Crush Your Cat's Head Friday-It's a Dog's Life Edition

I am thrilled to announce that Lulu has found a FANTASTIC forever home. When my friends, her foster mom and dad, saw her profile go back up on the rescue shelter website they realized they couldn't bear the thought of perhaps never seeing her again. Discussions ensued and they decided they couldn't let her go and that she has been where she really belonged all along. Lulu managed to meld into their family seamlessly. Clever girl! And I get to be The Benevolent Auntie any time I want. I've even received keys to their apartment so I can visit any time. It really doesn't get any better than this!

Snoozing with her new brother, Winston, who is obviously far more well adjusted than some other cat we know...*coughyoshicough*

Sharing couch time with her new sister, Xiola.


Getting her sea legs.


She and Xiola have become extremely close. My friend has been seeing special loving behavior from Xiola that she has never EVER seen her display towards any other of her doggy buddies. Lulu has developed so much self confidence being in Xiola's company. She is learning to trust and dig holes and play fight and be a lovely well rounded dog from her new best friend.


*brushing tears from my eyes* They are inseparable.


Here is Lulu looking forward to a bright future.

I know without a doubt that Lulu's life couldn't be any better.

Angst Is The New Black

Well…what do you know? It seems I have found myself right in the middle of a real live ker'fuffle. Boy-oh-boy, you have no idea what my day has been like.

It appears that The Jilted Adopters I posted about yesterday Googled my name and/or Lulu’s name and found my blog. Heeee! And of course the first thing I thought was, “Excellent!! Well I know what I’ll be blogging about tonight.” They read what I wrote about them and were very upset. So upset that they tattled about my blog to my friend who is fostering Lulu and the nice lady who runs the rescue shelter. Well, my friend reads me regularly and nothing I write surprises her anymore. I don’t know what The Nice Rescue Lady thought about this collection of my incoherent ramblings but she still stands behind me and my decision. I have always strictly adhered to a policy of never writing anything on my blog that I wouldn’t be 100% comfortable saying to anybody’s face and saying that I still firmly stand behind yesterday’s post.

I know they are upset. I know there were reasons why what happened happened. I know they are mad at me. I’d be mad at me too if I was in their shoes. I really would. I have no problem with their anger. It doesn’t bother me. None of that ultimately matters to me because for me all this has not been about emotions and whose feelings got hurt. It has been about getting Lulu into a fantastic home ASAP.

So, yes, they are upset and I’m told that they don’t feel that they have been given the opportunity to state their side of the story. Well, this is my blog for my opinions and if they want to start their own blog for theirs then they should. In fact I’d happily link to it. I have some blog domain name ideas for them. How about wehateherass.com or krankiisafuckinglyingwhorelady.com. I have absolutely nothing to hide. Seriously. I’ve always been open to finding out why things went wrong? You see, as well as finking about my blog they have also been sending detailed emails to my friend and The Nice Rescue Lady outlining in gory detail how I did them wrong. So while everybody else seems to be in the know about their side of the story they have never actually taken up their issues about me with me. I’ve not received copies of any of their complaints. And I can’t approach them as I was ordered by the husband in his nasty email to “NEVER” contact them again. Which I haven’t.

Here’s the thing. While I don’t have any copies in my possession of any of these emails they sent to other people about me I have been told a few particular items of interest. Now let me assure everybody that I would never have lightly or foolishly blogged about my experience if I didn’t follow some ground rules. I never identified anybody by name. I never identified anybody’s occupations or places of work. There is absolutely no way my silly little opinion, as misguided as it apparently is, could ever be traced to any particular person or people. And in addition to that I never said anything about the situation that I couldn’t back-up and prove outright with emails I sent and received. I could even promise that if it came to anything ugly phone records would prove my position as well. No, not the content of conversations but whether phone conversations ever took place. I hate to be cryptic here and I won’t get too detailed. He will know what I mean. How CSI, huh?

Hearing certain negative assertions about my conduct and how I supposedly threatened, harassed and pestered them that I know are blatantly untrue and can be totally disproved by the information I have in my possession only makes me laugh even harder. Like I am talking REALLY hard here. Like there is even milk coming out of my nose.

