Keli's Korner ~ The Westie and The Wauzer

Christmas 2008

I've been sharing my Christmas card photos from 2002 , 2003 and 2004 , while getting Penny ready for her first Christmas here with us. Guess what I found this week? My little green pocketbook from my 2002 photo: It's a bit chewed up, but I knew it was still around here somewhere! Now, I just need to hide it from Penny, she steals all my old favorites. Anyway, back to our Christmas card review -- here's our Christmas card from 2005 (click on an image to see it larger) : Against my better judgment, Donna took me to Petsmart for a professional photographer to take my holiday pictures. This picture of me sitting in a chair is the only one where my mouth is not open with my tongue hanging out all over. The other pictures have me sitting in a basket of faux autumn leaves , posing with a flag and sitting in a bathtub with a rubber duckie . She's got me wearing a bandana this time . . . at least it isn't another silly neck ruffle. In 2006, we sent a letter to Santa ...

For a preview of our 2008 Christmas card, browse our Flickr photo album, Keli & Penny: Christmas 2008   26 Photos taken 12/10/2008; read about our Barkettes costumes at SewAmazin edited Sep-22-2022 to remove broken links

Last time, I showed our Christmas photo cards from my first Christmas in 2002. Here's the next Christmas card, from 2003 (click on any image to see it larger) : That's not really me, in the photo, its a snow-Westie wearing my collar. You wouldn't believe how many relatives asked Donna how she got me to stand so still for this photo. Nobody asked her how she got Rich to stand out there in the snow . . . Here's a real photo of me from 2003, in yet another goofy neck ruffle (I really hate those things): I think I look much more festive in my red sweater -- too bad that doesn't fit me anymore, either: In 2004, I was super cool with my squeaky candy cane: Here I am hanging out in front of our real fireplace: I was pretty tired from ripping apart playing with all my new toys: Next time, we'll look at the Christmas cards from 2005 and 2006 (we didn't do a card in 2007). Maybe by then our Westie Christmas tree will be up and I can show you pictures of all our ...

Everyone is getting ready for Christmas around here. I'm just trying to stay out of the way and keep Penny from getting into trouble. It's her first Christmas here and she doesn't have a clue what its about. I betcha she was really wild last year for her first family and that's why they sent her away. We are looking back at all my Christmas pictures, so she'll maybe learn a thing or two. But I doubt it. Here I am posing for my first Christmas card in December 2002, right after I had my first real haircut at home: I came, I $hopped . . . I maxed out my credit card! Isn't my little green pocketbook so fashionable! I ripped it to shreds a few days later. Hey, I was only a puppy back then, it was my job. But I'm pretty sure I saved the remnants around here somewhere to cuddle with . . . . That neck ruffle doesn't come close to fitting me anymore, thank goodness. I really *did not* like wearing it at all. It doesn't even fit Penny either, so...

Keli's photo taken in 2005

It has been 2 months since Penny has had an accident inside the house. We are not having any parties to celebrate, just very happy that she finally understands what it means to 'go' outside. With the cold weather coming, let's hope she doesn't regress . . . maybe after 6 months of no accidents, we'll have a cake or something.

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For your Halloween viewing pleasure, there is a slideshow embedded below: You can also view the Halloween thumbnails in our Flickr photostream . Happy Howl-a-ween , Keli & Penny

The results of Penny's DNA test just arrived (click on any image to enlarge): Penny has both Schnauzer and Westie DNA; both are Level 2 (37-74%) explained below: These results are consistent with our expectations. I suppose it's possible that some of Keli's Westie DNA might have gotten into Penny's sample . . . they do play with the same toys and chew the same nylabones all the time. But the Schnauzer part is all Penny. This doesn't exactly tell us whether she came from a puppy mill where the Westies and Schnauzers could have been together or from a backyard breeder who intentionally mixed the breeds. Since both breeds are listed as Level 2, we're going to presume that she's a 50/50 mix, 'cuz the math is easier to comprehend. And I'll even go so far as to say her mama was probably a Westie and her daddy was likely a Schnauzer, since that would be a reasonable explanation why her medical records from her previous owners didn't mention any Sch...

We just noticed this shelter challenge -- The Animal Rescue Site is awarding $100,000 in grants to eligible Petfinder member rescue organizations. The grand prize is a $25,000 grant. Just imagine how many animals we could help for $25,000! The rescue organizations with the most votes will win. You can click to help animals at The Animal Rescue Site , and then vote for your favorite participating shelter . Clicking and voting are free, with no registration required. You can vote once every day during the Challenge, which started on September 29th and continues through December 14th. We would particularly like to support the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland, NJ because it is right in the next town over from us, and Angels for Animals Network in Cliffside Park, NJ because they helped me find my forever home last January! Visit The Animal Rescue Site to learn more. It's free, and only takes a moment of your time. If you like, you can click here to send an e-card to f...

