{This Moment} See Beautiful: Happy Old Man

Happy Friday!  It's a beautiful day here in New England (although it's going to be hotter than I'd like... I was really loving the few days of fall-ish weather we just had) and today we are participating in the See Beautiful blog hop hosted by Sugar.  Sugar recently celebrated her 14th birthday, and any dog parent knows just how special that is.

We lost Zeus in April, just one month after his 14th birthday. I am so incredibly thankful he was here and feeling good enough to celebrate, but man do I miss him every. single. day. This morning, Facebook reminded me that it was exactly one year ago today that I thought we were losing my boy. I thought his body was shutting down. It tuned out to be Vestibular Disease of Old Dogs - not something I'd wish upon any dog parent to have to go through, but certainly a huge relief when I was dwelling on the worst case scenario. 

Zeus enjoying his 14th birthday cake!

While it was a process, very scary at times, and required a lot of nursing care on his humans part (I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat), my boy got thru the bout with Vestibular Disease and aspiration pneumonia (which he was susceptible to due to his megaesophagus) like a champ!  Zeus had a truly amazing will to live that I have not seen matched in any dog, or human for that matter.  I am so thankful for the many, many years and memories,  and the unconditional love and pure joy he gave us.... but man, do I miss my Happy Old Man (and my Baby Girl).

Zeus loved nothing more than lounging outside, whether in the dirt or on the back deck... and I know he would have loved to spend time chilling out there his new little sister Penny, just as he did with the rest of his pack. 

 

And, I know Penny would have been infatuated with her big angel brother, just as all of our foster puppies were in years past.  Which leads me right into sharing a few foster updates with you, thanks to these shots I stole borrowed off of their humans' Facebook pages.

First up is Booth... or, my little Boo-Man as I liked to call him.  Just look at that grin... I think he learned it from Zeus. 

Zeus and Booth in 2011

Maverick was such a teeny-tiny tot when he was with us... and he still is!  His human sister shares lots of photos and I have to say, the little mini-munchkin's facial expressions are just too cute for words.

Zeus and teeny Maverick chilling, 2011

And, just because I adore this photo (and happened upon it while looking for the shots above), here's Zeus with Belle, our former foster baby who was adopted by friends of ours.  I miss that big 'ole happy grin of his!

Have a great weekend, and remember to make every moment count!  Fall, my absolute favorite time of year, is quickly approaching and I'm really going to miss Zeus' love of making the leave crumple...

A Little Jail Time

Monday already?  Boy do these weekends just seem to fly by... even when it's raining.

Penny spent part of the weekend trying to use a get out of jail free card...

Okay, so it's not jail and she actually likes her x-pen, but I couldn't help myself.  I believe I snapped this one as she was trying to see what her big brother was barking at.

Speaking of barking, Chucky was out doing his best to mow the dandelions in the yard this weekend, which was causing quite a bit of chit-chatter from Tut and Sophie both.  We haven't spotted any baby woodchucks yet this Spring, but hopefully we'll have a couple.  I'll try and remember to take pictures next time Chucky is out gallivanting.

In the meantime, the Woodchuck Patrol is on high alert...

 

Penny says, "Woodchucks? Whatcha talkin' bout Teutul?" Apparently she thinks they're quite amusing...

Other than that, there wasn't a lot of mischief going on this weekend.  Well, except that Tut and Sophie are back to wondering where their humans disappear to for a long day. They see Daddy work on the race car in the driveway during the week, but aren't quite sure where it goes.

I don't think they care too much, except now their little sister is taking off with the humans and the race car too.  Shhh... they don't know she's going to visit her new BFF, our former foster baby Belle.  Not to mention all of Penny's fans at the track.

Ahhh...the life of a race dog.

So, what mischief do you have going on in your world?

Wordless Wednesday: This, That and A Little Racing

Mid-week greetings from a tired Lapdog household...

