Blue Heeler | Madi

Inspired by my blog buddies at gustheblueheeler.blogspot.com, I feel the urge to talk to you about one of my blue heeler friends. My beloved friend Maddie! She's approximately ten years old, you're never certain about such things with rescues, and she's a horse dog. Ha ha, you're wondering what I mean by that. Her mom is a horse trainer which means that Maddie is constantly around horses, therefore, she's a horse show dog. At our barn, where she spends the majority of her day, she is surrounded by other dogs and horses. During horse shows, Maddie's always around, always off leash (and we all get very offended on the rare occasions we're asked to put her on a leash), and always near her mama. A leash is not part of Maddie's vocabulary and that's a fact. She's the perrrfect heeler. She knows her place and she never bothers anybody. Everybody in the horse world knows her too, by name.

Maddie's mom is my human sister's horse trainer. She's a rescue-mama. Her pack ranges between 5-10 dogs at any given time. I won't even mention the horses and cats she's saved. Maddie accepts everybody her mom brings home. She immediately informs them about who is the boss, yes she's Alpha, and then she proceeds to gently guard and protect them. Like all perfect dogs, Maddie, the blue heeler, sometimes gets into mischief too. I really like it when she joins us in being rascally!

What are you doing on top of the trash cans, Maddie?

Maddie's tummy is full of dog tumors, like many geriatric dogs including my sister Linguini, the Dalmatian German Shorthaired Pointer Mix but she's doing really well. She's never been a playful dog, but she sure can get around. Just like the rest of us, just let her be near her mom. A simple look from her mom makes Maddie happy. She's the sweetest, kindest dog I have ever met. Mom took a picture of Maddie being playful for a change.

Maddie, the blue heeler, playing with one of her brothers, Boomer, the Chihuahua

Three woofs for Maddie! May you live a long happy life for years to come, my friend.

Twink!

Fresh Out Of The Dog Shelter

That is the question. When this dog was adopted into my family, from the Pasadena Humane Society, a dog shelter, she was initially named Daisy. Her sister was Rosie, a glorious Chocolate Labrador,  and the family tradition had to go on. Well, this Daisy broke it. She was never a "daisy-dog". She was something else. Finally, a couple of weeks at our home, she was renamed Linguini, because she's always excited and wiggles her body just like wet noodle. I love my wiggly sissy!

Daisy/Linguini as a pup

My sister has spent the better part of her life escaping. Yes, she would run away from home. I don't get it, since we live on an acre of land, but Linguini couldn't stay put. I've seen her climb a fig tree! I've seen her climb a chain-link fence. I've seen her dig! She's unstoppable, but she's apparently street savvy too, since she always makes it back home safe and full of the cat food she's "stolen" during her escapades. When she wouldn't come home immediately, our mom would jump in the car and go look for her in the neighborhood. Linguini loves car rides.

Civilian Passenger

Recently, Linguini got a tumor. Mom was frantic and scared. She loves us all so much that she became scared that Linguini would "not make it". I'm an optimist. I just waited to hear what the vet had to say. The dog vet did a biopsy and determined that Linguini had a benign tumor, yay, but Mommy was still worried. Linguini wasn't moving around much and she just seemed "not herself." I tried to get her to play with me, but she wasn't in the mood, huh. Frankie, the Chiweenie, tried to play with her, and she got growled at, huh? We're a close-nit family, what's up with that.

Then we went on a hike and the dalmatian german shorthaired pointer mix sat down and refused to move. We gave her a break and then headed home. Mom was desperate by now. She started talking to her friends and one of them recommended special joint supplements from the dog vet. Mom didn't wait a beat. Linguini was on supplements and two days later....

I feel good! Na nana nana na na...

The dog vet helped quite a bit, but a little taste of whipped cream and Linguini is back 1000%

Nowadays, my beloved sister, who is ten years old, is regressing. That is the best news. She wiggles, hops,  skips, and plays around like she was a puppy herself.  I love you sis!

Children Books

I was thinking about telling you about our family cat-astrophe (you see I have to live with three crazy cats) but I realized the holidays are approaching and you may be looking for that special gift. Get my book! Twinkie, the Tiniest Dog in the World. You won't fail. Even though it's a children's read-along photo story book, I've discovered that people of all ages enjoy it the same.

Children books should be fun but with substance. Mine is simple and funny yet important. It's an inspirational story of overcoming and living with a handicap, but my main message is: Life is good. It is also a parable to assist in the raising of  "difficult" little ones who aren't the best listeners. Twinkie, the book, will have those challenging children at least thinking about listening to their parents and authority figures, such as doctors.

So come on, don't you care to read about my tea cup Chihuahua life and my family? I promise to do my best to introduce every single family member and close friend through my blog, but aren't you curious to find out what preceded? Don't you want to read about hikes, adventures...

...my permanently busted lil' leg?

To simplify this process, even though there's tons of information on my website. Feel free to read my reviews. I'm proud of them.

Twink!

Twinkie's Dog Calendar

TWINKIE'S CALENDAR from Zazzle.com

A little reminder for my readers since my dog calendar sale will be ending on Monday. I'm ordering mine today. Ya never know what my family's planning for the weekend :) What I do know is that dog breed calendars are always welcome.

Tw-ink!

Frankie | A Chiweenie Small Dog Rescue

She's my new baby sissy. She joined the family only a few short months ago, in February. She was a huge surprise to me! After my recovery, I longed for somebody my size to play with and then, one day, ta-da! Mom comes home with THIS!

