Christmas Cuddling

hope everyone got in just as much Christmas cuddling as we did today!

Paw-fect Stocking

mom did a little crafting this weekend & made us new Christmas stockings

you can read all the details on Mom's blog!

Busted!

somebody has learned a new trick!

somebody must be stopped!  and yes, that is the water bowl RIGHT BY THE TOILET!

Santa Paws

What a great way to start off the holidays!  We had the opportunity for the 2nd year in a row to do the photography for a fundraiser for The Ark Animal Shelter & we couldn't be more pleased.

Disclaimer1:  I am by no definition, no matter how loosely based, a photographer.  Like many people, I just like shooting pics & wish i knew more.  But unlike some, I've learned, I'm willing to bypass the Automatic setting on my camera in favor of the Manual setting & do my best & take my chances!  So with that, here are a few samplings from our work fun last night!

Disclaimer1:  This post is photo heavy & full of cuteness!

Let's start with the woman who started it all, Miss Donna & the rest of the Sarver clan.

Of course we had to pose for our own photo as well!

By far our funniest customers were these 2 Macaws.  They were a riot & completely out of control!

As the macaws proved, it wasn't all about dogs, we had quite a few cats this year & these 2 were just the best buds!

We had so many people that obviously loved their pets, be no one made as clear as this gentleman did.  He has so much love for his friend & it shows!

 A return couple from last year's event, and man had this lab grown!

Lucy (we may have that name wrong) we such a sweetie!  With her "I'm blind" sweater, she had us all at woof!

There were so many rescue dogs with happy endings.  We could not possibly post all of them.  This husky youngster was the perfect model.  One shot & we were done!  What a lucky human he has!

 Another return from last year...Miss Sally.  My god this girl is perfection!  If her mom would look away for just a minute, I would have gladly brought her home.  They are both so lucky to have one another.

 And we could not post these adopted pets without including a couple of the honored guests who are still looking for a home.  Macey (pointer beagle mix) and Leo (standard poodle).  It is a wonder they made it out of the shoot.  I was gonna take Macey & Tisha was gonna take Leo.  They are looking for forever homes & you COULD NOT go wrong with them. They were both so sweet & gentle!  I'm still trying to figure out how i can trick Nacho into Macey!

Last, but not least, the crew that made it all possible.  So much work in so little time!  In 3 hours we managed to raise $2000+ for The Ark.  A job well done!

One Final Note:  We were happy to raise every penny that we could, but you know it's never enough.  If you find you have the room in your home for a pet, please find the room in your heart to adopt!

Dress Rehearsal

Baxter getting ready for today's photo shoot to benefit Ark Animal Shelter!

Photo Bomb

try living with this looking at you every night!

The Latest Fashion

Baxter doesn't own a sweater yet, so this will have to do for now

he really works it!

Thank You!

that's 7 dozen Pizzelles for the VCA staff!

well, Tuesday was my last day of treatment.  my hoomans took the afternoon off to come up & get me & leave the staff with a gift of Italian Pizzelles - paw makes the best!  of course, Miss Kim had to get in a couple extra good byes with me!  she has been so good to me & the hoomans!

that's my graduation bandana

i was a little groggy this time since i got my treatment a little later in the morning. mom said she could still smell the booze (aka anesthesia) on my breath & i looked a little out of it in the car ride home.  i think i look fine!

but i did manage to pass out nap for most of the drive home.

i go back in 4 weeks (Dec 4th to be exact) for my 1st follow-up appointment.  after that it's every 3 months for the next year.  i have to stay on the steroids for the next month 2 but we will be weaning me off each week.  right now i stick to my 15mg twice a day & each week we go down.  

we cannot thank everyone enuff for all the support so far & what we know we'll continue to get.  

