Awesome Friday

What an awesome time we are having!!! Look what we got now.

We were the recipients of the Awesome Blog Award for the month of July from Dogs with Blogs. We were very surprised and thrilled to receive this honor. Thanks to Rocky for the nomination and to our Dogs with Blogs friends for all your support. It really helps with all the downside of the recent past.

Dennis the Viszla tagged "The OP Pack of Floofy Tales" this week to tell seven reasons we are awesome. Somehow this seems like something others should be telling us. It is not easy talking about ourselves like that. But here goes:

1. Phantom is awesome because he has such a beautiful fluffy tail that he proudly likes to carry high and full.

2. Thunder is awesome because he has the best toys in pupland.

3. The OP Pack is awesome because they were smart enough to pick a great home and humans to share their life.

4. The OP Pack is awesome because they are regular visitors to Dennis's Diary of Destruction as well as all of you who are reading this.

5. Phantom is awesome because he is the best lead dog when pulling the sled. Oh wait, we don't have a sled, that would be Mom he is pulling and helping her gain better upper arm strength.

6. Thunder is awesome because he is a professional at finding mud and knowing just what to do with it.

7. And we saved the best for last, the OP Pack is awesome because Khyra told us so and we all know Khyra knows everthing.

Wishing all of you a great weekend, the OP Pack

Look who's wearing the shirt now!

We have to be the most "gifted" pups out there. We got another package - this one came from Miss Kylie and her sweet Mom from Massachusetts.

Look, a great t-shirt and a bag of yummy biscuits.
Mom was born in Massachusetts so the shirt is quite appropriate.

Here is a closer look.

And the card had such a nice message for Phantom. Thank you, Miss Kylie and Mom.

Now Phantom doesn't have to wear his shirt any more and Mom really didn't want to spook him out by having him model it. So look who's wearing the shirt now:

It fits him quite well, don't you think?

And now notice who is keeping a watchful eye
on Mom to be sure she doesn't get any other ideas.

Do you remember this little guy?

He is the newest little grandbiped - #6 - born in June. Poor little Brady could use some good thoughts. He is in the hospital fighting a fever. He has already been hospitalized once two weeks ago for some hernia surgery. Now the doctors are trying to figure out what is wrong with him; they are pretty sure it is just a virus but they are running lots of tests.

Meanwhile his big brother Tyler has been hanging out here a lot more. He doesn't usually get to play with us a lot because there are usually four grandbipeds here at the same time. Mom says four is too much for us to handle. But last night Tyler and Thunder spent some time together and had lots of fun.

Hey Tyler, what are you doing?

Got anything good to eat in here?

What's that in your hand?

Hmmm, looks interesting.

What do you mean it's a fish? Sure doesn't smell like one.

What else do you have for me?

What!!!??!!! That's sand - I don't want that unless we can mix it with some water
and make mud castles.

Mom showed me this instead - Boots riding on a turtle. I wonder if I can sneak that into my toy box for some future fun.

And where was the Shy Guy?

Here he is, just hanging on the deck.

The happy guy, no shirt, a nice cool breeze, and maybe a treat being offered by Mom.

Happy weekend to all, the OP Pack

Walking Wednesday (and the babbling mom)

Woos, Phantom and Thunder

More Thanks on Tuesday

We are the luckiest pups around - we got another package in the mail - this one came from our good friend Mack to help Phantom feel better. Mack, you are so nice, we sure hope you have been forgiven by now for your slight transgression.

Look at all the goodies in this box - some Milk-Bone beef chews, two scrumptious Busy Rollhides, and a huge bag of Better Than Ears, the Pig Ear Alternative (AND they are peanut butter flavored)!!!

Here is a look inside the card - isn't that so sweet - Mack even pawed his own name.

Phantom ALWAYS takes a sniff first.

OK, he thinks he will give it a try.

Thunder never takes his eyes off the prize but at least he waited long enough for Mom to snap a photo before he grabbed it.

Here is a little video of him thoroughly enjoying his Better Than Ears treat. Of course, he took it to his bed to relax while chewing.

We have had a lot of rain here today. This is how the boys decided to spend their afternoon. As you can see, TD is a little bit too big for his crate but he has no problem hanging his head out. And yes, that's one of his balls and cuz stashed for safe keeping in the water bowls. Please excuse the shabby rug covered with dog hair - that's how it is with Sibes in the house:)

Woos, the OP Pack

Monday's Miscellany

We are a bit behind on posts and we have lots to show you. Let's get some of that taken care of now.

Look at this lovely award we got from Scylla.

The translation means "Your Blog Doesn't Stink" (Mom says she isn't sure that is quite right but we'll go with it) and the only rule is to link to the blogger that gave it to you (that's Scylla at Alasandra, Two Cats and a Dog) and pass it on to 5 others!

Scylla was so nice, here is what she said in making her award to us: Phantom & Thunder (I also wants to give it to Princess Dakota, even though she is an angel at the Rainbow Bridge) from The Chronicle of Woos. Wasn't it so nice of her to include Dakota?

We would like to offer this award to all our readers and hope that you can add it to your blog too.

And look at this great badge that Checkers shared with his followers.

We thought this was a great way to let blogger friends know how much we appreciate their visits and comments and posts. So with Checkers' permission, we want to share this badge with all of you too. Help yourself and post it on your blog.

We are several days behind in our posts but we wanted to share our participation in the Zoolatry Fashion and Friends Friday Fun. Thunder found a great bargain at the Summer Clearance Sale

And he put it to good use as he watched over Phantom.

