You know when your animals are happy and when they are not. Louise was in the happiest of moods when I took this shot. She wanted something, of course, usually a treat. I love to see them smile. Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Mom bought Charles this mat. It is called a LickiMat. She thought that it would keep him busy because he is constantly begging for more and more treats and never seems satisfied. He was not impressed at all. But I sure like the peanut butter that he left in the cracks. There are many different foods that you can put on the mat, peanut butter, of course, but also just wet dog food, or pumpkin, or even apple sauce or mashed veggies. So far, when Charles licks most of it off, he wants something more substantial, like a Busybone. Mom is going to try a bunch of different things to see which ones work best. Do you have any ideas?
She actually bought another mat just for me, but I am too busy with Charles. She read that it could help me stay calmer (fat chance with that!)- Sofie Bear
Life with Charles is always interesting. Trying to take a family photo with him is almost impossible. He will do anything except sit with the girls and look at the camera. He cracks me up. I must have taken over 50 shots to get one that has all of them looking my way. Good thing that life is digital and I didn’t have to develop all those on film.
We hope you have a wonderful Wednesday. Which one is your favorite?
The thunderstorms are getting more and more frequent and violent. We can’t catch a break these days. Mom’s tents help a little but what we really need is one of those bomb shelters with concrete walls so we don’t hear or feel it. Is there any place we can go that doesn’t have thunder?
Charles here. The other day, Mom took me to the Pet Doctor to get my yearly checkup and vaccinations. I was scared at first but it really didn’t hurt and there are so many good reasons why I need to have vaccines. Mom is very conservative when it comes to putting stuff in our system, so she does a thing called a TITER, if possible, to see if I still have immunity from the last shot. If so, we wait. There are a lot of things that can protect me from getting horrible diseases. I get 4 core vaccines: distemper, infectious hepatitis, parvovirus, and rabies.
Vaccinations protect me from getting diseases like rabies, which I can get from other animals.
Vaccines protect me from airborne viruses like distemper, parvovirus, coronavirus (yes we get a Corona too), infectious canine hepatitis, bordetella, parainfluenza.
There are also vaccines for things like Lyme disease (which I had when Mom first rescued me), which comes from ticks, and leptospirosis, from wild animals.
To determine what vaccines I need, Mom and the Vet, base it on 3 things:
My Age – puppies need a lot of stuff to help their bodies build up resistance to certain bugs, but adults, like me, only need an occasional booster shot.
Where we live – our luck is that the mid-Atlantic is rampant with ticks. This could mean Lyme disease and a whole host of other tick-borne diseases.
Lifestyle: I am never boarded, I don’t go to day-care or the dog park, so my exposure to things like ‘kennel cough (bordetella), is low.
Don’t forget the Cats who should get some core vaccines too. They are different than us dogs. The need at a minimum: Feline herpesvirus-1/feline viral rhinotracheitis (Which Noel has. When Mom rescued her she was seriously ill), Calicivirus, and Panleukopenia. If they go outside, they need more things like Rabies and FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus).
Baby Noel rescued Dec 2007
Many Vets and Clinics offer low-cost, sometimes even free, vaccinations.
Take care of me and I will live a long, healthy, life.
When I look out on to the backyard, under the big tree, I sometimes see dogs that have gone ahead and left us for the big meadow. Louise remembers. She lies under the tree today just like she did years ago with Squash (above circa 2011). Nowadays, Sofie and Charles lie there with her.
Sofie and the tree shadow
The trees have always sheltered me and taken care of this yard and provided homes for so many critters. In the last month, many of my neighbors have removed over 10 old-growth trees, for varying reasons. These landscape changes, though needed, make me sad. I tell time by trees. As they disappear, I fear I will lose track of time.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
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Louise under the big tree 2020
Sofie and the tree shadow