It's been a busy day

I've mentioned before that Buttercup's not been feeling well - her back legs haven't been working, and she can't walk. She's always had bad luxating patella ever since I brought her home from the SPCA and as she's aged her arthritis has gotten worse. And my hovering over her and macro-managing her hasn't helped either I'm sure - but I've always given her a big dog lifestyle - which included tons of exercise, which has really helped her a lot. This winter though - her exercise has gone down because of the cold weather and my old age and aversion to it. And Buttercup's legs have suffered for it.
So tonight we went to the vet and had xrays done so I could make sure it wasn't something worse - like her spine, or a tumour or anything awful - and luckily it wasn't. So I get to continue giving her daily metacam, as much exercise as her atrophied legs can handle - and we've got a referral to our old friend Shelley Malcolm the dog physiotherapist. I hope it fixes her up. This story is to be continued....
This is Daisy on a new chair I bought last week in my ill-fated visit to the Sear's Outlet store when the back of my car was "tagged" - it's a chair big enough that her, me AND Buttercup can lounge on it at the same time - isn't that fabulous! One could almost say that it's as big as a couch - but it's NOT a couch! haha!
Today we also met up with a reporter who's doing a story for the "Retail Council of Canada" Magazine and my "Mission to make Halifax dog friendly" by having my Charlie loves Halifax website and listing all the stores you can take your dog shopping with you - we met up so she could take some pictures of us to go with the interview that she did - so we went to Horseshoe Island which I thought would be nice and picturesque, and I think it turned out to be, quite!

Michael Vick's Dogs have been Saved

Here's something I didn't know - and something that's surprised the hell out of me - most of the dogs that were in Michael Vick's kennel - have been saved and are being rehabilitated, and it's thanks to people at Bad Rap and the ASPCA. I've always found Bad Rap people are really funny about the pit bulls that they claim to love - they think that pit bulls ARE actually different from other dogs - that they DO actually like to fight and kill dogs and people, and because of that have to be kept safe and away from people and dogs and on-leash at all times and for the rest of their life.

I am in the camp that believes otherwise. But that's not what this post is about - so I won't go into that here. What this post is about is an article that's here - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22844052/ - "an Underdogs Second Chance - saved from Michael Vick's property, pit bulls now in loving homes"

It's an awesome article about how the ASPCA and Bad Rap actually stepped up and tested the dogs in Michael Vick's kennel and found out that almost all of them were in fact not dog or people aggressive and deemed to be adoptable - and arranged to have them shipped to foster homes around the country - or sent to Best Friends Sanctuary in Utah.

It's such a great story - and so typical of what can happen when you look at dogs on an individual - and not a breed specific - basis. It's a lovely story, and should be read by everyone who thought that "pit bulls" were bad - and that pit bulls bred specifically for fighting - were ESPECIALLY bad.

Tonka didn't have to die

There's a message that's someone has put on several of the different Kijiji boards - it's at http://charlottetown.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd-W0QQAdIdZ36642203

It says:

Are you looking for a puppy?

Then please take 5 minutes from your day and read the following…

Tonka was an 9 year old mixed breed dog, beautiful as a pup and taken into a loving home from an animal shelter in 1999. He was loved by an older couple, Elsie and Peter, who were married for 49 years. Elsie and Peter raised 3 children, had three grandchildren, one great grandchild, and a large comfortable home. Tonka adored his home life, was spoiled with treats, visits from the family and grandkids, and slept in a warm, comfortable bed every night.

In 2007, Elsie became ill, and passed away shortly thereafter. Tonka and Peter became even closer, depending on each other for love and companionship for the next few months, they became inseparable.

After 49 years together, Peter soon was unable to carry on without Elsie and passed away in late 2007. The three children, having lost both parents within a year, were devastated. They lived in different cities, had children of their own, and were tasked with selling a home with almost 50 years of memories contained within. Sadly, and through no fault of their own, no one could provide a home for Tonka, and he was surrendered to the local animal shelter.

