Turning the Corner…Day One Hundred Eighty Three

June 2, 2011 By Jodi

I am happy to report that today I have turned the corner and am now over halfway thru my year of writing a daily blog. I have to admit that I did miss one day (when my granddaughter was born) but with that exception, I have been writing EVERY single day since December 1, 2010.

It has been a very challenging, hectic and at times stressful six months, but I am still happy that I undertook the blog challenge.

I am not the only one who has faced and conquered challenges in our household. As some of you may know Miss Delilah has had some health incidents which has required the dogs to have lifestyle as well as dietary changes. (I am still working on that page!)

As of April 2010 the dogs went partially on the raw diet; kibble in the morning, raw food at night. They were going to daycare twice a week. In the fall we started walking them at night but when winter arrived, the ice challenge was too much to walk on the streets.

It was around January that I really explored the park at the top of the street and began taking the dogs up there for exercise. We began walking, a LOT! We also transitioned to ALL raw food. Delilah particularly began to look very svelte. Sampson was losing weight too, but not as quickly as Delilah.

On May 26th we celebrated the fourth anniversary of Delilah’s entrance into our lives. You know what that means…yup time to visit the vet for our annual check up and see if our hard work and dedication has paid off. Of course we all pile into the car because we can’t take one dog to the Vet and leave the other dog home.

You may not know this about me or my husband, but we don’t wait well. So as soon as we walked into the Vet’s office, we popped the big boy on the scale.

Chet gasped, “NO WAY!”

Drum Roll please………..92.1 pounds! ( That’s 41.8 kg for my Canadian friends.) This is the first time the big guy has been under 100 pounds (50 kg) in about 4 or 5 years! His total weight loss…..15.9 pounds! (7.2 kg) Our Vet would like to see him drop about another 10 pounds (4.5 kg,) but I’m not really sure that is feasible for him, he does have a really big frame.

Next up…..Delilah. Dare I say Drum Roll again? Oh, I just did. Drum Roll…………73.1 OMG! (33.2 kg) That is three pounds (1.4 kg) less than when we got her! Total weight loss 33.4 pounds (15.2 kg).

Delilah looks so slim and trim I even asked the Vet, “Do you think she is too thin?”

“No” she is perfect!

I concur.

In this corner, looking svelte and slim and weighing in at 73.1 pounds......Delilah Stone

In this corner, weighing 92.1 pounds.....Sampson Stone

Idiosyncrasies….Day One Hundred, Eighty Two

June 1, 2011 By Jodi

I love the little eccentric things my dogs do that make them unique. I am reminded on a daily basis of the unfettered joy and zest for life that dogs have. It is a lesson we can all take from dogs, just to enjoy the simple things in life.

Take Delilah for example, every morning she lies on my bed waiting for me to finish getting ready for work so I can feed them. She waits very patiently, up to a point. Then she deems I have spent enough time on myself and it is now time for her. She pushes the bathroom door open, comes up behind me and sticks her head between my legs. I reach down and pet her, rub her ears and quietly speak to her. Then she slowly navigates her body all the way through, tail wagging happily. It is as though she likes the closeness and security of something holding her on either side of her body. Then she goes back into the bedroom to wait until I am done.

Sampson on the other hand normally lies in bed until I have completely finished my morning ritual. It is then my responsibility to rub his ears and sing his morning song to him. Once I stop rubbing, he rolls onto his back with all four paws in the air and I rub his belly. Then, and only then will he get up. If I rub his ears too long (in her opinion) Delilah will begin barking at me, this is her way of saying, “Enough about him, it is time for MY breakfast!”

This morning I was ready for work BEFORE 7:00 am. These occurrences are few and far between and really throw the dogs off. Since I am out of the bedroom, they are certain it is time for breakfast. When I started doing other chores, they were a little puzzled.

Delilah followed me everywhere I went, right on my heals barking at me. Sampson apparently recognizing Delilah’s method wasn’t working, picked up a ball and threw it at me.

I picked it up and threw it back. Sampson grabbed the ball, blew past me into the bedroom and laid on the bed as if to say, “If I’m cute enough, will you feed me?”