Little Monster is getting prepped for her procedure! She’s recovered from sedation for her CT and the rehab specialist gave some suggestions for things we can start doing with her to prep her for recovery/physical therapy. She also had a canine conditioning session with @lpcaninefitness today (thanks @adventuring.with.finesse for the recommendation) to get her more comfortable engaging with equipment, responding to commands, and being handled in specific ways (e.g., balancing on blocks, lifting her legs, backing up). She’s really sensitive to pressure and being touched, so it’s important for us to get her as comfortable with these things as possible before her surgery/rehab. We had no control over the development of elbow dysplasia, but now that we know what’s going on, we can do our best to set her up for success. ___________ •ootd• collar by @helloshibe [code CRICKET]

Not only is he the cutest pumpkin at the patch, but he’s also my best friend in the whole world. I was sitting at my kitchen table after work last night when I heard yelling outside the house. I went out to see a stranger standing in my driveway with Facts and Fiction on leash and Crick barking at dogs across the street. Turns out dog dad had left the gate open while trimming hedges and the critters went adventuring... all but Cricket. Our neighbor said she figured she was at the right house when she walked by and saw Cricket lounging on the front lawn. It wasn’t until she arrived with the huskies that Crick decided to go bark at the dogs across the street. I’m SO grateful to our neighbor for containing the critters (apparently the huskies went over to her as soon as she whistled for them). We have a ton of coyotes in the area in addition to horses, which can trample, and quail, which can lure pups away from home. I’m glad the huskies didn’t go far and came when called, but I’m even more grateful for Crick who knows where the cookies are and stayed close to home. ______________ •ootd• monsoon coat from @hurtta.america

I’m a fox, duhhh. 🦊 Cricket is the most convincing little fox with his sly little smile! More tricks make for more treats and this tricky little guy is ready to steal your hearts (and your snacks)! Facts and Fiction make for less convincing foxes, but I guess that means more treats for Crickaroo! This @chillydogsweaters Fox Sweater from @homesalivepets has some sisterhood of the travelling pants MAGIC. It was ordered in Fiction’s size, but somehow it fits Crick and Facts as well? Also be sure to swipe for a ridiculously adorable photo of baby Fiction in @journeysofjuniper’s Chilly Dogs fox sweater! ____________ Be sure to check out the #HomesAlivePets website for all your fall sweater needs! You can score a deal on adorable and ridiculous sweaters for your pets for a limited time!

Facts in his natural husko habitat. ❄️ Mixing up my fall feed with some winter, because I can’t wait for snow! Also because these photos were snapped in September on our camping trip, so they’re technically fall shots? We saw a sprinkle of snow on our walk yesterday and I’m counting down the days until we can find snow in town! _________ •ootd• leather & pendleton collar by @helloshibe [code CRICKET]

We may not have had a turkey this year, but that didn’t mean we didn’t have any gobble gobbling at our house. 🦃 We usually do a big Thanksgiving turkey, but this year was a bit different. My parents came to town for thanksgiving and came bearing the gift of 25lbs of whole prey dog food (which is near impossible to find where we live). Fortunately they remembered the most important thing, the dog food, but unfortunately they forgot to bring the turkey. I’m sure we could’ve purchased another one or gotten creative with the quail and little chickens they had brought for the dogs, but it all seemed unnecessary. Instead, my mom made a delicious roast! As she was prepping the meal, she called out “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT CARROT?!” I went out into the living room to see our little Fiction gobbling up a peeled carrot. We really don’t have counter surfing dogs, so it was a surprise that she’d steal it. She’s also been on hunger strike and refused 10 types of proteins in the last few weeks, but apparently she’s happy to eat carrots. Anyways, to be fair we broke the stolen carrot into three pieces and let all the pups enjoy the spoils of Fiction’s thievery. She’s a turd and idk why we love her. **this is one of the few photos I snapped of Fiction at the pumpkin patch. I brought her out for a solo trial after Crick and I had purchased our pumpkin. Turns out she’s not nearly as amped about chickens if Facts isn’t around, but she wouldn’t stop staring at them and if we got within 10m of one, she’d start trying to launch herself at it. Huskies are great and we’re awfully thankful for the entertainment they provide. _________ •ootd• @hurttacollection monsoon coat from @homesalivepets

