Taavi's Summer Resting Spot
With temps climbing into the 100s….it is no wonder I find my dogs sitting on the AC vents! Lol…Steven was trying to convince Taavi to move yesterday. Steven was propped up by the counter, checking his Facebook messages, enjoying the AC breeze, when Taavi walked in and flopped down on the vent effectively blocking the cool air for anyone else to enjoy.
Summer in Louisiana!
Lol….my dog would somehow do this. I am sure of it. Two baby goats wandered out on a train track and got stuck on a six inch wide ledge, sixty feet from the ground. Click here to view the Humane Society’s rescue video on Youtube.
Happy 6th Birthday to my sweet darling daughter Vivian! Or is that 25th Birthday? Dunno…. Sometimes I wonder!
Last night, in the midst of trying to do math homework (Yay me!), I was baking cupcakes. I sent Steven and Vivian out for a while so I could de-grump. 🙂 I was pretty grumpy due to homework (that I did not understand) being due and baking a million cupcakes. Well, that’s an exaggeration. It seemed like a million. Anyway, when Vivian got home, she put the plate of teacher’s cupcakes on the table because she wanted to put sprinkles on them. I had already iced and decorated them. Vivian left the kitchen and the dog (Taavi) found the cupcakes. Needless to say, I found him in his kennel and knew something was wrong (remember my posts about Houdini? He does not willingly stay in his kennel). When I found the plate of demolished cupcakes, I understood why he put himself in time out! He is going to be soooo sick today! So, I had to make mini cupcakes with the batter I had left for the teachers. Who knows, maybe they will appreciate the smaller portions! See, Taavi was looking out for their health.
However, if he had to find something to eat, I would have preferred it been my math book. I think with the proof of him eating my floor (in a previous post) would have gotten me off the hook with my teacher, ya think? Taavi has taken to chewing on the wood floor too. I don’t know what has gotten into him! I had to put a big piece of clear tape over a small place in the floor. It appears that someone dropped a heavy piece of furniture and chipped the floor in this spot. Taavi found the spot and started pawing at it, like he was digging for something. Now he has made a 1 inch hole, a 2 inch hole! Dumb dog….how can you love and hate your dogs equally? What a contradiction.
Anyway, this post is supposed to be about Vivian. HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIVIAN!
Andrea
You will remember from a previous post that I talked about my dog getting out of his kennel. He figured out how to flip up the latch on the side of his kennel.
Taavi, flipping up the latch
He's got it down to a science
Long story short, we put a small chain on it and have not had a problem since. Now he has figured out how to lift the front latch. Today, as I was trying to complete some homework, Taavi pranced his proud little Houdini lock popping self into the study, gloating over his victory. I put him back in his kennel….twice. Finally, I tied a piece of ribbon around it to hold the door closed in the event he flipped up the latch again. I heard nails clicking on the wood floors and in walks Taavi, again, with the ribbon in his mouth with a grin that only Houdini could have perfected (Is that all you got??). So….I put him BACK in his kennel, and double knotted the ribbon. That held. I had to cut the ribbon later in order to get him out. I found another chain to put on the front latch too. As I am sitting here typing this (Taavi is out of his kennel. I only let them out if they did their business) Sparky is still in his kennel because he is still being pottytrained. I keep hearing “cling, click, clink”. I go investigate…..Taavi is trying to break Sparky out now. I have two dogs on the lam. Some animals are just too smart for their own good….or for my peace of mind when I am trying to do homework.
Trying to let Sparky out
Andrea
I was sitting at the island in my kitchen, doing coursework on my laptop, when I heard a crunching sound. I looked over and not only had my dog chewed a floor tile in my kitchen, he had it in his mouth and was walking (although quite awkwardly) away with it. All I could do was laugh.
My dog ate it
Apparently he has had enough of this floor too. I was not joking when I said my dog was half goat. I have the replacement flooring sitting in my hall waiting for install day. I picked out a nice oak laminate flooring. We are going to redo the kitchen.
The bathroom is almost finished. The new vanity we constructed is in the kitchen waiting on the plumbing parts to arrive. Hopefully, we will be able to install it next Saturday and I will have the TA DA pics to post. I know I have been working on this crazy bathroom for three months! I am ready for it to be finished.
Happy Saturday! Oh, before I leave, here is my random Vivian pic of the week.
Cowgirl Viv
Andrea
I heard the thumping of feet and the clicking of claws in my hall and decided to go see who was making all the racket and why. I was met with the sight of my daughter running up and down the long hall with the dog on her heels. I asked her what she was doing and she promptly told me that the dog was getting fat and that he needed to be exercised..lol…so that is what she was doing. Excercising the dog. From the pictures, you can see that it probably was the other way around…the dog excercising her!
