Heidi – The Dackel Princess

A Little Does Hurt

You might recall that a year ago, when I got back from my first cruise, Heidi came down with crystals, which required extensive surgery. At that time, my veterinarian suggested Heidi was way past fluffy and was now FAT!

I felt they were harsh, but I followed their feeding guidelines.

On my way in a woman was leading an older dog out. This dog should have weighed about 65 pounds, but here was this poor dog, at least 50 pounds above her ideal weight, barely held up by her spindley legs. My heart broke for her.

Then I brought in Heidi and the girls brought her to the scale. Now almost a year later I had to take Heidi in for an eye exam (perfect vision, and does not need glasses) But since she was there, they weighed her. Suddenly there was clapping and yipping!

Heidi has lost five pounds!

As you can see she has her girlish figure back and once again looks like a healthy long dackel!

It was actually easy. I put two measuring cups in the food bin. She gets 1/4 of a cup of her chow in the morning and 1/3 of a cup in the evening. She also gets a small pill pocket with dinner. And that is it!

Food is not love!

So, I am proud of her and proud of me and now I have a happy healthy pooch!

This, That & Happy Birthday Heidi

It’s been weeks since I wrote. Life has been slipping by, and I always try to get through the days. Some days are easier than others.

I must say it is a lovely Autumn here. It’s not as vivid as usual, but it’s beautiful.

As we approach the winter season, we have seen an abundance of critters in our yards: bobcats, bears, deer, and a skunk. Thankfully, the floodlights have been installed, so I know what is out there before Heidi and I venture out.

I received a notice that my Part-D insurance was not renewed in New Hampshire. I was so upset, but when I opened the next envelope, I was offered Insurance through Delta. Yippie!

I am working on finding my way in this world. Being alone has never been my strong suit. But I am trying.

I have renovated most of the house; now it is my home.

You will not believe this, but Heidi turns three years old today! The time has flown, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have made it without Heidi to brighten my world.

So, happy birthday to my sweet girl, Heidi.

Baby Heidi

The Friday Five ~ Happy Birthday, Heidi

You will not believe this, but Heidi will turn two years old on Saturday! The time has flown, and I can honestly say that Lili and I wouldn’t have made it without Heidi to brighten our world.

So Happy Birthday to my sweet girl, Heidi, and Maisie, one of her litter mates, and thank you to her Mommy, Luna, and Daddy Ralph!
As I mentioned earlier, I finally got my health insurance fixed, and now I need to find a new Primary-care Nurse Practitioner, as my time getting my healthcare at the VA ends.
I am also planning another clearing of the house. I ordered the dumpster, and now I am looking for several strong, youthful people to get the boxes out of the attic.
This morning, I woke up with a sore throat. Oh, how I’m not too fond of that. I’m drinking like crazy, and hopefully, it will be a 24-hour sore throat.
Ah, two years old. I can still remember when my breeder sent me a picture of a pup that would be my Heidi.

Baby Heidi.

New Things

I’ve been trying to unwind during this time of Jack’s ill health. I have found walking Lili and Heidi and watching them play brings down my blood pressure and puts me in a much better place.

During the worst part of Jack’s health problems in the last two weeks, I watched the dogs to see how they managed it.

Lili did her sniff tests of the Police and EMS, and once they passed that, she watched as they took care of her Daddy but seemed comforted that he was getting help. Lili is so gentle and loving. And she sure is Daddy’s girl.

I wasn’t sure what Heidi would do, as this was the first time she had come in contact with the Police and EMS. She did great. She met them at the door with her tail sticking straight up. Oh, I love watching her when she trots along completely on duty!

I must say, both dogs were completely protective of Jack when he passed out. They knew things were not correct, and they went to his aid.

After all the craziness, I tried to calm down and sleep or nap. Lili guarded the house, and Heidi crawled into my lap and guarded me. Animals know so much more than we give them credit for.

The Friday Five ~ March 24th

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s been a good week all around for me. I’ve used up nearly a tank of gas, but my running around was fruitful. So here we go with the week’s Friday Five.

