Millie's Thanksgiving at Home

Banjo got to spend his Thanksgiving in peace at Grandpa Clark's house, while Millie headed over to Mamalope & Papalope's house to play with her Mama Delaney and sister Penny. She got to spend an entire long weekend playing her little heart out, free roaming the house, and jumping on every piece of furniture her heart desired. Not to mention, Mamalope and Papalope's leftovers, and more cookies than she could eat. Then for the first time, she got to ride around town with Penny on the back seat rather than in her crate. And it turns out, she did very well with all this newfound freedom. I'm very proud of our little girl.

Kickstart Canine Chronicles

I love this idea. And I am now in love with Dog Portraits by Winnie. I desperately want photo portraits of Banjo and Millie in this adorable vintage style!

Does anyone love Dug like I do?

Seeing Millie in her cone of shame reminds me of just how much I love this movie.

Millie vs. the Cone of Shame

Millie vs. the Cone of Shame from Layne Wilson on Vimeo.

Poor Millie Gets Spayed

"I do not like the cone of shame."

Yesterday was a big day for Millie. She has reached the age where it was time to get spayed. So we set up an appointment to take her over to Smoky's Spay / Neuter Clinic at the Richmond SPCA. The SPCA in Richmond is one of the best in the country, so while I trusted them to take care of Miss Millie, I was still very nervous to leave her there, all alone with strangers in a scary unfamiliar place. But alas, I had to go, leaving her there early in the morning, quivering with the vet tech to be picked up late in the day. I'm pretty sure Millie will never get in the car with me again, because every time she does, in her mind, something bad or scary happens. It's hard to get your dog to trust you again once they have one of these "traumatic" experiences, but to make matters worse, to keep Millie from licking her sutures, she was forced to wear the cone of shame when she got home. And may have to wear it up to 10 days until recovery is complete. But while she may not like the cone of shame, I have to admit that it makes for a great time for puppy parents! Not only is she adorably hilarious with it on, she also is much, much calmer. We may have to enlist the help of the cone shame for behavioral rather than medical reasons in the future.

But back to Millie's spaying. We picked her up from the clinic to find her still coming out of anesthesia, staggering like she may have had more than one too many drinks. And it just happened to be the night we hosted Supper Club in which about 15 of our friends come over for dinner and drinks. This is typically one of Millie's absolute favorite things, to have tons of people around to fawn over her and rub her tummy while inevitably talking to her in high-pitched baby talk. This attitude isn't unique to Millie. The shih tzu breed is notorious for being the star of the show, always the center of attention. They were historically bred for Chinese royalty, to be their constant companion quite literally in the lap of luxury. But poor Mildred spent the evening under the couch, out of view but right in the middle of the action. All in all, it was a tough day for Millie, and though I feel terrible that she was scared by herself at the SPCA, felt lousy from the surgery, humiliated by the cone, and left out of the party, it has resulted in a day or two of calm in the Banjo and Millie household.

Fireside Snuggles

We had our first cold night of the fall a few nights ago, and were very excited to have our first fire of the season in the fireplace! It was Millie's first experience with a fire, and I was nervous that she would try to get too close to it, even though we have a giant iron fire screen keeping her out. Once the fire was lit, tiny sparks began to crackle and pop and float up the chimney. Millie was mesmerized and once again, she reminded me just how wonderful it must be to be experiencing something like that for the first time, and to simply be fascinated. After she got used to the scene, she crawled into her crate near the fireplace and snuggled up and went straight to sleep. I think we have our new bedtime ritual for Millie!

Puppy Up!

Sean and the Pups who Puppied Up!

Rockwood Park

Today, Sean, Banjo, Millie and I participated in the Puppy Up Walk for Fetch-a-Cure to help raise money for canine cancer research. I felt so proud of the little munchkins out there with all the big dogs, joining the team, no hesitation. Though I've never had a pup with cancer, I've loved and lost my share of dogs, so it felt good to be a part of something with a group of people who all share that love. And hopefully being part of those 2 million dogs walking today around the country, we were able to contribute to a cause that is often easily overlooked. 

Super Millie, off to fight canine cancer!

Watch out for the camera, Millie!

I just published some videos on Vimeo of Millie when we first brought her home, and I'm already amazed at how quickly she has grown! Of course, she's still every bit as crazy as day one.

Watch out for the camera, Millie! from Banjo and Millie on Vimeo.

Cozying up to Banjo!

Little Mildred loves to snuggle her big brother Banj... And depending on the day, Banjo even tolerates her desire to share the bed and cozy up!