Protest Materials for Sale

Yesterday on Minnesota Public Radio, host Gary Eichten described a group of suspected anarchist protesters who were detained near the St. Paul Cathedral. Due to the Republican National Convention, right now lovely downtown St. Paul, with its stately capitol building, ornate cathedral and graceful history center, is swarming with excitable dark-suited Republicans and angry ski-mask clad anarchists. Gary Eichten announced the group of suspects were carrying "protest materials". Then Gary lowered his voice, and in a tone tinged with disgust and horror, he said "including bags of feces". He did not say whether it was of human or animal origin. Perro the pup thinks he can get a new job providing protest materials when he's taking care of his daily business. I wouldn't mind having a few people around to bag up the stuff Perro produces daily. If anyone needs some protest materials, they're available near the bushes in my front rock garden. You can leave your payment of $3 per baggie under the front mat.

What's a Rat Terrier to Do?

I introduced Perro the pup to a new rat terrier at the shelter this week. Perro loved her, and she loved me, but she didn't love Perro. She jealously growled from one corner of the adoption room. I was forced to leave her behind. Although I know Perro would love a female rat terrier, maybe my family will be just a single rat terrier family.
I'm really just missing my cat, Beaner the Bagel Thief. She rocked. I appreciate the suggestion in the blog comments that I adopt a hedgehog. Strangely, this weekend I was checking the availability of Rep-Cal iguana food at my favorite reptile supplier, Twin Cities Reptiles, and I discovered they are a licensed distributor of African Hedgehogs. Along with acquiring the special licensing to distribute various reptiles, they've acquired the licensing to distribute a few other exotic pets. including hedgehogs and sugar gliders. I've met one of each at the homes of friends. Both were very sweet, but I'm trying to limit my family just to commonly domesticated pets.
Whippy the iguana is an exotic exception. I was pet sitting her for a weekend while her owner moved, and the owner decided not to pick her up. Although I registered as a foster pet parent with two shelters, when a new family was approved to take her, I elected to keep her. She's bizarre and scaly, but after a month, I was too attached to her to let her go. She waves at me when I walk past her vivarium, begging to be let out for play time or a bath. Despite her tiny cerebral cortex and her inability to vocalize or emote, she's managed to convey a neediness for companionship. In so many ways, Whippy exceeded what I ever expected her to be able to accomplish as a pet. She's more than just a lizard, she's a pal.

A New Pet?

I loved my kitty the Bean so much. I miss her - and it feels weird in a bad way to not have her around. My other pets are older and now I worry about losing one of them. I know no other pet will ever be what Beaner was - an incredibly awesome bagel thief, straight up from the trailer park and ready to snuggle on the couch. She was special. But now I feel like there is a hole. Someone is missing around the house.

What are your thoughts about adopting a younger pet, pre-emptively, before an older one is gone? I'm considering another pet - a little one, as always.

Pets On the Paw

Many people checked in with me this week to make sure my pets didn't eat the recalled Menu brand products. Luckily, they are all OK. I want to thank everyone who checked up on them. Perro says he wants to give each of you a kiss in person. I've told him people don't like germy dog slobber, but he is undeterred.

Winter Doldrums

The month of January is finally over. If I can just make it through February and March, then all is well. I’m aching for a drive-in movie. I can’t wait the chance to eat soy chips in the van with Perro while watching one of the latest flicks. Perro the pup does not eat soy chips, of course, he has special high-quality rawhide and little dog cookies shaped like mailmen. I don’t know why they produce these dog cookies, (the official name is “People Crackers”), since most dogs never see the mailman. At my house, the postal carrier is female, and she rarely leaves the truck, so I doubt Perro has fantasies about biting her. Yet he gobbles the mailmen cookies with great glee. Once in a while I slip one in my pocket when we’re going out for a walk, only to discover it weeks later, reduced to mailman crumbs. He’s lick the crumbs out of my pocket if I let him, but I reserve that cleaning job for the washing machine.
I’m yearning for spring right now. The backs of my hands feel coarse from dehydrated skin, even though I drank 36 ounces of sparkling water before leaving my desk today. I probably need another 36 ounces as soon as I get home. Right now I’m blogging live from the bus, so water is inaccessible. They have these no eating and no drinking rules on the bus, you know, kind of like no shirt, no shoes, no service.
On occasion I’ve flagrantly violated the no drinking rule by toting aboard a steaming cup of Kwik Trip coffee. (Kwik Trip is based in La Crosse, WI, a great city that needs more jobs to keep its economy viable. Please think about that the next time you are selecting gas stations. I’m not saying Kwik Trip is the best, just that everyone I’ve met from La Crosse rocks, and I wish them all the best.)
Ah, if only spring would rush here a little it sooner. I’d love to have soft hand skin again. Of course, that would take another two to three months off my life, so it’s probably something I shouldn’t actually wish for. Remember, all we are is dust in the wind. Same old song, nothing but the moment, then the moment’s gone.

