Thank DOG 2007 is Behind Us!

Okay, first for an update, and much needed thank you's.
Daddy bid his final farewell to his mom, and is back home now, though we hated having to say goodbye, we know that she's finally at peace in the arms of the lord, and is watching over us. We can think of no better soul to be our guardian angel, she was truly an inspiration and provided mom with much insight into being a better mom and grandmother, her wisdom & grace provided a roll model that will never be forgotten. She was truly a "Steel Magnolia".

Now for the BoogieBoy update. First, huge thanks to all those out there sending Sibe Vibes our way, your prayers and kind thoughts were a huge help to mama, and the power of the Sibe Vibes should never be questioned, our situation is living proof that they work! Our skin-sister Sam & her 3 kids stayed here with mama while daddy was taking care of business in AL, she is Boogies natural mother. She's stayed out of the picture so far because as she said "I know that he spends almost every weeekend with you, and this is the best place for him". However, due to the recent events and worries, she has decided to get back involved, and is in the process of getting the case back into court in front of a judge to try to have visitation and custody modified so she'll have some say so into his care and decisions regarding his education & welfare. Mom has offered to help in any way she can in the meantime but she'll be working behind the scenes so as not to put our contact with him in further jeopardy.

All of your prayers & Vibes have made a world of difference! While Sam was here, she got a call from the dad on Christms night & he wanted to know if she was staying wih us. He told her that she could come pick up the Boogie as long as she stayed here with him. The day after Christmas mama got a text message from the dad asking if she wanted to keep him for a few extra days, of course mama jumped on the chance. Our Boogie was here through Sunday, and we all had a wonderful time with him. He loves the new tile and rearranged furniture in his room, somehow he gained extra space, and his room looks much bigger, not to mention cleaner! Mom had a long talk with the dad, and he complained about feeling "betrayed", and "pressured into putting him into a different school", so decided to remind us who is boss. Our mama isn't very good at butt-kissing, but we're very proud of her, she's putting forth a really good effort, and in the meantime supporting Sam in every way possible in her endeavors to get the court to pay attention when nobody else has seemed to care or see anything wrong with his situation. In the meantime she's on her best behavior with the dad, and doing everything possible to insure that we stay a part of his life so we can continue to monitor and be informed of what is going on with him.


Next item we need to tell y'all about is a non-profit organization that mom has volunteered to help out on. She's going to be helping to ghost write a blog for them, and it will be easily accessible from our page. Please look on the right sidebar for a link to the CareAgain wolves, under the "Organizations we Support" list, go check out their website and while you're there make a donation if you can. Or you can click on the badge above to take you directly to the donation site. The angel-lady that is in charge of caring for them, feeding & providing them with a natural setting where they can be safe & protected, and battling against those who "dont want them in my neighborhood", has been really struggling to get a fence built around their new home , 10,000 acres of beautiful natural land backing up to a wildlife preserve. This wonderful lady has struggled endlessly to provide "her" pack with as close to a natural setting as possible so they can just be wolves. If anyone out there is in Colorado and has time to volunteer to help on the fence, we know it would be more appreciated than you can imagine, poor Jacqueline is working herself ragged 16-18 hours per day just trying to keep up with the wolves needs & single-handedly get the fence built. If you can donate a few dollars to the cause, they have 501c3 status, and all donations are tax-deductible. We're also welcoming any suggestions if anyone has any thoughts on other organizations or groups that might be willing to lend a helping hand. Please feel free to include a link on your pages, or to copy the badge above to send folks to the donation site. Mama says it's very important for us to care for and support our ancestors, they've helped to make us who we are, so please help spread the word!

Finally, our tile guy is ready to start on our office this week, so we're going to be losing our computer access for a few days, probably starting Thursday or so. but we promise as soon as we're up and running again, we'll get back into the swing, we've got lots of new pics to share with everypup. For now though we've got to go, mom's gotta get some sleep, so she can start moving furniture and finish a project that is going on in our sunroom right now. We can't wait to show you the pics of everything that has been going on 'round here. and our visits from A. Drill, A. Saw, and A. Sander, just to mention a few.

Hope everypup, kitty & their humans had a wonderful Christmas, and a very Happy New Year.
Happy 2008 kisses & hugs,
The River Hill Pack

PeeEss,
Thanks to everyone who voted in our jukebox poll, we're so glad everypuppy likes our music, and thank you to everypup who gave us Christmas kisses under the mistletoe!

Sad, sad Christmas

It is with heavy hearts that we paw this post.