So on the off chance you guys are reading this *waves hello* please feel free to comment and/or post a link if you’d like to state your side of the story. From the very beginning all I ever wanted was to hear from you and be updated and kept abreast of your situation. But I warn you, please be very careful what you accuse me of. I, in all seriousness, suggest you go over the emails I sent and you sent and be very sure of what you are going to say about me in writing to post on the internet. I say this because if there are any untruths I will not hesitate to set the record straight.

I’ll say it one more time. I’ve kept every single email.

PS-I'll tell you all some good news tomorrow.

Nasty! Don't Mean a Thing!

In the two years I’ve been writing my blog I’ve never received an icky comment or shitty email. Everybody has been nothing but lovely, supportive and kind. So YAY! and Thank You! and all that because I think that kind of bad stuff, in large enough doses, could really get to a person after a while.

So imagine my surprise when a rather nasty email arrived in my inbox today. Not from a fellow blogger or internet troll but from the person who had been chosen to adopt Lulu.

I have spent the last week and an half fielding several emails per day from people who were eager and excited about the prospect of bringing Lulu into their homes. The rescue shelter where I adopted her from had very strict criteria to meet so most of these applicants were rejected. Friends of my friend who is fostering Lulu at the moment expressed interest and we encouraged them to apply to adopt Lulu. They did and the rescue shelter lady wasn’t sure they were the right match but my friend and I raved about them and promised that they’d be perfect. Against her better judgment she agreed to the adoption saying she trusted us.

And then the slow decline into hell began. The husband of the couple who seemed to be the spokesperson of the two was not the slightest bit excited when I called to let them know they had been accepted to adopt Lulu. In fact he brushed me off saying he’d call later and then didn’t. I emailed him asking for a date/timeline/ball-park estimate as to when they wanted to take Lulu with no reply. I asked for any kind of information at all about their intentions and got no reply. He did venture to say he wanted to take Lulu for the day to introduce her to their cat and then didn’t make arrangements to pick her up or even contact me to let me know what was happening. A complete no-show.

Well…I sent a very nice email expressing my concerns that there seemed to be some sort of disconnect and that I was not getting the information I needed to get them and Lulu together. I explained my obligations towards the rescue shelter and my responsibilities towards Lulu. I outlined how the payment of the adoption fee would work depending on how the adoption was arranged; immediate pick up or slow introduction into their home. I asked them to give me their thoughts and wishes so we could work together to get Lulu happy and settled.

I got no reply.

So I cancelled the adoption.

And when I emailed to tell them so I wasn’t so nice anymore. I certainly wasn’t rude but I made VERY clear the reasons why I was not going to adopt Lulu to them and nothing was sugar coated. I questioned why they had applied for Lulu in the first place. I explained what they should have done and what they didn’t do. I outlined the circumstances of their application and how my friend and I had stuck our necks out to get them accepted. I told them what an embarrassing and awkward situation they had put us in with the shelter. I said they owed my friend an apology as she had advocated for them very strongly and they let her down. I said they had let Lulu down as well.

Ok-maybe not the kind of email one wants to get but there were no profanities. No personal attacks. Just the irrefutable facts of the matter, my side of the situation and the predicament I was now in. Hell, I have the whole adoption exchange on email and words don’t lie! They totally blew me off.

And that is when the husband sent me the nasty email. It was personal, it was low, it was petty and it contained a very blatant lie. A horrible ass covering desperate lie. A lie that one shouldn’t commit to paper and send out into the world because it is gonna come back and bite you on that ass you are trying to protect.

Remember, I have all the emails...

The best part was that this nasty email was also really funny. I laughed out loud when I read it.

A couple years ago this email would have devastated me. I would have been agonizing that they didn’t liiiike meeee or that it was unnnnfaaaiiiirr. Not now. All those happy pills and hours of therapy have done the trick. And the best part is that a year of picking apart all my idiosyncrasies and issues with a therapist has given me the knowledge and insight to be able to pick apart the mental freakiness of others. And let me tell you this email was filled with all sorts of very interesting and telling things to pick apart. Veeeeery interesting. And that made it all the funnier.

Growing up so rocks.

Plan B for Total BUMMER

Um…let’s just say I have been dreading writing this post. It has not been the best week and nothing happened the way I had hoped and, frankly, the way it was supposed to, DAMMIT.

