Porcupines DO NOT make good play buddies!!

Well, Lenny had his first encounter with a porcupine this afternoon at my girlfriend's near Peterborough, ON.

We were out for a walk through the fields behind her house, and he took off into the woods. Next thing, I hear him yelping . . .wasn't sure if he was hurt or not b/c he also yelps like that when he sees a squirrel in the trees above him. I whistled, and whistled, and finally he came out of the woods (not moving very quickly) and pawing franticly at his muzzle. I thought, oh f***, what has he gotten into . . . .then as he got closer I could see what it was. The left side of his face, his left shoulder & part way down his left leg all had quills, and his mouth was FULL of quills!!! It was horrible. We got back to the house & my girlfriend called the Vet service in Peterborough; the on-call vet called back in about 5 mins and so we were off to Peterborough to get the quills removed.

Lenny was a very, very good boy throughout the whole ordeal. He was very well-behaved and even let the vet take a quick peek inside his mouth to see the damage. We needed to leave him there for about an hour, so we went to the new Costco in town, which my girlfriend had never been to, and looked around there.

When we got back to pick Lenny up, the vet said there were alot in, right through, and under his tongue & there had been a lot of bleeding. She said there is one in his chin & one in his cheek that she had to cut, and she said they will likely abcess & then the quill can be removed which will relieve the abcess. So, I have to keep an eye on those and any other unusual swelling that may occur.

Lenny was a bit like a drunk sailor when we picked him up so when we got back to her house, he snoozed on his blanket while we had some dinner & played cards. He is sleeping contentedly now in his bed upstairs. He has perked up some since we picked him up and should be fine by morning. He is on antibiotics for 10 days.

I told him yesterday that we were going on a big adventure today, but I certainly did not have this in mind! I hope we never go through this again!! My other two dogs, Ranii & Scalla never did run into a porcupine, but they did get mixed up with a skunk a time or two.

It seems to be prime porcupine territory at my girlfriend's so I think I will be much more careful where Lenny ventures when we visit there. I would never have considered running into a porcupine on a cold winter's day!

To the Woods on Boxing Day 2008

Lenny is always on the lookout for squirrels!!

I just love the ice formations on the creek

I think there's something in those trees!

This beautiful woods is only 2 mins from our house!

After our walk in the woods, we drove down to the lake to see the waves as it was a VERY windy day - lots of homes in Ontario lost power for several days after this wind storm!

Unfortunately, the battery on my camera died after just two pics!

Christmas 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

HAPPY NEW YEAR - ALL THE BEST FOR 2009!

Chic opening her gift bag

Annie helping Grandma open her gifts

Annie opening her gift bag

Lenny getting into his gift bag

Mom's surprise Christmas present

Meet Tiny Tim

Lenny & Chic Playing after big snowstorm

We had our first big snowstorm last Fri (Dec 19/08) . . . . the College was closed at 3pm . . . . semi snowday!! The kids went out in the back yard the next evening & had a blast tearing around in the new snow. Chic found a ball buried under the snow and then Lenny proceded to try to get it from her . . . . to no avail!!

I love this pic!!

Ultimate Air Dogs - Ohio - Nov 22-23/08

Nov 22-23/08, we were off to Cleveland, OH to our first Ultimate Air Dogs event - what a great weekend! Cath & I, Lenny, Chic and Pip - road trip!!

We had an awesome weekend - Lenny came 1st in Master division Finals with a 22' 7" jump!!! We were given free toys when we registered, and one of them was a Jolly Ball - Lenny LOVES that thing! So we switched frsual newfie tennll to the new jolly ball and, I guess it paid off!!!

Somewhere in Pennsylvania

Cleveland, OH

Progressive Field - Home of the Cleveland Indians

King bed - room for everyone!

This is what we came for (well, actually, we came for the dock jumping) woohooooooo!!!

The pool!!!! (7am Sat morning - notice the empty hall)

Lots of gear with sports dogs

When do WE get to go??!!!

Furkids home away from home (we later moved to another area nearby)

Let the jumping begin:

Sarah-Simone & Forest Gumpy

Bill Helfer & Jazzie

Cathie & Chic

Stephanie Hounsell & Major Tom

Stephanie & Phoebe (the flying beagle)

Bridgette & Lance (the spotted Labrador)

The kids waiting for another turn - Pip didn't jump, but she got lots of socialization over the weekend

A couple of Lenny's jumps

The pool & hall later Saturday afternoon

Entertainer with his dogs in the demonstration area

This little guy climbed his way up right from the bottom!

On the way home Sun night, we decided to stop off in Niagra Falls to see the Festival of Lights - I'm glad we stopped! It was beautiful! I can't remember the last time I was in Niagra Falls . . . . the main part of downtown sure has changed . . . . very glittery & tourist trap looking!! But, very impressive!! It was a really nice detour.

Main Strip:

Festival of Lights

Skylon Tower & Casino

The Falls lighted - quite specatcular!