View from the Cat perch

As you know from reading this blog, it is so canine centric that you would think dogs had minds.   Mini Cat and I like to sit on the computer, it is always warm.   When I took over the computer this morning, my intent was to shed on the keyboard or perhaps cough up a hairball or two, but when I moved the mouse and the screen came on, I figured "Why Not?"

My name is Buddy Cat.   Since I am a rescue too, I don't know why I can't get a little blog time in as well.   Mini Cat and I are in charge of day to day activities in the house.    With three large dogs, you may think that they run things, but nooo.    Cats Rule!    Any dog that forgets that Cats Rule, is quickly reminded of it.    Why do you think Mother Nature put those big fat, tender pink targets on the end of a dogs face?  It is part of her grand plan, Cats Rule.    Those things they call noses are really just "Stop Buttons" on a dog.   One quick flick with the claws and the dog stops!   They are so convenient and so easy to use.  Mother Nature was so good at planning ahead.   Mini Cat is much better at it than I am, she is fast and her claws are sharp.   When a new foster dog arrives at our house Mini sits in the center of the floor and dares them to try it!

It is all part of the grand plan to move dogs out of the house.  Mini and I certify foster dogs as Cat Safe, so that when they do go up on the web site, they are much more adoptable.   This means they leave our house quickly and we don't have to be bothered with all the slobber.   If a foster is not Cat Safe when they arrive, they sure are when they leave. 

The dogs have served a useful purpose on a rare occasion.   Once when a fox came over the back fence to chase Mini for lunch, Bella and Mogley came storming out of the house after the fox and turned the tables on her.   They almost got the fox before she went back over the fence and disappeared into the park.   The dogs also teach courtesy to cats, when a new foster comes in, they show they are not supposed to chase the cats, and in conjunction with the "Stop Button", the new fosters learn very fast. 

On Tuesday they took Nala over to the vet for her follow up visit.    After her heartworm treatment she was very weak, at first she improved for about 10 days, then she started slowing up again.    She was diagnosed with a sore on her rear paw, and a spinal problem.   She is now on a heavier pain medication, antibiotics, and she seems to be coming along on it.   She is slowly gaining energy again and acting like the real Nala.  She still sleeps a lot, but as you can see, so does Bella.   Nala needs a bath and grooming very badly, she is shedding in big clumps, but until she is a little stronger we don't want to put her through the wash.  So the house smells like old dog, it should smell like old cat, a much better odor. 

Buddy Caty

A new step

This afternoon has been spent making a new step for Nala.   Bella and I think Nala is pretty spoiled, at 14, she is the senior member of our Golden Pack, we understand her special treatment,  it is for a good cause.  She can't hear, she is losing her sight, she has lost most of her teeth, and she is getting very stiff in her hips.  She gets special food, special supplements, even special treats so she does not have to chew on hard treats with her gums. 

For Nala to go in and out to the back yard through the dog door she has to go through the garage.   She has to go from the hallway, through the dog door, down onto one step and then onto the garage floor.   When she comes back in, her front legs are coming through the dog door and onto the hallway carpet before her back legs have stepped up onto the concrete step, then one more step up to the hallway level as she comes through the dog door.    She can't push with her rear legs, they are getting quite weak, she sometimes stalls and struggles hard getting her feet up and on the step, then pushing and pulling herself up, over the threshold and into the hall.  

Today's task was to build a platform out into the garage, making the step much larger so that she can step up onto it and then come in on the level.   If this does not work, then a ramp will need to be placed up to the platform.   So far, she has navigated up to the platform and in twice with no struggle.   We hope the platform outside the door will let her continue to come and go when she pleases.  There is already a light on all night over the step so she can find her way in the dark, her vision is getting weak in the dark.  She does enjoy her freedom and her ability to go outside and enjoy the yard with us when we are running.  She does not like being confined, she likes her activity.  As much trouble and as much pain as it causes her, she still makes 10 or 15 trips in and out each day, we wanted to see her continue to be active.   They will let her in the back door, then she will run out the dog door and around again.   We will give this a few days and then see if the ramp is needed or if she will function without it. 

We hope you had a Thankful Easter, it is a wonderful day to celebrate family and friends, and especially old Goldens.

