Summer summary – kids and pets

We now have 4 pets. FOUR. Yes, we are indeed insane.

We’ve had our sweet, lazy Daisy, a long-haired dachshund, for about a year now. She’s become a family member. This spring, we added two gray tabby kittens – buttercup and lilly – to the mix. And just this week, we were given a puppy by my husband’s boss. One of her parents is a mini dachshund, the other is a regular dachshund. But whether she winds up being mini or not, she is short-haired. We named her Violet.

So we have 4 female animals, all named after flowers. They’re all getting along amazingly well, and they have a grand time romping in the backyard together. Now if we could just get the newest addition housebroken!

Anyway, here are some pictures taken this summer of the kids and our pets. Enjoy!

Daisy loves Papa

Daisy hopped up on the couch next to Jay and snuggled up to him like this. I thought it was picture-worthy.

Mikaela’s not the only one who loves her doggie

I found Daisy like this. Guess she needed a friend to snuggle with.

Specious link

What is it with these cute-animal-picture sites (Cute Overload, I Can Has Cheeseburger, I Has a Hotdog) using incorrect English? I guess they’re supposed to be baby-talking, brains made mush by the sheer cuteness of it all. I like looking at these sites, but that one little thing drives me nuts.

A boy and his dog

Gabriel has really taken to Daisy lately. He’s calling her “my dog.” It’s really cute.

A dog after my own heart

Recently, Jay opened the door to let the dog out back when he was leaving for work. In the middle of the night, a cold front had come through, so it was pretty chilly out. Jay said Daisy got a few inches away from the doorway, stopped dead in her tracks and retreated. She went back to curl up on the nice, warm couch.

I’m with you, Daisy.

Ill-advised idea #943

So, we have a long-haired dachshund. As the weather has been getting warmer, I’ve been wanting to take her in for a trim so she doesn’t bake every time she goes outside. But after finding out the price – $38 (my haircuts cost $18 and that’s with a tip) – I decided to give it a shot myself. I spent 4 hours yesterday cutting her hair with scissors and Jay’s clippers (sorry, Jay!). When I was done, I was covered in sweat and dog hair. There was enough fur on the ground to knit a sweater. And the dog … well ….

Fitting right in

I think our dog Daisy thinks she’s a person. She’s been snitching the kids’ cookies (we’re trying to stop that), whining when I’m on the phone, and following me into the kitchen every time I go. It’s like I have THREE kids. One of them just happens to be really short and really hairy.

Because we needed at least one obedient, appreciative creature in this house

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the pound and found a really sweet 3-year-old dachshund mix. We adopted her and re-named her “Daisy.” She’s laid-back and sweet, and the kids like her. She also seems really smart. She learned her new name quickly and she actually obeys me when I tell her to get off the couch (I didn’t make any gestures, yell, or anything – I just said “get off the couch, Daisy.” and she hopped down).

None shall pass

That #(*&#$ Cat!

So, Peter attacked Jay tonight, out of the clear blue. Jay was down on the floor minding his own when Peter dive-bombed him, clawing both sides of his face/head.

 *Might not want to see this pic if the sight of blood makes you sick … it’s not gory or anything but I never want to subject someone to something they don’t want to see. *

Peter 1, Mikaela 0

Note the scratch on her face.

on becoming a family member

It feels like Peter’s been with us forever. He has blended right into the family amazingly well. I think I like him so much because he’s like me (loves to be around people, gets harassed by the kids, grumpy when he wakes up, cute … HA). I swear, tomorrow I fully expect to see him sitting in my living room, eating my chocolate and drinking my Dr Pepper!

Horse … er, I mean dog sitting

We are watching a friend’s dog for the weekend while she and her husband are out of town. The dog, Snickers, is VERY large, but extremely sweet. Jay loves big dogs, but I am a little skittish around them. Maybe keeping a docile one will help me get over that.

No more ‘Mooshie’

After my recent development of asthma, we’ve gotten rid of the dog. A very nice lady came and picked her up yesterday. I really need to not get any more pets… I have a horrible track record of getting pets and then getting rid of them for one reason or another. Another reason a shrink would have a field day with me, I’m sure.

Puppies

My puppy smells like dog. I gave her a bath, and she still smells like dog.

It would be nice if puppies smelled like babies.

Eh, they probably think we stink, too.

I just LOOK cute and innocent

Smitten

The family concensus on the dog was mostly positive.

Gabriel was the first one out of bed this morning, after hearing Lucy’s howls. As he walked into the room, a huge grin spread across his face. He had lots of fun playing with her today.

When she woke up, Mikaela walked into the room and pointed and said, “dog!” … She kissed and patted the dog repeatedly throughout the day, but didn’t like it when Lucy jumped up on her.

While I took the kids to the store tonight, Jay bonded with the dog – after licking him half to death, she snuggled up in his lap and fell asleep.

She did a good job peeing mostly outside today. She had a couple of accidents, but more times than not, she waited until I took her outside to go.

Lucy is nipping, and I’m giving her a firm “no” and a pat on the butt. I don’t know how long it will take her to realize that biting is a no-no. Any dog owners who’ve been through this, please advise me!

World, meet Lucy.

Lucy is our new, 7-week-old Beagle. Just got her tonight. She’s currently sleeping curled next to a ticking clock wrapped in a pillowcase.

The kids haven’t seen her yet – they were in bed when I got home. That should be fun – they LOVE dogs.

Dogs

We’re looking for a dog. Was supposed to be my Christmas present, but Jay wanted my input on picking one out.

I want to take my time making this decision, because I really want this to be another member of the family … so I’m going to do lots of research on what breeds are good with kids, etc.

All indications so far seem to point towards Labrador Retrievers. We’ll see, though.

If you have input, please let me know! I’ve never owned a dog, so this is new territory for me.