Vet Visit Update & Tommy's Meme

Tom: I am posting again today as I have a fairly long meme to do later on. But first, thank you, everyone, for your concern about our group visit to Dr.C. It was all good! The baby travelled in the carrier and barely screamed at all. She was happy to be accompanied by her older sister, who proudly sat on the armrest, sporting her Puppia harness. I was in my Solvit hammock at the back, admiring the scenery, and it was gorgeous!

Dr. C found Sei-Chan in great form and she was good as gold when she got her shot. Tama-Chan's skin condition is much better, and my latest pawpad cut is only minor! All in all, a pretty good vet visit!

When we got back, the girls were tired so they went to bed for a rest.

Tama-Chan has claimed the bed in the main guest room...

and the baby sleeps in #1's bed:

I of course was feeling full of beans so we went to the castle. #1 had this great idea. Instead of bandaging up my cut (which is on the side, not the sole) with Elastoplast, she decided to use sports tape. I love it as it's comfortable and makes me look dashing!

I was tagged a couple of days ago by my friend Clive for a Q&A meme. It's quite long so I hope you won't get too bored!

Here are the guidelines:



1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.



2. Tag eight other un-tagged people / dogs!



• What is your current obsession?  Playing with my tennis ball

• Favourite Coffee Shop? We don’t spend much time in coffee shops, but when she lived in Chicago, #1 used to love one in her neighbourhood called “The Bourgeois Pig”!

• Do you nap a lot? 

Oh yes! I am an accomplished power napper!

• Who was the last person you hugged? #1! Lots of times each and every day!

• What’s for dinner? 
Dried food mixed with some ham and grated cheese!

• What was the last thing you bought? you mean, got bought for me - Tennis balls! LOTS of tennis balls! Proper tennis balls that last!

• What are you listening to right now?  The birds singing outside

• What is your favourite weather? 
Sunshine is best but I m a true all-weather dog!

•
What’s on your bedside table? Books

• Say something to the person/s who tagged you -  Clive, I am in awe of what you do in life!

• What’s your favourite play activity? Catching the tennis ball in flight!

• Favourite vacation spot? Anywhere that #1 takes me! Last summer, we went to Cumbria and The Lake District, in England.

• Name the things you can’t live without - My family: #1 and my two kitty sisters

• 
What is your favourite tea flavour? Even though I am an English Springer Spaniel, I don’t really drink tea. #1’s current favourite is Temi from Sikkim

•
What would you like to get rid of? My propensity for pawpad injuries!

• If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Right where I am. I love it here!

• What did you want to become as a child? you mean as a pup? Happy and loved! Mission accomplished!

• What do you miss? 

#1 when she’s away, and running like the wind when I have a pawpad injury

• What are you reading right now? 
I confess I’m not much of a reader but #1 is enjoying “Playing Cards in Cairo” by Hugh Miles

• What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)? 
Muttluk all-weather boots!

• What's the weirdest dream you've ever had? I often dream of my brother Sen-Chan, but that’s not really weird. It’s wonderful!

• If you could go back in time and talk to your 17 year old self, what would you say? you mean, as a young pup - Stay who you are, Tommy!

• Who or what would you choose to come back as ...?
Me!

My Question: Are there any new activities you would like to try?

My Answer: I think agility would be fun!

My Tags: First off I'm tagging Fenway, Niamh, Nessa, Bear, and The Fours Bs! Have fun!

 

Not At All Wordless Wednesday

Tom: Guess who's off to the vet this morning? All of us! Sei-Chan needs her second round of shots and microchip. Tama-Chan needs to have her skin condition progress checked. As for me, I managed to nick a toe again in the field yesterday. It looks minor this time but might as well have Dr.C take a look. It's going to be fun for #1 to  get us all in there and out again! Tama-Chan is all set to wear her Puppia harness, and Sei-Chan will doubtless scream when she's put in the carrier (she has an excellent line in screaming....). I shall of course be the perfect gentleman!

By the way, in case you haven't gotten around to it yet, you have two days left to vote in the Kitty Fight Club semifinals. Just click on the icon on the left and it will take you right there!

Toesday - They're Back!!!!

The Return of the Pink Toes!

We have not forgotten how very fond many of you were of Sen-Chan's perfect pink toes, so we are very happy to tell you that his little half-sister, Sei-Chan, is carrying on the tradition! Behold:

Of course, Tama-Chan's toes are equally appealing in their dark roast coffee bean perfection!