Our BoogieBoy's father still won't allow us to see him, but sent mom a text message saying she'll never see him again, and that he's not "doing" Christmas this year because "it will hurt too bad". We are furious! How can he do this to our boy, and his baby sister? What kind of parent uses their children to inflict pain on others who've always supported them, or refuse their children Christmas based on their own selfish feelings?? Mom has left messages, and sent texts begging him to reconsider, but now he won't even reply.

On top of all this, our daddy's mom passed away Saturday night. He drove to Mobile AL on Saturday, and luckily got there about an hour before she passed, so he was able to tell her how much we love her, and spend her final moments with her, but he's staying there with his dad & brothers as her service will be the day after Christmas.

Because mom is still hoping for Boogie's dad to have a change of heart, and because it's way too late to find a kennel to take all 4 of us during the holidays, she and dad made the tough decision to spend this Christmas apart, the first one in the 19 years they've been married. Our skin sister Sammy and her 3 kids have been staying here with us, keeping mom company and trying to keep her mind off of her sorrow. We thank her & love her for that, it would be so much harder for her if she were all alone.

Please everypup, cherish every moment you have with your loved ones, we hope all our friends have a wonderful Christmas full of love & joy, getting to know you all has brought us much joy, laughter & tears, and we love & appreciate each and every one of you. If you happen to think of us this Christmas, please say a prayer for our Boogie, and for our daddy, mama says we need divine intervention to help them get through the trials they both face.

Christmas kisses to everypup, kitty, penguin, and their humans.

Chili, Cracker, Mikki & Bama

Sorrowful Wooooos for our friend Thrawn

Our mama can't stop crying, our new friend Thrawn crossed over the bridge today. Our hearts are breaking for his mom & the rest of his pack, we know he will be missed and the sorrow must be almost unbearable. Please follow this link, The Brat Pack, and give some love & support to those of his pack left behind to mourn.

Sounding sorrowful woooos for a beautiful & much loved boy, you'll be missed by everyone who was lucky enough to get to know you. Run free, sweet boy!

Sad heads bowed,

The River Hill Pack

Health update

Well....got results today, but didn't really get any answers. Nothing in my blood work indicated epilepsy, though nothing ruled it out either, we were told just keep monitoring and make note of any unusual behaviour. I'm glad they took me in though, as my white cell count was elevated, indicating possible infection. The doc checked me over thoroughly and couldn't find any cause for infection, but they're starting me on a course of antibiotics just to be safe. The doc also said that there is no reason for me not to have my surgery, that they "spay/neuter epileptic dogs all the time". That one gave mom paws, it sounds like a risk to her, but they have time to think about it, as Cracker will have a recovery period, and they don't want to be nursing 2 surgery pups at the same time if they can help it. His "fix" went fine, and he's resting comfortably in his favorite spot on the couch, though he would only take a couple bites of his dinner tonight, and that only when mom hand fed him. Long story short, they're just gonna keep watching me, and keep a diary of any unusual behaviour, I go back in 1 week after my pills are gone, for more blood work & to make sure my white cell count is back to normal. Thanks everypuppy for your kind thoughts & words of wisdom, we'll keep you posted if anything else happens.

Mikki, Astronomer in Training

Bama wanted me to post this picture to show how much bigger she is than everyhusky else in the house. She's 6 months, I'm 20 months. She's freakin' HUGE, for Dogs sake! And....since you can't see our feet, it kinda looks like she might be sitting on a little hill or hump in the dirt, but I am too, that is all her!

and just to be fair, here's one of da boyz...

Of course, right now, Cracker looks more like this:

Finally, this pic is for my Jack-o-Hearts:

(sorry, Pippadear, you'll always have a soft spot in my heart, but The Jack of Hearts is my true furever love)

And this one is for Shelby-Woo:

Cracker begs you to forgive the dirty face, he had been busy looking for the secret passage to China, when someone mentioned your name & he suddenly got his sexy bedroom-eyes just thinkin of you.

Christmas Kisses everypuppy, kitty & your humans,

Mik & the RHP

Oh yeah, almost forgot....the new floors are under progress & we were so excited, A drill AND his friend A saw both came to visit our house while the work is going on, pictures soon...

