“How could you let this happen?”
Elizabeth March 10th, 2010
That dog pulls out every trick in the book at bathtime. But guess who always wins?
Archive for the 'Harry' Category
Happy birthday, Wooferguts.
Elizabeth February 24th, 2010
Dear Harry,
Today is your 8th birthday. I can’t believe we’ve managed to keep you out of trouble for all this time!
We love you, little fella.
Good dog!
xxx
It’s my dog in a box!
Elizabeth January 22nd, 2010
STEP ONE: Put the dog in the box
STEP TWO: Close the lid of the box
STEP THREE: Let him out of the box…
… it’s my dog in a box!
Ahh, procrastination. Is there anything you can’t do?
Our Christmas, in pictures.
Elizabeth December 26th, 2009
Christmas was lovely at The Orphanage this year. The three of us spent the day together watching old Christmas movies, eating our body weight in seafood, and snuggling up on the couch. The shortest member of our family discovered a variety of delicious treats in his stocking, and spent the day working through them one by one.
Our extended families were greatly missed, but it was good to catch up with everyone by phone during the day. I wonder if we’ll ever have everybody together in the same hemisphere again, as we did for Christmas last year?
I hope your day was lovely, and that Santa delivered the goods!
Merry Christmas.
This is a post about Depression. With a capital “D”.
Elizabeth November 26th, 2009
Tim sent this latest Pictures for Sad Children cartoon to me today, and I can’t imagine what made him think I would like it! Perhaps it was because our own dog was a miserable sack of sadness this morning when we left the house?
I have never known a creature to convey such depths of depression. In the picture below is the (obscured) face of a dog who is so depressed about one of his people leaving for the day, that he cannot even be bothered to shake off the cap that covers his head.
I don’t know how he copes with his terrible life. I hope you’ll spare him a thought.
Pictures of the woofer
Elizabeth September 27th, 2009
My camera was out a lot this weekend thanks to my 100 Snapshots challenge. As usual, Harry was happy to be the centre of attention.
#95 – Knit or sew something
Elizabeth September 27th, 2009
Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.
Originally, task #95 was “Knit something”. A few years ago I taught myself how to knit scarves, and have since made several in different styles. They’re great, but there comes a point in a girl’s life where she really doesn’t need another scarf!
My plan was to teach myself to knit something different, but for the last couple of years knitting has kind of dropped off my radar. I still appreciate hand-knitted items, but just lack the will to do it myself. In the spirit of my 101-list philosophy I decided to replace it with something equally challenging.
Last year I sewed this Miss Buttons doll, after coming across a cute little kit in the NGV. I have since bought several other kits and mailed them off around the world, as I think they are adorable!
I didn’t feel right submitting this as my “sew something”, considering that I made her before changing the goal-posts of my task. So instead, I found another project that I’ve always wanted to make – a sock monkey! Here he is, posing with Harry (who may have already tried to stake a claim on him…)
They’re a funny-looking pair, but they make me smile!
We think the monkey’s name might be Diego, but not sure about the doll. Suggestions are gratefully received.
Harry’s Song
Elizabeth September 6th, 2009
There are certain sounds that are guaranteed to make my dog howl. Any sort of woodwind instrument will do it, as will repeated high notes on the piano. And, of course, the word “sing”.
This morning I recorded him singing, thinking it would make for a funny blog post. However, it got a whole lot funnier when I played it back on my phone…
I love that weirdo ♥
#73 – Have my dog’s teeth cleaned
Elizabeth March 22nd, 2009
Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.
Last year we were warned by our vet that we would need to think about having Harry’s teeth cleaned in the near future. His gums were nice and healthy, but there was a buildup of tartar along his gumline that would have caused serious problems later if we didn’t attend to it. And since it’s a procedure that’s done under general anaesthetic, it was obviously better to do it while he was young enough to withstand all the risks.
Harry turned 7 a couple of weeks ago, and for his birthday he gave himself a nasty knee injury. After a course of anti-inflammatories his leg wasn’t any better, so the vet decided to put him under and manipulate his leg to see what was going on. It seemed like a good opportunity to get his teeth sorted out too.
I didn’t take any “before” shots, but here is an hilarious attempt at photographing the final result:
Luckily, his teeth were pretty healthy under the tartar, and he didn’t have to have any removed. My vet tells me that tartar buildup often gets into the bloodstream and ends up in a dog’s heart so it’s worth making sure that your pet’s teeth are ok. (It’s the same for people, so brush your teeth!)
And of course, there was the small matter of his leg injury. She confirmed that his knee is dislocated (although he’s comfortable with it in or out, so it’s probably been that way for years) and that he has a ruptured cruciate ligament. It’s a really common injury in dogs, but pretty painful. He’s struggling to put any weight on the affected foot, and because of his age treating it with medication isn’t ideal.
