Home Zookeeper

I’ve been watching my poor little Quinn girl go downhill the last few months. This morning as I sit at home working she is laying on the floor and trying to breath through her nose but can’t. It sounds all stuffed up. So she’s having to breath through her mouth. Not panting … just opening up her mouth to take a breath and then trying to exhale through her nose. Kind of like I do when I’m all stuffed up.

Her vet is on vacation next week and the week after that she is scheduled for surgery for her little lip growths. They’ve gotten bigger and another one started growing.

I just want her to be healthy and comfortable. I think that she is allergic to something in the house. We aren’t the best house keepers and hubby thinks she gets a lot worse when she’s in our bedroom. It’s super old carpet and of course never completely vacuumed - there’s lots of dust and dog hair trapped in corners and behind dressers.

Can I give a dog something to clear up her nose? Like Benadryl? I don’t want to make her sleepy - she already sleeps a ton. If it stops raining I’m going to take her around the neighborhood … maybe during lunch. I think the fresh air is good for her. She doesn’t walk fast but enjoys sniffing and marking everywhere.

It’s hard to listen to her snorting and trying to get breath … there’s just nothing I can do to help her. It’s so painful to not know how to help my sweet little girl.

I swear I started writing a post last night about Jazmyn, one of my cats who lives with my mother in law. And yet, it is nowhere to be found. I didn’t publish it but saved it as a draft. But it’s not there!

What is going on with me? Did I just dream that I wrote it? It wouldn’t surprise me.

Anyway…I’ll be updating on Jazmyn soon. =)

Phew…it’s been crazy around here lately. My friend and coworker died and things were very emotional and exhausting from Friday when I got to say goodbye to Monday when I found out she died that night.

My dogs are wonderful stress release though and having a sleek puppy snuggle with me is very therapeutic.

I’m a horrible foster mom. And hubby is turning into a bad foster dad. We have allowed (okay, encouraged) Bullet to sleep in our bed with us. Both of us always wanted a dog to cuddle up at night in our own bed. I’m not sure why but that’s just us. Unfortunately none of our furry babies want anything to do with us once it’s bed time. They get warm in cool weather so curling up on a bed with blankets and two humans is not their idea of fun.

Bullet on the other hand LOVES to snuggle as close as she possibly can - to the point that her head is under our pillow. It’s the cutest thing!

Of course she’s ruined for her next home (if we ever let her go!).

I took her yesterday to the new low cost spay and neuter clinic in Tacoma. It’s called Coalition Humane and it seems like a nice little clinic. It is a fairly well oiled machine. I had to work but was able to take her in at their drop off time at 8 a.m. Pick ups are at 7:30 a.m. so people picking up were crowded and waiting for their babies. I filled out a small amount of paper work and paid for her surgery and shots. We never did get her original shot records and have to have them for adoption (not to mention puppy daycare).

What a miserable night we had!!! I was SO sad that she wasn’t there when we went to bed. No sweet puppy cuddling last night. Or tonight for that matter because I don’t want her to jump off the bed - she’s not supposed to jump for 7 days. Yeah right!

She was happy to get home that’s for sure.

She was also extremely (extremely!) constipated. Is that normal??? (Paging Dr. Ferrox!) I mean so badly that we were out there for a good 5 minutes while she tried to squeeze it out (sorry to be gross but it was only 1/2 way out and she was starting to CRY!!!). When we got back in I swear she felt sweaty.

I have her corralled in one of those adjustable gate style pens in the living room. She’s been sleeping pretty much all day - mostly because I won’t let her out to do anything else. I think all the dogs are enjoying the quiet though. ha!

I can’t imagine I’ll be able to keep her content and quiet for 7 days though. She’s a puppy with a LOT of energy! I want to take her for a walk but can’t belly wrap her right now so that will be tough. We’ll see how she does the next couple of days. Thankfully someone will be home nearly all the time so she won’t be alone.

Life is as crazy as ever at our Zoo.

Bullet and Trooper get along like lifelong pals and are causing all sorts of mischief. Bullet really enjoys sticks and they’ve both discovered that if you dig down a little bit in the dirt you can find roots that are fun to tug on.

