Thankful Thursday: These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things

Xena: Today we are thankful for some of our favorite things. I’ll go first. I’m thankful every time Mommy fills my food bowl. I have the self discipline to wait and not dive into it until she says, “Free!” Otherwise, I lose my supper for at least 87 seconds, and that’s a terrible thing to do to a starving schnauzer!

Do you want to know what all I got this time? Green tripe, chickie paw, spinach, saurkraut, orange bell pepper and blueberries! Those are all some of my favorite things!

Lucy: I have a lot to be thankful for too.

I love my friends and am so thankful for them.

• 

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From the left, that is my boyfriend Achilles, my BFF Ella and my house buddy Riley.

Riley: I love my reindeer.

I am thankful Miss Amy gave him to me for Christmas.

These are all just a few of our favorite things!

XOX from Xena, Lucy and Riley

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites
When the bee stings, When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

Today we are joining Brian’s Thankful Thursday, with special thanks to Brian for hosting it!

Stuffie Support Group

We are joining Comedy Plus with much thanks for hosting Awww Mondays.

Shania: After meeting Lambie, and asking her for help with our tormentor, she came up with this suggestion.

What do you think, Lambie from up high? Can you help us?

We, the stuffies of Xena, have formed a support group. At one time or another, every stuffie in this post has been a victim of domestic violence. For fear of retribution, we will not name him, the perpetrator. All we will say is that he is huge and red and has lived here on and off for the past nine years. We hope by us speaking out, he will be encouraged to seek help for his violent nature against stuffies.

We have provided a forum today for our abused stuffies to speak out against the violence perpetrated on them.

#1 My name is Eleephant, and I am a victim of Stuffie Domestic Violence. I have lost my left ear and the tip of my trunk. Because of this my hearing and sense of smell have been impaired. My tail is missing, which sometimes affects my balance.

#2 My name is Oscar, and I am a victim of Stuffie Domestic Violence. I lost my nose, and now I can’t taste my food. My beard is permanently messed up, and my eyes are scratched, making it difficult to see “him” coming.

#3 My name is Ludwig, and I am the victim of Schnauzer stuffie love that turned violent. I bear the scars on my right side to remind me how much X loves me.

#4 I am Brownie Bear, and I am the victim of Stuffie Domestic Violence. I lost my nose, and I can’t smell anything. My berries no longer taste sweet. My eyes are scratched, and the distortions make me dizzy.

#5 I am Lexi’s bear. I am a long-time survivor of Stuffie Domestic Violence. I had a happy and peaceful life up until around 2009 when a large puppy – who has grown into a large dog – came to live with us.

Lexi always called him Dufus, although I don’t think that is really his name. My dear friend was helpless to protect me against multiple assaults. I lost both my ears and rely upon sign language. My right leg carries a permanent scar, and my left arm is missing. I had several surgeries and am fortunate to still be here. Rainbow Bear and several other stuffies have sworn to protect me, but there is only so much they can do against Giant Dufus. If their protection fails, I will simply lay down and go to be with Angel Lexi.

#6 I am Winter Bear and I am a survivor of Stuffie Domestic Violence. You can see that my right ear is mostly missing. Even though I like to stay awake and active with Xena and my other friends all winter, sometimes it’s just too much to keep avoiding the Big Dog and I go to hibernate with the other bears.

This is terrible! I knew there had been violence in this house, but not to what extent. I, Xena, pledge to do a better job of protecting you all.

I didn’t mean to hurt you, Ludwig. I got a bit carried away.
Oscar, thank you for not naming me, but we both know who chewed off your nose. I’m sorry.
From now on, if I see He Who Shall Not Be Named coming after any of you, I will get Mommy to help you.

Stuffies: We invite any stuffie out there with issues they need help with to join our Stuffie Support Group. Together, we can be stronger and raise awareness that stuffies have feelings, too.

Return from Hibernation

Xena: Hey, isn’t it about time for my bears to slither out of hibernation?

Lucy: You mean you haven’t seen them? They’ve already gotten their spring baths – you know how foul they smell after sleeping cuddled up together all winter – and they’re looking for food. Go check out the kitchen.

Xena: *running to kitchen and jumping on the stool* Hey! Why didn’t y’all tell me you were awake?!

