Week Adventures: Dog Sitting

This past week Drew and I have been house sitting for his parents, which includes taking care of their Pomeranian Teddy (and their cat Lucy). Poor poor Lucy. When ever we come over she hides for the entire night because she's afraid of Luna. This entire week I've only seen Lucy once— the first night we stayed over. When I went to bed the first night, I took the dogs with me (Teddy in his crate and Luna in the bed, snuggling up with me). I fell asleep and so did the dogs. Drew came into the room a few hours later and turned the lights on in the room, which woke everyone up including Lucy who happened to sneak in while everyone was sleeping. Once the dogs and the cat really came to consciousness, Lucy bailed as fast as a cat can go. She was a blur. And you can bet Luna chased right after her full throttle... and that's the last I saw of Lucy.

Haha, okay, I left that sounding pretty bad. Lucy is alive, Luna did not kill her. I think Lucy has just retreated into the darkest spots in the house and has been very very cautious when she comes out. She's a very sneaky cat. I only know she is still in the house because her food is getting eaten and her litter box has fun presents in it. 

Luna and Teddy play hard and crash hard. It is amazing. I think Luna really enjoyed the backyard to frolic around in and chase Teddy. It has been especially nice to have the backyard for her since the time change has made it harder to get her to the dog park after work, since its dark by the time I get home (and none of the dog parks have lights...LAME). 

We did bring both Teddy and Luna to the dog park this week, which was a very interesting experience. Teddy doesn't go to dog parks very often because he doesn't need to get out as much energy as Luna does. The backyard is enough play-ground for Tedster. The first time we brought him to the park, we kept his leash on and just had him take in what was going on. There were 3 other large dogs there, which I think confused poor Ted. Luna is the only big dog that Teddy plays with, and Luna knows how to play with him. These other dogs might not/and probably won't play with him the same way Luna does. So we were pretty cautious. Teddy cowards at first when another big dog gives him attention. He yelps and freaks out like the dog was hurting him (though the dog wasn't even touching him). But once he realized that Drew and I weren't going to save him from a playful friendly dog, he grew some balls and got a little more feisty, like his normal Pom self. After Teddy got used to the other dogs at the park he got some more confidence and wanted to roam and do his own thing. For one of his first times at a dog park he did very well. 

Everyone taking naps :)

This week Luna and Teddy have had a fabulous time hanging out and tiring each other out, which has made it lovely for Drew and I. Playing house this week has been so much fun. I can't wait for next time :)

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Evel "Luna" Knievel

Usually people say things like "'Dangerous' is my middle name" when they try to brag about their daredevil tendencies. Well, if Evel Knievel (the daredevils of the daredevils) had a middle name, it would be "Luna". I can hear you laughing as I write this post—What did Luna do this time?! 

Let me just start off by saying, Luna is alive and safe as I am writing this.

Luna has had 2 near death experiences within the last couple weeks (and this is not me being an over protective mother—I am seriously thankful that Luna was as lucky as she was).

The first thing that happened occurred when Drew, Luna and I were walking to Downtown for dinner. It was just after 6pm and still light out. Drew was walking Luna on her pinch collar, as we always do. Luna does her normal dog shake (imagine a wet dog shaking after a bath), and her pinch collar somehow came unlatched and came off of her. If you put 2 and 2 together, you will realize that Luna is no longer constrained to her leash. She is a free woman. Sensing this freedom, she takes off, into the middle of the busy street intersection. She turns around as we scream her name, and she realizes "Oh this isn't a game...they aren't following me?" Drew starts to head out in the middle of the street, to try to get oncoming cars to slow down and stop. 

