Lucky me & Lucky Odin

Underwater - Last three photos from me

Me & Dad snorkeling with Heron Island behind us.

A washed out "typical" complex reef teeming with life.

A sea turtle from up high.

Underwater camera: Rays

My underwater pictures didn't come out very good.

This is at least 27 rays in a pod (?). I think they were whip-tail rays.

And the shark looking thing is actually a shovel-nosed ray.

Sign & Plane

Another funny sign and our plane home (only special people get to go upstairs).

Brisbane sights

The climbing rock (Kangaroo Point) from our hotel room, and the Mt. Coot-tha Botanic Gardens dome.

Heron Island's namesake, the Egret, and our Catamaran Home

Heron Island: Two more typical views

Reef

Dad is holding a type of sea cucumber that has a very weird life history, which involves the use of the word "bum" multiple times. And just one little piece of coral teeming with life.

Heron Island: Reef Walking & Starfish

The water is so clear this is with my regular camera. You could walk all the way to the edge of the reef at low tide and look back at the island.

Heron Island: Sunrise Shipwreck and Sunrise

Heron Island

Typical beach view and least spectacular sunsent.

Funny Signs

There were too many to take pictures of all of them.

Koala and Lorikeets

More Kangaroos

Joey is in Momma's pouch here. And Fribbit is saying hello to Roo.

Kangaroos are Cute

Note the second photo - the joey is leaping through the air.

Australians like Ketchup

Another visit from Mr. Hankey's family

It's been a while, but a member (a small member) of Mr. Hankey's family came to visit last night.

Final photos & a note

When you feed a dog a Taco Bell super cheesy beef burrito it results in very smelly farts.

More pictures from Pacific Beach

Pacific Beach #50 - woo!

Me and the boys had a great night camping at Pacific Beach. Although the weather wasn't beach-worthy, it at least wasn't raining, and we got some fresh air and to sleep to the sound of the ocean. There was a lot of kite flying, and we went for an hour long walk this morning (at 7 am) and only saw two other people on the beach. It was nice.

One ironic note - Aberdeen's town motto is now "Come As You Are" (which I believe is new), and it appears that they hand out Nirvana t-shirts to angst-ridden teens because the only one I saw was wearing one of the Nirvana shirts that must be at least 10 years old.

Odin Incident

It was hot yesterday, and is warm today (and supposed to be tomorrow too). Yesterday the boys stayed outside all day (8:30 - 7:30), but they had lots of water (that they didn't drink), shade, and their cooling beds.
This morning, we went on a walk - it was about 70.
We made it to the park and were on our way home, when Odin flopped down in the grass. He panted for a little while, then rolled around all frisky and scratching himself in the grass, then got up and walked a few more houses, then plopped down in the grass again.
After a while, he got up, made it one more house, and plopped down in the road. He got up, made it a couple steps, and plopped down in a driveway.
After a long rest, he made it to the next yard, and plopped down in the yard. It took a long time for him to get up, he made it only a couple wobbly steps, and he plopped back down in the same yard.
A kind-looking elderly gentleman was working in his yard the next house over, so when I finally got Odin up again, I asked him could I please leave Odin tied to something in his yard, so I could run home and get my car. He was wary, but agreed; I left Odin, ran with Stampy as fast as I could home (which was not that fast), got the car, and came zooming back. Odin looked a little nervous but worn out.
So we are home now, I am anxious as all get out, and Odin is resting on the floor.
I don't know if it's the heat combined with his age (it's not THAT hot out), or if this has something to do with his heart.
The last time I got him up, he growled at me.

Some Photos

I forgot these were on my camera, and just now downloaded them.

(Note behind Peony and Poppy is a photo of Odin.)

Dog Weight Update

Odin is 128 pounds.
Stampy is 130 pounds.

Cat weights & now Peony & Odin BFF

My boss asked me if the girls had turned into big cats (she has a sister or half-sister cat). I said no, they were little, and she said "are you sure? Or is it just next to your big dogs?" So I weighed them.

Peony is 11 pounds, the lightest of the bunch.

Poppy is 11.5 pounds.

Kappa is a whopper, 14 pounds.

Odin's bloodwork from vet visit

His blood is looking good after the first 6 weeks of heart medications. He got his final increase in the carvedilol, sohe is getting 50 mg 2x day. In two weeks, we will do another blood test for that in his bloodstream, and then hold steady.
The bad news is that he is now a solid "Category III", instead of being on the cusp. So it's good that Stampy bit him on the ear and he had to go to the vet and start all the heart medication, because otherwise he would have gotten worse, faster, but it still means the inevitable is coming.
Dr. W had an 11 year old shadow the day we were there, and it was so cute. She got so excited listening to Odin's "swish swish" heart murmur instead of "lub dub" heart beat.

Stampy & Peony: BFF

Stampy is now in a maximum security facility

He broke out again. Stampy can break wire. And he bent the fence to make himself a hole to squeeze out of. He also opened the back door again, despite six layers on the outside alone. And the cats were running in and out and I went ballistic.
So Stampy now has an electric fence INSIDE his kennel, down at dog knee height, so that he shouldn't be able to reach the fence either over or under it with his mouth to bend it and escape.
If he escapes again, I'm frankly totally out of ideas, and I guess he'll have to find another home.

Super-Odin

Yesterday morning Odin took forever getting out of bed. I was sending email (in the other room) and I could hear him making some noises, but I thought he was just stretching and enjoying luxuriating in bed.

When I went in to see what was taking him so long, he had somehow put his head through one button hole in the comforter, and then stuck his nose out two holes later. So he had the comforter on like a cape.

I started laughing so hard I couldn't undo it, so I took a picture.

He is such a doofus.

Panic 1

Well, Odin got sick while he was at the kennel and I was out of town. He barfed, but the staff were really conscientious after I made a huge deal about his heart condition, and I'm glad they called. But I just panicked.

Also, Poppy is in love with Stampy right now. It's kind of weird. She is always rubbing up next to him and sitting next to him.

Peony made a break for the outside today when the dogs were coming in. I had to grab her by the tail. I thought she was the least likely to cause me trouble.

Stampy did not break out of the kennel yesterday or today, but he did mange to break some wire.

No Smooth Kennel Transition Here

Stampy managed to bust out. He scratched the hell out of the sliding glass door - it is moving funny, so I think he almost knocked it in. He also scratched the hell out of the back door, and ripped out the cat door and ripped up stuff he could reach inside. Fortunately, for some reason the cats didn't walk outside. Possibly because they were terrified of him going crazy outside the door. I wasn't even gone 4 hours.

This is so discouraging. He's so big. I don't know what to do with him. What do you do when a 6' kennel doesn't stop him? Why does he have so many problems?

Stampy's New Kennel

Courtesy of Janis and Michael, Stampy now has a kennel to stay in while I'm gone. Here's photos of it, and Odin's awareness of where he'll be sitting from now on.