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Sofie has decided she will not speak again until the Russians end this stupid war in Ukraine.
I can’t blame her.
DogDaz stands with Ukraine.
No mischief today!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Tag Archives: Pet
Monday Mischief: SOFIE ON STRIKE UNTIL THEY END THE WAR
Wonderful Wednesday: Charles Immortalized
I was so surprised when I got an unexpected package from Chewy.com, the pet supply service, and it contained a real painting of Mr. Charles on canvas. I guess we were the lucky recipients of a customer service initiative where they paint a picture of your pet from its profile picture and send them to random people. They really know how to do customer service, that is for sure. Now I want one for everyone at the zoo, but they actually don’t offer it as a service.
Isn’t he handsome?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Monday Mischief: Care Package for Lulu
Louise received an awesome care package from the Live Like Roo Foundation for pets with cancer. They help people offset the cost of caring for their animals when they receive this terrible diagnosis. We had fun opening it and finding all these fun toys and treats. Louise (and everyone else) especially likes the pumpkin cranberry treats that were in the box (I am going to have to find them and get more). There was a handmade blanket, Theo the Octopus (which I think was Roo’s favorite toy), another squeaker toy, more treats, a McDonald’s gift card (I guess to get her a happy meal hamburger), and a wonderful card made by a 4-year-old wishing Louise well.
Everyday with Louise is a gift!
What kind of mischief did you get into today?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Black and White Sunday: Lulu & Theo Octopus
The LIVE LIKE ROO Foundation (#livelikeroofoundation) for pets with cancer sent Louise a wonderful care package including Theo the Octopus. She used to love toys with squeakers before the mouth cancer. She is just so cute even though she did not understand why I made her stand there with this thing. I will post more pictures with the care package next week. 🙂
Have a wonderful Black and White Sunday!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Wonderful Wednesday: Unpaid Teaching Assistants
Helping Mom work is a very important part of our cat job here at the DogDazCats2 Zoo. Somedays, well lately most days, I am helping Mom with her classes. Her students even ask for me by name if I don’t show up in the morning. In years to come people are going to look back at Mom’s teaching videos and wonder why there is always a cat named, Mini Cooper, on the desk. (BTW: Mom teaches adults not kids, so it is interesting to see how the grownups react to me assisting Mom to teach.)
Nine also has been known to show up and disrupt Mom’s day, especially when she is trying to take notes. He, unlike, Mini, is video camera shy and seems to disappear as soon as the little red light comes on.
Do you help your human work?
P.S. On Monday (Valentine’s day), Mini decided to spill a completely full cup of coffee all over my desk, while I was teaching a class. Thanks Mini. Very helpful. I guess you want to be paid more.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Monday Mischief: Nine is Eleven
Happy 11th birthday, Mr. Nine.
You sure are one handsome dude.
Though you occasionally pick on your sisters and climb up into the rafters (which scares the heck out of us), you are an upstanding citizen at the zoo and a cat we can always count on. We love you tons!
And it’s Valentine’s Day to boot! So extra love and kisses for our special boy!
What kind of mischief did you get into today?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Black and White Sunday: Sunday is for Rest
The best thing we ever bought was that giant cat tree.
Nine says that black and white Sundays are for resting (and then beating up your sisters).
Have a restful Sunday.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
Wonderful Wednesday: Size Matters For Age
I came across this picture from winter 2017 when we first got Charles. 5 years is a long time in ‘dog years.’ A dog year is an interesting concept. In the 1950s, A. Lebeau, a French researcher created a system to determine the age of a dog. No one really knows where the ‘multiple each dog year by 7’ comes from, that wasn’t what Lebeau did. He had “life-stage markers” to determine dog age by life events, like puberty, old age, etc. That was OK but around 1997, a bunch of veterinarians created a chart to do it more accurately (via National Library of Medicine NIH).
Where ‘dog age’ is the chronological age of the dog and ‘human years’ is the physiological age by weight group. The scientists decided that size matters when it comes to two dogs the same age unlike with humans.
So, that means Charles, who is 13 and 17 lbs is about 65 years old, Sofie at 11 and 60 lbs is 62 years old, and Louise at 12 and 65 lbs is about 66 years old. I guess they all could apply for social security payments (Bark Out Loud). Actually, I would have thought that size would have made a larger difference.
How old are you in ‘Human Years?’
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Monday Mischief: Snow Nose
Some people ask me about Sofie’s nose. She has what is called Snow Nose. I started to notice her nose change from black to pink in January 2013, when she was 2. I was worried at first that she was doing something to herself, like scraping off the skin (ouch!), or was she sick? Did she have a vitamin deficiency? Was there something wrong? I knew that many animals do lose pigment in their noses, but she was only 2 at the time. So I did what any internet, research-loving, pet-parent would do, I ‘googled’ the heck out of the question and found a lot of interesting facts.
Black Nose
April 2012
1. Some dogs lose pigment in their noses in the winter. (Which is what I think might be going on here.) This is called ‘snow nose’ or ‘winter nose.’ Who knew? Though it seems to be something that is more common to dogs like Labrador Retriever, Golden, Bernese, or Husky (Sofie being none of those that we know – well maybe Golden?), the seasonal variation is no cause for alarm and usually goes back to black in the warmer months. Which it did for many summers, but no longer does.
2. Age is another reason. There is an enzyme called Tyrosinase which produces pigment. As a dog ages, the nasal plenum (that is a cool word, don’t you think?) might change from black to brown or pink, as less of the enzyme is produced. Interestingly enough, Tyrosinase is also sensitive to temperature. This may be why the fading of the ‘plenum’ in warmer months happens too.
Pink Nose
January 2013
3. Dermatitis, especially from plastic bowls, has been found to temporarily cause this. Or a real trauma, like an abrasion. If allergies are the cause the dog’s gums will possibly be red or inflamed too.
4. There is an immune disease that can cause a pink nose, called Vitiligo. (That is the disease that Michael Jackson said he had that turned his skin from black to white. I wonder if Sofie can sing?) But if a dog has this, there would be white patches usually throughout its body and white hairs. This seems to be found in Doberman, German Shepard, Rottweiler, and Dachshund mostly. It appears to be a rare problem, but I was happy to know that it can be managed by nutritional supplements (if you’re worried about the color of your dog’s nose). Show dogs can be disqualified if their pigment is not exactly right – so this might help in those cases.
Any changes in our little furry charges are always a cause of concern. Sofie’s nose did go back to black for many summers but now stays pink in the center year-round.
What color is your nose?
What kind of mischief did you get into today?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
Black and White Sunday: Mini’s Turn
Last week on B&W Sunday, Nine had the sunspot on the stairs, well, this week Mini Cooper grabbed it.
Have a great Black & White Sunday.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
DogDaz Zoo 