Shot the Dog

Liza was due this month for her annual immunization update. Her and I both get excited about going to the vet. She thinks it's a social party and I like seeing people stick her with sharp objects.



Thankfully, the rabies is only due every three years from here on out, and the rest can be done without the $45 office visit. Always like it when the mutt saves me money (which is rare :(



Of course as soon as got back home she took care of the whole 'saving my money' bit by practicing her impressive DVD disassembly technique. Next visit I'm requesting bigger needles.

Choosing your audience

My wife is far better than I at filtering what she says depending on the current company. I just say whatever, wherever, whenever. Two examples I must share for either their humor and inappropriateness (two traits I deeply value in any person)




I picked up Avyrlie at daycare earlier in the week and was approached by one of the cute little snot dripping friends who declared, "I called Avyrlie a Chicken Head!" to which I responded, "I call Avyrlie a Turkey Butt!". Over the next couple of days I heard my new expression put effectively into use by several of Avyrlie's friends.


This morning I dropped Liza off at the vet to be spayed. The vet we take her to has an all female staff and the vet is also female. I think they have one guy who does grooming, but he's one of the fruitier people I've ever met. One of the staff made the comment, "having her girl parts removed may make her more mellow and obedient." I agreed and added that it should also make her a better driver. I think I'll have Aimee pick Liza up in the morning...

Puppy Maintenance

Avyrlie and I took Liza to the vet for her next round of puppy shots. She was very well behaved and loves all the attention she gets from the staff (Liza and Avyrlie both ;)
(click below for more)

Avyrlie helped distract Liza with treats during her shots and kept herself entertained by asking what kind of dog was in each picture on all the literature in the office and deciding how they are related to Liza.

We also did some grooming in hopes of keeping the floors a bit cleaner. Liza has quite a bit of fur between the pads of her feet that pick up everything while she is out and about. I found the best scissors for doing occasional trimming like paws, eyes, and ears. They have nice big handles and small, blunt blades so they can't do too much damage (but I can pretend ;)

Another Smith and A Sick Sense of Humor

After realizing my being the minority non-dog-lover in the family was never going to change I asked Aimee to find a dog for her and the kids. Secretly I knew the outcome of having her make a dog decision would be that we would never have a dog because, quite unlike myself, she can not stand to make decisions that may cause controversy and not be fully supported by all.

After several months she finally narrowed down a breed that she like. While I am still pretty sure her warped sense of humor led her to choose a breed named after the reason I don't like housedogs, but it was an impressive enough decision making feat on her part that I decided to help her out and actually find her a dog.

Liza arrived a bit early for a Christmas present, but that was not really the point to begin with. Liza is an F1 Goldendoodle (very funny wife) bred from a purebred Golden Retriever and a purebred Poodle.

Our big, tough, teenage Ian almost cried with overwhelmed excitement when I asked him to help me get stuff out of the car and he realized what was inside. Avyrlie wants it to be a cute baby that she can take care of and is still getting used to her cute baby having very sharp teeth.

I'm just glad we have a good Bissel.



We took her in for her first vet appointment today at Willowcreek. The vet kept talking to me like I was in preschool puppy class so I was a bit put off, but the rest of the staff is very helpful and a bunch of crazed dog lovers. They are all very nice and have tons of answers and advice. Everyone thought it was pretty cute that Avyrlie kept asking for a bandaid to put on her puppy's bum after the rectal temp...