That Murphy guy is a whiz for bad luck, let me tell you.

You would think that Kimba and Simba being adopted tomorrow is a great thing, right? Well maybe not so much now! When Mom came home yesterday afternoon she noticed that Simba's eye was a little drippy and the skin around it kind of puffy. Even I know that this is usually the first sign of a kitty upper respiratory infection. This morning Simba sneezed a few times, too. 

If Murphy's Law is that if anything bad can happen it will and at the worst possible time then Murphy's Law of Rescue is that if an animal is getting adopted tomorrow then that animal will get sick today. 

Snow is great for resistance training! Pushing against it to run takes plenty of muscle plus you have to raise your legs high to clear the snow pack. 

It is easier for me than for Eva. I am taller, I am stronger and, hello, I'm made for snow. She isn't so fond of winter, really. The cold winds bite through her short fur. And, if she complains about it, Mom puts a silly quilted jacket on her. But Eva says the worst part about winter, and about running in the snow, is what happened to her today.

Eva was out for a potty break happily wandering around and looking for a squirrel to chase. As her time outside grew longer she became more and more uncomfortable until, finally, she asked to come indoors. As she limped inside both Mom and I could see that she had one of her hind legs tucked up tight underneath her body. She wouldn't put any weight on it at all! I think she was shivering as much in pain as she was from the cold!

Eva has had problems with her hind leg before. The doctor says that she is prone to over-stressing a muscle or a tendon causing an intermittent limp. As Mom ran her hand gently along Eva's leg there wasn't any injury to feel. Then Mom put her hand under Eva's foot. Eva practically screamed! I was scared. I thought maybe Eva's foot was broken!

Mom just smiled and nodded to herself then spoke soothingly to Eva while continuing to cup Eva's little foot in her hand. Eva eventually stopped shaking and even squinched her eyes closed. I noticed a lot of water dripping on the floor. 

It must really hurt to have ice build up between your toes

Well, Dad did it. He replaced the floor. Where once was carpet and stinky, soiled sub-flooring there is now a beautiful bamboo floor. It is very hard! Eva and I cannot scratch it with our nails. Mom is happy because our fur vaccuums right up. No more slaving away on carpets for her!

There is one drawback. This stuff is hard to stand on! While I am cautious about how I place my paws, poor Eva is sliding around like Bambi on the icy pond! She took a spill yesterday that I thought would put her out of commission for awhile. Luckily she is okay but I can tell she must have a bruise since she keeps one side away from me while we play.

Mom says she will get a few area rugs for us but not many because she likes looking at the shiny new floor. I'm sure Eva and I will get used to walking on it after a while.

Sometimes Mom gets too lazy to actually cook a dinner for Dad. Those days are some of my favourite days. You should smell the essances emenating from our kitchen!

Today there is snow on the ground. Today Mom was pretty stressed because her laptop broke and she was behind on a project with a deadline. Stress leads to the inability to deal with anything else. Even dinner. So Dad gets to eat pot pies.

I LOVE pot pies. They are all kinds of sugar and salt and fat. Even the peas are mixed with rendered lard. Oh, and the crust!!! *droooool* Have you had some of that crust? It evaporates into a cloud of yum on your tongue.

But the best part is probably the dinner rolls. Guess what? They are dipped in pie gravy!!! Mom normally makes me eat a grain-free diet so, when Dad slips me half a roll with gravy, you know my carbohydrate indiuced coma is just around the corner!

My afternoon is planned out. Some pot pie, rolls and gravy followed by a deep and fulfilling nap, followed by some hyperactivity at 1AM. Sounds great, right? Don't you wish you had a mom like mine? LOL!!!

Repose. Slumber. Relaxation. Sleep.

I don't think that humans do enough of it.

Napping is an art form through which one is reinvigorated for the trials of the day. A good dose of shut-eye can help you rejoice in the pleasantries of the hour. As such, we dogs and cats make every effort to obtain as much sleep as we can. You humans, well, not so much.

