snowflake m's blog

Rainbow Bridge

2009-05-06T10:04:00.001-04:00

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals that had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author Unknown

I'm at Rainbow Bridge

2009-04-27T20:32:00.002-04:00

I've got way too many fun things to do here so I won't be blogging anymore.

Neighbor's House

2009-04-16T10:33:00.006-04:00

Our neighbor's house is looking very different. That's the house where Davis, Duncan and Sadie dogs live.

On Deck

2009-04-05T18:56:00.002-04:00

Checking out the nice weather with my good eye!

Treats!

2009-03-27T04:54:00.003-04:00

Mom had a coupon so we got some good treats at the store. For some reason mom doesn't like buying us these kind but Casper and I love them!

Waiting

2009-03-26T17:12:00.001-04:00

Mom promised us that she'd take us to the "doggie" store tonight after she gets home from work...

Spring?

2009-03-24T19:38:00.003-04:00

Mom says it's Spring now but it's still kinda cold. We went over to the canal for a walk. Wonder when they're going to put the water back in.

I was sick for a day but now I'm back to bopping around and eating and drinking.

Oh almost forgot - we met our new neighbor doggie - Mulligan. She's almost all white but she's not an eskie. I'll ask mom to take a pic of her.

Casper's Birthday

2009-03-16T09:17:00.005-04:00

It's my "brother" Casper's 11th birthday today. Eleven years old and he still loves to play with toys! Mom isn't even going to buy him a toy this year because he has so many. Sesame Street characters are his favorite - especially Cookie Monster, Elmo and Honker. Today he picked out Telly to play with.

Looks Like Spring

2009-03-14T14:38:00.002-04:00

It looks like Spring out there but mom says not yet. We went for a walk over at Thomas Creek. Mom got her shoes really muddy. I loved rolling around in the muddy grass.

The Mysterious Lucky Appears

2009-03-07T08:38:00.004-05:00

Mom's been taking care of Lucky for her friend again. Finally he decided to make an appearance and mom took his picture. We get to go for a ride in the car to his house for a few more days!

Animal Crackers

2009-02-26T18:37:00.003-05:00

I surprised mom! I broke into her Animal Crackers... ate right through the lid. I don't think she was too happy with me.

She said she expected that kind of behavior from a young pup, not a 10 year old dog!

Double Header

2009-02-22T19:10:00.004-05:00

We got out to two different parks today! Mom wouldn't let us off the leashes because she didn't want us to go swimming in the park with the water. No doggies around today - we saw a lot of birds though...

Attacked!

2009-02-14T10:58:00.002-05:00

by a great big Newfie.

Mom took us to Fellows Road Park this morning. We were sniffing about and this great big Newfie comes wandering over. Mom loves dogs so she just wanted to say hi and pet him. The big doofus came over to me and I snapped at him to warn him to behave around mom.

Well, he nailed me to the ground and started attacking me. Mom was really scared - good thing his owner came and finally got him off of me. His owner was very sorry and mom apologized for my snappiness.

We took a walk around the park and when we got back to the car a big golden retriever came over. Casper was so scared he started crying to get in the car - mom hustled us in - she didn't take any more chances this time!

Thawing a Bit

2009-02-08T13:04:00.003-05:00

We're having a mini heat wave this weekend. Casper and I hung out in the yard while mom got the remaining ice patches off the driveway.

Our town has officially gotten 98 inches of snow so far this season!

Playground

2009-02-01T11:40:00.005-05:00

Mom took us over to the playground! I went through the castle door and whoops! next thing I knew I was on the ground - guess that wasn't a slide!

Turkey

2009-02-01T08:55:00.003-05:00

I got sick again and didn't want to eat. Mom bought me some turkey and yummm! that got me eating! The last few days I've been feeling a lot better and enjoying some nice sliced turkey. Thanks mom! [And I'm back to eating my dog food too!]

Snowflakes

2009-01-28T07:06:00.006-05:00

A lot of snowflakes are flying today! Too bad mom has to go to work - we could have a lot of fun out there! I think when she gets home tonight we can play - I've been in such a playful mood since I was sick the other day. I've been wagging my tail a lot and trying to get Casper to play but you know him - such a sourpuss. He only wants to play with toys.

Back to Normal

2009-01-25T14:15:00.004-05:00

I'm back to normal again. Mom even took me out to Fellows Road Park for a very short walk. It was only short because she was too cold - not me - I was doing my rolling-around-in-the-snow thing. There were a bunch of dogs running around and they came up and said hi and I was very pleasant!

Feeling a Bit Better

2009-01-22T20:43:00.002-05:00

Mom picked me up from the doctor's house after work. I wouldn't eat anything for a while but now I'm feeling a bit better and ate some turkey and had some treats.

Sick

2009-01-22T11:29:00.003-05:00

This is Snowflake's mom - Snowflake was very sick this morning and she is at the doctor's house - Dr. Linnenbrink is taking good care of her and doing tests.

Bouncing Off The Walls

2009-01-16T07:05:00.004-05:00

I guess I'm not hibernating too well - mom says I'm "bouncing off the walls". I guess that means I have too much energy. I've been especially crazy this morning and really hungry - mom can't wait to leave for work today to get away from my bugging her for food! I think she'd better take us to the park very soon!

