Blog + Dog, Lifestyle

Welcome to the Family

Welcome to the family Tess, Siren, March, Knight, Hardy, Duke, Nosky, Hera, Boudica, Makeda, Lily-May, Athena, Oryol, and Bear. 

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No this is not an April Fool’s prank. This is real life. Sorry I’ve been keeping it from you, but we wanted to find some equilibrium before announcing it to the world. Here is a cliff notes version of a much longer story. 

Exactly five weeks ago, I was driving to an event in Houston on a frontage road during rush hour when I saw a small and seemingly very pregnant dog on the side of the road. Nothing pulls on my heartstrings more than a homeless dog. I was driving too fast to stop. I quickly flipped around and stopped traffic in high heels and a skirt to make sure she made it across the road to safety. I knelt in a fallow field as people sped home to their families, holding out my hand, wishing I had dog treats in my car, crossing my fingers my car didn’t get hit all while looking at a very skittish dog, hoping she wouldn’t run away. It took thirty seconds before she picked up a mutilated bird wing and dropped it at my feet. My heart broke as I touched her head for the first time. A minute later, I took a calculated risk by picking her up. Instead of biting me or struggling to get free, her body relaxed into mine as I carried her across the field to place her in the back seat of my car. She immediately curled up and let out the biggest sigh. 

Once I was back on the highway, I called Dylan. “Hi, honey. I have a dog in the car.” “I didn’t know you took Beau with you.” I paused, “It’s a different dog, and she’s pregnant.” He paused for even longer, “Oh. Well. Okay. I’ll be home soon, and we’ll talk.” Then I called my bestie, Kelsey, and asked, “What the fuck did I just do.”

Before I brought this new and unknown dog into the house, I put Beau in her box to make sure both would be safe and quarantined. It took ten minutes to bring the new dog through the front door. She was scared and didn’t know what a doorway was. I didn’t want to push her or make her feel uncomfortable, so I sat down, petting her head until she walked far enough in so I could shut the door. I laid a blanket down for her with a bowl of water and food. She drank two full bowls of water and nibbled on the dog food before she laid down and closed her eyes. Her belly was huge. Her nipples were about to burst. I could see the movement of tiny puppies in her stomach. My family had a litter of puppies when I was fourteen, so I knew the signs and what to look for. We had maybe a week before the puppies would arrive. 

Dylan walked through the door and made eye contact with the cutest stray you ever did see. I saw his heart melt. We talked for a long time about keeping her or contacting a rescue. Taking on a stray is a big commitment. Taking on a pregnant stray is a HUGE commitment. I knew she would be ours in the field, but I didn’t want to push Dylan into that decision if he wasn’t comfortable with it. 

That night we [I] gave her the name Tess. We decided to lengthen it to Tessa because Dylan likes that a little better. Her name comes from the titular character in Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. The plot mimics Tessa’s own story, in a way, but with a happier ending. We gave her a bath, fed her, and loved on her.

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A call to the vet happened immediately the next morning. We kept hoping she would be microchipped by a home with someone desperately searching for her. No such luck. Dylan and I knew at that moment, we had a second dog. We spent three hours at the vet running a full panel of tests, x-rays, blood work, ultrasounds, and more to make sure Tess and the babies were healthy as can be and, at least, not contagious before we brought her home to Beau. After a once over, we found out Tess is maybe a year old.  The vet came in with the results from all the tests, and it wasn’t all great news. Honestly, it was mostly bad news. Tess had hookworms and tapeworms. We put her on pregnancy safe dewormers to take care of that problem. As expected in a street dog, she has heartworms. We won’t be able to treat that until she has weaned the babies, but she is on heartworm prevention to keep it from getting worse. That will be a process to take care over the next year. Then, the vet told us we were expecting THIRTEEN puppies. Tess isn’t very big. She weighed 52 pounds pregnant. I didn’t think she could fit more than eight babies in her tummy. The vet pulled out the x-ray saying, “Here is where the pellet is.” My brain didn’t register it at first. My dog. My pregnant dog had been shot in the spine. I don’t understand. I can’t understand it. It makes me want to cry thinking about it. I was trying to register and process that this small, young, helpless dog was full of fleas, worms, heartworms, a pellet, and thirteen babies. Other than that, she was healthy, and sweet. The vet prepared us to only have nine puppies survive because of the amount of puppies in the litter and the fact she had been living on the street for probably ever. Oh, and the puppies could arrive any time between now and a week. Hurry, hurry, hurry. 

Tess looked at me with the most soulful eyes and the biggest, pointy ears, and I knew we would do everything in our power to make her happy and healthy. 

