They just never stop being cute!

Gardner and Eve are quickly becoming great playmates. The other day I was brave and let Eve out of the kitchen and in to the den. Unfortunately it was a bit too early and we had an accident on the carpet. Ugh! Oh well, it was really my fault.

Gardner shows Eve how to "relax" on her back.

I would love to think that they are snuggling together in this picture that Alex took, but alas, they are both just reaching for the same toy.

This morning Gardner helped me get the kitchen ready for Eve by picking up every toy I laid down for Eve and bringing them back to me. In this shot he has three toys in his mouth all at once, all of which he is NOT suppose to be playing with and he knows it. Don't feel sorry for him though, he has tons of his own toys.

Monthly GDB meeting

This months GDB meeting was fun because the three new puppies were there. They are just all way too cute. Below are a few pictures of the three new puppies.

This is Dupree, a very stocky "chilled" puppy.

Dupree shows off his new GDB vest - he just got his 12 week shots so now he can go out.

Eve and Dupree give each other kisses.

Eve rests and Dupree gives a big yawn.

Dupree is full of wrinkles and fur!

Ashley being so well behaved.

And of course Gardner and Garbrina show the little puppies how to really snuggle with their raisers.

cool new clock

Alex found this cool clock on amazon and now it hangs above our kegerator!

Moment of Peace

During a crazy afternoon with two puppies there was A moment of quite and calm. Yeah!!

Fun at lunch

We are watching Eve most of the week and we also have Gardner. So Gardner goes to work with me while Alex watches Eve. Today I came home for lunch so the two puppies could play with each other and of course also to see Alex. The puppies had a lot of fun tugging. I can't believe how quickly Eve is growing up. She has numerous command already mastered. Her raisers are doing such a good job with her.

Alex helps the puppies with the tug toy.

After awhile the puppies needed to calm down so we separated them. Gardner really wanted to come back in the kitchen and so tried to wiggle his way back in. When he finally figured out he wouldn't fit he just flopped down and left his head sticking out. You just gotta love the big knuckle head so much!


This is for Mom. These are fresh Lilac's off the little bushes we planted last year. If you look really hard at them and pretend, maybe you can smell them.

A Busy Day

Gardner had a busy yet fun day yesterday. He and I got up early and went for a walk around the park. There was no breeze and the lakes were like glass, it was so beautiful. We took a short cut back to our house and when Gardner jumped over the small stream he sunk up to about his knees into deep mud. He loved it and seemed to get all excited about getting so dirty. I then spent a few hours weeding the back yard and chasing Gardner around the back yard taking things out of his mouth that he kept trying to eat. We both had a lot of fun.

After all the excitement of a walk and weeding it was time to get Gardner cleaned up. Since I just gave him a bath a week ago I decided to wash him off with the garden hose. Boy did he have fun with that. Sorry no pictures, too much water. After all his morning fun he was so sleepy that he didn't even budge in the bathroom when I dropped my bath towel on top of him.

A sleepy Gardner says, "REALLY!, I was sleeping, why did you put your wet towel on me, mean human."

Gardner and I then went to Yoga and he slept the whole class. Everybody asked me if I had drugged him because he slept and didn't move the whole class (unusual for him). After Yoga we ran errands and went shopping at the mall so that Alex could have a quite house to take his last final. Later we went out for dinner and a movie (see below) and when we got home Gardner got his second wind. I think it was from sleeping through the movie. Gardner really wanted to help me fold laundry. I mean he REALLY wanted to help. Since he wanted to help so badly I gave him some clothes of his own to fold and "Somehow" in the process he ended up wearing my scrub top. I had no idea that Gardner aspired to go into health care.

Don't worry, I don't normally dress up the guide dogs, but Gardner just want to help me fold laundry so badly that I just had to give him something to do.

One Down about ten to go!

Alex took his last final for the semester yesterday! He has finished his first semester in his process to become a PA. He was so excited and the first thing he wanted to do after finishing his final was go eat a big steak. So we of course headed out to get him a big steak, at three in the afternoon.

A very happy and hungry Alex! My man loves a good piece of meat!

Gardner totally exhausted from a busy day with me, sleeps on top of Alex's feet.

Shadows

Ever since Bailey passed this past Tuesday I have had two shadows. One I am use to having, Gardner, the other Bree, almost never follows me around. She is normally VERY independent. Gardner always follows me everywhere, even into the bathroom. I love him being with me all the time. But since Bailey passed Bree has not left my side either. She wanders around the house as if she is looking for her mom. And when she is not wandering she is right at my feet. I can't tell you the number of times I have tripped over her in the past few days. The problem is that both Gardner and Bree want to be at my feet and they don't really like each other all that much. On occasion Bree will take off chasing Gardner but other times they are inches apart both looking up at me asking for attention. Bree's desire to be next to me all the time is really forcing her to be nice to Gardner and that is great!

will my husband ever learn?