• everyone at VCA Aurora was spectacular!  mom says she hopes you NEVER have to go to a place like this, but if you do, don't hesitate & don't worry; they will do their best!  thank you Dr Looper, Dr Mercier, Kim, Maggie, Anthony & everyone!  not everyone walks out of there like we did, but you won't walk out alone!
• our friends & family who have been in constant contact to see how i'm doing and offer their #pawprayers
• our twitter friends.  OMD they have been amazing! Miss Clara (here or here) & i have been holding each other's paws the entire way & will continue to do so. if you don't think much about Twitter, you've never experienced the support mom has through this whole thing! thanks @bonnieboxer, @danapixie, @maggie68D, @Boo_boxer, @guccitheboxer, @SNUGGLELICIOUS, and just so many more that we don't have room for.
• and thanks @JessieTheBoxer (Jessie & Sammy) for that wonderful bunny!  Baxter says thanks too!

so we are keeping everything crossed & hoping we got rid of Mr Meanie! grrrrrr  Butterz would be proud!

We got a system

Mom picks me up on Fridays & we take a little walk before hitting the road. Girl time!

The View from Below

Tattoo

i'm home from my first week at spa camp & the first place i went?  my bed!

i surprised mom with my new tattoo

no really that's what my team uses so they know where to administer my radiation treatments.  mom is gonna go to town tomorrow & look for a pink bandanna that she can modify so i have a skull cap.  we don't want me messing it up in any way while i'm still getting treated.
we also met a new member of our team, Margie.  mom forgot to take her own photo but i bet we see her again.  and i bet we meet Christine before it's all over with!
so big thanks to these wonderful hoomans taking care of me & my parents!  we really do appreciate it!

Red Neck Doggy Door

so yesterday mom was concerned that i would do my business in the house while she & paw were at work. they didn't want to kennel Baxter again, so paw came up with a neat way to keep the cooler weather out, but allow us to still get out on the deck in case i really had to pee.....

mom says apparently you can take the girl out of the trailer park but you can't take the trailer park out of the girl.  we don't know what that means!

Super Heroes

This is our team of super heroes at VCA Aurora taking care of me over the next few weeks.

That's Dr. Looper, my Oncologist, on the left.  She's a fellow snowboarder so you know she's cool!  Kim on the right helped check us in & gave us a tour of my "spa" facility.  And mom did not catch the name of the guy in the back, but he will be helping keep me happy & comfy over the coming weeks.  Thanks so much team!

Dr. Mercier was our Neurologist that worked with us last week.  Mom wanted to give props to her because she was so nice & helpful in breaking the news & explaining our options. And there have been so many other wonder hoomans at Aurora that are helping us through this.  Mom just can't say enough!

Road warrior

On our way to VCA Aurora for the start of our radiation treatments

Diagnosis

well i wish i could post some amazing good news, but life does not always work out like that.  i am a food bowl half full kind of boxer so i won't let this get me down.

i spent Tuesday & Wednesday at VCA Animal Hospital in Aurora.  let me tell you something about those hoomans! they are amazing!  they were so good to me & my maw & paw!

they did all kinds of poking & prodding & question asking.  i had a chest xray, abdominal ultrasound, & MRI.  the results show i have a large brain tumor called a meningioma - we have nicknamed him Mr Meni, pronounced 'meany'.  this is not the same brain tumor that Butterz had (glioma), but it is also not fixable.  but i do have treatment options.  my hoomans talked to a fancy Oncologist Thursday & i am scheduled to start radiation next week - if all goes well with my steroids this weekend.  so #pawscrossed as we say in the Twittersphere!

Baby Steps

our hoomans are so good to us!
as some of my friends know, i've been sick the last 3+ weeks.  we don't know exactly what was going on, but we are hoping it was some sort of infection from my tooth pulling before Labor Day or possibly a herniated disk.  either way, it had ma & paw worried sick and me feeling pawful!
so i've been on a round of meds that included a muscle relaxer, antibiotic & steroid. now i'm down to just the steroid & feeling much better!  but to make life easier for me my hoomans made me a nice set of steps for getting up into the bed!
paw used his awesome welding skillz to build the frame

and ma used her upholstery skills to cover some fiber board (OSB) with remnants from an old painters tarp!

it's actually 2 benches.  ma calls them Nested Benches cuz the smaller one slides out of the way under the larger one.
you can see that Baxter really took to it.

i'm still not so sure about it.  but i do appreciate the gesture.  up next:  a doggie stair lift!  no kidding!

