Competitive Sleeping

The creatures with whom I share my abode are professional sleepers. They are devoted sleepers. And they are very dramatic sleepers. Kiste announces each laying down with a great sigh. She spreads her greying lips wide on anything she chooses to rest on.


Max snores so loudly that it is startling. Our latest addition, Tortuga (yes,I still have her), is also a very good competitive sleeper. She has taken up residence on the back of the couch, so that she can look out the front window, if she bothers to open her eyes.

Camouflage

This is Max trying really hard to blend into the bed. So I won't make him wake up. Lucky dog.
He heard me snap the first photo, and gave me this look:
I LOVE HIM.

Still Here, Still Waggin'

Yes, the Babies are still alive. And kicking. They are so sweet. They are so funny. They are enjoying the return of warmer weather. They love to run around naked (without collars) and soak in the sunshine. Kiste loves to lay belly-up on the grass for hours on end, her lips flopped open, and will come in with a sun-kissed underbelly which I then have to kiss, just because it is so cute. And Max will warm up his sleek black body then come lay in my knee-pits, and warm us both up with his hot-to-the-touch hair.

UpsideBrown

Little Buddy is an Interweb Star!

Kimball is on YouTube!

When Cleo Came to Town

My little family and I had a special visitor stay for a few weeks after Christmas. Cleo is a 9 month old Bullmastiff. I have long been a fan of Bullmastiffs, and when my friend decided to get a puppy, I volunteered to babysit should that ever be necessary. She and Kiste and Max were immediate friends, and she and Kiste in particular recognized their similarities. They were precious beyond words, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

2-Headed Beast

Siamese Twins

My Sweetest Babies

I could take pictures of my cute puppies all day long. They are always doing something cute and photogenic.

This is Kiste, who was innocently trying to sleep on her rawhide chew pillow. Max was slightly obsessed with her headrest, and stared at her until she woke up.



This is Kiste in her favorite place at the front door, watching the world go by. She rests her cute lips on the little ledge at the bottom of the window. When she caught me taking her picture, she gave me her best "stoic" pose.





Here are the doggies, enjoying one of those last warm fall days. Remember those?



This is what happens when one person (myself) holds a treat and a camera at the same time. Mabel and Kimball are also involved in the cuteness... they can't help it.

Special Guest Star: WINSTON

Winston is my nephew. Well, if you want to get technical, he is the dog who belongs to my "wife" which could actually make him my step-dog... Either way, he is my favorite little chicken in the world (who is not my OWN baby). I named him. He clicks his heels when he runs. Winston's human dad is a firefighter, which is what makes Winston's Halloween costume that much more fitting. Here he is, this week's special guest star, Winston "Chicken" Casper:

Winston in Uniform


Winston driving his truck

Winston to the rescue!

Happy Howl-O-Ween

Yes. My dogs wore Halloween costumes. I'm sorry. There is no excuse.

Skele-Dog

The Full Look

Devil Dawg

Bat Dog

Mr. Pants, The Bat

Full Alert Bat-Pants

Aw, MaxBat

Drama in the Bedroom

I have a problem: my bed has been taken over by the dogs. Now that the weather has taken a colder turn, the dogs tuck themselves into the warm, inviting bed long before I do. By the time I am finally ready to turn in, they have established themselves as the sole inhabitors of the queen-sized bed. And Kiste, in her sleep, becomes a 90-pound dead weight. She weighs, of course, a mere 56 pounds at the moment, but it seems to double as soon as she falls asleep. And she cannot be moved. She sticks her legs straight out and they don't bend. Her body stretches from one side of the bed to the other, and she cannot be budged. Then there's Max. He moans and snores and licks his chops in his sleep. And he also more than doubles in size and weight when in repose. Now, if I can manage to get them arranged properly, so that I can just slide in between them, we can all rest quite easily. But I find myself more often than not inhabiting about 18 inches of space way over on the edge of the bed, with only 4 of those inches being memory foam mattress topper. It is a travesty. And yet, I am so smitten with the silly creatures that I can't banish them. They are great snugglers, Kiste being the "front spoon," and Max being the inhabitor of the knee-pits. It is just nice to have someone there, even if that someone is an eight-legged, two-headed bag of lead.

The Babies in Bed
Where am I supposed to fit in this picture? And please note my totally dreamy cowboy sheets.


Kiste
Look how she got in bed with some dinner on her nose. Cute.



Max
Aw, how can I kick that face out of bed??

Some New Photos

Because my darling Max gets so chilly during cold weather, he hates going outside unless absolutely necessary. I, as an admitted addict of clearance shopping at Target, was unable to pass up a deal on dog "Moon Boots." I could never pay full price for such a thing, but in this case, at just over $1 a paw, I decided it was worth a try.

Max in Boots




Kiste had a "suspicious" lump removed from her right shoulder. I don't know if she is lucky or unlucky to have a vet tech as a mom. Since I know a Boxer's propensity for cancers, and she gets a pretty thorough "rub-down exam" weekly, we removed it within a few days of finding it. It was a mast-cell tumor, guarded prognosis, but hopefully we got it removed before it had a chance to even think of metastasizing.
This did lead to a few days with a bandage, which made Kiste VERY unhappy, and she moped around, embarrassed about her "outfit." Once I gave up on the bandage and went to a simple t-shirt to protect the incision, she was much happier.

Kiste Pouting





And this is just a picture of Kiste's Drinking Fountain. Because I love her.

Getting a Swig

A Trip to Yellowstone

This is the long awaited Yellowstone posting. Kiste and Max love to go to Yellowstone. One has to spell the word "buffalo" in Max's presence or he will run to every window in the house looking for his favorite animal. Kiste loves road trips, and will settle in and sleep, with occasional scenery viewing. They also love camping, but are of the short-haired persuasion, and therefore need some outdoorsy-type gear to help them withstand the elements. Here are some photos of our most recent trip:

Max, sitting on top of me on the *New Camping Hammock*

Max in his "Sausage Casing, catching some rays

Morning walk by the river

Kiste enjoying a view of Mesa Falls

Kiste sporting the latest in camping loungewear

Kiste in Wildlife Viewing Position

Max in his sleeping bag by the campfire

Kiste in Roadtrip Recline

Object in Mirror

Kiste viewing buffalo

Morning Sun

Why We Have A Blog

Our mom has no human children. She plays with all sorts of animals all day, but she always comes home to us. We are very photogenic, and love lots of different actvities which our mom likes to photograph. We do funny things. And we are extremely popular. That's why!! We will be posting some great pictures of our recent camping trip soon. Check back!!