Tonka had been plucked from a comfortable family life and found himself sleeping on a concrete floor behind a chain link fence in his temporary home. What had he done to deserve this, he had thought? He didn’t know any of these people, he can’t sleep at night because of the barking and noise, and constantly had tears in his eyes. The staff at the shelter are wonderful, loving people who always spent as much time with their animals as possible. Many of the staff worked for free, brought food and supplies from home, paid for office supplies out of their own pockets, came in on days off, and even took animals home if they required extra attention and care. There always seemed to be an endless supply of animals coming through the door, and there was a severe shortage of kennels and cages to provide space for these lost and abandoned pets.

There was usually one staff member who took Tonka out for a short walk in the mornings, spending 10 to 15 minutes a day with him while his kennel was cleaned, and he could feel the sun on his face for a few minutes….

At 7:10 am, the morning shift arrived as usual, the kennel lights flicked on, and another day was about to start. This morning, however, was different. A large man with a friendly face appeared at Tonka’s kennel door, bent down to pick him up, and patted him on the head. He said nothing as he gently carried Tonka to the exam room where two other staff members were waiting. Tonka didn’t see his favourite staff member in the room, and would never see her again….

At 7:37 am on January 17th 2008, only five days after he had arrived at the shelter, Tonka was killed. 18 minutes later, Tonka’s kennel was occupied by another homeless dog who awaits the same fate. On this particular day , the veterinarian who administered the needle would help birth a foal, save the life of a cat who had been poisoned and set the broken leg of a dog that had been hit by a car. He also ended the life of eight dogs and cats at the shelter before his day even started. Twenty years ago, when the vet decided to help animals, little did he know that on average, he would take more lives than he would save.

We can’t blame the vet, he is donating his time and expertise to the shelter every day, the shelter staff genuinely love animals, and offer a little piece of themselves to every helpless creature that comes through their door.

What can you do? If you really want to help, adopt an animal from your local shelter! There are thousands of homeless animals looking for a loving home. And every one of them has a story to tell. Unfortunately, it is too late to help Tonka, but you can be a hero, save a life, adopt an animal…At the very least, take your family for a visit to your local shelter, walk through and see the wonderful and thankless work they do, bring a bag of food or other donations. Offer food bowls, blankets, bleach, used computers, office supplies, anything that you think will help.

Please, DO NOT buy an animal from backyard breeders! In the last 24 hours, there have been 47 individual puppies listed on this site for sale! You will see dogs for sale on this site that are all cute, have adorable names like labradoodles, maltipoos, jack a poos etc etc…

They are all advertised as coming from family homes, lovingly raised with kids, cats etc… and for $400 to $800 ! There is only one reason people sell dogs and that is for a profit. No matter what they tell you, they are unscrupulous breeders who let greed get in the way. These dogs are not registered, are not purebreds, come from over bred mothers and have not been genetically tested. Do the math, 6 puppies at $400 each? If you are looking for a purebred puppy, contact the Canadian Kennel Club for a list of registered, reputable breeders in you area.

Rabies in Ontario. The first reported human case of rabies in Ontario in 20 years. A lady buys an infected puppy at a flea market in Toronto for $150. The puppy broker profits. The puppy becomes ill and where does the puppy owner take the dog? To the Toronto Humane Society (THS), an organization that is funded 100% on donations alone. 186 people in Ontario receiving rabies vaccinations. $1,000 per person for treatment, the “puppy broker” who sold the infected dogs at a flea market has his business “temporarily” suspended? Who is paying for all this? The puppy broker? The purchaser of the puppy? The taxpayer?

Please, share this ad with your friends, co workers, family. Get the word out. If this ad saves the life of one dog, then we have done something miraculous. Somewhere, today, someone will take home a pet… lets work together to make sure a sweet old dog can live out their life in peace and love. We are nothing if we don’t try. I sincerely appreciate your time in reading this ad, please take the time to send it to someone…

My reaction to this may be surprising - but I find this post VERY annoying. My thoughts about this are - that Tonka did NOT have to die.

The person writing this doesn't even seem to think that Tonka's ORIGINAL OWNERS should take any blame for his death. People don't think about the ORIGINAL OWNER'S responsibitlities.

