Minne is going to hate me

Just received a forward email with dog photos. I am pretty sure I have a new dress up idea for Minne. 

I don't know where this photo came from, but if you do please let me know so I can give it proper credit.

Minne Monday

Last week was a bad week for me... it started like this

Where Have I Been?

Well, are you wondering? Here goes:

• I've been paying a ton of money to Uncle Sam (damn taxes)
• I've been chasing my 17lbs Boston Terrier all over the town I live in
• I've been nursing my Boston Terrier to health
• I've been working insane hours at the United Center for set up and tear down of the NCAA rounds 2 & 3 of the tourney
• I've been trying to enjoy watching my beloved Bulldogs
• Still training for that crazy half marathon (what was I thinking)

Hopefully, after tear down tonight, I will have a little bit more free time to elaborate with plenty of photos to come. Until then I leave you with this (behind the scenes of where I work). Enjoy.

Minne Monday

It's my bed, I might as well use a pillow right?

xoxo
Minne

PS mom told me I had to start sleeping in another room, we'll see how that goes...

Minne Monday

Happy Valentines day and hello awkward moment

"Not sure what's worse, the snow, the ice or this sweater" - Minne

Minne Monday

There's not enough blankets in the world to warm me up after Blizzardmania.

Recap:

Minne and the Blizzardmania

Tuesday night was just terrible. The winds were so bad it felt like I was living in the house from Wizard of Oz. Along with things like our pilot light going out, we had a dog who refused to go outside to the bathroom. Instead, she opted to sleep all of Tuesday evening into early afternoon Wednesday.

At that point we could tell she really had to go to the bathroom. She was pacing and making some whiny noises, so we decided we had to make her go out.

Attempt 1 didn't go so well.

Attempt 2 (about an hour later) went a little better, although you can see my hand pushing her out the door. We're still not sure that she went.

Finally we got her to go out for less than 5 seconds to do her business (no video, but come on do you really want to see that?).

Storms can be very traumatic on animals

She followed it up with another 5 hours of sleep while the hubs and I shoveled. More photos to come.

Minne Monday

Recovering from the best Birthday weekend ever. A trip to Two Bostons, new toys, Bowser Beer and a salmon treat. 

Not to mention, clean new sheets on the bed, I love that. Thanks mom and dad.

Love Minne

January Can't End Until - Love Min

 January cannot end until we celebrate my Birthday.

As I grow a year older, I am no longer afraid of that peske window in my kitchen! BOOM Happy Birthday to me.

It's also been made aware that because I am an older more mature dog I can no longer have Birthday parties with my friends, apparently that's only for babies. I reminisce:

and some more

You think I will still get presents?

I missed you!

It's true I really did miss you. In fact, I think I missed you as much as Minne missed me her weekly Minne Monday shout out. So much to tell you but for now, I'll leave you with this.

Minne Monday

Hey look guys, I'm ready to go to the Blackhawks game for dad's surprise 30th Birthday. Wait it's Monday at 8:45 and you haven't woken up yet. What's going on here?

Oh wait, you already went?  partied so hard and now are sleeping all day? And I wasn't invited? What happened to it being my Birthday month?

Minne Tuesday: Mom I said Stop

Mom I said stop, stop staring at me funny... I feel fine (no thanks to the big ole shot you just gave me) but really I'm fine, just trying to relax.

Minne Monday: Atopic Dermatitis

A few weeks back we realized that Minne's white paws and belly kept looking more and more pink, her hair loss was getting worse and her mood wasn't her happy go lucky self. We finally bit the bullet and decided to take her to the dermatologist. After the first consultation visit we were out $500 and we had to schedule another visit which was going to cost us close to $800.

Yeah yeah we know it sounds really expensive, believe us, after just buying a house and the holidays, it was really expensive. But you know what else is expensive? Every time Minne would have a bad allergic reaction, we would have to rush her to the vet, where they would run tests and then inject her with steroids.

Do you know how much that costs? About $150 (sometimes more) every time we went. In the summer, some months we had to take her to the vet 2 or 3 times a month. Poor Min. After doing the math if these bills were a one time thing, and if the dermatologist was able to diagnose her, we would only be paying $70 a month for shots (the first 2 months of shots would actually be included in the $800 of the 2nd visit). Long term, it looks like we could save money and have a happier dog and since she isn't even 4 years old yet, it was time to bite the bullet. We also learned that the steroid shots that she was getting every time she had a bad reaction were part to blame for her hair loss and they also effected her anxiety and mood overall. Enough said.

So over the holidays I took a morning off work to take Mine to the dermatologist. There, the doc took her from me for an hour. They shaved her and marked her and injected her with little amounts of antigen. Afterwards, they observe the surface area to determine if she was allergic to any of the agents they gave her. This is called Inradermal Skin Testing. It's the same practice that is done on people.

This was taken a few hours after her tests. As you can see, there are a lot of red/discolored marks showing everything she is allergic to. Ready for the list?

