Happy New Year 2011!!

This year I hope everything will be a little better than last year.
The whole world struggled throughout the year, and we had many many sad stories and dismal news.

May the people be a little more considerate for the animals.
May our animals be a little safer and happier.
Wishing more animals safe forever homes.

As for us, we are starting the new year with this lucky girl.

ZsaZsa is now officially scheduled to get spayed on 1/3/2011, then go home to her new family. Yeah!
What a great beginning of the year is that!

ZsaZsa and Anko wrestle. They do this over and over and over. Looks like Anko is always it.


More adoptable dogs here!!!! I.C.A.R.E.Dog Rescue

Great news for ZsaZsa!

Looks like ZsaZsa has found her forever home.
She will be living in a very nice neighborhood that's close to a popular dog beach with a sweet lady and two doggy friends.
I am so thrilled for her and thankful that this is happening to our ZsaZsa.
We know she is a special dog who has so much love and energy in her tiny little body.

Sweet ZsaZsa


One thing we have to do in order to get ZsaZsa new-home-ready.
SPAY!
Sorry ZsaZsa, this world is full of homeless doggies we can't afford to bring in more puppies. That's even if we know your babies would be unbelievably adorable and cute.

Once we get ZsaZsa spayed, she will pack up her suitcase and head for the new home!!
And that will be the perfect beginning of the year 2011 for me.

Another cute video clip of ZsaZsa being hand-fed

Hand-feed your dogs

I feed my dogs dry dog food for breakfast.
I cook for dinner for them but I have busy mornings, I consider dry dog food as cereal for them.
They seem to like wet food better, and every morning they stare at the bowls of dry food and look up at me, and sit still.
I don't want to spoil them so I usually just leave them alone, and eventually they slowly eat it, and finish everything by around noon.


Now my kids' school is out, I have more time in the morning. I saw ZsaZsa struggling to pick up small pieces from her bowl, because of the shape of her mouth (?), one morning, I helped her eat by hand-feeding her dry food piece by piece.
She waited for every piece anxiously, wagging her tail, ate quite a lot off of my fingers.
Then, my other dogs came and started waiting for the dry dog food pieces with ZsaZsa, looking enthusiastic.
I was totally puzzled to see their passion for the food they normally pretend doesn't exist, but began to wonder if it was the hand-feeding that was making the boring food hard-to-get yummy treats.
I kept hand-feeding until the bowl got empty. They wanted more.
Weird, totally weird, but fun!
Since then I hand-feed them every morning. Every morning, they eat with great passion and eat a lot.
Once the school starts, I won't be able to do it but it will be good for all of us while it lasts....


Hand-feeding breakfast...ZsaZsa is so cute!

Irresistable mud puddles

On Christmas Day, I took the girls out for a walk in the morning.
It was very quiet everywhere. Everybody must have been enjoying talking with their guests and opening their gifts.

I noticed a gate to a high school field left open.
There was a huge field of wet green grass that was too temping to pass out on.
We walked in, and I let the leashes of the dogs loose.

After that, maybe for a half hour or so, they ran and ran in the puddles going crazy, getting wet and dirty.
Screaming happily and jumping with joy. It was so exciting to see them enjoy living every moment.

By the time they got plenty of fun, they were head-to-toe muddy.
I thought for a moment how I would bring these dirty animals into the house.
We had a couple of guests over at our house and I wouldn't want the dogs to jump on them with their muddy paws.
So I walked some more before we headed back home so they were (almost) dry.

They must have had the time of their lives running in the field, the moment after we got home, they all collapsed on the couch and began to nap.
Anko and ZsaZsa twitching their feet and stomach. Cute.
They must have been still running across the wet grass in their dreams.

The trio waits in front of the bathroom while I take a shower.

Merry Christmas!!

Finally we have a beautiful clear, sunny day! Yeah!

The sun feels good. It’s great to be able to see the blue sky again.

Things we take for granted like the sun and blue sky. You find out how much you miss them once you don’t have them anymore.

This Christmas I will look around and pay more attention than I usually do to things, people and animals and count my blessings.

The important things are not what we normally want to get. Those are the things we already have and take for granted.

I realized it a few years ago, yes, I have known it for some time now, and still I have many battles within myself, with my own greed. Will I ever get over the fear and be happy?

I have dogs that remind me what happiness is all about.

It’s love and care and sharing. I try to spend as much time as I can with them, and they are happy to just spend time with me.

I want to feel like them and be happy like them.

Why do we have to make our lives so miserable that we are always under pressure and have to feel stressed every day.

My happiest time of the day – when I go to bed with my animals…currently 3 dogs, 2 cats and 2 human kids.

ZsaZsa getting ready for bed

Stop, Rain!!!

Still wet.
How can it rain this much? This is 4th or 5th day of consistent rain.
I don't know but one thing I know for sure is it's getting really tiring.
In the meantime, we are getting so used to getting wet in the rain, we just get outside and walk around till everybody gets their business done.

ZsaZsa is doing great with us.
She has leaned to sit and wait for the meal.

Cute!


Also became very good friends with Toby the cat.


They usually wrestle and have fun.

Really hope it will clear up soon.....

