Do you wanna?

That sentence makes our dogs go crazy! It doesn't matter what you say afterwards, they know they are going for a walk. It's the same thing everyday; Charlie has to sit and be quiet before we put his leash on. Meeko, not so much. The saying "you can't teach a dog new tricks" was invented because of Meeko.

So, you would think after almost 2 years of going on walks, Charlie would hear "Do you wanna" and immediately sit down. But, without fail, he acts like a crazy animal. I love it and hate it all at the same time.

What a goof!

On The Mend

If I have been out of touch with some of you the last week, I apologize. I feel like I have fallen down some sort of rabbit hole and I'm trying to move towards the light. The last week has been a challenge. I was sick and in bed for 3 days, pretty much by myself. Then went to work for 1 day before taking off more time to take care of Markus. He had surgery yesterday to remove a cyst on his backside. He went to the doctor appointments before the surgery alone so I was only given a little information beforehand. What I thought would be a very simple procedure that would not last more than a few days has turned into something a bit more complicated. I knew something was up when the doctor came out after surgery to give me the blow by blow and asked "if I worked outside the home" and had I "taken some time off". I only planned to be out yesterday for the actual surgery but after the good pain meds wore off last night, I realized we were in a little deeper than originally planned.

It's so hard to watch someone you love in pain and there isn't much you can do. And in my opinion everything always seems worse at night. The pain meds they prescribed were not helping at all. Markus would barely fall asleep before waking up again moaning in pain. So finally around 6 a.m., after consulting with a friend of the family who is a nurse, we upped his dosage. It seems to be helping. Unless he needs to move, get up to use the bathroom, or change positions. He cannot put any pressure on his back so positions are limited. We go back to the doctor tomorrow to see how it's healing and so they can teach me how to dress the wound. I guess that's when the real fun begins! Google is not your friend when you have a not so pretty medical procedure and a morbid curiosity. We googled his cyst today and I almost tossed my breakfast. Let's hope my love for Markus overrides my weak stomach.

I would not want to leave you with that as your final image for this post. So I will show you some pictures we have gotten over the last week. Being sick has at least one benefit; time with your family. Here are some photos we have captured the last week. It pretty much sums up what we have been doing.

I made one of Markus' favorite dinners tonight. Lindsay and Carlos came to visit and brought his favorite dessert. AND his favorite team is playing game 1 of the World Series*. So I would say things are looking up around here :o)

*Update: So the whole "team playing in the World Series" didn't exactly turn out like I had hoped. But there is always tonight! Go Yankees :o)

The Boys

Markus came home Saturday with these presents for the boys. Charlie wasn't quite sure what to make of the new visitors in his space. Meeko wanted nothing to do with them from the start and wanted out.

I can't tell if Charlie is scared of the toys or not. Either way, it kept him entertained through dinner!

Weekend Edition

We had a fun weekend that I will blog about later but while the hubby watches football AND baseball, I thought I would blog about a typical Sunday in the H household.

We try to sleep in but the dogs wake us up around 7.  Meeko wants to get in the bed and Charlie wants to go outside and play.  Eventually Charlie makes his way into bed and then this happens:

We Markus has a strict no dog in bed policy, but we usually break the rule on weekends.  How could you resist when they are this cute?

Then it's a walk around the neighborhood to settle the dogs down.  Markus is working with Charlie on sitting on command on our walks.  He pretty much has it down when he is in the house or yard (or if a treat is involved) but all bets are off when we are on a walk.  This morning Meeko and I left Charlie and Markus and made it 2 blocks before Charlie sat.  He is a little stubborn but so cute!

See, I know sit!

The rest of the day varies but Starbucks is usually involved.

I have been getting the house ready for fall.  Pumpkins are out on the front porch and ready for carving.  The planters have been filled with pansies and mums.  And, we even got a new flag!

After chores it's time to settle down for some family time.  Charlie loves his brother so much that he shares his bed.

Meeko, however does not like to share and usually kicks Charles out.

There, that's more like it.

What did I do?

Don't look at me, I was an only child for 10 years.

And now it's time for Dexter!

The End :o)

Puppy Love: Part Duex

Gracie came back for a visit this weekend so her family could take a trip to the Big Apple for a family wedding. We were all excited to have her company but not as much as Charlie. And by all, I mean everyone except Meeko. He is never happy to have another dog in his house.

Charlie and Gracie have been playing All. Weekend. Long! Then, they come inside and pass out. It's great! Meeko gets a break from big brother and I get a break from having to figure out ways to tire Charlie out. I have been taking him on morning runs the last week and when we get back he looks at me like, what's next? So the break in routine has been nice.

Here is a video I shot this morning of the two love birds. Meeko jumps into the frame every once in awhile and it almost looks like he is barking at Gracie to leave Charlie alone. Brotherly love perhaps, or maybe jealousy?

Tonight I put both dogs in the kitchen and when I came back to put them to bed I found this:

Gracie eventually got tired of Charlie in her crate so she came out and laid in his bed.  Charlie, meanwhile proceeded to make himself comfy.  When I t0ld him to get in his crate, he got this look on his face like "who me? I'm just going to bed like you told me."

Good thing he is cute!

Puppy Love

We've had a four legged friend visiting for the past week and Charlie was hit hard with the love bug. Our friends were out of town for two weeks so we decided to spring Gracie from the kennel a week early so she could spend some time with Charlie. She was pretty happy to get out of there and into our back yard.

I wasn't sure how it was going to work out since we already had two at home. One being Meeko who isn't keen on new visitors of any kind, much less the four legged variety. But it worked out great. Gracie was able to keep Charlie entertained which meant Meeko got a vacation from his big brother.

Grace and Charles became fast friends and were inseparable. Charlie followed her everywhere. Even out the back gate when Markus was taking out the trash. Lucky for us, Markus was quick on his feet and was able to apprehend both doggies.

Gracie went home yesterday and Charlie has been lost. He wants to know when his furry friend is coming back.

I even tried giving him extra attention last night by letting him on the couch with us. But he opted to pout lie on the floor.

Poor Charles. We promise Gracie can come back for a visit anytime.