I took Heidi in on Tuesday to have an important blood test. My Vet is 21 miles over and 21 miles back. However, I must say that the two Vets there are simply the best in the area and they care about my animals as much as I do.
Last week I’d gone over for the initial workup, and then back for an ultrasound to be sure that my little minx hadn’t eaten anything that got stuck in her stomach.
Today I got the good news. No foreign objects in her tummy. No hernias, and best of all she was tested for Addison’s Disease and she passed it with flying colors, No Addison’s!
So, Heidi is on an ID Diet, which is easier for her to digest.Best of all she loves it. She is back to normal and it appears she was sick with a doggy virus. I am so happy she is all better!
Saturday finds me driving down to see Savi and Quinn. I hope to take them to their favorite place for lunch. One thing I need to do on my way down is to get gas.

So that’s it for this week. I keep hoping that Spring will come. Sadly I had to fill my oil tank once again. My pocketbook sure has taken a hit this winter heating my house. Ah, Spring, please come to us soon!

Happy Gotcha Day, Heidi!

It’s Gotcha Day!

A year ago, on December 31st I flew to Nashville, Tennessee. The next day on January 1st I drove to Kentucky to pick up Heidi. Thankfully there were no delays in my flights and everything went as planned.

I picked up my Highlander Rental and headed toward Kentucky, to my friend’s home. She lives in such a beautiful spot. Sad to see the devastation that the tornadoes a few weeks back caused.

Anyway, the weather on New Year’s Day in Tennesee and Kentucky was bad. Rain, winds, and the tell-tale black skies scared this girl. But not enough to put off my trip to get my new baby!

Baby Heidi and her Mom!

Despite the weather, I made great time, and then, there she was. There was our Heidi!

I got to meet her Mommy, Daddy, and even her Grandma Tadee! I would have taken any of them home. They were all special. Especially, Daddy Ralph and Mama Luna!

We were watching the skies and the weather reports, so I opted to take Heidi and head back to Nashville. I returned the rental car (Loved that vehicle!) and stopped by the Delta Terminal to register Heidi and get our boarding passes. We got back mid-afternoon and settled into our room.

I went to sleep curled up with Heidi at about 9:30 and slept until 2 AM when Heidi woke and was hungry and thirsty. So I fed and watered her, made sure she used the wee-wee pads, and then she fell back asleep.

I did not get more sleep as I fretted about our flight home. We left our hotel at 5:15 and got to the airport in no time. But it was there that Heidi and I had another weird thing happen.

When I got to the Security area, I was told to remove Heidi from her soft crate, which I did. Then I was told to go over to this female officer who said she wanted to swab my hands. Okay…then she swabbed Heidi’s paws. So weird, but it was later explained to me that between Covid, Ukraine, and other weird political things, apparently, our security level is elevated.

I stopped to get my car at Mandy’s and the kids got to meet Heidi. It was a love fest by all.

Savannah and Quinn with Heidi!

Me with Heidi and Savannah!

I got home at 12:30 PM and then settled in to begin house training Heidi. She is doing remarkably well. She has just wee-wee’d for the last time tonight and I think it’s time for bed.

It’s been wonderful and exciting and it’s like Heidi has always been with us. We are so very lucky!

And a year later it certainly does feel like she has always been with us. We truly are blessed.

Heidi at one-year-old.

Happy 1st Birthday, Heidi

On September 27th, my darling boy Arnie went over Rainbow Bridge. I kept telling myself to wait, not adopt another Dackel for a while. But I started looking.

It was by sheer coincidence that I found Heidi’s Breeder. A great lady, who practices breeding the way I did so long ago with my Dackel Princess Puppies.

I was put on a list but there were 5 people ahead of me. I tried to brace myself in case there wasn’t a puppy for me.

Lucky for me, there was a puppy! Which one, nobody knew, but oddly enough I felt drawn to the smallest of the litter. A little female with a red collar.

And by November 11th I knew that this little girl, Heidi would be coming home with me in January!

It’s amazing how a little being like Heidi has fit into my life so easily. It’s like I have always known her.

