Days with the Dorans

A while back, Eric told me he was making his dogs' their own food and said it wasn't that hard. Now I DON'T cook- but for THESE guys, I do! I have been making their food now and I feel so much better knowing what they're eating. Marty is starting to get lumpy and tumors and while the vet said they don't think it's cancer and he hasn't slowed down, I want him to be the healthiest version of himself (and of course Fender too but Marty is our senior now). It's mostly chicken and rice but as you can see I throw in a lot of good veggies too. Always green beans, peas, and carrots. Sometimes sweet potatoes and bell peppers. I basically put in whatever we have and they LOVE it! I make a pretty big batch and we've been getting all the ingredients from Aldi which keeps cost down a bit. Most of our fridge is now full of food for the dogs. They're very grateful though- and they also are a great clean-up crew! Don't worry- I wash it with soap after. You c...

Fender is a bit of an interesting dog... Not only do I take him to "therapy" weekly and give him meds he has moments of crazy which I have documented here. You never know what you're going to get when you rescue. I'm still glad he's ours.  

  I was so excited to have a half day on the 18th. I actually found a doctor for ME that I like and am working on taking better care of myself. While I was excited for the half day, Fender was MORE excited. When I got home, Marty greeted me and I wondered where Fender was. I ran upstairs and opened Joey's door to this! Fender bolted out of the door and ran downstairs.  I sat kind of in awe. Fender has some serious anxiety- partly maybe because he was a covid dog, partly because he had a hard start to life. He's on meds and we go weekly to the vet to work on this. I couldn't be mad at him because I knew what happened. He got in Joey's room, the door closed behind him and he panicked! By the time I came downstairs, Fender was fast asleep. Clearly he had a good workout emotionally and physically. Poor guy. Poor mom who has to figure out if we can afford new carpet (we can't...).

  I LOVE boat rides- especially mid-week rides when the lake isn't crowded and we can just toodle around the lake, but for some reason we didn't get out on the lake much and I'm really not sure why. So when we were invited for a boat ride late in the season, we gladly accepted! I think it's safe to say we were ALL happy we went. pups included!

It's no secret that my dad is NOT a fan of our dogs, but...

  Just because I love these two!

Poor Fender's anxiety is THROUGH THE ROOF. When I went to the vet with him last, I was in tears seeing how petrified he was. Still, he needed to get in to get shots, so they gave me some heavy duty drugs for him and boy, did it knock him out! Unfortunately, he also got sick... in my car on the way to the vet (I called Jeff who came and cleaned it while we were inside), then outside the vet, then inside the vet, then in the car again on the way home (thank you leather seats), and again outside. I didn't want him to come inside so thankfully it was a nice day for him to sleep outside. Sean read to him too to make him feel better. Such a great kid! Next time they'll give us something for his tummy too but I'm also going to start these things called "Victory Visits" where they work on just normalizing the vet in general. Let's hope it works!

Since Fender's heartbreaking big vet appointment, we've been trying to get him more comfortable at the vet. Sadly, it seems it's going to be a long go. I was able to get him in the building but that wasn't easy. I had to lift him out of the car and pretty much pull him in which wasn't what we wanted. He's on meds and even with an additional med to help with this visit he wouldn't take any food (those are hotdogs we'd try to feed him) and just wanted to leave. When I lifted him out of the car his tail was tight to him- tucked even more than in these pictures. The next week we tried again and he not only wouldn't get out of the car he wouldn't even take food IN the car. My heart hurts for his anxiety. It's so frustrating, but I'm not giving up.  

  So I felt like a rock-star today! I had a HUGE PR in my virtual race this morning! When I checked my watch, I knew I was really moving even with the hills!! I actually broke 8 minute miles! I can die a happy woman! After, I decided to tackle some yard work. I've soooo neglected our house. I always feel better when I do a little before and after picture. There was no memorial day parade today but we remembered the fallen ( HERE ) and Joe and his friends played taps HERE . Ali is also going to start driving soon so we headed to WLN to do a little practice in the parking lot since I know she may go out right away. She did pretty well! And finally we ended at the lake! We tried to get Fender to swim but then he kind of did it on his own. Thankfully I got it on video HERE . The big question... Was Marty trying to Drown him or save him?

  They are the BEST gift. It wasn't only Mother's Day but Marty's birthday too!! Jodie Gordon is the best! What a great gift!

The weather was nice-ish for Steph's 40th Quarantine birthday so we sat in their driveway and enjoyed each other's company IN PERSON! Steph and Dan had some heaters because unlike Joe, some of us were cold and bundled. Nana wrapped FORTY ROLLS OF TOILET PAPER for Steph's birthday and it was hilarious and the perfect gift!! Nana got a a new phone that takes really nice pictures. I got these from her!