Time for a Check Up!

With the 4H fair approaching at a frightful pace, it was time to take my little boys to the vet. What an enjoyable and exciting experience, right? Two dogs at the vet, couldn't be too bad. Surprisingly, it wasn't.
My blue heeler had the joy of going first. The big baby couldn't handle a needle, though I don't blame him. I'm terrified of needles also. He yelped and snapped at the vet, causing my brother to have to hold his head. He refused to eat any of the treats that the vet gave him and was rather distraught after he got off the exam table. But everything came up clear and he got all his needed vaccinations to enjoy next weekend at the fair!
Sparkie was such a tolerable little boy when it came to the vet check up! He let me pet him and talk to him and was extremely cooperative. It might have had something to do with the fact he got to eat all of the treats that Blew did not. I was very proud of my little boy for doing so well with the vet, despite the fact Sparkie is not the vet's favorite patient, always getting a remark that he is "overweight." Today, to my surprise the vet did not say a word about Sparkie's weight. We had to check how his seasonal allergies are doing. Sparkie gets very watery eyes come spring and summer and his skin gets rather itchy. But all is well. He will be off doing what he loves; showing off at the 4H fair next weekend!
~Ella

Sorry for my Absence!

Oh my! I am so sorry for my absence. I did not get hit by a train, abducted by aliens, or chased by a panther. I promise. And as for the star of our blog, Sparkie is doing splendidly! The only major worry he has encountered in recent times is lightning. The Pacific North West is not prone to major lightning storms as other areas of the county is. I am not used to them, having lived her my entire life. But poor little Sparkie was absolutely terrified of the storm. A few weeks ago, we had a storm that started probably around 5 in the morning, and lasted until around 9 in the morning. I had both of the dogs sleeping with me on my twin sized bed. Our heeler was extremely stressed out, he didn't sleep most of the night. But Sparkie is known for sleeping throughout most of the night. At 6 am, we had lightning strike just off our road, it sounded like World War Three was taking place. The thunder had to have gone on for thirty seconds at least. It was one of the loudest noises I have ever heard. Therefore, dogs having more acute hearing than humans, probably heard it even louder than we did. Poor Sparkie! He was laying on top of my stomach, shaking, breathing so heavily that he was shaking my bed. So after that loud thunder, I gave up on going back to sleep. The rest of my family was already awake, so I went downstairs and joined them for coffee. In a half hour, we all decided that the dogs were too high strung to go back to our beds, so we all crashed on the couch going back to sleep. Sparkie is no capable of jumping on the couches to cuddle, and I couldn't find him when I lie down. I fell asleep on the couch. My mom told me when she was leaving for work. She had found Sparkie camped out underneath the couch (not the one I was sleeping on) and he was still so terrified. He followed her into the bathroom when she went to shower, and nearly jumped in the bath tub. When she left she put him on the couch with me. He did not go any further away from me than an inch until the storm ended. Even after the storm, he was nervous. Luckily, by the end of the day, he was back to his playful self. Lesson learned, Sparkie is not so fearless when it comes to thunder and lightning!