Isn't she adorable? BTW Frankie's possibly a Chiweenie, a Chihuahua/Weiner dog (Dachshund). Mom though it'd be funny to name her after a hot dog.  She was even smaller than I am--I am a tea cup Chihuahua. Mom warned me: "Twinkie, Frankie's going to grow. She's a baby now, but just wait. She won't stay like this forever." Who cares? I had a sister my size. Don't get me wrong, I love Linguini, the Dalmatian and German Shorthaired Pointer mix, but she's too laid back. She's ten years old. She doesn't want to play hard with me all day long like the Chiweenie does. So, I welcomed Frankie properly, ha ha!

Here's the story from what I heard from my mom. She was at a horse show (I will share horse show pictures later), watching my human sister compete, standing by a lady who was holding Frankie in her arms. "Oh, how adorable," Mom said and asked permission to snap photos. Glowing with excitement, she snapped the shots and was about to leave when the lady holding Frankie asked, "Could you hold her for me?" Mom gratefully obliged. She took Frankie in her arms. The lady wasted no time, "She's yours!" she exclaimed. "Huh?" Mom was shocked. Frankie was just out of the pound and she needed a home. The lady who was holding her, took her from the pound only to find her a home. "She's yours, if you want her," the lady said more hesitantly. Mom thought for a minute, especially about me. Frankie would find a home--she was too cute. It's easy to find homes for healthy pups. She felt bad. She prefers the "challenging" adoptions, duh, the ones most people avoid. Mom thought about me again, and the fact that I would most likely benefit from a play companion. "She's got a home then," she finally said, and Frankie came home!

Frankie, the Chiweenie, is not completely potty trained yet. I will share potty training tips soon. Every now and then we'll hear mom's exasperated voice: "Oh, no, Frankie. Not again." It's only been seven months though and my mom's patient. She too has fallen for my lovable sister. She's beautiful too. I love brindle coloring, don't you? I'm not jealous though, 'cause I know I'm the charming one. Frankie's the clown of the family. Every day she has a new "do". We never know which directions her ears will be pointing at.

Frankie's my sister, my friend, my Chiweenie, my hiking companion, my mischief buddy. I love Frankie with all my heart, even though she's already gotten waaaay bigger than me. As to how to potty train a puppy . . . I'll share my info if you share yours. 

Twink!

Rottweiler | Greyhound Mix Meets Dalmatian | German Pointer Mix

Creekhiker Meets Twinkietinydog

We've been hiking for years now with our friend, a Rottweiler and Greyhound mix, Mabel Lou (creekhiker.blogspot.com. Mabel is a large dog and she scares me sometimes. All she's got to do is accidentally step on my lil' tea cup Chihuahua self and I'm down to two legs... or fewer. Ha ha. On the other hand, she's a gentle giant, like my human brother. I can't help but trust her. She gently jumps around me being so careful. It's my sister Frankie, the Chiweenie, who's afraid of Mabel, but that's because Frankie's a pup and she likes to whimper often. She'll come around, she's almost there.

Here's what we did the other day with Mabel. We went to Starbucks, where all four of us (Linguini, Mable, Frankie, and I) took turns sharing some whipped cream. We chilled for a bit, giving our mothers an opportunity to catch up, knowing what was coming next.

At last, our human companions started to get up and we all got excited. We were going on a hike. Ya never know where these two will take you. We got ready for an adventure!

We ended up at Arroyo Seco (in English: Dry Stream) among frisbee golfers. Soon, we'd left the crowds behind, luckily I didn't get hit by any large flying objects, and found water! Granted, it was muddy and all black, because of the Station Fire and the mudslides following that, but we didn't care. The muddier the better, right? Apparently our mom didn't disagree since she was knee-deep in the mud herself.

We ran around, explored, chased each other, hiked some more, waded in the water, climbed rocks and logs....What a day!

Twink!

USC water polo

One of the Happiest Days of My Life

It's all because of Jordan, my human brother. I love Jordan. He's a giant. He's 6.6 and weighs about 250lbs of pure muscle power, yet he's so gentle with me. I'm not even afraid to roam around his size 16 shoes. He's so careful with me. I feel safe.

So, here's a little background. Jordan's been an athlete his entire life. He first became serious about a sport though, when he first started playing water polo. He SUCKED at first. He was slow...real slow. But he had a great coach, Coach B, who never let Jordan off the hook. He pressured him gently. By the end of his first year of playing polo, Jordan was one of the best players. The next year he got better, and better, he earned the All American title for several years in a row and won the CSI championship his last year in high school.

Then the recruiting started. USC wanted him and he eagerly accepter. USC has the best water polo program in the nation. What happens when you join the number one team in the country, coached by the number one coach also in the country? You sink or swim. Jordan worked hard for three years. He worked and worked, and finally, his last year he blossomed. Again, having suffered multiple serious personal and team setbacks, Jordan came through.

So, I woke up this morning to the following news. Jordan, MY brother, made MPSF player of the week. Of course he did. Not only did he score 4 goals, he also drew 5 ejections giving his team great advantages. What impressed me the most though? Jordan was playing hard but he was also being his team's cheer leader in between. He had the entire stadium in stitches, including our rivals' fans. That's my brother and that's why I love him. He's an optimist, a big, lovable teddy bear. Needless to say, Mom's crying tears of joy when she's not jumping around screaming. I better watch out for her today. She's out of control. I live in a very happy household where the people and the animals love and support one another.

Jordan Thompson Earns First MPSF Player of the Week Award

And before I go, you should all know by now, I'm Jordan's NUMBER 1 FAN!!! Twink!

Fight on! As they say at USC.