Maybe

Yesterday we went for a play date with a possible new BFF. His name is Zaphod. He is a maybe 2 year old German Shepherd. He was found as a stray. He needs some obedience classes, but is a totally calm, sweet guy. He does well with cats.

He was interested in Hailey, and she was interested in exploring the new place. She was more indifferent to him, but not unfriendly or avoidant like she can be at times. It is possible that being in a strange place in the heat just put her off. We working on setting up a second play date at the new house  Sunday.

We will see how it goes and if he isn't the right match for us, well we will write a million good things about him here to help him find a forever home!

It sucks - by Lee

My people are apparently on holidays and this is what is happening. I don't have my dog walker. I don't get to go to camp. My people do take me out, but they aren't as fun. They spend their time stressing me up by packing up everything. Our house is filled with boxes. I don't like it. They keep going on about "new house" "love" "2 acres" "country" - I am convinced they are going away and leaving me or put me in one of those stupid boxes (those who have been following me for a while know I don't like a box or cage). Lady said tomorrow would be the worst for me because it is the last big packing and cleaning day. She says I can visit this mystery place on Wednesday and Thursday, after a fun day at camp, I will get to sleep at this mystery place. I will be reporting how I feel about it. Stay tuned!

Lady did say I get to go for a play date today. She said I get to interview a possible BFF. That while the  Man got final say cause we all know the Lady's judgement on these things isn't great (she picked me and Gemi and this Loki she talks about and look at how that turned out for her), my vote counts. I have to at least like him. At least I have that to look forward to.

Please think of me and my crappy life this week.

Hailey Bug

More Excitement - by Lee

I am very happy to announce that I will be having a new Uncle soon. Seems my Aunt C is going to marry Dustin (he will be my Uncle D). I love him already, he plays with me and feeds me more treats then I should have, so I don't see how this will change my life, but I am still excited. I hope I am asked to be a flower girl (just joking I don't like crowds or kids).

Congratulations Aunt C and future Uncle D!

I want in on this kissing - (Picture from New Years 2011)

Feline Friday - While the dogs away

The cat and Lady play! Well they more snuggle. Gheera is always extra snuggly when Lee is at camp.

Lady and Baggy snuggling on the couch

All good things must come to an end

One of the things I am saddest about with this move is the loss of our beloved dog walker. I realize I made it sound like she died, but no, the reality is she just walks dogs in East Ottawa so we are moving out of her "territory" so to speak.

After 10 months of walks, Hailey had her last walk yesterday with Stephanie. Hailey didn't understand what all the fuss was about but was thrilled to be getting a bag of treats. That is just how sweet Stephanie is. We love her.

So if anyone is looking for a dog walker or cat sitter in East Ottawa (Orleans etc), we highly recommend Stephanie and Happy Homes Pet Care Solutions. http://www.happyhomespetcaresolutions.com/

Stephanie is truly one of the sweetest people I have ever met and she went above and beyond with cat sitting (funny story about how my sister's cat was at my house for sitting and needed meds and got himself stuck in the wall . . . . ). We hope to keep in touch because Stephanie has become an honorary pack member.

One week and counting . . . . .

Wordless Wednesday - Exhausted Pup Edition

Rain

While I was dancing and celebrating rain and a good thunderstorm (although I thought the hail was a little much), Miss Bug was not happy. First she had forgotten what it is like to get wet in the rain. Second she hates thunder. Not only was she tired from camp, she was hiding from the thunder and I really didn't see her at all yesterday.

I miss my dog who is in my house. It is kind of weird!

Day Camp Update

Well this marks Lee's last week at day camp. Next week she will go for one day, moving day as we know it will be safer to have her out of the house.

What started as something she hated to go to, has turned into something she loves! It use to break my heart to watch them drag her to the back and now I can barely keep up with her as she makes her way through the automated doors (she has figured out how to open them), to the Day Camp centre.

The staff reports that she is more and more confident everyday. She has made friends. Her reports have her playing with the same dogs most days. One of her new best friends is Kona, a husky mix. We noticed at the dog park on the weekend, before she got to hot (man was it hot on Sunday), she was far more interested in the other dogs. Normally she sort of ignores them and checks the pee-mail. Now she at least goes and sniffs most.