Puppies & Techies

I made a reassuring discovery today. There are other techie geeks out there that loved Puppy Bowl III. CNET ran a news story applauding the show! The article's author mentions ordering Puppy Bowl I and II from Netflix. Of course, I'm going to follow suit. I'm sure it was the vote on-line for the MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) contest that reeled in so many techies. I voted for Tabasco, a hound rescued from New Orleans. She didn't win, but an adorable Samoyed named Boomer took first place. I can't wait for my next Netflix delivery!

Puppy Bowl

Perro and I cuddled up under a blanket with our Milkbones and soy chips to watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. This is three hours of non-stop action. The puppies are knocking each other down and chasing a ball on the gridiron, just like the guys in the Super Bowl. I enjoyed the commentary from the dogs who were out in the parking lot, grilling and "tail-gating". The kitty half-time show was awesome this year. The best part, we didn't have to listen to Billy Joel's rendition of the national anthem, although watching the referee clean up after a puppy who committed a "personal foul" was almost as bad.

An Update on Sammy

I just got an email from the Animal Ark. Sammy, the pup that I sponsored, was adopted today! Congratulations Sammy! If you want to adopt a pup without having to deal with a hairy house, check out the Animal Ark website to sponsor a pet. I'm glad I found out about this program. The Animal Ark site is so dangerous for me because I always see pets I want to bring home. Now I can "adopt" them without adding to the Lebens zoo!

A New Buddy for Perro

I just can't keep my paws off of the Animal Ark web site. I know that I should mail in my donation, because every time I look at the site I feel like bringing home a little buddy for Perro the pup. Whenever I see a cute dog on the adoption page, I get that excited feeling in my tummy, just like when I first saw Perro on the adoption page. I couldn't wait to meet him!

Well, they have a new program at Animal Ark so that you can adopt a pet without actually bringing one home. If you already have a couple of pets, but would like to help out one of the cute kitties or pups at Animal Ark, you can sponsor a pet. What a great idea! I sponsored a Jack Russell Terrier named Sammy today. She sent me an email to say thanks!!! She asked me to send people to the Animal Ark site, so I decided to post her email on my blog to honor her request.

A message from Sammy:

Thank you for being a sponsor of mine!

You helping to pay for my care at Animal Ark is helping to renew my faith in people. I am sure you know that since I have ended up in an animal shelter, my experiences with people have not been 100% great. It is good to know that there are nice people like you in the world who are concerned with and willing to help creatures like me.

Another way you can help is by sending people to my web page on the Animal Ark site located at:

http://animalarkshelter.org

Maybe one of the nice people you send to my web page would take me home and make me part of their family!

When I do find a home, I will be sure to let you know.

Thank you again for being so wonderful!

Sincerely,

Sammy

Here is Sammy in the Animal Ark office. When I went to see Perro for the first time, he was hanging out in the office too! Lately he's started knocking on the server room door when Joey's working on the server. He's just an office hound.

Perro's Angst

I’m watching an overly dramatic episode of “My So-Called Life”, a nifty program about teens in flannel shirts who have tons of angst. Perro could be amongst them. I bought him a flannel shirt last year when I was shopping at Petsmart with my mom, and he loves wearing it more than any other shirt. Then tonight Perro was so full of angst that he couldn’t eat his dinner. Now it’s past midnight, and he hasn’t even touched his canned food.
I’m a total pushover about the canned food. I started feeding canned food to the cats because one of them has a mild kidney problem, and based on my research, I felt the moist food would help her. Then Perro became super jealous. He tried chowing down on the cats’ wet food, but I busted him. Since the little P-dog kept trying to sneak cat food, I broke down and bought a few cans of dog food.
Now you’ve caught me. I reward bad behavior. But bear in mind, I’m only trying to keep the little Perro dog from eating cat food because my vet says it will make him fat. I want him to still be able to fit into his flannel shirt. What if he gets asked to a dance by a cute female rat terrier? The last thing I want is for him to be ostracized like some of the characters in “My So-Called Life”.