*arg!*

So these stinkers dig and dig and create an unholy mess (and Trooper gets allllll muddy) to try to get at these roots. It’s hilarious but annoying.

Then they run around the yard like crazy dogs. Trooper gets hot fast and so he gets in his pool to cool down…and then proceeds to run in the dirt. He got groomed yesterday but I have a feeling the clean and pretty smelling fur won’t exist when I get home tonight.

They play pretty roughly and I’m really super impressed that Trooper hasn’t hurt Bullet. I’m so not used to a dog with so little fur. His mouth is as big as her head and he looks like he’s killing her but there’s not a mark on her. It’s remarkable how gentle he is with her. He is never that gentle with Quinn - grabbing the back of her neck and shaking. Although there really isn’t any fur to grab onto with Bullet. Ha!

Here is a video from her first full day with us. When I tell her not to be rude she had snuck up on me and stuck her nose up my bum. Ha ha ha!

Quinn is not nearly as thrilled with our little Bullet girl. She doesn’t like it when other dogs play and often tries to break it up. It’s hilarious. She’s constantly “talking” to Bullet like she is trying to make sure she learns the rules of the house. Like don’t bother Kodiak.

And of course one more video from her first day. I have another video on my camera that I need to download.

They are going non stop. First thing when they get up in the morning they start wrestling. *grin* It’s so cute but we need to teach them to calm down and sit quietly at some point!

Someone better adopt this little sweetheart fast because she is melting our hearts like butter. I swear she is one of the sweetest dogs ever.

Of course, on Friday evening I was already wishing someone would adopt her that night! LOL She is non-stop active. She even wore out Trooper, our two year old Malamute, who is higher energy than any other dog we’ve ever had. Now he knows how Quinn feels when he refuses to leave her alone.

Meet Bullet.

She is a 10 month old Weimeraner puppy who loves to be loved. This girl is a cuddler and when she does finally stop moving she cuddles up next to me and tries to get as close as she possibly can without being physically in my lap completely…though her head ended up in my lap last night as she slept before bedtime. I think if I let her she’d climb right up and be a huge lap dog.

She knows several commands and knows her name…and she’s housebroken which is an added bonus! Bullet can sit, leave it, drop it, and sometimes stay if she’s not being too wiggly. She takes treats very gently from my hand though seems to think it’s okay to check out what’s on the counters.

Hubby has nick named her Meercat because she will stand up at the window sill and peer out … she looks like a Meercat - practically standing straight up. It’s so cute. I tried getting a decent photo but this one of her on the couch is the best I did.

She looks HUGE there, but she’s really only about 40 pounds. I can see her ribs!!! I’ve never seen our dogs’ ribs…I can hardly feel our dogs ribs. When we first got her I wasn’t really even sure how to pet her. I’m used to three inches of fur between skin and fingers and here she is sleek and silky steel gray fur right up front. Her skin is apparently very strong though because she and Trooper have been rough housing non stop and the worst she’s gotten is slobbered on.

Bedtime is quite easy and painless. She knows her crate and knows the command to go “night night” which is the same command we use for our dogs. She doesn’t always want to go ‘night night’ but she hasn’t fought me too hard yet. She hasn’t been waking up in the middle of the night but OUR dogs have so we let her out at the same time. She knows the command “go potty” though gets quickly distracted with the other dogs around.

She will need a firm but gentle alpha leader because if she’s allowed to do whatever she wants she will take over. Weimeraners are very strong willed and extremely smart. Thankfully I’ve had experience with that kind of mentality in dogs. I’m always alpha!

And she’ll need a little work on her manners. She jumps up when first meeting someone and has to be told “off” several times. As mentioned above she also counter surfs. For a family with other dogs she’ll need some correcting because she doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of not sharing. Trooper corrected her this morning (many yelps were heard but no blood seen!) when she got too close to his food. Quinn corrected her Saturday night when she got too close to Quinn’s bone. It’s just a learning process.

She has no respect for personal space, that is for sure. Which I find hilarious because Trooper really never did either, though he’s gotten better.

