A puppy in Saltair

It has been a while since I posted.  Life has just been too good around here.

But life has been very different, even a little bit lonely without my Yorkie brother Ozzie. He left us last year. He was ill and tired. But I know I miss him and so does everyone else. 

My house servants have been pretty good this year. Sometimes they are a bit slow to check my water dish but when I make a fuss they catch on and sometimes also give me a cookie.

 In the summer time I was taken to get a summer cut. Well, how embarrassing! Talk about a short haircut! Everything showed!  Mind you it was comfortable and being summer I didn´t mind too much.

Living here is actually quite beautiful.  Of course in the spring and fall we have lots of rain. It is called the "wet coast" after all!!  But then we are often given marvelous rainbow displays. 

Late this year we had a visit from Naomi. Remember Naomi chose me because we share the same birthday, but I am much younger of course.  At that time we lived in Guelph.  Well, Naomi has been around the world a few times, and now lives in England.  I really cannot take all that traveling so I have stayed with the Grand´s (there really isn´t a puppy equivalent to describe them).  But Naomi did come but not alone. She has a special friend called Andy. He is really nice and I like him a lot!

I went with them up to the west coast. It was a real thrill to meet a mother black bear and her two teenage cubs.  They looked at me but I think they were hungry?

 
We also had a walk through Cathedral Grove. It is not as thick and as dark as it used to be. But it is always a lovely walk.  Naomi held me when we went over to the big hollow tree.

Mostly I like to just rest in bed. Anyone´s bed is good enough!  During the day I prefer my own little bed in the living rom which lets me keep an eye on what is going on and who is coming and going. Sometimes I can fool my servants into giving me an extra cookie.

Walking with my servants is particularly lovely, but they are slow!  However it is good to get them out for a little exercise.

 I went down to Victoria with Naomi and Andy. I was a bit concerned as they seemed more fascinated with feeding the seals. But we still had a good walk in the harbour.

So it has been another good year. Really can´t complain about too much. The dog kernels ordered by the vet really aren´t the best but apparently it is good for a small puppy, so that´s me!  Once in a while I get a treat.


I sit by the window watching for visitors. Come by sometime. It is always good to see you.

Las Mascotas de la casa

Hace tiempo que no pongo fotos más recientes de las mascotas de la familia.  Izzie ya tiene 4 años de edad y Ozzie tiene más que 12 años - ya es un perro viejo con algunas problemas médicas pero todavia muy cariñoso.


It has been a while since I updated the photos of our two house pets - Izzie and Ozzie. Izzie the younger of the two is only 4 but Ozzie is now an old puppy with more than 12 years behind him and with that a few medical problems.

Ozzie doesn't like to walk too far any more, he can make his own way around the house but he has arthritis and eye cataracts.



Ozzie ahora sufre artritis, y a la vez tiene cataratas. Entonces ya no le gusta andar mucho pero hace sus caminatas alrededor de la casa sin problema.

Izzie es una perrita muy tranquila, duerme mucho y sabe muy bién como pedir galletas.  El problema es que se engordó un poquito pero ahora me acompaña en las tardes para una larga caminata por el bosque cerca a la casa.

Izzie is a very peaceful little puppy - she sleeps a lot and knows how to effectively beg for treats. So she put on a little too much weight and now accompanies me in the afternoons for long walks through the forest - so long as it is dry on the ground.

Behind Ozzie you can see the neighborhood cat, Patches, who comes over to visit frequently when no one is home across the street.  Ozzie tolerates him but at times tells him to get lost.



Atrás de Ozzie puedes ver el gato del vecino que viene regularmente a la casa para un poco de cariño y de repente unos regalos de la cocina.  Ozzie le gusta pero a veces muestra su impaciencia si el gato es demasiado invadiendo su territorio.

Izzie le encanta salir al piso de arriba y quedarse en el sol (muy dificil en el invierno) y dormir.


Izzie loves to go out on the upper deck to sunbathe and soak up the sun.  This is not quite so easy in the winter time.

A friend from Cedar made a ceramic plaque for our entrance: it says "Humans kidnapped RANSOM - put steak in dogs food dish!"


Un amigo del pueblo de Cedar hizó un plato ceramico que dice "los humanos secrestrados - el rescate pedido - pon bistec en los platos de los perros"

    

Ozzie también le encanta su camita cerca a la mesa donde trabajo con el computador.


Ozzie has his little bed which he uses during the day so he can keep an eye on the activities around the house.

We were given a doggie pouch which we thought was big enough for Izzie but she really didn´t take to it and it didn´t give her any exercise.




Nos regalaba un saquito para perro pero Izzie no le gustaba ser cargada de esta manera

Ozzie y Izzie les mandan saludos y desean para vos lo mejor para el año nuevo 2013

Ozzie and Izzie send their greetings and wish you all the best in the new year 2013

Coming to appreciate the Oz

As a puppy I was well cared for by a student collective in Guelph and but for one incident where I got lost on Pape St. in Toronto, my puppyhood was fairly uneventful but daily filled with lots of attention and playful humans who liked to buy me squeaky toys and gave me their socks to chew on.

Then two winters ago I was brought to the west coast and introduced to a new home, which already had a puppy. His name is Ozzie, he is a big Yorkshire terrier and he only had one squeaky toy. Much to my surprise this was not a visit, as I was left here by my master. Ozzie didn't take to me too warmly - surely he smelled my bum when we went outside but he really wasn't interested and for a long time he refused to sleep with me on the bed of my new masters.
But slowly over the past year he has come to accept me and has even shown some fondness. When we go for our walks he is observant of where I have peed and he will wait for me if I want to sniff some bushes. I too have come to appreciate his keen sense of smell and his powers of observation from the dining room windows that overlook all the activity on our road.

