A Wiener Dog Blog

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

30 minutes later:

Overwhelmed! A post by Mom

2011-10-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

I am truly overwhelmed by our friends in the blogging community. These past few weeks have been tough ones, as you know. I really appreciate the posts that were done to celebrate Twix's life by her furiends. I think I have seen them all. If you put up a post in memory of Twix and I did not leave a comment please let me know so that I can visit you.

I thought I was just being silly a couple of years ago when I helped Twix start her blog. Then we met Lorenza and I began to see that there were a lot of other sillies out there! I am so amazed by the number of friends that left a comment saying that Twix was one of their first blog friends or one of the first blogs they followed. I even saw some comments that said they were inspired to start blogging after following A Wiener Dog Blog. I never knew my little Twix touched so many lives or how much she had touched them.

2 "Twixeriffic" things happened these last couple of weeks.

First I received the following email on Oct 1st:
Teresa, I wanted to let you know that we just received a generous donation for the disabled animals at our sanctuary in memory of your beloved Twix. We were so sorry to hear about your loss, and our hearts go out to you.
The donation came from an anonymous donor so I don’t know who made the gift — hopefully whoever it was will tell you! The donor added a personal note that said, “Donation made in memory of beautiful Miss Twix.”
The donor asked us to let you know about his or her gift as a memorial for Twix, and we are very grateful for it.
Please know that you are in our thoughts.
Steve Smith
Rolling Dog Farm
http://www.RollingDogFarm.org
A Special Place For Disabled Animals

I don't know who the donor is.....no one has mentioned it to me, but you are welcome to if you would like. It brought me to tears that someone in the DWB community thought that much of Twix. I mean, I know how special she was to us but I really didn't realize how special she was to some of you.

Second, there was an unexpected package on our front step when we got home from work earlier this week from
The Dachsies with Moxie.

Inside the package was a beautiful note:

"Please accept our condolences on the passing of Twix the Twixerrific. We loved following her blog and we were devastated when we learned of Twix's going to the Rainbow Bridge last week. Please accept this gift - we hope that it will help you heal."

Along with the note was this beautiful quilt:

Again, I was brought to tears and just totally amazed! For those of you that are long time blog followers you will probably recognize that image of Twix. It is the same one that was used by Kathleen Coy when she painted Twix's portrait, a gift for my husband. Agnes, the mom of DWM, knew that picture was special to us. The detail in the quilt is amazing! Here are a few closer up views for you:

Amazing detail!

Thank you so very much, Agnes! I will never be able to put into words how much this means to us.

We also received cards from a few of our blogging friends.
Thank you!
Again, I'm overwhelmed at the outpouring of love we have experienced since Twix left us.
I just don't think it is possible for me to convey to you how much it has meant to us.

Lastly, I thought I would leave you with a few of the last photos taken of Twix.

I had forgotten these were on my camera and was surprised when I uploaded them today.

I know I've said this a few times but, again, I never knew how many lives Twix touched or how much she meant to several of you. I don't know if I will ever be able to grasp it. I want to tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to let us know in one way or another how much you loved her.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Alphonso, Teresa, and Taffy

Grandma Update & Looking for an Adoptable Dachshund

2011-10-04T20:57:00.000-05:00

Hi, everypup and everycat!

If I remember correctly this will be my first official blog post!

Oh! I'm so excited.

To start off with, a photo of me in case you have forgotten what I look like....

Aren't I beautiful?

Now that your memory has been refreshed how about I tell you about my Grandma?

Grandma is doing well. We found out about 6 weeks ago that her transplant failed. The doctors said they felt the best option for her was to continue the chemo treatments she has been getting monthly.

Last week they told her she was in remission!!!!!

Now, her remission is different than what you think of when you hear the word remission. Because her cancer is such a tough one to fight and it is very aggressive she will need to continue her chemo treatments every month. So, the cancer is not gone and it will never be gone but the treatments are minimizing it to the point that it is not taking over and destroying her bone marrow and blood cells.

Isn't that Twixerrific?!

Thank you all for your prayers, get well vibes,

and crossed paws!!

I would like to send a very special thank you to those of you who sent cards to my grandma earlier this year. Momma says she was bad and hasn't gotten in touch with you guys but she wants you to know that she and Grandma really appreciate your kindness!!! Grandma loved each and every card she received and it made her feel very special knowing Twix's furiends thought that much of her.

Thank You from the bottom of my heart!

Now, are you rescue people out there listening?

No, the dachshund that is wanted is not for my house....

I know some of you were thinking that but

Momma says it isn't time yet.

The dachshund will be for Grandma and Grandpa. Some of you may remember that before her transplant they had to get rid of their two kitties. Well, since she is no longer on lockdown and is in remission she thought maybe the docs would let them get a doggie. She asked today and they said YES!!!! Grandma has been down in the dumps lately with everything going on and hopefully, a doggie will give her some companionship and make her feel better in general. We all know that doggies can help people get better, don't we?

Are you sure you're listening?

Lemme get a little closer just to make sure you can hear me.

This next part is really impawtant!

Even though Grandma is considered to be in remission she still has to be really careful about germs and stuff. So, there are some strict requirements for adopting a dog. And Grandma and Grandpa will have to be picky in order to get the right doggie for them.

*The dog MUST be potty trained...accidents in the house could put Grandma at risk.

*The dog must have short furs....Grandma is thinking a short haired doxie would be perfect to fit that criteria.

*Grandma and Grandpa want a female.

I know all our pals out there will be able to help us find the perfect doggie to make Grandma feel better.

Besides that, its her birthday this weekend!

I think a doggie would be the perfect birthday present!

Momma says she will be putting up a post this weekend to let you know how things are around here....I think that means there will be more photos of me!

Dear Momma

2011-10-02T21:53:00.000-05:00

Dear Momma,

I wanted to tell you that I made it safely to the Rainbow Bridge. You will never believe how beautiful it is here. It really is paradise for us doggies. Speaking of us doggies, you will never guess who met me at the door....Max! I can see now why you loved him so much and told me about him. He is one special boy. You will be happy to know that we are having so much fun here.

I've met lots of my friends here. It is fun to meet them in person. There have even been a few that have arrived after me. I know it is sad for our humans but if you could see us you would never be sad. All the doggies are in the prime of their lives. No one ever gets older and no one ever gets sick here. The sun is always shining and there are plenty of chairs to sunbathe in. And, most importantly, treats really do fall out of the sky!

Momma, I want to tell you that you and Daddy really did do the right thing. You were right, I was not happy anymore. I was trapped and confused, my body ached, I didn't always know where I was and I wasn't always able to understand when you called my name. I know your heart is still broken; I can see you and the pain you are in. I don't want you to be sad because I am so happy here. I also know that you question whether or not it was the right time and I want you to know that it was. You didn't make the decision too early but you didn't wait too long either. Just like you have done since I was itty bitty, you took perfect care of me. Thank you for holding me close and not letting me be scared. Any concerns I had disappeared as I lay in your arms and you and Daddy told me what was going to happen and why. Hearing you tell me you loved me as I fell asleep was a wonderful gift. Thank you for loving me enough to let me go even though it was so painful for you.

You don't have to wonder if I know how much you love me....I know, Momma, I know. I hope you know how much I love you. I miss you more than you will ever know and I can't wait to see you again. I will be keeping an eye on you guys. You never know when I might drop you a line or stop in for a quick visit.

All my love forever and ever,
Twix

A special thank you to Amber and her mom for making this beautiful photo in remembrance of Twix.

Dear Twix

2011-09-24T20:53:00.001-05:00

Dear Twix,

I remember the very first time I laid eyes on you. I'm sure you don't remember because you were only 3 weeks old. You were the only chocolate doxie in the litter and I fell in love with you right away. I picked you up and held you and my heart melted. I knew we were meant to be together because you laid in my hand and fell asleep...on your back. It was hard for me to leave you that evening but I knew you would be my girl soon. Three weeks later, I picked you up even though I thought it was too early for you to leave your Mom. You cried all the way to our house and at the time I didn't know what was wrong but now I know it was because you didn't like riding in the car.

That first night in my new apartment is one I will never forget. You woke me up in the middle of the night kneading my stomach and looking for something to eat. And again, my heart melted. You were quite the stubborn little girl; good thing for you that your big brother, Max, had trained me well. You proved to me the reason doxies are known for being hard to potty break. It didn't take me long to learn what a smart little girl you were. You would watch me when I picked up your poop and flushed it and pretty soon you were pooping right next to the toilet....that still makes me giggle. You made it very apparent to me that you did not approve of being left in your crate while I went to work by moving that crate clear across the room while you were in it!

And when your daddy came into our lives you were not too happy about it. You cried when we kissed and you would steal his bread and butter right off his plate. You and he grew to love each other and became inseparable. You became his dog and he became your daddy. You took care of him and he took care of you. He says it was because you two bonded while I was in the hospital. However it happened doesn't really matter to me. I'm glad you and he were able to find each other. Did you know you were born on Father's Day? I think that is very fitting knowing how much you loved your daddy.

Then, several years ago, you got very sick with pancreatitis. I have never seen a dog as sick as you were. We thought we were gonna lose you back then. We weren't sure how you'd be each day when we went to visit you at the doggie hospital but one day, finally, you showed a little excitement when we showed up and when I saw your tail wag I knew you would pull through. Everything became very clear to me the day we got to bring you home. As your doctor handed me your bill I said, "I'm scared to see this." and her reply was, "Teresa, I thought you were gonna have this bill and no dog to take home." That is how sick you were, Baby Girl, even the vet thought you weren't gonna make it.

It seems to me that illness changed you, kind of like how sometimes when people get very sick they just aren't the same person they were. I don't mean changed you in a bad way either. It just seemed like your health was never the same and you got sick much easier and more often. It seems like you aged faster than normal as well. I'm not complaining one bit, Peanut, I loved every minute we spent together.

This past year has been a tough one, hasn't it? I thought we were going to lose you again this past winter when you stopped eating. Thankfully, we didn't. You have some great blog friends that gave me some terrific ideas to get you to eat. And then we brought your sister, Taffy, home and suddenly you became much more interested in food. I tell everyone Taffy saved your life. I wish she could have found a way to keep you here longer but I'm being selfish.

I have been telling myself that I stopped helping you with your blog because life was crazy but today I realized it was because you were changing and no longer the happy girl that everyone loves. You've had good days and bad days the past few months but Daddy and I have watched your enjoyment of life vanish along with the sparkle in your eyes. You haven't really been present for the past several weeks and that was why Daddy and I helped you go to the bridge this morning. I hope you understand.

I found this poem online today and it says perfectly how I think you felt this morning.

FROM FRIEND TO FRIEND

You're giving me a special gift,

So sorrowfully endowed,

And through these last few cherished days,

Your courage makes me proud.

But really, love is knowing

When your best friend is in pain,

And understanding earthly acts

Will only be in vain.

So looking deep into your eyes,

Beyond, into your soul,

I see in you the magic, that will

Once more make me whole.

The strength that you possess,

Is why I look to you today,

To do this thing that must be done,

For it's the only way.

That strength is why I've followed you,

And chose you as my friend,

And why I've loved you all these years...

My partner 'til the end.

Please, understand just what this gift,

You're giving, means to me,

It gives me back the strength I've lost,

And all my dignity.

You take a stand on my behalf,

For that is what friends do.

And know that what you do is right,

For I believe it too.

So one last time, I breathe your scent,

And through your hand I feel,

The courage that's within you,

To now grant me this appeal.

Cut the leash that holds me here,

Dear friend, and let me run,

Once more a strong and steady dog,

My pain and struggle done.

And don't despair my passing,

For I won't be far away,

Forever here, within your heart,

And memory I'll stay.

I'll be there watching over you,

Your ever faithful friend,

And in your memories I'll run,

...a young dog once again.

In Memory of Asta, Feb. 1997

(c) Karen Clouston

I hope you know how much we love you. I hope you know we will see each other again. I hope you know that even though my heart is broken it gives me comfort to know that you are no longer trapped and unhappy. I hope you've already found your friends who have gone before you at the Rainbow Bridge and are running and playing with them. Oh, Twix, you are my Sweet Baby Girl and always will be. I love you and miss you so very much.

All my love forever and ever,
Momma

Twix

06/20/1999 - 09/24/2011

A Late WW Post (and it isn't wordless)

2011-03-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

Have you guys forgotten about us? I sure hope not!

We are still here and things are pretty good.

Daddy brought this home from work the other day and said the clown told him it was a dog.

Yes, you read that correctly....a dog!

Anybody else out there think maybe those really weren't cigarettes that clown was smoking????

Then we were subjected to wearing it!

Please visit Frankie's blog tomorrow (aka St. Patrick's Day) to get an update on things here.

A special thank you to Frankie for helping our Mom out!

Wordless Wednesday--Taffy Edition

2011-02-23T00:18:00.005-06:00

PS: Mom says she has been neglecting the blog lately but Twix is doing much better ;o)

A Valentine's Update with Photos!

2011-02-13T23:22:00.001-06:00

Gosh! Momma has been taking over the blog lately. I don't know what makes her think she has the right to do that.

I would like to say THANKS to all of you for your support, prayers, and ideas while I've been sick.

I am doing better and I even have a photo to prove it....

Yes, that is me, eating Fresh Pet!

It seems having Taffy here has given me an incentive to eat.

