Happy New Year!

We hope you have a very Happy New Year!

We are all exhausted from a night of partying!



Friday Friends - Mattie and Skipper

Last Friday, I mentioned that my foxhound Mattie had passed away of old age. I'd like to tell you about her and her twin brother Skipper. But I'll have to begin with the dogs I had before them.

Years ago, I had an Old English Mastiff named Charmer and an Australian Shepherd we named Buddy because we adopted him to be a friend to Charmer. Both were rescue dogs and they were inseparable. When Charmer passed away of old age, Buddy was inconsolable. He refused to eat and he sat for hours on end staring down the long driveway where he'd last seen us load Charmer into the car and drive him off to the vet. He grieved so strongly that I was concerned that he would also pass away.

So one day, we put a bright red bandana on Buddy and we made a trip to the Richmond (VA) SPCA. And Buddy helped us pick out not one new companion for him--but two. We selected the foxhounds from a litter of five which the volunteers had named "the Butters". Skipper was originally "Peanut Butter" and Mattie was originally "Apple Butter"; their siblings were Nutter Butter, Lemon Butter and Almond Butter.

They were five months old and Buddy, who from this point on would be Uncle Buddy, was twelve years old. He was fabulous with them. One day I was sitting at my desk when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Buddy leading the two pups through the house in a line. Curious, I watched Buddy walk into the bathroom and drink out of the toilet bowl, and then nudge Skipper toward it. Mattie was so apprehensive that it took Buddy getting behind her and pushing her with his nose into the bathroom, where she discovered that big white bowl held the best water. He then walked them to the other two bathrooms, where they repeated the exercise.

We lived in Virginia then and our back yard was over an acre. Skipper and Mattie used to race around the back yard at a hundred miles an hour, with Uncle Buddy barking the whole time. There was the day when I brought home some mulch in bags and left them on the side of the house. When the Twins discovered it, they barked furiously, ran away, then raced back and barked some more, as if the giant bags were going to come after them.

Uncle Buddy had bad knees which at that time were not repairable and one cold winter, he passed away. The next spring, we moved to North Carolina and the Twins had a new home. Instead of living in the country, they were now in town with a wrought iron fence they could see through. They loved watching people walk or jog around the neighborhood and until Skipper's health prevented it, I used to walk them around the neighborhood. Having two large dogs pulling on the leashes, checking each culvert for signs of fox or cats, was better than lifting weights.

Then one day, Skipper became paralyzed from the neck down with an FCE (fibrocartilaginous embolism). We brought him two hours away to NC State's world-renowned Veterinary Hospital and within the week, he was transferred to the Animal Rehabilitation and Wellness Institute, where he learned how to stand and walk again. During that time, I drove each day to see him. When I came home, as long as Mattie could smell her brother on my clothes, she was okay. I'd spend the evenings with her, telling her that Skipper would be home soon.

When he came home, Mattie was ecstatic. She wanted to play but quickly learned that Skipper was weak and still needed help to walk. He grew stronger and Mattie always watched over him to make sure he was okay. (Shown below: Skipper coming home from the hospital. The shaved areas on his back were done at the hospital.)





We eventually adopted Simone, a collie, and Mattie became the Matriarch. When we adopted Eddie the Jack Russell, she became known as Mama Mattie. She helped with housebreaking and she showed them the ropes the same way that Buddy had shown her.

Simone was emaciated and there was a time in which we didn't think she'd make it, which was why we fostered her through the Robeson County Humane Society, fell in love with her, and adopted her. I wanted her to learn how to go in and out of the doggie doors so she would have a freedom she'd never experienced before. But she acted like we were trying to stuff her into a tiny box. So I asked Mattie to teach her. Mattie would jump through the doggie door, bark on the other side, and then jump back through and nudge Simone. Very quickly, Simone was learning that it was okay to go through it and it opened up a whole new world for her.

When I wanted Simone to know she would come to my office upstairs any time she wanted, I tried to get her to walk up the stairs. She was terrified of them. So I again asked Mattie to teach her. Mattie ran up the stairs, barked at the top, ran back down, and nudged Simone. I went on to my office and heard Mattie up and down, up and down, barking. About ten minutes later, there was Simone, coming into the office.

Skipper passed away about two years ago, not from the FCE but from his stomach twisting. By that time, we had Simone and Eddie and we soon added Lucy, another Jack Russell mix who is also a rescue. (We don't buy any dogs; we always rescue them.) Mattie was fabulous with them all. Below is a video of Mattie and Simone playing with Eddie. Skipper was too infirmed to play so he was standing beside me as I filmed.



Simone, especially, missed her terribly in the days after she passed. I spoke to her a couple of times, mentioning Mattie's name, and letting her know that she was with Skipper now. She seems to understand.

In my mind's eye, I see Mattie and Skipper the way they were when they were younger, racing around the yard at breakneck speed, leaping off the deck onto the ground below, ensuring our yard was free of birds and squirrels. And all the time, Uncle Buddy is barking his head off at them and Charmer is still chasing the Frisbee he loved.

Friday Friends - Thunder Shirts and Mattie

I wrote the blog below on Saturday because I am out of my office all week, but late Saturday night, Mattie passed away. The picture below is the last one I took of her.

