rip Storm

November 15, 2006 - September 7, 2020

Our hearts are absolutely aching. We were out of town this weekend for our annual camping trip when we received a phone call first thing this morning that our Storm didn't make it through the night. The kennel said he had been fine all weekend, but stopped eating yesterday afternoon. When they checked on him this morning, he had already passed. I'm devastated beyond belief and totally crushed we were not with him during his final days. But I also believe things happen for a reason. 

Storm has been slowing down for awhile, but this past month started getting fussy eating. Other than that, he's been himself. Snacking on toilet paper and garbage, barging through the front door to bark at people walking by, eating cucumbers, following us around like a shadow and loving us every day. Once he wasn't eating as good and normal, we knew we would need to make some tough choices in the near future. Maybe he knew this. It just didn't seem like he was quite ready. It could have been days or weeks. I had been having plenty of conversations begging him to let me know when he was ready, and in the end, he didn't make us have to decide this for him. The timing of it is uncanny. It happened to be a few hours before we would were supposed to get him, the day after my birthday. 

We were able to stop by the vet on the way in to say our good-byes. Our handsome boy.... It is just so sad. There's a huge void in our house and hearts right now. Storm was so amazing. Just ask almost everyone who met him. He such a good guy! He grew up with the boys who were 2 and 5 years old when we got him. Imagine that! I've been in tears pretty much all day, but know every day with him has been a gift. Thank you for all the wonderful years Storm. Rest in peace you beautiful, gentle soul. You will be in our hearts forever. 

Gretel Turns One

Can you believe it? The Gretler turns one today. I had her and Storm at the vet's last week. She weighs 71 pounds and stands taller than him. He, on the other hand, has lost weight, and now weighs 74 pounds. Thanks to running around with Gretel, I'm sure. She is a mighty bird hunter, quite the snuggler and a complete goof ball ... perfect for our family. Turns out, we all really adore her. Happy Birthday Gretel!

Snuggle

After a full morning in the field, it's safe to say, Gretel was completely exhausted. It was amazing. Normally, there's not a moment that she's not getting herself into some sort of trouble. She's very curious. But this afternoon, she zonked out and just enjoyed some snuggles. We all kind of loved it.

First Time

We spent Thanksgiving night at my parents. It's not that they live far away -- but it sure was nice not to have to worry about driving home last night. Plus, the boys had an early morning pheasant hunt planned. Brian, H, my dad, Justin, his father-in-law, Tim and my nephew all went, while C stayed home with my mom and me. Gretel tagged along too. She's been getting trained on birds for awhile now. But at almost-eight-months, she's technically still a bit young to really work the fields. Let's put it this way -- it would help if she actually came when her name was called. She's quite stubborn. Brian planned on taking her out afterwards for a bit, but the guide coaxed him into having her out today. I guess she did great. Brian was surprised, but so happy, as you can imagine. In fact, he may have beaming. I have no interest in hunting, but I may need to tag along one of these days just to see her in action.

The Gretler

Leaves. They are going to be the death of me. It is nearly impossible to walk Gretel right now. She goes after every leaf that falls on the ground, and pulls. The other day she was going stir crazy, so I ended up at the dog park again. (You can only walk a dog so much). He favorite way to get there is by sticking her head up through the roof and let her ears and lips flap in the wind. It's actually pretty hilarious. Thank goodness she's so cute.

Gretel - 6 months

Remember the tiny 13 pound puppy we brought home four months ago?



Well, she isn't so tiny any more.....



In fact, the last time I had her at the vet, she weighed over 50 pounds -- which is really large for a female German Shorthaired Pointer, by the way. Her feet are larger than Storm's, which means, there's growing still to be done. Today, Gretel is officially 6 months old. Spit and vinegar, but absolutely adorable.

Brian's been working with her on the bird hunting part of things. From what I hear, she's doing really amazing. It's what this breed is meant to do, and they love it. I measure my training success differently. Namely, we don't have many accidents in the house anymore, and the only things chewed up so far are a fishing pole and her crate pad. That being said, I cannot keep my eyes off of her for more than a minute. She looks for trouble, and by the end of the day, I always have a collection of shoes, boots, scarves, purses, etc that I have confiscated from her. The past couple weeks I've really seen her go from puppy to dog. For example, when she runs, she no longer looks like a fawn taking her first steps. You can still tell she's young. In fact, everything I read about GSPs say she'll act like a puppy in a big dog body for years to come. Great. But we all -- I'm speaking for Storm too -- pretty much adore her.

National Dog Day

Well, what do you know? It's National Dog Day. I didn't even know this was a thing, but I'm in. Here's what it has looked like in my house most of the summer. Storm & Gretel play fighting.



Mid-play break. Storm is super loud, and Gretel is ruthless. She loves dragging the big guy around by his collar. He's such a sport about about it. Just look how happy they both are!




Post-play snack time. Look at those faces! I kind of (totally) love these two goof balls.....

