🎶🎶What does the fox say?🎶🎶

Several neighbors have posted about seeing a fox in the neighborhood.  Even Dan saw it one day while walking Theo.

Today was my day.  I saw him at the corner of Bowfonds and Brockton. Theo didn’t see him.

When the town goes dark and free money in the mail!

So, several weeks ago we both scheduled appointments to get our batteries on our IPhones changed out with Apple’s defect recall on the battery.

I decided to go today and get it changed out.  When I got to Reston Town Center, I pulled into the garage and noticed that the lights were out.  I thought maybe it was just the garage and parked, and walked towards the store.  There was a parking attendant and I mentioned to him that the lights were out and he told me that the electricity was out for the whole center.

So I continued to walk over the store and found out that the power had been out for at least 15 minutes.  I figured I’d hang out for awhile and see if the power came back on.  Nope - I waited about 45 minutes to an hour and nothing.  So, I extended our time to change the battery, and we’re going to set a date to go out for the whole day (dinner, movie, shopping) on a weekend.

One good thing that happened today was that I got a $20 gift certificate in the mail from Copperwood  Tavern.  Last week they had a Facebook contest on National Puppy Day by posting a picture of your pup.  Of course I posted.  I didn’t win the big prize ($50 gift certificate), but they offered $20 to EVERYONE who posted as long as you sent them your address.

Theo is still feeling sore.  He yelped when Dan wiped him down after the walk, but he seems to be doing ok since he was laying on that side.  He’s not playing as much today.  We’ll see how he does tomorrow.

Success for yearly shots!

So about a month ago, Theo had his yearly checkup and shots.  He was suppose to get 3 shots, a nasal  shot, and blood work.  None of it happened.  We started by looking (or should I say, trying to look) at his ears. We had to muzzle him and it still didn’t go well.  We had given him some treats previously to putting the muzzle on, and he got so worked up that he threw up - with the muzzle on, and then more when we took the muzzle off.

That was that.  Since he was so worked up, we ended the visit and went out to dinner.  We are so lucky that our vet is also a good friend, so we always end up hanging out afterwards.

Today was the 2nd try and we also gave him Xanax to help calm him down.  I’m not sure if it helped or not.  We did get the 3 shots in and decided to pass on the heartworm check since we are deligent at giving him his meds.  The nasal shot didn’t go as planned.  He was on to us.  We decided to let us try to give him the shot after they left - thinking he would calm down and we would be able to get the syringe at least close to his nose.

It didn’t get any easier.  He still gave us a hard time, but we think we got the medicine in.  Not sure how much, but hopefully at least enough.  It’s for kennel cough, which is an optional shot anyway.  It just is dependent on if you board your dog.

Poor pup is sore in the shot area and is restless.  Dan has touched his back where the shots were given (not even thinking about it) and he’s yelped.

It’s bedtime now, so hopefully, he’ll sleep and feel better tomorrow.

What is it about Shar Peis that other dogs don’t like about them?

I feel so bad for Theo.  He just wants to say hi to dogs and then something goes wrong.

Today was an EVENTFUL walk and it started just a few houses down the street.

We were walking on our side of Chesterton and I could see the dog across the street jumping up on the gate.  There was a sign on the gate and it was making noise.  The next thing I know, there are two dogs coming at us - a blond lab and a pug.  They seemed friendly, and I just started going to their house and they didn’t follow.  So I rang the doorbell (like really rang it) with Theo in tow, and the owners came out.  They were all calm and the dogs came back to them, no problem and luckily, there were no cars going by during this whole time. Theo and I went back to our side of the street and the lab came up to Theo, started sniffing and next thing I hear is growling - from the lab.  Now, it could have been that the owner was grabbing the collar and trying to get him going, but I doubt it.

