Kesi the Rhodesian Ridgeback

Here's some pictures of the newest member of the Sand clan... Kesi.  She's 4 months old and weighs about 30 lbs.  Her dad weighs 120 and her mom weighs 85... so she's going to be big! She's very calm and sweet.  Allie and Oscar don't know quite what to think of her yet but so far they all get along ok.  

Isaac has always wanted a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  They're also known as an African Lion Hound because they were used to keep lions at bay.  They get their name from the strip of hair on their backs that grows in the opposite direction and resembles a ridge.  They are very strong with lots and lots of stamina, very smart, very friendly and usually only bark when they want you to know something.  

We are so happy to have her!!!  

If you'd like to learn more about Rhodesian Ridgebacks click here

pictures

Dear Mom and Dad,

OK, what did Sarah do to Gramama? She said to tell you that pictures of me are being held hostage. The ransom price is pictures of Sarah and Issac as well as pictures of you two and just to sweeten the deal? Pictures of all of you together!!

My birthday was kinda quiet. G had a "cake" for me and a pretty pink sweater and a toy. Aunt Ruth even gave me a present! She gave me a pretty blue raincoat. To tell the truth, if G hadn't said something I would have missed the whole birthday, I just don't understand G's obsession with celebrations.

Now here is the kicker. She also got me a Halloween costume. I am a bumble bee, complete with wings. I really want to get those wings and chew them up but G takes all the fun out of everything.

She is so strange. She puts one of those pee-pee pads down in my room so I'll have a place to go when she's not home. I have fun and "dig" it up every day. Well, she got this foamboard with a plastic outside to put it on with the sticky stuff called adhesive. I thought it was a great toy and chewed the heck out of it. She wasn't as pleased as I thought she should be.

Tongue-in-Cheek

Willow is a crazy little dog that will drive me totally insane AND I'll enjoy the journey getting there.

For more years than I want to admit, I have been a cat person. I still love cats but I don't have a burning need to go out and find another cat just because mine have passed away. I love dogs too but until Willow I really didn't want to own a dog. They require too much attention. Cats can and will ignore you and don't care if you leave the house to go to work, church or the mailbox. They also won't greet you as if you are their only reason for being alive but that is beside the point.

I've decided that the main difference between cats and dogs is their tongues. Cats have a sandpaper tongue that will take the skin off if you let them lick you more than once. They would NEVER be caught drooling. Dogs have a soft tongue that is wet and will leave you needing a towel. Willow has the softest tongue on earth and feels it is her right to lick my arm, neck, face, lips . . . pretty much anywhere my skin may be exposed. To make things even more strange she LOVES lotion. I am getting along in years and have to put moisturizer on my face and neck, hands, arms and legs - ok - I take a bath in lotion at least twice a day. She then feels it is imperative to lick it all off and will chase me down.

Now for the cherry on top - Willow's tongue is wetter than any other dog's tongue. I don't know why - it just is. She will chase me under the covers to give me a bath. She feels it is her duty to make me lotion-free AND sopping wet. WHY do I put up with that dog??

Would you look at this?

Just hours after posting about Willow chewing trash, she jumped in my lap with the lipstick that is laying down in the picture. The other one is one she presented on Sunday. What the heck is wrong with that dog???? This is the 4th lipstick she's killed. I am doing everything the books say to do and she's gone nuts. BTW - I put her in her crate and ignored her and didn't take a 2x4 to the monster like my first urge told me to do. What am I going to do????

Can a Dog Committ Suicide?

Hi Allie and Oscar, this is G. Can you explain this dog of yours to me??? She has a fascination with garbage. She likes to go through garbage and shred it into tiny pieces. She's also very sneaky about it because she knows I don't want her to do it. She also likes to get things that isn't trash and make it into trash. She's driving me nuts.

The reason for the question - up until know she has had an iron stomach and none of this has hurt her. This weekend I was cleaning out a cabinet that I haven't been into in a while and somehow a pan that had gotten put away still had something in it. Chocolate truffles. YUCK. It had wax paper over it and under it so I threw the furry mess in the garbage bag. I tied it up and threw it away in the garbage can that was out of the monkey's reach. I continued cleaning and didn't notice that Willow was quiet. I found her inside of the garbage bag that she had somehow gotten out of the trash can and torn open. She has been hyper and had diarrhea. Fortunately not a lot. She didn't eat much of the stuff so she's going to be ok. HOWEVER, what about next time? I really don't want to take my garbage outside all the time but I may have to do it to keep her alive.

I want to teach her not to do this but so far nothing is working. She gets lots of exercise and has lots to entertain her so she's not board. She actually does better when I'm not home and I'm home more than away from home. She's not lonely. Any ideas?

New Talent

Mom and Dad,

I think I told you before that I can't really type so I have to tell G what to put in here for me. Anyway, I learned how to use the computer tonight. Really!

G was washing dishes (which she wouldn't have to do if she let me clean them!) and had left her laptop open. I went over to smell it and I pushed buttons and it made the screen change. It was so much fun! G was so surprised to come over and find out that I knew how to 1- connect to the internet, 2- make something called "search" come up on the screen and 3- type something in to look up. Too bad that I haven't learned how to spell.

Your genius daughter,
Willow

Note from G: she came real close to spelling something - she typed ok jht. She could have found out about Oklahoma if she had just stopped soon enough.

Innocent

G says she's going to change my name to PIB (aka Pain in Bottom). It was an accident and anyway how was I supposed to know I could jump that high???

G came home and I greeted her as I always do, with joy and adulation. I have to let her know how much I love her right? Sometimes she tricks me by being gone for less that 5 minutes but I greet her with energy and vigor anyway. I know she doesn't want me to jump on her and really this is the only time I HAFTA do it so I was doing my normal jump, wiggle, squirm, repeat routine and then it happened. I jumped so high that I nipped G's nose! Can you believe that?? We were both surprised but G couldn't decide whether to be proud of me for jumping that high or to knock me into next week. Before she could decide, I quickly settled down so she wouldn't remember what I did. I think it worked, but just in case . . . I need an alibi . . .