Phone calls, Facebook, chores, driving and finally, work work work work work. I know, I've heard. Someone has to make a living! At least one person has to put food on the table and pay that mortgage!

What did you humans do to yourselves? It seems you've collectively painted yourselves into a corner and, instead of developing a strategy to get out, you are discussing who decided to start the room at the other end in the first place.

Well, I invite you to join me in a nap. Just a little one. Little like Kimba pictured above. Forget that shopping list. Forget battling the crowds. Even forget that you think your child will just DIE without that Furby from Santa on Christmas morning. 

Relax. Rest. Rejuvinate. Be as carefree as your cat or your dog. Fling yourself into the comfiest position possible and let your stresses melt.

You'll thank yourself!

LOL! Gabriel looks bored, doesn't he? 

Kimba and Simba are at All About Animals Rescue Spay and Neuter Clinic. Because if this, Gabriel has no one to tease, harass or otherwise bother. You know he likes to be a jerk. 

Still, he knows why and I know why. 

I wish that every person in the world could know and understand the value of spay and neuter. I have heard people say that it is unnatural to deprive us of our reproductive parts. Maybe it is a little strange to deny us our biological want to breed but, hey, the NEED isn't there. There are millions of wonderful, loving, amazing dogs and cats, bunnies and lizards, and even hedgehogs, sugar gliders and other neato pets being put down every year because people let us breed without considering whether good homes for all of us exist. 

I want a "no kill" paradigm to exist. It is unfortunate that it seems impossible until people will whole-heartedly embrace spay / neuter. And I mean regardless of a pet's pedigree or exotic appeal. 

We aren't commodities. We aren't money machines. We are your family. Please treat us as such. Treat us as children. Make the right medical and emotional decisions for us. 

Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die. I was a shelter pet redeemed on my last day by K9 Stray Rescue League. Eva was an animal control sacrifice saved only by her sweet eyes and wagging tail. Everyone here at our rescue has a story that begins with fear and pain. Please, save us! Don't breed. Don't buy. Don't think of your pet as an investment in money... think of your pet as an investment in love and karma.

Look at this thing. Just look at it.

Have you ever seen anyone so tiny and cute?

Eva insists that is is one of her pitbull puppies from her time before rescue. She grooms and loves him. She is teaching him everything about being a dog. Poor Eva. One day she may learn that he is a cat (I think) and then she will be sad.

Our friends at Motor City Auto Repair found him. They love and protect animals. Little Kimba couldn't have chosen a better place to show up.

The point if my post today is that he is SO little.  I mean, this tiny meezer mix wouldn't have had a chance without Motor City Auto Repair and a little help from Greta's Haven. People don't fix their animals because they have some vague idea of pedigree or, if a dog, AKC registry. I want people to understand that these things mean NOTHING. The AKC will register anything so long as their money is paid to them. They don't check bloodlines. They don't verify lineage! If I was going for fast money I could breed a Doberman to a Mastiff or a Dane and claim "King Doberman" on AKC papers. They wouldn't question it. They wouldn't bat an eyelash for the exploited dogs. This is wrong. It produces sickly dogs. It produces a market that shouldn't be with ignorant buyers waving their money.

But this is about meezer Kimba. He deserves a loving home with forever people. Don't buy into the hype of pedigree. Buy into the hype of rescue, doing good and making a difference. Kimba will thank you. Four million dogs and cats across the United States will thank you. Even exotic pets like bunnies, rats, lizards, snakes and hedgehogs will than you.

Please please please, adopt, not shop. We need you on our compassionate team.

It just so happens that when you adopt an adult dog who has never been house-trained and foster a whole bunch of cats who are scent driven jerks, you will need, eventually, to replace your carpet.

The stench in here is ridiculous. And when humans, with their weak noses realize it, too, then it is time for action.