So I don't know if it is his age or what but no matter how many walks I take Gardner on he seems to be bored and have new boundless energy. Don't get me wrong, he is still an amazingly calm and well behaved dog but for him he as been overly energetic. This morning while I was trying to get ready for work he was driving me nuts with loudly dropping his bone on the floor and then standing on it and scooting it across the tile. No amount of "that's enough" stopped him and when I took the bone away from him he then decided he had to lean up against me and smell everything. So I took off my robe and put it over him. This got me about 4 minutes of peace and since I had my i-phone in the bathroom (I know, don't ask why) I took a quick picture of the silly puppy.

Gardner covered in my robe and tail wagging like crazy.

So this time I just couldn't bear to take a picture. I know that seems strange for me...but my wonderful loving husband had to leave Gardner at home for an hour today while he went to class. So as usual he put him in the Gardner room but decided not to take up the pillows on the sofa. He figured that just because Gardner had torn one up before didn't mean he would do it again. I mean seriously!!!!! What was he thinking? Of course he was going to tear up a pillow, he had so much fun doing it last time why wouldn't he do it again? So of course when he came home he found Gardner sleeping peacefully in a mess of torn up pillow. Thank goodness for Gardner, he doesn't appear to have eaten any of it. Smart puppy, silly husband!

Tonight we went to visit a friend at the Loveland Surgical Center and Gardner got to come and visit her too. Laurie had surgery yesterday and has been hurting really bad and doesn't like staying in the hospital so Gardner really helped cheer her up. He really enjoyed all of the smells in the center and brought a smile to Laurie's face. On the way home we stopped for dessert at Mimi's Cafe and Gardner was a perfect angle.

Gardner, being a good guide dog resting under the table and not eating anything. Check out my hubbies sexy legs. Oh la la!

Gardner has gotten so big that he barley fits in the front seat floor of my car. I have to admit though that I kind of like it because it keeps him close.

Rest in Peace Bailey Girl

Bailey passed away this evening around 8pm. Many animals like to be alone to die but not Bailey. She drug herself right into the middle of where Alex, Gardner and I were sitting and soon Bree joined us. I have had many pets pass away in my lifetime but for some reason I have never been home or with them during the moment. That seems to be a job my poor dad always did. I haven't left Bailey's side since last night and watching her through out the day and then tonight in her final moments was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have sat with numerous patients as they made their transitions and yet some how it didn't prepare me for the emotions I felt as I pet Bailey in her final moments on this earth.


Bailey was the "mom" of our small family. She always knew when Alex and I were sick or upset and when we needed some kitty loving. She purred and snored louder than I ever thought a kitty could. As I walk around the house tonight in a bit of an emotional fog I see her face and hear her purring everywhere: on the landing on the steps, next to the bathtub, at the bottom of the bed, on the trunk by the window, and snuggled up in Alex's lap. She is everywhere in my memories.

I am glad her suffering was not prolonged but I will miss her terribly. She was a wonderful mother to Bree, and an amazing pet. She will live on forever in our hearts and memories, and of course we will find her fur on our black shirts for years to come. Bailey, may your pain now be gone and may you spend a joyous eternity rolling on warm cement and eating all the yummy food you want. Thank you for all of the love and joy you have given us over the past years. we will never stop loving you and you will never be forgotten! Go now and rest in peace Bailey Girl.

Accident

Eve was doing so good with not having an accident and then we went and left her in a large crate for 45 minutes so we could go eat lunch at IHOP. We returned to a puppy soaked in pee. So you know what that means, bath time! I used the bathtub this time instead of the shower since she is so small and despite the pictures, I think she actually had fun.

Eve at the beginning of the bath right before a big shake.

Eve at the end of the bath. "Are we done yet? Will you please stop taking pictures and dry me off?" Don't let her fool you, she had fun.

Joyful puppies

I am watching Eve again today. She is getting so big so fast and hasn't had an accident in two and a half days. What a big girl. Gardner and Eve keep wanting to play but they keep getting very energetic. So for the time being I have been keeping them separated and letting them play for short intervals. Gardner is so sweet with Eve when I can keep him calm.

Gardner looks over at Eve wanting to play.

Gardner's big head is so heavy that he can't hold it up for too long. Poor guy.

Eve lays in the sun.

A sleepless night

Bailey spent the night on the puppy pillow right next to our bed. All I could hear all night was her raspy breathing. And every time I couldn't hear her breathing I would jolt awake and check to make sure she was still breathing. This morning she tried to drink some water but was so weak that she fell in the water bowl. The poor thing. I tried to give her some tuna juice this morning but she was too week and Bree ended up drinking it. I wish they had hospice for pets.

