Lucky dog!  A stray for at least 10 years, Sonya has been rescued, and has a home where she's happy and cared for...

Back in the U.S.A...

No, not me – I haven't left the U.S.A. for quite a while (though the U.S.A. seems to be leaving me – but that's another story).  Rachel Lucas is back in the U.S.A., and Primo is with her.  Rupert is stuck back in Italy for a while, but will be joining Rachel and Primo soon.

Rachel is happy to be back home, in Texas.  Primo...Primo is apparently consumed by canine ecstasy.  The latest episode of that is his discovery of peanut butter filled Kongs:

Now that's a happy dog!

If Dogs Are a Part of Your Life...

Just watch:

Dogs vs. Cats...

Via my mom:


I'm still LMAO!

Cute Puppy of the Day...

Via my mom, purveyor of cute puppy pics:

Seems to me that if you had enough photos like this, and you sprinkled them all over the Middle East, the conflict there would be over...because everybody would be holding a photo and smiling at each other....

The Wind in Their Ears...

A video for dog lovers:

A Morning Walk...

Debbie and I have been regularly walking up the hill alongside our home, almost always early in the morning (so it's not too hot).  It's great physical therapy for her, still recovering from her broken knee.  The chaparral can be very beautiful, and this morning's walk provided a couple examples.

But before we started this morning's walk, I caught our old girl (Lea) asleep on the couch.  At the ancient age of 16 (particularly old for a field spaniel), she spends most of her days in approximately this position.  It takes her a few minutes of movement before her joints work freely, and she doesn't play very often any more.  But every once in a while, she surprises us – as she did last night with me.  I had a Milk Bone for her, and when I held it up out of easy reach, up she went on her two hind legs, as if she was still a puppy!  I gave her an extra Milk Bone after that :)

This morning we took Mo'i along on our walk.  He's 14 – not far behind Lea – but still going strong.  He can easily make the 3 mile round trip walk with us...but by the time we get home, he's visibly dragging a bit.  It's easy to see how much he enjoys these walks.  This morning he was actually pulling me out the front gate, something he rarely does (he's always “lunking” alongside us as we walk, not straining at the leash like Miki or Race).

At left are the seeds of the mountain mahogany (a Cercocarpus, but which one I'm not certain).  Most of the year this is a scruffy looking chaparral shrub, notable mainly because the deer love to eat its leaves.  But for a few weeks in late spring, its hairy, fuzzy seeds put on a beautiful show, especially when back-lit.  This morning, as we looked to the east with the sun just over the horizon, we could see thousands of these mountain mahogany shrubs lit up in the valley below us and on the surrounding hillsides.

At right is the scarlet larkspur (Delphinium cardinale), a chaparral native that is particularly beautiful this year (we presume because of the early rains).  I counted 24 plants in bloom along a 1.5 mile stretch of road (they love road cuts and the edges of open, rocky areas), easily double the density I've ever seen before.

It was a very pleasant walk.

Reunited...

Marine Sgt. Ross Gundlach served in Afghanistan with Casey, a yellow lab trained as an explosives dog.  Sgt. Gundlach wanted to take care of Casey after she was retired, but she was assigned to the Iowa State Fire Marshal's office.  After pleading his case to the Fire Marshal's office, some state officials with a heart decided to make Sgt. Gundlach's dream come true.  They arranged a surprise reunion of Sgt. Gundlach and Casey, and now the two will be together permanently.

There's a government story that makes me feel good.  First time in a while...

Says the Dog: “What Just Happened Here?”

Via my lovely bride...  I wish I knew the backstory on this one, but the photos' story is very clear.  First we have a disastrous looking situation from the squirrel mama's perspective: the big black dog has her baby pinned down, and it's looking like hors d'oeuvres time:

Things are not looking good for baby.  But then mama squirrel gets right in that nasty dog's face, like a fractional horsepower chainsaw mounted on motorized crampons.  That ole dog is mighty distracted – and baby squirrel makes a mad dash for safety:

Mama and baby, safe on the tree – and one very confused looking dog, the expression on her face saying “What just happened here?  Did I just get my ass kicked by a squirrel?”