What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander

There is a wide isthmus jutting into the pond behind my house. In the center of this isthmus a goose made a nest. I've been checking on her nearly every day with my binoculars. Well, I assume it's a goose. It could be a gander. I'm unfamiliar with the male and female sex characteristics of geese. I can tell you the gender of an iguana. (The key is the size of the femoral pores on the underside of the legs.) But I have no idea what gender my feathered visitor is. Perhaps it's a male, or the pair is splitting the time spent on the nest. I often see another goose/gander floating around on the pond, ducking between cattails, so that's probably the spouse of the one on the nest.
Yes, I believe that geese can get married. The instruction booklet that came with my sea monkeys packet explained how the little guys get married and then baby sea monkeys "appear" in the tank. If a brine shrimp is capable of a lifetime commitment, then a goose probably is.
I'm expectantly waiting for the appearance of the goslings. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to see a gosling actually poking through the egg shell with my binoculars.
Last week I saw two teenage girls walk out onto the isthmus. I don't think they could see the nest. The goose was paddling in the middle of the pond, and the nest was obscured from view by tall grasses. I was really nervous. What if they stepped on the eggs? I wished I had a bullhorn so I could have bellowed, "Please step away from the nest. I repeat, step away from the nest."
But then the goose half-rose from the water, beating the surface with her wings as she flapped towards the girls. She hopped up onto the shore, and charged them, honking at full force. They stepped back from the nest and ran back to the walking path. The goose is a formidable protector of her eggs.

What's Up with the Pup?

I realize considerable time has passed since I last blogged about Perro the pup and the rest of my pets. Perro has been busy this winter burrowing under blankets and scouting for crumbs around the edges of the kitchen cabinets. He spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at home this year for the first time. (Usually we travel on the holidays. Perro has a special blanket with a carrying tote for those occasions.)
Since the tip of Whippy's tail was amputated last summer, she's demonstrated an amazing amount of regrowth at the tip of the tail. Not only has part of the tip regenerated, it filled in with fresh scales. I'm very proud of her recovery. She has a huge appetite lately and can eat a whole plate of greens without stopping.
Mystic and Beaner are the same as usual, hanging around, complaining about their adult formula reduced calorie food. There's nothing worse than a hungry cat when you're trying to concentrate. I keep telling them the new diet is for their own good, but they won't listen. They just make howling noises and insistant meows.

Hygiene Class for Pets

I bought some new pet wipes at the Dollar Store this week. These wipes come in a plastic cylinder just like baby wipes. The packaging for the dog version promises to reduce the allergens that the pup produces. The cat wipes promise to control dander.
This is all well and good, if your pet is not terrified of the wipes. Somehow Perro knew the wipes were a grooming product before I even opened the container. He had his hairy little allergen producing body planted in the center of my bed, and when I walked into the bedroom with the wipes he gave me the same look of fear he displays when I take out his nail trimmer. With his brown eyes wide, and his stump of a tail between his legs, he stared at the wipe canister. I popped it open and tried to extract a wipe. He leapt off the bed and crawled under it to hide from the pet wipes.
So then I decided to get out the cat wipes and reduce the dander on Mystic's body. I found her under the hall table, licking her belly. She tried to run away, but I caught her and wiped her off. She's getting older and slower nowadays. Beaner was a different story. As soon as I touched her fur with a wipe, she took off for the basement, howling as she raced down the steps.
As far as I can tell, there is nothing that could hurt a pet in the wipe solution. The main ingredients are glycerin, an emollient, and aloe vera. Why are the pets so afraid of the wipes? I wish I could enroll them in a hygiene class. They just don't understand the importance of regular washing, and since they don't speak English, I have trouble communicating it to them.



His fear of pet wipes gives Perro pause. His eyes wide, he contemplates his terror of being wiped out.

What a picture!

Normally I make a policy of not talking about people I know here, lest I offend anyone, but I had to post this picture of my pal Rocky enjoying a smoke and a glass of red wine. Here he is relaxing after trying to drive to Ann Arbor with his entire family on icy roads New Year's eve weekend. While Rocky was stuck at a Super 8 with a Sopranos marathon on the tube, I was partying like a rock star here in Farmington. I even have evidence! I borrowed a digital camera to take the photo below at my party. As you can see, people are even responsibly imbibing a little Leinie's Light from Farmington Liquors.

December 30, 2005 - Partying Hardy in Farmington
From left to right: Aaron, Zach, Marcotte, Steph and the back of Sarah's head. (Perro had already gone to bed by this time.)

Roaming Rambling River Days

Despite the state of disaster in Farmington, Rambling River Days was a huge success. Dozens of people turned out for the Kiss the Pig contest tonight. Mayor Soderberg wore denim overalls and a pair of Billy Bob costume teeth, as a spoof on Farmington's redneck image. Although I voted for the Mayor, he did not win the honor of puckering up to the piglet. A high school coach/teacher won instead. As soon as they announced him, I knew he would win. I would have given anything to see one of my high school teachers kiss a pig. I'm sure the high school kids flooded into area businesses to vote.
My Rambling River Day today was wonderful. I ate a delicious cheese stuffed pretzel and perused the Farmington Tiger T-Shirts for sale at the department store downtown, Dueber's. I wandered the Midway of the carnival set up in the vacant lot behind the Farmington Steak House. There was only one really large ride there, a 60-foot tall, bi-armed spinning contraption with two tiny cars rotating on a center axis, called the Sidewinder. As I approached, I caught a glimpse of the peeling paint and rust enveloping the cars, and realized this ride was probably older than me. I knew it was my destiny to ride the scariest ride at the carnival. I handed the colorful carny my tickets (dampened slightly by the leaking air conditioner condenser in the ticket booth and by my own sweat), and I climbed into my car. After a few minutes of being thrown around the metal cage (there was no seat belt on this ride, just a metal bar), I emerged, bruised, yet invigorated by my purposeful brush with bodily injury. Perro watched from the ground and he was very glad I emerged unscathed. I rounded him up and headed home. Now I'm ready to relax with a comedic DVD and a Diet Cherry 7-Up. A perfect end to a wonderful Rambling River Day.