Thunder also participated in the Rocky Creek Scotties and Java's Stick Out Your Tongue contest with this silly photo.

They surprised us with this very nice badge.

Some of you wondered about those "sticks" we were having in our recent post.

They are actually some very tasty twists made with pollock skin, sushi and sweet potato. Eva and Brice sent them to us for coming the closest to guessing Bricey Boy's weight.
They are really very yummy.

Here are the boys hoping to get another one or two of them.

One more thing to share with you. Norwood wondered about something. In one of his comments he said, "I'm wondering though.. do phantom and thunder ever blink? Photo/video please to prove it."

So Norwood, this one's for you.

We have a lot more things to post here, more presents, more awards. But we will save those for another day. Thank you to all our furiends for the fun and smiles you bring to us every day.

Oh, what's that, you are wondering how Phantom is doing. Well, he is totally shirtless now. Mom let him go without it all weekend and overnight on Saturday. He is leaving the incision alone. AND the best news, he is eating so much better for the past few days. Mom is testing a grain free food on him, just a few pieces of kibble added to his regular kibble each feeding. He seems to like it a lot, but she knows from past experience that this may not last, and she also has some other options coming in the mail. But it is so good to see him eating twice a day. He is also back to enjoying a good walk. Maybe we'll get a video of that done this week.

Woos, the OP Pack

Freedom on Friday

Woo Hoo, look at ME!!!! I am NAKED!!! Free at last!!!

Yes, my stitches and staples are out. I only have to wear my shirt if I am home alone or if I start scratching at my chest. It feels so good to be shirtless.

Here is a sideview. You can't even see where they shaved me.

OK, Mom, let's go - a really long walk - I need to catch up on
all the neighborhood news.

Mom's turn now. The incision area is looking great. There is just one tiny spot that we have to keep an eye on for now, dabbing it with a little neosporin. The scar is very scabby and dry but we will doctor it with Mason Dixie's special salve. He can have a bath now so I am going to try to get him in next week with the groomer. He is pretty clean but he could really use a good brushing to get rid of the shedding coat.

He has also lost another 1/2 pound since Monday so we will be working on seeing if we can get him to eat more. We talked a bit about grain free foods and some other options for cancer dogs. At this point she said she isn't worried about what I feed him, just get some weight on him. We have a few diet changes we will be making over the next few weeks, slow and easy does it. Fingers and paws crossed he will eat.

One cute story to share. Phantom is a very shy guy. He is not the pup that comes running for hugs and belly scritchies. Once in a while but not that often and usually only from me. I had asked the vet if he could resume his usual daily walk schedule. She said yes, as long as we built him up slowly. Well, Mr. Shy Guy turned to her and planted a big slurpy tongue on her face. I told her she should be very proud of that kiss. He obviously needed to thank her for giving him the go-ahead on walks.

We have a lot of awards and gifts to share and catch up on, but for now we are just going to enjoy this day.

Woos, the OP Pack

Wordless Wacky Wednesday Pics

Tuesday Thanks

Mason Dixie and her Mom Liz are just so kind and generous. They sent a care package to Phantom to help him with his itchiness.

There was a special biscuit that was made from bean flour, apple powder, organic alfalfa, and organic chamomile. In the package there was also a little jar of "Salvation", a healing salve that smells sooooooooo good. The ingredients are organic coconut, hemp, olive, almond and apricot oils, aloe, shea and mango butter, vitamin E, beeswax, and essential oils. Mom says she is going to use it too:) They came from Farm Dog Naturals Inc in Elmwood, TN ( farmdog.etsy.com). The salve is not to be used for cats. If you bigify the picture, you can see the lovely note from Mason Dixie and her Mom. We love you too!!

Phantom always has to sniff everything before he tries it. AND he IS one very picky boy.

Guess he likes it!!!

Here is Mom applying some of the salve.
He lay very still so he must have found it very soothing.

At the end of the video you can see that Phantom moved to a different spot. Mom had given Thunder a piece of the biscuit and he wasn't sure he liked it. So Phantom was finishing up the crumbs. Another sure sign that he loved that biscuit.

And where was TD during all of this?

"I'm right here waiting for someone to rub my tummy too!"

MEGA-THANKS TO MASON DIXIE AND LIZ!!!

Woos, Phantom and Thunder

My Maddening Monday Morning

The day is finally here. I am sitting in the room with Mom waiting for the vet to come and take out my stitches. I don't have my shirt on because the vet tech wanted to look at my incision and weigh me. I lost almost 2 pounds in the past two weeks - Mom says I don't have two pounds to lose.

I think I hear him coming.

Can you tell how happy I am?

What's wrong with this picture?

And this one?

Well, you guessed it - I am home AND I still have my shirt on
AND I still have my sutures.

And if all of THAT isn't enough, this is what happened to me
BEFORE we went to the vet!

Woe is me, Phantom

Note from Mom: Well, Phantom is not very happy, but the vet said he wants to wait until Friday to remove the sutures. In order to remove the lump, he had to make a very large elliptical-shaped incision, and so in the process, he removed a very large section of skin. He had to do a lot of stretching of Phantom's skin to bring the opening together for suturing. He is concerned about removing them too soon because the skin could separate. So we will try again on Friday. I told him to leave them in as long as he thought was necessary - we don't need another problem. So the shirts will have to keep getting laundered and rotated for a few more days.