This is an idea I’ve wanted to try for a long time: take a photo of the boys approximately once every hour, for most of the day. I recently went on vacation, and when I got back, I took advantage of the dogs’ absence to try this.

Of course, I didn’t get photos of them eating, or playing with Gizmo before eating, or training, or so on. So they’re not just laying around all day long!

Obviously, this post will be photo-intensive.

In all fairness to the boys, this was the sort of rainy, cool, lazy day where you just want to snuggle. And there were no dogs to chase them!

They are typical cats: on the prowl in the early morning, if the weather’s not too cold. Then in for the big nap, which usually lasts from about 9 am to 4 pm. Oh sure, there’s usually some changing of position, some moving around to get to the next bed.

And then there’s lots of movement again around dinner time. Both ours, and theirs. After dinner they usually settle down for the night. They’re showing their age, I guess.

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Most people here know about the Ellen DeGeneres adoption fiasco .

I strongly believe in animal rescue. That is why both my dogs are rescue dogs. Although my cats were adopted from friends, my previous cats were strays who showed up on my doorstep. I could never in good conscious buy an animal when there are so many euthanized every day. And I volunteer my time at a cat rescue, too, so I see some of the other side of rescue, too.

I have no doubt that Ellen is an animal lover, although it was very irresponsible of her not to read the contract from the rescue in the first place. Returning an animal to the rescue, rather than finding it a home on your own, is standard. That’s because they don’t want to see animals handed off from home to home, as happened with Lola before we got her, for instance. She was in at least 6 different homes before we got her.

People get rid of animals for the stupidest reasons, sometimes. It’s extremely common for people to get rid of puppies and kittens when they become adolescents and aren’t so cute anymore. I’ve even heard of one person who got rid of her cat because the person got new furniture and the cat didn’t match the new furniture.

So it’s very easy to get jaded and cynical in the rescue world. It can break your heart.

On the other hand, rescues often have such high criteria that perfectly good homes are not considered. Some will not adopt dogs to people who live in apartments or don’t have a fenced in yard (we didn’t initially, and yes, one rescue I contacted wouldn’t even consider us because of that). Others won’t adopt to homes with young children. I’ve heard some other pretty weird reasons for denying adoption, too.

I think wrong falls on both sides here. Ellen was wrong not to take the responsibility of adopting an animal more seriously — it’s not usually very difficult to read the contract. The rescue may have been too quick to take back the dog — although since we’re not hearing their side, there may be more to it then we know. Still, I would have preferred for them to interview the family and see how the dog and the family interact before just taking away the dog, assuming, of course, that that wasn’t done.

The bottom line is that adopting an animal is a serious thing, and it should be given due consideration, and planned for. There are many wonderful dogs and cats being killed every single day. Please consider shelters and rescues before you spend lots of money to buy a dog.

Technorati Tags: rescue dogs, euthanized

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By my cats, that is. Because I got back from vacation in the wee hours of the morning, and didn’t get much sleep for the last couple of days, I decided to board the dogs for one more day — to give both myself & the cats a break.

So the boys have stuck close. Right now they’re sticking close because they want dinner, even though it’s a bit early. That’s good, though, because I need to feed them much earlier tomorrow so I can take Lola to make up her agility class.

Simba just followed me into the bathroom, where we narrowly avoided a major accident. We always keep the lid down on the toilets, so no animals can get into them. He was almost too fast for me.

He went to jump up on the counter, using the toilet as a springboard, just as I raised the lid. I tried to catch him, but luckily they don’t call them cat-like reflexes for nothing, and he managed to twist in midair and leap back off so he didn’t get a dunking.

The only thing worse than a hungry, begging cat is a mad, wet, hungry, begging cat!

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I am just amazed by the number of people that walk their dogs without paying any attention to them. I didn’t really notice it with Chester, because he was so easy going. I notice it a lot more now with Lola, because she’s so reactive, and so many people walk their dogs with no clue as to where they are or what they’re doing.

Even in my agility class, I’ve seen people come in with their dogs and be apparently oblivious to the fact that their dogs are pooping right next to them — it’s a rule that we are to try to prevent that, and if it does happen, go get some Nature’s Miracle.

Even when I’m walking them around the neighborhood, I usually do have one eye on them. Which is why this morning I was able to see immediately when Chester started to limp.

It took a little digging, and he wasn’t real thrilled with me, but I did eventually find a burr stuck between his toes on his front foot. If I hadn’t been watching him, he’d probably have one very sore paw. This isn’t the first time he’s picked up a burr on one of his paws, either ( I sometimes feel like I need to wear a backpack, because obviously, I ought to be carrying tweezers with me, in addition to the poop bags, the direct stop spray, the cell phone — not to mention probably a first aid kit!).

Technorati Tags: reactive

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Anyone know what type of lizard this is? Usually we just have little geckos or chameleons, but a couple of years ago this bad boy showed up.

I don’t know if this is the same one; I’ve no idea how long lizards of that size live.

Could it be a pet someone released? I’m curious.

Technorati Tags: lizard, geckos, chameleons

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