When we bring an animal into our home - it is a birth to death responsibility - and it is not just a birth to death responsibility of just ourselves - it is of the ANIMAL. I have a plan in place if something tragic happens to me. My family knows what it is, my special friend in rescue knows what it is - and all of my animals who have already been scarred by the confines of a concrete and chain link cage - will never see one of those cages again simply because I happened to die on them.

As well - none of my animals will become a burden on the shelter system - and possibly be killed so that space can be made for another animal.

So that posting on Kijiji is very sad - but to me - the blame is mis-placed. That elderly couple must have known that they most possibly were going to die before their dog did - it was shameful that they didn't have something in place so that their canine life companion wasn't taken care of. They totally let that dog down so that he died around strangers. Shame on them.

And the person writing that post is putting 2 things together that don't really belong together - puppy mills and an old dog dying because his old owners died on him. I don't really get that. Don't buy from a puppy mill or pet store so that there's space in shelters so that when old people die there's space at the shelters so that their dogs can be dumped there and they won't be killed to make space for other old people's dogs? Maybe that's what the person is trying to say. Shit. That's a pretty shitty thing to say.

Anyway - I think that posts like this give people reason to not take ownership of their responsibilities - I take very serious responsibility of the sentient beings that I have brought into my life - even if I'm not alive to take care of them. And that old couple should have thought about that too. Tonka was given a very short shrift and the person writing that post should have had the insight to realize that.

It's very interesting - my views on this haven't changed over the years - I was searching for something else on my blog - and I found a post from June 2004 when I was talking about this exact same topic - the post is called "kill shelters" - but I'm talking about exactly the same subject - it's really interesting.

This is why Nathan Winograd is my Hero

Nathan Winograd has the most awesome of posts on his blog right now - it's all about how the HSUS uses it's power to make people afraid of dogs and cats and perpetuate myths and allows animal control agencies across the USA kill animals - and continue breed bans, and heavily regulate dog owners - he also talks about an interview between Jon Katz and the HSUS.

I have always intensely disliked Jon Katz - he's supposedly been a friend to dogs and written sweetsy dog books - but in an interview I read once he didn't believe that dogs had souls - and right there I knew that he saw dogs as being less than alive and I knew that he didn't really like his dogs. And from that moment I didn't believe a word he said whenever he was talking about his love of animals.


I think everyone who's into animal welfare should read this post by Nathan Winograd - you'll learn tons of stuff - it's at nathanwinograd.blogspot.com - it's so articulate and eloquent, you'll have your socks knocked right off your feet.

Dog Hating God Lovers?

After I came out from shopping at the Sear's Outlet store today, I found this scrawled above my bumper sticker from "Bark Magazine" and it said "Jerk" - the bumper sticker of course says "Dog is my Co-pilot" - the byline for the magazine - so I have the following for you -

This is a multiple choice question:

is the writer of the graffiti -

a) a dog hater?

b) a god lover?

c) a person telling me that they don't like my car has so much salt on it?

d) all of the above?

I don't know - I guess that is for Buddha to decide. I feel compassion for all beings. Sentient and otherwise.

A smoky harbour, the dogs playing, and a successful letter

The letter I wrote to the Editor at the Chronicle Herald last week was in the paper yesterday - the one in response to a previous letter about in-home doggy day cares becoming legal. It's funny because I wrote my letter and I know that Janet Chernin also wrote a letter and the original lady also wrote in a subsequent letter - and it's only my letter who made it in - here's the letter as they published it yesterday:

Trail-blazer

Re: Lisa Dillinger's Jan. 17 letter about the legalization of in-home doggy day cares in HRM. She should be applauding the municipality and Janet Chernin, instead of saying that what they are doing is "surprising and somewhat wrong."

Just because she opened her own business before the legal wrangling has been worked out, so new businesses can't open yet legally on the peninsula, doesn't mean that she should be critical of a business owner who is trail-blazing – and who has spent more than $16,000 of her own money in legal bills so far to legitimize the very type of business that Ms. Dillinger herself opened in Seaforth this past July.