A big thank you to her Breeder, Gail, from Boreas Dachshunds. She surprised me when I went to pick up Heidi. You see all registered dogs have a Professional name. To me, she is Heidi, but in the AKC she is Boreas Happy Ending.

And that she is! My Happy Ending!

The last nine months found me sleeping with my boots on last winter so I would be able to race outside with her during potty training. And this sweet little doll has slept with me every night, curled up on top of my stomach.

She brings me such joy!

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

Busy Summer Days!

On Friday I was driving all around Manchester and Southern New Hampshire. Heidi was going to the groomers I had several doctor’s appointments and then I was going to my daughter’s home for the night.

So, my day started at 5 AM and by 7 o’clock we were on the road.

Heidi was dropped off first, and I raced to my appointment with my Glaucoma doctor. Good news. My pressure numbers are staying down and so between the surgery last year, and the drops, all is going splendidly.

Next was my appointment with my Primary Care, Nurse Practitioner. May I just say, I may never use an MD for Primary Care again. I simply love my Nurse Practitioner, and I know I am getting far better care from her.

Most all is well, I just need a few tests. Oh yes, and to get back on my diet!

They sent me over to Dermatology to have my rash looked at. Heat rash. Yuck.

After that, it was back to get Heidi, who looked totally adorable, and the last leg of our journey was to Amanda’s.

If I had any worries about Heidi getting along with Mandy’s dogs, they were quickly dispelled. Not one growl or bark. The three of them got along so well. Especially Winter, an American Eskimo, and Heidi.

Those two played and played and played, and then collapsed and fell asleep.

The next day was the Pool Party, which was so much fun, and it was great to see Heidi do so well in that environment. My grandson, Quinn, told me that Heidi is the Cutest Queen Puppy! I agree.

My granddaughter, Savannah, and Heidi.

Then it was time to come home. After all the racing around, I was exhausted and collapsed. Today I need to clean things up here as my sister and brother-in-law are coming for a visit. I want the place to at least be dust and dog hair free.

When Disaster Comes to Call

On Saturday I decided to make a nice easy meal. Steak, baked potato, and green beans.

As we sat down to eat (on wooden tray tables), Jack said his green beans weren’t done enough and complained they were cold. So I put my tray table about three feet from my reclining chair and went to reheat Jack’s beans.

I had just gotten the beans into the microwave when I heard a crash-bang!

Somehow, my little Heidi with those short little dackel legs had leapt toward my tray table, knocking it over and tossing my nice hot, uneaten meal onto the rug! The rug that gathers dog fur faster than I can vacuum it up.

I picked up the plate and cutlery, and then my beautiful steak and potato and beans (which were cooked perfectly!).

I got out our smaller carpet cleaner and took care of the rug, and then did the dishes and started the dishwasher.

Since I cook small meals now, there were no leftovers to chow down on. I made some scrambled egg and toast and figured that would be fine.

But I am reminded once again, that those sneaky dackels will do just about anything to get food. Even flying through the air, in hopes of nailing a filet mignon!

And then they look at us with those big beautiful brown eyes, and all hope is lost. I simply couldn’t stay angry at her. I think from now on I will eat at the kitchen table. It happens that Jack almost always needs this or that when I am trying to eat my meals. Perhaps if I eat alone in the kitchen I might just get a hot meal for a change.

Good Girls

Monday was a rough day. Heidi had been sick through the weekend, and on Monday morning I called the Vet and took her in.

She is now on medications and special dog food and tonight she seems to be feeling a little better.

I had the two girls out for a run in the yard when suddenly I saw two neighbor dogs running our way. Jack wanted to let them make friends, but I’ve watched too many episodes of The Incredible Dr. Pol, which made me worried that things could escalate into a bad situation.

I scooped up Heidi and then I called to Lili. “Lili, come!” While I was running into the house, with Lili on my heels, I was grateful that the one command that Lili knows well is “Come!” and she always does.

It has saved her from a skunk, a fox and stray dogs, as well as our neighborhood dogs that enjoyed their romp through the mud to our house.

Best friends.