Hank and Bobby go head to head in a craze imported from Canada: dog dancing. Hank catches Bobby Dog Dancing with Ladybird, and he is furious. He demands that Bobby stop. Bobby takes on Connie’s dog,’Doggie’ as his next partner, and they begin to train. Meanwhile, Ladybird lets Hank know that she wants to dance, so the competition begins, Old school vs. New age. When a competition comes to town, they showcase their talents, along with Bill, who purchased a Rottweiler that hates him.

I thought the episode was cute and funny. I mean, really, who dances with their dogs? The mere concept was completely foreign to me and I thought it was just a joke. And then I stumbled onto the real thing one day while cruising the ‘net. The very first time I ever saw dog dancing with live beings was when I downloaded a video clip of Carolyn Scott and Rookie doing a routine to ‘You’re the one that I want’ from Grease. I was both enthralled and amazed at how happy Rookie looked and how well they worked in tandem. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 10 years since I first saw this.

According to Carolyn Scott’s website, http://www.caninefreestylemagicmatch.com,

Canine Freestyle is a dog sport in which training, teamwork, music, and movement combine to create an artistic, choreographed performance highlighting the canine partner in a manner that celebrates the unique qualities of each individual dog. It is built upon the foundation of a positive working relationship between a dog and handler team. – Definition of the Musical Dog Sport Association

I never knew that coordinated dancing with your dog would be considered a sport. Frisbee dogs, air ball, agility trials, distance jumping all seemed like ‘true dog sports’ to me. Dog dancing seemed like it was the rhythmic gymnastics of dog sports: You know that it takes time and patience and constant training but when you see it you’re not sure if you should be weirded out or amazed.

And, yes, I thought it was just a tad weird. Today I saw this video which has gone viral

Maybe it’s the cultural difference but they seem to have taken dog dancing to a completely different level. I can’t even dance that well and I’m referring to the dog! What strikes me as amazing is the type of bond that these people have with their canine companions and I wonder if maybe they know something that I don’t. Look at the dog’s expression and also the tail wag. All they want to do is please their owner and they genuinely appear to be having a great time.

I tried dancing with my Bernese Mountain Dog but, alas, all he did was sit between my legs and happily look up at me and then eventually bounded off to chase a butterfly.

A final note: Rookie passed away in 2008 at the ripe old age of 15.

The episode was about a husband and wife with 2 young boys and two dobermans. The dobies were confined to a room in the house for the better part of the day and the family really didn’t assert any authority over them. One of the key points of the show was the importance of removing dog waste from your yard or during your walks.

The husband and wife slacked off when it came to picking up after their dogs. When they switched scenes to the back yard for training it was an absolute disgusting mess. Dog poop was everywhere. It was like someone decided to recreate the opening scene from ‘Saving Private Ryan’ but with poop.

And the adult owners adamantly refused to clean it up. There was so much crap in the backyard that when a pet waste removal service came by to do the maintenance they literally filled two large, outdoor garbage cans.

Let’s review why it is important to pick up after your dogs, especially in your own yard.

• dog waste left out attracts various types of insects, worms and other creepy crawlies, several of which may potentially carry disease or be parasitic
• if you are entertaining guests is that why you want them to remember you?
• if you have children will you let them play in a yard covered in feces?
• when you let your dogs out to do their business they will invariably walk through their own refuse. Even if it is only trace amounts it will be brought into your house, onto your floors and possibly on your furniture and clothes
• it just isn’t healthy

There are several ways that you can dispose of it. Technically, you can use dog waste for composte material. It should be noted that this composte can only be used on non-edible plants. The average time for the waste to turn to composte is about 2-3 years. I have heard of a German company that has created a machine solely for this purpose and the time to mature is reduced considerably.

