Door County 2014

We try to take a trip to Door County at least once a year.  We LOVE Door County!  The beach is beautiful, they are super dog friendly, and we love to hike the trails.

love the doggy heads out the window

Marley thought she was the driver

Had to make a quick stop for an Oprah Chai.  Yummy!

This year was especially exciting because it was Remi's first time enjoying the great outdoors in Door County.  We were a little worried about bringing her with because she still wasn't walking great on a leash for us and she wasn't a big fan of swimming.

Lovin' life in Door County

Well she proved us wrong!  Not only did she start swimming on her own, she also hiked a difficult trail through Peninsula State Park without stopping once!  That means she had to climb rocks, which did give her a bit of hesitation, but in some spots, she was pulling me along.

Waiting for her sisters

The water was FREEZING!

We did a little shopping and got a few things for the house.  We had some great meals out (minus one terrible experience!  Don't go to the Log Den, their service was the worst ever!).

We've been doing this every year and we always feel like we should stay for longer.  We are even considering getting a pop up camper!  I'm not a huge fan of camping, but it would be much more affordable and I think it would make it easier for traveling with the dogs.  We will see!

We saw this while we were eating lunch...  Hilarious!

Marley was hopping through the water like a kangaroo!

 The dogs slept for two days straight after getting back!  They were so worn out!!

Exhausted!

Can't wait for next year!

our first stray

this last week, my mom and step-dad were away in North Carolina (so jealous!).  so me and grams switched off watching the cats.

sunday after the vision walk, we made our way to their house to check on the cats.  after we left, Mark noticed that there was a little Schnauzer mix that had run across the street and was extremely close to the railroad tracks.  he asked if we should stop, and i of course said yes!

we got out of the car and tried to coax the dog to us.  she was pretty timid and when i went to grab her, she just cowered.  i noticed right away that she didn't have a collar on.  we had an extra collar with us to we put it on her with a leash and took her back to the house who's yard she had run from.

i rang the doorbell and no one came to the door, so i rang again.  this time a man answered and i asked if she was his dog.  he said "no" and then i heard his wife in the background yell "and we don't want one!"  haha.  she came to the door and they mentioned that they had never seen the dog before so they didn't think it was one of the neighbors.

we called her Daisy even though she didn't respond to it

we decided to call over to HAWS to see if they had any calls on her yet.  they didn't, so i made the trip over there to drop her off.  they gave me her ID number so i could call and check on her, otherwise if no one claimed her, they were sure she would go to the President of HAWS rescue for schnauzers.

i'm happy to report that i called back two days later and found out that she had a chip and the family was able to pick her up the same day!!  so happy she went home to her family!  they were probably worried sick about her.  we also found out that she does live on the same street that i found her on, my mom's street.  now every time we drive to my mom's i look to see if i can see her at any of the houses.

such a good girl!  i hope i get to see her again someday!

vision walk 5K

on Sunday we were asked to participate in the vision walk for Walmart.  they were sponsoring the event, and since i was a previous employee, Starla asked if i wanted to be a walker.  i immediately said yes and had Mark join in on the fun.

the walk was down in Milwaukee at the Veteran's park, right by Lake Michigan.  we were able to bring the dogs with, so we brought the crazy ones, Stella and Marley.

doggies playing before the walk

we met down there around 9am, and the walk started at 10am.  they had tons of activities and tables and food!  it was a bit breezy when we got down there, but by the time the walk started it was BEAUTIFUL out.

Starla and me

walking is easy for me, so the walk was a breeze.  it made it much better that is was about 65 so the weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold.  it was fun catching up with friends on the walk.

me, Mark, Marley and Stella

walmart donated $100 per associate that attended the walk.  they surpassed their goal of $1,000!  next year, they are going to try to get even more people to participate!!

they announced that the walk had raised close to $80,000!!  yay!

we are looking forward to participating next year  :)

Vito (foster)

meet our newest foster, Vito...

he is such an awesome little guy.

we got him the day that our foster child left.  no one was able to foster him and Sue from WBTR thought he would be a good dog for us, because he is so good and would have no trouble getting adopted.

he fit right in with us from the start.  he is snorty and tiny and looks a lot like our Remi.

he, of course, loves Marley!  like every other boy dog that meets her.  he spends all morning playing with her, every morning.  they play like crazy and then he zonks out in the evening.

