Four Hounds for the Fourth
My mom, brother and his wife came over this afternoon for a Fourth of July cookout at the Blonde estate. In honor of Independence Day, we decided to liberate their hounds from an afternoon in their cages and instead invited both Bailey and Noah over to celebrate their freedom with the Disaster Twins.
Bailey and Noah were overcome with patriotism, and in absence of a flag, opted to wave thy tongue in joy and celebration of the Fourth of July.
Fierce
Halas, baby.
Mommy didn’t know you had this kind of spunk in you.
Looking fierce, Hal, looking fierce.
Aunt Bailey
The Disaster Twins got to chill with their “Aunt” Bailey for several hours today when the Blonde family made a trip to my mom’s house to help her clean out the garage and do some yard work.
Every year when Mother’s Day rolls around, my brother and I ask my mom what she would like to do, and every year we get the same response:
“All I want is for you to come over and help me work in the yard for a day.”
Can do.
Mom told us to bring the Disaster Twins this year since her dog, Bailey, likes to run amok with them now that they’ve outgrown their rambunctious puppy stage.
Bailey greeted us at the door, and the trio spent the next six hours running in circles, leaping over furniture, barking at neighbors out the window, and sniffing each other’s rear ends while mom, SpiderHusband, and I reorganized the garage, trimmed bushes, created a planter box, and planted flowers in the yard.
Halas and Lombardi, who, I suspect, usually spend the same six hours of their day sleeping, crashed when we got back home. In fact, Lombardi is sacked out underneath the computer desk as I sit here typing while Halas and SpiderHusband are knocked out in the bed.
Playing with Aunt Bailey is hard.
A Chow by Any Other Name
Yes. SpiderHusband and I are those kind of people who make up ridiculous names for their dogs.
Halas goes by many names in the Blonde household…
Halitosis
SuperHALifragilisticexpialidocious
Halas Montgomery Shepherd (for those of you Grey’s Anatomy fans out there)
Halibu’s Most Wanted
But, today, Halas earned her latest nickname after SpiderHusband spotted the two giant claw marks running down my leg courtesy of Thing Number One and heard my latest theory that she is, indeed, part cougar. And, I give you…Halas Cougar Mellencamp.
This is an all new low, even for SpiderHusband.
And, I thought my shout out to Fergie Ferg with “Bardilicious” was as low as you could go.
But, let’s be honest, Lombardi DOES put them chows on rock, rock.
Splish, Splash, Chows Were Taking a Bath
Saturday was the dreaded bath day in the Blonde home. Bath day typically coincides with The Blonde washing the bedsheets day since the princesses have taken up residence in our bed over the past several months. Clean sheets and dirty chows are a combination for disaster.
Miss Halas and Miss Lombardi have joined the green revolution with our latest eco-friendly pet shampoo purchase of earthbath: Good for the Planet Totally Natural Pet Shampoo. SpiderHusband, Disaster Twin bather extraordinaire, gives two thumbs up to the Oatmeal & Aloe Shampoo. I’m told it lathers most excellently, and it certainly is an olfactory improvement over the usual eau de Chow-Chow that the dynamic duo typically sports.
Four Fried Chickens and a Coke
Halas is what you call a power-eater.
Well, until we recently transitioned the Disaster Twins completely over to adult dog food. After 18 months of dining on the finest Nutro Lamb and Rice Large Breed Puppy Formula dog food, Halas has taken to reluctantly lapping up her food while intermittently gagging herself and spitting it back out in protest. L
You can live the dream yourself with this picture - note Lombardi on the left delightfully woofing down her dinner and Halas on the right hacking it back up:
At first we thought she might be sick until one of the trainers at PetSmart told us that adult dog food is void of the extra fat and protein that makes the food taste yummy and that it wasn’t uncommon for dogs to have this reaction when the puppy food is replaced. We further tested this theory by buying a different flavor for the beasts - Nutro Chicken Meal, Rice & Oatmeal - which was promptly scarfed down when mixed with the Lamb & Rice formula at home.
The enthusiasm lasted for about two meals.
Little brat.
We thought we might be able to woo Halas with a cool new paw-shaped food scoop that is the exact size of her breakfast and dinner portions. And, it’s even pink!
Apparently, it’s delicious.
If all else fails, at least we know she’ll eat plastic.
Tramps Like Us, Baby We Were Born to Run
The Disaster Twins changed up their workout routine walking with The Blonde this week to get some quality time with their fearless leader, SpiderHusband.
I’m pretty sure they had no idea that quality time entailed running (and possibly being dragged) three miles through the neighborhood to help their Doggy Daddy prepare for the Mini-Marathon in May.
I don’t think the dynamic duo will be joining him again any time soon.
PB and Chow-Chows
One of my husband’s favorite pastimes is mocking my love of law and order. No, not the TV series, although I DO really love those too. Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, or Law & Order: Criminal Intent - makes no difference to me, I’ll watch them for hours and hours. He says I like to follow rules. And, when it comes to the Disaster Twins, I’m afraid he’s right.
I’m a total dog food snob. No human food for Miss Halas or Miss Lombardi. No wet dog food or treats. No rawhide bones. I listen to everything our veterinarian says and follow his instructions to the letter. I mean a vet’s an authority figure, right?
Before you think I’ve totally lost my mind, just let me say that I’ve never been completely responsible for another living thing before. I guess you could count my fish, but really when your pet only survives for a month under your watchful eye, you don’t really have time to bond. That’s a tough legacy to overcome - it’s a lot of pressure. We’ve been following the rules for about a year and a half, and what can I say…both dogs are still breathing and have all of their limbs in tact. Who can argue with that?
So, imagine the puppy glee that echoed through the Blonde house when it was discovered that peanut butter is on the approved list.
18 months of being ignored and now the Kong totally rocks.
Law and order never tasted so sweet.