After paying a small fortune at the vet, we took her home and made her comfortable. Then we headed to Petsmart where we spent another small fortune to get puppy formula, crate, blankets, collar, leash, dog food, dog bowls, puppy pads, bottles, flea collars, flea baths, flea bombs, puppy shampoo, and more. We bought a kiddy pool for Tess to whelp in, syringes, thermometers, and more at Target. Then we hopped on Amazon to order towels, blankets, bleach, sheets, and more. Normally, people have two months to prepare and spread out the cost of puppies before they arrive. Not only did we not have days, we also had to get everything for our new dog. Those first eighteen hours were very, VERY expensive . 

What made this whole thing harder was the fact I had to leave town two days later. Dylan had never whelped puppies. I had, but I had agreed to watch my cousin in New Orleans a year prior to this. I couldn’t back out. Dylan had to work that weekend, and he was stressed out of his mind trying to be a prepared doggy daddy. We tried to board Tess at a 24 hour vet office to make sure she was taken care of while Dylan was at work. That ended up being a complete nightmare, I will talk about that more in another blog post. Instead, we bought cameras to watch Tess in the puppy room and relied on my best friend, Amanda, to come over and lend a hand. I headed to New Orleans, hoping Tess would wait a week to have the puppies. In the meantime, I watched the cameras like a crazy person. 

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Makeda and Me

Five days after I brought Tess home, she went into labor. Fourteen hours later, Siren, the first puppy, arrived at 3:45 in the afternoon. It took seventeen hours for all thirteen puppies to arrive. My best friend, Amanda, came and helped. I was on Skype, as Overwatch, the entire time, letting them know when a puppy was coming and what to do when they needed help. We almost lost Tess between puppy ten and eleven, but she made it through. The three of us were up all night; it was exhausting and stressful. Dylan and Amanda were absolute champs. With every squeaking puppy, we let out excited cries. All thirteen puppies survived. 

At two weeks old, we had a huge scare. Oryol, Athena, and Knight’s necks started to harden and swell very quickly. The swelling started at their necks and worked towards their faces, closing their eyes. It looked bad, but what was even worse was the swelling was cutting off their air supply making them wheeze and cough for air. We loaded Tess and all thirteen puppies into the car with blankets and pillows to head to the Blue Pearl Vet in Spring, a 24 hour animal ER, at 8:45 at night. We were prepared to stay as long as we had to with credit cards in hand willing to pay whatever price we needed to. All the puppies came with because the swelling came on so suddenly, I couldn’t bear to leave the puppies at home and risk another one getting sick. The Coronavirus hysteria had started, so we weren’t able to go inside with our three sick puppies. The vet was baffled by the case. They went on a regimen of steroids and broad spectrum antibiotics to take care of anything it could be because it would be days before pathology could confirm if it was viral, bacterial, or autoimmune. We were hoping it was an autoimmune disease; the other options meant a possibility of losing the entire litter and even Tess. After pathology and all sorts of other small fortunes were spent, we found out it was a wildly atypical case of the rare autoimmune disease: Puppy Strangles. It doesn’t occur in puppies younger than three weeks, which is why it was such a rare case. The fact three puppies had it at the same time in the space of an hour made it even more uncommon. Normally, it is not lethal, but because they were so small, had we waited much longer they would have strangled to death. They’re still on steroids, but they’re doing great and should be off them in a week!

Coronavirus sucks. Honestly, it couldn’t have come at a better time for me, though. I was supposed to go on a three week trip to Europe, which was cancelled because of the pandemic. Also because of the pandemic, work has been very slow, and Dylan and I are stuck at home with the puppies all day. It’s an amazing way to spend our quarantine, and I’m not in Europe missing out on this preciously short time. 

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Dillies and Bear

Tess is the sweetest dog you ever did meet. Beau and her love each other. They are becoming the best of friends, taking on the other’s habits and falling asleep snuggling. Tess is becoming exhausted and drained from all the nursing, but she is doing an amazing job. Thirteen teething puppies with only eight functional nipples does not make for a happy mama. I can’t imagine what she’s going through, but we’re loving her fiercely through it all. Beau is obsessed with the puppies. Whenever they squeak, Beau runs in to check on them. Tess sees Beau taking care of things and lays back down. They’re coparenting, and it makes my heart so happy. Beau is torn between being enamored and terrified of the puppies. She wants to play with them so badly, and they’re now old enough they have started to play back. 

My thirteen poop factories keep me busy doing laundry. And I mean a LOT of laundry. I’m a laundry goddess. They are the cutest things in the whole world, which makes it all worthwhile. 

Last week, at three weeks old, my bestie, Jenn, took family pictures. We wanted to capture all thirteen babies, Tess, Beau, Dylan, and I before they’re zooming all over the place in complete and utter chaos. They turned out so cute. I will treasure them forever. 

