A loss in the family

It's a very bad day here... probably gonna be a bad couple of days...

Somehow, over the past couple months, we went from a three dog household; to a four dog (though one is just a temporary guest. Been meaning to post about her for a couple weeks and just hadn't got round to it. I'll do it in a couple days) and two cat household.

It wasn't intentional on our part, it just sorta happened.

Unfortunately, today we are one less.

This morning, I had to put one of the cats down.

The littlest member of our family, River the tailless wonder... Well, from the beginning, we noticed she had an unhealthy streak of daring to her. She would always be going where she she shouldn't, doing things she shouldn't...

Hell, it's why we named her River. It's probably how she ended up being a tailless wonder. Even the night she showed up, we had to rescue her from predators.

It could be charming, but also irritating, and at times worrisome.

Over the past couple weeks, she developed a very unwise and unhealthy habit of taunting the dogs. Running up to them, then running away; sitting just out of reach behind a locked gate etc...

Well, this morning, she was alternating getting into play fights with Badger (the bigger kitty; and he has got big indeed, swelling to garfieldian proportions over the past couple months), and running down the stairs to taunt the dogs at the gate (we have a gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep the dogs out).

Understand, we're talking about 300lbs+ worth of bully breed dogs, who are used to playing rough with each other (they draw blood, unintentionally, but somewhat regularly).

Now, I knew this was what she was doing, because I could hear it; and had heard her doing it a dozen times before over the past couple weeks.

Then things went south...

I heard her and the dogs start going back and forth at the gate; them sticking their noses through, her batting at their noses or sticking a paw through... Then I herd one of the dogs yelp, and her another one get a nip in at River a second later.

I know what that sounds like; it's happened before, and it's usually no big deal. Generally one of the dogs gets a nip in, then she just runs like the proverbial scalded cat, and hides under the bed or somesuch.

... but instead of running and hiding, for some reason, she fought.

... and dogs being dogs, they all piled into the fray.

At that point, Mel and I were up and running to get down the stairs (we were up in the bedroom), but there was already a three dog, one cat, furball going.

... and things ended up about as you would expect when a 5 pound cat starts a fight with three dogs that collectively weigh over 250lbs.

The dogs broke off the second we got there; and the whole fight lasted maybe 20 seconds from the nip to the end... but it was already too late.

I won't go into painful detail... suffice it to say, I know when it's not a survivable injury, and it wasn't.

At the end, I know she wasn't feeling anything when I put her down.

We're... devastated is inadequate. It's been two hours, and Mel has barely stopped crying. We both feel, just sick. Mel can't even look at the dogs.

It's hard enough to lose one under any circumstances, but like that... And we had to see it happen...

Yeah... it's gonna be a bad couple of days.

An Unexpected House Guest

So... for the last few hours, we been having some heavy duty microbursts and thundercrackers... Like, shake the house to the foundations type thunderstorms, and "oh my god, I'm breathing water" level rain.

About an hour ago, in between two particularly nasty ones, I started hearing something... a repeating plaintive wail coming from the porch, out by the door... and look who we found:

He was somewhat bedraggled, a little scared by the thunder, and VERY hungry.

What we have here is what I'd guess to be a just barely mature tom, grey and black tiger tabby, neutered, with trimmed (or at least relatively short) claws. He's pretty clean, not well groomed (very shaggy, and in need of serious brushing), but has no matting, no mites, no fleas, and no ticks.

He also had no collar, and no marks in his fur indicating he wore one regularly; though a loose collar would both be easy to lose or work off, and leave no marks.

He's very skinny under that fur, and I'd guess he's a couple weeks underfed (and the small game here is plentiful, so if he'd been hunting, he wouldn't be underfed).

Funnily, he's perfectly fine around our three big and inquisitive dogs... and he has to be the most even tempered, least skittish cat I've ever seen in my life. He had no problem whatsoever being immediately picked up by a stranger; in fact he started purring right quick, and kept purring when passed from Mel to me. He didn't hiss at the dogs even when they stuck their noses right in at him... and he went back to purring immediately after the dogs left him alone (Zoe is still being a bit of a pain on that score, but Wash and Jayne are just fine... In fact, Wash, our resident puppycat, seems to like our visitor very much).

So clearly, this is a well socialized, well cared for cat, that someone is probably missing...

We haven't seen any posters around, and no-one local posted anything on craigslist... but we'll put some up tomorrow, check the local free paper and pay paper, call local animal control etc...

And NO, we are NOT keeping him... We've got three dogs already, and that is quite enough thank you... Besides, he almost certainly has someone else who loves him and misses him.

In the meantime... he's just purring his furry little head off.

