Baltimore St. Patrick's Day Parade and 5K Race

It was a busy weekend. On Saturday, Daphne went to an offsite adoption event. She had a great time and voluntarily climbed into a little girl's lap to be petted, but she didn't get adopted. I'm just thrilled to see all the progress she has made from a scared, not-so-nice rabbit to actual pet-material. If you know anyone looking for a bunny, Daphne is pretty awesome.

On Sunday, we traveled to downtown Baltimore for their St. Patrick's Day Parade and 5K Race:


I was NOT running, but Misty did, as you can see above. She was too fast to get as she came at me and Tasha watching from the sidelines, but I did get a photo of her back as she went by. She actually shaved a good five minutes or more off her treadmill time, which is tremendous.


We got to the city at about 11:30am, even though the race wasn't until 1:15pm and the parade didn't start until 2pm (we were worried about finding parking). Pets on Wheels was #64 or so out of 90-something groups, so we had plenty of time to sit around waiting. We got a little bored, so we tried to draw clovers on the dogs. Tasha's came out pretty well, I think. Don't worry, the spray was non-toxic and SAID it washes right out, though I discovered it was a little harder to remove than claimed.

I love this photo. Tasha is always draws a pretty good crowd, as does Kayleigh the Great Dane here. You can see the little boy really really wants to come pet Tasha and has drug his mom halfway across the street to get to her.


Ahhhh, Tasha actually rides well in the car after a parade has tuckered her out. And the best part is that she sleeps through the night after one - no whining at all hours to pee or be fed or to stand in the rain.

Blind Kitty

We went to a meeting for the Luna's House Rescue group Friday night after work. When we left, everyone was being their usual whiny, grumpy, play-with-me-now selves. We were gone about 2.5-3 hours and, when we returned, we noticed something was wrong with Boulder. He is usually the first one to the food bowl when I go to feed the cats, but he didn't show up at all. I called him, thinking he might be downstairs or accidentally shut into a closet (hey, it happens - they wander in when we're not looking). He finally appeared on the other side of the baby gate, but he wouldn't jump it and just seemed "off". Misty heard me asking him what was wrong and she came to look at him. Turns out, he's now blind!

We kept an eye on him all night, but none of us (including Boulder) could sleep. He was obviously upset by this sudden turn of events - he could see one minute; the next, he's blind. At least when an animal gradually loses sight, it is easier to adapt. We took him to Misty's vet before her morning appointments on Saturday. The vet commented on how tolerant and nice Boulder was for the exam. The optic nerve was okay, no signs of neurological damage (like what you might see if he fell or was hit/bit), but he was definitely blind. His blood pressure was slightly elevated, so they suspect it may have spiked on Friday night, rupturing both retinas. They had actually seen it in a cat the week before, though that cat had only ruptured one of its retinas and could still see out of the other one.

So, the plan of action is to obviously cater to Boulder's whims. Aside from that, we have medication to lower his blood pressure, which *might* allow him a tiny bit of sight back...though it is doubtful. He is getting his blood pressure re-checked today, as well as finding out the results of his blood tests (to see if he has a thyroid problem). He already had a heart murmur, but it was small and probably not related to any of this. We set Boulder up with a brand new bed that has very low sides (so he can crawl in easily) and catnip (so he can smell his way to it) - he seems to like it. We will also have to put him on a leash to get him to walk around the town house to re-learn where everything is by steps, smells, and sounds instead of sight. Poor guy.

Welcome to the Family, Demon Dog

Isn't he just such a weirdo? Who sits on the arm of a couch? Well, we think Starsky has joined the "unadoptable" ranks, which means we'll be adopting him. He is just incredibly destructive due to his separation anxiety and, if we didn't adopt him, he was going to be moved to another foster home. We would never know how he did in his next home and would be worrying about whether he reverted back to being scared or if he bit someone (from fear) and was put down (since he was already on probation for that). So, he's going to be ours.


This was one of his more annoying destructive acts recently. He tore apart the window fan that we've been putting on the floor for Tasha. She's been whining non-stop since it was destroyed, so our first priority will be to buy a new one.