Unfortunately this has caused him (and us) some problems in that his eyes are particularly vulnerable to  being injured, the bushes, sticks, rocks and our legs don’t seem to give to much when he hits them with his face, and the most tender spot are his eyes.

After too many visits to the vet to have him looked at, and too many times having to put a cone on his head to try to protect him while he is healing – we decided to get a pair of Doggles.

As you can see, he looks great with them – he doesn’t seem to think so, and tries to rub them off of his face whenever he gets a moment to think about the fact that they are there, but I think they look great (and everyone else seems to comment about them – positively so far).

They seem to add some protection, at least they spread the hit over a broader area, which is good.  You can tighten them to fit, and the chin strap holds it in place.  From what we can see, the comfort is pretty good – but we aren’t wearing them either, so…

The biggest problem is just that we need to be more proactive and make sure that he wears them, then he will have a chance to get used to them and hopefully won’t try to slip them off of his face.

More info to be shared in this review as we use them…

The two have taken to “owning” the sofa as they collect the last rays of sunlight in the late afternoon.  As you can see, Oliver thinks he is a cat, and just walks all over the top of the sofa.  Bodi thinks he is human, and owns the seat in it’s entirety.

Last night, as they both got into bed, Bodi did his usual – jumping into the bed and laying down at my pillow.  This is his normal “get into bed” routine.  Bodi lays with his head on my pillow and tries not to move so that Oliver can’t steal his spot.  He moves over to the center of the bed when I get into bed.

Oliver, as his normal is, leapt into bed and headed towards the pillows, then veered over and lay down with his butt on top of Bodi. Six months ago this would have caused an explosion from Bodi, now Bodi accepts his fate, and closes his eyes to sleep.  We’ve even caught Bodi getting up at times to move closer to Oli, it’s nice to see.

The only time Bodi does not follow this routine is if he feels he might get under the blanket and sleep for a while.  This, he learned from Oliver – When we first got Bodi he would never try to get under the blankets, Tucker always dove for the blankets and would actually push the blankets off of us in the middle of the night as he tried to push his nose under them.  Bodi tried not to get covered up – he was so out of shape that 2-3 minutes under the blankets and he would be panting like he had run a marathon.  Now, he will slide under the blankets to lie next to us on the sofa, and will sleep most of the night with a blanket over him if the night is cold enough.

So, even though we can’t say that all is perfect… we can say that all is on track for a much more perfect finish.

Nancy And I joke about Tucker still being here, in spirit – you swear that you hear him when you know nothing is there – you catch a glimpse out of the corner of your eye, go to see what Bodi or Oliver are in to, and find them asleep on the sofas – the little “mind” things.

This morning we awoke and walked into the hallway to see Tucker’s blue light on his collar lit up. We got this light for him so that on night walks we could see him easier. Everyone we walked with and saw knew Tucker was coming from afar as they would see “The Blue Boy” walking up.

Tucker’s collar has hung from that door since we lost him, and this morning his blue light was on – makes us happy!

I thought I would share this poem again, not mine, but very touching – and appropriate…

I stood by your bed last night …I came to have a peep.
I could see that you’d been crying,and you found it hard to sleep.

I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear, “It’s me. I haven’t left you. I’m well, I’m fine, I’m here”.

I was close to you at breakfast… I watched you pour your tea.
You were thinking of the many times your hands reached down to touch me.

I was with you at my grave today… you tend to it with such care.
I want to reassure you. That I’m not lying there.

I walked you towards the house as you fumbled for the key.
I gently put my paw on you…I smiled and said, “it’s me”.

You looked so tired as you sank into your chair.
I tried so hard to let you know that I was sitting there.

It’s wonderful for me to be so near you everyday,
To say to you with certainty, “I never went away”.

You sat there quietly, then smiled… I think you knew
That in the stillness of the evening I was very close to you.

And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I’ll rush across to meet you and we’ll stand there side by side.

I have so many things to show you ! There’s so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out, then come home to be with me.

This morning we encountered a few critters along the way…. birdies, squirrels and lots of lizards.  Oliver was in full hunt mode.. as you can see from the pics below.  This little guy loves the thrill of the hunt!  Enjoy the pics!