16 Weeks

We've officially had Gretel for half her of life. This 4-month old is currently 34 pounds, and looks like a fawn when she walks. Her paws are larger than Storm's and so is the bottom part of her legs. I think she's going to be a tall one. Speaking of Storm ... he's her favorite. She wants to be where ever he is. He's really great about it, and even lets her nap with him from time to time. We finished puppy class this week. I'm not going to say she passed with flying colors, but we all learned from it. She's really a very good dog. I guess we'll keep her ...

Water Dog

We've been meaning to buy a little plastic pool for Gretel, but just haven't been able to find one. I decided to fill up our metal drink bucket and see what would happen. A few ice cubes and toys, and our water dog Gretel was in heaven. Storm even got in the mix a little bit. Check out how big she is getting!

15 weeks

Gretel has always been an active puppy, but this week, she seemed to hit a new kind of crazy. Wow. We switched over to a harness for her, so walking has been going a bit better. I've been taking her out a lot, which seems to tire her out. At least for a little bit. She was making me crazy the other night. I found her ON TOP of the kitchen table. But she slept from 10:30 pm to 7:30 am, and by the time she woke up, I'm happy to report, I was excited to see her. She's added a new bit of chaos into our world, but we really do love her. One thing that makes Gretel happy is water. We were hanging out on the beach after tennis this week. She was going nuts -- until I let her climb down the rocks and just sit on an algae covered rock. I also took her swimming a little bit, which was pretty adorable. And, it totally wore her out. Sweet.

14 Weeks

Still 100% puppy, Gretel has turned into a tall, lanky beast. She has a lot of leg to grow into. The ear photo is for my friend Melissa. They are pretty amazing. And get sopping wet every single time she takes a drink. She's really turning out to be a great puppy.

13 Weeks

I know. I'm ridiculous. But we've never had a little puppy before, and before you know it, Gretel will be full-grown. Brian took her to Harrington Beach State Park to go swimming yesterday. She had a great time feasting on all the alewives that are currently washed ashore (it happens every year on Lake Michigan). Gross. She also had an encounter with a fawn and her mom. They crossed by just yards in front of them. She was fine with the fawn, but the doe freaked her out. She's pretty cute.

12 Weeks

Brian and H took Gretel to the hunt club today for the first time. She had fun frolicking on the fields with pigeons, crashing a graduation party, and even went swimming in the fishing pond with three fox red Labrador Retrievers. She had an absolute blast.

Eleven Weeks

This little girl is either on or off -- there's really no in between. Thank goodness she's super cute.

Gretel in My Flocks

Here she is! She'll be 11 weeks old on Sunday and is growing like crazy. The accidents in the house have slowed down. She goes in the crate well. Brian's still up super early letting her out, and she is very strong willed. I call her the beast. Her favorite place to hang out is in my flocks. Just like C, I guess. We started puppy class this week and guess who was the scaredy-cat of the group. True story! It took her most of the play time to get out from behind the chairs.

This Actually Happened

It may not be love quite yet, but she's getting closer to winning his heart after all.....

9 weeks

I promise ... I won't only be documenting my puppy going forward, but there just in an awful lot of cuteness going on right now with 9-week old Gretel. I'm not going to lie -- the housebreaking is frustrating. But otherwise, she's really pretty awesome. She came to two soccer games this weekend, and both times, found a spot under a shady chair and crashed. Brian's been building a garden, and another favorite past-time has been digging in, climbing on, and sliding down the dirt pile we have in our driveway. It's kind of hilarious. She has been snuggling a lot too. Storm even let her cozy up to him in is bed this afternoon for a couple minutes which was kind of amazing. I've never had a puppy this age before. It's definitely non-stop, but also so much fun.

Boys and their Puppy

I've got to be honest. This was probably the least festive Memorial Days we've had in a long time. C and I got back from Oak Park early, so we had the entire day at home which was nice. My parents and niece stopped by to meet Gretel. Brian was a rock star this weekend, building six plant boxes for our new garden and making dinner tonight. We are all kind of in a puppy fog, and can't believe it's back to the grind tomorrow. Gretel is doing awesome, but man, is she ball of energy.

Introducing ... Gretel

Eight weeks ago -- March 30, 2014 to be exact -- we received this photograph, showing a new litter of German Shorthaired Pointers that had just been born. The sire's name is Axel, and the Dam is Hazel. Poor Hazel had 13 puppies in her litter!


It's only taken a year to sway me, but we decided to get one. The boys have been so excited, and even had a countdown on our wall.


The boys and Brian drove to Iowa, and had a fun night of swimming and go-carts, before picking her out today. She was awesome on the 5-hour ride home.


We had a busy afternoon exploring the backyard. And we finally picked out a name -- GRETEL! It was between that and Goosey, which C picked out and I loved. Brian and H didn't think she looked like a Goose though.


And meeting Storm. I was pretty worried about this one, to be honest. But it could not have gone better. I'm not sure he necessarily loves having a baby in the house. He's an old man after all. But overall, he kind of could care less that she is there. She seemed to feel the same way.


Finally nap time. Probably not the best place to pick -- that's Storm's bed. We did transfer and she's still out. So far so good. She's quite a sweetie.

Birthday Boy

Look who turned 7 today! My Storm. Who still turns away from the camera when he can. Goof ball. (P.S. Can you tell I love my dog?)