More Shopping for Dogs

I've written a couple of posts in the past about dog purchases I might make for Honey. In the comments, I've gotten some very helpful shopping tips. On the post about collars, someone pointed me to Collarmania that has collars I just LOVE. I will be getting one at some point when I can decide. This is especially difficult since you can have one custom made. Out of the readymades, I think this one is pretty great...



I also got a great tip from the post about a dog jacket for Honey: fidofleece.com! Check it out - all their stuff is great.

Knowing Honey's girlie personality, this is the jacket that was pointed out:



and get this: It has a matching bed!



Unbelieveably cute. A lot more thought (yes, and money) will have to go into this purchase.

It's funny - I can't remember the last time I was as excited about something I could buy myself to wear....

pitbull, pit bull

Rescue Dog Report Card

I received a very special email today. Amy, a fellow OSLF volunteer, and her boyfriend Matt adopted a new dog (they already owned Lola) from a rescuer last year.

Roxanne was the most fearful dog the rescuer had ever seen. No one knew what happened during Roxanne's previous life - whether she had been abused or neglected or what. Whatever it was, Amy and Matt faced a lot of challenges helping Roxanne adjust and everyone knew it wasn't easy.

But, here's Amy's recent update that I wanted to shared:

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It's been about eight months since Roxanne first came to our home. The first time I met her at Sue's house, she hid in the farthest possible corner of the yard, under some bushes. Although she was obviously terrified of us, we took her home. Her first new experience was to go for a walk around the neighborhood. We don't know if she had ever been on a real walk before. Every time something scary happened - a person coming down the street toward us, or a car door closing -- Roxanne would cringe and try to run away, perhaps to hide under the nearest car parked on the side of the street. The first week, she would pee only once a day, and only if you took her to the right spot. She would only poop every 2-3 days. She only wanted to stay in her crate, plastered against the back. To get her out for walks, I had to crawl into the crate and drag her out, and she fought me the entire time. Roxanne would not eat or drink if anyone was in the same room as she was - she liked to eat alone at night. She loved seeing other dogs at the park, but she seemed to not know how to run, or even play. When entering the house, she would always run into her crate. If she was in the yard and a person entered, she would run to find a small hiding space.

Slowly but surely, over the months, she blossomed. First, she would exit her crate voluntarily if she knew we were going for a walk. Then, she finally began pooping every day (what a relief for both of us!), and peeing twice per day. After a few months, she would eat if someone was in the same room, but only if you weren't near her or looking at her. During this time, we gave her a routine and expectations. She wouldn't take treats from our hands, but she learned how to sit, lay down, and come to her name. And she learned how to play with other dogs, and she even learned how to run.

Every week or two we would notice something new that Roxanne had accomplished. After a few months, she would sit in the center of a room, rather than only in the far corner plastered against the wall. She would let me rub her tummy for the first time. Until a couple of months ago, she would still only drink at night when everyone was sleeping. Within the last two months, she started drinking if we were at home during the day, and then within the last month she started drinking if we were in the same room! (As long as we weren't too close or looking at her - of course). She has become a world class runner and jumper (which we learned when we realized she enjoyed jumping over our fence), and class clown.

In the last month, Roxanne has made even more dramatic progress. A few weeks ago she actually started running to the front door to greet me when I come home. We have had guests at our house, and she actually comes up to the them to sniff and say hello. After about 6 months of training, she will now shake hands with me. And this morning she actually drank out of a bowl of water that I was holding in my hands. She is turning into a real dog. It is a joy to see, and it is especially gratifying because she and Lola are enjoying each other's company like real buddies - wrestling, tugging, and chasing each other. I expect that the next few months will bring additional progress, and so Roxanne gets:

Effort: A
Improvement: A+
Plays well with others: A-
Comprehension: B+
Obedience: B- (those darn squirrels are so distracting)
Phys Ed: A+

The power of love and compassion is never so striking as when you see it first hand.