So we continue our walk.  The bus was coming by one corner (on Middlebury) and there was a little shih tzu so we went across the street and continued walking.  After the bus left the owner and dog started down the same way we were going (just on the other side). The dog was barking the whole time at Theo. As I got closer to the poop drop off, the owner stopped to get a bag and kind of gave me a funny look (maybe because you could only see my eyes because it was so cold) because I was coming towards her I think and I said, “I need to drop off.” She grabbed her bag and continued to walk. We dropped off the poop, and then started walking the same way as they did.  Of course, they got to the corner and turn around, so I pulled Theo over to the side and said “Wait.”  thinking the owner would just continue walking. No - she let’s the dogs stiff and the next thing you know, the little shit, nips at Theo.  The owner never asked if it was ok for them to snif or if Theo was friendly. Never said a word to me.  Once the dog started nipping at Theo, she just said “____ your are such a bad dog.”  - Never apologized - nothing.

We started to head back home (on Bowfonds) and I heard people getting into their car in their driveway (which I couldn’t see down until I got to the driveway). Next thing I know, a dog (maybe a poodle mix), was coming down the driveway and I’m yelling “get your dog!” The owner is yelling at the dog “Jagger, sit” - she said it a couple of times and the dog didn’t listen.. The whole time I’m pulling Theo towaards me. He’s calm.  Once the owner grabbed the dog, she said, “Is he friendly?” I said, “yes, but sometimes dogs don’t like him.”

It’s so hard to explain to strangers - yes he’s friendly, but sometimes the dogs that he meets don’t like him.  I read on the Facebook Shar Pei owners group that other dogs can’t read Shar Peis so sometimes it ends in fights when they met. I read today that Shar Peis give off a scent that is different than other dogs so if a dog has never encountered a Shar Pei before, it gets nervous and then starts a fight.

Who knows - I haven’t see any scientific info, just people posting. However, the more I see, the more I believe.

Lazy Sunday

Actually, not a lazy Sunday since we got some thing around the house.  Dan finished up the holiday decorations outside and I finished decorating the tree.

I haven’t felt too well - obviously the sore throat was sinuses because now I am coughing and nauseous from the coughing.  I’m not sleeping well because I’ll be asleep and all of the sudden I start coughing.

I was able to have a little photo shoot with Theo in front of the Christmas tree.🎄  So that was fun.  I can’t get over how well he does with putting stuff on (a bow, and a Santa suit).  Esa never liked to put on stuff.  She was ok with the collars, but that was it.

Catching up again....

Man, I’ve been terrible at trying to get this blog thing going again! So here I am, trying to catch up again. I now have a keyboard for my iPad so hopefully, I’ll be a little better.

Today and yesterday have been lazy days.  Yesterday, I felt sick with a sore throat (that’s been around since Tuesday), so just did some online shopping. Today, we went out to lunch and to Walgreens and then started with the holiday decorations.

Thanksgiving, Dan’s family came over (his mom, and her husband Harry, and his sister Donna and her husband Bill). It was the first meeting between Donna, Bill and Theo.  Theo did so well with everything - the cooking, the people, the food sitting around, etc.

Before everyone came over, we watch the National Dog Show presented by Purina on TV.  Of course, I was looking fo the Shar Pei - I was shocked to see that the handler was the breeder that I know!

Catching up

I'm still not in the habit of blogging again.  I enjoy it, but just don't sit down and do it at the end of the day.

A week ago Saturday, we took Theo to The Blessing of the Animals Event.  We just went before the blessing and visited the Loudoun Animal Services mobile adoption since our friend Erin is the driver and then to see our friend, Holli with Compassionate Animal Communication.

Theo did will with everyone.  Everyone was all over him wanting to meet him.  Then of course I remembered I hadn't made him any business cards yet.

So today, the business cards have been made and ordered!

Now it's time to really get blogging and setting up the website!

Community yard sale today!

I always go back and forth about doing a yard sale - it's a lot of time and work and then people just want a bargain and don't want to even pay the low prices I put on things.

Today we did ok - we didn't get rid of too much, but made $31 - better than nothing.  The leftovers are being donated this week.  To Lupus, FOHA (to their upscale thrift store) and then Birthday Blessings Inc who is a friend's charity.

