Oh Freud, Not Again...

First let me start by giving you a little background info on our pooch. When Dave and I moved to Albany we were a little lonely as we didn't know many people so we decided adopting a puppy was in order. So we began by trying to figure out what kind of dog we should adopt. We decided stupidly to get a pure breed golden retriever. They are known for their gentle demeanor and there ease at training.

We looked on craiglist everyday waiting for the perfect golden to come up. A few weeks into our search I found an ad for a four month old retriever pup in need of a quicky adoption and the breeder was only asking 250 for him. Red flag anyone??? Dave and I spoke and decided we would go look at him and if he wasn't exactly what we were looking for we would leave pet-less.

We arrived to find this absolutely gorgeous puppy having diarreah all over the house. So we said where do we sign up? Allegedly Freud had been adopted previously and been returned as the child was "allergic."

Two months after we brought him home, Freud began limping. We took him to an emergency vet and were informed that he had hip dysplasia and would require an expensive surgery and a lengthy recovery. Again we said, where do we sign up?

This was all about a year and a half ago. Freud has many little health quirks (such as vomiting when hungry) but he is relatively healthy. Today, however, we noticed that his ear was leaking. Again we loaded him into the car and brought him to our emergency vet. Turns out he has a "hot spot." He needed to be sedated, have his faced shaved, be on medications for the next week, and wear an elizabethan collar. His second elizabethan collar in a year and a half.

When he came out of the procedure he was so doped up he could barely walk and his eyes were ridiculously droopy. He looked exactly the way he did when leaving the hospital after his hip surgery, only his bald spot was on his face. Here is a picture of our poor little cash drain.

Transdermal Celebration

This song is by Ween and it had an original video. Dave's friend Adam Phillips took the song an animated another video for it and when he showed it to the band, they paid him to use it! Insane, right??? It's a super cool video so check it out!

Vacation Blues

Even a wonderful life is hard to return to after a super relaxing ten day vacation. Dave and I have been home for two days and we are both finding it difficult to adjust to working. I think we'd both prefer to be out on the lake in a canoe. Alas, here we are.

I am sort of in stress out mode as I have much to do before I start at University at Albany in the Fall. And as I am sure all of you know, colleges are very adept at making things difficult. So there is a lot of running around and filling out forms. Do I really need to fill out a form to do everything? Can't we make it easy and do it all online? I am already sick of bouncing back and forth between these two schools and it is just the beginning. Grrr.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish. Blue Fish.

I am happy to report that I am on vacation. This wonderful news is accompanied by the news that I am also through with finals and my time at The College of Saint Rose has come to an end. There is simply nothing better than being on vacation immediately following finals. This is something that I have not experienced since freshman or sophmore year of high school I think. Dave and I started our drive south less than an hour after my Poly Sci final on Friday morning and our first stop was at my father's house in Northern Virginia. Freud was along for the ride as my father and Theresa, my step-mom, are taking care of him for us while we are away.

We stayed at my Dad's for the weekend and Dave and I were lucky enough to check out his bees. You can too by clicking here.

We left there on Sunday afternoon and headed further south and are now staying at Dave's parents house near Lynchburg. This house is a true vacation home although they are lucky enough to live here year round. Just behind their house is a lake. Papa Phillips and I decided to take the peddle boat out and do a little fishing.

I used to fish all the time as a kid because my grandparents lived on a pond that they kept stocked with little fish. My brother and I would sit outside all day cathcing the tiny fish and tossing them back. So I was excited to try my luck as a grown-up fisher-lady. Dad and I got out there and I lost hope pretty quickly. Dad assured me that I just had to be patient. Sure enough he was right and a little bit later I caught one. I was pretty happy with my catch even though the little guy probably only weighted a pound or so. I caught my second fish only about ten minutes later and I think it was about this time that Dad began to get a little nervous that he wasn't going to have anything to brag about when we got back to shore.

Lucky for him, on our way back in, he caught a fish that was bigger than both the fish I had caught combined . I told him that it was a good thing his was so big as it evened the score. Dad was quick to inform me that the catcher of the biggest fish wins even if I caught more. Well as long as that's clear! ;)

Funny Girl

I found a poem that I wrote when I was in middle school. I actually remember the assignment. We were told to write a poem that was all about us. You probably could have figured that out... I had almost forgotten how adorable I was. ;)

As I eat my double cheese from Wendy's
I'm sitting beneath a tree.
I think about my acting ambition
and who I'd like to be.

I realize I chew my nails
and my hair's the color of rust.
I think about my taste in clothes
and my rather tiny bust.

I think about how I can go
from happy to being sad.
I guess those are called mood swings
and I get them from my Dad.

My eyes look like dirty rivers
and I really can't stand sports,
I hate when people eat loudly
and I used to play in forts.

My mother says the dog is bad
and he's a stupid mutt
and when I walk she laughs
and says I always shake my butt.

Freud & Sally

Freud, our adorable 2 year old golden retriever, is in love. Freud has had many loves in his brief time in this world. He likes to spread his good stuff to as many lovely ladies as possible. Freud has been "fixed" since he was just a wee pup but this has not stopped him or his love machine. Freud's new girlfriend, I'll call her Sally, has lasted far longer than the rest. I don't think that it's because she is prettier or has a better personality, I just chalk it up to the fact that she's quite a sturdy lass.

Simply put, Freud isn't gentle. In fact Dave and I have had to on many occasions remind him that he needs to treat her like a lady. After our reprimand he'll usually heed our advice for a minute or so but soon enough he's back to biting and growling at her. Dave and I have had to resort to locking Sally away, which isn't fair to anybody really, but what else can we do? We don't want Sally to go the way of all the other girls in his life. The others have been ripped to shreds. It's frustrating because these ladies cost quite a lot. A couple haven't even lasted through a day of his amorous attacks.

Freud's lady love is a huge canvas bed. She cost us 130 bucks and I will not tolerate another tossed away bed. As soon as he sniffs her out and lays on her to soften her up, he immediately goes to humping the stuffing out of her. He picks her up in his teeth and tosses her around liek a rag doll. This dog in his one and a half years with us has made it through more than 10 beds. I know what your thinking, I should make him suffer without a bed. But he just loves them so much that I can't bare to leave him without one for long. Dave is even worse about it than I am. But look at him... could you resist this face?