Update 8/8 2022

Aloha,

Here are some more photos and video of Dog Life in Hawaii.

Mahalo for reading!

I'm still here!  Here are some pictures of canine family members we've adopted since Tasha and Danzig passed away.  Tasha and Danzig were Arctic Breeds, suited for cold weather while we lived in snow country.  Due to our new home we decided to adopt short haired dogs born in Hawaii. I never imagined that Doberman Pinschers could be such loving, friendly, loyal, and wonderful dogs. #FrankieTheRedDoberman #IchiTheDoberman

Ichiro

Frankie

Aloha Frankie

Tasha's 16th Birthday is today, thanks to the good life in Hawaii!

Aloha!
Today Tasha turned 16 years old.  In dog years, I believe that's about 77, maybe even older for larger breeds.  In the picture collage, their current photo is in the lower right corner, with the blue yoga mat.  I took that photo 2 days ago on July 4th.  She is doing alright, she still needs help walking and suffers from arthritis but can make it to the park and enjoys her meals and lots of love from us.  I only know Tasha's birth date because she was taken to the animal shelter with her birth certificate by her first owners.  Danzig, our brown boy, was a stray when collected by the shelter, but he is at least the same age as Tasha.  Look at that spotted tongue, that's how we know he's a Chow mix.  Both are happy and enjoying life in Hawaii.  Mahalo for reading and please let me know if you have any questions about moving your pets to Hawaii.  Happy Summer!

Happy Spring 2012! Still going strong!

Aloha!

Here is a picture I took on Easter morning right before sunrise from the Pillbox Trail in the hills above Lanikai.

The doggies are still going strong. Tasha is having some hip problems, but she can make it to the beach on a good day and has a strong appetite. We walk them to Kailua Beach Park twice a day. Tasha is now 15 years 9 months old and Danzig is at least that old, though we aren't sure because he was a stray. We've had them both since 1996/97. Tasha was also adopted from the shelter, but her previous owners dropped her off with her papers.

Here's a video I took of Tasha wearing her hip hound brace, though it turned out to be too big for her. I took this video to show to the brace company and they advised it was too big and were great about sending us a smaller size. She still won't use it but we have kept it just in case.
We had the opportunity to take a staycation on Maui a couple of weeks ago. To the right is a photo of the sunset from the south shore, in Wailea. The snorkeling and whale watching was amazing. My parents watched the dogs and my mom gave them so much love (and a haircut) they were refreshed and renewed when we returned from the weekend.

We had friends from Mainland visit us who knew our dogs way back when. One of them was the managing partner at my law firm when I started out as a young attorney. They were amazed that our dogs are still around. I've said this before, but we're sure the climate of Hawaii has extended the lifespan of our dogs, who were expected to live 12 or 13 years total. The vet told us on January 5, 2011 that Danzig's cancer would not allow him to live more than a few months. He is a happy boy these days, we give him and Tasha all the love that we can.

It's been a blessing to be able to apply my real estate law experience to my fun career as a realtor, I've helped some clients and good friends move into their new vacation homes over this past winter and enjoyed sharing paradise with them! Time to walk the dogs and ride our bikes to the Kailua Farmer's Market for dinner. Aloha for now! Happy Spring!

Life is good in Hawaii for the Dogs

This morning we walked to the beach with the dogs. Here's a picture of Lanikai Point. The tree stumps are a reminder of how much the wider the beach used to be. Due to erosion many ironwood trees been removed.

Doggie update: At the age of 15+ years each and over three years since flying to Hawaii, Tasha and Danzig are both still doing well! I'll repeat that retiring to a comfortable climate such as Hawaii seems to have prolonged their lifespan. A few weeks ago we had an episode where I feared it was time to say goodbye to Tasha. I was carefully monitoring her quality of life to make sure she was having more good days than bad and she was seeming more sad than happy. She was unable to walk at times and had a hard time getting up. I spent an entire day giving her love and affection. Love has amazing power, the extra attention really perked her up. I purchased a "bottoms up" leash for her, which is styled like my rock climbing harness to support her hips. After one walk using the leash it seemed as if she decided to walk on her own, maybe she was embarrassed by it! It is as if she resolved to start "training" to walk better. She started breaking out of her pen and performing feats of strength such as knocking over my beach cruiser to get out. Maybe she overheard me talking to the vet about our options, including putting her to sleep! I was so sad and torn about making sure she is living with dignity and comfort. We thought she'd never make it to the beach again, but now she is walking there regularly. Here are some photos taken this morning.

