High Maintenance Girl

When you read the title of this post, you might have thought I was referring to Skip, because she often can be very high maintenance. But, so can the two dogs, Ruby and Addy. In fact, we have a saying for when all 3 of them are in high maintenance mode together: "needy, needier, neediest."

Addy at 6 months. I really should take photos of her now to show her much longer hair. (All these photos taken by MW, Skip's aide, who is totally besotted with these pups.)

Last night was Addy's turn. I went to sleep around 11pm. Addy started whining around 1am. I don't wake up from the whining, Skip does and then has to wake me up. I finally got tired of Skip bugging me about the whining and got up and took her out. It isn't all that uncommon for Addy to go out in the middle of the night. Ruby is smart enough to "take care of business" before going to bed but Addy, despite being almost 2, hasn't got that down and about 1 in 3 nights she whines to go out in the middle of the night.

What is uncommon is a second bout of whining. At 3:30, Addy whined and whined. And I finally, with much crankiness, got up. Turns out, all she wanted was a drink of water! Grrrrr.

Admittedly, though, regardless of what any of them do, I still love all my high maintenance girls.

Bonus Content: when I looked through the album that had the photo above, I found this great series of something I've seen acted out countless times since ...

This series of photos shows a scenario that is played out almost daily between the two pups. Ruby has a piece of rawhide she's chewing. Addy comes closer. Ruby holds her head up, perfectly still, Addy moves in and takes the bone without resistance from Ruby. Addy chews on it for a minute and then discards it ... fun is over for her now that she has stolen it.



Meet Miss Addy

On Thursday, I brought home the newest addition to our family, Addy (short for Adeline). She was born on 1/31/10, so she's about 14 or 15 weeks old. Just like Ruby and Sally before, she's a black and tan piebald mini-dachshund. Unlike her smooth (short-haired) predecessors, though, this little girl is long-haired.

We found a breeder about an hour and a half from our home who breeds minis and had a number of piebalds that she was breeding for spring deliveries. In early April, she had a litter that had a tiny little red piebald that we tentatively reserved until I could meet her. Pretty much every day, we'd visit the breeder's web site to check out the picture of the girl, hoping for updates, as the breeder updates the photos of her litters as they age. A few weeks ago, Skip found Addy on the breeder's site. The breeder was selling her for another breeder, so they showed up all ready to go. We were instantly smitten. She stared out at us from the web page with her bright eyes in her dark, sweet face.

Addy is sweet and lovable. She's inquisitive, like all puppies, friendly and fearless. One great thing about her is she has a bit of the mountain goat in her. She'll run right up Skip's body in bed and give her a kiss. All the nurses and aids and Skip's companion, MW, love her. Right now, the only one who doesn't love her is Ruby. She is very unhappy to have some 4-legged competition in the house. She is softening a bit, though, as she let Addy curl up beside her while they both took a snooze earlier today. So, we're cautiously optimistic that Ruby will be loving to her new sister soon enough.

So nice to have a new spark of life around the house!

Can You Believe It's Been a Month Already?

Our little Sally died a month ago today. I find that shocking, that so much time has elapsed and the sadness of missing her is still so sharp and fresh. The shock of her loss can come through the smallest of things. The other day, I opened the drawer in the kitchen where we keep the dogs' collars and leashes to get out the tape stored there. I was so sad that Sally didn't run out to the kitchen and up to me, dancing on her back legs, hoping we'd get out for a walk. She knew the opening of that particular drawer often spelled good things for them.

With the loss of Sally, it's interesting to see how much she drove the actions of the two pups. For example, the dogs regularly barked throughout the day at trucks going by on the street, whenever cars came up the driveway, if a particular leaf blew outside (in other words, sometimes the barking seemed to be for no reason). Well, that was all driven by Miss Sally, who was very engaged with the outside world. Ruby hardly barks at all. She'd rather stay nestled with Skip on the bed then bother to get up and bark. I used to be embarassed with the pups' barking when we got dinner delivered. Last night, the food was delivered with nary a peep from Ruby. She didn't even bother to get up until I already had the food in the kitchen and was starting to put it on a plate for Skip.

