Happy Valentine's Day - Love, Jim

Happy Valentines's Day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day today! Zac and I are going to be spending the afternoon together, looking at rings for the mister, getting lunch, and sending out our wedding invitations. :)

We aren't the only ones celebrating this lovey dovey holiday. Our own Mr. Jim has sent out a few Valentine's Day cards to some of his puppy friends (all ladies of course). He thinks he's quite the ladies' man. Here is one of his girls, Molly Monroe.

Isn't she quite the cutie? Jim thought so, too. He sent her this little card to wish her a Happy Valentine's Day.

Oh puppy love!

Our Halloween

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! Zac and I had a great time getting everything together for the event. Last year we didn't do much and as a result we didn't have that many trick or treaters. We decided this year we would carve more than just one pumpkin each and make our walkway look inviting.

Zac got started on hallowing the pumpkins and carving them.

Zac is much better at carving pumpkins that I am. Watching several pumpkin carving competitions inspired Zac to try carving faces into the pumpkins by only shaving off the rinds.

I think it turned out very cool. He also used a chunk of pumpkin to sculpt a nose for his creation. He attached it to the face with a toothpick.

My pumpkin was a little more cute and friendly. I drew out a template for an owl and carefully carved out each piece to create this little guy.

Unfortunately, we carved those two pumpkins a little too early and they fell victim to our still warm central valley temperature. We waited until Halloween day to carve the rest of the pumpkins. On these pumpkins, Zac decided to go more friendly than creepy and he created these funny faces.

The kids really seemed to like these little guys.

We covered the porch with fake spiderwebs, draped cheesecloth style fabric over the window and porch light, hung spiders, placed a pile of foam skulls and bones in the corner, and lined the path with our pumpkin creations and candles.

While the kids got a kick out of the funny face pumpkins, our pumpkin lanterns were a big hit with the grown ups. We used a drill to punch holes into these mini pumpkins and lined them along the our walkway. We loved the way they looked so we've decided that next year we'll make a bunch of them and use them to line the driveway as well.

With the decorating done and plenty of candy, we were ready for the trick or treaters.

This was our Jim's first Halloween. We usually dress him in little sweaters and shirts so he was a good sport about letting us put this little hot dog costume on him. Doesn't he look so adorable? He was a big hit with the trick or treaters. One little boy was so excited to see little Jim his mom literally had to drag him away to head to the next house.

After the first trick or treater came to the door Jim was hooked. He planted himself on the steps by the door and didn't move the whole rest of the night. Jim's never been one to bark when the doorbell rings so he didn't go crazy with each group of kids that stopped by. He was pretty excited however, and we could hear him begin to whine for us to open the door seconds before the doorbell ever rang. (*By the way, our walls are not vibrant yellow :P)

Even when we attempted to lure him away from his spot on the stair with a treat he wouldn't budge. Eventually, as it got later and the trick or treaters stopped, Jim fell asleep.

Jim enjoyed his first Halloween. How was everyone elses?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our little hot dog!

Snip Snip

Now that our pup is six months old, we decided that it was time to get him neutered. So yesterday morning we dropped Jim off at the H.O.P.E Animal Foundation. We felt a little bad when we left for the clinic in the morning. H.O.P.E. told us that we needed to have Jim either on a leash or in a dog carrier. When we grabbed the leash to head out to the car Jim got so excited. He's gotten used to morning walks. He seemed less excited when we got in the car instead of starting our walk around the neighborhood.

Usually the clinic keeps newly spayed or neutered animals overnight. Since we brought Jim in on Thursday and the clinic isn't open Friday-Sunday, we were able to pick Jim up at 4:00pm the same day. Jim was quite groggy when he got home. I put him on our bed upstairs and he went right to sleep. Every once in a while he would let out a little whimper.

The clinic said that Jim would not be able to eat until 7:00pm. Not having eaten since before 9:00pm the night before we figured that Jim would be pretty hungry, but instead our little guy had no appetite at all. He only whimpered, buried himself beneath pillows, and went back to sleep.

It was sad to see our little guy hurting but we knew that he would start feeling like his old self soon enough. At 5:00 this morning the drugs had worn off and Jim was back to running around and playing again. He still whimpers now and then but for the most part he's back to normal. We went for a walk this morning and Jim was excited to be out and about. Unfortunately, Jim can't go outside to play for a whole week. For a pup who spends 95% of his time outside, this week is going to be a very long and difficult one. (He's already sitting at the back door whining.)

