Happy Gotcha Day Twicket!

Hard to believe two years have already passed since Twicket joined our family! What did we ever do without him? Who purred me to sleep at night?

Twicket is a purring machine, full of love, sweetness and snuggles! I still can't comprehend how someone could have dumped him! How do you love and care for an animal for over 13 years and then leave him at a shelter?

Twicket is among the sweetest critters ever. He has some issues at times, like not using the litterbox, but that usually means he's sick and a quick trip to the vet clears that right up! He peed on my head in the middle of the night twice in the first two weeks we had him, but I'm pretty sure that was just his way of claiming his new momma! It hasn't happened since! Thank Goodness--that is not a pleasant way to wake up.

This was taken earlier tonight. My sock basket is Twicket's favorite place to nap and he will not come out so I can get a nicer picture of him!

Happy Gotcha Day, Twicks! Honeysuckle and Catnip for everyone!! :)

Pacer update

Pacer is doing much better today. He's much more alert--all the dope the vet gave him finally wore off. I give him painkiller, Metacam, later in the day. He's not acting like it hurts, but it has to be sore! He went outside a few times today, but not for too long. He won't pee on a leash, so I have to let him loose when he goes out. He's a little nervous when the other dogs get too close, but not bad. Course, Delta and Antare are both in pens and will be staying there for some time. Little buttheads!

Here's Pacer this afternoon, eating a pig's ear. He's eating well and has had lots of treats today. I figured I could post this pic as it only shows a couple of his wounds. His other side has more damage. Fortunately, none of them are very deep or too serious. He should heal up just fine!

Wildflowers..

The forest is alive with color right now. There are wildflowers everywhere!

The crocus are my favorite. They are all gone now, but we had a ton of them until a couple weeks ago.

This was the only white crocus I saw this year.


I don't know what these little purple ones are called, but they are very pretty. They grow low to the ground and line the edge of one of the trails I walk on.


The forest floor is almost blue with Lupine in some places. Earle loves to eat these flowers. Unfortunately, they are mildly toxic! Makes for colorful puke!


Even kinniniknick is kinda pretty! This stuff is everywhere! I laughed myself silly at one of the greenhouses the other day--they were selling starter plants! Must be for newcomers who don't realize it's everywhere. In a couple summers, they will be ripping up their yards trying to get rid of it! It takes over and provides excellent ground cover!


The wild roses are out now too!

Daisy, my neighbor's dog, knows it is very important to take time to smell the roses!

To the vet again!

I am so sick of the vet. I love my vet. He's a doll and gives my animals amazing care, but frankly I have seen more than enough of Rick lately! This afternoon at about 3, I walked into my office to find a message from my father-in-law---"I have that white dog, Chase, in the shop. He's pretty beat up and limping". Let's ignore the fact that Bud still can't tell Pacer from Chase and be thankful he was at the house this afternoon! I went straight home and as soon as I saw him, Pacer went straight to the vet.

Pacer doesn't have any major wounds, but he is covered in little punctures. The poor sweetie! Antare and Delta were the main dogs picking on him, according to Bud. Pair of little jerks!! Antare thinks he's a tough guy, but he's selective about who he picks on. He'd never snap at Muskwa or Heyoka! Pacer obviously didn't fight back at all. His wounds are concentrated on his back end and no one else has a single mark on them! Pacer didn't need stitches, but he has staples in two spots. He looks AWFUL!! He has little shaved spots everywhere and the blood looks even worse than usual on a solid white dog. I'd post a picture, but it might be a little distrubing! He's on Metacam and anti-biotics for a week.

I hate it when they pick on Pacer. He's such a nice little guy and has made such strides in overcoming his terror of life in general. He doesn't seem to be regressed at all after this. He came with me to the vet without a struggle. Boy, did he fight the sedative at the clinic. No way was he going to lay down and relax around all those strangers. I ended up staying and assisting in cleaning him up. Every time I tried to leave, Pacer had a little panic attack and would try to get up and come with me. So I stayed and held his head while the pros took care of him. I should have been a vet tech, could have saved myself alot of money!

Pacer is curled up in the coat closet--which has become something of a doggy den. He's sleeping of the dope the vet gave him. The other dogs who were loose at the time are all on punishment status. They can stay chained up or in pens for the next couple days. Delta is in with Goldie and Antare has been sent back to Raven's pen. I am mad at all of them!

Steve freaking Earle!!!

