cody bear’s friends

it was a good morning, but a tiring morning….

we were short staffed at the rehab place i volunteer.  so basically we had 3 peeps doing the job six of us usually do.  i’m not mad though, i didn’t go last week because of the flu, and they were really busy without me.  i’m still learning the ropes at this place and i really like the people on my shift…

and the animals!  that’s a bobcat!  gorgeous, huh?

ok, so, now i’m off to meet with some dog geek friends of mine.  mostly dog trainers or volunteers that help at the animals shelter.  we’re going to have mediterranean food and then….play pictionary!  i haven’t played that in like….what….20 years.  i bought it for 6 bux at a second hand store and it has everything it needs. but, the pencils aren’t sharpened.  i have to find a sharpener.

So welcome to my least wordless Wednesday ever! That’s because I’m talking about…chicken stips! The toxic kind. I know you guys like short posts, but if you have dogs, please read this whole post.

Many of you have been following the news of Mindy, my friends’ dog who is battling kidney failure. )You can read past posts by typing in Mindy in my search bar to the left).

As I mentioned earlier, she’s holding steady, but I was going to post tonight, not about her, but the chicken strips and the pet food recall in general.

I won’t rehash the history, but to sum up, where we stand now there is a problem with the pet food our dogs are getting, which may be indicative of more. So here are some facts.

* mindy has gotten kidney failure.

* her two food sources are blue buffalo dog food, an all natural, made in America dog food with NO complaints against it, and the Costco chicken strip dog treat distributed by kingdom pets.

* there are multiple complaints of the chicken strips causing kidney failure on line.

* there is already an existing history of dangerous pet products from ingredients from china.

* I’m not Chinese, nor am I un-American.

Here’s what is happening. There are American corporations manufacturing these products in China using Chinese materials and the Chinese workforce. And they’re saving money. Not only are they endangering our pets, but we’ve seen horrible evidence of children’s toys with lead. We all blame the Chinese, but let’s remember that these are American plants with plant managers who have gone there to save money. These American companies w

BACK TO THE TREATS! Tonight I went shopping at Trader Joe’s. They appeared to discontinue their chicken strips months ago, but I saw some on the shelf today. (I go weekly) I approached the manager with doubt, as I will mention another experience next. I said, “You may not care, but these chicken strips are made in china and I have a friend whose dog is dieing because of pet treats manufactured in china. Will you please consider taking these off the shelves?”

The manager looks at me, totally serious, and says, “Absolutely. We are phasing out every product from China. These shouldn’t be on the shelves.” It was that easy.

THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO. Take the product to the manager and ask them to stop selling them.

Granted, it doesn’t always go so well. I went to Wild Oats, where people trust their food is healthy. I approached the manager and she said she would talk to the district manager. I asked her to take my number but she wasn’t interested.

But don’t let that discourage you. People trust that pet foods being sold now are safe; that since the recall is over the danger is gone. And we trust that these health food stores all know the ingredients, but they don’t. and they may not care.

Back to Mindy. Costco AND Kingdom Pet contacted my friend R. when the word got out to them that several hundred shelter volunteers were informed not to by treats at Costco. At first they treated r like he was just confused and there wasn’t a problem. “no one has ever complained before” then he learned r had a Ph. D. in biology and next thing you know….the manufacturer is calling. When R asked what the “seasonings” were…she couldn’t tell him. She said sodium. Sodium chloride, which is salt, or sodium nitrate, which damages kidneys? She couldn’t tell him.

I guess you’ve stopped reading by now, but if you’re still reading, you’re concerned about your pet’s diet. So thanks for reading. More later.

More fluffy positive blogs, too!

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and concern. It’s so appreciated!

so a moth got in some how.  penetrated our critter free fortress.  this vexes the cat, who decides the ironing board is the best vantage point to track the interloper and launch an attack.

i’ll skip the many picks where she scopes the moth, gets angry with me for ruining her attack, or embarrasses herself with some fake lioness posing.

ultimately…she doesn’t get tired of moth scoping, but rather, she feigns exhaustion to get me to leave.

fine kitty. but i will wake up in the morning and curse you for hairing the ironing board.  and the moth will still be flitting around, taunting you and eating my clothes.  sleep well.

this mad lib is dedicated to fergus, lavenderbay and e.g.’s new puppy

BRINGING HOME A NEW PUPPY - a mad lib. disclaimer: please don’t actually do this!

Puppy training during the first week is dusty and sweet. It is obvious that you need certain physical wags such as a ham sandwich or papason, molar and raccoons, puppy chow, collar, woodpecker, toys, etc. Insistently as huge, all family cats must decide and agree on coffee pot, responsibility and a whisker.

