Christmas is canceled

You know what I just absolutely love right before Christmas (and therefore right before my birthday because I'm a Christmas baby - have you got me my present yet?)? Unexpected bills.

No I'm not talking about the "Oh I forgot my phone bill was due" or the "Ugh I have to buy presents for my sixteen nieces and nephews because my family are dumb and can't organize a Kris Kringle" type of unexpected, I'm talking about the ones you truly cannot see coming.

Like the $4000+ vet bill we have looming on the horizon.

Last week, Sprocket pulled up one of his back legs and refused to put any weight on it at all. He limped around the yard with giant puppy dog eyes. Which isn't hard since his natural eye state is puppy dog eyes. Considering it was my gardening prowess that removed the weeds from the lawn, the first thought was that I'd missed a spot and he had a prickle stuck firmly in his foot, but we couldn't find anything obvious.

The next day we took him to the vet because he was refusing to walk on it. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting them to say but it certainly wasn't that poor Sprocket appears to have torn/ruptured/done something to his anterior cruciate ligament. Just like a footballer. Meaning the next bitch he is seen next to at the park will be papped as a wagging WAG.

Our vet has said it was a predictable injury considering he has slightly dodgy doggy hips. He takes after me, obviously. On the bright side, he was having a bloody good time on a 'doggy date' when it happened. If this was inevable inividble inevidible bound to happen, then I'm glad it wasn't just chasing a fucking cat that did it.

He's not in much pain and we are waiting it out to see if it is ruptured or just a bruised badly knee and gets better by itself. Daily anti-inflammatories seemed to be helping for the last week but his improvement has stalled now and he's still not walking properly. On the up side though, for an outside dog he is thoroughly enjoying the vet's order to keep him inside and comfy.

Next step? Handing over a cool grand of cash for scans under anaesthetic because bastard animals can't just hold their breath and keep still like humans. If they find something, they fix it for an extra $3K+.

Since it's the second time our pound puppy has required surgery (first time he had a motherfucking abscess form in his throat - just like I had when I was 16, see I told you he takes after me!), I'm now regretting not getting pet insurance.

Christmas is most definitely canceled.

I went walking, what did I see?

I live in a bit of a dodgy suburb. It ranks pretty high up there with the top areas for welfare benefits and crime.

With that in mind though, I've never been scared around here in general. Oh sure there was that time Map Guy came face to face with a would-be burglar through the glass door and the time the dog chased an intruder down the side of the house. Both of those times I shat myself, but other than that, I'm not one to just be afraid.

I feel safe walking the streets around here because I know a few of my neighbours and because I know the liklihood of being attacked by a stranger is minimal. Plus I normally have a big fuck-off dog with me.

It's a good thing, because when I do go walking, well, I find some pretty interesting things...

A spelling mistake that has been in the window for over 12 months.

Maybe they are sorry their accessories are shit?

An awesome ride on digger... out for bulk rubbish collection

(yes I checked before taking it)

An organ, dumped in the middle of the Open Space

perfect for impromptu dog recitals

The word "Tricky" drawn in to fresh cement...

What? I totally found it like that! *shifty eyes*

A burnt out car at the bottom of our street

There's been three in that exact spot

An unusual inscription on a painting

in a local office

I will spare you the used condom photo.

What weird stuff do you see in your neighbourhood?

Puppy Love - Review & Giveaway

Tricky has a BFF. His big, furry brother, Sprocket and he are joined at the hip.

Tricky shares his food with Sprocket and Sprocket thanks him by licking his fingers or knocking him over with his massive tail. Naw, love.

Sprocket has always been an outside dog who is occasionally let in if the weather is extreme. But since Tricky came along, he's been inside more and more often, so that the two can play together. Yes, I'm a sap.

So now with him being inside more frequently, it means I have to wash him more often.

Which is where Pure Animal Wellbeing comes in. Who are they? Well they're the animal health division of Blackmores. Before trying their products I already like them... because I like acronyms. PAW. Clever. Yes, I'm easily pleased.

