Blog the Change for Animal Adoption

Today (January 15) is Blog the Change for Animals Day. One day each quarter, animal bloggers around the world blog about the causes that are important to them and we start an important conversation on these issues.

I have a number of causes that are important to me but today I want to write about the importance of pet adoptions. There are so many pets in shelters and rescues around the world, so many animals that were abused or just unloved or just don't know what it is to have a family like we do. 

 
While I did not come from a shelter or rescue, I was part of an "unplanned" litter of puppies and might have ended up there. All my kitty sibs (there are four) come from rescues or shelters. Our latest addition, Alexis, we adopted from a rescue organization at PETCO this past June. All of my family members have different personalities and are wonderful in their own way, but Alexis is something really special. She came into our lives and made all of the animals happier. She is so loving and playful she has made the other cats like me and they all are more affectionate and playful even though they are getting older.

So, I want to urge everyone who reads this to think about opening their home to one of the many, many pets waiting in shelters for their furever homes. I guarantee you that your life will be enriched and never the same. Please though remember that an adoption truly is a commitment. Pets demand time and attention and are also a financial responsibility. If you are not ready for that commitment, don't make it. Because as sad as all of the animals in shelters make me, it is even sadder when a pet has a home and then loses it. I know that sometimes there are terrible things that happen and people have to give up their pets, but this should not be because the family took their commitment lightly.

Great Prize

Today my prize from #jeopawty arrived and mom was so excited. I like mom to be happy but a stuffy or a bone might have made ME happier.

This clutch purse was made by @grrlysquirrel75 and mom says it is perfect. She likes to have a small purse to carry around and slip in her ginormous bag that has the kitchen sink in it (I think).

She's got a blog you should check out.
https://twitter.com/grrlysquirrel75/status/155720770696380416

New Years Resolution

I have a few special New Year Resolutions.

#1 More time outdoors

#2 More treats

#3 More bones like this one

#4 More time with mom and dad

#5 More toys

Unfortunately, my New Years resolutions are dependent on mom and dad so they better read this and make some resolutions of their own!

Visit to the V-E-T

Yesterday I had my annual torture visit to the vet. As with most car outings, I am excited to get to go with mom and dad until we get in the car and I start feeling closed in. Mom claims she won't be hearing well for a week thanks to the high pitched whining I allegedly did during the five minute car ride. She exaggerates a lot though.

I didn't even know what was in store for me. I think I even forgot what place it was when we first went in. Well, for about five seconds.

Dad is smart so he walked me straight to the scale and I was exactly 67 pounds, maybe 2 pounds more from last year. But I do squirm on the scale so it is hard to get a completely exact reading.

My vet is Seaford Veterinary Medical Center in Yorktown and we saw Dr. Megan Alexander. If not for the torture treatment, she was a nice lady. All of the vets at this practice are women.

I will not stay still for any exam and they have a bunch of tricks to get me to do what they need - blood work, stool sample, shots and the worst the ear exam. First they know that I somehow behave worse when mom and dad are there so they take me in the back. Mom and dad heard my whining and crying the whole time. Then they were shocked that I was quiet. Turns out the Vet lady was smart and took me outside. As soon as I was outside, I let her listen to my heart and do the other bad stuff because I was distracted by the stuff outside. Watch for their tricks!

Mom and dad thought I had an ear infection because I have been scratching it and yelped whenever they accidentally touched it. They work hard to keep my ears clean and dry. Mom has ear stuff to dry them out after I go swimming but I don't like it. In fact just the mention of "ear stuff" sends me hiding. Mom was happy they were not actually infected but they were inflamed so the Vet sent us home with twice a day torture medicine for 5 days. The Vet had a hard time with the first dose because the floor was too slippery to get a good grip on me but I was good this morning when dad held me down on the bed. You can see in the picture below how greasy my beautiful ears look thanks to this nasty medicine.

The Vet said I was a fun dog and high energy. DUH. She also said I had the most beautiful teeth she had ever seen on a three and a half year old dog. Just keep those Merrick Red Bags coming mom! Her only concern is that the way my back legs are she said I will be more susceptible to hip problems so she suggested mom and dad start me on a glucosomine or fish oil supplement.

The Vet's office did confirm that this had to be the worst flea year they remember. And even though it's December we still have them because we haven't had a real freeze yet.

Well, so much for the annual torture Vet visit. I was a bit subdued for the car trip home and dad gave me a really nice bone from the Big Red Bag.

Eating Responsibly

We wanted share another great infographic from my friends at Pet365. This one is really important for our health. I know we all love our noms but hopefully our humans are careful to make sure we don't eat so much that we aren't healthy!

Pet obesity graphic produced by Matt Beswick for Pet365 - a UK stockist of dog coats, collars and accessories. Click here to view the full post.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to do a post to tell all my friends that I hope they have a Happy Turkey Day but it has also been so long since mom let me do a blog post, I decided I better talk about more than Thanksgiving!

The turkeys asked me to give them a break and promote ham for Thanksgiving. I'll take BACON any day over turkey!

Mom and I are thankful for all our friends on Twitter, Facebook and my blog, my dad and four kitty sibs. We are grateful that we have a roof over head, mom has a job, and all our basic needs are met (food and treats for me). So many people don't have all those things.

We are also very grateful for her Kindle! Reading with mom is so much fun since we got her Kindle for Christmas last year. If you guys have Kindles, we have to tell you about a really great site called Pixel of Ink. Sign up for their email and get a daily email with free and low cost Kindle downloads. We love mysteries and thrillers and today there were three of them!

We owe you lots of reviews but we really wanted to tell you about one book in particular. It's called Plucking Wolf Fur: A story of one arm, one dog and an American family by James Michael Shea. Mom met the author at BarkWorld and downloaded the book the same day. We get many books for free from Pixel of Ink so we don't buy many but it is well worth the $2.99!

I know that our humans find us animals very special parts of their lives. This book tells a wonderful story about how a wolf hybrid dog changes James' life. It is autobiographical and a great story. Sequoia sounds like she was a wonderful creature and I would have liked to have met her. She works her way into James' like and that of his family and changes all of them like us animals have a habit of doing. Mom enjoyed talking to James at BarkWorld and she hopes you will download his book to your Kindle or other device.

The story made mom think of her dog Skipper. She had Skipper many years ago - she rescued him 30 years ago after a friend found him running loose in Branch Brook Park in Newark, New Jersey. Mom says that Skipper got her through some really tough times in her life when she was lonely and needed his love. So in many ways Skipper was mom's Sequoia.

Well, stay tuned for more book reviews. I have the review of Chet's latest book coming up (I know, we read that almost two months ago now).

So for now, Happy Thanksgiving. Take a long nap after enjoying your dinner!