Our evenings have been very quiet as she has been exhausted from playing all day. This will be particularly helpful this week as I work hard to finish up my work before vacation/move and really start to finish up the packing (which won't be too bad since at least 60% of what we own is already gone in the Pod).

Her love of day camp is one of the reasons I think she needs a friend once we move. (That and the price hubby is paying for me to move provinces, even though I am only like 30 km from Ontario, is a second dog). I think a friend is just what she needs to be a happy, tired out Hailey Bug (more bug and less -bug-ger!).

I truly have lost my mind

Because I clearly have lost my mind (I can't imagine why I would ever consider adding one more thing to my life!) I have been investigating potential BFFs for Hailey. I have a lead on one. We will be having a play date next weekend to see if Lee might approve of this friend. The friend is resting from having a little operation on Friday and is not up to a play date for a week. The friend is also able to stay in foster care for a few more weeks until we are moved if the play date goes well and then a cat test (although he is living in foster care with cats and other than sniffing them when he first arrived shows no interest).

While I should be doing much more productive things with my life . . . including loving my Lee, I have been making a list of possible names.

Details of all of this insanity will follow.

I figure my life is already turned completely upside down, why not just add to the chaos!

Skunk Update

As mentioned earlier this week, we had a problem with skunks. This problem now is gone. I must say, it was an expensive problem to fix, but I feel better knowing I did the responsible thing.

Cage with baby skunk 2 - as close as I would get!

On Thursday morning the second baby was caught. The poor thing looked so scared. Even though the pest control guy assured they didn't spray I kept my distance. When I stepped closer he/she would get very stressed out. So I stayed back and talked to him/her and told him/her how cute he/she was and how I wanted one as a pet . . . . (I think saying I want a pet skunk has made my desire for a second dog seem much more realistic). 

Because the skunk was caught behind a plant, I was able to get Hailey in the car without her seeing it. I think this was good for both the skunk and her. I am happy to report that even though we have been living with skunks forever, none of our dogs have ever been sprayed. Let's see if that changes at the new house.

For now, we are glad the skunks and the live traps are gone. Having them around was not helping with house selling!

Itchy Bum

Lee has been obsessively licking her bum at night. I think only at night because she has been too tired from camp. It wakes her up in the night, it wakes us up . . . we let it go a couple days (don't want to rush if things aren't serious) and then I took her to the vet. Given that she was at camp, I was afraid she had picked something up.

We drive in rush hour across the city . . . the 20 minute drive took 1 hour 5 minutes. We were late. The vet still saw us (Thanks Woody). Lee hated being there. She was so stressed. She has lost .5 kg at day camp!

I must say she did a very good job at tolerating an anal exam. She was desperate to get out of the room when done and scratched and barked. Woody's exam found nothing. Her anal glads seem fine. No swelling, no redness, nothing. Everything seems good. Of course it does. This is what we are trying:

1) Stool sample to rule out parasites. I was unable to take a stool sample today (I missed her going this morning when I was checking the skunk traps . . . no catching last night)

2) Try antihistamines to rule out allergies.

So that is what we are doing. Hailey just didn't want to be left out of the chaos of trying to get ready for the move.

2 weeks . . . . . .

Wordless Wednesday

For the love of animals

It is fair to say that in general I am an animal lover. I am not an extremist and I still consume animal products (aka meat) etc, but I do have a great love of animals. I do believe we need to learn to live with them and in general I really try to.

We have lived in our current house for 12 years. For these 12 years we have always had skunks and bunnies and raccoons around. This hasn't really been a problem (except maybe the time Loki hunted a baby bunny in the backyard).

On Sunday we discovered that nature has become a little too close for comfort. Several weeks ago, we had seen a mom and baby skunk in the driveway when we returned home from the NAC. They took off. Turns out this skunk family, along with another baby have taken up residence under our front steps. This would normally not be a huge problem but several things have happened to make this a problem.

