My life motto

I found this cup on clearance and had to buy it.  Sometimes I think this is how Charles must feel with me and the dogs.  If people truly know me, they know I am an animal lover to the point where I might have a slight problem/obsession.  My house is filled with not only dogs, but I decorate with animals (art, faux zebra rugs, etc.).  I really do love you Charles!

What is wrong with people?

Did anyone see this story on the news this morning?  Disgusting!  While I don't like to always voice my opinions on certain matters, this story literally enraged me.  I was watching this atrocious new story this morning with the company of my animals.  All four of my dogs were with me on the bed this morning happily gnawing on their morning chewie and all I could think of was what that Pitbull must have felt while enduring this outrageous cruelty. 

Where has New Mexico gone when it cannot depend on people to make the right decision?  I don't know if this story says something about the intelligence of people who live in northern New Mexico?  Certainly they all can't be this ignorant?!  The news stories that come out of northern New Mexico make me believe otherwise.  Mothers who leave their children unattended in vehicles during summer weather, people chaining their dogs as if it equates to a status symbol.  Get over yourself people.  Have some respect and dignity and maybe once show the people that yes, you do have a brain and are not necessarily like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz - a human with straw for brains and the inability to think and behave accordingly to the rules of society.  Show some boundaries and restraint when it comes to the lives of children, adults, and animals.  I don't know what moron believes that dogs are just animals.  Well, hello world!  People also fall in the animal category!

Another topic that really get me going is when people believe that dogs should know how to behave around people all the time and in every situation, especially around children.  Why people believe dogs understand right and wrong with children is beyond me.  How would you feel if you could not speak the language of the person you lived with?  Probably pretty exhaustig!  They say words in a tone of voice that sound promising but their body language completely contradicts their tone.  Dogs deal with this pressure all the time.  No wonder they choose the wrong behavior sometimes and in the end, they are always punished.  It is never the human that actually might accept responsibility for the fact that they left their child unattended with an animal.  Most people would never leave their child with a stanger.  What makes them think a dog is any different?

Dogs are fabulous creatures that could teach people a whole lot more than maybe someone from northern New Mexico.  Dogs depend on us to feed them, love them, and teach them.  People domesticated them and therefore have a responsibility to teach and care for them.  Society would never expect anything less from a parent!  You gave life to a child, it is implied that you should have the decency to take care of it.  And when people don't behave accordingly, hopefully there is a better person out there who will stand up for that child.  I hope there is a better person out there for that dog's lost life.  I posted a comment on the Daily Times website.  My name was outraged.  If you are outraged by this story, please visit this website, donate your time, household items that help wonderful pet organizations, or even contribute monetarily.  Believe me, no act is too small or too great for these organizations that work tirelessly for a cause they believe in!

This is why we have leash laws people!

So this weekend was supposed to be like any other.  Sleep in, walk the dogs, get ready, etc.  This weekend I woke up early, couldn't get back to sleep, and decided to walk to the park that is directly north to us.  We usually go to the park east of us, but this weekend I thought it would be more stimulating to go somewhere we had not been before.  As I explained in an earlier post, I walk the dogs separately except for Odus and Io.  They have been walking together since puppydom and get along well. 

This past Saturday we ran into a woman who said her dog, a Chihuahua had gotten loose from the leash and if we saw it could we please bring it to her.  The dog was wearing tags and would not come when she called.  I lied and said of course I would but I walked in the opposite direction. I don't like messing with dogs off-leash.  They are dangerous.  I don't care how in control someone thinks they are of their off-leash dog.  Dogs are like children.  They most of the time know the rules, but will break them in tempting situations.  I NEVER have my dogs off-leash.....EVER!  And furthermore, dogs that are on-leash and are approached by an unfriendly off-leash dog will go on the defense.  It's an unfair advantage.

The woman's Chihuahua saw us from across the park and booked it towards us.  This thing was like a miniature Cujo.  It literally had no fear and attacked my dogs.  During this chaos, it is was all I could do to keep my dogs from grabbing a hold of its neck and killing it.   There was no way I was going to risk my dogs killing another even though they were attacked, only to have them labeled vicious dogs by the City of Albuquerque. 