Steve Earle is coming to Whitehorse! My Steve in my town--yes, I know he wouldn't know me from a hole in the ground, but in my mind he' s MY STEVE!! He's playing in Whitehorse on July 26. Then, here's the really cool part, on July 30, he's playing in Haines, Alaska--a mere four hour drive from my door! Stuart wants to go fishing in Haines so he's all for going to both shows. He's even going to take a whole weekend off. I can't remember the last time that happened! His dad is going to critter sit for us! I can even take my kayak and actually use it on the ocean!! It is a sea kayak after all!! Plus see Steve twice in one week. It's like heaven on earth!!

Good thing it's the end of the month, hey, Mom!?? If Steve Earle was coming here when I am supposed to be at your house I'd have been tempted to change my plans!! ;)

I can hardly wait!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Happy Anniversary Chase!

Today marks 2 years since Chase joined this zoo! That afternoon I had to carry and drag him out of the shelter. He knew it wasn't his turn to go for a walk and there was no way he was leaving his kennel. The shelter was the only home he'd ever known. How sad is that??

Chase essentially grew up in the shelter and it did funny things to his little brain. He's as sweet as sugar, an absolute doll, but he's got some loose screws. It just adds to his charm!

He's our big doofus and the love of Goldie's life. They are a funny looking couple--she's short and a wee bit fat. He's long, lean and built to run! If you've ever doubted that dogs feel emotion for each other, you should meet these two. They very clearly adore each other.

Someone on pet board I visit made this blinkie for Chase's day. Cool, eh???

Happy Anniversary Chase! I hope you're glad you got in the truck that day, even if you did need some serious persuading! I'm glad you're here.

Chum's new bed! sigh.....

Chum found himself a new place to sleep last night. I swear he's trying to drive me nuts. Chum is a lovely dog, but high strung doesn't begin to describe him! The first words I heard this morning were from Stuart: "Oh, Chum she is going to be pissed at you."

"Mom, it's way too early for the flashy thing!"
Yup, that's my closet with my sweaters and socks all pulled off the shelves and nicely arranged for Chum's comfort!


Does he care that he is in trouble??? Not one bit! He just went back to sleep!

Note to self: always close all the closet doors completely!

The results are in.............

Deuce's biopsy results are in. The results are............................

INCONCLUSIVE!!!!

We know it's not cancer, scar tissue or an infection. It's also not normal tissue. No idea what it might actually be. Dr. Rick has advised me to keep an eye on it and that's about it! Give him some benadryl if his left nostril swells up again.

Deuce is unbothered by it so I guess I will try to be too! Deuce is a happy, silly, active doofus. As long as he stays that way, no more tests.

Also, his drains came out yesterday. He is healing nicely. He spent today in the pen with Raven and had no problems. He does believe that he should always sleep in the porch now. A dog house is just not good enough! So he's back in the porch for tonight! Silly dog.

Happy Birthday Earle!

Earle, the wonder-husky, is 6 years old today! Time flies--at least after puppyhood it does. I thought Earle's puppyhood would never end.

He was the last puppy we ever had, although more than 20 dogs have followed him. No more puppies ever!! He was a cutie though, wasn't he???!!!

This is how Earle spent his day, passed out beside the bed. He was avoiding the rain outside and getting more than his share of biscuits and treats!

Happy Birthday Early-Whirly!


Happy Birthday to you too, Hoodoo. I hope where ever you are that someone is giving you extra treats and love today. I miss you, buddy, so does Earle. You were a great brother to him. We think of you often and love you as much today as when you were here with us.

Pingo's trip to the vet...

Pingo went to the vet this morning as she was yelping after the storm last night. She has had some trouble with her back end over the past 8 months or so. Nothing major and it comes and goes, but I decided to get her checked out again anyway.

Her x-rays are perfectly normal. Her hips look great, her spine is perfect. No sign of athritis, degeneration or other major problems. Not even the athritis that would possibly be expected in an 8 year old dog. She has the hips of a 4 year old according to Dr. Rick! Her ACL is intact and she has full range of motion in all her legs. She of course did not yelp at the vet. She didn't make a sound and when he took her for a walk, she practically pranced!!! I can see the difference in her gait, but someone who doesn't watch her butt wiggle all the time would think she was moving normally. She does love to make a fool of me!

Dr. Rick says she is simply prone to soft tissue injuries, just like some people are. Pingo holds her back feet turned out a little bit. That may put some extra pressure on muscles deep in her legs.

Treatment is for symptoms only, rest and Metacam. He gave me a huge bottle of Metacam so she won't have to come back in again, unless something is worse obviously. She hates truck rides and really hates the clinic so the less she has to go the better.

