Tag: Recreation

Embarrassing Secrets of Pet Parents

Embarrassing Secrets of Pet Parents

  • Nicolas, selected from petMD

Dr. Vivian Cardoso-Carroll, PetMD

The other day I was in an exam room with a client and she sheepishly admitted that her dog sleeps with his head on her pillow. My tech looked over at me and said, “That would be a good blog topic: What’s the most embarrassing thing you do with, for, or about your pet?”

I thought it was a great idea. You guys have the benefit of being relatively anonymous. I, on the other hand, have to stand tall in front of you faceless masses to admit my doggie dirty-laundry. But that’s okay — I don’t think I’ve got anything too scandalous going on!

So after some thought, I’ve come up with a my most embarrassing dog confession. You can start thinking of your embarrassing moments now, too.

 

First, Two of my three dogs are dubiously housetrained. Katelin, my Min Pin, became my dog precisely because she’s potty training-deficient.

It was during my first job post-vet school, as I was walking through the kennels, that I saw her lying on a little bed in the back of a run. Katelin was simply the cutest dog I had ever seen. Supposedly her owners were pretty sure she was a Min Pin (Miniature Pinscher), but they had bought her at a garage sale for $35, so who knows? I told them that if they ever wanted to get rid of her, I’d take her.

The little voice in my head said, “Hey newlywed girl, maybe you should run that by the new husband first?”

I ignored it, naively thinking nothing would come of my offer.

Well, Katelyn’s issues became a problem. Her owners offered her up and my receptionist took her. I realized my folly and figured I wouldn’t make my never-had-a-dog-before husband have to deal with a second dog. However, the receptionist couldn’t potty train her — this wasn’t her excuse for not keeping her, but I don’t remember what was.

She gave Katelin to a lady with cancer. This lady pretty much sat around all day with Katelin in her lap, so it was perfect. Except for the fact that Katelin peed over every inch of her house (or so I presume). The story was that the lady was too sick to take care of her. I’m sure that was the case, even a perfectly healthy person tires of cleaning dog excrement all the time.

Then Katelin went to my friend’s friend, Marty. Marty had been looking for a Min Pin. Perfect! He took her for approximately 24 hours.

You can guess what she did.

He said that, well, actually he wanted a Min Pin that fetches, and Katelin didn’t fetch. This I know is untrue because she loves to fetch; she bounces after the ball like a little red gazelle! She really just peed all over his house.

So I picked her up from Marty’s house and brought her home, telling my husband it would just be for the weekend until I could take her back to work on Monday. My secret plan, though, was for him to fall in love with her and let me keep her.

 

Well, he’s not really a dog lover. He likes them okay, I guess, but ultimately dogs are my thing. So I subsequently appealed to his engineer side: I wanted a cat, but couldn’t have one because of his allergies. Katelin was about the size of a cat so… I should be able to keep her instead of a cat!

“Fine,” he relented. “She’s our substitute cat.”

Cats are far easier to housetrain than our stubborn little Katelin. She was extremely talented at peeing and pooping in areas of the house we didn’t frequent; the formal dining room and the game room, for example. These places were like little graveyards with poop headstones all over the place.

We finally had to resort to the “umbilical cord” method of potty training: you keep her on a leash on your person at all times. She has to go out every 30 minutes (praise when she potties). If she has an accident in the house, we provided negative reinforcement — shake a can with coins in it, etc. to startle her. This way you can catch her in the act. It took about 48 hours, but she got it.

If you give her one little inch, though, she takes it. She also forgets her potty training every winter, when it’s too cold or wet to bother using the great outdoors.

We have gates everywhere to block her from potty locales.

Currently, her favorite place to potty is my closet. It’s the only place in the house with any carpet left that isn’t gated. We’re putting springs on the doors so that they close themselves.

I’m not sure why we’re bothering, she’ll just find some other place to go.

But we love her, so we keep trying to stay one step ahead of her “accidents.”

So that’s confession #1; my poor potty training ability.

My second confession I came up with right off the bat, when my tech mentioned the subject: I have a tendency to tell my dogs I love them more often than I tell my family.

How ’bout you?

Riding To The Stars (Wolf Moon)

Riding To The Stars

Wolf Moon
 
 
Stars are like horses. When you wish upon a star, it carries your wish like a winged horse flying across the sky. Ride like a dreamer into the morning light and in the light of a new day your wishes will come true.
 
About an hour before dark, think about and decide what you would like to wish for. Be clear what you want. Go outside this evening and wait for the first star to appear in the sky. As you wait, go over your wish.

Upon seeing the first star, recite the following verse:
 
“Starlight, star-bright
First star I see tonight,
May I ride the magick carpet of your light,
Floating to the stars like fireflies,
Rising to that place where dreams come true,
When I’m blessed in all things I do.
By the light of the first star, so be it!
 
Later when going to sleep, envision the first star that you saw in the evening sky. Imagine yourself moving into the star and riding it across the sky. At the other side, see an image in your mind of your dream becoming reality. See it. Touch it. Hear it. Smell it. Taste it. Be it.

Dog-gone Doggies for January 26th

Riley, the Dog of the Day
Name: Riley
 Age: Two years old
Gender: Male Breed: Dachshund
Home: Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Riley is our lighter colored Longhaired Dachshund. We don’t get a lot of snow here, but he sure enjoyed it when we did! Riley is the sweetest puppy!! Okay, he’s all grown up, technically, but he is only two years old, so he’s still a puppy to us! He is a little chicken sometimes but sweet! He loves to play and he is so fast! He loves to play with our other dog Toby, the red dachshund! He loves to play with his tennis ball and chew on his bones. I love him so much!!

