Saturday, September 17, 2011

SpOtLiGhT: BoOmEr

All about Boomie. While Bailey is working in the office, Gracie is sleeping and Suzie is outside, Boomer is somewhere squeaking a toy. To say Boomer loves to play is an understatement. And the squeakier the toy, the better. Boomer was especially playful this summer. With the heat, we were not able to walk the babies, so his energy levels were pretty high. Boomer is our little prince. As our only little boy, he definitely gets plenty of special treatment.


Here is Boomer with one of his late toys. (The toy is no longer with us).


Where we going?



Boomer & Gracie are best friends. I love this picture of them together.


So excited to be boating with his family!


What? Doesn't this bed say my name?


We love Boomer so much. He has been such a blessing to our family. Matt has really enjoyed having a male companion around the house. (Boomer's Aggie football jersey should be arriving any day now). He is my little prince. The girls love having a brother to pick on. Boomer is our little man!

WE LOVE YOU BOOMAROO!











Friday, September 2, 2011

SpOtLiGhT: SuZie

Oh our Suz Boo! While Bailey works in the office and Gracie sleep, Suzie monitors the backyard. Suzie would love to be an outside dog. She is the reason we installed a doggie door. Suzie would rather be outside than anywhere else. It is actually hard to get pictures of Suzie because she is never around. Matt and I try to cuddle with her as much as possible. Besides her regular tummy rubs, she is "Miss Independent."

Here is Suzie's signature move....guilty face then the rollover.



When Suzie does decide to come in the house, she usually plays with toys (more like destroys the toys) and the other babies.


Here is Suzie captured in "Hitler" mode. We have to close the door to the laundry room where the food is kept, otherwise Suzie will stay in there and guard it. She won't leave the food and growls at the others who walk by. If my purse is on the ground, a grocery sack on the ground, etc she will go into this dictator alter-ego. She isn't this way about the communal toys they share though. Luckily. So, needless to say we don't leave anything on the floors for her to guard.

Matt calls her "the keeper of the flame" when he grills. Suzie guards the grill when he is cooking.



We love Suzie so much. She is quirky and has such a distinctive personality. I worry about her the most since she is so independent. I wish I knew what she was thinking. I wish I could afford to live on a couple of acres for her to enjoy the outdoors even more. (But then I would really worry more.) Her long, narrow body acts as a megaphone. You can here her bark from down the street. She is truly a unique girl.


WE LOVE YOU SUZE BOO





Wednesday, August 17, 2011

SpOtLiGhT: Gracie

This next spotlight is on Gracie. While Bailey is workaholic, Gracie is our very own Sleeping Beauty. Here are snapshots of Gracie's typical week.

Gracie provides moral support as I fold the laundry.





Sometimes Gracie considers going outside.


But mostly Gracie sleeps!




Gracie is our very own teddy bear. She loves to cuddle. Wanna take a nap? She's your girl. Wanna lay on the couch and read mags all day? Count her in. Gracie has the kindest heart. She truly wants to be loved on at all times. She is the BIGGEST baby we have. Truly a weenie dog at heart. Gracie is scared of almost everything. But we love our big baby so much!


WE LOVE YOU GRACIE GIRL!


Sunday, August 7, 2011

SpOtLiGht: Bailey

This week's feature post is on Bailey. I tried to capture in photos what Bailey's typical week looks like!

When Bailey isn't working in the office, she is usually in a blanket somewhere.


Bailey is a hard worker though. She puts in long hours at the office. Bailey loves to sit in a desk chair that faces the window, so she can monitor what is going on outside on the street.






As you can see, Bailey is on her favorite Texas A & M rug. Despite my attempts to raise her like a Baylor lady, she has chosen to follow in her father's footsteps and be an Aggie. She loves beef, burps like a champ and snores like an old man! She loves bad boys (Dustin and Eric) and can't control her flirting. Despite all of this, she has a fantastic work ethic, as you can see from the pictures. She is such a hard worker, and we don't know what we would do without her!

WE LOVE YOU BAILEY BOO!









Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Must Have Been Boomie's Long Lost Brother....


Superhero Chihuahua Takes on Armed Robbers!


http://www.peoplepets.com/people/pets/article/0,,20511346,00.html

Why I Do Not Make The Bed

Below is a picture of what I see every morning when I leave for work. Each baby gets on the bed in their usual spot. Bailey is on my side, Boomer is on Matt's pillow, Gracie is stretched out somewhere in the center under the fan (you can hardly see her in the pic-she is laying behind Suzie), and Suzie is at the foot.

Now, my parents on BIG on made beds. But how could I make them all get up just to make a bed? Don't they look so sweet??





