oops!

With school starting for 2 of the 3 humans in Austin and Molly's life, we haven't had a chance to update the blog.  We will start updating this week :)

it's been a long week

lots of noise from the neighbors house (they're painting and doing lots of outside work) so apparently Molly has been on a chew-fest, I'll post what happened to the kongs we got them yesterday after I take pictures.  I really should do before and after shots.

Molly's a creative eater..

So I was cleaning and putting away my teapots.  I seem to be collecting them and I try to find different unusual non-cutsy types.  At any rate, I look down and Molly had stolen the lid from one of the teapots and was diligently chewing the ears off (it had a kitty head on the top of it.)  She chipped all the ears into little pieces before I got it out of her mouth.

She is an *amazing* chewer!  (See! I am putting a positive spin on it, rather than being too frantic about the chewing on ceramics) I have only seen labs that chew this much, not little rat terrors.  I guess we're fortunate that she can't reach the siding.  We decided to make a list on the blog of things that our little Miss Molly Bones has chewed since she moved in with us.. which was Late April of this year.

She's currently flopped on the floor next to me, upside down.  Despondent that I haven't gone to bed yet.  Austin will go sleep with whomever is in bed first, but she always waits for the last person to crash before going to bed.

Ratbone Rescues Memorial Quilt Fundraiser

This quilt is a memorial quilt for the rat terriers of ratbone rescue that passed away this year.  It is a fundraiser to help the rescue support all the wonderful animals they save! The center heart is a memorial to Basil Ratbone, the first dog saved by Ratbone Rescue.  Follow the link and buy some tickets to support a worthy cause!

http://www.ratbonerescues.com/rbr_quilt.php

Cascade Locks :)

Last week we went to a family reunion in Cascade Locks, Oregon.  Here are a few pictures, after all..what is a picnic without dogs?

Austin's friend Abbe came along (along with her owner) and they had a great time playing!

Leaping..

This was today...note, his surgery really hasn't slowed him down at all.  Look at him jump!  They do laps around the yard, up and down the deck and back.  Such goofballs!

First Post :)

A lot to summarize in a first post.  First, lets talk about Austin.  He was picked up at the Shelter in Troutdale, Oregon in late spring/early summer of 2007.  He was almost missed because he's rather big for a Rat Terrier (He's Decker, thus taller and bigger.) Fortunately the rescuer, his wonderful Auntie Susan, saw him and pulled him out.

He was very sick from the get go and the rescuers did everything they could to make him better.  Following an ultrasound, we discovered that he had a foreign body in his abdomen.  Surgery to remove the foreign body (a rotten stick) was first in fall of 2007, and then he had a subsequent surgery in Feb of 2008 to deal with adhesions and sepsis from little slivers that had spread into his abdomen.  He nearly died after the second surgery.  We are all grateful to Dr. Scarpinatto, Dr. Minor and Dr. Procassini who worked very hard to make him better.  As well as to the people at Ratbone Rescues who put the time, energy and funds into his recovery.

I adopted Austin right before the second surgery.  I had fallen in love with him over all the time he had spent in our hospital and although I knew the outlook was grim, I couldn't help myself.  Something about his eyes.  He just looked into mine and I knew he belonged with me.  I took him home the night before surgery and he slept right next to me, even though I knew he felt awful.  After the surgery I stayed at the hospital the first 2 nights..then I took him home. .I'm not sure that I slept at all for days.

Since I am a veterinary technician,  I was able to do a lot of nursing at home with him.  IV fluids, medications, chicken slop (boiled chicken and other goodies). Carrying him up and down stairs, dealing with abdominal bleeding that we were afraid would never stop...Somehow, he pulled through and despite very tangled intestines, is a mostly normal dog.  Watching him run you'd never know what happened to him.

We adopted Molly (formerly Trish Ratbone) from Ratbone Rescues in April 2010.  She is a dog out of Rat Pack kennels in Alabama.  Her previous owner flew her up here and couldn't handle her, so she was going to leave her at the dog pound. (She jumped up on them...*sigh*)  Fortunately someone referred that person to Ratbone and we were glad to adopt her and have her as a friend for Austin.  We didn't realize how lonely he was for other dogs until we brought her home.

Every day is really an adventure with these two.  They bring an incredible amount of joy (and frustration...) to our lives, and we were looking for a way to write down all the good things, and put up pictures of their cuteness and celebrate the bond we share with them.