Bitchy McBitcherson's Blog

Tag: london

  • In the Middle Was Webster

    One of the rescue founders took an immediate liking to Webster, so when he arrived at my house, he already had a hold placed on him, and he never went up on petfinder.

    In the first couple of days I was more focused on Mindy, and then Darby when she got back from the vet. Webster was the easy one, not that anything about it was actually easy, but in comparison, the one that ate easily was definitely a bit less stressful.

    A few more days in, and their personalities started to peek out, and he was the first one to wag just because he saw me. My heart melted. He got bigger and odder looking, with a head shape that spoke of a touch of something else thrown into the mix besides the screaming signs of GSD and Husky. He was adventurous like Darby, but less independent. He was very snuggly like Mindy, but more independent.

    I’m kind of crazy about him.

    I might have wanted to keep him. I don’t really know. I can’t really know, because I didn’t have the option. Wanting something when you can’t have it, is a different thing. I know I didn’t want him because somebody else wanted him, that just isn’t one of my triggers. I might have accidentally gotten too attached though because he was already spoken for. He was safe. Since I didn’t have to worry about accidentally keeping him, I might not have put up the proper “not my dog” barriers that I’ve always worked to maintain with the others. When they have nobody the urge to keep them all is definitely there. A dog without a family makes me feel so sad for the dog.

    However it happened, it happened. I felt like, if I could keep him, maybe I would. Indy liked him. She was tolerant of all of them, but he was the only one she ever tried to engage with. I was pretty sure that he could be raised to continue being great with the cats, since he was so young (Bear and Xander had a problem with each other). Also, really, this was just unique. I had bottle fed these little guys and gotten up every 20 minutes to deal with all the poo. Somewhere in all that, apparently too much oxytocin was releasing, because I felt intensely maternal about this set of fosters.

    So, Webster left on Sunday, a day later than planned because of a vaccine side effect.  Several days after Darby left the orphanage, and one day before we sent Mindy off on a plane.

    I cried.

    I cried for London

    and Bear

    and I just cried.

  • not warm

    -19°F
    Feels Like
    -36°F

    A WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA… INCLUDING THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA… AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN UNTIL NOON ON FRIDAY.

    A WIND CHILL WARNING MEANS THE COMBINATION OF VERY COLD AIR AND WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILL VALUES. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA OR DEATH IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. WHEN VENTURING OUTDOORS… MAKE SURE THAT YOU DRESS IN LAYERS… AND WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.

    WIND SPEEDS AROUND 5 MPH WILL BE COMMON TONIGHT. COMBINED WITH LOWS OF 20 TO 30 BELOW… WIND CHILL VALUES WILL DROP TO 35 TO 50 BELOW BY FRIDAY MORNING. THEREFORE THE WIND CHILL WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL NOON ON FRIDAY.

    London got to go on a short walk/run today. Based on the troubles yesterday I only let Indy out for brief trips to the yard. She still enjoys the snow, but is happy to get back inside. By limiting her time we did not have another limping incident.

    I’ve decided that “feels like -20°F” or lower means that Indy doesn’t get a walk. I have ordered booties for her (and London too, just in case). If those help enough then we can set a new cut off for skipping the walk.

    I’ve also decided that “-15°F” or lower means that I really don’t like being outside much.

    So far both of the cars are doing okay. The cold does have an impact on gas mileage and also on things like power steering and start up, etc. They are both doing better than a lot of my husband’s coworkers cars.

    When it gets this cold outside, the furnace does not do a great job of keeping it comfortably warm inside. Especially anywhere near a window, or even a wall. The insulation in this house is not impressive.

  • In Search of a Punk Rock Chicken Toy

    Indy came to live with us in the fall of 1995. She is an unusual dog in many ways, and I have no idea if she was born that way or whether the unfortunate occurrences of her early life caused it, or it is a mixture of both.

    We got her from a rescue when she was a puppy. She had been turned over because the landlord had told them, either she went or they would be evicted. If you are going to ignore a NO PETS rule, it is best to do it with a quieter animal that will not grow to be 50 lbs. Once we had her it was obvious there was more to her story than that.

    In January of 1996 I bought a net bag shaped like a stocking (on clearance) that had dog treats and toys in it. One of those toys was a squeaky toy cat that was the same coloration as our real cat. We decided that would be a better kid toy than a dog toy and gave it to baby KFZ. The second of those toys was something we dubbed the Punk Rock Chicken. It was made from soft, but not limp rubber, the body like a paper towel tube, two feet merged into one at the bottom, and a bird head on top with hollow spiky “hair”. It squeaked. Indy loved that toy. She carried it around. She squeaked it. She would play fetch with it. She was not one to destroy things, so the toy just went on and on.

    In the fall of 1999 London came to live with us.

    London destroys things. That is what he does. He loves toys, all toys, and he loves them to a rapid death.

    He killed Punk Rock Chicken. It was a dog toy, so I didn’t think to keep it away from him. Hindsight is 20/20. It turns out that was the ONLY toy that Indy would play with. She would not take a replacement. She has never carried around another toy. She has never chased another toy. Nothing. If I want her to chase something, I have to throw treats.

    In 2004 we moved. During the packing we found the squeaky cat that came from the same package. We gave it a squeeze and it squeaked. Indy came running into the room, totally excited, tail wagging like crazy. She looked expectantly at us. We squeaked it again. She cocked her head to one side, looking at what was in our hand. She stopped wagging. We offered her the cat. She put her head down and just wandered out of the room. This was more than four years after the damn Punk Rock Chicken met his doom. The cat had the exact same squeaker, but was not the same thing.

    I have tried barbell toys based on their similar shape to the Punk Rock Chicken. I have tried other chicken and bird shaped toys. I have tried and tried. No go.

    Anyway, here is a photo of the dogs with the toy. If anybody ever sees this toy for sale, please tell me ASAP. We’ll see if the power of the internet can be harnessed to make Indy wag.
    Searching for a Punk Rock Chicken Toy

  • Thursday Trio


    The Three Stooges
    Originally uploaded by mstori.

    Most Thursday nights we go on a special dog walk. The special aspect is that we have an extra dog (and his person) along with us. This causes London and Indy boundless spastic excitement. The thing that really strikes me though, is that they get completely hyper on Thursday nights even when the guests do not show up. Every Thursday night, they freak out.

    If we skip for more than two weeks in a row, the Thursday night freak outs die off, but as soon as the regular schedule is reestablished, Thursday evening behavior amps right up again.

    There are an unfortunate number of instances when I can’t keep track what day of the week it is, but the dogs…