Update on Dunc-a-Doodle (aka: Duncan)

Today marks the 6th day of a potty-free and anxiety-lessened house for Duncan, which is a huge improvement over the previous two weeks. On Tuesday, we went to the vet to pick up a low dose of puppy prozac to help him deal with his extreme separation anxieties. Yes, our boy is on drugs. But if they work, and help him to control his fears so that he can get through and hour without us, it will be well worth it.

Today will be our first test to see how he does if we leave the house. Since Monday, Shar has been with him 24/7. There's only so much animal talk the poor woman can handle before she starts barking for her own bit of freedom to go out and interact with other humans. We'll do some errands today, and see how he responds by watching via our nanny-cams. Fingers crossed!

Prinnie hasn't been too happy this week. She has turned in to Cybil towards Duncan. We are at a loss to describe the satanic sounds that come out of that adorable little white body any time Duncan walks too close to her. It's a mix between a Tasmanian devil, satanic cursing and a raging spit of fire. She has, though, gotten closer to big brother, Digby - often snuggling up with him in the porta-crate we temporarily set up in the living room. Bottom line - she is jealous of having to share her mom and mommy, even though we have dedicated "special" time alone just for her.

Digby? He's great - just goes about his day as if nothing has changed. He's more of the personality of Dugan, who didn't let anyone or anything interfere with her "will do...slipped my mind" attitude.

Two-Cute!!

We couldn't resist posting these two pictures.....Digby and Prinnie decided that they were going to wait out our dinner "park-it" routine in the travel carrier we are using for Duncan when we need to go out. The two are sticking together like glue, and even brought a teddy bear in to sleep with them. Just too sweet!!

Dog-Gone Crazy

We haven't had a chance to blog for the past few days because we've been pretty overwhelmed with our new special needs pup, Duncan. What we didn't know when we adopted him from the shelter is that he has an extreme case of separation anxiety, and possibly some seizure activity going on at the same time.

Our nanny-cam cameras had been out of commission for the past several months, but last week I was able to download new software to get them up and running again. Late Friday afternoon, we headed out to do some errands for work and turned them on. When we came home, we were horrified to see that our sweet, little mutt howled for 2 hours straight, and ran through the house as if it were on fire the entire time we were gone.

We had some issues with Prinnie exhibiting some anxiety over us leaving (pacing for hours), but nothing to the extreme of this little guy. We called the neighbors to ask if they had heard him, and apologize for the noise if they had. One said she had heard a dog barking for about 20 minutes, and she was half tempted to come over to make sure we were ok. The second didn't hear anything (thank god) this time.

On Saturday, we set up a test to see if Duncan would react the same way. We put on the cameras, pulled out of the garage, and turned off the car in front of our house to listen. We sat there for over 20 minutes, of which he never once stopped barking. The difference was that we had crated him this time. When we came home to watch the video, we saw a dog in dire straits frantically doing everything he could to get out, all the while screeching to the top of his lungs.

In addition to the behaviors when we leave, he is lifting his leg to nearly everything in the house. Supposedly another classic sign of both marking new territory and separation anxiety. We went to PetsMart yesterday and got another gate (making 2 now) so that we can keep him in whatever room we are in to watch him 24/7.

Duncan also is a klutz . He walks into things, falls often, and has the balance of me in tights on a balance beam (not good!). He stares off frequently, and a few nights ago, I was holding him on my lap and noticed him "shaking" for quite a while. We think he seriously has some brain damage, and may be having peti mal seizures. Can they do neurological testing on dogs??

We called the vet today, and they suggested that since his case of anxiety is so severe, he might well need to be on anxiety medications - puppy prozac of sorts. We agreed, knowing that we want to do everything in our power to give this little charmer a forever home and all the love we can, without getting to the end of our ropes and giving up on him.

Shar and I were laughing yesterday because it seems that we keep getting these "special needs" dogs. I said "what aren't we learning about them that we are supposed to?", begging the question as to why we choose dogs that need a great deal of work. We both believe that every creature is worth the effort - we just prefer 4-legged ones over two!!