And I tried to get a picture of Suzie, Gracie and Boomer playing, but they are moving around so fast, it is hard to get a good one. This was the best I could do.




I am thinking of dedicating a week of pictures to each baby. So each week for the next four weeks will feature one baby!

P.S. Gracie has now started barking at animated animals in addition to her live animal rants on TV.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Pho-Dog-Raphy

Last Fall, Matt and I had professional portraits taken of us with our babies. I wanted to capture this time in our lives. We hadn't had any photos taken of us since our wedding, so I felt we needed this. We found a photographer who works with animals. She was fantastic. She was patient and kind with our babies. I was surprised that she was actually able to catch multiple photos with all four of them looking at the camera. I had asked the photographer to email me some of the pictures that I didn't purchase. They are posted below....enjoy!

*The photographer is Suzanne Demaree. She was great. She also does a lot of work for the aspca and other animal organizations. Her website is www.suzannedemareephotographer.com

This is us getting them pepped up for the photo shoot. Work, turn to the left, work, now turn to the right.....does anyone remember that song?



Here is our Suzie Boo


And our Gracie Girl


And Bailey Boo


Last and certainly not least, our main man Boomaroo


Our Family..or fAmily if I am talking to my bro-in-law

Saturday, July 9, 2011

What We've Been Up Too.....

Well, we have been pretty busy since the 4th of July. The crew's trip to the vet went very well. Everyone's blood work came back great. Everyone's weight was good for the most part.....Bailey just needs to lose a few ounces, but Gracie has kept her weight down, which is great!


This is Gracie in the vet's office.

We went boating all weekend! We even had some company over.





Work has been busy, so the blogging slowed down, but don't worry-we're doing great!

Today Bailey and Gracie went to Beau's Bathhouse for a Spa Day!

www.beausbathhouse.com


Boomer had a visit from is first mommy, Linda (I am his second mommy) and his Aunt Jennifer. They took some pictures, I will ask them to send them to me, so I can post them. Everyone had a nice visit. Boomer and the girls loved having extra hands around to pet them.

After our company left, me and the 4 babies took a nice, long nap. With Matt out of town, we are enjoying naps, chick-flicks, and all things lazy!


This is Suzie crashed out on the couch...oh, life is tough around this house.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

What Breed Are YOU?

You must take this pawsome puppy quiz and find out what breed YOU are!

www.dogster.com/quizzes/what_dog_breed_are_you/

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend. Pupparazzi will be out in full force!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Hound Dog Happenings

Well, we have had a pretty easy week. We are resting up for our 6 month check-ups on Saturday. There has been a lot of....

Playing (toy still holding up-thank goodness).....





Frog Hunting (pretty much Bailey's only physical activity)....





Patrolling of the Patio and Backyard....



And Practicing Our Profile Poses....




We hope to receive a great report from our check-ups on Saturday. Until then, remember to stay pawsitive!!

Monday, June 27, 2011

TV Watchin' DaWg

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Gracie LOVES to watch TV. She watches and watches until she sees a non-human and then she barks at the TV. It can be an animal of any kind, even a photo of an animal, and she will bark at it. If she gets really excited about this non-human on TV, she runs to the TV and barks while jumping up and down. Last week, we were watching The Today Show and there were snippets of Jackass videos on, due to the recent death of one of the Jackass actors/characters (not sure how to describe them really.) Gracie went bananas when the Jackass snippets came on. She normally doesn't bark at anything but non-humans, but these guys doing stunts really bothered her. After a moment, I had to agree with Gracie....they aren't really human, are they?



This is her barking at whatever Matt is watching on TV (which for some reason usually does involve lots of non-humans.) Just kidding. She is actually barking at "Finding Sarah." The Sarah Ferguson reality show.



And this is her getting ticked off at me for taking her picture.....

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Surprising Tattoo

I have never been a huge Jennifer Aniston fan. She seems to always play the same type of characters, and she appears to be a little too superficial. BUT I have always appreciated that she is a huge dog lover. When I saw the title "Jennifer Aniston Gets First Tattoo" on www.people.com I thought it would be some random thing she did with her latest boyfriend. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it said "Norman." Norman was her beloved corgi mix who died this past May. What a tribute to Norman. Snippet of article below.....


Jennifer Aniston debuted some new ink in New York Friday.

The actress got her first tattoo on the inside of her right foot, and it reads "Norman," her rep tells PEOPLE. It is Aniston's favorite word after all!

The 42-year-old got a little teary telling James Lipton that during a taping of Inside the Actors Studio on Thursday. Norman was her Welsh corgi-terrier mix, who died in May at 15 years old.

