It's time to start anew.

It's mid-April, and I think the post-vacation entry from July 2007 was our last update to the DogBlog. Perhaps with overdue arrival of Spring, it's time to recognize that this blog is overdue for some updates.

Living in the Northeast, it doesn't always feel like Spring arrives quickly enough, but it does get here eventually.

What has happened since my two faithful readers last checked in? Hmmm...That's a tough one to answer!















Boykins pretty much looks the same...She's gotten a bit of gray around her muzzle, which I find quite endearing. She also spends a lot of time staring into space, as illustrated in the photo above.

One of the biggest milestones for Ms. B was her first trip to a boarding kennel. This happened in August, over the weekend that Q and I had our end-of-season Ultimate Frisbee tourney. We took Boykins to a place in Waltham where dogs are pretty much kept in crates all day long. They keep a LOT of dogs at this place, so I can understand why they take this approach. I don't think Boykins liked it, but why would she? Having said that, we did feel she was taken care of, and she returned to us a bit stressed, but otherwise okay.

In October, we were invited up to Vermont for a weekend with friends. Boykins loved being there, and had lots of room to roam around and explore. Our friend Dave has a very nice camera, and he took some great pictures of our girl.























































As you can see, she loves to play.

As the seasons changed over from Fall to Winter, we were excited to get some real snow. Last year, Boykins' first Winter, was very mild, and we were left wondering how she would manage in deep snow. As they say, one should be careful what one wishes for...we got several significant snowfalls this year, and Boykins loved every one of them!














































She often ran right out of that little red coat she has, as the excitement of all that snow was more than she could handle. When she gets to an open expanse of snow, she has this apparently uncontrollable urge to runrunrun. She also needs (NEEDS!) to eat snow. It's just comical. And because the snow was sometimes up to her wee shoulders, she would have to bound through it like a bunny. She loved it. Every single minute. And we loved that she loved it.

Christmas came and went. January arrived with more snow, and things were great.

Then in late January and early February, Boykins got very sick. And of course, her sick days happened on weekends, when our only veterinary option was $130 just to walk in the door! (But I won't complain. We're very lucky to have an emergency animal hospital nearby, especially one that is so great.) In January, she was initially diagnosed with a stomach flu, but after her symptoms returned in February, the vets thought perhaps we were dealing with something more serious, like Irritable Bowel Disease. Yikes!















After several tests, an ultrasound, and a night at the hospital (to help re-hydrate her and give her some meds to make her feel better), the recommendation was to have Boykins undergo an endoscopy procedure, during which her stomach and small intestine would be examined. They'd also take some tissue samples for biopsy (as this would help diagnose Irritable Bowel Disease). We weren't sure what to do, so we sat down with our regular vet.

I told him about changes we'd made to Boykins' diet (she'd been on a special prescription food until December), and we discussed what had been going on. He felt that the endoscopy, while being a good diagnostic tool, was probably more than we needed to do at that point. That was quite a relief (for many reasons, including the stress on Boykins, on us, and on our wallets)! We agreed to put her back on her prescription food, as her stomach issues only presented themselves after changing her food. We did that, and she's been MOSTLY okay ever since! Phew. Having a sick doggie is stressful and sad.

Vacation! Twin Pines!

We traveled to the northern part of the Adirondacks for a week toward the end of July. As a result, Boykins had her first real taste of life in the great outdoors. From what we could tell, there were parts she loved, and parts she could do without.

For example, she loved being able to run around outside without her leash. And she loved being able to wander into and out of the house as we moved from kitchen to porch to gazebo.

But she didn't seem to like the water too much.

Here, Quan helps illustrate the added portability feature in Boykins' PFD (personal floatation device):


Once we put her in the water, Boykins paddled around a bit, but she always headed for the shallowest water, where she could stand on her own.

SEE THE VIDEO

Instead, we thought she might enjoy paddling around in one of the boats. Sorta. Once she got used to the new sensation of boating, she would sit and relax a bit.







Ah, the boating life.

Boykins also worked on her tan:


The rest of the week, Quan and I did some exploring.

Lake Placid seen from Little Whiteface Mtn.


Sarah with Lake Placid in the background. From Whiteface Mtn.


Quan with Lake Placid in the background. From Whiteface Mtn.