Sally claimed me as her "human." This made it difficult for Ruby to be comfortable getting loving from me. You could always tell she was a bit nervous when I was snuggling just her, worried that Sally would come over and intervene so all the love would be sent her way. Now, Ruby knows she has no competition so is much more comfortable getting love and affection. She even sometimes snuggles along my thigh on the couch, the spot that was always claimed by Sally.

Even though they had a funny dynamic at times due to Sally's alpha-ness, we loved having the two pups together. They played together quite a bit, snuggled together throughout the day and you can tell Ruby misses Sally's company, just as Skip and I do. We plan to get another dog of the same breed (smooth mini-dachshund) and similar coloring. We thought a bit about buying an adult dog to avoid some of the challenges that come with having a puppy, particularly housebreaking, but we decided a puppy would be best. We want to start the spoiling in the dog's formative months! We've found a breeder within a few hours' drive of the house who breeds mini-dachshunds who will likely have some piebald (that's the coloration of Ruby and Sally) puppies ready for adoption in the May/June timeframe. By then, we'll be fully into spring so the new girl can spend a lot of time outside while her bladder is small and the urge to pee is strong. After all, we're expecting by that time that Skip will be spending more time out on the patio, as she did last year. I plan to take some vacation when the puppy first gets here so I can concentrate on housebreaking and such without work concerns competing for my attention.

A new dog will never replace Sally, but we will love her and welcome her into our home, knowing that two dogs are definitely better than one.

Ruby With Her Peep

Since Sally's death, Ruby has begun spending most of her waking hours with Skip. Today, I couldn't resist taking some snaps of her snuggled up to the back of Skip's legs.

The girls in comfortable repose

Ruby stretching it out (you'd never believe I just trimmed her toenails last week)

The picture of comfort and relaxation

When Cranky Met Sally

This photo was taken just a few days after we got Sally in December 2005.

What a tiny little peanut she was!

First, some background. We got our first dachshund, Sadie, soon after we moved into our home almost 21 years ago. When Sadie was 15, we figured she didn't have too much longer with us, so we started looking around for another dachshund to adopt. Skip had been looking around at the websites of different breeders and had come to love the piebald coloring. She found a 1 yr old piebald female that a breeder in Texas was selling. Skip worked out the purchase, and Ruby was shipped up to us via Continental Airlines, which has a good animal transport program. I picked Ruby up at Boston's Logan airport in February 2005.

Sadie and Ruby got along well. Ruby is very mild-mannered and so was Sadie, so there wasn't any jockeying for primacy. Sadie lived until May, dying shortly after she turned 16. We had loved being a two-dog household so began the hunt for another dog. Skip found Sally on the website of the Texas breeder and we arranged to have her come up again via Continental. She was 4 months old when she came to our home.

Sally was scheduled to arrive in the late afternoon. I headed over to the Continental baggage pick up to meet her. When they confirmed who I was, they brought out a tiny pet carrier. I was shocked at how small it was, it was more appropriate for a tiny cat than a dog. I looked inside and there she was! A tiny, shivering puppy.

I took the crate to the car, and placed it on the seat beside me. I cranked up the heat. When we got Ruby, the breeder had cautioned that we not take our new dog out of her crate until we got home. This would avoid any opportunity for the dog, who could be frightened, to run off and get lost. But in this case, I didn't take that advice. Here was a 4-month old puppy, who'd just flown up from a warm climate to a freezing cold place on a 3-hour plane ride. I couldn't leave her cold and scared in the crate all the way home. I opened the crate and took her into my arms. She clung to me. She was beautiful, tiny and sweet. I unzipped my jacket and held her close to me, so she could get some warmth. I could not put her back into that crate for the drive home. I knew it wasn't the safest thing I'd ever done to drive the hour home from the airport holding a tiny puppy, but I did anyway. When we got home, she didn't want to be far from me, and stayed in my arms most of the evening.

