Henry's Turkey-less Day...

The holidays were a little more hectic this year than the usual. A huge, critical exam on the Monday after Thanksgiving severely shortened our family time. Because of that, Henry's Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jerry, Uncle Zac, and Grandma Shelley came to us in Lansing a couple of weeks early. What that means is that Henry's best canine friend (lest we forget about Bruce) came to visit: Sophia the Rottweiler.

 

 It was a fun day that left Mr. Man dead to the world for about 48 hours. (Which may be why Mom loves our Sophia playdates!)

Then, we trekked out of Michigan to see Chris's family for the actual holiday weekend... Grandma Lori spoiled the crap out of all of us... Henry included!

So despite being near the end of the busiest semester of veterinary school, Henry was still able to celebrate his first Turkey(less) day with his whole family.

Worst blogger ever...

So,  I realize it's been awhile. It turns out that fourth semester of veterinary school was nothing compared to fifth--- glad that's over. Woof! After studying my tush off, I've officially made it to clinical rotations. What does that mean for me? I'm no longer a veterinary student, but a student veterinarian who is actually working with live animals and real clients. And Henry? He has the worst mom ever, gone for a full day at a time instead of studying on the couch in her jammies.

But no more excuses. Here's the "bring you all up to speed" post.

You'll recall that we last ended the adventure with Henry's first birthday!

He had a fun-filled day, got toys and treats and we even stopped for a little puppy fro-yo. You'll notice the picture of him staring at his birthday treat sitting on top of a surgery pack--- that wrap may or may not have been soaked in Henry drool by the time we made it home.

On the 9th of October, which just so happened to be the day we were all celebrating Tallulah's birthday with pet-friendly cake around the cat tree, I received confirmation that Henry's last birthday present was going to pan out--- I decided to try to do something that helped more dogs than just my little giant man. I sent a research proposal to a professor who accepted it and started to search for funding. This month, I'll begin my Great Dane-related research project which will help us learn some more information about their hearts.



Then, the semester really started to kick off--- constantly studying for exams can be hard on a giant puppy. And this is what a majority of our semester looked like... books, notes, on the couch, trying to learn as much as we could.

Henry was a trooper, as were all of the other fluffy babies in the house.

And when he wasn't pouting or napping, he got his zoomies out.

He went with me to check on my first surgical patient...

He stayed up for the late nights of studying, even through he's afraid of the dark!

He got up with me at 4:00am on every exam day...

...even if he didn't stay awake for long.

He distracted me helped me study...

And he gave me a good chuckle when I needed it.

I like to joke about my poor decision making in getting a 27.5lb, eight week old puppy during finals week, but really this troublemaker kept me sane through hundreds of exams.

And although fifth semester was the hardest of all, we made it through in one piece--- for the most part.

Henry's 1st Birthday!

Although I hadn't found him yet, one year ago today, Miss Georgia Peach was working on delivering six beautiful, tiny babies--- third in line was my little man. He weighed in at a whopping 1#3oz and came into this world, like all puppies do, with an inability to see or hear. His sense of sight would develop as he grew, but his happy little world remained quiet. Peaceful. It's not slowed him down one bit and, and today, we celebrate one of the happiest puppies ever.

I've told the story before: I was looking and looking for the perfect little Dane pup in need to join my life and one night in early December a Facebook post had me too excited to sleep. The next morning,  a couple of phone calls with some wonderful folks about an hour away and a short car ride later, I was on my way home with the squishiest little (27#) ball of love. (I mean, I could have had him sooner if Chris didn't make me wait until a reasonable hour to make the phone calls, but I suppose that's okay... ;) )

On my birthday, I got a package from my mom and a belated gift from my dad; so far today, we've gotten two packages (addressed to Henry) in the mail and an awesome montage of his first year sent to us. He's a special little dude, and whether you tolerate his mom's incessant Facebook posting or not, please be warned that today will be a doozy! Also, please give your own little boogers a snuggle and an extra treat to show them just how much you love their stinky, furry little butts.

And now, some never before seen baby pictures:

 

  Happy birthday, little man! Mom loves you!

Henry's girlfriend

Look out world... Henry has a girlfriend! Now, this is nothing new, it's just not been previously advertised. I'll explain... Since the second the Duke of Deafness came home in December, he's charmed everybody he meets:

Clearly, his momma is just enchanted by him.

Henry got to meet his Auntie Sarah just before Christmas in December 2012 and the two were immediately in love

Aunt Kari has always been one of Henry's absolute favorites.

