Even Better

I'm a bit more lively today and my eye is a lot less bloodshot.  "Must've been all that drinking on New Year's Eve." Dad jokingly said. 

To which I replied, "If only!"

It's been a tough year, but things seem to be turning around. Even when I'm sick, I like to go to the vet now, even if the other dogs stress me out.  There's no substitute for good health.

I was scared earlier in the year because Grandpa got real sick.  Something called colon cancer which I don't like the sound of.  Apparently, he beat it. Kicked it's big booty and hasn't looked back.  Tough guy ain't gonna let that get him down.  He was walking the day after surgery.  Amazing.   I don't get to see him much since we moved, but he loves me and always asks for me, even though I peed on his chair the last time I was there!  He's the forgiving sort, so it's all good.

Dad's old classmate, Christina, bought me this cool Santa suit for the holiday and so I wore it Christmas Day.  We had a great holiday.  Mom and I got matching Jammies but mine were too small, so we're waiting on the exchange for the fashion show.  It's a comfy place my home, and Mom is a jammers girl...she gets home and wants to snuggle in her pj's with me. 

Buffalo is cold and I don't get to go out much but I'm ever grateful to snuggle indoors with my great pals who treat me like a king.

I hope your cuddly home is filled with as much love as mine is.

Significant Improvement

Well...it's only been 24 hours, but I'm looking (no pun intended) good.  See for yourself:

Eye is much less swollen and less red!  Blessings on animal eye care!

Dad and mom are already thinking that 2015 is much better than 2014.  Me too!

Back from Retirement

So I haven't blogged in a long time and there is much to tell.  So here's a year in review if you would:

In 2014:

I nearly died:  Yep, saw my whole life pass before my paws.  It was really touch and go.  I don't know what happened.  One day I was fine and the next, I was throwing up and convulsing violently.

The ER doc thought I had an obstruction, but I didn't.  Of course, they had to cut me open to figure that out.  And then when I got home I peed on my incision and infected it.  That nearly did me in.

The fine doctors at the Blue Cross Animal Hospital fixed me up good though and although I hear dad mumble about how I cost him more than his entire graduate education, I caught him crying when I was finally out of the woods.  So he's broke, but he has me by his side and I will be forever his best friend.

Since then, dad has spent more time just hanging out with me.  So that's fun and I like visiting Canisius once in a while.  I've been good until this week when my eye blew up and it turns out an infection is pushing some kind of abscess against my eye.  Ugh.  Meds for now and dad keeps trying to put drops in my eye much to my protesting.  It's just saline, not medicine...so it's just extra tears. So lay off, dad.

You can see how my eye is a bit red here.  

So needless to say, it's been a stressful year.  Mom and dad love me though, so that's more than enough for me, and I suspect them as well.  

So here's to 2015, where we hope for the best year ever.  Filled with health and good runs outside with nice weather.

Life in Buffalo

So it's been ages since I posted anything. I've been adjusting to life in Buffalo where winters are brutal, especially for a small dog like me and summers are excruciatingly hot at times, which makes me pant and need water.

But other than the weather, I've got it made in this great city. I have my own house and yard now and I'm nice enough to let mom and dad live with me. I even have my own room, which dad had to spray with fabreeze every once in awhile because when I need to, I go and pee on my training pad in there. We chihuahuas are the hardest breed to house train and so every so often I need to pee in the house. I mean, when ya gotta go, ya gotta go! I have two beat up old chairs that dad took from the Paulists common room. He figured that old incontinent priests have been peeing on them for years, so it wouldn't make a difference if I did once in awhile too.

So, I have made a bunch of new friends. The first of which are students at the University who sometimes come by and stay with me when mom and dad go away. Amanda comes by most of the time and she likes playing with me. I try to be on my best behavior for her but once in awhile I just miss mom and dad and take it out on her. Why do I do that? As if, peeing on dad's pillow would make him come back any faster.

Ellen also comes by now and again. I don't mess with Ellen. She's a physical therapy student and frankly, I think she can kick my doggie ass. But she's nice and she rubs my belly on the couch and knows how to take care of me really well. Dad really likes both of them a lot and is really glad that he's their campus minister.