With that rescue of Sally from the crate, from holding her close to me for the drive home, from keeping her with me through the first evening, a strong bond was formed. Sally wormed her way into my heart right from the first moments of her life with us. I liked to joke that she "owned" me as I was completely helpless to resist her. And, the feelings went both ways. I was definitely her number one, and when she was nervous, she wanted most to be with me and get comfort from me.

Dogs bring so much joy to our lives. We were lucky to have Sally for even a short time.

What Do You Say When the Unthinkable Occurs?

This morning, our wonderful and beloved Sally died. Just two weeks ago, I took her to the vet as she was out of sorts. Blood tests came back normal and we thought it was probably a back or neck strain from all of her jumping around, especially as dachshunds are prone to back problems. As the days progressed, her symptoms were minimal in the mornings, when she pranced around like her old self, but would come on more as the day progressed. The afternoons would find her sacked out on my bed, sleeping, with some tenderness and discomfort if you tried to move her.

Monday afternoon, when out in the yard to pee, she seemed to be experiencing a higher level of pain than I'd seen before. On her way back to the house, she stopped walking a few times as if it was quite painful for her to continue. Tuesday morning, she was extremely sensitive to any kind of motion, either her own or mine. That afternoon, I took her over to the Tufts animal hospital, which is a high-powered veterinary teaching hospital about an hour from here. We went there when our now-deceased dachshund Sadie needed back surgery. I thought we were in for back surgery in Sally's instance as well. The vets that examined her thought that likely too, as her symptoms were consistent with a herniated disc in her neck. They said she'd get a CT scan on Wednesday morning to confirm the diagnosis.

Sally needed anesthesia for the scan. About half an hour after the anesthesia was administered, she stopped breathing on her own. They breathed manually for her for about an hour, but she never took over breathing for herself. They put her on a respirator and set her up with fluids to help flush out the dye used for the scan, in case her problem was due to an allergic reaction. They also began treatment for her real malady, meningitis, that was identified as a result of the scan. But, as the day progressed, her status remained unchanged and the prognosis grew more dire. By early evening, we decided there was not really any hope for a recovery but had the hospital keep her on the respirator through the night. That way, I could go to the hospital in the morning and, assuming no miracle occurred, would be able to say goodbye and be with her when she died.

Two dear friends drove me over early this morning while a third stayed with Skip. When we arrived, the vet neurologist told us that Sally's situation had further deteriorated overnight as she was no longer able to control her electrolytes or blood sugar. Clearly, the condition was unrecoverable. We went in to the ICU to see our little Sally girl, stroke her, give her a kiss and cry while we said our goodbyes. They gave her the injections to euthanize her and, poof, in a moment, she was gone for good.

Goodbye, Sally, we will miss you more than you could possibly imagine!

Sally Out of Sorts

For the last few days, Sally has been acting out of sorts. Tuesday night, she didn't eat dinner. By Wednesday, she was shivering almost all the time (normally in the winter, she shivers frequently but not incessantly). She ate breakfast but, again, no dinner. MW and I both noticed that she was very clingy if you picked her up, atypical behavior, as she usually gets a bit squirmy after one kiss. Sometimes she'd stare blankly into space. I then began to think I hadn't heard her take even a sip of water in quite a while; though she was still peeing when we went out. Every once in a while, she'd let out a whimper when putting her down, like something on her body was tender. She seemed less active and bratty than usual.

So I took her to the vet today. At 4-1/2 years of age, it was the first time to the vet due to illness, so she's a pretty healthy pup overall. She hadn't lost any weight. The vet couldn't find any joint sensitivity. Her temp was normal. She wasn't dehydrated. Of course, when I put her on the vet's table, she stopped shivering. So, the vet drew some blood to test her for Lyme disease and all manner of other vile options, such as liver and kidney ailments. She sent me home with a deworming pill, which I gave to Sally earlier this afternoon. Tomorrow, we hear blood test results.

Heartened to know she's not dehydrated, which was my biggest concern, I have been able to look at the situation with a little less alarm. I am looking at the blood tests primarily as a means to assure ourselves that nothing serious is going on. I now suspect she strained something jumping and her shivering, clinginess and blank staring are due to that. If this is the case, then she'll probably be this way for a bit while she heals then slowly return to the happy go lucky, trouble-making Sally we all love.