Just a short one

The real post is below, but.....
Mama found us a cool jukebox, then she found a REALLY cool song called "Siberian Husky" by Nancy Simmonds (we've never heard of her before). It should be the furst song that plays when you visit our page, husky lovers Check It Out!
Then she added each of our "theme" songs, Black Betty (Bama Lamb) by Ram Jam, Cracker Jack by Dolly Parton, Chili Pepper Cha Cha by Cain, & Hey Mikki by Toni Basil (we took liberty with the spelling, it's really Mickey). Finally she added the recitation & definition of the Pledge of Allegiance by Charlie Daniels, originally Red Skelton, because we think it's important for every American to not just say the pledge, but remember the meaning behind the words you learn as a little kid.
Mama was worried that people wouldn't like the music, or would get sick of it after a while, since it will play every time you visit our page, so we're putting up our first ever poll. Please vote and let us know if you a) Love It, b) Hate It, or c) Couldn't Care Less One Way or the Other. We don't want our friends to stop visiting because our music is annoying, though we are a very eclectic bunch, if you don't like the song playing, when it's over you'll get something totally different, so we hope there's something for everyone.
If you want a cool cursor of your own, you can go to:
http://gallery.webfetti.com/webfetti/cursor/category/3/main.jhtml
They are free, but you do have to register and accept their search toolbar. So far we haven't had any problems with it, and love our husky cursor. (AO4, they've got some cool patriotic & military cursors, too!)
If you want a jukebox of your own, you can double click on the bottom right of ours to take you to the site, it was also free. We're not sure, but we think that since we uploaded the Siberian Husky song, it's now available for other users, so do a search if you're interested.
Thanks in advance for voting in our poll and letting us know what you think!
Kisses,
Bama

So Much to Say

Furst of all, the BoogieBoy update:
We got to talk to him this week! He sounded good and his dad said all the humans would go out to dinner next week to "discuss" things. We're choosing to take this as a positive sign, at least we're back in touch, though we still haven't seen him yet. Our mom got a call from his old teacher a couple of days ago that his school pictures were in (mama had paid for them & the dad had been pretty nasty to his teacher a couple of times, so we guess she would rather deal with mom; the dad changed his school last week to one closer to their new house). She's a dog lover & has German Shepherds, & Boogie was really excited about taking her one of our Christmas cards, so mom went to pick up the Boogie pics & took her a card and a tin of homemade treats for her pups. Of course she asked about our Boogie & mom told her what has been going on. She said "we contacted CPS, when you have a 5th grader coming to school hours late & talking about being in the "club" til the wee hours of the morning, of course we're going to call". So now we're just hoping to be able to get back into his life, cause it's pretty obvious that the dad isn't going to let us get him into the special school.

Mom & dad went last weekend & ordered tons of tile, it's supposed to be delivered Monday, then the real fun begins! We may be kinda scarce for a while, since the furniture is going to be shifting all over our house as the nasty carpet comes out and the cool canyon slate tile goes in each room, mom's not sure how much she'll be able to even physically get to the 'puter. (The vision of mom crawling over top of furniture or laying on top of a dresser trying to reach down to the desk made us giggle). They made the really hard decision not to decorate for Christmas this year after all, since they'll probably need the spare space for furniture, though Boogies room is furst on the list to be done, then mom's gonna put the usual decorations in his room that she does every year, so if he gets to come see us it'll still feel like home to him.

Now for the really scary part! Mom & dad have always wanted to have just one litter of puppies, it's been really hard for them to give up that dream. But after being involved in rescue, blogging & dogster, they finally decided that if we add to our pack it's gonna have to be a rescue, 'cause it just wouldn't be right to bring more furballs into the world when there are so many out there now that just need love & good homes. So....momma made an appointment for Mikki to go to the vet on Tuesday & get fixed. They decided Mikki first so she wouldn't have a chance to have another heat. So far Chili is the only one of our pack that has been altered, he had a condition that made his necessary (he really was fixed!) Anywoo, mom made the appointment Wed. afternoon. That night we were all outside running zoomies & wrestling when daddy called us to come inside. I ran in, Chili ran in, Cracker ran in, Mikki kept sitting staring at the sky like she always does. After about a minute dad hollered at mom "Mikki's having a seizure". Before either of them could get to her she jumped up, ran in the house & started wrestling with the rest of us again. Daddy was the only one who even saw it, and now he's not totally sure that's what it was, she stood up, walked a step or two then got kind of wobbly/staggery & fell over. She wiggled 2 or 3 times on her back like she had an itchy spot, then jumped up & ran in the house. They kept a really close eye on her the rest of the night but she seemed completely normal, and has ever since. No matter, furst thing the next morning mom called the vet & swapped so Cracker could take her appointment instead, since he is the only intact boyberian (AO4 comes up with the best new huskywords!) in the pack, & Mik has an appointment in the morning to get a complete blood workup & checkup to see what's going on. Mama says "no way our Mik is getting anesthesia or surgery til we know it's 100% safe for her". So everypuppy, please keep your paws crossed that this was just a fluke & maybe she really did just have an itchy back. Mom says we've been really lucky so far with really healthy huskoids, and there's enough going on already, time for the bad luck fairy to stop dumping on us! He needs to leave the Mullins Clan alone too, can't he tell when somepuppies have had enough? And after that one teeny episode, we can't imagine what Amici's pawrents must go through with his episodes, how terrifying!

