HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Today is my birthday.  I am FIVE years old!!!!  Mom took pictures of my last night and SHE wanted to share them with you.  Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told her I have decided to become the GD of this farm.  For you city slickers that means Guardian Dog of the animals that live with us.  It is a very important job, protecting them from predators, and the UPS guys and Trash truck guys.  Mom said she would give me a 90 day trial, so tomorrow I will start.  I will do just great!  Maggie Mae.

First I was a pissy bumblebee.  Geeze.

Then I was so ashamed of being a damn bee I hide my face from the world.

Then I was some old woman with a headscarf and halloween wrap around my neck.  Can you see my scowling??

Now I am a troll.  Its hard to see my little cute face but I am not smiling.

Stella's stupid monkey hat. I ripped those socks off my feet.

Here are my new charges.  I can hardly wait to take care of them.

 First the four quackers.  They give us 3 eggs a day, they make super good cookies, and cakes...yummy.

Then sweet little Bonnie, she is everyones friend, kinda like me.....heheehhehehe.

This is "little Louie" he just came to our farm a few days ago.  He is a baby mini like our Petey. 

Petey, Louie and mean ole Ethel.

And Lucy.

Mom forgot to take a picture of little Bill cos he lives in a little pen on the other side of the house, he is just a little guy.

So Happy Birthday to me.  Margaret Mae

CHEWY REVIEW #2

Our next item we are reviewing this month is called Hartz No Odor Cage Wipes for Small Animals.
Mom got it to try on Eddies tower.

Ferrets have been known to have a musky smell about them, and of course if their cage is not cleaned on a daily basis then everything starts to smell. 

Eddie is excellent about using his special ferret litter box, and never has accidents out of the cage.  Everyday dad cleans his cage, by wiping it down with the Hartz wipes.  The wipes leave a soapy residue on the cage, but with paper towels it wipes off easily.  The wipes contain Nodor which traps odors on contact.  It also comes in a handy pop up container so dad can just grab the wipe and go. At a cost of $4.22 and only using a few wipes each day, it would be a good purchase.  There also is no lasting strong smell to the wipe.

Mom always worries that people who visit our house can smell Eddies tower, but company will comment that there is no smell.  Ferrets are just like kids, you gotta keep them clean and you have to keep their home clean, or it will smell.  Every week Ed's blankets and little rug gets washed in the washer, and his whole cage gets wiped down.  He also gets new kitty litter, and new shavings which are in the bottom of the tray of his cage.

Ferrets can be a lot of work, and that is why people end up letting them lose, or putting them outside in their barns to live.  These are crappy choices for ferrets.

Eddie is part of our family, and if you have ever had the pleasure of meeting him, he leaves a lasting impression with you.  He is funny, and smart, and of course teases us pugs everyday.

We give Hartz a four star review.  We were not paid any treats or money for this review.
Stella Rose

CHEWY REVIEW #1

So we told mom she had better get in gear and do our Chewy review, or Ms. Natalie would come a knocking on our door next time instead of this guy.

We just love when he pulls up.  He always gets out the the brown truck and comes in and sits for awhile, while we give him a glass of sweet tea and cookies.  He tells us all about working for Mr. Chewy and how much he loves to watch our faces when we see what is ACTUALLY in the box.  We are not to sure just WHAT he means by that comment.

So this month mom picked an item for bof us pugs and those two cats of ours. 

It is made by WERUVA and it is called Pumpkin Patch up for dogs and cats.  It is a food supplement made of pumpkin that you can add to your dogs or cats food.

Mom loves to give us 100% pumpkin and she tries real hard around this time of the year to actually cook us real pumpkin and freeze it.  So she was excited when she saw this on this months review.

So we tried it.

First the cats, Mom mixed their dry, and wet food with some pumpkin.

Henri is enjoying it.

Then it was our turn.

Dry, wet, and a little pumpkin.

We loved it also.

Here are the benefits of pumpkin.  The only two ingredients are pumpkin and water.  Eating pumpkin has lots of good benefits for our tummies and mom likes putting it in our food.  The feeding instructions for this product is you are to feed in conjunction with our regular food and refrigerate leftovers.

At our house there were no leftovers.

We reviewed a box with 12 pouches and each pouch contained 1.05 oz.  This morning each of us received just about a tsp. or so in our food and we went through 3 pouches.  So in our case this would not work for a family our size.  Although the price is reasonable at $7.44.

Another thing that mom did not like was this product is made in Thailand.  Mom tries really hard for us to eat USA, and to play with items made in the USA.  So another reason for mom to cook our own pumpkin.

