Margot's First Play Date

I have so much to talk about this past weekend!  It started when Margot had a vet appointment on Saturday.  The office was packed that morning, so we ended up having to wait for about an hour.  While we were waiting, I think Margot made her first boyfriend, a little Jack Russell mix named Max.  Max’s owner and I were sitting directly across from each other in the waiting room, and Margot and Max kept meeting in the middle to sniff each other .  Margot really didn’t know what to think if Max at first because she was so much bigger than him, and he kept trying to play with her the same way she usually plays with Sam.  Once she got over the size difference, though, and started playing with him, it was neat to watch how gentle she was with this smaller dog.  Since Sam is so much bigger than her, Margot is used to full-on romping on top of Sam and playing with all her might.  With Max, however, Margot made sure not to swat him too hard whenever she’d paw at him, and she never even tried to romp on him.  Unfortunately, Max started to “fall in love” with Margot a little bit, if you catch my drift, and his owner and I decided that Margot and Max should take a little break from playtime. 



12 wks Vs. 15 wks.



As for Margot’s appointment, she weighed a whopping 28 lbs this week, and she received her last set of booster shots (the ones that make her immune to the Parvovirus).  The real news, though, is that Dr. Ellis said we could go ahead and have Margot spayed in three weeks, so we set up her appointment for October 23.  My poor puppy is going under the knife!  No, I’m actually totally okay with it.  I told Dr. Ellis during Margot’s very first check-up that I wanted to have her spayed as soon as she was old enough to do so because I didn’t want to make the same mistake with Margot as I did with Lexie. 

Lexie was around 8 years-old before she was finally spayed, but it wasn’t an elective surgery.  Lexie had developed pyometra as a result of having never been spayed (my late husband and I had considered breeding her just one time before we had her spayed, but after we finally decided we weren’t going to breed her, we just kept forgetting to have her spayed).  Lexie required life-saving, emergency surgery to remove her uterus, which ended up weighing 4 lbs. because it was full of blood and pus from the infection!  I felt like the WORST mother ever, and that day I vowed to NEVER put off spaying another dog.  Not only that, but I was later told that Lexie’s mammary cancer probably had a lot to do with the fact that she wasn’t spayed at a much earlier age.  So, YOU HEAR ME OUT THERE?!?!?  SPAY YOUR FEMALE DOGS ASAP!!!!!

Anyway, as I was saying, Margot is going to be spayed in three weeks, then, when she goes back ten days later to have her stitches removed, she’ll receive her rabies vaccination, and then that will be the end of her vaccination visits.  I guess my little girl officially isn’t a baby anymore.  :’-(



Yesterday, Justin and I decided to take Margot to Petco to buy her a new Nylabone.  She always loves going to Petco because she usually receives a lot of attention from the staff and other customers, and yesterday was no different.  The girl who checked us out gave Margot a free dog biscuit, and then after she talked to us for a little while about Dobermans and other dog-related things, she ended up giving Margot another biscuit before we left.  

As soon as we walked out of the store, Justin said, “I think you should call Brett and Courtney and see if Elsea wants to play.”  Brett and Courtney are friends of ours who own a 2-1/2 year-old, red Doberman named Elsea.  We’ve all been so anxious for Elsea and Margot to meet each other that we’ve literally been counting down the weeks until Margot was fully vaccinated and cleared to play with other dogs.  Even though Margot won’t be 16 weeks-old until Wednesday, Justin and I both decided that it was probably okay for her to go ahead and meet Elsea, as long as we didn’t take them to the park or anything.  So, I texted Brett and Courtney and set up their play date.

Meanwhile, Justin and I stopped at Walgreens so I could pick up a few things before we headed over to Brett and Courtney’s apartment.  While I was shopping, Justin walked Margot around the parking lot.  When I came out, Justin told me that Margot had just had two bouts of diarrhea.  We knew immediately that it had to have been from the free biscuits from Petco because Margot has experienced diarrhea in the past whenever she ate something other than her regular dog food and Iams puppy biscuits.  She must have a sensitive tummy.  I wasn’t too worried about it, but a few minutes after we got back in the car and started driving, Margot threw up.  Luckily, I had a sheet covering the back seat so I was able to quickly wrap up the mess, but several minutes later, she threw up again.  I felt so sorry for her!  She looked pitiful.  We considered postponing her play date, but we decided to go ahead and take her to Brett and Courtney’s and just play it by ear. 



