It’s funny how life is. You’re cruising along on auto-drive and the next thing you know you jump tracks and find yourself with a brand new set of priorities… We’ve all have been there, sometimes it happens when tragedy strikes and other times we’re lucky enough for the derailment to be caused by something positive in our lives…

For those of you not aware, we now have a new member of the household! I’m still asking myself how this happened? When Sasha passed away, I knew I would eventually get another dog but I expected “her” to find me further down the road. I say “her” because I really have never been drawn to boy dogs and never would have guessed I would even consider owning one. Well, I guess I never considered a lot of things…like how much I would miss having my own dog. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Isabella! She has been a great comfort to me since losing Sasha, especially at night by insisting on sleeping with me, much to her Momma’s dismay. Even still, she is not my dog and I don’t want her to think that she is. That aside, it’s the little things that start to make you see the void. Something as simple as picking out only one toy for Isabella when we would have searched the shelves for a second to avoid any jealousy. It seems like yesterday that Sasha was here with me, yet it feels like I’ve been missing her forever.

So… here we are…meet Ashas!

Hi Everyone!

He’s 18 weeks old and planted firmly in our hearts after just two weeks. He has settled into our home just as quickly and comfortably as we have adjusted to having him around. Bubby has been home with no classes for the summer semester, which has helped, and Isabella has adjusted even quicker than I could’ve hoped! She always wanted to play with Sasha so badly but Sasha became ill and just couldn’t keep up with the rough-housing of Isabella when she was a puppy. Now the tables are turned and Isabella is LOVING having a little brother to wrestle with.

If you’re not familiar with his looks, he is a smooth coat, silver dapple miniature dachshund. He looks like a typical black and tan doxie that has gotten into the fireplace and played in the ashes, hence the name Ashas! In case you’re wondering about the spelling, Ashas is an anagram of Sasha. He even reminds me of her a little with the simple similarities in the shapes of their heads. Here is a picture of them both.

That's Ashas on top, Sasha in the bottom pic...

I’m already smitten over this little face looking to me for everything from the necessities of life like food, water & love to the pleasures in life such as a large variety of chew bones and an endless supply of squeaky toys!

As I said, we’ve all adjusted pretty well. Sissy isn’t allowing him on her bed; she’s currently holding that back as a sanctuary for Isabella to feel like it’s her place. A ploy to get her back in bed at nights and out of my room? Maybe, but it’s working! Speaking of nights, Ashas is doing well there too, sleeping just fine through the night. He’s hilarious when he sleeps, typically it’s on his back and oh yes, he’s a noisy little sleeper too! All sorts of grunts and snores coming from such a tiny little pup!

Potty training is going pretty well, we’ve only had a few accidents so far!  He has no idea what a leash is but at least he has learned his name! We have decided to enroll both him and Isabella in some puppy classes. She’s no longer a puppy but we talked to the trainer and given her social skills (or lack thereof) he said we could enroll them both together. Isabella knows only two commands: how to sit and how to give a “low” five (it’s the same as high five but remember she’s a dachshund, everything is low for her!)

I was a little worried at first when Ashas’ temporary mom mentioned his favorite toy was an old slipper he liked to chew on but he really does not seem to be a bad chewer, at least no more than the typical puppy and luckily he has not shown ANY signs of being a big barker. In fact, he seems to be quite content to let Isabella do all the barking at the neighbor dogs while he hovers around in the background waiting for the coast to be clear. Hopefully this will continue because trust me, Isabella is loud enough for the both of them!  He loves exploring the backyard and is very enamored with pinecones. We have quite a surplus of them in the back yard coming from two very large Pine trees (common in the PNW) so he won’t run out anytime soon but man they make a mess on the carpet! I fear I will turn into Mommy Dearest and be heard screaming “no more pine cones, ever!!

Nom, Nom, Nom

We’ve hade some fantastic weather lately and Ashas seems to be particularly fond of the sun…he is definitely a “basker”; a trait very common to most dachshunds, in fact Sasha also loved sunbathing belly up however Isabella prefers soaking up the rays from inside the house where the sun finds it’s way across the dining-room floor.  Even when he’s not out there basking he’s not short on places to grab a quick nap!

