The Other Knee

Thelma tore her other knee in October 2013 and so we went through the doggie 'Tommy John' surgery all over again. She was really irritable going through this a second time and our vet had moved from Beach Blvd to Orange Park. Luckily, Anthony was really able to go the extra mile and make sure she got taken care of and to all her appointments. Not sure how we would have gotten through it without him.

Recovery this go around was much faster too because Thelma had a physical therapist or someone to chase around the house...

Father's Day 2013

So I have to post a Father's Day picture! Here are Anthony and the 'kids' on the guest bed doing some reading.

The dogs were not smiling but this was the best one I could get.

Memorial Day Weekend

I needed a break so for Memorial Day, we headed West to enjoy some fun in the sun. It was a relaxing weekend with great conversation and lots of fun.

Bruce tried to escape from the travel kennel before we even left JAX

My brother rode his bike The Breakers

My new whip! (Whip is slang for car or ride)

All in all, it was exactly what the doctor ordered. Some serious R&R! :)

Endoscopy

After dealing with stomach pains and other horrible symptoms for a long time, I finally bit the bullet as they say and scheduled an endoscopy. An endoscopy is where they doctor looks at the contents of your upper GI tracts through a camera at the end of a tube while you are unconscious. It was quick and I didn't feel a thing. 

Unfortunately though, because of the anesthesia I was not allowed to sign legal documents, drive or go to work which was a huge bummer because I felt super well rested after the anesthesia and found myself to be extremely bored...

so after seeing this on my friend Kipin's blog I drew eyebrows on Thelma. It was hilarious to watch her expressions with eyebrows. Don't worry it was non-toxic and came right off but she loved the attention from it. 

Later that night, my good friend Sharline brought me by some treats to lend some support. She is a wonderful Visiting Teacher and a really good friend. I feel so happy to know her and have her in my life. 

Two weeks after the procedure, I got my diagnosis.

Bruce and Thelma

They didn't get along at first. He was an invader and it was her space. We wanted to take him back anyway, he cried all night the first night home and I was frazzled, exhausted and ready to sell him to the highest bidder. After a few weeks though, Bruce has really become a part of the family. He and Thelma are constantly playing and teasing each other running through the house.

Bruce is a very playful dog that LOVES to run away. He thinks it is a game and then after chasing him all through the neighborhood, you'll come back to find him sitting on your doorstep. He likes water too. You can just assume his personality is the opposite of Thelma's which it is and that gives us a good mix.

The newest little family member

Bruce eating.

Tired dogs!!

Thelma wants him to play with her SO badly. 

Ribs and Rhythm Festival... Oh, and we got a dog

I have been thinking about getting Thelma a furry sibling for a long time but wanted to wait until her knee was fully healed and I had permission from her vet. Well... I got the green light in February but wasn't too ready to jump into the commitment of a new dog just yet.

This little puggle was on a leash outside the Ribs and Rhythm Festival. He looked at me with those big brown eyes and that cute piggly little tail and I was a goner... lucky for me so was Anthony. So we paid SAFE (Saving Animals From Euthanasia) our $75 and got ourselves a new member of the family and a rather alive souvenir from St. Augustine.

On our drive home together our new pup didn't stop whining until we rolled down the window and then Anthony started singing "Thunder Road." It was as if he picked his new name Bruce. I later gave him the middle name Draper after watching some Mad Men that weekend. With his very BIG personality, he definitely seems like The Boss of our house.

Only Grandchild

Can you tell that Thelma is an only grand-dog???

All 3 of them were trying to get her to pose and sit still for a photo-op.

Good girl - Thelma Bennett

They will make grandparents someday!

Dog Gone Fun

Looking at pictures from 2013 looks like we have had some dog gone fun! So after going out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes in Orange Park, I saw the dog track and decided let's stop in. So we placed a couple of bets and won close to $17!!! With raking in that big dough, we decided to play it safe and head for home where...

...you can see we ended up snuggling on the couch and watching The Lady and the Tramp. I'd like to say Thelma picked the movie but it was just on Disney and we thought it was funny how Thelma reacted to it.

Lap dog much? She's too lazy to even walk a track but her knee is all healed so if she wanted to, she could.

Lady and The Tramp (our lady tramp watching the movie)