he loves to play tug with the girls, retrieve toys, and chew bones.  it took him awhile to open up, but now that he has, he is such a sweet dog.  he was so timid in the beginning that i felt sorry for him.  he will definitely be a good dog for any family because he is so sweet.

he's definitely more of a momma's boy.  he loves to snuggle with me.

he did have a rough time in the beginning.  he has double ear and double eye infections.  and we found out he will have to have double knee surgery.  poor guy.  but that just means he will be staying with us for a few months until he is ready for his forever home.

organized dogs

i love having a place for everything and everything in it's place.  really, who doesn't?!

when we built the house, i made sure to have cabinets put above the dogs kennels to store all of their things in the mudroom.  we have high maintenance dogs so they have a lot of things!

this is my favorite organized space in the house.  it came together exactly as i had picture it in my mind.

here is their space... (please ignore the mess on the counter, our foster came with a lot of extra things that i was trying to find a place for)

and here is how it is organized...

i bought these bins at Target in the kitchen section.  they fit in the cabinets really nicely.

starting from the top right is:

• foster clothes, misc extras (like extra leashes, booties, etc.)
• jackets, toys/treats
• medical, necessities (like their collars, doggy bags, etc.)

the other cabinet is used for random stuff for the house.  it holds the first aid container and a sewing kit.  the girls overnight/dog park bag.  Lily has a few things that also got a bin too.

makes me happy to be able to easily find things in the cabinet.  and it looks much nicer than having random things all shoved in a cabinet :)

five on friday: Easter weekend!

1. finally picked out some furniture and ordered it!  it will be here monday!!  i can't wait to get it!

2. can't wait to celebrate Easter with my family and Mark's mom's side!  always awesome to spend time with family.

3. we are going to the Soos's tonight to decorate eggs with the girls!!  can't wait to see them.

4. our newest foster is fitting in just fine around here :)

5. i decided to put my nose ring back in.  we will see how long that lasts...  so far i'm not loving it.

and a picture of Lily, just cause she is awesome! 

to Owen

to my buddy Owen...

i'm so sorry we had to say goodbye to you today.  i hope you will forgive us for the terrible thing we have done.

you didn't deserve what happened to you.  it wasn't your fault.  you're previous family must have done something to hurt you.  it was their fault and not yours.

i don't know why you snapped at us.  someone taught you that so i know you didn't mean it.  i'm sorry that had to happen.  i'm sorry for upsetting you.

we didn't want to have you "put down."  but we had no choice...

the hard part is that i am not God.  it's not really my choice.  and i will never forget that.

we will never forget you buddy.  you were only with us for three weeks but we were your family.

you were such a good boy.  you fit in with us right away.

you liked to play with your sisters.  you liked to cuddle with me or under the blankets.  you loved to go for walks.  you loved car rides.  you ruined any toy you could get your mouth on.  you liked to chase Lily.

there were some weird things you did too.  you growled when we picked you up.  you chased the reflection off of your collar.  all.  day.  long.  you ate garbage and toys.  you got upset easily...

but i was your momma and you knew it from the start.  you liked me more than anyone and i love you for loving me.  that's why i know you didn't mean what you did to me.

i tried to make your last day as great as i could.  i tried to give you as much love and treats as i could. we took you on a walk.  we pet you until the end.

i know you trusted us and i'm sorry we broke that.  i will never forget the way that you came over to me today and gave me a kiss on the cheek, like you were asking me to forgive you.  i do buddy, i really do.

i know how scared you were.  i was scared too.  i will never forget you looking at me until the end.  i wish i could have saved you.  i will wish it everyday for the rest of my life.

i will never forgive myself for what happened to you today, but i hope you can forgive me.  i'm so sorry buddy.  i'm sorry i couldn't have given you a better life from the start.  i love you and will miss you.  i hope you can be at peace now.

Owen (foster)

Meet Owen!  (our foster)

this guy has been with us for a little over a week now.  he is fitting in really well around here!

the first day was pretty rough.  he came from a shelter in Wausau, which means that he was used to being kenneled.  it took him about a day or two to get used to being in a home again.

he had to learn to play nice with all the girls.  stella and him had a few scuffles but now they get along fine, and even sometimes play together.  him and Marley play together often.

he still was a bit humpy at first, but has since gotten over that.