Amy

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(left to right) Roxanne, Amy and Lola in the snow:





pitbull, pit bull

Possum TV

Honey does not understand my interest in my laptop. I don't know what she thinks I'm doing when I sit there working. She'll lie down next to me for a while trying to figure it out. Sometimes she'll go get a toy and throw it around trying to encourage me to join in some real play. She seems concerned that I don't know how to entertain myself. There I am tapping on this object for an hour and I still haven't worked out a spot to chew on or initiated any kind of a chase.

But, Honey found her own entertainment this week: Possum TV.

One of Honey's two cat roommates, Samantha, prefers to eat outside. There is a sliding glass door onto a deck where she likes to be fed. I have always encouraged Honey to ignore the deck - my feeling is Samantha is looking for a little quiet time and privacy and doesn't need a pitbull looking through the glass as she enjoys her meal. And Honey complied until three nights ago.

Samantha didn't finish her dinner and I forgot to bring it in. About an hour later there was a clatter on the deck that sounded like maybe Chester (the other cat) or Samantha had become quite aggressive with the food bowl. A quick look out the window and there was just enough light streaming out on the dark deck to see - you guessed it - an opossum.



Honey was fascinated. First she stood stockstill with one front paw in the air doing her imitation of a pointer (she does this sometimes - seems very ladylike.) Then, she paced the sliding glass door trying to get out. When she realized that wasn't going to happen, she settled down on the floor looking out and starting making strange little noises. I'm not sure if she was trash-talking the possum or was trading some animal small talk ("So whose cat are you, anyway, and are you concerned with your loss of tail fur?") Whatever it was, she was content to lie there watching it and she lay there long after the possum had gone - obviously hopeful it would come back and grab something for the road.

The next night, Honey was lying on her bed when, all of a sudden, she jumped up and headed for the sliding glass door again and - sure enough. The possum was back in all its white-faced, mottled-furred glory. I cracked the door open quickly (to Honey's excitement -- with some encouragement to open it wider) and threw out some cat kibble. The possum backed off for a little bit and then slowly, it started to sniff out the food and then started nibbling it up, carefully inspected the deck for every last bit.

I got on the computer later that night to find out if I was doing something really stupid - starting an expectation with an animal (and possible pest) I'd have a hard time getting rid of later. Well, I found out opossums are great animals! They are very clean - groom themselves like cats do, they are not rabies carriers since their blood temperature is too low, they are considered nature's sanitation engineers and a friend to gardeners because they clean up bugs (including cockroaches), mice, rats, snails, slugs, rotten fruit and any animal carrion, and they are North America's only marsupial (and not related to rats no matter what their tails look like), carrying their young in a pouch until the baby opossums are old enough to climb out and ride on their back.

So, the next night I put out chopped almonds, some old apple slices, water and a little more catfood. Honey, once again, watched the possum food chewing and waddling about with enthusiasm wouldn't leave until long after the last encore.

It's about an hour later tonight and no possum yet. Both Honey and I have checked a few times. I hope it comes. I'm thinking I can start setting up the laptop near the view of the deck, writing emails, reading blogs and watching Honey's show at the same time.



pitbull, pit bull

Pitbulls I don't know

I grabbed this shot the other day and I feel terrible because I can't credit it - I don't remember where I found it. I do want to put it up anyway because it's one I love. The little girl is adorable but it's her two goofy pals that make me laugh.

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I'm off to a slow start posting this year but...Honey and I have been watching some movies together so I thought we could do some reviews together....and, that's my trailer for the next post.

pitbull, pit bull

Norton Simon Museum and New Year's Dog

Christmas can be a bittersweet holiday for me - the loss of close family members becomes too obvious. But, gotta say, Honey and I have really had a wonderful time. No moping allowed around a dog - especially Honey. She has seen me cry a couple of times and has shown absolutely none of that loving, comforting attitude I've heard other pets exhibit. She kind of looks away at first, a little embarrassed and uncomfortable is how I read it, then, with what I can only feel is her equivalent of toe-tapping, she'll sit and stare at me waiting for the whole thing to blow over. It really takes a lot out of the there-is-so-much-tragedy-in-life moment when you end up in a staring contest with a dog.