After two rounds with this Chihuahua, we finally managed to leave the park tired, out of breath, and not sure if we were in fact all in-tact.  Odus suffered the most damage.  Io has too much fur that the Chihuahua could not grab her skin.  My poor Bubbie got beat up a Chihuahua:(

This is the same bite wound.  There was one on his face and two other on the opposite leg.

Needless to say I had a minor breakdown when we got home.  Thanks to my mom who talked me through a few phone rounds and came to view the damage as a second opinion.  I flushed out the wounds with warm water and took him to the vet the next day.  Hello vet bill #2 for the month.  We rewarded Odie with a trip to Sonic after the visit for fries for his bravery and the fact that a small dog got the better of him.

He is now wearing a cone to keep him from licking his battle wounds.  He has an evening and a day time look.  We have a clear cone to wear in the day time so his peripheral vision isn't affected.  I thought Sputnik would be an appropriate nickname, Charles however informed me that Sputnik was not round and therefore said we should call Odie Saturn 5.  Whatever.

His evening look is a soft cone that will mold to whatever he is sleeping on.  I already feel bad enough that he has to wear the stupid thing so it may as well be comfortable.  It is black however and I am afraid Odie might go to the dark side with it on.  Enter heavy breathing...................Darth Vader!

 
Odie is on the mend and hopefully will escape another vet visit if he ever stops licking.  Poor guy has been in a cone most of his life.  He has been receiving extra treats on the request of his grandfather.  I doubt he will have PTSD and will go back to walking as normal.

I spy.....

I spy with my little eye.....Ecco.

Found this silly girl snuggling in the sheets this morning trying to hide.  She did not want to get out of bed.

"Stop taking pictures of me...I'm really tired."

"I don't see you."

What we've been up to.....

Haven't felt much like blogging lately.  The new year's resolutions are already crumpled in the trash and I haven't quite felt like myself since Christmas.  I haven't been able to get into the "swing of things" and have been neglecting certain activities that need addressing.  No worries - the weather has finally warmed up and I'm feeling like tasks will once again be accomplished.

So far since we last blogged, Odie has turned 5!!!  I'm still working on making a birthday hat (something I am positive Odie wishes would not come to fruition) and holding a small celebration for the rest of the pack to hail the leader.  That means probably a lone drive with Odie to the drive-thru for some fries and then making peanut butter yogurt ice cubes for dessert.

Does he look older??? Nahh!  Maybe just a little stressed out and annoyed that the refrigerator is not open - fat chance buddy!

We've had massive amounts of snow at our house in the past two weeks and a couple of days of horrid temperature drops.  Odie was the only smart dog of the bunch who decided that is was better to bury himself in the fleece sheets and pretend he did not hear me when I called for bathroom breaks outside.  We did not capture any pictures of the snow sadly.  My fingers were too cold to want to point and click.  We turned our thermostat down to 60 degrees to save heat for the people in northern New Mexico who went without - worst couple of days I might add.   Once again, Odie had the right idea of staying in bed or directly in front of the heater.  Io was disappointed that we didn't share the same enthusiasm for the bitter cold and promptly outdid herself the first day it reached above 34 degrees and sprained her ankle.

$200 later and a trip to the vet and we were all healed.  Thank heaven for credit cards!

Thought briefly about giving Ecco away for free when she did this:

That would be the notice we receive every year to update the city license.  Io was due for her renewal this year and that would be her card.  The thing is is that you have to send the bloody card in with your payment in order to receive credit for your civic duty.  I rescued the card before Io's pertinent information was destroyed.  I am sure the people in Texas who process this nonsense will get a kick out of the chew marks.  I am positive this is not the first time this has happened.  Thankfully Ecco had a get-out-of-jail free card because she is the best walker of the bunch.  She just about lost that card when I caught her barking out the front window at nothing and then pretending that she herself was doing nothing.  Classic dog trick.....I am not amused.

"What?  I wasn't doing anything....you imagined all the barking."

We painted part of the sun room.

Thought we were going to get away without any mishaps and then we spotted little blue ears last night.

I only managed to get one decent photo of one of the ears.  Luna decided to be camera shy.  The paint was also on the inside of her ear....I have no idea....