Brrr

2009-01-14T06:26:00.003-05:00

It's too cold now even for me! I'm hibernating...

Canal

2009-01-01T14:47:00.005-05:00

Mom took us up to the canal for a walk today. I really enjoyed myself rolling around in the snow.

Lots and lots of snow!

2008-12-31T11:49:00.003-05:00

It snowed a ton last night and it's still coming down. I love it! I try to get Casper to play but he doesn't really want to. At least he doesn't try to chase the snow plow. This is turning out to be a great New Year's eve for dogs like me that love snow!

Movies

2008-12-28T17:28:00.005-05:00

Check this out! These eskies get to go to the movies with their mom:

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:26:00.001-05:00

Out and About

2008-12-21T10:09:00.009-05:00

We were out early to go shopping at the grocery store. On the way there we got a picture of our cousin Koda on mom's cell phone (see
mom's blog).

Then mom took us to the park and we went for a walk in the deep snow. I started eating a lot of snow because it tasted good.

There were some guys flying really really big kites in the park - we watched them for a while but then mom got cold and we had to go home.

Doctor's House

2008-12-18T18:57:00.004-05:00

I spent the day at the doctor's house today. My numbers look great! Mom was a little worried because I was throwing up a few days ago but now I'm good. My good eye hasn't gotten worse either - I can still see when mom grabs a treat out of the treat jar. Casper's been slacking in the treat begging lead these days so I had to take over. I do it a bit differently - instead of pawing mom's face, I do the look cute and kiss her face routine - never fails!

When mom came to pick me up, there was another eskie in the lobby - same size as Casper. I wanted to play but they were all afraid of my play growl - so mom didn't let me go near the doggie. Oh well...

I Saw Horses!

2008-12-14T17:51:00.003-05:00

Mom took us out to the school by our house again - this time it wasn't so cold. When we were heading back to the car, we saw two girls riding into the parking lot on horseback. We walked over to try and talk to them - mom wanted to take my picture with them - but they turned the other way and galloped off...

Canal Park

2008-12-14T00:39:00.002-05:00

Mom took me out to my favorite park on the canal. We call it the "duckie park" because there's a lot of ducks swimming in the canal there. I rolled around in the snow because I was so excited to be out and about!

Out at last!

2008-12-08T18:33:00.004-05:00

Mom took us over to the schoolyard by our house and I got to run and run. Mom and Casper were wimps - they thought it was too cold. I enjoyed myself rolling around in the frozen ground - that white blob in the picture near the bench is me (not a pile of snow)!

Dreamin'

2008-12-06T11:00:00.005-05:00

Not much going on around here - so I've taken to napping and dreaming of going to the park and running around with Casper tagging along...

Caught

2008-12-02T12:47:00.002-05:00

I didn't have much time - mom put the garbage by the door and went out to warm up the car - I thought I could get in and get out by time she got back - I almost made it! But, she caught me! I got a little corner ripped off of the bag but didn't get much out. :o(

Happy Turkey Day

2008-11-27T18:45:00.004-05:00

Mom cooked us a turkey breast and I had 2 plates of turkey and gravy! Yummmm... I think this is my favorite holiday!

I am very grateful for having such a good mom!

Winter's Here

2008-11-22T08:35:00.005-05:00

We got lots of snow this week and I've been waiting for mom to take me out to play but she's keeps going to work. I'm stuck looking out the window and watching the birds have fun instead!

We get a lot of red birds mom calls Cardinals and blue ones mom calls Blue Jays. I want to get out to the park where I can chase Casper around in the snow!

Bored

2008-11-16T19:17:00.004-05:00

I'm bored. Mom's been working long hours and going in on Sundays. This morning I gave her a little scare - my eye started hurting again. She gave me some drops and went to work and when she got home my eye was better. Do I have to be sick to get some attention?

Sleep Positions

2008-11-13T06:19:00.003-05:00

Why do people laugh at my sleeping positions? - I like to lay on my back a lot - so?

Collared

2008-11-09T10:19:00.002-05:00

I hate collars - especially these kind. Mom bought a new fence for us and now we have these fancy new collars to wear to keep us inside the fence. I know I started wandering a bit since I've been feeling so good but I didn't go too far. However, Mom wants us to stay inside the fence so I'm stuck.

I thought we could get out to the canal today since it's not raining like they said it would but mom has to go into work again :( I was rubbing my eyes a bit this morning and mom gave me some drops. Guess I'll just have to sleep the day away until she gets home...

Doctor and Grocery Shopping

2008-11-07T12:12:00.002-05:00

I spent the day at the doctor's house yesterday. They did some tests and my numbers are still looking good - however I lost a couple of pounds so they are going hmmm.... Mom picked up Bear's Josh from school and he came with her to the doctor's to get me.

We later went to the store and Mom took a pic of me where I like to hang while she loads the groceries in the car.

