Puppy Profile - Winslow

Name: Winslow
Nicknames: Wingding, Windex, Dubby, Uno, Professor
Birthday: April 2011
Breed: Wirehair Dachshund

Picking up Winslow in Winslow, Arkansas

Puppy Winslow

As you can see from the photo above, we traveled to Arkansas to get the latest addition to our family. It was interesting when we tried to introduce him to the other kiddos. Myra, our other dachshund, has ALWAYS been the boss and doesn't seem to play well with other dogs (besides Harsh). So the first week was a headache because we thought she was going to eat him alive. Luckily, she eventually figured out he wasn't going anywhere and she eased up.

Giving his usual attitude 

Most current picture of Wingding

As you can see, Winslow is quite the clown. The beard and moustache are why we refer to him as "Professor". He looks like such an old soul. I also feel the need to explain his nickname "Uno". If you've read the other two puppy profiles of Myra and Harsh, you'll notice that we tend to favor pups that have medical conditions. Winslow is lacking in the testicular area. When we first got him, everything was normal down there, but about a month ago one of his little buddies decided to play hide-and-go-seek. :( The vet said it is normal, it will just cost more when he go get him fixed.

Such a rebel

Likes: Squeaking squeaky toys like a mad man, barking, licking & biting our toes (and everything else), picking on his big sister (Myra), and eating ice cubes. 

Dislikes: Sitting still, closed doors, being short, sharing toys, and strangers. 

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Puppy Profile - Harsh

Name: Harsh
Nicknames: Henry, Herschel Walker Texas Ranger, Bubba, Hillary (when he's acting like a pansy)
Birthday: January 2005
Breed: Mutt (possibly a mix between something resembling a bull terrier/pit bull/basset hound?)

Here is Harsh as a young pup.

All grown up with his signature floppy ear.

Bad quality photo, but such a goofy shot!

I LOVE this one. I know he looks so vicious, but he is far from it.

And his most recent mug shot. Such a handsome man-dog.

Harsh is such a great dog. We have never officially trained him to do any tricks, but somehow he knows how to sit, lay down, and come. He is the most obedient out of our 3 dogs.

Sadly, he was diagnosed with bladder cancer back in June 2011. The prognosis was not good because the cancer is incurable. The specialist said that they could operate, but it would just be to de-bulk the tumor, not remove it entirely. She also recommended chemotherapy. All of that treatment combined would have cost us easily over $2000. It wouldn't save his life, and since it involved surgery and chemo, he would likely be made MORE uncomfortable. We couldn't imagine putting him through that mess. 

So we chose not to. The specialist offered an alternative to the above treatments. She said rather than doing nothing at all, we could always try to keep him on a regular anti-inflammatory medication. So that is what we have done... for the past 7 months! And he seems to be doing great. It was difficult for the vet to give us a time frame for his life expectancy, but he has far surpassed any expectations that any of us had and we are so grateful for that. 

On a happier note, below are some of Harsh's likes and dislikes. :)

Likes: Burt's Bees Lip Balm, laser pointers, tennis balls, pretending he is a lap dog, being the noisiest water-drinker, and giving kisses & hugs.  

Dislikes: Baths (all of our dogs hate them, but he hates them most), flies, the doorbell, weed eaters on the other side of the fence, and car rides.

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Puppy Profile - Myra

Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Amanda. Please give her blog a visit at indiejanephotography.com!

I'm slightly obsessed with my pets. They are my children with fur. Furbabies.

This post is a profile of my cute little doggy, Myra.

Name: Myra Louise
Nicknames: Myra Pants, MeMe, Boogers, Princess, Pookie, MooMaLou, etc.
Birthday: May 2005
Breed: Longhair Dachshund

The day I got to meet Little Miss. She was about 8 weeks old here. :)

Myra was given to me by a good friend's girlfriend. I was told that she was the runt of the litter, and also the oddball. Apparently both of her parents are full-size, shorthair dachshunds. Myra turned out to have long hair, and was closer to the size of a miniature dachshund.

Around 4 years of age, Myra was diagnosed with intervertebral disc disease. This is a very common issue in the dachshund breed. All it means is that the discs that cushion her vertebrae are prone to becoming calcified. Eventually, one of her calcified discs ruptured and put too much pressure on her spinal cord. She was paralyzed in her hind end and loss all function of her legs, tail, bladder, etc. Luckily we caught it at just the right time and were able to proceed with the only treatment that could help: surgery. Some people think we are crazy for spending so much money to save our dog, but I couldn't imagine not doing it.

After her surgery, she was still paralyzed for a couple of weeks, but she slowly began to improve. The improvement was amazing! I was so emotional through it all, but Myra was SUCH a trooper. I think she recovered so quickly because she was always in such good spirits. She never seemed to let her "disability" get her down. After much hard work and improvised physical therapy on my part, she started moving her legs. She built up strength in her hind legs, and before we knew it, she was walking again. Now, a little over a year and half after her surgery, I would say she is probably at 90-95% of where she was prior to the whole thing. :)

Likes: Cuddling, burrowing under blankets, playing in the rain, sprinkler, snow, etc..., sunbathing, chasing birds & frogs, and eating raw spaghetti noodles.
Dislikes: Her annoying little brother, Winslow (profile on him later), baths, blow dryers, thunderstorms, and cats.

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