And now for some Scotties!

I write about the two girls all the time here and on Facebook.  Mainly because they both have serious health issues (Fiona has Diabetes and Arwen has Bladder Cancer), and both are very needy girls wanting attention.  But I do have another Scottie who I rarely write about. Frodo is the typical middle child who rides the wave whenever anything happens.  He's Fiona's son and so he looks exactly like her except he's brindle and she's wheaten.  When he looks up at me, I see her mouth and the shape of her eyes.  He has his father's big ears though.  Frodo is a sweet boy who has a very bad habit.  His habit?  Chewing on the fence and pulling on the chain link whenever he sees another dog out in the field or walking along the pathway between our houses. 

He KNEW a bath was in the future and was hiding in Fiona's bed

But I made his wait so he passed out near his toys

When he was a little guy, he was obsessed with the rabbits that lived under the big pine trees in the back.  He was so obsessed which means he barked his head off at them that we one time had to put up black sheets of plastic on the back of the fence so he didn't see them.  That worked for awhile.  Then he decided that if he chewed a hole in the wooden fence big enough to put his head through, he would be able to make those rabbits bid by his commands whatever those might be.  Oh yes, he chewed a hole big enough for a very determined Scottie to put his head through.  I have a feeling that if we wouldn't have noticed, he would also have chewed a hole big enough for him to get out all the way.  On top of chewing the wooden fence, he'll grab the chain link fence and pull on it.  He's so strong that he actually got it pulled out enough so he could put his head under it to get at the poor unsuspecting dog walking down the path.  So we had to put kennel wire on all parts of the fence exposed.  The rest of the fence is covered with ivy, but yep!  Frodo figured out that he could pull the ivy out (with his teeth) and make peep holes for maximum spying on all those dogs and people walking on the path. 

And yes, the water was BLACK with dirt

Even wet, Frodo is such a cutie pie

Two years ago, his obsession cost me a whole lot when he got not two but sixteen teeth pulled.  Can we say that I was not very happy with this chewing boy.  But one look at those milk chocolate eyes and clownish expression and my heart just give in.  Now you would think that he would stop these bad habits now that he's a ripe old age of 9...nope!  He keeps on doing in plus the chew on mulch, rocks, and twigs.  So today he went in for teeth cleaning and SURPRISE more teeth pulled.  This time he got 4 teeth.  I asked the Vet tech how many he has left thinking it can't be many more but she laughed, got the chart out and told me that he has 18 more than are potential to be pulled.  Oh my!  So he's home now resting after his ordeal.  Bad thing was that yesterday was the once every three month bath for him...he usually is pretty clean as he hates mud or water...just loves to chew. 

I have to write a little about Arwen too.  Last October she was diagnosed with TCC (Transistional Cell Carcinoma) of the Bladder.  Scotties are the breed most prone for this cancer which a very dire prognosis.  The time line for dogs diagnosed with this form of bladder cancer is 1-120 survival.  That is only three months!  Arwen now is on her 10th month of survival.  She is on Piroxicam and now an antibiotic daily.  She has good days and bad days.  She has trouble voiding in the morning and is incontinent most of the rest of the time.  We've had times when we thought this would be her last week, but then she rallies and we know we'll have her with us longer.  I guess I am thinking a whole lots about this more than usual, as I found out that the Vet Tech at Worthington Woods whose dog was diagnosed with the same cancer around the same time had to be put down two weeks ago as the cancer metastasized to the lungs.  When she told me last week, I started to get all teary eyed. She asked me about Arwen and we just hugged.  I know I won't have he with me long, but she's still just a little clown making us laugh.  Chris sleeps downstairs now so he can let her out in the middle of the night. We can't leave her for long and we let her out constantly like when she was a puppy.  We give her canned food which she loves, lots of treats which she REALLY loves, and tons of love.  It is so hard to think about her or even Fiona not being here.   But we know the days will come. Right now we just hug them all and are blessed that we get to share our lives with these three little canines.

Arwen never turns down a treat no matter what it is

And she always loves a nice nap on the towels we keep down because of her accidents.