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

Waiting for the Powers that Be

This post isn't really 'bout us....

We picked up our BoogieBoy from school on Tuesday, and thought we were going to have him the rest of the week. His dad called Wed. night & said he was taking him from 12-4 on Thursday, for Thanksgiving dinner. He never came back, an investigator from Child Protective Services visited on Thurs night. She asked lots of questions, then indicated she was going to get their legal team involved, and she wanted to know if we were willing to let him stay here. Well mom said "of course!!", we have him 75% of the time now, and would love to have him stay with us full time.

His daddy found out he was being investigated, so he never brought Boogie back and won't take or return our calls, now our mom is really worried. The dad's dad told mom that dad wasn't going to let anyone see him until he found out who filed the complaint, so mama's going crazy worrying if he's getting his medicine, if he's getting enough sleep, and if he's hanging out in the hip-hop club dad manages. Dad takes him to the club frequently, even on school nights, using the excuse that he doesn't have a sitter. This is ridiculous, mom has never refused to take him, but now that his dad has cut off contact with us we don't know where he is or what he's doing. He has seizure disorder, and the spells are brought on by lack of rest, stress, and flashing lights or going from a dark room to one brightly lit. Obviously (to us at least), the club environment is no place for an 11 year old in any circumstances, but eating fast food, not taking his meds, and staying out til 11, 12, or 1 in the morning is almost sure to bring on a seizure. In addition he's dyslexic, and has been approved to attend a DePaul school, and for a scholarship to pay for it, but it doesn't fit into daddy's social agenda, so he keeps toughing it out in a school that's not really able to deal with his special needs. Daddy wants to keep him because he "loves" him, but not enough to let someone help, and only when it's convenient for him. We've all got our paws crossed, and saying our prayers that God will somehow intervene to insure CPS gets the info they need to make a ruling and let him stay with us during the week so mama can get him on a schedule and into the school that can help him (& keep him out of the nightclub!) So far all they've told her though is that Dad has custody, you have to let him take him unless you want to get into trouble for kidnapping, and unless he's placed with us, grandparents have no rights, so any attempts to keep him with us & keep him safe will end up backfiring and cause us to lose all contact (if we haven't already) . Right now our paws are tied and there is nothing we can do except pray, loudly & often. Boogie is MY boy, I got him when I was 8 weeks old, on his 8th birthday, and everybody knows that a boy needs his dog just as a dog needs a boy, so it's been really sad around here, with all of us worrying about how our boy is doing.

Here is a picture of me with MY boy, he's even sweeter than he looks! Don't we look like we just need to be together all the time?

Mom doesn't want to take him away from his dad completely, she just wants to be able to help provide the things he needs that his dad can't or won't be bothered with, but it seems if he's not being beaten or starved those who make these decisions are more concerned with his daddy's rights than with what is best for him.

Here is another picture of us, taken shortly after they brought me home. It was love at first sight for both of us, as evidenced by how hard I was trying to reach him for a kiss!

Please keep him in your prayers, surely God is listening and will guide the powers that be to intervene & do the right thing for our boy. Just knowing others are praying too will help give mom hope & keep her spirits up.

Thanks in advance for your prayers, our bloggin buddies are the best!

Husky Hugs & Nose Bumps,

Chili

PeeEss:

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

AWOL

Hi Everypup, Wilbur & Tia,
Sorry we haven't posted in so long, it's been a little crazy around here lately. Daddy had surgery on a bursa in his left elbow about 10 days ago, since then he's been the one handed Dadmonster, with lots of stuff he can't do that he usually does, and we've had our BoogieBoy most of the last month, which requires mom to take him to & from school, a 40 mile round trip, twice a day. Then when he gets home there is homework to get done, shower, dinner, etc, all before his 8 PM bedtime. Mom says all that doesn't leave much time for blogging, thankfully she's assured us all that doesn't mean she loves us any less, "there just aren't enough hours in the day". We're getting ready to pull all the nasty carpets out of our house & put down tile floors, now that I'm finally getting the potty accidents under control, so that's one more thing that will take her away from our blog and focus her attention on stupid human stuff!
Since Thanksgiving is next week, and Christmas right around the corner, Cracker decided this would be a good time to tell everypup about his Christmas shopping escapade from last year so I'll turn this over to him so he can tell it in his own words.