So for the next week Zac and I will be taking Jim out on a leash, making sure that he doesn't lick or tear his liquid stitches, and trying to make his time indoors fun. At least for now Jim has already started to feel better.

Growing Up

Our little Jim is getting big. Well as big as a pint size chihuahua can get. Here is a picture of Jim just two days after we picked him up from Chowchilla :

And here is a picture of our growing boy just a few days ago:

As you can see he is no longer a little baby. Kelsey and her family should be happy to know that the little abandoned pup they took in and gave to us is thriving and loving life in his new home. We were happy to hear from the vet that, even with the time he spent on his own before he was found and taken in, Jim is in great health and his growth is right on schedule.

The vet estimated that Jim is now just shy of four months old. In people years this would put Jim right between two and three years old. For being in the 'terrible twos' Jim has been a pretty good boy. There have been times when he doesn't listen, he chewed up the corner of his toybox basket (which doesn't matter to us because it's his basket), and he has dug some mini sized holes at the edge of the lawn, but for the most part Jim has been a well behaved little pup.

Our biggest concern has been house training. We don't have a built in doggy door and we don't wish to punch a hole in our wall to put one in, so we're looking at alternate solutions. We have a few options that we are considering at the moment. In the meantime, we've been working out a routine with Jim that will create some consistancy and eliminate indoor accidents.

Thankfully, after Jim was found and taken in, he spent about two weeks in a home that housed four other dogs. We learned early on that perhaps due to this time in a dog friendly home in addition to his time spent in the great outdoors of Chowchilla, Jim not only knew to go to the bathroom outside but he preferred it. After we first brought Jim home and he was still very small we were hesistant to let him run free in our backyard until we could ensure that he would be safe. We thought that it would be smart to train Jim to do his business on potty pads for those days that we would both be gone at work, but we soon realized that it wasn't going to work. Jim did not like sitting his little booty on our tile floor and found the potty pads to be a nice, warm place to sit down. Obviously, he wasn't going to make a mess of what he had turned into his play mat.

Within the first week we came to the conclusion that the pads were not going to work. We began to notice within a few days that each time Jim went to the bathroom in our home not only did he go to a different room but he also always chose a place that was right by a door. We decided that instead of training Jim to go on a pad (we really didn't want to have to smell his messes or clean them up in our home anyways) we would train ourselves to pay closer attention to Jim and to let him out when he needed it. After a few days, we were able to pick up on the cues that Jim gave and the indoor accidents were a thing of the past. Since the weather has been far less hot than in previous years, we have been able to keep the backdoor open and Jim is free to walk outside and take care of business whenever he needs to. We will have to figure out a doggy door solution before the weather changes and keeping the door open all the time while we're home isn't an option. For now our current arrangement is working out pretty well.

After getting the house training issue under control, Zac and I got rid of the potty pads and realized that our little man didn't have a warm place to rest his tush. Our upstairs has wall to wall carpeting, but until we could make sure that he wouldn't mistake our carpet for grass Jim was only permited to be downstairs on the easy to clean tile.(We even put up a baby gate to keep our pup safe and downstairs.) In addition to getting Jim a new bed, we also got a small rug (a bathroom mat that we picked up at HomeGoods for $4.95) and set up an area especially for Jim.

Jim really seems to love his new little bed. Whenever he feels sleepy or bored he walks right over to his bed and puts himself to sleep. Here he is snuggling up to mini tennis ball.

Over the last two months that we have had Jim, his personality has really developed. Gone are the days that Jim didn't make a peep. He's not a yapper by any means but he will speak up if he has a problem. Just last week he came running into the house, stood behind the sliding glass door, and began barking out toward the back lawn. Curious, I got up to see what he was barking at. Jim followed me outside still barking but only walking as far as I would walk. It didn't take me long to see that a cat had wandered into our yard and that Jim was not happy about it. I got a good chuckle as I realized that Jim had run inside to scare away the cat. So much for a guard dog right? I don't blame him though. That cat could have messed him up pretty bad. Other than cats, Jim is also afraid of the box fan we keep downstairs when the temperature starts to rise, the vertical blinds in front of the sliding glass door, and the yellow water hose in the backyard.