ZsaZsa didn't get adopted this weekend

ZsaZsa attended 2 adoption events this weekend.

Saturday in Irvine, and today in Santa Margarita.
Both days when she came home after the event she looked so tired and hungry.
It was raining hard, and cold, and she also had to put up with a long drive going there and coming back.
I felt so sorry for her even though it was all to help her with finding forever happiness.

I was told by a member of I.C.A.R.E. Dog Rescue if someone decided to adopt her at their adoption event, they could bring her home on the same day, and someone from the group would follow them to their home and do a home check, and if everything went well that she would stay there and would not come back to us.

That means when I leave her at the adoption event, I may not see her again.
I get mixed feelings about that.
I would be very happy for her for finding a home, but not seeing her again ever, would leave us with an empty feeling.

Activities to save dogs' (or cats') lives always come with these mixed feelings.
You are always dealing with happy, sad and angry feelings.
You go face to face with human's arrogance and cruelty.
But it's not us that gets killed by our ignorance and stupidity.
It's the animals. The dogs and cats.
I don't know why they even like us.

ZsaZsa has become comfortable with us and acts as if she is a member of the pack.
She trusts me and follows me diligently.
Such a cute, smart and such a good dog.

She was found roaming in the desert by herself. Obviously she had an owner before.

Is her ex-owner even looking for her??

ZsaZsa gets a treat after coming home from the adoption event.

Wet!

I like cool weather because it's easier to walk dogs when it's cold than it's hot.
But wet, is another thing.
Dogs do hesitate to go out when they see the rain drops falling from the sky.
They clearly show that they want to stay inside.

But you have to take them outside no matter what.
Because they have to go to the bathroom!!

What do I do?
I drive them to the guest parking lot in the back of the building where there is a grassed area and where they often play.
They feel comfortable there so the bathroom time takes only a matter of a few seconds.
It's a 20-second walking distance from our unit to the parking lot, but I still drive there at night and in the rain.
Even in the rain, they run around for a few minutes, enjoy the smell of the rain, tackle each other, and do their business.

ZsaZsa is already getting used to this routine. She can now hop into the car by herself.
I'm not sure if she drove with her ex-owner a lot (I doubt it) but she was scared of getting into the car at first.
I carried her to the seat.

Now she looks excited to see the car door open.
Walks right over to it and jumps in with Ginger and Anko, and stays in the rear seat very quietly for the whole time we drive around.

It's amazing how fast dogs learn new things from other dogs.
ZsaZsa has learned the fun of having friends, wrestling with them, winning a treat first, and more than anything the love of walking!

She was very confused of the leash at first.
Now, after one week since we've had her, she jumps around with joy when she sees her leash.
While it's really great to see that, it's just very natural that she loves it.
It's their instinct. Their life. Their love. Our love.

ZsaZsa finds something good!



I love watching her during our walk. She often looks up at me to check if everything is fine. So cute.
Tomorrow she will be attending the I.C.A.R.E. Dog Rescue's adoption event in Irvine. 
Someone from the group will come pick her up before noon, and we will pick her up from the venue at 7pm.
It's a long-hour event. Hopefully she won't be too exhausted.
And I hope someone nice will notice her there.


She will be very tired after the adoption event, and will be like this.


Good luck, ZsaZsa!!! We are wishing you the BEST!!!

ZsaZsa - Young Female Chihuahua/Terrier Mix

Meet "ZsaZsa".

She appears to be a Chihuahua/Terrier mix, and thought to be about 2 years old.
She was found when she was wandering in the desert by herself, and brought to a rescue group called I.C.A.R.E.

I am fostering her in my home until she has a new forever home.
ZsaZsa is such a pretty little dog and so lovable. We are in love with her, and are really hooping that she will find a nice family soon.

Here are a few things about ZsaZsa that we have noticed. I will update the info as we find more things about her!

• Shots current
• Will be spayed soon (definitely before she goes to a new home)
• Has very pretty fur. Basically in black and white. Has long white hair around her neck that makes her look like she is wearing a fur neck-warmer.
• Appears to be perfectly healthy
• Potty - We have been taking her outside and she always goes to the same spots to go. She seems to need to go every 1-2 hours. We don't have a doggy door so I'm not sure how that will work with her.
• Food - eats well. She doesn't seem to like dry food very much (she eats it a little). She loves canned wet food.
• Extremely friendly - she has no fear for other animals, and usually walks right over to them. She plays with my dogs and cat. She loves people and acts so happy when she sees our friends, or even strangers in the park.
• Quiet - she is very quiet in the house, and only occasionally barks at the noises outside. Only time she growls/barks a lot is when she is running with my other dogs outside. She chases them and barks like this kind of small dogs typically do.
• Loves walking - the leash bothered her at first. We think she had never walked on the leash before. She now loves walking with my dogs, and is getting better and better at being walked on the leash.

Watch ZsaZsa! (these video were taken on the 2nd day after she came to our house)





In summary ZsaZsa is such an easy-to-take-care-of, happy-go-lucky girl. She is very affectionate, too. We always look forward to coming home to see ZsaZsa come running, wagging her tail like it's going to break off.

If you are interested in ZsaZsa, please e-mail me first. Then we can set a date and time for you to come over to meet her!