This morning I was running through the house like a cracker dog because I was so excited to get something to eat. Momma and Daddy are taking me to the specialty clinic on Wednesday. I'm not looking forward to it. I still have a little head twitch and stumble sometimes but not as bad as before. I have the most problems when I first wake up. Mom is wondering if it was just because I wasn't eating that caused some of that stuff.

I know you guys have been having withdrawl symptoms from not seeing any photos of me so here you go!

This is from a couple of weeks ago when we had a blizzard.

Do you see how deep that snow is?

It is up to my NECK!

And do you see how quickly I changed my mind about needing to go outside?

A couple of photos of me and Taffy:

Taffy says, "What? I'm just makin sure

she don't fall off the couch."

We got some mail this past week.
First, I got a card from Frankie. He is such a nice guy.
Thanks for thinkin of me Frankie!

Sorry about the photo,

we weren't in the mood for a photo shoot.

Then mail came that was addressed to Twix and Taffy.

I'm not so sure I like having to share my mail.

We got a wonderful window cling (so the firemen will know to look for us if the place catches fire) and a card from Oskar. Thanks Oskar!

Taffy thought the cling was for her to chew on.
What a dork!

I hope everypup gets some
extra lovin for Valentine's Day!

Just a quick update

2011-02-09T21:51:00.001-06:00

Twix is doing better!!!!

Thank you all so much for the feeding suggestions. I have never had to deal with a dog that won't eat and several of your tips worked. She will eat from a syringe on her own without me forcing it down her. Currently, she is eating applesauce, yogurt, baby food fruits, and strawberry ice cream. She snarfs down that ice cream!!! We have known that she was having vision problems but I don't think she is blind. It seems she has a hard time finding her food so I am starting to wonder if her sense of smell is not working so great either. She doesn't eat a lot at one time but her energy is starting to come back. She even picked a fight with her sister last night! Up til yesterday she acted like she didn't even care that Taffy was here so I was glad to see that. I know, it's crazy that I was happy to see my dogs fight. It was just a 3 second spat and no one was injured.

Now that Twix is starting to feel better, having Taffy seems to be giving her a bit more incentive to eat also. She has not eaten true dog food in quite a while and she ate some Fresh Pet yesterday. I tried it before all the other stuff when we got home from work today and she turned away from it. Later, when I fed Taffy and she got Fresh Pet, Twix was much more interested and ate a little herself.

Twix still has her head twitch but it is not nearly like it was in the video. Her daddy and I are going to take her back to the specialty clinic next week for a consultation. Dr. Abby suggested we start with an internal medicine doctor there and he/she will probably want to get a neurologist involved. I will update you guys after her appointment--I haven't made it yet because we just made this decision today.

My mom is doing good as well. We are still in a holding pattern but she will be having another bone marrow biopsy the first part of March. We are praying that the results will be a definite yes she has it or no she doesn't.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support with both of these situations.

Twix and/or Taffy will be back to posting this weekend with pictures ;o)

Twix update from Mom

2011-02-04T22:15:00.001-06:00

I wasn't sure I would make it through the work day today because all I could think about was getting my girl to the vet this evening. When I got home she seemed more alert than she was this morning and was walking better. Her head twitch seems less frequent too. On the way to the vet's office Twix's daddy and I discussed our "options". He felt like Twix was suffering and in pain whereas I did not and He was worried that she would fall off the bed and break something in the middle of the night or hurt her back. Our long term followers know how much Twix and her daddy love each other and it was a very hard thing to think about us not bringing her home. It is extremely important to Twix's daddy and I that she not suffer.

When we arrived at the office Twix was not her normal anxious self but was maybe her half normal anxious self. She did some pacing and some whimpering. Of course, I was in tears in the waiting room and it only got worse once we were in the exam room. We talked with Dr. Abby for quite a while and asked lots of questions. We discussed Vestibular Disorder and she said Twix definitely doesn't have that. She and Shannon (Twix's aunt) assured us that she was not in pain. They made some suggestions on how to keep Twix safe and we talked about how we could control those type of things. So, when we got home tonight we took the mattress off the bed and put it on the floor ;o)

Dr. Abby had sent the video to a neurologist along with a list of things going on with her and is still waiting to hear back. I asked about a concussion and Dr. Abby said that was possible since she was showing some improvement. Both hubby and I felt much better about things after talking with her.

As far as the blood in her urine, we have addressed everything that was suggested in the comments from yesterday's post. We have looked at stones, UTI's, masses, etc. She has had several urinalysis, including sterile ones. She has had x-rays and her back and discs look great. The sonogram she had done at the specialty clinic didn't show any abnormalities at all. The specialist thought she probably had a broken vessel in one or her kidneys and said the only way to fix it would be to have surgery and remove the kidney. He felt that we don't have anything to worry about with that. We have had lots and lots of blood work done too. It seems like we do that about once a month. One reason we do blood work so frequently is to make sure she doesn't become anemic. Her liver and kidney functions are fine. Her blood sugar is always in a normal range. The only thing that ever shows up in the blood work that is abnormal is the white count.

Dr. Abby feels like the biggest issue is the anorexia. We have been trying to get her to eat things she should be eating up to this point but the vet said we should just give her what she will eat right now. I know she likes applesauce so when we got home I put some apple juice in a bowl and she drank all of it. I will be making a trip to the grocery store in the morning to get some applesauce and baby food fruits.

I know that Dr. Abby has had other colleagues review Twix's information and they are as baffled as she is. I think cancer of some sort is probably what is going on but with her recent abdominal sonogram we know it isn't located there.

Thank you so much for all your suggestions, thoughts, prayers, and crossed paws. We talked about pretty much everything that was suggested when we were at the vet's office. I will try to keep you updated as I can.

Thank you so much for everything!

Twix is sick.....Post from Mom

2011-02-03T21:09:00.002-06:00

As many of you know, Twix has had some ongoing health problems for a while. I haven't updated all her friends lately about her newest issues but she has gotten much worse in the past 24 hours and I need to know if anyone out there recognizes any of these symptoms.

First of all, as has been posted on the blog, she has had blood in her urine for quite some time. We were under the impression that this was nothing to worry about after seeing a specialist and having a sonogram. She didn't have any masses or even anything that looked suspicious when we had that done this past summer. The blood comes and goes and other than that she seemed to be just her normal self.

A couple of months ago, she stopped eating her dry dog food and started losing weight. She usually weighs in the 11 pound range and she had gotten down to a little over 9 pounds. She would sometimes eat canned food and sometimes she wouldn't and then it got to the point she just wouldn't eat it at all. We started cooking for her. Chicken breasts and rice, hamburger and rice, just about anything else that our vet suggested. Again, sometimes she would eat and sometimes she wouldn't. It is so hard for me to reach down and hand her a slice of cheese and have her turn her nose away. She is the dog who will eat anything! We finally realized that she seemed to like sweet things so I started using sweet potatoes instead of rice. That lasted for one meal. We started feeding her yogurt and she will eat some of that each day but no more than a half a cup of yogurt per day. She will sometimes eat some plain chicken or hamburger. Somehow, she has gained some of her weight back and is now at about 10 pounds. I really don't understand how that is possible since she eats so little but I figure it is because she wasn't eating at all before.

They usually do blood work when we take her in to the vet's office. It will come back normal except for a high white blood cell count so then we put her on antibiotics. When we have the blood work rechecked her white count is normal. Then the next time the blood work is done (sometimes just a week or two later) her white count is high again.

She has lost some of her coordination over the past 6 months or so but we had attributed it to her age. She had started to trip going up or down the stairs. She was on an anti inflammatory medication but we were concerned that could be affecting her appetite so we took her off of it. When she trips, she may slide down a couple of steps but she never fell and once she got her footing she was able to make it the rest of the way.

Yesterday, I was at an appointment with my mom and her Daddy was home with her. Taffy was at the vet recovering from her spay and teeth cleaning. Twix's daddy had gone to the basement and heard her go upstairs but then heard her fall down all the stairs. When he came running up to check on her she was standing at the bottom of the stairs dazed. He checked her over and she didn't seem to have anything wrong other than being dazed. When I got home she didn't even move off the couch to greet me which is strange. We thought maybe she was a little sore from her tumble. Not too long after that she started doing this strange jerky thing. I called the vet and they said we should take her in. I had this fear that she would stop before we got there due to excitement/nerves. I took a quick video so that they would be able to see exactly what she was doing.

She is usually quite nervous at the vet's office but yesterday she just stood there. They checked her over and thought maybe she had a seizure but weren't sure. They checked her blood work and her white cell count is high again. While we were waiting for her blood work to come back, she fell asleep in my arms, belly up, like a baby. She would NEVER have done that before. And she was totally out, almost hard to wake. Once I put her down, she was stumbling when she walked and if she stood still she would lean forward to the point that her hind legs would start to lift off the floor before she would catch herself.

Today, she seems the same. Not really much change at all except maybe the head jerk isn't quite as often. We are taking her back to the vet tomorrow for a follow up. Dr. Abby wasn't there when we went yesterday but will be there tomorrow. She has been telling us for a while that Twix definitely has something wrong but her symptoms are very vague and we are having a hard time pin pointing it. These new symptoms almost seem neurological.

I was hoping maybe, just maybe, someone out there has seen this same thing with one of their dogs or might have a clue of what is going on. She has totally lost her spark and it breaks my heart to see her like this:

On another note, at my mom's appointment yesterday they decided to postpone her transplant. The second biopsy came back as leukemia OR a reaction to something going on inside her body. They don't want to do the transplant on Monday until they have concrete answers. The doctor said he is sure she has the Leukemia from her blood work and symptoms but it is his job to leave no stone unturned prior to doing the transplant. So, they will be getting the slides from her first biopsy and comparing them and if the pathologist still isn't sure they will either perform another biopsy and/or send the slides to Mayo Clinic. They said it will probably be a month or more before we proceed.

Thank you for your prayers and power of the paw!

Please feel free to link to this post.
I feel like the more who read it the better the chance someone might recognize what is happening.

Introducing.......

2011-01-30T17:30:00.000-06:00

As many of you have suspected,
there is a new dog at my house......

This is Lover Dog.
Daddy bought him just for Momma.
Isn't he cute?

Ok, I'll stop yankin your leash.....

*
*
*
*

This is Taffy.

She is the one seen in my Wordless Wednesday post snuggling with my daddy. Apparently, Mom and Dad went to the vet to meet her one night after work last week.
Nobody even asked me how I felt about this.

They just went and picked her up on their way home from work Friday night. I bet you're wondering what my reaction was when I found out, aren't you?

Momma and Daddy had told Dr. Abby that they were interested in a wire-hair doxie if one ever comes up for adoption thru Hard Luck Hounds.
A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Abby sent an email asking if they would be interested in a female wire hair that has been in a breeding facility. Momma had been secretly hoping to rescue a dog that had been at a puppy mill. Momma said she knew right away this was gonna be the right dog for us.
And, next thing I know I have a new sibling.

Taffy has never had a name before,
she was only a number.

She is 3 years old and doesn't know how to play.
Her 3 years have been spent in confinement
making as many puppies as possible.

She has never even had someone spend enough time with her to potty train her or teach her any sort of manners.

She has never been on a leash before and it is obvious that she has never worn a collar before either.

Her teeth look like they belong to a dog at least twice her age. (She has to get them cleaned soon.)

She doesn't even know how to chew on a bone
:o(

She is a very sweet girl and loves to be loved.

She is also camera shy and these are the only photos Momma has been able to get so far.

As you guys know, we have lots going on here already as we are preparing for Grandma's transplant. Momma has been working with Aunt Shannon and Grandpa to get the house cleaned and ready. Grandma isn't allowed to help.

Grandma has to have lots of testing to make sure her body can withstand the treatments and transplant. They found an electical impulse abnormality in her heart and now she has to have some special tests at the cardiology office.
Please pray that these tests come back normal.

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts, crossed paws, prayers, and patience.

I Have A Funny Feeling About This......

2011-01-27T22:40:00.001-06:00

Hard Luck Hounds has two main objectives:

First, we try and take animals with medical needs that other rescue groups may not be able to provide.

Second, we obtain dogs from breeding facilities in Southwest Missouri which are no longer wanted or needed. We are able to bring these pets into the clinic, address any medical or behavioral needs, begin training and socialization and keep them safe while beginning the search for the perfect forever home.

*Taken from HLH website

This short clip was on our local news lately. I've heard Mom and Dad talking about it AND Hard Luck Hounds is at my vet's office. Actually, now that I think about it, Momma has been emailing Dr. Abby quite a bit lately. Add to that the mysterious photo of my daddy cuddling with another dog........

Hard Luck Hounds Urges Pet Adoption - WDAF

Click on the above link if you want to see the clip.

I think there is something suspicious going on at my house. What do you guys think?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-26T00:14:00.001-06:00

Grandma Update

2011-01-22T16:40:00.000-06:00

I know, it's been a while since my last post. I had to have a serious talk with my momma about helping me more. We'll see if it did any good. I apologize ahead of time but this will be a long wordy post and may be TMI for some of you.

Puddles posted some good news about my grandma and her girl earlier this week and I want to say

Thank You, Puddles!

Now we have even more support than we had before.

The good news about grandma is that one of her brothers is a match for the transplant!!!! We found out yesterday that one of her sisters is a match as well!! There is about a 25% chance of having a sibling be a match so we are fortunate to have 2 matches.

