WE WON!!!

Teka here:

Gussie has been a little out of it lately, between the nursies and the Physical Therapy with Mango (minor) and the trips on Aire Ruby, not to mention those pain pills he is taking! Woooooohhhhooooo.

So, he forgot to say thank you to the Whippet Waggle and their human Servant for picking us as the winner of the Ice Cream Cone drawing!

See! It has my favorite colors on it, and because it has ruffles, I have decided that it is MINE!

Gussie won't even know when it arrives, because the Servant is sending it with Sam-I-Am when he comes to pick up Swede William and the Svedish Massage Chair in the Whippet-Waggon.

I figure I can have it shredded and gutted before Gussie even realizes it is here!

Thank you Whippet Servant! Thank you Sam-I-Am! Thank you E.Beth! Thank you Dad! Thank you E.Rabbit! Thank you little people who have helped me get here!

many kisses and waves

Teka T. Dagger

pee.ess -(Ha! Do you know Gussie is soooo out of it that he thinks Swede William is me! He keeps muttering about how nice I have gotten and how much taller I seem since his serjery. Gotta take that boy aside and 'splain a few things to him, ya know. )

Many "thank you"s all in one

I'm having a good day, but trying to come up with a list of people to thank has been a challenge, because there are so many of you out there to say "Thanks a lot" to. But anyway, here goes.

Thank you Ruby and your Mom for making it possible for me to join my doggie pals on the Anniversary Blogebration Trip.

Thank you Asta and Mommi for making me and muzzer smile with the great pictures of the trip.

Thank you Jake and JH and Dog-parents for sending the boys to take care of muzzer while I was at the vet's place.

Thank you Miss Snickers for coming to soothe my fevered brow.

Thank you alllllll the nursies who helped muzzer through the first and worst day back home.

Thank you Agatha, Asta, Koobie, Lacie and pawrents for the nursing care on the trip

Thank you Jackson and family for worrying about me when you are still in recovery yourself.

Thank you to my brother Mackie and his family, who took time out to wish me a swift recovery while they are still worrying about his ears.

Thank you Faya and Veronique for sending such sweet thoughts and comments

Thank you Eric and Lennie and Joe Stains and Deetzy and the Texas Sun Dogs.

Thank you to all the new doggie friends I made because they read about me on DWB and other blogs.

Thank you Axel and mom who sent such a totally appropriate "award" on this occasion.

Thank you Whippet Waggle for sending Swede William to distract Teka. That was a tremendous help.

Thank you muzzer and dad for worrying about me.

Thank you anyone I've missed in any way...blame it on senile parents and the Anti Setic. Oh, well, maybe the smoothies too.

Finally:

Thank you Rodney for your friendship and devotion. I miss you.

gussie

What my dad is doing at his new job.

Hello: Gussie here with muzzer posting about what my dad has been doing at his new job.

Y'all know that we moved to Mayemphis so that Dad could take a job at Rhodes College, right?

And so, I thought he would be doin much the same thing he did at ASU. BlahBlahBlahBlah, justice. Blah,Blah,blah,blah, fairness.

Hmmm...from some of these pictures I found in the camera, I guess I was wrong.

Rhodes College is 160 years old this year. Originally founded as a Presbyterian College, it is now secular, but retains many of the traditions established by the founders.

The first picture shows a part of Rhodes campus on a quiet August afternoon.


But wait! Who is that coming through the visitor's gate?

Have we stumbled onto a remake of Brigadoon?

And who are these people following behind in funny costumes?

Look at all the different Universities represented on the Rhodes Faculty!

And OMD, there is my Dad. Muzzer has gone and cut off his head as usual. So ya can't see his really cool little hat thingy with the tassel. But it is kind of like the one that the lady who is grinning at muzzer is wearing, only probably a lot bigger around.

Faculty are followed by many of the students. See, the students know that is is 90 degrees out. They are not wearing Woolly Robes and Velvet hats and Funny scarves around their necks!

And we expect them to learn from the Faculty!

Um Hum.

Gussie Pix (not for the faint of heart, please!)

AHEM. While I am lounging in luxury on Aire Ruby's Anniversary Tour, Muzzer has promised to post some post surgery pictures for the ghoulish among us.

The first shot is of my little leggy. They shaved some hair so they could put a needle in there with a tubey thing in it. Then cold stuff came into my tiny doggy body, and after that, I don't remember too much. Muzzer says I also got fluid to help keep me hydrated, because I didn't get any water for almost 12 hours, and even then, I only got ice chips for a long time, only a few at a time. Boy, was I glad to see my bowl.


