 Michele.
Michele, I love the atmospheric touch — my own style as well. Your work is stunning! Imagine science and art — left brain and right brain active. Love it.
Left brain for balance and right for creativity. I found too that writing and art inform each other. Enjoy!
Happy Birthday (again!), Charlie. I hope it’s a great one. And I suspect Elliott does have an idea of how to put together a Lincoln Set. Chew each piece to a pulp, swallow, and let the vet remove the resulting mass. It’s a dog thing.
Happy Birthday Charlie. Sandra’s comment made me laugh and I can’t top that except to agree that it is a ‘dog’ thing ;). I love that you found a ton of science to prove that I am not coming 70 this year at all but really am only 16. I might be graduating to 18, but really I feel younger than 20. Even if my body disagrees with me at times, I just tell it to mind its own business and just never mind. I am 16 and I can still do everything I have a mind to do ;). We should all be like the Emu and just relax and slowly go about our way with intention. Have a fabulous day and I look forward to hearing about what you got for your birthday. Lots of hugs for your birthday Charlie and much love.
Thanks so much, Zoie! 😃💕 Indeed! Science proves that feeling young is indeed being young. It’s why I’m all about creating like a kid again! hehe I got a Star Wars Lego game for my Switch, a retro typewriter Lego set, and a drawing book on creating characters! hehe 😉 Much love to you!
Awesome birthday presents :)! Glad you got spoiled with things to play with – the best. That retro typewriter Lego set sounds amazing! While I love Star Wars, that just sounds so cool and anything to do with art is, well, the best!
lolol! Were you able to get to your lego yet?
Happy Birthday, Charlie!! Have a great year ahead.. Oh and the emu is too cute!!
Happy Birthday Charlie. 51, you’re just a youngin’, Again Happy Birthday.
That’s a fabulous doodle, Charlie. I don’t have enough hair to stick out, lol. Have a great birthday.
Hey Charlie Happy Birthday! And yes you are only as young as you feel. I will let you in on my anti age secret: never change except to get better and you will find that when you reach my numbers you will be even smarter, faster, and fitter (but you gotta watch what you eat and how much fitness you get in). I am living proof.
Re bad hair: Mine always looks messy. Ya gotta just smirk at the mirror and carry on.
And remember Little Charlie, you play with the toys, not the boxes.
HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!! Another super blessed year, Philippe and a puppy!!! You’re a prince! enjoy every happy, untamed, disheveled moment!!
Thanks so much!! 😃💕 hehe… I shall! I think this will be a beautifully disheveled year and lots of fun!
Thanks so much, Mugdha! 😃💕 Oh wow!! I love your dream scenario! That sounds like so much fun!! lol In the end though it was just 3 wonderful gifts, fabulous food, and a delicious cake for dessert. Turns out, it feel just like getting 51 things! So fun! Thanks for the smile! Love to you!
Muchas gracias, mi amiga! 😃💕 Love you back! It was a wonderful birthday. I’m off work the rest of the week, so I get to play with my toys… and the puppy… who demands most of my attention really. Hugs to you and much love!!
Cute cute cute! When I was growing up, we had a couple of hound dogs that looked like him. They were big guys. Enjoy the perfectly named Elliott.
Thanks so much, Lisa! 😃💕 Aww glad you liked the name we chose!
Oh my gosh!!! I loooove him! And while he’ll be a handful for a short while, I know Elliott is the perfect dog-baby for you and Philippe 💙💙💙 Congratulations!
Thanks so much, Teresa! 😃💕 Yep… he’s a handful alright, but it’s still so much fun!
Aww thanks so much, Laura! 😃💕 There will be many stories ahead, I’m sure!
Charlie, he is just simply the cutest! You and Philippe are two lucky dads for certain. And Elliott is learning how lucky he is to have you both – a match made in heaven!
Thanks, Mariam! 😃💕 Indeed! We were so happy that we found each other!
Congratulations on your new family member! He’s such a cutie, and a lucky pup indeed to have found such a loving home. I agree with Philippe on the two ‘t’s. I don’t know why, but the way a word looks can be as important as how it sounds!
So happy for you. I lost one of our two dogs in January, she was only seven. It was heart wrenching, so I understand. But now we can pour our love into her sister. Dogs are family, glad you found new love!
Thanks so much, Maryann! 😃💕 Sorry for your loss. Yes, dogs are definitely family and we’re happy to invite a new one in!
My husband and I are both over the top thrilled to hear about your new puppy!!! We both understand that love at first sight at the animal shelter and also how one animal out of a whole room can immediately know who it wants for parents and makes a move to make that happen. I am so, so happy for you and that puppy is the cutest!!!!😍🥰 I will be looking forward to hearing about the future adventures of Elliott!!! He chose well!!!
Thanks so much, Mary! 😃💕 He’s a cutie for sure, and also… way too smart for his own good. He’s going to be quite an adventure for us!
Hey Charlie — Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! This is absolutely awesome! Good for you both — and Elliott too! He has the best of parents.
Thanks so much! 😃💕 We’re thrilled for the journey ahead with him!
How long did you last? About four weeks? I lasted about two months after I lost Caesar. About two weeks after I lost Ramses.
At first, you can’t imagine how you can live with a dog. Then you can’t imagine living without a dog.
I am thrilled you found another companion. This was obviously meant to be. Elliott sounds like he is an old soul who retained some of his knowledge.
There are some online calculators you can use to estimate your puppy’s adult size. Some are more accurate than others. Since you know the age pretty closely, you put in the age and weight, then keep doing that every few weeks and eventually you’ll get a pretty accurate estimate of the adult size. Some want to know the breed, which could be difficult.
If you are interested in his breed mix you might consider a DNA test. I would highly recommend Wisdom Panel. You get a more accurate breed identity.
I’ve done both Embark and Wisdom on Diana and Freyja. The reason being I did Embark on both and didn’t believe Freyja’s results (still thinking she was part Keeshond.) So I did Wisdom and Freyja and it was so accurate I decided to do Diana again, only with Wisdom this time. There are pros and cons to both. If you can afford to do both tests, I highly recommend both. If just one, then you need to decide what you are really interested in; accurate breed mix or contacting possibly family.
If you are more interested in finding family (since he has siblings in the area) do Embark Vet. They have a communication component that allows you to message any dogs that come up as close relatives. Diana found her brother Pete that way and we had a meet up at the beach. His parents and I watched them both romp together and traded behavior quirks we had observed in both. While Wisdom has now added a close family component there is no way to contact them. Diana has a brother Winston on Wisdom but we have no way to contact them. Unfortunately, Freyja has no family, at least none that have bothered to do the test with either company.
Both allow you to pay extra to test for any genetic defects or possible medical issues down the road. I did this for both Diana and Freyja for piece of mind since both are mixed breeds and rescues. Thankfully they are all clear on everything they test for.
Texas. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got some sort of coonhound in him. If he starts to bay, you’ll know you’ve got a hound.
Great you are able to socialize him with training classes. That will help you get through the “terrible twos” and “teenage rebellion” weeks. If you have the inclination and it is available, I recommend getting him is S.T.A.R. puppy certification from the AKC and then go on to Can