Dog Park Fun

There is really nothing better for my heart and soul than to see my two loves scatter around the dog park and just be dogs. Since I have trouble even putting it into words I'd thought I'd just let you take a look for yourself.

Shaggy Shack

The dogs are looking mighty shaggy lately. Ever since their adoption, they have never gone more than 9 weeks without a bath and trim. Now they are both heading into week 16. Yikes! Long nails, bad breathe, and overall smelly dogs is not something any of the three of us signed up for. Unfortunately, my lack of income has everything to do with it. BUT I just can't take it anymore, which means neither will they. They are both at the groomers for a major overhaul. SO major it's actually going to cost me more than it ever has before. Oops! Oh well, what's a dog mom to do. I feel so bad every time I look at them and their shaggy messes. We can't all be hot messes all of the time. I'll be picking them up in a few hours and I'll be sure to post pics of my new clean babies. Look for updates soon! And don't forget to follow us on Twitter too. @bdollymargaret and @themissaroo.

UPDATE:

See Ya Later Alligator

This week will be my last official week as intern at Found Chicago; to say I love it there is an understatement. Unfortunately, it has become too costly to make the long trek into the city. I won't miss the 5am alarm clock, paying tolls, or battling drivers for space on the interstate. What I will miss is the dogs and the commitment to those dogs by the wonderful people who work and volunteer there. One of my New Year's resolutions was to advance the No Kill movement; thanks to Found Chicago I can check that one of my list. I hope that one day soon I can go back, but right now the bills are adding up, my gas tank is getting low, and the overwhelming feeling of unemployment is looming. I have asked them to keep me up-to-date and I hope I can still help them out even if it is just from my home computer. It will be hard to get up every morning knowing I have nowhere to be, but luckily for me I still have two amazing dogs of my own. Once again, I will look to Missy and Mister to lift me up off the floor. I really, truly hope this is only see ya later alligator, and not goodbye.

Dog Food Woes

Since I am currently unemployed, I get to spend a lot of time with my dogs. It has been nothing short of great. However, I worried about how I will be able to continue to pay for them. They should see the vet in the next few days, they are overdue for a groom, and finally their food supply is running low. I can probably look into free doggie food banks but it still makes me feel uneasy. BUT if I do get a job soon I'm worried they won't eat either. Why? Because ever since I've been home with them they only eat when I sit with them. The worst part is they don't eat at the same time either. Missy goes first, of course. Mister waits and then eats. Yes they have two bowls and two portions of food but that doesn't matter to them. They like their routines and right now they have the time to be this annoying. I might never sleep past 5am again.

BSL is just BS

I know that some of you are HUGE animal lovers and take a special interest in No Kill, but I also know there are others who are just fans of the Missaroo. This post is for both of you.

I recently read an article stating that PetsMart bans bully breeds from its doggie daycare. For those of you who don't know, bully breeds would include dogs like Rottweilers, Pitbulls, any dog deemed to be "dangerous" this decade. It use to include German Shepards. My mom's response to this was "well they must have had problems." To which my retort was "that's like saying no black people are allowed inside the store." Seriously, breed specific legislation or any other forms of breed discrimination are comparable to race discrimination. What PetsMart really needs is educated trainers and dog handlers that can do true assessments on every dog that enters doggie daycare.

As a dog mom, I totally get wanting to keep your babies safe. I would sue the pants off PetsMart if Mister was killed in a dog attack there. If Missy were seriously injured, I'd sue the pants off them. I mean you get it. BUT AGAIN, dogs should be tested on an individual basis. Two quick examples:

One of the people up in arms over PetsMart's' policy is an owner of a pitbull who's day job is therapy dog. Gremlin goes into nursing homes to help patients. She puts the Missaroo to shame with her 11,000 Facebook "likes." Gremlin should be allowed into daycare.

I intern for a fabulous place, Found Chicago. We deal with biters, special needs dogs, and aggressive dogs. The other day one of them bit me. His name is Oliver and he is an 8 pound Maltese. ((those white fluffy dogs smaller than Mister)) He got me twice actually, once on the top of my right hand, the other time on my left thumb. Oliver should not be allowed at daycare.

No two dogs are alike. Period. End of story. I am in the process of figuring out just how to boycott a company I have spent big bucks at in the past. Missy did her training there. Both dogs get groomed there and it is our go to store for all things pet related. It will be hard and we might have ween ourselves off but it is doable. I hope you will take up this challenge with me and tell PetsMart that breed discrimination along with breed specific legislation is really just a bunch of BS.

Homer

On Friday, someone tied his dog to the door of the veterinary clinic next door to Found Chicago where I intern. It was disgusting. Long story short, the guy fed his dog RAW CHICKEN and the dog was super sick; as in Homer has renal failure. My boss of course took Homer in and we starting taking care of him right away. Today, I had the privileged of helping out. I gowned and gloved up before helping administer several pills to the poor guy. I took him for a potty break and then had to clean down the spot where he went so no one else gets sick. I also just sat there and told poor Homer it was going to be alright. The good news is that was a true statement. Homer has been improving every day since we took him.

As with most recent challenges in my life, I could spend my energy being mad at the idiot who got his dog sick and then abandoned him, or I can focus on how I can help save Homer's life. I chose the latter. Just in case you didn't already know this, not everything you read on the Internet is true, especially if the Internet tells you it is OK for you to feed your dog RAW CHICKEN, or any raw meat for that matter.

Challenges like this are what keep me going. As horrible as the story of Homer started, it will have a happy ending. I am so grateful I get to be apart of Homer's story. Dogs like Homer make cleaning kennels and scooping poop all worth it in the end. We all have to do our part to save lives. I challenge you to find out how you can help. Even if it's just sitting with sick dogs or cleaning up after them. All of this can make a huge impact on a dog's life. And every dog saved is another step in the No Kill movement. Keep going!

Mister Cool

I cannot believe how much Mister has come into his own over the last couple of months. Everyone knows I am obsessed with Missy, but few in my family can understand why. Why? Because Mister is so cool! He's the class clown, a total ham and yet he's the lay low, pick your moments fella from high school. His future is so bright, I need to get him a pair of shades.

What can I say? He's Mister cool.