When it rains it pours.

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is Ruffin is officially the healthiest person in my house. And I came in a distant second. The bad news is all about Bessie.

Bessie has been limping for the past week and because of her penchant for jumping up and catching the ball when I throw it to her outside, I suspected she may have sprained her ankle or her foot. Those things usually work themselves out with nothing more than a few days rest. But not his time. I became concerned when the limp didn't go away so I took her to the Vet this afternoon and got a physical exam and some x-rays.

Bessie has a partially torn ACL in her left rear leg but the x-rays showed she has Hip Dysplasia in her both hips and her right hip is in the worst shape. In the words of the Vet, Bessie's hips are a mess.

Bessie will be placed on pain medication for as long as necessary but I won't put her through surgery for the ACL with her hips in such bad shape. She may be able to go on for a few more years until her quality of life becomes the most important issue.

This also changes all of my plans, too. Even though he is blind and has just survived major surgery, Ruffin is in very good shape. I am hoping to have him around for 3 or 4 more years. Now it doesn't look like Bessie will last that long so my plan to adopt an adult Rottweiler to keep Bess company has no purpose. I will notify all the rescue groups that have been looking to discontinue their efforts immediately.

You know what they say, when it rains it pours. Right now that is both a literal and figurative description of my life. But you know what, my two Rottweilers know how to deal with it. So while the weather outside is lousy they go take a nap. Daddy will take care of everything.

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This past week I've been watching old man Ruffin. He has been taking naps during the day, after breakfast, after lunch and after dinner and he has been laying in the most awkward positions. I started thinking he was falling off the bed except that its only 3-inches high to start with. But actually, this is how he has been plopping himself down when he goes to sleep.

I love this big lug and as far as I'm concerned he can sleep anywhere he wants, any way he wants.

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And finally, I gotta mention the weather because three days after the first day of Spring we got the biggest snowstorm of the entire Winter. Six inches of the sloppiest, wettest snow you can imagine. The backyard looked prettier than the front yard so I took these photos from the kitchen window. Bessie went out and found an old yellow ball and managed to play by herself. 

 

 

That's it for now. I need to do mores research on getting Bessie's legs fixed.

This is what the first day of Spring looked like

Sunday we had some beautiful, sunny weather with temperatures pushing 60 degrees. Three days later, on the first day of Spring, we woke up to a surprise, 4-inches of snow. OK, I'm the only one complaining about it. Bess and Ruff, judging by the looks on their faces, were perfectly happy eating snow again.

By the end of the day the temperature had gotten above freezing and the snow was almost all melted. And that's the way the weather flip flops in Northern Kentucky. Did you know they have a saying in Cincinnati, if you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes.

Next few days we'll have a chance to dry out again, then possibly get more snow. This has been a very mild winter this year and all of the totals from our 5 or 6 little snowstorms didn't add up to 10 inches of snow.

 

 

Love the preview of our Spring weather

Ruff had his stitches removed last Friday and his latest blood test came back looking good. So we are all very relieved that this major surgery to remove his spleen and the huge tumor was successful. Thanks to our Vet Dr. Matt McGlasson at Noah's Ark Animal Clinic in Ft. Wright, Kentucky for taking such good care of my precious friend. And, a big Thank You, to the hundreds of Facebook friends who sent their prayers.

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What a Beautiful day today has been, the Sun is shining and temperature is pushing 60. Now its time to explore the backyard and see if it survived the Winter. While Bessie played with her ball me and Ruff enjoyed sitting on the grass and soaking up the Sun. (and taking pictures)

 

 

 

 

While I was busy trying to get a photo of Bessie catching her ball, old man Ruffin snuck in and caught me by surprise with a big wet kiss.

Updated Monday, 3-19-2018

That last photo above has raised some interesting comments on my Facebook page. "The kind of photos pros dream of capturing. This one was captured by a dog, a Rottweiler. Love it" "Beautiful shot! He is a great photographer that dog of yours! " So I decided to try and explain it by also showing the photo that was snapped a few seconds before it just as Ruff had pushed into me. 

What happened yesterday and how it made for a very unexpected photo.

I was kneeling on the grass throwing the ball and taking photos of Bessie catching it. Ruff was sitting next to me. Just after I snapped the first photo of Bess, Ruff pushed into me and jarred the camera upward as I was taking another photo and gave me a quick face lick. He caught me by surprise even before I got to close my mouth.

The photo of Ruff kissing me was perfectly exposed and even got a beautiful Sun flare in the picture.

 

KISS ME, I'M IRISH

When I ordered the St. Patrick's Day t-shirt to put on the bear I had a hard time finding a place that carried them. Has anyone else noticed a shortage of t-shirts saying, "Kiss Me I'm Irish"? Liberals have been very busy dreaming up new sins for everyone to feel guilty about and their newest effort is Cultural Misappropriation. In this case it basically means if you are not actually of Irish descent it is wrong to say, "Kiss Me I'm Irish".

Cultural Misappropriation, is defined as a concept in sociology dealing with the adoption of the elements of a minority culture by members of the dominant culture. 

If you plan on having corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day here is an authentic recipe for Irish Soda Bread passed down from my wife's family. Jacqueline used to make every year and now its been my turn. 

Authentic Irish Soda Bread ( Landen-Osborne Family)

Recipe Makes 2 Loaves
Bake: 35 - 40 minutes
Pre Heat Oven to 375

Ingredients:
4 cups. Flour
3 teaspoons. Baking powder
1 teaspoons. Baking soda
1 teaspoons tsp. Salt
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup Caraway Seeds
1 - 1 1/2 cups of Raisins
1  large Egg
1 3/4 cups. Buttermilk

SIFT OR WISK ALL DRY INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN A LARGE BOWL AND SET ASIDE.