Eye Doctor and Shopping

2008-11-01T11:05:00.005-04:00

We went to the eye doctor this morning for my checkup and my eyes are doing good. Dr. Burgesser said we can even try stopping the drops. Then mom took me over to Petsmart where we went shopping together. I tried on a few collars but we decided I don't really need a new one since you can't see it through my fur anyway. We checked out the treat section and decided to get our favorite Mother Hubbard kind. I ate the treat the cashier gave me this time!

Trick or Treat

2008-10-31T04:03:00.004-04:00

Tonight's the night kids are coming over that yell "Trick or Treat". I can't quite figure out why they want to do that so I keep trying to sneak out the door to see. Mom always tells me to get back in the house so maybe I scare them or something!

Designer Bag

2008-10-26T11:34:00.003-04:00

Wow - the lady at Wegman's put my medicine in a big white bag and marked my name on it for me! Mom says they always get a kick out of filling my prescriptions because of my cute name. We are going to reuse the bag when we go to the doctor's house this week.

Bored

2008-10-26T09:03:00.003-04:00

I stopped sneezing and took my blog back from Casper. I've been pretty bored lately so I decided to change my blog to its winter colors. Oh, I hear mom calling me to go for a ride to the store to get my medicine - gotta go...

The Sneezers

2008-10-22T12:06:00.005-04:00

Hi - this is Casper - I'm taking over this blog - those 2 girls - mom & Snowflake - all they do is sneeze, sneeze, sneeze and it's driving me crazy!

Mom has a cold and I guess Snowflake has allergies? All I know is they are driving me crazy with all that sneezing and wheezing!

Heart Bandits

2008-10-19T12:23:00.004-04:00

Officially I am a Heart Bandits rescue dog. Mom used to help them with the eskie railroad years ago - that's how she found me. She met Mr. Chuck (who fostered me for a while after my 2 previous owners dumped me) of HB in Boston. A while after that HB got new people.

We ran into a nice couple from Rush on the canal path yesterday. They wanted to know all about me & Casper. It turns out they have 2 HB eskies too - and they remember Mr. Chuck! Small world, mom says.

Go For A Walk?

2008-10-14T20:38:00.002-04:00

Scarecrow Festival

2008-10-12T11:55:00.004-04:00

We went up to the Scarecrow Festival in the village this morning and there were some amazing displays. Sometimes I even thought the figures were real!

Our favorite was the display from Dudley School which had the covered wagon!

Can I Eat It?

2008-10-08T17:48:00.007-04:00

Mom found a flow chart on the web and she said it's pretty close to what Casper and I do with food. Now that I have my appetite back I've been scrounging around again ... I think mom just likes flow charts because she's an engineer - I just like any kind of food unless it's a fruit or vegetable. Once when I was very little I unwrapped a Christmas gift (for a human) and inside was a big solid chocolate orange and it tasted so good! Another time (when I was very little too) I chewed open and ate half a bottle of Advil I found in the car. Neither times did I get the littlest bit sick. Mom says I better not try any of that now that I'm older and have health issues - we'll see...

Visiting

2008-10-05T07:34:00.006-04:00

Yesterday we all went for a big ride to Franklinville, NY to visit nephew Craig for his birthday. I had a good time hanging out in the backyard. I played up on the trampoline with Cam and then mom's brothers made a fire which we sat around for a while. It got pretty chilly even for me!

Numbers

2008-10-02T17:29:00.004-04:00

I went to the doctor's house yesterday for a checkup and Dr. Linnenbrink said my numbers are looking good!

I still have to take a lot of medicine and I don't really like those little blue pills as much as the big brown ones, but I guess they are helping my numbers.

A Big Thank You!

2008-09-29T07:01:00.000-04:00

to my Doctors and their Staff!

A Big Thank You to *my* Dr. Linnenbrink, the *other* Dr. Linnenbrink, Dr. Hoch, Dr. Burgesser, Dr. Homco and especially all the Staff who helped take care of me and get me feeling and looking so good!

Bummed

2008-09-28T12:15:00.004-04:00

Now that I'm feeling and looking so good I was hoping mom would take me out today - maybe another boat race, a concert or a park walk - but - it's raining and she has to go in to work. Bummer. *Sigh* I guess life is back to normal again...

Silly Mom

2008-09-27T11:45:00.005-04:00

Mom did something really silly just now - she closed the bathroom door on me while I was sleeping in there and later when she went to make brunch she got all worried that I wouldn't come downstairs thinking I was sick again!

I know I usually bark or scratch up the door to get out but hey - I just got out of the hospital and have been chillin', ya know? Of course when she finally let me out of the bathroom I ran downstairs as fast as I could!

Bear's mom came over to see me yesterday and she said I look really good - they cleaned me up so nicely at the hospital!

I'm Home!

2008-09-25T20:54:00.001-04:00

Still in the hospital

2008-09-25T03:22:00.004-04:00

I'm still here and feeling pretty good. Mom came up for another visit and brought me a "can" and got a picture of me right after I was finished eating. We're hoping I can go home today... I'm getting pretty antsy and I've been trying to take out the tubes they put in me.

Bad then Good...

2008-09-23T20:56:00.006-04:00

I was in very bad shape for a while. Mom was expecting the worst again but when she came to visit me tonight I surprised her! I ran out and jumped all over her and acted really really silly and I kept it up for a long time... She brought me some chicken and I ate and ate and ate...

