Merry Christmas and Happy Howlidays

Happy Christmas to all my furry friends and followers! I hope you all have been enjoying your howlidays as much as me!

I have been hanging out with my best furpal Ella! Here she is in front of her Christmas tree. Isn't she pretty?

Santa Paws brought me some great gifts! I got an owl stuffie for Christmas, and a toy with 12 SQUEAKERS!! 12!

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner. I ate jalapeno cheese, ham, and snitched cookies from anyone who would share with me. The best part was when Grandpa dropped a huge piece of prime rib! I helped him clean that right up!

Mom tried to get me to pose in front of the Christmas tree, but I just wasn't feeling it.

Here are some outtakes.

Ok Mom. Can we hurry this up please. I have places to go and food to snitch.

Oh me. It sucks to be cute sometimes.

I'm not looking, Mom.

I am getting REALLY peeved.

A cookie you say? I get a cookie if I'm good?

How's this? Is this better? No?

Cuz I can always do this again.

There it is! There's the money shot!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Wooless Wednesday

Someone's hidin the Wubba!

Siberian Husky Property Laws

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my mouth, it's mine.

3. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

4. If I can take it from you, it's mine.

5. If it's mine, it can never be yours.

6. If it just looks like mine, it's mine.

7. If I saw it first, it's mine.

8. If you have something and put it down, it's mine.

9. If I chew something up, all the pieces are mine.

10. If I get tired of it, it's still mine.

11. If it used to be yours, get over it.

12. If it's broken, it's yours.

A Day At The Beach

The humans took me to the beach today!

I thoroughly enjoyed people watching...

And stalking the birds!

Life is good at the beach.

Home

I'm baaack!

I had a great time with Ella. I miss her.

I was very happy to see Mom and Dad though.

It's been a busy week and I've been up to all kinds of mischief.

And this was just the back. Ha woo!

I tracked mud all over the house.

Mom was none amused. Especially when I made her chase me.

I really hate baths. I don't even like getting my feet wiped off.

She won though. She cornered me in the garage.

I just can't help it. It is so very nice outside.

We have been enjoying the cool weather. We love to sit outside.

We even saw lots of shooting stars.

Well Mom did. I was too busy digging a magnificent hole to China.

Vacation

Mom and Dad surprised me with a little trip to the groomers yesterday.

I was not amused.

As soon as we walked in I remembered all the previous torture that happened there. I squished myself up against the wall and refused to go back there.

It didn't work.

I guess it wasn't so bad. I'm pretty handsome now if I do say so myself.

I'm always handsome though!

Mom forgot to take a picture of my handsome self. Dumb Mom!

Now I know why I had to get pretty.

I'm at Grandpa & Grandma's house!

Mom and Dad made me get in the car again today. I was not happy at all and put up quite a fuss. I soon realized we weren't going back to the groomers though. Instead we were meeting my Auntie! I was so happy to see her.

Then I got to go with her and she took me to my Grandparents, and Ella!

Ella is my Siberian girlfriend. I really love her.

Here we are snoopervising the neighbors.

So I will be taking a break from my blog for now.

I'll be too busy playing with Ella, running wild around the house, and sweet talking Grandma into giving me treats!

I'll update you next week.

See you soon furpals!

Wooless Wednesday

What a copycat. He thinks he's a dog.

We Will Never Forget

Wooless Wednesday

*Yawn*

The dog days of Summer are almost over!

Wooless Wednesday

"Smurfin Around"

PS: Mom is gonna pay big time for this.

View From The Shmoo

"Ho hum…dum dee dum."

"Oh! Hi Mom, whatcha doin there?"

"Got any snacks back there?"

Wooless Wednesday

Don't mess with my Wubba!

Feelin Frisky Again

We're back and feeling frisky again!

Phoenix is feeling much better. If you follow my personal blog you know all the lovely details, if not I will fill you in on some of them.

He stopped eating his food quite abruptly a couple of weeks ago. He then started vomiting. He'd been on Iams per our vets recommendations and had been doing okay on it.

