#3 - Bear Goes Home

Down three, one to go and then everyone will be in their new homes. Well, Patriot has to wait until the middle of January but he'll be here with his new Mom.

Bear's parents arrived home from holiday late last night and came right away this morning to take him home! They stayed for a while, and laughed at the show the puppies were putting on with all their antics. They are quite the bunch! Hannah was her usual self, trying to hog all the attention away from the pups and steal their toys in the process. She's never met a stranger! Marley enjoyed playing with the pups. She's so much more fun now that the milk bar is totally closed down.

With his new parents and new home, Bear also gets a new name, Loki. Loki will be living not too far away and might even be in the same training class as Crawford. How cool will that be? I wonder if the brothers will recognize one another.

Be good, Bear. Show your new Mom and Dad the kind of love you gave us, lots of kisses, paws on their cheeks, and cuddles on the couch (if allowed!) If not, make sure you entice them down to the floor so you can show them some love! Work hard and learn your lessons well. Make lots of new friends and have fun. We will miss you greeting us when we come in the house (because you've climbed over the puppy pen!) and following us from room to room. We enjoyed finding you sleeping behind the chair or under the dining room table. Grow up to be big and strong and tell Dad to expose you to upland game birds so you can become a great hunter! We love you and will see you soon! Grandpa and Gramma Z

#2 - Squeak Goes Home

Squeak went home today with his new family. I have been acquainted with this family for a few years through Vizsla Rescue - I once tried to adopt Penny to them! :) At that time, they weren't ready for a second dog but to my good fortune, they are ready now! Squeak will become Ziggy, for the time being. A name more suited just might be found, we'll see! Ziggy will join his new Vizsla brother, Buddy, who didn't make the trip south but stayed home with Grandmom.

From reports received today, Ziggy is doing well, making new friends, and taking it all in stride. I hope he has a good night. No worries, E - he'll be up and playing with you in no time ~ I bet you two will be fast friends!

Do well, Ziggy. Make lots of friends. Don't chew anyone's ears off with all the gabbing you tend to do - learn when to express yourself to get the most out of life - not everyone likes an aria. Work hard, learn your lessons well and love your new family. We will miss your lively character and the enthusiastic kisses you gave whether you saw us a minute ago or a few hours. Be good to Buddy and don't get in his face, at least not right away. You have a zeal for life and it certainly shows. We will see you again but until then, go forth knowing that we love you and have put you in good hands! Show them the love - Grandpa and Gramma Z

If I Were A Vizsla . . .

If I were a Vizsla Mom, I would be so proud of my son, Rancher. But, I am not a Vizsla Mom and was not pleased when he brought a dead squirrel into the house this morning. He carried it so proudly and would not share it with his siblings. I was incredulous that what he had was a real squirrel but when he dropped it, there was no mistake. Stuffed animals do not have feet! Yikes. Off to the broom closet to get the dustpan. I scooped up the squirrel and made a mad dash outside. Yes, sans shoes but with socks for protection on my feet from the cold, damp concrete, I ran to the trash can and promptly deposited the lifeless body of poor unfortunate squirrel. As the snow continues to melt in the yard, I am hoping this to be the ONLY buried treasure. I can only hope all the excavating the pups have been doing under the arborvitae did not produce sleeping, now dead squirrel. But, if they did happen to find it under the ground sleeping, how proud a Vizsla Mom I would be.

Bear's Joy

These are Bear's Christmas pictures. He wasn't too sure about sitting next to the ornament tree but he managed to tolerate it just long enough for me to capture these few pictures.

Bear has been a JOY to have at the house. He's really catching on to what it means to be part of a household. He tells me when he needs to go out. He comes when I call him. He comes in to the room to say hello to me - even though he's jumped out of the pen to do so. Bear has such a sweet personality; he can be quite the bear, too, when it comes to his brothers and sister. Thankfully, everyone holds their own and no one is over the other.

Bear is a joyful puppy and wags his tail often, sometimes in circles.

Too much JOY makes a puppy tired!

Bear and Squeak go to their new homes tomorrow. We are going to miss them dearly and the house will be quieter but we know they are going to G.R.E.A.T. homes and their parents will keep in touch.

Squeak's HOPE

These are Squeak's Christmas pictures. I could not choose only one picture so, I've posted them all. On this day, Squeak is 10 weeks old.

There is always HOPE - there's no time to be down when Squeak's around. He lives enthusiastically, his kisses are at full speed whether he's seen you recently or several hours earlier. He's a ball of energy and we can only hope that his new family is ready for the activity he will bring to the household! Buddy, hold on to your blanket! He has an awesome stand and should be able to learn how to freestack quite easily. He is vocal and doesn't mind telling the entire world his plight. So far, he's taking after his Gramma Lena in quite a few ways - must be in the genes! He was the first one to sniff out the pizza Daniel was cooking one evening so I'd say he has a very good nose! I have really enjoyed having Squeak in the house. He just has so much personality.

Squeak says, "I'm a little late getting my Christmas greetings out but I'm on time to say, "Happy New Year!" May all your dreams come true! Mine are about to!"