Mattie was ancient for a foxhound and had touch-and-go moments, particularly over the past year or so. I awakened Saturday morning to her wheezing, and as the day wore on she could not get comfortable but began pacing; she couldn't sit and she couldn't lie down but popped right back up.

So we phoned the vet, whose office had closed, but she immediately dropped everything (God bless her!) and met us at the clinic. Mattie's heart had filled with fluid and her lungs were filling also, signs that her organs were failing and she was passing away naturally of old age. We made the humane decision to stop the pain for her, and helped her slip peacefully away...

Below is the blog I wrote before she passed...

THUNDER SHIRTS

It has rained every day for nearly three weeks straight. It hasn't been an all-day, slow, soaking rain but rather flashes of storms that terrify my two oldest dogs, Mattie the foxhound and Simone the collie. Thunder, in particular, can send both of them into sheer panic as they run from one room to the next, looking for a place where the barking sky can not get to them.

So when several friends recommended the Thunder Shirt, I knew I had to check it out. I bought a Large for Mattie (who is now 55 pounds) and an Extra-Large for Simone, who is 87 pounds.

The Thunder Shirt goes on extremely easy, which was key because if I can't get it on them during a storm, the shirt is useless. It velcros in place and fits snuggly around them. The theory, according to the box, is the gentle yet firm pressure is soothing to them.

At the first rumble of thunder, I slipped Mattie's Thunder Shirt on her. (shown at right) She immediately calmed down. But when the storm continued through the night, she began to stress again - though not quite as badly as she had before.

When I slipped the Thunder Shirt around Simone, it was trickier as she was hiding behind the couch in an effort to hide from the barking sky. She has also long fur and I was concerned about catching it in the velcro. However, the shirt seemed to have calmed her down, even though she seemed more confused by it than Mattie did.

I ended up also purchasing a Calming Collar for Mattie. The combination of the Thunder Shirt and Calming Collar is keeping her from hyperventilating, which is a huge improvement. The Calming Collar emits pheromones that remind the dog of being protected by her mother as a puppy. The Collar emits a chamomile and lavender scent which is quite pleasant.

Simone, so far, has only needed the Thunder Shirt.

They aren't cheap - between $39 and $49 each depending on the size and where they are purchased - but I'd say they were worth the price. The Calming Collar was $12 on sale at PetSmart and it also was worth the price.

When Can Angelfish Be Sold?

In my opinion, a lot of angelfish are sold when they are too young, leading to a higher mortality rate and a lot of grief among people who purchase them.

Technically, angelfish can be sold when they are "dime size", meaning their bodies are the size of a dime. I have seen many angelfish babies sold when their entire bodies - including those beautiful vertical fins - are the size of a dime. This is entirely too young for them to go through the stress of shipping and then acclimating to new water conditions - and then again when they go from the pet shop to the home.

I won't sell Vicki's Angels until their bodies are the size of a quarter. This allows me to keep them on freshly hatched brine shrimp until they can begin to be weaned onto dry flakes. I will begin the weaning process when they are about 4-6 weeks old, depending upon their size.

That means they will most likely go to the pet shop when they are between the age of 8 and 10 weeks.

Growing Angels

I've come to the conclusion that angelfish lay eggs every two to three weeks and lay around 300 eggs because very few of the eggs will actually result in angelfish that grow to adulthood.

But with the last two batches (both in the same honeymoon suite) I tried an experiment. Rather than change the water when the fish were less than two weeks old, I let it go. The result is that I have more angel babies surviving to the ripe old age (so far) of three weeks old.



So this weekend I will change the water - around 25% - because there is algae growing in the tank now. Algae is not harmful to fish unless it begins to completely take over the tank. However, it is unsightly.

Part of the reason for the algae outbreak is the fact that I feed the babies brine shrimp at least twice a day. The brine shrimp pollutes the water. However, because brine shrimp must hatch in saltwater, I am constantly adding that water to the tank - and the salt is also helpful in growing strong angelfish.

One reason Lindsay Buckingfish and Stevie Fishnick may have laid more eggs when they already had babies to care for is the plethora of brine shrimp in the tank. When food is plentiful, they are more likely to lay eggs.

Friday Friends - Lucy and the Blanket

Now that winter is officially gone and summer is here, I've been washing and putting away blankets and heavy comforters.

I washed one blanket and set it on the stairs so I could take it upstairs the next time I was going to the second floor anyway (why put myself through extra exercise?)

Lucy, the Jack Russell-Basset Hound mix, spied the blanket on the steps and tried to protect us from it. Notice how she starts to run away when she thinks the blanket has begun to move!



Friday Friends

Usually on Friday Friends, I talk about my dogs. But with springtime upon us, I thought I'd share a beautiful rose bush that is blooming just beyond my side porch.

Cat-Dog Monkey-Girl

I've come to the conclusion that Lucy (or Lucy Loo, as she is often called) is part cat, part dog, part monkey and part little girl.

She will often climb to the top of the sofa and wrap herself around my neck.

She will play by herself once she has exhausted the other three dogs - Mattie, Simone and Eddie. She'll throw her toys to herself, often tossing them around the furniture. She'll rush around the room, actually running sideways across the front of the sofa and loveseat, before climbing to the top, discovering where her toy escaped to, and rushing to grab it before it gets away.

We've never seen a happier dog.