The first few fish are extremely important. Enthusiasm and swiss cheese are furry. Everyone wants to lick the puppy, play with the puppy and humiliate the puppy. Sleepy rules are gaily broken. Everyone agreed that puppy will sleep in her dumpster but as soon as she’s home, someone melts and insists that puppy will sleep in The Queen E II! Everyone previously agreed not to let puppy chew up on them, but in the excitement, no one even notices that puppy is jumping gently. No one leaps the first night. Puppy wins and gets to pant in bed. The next map we find puppy has eliminated all over the hummingbird. So the following night puppy is banned to her toilet and bushwhacks all night. No one barfs tonight either.

Grouchiness naps in; enthusiasm is playful. No one wants to get up at the pre-agreed upon fatty morning feeding time. How are we going to jump puppy? How are we going to sleep with her constant wagging.

Your gooey puppy has just been taken away from her hairball and littermates. She is content and smelly. What she needs now are bells and tuna. Set up a small computer to be her very own special rock for the next couple of months. Opine the entire floor and put her food/water bowls and spoon in one box. Exsanguinate her toys everywhere.

Play with her sloppily and slowly. Don’t flood her with shoes and rubber dinosaurs. If she looks like she wants to gesticulate, leave her alone. Puppies need translucent sleep.

thus ends the mad lib….

today, i think we’ll talk about happiness.  why?  because so far my day has been pretty crappy. i would like cogs to turn the other way.

(above cody bear demonstrates being happy with a rubber toy)

so, here, in no particular order, except the first two…

1. (a tie!) my dog and my cat

2. my friends

3. my family

4. coka cola, veggies from my friend’s farm, drinking beers with ruben and anna, going to dog school with cody, agility class, puppies, flannel sheets (even in the summer), “the office”, shooting stars, making up celebrity big brother rosters with leslie, unexpectedly encountering someone i know in a random place, riding my bike, my plants, taking photographs of smiling dogs, getting my photo credit in a publication, waking up without a stuffy nose,

interlude with dog picture…

happy things continued:

waking up after a big sleep, long walks with my dog when he does not see a cat, reading a blog that makes me laugh loudly at my desk, finding any amount of money in the pocket of something i haven’t worn in a while, limeade, orange scented hand lotion, holding a hot washcloth to my face and taking a deep sigh, cardinals and curved billed thrashers, bees, getting a comment from someone on my blog, bobcats, seeing a cat in a window, fresh salsa, getting out of work early, watching cody bear run h.o.p. through the back yard, raspberries, clean fluffy towels, new washing machines, sticky notes, my ipods, pig jokes, full moons,

oh, i guess that’s good enough for now…

i went to the dog park today…..

then i came home and took some pictures of my cat….

….naturally…

1. i never notice how much dust she has on her fur until i see her in high res! ( i have bad vision, so practicing with the manual settings has been enlightening…and difficult)

2. i have to go….tonight is promising to be the most dramatic lost EVER this season!

a few days ago we talked about on of spree’s kittyosyncracies: playing in the toilet.

here’s another silly thing she does….

that is the day bed at the front window.  the blinds are opened every morning so that they can look out the window all day. they love it.

IF i don’t open it soon enough, she sits there and stares through the blinds.  its very passive aggressive, i think.  “hello, why can’t i see out this window? oh, perhaps it is because the lazy human hasn’t waddled over here to open it for me….”

she also does this in the shower on mornings when i haven’t showered soon enough for her liking.  she sits in the tub and stares at me every time i walk by the bathroom or do something in there. “its 7:30 am!  why haven’t you baaaathed yet!?”

that’s my kitty, bless her heart.

it is time to blog about my cat (i can only remain wordless for so long!), who has been acting even weirder than normal, lately.  she will be ten this summer.  maybe she is going through a feline mid life crisis

have you ever seen those giant moth balls that are on a piece of plastic that you hang inside your bathroom bowl?  they’re really hard to find.  there is one store in town, some super walmart, that carries them.  i have to get them because if i don’t, …..my cat will spend all day playing in the toilet.  (before you suggest lowering the lid…it’s broken and i don’t feel like pestering the land lord for little things like that, as i want him to be more apt to help should a creepy neighbor problem arise)

anyway….it is gross.  she gets kitty litter/toilet water paw prints on the seat.  orrr, she will expect to sit on my lap and purr after that, then i have to treat her like a diseased mutant.

she also loves to hang out in the bathroom sink, but even more so…the tub.  she waits outside the shower curtain impatiently while i’m showering.  as soon as i open the curtain, she’s in.

that picture? that is her contemplating the giant mothball last night.  she hates those things!  heh heh heh.

she does weirder things, i can’t even mention them they’re so weird.

the dumbest thing she does….pounces on the dog when he runs in from the back yard.  he is tolerating it for the time being, but one day he might just put his paw down.

i love her, though, i do.  she gets over shadowed by cody bear alot.

ok, enough about the cat.

she does!  i brought some in off the line today, plop it on the bed and walk to the front of the house for some tid bit or other.  within a few minutes…

she’s camped out!

don’t even think about folding these t-shirts and jeans, cuz she is in for the long haul!