So we’re taking the $3000 (!) quote for surgery, shopping around some other vets that my coworkers have recommended to me, and trying to keep him quiet in the meantime. It’s not easy when he’s throwing his OWN toys and running after them to keep himself amused!
Happy birthday, woof machine.
Elizabeth February 24th, 2009
Our little bug turned seven today. The occasion was marked with bellyrubs and a bowl full of warm chicken and rice.
He’s a happy little woofer today. Happy birthday, Harry! x
Oh. My. God.
Elizabeth October 18th, 2008
A few weeks ago I realised that my dog, once fluffy and adorable, had begun to resemble a woolly mammoth. It had been six months since his last haircut, and he was starting to feel the heat with Spring suddenly hitting. The time had come.
Normally, I’d give him a haircut myself. The average “terrier cut” always makes him look a bit weird, so I normally just take care of it myself. This time though, I decided that he needed a whole lot of re-shaping by a professional groomer so that his haircut grew out nicely.
I regularly pass Laundrymutt on Bridge Rd, and decided to give them a try. I had to wait almost 3 weeks for an appointment, but decided it was worth waiting for a really nice haircut.
Today was the day. I took a “before” shot of the grizzly bear before we left:
Then I loaded him into my hand luggage, and called us a cab:
Once we arrived, I had a lengthy discussion with the groomer. Short ears, keep his front feet nice and long to keep the white bits, keep his cheeks a bit chubby and scissor-cut his legs so that they don’t look like sticks. I even provided pictures, such as this little number:
Tim went to pick him up a few hours later, and sent me an SMS on their trip home. “Oh my God,” he said, “you will not recognise him”.
Apparently, this is the closest approximation of that photo that the groomer was able to come up with:
I think that Harry senses my disappointment in his appearance. It might be the way that I just stared blankly at him for an hour straight, as though he was an alien that had fallen from the sky. Or maybe it is because I assured him that we would use an old photo in the “free to a good home” ad.
(Hopefully, he didn’t hear me asking Tim, “Can we please buy a new one now?”.)
Poor little animal. Let’s hope he doesn’t see his reflection any time soon.
Don’t kill your dog with kindness (please read)
Elizabeth February 27th, 2008
Never feed your dog the following foods: grapes, raisins, sultanas, onions, macadamias, chocolate, garlic, coffee or fruit pips.
To find out more, read on.
It’s a rare pet owner who doesn’t slip his critter the occasional treat. Our pets add so much to the quality of our lives that we look for ways to return the kindness, or to at least impart some measure of thanks for all they do. Yet though the urge to do good is there, the mechanism often isn’t.
Humans and the pets they keep have widely differing views on what constitutes welcome rewards or recognitions. Your dog, for instance, wouldn’t think much of a thank-you card, nor would your cat feel properly appreciated were he the recipient of a dozen roses presented in a nice vase. (Likewise, you would probably feel far less than delighted by the gift of a headless mouse.)
Yet food transcends the species. Almost every creature we would think to keep as a companion appears to take some delight in eating, so a gift of tasty yet out-of-the-ordinary ingestibles becomes a workable way of communicating “I love you,” “Well done!” or just “Thanks.” Unfortunately, good intentions can have deadly consequences when pet owners make the mistake of assuming all their favorite snacks are also suitable for their animals.
via Snopes
Word is spreading that dogs and onions don’t mix. Even so, Harry and I had to learn this the hard way after a big meal of bolognaise sauce a few years ago. There’s nothing like seeing your living room floor covered in blood-filled pee to make you remember that rule.
Harry was fine, although he risked acute renal failure and was very anaemic for about a week. Had I hesitated before taking him to the vet he might not be with us.
Somehow after 18 years of dog ownership no vet had ever warned me about the dangers of onion. This week I discovered a few more human foods that are also potentially fatal to dogs.
Please read the list, and pass the information on to any dog owners that you know. I’m living proof that a responsible pet owner can be completely ignorant, and risk making a horrible mistake.
ONION AND GARLIC
It doesn’t take much onion to kill a small dog, and repeated small doses are just as harmful as a single large dose.
Onions and garlic are other dangerous food ingredients that cause sickness in dogs, cats and also livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger.
Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia, where the pet’s red blood cells burst while circulating in its body.
At first, pets affected by onion poisoning show gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea. They will show no interest in food and will be dull and weak. The red pigment from the burst blood cells appears in an affected animal’s urine and it becomes breathless. The breathlessness occurs because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are reduced in number.
GRAPES, RAISINS AND SULTANAS
This was news to me until a few days ago. Harry always whines at me when I eat grapes, so I’ve slipped him quite a few over the years. Once again, I had absolutely no idea that I was feeding something that could cause his kidneys to fail.
The database showed that dogs who ate the grapes and raisins typically vomited within a few hours of ingestion. Most of the time, partially digested grapes and raisins could be seen in the vomit, fecal material, or both. At this point, some dogs would stop eating (anorexia), and develop diarrhea. The dogs often became quiet and lethargic, and showed signs of abdominal pain. These clinical signs lasted for several days – sometimes even weeks.