Right now, Sally is snugged up against me on the couch, with Ruby on the other side of her. I've got her covered with a throw. She's asleep and the shivering is currently at bay. Skip wants me to get up and serve dinner, but I hate to leave Sally, because I know she'll follow me into the kitchen, plop on the dog bed out there and instantly begin to shiver again. I love the love and loyalty of dogs, following their humans around, but sometimes I wish she'd just stay in one spot and heal!

My Little Shadows

I'm a big woman, tall and fat, but I cast two little shadows all around the house. Their names are Ruby and Sally, our mini-dachshunds. Without Skip here as anchor (she doesn't move from place to place too often through the day so they can roost near her for big chunks of time), they're forced to shadow me wherever I go.

I am not one to sit too long in any one place during the work day. I think it's my short attention span that makes me go from room to room as I come up with a myriad of things to fill my day. When I head into the living room to sit on the couch and use my personal laptop, they stroll in soon after I'm in position. Sally, smaller and pretty athletic, will jump up on the couch like a cat and take up the primo position, laying alongside me, sharing body heat. Ruby will saunter in behind and come up meekly to the couch, waiting to be invited and then lifted up (she's the biggest "mini" dachshund on earth, weighing in at 20 lbs, so not a jumper by any means). She lies a bit to the side, soon falling fast asleep, issuing deep, contented snores.

When I get up from the couch, they both look up at me with expressions that seem to say, "what are you doing, we're warm and comfortable here ..." But, they give in to the greater need to be with human companionship and follow me to wherever I'm going.

In the kitchen, they have a big dog bed right near my work table. It's on the ground, near the kitchen door, so it's none too warm and, whenever I look down to see how they're doing, Sally is shivering. I try to put a throw over them to keep them warm, but often the act of getting up to get the throw causes them to be on the move again. Then, I get them settled back on their pillow and cover Sally from head to paw. Ruby doesn't get cold, so she doesn't get the full body covering.

They're all too familiar with the month-long routine of me heading out in the evening to visit Skip. Just before I head out, I'll send them out to pee. When they come back in, Ruby knows to go right into the crate. Sally has to be cajoled in, she's trying to delay the inevitable. When I come home, and open the crate door, they are so excited, jumping and showing their delight. It makes an otherwise empty house a lovely home to return to.

Pics of the Pups

It's clear from the bloggers I read that our pets do so much for us. They give us such unconditional love. And, we can take delight in their interactions with us and each other. In an exchange with Herrad on her blog earlier today, she asked if I'd post some more pics of our pups, too. How could I resist showing them off?

Sally and Ruby are asleep beside me on the couch as I write this. Whenever you pet Ruby, she makes the most wonderful happy grunts. She has the softest belly of any dog I've ever met. Sally has me completely wrapped around her paws ... I am absolutely helpless to resist her sweet ways.

We're lucky that Skip's aide, MW, is crazy about photographing the pups. All these snaps were taken by her.

Four-Legged Destressors

Some more shots of our two great pups. The middle two are of Sally in her perenial hunt for chipmunks in the wood pile and the air conditioner (yes, there is a chipmunk that somehow lives in the AC unit). With the warm weather back, she has resumed her chipmunk hunting with vigor and spends a good portion of the day outside exercising her huntress skills.

Had a very stressful work day on Wednesday. Have been taking the girls out for brief walks in the early evenings but had missed a few days of late. After work, just wanted to crash on the couch but ended up taking them out for a quick jaunt and was happy I did. So good for the spirits to spend a time enjoying the company of dogs out in the fresh, cool air. I love to see how their two personalities play out, even in their walking styles. Sally is head up, tail cocked, bopping along, taking it all in. Ruby, a bit chunkier, is working harder to maintain the pace and periodically must come to a complete stop to closely examine some great-smelling thing on the side of the road.

The Pups We're Crazy About

At play and at rest.