Freddy likes 68º F (20º C) with a slight breeze.

Freddy the wiener dog really enjoyed our early evening walk. It was 68º F (20º C) with a slight breeze. Freddy was frisky! He either racewalked or jogged the whole way. In fact, he was so happy that it looked like he was skipping.

Malibu seemed happy enough, but she stayed close to Freddy the entire way. Steven walked Freddy, so I walked Bu. Unfortunately, Freddy wanted to walk so fast that I had to jog now and then to keep up. I wasn't in my running shoes, but at least I had tennis shoes on. It's really tough jogging in flip-flops.

Luna was naughty (what's new, huh?). She hid when it was time to put on their harnesses. So, she was left behind. Of course, she was very upset about this. Too bad. She either listens to her Mommy or she gets left out of the fun.

Obie, the obese Dachshund.

Update: 4/14/13: Obie's success!!! https://www.facebook.com/BiggestLoserDoxieEdition

Poor Obie. 77 lbs.

Update 1/24/13: The custody battle over Obie, an obese Dachshund from Oregon made famous on NBC's "Today Show" has ended after months of legal disputes. The woman who originally took the dog in for temporary foster care (Vanatta, a veterinary technician) is now officially his permanent owner. As for Obie, Vanatta said he has lost 28 pounds since she took him in about six months ago. 

Obie's 28-lb. weight loss!!

Update 10/29/12 p.m.: At a court hearing Monday morning, a judge decided that the dog will stay with Vanatta, at least for now. The judge said at this point it is unclear who owns Obie. Oregon Daschund Rescue was asking that the dog be turned over to them until ownership is decided, but the judge declined. http://www.katu.com/news/local/Obie-the-overweight-dog-isnt-going-anywhere-at-least-for-now-176307171.html.

Update 10/29/12: Obie, I pray today that you win. No matter what that means, only God knows that. Breaks my heart to see this fight, all the money spent and redirected that could be saving babies that will lose their life today because no one came to save them. This is a day for tears. Take Obie out of the spotlight, and go do your rescue work. This is not it. - by Annie Craig, a friend.

This is monstrous!!!! Obie's elderly owners overfed him. He should weigh 30-40 lbs., but he weighs 77! How, how, how could somebody feed a dog until he can barely walk?! Or, breathe. There's a video on the website of Obie's eating. His breathing sounds terrible. Obie wears a harness to protect his chest and underbelly from dragging on the ground.

He was rescued by Oregon Dachshund Rescue. But, they put Obie in foster care with Nora Vanatta, who has a degree in animal science and is a certified veterinary technician. Vanatta put Obie on a strict diet, and he has lost 15 lbs. That's good.

However, Vanatta went on national television and raised thousands of dollars for Obie's care. The Oregon Dachshund Rescue says Vanatta is exploiting the dog and want Obie back. Neither of these women should get Obie. He should stay at the vet's office until he's in shape and then found a loving, caring home. All money collected should be transferred to the vet for Obie's medical care.

A judge will decide next week who gets custody of Obie. Either way, the money should go the vet's office or a true rescue group that will help many, many others. Pray for his poor baby!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223610/Nora-Vanatta-Obie-obese-dachshund-centre-custody-battle.html

Freddy and the girls meet (the new) Daisy.

Daisy look-alike on the left.

Freddy the wiener dog and the girls were frolicking in the front yard. It was a gorgeous morning. Mommy was sitting on the front porch reading her Kindle. 

The only problem was Luna's trying to sneak across the street to catch the neighbor's cat. Luna walks along the sidewalk in front of the house and tries to make it to the neighbor's driveway. She thinks if she can make it that far, then Mommy hasn't noticed and she can dart across the street. No go. Mommy catches Luna every single time. When Mommy calls Luna back, Luna walks as s-l-o-w-l-y as possible back to Mommy. She likes to pretend that it was her idea to come back into the yard. Ha!

Besides Luna's trying to sneak off to the catch the kitty, it was a lovely morning with no incidents. Mommy could see down the sidewalks in both directions. Nobody was walking their doggies or jogging around the neighborhood. Mommy got a little too involved with her reading and didn't notice the young man approaching with his 5-month-old German Shepherd puppy until they were walking across the neighbor's driveway. About the time Mommy noticed the German Shepherd puppy, Freddy noticed the German Shepherd puppy. Freddy went tearing off, barking, snarling, snapping at the puppy....with Luna right behind to back him up. Malibu came barking and running too, but she kept her distance. The poor puppy was so confused at that barking, snarling, snapping midget dog. What's up with that?! Mommy reach the doggies just a second or two behind Freddy and Luna and ordered them into the house. They did...still barking and snarling all the way. 