Riley: Watcha’ doin? Can I have some of those?

Xena: No! Don’t come near my bears!

Mommy, tell Riley to go away and leave my bears alone.

Shania, what are you doing up here with Rainbow and Winter Bear and Jen Jen, and Sweetheart and Lexi’s Old Bear? You’re a schnauzer, not a bear!

Shania: I saw they were all going to the bath, so I asked if I could join them. I wanted to get Riley the Terminator’s spit off my furs.

Rainbow Bear: We’re hungry. We haven’t eaten all winter. Please get us food. Now.

Did you hear Rainbow Bear, Mommy? Aren’t you going to the store? Would you get them some Bear Food?

*a little later*

Jen Jen Bear: We give thanks to the Great Bear in the sky who is the giver of all good things. And to the Mommy for going to the store.

Brownie Bear: Amen and let’s eat! Mmmm, I heard the nut course is next, then the brocolli course!

Xena: Mommy, isn’t it supper time yet?

I am Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Nature Friday and That Thing

We are joining Arty, Jakey, Rosy and Sunny of the LLB Gang with much thanks for hosting Nature Friday.

Monkey: Whew. I’m glad we made it up here before Riley got ahold of us. Did you see him take off with the new guy that Xena got for Christmas? I’m afraid he might look like this aloe plant that the Mom left outside in the cold too long. It’s a gonner.

Winter Bear: Yes, I did see Riley stick his big T-Rex head into the kennel and snatch the new guy, and it made me shake all over. Bear only knows what happened to him. I know I’m the Winter Bear, but I think I’ll go hibernate with the rest of the bears until Spring. Maybe it’ll be safer around here by then. Wait! Is that the new guy heading back into Xena’s kennel?

Monkey: Hey there, you, new kid on the block, er, in the house. I’m Monkey. What’s you’re name.

Triceratop: Hi Monkey. No one’s given me a name yet. Unless it’s That Thing, as in, “I hate That Thing.” And, “I don’t know what That Thing is, but it gives me the creeps. And, “Have you seen That Thing move all on it’s own?” Xena’s supposed to be my new dog, but she hates me. I’m afraid she’s going to feed me to that big T-Rex dog. He already got me once, but the Mom rescued me.

Monkey: I don’t understand why Xena would feel that way. But come in here with me and I’ll try to help if he comes back.

That Thing: I’m a hand puppet, and I think I moved in ways that might have scared her when I was trying to play, but she would never admit it, Warrior Princess that she is. She did chase and bite me when I tried to run away from her.

Xena: Hey, You Thing, why are you back. I thought Mommy put you somewhere safe (for us both).

The Thing: I want to be with you and be your friend, even if it means facing down the T-Rex Dog.

Xena: Huh. I think you might mean Riley. And you would risk certain death by him just to be my friend?

Lucy: Hey, whatch’all doin’?

Xena: I am Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess and NOBODY threatens my friends!

Dog Bed War

I’m Shania, and I like sleeping in the big bed.

It’s MY bed (and Mom and Dad’s).

Move over Daddy, I’m comin’ in.

Riley isn’t always here, so if I want to use his bed, I will.

I knew Angel Lexi and deserve to use this bed that was hers after all the crap she put me through.

This is MY bed. I inherited it from Angel Lexi. It’s a schnauzer bed.

What are you doing in my bed, Xena?

This is the bed Mommy bought just for me. Sometimes I let my stuffies sleep in it with me.

I won. I fit in Xena’s bed.

I made a bed out of the dirty laundry pile. *phtt* What do you mean, my beard needs washed again? Aghh!

How does Morty the pig fit in this bed?

Nature Friday: Bear Stuffies

We are joining Arty, Jakey, Rosy and Sunny of the LLB Gang with much thanks for hosting. Nature Friday.

So I’ve been thinking. Why does Nature Friday always have to be about plants? Aren’t we all part of nature? I know, deep thoughts for me…Angel Lexi must be haunting my dreams. So what about bears? And if bears, then why not my bear stuffies? I mean, they’ve got feelings too, right? At least I believe they do, so it must be true. I think that’s how it works. Wow, Angel Lexi really is around here somewhere.

Usually my bear stuffies are all hibernating by now – with the exception of Winter Bear who sticks around all year. I guess the warm weather has kept them active and still in the mood to play. Then, right after Thanksgiving, this happened.