The things learned today -

1.  Always ask for double of what you want.
The person is going to offer less.  This happened SEVERAL times today.  I had a BRAND NEW purse that I was selling for $5 and was offered $3 a couple of times.  Come on!  Same with a brand new clock - I was asking $10 and then they offered $5.  Same with stuffed animals - I was asking $1 for a beanie baby (brand new), and they offered 2/$1.  I rather just donate and get a better tax deduction!

2.  People do not pay attention when driving around at yard sales.
I don't know how many times people drove by looking at our yard and there was either a car behind them or coming towards them.  Same with just pulling over at a moments notice.

One of our neighbors came over with their dog, Apryl - who has met Theo before, but he was in one of his moods and was growling at her.  Then he was growling at Apryl's dad too.

Don't know if it was because we were at our house and he was "protecting" it or what.

One of the things that I got rid of was a bunch of containers (shoeboxes and larger containers). I used them A LOT when I was stockpiling.  I haven't been stockpiling or couponing that much since I started my business (and that was 4 years ago!).  It became more of a chore than fun.

I still use coupons, but it's mostly online coupons that I print with MyPoints.com and using Couponmom.com for the sales on that week. Even then, there are times, when I'll do all of the work (look up the sales, match the coupons) and then not go shopping.

When I do have multiple coupons for items and they are on sale, I do stock up, NOTHING like I used to do.  I think some of it is because we are eating a little better - less processed/boxed foods. Still, when I do have a major shopping spree, I do save majorly - like 60% savings.

OH! We had a really good "dining" and "shopping" experience today.  We went to Chipotle - the one we always go to and it was CLEAN - like they were on top of cleaning as soon as the customer was gone, and the floor was swept.  I could tell that the manager was at the register because she gave excellent customer service -saying the extra comments, etc. I said something to her before we left - that we hadn't seen this place this clean in a long time.  I asked if she was new and she said she wasn't but I don't think we have ever seen her.

Then we went to CVS for water. The cashier was AWESOME. Chit chatting and asking if we needed help and making a joke "getting some water uh?" (because we got 4 cases).

Tell you what we were both in a good mood when we got home - just because it was a memorable dining and shopping experience.

Theo is my protector

Mama had a scare this morning on the walk.  We were walking the path and as we were coming up to an alley way, a loose dog (blond lab) came running up to Theo.  Then another loose dog (black lab). 

By that Theo was growling and I was freaking out and couldn't tell but thought the black lab was attacking/Theo was attacking.  I was just screaming and saying, get the black one because the wife was getting the blond lab who wasn't doing anything.

Everyone was fine, the owners, who I think I have met before, were nice.  They apologized and you can tell they are responsible and understanding owners.  

We stood there and chatted awhile.  They understood, of course, Theo was going to growl when two dogs coming running up - he was trying to protect me. 

Mentally, we (both Dan and I) need to get over the fact that we know he was in a dog fight before at the shelter.  Because of that, we are guarded when we introduce him to other dogs AND we think that is why he growls at other dogs.

Anyway, hopefully, we'll be able to introduce the dogs another time when both are on leashes.

Friends of Homeless Animals fundraiser Barktoberfest

Today was a fun day.  We went to Barktoberfest which is FOHA's (Friends of Homeless Animals) yearly fundraiser.

Theo did GREAT!  He loved all of the attention - from the volunteers and from strangers who just wanted to meet him.

                

              

He was great with all of the other dogs around and was exhausted by the time we got home.

With Spartacus, another FOHA Alumni
who was at the rescue for a quite a while.  

We got a lot of freebies from the vendors and purchased a gift basket that FOHA had for purchase.

The best part was that we got to hear his story.  We met the person who originally picked him up from Southern Virginia.  She said that she thought he was an owner surrender.

The other story we got to hear was when he was surrendered from the adopter who had him for 2 months.  He was dropped off at Dog University for training. He ended up reacting to the situation and acting aggressive towards the trainer.  The trainer ended up telling the adopters that he should be returned to the rescue.  FOHA came and got him back.  The volunteer said that the trainer had been using a animal control pole like this to get him in the crate at night and to lead him around.  She told us that when they went to pick him up, they could hear him growling and the trainer pulling him down the stairway to him.  She said that as soon as Theo saw her and Jack, the volunteer who we met and still keep in touch with, Theo recognized them and his body relaxed.