Why, yes, as a matter of fact you did!

Good Doggie!

Watch:


I can't find the origin of this, but what it appears to be is a video of someone firing his gun at police, then being taken down by a dog (presumably a police dog) that jumps right over the car to get him.  The police then approach, guns pointed at him.

Good doggie!  Lots of treats for him that night, I'll bet...

This Could Be Our Dogs...

Animal Funnies...

Via my mom.  In a household with four dogs and eight cats, you can bet that lots of these resonated with us!

The Miracle of the Disposable Diaper...

My readers who know me will understand that this is a most unlikely title for a post of mine.  Debbie and I don't have any children, and don't particularly like children (though some recipes might tempt us).  So why would we know anything at all about disposable diapers, much less think them miraculous?

If you're inclined to make cracks about elderly incontinence, you'd be getting close – but it's not us that's having that problem, it's one of our dogs: Lea, our 15 year old female field spaniel.

According to data from the Field Spaniel Society of America, it's quite rare for field spaniels to live to this age (their data shows 1 of 366 dogs living to that age, and none any older).  Stroke is the most common identified cause of death at that age in field spaniels.

So we know that each day we have Lea still with us is a minor miracle in and of itself.  Amazingly she has no major health problems of any kind.  She has a treatable thyroid condition (very common, treated with tablets), and a strange hair problem (her hair is very thin and less dense than normal), but otherwise she's fine. 

Recently she's been unable to control her urination.  This was a miserable cleanup job for us, especially since most of our house is carpeted.  This is a common condition for elderly female dogs, and is often treatable with hormones – which we've tried, but unfortunately the treatment didn't work for Lea. 

So we started isolating her in a baby playpen, with absorbent pads on the bottom of it.  That worked in terms of keeping the house clean, but was miserable for Lea.  Some online research led me to another answer: diapers, specifically, modern super-absorbent polymer based disposable diapers.

There are some disposable diapers made specifically for dogs, but they're expensive – around a dollar each.  Diapers for human babies, of the right size, are much less expensive – about one third the cost.  The fit for a dog is different than for a human baby, but aside from a hole for the dog's tail they are actually very similar.  I found several posts from other dog owners dealing with this problem who recommended (quite specifically) Huggies “Snug and Dry” diapers with a manually-cut “tail hole” in them.

So we bought a small, experimental package of these diapers to see if they would work.  Here's the miracle part: they do work, and they don't interfere with Lea's normal behavior around the house.  Cutting the “tail hole” turns out to be a trivial affair – about 5 seconds with my pocket-knife, to make a slit.  The diapers come printed with a pattern that makes it easy for me to put the hole in the right place each time (I'm sure that wasn't their intent, but it works just fine nonetheless :).  The diapers have velcro-like fastening tabs that are reusable and secure.  The fit is not a problem at all; dog hips and baby hips are sufficiently similar that the same diaper fits tightly on either.  Lea's fur never gets wet, I think because when she urinates it goes straight into the diaper's absorbent polymers, right through a permeable layer on the inside.  The reusability of the fastening tabs allows us to remove the diaper before walking her, and (assuming she hasn't peed in it) putting it back on afterwards.

On average, the diaper saves us a house mess about once a day.  A couple of times I've been very surprised when removing the diaper, because it was quite heavy with captured urine – it is simply amazing how much those diapers can hold.  The payoff is that our ancient and beloved dog can be with us and her fellow dogs, just as she is used to – without us having to pay the price of a soiled home.  The diapers don't cost much (roughly $10/month) and they're really not much effort.  That qualifies as a miracle in my book!

Now we've ordered a bigger box of diapers, and we're hoping that one of these fine days we'll need to re-order...

Race Needs This...

Race is our young border collie, who is obsessed with chasing anything roughly round that you might throw.  Pine cones, tennis balls, styrofoam packing material, it doesn't matter.  Our arms get tired of throwing long before he gets tired of retrieving.  This machine, scaled up for outdoor use and 200' throws, would be perfect for him:

Nobody Texts Dog...

So God Made a Dog...

This is a takeoff on Paul Harvey's famous piece “So God made a farmer”.  Guaranteed to warm the heart of any dog lover, including the non-believers...