After that, if you would like to adopt ZsaZsa, you will have to follow the adopting process of I.C.A.R.E.

Thank you!!

The words that made my day

Ginger, Anko and Toro play while waiting to go walking
Watch Toro's reaction. He looks really comical.



I was walking Ginger, Anko and Toro the other day in a big park in our neighborhood.
That day for some reason there were more people with their dogs out walking than usual. I got to stop and speak three of them during our walk, each of them separately.

Their dogs were all good. They waited patiently while their owners and I talked.
My dogs did well too -  Ginger wanted to play with them and was sniffing and pawing the other dogs to try to get their attention. Anko is still skeptical of stranger dogs and stood still, sometimes gave them soft growls. She did her best though.
Toro - now, Toro. His family considered him to be a rather "problem child" than a "well-behaved good example".

He was thought that he would behave aggressively towards strangers including kids and other animals.
Well, he stood behind us, every now and then he got bored and walked to the other dog and sniffed him, went back in his position, waited patiently - and for the whole time he was totally silent!
I'd say he was the best-behaved dog of all the dogs with us.
Even the other owners, every single one of them commented on Toro's good behavior.

"That's a very good dog, huh? He is so quiet and patient"
"Usually Chihuahuas get mad when surrounded by strangers like this. He's so good"

To me those words meant more than just casual complements.
I was really happy from the bottom of my heart to hear them.
They made my day.

At one point, I feared that his family may think about giving him up for his problematic behaviors.
I knew they were extremely caring and considerate people, and they loved Toro.
But under special circumstances, you sometimes have to make a tough decision.

I see lots of ads on craigslist that go;
"We love her but we can't keep her any more"

While I don't trust those words, you can justify your abandoning your pets by saying it's for financial reasons, moves, foreclosures and allergies...whatever sounds convenient.
I know how many dogs are in the shelters and how most of them don't ever make it out again.

Maybe I was paranoid, but knowing that Toro is a good dog that his family should be proud of, helps me feel better.
I think daily walk with us has given him a sense of confident, and he looks more and more comfortable and secure. The changes are so obvious.

If you know a dog with behavioral problems, you definitely should tell his owner to take him out for walks for a starter.
I can tell it's the best and quickest bonding method for the dogs and their owners.
And a great thing is, the human owner gets to exercise, too!

Toro is making progress...

After Thanksgiving life is back to normal except we will have Christmas in 3 weeks....
Anyway, if you have kids or pets, you don't get to rest. Of course not.
It's what you've chosen to do, so just live with it. I am....

This is our maybe 7th day of walking Toro with Ginger and Anko.
They have gotten to know each other much better now, and although they don't consider each other their best friends just yet, they can tolerate each other perfectly.

This whole thing is for Toro to go out and expose himself to the outside world.
Walking outside, noises, people, cars, other dogs....and he is doing great. Well, of course, it's deninitely a fun training any dog would want to participate in.

He was a little scared of Ginger and Anko at first. They are much bigger than Toro.
He would act like he was so alert and was paying his full attention to every move they made.

Now, he has passed that point and wants to play with them.
Ginger and Anko are runners. They run so fast, wrestle each other and have fun when we play in the park.
Toro tried to tag them along, only to get left behind....well, he is tiny so there is NO WAY that Toro ever could keep up with them when they run.
Yet it's wonderful progress he is making I always watch them with a big grin on my face.

This is how Ginger and Anko play


Today the girls started teasing him by running by him and jumping over him, trying to get him to run, or maybe just trying to tease him.

Ginger is such a teaser that is what she does whenever we go to the dog beach.
She finds the fastest looking dog on the beach and goes and teases him to get him to run with her.
And that's the sign Ginger likes the dog.
So in that sense, too, Toro is doing great. I was so happy when I saw Ginger do that to Toro, only Toro just froze, and stood there like a statue, which was very cute.

Ginger teases Toro


Toro's family said he was very nervous about people passing near him. He would growl and bark, but he doesn't do that when he walks with us.  He's occupied with a lot of excitement.  
Contrary to what the family thought, Toro had turned out to be such a well-behaved, submissive and timid dog.
His behaviors have no problem what-so-ever!

Our goal is to get him to feel more comfortable with things outside, and to trim him down to the size he is supposed to be.
He must have had lots of turkey last week he looks like a more blown-up balloon now.

In the mean time, now that I have room for another, I need to decide whether I go to a shelter and find a dog to rescue, or support a rescue group by fostering their rescue dog. I have to evaluate pros and cons of both options...

Need to hurry because a lot of lives are being destroyed every day, and one counts towards a million in a long run.

Ginger's new collar

Happy Thanksgiving!

I didn't come from a culture where people celebrate this day so this holiday doesn't directly mean "turkey" to me.
However, as the feast fever cannot be avoided if you live in this country I have had turkeys several times before.
Looking at the piles of bags of dead turkeys sold at grocery stores, it always hurts to think about the lives to have been born into this world just to be eaten a few months later.