Mommy went back outside to apologize to the young man for the behavior of Freddy and the girls. "You see, Dachshunds own all that they see...... They think they're grizzly bears and don't know their size...." Etc., etc. He was quite nice about it. Then, he introduced me to Daisy. As mentioned, she's 5 months old and all legs. She's quite tall for a puppy. Once she fills out, she's going to be a big girl. And, she was the most adorable, friendly puppy. Daisy just wanted to play!

Daisy ran around the yard, sniffing everything in sight. Apparently, Freddy's digging brings up lots of new smells. She was fascinate with the dirt. She was near a bush when a squirrel jumped from it onto a tree. Daisy tucked her butt under and ran back to her Daddy. "What was that?!" Maybe she thought it was one of little doggies sneaking up on her again. Mommy enjoyed her time playing and petting Daisy.

A favorite digging spot.

After Daisy left, Mommy let Freddy and the girls back outside to the front yard. The doggies needed time to smell everywhere that Daisy went. They were not interested in smelling Mommy's hands. They only wanted to track Daisy's scent around the yard. Once Freddy was satisfied that he had run Daisy off, he was content to continue frolicking and digging in Daddy's front garden.

Yay! Daddy's home!! Daddy's home!!

Freddy the wiener dog really missed his Daddy. A couple of times a year, Daddy takes 4- to 5-day business trip/meetings, usually in Galveston, Texas. Freddy knows what it means when Daddy takes out a suitcase.Freddy did pretty well this time. He was a little moppy, but he spent most of his time pestering Mommy. "What'cha doin', Mom? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Freddy gave Daddy a very quick hello, and then he wanted Daddy to chase him and throw woobies around the backyard.

Luna the wiener dog was depressed while Daddy was gone. She didn't want to play with any toys. She followed Mommy from room to room, just making sure she knew what Mommy was doing and that Mommy wasn't going anywhere too. Luna, however, had the biggest "welcome home" greeting for Daddy. She couldn't have twiggled that rear-end or tail any faster than she did. If you hear of any earthquake tremors in the Central Florida area, no worries. It's just Luna shaking the house and everything else loose in her welcome to Daddy.

Malibu the wiener dog was a little different. She handled herself the usual ways --- Run around the house like crazy, keep track of Mommy, dig for frogs...... Routine stuff. Malibu gave Daddy a quick, little greeting when she saw him, but she couldn't be slowed down. She was chasing frogs and digging dirt when he arrived home. Malibu did give him a better greeting later. When she completed her frog hunt, she came back inside, ran over to Daddy, and frantically scratched his knee. This is the universal symbol for "pick me up."

Now, all three are piled together with Daddy, sleeping. Freddy started off between Mommy and Daddy's pillows. Now, he's on Daddy's pillow with his front paws resting on Daddy's shoulder. Malibu is also on Daddy's pillow, but she has her paws on Freddy. Finally, Luna is stretched down the length of Daddy. Luna's a l-o-n-g girl. She wants Daddy's warmth, but she also must unkink her back with a good stretch.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Morning walks with Owl.

Freddy the wiener dog and his peeps have begun their multiple daily walks now that the weather has cooled significantly in Central Florida. Mommy likes lots and lots of walks. Thankfully, so does Freddy. Of course, Freddy could not possibly trot around the neighborhood without a woobie. This week, Owl has accompanied Freddy on his daily walks. Freddy struts through the neighborhood with his Owl. Adorable.

Malibu and Luna, the wiener girls, both enjoy their walks too. Malibu just wants to run the entire time. Luna keeps a steady pace. But, neither girl has that "John Travolta strut walk" like Freddy. "Well, you can tell by the walk I use my walk, I'm a woman's man with no time to talk......."

Luna's in trouble......