Nothing at all.

Lulu did not work out. Or maybe I should rephrase that. Lulu worked out great. Yoshi stopped working all together.

Yoshi had, what I believe to be, a total feline nervous breakdown.

Now I know what many of you are thinking. Kranki, you total DUMBASS!!! Didn’t you think ahead about this? Didn’t you think this might happen?

I have to be honest with you. I thought about this a great deal and I thought up a whole bunch worse case scenarios but never dreamed what actually happened would happen. It never occurred to me. Obviously, if it had entered my mind I never would have brought a dog into my home. I'd seen Yoshi around dogs but obviously none had ever stayed for a sleepover.

This is what I imagined might happen with Yoshi:

-hissing
-growling
-yowling
-spitting
-swiping with paws-nails extended-possible bloodshed
-retaliatory peeing or pooping in favourite shoes/on bed/on dining room table
-moody self absorption and angst
-shunning of mommy love
-acting out and general bad behavior

What actually occurred with Yoshi:

-hissing
-growling
-yowling
-spitting
-swiping with paws-uncertain of nail position
-shunning of momma love
-COMPLETE CESSATION OF EATING FOR 4 DAYS!!
-COMPLETE CESSATION OF WATER CONSUMPTION FOR 4 DAYS!!
-PERSISTENT VOMITING LEADING TO TOTAL DEHYDRATION!!
-RIPPING OUT OF OWN FUR!!
-BITING WHEN TOUCHED!!!
-NO LONGER CLEANING HERSELF!!

By the time Thursday came along Yoshi was noticeably thinner, completely dehydrated, too weak to jump out of the dog’s reach, listless and looking really rough. I thought I’d have to take her to the vet which would have freaked her even more. It was really terrible.

I talked with a friend of mine who, while not a vet, bred and showed Persian cats for years as well as ran a boarding cattery. She said that all the above behaviors were not dangerous except for the vomiting part. Dehydration is very dangerous. Yoshi was barfing several times a day and I just didn’t know where it was all coming from because her food was completely untouched. She suggested I take Yoshi to the vet and get her put on tranqs. Another friend mentioned Prozac. The lady at the shelter where I got Lulu said I should just keep the cat in my bedroom from now on.

None of these were an option because until I brought a dog into the house Yoshi was perfectly fine. A little insane, yes, but overall quite fine. This was not her fault in any way and I wasn’t going to make her pay for my mistake. And it wasn’t Lulu’s either as she had been a perfect citizen in my home all along.

This was all my fault. And I felt like shit and continue to do so.

So that Thursday I took Lulu to my friend’s house who not only has a dog of her own but also dog-sits another small dog everyday. Yoshi started drinking later that day and started cleaning herself which I thought was a good sign. She continues to be super jumpy with any sudden movements or sudden noises. She no longer meets me at the door when I come home because she is afraid there might be a dog attached to me. She is eating roughly twice her usual amount and is putting weight back on again. She is doing fine.

Lulu is having a blast at my friend’s house. She is way more outgoing, happy and is very much in love with my friend’s dog. The shelter where I got Lulu is working to re-home her up here in Vancouver and I am helping with that. They are not angry with me as when I adopted Lulu I voiced my concerns about how Yoshi would cope and they were happy to give me a trial period to see what would happen. They just want the best home for Lulu too and obviously my home is not the right one.

But I REALLY wish it was because I just LOVE that dog.

So while I often sit and think about ways I could make it work I know deep down it isn’t going to. Maybe if I had a much bigger place where I could give one level to the cat and one to the dog it might be ok. But I don’t. I have a small apartment and we all have to live together.

So I fucked up. I made a huge mistake. I know, I know…I suck.

The Cutest and Sweetest Dog EVER!!!

The Jerk and Her Death Stare of Doggy Hatred

Operation Dog Adopter went off without a hitch. I present to you…LULU!!!!

THE EARS!!!!

