Will They Still Love Me?

Yes, I still have these two little girls and tomorrow is a big day for them! My family is convinced that these two now belong to me so I have decided that I am going to get them both spayed. They are not going to be happy with me but I know it is the right thing to do considering the pet overpopulation problem which breaks my heart. The girls are almost nine months old now and I have put this off long enough. I have a five day weekend coming up next week so I will be able to keep a close on them to make sure that their recovery process goes well.

I hope they still love me once it is all done! Please pray that the surgery goes well for my two babies on Tuesday.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I stopped getting really super excited about birthdays once I turned 30. I think the whole getting old thing really started to sink in back then. The best part of my birthday is the time that I get to spend with my family.  We usually out to dinner, laugh a lot and eat cupcakes.  My birthday would not be complete without cupcakes and I already started last night! 

I always take the day off of work on my birthday. It's a ritual. I cannot remember the last time that I actually worked on my birthday. My staff always takes me out for my birthday ahead of time and we always have a good laugh and go back to work in a food coma. I work in the Finance Department but manage a smaller division of 6 people (4 full time and 2 part time). I am also good friends with another division manager who took me under his wing and helped me out a tremendously when I first started working in local government so we always invite Hershal to come along with us. Hershal is in his 60's and the man still runs! I hope I am still active like him when I am in my 60's.

Shawna and Hershal

We usually take a road trip to Vegas for my birthday but not this year because the puppies are still living with us and Sugar just had surgery so finding a pet sitter for 5 dogs is probably not going to happen. I am okay with it though because I love these dogs to pieces. 

I received a ton of free birthday offers so my weekend will include some of these things:

1) $10 gift card from Kohls

2) $10 gift card from Macy's

3) $10 gift card from Victoria's Secret

4) Free Birthday Burger from Red Robin

5) Buy One Get One Free meal from Soup Plantation

6) Buy One Get One Free meal from Mimi's Cafe

7) Free meal from Hooters

8) Free lunch buffet from Shakey's pizza

9) Free sandwich from Which Wich (I have never tried this place before and have been wanting to check it out.)

10) Free meal from El Torito

11) Free dessert or starter from Lazy Dog

12) $30 credit towards any meal from Benihana (THIS IS THE BEST OFFER!)

13) BJ's Brewhouse also gives you a free pizookie on your birthday and there is no coupon needed. You know I will be stopping by for my pizza cookie with ice cream on top!

14) Free birthday sundae from Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

15) Free Drink from Starbucks

16) Free scoop of ice cream from Baskin Robbins

17) $10 Free game play from Dave and Busters

18) Free item from Sonic

So based on this crazy list, it is safe to assume that the month of September will include lots of eating, or should I say overeating! Having said that, I need to step it up and burn more calories this month! August was not such a great month for me in terms of mileage but I am ready to step it up and start working towards my new half marathon goal of 1:45!

Do you sign up for free birthday offers? What is the best offer you have ever received? 
The best deal I have received is the $30 dinner from Benihana!

Two Tough Days!

The last two days have been emotionally challenging for me. Yesterday marked one year that I had to say goodbye to Baby, my little Pomeranian.  I knew it was going to be a tough day because all of the thoughts of that horrible day would become fresh in my mind. The only negative thing about having pets is having to say goodbye.

Today was also a sad day for me because it was my Dad's birthday and he spent the majority of his day getting his chemo treatment. This is probably not the ideal way to spend a birthday but he had no choice and it just sucks that he has to go through this. I feel so bad for him and wish there was something that I could do to take it all away.

It was also a very sad, yet happy, night because two of our puppies found a home..a good home. One of the technicians at our vet's office called and said that she was interested in adopting Brownie and came to see him after I got home from work. She brought her brother along and they fell in love with the two males and decided to take both Brownie and Spot. I was not prepared to let two of them go but I know that they are going to a good home so I was comfortable with these people. Sugar was not excited either and tried to bite the man when he attempted to pet her.  They were considering taking one of the pups and Sugar but I think she blew her chances when she decided that she needed to bite him for taking her babies away.

As much as I know that I cannot keep the puppies, I was heartbroken. My whole routine has been centered around these puppies for the last three months and I am going to miss Brownie and Spot.  The males were the wild ones of the litter but oh so lovable and sweet. I hope their new owners love them and care for them like we did. We reminded the new owners that Brownie and Spot can be returned at any time because we would never want to see these little guys at the shelter if things did not work out.

