Our Fun Visit With the Vet! **insert sarcasm**

Well, I never expect my dogs to run to the car when ever they are asked "Do you wanna go to the vet?" but I didn't know a trip to the vet would be so EXHAUSTING! Casey and Jessie had their annual spring heartworm checkup yesterday and it was quite the task getting Jessie inside the building.

There are couple things you should know about Jessie. First, she has obsessive compulsive disorder, she is totally obsessed with catching and chasing the ball. She will play as long as you are willing to throw the ball and then some. This is why I taught her "Last time, then lay down." which sometimes she'll lay down for an hour and sometimes after 2 minutes she's right back up again waiting for you to toss the ball. Second, she has more than her fair share of health issues including narcolepsy and seizures. These are both scary things that we have pretty much under control now. And third, she is quite stubborn and determined! If she doesn't want to do something you can bet she's not gonna do it (the following story will prove this).

So, back to the vet visit. We turned onto the road that the vet's office is on and that is when it started, whining and anxiousness. As soon as we arrived, Casey hopped out of the car and went the right direction, Jessie did everything in her power to avoid the door. No amount of coercing or pulling would get her anywhere near that door. We even brought one of her tennis balls and she wanted nothing to do with it (which still boggles my mind). She managed to back her way up all the way to the car, pulling me along for the ride. This is when Casey got to go inside and visit with a vet tech. Well, Jessie managed to wriggle her way out of her harness, which was quite an accomplishment. I gave her a moment to calm down, not wanting her to go into a seizure or hurt herself. That's when I got help from one of the vet techs and after about ten minutes we were inside and the comforting really began! This is where I want to shout out to Brooke at Petsmart for showing me how to comfort and relax my dogs when they are stressed and anxious. Of course Casey was not so thrilled that she was left inside the building without me and attached herself to my side.

Well, at least I have two heartworm free pups, who as soon as the exam room door slid open rushed to the exit waiting anxiously for me to open the door! Jessie weighed in at 80.6 lbs down from 82 lbs. last fall. And Casey pulled in at 68.2 lbs. and the vet was very happy with their weight, not even slightly over weight, yay! I guess our walks twice a day are paying off for all of us! Jessie does have to go back for x-rays on her right hind leg, which she injured a while back but the vet thinks she may have re-injured it. So, I'm sure that will be another adventure visit. But other than that they both have a clean bill of health, so we keep doin' what we're doin'.

Pet Trading Cards & Brag Cards

So as an artist I like to dabble with different medias to create things. First let me say I am an avid hockey fan. From 1999-2009 I was a season ticket holder for a local minor league hockey team. I actually started going to the games in '93 before purchasing a season ticket. I collected everything they could sell or give out, from posters to cards. I also started drawing the players cartoon, caricature and pencil drawings. It was my way of showing my loyalty to the team and how much I appreciated all their hard work at the sport I love. Well, for years they handed out team trading cards as a giveaway until one year they couldn't get anyone to sponsor the cards and the team didn't put out the money to get them. So, I decided to make my own. I have since experimented with card design, one season the team actually sold my team set on consignment, which was great!

Well, since my love of dogs is greater than my love of hockey, I wanted to make a trading card of each of my pups. That led to my PET Card design. Many pet owners just love to show off their adorable "children", what better way then with a card that includes all their stats! Each card features the "Paw Print" argyle print. I also customize the backs of the cards based on information from the pet owner. My favorite stat is Nicknames. My dogs love it when you call them by their nicknames!

So after being inspired by hockey, then my dogs what else could I use as the subject for a card. Babies! Yes, having two adorable nephews means I have hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures of them that will work wonderfully for brag cards to show off these handsome boys. Every mom, dad, grandparent, aunt and uncle want to show off the little cuties. And it doesn't matter if the kid is 1 day old or 25, if you are proud of him or her what better way to brag them up then with one of these cards.

If you are interested in my Pet Cards or Brag Cards just send me an email.  I would be happy to take you photographs and turn them into fun trading cards you can share with your family and friends. What a cute and wonderful thing to start collecting!

