Jolie here – wait until you hear my summer story. The last few weeks have not been fun here at the DogDaz Zoo. Everyone is doing OK, but we are suffering through terrible summer lightening storms (almost every day), and our house took a lightening strike the afternoon/evening of July 14. Mom says thankfully we did not burn to the ground, so everything else is just a nausance. (Mom lost her home to fire when she was 10, so she is really freaked about house fires.)
The power went out before dinner, but the generator kicked in and everything seemed to be cruising along on back-up power. A few hours after dinner, we were in the living room watching TV when there was a bolt of lighening right outside the big window. Mom thought it hit ‘Big Tree’ in the back, but there was no fire. I ran into my hiding place in Mom’s office and Bear jumped into her lap. Then everything changed. The generator was still on but the TVs were dead, the air conditioning was not working, and everything seemed to move in slow motion for a while.
None of this is supposed to happen because we have this whole house generator and it had days of propane in the tank. We were all confused about why the AC and TV were not working. It took 48 hours before the electric company came to fix the lines which are right outside Mom’s office window. They came and then the crews left, and then they would come back, and there were lots of trucks with flying service people. It took a long time to get electricity back.
Of course, these had to be some of the hottest days of the summer so far. It felt like 104 outside, and almost the same in the house. This was no fun. You can see the thermometer in Mom’s office says that it is 91 outside and 90 inside. Did I say this was NOT FUN!!!
Because Mom works remotely she had to go to K8’s to teach her class. She did have help from Henry and Freddie, her grandcats. She could not bring us because the cats do not know dogs and Mom was worried that they would be mean to us. It was all very chaotic.
Sadly, when the power came back on, many things didn’t. Mom has something called a whole house surge protector on the power system coming from the electric company (thanks to V’s smart thinking) that was supposed to protect us from all this disruption. But still, the surge fried the board on the new heat pump/air conditioning system. It burned up the main contol unit for the fiber optic internet/cable system; that burned up the DVR and all the little boxes that controls the cable in each of the rooms, and 2 TVs, the big one and the one in Stella’s room (she likes Animal Planet), and the landline home phone (that Mom uses for something called faxes). It burned up the electric panel on the range, the jelly fish aquirium, and a whole bunch of lights and odd stuff. Thankfully, Mom recently had a GFI special switch installed in the electric box for the pool. Otherwise, she thinks the pump would have fried too. At least something worked!
How hot was it? It was so hot, that one night Mom took us to a hotel because we were dying from the heat, but they wanted lots of money for 2 dogs, so we all stayed in the car air conditioning instead in the driveway to try not to fry our little brains. Here are some videos of us in Mom’s car.
The electric company people came and said their surge protector worked fine and that it was not from the street power. We took a lightening ground strike. Mom and I looked but we did not find any burned spots near the house, so we don’t know what actually got hit. She had a second surger protector installed the other day in the electric box in the house just to be double safe and bought a whole bunch of new surge protectors for all the house equipment. We have new TVs (she said it is a royal pain to set up all these streaming services). The AC people were able to get a new circuit board after 3 days, and it took a long time for the house to regain its cool. It is taking Mom and V much longer however.
Almost everything has been replaced except the oven (but who needs to cook in the summer).
Make sure your humans ground your dog house and unplug important things in a storm. How was your week?
We hope that you have a wonderful holiday. Remember that many animals (and humans) are afraid of fireworks, so keep everyone indoors and safe.
PREPARE YOUR DOG (& CATS) FOR LOUD NOISES!
The 4th and 5th of July are the busiest days of the year for animal shelters and emergency vet clinics as frantic animals break in or out of houses and yards. Early preparation for the Fourth can save you and your pet a lot of grief. Here are some articles to help you prepare your dog.
I know that we don’t get spring anymore in the mid-Atlantic, but it seems like we went straight from freezing to boiling in one day. They say we are under something called a ‘heat dome’ this week and that the temperature will be hot-hot-hot. Mom thinks it is best to stay inside. We like to nap in the warm grass in the sunshine but she doesn’t let us do that for more than a few minutes at a time. She is especially afraid that I will get a sunburn because I have a short haircut and my skin is exposed. But even Bearnard, the black fur monster, loves to lay in the sun. Doesn’t he get hot?