They’re officially one month old today. It’s an amazing age. They are walking and talking and playing. They mimic Beau’s boxerish play tactics. A herd of puppies run to me whenever I get near. I spend all day cuddling them when I’m not cleaning up. They are perfect and delightful and too good for this world. 

The only reason I knew I could bring a heavily pregnant dog home off the side of the street was because Dylan would have done the exact same thing. When we started dating, he knew this was the kind of person I am, and he signed on anyways. He had been pushing to get a second dog for the last two years. I have been very resistant to it because dogs are a lot of work and a lot of money. I love them to death, but it is hard to travel with one dog let alone two. The Monday before Tess came home, I had told Dylan we were absolutely NOT bringing a second dog into the house. By Wednesday we had two. A week and a half later, we had fifteen dogs. I guess I was wrong. I couldn’t be happier about our circus. 

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna, Dylan, Beau, Tess, Siren, March,
Knight, Hardy, Duke, Nosky, Hera, Boudica,
Makeda, Lily-May, Athena, Oryol, and Bear

Blog + Dog

Ruff Holidays

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High fives for making it home alive.
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She’s excited to be able to go outside without three coats.
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Puppy kisses are the best kisses.

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There is no place like our chair. | [the softest] Pajamas | Bralette | Glasses | Blanket | Chair
As 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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That’s the are you out of treats? face.
Blog + Dog

I Bought A Chair

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Beau is thoroughly enjoying our [her] new chair.
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She’s so photogenic when she’s comfy and hogging the chair… | Chair | Ottoman | Sweater | Red Blanket | Sherpa Blanket | Blue Sequin Pillow | Green Pillow | Christmas Mug | Vase | Decorative Present | Fairy Lights | Ornaments

I work from home. When we moved into our bigger apartment, I knew I needed an office because it’s hard to motivate yourself to work when your office is your bed. We moved into a three bedroom apartment, and I monopolized the smallest of the three bedrooms for my office because I liked the bay window. At the time, my bookshelves took up one wall; otherwise, it was empty. 

The first thing I bought was a desk so I didn’t have to sit on the ground. The criteria: no drawers. Drawers are distracting junk collectors. Next, was a big calendar white board for me to plan my non-existent social life and all my work projects. 

My office is my favorite room in the house. I spend more time in my office than I spend literally anywhere else. I wake up, take the dog out, make a pot of tea, and start reading in my office for an hour before I start working. There are days, like today, I spend more than fifteen hours working in my office. It needs to be homey, comfy, and a reflection of me from the look, to the smell, to the feel, to the comfort. I want to walk in and be happy. My office isn’t perfect yet, but it’s damn close. There are a few more things on my list to make my office perfect. The biggest and most expensive purchase was the latest. 

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Beau’s only sharing because she wants to look like a good dog for posterity… | Chair | Ottoman | Sweater | Red Blanket | Sherpa Blanket | Blue Sequin Pillow | Green Pillow | Christmas Mug | Vase | Decorative Present | Fairy Lights | Ornaments

I have had a papasan since my 22 birthday. I love it, but it’s not conducive to work or reading with a 60 pound Beau in my lap. I’ve been wanting an oversized armchair for awhile, but they’re not cheap, and I had a very specific thing in mind. I had been eyeing an oversized chair recently that wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was as close as I’m likely to get on my budget. Two weeks ago, we bought it. 

I bought the chair for me, but Beau has monopolized it. The moment it was set up in my office, Beau started dogging it up. She has a memory foam dog bed next to my desk. Now as I type away at my desk, she stares at me from my chair. She loves it so much, she hangs out in it while she’s home alone. I like to think it’s a testament to how cozy and me-like my office is. It’s probably just the chair. We can easily sit side by side in it or curled up together. 

I didn’t think my office could get any better, but I guess it can. The chair has made me very happy and even more productive. Maybe more importantly, it has made Beau’s life happier. She has less anxiety when we leave her home alone, and she’s as happy as happy can be curled up while I work. 

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Blog + Dog

Cheating on Beau

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Loving on my nephew, Frank! | Puppy Pumpkin Costume | Sweater | Jeans | Scarf

I love traveling with Beau, but sometimes she has to stay home. 

So I cheat on her.

I can’t help it. 

I NEED my puppy loves; I’m an addict.

I will cheat on Beau even if she’s at home and I’m right outside the door. If there’s a dog in my vicinity, I want to pet it and love it and hug it and kiss it until it tires of me or the owner calls the cops. Dogs bring me joy, and I pretend I bring them joy. 