We would give this a 3 star product.

We were not paid for this review, this is our own feelings.
Stella Rose and pugs

NUFFIN BUT PICTURES

This is just a picture post.  We had some friends asking what our new house looked like so here we go:

This is our living room, see me laying in the sun puddle??

Mom has been doing painting with Annie Sloans chalk paint.  She still has to paint the old rocker.  We still do not have our new flooring down it.  Mom is excited about the fake wood floors.

Mom painted this old desk

Another view of the livingroom

Little dining room, mom painted the table and chairs...can you see the red, on the table top and top of the chairs?

Part of the kitchen.

So this is part of our house.  We really enjoy it.  We will show you more of it later.

why do those ducks have a pool and we don't mom !!!!!!!

Stella Rose

BRAIN FOOD

Good Morning my friends, so yesterday I talked about "brain food" in my post, and some of you had some questions about it and what that was all about.

Definitely needs brain food...lol...

So my diagnosis at the vet is called CDS which is a common issue for senior dogs and is a disorder similar to Alzheimer's disease in humans.  In my case because I lived in a puppy mill until I was between 4-6 months old I most likely did not have all the nourishment I needed as a puppy and good care so that could be why I am having this problem at such a young age of seven years old.  The vet said the first year of a puppies life is very important when it comes to getting the proper nutrition that will carry over the rest of their lives.

Some of the symptoms of this disorder can be disorientation, lack of interest in playing, sleeping during the day a lot, restlessness at night, problems with elimination...things like this.

I have some of these things going on in my life right now BUT the good news is I am taking some new meds, and waiting on the vets okay to start my new food.   It is called B/D from Hills and it is a prescription food.  It has lots of good nutrients in it to help with my problem and also Mom can give me fruits, vegetables, fish and some vitamins.  Sounds like a good deal to me.

I look at it this way.........it could be a whole lot worse.  There are a lot of animals in our world right now who live in horrible environments and have never known what it feels like to be loved.  I on the other hand have the best life with all the love in the world and beyond.  Course I do have to deal with Mags and Gussie and Dads menagerie, but that's okay.  

Friends, I am going to be just fine.  Stella Rose

Here is a pic of mom and petey that Ms. Mary Ann took when she came to visit us last Friday.  Petey is growing.

HELLS BELLS

BABY ME

SO I went to see the Vet yesterday and on the way overs I had vision of sugar plums...well CANDY ...well lots of CANDY all floating around in my brain, and mom was trying to figure out why I was so quiet cos usually I am throwing a 2 year old temper tantrum, I had to explain to hers I was concentrating on the candy floating around in my brain.........she just shook her head.

So we get to the Vets and I look around for those LARGE bowls of candy you see in Walmart, but all I saw was NUFFIN, NUFFIN at ALL>..............................I turned around to walk right back out that door but Mom scooped me up and we went back to see Doc. Nancy.

Now I loves her but she had NO candy in her pockets, so I was pissy.  I just set on that cold ass table and looked at hers while she talked to my mom.  I practiced my zombie stare and when she talked to me, I plugged my ears, just so she understood how disappointed I was in hers.  I really faught hers was a better Vet than the Marine.

Soooooo...once again, she is checking my heart, and ears, and other areas I am not going to dignify and she decides I need medicine for inflammation and pain.  So I get two new meds and no candy.  WTH.  

So they also discussed wif my mom about contacting the Ames Teaching Hospital to see about putting me on BRAIN FOOD.   WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT................now if she said Snickers candy bars I would not have had an attitude on the way home wif my mom but she DID NOT.

So now we are waiting to see about the new food vrs. my C/D cos we don't want anymore stones do we?   No we want a milky way.

I am getting just a little sick and tired of being promised candy and not getting a dang thing.  I did get supper when i got home and a pain pill but that did not count.

Although that pain pill did knock my little grouchy butt right out, and my dreams were filled with Reeces, Butterfingers, M&M's.......................................................................STELLIE ROSE

(p.s. from mom.  Stella has started on pred. and Tramadol to see if it helps her.  She is eating and drinking pretty well so that is positive.  I am going to do more research and see if there are somethings we also can feed her that would help her but I have to watch because of the stone issue.  The vet said some dogs have good luck on the "Brain Food" and others see no changes.  She still is barking at butch like she does not know him, lol...he does not find that real funny.  Its kinda like having a 90 year old grandma live in our house. She doesn't know when we touch her feet anymore so trimming her nails is easier.   We are staying positive.    Deb) 

TUESDAY

Moms camera takes weird pictures of us.