Scared-y dog as he might be, Jim is just as sweet and lovable as ever. Since day one Jim has been a snuggly little guy. He prefers to sleep in someone's lap than in his own bed.....

 ...and he gets very excited when new people come over. He's a charming little pup who is generous with loving kisses.

His fun little wardrobe is definitely adding to his personality. I'll admit that I'm guilty of treating Jim like a doll instead of a dog and I'm so glad that Jim is fine with us me dressing him up. We dressed him in his first shirt (a blue and white striped polo shirt) on his third day in our home and now Jim is pretty familiar with the process. He holds his head still as we slip the shirts on and he even slips his little paws into the arm holes. Most people might think that putting clothes on a dog is pretty ridiculous, but I have to say that he looks pretty darn cute in his little outfits. Just look how adorable he is in his basketball jersey:

Here are just a few of his little outfits:

As you might have guessed Jim is just a little spoiled. I can honestly say that I am not the only one to blame when it comes to spoiling this little guy. Jim has received a few gifts including a gray hooded sweatshirt from Amy and some horse hoofs for chewing from Kim. The majority of gifts however have come from my parents. My parents have adopted Jim as their new little grandson and have been showering him with gifts and love. Thanks to them Jim now has a new leash, harness, bandanna, two shirts, and his new all time favorite toy....a stuffed duck that quacks. Once they handed that duck over to Jim there was no getting it back.

He even fell asleep with his new little friend.

Jim's other favorite toy is the first toy we ever bought him; a red rubber bone that squeaks. I'm sure the neighbors just love us for getting him this toy as it's squeaking can be heard sometimes for minutes on end. Jim seems to love it though and we'd rather have him chew up that bone than some of our favorite shoes (which thankfully have not been on his radar!).

Jim's size has been one of his most obvious changes....up until now. When we first got Jim one of the things that we loved about him were his little floppy ears. Just about a week ago we noticed that his right ear was starting to pop up.

Now it's official, his ears have both perked up and he definitely looks like a chihuahua!

I do miss his floppy ears but the new pointed look is just as lovable. I'm a sucker for that little face!

So there you have it, a little update on our little pup. (AKA:  A 1,488 word post gushing about our Jim.) This little guy has definitely become a part of our family and we just love having him here in our home. It's so wonderful coming home and being greeted by this little creature who is just so happy to see us. We're pretty happy to see you too Mr. Jim!

Waterboy

A few nights ago Zac and I had a little fun with Jim. My mom had come over earlier in the day and left a mini water bottle. Once it was empty Zac had the fun idea of placing it on the floor and seeing how Jim would react. Our poor little guy. His little mouth was just too small to pick up the water bottle. The new toy totally freaked him out and he came to us more than once during this little game to get reassurance that the water bottle was okay and not out to get him. Here's a small clip of Jim's 3rd interaction with the water bottle. I wish that I would have gotten his initial reaction. It was the funniest thing I've ever witnessed. He freaked out and ran circles around the living room in what seemed like a panicked state. Although at this point Jim had already been introduced to the new toy this video is still pretty entertaining.

*Sorry in advance for the dark video. It was around 9pm and my camera doesn't have a flash while it videotapes. The glare of the lights from the room on our shiny tile floor didn't really help matters, but you can still tell what is going on. At the beginning of the video the water bottle is in front of Jim in the middle of the floor. I only say this because it's kind of hard to see.....anyways, here's the video.*

Enjoy!

Eventually he got a good grip on the water bottle and smashed it with his jaws, ending the game. It was fun while it last, though.

Safety First

On June 1st, we welcomed Jim to our home. Although we had thought about bringing him home a few days before we actually did, we had not prepared for his arrival until we picked him up and drove him from Chowchilla to Fresno. Before we came home we went by a few stores to pick up some essentials including a food and water dish, leash, indoor training pads, collar, flea collar, a few toys, and of course food. These seemed to hold us over for a few days until we were able to see exactly what we would need to keep our little guy healthy and happy.

On occasion over the last week and a half, Zac and I have both had to work during the day which meant that our little Jim was left at home alone. We didn't have many concerns about the kind of trouble that Jim could get in. After all, our little guy is too little to jump up on the furniture which meant that our throw pillows weren't at risk of becoming chew toys. Also, to prevent Mr. Jiminy from chewing on the cable and television cords, we turned off the power strip just to make sure that we didn't come home to an electrocuted pup.