Luckily, most of the people in my life have dogs. My parents didn’t have a dog for two and a half years, but they just caved and rescued Barneveld Wout Bose von Rekemeyer. I named him; you’re welcome. He’s a cutie. I got my dog cuddles with him. 

My brother has the cutest pupper!!! Frank. Frank is in the pictures. My brother and sister-in-law just moved to Chicago with their dog and cat. I’m lucky and got to spend last Sunday with them. I spent the entire time chatting but also giving Frank all the cuddles. I made my brother take a picture of us because Frank has a pumpkin costume. We’re obviously related. 

I’m currently at my surrogate parents’ house in the Chicago area. I lived with them for three years before moving to Houston. As I write this, I’m cheating on Beau with Dexter and Anna. Dexter is a 150 lb. Great Dane. Anna is a 20 lb. mutt. My lap is full. I am happy; even though Beau is far away from me for a few more days. 

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna & Dexter & Anna & Frank & Barney

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Blog + Dog

Couch Potatoes

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I’m getting a pep talk about how I CAN get all the stuff done I need to do.
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She just wants the treats in my hand… | Pajama Top | Pajama Bottom | Mug | Beau’s Bandana |

I’m a writer. Sometimes, I have a really hard time writing when I’m not inspired… I’m probably not alone in that predicament, which is why I am very happy to have a couch and  my dog. 

Luckily for me, I have an almost-comfortable couch and a very cozy dog. Not to mention more subscriptions to streaming services than is probably responsible, a ton of movies on Vudu, and loads of DVDs. Also more books on my reading shelves than I can read in four months. Actually, as I write this, I’m sitting on the couch with Beau under my arm watching The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime. (I highly suggest it; it’s based off the book of the same name by Philip K. Dick.)

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I promise. It’s not what you think it is… I dropped a treat in my lap.

Being a couch potato really works for us. Beau is particularly good at it. She takes up well over half of the couch at all times no matter how many people are wanting to sit on it with her. I like to refer to Beau as an oobleck – a non-Newtonian fluid; it’s a liquid until pressure is applied, and then it’s a solid. Beau starts in one position. She spreads out into another position; before, she solidifies and refuses to take up less space no matter how much pressure is applied. 

We’re very happy as couch potatoes. It works for us. Some days we get stuff done on the couch. Other days, we really don’t. 

Today, Beau and I have sat on the couch all day. It’s intermittently storming, and Beau is a little stressed about it. I feel like I haven’t done much, but I did. I wrote this boring blog post. I did the dishes. What took up most of my afternoon was mending clothes. I had a HUGE pile of clothes that needed to have zippers fixed, seams taken in, snaps put on, buttons reattached, straps tightened, etc. I’m actually quite handy with a needle and thread. I spent four hours doing all the mending that needed to be done and that had built up over an embarrassing amount of time. The upside, I have clothes back! And I did it all without leaving the couch! I can chalk this day up to a success.

bisous und обьятий,
Beau and RaeAnna

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Blog + Dog, Style

Dog Mom Shirts

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Hanging out at the beach in Galveston, TX. | Dog Mom Shirt | Dog Mom Hat | Shorts

I love dog mom clothes. It’s advertizing. It says “Hi, I love my dog more than I’ll ever love you.” It may also say, “Hi, I’m a crazy dog mom. Try me.” Okay. All it probably says is “I have a dog and enough money for this tshirt.” If you know me, I’ll personally tell you all three of those sentences, but the first is the most apropos.

I really love being a dog mom. It’s probably the most rewarding thing I will ever do in my entire life. I shouldn’t have children because I will probably always tell them I love them almost as much as the dog. Reasons why:

  • Dogs clean their own butts. There’s a solid three-ish years you have to do that with the human children.
  • Children are sticky. My dog has never been sticky. Not ever.
  • I can put my dog in a box and leave for several hours. Children: Hello, CPS?
  • Children are a lifelong commitment.
  • I wish my dog was a lifelong commitment.
  • Children can talk. My dog only barks when there is danger or she has to shit.
  • Children will probably grow up to hate you in some small way. Beau only holds a grudge for 20 seconds.
  • I can pack Beau up in the car and go anywhere anytime. Children have school and other boring crap I have to go to and be a part of.
  • Waking up to my dog’s butthole is unpleasant, but it’s better than an expensive, sticky, talkative child.

I love kids. I think they’re super great. Especially when I can hand them back to their parents. Being Fun Aunt RaeAnna is my favorite thing to be to children. I can whoosh in with presents and fun times before whooshing out several days later. I’ll even take them for weeks at a time! My heart is with my dog. I love being her Mom more than anything. I love working from home because I get to cover Beau in kisses any time I want to.

I have been collecting Dog Mom clothes because it is my favorite part of my identity. Here are all the fun Dog Mom things I found!

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