She couldn’t wait any longer!!!Refusing to look at me until I gave her treats.There was some impatience while I took her picture. She was getting treats, but having them in front of her was too much.Give me.
Beau will go down in history as the best Valentine’s present ever. Three years ago today, she came home with me. We have been through so much in the past three years, but I wouldn’t change a day of it. I love her with my whole entire heart. She is my world. If you know me or met me, you already know this. She is at the heart of my life and my happiness. I don’t know what I would do without her.
For as obsessed as I am with Beau, it’s a surprise I have never made her homemade dog treats. I did this year!!! She LOVES them. They’re completely safe for puppers and humans. Dylan tried the dough and the biscuits. He says they taste like peanut butter and pumpkin, which makes sense. Even if you’re not celebrting adoption day with your dog, the puppers in our lives deserve some Valentine’s love too. Honestly, they probably deserve it more than the humans in our lives. I love the humans, but I love the dogs more. Beau is perfect, so I made her some homemade dog treats and cut them into hearts because she cares so much… I don’t usually do hearts, but it’s Valentine’s season!!!
Some heart shaped dog treats!!!
Dog Treats Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup Peanut Butter – safe for doggos 1 cup Pumpkin Purée ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil 2 Eggs 2 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°
Mix peanut butter, pumpkin, oil, and eggs until well mixed.
Add in dry ingredients. It will be a stiff dough but very oily.
Roll out on a floured mat. For little dogs roll it thinner. For bigger dogs, roll it thicker!
Cut out into whatever shape you want!
Place on cookie sheet. For a smaller biscuit, bake for 12 minutes. I baked mine for 15 minutes. For a hard biscuit make until there is no give when touched.
Let cool.
Then generously hand out to the dog in your life!!!
Beau has been dealing with storm induced anxiety. And yes my Christmas tree is still up. Don’t judge me. | Pajamas | Blanket | Chair | Ottoman |
We’re no strangers to anxiety in my house. We deal with it all the time. The past week has been a long one because of all the storms that have been passing through the area.
Houston can have some pretty epic storms. Hurricanes aside. The past few years, January and February have been particularly gloomy and rainy. This past week has been filled with storms, which is particularly stressful for Beau. I was having a gloomy, emotional week completely unrelated to the weather, so I wasn’t too upset that we stayed in and cuddled. I’ve rather enjoyed listening to the rain outside my window as I work or rest or read.
Beau is fine with the rain as long as she doesn’t have to go outside in it and it’s not accompanied by thunder and lightning. Unfortunately, not going potty isn’t an option, and there has been quite a bit of thunder and lightning. So the week has not been ideal.
Mostly, Beau just wants to curl up and cry. Literally, cry. Sometimes she hides in the closet shaking when the winds pick up and thunder claps. She likes to crawl as far into my arms as possible or squeeze herself tightly between Dylan and I on the couch or in bed. When we cuddle in our chair, she nestles into the blankets and lays on top of me. Being touched, held, and loved on makes her feel safer. It doesn’t stop her shakes or whines, but it settles her as much as possible.
Beau has a whole collection of sweaters. They help keep her anxiety in check. On the very worst days, we give her benadryl, which makes her sleepy.
It’s heartbreaking that she has such a hard time with storms. I wish I could do more to help or make her feel better. It’s so much harder when she refuses to leave the house during a storm because she needs to go potty. Sometimes I drag her outside covered in a coat and an umbrella, but she hates when her feet get wet. I have even tried to make her go potty on our covered patio but no. She is a stubborn girl; I have no idea where she gets it from.
I’m hoping the storms will pass soon.
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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Running because she wasn’t cooperating and it was the only way to get her to go straight.Walking away from the camera because you have to in order to walk towards the camera.Staring at the other dogs who CAN’T climb fences. | Dog Collar | Yoga Pants | Hat | Leash
We went to the dog park today, which is not unusual, but I did find out about a fun new skill Beau has acquired.
Abandonment issues are something both Beau and I have in common. Although, hers are much worse than mine. I don’t freak out when my people are within eyesight. Beau does. If there is something keeping her from me and I’m walking away, she’s not a happy camper.
Setting the scene: Dylan and I walked around the dog part as Beau zoomed and zipped and sniffed butts. She pooped all over the place. She did one last big poop as we were about to leave. Dylan stayed in the dog park with her to clean up the doo-doo pile. I walked to the truck to grab her towel and shampoo so we could clean the gross lake water off her.