Big Storm, Little Pup

Yesterday I was trapped inside a conference room at work while a massive storm pelted our building with hail. All I could think of was my little pup, home alone, crouching in fear in the corner of his big plastic kennel. Perro is terrified by thunder and lightening. Whippy has no emotional reaction to storms, and the cats are fascinated and excited by them, so I was only worried about Perro. By the time I made it home, he'd forgotten about the storm. He stood up, stretched his back, and squeaked at me. (Perro rarely barks, he usually squeaks to say, "Hey, let me out of this box" or "Can I lick your ice cream cone?") My favorite little pup survived the big storm just fine. I guess he's just emotionally resilient.

Under the Stars

This is my first time blogging from a campsite. Perro is curled up on the folding chair, with his nose poking out from under a blanket, facing the fire. The "Beast" is parked off in the brush. We're in 'Sconny, just outside of Hudson. Today we hiked up to Willow Falls and climbed the observation tower to look down on the rushing water. Perro is afraid of heights, so he stayed clear of the wooden railing at the edge of the platform. Willow Falls is the former site of a flour mill and the first hydroelectric dam to provide electricity to Hudson. The moss-covered concrete piers of the old dam were still visible from the observation tower. Perro and I were hungry after our long hike, so along with our group of camping buddies, we grilled corn and soy brats. Perro ate corn straight off the cob and a bowl of beefy bits. Now he's snoozing in front of the fire. It's almost time for him to curl up in his Pound Puppy sleeping bag, beneath the partly cloudy, partly starry sky.

A Little Trip in a Big Van

We had our first camping adventure in the van (aka "The Beast" ) last weekend, a trip to the St. Cloud KOA for camp-for-free night. Perro thoroughly enjoyed riding perched atop his own captain's chair. Since it was 40 degrees and raining outside, we picked up Jeff Foxworthy's "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" video to watch on the VCR in the van. I never knew mullets could be such an entertaining subject.
Today I was in the dollar aisle at Target when a well-muscled lady sporting a mullet pushed between myself and the bin of bar-b-que tongs I was inspecting. I thought, there's one of the folks Jeff Foxworthy was talking about. As an FYI to you cheapskates out there, the dollar aisle was recently stocked with all kinds of camping gear and picnic supplies. It's a fabulous place to stock up if you're planning to hit a camping style rock festival or take your dog on a picnic this summer, like I am. The Beast will be making plenty of big trips this summer.

Update on the Tails

Mystic's stitches were removed last night from both her side and the tip of her tail. She made cranky sounds at the vet, but otherwise the visit went well. She was a little angry with me for bringing her back to the vet again, and ran away to the basement before I had a chance to redress her in her sparkle princess collar.
Whippy passed her last tail check-up with flying colors, but since reptiles heal slowly, her stitches won't be removed until the end of the month. She's been eating a ton, and lounging on the middle shelf of her enclosure. Her head is shedding right now. There is a milky color to the unshed scales which contrasts strangely with the fresh dark scales revealed beneath.
Perro has a vet appointment coming up next week for annual vaccinations and heartworm preventive medication. Perro's tail was docked before I adopted him, so at least there is no chance a tail amputation is in his future. Now three out of my four pets have a stumpy tail. Everyone seems to be doing well with their shortened tails, however, so my tale of two tails has a happy ending.

Another Christmas with the Pets

Well, another Christmas has come and gone for the pets. It seems like just last week that I bought a delicate glass ornament with "Our First Christmas" painted on it to commerate my first Christmas with Whippy. Now that ornament has been hanging on the tree for the past five years. I can't believe it's been three years since Santa brought Perro a "Puppy's First Christmas" blanket. They grow up so quickly.



This year Mystic and Beaner tore into their stockings before Christmas morning, and dragged a package of catnip mice into the middle of the living room. Santa brought Perro a new cabinet just for his leashes, toys and treats. (He has a lot of accessories for such a small pooch.) Here are some photos of my little pals this Christmas.







Santa's Little Helper





Caught in the act! Beaner is scouting out bows to chew on.





Perro emerges from his blanket to get his ears scratched, while I'm trying to open a huge gift.





Whippy takes a bath on Christmas Eve.