14 posts tagged “pets”

Here is my dog Chichi, moments after trying -- and failing -- to chew through the middle of a 3ft long dog treat I gave him.  You can see the confusion in his eyes, he's never seen anything like that in his life.  He wasn't even sure whether or not it was his, when I tossed it onto the floor next to him.  He spent the first few seconds looking back and forth between it and me as if silently asking, "For me, really!?".

The funny thing about it, I didn't intend to buy that at all.  I stopped at the pet store on the way home from work with the intention of buying a new dog bed.  Ten minutes later I'm driving away with a smile on my face, anticipating the excitement my dog will have when he sees his new treat.  It wasn't till I got home that I remembered the bed -- and the fact that I didn't buy it.

Darn 3ft dog treat.  It just boggled my mind.

The same thing always happens to me at the grocery store.  I arrive intending to do the weekly shopping, and I get home later with 20 frozen pizzas and a deli sandwich.

I'm still having a blast with my -- somewhat obsessive -- aquarium hobby.  I always knew I would enjoy having an aquarium, I just never realized how much I would enjoy it.  Aside from my computer (which keeps me in contact with my favorite person) and possibly my camera, my fishtank has to be my favorite possession.  Sure it can be a lot of work, but so is raising anything;  whether it be kids, pets or even plants.

Speaking of plants, I've always been a bit of a gardener at heart as well, so it was just a given that I would try my hand at freshwater plants.

I always wanted to have a natural, or 'planted', tank - and I'm finally reaching the point where I know enough about the hobby that everything in my tank is straight from nature:  live plants, driftwood, root wood, moss, various rock.  I currently have 8 different species of plants in the tank, ranging from ferns to mosses, to grasses.  It gets kind of interesting when you realize that you can spend just as much -- if not more -- time and money on these plants as you do on the actual fish, and sometimes the plants get more attention from viewers!

I think all the expense is well worth it though.  As Victoria was telling me recently, it's like art.  Living, growing, ever changing art.  I could sit there watching it for hours.

OK, I've upgraded my aquarium!  Decided to go with an Eclipse System.  The clean lines look great, not to mention all the "mechanical" bits and pieces are hidden inside the hood, so you don't need to have so many ugly protuberances jutting out in all directions.

I'm attempting with this tank to create a more 'natural' aquarium.  I want everything in it to eventually be "live", I don't want any of those fake tank decorations this time - only live plants, wood and of course fish.  I've had to do a lot of research to see what sorts of fish can habitat well together, and now I'm seeing that you have to be just as careful when picking your aquarium plants.

We'll see how this goes!

As for now it is pretty sparse and bare, but after a few more additions and a couple months of growth time I hope to add more photos that show a good development in the tank.  I'll put a picture below of what it currently looks like.

Current fish:

[2] Albino Corydoras
[3] Scissortail Rasbora
[6] Ember Tetra
[2] Dwarf Gourami - Neon Blue (new)
[1] Mystery Snail

I haven't been all that interested in blogging lately.  I go through these stages; sometimes I might write 15 blogs in a week, other times I may only write 2 a month.  I think it really depends on what is going on in my life at the time, and at this particular time I'm just plain too tired to spend much time devoted to blogging.

I'll just go through some quick blurbs (this might be how I blog for awhile):

We are short some people at work, so I'm pulling a double work load.  I'm also now on-call every other week, which is always so much fun.  There is nothing like getting home to relax after a long day only to be called in for another shift.  But hey, nothing to be done about it.  At least I enjoy my job.

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Two houses on my street were robbed this past week.  It freaked me out enough that I have a couple security companies coming out to my house next week to quote me some prices on a full home security system.  The very last thing I want to be stressing about while I'm at work is my little brother getting home by himself and interrupting some burglars in the act.

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I got the results back for my dogs blood work, he is almost at pre-disease levels for all his previously elevated hormone counts.  He won't ever be taken off his medication, but at least now he is stable and is in no immediate danger of anything serious.  He has had Cushings Disease for a year now, and his life expectancy was listed at 4 years after diagnosis.  Supposedly he has 3 years ahead of him, but of course I'm hoping he proves them wrong and stays with me longer.  I'm not ready to say goodbye to him.

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My recently discovered new favorite pizza joint, the Great Alaskan Pizza Co., just went into new ownership and decided to suddenly up their prices by nearly $10.00.  Where is the justice!?  It just figures I only found this place a couple weeks ago.  Since they are now even more expensive than Pizza Hut... I guess I'll be switching back to buying from the Hut instead.  Bah.

I got a call from my dogs Vet. the other day, letting me know that he's due for some 'work'.  Chichi (my Shih-Tzu, who recently turned 9 years old) has been living with Cushing's Disease for the past year.  He's doing much better than he was when first diagnosed, though it's still a month-to-month thing.  At the time when I found out he was sick I was almost positive he wasn't going to pull through, but he's a little trooper and has done surprisingly well considering his age.

I think he has a strong will to live, and a loving family he would rather not leave behind.

I find it amazing though, how much pets health care costs.  It's unbelievable really.  If I didn't have a job that afforded me with some extra spending money, my dog would have died last year.  I have no illusions about that at all.  This last Vet trip was $93.00, and that was just for 2 shots that took a whole 5 minutes.  I also have to fill a monthly prescription of Metyrapone that is about $100.00 a bottle (even with insurance).  As well as his special--and expensive--allergy-free dog food (since many things in normal dog food makes his Cushing's worse) that usually sets me back about $60.00 every two weeks.