This whole thing has been a bit overwhelming, as you can imagine. For those of you who are new and don't know, Grandma has to have this transplant because she has CMML, an uncommon form of Leukemia. She got this type of Leukemia because of the chemotherapy she had to have last year to treat ovarian cancer. The only chance of living a long life after being diagnosed with CMML is to have an

allogeneic bone marrow transplant. Other treatments may slow the progression of the disease but they can't stop it and without the transplant life expectancy is about 2-5 years. So, there was no question as to whether or not she wanted to proceed with this.

This type of transplant has about a 50% success rate and the way we understand it, that is a very good number in the world of transplants. The biggest risk factors are GVHD (Graft vs. Host Disease) and illness. Grandma will basically have no immune system for at least 100 days after the transplant. They have to be very careful to keep germs away from her.

For example, if Momma were to peel a banana for her it would go like this:

1. Wash hands

2. Wash banana for at least 2 minutes

3. Peel banana

4. Wash hands

5. Grandma gets banana without ever touching the peel

For those first 100 days, she will only be able to go to the doctors office and home with no visitors, only her caregiver.

Crazy, huh?

We keep reminding ourselves it will all be worth it and most of these changes will be short term.

Grandma's transplant is scheduled for Monday, Feb 7th. The stem cells will be "harvested" from my uncle that morning and she will receive them that afternoon. She will undergo chemotherapy for 3 days prior to that to suppress her immune system and blood counts.

On top of all of this, Grandma and Grandpa had to put their 2 kitties up for adoption this week. Even though I am not a big fan of cats, I am sad that they had to give them up.

Thank You!

for all your crossed paws, healing vibes, good wishes and prayers. We appreciate them more than you will ever know.

T-Shirts? On a Dog Blog?

2011-01-11T21:01:00.001-06:00

As lots of my Blogville pals in the US have experienced, we have lots of snow. :o(
I'm up to my collar in the stuff!!!

The snow isn't quite as deep as it looks in the photo but that is because my daddy made a place for me to tinkle.
I hear you big dogs giggling at me out there.....
You try peeing with your behind burried in the snow!

You guys remember when I did the Holiday Card Giveaway with Cafe Press? Well, when Momma ordered my cards, she had found some T-shirts she wanted to get and ordered them as well. Next thing she knows, a box came with the cards and the shirts.
The nice people at Cafe Press gave us both!!!
The shirts were for Kayla and Elizabeth. Kayla had been looking for a shirt that said "Big Sister" on it but wasn't able to find one. Momma remembered that Cafe Press has T-shirts with all kinds of things on them and she knew if she couldn't find what she wanted she could make it! She did some searching and found one she liked.

Kayla was wondering why she got a onsie that said
"Little Sister" on it.

Then when she opened her next gift,
she realized the onsie wasn't for her!
Good thing, I don't think that onsie woulda fit!

She was pretty excited to get a "Big Sister" T-shirt and even more excited that Elizabeth has one to match!

Mom says the T-shirts are good quality and look exactly like she expected them to. The onsie in particular is fairly thick and very soft. I guess sometimes you can buy printed T-shirts that are very thin but Mom says she is impressed with the quality of the material Cafe Press uses.

They do look pretty cute together with their matching penguins, don't they?

Don't you guys worry about me and all the snow. You won't see any photos of me running around all cracker dog crazy in it like some of the other weiner dogs in Blogville. Nope, I think I'll stay right here!

Grandma has another doctor appointment tomorrow and they are supposed to give her a treatment plan so we will update you when we know more. Thanks again for your care, concern, prayers, thoughts, and crossed paws!
We really do appreciate it.
Also, thanks for understanding my lack of visiting lately and for still being my furiends!

The Photo Book Giveaway Winner Is....

2011-01-04T21:59:00.001-06:00

Before I tell you who won, it is very important to show you what happened. I can't believe how I get treated around here somtimes.

So, there I am, snuggled under the covers, getting some

un-needed beauty rest. Next thing I know there is a breeze sneaking in under the covers......

Momma tells me it is time to draw a winner for the Mixbook giveaway. Now, I'm wondering why she felt the need to wait until I was sound asleep to do the drawing.

Next, she tells me to pick one of these little pieces of paper but instead I did a little doxie strut right over them.

So, she tried again, and this time I thought I should do some doga right on top of her little papers :o)

Mom tried one more time and I decided it was time to quit punishing her for waking me up. I stuck my nose on one of the papers and she knew that was the one. I was sneaky about it though, she didn't get any photos!!!

And, (drumroll) the name I picked was.....

Oh, I forgot, the first pic Momma took was unreadable. Maybe I should start saving my treats so I can get her a photography lesson or two. Here let's try the second one.

Congratulations, Brutus!!!!

I can't wait to see what your mom comes up with for you and Carmen!!!!

If you guys remember when I did the card giveaway last month, I told you that Mom had taken a video of me "selecting" the winner and I told you it showed my doxie attitude. I haven't shown it to you yet but since today's drawing was pretty similar I thought now was a perfect time.

I don't know why she thinks she can get me to do something I'm not interested in. Seriously, which would you rather do? Look at some little papers or get some lovin from Dad?

Brutus, tell your mom to get started on your Mixbook and my mom will send her the information she needs later this week (probably Thursday).

For everyone else, the coupon code DOGMIX20 is still available for a 20% discount and that code has no expiration date. Feel free to use it!

Grandma Update and Christmas Stuff

2010-12-31T12:13:00.007-06:00

Hi Guys! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and your New Year is "Twixerrific" as well!

I had a great Christmas and am a little late showing you the wonderful things I got! Hopefully you aren't Christmassed out and bored to death looking at my photos.

A note of warning: This is a long and picture heavy post. For some reason, Mom thinks she has to post most of the photos she took. She says it is because I'm so darn cute....I can't help that, ya know!

First off, I got a gift from Minna K in the mail because I joined Jazzi's Christmas Gift Exchange.
Thanks for hosting that Jazzi! It was great fun!

Mom made me wait to open it with my gift from Santa Paws. I wasn't all too happy about it either.

Momma made me open my Santa Paws gift first.

She said something about saving the best for last.

Ummmm.....aren't these my gifts?

Why can't I open the best first?

Whatever, just let me get in these boxes!

Something smells mighty tasty in here!

Scratch, scratch......

Sniff, sniff.....

Oooooh! I was right these are tasty!

I don't mean to talk with my mouth full.....
I just can't help myself!

So, Santa Paws brought me a box of Wellness Well Bars and a bag of Fruitables cookies.
That's it!
I musta been a naughty girl this year.
At least it wasn't coal, right?

Now, Minna's gift, that is something to talk about!

Mmmmmmm, I smell something good in here too!
Can somebody get this stuffing outta my way?

Yummo!

I got my very own stocking!

Hey! What's in that box, Dad?

Pawesome! My very own ornament of ME!!!!

Lookie at all this wonderful stuff I got from Minna!!!!

A doxie card ;o)

2 bags of treats and ones I've not tried out before! Double ;o)

My ornament ;o)

A stocking with MY name on it ;o)

And check out the great Christmas collar/necklace ;o)

I better double check and make sure those humans got everything outta my box.

Thank you so very much, Minna Krebs!!!!

I love everything!

And thank you Jazzi for hosting such a wonderful
Blogville event!

Taste testing time!!!

What?
You don't think I'm sharing these treats with you, do you?

Thanks to everyone who has asked about Grandma. We really appreciate your thoughts, crossed paws, and prayers. And, we need them more than ever now.

Grandma saw the specialist last week and we learned that she has a type of Leukemia called Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML). It is a rare type of Leukemia that the doctors believe was caused by her chemotherapy. She will have to have a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. And with her type of Leukemia, they will have to kill the bone marrow she has now before the transplant so that the new cells aren't mutated by the bad ones. What that means is that she will have absolutely NO immunity system and will be confined to her house for 100 days afterwards, no visitors, only trips to the doctor's office.

Fortunately, my grandma has 5 brothers and sisters who are all willing to be tested as potential donors. We are hoping one of them will be a match and she will be able to get started with her treatment as soon as possible. We are also hoping Grandma's insurance company will completely cover the expenses related to her treatment.

It is all so very hard to understand because it doesn't seem right or fair that something used to get rid of cancer can give it to you. Not right at all.

A few photos taken Christmas Eve of Grandma and Baby Elizabeth:

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We will try to update you when we have new information. Mom and I have not been leaving comments much lately and I know you understand. We do read your posts and you guys provide us laughter on days when we need it most!

If you are interested in finding out more about CMML,
please click here.

If there is any incorrect information on here regarding CMML and treatment we apologize, this is how we understand things from the information we were given.

Photo Book Giveaway and Review!!!

2010-12-28T22:06:00.001-06:00

I told you guys a couple of weeks ago about an upcoming photo book giveaway from Mixbook here.

Several weeks ago I was contacted by Mixbook and asked if I would like to review an 11 x 8.5 inch photo book and then give one away to one of you. Mom and I discussed this and decided that it was a great idea. Mom has looked at some of the photo book sites but most of them want you to download software in order to create their products.
Not so with Mixbook and that is one thing Mom really liked about using this website.

And there are lots of other things she likes too:

~There are lots of book templates to pick from and you can customize everything in the books. You can have your book "automixed" as well.

We chose one of the templates but ended up
changing every page to our liking.

~You can upload photos from your computer or you can use photos from your online photo accounts like Facebook, Flickr, Picassa, Photobucket, Smugmug, and Yahoo.

~You can collaborate with others and make a book together online. This is something that Mom has never seen before and she thinks its a great idea.

~Once you have created a photo book you can share it online with family and friends for free or you can order one in print. You don't have to have it printed to share it which is another thing I haven't seen before.

~They have pet themed backgrounds and embellishments for those obsessed with their pets!

Mom and I made the book for Daddy for Christmas. We took each letter of his name and put in words that describe him and added photos. We made our book like a photo scrapbook and the images you see in this post are pictures Momma took (not very good ones either).

My Daddy loved this gift!

I'm so excited to give one of these away to one of my followers. Please just leave a comment on this post if you would like to be entered in the drawing for the giveaway. I will post the winner on Monday, January 3rd. The code I have for the winner will expire on January 31st so that will give you almost a month to get your book done.

You can use coupon code DOGMIX20 for 20% off if you don't win and would like to make a book of your own.

I will be posting about my Christmas gifts from Minna Krebs and Santa Paws later this week. I wanted to do the giveaway first so the winner will have time to get their book finished.

Merry Christmas to You!

2010-12-25T13:03:00.002-06:00

We wanted to wish all our friends a

Very Merry Christmas today!

I wish I could send each and every one of you a Christmas card but that is impossible so I am sharing it here for you.

I would also like to share some photos from the past.

These photos are from Christmas 2001.

Twix (that's me!)

Reeses

I hope each and every one of you has the most wonderful Christmas ever! And I hope Santa Paws brings more treats than my furiends can eat!!! I know, that will never happen but a girl can dream can't she?

Merry

Christmas!

About Grandma

2010-12-18T07:27:00.001-06:00

I have recently asked you to keep my grandma in your thoughts and prayers but wasn't able to really disclose much information because we weren't sure what was going on with her. We know some information now and I wanted to update you so you could continue to send her some paw power.

Grandma had a bone marrow biopsy a couple of weeks ago and we found out earlier this week that she has Chronic Leukemia. We learned that Leukemia can be a side effect of chemotherapy but it usually takes a few years for it to develop. Since Grandma finished her chemo treatments in April the doctors think maybe she had this as an underlying condition and the chemo treatments brought it to the surface. We don't really know much about the disease yet but Grandma is scheduled to see a specialist this week.

One of my favorite Grandma and me photos:

Thanks so much for all your support for Grandma and please continue keeping those paws crossed for her!

Please be patient with me as I have not been visiting blogs much at all the past few weeks. I hope once the Holidays are over and Mom isn't so stressed out about things I can get back to visiting more regularly.

Did you know about my sister?

2010-12-09T07:31:00.003-06:00

You didn't know about her, did ya? Me and momma have not talked about her on the blog at all. Actually, I mentioned her when I was telling you about adopting my daddy.

That is me on the left and Reeses on the right. This photo was taken in December 2001. Reeses was only a part of our family for a few months. If you read my adoption story, you know about my mom getting really sick. Well, Reeses was not even a year old yet and when Mom got home from the hospital she realized she wasn't able to take care of both of us and we had to find a different home for Reeses. She and I were not "related" in the sense that we have the same parents. She was a standard doxie where as I am a mini/tweenie ;o) Reeses went to live with the daughter of someone who worked at our vet's office at the time. Unfortunately, we don't get to see her but have heard that she is doing great!
Momma says she still misses her......

She looks like the lovely Lorenza, huh?

More photos to come as Christmas approaches.

Happy Thursday everyone!

The Giveaway Winner Is.....

2010-12-06T22:47:00.001-06:00

Sue from A Portuguese Water Blog!!!!!

Congrats Sue!

If you don't know Sue please stop over and say hello!

She has quite a handful of pups over at her place.

I can't even begin to count that high and look what happens when they all get hungry!!!!

Can you imagine having to share your kibble with all those cuties?