We talked to my new special doctor - Dr. Koch - and he was pleased with my progress. I have to stay another night to make sure I keep feeling better and keep my food down. I did make a pee mess on the floor but mom didn't mind...

I'm in the hospital

2008-09-22T20:10:00.004-04:00

Mom got so worried about me that she called Dr. Linnenbrink and was directed to bring me to the hospital to see the other Dr. Linnenbrink and he admitted me to the hospital.

I'm still not eating and am jaundiced so I guess I have to stay. Mom came up for a visit and sat with me in the waiting room for a while. They have to do more tests to find out why I'm yellow.

Feeling Sick

2008-09-21T10:42:00.002-04:00

I'm not feeling good today - don't even want to eat. Mom and I went up to watch the regatta but it was drizzling and we waited and waited and we didn't see any boats cross the finish line. The finish line is where they put the big red balls in the water.

Mom's getting really worried about me... I'm just going to take a long nap and maybe I'll feel better later.

Better News...

2008-09-19T14:12:00.002-04:00

I had my ultrasound and it looks like I probably have an infection - maybe in the gallbladder. At least I don't have one of my gallbladder stones stuck which would have required surgery. They are still doing some more tests on my pee and blood so mom says I will probably get some more medicine to take.

I'm eating and drinking and acting ok so mom's relieved that I don't have to go under the knife but still worried because infections can be serious as we found out this past Spring!

Bad news...

2008-09-18T18:31:00.006-04:00

I went to the doctor's house today for my checkup... Dr. Linnenbrink noticed something bad going on with my body and now mom is going to take me for a test tomorrow.

My diabetes check was excellent but now something may be going on with my liver :( We'll find out more tomorrow when mom gets me an ultrasound so we can see what's it looks like inside.

I was pretty silly when mom came to pick me up at the doctor's house today. She was really late because the roads were blocked because of an accident. I danced around when I saw her! She told me I can't eat anything after dinner tonight - that's ok because I'm not really very hungry. I let Casper have my can.

Non-Shedder, Non-Allergenic

2008-09-13T12:34:00.004-04:00

Mom took us up to go for a walk on the canal this morning. I charged out of the car into the parking lot before mom could grab my leash and while she was trying to catch up with me, two ladies were walking by and were interested in what kind of dog I was.

He he - they asked if I was one of those non-shedding, non-allergenic dogs. Mom had to inform them it was quite the opposite! They really liked me though and I got really silly. I've been silly a lot lately - mom thinks they put something in my insulin.

The Morning Routine

2008-09-10T19:37:00.000-04:00

5am-ish:
Casper gets up and sits next to mom's bed and waits for her face to be next to his (luckily she sleeps on her sides). Then he paws her face a few times until she wakes up. She knows this means we want a treat but she usually doesn't respond right away. I hear this activity so I make my way next to Casper and jump up and kiss her face a few times and we wait... and paw/kiss... and paw/kiss...

5:30-amish:
Finally we get some treats and mom checks email and/or logs in to work. Now that first treat just made us want more so we cycle back to beg.

6:00-amish:
Mom gets out of bed and heads for the shower - if she doesn't, that means it's a weekend day and we can start begging for a walk. If it's a weekday we wait right outside the shower for her. Casper usually goes and gets a toy and puts it in front of the tub and I scrunch up the bath rug and/or lay right where she has to step out.

6:30-amish:
This is wash/exercise bike time so downstairs it is for me. Casper heads to the cupboard where the (dog food) cans are kept and stares at it to remind mom we need a can for breakfast... when mom gets upstairs we get our cans after she preps my shot.

7:00-amish:
I don't like shots so I head either outside or upstairs to sit in the bathtub. Mom usually tracks me down and we head for the bed or couch where I get my shot and eye drops. Then mom fills our water dish for the day.

7:30-amish:
Mom gives us our "workie" treat and leaves for the day or if it's the weekend, she makes this stuff called coffee - pretty gross if you ask me! After coffee we follow her around to see if she's planning to take us out for a walk/ride - repeat every couple of hours...

The Noose

2008-09-07T10:20:00.002-04:00

It used to be that when mom said "Snowflake, time for your shot..." I would go upstairs and into the bathtub (which is where I go when I am unhappy about something). She would always come get me and put me on the bed and we would do our shot and eye drops.

Lately I've decided that I'm not going to go upstairs anymore, much less get in the bathtub - I'm not unhappy, just sick of those shots. Why should I make it easy for her? I'm feeling pretty good these days - maybe I don't even need those shots?

Well, she isn't going to let me get away with ignoring her so she now uses "the noose" (which we got from the doctor's house) to corral me over to the couch to do the shots. Shouldn't this practice be illegal for small white dogs?

Treat Begging

2008-09-04T04:51:00.005-04:00

Around 5 a.m. every morning Casper and I go to the side of mom's bed/head and wake her up to beg for treats. This morning we started a bit early - and she was already awake so she took our picture.

I used to just trust Casper to do the begging and when I heard the treat box/bag noises I would line up for my treat. But lately mom has a big bag of Beggin' Strips and those are too good to wait around for. Usually we just get peanut butter biscuits which aren't all that exciting but are treats none the less.

