The Fennels: Rants and Updates

I feel like it's been forever. But, really, its only been six days....

This week has kicked my ass. Work has been SUPER crazy, and amongst it all - I feel like I've been fighting off this horrible cold that keeps trying to come back. It's been like -50 outside, and Pappy and Wally HATE the cold. Which results in them refusing to go outside, holding up their tiny paws when they ARE outside, and Matt and I refusing to walk them because we'd ALL freeze to death.

So - Pappy and Wally have been bonkers, bonkers, BONKERS! Seriously! SOOOO naughty, and soooo hyper. Pooping and peeing everywhere in the house (because when we take them out, they just stare at us with pathetic sad faces and shiver like crazy). So, their marking in the house and uncontrollable hyperness result in Ernie and Lulu resenting the dogs even more, and hating their lives EVEN MORE. So, in order to get back at us for even adopting them in the first place - they decide to poop and pee everywhere.in.the.house.

I bet you all think that our home is practically condemned (from all the our pets). But don't worry, I'm way too OCD for that nonsense. After crazy work days, I come home and frantically clean each room of our house, floor to ceiling, from 6-10pm. THEN I pass out on the couch after a ~~glass~~ jug of wine out of pure exhaustion before getting up the next day to do it all.over.again. Every. Single. Night.

Where do I find time to cook through all of that?? Beats me!

The Feliway diffuser (the fifty dollar plug in thing to stop the cats from peeing everywhere) was working really well for about two weeks - then Ernie and Lulu went on strike AGAIN, and decided to start peeing in the same spot as before.

In other news: Pappy and Wally have slept/cuddled together every single night since the night they were born. So naturally, we have crated them together every single night since the night we brought them home.

Well, the time has come that they've officially outgrown their crate. And BECAUSE they've been so cramped, we get ZERO sleep. In all reality, we fall asleep on the couch with them until about 2 AM - then we wake up, take them outside to potty, put them in their crate, and go to back to sleep in our bed. THEN- 4:30 AM comes around, and the pups are crying as loud as they possibly can (because they're SO cramped). And just like that, we're up for the day.

Matt's sister gave us another crate to borrow but we haven't even TRIED it yet because we're terrified to separate them. They are so attached! So - we've been exploring different options to keep them together and not in their (now) too small crate.

The bathroom in the basement:

Tried that for a few days. Puppies destroyed it in a few minutes. #FAIL.

Proof:

Chewed Doorknob

Chewed vanity

I gave up on keeping the boys in the bathroom last night when we got home and realized they LOCKED themselves in (by accidentally turning the lock on the doorknob). After we literally removed the door the get them out, we smelled the AWFUL stench that escaped from the room and noticed the completely filthy and destroyed guest bathroom.

I poured myself a glass of wine and cleaned the rest of the night. The vanity will need to repaired/replaced. And the walls will need to be repainted. But that's a whole other day, and a whole other post.

So, (most likely, not our best decision.......) Matt and I decided to keep them in our BEDROOM today. Hoping and praying they'll just sleep in our nice, cozy bed all day long.

Please, please, please -- JUST SLEEP, PUPPIES! keep the chewing, pooping, and peeing to a minimum. (More on that later).

We're going to put them in their own individual crates tonight. And I imagine they'll cry out of loneliness all night long. We'll get ZERO sleep, again.

This is Plan B

Leaving it inside and putting vinyl flooring below it, so they don't ruin anymore of the carpet.

And, in order to mend the whole Ernie and Lulu destroying our carpet thing, I bought a refill of the Feliway and another litter box, so they each have their own. HOPING that will solve the problem. Maybe????

DID I EVER SAY PETS ARE EXPENSIVE?!?

But you guys, they're SO, SO, SO worth it.

I mean, look how adorable he is!!!

And they just love us SO unconditionally. The pure excitement they have when we come home at the end of the day is BEYOND adorable. They seriously make us feel so loved and like a million bucks.

Sometimes I worry that I sound too negative on this blog. Like I'm bitching or complaining about our pets too much (as if we regret getting them). So, if that's the case, let me clear this up right now.

I may joke or say sarcastic comments about out little babies: But NEVER in our wildest dreams have we regretted one second with them. They mean just as much to us as people's children mean to them. They are our lives. Our joy. Our entire world. And the reason for all of our happiness.

They are our family. They are our babies.

They may destroy the bathroom. The walls. And the carpet. But ya know what? That's their bathroom, their walls, and their carpet. Our home is just as much Ernie's, Lulu's, Pappy's, and Wally's home. Everything in our house is replaceable. They aren't.

My heart breaks, and I mourn for all the furbabies that don't receive that same kind of love and commitment from their family.

And on that same note: I want to rescue this homeless little babygirl from Noah's Ark in Rockford.