A Special Surprise from A Special Family

Prinnie, Digby and Duncan received an incredibly kind surprise tonight from Siku Marie, Susan and Steve - our kind-hearted friends in Albuquerque, NM. The doorbell rang and the kids responded, knowing somehow that there was a box at the door for them.

Our eskie friend and her family were so thoughtful.....they knew that we had added a new member to our brood, and with love and care for all, sent our three-pack a gift of new toys and treats. Needless to say, the kids were as excited as if it were Christmas morning....tearing the paper from the box, pulling out one toy after another, and making a mad dash to another room with a bag of treats.

Thank you Siku, Susan and Steve. Your kindness means the world to us all!!!

A Weekend of Volunteerism

Woooohooooo! We made it through a whole weekend of volunteering for our local animal shelter WITHOUT coming home with another dog! Did the "pinky swear" work?? No...I have to confess that we DID volunteer many hours this weekend, but we weren't even near the shelter, but rather their administrative offices (no animals are housed there).

We got the call on Thursday asking us if we could come pick up the quarterly newsletter and inserts, compile them, and get them ready for bulk mailing on Monday. In addition, they had a "bucket of change" for us from local fund raising jars that would need to be taken to a coin star, counted, and the cash brought back with the readied mailers.

As the hours went by, Shar and I were operating as a well-oiled assembly machine. We found some "tricks" to doing batches of 50 at a time that helped lessen the monotony and back strain (I know, poor, poor us!). When it was done, we felt gratified that we have helped, if only in a small way, be a part of some great fundraising opportunities for those amazing animals who are desperate for a loving, forever home.

In addition, remember a few weekends ago when we "cleaned the master closet" out? Well, we took 10 large garbage bags of clothes and a bag of shoes to the Salvation Army drop off center for donation today.

It's been a crazy-busy weekend, and the week ahead is slated to be about the same pace, but sometimes just knowing you are helping something so very important and close to your heart is worth every single minute spent.

Here is Shar at the Coin Star earlier today, and the completed newsletters ready to go back to the shelter tomorrow...

Camping, Good Food, Great Friends and Magical Moms

Now I totally "get" what a mom with three toddlers must go through each day as she struggles the balance of work and mommy-dom. All I can say is "Thank God for Shar"!!

The plan was for Shar to come with me to work today because we were meeting our good friend, Sue, of Random Ramblings, for a long-overdue lunch date. "No biggie", I thought. "We'll just take the dogs to Camp Bow-Wow for a few hours while we are in San Diego and pick them up on our way home". Seemed simple enough.

But before we could even get to today, Shar had to prepare Duncan's shot records, medical history, application for Day Camp, update the records of Prinnie and Digby's shots, and on and on. As soon as I got home from work late last night, we took the Kids seat belt clips that hold each of them snugly into their "seats" out of one car, and put them in the other. As I reviewed the records Shar had put together for each of them, she made their lunch for today and put each in their own container with each kids name.

"Great", I thought. "Car seats are done, lunch is made, records are ready to go.....ahhhh, time to relax." That was that....until this morning. Up at the crack of dawn, down some coffee, try to read the morning news paper, feed the kids, shower, get dressed, get THEM dressed (harnesses and leads), pack the "stuff" in the car, put each kid in their designated place in the car, swear a little at the fact my clean clothes are now filled with 3 colors of dog hair, roller them off, try to stop the kids from barking as they demand we get moving NOW, start to drive off and see a neighbor who wants to chat for a bit, which in turn causes the two little kids to insist that THEY MUST be part of the conversation but haven't yet found their volume control......ugh! We haven't even left the driveway yet, and I'm ready for the day to be over!

Finally, we pull into day care (Camp Bow Wow). Now the task of getting fully hairy starts all over again. Click the lead onto one dog, then a second, finally, the third. The two little kids come with me, and Digby with Shar. They literally pull us in to the front office area, until they realize that we are about to leave them for a while. But first, Duncan, who is new to doggy day care, must be interviewed and pass before we can leave. The clock is ticking and I am getting more and more stressed about the need to get on the road for our one and a half hour commute. Finally, the camp counselor comes out to say that Duncan passed with flying colors and can stay! Thank God, because we hadn't come up with a contingency plan if he hadn't.

