First Christmas at the New Homestead

We're spending our first Christmas at the new homestead in Oregon. It's a quiet day inside, with coffee and breakfast, and blustery rainy weather outside. There are lots of family and friends to chat on the phone with, catching up with the Holiday happenings and wishing good tidings.

Shadowfax is pooped from all the festivites. She's spending the morning in her cozy bed with a blankie and some heating pads. We're going to make our Fake Meatloaf (recipe here) and mashed potatoes for supper. It's a holiday favorite around here, the perfect gluten free vegetarian meal for a special occasion. 

We leave you with a photo from last week when we were exploring, watching waves crash at sunset. The official geo-located photo tag location is called "Devil's Elbow". There are a lot of Devil names here - Devil's Churn, Devil's Punchbowl. Some very creative names indeed. 

We hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Our Big Secret...Revealed!

It's time that we tell you the big secret that we've been skillfully keeping under wraps the last few months. We have have moved to Oregon!

The last several months have been a whirlwind of activity and attempts to find our new normal all while working at our respective jobs. Shadowfax is doing well and enjoying her new surroundings and new state. I'll insert our standard apology here for not posting for months and add the same stock promise to return to regular posting. We think you all know what that promise is worth.

The picture above is from Cape Perpetua, about 10 minutes from our new house.

No Cookies You Say

"So you say it's not cookie time. OK. This is a nice pink pig you got here, be a shame if something were to happen to it. You sure about that whole no cookies thing?"

Please note that no pink pigs were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Shadowfax on a Road Trip

We recently took a road trip out to the coast of Oregon. It was slightly longer than usual due to a rock slide that closed a highway and forced us to backtrack and take a longer detour route.

Shadowfax is really good in the car, she generally just lays down and sleeps once the car starts moving. She really only gets up and looks out the window when we slow down and pass through a town. This is her after a nice tour through a rest area, so many good things to sniff. 

We take car safety seriously, so we have her stay in her harness (it's a RuffWear Harness) while she's in the car. It has front and back clip on spots which makes getting in and out of the car easy, and she can stay leashed to the seat belt but still have some freedom of movement.

Summer Shadowfax

Summer has arrived here in Idaho. We went from pleasantly warm Spring temps to 80's and 90's quickly. Spring has been an incredibly short season here the last few years and we have gone from nighttime temps below freezing to summer-like weather in a matter of weeks.

Shadowfax was perfectly fine with the early arrival of sunshine basking season. There will be a lot more pictures like this.

And where have we been for the last few months? Well we've been busy and we have a big announcement in the works, but we'll have to leave it at that for now. Stay tuned. More to come.

Cushing's Disease Follow Up

Shadowfax had her two week vet checkup today to see how she is tolerating her new medication for Cushing's Disease. We will get the test results in a couple of days, but our experience thus far has been positive. 

After a few days of getting acclimated to the medication, she's back to normal. She has been participating in her normal walks every day, is drinking less (she drank a lot every day!) and has noticeably curbed her mulch and dirt consumption. She's probably going to always have the rounded midsection that is common with Cushing's Disease dogs. But unlike her male caretaker, she at least has a documented medical condition to attribute her husky figure to.

The tests are mostly to see how her liver and kidneys are tolerating the current dose of medication. If everything is OK with that, we're just going to stay the course until our next check up in a couple of months. We won't scare you with the gory details of how much this new medication costs, but we'll just say that it's a good thing we are both gainfully employed.

Shadowfax came back from a morning at the vet and crashed hard. She has three dog beds and one large fluffy pillow available (even more are out of frame), yet somehow she managed to sleep-squirm out of all of them and nap on the floor in front of the fireplace. To answer your questions: Yes, she has legs under her blanket. Yes, this is what a manatees' tummy looks like. No, she doesn't care what you have to say about all this.

Shadowfax and Cushing's Disease

Shadowfax has been diagnosed with Cushing's Disease. We thought her tummy was getting a little larger over the past year or so, but it turns out this is a symptom of the disease. Dogs with Cushing's can often have a "look", a midsection that looks slightly bloated. What we thought was her large torso build and a few too many treats was in fact something else.

This is somewhat of a relief as it explains a lot of her recently developed tendencies; she's been drinking and urinating a lot more, seems to have an insatiable appetite (to the point of eating dirt and mulch in the back yard), and is generally a bit restless, unable to get comfortable. 

We are still in the process of learning more about the disease and are easing her into some new medication, but the prognosis is very positive. There is a chance of some side effects from the medication, but this should be a condition that we are able to manage for the remainder of her years.

A New Sweater from Overseas Cousin

Shadowfax's British cousin Gelato sent her a lovely sweater for Christmas. Gelato happens to be a Cane Corso, and understands what it means to be a full figured gal, with the big barrel chest of bully type dog. As such the sweater fit Shadowfax perfectly.

The sweater is pink and has a bone made of sequins on it, the works. Shadowfax looks smashing in it, and it's a velvety soft sweater, perfect for our chilly winter morning walks here in Idaho.

And we have the added bonus of pictures of Gelato trying on the sweater to make sure it would fit her cousin over here in the States. Thanks Gelato!

You can find a great dog sweater for your pup at Chewy.