Mrs. McKinley: Pupdate & More!

Puppies:

Well, the puppies went to the vet today. They got their last vaccination. So, they are now donning their new collars with their tags. They had to get their ears plucked, too. (Any dog that's got poodle in them has to have this done routinely. Hair grows so thick in their ears. Wax can turn rancid... Which can start some nasty problems.) In the upcoming pictures Brian is administering their ear drops... There's also some playing, too. :)

Charlie weighed in at 28 pounds.
Henry weighed in at 27 pounds.

Since we're still having problems with potty training and discovered that Henry is a "submissive piddler" we have to have the pups tested for UTI's or anything that could be bothering them.

Their next appointment is May 6th. They'll be going in for the "snippety snip." They'll be 6 months old then. It's the best time for neutering. If you get them neutered before 6 months the lack of testosterone can effect their growth. And if you wait too much longer after 6 months, they can start becoming more aggressive and marking their territory. Needless to say, Brian and I cannot wait. They'll be a little more mellow afterward. :)

Kitties:
The cats are doing really well together. We bought this product called Feliway (look for it on amazon.) Feliway re-creates the pheromone that cats give off as they are rubbing their faces on you (when they're happy.) So, we've been spraying it on their common areas and on areas that they used to scratch on. We've noticed a huge improvement in their behavior. Cognac and Cheech still have their little squabbles, but everything else is going really well.

Maggie has adjusted really well here, too. She kind of declared Cheech her boyfriend... The feelings aren't mutual. :( She keeps trying. She pretty much loves all the other cats. Her and Georgia are cuddle buddies. :)

I know it seems crazy, but Brian and I will most likely be getting another cat. Brian and I love animals. We have such a large house to accommodate them. The new cat (I mentioned in my last post) is named "Festival." When we adopted Maggie the price for adopting 2 cats was the same as adopting one cat. So I asked her if she had any special needs kitties that people wouldn't normally adopt. She told me a little bit about Festival. He was basically abandoned at a festival in August. His foster mom found him and noticed that he was incredibly sick and that he had a fairly serious eye infection. After treating the infection and nursing him back to health he was tested for fe leuk and others. He was negative for all of them. They later discovered that the infection most likely made his cornea burst and his eye was causing him a lot of pain. Last Tuesday he went into surgery to have the entire eye removed. I heard on Thursday that he was doing much better. We meet him this upcoming Saturday and we'll most likely be bringing him home. While I know that I'll never be able to replace Aesop, Festival is also a black and white kitty without sight in his left eye. Knowing how amazing and wonderful Aesop was, I'm not going to turn Festival away.

Also, Brian and I are thinking about re-naming him. We don't want the constant reminder that he was abandoned at a festival. We were thinking maybe Fievel? (Referencing the movie "Fievel Goes West." Yes, I know it's about a mouse... But it's close to Festival.)

Any name suggestions?

Amy & Brian:

Brian and I are doing really well. Since the doctors found out what was wrong with me, I've been doing SO much better. In my last post I mentioned that I was going to the doctor to see if I'd lost any weight. As of February 15th I had lost 11 pounds. Wooooooo! I go back in April to see how much more I've lost. :)

Pictures:

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