An Arf-Arf Here and a Meow-Meow There... E I E I O!

[beyelzu]

Capone is a delight. Like many white pits, Capone is deaf. He loves reflected sun light. During the day time when the sun is out, if you use your phone and it catches light, Capone will attack the light spot, but he knows that the person’s phone can make the light so he will want you to do that.

He was all about laying on ES

[ChuckF]

Our neighbors down the block have a big handsome bloodhound and I am mildly obsessed with him. I've met him a few times, most recently when I spotted him running loose (probably because he can jump a 6 foot fence) and went and leashed him and took him home again. I know he doesn't get enough exercise because it is not physically possible inside of a city. I would offer to walk him but I already have a walk-intensive dog and also a day job.

He is so good. He is big and stinky and loud. Great big ears, lots of slobber. He is solid muscle. He could run for hours. I want to run away to the country with him.

But it cannot be. We each have lives here.

[beyelzu]

Gizmo our little old lady chi has been having a bit of a second puppyhood since we got Mookie.

Gizmo ignored Mookie pretty much the entire time that Mookie was smaller than her. Mookie is twice Gizmo’s mass, but Gizmo is alpha. Ever since we had Gizmo’s top teeth removed (sadly a common thing for chis), I have made Gizmo shredding chicken nuggets for dinner.

We also keep kibble available. Gizmo will eat some kibble when she is hungry. Mookie only eats kibble.

When I refill the dog food, Gizmo has prima nocte rights, she goes over to the bowl, smells the kibble and licks some of them for awhile, then Mookie can eat.

Gizmo has started barking more because Mookie is a high strung, tightly wound asshole, but also because Mookie growls and is vocal in play.

Gizmo has learned to make different little barks when she gets pets more.

I also think this is her healing some from losing Ripley.

Gizmo spends most of her time sleeping in her little bed next to our recliner in the living room. It’s awesome as I can just reach down and pet her. When she has had enough, she just walks away. Gizmo likes control.

When Gizmo wants something, she moved from her bed and presents herself and just stares at her dumbass human servants until we can figure out what she wants. Generally it’s “outside” or “food”, but she also does “water” and “turn on the outside light so I can see the steps, dipshit”. Her staring tone is pretty imperious.

Mookie is quite the lapdog. If she is sitting in my lap and I start to get up to get a soda or something, she will be on the couch with ES before I’m all the way out of the chair.

Anyway, our little family of four mammals is doing well.

[vremya]

I usually don't like Chihuahuas, but those two are adorable!

[BrotherMan]

1) Mookie's ears!

2)

prima nocte

prima noshta

[beyelzu]

ES went on a couple day work trip to San Diego, so it’s been just me and the girls. Mookie in particular is extra needy.



Gizmo loves a sunbeam. I’m excited for her as the days get longer and our our front yard gets drier.



Here she sits warming her old bones.



Mookie loves laying on my chest. I’ll sit and scratch her Pom scruff and play with her ears. Her fur is short but velvety soft and thick

She sits so close that I can press my face into her chest and giggle like a child with a wiggly puppy in his face.



She trusts us the way a still nursing pup ripped from her mom’s teat and was then bottlefed and pampered.

After her sun, ‘Mo came in an received pets as is her custom.



Gizmo is far too skittish to be comfortable sitting on me. She has to have an easy escape route to be comfortable. But I can read down and let her. I can honestly say that the only animal I’ve let suffer than Mo is my friend Steph’s Angora rabbit and it’s close (the rabbit fur is much thicker than Mo’s coat)

[beyelzu]

Mookie stares at ES’s direction intensely. Mookie does everything with high intensity.



She lays on my chest very close to my face, my phone barely fits.

[vremya]

Look at those EARS!

[Ensign Steve]

She has permanent puppy ears. She's pretty ideal.

[Ensign Steve]

Mookie with her tomahawk steak bone.

All together now: "It's as big as she is!"

Yes. Yes it is.

[SharonDee]

I have a second dog. But I forgets how to insert an image here.

His name is Barkley and I've had him for two months. He's sweet and cuddly but manages to hold his own with the wild-playing Catahoula mutt.