Mogley G. Retriever

Death to Warthogs!

Mogley to the rescue!   This warthog managed to conceal itself in a plastic bag during a shopping trip.  Once it was safely inside the house, it charged out of the bag and chased the family into the kitchen.   Luckily I was on duty, I grabbed the warthog and immediately killed it with the classic strangle hold.    You just can't relax around the house, enemies are everywhere.    The coyotes and foxes have killed off most of the squirrels and all of the rabbits, so there is nothing to chase outside.   Most guard dogs would have relaxed, but not me.   I stayed on "red" alert and it paid off.   When a warthog threatened our home, I was on the spot to throttle it before it could damage anything.

Nala is still slower than she was before she had her heart worm treatment, but she is getting around OK.   She has a harder time getting up once she lies down.   She is showing her age when she starts moving after napping for a long time.   She has a little harder time getting her rear legs to push her up the two steps into the house.  She has to work at it to climb up.   We are looking at building a ramp for her to make it easier on her to get in and out.    She still has her wonderful outlook on life, she loves every minute.  She has such a wonderful face and she brings cheer when she comes into the room.    She gets a special allotment of attention, as a senior Golden, she gets many special privileges.  She does not have to climb into the car, she gets lifted in and out.  She gets special vitamins and special canned food to help her eat with her few remaining teeth.  

We have been hearing from Golden Retrievers all over the world, they are getting ready for their  duties of delivering eggs and treats on Easter morning.    If anyone else has photos of themselves getting fitted for their delivery duties, let us know.

Mogley G. Retriever

Getting ready for Easter

My followers will remember that we proved that Santa uses Reindogs to pull his sleigh on Christmas Eve, while reindeer get all the credit.   After all, we are there to help, we just want to serve, let the reindeer get the credit, dogs are really man's best friend.  Now it is time to dispel another myth.

As you can plainly see, the Easter Bunny is really a Golden Retriever.   In fact, the Easter Bunny is multiple Golden Retrievers, all over the world.  Our friends, Hamish & Rescue Sophie have sent us photos as they try on their costumes and get ready to "fetch" eggs and treats to good little boys and girls all over the country.   Below, Hamish gets fitted for his costume.  

If you will just think about it a little, you will understand how you have been duped all these years.    Doesn't it make sense that if you want something "fetched" you would not call your local bunny rabbit?   Come on, what are you thinking?  Try throwing an egg (or tennis ball) in your back yard and see who brings it back?   Your Golden Retriever or your bunny rabbit?   Below, Sophie poses for a "pre-delivery" photo.

You know that bunny rabbits don't carry baskets around, they don't deliver anything.  If you have a basket of green grass, a rabbit is more likely to eat the grass than share it with little boys and girls.   That is where the Golden Retrievers prove once again how unselfish they are.    They allow the rabbits to get all the credit.   They allow the rabbits to pose for all the publicity shots.    They allow the rabbits to get all the good advertising endorsements.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the Golden Retrievers go about the business of delivering and "fetching" gifts to good little boys and girls.   Unselfish devotion to the cause of helping bring joy, it's what we do as dogs.  It's how we bring joy into so many lives.    Luckily, there is a Golden Retriever nearby, no matter where you live.   There is a Golden Retriever nearby to sneak out and make their rounds, hiding eggs and toys in time for the morning egg hunt.    Remember kids, there is a reason everyone knows that dogs are your best friends.

So now that you know the real story, I hope you will continue to pretend that the rabbit is the star of Easter, they have this ego problem, so they need the recognition.  We all know that the real hero's are the Golden Retrievers that will deliver the treats and the decorated eggs all over the country.    So give your Golden Retriever an extra treat or two, they deserve it for their devotion to helping without worrying about who gets the credit.    And special thanks to our friends Hamish & Sophie for sending us photos as we suit up for the special day, and thanks to them for giving us permission to use their photos in this issue of our expose!

And don't forget the real story of Easter.  We hope you all have a very Blessed Easter. 

Mogley G. Retriever

A rainy morning

Nala is patiently waiting for the sun to come shine on her favorite resting place.  Bella is sleeping next to her to keep her company.   I am sleeping on the couch.    What else is there to do on a rainy day?