This dog is the most mellow and sweet dog I have ever met. There is yet to be any barking and she is most happy sleeping. She is about 1 1/2 years old and we figure there is Chihuahua, Dachshund and maybe some Jack Russell in her. Poor thing was relegated to an outdoor kennel with her brother in her previous life so doesn’t really know how to walk on a leash or even sit. She doesn’t even know the word, “Treat!” However, she can play a mean game of fetch. When returning with the ball she often stops halfway and “dribbles” the ball between her front paws until she reaches you. So far she has been very intuitive about what I want her to do. She leaves the cat alone and has started playing with her toys and sleeping in her crate even though she didn’t show much interest in them yesterday. She used to eat out of a communal food bowl at the shelter so now she delicately takes a few pieces of kibble in her mouth and carries them to the dining room about 4 feet away where she eats them. I guess she didn’t like the insanity of the feeding frenzy and developed a peaceful way to eat. She has a little nick out of one of her ears due to getting frostbite in the sad unheated kennel in her old life. Every time I see it I get livid. Poor thing. She is also somewhat underweight. Despite her lonely life so far she is very submissive and eager to please. She loves to snuggle up and prop her head on my lap for snoozes. She is shy around new people but warms up almost instantly with some petting and scratches behind the ears. She is also a little nervous in the elevator and sits right between my feet for comfort. So far she is a lovely pooch.

The Very First Meeting

Cuddles

And Kisses

And how is Yoshi doing? Well…yesterday she acted scared and curious. Her tail was often fluffy but she circled Lulu like a shark trying to figure out what was going on. This behavior has now turned into outright hostility and Yoshi howls, growls and yeowls along with lots of hissing whenever the dog so much as looks at her. Yet she doesn’t seem scared. She just seems pissed now. But not pissed enough to not eat all the tuna I am feeding her or not watch the dog incessantly or not play with her Q-tips.

Lulu The Angel-By Michelle Davidson (who came with me on the adoption trip)

Right now Yoshi is in her Snoozen Housen while Lulu is in her Lulu Housen. So yes, I feel guilty as hell about Yoshi but it has been less than 24 hours and so far no bloodshed or poop gifties in my shoes. I think it’ll work out just fine.

Poochie Lulu

Well, today is my birthday. I am 38 years old. And a scary indication of how old I am getting is that I forgot for about the first 30 minutes of the day that it was anything but a boring old Thursday. Forgetting my phone number and sitting in McDonalds nursing a single coffee for 6 hours is surely not far behind.

I spent my day primarily on the road running errands. Not just boring old errands like picking up dry cleaning or buying oven cleaner. We are talking about fun errands like buying rubber and squeaky toys and wildly trendy and appropriately expensive puppy-yuppy supplies for my soon to arrive new urban pooch.

Nine years ago I was given a fabulous gift for my birthday. I got Yoshi. Not actually on the day but a few months later once she had got her shit together and was born and weaned. I think it was mid May when I brought her home. And I have been firmly under her paw ever since.

So on Sunday I am driving down to Washington State to pick up Lulu. My birthday gift to myself. She is a whole lot of something including possibly dachshund and who knows what else. Frankly, she looks like she has been assembled from spare dog parts.

I love her already.

Wildly emotional and excessively soppy photo essay to come on Monday.

Meh...

*BIG SIGH*

Sorry about missing Crush Your Cat’s Head Friday but it was such a dark and dreary day and every photo I took of Yoshi looked terrible. Then she started getting really cranky because apparently the only thing worse than getting her picture taken is getting her picture taken multiple times with a flash. Plain and simple I gave up. I feared for my life.

The Doggy Adoption Saga continues. I sent in an adoption application to a rescue shelter in Yakima, Washington which was accepted. Yay! But then the dog I wanted to adopt was adopted by someone else mere hours before I applied. Boooooo! Then I found out that dog had a brother who was very cute in a troll-like sort of way and he was available to adopt. Yay! Then I got a phone call today from the nice lady who runs the adoption shelter and she said she wasn’t quite sure Norm, the Troll Dog, was quite right for me. Apparently he really likes to mark his territory and she knows I rent my very small apartment and that might not be too cool. Booooo! But then she said she had a couple other dogs that might interest me and I could see them when I came to see Norm. Yay! Then the weather has become quite snowy at the higher levels and the 10+ hour round trip involves driving over a high mountain pass. I doubt I could make it without a 4-wheel drive vehicle or at all with all the snow storms going on. Boooo!!

So….no dog…and no idea when it might happen.

