Pete's Fine

Petey lost a few more teeth today. But, we have no special instructions regarding his on going care. No soft foods, antibiotics or dentures. I fear if the dog loses any more teeth we're going to have to check in to that.

The the old Pete-ster came through in typical Petey fashion. He's wild! He is zooming through the house, up & down the hall, in & out like he has a rocket on his back. We figure he'll crash soon. I have his favorite blanket in the dryer. Once the blanket gets nice and warm I'll throw it on him as he zooms by. I have a feeling he'll relax and sleep well when I do that.

Thanks for the thoughts today.

A Thought for Petey

John has just come back from leaving Petey at the vet to get his teeth cleaned. Last year the vet said Petey wouldn't survive a cleaning. This year a different vet said he could survive the cleaning and if we didn't get his teeth cleaned, he wouldn't live well for the rest of his days. So, we reluctantly agreed.

I don't have a good feeling about this and neither does Petey. He hid from John this morning as if he really understood when we told him last night that he was going to the vet today. He was most unhappy when John left him.

Petey will be at the vet all day. They'll call at some point after the cleaning to let us know how he did. We can pick him up in the afternoon after the anesthesia wears off. I'll post his status tonight. In the meantime, spare a good thought for the old Pete-ster.

So, now he wants gifts...

We're packing up the remaining gifts to to to Mama's for the final gift opening of Christmas. This is by far the largest number of gifts because it is the largest number of people. Petey is most unhappy that the gifts are being bagged up. He keeps putting his head down in the bags and then looking at us forlornly. Apparently, he just wants the gifts under the tree. Go figure.

The Heating Pad

Remember the snuggi wars? Remember how Petey and I fought tooth and nail for control of the beloved snuggi that John gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago? Remember how I finally ceded control of the snuggi to him? Well...forget about it. Petey and I have embarked on another war. This one could be epic.

For Christmas this year, John gave me a heating pad. It is an attempt to equalize our vastly different body perceptions of temperature. I'm cold. He's hot. He envisioned me putting this on my stomach under the aforementioned snuggi while we watched TV at night. He should have known, as should I, that Petey would be right in the midst of the warmth no matter what.

It began Christmas night, as we settled in for the evening. I made myself a nice little nest on the couch, with the heating pad at my feet since they were like ice cubes. I had that puppy cranked up on the highest setting and was enjoying the ever increasing warmth immensely. Then Petey sensing the heat on some cellular level or something hopped up with me.

Now, I'm used to sharing the couch with Petey so this was nothing new. That is until he notice head radiating from the foot of the couch. Petey was on that like no body's business in about two seconds. It was fine, really though, for me. He was adding to the heat down there.

John and I laughed about how quickly Petey noticed the heat and inserted himself right in the middle of it. We were a little concerned about what might happen when I got up and turned the heating pad off. Much to our surprise though, nothing happened.

I got up after the show and went on about my business. Petey remained firmly entrenched right where he was absorbing any residual heat. He stayed there all night. He didn't even get John up in the night to go pee.

Again last night, Petey and I cranked up the heat under the snuggi. This time I did have it on my belly and Petey was right there beside me. The only difference was that he got to hot last night and moved. (Score one for me!) I think maybe I'll use that strategy going forward. It has been a long time since I've actually been hot, not counting that fever I had with the e-coli.

Once I got up, however, Petey was right back in the warm spot and stayed there all night. This morning we had to wake him up and send him out.

Maybe this isn't a bad thing after all. Petey, right now, seems to be happy with the residual heat once I get up and the pad is turned off. And, he's sleeping all night, so John is too finally. Maybe this won't be the epic battle I envisioned at all. Perhaps we can work out a peace treaty. Perhaps, just perhaps. Either that, or I crank it up on high all the time!

Petey's Christmas

Petey was as thrilled as any two year old on Christmas Eve. He kept putting his head in the shopping bags with the gifts to be wrapped. He couldn't stay out of the wrapping paper. And zipped back and forth between the bedroom where the gifts were being wrapped and the Christmas tree all day. It really was like having a toddler in the house. But somehow Petey turned in to a teenager over night.

John and I got up Christmas morning and began opening our gifts. We take our time opening one at a time and admiring the gift before moving on to the next one. I had wrapped three treats in tissue and a whole box of a new kind of treat for Petey. We thought that we'd all take turns opening gifts.

John went first. Petey seemed to sense that this gift wasn't his and didn't bother to come assist as he always has in the past. I tossed him a tissue wrapped treat. He opened that with great gusto and proceeded to run to his favorite eating place to devour it when he realized he was already in his favorite eating spot. So, he ran the two steps to his ring bed and began chomping on the treat. John continued to open his gifts as Petey ate and Petey didn't care.

