I have a newfound respect for rescue workers. Not that I didn't have respect for rescue volunteers before, mind you. I think I just forgot how much dang work rescuing can be. I was part of a group in vet school that rescued dogs from shelters, put them in foster homes for 12 weeks, trained the dogs once a week, and at the end of the 12 weeks adopted them out. I was just one of the adoption coordinators and it was a ton of work, happily done but work nonetheless. We had a dog at our clinic who ... Read more »
Conversation of the day: Shaken, not stirred
I was chatting up an owner today and talking to him about his dogs. Both dogs and owner were nice, genial types. The owner started talking about his history with dogs growing up. "My first dog died at 16," he said. "A boxer." "Wow," I said, genuinely impressed. "That's a great lifespan for a boxer!" "Yup," he replied. "She died of cirrhosis." "Uh oh," I said, "An alcoholic, eh?" "Yes," he said, "She really was." I laughed. "Mom made three martinis a day- one for her, one for ... Read more »
Brodo
Thank you for all the congratulations! I'm still reeling a bit myself. Normally I'm against surprising anyone with a puppy, but when that anyone is me, and I've been lamenting my dog deficiency since January, I'll make an exception. I tried to come up with a list of things that would surprise me more than my husband showing up with a Golden puppy this weekend. There isn't much. My husband joining the priesthood My husband getting into the space program My husband renouncing his ... Read more »
Bookends
If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know all about Skippy. Ah, Skippy. The dog who made me realize that I am not meant to live with a toy breed. He stressed me out. He was yappy. He pooped in the house. We were not a match. Today, I got a call from Skippy's new owner, who needed a couple extra bits of medical history. "How is he doing?" I asked, hoping the answer would be, "OK, despite running away and pooping in the house. We still like him." The person paused. "He's SO ... Read more »
Lost in translation
In the urn post, some of you said that you didn't feel a need to have your loved ones' ashes back. I get that. I mean, it's just soot and shadows and memories. Nothing of what made them what they are remains. Emmett had a big red mane like a lion. He was the most huggable dog I've ever met. I spent hours with my face buried in his neck- studying for board exams, seeking solace, or just hanging out. You can't do that with a hard edged box. He used to be waiting for me by the door every ... Read more »
Cat Genie. Hype? Awesome?
Has anyone used this or heard about it? I have a LitterMaid, but I've never hooked it up and we're still going old school Flushable, washable litter. I'm always the last to hear about these things. You hook it up to a water supply and you don't need to clean it or change it or anything. It even looks like a human toilet. Starting at $329, I'm not sure I could convince my husband this is an experiment worth conducting- but given the $10 a week I spend getting litter, it doesn't ... Read more »
How to horrify friends and neighbors
Well, it's been 5 months since the last time I tried to figure out what to do with my dog's ashes, and I'm sorry to report I am no closer to a resolution than I was then. Mulan is still on top of the TV. Emmett is next to her. I'm not sure what to do. Scattering at the house is out, until I'm sure we're not moving in the next decade. Too much guilt. Scattering in public is illegal; besides which, I've heard too many horror stories of lovely ceremonies at Sunset Cliffs ruined by an errant ... Read more »
When the river meets the sea
Emmett's ashes came back today. I was doing well this week, but this kind of brought me back to all the sadness and feelings of loss I haven't finished working my way through yet. Did you know I almost didn't adopt Emmett? That would have been the worst mistake I never knew I made. In 2002, I had just lost my dog Nuke, the sweet and slightly touched redbone coonhound who had spent his life at the vet hospital getting x-rayed by vet students. My home was his retirement, where he spent 3 ... Read more »
A grand day at the races
A friend of mine invited me to opening day at the Del Mar race track. "Look at my hat!" she enthused, modeling her new chapeau and talking about how excited she was to see the hat contest, a Del Mar tradition. I declined. "It's horse racing. I don't like to support that." She rolled her eyes in one of those here-she-goes-again faces. "It's more about the hats," she insisted. "You don't have to bet on anything." I love hats, I really do. But I dislike the racing industry more. Few people ... Read more »
My pets like to keep me on my toes.