I really wouldn’t recommend her for a family with very small children - though I do think she would make an amazing and excellent family dog. Especially for an active family who likes to go on long walks and hikes. And a family with another active dog would be even better - the only thing keeping me sane is Trooper’s ability to wrestle with her for 6-8 hours in a day.

I’ve submitted the information on Bullet to Ginger’s Pet Rescue and she should be available to adopt soon. I hope it’s sooner rather than later because I could seriously get attached to this sweet girl.

Well, it looks like we were approved as foster doggy parents. Woohoo!

Hubby is still hesitating and not excited but once he sees a 9 month old puppy Weimaraner he’ll get over it. I still need to set up a time to pick up the little darling, but hopefully we will get her this week. She will come with her crate and toys, which is nice, though we do have extras.

I’m excited…and a little nervous. Trooper is just now calming from his puppy stages and I’m sure that this new puppy will have some issues - seeing as how she’s leaving her family and coming to a strange new place. She’s also not spayed but the rescue organization will pay for that.

It sounds like Weimaraners are headstrong and willful. Gee, I wonder what that’s like? Ha! I can’t imagine a dog as headstrong and stubborn as a Malamute or Husky.

Now the plan is to ease Hubby into the idea within the next 24 hours. *crossing my fingers* I know that once we get into a routine he’ll be fine. It’s just getting used to the idea of a temporary dog.

*gulp*

I’ll definitely update here and post photos if we do finally get her home. I have a feeling she’ll be adopted out pretty quickly. Have you seen Weimaraners? They are gorgeous!!!

On Friday of last week I had a jewelry class - an all day class. Thankfully they gave us a two hour lunch break, during which time we could grab lunch and go shopping (it was a big bead / jewelry show). So there I was in a ridiculously long line to pay a ridiculous amount of money for an unhealthy and unappetizing lunch when I spotted a little dog in a lady’s wheelchair basket.

It was the cutest little white fluff of a dog so I oo’d and ah’d as I usually do and asked her if I could pet her.

Nope.

I was a little surprised because most people say sure, but this was a different case. This dog’s name is Sassy and Sassy has doggy Lupus.

Have you ever heard of such a thing? I hadn’t. It’s extremely rare, and unfortunately Sassy has the most rare kind, SLE.

In one sense it’s very sad, but in another Sassy is an extremely lucky dog. Her mommy, who I chatted with briefly, rescued Sassy from a shelter where she would have been put down. Not many people will take on such a needy animal. So Sassy now receives lots of love and attention - and medical care. Her momma didn’t want me to pet her because the risk of infection is just too high. Which I totally understand.

It was fun to see her all cuddled up in her little basket with her mommy. Apparently she gets cold - she even had a little sweater that said “I love my mommy”. *grin*

*** You may not want to read this post or view the video if you are particularly sensitive. =) ***

Hubby and I went on a fishing trip yesterday and had a blast! We went Saturday night and stayed the night in a moderately dive-ish room but it was better than waking up at 1 a.m. to drive two hours and be at the docks no later than 4 a.m. Westport is a town on the coast of Washington. It’s a tourist town but mostly a fishing town so the “tourist” stores were actually closed by 6:30 p.m. on a Saturday. It was weird. I did buy Salt Water Taffy and Sea Foam though. Yummy!

We woke up at 3 a.m., got ready, and walked to the docks to check in with the Charter company. It brought back SO many memories. My father used to take me fishing when I was a little girl - he’d wake me up when it was still dark out, make me some buttered toast wrapped in a paper towel and hot chocolate, and we’d head out to sea. My mom says that I loved rough weather and would come home talking about all the “rocks” we hit. *grin*

The day didn’t start out rocky but boy by the time we came back in it was super rough. The boat was rocking so much that I couldn’t see the horizon at several points.

But I had so much fun. I finally found my sea legs and was able to stand up without falling over - though walking is always tough. I get wobbly on a plane!

I caught the first fish of the day!!! =) Though the boys on the boat didn’t think it counted because it was “just” a flounder. They were just mad that a girl caught the first fish. Ha! I wasn’t the last one to catch a flounder though - two others were caught as well.

Hubby caught the biggest fish of the day though and it was a salmon!!! It was SO exciting and I am so proud of him. Hubby gets sea sick so I’m not really sure why he even suggested we take this trip. He never wants to do it again of course, but is happy with his catch.

