Doggy Hero

Saw this article on Yahoo! and thought it was a cute story.

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A dog was hailed as a hero on Sunday after it risked its life to save a litter of newborn kittens from a house fire, rescuers said.

In a case which gives the lie to the saying about 'fighting like cats and dogs', the terrier cross named Leo had to be revived with oxygen and heart massage after his ordeal. Fire broke out overnight at the house in Australia's southern city of Melbourne, where he was guarding the kittens.

Fire fighters who revived Leo said he refused to leave the building and was found by them alongside the litter of kittens, despite thick smoke.

"Leo wouldn't leave the kittens and it nearly cost him his life," fire service Commander Ken Brown told reporters.

The four kittens also survived the fire and Sunday Leo, who fire fighters nicknamed 'Smoky', was again back at the house.

Photos

Here is a link to some recent photos of our gremlin and our landshark. The costumed pictures are from Angel Ridge's Barktoberfest this afternoon. Lily never made it out of the car with her costume on, but Lola happily wore hers all day long.

Pics

Antics

I am ashamed to say that I actually purchased a doggy diaper today. I was desperate. I can't stand the fact that Lola has an insatiable thirst, but she drinks so much that she then pees every 2 minutes, most often wherever she happens to be standing at the moment the urge arises. So, I did it -- I bought a frilly little diaper for her, complete with "sanitary pad" inserts. After struggling to get it on her, things seemed to be going just fine...until I heard a string of indistinct exclamations coming from Guy's loft. Lola was up there barking, which he presumed was because Lily was on his couch and Lola couldn't get up. Obviously, he presumed wrong. Lola actually had to poop, and she decided to relieve herself while wearing her diaper. You'd think this would be a good thing, but these diapers aren't like baby diapers. They're only shaped to protect from accidental urine release, not bowel movements. So, poop got in the diaper and started coming out of the diaper onto Guy's floor. He grabbed Lola and took her down the stairs into the bathroom, where he removed the diaper to be washed at a later time. Lola scampered away into my room where she...took a leak on the carpet. Surprise, surprise. I know that those two actions logically follow one another, but Guy was too busy worrying about the first one and I was too busy blogging to be paying attention, so now we're stuck with a poopy diaper and a pee-stained floor. Ahh, the life.

Two Dogs, One Bone

Owning two dogs is much harder than I thought it would be. It could be because one of them is an 8-pound puppy who can't even get herself down the steps on her own, let alone control her bladder, but that's beside the point. One of the difficulties of having two dogs is what seems to be a case of good-old sibling rivalry. For instance, one of the first nights we had Lola, we brought home a small Nylabone for her to chew on. As soon as Lily saw what her sister had, she decided she had to have it. After the two goons spent the entire night fighting/wrestling over the bone, I had Guy pick a larger one up on his way home from work the next day. That night, we presented Lily with her new bone, but when she saw that Lola was chewing on hers, she decided that Lola's was better for some reason (probably she's just greedy). She proceeded to steal Lola's from her and horde both of the bones. Since then, no matter what we give them, even if both things are exactly identical, Lily wants what Lola has and vice versa. I guess this is giving us practice for when we have human children, so at least it's good for something.

Serious Situation

I received an e-mail from a concerned animal-lover about the following situation. Please let me know if you have any advice or opinions on how this should be handled.

This person, who I'll call Rachel, lives in the city of Pittsburgh. Her neighbors have two dogs, a bulldog and a pit bull. Recently, the pit bull escaped from their backyard, and since then, they've been keeping her in a small caged area in the rear of the property. Rachel has never seen anyone go there to feed, water, or pay attention to the dog. When she goes on the back porch of her house that overlooks the puppy's yard, the puppy starts wagging her tail and whining for attention. She can't prove that they aren't feeding her or giving her water, but she looks all the time and the bowls are always empty. Should she or someone else report this? Who would you even report it to? Also, Rachel is somewhat afraid that if she reports the problem, the neighbors will know who it was, and let's just say that the neighbors don't have kosher occupations. They're somewhat intimidating and not people you'd want to have on your bad side.