Three hours after getting up, we are on the road to work. Lunch was awesome - yea, great food, but the company was by far the highlight of our day! Now we have to run to the new corporate offices (oh yea, we got the new space) to pick out carpet, paint, etc...., then on to the accountants for the weekly check run. Crap - we are now REALLY late to head out of San Diego toward home to pick up the kids. Do they charge extra if you are late, I thought?? Shar calls ahead and tells them that we are still about 1-2 hours out from getting there. Fortunately, they say that it's not a problem - the kids are fine.

We finally get back to day care and walk in the front door to hear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Duncan barking louder than all of the other dogs, including the big German Shepards. "Oh lordy, did these poor people have to listen to this all day" Shar and I said in unison. We ask - they said that he only barked when he was in his cabin. A counselor goes back to get who they have now named the "three-pack". The "three-pack" tears out and are determined to get out the front door without their harnesses. Here we go again, having to dress them as they fly around in crazed excitement that mom and mommy are here to take them home. I still have to pay for today's camp...I just give the guy my credit card and tell him to do whatever he needs to. The guy was nice enough to put the card back in my wallet for me when he was done because I no longer had any hands left.

Prinnie gets out of her harness twice as Shar leads Digby to the car (actually, he dragged her). She comes back in to help me with the two little kids, and we finally are on our way home. Once we pull in, another neighbor greets us, causing Prinnie to go ballistic. He is trying to tell us something, but we can't hear him over the two little kids, so we politely wave and pull in to our garage. He is waiting outside to chat, but we have to put the door down to deal with what we thought would be exhausted dogs.

They each are unbelted, and bound into the house. Shar and I look at each other and drag ourselves over the threshold. We are home.....at last! We are exhausted and defeated. The dogs are in their glory, and wide awake! We are repeating this adventure again on Tuesday, and are already trying to prepare ourselves for a repeat of today. I don't know how moms do this every single day.

Here is Duncan's certificate for passing his interview this morning. Oh, and by the way, he made friends with a dog named Gordo - a beagle - who seems to have taught our youngest the fine art of howling to the moon! Great!!! One chases space ships and the other howls to the moon!

Making Good Progress

As I write this, the "boys" are playing chase thru the house and Prinnie is upstairs helping mommy get things ready for bed time. Today was grooming day for the kids (has it really been 5-6 weeks already?) and I have to say, they look absolutely adorable. We decided to forego grooming Duncan, since he came to us nearly shaved, but the other two smell sooooo good and look precious.

On a different front, I am really excited because I hope to be moving our corporate offices at the end of this month for work. The new space just feels good! The building opens to an interior courtyard, lush with palm trees and other green vegetation. The center is home to a water feature that makes you feel as if you are entering a spa. If we can't win the "lotree" (as my grandfather used to say) and retire now, then it's not a bad work space. We found the site last week, I put in the LOI this past Friday and signed the counter offer on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed that it all works out. Here are some pics that I took from inside the courtyard to show Shar. It's about 4 miles south of where I am located now, and will give me PERFECT access to Starbucks in either direction! What could be better than that??

PS: Shar and I did the "pinky swear"! Let's hope it works! Thanks Sue!!!

Testing the New Kid

Any reservation I had about having a third dog is gone. Absolutely gone. Duncan has been a true little joy, and is adapting so, so well. Digby is doing great and Prinnie is a bit jealous, but now has shown everyone that SHE is the queen, and has made sure Duncan knows who's boss. That's a story for later.

The poor little guy came to us, though, with Pop Neison eyebrows. For those of you who don't know, imagine Andy Rooney as a dog, and that's about what Duncan's eyebrows looked like. We loved Pop Neison, but those funky eyebrows......they had to go. A few seconds with the dog clippers was all it took! Bye-Bye Pop Neison eyebrows.

Today was yard work day. It was 88 degrees - what happened to winter??? - hot, sunny and the neighborhood was bustling with lawn mowers, edgers, and good old fashioned neighborhood socializing. Have I said we just love this neighborhood? We had the kids on leads outside with us most of the day so they could enjoy the smells and sunshine.

