Saturday, November 29, 2008

What A Day

Today was one of those days where I just should have stayed in bed.

Lets start with the attack on pocket:
We go hiking in this wonderful off-leash area. Its not a dog-park in the traditional sense but a lot of dogs do go there and many people meet up there for play-dates. Despite the hundreds of dogs that we have met through the years we have never had a problem with a single one. Granted, Mole has had an issue with a rambunctious puppy or two, but he calls off quickly and we all walk away no worse for the wear. But today was a disaster. We went for our walk like normal - got to the top of one of the hills and we came across two women walking two dogs. One we had seen a few times before. She is a pit-bull sharpei and is full of energy. I have always been leery of her because of her breed and her age - and I know that my kids don't do well with that high energy, non-stop, play drive that she has. The other was a brindle thing - no discernible characteristics. The sharpei ("sassy") started to walk towards pocket today and pocket just stood still - about 5 feet from me. They looked at each other, no issues. . . until the brindle thing came bounding up behind sassy. That imediately turned into a bounding drive toward pocket. Pocket took off running and ran in a huge circles. I yelled leave-it and called for pocket. The women half hartedly called for their dogs - followed by the "they just want to play" chatter. I finally yelled STOP loud enough for everyone to freeze - including terrified pocket. The two dogs went back to their owners and pocket waited for me to come get her. The ladies started in again with the "they just want to play" and my response was that "a hundred pounds of dog chasing 5 pounds of dog is not play." We finished our walk, but we were all shook up. And I am having serious thoughts about going back there again.


Then came the computer crap. . .
My computer went down a few months ago - a friend was able to get it started again but it still has bugs. I tried all the basic stuff, but eventually it became clear that everything would need to be re-installed. That process takes HOURS! Starting with the backing up (I have done this before, but with all the new pics, it needed to be done again.) Once everything was finished saving, the re-install didn't take to long . . . but the moving of the saved files back to the hard drive takes a long time.

But in pap-pap news:
We are now starting to eat some wet food - but enjoy it most when its mixed with the milk in the bottle. The back teeth are almost all in and he now can climb up and over stones in the yard - and up one stair. He sleeps 6 hours a night and entertains himself at times. We had a photo shoot in the back yard - but since my photo editor still isn't working . . . grrrrr





Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Play Time

I know that I keep saying this, but its amazing how fast he grows! And its not just physically! I should probably weigh him to see how much he has grown since the 1.8oz tub of jelly he was 20 days ago. But it is interesting to see how much he develops in a day. His behavior changes constantly as he learns about his environment.

He had a great play session today with another little dog:






I know the lighting is off, but I also know that E really needs more pap pap shots. . .

So here is another just because

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Carbon Foot Print

Have you ever thought about your Carbon Foot Print? Now there are calculators that can help you tabulate it. According to their calculations my carbon foot print is 24 tonnes - more then average (20 tonnes Co2/year). When I saw that number and read that statement I almost choked. I know that I commute to work and all that adds up, but come on! I still try to do my part.

Then I read further down the page. . .

Part of the calculations are based on average user consumption/waste. Well, I think thats where this whole calculation went terribly a rye. For one thing, I consume way less then the average person that I know. I know there are people who consume less then I do. I use re-usable bags instead of plastic. I use a stainless steel coffee mug instead of paper cups. And I buy most of my stuff used - including clothes! Besides from commuting to work, I don't drive that often - and if I do, we carpool. I think most of my real waste comes from the dogs - the laundry and food. But even the food is more eco-friendly then kibble. The puppy pee-pads aren't helping this month, though.

After reading the whole page, I found a different calculator and found that my carbon foot print is 12 tonnes Co2/year. I feel that this is a bit more accurate because you can enter in your car m/m/m and you can enter exact flight data as well. You can also input info as to what/how you consume. Part of the calculations are based on what part of the country you live in as well.

Later, I found another calculator and determined that my carbon foot print is 17 tonnes Co2/year. Again I feel that this is a little high because it doesn't consider your consumption but it does take off points for using energy efficient appliances/lighting.

At the end of my experiment I never really determined what my Carbon Foot Print is, but I take some solace in knowing that its lower then average - but how much is still up for debate. I guess I can look into offsetting it, but that would mean I have to leave my computer on for another hour and that would increase the electricity to the house which would increase my foot print which would mean that I would have to do that much more to offset it. . . .

Thursday, November 20, 2008

First Steps

Pap Pap (aka: mouse) took his first real steps on day 17 - videoed for posterity on day 18. Here it is day 20 and he is just walking everywhere. He seems to enjoy exploring. . .backwards and forwards! The first few steps had to be taken on an empty stomach because his muscles just weren't strong enough to hold the weight of his big belly. Now that he has had some practice he can move around whenever he wants. But he is still a little boy. He will start crying if he has turned himself around and can't seem to find you. He is still at that age where all this is cute. Mole isn't too sure about him now that he is moving, but Abby seems to like him more. She actually thinks he is playing with her - I'm not even sure if he can hear her high pitched screams of joy yet.