Ellen Swinging.

Gus looking at Ms. Mary Ann

Maggie and her raggedy ball.

Two Billy Goat Gruff's dad bought mom.

Well I am off to see the Vet this afternoon, hope they are passing out Halloween candy.

Stella Rose

BREAKING OUT

Good Morning its Margaret Mae, favorite of my parents and Princess Leah's bestest twin.  So....I heard about Ms. Poop-the-pants post yesterday, and it just proved to Gussie and myself what a WHINER she can be!!

Anyways enough about hers, this story is about me.  So the people who feed us decided they were taking back the bed so to speak and informed the three of us that from now on, we would sleep in the kitchen in our own beds.  Of course I replied back to them in a memo with this picture.

We LOVE sleeping in the bed, and we LOVE it even more when DAD sleeps in the guest room so we can have the bed and MOM all to ourselves.  I mean is that to much to ask.  Its not like DAD does not have a comfy warm bed all to himselves.

So last night they put us in the kitchen, and by 4 in the morning I had sprung us from the new inside Alcatraz with my smarts and know how.  We ran to the bedroom, I pushed open the door and yelled SURPRISE!!!!!

Imagine their dismay to realize I had figured out how to get out of their new gate they ordered my Amazonian.  Did they not realize it would take more than a special gate to keep me from breaking out??

Thanks for breaking me out of the tower also Maggie!!

So Mom got up and put us back in the prison cell, and even fortified it with the potato bin, and two kitchen chairs. Twenty minutes later, we were back snorting in the bedroom!!!!

SO Mom went to the guest room, and we followed her, and snuggled and slept the rest of the night away.  When Dad got up he was amazed I had gotten out.  Oh how little does he know of me.......shame.

I am sure they will plot and plan the whole day to try to keep us in tonight.  Hehehehhehe...........

See you later Mom have a good day.   (Ellen)

See you later Mom have a good day.  (the quackers)

Mom's tree truck she uses as a planter. 

We will be back on Monday after our friend leaves.  Have a good weekend.
Maggie Mae

FIFTY SHADES OF RED

SO ...well I found out that my big mouth blabby sister, MaGGIE toles her bestest friend about my little accident I had in my parents bed the other night.  Maggie is an ass.

I saw on tv where you could buy these jazzy pretty pink pants that a human can wear to bed if they need them, I quietly suggested to MOM that she run to the store and get me some.  Plus a pretty little onesi so Maggie can't rip my pants off.  Maggie is an ass.

Sometimes its hard when your body changes and its even hard when your brain is working wacky.  Mine is still good enough to know Maggie is an ass.

A few nights ago I was snuggling wif my mom and I just could not get to sleep. I would snuggle and then get up and walk around the bed, snuggle and walk, snuggle and walk.  Mom thought I needed to go potty so we walked around in the damn dark.  No pee but I did stare at the butt end of four quackers in their pen.

  So Mom put me back in bed, snuggle and walk, snuggle and walk.  Mom was upset not understanding why, ................I guess she did not see the fitbit on my little arm, ............... I was just trying to get some more steps in for the day.  Maggie is still an ass.

Stella Rose

WAITING

For my moms friend to get here..................can you guess who it will be?????   We will be back after she leaves on Sat.

Stella rose

WEDNESDAY

This is an old picture of me I like it.   So today I am starting on some new medicine for cognitive dysfunction.  Even though I am only seven the doc thinks it could help with some of the problems. Of course mean maggie was laughing at my old doggie medicine, and I informed her to bad they did not make medicine for stooopid.  Mom said that was not nice of me.  I am blaming it on my illness...ehheheheheheh.......................stella rose

UPDATE ON STELLIE

So here we are last night going to see the vet AGAIN, I mean I toles my mom over and over, we likes our new vet but do we have to go so many times!!!!!

So mom and vet Nancy was all worried about me so mom took me overs when hers got home from work, I kept telling hers I was fine, but you know how MOMS are!!!!

So friends this is the scoop...............Mom has noticed some different things happening to my body since the big move, and maybe even before Mom is not sure.  First of all and I am a little embarrassed to tells you all but if I don't mean Maggie will do a whole post about it and make it a big ole joke...........so when I bark I poop, when Mom picks me up I poop, I don't evens know I do it, it just happens, Mom talked to the vet about it when I had my stone surgery and he said it was most likely a neuro thing and of course there is no meds.  Mom said we would just deal wif it, and we do.

Then my tongue started to get in the way of everyfing, sometimes I fink it is going to choke me, and I am not sure what to do wif it, ..........we are just dealing wif it too.   Another funnier fing I do is bark at dad, alot, sometimes I forget who he is and then I remember.....lol..........

