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Sally's Home Page!! |
Update, Click Here |
Hi, my name is Sally and I am that sweet and adorable doggie that Marcia & Brian Bilbrey just adopted. They love me sooooo much!! They call me their "Good Girl" and I call them "Mommy" and "Daddy".
Mommy made up this page so that
you could see pictures of me. They take a lot of pictures of me.
I am <at least> F-I-V-E Y-E-A-R-S O-L-D. I
am a Big Girl. I know how to ask to go outside and I know not to
chew on Mommy's shoes which makes Daddy happy, too.
It looks like we're down to about a once-a-year post, doesn't it? I'll try to be more consistent about putting up pictures of Sally (and her "baby sister", Lucy) this year. So many times, we get busy and just don't have time to put them all up on one page or the other but, as I said, I'll make more of an effort to post pictures of Sally, in particular.
Sally's health since the stroke has been going downhill-- not rapidly, thankfully, but downhill, all the same. She's still as sweet natured as always and, maybe even more loving.
In December, for Sally's "birthday present", we adopted another little dog whom we have named "Lucy". Sally and Lucy are still duking it out to see who is the Queen of the House but, at this point, it almost seems that they're willing to share the duties, responsibilities and rewards of the title. That would be nice for all of us!
I'm going to put some pictures up
here and caption them for either what she was "feeling" at the time or
what was happening. Enjoy!
2003
WOW!! Its been a long time since either Sally or I have had a chance to write. She probably won't be writing anytime soon since she now cannot be upstairs by herself. Since the stroke (April 23, 2003), she has lost more of her vision (depth perception is really bad now) and her hearing (including equilibrium) so she can't be trusted to go up and down the stairs by herself.
That's okay-- for the most part, she stays downstairs and sleeps during the day and then again, we'll bring her up for extended visits with us during the day sometimes, too. The problem is when its early evening and, as you know, dogs are extreme creatures of habit. She is used to snuggles, cuddles, and treats during the early hours of the evening so if she's upstairs, she expects these things to still happen, going up and down the stairs to make them happen. Nope, that is not going to be happening with her vision problems!!
During her hospitalization and after,
we have received so many emails from our internet friends asking about
her and offering their advice and comfort. That's been so fun!!
Rest assured, by the photos below, that she is doing much better and will
continue to improve. Hopefully, she's got a lot of years to be with
us yet.
Watching the world go by . . . |
Just being cute . . . |
Staying warm . . . |
And, of course, my personally favorite picture:
2002
Here we are in a New Year!! I'm getting settled into my new home-- Mommy and Daddy are a lot of fun!! They play with me and they cuddle with me and they do all kinds of things with me!!
This year, we're all going on a trip to see the Oregon Shakespeare Festival-- I've never been to Oregon before!! I'm so excited to go to Ashland, Oregon. Of course, I'd be more excited (probably) if I knew what an "Oregon" was but, Mommy and Daddy are happy that I'm going with them so that's enough for me!!
Guess what? I can come upstairs to put a post up again!! It has been eight LOOOONNNNNGGGG weeks since I've been able to do that but, today I finally did it! At first, I had Daddy watch me to make sure that I could do it but, eventually I was back to my old tricks of flying up-n-down the stairs! Its fun to make Mommy hold her breath!!
You know what else is new? There's white stuff on the ground outside!!! I don't know what that is but Mommy and Daddy need to make it stop!! I do NOT like walking in it and I'm sure having a time of it trying to figure out how to do bodily functions that I'm used to doing, if you know what I mean!!
Where have these people taken me? I can't deal with this!!! It isn't natural, I tell ya!! Please tell me how I get rid of the stuff!!
Look
at this:
Oh, argh, where have they brought me???? Send dirt-- dirt needed-- send much dirt NOW!!!
October 18, 2002
For those of you who only read this page and not Brian's or my pages, Sally is making wonderful progress!! She's off the pain medication and, while that required a period of adjustment, again she's doing wonderfully in her healing. Her personality is almost back to normal and her eating habits are improving.
After we moved to Bowie, she figured out that her daily pills were tucked into the cheese so she stopped taking cheese from us. We moved on to turkey meat and, guess what? She's figured out that her pills are now in the turkey meat SOOOOO . . . I guess we're going to go back to cheese. All she does is lick off the peanut butter and having to mess with cream cheese is soooo . . . messy!!
