Live Strong Day

October 2 /10

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Today is Live Strong Day and like many of you, I'm yellowing up my post in dedication of every person and animal who is waging a brave battle against cancer.

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This is also in memory of those who fought the battle and lost, and to honour the survivors who are blessed and won.

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I hope that those who are in the fight find strength in their loved ones and in the simple pleasures of life. I hope they find comfort in the prayers and good wishes that come their way.

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This post is also in appreciation of devoted Oncology caregivers who see to the needs of their patients, and of all the researchers who work tirelessly to find a cure for cancer. And special thanks to those who raise and donate money to fund this research.

Papa, this post is especially for you.

Please, friends, visit the official Live Strong site and support the fight against cancer.

Pedigree Food Drive / Papa Update / Photos of me

September 18 /10

We just had to take some time out to be part of this very important campaign, The Pedigree Food Drive.

We heard about it from our hard-working friends over at Life With Dogs and we hope you'll help spread the word.

Each year, four million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations in the USA.

So Pedigree created The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs. All you have to do is click on the Like button on their Facebook page and Pedigree will donate a bowl of food to a shelter. So far they have over a million clicks. So let's help make that two million for all the dogs who are less fortunate than we are and need our help.

Also, for each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Food Drive through September 19th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.

Pedigree Canada is also hosting a food drive. For every view of their Adoption Tales, Pedigree will donate $1 CDN towards helping dogs in participating shelters across Canada – up to a maximum of $50,000 CDN in 2010.

Here's one of their videos:

So far, $25,804 has been raised. Let's keep it going !

So if you're like me and you rely on human help to post to your blog, I urge you to give your human no peace until they help you participate in this most important food drive.

When your write your post, be sure to link back to Life with Dogs like we did above.

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Papa Update: Papa is about a quarter of the way through his Inteferon treatment. It's a stinker. It makes him feel really sick most of the time. His doctor lowered the dose to give him a break for a few weeks and he felt a lot better. But now the dose is slowly increasing again so he'll get full benefit and he's feeling icky again.

He's still not able to work but goes to his office sometimes to do some paperwork and see his colleagues. He walks me every day and does some of the grocery shopping for Mama. He's a real soldier.

Our life has changed so much but it will be worth it once the treatment is over and Papa will be healthy. And don't you worry - I'm giving Papa lots of snuggles and lovies and I'm taking very good care of him.

Thanks to all of you who keep us in your thoughts. We appreciate it so much. And hopefully, when there is more time, we'll get back to visiting all of you. We love you very much and have not forgotten any of you.

And in case any of you have forgetten what I look like, here are some photos taken of me over the summer.

On guard-en duty.

Playing with my girlfriend, Miss Princesse. She wants to get engaged.

She gives me my space, see? I like that.

Enjoying a good steak bone.

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In the pool with Daniel. Did I get off the floatie ? Nope. I am too scared to swim ... however, if I wasn't so scared I'd probably be a really good swimmer, don't you think ?

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Playing with my ball on the ground .... much safer.

A heroic walk in the park.

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And here I am with my new step-brotherpuppy, Jaxson. He's a blue-eyed Silver Retriever. He's not much fun yet. In fact he's a pest. But I have lots of plans for us when he gets to be a bigboy dog like me. We're going to have so many adventures together. He's just taking so darn long to grow up ...

Bye for now, all my friends. Sending you big butt wiggles and slurpy kisses.

xo

Happy Birthday to me ! / Papa update

July 25 /10

Guess what?

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I'm 4 !!

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Mama giving me a great big Boxer-size birthday kissie

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♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ ░H░A░P░P░Y░ ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

░B░I░R░T░H░D░A░Y░

♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ . ░T░O░ ░M░E░ .♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

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Yesterday, as a pre-birthday treat, Mama and Papa took me to Ben and Jerry's and I had a quarter bowl of vanilla ice cream!!!
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Like everywhere else, it was bazillions of degrees outside, so the three of us sat in the air conditioned truck and slurped our ice cream together rather than sitting at a café table. It was very nice and relaxing ....a happy, cozy moment.
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I have five birthday Yays:
Today Mama is going to play ball with me in the backyard just as soon as she's finished cleaning the house ....YAY.

She had some old trees pulled up so I'll have more running room ...YAY.

Now I won't get my tie-out tangled up around my legs ....YAY.

And I won't fall on my face anymore whenever I run for the ball ....YAY.