So...what should she do?

The New Addition

Lily has a sister! I worked all weekend for Rachael Ray's new dog food, Nutrish, at the Pittsburgh Pet Expo, and I knew I couldn't leave there without bringing home a new dog. There were so many adorable dogs for adoption there, but I ended up getting a 7-week-old puppy who now goes by the name of Lola. She is black with some brindle markings on her face and paws, and all I know about her is that her mother was a wire-haired terrier of some sort. So far, she and Lily are getting along swimmingly. The only bad thing is all the high-pitched yelping going on. But hopefully that will die down as she gets older (fingers crossed). Here are some pictures of our new family member.

No More Frito Feet!

Have you ever noticed the distinct comparison between the smell of your dog's feet and the smell of a fresh bag of Fritos corn chips? It may sound crazy, but I've had other people tell me their dog's paws have the same scent. Not only does Lily occasionally have stinky feet, but the rest of her gets an unpleasant smell, as well. From her days spent at Camp Bow Wow and the times she rolls in "perfume" on our walks, she definitely needs a good bath every once in a while. I read somewhere that you shouldn't bathe your dog more than once a month, but I don't know if that's true or not.

Anyway, giving Lily a bath is often an ordeal. We have sometimes opted for the grooming services offered at CBW, and, though she always comes home smelling like tropical fruit, when you add that to the cost of camp, it can get too pricy. That's where Woody's Dog Wash comes into play. We had Lily at an event in South Park over the weekend, so we decided to test-drive the services at Woody's for the first time. The employees there were very helpful and explained how to use the tub, which was actually quite a neat system, to us first-timers. Lily climbed into the tub pretty easily, and Guy and I donned our aprons (provided by Woody's) to prepare for the inevitable splashing that would occur. The tub has a sort of collar that you put around your dog's neck so that they don't move around too much and you are able to take them off their leash. Then, you can choose from three or four different shampoos and conditioners to use during the bath. We used an oatmeal shampoo that smelled excellent. The shampoo comes right through the hose you use for water, so you don't even have to get your hands dirty. Not only that, but after the bath, the dryer hose is right there, too, so your dog stays right in the tub to get dry. Lily was deathly afraid of the air coming from the dryer, but we managed to get her dry enough by using chamois towels and a low setting. Woody's also provided brushes and cotton balls to clean Lily's ears with, which was a nice touch.

The whole bath took no longer than 10 minutes or so, and for about $15, it was well worth it! Lily came home smelling like a human rather than a dog, and we didn't have to clean up the mess. If your dog needs a bath or you're looking for interesting pet products, definitely pay Woody's a visit.

There's a Hole in the Market, Dear Liza, Dear Liza

With October 31st fast approaching, I've been observing the large amount of pet-related Halloween items that are popping up on store shelves. I guess All Hallows Eve isn't just for people anymore. Aside from the stuffed toys and ghoul-and-goblin-themed treats, the things I enjoy looking at the most are pet costumes. Sure, stores offer pet "clothes" year-round, but Halloween may be the one time it's a little more acceptable to dress your dog in a tutu. However, the one thing that really disappoints me about the abundance of dog costumes is the severe lack of large sizes in the costumes. Lily deserves to be able to dress up like a pirate just as much as a dachshund does! When I was at Target a week or two ago, they had all kinds of great pet costumes (and at reasonable prices!) but the only ones I could find that were big enough for Lily were a purple monkey and a rooster. I didn't think either of those would fit her personality. I would have much rather purchased the inmate costume or the hot dog. There were plenty of the cooler costumes in sizes small through medium, but once you hit the large range, the choices dwindled. I know small dogs may be more accustomed to being treated like toy dolls, but for a special occasion, it'd be nice if costume manufacturers would include dogs of all sizes. It reminds me of how it was hard for plus-sized women to find trendy clothes before Lane Bryant came along. Where is the Lane Bryant of canine fashion, I ask? Since we can't find something store-bought that is appropriate for Lily this year, I guess I'll have to settle for putting some devil horns on her and calling her Lilcifer. At least it's accurate.