The Dog Poem...

Via my lovely bride:

Why own a dog? There's a danger you know
You can't own just one, for the craving will grow.
There's no doubt they're addictive, wherein lies the danger.
While living with lots, you'll grow poorer and stranger.

One dog is no trouble, and two are so funny.
The third one is easy, the fourth one's a honey.
The fifth one's delightful, the sixth one's a breeze,
You find you can live with a houseful of ease.

So how 'bout another? Would you really dare?
They're really quite easy but, oh, Lord the hair!
With dogs on the sofa and dogs on the bed,
And crates in the kitchen, it's no bother, you've said.

They're really no trouble, their manners are great.
What's one more dog and just one more crate?
The sofa is hairy, the windows are crusty,
The floor is all footprints, the furniture dusty.

The housekeeping suffers, but what do you care?
Who minds a few noseprints and a little more hair?
So let's keep a puppy, you can always find room,
And a little more time for the dust cloth and broom.

There's hardly a limit to the dogs you can add,
The thought of a cutback sure makes you sad.
Each one is so special, so useful, so funny.
The vet and food bills grows larger, you owe BIG money.

Your folks never visit, few friends come to stay,
Except other "dog folks" who live the same way.
Your lawn has now died, and your shrubs are dead too,
But your weekends are busy, you're off with your crew.

There's dog food and vitamins, training and shots.
And entries and travel and motels which cost lots.
Is it worth it you wonder? Are you caught in a trap?
Then that favorite one comes and climbs in your lap.

His look says you're special and you know that you will
Keep all of the critters in spite of the bill.
Some just for showing and some just to breed.
And some just for loving, they all fill a need.

God, winter's a hassle, the dogs hate it too.
But they must have their walks though they're numb and your blue.
Late evening is awful, you scream and you shout
At the dogs on the sofa who refuse to go out.

The dogs and the dog shows, the travel, the thrills,
The work and the worry, the pressure, the bills.
The whole thing seems worth it, the dogs are your life.
They're charming and funny and offset the strife.

Your life-style has changed. Things won't be the same.
Yes, those dogs are addictive and so is the dog game.

For the record, we've curbed our addiction at four.  We think...

Snow...Not...

The NOAA forecast for last night (as of the time we went to bed) included 1 to 3 inches of snow at our altitude.  Never happened.  However, we did get close to an inch of rain (about 0.87 inches, to be precise) and a bit of corn kernel sized hail. 

The latter let to an amusing incident on our morning dog walk, which was just at daybreak, during a lull in the rain.  I took all four dogs out on leashes, and is their want in such situations we arrived at a point where two of the dogs (Mo'i and Racer) were synchro-pooping.  There they were, in that awkward-looking dog squat, when suddenly the heavens started dropping that corn kernel sized hail on us.  I had my Aussie bush hat on, so it didn't bother me.  Mo'i never noticed it (this is quite typical of the placid Mr. Mo'i).  But Racer – he was annoyed.  The hail was bouncing off his nose in a way that he didn't appreciate at all, and given his, er, activity he couldn't very well duck his head to avoid it.  So he voiced his displeasure with a few growls, and then started snapping at the descending hail.  He's a very fast dog, so he may well have caught a view hailstones :)

The Ten Guiltiest Dogs on the Internet...

Via my lovely bride:

Cappottino...

Rachel Lucas, on Primo and his new jacket.  A snippet from His shivers broke my will:

He’s a dog, and thus he went nuts for the snow. He snorkled it like I’ve never seen a dog do before, I mean he shoved his snout through it while running and then flung it from the top if his snout into the air and then made a freaky laughing kind of sound. It was like he was on acid at Woodstock. He frolicked and pranced and had an especially good time kicking it up behind him after pooping, such a good time that he then wandered around the park kicking it up even though he hadn’t pooped further. Times like these I really wish I had a newer iPhone so I could take video.

Oh and yes, I did pop the collar on his little jacket. Don’t judge me. It was snowing and his neck needed extra coverage, and also, it makes me laugh.

My mornings just wouldn't be the same without a dose of Rachel Lucas. I sure am glad she's started blogging again...