OK, these get yuckier as we go along.

This next shot is a side view of where I have been de-nuded of my manly dog chest hair, and you can see the tubes and the stitches, and some of the serum and bloody stuff that comes out. The yellow patches are from the stuff they painted me with! Did Picasso have a Yellow Period? This Doc must've been inspired by something.

By the way...I think Jackson and I should petition Dr. Snitchybug to make us chest toupees! The ladies don't seem to find my chest as awe inspiring as they once did. In fact, I think I heard Koobee giggling at it.

Ok, I promise this is the last one. For those of you who want to count stitches and stuff like that.

You can still see the outline of Rodney there, and a little bit of swelling, which hasn't changed since I came home from the vet place. And you get a better idea of how long it will be before my hair grows back in - natural curls and all.

Oh, and for those who are concerned that losing Rodney might put my standing as a substantial wire in jeopardy, NO WAY! Rodney was only about the size of a fist, and didn't weigh more than 2/3 lb, so I still have a wide (hehe) margin.

So, did anybody stick with me through this whole tour? Understand that I don't blame anybody who flipped over to read about babies and birds on someone else's bloggie. We posted these in case anyone else has to have this done, so you can check on here and see what it looks like.

Hey Folks....these ARE the AFTER pictures!

kisses
gussie

Gussie is home

Gussie is home and seems a bit slower than usual, but not really groggy.

Adventuresome ride home with the gang in the gussiemobile, everybody wanted to sit next to gussie, so we finally folded the seats down and let them all cuddle. They have all been a great help, thanks to all the dog parents for lending them.

Thanks particularly to Lacey's mom who supplies the smoothie mix. Yum.

Gus is pretty gruesome, and has asked that we not take pictures until later tomorrow. We will honor his wishes, but promise to post at least one gorey picture so that he and Jackson can compare scars.

Rodney was one hundred percent fatty tissue, and has officially been labelled a "lipoma" by the vet. He was more like small fist sized, so slightly larger than we had anticipated, necessitating the placement of a drain.

Vet said Gussie was a real sweetie to work with, and the nursies are caring for him right now, but I want to go back and observe their techniques.

Possible pictures tomorrow after we pack him off on Aire Ruby.

Muzzer

update

Asta here!

Gussie is out of surgery and doing fine.

That is all we could find out from Miss Snickers, who seemed to be dancing around while holding the cell phone.

more later, gotta chase Teka

xxxxx

Morning rounds

Nurse Asta (NY) here...reporting on events at Gussie's house this morning.

Of course, dear Teka got us up early so that we could all take walkies with them, and the neighbors had quite a bark when they saw all of us pulling Muzzer and Dad down the street! As a side note..there are lots of those crazy squirrels here, and they are not nearly as well behaved as the ones in New Yawk.

We managed to get back to the little house in the Mid-South just in time for Gussie to pack up and leave for the Vets. Nurse Snickers insisted on accompanying him, just so he w

ould have a familiar face when he awakes from his Annie Setic.

They set off with Muzzer in the Gussiemobile, while Dad tried to feed the rest of us breakfast. For the record, he is not much of a cook. The Barkies had bacon and eggs, muffins, cheese toast and milk. The rest of the nursies and I had whole grain cereal with fresh fruits and cream, and then went and did our yoga exercises to prepare for post op Gussie Care.



In addition to Jake, Just Harry, Nurse Snickers, nurse Lacey and myself, other members of the dream team who tended Jackson will be joining us. Because this is not as major a surgery as the one Jackson endured, Nurse Asta Oz is going to stay home with her mom and help with the digging on the next excavation site. Head Nurse Agatha is expected momentarily, joined by Kousin Koobie. We are so glad that Nurse Snickers has joined us - with her training with Dr. Snitchybug nearly complete, she will be a big help during post op.

While our experience with J1 and J2 has been helpful here, Gussie's Muzzer and dad have also been a bit of a challenge.

Lacking the "stiff upper lip" training that the Js have gained from their British heritage, Gussie's muzzer is a mass of nerves. I was glad that Gussie was able to drive the gussiemobile to the vets this morning, but let me tell you, it is a major miracle that muzzer made it back in one piece! Good thing Mayemphis doesn't have traffic like we do in New Yawk!