Squeak's Hives

The pups got me up at 2am today. When Squeak came back into the house, he was acting oddly. He was shaking his ears, and rubbing his face on the carpet. I thought it was his ears, so I checked them. Nope, they looked good. Then, I happened to look at his nose and said, "You don't have a Roman nose! What's going on here?" So, I took him into the bedroom and had Marc look at him. Yep, something was wrong. And, he had hives on the top of his head, and his legs. Nothing was new so I could only deduce it was an insect bite of some sort and that he was having an allergic reaction to. So, I gave him 25 mg of Benadryl. Little boy got to sleep with us in the Big Bed - mostly so I could listen to his breathing and to settle him. The medicine actually put him to sleep.

When Marc and I got up at 6am, Squeak didn't look much better. I called the Emergency Clinic and talked to them about Squeak. They told me I could probably wait to see his regular vet when they opened at 8am. So, I (we) took Marc to the airport and then headed down to our regular vet. She wasn't there but Dr Merrill was. He said Squeak checked out normal (does he KNOW Squeak?!?) but treated him with Temaril, a combination corticosteroid and antihistamine so the swelling on his nose would go down.



Of course, I thought Squeak was due to go home today. Nope, I was confused - he goes home tomorrow. By tonight, his nose is back to normal, he's had his bath, his DNA swab, and he's had his Christmas picture taken. He'll get one more dose of Benadryl later tonight but he'll be ready to go as soon as Fane and Murray arrive in the morning.

Little toot, Dr Merrill thought it was a spider bite. Goodness. Well, his Gramma Lena swells up when she gets bitten by a spider, too. Maybe it just runs in the family! :(

Catch You All Later!

Let's Get Mom!

Marc and Bear ~ Best Buds

For the past week or so, Bear has been climbing out of the puppy pen so he can be with us wherever we are in the house. On this day, he climbed into Marc's lap. Marc was only too happy to share his lap with his buddy, Bear. He has been a real joy to have around the house. We can often find him sleeping under the dining room table or behind one of the equipal chairs in the front room - it hides him just enough.

Everyone Sitting; Well, Just About

The pups are getting wiser everyday. They are learning to sit if they want to get a treat. Here, everyone is sitting but Patriot. They are just so cute. All eyes on Mom!

In The Snowy Expanse of The Backyard

Rancher strikes a pose


Patriot helps clear a path


"If I eat it, maybe the job will go faster!"












Patriot and Rancher


Patriot and Squeak

Can anyone tell Brianna is the one who was taking all the pictures? Hence, why there are SO MANY of Patriot! Yes, he's now sporting a Camo collar instead of his green one.

The pups have been really good despite the fact that we have had snow on the ground for the past 9 days. They are good about going out, doing their business outside although they are not housetrained 100%. And, that's only because I don't have six pairs of eyes in my head! Yeah, I'm a Mom of 4, so that means I only have 4 pairs of eyes in my head, right?!

Anyway, tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I still have a few photos to take and post. I really do hope the pups cooperate with my idea of a Christmas shoot. If they do, you'll see them here!

And Then There Were Five . . . Lemon Drop Goes Home

And, becomes Crawford. His new parents came yesterday to pick him up during one of the worse snow storms we've had; not since January 2004 have things been so severe. The winds were kicking up, snow was blowing everywhere, and cold - man, oh man, was it ever cold!

In the safety of the warm house, Crawford shows the world his beautiful face! But, in the face of the blowing wind, forget it, folks - this pup's hiding!

Do well, Crawford. Grow to be big and strong, love your Mom and Dad, and make lots of new friends. Never let them see you cry and never be the bully. Watch out for Wiley, your cousin down the street. He's pretty smart and much bigger, for the time being. We love you and will see you soon. Take care and represent the family well. Gramma and Grandpa Z

Initial reports are that he had a rough night settling into his crate and after a few suggestions, we are hoping he'll do better tonight. I wonder if the pups have a 72 hour fear period like rescues do. I don't think they'll follow the three week honeymoon period because they are still trying to figure out who they are!! :) What I do know is that life will get much better!

Wishes For You As He Prepares To Depart

"Merry Christmas, Everyone! I'll be leaving the nest later today and I wanted to make sure I gave you my holiday greetings. I hope the coming year is as fun-filled as I hope mine is going to be and may you never be without love! Licks and Wiggles!"

Lemon Drop

Playing With Dad on Friday Night

What a greeting Marc got when he came home from the airport! This would make even the saddest person feel filled to the brim with L.U.V. love!







Don't worry, Bear didn't hit the wall - it just looks that way!

Sarah Says Good-Bye to Lemon Drop

When Lemon Drop was born, he weighed 5.7 oz. He was our tiniest pup but had a strong will to survive and never let his size get in the way of making sure he had a nipple to latch on to. Sarah is the "pep talk" giver and she told him that he needed to be sure to push his bigger brothers out of the way so he could eat and grow up to be big and strong. Sarah gave Frida, now known as Mia, the exact same "talk!" If you saw her now, you'd never believe she was the tiniest in her litter. Somehow I think Lemon Drop is going to grow much the same way.

Pictures From December 17, 2008

I somehow managed to catch all six pups in the same picture. What little darlings they are!


Lemon Drop gnawing on the blue ball that is from his Aunt Lyric's litter.


Bear, Lemon Drop and Paloma. They are really making this photo shoot easy. These are my stacking Vizslas!


If you'll remember from a previous writing, Squeak figured out how to escape from the puppy pen. Well, I removed his escape route so now he likes to get up on top of the crates and look to see what he's missing. He's just a little too smart!


I'd like to make a long distance call, please?