And sometimes my back leg forgets how to work, and I have to walk around dragging it awhile and then it remembers.  Yesterday while mom was working I had a longer episode wif my leg and Dad called mom, so when she got home we WENT TO THE VET!!!

Oh friends, my mom was all upset on the ways over, and I had to have a long talk wif her.  I toles her over and over I was gonna do just fine, and I also reminded her no matter what wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down the line, I was always gonna be wif her anyway.   Here is what I know and I am sharing it wif you friends.

When a human loses a loved one their heart just cracks and breaks and hurts, but somefing you humans don't realize is that those cracks and breaks is where we go to live, deep inside your heart forever and ever, healing the crack, and loving you just as much.  I fink when I reminded my mom of this, hers had her fingers in her ears singing so her didn't have to listen to me.

The xrays were fine, and my blood work was good , so no disc or spine problems. Vet Nancy agreed wif vet Dave, that it is more than likely a neuro problem, it could have been stress of the move in combination wif my blindness, my surgery, etc. etc.....stress does funny fings to us dogs to.  She said the best thing for me is to rest, and she gave me some special medicine that helps wif any pain I might haf.  Mom and her also agreed staying at the vet would not be a good fing for me, cos I cry real tears when mom leaves me all overs my fur, so Mom got to take me home!!

I am still eating well and drinking, and when I can I still run around and play, and I snuggle my momma.  Those are important good things for me.

So I am doing just fine, and I am home right where I need to be.

Love you much
Stella Rose

RAIN and HEAT

Last night we got ALOT of rain.  Mom was super happy because southeast Iowa is in a severe drought and the yard is like concrete.  One of the things mom had to give up when she moved to the new house was taking her outside plants with her, it was to dry, and they would not have lived.  BUTT it is raining and storming now.  It started about 3 this morning.

Now I hates the thunder and lightening.  I bark EVERY TIME I hear thunder.  So last night and this morning I imagine I barked 156,000 times, more or less.  Of course I also stand on Moms head, because I have always heard to go to the high ground when ever high water is a threat.  I climb up on her pillow, and step on her head. Between barking and standing on her head, I don't think Mom got much sleep.  Hummmmmmmmm maybe you should think about those things mom when you order from Mr. Chewy.

Now Gussie boy doesn't mind the storms, he just snuggled up next to mom and tried to sleep.  What he does mind is getting his feets wet, so when Mom tried to take him outside at 5 this morning, and it was raining, and storming, he just locked his legs and stood on the deck, in the rain, refusing to pee.

Mags though ...well she is Mags.  She is like a little super hero.  ACCEPT when it is 5 in the morning ...EVERY morning and she needs to go outside to pee.  Rain or shine. So Mags is walking all over the bed, trying to get Mom up to go pee.  Gus is snuggling, and I am standing on her head.

Mom takes us all outside, I of course am like Gus and just look at her like she is nuts.  Maggie though runs through the storm, grabs her little soft ball, zooms around the yard, and does her business.  Just like every singe morning, rain or shine.

Later this morning the rain is supposed to stop and the heat will be back.  In the 90's.  When will fall ever get here??

Stella Rose

MR. CHEWY PART 2

Or in other words, the other items in the box that did not belong to us.  So after being very very disappointed that crinkle tunnel did not belong to us, we at least thought the next item did.  We were WRONG!

CAT FOOD.  Okay well we like cat food, but me and mags pukes it up so Mom keeps us out of it.  So that can only mean one thing.  IT IS NOT FOR US.  Oh Mr.Chewy what have you done?????

Have you forsaken us for cats, and ferrets, will goats and mini-donkeys be next????????????

So Mom ordered this Halo cat food for Henri and Ellen.  They are really really picky cats, so the big question mark is will they like it, or will me and mags sneak into it later and snarf it all down??

So mom gives them each a tablespoon so they will get use to it.  They also like to have it mixed into their dry food.

Yep I am licking my paws it was so good.

Where is my plate to try Mom?

Good to the last gulp.

If your good Gussie you can lick the plate.  Not!  heheheheheh................So this Halo food is really good.  We are trying Grain-Free Spot's Pate, this company is a Holistic company that makes food with only organic vegetables, fruits and range free meat.   You can purchase this cat food for 12 cans for around $20.00.   Each can lasted us several meals because we ate ours with a combination of our dry food.  We loved Halo cat food.   These are our words, and we were only given cat food for the review.  El and Henri

What about me can I try some???