Posts Tagged ‘Emmett’
THE CRIME SCENE
Accustomed to the freedom of a dog door, a luxury lost when our kittens moved in, the hound and Newf haven’t taken kindly to asking for yard privileges. Much prefering the self-serve option, they have taken matters into their own hands.
It began innocently enough. Emmett, our crafty hound, learned to open the screen from the sun porch to the dog yard. Teaching this trick to the Newf, each would let the other out for a playful romp.
As a result, we are now in lock down: all screens latched, windows barely cracked, and all doors leading to the “land of no return” are barricaded with a highly trained ottoman.
THE HACK AND SLASHER
Aside from being crafty, Emmett is extremely agile. He jumps 5 feet skyward, bouncing like Tigger when he wants in. (Nobody breathe a word that just a hint of forward trajectory will take him over the outer perimeter.) A time or two, Emmett bounced too close to the door and caught a foot in the screen.
Accidental at first, Emmett soon learned to work the resulting slice into a large hole with his nose. This was clearly an attempt to go AWOL but Emmett never had the chance.
I discovered the hole the day I witnessed an orange flash across the lawn through the window. It wasn’t the dogs playing with the ball. Our cat had made the great escape. Thanks to the cat’s discovery, and my discovery of the cat, Emmett’s quest for freedom was foiled once more.
NEW EVIDENCE
We ramped up security by replacing the screen door with one of the other 4, setting aside the damaged one for repair. Soon holes appeared in the replacement too, but these were different. An investigation was in order.
The print to the right is crisp, not sliced, and is located at the 4 foot level. Clearly not the result of a high velocity swipe, this does not fit Emmett’s MO: the 5 foot leap. Well defined puncture marks reveal a much larger paw than that of our original suspect. The dog responsible for this property damage didn’t have to reach far to leave a trace.
While Emmett is guilty of his own crimes, to be sure, we have another culprit at work here. This one, as it turns out, is equally crafty. Using his intellectual prowess, he measures public perception, appears deceptively aloof while making calculations, and avoids detection by blaming the other guy … until now.
SLEEPER FINALLY BUSTED
As with all captured criminals, they become careless at some point. This one let his guard down under the influence of a nap. The evidence doesn’t lie. Case closed.
NEXT UP: MAXIMUM SECURITY
Renovations will be underway shortly to replace the standard aluminum door screens with high security, vinyl-coated polyester. Studies show that this type of reinforcement has been successful in other holding cells. At the very least, when the dogs try to bust the door down, it can be reinstalled without additional cost to the facility.
If you enjoyed this post, get plenty more via RSS or email.
Spread the animal love. Share this on your favorite social network.
The dogs have been eating their favorite food from The Honest Kitchen for a few months now. As the scent of wholesome, healthy stew wafts through the air, they sit patiently knowing that all good things come in time. If you haven’t seen our dogs’ reaction at meal time, check out “Honest Kitchen Dogs” on YouTube.
Bottom line? They couldn’t be happier and we couldn’t either. Knowing that our boys are eating free range, hormone and antibiotic free meat as close to raw as possible in this household, well, that’s a holistic approach we vegetarians can get behind.
The thing is, that’s not why I’m writing. My real reason for this post is to show you my cat’s reaction to the Honest Kitchen. It seems Jed, our youngest, is pretty happy with THK too. In fact, all he needs is the box for dinner!
So, what’s in your kitchen?
If you enjoyed this post, get plenty more via RSS or email.
Spread the animal love. Share this on your favorite social network.
This morning, my husband and I debated whether the apples were hitting the ground early. Almost all have fallen from the dog yard tree. Tim swears this is normal but I just checked my personal almanac – a video of our dogs picking the last of the apples in ’09. It was filmed on OCTOBER 5th.
Last I checked, we are smack dab in the middle of August, famous for the high heat and humidity known as the dog days of summer. On Friday’s drive home from the Jersey Shore where the average temperature was in the mid 90s, the digits dropped steadily as we neared Albany, NY. Upstate trees along the Taconic were yellowing. Some had gone so far as to turn RED! Don’t believe me? These pictures were taken in our front yard this morning.