The adopters have put a bad review on Yelp! saying that FOHA doesn't let adopters know of the history of the animal.  SO NOT TRUE! We read the surrender papers and how he was "aggressive" towards others.  ANY dog is going to become aggressive when put into an unfamiliar situation and with a stranger.  PLUS - Shar Peis are known for challenging, independent, stubborn, and LOYAL.  What kind of trainer doesn't know the KNOWN personalities of a breed?

I will say this - we SAW that personality in Theo during his first few days.  He challenged us to see who was in charge/whether he could trust us.  We saw such a change in him within the first month.

Theo is an AWESOME dog.  He has fit into our lives and we are so happy to have him in our lives. We love him A LOT and was meant to be with us.  It makes me so sad that he had to go through what he went through.  I'm so glad it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  What if the adopter didn't take him back to the FOHA?  What if they had just put him down?  It's amazing how good he is considering what he's gone through.

A weekend of scrapbooking

This weekend is a 3 day scrapbooking crop hosted by my friend, Jeannette.  She does this every Fall and Spring.

I have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to really figure out what to work on, but I have been wanting to scan items in so that I can create scrapbooks and throw away the paper (like memorabilia from trips).

It's been slow going and I'm still on the first project that wanted to scan in, but getting there.  Of course, I forgot the cord that I needed to connect the printer to the computer, so Dan found it and brought it to me and brought Theo along for the ride.  My friend, Jennifer, wanted to meet him anyway.  He had quite the fan club and got to meet quite a few of my friends.

I did work on some traditional scrapbooking items because we can get tickets for a raffle that she has and they are for the products/supplements that Theo uses.

When we were doing the traditional items, I realized, I'm done with doing traditional.  There are to many steps and messy.  I was frustrated too since the tape runner wasn't working well.

The project that made me realize it's been way too long since I've done traditional and I'm over it.  I like digital much better.

Another project - this was just a layout that we had to put together to get tickets.  I think maybe I just don't like following directions.  I did go off course and didn't use all of the embellishments.  I've decide I'm just going to donate these items since I'll never use them.

The one good thing about having a 3 day crop is that we have chair massage available and I hooked one of my networking friends up. So win-win.  I get BNI "points" and get to see my friend, Sherry, with Absolutely Massage - oh, and I get to have a seated massage.

VACATION! And Theo's first LONG trip

Trip to Canada – August 26 to September 8

Vacation at the family cottage in Canada (Rice Lake, Keene, Ontario).

September 2, 2017

Catching up on the trip so far. Saturday, August 26, we stopped overnight at my sister’s house in NY.  We weren’t really sure how Theo would do on a long trip, but come to find out he did GREAT!  He loves the bench in the back and falls to sleep on it.

Theo did really well at Joanne’s house.  He was too excited about meeting Dory (Joanne’s new kitten) and Dory taunted him some once she realized we weren’t going to let him get to her.

Sunday, we drove the rest of the way to Canada. Once again, Theo did great. We ended up on some dirt roads in NY thanks to Waze (we forgot to turn off the dirt roads options).  Luckily, we made the right decision on getting new shocks all around on Jeepy.  They have made the ride nice and Jeepy makes less noise.

Before crossing in to Canada, we stopped at a gas station/bait store in Thousand Islands.  First time I ever saw live bait inside a store.  While I was walking Theo around, I found my first painted rock.  It was done by a young girl. Her aunt posted a comment after I posted that I found it.

We stopped in Hastings, Ontario at the grocery store on the way and picked up a couple of groceries.  While I was inside shopping, Dan walked Theo around and found another painted rock. 

I didn’t get approved to the group until today (September 2), because they finally messaged me to confirm that I had selected the correct group to join. 

Monday (August 28) was going out to the grocery store (along with the Dollarama and alcohol store).  We found the BEST cookies ever at the grocery store and have gotten more.  They are brownie like cookies.