When medical care was sought, blood chemistry panels showed consistent patterns. Hypercalcemia (elevated blood calcium levels) was frequently present, as well as elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and phosphorous (substances that reflect kidney function). These chemistries began to increase anywhere from 24 hours to several days after the dogs ate the fruit. As the kidney damage developed, the dogs would produce little urine. When they could no longer produce urine, death occurred. In some cases, dogs who received timely veterinary care still had to be euthanized.
It’s crazy that an everyday fruit can have such dire consequences for a domestic animal. I wonder how many people know about it? That article goes on to say that pesticides, heavy metals and fungal contaminants have been ruled out as the cause of grapes’ toxicity, so it’s something to do with the grape itself.
MACADAMIAS
The toxic compound is unknown but the affect of macadamia nuts is to cause locomotory difficulties. Dogs develop a tremor of the skeletal muscles, and weakness or paralysis of the hindquarters. Affected dogs are often unable to rise and are distressed, usually panting. Some affected dogs have swollen limbs and show pain when the limbs are manipulated.
Dogs have been affected by eating as few as six macadamia kernels (nuts without the shell) while others had eaten approximately forty kernels.
CHOCOLATE
Most dog owners already know that dogs shouldn’t eat chocolate, but here’s why. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic.
When affected by an overdose of chocolate, a dog can become excited and hyperactive. Due to the diuretic effect, it may pass large volumes of urine and it will be unusually thirsty. Vomiting and diarrhoea are also common. The effect of theobromine on the heart is the most dangerous effect. Theobromine will either increase the dog’s heart rate or may cause the heart to beat irregularly. Death is quite possible, especially with exercise.
After their pet has eaten a large quantity of chocolate, many pet owners assume their pet is unaffected. However, the signs of sickness may not be seen for several hours, with death following within twenty-four hours.
Cooking chocolate and cocoa are the most toxic forms of chocolate to a dog, so something like mud cake is a real landmine. A dog has to eat a fair amount of milk chocolate to be affected, but I have a policy of never buying “doggy chocolate” treats so that he doesn’t develop a taste for it.
OTHER DANGERS
According to Petalia, these are some of the other human foods and household items that are especially toxic to dogs:
- Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips (contain cyanogenic glycosides resulting in cyanide posioning)
- Potato peelings and green looking potatoes
- Rhubarb leaves
- Mouldy/spoiled foods (duh!)
- Alcohol
- Yeast dough
- Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)
- Hops (used in home brewing)
- Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)
- Broccoli (in large amounts)
- Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars
The Pet Center adds the following:
- Mothballs, potpourri oils, homemade play dough, fabric softener sheets, dishwashing detergent & batteries could be dangerous for your pet.
- Be aware of the plants you have in your home and yard. The ingestion of azalea, oleander, sago palm or yew plant material by your pet can be fatal. Easter lily, day lily, tiger lily and some other lily species can cause kidney failure in cats.
- Be alert for antifreeze/coolant leaking from your vehicle. Animals are attracted to the sweet taste and ingesting just a small amount can cause an animal’s death. Consider using animal-friendly products that use propylene glycol rather than those containing ethylene glycol.
If you’ve read this far, thank you! Don’t forget to tell other pet owners about this post, so that we can raise awareness of these foods. It’s not my usual style to embark upon a crusade like this, but what’s more important than protecting the animals who can’t take care of themselves?
- Harry , Life , Stuff
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Happy birthday, little woof.
Elizabeth February 24th, 2008
The little piglet turned six today! We celebrated late this afternoon with a run around the park, and a few photos.
Harry’s park duties are varied, but he always executes them with enthusiasm. Today’s main task was to profile the attributes of every passing dog’s butt, and file the details away for future reference. The secret to a well-oiled park community is diligent perimeter control, and Harry takes his self-appointed role of law enforcement very seriously.
He was simply born to fight crime. And birdies.
He also managed to cover three more critical Park Administration duties: 1) the ambitious task of peeing on every blade of grass; 2) disobeying any command that did not immediately benefit him; and 3) rolling in every dusty patch of dirt possible.
(Incidentally, Harry is yet to establish a connection between rolling in the dirt, and the dreaded “bathtime”. I predict that the de-dirting procedure will occur, when he leasts expects it, tomorrow.)
When we came home I cooked him a big bowl of warm chicken, rice and pumpkin, which is his most favourite meal ever. He has now passed out beside me with a big, satisfied, round belly.
So far, being six is pretty good.
Happy birthday, little bug. We love you ♥
Come home, Tim…
Elizabeth January 19th, 2008
Tim went to the Vic Markets today to pick up meat for Australia Day. He was gone for about 3 hours in total, and this was Harry’s position for the entire duration of his absence.
Those two are in love.