Luna, the wiener dog, is in trouble. Big trouble. Freddy was walking across the bed to sit next to Mommy. But, Luna cut him off and took the spot next to Mommy instead. Luna had her chewed up funnel with her.... Mommy grabbed Luna's rear-end to shove her over so Freddy could sit next to Mommy. Luna gave Mommy quite a nasty growl. Mommy snatched Luna's funnel from her and told her "bad dog." Of course, Luna is unhappy that she's in trouble. But, Mommy scared Bu. Sorry, Bu.

Luna's funnel is in time-out.

"Ew, what is that?"

Early this morning Luna, the wiener dog, and I were crossing the kitchen when we spotted a big pile of poo. Actually, Luna saw it first and I saw Luna's reaction. Luna was almost upon it when she stopped, took a brief sniff, jumped back a little, and then took the long way around the poo. Yeah, Luna, I agree.

So, I let Luna outside for a pee break while I went back to pick up the doggie poo. Thankfully, t-h-a-n-k-f-u-l-l-y, I turned the light on first. When I went back over to the poo I saw that it was actually a huge toad. Ew!!!!! {*shudders*} Malibu!!!!!!!

Luckily, there was a rather large bowl sitting on the kitchen counter. I quickly emptied it and with shaking hands managed to get the bowl over the huge toad without screaming.....My screaming that is, not the toad. I'm still freaked out imaging reaching down - with toilet paper and not bare-handed - to pick up the big, squishy, living toad! Ew!!!!! {*shudders*} In the dark!! Can you just imagine!?!

Now, if Malibu had brought it inside last night, she would have brought it to the bed. But, if Malibu had brought it in this morning, then she would have been spastic, running around the house in circles and barking at me. {She actually had a "come and see my toad" bark.} Neither happened, so I have no idea when Malibu brought the big, nasty toad into the kitchen.

Anyway, I did what any SANE woman would do..... I woke my husband at 5:00 a.m. to remove the toad from the kitchen. Hey, if I'm on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, then hubby can join along too. {Our neighbors must be wondering why their toad population has risen exponentially.}

I'd like to give a big "thank you" to Luna for notifying me of the foreign object on the floor.

Tiinkerbell's 10/5/12 Update

 Here's our favorite bully girl - TIINKERBELL!! 

Tiinkerbell's skin is better and she's growing hair. She is still not gaining weight, though she is eating really well. Her bloodwork came back with elevated liver values and an x-ray of her stomach was abnormal. They are testing her for EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency). It will take a couple of days before the test comes back, hopefully they'll know early next week.

You can still follow her progress at https://www.facebook.com/TiinkerbellsTime. Care packages can be sent to 14286-19 #234 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32250.

If you'd like to help this rescue group with financial assistance for Tiinkerbell and their other pittie rescues. Donations can be made by visiting www.pitsisters.org and specify Tiinkerbell in the notes. Or, make a donation to: Lakewood-San Jose Animal Hospital, 5315 Saint Augustine Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32207; (904) 737-2011. {Call between noon-2:00 p.m. (EDT)}. Please specify "Tiinkerbell" or "Pit Sisters." Thank you!!     

P.S. Pit Sisters Rescue has a wish list on Amazon.com. This would make it easier to select items that they need. http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/E37V8FMZOX72/?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwpitsisters-20&linkCode=ur2&visitor-view=1&camp=1789&creative=390957&reveal=

Back in the saddle again.

Freddy, the wiener dog, is back!! Back in car-line, that is. Mommy wasn't taking Freddy and the girls to car-line because of the out-of-control barking. Freddy and Luna were a chorus, and Bu just joined in right. So for a week, Mommy didn't take anybody to car-line. Then, Mommy started taking only Malibu. Bu doesn't bark unless the others are around to start trouble. Good Malibu. Then, Mommy took Luna once. [Luna wanted to see her boyfriend - Eric's friend Eamon. They love each other.]

But, Mommy still wasn't able to take Freddy. Every time she put him in the car, Freddy would start barking as soon as the garage door went up. So, Mommy would take Freddy back inside. This happened for several days. Finally, today, Freddy didn't bark when Mommy put him in the car. So, Mommy took Freddy to car-line.

Freddy was extra, extra good. He never barked once. Oh, Mommy would definitely tell that Freddy wanted to bark. In fact, Freddy looked crazed wanting to bark, but he didn't. He wanted to bark when all the students showed up on the sidewalk, but he didn't. He even wanted to bark when the boys came to the car, but he didn't. Mommy was so proud of Freddy!!