Luckily we don't even get visitors except for a couple of friends occasionally, we don't have to worry about food even for this huge "all-you-can-eat" holiday.
The big thing for us this year is that the kids' school is out the whole week.
So they are home for 9 consecutive days. That is far more serious a problem for us than a turkey.
Hopefully we will survive without them getting too bored without us having to entertain them constantly. Two boys work out pretty well in that sense I have to say we are lucky.
They can stay engaged in playing Sonic or watching Toy Story 3 for quite a long time. We will throw in a couple of play dates and a visit to ToysRus, we should be OK. (Am I being too optimistic?)

Now the more important subject

Ginger's new collar has arrived! Again bought on the Etsy.com handmade market.
This is the one!

And here is the picture I took of it.

Black leather - sorry it's blurry

With cute stitches

And here is Ginger wearing it.

Ginger is such a handsome girl and is always mistaken for a boy. It's really hard to find a right collar for her.
A collar that shows her coolness yet still looks somewhat feminine.
In that sense, this black one with neon colored stitches is pretty close to perfect, I think.
I'm only wishing it was a little wider so it would have more presence. Other than that, it's very well made and of great quality. I am very happy with this product.

Moving onto the next thing for my cart.
Maj's collar. Hers is probably more than 4 years old. It's time for her new wardrobe.
It's time for a little attention and respect for a lady who is the oldest in our family.

What color would be good for a tortie?

Spiritual growth - energy and focus

I am still reading Cesar Millan's "Be the pack leader".
It is such an interesting book but it's a big book and I don't have a lot of time to sit and enjoy reading books usually so I still have about 2-thirds of it left. I have renewed the check-out period with the library.
Although I am progressing slowly, the more I read it, the more inspiration I get and things definitely start making much more sense.

Here are some quotes from the book that I would love to share with you (the quotes in green)

DOG PSYCHOLOGY BASICS

• Dog s come into the world using their nose first, then their eyes then their ears. Smell is their strongest sense. "I'll believe it if I see it" for dogs translates to "I'll believe it if I smell it". So don't bother yelling at them; It's the energy and scent they pay attention to, not your words.
•  Dogs are communicating with one another (and other animals) all the time using scent, body language, and energy. They are also communicating with you all the time, though you may not be aware of the signals you are sending. You absolutely cannot lie to a dog about how you are feeling.
• Dogs have an ingrained pack mentality. If you're not asserting leadership over your dog, your dog will try to compensate by showing dominant or unstable behavior.
• Dogs never "think they are humans", as many pet owners would like to imagine. They are exceptionally happy just being dogs. If you are telling people your dog thinks he's a person, chances are he's a dog who knows he's your leader. 
• In a dog's world, you're either stable or unstable, a leader or a follower.
• A dog's natural "goal" is to be connected, to live harmoniously grounded, and balanced, in tune with Mother Nature.
• Dogs live in the moment. They don't reminisce about the past or worry about the future; therefore, they can move on from unstable behavior very quickly - if we let them.

Are you a leader or a follower?
Are you stable or unstable?

I was shocked when I read the part;

You absolutely cannot lie to a dog about how you are feeling.

I knew it. I knew I was making the dogs nervous when I was upset about something.
It can be anything - kids, husband, work, traffic...whenever the tone of my voice changes, Ginger picks it up so fast and goes into an apologetic mode. She starts licking my face frantically looking for forgiveness. And it's usually not because of her that I am angry.
I'm always telling her not to worry because she didn't do anything wrong - but

It's the energy and scent they pay attention to, not your words.

so still, she is very nervous, and stays in a panicky mode until I calm down. I mean, not acting as if I was calm but feeling truly calm. Then she finally relaxes, too.

I am always amazed by her sensitivity.
She is always paying attention to me. When something is wrong with me, Ginger is the one who picks it up first - not my human buddies whom I have lived the last 5-10 years.
While I am very thankful for Ginger's love and attention, I feel sorry for the fact her world is revolving solely around me.
I am a selfish person who gets mad and frustrated easily by many things, she has to live with that everyday.

I always tell her not to worry so much but I'm guessing she will stay the same way all the way to the end.

I want to be a more balanced pack leader.
I want my dogs to feel at ease and follow me without too many worries.
I have to start paying more attention to my energy and focus. Once I'm a more balanced person, everybody around me - not only dogs but also my family and friends, will sense it and be able to trust me more.

We watched a DVD "Karate Kid" yesterday.
The kid's master, Mr.Han says "Kung Fu is your energy and focus. Everything is Kung Fu".

I think it's your spiritual-self that really needs to learn and grow up in order to live a hapiper and more fulfilled life as a good human.
I will try to stay focus on what's really matters and not get upset over small things like my kid's noises or messes or stupid drivers out there...wow it already sounds almost impossible.

I'm sure it's going to be a life-long quest for me but hey, I won't mind because I believe it's still worth taking a life time and it doesn't even cost a penny.

It's never a bad idea to try to be good to others - animals or humans.

I want to make Ginger's world a better place

Anko's new collar

Anko's New Collar

When they are wearing the cone collar, I know they are frustrated but I get frustrated too.
That is for watching them suffer from wearing that weird thing on their head.
I get frustrated from feeling sorry for them.

So I compensate that frustration by buying a new collar for the time we can take that off for good.
I found Anko a super pretty collar on a website called Etsy, where you can sell or buy all the fine handmade things online.
There are professional artists as well as amateurs selling their products on this website, and it's really amazing.
You can buy things of great quality and craftsmanship on this site. Many of the artists even custom make things for you.

