fun pups

Tomorrow Tessie will be 10 months old.  Skippy will be 9 months old next week.  They are growing quickly and it is very hard to believe it has been almost seven months since we brought them home.  On the other hand, it seems as if they have been here forever.  Looking at pictures from when we first brought them home is funny because they look so small...even though day-to-day we don't notice any change.  Skippy could basically sit in the palm of your hand.  This first picture is from their first night with us (back in Hudson). 

They have done a lot since March ...puppy K, puppy grad class, the move to Hopedale, camping, a week at Cape Cod, learning to swim, etc.  I was thinking of my favorite moments with them so far.  Tessie has come so far from the terrified puppy that wouldn't leave the dog bed in the first days at home.  She is still shy but has made great strides.  She loves other dogs, her favorite (other than Skippy) being Bindi the American Bulldog that lives behind my mom.  My favorite moment so far with Tessie was bringing the puppies to Crow's Pasture for the day during our week at the Cape in August.  We walked far out while the tide was out and Tessie loved running around in the tidal pools and the shallow waves.  

Skippy has been in a good mood for the last seven months.  He is always happy and always wants to kiss.  He doesn't like to play rough with us like Tessie does, he would rather cuddle on the couch.  He loves to be with people and he's very nosey and curious.  My favorite Skippy moment so far was the first night he began his sleeping poses.  Paul & I were watching a movie and as it was ending we noticed Skippy sleeping flat on his back with his legs straight up in the air.  We took some pictures and then put them together on the computer to make this animated gif that makes him look like he's dancing.  We laughed very hard that night.

oops!

The craziness continues.  The puppies have been doing well since I returned to work.  They are alone from about 8:30-4:00 each day and they do so well.  They have no accidents and other than eating the mail one day, they haven't destroyed anything.  

Of course, this week they had a bit of a reprieve from staying by themselves.  On Tuesday night at about 10:00 we were all up in the bedroom, as Paulie had just mounted the flat screen on the wall.  He went to take the puppies for their last out before bed.  Skippy followed him downstairs but Tessie, who had been unusually clingy to me all night, wouldn't go.  I got up and decided I would walk her downstairs.  I got to the top of the stairs and I thought I felt her coming up behind me (oftentimes the puppies will blow by us, practically under our feet, almost knocking us over).  I turned to see if she was coming as I was stepping down onto the first step.  I lost my footing and fell backwards.  I hit the back of my head on the top stair and tumbled halfway down the staircase.  When I stopped I picked my head up to see my little toe on the my left foot pointing out sideways.  

Paul took me to the emergency room where we found out I had broken the fifth metatarsal - the bone that runs up the outside of the foot into the little toe.  They splinted it and gave me a walking cast (that I have yet to be able to walk in).  They told me I would need the crutches for at least a week until I could put pressure on it.  I ended up missing two days of work - which I was not happy about, especially this early in the school year.  However, everyone was great about it and everything seems to have worked out.  I returned to work on Friday.  

Both puppies are scared of the crutches.  Tessie runs the other way when I am using them.  They both want to lay with me when I am elevating my foot, which makes for a very crowded couch.  On Wednesday I had Tessie lying between my legs and Skippy on my chest.  We ll took a nap together.  When I had my knee surgeries in high school I learned the frozen peas trick.  Frozen peas make for the BEST ice packs because they mold right to your body.  When I put the frozen peas on my foot, Skippy enjoys licking the bag.  I think if I let him he would try to eat right through it.  I wouldn't think that frozen peas have a strong smell but maybe he just likes the ice on the bag.

Both puppies have been very well behaved.  We were supposed to walk in the MSPCA Walk for Animals today.  Paul and I did it last year for the first time without any dogs and had such a great time.  I was so looking forward to bringing Tess & Skip for their first time this year.  I know they would have LOVED it.  They will have to wait for the '09 walk....it is such a great time, I know we will continue to do it each year.  If you want to help, visit http://www.mspca.org to donate.  It is such a wonderful organization that helps so many animals in the area.