Poor Baby Boy :-(

I got up this morning at 8.15am and went downstairs, let Boo out to potty as usual and 5 minutes later he comes in limping like a crazy thing!!!  I immediately picked him up but couldn’t see blood on his paw, no burrs/stickers were stuck in his pads, nothing! But still he was limping really bad and his paw was shaking and twitching. I thought perhaps he’d been stung or bit. Whatever it was I couldn’t watch him in pain all morning, he was licking at his pad like crazy, then hobbling around to follow me and just sit next to me then lick his paw some more. This went on for about 5 minutes before I decided I had to call the vet, he could have been having an allergic reaction to a spider bite or anything. 

My nearest Banfield hospital (where Boo goes for all his shots) said I could take him in and leave him there as the Dr’s were in surgery. When I asked what time til, she said 2pm!!! Seriously! I could keep him at home til 2pm, but I didn’t want to do that, he was obviously in a lot of discomfort. I called the other vet (same Banfield, just a different location in Petsmart a few more miles away) and was told they could see him. Long story short, we can’t see anything wrong with his paw, the vet wanted to do xrays incase he’d broke his toes? but that would be about $250 and it’s highly likely that it wouldn’t be broken, maybe just sprained. So she said I could wait a few days and give him some pain meds and anti-inflamatories. So this is what we’re doing. He’s put a little weight on it since this morning but still won’t stand on it. The meds will make him sleepy which will help him rest it today. 

My poor little guy. I hate to see any animal in pain, most especially my own. Hopefully in a day or so it will be better, but if not we’ll be back at the vet for xrays!

Day 8 - Sunset
Well, guess what, I forgot to take a sunset picture last night – probably cos I was over at Cheryl’s sharing a glass of wine ;-) So, here’s a lovely sunset over The Oasis Restaurant in Austin

 We didn’t make it to piano lesson today because of the vet trip, so we have the rest of the day just to lounge around, do housework, knit and read :-) One more day til Daddy’s home!

Meet Boo!

I’m joining in with DebbieDoo’s ‘PET PARTAAAAY!!!

I know most of you reading my blog know full well that Boo is our little Shih Tzu, but for anyone new coming over from Debbie’s – Hi, and well, Boo is our little Shih Tzu :-)

Isn’t he a cutie! He’s a really good boy (for the most part) a very fussy eater, but that’s my fault not his!

He likes to sleep like this a lot!

Every afternoon you can find him sitting here. . . waiting for Kristen’s school bus to pull up!

Then at 5pm he’s there again, waiting for ‘Daddy’ to come home!

Boo turned 5 last September. We like to spoil him and give him special treats on his birthday. Sept 28th is the actual day he was born, we brought him home from the breeder the day before Thanksgiving that year.

He actually looked like this when he was tiny. Quite a lot darker than he is now.

Well, he’s actually not dark at all now!

He’s our baby boy, and we love him!

Pretty Boy Boo!

I know it's only Thursday but I thought I would post today and still link up to Fur Friends Friday with Necel tomorrow. That way I don't have an overload of pictures to share if I join in with Fertilizer Friday too!

I finally took Boo to the groomers this week. Usually I take him every couple of months and get him cut pretty short. But Jason likes him a little longer and more fluffffffy so I kept putting off taking him to get cut. I forgot to take a before pic! But I wandered outside this morning to take pictures of the flowers and I let Boo out with me so I could capture his new 'trim' look for Spring....

Hmm, yes, not a great shot - over here Boo, let me see your pretty face. . . .


not quite... could you look at Mommy please?

ok, now you're just being rude!

Perhaps if I mention 'biscuit'. . .

ahhhh, that got your attention didn't it! It's a gorgeous day here in Austin, bright blue skies, sunny and warm. I'll be back tomorrow to share pictures of the flowers out front.