He said she can continue to pull if she wants to. Rick suggested giving her a dose of Metacam for a week before she returns to the harness and see if it makes any difference. Pingo has a funny gait. I think it's called crabbing--she runs on an angle with her butt end kicked out to the left all the time. 99% of the time it doesn't seem to cause her any problems though. She even runs on an angle when she's off lead sometimes. She is very left-pawed. When I got her I quickly learned that Pingo must be on the left side of the gangline. If she's not, all H**L will break loose at some point and she will find a way back to that side! I might get her a different harness--like the ones Jeff King uses and see if that helps her at all.

Or I suppose if she chooses to she can be a house pet full time. I'd sure like her to help me train another leader before that happens though!

Boomers!!!

Wow! We had a huge thunderstorm earlier this evening. I managed to get out of working at bingo so I could come home and check on the pups. Heyoka, the biggest of them all, is also the biggest baby. He hates thunder. He seemed fine once he got in the house and settled on a blankie, but poor Pingo. I've never seen such complete fear from Pingo. She's usually a pretty confident girl, but she was shaking like a leaf. She wouldn't go more than six inches away from me and actually wanted to be held when the noise was at it's worst. I felt physically ill just watching how scared she was! I gave her some rescue remedy, but of course, it didn't kick in in time. She's sleeping nicely now, although she's still a little jumpy.

I had 13 dogs inside tonight at the height of the storm. First time I've done that since Dominique died. They were all great, very well behaved, even the scared ones! I think it was good for me to let them in again too. I was even more careful than usual, but at least things are starting to feel a bit normal again. As normal as it can ever be again.

Silly dogs!!

Well, I tried to get a pic of Deuce looking pathetic, but all he would give me was silly!

Here's the conehead sticking his tongue out at me.
He was having trouble sitting still yesterday, a trend that continued this morning. I'm pulling the drains out on Thursday!

Deuce was not the only silly mutt around here yesterday. I think there was something in the air or maybe their water:

8 year old Bandit who hasn't played with a toy in the four years he's lived here! Last night he decided the tennis ball on a rope was pretty cool!


Pacer sticking his tongue out too!!!


Preacher, who is about 110 in dog years, rolling around in the dirt and having a fabulous time!

Such silly mutts!

Deuce update

At my mother's request--an update on Deuce and his injuries. Deuce came home on Friday evening, still on three legs. He would not weight bear at all. He has two major wounds in his left rear leg, on up on the thigh portion and a huge tear down by his ankle. There are drains in both wounds. I HATE THOSE THINGS!! There simply has to be a better way to prevent abcesses! Deuce was thrilled to get out of the clinic and even on three legs he can really pull on a leash!

All weekend Deuce refused to let me clean his drains. They are supposed to be flushed at least once a day, but he was having none of that. I didn't want to push him too far, so on Monday he came back to town with me and spent the day at the vet clinic. They cleaned the drains and got him all flushed out. Dr. Rick Brown, our amazing vet, said the wounds actually look really good. No sign of infection. The rotten drains have to stay in until Thursday. The stitches have to stay in for about 20 days instead of the usual 10-14. Due to their location, there is a lot of extra tension on them and fully healing will take some extra time. It might help if Deuce would stay still, but his energy levels are returning very quickly! He's weighbearing again and even trying to jump up a bit.

He has a big cone collar on which he uses to bruise my legs pretty regularly. There has to be a better way to keep them from chewing too! That cone collar is almost as bad as the drains! I'll try to get some pictures of him looking pathetic tonight.

Other than not wanting the drains touched (& who can blame him for that), Deuce is a good little patient. Much better less whiny than most people I know!

Happy Anniversary Mac & Ozzy!

Today marks one year since Mac and Ozzy joined the pack. What changes these two little loves have been through in a short year. They were two weeks shy of their first birthday when they arrived. They'd spent most of their puppyhood in the shelter. Mac laid in the back of his kennel and shook all day. He only stopped when he was with Ozzy. Ozzy had huge cysts on his front elbows from trying to become one with floor in his kennel. They were wasting away in that place, fear slowly killing them.

They had parvo as puppies and the shelter staff had been told their hearts were damaged. They could never be sled dogs. I told the administrator that we would take them, but if they wanted to run, they were going to be sled dogs. Better they die in harness as happy, loved dogs than living short lives full of fear in the shelter.

So here they came. Both of them leapt in my truck like they knew they were getting out. I put them in a big pen and for the next two weeks I don't believe they slept. They ran and ran and ran. If they rested I never saw it! I couldn't get near them. They were so timid. Ozzy took about two weeks to start to warm up to me. If I sat quietly in his pen he would approach and let me pet him, especially if I had food. Man, can they eat!!! Mac took months longer to relax.

Ozzy enjoying his first bone!

Mac chowing down.


Today, Ozzy follows me around the yard and tries to match his stride to mine so he can keep his head on my thigh. He is a big suck and can't get enough attention. He is one of the great loves of my life. I adore that silly, little dog!