Another creative way to recycle dog waste was seen in a garden shop many years ago. The novelty was a small animal statue called a ‘Poop-ette’. You would take take the animal – a frog, or turtle, or rabbit – and place it next to the inedible plant you want to fertilize. Slowly the Poop-ette’ would provide added nutrition to our plant. You would know when the ‘Poop-ette’ was done when it would turn all white and brittle.

Finally, if you really are either squeamish or turned off by the notion of picking up after your dog then maybe you should contact Woofie’s. They have a pretty new service that is being offered where they will come buy and ‘do the dirty work’ for you. You supply the disposal receptacle and they’ll do the rest, no muss no fuss. Call Amy and Leslie and ask for details if you think you would like to take advantage of this service.

Cleo, Queen of Denial

Eventually, Cleo got used to us. She would snuggle with my Springer (even though he would look at me with an expression of ‘Uh…what do I do?!’) and, when she rid herself of the bed pissing habit, she would hop on the bed with me at night and sleep with me. She grew to be a big girl, most likely as a result of enjoying the endless supply of food and freedom from the pound. When she sat up she looked like a short, furry sumo wrestler. She was a sweet, relaxed, hearty girl who was unfazed by anything.

Cleo & Tobey after a sick Tobes came home from an extended stay at the emergency vet.

Fast forward a few more years to last week. Cleo had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago and had the growth removed. Unfortunately, it returned with a vengeance. The cancer that she had spread to her lungs, caused a growth on her leg and was the underlying reason why she began to lose her balance and motor skills. I brought her to her vet and also to an oncologist and they both warned me that there was no way that I could save her; I could only make her last time here on Earth comfortable. I got her on medication and hoped that she wasn’t in too much pain. As her motor skills rapidly deteriorated she began to have problems using her litter box, walking in a straight line and she would violently fall down the stairs.

About two weeks passed after our visit to the oncologist and I noticed that she had a wound under her eye which caused her to keep her left eye closed. By this point she was confined to the upstairs and her food was placed so that she could easily reach it. When I brought her to the vet we discovered the reason for the wound was that she was scratching it. A tumor had been growing, most likely between her brain and her eye, and had been causing her pain.

While I was hoping that it wasn’t something too serious and hoping beyond all hope that I would at least have a few more days with her I came to the painful conclusion that I would have to let go. Unlike my dog, Tobey, who passed away the day after Christmas when I wasn’t at home, I was going to be there with her until the end. It seemed apropos that a thread called ‘…always stay…’ appeared on reddit so I shared the experience with them:

I had to have my cat put down this evening. She had multiple forms of cancer and she was going downhill quickly. When given the choice to stay or go, I chose to stay. They sedated her and wrapped her in a towel and then brought her in the room to me. I cradled her and talked to her as the sedative started to take effect. I was looking into her eyes, reassuring her that it would be ok and that she wouldn’t be in pain any longer.

When the time came to inject the drugs to euthanize her I held her close to my chest knowing that she probably couldn’t hear me. I held her, wrapped in a towel, telling her how much I loved her and how much she meant to me as she took her last breath.

If at all possible I will never, ever let my pets pass without me there to comfort them.

The picture which led to the discussion on reddit:

I regret that I wasn’t there for my big dog, Tobey. I am happy that I got to hold my little girl and let her go with her dignity. I take comfort knowing that she’s no longer in pain, that she wasn’t alone when she passed away, and that I was the last person she saw – holding her, loving her, speaking to her softly. When the question came down to her quality of life versus my desire to keep her with me as long as possible it took a lot of strength from me to admit that I was being selfish and that sometimes the best thing, the most humane thing to do is help your companion onto their next journey.

I love my girl and I miss her dearly; I’m always expecting her around the house or to see her out of the corner of my eye. I do know that I made the right decision and prevented her from the misery of suffering the effects of multiple cancers.

In the future, because I know that I will most likely live longer than all of my pets, I will always stay with them to the very end.