So action we have! Mom is slowly pulling up sections of carpet. She is also getting sliced by carpet tacks and swearing (and bleeding) a lot! Carpet, pad and tack strips are Mom's job. Dad will be doing finish work with the saw - pulling up the particle board and putting down a solid sub-floor!

I hope my feet don't get splintered since it might be a few months before real flooring can go in. Still, it will be nice to have a sweet smelling home! 

Mom says that stink is a side-effect of rescue. But she also glared at Eva when she said the new sub-floor have better never be soiled!

Yesterday we had a terrific adventure! 

I was out in the yard for my morning business when, suddenly, there was Poe! How did the little kitten get out? I said "Woof!"

Dad said, "What is Orrin barking at?"

Mom came to the door and looked at me. "Orrin is on point," she said. "Wonder what he's got?"

"Ah, probably just a muskrat." dismissed Dad. I wanted to shout, "No! It is Poe! Poe is out!" but mom doesn't like barking, especially before dawn when it could disturb the neighbors.

After Dad left for work Mom went into the bedroom to grab some clothes.... and then she noticed. The vent from the air conditioning unit to the window had been pulled out leaving a lovely, kitten-sized gap through which Poe could escape.

"Poe!" Mom called in the house, "Here kitty kitty!" Adina and Gabriel came running but not Poe. 

"He's outside." I said to Mom. 

Mom ran outdoors with a flashlight calling for Poe. But he wasn't anywhere! Getting more upset, Mom went to get the live trap. As she was setting it up, there was Poe trying to get into the now closed window! Mom approached him with a tin of food but he hissed and fled. It was like he became feral again as soon as he was outdoors! Mom set the trap and then sat at the kitchen table, crying a little and trying to think of what to do. It was still very dark outside and Poe was so little to be alone!

And then there he was. Just outside the screen door. "Oh, Poe!" exclaimed Mom. Because I am an awesome dog and because I know that catching Poe would make Mom happy and also because I know that the door doesn't latch, I pushed through to catch Poe. 

I chased him for awhile. I don't know why he ran from me. In the house we are buddies, you know. But he ran and then he got away. Not wanting to waste this lovely dark morning with the almost full moon shining down, I decided to keep running. The neighborhood is so quiet at 4AM! I could hear Mom behind me, beseeching me in angry whispers to come back and maybe even cursing me a little! I just kept zooming along. I rarely get a chance to zoom! Eventually I got tired. I could hear Mom's little bare human feet hitting the sidewalk "pat, pat, pat, pat" and then she was there, snicking a leash onto my collar.

So we went home under the moon with Mom crying about Poe.

When she had to leave for work, Mom left the window through which Poe had escaped open. Her internet friend John told her to leave a tin of stinky food on the inside of the window so she did. Then Mom closed the door so that no one else could get out and she went to work.

Guess what? When Mom got home Poe had come back through the window, eaten the tin of food and fallen asleep under the bed. 

So all is well that ends well. Poe is home safe and sound, the AC vent is fixed so it can never happen again. Poe is also wearing a collar and tag and I am just waiting for the next time I can get out to traipse around the neighborhood, adventuring in the light of the moon.

Well... today is the day.

Our nail trim appointments have been made with the vet. Afterward comes the horror that is grooming.

I will be shampooed and doused with warm water. I will be brushed. My ears and teeth will be cleaned. All of this wretched attention will get rid of my beautiful dog scent. I'll smell as fresh as newly cut grass.

I will tolerate this tortuous treatment for one reason and one reason only. The reward. The infamous, delicious hot dog. 

These things are undoubtedly why humans even exist. I mean, if humans were built for a purpose it is and was to invent, make and dispense hot dogs. I don't care what brand; I don't care if they are beef, or turkey, or pork or even any combination of those things. I freaking love hotdogs.

So I will endure the indignity, the disgrace and the new smell simply for the joy of a singe hotdog.