Mac has almost driven me to the bottle a couple times. He has never met a fence he can't go over, under or through. He gives new meaning to the term escape artist. We spent last weekend rebuilding a section of fence that he went out through most often. Yesterday he was released into the main yard and so far so good. He is much happier when he can be Ozzy.

Their little hearts are just fine. They play, wrestle and run just like any young husky cross should. They are full of energy and provide us with hours of entertainment as they play. They have grown into tall, leggy, well-muscled dogs. They are both fine sled dogs. Ozzy is a great puller, strong and dependable, an honest dog. Just don't ask him to make decisions. He is a follower, not a leader. Mac is driven, hardworking and smart in harness. He's not sure what to do up front, but he wants to be there. I am hoping over the next few months, Paxil will help me train him for next winter.

Happy Anniversary boys! I'm glad you're here!

Deuce is hurt!!

II've been having minor panic attacks since Dominique died. Sometimes I can't convince myself that the cats are alright. This happened this morning at about 11. So I took my lunch break early and came home to check on everyone. Cats are all fine, but Deuce didn't come to the fence when I went to his pen. When I called him he came hopping over, one back leg several inches off the ground. There is a nasty tear on the inside of the leg near his ankle. Looks like a couple other punctures too--I didn't look too closely actually after I saw the first one. The big tear is beyond what I can treat here so I just loaded him up and took him to the vet.

He'll likely be able to come home this evening. I am setting up the doggy hospital for him to recover in.

If the vet has time they are also going to do a biopsy on a lump he has on his nose. He's had it since he showed up at the shelter. I've tried 10 days of anti-biotics and a week of allergy meds. Neither made any difference. Now the skin on his nose is cracked and his left nostril is very swollen. He was supposed to have the biopsy next week, but Rick said if he could he'd do it today. That way Deuce only has to be knocked out once.

Deuce was so sweet on the way to town. He stayed as close to me as he could. I think he knew I was going to help him. I've been telling myself that I'm not that attached to him, but I'm a liar. It was heartbreaking to see him so needy and in pain today.

Ooops, I was wrong. Deuce was not alert enough to come home tonight. He'll be sleeping at the clinic and I'll pick up asap tomorrow! Don't know if they did the biopsy.

Dommer's gift...

It's been a pretty miserable 9 days around here since Dominique left. We both miss her terribly. It's amazing how such a tiny cat can take up so much space! Everytime I leave a half full glass on the cupboard, I am reminded of her--she always tipped them. She tipped the dogs' water bucket every day! She hauled five pound roasts out of the sink and ate the corners. She only weighed 5.5 pounds! I was looking at old pictures of her the other night and realized I have very few where she is asleep or just lounging. In almost every one, she's into something or up to some mischief. She was truly a one of a kind.

This is the last picture I ever got to take of her. My little spitfire!

Dominique would not have tolerated this sadness. She would have done something silly to make us smile. She would have broken something to get our attention. She would have given headbonks and purrs until the tears stopped. I firmly believe that animals have souls and that Dominique is waiting in a better place. I believe she has been restored to full health and happiness. I also believe that even from afar and unseen she has done something to make us smile again.

Please meet Boots.

Boots joined our family on Friday night. He's been at the local shelter for several months. Last Sunday, we had to attend a volunteer recognition BBQ at the shelter. I was not up to small talk and spent much of the afternoon hiding in one of the cat rooms. Boots found me there. He was demanding, affectionate and didn't mind being soaked with tears. He would not leave me alone or let me play with any other cats. He stayed on my mind all week. It seems too soon to add a new furkid, but he's here and we are glad of it! There are still tears being shed for Dominique, but there are smiles again too.


Boots is very silly. He likes to be held and has a loud purr. When he purrs, his tongue sticks out. Hard to cry when looking at this face!

Boots is not a replacement for Dominique. Anyone who has truly loved a cat knows they are not replaceable. Each one is unique and special in their own way. Boots being here is bittersweet for us. If Dominique were still alive, there would not be room for Boots. If Boots weren't here, our hearts would be hurting even more for Dominique. We can not bring Dommers back and no matter how hard or sad, life does go on.

I believe that Dommers sent Boots to us. He walked in here like he had always lived here. My other seven cats could not be bothered to even hiss at him. Not even Pissy Polly Paws! Polly has hissed at Onyx every day for the last four years, but she never even looked twice at Boots. It is like the other cats already knew him. He has been accepted as one of their family with great ease.

He even snuggles with Glacier already.

I wish you were still here, Dominique. I miss you every minute and will love you forever. No cat will ever take your place in my heart, but Boots will find his own place. Thank you for sending him to us.