Pupdate

Aside from going to Greg & Lauren's wedding, we deliberately made zero plans for the month of August. We had an extremely busy spring and summer, and when we returned from the cruise we realized that our last free weekend had been way back in April. So we took a whole month to relax and catch up on things. We committed ourselves to not committing to anything. We like being busy, so it was actually harder than we thought it would be to say "no". Though in hindsight we're glad we did, as it was a much needed break now that we are in the midst of an extremely busy fall :)

Having been away from our puppy so much lately, we were glad to spend a lot of time with her. We gave Molly lots of extra love, attention, and exercise. After our trip, I took her to the vet for her regular check-up, and confirmed that she was a little plump.

We switched her over to "lean" food which made a noticeable difference pretty quickly.  We also cut back on her treats, which makes her really sad. The vet recommended we give her green beans as treats instead. They don't have quite the same effect.

But why can't I have anything from this bag of treats? I'm being soo good.

Beagles tend to get overweight very easily, so changing her diet was the easiest and best way to control her weight. But a little extra exercise sure couldn't hurt, so I signed us up for a dog-friendly 5k in town (7th Annual Dog Days Run 5k in Marietta). It was actually dual-purpose since I was starting to train for a half marathon. I was pretty skeptical about how she would do, but she surprised me and everyone else there by finishing in about 35 minutes! I wish she would run like that when it's just me and her. Apparently she thought the 5k was just a big game of chase, so she ran at her top speed the whole time.

I swear she had a good time...

She attempted yoga, but it didn't really go so well.

you want me to do what?!

While at the vet, I also had them check a cyst on Molly's front paw. The vet took a small sample and everything came back fine. Except that Molly's incision got infected, so we went back to the vet, and poor Molly had to wear the cone of shame for three weeks until her paw healed. She looked so sad and pathetic.

The cone didn't stop her from having a good time with friends though. Her best friend, Sugar, came over for a weekend and they had so much fun.

I had already signed Molly up for another 5k (the Walk, Wag, N' Run in Buckhead) before we found out about the cone. I took her anyway, and Sugar came along too. I looked like a crazy lady with not one but two out-of-shape dogs, and one of them in cone. Despite the odds against us, they did great!

As if the dogs weren't tired already, we spent the rest of the day at Piedmont Park with friends. It was the last weekend before football season started and some of them we probably won't see again until football season is over!

Sugar probably ran another 5k since she played fetch for hours!

In other news, Bo's sister, Dudley, moved to Atlanta in August! We've loved having her so close and being able to see her so much. And whether they like it or not, our dogs are slowly becoming friends :)

Dudley and her pup, Madison

finally tuckered out

After Molly was cone-free she had a few more play dates, which are really the best exercise for her. As much as we'd love to get another puppy, right now is just not a good time. Luckily she has plenty of puppy friends to keep her entertained until she is a big sister.

Molly & Myles

Molly & Madison...still not so sure about each other.

another visit from Sugar

Now that it's a couple months later... we are happy to report that Molly's paw has completely healed and she's right on track for her weight-loss. Hopefully her next vet appointment will be less eventful (and less expensive)!  Until then, Molly will just have to dream about the days when she was happily overfed...