OMG...a new post!

I was having difficulty sharing pictures on this Blog. So for some reason, I stopped posting. But here we are again. I will try to get the photo situation corrected, and just wanted to share that Rocco and Molly have a new canine sister. Miss Katie Bug. A Border Collie mix that we fostered then decided to keep. More updates and photos soon!

My Canine Couch Potato

Need I say more?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Rocco (& Molly, too)!
There has been much sibling rivalry between Rocco & Molly today.
Neither wants to share their new Christmas toys.
We hesitate to show you the following photo because of its exaggerated graphic nature.
But we assure you that no Molly's were harmed during the taking of this photo.
Rocco's growl is enough to make Molly back away from his beloved toy.
So here you go, from our peaceful Christmas house to yours.....
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Wow...

Its been much too long since I updated this blog!
Well, let's rectify that right now.
Today, I have Rocco & Molly with me at the shop.
Here they are, snooping and trying to shoplift.








And here is Rocco, who can jump right onto the drying table and into the bathing tub. He is the only dog of all the dogs that I groom that can do this un-aided!


I am such a proud doggie mama!

Crazy summer

My husband had knee surgery and has been off work for the past 6-weeks. I have been able to work more hours (so I haven't had much time to post...sorry!). And because he is home with the dogs, I don't have to worry about getting home to care for them.
That being said, this is what I see when I leave for work each morning...

I guess this is the dog days of summer for BOTH Rocco and his daddy?

Rocco's Report Card

My husband and I went to Arizona last week, and Rocco and Molly were boarded at a brand new facility. We were able to access their web cam and we were able to watch Rocco & Molly throughout our trip.
I hated to leave them and was alwaying thinking about them while we were away.
When we picked them up, we got this report card that melted my heart.
How sweet!





If you are unable to read it, it reads as follows:

It was a joy to have Rocco & Molly stay with us. Molly loves to play fetch and Rocco loves to chase her. Rocco made new friends this week, and the ladies particularly love the big guy. Both dogs love to play first thing in the a.m., then turn into big lap dogs, rolling over for a belly scratch, and of course, kisses from Rocco.
We loved watching the 2 of them cuddle up together for a nap~so sweet!
All of us so enjoyed Molly & Rocco & hope to see them again.

Drum roll please....the photos have arrived!

This is how my husband summed them up.
"Well, not as bad as I thought, but not as good as they could have been".

You be the judge.







My husband is not happy with the platform we are sitting on. He thinks it should have looked like we were sitting in the GRASS.

Men.

Hey, the dogs look good and we look reasonably happy. What more could we ask for? Right?

Wow! A new post!

I know! A new Rocco post!
It's like winning the lottery, your birthday and Christmas all-in-one!

Sorry it's been so long overdue. But here is a good story for you.

We took Rocco & Molly for professional photos 2-weeks ago. Our local Humane Society offered photos with a pet photographer. My husband and I were really excited to have them photographed. We had them washed so they were clean and shiny, we gave them coordinating bandannas. They looked great! We were laughing in the car on the way there.
It was a great family moment.

And then we got there.

By the time it was our turn for photos, we had been sitting outside in the hot sun for 45 minutes (it was almost 80 degrees that day), the dogs were panting fools, their bandannas were lopsided, Molly was drooling and her bandanna was drenched, and my husband was throwing a temper tantrum.

You get the picture.

The lovely family moment was out the window and we had not even taken one photo yet.

We were finally summoned into the photography trailer, and the photography assistant was trying to arrange my dogs in a artistically pleasing way. They wanted the dogs staged on a platform.

Easy enough, right?

Nope.

Rocco kept trying to jump off and Molly kept looking at an invisible spot on the ceiling and would not look into the camera. When Rocco would sit, Molly would stand, and when Molly would sit, Rocco would stand. We could NOT coordinate them.
And the photographer kept blowing a high pitched whistle to get the dogs attention, but it would upset Rocco and he would bark and cry. My husband asked him to stop with the whistle. SEVERAL times. And for each photo the photographer would blow the whistle to get them to look into the camera but it would upset Rocco.

