Hickory Hill Farm Girls...

Carly (left) and WMBBD Bella (right)

While I continue to pull together my ideas for the Summer Serenade - Bluebirds piece, there were more than a few moments that were just spent enjoying the outdoors with Handsome and the ladies. I'm just sharing photographs of our girls with you today, so I can work on a few things to show you tomorrow.

WMBBD Liljegren's Suncoast Bella

Liljegren's Suncoast Carly

Hickory Hill Farm's Claudette

Hickory Hill Farm's Crystal

Tuesdays With Tag - Time To Celebrate...

Hi, Everybody!

Mom and I hit the road for a few special errands yesterday. Our WMBBD is havin' a Birthday this week, so we went checkin' out ideas for presents. 

I wanted to drive, but Mom said there's the not-so-small matter of my short legs. In the end, I moved over and let her take the wheel. I must say it was a good day to travel. The sunshine shone through the windows on our Explorer, and it was great for catchin' a few winks while Mom ran into the grocery store!

I'm only sharin' a couple photos today. Boo's actual Birthdate is on Thursday, so Mom is gonna share new photographs of her on her big day. Our WMBBD is nine this year. Wasn't she a cute puppy? I remember pickin' her out of the litter just like it was yesterday. (You're cryin'. I'm not cryin'!)

Here she is with her kid (in front). Mama's a little greyer and her eyes have a blue cast now, but she's still our best girl and we love her loads. 

I hope you'll be back to visit on Thursday and leave a Birthday message for Bella that Mom and I can read to her in between Birthday treats.

We're lookin' forward to a week of mild and sunny weather. Could it be more perfect to celebrate our Birthday girl? We don't think so. I'm gonna leave you to enjoy our pictures this week. 

PS. I know you might have been expectin' my monthly dog jokes this week. I'm gonna share some giggles with you next week instead.

I'll see you again in seven. 'til then... "Always make time for dog snuggles."

While We Waited...

 

We spent most of the day in Madison at the UW-Veterinary Care Clinic with our beautiful Bella. We had an appointment for their vet team to do an ultrasound in search of the cause of her current condition. I know I've been a bit obtuse about that lately, but I'll say that she was spayed over two years ago, and as we looked back at her medical history, we realized she was trying to have a heat cycle every six months. Last December, when her daughter came in heat, Bella joined her with a full blown heat herself. Did I mention she was spayed over two years ago?

 

Well, the ultrasound revealed the cause for her current state. She had ovarian remnants specifically, three follicles (where eggs reside until a heat cycle). Today, she'll have surgery to remove them.

We believe as a side effect of her hormonal "surprises", she also developed an aggressive streak. Aggression was the very last thing we expected from her, as she's been a sweet dog since we got her at twelve weeks old. Tag was usually the object of her ire, but when Carly was home - before Florida and more recently - Bella also turned her attention to her daughter. Our regular vet (not who performed the spay) is confident the aggression will disappear in six weeks or so as her body adjusts. 

While we waited for test results, I managed to do a very little bit of needlework. I'll continue to work on this more over the next few days. I'll be keeping this one for the time it will represent for me.

We'll get a call from the clinic after her surgery today, and she'll be in Madison one more night for observation before we go back and collect her tomorrow. We're looking forward to having her home and pampering her as she heals. 

 

If you're the praying sort, we'd appreciate it if you'd pray that our girl comes through surgery with flying colors. If you don't pray, a few good thoughts would be perfect, too. I'll let you know tomorrow how things went for our WMBBD.  For now, we wait a little longer...

 

New Sticker Art...

 

 

I wasn't in love with my efforts prior to this piece, so I reworked until I completed an image worthy of the WMBBD. I ordered Bella's stickers yesterday, so it's official. These will be added to my sticker lineup once they arrive. squeeee!

 

I'm going to spend some time with my sister at her home today. Tag and Bella will ride along so they're not stuck in the farmhouse and bored. 

 

The weather is bouncing back and forth between pleasant and not. It's supposed to rain (or snow) this afternoon, so I'll be heading home before that starts. I'll take photos from my play date in Jan's studio so you can see what we were up to. 

 

I hope you have a good day, whatever you're planning, and I'll see you tomorrow for our next visit.