– Julie Jordan

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Chew On This

Toys do not last in this house. Suzie is the master at destructing toys. Her goal is to get the squeaker out of every toy. Boomer and Gracie enjoy playing tug of war. (Quite comical to watch since Gracie is 65 pounds and Boomer is about 10 max-pictures to come.) Anything labeled tough, indestructible, etc can usually be destroyed within hours at our house.

Knock on wood somewhere before you continue reading....

We have a toy that has lasted a whole week and looks to be in perfect condition. It is a Planet Dog toy. Planet Dog is a great company. They are eco-friendly and 2% of sales go to their foundation. They are socially responsible and active in the canine community. Needless to say, I am thrilled that this toy has lasted this long (and hopefully much longer) and feel great about purchasing more toys from Planet Dog.

Here is a link to the Award-winning Slobber-Wick® Squeak Bone if you are interested.
http://www.planetdog.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=SLOBBER%20SQUEAK%20BONE

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Meet the "babies"

So, who are the "babies?" Why do I call them "babies?" And more importantly, why do I have FOUR? Well, let's do a little introduction......

Baby 1. Bailey, Yorkshire Terrier, female, 6 years old, Pisces. Bailey was adopted in July of 2005 (she was born that April). I was a single mom in the city. I had just graduated college and moved to the Dallas area for work. To put it mildly, Bailey was a difficult puppy. At about a year and a half old, she grew up (finally!). She no longer destructed everything in sight; she no longer needed to go on a 5 mile walk in order for me to watch a 30min show in peace. I was also dating someone (her future father). She has loved Matt from day 1. When she was 2, Matt and I were married and moved into a house with a yard! Bailey is bossy and snores loud, but an awesome cuddle-er. Bailey also smiles (pictures to come). She wins everyone over with her smile.

Baby 2. Gracie, Golden Retriever, female, 6 years old, Gemini. Gracie was adopted in 2007, when she was 2 years old. We adopted Gracie from Cause for Paws, a rescue group about an hour outside of Dallas. Matt (my husband) was dying for a large dog that he could run, wrestle, play fetch with. On our way to pick up Gracie, we bought all kinds of "big dog" toys. It didn't take long for us to realize that Gracie doesn't like to do anything that involves much effort, and for good reason. Gracie has severe hip dysplasia. At the age of 2, Gracie had a procedure known as "denervation." It is a relatively new (and highly debatable) procedure. We immediately saw positive results. For now, Gracie takes chondroitin supplements for her joints and does well. Despite her progress, Gracie prefers to lay on the couch and watch TV. She is a great companion. She and I watch all kinds of TV together. You can throw a ball, toy or whatever but Gracie doesn't get up for anything but food.

Baby 3. Suzie, Corgi-Collie mix, female, 6 years old, Gemini. Suzie was adopted in 2009, when she was 4 years old. We adopted Suzie from the SPCA. Matt and I were making a stop into PetSmart to get some supplements for Gracie, and they were having "adoption day." I knew better than to walk over there, so I avoided that section. Matt had to use the restroom, which required him to walk by where the adoption dogs were. He cam back from the restroom telling me about "the funniest looking dog back there that is so cute." I immediately told him to stop talking, I didn't want to hear about it because it made me sad. Then, here comes Suzie, she is strolling by us to go on a potty break. We go to pet her, and she rolls over for a tummy rub. That's all it took. We took her home. Suzie is the reason we have a doggie door. Suzie would live outside if we would let her. She loves to "patrol" the backyard. Her body acts as a megaphone, she has the loudest bark! Suzie is active, loves to swim, run, play, etc. She keeps us active as well.

Baby 4. Boomer, Chihuahua-Dachshund mix, 1 year old, Scorpio. Boomie was adopted in 2010, when he had just turned a year old. He belong to a co-worker of mine who could no longer keep him. I had planned to take Boomer in until I found him the perfect home. That perfect home turned out to be ours. After 3 days of him in our home, he wasn't going anywhere. He immediately took to us. He became Matt's shadow. He is definitely the most ridiculous of the bunch. He makes sure that he is on someone getting petted at all times. Boomer is very much still a puppy. He loves to play with toys, play chase, etc. He thinks he should be the center of attention at all times.

I call them "babies" because "dogs" if often used in a derogatory way. Before we had Boomer, I called them "the girls" but with Boomer, "babies" seemed the most fitting. "Children" seemed too formal...I can't imagine saying, "how are the children?" So babies it is!!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Welcome


Welcome to the first post of "gone to the dawgs!" I am a mother to 4, four-legged "babies" and wanted to share our adventures with other pet lovers. You can look forward to adorable pictures, hilarious stories, as well as tips for canine health, recommended toys, etc. I hope you find this blog pawsitively awesome!

Kelly