We also tore up the zipper on our communal den bed (it will not be replaced) and ate our bed...again:)

And we've been sleeping a lot.  Odie and I tend to agree the best way to cope with stress, cold weather, nothing to watch on TV, and many other scenarios not worth mentioning is to sleep.

Lastly, I want to boast that Odie made the smiling dogs internet addition for the Bark magazine.  You can view his grin on the link here.  Make sure to click on the February 7th dogs.

Oh Luna

I'm not sure if I ever formally introduced Luna.  She is our three-legged Rottweiler mix.  She was not originally a tri-pod but came to be after some unfortunate circumstances.  It was inevitable that we would acquire a fourth dog after I started working at an animal shelter.  We had moved into our house and had been living there for about a year.  We had three dogs which seemed pretty manageable.  Being the unstable person that I am without a backbone to speak of when it comes to animals, I decided I needed to go to the city pound and see what they had.  After searching through the first two kennels, I came to the third.  I don't even know why I continued to the third.  The Albuquerque city pound is certainly depressing.  It's loud with the sound of dogs barking, whining and it basically looks like the ASPCA commercials on TV.  You know those commercials that play in slow motion to Sarah McLachlin music?  Each animal looks sad and longingly at the camera and they are the longest commercials EVER!!  They break my heart and my bank account when I watch. 

The third kennel had a mix of mutts and then the cutest little Rottweiler puppy you could imagine.  She was exactly what Charles wanted in a dog - Rottweiler.  She was unavailable because she was a conviction case.  We did not get the entire story, but either her previous owner broke her back leg or she somehow broke it and they never sought veterinary care.  I put our name on a calling list and left.  I truthfully had completely forgotten about her when I received a call three weeks later.  It was the city inquiring if I was still interested in her.  There was a catch:  she was available as-is.  They were not going to fix her already broken/healed leg and then they told me ever so eloquently that if I did not adopt her, they were waiting to euthanize her.  Who would want a dog with a broken leg that would need to be amputated and end up costing them over $4,000?  ME!  My mom went to the city pound and adopted her for me for the measly price of $9.00 - the cost of her microchip.  

Oh Luna!  Our lives have never been the same.  We did amputate her leg but thankfully we received an immense discount through Animal Humane.  She is toy hoarder, trash digger, barker, and Queen of the not-so-smart pups everywhere.  We are constantly trying to pry her away from our front window.  Even by trying to be clever and close-pin the curtain shut, she still manages to find a way!

And her favorite activity is to massacre her bed and eat the stuffing.  I don't know if that means she is hungry, lacking a certain vitamin she thinks she needs from fluff, or she is bored. She perplexes me.

"Oh Luna!" is a phrase we hear most often in our house.  I do really love her though.  She is a good snuggler and knows how to comfort me when I am upset.  She is a great taste tester and neighborhood watcher.

Snow!

It finally snowed!  While it did dust our house on Thanksgiving, this morning we woke to our backyard sparkling like a pretty glass of champagne.  Too bad that after going back to sleep and waking up for the second time, most of our backyard beauty had already melted and created a large mud pit.  It was not pretty and I hate mud.  Hate is a strong word, but is appropriate in every sense.  I loathe mud!  The dogs however, are attracted to it like a hungry girl to chocolate.  They squish their paws in it, drag each other through it, and somehow manage to bring it all inside.  They have a distinct knack for getting on the bed at the precise moment the white sheets are exposed and they know when to paw at your newly washed pants so you end up with a streak of mud down the middle of your thigh.  I could go on and on about  my discomfort with wet dirt.

While being overjoyed with the dazzling whiteness, Io was more in a perpetual state of bliss.  This dog lives for snow.  It is as if she becomes alive in winter.  In the summertime, she is pretty docile and  likes to sleep in her patch of dirt in the sun.  Come winter, her alter-ego comes and she becomes what we refer to as Sasafrass.  Sasafrass is confident, energetic, and most of all - sassy!  Io becomes giddy in the snow.  While on our walk this morning, the first lawn we came to covered in snow she bucked her hind legs like a horse, ate the snow without inhibition, and covered her nose completely.  The walk to the park was unbearable as she knew what awaited.  We almost killed ourselves trying to wait for oncoming traffic to pass so we could make it to the prized glory.