Margot's first play date with Elsea!



Well, I’m glad we didn’t call off the play date because it ended up being so much fun!  It took Margot a good 20 minutes or so to warm up and probably shake off some of the car sickness, but after that she was perfectly fine.  Elsea kind of freaked her at first, though, because she’s so much bigger than Margot or even Sam, and Elsea kept running full-speed at Margot, causing her to hide behind me or Justin.  Like I said, though, once Margot warmed up to Elsea and realized that she wasn’t trying to hurt her, they got along really well.  They mostly just chased each other and explored the yard together, but they also had a brief wrestling match a little later on while they were lying on the porch.  Brett, Courtney, and I took pictures the WHOLE time, of course.  Haha!  What can I say?  We were some happy, proud parents watching our kids finally playing together and getting along so well. 



Brett with Elsea and Justin with Margot



As I’m sure you can imagine, Margot spent a large majority of the rest of the day napping, as she was pretty worn out from all of the excitement.  Before we left Brett and Courtney’s, though, we talked about going to the dog park together later this week, after Margot officially turns 16 weeks-old.  I would love to take Sam, too, but I may take Margot by herself the first time just to see how it goes.  Sam, believe it or not, is quite a handful to take out on her leash.  She just gets SO EXCITED that she pulls and barks constantly.  I know it’s probably just a matter of working with her in order to correct those bad behaviors, but that’s where I keep falling short because I simply dread taking her out.  (It’s that bad.)  I know that I need to, though, because it isn’t fair to leave Sam at home while Margot gets to go out for walks and play at the dog park.  So, maybe I’ll do that this evening when I get home.  In fact, maybe Justin and I will take Sam by HERSELF up to the dog park as sort of a trial run.  Yeah!  I like that idea a lot, actually.  :)

Busy Weekend

"Oh, Mom...."

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend much time with Justin and the girls this weekend because I stayed pretty busy.  I spent all day Saturday (from about 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM) running back and forth between photo shoots for a 2013 calendar I’ve been putting together all year and a really cute vintage store downtown called Finds and Designs, for whom I sometimes photograph local models wearing their latest vintage clothing arrivals.  Don’t get me wrong, all of my photo shoots that day were SUPER fun, but after lugging around my 50-pound camera bag all day, I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got back to Justin’s parents’ house.  There was no rest for the weary, however, because we still needed to clean the house and pack up all our stuff so that we’d be ready to leave when his parents returned from the beach that evening. 

Hanging with Uncle Zach and Aunt Kristy

Yesterday, Kristy, Mandee, Susie, and I all drove to Charleston to watch Kristy try on wedding dresses, and then we grabbed a late lunch.  That was also a lot of fun, but by the time we returned home around 6:00 PM, I was exhausted yet again and ended up crashing on the couch for a 2-hour nap!  I woke up just in time to be able to quickly straighten up the living room and run the vacuum before Zach and Kristy came over to watch Boardwalk Empire.  Then, as soon as the show was over and they left, I still had to finish editing the photos I shot for Finds and Designs the day before because I knew they were probably hoping that I would have the photos uploaded to their Facebook page that night.   I finally got the photos finished and uploaded around 11:30 PM.

Sam and Margot playing tug

Needless to say, I don’t really feel like I had much of a weekend, but at least it was full of things that were fun, and even though I didn’t get to play with Margot much, I still got plenty of cuddles from her each night when I got home.   Not only that, but she and Sam played SO MUCH this weekend!  I feel like I keep repeating this, but it truly is remarkable how much Sam’s attitude has changed towards Margot.  I love watching Sam play more than anything.  Saturday morning, I managed to snap a photo of them playing tug with one of Margot’s toys, which Sam occasionally used to do with Lexie and her stuffed animals.  I almost cried.  (Almost.)

As for Miss Margot, she is such a little snaggle-tooth right now!  I took a couple photos of her teeth last night because it’s just too funny.  In the top photo, I can see one of her adult teeth is starting to come in on the top row.  She’s growing up so fast!!!



Margot the Snaggle-Tooth



What a Fantastic Weekend!

Daddy's girls

Justin’s parents are on vacation this week, so we are returning the pet-sitting favor they did for us recently by house-sitting and watching their 16 year-old babies, a Boxer mix named Samantha and their beautiful, black kitty, Salem.  Sam and Margot are staying at the house with us, of course, and it kind of feels like we’re all on a sort of mini-vacation together.  I especially love it for our girls because they love spending time on the screened-in, wrap-around porch (as do I) and in Justin’s parents’ big, fenced-in back yard. 

