Wilson vs. Cactus

Well, Little Willie did it again. I swear he's magnetized. If there is a dangerous item within view, he will find it.....read on..

This weekend my wife and I figured it would be a great idea to take the pups to the beach. Dogs are not allowed on the sand during the summer, as no one needs to be stepping in sand coated dog poops. The sign went up a few weeks ago stating that dogs would be allowed on the sand after such and such a date.::::COOL:::::

Now..... we got the dogs ready for take-out and headed to our favorite beach located just 15 minutes away from home. What a beautiful day it was. There were a few pondering clouds, yet the sun was casting it's warm rays politely on the bathers below. The late season tanning index is quite a bit lower, so the fear of toasting the hounds was not an issue or even a thought. (Do they make sun block for dogs?). I gotta tell ya, the dogs were having a blast. Wilson's nose was plowing through the sand like a snow plow in a blizzard. Trixie was in awe, looking at the vast body of water, churning and spraying mist in her direction. I was walking Trixie and I must say she put up quite a fight as she barrelled through the sand like a blood hound. They were both speechless to the point that neither dog, as much as, made a single bark. Our stay on the sand was brief. We made a quick visit to the waves just shy of getting wet, and returned back to the small concession area slash board walk.

Wilson however, was not ready to pack it in. He continued to mosey along the perimeter of the dunes. He gets this way sometimes, as he really likes to absorb his surroundings and take it all in by putting his nose to the ground and sniffing EVERYTHING. Just then my wife spotted Wilson limping on 3 legs.

"Oh no, Wilson has something wrong with his foot, he's hurt" she said.

Let me just fill you in briefly about his previous foot episode. He managed to get his foot caught in a metal grate that surrounded a tree. He ended up with a nice little cut and almost ripped his foot off trying to escape the clutches of the iron grid. No vet visit was necessary for this injury.

Back to the story....... My wife quickly lifted him up as I focused in on his tiny little paw. Off to the edge of his paw was, what seemed to be, a small pea sized, round thing with spikes sticking out if it. Good lord!! A baby porcupine? No..it was much smaller than that...it was a cactus of some type. Wilson let out a low audible yelp as I quickly, without hesitation, plucked the intruder from his foot. He then crawled further into my wife's arms seeking comfort and safety from the unknown dangers that could be waiting for him in the sand. He was ready to go home. The dogs were completely silent on the way home. My wife actually asked me to check to see if they were OK as there was no movement in their carry bag. I quietly peeked in and saw them both napping from exhaustion.

Sorry, but there is no picture this time. I was unable to open my cell phone and perform the extraction at the same time. The funny thing about this object was, the place we took the dogs is a retired military sight with buried land mines, left over from who knows what war. You are not allowed to stray from the walking paths because they don't want anyone finding one, the hard way. This thing that was stuck to his foot also resembled a bomb, the kind you would see in the ocean floating around waiting for enemy sea vessels...... phew..... Even if it was a little bomb, I dought it would have done more than blow off a patch of hair. Wilson takes care of hair removal simply by licking his feet. No bombs required.

Funny Pics

Rear view of the new sweaters. We're getting them ready for the home coming football game.
Trixie didn't want to be caught on film with her new sweater. We captured this shot as she was backing out of the photo.


My son on the sofa with Trixie and Wilson the parrot. Notice the Lava lamp?


Trixie is notorious for stealing my wife's camera and taking pictures of herself. She thinks it's just sooooo funny, every time my wife notices a random picture of Trixie on her camera. Reminds me of looking up close at a door knob.

MAJOR dental work

I promised several readers that I would embark (so lame I know) upon an event that could take several sittings to explain in full de-tail (I'll stop with the silliness). No we didn't remove Wilson's tail. I'm going to explain the event in reverse as the twist is in the beginning of the story.

