Christmas comes early.

Singer's special friend Mary has been spoiling her since the first day she heard I was bringing her home.  For Singer's first Christmas, she received Better Than Ears treats and some chew toys.  Singer knew exactly what to do with the Better Than Ears.  The toys, not so much.  Good thing BoBo came around  later on to help out.  This year, Santa Mary came through with not one, but TWO bags of BTE!

Thank you Santa Mary!!

Ever since Mary introduced me to BTE, I've been getting Singer and BoBo the healthy joints formula.  Neither have mentioned increased dexterity, but it makes me feel better.

White balance is off in the picture, but Singer's making her puppy face.  Christmas might include some camera homework.

Ghost poop.

I've been on poop patrol ever since Singer's birthday.  Why?  She had a run in with some chicken soup bones and the trash.  More like she ran into the trash can with her mouth open.  We called the vet right away to see if we should take her in for an x-ray.  After the vet asked about Singer's age, breed and weight, she advised us to hang tight and watch for loss of appetite, vomiting, constipation, or bloody poo.

It's been pretty clear that the first three have not been a problem.  I have been on poop watch though, and this is what I saw this morning:

Ghost poop.  Chicken bone calcium poop.  I'll take this over the 4th symptom anytime though.  And Singer will be glad when I stop following her into her secret pooping area and poking her ghostly works of art with a stick.

A new view of the wet nose.

I got a new camera to document Singer's antics.  It was a purchase several years in the making, but an Amazon Deal of the Day pushed me over the precipice.  Meet the proud new owner of a Canon S95.  Yes, it's not the S100, but it's still many steps above the current set up.

I'm looking forward to learning how this bad boy works.  My most observant of readers may have noticed that the pictures from Singer's birthday party were a little sharper than normal.  There's a ring on the front that lets you change focal lengths and the shutter button on this camera is where my old power button used to be.  I've still got some puttering around to do before I become the next Jimmy Chin though.

Party Time!

After nearly twenty-four hours of anticipation, Singer got her birthday cake, complete with edible doggie candles.  Singer's never eaten at the table before, so she really wasn't sure what was going on.  My pointing to the plate didn't help; I think she thought I was tricking her.  Once I put the cake on the floor though, all bets were off!

First, a trip in the way-back machine.  This is a picture I took of Singer on December 20, 2010, the night I took her home.  I'd been approved to take her home a whole day earlier than expected, and I didn't have all of her gear ready yet other than a dog crate I'd picked up that afternoon.  Thanks, Craigslist!  I remember being terrified on the car ride over to the pound to pick her up, knowing that this skinny little dog was going to be my responsibility for the long haul.

Notice the purple leopard collar and the carabiner leash.  The collar I'd purchased to take her home in was too small, and I didn't have a fancy car harness (or know they existed yet).  Don't worry, I've stimulated the economy and purchased all of the gear and accessories necessary to keep her safe and spoil her rotten.  

Back the party prep now.  After I let the cake cool, I cut it into a cute little bone shape.

Here, Singer begs for the parts of the cake I cut off.  No dice, Singer, not yet!

I ended up nixing the cottage cheese "frosting" the original recipe called for and going with a sweet potato-organic yogurt mixture.  Sweet, orange and probiotically delicious.  I tried it myself, and I give it a 4 out of 5.

Singer thought the frosting was pretty good too.

Since no birthday cake is complete without candles, I made some flameless, edible candles for Singer.  Okay, really for me, because they're cute.  And I really didn't want to see if she would really try to eat a lit candle.  How did I do it?  Ziti "candles" and grated carrot "flames".

Once I had that all set up, it was time for the birthday girl to take her throne.  Unfortunately or fortunately, she doesn't normally eat at the table and had no idea what was going on, as evidenced by the pictures below.

Am I going to get in trouble?

Are you sure this is mine?

Once I put the cake on the floor though, she knew it was hers.  I don't think they make shutter speeds fast enough to capture what happened next.

It was a blur of chomping, wagging, scarfing, and licking.  I actually had to stop her so I could take the cake away and cut it up into smaller pieces.





 And when it was all over, Singer, in typical Singer fashion, looked up at me for more.  Just tonight, Singer! May your days be filled with happiness and wonderment and your nights be filled with dreams of slow-footed squirrels.  Happy birthday to my favorite Singer in the world.

Happy Birthday!

Did I hear birthday cake? For me?!

Ms. Singer turns three today (but one for me). She has been the best dog I could ever ask for, and it would be a grand understatement to say that my cup runneth over with her. She has been there for good times and better times, and has shown me the true meaning of generosity and unconditional love, and the responsibility it comes with. I would not change a minute of the past year if it meant that she could not be a part of it.

This morning, she got belly rubs, a nice long walk with extra sniffing time, her GNC doggie vitamin, and her fish oil pills (that nice sleek coat is not an accident!). Tonight, she's going to party like it's 2011. I love you, Singer!

Birthday countdown

Singer's going to party like it's her birthday tomorrow, because, well, I don't know when her real birthday is. Like any spoiled birthday dog, she'll get the royal canine treatment (as much as I can provide anyway). And what's a birthday without some birthday cake?

To pull off this feat of puppy spoilery, I found a dog-friendly cake recipe online and modified it a bit so that it would include a few of Singer's favorite snacks, like squirrel and Bo. I jest! Notice the frantic wagging of her tail as she watches me prepare.

Behold the peanut butter-carrot cake!

Ingredients: shredded carrots, natural peanut butter (none of that hydrogenated oil and nuts crud), flour, oats, one egg, oil, and a tiny bit of baking soda.

Mix, and bake for 40 minutes in a greased circa 1980's baking dish (for authenticity, this step is crucial). If Singer's enthusiasm for the batter-laced mixing bowl was any indication of her assessment of the cake, then I think we may have a winner.

The original recipe calls for frosting with cottage cheese, which I don't have. And eww! I think I'm going with plan B for that one. I'll frost the cake when I get back from work tomorrow.

At right, the cake, unbaked. Since I'm not a fan of peanut butter, the smell of pb wafting through the house during baking was a bit weird. Singer begged to differ though. Happy almost birthday Singer!

Progress

Inspired by several fancy-pants bloggers turned professional DIY'ers, I'll be posting before and after pictures of the progress at The Manor over the next few days (read: months).

I'm not sure if I should post the progress as it happened chronologically, or from the outside, in. Thoughts?