The reason we can't have a Christmas tree or any other live plants

So many of you are posting photos of your beautifully decorated tree's. You have purchased them, set them up, bought decorations, and have posted photos all over the internet of your beautifully decorated homes.
I have seen your trees all lit up at night in the window, twinkling with lights and a star a top.
That must be nice.

Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury. It has nothing to do with money, time, or principal.

It has to do with him.

We have 2 border collies, and these are some of the smartest dogs in the world. They are the perfect dogs for us. They are active, and fit our lifestyle. I take them running, we take them hiking, or to the lake.  In addition to intelligence, they are incredibly well behaved. It took less than a week to house train them, and I can count on one hand how many times they have torn something up or messed in the house. 

But this one, our youngest dog, Bear has one major flaw. He will urinate on any living plant. He has killed many a bush outside, and all of our pots that we plant flowers in are discolored because he will urinate on them so often. It is the one habit we cannot break him of. P calls it his acid piss, because this stuff is deadly.

We are scared to bring a tree into our home because he know that while we are gone, he will destroy that tree, and spend all day urinating on. 

What about you? Do you have a tree up, or are your pets keeping you from bringing a tree home too?

Waking up with class

A few Saturday's ago, P had the opportunity to sleep in! While he slept, I piddled around the house and did some of my stuff. When I walked into the bedroom this is what I saw. And for the record, this happens almost daily.

The perfect pair

My main man these days while my husband is out of town. He is awesome! He is my perfect dog. He plays, he sleeps in my bed, and keeps me company when no one is around.

The best thing about him--he loves to run!!

He is the perfect running partner for me.

He never gets tired.

He is faster than me.

He never makes me feel bad about skipping a run(as if he could???).

He is always happy to run.

He understands when I need to run more than once a day.

He is just happy to be on the leash.Pretty much- he is the perfect running partner for me!

Bear

(This is P holding him in the picture, not me)

Meet Bear, our the newest four legged friend to our clan. Bear is an off spring of our dog, and our bff's dog. ( I know you can't tell from these pictures, but he has the coolest ice blue eyes)

We have a border collie and love him. He has the greatest disposition, and is extremely smart, and when we had the chance to take one of the 4 puppies of the litter, we chose him.

It is possible P's mom and dad might take him, but if not, then we are going to keep him.

Its been a hilarious week with this new puppy in our crib.

I had big plans last night. Plans to rest. Crazy week at school, track starting, so long days and late nights. I got home last night around 6:20, took the dog for a walk. My plan was to make dinner and veg out. P was laying on the couch with aches and a fever. I made dinner then decided to get dinner ready for tonight, just to make it easier. Yes, done. Everything was done. The house was clean, my bags were packed, all I needed to do and all I wanted to do was take a steaming hot shower, grab my book and lay in bed. (If you are an animal rights activist, you might want to stop reading now.)
Life had other plans that involved a shot gun, a skunk, my sick husband walking in the field with said shot gun, and a very stinky dog.
Yep, our dog got sprayed. It was cold and rainy so I had to take the dog inside to give him a bath. A bath that lasted almost 45 minutes and used ALL of the hot water. Here is the bathing cycle, dog shampoo, rinse, vanilla, rinse, bath and body works products, rinse, more dog shampoo, rinse. For a dog that loves water, this dog hates a bath. By the time we were done, my shirt and shorts were soaked, I used about 5 beach towels, and there was about an inch of water on the floor. While I was bathing our dog, P was in the pasture looking for the culprit, and was unable to find him. I ended up coming in taking a cold shower, put on my p.j.'s and collapsed into bed.
When I got up this morning the yard still smelled like skunk.