K8 caught some pictures of me talking to Mom in her office. I like to get on the ottoman, right behind her desk chair, and paw at her to pay attention to me. Beary would not be so bold. I have to do it for the both of us. “Please, Mom. Stop what you are doing and play with us. Or better, give us cookies!!”
The summer is now upon us, as we have passed the Summer Solistice this week. These long days are confusing, as I want to go to bed but it is still light out. And, it is so hot in the mornings, that Mom has to walk us way early so our paws don’t burn. And also because we littles over heat qiuckly. The other day she had to carry me twice because I just didn’t want to walk any more. I am a delicate flower. Bearnard is too, but he refuses to admit it. When he gets home from a walk he drinks a whole bowl of water. Me? I just eat more cookies.
It is already mid-May, WOW, time is flying, We want to wish you all the wonders that May flowers, pollen, and bugs bring, Yes, Bugs!! They are Bearnard’s favorite thing. Our annual cicadas are brooding. These are not the big 17-year cicadas (click link to read about them), but he still has a great time jumping and stomping. At night, he never wants to come inside because he waits for any movement on the ground, so he can bounce.
I can’t get a video of his antics because it is too dark at night to see them on screen, so here is a cute video of the tail-wagging Goofballs instead!
Enjoy your spring!!!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Comments Off on DogDaz Zoo: A Tail of 2 Doggies and Bugs
Mom tries very hard to get good seasonal pictures of us, but just like our DogDaz little brother in heaven, Charles, we littles do not like to pose. Mom says that she is a little dog failure because the big dogs used to pose nicely and made it easy to get great shots.
Louise & Sofie 2016
Watch as Charles does his own thing, as usual (Bark out loud!!)
We wish you a lovely change of season. One day it’s 80 degrees, and the next it is freezing. The last few days it won’t stop raining (but we need it because we are in a significant drought). We hate to get wet! Spring weather is just so crazy! Maybe we should tell Mom to move.
Enjoy each day no matter what. Your friends – Jojo and Beary
There is a great deal that goes on at the DogDaz Zoo from month to month. We sleep; we eat; we walk; we nap; we find the sun rays; we eat snacks; we sleep; we walk – you get the idea. The wonderful thing is that we do it together. Yesterday was the IDES of MARCH. They say that you need to beware because people could be out to kill you. Being little, we think people and things are always out to kill us; I guess it was no different than any other day.
Today is Mommy’s birthday so we are giving her lots of hugs and love. She was born between the Ides of March and Saint Patrick’s day. Does that make her a Roman Mastiff or an Irish Wolfhound? Either way, she is the best dog Mommy in the universe. She gives us lots of everything and in return we cuddle and lick her endlessly.
Next week is finally SPRING. It has been a cold winter and we are done with it! We are ready to move on to the flowers and the bees.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day – let’s party like a leprechaun.
It is hard to believe how fast time flies with this wonderful, silly, little creature. She came to us when she was 6-1/2 years old but it feels like she has always been here.
It is crazy cold here at the DogDaz Zoo. We received about 10″ of snow and then 2″ more and then it all froze.
Bearnard had never seen snow before and was not sure what to do with it, especially, where to go potty. It took about a week before he realized he could follow me under the pine trees and there was less snow there. The snow is taller than us.
Bear testing out the snow
Beary hates wearing sweaters and coats (he is such a boy!). Here in Maryland, boys and men wear shorts all year long, even in the snow. It is odd (aren’t they cold?)
I like my sweaters. You see I have fine Shih Tsu hair, not tons of fur like the butterfly, Papillion, Bearnard. Mom makes me wear a sweater anytime the temperature outside drops below 45 degrees. But I don’t mind. Aren’t I the cutest? Mommy says that I look like someone called “Dobby” when I wear this one with ears.
We sure make a mess of the house with all this snow and ice and snow stuck to our furs, and the musher’s gunk she puts on our paws. It takes 15 minutes before she is done suiting us up, then we take a 10 or 15-minute walk, and then it takes 15 minutes to clean up once we are inside again.
Next week we are expecting an Arctic blast or Polar Vortex or something like that. They say it will be the coldest weather of the season. I am freezing already! Stay warm, friends! – Jolie, the Pupsicle
P.S. Mom’s furnace died in the middle of this and we went 4 days with only little oil and electric heaters – now that was not fun. Beary was sure glad to have a sweater on then.
Almost everything has been replaced except the oven (but who needs to cook in the summer).
DogDaz Zoo 