1) Mom skunk has died. This means we have a lot of maggots and flies at our front door.
2) We are trying to sell our house and having the live and dead skunks as neighbours is not the sort of feature that will help.

Normally I would think I would remove the dead mom (obviously) but live with the babies (they are so cute) but not when I am trying to sell a house. So we have hired someone to put out live traps.

The irony of all of this is that we have not had a showing for one week and of course the realtor not  called wanting to do one at the same time as pest control was coming. We moved the showing to tomorrow. We didn't think seeing a dead skunk being removed would help us sell the house.

FYI: Hailey has shown no interest in the spot. Perhaps they smell too bad for her!

Update: When I checked the traps this morning there is one not so happy baby skunk in one. I feel bad cause it is raining. They guy will come and get it soon and release it in a safe place.  However, he/she got a can of free tuna, so I don't feel as bad!

Add caption

New extended pack member

We are excited to introduce Barley, a 4.5 year old lab, who was adopted by Grammie and the Big Guy this weekend. Barley is the product of divorce and is a wonderful boy who is adjusting well to life at the lake. He is Tendra's new BFF (Brown Furry Friend).

Looking forward to meeting you Barley!

Snuggle Time

Lee has been so tired after Day Camp that she has not wanted to do anything except sleep. I must admit I have missed my bad little pup!

Wednesday of this week I had a work at home day, so Lee stayed home with me. We thought we were having a house showing (the people cancelled half an hour after the showing started) so Lee and I went to hang out at Aunt C's.

Lee was very restless for most of it (she wanted to get Lemew who was safe in the basement or as I discovered Thursday, wanted to go to camp) but we had a few moments of catch up on our snuggles.

I admit I am glad Lee is liking camp, I am a little sad that she would rather be there then home with me!

I told you . . .by Lee

My people were good and didn't get to mad at me when I had an accident the house yesterday. They had left the bedroom door open so I could come and go as I pleased in the night. Early in the morning I had to go out and I went to the back door and barked. They chose to ignore me. Since the gate wasn't blocking my access to the basement after a snack of cat food, I went downstairs and peed in the hall and pooped in the corner of the Man's dungeon.

When they found it, they were a little mad, but they didn't scold me, they just gave me the disappointed look. They realize I was barking to tell them to get up and they didn't.

I bet I am locked in the bedroom the rest of the week!

Lady Are you trying to kill me?

For those of you who do not live in the Ottawa area, it is fair to say last week was freakin' hot. Hot as Hades comes to mind. Our house only has a/c in the bedroom, which has been enough to keep us from sweating to death. Last Friday, a particularly warm day, we had a house showing at noon. For some stupid reason, I got it into my head that this would be an amazing time to go to Conroy Pit. We meet our beloved cousin Emma there. I think this is the slowest walk we have every had at the pit. Lee tried to only walk in the shade of the trees, brush and when desperate in our shadows (which were in front of us so we kept kicking her accidentally). We kept is slow and steady, had lots of water and breaks and even though it was hot, I think we were all safe in the end. Thankfully so far this week it has been cooler!

Emma in the shade

Lee taking a break at the end of the walk

Day Camp Update

So Lee has been to day camp 6 or 7 times now (I have lost track). I think while she won't admit it, she has been liking it. It took her a few days, but she seems to be playing with dogs more. I laugh because the names of the dogs she likes are names like  Diesel and Conan - clearly she has a type. (From what I can gather, she has good taste). The staff reports she is a sweet snuggly girl who they love.  I am feeling less guilty about leaving her (although she tries hard to make me feel bad in the morning when I leave her).

Mel - to answer your comment from last week, it is $20 a day plus tax ($22.60) for day care without food treats (you can pay extra for food treats, but I figure for the day she is ok). You can drop the dog off any time after 7 am and pick them up as late as 8:30 for the day fee. My brother in law used the over night service for 2 nights with his dog and she had a great time! He used the PetHotel on Merivale, I use the one on Inness.

PS to all you bloggers, I am behind in reading, I hope to catch up today or tomorrow:)  I miss all your blogs!