. . . and your Mama, too? Ever since we found that picture of the white Mini Schnauzer just about a month ago, we've been wondering just what Penny's background could be. She's not suffering from any identity crisis, and we've decided that no matter what, she'll always be at least an "honorary" Westie. But since we get asked quite often, it would be nice to be able to explain why she has the floppy ears, curly tail and crazy energy. And why she doesn't look at all like Keli, except for her white fur and black nose (and we are asked fairly often why she isn't as white as Keli - is she dirty?). Our answer has been because that's the way she is, she's just a little bit different (and Keli is exceptionally white). We aren't Penny's first owners and we don't know whether she came from a breeder or a puppy mill. The medical records we did get when we adopted her all stated she was a Westie, not a mixed breed. But -- we've be...

We just saw this funny picture online: see more puppies That looks like me, right? But the lady who owns the picture says that's a miniature white schnauzer . Wikipedia has this to say about miniature white schnauzers . So I took a look over at Dogster at their group for White Mini Schnauzers and they look just like me, too. Maybe I'm not a Westie after all . . . maybe I'm a white mini schnauzer???? Can me and Keli still be sisters? I hope so. Will have to find more info about this . . . but this would explain A LOT! Thanks for visiting our blog, Penny,

There are a couple of new articles over at SewAmazin about recent Westie sewing projects: Penny Strikes Again > see what she nibbled on in my sewing room A New Pair of Beds for Keli and Penny > matching Westie beds for their crates

Today we are celebrating my first birthday . . . we're not sure if this is my for real birthday, 'cuz I was adopted and my first people didn't tell me when my birthday is, but since we're pretty sure it's sometime around now, my forever people decided September 1 is the Birthday! And you know what else? It's Keli's half -birthday, so we both get to have special treats today! Thanks for reading our blog, Penny

Have a look at Penny's latest conquest: From Keli's Korner Photo Album I'd like to believe she thought she was helping me out . . . just the other day I was complaining about how much I hate to vacuum and dust, so maybe she thought if she broke the vacuum, then I wouldn't have to clean anymore. Or maybe she didn't like it when I suggested the two Westies would make nice dust mops. Lucky for Penny, Sears still sells replacement parts that fit my vacuum cleaner for a reasonable price: The cost to replace the dusting brush is coming out of her toy budget this month! In case anyone is wondering - No, she didn't eat the plastic pieces she chewed off. She just chewed them up in tiny bits and left a trail all over the house. She does the same thing with nylabones -- chews off tiny little sharp shavings and spits them out on the carpet for me to step on in my bare feet. Actually, that was why I was vacuuming last week -- and complaining about it. This was not the fir...

Just hanging around the house . . . . . . trying to keep cool . . . . . . and entertain my friends. Remember when we were Snow Dogs ? Today we are Sun Dogs. (tee hee) Thanks for visiting our blog, Penny

Check out our Pool Party Slideshow A couple of weeks ago it was sooooo hot! We were hot dogs ! We couldn't stand it anymore, so we decided to cool off with a dip in the little pool. But it took soooo long to blow up the pool, and then the water was too cold so we had to wait until the next day. But then, the water was too hot again from being in the sun all day. So we had to add some more cold water. Once we got in, it was great! Some of our water "friends" were on hand to watch: We had the Lifeguard Loofa dog, the Bikini Girl loofa dog, the Mermaid Kitten, the Bikini Girl Penguin, the Hawaiian puppy, the frog, the alligator and the fish. The water was kind of deep and touched our bellies, so we were really wet afterwards. When we got out of the pool we ran around and rolled on the towel to dry off. Here's a video of our pool party : The next morning, it was really early and we were out on the deck by ourselves, just getting a little air while Donna was making c...

We're having a heat wave here this June . . . . . . and the Westies are just too hot! We tried to fill up the pool with water to cool off our feet but there's a nice hole in it So, we decided to try the old inflatable pool, and of course, Penny and Keli wanted to help It took 3.5 hours to pump it up and about 15 minutes to fill it with a little water from the hose Of course, now the water is too cold and we have to wait for it to warm up. Wonder how long that will take in this heat? ..... to be continued See all the pool party photos in this slideshow