And although Chris talks tough, I find my boys like this...

Even his newest best buddy, Taj, was totally excited to meet (and wrestle) Henry.

But from the beginning he's had one true love. You see, when Henry came home in December, the first of Mom's friends to come see him stole his heart. She gave him treats, she let him chew her shoelaces, and she even brought with her a pretty awesome dude to serve as a wrestling buddy... it was love at first sight. And to this day, Henry can't get enough of his first love:

Henry + Cassi = 4ever... sorry, Jared...

Henry's first autumn

Henry was born October 3rd, 2012, which means he never really got to experience fall. He was little nugget when snow fell. (It might not have been my wisest decision to do a majority of a puppy's housebreaking December-February, while staying on the third floor of an apartment complex... but I digress.)  Regardless, fall is coming again, and Mr. Henry has a few new experiences in front of him. He would just like the world to know that he's through-the-roof excited for fallen leaves, trips to the cider mill, and getting all dressed up to greet and treat children on Halloween. #mommahasbeensewing!

Look out world, Henry is lovin' autumn.

Seeing birdies

So... I rarely close the door to the office, which is at the bottom of a flight of stairs. But tonight, Henry's kitten, Bruce, was causing trouble.  For those just tuning in, meet Bruce:

Henry and his kitten snuggle

See, Bruce is five and a half months old and, as such, a rapidly growing boy.  He. Eats. Everything. Cat food. Dog food. Dog treats... As a matter of fact, Henry and Bruce both know the cookie jar very well--- Bruce knows the sound of it opening and Henry knows he gets a treat when Bruce runs to the jar. 

Boys, begging for treats.

Well, Bruce's appetite is so veracious that he often eats all of the food in the cat bowl; the big cats, who like to eat some and come back for more later, are left with an empty bowl upon their return. Tallulah and Marley, although plenty capable of pushing that lil' squirt out of the way, put on their whiny passive pants and cry to mom instead.

 So today, we decided that they would have some solo time in the office to eat their noms without treat of Bruce's appetite. Their food is in the office at the bottom of a flight of stairs. I closed the door and locked the kitten out. 

In his puppy nature,  Henry usually skips the last 3-4 stairs in the flight and jumps across the landing into the office, especially while running laps. Mr. Henry likes to do laps twice a day. (Does anybody else have a pup who gets the zoomies after emptying the tank?)  After coming in from a good squat, we heard a giant thud and my pup came running in looking confused.

Henry would like to know, "Who closed the door?" He's surely seeing double and has severely bruised his ego after careening head first into the structure. He is now strategically stationed within my line of sight, so I'm sure to notice just how sad he is. Poor guy never saw it coming. Bruce has yet to apologize; he's too busy protesting his lock out. The door has also made it out unscathed, despite odds being sorely out of its favor. #nopuppieswerehurtinthemakingofthisblogentry

Henry the Brave?

I can't count the number of times somebody has shrugged away from my big, intimidating puppy. Sure. He's huge. I get that. I'm not offended when you switch sides of the street to avoid the dangerous beast--- I giggle, but I'm not offended. #nobodywantstobelickedtodeath #wrinkleskill

All jokes aside, I get it. I know he's 140lbs of mush--- but they don't. So... I thought I'd share some of Henry's braver moments:

Henry is afraid of his own reflection and the reflections of people (me) in the TV, windows, etc... Nightly we spend lots of time trying to convince him that nobody is actually staring through the window. It starts with furious barking, and ends with:

Henry also doesn't like being surprised--- Allan taught us that one evening when we all should have been studying.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10103816493263724&l=2127414081223669586

All of this is pretty entertaining, but what takes the cake is that Henry is afraid of "scary movies." Now, I'm a little wiener when it comes to scary movies #paranormalactivitymakesmecry But we're not talking traditional thrillers here... Henry is afraid of the mean dogs in movies and TV shows... No... seriously...

We first discovered this while watching Homeward Bound II- Lost in San Francisco. Henry was delighted to watch Sassy, Chance and Shadow as long as they were gallivanting without confrontation. But enter a mean dog, growling, snarling, attacking, and Henry is in my lap. All. 140. Pounds. And it's not just movies--- watch Henry watch an episode of Dog Whisperer which featured two aggressive Great Danes:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10103875759658394&l=2551843433800088002

So when you switch sides of the street or leave the aisle at the pet store to avoid my big, scary pooch, I can't help but chuckle--- afterall, I spend the evening trying to convince my boy that the chihuahua on the T.V. isn't going to get him.