Elsa's Lullaby

I've had the link to this video for some time now, but only watched it today. What a lovely tribute to a beloved friend.

The sad tale of the damaged Doodle

Yesterday was such a beautiful day down here in the south end of California's Central Valley. Following our completed Saturday rounds, the spouse and I settled in the backyard to enjoy the late afternoon sun, the air and the critters. Weather like this draws the cats out, as it's warm enough to comfortably rest their aging frames in the sunny spot of their choice.

Darby was busy being his Doodlebug self, zipping around after the birds who dared to light on the lawn, barking at the neighbor dog to try and draw him to the fence line and coming back our way repeatedly so we could egg him on to his next adventure.

Then came Bob, the neighborhood cat who, judging by his frame, is pretty well fed by someone but doesn't seem to ever get indoors, as we find him hanging around at all hours of the day and night. Given the frequency with which he bounces over to visit us (when Darby's safely indoors, as Bob is a bright boy), we're of the mind that he may be angling for an upgrade from family friend to family member, but I digress.

Bob rarely comes into the yard when Darby's outdoors, but every once in a while the dogs on the other side of the fences seem far more menacing than Doodlebug so he takes his chances. Other times we may pop outside without being aware that Bob's in the yard, so Darby gets a romp. We never knowingly let Doodle out when Bob or Brindle (the other stray) are crossing through the yard unless they are well, well out of reach. It's not that Darby would do anything to hurt them, because he absolutely wouldn't, but because we have no reason to terrorize a couple of cats who don't cause us any grief.

Darby saw Bob and it was game on. The Doodlebug did a couple of figure eights trying to cover every inch of turf where Bob might have left a scent-print, head high and tail as high and tight as it gets. Little dude was having the time of his life, right until he wasn't.

There was no magic sound, no yelp, whine or whimper. He just stopped in the back corner where he nearly always stops at the end of his runs to make his last bark-howl of victory, only there was no sound of triumph issuing forth. Just the sight of him limping, or more accurately, hobbling back to the patio.

Frak.

Eleven months to the day after his knee surgery, the Doodle appears to be broken once again, the pain emanating from his body posture matched by our own pain and sadness at seeing him suffering. We brought him in and kept him as comfortable as he'd let us, hoping against hope that it was something strained, rather than damaged.

No such luck. This morning he was every bit as bad as last night.


(For those of you playing at home, that is not the leg that was operated on last year. It's the other one.)

Shortly after taking that sad little video, which is not great but might be worth having the vet look at for perspective, I dug out a spare Rimadyl we had from his surgery and gave it to Darby, hoping it might ease his discomfort. It appears to have helped a bit, as he seems to have gone from horrible, awful pain to just really uncomfortable.

We'll be calling the vet first thing in the morning, paws crossed that it's not as bad as it seems.

Extreme mouse agility!

This is either the most patient trainer ever or the smartest mouse since Mickey.



Happy Sunday!

Shelter success stories

I came across this video on Facebook the other day and immediately went "wow" after viewing it. Here's a shelter that knows how to share their mission and successes with their supporters.


Part Two of their story here:


What a wonderful way to promote what a shelter should truly strive to be: a place where those needing a hand up to a better life receive one.

Shelter

Really well done video about a city headed for no-kill:


Shelter from Kelly Sloan on Vimeo.

Last Minutes with Oden

If you haven't seen this, you owe it to yourself to watch. Six amazing minutes about a man and his dog. This won Best Video in Vimeo's first annual video contest in the Documentary category.

*note - contains scenes of a dog being euthanized.

Cat City Documentary

Given that Kern County's current kill rate is over 90% per month, this may be well worth watching.

The dogs of 9/11

Beautiful tribute...

Sunday fun

I try to make a habit (with rare exceptions) of only posting happy things on Sundays. Don't we all get enough unhappy news the other days of the week? Keeping that in mind, enjoy!

Just a Dog

I think they got this just right...Happy Sunday!

