Spoiled Dog

We had to go to Petsmart to get some dog and cat food.  Sure, you can get pet food in any grocery or discount store.  But we discovered years ago that better pet food means fewer trips to the vet.  And the "processed" pet food is less objectionable.  Slightly.

 

I noticed that the giant dog beds we get for RJ were on sale.  The cover of his has been washed multiple times and the fabric is getting a bit thin.  Plus there is a big dent where he likes to sleep.

I guess his humans haven't been turning it around frequently enough.  You can't get good help these days.

 

So RJ got a brand new bed.  He always takes great interest in his new beds.  This one is a bit smaller, but still more than adequate for one medium sized dog.  He gets a new one about once a year.  Lots of sniffing going on.

 

And because we have to bring him a treat for his oral fixation, he got a cow part.  He likes many sorts of cow parts.  This time it was a hoof.

 

The neighbor down the street has a puppy he keeps in a small chain link kennel.  All day and night.  He has a simple plastic dog house.  And that's it.  It was 20 degrees yesterday morning. 

 

Some would say we spoil our dog.  RJ is a rescue dog, so he may agree.  But he is a very good boy and works hard to deserve it.  You know, for a dog.

New Furniture vs Cats

We have two gorgeous and sweet cats we fostered and then adopted from a shelter.  They are much adored by me and liked tolerated by Lee.  That being said, they ARE cats and do cat-type things.  Like scratching furniture.

 

When we lived in Orange County, California, they were inside cats.  Coyotes are protected there and freely roamed the neighborhood each night.  We got them when they were 2 weeks old and bottle fed them.  I was able to clip their nails and kept the furniture scratching to a minimum.  They had scratching posts.

I don't believe in removing claws from cats.  They have no defenses if they get attacked.  It is not a kind operation or one that will be beneficial to their health, like spaying and neutering.  It involves amputating their fingertips.  A lot of vets won't even do it, unless they are convinced the owner intends to put down or abandon the cat if they don't.

 

When we moved to the country, we started to allow them out for short periods of time.  I stopped clipping their nails.  I thought they might run into a predator and a bit of bloodletting might save their worthless sweet selves.

We have acres of trees. Yet, they still come in to have a scratch.  Mostly they scratch the scratching posts we have scattered around the house. If we catch them scratching a couch we put them out.  Bad kitty.  Unfortunately, this means we have trained them to scratch the furniture when they want out.  Or that they have trained us, most likely.

 

After 7 years, I decided it was time to get some furniture that had no rips in the corners.  They were delivered on Tuesday.

 

I want to keep them longer than 7 years, this time.  I went online and bought something called Sticky Paws.  It is essentially double stick tape for furniture.  You place it on the corners of furniture and when the cats touch it, they don't like the stickiness and go somewhere else.   We also went to Petsmart and bought four new scratching posts, so the something else is a choice selection of scratching posts.  The Sticky Paws need to be replaced when they are no longer sticky.  Until they stop, please, God, the behavior.

Before removing the backing.

Now when I hear scratching, it has only been on the scratching posts.  I quickly run over and hold open the closest door, in case they might want to go out.  I have done this at least 20 times in the last two days.  About one third of the time they go out.  The rest of the time they ignore me or stare at me as though I am crazy.

 

I am crazy.  I am a trained door opener for spoiled cats...cats that started out life in a dumpster covered in fleas.  I have a college degree.

On the other hand, I have a sister with a Master's Degree, and she has FOUR cats.  And they sleep on her BED.  So I consider myself the saner one in the family.  Not sane, mind you.  But sane-ER.

Animal lovers reading this will run the gamut from thinking I am normal to mean...because the cats don't sleep on the bed.  Normal people are shaking their heads.  All I know is that they haven't scratched the couches in my hearing and I am going to buy a case of Sticky Paws.  And maybe get some stock in the company.

A Visit to the Big City

There are many reasons to love living in the country.  When I hear a phone ring, I know it is MY phone.  OK.  Well, that dates me.  I have a house phone!  (When we lived in Laguna Niguel I would run in from the garden only to discover the ringing phone was not mine.)

I love the fact that neighbors are far away and I can't hear them and they can't hear me.  The views go as far as the eye can see and it is green and beautiful.  We have deer and turkey roaming freely and I don't have to follow my dog with a plastic bag and pick up behind him.

On the other hand, it takes 30 minutes to get into a decent sized city and trying to find certain items is an exercise in futility. 

My brother, Roland, and sister-in-law, Jane, live in Alexandria.  That is the definition of big city.  My daughter lives in Tyson's Corner and it is a shopping and business mecca.  There are massive stores of every variety.  And the massive traffic jams and crowds to go with that.  I love to visit family and I love to find any kind of store, but I am so grateful to leave all that congestion and come home.

While visiting, we made a side trip to an international market and Trader Joe's.  Trader Joe's is a favorite and they are everywhere.  Everywhere but HERE.  I need to start a letter writing campaign to get them to open a store in Roanoke. I can't make trips two and three hours away JUST to shop there, but I can shop when I am in a "Trader City".

 

It all started when Jane asked if I would like an almond croissant for breakfast.  Why, yes I would!  She got something out of the freezer, set it out and in the morning we had fresh baked croissants.  Who knew!  I feel like some yokel.  But now I have to have some.  Imagine fresh croissants any day you want. 

 

There are some other things I can't find in Roanoke and we decided to go to an international market

 

 AND Trader Joe's and stock up.

 
Dragon fruit.  I have no idea what it is and I didn't know if it would survive a trip home, so it will have to wait for another trip.


 

What is that? I don't know, so let's buy it and see. 

 

Look at all these things I got. 

 

I hope I don't fall in love with them, because I can't get them again for a while. 

 

Maybe that's a good thing.  I'm sure they are all fattening, so rare treats are probably for the best.

 

I also hit a Home Goods store and didn't buy any food.  But I did get some things I needed and for not a lot of money.  Remember that letter writing campaign?  Add them to the list.



RJ loved his giant sized beef pizzle.   And it was 1/3 the price at Trader Joe's of the pizzles at Petsmart.  You've never seen one?  Well, let's just say they are from steers and probably used to be something meat producers discarded, until they realized dogs love them.  They are an USA made treat and every dog I know loves them while their owners cringe just a wee bit.