By the time my husband looked at me and said out loud "If he doesn't stop with the whistle I am going to shove that whistle up his a--" I knew our photo session was over. The photographer was only 2-feet away as I informed my husband through my clenched teeth.

The photos should arrive in 4-6 weeks, and $98 worth of photos later, I still don't know if it was worth it.

I'll let you know when the photos arrive.

That's MY Daddy!

Rocco LOVES his daddy.
LOES, LOVES, LOVES his daddy.
And he jealous of anyone that gets his daddy's attention.

So when Molly (who has trouble jumping onto the bed since her ACL surgery last year) jumped onto the bed yesterday morning to give HER daddy a kiss, Rocco went into jealously overdrive.

Here is the evidence.

First, he seems to trying to block daddy's view of Molly.



Then he just keeps moving closer.







Poor Rocco.
He has serious sibling rivalry.

Three Eyes

Although I am getting older, I am blessed with my mom's anti-aging gene. The gene where you look younger.
So even tho I am closer to my 50th birthday then, say, my 45th birthday, I am told that I don't look my age.

I am happy with that.

And during the past few years when my friends started to need reading glasses, I still had good vision.
I tormented my friends mercilessly.

I was happy with that.

So last year, when I finally needed those dreaded reading glasses, I chose to embrace the concept with a pair of designer reading glasses. If I needed reading glasses, I would not accept a pair of $1.99 drugstore glasses.
I bought a pair of $30 zebra striped reading glasses.
If I needed reading glasses, then dammit, I was going to make a statement!

And I was happy with that.

Love them ot hate them, everyone noticed my reading glasses.
So apparently, did Rocco.

I left them on the nightstand.
I KNOW! I KNOW!

The next morning, when I heard a "crunch" sound, I assumed it was Rocco eating his rawhide bone.
I KNOW! I KNOW!

I turned around to discover that it was not a bone, but my $30 reading glasses.
That now looked like this.





There is one lens missing and one arm missing.
I went from four~eyes to three~eyes in one crunch.

And I am not happy with that.

Especially since in desperation last night I actually put on those glasses, closed one eye (the one with out a reading lens) and tried to read the mail.

Sigh.
I guess I am much older than I thought that I was, since I looked like a crazy lady wearing those glasses.
I am thankful that my husband does not know how to work my camera or my picture would be on this blog today as well.

And I am HAPPY about that.

Snow Day

We had A LOT of snow last night.
And at 6:30 this morning, while we were doing this...




Rocco was doing this...


Apparently the pound cake that I left on the counter was irrestible.

And I thought we MIGHT be over this phase.

The difference between a dog owner and a non-dog owner

Rocco ate a $20 bill off the table on Wednesday.

Some things never change.

I know it was my fault. I left the cash on the table because I was going to the bank. It was there for maybe 5-minutes. I had several one dollar bills in the pile as well, but they did not attract Rocco's taste for the finer things in life.
When I discovered the remains of the $20, only half of it had been eaten, and the remaining part still had serial numbers on it.

So I took it to the bank anyway.

This is the true, unedited version of our conversation.

Me: Hi. I only have part of this bill, but the serial number is still on it...can I still deposit it?

Teller: (Brightly) I'm so sorry. You have to have all the pieces. Do you have the other part of this bill?

Me: (Sheepishly) Umm...I my dog ate it.

Teller: (Brightly) Well can you get the other half from him?

Me: (Confused) Umm...maybe in a few days?

Tell: (Brightly) A few days? Can't you get it now?

Me: Umm...it will probably be in the back yard in a few days, but if the snow comes, I might not find it until Springtime.

Teller: (Brightly) Springtime? That's just silly! Bring it back today and I will credit your account!

Me: Umm...I don't think you understand. The money will turn up when Rocco, umm, ...poops.

Teller: (Silence), then...
Teller: (Confusion), then...
Teller: (Shock) then...

Teller: (Horror) OH MY GOSH! YOU CAN'T BRING THAT MONEY IN HERE! We will NOT be able to credit you account!

That's what I thought.

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful and blessed holiday from Rocco & Molly.
We love you all!