Anyhow, we made our first attempt of leaving Duncan in the house alone with Digby and Prinnie today. First, we pulled out of the garage, and Shar snuck back in through the gate to peer into the window. Other than barking and running back and forth (and Prinnie's sly eye catching "mommy" checking up on them), all seemed normal. We decided to drive around the block, and do the same thing. Yep, they were still being themselves, and our shoes and furniture were in one piece. Next, we drove to (where else) Starbucks and stopped briefly at the drug store.

When we pulled up to our house, Shar snuck into the gate again to see if they would be laying around awaiting our return. Two of them were barking (they probably heard the car, although we had not opened the garage door yet) and the third was no where in sight. The house didn't look bad, so we pulled all the way in. We were greeted with lots of "lovins" and three happy pooches. Our trial run was a success. Each of the kids were unscathed and the house was just as we left it!

Prinnie's self-appointed new job is to help teach Duncan about "parking it" as we prepare their meals. Here are some pictures of her parking it on Duncan's spot next to him, as if to say "See, this is where we wait". He responded back by falling alseep. Too cute!

What Were We Thinking??

Or better yet, WHAT happened to our brains over the past 72 hours?? Where did they go? If you find them, please send them back to us.....PRONTO!

How did we go from "downsizing" and "cleaning out" to having a new dog? Brain justification of our new rule that says that for every one thing that comes in to the house, one thing must be donated or trashed is so, so sly! We figured since we have removed over 8 large garbage bags of "stuff" that one little bitty dog wouldn't be close to the amount we have removed. Another section of the brain says that since we have two already, what's the harm of a third??

Oh, what have we done? What happened to the ease of being able to take our TWO dogs to the beach, or the cabin, or...anywhere? What happened to the comfort, peace and tranquility of our family the way it was? What happened to the inner peace of knowing that we each could give an animal our undivided attention and there were just enough laps to go around for "family lovins'" time each evening?

As we drove home from the Pet store yesterday, Shar started to say our infamous words "no more animals", and I said "don't even say that because we are pitifully incapable of even following those words - we just have to admit that we are animal lovers and they will always be in our lives". She nodded in agreement.

What have we done??? Did we make the right decision? Are we selfish? Is this what is best for our other kids?......I don't know. What I DO know is that we saved a life from certain death. Buyer's remorse?? Kinda. But then we look into those sad brown eyes and know that at least he has a chance at life and hopefully, happiness.

"If only we had a bunch of acreage", we've thought almost daily for most of our adult lives. We would have a no-kill animal sanctuary, where we would do our best to save as many animals from being euthanized as possible. All they want is security and love. That's all WE really want, isn't it? Funny how love works!

Duncan...Day 1

Our new little addition is settling in to his new digs, siblings and pack leaders. More importantly, Digby and Prinnie are adapting really well to another seeker of our attention. Last night's bed time was a little rough at the start because we kenneled Duncan to make sure that he wouldn't get into trouble. He didn't like that, and we think he was allowed to sleep with whomever his former family was. Once he got the message that we were all snuggled into bed, Digby and Prinnie included, he was ok.

This morning, he wanted to get up on Duncan-time, which we quickly responded with a "quiet" command. But I must say, it was absolutely adorable watching all 3 dogs tear out of the bedroom, down the hall, down the stairs and right out the back door all at once. They each ran to a pee spot, did their business and rushed back in all in a pack demanding breakfast. Duncan still needs to learn "park it" and "stay", but he's getting it slowly.

Later, he and Digby played chase for a minute, and then Prinnie chimed in with her own version of "chase", which entails barking her little head off, while trying to rustle her prey to the ground. This was exactly what she would do to "chase the kitty", so we fed right in to her passion and told her to "chase the doggie". She obliged!

We just ordered pizza for dinner tonight, and our routine is typically to have the dogs sit, stay and wait when the door bell rings. I can't say it always works, but surprisingly, Duncan tried to figure it out. The only problem we have found is that he doesn't like treats. We've tried about 6 different kinds, and he takes them, and immediately drops them for his brother or sister to scarf up. No wonder he's so skinny! Maybe I should take some lessons!!!

All in all, a good day. AS I said in the beginning, the most important thing is that Prinnie and Digby are happy and that the new addition doesn't squelch their personalities.