Penny went to her first race this past weekend. Yes, of course, she was a big hit with everyone, but I'd have to say her biggest fan was our former foster Belle. Miss Belle was simply infatuated with Penny and the two became immediate friends. They're going to have a great summer together at the track!

 



 

Monday Mischief: Cheating Part 2

It's Monday... again.  The weekend went by far too fast... again.  And, the humans cheated... again.

It was opening weekend for our racing and unlike most weekends, we were at the track both days.  Saturday for practice, Sunday for racing.

My mischief started on Friday afternoon when I received a special visit from the one and only, Casey from Casey Jones Bones.  The handsome fella and his humans dropped off samples of the delish treats just in time for racing season to begin.  And, yes, the Lapdogs gave me a good sniff over once I got home.  They didn't seem to mind... after all, I had plenty of their favorite treats with me.

Casey Jones Bones is one of our awesome sponsor partners on the race car, and they make sure to take care of all of our fellow race dogs.  We always have free sample packs in the pits and at events... and now, we even have full size boxes for sale as well! 

If you find yourself at a NELCAR US Legends race in New England, be sure to stop by the #8 pit!  Not only are Casey Jones Bones the Lapdogs' favorite, I haven't met a dog yet that doesn't go nuts for them.  We've made lots of doggy fans in the pit area, and have even more who anxiously await their humans returning home from the race track with cookies in hand each weekend.

Speaking of fans in the pits... Race season means we get to see our beloved former foster girl Belle nearly every weekend!  We hadn't seen her in about six months, so it was truly a treat to spend some time with her yesterday (and yes, her wonderful humans as well). 

Belle is such a wonderful pup and truly the perfect race dog.  She's content just hanging out at the track and enjoying all of the attention she (deservedly so) gets.  Matt still wishes we had kept her, but we surely would have had to find a bigger house.  Adopting her out to a loving family who just happen to be great friends really was the perfect situation. 

Now that we've covered the humans' cheating ways, I'll leave you with a few shots of the racing from this weekend as well.

A couple shots from practice day...

 

A couple from race day... The man took home a p10 finish to start the season off.  Not too shabby!

 

Mischievous Babies

There's really not a whole lot of mischief going on around here today.  Well, unless you count last week's sleepless nights incident. Lola developed a UTI which resulted in a trip to the Emergency Vet for antibiotics and a couple of exhausted humans after those sleepless nights. She's doing much better now, thankfully, and the humans spent part of the weekend catching up on zzz's.

There's a little human mischief going on with trying to get all of our holiday preparations and shopping completed.  I'm sure we're not the only ones with long To-Do lists however, so instead of dwelling on that today, let's all smile!  I have a few foster baby updates to share and nothing puts a smile on our faces like cute, mischievous pooches, right?

First up is the tiny tot, Maverick.  He just got a new blankie and is all set for another New England winter...

Little Rosie is always getting into something!  Her Mama managed to snap this super cute pic of she and big sister Rascal snuggling in their chair.  Yes, I said their chair.  Don't you just love the cover? 

Not that I can't help but smile every single time I see photos of any of my foster babies, but there's something extra special about Booth, aka my little Boo.  Add in an adorable football costume and my face hurts from grinning ear to ear!

The beautiful Addie just celebrated her 2nd birthday.  She's such a big girl now!

And of course, there's Miss Belle.  If you read our blog regularly, you see her a lot ... since we get to see her all summer long at the race track!  She's truly a special little lady and holds a big piece of our hearts!

There's nothing better than getting a photo or update from my foster babies adoptive families!  I'm really enjoying their Christmas cards as they start to arrive.  We were not able to foster any babies this past year, but I hope we'll get back to providing a loving, temporary home to some special little tykes in 2014.

Sunshine, Cider Donuts and Miss Belle

Happy first Wednesday of October!  Let's get wordless... but before you ask, the last three photos are of our former foster baby Belle.  I snapped these shots at the race track over the past few weeks.  She is awesome and the best race dog ever!