This past week has been a bit unsettling for me and for the Oz. For the past week he has needed more time at the bushes, and was making a lot of noise during our walks.

Then he was waking us all up during the night and it was really difficult to get a full night of sleep. Well, the masters took him to the Ladysmith Animal Hospital and a lovely young veterinarian examined the Oz and with Xrays determined that he had developed bladder stones. Now for puppies like us, these things can be more than an irritant. We are small and our internal tubing is even smaller so this was a real problem for the Oz.

On Wednesday morning the Oz went to the LAH and was admitted for surgery. It turned out to be not so routine as some small stones were stuck in his urethra. (Makes me shudder just to think about it!) So when it was time to bring him home, he was not in good shape. So he stayed overnight at the hospital being cared for by Dr. Hanna.

On the second day he stayed for most of the day just resting and getting checked out regularly. He came home wearing a big plastic cone around his head. He told me that it is a real pain to wear this because he can't lick himself anywhere, you would think that the masters would know how frustrating that can be for a puppy! Anyways that was small potatoes compared to how he felt.

He told me that when he went out and had a long pee on the daffodils, it was the one of the best sensations in recent memory. But he is still feeling quite sore and appreciates the sympathy I have been able to show him.

Today we walked together down to the mailbox with the master and we both enjoyed visiting some of our favorite bushes along the way.

So it looks like the Oz is on the road to recovery - he even went down the stairs by himself even though he is supposed to wait to be carried down. He said it didn't bother him too much. What he doesn't like are the pills they keep putting into his mouth, and he is onto some of the disguises they have been using to hide the pills. The Oz is one clever puppy and it is difficult to put something by him.














So you can understand why I am so happy today to have the Oz back with us. He even had a short siesta with the master and me this afternoon, so things are looking more normal and I can get on with my regular puppy life in my west coast home with my pal Ozzie.

Izzy keeping warm

Izzy is not just any puppy - some of the puppies who walk by have thick curly hair, others are quite shaggy (like the Irish setter that walks by daily flaunting its red hair), but Izzy has very fine, almost feather like thin hair (non-allergenic variety) which makes her cute and cuddly but when it comes to protecting her - it is not much.

She does enjoy sunbathing on the veranda - and just loves to soak in the heat of the morning, as the veranda faces east and catches the morning sun almost until 2 pm in the summer, but those warm mornings are now gone.



One day we were greeted by our lovely neighbour, Ruth. She asked if she could borrow Izzy for a short while, for which we had no problem. Izzy loves to spend time with Ruth and Uncle Charlie who is also a real softy for the little creatures that come to visit him.

Ruth returned in a few moments with Izzy wearing a new sweater that Ruth had just finished knitting for her little friend. (We suspect that Charlie is pushing for an identical sweater but he will have to wait until Christmas.)

Now Izzy doesn't want to go out without her new custom designed sweater - the pattern was chosen from among the newest German-Swiss designs for Alpine canines for 2009. At times, Izzy even wants to wear her sweater inside the house, as she finds it so cozy and warm.

Izzy celebrates first birthday

Izzy is now a one year old puppy. Her last four months have been spent on Vancouver Island, living with her adopted brother Ozzy (Ozgoode - the silky yorkshire terrier) and her care-givers Anne Marie and Phil.









She spends most of her time sleeping and walking - occasionally taunting Ozzie trying to get him to play - but being that he is now a senior puppy play doesn't come easy.








Izzy has already been treated to a special liver doggie biscuit but in the evening she is invited to a special barbque with John and Sue.











Basically she is just a happy little puppy who likes to chew on things like socks and gloves.

the Iz has an appetite

Getting a bath is not a favorite moment but the results of a good shampoo cannot be under rated.





















Coming to the Island was supposed to be easier on my little legs - but here I am in snow up to my neck.











Just because I ate part of Phil's B.A. diploma, I am now restricted to puppy food. And it really didn't taste that good anyways.

My Big Adventure

This has been a very busy week for me. Last week i went with my Naomi to this big building and was put into my tiny home. But then something weird happened. Other strange people took me away and i went into a dark room where it was very loud for a number of hours. Luckily i am an expert at sleeping. So when i woke up there was my Naomi again and i was very excited and happy.









Then i saw some people i had seen before. I think they were Naomi's owners, but i am not sure about that. But they were excited to see me. We went into their car and i got to meet another puppy like me. Well not exactly like me, but very close. He is a lot bigger than me and i think he is older, but we look a lot a like. I wonder if i have met him before?













So then i was taken to a new house. This house is very very pretty and nice and big which i like because it gives me lots of room to run around. The other puppy lives here too, bu i am not sure how much he likes me yet. I want to play all the time, but he doesn't. But i have been exploring the house and when i have gone for walks the new area i am in. It is filled with lots of new smells for me to sniff and i am really liking it.

But then it started snowing. I am not a big fan of the snow because i am so tiny and get cold very fast. Even with my little jacket i get cold after only a few minutes.

But i am liking it here because there are lots of people who will let me sleep with them on their beds and who will pet me when i want cuddles.

I think that's all for now. Someone is squeaking a toy and i really want to find where they are.

Bye bye.