Shamus, the Newf, would have to be Bob Marley – dreds and all.
Emmett, the scrappy mutt, is sooo Axle Rose.
Who would your dog be?
Photo backgrounds thanks to FaceinHole.com.
If you enjoyed this post, get plenty more via RSS or email.
Spread the animal love. Share this on your favorite social network
We have 7 animals in this house and, as you can imagine, it’s a lot like The Waltons with rounds of “Goodnight John Boy” and “Good Morning, MaryEllen.” Unlike scripted television, we don’t always get the names right. Other times, it’s exactly like television. We make things up entirely. Here are a few examples:
Shamus, The Newfoundland
- Shamu: Shamus lays on his back like a beached Orca
- Bat Dog: Note the photo
- Shameless: He theives?things he shouldn’t – like my credit card
- Fuzzy Wumpas: He’s shedding
- Vader: He breathes like Darth and rides in an all-black CRV called the Death Star
It’s June 25th, a day also known in the world of pet owners as “Take Your Dog to Work Day.” Working from home this year makes this task easy. My dogs are with me every day, or I’m with them. (It’s unclear who owns who in the household.) So, in the spirit of things, we mixed it up a bit by bringing work to the dogs.
This morning, my husband grumbled under his breath as he entered the bathroom. Another decimated roll of toilet paper lay strewn about the floor. “KITTEHS!”
Who could blame the cats really? That feathery white, loose end of the roll dances on the breeze of the open window, taunting our little cheetahs. I swear I’ve heard it calling them in a seductive whisper, “Here kitteh, kitteh, kitteh.” Really. The toilet paper is the culprit. My cats are innocent. You know toilet paper garners some pretty forceful power of suggestion when even the dogs are seduced.
THE QUESTION
Having lost two dogs and a cat in little more than a year, I have deeply reflected upon my choices for them, as loss often inspires us to do. Knowing our rescue family enjoyed their final mid-teen years, I still wondered if I could have done more for their health and happiness. And now, how can I be a better mother to our next generation of rescues?
On the heals of these thoughts, I won a copy of Bethanne Elion’s book, Memoirs of a Bathtub Psychic, and devoured every page. It was more than a good story. It was an education. Bethanne offers a rare view into holistic healing, nutrition and the deep connection between the two. Her writing has inspired me to learn more.
THE ANSWER
While I often rant about the human food industry, from irradiated meat to pesticides and the dangers of genetically modified fruits and vegetables, I hadn’t much considered the content of my pet food. Commercials never educate beyond canned food, kibble and the various price ranges. As it turns out, there are far healthier options than either in any price range.
What I’ve gleaned from Bethanne, vets, breeders, and dog forums, is that a raw diet is the way to go. *FACEPALM* Of course it is. Animals don’t host BBQs in the wild. They don’t process their food into machine-groomed, bite-sized bits of unrecognizable brownness. By design, dogs eat on the spot, sparing no nutrient. Their systems are designed for this and a raw diet offers what they were born to eat. Now that I’ve got a clue, I wish to respect my dogs for the beings they are and provide for their needs in the best way possible.
What isn’t a toy with curious kittens? For our 6 month old cats, everything, and I mean everything, is a game in their exploration of the world.
- They’ve played for -- and with -- the camera.
- They’ve played with fire.
- They’ve played with dog tags as they dangle from the dog’s neck.
- They’ve commandeered remnant rolls of toilet paper.
- And they’ve scaled the mother of all bird cages -- filled with birds.
A friend recently said, ” You know, they won’t be like this forever. There will come a time when all they do is sleep.”
All I can say is, “We aren’t there yet.”
And really, for now, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
If you enjoyed this post, get plenty more via RSS or email.
Please spread the pet rescue love by sharing this post on your favorite social network.
