I would dress him in doll dresses, push him in doll strollers, put him in doll cribs. He got forgotten in a hamper once. He slept on my head like a turban every night. I'd carry him around the house, he would wrap his legs around me and wrap his tail around me like a monkey. He never once tried to destroy the Christmas tree, but he did enjoy sitting under it on the velvet tree skirt my mom made. This Christmas my mom found the little Santa hat I'd always put on him this time of year. Seeing it brought me to tears. I miss him dearly.

(From left to right) Stella, Frankie, me, and Chucky

We had two Greyhounds, Francesca "Frankie" and Stella, also childhood companions. What wonderful dogs they were, and so loving. Frankie was mine and Stella was my mom's. Frankie was named after a male pony I once leased for a summer. They were both rescues from the track. Every year the girls would get new toys for Christmas. Stella usually got a new bone. Frankie got squeaky toys. One year we gave her a Christmas moose and another year she got a possum. She loved the flip them through the air and squeak them till they squeaked no more. Frankie's end was unexpected. She was 11, but still so happy. Her back end began to fail her rapidly. We lost her 2 days before I left for my first year of college. I spent the next year randomly bursting into tears at random times and saying "my dog is dead". It was horrible. Stella was 13 and that was more expected, but still hurt none the less.

Frankie and her Christmas possum

I made this after Frankie died and paid to have it made into a sticker
that I put on my RAV 4

Olivia's joy is contagious, I can't wait for her to open her gifts tomorrow morning. But I know seeing her with her new toys will remind me of Frankie with her possum. I miss carrying Chucky around wearing our matching Santa hats. I miss Stella's watchful eye while we opened presents, and then she would sneak up when you weren't looking and steal the things she liked.

I love you babies, and I miss you so much. Merry Christmas, I know you're all celebrating together in heaven.

Stella and Chucky
Chucky would sit with Stella when she wasn't feeling well

Chucky licking his foot haha

Stella, Frankie, and I before my high school freshman
year semi-formal

Frankie (the rippling in her forehead is a scar. She
got kicked in the head by a deer and had something
like 30+ pieces of her skull wired back together.
She made it though it.)

Stella

Stella

New Trick... WAVE!

So I mentioned that Olivia learned Wave at her petsmart class yesterday, and today I taught it to Fern, too. I made a little video!

Another Fun Day

Yesterday I spent my morning like I bet most people are these last few days leading up to Christmas. I was shopping. For my mom. My mom has accumulated a lot of knick knacks over the 30-40 years and I'm sure a lot of them are gifts I picked for her. This year I wanted to give her something she would actually use and enjoy and was having a hard time. I ended up getting her software for her one sewing machine (she loves to sew). But after witnessing some truly spectacular grid-lock and the best *cough* sarcasm *cough* driving I've ever seen, I was ready to unwind. That morning I'd promised to take Olivia to the park and I planned to make good on that promise.

I went home to get her and headed back out to town. I'm not sure our walk was relaxing... Olivia was trotting along cheerfully which forced me to power walk, but we had fun together. She found a stick (she loves sticks) and really enjoyed sniffing out all the smells. I had a good time watching her enjoy the park so much. This all caused me to come up with an early New Year's Resolution:

To take Olivia out for walks at the park, etc. more often.

It's not something I really think of because Olivia and Fern get so much exercise running around our farm. Unlike a lot of dog owners, I can just open the back door and let them run free instead of having to walk them every time they have to go potty. But it's not about exercise. It's about spending time with my little Olivia, putting the phone away (except to take photos), and enjoying being outside playing together.

After the park we headed to Petsmart to make up the first two classes of the Advanced class that we missed. Olivia's trainer was so excited to see her, and Olivia was excited to see Debra as well! We worked on sitting when meeting a friendly stranger, loose leash walking going into heel, waving, and touch. We go back on Friday for week three and Olivia FINALLY will get to meet her classmates.

happy to be back in class

Last night after we got home and took care of the horses my parents, Olivia, and I (Brian's in NJ for work) went to the local five star hotel for the Christmas caroling party (they allow well behaved dogs in the hotel bar/lobby/lounge). Olivia wore her Christmas dress and got to have her photo taken (again) with Santa. Everyone fawned over her and everyone wanted to tell me how their sister's boyfriend's great aunt's nephew's uncle has/had/is getting a Boston. It's so funny to me that it seems every where I go with Olivia some stranger(s) comes up to me to tell me about their experience with Bostons (or sometimes with Frenchies). We had a great time, although my arms did hurt a bit from holding Olivia all night. There were a lot of people and I didn't want to risk her getting stepped on but she was also tired. Olivia weighs a whopping 15.8 lbs now!