We have not had any rain or snow for so long that we had to go outside and investigate it.   It was funny stuff, water from the sky?   Who thought of that idea?    Anyway, we checked out the big outdoors, we got wet, and we came in to dry out and enjoy being house dogs with a warm house to lay in.

Life is quiet.   Our computer is back and it is working faster than ever.   By removing everything and starting with a blank computer, we picked up a lot of speed.    The new computers all come with tons of junk on them that slows them down right from the start.   No fleas on this computer.......

The paw challenged one says he has blocked the racy "French Poodle" web sites that I liked to visit late at night when everyone else is asleep.  He thinks that is where the fleas came from that infected the computer and took us off line for a while.   I wonder if he blocked the "Golden Retrievers Gone Wild" site?   I will check tonight.  Since he signs on the foster dog adoption sites, I can still visit the local shelter web site, it has a lot of racy photos of dogs, some in very suggestive poses.   

Mogley G. Retriever

Testing, one, two, three......

We are testing to see if the computer is now free of fleas.    Nala is licking her lips, she is ready to begin reporting on her exciting daily activities.    It took four days to get the computer back, it had multiple viruses, even the back up had viruses.    We think we are clean now, we ran three different virus programs on it and they now say -0- found when they are done.    We are terribly behind in reading our friends blogs and exchanging notes. 

Our bad news is that Nala is slowing up.   She was recovering fast from the heartworm treatment, then she seemed to peak and begin going down.    She was eating mixed dry food and canned food, but she stopped chewing the dry food, so now she is on canned only.    She only has teeth on one side of her mouth, only one canine tooth.   It was getting harder for her to chew on the few remaining teeth.   She hears nothing, she is so deaf that we have to run in front of her to get her attention when it is dinner time or time to go outside.    Her vision is decreasing, she was almost up to a visitor today before she even knew they were here.    Her hips are weaker and she has a hard time getting up after a long night.   Her medications are a good help, but they can't make up for the age in her joints.  Her spirit is still strong, she gets up and goes outside through the dog door, then back in, around the house and back out again.   She will do this three or four times, then take a nap in the sun.   She gets lost more often.   When she wakes up in the middle of the night and she does not know where her pack is, she will sit and bark till someone comes to get her and tell her that everyone is still there.    Then she will happily go back to sleep.    She used to wake up and bark at every car that drove in the circle at night, she could see when the lights came in the glass front door and swept across her face.   Now the paper boy comes and goes without being announced.

We keep our paws crossed that it is just a temporary thing, that she will perk up.   She has slowed up in the past and then bounced back, so we are hoping......   We even miss being awakened at 4:00 a.m. to greet the arrival of the newspaper. 

Mogley G. Retriever

The case of the missing note!

My last post was just a note to update on what is going on.    It turns out more, or less was going on than we thought.  We could not even post the last post. 

First, the last note was supposed to say that it was not my fault.    In the past when the computer has caught a virus, the human has always blamed the Resident blogging Retriever.   He walks around humming the tune "My Dog Has Fleas", accusing us of giving fleas to his computer.    This time it is his fault.   We were not surfing those x-rated dog sites again, he was listening to on-line radio.    He has a friend that has a radio talk show in Colorado Springs.  The house radios do not pick up the station, so he listens to the radio on-line.   It turns out that he had not updated his anti-virus data base for two days, he turns it off when backing up as it interferes with the back up program.    So a devilish virus invaded.   

Now the computer is at the shop, getting totally scrubbed and having a new operating system installed.    So Monday we may be back on line.    Today we are using the computer in the basement, the one with the hand crank on the side of it.   The one that has a plaque on its side that says "Historical Archeology Site, do not disturb!".   The museum curator will really get mad at us when they find out we used it.

We can't load photos on this computer, it thinks that photos are still made on tin.    In fact, we can't even use the computer if the wind is not blowing and the lightning is not striking.    We have to attach a key to a kie string to boot it up.    "How old is it, you ask?"   The keyboard only has the number 1 through 9 on it, the number 10 had not been invented yet when this computer was built. 

We will be back, with a new system soon and then we can resume blogging.    Please do not adjust your sets!

Mogley G. Retriever

No photos, just a note