And she has dark booties too!

And there are touching moments when she goes toe-to-toe with Tommy's gigantic pads!

Manly Monday!

Tom: They were predicting a deterioration in the weather over the weekend but our little corner of France lucked out and we had mostly sunshine. The countryside is looking very pretty right now as the fields of rapeseed are in full golden bloom. This is the view from my little field:

Life has been pretty good the last few days. I was invited to dinner with #1 on Friday and my friend Pie was there too! These people have huge fields so we ran and ran! And my friend ViVi came over on Saturday. Little Sei-Chan who is now used to me was a little bit scared of her! Otherwise, I have been running in my fields and playing and generally loving my life!

As the sole male in a household of three girls, I feel it is important to keep up my form so I am ready to save them if need be!

Wouldn't you feel good if you knew that Tommy was looking out for you?

Snuggles on Sunday - The Expanded Edition!

Tama-Chan: It was supposed to be raining but it's a beautiful sunny day outside. #1 is still feeling miserably congested and clogged up, almost two weeks after catching her cold, so it's suggles on Sunday for us again today!

First, the traditional images. Changes are fun but should not necessarily wipe out the good along with the old and tired. So, here we have me and my brother Tommy doing what we do best:

But we also have for you...

A first kiss...

... a little lick...

... and a shared blankie

In other news, guess who pigged out on the roast chicken yesterday?

Are we happy with ourselves? Do we have a tummy so full we can't even move?

Sei-Chan on Saturday

Sei-Chan: Hello everyone! It's been almost a week since I came through those two doors and met the rest of the family and I can tell you that it's been a great week! First of all, I can spend all day with #1 and I can sleep with her at night! Secondly, it turns out that I have a really nice brother and sister. I confess that the woofie, Tommy, scared me a bit at first, but I quickly figure out that he's a real softie! As for my sister, Tama-Chan, she hissed at me a tiny bit at the beginning and I, of course, hissed right back, but now we have a great time chasing each other and even doing a bit of wrestling!

I am aware that some perhaps not too flattering words were said about me and food in yesterday's post. What can I tell you? I'm just discovering a wide variety of foods and they are all yummy! I DO need to try everything! Anyway, the basic fact of it is that I am very cute and I can prove it!

Oh, and guess what? We're already back at battle stations with Misha's KITTY FIGHT CLUB! My sister Tama-Chan is fighting Sanjee in this one. We're counting on your support, PLEASE!!! Sanjee is already pulling ahead. Yikes!

FRIDAY! Of Fights, Frootbats and Foodies...

Tama-Chan:

Dear Friends,

When #1 and I logged on to Misha's site this morning, we were fully expecting to see a win for Samson, as he was pulling ahead again fast when we went to sleep last night. Imagine our surprise when we saw that I had won, and by almost 100 votes! How did this happen? It is just amazing and we are (almost) speechless. Thank YOU, sweet and dear friends, for all of your support, and thank you Tommy, my brother, for beating the drum on my behalf!

We are all feeling a little weak at the thought that we now start all over again in the semi-finals. Will we have the staying power necessary? We will certainly try and will once again hope for your support. Onward and upward!

Purrs to all,

Tama-Chan

This being Friday, we have frootbat pics for you. First me:

and then our Frootbat-in-Training:

And on the subject of little Sei-Chan, she is turning out to be a bit of a foodie.

First there was this...

Day 1 - Muscling in on my food bowl

Then there was this...

Day 3 - Muscling in on #1's pasta..

And finally this:

Day 4: Muscling in on Tommy's dinner!

Lock up your supplies! We have a tiny food guerilla on board!!!

PS: We just joined TWITTER. Our user name is ThePoupounette. Give a shout if you're on it too!

Tommy on Thursday : Tama-Chan Needs YOUR Vote!!!!

Tom: Today is my day to blog but I am leaving my own news until later to start by urging you to vote for Tama-Chan in Misha's Kitty Fight Club contest quarter final if you have not yet done so, or perhaps round up your friends!  Tama-Chan is a shy little thing and would never dream of asking anyone for anything, but I think she is the cutest kitten ever and I am really sad that she is not doing better in this. Every time she pulls ahead by a few votes, her opponent somehow gets 30 or 40 votes in one go. We live in the French countryside and our #1 works from home, so we can't rustle up colleagues to vote, and we're not on Twitter which appears to have become a key canvassing tool. So, that leaves us with YOU, dear friends. Could you give us a hand and spread the word? The link is underlined above. You have until midnight tonight eastern time or 6am tomorrow morning European time to vote.

