Staci also sent us some pictures of Fionn and Keena. I think we can safely say that they are going to be alright together...

How could I post without a Rex update! Rex is doing great! He is running around and even boxing with Roxie again. He is ripping great clumps of grass up and shaking them with gusto as he bats and carries his bowl around! Now this isn't his food bowl, this is a mixing bowl that Rex gets to keep because it bounces around in wild directions. Last weekend was bad, this weekend was good. If I had only picked this dog up two months sooner!

I am so glad that Rex got to come live with us. He may have had a rough start but he is having a Hell of a good time finishing!

Whew! Deep breath. Life is moving so fast around here! Susie is positively glowing. I took her over to Tammie's on Sunday and they got acquainted. Susie was such a good girl. She is HUGE and HAPPY. Susie has her Momma's ears and you can really tell when she is smiling. She walked around for a while at Tammie's and then stretched out on a cool patch of concrete. She was very relaxed.

I also built Tammie's giant whelping box, complete with giant pig rails. The outside dimensions are 6'x4'. It's huge. I bet it weighs a couple of hundred pounds. Four coats of urethane on the floor should make it easy to clean up. I figure the next time I see it it will have flowers and vines painted all over it. Jennifer will be hitting me up for one next!

RoxiToo is beginning her heat cycle. Sandra wants to campaign her as a special in the fall so she wants to breed her now. I would prefer it the other way around but the shows are in the fall, not the summer. We have to adapt. The search for a stud continues but I hope we have that taken care of.

Jennifer's Chocolate will soon be in season as well. Arrangements have all been made and Harry and Carol are waiting anxiously. Jennifer is wanting to breed now for the same reason as Sandra. Gee, I wonder if they have compared notes... :)

Regardless, Fall is going to be a fun time with so many specials going out and with babies all over the place. I am getting excited again. I just wish Morrigan was here to oversee it.

Rex is doing much better. I was really worried about him last weekend but he has bounced back well.

Susie is absolutely pregnant and I don't think we are talking about a couple here. She is as big as Morrigan got when she had 12. I will probably build her whelping box this weekend. Tammie has requested a Mastiff size whelping box complete with pig rails. James and I will build it Sunday.

I have been given more responsibilities at my job. That means I am working more hours. It makes updating my blog difficult, but I will try to do better going forward. I took some pictures of Rex playing with his food bowl and pulling up the grass. I will try and get them posted soon.

I promise that I'm not trying to hide big news, I just don't seem to sit down in front of a computer without anything to do anymore. Anyway, the next bombshell is that Rex bred Susie March 10th. I think this may have contributed to pushing him over his tipping point with him not eating or drinking while she was in season. Regardless, Susie is acting differently than she ever has. Much to my cat's chagrin, he finds himself adopted by Susie. He is a 20 pounds neutered male orange tabby that really just wants to lay on the porch and catch the occasional mouse. (it has to be a really stupid, really slow mouse because he isn't going to put much effort into it) Now he is constantly cleaned, flipped and coiffed. He finds himself in a dilemma. He can't effectively get away without leaving his precious porch so he lays there and takes it until he gets pissed and then he will half heartedly sink his claws into Susie's cheeks. She ignores his silly defense attempts just as her mother did when she went through the same phase with both of her litters. Its deja vu all over again.

Where do I begin....

First Rex has been sick. What I thought was just strange behavior, has turned out to be a kidney problem. Rex dropped ten pounds two weekends ago and I took him into the doctor. To make a long story short, his BUN was 154 and his Creatinine was 5.5. Basically, that means he is dying. But Rex is one tough bastard.

You see, I just didn't recognize his symptoms. When Jennifer and I picked up Rex, he was in very rough shape. He got better and eventually he was able to go all night without peeing in his crate. He gained 25 pounds and I thought everything was fine. The problem was that he SHOULD have gained at least 45. Then he was bred him to Jello and then to Sweet Susie and it got hot. Rex stopped eating and I started worrying. What I had failed to notice was that Rex had High Output Kidney Failure. He was peeing himself to death.

Rex was given IV fluids and a low protein diet. After one day, he looked better but not good. After two days, he felt good enough to refuse to allow an IV to stay in his front leg. After three days, I took him home overnight. On Friday, Rex came home with me and I began giving him subcutaneous fluids twice a day over the weekend. I also started him on a low Phosphorous, low Protein diet. I took Rex back in this morning for blood work. His BUN is down to 78 and his Creatinine was 4.5. He is bouncing around like a bunny rabbit. He will never be right. I will probably have to give him fluids a couple times a week for the rest of his life. I'll have to keep him cool over the summer. Don't bet against him, he is one tough bastard.

Okay, I know what some of you are thinking. Kidney failure is practically unheard of in mastiffs. Especially in a dog that is only four years old. All that is true but, when you consider Rex's condition when we got him, the fact that he had obviously been severely dehydrated for an extended period of time, Dr. McCord and I believe we have a pretty good idea about how his kidney's where damaged. I promise I will do everything I can for Rex.

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The mail has been FULL of good news lately. Lexus got a pleasant message from OFA saying that her elbows were normal and her hips are .... GOOD! Yes! I love it. We are practically infested with solid dogs.

Saturday and Sunday, Jennifer and I took Chocolate and Trojan to the Newnan Shows. The results were the same both days. Trojan won Best of Winners and Chocolate (with Catie handling her) took Opposite Sex. This is the closest show to my house so it is rather imperative that we enter and do well to defend our home turf. :)

BTW - This is what shows are SUPPOSED to be about. You and your dog spending time somewhere new and having fun. We had a blast. Catie was fabulous and kept everyone in stitches all weekend. She did a great job with The Diva who has never looked better. AND Chocodiva is HUGE right now. Morrigan size.