Sorry, no photos of the drawing. I wasn't being too helpful anyway and then the batteries on mom's camera died. She was even trying to take a quick video so you could see me in action! Maybe once she gets new batteries we can post the video. It is a prime example of "Doxie Attitude".

Holiday Card Giveaway!

2010-12-04T17:24:00.006-06:00

Cafe Press is sponsoring another giveaway for my furiends! If you remember, they sponsored a t-shirt giveaway last spring on my blog and my daddy and I got matching shirts.

CafePress offers the best selection of customized and unique gifts. You can get just about any design on a wide variety of products. Its a great place to find Christmas gifts. And if you don't find a design you like you can create your own design either by uploading your image or using their design tools available for lots of products. I really think Cafe Press has a great website because all their products are user designed.

I was really excited when they contacted me about doing a Holiday card giveaway because they have recently partnered with Breastcancer.org, Greenpeace, PETA, Operation Gratitude and Rock the Vote with special template cards for each one. 10% of every purchase of these cards goes back to that organization. Of course, I picked a PETA card but I'm not showing you which one in case I send it to you!

"Blast from the Past" 2004
This is NOT the photo I uploaded!

The giveaway will consist of a pack of 12 customized cards. You can add your own photo(s) and text. I just received my cards and I was really impressed with the quality. Not only are the cards on nice cardstock but the print quality of the photo I uploaded is pawfect!

Things have been a bit crazy around here and we were slow getting our cards ordered so our review is late too. I would tell you my mom is a slacker but it isn't true (this time). As you know we have had a lot going on with my grandma and I hope to be able to update you next week.

Due to being late we will have to make this a quick giveaway or you won't get your cards in time. In order to enter please just leave a comment on this post. If I cannot contact you via your profile please leave your email address in your comment. A winner will be chosen the evening of Monday, December 6th. Feel free to let others know about this since there isn't much time to sign up.

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by Cafe Press.
I received no compensation other than a pack of 12 Holiday cards to review.
All opinions about Cafe Press are my own.

Have You Heard?

2010-11-30T20:45:00.002-06:00

Have you guys heard of MixBook?

I just recently learned about them and wanted to let you know that you can make photo books on their site. As a matter of fact, Momma is working on one now. When we get it we will be doing a review and a GIVEAWAY for one of my lucky readers to get a photo book of their own ;o)

We just ordered my Christmas cards from them today because they are having a Cyber Monday sale for 50% off right now. The sale doesn't end until Wednesday night. When I do my review I will be giving out a coupon code for 20% off but thought any procrastinators out there (like my mom) might want to get some Christmas cards or Christmas gifts for half price.

Momma says she has had fun working on the photo book and the program is really easy to use. They also have some fun features like stickers which she hasn't seen from other programs before. She showed me this so I know it is real.....they even have a pre-made pet book that you can put your own photos in! How fun is that? Books just for us bloggers! Anyway, we wanted to let you know about the upcoming giveaway and the great discount currently available.

Mom and I have not had much time to visit for about a week. Please be patient with us.

We wanted to let you know that my grandma is having some tests ran on Thursday so we could use some extra paw power and prayers between now and then. The waiting to find out what is wrong is the hardest part!

And, for you puppy lovers out there.......

The Story of Me & Christmas Shopping Spree

2010-11-25T10:45:00.005-06:00

Thanks to Minna for hosting "The Story of Me" on this wonderful Thanksgiving 2010.

I don't have much of an adoption story because my Momma got me when I was 5 1/2 weeks old.

She had another doxie, Max, and he passed away in February 1999 after living a wonderful 17 years.

I usually post the same photo of Max but today,
we have a new and different one for you to enjoy.

Momma (she didn't know Daddy yet) wasn't ready to get another dog right away. One day one of her coworkers said her neighbor's dogs just had puppies....and they were doxies! Momma agreed to go and look at them. I was 3 weeks old at that time. There were about 6 puppies there and Mom played with them all and loved on all them. She picked me up and I fell asleep in the palm of her hand....belly up. She liked my coloring too. I was chocolate and tan. So, she told the lady she wanted to get me.

First puppy photo of me EVER on the blog!
See, I haven't been lying to you, I was chocolate and tan!

Mom was planning to get me several weeks later because she was in the middle of moving. The lady called Mom the first week of August (I was born June 20) and said she needed to come and pick me up. Mom said she thought I was too young to be away from my birth mother but the lady said all the other puppies were already gone and she had someone else interested in me if she didn't come to get me.

So, I moved in with Mom and all her boxes. I was certainly too young to be away from my first home but Momma put me in bed with her that night and that made me feel more comfy. Matter of fact, I was so comfy I woke Momma up in the middle of the night pushing on her tummy.....looking for something to eat.

Taken after I was "fixed".
Didn't know I was broken to start with!

I am not a registered dog and was relatively inexpensive and yes, I came from a backyard breeder. Mom and Dad don't care where I came from they love me no matter what and that is what I am most thankful for today!

Frankie requested I tell how I adopted my dad today too. Most of you guys know how much of a Daddy's girl I am. It didn't start out that way at all!!

I was about 2 years old when Momma and Daddy met. When she told Dad that she had a Dachshund he said, "I don't like little dogs.". Mom asked how did he know if he liked me or not if he never met me. He said again he didn't like little dogs and he knew he wouldn't like me. So, whenever he came over to our house and had dinner he would eat off a TV tray in the living room. My daddy eats bread and butter with every meal and he would put his bread on a napkin next to his plate on the tray. Following me here? Since he didn't like me, I decided I didn't like him either and he knew it. The first moment he wasn't looking at his plate I would reach up there real quiet like and snatch a slice of that yummy bread and butter off his tray. I was so quick that I had most of it eaten before he ever realized what happened.
Ah, those were the days ;o)

So, Mom and Dad started dating in Sept 2001 and after the first of the year Mom got really sick and was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Daddy came over and took care of us during that time. (We also had another doxie that you will get to meet over the next few weeks.) He felt so sorry for me that he spoiled me rotten while Momma was in the hospital. I decided I liked him after he started spoiling me!
He says we "bonded" during that time.

Daddy and I after "bonding".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks to Frankie for hosting the Christmas Shopping Spree for our parents today too!

For Christmas, I would give my parents a new king size bed. They both dislike my queen size bed that I share with them. If we shared a king size bed, maybe they would quit complaining about how much room I take.

Next I would buy them a lifetime membership to Petco. That way, they won't have to stress out when I'm needing something new and they are out of green papers.

For my momma, I would buy this:

Not the phones, the herd ;o)

And for my daddy I would get this:

Have a Twixerrific Thanksgiving!!!!!

Note from Twix: I know some of you have read that we need some paw power sent our way on Frankies' blog. It is really my grandma who needs it. Even tho she finished her chemo treatments in April she is having some complications related to that. I can give more details in the future when we get some answers. Please pray and cross paws that what the docs think is wrong with her is not it!

Look Who I Got To Meet

2010-11-21T21:05:00.001-06:00

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house last night and look who was there!

Baby Elizabeth!

This is the first time I got to meet her. I've never been around such a tiny baby before. Last time I was around a baby was when I was a pup and my cousin Kayla was about a year old.....that was eleven years ago!

Sniff.....Sniff.....Sniff......

Hi there, Little One!

You hiding any yummy treats in there?

She ain't got no treats :o(

I thought I've heard some of you say these
things were treat dispensers.

Hmmmmm....This one must be broken.

So, while Momma was holding Elizabeth, I got a little jealous.

Guess what I did?

No, I didn't bite Momma or Elizabeth.

Nope, I didn't growl or bark either.

I'll give you one more guess.

Yep, that's right, I tinkled on the rug in front of the door.

Hey! At least I didn't do it on the carpet!

Next thing I know, Gwen is giving me the stare down.

Look out there kitty cat!

I'm gonna start barkin and chasin any minute!

On your mark, get set......

Mom? Can you make her move????

Note from Mom: Twix usually barks and goes crazy around cats because she was attacked by one when she was a puppy. There are 2 cats at my mom's house and if Twix gets a glimpse of Sammy she starts barking and growling. For some reason she is not that way around Gwen. We can't quite figure it out but maybe it is because Gwen isn't scared of Twix and doesn't run from her....?????

Wordless Wednesday--Blast from the Past 2005

2010-11-17T00:03:00.001-06:00

Assistance

2010-11-14T10:08:00.000-06:00

The other day, my daddy was busy doin somethin

and I needed to check it out.

I asked him what he was doin.

He didn't answer me so I thought I needed to

~~get all up in his snooter~~ get closer and ask again.

He said, "I WAS workin on the table that your momma

broke til you decided to stick your nose in my grill".

"Daddy, you can keep workin on it.

I am here to ~~lick your skin off~~ assist you."

Then he told me I was NOT helping!!!

Can you believe that?

Note from Mom: I didn't break the table,

it is an old piece of junk and it fell apart!

Pure Happiness

2010-11-09T21:44:00.003-06:00

This past weekend was absolutely beautiful!!!!

You guys know I am a warm weather girl so for me to say a November weekend was beautiful......well, you get the idea.

I was able to fulfill my sun bathing duties.

Notice the look of pure bliss on my face.

We have had some nice days lately but the wind has been blowing a lot and I don't like the wind too much.
I tend to lay on the ground and try to cover my ears when it is windy. Along with the wonderful sunshine we had no wind on Saturday either!

Oh no! I feel a photo shoot coming!

Should I run or stay?

Shoot away, Mom.
This sun is too wonderful to worry about you taking pics.

Time out for security duty.

A photo of Dachshund Heaven!

Don't forget to sign up for the Holiday Card exchange. Link on the sidebar.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-02T22:29:00.003-05:00

This is a wordless post from me but if you put your ears close to the computer and listen very carefully.....
you will probably hear my mom giggling!

The Happiest Howl-o-wiener!!!!

2010-10-31T11:41:00.002-05:00

Now, before I get to the great news, I want to show you what my parents made me do yesterday.

In case you can't tell, I had been in the big bed asleep when they subjected me to this!

Just imagine being sound asleep, dreaming of chasing AND catching a squirrel and then having this done to you!
Rude I tell you! What is with these people?

That was all I was willing to subject myself to.
I had to get that thing off my head!

Now, on to the happy news!!!!

Those of you who have been following me for a while might remember that my Aunt Shannon (who also works at my V.E.T.) and Uncle David were expecting.

Well, I would like for you all to meet Elizabeth Denise!!!!

She was born 10/29/10 and weighed 9 lbs 13 ozs, 21.5 inches long!!! I think she looks an awful lot like her big sister, Kayla, and I can't wait to meet her!

That is the best photo we have right now because my momma, the dummy, forgot her camera both times she has been to the hospital. This photo was taken with her cell phone while she was holding Elizabeth.

David, Shannon, Kayla, and Elizabeth are all doing well and will probably get to come home from the hospital tomorrow.

I hope every furiend gets lots and lots of treats today!!!

A Memory on Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-27T12:24:00.000-05:00

My Weekend and Some Other Stuff

2010-10-24T19:48:00.001-05:00

This post is probably gonna be all over the place.....sorry.

First off, I guess my Mom wasn't cheating on me but I'm still not happy about finding another dog's paws on the computer. Those paws belong to my cousin, Griffin.

I had kinda a lazy weekend.
I started the weekend napping in the big bed.

I must say, I hate it when Mom finds me sleepin this way....she always tells me she can see my teefers and then sticks her finger in between my lips and tries to touch them! She is so rude!

I also did some sunnin in my chair but not too much, it wasn't the sunniest weekend on record.

I cuddled with my daddy too!

But I wasn't very happy when Mom interrupted us.

Today I was trying to do some well deserved snoozin.

But the puparatzi wouldn't let me get any sleep.

I've been practicing my dirty look.
Do you think it might actually work some day?

I tried to hide under the covers but that didn't work either.

Does anypup know if there will be a DWB Christmas card exchange this year? Anyone heard any gossip on it?
I thought that things were back on track with the
DWB website earlier this year but it sure seems quiet when I stop by and visit The Bone Zone forums.

I did find out that little Miss Jazzi is hosting a Christmas exchange. Click here to check it out!

I decided it was time for a new header photo.
What do you think?
I got loads of compliments on the other pic I had up there so it was hard to change it. But I was getting sick of looking at the same one since the beginning time.
I also changed my colors around. I was gonna change the color palette all together for fall but I decided to stick with pink and green--my signature colors. I just can't quite figure out if I really like it this way.
What do you guys think? Should I change it back?

Hmmmm, having a lazy weekend seems to make me a little wishy washy.

Tuesday Toesday

2010-10-19T00:37:00.003-05:00

Most of my long term followers know that my mom has a
"Paw Fetish".

It's not just a small problem she has either.

She is obsessed with my feeties!

She smells them and

kisses them and

rubs them and

takes lots of photos of them.

She does not lick them though (whew!)

I'm starting to think she needs to be locked
in a padded doghouse!

And, now look what I found on the computer....

Photos of another dog's paws!!!!
OMD! I think my mom is cheating on me!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T00:25:00.000-05:00

Celebrating!

2010-10-07T00:04:00.004-05:00

Today is my Grandma's 29th Birthday!

And I am doing several of my favorite things to celebrate.

Relaxing in my sunnin' chair

Taking a nap

Having a snack

Snuggling under the covers

Tanning my backside

Wearing my party clothes

For my new followers, my Grandma underwent chemo treatments earlier this year and is now getting stronger by the day.

