The Life and Times of the "Rat City Pack"

I am so proud of my little old men!!!

2008-12-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

World's Coolest Dog Photo Winner!

more: dog pictures & breed info

Yogi and Boo Boo were their category winners in Dogster's "Worlds Coolest Dog" contest!!

It is such an honor, and I am speechless.

Some fun in the studio!!!

2008-08-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well, as any of you have seen by my portfolio know, I prefer to photograph animals out of the studio, as I feel that it captures more of the essence of who they are, but I do like to take studio shots sometimes. They just look so clean, and supplemental lighting can really bring out detail, especially with the black dogs (with 5 of my own, I spend a lot of time photographing those hard to shoot blackies!)

I hope you enjoy the photos! Let me know what you think.

My uber-handsome Filo, my "big boy"! I can't believe he is almost 13! Just look at his beautiful eyes!

Here is my little Monster, "El Monstro Pequéno"!! He is the Buddha pug for sure. Just look at that wisdom and that character!!

My beautiful little Bella. Check out that gray! She is the youngest pug of the pack at 8 1/2, and is twice as gray at least as all the others! She takes after her mom, LOL!

One of both Monster and Bella. Look at their paws, too cute!

Mo, geez, with all that fur, it is hard to believe he was almost bald when we adopted him!! (Scroll down the blog for photos of Mo just after he was rescued post Hurricane Katrina).

This is Yogi. Isn't he just too cute for words? That face just makes me happy. He sure has changed in personality since his Calcium Oxalate stones were removed. He is such a funny little guy!!

Here is little Boo Boo. Ric says he looks like a Koala in this picture. Truthfully, the seamless background was slippery, so a few of the dogs had a hard time sitting on it as their front feet kept sliding forward. They really had to get back on their butts to keep from sliding.

So, this is what we did Sunday night. I wish Molly would have participated, but at 16, she just doesn't have it in her. She also just wants to come right at my face whenever I try to take a photo of her. Hopefully I will get her next time.

Not bad looking models, eh?

Hennessey, a.k.a. "Honey" is home!!

2008-07-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Great news!!! "Honey's" family found her!! Her real name is Hennessey, similar in sounds to Honey, too weird. Well, the woman that helped me get the tom cat across the street neutered, who I just met on Saturday minutes before Hennessey came over, called me from the grocery store a couple blocks from my house. She saw a flier of a missing dog that looked like her, and she wanted to tell me about it. I instantly went over there, where she was waiting for me, and it was indeed "Honey". I immediately started calling the phone numbers on the flier and left some messages. The owner called me back a couple hours later, saying that he had (smartly) gone to the Kent Shelter and he found her. I am just so thrilled that this story has a happy ending. He sounded like a very nice man, who had missed her terribly. Of course I pleaded with him to get her microchipped, and I am sure he will do so.

Horray!!

"Honey" the stray Pit Bull that came to us last night...

2008-07-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

This lovely lady came by our house last evening. No collar, microchip, etc. The pack barked their butts off at her through the chain link. She did not flinch, or bark back in return. Instead, when I walked out our gate, and called her, she came to me and instantly kissed my face all over, as if she had known me always. She spent the night in our studio/outbuilding, and was very well behaved. No messes, no chewing on furniture, etc. I did give her a good dinner, water, a couple chews, and some Acepromazine, (a low dose) which is a sedative. I only gave it to her because she would have no people with her through the night, and I know she was a little nervous. I just wanted her to have her chewie and a good night's sleep...

Unfortunately, she is at the shelter now. I could not keep her here, as much as I would have liked to. This girl knew how to "roll over" on command, as well as many other commands. With my geriatric pack, it would not be a good idea to add 70 lbs of muscle, that could easily accidentally knock Filo or Molly over. Also with the pugs, especially "Queen Bella", I was worried about the little pugs getting accidentally hurt. This Pit Lady did not show any kind of aggression towards dogs, food, people, anything!! My little Bella though, is a 19 lb spitfire alpha female, that would start something that could have been a problem.

So, with much heartbreak, I had animal control come and get the girl. I have made about a hundred posters and put them around my neighborhood, and have made an arrangement with Animal Control to contact me before she is PTS (laymans terms for Put to sleep). They will relenquish her to me, but I need to find her a foster, and for pitties, that is usually a challange. I tell you, this girl is one of the best behaved dogs I have met, but she is STRONG!!

Here is the post I made for the flier. Details are lacking as I did not not want the wrong element, i.e., people that abuse pitts for profit, to try to claim her without proof of ownership.