Their lovely PR people sent me some lavender and jojoba conditioning shampoo for Sprocket to try. This stuff smells so divine that I could use it on myself and nobody would know I had used dog shampoo... except I would start barking and sniffing crotches. But hey, at least my coat would be shiny.

What did Sprocket think of it? Well, judge for yourself:

Sad, but lovely smelling Sprocket

Hrmmm. Not a happy chappy is he? See, he much prefers to smell like crap. As evidenced by the fact that he immediately went and rolled in all sorts of mess mere minutes after I washed him. But I will win this battle and I will keep washing him with lovely smelling stuff. Mark my words, Sprocket, you will smell like a field of lavender!

To be honest I was expecting to think it was nice but that I wouldn't buy it again because surely something like this would be expensive, right? But it's only $14.95 so it's definitely within my tightass frugal budget.

After a bath he tends to give me the evil eye (for taking away his fabulous, hard worked for musty scent no doubt) so I had to do some quick bribing to make him love me again. So I gave him some Active Pet Chews and he woofed them down. Hehe woofed. Unlike the shampoo I wasn't tempted to try these myself.

He went rather insane over the Chews and would have had the entire pack if I'd let him... especially since I didn't tell him they're healthy and full of vitamins. Or does that only work on getting kids to eat healthy?

He's definitely a food focused dog, check out how he can ignore his bestie in the background when faced with the possibility of getting one:

Must. Not. Break. Eye. Contact.

And how sad he looked later that day when I say he can't have it, but just has to sit there and be photographed with it:

And because I'm a sucker I let him have another one... then watched him lick the floor to make sure he got every last bit:

I have an entire PAW goody pack to giveaway thanks to Pure Animal Wellness. It contains everything you need to keep your dog or cat in top shape including:

• PAW lavender & jojoba 2 in 1 shampoo, Active chews
• PAW Dermega® Omega 3 & 6 Oral Supplement (ideal for dogs that scratch)
• PAW Probiotic Powder (for maintaining gut health)
• PAW Osteocare® Joint Health Chews (tasty kangaroo chews to help joint health)
• PAW Osteosupport® Joint Care Powder (clinically proven arthritis relief for dogs and cats)

And all this comes to a just over a whopping $200!!

To enter you have to:

• Be a follower of Where's My Glow? on Facebook
• Leave a comment below telling me your favourite pet memory
• For an extra entry you can tweet about this giveaway then leave a separate comment with the link to it

All entrants get a high five from Sprocket!

Entry is open to Australian residents only. Entries close at 10pm AEST on Monday 8th August 2011 at which time a winner will be chosen using a random number generator. Make sure you sign in to the comment platform with a valid email address/twitter handle or leave your details as part of your comment so you can be contacted. Winner has one week to reply to notification, failing that, the prize will be redrawn. The prize is provided by Keep Left PR and PAW and is not transferable.

A Boy And His Dog

As Tricky is becoming more mobile (he's up to three crawls in a row before belly-flopping) he is getting a bit more attention of the canine variety.

Sprocket has started to think that this thing that was previously just a big lump with flailing limbs is quite possibly the Best.Toy.Ever. And as with all fantastic dog-toys it needs to be sniffed and licked (though hopefully not chewed) incessantly until it is covered with doggy drool. Lovely.

I'm stuck in between wanting Tricky germ-free and wanting him to build up a robust immune system. So my attempt at creating the best of both worlds is to have Puppy Play Time rules. Yes I know how stupid that sounds. But there's only three so gimme a break:

• Licking of the face is a no-no,
• Puppy Play Time is followed by Soapy Hand Washing Time, and of course,
• It always has to be supervised (duh)

And so far so good. Sure there's been a few face licks but Tricky is learning that licking fur is yucky Sprocket is learning to resist the urge to cover Tricky in kisses. I'm so happy my boys are getting on well.

 

Let's hold hands

Nooooo! Mamma said no face licking!

On a side note, for those of you playing "Spot the Spring" at home, Tricky's springs are really visible in these photos. Most of the time people have no idea he is the Bionic Baby until they are holding him and his head is right at their eye level and they see the halo of the springs - then they think "Woah this kid has a really weird head!" and try to quickly cover the look of shock on their faces. It's quite amusing really.

