Max Rowdy

So one of my dear friends recently pointed out that she has never seen a picture of Max and I realized I have posted on Pete but never on Max (getting Max was at a dark, no blogging time in my life). So today I thought I would tell you about Max...he came to live with Jeff and I December 27th, 2006. Jeff did not grow up with pets and one of his hopes for being 'a big boy' was to have a dog. Post marriage, Oct/Nov of 06, Jeff began asking about a dog, I wanted to wait until family left for Christmas as everyone, Mom, Dad, Robert, Tasha, their 2 dogs, Philip, Tara and grandma were going to be in our little house for the Christmas holiday. I kid you not, the day everyone rolled out of town Jeff said "ok, so can we have a dog now?" We went to PetSmart, JUST TO LOOK-so I thought. We looked, talked with the ladies and to make a long story short, we left with a little mini pin. As the story goes, he picked his name and Max was the only thing he would respond to. As we have gotten to know him, this is quite true. He is stubborn, independent, and determined...Jeff laughs that this is my training for kids and that Max is just like me. Ok, enough talking/typing, here are pictures.

This is the first like 24 hours he was "home".  What a sweet puppy he was, so calm and docile...then the "real" Max came out.

One of the many  good things about Max is that he is REALLY good with kids and just loves them!  This is Max with is "brother" Desmond.  No really, D will nudge Max, then when Max goes to lick or nudge D back D "tattles" on Max.  Then when we are not looking, Max will run and jump on D, when D tattles, Max just looks at us and cocks his head as if to say "what? I did not do anything".  It's really funny!

This is cousin Reno (and Aunt Terra).  Reno gets so excited as Terra turns into our neighborhood; these boys are just the best of friends!!  They love their play dates and if the adults wait too long, they begin to get antsy when people show up at the house.  

I also love this picture because it shows Max's teeth.  When he gets to playing and gets really excited his gums draw back and you see his teeth.  It's just so cute!

In the kitchen you will find this picture in a picture frame I found that says "This is hard to ask, but I have to know...Am I adopted?"  This picture makes him look much calmer than he is however, the sweetness is true.

So this picture makes Jeff and I laugh as this day we were trying to teach Max to stay in the back seat on car rides.  His strong spirit and determination he kept trying to get up front.  He kept putting his head on my shoulder and scooting forward.  Funny kid!  

Ok, hope you enjoyed seeing our "first born".  

Meet Pete

For those of you who have not heard, Jeff and I rescued and black lab (probably mixed with something else) male dog from the side of a highway and noticed he was carrying his back leg on Wednesday August 20th.  Not wanting to take him to a pound, I began calling all shelters and rescue organizations we could find.  I bet I seriously called  over 15  separate organizations/people.   Finally this WONDERFUL lady named Carole from the Heartland Lab Rescue emailed us stating they (just like every other place) did not have a foster home but if we knew someone who could foster him, they could assist with medical care and finding an adoptive/forever home.  We told her that we would be a foster home for little Pete (little describes him now as you can see his rib cage, feel his spine with great detail.  We were told later that he was so malnourished that within 2 days he probably would have died.) Pete was taken to the vet on the 26th where we learned he had heart-worm, a blood disease from ticks (none of these things would effect humans or Max but just in case the dogs had been separate).  As if all that was not bad enough, Pete has 2 hip fractures!!!!!  How did he get those you might ask?  Well when we found him a lady had stopped as she had seen him running down the highway just a few moments before he collapsed under the bridge where we found him.  Yep, that's right, some big fat jerk probably hit poor Pete with their car and just went on.  Obviously he needs surgery however due to his heart worm and length since the injury there are concerns regarding surgery.  So on Friday Pete was returned to our care with STRICT instructions to restrict his activity.  Just little concerns like is femur  popping out and harming internal organs (no pressure for Jeff and I!!!).  Ok, so that is the basic story of Pete.  I have to say that even being in ALL that pain, he has been the sweetest, calmest, most loving dog ever!  He never once growled, tried to bite, or seemed to be angry at us.  Even the vet was impressed with Pete's disposition.  

One last thing, due to Pete's large medical expenses, Jeff and I have been brain storming how to raise a donation for Heartland Lab Rescue.  To date, we are planning to host a spaghetti dinner charging for the meal, hoping people will pay for a homemade meal and throw in a bit extra.  All money collected will be donated to Heartland for the WONDERFUL job they are doing.  So keep your ears and eyes open as this can be your way to contribute to the cause.  Ok, enough talking, here are pictures of Pete...he's just so cute!

While Max has been SO VERY curious about Pete since they had been separate, he was not 100% sure about sharing "his" home with another dog.  As we settled in for bed, Pete and Max seemed to be friends.

Can you see the tape on his back legs?  This is to prohibit him from pulling that femur out of socket.  Poor Pete does not like it, AT ALL!  However, we have seen the benefit.

Ok, this picture might make dog trainers cringe as I am in the kennel with Pete (Max has a hard time being left out and Jeff had to remove him).  I wonder if Pete was kept outside, in a dog run or sorts as he has a really hard time with door ways (much like a dog my family had when I was a child).  So having to balance Pete's tender leg and his fear of new places I tried several ways to get him in the kennel; finally I grabbed some treats, crawled into the huge kennel and patiently eased Pete in.  

This pictures also shows his back that was shaved for his heart-worm injections.  I hear they were really long needles and even with a bum hip, he did not seem upset with the vet or his staff.  What a great dog!!!