It is because of Ms. Chernin and the 12 years she has spent showing people that a business like hers is a good idea, and that dogs (and dog owners) need this kind of refuge, that people like Ms. Dillinger can now open the same type of business. And in the not-too-distant future, if Ms. Dillinger wishes to relocate to the peninsula, she will have that opportunity and she can thank Ms. Chernin and the HRM.

Joan Sinden, Halifax

It's been very cold here the last few days and the Halifax Harbour has looked spectacular in the morning - I stopped to take a few pictures on my way to work this morning -







Tonight the dogs were playing in the back yard and being especially cute so I took a few photos - I LOVE it when Charlie and Buttercup play together - there is nothing cuter in this world when they play together.

Some Fish and Some Dogs

My fish tank is getting very full of platy babies, and also - some of my platy adults are getting absolutely huge. I took some photos of my tank today.

I love my fish tank and all my fishes in it. They are so interesting to watch and they actually have personalities.


This is from left to right a male guppy, a platy and a female guppy
This is a white cloud minnow, of which I have five - and I've had these five fish the longest of any fish - they're probably getting onto 3 years old now and seem to be very healthy and happy and haven't slowed down a bit. They're egg layers so they've never had any babies - platys and guppies I've had literally 100's of babies - the tank is currently chock a block. I've got a 30 gallon tank right now, I may have to reopen my 20 gallon soon, but one of the local fish stores might take my babies, which is good - they sell them 3 for $9.99 - so really, it'd be worth their while.


Today I had a really bad headache and Buttercup and Daisy spent the whole day in bed with me - they are such good companions. Buttercup didn't leave my side for one second.
Daisy may perhaps be the most photogenic rottweiller/doberman mix in the whole of the HRM...

Bark & Fitz is awesome!

Today I finally got around to going to Bark & Fitz on Doyle Street downtown in Halifax - they've only been open forever now - and I was completely bowled over by the stuff they have. They have got a ton of good stuff - lots of super collars and leashes, and really cute harnesses and coats - and even coats that go up all the way to sizes for large dogs - which was really nice to see. They had shampoos that I've never seen before - and one thing they had that I thought was really neat was dehydrated tripe - I wonder what the dogs would think of that? I bet it'd be really healthy for them to eat though!

This is the display case with their fancy cookies
They had cookies in the shape of hotdogs - isn't that neat! haha!
This was a little dog trying out one of those "Whistler" rain coats - Buttercup has always wanted to have one of these!
Here are some of their leashes and collars - the more dazzling ones - they also had the smoochy-pooochy leashes as well - and other brands too - and also a WHOLE WALL of Planet Dog stuff
A WHOLE DISPLAY CASE of PINK STUFF! I was in heaven....
This is Charlie displaying what I bought for him -
A bottle of dog coat deodorizer - continuing on with the theme that my Dad thinks the big dogs smell funny - I bought some doggy perfume - at $16 a bottle - I hope he smells like Jennifer Lopez now! It's called "Pet Aromatics"
I do have to say though that Buttercup was VERY unimpressed that I didn't buy anything for her! Maybe next time.

Pure Beauty

Yes I know I'm very biased, but I think that Buttercup is just about the most beautiful dog in the whole entire world.

Buttercup and Charlie are going to be on Living Halifax!

Today me, Charlie and Buttercup met up with the crew of CBC Television's "Living Halifax" and went around to 3 of the new off leash pilot project parks to talk about off leash parks and how important they are for dogs, dog owners and the cities they are in.
The weather wasn't very good and all the parks were pretty much a sheet of ice, so we didn't get to interact with any other dogs - but Charlie and Buttercup had a good time - hopefully I didn't make too much of a fool of myself. The episode is supposed to be on February 14th and is only going to be about a 5 minute piece - so take a long blink and you'll miss it! The show will also be available online at http://www.cbc.ca/livinghalifax/index.html probably the day after (So Februrary 15th)- so keep that in mind.