That makes this birthday extra special!!

Let's Celebrate my Grandma!!!!!

Happy 29th Birthday Grandma!

Mini Puddles

2010-10-04T22:36:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend, the doorbell rang and Momma went to answer the door. She opens the door and doesn't see anyone but there is a strange car out front.....

And as you can see, the driver had some issues with parking.

Mom starts to go out to see if the driver is ok and sees this......

She starts calling me and telling me one of my "little furiends" is here to play. And I'm thinking she has lost her mind. It was a bit chilly here this weekend and I had no desire to go out and play. But, being a good dogter, I headed toward the front door and what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks!

"Mini Puddles? What are you doing here?"

"Well, you could act a little more happy to see us there, Twixie."

"US?"

"Yes, us. I stopped and picked up a furiend on my way over."

OMD!
It's Mini Frankie Furter too!
So at this point I'm thinking this isn't gonna be so bad, right?

WRONG!
Notice how Mini Frankie Furter is leaning a bit there?
Well, guess who was driving the car.....
Yep! Mini Frankie Furter.
It seems he and Mini Puddles stopped at every pub between here and Ohio and had a taste of the toilet water at each one......
This is gonna be a looooooog weekend!

The very first thing Mini Puddles did was get in my sunnin chair!

"Uh, did you get your ear pierced?"
"Yep! Sure did! You like?"
"Not so much. What does ty mean?"
"Well, we took the long way here so we could visit more pub toilets and when we were in Texas saying Hi to Mona I decided to get my ear pierced. I wanted a dangling heart with tx in it for Texas. It seems the ear piercer doggy guy had a few too many drinks and... Well, you're a smart girl, you can figure the rest out.
Good thing I didn't let him pierce my navel or any other body parts starting with N, huh?"
"Ummmm.... I guess. You know Puddles is gonna knock you out when she sees that. She is gonna be so green with jellyness that she didn't do it first."
"I know, right? Hey, Twix, you got any beer around here?"
"Well....."
"Never mind, I'll get it myself."

"Hey, Mr. Red, White, & Blue!
Get your bootie up here and help me with this thing!"

Next thing I know, the two of them are in the recycling bin.

"What are you two doing in there?"
"Well, I learned from Puddles that you can find interresting things digging around in the trash....you know like contact lenses."
"And you are in the recycling bin because....."
"Du-uh! Your trash can is dog proof.
Any more questions, Smarty Pants?"
"Geeze! You are more sarcastic than your namesake."
"I know, right?"

I went on about my very important business.....

I left those two alone for just a few minutes and come back to this!

I have no idea what was in those "cigarettes" but next thing I know Mini Puddles is trying to sneak up on my snack....

And then Mini Puddles got all paranoid about her hoarding problem and started hoarding my toys!

I lost Mini Frankie Furter for a few minutes and went looking for him, scared of what I might find.
As everyone knows, Frankie Furter hisself is very helpful. Apparently, that trait has carried over to Mini Frankie Furter too.
I found him in the basement decorating the Christmas tree:

I guess all the beers finally got to them cuz I found them passed out like this:

Seriously!
Have you ever seen the real Frankie Furter let his ear furs get that messed up?

I went for a walk with my Dad and came back to Mini Puddles dancing on the coffee table!!!!!

I have now been grounded and my "furiends" have been banned from the house for the next 87 dog years!

I've Gone Yellow!

2010-10-01T23:07:00.004-05:00

In honor of LIVESTRONG, I have gone totally yellow today.

Why, you ask?

Well, October 2 is LIVESTRONG Day and we are all going yellow in order to show our support for the cancer survivors and those who have lost their lives to this nasty disease.

I'm wearing my yellow to support my Grandma!

Go Grandma!
(You might remember this as a 'before' picture but I love it! I'll try to see if Momma and Daddy can get some after pics for you.)

I'll keep growing my furs if you do too ;o)

This post is also for Vanaty, my step sister.

Here is a picture of her and our daddy:

She just had another surgery earlier this week.
Keep fightin' the fight, girl! We are right behind you!

I'm handing this post off to Mom so she can finish up for me.

I've got company and I'm having a hard time keeping her in line (more to come later).

As Twix said, we are supporting LIVESTRONG by turning our blog yellow today in support of all those we know who are affected by cancer. Milo and Alfie had a wonderful idea of having pet bloggers join in and go yellow on their blogs today in order to support LIVESTRONG DAY, October 2, 2010. You can join in and show your support to by wearing yellow today too.

Milo and Alfie have a special blog set up for today if you would like to visit here.

LIVESTRONG fights to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

I would like to honor the following people who are very close to us:

Please take a minute to visit Milo and Alfie for more information.

Chair Shots

2010-09-27T20:59:00.001-05:00

One of my bestest buds, Frankie Furter, loves to see me in my sunnin' chair. I haven't posted too many chair shots this summer and I'm afraid Frankie might start having withdrawl symptoms soon. So, Frankie, this post is just for you!

Do we have to do a photo shoot now?

Guess I might as well pose then.

One pose is all you get....I'm worn out!

Would it kill ya to clean the window?

I'd like to start a new art project someday.

What do ya mean I sit funny?

Have you looked in the mirror lately?

Last chair shot, Frankie.
And a cute one at that!

Now, how about some under the chair shots?

Why do you find it necessary to wake me from a good nap?

I'm not one to toot my own horn or brag (at least not like someone else we all know, Puddles!). But I would love for you to go and visit Hero's blog. He is my most handsome guy, ya know. Anyway, he put up a post of his late birthday gift from me and it is so cute and so sweet I wanted to share it with you all.

I'm lucky to have such a sweet guy!

I'm Showing You My Tongue

2010-09-24T21:55:00.001-05:00

In honor of National Dog Week my bestest bud,
Twinkie, is sponsoring a
Show Us Your Tongue Contest.

The following photo is my official entry:

I'm not quite sure why, but I have ALOT of photos with my tongue out. Mom and I had fun going through my photos and picking out some of our favorites to share with you.

Crooked tongue:

Raspberry tongue:

Can you help me get this chicken off my head tongue #1:

Can you help me get this chicken off my head tongue #2:

Peek-a-boo tongue:

Wavy tongue:

Pfffbbbbtttttt

Popsicle tongue:

Demon possessed tongue:

ZZZZzzzz tongue:

Lovin' Daddy tongue:

Which one is your favorite?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-22T00:06:00.000-05:00

Fresh Pet Select

2010-09-12T22:07:00.003-05:00

Well, as usual, Mom has been neglecting her duties as my blogging secretary. I really don't know what on earth I'm gonna have to do to remedy this problem.....any ideas?

Apologies go out to Fresh Pet for our delay in getting this review out. My recent health troubles have really put us behind in all things blogging.

Now, I am about 2 months behind on giving you a report on those Fresh Pet products I received right before my birthday.

You do remember that don't you?

Here's a reminder:

First of all, Mom was pretty surprised in what was sent to me to try out. Our box contained the following products:

Dog Joy Treats - Real Chicken Recipe

Fresh Pet Select Fresh Bites - Chicken & Vegetable Recipe

2 Fresh Pet Select Homestyle - Lamb, Vegetable & Barley Recipe

Fresh Pet Select Slice & Serve - Chunky Chicken, Turkey, Vegetable & Rice Recipe

Fresh Pet Select Slice &Serve - Chuncky Beef, Vegetable & Rice Recipe

I'll let Mom give her review first and then I will let you know what I thought and share some pics and video with you.

First of all, I would like to say Thank You to Fresh Pet for selecting Twix to try and review their fabulous food. If you aren't familiar with Fresh Pet you can read their philosophy here. They use all natural ingredients and minimally cook them in order to preserve the nutrition. I like the fact that they don't use any preservatives either. I want you all to know that they asked me to write an honest review and that says a lot about their products right there.

As most of our followers know, Twix has had some severe hair loss issues recently but she has had some degree of hair loss all her life. As a puppy, I was told it was food allergies and I spent a lot of time researching more natural and high quality foods for her. Earlier this year, her hair loss became much more significant and it was determined to be a thyroid issue. We started Twix on thyroid medication around the same time we started using Fresh Pet. I don't know if her hair regrowth is from one or the other or both. I can tell you that originally we were told that there was a possibility that her hair would not grow back at all. As most of you have seen, her hair is continuing to grow back and it is looking great!

I cannot think of any negatives with Fresh Pet but I would say that the positives include: easy to feed, Twix LOVES it, good varity, healthy for her, wonderful ingredients (and I can pronounce everything on the label!). I know that isn't everything I have thought of as I've fed this to her but I am honestly very pleased with the products and their overall quality. It's nice to give her treats that I feel are healthier for her as well. The Dog Joy treats are soft enough to hid a pill in too!

Enough from me....back to the star of A Wiener Dog Blog!

I have to say, I fell in love with this food! Momma and Daddy would give me some when they got home from work everyday. It didn't take long until I was crying and whining as soon as they walked in the door because I knew what was coming. Momma would always make me go out and take care of business first. Every day I would go tearing across the floor in order to get into the kitchen as fast as possible. I tried to make the trip just a teensy bit shorter one time and ran right into the side of the book case! Don't worry, it didn't stop me or even slow me down.

I really like the Dog Joy Treats.

That is what Momma is holding in that very first photo of me.

Can you say YUM-MY?

Mom and Dad decided to give me 1/2 the daily amount recommended for my size so that I would eat dry food too. I didn't really like that decision but I didn't get much choice. Momma took a roll of the slice and serve and cut it into bite size pieces and put them in individual serving bags and froze them.

I love those soooo much!

It was like a meat popcicle....

What more could a dog want on a hot summer day?

And this is what the slice and serve looks like when it isn't frozen ;o)

Look at those yummy carrots and peas!

I'm drooling just thinking about it!

Here is a collage of photos of me eating the

Fresh Pet Select Homestyle foods.

Again, YUMMY!

This stuff has gravy on it!!!!!

I am out of the Fresh Pet Select products that was sent to me and Momma has gone to two different stores to get some and came back empty handed. She thought one of the stores she went to had it because she had been told that this grocery store chain carried it. I guess not all of them carry it. The second store is just starting to carry it and haven't gotten any in yet. Momma promised me she would call every day and see if they have it in yet.

I can't wait!

The Results

2010-09-05T22:35:00.001-05:00

So, Friday morning, Momma got up, got ready, and left for work.

I, on the other hand, got to sleep in with Daddy.

(sorry about the quality, taken with a cell phone)

Momma came home, picked us up and off we went....to another V.E.T.'s office and one I've never been to.

I get a little nervous when at the V.E.T. and this is the only decent photo Mom was able to get while we were there.

Some man came out talked to Mom and Dad for a minute and then took me away. I didn't really like that too much, as you can imagine. The man put some stinky alcohol on my tummy and then took some pictures. Now, you remember I told you I couldn't have anything to eat, right? Well, the lady forgot to tell Mom and Dad that I needed to have a full bladder. So, while I stayed there waiting for my bladder to fill up, Mom and Dad went out for lunch! Can you believe that? Here I am so hungry I am in the grips of death AND being left alone with some strange man. They just walk away, hop in the car and go eat lunch. They even had breafast food! Humph!

When they came back, the strange man (the doctor) came back out with me and I was so excited to see Mom and Dad! Daddy said it was a good thing I wasn't a big dog or I mighta pulled the doctor down and drug him across the floor.

We haven't heard from my V.E.T. yet but this new doctor told Mom and Dad that my insides all looked normal!

Yay!
Happy Dog Dance!

He did say my kidneys looked old....WHAT?
Who is he callin old?
And, what do old kidneys look like anyway?

He did say that he would suggest a repeat sonogram in about 6 months because any problem can start very small. He also said I should have a blood clotting test run with Dr. Abby to make sure my blood is clotting properly. I do pass blood clots on occasion so it must be clotting some, right?
He also said I could have some blood vessels leaking in one of my kidneys from a stroke or aneurysm. It sounded like he didn't think this was a big deal. He said they could do surgery to find out which kidney it was coming from and then remove that kidney if Mom and Dad were really worried about it but I'm thinking that is going just a little too far.
So, basically, we don't have any answers but we do know that I don't currently have any tumors or cysts that are bleeding or anything else seriously wrong.
Once Mom and Dad talk with Dr. Abby next week and we make a plan, I will let you know.

Now, after talking to the doctor, we went out and I tinkled in their grass. I got in the car on Daddy's side and he opened the glove box. You will never guess what was in there!
Nope, not a burger and a beer like Puddles suggested but it was a bag of treats ;o)
I couldn't even wait until he got that bag opened....I was trying to open it with my teefers. Once it was open, Dad tried to reach in and grab one of those treats for me but I pushed his hand outta the way and stuck my snooter right in that bag and grabbed 2 treats out and chowed down. There were 2 more treats in that bag and he gave me those too.

I love my Daddy!

When we got home I went straight to my food bowl, had a small snack and then off to take a long nap.

It was a stressful morning and I was really tired!

Seriously, Mom?

I'm trying to celebrate here!

Tomorrow's The Day

2010-09-02T20:20:00.001-05:00

My sad, pathetic face didn't work. I thought sure I was gonna get outta going to this new V.E.T. with this face I gave:

Nope! Momma told me I have to go at 11:00 in the morning.

So, I thought I would try looking even more pathetic because it usually gets me what I want!
I even shed a tear or two.

