Cat napping is such an incredible art form. Here is Mr. Nine, as capture by Peanut, in the proverbial cat slumber pose. Lying there with abandon. I am jealous of the trust and total relaxation he exhibits.
Time seems to be flying at the Zoo. It is hard to believe that little Stella is 6 years old today,
Happy birthday, Stella. We are really glad that we figured out what would make you happy, which is living in your own space without other cats. We are glad you at least let Sofie and Louise visit, though Lulu is not sure what to do when she is in your room. Charles seems to ruffle your fur, so that doesn’t work well. You are a sweet girl and we are glad you found us.
Over the years I have had cats and cats and then those kinds of cats. Mini Cooper is as special as a cat can be. Maybe it is her tortitude. She is a true Cat-Dog (seems to have more characteristics of the dogs than the felines). Afraid of nothing and no one. Ever present, demanding, yet loving, licking, and sweet. Always at whatever door you are coming in or going out. And, always there to tell you that you are her most special friend.
Thinking about Miss Constance Kitty today (we called her Connie or Kitty). She was such a goofy girl. She loved Squashes tail and he would swing it here and there for her to play with. I can’t find that video of her flying in the air with it, but you get the idea.
We adopted Connie and Noel together in 2007 (Noel was 9 months old and Connie was maybe 10 weeks). Connie had congenital spinal and vertebral malformations at birth, so she always looked like a kitten. She was spunky and silly and never let her condition bother her until it did. She left us at 5 years young.
DogDaz friend, Jeanne Bellis, is doing outstanding work taking hard to place dogs and helping them socialize and reintegrate to new homes. Here is Part 2 of the Socializing Waylon series. Waylon, a catahoula-cattledog mix, was in a bind. His owner, a US Marine, was being deployed overseas and Waylon, a dog aggressive, fearful mess, had only one hope – Bellis Boot Camp. Follow Jeanne as she socializes Waylon with her pack. It’s amazing what patience, smarts, good training and love can do. This is part 2 of the series as Waylon learns how to make friends with other dogs.
At DogDaz Zoo, I try to control the amount of food that any animal eats in a day based on their size and energy level. I parse out all kibble in the morning into containers and then give a portion at each feeding, making sure that there is some left over for evening in-house play. The dogs have several toys to chose from (1) a large feeding cube (mostly used by Sofie), (2) a medium feed ball (which was too big for Charles, too little for Lulu, and Sofie doesn’t like it). So I got, (3) a little feed ball (for Charles, who can’t figure it out), (4) a big rope jug (that Louise LOVES), and (5) a spinner (currently only Sofie’s survived because Louise ate hers – bottom is rubber).
Everyone waits, impatiently, in the evening for play time. I used to wait until 8 PM or so to do this, but now they have started demanding play time earlier and earlier. Sometimes, I give in and they have playtime only 30 minutes after dinner. What’s the difference, it’s all their food anyway.
Charles gets a special treat in a puzzle bowl with some kibble, because he is either too lazy for the feed ball, or just doesn’t want to lower himself to work for it. He loves a teeny tiny Busy Bone (r) and will gobble it up as soon as he finds one under the kibble.
We have lots of food fun at the Zoo. What kind of mischief did you get into today?
When K8 was taking photography in High School and learning how to process pictures in the dark room, she took this wonderful black and white picture of Gertrude. Gerty passed over to the great meadow in the sky in 2007 at the age of 15 (you can see all our past sweethearts on the Angels page). She was the sweetest girl and lived in my office for most of her days. Shy with most people from the day we adopted her out of a garage full of flea bitten kittens (with her outspoken sister Alice), Gerty was patient and quiet and loving. ❤
Have a colorful Black and White Sunday!
This is part of the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop. Thanks to Dachshund Nola and Sugar for hosting.
DogDaz friend, Jeanne Bellis, is doing outstanding work taking hard to place dogs and helping them socialize and reintegrate to new homes. Here is Part 1 of the Socializing Waylon series. Waylon, a catahoula-cattledog mix, was in a bind. His owner, a US Marine, was being deployed overseas and Waylon, a dog aggressive, fearful mess, had only one hope – Bellis Boot Camp. Follow Jeanne as she socializes Waylon with her pack. It’s amazing what patience, smarts, good training and love can do.
When I am not home and there is a thunderstorm, Sofie tends to eat through the laundry room door. I have rebuilt the door 3X now. You would think I would just remember to leave it ajar when I go out so this doesn’t keep happening. But, No! I close the door because the cat litter is in there and I don’t want the dogs playing in it. That is why the laundry room door HAD a cat door; which is where I think this eating that particular door all started for Sofie. She first ate the cat door.
Anyway, I have gotten very expert at hollow core door repair, so I made you this video to share my fixing magic, including adding back a cat door. Hope it helps any of you that have to repair a similar chewed situation.
Turn on closed captions in video to read instructions.
DogDaz Zoo 