The vomiting stopped, but he continued to refuse the Iams, so I switched back to his old food to get him through until I figured out what was wrong.

He then started vomiting again, much more than before. I decided to take him to his vet as soon as they opened in the morning. I gave him a little bit of rice and we went back to bed. Later that morning, he seemed to be feeling a bit better, and was keeping his food down so we decided to hold off on the vet for the time being.

I started researching food and was quite dismayed to see the ingredient list on Iams, as well as several consumer complaints as far as allergies. Allergies are something that Phoenix has been dealing with quite a lot. I had been shelling out more money for a dog food that still had many of the same ingredients as the lower grade dog foods.

There were no recalls on Iams, and I am still unsure as to why he stopped eating it, but I'm glad he did.

So we've switched to Blue Buffalo Longevity. He seems quite happy on it and is eating better than he ever did. We do breakfast and dinner now. I mix in rice and veggies a few times a week, as well as plain fat free yogurt for breakfast a couple of times per week.

Hopefully the allergies will clear up soon. If not we'll head to the vet to get them checked out.

For now, he's back to chasing the cats and playing with his Wubba!

Sick

Sorry for our absence!

Phoenix has not been feeling good so we've been neglecting our blog.

Keep us in your thoughts.

We hope to be up and running soon!

Wooless Wednesday

Watchin the tube.

Furry Alarm Clock

Hey cool pups!

Well, I hope you are staying cool! It is a scorcher out there today!

I think I will stay inside and snooze in the cool breezes of the a/c.

So do any of you fur kids have problems with your humans sleeping in?

Mine love to sleep in, especially on a Saturday. This puts a big damper on my plans.

But I have the solution for you. It's a short 3 step program that is sure to work!

1. Give them a nice soft woo. You don't want to make it too loud, and scare them out of bed. A low grumble grumble will work too.

If number 1 fails, head for number 2.

2. Stick your cold, wet nose on them. Give it a little shove too. Anywhere will work. Just find a nice spot of warm skin sticking out from those covers and give it a push.

By now, this should have done the trick. But if your human is really out of it, or just ignoring you, I give you full permission to escalate to level 3!

3. Use the claw. A nice firm claw to the back of the head will have them up and at em. In extreme cases the forehead and facial area will work also. Use this sparingly.

These steps should have your human up and doing your bidding in no time!

Happy Saturday!

Stay cool out there.

Wooless Wednesday

Wolverine ain't got nothin on me!!

Maggie in Control

What is this??

Bahahaha!

Phoenix has a blog? Bahahaha!

What a dope.

Who would want to read anything about him?

I mean, he's a hairy dog…with stinky dog breath.

I, Queen Maggie Mae, am much more interesting.

Kitty cats are far more superior.

Stupid dogs.

I think if anyone should have a blog, it should be ME.

Phoenix better watch his hairy back.

Wooless Wednesday

Awoo For A/C

I am one happy Husky again. The humans fixed the a/c!

It was pretty miserable yesterday. Mom and I were awfully cranky.

Dad had to work so Mom took me with her and we rode around with him. I'm not a big fan of car rides, but I didn't even put up a fuss getting in the truck. I was ready to get out of there!

A man came and fixed it this morning. I give him two paws way up!

He smelled pretty good too.

I can finally nap in comfort once again.

Life is good.

Wooless Wednesday

Hey Mom, whatcha got there?

Can I have some?

Pretty please!

Surgery

Mom came across pictures from my tooth extraction surgery. She immediately started laughing when she saw this one.

I didn't find it very funny. I felt awful!

In February Dad took me to get my teeth cleaned. I had stinky breath and the vet said it was time for a dental appointment.

My breath was fine if you ask me.

After he dropped me off he got a call from the vet letting them know I had a big molar that needed to come out. Uh oh. So for some stupid reason they told her to go ahead and take care of it.

I felt awful when I woke up. The vet told Mom I was grumpy and looked like I wanted to bite somebody's face off. Mom said I just looked miserable.

I couldn't eat my dog food or treats. Mom made me rice and parsley when I started feeling better.

I had to take lots of medicine too. That's okay though, because that meant cheese!

They had several good laughs at my expense. Dad said I looked stoned.

Wooless Wednesday

Wooless Wednesday

Awoo, Mom made a funny!

Counter Surfer #2

It appears we have another counter surfer in the family.

I've taught him everything he knows.

Awooo!

Can you spot him? He's able to reach greater heights than even I have.

He still knows I'm boss though.

Bringing Back Easter

"Easter eggs? What Easter eggs? I don't see any Easter eggs."

Since someone didn't give me an Easter basket, I decided to celebrate today.

Yeah, I'm a little late. So what?

I had myself some chocolate, and then decided to delve into the plastic Easter eggs my lazy Mom hadn't put away yet. They were tucked so nicely into Dad's Easter basket. I carefully pulled each one out.

Next time I'll chew softer so I won't get found out so quick.

I tried to nibble on another tasty treat, Maggie's tail, but Mom put a stop to that right quick. She was flopping it all around, it was driving me crazy! I just took a little nibble.

A Husky can't have any fun around here.

My Afternoon Snack

I had a nice little snack this afternoon.

It was on the counter. Dad hadn't even opened it. I mean, it's been hanging around since Easter!

It was high time someone enjoyed it.

All my hard work wasn't even appreciated. Dad started yelling something about chocolate being toxic.

That must mean it tastes really good.

Mom made me sit down while she made sure I wasn't going to get sick. She was trying to figure out how much I ate, but I did a good job of shredding that box.

In case you're worried, I'm just fine.

Hey Mom, are you gonna eat that cookie?

The Claw

Phoenix here.

Mom is being lazy and hasn't updated my blog. She'd rather clean the house. Phhht.

Do I have to do everything around here?

So a couple days ago, Mom came across some dog blogs she used to read. She was very happy, until she realized I was reading them too, and picking up bad behavior.

I'm a pretty good boy most of the time. Mom will vouch for me. But upon reading Meeshka's blog, I was reminded of a Husky trait I'd forgotten about…

The claw!

I haven't clawed in a long time. Mom thought she'd seen the last of it and that I'd outgrown it. Doubly pffft.

Yesterday I wanted to go outside so I used the nose technique. You know, push your cold, wet nose on your human to let them know it's time to focus on me. It didn't work. She ignored me. I got more persistent. I even added the nudge. Nothing. I was about to use the old "push on her laptop so it closes and then she has to pay attention to me" when I remembered the claw!

So when she least expected it, and thought I was just sitting there being a good boy, I struck.

A firm claw, right down her leg. She nearly shot out of the couch! Awoo-hoo-hoo! It was awesome. Best of all, it worked. She promptly took me out.

If your human isn't doing your bidding, don't forget about the claw!

Thanks for the reminder Meeshka!

Game Over

Found this the other day on the internet. It made me giggle.

My Package Inspector

Phoenix is my own personal package inspector. No bag, purse, box, nor person that enters this house goes uninspected!

His favorite part of the day is when I bring in the mail! The other day we received a package from Amazon, and Phoenix insisted on inspecting before I was allowed to get everything out.

Inspecting the contents of my box.

Get that nose in there!

A taste test was also necessary!

I Love Publix!

Of all the crazy stories I could tell you, this is probably my favorite. I still to this day can't believe it happened.

Phoenix has always been an interesting dog. We call him Houdini sometimes, because he is so dang smart. He is a master escape artist.

Several years ago, we had put him in the backyard to play and do his thing. Our yard was completely enclosed with a tall privacy fence, and there was a large gate on the side.

I will not name names, but someone left the gate open and forgot about it. Ahem, it was not me! Haha. You couldn't see the gate from the back door, so when he was let out it went unnoticed.

I went out a few minutes later to check on him, and found the gate wide open, and a Husky free yard. We immediately set out through the neighborhood looking for him. I went one way, my husband went the other. Keep in mind, this happened in minutes. That dog is FAST.

