Entries Tagged with dog
May 17th, 2007
Pugly has managed to catch Kennel Cough again even though he’s been vaccinated. He was up all night the last two nights coughing and yesterday morning, he vomited. So instead of daycare, I took him to the vet. The vet put him on home rest and quarantine. No daycare and no visiting the neighborhood dogs.
However, he doesn’t seem to have lost his energy. He’s been chasing his tail and looking for birds and neighbors to bark at. Nor has he lost his appetite. He’s been on carpet patrol looking for morsels or even things he’s not supposed to eat like plastic or shoes.
In fact, Tuesday morning as I was pulling out of the driveway, I looked into the living room window, I saw Pugly standing on the coffee table. So, there I was stopped in the street, sitting in my Jeep, fussing at Pugly, telling him to get off the coffee table and there he was, staring at me from the living room coffee table through the window.
That probably went on for about 3 or 4 minutes.
And you know he could see me, pointing at him and gesturing for him to get down. And he was just standing there, mocking me, letting me know that when I wasn’t home, Pugs apparently are allowed on the coffee table.
He did get down and run to perch on his ottoman in front of the window before I drove away, but the message had been passed along.
And later that night…he was eating a paper towel…so he can’t be that sick, right?
Tags: the puppy, Pug, dog, photo blogging, Kennel Cough, quarantine, flickr
May 11th, 2007
My mother thought a good idea for a Mother’s Day present for my grandmother would be a framed photo of myself with Pugly, but she said that the photos I’ve taken of myself with the wigs on are all so fun that I should do the portrait with a wig on. O.K. No problem. In New Orleans, I used to do the costume wigs and costume stuff all of the time.
O.K. This is Maine. Definitely not the same as New Orleans.
And rural Maine? You cannot go out of your front door wearing a blue page wig, a Indian-made blouse, and blue jeans and carrying a tripod, a camera and a Pug and not have every single one of your neighbors come to the edge of your yard and stare like you’re about to climb up a water tower with a rifle or something.
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Tags: Pug, dog, the puppy, neighbors, dress up, New Orleans, rural, Maine, Mother\\\'s Day, family
May 2nd, 2007
This is the type of dog treat that made Wookie so sick. IAMS tartar treats are allegedly 100% edible and digestible. And… supposedly, they are also hard enough that they won’t break into chunks large enough to disrupt digestion.
The treats puff up when they get wet, so Wookie had two 1″ x 1.5″ pieces, floating around (chewed - but undigested) in his stomach for nine days. The pieces resembled wet particle board. The “treat” caused him diarrhea, vomiting and severe abdominal pain. He lost over 10% of his body weight in a week and is still an inpatient at Virginia Tech’s teaching hospital.
So far, we’ve spent $1500.00 and made seven vet visits. (and even now… we’re not 100% sure he’s OK)
If you have dogs… please think twice about giving them these treats. It just isn’t worth the risk.
Uploaded by letskyce on 2 May ‘07, 8.01am EDT.
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Tags: IAMS Tartar treat, Pug, puppy, dog, diarrhea, vomiting, severe abdominal pain, Virginia Tech, Wookie
April 23rd, 2007
Pugly had a lazy Sunday yesterday.
(click to see larger image)
Tags: Pug, dog, puppy, photo blogging
February 21st, 2007
I thought maybe a health update was in order too.
My MRI came back all normal. Well, except that I have gallstones. Huh. The GI guy said I need to have my gallbladder removed. Gosh, I wish someone had told me that before. ;) Anyway, no renegade gallstones; they’re all in my gallbladder, huddled together awaiting the big surgery day.
The surgery is now scheduled for March 23rd. The surgeon had to be out of town on the 16th. Oy. But at least my mother is coming to visit and now at least I won’t be spending my birthday recovering from surgery and she won’t spend her birthday flying 12 hours to be hear for my surgery. She’s already talking about all of the lobster she’s going to eat. Ick.