What a contented puppy-cat

That by the way is the top of the back couch cushions. Both Zoe (pictured) and Wash, like to roost up there... when we let them get away with it. One should note... That cushion is about 3 feet wide, and about a foot thick. Zoe is about 60lbs, and Wash is about 70. That is not a small couch, and these are not small dogs.

3 minutes of puppy based stress relief

It's Amazing How Good Phone Cameras Are Now...

And phone camcorders even more so:



Taken with a Droid X and not futzed with in any way. Remember to switch it to 720p.

The Oddest Damn Dog That You Ever Did See

We love mutts.

All of our dogs are mutts. This is due to a mixture of not being breed fanatics, not being breeders, not wanting to keep uncut dogs, and a weakness for shelter dogs. More specifically a weakness for politically incorrect dogs.

We're familiar with the mixed bag mutts bring. Some of the best (and worst) qualities of each breed seem to be magnified with some interesting combinations. Jayne, our pitbull/Rottweiler mix, seems to have gotten a double dose of lapdog, teddy bear, and high pain tolerance. Zoe, our coonhound/Rottweiler mix, got a double dose of affectionate and trouble-making.

For weird qualities though, Wash takes the cake.

Wash is... we don't know. Obviously Doberman, some Rottweiler, and the double coat he's developing suggests German Shepherd like we always thought. His ears resemble a bat, his tail is a lethal weapon, and he's got incredible hearing. All wrapped in a 60 or so lb lapdog and companion.

This dog follows me everywhere. Whatever I'm doing, he's there. He sits and waits by the gate when I go get the mail. He's the first to show up when I get home from wherever.



That's normal, very attached pack behavior. Wash is not normal.

Wash is a pyro.

Seriously.

There's the typical "hound dog lying at the hearth" fireplace behavior. Then there's doggy pyro territory.

On the 4th we set off our fireworks in the yard. The kids were watching from the top deck, Chris was setting off the fireworks and sitting 10 feet away, and I was sitting 15 feet away on the bottom steps with the hose ready.

Jayne watched the fireworks with the kids. Wash watched the fireworks with me. Totally unafraid, tail wagging.

The louder the fireworks got, the closer to them he went. The brighter, the closer. The higher the keen of the sound, the closer he went. He was "investigating" with his tail wagging.

I finally had to hold him back because he got too close.

I've seen dogs run away from fireworks. I've never see a dog run towards them though.

Oddest damn dog.

Mel

Cross-posted to We Few

Scenes from a life

Uhh.... Was there something you wanted?

It's dead Jim...

Awww.... who wants cuddles....

Thank God I have a big lap...

... Because I've got a DAMN HUGE LAPDOG:

Monorail Puppies

The Power of Cuteness Compels You

We have another new family member

This is Wash, and his coat is brown.

Wash is definitely a Rottweiler Doberman mix, but there may be some German Shepherd, and some Pit in him as well. He's got characteristics from all four, and that's what the shelters vets guessed at.

He's a rescue, and was SEVERELY abused. You can't see from the pics, but there are some scars on his side from what appear to be shotgun pellets; and his paws have been badly hurt at some point.

He's about 8 months old, cut, housebroken, and has all his shots. He's also extremely nervous, from the abuse.

A young guy from one of the local shooting forums had another dog (you can see him in the corner of the picture above), and his girlfriend (after being told not to) decided to bring him home a friend to play with.

Unfortunately, they live in a small townhouse with no real yard; and this boy is a runner and a jumper. Combined with the previous abuse making his behavior a bit odd, and the other dog... he was just miserable.

So, they decided it was better if they find another home for him.

...but... because of his breed mix, they couldn't get anyone to take him. He hits every "no no list" on everybodys leases and homeowners associations (including their own, which is one reason the girlfriend was told not to bring him home).

We really don't need another dog but...

When he couldn't get anyone to take him for a few weeks, it came down to bringing him back to the shelter to be put to sleep or...

Y'all know, I've got a soft spot for the politically incorrect breeds...

Well, Wash is with us now.


He's got a pack, he can run and play, he has a family...

And he's HAPPY.

This is NOT my puppy Zoe

...but if I didn't know she had never been photographed for an album cover (Weezers new album Radittude) I would swear to you she was.

Seriously, even the chest, eye, and muzzle markings are identical. Hell, the expression on her face, and ridiculous over the top energy.

The only difference I can see is that this little pup has a neutering scar, and we haven't neutered Zoe yet (waiting until 9 months).

The dog is "Sidney", and is owned by the photographer, Jason Neely. The picture was originally published in the August 2009 national geographic magazine, and Neely is from Connecticut so there's no chance it's one of Zoes littermates. It's just one of those odd coincidences of life.

Tomorrow I'll try to get a similar pic (not flying through the air obviously) of Zoe to show how uncanny the resemblance is. In the meantime I'm pretty sure Myrr, JohnOC, or Kommander will be as amazed by this resemblance as much as I am.