Buttercup was at the Emergency Clinic Tonight

Today was the very first time I've ever gone to work all day and then gone out for a couple hours in the evening. It was because it was really short notice that we had word that Janet's doggy day care saga was going to be on the docket at City Council, and I couldn't get any time off at work. I have always used vacation time to run errands, or if I had to go out in the evening used vacation time to go home early to spend time with the dogs. But today I didn't. So when I got home from work I only had like an hour-and-a-half and then I had to go out again.
And when I got home at like 7:30pm Buttercup wouldn't walk. I was totally freaked out, and when I picked her up she yelped. As everyone knows, all light from the universe shines out from her asshole - so I was only home for about 10 minutes when I made the decision to take her to the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic.

Buttercup has got pretty bad luxating patella in the back legs - her knee sockets can go in and out at will and when she walks sometimes it looks like she's got egg beaters for legs, and she's probably also getting arthritis back there too. And with all the ice and cold weather the last week - I have been lax about going for walks - I hate the cold worse than some people hate eating their own shit. I mean I hate the cold. So her back legs have been bad the last couple days. Plus Buttercup is a pretty good Princess too and was probably pretty pissed off about being alone ALL day and night.
Luckily though - she had just probably pulled a muscle because the vet poked and prodded and stuck her and Buttercup walked around at the vet over there, and I had just completely over-reacted.

And it only cost me $139 - and Buttercup got a double dose of Metacam and is sleeping very nicely now.

Tomorrow though we're going to be filming a short segment for "Living Halifax" - so I wanted to make sure she could walk at least a little bit - we're going to be going to all the new off leash pilot project dog parks - so she's got to shake her booty for the camera. She's going to be wearing her pearls and I thought I'd put a different coat on her for each of the parks we go to. Maybe even at one of the parks I'll put on a matching hat and scarf that I have for one of her dog coats. That should get a comment from the host! haha!

I LOVE my new camera!

I think I've said a couple times that I got a new camera for Christmas - a fabulous Canon Rebel E0S D40 Digital SLR camera. I am loving it, if only I could figure out how to use it. Usually I'm an afficiando of reading manuals before I start to use something - but for some reason I haven't had time to read the manual for this camera yet, so I've been hit or miss in taking photos - but when I get a good one, it's been a very nice photo - and the camera just FEELS nice, too.

Yesterday my family and me were out at Peggy's Cove - so I've now added to the millions of photos of the lighthouse by about 6 or 7 - and I've gotten a couple nice pictures of my Dad and the dogs too. It's great... here's a couple -



If this isn't a glamour shot, I don't know what is! She IS the most beautiful dog in the world!

This is my beautiful Dad
This is a bracelet that I found at the Sou-wester gift shop and thought was a neat idea - nautical knots produced by a local company, and then I looked at the bottom of it and it said "Made in China" - and I thought to myself - is nothing sacred anymore? What a disappointment!!!!!
2 of my photos from Peggy's Cove yesterday

Buttercup AND Daisy go to the Beauty Parlour & Some photos from the week + Shubie Park

This is the sign at one of the entrances to Shubie with the map and stuff - I can get lost with the best of maps though! And there were actually poop bags there too, which is also a good sign!

It's very interesting to note that THIS map - which is on the HRM's website at http://www.halifax.ca/RealPropertyPlanning/OLPS/olps_ShubiePark.html shows a lot more trails than the above map, which is at the entrance to the actual park - which you get to by going onto the Waverley Road in Dartmouth, and then turning left onto Fairbanks Street - which is just a couple seconds beyond the Tim Horton's which is also on your left when you're coming up the Waverley Road - I suggest you Mapquest it, because I am NO GOOD with directions, sorry.

This week we went and checked out Shubie Park - which is one of the new off-leash pilot project areas - and maybe it's because it was still the week after Christmas - but there were a TON of people and their dogs there! I have to say it was really confusing which were on-leash as opposed to off-leash areas - in fact, as a person who was there for the first time - I found it impossible to tell which was on and off-leash except for the signs telling me I was "entering and off-leash area" and signs "entering an on-leash area" - but if I was on a trail that didn't start with that sign - I would've been buggered.
These are photos of Charlie rubbing himself on a bush - he likes to scratch himself on bushes - isn't he just the cutest?