However, this did get me worried about what I can eat after surgery. So far no one has mentioned an after gallbladder surgery diet. Everything I’ve seen on the web about it has basically said low-fat healthy diet. Well, I already eat that way, but I’m talking about the day and week after the surgery. I want to make sure my fridge is stocked correctly so I’m not having to go to the grocery store with discharge instructions in hand after the surgery and worse, try to tell my mother where the grocery store is here because she gets lost way easier than I do and she will surely buy the wrong brands. 
Yes, I’m a worrier.
And since we’re on the subject of worrying. Well, I got to worrying about this wart and cough my Pugly developed. It didn’t seem like kennel cough but the wart is inside his mouth and it’s ugly and big and white and came on quite sudden. So, I took him to the vet Saturday. Turns out he’s got this contagious puppy kissing wart disease. Apparently there’s no treatment except time. It’s contagious to puppies under two years but after they’ve let it run its course, they’re immune. The cough is because the warts are in his throat and some puppies get it so bad that it interferes with their eating and the warts have to be removed, but then they aren’t immune.
So, he got this disease from some hussy puppies at the daycare…I’m telling you, they love him. And now he has to stay home until they go away. It could take weeks or months.
The first few days he was well-behaved but yesterday he was very destructive. I don’t know how the cats or the house or even he is going to survive.
On top of that, it turns out he’s gained 4 pounds at daycare. My mom thinks, and probably rightly so, that they are giving him treats. I’ve been so careful about his food intake, but he’s gained about a pound a month! That’s a lot for a small dog! The vet says he has to go on a diet. The poor thing is obsessed with food. I don’t know how he’ll survive.
Tags: gallbladder, gallstones, surgery, Pug, dog
November 17th, 2006
90 - Percentage of people who consider their pet dog or cat to be a family member.
60 - Percentage of pets that are overweight.
45 - Percent of owners of overweight pets who say their pet is in “ideal” shape.
Source: Health, Nov. 2006.
You mean there are people who don’t think that their pets aren’t part of the family?
Of course, now I’m wondering when the t.v. shows for helping your pets lose weight are going to start on Animal Planet. I mean, you can already buy doggy treadmills — People, just walk your dogs! Get outside! It’s good for you too! This is just plain ridiculous and absurd! Talk about your lazy human syndrome! Walk your dog outside. If you don’t have time or can’t make the effort, you don’t deserve the dog.
Tags: interesting trivia, pets, dog treadmill
September 15th, 2006
Pugly is very opinionated about his politics. George Bush makes a good chew toy when things get stressful in Puppy-world.
Don’t forget to check out this week’s Friday Ark!
Tags: Pug, the puppy, George W. Bush, political dog chew toy
August 7th, 2006
As many of you know, I am a huge supporter of breast cancer research. So, when I recently learned that one of my favorite stores was donating money from sales of a particular item to breast cancer research, I was impressed. Since I’m the nosy type, I had to do some research, and what I found really impressed me.
First of all, you should know that Planet Dog was started right here in Maine in 1997, but in 2000, wanting to give back to the community, the company founded Planet Dog Philanthropy, a grant-making organization, to fund creative and effective programs working for the environment, animal welfare, and education. The overarching goal was to generate knowledge, develop new solutions to problems and promote activities that strengthen our communities. Since then Planet Dog Philanthropy has awarded 21 grants totaling more than $75,000 to better the world around us. Because of limited resources, grants were targeted only within New England.
In 2005, the Board of Directors for Planet Dog Philanthropy reviewed the first five years and also considered where they wanted to go with the organization. With a desire to refocus on a more nation-wide mission and wanting to make a bigger impact with their limited resources, the priorities changed and expanded and Planet Dog Philanthropy became The Planet Dog Foundation
Currently The Planet Dog Foundation has three main programs listed on their site, though I noticed other programs of interest are noted on displays in their main store. The Ribbon Program is the one that original caught my attention and caused me to write all of this, of course, but it’s not just about breast cancer.
