Scratchings-and-Sniffings

PEOPLE Pets

No doubt everyone has to get in on the act - the three-ring circus of having pets. Those of us who consider ourselves Pet Parents, or Pet People, not only buy into this circus, we participate as willing ring-leaders.

Of course, the whole experience of being the willing parent of a rambunctious Lab, a vocal Beagle, or a headstrong Golden, is a never-ending home video of both delight and astonishment. I mean - where do they get their ideas from, these challenging and delightful dogs that try our patience to its very core?

We won't go into the cat issue, today. I will tell you that Tom and I - in deference to Wabby Wibby's age and her inability to jump up on the bed without help, these days - created some steps for her... and she refuses to use them. She prefers to sit by the bed looking pitiful, while meowing over and over, until one of us (usually me) lifts her up on the bed. Tom attempted to teach her to use the steps for over half an hour yesterday. She caught on, long enough to appease him...today, she professes not to have a clue.

Christmas Potpourri

Driving back from a holiday visit with my sister in La Jolla California I was tempted to write a post about dogs of the rich and famous.

We took a long oceanside walk every day to offset the huge increase in holiday calories and we saw many, many pampered pets. Some sported designer outfits and all looked like they were quite accustomed to a life of luxury. I would imagine that a few were depressed about declining stock portfolios, but most seemed happy.

Time for New Year's Resolutions

We've posted similar funny stories before but with the New Year right around the corner, I had to share this ditty. I've put "my" touch on it...you can read the original at the link in the title Dear Dogs and Cats. I feel that I should mention that Wabby is currently curled up on my bed, in MY spot, and she opens one eye every time I walk by...just in case I head her way. No doubt, she will steel herself for war - as if I have any right to ask her to move to the other side of the bed!

Note to be posted  VERY LOW on the refrigerator door.  Pet nose height. (do not think your pet cannot read it...if you believe that...I submit that they are just fooling you!)

Dear Dogs and Cats:

Darcie is Gone

It's been almost a week now and we're still in denial.

When we wake up in the morning we fully expect to hear her little footsteps on the wood floors upstairs. We still stare at her bag of food and her water dish. We don't know what to do with them. Putting them away would be an admission that she is really gone. Leaving them there in some way might bring her back?

I'm in the La Jolla CA public library and as I'm writing this I'm crying again. We've been crying a lot lately. We had to tell Claire yesterday on the drive to California. We had been putting it off because we didn't want to tell her over the phone.

 

As most of you know, my daughter Claire picked Darcie out of the local shelter over 18 years ago when she was in the third grade. She was always Claire's dog even though Chris and I had taken care of her since Claire left for college almost eight years ago.

 

We knew it was coming. We had planned for it but we never knew it would affect us this much. It really is like losing another member of the family. Yvonne and many of you know exactly what I mean.

In the end it was peaceful. She could not get out of her bed. She could raise her head but she was too weak to rise. She stopped eating and drinking. It was time.

 

The Blackfeet Tribe has a vision of the afterlife. When a good Blackfeet dies their soul journeys to the Sand Hills, a place where the weather is always good and the buffalo are plentiful. There they patiently wait for family and friends to join them. 

 

I think Darcie is in a place like that. We'll see her again. 

Agility Dog Trials: From Johann the Dog

I'm fortunate to be followed by some really outstanding pet parents and pet people on Twitter. Am I connected to you on Twitter? My label is y2vonne - if you're tweeting I'd love to connect!

The video here is from Johann the Dog, a twitter follower (who I follow back, of course), talking about his female friend, Gracie, showing off.

Within the blog post, Johann (who is very smart - he types well, IMHO)... talked about the weather. I want to echo his thoughts that NO PET should be out in weather like we're having here in the NE. It's down to single digits and the windchill is so icy, we pet parents need to remember to let our pets in and out quickly.

Make sure you check those precious paws for salt or ice...and give your pets a special treat for being so good. Now, enjoy Alice's agility trials. She rocks!