“LOOK AT THAT TINY DOG SMILING AND POSING” - every single person who walked by us at the pumpkin patch Cricket was totally in his element at the pumpkin patch on Friday. I brought the whole pack, but Facts and Fiction had decided to go bananas when they spotted a flock of chickens and didn’t even make it out of the parking lot. That meant Cricket had the spotlight, and did he ever shine. He was perfect and so excited to pose. He smiled and waved to his adoring fans. He politely ignored the chickens and the goats. He had the perfect afternoon and it shows in every single one of these pumpkin patch photos. ______________ •ootd• monsoon coat from @hurtta.america

Sometimes you just need to shake it off, but sometimes a good shake isn’t sufficient. Happy World Mental Health Day! Mental health is something that can often be uncomfortable to discuss. Many people fear being labeled “crazy” or considered a “burden” or “weak” by others. That would be false. Many factors contribute to the development and maintenance of mental health difficulties, so it can be helpful to attack these issues from all directions. Are you living in line with your values? Are you connecting with others in a meaningful way? Have you experienced a stressful incident? Have you discussed mental health with your physician? Are there additional stressors you can eliminate? Have you sought out additional support from other allied healthcare professionals? It can be helpful to explore questions, such as these (though not an exhaustive list, just for example) to assess where you’re at. Just because you feel someone else may have it “worse” than you, doesn’t mean your experiences aren’t real and worthy of being addressed. There are some awesome free and paid online resources available and great self-help books to teach skills to manage these difficulties, along with health providers and community support groups! I’ll be sharing some self-help resources in my stories today for those who might be interested! #worldmentalhealthday2020 ________________ •ootd• @hurttacollection downpour suits and trail harness available at @homesalivepets & @hurtta.america

Facts on a Friday! Is there any better combo? (Trick question: Facts on the Friday of a long weekend is the best!) We’re headed into Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend! My parents will be joining us for the weekend and we have a few dog activities planned for the little monsters. Unfortunately we won’t be doing any big adventures, but we’ll make it fun for the critters. Hope everyone has a fun and safe long weekend! ___________ •ootd• bandana by @textilesbytandk

Looking through all the puppy photos of Fiction to remind myself that we love her and she’s worth it. I heard from the animal hospital yesterday about getting Fiction’s CT scan scheduled. The tech was giving me info and I heard her say, “the CT will cost one thousand-“ and at that point I just gasped. WHAT?! I was so shocked I didn’t even hear the rest of the number and actually had to call back after scheduling the appointment to make sure I didn’t miss an extra $999 in the quote. Turns out a CT scan for a dog is $1200. It makes sense and I shouldn’t be shocked, but it definitely caught me by surprise as I was prepared for a price tag similar to x-rays (her x-rays and the review by the radiologist ended up at $500). The $1200 is not even for her whole body, it’s just for two elbows. She has her CT scheduled for next week, which will give us a better idea of what’s going on in her deformed little elbows. Once we have the CT results, she will then see the surgeon for a scope and he’ll be able to get us a quote for the surgery. We have to do the surgery soon after the CT, so I’m assuming things will move fairly quickly once she gets her CT. As annoyed as I am having to go through this with another dog, I’m also relieved Fiction ended up with our family. Just getting her diagnosed was almost $1000 and it looks like we have a super expensive road ahead. We were sure to get pet insurance the day we adopted her, so she’ll be receiving the best care available (and we’ll only have to pay 10% of the costs). ____________ In case you haven’t explored pet insurance options, please look into it!! This isn’t sponsored, but I can make sure my dogs live a high quality and pain free life because of these policies. Cricket was diagnosed with his knee issues at one year old and Fiction is only 11 months old. Each policy for my pups costs around $400/year (edit: I just checked and Crick’s policy is $400/year and the huskies are around $560/year). It’s substantially more expensive if you try and insure even a 3 year old dog, so I’d recommend getting a policy ASAP if you get a puppy. Even if you just get a policy for the first 1.5 years you have the dog, it’s totally worth it.

“Big” brother and “little” sister. When people meet Cricket and Fiction for the first time, they’re always surprised by how tiny they are. Little Crick is only 18lbs and Fiction is a smol husk at 38lbs. I’ve had a few people tell me Fiction can’t possibly be a husky as she’s too tiny (she is, we confirmed with a DNA test), and others tell me Cricket is not a shiba but a Finnish spitz (seriously). Anyways, enjoy an adorable photo of my mutant-not-husky and Finnish spitz. ____________ •ootd• collars by @helloshibe [code CRICKET]