Xena, we need to talk to you. We’ve been having lots of fun with you, even deep into our usual hibernation time. But since Riley’s been here, we’ve had to stay up out of his reach so that, well, you know. *shudder*

Anyhoo, we decided it’s time to go take our long winter nap. We love you and will see you in the spring.

Riley: You can stop talking trash about me. I’m right here, you know. I haven’t touched even one of y’all since I’ve been here.

That’s cause they’re right, Mommy did set all my stuffies up on top of the Victorola so that you wouldn’t hurt them. Stupid dog. Now they’re going away and I won’t see them for months!
Mommy, send Riley home so that my friends don’t have to go hibernate.

It’s OK Xexe, it’s just Nature. We’ll see you in the Spring. And thank you for the yummy berries on Thanksgiving. Those were a great treat, and it meant a lot to us that a schnauzer would share her food.

Love, Bears Sweetheart, Jen-Jen, Brownie, Rainbow and Lexi’s little bear.

A Wordy Wednesday Naming

Thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting the
Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop!

Xena: As you know, we have been trying to find a name for our newest family member, the baby schnauzer stuffie. So many of you gave wonderful suggestions that we couldn’t decide. So we (Mommy) decided to let the baby stuffie draw one of the names.

First, she wrote all the names on pieces of paper.

Then, she used my collar to blindfold our baby schnauzer stuffie. No peeking!

Introducing Shania!
Shania: Thank you, Miss Sandra, for thinking up my new name.

Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess and Shania

A Name for Baby Schnauzer Stuffie

I, Xena, am holding a contest to see who picks a winning name for our new schnauzer puppy stuffie. Whoever picks the best name gets a free trip to…

Lucy: Xena! Stop, just stop. I thought you were over this nonesense. You know you can’t give away a trip.

Hi, I’m the new schnauzer puppy stuffie and I need a name – a girl name. Would y’all please help me? Our Mommy is partial to “Sheila.” I’m not so sure, though.

So far, we have had the names Shira (or Shirah), Amelia, Max, Shania, Pilvi, Jasmine and Mrs. Mike suggested by our blogging friends. Plus two votes for Shelia. We are trying to decide. Your vote would be helpful, even if you don’t get a free trip anywhere. We are sure that next time you see me, I will be properly named.
In other news, Xena removed the stitch that tacked down my right ear. She’s helpful like that. Now we’re twinsies.

Do you like the one ear down, one ear up look? Sister Xena said it’s the latest fashion. I still can’t get my ear back as far as hers goes.

Now, if I could just get her slobbers off my furs.

Love, Lucy, Xena and Schnauzer Puppy Stuffie with No Name

The New Stuffie Gets Advice

Hi, this is Xena. Mommy’s been thinking about getting another schnauzer puppy. She confides in me ’cause we are thick as thieves. Except we’re not thieves, and why do they call thieves thick, anyhow? But it sounds good, right? Anyhow, Mommy has what she calls the puppy itch. I’m not exactly opposed, but I’m not exactly for this either. I really like being the baby. She went out for a while to some stores and came home with a new schnauzer puppy — stuffie!

Mommy held her for us to meet. I sniffed politely, and didn’t try to chew off her nose. Then Mommy put her up really high on the bookcase. I thought she might not be safe up there, but was told that’s the only place she will be safe. Pretty soon, puppy got some company.

“Hi there, I’m Priscilla and this here behind me is Chippy. Chippy is a real fun and funny guy and you’ll enjoy having him as a friend. I help take care of the new pups around here. What’s your name?”

“I don’t know. Everyone just calls me the baby schnauzer.”

“Well, never mind, you’ll find out your name soon enough. Xena is the schnauzer you met when you first came in. Maybe she’ll help her Mom with a name. We’d better go. Xena’s having a fit that we got up here with you and is mad that she can’t. See you again soon, Baby Schnauzer.”

*a few minutes later*
“Who are you? Are you an angel?”

“I can’t tell you I’m an angel cause I’ve been caught in too many lies already. But maybe I’m a ray of sunshine, BOL! Who I am is Ludwig, and I’m in love with Xena, but she doesn’t love me back. When I try to get close to her, she just pulls out my hair.”