Big Bend Black Bears

How's that title for an alliteration? The story of the return of the Black Bear (Ursus americanus) to the Big Bend country is fascinating. At least to me and hopefully to other animal lovers too.

The Chisos Mountains rise up out of the Chihuahuan desert floor to an altitude of almost eight thousand feet. If you've been reading the blog lately you know that my wife and I and our little dog Darcie have been camped out in Big Bend for almost 2 weeks now. And we've been camped in prime bear country too. We have not been lucky enough to see any yet but the couple in the next camp site saw a sow and two cubs yesterday. In fact there have been several sightings in the area since the first of December.

Has the Internet Gone to the Dogs (and Cats)? Maybe - So what?

Saw an article at this site (can't quite figure out WHO it is) that says the Internet has gone to the dogs, and cats, and other pets. The article cites a number of communities online that serve pets and pet people.

We love them, of course. Especially the Dogsters and Catsters of the web. And, PetCentric, which we talked about this week...re: Critter Carols. "If you asked me three years ago what a social network was, I wouldn't have been able to tell you," admits Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Association (APPA). His blog, btw, is Pet Industry Insight. Do hop over and visit it.

Anyway, I found a few new sites in the article and I thought I'd share.

Darcie Rebounds, Sort Of

I've written several post on my little dog Darcie and her battles with aging and doggie dementia. As most of you regular readers know Darcie is 18 years old and shows many of the classic signs of dementia. Along with her declining cognitive function she has all the other trappings of advanced age. She can't see too well and has lost considerable hearing. She has hip problems and cervical spine problems and is under treatment for chronic pain.

But, along with all that she still recognizes us with a wag of the tail, is eating well, has control of her bowel and bladder and continues to brighten our days. We have had to adjust our lives around her schedule to a certain extent and she's with us at our annual winter training camp in Big Bend National Park in large part because we couldn't find anyone up to our standards that was willing to take care of her.

Critter Carols for Christmas

Happy Holidays...from Purina. Hop over to the PetCentric site and create your own Critter Carol. That would be a video of your dog or cat singing the holiday greeting.

To quote, "These funny holiday greeting cards from Critter Carols feature your dog or cat singing. Just upload a photo of your pet to a wintry background, choose a holiday song, and let 'em sing, let 'em sing, let 'em sing!"

Here's the scoop - you can use their pets (I'm fond of the bulldog - he reminds me of my Uncle George; at least, he would if I had an Uncle George! LOL) or you can upload pics of your own pets and have them sing a specific Christmas carol (you choose from Deck the Halls or We Wish You A Merry Christmas or Jingle Bells) and after you've dressed Fluffy or Fido appropriately - send the card off to your Mom and sis and bro and cousin and all your co-workers!

Purina has made this tres' easy - and fun! Personally, while I was writing this post, I had the Purina pets sing along. That pup snowboarding in the background is a bit distracting, tho! (I bet my daughter takes Twiggy snowboarding - now that would be a video to watch! Maybe she's create a Twiggy Critter Carol...hey, I think I'll email her right now!)

Gotta love the fun and frolicky nature at Purina. You know you wanna do this...go on, get thee to the site and send a Critter Carol to everyone you know! In keeping with the season, of course.

The Chisos Turn White

If you read my last post you'll know we are down in Big Bend National Park for a little hiking and biking. We brought Darcie along because we couldn't find a competent dog lover to take care of her.

It was nice our first couple of days here. We were riding in shorts and short sleeves on Monday. We went to the Hot Spring and it was actually a little hot for a soak.

That all changed on Tuesday. We were hiking and looking for petroglyph's in little canyon near Study Butte and the wind kicked up and clouds started to role in. We had an early dinner with our friends Ellie and Mike (and Cedar) and headed for camp in a driving rain. By the time we hit the park boundary the rain turned to snow and by the time we got to the turn for the Chisos Basin, the park service employees were preparing to close the road.