We used to make sure that was the first thing we said on the first day of every month when we were kids.  I have a facebook friend who still posts it every month on the first.  Usually I’ve forgotten until about the third cup of coffee in the morning so I don’t know if this qualifies, especially since the morning is now nearly over, but here it goes, “Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit.”

Today Ray is eleven months old and since we are creeping up the actual birth day, I’ve been trying to think of a fun celebration idea.  I have a few possibilities in mind, among those getting him together with one of his littermates, doing a doggy party and, of course, some type of give away.   I’ll just need to keep noodling them around until something clicks.  We also forgot to mention that wrote a guest post for Peace Love & Whiskers which came out yesterday.  It’s Sparkle’s story.  I’ve written about her a few times and this post was in “her voice.”  Even more exciting is that another friend is considering  translating  it and publishing it in the Netherlands on the birthdate he shares with Ray to help raise awareness.  Squee!

We didn’t have many trick or treaters last night and I’m always amazed that Ray is not really a barker.  I gave him an empty gallon jug (we call it a crinkie) to chase around which kept him occupied quite a bit and whenever the doorbell rang, he’d look at the door but no barking.  His babysitter came with her little girl who gave Ray some treats through the gate while he concentrated on being small.

She had lots of fun giving “Way-Way” treats.  The only down side is that she wanted to give him so many I had to switch them to kibble so he didn’t end up with a tummy ache.

As of right now, I’m pretty well in weekend mode since I have tomorrow off, so I hope everyone excuses the random scatter that makes up this post.  Please feel free to wander by our Facebook page for more Ray-Ray. 

For some people it doesn’t last long enough and for others it lasts too long.  I do like puppy breath, but I don’t love it in that I didn’t notice it was gone until one day there was just…nothing.  Probably because he is still so young and because he is a chewer, he has nice white teeth and his breath smells like air. 

Clean teeth and a happy smile. 

I’ve read that rope toys kind of act like a floss and help keep plaque off of the teeth and if that is true, Ray should have some nice white chompers for life considering his obsession with his rope toys and any game of tug he can engage in.  But the other day, I realized I stick my fingers in his mouth all the time.  Ray likes to “hide” things in his mouth.  One of his favorite things to play with is an empty plastic milk jugs and the moment he gets the lid off, I say “Uh oh” and he usually knows to drop it right away.  Recenty he has begun to hold it in his mouth, back past his molars and between his teeth and cheek.  If I say, “Ray, what’s in your mouth?”  He turns his head away very nonchalantly as if to say, “Nothing, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mom.”  Usually I can get it by trading, but a few times I have just dug it out of the depths of his “massive Pit Bull jaws.”  I think he kind of likes that game.

Anyhow, I realized the other morning that all of this exploration in the depths of Rays mouth had probably set him up for some good hygene habits, so we dug this out to and started to use it.

We’re not up to the whole mouth yet, but are getting a pretty good portion of it because, after all a nice helping of poultry flavored tooth paste?  YUM!

Do you brush your pooches teeth?

When Ray was a little tiny puppy newly arrived at our home, he was happy and playful, but he wasn’t much of a tail wagger.  I found it a bit disconcerting because I although I could tell that he was happy, I wished for the normal outward sign afer all, who doesn’t like a little tail-wagging pup?

It kind of make you wonder, is he really happy or is he just a little chewy-monster who chases things? 

As he’s getting older, the tail wagging has gotten much more frequent and I’m learning a little better how to read his body language.  He and I have our rituals and I love that I recognize the specific small ways he shows affection.

This morning  I was enjoying my morning coffee as Ray was enjoying his morning Kong and we sat in a companionable silence near each other, with our own “treats.”  I happened to look at him just as he looked at me and as our eyes met, his tail wagged.  I love you, too, Baby Boy.

I wouldn’t even call it a lump so much as maybe a growth, but it started out looking like a bug bite or a pimple it was so small.  It was small and red like a bite and nearly flat.  The problem is that it grew daily until it looked like…not a bite anymore. 

I took Ray in to the vet a couple of weeks ago and we decided that if it grew significantly we would schedule the removal.  In that time it got to be about the lenght of my pinky fingernail, so I went ahead and made his appointment for this past Friday.  A day and a half before the surery, I was to begin giving him some Benadryl because if this ended up being a Mast Cell Tumor, those sometimes release histamines into the body when removed.  The Benadryl would be a precaution that wouldn’t hurt him if not needed.  How do you give a puppy Benadryl caplets? 

On a scrambled egg and peanut butter sushi roll up, of course!  These were the small capsules, 25 mg each, but you’d have thought it was the best treat ever. I guess if you’re Ray-Ray, it was.

As Ray told you yesterday, he did really well in the Vet’s office and we were happy that it was our favorite doc there to receive him and do the procedure.  She is young and patient and a Pit Bull type dog, owner who just thinks Ray is the cutest thing.  Love!

I dropped him off at about 8:45 and by 11:00 they were done and called to let me know that everything went well and that I could pick him up between 3:00 and 5:00.  When I got there, our poor little boy was still pretty disoriented and seemingly sore.  He stood quite a bit at home as if he didn’t want to lie down or lean on that leg.  And he whimpered.  A lot.  It was pretty heartbreaking to hear.  He also spent the first hour at home glaring at me through foggy eyes since I was the one to leave him alone at the doctor’s office.

.

So it will be a few days before we actually get the Histopathology report and we are hoping for just a benign growth.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.

In the meantime, Ray has been mostly leaving his stitches alone and has avoided the dreaded Cone of Shame. 

Thanks to everyone who sent their good vibes and please continue to do so while we await the test results.

After I wrote my post on Friday about the kitties, Mommy took me to see my favorite doctor.  She has a Pit bull type doggie, too, and she is always so nice to me.  When we went to the office, I walked in the door and sat down right away like a good boy.  We always do that in case the waiting room is full or chaotic.  But there was no one else there and so I went over to the big sitty-down thing that Mommy always has me sit on then she said, “Seventy-seven point two.”  What a silly thing to say.

Then Dr. M came out and petted me and I kissed her.  She is my favorite doctor.  We go see the Doctor’s office people every month then I sit on the sitty thing and then Mommy buys me a special once a month treat.  Last Friday was a different kind of visit,  Mommy left me there all day and when she picked me up I was wooozy and my leg hurted a bunch.  Mommy said I had  a surgery.

When we got home, I cried a lot but and Mommy and I had another slumber party, which made me stop crying a little.  The next day I felt better but I didn’t get to have any fun.  Mommy says I’m ‘cooperatin.  That means no tuggy games, no bye byes, no shopping and no going upstairs,  no fun for the Ray-Ray.

Mommy will tell you more about it tomorrow,

Hello friends!  Welcome to Canine Feline Friday.  Mom says we have to talk about the kitties every once in a while, and that Feline Friday is ususally a good time to do it.  I don’t know about that…I love my kitties and everything, but this is my blog…Peace a BULL, not Peace a Kitty.  That would just be too silly.

Anyhow, ‘member when I told you about my slumber party with Mommy?  And how my bubby, Jae, was telling me in his whiney voice about how he gets to sleep with Mommy every night?  Well, I just found this picture!

That’s him curled right up next to Mommy’s pillow.  I guess he was telling the truth, but that’s ok, ‘cuz look what I can do.

My bubby is always whining at the door to go outside, but he isn’t allowed to.  Well,  sometimes he can go on the patio, but what he really wants to do is eat grass.  Bubby, look at me!  I’m laying in the grass and you aren’t.  (haha)