Throwback Thursday - A Very Young Phod

 He has just gotten more handsome in his old age! I believe this was one of his profile pictures. 

Wordless Wednesday - Phody Dancer

 

Tasty Tuesday - Birthday Treats - by Lee (and Phod)

Dear pals,

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. It was a pretty good one. I wasn't required to don the birthday hat, however, Lady sang at me every moment she could. I will forgive her because she made me peanut butter treats in the bake-a-bone.

I didn't even have to get up and do tricks for the first one! 

It was still a little warm

It was very tasty

Phod: Why are you offering me poison? (not this is how he reacts to all new treats)

P: I don't know, it could be non-food like that marshmallow you offered me 7 years ago.

P: Ok, it smells acceptable, I will try it!

 We have now eaten the whole batch and hope that Lady makes some more soon!

Mischief Monday - It Was Even Too Cold For The Electricity - by Phod

 Dear pals,

It has been very, very cold here. It has been between like -25 and -40C (for our American friends that is -13 to -40 F). Our time outside has been limited. We will not walk Lady when it is below -20C/-4F. It just isn't safe for her.

One day last week, on a day Lady was working at home, it was so cold the power must have been shivering. In a 30 minute period, it went out and came back on 87 million times. Lady is saying it was like 4, but I don't think she can really count.

I am a very brave boy, but I do not like when the power goes out. I don't like the silence and I don't like all the beeps when it comes back on. Hailey also doesn't like the power being out. 

This is what happened in Lady's office during this time:

Lee, who needs to destroy when she is scared, found a plastic bag in Lady's office garbage and destroyed it. 

Am I going to be in trouble or what?

Lady just lets her destroy things like this and has been known to bait the garbage because she says it is much better than doing things like going through the wall.

I really focused on making sure Lady was safe. 

She says it looks like I was hiding under the desk. I think it was just the best angle to monitor her.

Lady said we were being ridiculous and very distracting while she tried to work. She also says that once the power was back and stayed on, I did not need to pace and pant and carrying on for more than an hour.  I think she is under appreciating my concern for our well being. 

If you are reading this on Monday, it is going to be warm (-6C/21F) but we are suppose to be getting a lot of snow (25-35 cm or 9-14 inches). We will report on this on Friday!

A sort of brave Phod

Nature Friday - Warm Enough To Walk

 Thanks to Rosy for organizing this event.

Last Sunday, we had a break in the extreme cold and went for a nice walk around our private road. 

There is always so much to smell on winter walks and tracks to follow.

This is the apple tree at the end of our driveway the deer love

This is our road looking toward the lake

Here is a deer run through the bush. Those are fun to follow because they lead to piles of deer poop.

Here is Hailey tracking novel people on the lake!

We figured it was safe to walk on the lake if people could snowmobile on it!

We didn't go to far as the lake scares the Lady. You can see our dock on shore.

Lee loved this walk.

Proof Lady was brave and went on the lake

We hope you enjoyed another stroll through the winter with us! 

Happy 12th Birthday Hailey!

Today our girl turns 12!!!!!!!

I was going through the archives looking for pictures of her to post and came across a few gems, which made me feel very sentimental. 

These were from her foster parents, when she was very young and still in the U.S.

Her love of food captures when she was so young!

She still had 'baby fat'

This is her profile picture from the rescue in Canada.

She looks so innocent. It is no wonder I fell in love with her

Here is one of the first pictures we took of her. She was 8 months old when she came into our lives.

In hindsight, we were completely unprepared for this whirlwind of a gal. She was probably more dog than we could handle.  It think this picture, taken in 2012, captures her spirit. She is trying to catch a squirrel.

There have been many challenges and heartbreaks over the past 11 plus years in which Hailey was the centre or star. In spite of it all, I realize looking back, Hailey is the dog we needed. She has brought more joy than heartbreak. She has helped me learn patience and understand anxiety. She has made me laugh until it hurts. She has taught me so much and I am a much better dog owner because of her.

Happy Birthday - to my very special, one of a kind girl.

May all your dreams come true (except maybe the one about killing the cat). 

How she was curled up as I wrote this post

Wordless Wednesday - The Perfect Gift