This is not a rant, and I am not judging the choices people make, I am only asking people to consider my thoughts and  I apologize as I have touched on this subject before.  I was talking to a person while I was out walking my dog Lucas, she was asking all kinds of questions about him and at one point I commented that he is a rescue, so my knowledge of his past is limited to what I’ by happen stance’, found out.  I was outside a Starbucks with Lucas one afternoon, he was still our foster at the time, and this woman called out “Blue” to the dog.  Lucas began wagging his tail, she said “Blue” again and he became more animated.  After chatting for a while we came to the realization that my foster was in deed at one point, her brother’s dog.  The story was, Lucas and his sister were bred from two dogs the family had.  Two of the pups were kept by a husband and wife, but when they split each took a dog.  Lucas ended up living with  the husband and his new partner, who had a few pets of her own, things weren’t working out, and they gave him away to another couple.  This is where the story could have had a very different ending, the people didn’t keep Lucas, without approaching the owner, they surrendered him to the pound saying they had found him running around on the street.  I mentioned in an earlier blog, if it wasn’t for the efforts of New Hope Dog Rescue, Lucas would have been euthanized.    Back to the conversation I was having with the woman in the park!  She commented on how lovely my boy was and how sad it would have been had he been put down.  Things turned out well for Lucas, but I urge people, if you have to find a new living circumstance for your pet, make sure to check back in from time to time to ensure your former family member is still in a good living situation and emphasize that if things aren’t working out that they contact you, so you can work as a team to find the animal a new living arrangement that will work!   It is sad to think that Lucas’ first family bred him, then life happened and things got messy and he ended up a Shelter dog that didn’t show so well!  People who you find on those social networking sites, they see a picture, they say all the right things and off your pet goes to it’s new home.  It just saddens me that your pet can then get tossed into a situation that isn’t so rosy.  I am all about the Happy Ending.  Thankfully my boy is safe and sound, and I appreciate that their are many rescue organizations out there doing good work to make sure that displaced pets find good living situations. I strongly advocate that if you know someone who is having to give their pet up for adoption, that you urge them to find an agency that will help them  place their pet in their community.  I recognize that life isn’t perfect, and that from adversity, Lucas has ended up in a home with people who really truly love him and respect his quirks. It would be lovely to think that this could be the case for all the other lovely fur coated, feathered and finned creatures out there!

This is the week of Geriatric pets.   As I walked in the rain this morning with a lovely old fellow, I got to thinking about a chat I had with my Mother the other day, she was telling me about the week ahead, she had the dentist on Monday, needed to get Groceries at some point and on the Friday had an appointment at the doctors.  My middle aged brain thought, “Well that sounds like a fairly laid back week, nice.”  But I came to realize that these three things on the to do list,  having to go on these outings were making the week seem arduous.  I realized that in my life, I might do all three of those things in one day, plus more, and that would be a busy, but average day.  That lead me to realizing that most likely the to do list when you are a senior can sap ones energy.  It takes so much more effort to do the things that once seemed like a piece of cake.  This week I am taking care of three very lovely senior pets, one cat, two dogs and watching them go about their days has softened me to what it will one day be like for me, when I am no longer a spring chicken, well, let’s be honest, my Spring is more like a early fall.  The cat, I have watched him over the couple years I have known him, go from a robust Tom Cat, to a rather thin, quieter version of himself.  He eats less, his bowels aren’t what they used to be and it’s much easier now to curl up on a big dog bed on the floor, rather than perch on the basket on the table as he used to.  The big old Lab that is staying with me this week, I find him remarkable in that he adjusts to the change of living with us, as well as he does, but I have learned he needs some reassurance from time to time, that I am nearby, but the change in routine makes him very tired.   As for the old gent I was walking with, or maybe I should say leisurely strolling with.  He reminded me that when I walk, I usually walk with purpose, meaning I am have one speed and it is usually  in third gear.  As I watched his legs move with as much pep as he could muster, and let me tell you, it was quite an admirable thing to watch, as his back legs sometimes forgot to join his front.  I came to appreciate that he wants to go for that walk every day, he wants to interact with the world and sniff out the neighbourhood.  In doing so, it takes a lot of his energy.  The next time I hear an elderly person feeling overwhelmed by the week ahead of them, that for me, would seem uneventful, I am going to remind myself that what once used to seem like nothing, as we get into our twilight years, demands more time, effort and energy.  Me and my friend, we meandered as I hummed “Singing in the Rain” and we took our dear sweet time. What would have normally taken me five minutes, took us 25.  It was awesome watching some Canada Geese in the woods, I watched a Chipmunk scurrying back and forth and listened to the sound of the rain.  Glorious day really, slowing down can be a good thing, I rush around too much, I am not in the moment enough.  I will get my list done, I will get where I am going eventually and there’s no reason to sweat the small stuff, I hope I remember that!

