A Visitor

February hasn't been quiet (far from it), but there hasn't been a lot to document via photograph. However, the other day Swift was barking like crazy in the backyard. This is nothing special, as he's a stupid dog, but when I went to tell him to shut up, I saw the reason why he was barking. One of our backyard neighbors had a visitor who decided the roof of their shed was a nice place for an afternoon nap.

Silly, Silly Puppies

Just a few recent pictures of the pups being their quirky selves.

Swift is our troll dog. He likes hiding under things.
The guest bed:

 The love seat:

 And our bed:

 These pictures were taken over the course of only two days.

 I think there's a dog under here...

Also, I think it's time to install the floor boards under the cabinets. Swift can almost squeeze himself completely under!

So, I guess mostly pictures of Swift. Ruby does funny things that we video: growling in her sleep, playing with soccer balls, "talking" to us when she wants something. She's equally as quirky as Swift, just less ... stationary?

Anyhow, we love these crazy, silly shibas.

Snow Day

We had a major snowstorm at the beginning of February. Around two feet of snow in 36 hours. It was crazy. Kurt and I both got the day off (Friday), and when the snow stopped falling on Saturday, and the sun came out, and the birds were singing ... it was absolutely beautiful. I love the snow.

And so do the pups!

Show Ready

Just picked up the dogs from the groomers, and thought they looked so cute with their little bandannas.

That's all.

Hide and Seek

Halloween Festivities

It's always lame when Halloween's on a Sunday, but this year (err... last year) we made the best of it. On Friday night, Camille and I threw a joint Halloween costume party.

 

Kurt and I were Jake Jabs and a leopard/cheetah? (Not sure what that print is.)

Jeff and Kim were Dwight and Angela from the office. Jane was their contractual child.

James was a mad doctor and Camille was a witch. Jacob was a sleeping pumpkin.

Steve and Alisha were pirates.

I didn't get pictures of everyone else's costumes! :(

The spread was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

The boys, of course, played MarioKart. Silly boys.

The next night, we went with our friend Sam to a haunted corn maze. We had SO much fun! I had fun screaming/laughing/jumping up and down/clapping my hands whenever someone would jump out and scare us.

Waiting in line.

We made a new friend!

On Halloween, we (read: I) dressed the dogs up and handed out candy (to the, like, 6 trick-or-treaters. Halloween just isn't what it used to be. :( )

Ruby was not having it. She was a bunch of grapes.

I had to capture Swift to get a pic of his hat. He was a ram!

He didn't mind the "wool" part of the costume, though!

Swift looks like he's laughing at Ruby's misery.

All in all, it was an awesome Halloween weekend!

My puppies

So I've had requests for a post on Ruby, how we got her, etc. Then I realized I've never done one about Swift. So, two birds with one stone.

Swiftarama

After Zumi had been dead for a month, I felt it was time to find a new shiba to love. I knew I would never be able to replace Zumi--he was truly the best dog I've ever known--but I needed to fill the void. So I looked on various websites, including Craig's List. Every shiba I called about on Craig's List was already taken. Then I found the ad for Swift and saw it had just been posted. I called and went and saw him the next day. Then took Kurt to see him on Saturday. On Saturday night, we decided to make him ours, so on Sunday morning, an incredibly snowy day, I drove down and picked him up. He loved us right away. Swift loves attention. Way more than Zumi did. He's a very hyper dog and does this little high step prance when he gets a toy. When we get home, he grabs a toy and runs around in circles. He often comes to me when I'm sitting on the couch and puts his head on my lap and waits for me to pet him. He's going through his teenager phase right now, which isn't fun, but he's still adorable and we love him. We are Swift's third home in only a year of life. His last two owners both got sick and weren't able to take care of him. His name was Bear Bear before we saved him from a life with a stupid name and renamed him Swift.

Ruby Tuesday

Ruby came into our life by happenstance. I was sitting at work one day when I got an email from my old coworker saying a friend of hers was moving and they had a shiba inu they couldn't take with them. Was I interested, she asked. Of course I was! So we arranged, via my friend, to take Ruby--then named Little Bear--for the weekend to see how our dogs got along. At first, they were great. They played and took naps together. By the end of the first day, though, Swift started getting territorial. And they started to fight. A lot. Never serious--no injuries or blood drawn--but it was still scary. I still really wanted Ruby. At work on Monday I asked people at work if this was normal for two dogs newly living together and they said absolutely. They said it should get better. So we decided to keep Ruby. The fighting has all but stopped and they get along great, even if Swift pushes his alpha role a little too hard. The third full we had her--the week I was gone for school--Ruby escaped from our background. She was missing for four days! And Kurt and I were out of town. Finally, through the help of some awesome friends--we were able to find her. Ruby is an incredibly sweet dog. She loves being pet and will paw at you if you stop petting her too soon. She loves rolling against and on our feet. She's barked only once and that was actually last night. We love our Ruby Roo!

Swift the Fox

Everyone, meet Swift.

Swift is our new shiba puppy. I still miss my Zumi incredibly, but Swift is filling that void in our home. He's playful and energetic. He loves attention. He can play fetch for hours on end without tiring of it. He's eight months old, so he can hold his bladder through the night, which is really nice. We're not leaving him in the backyard while I'm at work until we get a full privacy fence up. Learned that lesson once already. We look forward to the next several years with our new little guy!
The next pictures aren't great. I realize now I should've put up the flash. Dur.