She barks and rolls in the snow.  She becomes the Husky we know she is (partly) and eats the snow like it is a constant snow cone.  Odus on the other hand cannot handle the cold very well.  While he indulges in eating snow occasionally he cannot walk though snow for too long.  He usually will scurry to a patch of clear sidewalk and hold one of his paws in the air.  He won't move until you address the issue of the cold paw.  I have tried to put snow booties on him, but he growled the first time I put them on him and then walked around the house marching slowly like a solider, lifting each paw so high in the air.  He forgot how to walk in the booties and essentially called it quits and refused to move.  Thus, we do not use booties on walks, but instead he acts like I am a servant  and waits for his paws to be cleaned. 

The snow was glorious in its life of about two hours.  As I write this, Sasafrass is harassing me to go outside.  Hopefully her winter diva attitude will subside as I hope the wind will.

On a funny side note, I went to the grocery store today to grab some breakfast fixings and found this duo in front of my car.  I luckily happened to be carrying my camera with me and I am now convinced I must do so more often in order to find pictures like these.  Happy New Year everyone!

Silent Night....

Holy Night....

Pig 2.0

One of my truly talented friends made this toy for Luna a couple weeks ago.  I finally brought it home last night.  It is called Pig 2.0.  The first version she originally made for her own dogs (she also has four dogs, but they are much better behaved) did not last too long so the second version was created.  I could not believe how cute the pig was.  I contemplated not giving it to the dogs but keeping it on display.  Alas, every dog knows a toy when they see one.  Even if the toy is handmade or store-bought, they seek it out and destroy.  

Luna knew instantly what this little red creature was and took it with her to the bedroom.  Bridgette, my friend who created Pig 2.0 assured me that it was still intact at her house.  The obvious parts were missing, mostly the ears, but the body was still together.   Luna chewed both ears and a leg in the span of ten minutes.  

Luna is a notorious toy hoarder and destroyer.  She has the jaws of life!

We did eventually put Pig 2.0 away for the evening as trying to fall asleep to the sound of teeth attempting to cut through micro-suede is not conducive to slumber.  Every night Luna chooses her toy to bring to bed.  It is a nightly and compulsive ritual to bring something to bed and gnaw on until sleep becomes her.  Lately she has preferred to bring her bacon-flavored Nyla bone to bed.  

Another friend who has two Labradors has found that when dogs are persistent in chewing can turn their Nyla bones into shanks.  Luna has succeeded in creating a weapon to carry with her to bed - great. 

Thankful/grateful

Every year Charles and I have to spend Thanksgiving with our families in different houses.  It's not a bad thing but certainly isn't your own home with nowhere to go and a nap is the nearest bedroom or place on the couch.  So we have begun our own small tradition of having "early" Thanksgiving at our house the weekend prior.  It's nothing fancy. This year we made a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and a cranberry cornmeal cake.  The leftovers are phenomenal (mostly because I have not had to cook at all this week).  It's unusual for me not to cook, but the office has been busy this week and I mostly come home to find the perfect place on the couch, turn on our small heater, and curl up in our blanket to watch Harry Potter movies.  A little lame, but during the holidays it's important to do nothing sometimes when it seems like the entire world around you is swarming to iron table cloths, hit the early-bird sales, and overall seems like they could use a good dose of Lexapro.

Let me say proudly that I cooked the entire 20 lb turkey without any melt downs.  Last year I was in tears on the floor because my 5 lb breast had barley reached 140 degrees after 3 hours in the oven.  I was like a small child, angry that the bird would not cook, sitting pitiful on the floor with Charles trying to console me.   We autopsied the bird and found my lack of defrosting to be the cause of death. I don't handle cooking mishaps well.  Mostly the knife gets faster and I want no one in the kitchen.

This year the bird was browned, buttered, and beautiful.  Even though I am not a vegetarian, the act of preparing the bird seems somewhat barbaric to me.  I loathe reaching into the dark cavity to pull out such slithery things named giblet.  They never make it to my gravy and I don't think they ever will.  Charles casually mentioned that his mother is the best gravy maker in the family and I will not fight for that title.  My gravy was in fact lumpy and odd looking as I don't think I whisked enough or had the fervor in my wrist.   Next year I must remember to buy the packet gravy!  