We have put her back to bed with an ice pack, and had a consultation with Dad and the Barkies about what we could do for the rest of the day to keep her calm.

We hope that she will nap and read this morning, and Lacey is preparing a smoothie for her right now. Later today, after we have a chance to talk to Gussie's surgeon, we have decided that I will take her shopping. This may not be New Yawk, but I am sure that we can find some shops to amuse us.

Kisses from Mayemphis
Asta (NY)

It is getting crowded around here.

The troops are starting to arrive to help me and muzzer out for my surgery tomorrow.

First to arrive...reinforcements for muzzer! My pals the barkalots came all the way from Florida to make sure that muzzer has company tomorrow while I am at the dogspital. They are gonna help her keep calm, and keep her busy so she doesn't miss me so much!

The found a cruise ship to bring them from the Floribbean to New Orleans, where they boarded a paddle wheel and came straight up the Missy Sippy to Mayemphis. They disembarked at the Port of Memphis, which is close to our house, and I picked them up in the Gussie Mobile in a blinding rainstorm. But it is their fault, since this is water from Fay, their "not quite a hurrycane" friend from the Gulf.

They want me to tell their mother that it was not their fault that the Paddle Wheeler went aground at Mayemphis. The captain did not want to make an "unscheduled" stop, so they took over the wheelhouse and made a left turn into the banks. Ignore the calls from the newspaper and the insurance companies please. Oh - and Dad is soooo jealous of that baseball.

Lovely Nurse Asta (NY) was the next to arrive. In fact, we picked her up at the airport on our way back from the port. She brought me some absolutely marvelous Osso Bucco, which her Mommi made specially for me. Asta carried it on her lap all the way from New Yawk.

She also brought some calming liquids for Muzzer, and a few books to keep Dad occupied. She is such a sweetie to do come early, since she and the other nursies have been working almost non stop at Jackson's bedside.

She says that she will relax tomorrow while I am at the dogspital. Muzzer says Miss Asta and Miss Snickers can use the Jacuzzi and have a spa day if they want. Woooooo...even I haven't had a turn in the Jacuzzi yet, muzzer must really like that calming liquid.



My lovely Miss Snickers arrived just minutes before the rainstorm, and I am glad that Teka was polite and let her in to the house. I guess as first meetings with Teka go, it was not too bad, and I am under the impression that Miss Snickers told Teka in no uncertain terms that Teka was going to be a good dog for then next week or so until I have recovered, and Teka is a changed doggie now. Wow. I should've had Miss S visit earlier!

Well, I'm gonna go have a light snacky. I can only eat til midnight, and then not again until after the surgery is through. Muzzer thinks I didn't hear that part, but Miss Asta told me. Hmmmm....I think muzzer made pecan bars. Guess I'd better go grab some before the Barkies eat them all.

gotta get strong for when the rest of the nursies arrive.

gussie

Getting ready for my surgery

Greetings friends and family

I know you are all concerned about my surgery tomorrow. Let me help you feel a bit better by telling you what we have done to get ready for the big day.

First, we notified the DWB medical team that we might need some help. They have lots of experience dealing with sick doggies, and drains and stuff like that. They are on their way as we speak, joined by my own special nurse, Miss Snickers, who is travelling all this way on her pink scooter!

Today, I have told muzzer that we need to get the house cleaned up!

You know, the Nursies have quite high standards, Nurse Agatha has taught them well

I took muzzer out into the laundry room, and I showed her what she would have to use.

Yup, dustmop, broom, dirt devil sweeper, mop, see...I am pointing with my paw.





Then I began my inspection of the kitchen area, aided by my able assistant, Miss Teka.

She is not a nursie of course, but if there are any crumbs on the floor - she is certainly going to find them.












And, of course..most critical item of all...my food dishes must be clean and shiny. I think we have achieved that goal!

Well, I am off to take a nap and rest up for my ordeal tomorrow. (actually, I am going to rest up so I will have lots of energy left for when the nurses and the Barkalots get here! hehehe)

Happy First Anniversary Aire Ruby!

We noticed on Ruby's blog that it is the first Anniversary of Aire Ruby coming up very soon! She and that plane have logged lots of air time taking dogs to pawties, ferrying nursies to sick doggies, taking us all to events like the stooper bowl and baseball games.