Healthy

i am feeling much better thank you.  yesterday marked 4 full days of taking my steroids and antibiotics.  my hoomans say i'm almost back to my old self - note to hoomans, I AM NOT OLD, I AM SEASONED!  we still don't know exactly what the problem was/is, but today i get to back off my steroid dosage.  i've enjoyed the custom meals mom made me: chicken+rice+pumpkin+green beans+egg+yogurt.  yummy!  right now enjoying the freedom of a completely open house!  they leave the slider open for me so if i need to go to the bathroom (and steroids will do that to you) i can at least do it on the deck & not in the house.  i have the place all to myself cuz Baxter has to be kenneled so i can have my freedom.  yippee!  i mean awww!  big thanks to all my Twitter friends who have been following & offering support!  let's hope this is the fix and not a temporary solution.
p.s. guess who has a birthday 1 week from Sat.....MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  so plenty of time for everyone to order those gifts!

Dog Names

by mattbeswick. Browse more data visualization.

To The Max

we had a play date last Thurs with Max the Newfoundland.  his hooman is Todd, mom's co-worker.  we are working on socialization skillz for Baxter!  he apparently does not know how to act around other dogs.

mom was very please with how things went.  the only incident happened when mom had to hold Baxter back while Todd & Max went over to say hello to the neighbors. we don't have a fence & Baxter was having too much fun so mom didn't want him knocking down anyone in the excitement.  unfortunately, his excitement built up even bigger so that when Max came back, there was a bit of a tussel.  but everything calmed down & we went back to usual boxer behavior - a little out of control, but nothing too bad & they eventually were able to relax together!  yippee!

unfortunately for Todd, Max discovered dead carp on the beach & paid the price for it.  Todd paid too cuz he had to give Max a bath before leaving!  thank goodness for the outdoor shower!

Border Collie Trials - 2012

so our hoomans try every year to go to the Land of Lincoln Border Collie Trials hosted here in town.  they have been going on for some time, but ma & paw started checking it out 3 years ago.  they typically go watch the Open Class  and Nursery on Sundays.  this past Sunday they did the same.  mom didn't take her real camera with her, so all her photos came from her phone which explains the limited zoom.

if you have never been, it's really interesting to see such obedient & smart dogs at work.  their enthusiasm is amazing.  the gist of it is, the handler signals the dog to take off & they have 9 minutes to complete the course.  the course is a series of gates that the Collie has to herd 3 sheep through, keeping the sheep together in a group.

they also have to herd the sheep into a pin, wait, then herd them back out into the middle of a circle outlined by flags.  lastly, they have to separate out 1 sheep from the group - called the Draw.  all of this have to be done in the 9 minute time frame & in a relaxed manner.  if the sheep run too fast, then they lose points because the idea is to calmly herd them.  so the dogs are constantly being told to "lie down" literally.  the rest of the time their handler communicates by a series of whistles: long, short, long+short, certain tones, etc.  i don't know how you even train them for that.

this year they watched a Border Collie who was missing a back leg.  mom said it was amazing.  if she had not seen this dog walk past her before entering the field, she never would have guessed it only had 3 legs!  incredibly fast & it made every gate & only missed pulling out the sheep at the end.

mom was also impressed with the dedication of their handlers.  we saw this woman scooting around on her Segway & thought she was there just to watch, but no way1  she was there to compete!

dedication all the way around & what beautiful kids!  mom thinks we'll enter Baxter as a sheep next year!

2 years

Well happy "birthday" big guy (ahem girl). Today marks 2 years ago that you adopted us. It's been quite the ride! How many lamp shades & Nook covers exactly? We lose count! Really who could stay mad at that mug? You have done your predecessor proud!

Rock Hard Red

so mom stumbled upon a new beer 2 weeks ago.  she bought it only because of the label - can you blame her?

she says apologies for the blurries cuz this was her camera phone & she was holding an arm full of booze already.  LUSH!
turns out, this is a pretty good brew!  who knew?  well, actually we could have told you that. if you can't bank on the boxer, then don't bank at all!  woofs to Gray's Brewing in Janesville, WI!

You Threw The Ball

mom just loves this meme!

we're at it again

yippee!  check out all the details on our new family over at mom's other blog!

and remember, this is not our first time!