Wordless Wednesday: Gift Wrapping Edition

"I'm gonna play with my bottle
cruncher fox on top of this book
that you're trying to wrap"

"here, wrap my fox"

"let me help you with this
wrapping paper"

Olivia Goes to See Christmas Lights

Last night Brian and I took Olivia to see Christmas lights at this place we have here in town called Hopeland Gardens. They boasted 100,000 lights over 1.5 miles of trail.

We had to park the car at a park and take a shuttle over. I didn't know this in advance and was a little worried they wouldn't let Olivia on board. Good planning on the town/whoever was in charge of this event because they actually had one dog friendly bus! We were the only ones on board it. Olivia thought it was great fun and really enjoyed trotting around the park. I'm not sure she loved having to pose every two steps with various light displays but oh well, and I'm sure Brian (who was holding her leash) must have gotten tired of hearing "pose her with [fill in the blank], yes, right here, no not there, here". With other people around and distractions I couldn't always convince Olivia to look at the camera... oh well.

Here's the photos:

Great Video For a Great Cause

This video starring everyone's favorite internet cats helps feed strays this Christmas season!

Entertain yourself and help make this Christmas special for kitties in need!

I didn't mean to be trendy.

When I set out to get a Boston Terrier of my own it was not my intention to get a dog at the height of its current popularity, or a dog that's trending like a top #hashtag on Twitter. But it seems I did. I didn't realize how popular of a dog Bostons were until I had my own. Now I see them in every single ad it seems. Just this morning my mom showed me a cholesterol ad with a Boston in it that she saw in Taste of Home magazine.

Maybe ads have always had Bostons in them and I've never noticed? But I'm thinking it's more because Bostons have come into popularity [again?]- which this article proves. I must admit that I don't mind have a popular dog. I love seeing cute Bostons every where I go!


I think this Nikon ad is pretty funny and cute:

Wordless Wednesday: Olivia's Photoshoot

Back when we went to the Amazing Pet Expo: Atlanta, Olivia had her photo taken by the pet photographer. The photos were then green screened and sent to me. Here's how they came out:

And The Winner Is.....

Congrats, Duke!

And a big thank you to everyone who entered!

Stay tuned for future contest/giveaways!

Christmas Carols

As Christmas approaches and I get in the holiday spirit, I've found myself making up my own Christmas Carols. They go something like this:

Jingle Bostons, Jingle Bostons

Jingle all the way!

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a fart powered sleigh!

Olivia is quite gassy (I hear it's a Boston Terrier thing) so this one is based on the fact that Olivia farts constantly whether she has to go potty or not.

Hark the Harley

Olivia sings,

Glory to Fern Louise!

So Harley is my cat and those of you who read my previous post from Monday know that Fern Louise is my parent's/the family dog. 

My own bad singing made me interested in other pet related takes on the classics, this is what I came up with:

But First, my favorite dog Christmas video... yes it does star a Boston....

Ok, here's the Christmas carols:

Happy National Mutt Day!

Today is National Mutt Day! I'd like to dedicate this blog post to my family dog/my parent's dog Fern Louise.

We got Fern Louise at one of those huge Pet Adoption Fairs that I found on Pet Finder in 2010. It was in a mall parking lot. My parents and I had lost the second of our two greyhounds a few months before and my mom and I were missing having a dog. My dad wanted to wait until we made the move from New Jersey to South Carolina but I didn't want to wait that long. The house just wasn't a home without a dog!

My mom and convinced my dad to take us and there we found a scared and sad looking terrier mix, sitting like a bowling pin in her chain link enclosure. Her shelter name was Mustang Sally, she was estimated at 10 months old, and she was rescued by the group who had her from a kill shelter in Georgia. It was the second day of the adoption fair and we were told someone was going to adopt her the previous day but pulled out.

We became that scared little dog's Furrrr-ever Family. My mom liked the name Fern Louise, which she had gotten out of a book she had once read, 1000 White Women. 

Fern came with her fair share of baggage. She can feel a storm coming hours before it hits, she's terrified of loud noises (gun shots, fire works, thunder), she's dog aggressive with dogs she doesn't know. Despite that, she has friends- my riding instructor's 3 dogs (a Boston, a Carolina Ditch Dog [mutt], and a Golden), another friend's Lab, and not to be forgotten, Olivia. She loves to play and wrestle and frolic with Olivia for hours- but we did have to be careful with introducing them.

Fern is a good dog, a sweet dog, and my family is happy to call Fern ours.

Fern the race horse with her jockey
costume

a bed to call her own (shortly after adoption)

"I'm allowed to be here, right?" Answer: No.

Fern in my old stroller

Fern and my late cat, Chucky

Fern and Santa at a Christmas parade

Fern in her Christmas dress

Fern and my cat Harley in their Christmas duds

comfy in bed

living the life

"oh hey there"

Fern and Harley

Christmas 2012 visit with Santa
Fern and Harley (and me)

Fern, Brian and I - Christmas 2012

Fern and her friends

even though she's too big for a lap dog... she still tries

Playing with her buddy