Ana-saurus says Happy Halloween

Ana was scared of her Halloween costume. So she tried to eat it. Unfortunately for her, our friends brought her a Santa costume. It is too small but we caught a shot anyway. She knows her Mama Ledcat is under the ghoul outfit so she's okay.

She did so good last night. Our first guest was very attentive to Ana so we decided to keep her out and see how she would do. She lasted the whole evening! She did run from the toddler, but once she found a welcoming lap, she was good. She also enjoyed chasing under my skirt and hiding. She ate one pretzel but didn't beg for food.

Simon had been penned up in the bedroom and was desperate to get out. So we let him. He wasn't expecting Josiah the 20 month old. LOL. He definitely tried to beg for food.

It was a fun night for the critters. About 11:30 PM, the boys barked twice to let me know they wanted outside. Otherwise, they were very good. No one got eaten.

Ana went with us today to buy a new coat and some booties. We found a nice quilted coat at Burton's, but no booties. The mgr said they are the most frequently returned item so they stopped carrying them. We tried Petco. We both sat down on the floor and tried to try them on Ana, but no dice. She fought like a banshee and we realized they would never stay on her feet. Makes more sense to put our own boots on and just drag her outside.

There was also the never ceasing battle to get her in her seat belt. She turns into an octopus and I'm on my hands and knees wrestling her to ground, stuffing legs everywhere. Nonetheless, she loves going in the car.

I sprayed all the dog beds down with febreeze so they are all sleeping on the floor. Now i think it smells like feet in here and i can't figure out why.

Happy Halloween from the crew!

Happy Birthday, Ana!

We don't know what date in September marks her birth, so let's just celebrate all month long.

The Banana is doing great. We took her to Cleveland with us for a long weekend and she was a real gem. Didn't like traveling in the crate in the car, but was super well-behaved in the hotel and fine with pottying in a new place. She was afraid of the new people, but did let some folks pet her. She was really good.

Her insistence on being at least partway under the covers is a bit annoying. I'll turn over at night and she's licking my nose while her bottom half is neatly tucked away. Or vice versa. I seem to have a touch of bronchitis so now I just get a schnoz full of dog fair every breath. Great. :-)

I think about Mona occasionally. Something will remind me of her -- a smell, another dog's bark. I cried a little bit the other night because I was sad and just wanted to come home and bury my face in her neck. I'm getting teary eyed right now. Ana is a wonderful dog, but there's never a replacement.

Never.

Untitled

The Banana is still struggling with housebreaking. She's found a spot closer to the deck that she'll use, but we have to watch her like a hawk in the house. Ledcat is pursuing the small dog obedience class so we can get some guidance.

Last night, I gave the boys and the Banana one of those giant dog treat stuffed bones ... it was almost as long as her torse. They all chowed down. She couldn't lift it, but once I set it on the ground she was ready to chow down. Xander finished his first and sat watching her. I guess he hoped she could give up and go away. Ha. Every once in awhile she would curl her lip at him and keep on chomping. He never touched it. Deus recognized a lost cause and went to sleep. Xander continued to eye her hopefully. When I took the unfinished portion off her, he licked her clean and then mopped up the crumbs from the dog bed. She enjoyed the grooming. THen all three dogs laid down near the mantle with the Holy Grail, willing it to spontaneously roll off in their direction. Hysterical.

Dog training is going well. I've been practicing my watch command and both boys have it down. They are very good on sit, down and have been doing well with "walk away" when our neighbor's dog comes out. Our trainer is right -- they do much better when we give them something interesting to follow (walk away and get a treat) than when we insist, fruitlessly, that they come to us and stop getting to look at the yummy dogs in the next yard.

We missed class this week because of babysitting duties. They did recalls on long leashes but we'll catch up next week. I'm almost ready to do some neighborhood walking with them. I'm still nervous. We'll see what happens. I might get inspired.

The Banana Sprays

My lord this little dog is a handful. She doesn't listen to us at all. :-( She'll come when she feels like it and has no response whatsoever to the command "sit" None. She just looks at you with tail a waggin or runs around in circles. Ledcat is taking her to small dog obedience classes in the fall. Good luck to us.

Yesterday, she discovered the basement. My fault. Because she promptly peed and pooped down there. Yikes. This after she's discovered how to get under the fence into our neighbor's yard. Thankfully, he's really nice.

Conclusion? Ana has no solo privileges whatsoever. The only place she can be left untended is her crate.

Sound bad? We love her! We want her to be better behaved so we are doing our best. She does know off and that she can't be on the sofa during dinner. She also knows "go lay down" means go lay with her brothers.