Tuesday, Dan went and played frisbee golf and Theo and I just hung around the house.  We have been walking two miles every morning.  Theo got to see his first cows.

Wednesday, we went to the Peterborough Pete’s scrimmage.  It wasn’t like last year when they had a couple of different vendors and even the concessions stand was open.  This year, the store was open and that was it.

Thursday, we had a bunch of fun at the Escape Maze. Every room has an old time theme.  The one we did was Rosie’s Tavern.  The different with the rooms up here are that they only give you 45 minutes.  We did really well – we got out in 40 minutes.  Another cool thing is afterwards, we got to dress up and got our picture taken.

They also have outdoor mazes that we might go back and try.  If not, we’ll probably at least go back and try another room.

Friday, we went to the Farmer’s Market in Keene.  We were hoping that they would have tomatoes since we needed them, but of course, they did not.  We did pick up some homemade raspberry strudel.  We also stopped at the Emporium (an antiques place) and then at the general store to pick up the tomatoes we needed.

We started to do some geocaching too.  There were two that were basic that we could see on the app and on our way back from town.

Today, Saturday, we did some geocaching on our walk, so Theo got to experience his first geocaching.  We went to Keene to the thrift store and I got a couple of shirts and Dan got a puzzle.  We stopped by the library, but didn’t see any books that we wanted (to buy).

Then we headed to Hastings to the Medieval Festival that we went to last year.  It wasn’t worth it.  Entrance was $10 each.  Maybe if you have kids, it could be an all-day thing, but there wasn’t that many vendors or things to do.  We walked around, went back to 2 vendor tables that we saw things we wanted (Dan saw a keychain and I saw 2 painted rocks that I wanted), then headed out.  As we were heading out, Dan saw another painted rock, so we grabbed that.  We tried to find a geocache, but it was right by the port-a-potties.  We tried a few minutes and then said forget it.

Then we went to the store to get more groceries.

Dan’s been working with Theo on training, and we have been letting him run around with a long lead so we can grab him if need be.  He’s doing well.  We are waiting to see if the neighbors come (they are supposed to be coming) and if they will bring their pups.  We’ll see how that goes.

I’ve been working a little on the business – trying to figure out a schedule, doing some accounting and FINALLY reading some (business) books that I have been meaning to read.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Catching up again!

Sunday we didn’t do anything, but hang out around the cottage. I read a lot and did some work. The neighbors were here, so we got to catch up with them for a little bit and Theo got to meet their two dogs.  He did well.

Monday, Theo and I chatted with the neighbors again in the morning before they left.  Then we went to the Trans Canada Trail and did some geocaching.

Last night we had crazy thunderstorms.  The thunder just rolls like crazy around here with the hills.

Today, we got up and geocached on the trail again. This afternoon, we’ll be heading to the city for some shopping and for our annual dinner at Berc’s Steakhouse.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Tuesday afternoon, we did a bunch of running around to different stores to get a couple of things.  First was the bank, which was right by a bookstore, so we spent some time there.  I picked up 4 hockey books. Then we went to Walmart and GameStop. Then it was dinner time.  We were the 1^st of 3 couples who came in for their anniversary and they sat us all near each other.

Wednesday, we did more geocaching in the morning on the trail and hung out the rest of the day. In the evening we walked Theo over the Elmhirst and found 2 more geocaches on their grounds.

Today, we went to Robert Johnston EcoForest Trails for the geocaching. The geocaches were AWESOME there.  The person put a lot of time and effort into the caches.  One was a combination lock that you had to figure out the puzzle to get the right numbers.  The other was a cage that you had to work the log up the cage to get it out.  It took a few minutes, but Dan got it.

The weird thing was as soon as we got them, they were disabled and now they are no longer listed.  While we were walking out, Dan noticed one that showed up on his app that I didn’t have.  Come to find out, it was just posted. So we hurried out and got our first international “first to find” cache.