Sugarversary

2008-09-01T20:06:00.003-04:00

Mom and I just remembered - it was roughly a year ago (last August) that I was diagnosed as a diabetic! So that means it's my 1-year Sugarversary.

It was a shaky ride for a while but I'm still going. Lately mom's been calling me a little stinker because I've been feeling so good I've been fighting my shots... speaking of shots, it's time for my evening shot - I'd better try my hiding routine - even though it never works!

Swimming

2008-08-31T08:21:00.007-04:00

Mom took us to the big park this morning where I went swimming. She wasn't sure I was going to get in the water because I haven't wanted to since last year when I started having eye trouble.

I surprised her by jumping right in - Casper's usually the first one in but I beat him this time! Then I ran up the trail and rolled around in some horse dung!

A Good Perspective

2008-08-30T06:46:00.003-04:00

Mom asked me to point you to her blog entry today: A Good Perspective

Canal

2008-08-27T07:15:00.009-04:00

Mom's foot is a little better so she took us up to the village to hang out on the canal. I usually don't like just sitting around but last night there was a lot of activity. We met a family from Syracuse who sailed down the canal in their new boat. The lady wanted to know all about us and the boy petted me a lot. They had 3 cats in their boat. The lady brought one out for us to see. I don't like cats all that much so I let Casper check it out. I've been sneezing all the time lately so I just kept my distance.

I'm waiting for mom to take me on longer walks again. She's been disappearing on that bike - which I don't like her doing...

My First Phone Call!

2008-08-23T13:36:00.003-04:00

Mom answered the phone this afternoon and the person asked for "Snowflake". Mom was a bit confused for a minute. Luckly they very quickly explained that it was the pharmacy and they didn't have my insulin in stock.

The pharmacy person asked "what" I was - for some reason they keep thinking I'm a cat! Mom always tells them "K9". Actually I secretly wish none of them had my insulin because then I wouldn't have to get shots - maybe they would come up with a better way to fix my diabetes. Mom tells me a lot of people wish the same thing.

Wanted: dad to sing me to sleep

2008-08-19T06:49:00.006-04:00

Check this video out! I need 1) a dad and 2) one who'll sing me to sleep!
(We don't know this guy - this is just a video mom's friend emailed her!)

Olympic Fever?

2008-08-17T20:31:00.004-04:00

I think mom has Olympic Fever! Instead of riding her stationary bike tonight, she got out her "real" bike - dusted off the cobwebs and put air in the tires and rode off into the sunset :(

I'm scared now because I can't go with her! When she came back home, Casper was so confused - he's not used to seeing MOM on a bike - just other people. I decided I would just kiss her and kiss her so she wouldn't do something like that again... we'll see...

Concert Goer

2008-08-17T19:34:00.005-04:00

I'm quite the concert-going-dog this summer! A while back mom took me to some of the Wednesday night concerts in the village. I was so well-behaved that she started taking me to the Sunday Center Stage concerts in the park where we occasionally go for walks.

I was quite a hit in the village - a bunch of young girls really took a liking to me and gave me lots of petting.

Casper doesn't get to go because he hates noises and crowds. Too bad for him!

Exercise Bike

2008-08-16T09:14:00.005-04:00

Nope, can't ride one myself but I've been spending a lot of time next to one. Most mornings we have a routine where mom takes the wash down to the basement and rides the exercise bike. I always go with her and lay next to the bike because it's like a fan - blows air at me.

She really missed me the times I was in the hospital or was too sick to come downstairs. Casper doesn't care to keep her company down there. These days mom's been riding in the evenings too since she can't walk much, so I've been spending more time next to the bike. I have to admit it's not as much fun as a walk, but better than nothing.

Mom's taking us to the library today so she promised we could go out for a walk in the soccer fields by ourselves if there's no people around. That's where I do most of my beelining...

Who's going to take me for a walk?

2008-08-13T18:15:00.003-04:00

Bad news - mom sprained her foot and can't walk very much :( - I wonder who's going to take me for my walks? She told me it'll be 3-6 weeks before the foot gets back to normal. Maybe I'll have to just go by myself - but I haven't tried that since my eyesight isn't so good... hmmmm....

The Mysterious "Lucky"

2008-08-10T09:44:00.003-04:00

Every once in a while Mom takes me & Casper to "Lucky's House" and she tells me what a neat cat he is. I'd like to see this cat - every time we go there we never see anything but mom disappear into the house. We went there this morning and same thing!

Once we went on a vacation with Lucky's mom - so we know she exists - but where is this cat? Mom said he didn't even come out for her today.

It's not all bad because we got to go to Fellows Road Park for a nice walk. Casper & I played around a bit in the wet grass - it's nice and soft over there. There's also a nice section of pine trees we like to sniff around in and baseball fields with sand to dig in.

When I was a Bomb...

2008-08-07T20:41:00.005-04:00

This is a true story! About 5-6 years ago mom was working for a company that did a lot of DoD work - they had very tight security, especially afer 9-11. Anyway, she had to work about four 17-18 hour days in a row. She figured out that she would see more of me & Casper if she brought us to work in the evenings. We just stayed in the van (a.k.a the mobile doghouse) and every once in a while she took a break and came out and walked one or both of us.