Another group of people I've met are the Catholic Charities Volunteers. Mom and Dad are their support couple and they really enjoy their company. Once in awhile, Leigh, Anna or Nick will come and sit for me. Like Dad, Nick is bald so once in awhile I cheat on dad and try to lick Nick's bald head too. Shhhh...don't tell Dad.

Sr. Jeremy also is one of the people I've liked meeting. She even lets me sit on her lap in the car when she goes and picks mom and dad up from the airport.

Now, OK...so I've had my share of mishaps too. I still don't like other dogs. They scare me, especially the beagle two houses away and the little cockapoo on the corner. There's an Irish setter up the block who won't shut up every time I come by. What's a dog to do?

But Dad tells me that I'm much better than I used to be. I can tolerate other dogs a bit now. Whatever that means. I think it means that I don't bark as much at them and tend to just whine a bit or even on a good day I just let them bark and I do nothing. I even get a treat when I do that, so I try to do it as much as possible.

So there's winter...We don't get as much snow as they rumored. We get more Lake Effect---a kind of dense fog that makes snow and rain really interesting and makes things really hard to see. Dad drove home in lake effect snow once and I was really worried about him and mom while I waited for them to come home. It does get pretty cold but the Hockey team here, the Buffalo Sabres gave me a nice new sweatshirt with their logo on it.

And Aunt Julianne, gave me this nifty sweater too. So I'm all set.

And the other good thing about the cold is that I can curl up with mom and dad and they are nice and warm. So I often fall asleep on the couch just sitting next to dad.

Now every once in awhile I smell another dog on dad. Ripley is Fr Jack's dog. She's an old english sheepdog and I don't like her one bit. But she keeps dad company most of the time at work, especially at lunch---so like me she's pretty smart and knows how to beg for food and attention. Maybe one day I'll feel differently about dogs, but for now I keep my distance.

So I have a campus to walk on now and dad takes me there to meet the students. He's excited about his 3rd year here and so I am I.

If you have any more questions for me...just email dad and he'll forward the questions on to me. But for now, my new trainer Marcia has got me doing all kinds of things. Watch

Chihuahua Stowaway

Dad wrote this on his blog. I've been away for some time from blogging as I have been exploring Buffalo. You know, wings, beef on weck, good trees, parks to run in, snow. All that. I may start up again. We'll see.

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.

So I finally got home after a 9 hour train ride. It was a nice ride albeit long. We had flown down to NYC but our return was cancelled, so we had a decision to make. We had paid a bit extra to fly Haze, our dog, down on the flight in his airplane approved carrier, which goes under my seat. He's such a good dog, not one bark or yelp. He just sleeps the whole flight without any tranquilizers or anything. My father really loves the dog, so I wanted to bring him there to see him

But now, we had to think about how to get home with a dog and while some trains allow dogs in carriers, others do not.

Now I didn't want to drive. I'm a new driver and didn't feel confident with driving in the city to get to the thruway. It was dangerous on the roads and quite a mess and often there are serious icy conditions on the highway up around Syracuse or Rochester in general. I could've waited to fly a few extra days, but then I'd have to pay additional hotel fees (since we stayed at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown) that I can't afford.

Now I usually follow rules and regulations. And I take directives that restrict animals from certain places very seriously. But we needed to get home. So....we decided to make Haze our Chihuahua stowaway. I was hoping we wouldn't get caught because I didn't want to have to hitchhike home from Schenectedy. We got on the train very early and got into our seats with Haze's carrier on my lap. Amazingly for the first 6 hours, he didn't stir or make a peep. We had fed and walked him just before we took off so as to create an optimal condition for his travel. He's only 9 pounds, so he only eats a quarter cup of kibble twice a day and gets walked three times a day.

He gave a small "yip" at one point. I stuck my hand in the carrier and began to pet him. That was what he wanted. For nearly an hour I did that. Head scratches, belly rubs, neck strokes. Whatever would keep him calm. 7 hours down.

Then one of the times I wanted to make sure he was OK, he wiggled his head out of the carrier. I thought we were doomed. The lady behind us saw him. Oh no!

"Oh he's so cute! He wants to get out!"