In loving memory of Timo

It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our furry friend Timo, who went to the rainbow bridge today after a very lengthy illness. Timo would have been 12 next week. He will be sadly missed by his human family and his fur brother Pugsly.

Hugs to his family.

Wanted

The lady: A new pack member. Looking for a young male dog (1-2 years old) to join our pack. Medium sized mutt preferred. Given our track record with light coloured dogs, dark colour preferred. Should be house trained (we expect a few accidents to begin with), tolerate cats and be snuggly. Low grooming preferred, but is negotiable. Calmer, with less anxiety than Ms Bug, preferred. Available after August 5th. Home will be 2 acres in the country, with access to acres and acres of romping room. Large house with lots of indoor play space. Yard will not be fenced (may eventually fence an area) so ties outs will be used when full supervision is not available. Lots of exercise, love and patience will be available. Family has an amazing vet and a track record of providing insane medical care to pets.  Looking for a dog who plans on living to old age:)

The Man: What the lady said, except I don't care if it is male or female. Please be less destructo-dog then Lee.

Lee: I want a new BFF. I love Shepherds so a Shepherd mix would be great. I don't care about size. I care about smell. I like and don't like dogs of all size.  I don't care about colour or grooming. I want someone who will let me hump Nin and who is scared of Baggy. I want someone who I like to play with and will chase me. I want someone who won't steal my toys and put them in piles and not let me play with them like Gemi did. I want a friend but I still want to be my Lady's favourite, so a friend who occasionally does bad things would be great!

How it is going - by Lady and Lee

Lady: Hailey Bug, we haven't talked about how things are going for you. How are they?

Lee: I hate this new life. My toys are put away, my bed is in a closet, you vacuum everyday (I hate the vacuum), you are really strict on the clean feet in the house policy, there have been a lot of fireworks and I have to go to camp. I am a nervous wreck.

Lady: I have read the reports, some days, like yesterday, you played with 3 friends all morning. You were the life of the party! You napped at camp, and last night all you did was sleep.

Lee: Ok, sometimes at camp there are nice friends. There are just too many friends in a room. I don't like a big party.  I think I would like camp better if it was outside . . . ok not outside when it is hot like today, but bigger and more open.

Lady: I can relate to that, I don't like a big party either. I am very proud of you. They say you are gaining confidence and playing well. All the staff says you are sweet and cuddly and give lots of love. This is good.

Lee: I am loving them hoping they will save me from this horrible life!

Lady: Lee, when we adopted you, your foster mom Kelly said you only wanted to play. You cared less about people. What happened.

Lee: You made me soft. I can't help it.

Lady: I am sorry we made you a snuggle bug . . . not really.  Can we talk about why you wrecked the carpet?

Lee: I was helping get the house ready for the move . . . that is all I am saying. I think there is a bed to unmake.

Lady: Ok, but FYI, no camp for 3 days, you get to hang at home but there will be more camp until July 27 then just one day after that and the new house!

Bad Dog

I had to go out last evening. The man was out. Lee had a full day at day camp. I arrived home around 8:30. I had been home for about 15 minutes when I discovered this . .  . . . . . . . . .

This is really going to help sell the house. I think this happened because of fireworks. 

Days without destruction - 0. 

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Belated Birthday Nin!

I realized yesterday after I had posted, that it was Nin's 17th birthday. He had a good day with love and treats! He is still "spree"(inside joke) for an old guy. He still does everything he did as a kitten (jumping, climbing, meowing, peeing on the floor), he just does less of it!

Gemi's twin lives

I was looking at Genesis Dog Rescue Site the other day and found this dog named Ace who looks just like Gemi.  I can't figure out how to copy his picture, but I suggest taking the time to go to http://www.genesisdogrescue.com/adoptables, look at Ace.

Then look at these pictures of Gemi. Also,  Gemi would have been 7 this year. She had bad teeth. She loved everyone (in her understated way!) I wonder if they are related! 

I wish Ace all the best! 

Happy Canada Day!

Right about now, I wish I hadn't been moved here from the US.

The bandana on the neck is no better. What is my lady thinking?