this week in snoots

Abby’s void day and a much anticipated delivery…

Two Fridays ago was Miss Abeline’s 9th birthday!!! Every year, we do something special to celebrate. One year, we made a cake; another year, she got a sausage shaped like her age; another year, we took her to the pet store to pick out a GIANT piece of jerky; another year, she got some vanilla custard from Culver’s (lol); and last year, we made cupcakes with Abby’s assistance. This year, I took her on a little solo adventure with Cleo to run around, and later, her dad took her to Pet Supplies Plus to pick out some goodies. One thing about Abby is that she absolutely ADORES going inside stores. Honestly, I’ve never seen her more excited, not even when she receives a “very nice, honey.” I made a little vlog about it on YouTube, which is also a bit of a “day in the life of a dog content creator” so check that out if you want more footage of Abby’s big day!

Some clips from the day:

Abby’s birthday video from last year:

We started off this past week with a Marcy playdate! We recently met a one-year-old borzoi named Sasha in our area, and Marcy and her have become fast friends... literally. It’s so fun watching them zoom around together, even though the weather has been particularly brutal on most of our playdates.

Abby had another underwater treadmill therapy session. They said she seems to like it now, but I’ve seen the way she side eyes me through the glass, so I know she’s just trying to make their lives easier. They mentioned she’s working up to doing 4-minute increments next week, which honestly, I feel bad for her about. The first few sessions were 2-minute increments, and when they upped her to 3 minutes, I swear I could see her looking around after 2 minutes had passed, wondering why she was still going. Poor thing has no idea what’s coming for her. I will say, though, Abby has been more goofy lately, and her back legs feel like they have some muscle on them now—before, they felt like touching a piece of cardboard. So, we are definitely happy with how therapy is going!

After Abby’s water therapy, I usually give her a little break in case she’s sore, so I’ll take the next day to do a longer, more involved hike with Cleo and Marcy. We’ve been loving being able to go for hikes on weekdays in the morning. Usually, very few people are out, so we can enjoy some uninterrupted off-leash hiking time. We managed to get in a 3.5 mile hike, which was perfect. Marcy does so well off-leash on trails. We’re still working on her recall at a busy dog park, though—when she’s surrounded by 25 potential friends, she gets so excited she can’t even contain herself or consider recalling. All she wants to do is play and kiss.

AND FINALLY, the most exciting update: WE GOT A NEW SECTIONAL EEEEEEE. I’ve been wanting a new couch for AGES, especially after I noticed the arms on our old couch were starting to pitch out from all the zoomies and body slamming. I was worried it was just going to collapse. So, I spent a few weeks researching companies, and let me tell you, it was almost an impossible decision. This felt like a big adult purchase, and with three dogs, I knew I had to choose something that would last—otherwise, I’d be kicking myself for wasting my money. I looked at Lovesac, Joybird, and Interior Define, and it was HARD to pick between them. Lovesac was tempting, but they didn’t have a lot of design options or colorful fabrics, and MY GOD are those sactionals expensive. I couldn’t bring myself to do it, even though I’ve heard great things (also, assembling those things looked like an actual nightmare). So, I ordered swatches from Joybird and Interior Define. Both had an ADORABLE blush velvet that I LOVED, and their websites touted them as being very pet-friendly. While I do believe velvet does well with pet hair, I also know it does not hold up to 60-pound dogs' claws flying around on it. I dragged Marcy’s baby paws across the samples, and they marked a little, which I knew would drive me NUTS. So, I knew I needed some sort of performance woven fabric. Interior Define had so many more options and styles, but I kept going back and forth because none of their sectional styles had fixed cushions, and I was worried they’d fly off every time the dogs ran across the sectional (which would be often—like, multiple times a day). Eventually, I just said “F it” and ordered the sectional in November. It was made to order, and then they had white-glove delivery, where they assembled it for us, which was SO fancy and SO appreciated.

At first, the sectional looked absolutely ridiculous. It’s basically a 9x9 L-shape, and our rug is a 6x9, so I panicked. It is definitely a bit big for the space, but after spending time on it with the dogs, I am IN LOVE. We’ve had upholstered couches before, so I know we are probably going to have to lint-roll it pretty often (whereas we didn’t have to do that with our leather couch). But this one is SO COMFY, it’s like a big hug. So far, Abby has already bled on the fabric (she cut her toe on our walk), and it came right out, so I have (tentative) faith it will survive the muddy season.

This week is pretty chill for us. We have a doggy playdate planned with Sasha again, Abby’s therapy, some volunteering at MADACC (Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control), and some miscellaneous dog adventures. Dom has off at the end of this week, so hopefully that means we’ll be able to take the dogs on even more fun outings.

I hope everyone has a snootastic week, and a very Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

But before you go, BIG QUESTION, would you rather be Abby, Cleo, or Marcy’s Valentine?

(choose wisely)