And tonight I just know I'm going to get the marrow bone that I saw Daniel sneak into the fridge .....YAY !!!
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n n n n

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Papa update: Papa is in his third week of Interferon injections and he's feeling really icky. He's a lot better than he was on the infusions but this Interferon stuff is pretty unforgiving, no matter how you take it. Poor Papa. He can't work but he goes into the office now and then to say hi to his staff. And sometimes he walks me and goes out to buy groceries which he loves to do. He's lost a lot of weight because food tastes terrible. Mama is always trying to make him eat fruits and vegetables and grains, but he doesn't enjoy eating at all.
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I do my best to make Papa happy because I sense there's something wrong with him. Mama sees it in my face. My life has changed a lot too. I used to go to Papa's office all the time and play with the secretaries and run around the dock chasing brooms and shovels. And we did lots of road trips and shows. Well, I just know that the three of us will be doing all that again one day soon, but until then, I will snuggle close to Papa and give him lots of lovies and healing slobberoos. I know paw-power works and there isn't a minute that I'm not giving him all the power my paws have.
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Well, I'm going to wait by the back door until it's time to go outside and play ball.
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Bye for now. xo

DWB Reunion

July 19 /10

Who wants to have a real DWB reunion?

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I'm ready if you are !!
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Well, I cannot believe it - Mama went to Asta's house in New York City and she didn't take me.

You must have heard by now that Greg and Brooke - Angel Charlie's, Opy's and Benson's parents - organized a DWB reunion last week. Well, Mama flew into the Big Apple for the day so she could meet our blog friends. Well, you can imagine how I felt when she told me I wasn't going... !! SNORT !!

She did take a flattie of me, but it got stuck with I don't know how many other flatties in the grill of Asta's fireplace. No partying for us doggies... yeeesh.

Anyway, I heard that Asta picked up my scent in Mama's carry-on bag and she went sniffing for me. Ahhh... Astagirl, Mama told me how pretty you are in ... well, person .... and my heart just went pitter-patter. Mama also got to meet Petey, Duffy and Stella and she said they were also gorgeous and so sweet. I want to meet them too !

Mama said Asta and her mommy Ami, were the most gracious hostesses. She loved being at the party and just wishes she could have stayed longer. She said next time, when Papa is all better, they're both going to go. And guess what that means?? That means I'll get to go too because they never leave me alone or at a kennel ..........heheheheh.

Here are some pictures from the reunion.

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Moms, dads and flatties in Asta's lobby

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Flatties in the fireplace

Mama with Petey and his mom, Jane. Hi Petey !

My flattie

IYAK

Mama and Asta played ball. I wish I was playing ball .... not with Mama - with Asta !!

I was on Mama's nametag.

This is Greg. Is he like our boss?

A cake dedicated to Angel Charlie.

I think Asta was looking for me in Mama's bag - be still my heart !!

Well, at least flatty me made it home safely ....Mama said the taxi driver who drove her to the airport might as well have flown her home, he was going so fast.

So Mama had a great one-day adventure and was so happy to meet so many blog friends... but I think we dogs have to organize a reunion too, with flat parents and lots of cookies and chewies - and NO LEASHES. What d'ya think?

Happy Father's Day !

June 20/ 10
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Happy Father's Day, Papa

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Dear Papa,

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You feed me and you walk me.

And rub my belly too.

You throw my ball and rawhides.

For me to catch and chew.

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You buy me bones and yogurt.

And wipe the drool off of my face.

And you never seem to mind at all

That I shed all over the place.

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You let me lick you even though

I have Boxerslobbergoop.

And you're more than happy anytime

To bend down and clean my poop.

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Oh Papa, you're the best!

I love you more than I can say

So happy, happy, happy, happy

Happy Father's Day !!

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Love,

Chef

xo

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And HFD to all of your Papas too !

I got skunked/Papa Update

June 17 /10

Hi everybody. It's me - Chef. I think Mama has hogged my blog a little too much lately so here I am to fill you in on some of the things that have been going on around here.

You will absolutely NEVER guess what happend to me the other night - I GOT SKUNKED !! It's true. Right in the face too. I still don't smell like my usual delicious self but I smell a whole lot better than I did, and let me tell you - I stunk.

I was out for a walk with Daniel and I was sniffing around the neighbour's bushes when I thought I saw the black and white cat that always flirts with me. Actually, Daniel thought it was the cat too so he let me poke my head under the trees and whammo! I got it right in the kisser. It tasted so bad and my eyes were burning. Daniel thought I was having some kind of seizure because I was foaming at the mouth and my face went all funny and my head was turning in all directions. It was like I was possessed !