I have two dogs that I walk several times a week, sometimes the one dog isn’t there as it visits another family member, on those days,  it is just me and my girl.  I love both my little friends, but I enjoy my girl time.  Today, when I went to scoop up my charges for our afternoon stroll, much to my surprise, my girl wasn’t there and it was me and the little man, that was a first.  Nothing earth shattering to share today, other than I realized how much I am attached to my furry friends.  I was enjoying my walk, but I found the whole time I was missing my little girl friend, wondering what she was up to, thinking maybe if she was there when I got back we could still go for a walk.  I was reminded today, I really like what I do and I really love who I share my time with on my walks.

Hold on folks, I am about to start on a rant!  Things with fur are very cute who can resist a furry little puppy, or a sweet little kitten tumbling with a toy, or a big old retriever with soupy eyes….but hold on, those creatures deserve a certain lifestyle beyond being featured on your instagram account!  There are those that like the “idea” of a pet!  Nothing gets me more riled up than people who have a dog, but never walk it, the poor thing watches other dogs out of the window and never experiences life beyond the back yard, frankly, it’s criminal.  Albeit, that is better than  homeless animals or shelter life, but really, if you want a pet and are never home or you are too tired at the end of the day to take a stroll, then is that animal really reaping any benefits?  I live very close to two universities and a college campus, there are a whole bunch of new apartments near the campuses that are now allowing students to have pets.  I can’t tell you how much it incenses me to see these young people walk out the front door of their building, their dog is straining on the leash, because dang it, it’s been in an apartment all day, as there isn’t even the luxury of a back yard to escape to.  As I walked down King Street outside of a few of the buildings I sadly watched  numerous young people exit their building with their dogs, no one was interacting with one another, they had their cell phones out trying to compose a text, whilst their four legged friend stood on a one by one foot patch of scrub, surrounded by pavement, cars whizzing by,  trying to figure out where to go to the bathroom.  HOLY CRAP people, use your imagination, just around the corner there are a few side streets, afford your dog the luxury of a wee jaunt and a change of scenery!!  It makes me want to cry.  These will be the same people that will be confused why their dog ate their shoes, or pees in the corner,  barks incessantly or gets anxious and strung out when it meets new people or other animals! If you are wanting a pet,  a cat might be a more suitable companion when living in an apartment, at least they can have the luxury of a litter box and a scratching post, (I still worry about the time commitment and care they are getting, but I digress).  An animal deserves to be outside and go for walks and enjoy the world.  An animal is a commitment, which means you need to walk it for longer than five minutes and further than eight feet from the front door.  An animal is a living, breathing entity which deserves a life which isn’t sedentary.   If you aren’t a walker, hire someone to help you out, if you have a busy lifestyle and aren’t home much, doggie daycare may be an option, and I am not saying this to drum up business!  I am saying this because I am tired of seeing things like a young person posting a picture of their  dog on instagram and how cute he is, and then never walks him and leaves him alone for hours on end, it’s cruel, you may not be beating the dog or depriving it of food, but you are starving it of proper care.  Pets need your time, your love and the respect of you recognizing that they are an animal and need stimulation and fresh air!  And not just one trip to the dog park once a week, the other six days put the leash on, get up a little earlier and take Fido for a good fifteen minute fresh air frenzy, and do that at least twice a day.   If you love your pet, actions , and I mean ACTION, like walking, goes a long way to having a healthy, well adjusted friend.  PET = COMMITMENT, PERIOD!  Rant probably not over…