She loves her brothers. Especially Xander. Where he goes, she goes. They are like glue. With clickety clack little nails.

We are going to her reunion in August. She and I -- Ledcat has plans. She will be scared, but we'll stay for at least a little bit. She went to Grandma's yesterday -- her third vist -- and was only a little bit afraid. She likes Grandma and Grandpa, but Great-Grandma scares her. Plus, the cats smell a little bit like old lady. Still, there are crumbs.

Good night.

Vet Disappointment: Allegheny Veterinary Associates

I cannot describe how bummed I am by my (former) veterinary practice. I called to request an appointment for the weekend and was informed that -- once again -- they are shutting down for an entire three day weekend. To celebrate one day of holiday. Which is on a Friday.

This happens all the time. Well, all the time there is a weekendish holiday. Memorial Day Monday? Let's close on Friday AND Saturday, too.

I'm all for employee restfulness, but I can't wrap my brain around a vet practice that closes during the very times that are best for people who have pets to get services. Close on the holiday, for sure. But the day after the holiday?

It must be nice to be in such robust vet fitness that you can turn away a client.

I was pretty upset. Why? Because one of these surprise 5 day weekends came at the expense of Mona's chemotherapy appointment. She had her treatments on Fridays and I adjusted my work schedule to manage it. Then one day I get a call from the vet tech informing me that they are closing on Friday AND Saturday that week so my chemo appointment gets postponed to Tuesday.

In a post-Mona era, I can't help but wonder if she had kept her original appointment ... well, if she would have been with me for another day or another week. Would I have had the chance to hold and kiss her a little bit longer? I'll never know.

And I probably wouldn't wonder if the vet office wasn't closing for every major and minor national and state holiday. At what point does it cross a line?

My favorite is that I asked for a referral to another vet and the TECH called me to tell me that they don't know anyone well enough to make a referral. The vet never called. I spent thousands of dollars and wept millions of tears in that office and they can't even give me the name of another vet. It was like being bitch slapped. I guess once the American Express payment comes through, the personal touch isn't important.

So how do you find a new vet? I always asked John and he's dead. He's the one who told me to trust this particular vet -- she's the best is what he said to me.

Company

Sorry for the delay in posting. Things have been good. Just now I tried to snap a photo of Ana curled up with two of the kitties, but one of the kitties moved. Ana has been eating well and made playful overtures to her brothers. She'll play by herself once in awhile. Her worst sin is her incessant attempts to eat the cat food. Today we began switching the cats to almost the same food as the dogs (brand/flavor -- not species) so that should be fun. She's so teeny that we sometimes actually don't see her standing amongst the cats chowing down. Little bugger.

She's terribly fearful of thunderstorms. She will wake us up she's shaking so hard. With the 4th of July coming up ... sigh. We do still struggle to get her to pee and poop in a reasonable amount of time. Sometimes she's fine and sometimes we do a little dance.

The boys are good. We had an overnight guest and they were very well-behaved. She brought them treats so they were very happy. They start a new round of obedience classes next week. Well, Ledcat goes first and then all four of us attend the following week. It is being held in a park. That will be really nice.

Then we need obedience classes for the Banana. Her response to any command is to jump up on your legs and then whimper. :-)

Saying Good Bye

This article from the Post-Gazette's website really caught my eye tonight. It is about aging zoo animals and the new challenges they pose for their caretakers.

But by last fall, as Sheba neared her 27th birthday, it became clear that
pain and weakness were winning out. That left the zoo's veterinary staff,
managers and keepers with a very difficult choice.
"It's a lot easier to
second-guess yourself when you say, well, she probably would've lived four more
days, slipping slowly down the slope," said Victoria Milne, the zoo's
veterinarian.
They decided not to wait. On Nov. 8, vets anesthetized Sheba,
then administered a solution by intravenous drip that, in a few seconds, shut
down the big cat's body for good.
Then, as she lay there, keepers, vets and
other zoo workers gathered around the cat they'd cared for for 17 years. Some
whispered a few words, others reached out to lay a hand on her glossy black coat
as they wept.
Like many of the zoo's other geriatric animals, their girl had
lived a long, full life. But that didn't make it any easier to say goodbye.

Sometimes, days go by that I don't think of Mona and then I feel really sad. Tonight, my niece was looking at my cell phone photos and asked me about the white doggy. I teared up a little bit. I want to be the kind of dog owner who gets up every day and thanks her for being part of my life.

But I'm not.