Who Wants Their Nails Done????

Evie and Bailey's nails have been getting pretty long, and if you've seen my arms (sans cat bites) you would see the scratches. I have a hard time keeping them clipped, my hand strength isn't there for the clippers. So, I decided to get the dremel drill, which a lot of people use to grind down dog nails. The boxer rescue people used them on the girls before I adopted them, that is where I first saw it done.

Well, after watching a few videos on YOUTUBE (I swear, there is a video for anything on that site), I asked the girls - Who Wants Their Nails Done? Well, both have been sniffing and licking the dremel while it was charging (I got the cordless one), and because Evie's were longer, I started on her switching back and forth between them. They were both excited about it, and both let me do their nails. I never have had such an easy time doing nails in my life! WOO HOO!

So, it's become almost a nightly ritual because their nails were embarrassingly long, and I don't want them to get tired of it. Tonight, while I was doing Evie's nails, I hear a noise...look over and she is snoring while I am grinding away on her nails. I am SOOOOOO LUCKY it is this easy!

Merry Christmas! Care for a lamb lung?

Oh, so much to blog about this holiday – I'm glad I stayed in town! Last weekend I brought my fur friends their Christmas goodies. My Goddogs, Mollie and Maggie got their new toy and treats, which they always love from me.

Then I went over to give the Boys their treats. Roscoe and Frasier LOVED their Christmas cookies, which had icing an sprinkles. Can you see the love and excitement just from the anticipation of opening their gift? The Boys are so good, they each took one treat out of the bin and ate it. That wouldn't happen in my house!

The Girls also received gifts from friends. Treats and toys – they aren't spoiled, just loved. I have had the Girls gifts in my car for over a week, and am glad to finally have it out of the car. Evie got a new bed and Bailey a new toy (pics to come later).

Now, the funniest gift by far came from a friend who gave the girls a whole bag of treats. I'm a tad particular about what I give them (they don't eat people food and some bones like pigs ears), I was reading the bags. Oh my….I can't believe this bag….check it out…I had to laugh, and no, I haven't given it to them.

Why I Am SOOOOOO Tired!

Oh, the games these girls play. First of all, Evie and Bailey have 2 bedtime schedules - early - long before me, or not ready to sleep yet, want to play first. Neither of which work for me. Especially since they sleep in my bed.

First, let's take the early bedtime schedule. They will go to sleep about 7:30, 8pm. By the time I get to bed at 10pm, they have stretched out over the bed and AT LEAST one of them, if not both, has confiscated my pillows. My covers are bunched up so they are now a nice comfortable pile for them, and they are snoring loudly. Of course, even though I have a KING size bed, they are stretched out mostly on my side of the bed, with no covers or pillows to spare on any other part of the bed.

Why don't you move them? I hear you ask.... Well, it's a scentific phenomenon that sleeping dogs triple their weight when they sleep. Have you ever tried to move a dog when they are sleeping? Try moving a VERY comfortable 75 lb boxer who is snoring her heart out on my pillows, and you'll soon realize this is an impossible task. I can't even get her to wake up, much less pick her up. She's all limp when I pick her up and her weight balloons to about 150 lbs. Must have something to do with sleep.

Now, the opposite is worse. When I'm ready to go to sleep, and they aren't, look out. When Bailey's awake, EVERYONE is awake. She likes to play 2 games, one I call King of the Mountain (I should call it Queen of the Mountain). Even though Bailey is half Evie's size, she throws Evie off the bed, then runs around the bed (and all over me) making sure that Evie doesn't get back on the bed. Poor Evie runs around all over trying to get onto the bed, and Bailey hops all over from one side to the other, not letting her on. This is exhausting for all of us, and I get trampled often.

Now, the second game is WWF. I grew up watching the World Wrestling Federation, so it will always be the WWF to me. Bailey being the instigator (can you see a pattern here?) starts chewing on Evie's foot, and they start wrestling, to the point where Bailey has Evie pinned down. Then Evie has enough, gets Bailey pinned, Bailey yelps, I eventually get a paw on my face, get mad and yell at everyone to knock it off.

I'd threaten them with timeout, but they don't understand that - and I don't think they would care either. Bailey has been put in her crate a few times when she didn't know when enough was enough. Only because at 2am, I needed to get some sleep!

So.....another reason my blog is called 4 Fur Kids...