You are what you eat!?  I have been concerned for some time now, about what we are feeding our pets.  There are the junk food brands of pet foods, prescription foods, raw diets and numerous holistic foods. When I was first married I will admit money was pretty tight, so my cat and dog at the time got the grocery brand foods that were available.  My cat was the first one to develop problems, crystals in her urine, for years she was on a special diet to help avoid crystals, which then had to be changed to a weight loss food, as she became very overweight.  From there she developed Hypothroidism.  From the point that she got sick I decided to try and invest from the get go, on a good quality food for my pets.  Despite my efforts, one dog ended up on an intestinal diet for most of her life.  My current cat gets crystals, so he is also on prescription food to prevent a blockage.  Lucas, in the four years he has been living with us, has had an abysmal time trying to adjust to a food that agrees with him.  For the first year, the poor dog had the worst gas I have ever encountered in an animal.  I would manage to get him on a food that I thought would work, and then he would start throwing up or get the runs after being fine for months, so we would have to change his food again.  He too, is now on a prescription food, which I am betting I will have to change again.  I am rambling, but what concerns me is the number of people I know whose animals are developing ailments like Congestive Heart Failure, Cushings disease, Crystal in the urine, Diabetes and the list goes on and on.  You just didn’t hear of stuff like this thirty years ago.  Our dogs and cats lived to ripe old ages.  I know far too many people who have lost their pets prematurely!   I had a an Aunt whose cat lived until it was 21, it seems most of my friends cats can barely make it to 12 nowadays.   And the same goes for dogs, I lost one of mine just before her 9th birthday, her breed usually have a life span of 14 to 16 years.  I am sure there are many factors to why our pets seem to be developing more ailments and living shorter lives, but I have to say, I think we are what we eat.   Research the treats and foods you are feeding your pets and try to find them the most natural foods that are available.  Beyond the diet we feed our pets factors like genetics, exercise,  providing a life without stress and ample loving, is about all we can do to help keep our furry friends healthy and happy!

I’m not talking to myself! The average dog can learn 165 words.  When I am out walking with the dogs, I often chat away to them.   I discuss what route we are going to take, talk about the other dogs we encounter and often I like to make a commentary on the weather.  If I encounter someone shoveling their driveway or realize that there is another person within ear shot, I find myself saying “look at me, I am talking to myself.”  But I am doing no such thing!  I am talking to my  companions, like you would with anyone, you go for a walk with.  One might argue that I am talking to myself, as the dogs don’t answer back.  Those that know me, may think I just have to talk and don’t shut up.  I don’t always talk, in fact, I often walk along in silence, but sometimes there’s something to talk about and the dogs do answer.  They speak volumes with their tails, the way they cock their ears, sometimes they bark or jump up on me.  What I do know, is that they are listening.  When I am out with Lucas, I often ask him if he wants to go left or right, he will often pause as we get to a juncture, think and then off he goes. Sometimes I will comment to him on what direction I want to go and that I know he likes to go left at the path, but today I am in a hurry, my boy hears me and will often plod on  in the direction I have just said I want to go without me having to tug the leash, yes there are days I have to convince him my route is the route we following, but it amazes me he understands what I am saying.  If I have letters to post, and I say to him, we have to go to the mailbox, that dog will turn right for the mailbox, instead of going straight, like we do every morning.   And don’t get me started about my cat Romeo, he literally carries on a conversation with me, and no, I am not cuckoo.  So when you think you have caught me talking to myself, and that perhaps I am a bit of a nutter, well, maybe I am, but I am not talking to myself, I am talking to my friends!

It is awesome to watch dogs and their people interact.  There are often the same people you run into day after day when out walking, you say hello and sometimes make idle chit chat.  There is Tanner and Bailey, whom get to stroll off leash, but because one of my boys gets over excited, and not always socially appropriate with other canines, they politely  move off to the side when we encounter them. There’s Harley, Marty, Zoe and the list goes on and on, you know the dogs names, but not their human counter parts names.   This afternoon, it was just Diesel and I out for a walk.  At first we didn’t see anyone, as it was a balmy -12.  When we hit the park I saw two gentlemen, three dogs, one of them being MacKenzie whom is a total sweetie.  The dogs were sniffing and getting acquainted when one managed to break free of it’s haltie, there was a lot of bending to untangle two of the dogs so traffic was at a stand still.  Normally, if I had both boys, I would hang back or change course, that would have been too much stimulation for my guy.  Diesel though is pretty reserved  when he meets other dogs, so I am not reticent to allow him to say Hello.  As we made our way along the path the four dogs meet up, and Diesel was like a fire hydrant , the dogs had to get to a whiff.  It is fun to watch the tails wag, especially when no hackles are raised and everyone gets along.  I turned to Diesel remarking that went well and the other gentleman, as he lead his canine friend away remarked “very exciting, how can you possibly keep all four paws on the ground.”  Dog people…what a remarkable breed.

