Gotcha Day!

Yes, Sam is feeling better. I’ve been hesitant to say so since every time I thought he might be on the mend, he became ill with something else. However, we have now passed the two week mark with good solid poops and no sneezes or sniffles. I think I can now say Sam has made a full recovery!

We had a pretty big day today. One of our local Golden Retriever rescues, the Arizona Golden Retriever Connection celebrated their 10th annual Gotcha Day. AZGRC has helped many Golden Retrievers find forever homes. We are proud to be members of this great rescue! Aaron and I took Sam to participate in the fun.

The event was held at Vista Del Camino Park in Scottsdale. It is a beautiful parks with lots of ramadas and a lake.


One of the first events we watched was musical chairs. The owners had to step on the paw prints.


The music has just stopped, and everyone is diving in! There was a lot of laughter and quite a few colliding Goldens!


The circle is getting smaller… We ended up missing who won.


This guy was at the lake enjoying a day of fishing with his family – I think he might have wanted to play!


We took a break for lunch.




Isn’t this a great way to spend the day?


Sam was really enjoying himself!


This guy took some time out for a quick brushing.


After lunch, we watched the ball toss game. All the teams had to see how many balls their dogs could catch in 30 seconds. These three goldens are waiting to start.


Sam took some time out to pose for pictures.


I don’t think there are ever bad pictures of Golden Retrievers!




There was some serious ear scratching goin’ on! Wait a minute… how far can that leash stretch?


We decided to enter Sam in the “Bobbing for Hotdogs” competition. Here he is getting ready:


All these dogs were waiting for the competition – can you find Sam?


Oh! There he is!


This one wasn’t sure what to do…


…and his friend got tired of waiting!


Can I help?


Sam couldn’t wait to go!


He needed a little help:


Eventually he got the idea. He got his hot dog in 12 seconds. The winning dog made it in 4 seconds!


He did ask for another hot dog before we left.


We were beat! We put his head collar back on:


Then did a little shopping at the boutique!


All in all, it was a wonderful day!

We would also like to thank our dear friend Samantha for this great award. Thank you so much!

Happy Halloween!

Sam wishes all his friends a safe and Happy Halloween!

Product Placement...

...currently happening at our house! Penn - please call for Sam's rates and availability!


On a side note - does anyone know how to add .pdf files to Blogger? I've been trying to add a few of the recipes I've collected, but cannot figure out how!

Thank you!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Sam turns seven years old today! Unfortunately, we cannot celebrate the way we wanted to! His runs have gotten worse again, even though his coughing and sneezing is clearing up.

We did get him a present though! I think he really enjoyed his surprise.


First off, Sam got to wear his special birthday scarf!


He was very excited about receiving his gift.


Uh-huh... A rope and what else do I smell?


These are all mine?


The rope will have to wait until later!


Ummmm.... How do I get them out?


Oh, I will figure this out!


Do I have to share these with anyone?


I'm gonna need a bigger mouth!


I'm not sure, I think he may have all 12 under there!


Thank you Mom and Dad for my presents! Thank you everyone for my birthday wishes!


And for those of you who asked about the recipes I wanted to try - I will get them posted this weekend!

:)

Weekend Update

Sam is feeling just a bit better today, although he is still not well. His poops are still not quite normal and he seems very tired. The medicine is helping control his coughing and sneezing, but his nose is very runny.

Since Sam is not well enough for any special treats we will postpone his birthday a couple of days. I've been collecting recipes from Sam's friends in hopes of making his day very special. Since his tummy is not quite normal, we've decided not to take a chance!

However, even though Sam understands about missing his birthday, he doesn't want to miss out on Halloween! We have been very busy this weekend decorating pumpkins and getting his costume ready.

Here Sam is inspecting the pumpkins. Since I am very dangerous to myself when armed with a knife, I decided to paint a pumpkin instead. Aaron and I went to Hobby Lobby and found these very life-like fake pumpkins. We still bought a small pumpkin, but it will stay just as it is - unharmed.


Here is the first template for the pumpkin.


Then the second...


The painted cat side - Sam was very nervous around this cat!


The finished dog side... The pumpkin is not quite done yet, I need to add a few small decorations.


I am making a few modifications to a childs bee suit for Sam. Here he is modeling the hat - this is actually the first smile we've seen on him all weekend!


The wings:


Modeling with his pumpkins:


"Ummmm, Mom? This isn't going on my blog, is it Mom? Mom?"


In other news, we are still busy taking care of my sister's pets. We snapped this picture of Caspian playing with the bones of his victims. Sam would like to point out that we should never turn our backs on cats!


My ornamental pepper plant bloomed. I had no idea these things would bloom! I thought the flowers were rather pretty. They are only about a 1/4" in size.


We managed to get one more of the stray cats spayed - another female!


We have three more to do. The one on the far right has already been spayed. The other three still need to be done.


Sam had a very close call, too! Aaron and I thought about giving him a bath this weekend...


...but decided he could wait until he is feeling a little better!

Thank you everyone for keeping Sam in your thoughts. My little guy is still pretty sick, but every day seems a little better. I will keep you all posted!

Back to the vet...

Update:
Sam and I are home from our vet appointment. He has an upper respiratory infection. complete with sneezing, coughing and has a very a runny nose. He's received shots, antibiotics and cough medicine. First diarrhea, then vomiting, then more diarrhea - and now this! Sam is now resting, with strict instructions from Aaron and I not to over-exert himself!

Original Post:
Sam is not feeling well again. For the last two days he has been sneezing and coughing. We have an appointment with him at the vet this afternoon, but until then we are making him get plenty of rest!


The poor little guy is tired of being sick.


..."I think I'll sleep now"...

Sam is recovering

First off, thank you to everyone who asked about Sam this weekend. We've been enjoying having him home and spoiling him like he deserves. He is still not fully recovered - his poops are still not quite normal. You know you are a dog lover when you want to wake your husband up at 4 AM to tell him your dog's poop is starting to look better!

In the meantime, Sam has been getting plenty of rest:


Eating nourishing home-made meals:


Receiving lots of lovin':


I've also been taking him for walks in the morning. They are quite a bit shorter than what we normally do, but I think Sam really enjoys them. This morning we met a very nice Pomeranian named Scarlett. Sam was a real gentleman - he laid down so that she wouldn't have to look up at him! Of course, I didn't have my camera!

Aaron and I are also taking care of my sister's dogs and cats while she and her family are away on vacation. Meet Sam's cousins!

Suzy is 14 years old, and a real lady!


Molly is a Golden Retrieve mix - she is a sweetheart!


This is Prince Caspian, a cookie-eating, sock stealing, maul-your-leg-like-an-angry-rottweiler cat. Everyone adores him, and he knows it! Sis, do you know your cat goes on the counter when you are away?


Georgie. My sister rescued her. She is very shy, and Sam is pretty sure she is the epitome of evil! What do you think?


We really missed Sam while he was away. It wasn't quite the same finding both shoes together, a clear path to walk through the house, and nothing to walk around when you are trying to cook. We wouldn't trade having Sam for anything!

This is a small example of how our floor looks. Sam has most of his toys pulled out and spread over the floor. He also made sure to beat up his pillow when he returned. Our friend Austin gave Sam the Coke bottle. Sam thought it was a great present!


We think Sam is very happy to be home too!


P.S. We did find Rhome, Texas! :)