Our friend, and fellow Westie, Riley

Riley

We recently watched our neighbor's dog, Riley, for two days. He is also a Westie and came to live with his family after I came to live with mine but before Calvin came to live with us. Riley and I were friends from the start. There are quite a few dogs in our neighborhood of 18 houses. The majority are different colored labs - chocolate, yellow and black (why do some dogs come in so many different colors?) so I was very happy to see a fellow Westie move in. My family and Riley's family are very good friends and he comes to visit quite often. I thought it was so cool when he moved into the neighborhood. My goodness, he looked just like me! When Calvin came to live with us he made three Westie's which means we are almost even in number with those labs. Riley's family has thought about getting Riley a Westie brother or sister but they realize that it is a big commitment. My thought is that you can never have to many Westie's in the neighborhood! But, for now, Calvin, Riley and me, Teddy, are the Three Westie Muskateers of Candlelight Run!

Patches and Stitches

So, I've alluded to the fact that there are two other furry creatures living in our house and I suppose I should introduce you to them. They are Patches and Stitches and they are ca, ca, ca, cats! I know, fellow doggies, it's not pretty having to share a house with them. But, because our Mom loves them we have to tolerate them. Hold on though, I'm getting ahead of myself. First, let me tell you the story of how they came to be...

My Mom was about 20 years old and was lonely living in an apartment all by herself. So, she decided to get a kitten for company. That first kitten's name was Peaches. My Mom named her Peaches because she was white and orange and fuzzy. She became my Mom's best companion and was there through lots of life changing events: marriage, babies, new jobs, moving, getting a Black Lab puppy named Buster, etc. In fact, she lived with my Mom for 18 years and then sadly passed away peacefully on Mother's Day. My Mom was heart-broken. After a few weeks, my Mom told Dad that she was going to the local SPCA, called Lollypop Farm, just to visit with the cats that were there. Well, long story short she came home with two new kitten's, a brother and a sister. My Mom was into sewing and crafting at the time and decided to name the calico kitten Patches, and her brother Stitches. (Thankfully, our Mom had moved on from sewing before Calvin and I came along or we could be named something like Quilt and Thread!)

I was brought into the family 4 years ago when I was 4 months old and I got along ok with the cats, mostly because they were bigger than me. But, as I grew, I decided that it was great fun to chase them every now and again. Stitches is very brave and will sit next to me on occassion and, yack, sometimes even rub against me (cat germs!). Patches is a scaredy cat and just runs away from me, grrrrr. Last year we were joined by my brother, Calvin, when he was 2 months old and I thought that I would have an alli. I must say though, even with daily lessons, Calvin hasn't learned the fine art of cat chasing, as he would be friends with them if it weren't for me nudging him into the chase. Oh, brother!

For now (and for fun), we'll just keep a close eye on these two furry cousins of ours and keep them in line! Happy Trails, Teddy

Flowers, Flowers and more Flowers

Our Mom loves flowers and we love dirt so it's a match made in heaven. Seriously, our Mom would be in the garden from morning to night if she didn't have lots of other stuff do to, ie. pet us, hug us, bathe us, brush us, make us grooming appts., feed us, walk us ... well, you get the idea. We usually walk through the garden while she is trying to work just to keep her company. Here are some pictures of her favorite flowers and gardens for you to enjoy: Happy Spring, Teddy & Calvin

CALVIN!!!! (once again)

Yesterday, Mom and Dad were working down at the pool cutting a new solar cover to size. Calvin and I were hanging out pool side enjoying ourselves when Calvin decided to go see what Dad was doing. Well, he stepped too close to the edge of the pool and splash! into the water he went. The really bad part was when Dad dropped the scissors he was using to cut the cover, right into the pool when he went to pull Calvin out! Everybody was afraid they might have cut the liner but it appears all is well. Mom immediately took Calvin in to give him a bath because she was afraid the pool water might not be good for his sensitive skin. Big Baby!

Today Calvin and I helped Mom pull all the patio furniture out of the poolhouse and rearrange everything. It looked great after we cleaned everything up. Of course, Calvin just sat on the side of the pool sunning himself while Mom and I did all the work. But I'm happy to say the pool is officially open for the summer!

Happy Trails! Teddy

New Shoes

CALVIN!!!! So, my mom went and bought a new pair of shoes. She didn't spend a lot of money on them but they were great comfy black shoes to wear when she wore dress pants. Anyhoo, she didn't quite trust Calvin so she made sure that when she took them off she would put them on a dining room chair (because she was going to wear them again when she went out later) so that he couldn't get to them. Well, he got to them. When she found them he had chewed one of the heels pretty badly. Mom was mad but figured it was her fault because she hadn't put them in the closet and ... puppies will be puppies.


Fast forward two weeks, my mom decided she really had liked the shoes so she went and bought an identical pair. This time when she took them off she put them on a stool that was higher than the dining room chair because she REALLY didn't trust Calvin this time. Well, you guessed it! He got one of the shoes and chewed the heel REALLY bad again! Mom was REALLY mad this time.


Then, mom remembered that she had kept the first pair of shoes that Calvin had chewed and she went to the closet to retrieve them. It was a miracle, he had chewed the left shoe the first time and right shoe the second time so my mom still had a pair of shoes that looked good! Miracles do happen and Calvin was saved.

However, I think that he looks like he has a bit of an attitude in the picture mom took of him after, don't you? ps. My mom keeps all of her shoes in the closet now :0)

Opening the pool

Dad took the cover off the pool yesterday and the water was a very dark emerald green. Not to worry though as in a few days it will be a nice turquoise blue. Dad wouldn't let us within the pool gate while he was working on it because, over the winter when the heavy cover was on, Calvin would bound across it, and Dad was worried that he would think it was still on and go splash! into the emerald green murkiness. Nobody wants to go in that yucky water after him and nobody wants a green Westie! I think that bounding across the cover was Calvin's way of saying that he could walk on water! Once the pool is it's normal color Dad will let us dogs back in and we can resume our Westie races where we chase each other around the outside of the pool. For some reason the family thinks this is hilearous. It's great exercise for us Westies though. See ya, Teddy. p.s. here is a picture of me on the patio last summer.

Our Mom

Here is a picture of us with our Mom. We like to help her when she is working on the computer, but we let her do the typing because it's a little hard with paws. She is a very fast typist, listens very well and gives the best hugs around. She does spend time with those crazy cats that live with us, but we won't hold that against her (because, as we mentioned earlier, she gives the best hugs around).

Hello

Welcome to our blog! We are Calvin and Teddy, the Westies. Calvin is 11 months old and Teddy is 4 years old. We both came to live with our family when we were just puppies. Our family consists of our human family: Mom, Dad and two brothers, and (much to our dismay) two cats, Stitches and Patches. Our blog is about our wonderful life and how much we are adored by one and all. Ahh... the life of a Westie.