Holding back the tears

In the past two days bailey has taken a significant turn for the worse. I have know for over a year and a half now that she was going to be making her transition yet somehow it is so much harder than I thought it would be. Watching her struggle to breath just breaks my heart. We are giving her morphine every eight hours to help her not feel like she is suffocating but it still is so hard to watch.

She is so weak now that it took her all day to move from the dinning room to the living room. She takes two really wobbly steps and falls over and rests for several hours. She stopped eating and drinking yesterday. I know y'all don't want all the details but I am really sad about loosing such a sweet and endearing pet and it helps me somehow to express that. It seems so odd that I can't hear her purring or snoring from the other side of the room. We are doing our best to keep her comfortable but it is hard to know what exactly she needs.

This is bailey this evening, resting on the kitchen floor. Shortly after this I moved her to one of the puppy pillows (see below) and she seemed much happier and stayed there the rest of the evening. Although it is hard to tell seeing as she can't purr anymore.

My eyes are nearly out of tears for the evening and she has not even passed yet. Luckily I have the day off tomorrow and I get to spend the day with Bailey, Alex, Eve and Gardner. There will be so much love in the house that it will hopefully keep my tears at bay.

My sweet Kitties and a silly puppy.

Gardner and I had a fun day together while Alex studied and took a final exam. We went for a walk in the park and came across the heron below. Between the herons and the pelicans and all the rain we have had lately, the lakes look really pretty right now.

A heron searches for fish in the lakes behind our house.

It was a nice day out so I let Bailey roll around on the deck, but she seemed to be more concerned about where Gardner was than rolling.

After Gardner and I got back from our afternoon adventure to Boulder and its great mall, I decided he needed a bath. He is really comfortable in our shower now and actually seems to enjoy the whole process. I think he just likes the excuse to be able to run around crazy and get lots of attention and an ice cube, but whatever.

I knew there was a reason that I didn't like it when dogs give me big kisses. This is Gardner right after his bath and if you look closely, his tongue is in his nose. Yuck! But I still love him to pieces anyways.

"Can I have my ice cube now for being such a good boy during my bath? Please!!!"

Below is a cute video of Bailey. I mainly put this up for Mom and Dad as they know her well and I thought they would enjoy it. I am not sure she will be with us much longer and I thought I should put this up for her "kitty Grandparents".

A few more pictures of Eve

Just a few more pictures of eve until next week.

Eve up close and personal.

Eve spent part of the day asleep on my lap like this

Gardner teaches Eve how to play tug. Eve is so fierce.

Eve's new toys

Eve has finally gotten old enough now that she is now exploring her environment a bit more and she discovered the kitties today. She thinks they are toys just for her. She barks at them and bounds toward them as soon as she sees them. She even tried her hardest to get underneath the gate to get at them. Silly Puppy.

Eve looks at Bree through the gate between the kitchen and the dinning room.

Eve looks back at me when I tried to call her away from the kitties. She looks at me as if to say, what, I am just looking at them, what's wrong with that?

I gave Eve an Ice Cube today. She wasn't sure what to make of it. She doesn't eat them, she just plays with them and bats them around the kitchen. It is just too adorable! Below is a video of her playing with one.

At the end of this video, Eve ran into me and knocked me over and on to my back. Thank goodness I was squatting on the soft mat.

Eve and a stoned kitty

As many of you know, my beloved kitty Bailey has breast cancer. She has been especially going down hill over the past few months. She has been having trouble breathing and now has a tumor growing out of her skin in her armpit. Poor thing. Alex and I decided not to do chemo with her but wanted to make sure she is comfortable. We have a fantastic Vet Oncologist at CSU and she recently prescribed Bailey kitty morphine to keep her comfortable. We have been using it when she seems like she is hurting or when she is having a lot of trouble breathing. The funny thing is that it makes her really stoned and she just sits and stares off into space. But at least she isn't whimpering or gasping for air. I guess if I was dying I would rather be drugged than miserable. For those of you who know her, you will be able to tell by her eyes in the picture below that she is bit drugged. I don't know if there is an animal heaven or not but I sure do hope that if there is bailey gets special treatment there, she has been the best kitty ever and deserves an eternity of peace.

Big "booboo" eyed kitty on Morphine

I got the pleasure of watching eve again today. She is just too cute and I can't resist taking lots of pictures of her. She has mastered the sit command already and we are having significantly less accidents. She now goes and sits by the door when she needs to go out. She is even peeing on cement like a good Guide Dog Puppy should!

Eve sitting on her pillow

A little blurry, because she is really attacking the ducky, but still cute.

Just such a cute face

The best of all...a sleeping puppy.

Eve is determined that she is going to bite into the big blue ball.

Eve, like all the other puppies, loves her kong on a stick, and enjoys playing on her new padded, quilted matt that I made.

Alex takes a break from studying and does some "back time" with eve. Don't worry, that is not blood on his scrubs, its deck stain.