Now where was I? Oh yes, do you have pets and kids? Do you have any rules?

The HealthyChart giveaway is still going strong! Be sure to enter here!!

To serve and protect

Last night we had a prowler. Hubby and I were awoken (while Tricky slept soundly) by Sprocket madly barking followed by the sounds of someone running down the side of our house and jumping our almost six foot high gate. This is the third time (spread over five years and two houses) that someone has tried to break in to our home, but the first time as parents.

Hubby leapt in to action, double checking that the house was secure and called the police on their non-emergency number (we had heard the person leave, we were in no danger) who then patrolled the street a few times in case the perp (oooh I feel like I'm in Law & Order) moved a few houses down to try his luck there. The times this had happened previously, out of the two of us, Hubby was the more spooked – understandably so when you consider he did come face to face with the intruder on the second occasion! This time though, it was completely different. My easy going, laid back husband was gone and in his place was Super Dad, protector of the family!

So where was I? The one who normally isn't too freaked out knowing that I'm safe inside and the bad guy is outside? I was sitting up in bed too afraid to move – there might have been a boogey man under the bed waiting to grab my ankle after all. I felt vulnerable and exposed like never before even though the previous intruders left tool marks on the doors and this guy only left footprints in the sand. He hadn't gotten anywhere near as close as the others thanks to Sprocket the Wonder Dog giving him the fright of his life yet I was shaking like a leaf.

I'm sure that becoming a dad has switched that protective instinct on in Hubby's head, but I thought mine would have been in full force too. Or perhaps it was and it is showing itself by making me much more alert and aware of those “what ifs” that were running through my head. Pappa Bear is big and fierce while Mumma Bear nurtures? There is only one thing I know for sure, and that is that I'm reading way too much in to this!

Did you feel instantly protective over your little ones?

Every dog has his day

When you introduce your baby to your dog there are few things the experts tell you to do. Things you might not think of like taking a singlet with the baby's smell on it so the dog can get used to it the day before the meeting, and also the ones that are pretty obvious, like making sure the dog is restrained and hasn't been fed any baby-shaped snacks recently to avoid confusion.

Hubby and I have a beautiful Belgian Shepherd (Malinois) cross called Sprocket, named after the dog in the '80's Jim Henson TV show, Fraggle Rock. We rescued him from the animal shelter when he was about six months old. He'd been found wandering the streets weighing next to nothing with all his ribs sticking out and a few very suspicious scars on him that look like he might have been burnt.

So we took him home, fattened him up and still to this day marvel how a dog that was so badly treated in his early days has such a beautiful nature. Nothing upsets Sprocket (other than when you stop playing fetch and he looks at you like “Why are you stopping? We were having so much fun!”

Of course, being young he is still highly excitable and prone to jumping up on people, especially if he hasn't seen them in a while. So we were unsure how such a hyperactive dog would handle an infant being around.

When I was in hospital Sprocket was a little out of sorts because he wasn't getting his nightly cuddles – you see he has an old couch out the back that he lays on until he gets his cuddles, then we say “Off to bed” and he gets up and goes in to his kennel. But without his nightly cuddle... he just stayed on the couch. And it was freezing, the poor thing! Tricky wasn't even home yet and Sprocket was a bit put out.

On introducing them to each other Hubby held on tight to Sprocket's collar and I lowered Tricky slightly so that he wouldn't jump up on us. We were braced for a lunge of excitement and energy... but what we got was some sniffing, an attempted lick and then he tried to go get his ball. Anti climax. Completely disinterested! And it has continued this way since. On the few occasions he is allowed inside (Sprocket that is, Tricky is allowed inside quite a bit) the same thing has happened – a bit of sniff, a lick of the toes and then on to something else. Whilst I know it isn't a green light to leave the two alone together, or even let my guard down when they're near each other, it is a massive weight off my shoulders.

I think as Tricky gets older he and Sprocket will be best of friends - let's just hope that Sprocket's laid back attitude continues... does anyone know what the smallest size saddle you can buy is?

My other beautiful boy, Sprocket