This past Saturday was one of the nicest Saturday’s we’ve had in a LONG time.  It was the annual Chili Fest, held in downtown Huntington.  Lots of vendors line 3^rd Avenue serving various kinds of chili and other local fare (I hate my first funnel cake!), while musicians play in Pullman Square throughout the day.  Between musical performances, there are various contests held, concluding with the big chili contest winner announcement at the end of the evening.  Unfortunately, because I’ve been a wedding photographer for the past eight years, I have only been able to attend one or two Chili Fests because I usually had to shoot a wedding on that day.  So, this year, not only was I excited to be able to attend, but Justin and I decided to take Margot and make this her first big, “official” public outing!

Margot the socialite at Chili Fest.

Mind you, Margot is still not cleared to socialize with other dogs or in public parks for another two and a half weeks, but Chili Fest only comes once a year, and the entire event takes place on paved roads and sidewalks.  Plus, she HAS had the majority of her vaccinations at this point; therefore, we decided to let our guard down just a bit for this one, special occasion (although, even as I’m typing this, I’m cringing at the fact that we took that risk).  Thankfully, Margot hasn’t shown any signs of Parvo or any other health concerns since the Chili Fest, so I think it’s safe to say that she’s going to be fine.  (whew!)

My "kiddos" at Chili Fest!  (Ashley and Margot)

Anyway, I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful Margot was at the Chili Fest.  I let Justin have the honor of walking her because I knew she’d probably receive a ton of attention, and I wanted Justin to be able to enjoy that attention, as well.  And boy, was Margot ever a hit at the Chili Fest!  Justin, Ashley, and I couldn’t walk more than a few feet before someone would stop us and ask if they could pet Margot.  At one point, Justin and Margot literally became surrounded in the middle of the street as we were trying to cross, and I said to Ashley as we stood there waiting, “We should have just set up a booth for Margot!”  I loved watching Justin and Margot receive so much attention, though.  I could tell that Justin enjoyed telling people about her (what breed she is, her age, explaining why her ears aren’t cropped, etc.), and Margot was very impressive in the way she handled all of the attention from so many strangers.  At first, I was afraid that the large crowd might intimidate her and make her a little nervous, but she was calm, curious, and even downright polite to every stranger she met!  Anytime someone extended their hand to pet her, whether it was an adult or a child, Margot simply sat and gladly welcomed their affection.   Justin was especially pleased with how well she behaved with children.  She never got too excited or overly playful, not even with the handful of other dogs she encountered (although, because I was still trying to be at least a little bit cautious, I wouldn’t let Margot do more than just briefly sniff other dogs).  In fact, Margot was so well behaved that several people mistakenly thought she was an adult Miniature Pinscher, and they were shocked to learn that she was only a 13 week-old Doberman puppy.   Yes, I hate to be one of “those mothers,” but I have to say that Margot truly was a perfect little angel that day.  Justin and I are so proud of her. 



The best family midday nap EVER!

When we returned from the Chili Fest, we were all pretty exhausted, and Justin, Sam, Margot, and I all fell asleep on the outdoor porch furniture that afternoon.  It was probably one of the most pleasant, relaxing midday naps I’ve ever had in my life.  The weather was sunny and beautiful, in the mid- to high-70’s, and I loved hearing the leaves rustling on the trees in the back yard whenever a nice, cool breeze blew through.  In fact, napping on the screened-in porch is probably going to be a daily activity for me until Justin’s parents come home, as Sam, Margot, and I enjoyed yet another outdoor midday nap yesterday afternoon, as well. 



Believe it or not, this is a very good thing!