He has so much energy sometimes we have to try to calm him down. His favorite toy is anything that our other dachshund Toby is playing with. He loves to chase tennis balls; he is really fast! He is great!

Special Kitty of the Day for Jan. 19th

Murphy, the Cat of the Day
Name: Murphy
 Age: Eleven years old
Gender: Male
 Kind: Cat
Home: Erwitte, Germany
In 2001 we saw Murphy sitting in the animals home in Lippstadt. It was in January when our last cat died after an operation. We were very sad and when Murphy looked at us we knew at once that he was the right cat for us.

After we get up in the mornings, Murphy wants to eat his catfood and he doesn’t stop miaowing till we feed him! He is always very hungry and likes eating very much.

He likes to sleep in our beds. But in the living-room he must sleep in a basket under the table now, because he damaged our old sofa with his paws. Last year we had to buy a new sofa and Murphy isn’t allowed to sit on it.

Murphy can go out whenever he likes. There big a hole for him in a cellar window. If we call him when he is outside, he’ll usually come very quickly. He wears a bell round his neck. But sometimes he kills little mice and little birds anyway. But he doesn’t eat them.

After our holidays in summer, Murphy was very happy that we were back home, so he put a dead mouse on the floor in front of our bed. Murphy likes talking a lot. He doesn’t stop miaowing when he wants to get something. He is a good cat for us.

So Precious Pet of the Day for Jan. 17th

Smokey, the Pet of the Day
Name: Smokey
 Age: One year old
Gender: Male
 Kind: Netherland Dwarf Rabbit
Home: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
My rabbit Smokey is very special to me for many reasons. This rabbit came from the breeder to the store, and had never been touched by anyone but me. He was so cute, I decided to get him right away. This is his picture from last Easter, didn’t he make the cutest Easter bunny?

That night I got him my whole life changed. This rabbit is super soft and cute. We named him Smokey because he’s grey. This rabbit likes to cuddle and play anytime. And he can really sense your emotions. For example, if I’m sad he’ll come up to me and put his head on top of my shoulder and sit there for ever until I feel better. If I’m happy, well let’s just say I can’t get my hands on him. He can go so fast when he’s jumping around, and running and leaping and turning! You would not believe it. He’s very special to me.

The Meaning of the Number Four

The symbolic meaning of number Four deals with stability and invokes the grounded nature of all things. Consider the four seasons, four directions, four elements all these amazingly powerful essences wrapped up in the nice square package of Four. Fours represent solidity, calmness, and home. A recurrence of Four in your life may signify the need to get back to your roots, center yourself, or even “plant” yourself. Fours also indicate a need for persistence and endurance.

 

The Spiritual Meaning of Numbers

The Meaning of the Number 2

The symbolic meaning of number Two is kindness, balance, tact, equalization, and duality. The number Two reflects a quiet power of judgment, and the need for planning. Two beckons us to choose. The spiritual meaning of number Two also deals with exchanges made with others, partnerships (both in harmony and rivalry), and communication. Two urges us out of our indecision, calls us to unite with like-minds, and like-ideals. Two asks us to exert our natural flow of judgment to do what is best for our souls.

 

The Spiritual Meaning of Numbers

Earth Witch Lore – Caves

Earth Witch Lore – Caves

 

Most caves have local folklore surrounding them, with one common theme; they are inhabited by spirits or dragons and are forbidding places, desolate and dank. So many legends tell of ghosts haunting caves. These legends were perpetuated by pirates and the like to scare people away from their hiding places and thereby keep their loot hidden. They also stem from ancient days when bears and lions might be found in the caves.

 

For ages, the members of ancient tribes lived their entire lives in caves. In Sweetwater, Tennessee, there is a cavern known as “the Lost Sea,” which features an underground lake with its own variety of plant life (which only grows underground). It is said to be the home of the white jaguar. This cavern is a world within the world. The hauntingly beautiful columns of stalagmite drip healing waters upon those who stand beneath it. Not surprisingly, this cave is also thought to be haunted. It was sacred to the Cherokee tribes.

The Earth Witch knows and understands that caves actually relate to the process of birth. Spirit haunts a cave as a “pregnancy,” or a continuation of life. Therefore, a cave is sacred ground. All that it holds within relates to life and death, as it all stems from the cave. The cave is the birth canal of Mother Earth.

Special Kitty of the Day for January 10th

KitKat, the Cat of the Day
Name: KitKat
 Age: Nine months old
Gender: Female
 Kind: Maine Coon
Home: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
KitKat came into the veterinary clinic I work at when she was around three weeks old. Someone had found her dangling from underneath a truck by her paw. She was so tiny and had a bent arm from being stuck under the truck for so long. I took her home with me, where I bottle fed her and bandaged her leg back to health. She’s now almost a year old and is one of our more vocal and active cats in a family of three cats total. She kept growing and growing, and is now nine months old, and as she’s probably a Maine Coon from the looks of it, may get even bigger, but she could not get any sweeter, or more loved.

KitKat and I would like to remind everyone to thump their engine on cold mornings this winter, just in case someone has crawled in there for warmth, so they can jump down and escape safely before you move the vehicle.

The Meaning of the Number 9

The spiritual meaning of number Nine bring us to the very height of vibrational frequencies in this number sequence. Nine represents attainment, satisfaction, accomplishment, and our success to achieve an influence in our circumstances. The spiritual meaning of number Nine deals with intellectual power, inventiveness, influence over situations and things. Nine beseeches us to recognize our own internal attributes, and extend these abilities out into the world to make a positive, influential difference.

 

The Spiritual Meaning of Numbers