*shudder* Xea sounds really scary. She’s down there scowling up at us!”

“Don’t worry, kid. Just stay up here and you’ll be fine.”

*a few minutes later*
“Hi. I’m Oscar. Who are you?”

“I’m the new schnauzer puppy. I don’t think I have a name yet. What happened to your nose, Oscar?”

“One day Xena’s Mom left me alone with Xena and she bit off my nose. Lucy tried to operate and save it, and at first it seemed to work, but then it fell off. Food hasn’t tasted the same since. You need to make sure her Mom’s around when you’re with Xena. Anyho, I hope we can be friends.”

Xena: “How are y’all getting up there? Someone knock that puppy down here to me.”

*later that evening*
“My new Momma is going to watch over me tonight, and maybe tomorrow I will get a name. I heard her asking my new Dadda what he thought about the name ‘Shelia.’ ‘Shelia the Schnauzer,’ she said.”

“Are you coming to bed now, Momma? Have you decided on my name yet? Oh, you’re going to ask Xena’s blogging friends to help? OK, nighty-night.”

With love from the new schnauzer puppy stuffie.

Talkative Friends

Elle: I heard Xena’s Mommy gets to take Friday off as a holiday for Erev Rosh Hashanah, even though she isn’t Jewish.
Oscar: How do you know she’s not Jewish?
Elle: I heard her tell one of the synagogue congregants that.
Oscar: Does that mean we all get the day off? Maybe we can organize some fun games.
Elle: We can ask Rainbow Bear to help. She’s good a that kind of thing.
Oscar: She seems good at everything. Do you think Xena’s Mommy needs any help with her work?

Oscar: Hey, where did Xena go? She was right here a minute ago. Do you think it’s lunch time?

Elle: It’s not lunch time and her Mommy’s still here, so she isn’t getting a bath, although she sure needs one. Maybe she’s hiding so she doesn’t get bathed.

*yawn* How can a girl get her beauty sleep with those two yammering constantly? Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Easter Bunny #36950 Confesses All

Lucy: Why are you still at our house, Easter Bunny? Easter was a long time ago. And, come to think of it, you didn’t bring us anything.

Easter Bunny: Your Mom mistook me for one of your stuffies and I got thrown in the washer and dryer with them. (see here) After that, I was so traumatized, I couldn’t remember what I was supposed to do. Your stuffies took pity on me and let me sleep in their nice big crate. After I woke up, I shared the rest of the candy with them. Now I see why all you pups and kitties and little peeps look forward to me coming every year.

Xena: Do you mean no one in the world got any candy for Easter?

Easter Bunny: Oh no, not at all. First of all, there are thousands, nay, millions of us bunnies who deliver candy all around the world very early on Easter morning. I’m Bunny #36950. Second, your house was my last stop.

Lucy and Xena: So you mean we’re the only ones who didn’t get candy?

Easter Bunny #36950: Don’t blame me! It’s all your Mom’s fault. *shudder* You may have to meet me down by the street next year. Now, if you’ll excuse me, while I’ve had a lot of fun playing with Rainbow Bear and Sweetheart Bear and Chippy, and oh, by the way, who chewed the nose off of Oscar the baby schnauzer? That pup isn’t getting any candy next year!

Xena: Well, uh, you see, uh… Gee, it was nice having you visit, Easter Bunny #36950, and please be sure to come back next year with candy for us both. But maybe you should go now before Mommy decides to put you up in the attic until next Spring.

Lucy and Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess, who didn’t get any Easter candy (and might not next year)

Spring Baths on Aww Monday

Mommy washed my bedding and put fresh spring cases on the pillows in my kennel. Looky, my stuffies got a good bath and “air” dry. Now they don’t carry any germs, especially with Easter Bunny appearing from who knows where.

The Mom: Xena, your beard sure looks crunchy. How long’s it been since you had a bath?

Stuffies: Uh oh, wanna bet who’s getting a shampoo and blow dry next? Let’s go with Lucy to watch.

Will someone please throw me a towel?

Xena the Germ-Free Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Thanks to Comedy Plus for hosting Awww Mondays.

Poor, Pitiful Oscar

Lucy: Hey Xexe, what did you do to Oscar? Where’s his nose? And what happened to his beard? But mostly, where’s his nose?