We did a lot of our favorite things. We did have to split up since hers were along the lines of running after dogs, rolling around, jumping in and out of a wading pool and lots of face licking and I was leaning more towards seeing a photography exhibit, strolling a street of small boutiques and bookstores and having a Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae. (Okay - she would've been up for the ice cream but I wasn't about to share.)

I dropped Honey off for a day of dog fun at Bow Wow Bungalow and went on to meet my friend Kiki in Pasadena - her hometown. There's so much to do there and I always have fun including going on tours of the amazing Greene and Greene houses, going to the Huntington Library and Descanso Gardens and, of course, the Norton Simon museum.

The Norton Simon is the perfect part-day sized museum. It's small but many world-class painters and sculptors are well represented. Also, the building is one of those it just feels good to be in and there are some very prettily landscaped outside areas to wander around in.

I hadn't been to a photography exhibit for a while and this one was interesting because it had work by the classic great photographers - Weston, Adams, Kertesz - along with quirkier, more recent ones. This exhibit also included a photograph I couldn't stop looking at because it was so beautiful: Magnolia Blossom by Imogen Cunningham.


Then, Kiki and I wandered around the permanent collection making many astute art comments like "was it the style to only expose the right breast when dressing up?" (sorry - that's the only one I can remember) when we came on a painting of someone's dog.


Aldrovandi Dog is described as a painting that "was likely hung fairly high in a large room or salon where the animal would appear to tower over the viewer."

How great is that? Even back in 1625, people had strong bonds with their pets and were boring people with their latest pictures of them.

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It's been a whole year of traveling with Honey and, although she's done her best to bankrupt me, forced me to move - twice, cramped my work life with her rehab needs which lowered my tax bracket substantially and, finally, helped end an interesting relationship (okay, probably not a bad thing) --- gotta say, she's absolutely the best.

Honey and I wish everyone the best new year with many happy travels and even better non-travels.

pitbull, pit bull, dog

Non-profit for Dogs and the Story of Finnegan

I've mentioned this organization in another post, but, whenever I can, I try to do work for Orthodogs Silver Lining Foundation (OSLF). It's all-volunteer, internet-based and it's a 501(c)(3)non-profit (in other words, donations are tax-deductible). They help rescues and service and companion dog-owners get funding for canine orthopedic medical care. They will also help service dogs get other essential medical funds.

There is a holiday matching fund donation up right now for $2500 so, if you have a small amount you want to donate, now is a great time since it will be doubled!! If you have a little more money, there are a couple of nice OSLF offers with donations for $25 and then $50+ range.

I would like to mention a few of the reasons I love to work with OSLF:
- All the money goes to the dogs - being all volunteer and internet makes so much more possible
- We get to help some wonderful animal rescues when dogs in their care need surgery
- The OSLF board is painstaking in getting a thorough background on all applicants (this, of course, is more about people problems than anything about the pups)
- Although, our emails are usually business related, it's always obvious how much everyone cares about the animals we're helping. There was an off-topic email yesterday - that involved animals - and the responses to it made me feel quite at home. When an OSLF volunteer shared these pictures and story you might have already seen:

A baby squirrel was rescued by a woman (Debby Cantlon) who named it Finnegan.


Finnegan was adopted by Cantlon's pregnant Papillon, Mademoiselle Giselle.



When the pups were born, the squirrel basically became part of the litter.





We all commented. I like the fact I wasn't the only one who was worried about what happened to the squirrel (I looked it up - it lives happily in the wild with other squirrels). I like that someone in the group had always wanted a pet squirrel - and it wasn't me...(although - after seeing these pictures....) Separate from that, I also like that dogs and squirrels can live in harmony - to me, after some of the dogs I've known, that's equal to the lion and the lamb....

non-profit, dogs