You’ll never see a cat do that

I also used to have a cat that wanted to kill me. Whenever it was time to go to sleep I would find her, put her on my chest and play ‘paw’ with her. I would say ‘Paw!’ and she would grumble, reach out her paw and put it against my hand. Of course, her nails were extended and I think she was actually trying to kill me.

Ok, next post will not be a video. I promise! I just couldn’t help myself with this one.

When I first saw it I was a little freaked out by it. I was expecting the kitty to look straight into the camera at any time and start talking.

And then I saw a talented person mix it up a little – Standing Cat IN BOOTS! (Feat. Zorro Cat and Mariachi Cat)

I love animals.

I know a lot of times things like this will get downvoted, but I figured I would give it a shot anyway. A good friend of mine just found out her dog has pancreatic cancer and only has a week to live. She is obviously broken up about it, so I thought if she saw this, it might cheer her up. She has been a redditor for over a year, is on here more than I am, and is a total sexual predator. Please say nice things and make her smile.

The Story of Lola
Once upon a time, a very pretty girl adopted a very pretty puppy. The puppy’s name was Lola and she was a showgirl. Because she was such a pretty puppy, she even got her very own people bed. It wasn’t very long before she was getting bigger and started taking over everything else too. She loved being outside and going on car rides to the lake and the dog park. And just like most other dogs, she loved getting wet but hated taking baths. Undoubtedly, she was a very happy dog and she will be missed.

Feel better, Ashley the Scientist.

Edit: Thanks to everyone who is upvoting this. She was up all night last night incredibly upset and is finally getting some sleep. If you feel so inclined, please share stories and pictures of your dogs as well, and maybe if we’re lucky, she’ll see this when she wakes up.

It was a sad story that touched me. Honestly, over the internet – to people you don’t know and may never meet – what can you do? I did the only thing that I could do. I shared my experience with the community and then, by my name and under the Woofie’s banner, I made a donation to Best Friends Animal Society.

If you aren’t familiar with Best Friends, they describe themselves as

Best Friends Animal Society is guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us. In the late 1980s, when Best Friends was in its early days, roughly 17 million dogs and cats were being killed in shelters every year. Despite the commitment of shelter workers to the animal in their care, the conventional belief was that little could be done to lower that terrible number.

Best Friends has been made popular recently for their sanctuary which is featured in the television series Dog Town. In 2009 one of Woofie’s owners, Amy Reed, made the trip out to the sanctuary with two of her friends. During their time there they cared for animals ranging from the Katrina victims to the Michael Vick pit bulls as well as all of the others from all around the states.

It was my simple belief that my donation to Best Friends could maybe somehow offset the pain of losing Lola. For Ashley’s heartbreaking loss hopefully another animal’s life could be saved.

You would think the story ended there but it didn’t After making my donation I thought that was the end of it. Today I got one of the nicest phone calls. One of the founders of Best Friends took the time to call me and thank me for my donation. We talked for a few minutes about the work that they do, the reason why I donated as well as future trips that Woofie’s will be making out to the Sanctuary. It made me pretty darn happy.

Was it marketing genius? Who knows. Maybe that simple act of acknowledging my donation will lock me in as a regular donor (which I am). It was nice to know that a charity took the time and opportunity to let me know how much they appreciate what I did for them. Especially since the animals can’t really thank me themselves.

Ashley the Scientist and/or stinkybinky, if you read this, please accept our deepest condolences for Lola.

They stay young and small for such a short period of time!

Me? I got to throw around apples and pears that fell from the fruit trees behind my house. Ye. Ha.

Anyhow, even though I’ve grown older and I sometimes think that trampolines are an injury waiting to happen (especially with the thought my old, fragile bones trying to do anything more than lay down and take a nap on it) , I still can’t escape the joy that this apparatus brings to the users.

Wait a second! Is this a boxer or a “springer”?!

Well, we may as not limit this to dogs…

Didn’t I say this might wind up as some kind of ‘cat’-astrophe?