We also want to send our thoughts, prayers & Sibe Vibes to Holly's House, the folks in Omaha had a terrible tragedy this week, our hearts go out to everyone affected.

Finally, it's been snowing here!!! Okay, not real snow, but it is snowing Christmas Cards. We've gotten 25 snail mail cards, and 3 ecards, the pawrents haven't gotten any yet. But we're sharing ours with them cause they love looking at all the cute pictures almost as much as we do. Ours went in the mail yesterday, (only 3 days later than planned, thanks to mom's fight with all her new 'puter programs), so be looking for them in a mailbox near you soon.

Last but not least, we'd like to thank our Queen Meeshka, for recognizing our special powers in her recent "Heroes" posts. We feel very honored to serve in HULA, and to be selected by our queen for such special assignments. And please say your puppy prayers that our good friends (& Mikki's boyfriend) Jack & Starr have a safe journey to the North Pole & back, and that Santy Paws elves can help Jacks special buddy A. Penguin.

We hope everypuppy is having a wonderful Holiday season, filled with lots of goodies & treats, and pray that Santy Paws will find a good furever home for everypup out there who needs one. We love you all very much, and are so lucky to have such great buddies.

In case our house is torn up til the New Year, we'll say it now, Merry Christmas to all our pup friends & their peeps, 2-legs & 4. Hopefully we'll get back on here before then, but just in case......

Sibe Vibe Thanks!

Furst, we'd like to start this post with a HUGE thank you for all the crossed paws, prayers, Sibe Vibes & well wishes. It's helped mom a lot to know all our friends are sending their vibes to the "Powers That Be". AND, it's working! At least somewhat...mama just got a call from the dad's ex-fiancee'. Boogie's dad has agreed to let her pick him up from school today & spend some time with him. This is great news, she was a very positive influence in his life, and it's been very hard on him since they broke up. In addition, the dad now has to undergo mandatory & regular drug testing to make sure he keeps his nose clean (no pun intended....) and they will be keeping an eye on him to make sure no more funny stuff goes on. It's not the ideal solution, but much better than what has been going through our heads for the last week. She always helped Boogie with his homework, and loves him just like her own, and she's going to call us tonight after she picks him up from school, so we can talk to him for the furst time in a week, we can't wait! Hopefully maybe we'll get to see him this weekend....

Now onto happier stuff, we've started getting Christmas cards from our blogging pals! So far we've gotten cards from Suki & Joey the pugs, Cairo the boxer, Randi the labnewf, Lenny the wire-haired terrier, and Comet & BLU the spitz's. This is SO much fun, we love getting mail addressed just to us, and it's so much fun sniffing the cards & envelopes, we feel like we know already know them better. We can't wait for the mailman to see if he brings us more cards today!
Mama went out last week and bought a card designer program, and we worked really hard all weekend designing our card to send to all our blogging pals. She said this weekend we'll print them all out, address & stuff the envelopes, seal & afix the stamps, and have them in the mail on Monday. Yippee, we hope everypuppy likes our cards, it was lots of fun deciding on our design. (even though there were some disagreements, "no mom, I like the angel better, no mom, Santa needs to go there!, Moooom, The Monster stepped on my pawtograph!) we finally came up with a card that we all liked, and daddy said we were all very creative.
In addition, mom says the decorations definitely have to go up this weekend. She & Boogie usually start on them the day after Thanksgiving, but with all her worrying about him, she just wasn't in the spirit, and it wouldn't have been the same without his help anyway. She said she'll get everything else done, but she's saving the ornaments for the tree until he's here. Then the powers that be will have to let him come see us, or we're gonna have a nekkid tree this Christmas. So keep those paws crossed & vibes comin', cause I want to see my very furst Christmas tree, fully decorated!
Hope all you pups are having lots of fun & helping with your holiday preparations, we'll post again soon.
Manykisses,
Bama