My girls (dogs)

Current spam count = 735 (the newest "solution" may actually be working!")

I have 2 fabulous dogs - pictured here - who bring lots of joy to my life. When I return home from a hard day of work or play, they greet me with enthusiasm and love. They never seem to tire of me and are worth every penny they cost in vet, toy, grooming and food bills. My life might be simpler without them, but it would be much emptier. They're worth any sacrifice I might have to make on their behalf.

My younger dog helps keep me healthy by demanding a good long walk every day. We have a specific route we take because she has established friends along the way and needs to bark at each of them as we pass. For some, we must pause briefly for a sniffing session. My older dog is 14 and no longer enjoys walking with us. The last time I tried to coax her into coming with us, she sat at the top of the stairs with her front legs folded and in a very Sphinx-like manner looked away as if she couldn't see or hear me calling her. What an actress!

My dogs are really cute and sweet, but they each have an annoying habit that absolutely baffles me considering their sizes.

My older dog is a Lhasa Apso - about 22 pounds. Unless you're comparing her to a Chihuahua or miniature Poodle, she is definitely a small dog. However, for her size - pound for pound - she can outsnore any human or animal on the planet. When she gets all relaxed and in a certain position, she makes sounds akin to the Blue Angels streaking directly overhead creating sonic booms.

Many nights she has jarred me awake from a sound sleep. There's no punishment for this. I love her. So when the jets come roaring through the bedroom, I've learned to simply turn her over and go back to sleep. Besides, it's fun to see other people's reactions when we're sitting in the living room conversing and she's sleeping in one of her many beds nearby. It's a really unbelievable sound!

My younger dog is half Lhasa and half something. She weighs about 35 pounds and is all wiggle. She doesn't snore. She farts. Not simple little toots - killer, nose numbing farts. The kind that can clear a room. Why? I have no idea! She doesn't eat table scraps. She eats dog food - premium dog food. Her treats are premium dog bones. They create premium farts. I have to keep cans of room deodorizer everywhere.

She has also jarred me awake from a sound sleep by cutting one of those premium farts in the middle of the night. I love her too. So I keep a can by my bed to neutralize the odors so I can go back to sleep thinking I'm in a spring meadow, or on clean linen, or bathed in baby powder. It's better than dog farts!