*please ignore the gray boxes on the brag card backs, that is just for the little guys' privacy

Casey's & Jessie's Stats

Casey

Breed: Yellow Labrador Retriever(English) Female

Born: January 3, 2001

Weight: 70 lbs.

Nicknames: Case, Casadia

Hobbies: sleeping, watching Doggie TV (the front window), barking at the man across the street, sleeping, chasing Jessie, competitive begging (she's a champion)

Favorite Human Food: French fries, especially Arby's Curly Fries

Favorite Dog Treat: Beggin Strips

Favorite Spot to Sleep: Any seat that has been momentarily abandoned

Tricks: Sit, shake, speak, lay down, roll over, jump through a hoop, high five when she hears "They Score!" and sometimes she can drool on command (food must be present for this trick)

Favorite Toys: Roo or stuffed toy smaller than 3", Stitch, pop bottles and socks

Enjoys: Walks in the field, playing outside, car rides, belly rubs, a warm hair dryer, snow, playing with cats, and family get togethers (lots of people to sneak her food!)
Doesn't Like: Pretzels, long vet visits (though she likes the vet), beards, the man across the street for some reason and being forced to move from "her" spot
Celebrity Idols: Pongo from the live version of 101 Dalmatians

Jessie

Breed: Yellow Labrador Retriever (American) Female

Born: November 5, 2003

Weight: 83 lbs. (She's taller than Casey)

Nicknames: Jess, Jester

Hobbies: Playing ball, barking at the man across the street, playing ball, watching animals on TV, playing ball, digging for moles, playing ball, taking walks and did I mention playing ball?

Favorite Toys: Tennis balls, well any kind of ball really
Favorite Human Food: Raw carrots & Cheetos
Tricks: Sit, lay down, shake and best of all "Last time then lay down" (this one is used when playing ball)

Enjoys: Walking through the field, car rides, going to the dog park, any large animals like horses, pigs, cows and even buffalo, gunshots, fireworks, lawnmowers (she loves loud noises) and swimming

Dislikes: Getting wet from rain but she likes to swim and get wet

Freebies!

I thought I might experiment a little (I am an amateur at this blogging stuff remember) and offer up some free digital scrapbook tags I created.

 Being a hockey enthusiast it is always so difficult to find hockey related scrapbook stuff. Whether it's for digital scapbooking or just good old fashion cut and glue scrapbooking. I created this tag for digital use but I've also printed it on cardstock, punched a hole and added some ribbon for my hockey art scrapbook.

Two summers ago I had the most beautiful sunflowers growing in my backyard. They were just so gorgeous I snapped a few pics and decided that they would make wonderful summertime scrapbook tags.They have such brilliant coloring and really brighten up some of my summer pages.

I also wanted to create something a little fun and playful for my family scrapbook and came up with my "Love is All You Need" tag. This is one of my favorites for my family pages because we are built on Love and that is what gives us such a tight bond.

I hope you enjoy the tags. They work great for digital scrapbooking but can be printed out and used for your scrapbook needs and they also make great gift tags and gift embellishments.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog! Casey, Jessie and I (Sarah) live a pretty simple life. I work from home as an illustrator and  freelance artist. So being home all day, everyday I get to spend a lot of time with my two zany crazy yellow labs, Casey and Jessie. They are the joys of my life! They instantly boost my spirits when I'm feeling down and a day doesn't go by without one of them creating an interesting story of some sort. They definitely make life challenging and exciting!

I hope to share with you some interesting stories of being a dog owner as well as the many things that keep me busy. I am an artist so I will definitely be sharing some of my artwork which could be hand drawn, digital or photography (which I am just learning, so it is beginner photography keep in mind). Casey, Jessie and I also have a fun family so look forward to posts about them as well. Especially my two nephews, Chase (12 months) and Parker (10 months) who we adore. Babies and doggies definitely make for intriguing tales!

Don't forget to check out my art gallery at www.sarahspencil.com!