Xena: Um, I was grooming him, you see, and I was trimming his beard with my teeth, and, well, and I must have gotten too close to his nose.

Lucy: You ate his nose? Are you a barbarian?

Xena: I didn’t eat it!

Lucy: What if Mom did that to you when she’s grooming you? Look at Oscar. He’s pitiful. Poor puppy.

Xena: I’m so sorry, Oscar. I didn’t mean to hurt you.

I’ll tell you what, Oscar, sweetie. We’ll get dogtor Lucy to fix you up, and I’ll ask Mommy to groom you from now on. What’s that? Will it hurt? No *giggle* not at I’ll. I’ll gas you and you’ll sleep right through it.

*a short time later*

Lucy: That was a delicate operation.

Oscar didn’t have any health insurance, but he said to send the bill to you, Xena.

Lucy and the failed groomer aka Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princes, (and Oscar)

Now, to reveal what my #10 mystery item was on the Scavenger Hunt. (If you missed it, you can read it here.) Ruby, Millie & Walter, and Phenny & Nelly all got it right.

It’s a lamp, one of two that I bought from a dance studio that was closing. Thanks to Hootin’ Anni for hosting this hop. It’s going on until the 15th, so go ahead and have some fun with it by clicking here.

The Bears are Back

Xena: Who’s up there on the bed whispering? Make way, I’m coming up.

Yay! You’re all out of hibernation, and look! There’s our missing Mr. Eleephant!! Sweetheart, your eye looks odd. Do you have pink-eye?

Sweetheart Bear: No, Xena, that’s just my pink furs that got in it. You can lick them away from my eye if you want. And yes, we found Mr. Eleephant. Well, actually, Rainbow bear found him sitting on the front step. He was a bit hungry and cold, but otherwise he’s ok.

Elle: The bears are having a post-hibernation confab and I was invited because I’m Mr. Eleephant’s care-taker when he is here.

Jen Jen Bear: Yes we’re discussing how to keep everyone alive and safe from that Riley dog, as well as what to do about that Scoundrel Ludwig.

Riley: Why does everybody always pick on me?

Ludwig suddenly appears: Mr. Eleephant, it’s good to see you’re alive and well. I had urgent business to…

Rainbow Bear: Ludwig, you scoundrel! We take care of our own around here. How dare you abandon Mr. Eleephant on the front porch while you tried to spy on Xena! (click here if you missed this)

Ludwig: Mr. Eleephant is OK – he’s a tough old coot. And well, I, I, I already wore the cone of shame. Isn’t that enough? Can’t we all be friends again?

The bears and the elephants discussed how they wanted to handle this, and what to do next. An executive decision was made…

OK, all y’all, game’s on. Last one to Xena’ kennel is a rotten Ludwig!

This is Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess and Chippy the chipmunk with a hoard travelling to my kennel.

Introducing Priscilla

I got two new puppies and a chipmunk for Christmas. Oscar is my schnauzer puppy stuffie. His beard is as crazy as mine! My other puppy didn’t have a name. If you didn’t see my Christmas Day post, you can click here. I mentioned then that my sweet new puppy with the long ears needed a name and asked for help, but the only one to respond was Kismet, who suggested “Dumbo” because of her really big ears. That is not just politically incorrect, it’s just plain mean. That made me realize it was up to me to find her a name.

I know she’s a girl because she’s wearing a pink collar. And she does have big ears, sorta like a hound dog. So that got me to thinking. Mr. Elvis used to sing a song about a hound dog and I think his favorite person was Priscilla, so, even though that Priscilla wasn’t a hound dog, I thought maybe my new puppy’s name should be Priscilla. And I could call her Prissy for short, kinda like Mommy calls me Xee and Xee Xee.

I’m teaching Prissie all kinds of new things.

She’s already learned to jump/climb up on the magical red chair. Please don’t pay any attention to the plaid duck tape on the top of the chair. That will soon be a “last year’s” mistake. And I’m sure any new teeth marks will be from Priscilla as she is teething, right?

Prissy likes to look out the window with me.

I’m teaching her how to watch for things to bark at watch for possible threats. That way, when she grows up, she could be our security dog while Ludwig is away for the winter.