**** WARNING - This video *is* a little graphic. Nothing bloody or anything but if you are extra sensitive to fishy feelings you may want to avoid watching. My mother in law thought it was mean…but she’ll enjoy the salmon once its cooked! ***

Now…I asked why they hit it on the head with that big pipe thing because it did shock me a little. I hadn’t been fishing for a long time and forgot that they do that sort of thing. But it’s for two good reasons. The fish can’t breath out of the water so it’s just suffering more if it’s not knocked out right away. Two, it can actually hurt people if it’s flopping around the boat. Trust me, even the smaller fish get in the way if they flop around under people’s feet. So while it seems mean (my MIL was horrified) it really is better than letting it suffocate to death.

They filleted it when we got back to the docks and we are going to be feasting on salmon for a long time. It was a fatty!

I caught 11 Sea Bass and Nick lost count of how many bass he caught. There were only three other salmon caught, but hubby’s was the biggest. Woohoo!!!

Here’s me with one of my Bass - I’m sure my papa was smiling down on me from heaven with pride. And my grandma too. She was quite the fisher-woman herself.

Needless to say, we’ll be eating a LOT of bass. I don’t even know how to cook bass.

Hubby says it’s the last trip he will ever go on - he was so sick last night it would have been funny if it hadn’t been so pathetic. I was a bit dizzy (and exhausted) but at least I wasn’t sick. If you are interested in reading more details and seeing more pics please feel free to visit my other blog where I’ll be posting lots of pictures.

As I was getting ready to leave work yesterday, I mentioned to my coworker that I had to take Quinn to the vet in the morning. It looks like her two front teeth might have holes in them right near the gums. I will update that story later.

We chatted for a few minutes and I lamented on watching my princess girl get older. I know she has to go over the rainbow bridge someday but we are doing our best to make that time far from now.

Somehow we landed on the topic of spending - probably because I was a little concerned about how much this vet trip would end up costing me. I mentioned that spending on pets is predicted to reach an all time high in 2008. In the billions! My coworker, let’s call her Sandy, said that she thought it was a shame how much people spend on their pets when there are so many starving people in the world. She thinks it’s completely wrong that people will spend $1,000 a night on “pet hotels” when that money could do so much good for others.

Hmmm…I tried to find a place charging that much, but as I’ve mentioned my search skills are pretty limited. I did find a couple that charge over $100 a night. A little steep for my budget but not necessarily breaking the bank.

Yes, there are starving people in the world. Very true. However, I always get nervous about trying to tell people how to spend their money. If someone wants to pay $1,000 a night for their little Poopsie to live a life of luxury who am I to tell them that they are wrong or unethical?

Do I think diamond studded collars are a bit much? Sure. But it isn’t my money.

I know that “Sandy” thinks that I spend too much on my dogs. But again, it’s my money to do with as I please. If I want to spend $100 or $1,000 a month on dog stuff then that is my right. I don’t feel like I can save everyone in the world who doesn’t have their basic survival needs met. I try to do my part via donations, but no one will solve the world’s problems just by giving their money away. It’s been tried.

What do you think? Do you feel guilty for spending money on your pets?

Apparently last week was Dog Bite Awareness week. I didn’t even know such a thing existed. I wish they did more to publicize this awareness though because I think many a dogs’ lives would be saved if more people knew how to appropriate interact with dogs. I believe that many bites are no fault of the dog but rather the lack of knowledge of the people getting bit.

My dogs are incredibly friendly and have never bitten anyone (well, Trooper did draw blood on Thursday but it’s my fault for having a hot dog in my hand!), even those who approach them incorrectly. My husband is paranoid though, and rightly so, that they could get startled or scared by a young child (or even an older child) and snap at them causing accidental injury.

Anytime a child approaches us and asks if they can pet the dogs I always say yes. But I also watch the kids closely and carefully to see if they are using the proper techniques.

Never approach a strange dog. A dog might look cute and fluffy but if you don’t know him, he doesn’t know you. If you do need to get close to a dog, I’ve had to do this with dogs lost in our neighborhood, do so slowly with your hand out, palm up, and don’t make direct eye contact.