Now this coming Tues. I have to drop him off again for a few hours at the Vets, for some extended blood work and testing.  A process that experience has taught me is going to set me back anywhere from $300-400 for the one trip.

Don't get me wrong;  the life of my dog is worth any expense to me.  He's my kid, so that says all there is to say.  I'm not so much complaining about my situation, but more so for other people.  I mean... how many pets are dying out there because their owners just can't afford these ridiculous Veterinary charges?  Not everyone can afford this sort of treatment.  Actually, I'm sure the majority of normal families couldn't swing it.  It's heartbreaking to think that some people will have to make the decision to put their pets down, simply because they can't afford the treatment or surgeries that will save their lives.

That just isn't right at all.

Sure, I know that you can get pet health insurance now - but still, even that will only cut expenses so much - and you probably can't even get the insurance if your pet is already sick.  The costs of these things really are out of hand.  But like I said, I love my dog.  I'm going to keep paying these exorbitant prices simply because there is no other option, except letting my dog die - and that is absolutely unacceptable.

Well it's been snowing, and snowing... and snowing a little more.  It's still snowing as I write this, and by morning we are supposed to have maybe 6 more inches.  I think that adds up to about a ft and a half of snow in the past week.  All the snow in this photo is from this week, it was nice a clear out there before that.  Muddy of course, but just about no snow at all.

Anchorage is supposed to only get about 5 1/2 inches of snow, on average, during the entire month of April.  Barely over a week into the month and we'll have about 4 times that already.  Really Alaska, really?

Even my dog went and looked around, then came back and says to me, "Holy crap dude, there is snow everywhere!".  Well you know, that is what he would have said.  I can always tell what he is thinking.

I've been seeing stories on the news about abandoned pets.  The United States economy is going so poorly at the moment, and so many people are losing their homes to foreclosure, that there is now a suddenly influx of pets that are also homeless.  I guess this is something I've just never really thought about, but it makes sense;  if the family loses their home, the pet loses it's home as well.

And if the family now has no place to call home...  where can they possibly keep their beloved animals?  Most apartments won't let you keep pets, and some of these folks are living out of their vehicles, and it would just be cruel to try and force an animal into that sort of situation.

It's really heartbreaking, for the family and the pets.  I can't even imagine how bad it would feel to lose a home.  It must be awful--and then to realize that you have no hope of caring for your pets as well?  To know that you'll have to give them away, or take them to a shelter, and likely never see them again...  I can't imagine it.  It's just really sad.  When the economy is hard on us, it's hard on our pets as well.

They are calling them "foreclosure pets".

Recent studies suggest that home values could continue to drop by $1.2 trillion in 2008, creating far-reaching economic hardship and a likely recession. Many cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio, and Trenton, N.J., have already been particularly hard-hit by the collapse of the subprime market, with thousands of homes being abandoned. Bank employees and other lenders who enter these homes are often required to leave property—including pets—untouched until legal proceedings are complete. As a result, pets are not receiving the care they need.

I guess it's getting so bad that many ASPCA members are driving around and looking for the foreclosure signs in yards, and then checking the houses just to make sure there are no abandoned animals there.  Sadly they find some, more often than not.  As hard as having your home taken away must be for the home owner, I still think they have to consider the welfare of their animals as well.  No pet should just be left abandoned in the house to fend for itself.  At least try to take it to a shelter, if you have no other option.  Sometimes it takes upwards of a week for anyone to even check in on the house after the family leaves.  I don't think anyone with a good heart would willingly let their pets languish unfed and uncared for, for that long.

Just another example of the 'trickle down' effect.  When things are going poorly, it affects all of us.  Even our furry friends.

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The ASPCA offers this advice for people who are faced with foreclosure and the loss of their pets:

• Check with friends, family and neighbors to see if someone can provide temporary foster care for your pet until you get back on your feet. Agree to a specific time frame, and check on the pet regularly;
• If you are moving into a rental property, make sure pets are allowed and get permission in advance—and in writing; and
• Contact your local animal shelter, humane society or rescue group, in advance of your move, since many shelters limit their admissions to the number of animals they can adequately care for. If a shelter agrees to take in your pet, provide medical records, behavior information, and anything else that might assist shelter workers in finding your pet a new home.

So life in the tank is still going well.  I realized I had to boost my shutter speed and play with the lighting, even to be able to get a mostly bad shot of the inside of my fish tank, but believe me this is the best photo of the batch.  Also, luckily, in this one tiny shot I managed to get every single fish into the frame.

Things I've learned thus far:  Bleeding Heart tetras are NOT as peaceful as the fish store clerk led me to believe.  Snails are excellent algae controllers.  Swordtails like to leap out of the tank (just ask the one my dog ate).  Good lighting is a must, if you want to "see" your tank the way it should be seen.  A clean tank is a happy tank.  Research, research, research - before adding fish to a tank.

I guess the main thing I've learned is that fish are just like any other pet, you need the time, money and the desire to make them thrive.  If you don't have all of those things, don't even bother.  It's just cruel to neglect a pet, even a fish.