Action continues: As I walked through the gate to go to the truck, Beau started freaking out because the gate and the fence was in her way. She didn’t care Dylan was right there with her. She ran from one side of the gate to the other, SCREAMING!!! Beau was so very unhappy. Even though she could see me, she wasn’t with me.
New found talent: I was at the truck and turned to look at her. Beau was CLIMBING the fence. When she was near the top of the fence, she looked over it and realized getting over it would be hard. She climbed back down the fence and continued to stare at me whining.
We were reunited a whole two minutes later. It was very devastating and emotionally traumatizing for Beau. I am, obviously, a terrible mother. She managed to survive the whole experience, and we’re curled up in our chair amid a pile of pillows. Tomorrow is a new day, and we will continue to work on our abandonment issues. For now (and hopefully forever) I will remain her dedicated stay-at-home dog mom.
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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High fives for making it home alive.She’s excited to be able to go outside without three coats.Puppy kisses are the best kisses.
There is no place like our chair. | [the softest] Pajamas | Bralette | Glasses | Blanket | ChairAs much as I love the holidays, sometimes they are really stressful. Holidays 2019 ended up stressing me out, but Beau was the one who suffered the most. She had a really rough holiday trip. It did not go so great for her, but the last leg was really the worst.
People always wonder how Beau does in the car for long periods of time. Honestly, she does great. I think she does a better job handling the car rides than I do. Then again, she gets to sleep, and we’d all die if I did that. So no issues there.
Beau stayed with Dylan and his family when I ran up to [not literally, I drove] my best friend’s in Minnesota. Dylan’s family has a German Shepherd, named Harley. He’s a lovely dog, but he likes to be all up in Beau’s face all the time. She loves to play, but she also likes to spend 92.3% of her time lying on the couch, sleeping. There was a ton of things going on combined with the dog, so Beau was on edge and stressed out of her mind.
On Christmas Eve, Beau came to my family’s house. She did really well except for the cats. She wanted to play with the cats and give them all the mouth cuddles. I really do mean mouth cuddles; she didn’t want to hurt them, but she loves to mouth things. Suffice to say, she was crazy pants, and it stressed me out. My hand got scratched up by one of the cats because I got between them during a “CUDDLE ME!!!”/“DON’T FUCKING COME NEAR ME” encounter. Come to find out: If I left her alone in the house with the family, she didn’t mess with the cats…. I swear, dogs are just like kids. They’re on their best behavior when the parents aren’t around. I’d rather have her behave when I’m not around and test her boundaries when I am, though.
So far so good. All of these things are completely manageable. A pain in the ass, but manageable. Part of life in a family. Part of life with a dog.
What made the trip really hard was at my parents’ house in Ames, Iowa. What happened was no one’s fault. I’m not harboring any anger, but it was traumatic for Beau and for me. This past fall, my parents’ rescued a new dog. His name is Barney, and he’s very sweet. We don’t know anything about his background, but he’s getting used to his new life in my parents’ house.
We pulled into my parents’ driveway just after dark and in the rain. We took the truck because it’s easier on Dylan’s back for long drives. We left Beau in the truck while we unloaded everything from the bed into the garage. Dylan let Beau out of the truck; Dad didn’t have a hold of Barney, and I was in the truck grabbing a few other things. All of a sudden, I heard snarling and screeching and yelling. I dropped everything and ran around the back of the truck. Beau was on top of Barney, and they were spiralling. It was like a horrible, terrifying scene of the worst dog fight you’ve ever seen in a movie. Dylan and Dad were trying to get them apart. I jumped in and reached between them (you’re not supposed to do that, but I’ll be damned if anything or anyone hurts my dog). I picked Beau up and had her in my arms. She was screaming, and Barney was hanging off of her with his teeth on her throat. My dad ended up punching Barney to get him to let go of her. Beau makes a lot of noise and pins other dogs when she’s attacked, but she doesn’t ever bite. Barney didn’t have a scratch on him. We thought Beau was fine because nothing was evident at first. An hour later, I looked at Beau, and her neck was covered in blood. Dylan and I took her into the bathroom. She had huge gauge marks on her neck and tons of scratches on her ears. She didn’t whine or complain once as we cleaned it, covered her in antibiotics, and wrapped her neck in a towel to protect it.