My son was devastated and it was a rough night for him to say the very least. He ran upstairs and cried for 30 minutes straight and it was not pretty. Sugar also cried and waited by the front door shaking and continuing to cry for a long time. The two female puppies were also very sad and they just went to their bed and looked at us as if to say "Are you getting rid of us next?"

We are going to miss Brownie and Spot dearly. I don't think we will be able do this again. It is so hard to let them go and my son is a mess! A huge, horrible mess! The puppies left four hours ago and he has been crying off and on asking me why I got rid of them. He is not happy with me at all! I guess he does not fully understand why we cannot keep 7 dogs... 

Do you ever have days like this when everything seems to be happening at once and you feel kind of overwhelmed?  

A Visit to the Doctor!

My puppies went for their first outing/car ride today. We took them to the vet to have exams and vaccinations. None of the puppies liked the car ride and they all wanted to get out. My son opened the side of the crate a little and gave them all some love so that they would relax. Sugar came along to have an exam as well as get her vaccinations since she was not allowed to have them while she was pregnant and nursing. Speaking of nursing, we have completely weaned the puppies off of their mommy.  That was tough since they would attack her the minute they saw her.  

We loaded all four of them up in this little red crate and went to visit our amazing vet. Dr. K's mother has been really sick so our journey to find homes for these puppies has not been very successful to date.  I have to admit, that I love them so much that I haven't been making much of an effort to find them homes. I had a few prospects but I was not 100% comfortable with the people so I didn't really pursue them. These puppies get lots of love and attention and I am not looking for owners that plan to throw them out in the backyard and forget that they exist. I am a super pet lover so if you don't give me that warm and fuzzy feeling, then it's probably not going to happen! 

Dr.K had never seen the puppies in person before and she quickly fell in love! All of the staff in the office loved them and Brownie seemed to be the favorite. One of the technicians is seriously considering adopting him. The other male pup, white one with the brown spot over his eye, was the second favorite so maybe he will also get adopted by someone in the office.  Even the people in the waiting room fell in love with the puppies. Sugar was busy growling at all of the other dogs that were 10 times bigger than her!

Only one of the puppies, the smallest one, cried when she got her shots. I felt really bad for her because she was the last one to get her shots and none of the others cried. When we returned home, they ate and fell asleep.  I think the vaccinations made them sleepy which is normal. We have to do this all over again in three weeks and Sugar will be having surgery on September 4th to be spayed, get her teeth cleaned and remove a fatty tumor she has on her tummy. I need to take care of Sugar before she goes into heat again! I am hoping to have all of the puppies placed in good homes by early September so I can take a small vacation for my birthday. If not, it's okay I want to feel 110% comfortable with the homes they are placed in and they all come with a lifetime return policy :)

Wordless Wednesday

Puppy Update: Four Weeks Old

Can you believe that the puppies are now four weeks old today?  They are all about two pounds now and they have learned so many new things in the last week.  They are so playful with one another now and they walk, bark and growl and are learning to do all of the things that dogs should do.

On Wednesday, I caught one of the puppies eating a piece of dry food out of Sugar's bowl so I decided to try to feed them. It was a little sooner than planned but I think they will be fine. The put a cup of dry food, some powdered puppy milk, and hot water in the blender and made them some mush.  They loved it!  

They were even licking each others faces after they were done eating!  It was very cute!  Sugar is starting to get a little tired of nursing and it kind of separating herself from the puppies so I think it is good time to start training them how to eat on their own.  The cuter they get, the more I don't want to give them away!! My son is busy convincing me that we need to keep all four of them!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Hopefully all of my readers not getting tired of seeing these precious babies but I just had to tell you that they have all opened their eyes and are able to track their mommy down much easier now! They are getting cuter and cuter every day!

Wordless Wednesday...

Three Things Thursday

1) I gave in and registered for the Pasadena Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  I missed this race earlier this year due to my injury so I kind of wanted to do it in 2013 just to make myself feel a little bit better about missing it in 2012.

2) I gave in a second time and registered for the Allstate Life Insurance 13.1 Los Angeles too! I took advantage of the National Running Day discounts so hopefully things will work out for me in 2013 and I can stay injury free.

3) The puppies are doing great and gaining lots of weight.  We are a little concerned about Sugar since she is a small dog (7 pounds) attempting to nurse four puppies. She seems to be getting weak so we are going to start helping her out with the feedings a few times a day and her vet also put her on calcium pills. We bought this milk replacement for the puppies and hope they will take the bait!

The Dog Log and National Running Day!