To summarize: Mulan had renal disease, oral melanoma, and severe allergies. Emmett got lymphoma- the most chemotherapy sensitive cancer- that resisted aggressive chemotherapy. Ariel got, well, who the hell knows. I am still baffled. My cats are a little more subtle; they don't like those big, dramatic, fatal diseases but they do like to make it known that they have issues too. Apollo has IBD and food allergies. And now Calypso has feline oral resorptive lesions. I discovered ... Read more »
You think *you’ve* had a bad day
Try being a cat, who had to be boarded for a few days. That is pretty stressful. Then you get constipated because you're boarded and stressing out. So then you get dragged to that torture place where they stick you with stuff. And they put some REALLY YUCKY stuff in your mouth. And I do mean, really, really yucky. I'm not sure making this poor kitty get a laxative helped her stress level much, but I do hope it does the trick, because otherwise it's enema time. And that's no better. ... Read more »
Tell me if I’m missing something here…
I'm admittedly more of a dog person than a cat person, so I find myself wondering if perhaps there is something I am missing here, but I doubt it. Think "cat food." Think "paradigm shifter." What could Purina have possibly done to change the way we see cat food? Could it be that they have created a fabulous new low carb protein based meal? Have they committed to eliminating corn in their diets? Are you ready for this? ba da dummmmm..... cat appetizers. Cat appetizers? This is ... Read more »
A good update! Finally!
I thought this was an exciting moment. Remember Dudley? From 32 pounds to....da da dum.... 26.5! We are on our way! I went into the room to congratulate the owners, an older couple. The man looked less than impressed, but the wife was thrilled. After a little bit of casual digging, it became pretty obvious that he was the source of the ham-sneaking, and the Missus had finally laid down the law. She was glowing at her success. As they were leaving, we revisited the idea of a dental ... Read more »
Now this is just cruel
I mentioned briefly, a few weeks ago, that I got a guinea pig. I haven't gotten a chance to say much, or take pictures of her, since I've been a little overwhelmed with all the other stuff going on. But she was cute, young, and she needed a home, and I thought she would be a good distraction for the kids- someone for them to take care of. We debated about names. I vetoed "Cutie" and "Mr. Guinea Pig", since she was a she, and we all agreed on Ariel. Not being that experienced with cavies, I ... Read more »
A sea star thanks you
I am overwhelmed by the kindness here. Although I haven't responded to each comment, please know that I read each and every one- multiple times- and each was like a warm hug to me. As most of you probably know, showing your grief about a pet is hard in the real world- most of us are given a day at most to mourn, then we're sort of expected to suck it up and soldier on. As I work through this I think often of my friends who have been here in this place- Kim, Karri, Meg, and so many others- and ... Read more »
Kevin’s right hand man
As awful as this week has been, I have found so much comfort in finding that others have been touched by my little dude as well. I know my sadness is no different than each of you who has also lost a dear friend. How sad for those who haven't felt this kind of loss, because that means they never got to experience this kind of love. When Emmett and I were at Dog Beach this Sunday, I was following along as Emmett nuzzled a woman for pets as he always does. After receiving his due, we continued ... Read more »
Oh, Emmett.
When my husband and I took Emmett to Dog Beach a couple of weeks ago, my husband commented how the place was like 'heaven for dogs'. I was thinking the same thing, though he probably wasn't thinking about it in as literal a context as I was. This weekend, I went again, without my husband and kids. Just me and Emmett. He had a fantastic time, wading through the surf, visiting other dogs, getting lots of pets. It was a perfect day. That night, things started to go downhill. Fast. I threw every ... Read more »
Proptosis- a tale in words
The phone rings. On the other end is a client with a Boston terrier. "Hey," she says calmly. "I just came downstairs this morning, and Chewey's eye was popped out. I just pushed it in but I'm coming in for you to see him anyway." Good call. Proptosis, otherwise known as bug eyes, eyeballs-popping-out-of-the-head, or most commonly, "AUGH!" is most commonly the result of some sort of head trauma. When the eye is completely displaced out of the orbit, the damage is extensive and may ... Read more »
