Dory, Dory Pumpkin Eater...

There I was just carving a pumpkin when I felt this furry being under my feet. It was Dory and my mission on Sunday was to carve a pumpkin for the contest at Chris's office. Silly I know, but it was a fun way to waste a windy and cool Sunday. Of course when I realize Dory was eating the few pumpkin seeds that had fallen off the table I went into panic mode.

Would she get sick, are pumkin seeds toxic to dogs, the list that raced through my mind was endless. After washing the goo off my hands, I raced to GOOGLE and checked - apparently pumpkin seeds are harmless and may even deter dogs with coprophagia to not eat their own feces. Dory (thankfully) doesn't do that - but at least there was an upside to what I feared would harm her.

Of cource after this evening I realize Dory will eat anything. Since Chris wasn't around and I had no desire to cook for just me, I though Chinese take out would be a tasty treat.

Dory begged and pleaded and finally I relented and gave her a taste, and apparently Dory loves Chinese food. She liked the egg roll tidbit and even the hot peanut/sesame sauce coated dumpling was just fine by her.

Every day Dory makes me laugh, surprises me in big and small ways and is always up for cuddling. I'm relieved the pumpkin seeds won't bother her and glad to have a friend to share some take out with.

Charity - it's a good thing!

Today's blog is by Dory Blue Young

My mom was tired after a long hard day at work, so I decided to take over blogging duty today. My ears sure hurt, but my doggie toes are fine so I thought I’d get writing.

After going to the puppy doctor the other day Mom and I went shopping and I got to go in the store with her!!! It was very exciting. There were smells and things that before now were only in my dreams. Mom said we were here to find just the right things for a gift basket. Now, I have no idea what a gift basket is but I definitely want one of my own!

We got doggie treats, a leash that stretches out, pretty collars, doggie bandanas, rope toys, bobble head labs and SQUEEKY TOYS! Boy oh boy, I monitored Mom closely just in case she wanted to share the gift basket with me – but no such luck.

Mom said the gift basket was going off to Connecticut to be raffled so other Labbies like me can be rescued and find new homes. I hope this raffle helps lots of Labs like me, because I have two special rescue angels Auntie Cindy and her friend Edee, a great mom, a really nice family and super new friends. I get to go on boat rides, learn new things at school, snuggle with my humans, write a web blog and there is always good food and treats every day. My wish is that all my furry friends could be so lucky.

Here I am with our final product - I was in charge of quality control.

So if you are near Hartford, Connecticut, please go to the dog expo there this weekend (10/28 & 29) and find the Labs4Rescue booth. They have a great basket full of nice doggy stuff that you can win and when you win - lots of homeless Labs win too.

Good night! WOOF!!!!

Malassezia pachydermatis

Just the name sounds creepy!

On Friday after Dory’s apple crisp feast downfall and beginning obedience class triumph we had a vet appointment to see what was up with the divine Miss D’s ears. Sadly to say, the news wasn’t good.

Dory has a yeast infection in both ears, the right ear is worse than the left. The doctor flushed both ears and said that her little ear canals were so sore and so full of gunk that it was impossible to see if the right eardrum was perforated, but she had a suspicion that it was.

Needless to say we left with drops, pills and for some odd reason a picture of the yeast from the swab slide. I know technology is great and there are some fun applications, but having a printed copy of the yeast laden slide image is not really something I need to see!

Dory has begun to understand that she doesn’t need to put me on auto-ignore for hours after giving her a pill or putting drops in her ear – I’m hoping at least in some small way she understands I am only trying to help her feel better. My only worry now is that she will scratch her ears and make them worse or worse yet she will hit her ear while shaking her head and wind up with a hematoma (SP)! If she thinks drops are bad wait till she sees a cone collar!!!

All we can do is wait and see. Any time a young baby or animal is sick or hurt it just kills me. They have no way to tell you how bad it is and you really can’t explain to them that it won’t be forever and all the stuff you are doing to them is to help not hurt.

So for now we need to keep our collective fingers crossed and hope this yeast ear infection responds to medication!

Pomp and Circumstance

If you had asked me Thursday afternoon I would have said Dory would not be graduating from Beginner Obedience.

The day started out well, Dory had a routine morning and I went off to work as usual. Dory was in her crate and all was right with the world. I had a doctor’s appointment, so I came home to have lunch and change before heading back out. Dory seemed so good and calm before I left,that I had the bright idea to leave her loose while I went out – after all I was only going to be out just a little while….

Well in typical Boston fashion, the doctor was late, the traffic was heavy and it took me longer than expected. I said to myself – don’t worry Dory will be just fine.

Well Dory was fine, as it turns out full, and definitely fine. Before leaving I thought I had secured everything in the kitchen. Knowing that Dory was a notorious counter surfer I thought I had made sure everything was out of reach. The only thing out was up way past where she could reach – or so I thought!

Somehow, the dainty Miss Dory reached the Pyrex glass 8-inch cake pan that was on the stove pushed to the back burner. In that pan were the remains of the apple crisp that I had created for Chris. I don’t know how, and I am contending it was a miracle, not only did Dory reach the pan; she somehow slid it off the stove (a good 30 + inches high) and on to the floor without breaking the dish. She then proceeded to remove the foil covering without tearing the foil and ate the brown sugar drenched apples, crisp and all.

When I got home I could not believe my eyes – there was my cake pan, foil daintily pulled back lying empty on the floor. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or scream.

So if you had asked me if Dory was going to pass Beginner Obedience, my answer at that point would have been a resounding "NO". I figured that between being home alone and gobbling at least two hefty helpings of apple crisp that she would either be bouncing off the walls or so distracted she couldn’t think straight.

To my surprise by the time class rolled around Dory was in fine form. No apparent tummy ache or sugar high – she sailed through her class and is now a proud graduate of the New England Dog Training Club (NEDTC) Beginner Obedience – Class of ’06.

I am very proud of her and I swear that I will never figure out how she got that cake pan down without breaking it or ripping the foil. Dory enjoyed a leisurely weekend the past couple of days, but we both have hard work ahead of us in Advance Beginners. And who knows, maybe we can think about tackling Canine Good Citizen certification – that is unless it involves apple crisp!

Ears, glorious ears!!

I suspect that Dory has some sort of ear issue. She has been shaking and scratching at her right ear for all she is worth and over the weekend I decided to get some ear cleanser and cotton balls to see if I could help the situation.

It was just a simple act of caring and I never thought that Dory would mind. Boy, was I wrong.

My normally happy, loving, cuddle bug of a dog squirmed and whimpered her way through the cleaning and when I was done she high tailed it to her crate. I took one look at the gunk on the cotton balls and knew all was not well.

After the cleaning materials were all put away I tried to make amends with my girl and to my surprise she wouldn’t even look at me. I called, I begged, I bribed – but all I got was a cold shoulder and a nasty sideways glance.

I was heartbroken, all I was trying to do was trying to make her ears feel better and all of a sudden I was a pariah in my own home. Chris got a good chuckle out of this but I was devastated. The indignant behavior lasted for several hours. Who knew Dory would react to ear cleaning so badly!?

The next day, Sunday, I thought I should treat her ears again and yet again I was put on auto-ignore!

Well, clearly Dory has something amiss in her right ear – but I’ve made a vet appointment for Friday. I’ll let her be mad at Dr. Bergstrom and not me for a change. Hopefully it is nothing too serious and I have certainly learned my lesson!

Here is Dory seeking consolation from Chris - Next time he cleans her ears!!