Final rating: BOOOOOOO!!!

Poochless in Seattle

Pooch Watch 2007 has started with a whimper. I did not get the sweet dog I applied to adopt. It was a long shot but I had very much hoped I would be chosen. There are several things going against me as far as being a future dog owner.

First of all there are literally next to zero small dogs for adoption within a 100 mile radius of my city. While this is very good news showing that dog parents are living up to the responsibilities of their charges it means I am shit out of luck for a simple and easy adoption scenario. I called a nearby shelter today and they told me they hadn’t had a small dog for adoption in over a year. Mind you if I wanted a Rottie or a Pitt Bull there are hundreds of them available. However, I am smart enough to know they are too much dog for me.

I have to break here for a 'mo and tell you about the one single small dog available for adoption in a nearby city. It is a Yorkie that was picked up wandering the streets of L.A. He has no teeth, a bad heart, bad kidneys, incontinence, and only one eye. ONE EYE!!!! Doesn’t this story sound like a Quentin Tarantino movie? Seriously. Holy crap!

Ok, back to my whinge.

Another strike against me is that I live in an apartment and people with fenced yards always get priority in dog adoptions. This is very unfair as I live in a fabulous dog friendly neighbourhood surrounded by parks and trails in the woods. I also have a very large and secure roof garden for off leash fetch sessions. There is an off leash beach and park a 10 minute drive away. My building is exceptionally dog friendly with, I estimate, 40%-50% of tenants owning at least one dog. I was talking with a neighbour who said she tried to adopt a dog for several months and finally gave up and bought one. She loves her dog but thought it was crazy she was passed over due to the yard situation. Honestly, I think it can work out better for a dog because the fact that we live in an apartment and have to physically take a dog out for bathroom duties it ensures they get more productive walks versus a person who just lets a dog out into a yard to do its thing without any kind of interaction. I’m just saying…

So I looked in a couple of local papers for what sounded like reputable breeders and found that mixed breed small dogs cost about $1500 to buy while pure breeds cost about $3000. Well, that kind of purchase is not going to happen for me any time soon. Initially I thought that this range of prices would probably deter emotional and unsuitable purchasers which was a good thing for dogs in general but changed my mind when I saw how many pure bred large dogs are in shelters. We all know people often have more money than sense.

So I am being steered toward out-of-country adoption such as a lot of prospective parents do for non-furry children. Sadly, the US has loads of small dogs in shelters and rescues. In fact the sweet dog I applied for was located in Seattle, a 3-4 hour drive away. There are problems with this as well. Many rescue shelters do not adopt out to out-of-state or country applicants because doing home checks and after adoption checks are so time consuming and expensive. I can totally understand this but with the small dog shortage here they are missing out on a huge group of willing adopters. I have decided that if I do manage to adopt a dog from Washington State I will volunteer to perform home-checks for them in my area so they can facilitate more adoptions up here.

But saying that it can still be quite expensive to adopt a shelter or rescue dog from the US since they often charge adoption fees as high as $500. Take in account the exchange rate to Canadian funds along with at least two trips across the border using a few tanks of gas on top of all the supplies ones needs to get and obedience classes and a vet check needless to say it can get very pricey.

Now I know what a lot of you are saying. If I can’t afford to shell out aprox $1000 for a dog then I probably shouldn’t get one. Believe me I have taken that into consideration and totally understand this point of view. The fact is I can (with some recent lifestyle adjustments) afford supplies for a dog as well as a reasonable adoption fee. I can afford pet health insurance so I don’t have to worry about large vet bills and I can certainly afford food and an obedience class or two. What I don’t have is a huge lump sum to hand out all at once.

So the plan is this. I will continue to check local and US adoption sites on the internet and by phone. I will continue to contribute to my Poochum Fund so I can afford a higher adoption fee as the funds grow over the next few months. I will continue to be open to the whole process and see what comes my way. But I now realize I will have to be more patient. Waaaaayyyy more patient.

So thank you, Universe, for once again placing me in a situation where I become brutally aware of how grossly impatient I am. I’m working on this issue, honest! Cut me some slack.

In the meantime I am cuddling Yoshi and spoiling her rotten. Enabling her Q-Tip habit and lap addiction. Crushing her head any way I can think of.