Monday, September 29, 2008

Grace Has Surgury


Grace has had surgery to be spayed, and I am happy to report that she is fine and doing well. She is pretty cute these days as she longingly looks out the windows as if to say, "Can't I go out now"?
She seems to have survived her second surgery of her short 5 months!




When we dropped her off at the vet, her pal Moses came along to get checked out too. Turns out he has tonsillitis and has to take 6 pills a day! Luckily, I got him some tasty pill pockets so that it won't be so bad to take them.

-Julie

Our First Delta Visit







I LOVE VISITING PEOPLE!

I had such a great time wearing my vest and visiting the Hays County Nursing Home and Rehabilitation last Friday. Mom and Dad took me and Mosi to this fun place where people were just waiting to meet us and give me treats and pets. I think I met at least 50 new friends. When we got home, we were so tired we didn't even move until the next morning. All that visiting really takes it out of me! I cant' wait to go again!

Your Pal,


-Laz

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

DELTA VESTS ARRIVE!








It is so exciting. My Delta Society vest has arrived. I am so happy about it. When Mom showed it to me, I just wagged and grinned to tell her how happy I am about it. Moses kept trying to get between Mom and me when she was fixing the straps on my great new vest, but then he got interested in Grace and she got it, and I got to show it off! Mom took a bunch of pictures of it!
We are going to visit Hays County Nursing Home on Friday. Mom wants me to ask everyone to pray for us!!

Your Pal,


Laz

Be sure to click on the pictures to see them close up!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Grace Update



Hello friends, this is Grace here. I am aware that there has been quite a lot of talk about the rest of the pack and their Delta Society this and North Dakota friends that, well it is my turn! Moses and I are best buds now and we like to play, nuzzle, and sleep together-- of course in Mom and Dad's bed. I have been trying new foods lately, I am especially fond of turkey, meaty spaghetti sauce, and Laz's joint enhancer treats that really stink. With all this food, I am up to 5.5 pounds!


I have been coming on the walks lately. I like to stay behind a little bit and explore the nearby areas. I even got to visit with Debbi, one of Laz's best friends, on our walk this morning! Just when everyone thinks that I am becoming more and more like a dog, I will jump up and climb a tree just to show my kitty street cred.


Meow!


Grace

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Grand Forks






Last weekend Kevin and I traveled to Grand Forks, North Dakota. Kevin attended a conference, and I visited with some friends I haven't seen in a while. We visited with a lot of people, and spent a lot of time with Noel, Lazie's first girlfriend. Noel is a five year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever who Laz met at obedience class at Daria's Place. She and Laz were top students and bonded as Julie and Darla would work with them every week. We also got to spend a lot of time with Noel's parents, Darla and Brian, and we got to see Monty who Laz knows from dog class. We also got to see Monty's Mom, Pene and her new human son Cameron who was really cute and alert for three months. We were also able to see Sharon and Sherm, who are very special to us. Brad and Kristen invited us over for dinner and we got to see our favorite ice skater, Ella and meet Autumn, her new sister. We also got to see another of Lazie's pals, Zipper who came to his first birthday party. We rounded out the trip with a visit with Mike and Stacey and a trip to Home of Economy, arguably the strangest store on earth. While it was nice to be in Grand Forks for the weekend, it was very strange being there without Laz. Moses was very young when we left, but much of our life in North Dakota was so influenced by adding Lazarus to our pack.

It was nice to go to a place with cooler weather for a few days, and it seems the weather has broken here in San Marcos, as it has been in the high 70s and low 80s the past few days.

Because of the cooler weather in Texas, Laz is like a whole new dog! Each degree lower that it gets, the better and more energetic Laz feels. He just seems so happy these days. He went swimming this morning so it is not too cold for that! I do think he noticed the sniffs of his home town, Grand Forks, on our clothes and suitcases.

We were also able to eat at a Grand Forks institution, the Italian Moon. (pictured) The food was good, but I found it pricier than I remember! :)

-Julie

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Progress as seen by a home movie

It is amazing what a little time and patience can do. Moses and Grace are best buddies now. They love to play. Grace will even wake up Moses to play with her in the middle of the night. While she is still learning not to bite and to keep those nails tucked away, they both seem to really enjoy each other. It is difficult to capture the tender moments between them, I've added a few home movies to watch. The first is of Lazarus and Moses. The second is of Moses and Grace. Moses barks at her to say "Play with me!" at the end of the movie. He is still figuring her out!

Doggie Dip Day '08







Doggie Dip Day 2008 finally rolled around this past weekend, and it marks the greatest day of the year for Lazarus, as well as the beginning to the end of the summer. Doggie Dip Day is when the spring fed pool at Landa Park is opened to dogs and their owners for swimming and fun. There were several chocolate labs and many labs of various colors. There were dogs of all types though and all seemed to have a good time.

Laz was, of course, the best swimmer (totally unbiased opinion) and didn't get out of the water the entire time (12-4) except for the occasional treat and to tinkle. Laz even learned to use the ladder to get out of the pool so as to not waste any energy getting out and preserving energy for swimming.

Moses did quite a bit of swimming, and especially liked fetching the pink and purple frisbee. Both Laz and Mos jumped off the "dock" in the middle of the pool and, although Moses was scared to do it, he was proud of himself after. Mostly, Moses enjoyed meeting pretty ladies and getting pets.

Jack and Ellen also came. Jack was tentative at first of the water, but he did do a little swimming and enjoyed running around with all the dogs as well.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Our Famous Football Picks



We are specifically doing this late this year so as to not throw-off the betting lines in Vegas...


AFC East
Julie: New England, Miami (Wild card), New York, Buffalo
Kevin: New England, New York (Wild Card), Buffalo, Miami

AFC North
Julie: Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Baltimore
Kevin: Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore

AFC South
Julie: Tennessee, Indianapolis (Wild Card), Jacksonville, Houston
Kevin: Jacksonville, Indianapolis (Wild Card), Houston, Tennesseee

AFC West
Julie: San Diego, Kansas City, Oakland, Denver
Kevin: San Diego, Denver, Oakland, Kansas City

NFC East
Julie: Dallas, Washington (Wild Card), New York, Philadelphia
Kevin: Dallas, Philadelphia (Wild Card), New York, Washington

NFC North
Julie: Minnesota, Chicago, Green Bay, Detroit
Kevin: Minnesota, Detroit, Green Bay, Chicago

NFC South
Julie: Atlanta, New Orleans (Wild Card), Tampa Bay, Carolina
Kevin: New Orleans, Carolina (Wild Card), Tampa Bay, Atlanta

NFC West
Julie: Seattle, Arizona, St. Louis, San Francisco
Kevin: Seattle, Arizona, St. Louis, San Francisco


SUPER BOWL
Julie: San Diego over Dallas
Kevin: Dallas over Jacksonville

Monday, September 01, 2008

My First Trip "Out West"






Last week, I traveled to West Texas to visit the Ranch for which I work. It was an amazing trip, and an amazing landscape. I was expecting tumbleweeds and dust, but it was lush, green and beautiful. Below are some pictures.

It was nice to see the end product for which my daily tasks are directed. The ranch is experiencing a drought, and although there has been some hardship, the excellent management by the ranch owners and managers has proved effective in the recovery of the range during this time.