Dog Days of Summer

I suppose the dog days of Summer have hit me--as it's been extremely hot as hades in the southern part of Alabama where I reside! Mercy, it's been heat indexes of 100+ degrees nearly every single day! And FLIES!! Lord have mercy at the flies! The pups at my home have been miserable, and keeping them cooled and comfortable has been a challenge! Every moment that they can scoot in past me into the air conditioned house, they do and I can't blame them a bit! However, they rarely get to stay unless it's after one of their many, many bath times and they're clean as a whistle! Ha! I do keep a fan blowing on them when they're out on the patio, and they've been reasonably flea-free this summer, which is quite unusual! I do love my canine buddies! Every one at my house is older than dirt! With cousins and friends, I attempted to keep them in a 10 x 10 foot kennel, complete with wiring at the bottom so they wouldn't dig out--which Jack promptly found a space that he could squeeze through, and wow, he was gone in a flash! Caught up with him twice now, and he hasn't been allowed to stay in the kennel since the last episode--on the Thursday before my big 'to-do' of a family reunion at my home, I had to chase that rascal down...he was promptly placed in the crate, and hasn't been allowed to roam since! The other day I took pity on the three of them, and took them riding out in the Jeep on a Sunday afternoon! I do believe they really enjoyed it! All were smiling! I'll have to post their pictures, so y'all can see them! Mimi, my little Shih Tzu, got to go visit a new groomer this week! She's feeling much better, now that she's had her short haircut for the summer! She looked so cute and felt so good when she got home! Told her she'd get to go back! She really enjoyed playing with a new toy I purchased for her--even at her advanced age, she enjoys playing 'tug-of-war' with her human and her stuffed animal!