1/4 cup Butter (1/2 stick)
CUT IN BUTTER WITH 2 KNIVES OR A PASTRY BLENDER.
Add large handful of Caraway Seeds and 1 -1 1/2 cups of Raisins to mix.
1 large Egg
1 3/4 cups. Buttermilk

LIGHTLY BEAT THE EGG AND ADD TO BUTTERMILK.
MIX INTO DRY INGREDIENTS WITH A FORK UNTIL BLENDED.
TURNOUT ONTO A FLOURED SURFACE AND KNEAD UNTIL SMOOTH FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 - 3 MINUTES.
(A MIXER WITH A BREAD HOOK IS HELPFUL)

DOUGH WILL BE STICKY. COAT HANDS WITH FLOUR.
FORM INTO A LARGE BALL AND CUT IN HALF WITH A SHARP KNIFE.
RESHAPE EACH HALF INTO A ROUNDED MOUND CUT AN X ON TOP OF EACH MOUND.

PLACE ON GREASED BAKING SHEET. Bake for 35 to 40 Minutes.
REMOVE AND COOL ON WIRE RACK.
THEN TOP WITH GLAZE.

SUGAR GLAZE:
1 cup 10x (powdered) sugar
1/2 teaspoon. Vanilla
1 tablespoon Milk

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Kiss Me I'm Irish.

The seasons are a changing. Christmas bear just got a new t-shirt and just in time because this weekend we are all Irish. We are trying very hard to get back into the holiday spirit and when you see lots of people walking around with signs that say: "Kiss Me I'm Irish", you know you've picked the right one.

Of course, it helped to have been married to a girl whose grandparents came from Ireland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEST NEWS EVER ABOUT RUFFIN

Ruffin Update: He is back home after surgery.

Things moved very quickly after Ruff had the Ultrasound done on Wednesday by Dr. Bruner. Because of the large size of the tumor and the fact that it was cavitated I changed my plans to have his surgery done next Tuesday at the Care Center and Dr. McGlasson, our Veterinarian at Noah's Ark in Fort Wright, Kentucky did the surgery yesterday morning. It was a good thing to move quickly because the tumor had not yet started to bleed. The doctor told me they will not know until next week if the tumor was benign or malignant. Last night I picked Ruff up and brought him home to recuperate in a more familiar surrounding.  You will appreciate hearing that after surgery Ruff spent the entire day sleeping on a quilt on the floor in the back room of the clinic where all the girls were working. I have seen this once before when Ruff spent the afternoon back there. He enjoys listening to the voices of the girls talking.

When I took Ruff home they gave me some pills to help manage the pain, Tramadol, Rimadyl and an antibiotic Cephalexin and something to calm his stomach. Before I picked him up I stopped at Home Depot and bought a new mat for Ruff to lay on. This will also make it easier for him to stand up without his feet sliding on the floor. I made this into a bed for him to sleep on in the kitchen and as soon as we got home he laid down and slept for 4 more hours.

Around 11 PM last night Ruff woke up and I found him walking out of the kitchen so I took him outside and he did the biggest pee I have ever seen at one time. Probably had his bladder filled by all the fluids they had given him intravenously after the surgery. Since I was totally wiped out myself after the long day I took Ruff into the bedroom and we all went to bed early. Ruff seemed stressed and had a lot of heavy breathing so I gave him a dose of his pain medication.

And Bess has been worried about her friend. I love the way she fusses over him like a mother hen, licking his face and his ears. She has been doing this a lot lately. And the day before his surgery she spent some time laying next to him in my den.

I am very concerned about the results from the patholgy test coming back next week. I posted several updates on Ruff on my Facebook page asking for prayers and there have been literally hundreds of people from around the world responding with prayers. We, and I am referring to the Ruffin fans all over the world, are all continuing to say prayers for Ruffin to get well again. If you are not on Facebook and your reading this here for the first time I ask you for your prayers as well. Thank you.

Update on Ruffin: Saturday 3PM
Continuing from last night, Ruff slept on his bed in the kitchen from the minute we got home until 11PM when I found him up on his feet. I am thinking he got up because he had to go out so I took him out and he did the longest, largest pee I have ever seen. It must have been all the IV fluids they put into him at the Vet's.

I tried to give him some of his pain medication but he wasn't in any mood to take it and because we were all exhausted I decided to go to bed early. Ruff went right back to sleep as soon as I brought him into my bedroom and put him on his bed. But a little after 3AM he woke me and Bess up with some scary heavy panting. At first I thought he was having trouble breathing then it dawned on me he was in pain and the drugs from the Vet had worn off. So I gave him a spoonful of peanut butter with a Rimadyl and two Tramadol pills. After a bit he managed to go back to sleep.

We got up at 8AM and when I took him outside to go pee he didn't have any left. Went back inside and fried up 4 oz of chopped sirloin which he ate right away. I tried to give him some Cephalexin and the antacid pill but he spit it out. I put him back on his bed in the kitchen and he went to sleep.

Around 12 noon I took him out and still no more pee but he did do a normal poop. I fried up another 4 oz of chopped sirloin and he ate it but he wouldn't take any pills. This time I refused to take no for an answer and forced him to swallow the rest of his midday pills. He must have had a bad taste in his mouth from having the pills dissolve because he gobbled a large drink of water. Now he is back on his bed sleeping.