Lily was beside herself with excitement when her Pawpawty Pwize arrived from England on Friday. She shoved the package around the floor where it landed through the mail slot for quite a while. She obviously knew there was something she would like inside the package. When we opened it we were so thrilled to find a stuffed and stringy toy with a squeaker inside! Lily instantly started hopping around the house to play fetch and shake with her new treasure. Sadie, who is still not feeling too well, watched from Lily’s favorite chair. We were entertained all evening as Lily kept presenting us with it as though we did not remember she had just received it. Eventually Sadie got a turn. But Sadie shakes it first, then fetches. We are saving the blanket for cold nights ahead. Sadie bounces onto the floor all the time. We recently discovered that she really does use her doggie bed. So, one evening, she will have the blanket tucked under her for extra comfort. We send a special thanks to @poppy_dog for the generous gift, and we encourage all our readers to stay tuned for Pawpawty events, tweetups that raise funds for animal charities, by checking Paws Around the World (@frugaldougal’s blog) frequently.

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Sometimes Sadie helps. This summer she monitored an extensive paint job from the top landing of the staircase. Unlike Lily, who simply hid as far away from the action as possible (on top of the pillows on our bed), Sadie was in the middle of the whole activity. She kept a careful eye on the location of the paint, roller, and tray at all times. She sniffed but did not taste the paint. She barked a lot of commands to everyone involved in the project. She avoided the ladder completely. All in all, Sadie is a good companion for what can be a mundane job. As you can see, she also took over the drop cloth. Sadie thinks that every draped or bunched up fabric on the floor is actually a new bed just for her.

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Sadie is starting to feel better. Lily has lost a tiny bit of weight. The combination means that our dogs are friskier than ever. The cool, crisp Philadelphia days are energizing them further. They not only love their long walks, playground romps, and encounters with Charlie the Great Dane puppy – they also love to fetch all their stuffed toys. Fetch is a game we normally encourage as an outdoor activity. Lately, however, Lily presents her stuffed squirrel, new toy bird with the tennis ball, or one of her squeaky footballs (she has a few of them) around 10 in the evening. She is ready to start hopping around the living room to fetch the toy-de-jour. Last night was the first time in over two months that Sadie jumped into the fun. Sadie breaks out the full puppy dash – she bolts around the house as though she was a world class sprinter. She does not have the stamina of a few months ago, but it delighted us to see her back into competition mode. 

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It was a perfect fall day. The morning was gray with drizzle, a little warmer than usual. Sadie and Lily enjoyed the afternoon with a favorite activity known as the extended nap. It lasted well into the afternoon. By then the sun appeared. Our afternoon walk featured favorite things: colorful leaves fallen on concrete, discoveries of new beautiful features of the local homes, and a waggy-tailed greeting from favorite doggie pals. We are sharing a few photos of Fairmount below as we relish the last bits of endurable weather before the winter cold arrives. 

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Sadie has had kind of a bad couple of weeks. She is on steroids and antibiotics to cure a deep skin infection. She lost three upper front teeth – so far. Her vet thinks she might have cancer. None the less, she is defiantly perky. She hops around the house, mouths off at all our street traffic, and ignores Charlie the Great Dane as though nothing has changed for her in the past days and weeks. The good news is that her skin infections are nearly healed. Her gums are healing, and she does not appear to have any more loose teeth. She has learned how to chew a rawhide from the side. She loves the fact that she gets peanut butter smothered medications. (Lily is terribly jealous of that, so we have to appease her with peanut butter treats too.)

Yet, we can report that Sadie is a Grump, officially. She has always been vocal. One of our friends named her Barkina this summer because of her immediate grumble when people enter her space. She is taking that a bit further now by grumbling at people throughout her walk, from the top of the sofa, from a sound sleep, and in response to almost any noise that is new. Lily takes it all in stride. She has learned Sadie’s ways. Lily doesn’t love Sadie the Grump’s attitude, but she copes with special strategies and looks out for her tiny pal. She sniffs all her sore spots, licking the spots that seem to bother Sadie the most. She waits patiently while Sadie gets the good treats first. She does not complain about Sadie’s rawhide victories. And, most of all she allows Sadie to have first dibs on the favorite chair. 