I would love to say that my life has been centered around my family and running but lately it has revolved around this family instead:

All the puppies are doing great and Sugar is such a good mommy. She refuses to leave them for more than a minute. Sometimes she comes out to eat but most of the time I have to put her bowl in the family bed or feed her by hand. She runs outside to use the bathroom and then sprints back to the puppies. The pups get weighed daily to make sure that they are gaining weight. We have a log that we keep track of their weight in and I call it the "Dog Log." The puppy that gains the least amount of weight gets watched really closely and we make sure that he/she is getting a spot to eat. So far, the smallest and first born puppy has gained the most weight.  

Did you receive the email from Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series about the $20 discount that they will be offering off any race (Las Vegas and some others excluded) in honor of National Running Day on June 6th? I have been shying away from signing up for any races but with this kind of discount I just might give in. I am considering the Pasadena Half Marathon since I had to sit it out this year and/or the Los Angeles Halloween Half Marathon. I am not brave enough to sign up for a marathon quite yet but this will be a good start for me. 

Speaking of National Running Day, I will definitely get a run in to celebrate the day. Last weeks mileage was a little less than I would have hoped for (22.06 to be exact) but the birth of the puppies kind of became my priority and I missed a key run on Saturday! I would like to get back to running at least 25 miles a week so fingers crossed that I hit my target this week.

So tell me, are you planning to take advantage of the discount from Rock 'n' Roll? What races are you considering? How are you planning on celebrating National Running Day? 

Final Score: Girls=2 and Boys=2!!

The puppies are finally here! I missed my run on Saturday and we pretty much spent our whole day at home watching these little cuties come into the world.  We were on our way out the door to go to Sam's Club right at 9:00am and noticed that Sugar was panting pretty hard which is a sign that she was ready to deliver soon.  My vet told us that she was probably going to have at least three so I think we were pretty much preparing ourselves for three puppies. We have been reading up on what to expect and we had all of the supplies ready to help her deliver. Today was my vet's last day at work before leaving on a week long vacation so the timing was perfect. Thankfully everything went smoothly and there was no need for an emergency C-Section.

Puppy #1 was born at 9:38 am.  This is the smallest puppy. I thought that the last one was the smallest but I guess not!

Sex: Female

Color: White

Weight: 5.455 ounces

Length: 5.5 inches

Puppy #2 was born at 11:36 am.  This one was the hardest one for Sugar since he is the biggest.

Sex: Male

Color: White

Weight: 7.355 ounces

Length: 6.5 inches

We kept the other puppies warm with a blanket and a heating pad on low setting to keep them warm. The puppies were so cold when they were born and are unable to regulate their own body temperature until they are a few weeks old.  It was also difficult for Sugar to care for them while she was in labor so we played babysitter while the others were born.

Puppy #3 was born at 12:57pm. We heard Sugar yelp while we were eating lunch and peeked in and Puppy #3 was already born!

Sex: Female

Color: White

Weight: 6.985 ounces

Length: 5.5 inches

Puppy #4 was born at 2:20pm. He was kind of a surprise because we thought Sugar was done giving birth. She went outside to use the bathroom and then just just into the bed with the pups.  This puppy was the easiest and fastest for Sugar to deliver and came right out!

Sex: Male

Color: Brown with Stripes

Weight: 6.225 ounces

Length: 5.75 inches

Sugar is being a great mom to her pups.  She knew exactly what to do and handled it pretty well.  I promised myself that I would not name any of the puppies since I am planning to place them all in good homes.  My vet is going to help me place all of them as soon as they are old enough to be taken away from their mommy.

I bought Sugar and the pups a big bed that fits all of them comfortably and this is where they will be calling home for the next 6-7 weeks.

My two dogs kept their distance and I am not sure if they even knew what was going on. The plan is to keep Sugar and the puppies locked up and separated from these two since Sugar is probably going to be very protective. My husband did most of the dirty work because I don't do well with blood!  He was pretty pooped after keeping an eye on Sugar and 5 1/2 hours.  My son suggested that we change Sugar's name to "Sugar Mama." He doesn't even knows the meaning of that phrase but I had to laugh....

It's Time!!

Sugar starting panting around 9am this morning. She let out out a few small yelps and then shortly after Puppy #1 was born.  Puppy #1 was born at exactly 9:38am this morning.  Thus far we have only have one baby but Puppy #2 is trying to make it's way into the world as I am typing this post. Sugar is a great mom and knew exactly what to do! It was quite an experience and a sight to see!

I will post an update once all of the puppies have arrived!!  We are thinking that maybe there are 3-4 puppies total.