Beatin' the heat: week 6

Stanley had a walk this morning for the first time in a week. We've had record high temps in the northwest, topping out at 103 on Wednesday! We've been working hard to keep cool: tried the wet t-shirts (he hates the wet!), but the big winner has been his cool bed that arrived finally yesterday. Whew!

But Stanley is still shrinking! Here's this week's numbers:

Neck: 21.5 (-.5)
Chest: 38.5 (-.5)
Waist: 34.5 (-1.0)

Down another 2 inches! Maybe I should adopt Stanley's lifestyle...At least he's down some weight during the heat; I can't imagine how he would have handled it 12 lbs ago!

Changes!

I wanted to post a before/after pic now that Stanley has hit a milestone. It's really amazing to see the difference in him. I've also posted a pic of him "before" with the collar on (his dad seemed to think that made a different; I still think the change in him is really dramatic!)

Garage sale!

We adopted Stanley from the very good folks at Homeward Pet Adoption. This weekend, they're having a garage sale fundraiser in Bothell, WA.

http://www.homewardpet.org/



Under the Big Tent at Country Village.
Proceeds benefit Homeward Pet Adoption Center.

When: Friday and Saturday, July 24 & 25
Time: 10am - 5pm
Where: 23718 Bothell-Everett Highway, Bothell

If you're in the area, stop by and help support this great shelter! Make sure to tell them Stanley says hi!

Help a pup!

I saw this post about this lovely senior Corgi girl over at danceswithcorgis.com We wish Stanley could have a sister, but Irvine is a little far from us. We're hoping to get the word out to get her to her forever home!



You can find out more about her at petfinder.com!

staying cool

Stanley is having a tough time staying cool with his made-for-Norway-winters coat and our Los Angeles-like summer. It's been crazy hot in the Northwest and we're looking at 90 this weekend!

Stanley with his "previously frozen" pillow case

We're freezing pillow cases while we anxiously await the arrival of his cool bed. I've been looking for some of those cool bandanas too, but haven't had good luck around here. (it's not usually so hot!) Any other good suggestions for a water-phobic dog?

Week 5 - Weigh-in!

Stanley is going gang-busters on his weight loss program! This week's weigh-in got us to our first milestone: 110lbs!!

photographic evidence!

neck: 22" (-.5)
chest: 39" (-.5)
waist: 35.5 (-2)!!

His waist is getting tinier and tinier, which is great. But carrying so much weight around his chest/shoulders makes things like stairs more difficult. We got some video of his last chance workout that we'll have up soon.

Stanley is starting to look forward to his weigh-ins -- everyone at the vet is cheering for him and he gets to walk around a different neighborhood. Look at how excited he is to go:

Relatives

Stanley has a sister....




Ms. Margot has been with Stanley's mom since 2002, when Petie the big black dog found her and her littermates in the woods. With help from Stanley's Aunt and Gramma, Petie helped raise the 2-day old kittens by breaking up fights and grooming them.

Margot has been skeptical of Stanley's arrival...she's lived with many dogs in her life, but never when she was the only cat. Her reactions seem to range from "he's a fire-breathing dragon!" to "get that galump out of my way!" I'm sure come winter, though, she will find that he's quite a nice furry heat source.