Clearly, Boykins understood that the main purpose for vacation is to relax. She has that down pat!

Blu, We've Missed You!

Due to Boykins' ongoing health issues and various travel, we hadn't been able to see much of Blu over the last few months. Fortunately, he and his owners were around this weekend, so we were able to meet them in Boston Common for some playtime this past Saturday.

The pups picked up right where they left off, and we had a great time seeing Wendy and Tim and hearing all their news. One of the best stories I heard was from Wendy...She told of their trip to/from Toronto, and how Blu was able to go with them. On the way through the customs stop at the US border, the agent asked if they had any animals with them. She told him they had their dog in the back seat. "Is it an attack dog?" When they rolled down the back window so the agent could see Blu napping in the back, it sounds like everyone was laughing at the question!

The pictures below will help to illustrate how funny that question was...Enjoy!

Let's get ready to rumble!


Nip nip nip...


A takedown! 2 points for Blu!


Blu the attack dog:


A well-earned rest:

Tough Spring!

As you may know, it is now officially summer, and for that I think we are all very grateful! Why? Well, because Boykins has had a rough couple of months!

It all started at the end of April, when she developed terrible G/I problems and we thought maybe she had contracted Giardiasis from another dog in the neighborhood. After seeing some blood in her poo on a Sunday afternoon, I called Angell Animal Medical Center, and they suggested we bring her in. They weren't sure what the problem was, but they opted to treat her as though she had the Giardiasis. She was on flagyl and panacur for a while, but in the end these drugs didn't help, and her problems persisted.

The panacur granuals were mixed into her food and made Boykins look like a 1970s coke-head:




Less than a week after her G/I problems started, we arrived home to find Boykins winking a lot with her left eye. I thought, "Either she's flirting with me, or there's something wrong with her eye." Another trip to Angell (our vet was not open that evening), and a diagnosis of a scratched cornea! Fortunately, that was easily treated, and she recovered from it without any trouble.

Meanwhile, the G/I problems persisted, and we put her on a second course of flagyl, which is supposed to help recurring diarrhea...

The next weekend, Boykins developed a Urinary Tract Infection, which meant another evening visit to Angell and another round of antibiotics. By this time, we'd been to the animal hospital three times in two weeks - at $140 bucks a pop (not including prescriptions). WHOA! Thank goodness her eye and her UTI cleared up without too much trouble. But her G/I tract was still not working right. Poor Boykins! She just wasn't feeling herself at all. It was so sad.

Another couple visits to our regular vets left us with a possible food allergy being the cause of her problems. According to our primary vet, this is quite common among bulldog breeds, and Boykins is the right age to start showing symptoms. Not all dogs have G/I issues as their primary symptom, but that seems to be the case for her. (Other dogs are often itchy and can develop hives or "hot spots.")

We're now doing this "elimination diet" with a special kibble that is composed primarily of potato and duck: two foods she did not have in her previous diet. She has responded very well to this new food and we are excited to see her feeling better and behaving as she did before May. I'm sure she's happier, too!

Where have you been?!

Well, to be fair, Boykins hasn't really gone anywhere. Perhaps a bit of the novelty has worn off, so we don't post as much as we did before. But don't think that means we love her any less. On the contrary: we think Boykins is the best!

So...what's happened since we last updated the site? Well, Boykins turned ONE! That's right, she is officially an Old Lady. Her first birthday was March 21, and since then it's been all downhill. She's not getting any younger, people. Her chin is already starting to show some gray hairs (I'm not kidding), and she does a lot more lounging around than she used to.

That doesn't mean she doesn't like to play and have fun. Just ask her new friends Jo and Justin, who just returned to the States after 2+ years in Gao, Mali. (Where's that? Well, here.) She likes to go on walks with them at Fresh Pond, a place near their house in Cambridge. So far, the weather has been only slightly cooperative, but we go when we can.

What else? Well, for Christmas, Boykins received a great toy that she managed to destroy in under five minutes!















I traveled home to Michigan, where I got to visit with my nephews, Math and Kiernan, and my niece, Tara.


Kiernan, Math and Tara (goofy girl).


Tara with her new Teddy Chair.