As for Danzig, he continues to teach life lessons every day. He is so happy all the time, his tail wags him. I can tell he his having some difficulty breathing because his malignant tumors are growing. However every audible breath is part of his excited happiness to be alive. Everything to him is awesome. Even when he was in the animal shelter the day we adopted him he stood out as the positive thinker. Every other dog was barking and unhappy about being caged. Danzig quietly sat there wagging his tail, as if he was thinking, cool, I'm no longer a stray on the highway, there's a roof over my head and regular meals! When we fixed his broken tooth, he was even happier with "Oh yeah! I'm no longer in excruciating pain!" We attract what we think about, and thinking positively brings more positive energy to your life. Aloha from Paradise!

Fall 2011 Doggie Update

Aloha everyone! I'd like to share a recent photo of Tasha and Danzig taken this month. We can't believe Tasha celebrated her 15th birthday on July 6, 2011. What is that in dog years? 105?

In my last post I shared that Tasha and Danzig are showing signs of their age, and that Danzig has cancer. Even without a terminal illness, Tasha is the serious one. She worries about everything. When she's been bad she'll stress out about it like crazy, and when she hasn't, she worries and has a guilty conscience over the last time she did something, even if it's ancient history. Her mission in life is to please everyone around her. She is incredibly sweet and we love her so much. Unfortunately we can tell she is aging faster than Danzig. Even though she doesn't have cancer, she may not outlast him. With her advanced age, she's had some problems controlling her bladder and the poor thing thinks it's her fault and worries about making a mess, so she prefers to stay outside.
At the same time, Danzig has demonstrated that attitude is everything. On January 5, 2011 the vet's biopsy predicted he had 2 months to live, 6 at the most. However, since he doesn't know his condition, and therefore doesn't dwell on it, he has the most inspiring attitude towards life. Because he couldn't eat dry food following his throat surgery and tumor removal, we switched him to canned. He thought he won the doggie lottery! Basically everything makes him happy. Everything rules in Danzig's world. I took a quick video of him at feeding time to show how excited he is for his food. I apologize for the dark lighting, it was very, very early in the morning. Up for anything, all of the time! We can all learn a lesson from Danzig and his outlook on life.

Maybe it's better for our health and sanity to not worry so much about pleasing others and squeeze every bit of joy out of life that we can.

We continue to monitor their quality of life and are doing everything possible to make them comfortable. Ever since we met them at the animal shelter over a decade ago, they have been grateful, loving and loyal family members. Providing them with retirement in Hawaii has been the least we could do.

Spring 2011 Doggie Update

Aloha!


I wanted to post a quick update to let you know I'm still here to answer your questions and offer advice. A reader asked for my email, it is vickiyurealtor@gmail.com.


Our dogs are still loving life in Hawaii. The photo above was taken last week (May 2011). Tasha will be 15 years old in July, and Danzig is probably around the same age, since we have had him for over 13 years and when we adopted him as a stray he was estimated at about 2 years old. When we moved from snow country, Danzig was suffering from arthritis. The climate here seems to have helped prolong their lives. Just like for humans, swings in temperature can be hard on the body, so retirement in a warm climate is ideal.


Fifteen years old is quite advanced for large breed dogs living anywhere, so they are showing some signs of age. Tasha still insists on prancing when she walks. She looks like a wind-up toy with her feet lifting high off the ground in slow motion. The last time she was climbing a sand dune she fell over backwards and tumbled into the sand. It surprised her since she has always been such an agile athlete. She lives on love, and whenever someone comes up to her and pets her it makes her day. Danzig was diagnosed with cancer in January and had a tumor removed from his throat. The doctor gave him a few months to live, and we are focusing on giving him the best life possible. He seems really happy and wags his tail all the time and is not showing signs of distress.















I don't want to make too long of a post here, so the most useful information about flying with pets to Hawaii still appears on this page. There is another point I needed to add. If you are moving here without a place to move into, it could be very difficult to find a (nice) rental that allows pets. Please keep that in mind, since I have heard of people giving their pets away after going through all the trouble to get them here because they couldn't find a place that would allow them. If you are fortunate enough to be able to buy your own house or condo, then this is not an issue. Of course you need to check the pet policy of any building you buy into. I will check this for you if you send me the building name or address. I am very familiar with the housing market all over Oahu. I have found homes for people who had no idea where they wanted to live at first (my parents and myself included) and did extensive research to fit neighborhoods to lifestyle, wants and needs. I haven't mentioned that I am a realtor before, since this blog is dedicated to our dogs. I have over 13 years professional experience as an attorney and with real estate matters, and this background has proved invaluable to my clients. If I can be of any assistance in helping you to find a new home for you and your pets, please feel free to contact me!












Rainbow photographed from the Pali Highway, Kailua bound.