I read this post on Facebook that a friend had shared that ruminated with me at a time when I was feeling rather low.  “Replaying a painful memory over and over in your head is a form of self abuse.  Toxic thoughts, create a toxic body.  So make peace with yourself and your past. Heal your thoughts and you heal yourself.”  (by Jerose)   Yesterday, I was looking through photo albums for a few pictures for project I am working on, and stumbled across a section with our puppy Maggie.  A subject I have a lot of trouble talking about, and brings me to tears just thinking about.  We adopted her shortly after the loss of one of our dogs.  We didn’t think about what breed she was or the temperament that came with her or our lack of experience raising a puppy (as our first dog as a married couple came from my parents home with me, so the hard part was done).  All we knew, was she was cute and we were looking for a way to lift our spirits.  After a few short months we realized we were in over our heads and it wasn’t good.  Maggie, had been poorly treated in her first home and had some issues, my spouse and I were used to a Sheltie and what worked with her, wasn’t going to cut it.  I had two small kids, I was doing daycare in my home and my now 7 month old puppy was biting.  I believe she must have had a bad experience with men, as her aggression towards my spouse began to spiral out of control to the point where she wouldn’t let him get into bed at night.  I went out for a bike ride with a group of my girl friends one night and came home to my spouse, arm bandaged and Maggie out on the back patio.  He was trying to get her to go out for a pee as it had been awhile, and she bit him.  I spent days calling trying to get help from different organizations and consulted with our Vet and the end result was, he said she needed to be euthanized.  That week I  was flying East as a family member was dying, my spouse was the only one at home and taking care of Maggie wasn’t an option, no one would take her and finally I acquiesced and put her down.  Yesterday, looking at the pictures of her laying in the back yard stretched out on the grass and others of her on the couch sleeping, I felt a pain that was excruciating.  Two decades later, and the guilt and sadness I feel is agonizing.  I was thinking if I knew then, what I know now, if I could go back in time and have a do over, but  hind sight is twenty-twenty.  The worse part is my decisions and actions lead to her demise, and there is no changing that outcome.  All I can do now, is hope to do better and be more aware when choosing a new family member to become part of our household.  I don’t know if I will ever successfully be at peace with the past, seeing those pictures reminded me though, that there were good times, that we did love her and that keeping her in my heart and sharing love with the four legged creatures that are part of my life now is the one way I can try and heal.

Is a house a home without a pet?  I have been pondering this thought, I often find it sad the idea of not knowing the love an animal.  A reptile, rodent,  fish, bird, dog or cat, having a friend to come home to is such a blessing.  One might argue, that a fish doesn’t greet you at the door or provide any feedback to the person who cares for it.  I beg to differ, our household has had many Betas, “Blue” and “Red” being two of the most memorable and then there is “Forrest” our Plecostomus, who was a an algae eater whom I adored.   We had Forrest for over four years and when we were moving from Thunder Bay and had a seventeen hour drive ahead of us in August,  I realized that there was no way we were going to be able to bring him along on the journey.  The car was already packed, four humans, a seventy-one pound dog and two cats in a Jeep Liberty.  I still think about Forrest and wonder if he is still alive, as we ended up giving him away to a cousin of the people who bought our house.  I used to talk to him every day, as he was down stairs by the computer.  I found it extremely relaxing watching him move about the tank.  I expended many efforts saving him time after time when the power would go out and only to realize later,  that pump had shut off.  I remember calling a friend to drive me to Wal-mart late one night  when I couldn’t revive his pump, I knew he wouldn’t survive the night if I didn’t go find him a new one.  His life force was no less important to me, than any of the other members of the household.  Having another being to care for, to share one’s home with, is a blessing.  Not every person is meant to have a dog, pets are a commitment and I believe you have to gear your search for companionship,  to what you can give.   Having another being to be accountable and care for is a gift that will help nurture your spirit and brighten your day.  So if you want to enhance your home life, think about sharing it with another living being.

Often I see meme’s on facebook with cats, recently I saw one that had a picture of a cat sitting on a persons face and the caption read “I don’t need an alarm clock, I have a cat!”  I can relate!  Everyone else in my house can slumber for hours on end, but not I!  If my feet haven’t hit the floor by 6:58 that cat of mine will pester me until I do.  He starts with a gentle jab to my chin with his paw, which gets more insistent.  If I put the comforter over my head in an effort to block him, he then jumps up on the headboard and begins to rap on the blinds, rattling and banging.  I have tried opening the blinds to end that noise, but he will not be thwarted, next he begins jumping on my feet.  So there I am, under the comforter feeling like I am suffocating, with my arm blocking my face in case an arrant claw makes it’s way under to find my lip and trying not to move a muscle in an effort to fake him out.  There is no way I am getting any sleep, I am not relaxed, I am just trying to win at this point.  I am trying to show him that I will get up, when I want to get up!  It never works though, after thirty minutes of trying to assert myself,  I realize my efforts are futile and I concede.  He always wins, I always get out of bed, he knows he has the upper paw.  Once I am showered and dressed and eating my breakfast he has fulfilled his destiny and it’s time for him to go back to sleep….it’s an exhausting and onerous task being an alarm clock!