Here
some recent pictures to show a couple of things:
And,
Auntie Nina and Auntie Joyce came through once again: a bag full of treats,
a couple of more from Pebbles & Sicily and a new little friend-- a
"Rescue Dog" to save her from her injuries (or herself!).
October 10, 2002
So
much can happen in a few days, huh? Just Sunday, Sally was cuddling
with me on the floor in the living room and now . . .
If you've been to my site recently, you know what's been happening. Poor Sally got a little too frisky for her own good and over-extended her right knee causing a tear in the cranial cruciate ligament. That was on Tuesday (10/8) and on Wednesday, October 9, she had surgery. Today, Sally came home but she is definitely not a happy puppy. Our poor Baby Girl is just beside herself with unhappiness and moping about her dillema. I can't say as I blame her-- I remember what it was like for me, not too long ago!
Sally
will have three weeks i![]()
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what the doctor called a "hard cast" and I have to assume that he was talking
about tape and splints because she isn't in plaster. After the first
three weeks (Yes, I said the first three weeks!), she will have
her stitches taken out and a soft cast will be put on her leg. Hopefully,
that one will allow her to be a little more mobile-- she doesn't like being
in a three-legged doggie race!
I doubt that she'll be sneaking up the stairs to do any posting for awhile so you'll have to rely on me for the updates. Not to worry, I'm an adoring Mommy who is more than happy to accommodate informational requests.
I got to ride in the new car today!! Okay, so we went to the veterinarian again today-- but I got to ride in the new car. Mommy called it "Blue" I guess because it is. The veterinarian (I like saying the whole word cuz it sounds more important) is a nice place to have to go to but I really don't like going there very much. They're always taking blood out of my body for a test-- I don't understand why they just don't ask me questions instead. Oh, well, Mommy says I'm doing better so I'm willing to go with it.
September 15, 2002
Mountain? Hah!! Stairs?? HAH!!! I can climb those stairs like nobody's business!! I scared Mommy the other night because I went down them really fast in front of her-- zoooommm and I was in the living room!! She didn't even know where I went!! I don't know why but I sure feel alot less pain that I used to in my hips-- it really helps me to climb those stairs.
September 4, 2002
Bye!!! They were nice visitors, weren't they? I met two new boys: Malcolm and Duncan. Duncan was nice but he kept trying to . . . you know. Finally, Malcolm decided that Duncan needed to stop so he ran interference for me and kept him away from me.
You know what else Malcolm did? He told me about how to get Mommy and Daddy's attention: Bark!! When Mommy and Daddy have left me alone for too long (like when they go upstairs cuz I can't go up the stairs-- I found out it isn't a mountain!) and I need some attention, I bark and they come downstairs or out of the kitchen to see what I need. Cool, huh? I thought so, too. We're going to see Malcolm and Duncan again soon and when we do, I'll learn some more tricks from them to tell you about, okay?
So let me tell you what's been happening to me since I last talked with you: Mommy and Daddy moved!!!! They drove their cars (and a strange one that didn't smell like me or them) for six days and we stayed in weird places every night that didn't smell like us and then we finally got to a new place that didn't smell like us either and they took all of the stuff out of the cars so it started to smell like us. This new place has a mountain in the middle of it!!! At least it looks like a mountain-- it has carpet on it though and Mommy and Daddy go up there every night to go to sleep and sometimes during the day and evening to play on their computers. I can't make it up the mountain though cuz it is very steep and hard to climb-- I think I'm going to slip. Then, this biigggggg truck pulled up and all of these nice people helped Mommy and Daddy put the stuff in the house but then there was no place left for me to just lay around cuz there were boxes every where!!!
Then Mommy went to work and Daddy went away during the day, too-- it has been a long time since he did that and, its okay (but I miss him) cuz I just sleep during the day now all the time when they're both gone. It used to be that Daddy would give me a bath every now and then during the day when Mommy was gone but he does that on weekends now although he cut my toenails the other day when he was home, for a change, during the day.
July 12, 2002
Hello
again-- I'm back! I went to stay at Auntie Myrna and Uncle Roger's
house for a week and played with Laddie. Man, he's a cute guy but
really!!
All
he really likes to do is play and, as you know, I like a good nap now and
then.
When
Mommy and Daddy came back, I was so glad to see them!! I really missed
them a lot, ya know? I like when Mommy scratches my tummy with her
fingernails-- it feels really good and I just like to play with Daddy--
he's lots of fun!! He and I went outside and played with the ball
tonight-- while we were doing that, he was taking pictures!!