LUCKILY the intersection Luna bolted into was all stopped and everyone was aware what was going on. Luna jogs back to the sidewalk we were walking on and lays down on her back submissively, as if we were going to scold her for doing something wrong. However, I did not feel that she did anything wrong in this case. She listened pretty quickly after we all realized what was happening and came back. Instead of punishing her, I comfort her and tell her "Good girl, it's okay Luna, you're okay" (I think this was me coming to reality and convincing myself that she was okay.) It took me a while to realize how EXTREMELY lucky we were that at that given time it was light out and all the cars were stopped. We were all a little shaken up after that, adrenaline rushing, but we continued our walk to dinner, moving on from the scary situation we had just dealt with.

That was the first time she escaped death, just like Evel Knievel did many times in his stunts.

The second time Luna got away lucky, was when I was taking her to the dog park. I was driving down one of the roads to the park with my windows down (as I always do when Luna is in the car). Luna starts to get excited because she knows where we are at and that she is going to play soon. As I am driving (10 miles an hour or so), I see a couple and their strollered baby getting close to a cross walk. It doesn't look like they have plans on stopping and looking both ways before crossing, so I slam on my breaks, and I hear Luna stumble a bit in the back seat, but she seems alright. 

Right when I think she's okay I look to my left and she is OUTSIDE of my car in the middle of the road. Luna seemed to land partially on her feet then did a tuck and roll and then landed back on her feet. At this time (all happening in 2 seconds or less—but I felt like I saw this in slow motion), I put my car in park and call Luna over to try to get her to come. She stands there, bewildered. I call her a couple more times and she walks over to the side of the road in the dirt. I jump out of my car and grab her leash before she takes off. But I don't think she was planning on running anywhere. I think she was so confused how she ended up in the middle of the road when half a second before she was in my car. Again, Luna is alive and well, no broken bones, no serious injuries. She has a scuffed chin and 2 scrapes on her front legs. All in all, we were both shaken up, and I feel completely terrible and at fault for my little girl's traumatic experience :( My poor baby girl. 

I wonder if these 2 situations are signs that we should invest in pet insurance...

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Weekend Adventures: Walk N Wag

THE WEEKEND YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!! Okay, maybe I was just excited for it

For a the last 3 months I have been looking forward to this last weekend and the reason I have been bugging you and everyone else to donate money. (That means I won't be bothering you about donating anymore!) The Humane Society's Walk N Wag 5K event in San Jose raised a total of $256,064.19, and our "A Crazy Dog & A Crazy Lady" Team raised $300!

It was a fun time with friends and dogs, and I was surprised to see so many people (and dogs) there! It was a very very hot day in San Jose, but the Humane Society made sure to have plenty of doggie pools and water for everyone (obviously Luna was taking advantage of the pools). They had plenty of booths filled with dog supplies, sweaters and other things you would think crazy dog people would want.

Since it was hotter then hell, Casey, Shreya and I (plus the dogs) decided to start our 5k walk before the rest of the "official" group of walkers before it got too hot. And boy were we glad that we left early! There were no crowds, we could take our time, and we didn't have to walk behind/next to/in front of any annoying dog owners. PLUS we finished early! After 3.1 miles of walking in the heat with our furbabies, we decided to go get some In-N-Out to celebrate surviving our 5k.

Photo Credit: Mr Honi

Sunday, Drew and I had the day off together (I can't remember the last time that's happened). Since Drew got a new job, he is now going to have "normal" hours and schedule (aka 8-5pm Monday through Friday). I am beyond excited to finally do things together and go on more adventures with Luna. That being said, we decided to be pretty lazy on Sunday, since Drew's first day at his new job was Monday. I do like to relax, so I wasn't complaining.

On a different note, I keep forgetting to write about a couple weekends ago when Casey and I volunteered at Berkeley Human Society for their Bark (and Meow) Around the Block event. It was basically a huge event where other animal organizations (like Maddie's Fund) brought their adoptable animals to try to find them forever homes. The event also had a bunch of booths that had dog supplies, accessories, and more. 

Luna came along to volunteer, too! But people kept asking if she was up for adoption, and I'm over here like "Psh! Ya right! I'm her Mom, she has her forever home...Sorry I'm not sorry."(except I didn't say it like that, in reality I just said: Sorry, she's actually my dog, she's just here to volunteer with me.) She got her photo taken, because she was so adorable laying on the ground being all submissive and trying to play with every dog that went by. A photographer caught her in the act.

