Friday, August 1, 2014

Jenny is still doing well with her new brother, Blanco the bunny. He is outside now and Jenny likes to visit him by his bunny mansion to say hi.
 I wish that I could have Blanco and Jenny running around the yard together, but Jenny is waaay too interested in Blanco when he is out of the hutch. I just can't risk anything happening to either of them, so I spend time with Blanco alone outside....much to Jenny's jealousy, I'm sure!
LOVE!!!!!!

Jenny's first trip to Home Depot!

Whatcha buying, Dad?

My mat! No, MY mat!

Ok....OUR mat!

This is what happened when I was doing yoga!
 I've been working on Jenny cooling it a bit when it comes to playing chase with Bela at night. Luckily she responds well to me calling her over when I see that it is about to happen, but sometimes I can't catch her in the act. I noticed the other day that she was play grabbing at Bela's neck, like she would if she was playing with a dog....I know she means no harm, but I need to continue to be vigilant about the chasing training.

Here's a picture of one of Jenny's BFFs...Lefty. Whenever she sees him she gets SO excited. This week she even started barking when she saw him from afar. She RARELY ever barks on walks, so she must have just been SUPER excited to see Lefty!


 Bela's Corner
Mmmmm! Wheat grass! (This was for Blanco)

Enjoying the birds!

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Jenny has a new brother!

Blanco BunBun came to live with us on Monday! Even though Jenny was awesome with the bunnies at the rescue when we visited, she was not too happy at first when Blanco was here. She barked a lot at the baby gate and bathroom door, knowing that *someone* was back there. She also whined alot by the baby gate. I learned later when the "Rabbit Whisperer"  (Linda the rescue lady) came over that Jenny was just being protective of me. Linda was able to get the bunny on my lap while I sat on the couch and Jenny learned how to sit nicely on the floor next to me and not bother the bunny! I was amazed by Jenny's quick realization that Blanco is not going to hurt me (even though he did bite me pretty hard earlier that evening!) and that he is now part of the family.

Saying hi though the baby gate!
Blanco!

"Who is this new addition?"
I was actually MOST shocked at Bela's behavior. Not once did she hiss or get puff-tailed around the bunny. This surprised me since she gets pretty mad when any other creature comes near the front door, but she seemed to realize quickly that Blanco is "one of us."

Pic of the day
Sometimes I just get a HUGE smile on my face and come close to tears when I see her so comfortable and happy in our home. Its been too warm to use our comforter the past few nights, so I folded it up and put it at the bottom of the bed on the floor. I think she believes it is HER bed now! :) It warms my heart knowing she will NEVER EVER know a wet concrete floor ever again!

Monday, June 23, 2014

We left Jenny for the first time to go away from Thursday--> Sunday to Philly to see the Dave Matthews Band and our east coast friends. I was a nervous wreck at first when I left the house, but realized that she was in the best hands with our pet sitter, so I was able to relax once the plane took off. It reminded me of when I have to take a sub day at school and I am able to secure my favorite substitute - retired teacher Miss Tien. I know that I can leave sub plans and she will follow them exactly and even go above and beyond to teach. I feel the same way about Lisa our pet sitter. Jenny did awesome with her - we had Lisa do overnight stays and pop in during the afternoon for a walk. It was not cheap, but it was worth it to know that Jenny's routine was the same as if we were home. The only weird thing is that she pooped FIVE times when I took her for a walk the morning after we got back. I am not sure if she was holding it out of nervousness, or just wanted to get back at me for leaving! "I'll show her!"

Pics...
 This is her morning ritual when she hears me drying my hair. She will stand in the doorway of the bathroom with her back to me as if to pout and say, "I don't want you to go to work!" Luckily, I have the summer off now, but I still like to leave during the day for a bit so she doesn't get too used to me being home so much.
 She still feels the need to cover her food with invisible dirt....or flip the bowl altogether to hide her food. This time she put an exclamation mark of "Don't touch this!" by placing Boney Bone on top! I am going to try a heavier ceramic bowl to see if that works any better to discourage flipping it.

 She also likes to sometimes bring ALL of her toys to her bed...


The Good Life


She loves Boney Bone! She can sometimes now respond to, "Where's Boney Bone?" by going to find her bone and bringing it to us, even if it is downstairs! This pic was taken after a game of fetch with Boney. *Note the wagging tail!

LOVE!

Napping with dad on the couch LOVE!

This is why I sometimes don't want to get out of bed!


This is the look I get when I ask her, "Wanna go for a walk?" Then it turns into her dancing around and sometimes even giving a little bark or roo noise as if to say "Fuck yeah!"