Howroo everypup, The Southern Cracker here. Before Ah decided to take a trip on mah own, we were allowed out in our backyard unsupervised, Dad gets up first in the mornings, and he'd let everyhusky out but leave the back door open for us to come in if we wanted, then mom would get us all in the house when she got up, and into our laundry den when she left for work. It was a Wednesday morning, and mom hadn't gotten up yet when Ah went over the fence chasing a stoopid skwirrrl. Chili & Mik both ran in the house to tell mama Ah was out, but she wasn't awake yet, and dint understand what they were tryin to tell her, so rolled back over to sleep until the alarm went off. (Bama wasn't here yet, she COULD have woke her up!)
When she got up, she showered, dressed, etc, then went out to the yard to get everyone in. She looked high & low, but Ah was nowhere to be found. She called dad, and he rushed home from work to help look. Mom got in the car and started cruising up & down the streets of our neighborhood, dad put Mik & Chill on their leashes and started husky search & rescue on foot. Finally a lady up at the top of our street asked if we were looking for a husky, and described me. When mom said yes, she said Ah wandered around in front of our house for a while, obviously lost, then Ah saw a car that Ah must've thought looked familiar cause Ah chased it down the street and around the corner. More searching in the direction she indicated brought no further sightings, it was like Ah had disappeared into thin air! They searched into the afternoon, then mom went to Walgreens to buy supplies to start making posters, came home & got on the 'puter to email our husky rescue group & put up notes on local lost pet sites, and made phone calls to the vet, animal control, AVID (who our chips are registered through), and our local paper to start an ad running. After all that, she went out to search and call some more. She mentioned to everyone she saw that Ah was missing, and told them how to reach her if'n they saw me, meanwhile dad was home watchin the other two & mannin the phone in case any calls came in. Finally, about 7:30 it was dark, & getting cold, and she figured she was going to have to give it up for the night when our next door neighbor told her that they had seen me crossing a busy street about 1/2 mile from our house, so off she went again to call & search in that area, around the Walgreens & Winn Dixie grocery store. When she got back, our neighbor across the street came over and asked "You're not missing one of your dogs, are you?) Mom told Miss Pat about me, and Miss Pat told mom a story her friend Ursula had told her over coffee shortly before.
Miss Ursula is also a dog lover, and has 3 of her own. Apparently, early that afternoon she had gone to Walgreens and was astounded to see a beautiful red husky in the store, walking up & down the aisles, checking out the merchandise & obviously looking for something. A nice lady who was cashierin at the store, took me into a storeroom in the back, and kept me there til her shift was over, then took me home with her and start checkin sources to see if someone was lookin for me, since it was apparent to her that Ah was well cared for an loved. Mom immediately called Walgreens, but the cashier had already gone home for the night. She talked to the manager who was understandably hesitant about giving out his employee's home phone number, but after mom described me and he heard the fear & despair in her voice, he caved and gave up the number. Mama was so nervous she couldn't even make the call, she had daddy do it. The lady was super nice and told daddy where she lived, she even refused their offer of a reward! The next day mom printed out the picture of me, Chili & Mik on the couch that is on the right side of our page, put it in a nice frame, got a gift certificate for blockbuster, and had dad deliver it with a thank you from all of us.
On Christmas morning there was a package under the tree to mom & dad from me, they were astounded when they opened it and inside was a plush husky that barks, wags his tail, and then gives sloppy wet kisses with his tongue. Ah figgered since Ah was already out of the yard and couldn't figure out how to get back in, it was the perfect opportunity for me to go find a great Christmas gift for mom & dad, to thank them for all they do for us. Mom loved the stuffed pup, but said having all 3 of her living, breathing, pooping huskies back home where they belonged was the best Christmas gift of all!