But NO!

Momma said I could give her the saddest look ever and I still had to go and have this "sonogram" done.

I don't even know what a "sonogram" is.

Is it gonna hurt?

Will they give me that medicine that makes me feel all loony tunes like when I get my teeth cleaned?

OMD!

She just told me

I can't

have

anything

to eat

after midnight!!!

I'm already starving just thinking about it.

I mean, look at me......

I've become so weak I can't.......

.....even....

finish.....

......this

.......post.........

PS: I don't know if we will get our results tomorrow or not. We have to have the test done at a different place but then the results will be sent to my V.E.T.

What I Got!

2010-08-30T22:04:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Mom and I received an unexpected package in the mail from the bestest furiend a girl can have, Lorenza.

I have to say, unexpected packages are the best!

Inside was this lovely card....

And this pretty box....

The box contained this beautiful bracelet for Mom!

Lorenza's Mom made it just for my Mom, wasn't that super nice?

Mom says it looks very pretty on her wrist.

Thanks Lorenza's Mom!

Well, as you might guess from the card,

there was something in there for me too.....

A new dress!

With dachshunds on it!
Made by Lorenza's lovely Grandma!

I wore it last time I went to the V.E.T.

I'm not too happy about going there again....

But, Daddy let me drive the car!

(Ok, I know you can see the speedometer is on zero but it was fun to pretend while we were at the stoplight)

The V.E.T.'s office has a pair of birds.

They were whistling at me.....

you know, the kind of whistle that says

"Twix, you look pretty in your new dress".

I promise I wasn't thinking about eating them.......

Oh! And here is one of my xrays....

you can't see anything on it but I sure look long, don't I?

Dr. Abby said I was full of you know what!

Lorenza and Mom, thank you so very much for my new dress and Momma's bracelet! You two are wonderful friends and we are so blessed to know you!

My buddy Joey is still in the doggie hospital but is slowly showing some improvement.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by last week and gave him some encouragement.

Feel free to send him some more get well wishes at his blog here.

His family still prints out the comments he gets and reads them to him every day.

Update

2010-08-24T22:21:00.001-05:00

It looks like all the urine testing that was done came back normal. That is good but it means that we will be going to a specialty clinic sometime soon and having a sonogram.

Can I tell you how sick I am of going to the vet?

Better yet, I will show you.....

This is how our conversation went......

First I hear, "Twix, we have to go to a new vet for more tests"

Then she tells me that my urine tests were normal.

Hold on, Momma, I hear something in the kitchen.

Next she tells me about these other tests

and what they will be doing.

Then I roll my eyes at her but I know she doesn't see me.

I give her my best sad face and pathetic look

to see if I can get out of it.

I sure hope it works.

By the way, my furiend Joey at "The Long and Short of It All" just had some major surgery and has been experiencing some complications. I would love it if you could stop by and give him and his family some encouragement. His family prints out the comments he gets and reads them to him to make him feel better ;o)

On Our Way

2010-08-21T11:14:00.001-05:00

Hero and I left our homes last week and are on our way to

The Wedding of the Century.

I told Hero to jump on the first flight out and we would just enjoy ourselves on our way to Thunder Bay.

Um, Hero, that isn't exactly what I meant......

Please be careful!

(Just between you and me, I worry about that boy sometimes)

Fortunately, he made it to my house just fine.

He won't talk about the details of his flight though.

We hopped on our motorcycles and took off to the north.

Pay no attention to those "training wheels" on our bikes.

They are only there to help us balance the bikes when we are sitting still.....you know, I don't have very long legs.

We did some white water rafting in Minnesota.

I wasn't too happy when Hero tipped the raft and I fell in the water.

I really don't like getting wet.....it messes up my new furs.

He looked at me with those big eyes of his

and told me he was sorry.

I forgave him in an instant!

Then we hopped on a plane to take us the rest of the way.

I didn't realize they weren't landing in Thunder Bay.....

Look out Frankie, Ruby, and Penny!

Here we come!

Don't forget to visit the wedding blog,

A Dachshund Wedding,

to see those 3 take their vows.

PS: no news from the vet yet

A Note from Mom

2010-08-18T21:56:00.001-05:00

Hi all! I just realized that it has been a week since I helped Twix put up a new post.

She walked right up to me and told me I was a slacker!

Can you believe that?

She has some nerve, huh?

Truth is, I have been slacking on blogging lately. Not just with our posts but also with commenting. I do have a good reason, I have been trying to research what is going on with my girl. Most of our followers know that Twix has had blood in her urine recently. Looking back, I think this has been going on for a couple of months now. Last time we posted about this (here), Twix told you she was taking a second round of antibiotics and we were waiting to see if that cleared it up. She also took a third round of antibiotics for an even longer time. The medication did not clear it up.

We have been making several trips to the vet lately....so much that I think Twix is starting to hope she doesn't hear the word "ride" ever again. The good news in all this is that she doesn't act like she is in pain or sick at all. And we know her fur is growing back so that is a positive as well. The last couple of times she was at the vet we did some xrays to see if we could see any bladder or kidney stones and we did not see any.

That sounds good, right?

And I should be happy, right?

I'm not.

It makes me worry that there is something more serious going on and that is what I have been researching which is probably not a good thing for me to be doing right now. As you can imagine, there are lots of things that can go wrong with a dog's kidneys, bladder, and everything in between. I know this could still turn out to be something small and easy to fix but everything inside me is yelling this is bad, very bad. What I read last night that has me the most scared is that if it is some sort of cancer it is usually very advanced by the time there is blood in the urine. And, Twix has a lot of blood in her urine. The doctor said it looks like kool-aid. At our last visit Monday, she said she doesn't see any masses but they don't necessarily always show up on an xray. She also told us that she doesn't think Twix has cancer because she seems to be getting healthier since we put her on the thyroid meds and most of the time she sees the opposite.....dogs lose weight, have very little energy, and just don't look good in general. She sent off some of Twix's urine for some testing and we are waiting for the results to come back, hopefully before the end of the week.

Needless to say, we could use some prayers

and crossed paws right now.

Thanks to all of you for being our friends and

for your support when we need it!

Sorry, this is kind of a long, depressing post. How about something to make you smile.....

I will let Twix get back to posting when we get some new information from the vet. Also, we got a surprise in the mail this week and we want to share it with you.

Wordless Wednesday (for the most part)

2010-08-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

My mom likes this picture so I told her we could post it today even though it is a couple of months old, which you can probably tell by how thin my furs are.

The Answer on Flower Friday

2010-08-06T00:05:00.005-05:00

A large majority of you were correct in guessing that I was eating watermelon in my Wordless Wednesday photos.

I knew I had smart furiends!

Since today is Flower Friday, I thought it would be appropriate to show you a watermelon bloom.

Not the prettiest flower on the planet but it sure does make something wonderful to eat!

Here are Wednesday's photos before being turned into

"coloring book" images:

No, I did not eat that whole piece of watermelon.

Mom always gives me a piece that looks like this when she is done cutting it up:

See, no teeth marks yet!

Now, for those of you who have not ever eaten a watermelon this way, I will demonstrate.

Any questions?

One more thing......

Today is Momma's birthday!

Do you think I might get some cake?

Wordless Wednesday--What am I Eating?

2010-08-04T00:15:00.003-05:00

For Phantom

2010-08-01T20:24:00.003-05:00

This is my furiend Phantom and he lives over at
The Chronicle of Woos
aka
The OP Pack.

Phantom had to have a malignant tumor removed from his chest last summer. His mom told us at the time that due to the kind of tumor Phantom had there was a good chance he would get another one. His mom is so wonderful and gives him full body massages as a way to check for any lumps or bumps he might have. This last week she found one on the side of his handsome face. Right now, they are waiting for blood work to come back and if it looks good then Phantom will have surgery again on Tuesday.

I know that most of my furiends know
Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara.
If you don't, please feel free to stop by and offer them some encouragement because I know this is a hard time for their family.

I've got my front paws crossed.....

......and my back paws crossed.....

.....and I'm saying some extra prayers for Phantom.

Before & After

2010-07-29T21:44:00.002-05:00

Before:

After:

(That's my art work on the window)

Before:

After:

Before:

There's not even furs around my eyes in this one.

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

What a difference!
And we aren't all the way re-furred yet either!
My new furs on my neck are coming in a little more blonde....
Maybe I'll get to find out if blondes really do have more fun!

Are you done yet, Mom?
I'm tired of being your fuzzy model.....

Catman and Me

2010-07-25T15:46:00.001-05:00

There I was out catching some rays and.....

Holy dogbones, Catman!

There is a one eared monster right behind me!

Oh no! Its morphing......

into a stone dog sculpture!

Run, Catman, run!

Wait, I think it might be a giraffe.

Look at that looooog neck.

Catman? Come back!

Don't leave me here alone....

Maybe if I close my eyes it will go away.

It's still here!

Catman, what do we do?

I hear a soft voice whispering my name.....

Twix?

Its getting louder....

Twix! Its time for dinner!

Oh! Thank Dogness! I was just having a daymare!

Catman?

I was hanging out with Catman?

Gaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!
It's back!

Thank You on Flower Friday

2010-07-23T00:02:00.002-05:00

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement on my last post. I didn't mean to make you think I wasn't enjoying blogging because I am. I love it very much (thanks Marla!). I just start feeling bad because you guys leave me lots of comments and I can't make it to your blogs each time you post. And, several of you leave a comment for me every time I post. That is very much appreciated because blogging wouldn't be very much fun if you didn't enjoy some of the crazy things that go on inside my head. I did pick up a few good ideas from your comments and I will work to not feel guilty. I think I learned that from my mom.
Humans, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em!

Ok, enough jaw flapping!

Come with me, I want to show you something over here.

Look at these pretty lily pads.
I've chosen them as today's flower for your enjoyment.

Now, time for a nap before the weekend gets here!

I have a confession......

2010-07-19T22:41:00.000-05:00

It used to be so easy to keep up with my furiends postings but I have way more furiends now than I used to. Don't get me wrong it makes me happy having lots of furiends but more furiends means more blog postings to read and comment on.

By the time Mom and Dad get home from work, cook dinner, do this and that, I'm lucky to get an hour of computer time most nights. And, if I miss a night, I have about 300 posts to read the next night.

You guys know what I'm talking about?

Oh, you want to know about my confession?

Well, I have to say, it makes me very sad to admit this.

I can't keep up!

No way, no how, not any more.

Do you guys still love me?

I just can't figure out how some of you do it. Momma says she could stay up late and help me but Daddy doesn't like that too much for some reason.

Blogging is a funny thing. You start out with your very first post and think there will never be anyone reading this. Why do I think anyone out there might want to know what I, Twix--a doxie, think?

I remember being so worried about not having any readers. I would even bug my first blog buddy, Lorenza about how to get more furiends. A year or so later, I have a hard time keeping up with all my furiends.

Anyway, please know that I haven't left you if I'm not leaving comments every time you post. I just can't get Momma to leave work a couple hours early every day to help me out.

Do you guys have that problem with your blog assistants?

Seriously?

On another note, Mom has been doing a lot of work on our New Computer!!!! We finally got our own on Friday ;o)

It seems that it takes some time to get everything set up and working just the way it should.

Who knew?

Maybe new computer of our own to put our photos on etc means more blog time for Twix!!!!!

Flower Friday

2010-07-15T22:39:00.005-05:00

Guess what?

It's Friday!

Time for another edition of Flower Friday.

Today's flower photo is from last month when we had family here. Mom took this picture in Cameron, Mo while they were on their road trip and stopped for a picnic.

Mom and I thank you for your comments and support regarding my health problems. It is nice to know that I am not the only one that worries my parents and that some of you have the same troubles I do. I don't feel so alone dealing with my parents worries.

On another note, I am so proud of myself! I have grown lots of furs back on my neck and chest. Mom says I look fuzzy there but you can't see my skin at all!

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-14T00:59:00.001-05:00

Stuff

2010-07-11T22:39:00.002-05:00

I have been negligent on posting about my V.E.T. visits of late. I think Mom is having a hard time coming to terms with some things and she wasn't ready for me to post more stuff. She finally gave me the go ahead. Don't worry, nothing life threatening or anything like that....
Just stressful.

In case you are a new follower, you can find my last post about my recent V.E.T. visits here if you are interested.

My last blood tests a couple of weeks ago were good news. My liver enzymes were in a much more normal range but my thyroid numbers were up a little bit. So, we reduced my thyroid medication to once a day and will have that retested in a few weeks.

I have not told you guys about another problem I was having which is some weakness and/or pain in my back legs. I trip going up the stairs a lot (I know I'm not supposed to do that but I do) and I hesitate when coming in from outside--there are a couple steps there.
I was temporarily put on Rimadyl but that didn't work so great for me. Now, I am on Metacam and that seems to be doing ok.

The other issue and the one that has Mom so worried is that I have blood in my urine again. I am taking the antibiotics again and we are kinda in a wait and see mode. This really has Mom stressed out lately but, just like most people, we don't have the green papers to run and get a bunch of tests done right now. Fortunately, our vet knows our situation and is working to treat me in a way that is affordable for Mom and Dad. But that just adds to the stress they are feeling.

I feel bad for stressing Mom and Dad out. Momma keeps holding me and asking me if I feel bad and telling me how much she loves me. Then she tells me she is sorry.
What is she sorry for? I don't get it.