Photo Credit: Berkeley Humane's Facebook

If Luna wasn't laying on the asfault like the above photo, she was trying to be a lap dog and sit with Aunt CC (Casey).

After the event, we went home and Luna climbed under the bed (which she only does when she is ready to go to bed for the night). It was only 3pm when we got home. She was pooped! That's when you know you did good: a tired puppy is a happy puppy (and happy Mama).

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Portraits for a Cause!

This weekend I finished a portrait of Luna that I started a couple weeks ago. I haven't really drawn in at least 2 years, so when I took this project on I was a little afraid about how rusty I am. Drawing is just like playing a sport; if you don't practice a lot, you can lose your skill. You might always know how to play that sport, you just might never reach your prime if you stop working at it. 

I saw a pet portrait on Instagram, and thought it looked amazing and it motivated me to get back into fine art. I am pretty happy with how the portrait of Luna turned out, but I know I have a lot of room for improvement. I posted the drawing on Luna's Instagram account, and it got a lot of positive feedback. This made me think that people might actually like pet portraits. 

With that said, I've decided to sell animal portraits, and to give 10% of proceeds to an animal organization of the purchaser's choice. 

If you are interested in a portrait of your pet, email me at brittmaag@yahoo.com and attach a high resolution image of your fur baby.

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De-Fur Your Belongings

If you have a frequent shedder like I do, you probably have accepted the fact that in your home fur is an accessory just like the paint on your walls, or the picture frames full of candid photos. Fur is just part of your life, you have to accept it. I have even gone out of my way to purchase certain items because I know Luna's fur is more likely to blend in with it. Kind of like buying a tan car over a black car because the dirt and dust is less obvious on a tan colored car. 

I've accepted that I have a shedder, but I do try and clean up her fur every once in a while. Vacuuming becomes a challenge, where every 5 minutes I have to empty the contents because it is FILLED with fur. I swear I could make a whole pack of wolves with the amount of fur that comes off that dog. 

This weekend I decided to de-fur one of my blankets that Luna has now claimed as her own. It usually sits in my car to attempt to protect my back seat from dirt, mud, fur and whatever else Luna tracks in there. So you can imagine this blanket looking pretty gnarly. I shook it out first to try and get all loose fur and dirt off as much as I could.

After a quick Google search, I found a few alternatives to getting fur off of blankets or any other belonging that is furever furry. 

The first thing wiki how said to do was get your hands wet and rub your hands over the area. This weighs down the fur by getting it wet and makes it easier to grab the fur. Let me tell you, that is not happening. It is taking way too long with this blanket.

Another suggestion was to use latex gloves and use the "magnetic attraction" to get the fur off. I guess this would be like using a balloon (which Wiki actually suggested too), rubbing it on your head and attracting fur to it through static. This attempt was again taking way too long and the gloves I was using would just slip off my hands. (This was one of the better options Wiki How came up with though).

One of the last things I tried that Wiki said to use was fabric softener sheets. Dampening it then rubbing on the furry surface. Well that just made a soapy kind of mess and was really not working whatsoever (I think this was the worst option ever).

Finally, I stopped by Target to see if they had some kind of fur removal device I could use. And what do you know, in their cleaning supplies section they have a lint roller specifically for furry situations. It has a rubber little brush on one end and a huge roll of lint rolling sticky tape on the other side. What you were to do was "rake" the fur to one area and then pick it up by using the sticky tape. I found this alternative the best, easiest and fasted way to get the results I wanted. Buy this Evercare product at Walgreens for $6!

After defurring the blanket as much as I could, I threw it in the washer then dryer, and was pretty pleased with the results. (Not perfect, but as good as it's gonna get)

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October is Coming!!!