All of us at Planet Dog want to help find a cure for both breast cancer and prostate cancer. Our idea is simple – develop great dog toys with a great purpose and people will take it to the beach, to the park, wherever dogs play, fetch and romp with their buddies. There, the humans will engage in conversation with other humans about the toys - “My dog is helping to find a cure for cancer.” How? By Spreading the WOOF. For every Ribbon Ringo or Ribbon Buddy sold, Planet Dog Foundation will make a financial contribution to either the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (Pink Ribbon Toys) or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Counseling Center (Blue Ribbon Toys). With your support, we can make a difference.
For pink ribbon toys, click here.
For blue ribbon toys, click here.
Since breast cancer runs in my family and I’ve known people with prostrate cancer, I’ve decided to buy Pugly one of each and, heck, I think I’ll even take him and them to the park and try to start up a “My dog is helping to find a cure for cancer” conversation with a cute guy conversation.
Meanwhile, you can support Planet Dog — local do-gooder dog-lovers — and do your part in helping to find a cure for cancer by buying one of these toys online.
Tags: breast cancer, prostrate cancer, Planet Dog, Planet Dog Foundation
July 26th, 2006
O.K. This is too funny.
I’ve decided to go back to the stained glass studio once a week. It’d be good for me to get out of the house and all, etc…blah blah blah. However, that’d be an excessively long day for Pugly to be cooped up in the crate with me at work and then in the studio. So…I’d heard good things about this doggie daycare place from another Doggie Mom at Puppy Playgroup. She also has one really long day and wanted to get her puppy out of the house to use some of that pent up energy. Well, I called her Doggie Daycare and you’ll never guess…we have to have an interview! Got to make sure we’re the “right” kind of doggie people, you know. 
I feel a little like I understand now what all of those stuffy parents trying to get their kids into the “right” preschool might feel like…
What if they find out he can’t do “sit” yet?
Tags: doggie daycare
July 17th, 2006
O.K. I couldn’t resist. I bought these Bubble Buddy bubbles at Planet Dog during one of Pugly’s play groups. They were just too intriguing. Later that afternoon, we tried them out in the front yard. It took Pugly a bit to figure out that he was supposed to be paying attention to the bubbles and that they actually tasted like something and then he was really cute pouncing about the yard trying to catch them. I only tried the BBQ Chicken then so we’ll have to try the Peanut Butter, but I’ll call it a success. 
Tags: Happy Dog Bubble Buddy, Planet Dog, Pug, the puppy
July 17th, 2006
This Thursday, July 20th, My Wonderful Dog, an organization that trains service dogs for people with disabilities, will host Maine’s Dog Fest, a nationwide film festival for dogs and their people — dogless people are welcome too. I’m told by the My Wonderful Dog representative I met during puppy play group at Planet Dog over the weekend that it’ll be kind of like a night at the drive-in with your doggies. (If it rains, the date will be moved to July 27th.)
For a list of the featured film shorts click here. The event will take place at Camp Ketcha at 336 Black Point Road in Scarborough. The festivities will begin at 6:00 p.m. and in addition to the films (which will begin at dusk) there will be a host of activities including a chicken BBQ catered by Southern Maine Catering (complete with roll, corn on the cob and baked beans for $10.00), flyball demos, a police dog demo and a service dog demo. There will also be an “Ask the Vet” table sponsored by Pine Point Animal Hospital in Scarborough. For the kids we will have a face painter and a balloon artist. So bring your comfy chair or blanket and settle in for an evening of fun for the whole family.
If you aren’t in Maine, find a Dogfest near you or stage one yourself.
Tags: Dogfest
December 31st, 2005
Duffy stressed that “the leaking of classified information is a serious issue.” And he defended the use of wiretaps, warning that “Al-Qaeda’s playbook is not printed on page one, and when America’s is, it has serious ramifications.”[“White House says Justice opted to probe wiretap leak independently” (Yahoo!News)]
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Tags: warrantless wiretapping, al-Qaeda, spying on Americans, terrorism, Wag the Dog
