What kind of shave?!

Our telephone number is one digit off from a local dog groomer, who happens to also have our name as part of their name. We often get calls for them.

I sometimes answer the phone and get asked the question, "Is this The Small Dog House?"

I'm always tempted to answer, "Yes, this is the Smalls' Dogs' House. Would you like to talk to Cocoa or Kibble?"

Sometimes we get a message wanting to make an appointment. Yesterday, I was awakened by an early morning phone call that went to the answering machine.

"I was wondering if I could bring Lucy in for a bath and an anal shave."

Woooo! Good morning!

Photo by Alexandratx. Used by permission.

Poison Pretty Pen Letter

This is a letter I wrote.


Dear Doctors and Staff,

I like to write letters when, as a consumer, I have an exceptional experience. Sadly, usually, service or goods fall on the side of exceptionally poor. Every once in a while, the expected “average” is exceeded, and I experience a service that is exceptionally good! Wednesday’s trip to Airport Animal Hospital was one of those times.

My dog Kibble is a fraidy-dog. She takes a while to get to know a person. She has some anxiety in certain situations, and surely going to the vet is one of those situations. Isn’t it for all of us? Kibble needs to be muzzled even for getting her vaccinations.

Last month, I picked Kibble up from the boarder and found that she had a wound on her hind leg. It had become infected and needed cleaning. I took her to our usual veterinary clinic that is not the Airport Animal Hospital. It was quite a trauma to have Kibble up on the table, muzzled, held down by three people while the veterinarian shaved, poked, prodded, and cleaned the wound. It was trauma for her; it was trauma for me (I was one of the three holding her down).

When Kibble cut her paw pad during a run in the creek-bed last week, I decided to take her to see a vet, after much thinking and more than a little trepidation about subjecting her to another traumatic vet experience. Because of various factors concerning that particular “other” veterinary clinic, I decided to take her to the Airport Animal Hospital on the recommendation of a friend.

On the intake form, I mentioned that Kibble is anxious at the vet and is not a very good patient. That was all it took to transform a possibly traumatic vet experience into a friendly, warm, supportive vet experience.

Dr. Steve Lewis was wonderful! He had me hold up the injured paw so he could see the wound, and he immediately determined that this one would heal on its own. Antibiotics would be prescribed as a precaution, but no other treatment would be necessary. He didn’t cause any anxiety for Kibble. She didn’t even know she was in a vet’s office!

In addition, the wise Dr. Lewis prescribed some tranquilizers for the next time Kibble needs vet treatment. No need fighting anxiety, he reasoned. He also suggested calling or emailing before coming in next time, so that perhaps the problem could be solved without an office visit.

Dr. Lewis is obviously an insightful and creative healer. He was warm to me and supportive of Kibble’s special needs. It was a pleasure to talk to him. I especially appreciated his parting words. “We’ll do all we can to keep you out of here.”

I look forward to using the services of Airport Animal Hospital for my two dogs’ and my cat’s future veterinary needs.


Sincerely,
Izzy

P.S. The front staff was great, too! Friendly and warm! Thanks for a great experience!





Photos by Erito

The Demise of Zen

Mike's betta fish, Zen (aka Spirit Fins), died yesterday.

He was a hearty old soul. A few months ago, while Mike was cleaning out his bowl, Zen nearly met his fate.

Mike had been doing the job over the kitchen sink. Zen, being a frisky young fish, jumped out of the net and into the sink, landing in the garbage disposal. I had small enough hands, so I reached in for him. He flipped around, and then suddenly he was gone! We shined a flashlight into the disposal, but Zen was not to be found!

Then I spied a tiny bit of red fin. It was coming from the hole on the side of the disposal! The hole had a diameter exactly Zen-sized! There was not enough fin to grasp, so we had to think quick.....!

We filled the dishwasher with just a bit of water, then hit "cancel." The dishwasher drained, spitting Zen back into the disposal, where I could grab him--and hold on!

He was no worse for the adventure and lived a happy life for several more months.

May your waters be warm and detergent-free, Zen.

RIP Waggles

We said goodbye to Waggles today. She wasn't doing well....getting very skinny. It was a hard decision, like always, but it was best for the poor li'l gal.

Lake Los Carneros

Kevin, Kibble, Cocoa and I made a trek to Lake Los Carneros this afternoon. It was in the low 80s today, perfectly delightful!


View Larger Map

As you can see, it is a nice open space with plenty of trails, and a nice lake to enjoy!

Heading toward the lake.

There were wildflowers. Here is a hillside of wildflowers:

I thought the pepper berries were pretty on this pepper tree.

And there are water birds, of course!

Two pair of feathered friends.

I like walking across this long bridge.

Handsome young man!

Heading back to the car:

The Santa Ynez Mountains are in the background.

Take all you can carry; they're taking us to jail anyway!

Yesterday we bought Cocoa and Kibble some new toys. Guilt, you know. They are going to jail tomorrow.

Cocoa decided both the toys were for her.



Blogging will be on hiatus until we return. And then, look out!

Good dogs!

Kevin has been working hard at training Cocoa and Kibble to be good dogs on walks. Now they come when they're called, they walk beside him unleashed, and they (usually) resist running toward other dogs. They really respect him....and so do I!

I'm working on learning Kevin's commands and techniques, because, although they are mostly good dogs (mostly), they don't listen to me as well.

Poor Puppy

Poor Kibble pup. I had to take her to the vet yesterday.

She was resting quietly when suddenly she acted really scared, jumped in my lap, shaking and started having nystagmus. It looked like she was having a seizure! I called the vet right away and they told me to bring her right in.

When I got her leash out to go for a ride!, she was all better, but I took her anyway. I described her dingbat ways, like barking at Kevin coming home a couple weeks ago and her fear of lights (She runs and hides when the flashlight comes out, and she pee'd her trousers when we lit our Jack o'Lanterns and turned out the lights last October).

What does the doctor do first thing, but get her light to examine Kibble's eyes! After I just described her fear! Kibble freaked out and wouldn't let the vet examine her.

It could be neurological, but the vet doubts that it was a seizure. She thinks that it was a severe fear reaction to something Kibble saw or heard. The only stimulus that I noticed was that Kevin blew on some food to cool it down, right before Kibble freaked.

She gave me some handouts on dog fears and phobias and de-conditioning/behavior mod. We'll see if we can de-sensitize her to lights. Apparently submissive dogs are more susceptible to having fear reactions, and it tends to get worse as they age.

I tried to take her picture, but she is afraid of the camera--it flashes sometimes!