She’s also been watching me practice all my new Freestyle figures. Pretty soon I’ll have a whole new routine to all new music. It’s going to be great!

Anyhoo, I wanted to let you know that the naming contest is over and no one won the trip to…

Lucy: Xena, what the dog are you barking about now? There was never a naming contest!

Xena: Shhhhhhh.

I’m asleep.

I am Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Ludwig and Mr. Eleephant

Miss BellaDharma from BellaDharma and LadyMews’s Purrfect Pad and I were discussing what to do to keep Mr. Eleephant safe from Bad Riley. In case you missed it, you can go here to see how my big sis Lucy had to save Eleephant’s life after a vicious attack. Miss BellaDharma came up with the purrfect idea. She suggested asking Ludwig to be Mr. Eleephant’s body guard. So, here is the story of how that went.

Ludwig, I have asked you here to meet with me and Mr. Eleephant to discuss a matter of the utmost importance. As you know, Mr. Eleephant barely survived two vicious attacks by Riley. And looking at your side, it appears you have also been his victim.

No, Xena, those scars are from love bites from you.

Oh. Well, that only shows how tough and strong you are. So, Ludwig, we need your help.

Anything for you, mon amour. I would scale Mount Everest, I would sail across the Devil’s Sea, I would wrestle the Tasmanian Devil, I would…

Yes, yes, I understand you are wholly devoted to me, dear Ludwig. Now, back to Mr. Eleephant. He needs you to be his body guard.

Ah, so you know my strength and my total dedication to a task — and to you, beautiful Xena. I accept this labor of love and have a small suggestion.

*whispers* You should stay with us each night so that we can take turns keeping guard. I would let you share my bed…

*blushes* Uh, I think it’s time to ask Jen Jen Bear to join us. She has been tirelessly watching over Mr. Eleephant, and she keeps falling asleep. It is winter, you know.

Jen, Jen, I have good news. Ludwig has accepted the position of body guard for Mr. Eleephant.

You can go hibernate with your friends now with no worries about anything.

There’s just one thing, beautiful Xena. I am going on a winter trip to uh, to see my pawrents, yep, to see my pawents and my gir, er, my grr-ate grandpawrents. I will take Mr. Eleephant with me

*sigh* Once a Ludwig, always a Ludwig.

Goodbye, sweet Mr. Eleephant.

Angel Lexi loved you, and so do I. Take care of yourself

Jen Jen Bear has left to go hibernate, mon amour. You never answered me about sharing my bed tonight. We could keep each other warm while we guard Mr. Eleephant in his sleep.

Mom! Ludwig’s hitting on me again!

Hurry Mr. Eleephant. It is time for us to go.

Emergency Stuffie Surgery

Xena: While we wait for my video from the Freestyle Trial, I wanted to catch you up on what is going on around home. Do you remember my warning to Riley? Do you remember that he still went ahead and deadied my blue bone? That was bad, but not like deading a real live stuffie. Look who we found, a victim of a Riley attack.

Do you remember that poor old Mr. Elephant was very close with Angel Lexi? Now his guts are falling out of his butt. This isn’t the first time Riley tried to kill him. We think it is because he mattered so much to Angel Lexi. Mr. Elephant had asked that, instead of staying in the big green basket on top of the mantel to stay safe, he be allowed to stay in my kennel. He was ok in there until one day we all forgot to shut my kennel door and Riley saw his chance.

Riley: You two can stop talking about me now. My Dad’s coming to get me.

Lucy: I saw something had to be done immediately if we were to save Mr. Elephant. After thinking for 87 seconds, I made my decision.

I ran to the pantry and got some Tennessee whiskey to steady my nerves and gave Mr. Elephant a drink of it, too. Xena had eaten sauerkraut last night, so I told her to turn around and gas him. Between that and the whiskey, he was out cold. I gathered up some tools and put on my operating mask. Time was ticking and I had to work fast and sure with precision instruments. I also had to be very careful not to close up his bee hind hole. I looked for his tail, but that villain Riley must have eaten it. His right leg was ripped halfway off, so I fixed it to the best of my ability.

About 87 minutes into the surgery, Xena noticed that Mr. Elephant was also missing an ear.