After we tore the skin to reach the dark meat (my favorite) the juices flowed like a river onto the floor and our kitchen helpers proudly came to the clean-up.  Not the greatest moment in our kitchen, but without dogs, I would be responsible to clean-up.

This is Odie watching Charles carve - how curious he looks and hoping it will all fall off the counter.

After juices ran over, we sat to a small table and literally were surrounded by a circle of canine.

Each dog was presented with their own bowl of Thanksgiving.

This season, we hope each dog/cat can have their own Thanksgiving whether that is a warm place to sleep for the night, a meal, or a place next to their human on the couch.  We are grateful/thankful we can buy dog food for our pack, the money we have to replace eaten trouser socks, a warm canine to snuggle with when we are overwhelmed by day-to-day stress, and of course each other.  Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.

Odus Immortalized

Need I say any more?

For five years now I have been trying to find a way to put Odie on canvass.  I've made artwork for most of our dog family ever since I was in high school.  Some of the dogs have taken me longer than others.  I don't know if most people can really understand how hard it is to draw dog.  The shape of their face is usually an off shape and forget their nose, especially if most of the muzzle is already black. 

The hardest part of Odie were his wrinkles.  They are so much a part of who he is that that trying to incorporate them without having them look as just lines on his face was pure torture.  For now, this is the best I can do for him.  I may consider trying to get the others on the wall but for now, the most handsome Shar-pei will have to do.

Night of 200 hot dogs

I am serving on the committee of Doggie Dash and Dawdle this year and part of my job was to buy the 200 hot dogs that are needed at the Dash Bash Carnival.  Every year, Animal Humane hosts a 5K human, 5K dog and human, and 2-mile dawdle to benefit the homeless pets of Albuquerque.  After the runners, dashers, and strollers are done with the event, we celebrate with a carnival for pets and people.  We have paw print painting, build-a-biscuit, pet photography, and bobbing for hot dogs.  The event is always a lot of fun and a great way to see so many people who love their pets almost as obsessively as I do.

I went to Costco this afternoon and purchased 200 hot dogs.  The people in the check-out line certainly looked through my basket and gave me a quizzical look.  I did not elaborate on why I only had hot dogs in my basket nor why I needed to have a mass quantity.  I felt no need to explain myself after tagging alongside people who buy anchovies in large glass jars and containers of peanuts that could keep them alive for almost a week if they ate nothing else.

The reception at home was of utter joy.  Odie danced around the kitchen as if he had surely won the lottery or had somehow died and had gone to heaven.  He cried and whined through the whole process of cutting them into smaller pieces.  Of course the other dogs were watching, but only from a distance.  When Odie is manager, the rest know not to get in his way. 

The only time he left his post was when he heard a noise in the backyard and he raced to confront whatever was outside.  Luna on the other hand would race to the counter as soon as he would disappear and proceed to lick the juice that was running off the counter.  As soon as Odie returned to post, Luna would slip back into the foreground. We continued this dance for 45 minutes.

Don't worry - they each received the equivalent of an entire hot dog.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween came kind of early to our house.  I wasn't much in the mood to decorate this year.  I just put out a few fake pumpkins that have been with us for three years and usually stay up until the culmination of Thanksgiving.  We only put one welcome sign out in the front yard and a light up ghost and jack-o-lantern.

I did stray this year when it comes the animals. I usually never buy Halloween costumes for the kids (and by kids I mean four-legged).  Case in point #1:  please see below....

This was Odie's Yoda costume back in 2007.  It was harder to get him dressed and posed for one second than it is to get a rock to talk back to you.  He does make a darn fine Yoda with just the ears on though.

So this year I was taking a look at the Halloween gear at Target.  It was already 15% off and there were a ton of costumes for XL dogs.  Instead of going completely crazy I just bought two.  Please take a look.

He is supposed to be a moose rack.  He was not thrilled with it to say the least.  I am trying to tempt him with a biscuit in order for him to stand still. 

Hello Bullwinkle!!  Don't worry - he will have a Rocky.

And then I bought a squirrel costume.  Both Ecco and Luna were test subjects.  IO was nowhere to be found...(smart girl).

Happy Howl-O-Ween!!!