Owen, Marley, and Stella excited that daddy is home!

he had been in the shelter since November!  the poor guy!!

he was surrendered to them by his previous family.  they said he was "aggressive" and they would be evicted if they didn't surrender him.  he growls, like dogs do.  he even growls at us sometimes.

he is NOT aggressive.

he growls when he is excited and wants to play.  he does it to act tough, but would never actually bite.  but then again, they bought him off of Craigslist, which shows how much they know about dogs...

he is 7, so he likes to snuggle and relax, but is also pretty energetic at times.  he is just like any other Boston.

his previous family said he didn't know commands.  he knows "sit," "outside," "drop" (which we taught him the second day he was here), and "come".

his previous family said he would have accidents in the house 50% of the time.  he has had TWO accidents in the house in the past 10 days, and it was completely my fault.  i was too distracted with taking care of Remi to remember to let him out to go potty.  and even sometimes now he will sit by the door to let me know he needs to go out!

he doesn't stray far, and we haven't had any trouble with him trying to run away when he is outside.


he isn't perfect though...

he doesn't like to be picked up.  he will growl at you when you do.

garbage is one of his favorite things.  he likes to knock it over, dig through it, and eat it.  ew.

he also ate a toy the other day.  luckily i was able to give him sometime to puke it up.

he doesn't like to give up a toy to you or another dog and will growl at you if you try.


hopefully we can find this guy his forever home.   he definitely deserves it!

happy momma!!

our little Remi had an excellent surgery on Monday!  the doctor was able to perform all of the surgeries, including her tail!!  he said it was the most difficult part, and he hadn't ever seen a tail like that in his career.  they unfortunately did find a mass cell tumor in the tail, but of course removed it.

tuesday, she spent the day at the vet until Jodi picked her up in the evening.  i was told that they spoiled her like crazy.  they put her in a bed up at the front desk, hand fed her, and kept her all snuggled and warm all day long.  one of the ladies even called Jodi to ask if she could adopt her!

we get to pick her up tonight and i can't wait!

Yay!  I get to go home!

worried momma

my sweet Remi will be heading into surgery soon!  she is having double knee and tail surgery.  the doctor felt confident about the knees but wasn't too sure about the tail.  please keep her in your thoughts and prayers today.

doggy update

yesterday was our typical meetup with our Milwaukee Boston Terrier Group.  it was a great turnout and it looks like it was a pretty successful fundraiser for WBTR.

Cari and Sue

the dogs were super excited to play with their friends.  maybe a little too excited...

Remi trying to make her sister feel better

the poor girls (Stella and Marley) were playing so hard that they didn't realize they had ripped open all of their pads on their paws. :(  we have one really sad doggy over here.

and other news...

Remi will be having her double knee and tail surgery a week from today!

this is both exciting and terrifying.  the tail surgery is a pretty risky surgery and i am so worried about it.  some dogs that have surgery on their tail end up not being able to control their bowels and have to be put down.  i am so scared that something terrible like this could happen.

Remi is FINALLY starting to come out of her shell.  she is finally finding her own place in our family.  i just don't want anything bad to happen to her.

not only that, but i'm also worried about the recovery from such a major surgery.  i'm worried about how she will even be able to go potty if she can't put weight on her back legs.

i just keep trying to remind myself that she needs the surgery and that it's in God's hands, and He will take care of her.  and i will be praying.

another thing...

we are getting a new foster (dog, that is)!  his name is Owen and he is 7.  he will probably be coming to us this weekend.

i'm so excited to have another foster, and excited for the day he gets to go to his forever home.  i'm sure he will be a fun addition to our family for the short time he will be here. :)

and lastly...

Bitsy got adopted yesterday.  this is another mixed emotion, because i'm happy she found a forever home, but i'm sad it wasn't with us.

we had considered adopting her because we are pretty sure she is Luna's relative.  she look exactly like her and came from a puppy mill.  there are only a few puppy mill's we work with, so it's possible.  either way, there was something about her that instantly grabbed my attention, and made me want her.

anyways, her foster mom said that the nuns that adopted him, one was really excited but the other wasn't.  that's super sad to me because both of us would have LOVED to have had her.  she deserves a family that loves her and wants her and is excited about her.

if it doesn't work out with her adopters, and she goes back into care, we will probably take her.  she is a senior and she has already had a rough life.  she deserves to have a forever home that will love her completely.