Anyway, we ran home and Daniel and Mama hosed me down in the back yard, which I didn't like very much. Then they tossed me into a special fizzy bath to get the stink out of my fur. I didn't like that either. See?

I don't look very happy, do I?

But still, the taste in my mouth was so awful and my head was still bobbing around for a long time. Man, it was scary.

I'm ok now but I sure hope I don't ever meet another skunk - ever, ever, ever.

And in case you ever get skunked, don't bother using the old tomatoe juice remedy because it doesn't work. This is the recipe:

Mix:

1 quart (or liter) of 3% hydrogen peroxide from a fresh, unopened bottle
1/4 cup (50 ml.) of baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml.) of liquid dish soap

Keep the mixture on for 10 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water.


And take it from me - if you think you see a black and white cat, run away !!

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PAPA UPDATE: My Papa is nearing the half-way mark of his daily Interferon treatments. The first week was pretty rough but Mama got his doctor to prescribe some meds for him to take before he gets his infusions to head off the side effects.

The pills are working and Papa is feeling much, much better. 'Course, he's also feeling much, much better because I'm giving his lots of cuddles and lovies. Mama has taken some extended time off work to take care of Papa so I get to go on lots of walks with her and we play ball and hang out in the garden - no more "Hi Chef, bye Chef" when she's rushing off to work in the morning. Ooooo, I love having my parents home !!

Anyway, we want to thank all of you again for the good wishes that you've been sending. We appreciate it so much and it looks like all the good vibes are working because, so far, things are turning out to be so much better than we thought.

xoxoxo

Our journey begins

June 6/09

My dear friends,

It's been a while since I posted and even longer since I visited most of your blogs and I hope you understand why I've stayed away so long. As you know, we are having some problems and lots of worries, and it seems there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done, and still have time left over for blogging.

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Morrie has been feeling really well. His last surgery found his lymph nodes clean, which was great news, but he will be undergoing Interferon treatment to prevent a recurrance of the melanoma. The treatment begins tomorrow morning, and from what we understand he will not be feeling very well at all for quite some time.

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He will begin daily infusions at the hospital for the next four or five weeks. After that, he will continue with injections of Interferon at home three times a week for the remainder of the year. That is, if he can tolerate the Interferon and continue with the treatment. Apparently, 50% of those who begin this treatment quit because of the devestating side effects.

Morrie already has about a dozen pill bottles lined up for use when the treatment begins - for nausea, pain, anxiety, digestive problems, etc. These could have side effects of their own . It will not be easy,

Interferon has also been known, in some cases, to cause permanent damage, though rarely. Sometimes we think we are spending our last days together with Morrie as we have known him. It is my inclination to worry and project on the worse-case scenario, which I never mention to him, but hopefully I am overdoing it and our situation won't be nearly as bad as I imagine it.

Please continue to pray for my dear man. And while you're at it, please pray for me to have the strength to take care of him well and see to all his needs without becoming discouraged and fatigued. We are setting out on a year-long battle not knowing what to expect from one day to the next and it is daunting.

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On a happier note, we showed Chef a couple of weeks ago at a three-day event in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, just a few miles from our home. He was kind of sluggish the first two days, with most people saying he has gained too much weight since last season. I guess in our efforts to fatten up that skinny little boy, we didn't realize that he was packing on some extra pounds. Not attractive and definitely not healthy. So he's now on a diet. We've weaned him off his Angus beef patties and now he's basically on kibble only, although we can't help but slip a couple of slivers of chicken or salmon into his bowl from time to time.

Anyway, on the third day of the show, Chef found his attitude and he won Best of Breed. He also made the cut for Group, which is quite an honour. (That's when we figured he's not that much of a fatso and adding the odd piece of chicken or salmon to his meals won't do him much harm.)

In his cooling jacket ... just warming up for the win!

Best of Breed !!

Group

This was most likely our last show until next summer. So I'm glad Chef did well and did Morrie proud. I love it when Chef wins, but Morrie takes it way more seriously so he was bustin' his buttons with pride. Thanks Chef, for making Papa so happy.

Yesterday, Chef was at the vet and she said that Boxers are especially sensitive dogs, and that Chef is going to pick up on the fact that Morrie is sick. So for all our sakes, we have vowed to try and stay upbeat and positive no matter what the year ahead brings. It's funny how the family dog can be a stablizing force during troubled times in so many great ways.