The collar I found for her is from the shop called ChloesCollars and she specializes in making collars for dogs.
She was so fast in shipping the item, it actually arrived on the 3rd day after my purchase.
And wow, what a beautiful collar it is.  All handmade, and only $20.  This is the one!

I normally go to PetsMart or Wallmart for pet supplies but I will definitely use this website for future collar shopping.

I tried it on Anko. She looks so cute! She must be able to sense my joy. She smiles back to me.

Anko looking proud in her new collar

Now I have to find Ginger a real cute one. Of course!

Wait just a little bit, Ginger, OK?

The old Shitzu that had been rescued from a shelter, Chata, has found a happy forever home!
Way to go, Chata! Enjoy your permanent family!

Helping Toro...

Meet TORO, the problem child

Toro is a 2 1/2 year-old male Chihuahua mix that my very good friend and her family got from a shelter about 2 years ago.
At the time of adoption, Toro was only a few months old, and was a tiny, skinny little thing.
The family has 4 young children, and they all adored Toro, and were very happy with him.
My kids were so envious about the cute puppy, too....well, until about a year later anyway.

We hadn't seen Toro for some time then one day we had a chance to see him again.
We entered the house and could hear Toro coming from the back of the house, running.
When we saw him, we were stunned to see a cute.....well, fat little dog.

"Toro...?"

I almost couldn't believe it was him. That skinny little thing has turned into a little birthday balloon.
The mom looked a little embarrassed, saying "Yeah, he got fat..he eats a lot. He is always hungry"
So they leave the food out for him all the time.

That's fine by me. I'm sure it's not life-threatening anyway.
But what got me worried a little was, that Toro was now a very nervous doggy.
A frowning face, turning his head quickly where there was even a little noise with a growl, barking at pedestrians outside behind the window like crazy.

Hummmmm....

He looked angry. He acted frustrated.
I was worried.

As my boys and their youngest boy were best friends, I often got to speak with the family.
I asked them about Toro every chance I had.
Every time the family spoke of him, there seemed to be more issues.

First he was sometimes acting feisty towards their kids.
Next one of them got bitten by Toro and got some stitches above his eye.
Then he bit a friend of one of the kids and punctured his belly.
The whole time his barking had escalated and he was chasing after the kids in the house and growing more and more aggressive with them.

Last month the mom said she had bought a muzzle for him.
She said she was afraid of Toro injuring someone. She was going to have to take him to a vet for annual shots soon, she had feared he would bite a nurse or somebody at the clinic.

By this time they had started keeping him in the backyard when they had a guest. They could only let him inside the house when there were only family members.
His feistiness towards the children continued.

Things sounded pretty serious I was afraid that they would think about giving him up.
I thought Toro was a good dog. He loved me and whenever I visited them at their house, he had welcomed me with lots of hugs and kisses.
The family loved him but they didn't walk him because they were scared that Toro would act badly to other people and dogs outside. So he was always in the house.

I wanted to walk him. Now that I walk only Ginger and Anko, I can walk another.
So I asked the mom if I could walk Toro with my dogs. She was at first worried how Toro would react to my dogs, but at the end she agreed saying it would be great if that could help Toro feel better.

Of course it would make a difference! It has to!

First day I walked Toro with Ginger only. Anko was getting spayed so timing was great.
I didn't think Toro would be bad, but I was so surprised to find out how well he behaved!

No barking. No growling.
He was totally submissive. He was scared of Ginger, who happened to be much bigger than Toro.
Ginger was used to having other dogs around so Toro being around her didn't bother her much.
It was a nice & very quiet walk.

Looking tall...Looking great

The mom called during the walk. Worried.
I told her her was perfect. She was surprised but happy.

Seeing Toro trotting with a curious look on his face, trying to keep up with Ginger and I, made me smile.
He was so cute!
After about an hour, we sat down on the grass in the park.
Toro looked tired, yet happy.
He sat on the grass quietly, eating some grass and rubbing his back on it.


Watch Toro soaking up the sun


His face didn't have his recent trademark  - wrinkles on his forehead.
He looked like a wide-eyed young puppy.
He didn't bark at anybody. He didn't even look interested in people or even other barking dogs.

Great!
He is a good dog just as I thought. Just needed to get outside and have fun. Exercise and get tired.
I can help him with that. That's easy!
I can tell the family they shouldn't worry about taking him outside because he is such a good dog.

The best will be, if the family can walk with him everyday.
That would make Toro a totally different dog, and everybody would be much happier with him.

I will try to keep walking him as often as I can.
After all, I have realized walking three dogs is much more fun than walking two (only if they all get along)!

Good luck, Toro. I know it will just be so easy for you!

Anko got spayed!

Finally, the day came.

I was already nervous yesterday because of the timeline.
Getting two kids ready for school and driving them there separately as their classes start at different times, while taking Anko to the spaying clinic 20 mins away from home between 8:00 and 8:30, takes a well-thought-out plan.