Well, one night/morning around 3 am a security guard found mom in one of the labs where she was working and told her there was a bomb in her van. They were keeping an eye on the parking lot with the cameras and they said they saw a device in the van with glowing sensors. Mom started laughing very hard! It was just our eyes!

She had to take the guard out to the van and show him and he also had quite a laugh. When mom came in the next day with us, all the other guards were talking about it and wanted to meet us!

Nicknames

2008-08-05T20:39:00.004-04:00

I have many nicknames - maybe it's because we don't know how I got the name Snowflake. Maybe one of my former owners or a shelter or rescue group - I was too little to remember.

Here's a list of nicknames I've had for a long time:
1-Snowy, Snow
2-Flaky, Flaker
3-Little, Little One
4-Piddle, Pid
5-Girlie

Recently I've acquired a few more:
6-Stinker (mom heard Dr. Burgesser call me this once)
7-NoFlake (mom heard a vet tech at the Orchard Park hospital call me this)
8-ShotGirl (because now I get shots all the time)

Blast From the Past!

2008-08-03T08:23:00.003-04:00

Wow! The "boy" who used to live next door stopped by last night just to visit me & Casper. He's all grown up now and even drives a car and brought his nice girlfriend who was petting us. He has a special bond with Casper as I haven't lived here as long - he was here the night mom brought Casper home from the breeder's house.

It was so good to see him. We used to play together with his dog Allie - a daschund. Allie went to Rainbow Bridge last year. :(

We used to have campfires in his backyard and the neighbors would come and bring their dogs too. One time we were all making a lot of noise and the neighbors behind us called the cops. The cops snuck up on us because they wanted to see what was going on. Casper & I saw these two uniformed men and we went absolutely nuts. The cops were so afraid of us they got out the pepper spray and sprayed everybody so we would calm down! We had a good laugh reminiscing about that night!

Eye Trouble

2008-08-02T09:00:00.007-04:00

We had a rough night last night. The neighbors sealed their new sidewalk and the smell of the chemicals was making mom sick. Right around the same time my bad eye got very painful - I started screaming a few times. I didn't want to drink anything and I wasn't too interested in some leftover chicken. Mom waited about 4 hours and then put a call in for the eye doctor to see if she should do anything else.

I slept downstairs all night which I never do (unless I'm really sick). Good news however - in the morning my eye got much better and I made my way upstairs and joined Casper in our early morning begging for treats!

Garbage

2008-07-30T06:26:00.000-04:00

I have a very bad habit - I like to get into the garbage. I can't help it - it smells and tastes so good. Every once in a while mom forgets to take the garbage out right away and I sneak into it. I try to hide the fact by dragging little things out the dog door and into the bushes but somehow she finds it.

Casper never wants to go in on it with me - but he sure likes to lick the stuff up once it's outside - so I do all the sneaky stuff. I usually don't get sick or anything - at least not right away. But mom gets very angry and doesn't speak to me for hours. So I'm trying very hard to be a good girl and resist but it's tough!

Birthday Present

2008-07-27T16:21:00.002-04:00

Birthday!

2008-07-25T06:46:00.001-04:00

I did it! I made it to my tenth birthday!

Seriously, since my last birthday, I almost went to Rainbow Bridge many times:

1-when I was first diagnosed with diabetes and the doctor couldn't do anything because I wouldn't eat so mom decided to take me to the emergency room so they could get me to the Bridge...

2-when I was hospitalized because at the emergency room they said it was worth a try - but I didn't improve all that much - but then I surprised everyone by bouncing back...

3-about a week after I got home from the hospital - but mom & Dr. Linnenbrink got me going again...

4-in the Spring when I was in the ICU in the Orchard Park hospital with sepsis - Dr. Brummer even came in on a Saturday to check me because I wasn't responding to the treatment and screaming whenever someone touched me - but even though it wasn't as fast as expected, I finally came around...

5-i don't know if this counts but my ultrasound showed a liver mass - luckily on the followup ultrasound the mass mysteriously disappeared - so I don't have liver cancer as far as we know!

So I wonder how many lives a dog gets? And we're not counting any risks associated with my cataract surgery here...

Cooped Up

2008-07-24T07:01:00.003-04:00

Mom hasn't been taking me out too much lately as it has been raining a lot. I'm the kind of dog who needs to get out for walks and rides. We haven't been down to the canal for over a week - what gives Mom?

Video

2008-07-20T19:08:00.004-04:00

Mom figured out how to take a video with her camera today. She needs a little practice on her orientation skills ;)

That thing on the floor is Casper's "Honker" - he's always leaving his toys around...

The Bed

2008-07-20T08:55:00.002-04:00

Up until this spring when I got really sick, I never ever slept up on mom's bed before - that was always Casper's spot. But he got reassigned to the floor after I got home from the hospital.

Now I often sleep all night at the end of the bed - but usually I get down because it's cooler on the floor or Casper sneaks back up. We have a rule between us that only one of us can be in the bed at a time. If he tries to come up while I'm on the bed, I growl and bare my teeth at him so he goes away. If I see him on the bed, then I stay away.