• Kentucky Blue Grass
• Anything sheep related, especially wool
• Tobacco, all things smoke related
• All bugs that bite (from flies, mosquitoes to tics)
• Mites
• 3 kinds of trees
• 2 kinds of weeds

and more that weren't ranked as high, but these are the majors.

The result is she has Atopic Dermatitis, which is essentially environmental allergies. This is common among people and pets, who knew? The solution - The vet spent some time building some formulas based on Mins allergies and they packaged them into these cute little viles. I take these files and that I inject the formula into Minne on a scheduled basis. I was a little worried about having so much power of these shots in my hand. I mean, I didn't want Minne to hate me every time I gave her a shot and I didn't want to hurt her. Luckily, 3 shots in, she doesn't seem phased. We'll see how she's doing in a few months, as the doctor said it can take awhile for the shots to build up her immunity to all her allergies and we may not see results for up to 9 months.

MORE ON ATOPIC DERMATITIS via WebMD

• Susceptible breeds include Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Lhasa Apsos, Wire Fox Terriers, West Highland White Terriers, Dalmatians, Poodles, English Setters, Irish Setters, Boxers, and Bulldogs, among others, although any dog may be affected. Even mixed breeds may suffer from atopy.
• Atopy begins in dogs 1 to 3 years of age.
• In early canine atopy, itching is seasonal and the skin looks normal. Dogs scratch at the ears and undersides of the body. The itching is often accompanied by face-rubbing, sneezing, a runny nose (known as allergic rhinitis),watery eyes, and licking at the paws

Dog Birthdays

If you have a dog you know how awesome dog Birthdays can be. I was reminded today that my little Boston turns 4 years old on the 28th of this month (a few weeks after the hubs turns the big 3-0). Thanks to our favorite pet boutique, Two Bostons, we just received Minne's 1st birthday email.

Minne has her own email address. If you'd like to wish her well on her big day, send all emails to minnewhetsel@gmail.com. Sometimes she responds, but to be fair she doesn't have fingers and her email box fills up quickly with emails from Petsmart, Pet Co, and Two Bostons.

PS if you live in the western suburbs and own a dog, go visit the Two Boston stores. Seriously, you won't be disappointed and bring your pup with!

Minne Monday: I surrender

"I used to fight getting my nails cut, but I've learned I get a treat afterwards. Therefore, I surrender." Minne

PS my new years resolutions because I heard every one is doing it.

1. Stop being scared of the large window in my new house
2. Stop licking my paws (hopefully my allergy shots will help with this)
3. Learn to take my pills so my dad doesn't have to choke me

Minne Monday

When we first moved into our house, our Boston was a wreck. High anxiety, hives, shaky legs, fast heart rate, ect. After being in the house for a few days Minne made her self at home in every room of the house except the kitchen. It was and to this day is the scariest room in the house for her. We couldn't figure out why since the kitchen is where her toy box is, it's how she gets let out to go potty and to play outside, it's where she gets dinner and it's where we give her treats. Sounds like dog heaven to us but we're people so what do we know?

After being in the house for about 3 weeks, we decided that she was terrified of the sliding glass door in the kitchen. We're still not entirely sure why but we've narrowed it down to the door itself because it slides or it could be all the shadows and reflections the big glass door makes (we're thinking that's it). We still don't have curtains up and Minne is still terrified of the room. But the other morning I walked into the kitchen to find Minne laying in front of the window. Perhaps she was sun bathing? Either way there she was calm, collected, not shaky and looking the glass door right in the eye like they were bffs.

2 hours later, Minne was terrified again. I'm not sure if she does this every day or if this was a weird one time occurrence. I'm not sure if I'll ever know, but I am happy that for at least 10 minutes of on Saturday morning, Minne made peace with the sliding glass door. 

Minne Monday

We are just about done packing,

except for every box that Minne unpacks...

 

...we have to repack.

Hope your Minne Monday is more productive than ours.  

Minne Monday

Many things are going on right now, between the frustrations and aggravations of buying a house (yes this house saga is still going on), work, my best friend moving to Germany and well every day life itself...life is a tad bit insane. Oh and did I mention the holiday celebrating starts this week? It's been harder and harder to blog but I am always thankful for Mondays because Mondays I don't feel like I need to write much. In fact, I feel like I can post a picture of my little Boston and know that life is good because at the end of the day, I get to go home and cuddle up with her.

The little cuddle monster herself and her raggedy little stuffed animal that has been completely destroyed (minus its last leg as seen here).

Minne Monday

It is Minne Monday, but I thought I'd give our little ham a break from all the camera flashes and share this blog with you. It's all about Boston Terriers, not sure why I didn't find it on my own but I am very thankful for my good pal Jessica, who always has my back! Thanks girlie!

Minne Monday

Ok Ok I know I said I hate Halloween but I couldn't resist these at $0.50 at Old Navy... Our little Devil

Happy Minne Monday. The hubs and I are still unpacking from our trip to Philly and NY while trying to pack for our move. Photos coming soon.