It's a dogs life...

ZZZZZzzzzz....

Well, guess that’s about it for now…to sum everything up, as the title of this post says, he’s a keeper and we’re a two dog household again!

Catch ya later!

Be the first to like.

Like

Unlike

For most dachshund lovers it is an undisputed, well known irony that they are strong-willed, sneaky, noisy, silly, little sweethearts.  We’ve also given in to the fact that we worship the ground they pounce on and more often than not, we are willing to succumb to those beautiful almond shaped eyes to provide for whatever they need… or don’t need…even sleeping like a contortionist so as not to disturb their peaceful slumber!

 For those who live with and love a dachshund and haven’t figured it out yet, I offer the following advice to answer the question: when life is spent with a dachshund, who owns who?

You might be owned by your dachshund if…

Your doorbell no longer works, on purpose, in the hopes that visitors will knock softly enough to bypass the long dog tornado.

Cooking also doubles as agility practice, navigating the 4-legged clean-up crew scurrying below to get the bits of fruit and veggies you drop intentionally.

Mealtime is performed in front of an audience and you’re ok with it because you haven’t had to vacuum below the table in forever!

You no longer notice the nose prints on the inside of your car windows.

You support the porch/patio as a substitute potty when it’s raining or snowing in order to spare your living room carpet.

You keep the thermostat down at night to avoid waking up sweating from the built-in fur-covered bed warmers.

Every time you go to the store alone, you feel guilty and bring home a new toy.

Every time you go to the store with your dachshund, you bring home a new toy.

Your living room decor includes a set of stairs leading up to the couch.

You can spot another dachshund almost as quick as your dachshunds can.

Last but not least, no matter how many doxies you have you’re always thinking of getting another one!

6 people like this post.

Like

Unlike

Today we say goodbye to Baby… 1992 – 2010

 Baby was a young cat when we got her, we think maybe a year old.  It seems like yesterday when we chased her around a family friend’s yard to catch her and bring her home with us but in reality it was 17 years ago.  She’s been a great pet and we are left with plenty of wonderful memories that will keep her in our hearts forever.

 In her younger years she was very much a part of our everyday lives.  Always in the middle of things and ready to partake in all the family activities.  She was there to comfort me through divorce, lend a purr to the kids when they were in bed with colds and always keeping her regular vigil over the house…making her rounds through each of our rooms at night checking to ensure all was right in the world with her family.

She was an outdoor cat when we got her but aside from the occasional excursion into the back yard to check things out, she has been an indoor cat since joining our family.  I think she liked living indoors.  She was never an extremely playful cat and wasn’t the type to bring us present like mice or lizards.  Instead she was a mellow, laid back soul which filled the house with a sense of calmness.

She went through half a dozen moves with us, including the relocation from Texas to Washington which included a 5 day cross-country drive.  I wouldn’t exactly call her the travelling type but she made it through the trip and easily adjusted once we arrived.

 The last couple of years have each been increasingly difficult on her and we began to notice changes in her health. She stopped grooming herself and her water intake increased dramatically.  Her eyesight declined from both cataracts and glaucoma according to the vet so she has been blind for some time.  Last summer, on the heels of losing Sasha, we thought we had lost her as well to the heat, however she cashed in on one of her remaining nine lives and amazingly made it through.

 Last night she really started acting strange and just wasn’t herself.  She had the same look Sasha did towards the end so in my heart I knew something was up, especially since she was no longer purring when we were petting her.  After discussing with the kids we all agreed this was serious and had an idea it might be time.  She had already stopped eating so we kept an eye on her overnight and by this morning she had stopped drinking as well.  We took her to the vet who confirmed that Baby was suffering from a metabolic shutdown which, given her age, was not surprising at all.

 Together we made the call that it was time to let her go and we sat with her while she slipped away to be with her long time friend, our dear Sasha. She’ll also be surprised to find her old pal Bailey up there as well, it’s been years since they had the chance to torment each other!

 Peace be with you, Baby…until we meet again on the other side.

1 person likes this post.

Like

Unlike