And now, Ruby and her mom are planning a special anniversary trip, with stops all over the place. I am trying to convince her to let the whole gang stop by Mayemphis. After we rest a bit at my new digs (less than fifteen minutes from the airport, where we can make arrangements for Ruby to use the Fed Ex runways) we can pile into the gussimobile and go to visit

GRACELAND!

Where we will park the gussiemobile Very Carefully

And get in the LOOOONG line of people waiting to be admitted.

I am sure that some of the girl dogs will want to see Elvis' memorial stone, and the jungle room and all kinds of other stuff, including cars and airplanes! Sort of boring to see planes if you are Ruby and doing all that flying, but we know that the accommodations on Aire Ruby are far superior to what Mr. Presley enjoyed.

Then, I thought we would wander on down to Beale Street around seven pm or so, and see the people who are just starting to enjoy their evening! They have live bands on almost every corner, these AWESOME acrobats who do back flips down the street, and lots of other stuff to see and try. Like...deep fried dill pickles, and barbecue, and lots and lots of blues.
There is almost always a crowd on the street, and there are lots of souvenir shops and places you can buy funny hats and T-shirts, and food to go or food to eat in, and ice cream and.....no kibble!
The only problem is that they let all kinds of people come down to Beale Street. Look at this couple in the foreground. Hardened criminals for sure! If we see them while we are there, we will have to run in the opposite direction! Man they are scary.

Anyway, I know that Miss Snickers will be here, I am hoping that she just hangs around after my recovery period so we can have some quality time together. And I figure if we have a plug for the blender, the nursies will either hang in there or come right back. And Teka is on the phone now calling the whippets to see if Swede William and the gang want to meet us here, or if they want Aire Ruby to stop and pick them up.

Looking forward to seeing all of you! Everybody bring gold cards so we can buy a lot of tacky souvenirs.

kisses
gussie

Rain, vets and other depressing topics

We have been getting lots of rain recently. Well, OK. It is NOTHING compared to what they have been getting where weatherman Jakey lives, but to a couple of desert dogs, it sure seems like a lot. Remember...Azrizona, where the sun always shines and the total rainfall annually is somewhere around 8.5 inches. And most of that comes after sundown. I think there is a rule about that. Anyway, we are having a hard time finding things to do inside.

Teka spent some time yesterday trying to figure out what that stubby thing that has been following her around is. She kept looking and looking, but she could never quite grab it.

Muzzer, on the other hand, has been polishing off her "ToDo" list. Unfortunately, one of the things at the top of the list was: Find a new Vet. And right below that: Take Gussie to meet Vet - Get Lump checked.

Now, I will admit that I have a bump on the side of my neck. My vet in Phoenix took some samples of the stuff inside it, and she said it was "fatty tissue" I know it is really muscle, and I am quite attached to it. The vet in Phoenix said it could stay with me until it got in the way, or until it started making it hard to breathe. There was also the option of "removing" it while we were still in Phoenix, but muzzer opted out of that one.

Let me tell you, I was greatly relieved. I figured me and Rodney would hang around together forever. I'm no dummy. I know that when they "remove" something they use knives! And they give you some Anti Setic so you snooze through the whole thing, and when you wake up, some favorite pieces are missing. After all, I have just supported my pal Jackson

through his recent surgeries. And I am (ahem) neutered, and I remember that I didn't much like that process. Anyway, when muzzer got on the phone and made the appointment, I figured I would charm this lady vet too, and Rodney and I would have more time together.

Woops, wrong again. This sweet looking lady (she is no taller than muzzer) said I was overweight. That was the first thing. Then she and muzzer started considering options. To "remove" or not to "remove," that was the question. And I paced back and forth and barked at them, but they did not honor my opinions. Sooooo...my muzzer, whom I diligently walk twice daily so she gets her exercise, whom I support by sleeping on HER side of the big bed, whom I protect, amuse and entertain...

my muzzer made an appointment for me to have my lump removed.

Anyway. On Tuesday morning I don't get to have breakfasts! And I am going to see that nasty lady doctor and have Rodney removed. And I am not in the least bit happy about this. So I have posted a picture of me and Rodney, so you can all keep us in your thoughts on Tuesday morning, around 8:00 ayem Central Doglight time.