If the dogs owner is there always ask permission to pet their dog. I have had owners tell me no. Some dogs just aren’t friendly with strangers and if an owner says no, just smile and wave at the pretty doggy from a distance.

Always let a dog sniff you first - palm up and hand forward allow the dog to smell you first. Never try to go over their head first. This is one of the most common mistakes kids use. They want to pet the doggies and so go right for the head. Well, the dogs want to know who this strange person is and raise their noses up to sniff. Many kids get freaked out by this because it seems like the dog is ‘going after’ their hands. This even freaks my uncle out (he’s not a dog person). In reality they are just trying to say hi and smell you.

Never tease a dog. Especially a dog you don’t know. I think more dog bites are caused by people “playing” with dogs. Hubby has sustained a few scratches himself, all in fun while playing with our babies. It’s never their fault. They play with their teeth! But I’ve heard many sad stories of kids thinking it was fun to pick on a dog they don’t know and that dog defending himself. And often the dog suffers the ultimate consequence.

Never run away. If a dog is threatening you do not turn and run. I think they say this about bears too. The prey drive is to chase and if you run you’ll be seen as that prey. I notice this with the cats and my dogs. When the cats just stand there the dogs don’t do much harm but if the cats take off quickly the dogs give chase.

Instead of running, stand your ground quietly with your arms at your sides. Again, do not make eye contact. Hopefully the dog will lose interest and leave you alone.

Education is the key. If more children knew how to properly interact with dogs there would be so many fewer traumatic accidents.

Other Wordless Wednesday Participants

Okay, so this isn’t so much about animals. But this word press thing is totally new to me. I know folks love it but it seems so foreign to me. Blogger was fairly simple for me to figure out - but I admit to needing help when I started there too.

I want to add things like an Entrecard widget on the right hand side but have no idea how to add widgets. I tried adding addresses to a blog roll but then I don’t know how to add the blog roll to the right hand side.

I have no idea what a “slug” is in this context. And some of the ‘features’ are like Greek to me. If anyone has easy to understand (aka ENGLISH) tips I’d be happy to read them. I tried going to the word press support and instruction pages but again…Greek.

I’ll get there one of these days so please have patience as I try to figure this new environment out.

Do you have dogs? We don’t but I think this dogs in yard sign is a great idea. It’s simple yet warns visitors, the postman, or delivery driver that there is a dog on the premise.

Also it may just be me but I like that it doesn’t say “beware of dog” but is a much gentler notice. “Beware of dog” just puts people on their guard, as you might expect it to be a big, mean dog. Also, these signs are much more visually appealing than those orange and black signs.

It’s always good to be cautious around animals you don’t know and even the kindest dog might snap at a total stranger. So a warning is nice but one that is worded in a neutral manner is more appealing to me.

The Audubon Zoomobile was in town last week. One of the more interesting animals was this:

It’s an armadillo, which are very common in this part of the country. They are known for their hole digging skills, so most people don’t welcome this creature into their yard. We had seen one the other night roam through the yard but just let him be. It was interesting to see just how slow he moved. Of course with all that ‘armor’ I guess you wouldn’t expect him to move very fast!

At the Zoomobile, They had to move his pen at the event since he had already dug quite an impressive hole in a short amount of time. It was amazing to watch him dig. He burrowed his head down and looked to use his shoulders in a propeller motion to dig a hole. I think more kids were interested in petting the cute bunny that was there as most seemed to watch the armadillo from a distance away. My little one did get close to the cage but still didn’t want to pet him. I didn’t push the issue even though it is probably to safe to assume the armadillo isn’t carrying any diseases. That’s the neurotic mom in me because the first thought I had when I saw the armadillo was “stand back! They can carry leprosy.”

It was a fun day at the Zoomobile. Too bad they were just in town for the afternoon. It makes me really wish our local zoo had a petting zoo as there are so many kids who would truly enjoy it. Maybe one day soon.

This long coat chihuahua is named “Heart-kun” and was born in Japan in May 2007. He would make a perfect Valentine’s gift. His owner has no intention of selling as she says the little puppy has brought her and everyone she crosses path with good luck.

Still what a cutie.