I have to admit Casper likes the bed more than I do. I prefer the bathroom floor because it's nice and cool. But if mom wants to keep an eye on me I'll let her put me on the bed.

The bed is also where I get my shots and "droppies". The only place I let mom give me a shot is on my chest so she puts me on my back on the bed. It works out great because I get so happy when the shot is over I can be a little crazy with smooshing up the bed covers!

Words

2008-07-19T06:31:00.000-04:00

My top ten favorite words or phrases:

1. "Can" - of dog food.

2. "Go for a walk" - I'm there...

3. "Would you like?" - followed by something good, like "a treat"...

4. "Go for a ride" - let me in the car...

5. "Treat"

6. "Breakfast"

7. "Tummy" - my favorite spot to be pet

8. "Chicken" - mmmmmm

9. "Drink" - i get thirsty a lot...

10. "Cook" - that means mom's making something good

Some words/phrases I hate:

1. ''Collar"

2. "Shot"

3. "Droppies"

4. "No"

5. "Pick you up"

The Master Feeder

2008-07-16T18:59:00.005-04:00

This is my neighbor Josh and he lives at Bear's house. He is also known as the "Master Feeder" because when I first got really sick with diabetes I would not eat - even for mom. I would only eat if Josh gave me my food. He even had to come up to the hospital to feed me because I wasn't eating there either and guess what - when he gave me the food, I ate!

Now I eat everything in sight - even the garbage (and that's a topic for another day).

We sometimes call Bear the "Black Casper" because he looks similar to Casper except for having all black fur. I like to visit over in Bear's house - there's always interesting dog toys and people to pet me!

If I ever get sick and won't eat, mom will be calling for the Master Feeder again!

The Diabetes Puzzle

2008-07-14T19:14:00.002-04:00

Mom started doing the coca cola polar bear puzzle last year right about the time I got diabetes. It finally got finished the other day - she said every time she worked on it she remembered the week I was very very sick and had to go into the hospital from my diabetes.

Mom's favorite animal, believe it or not, is not an American Eskimo dog but a polar bear! She can't have one as a pet so guess why she got us white doggies?

A couple of weeks ago when we were walking along the canal, a little boy pointed at me & Casper and told his father we looked liked little polar bears. Mom was thrilled!

Mom would have never finished that puzzle without the help of Bear's mom Kay. The "top" part was very very hard and Kay came over and worked on it every so often.

Now they are doing a puzzle called "1000 places to see before you die" - hmmm....

Beelining

2008-07-13T18:37:00.004-04:00

Today it rained most of the day and I was bummed because we usually go for a walk in the park on Sundays. Mom did take me out to the store in the pouring rain to get my eye drops.

After we got home I just napped. Later in the day however, the sun came out and mom took us to the soccer field where I like to mosey along as far away as possible from her and then when she is not looking, I make a beeline towards her and run as fast as I can.

Since my eye problems began, I can't always really see mom that far away so I look for something tall and straight - once I got almost all the way to a slide before I realized it wasn't her!

Eye Doctor

2008-07-12T14:11:00.009-04:00

I went to vetspecialistsofrochester to see Dr. Burgesser for a checkup today. He says my eye is doing very well. Now I only have to take drops once a day and we don't have to go back for a recheck until November! I will never be able to see out of that eye again but we're trying not to let it get glaucoma which would mean that it would hurt so much it would probably have to be taken out and that would really make mom cry.

Mom took me to the park on the way home - it was fun because I had her all to myself - Casper wasn't pulling us around for a change. Today it's really hot so we just stayed for a little while in the shade and then we came home.

I think I'll just sleep in the air conditioned house for the rest of the day to keep cool.

Doctor's House

2008-07-10T18:16:00.002-04:00

I spent the day at the doctor's house. I do that a lot so that they can do tests on me. Mom always puts my food in a brown bag and writes "Snowflake" on it so they know its mine. Doctor Michelle Linnenbrink is my doctor and she's been working with me since last year when I went downhill after being out of the hospital for only a week. She & mom worked together to get me going again.

This time they were so excited because I gained FOUR pounds! I weigh 24 lbs now! Except for my bad eye I'm pretty healthy for a diabetic. I don't have to go back there for two whole months.

When mom comes to pick me up at the end of the day I always get so excited to see her that I act really crazy - sometimes so nuts that she pretends not to know me!

I still have to visit they eye doctor on Saturday so he can check my bad eye - then I shouldn't have to see any more doctors for a while.

Casper

2008-07-08T18:19:00.002-04:00

I guess it's time I told you a little more about my brother Casper. He's the smart one and I'm the cute one. He knows a lot more words than I do and he likes to play with toys ALL the time even though he's 10 years old. However, I get all the attention when we go for walks because I'm so cute and fluffy. He's almost as fluffy but he's a standard so he's bigger.

I'm a lot more independent than he is - he's such a "mama's boy". He's also very bad when he goes to the doctor's house whereas mom says I'm a very good girl. He has supersonic hearing and is afraid of loud noises - he HATES the vacuum cleaner. He also likes to chase but he's pretty much stopped chasing vehicles since he tried to get a snow plow and it threw him down the street and into a snowbank.

