Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Blustery Day

This won't be posting today, so I have no idea what the weather will be like...when it actually goes live. These days, with BlogPaws only a month away, I don't have time to actually post in here - unless I pre-write my blog posts and schedule them. 

It's blustery out today. This week has been tough on the dogs cause of the fires in Fort Collins. It's about 30 miles from here (so Tom says), and we aren't very affected by the fires - though it's so sad to know 7300 acres are burning! What I mean is, we go about our daily lives without even seeing the smoke, except in the news. 

Doing the hokie pokie

Put your right hand in, put your right hand out, do the hokie pokie and turn yourself around!

Wordless Wednesday: A Spot of Tea, if you don't mind

Chester all cozy in the chair on the landing. I just think that's what he's saying. 

More Cat Stories

A picture is worth a thousand words.

This is one of my daughter's cats. He's GINORMOUS! And loves his belly rubs.

Shelter Cat Makes Big Difference

Great story from the Huffington Post about a shelter cat adopted into a family with special needs children. We often don't think of cats as instruments of help - the way we think of dogs, like that. But, cats are just as able to sooth chaos and tame the 'wild beast'... within each of us. <pic is my daughter's cat, not the cat in the story>

Here's how the story starts, "Sometimes you rescue a cat, and sometimes that cat rescues you right back. Talk to a few of New York City's Anjellicle Cats Rescue (ACR) volunteers and you will hear amazing tales of cats that have entered the lives of their human adopters and changed them for the better."

New Show on PBS - Shelter Me

A short video showing some out-takes from a new pet show on PBS. Worth a look-see.

 

Who's the boss?

Found this old photo the other day and it just struck me as funny. Our Carmie, the dog, is no longer with us but seeing her with The Grumpy Old Lady, in the 'old' days, brought back lots of memories.

I'm sure Wabby (aka The Grumpy Old Lady) always thought of Carmie as her own. When Carmie passed, from bloat - a terrible, terrible medical issue that every dog owner should learn about - Wabby was pretty confused and lost. For days she would go to that bed and just stare at it - patiently. As if staring would explain to her where 'her' dog went.

Now that we have 3 new dogs, it's a bit different. She 'tolerates' them... there may be a little fondness for Olive, but...she ignores the big dogs. It's hard to ignore Emily, who sniffs her head to toe on a regular basis, but...she does it. 

Here's her pose with Carmie, going on four years gone now:

Dogs really are man's best friend

Turns out studying dogs helps with human medical research. Yes, that sounds bad on one level, but it's not. It means our dog friends actually are teaching scientists about US - human beings. 

Over at Science Daily, this article outlines how important this is both for dogs and people:

"Bone cancer in dogs, Fossum explains, is almost identical to human bone cancer. To get a big picture of just how the disease forms and progresses in dogs, Fossum has helped to create the Texas Veterinary Cancer Registry, a database of treatment information.

Wordless Wednesday: After the chase

Olive and Emily after the chase...

Thoughtful Words - Ponder Them

Until I read this outstanding blog post on animal rights legislation, I thought I was informed. Turns out I am not. Turns out, the author of this post knows way more than I do. I applaud her for educating me. I worry that some of us, in our zeal to close puppy mills and protect our pets, don't look closely at what we're doing. Isn't there a way to support legitimate, responsible breeders - and still protect animals that are neglected, abused, and treated poorly?

Yes, I believe there is. It begins with knowledge and the decision to have a true, eye-opening conversation. Read on, but do visit the entire blog post because you'll learn far more there, than you will here. I know I did, and do, everytime I visit.

Consider a few of these “well intentioned” bills: