This is why we have leash laws people!

So this weekend was supposed to be like any other.  Sleep in, walk the dogs, get ready, etc.  This weekend I woke up early, couldn't get back to sleep, and decided to walk to the park that is directly north to us.  We usually go to the park east of us, but this weekend I thought it would be more stimulating to go somewhere we had not been before.  As I explained in an earlier post, I walk the dogs separately except for Odus and Io.  They have been walking together since puppydom and get along well. 

This past Saturday we ran into a woman who said her dog, a Chihuahua had gotten loose from the leash and if we saw it could we please bring it to her.  The dog was wearing tags and would not come when she called.  I lied and said of course I would but I walked in the opposite direction. I don't like messing with dogs off-leash.  They are dangerous.  I don't care how in control someone thinks they are of their off-leash dog.  Dogs are like children.  They most of the time know the rules, but will break them in tempting situations.  I NEVER have my dogs off-leash.....EVER!  And furthermore, dogs that are on-leash and are approached by an unfriendly off-leash dog will go on the defense.  It's an unfair advantage.

The woman's Chihuahua saw us from across the park and booked it towards us.  This thing was like a miniature Cujo.  It literally had no fear and attacked my dogs.  During this chaos, it is was all I could do to keep my dogs from grabbing a hold of its neck and killing it.   There was no way I was going to risk my dogs killing another even though they were attacked, only to have them labeled vicious dogs by the City of Albuquerque. 

After two rounds with this Chihuahua, we finally managed to leave the park tired, out of breath, and not sure if we were in fact all in-tact.  Odus suffered the most damage.  Io has too much fur that the Chihuahua could not grab her skin.  My poor Bubbie got beat up a Chihuahua:(

This is the same bite wound.  There was one on his face and two other on the opposite leg.

Needless to say I had a minor breakdown when we got home.  Thanks to my mom who talked me through a few phone rounds and came to view the damage as a second opinion.  I flushed out the wounds with warm water and took him to the vet the next day.  Hello vet bill #2 for the month.  We rewarded Odie with a trip to Sonic after the visit for fries for his bravery and the fact that a small dog got the better of him.

He is now wearing a cone to keep him from licking his battle wounds.  He has an evening and a day time look.  We have a clear cone to wear in the day time so his peripheral vision isn't affected.  I thought Sputnik would be an appropriate nickname, Charles however informed me that Sputnik was not round and therefore said we should call Odie Saturn 5.  Whatever.

His evening look is a soft cone that will mold to whatever he is sleeping on.  I already feel bad enough that he has to wear the stupid thing so it may as well be comfortable.  It is black however and I am afraid Odie might go to the dark side with it on.  Enter heavy breathing...................Darth Vader!

 
Odie is on the mend and hopefully will escape another vet visit if he ever stops licking.  Poor guy has been in a cone most of his life.  He has been receiving extra treats on the request of his grandfather.  I doubt he will have PTSD and will go back to walking as normal.

I spy.....

I spy with my little eye.....Ecco.

Found this silly girl snuggling in the sheets this morning trying to hide.  She did not want to get out of bed.

"Stop taking pictures of me...I'm really tired."

"I don't see you."

What we've been up to.....

Haven't felt much like blogging lately.  The new year's resolutions are already crumpled in the trash and I haven't quite felt like myself since Christmas.  I haven't been able to get into the "swing of things" and have been neglecting certain activities that need addressing.  No worries - the weather has finally warmed up and I'm feeling like tasks will once again be accomplished.

So far since we last blogged, Odie has turned 5!!!  I'm still working on making a birthday hat (something I am positive Odie wishes would not come to fruition) and holding a small celebration for the rest of the pack to hail the leader.  That means probably a lone drive with Odie to the drive-thru for some fries and then making peanut butter yogurt ice cubes for dessert.

Does he look older??? Nahh!  Maybe just a little stressed out and annoyed that the refrigerator is not open - fat chance buddy!

We've had massive amounts of snow at our house in the past two weeks and a couple of days of horrid temperature drops.  Odie was the only smart dog of the bunch who decided that is was better to bury himself in the fleece sheets and pretend he did not hear me when I called for bathroom breaks outside.  We did not capture any pictures of the snow sadly.  My fingers were too cold to want to point and click.  We turned our thermostat down to 60 degrees to save heat for the people in northern New Mexico who went without - worst couple of days I might add.   Once again, Odie had the right idea of staying in bed or directly in front of the heater.  Io was disappointed that we didn't share the same enthusiasm for the bitter cold and promptly outdid herself the first day it reached above 34 degrees and sprained her ankle.

$200 later and a trip to the vet and we were all healed.  Thank heaven for credit cards!

Thought briefly about giving Ecco away for free when she did this:

That would be the notice we receive every year to update the city license.  Io was due for her renewal this year and that would be her card.  The thing is is that you have to send the bloody card in with your payment in order to receive credit for your civic duty.  I rescued the card before Io's pertinent information was destroyed.  I am sure the people in Texas who process this nonsense will get a kick out of the chew marks.  I am positive this is not the first time this has happened.  Thankfully Ecco had a get-out-of-jail free card because she is the best walker of the bunch.  She just about lost that card when I caught her barking out the front window at nothing and then pretending that she herself was doing nothing.  Classic dog trick.....I am not amused.

"What?  I wasn't doing anything....you imagined all the barking."

We painted part of the sun room.

Thought we were going to get away without any mishaps and then we spotted little blue ears last night.

I only managed to get one decent photo of one of the ears.  Luna decided to be camera shy.  The paint was also on the inside of her ear....I have no idea....

We also tore up the zipper on our communal den bed (it will not be replaced) and ate our bed...again:)

And we've been sleeping a lot.  Odie and I tend to agree the best way to cope with stress, cold weather, nothing to watch on TV, and many other scenarios not worth mentioning is to sleep.

Lastly, I want to boast that Odie made the smiling dogs internet addition for the Bark magazine.  You can view his grin on the link here.  Make sure to click on the February 7th dogs.