When I took Millaii there 4 weeks ago, my neighbor came and helped me with watching the dogs and giving directions to the clinic. This time I was going to do it by myself as Ginger can wait for us at home so I can only take Anko with me.
I wasn't worried about the spaying procedure or how to get there at all. I was nervous about the timeline and if I could get everybody to where they were supposed to be on time, which, had turned out it worked out OK...

At the clinic, there seemed to be about the same number of dogs and owners as last time, and most of the dogs looked nervous....just like last time.
Anko was quiet and looked scared as well. When we went in to an examining room for a pre-anesthetic shot, she was so scared she was curled up and shaking.
The nurse decided to give her another shot in her butt which would make her really drowsy (thus more relaxed) so she would mostly be asleep for the whole time.
Good! I left the clinic feeling a little easier.

Another very hectic morning had passed and it was already time to go pick up Anko from the clinic.
This time I didn't forget to bring her collar and leash!
I arrived there, the staff told me it would be another $30 as she was in heat, which, I had pretty much figured out was going to be the case so was fine with me.
I was so anxious to see her.

Another staff gave me the post-op instructions before I could go in to see her. Keep the collar on, no walk, no bath, separate from the other animals - all these for the next 2 weeks.
Go them! (in theory anyway)

When I saw her, she looked so tired and weak. She reminded me of Millaii. Anko was even in the same cage as Millaii. Sitting, looking down at the floor, a huge cone collar covering the whole head...the tiny head of Anko.

She looked up and I saw a big relief in her eyes. I even thought she smiled a little.
The assistant showed me her incision, something we didn't do with Millaii, and the cut seemed very nice and clean. Seemed a little longer than Millaii's. Maybe because of being in heat.
Overall, she looked good.
She could walk fine, and she was really happy to jump into our car.

All evening, Anko looked very tired.
Of course. It was still the day of the surgery.
I kept an eye on her the whole time, but I found myself feeling much easier than when I had Millaii spayed.
I was sure it was because I had been there'n done it before, and I had learned from Millaii how fast the dogs could recover from it.
I would just have to keep a close eye on her until she really healed.

It's a real good feeling though to think that Anko will never have to deal with heat and heat-associated nuisances, and more than anything, she will never have babies.
It sounds in a way sad to think a girl cannot have her babies as it is against how animals are designed, but when you look at all those dogs and cats at the shelters, so many of them crammed into a cage, barking and crying for help, you would get a chill from even imagining a litter of puppies being born into this world.

The world that's so ugly it doesn't even know how to take care of its own animals.

Take it easy, Anko. You'll feel much better in a couple of days.

Anko - 1 day after the surgery

I trimmed the edge of the cone by about 2 inches.

It's shorter so she can see things out of it much more easily, yet long enough so she cannot lick her cut.

A Senior Female Shitzu - Abandoned by Owner

Meet Chata - an abandoned senior Shitzu

A senior full-bred Shitzu has been rescued from a kill-shelter by an independent rescuer.

She is a senior dog that appears to be about 10-11 years old.

The family who kept her for 9 years had dropped her off at the shelter, knowing it was a kill-shelter and the dog would not have many days to live if somebody rescued her.

We are looking for someone who can let her occupy a little space in his/her home.

She is currently living with a foster family with a young boy and two dogs, and there hasn’t been any problem.

Facts about the dog:

·         10-11 years old

·         Full-bred Shitzu

·         Spayed

·         Shots up-to-date

·         House-broken

·         No health issues except for overweight (At the time of rescue, she had two tumors in her ears. Both the tumors were surgically removed, and have completely healed)

·         Low-energy. Doesn’t care about walking outside much. Mostly on bed sleeping

·         Doesn’t appear to be interested in other dogs or children, thus, no problem living with them.

·         No aggression

·         Quiet

·         Loves to eat

·         Re-homing fee – Please e-mail

As she is a low-energy senior dog, she would be a good apartment or condo pet, or for someone who is low-energy or old, and likes staying indoors.

When she was rescued she didn’t act affectionate to anybody, and stayed in her own shell. She has slowly opened up to her foster lady, and now she brightens up to see her especially at feeding times.

She needs someone who can accept her the way she is, and who has patience to work with her at a slow pace until she feels comfortable and warm enough to naturally open up to him/her. She doesn’t have many years left.

We want her to live that time in a nice and warm home feeling welcomed and needed.

If you are interested in meeting her, or if you know of someone who would be, please let me know.

Thank you! 

Death of a 16-year-old girl

A 16-year-old high school student was hit by a car last Monday, and passed away the next day.
Her name was Sydney. Sydney was crossing the street on the crosswalk when a car slammed into her and knocked her over.

A news clip on Sydney:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=7766206


This crosswalk is not even a block away from our house. We use it to go to the park across the street all the time.
We had always been extra careful when we crossed it because this street is almost always busy, and there are lots of cars hurrying somewhere at any time of the day.
The intersection just before this crosswalk is extremely accident-bounded. We don't know how many accidents we have witnessed since we moved here 8 years ago.

We knew how dangerous crossing the street there for a long time, and so did our neighbors.
Some of them had requested the city to add safety measures such as visible signs or lights so the drivers could see people crossing the street.

Did the city do anything? We haven't seen any change.
Currently we see many posters that say "Slow Down" made by the students from the high school that Sydney went to posted around the crosswalk, however, unfortunately they are not visible once it's dark.