These pictures were taken down by Lake Mic Mac where there's a quite big open area that's off-leash that I'm told there can be as many as 15-20 dogs playing around together on the weekends - that sound like fun for those that can handle it!



A Shubie squirrel - yummy!
This is Greta - a very good dog to play with!


A long shot of the walk - a good time had by all.

Next week Buttercup might be on tv, so we went and got her a proper haircut at the Metro Dog Wash with Kathleen. She is currently looking like a million bucks.

Another thing we did was to give Daisy a bath - the first one she's had in her entire life! I can tell you that she wasn't very happy about it! Petrified would be a better answer - but my Dad - who is living with me and for some reason likes to have things around him smelling nice - thinks Daisy smells rather like a DOG - so a bath is what she got - and she is now smelling like a rose. Yea!
Hopefully next time she won't be quite so unhappy about the experience now that she's gone through it once with a professional! Thanks Leah! haha! She definitely earned her wages today!



Now here's some wasted money spent this week - I bought a rubber chicken dog toy for the dogs - it makes this absolutely fabulous loud chicken squealing noise and the thing is all tarted up like a cheap peking duck - it is absolutely precious - I brought it home from the pet store and started to squeak her and everybody ran with their legs between their tail! Their all terrified of the noise she makes. What a disappointment!
Of course Charlie is an absolute plugger and will let me take his picture with her - but no one will play with her. She's a $15 piece of plastic waste. I've got to figure out another way to use her as a prop. I'll have to think on that.

Here's a picture of nap time this week - guess which part of the bed I got. I AM a human pretzel. And I wouldn't have it any other way - but I have to say - I am SO glad I get to do it now in a double bed - trying to do this in a twin bed was IMPOSSIBLE. There was absolutely no space for me in a twin bed.

My last catty post

Okay, I swear to God this is my last post. I said that in 2008 I wasn't going to write any more mean posts - but as far as I'm concerned it's still New Year's Eve because I still haven't gone to bed, so I can still write this post - so I can't save it till morning - I have to write it now.

I have been having very bad luck lately with other people deleting my comments from their blogs. I don't know why - what I write sounds reasonable. I wrote a comment on the dog politics blog when she wrote about Tammy Grimes being convicted of stealing Doogie - I didn't mention that in my blog post called "Tammy Grimes, BSL and Talking out of the side of your mouth" - that I had written a comment on Barb Haywoods post - and she had deleted it, but I did.

What I had basically said was that Barb was completely up her wazoo about Tammy Grimes, she was completely wrong and was lying and should be disgusted by herself. And for some reason - Barb deleted the post. Which is pretty typical of Barb - I'm not sure if she's EVER left any of the comments I've made to her blog - maybe because what I've said on her blog is actually TRUE.

Tonight - another right wing dog politics blog - Caveat - owned by Selma Mulvey put out an OT post - called "Too Bad Nobody's Coming Over" - and it's all about this spaghetti dish that she had cooked for herself - she posted the recipe and even took a photo of the dish and posted it to her blog.

So I couldn't help myself - I posted the comment - "I can't resist - is nobody coming over because you don't have any friends?"

The comment was deleted shortly thereafter. 4 other comments (friendly) have not disappeared.

So much for editorial freedom in blog comments - if you're going to dish it out - you better be prepared to take some. I know I've left some whoppers on my blog.

But I would just like to say - Selma - if you are going to open a door - people have got to walk through it. If you are going to post an opening line like that - expect people to offer up punchlines like I said. Anyone with the slightest (normal) sense of humour would've been saying it to themselves tonight - especially anyone who knows you. And especially anyone who's spent anytime with you.

Me, I'm very happy I was able to spend time with people around me. And I'm hoping that 2008 offers up much more of the same plus some.

And yes I know I'm bad for making such a catty comment. I just couldn't help myself. But what can you expect someone to do when a super sour person posts to their blog a photo of the meal that they are proudly declaring that they are going to be eating by themselves on New Year's Eve and it's too bad that it looks so good? I mean shit, as far as I know she had to delete the same comment 100 times tonight from 100 different people. hhmm maybe she did. That would've been sweet.