"Sweet, affectionate female American Pit Bull Terrier found Saturday evening, 7/19 near 18th Ave SW and SW 106th St.. Please call 206.XXX.XXXX and provide accurate description to claim or for info on her whereabouts (KCACC case number if they give me one). She will be going to the King County Shelter on 7/20, as I cannot keep her at my home. This dog is extremely well behaved and knows many commands. She is obviously someone’s loved pet and must be missed."

Please say a prayer that this girl finds her home, or a new home. She is an incredible animal.

Cat/kitten update 7/20

2008-07-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I wrangled all the kittens last Wednesday. Two kittens were adopted by my wonderful neighbor, and two were adopted by Ric's niece. They are taming up nicely, eat out of their new mom's fingers, and play with the humans. My neighbor also took in the momma cat, who is not feral, but is definitely scared. She might not have had a home for a long time, but has one now. They will be working diligently with her, and she will be spayed very soon (she is indoors only now, but may already be pregnant). Papa cat lives across the street, under a big, beautiful willow tree. He is also not completely feral, but is a result of a neighbor down the block that does not vet their animals at all, even in the case of trauma, much less spay/neuter or vaccinate. He was caught yesterday, and was neutered today by Seattle's Feral Cat Project. He is back now, and is recovering from this rough day. He was "ear tipped", which you can read more about at the Feral Cat site. Basically, ear tipping ensures that feral/semi-feral cats don't get trapped more than once and brought into a clinic to be spayed/neutered. If a cat has an ear tip, they are immediately released. Also, if Animal Control traps them, they will be released with no risk of euthanasia.

It's been a long two weeks with the cats, then last night....

2008-07-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

Well, after a week of sitting my butt down in a stinky shed, hanging out with a quasi feral cat and her kittens, I can report that I caught all 4 kittens yesterday, and they are with their new homes. Two went to my neighbor, and two to my niece. Momma is still hanging out in the shed (GOOD), because I want to trap her and get her spayed. She can then come back to the shed, and I will feed her as long as she wants. She might even be tamable. I believe she had a home at one point. Please spay and neuter your pets! This time of year the shelters are overrun with kittens from strays/ferals, and 1000's are put down every day across this country. Luckily these kittens will be spayed/neutered before they can ever have litters, but the problem is everywhere, in every neighborhood. No more unwanted cats/dogs!!!!

WTP???? We got CATS!!!!

2008-07-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

For all of you that don't know what WTP means, it is "WHAT THE PUG?"! Much more polite that the other saying.

Anyhow....

We got cats. Cats that don't belong to us, or live with us. We already have a 22 year old girl, Elmo, and Luca, the 9 year old lady. Well, this morning I found out why Mo, Yogi and Boo Boo were so curious about our shed in the backyard....CATS!!

One mother, to be specific, and at least FOUR kittens. I think Papa might be around too. After calling a friend in cat and feral cat rescue this morning, I put some food and water out. I checked on them this afternoon, and much of the food and water were gone, so I put two additional bowls out, as well as refilling the first bowls.

When I came back to check on them at 6:30, the kittens were wild, playing, wrestling, climbing, etc. Momma was hiding and keeping close watch. I still can't tell if she is feral, but she may be.

I checked once more an hour or so later, and another adult cat jumped out and ran, and I think it may be dad.

I have a cat rescue friend coming this weekend. In the meantime, I just want to keep them here and safe by feeding them, and giving them quiet.

The one who let me know of all of this this morning was my Mo. It was a real "Lassie" moment. He has been sitting by the shed, carefully but intensely looking in for a week now. I knew there was an adult cat in there, but had no idea about the kittens. Well, he showed them to me today. GOOD MO!!

Well, I will keep you posted. I hope the momma cat stays put until rescue can come. BTW, the kittens are at least 6 weeks old. They have open eyes and play. I just want the whole family to be safe.

Ciao for now...

Meet the Pack!! (finale....at least for a few years)

2008-07-06T22:19:00.000-07:00

Now, I introduce you to "the Bob's", Yogi and Boo Boo (Boo Boo on left, Yogi on right).

Yogi and Boo Boo "were" fosters I rescued. They needed re-homing after 11 years of being with their family, due to severe allergies developed by their child. It was a heartbreaking situation, as the family loved them dearly, but they came to understand that keeping the pugs outside, like they had done for a year, was not appropriate, no matter how much they loved them. They loved them enough to let them go. Unfortunately, they were posted on craigslist, which is a mecca for people looking to use dogs as pit bull bait, research, etc. I told them I would foster them and properly screen potential adopters. Well, they aren't going anywhere...