When I heard about the accident, I thought "it takes a life for them to add signs?".
Maybe one life is not enough.

We humans are the stupidest and most cruel animals among all of the species in this world.
We kill for our greed, for our grudges, and to daydream while driving.

I look at the dogs and always wonder,

Why do you guys even like us?
We are the worst kind for you to count on.
You should never trust us.
For us, your friends are getting killed everyday.
Why do you like us????


Last Sunday there was a donation car-wash and bake sale near the high school Sydney went to.
Looked like so many people were trying to help raise money for Sydney's parents to pay for the medical expenses.
We went to the bake sale and made a donation.
The medical bills can be paid. Sydney will never come back.

Is there anything that's more unfortunate than not knowing anything else but to love and trust humans?

 

It hurts to see your trusting eyes. Always.

Millaii went missing!!! (Oh, What a night)

Me???

A nice family who was interested in Millaii had called and come to meet her.
After the meeting, they said they would like to have her in their home for a few days to see if things would work out.

I was very happy as they seemed like a very nice family and Millaii would have a chance to live in a great home.
My neighbor's daughter Jodie had said she would like to come with me to see off Millaii, so the three of us took off on Friday afternoon to deliver Millaii to the family's home 35 miles away from ours.

The traffic was terrible, but we got there in about 45 mins.
In the house, there were 2 dogs, one of which the family was babysitting for a week, then there were 2 cats.
Millaii didn't seem to have acknowledged the dog, who was very calm and didn't mind about Millaii being in his home at all, but naturally she was drawn to the kitten that was sitting on the dining table and went  to smell her right away.
She then ate the cat food placed on the floor, and went out to their big back yard and went to the bathroom on the grass in the back corner.

Everything seemed to be going well.
We spoke with the family for a while then said good-bye and good-luck to Millaii and left their home.

The traffic coming home was the worst I had seen ever.
Why?? Do people all go to LA on Friday night? It was really unimaginably bad.
After over an hour drive I had gotten so exhausted and was ready for a hot shower, when my cell phone rang.

It was the family we had just left Millaii with. The mom was on the phone and from her voice I had sensed something was wrong in a moment.

"I have bad news" She said.

I honestly thought Millaii had bitten somebody or killed their cat.
Instead, she said,

"Millaii got out and we can't find her"

Millaii was missing......

I went blank for a moment but then realized the situation.
Millaii got out looking for me....
She saw us leave from the glass window by the door.
She was looking at me as if she wanted to ask me when I was coming back inside to get her.
I took off without her instead.

She watched us leave....

She must have gone crazy wanting to find me and went everywhere in the house to find an exit.
She found a little door for taking out the trash and pushed it open, and got out.

The family realized Millaii was outside, then they all got out to catch her.
Millaii had been so confused and seeing everybody in a panic mode trying to catch her had made her even more anxious.
She took off running escaping everybody's hands.

So now Millaii was missing.

The family panicked. They went everywhere they could think of trying to find her.
But it was already dark and it was weekend. It would be hard to find help.
After their desperate search, no Millaii.
They had to come home and wait to make an inquiry to the local shelter the next morning.

I was lost.
I didn't know what to do, or what I should be doing.
I was so exhausted by driving the distance in the worst traffic, I couldn't even think straight.
It was impossible to go back there driving 35 miles again.
I finally managed to write a "lost dog" ad on craigslist hoping for tips from their neighbors.

We all spent a sleepless night.

Saturday morning, the family went to the animal shelter as soon as they had opened, hoping they would find Millaii there.
There was no Millaii.

Where are you???

Disappointed, but they didn't stop there. They drove all around in their neighborhood putting up flyers, talking to people.
I got an update call from them around noon time. They said someone said he had seen Millaii an hour before.
That was great news!
She was still hanging around in their neighborhood.
I had feared Millaii had travelled many miles looking for me during the night and was not near their neighborhood any longer.

That moment I had a very good feeling that we would be able to find her soon.
It may sound strange but for some reason I had felt almost confident we would find her the whole time since her disappearance.
She wouldn't go hiding in the woods because she only knew town and people's streets, and more than anything she only knew people and genuinely loved them.

She would go to people once there was someone who would calmly talk to her.
If we didn't find her that day I was going to visit animal shelters in the nearby cities in the following week.

My phone rang again about 2pm.
The mom said on the phone that Millaii had come back and was in the back of their house, but wouldn't come to anybody.
She said she was afraid that Millaii would run again.

Amazing!
She came back! Wow, that's great.
After all, that was the only place she had known - even for less than an hour - she had no other choice but to come back where she had started. Wonderful!

The mom's voice sounded like she was desperate, and she said there were neighbors in their backyard, too, calling Millaii's name trying to make her come to them.

That would not work.

More people calling her in a hysterical tone would only scare her away.
She wanted to come in, but couldn't because of all the commotion.

The mom wanted me to come down saying "She'll only come to you", I said I was on my way.
I asked her to leave the food in their backyard where Millaii could see it, and to let everybody back away and leave her alone.