What's So Funny?

2010-07-07T22:13:00.000-05:00

Twix: Hey Momma, what you giggling at?
Momma: Nothing, Peanut. I just think you are cute.

Twix: Do I gots somethin' on my head?
Momma (giggling): No, why would you ask that?

Twix: Cause I smell chicken!

Twix and The Name Game

2010-07-04T12:59:00.005-05:00

As most of you know, Frankie Furter has asked us to post about our names today. I did a post about how I got my name in the past and here it is for those of you who haven't read it before.
When people meet me for the first time, they look at me and then ask either Mom or Dad, "Is your favorite candy bar a Twix?". Of course, they reply, "N0".

Lets go back several years....My momma met me for the first time when I was 3 weeks old. That is when she chose me out of all my brothers and sisters--lucky me! At that time I was a tiny chocolate and tan (caramel is what Mom prefers to say) dachsie. After I came home, Mom had a hard time picking out my name but finally decided to name me after a candy bar because of my color. Okay, so we finally have it narrowed down. I mean, how many candy bar names are there anyway? Well it seems I was a bit naive because there are hundreds of candy bar names.

Here we go....Hershey--no, most chocolate dogs have that name. Zero--kinda cute but no, don't want to be thought of as nothing. Rolo--maybe. Snickers--no, same reason as Hershey. Chunky--NO! for obvious reasons. Reese's--maybe. Kit Kat--I hate cats! The list went on and on. I came very close to being named Rolo but Mom finally decided on Twix. After all, I kinda look like a Twix bar...or at least, I did. You know, long and thin, chocolate and tan. At some point I started to change color and Mom was not too happy about it. And that is how a red dachsie ended up with a name like Twix.

I hope everypup and everycat has a wonderful Independence Day!

Grandpa's Birthday and Daily Doxie

2010-07-03T13:06:00.002-05:00

Today is my Grandpa's birthday! He is a fan of Yorkies and I found this birthday card just for him!

I hope you have a wonderful day Grandpa!

Happy Birthday!

Also, for all you doxie lovers out there, there is a website called Daily Doxie and they have a new doxie featured every day. I happen to be today's featured doxie. Baxter was the featured doxie earlier this week and Ginger and Chip have also been featured. Be sure to check out these two furiends blogs....they are twixerrific! A special thanks to Daily Doxie for making me the featured doggie today! What fun!

I haven't been visiting much lately and it is all Mom's fault. She promised to help me catch up over the long weekend. I asked her what she has been doing instead of helping me visit you guys and she said "stuff".
Talk to the paw, Mom!

Talk to the paw.

This and That on Flower Friday!

2010-07-01T22:43:00.001-05:00

Happy Weekend!
It is a 3 day weekend for lots of people in the US due to the 4th of July. Both Mom and Dad are off work on Monday ;o) Happy Dog! Does anyone have any special plans this weekend? I haven't heard too many plans yet.

Today's flower is a Cally Lilly that comes straight out of Grandma's flower garden.

Grandma is slowly getting her strength back. She is also starting to get her hair back and I think she is really happy about that. Mom says she will be happy to be able to wear mascara again. I don't really know what mascara is but if it makes Grandma happy I like it. I've been thinking that since Grandma's furs are growing back I might try to grow some of mine back too. What do you guys think?

A few of you were curious about my WW photo and how Mom edited it for me. She used an online program called Piknik. There are lots of neat things on there you can do to your photos if you want to try it out.

We had a guest last weekend at our house.
His name is Baxter.
Some of you might remember him from last summer.

What did you just call me?

I called you "Sausage Boy".
You got a problem with that?

Call me whatever you want there, Furless Wonder!

I think I will fill up this small square of sunshine.

No room for you over here.....
The sunshine is mine, alll mine.

I let Sausage Boy off the hook this time.
Little does he know next time it is on.....

like Donkey Kong!
(Don't ask me what that means...
I heard Mom say it to Dad!)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-30T00:26:00.001-05:00

Flower Friday, GABE, and Rainbows

2010-06-24T22:20:00.003-05:00

I haven't done Flower Friday in a while but hopefully Mom won't be taking any more vacations from my blog. I've been thinking about demoting her lately.

Here is a collage of rose photos Mom took last week at our neighbors house.

You guys know Twinkie, right? And you guys know she did a lot of work getting GABE up and running for all of us to enjoy, right? During GABE I won 2 of the drawings. You can see my goody bag I received from Dory here. Well, the other thing I won was a painting from The Musketeers. I know I told you that at some point in the past and wanted you to be able to see the painting. Since I already have a painting from Cloud's Mom, Kathleen (whose blog was recently selected as a Blog of Note) I decided to let Twinkie know how much I appreciated all her work and asked The Musketeers if I could have a photo of her painted. Unless you have one of these types of portraits or have seen one you just don't understand how special they are. It is kind of a once in a lifetime experience the first time you see it. A couple of weeks ago, Twinkie's painting arrived and Mom and I sent it to her. She posted it in her Dear Twinkie post last week and I love the photo of Twinkie and the painting together and wanted to show it to you guys in case you haven't seen it.

Isn't that the cutest thing ever?

I want to say a HUGE thank you to The Musketeers for letting me pass the joy on to a special furiend of mine.

One evening last week, Mom was over at Uncle David's and Aunt Shannon's house with family. There was a big thunderstorm and it got really dark out. Then the sun came back out ant there was the most beautiful rainbow. Mom said the colors were more vibrant than she has ever seen in a rainbow and the pictures don't do it justice. She said it looked like you could just reach out and grab it because it was so close. If you look carefully, you will see it was a double rainbow.

And, Uncle David and Aunt Shannon found out that they are expecting a baby girl that day too! Very exciting!

Have a great weekend!

More Birthday Happenings

2010-06-22T22:02:00.008-05:00

Zona asked me the other day if my company was gone and yes, they are. We had a lot of fun spending time together. Things are starting to get back to normal around here....it didn't help with Daddy being sick for a couple of days right after they left. Hopefully, we are going to get back to having a little time to read your blogs and leave a few comments. I'm sorry but Mom said we will have to click the "Mark all as read" button because there are well over 1,000 posts in our Google Reader. She said we will start fresh tomorrow so I hope you guys will furgive me since I hafta do what she says.....she is in control of the food after all!

Daddy is feeling better, thanks for all the well wishes. I know that is why he feels better now!

He did stay home from work with me yesterday ;o)

Guess what was in our mailbox.....no, seriously, guess!

I'll wait while you get your brains outta the food bucket!

Hope I don't fall asleep....

Daddy told me I got 2 things after he went to get the mail. Normally, he lets Momma help me open anything I get but yesterday he helped me open them before Momma got home and that made me extra happy! He even took pictures of everything for my blog. Isn't he sweet?

I got a birthday card from Mr. Frankie Furter hisself!

AND I got another birthday present from
Lilibell, Chewy, and their Mom!
(the same Lilibell whose birthday is 3 days before mine)

The card on the left is from Frankie. Here is the inside:

Isn't he funny? You are such a super guy, Frankie! I hope your girls realize how lucky they are!

The card on the right came with my gift.
Here is the inside of it:

Inside the package I found this:

Lilibell's Mom makes pet jewelry and she made a necklace especially for me ;o)

OMD! I loves it!

Of course I had to try it on with my lovely yellow dress.
If Hero asks me out on a for real date, I think I will wear this outfit. What do ya think?

If you are interested, you can visit Lilibell's Jewels and take a look at all the beautiful things she has available.

Then, Momma came home from work with ANOTHER package for me. What? I can't believe this!

She helped me open it and inside were these
beautiful blog matching cards:

Mom's coworker and friend, S, made these cards for me!

Thanks so much S! I can't wait to use them.
Anyone out there need a card from Twix?

Mom told me to let you guys know she is sorry she didn't get these posted last night but she was busy doing this:

She "accidentally" dropped some of that yumminess on the floor while she was chopping it up too!

I must say this is the bestest birthday ever.
I think I will turn 11 next year too!

Happy 11th Birthday to me!

2010-06-20T19:51:00.019-05:00

I know there has been a lot of stuff put on here about my birthday and Mom made me do it. You see, last year she was sick and I didn't get anything. Yep, that's right, nothing. What an awful Mom, right? The only mention of my birthday on my blog is here. So, she promised me that she would make it up to me this year and talk about it on my blog. At least she kept her promise!

You guys remember those 2 boxes from Amazon that came and Mom wouldn't let me open them? Well, she wouldn't let me open them because they were for my birthday today. And this is what was in the first one:

Teeth cleaning stuff?
I was hoping for something a little more uh, less torturous.

Mom says she got this because I won't let her brush my teeth so she wanted to try something else. She didn't realize that the dental chews were rawhide so she says she is gonna ask the V.E.T. to see if it is okay for me to have them frequently.

The second one had these:

A new collar and leash.
It's about time, I was about to wear the other one out!

I got two more packages in the mail this week too.

One from my Hero with a wonderful card inside.,,,

....and this beautiful collar and leash.
I am one lucky girl to have such a fashion conscious guy!
And he is so sweet too!

I'm so excited!
I've never had 2 sets of collars and leashes to switch back and forth. This is gonna be fun!
Thank you so much, Hero (and Cheche and Koko)!
I love it!
I've been wearing it all day.
Well, except for when Mom made me take it off so I could try the other one on.
Don't tell her, but I like yours better ;o)

The other package had some wonderful foodables in it!

Not too long ago the DWB blog had posted about Fresh Pet wanting dog bloggers to try out their food and write a review. This was before Mom knew I had thyroid trouble and she emailed and told them about my hair loss issues. We found out that I was picked as one of the ones to review Fresh Pet food. So, honestly, this wasn't a birthday present but since it came a couple days before my birthday I'm including it.

Mom decided to save it all til today and use the slice and serve as my birthday cake. So, she opened it last night and cut out a couple pieces and then stuck them in the freezer, thinking it would be a great treat after a walk.

We walked over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. On the way back my friend, Baxter, was out and I stopped and visited with him and his mom.

When we got home, Mom got my 'birthday cake' out of the freezer. Then she had to tell me something about this is supposed to look like an 11.....blah, blah.....

I don't care what it looks like!
Just give it to me already and stop flapping your lips!

(Notice how great my fabulous new collar
from Hero looks with my furs!)

I'm thinking I like it.

Although, I'm not quite sure.
Better try this other piece too.

Is that all there is?

Well, I have one thing to say....MORE!

I want to try all the wonderful things I got from Fresh Pet before writing a review so look for that in a couple weeks.

Look at all this stuff I got today!

And look at me with all this stuff I got today!

Yes, I did go to the V.E.T. yesterday in case you were wondering. They weren't able to do any tests because my mom, aka Dufus, forgot I had to take my pill 4-6 hours before the appointment. So, I will be going back next week.

Please cross your paws for my daddy. You may have noticed he isn't in any of my pictures today. He got bitten by the stomach flu bug in the middle of the night last night. Good thing it wasn't a flea or Momma woulda kicked him outta bed like she does me!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-19T23:24:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy!

A little known fact about Father's Day is that I was born on Father's Day 1999.

And now I am celebrating my 11th birthday on Father's Day 2010.

I'll be back later after I get to open all my packages!

Lilibell's Birthday and More Packages

2010-06-17T20:56:00.001-05:00

Have you guys ever met Lilibell?

Well, today is her 2nd birthday!

Since today is her birthday, that means mine is only a few days away....maybe I will get to open those boxes ;o)
I got two more packages/boxes in the mail today and I can't open them until Sunday either!

Lilibell is a special furiend of mine and I thought you might want to stop by and wish her Happy Birthday!

Just Checking In

2010-06-13T22:28:00.000-05:00

I wanted to check in and say Hello.

I've been having Mom help me visit a little each evening but we aren't leaving comments, just reading for right now. We have spent some time with our family that is here visiting. Mom will be going on a road trip with them later this week but I don't get to go. Not fair!

I bet you want to know what I've been up to, don't ya?

Well, I've been doing a little napping....

And I've spent some time in the sun.....

I've practiced being cute....

And I've practiced being silly....

I've been protecting my front yard too....

Unfortunately, it started doing this yesterday

This picture was taken when it wasn't raining very hard!

It is supposed to rain here off and on all week so I don't know how many fun things I will get to do with the family but I will let you know!

Oh, we also got some packages from

amazon.com yesterday.

Mom says I can't see what is in them until next Sunday

:o(

My Vet Visit

2010-06-06T21:24:00.002-05:00

I went to the V.E.T. again yesterday. I'm really getting sick of that place! Even though I didn't tell you I was there last Saturday too. That is 3 Saturdays in a row.

The HORROR!

Last week, they were thinking about doing an xray because I still had blood in my urine after being on the antibiotic for a week. Mom and the doc decided to put me on the medication for another week. Well, that worked! When I went yesterday, my urine had no blood in it and no other signs of infection! The doc did say that it was a bit diluted and that could still be a sign of Cushings.

They also retested my liver enzymes and they were better than 2 weeks ago but still too high. So, it was decided to wait a couple weeks and test again since it has improved. I have another appointment in 2 weeks and they will check my thyroid at that time.

Do I have to go?

A few of you asked if I had gotten dark spots on my skin and yes, I have. Mom thought it was just age spots and didn't know that was a sign of low thyroid. You guys are so much smarter than I knew!