For those of you who don't know it already... there's less than 3 weeks left until OCTOBER!!! Woohoo! For me, October is the true beginning of Fall. A time where boots, sweaters, and chowder are regular daily occurrences. And that is AWESOME!

Luna's First Fall

But what is also awesome about October is... Walk N Wag! Yes that's right, I'm using this blog post to try to squeeze that cow's utter and see if any milk drops into my bucket of charity fundraising. 

I know it probably sounds desperate, and that I'm trying way way WAY too hard, but please, just join my team! I understand times are difficult and you really can't donate a penny, but you can still JOIN the team for FREE. What does this do? This makes you able to raise money yourself! 

Now you can send your link out to family and friends (probably those who like animals) and ask them to donate. They can donate in YOUR name towards our team! So even if you can't donate your own money, maybe you can fundraise, and have the money donated in your name, and your effort.

So this time I'm not asking you to donate (though you can if you'd like), I'm just asking you to take 5 min out of your day to JOIN my team (for free) and send out a mass email to family and friends to donate to the Humane Society.

It truly is a good cause. 

P.S. I know there's about 6 people who read my posts...So I am expecting to get 6 new team mates out of this...No pressure, I'm watching you... 

Here's the link: 

http://hssv.convio.net/goto/CrazyDogCrazyLady

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New Stuff!!

Did Christmas come early this year? Nope, just spoiling Luna (as per usual). 

Actually, I've been looking for a good bed for Luna for a while now. And I've been super hesitant to buy her one since she chews every thing on the planet. But I found a good deal at Home Goods, for this chopped foam pet bed. It's the perfect size, machine washable cover, and the inside stuffing is also removable/replenishable. I think it was quite a great find. 

The only other thing was hoping that Luna loved it as much as I loved the price. She's never had a "bed" before, so will she even know what to do with it? I brought it home, laid it down at one of her favorite resting spots. The first thing she does is smells it, then after she decides it smells okay, she rolls on her back and starts rolling on it, getting her scent on it. Well, that was successful. Then she basically laid on it the rest of the night.

Drew and I are making sure that she does not get to lay on it or have any contact with it, without our supervision (in case she chews it up like our comforter). So far the pet bed is intact, and in one piece—I hope I don't regret saying this later...

Also this weekend, I bought a coffee mug (dog themed, of course). It has my name written all over it. It has graphic design elements—all about typography—and dog related words on it. It's perfect. 

While at Home Goods, I found this cool little dog toy called a "ball teaser". It's a ball inside a ball, by the brand Jolly. I've purchased other Jolly dog toys, but Luna didn't seem too interested, in fact she hasn't even TOUCHED the other toy. But this one I think she would be a little more interested in. And I was right. I brought it home and she only put it down to beg for the food I was eating for dinner. 

Surprisingly, Luna did not have a "cookie jar," so when I saw one at Home Goods while browsing in the pet section (most dangerous section there for me), I thought it was perfect! So now her treats are in a cute storage, instead of in their boring food packaging. 

(Obviously not a photo of Luna)

The last thing I bought, I will have to return. It was one of the things I was most excited for, but it did not work out as well as I had liked. It was one of those hammocks for your car's back seat. It's waterproof and easily machine washable. And I figured it would be a good fur trap. My car's back seat has SO much fur on it that I refuse to drive more than one person in my car. Someone sat back there one time, and they got out of the car with a sweater on made out of Luna's fur. It was BAD. So I thought this investment would be good. But I put it on, and 1. it was way too small (even though the packaging said that it fits all cars), 2. it was flimsy and not wrapping around the seat cushions how I'd like, and 3. I think Luna was really uncomfortable in it, slipping and sliding because of the cheap material. I'll be returning it, maybe finding a similar thing but a different, better brand.

All in all, a very successful trip to Home Goods, or a dangerous one (as they always are). It seems like I spent a lot of money since I bought a lot of items, but really my total didn't pass $70! Check out Home Goods for great deals on pet home supplies (they also have other amazing human home supplies).

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