If you look closely at some of the pictures within this blog, you will notice that Sir Wilson's tongue pokes, ever so slightly, out of the left side of his mouth. That's because he has roughly 3 to 5 teeth and the path of least resistance is on that side. It almost looks as though he's sucking on a piece of cooked holiday ham. If he's happy and relaxed, out pops his tongue.....hello! At times he looks drunk. When we took him home from the vet's office, he was sentenced to a strict diet of mushy, water saturated, dog food. He was eating like a champ, even faster than Trixie, who to this day, has never actually tasted her food. We had never seen Wilson devour his food this fast.... ever. I think it was several months of recovery, for this little feller, until he could bite something hard again. The surgery took several hours of pulling, clipping, sanding and duct taping, in order to rearrange his teeth and jaw bone. Mind you, he only went in to have a few teeth pulled. He and Trixie had a scheduled appointment with the dentist, because evidently this Chihuahua breed has issues with baby teeth not falling out in order make room for the adult teeth. Trixie looked like a wild boar, featuring several teeth protruding at right angles from the rest of her teeth. Her lips could barely close around her mouth, what a mess she was. Wilson, as well, had a few stray teeth, but not as bad as his twin sister, the sloth. So, you can see why the visit was essential.

Next time I will reveal an incredible, medical discovery. Never before, in the history of dog dentistry, has this ever occurred.......

End of part one.....to be continued.

Bonker Balls

No stones were left unturned this past weekend while looking for two Bonker Balls. My wife purchase a three pack of miniature, cloth style balls from the local super market, this past Saturday. If you've read my previous post from last week, you will understand the ball dilemma that is rapidly approaching. She brought the new balls home and introduced them to Trixie and Wilson.......BINGO!!!! We have a winner. Both dogs were ecstatic over the new toy. My wife called me at work and reported the great news immediately. That evening I came home very excited to inspect the new Bonker Balls that our puppies love so much. This really is a big deal as the old ball is on it's last leg. That old ripped up ball (apparently one of a kind and impossible to imitate) doesn't even resemble a sphere anymore, of any dimension.

me.... so...where are the new balls? Her...hummm can't find them....Me.... Ok,I'll help ya look for them. They have to be someplace.

Well, we spent the good part of an hour looking for these things and came to the conclusion that;

a) they were sucked up by the vacuum cleaner.
b) the dogs had a hiding spot unknown to humans.
c) they were mistakenly tossed in the garbage.

If you picked C, then you are correct. My wife remembered putting the new Bonker Balls in the pockets of an old shirt of hers. Her intention was to give the dogs the old shirt as a play thing, kind of like hide-and-seek with the balls. She forgot the balls were in there and threw the shirt out prior to heading out to meet me for dinner. The next day she purchased a new trio of Bonker Balls. The dogs still love them.....they are actually bonkers over these things. They appear to have tiny bells in them with little slivers of material sewn into the covering. They truly are what the name says...Bonker Balls. Plus, we went bonkers looking for them all night.

Have you ever wondered?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stick your hand in the entrance way of a hornet's nest?.....chills run down my spine. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stick your leg in a lions cage at the zoo, and wait for Leo to come over?

I gotta tell ya, I was darn close last night to loosing a limb. It was late and the dogs were still up. It may have even been past their bed time...I don't know. Wilson was in the other room chillin out with my wife. Did I ever mention that he's like a miniature shadow. He would follow her off the balcony and sail 3 stories down, that's how close he stays to her at times. She tells me he gets like that because he's tired and wants to be held, makes sense to me. Any hoot, I'm hanging with Trixie, by her little cozy bed, rubbing her belly, trying to make her laugh, well, you know, trying to get her to spazz out. Nothing....... OK, a brilliant idea pops into my head. I'll try the cookie thing on the sly and give her a treat with out Wilson finding out. I whispered the word "cookie" and she jumped up and ran to the supply closet in the kitchen. I don't know how Willie found out we were sneaking cookies, but he was right there in a flash, waiting for his share. I think Trixie was a bit perturbed that Wilson some how, caught wind of the late night snack that only she, was about to enjoy. I removed the usual 6 niblet ration from the container, 3 each, and dumped the yummies on the carpet in front of two, ever so patient, dogs. I swear they did not chew, as I did not hear a single crunch. Just then, Trixie started to snub Wilson as if she was angry at him for butting in on her snack. Maybe she thought, if he had not been there, she would have had a double portion of pellets. Well, that's when the "fit hit the shan" (I love that saying). Trixie and Wilson went into a frenzy. I was witnessing a frothing lather of intermingling teeth and dog cursing. I had never been so close to this behavior before. Every now and then, they get into it and we'll hear them scuffling. This time, I had a front and center, ring side seat to the biggest fight in town. Seconds seamed like minutes as the rumble continued. I decided it was time, I needed to jump in and breakup this mess before someone lost a tooth. Without thinking of the consequences I stuck my hand..........right inside the nucleus of all this lather and foam. PRESTO!!! Instantly they stopped. It was like magic. I did suffer a small flesh abrasion which has since vanished. I learned something valuable last night. Never try to sneak food to only one dog, it can't be done. I now have no curiosity about what it would be like to stick my hand in a hornet's nest.