Lizard in the tree

Trying to catch that lizard

"Oh wait, there's a birdie over there"!

"I'm going to catch it... "

"Wait... something's over there now"!

Locking in on a lizard.. full point

Gonna get it!

The lizard slipped away.. darn!

"What the woof"?

Tucker

Tucker (bless his sweet soul) loved the warm, clean laundry (and his teddy bear too of course).  When I would empty the basket out on the bed, he would jump up and dive right in surrounding himself with the warm, fluffy clothes.  He would scoop them up under himself and lay down right in the middle of it all.  Ahhhh… this was pure bliss for the little guy… almost as good as the infamous “sunbeam”.

Now Bodi and Oliver both have carried on this tradition… Bodi pretty much does the same thing that Tuck did, except he’ll burrow underneath the clothes instead of laying on top of them.

But Oliver has taken it to a whole new level!  He’ll come running down the stairs to the laundry room, when he hears me open up the dryer.  He hasn’t tried to actually crawl into the dryer… yet!  So he has taken it upon himself to just climb into the laundry basket, on top of the warm clothes, curl up and go to sleep.   What a little cutie!

Ollie sitting in the basket

Ollie laying down in the basket

Ollie looking over his shoulders

Ollie waiting for Bodi's move

Bodi tries to join Ollie in the basket

Ollie going to sleep in the basket

"All we really want is the turkey"

So let’s talk turkey… Okay mom & dad… We want turkey!  We want turkey!  We want turkey!  That’s what Thanksgiving is all about for us.   It’s all about the bird.  That big, juicy, yummy bird that mommy spends HOURS preparing for us every year (a BIG KUDOS to mommy for doing this JUST for us!)  Wow… she is making that bird just for us and no body else gets ANY!  That’s right!  When that bird comes out of the oven.. we are going to be on that thing like a buzzard on a gut wagon………… huh?  Well… we’re not even sure what that means.. but if it has anything to do with MEAT.. we’re on it!!

Oliver - October 2010

Oli - enjoying the warmth of the sun

Big yawn there Oli Boo!

Oli... looks so cute

Beautiful Oli Boo!

Awwwwwwww......

"I feel a sneeze coming on"!!!

Another big yawn!

Bodi - Enjoying his new toy

Oli - Having a blast his first Christmas with us!

Beautiful Bodi!

Oliver - Waiting for that Christmas treat!

Bodi - Waiting for the Christmas treat from Mommy!

Oli - resting with Daddy and his new toy!

Bodi - Loving his new toy!

The Boys are beat after opening ALL of their gifts!

I still remember the first time that we gave Tucker a Bully Stick – we had taken him to a show about an hour away from home, he spent the day being a great boy, showing beautifully and just being a love. We saw the Bully Sticks that were for sale at the show and decided to buy him one for the ride home.  At that time he rode in his crate on long drives, and so he settled into the crate, having no idea what we were going to give him.

As you can guess, the ride home was filled with the sounds of Tuck moaning and groaning as he got to know what a Bully Stick was.  Nancy and I were laughing as we listened to him eat away at that treat and we have never forgotten the sound of Tucker and his first Bully treat. The first Bully Stick lasted quite a few days, but as he figured out the way to devour them, they lasted no more than an hour.

This was the first Bully Stick that we had given Oliver, and after taking his treat off to a safe location he spent a few hours enjoying the stick, while always keeping an eye on Bodi to make sure that he kept his distance.

Bodi has had the pleasure of the treats before, and being Bodi, he knows he can dust one in about half an hour, and then he will spend the rest of the time that (either Tucker) or Oliver finishes eating their treats walking around at a distance staring at the treat to see if it ever leaves the watchful eyes of its owner. Of course, we always keep an eye on Bodi as well to make sure that he understands that he must allow the owner to finish his own treat.

So, half the fun of giving the Bully Stick is watching the complete enjoyment of the boys as they finish them off, and the other half, is the calm that settles in as they get lost in their treats and we enjoy a nice afternoon outdoors.

Long live the Bully Stick…