He's so clever!
Mommy
and Daddy told me we had a new house in a place called Mary-Land.
They said it has an upstairs and a downstairs but, I don't know if I'll
like that-- it sounds like a lot of work to go UPstairs to go to bed!!
I'll think about it but maybe I'll just stay downstairs and sleep there.
June 24, 2002
Oh the Indignity of It All!!
Its not bad enough that these people I call "My Parents" insist on bathing me every couple of weeks, now Daddy shaved me nearly naked!!! After he finished shaving me, he vacuumed me, too-- that was probably the straw that broke my back, ya know? I have to admit, I look a lot younger and cooler but, really-- I'm naked out here!!!
And Mommy? You'd think she'd stop him but nooo-- she just comes out to take pictures and tell me how cute I am!! Do I look cute?? Look at my face in those pictures-- does it look "cute" to have me soooo confused because I don't understand why I'm being shaved?? Its not like I got gum in my hair or something-- my whole body does not require shaving!!
Mommy
tells me that we're moving somewhere where they have four seasons-- I hope
he doesn't plan to do this again until next summer if four seasons means
that its going to be cold!! If I get any cooler now and I'll have
icicles hanging off my nose (and a few other parts of my body!)!!!
June 2, 2002
Its been a long time since we posted anything here, isn't it? Sally's been busy playing with Daddy-- I'm afraid she's getting quite spoiled with him being around all day with her. Once we move, that won't be the case but she'll get used to that, too.
In
the meantime, we went to the ocean yesterday and she had a good time even
if it did look like a giant bathtub to her! Here are a few pictures
of her during the escapade and one recuperating from the trauma (of the
big bathtub and the upset tummy).
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Letting her off leash . . . What is that-- water? |
The Queen of the Rock!! |
Not as green as she was but, on her way to feeling better. |
April 9, 2002
Just
a few quick pictures taken of Our Little Angel napping with me-- yes, we
do that a lot together. I guess that's one of the reasons that she
didn't sleep well while I was gone: no one to nap properly with
after a hard day's sleep!
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Sally didn't like it much when I went away on business last week. Daddy took care of her well enough but there was a person missing and she knew it!! She apparently spent a great deal of time sitting in the front entrance during the day, waiting for me to come home. Oh, well, the next time that I wake her at 4:15am to give me a kiss good-bye, maybe she'll sit up and take notice!!
March 25, 2002
Wow!! Its been over a month since Sally's been here and a lot longer for me!! She is an incredibly spoiled little girl-- let me tell ya.
We
went a little nuts with the camera this weekend showing some of her more
cuddly shorts. She is definitely a cutie!!
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She hates this, I tell ya!! |
No, she doesn't look believable, does she? |
From Daddy's perspective . . . |
Aaahhhh! |
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She can get really pushy on the sofa!! |
Sleeping dog . . . |
Yeah, I know-- she'd have a hard time convincing people she wasn't spoiled, wouldn't she?
February 23, 2002
I know its been awhile since I've been here but my Mommy got smart and started remembering to turn off her monitor so that means I can't see what I write. Bummer!! Mommy's can be like that, can't they? I don't really have that much to tell you about except that I've been having lots of fun and really enjoying myself. Mommy and Daddy are good to me. They spoil me silly and pet me and scratch my belly! Man, it is good to be me!!
Remember
when I first moved in and I brought my own bed? Well, we started
it out on Mommy's side of the bed but decided it was safer for me to be
on Daddy's side of the bed (he doesn't get up in the middle of the night
very often). Daddy decided to take some new pictures of it so you
could see how good I sleep there.
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February 11, 2002
Well, she's been busy, hasn't she? So when I leave my monitor on, she writes and publishes to her website? Not bad-- I knew she was smart!!
Yesterday,
Brian was out playing around the backyard-- okay, he was really working
but, I can't cut him too much slack-- and he took some pictures of our
Blonde Beauty outside, sunning herself. Other than squinting, she
looks pretty cute, doesn't she?
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February 3, 2002
Mommy
and Daddy took pictures of me today-- lots of pictures cuddling with Mommy
and Daddy. They love to scratch my tummy and I love to let them!
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January 30, 2002
Sorry I haven't written here for awhile: Mommy hasn't left her computer monitor on during the day lately. I can't push the button to turn on the monitor so, if she doesn't leave it on, I can't see what I'm typing here.