The Girls First Sneaux!

For the first time in 20 years, Baton Rouge received 2-3 inches of snow. The city pretty much stopped, interstates shut down and bridges closed. Because this never happens, it was unsafe for anyone to be out on the streets. I just wanted to enjoy the snow! The girls didn't like it at first, they thought it was too cold, then wet. After a while they finally went to the bathroom and started to chase the HUGE snowflakes that were falling. This didn't last too long, they got too cold, and wanted to go back in. Now they are bundling up on the couch with each other.

What fun...especially since 2 days ago it was 70, and 2 days from now it is supposed to be 70 again.

Just because I didn't give birth to them...

Doesn't mean I don't think of them as my children. No, I don't know the maternal bond between a mother and child, but I do understand the unconditional love I have with my girls. I say this because there was somewhat of a spirited debate at lunch the other day with a coworker who believes that pets are just animals and should be treated as any other animal (such as livestock). While I don't agree with my coworker's view, I understand where she is coming from. In her culture (she was born in another country), all animals are treated equally - as animals, and not as pets. It was how she grew up.

How I grew up was different. I didn't grow up in a peaceful home with loving parents that showered me with affection. I grew up in a home where alcohol was the priority and the only touch from a parent was being hit from a mother who was always drunk and for some reason hated her first born. In the world where I lived, parents always fought and I couldn't trust my parents. The only constant I did have were the animals we had. Thankfully I had cats and dogs throughout my childhood. The unconditional love that I received from my pets growing up were lifesaving. Without the love of pets, who knows what would have happened.

No, I didn't give birth to my girls. By choice, I do not have human children. But I worry about my fur kids as I imagine mothers who love their children would worry about them. When I left the girls for the first time at the doggie hotel for a weekend when I went out of town, I had to keep calling to make sure they were ok. When Bailey had a tumor on her leg pop up and the doctor was worried about cancer, I was so worried about her I had the surgery done as soon as possible, and had to back out of a trip because of it. I was sick to my stomach until the pathology report came back from LSU with good results.

Just because my girls have fur, doesn't mean my issues are much different then other mothers. I have to childproof my cabinets because Nikita opens them all up - including the pantry. She has been known to open the pantry, open up food and feed the dogs. Because of this, the pantry also has a latch on it. Bailey goes to doggie daycare about once a week for socialization. It took her a while to enjoy it, but now she loves it. Evie, well she got kicked out of doggie daycare for misbehaving. I love all my girls - the good and the bad.

Warning: Attack Cat on Premises

Ever see these signs at the petstore? Wouldn't do me any good to post them at my house since the only one Nikita attacks is ME! Like I said last week, she likes to draw blood. So, I decided to take a picture of yesterdays attack while it was fresh. Enjoy my pain.

Sneezing

How many times does someone have to sneeze before you can stop blessing them? Is there a certain number? What if they really have a bad cold and are sneezing all day? There must be a limit of some sort, if there is, I don't know it. I keep saying bless you every time there is a sneeze, and it's getting redundant. Then again, I am talking about a cat...

Every year about this time Nikita gets the mother of all colds - boogers and all. 10 years ago it was funny going around cleaning up cat boogers after she would sneeze. But now, she's older, I'm older, and it's old. This morning, I heard a sneeze, said Bless You, turned around to see who it was, and it was Kita. Uh oh....here it comes. Booger time.

Now, Evie and Bailey (the boxers), they sneeze, but they don't have colds. I still bless them, but they sneeze as part of their morning routine. Mind you, EVERYTHING Evie does Bailey has to do. I had adopted Evie from the Louisiana Boxer Rescue first, and then Bailey from the same place. Bailey was more seriously abused and ill, so she was looking for guidance and got it in Evie. That's both a blessing and a curse! Now, in the morning, Evie stretches, Bailey stretches. Evie shakes her head, Bailey shakes her head, Evie sneezes, Bailey sneezes. It is too funny. Started on the first day I brought Bailey home...Evie pooped, Bailey pooped...I have a picture of this too. If my puter was working right, I'd post it too!

I guess I should worry about my conversations I have with the kids. But when I was married, we both talked to the furkids, so just because I'm single now, am I considered weird? Now...I guess if they talked back that would put me in another bracket. Well, Simone talks back, but she'll answer to anything...she's starved for attention!