We were only a few blocks away from Southside Blvd, which is a very busy road. Phoenix is a nomad darter and runs with abandon, paying no mind to anything that may be barreling in his general direction as he's bounding along. Obviously this combination scared me. I checked that way first, and no Phoenix. He'd escaped before, and usually heads the other way anyways, as neighbors that way had chickens. And lets face it, chickens are MUCH more interesting than the highway.

Apparently not that day though.

We looked, and looked, and looked some more. No Phoenix. I was devastated. I finally went back home to wait at the house in case someone showed up. Meanwhile my husband continued the search.

Not to long after I had gotten home, my husband called. "Someone just called my cell, they found Phoenix and he is okay. I'm going to get him."

Oh good! I am so glad! Where is he I asked?

"Publix."

Where?

"Publix!"

Did you just say Publix?

"Yes, Publix! He walked into Publix".

Are you sure?

"Uhh, yes."

Haha, that one took a moment to register. After getting to Publix and going to the back, my husband found Phoenix. He was laying on the floor, being showered with attention from Publix employees, eating it up.

Apparently he had just run straight through the sliding front doors and into the store. One of the bag boys had grabbed him and took him to the back. He found the number on his ID tag and called.

I still do not understand how he made it to Publix. He crossed Southside Blvd. Four lanes of extremely busy traffic. Then made it all the way down the road to Publix! Not only that, but actually walked into Publix! Crazy dog.

Only Phoenix.

Chewy the Husky

Phoenix's first week at home after his adoption was a lively one!

As stated in an earlier post of mine, Phoenix's name was Chewy when we adopted him. Naturally, one should question why a beautiful boy like him was named Chewy. I didn't though. I guess I was too mesmerized by those big brown eyes!

However, the evening I adopted him I found out exactly why he was named Chewy!

Richard and I had brought him to my house earlier in the day. He checked everything out, I gave him his purple tug toy (one that he would favor for a very long time after) and a blanket, and set up his food and water.

He seemed quite happy, but wouldn't touch his food at all. As a new Mommy I was quite concerned, but figured he would eat eventually. Later that night after I had gone to bed, I heard crunching. Thinking he was finally eating, I got up to go tell him what a good boy he was. Instead, I found him sitting on the family room floor with Richard's brand new sunglasses.

Oh, so that was the crunching! That was the first of many things Chewy chewed! Haha. Blankets, shoes, pizza boxes, sheets, books, a Coleman lunchbox (yes, the really hard kind…that dog has teeth of steel), carpet, chair legs, plants, clothes, a picture frame, the couch, and the list goes on and on! You name it he probably chewed on it.

Nothing curbed his chewing, and I tried everything! Thankfully, he eventually outgrew it and now focuses his chewing on dentastix, and his dog toys. We go through a lot of dog toys.

He didn't touch his food for a good week after I adopted him. I even carted him into the vet, and bought a bunch of ridiculously overpriced food the vet swore he would eat. Yep, he didn't touch it.

I guess Phoenix finally realized I was just as stubborn as he was, and gave in. We've battled it out a few more times over the years. Huskies are notoriously stubborn and strong willed.

He also pooped all over my office the first week. That was fun. Thankfully I had a large throw rug on the floor. It was ruined after the third or fourth time of being pooped on, but better that than my carpet!

Well speak of the devil. He must have known I was blogging about him!

A Day In The Life

My babies love looking out our sliding glass door. Now that we've moved they have quite a view! The backyard is open and overlooks a lake. There is always something out there that catches their attention.

Mockingbirds like to swoop down in the backyard, so the cats have quite a bit of entertainment. They get so excited!

We have had a lot of geese, but those are dissipating as I'm sure they are headed North for the Summer. I do see occasional heron's out. It's fun to watch them walk at the waters edge and grab fish.

The other day Phoenix and I were outside, and I heard quacking. Across the lake was a duck family with three tiny ducklings. They were adorable. Phi was very fascinated with them and we watched them waddle off until we got distracted by a big white heron grabbing fish.