Since January 17, a lot has been happening: Daddy gave me another bath. I really don't like baths but it isn't as hard as it was to have one. I still don't like the bathroom and I won't go in there by myself. Daddy hasn't been feeling well so I haven't had a lot of walks lately. Mommy hopes to take me on a walk tonight; we'll see if she does it. She's not really good at stopping and doing nothing. She doesn't even really stop and pet me unless I go over to her and interrupt her. She just works too much and gets stressed out. I don't like that so I'm going to keep bugging her to pet me whenever I get a chance. I think that'll help her a lot.
Last weekend we went to Petco and bought some treats for me; they're chicken-flavored rawhides and I really like them! Mommy gives me one when she's going to go to work. I hate eating it before she leaves because then I don't have anything after she's gone. I also don't want her to think that I don't miss her when she leaves. I figiure if I don't pay attention to her before she leaves, she'll think I don't care and that's just not true.
Anyway, this weekend we're going to go to the dog park around the corner from where we live. Mommy and Daddy are going to take me there together. We'll have a good time over there, I'm sure.
I guess that's all for now; I'll write again when Mommy leaves the monitor on during the day.
January 17, 2002
Up until today, I've had a pretty uneventful week. I went to work with Mommy on Tuesday but otherwise, I've spent most of my time sleeping. For some reason, I was extremely tired on Wednesday morning-- its not like anyone wears me out with all the petting I get at Mommy's office-- but I just couldn't wake up. Mommy usually calls me "Miss Sunshine" in the morning but yesterday, she called me her "Little Blonde". I am blonde but I'm not sure if that was a reference to my fur or my wandering around in circles trying to find the door to go outside in the morning.
Today, I wrote this post so that you could hear from me that I'm feeling much better. Daddy took me to see the veterinarian on Saturday and Dr. Kerri said that my ears were allllllll better. I'm really glad because I didn't like getting those ear drops! Then, Daddy brought me home and gave me a "Good Girl Cookie" and a rawhide chew. Man, these people are a little slow: it took them two weeks to figure out that they shouldn't change my dog food and five weeks to figure out that I can chew the little thin rawhides-- the big ones are too much for my teeth but, that's what you get when you're old, huh?
My tummy has settled down completely and I'm feeling 100%-- well, okay, maybe 75%-- most days. Lots of times when Daddy gets home from work, we go on a walk and I like it but it is hard to do because I get tired quickly. If we did this every day, I would probably get used to it. It would be fun to go every day for a walk because then I could find all the squirrels!! I like to find squirrels on my walk!
January 10, 2002
I went to Mommy's office yesterday. I didn't feel very good when I got there and ended up woofing my "Good Girl Cookie" which I don't like to do.
Auntie Nina helped
Mommy clean up the mess I made and then she came over and fed me a Good
Girl Cookie after my tummy settled down a little bit. Auntie Nina
loves me a lot!! (Which is nice cuz I love her lots, too!)
Anyway, here are
some pictures of me at Mommy's office:
January 8, 2002
My ears are ALLLLLLL better!!! I can hear my Mommy and Daddy call my name now. Daddy doesn't have to put the drops in my ears anymore and that's the best part! Now when he comes down to the floor, he comes down to the floor to play with me and not to put those drops in my ears! They didn't hurt but they did tickle and I really didn't like having them put in my ears even if they did rub my ears alot afterwards.
I heard Mommy tell Daddy that I'm going to go back to the veterinarian on Saturday to make sure that my infection is gone but, I'm pretty sure it is or at leats, I hope it is better.
January 4, 2002
I
was supposed to go to work with Mommy today but, instead, I went with Daddy.
Uncle Jack and Aunt Trudy and Uncle Walt and Aunt Michelle were all glad
to see me. I was glad to see them, too-- I hadn't seen them since
before Christmas!! We had a nice day even though I tried to eat some
leaves that my tummy didn't like very much. I'm okay now but I have
to be more careful about what I try to eat at Daddy's office.
Mommy tells me that Auntie Joyce and Auntie Nina were not happy because I didn't go see them today. I'm going to go there two days next week though and at least one day the following week to make up for it-- I Promise, Auntie Joyce and Auntie Nina. When Mommy takes me to work next time, she's going to take pictures of me at her desk and when people come to say "Hello" to me. I'm really excited about that!
Sunday, December 9, 2001, Sally Joins Our Home
December 10, 2001
Mommy and Daddy
took some new pictures of me yesterday-- yes, I know: I keep telling them
that everything I do is new to them and that they don't have to
take pictures but they keep wanting to take more pictures!!