When he finished his treat, he wandered back in to the foray but only for another tissue wrapped treat. He didn't give John's packages a second glance. I gave him another treat. He opened and ate it once again with great enthusiasm.

I thought Petey might not like that he missed out on the gift opening so when I started to open mine, I called him over to help. He begrudgingly took a nibble at the corner. Then he took a good whiff and knew there were no bacon treats in that package, so we wandered back over to his ring bed with a sigh. I tossed him the third tissue wrapped treat and all was right with the world again.

I finished opening my gifts and that left the one package of new treats for Petey. I truly wondered if he'd care to open it. I called him over to open the last package. I don't know if he could smell the treats through the package, or if he recognized the shape or what, but he knew that was his gift. He happily tore in to the wrapping and got the bag out. He pranced and danced around as I opened the pouch to pull out a treat. I gave him one and he returned to the ring bed for one more Christmas morning treat.

It brought a little nostalgia to us to remember the days when Petey opened every one's gift without a care as to what was in it or if it was for him. Petey will be 15 in few weeks. I guess it is time he grew up.

Merry Christmas from Petey

Petey wishes everyone a Merry Christmas. He's so excited he can hardly wait to open gifts. He's been pacing the house all day between the wrapping area and the Christmas tree. He knows it won't be long now before he gets to tear in to those gifts. So far he's kept away from the wrapped gifts, but he's continually stuck his head in the shopping bags and wrapping paper. He's oozing with excitement and anticipation.

Maybe tomorrow we'll actually get some video clips of him opening gifts to post. Until then, enjoy yourself whatever your circumstances.

The Bathroom

We have two bathrooms in our house. The original one in the house is located in the hallway. We being the creative people we are, call it the "hall bathroom." The other bathroom is in the back of the house off of the master bedroom. We call it the "back bathroom."

I (Lori) use the back bathroom almost exclusively. John uses the hall bathroom the most. He gets up first and showers there so as not to disturb my beauty rest. In the evenings, when we're watching TV and decide to make a quick trip to the bathroom during commercials, John heads to the hall and I head to the back. It wasn't a deliberate, conscious decision on our parts it just happened. We didn't realize that Petey apparently thought it was a rule that John use the hall bathroom and I use the back one, exclusively.

Yesterday, just Pete and I were alone in the house. I was baking when I needed to use the bathroom. I figured I could take care of business and get back before the buzzer buzzed. But, since I knew that I could definitely hear the buzzer in the hall bathroom, I chose to go in there.

Petey who had been observing me closely from his perch on the couch, quickly noticed the error of my ways. He launched himself from the arm of the couch and scurried in to the bathroom straight to me as I sat on the toilet. He gave me a hard stare. I'm not sure if I was in grave danger or grave trouble.

I tried to explain that there was no problem with me using this bathroom. He would have none of it. I quickly finished what I had to do and got out of there. For both our sakes.

A Shift in the Earth's Axis

At about 8:30 pm CST today, the world very well, may have shifted on it's axis. A pizza delivery person mistakenly knocked on our door. Petey was sitting with me on the couch as the recliner was occupied. He was snug under the blanket between my leg and the back of the couch. He was quite cozy. So cozy, he chose not to bark at the pizza person. He didn't even stir.

I'm a little concerned. What's next? No bacon treats? Going to be alone? What? What?????

An Uneasy Truce

John and Petey have worked out a bit of a truce when it comes to the recliner.

John can have it as long as he wants as long as it isn't when Petey wants it. This gives John a good 30 seconds in the recliner. Once John's time is up he is signaled by Petey with much sighing, pacing and forlorn looks.

Petey gets the recliner, all night, when John isn't home and pretty much any other time he wants it.

There is no cohabitating in the recliner -at all - none, nada, not happening.

For now this is working for them.

John is hoping it is a phase and Petey will soon move on to another piece of furniture that he claims for his own. John could be right, Petey has a tendency to claim something and battle for it tooth and nail until he wins. And Petey always wins.

Once Petey has claimed victory, he seems to move on to something else. I recall a battle over a snuggi...

John Has Fallen from Grace

John decided to sit in the recliner with Petey. They've done this for years. Petey jams himself in between John and the arm of the recliner. Petey loves it. John tolerates it. If John wants to sit in the recliner he has to share.

Lately, though Petey has claimed the recliner more and more for his own. So, just a little while ago when John decided to have a seat, Petey set up a howl. He was yelping like he was hurt, but there is no evidence of an injury. He's not bleeding or limping. But Petey is mad and pouting and John is trying to make up with him.

John is actually in the recliner right now. Petey walks around looking forlorn and making sure John knows that he's unhappy. We could have an interesting evening ahead.