Oh the pups are SO excited, little Kizzy came home for the weekend! There was much joyous barking, leaping and butt sniffing! (By the dogs, not me) Kizzy was a little flummoxed by the new dog door, but she had it mastered in minutes. We replaced the dog door last week because the old one was letting in too much cold air and Ginger was just a little tall for it, she had to stoop every time she came in or out.

Today is our anniversary, we’ve been married 28 years! We’re going out to eat, but we haven’t decided where, maybe Italian or Mexican, but we love Chinese too. We also adore seafood and steaks…Actually I can’t think of many foods we don’t both love. Our mamas didn’t raise any picky eaters. We may see a movie, too. Or not. The last time we went to the movies, it was really loud, and later that evening I got a migraine, though I don’t know if the noise had anything to do with it. I seem to get them pretty regularly and usually for no apparent reason, but I definitely don’t want one on our anniversary!

Today Kismet is going home to live with our youngest daughter, Abby. I’ve known for awhile that this day would come and it will be great for both Kizzy and Abby, but I’m still a bit sad. We’ve had Kiz since she was eight weeks old and she really doesn’t know anything else. On the other hand, Abby loves her to pieces and will give her tons and tons of undivided affection…plus her dad and I will both feel much better with Abby living in the city with a doggie to keep an eye and a nose on things–Kizzy may be small but she’ll bark up a storm if anyone who doesn’t belong comes around…

And we’ll still be a second home to Kiz. She’ll get to come home for visits and we’ll get to doggie-sit when the kids go on vacation or just want to get away for the weekend. So I suppose it’s for the best.

Still, I’ll miss her triumphant “wooo, woo, woo!” every morning and the funny little way she “claps” her paws together when she wants something. And who will get long black and white hair all over me?

I can’t imagine any of my dogs mauling anyone…unless it was over Frosty Paws! I have to feed them separately so no one gets hurt!
I just wish I could buy Frosty Paws someplace closer, we live in a rural area and I have to drive for an hour to buy anything special!

Whoa…brain freeze!

This is Kismet, or Kizzy for short. She is a Japanese Chin. For some reason the breed is not terribly well known, which is a shame because they are really great dogs. Chins have a few endearing peculiarities, like their bark…when Kizzy barks, she purses her lips and out comes, “Woo, Woo, Woo!” They are also known for their “chin-spins” where they fly into wild tight spins, around and around like crazy little whirling dervishes. This seems to be a manifestation of pure chin joy! They don’t develop their full adult coats until they are a year or more old, so they look like short haired dogs for a long period. Kizzy is only about nine months old in this picture, taken shortly after she was spayed. As you can see, she hasn’t yet developed her full adult coat. She’s a bit larger and longer bodied than breeders like to see, and her nose is not nearly flat enough for the standard, but she’s still a wonderful dog and we wouldn’t change a thing about her! If you would like to have a Japanese Chin there are many Japanese Chin Rescues. You’d be surprised how many people buy purebreeds and then find they either don’t turn out the way they had hoped or they can’t manage the dog.

Kizzy in a pensive mood

Wishbone always likes to get in on the action