I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. It was so bad, but it could have been so much worse. It wasn’t Barney’s fault or Beau’s fault. They’re both rescues. These things happen. Barney is still getting acclimated to his environment. By the end of the trip, they were getting along much better, but I won’t be leaving Beau alone with him in a room. Accidents happen. Beau’s wounds are all scabbed over and healing nicely. She was an absolute trouper. I can’t believe how brave and strong she was through every cleaning and disinfecting. It still makes my stomach churn when I think about it, but it’s behind us now.
We are VERY happy to be home. Beau is feeling much better after the holidays now that she’s in the comfort and predictability of home. We’ve been cuddling a LOT in our big comfy chair. The holidays are beautiful, but the everyday pieces of life are my favorite bits. I wouldn’t change these simple beautiful moments with Beau for anything in the whole wide world. Our chair is our happy place. I’m watching her snore, curled up in the chair as I type away.
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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Santa Beau in the house!!! | Santa Costume | Elf Jammies | Elf Hats |How we get dog pictures: BACON!Kelsey and I and SantaOpening StockingsMy girl and I!Kelfey (Elf Kelsey) and her fur baby, Doodle!Jordan and her fur baby, Benny!
Merry Christmas!!! It’s my favorite holiday and the anniversary of this blog!!!
I’m home in Illinois to celebrate the holidays with my family. They’re not my biological family, but they’re the family who chose me and who I chose. They are my best friend’s family. Kelsey is more than my best friend, she’s my sister. Her little sister [Jordan] is my little sister. Her big brother is my big brother. Her parents are Mom and Dad. I moved in with them five years ago after college. I didn’t [and they definitely did not] think I would live here for almost three years. Woops! Even after moving to Houston, I still go home for Christmas. This is the fifth Christmas I’ve spent at home – well, technically, the sixth holiday season.
The first Christmas I lived here, I started a tradition, which is still going strong. I bought Kelsey, Jordan, and I matching Christmas pajamas. Every year, I buy us matching Christmas jammies. When we first started, it was just Kelsey, Jordan, and I. Now we each have fur babies of our own.
This year, Kelsey sent me a text about a month and a half ago asking if Beau could be Santa for Christmas. I said, “ABSOLUTELY!!!” I suggested we be elves. I found us elf jammies and hats. Beau has her Santa costume. We had to take pictures because it’s too adorable not to. Anyways, yay Christmas!!!!
If you don’t celebrate, I hope you’re having an amazing day filled with love anyways!
Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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Last year, our family picture included a lot of buffalo plaid. This year, we went with a car theme.
Random? Nope! Fun fact, we’re a car family. Not just a car family taking trips to car shows here and there. We are a crazy car family. Maybe not the craziest car family, but we’re up there, for sure.
I realized very quickly after meeting Dylan, cars are a big deal for him. After only four months of dating, we moved from Chicago to Houston… TOGETHER!!! (Hindsight, that could have been a horrible, terrible, no good idea. Over three years later, it’s turned out alright.) We moved to Houston because Dylan started going to school at SAMTech: School of Automotive Machinists and Technology. aka: Making Fast Cars Go Fast School For Car Nerds.
I grew up with a dad for a mechanic. We would go to car shows, and he would teach me about engines, history, and car fun facts. I’ve managed to retain a good bit of information. I wouldn’t be able to build you an engine, but I’m not half bad at troubleshooting or changing a tire. I’ll pay people to change my oil because it’s easier and I can.
Anyways. Dylan is a crazy car guy. He loves them. Two years ago, he brought a small block home to build. (It’s been sitting in the closet until I pulled it out for this picture.) For some reason, we have a racing slick [tire] on our patio. (It’s been there for just as long, but got drug into the house for me to sit on.) There are always car parts appearing and disappearing from my kitchen table. We bought a race car this year. He’s building the engine block and all the other fun stuff under the hood. He loves cars, and I support his dreams to build, design, and race them.
Cars are a huge part of our life. It’s his passion and his career; it only made sense to bring the race car theme of our lives into our Christmas card. We have red truck wrapping paper, a Santa bag with a red truck (and a dog) on it, a red truck cookie jar, red truck coffee mug (I used a Christmas puppy mug because dogs are my passion), an engine block, a racing slick, car ornaments, a red truck puppy sweater, and matching Santa in red truck pajamas. I think we nailed the theme. Now we just need a red truck. Hey, Dylan! Want to paint yours???
bisous und обьятий, RaeAnna
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