[specious_reasons]

My elderly dog has been having intestinal trouble - so much so that I worked from home the last 2 days to help avoid accidents. Getting him outside quickly seems to be the only way to guarantee he doesn't go in the house.

We haven't had any problems since this morning, but he's waking himself up with loud farts, quite the feat considering he's mostly deaf.

[specious_reasons]

In a bit of sad news, we chose to euthanize our old dog this weekend. He had been slowing down a lot over the past year. He had arthritis and labored breathing, and we didn’t think he should go through another winter. The inciting factor was he was running low on pain medication, and we would either need to get him more or schedule the appointment. It would be unfair to him to go without pain killers for any length of time. I asked Mrs. Reasons multiple times if she wanted me to get more, but we ultimately decided to schedule the appointment.

There’s a service that comes to the house, and it’s probably the best way. Once Booberry checked out the vet, he just wanted to go back into his normal spot and go back to sleep. We were half tempted to let the vet give him his first sedative there, but it’s not easy to get to him there. He was pretty happy until the end, which means we didn’t put it off too long.

Bye Booberry, you were our favorite cicada killer.

[vremya]

I'm sorry specious - that's always hard.

[ChuckF]

I'm sorry, specious. Having it done at home is so much easier for everyone. Arthritis is so rough on dogs. We have rugs and yoga mats down everywhere for our creaky old girl. We're probably going to have to have a similar visit before long. She's always been a lemon, but her vet lives in the house. Lately, though, she's started to show some signs of cognitive decline/dementia.

It's hard, but a comfortable and peaceful death is the last and best gift we can give them. That's why I think it's so good to do it at home, where they can be at ease. Humans should be so fortunate.

[LarsMac]

I am sorry for your loss.
Fur- Kids are hard to let go of.

[slimshady2357]

Aw, sorry for your loss specious

Hardest part of owning a pet for sure. You have him a good life and that's the best we can do.

[vremya]

Our 16 year old kitteh has been bouncing around, stealing the other cats' food, picking fights since he started getting Solensia injections. He used to hide in the closet all day.

[ChuckF]

Yay! That is so exciting! The dog version of the Solensia antibody is called Librela and just launched in the US last month and we started PupetteF on it. She’s had her first shot and will get her second one week after next. I think I see a little improvement but apparently after the second dose is when you start to see a real response if they’re going to respond. I hope it works, arthritis is so hard on cats and dogs.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by vremya

bouncing around, stealing the other cats' food, picking fights

Sounds like the virus from 28 Days Later.

[vremya]

The vet says it can take a couple of doses to see any changes. I hope it works for PupetteF!

[vremya]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

Sounds like the virus from 28 Days Later.

[specious_reasons]

Every meal, Cookie Crisp waits until Cinnamon Toast Crunch is finished with his food, then he will wait until Cinnamon tries to approach his food dish. Cookie will then defend his bowl and start eating. If Cinnamon doesn't, Cookie will lay down near his bowl and wait until Cinnamon comes by. Unless there's some sort of novel treat in this bowl, this is the way Cookie eats.

This only works with the other dog. If I make like I will take some of his food, he just passively lets me.

I was about to take a picture of Cookie waiting by his bowl, but Cinnamon wandered by and Cookie started eating. But wait — the cycle renewed:
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[viscousmemories]

Beautiful dogs and funny names, especially when abbreviated because then they sound like stripper names.

[specious_reasons]

My poor oldest child had to put her cat down today. Chewie was 15, and a recent x-ray had shown a lump in her lung. We followed up with a specialist last month, and the tests they did take suggested we either spend close to $10,000 in surgery or let her be until she is uncomfortable. We chose the latter - it seemed unlikely she’d even survive a lung lobe removal. We didn’t expect her to have some sort of attack and wind up with breathing difficulties so soon. The cat hadn’t eaten in 2 days and stopped drinking water, so the final decision was to call the euthanasia vet service.

I can’t stress enough that Chewie was my kid’s cat. They have been bunk mates for all 15 years, except for the college years, and then the rest of us were just poor substitutes. Otherwise , they were nearly constant companions at home. The dogs dying was upsetting, but this was devastating.

This is from about a year ago when Chewie was in better health.
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