This is Boo Boo...

...a cuddlier dog you will never find. He is a bit needy, a bit obsessed on the pack leader (i.e., me), but it is understandable after this huge life transition. He truly is one of the sweetest dogs ever.

This is Yogi...

...this guy has been through so much. The previous owners hadn't noticed that he was having problems urinating. Well, long story short, after tons of antibiotics, prescription food trials and x-rays, we found out he had stones in his urethra. He needed a urethrotomy, a surgical procedure to remove the stones. It was a long(10 day), extremely painful recovery. He has since healed (his surgery was about 3 weeks ago). The stones removed were analyzed and determined to be Calcium Oxalates. We have since put him on a specialized home-cooked diet to prevent more stones from occurring. I will be posting more about Yogi and the calcium oxalate diet that he is on.

Well, that's it! That's the pack (not including the cats, but this is the dogs' page!) Now, we will post randomly about the pack, including but not limited to, what was for brekkie, new pals met, health issues, family issues, etc., etc..

Thanks for visiting our blog!

Meet the Pack!! (part four)

2008-07-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

Meet Molly, the most senior member of the pack at 16 years old. I would call her the matriarch, but she is such an omega, and always has been. Even when you try to boost her status, she rebels, comfortably resting at the bottom of the pack hierarchy. She knows she will get a good breakfast, a lovely walk in the park, and a good dinner. If you try to hold her, she looks very alarmed and uncomfortable with the whole idea. Of course, she loves a good all over petting and scratching. She has so much energy for a lady her age. She trots everywhere, with the most happy look on her face. She just loves being alive. Nothing fancy required.

Molly is part of our blended family. Ric came with Molly and Elmo (our 22 year old cat) and his two daughters who are now 10 and 22. I came with Monster, Bella, Filo and Luca the cat. We are a Brady Bunch of sorts. We adopted Mo together a few years ago, and a few months ago took in "the Bob's" as rescues, who I will introduce you to next.

Needless to say, our home is full...full of bodies, endless amounts of fur and dust bunnies, and full of love and all that comes with it (joy, tears, tests of will, health issues, arguments, etc., etc.)

Hence the need for this blog....

Meet the Pack!! (part three)

2008-07-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

Oh, my Mo, where do I start?

My little survivor. You were rescued by Pasado Safe Haven in New Orleans on October 1st 2005. Covered in Demodex mange, you were in bad shape. So bad in fact, that they decided to fly you back to their sanctuary in Washington so you could get some special care. I am so glad they did!

"Mohawk" they had called you, since you pretty much just had a strip of fur running down the back of your neck. You were a wreck when we met you, not quite two months after Katrina, at the Pasado sanctuary. They had not found a foster home for you. Maybe it was because of fear, fear of what it would take to get you healthy, or fear that the mange was contagious (which it was NOT). Well, we decided that day that you would come home with us.

We adored you from the first minute, and you blossomed daily! For a long time, you were afraid to go outside in the rain, but you eventually recovered from that too. You even like to play in the water!!

My Mo, you are an amazing creature. You are full of life, and full of play. After all you have been through, you are still the sweetest dog. We are so lucky to have found each other...

We love you Mo!!!

Meet the Pack!! (part two)

2008-06-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Now, I introduce you to the queen diva, the "Boss" of the pack, my dear Bella. Bella, akc registered name "Ciao Bella" because she was such an explorer as a pup, snaking out of her harness and running into the neighbors house while he napped (his front door was wide open), which caused me much embarrassment. She is the Queen of the pack, and she WILL let you know it!! She is also the best snuggler, always hoping for me to pick her up and hold her like a baby. She has a bossy streak though, that is crazy. She will chase off any dog, any breed, barking her fool head off, if they get too much "in her bizness"!! She is also very attached to her daddy. Little daddy's girl!

Meet the Pack!! (part one)

2008-06-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

This is my boy, Filo, a striking lab/shar-pei mix. The "big man" of the pack, he was my first dog since childhood. A year old when we adopted him, he is now approaching 13. Through his life, he has been the super athlete of the pack, accompanying us snowshoeing, mountain biking, and boating. Those days are over, as he has lots of arthritis, but he still loves to swim and it is the best exercise for him now with the arthritis. Love you Filo!!

Meet Monster, the Buddha pug, my little soul mate. He is my first pug, and is the most amazing creature. Part human, part zen-master, part clown, he has such a wonderful spirit. Monster just celebrated his 10th birthday, and I pray for many more with my little "pit-sniffer"!!