Its still hard for him to push him self up. . .


But once he gets going. . .


There's no stopping him!


Until its time for bed - that is. . .

Monday, November 17, 2008

Doubled in Size

When little Pap Pap came into our lives he weighed only 1 pound 8 ounces. He has since doubled in size in a week and a half and now weighs 3 pounds 10 ounces. He is growing like a weed and eating me out of house and home. Food for a few days for this little guy cost $47. Thats more then Abby and she weighs 16 pounds!

Gratuitous puppy shots:






He just keeps getting cuter and cuter. His eyes are finally open and he is now taking a few steps on his own. He is still eating every few hours but I am only waking up once a night now instead of 3 times. It's still not a lot of sleep for me, but its just easier to stay up late and wake up early then to wake up twice a night for feedings. And while I have NEVER been a fan of puppies, and I've never been one for the "miracle of life" experience - I am glad that I get to experience this. I'm not particularly maternal and having children was never high on my to-do list (ok, its not on there at all) but its still fun watching him grow and change. I ooohhhed and aaahhhed the first time he opened his eyes and I cheered him on as he took his first steps. He really is a lot of fun and he will always hold a special place in my heart for giving me this experience that I never thought I would have.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Sucker!



How can you resist this face?

I found this little guy while I was in Martinez looking for some kittens. He was left in a box at the front door. And while I really do know better then to take on a 5 day old singleton pit bull puppy, I just couldn't resist. Something told me to take this little guy and at least try to give him a life - he wouldn't have lived much longer if I walked on by . . . and I do work for rescue.

After a scare the other day, he is doing well. He is now 10 days old and a feeding machine. I really feel bad for mothers. The amount of force he puts on a nipple terrifies me enough to add it to reason 999 not to have my own children.

But he does look so cute when he is done feeding and is *finally* asleep.



And despite previous thinking, Abby isn't that bad around the puppy. I mean, I don't leave her alone with him, but she hasn't eaten his eyes out either.


I did take some photos with my regular camera and will post those later - after I get more then 3 hours sleep a night

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Nightmare

After Abby's adventure she came home with a major case of separation anxiety. Not that big of a deal to me because I have dealt with it before with Mole. He used to scream for hours when I left him and he would loose his bladder/bowel control. After 5 years he is almost completely free of the anxiety and can be left alone for 6 hours with no worries.

Abby has been a bit more challenging because she tends to destroy things or hurt herself when left alone. Due to my schedule and lifestyle she is rarely left alone. I bring her to work every day and she comes in the car on most errands. The few times that i have had to leave her alone she has done some major damage. Its hard to believe that a dog with hardly any teeth can eat through an electrical wire. And when she is left crated she usually manages to escape - despite cords/special locks. The longest she has been alone is 4 hours. Usually I come home to a loose dog and something eaten. Not that big of a deal in the whole scheme of things. On the rare occasion (twice) that I have to be gone longer then 3-4 hours I leave her with good friends of mine that she absolutely loves.

Well last night was just a nightmare for the both of us. I HAD to be gone for 12 hours for a benefit that my work was putting on. I left her with my mom - who she knows, but doesn't "Love". She went back and forth between being crated and being loose. My mom went to the benefit and was gone maybe 4 hours. When she came home, Abby had thrown up everywhere and had diarrhea everywhere. And it continued well into the early hours of the morning.

I feel bad that her stress level was so high that she expressed it in such a vivid way. I also feel bad for my mom who had to clean most of it up since it was still hours before I got home. But I'm kinda all out of ideas on what to do with her when I HAVE to be gone. She can't be left loose, she can hardly be crated. I feel like the only option at this point is to drug her. Not something I really want to do, but not sure what else to do at this point. We are beyond air sprays and oral tinctures - they haven't worked yet . . .

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Serious Withdrawal

I think I had my first caffeine withdrawal symptom today.

At first I thought it was just the flu. I haven't been feeling top-notch since Tuesday and while things didn't get progressively worse, they didn't get better either. One thing that had gotten bad, though, was my back pain. It started in my mid back and has progressed over a couple of days, and restless nights, to me not being able to move a whole lot. I slapped some icy-hot on myself and called it a night.

But this morning I woke up to a pounding headache, severe nausea, and extreme irritability. I seriously thought that I had some weird brain tumor and was going to have a stroke in the middle of the bath tub. But I had something important that HAD to get done today, so I pulled myself together and got it done.

On the way back from my super important errand it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't had any coffee yet today. And my symptoms were the same as those described by admitted caffeine addicts. In fact there are whole websites based on Caffeine Dependence. And more websites based on the effects of caffeine itself and others on how woman with a family history of alcoholism are more likely to have dependence on caffeine.

I found all that out after having a triple shot latte. . .