Preston really likes the new bed Mommy picked out for him. How could he not? It reads “if my dreams would come true, bones will rain from the sky”.
Mommy baked Okinawan Sweet Potatoes that she found in the market. They are very nutritious and have the prettiest deep purple color. Preston just couldn’t have enough of this yummy treat.
Preston’s Fetch-a-Bubble pictures were featured in a gallery of wacky pet products on This Old House Magazine’s website.
Mommy and Daddy are tempted to try out some of the wacky gadgets, the “poop-freeze” in particular.
Preston is spending Christmas holidays at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Seattle!
He made it to Seattle safely, whew! Judging from his expression, it didn’t seem like he had an enjoyable flight. (FYI: Preparing to fly with a puggle)
Preston was well-prepared for Seattle’s weather. The dog umbrella kept him dry (well… partially) from the rain.
Preston is very lucky to have a caring and knowledgeble veterinarian, Dr. Jill York at Sequoia Veterinary Hospital, Redwood City, watching over him. On Monday, Preston visited Dr. York for his annual checkup and also getting a health certificate for his big travel plans in three weeks. Preston is flying with Mommy and Daddy to Seattle and spending Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa. It is not a long flight (~2 hours) but Dr. York needed to make sure Preston was healthy enough so that the airline would let him get on the plane. Here is a list of things Mommy and Daddy have to do prior to bringing Preston on a plane.
1. Making reservations and purchasing tickets for Preston.
2. Getting a health certificate (within 30 days of departure for United Airlines)
3. Making sure his rabie shot is up-to-date.
4. Getting an airline approved kennel.
5. Making sure Preston’s ID tags and Microchip info is up-to-date.
Preston was a little nervous to see Dr. York because he remembered his previous visit- the wart surgery!! But this time, Preston went home with happy memories of yummy cookies. (This was of course the face BEFORE getting the cookies…)
12/31/2007 update: Flying with Preston wasn’t easy. Eventhough it was a direct flight, not being able to have him right next to us added a lot of stress. Here are a few things we have learned from the trip.
1. Carry both Rabie vaccination and health certificate.
2. Call the airline and confirm the price of your pet’s ticket. (In our case, Preston’s ticket was paid at the time of check-in.) Let them know the size of the kennel you will be using. We were flying with United Airline and paid $100 for outbound from SFO to SEA; however, on our return trip, they wanted to charge us $200 becuase Preston’s kennel was “oversized”.
3. It is requried by the airline to include water and food dishes (you don’t have to include the food but the dishes are required) in the crate. It is a good idea to feeze water in the dish and let it melt during the flight. We were also asked to sign a statement comfirming that Preston was fed within 4 hours prior to the flight departure.
4. Get to the airport early. After checking Preston (and us) in, we had to bring Preston to a desinated area for screening. The TSA personnel checked his kennel and any items in it. After his kennel was secured, we were not able to go near Preston. United airline personnel took over from that point on. We did tip the person taking care of Preston. Not sure if that helped or not.
5. Obtain confirmation that your pet is on board from the flight attendant. United Airline provided us confirmation before the plane taking off.
6. Preston was picked up at oversized baggage claim.
FYI: Preston’s second flying experience 04/2009 from SFO to Boston.
11/20/2010 Flying with Continental Airlines Petsafe Program from Houston to Seattle: Flying…Again!
Mommy and Daddy got Preston a new gadget called Gazillion Fetch a Bubble Machine. It comes with a bottle of CHICKEN-SCENTED bubble solution!
See the Fetch-a-Bubble in action. Mommy doesn’t want the house to smell like chicken so Preston has to take it outside.
It does produce GAZILLION bubbles!
“I got my eyes on you, Mr. Bubble!”
Dun, dun, dun-dun, dun-dun, dun-dun….
Preston used to gobble down every meal like it was an Olympic’s race. Mommy has learned a simple trick to slow him down a little. Mommy places stuffed marrow bones (known to Preston as “donut bone”) in his bowl so he has to eat his food around them. This works very well. Preston now brings his donut bones to the kitchen when Mommy is getting his dinner ready. To make sure no meat juice is left behind, Preston even spends some time chewing the bone (and cleaning his teeth) at the end of each meal.
Today’s dinner: Medium rare steak + The Honest Kitchen “Embark”
Preston got up early today and headed east to Fremont. With plenty of water and snacks packed, he was determined to conquer Mission Peak.
All ready to go! 8:30am at trail head.
9:06am. “Already, Preston?”
A close encouter with the cows.
Only half way there.
“Hurry up, Mommy!”
Preston made it to the summit!! Elevation 2517 feet! It was so windy up there. Preston had a hard time keeping his eyes open (or even keeping his feet on the ground!) No time for sight-seeing, Preston had to start heading down before being blown away.
The 4-hour hike was made easier by the wonderful Grip Trek Boots.
Each day after Preston finishes his dinner, he brings his “stuff-a-ball”to Mommy to fill it up with yummy treats. The ball keeps him busy so that he won’t bother Mommy and Daddy at their dinner table. Occasionally, Mommy makes it a little more challenging to get the treats out of the ball by stuffing it with some chewy food (crunchy treats are the easiest!). At times like that, Preston needs help…
Mommy and Daddy promised Preston a “Chuckit!”if he learned to fetch a tennis ball (Fetching was not hard, letting it go was tough). Preston earned his first Chuckit! this weekend. Every good fetcher should have one!
Preston fetching a tennis ball at his favorite park- Holbrook Palmer Park, Atherton.
A Blueberry Frosty Paw was waiting for Preston when he got back from the park. What a lucky puggle!
Blueberry Frosty Paw
Follow the recipe for the original Frosty Paw.
Substitute banana with 1 cup of frozen unsweetened blueberry (thawed).
Substitute peanut butter with 4 oz blueberry flavor yogurt.
It has been three months since Preston’s puppy warts started. The first wart on his tongue has grown out of control and started spreading to other parts of his oral cavity. Preston hasn’t been able to go near other dogs for THREE long months. Daddy and Mommy couldn’t wait any longer for the warts to disappear on their own and decided to have them removed. Hopefully the procedures (electrocautery + cryotherapy) will stimuate his immune system and he will recovery quickly and be wart-free again!
Preston was still a little groggy when he got home from the hospital.
Mommy made a diagram to show the doctor where the warts were. They were everywhere in his mouth!
10/20/2007 update: The surgery did not remove all of his warts. This was expected because there was just no way to get rid of all! Initially we were worried that the remaining warts would quickly grow bigger and start spreading. We might have to take him back for another sugery in few months. We kept our fingers crossed and hoped his immue response would kick in after the sugery. Luckily, it did!! Few days after the sugery, we noticed the remaining warts were getting smaller and some even gone. Two weeks after the surgery, we couldn’t find any warts in his mouth. Our vet prescribed 250mg L-Lysine (common supplement for humen) twice a day for 30 days. Maybe that helped also. We were so happy that Preston is wart-free!!