Last Waltz

Yesterday, we put Mac down. One of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. I've been through it before, it never gets any easier.

It was the best thing to do. He was never going to quit his post, but he couldn't stand the duty any more. It was time for him to move on, while he still had his dignity.

The night before, we let him sleep with us in the bed the last time... He couldn't get up with us, I had to pick him up and carry him onto the bed.

The next day, he took a real walk for the first time in a long time... got to do his thing in new territory, sniff away and pull me around the place. I had to carry him into the car, but he was still strong once he didn't have to flex those joints too bad.

He had a good day... maybe a great day. He went out happy.

Here's our last pictures with him:



He was a happy, strong, smart, loyal, and loving dog. My home is less alive without him. I've never had a better friend. I miss him more than I can say.

And that is the last I'm going to say about this here.

Losing family

Sometimes things work out like you hope, sometimes they don't.

This time, they won't be.

Tomorrow, after work, we're going to go have Mac put down.

The solution we worked out isn't going to happen. He started snapping at people for no reason, trying to defend himself against attacks that aren't there... It's time.

God I wish I didn't have to do it. I wish he could be young again... or at least not so old, or in so much pain.

The supplements kept him around and happy a whole year after we thought this was coming, so we're thankful for that. Every day with him has been a gift.

If you ever want proof that god loves us; he gave us dogs to be our companions.

Goddam....I'm crying as I write this... and I hav to work dammit...

Wife unit shaving the shaggy dog..

Amusing pics to follow.

Here's a before just for some perspective (these are 2 years old. He was even shaggier this morning):

Our own personal "Cute Overload"

So over on this thread at the gun counter, we've got folks posting pics of their dogs.

Serious cute overload.

Then two of the bastards have to go and post pics of their dogs that died...

I am a grown ass man dammit...

Seriously though, a half Boston terrier, half german shepherd, with great big watery googly eyes? I mean never mind the logistics of the thing (what, did they use a forklift?), but it has no right being that damn cute.

Comfort Seeking Missile

Oh, how I wish...

... that the words "shut up you little idiot", were in Jaynes vocabulary.

Note the time stamp on this post.

Mac, being a much older and wiser dog, has learned to differentiate between someone climbing over the back fence; and the chihuahua two streets over barking at it's neighbor. Jayne, being just 9 months old (actually, two weeks shy of that... wow... has it been that long already?) has, unfortunately, not.

And of course, he still has the brains of a puppy, but the body of a full grown dog (90 lbs and growing; and already taller and longer then Mac). That of course also means he has the BARK of a full grown dog.

... which if you haven't experienced it, is quite disconcerting when exercised straight into your ear at 2:28am.

At least I know to ignore it when Mac isn't joining in. He's pretty much 100% reliable alerting on people coming onto the property; and almost never alerting on anything else.

I Want My Money Back

I have yet to see the "born killer" that entered my house in the form of a pit bull/ Rottweiler mix.

From everything the media has told me, Jayne should have spontaneously turned into a rabid deliverer of death and dismemberment.

Instead I have a 7-month old puppy who climbs up in my lap, wakes the kids with kisses, and whines horribly whenever Mac does something as mean as growl at him.

He hasn't even killed one of the cats. What he does when he chases one of the cats and corners her is unspeakable. He holds the cat down and *gasp* GROOMS her.

Where is the obviously evil dog I was promised? Where is my vicious killer?

All I have is a 70lb lapdog who checks on the kids every morning, plays with Mac, and barks at the mailman.

Obviously I was scammed.

/sarcasm

Seriously, Jayne has turned into the world's biggest, wussiest, least vicious lapdog. He's 70lbs and 29" from the center of the shoulders to the base of his tail (already 2" longer than Mac, and 3/4 the weight). He takes up half the bed when he's allowed up. If he could he would spend all day sleeping at Chris's feet, and all night curled up with the kids. He insists on checking on the kids at least once a day, dissolves into endless whining if Mac rebukes him, and gives me the sad "please pet me" eyes at least 10 times a day.

The only object he regularly and viciously sinks his teeth into is a stuffed duck dog toy.

Could it be possible that how a dog is raised counts for more than supposedly dangerous bloodlines? That nurture counts more than nature, that DNA isn't destiny?

Kind of throws the whole concept of identity politics out the window, doesn't it?

Mel

Room Clearing

Let me tell you, there are few things in this world stinkier than a musking puppy on a high fat, high protein diet.

Thank god we're getting him neutered in a month or two... wow. As it is we've got to clean the carpets every other day to avoid being overpowered. And the uhh... emanations after mealtime....

Remind me again why we signed up for this...

Oh yeah, he's cute, and lovable.

Oh and damn huge. He's five and a half months old and well over 60 lbs already. He's bigger than some full grown labs I've had.