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Lily and Sadie are partners in nearly everything. They are the doggies in the window. We have heard – and sometimes observed – that whole conversations take place between our dogs and passersby. Maybe that is why Sadie is so vocal towards the pedestrians in the neighborhood. She tunes into footsteps, conversations,  baby strollers, and jingling dog tags. She is an ace monitor of the street. So is Lily, but her style is completely different. She watches the street, turning her head from side to side. Unlike Sadie, who runs back and forth from her back-of-the-sofa resting place to the window all day long, Lily has an incredible economy of movement. She focuses intently, with a quiet and controlled approach. Their duties at the window are interrupted all the time by treats from the kitchen, a tossed toy that needs fetching, a visitor at the entrance, a loud motorcycle idling at the intersection, and music from local restaurants. At the end of every day, they pile onto a comfy chair or lie at foot of the bed – one on top of the other – to recharge for the next day’s buddy-fest.

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Sadie, of Sadie and Lily, loves to perch on the very top of soft things. She likes tall piles of fluffy pillows, bunched up quilts and feather comforters, and even a thick pile of fallen leaves. Lily is not quite as particular as Sadie. She has a favorite chair by the window, and she will commandeer it by any means possible. If Sadie has taken over the chair before Lily gets a chance to, Lily starts to pace. If Sadie does not get the hint to move, the whining begins. If Sadie becomes obstinate, Lily will give a loud bark. That usually just encourages Sadie to be stubborn. We humans often intervene against all good advice to the contrary in order to save the peace. We hoist Sadie high in the air, let Lily jump into her spot, and place Sadie back in a nook or cranny of Lily’s unoccupied chair space. Sometimes, Sadie does get the idea and decides to go higher, as in on top of the back of the sofa. Sadie gets all scrunched in the cracks between the sections, with an eye towards Lily and the street. She monitors that street with all her sensory skills. Then she vocalizes for all to hear when people and dogs pass by. We are not sure the neighbors love all that commentary from our little Sadie. But, she wants us all to know she is here fur the moment.

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UPDATE 10-23-09: Sadie’s latest vet visit revealed just how much suffering she has been going through. Her loose tooth was pulled, so now she’s missing three. The fact that she is losing teeth that are otherwise healthy has provoked our vet’s concern that she may have cancer of the mouth. We are quickly learning that cancer of the mouth in dogs is a grim prognosis, and it seems we may be facing some difficult choices regarding her care in the days and weeks ahead. Soon she will have to undergo further testing to determine for sure whether or not she has cancer. At least for now, she is already experiencing relief from a persistent skin infection from new medications. We stay focused on the moment right along with Sadie for now. Her unstoppable zest for life sustains us all every day! Oh that Sadie!

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Sadie lost her two front teeth last week. We have learned that she used the teeth to block her tongue from peeking out of her mouth. She licks her nose more often too. She will lose one more tooth before long. The good news is that her gums have healed, finally, since we first learned this would happen last summer. What has not changed is that Sadie greets all the passersby with a loud “rooooofff” and some heavy panting. Lily has taken the turn of events in stride. Sadie still grooms Lily every morning. She still steals all of Lily’s rawhides. She still hoards her kibbles in the living room. And, she still runs around the house at full speed every time someone enters.

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Lily will turn three years old on September 25. We can hardly believe she has been part of the family for so long. It seems like yesterday that she bounced and wiggled her way into our lives and hearts. She started out sweet and cuddly and she is still that way today, only larger. Here is a picture of her lovely, smooshy face: http://bit.ly/8Ay8q. And, here are our previously tweeted list of top ten memories of Lily so far.

1. Lily in the clothing basket. She was only small enough to sleep there for a couple of weeks. A picture of Lily in the basket: http://twitpic.com/i0lt2

2. Lily at three months picks up and walks around with a squishy frisbee flat against her face, twisting side to side to see.

3. Lily in her first snow: http://bit.ly/YtjaB

4. When Lily rolled her blue soft crate with her rambunctious boxer puppy ways.

5. Lily almost sitting still for a photo as a puppy. This pic is only partially blurred! http://twitpic.com/i0mcr

6. Lily swimming in the Wissahickon Creek. There’s really nothing she luvs better.

7. Lily greeting everyone at the corner bus stop as though they are waiting specifically for her every morning.

8. When Lily and Sadie began to share the crate!

9. Similar to #8, when Lily and Sadie began to share their food bowl. Sadie eats under Lily’s legs.

10. Lily occasionally winning a Rawhide War! http://bit.ly/BLgmU

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Sadie Luvs a Row House Car Wash

Lily the Smoosh

Recently Bathed Sadie

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