The Apology Video

I continue to be struck by this well-produced video about pet ownership.

Valentine's fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Getting easier to herd cats these days...

I came across this great article on L.A. Unleashed about the increasing interest in cat obstacle courses and agility contests gaining a bit of interest. In all seriousness, nothing could be better for cats than to have articles like these come to light.

Why? Because perhaps as people read how truly trainable cats can be, perhaps that will help dispel one more fallacy that tends to contribute to their second-class pet status. Cats are trainable --- always have been. As nearly any cat owner can tell you, we train cats all of the time in indirect ways, some of which come back to bite us humans in our proverbial hineys.

Note how feeding a cat just after you’re up in the morning eventually becomes you feeding the cat first thing in the morning so they will stop…all…the…meowing. Or how feeding them first thing in the morning means that your precious baby begins “mentioning” that the sun’s about to rise again, paying no heed to such distinctions as weekday versus weekend and holiday mornings? Of course they don’t. We taught them that our getting up means they get fed, and that’s the only part of the training they are remotely interested in.

Training cats isn’t nearly the task people think it to be. It is, however, a different task than training dogs. I have yet to meet the person who can compel a cat to do anything by force. Cats simply aren’t wired that way. To train a cat is to find a way to make it completely advantageous for the cat to be trained.

Food helps. The better the food, the greater the help. Sounds help, too. There is increasing evidence that cats can be as responsive to clicker training as dogs, as this 2008 article from Christie Keith illustrates. Makes sense, as pairing sound with high-value food is what gave the can opener its reverential place in the kingdom of cat.

Take a peek at the video. Think your cat might be ready to take it to the next level?

Mine - A film about the pets of Katrina

I caught this trailer earlier this week and immediately decided it needed to go on my must-see list.

HSUS 2009 Year-End Wrap-Up

Yeah, you might still get a tear in your eye, but at least this time it's for the right reasons.

Adorable adoption commercial

One of the cutest adoption commercials I've seen in ages! This ought to be a national campaign.

Jesse, the amazing trickster dog

Just for fun, here's a video of an amazing little dog named Jesse.

HSUS Kleenex ads: Please make it stop (for a while, anyway)

Another holiday season, another so-sad-I’ll-start-crying-if-I’m-anywhere-near-PMS-time ad from the Humane Society of the United States. Their latest campaign features Wendie Malick at the plate, an actress I love dearly for her incredible comic timing and charm.

This rant has nothing to do with her and her good-heartedness at helping out the HSUS. This rant is about the sheer number of impressions of suffering animals the HSUS seems to want us to wade knee-deep through in an effort to part us from our money. And I say this as someone who actually likes the organization.

Enough already with the sad, starved, wounded creatures in need of my (financial) support. I have friends who won’t even open the envelopes from several animal agencies anymore. Not because they don’t believe in the mission, but because they can’t stand to see the abused creatures or read the heart wrenching stories. Rather than guilt my friends into donating, you’ve shamed them into tossing your appeals into the garbage, unseen and unanswered.

Can’t you try something a little different? How about rows of happy, healthy puppies and kittens along with a message of how for only $10, ten kittens were vaccinated against deadly diseases. Or a photo montage showing people who adopted pets from the shelter, along with the message that donations allowed these pets to be vaccinated, altered and housed until the met the loves of the life? Something that makes me want to join in the good vibes going around from helping pets find forever homes, rather than reach for a tissue box and the remote control?

Cat eating from chopsticks = massive cuteness

Found this on another site and had to share. Happy Saturday!

Snuggies for dogs - surely a sign of the end of civilization as we know it.

This is just wrong, friends...


And if that didn't convince you to shell out your hard-earned cash, maybe their official website will. After all, who needs a Snuggie more than a collie, easily one of the hairiest dogs out there?

This is the gift you buy the person who drives you crazy with pictures of their little Lola all decked out in sundresses...and the holidays are just around the corner :-)