Overall, I honestly can’t remember the last time we enjoyed such a nice weekend.  Sam and Margot both seem very happy, and they have even spent at least several minutes playing together every single day since that first time they played together last week!  Plus, ever since Sam decided to engage in a little daily playtime with Margot, Margot has been much less annoying and demanding of Sam’s attention.  I have jokingly said that Sam has probably just decided that if she can’t beat her, she might as well join her, like, “Okay, little one.  Let’s get this playtime over with so you’ll leave me alone for the rest of the night….”  Of course, I’d rather believe that Margot has successfully managed to bring out Sam’s “inner child” and that Sam actually enjoys their playtime as much as Margot, and I honestly think she does.  You should see the smile on my face whenever those two are playing, too.  To say that it makes me very happy would be quite an understatement.  :)



Weekend Highs and Lows

Well, we certainly had an interesting weekend.  It started on Friday, when Justin took Sam to his parents’ house to drop her off for the weekend.  I decided not to go with him because I thought it might be too difficult for me, but we received updates all weekend and she apparently really enjoyed herself.  We’ll probably be going up there tonight to pick her up and bring her home for the week.

9 wks Vs. 12 wks (The bigger she gets, the more afraid she is to be up on the counter.)

Saturday morning, we took Margot for her 12-week check-up and another round of vaccinations at the Animal Care Clinic.  The last time I was at the vet, it was when I took Jocie to find out what was wrong with her, and I was told she had advanced kidney failure and, unfortunately, I felt it was best to euthanize her.  After that visit, the receptionist told me not to worry about making a payment at that time.  She said she’d just bill me.  Therefore, I was fully expecting to pay around $200 when we checked out after Margot’s appointment on Saturday.   I also knew that Jocie’s ashes were ready to be picked up (a separate charge of $256), which Justin had generously offered to pay for me.  However, I was quite shocked when I was told that my total account balance was over $400, which did not include Jocie’s cremation and ashes!  That included x-rays, blood work, and who knows what other tests they did in order to diagnose Jocie’s kidney failure.  The only reason why I’m kind of put off about this total is simply because I wasn’t given any sort of heads up about it beforehand.  Usually, the vet will call and ask permission to do a bunch of tests like that while also giving me an estimate of how much it will cost.  I’m not saying I would have denied Jocie any of the tests she had done, I’m just saying that it sucked being blindsided with a total that was more than double what I was expecting to pay!

Thankfully, they are allowing me to make payments, but this really doesn’t help my already bleak financial situation at the moment.  To make matters worse, this weekend was my little brother’s 30^th birthday and all of our friends were planning to have dinner together, then go out to a bar afterwards.  After giving the Animal Care Clinic 2/3 of what was in my bank account that morning, I seriously questioned whether or not I would be able to go out and celebrate my brother’s birthday that night.  Justin happened to have a friend in from out of town, whom he said he could hang out with for free, and he, therefore, insisted I take the only $20 bill he had in his wallet so that I could join our friends for Zach’s birthday dinner and drinks.  The only reason I felt okay with this arrangement, though, was because Justin was already planning to make a big pot of chili to take over to Zach and Kristy’s the next day, which was Zach’s actual birthday, and spend the entire day watching football with everyone. 



So, I went out Saturday night without Justin, but by the end of the night I wasn’t so sure if it had been such a good idea, after all.  Maybe it was the pitcher of margaritas I had shared during dinner plus the few beers I had while at the bar, but I got a little teary towards the end of the night.  I just hated the fact that Justin wasn’t there due to our horrible financial situation, on top of all the other crap that has happened this past summer.  I just feel like I’m not really dealing with everything very well , and I keep trying to ignore the pain of it all by distracting myself and pretending to be happy and okay.  The downside to this strategy, of course, is the fact that my repressed pain and depression is finding the most inopportune times to rear it’s ugly head and create embarrassing social situations for myself (i.e. while sitting at my desk at work, while eating out at a restaurant, while hanging out with friends, etc.). 



Margot watching football with Justin.  (So cute!)



Anyway, Sunday was a little bit better.  Justin made his fabulous veggie chili, I made a batch of buffalo cheese dip, and we took Margot over to Zach and Kristy’s place for a day of watching football.  I’m not the world’s biggest football fan, mind you, but I enjoyed spending the day with friends and eating TONS of yummy food.  It was definitely a prime socializing experience for Margot, too, as she played her little heart out with all of our friends.  The boys, especially, loved rough-housing with her.  By the end of the night, she was completely WIPED OUT!  In fact, she was so zonked that she barely woke up when I scooped her up in my arms and carried her home. 

All in all, I think Justin and I did a decent job of making the most out of this past weekend.  I know that Margot had a fantastic time, and hopefully Sam enjoyed her puppy-free weekend relaxing over at Justin’s parents’ house.  I can’t wait to pick her up tonight and bring her home!  I missed my Samul cuddles. 

Sam just being Sam