Our biggest concern about leaving Jim home alone was coming home to a wet mess or a stink bomb. Thankfully our floor downstairs is all tile so the mess wouldn't be to difficult to clean, but we worried that leaving Jim without a way to get outside (we don't have a doggie door) would hinder our puppy house training...but that's a whole other story.

When we first brought Jim home we encouraged him to follow us up the stairs so that we could get him acquainted with his new home, but he only stood at the bottom of the stairs and stared up at us. We figured that he was too small to climb our staircase and decided that we wouldn't have to worry about any puppy mischief upstairs while we were gone. After a few days, we realized that Jim was more than capable of getting himself up the stairs and he was only stopped earlier by his own fear of the unknown. We also realized that although he could make his way upstairs he was (and still is) too scared to get down the stairs on his own. So, as a temporary solution, we barricaded the bottom of the staircase.

Although the boxes full of books and the computer lap tray seemed to do the trick as a temporary solution, they quickly became a hazard after just a few days. Not only did they make our normally clean downstairs space look cluttered, but Zac and I both almost tumbled down the stairs tripping over our quick fix. Also, while Zac and I were upstairs one afternoon, getting ready to go to work, a surprise visitor appeared in the hallway. Somehow, Jim had manuevered through our barricade, climbed over the box and made his way upstairs. It was clear that a more permanent solution would need to be found sooner rather than later. So one afternoon while Zac was getting ready for work, I headed to the store to pick up a baby gate to protect our newest addition from getting stuck upstairs and causing chaos while we were at work.

I went to Target and found this secure pressure gate made by The First Years for just $10.99. Not a bad deal, right?! The baby gates that Target had in stock ranged from $10.99 to over $150.00. Without doing any real research and seeing what the difference was between each item, I opted to go for the cheapest one. If it didn't work out I could always bring it back, look online for the best rated gates and make another trip to the store to get a gate that best suited our needs. For now, anything had to be better than box of books.

So, I brought home the gate, quickly read the almost unnecessary instructions, and voila!  the baby Jim gate was assembled and in place. I had neglected to measure the space before heading to the store to pick out a gate which could have been a real problem. Thankfully, the gate fit the space, but just barely. The space required the gate to be locked in place at the very last notch possible. If our staircase was even a half an inch wider, the gate would be rendered useless and we would probably be stuck spending a bunch more money for a wider gate to fit the space. Thankfully that isn't the case and even though the gate barely fits, it does indeed fit!

Thanks to the baby gate, Jim is happy and safe downstairs while we're gone at work. Most importantly, there's no way that he can get through this barricade and get stuck upstairs. Zac and I are still getting used to stepping over a big gate as we go up or down the stairs, but it's a small adjustment to make for the saftey of our new pup.

Say Hello To My Little Friend

On May 28th my friend Kelsey posted this picture and this comment on her Facebook page.

"Free Puppy to good home. Found abandoned, approx 8 weeks old. Male Chihuahua mix. Loves to be held n plays with all our dogs great. Let me know if interested "

Kelsey's family had found the dog while they were on a walk with their own dogs in Chowchilla. The poor puppy had been abandoned and Kelsey's family wasn't about to let him fend for himself on the streets any longer. They took him home, gave him food and a place to sleep (as well as a few doggy buddies to play with). Already having a few dogs of their own they weren't up to taking on a new puppy. So Kelsey posted the photo on her Facebook in hopes that someone would take the bait and give this cute little guy a good home.

I have never really been a dog person. My parents didn't let my brothers and I have any pets (other than fish) when we were growing up. I think the original reason for this 'no pet' rule was that, because my dad was in the military, we moved around a lot. It also meant that we lived in military housing which, much like apartment housing, needed to stay in good condition. Mostly, I think that my parents just didn't want to worry about taking care of more than us kids. Both of my parents worked full days and didn't get home until after my brothers and I were already home from school.

So, for the last 26 years, the only pets that I have owned and cared for have been fish. Aside from a phase when I really wanted a St. Bernard (I think the movie Beethoven  and the fact that I hadn't yet reached double digits in age had a lot to do with that) I have never really had the desire to get a furry creature. Seeing this little guys' face on Kelsey's Facebook profile did a lot to change that.