Both Ends YUK

Here's another medical story about good 'ol Mr. Wilson involving BOTH ENDS. I feel sorry for Trixie as much as I do for Wilson on this one. Both dogs sleep in "The Cage" at night as this is their venue to feel safe from the night's creepy sounds and mysterious shadows. My wife is the one who opens the cage in the morning only to release the hungry lions who have been waiting patiently for 9 hours, to eat again. One morning, only one dog made the sonic speed exit out of the starting gate... it was Trixie. One could not tell if she was running for something or running from something... she looked very worried. Wilson was still in the cage, ut oh ........shall I say "both ends were fully activated" and working overtime. At that time I was invited to come into the kitchen and witness the poor thing having the worst morning of his life and to discuss what in the heck to do with him. Should we bring him to the hospital?.. she said... I said...I'm not a vet, but I can make an executive decision when it comes to dehydrating...... fast forward-------> About 24 hours later Wilson returned with medicine and instructions. Yes he stayed over night....CHA CHING!! think it took a few days of him eating cooked rice to return back to normal. Still the vet could not figure out what caused Wilson to turn inside-out, except that it was probably a stomach virus.... no kidding!!
The saddest thing was that Trixie would not go near Wilson for about 4 days after the blow-out. All she would do is growl and turn her back toward him in complete disgust. No sympathy from Trixie....she wanted nothing to do with her sick brother, who was exploding like Mount Vesuvius.

I'm sure glad one of the dog purchase "conditions" was, that I would not "be able" to financially contribute to vet visits or vet hospital visits. Seriously, I can't afford it. Funny as it sounds, my wife and I keep our money separate. My financial situation is all mine and her money is hers. Yea.. we split the monthly bills such as rent, food, insurance and car payments. You get the drift...it just works great for us.

That being said, I feel I can discuss Trixie and Wilson's numerous visits to the emergency room and doctor's office visits, with out holding my hand on my credit card and yelling....CHA..CHING!!! My wife, on the other hand, needs to sit down and nurse the inhaler, anytime we as much as brush upon the subject. I know she reads this blog, so I will not disclose any dollar amounts. Her arithmetic falls below pre-school level when it comes to dollar amounts beyond 3 figures, that relate to the dogs. It's sort of a built in safety device she has going, for sanity purposes.

...........The incidents you about to read are not in chronological order... I writes-em, as I remembers-em................

I will post only one at a time as there are many... and you need to get back to work.

The Dog who ALMOST had Bald Feet

Wilson gets the first story as he has more of them. My wife said to me one day, "It seems as though Wilson can't stop licking his feet"..... OK..well, um, if it's a problem after a few days, we should check into it? Few days go by and I forget all about it, but what made me remember was, my wife kept saying to Wilson,"stop licking Willie". At this point I found that it would be in my best interest to blurt out..."I'll Google it tomorrow, no worries". Never did...doh!.............fast forward...Wilson returns from the vet, diagnosed as having a foot fetish....NICE!!!! There could have been a few things wrong with this little feller like, allergies or a hot spot on his toe or dry skin...but NOOOO, he's a freak for his own toes! The vet said that he may eventually lick all the hair away from his feet if he continues for any long period of time. The hair on his feet would never grow back, is the bonus. Could you imagine that? Poor little guy!! Now, I'm not really sure how the problem ended... but it's been several months and to this day Wilson still has hair on his feet.....phew. Maybe it's not over or maybe he's in remission, but I haven't heard my wife telling Wilson to stop licking his feet in a long time. She actually has the unused bottle of,napalm, tongue repellent spray that was prescribed by the vet. It seems that this disgusting medicine requires the person who administers the dose, to wear gloves.....what? seriously?. The smell is beyond any one's wildest imagination. My wife opened the bottle just to smell the stuff, and you could hear people for blocks around yelling, "what is that foul disgusting odor". I don't think Wilson would mind having bald feet, at least he would still have friends.