Exercising Taavi
Keep up, girl!
I swear this dog is part rabbit
Happy birthday Taavi! One year old and many more birthdays to come!
Then
Now:
Andrea
Someone gave Steven some headphones to use with his Xbox live membership. Vivian found a set and had to come and show me her Hannah Montana impression. Just in case you are wondering why she has a shirt on her head (I asked her), that is her wig!
Our new doggy is already becoming one of the family. This is how I found them all this morning.
I have it on very good authority that a two dog household is closer to heaven than a one dog household…. 🙂
Happy Tuesday!
Andrea
The Cast:
Sparky- my new white terrier
Taavi- my Alpha dog, man of the house
Rottweiler mix- belongs to someone
Black and white male- stray dog
Black and white female- stray dog
Two Animal Control Officers
Vivian- my daughter
Andrea- the comic relief
Yes, I have a new title to add to my illustrious list. Life certainly has been interesting for me lately. This weekend, I adopted a new furball, Sparky. I happened to run in to PetSmart for some dog food and saw the cutest white haired terrier staring at me. I had been looking to get a second dog and I especially wanted a small terrier, preferable white or blue and tan like a yorkie. This little guy fit the bill. The Humane Society of West Louisiana bring their adoptable dogs every Saturday to PetSmart. If you are looking to adopt a dog or cat, check them out on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here is a picture of Sparky:
He was a little shy at first.
Now he’s running with the Alpha dog, Taavi. They seem to be getting along well. Sparky is a sweet heart. Taavi grunts and snorts while he stomps through the hall while Sparky delicately and quietly prances at Taavi’s heels. In fact, Vivian calls him “Sparkle”…hahaha….which is an accident. She can’t remember that his name is Sparky and she likes Sparkle so much better. Every time she calls him that, Steven rolls his eyes and corrects her. He does not want any Sparkle dogs in the house. 🙂
Anyway, back to the new title. We have seen two large dogs running around this area for around two weeks now. I thought they belonged to someone in the area and hoped they would go back. I hate calling the pound on dogs…no telling what happens to them after they are caught and whether or not their owners go redeem them. Last night, they took up residence under our house and barked all night. Steven went out onto the porch and yelled at them to “get” at least five times. Poor thing. He is probably a zombie today. All the barking kept making my dogs bark (this is the reason I introduced Sparky first. Because I went from dog to dogS this weekend). This morning, I heard barking underneath the house and hitting my HVAC ducts, so I called animal control.
The man from animal control was so nice. He heard the dogs under my house, but he said that he does not go under houses. He talked about setting a trap, which I was fine with. Then he went from talking about a trap to hiring an inmate (payment would be a pack of cigarettes) to come and get the dog. The conversation was getting a little bizarre. So, I told him to hold on a minute. I went inside the house and changed and crawled under the house to see what kind of dog was under there and why he was not coming out. I found a poor Rottweiler mix all tangled up underneath my house. He had a retractable leash connected to his collar and it was all tangled up in my air conditioning duct and electrical wiring. He was shaking and scared. I sat and talked to him for a long time and called to him, he finally came close to me and allowed me to pet him. Then I reached underneath his chin and unhooked the leash. I talked to him for a while and then I grabbed his collar and led him out from underneath my house. By that time, a second animal control officer showed up and they both chuckled at the sight of me. I was mud head to toe (which was not all this dog’s fault. Earlier I had Sparky on a leash outside and he saw one of the black and white strays and his 8 1/2 pound self decided he wanted to go after the big dog and he broke loose and I football tackled him twice…to the merriment of Vivian and the animal control officer) and holding on to the collar of a BIG dog. He was very docile though. If he growled at me or showed signs of agression, I would not have bothered with him. They put him in the truck to find his owner. He was a surprise. The theory is that he broke away from his owner and chased the other two black and white stray dogs that have been roaming the neighborhood. After we loaded him up, the stray we were looking for comes waltzing up as pretty as you please. He led the officers on a merry chase and they found the second stray in the process. Gosh all theses dogs. Are you keeping up? 🙂 I am sorry I have no pictures to show. I was too busy to hold a camera. Lol…
The animal control officers left shaking their heads and laughing at me….they said “You’re from New Orleans, huh?” They couldn’t believe that I was willing to crawl underneath the house and free a rottweiler mix and they were not. They are coming back later to set two dog traps to try to catch the black and white strays. One good thing that has come from all of this, the stray dogs have temporarily chased away the three or so wild cats that live under our house. The nice animal control officer told me to call him in a couple weeks and they would set some cat traps. I didn’t realize I was inheriting an animal sanctuary when I bought this house….lol….
Andrea
***Update: So far we have caught the neighbors dog and the squirrels have feasted all day on the free dog food….
Perpetual Renovator 