After looking through all the photos of the puppy that Kelsey had posted, Zac and I decided to get the details from Kels. After a few messages back and forth we decided to go meet the pup and see what he was like in person. On Wednesday June 1st we drove to Chowchilla to meet the tiny Chihuahua...who we were calling 'Jim'. During our online conversation regarding the plans for meeting the puppy Kelsey told us "I don't know if you wanna drive down to see Jim but you're more than welcome!" She had meant to type "I don't know if you wanna drive down to see him...", but the message said Jim instead. Zac and I thought that it was really cute. Jim is such a grown up name and this puppy was such a tiny little dog. Zac said that it could be short for Jiminy Cricket. It was a name that stuck over the few days that we waited until our planned meeting and we decided that if we did take the little guy home, his name would be Jim.

Needless to say, we were a little attached already by the time we drove to Chowchilla. Okay, who are we kidding...I was already attached. I was definitely excited with the idea of getting a little puppy to take home. Zac had furry pets all throughout his childhood so he knew both the fun and the work of having a dog. He was also excited about bringing home Jim, but made sure to remind me of the reality and responsibility of having a pup in our home.

We only spent about 10 minutes with Jim before we decided to bring him home. Kelsey's parents gave us his only belonging, a cardboard box, and we headed back to Fresno. Well, we headed to a few places (the Bennett's and a few stores to pick up some things for Mr. Jim) before we headed home.

When we got home we set up Jim's box in a way that was familiar to him, finding him an old pillow as a soft bed and turning on the box on it's side to create his little "man cave". He took to it very well.

We also got Jim a few toys as a "welcome home" gift.....

....and as you can see...

....he put them all away in his little cave.

Fetch is not yet his favorite game. Instead, we call the game "Throw Jim's toy and watch him pick it up and put it back where it goes". Catchy, right? Although it would be nice to eventually play a game of fetch with Mr. Jim, for now it's pretty cute to see him pick up his toy mess. Here's a little clip of our "game" on the first day we brought him home. *Sorry in advance for the baby talk. It's not my proudest moment. Playing the video on mute might be fun too....just sayin'.*

We've noticed that Jim already has a preference for his toys. The squeaky toys are his faves, while this blue bouncy ball (pictured below) does not make his list of greatest toys. Jim only stares at this toy when it is placed in front of him and when rolled toward him, he takes off running.

In addition to loving his little cave, he found the spot under our coffee table to be a comfortable spot. We're not sure if it's because the carpet is so soft (especially compared to our all tile flooring) or it's just that the table is so low and gives him a hiding spot that is much like his box. Either way this was the new spot that Jim liked to sit. Once we realized that he also thought this looked like a good spot to pee, we decided to roll up the carpet and plan to leave the floor bare until we can get him house trained, as tile is much easier to clean up.

 As for Jim's temperament, we couldn't have gotten a sweeter pup. This little guy is such a friendly and quiet dog. For the last 5 days we have only heard him bark twice. The first time was at the Bennett's when he met their dog Pug. The second time was at our home when, unbeknownst to us, Jim got past our barracade on the staircase and made his way up to the carpeted second floor. He seemed very proud of himself and wanted everyone to know what he had done. Until we can get him house trained (which hopefully won't take too long) we're keeping him downstairs where there is no carpet and plenty of tile.

Our little Jim is definitely a snuggle-buddy lap dog. He loves sitting in a warm lap, curling up, and falling asleep. On his first full day in our home he spent a few hours sleeping on my lap while I read a book and waited for Zac to get home from a day of sailing.

The next day, after he made his way up to the second floor, he took a little nap in the office with Zac, who was still pretty tuckered out from his long sailing trip the day before.

Last night we gave Jim his first bath. While he tried to climb out of the sink a few times, he didn't make the slightest sound (not even a whimper) or fight us when we washed him. He stood quietly and let us dry him off and cooperated so nicely when I put him into his little orange sweatshirt. Yes, I got Jim clothes.

Over the past few days, Jim has gotten settled into our home. We got him a new little bed which he loved so much we were able to take away his box without any fuss. He even let me dress him in this cute little polo shirt. I was very surprised that he didn't struggle, fight, or bite at the shirt when I put it on him.

We just love little Jim and he seems to like his new home pretty well, too.

:)