This afternoon we went back to the Escape Maze.  We did the poker room.  We did really well, considering that is was the hardest room that they have.  We didn’t make it out in the 45 minutes, but we only went over by like 2 minutes.  It was a tough one, but definitely a lot of fun.  I felt like I was the weak link because it was about poker, but there were some clues that I caught that Dan didn’t, so it all worked out.

On the way back we stopped and got a couple more geocaches that were on the way. Then we stopped at Patricia’s Gift Shop, which I thought was going to be like an actual gift shop, but it was an antique store and then at the general store.  This evening has been packing up.

Neither one of us is ready to go home – it’s been nice and it’s gone by fast.  Plus we don’t look forward to the 10 plus hour drive.

Settling in nicely

Theo is doing great!  He is totally at home with us and loves meeting other people and dogs.  The dog part he just kind of sniffs and I can't tell if he is ok with the dog or not.

Today was the first day I actually saw him wag his tail after sniffing another dog.  It was a puppy, so maybe that's why.

Yesterday, I came home to find the TV remote on the floor.  I think I probably had it on the couch and he pulled it off.  In the process, he turned on the TV (without the cable).

Also yesterday, he got to meet Esa's boyfriend, Moby.  Like I mentioned, I can't tell if he liked him or not.  I also got to introduce him to Kurt, our neighbor who has a lab (Xena), who Theo had met on the weekend.

The biggest introduction was to Chrissie and David Casey - Chrissie is/will be Theo's doctor, so they came over to see Theo as a family friend before poking and prodding him.  He was all over both Chrissie and David, so hopefully he will be ok when Chrissie comes in as the doctor.

A couple of days ago, we got the harness out to see if he would be ok with it.  It was tough the first time putting it on.  He wasn't sure about it, but he didn't growl or anything.  He just wouldn't keep still.  Now, he's doing great putting the harness on - even when we have issues with hooking it (when it doesn't line up right, it gets stuck).  He does so much better on walks with the harness.  He was kind of choking himself with the pulling of the leash with his collar.  He still needs to work on the loose leash, but he is getting there.

We are so happy with him.  He is so calm and fits right into our life.  He doesn't mind us touching him anywhere.  He loves to mouth/gum your hand in play, so we need to watch his mouth because when he gets wound up, he goes right for your hand - still only mouthing, but he doesn't know when to stop.

Busy Friday Meeting New People

Friday was a very busy day for Theo. We had a bunch of people come by the house.

First up was Holli with Compassion Speaks. Holli is an animal communicator.  I had a feeling she wouldn't really be able to tell me anything that we didn't kind of already know, BUT I got to hear Theo's side of the story.

 

Next up was my friend, Suzanne, and her husband Mike.  Suzanne has always been the first visitor when we brought home a baby.  Theo did a great job with everyone visiting.  He started to get crazy with Suzanne and Mike after they were here for awhile. 

 

He LOVED the toy they brought him.

Then LATE last night, he got to meet his cousin Vinnie and girlfriend, Britney.  

Oh, he also got to meet some neighbors. He met Elijah from next door, and Shelby (golden/shepherd) and her mom, Erica. Theo has met quite a few kids in the neighborhood that we don't know and has done really well.  We visited our neighbor, Lisa, who I knew would love to meet him

Today, he met Abby and her family. He did great with Abby (anitoliane), and the kids. We are hoping they become good friends.

We've made it through 3 days!

It seems like Theo has been with us for longer than 3 days.  He has totally settled in.

Sunday afternoon, we went for a family walk and met some neighbors that we didn't know.  Monday I stayed home and made sure he was doing ok.  Tuesday, we met a neighborhood kid and he did fine. We met a dog that I didn't know and he did fine.  Also on Tuesday I had a meeting in the morning so Theo was left alone for 2 hours and NOTHING! He was ok!

Today, we had a delivery and he was fine with the guys.  We kept him outside and then Dan took him for a walk.  This afternoon, we walked over to our neighbor's house, who I knew would love to meet him.  He was great.

Theo is a great dog.  We can put our hand down by his food, we can play and put our face down by his.

He is so laid back.  During the time I work, he just hangs out on the couch.  I think this was meant to be.