We hurriedly – but carefully – looked under all the furniture. Xena is small enough to be able to scoot under the couch and love seat, and did a thorough search. It was all to no avail. That fiend Riley must have eaten his ear, too. I finished working on his back end, and, with only a short pee and snack break, started closing up the gaping whole where his ear used to be. Xena! Quick! Lick the sweat off my forehead! Thanks!

Mr. Elephant is in the guest room sleeping it off and is expected to make a full recovery. His back leg isn’t exactly straight anymore, so he will have a limp. And we’ll have to remember to stand on his left side when we talk to him.

Riley has gone home with his Dad, and it’s time for a nap after an exhausting, yet satisfying, day. The patient will live.

Wags and licks, Lucy the Surgeon and Xena Schnauzer Princess Warrior

Nightshirts and a Scare

Do you ever get cold in bed? Sometimes, between the air conditioning and the overhead fan, I start shivering so hard I wake up Mommy. So she has started putting a lightweight shirt on me at night.

So, after a good night’s sleep in my sleep shirt that Mommy made me, and after my brekkies and after my potty out front, I decided to get in my red chair and watch what was going on in the neighborhood. What I found in my chair shocked me!

Mommy! I think Mr. Elephant – you know Mr. Elephant who was my Guardian Angel Lexi’s Elephant – is dead! What’ll I do!?

Oh, goodness! His bee-hind is still warm and smells like him. Wait! He moved!

*whispers* Oh my dog, Mr. Elephant. I thought you died. Please don’t ever scare me like that again! Psst, I love you.

I am Xena, the relieved Schnauzer Princess Warrior

My Stuffie Friends Left

No sooner did my Clan Bears return than Rudy and Winter Bear said they needed to go to “The Great North” for the summer. They said there are places where it snows all year and the temperature barely gets above freezing. At first I thought they were going to Finland to visit Kosmo the cat. Then I learned that the snow is mostly gone in that part of the world and it is warming up. Then I thought about The Canadian Cats, but it’s the same story there.  Without involving me, they had been planning what they wanted to do over the summer until it got cold here – well, as cold as it ever gets. Neither one has a port to pass, or could pass the port, or something like that, so they had to stay in the United States. I wanted to help, so I offered Rudy my special blankie to keep warm on his travels.He tried it out and got so comfy he fell asleep for the rest of the day. The next day I offered Rudy my special Blue Bone. I thought he could chew on it if he got hungry, or use it as a pillow. When I took Rudy over to it, he licked it for a while, then laid his head down  and fell asleep again.

When that silly reindeer finally woke up, he said he was always sleepy cause it’s already too hot here. Meanwhile, Winter Bear was snoozing in the toy basket. I guess it is too warm here for him, too. 

I got them both awake long enough to pack up some supplies and head out the door. That was a few days ago. Once in a while I get word from someone that they gave the two travelers a ride or fed them or just spotted them in the woods to the side of the highway. The last report was of them resting near McKinley Mountain in Alaska.

Hey, I should have sent a list with them to give to Santa! I sure am going to miss those two rascals, especially Rudy. His red nose is hard, and Mommy could always hear me dragging him all over the house. I didn’t want  him to miss anything that was happening. I sure hope they can find their way back home before Christmas and bring me some pressies from Santa.

*yawn* I think it’s time for a nap. Maybe it’s too warm in here…

Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess

Stuck

As Mommy was leaving for work today she gave me my new treat puzzle that I love to play with. It didn’t  take me even 87 milliseconds to solve that puzzle and gobble up all the treats. That’s when I noticed that Rudy and Jen-Jen Bear didn’t make it into my kennel before Mommy closed and locked the door. I really tried to help them. I was able to get one of Jen-Jen’s legs in, but she yelled that it hurt, so I had to stop. Rudy, do you want me to try to help you get in the crate with me?

Rudy: Uh, no thanks. I’ll just wait here until your Mom gets back.

Jen-Jen Bear: I’m stuck. You’re not going to just leave me stuck like this, are you, Xexe? All the blood is rushing to my head and my leg’s starting to go numb.Uh, yep. Don’t worry, I’ll carry you around with me the rest of the evening after Mommy gets home. Monkey and Winter Bear are in here with me, so I’m just going to play with them for a while. Then we’ll all take a nap. You know I would come out there and help you but…Xena Schnauzer Warrior Princess