I'm still waiting for an alligator to make it's appearance! I'm pretty certain they're out there. Just so long as they stay in the water, and out of my yard!

Bad Dad

Much to Mommy's dismay, Daddy shared half of his Oreo with Phoenix. He tried to hold onto it, but that didn't last for long. Phi was determined to get that cookie.

Look at that tongue!

Phoenix in Motion

The Scary Washer

Our washer and dryer were delivered yesterday, and I started in on my massive pile of laundry this afternoon. When they first came, Phoenix inspected them. He found them relatively boring.

However, this afternoon they were making noise! Not so boring anymore.

Here he is inspecting them again. He found them a little bit scary, but he mustered up the courage to go in and take a closer look.

"Click click, whir whir, swish swish." He found it fascinating. He kept pressing his nose up to the window. That is, until it made an extra loud click, and Phoenix shot straight up in the air. I wish I would have been able to get it on video.

Maybe on the next load. Heaven knows he'll be just as curious next time!

Sandwich Snitcher

Phoenix was a bad egg today.

I had left half of a sandwich on the couch. I know…this is always a bad idea when you have a Husky!! What was I thinking?

It was sitting so nicely on my plate. I walked off for a second to talk to Richard, and when I returned it was gone. There sat a very guilty faced Phoenix!

I hope he enjoyed it!

New House

Phoenix is loving his new house! His favorite place is the backyard. He loves sitting outside, looking at all the scenery!

First Time Counter Surfer

Counter surfing…

I'm sure seasoned Husky owners have all seen the pictures, or experienced it for themselves. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a great example.

And another…

These beautiful dogs aren't mine, mine has been a good boy, until now…

Seven years…that's how long we've had Phoenix minus the counter surfing. I'm not saying he hasn't been bad! He's had plenty more shenanigans to make up for his lack of perusing my clean countertops!

We just moved into a new house. There is a lot more counter space in the kitchen, and I am sure the leftover cup of garlic sauce was quite tempting as well! I walked in the door, after literally being gone less than two minutes, to find greasy garlic sauce all over my clean kitchen floor.

I would have never guessed it was him either, but he gave himself away. Poor dog. He just can't help it! I would have yelled at the cats!

I'm still not sure how he got to it. I had pushed it back so it was against the wall. I can't imagine him jumping on top of my counter, but I think he must have. If I only had proof!!

Sneaky little booger.

A Forever Home

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted a wolf. They are beautiful, amazing creatures, and I am fascinated by them.

Being that I live in Jacksonville, and the plethora of other reasons why a wolf would not a good pet make, I do not have one. And so my story moves on.

I moved to Jacksonville in the summer of 2004. I was engaged, soon to be married, and living on my own for the very first time. All my life I'd had animals and now I had none.

Being the sweet fiance that he is was, my then soon to be husband went with me on trip after trip to our local Humane Society. It didn't take very long…

We were looking at various dogs, and he'd found one he was interested in. I meandered along looking from cage to cage, when there he was. The most beautiful dog with big, brown eyes. I squealed in delight, and yelled for my husband to come quick!

We ended up taking two dogs into the meet and greet pen that day. One was Forest, a mixed breed, and the other "Chewy" the beautiful Siberian. It was instant love. Chewy was all over us, never was a dog more excited to see two people. Forest on the other hand, couldn't have cared less. He didn't want anything to do with us. The decision was pretty simple.

We filled out all the paperwork, and I adopted my sweet boy, and took him to his furever home.

We soon found out why they had named him Chewy….but that's another story!

Husky Love

Life is never dull with a Siberian Husky. They are a breed all their own.

My husband and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we adopted Phoenix, but we wouldn't trade him for anything in the world!

Over the years, we have had many adventures. Some good, some funny, some not so good, some just plain crazy! He brings sunshine into our lives so I wanted to share him with you.

This blog is all Husky, all the time. I'll share stories, new and old, and whatever else I can think up!

Welcome to the world of one happy Husky!