Christmas Card Pictures

For those of you waiting for our holiday card to arrive in the mail, you may be waiting a bit longer.

This is the quality of picture that I have been collecting for our card photo:







Hopefully we can get our cards out BRFORE Christmas.

Hopefully?

An average Sunday afternoon

This past Sunday, I decided to make meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. And as usual, I was trying to get my chores done, too.
The potatoes were on the stove and the loaf was in the oven, so I decided to go out and clean up the yard of any "doggie droppings".
You know what I mean.
As I reached for the pooper-scooper, something moved and I jumped.
As I looked down, I saw this....



Yes, a rattlesnake in Chicago.

OK, maybe it was a garden snake, but it LOOKED like a Rattler to me!
I'm just saying.

So of course my plan of action was to leave the snake where he was and do something else.

So I walk back into the house and hear two dogs fighting over the same dog toy.
That's nothing new in our house.
But the actual TOY was new...



Somehow they got a potato and were fighting over it.
Here is Rocco guarding it...


And Molly trying to steal it...


After taking the potato away from two disappointed dogs, I decided to further humiliate them by trying on their Halloween costumes. We will post an "official" picture later, but here is sample of the costume.



Ketchup and Mustard.
Actually, if they had an oil and water costume that would have fit them better, but ketchup and mustard works for this year.

A twist of fate and a sister

Here is the conversation between my husband and a new co-worker about their respective dogs.

I have a Rottweiler/Doberman mix.
Really? I have a Rottweiler/Doberman mix!

He is 3-years old.
Really, my dog is 3-years old!

We got him at the Humane Society.
I got MY dog at the Humane Society.

Was your puppy quarantined for 2-weeks like Rocco was because of kennel cough before you could pick her up?
Yes, she was!

Did your dogs' original name start with the letter "i"? Because Rocco's original name was Issac.
Yes, it did. We changed it to Chula!

Yes, that dog is Rocco's sister! Her owners have read this blog and said that Chula looks and ACTS exactly like Rocco. We hope to set up a sibling reunion and will post pictures.
What a coincidence!

Updates

Sorry. We have been so busy with the new shop. Here are a few updates.
Molly hurt her leg Thursday night. We thought she had hurt her shoulder. She was not putting any weight on her front leg. After her $2,500 ACL surgery in 2007, and then the next $2,500 ACL surgery in 2008, we we convinced that she was really hurt and that it would cost us a fortune.
THANKFULLY, after a $58 Vet visit, we were told that she just had a stubbed toe.
She is now known as Molly the Money Pit.
Molly loves to come to the shop, and has befriended our dog bather, Joanna. Molly has become her shadow, following her everywhere. It's really very sweet.
Rocco loves to come to the shop as well, but mostly to bark at anyone driving by or walking by the shop.
He is our one-dog security team.
Molly is the professional greeter.
That's all for now. Will update soon!

It's Official

We own a doggie groomimg shop, soon to be known as a Doggie Day Spa.
And Rocco and Molly are thrilled.

Here is Rocco jumping into the picture on our first day. He thinks it's HIS shop.


Here is Rocco helping his daddy answer the phones...


Here is Rocco AND Molly stealing merchandise off the wall. They don't understand that the toys are for sale, not for their own personal use.




Here is our security team, barking and growling at everyone that walks/drives by.




Task Number One: Trying to acclimate them to WELCOMING the clients, not scaring them away.

Thanks for all the well wishes!

Guess?

I came home tonight and found this on the kitchen rug. Can youy guess what it means?


It means that Rocco threw up, and my husband (with his weak stomach) decided to COVER it up other than CLEAN it up. saving it for me until I got home.
Welcome to my world.

An "America's Got Talent" Fan

Do you happen to see tonight's episode of America's Got Talent?
It featured Rory, the Frisbee catching dog.


Apparently, Rory caught more than Frisbees.
He caught Rocco's attention.




It's nights like these that we appreciate our Tivo, since we rewound Rory's segment at least 10-times to laugh at Rocco.
Each time we got the same reaction.
He growled at the TV.
We are so easily amused.