So again, I got back on the freeway. I was worried about the traffic but it was good.
About half way down there, I called the family, just to check on how things were.
The daughter answered the phone and said in a very happy voice,

"She is in the house now"

She said she had knelt down and called Millaii calmly, and she came to her.
YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!
I knew it.
I knew if everybody backed away and watched her quietly that she would come in.

I was so relieved now that Millaii was safe in their home, had gotten fed and now she could rest.
This was about 3:30pm so she had been wandering around in an unfamiliar neighborhood for about 10 hours.
It must have been quite an adventure for her.

Although it was a scary experience for all of us, the good thing was that I was sure because of this experience Millaii would see the family as her masters, especially the girl who handled the situation calmly, and got her back in the house, and recognize their home as hers.
She would never try to escape, and would follow the family's commands diligently.

I turned around and headed home.

Later on, I received an update-call from the daughter.
She said that Millaii had been following her everywhere she went.
Just as I had predicted!
She also said they had taken Millaii to Petco (!) - where Millaii had never been to - and got her a few things, and Millaii did just fine.
Great!
That's a good start.
Millaii needs to learn who the new leaders for her are, in order to keep a healthy relationship with the family. Taking her out on the leash would give her a good sense of that.

I'm hoping the family will be good about disciplining her and teaching her the rules and limits.
Then I know Millaii will be a wonderful family dog!

Good luck, Millaii!!
The family will see how things will go with her, and let me know if they would like to keep her or not in a few days.

Dog Whisperer

I am reading Cesar Millan's book "Be The Pack Leader" and watching the first season of his TV show "Dog Whisperer".
How inspiring!

I can't even begin to tell you.
His methods sound very different than traditional dog training rules, yet make so much sense!
What an eye opener. I am looking at my dogs in a completely different way than before, and practicing Cesar's methods with them. My dogs are behaving better than ever.
It's about how "I" changed mostly what's making a difference, not the dogs, that's the interesting fact. The dogs are only responding to my behaviors....in more harmonious ways! Amazing.

I strongly recommend his books and DVDs to all dog owners out there, especially if their dogs seem to be having issues.
Things can improve quickly and easily by simply walking the dog everyday.
I can't agree with him more. Walking your dogs daily can benefit both you and your dogs tremendously.
That's the exercising, socializing and refreshing process dogs need, and more than anything the "bonding with the owners" quality time in its true meaning.

I walk my dogs everyday. For a little over 1 hour each time.
We get tired after our walk. We pass out on the grass and rest for 15-20 mins.

You won't believe how refreshed I feel after this session. Your body is exhausted so you can sleep very well at night - which is very beneficial, right?
Now the dogs seem very content and seem to want to listen to me.

You walk with your dog every day and you'll become fit and healthy too!
And all these great things for free!

Oh, and one more thing - Nothing is more rewarding than seeing your dog's happy'n sleepy face...

Millaii is still sleepy....

Happy Belated Halloween!

My kids' elementary school has a pumpkin curving contest every year.

I thought this was really creative

Do you decorate your pets?

I usually don't.
I have in the past but that was on my cats and they didn't seem that happy or appreciative so I kind of moved out of that mode.

Dogs probably do a little better with costumes than cats. I saw many "Hot Dogs" strolling in the streets with their happy owners, and they do look cute and funny.

My dogs?
Well, this is all we did  - or had to be exact, for this year anyway.

In case you can't tell - I am Millaii

I still thought it was pretty funny.
Anko won't let us put them on, but Ginger did, and equally looked goofy.
I think it was our laughter that made Millaii smile, otherwise this must be a real pain in the neck.

We had a series of Halloween events this year starting on Friday morning, and ending at the night of the 31st, so the kids had stayed in their costumes for 3 days - which were Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The costumes were looking miserable on the 3rd day but the kids didn't care. All they cared about at that point were of course, the candy and prizes.

We took the dogs on Trick-or-Treating and after that to the event at the nearby park where the kids got to play little games and won prizes. By the time we left for trick-or-treating, it had already gotten dark and the dogs seemed puzzled by all the weird looking people and noises.
I was a little worried about running into the Hot-Dogs, typically Chihuahuas, for they like those dogs and may get excited at them.
We did see a few of them but it all went quietly as my dogs as well as those Hot-Dogs were overwhelmed by the crazy humans.

At the park I waited with my dogs in a corner for my kids to play all the games they wanted to play, and filled their bags with prizes. The dogs were still a little nervous about so many people and noises but by that time they were tired.
I felt sorry for them for having to keep us company, but hey, this is only the beginning of the series of crazy events. You guys still don't know Thanksgiving and Christmas and don't forget...the New Year.

Millaii was curiously looking aroud at all the people 

Anko "I demand going home. Now"

All in all, it was a busy but fun Halloween.
Well, at least for me....
Don't you think, Anko? ("No")

*************************************** 

My animals have their own eating spots.

Toby eats in the cage which was originally Ginger's crate but I have come to use it more often for Toby than for Ginger as Toby cannot stay in the room with us when we eat. He crawls up on us and tries to eat our food so persistently, we always put him in the crate when we eat. When the animals eat, I let Toby eat in his cage so the dogs won't get to his food. They still hover around his cage and hope Toby makes a mess so the pieces may roll out of the cage and they get lucky.

Millaii guards cat food spills