So wish us well in this journey to who-knows-where. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we will need as much support as we can get from people who we care so much about.

I will stay in touch and let you know how things are going and hopefully I'll have the time to go around visiting all your blogs soon.

Bye for now.

Linda
xo

אלוהים בבקשה לתת מוישה בריאות טובה

Happy Mother's Day!

May 9 /10

Look at the two gifts I brought home for my Mama for Mother's Day ...

which do you think she'll like better?

Don't forget to give your mom some big, spitty lickies today to thank her for all she does every day to keep you happy, healthy and safe.

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Aren't moms great?

Sticks and bones!

April 25 /10

Today was a great day and I'm about to tuck myself in for the night a very happy dog.

First, Mama and I went for a long walk. There's a big, beautiful park near my house that doesn't allow dogs. Grrrr. Anyway, sometimes we go there when no one's around, but this being Sunday the park was pretty crowded. So we walked around the outside of it and ventured inside only where there were no people... I didn't mind though. It was a warm, sunny day and I was just happy to be outside. My nubbin - that's what Mama calls my tail - was wagging the whole time!

This is Parc Pierre Elliot Trudeau just down the street from our house. It's got a man-made lake with ducks in the summer and chalets, walking paths, a picnic area, two baseball diamonds and more ... it's huge and beautiful.

One day I'm going to tell you about the secret place Mama found at the park where I can run off-leash and be safe... and where no one can see us!

Here are some pictures of our walk today.

I went stick hunting, of course!

I watched a baseball game - oooo I wanted that ball so bad!

Then I remembered Mama had my ball in her pocket.

So I chomped on it for a while.

Then I saw lots of strange holes like this one.
Mama said they were gopher holes.
I never met a gopher, so ...

I wondered if he was home.

But Mama yanked me away because she thinks gophers bite. I bet I came thisclose to having my nose boinked!

I finally settled down for a good chew.


Later on we had a BBQ ... those are girlie steaks and man steaks!

..And I had the MAN-steak bones!!

Mama said she's going to take me to our secret place in the park soon so I'll be able to show you where I play in my own private playground.

Papa update: Papa had his second surgery a couple of weeks ago and the doctor took some more of his lymph nodes out for testing. We don't have the results yet but in the meantime, Papa has gone back to work and is feeling pretty good, except for a little pain from the operation. We will keep you posted. And thanks to all of you who have been asking about him on Facebook and in emails. It's so nice to know that you are thinking of us.

I apologize for not visiting your blogs for a long time. Geez, I haven't even visited my own for I don't know how long. But I'm thinking of all of you with love and will visit you soon. xo

Wordless Wednesday

March 31 /10

(Yes, I am sleeping sitting down !!)

Happy Birthday Papa!

March 20/ 10

This was me last Thursday night:

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It's true. They made a party at my cousin JoJo's house and they didn't even THINK of inviting me. Not so much as a courteous "we'd love to have you, Chef, but it's a people party."

All they said was, "Be a good boy tonight, Chef. Bye."

"Oh yeah?" I thought. "Well I'll think about it...maybe I'll be a good boy and maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just unravel some toilet paper and trail it all through the house."

But I ended up just laying there all night long in my big old pillow, sulking. Do you blame me?

All I had was a couple of rawhides to chew on while the rest of the family ...

... ate this ...



... and this - that's my brother Daniel doing the cooking ....

... and this ...

... and they drank this ... OMG !!

And will you just look at the birthday cake they had??

So I lay there all night chewing and thinking. And instead of doing mischief I thought that I should just be happy I have such a fantastic Papa because he loves me so much and he takes such great care of me. And he lets me lick the bottom of his yogurt bowl and he swings the broom around so I can bark at it and have fun. Plus shabillions of other things he does for me day in and day out.

So ...

I'm very glad you enjoyed your party, and -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA !

XOXOXO

By the way, Papa has to have another operation in a couple of weeks to remove some more lymph nodes. The doctor found a teensy weensy bit of bad cells in his big lymph node so his surgeon is going to take a few more out. He's not looking forward to it at all so I've been doing a really good job of nuzzling him and giving him lots of loving, healing snorts.

Mama and I want to thank all of you again for your continuous good wishes and prayers for Papa. It's so good to know that we have so many good friends out there who we've never even met but who care so much. Big, big (((hugs))) to all of you.

xo