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Here I am trying to warm my Daddy's feet-- he's got really cold feet!! |
This is a picture of me on the living room floor. I was sitting by my Mommy when Daddy took this picture. |
December 13, 2001
Yes, here is my
Mommy updating my page again-- I am always getting pictures taken.
December 17, 2001
No pictures of this but I have to tell you: I went to the veterinarian's office today. Man, that's really hard to say!! She is a nice doctor, Doctor Kerri is, because she came down on the floor and played with me . . . well, mostly she played. She listened to my heart and petted me and stuck a Q-tip in my ear but, that didn't hurt that much. Mandy, her technician, gave me a shot but I was a brave girl so that Daddy would give me a treat! Daddy gave me a treat but Mommy did, too!! Nummy!! Going to the vet isn't too bad even though I don't like them washing out my ears-- that tickles!!
December 20, 2001
Daddy gave me a bath today!! I don't like water at all!! I know I'm supposed to but, I just don't like it!! Mommy says I smell better and that my fur is softer-- well, if that's true, maybe it is okay to get a bath every once in awhile then. Whew!! I sure hope it doesn't happen very often!!
December 23, 2001
A
week or so ago, Mommy told you about my friend, Laddie, coming over to
meet me and visit with us. He was nice but you didn't get to see
him because everyone was paying too much attention to us playing and getting
to know each other to remember to take any pictures. Anyway, before
they left on their trip to Wales, Uncle Roger and Aunt Myrna sent a picture
of Laddie to me so that I could put it on my webpage for you to see. He's
a really cute guy but, I'm not interested in dating-- just interested in
sleeping these days-- so we'll just stay friends.
Another
picture that Mommy hasn't had time to put up is one of me and her playing.
Auntie
Barbara and Uncle
Bob sent me a bunch of toys and treats-- those treats are really good,
too!! (Thank you a LOT, Auntie Barbara and Uncle Bob!!) Mommy
thought I only knew how to play with balls but, I showed her!! She
thought she could take the rope away from me but-- No Way, Mommy!!!
I fought and fought with her about and she finally gave up-- what
a weakling!! I knew she wouldn't outlast me!!
Auntie Barbara
and Uncle Bob have some doggies
who are friends of mine, too. I haven't met them yet but they are
really cute and Mommy likes reading stories about them so I know they are
nice doggies, too.
My ears are getting better-- I can hear Mommy and Daddy talking to me more and more every day. They talk to me a lot so I'm really glad that they took me to the veterinarian so we could find out what was wrong with my ears. I don't mind Daddy and Mommy using the ear drops on me so much-- I pretend that I don't like it so that they'll give me "Good Girl Cookies" after they're finished. Nummy!!!
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and then on Tuesday, it is Christmas!! I am excited because I get to meet my cousins Alex and Robbie!! Auntie Barb and Uncle Mike will be there and I'll get to meet GrandMartha and Bob, too!! I'll have a busy day-- I hope I can stay awake!!
Merry Chrtistmas Sally!!
Mommy and Daddy keep giving me extra hugs today-- something about being a sweet present? I don't understand cuz I thought they were my present but, you know parents-- I like when they pet me and hug me and scratch behind my ears so . . . whatever.
Mommy took some
pictures of me on the sofa with Daddy the other night:
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I
like being on the sofa with Daddy-- he lets me sleep at one end on the
pillows. Mommy and Daddy have lots of pillows and I like having them
under me! Yesterday, after Mommy left for work, Daddy and I got up
and I helped him bake a cake. Then, I went back for a nap.
I love to nap.
Mommy
likes having some of the pillows under her, too. I let her have a
couple of them yesterday and we had a snuggle together on the sofa for
a bit and then, we fell asleep at opposite ends of the sofa! How
funny that was when Daddy showed us the picture he took of his "Napping
Girls"!!
Today, I get to meet my GrandMartha and Bob and Uncle Mike and Aunt Barbie and my cousins: Alexandra and Robbie. I'm very excited!! I hear that Alex and Robbie will like having me in the family cuz I'm furrier than anyone else-- Daddy gave me another bath yesterday so I'm soft enough for little Robbie to play with, too!!
I'm excited and a very happy and lucky Sally-- Merry Christmas Everyone!!
December 28, 2001
I'm just cuddling
with Mommy and Daddy . . .
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. . . and
learning how to play!!
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2001-2004 Marcia L. Dykstra, all rights reserved.