I guess he's good for some things - like begging mom for treats for us both and every once in a while we play together. I also like him around for protection. All I have to do is bark a little and then he whips out the dog door barking his head off looking for intruders!

Dog Neighbors

2008-07-07T18:00:00.001-04:00

There used to be mostly cats on my street until recently when a lot of our neighbors got new dogs. There are 2 Joshes across the street - one of them has a beagle puppy named Duncan and the other has a chow mix from Lollypop Farm named Bear. There's a new airdale next door and a relatively new labradoodle nearby too. Another neighbor keeps saying he's going to get an irish wolfhound (i hope he's not serious - way too big for me to play with). There's also the long-timers like me - a shitzu, a jack russell terrier and a black lab. More dogs have moved in farther down the street too.

Sometimes when we're taking our owners for a walk we all meet up and chat and then it looks like a doggie convention!

Canal

2008-07-06T10:08:00.010-04:00

I love to go for walks along the canal. One of the spots I like is where the big barge named the Colonial Belle docks. In the summer there are a lot of barges and I like to walk along and see if there's any doggies on them. We usually see one or two.

Near the restaurants there's always a lot of interesting food smells and people sitting out with ice cream cones. Sometimes I try to lick up the spills but mom usually pulls me away.

Every once in a while a nice person will pet me too!

Party!

2008-07-05T10:08:00.010-04:00

I had a quite a day yesterday - mom took me to the big party in Delevan, NY. It was a really long ride - we stopped in Geneseo so I could go potty. At the party I got to see lots of people and 2 german shepard puppies! There was another german shepard dog that didn't move much - mom was laughing at me trying to figure out why and later on she told me it was just a statue. We celebrated 4th of July and Jordyn's 11th birthday. Mom took a picture of me & Jordyn together!

Later on Mom's brother and nephew Tuan gave a concert. It was really nice clarinet/flute duets of patriotic, movie and show music. Tuan is really good! He showed mom his new flute.

I took a good nap on the ride back since it was dark. Casper was really glad to see us when we got home!

I got the seat!

2008-07-03T07:01:00.003-04:00

Yay! Last night mom took me, Casper & the 2 neighbor boys to the store so they could buy a new wiffle bat. Normally Casper gets the "seat" near the window and I have to sit in the back which kind of sucks because I'm too short to really see outside from there. Casper won't let anyone sit in his seat. But mom said he had to move and so one of the boys could sit there and right after he *finally* got up I grabbed the seat. Josh was so nice he said I could stay there and he would take the back with Casper - so everybody was happy.

I got to look out the window all the way to the store and then we stopped at the playground - it had lots of tall grass that I could sniff - I'm really into that these days!

Tomorrow we get to go for a *big ride* out of town to go to a party and I get to see niece Jordyn again because it's her birthday. She is so nice - she came with Mom to visit me when I was in the hospital by her house back in April. Mom said she was very good because it was such a looong wait to get to see me! They gave her stickers and her & mom read a magazine where you look for hidden pictures. We all got to go for a walk and sit outside for a while & the next night I was so much better that I got to go home!

Rolling in the grass...

2008-07-02T07:11:00.003-04:00

I *love* to find stinky stuff to roll around in. I don't know why mom doesn't think that's cool. Last night I went over to Bear's house and chased him a little around his yard. He's afraid of me even though he's bigger and a lot younger! He didn't want to play anymore so I found a nice spot and rolled around!

Two Dogs & How's Your Eyeballs?

2008-06-30T17:45:00.006-04:00

When I was really sick last summer, I couldn't even get up to greet mom at the door when she came home from work - and usually I go nuts when she opens that door. She was afraid I would slip off to Rainbow Bridge. So every time she came home she would ask "Two Dogs?" before she walked all the way in the house. When I got better I made sure to be at the door so she would see me (& my brother Casper). Now we're back to fighting over who will be first to jump up on her and show her how much we missed her.

Last November I had cataract surgery - that's when she added the "how's your eyeballs?" part! Let me tell you - she's a nervous wreck over my eyeballs! I did ok the 6 weeks or so when I couldn't see because of my cataracts but she really wants me to be able see. I do have to admit I drive her crazy by barking a lot more when I can't see things and that gets Casper riled up...

Storm

2008-06-29T20:45:00.008-04:00

We had a fun afternoon - mom took me, my brother Casper and my neighbors and their dog Bear to the park. As soon as we got there and mom showed Bear where we go swimming, the sky turned black so we headed back to the car. We just made it - it rained cats & dogs!

We stopped at the store on the way home to get my eye drops. Mom said when she got in the store the power went out and people were screaming. A few minutes later the generators kicked in. She got my drops but we're not having chicken because it's raining and she doesn't want to stand outside & cook it...

I ended up having a "can" of dog food - I LOVE cans. I thought maybe mom would take us out for a walk in the neighborhood because it stopped raining but she's stuck doing work for work.

my first blog entry!

2008-06-29T10:20:00.009-04:00

My name is Snowflake and I live in Fairport, NY. I'm a miniature American Eskimo dog that mom rescued from Boston when she used to help with the eskie railroad. Mom suggested I start a blog so here it is!