Béla's Corner
Weirdo sleeping positions!


New addition!

Today we will be adding to our family! A friend of mine volunteers at the local shelter and posted this picture with the description...
She said that he had been labeled as "aggressive" (probably because he got scared at the shelter and nipped the handler) so he would probably never get adopted and just be euthanized soon. She that he was far from aggressive when she approached his cage.

When I saw the pictures and read the story, I immediately fell in love and KNEW I had to do something to help him.

I quickly began researching bunny care and even brought Jenny to the local rabbit rescue a few blocks away to see how she would react to bunnies. She was AWESOME with them! She was curious, but did not bark or lunge at them. I think that she will be an excellent sister to this little guy! We are going to keep him outside in a big hutch / play area and after his neutering scars heal, we will get him a buddy to bond with. It feels good to save not one but TWO bunny lives with this deal!

My goal is to be able to let the bunny hop around the fenced in yard at the same time as Jenny (ALWAYS supervised, of course) so we will see how that goes!  :)

Looking forward to our new addition!

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

I can't believe I have gone a month without updating! It might have to do with the fact that we've been remodeling the upstairs bathroom for the last month, but that is no excuse! Jenny continues to be a total LOVE and I feel so incredibly thankful to have adopted such an amazing dog!

She continues to get along with Béla, but still no snuggling. Béla is starting to feel more comfortable about laying on the couch while Jenny is on there - I even experienced a few times when Bela and Jenny were both laying on me while I was on the couch. (Usually it's Béla sprawled out on my legs and Jenny curled up near my neck or chest.)

The greatest news of the past month is that the two of them are no longer separated during the day while we are at work! We decided to give it a try and it is working out wonderfully! When I come home now, they BOTH greet me at the door, which is absolutely adorable. I am glad that Béla can have the run of the house again. I think that Jenny just sleeps on top of the couch during the day and Béla sleeps in her bed downstairs or up in her room. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of sleeping that goes on while we are at work so I don't worry one bit!

Speaking of cats and dogs, Béla gets a pill each night at about 7pm. My routine is to shake the pill bottle and Béla comes running from wherever she is in the house, knowing that she will get a treat after her pill. Well, Jenny has decided that this is also going to be her treat time, so she has started to come running over as well. I have been training her to sit and wait while Béla gets her pill. It is so adorable to watch Jenny wait for her sister to take her medicine!
 
Jenny has been more vocal lately, especially when someone is at the door, when she hears people or dogs outside, or when she hears a doorbell on tv! Luckily she quiets down rather quickly, especially with redirection. I've been working on calling her over when she starts barking and it helps a lot.


Random Pics...

"I need to hide this chew!"  


"Let's Go Giants!"

Falling asleep on mom's lap

Doe eyes!

Celebrating her heritage on Cinco de Mayo!
She is a funny peeer - she squats and lifts one leg up!

One one of the 95 degree days at the beach...panting, but still smiling!

The protest on our walk that day...  "Mom, it's too hot...I want to hang here a bit."

LOVE

I've been trying to get this pic forever! Love when she has both ears up!

A little bit of Béla...
The Boss.

This is what I think of Mondays...

"It's way too hot today..."

"I love the new tub, but there's no way I'm going in there!"

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

I was so excited one day when browsing my Instagram feed to find this video made by Jenny's rescue group! It brought a tear to my eye knowing how much they still care about and love her. I thank them in my mind every day for rescuing Jenny and bringing her into my life!

PRESS PLAY to catch up with Ready Pet alum, Jenny, who spent way too long in the shelter. Little did she know she was going to be swooped up by the best family in the world for her! Her mama @dmbfiredancer41 is the best mama Jenny could have ever asked for and they all lived happily ever after...  #ReadyPetHome



Saturday, April 26, 2014

This morning Jenny was fast asleep next to me and then suddenly....her tail started wagging! I realized she was still asleep so I figured she must have been in the middle of a very happy dream!!

So, I decided to make a list of things that I think she could have been dreaming about.

Things that Make Jenny Happy

mom coming home from work
hearing....."Wanna go for a walk?"
seeing her best friends Leftie or Scout when on a walk (I need to get pics of them)
trying to chase crows
laying on mom's lap or next to mom as much as possible

or any of these things....

"This is Boney Bone...see my tail wagging?"

"Love my sweet potato rawhides!"

Sweet potato chews!

Loves her V-Dog!

Loves her PetGuard!

Her toys, which she loves to collect in the upstairs hallway!

Loves laying with mom
Loves Cloud Star treats especially Buddy Biscuits and cheddar Tricky Trainers!
Loves sunbathing!