Boykins has continued to perfect her "doofus sit," and her "head-rush nap" positions:





We didn't get a lot of snow this year, but what we did get, Boykins loved. She hates the rain, but loves the snow.


Hello!


Wee paw-prints.

The Patriots failed to make it to the Super Bowl, but we enjoyed watching the game at the home of our new friends, Tim and Wendy. They own Blu, whom you might remember from earlier posts. We also met a couple of new dogs, Ben (a pug) and Stoli (who was 10 weeks old at the time). Stoli is the wee pup playing with Boykins in the pictures below.





Boykins has also discovered the joy of warm laundry in the basket. Quan is now kind enough to prep his fresh-from-the-dryer laundry just for her, removing stuff that might get wrinkly and leaving things like socks and towels for her to curl up on. Last Saturday, she napped in his warm laundry for over 3 hours! She's a funny girl. She sees him with that basket and will follow him, or will climb down off my lap on the couch in order to climb in!


Hot stuff!


So nice. Like a clothing hot-tub.


I can't wait until Quan does more laundry!

In March, Quan, Max and I traveled to British Columbia, where we met up with Quan's middle brother, Huan. We spent some time in Vancouver, but most of our visit was at Whistler, where many events for the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held. Boykins stayed with our friend Katherine, her 16 year-old (!) dog Hexe, Katherine's friend Deb, and Deb's pup, Colby. We think Boykins had so much fun with them she was probably sad to leave them when we came home! But we had fun in BC, too.


Our host country.


Quan admiring the socialist dollars at work in Vancouver.


Vancouver! And a sea plane!


The guys on the mountain (Quan, Huan, Max). Where was Sarah? Probably napping at the condo.


Winter in mountain rainforests can get froggy.

A few weeks after we returned from Canada, Boykins tore off her right dewclaw. In order to keep her from messing with it right after she injured it, we bandaged her up.


The "cooperative" patient.

Needless to say, she loved having a human-sized ACE bandage all up her leg.


Get this thing OFF me! I look stupid.

All in all, it's been a great 2007. Boykins is not the active puppy she once was, but she's still a great, energetic girl and we just think she's the best. She has friends she likes to play with in the mornings (thanks to Quan who takes her each day), and she gets lots of love from us as well. Every once in a while, we're reminded just how cute she is.


Why does my paw smell like tuna?

More to come!

Long Time, No Post!

'Sup? Not much here. I'm a dog, so I do a lot of lyin' around.


Boykins' favorite evening activity: napping on the couch with Sarah.


Oh, did I forget to wash that pasta sauce off my hand? Thanks, Boykins!


This is one of our favorite Boykins poses. Note the leg position.

Well, with the holidays and other stuff, I've found it hard to keep up with the bloggin'. Not much has happened, of course. I just haven't found myself in front of a computer. Maybe I can blame it on Quan's frequent use of our home computer. It is basketball season after all, and fantasy league waits for no man... Having a new dog around the holidays has been very fun. Lots of people have given us fun treats and toys. And one friend at work gave us this hilarious jingle-bell collar.


What's so funny?

Boykins was very tolerant of it and it gave many people a good laugh when I took her out for walks while she wore it. I also put it on her one day when I knew some friends were coming over, and they could hear her before they could see her.

Boykins has also had some fun visits with her pal, Blu. He came over for a nice visit back in November, and by the time Tim and Wendy came by to fetch their guy, the pups were pretty tuckered out!


I'm not touching you...I'm not touching you...


That tickles! Boykins pins Blu during a playdate.

Quan and I are also pretty sure that all those hours of NPR have turned our pup into a knee-jerk liberal. Witness the demise of one of her favorite stuffed toys, Dubya.


You sure look smug, mister. Maybe you need a little reminder of who's the boss.


I'll start off nice...Just a little foot massage.


Now, I turn up the heat! How do YOU like it? Tell me what you know!

With that kind of intense focus, Boykins eventually forced Dubya to surrender. We finally had to take the toy away after the stuffing started to peek out.


We're not in Crawford anymore, Mrs. Beasley.


Maybe hip surgery would help?


A more dramatic view of the damage. Note the color missing from the right boot.


Ow.


Just where I've wanted to put him since 2000.


Oh Sarah, I know I'm irresistable, but enough already! It's not like I taste like chocolate.