Boy...I better see some of those nursies when I get out of that Anti Setic stuff.

hint hint

kisses

Gussie

Something for Stanley's girl and Lacie

While I am in England quietly celebrating Jackson's birthay/release day, I have asked Muzzer to post some fuzzy pictures for Stanley's girl and Miss Lacie. For some reason, both of them seem to like me furrier rather than wirey sleek and handsome. So...exspecially for them:

Fuzzy Saddle

Fuzzy Neck with collar

Fuzzy butt with tail attached

Fuzzy side view

Fuzzy Me with Fuzzy Feet

Love and slurpy kisses

gussie

Jackson Update

Y'all remember my pal Jackson, right?

He is the founder of the Substantial Wires Club (of which I am a charter member)

And he has recently had some really bad health problems. Tomorrow he will have surgery to remove a growth on his left lung, and without putting too many details here I will say that this is really serious stuff. Much more serious than anything I've ever had done, and I am very worried.

So I am posting his picture here, and asking you to keep him in your thoughts tomorrow, and prayers are great, no matter how long or what size.

Good Luck and Fast Healing Jackson

from your pal, Gussie

A visit with My Sissie

Y'all remember my sissie E.Beth, right?

She is the one who brought Teka to our house. And she is younger than E.Rabbit, but taller than E.Rabbit.

She came to visit us in Mayemphis this weekend! We did not have much notice, because the trip wasn't planned very far in advance. But we moved a few boxes of books to make a place for her to sleep, and Muzzer drove the Gussiemobile to Nashville to pick her up, because she made her reservations too late to fly right into Mayemphis. (don't ask, don't tell!)

Well, I was glad to see her, and Teka was surely glad that she came back from visiting with Swede William in time to visit. And Muzzer and Dad pulled out all the stops and showed her around Mayemphis. They took her to visit Rhodes College, which is where Dad will be teaching in a couple of weeks

Muzzer even let her take a picture of Muzzer and Dad with the camera!
Then they took her out to dinner and to Beale Street to see the crowds and hear the moosic.

They even took her to the Peabody to watch the duck parade! And they drove by Graceland to see the lines, and they went to the Art Mooseum, which is very close to our house.

Why, you ask, are there no pictures of Gussie and Teka here?

Because we did not get to go! And we did not get to ride to Nashville last night to stay in a hotel so she could catch her flight this morning at 5:52 ayem. We are unhappy dogs. We feel this is unfair. But .. because we were glad to see her, we are not going on strike. We will extract revenge in other ways.

I really would have liked to see those ducks

Gussie

Interesting E-Mail

Received this today from the Whippet Waggle:

Bäste Gussie:

Teka är här och vi gör bara bra. Tack och lov för Nearsighted anställda.

Teka kommer att komma hem i morgon.

Min chaufför kommer att föra henne till toppen av stegen, eftersom hon hatar det "staket".

Jag ser fram emot en lugn helg gäller för dig och de anställda

Swede William

Photos from Night Out

Yesterday Me and Teka were out on the back porch watching for people and doggies who were coming to our house for National Night Out.

Nope...no doggies coming from this direction.
Wait Gussie...I think I smell Swede William!
As you can see...she was wrong! Because the first doggie to arrive was Miss Asta, denizen of Noo Yawk, Roma and Lonk Geyeland! Swathed in yards of mosquito netting, she looked like a heroine from a nineteenth century novel. She dropped by on her way to nurse Jackson in the UK, and help him prepare for his tests today.
She even brought me a new adventure hat, complete with Mosquito Netting. Pawsonally, I think it looks better on her than it does on me. She also brought a lovely hammock for the back yard...but more about that later.
Here is Teka, making friends with our neighbors.

And here are the Barkalot Boys, come to play with the rest of us in the Back Yard.Teka, of course, had to zip back and forth between the groups, checking to see which bunch had the best snackies.

Would you believe this is the only picture of the Hooman Group we have without Teka in the middle of it. She is becoming a real camera hog.

That stopped, of course, as soon as Swede William and the Whippets dropped by! Teka was so busy trying to entice Swede William into the hammock, she forgot all about the hoomans and the snacks.

Soon it got dark, and it was time for all our guests to leave. We gathered along the front walk, and made a wish for Jackson on the dog star like Asta suggested. Lots of Tennesse Zen coming your way Jackson.

Our Hooman guests all live close by, but the doggie guests had a longer trip home. The Barkalots were gonna ride part way with Swede William and the crew on his limousine, so they took off about 10:00 pm for Paducah. We finished cleaning up the driveway and putting things away, and got ready to go for walkies.

OOps...Can the Whippets and the Barkies look around and see if Teka has stopped to visit either of them?

kisses from Gussie