Marion whispered, "No! Don't say anything. Don't say anything."

The lady was hip to our jive and said "Oh OK, I get it, I get it."

Whew! I quickly got him re-situated and then he calmly went back inside and rested quietly. A couple of doggie treats went a long way.

I thought he was getting a bit warm so I snuck into the bathroom and removed his doggie sweater. That kept him cool. We stood there a bit longer than usual to get some air and then back to our seats. 8 hours down. I gave him his second meal at that point and we had been giving him some small amounts of water every once in awhile in his carrier. A content dog. When we arrived at our destination, I got him out of his carrier and walked towards Fr. Jack's truck (it's awesome when people pick you up after travel!). I let him walk a bit and pee. We drove home and took a nice walk and he finished up. He snuggled up next to me on the couch after that. There's no place like home. We had an absorbent dog bed in his carrier but it wasn't needed. Good dog!

Regardless, I know people had it much worse than we did. I hope everyone got home safe and sound. Here's a quick pic of the snow in New York City.

J-E-T-S ... JETS! JETS! JETS!

Clearly I was the good luck charm! Believe in the power of the doggy jersey!

I Moved...To BUFFALO

Sorry for the lack of blogging. I've been under boxes for months now and have just gotten adjusted to a new home. You dogs all know how out of sorts that can get us. I just got used to being in NYC and now...BANG... we move.

You can take the dog out of the city but you can't take the city out of the dog.

So that's the big news! I moved with Mom and Dad to Buffalo. I'm not quite sure what Dad was thinking here. It's freakin cold for me here! I can't control my body temperature and have taken to refusing to go outside from time to time. I mean you have to put your paw down now and again with these humans and that's where I draw the line. It goes below 30 degrees and I'm not budging.

So... I have lots of new things to sniff in Buffalo and most importantly, we have a carpet in our new home which I really love. My paws sink right into those fibers and ahhhhhh, it just feels marvelous. I roll around for hours.

I haven't exactly gotten used to my new surroundings. I've marked places that I know I'm not supposed to. Dad asked me if I was confusing his new office area for a toliet the other day. I quickly reminded him that no self-respecting dog would ever use a toilet. I mean please... I'm not sitting anywhere where anyone else's butt has been.

I have some new friends too. Sr Jeremy has become the new world class dog sitter. She lets me sit on her lap in the car whenever we go somewhere new and lets me sleep all curled up next to her. What a neat pal she has become!

Now the one downside to dad's new job as a Campus Minister is that Fr Jack, his new boss, has not only one but two absolutely huge english sheepdogs! Ripley and Quigley haven't run into the likes of me because dad thinks they will intimidate me way too much. I think he's right. I'd get way too afraid of those, those....monster dogs!

Ot oh, Dad told me to be nice just now because he likes both Ripley and Quigley. At first I was jealous when I'd pick up their scent on dad's hands or clothes, but he still makes me feel a lot more special than those two who just get occasional attention from Dad. I think they really just remind Dad of how much he misses me when he's at work and the result is that dad is spending a lot more time at home with me and mom.

I'm also smarter and cuter. Hee-hee. I'm so ...what's the word....? Catty? Hell no! Gosspy! Yeah that's it!

But if those dogs start getting treats from Dad instead of me--we're gonna have a rumble.

Mom also likes her job at the school for the deaf. And she's home at the end of her day and we walk after dinner for a long time in the bitter Buffalo cold. Actually, it hasn't been too bad. For a long time it was above 50 degrees and I didn't even need a coat. However, in recent weeks, it's gotten cold and we got about 6 inches of snow last week. So I've been a shivering pup from time to time. But all in all I like it here a lot more than Woodside where I was too attracted to garbage bags and litter.

Dad's also been driving and I can't wait to stick my head out the window of his new car! Have you ever stuck your head out the window going 45 MPH? WOW! What a rush!


We'll blog more frequently from here on out. I've asked dad to bring his mac home every night so I'll have more opportunities tp blog. He recently bought that mac but he often leaves it in the office and I just can't bear to use a PC anymore. You know what they say..."Once you go Mac..."

So I'm back and I hope you all enjoy our blogging escapades in Buffalo.