Unfortunately, we don't really have any answers yet but Mom and Dad are confident that we will get there.

We will be away from blogging for a couple of weeks but might be able to check in occasionally. We have family coming to town and will be spending time with them.

Try not to miss me too much!

Have You Met....

2010-06-05T23:05:00.001-05:00

.....my Hero?

He is soooo handsome!

And very brave!

Look how cute and snuggly he is!

Don't you just want to cuddle up next to him?

He posted some pictures of himself

wearing his doggie speedos.

When I saw these photos I thought I was gonna faint!

It sure is hot in here!

*Sigh*

Those wrinkles get to me every time!

If you don't know Hero, please stop by and visit him.

He has a great sense of humor that he shows in this post (which also features me!).

And you can find his poetry skills here.

Aren't I the luckiest girl in the world?

He likes me even though I am a (teensy) bit older than him and I'm losing my furs.

What more could a girl ask for?

It's Friday!

2010-06-03T22:25:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you guys but I am ready for the weekend!

My mom keeps mumbling something about a short week being a long week.
I don't get it. What is she talking about?

She also keeps saying things about me getting old.
Old? What is she talking about?
Just cause my birthday is coming in a couple weeks she is getting all mushy. Eleven isn't old is it?
So, my furs are turning gray....well, the furs I still have anyway. So, maybe I don't have as much pep in my step as I used to. So, I'm a little grumpier than I was.
I'm pretty sure Mom has ~~a lot~~ a few gray furs of her own and believe me, she can be grumpy! And I'm fairly certain she has taken a few naps with me which means she must not have any energy. I think I will go around and tell her she is getting old....she has a birthday coming up too!
Do you think that will get her to ~~shut up~~ not worry so much about my age?

It's Flower Friday!

Here is a photo of a Dorchid....

Doxie + Orchid = Dorchid

Get it?
Ok, I know its not great but it is the best I could do with this 'old' brain of mine.

Besides, Mom has not been out taking flower photos for me to use and we still don't have a new computer so I can access all my pictures.

Happy Weekend!

Wednesday Without Words

2010-06-02T00:20:00.001-05:00

Letters from War

2010-05-30T09:52:00.015-05:00

Letters from War

by Mark Schultz

Please take a moment to remember the men and women who fight for your freedom this Memorial Day weekend.

Mom and I would like to say a special thank you to our family members who have served in the past

and who are serving currently.

YOU are our heros!

Note: this video doesn't show up correctly on our computer and I don't know if it is just us or if everyone is having trouble but I want you to know that you can still view it by pushing the play button. If you still can't get it to work please click here.

Grandma's Flower Friday

2010-05-27T21:32:00.005-05:00

Thanks for all the well wishes for my mom. She wasn't "sick" she just didn't feel good for a few days. Tummy troubles is all she would tell me. But she feels better today.....just in time for a long weekend!

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my grandma has finished her chemo treatments and a couple of you have asked about her. She is slowly starting to feel better. She is still very tired but she sounds a lot more like herself when we talk to her on the phone. Maybe I can talk Mom into taking some pics of us if we go and visit her this weekend.

Grandma's favorite flowers are Iris; they were also her mom's favorite flowers. So, for today's Flower Friday, I thought I would show you some photos of my mom's Iris from a couple weeks ago.

These first two are some of her
super close ups from inside the Iris.

She likes to take the pictures at strange angles sometimes like these next two photos.

And this last picture is Mom's personal favorite.
I bet Grandma loves it too, her favorite color is purple!

I don't know why she just can't take a picture of the whole flower instead of getting up close and personal.

I hope every pet has a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-25T22:03:00.000-05:00

PS: Mom has not been feeling great this week so we haven't been visiting much....sorry.

Good News but Still Questions

2010-05-22T14:24:00.006-05:00

Hi furiends! Thanks so much for all your good thoughts! I am blessed to have so many good buddies out there pulling for me. Overall, we got good news yesterday.
I'm hoping the same for Mona.

I do have hypothyroidism so that is good news! I already started taking my new medication yesterday but my furs aren't growing back yet....

There are still questions because one of the liver enzyme tests they ran was up but not the other one. Dr. Harsha says that still means Cushings is on the radar but a little farther down on the list. Usually Cushings causes both liver tests to be up but it could be early in the disease or it could be something else. He wants to see me in two weeks (instead of one as previously mentioned), recheck my urine and liver functions. If the liver tests are normal then he said we will consider it due to my infection. If they are abnormal then we will need to do further testing to find out what is going on. Then, I have to go back 2 weeks after that and have my thyroid checked again to see if the medication is working or if the dose needs to be changed.

That is my V.E.T pupdate for today now, let's find something more interesting to bark about....

ME!

Sniff, sniff, sniff.....I smell ice cream....

Can I have some, Daddy?

Please?

Now, you're just being mean!

Mmmmmm.....tastes great......

Yummmm......I feel better already!

I don't need those stinky pills....just give me ice cream!

Unexpected Visit to the V.E.T.

2010-05-19T20:46:00.004-05:00

Mom and Dad woke me up early from my 8 hour nap today. They came home about an hour earlier than usual and that cut into my beauty rest.
Not only that but they took me to see the V.E.T.!

What up with that?

Anyway, I guess I have some blood in my urine and they got all worried about it. The V.E.T. took some of my pee straight outta my tummy....they wanted it to be sterile when they tested it. Turns out I have a bladder infection and have to take an antibiotic for the next week. The worst part is that I have to go back and have that test done again. Mom and Dad said they could hear me crying while they were "taking" it from me.
Fortunately, no evidence of stones.

Another thing they did was trim my nails and squeeze my bootie. I have to say, I don't like having my nails trimmed but they were way too long....thanks a lot Mom and Dad! You would think pawrents could be a bit more responsible with those things wouldn't ya?

That isn't all.....
they also took blood right outta my neck! I was a good girl when the doc did that and didn't move a muscle.
Mom forgot the camera so there are no photos of my at the V.E.T.'s office today. This post has too many words and not enough photos so I requested that Mom add one in for you to admire.

You guys all know that my mom is all concerned about my hair loss. Well, she had to bring it up again, even though that isn't why we were there. She told Dr. Harsha that it has gotten significantly worse than before and he said he didn't think it was allergies now because it is very symmetrical. That is why they took my blood.....to test for Hypothyroidism or Cushing's Disease.
Dr. Harsha explained the two to us and said that Hypothyroidism is what he is hoping for. Although, Mom said she felt like he thinks it is Cushing's. We don't really know much about either disease but it seems that Cushing's is much harder to control and can cut your life short. So we are hoping for Hypothyroidism too!

I told Momma I was fine and she didn't need to worry but you know how moms are.....

So, just like some of our furiends, we are in a waiting game until we get the results back, hopefully Friday.

Most of the time lately, when I get my photos taken I am under a blanket or have on a shirt to keep me warm. Momma took off my shirt and made me take my picture nekkid!
I let her but only to show you guys how bad my hair loss has gotten recently. Here are 2 pics Mom took just a little while ago.

I have no furs on my sides or my tail!
It looks like I have a mohawk when I get my hackles up cause that fur is still there.
We will let you know what we find out but Mom thought some prayers and 'power of the paw' might help.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-18T22:32:00.000-05:00

The Ugly Dachshund

2010-05-16T17:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know, ugly and dachshund should never be in the same sentence. This is actually the name of a Disney movie from the 60's. Mom and I watched it this afternoon on TV and thought we should share it with you. If you haven't ever seen this movie it is very cute and a great family film. All dog lovers will enjoy this movie, not just doxie lovers!

Here is a clip for you to enjoy!

What We Did and a Surprise!

2010-05-12T21:57:00.003-05:00

Last post I told you I would tell you about what Mom and I did on Mother's Day and show you some pics.

I figured it was Mother's Day and Mom should spend the day doing things for me....you know, Mom work. I made a list and sent her to the store. She wanted to get a few things for the house and I told her she could (see how nice I am).

You guys might remember when I got my GABE winnings from Dory and had to snatch the cookies from my Dad.

Since I had already devoured them I wanted some more and the ingredients are what I sent Mom after. I couldn't get her to take too many photos while making them. She kept saying her hands were messy.

Stick 'em down here, I'll clean 'em up for ya!

I stood right under her feet the whole time and quivered with anticipation.

She did let me taste some of the batter. She said Grandma used to let her and Uncle David taste the cookie batter when they were kids too.

I don't see why those things need to be cooked
they taste divine!

One of the things I put on Mom's shopping list was a cookie cutter that was dog related....you know, a bone, paw, doghouse, ANYTHING related to a dog.

What did she get? Nothing!

Nothing?

How in the heck is she gonna make my cookies?

She told me they didn't have any at the stores she went to. I don't know what kind of stores she shops at but if they don't have all things dog related I don't think she should be shopping there anymore! Anyway, she dug around and found a couple cookie cutters that she got for free.

Yes, your assumptions are correct! My mom does not bake! Ok, thats a lie....she just doesn't bake anything home made so she has not had a need for cookie cutters. These things were brand new....never been used.

If you can't quite tell, she had 2 cookie cutters of M&M guys....weird. Now, I've tried to convince her that she should give me the whole cookie but she breaks them into pieces before giving me any. And, she has convinced Dad to do it too. I think they are being chintzy!

Dory posted the recipe for these yummy cookies here and Mom says they aren't hard to make at all.

Oops, I got a little off track talking about my cookies and I bet you want to know about my surprise. I won a giveaway from Maybeads of this wonderful pink turtle last week.

I bet you're thinking, where is the surprise....

I'm getting to it....

In the envelope with my turtle, was me!

Can you believe it? A mini me!

Thank you so much Lauren! I feel so honored that you made me into a bead.

If you haven't visited Maybeads please head on over and take a look around. She makes some super cute critters!

(I heard she has a thing for wiener dogs!)

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T22:00:00.008-05:00

We are a little late getting this post up but we have been busy today.

First and most important on this special day I wanted to let everyone know that my Grandma finished her chemotherapy treatments a week ago. She is extremely tired and her blood counts are lower than they have been during the treatment. I know she is happy to be done and we are praying she gets her strength back soon.

Happy Mother's Day, Grandma!

These are for you!
(they are as close to teal as we could find).

So, since it is Mother's Day, I decided to let Mom put up some of her favorite photos from her trip to Boston last month. I guess I have been hogging the blog and have made her wait long enough to put them up.

Mom was only able to get out of the hotel for a hour or two and there were several churches within a couple blocks of where she stayed.

Of course, we had to have a flower picture of some sort....

Mom had several more photos she wanted to post but I put my paw down and said that was enough. Sheesh! There aren't even any photos of dogs in here and this IS a DOG blog! Then she showed me this next photo and I allowed her to post one more....but only because this relates to one of my bestest furiends.

The hotel Mom stayed in was attached to a mall and this was one of the little shops that was in it. My girl, Bijou, has a shop in Boston named after her....who woulda knew? Mom said she tried to find something in the shop to buy but they just didn't have anything she liked.

I hope every Mom had a wonderful Mother's Day, whether you are a Mom to human pups, felines, or canines. I will show you some pics of what I did with my Mom today later in the week.

Another Edition of Flower Friday

2010-05-07T00:24:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the weekend!

Not much has been going on here this week. Mom has been working late EVERY day. I don't get it....what is so important about work that she needs to be there instead of here with me? All I have to say is she better not be going there on the weekend.

Lots of you seem to like tulips so I thought I'd share some more tulip photos from our back yard this year. Unfortunately, they are gone now but we can still enjoy them. Do you think that is why Mom takes so many pictures of flowers? She says tulips are her favorite flower.

Have a most wonderful weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-05T07:31:00.000-05:00

Thanks!

2010-05-02T21:50:00.002-05:00

I wanted to take a minute to say thanks to a couple of pals that have helped me get my header centered
(I think it looks centered anyway).

First of all, Scout, Freyja, and their Mom at Loving for a Living helped me by adding the pink "A wiener dog blog" to the side of the photo. I opened my email one morning and there it was. I thought that was very sweet of them to do that for me without being asked.

Thank you so much for the wonderful header photo!

Secondly, Lola and her Blog Mom at Pei Days offered to look at my HTML and see if she could figure out what needed to be fixed. Several of you offered suggestions and I tried them all but couldn't get anything to work so I emailed Lola and asked if they still wanted to help me out. Lola sent me back a note and told me what to look for and how to fix it. And voila! My photo is centered!

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with my Mom, Lola!

Mom and I would have never been able to fix this without you guys helping us. And we love the image with the border and title on the left.

Also, I would like to thank all of you for making Date Night fun and successful. I appreciate the comments you have left regarding it. Coco at Luv Being a Chihuahua gave me a beautiful boquet of roses and an award for hosting the event.

Thanks so much Coco!

Oh! One more thing! I have updated my banner to match my "new" blog better. So, for those of you who have taken it you are welcome to update as well. And for those of you who haven't taken it....I still love you! ;o)

Today Is.....

2010-04-30T07:33:00.000-05:00

Flower Friday!!!

I haven't done FF in a few weeks with Date Night but Flower Friday is back!

Here are a couple of photos Mom took when she was in Boston. She worked almost the whole time she was there but was able to get out of the hotel one afternoon and found a little tulip garden.

I hope you enjoy!

Happy Friday to all my furiends!!!!