To thank you here is a cute kitten pic of Tama-Chan in the right mood:

Now ME!!!! I bet you've missed getting news of me, with all the focusing on pussycats these past few days. I must say the little red miss is hilarious. She's coming closer to me all the time so I am hopeful we can start playing together soon.

I am happy to report that, despite the focus on the girls, and the fact that she has been sick for the last 10 days (horrible cold turning into a sinus infection), #1 has made sure I still got all my home-cooked meals, cuddles and runs. We have been going to the castle in the mornings and it is just amazing how the trees have grown green and lush in just a few days!

I have been indulging in my usual gallops around the moat:

I have also been playing with the Chuck-it in the field. As the weather gets warmer, it's important to have the right rest and recovery strategy. With the grass growing long and lush, there is nothing better than a cool bed of green  to get your breath back!

And in the evenings, after a good day of playing and running...

I wish I could invite my good friend Addie over to spend a little time with us and run around and play with me. She is on a diet at the moment but with the amount of running we do around here, she wouldn't have to be!

Wordless Wednesday

Tama-Chan Tuesday

Tama-Chan: OH SISTER!!!!! The world has turned into a very strange place. There was I, living a quiet life with Tommy and #1, and all of a sudden appears this little twinkle-toed red miniature, all happy with herself. Believe it or not, she wasn't even a little bit scared of me. Not for one minute! She just boldly marched up and said "wanna play?" And when I hissed at her to make sure she understood that I am the Princess around here, she hissed right back!

We did have some adventures yesterday. A little trip to Japan,

... followed by a little intellectual stimulation

and some stretching...

At the first sign that things aren't going her way, the little red terror jumps straight up onto #1's shoulders, but overall, she is a mightily confident little thing. I mean, look at this scene from breakfast this morning:

That, my friends, is MY food dish, not hers! I was just finishing up my soft cheese (medicinal purpose - that's how #1 gives me my medication) and she just sauntered up! The little girl has a healthy appetite!

And where is Tommy in all this, you may ask? Well he's being the benevolent goofball, looking at her with his soft puppy eyes, hoping she'll fall in love with him, like everyone else...

The Big Day

#1: Well, gentle readers, yesterday was the big day when Sei-Chan was finally released into the rest of the house to meet her siblings and start settling in to her new life. So, late afternoon, she bade a sad farewell to her Mama, Viña del Mar:

We temporarily put Tama-Chan in Tom's large Vari-Kennel, and put Tom outside, so that Sei-Chan could start to explore in peace. She was pretty spunky as she began to discover the big house:

When we eventually released Tama-Chan, Sei-Chan seemed quite unphased by her, despite being hissed and growled at. She continued going about her explorations, all the while keeping an eye on Tama-Chan. Actually, it was Tom's arrival that proved to be more of an issue as Sei-Chan is totally unused to dogs and he is rather large. She ran for her life, finding refuge in the back room where she had been living the past 8 weeks.

Last night, on Uncle U's advice, I put Tama-Chan in the back room where the girls had been, and took Sei-Chan into bed with me. She cuddled in nicely and had a good night. This morning, we are seeing pretty much the standard meet and growl pattern. Tama-Chan is clearly fascinated by her but also a little scared. Remember that Tama spent over a week hissing, growling and screaming at Sen-Chan when she first arrived, even though he showed absolutely no aggressiveness towards her. As for Sei-Chan, she knows how to growl back and appears very intrepid. So, we have had some nice hell kitty moments:

Tom, on the other hand, has been doing a great job at winning over Sei-Chan and she is already a lot less scared of him. He just sits perfectly still as she gets closer, so she can see he is no threat.

I am sure the next few days will see quite a bit of hissing between the two girls, but things seem to be going relatively well. We'll keep you posted!

A big thank you to all of you who have voted for Tama-Chan in Misha's Kitty Fight Club Quarter Final. The competition with Samson has been very, very tight and we will be needing even more votes to win this one! You have until Friday to vote.