Monday 23 February

Here it is Monday night. We are doing fine, enjoying a little cool weather. Essex is still on medical leave from Angel Paws Dog Park. The paw seems to be healing, but the one digit is still a little swollen. Dog Dad hates leaving her behind, but you do what you have to do. Essex does get to go on a walk with Dad, when we get back from Angel Paws. Deacon barks "Essex and Dad, I want to come too" when they start to walk away from the house.

A Blue Monday

The injured paw

Like many of you we are thinking and praying that Bogart's Dad Klaus gets better. We are sending healing Collie powers from Key West his way. We sure hope they work.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Honest Weblog

His Royal Blue Majesty, the Blue Merle Sheltie named Ludo tagged us with the Honest Scrap award. "When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to said person so everyone knows he or she is real. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have 7 friends. Show the 7 random victims’ names and links and leave a harassing comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Weblog”. Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. List at least ten honest things about yourself. Then, pass it on!"Hmmmm, ten honest things about ourselves.

Essex

1 - I love fence patrol, I rather do fence patrol than eat cheese

2 - I knocked myself out one while doing fence patrol, I ran into a sign post

3 - My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is "Her Excellency Essex the Extemporaneous of Mellow under Trollness"

4 - Cheddar cheese is my favorite snack

5 - If Dad is sick, I stay by his bed

6 - I am a reserved Collie, it takes awhile before I trust someone

7 - When Dad comes home, I great him by going between his legs

8 - I hate taking a bath

9 - I have coughed up grass balls in the house

10 - I am wearing socks on my front paws right now

Deacon

1 - I rather have a treat than do fence patrol

2 - I love people and am very outgoing

3 - My Peculiar Aristocratic is "Grand Duke Deacon the Educated of Lower Wombleshire"

4 - I hate baths

5 - I frequently sleep by Dad's bed

6 - Once I almost pulled the baggy shorts off a teenage boy who was running in the dog park

7 - I push my food out of the bowl and get it all over the floor

8 - I bark just to hear myself bark sometimes.

9 - This was my third try at a furever home

10 - My buddy Ollie, likes to checking out my teeth at the Angel Paws

Here is the award

The lucky seven are Jake & JH, Madison, Snowball, Amber-Mae, Mack, The Four Musketeer, and Nigel, Sola & Company.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Foggy Day

The last two mornings we woke up to fog. Now that is normal for a lot of places, but it just isn't common here in Key West. Dog Dad remembers seeing lots of fog when he lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota; Lompoc, California or even Cleveland, Ohio. Heck, Ludo probably sees it every day. It was kind of neat to walk in the fog, though we weren't to thrilled with the wet paws.

Foggy day - What is out there?

Talking about paws, Essex stepped in some black gunk Thursday. Dad washed it off when we got home, but the left front paw looked irritated. Essex of course licked the paw some more. Dad started felt like he was getting sick. He spent a lot of time in bed the last two days, except to take us out to the dog park. Since the paw looks irritated, Dad told Essex that she is restricted from going to Angel Paws until she that paw gets better. He might even put a sock over the paw if she doesn't leave it alone.

More paw woes for Essex

I wonder if she will whoop up on me, if Dad takes me to the park and not her? I could take over fence patrol for the day. Do you think it would be worth the chance? Is Dad unfair it not letting her go to the park?

Dog Speed,

Deacon

Cocoa Mulch

First thing we did when we got out of bed was to check Opy & Charlies blog to see if they were okay. As of this morning they are okay. We will keep an eye out what is going on down under, until this threat subsides.

We got an e-bark from Holmhaven about the danger of cacoa mulch. We are always a bit suspicious of these so we checked snoops and hoax-slayer. The cacoa mulch is not good at all for dogs and cats. The cacoa tree is used to make cocoa and chocolate. There is a thing called Theobromine that is just not good for us. From what we gathered there has been only one reported death and a bunch of pupsters that got real sick.

Supposedly 98% of the dogs will not eat the mulch, but of the 2% that do 50% frequently get real sick. So tell you Mom and Dad about cacoa mulch. What is that you bark? Oh, the collies use cedar mulch around the yard.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Melbourne

Ever since Sunday, when Asta Australia told us about what was happening around Melbourne, Australia. We have been up to our eyebrows looking at maps of the area, reading the Melbourne Newspapers (http://www.theage.com.au) for news like Opy and Charlie suggested. We are also watching for posts from Opy, Charlie or Marvin's blog hoping to hear a bark saying we are okay. We know a few more towns in Australia, then we did last Saturday.

Those of you would like to can be like us and and say a prayer that the bush fires don't hurt anyone else. We hope for a slow steady rain to put the fires out.

Dog Speed,

Essex, Deacon and Dog Dad too.

Tagged Again

We got tagged again for the fifth photo tag. This time by our pals Abby and Aiden. We decided to try another place and this was the photo we came up with. It is our cousin Raffie helping another pup celebrate their barkday out west in Lost Wages (Las Vegas), Nevada back in 2006.

Missy (sheltie) celebrating barkday

We haven't ever met Raffie, but he does send us some pictures now and then. He sounds like a fun guy. We not worried about passing it on, because this is our second time.

For those of you that are concerned, Essex is doing better. To answer Madison's question, yes the paw pad will grow back. This is either the second or third time Essex has done that to a paw. She is very focused doing fence patrol. They don't call her the "Secretary of Da Fence" at Angel Paws for nothing folk.

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon

Correction: We found out that wasn't Raffie, but a Great Pyrenees puppy cousin.

Hurt Paw

Essex reporting. I managed to hurt my paw. I've been limping for a week and Dad finally got a chance to go to the vet yesterday. I managed to take a chunk out of my rear pad on my right hind paw doing fence patrol. Silly rocks. The fact I hurt it didn't stop me from doing fence patrol. After all I am Essex the Secretary of Da Fence and Protector of the Dog Park. We don't have Krypto here to protect us at Angel Paws.

I've hurt my paw before and Dad remembered the previous advice he got to put it in some Listerine mouth wash to kill those evil germs and avoid an infection. When the vet looked at, told Dad it was healing just fine and for him to put neosporin on it. Next he said no charge for the visit. Guess Dad and the vet get along well. Probably because Dad doesn't bounce off the wall.

When we went to the Angel Paws today we saw a really neat cloud formation. There was a solid gray blanket of cloud wall was toward the west. The sun bouncing off the leading edge of the cloud front gave one the impression you were looking at the wall of a cliff wall. Well, I here dinner clanking in my bowl and I'm hungry.

Dog Speed,

Essex

Dangerous flea/tick products

We interrupt this blog to bring you an important news bulletin. The good dogs at Holmhaven alerted us of this article. It is always nice to have someone who cares. Especially after you found your furever home (thanks Lil).

Well, it seems like flea and tick medication has caused serious problems with some pupsters and kitty cats out there. If you use something other than Frontline, Advantage or Advantix, we suggest you check out the following website: www.alternet.org/story/123420. Feel free to post about this and pass the story on to our other furry friends out in cyber-paw space.

The article made Dad glad he followed the guidance that was given. If you have read stories like this in the past or known someone who had an adverse reaction, we would like to hear about it. The same goes if you use the products and have no problems.

As our Latin fore-pawthers a pawzillion moons ago in ancient Rome would bark: "Latro! fremo! Ipsa scientia potestas est." (Translation "Woof! Grrrr! Knowledge itself is power.")

Dog Speed,

Essex & Deacon