Oskar's 'Blog about your people' day/weekend!!

JD - Hi everyone! Firstly, thank you all SO much for all the pawsitive vibes that you sent us to help us feel better. Our tummies are all better now, but sadly I now have a poorly paw and I can't walk properly.

Max - Poor JD had to go to the vet earlier today to get his paw sorted out. He had a grass seed embedded in his paw - it's out now but his paw is swollen and obviously very sore. He's limping badly and has to rest up. He's on medication and we've been told that if he doesn't improve over the weekend he'll have to go back to the vet on Monday for sedation and a more thorough paw investigation, possibly resulting in a small bit of surgery if anything else is found.

JD - I must say, the chicken that my tablets come wrapped in is delicious!

Max snuggles into JD to take his mind off his poorly paw!

Max - Er, yes JD, we're glad about that! Anyway, the tablets are making JD a little sleepy which is just as well as he's not allowed to go on walks for a few days whilst he rests up. I'm enjoying a bit of special 'Max time' with FH on my walks right now - it's FUN! I DO miss JD when we're out though, it's not quite as much fun without my zoomie and bitey-face buddy - sigh.....!

JD - Aw, thanks bro'! This has meant that we've also fallen VERY behind with commenting on your blogs. We hope you can forgive us - we're going to try and catch up with you all over the weekend 'cos we're really missing you all!

Max - AND we're also a bit behind with our 'blog about your people' post as part of our great blog pal Oskar's fabulous weekend game!


JD - But better late than never! We were very excited about this game and had serious discussions with each other about the best way to post about our humans!

Max - We finally decided that it would be fun to interview them in a formal style! So, we borrowed a few old pairs of FH's glasses so that we could look the part....

Hello! JD Schnauzer and Max Schnauzer, professional anchor-pups at your service!

FH - Hey! I don't own any glasses that look like THAT!!!

JD - *Holds up paw* - you'll get your chance to speak when we interview you FH, IF you don't mind!

Max - ....and we drafted out a few questions! And now we're ready to rock and roll! So without further ado we would like to call upon our FH and MH...

FH - Er - hello!

MH - Um - hi!

JD - For those of you who might not know, FH stands for 'Female Human' and MH stands for 'Male Human'. They're not the easiest to train, they don't always respond to their names for example, preferring to call each other 'Clare' and 'Neil' for some strange reason. Go figure! Anyway, hello FH and MH - and thank you for agreeing to talk to us today.

FH & MH - Erm - you're welcome!

Max - So, where do we all live?!

FH - You're English puppies, MH is English and I'm Welsh. We all live in Clacton-on-Sea in the UK, an English coastal town that's about 70 miles away from London.

JD - And do you enjoy living by the sea?

FH - I sure do! About 7 years ago we moved away into the country, but we both missed the sea so much that we moved back!

Max - So, have you ever owned a pet before?

FH - No - I had wanted a dog ever since I moved out of my parents house at the age of 20...

JD -....so that would be - let's see - about 5876 years ago?

FH - Um, well, maybe not quite that long ago boys, but yes, we're talking 21 years ago.

Max - So you're saying that you waited 21 years to get us?

FH - I did, yes!

JD - And MH?

MH - No, I'd never had a pet before either and I told FH - er, I mean Clare - that she could have a dog if it was what she really wanted, but I told her that any dog would be hers alone.

Max - I see. So, you weren't really too keen on the idea?

MH - Um, no, not really. I didn't mind, but it wasn't my decision.

JD - So FH, what was the decision behind you getting a dog?

FH - Well, I'd wanted a dog for so long, more than half my life! But the working life I had meant I was not in a position to responsibly own a dog. So when I finally managed to get myself out of the rat race and get myself a local job I took the plunge! And I decided that since I'd waited so long I'd get myself TWO dogs!

FH with us as puppies on one of our first ever walkies!

Max - How do you feel about that decision now?

FH - Well, right NOW I know it was the right decision. I couldn't imagine not having you two in my life! But I realise that I was very naive and I would NEVER recommend anyone who has never had a dog before getting TWO puppies at the same time. OMD it was hard work!!

JD - And MH?

MH - Two weeks after you arrived with us I came across Clare bawling her eyes out about how hard it was and how she was struggling to cope with the two of you and how she felt she might have made a really bad decision!

Max - Oh no - surely you exaggerate MH?!

MH - No, I'm afraid I don't! But Clare WAS also due to start a new job at the same time that this happened so I realised that she was a little stressed about all these huge changes for the better in her life. Even though it was what she had wanted for so long she still found it very hard to adjust when it all started happening!

A photo of us going for a paddle! Well, why not?!

JD - Well, phew! We're glad it was just a 'general' freak out and not a 'puppy only' freak out! So MH - it's just the two of you bi-ped wise isn't it?

MH - Er, it's just Clare and me, yes. A pup apiece, that's the ratio of our household!

Max - And how has the status-quo in the household changed since we came along?

MH - Well, it's funny really. Clare got a local job because she wanted to downscale work-wise, but her new career has really taken off and she now has a much more senior role than she ever had when she worked in London. But because it's local it makes it so much easier for her to do and she absolutely loves it! She works for a non-profit organisation and she loves feeling that the work she does can make a difference in people's lives. She does much longer hours that she ever did before but it all balances out because she no longer has to go through the 4 hour daily commute that she used to have with her previous job.

JD - Well, that can only be a good thing! But there has been another major change hasn't there?

MH - Um, well yes! After you had lived with us for 6 months I realised that I really, REALLY enjoyed having the two of you around and what with Clare's career really taking off I decided it was time for ME to make a big change in my life too. So I moved over to contract work on a part-time basis and also set up a home business, which is taking off rather nicely. This means that I work from home most of the time now which means I get to really enjoy having you two around! We thought that Clare would be the one who was with you the most, but it's actually me. We would never have predicted this when you initially came to join us!

Max - We knew we'd get under your skin eventually MH, he he he! So FH - what has been the best thing about having us join your lives?

FH - Well, I just LOVE how affectionate you both are! It's wonderful coming into a room to a couple of fuzz-balls who are always SO pleased to see me! And I also love all the new friends I've made, both in person and via the blog. When you joined our lives all those months ago I never would have thought it would have resulted in us meeting up with people we'd got to know in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore - seriously, how cool is that?!

Oh yes FH, it's YOU we love! Nothing to do with the snack you're eating, nothing at all - he he he!

JD - VERY cool we'd say! And a very nice point to end on!

Max - Good call JD! We'd like to thank MH and FH for taking the time to speak to us today.

JD - Yup! You're not the most interesting humans in the World, but we know you love us to bits so that's good enough for us!

Max - We'd like to thank Oskar for hosting SUCH a fun game!

JD - Oskar - you rock!