Furry Friends and Fertilizer

It's fun to join in with 'blogland parties'. For one it helps me decide what to post about on certain days, but I also love to visit other blogs and see what others have posted. It's great meeting new bloggers that way. So, this Friday I'm joining Necel again for 'Furry Friends Friday' and Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday. Now that things are growing in the garden I'd like to join in with Fertilizer Friday each week so I can give updates of our veggies and visit other gardening enthusiasts :-) Be sure to visit both blogs to see some other fun participants.

Last week I told you I'd let you know how Boo got his name... Boo Hau (pr. How) being his full name. That's not his registered kennel name, we didn't register him at all. It's just the name Jason chose for him when we were all trying to think of what to call him. I can't really remember any suggestions Kristen and I made, but I do remember Jason suggested Wonton! Seriously? Wonton I asked. Errrr, that would be NO! Next thing he said was "OK, what about Boo How?" Hmmm, I liked Boo, very cute, but what on earth is Boo Hau. Turns out 'Boo Hau means 'not good' in Chinese! For some reason Jason and his pals at work were going through a phase using this saying to each other throughout the day as in "oh man, that's boo hau". The fact that the breeder had told us Boo was the little 'rooter tooter' of the litter seemed to enforce this name. So Boo Hau it was, but we often just call him Boo, unless he's really naughty and Jason will actually shout Boo Hau in a stern voice! Here's a picture of Boo on his first birthday :-)

Kristen insisted we have a party for him, and yes that's Little Cesar dog food with a candle in it. It was Boo's first try of it, filet mignon flavor. He's such a fussy pup, to this day he will still turn his nose up at it (he does this to all of his food) but eventually eats it.

Jason and I want to get in to the habit of fertilizing the veggies and trees each week but we'll probably do it on a Sunday when we both have a free day. I'd still like to take part in Tootsie's FF so I will just give garden updates and show you what's been growing with flowers and veg on Fridays.

The weather was terrible last weekend and I'm sad to say the tomato and pepper plants we planted out didn't make it :-( It was so windy - SO windy that this happened . . .

This, being the green house that was previously standing like this (below - actually tied to the wall I might add) . . .

The good news is none of those plants were in it just a few pots of seeds I'd planted a couple of days before, which hadn't even sprouted, so I don't feel like I lost much. The bad news being those plants were the ones I planted in the garden so the wind got them anyway.

On a brighter note, the Bradford Pear in the front yard is looking pretty this week. . .

and the sun will be shining all weekend so we should be able to get out and 'play' in the yard :-)

Our Furry Friend!

+++ Thank you Sadie for pointing out to me that I had typed 1995 when I meant to type 2005!

I'm joining Necel at This Old House in Texas this week for 'Fur Friends Friday'. I just recently found Necel's blog from the Texas Blogging Gals list. I was intrigued with the 'Old House' she owns and her plans to one day restore it. This is only her second edition to FFF, why don't you hop on over, say hello and join in the fun . . . I for one would love to see pictures of your Furry Friends :-)

As most of you know, we only have one pet right now (the hamster doesn't really count!) so I thought I would show you a few snapshots of Boo when he first came to live with us. We bought Boo from a local Shih Tzu breeder back in 2005. He was born in September of that year and we actually got to bring him home with us the day before Thanksgiving when he was about 9 weeks old and just a couple of days before Kristen's 5th birthday.

This picture below was one we took while Boo was still with the breeder. We went to see him a couple of times before we brought him home. Kristen was always so excited to see him.

Just a few months later (in January 06) he looked like this. . .

well in need of a hair cut wouldn't you say (and yes I say hair because Shih Tzu's do indeed have hair and not fur - AND they don't shed) :-)

And look how his coloring changed in such a short time, he looks pretty well camouflaged amongst that dead winter grass!

We were told he would probably need his first grooming around 6 months old, what a difference when I finally did take him in to Petsmart a few months later. . .



So, that's our little Boo Hau (pronounced 'How). Next week I'll tell you what his name means and what other names he goes by ;-)

It's forecast to be 74 and partly cloudy today. I'm hoping to get out in the yard for a bit before rain and thunder showers hit tomorrow. Hope you all have a great Friday.