Turn that damn light off...

Are you trying to tell me something Peanut?
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Are you sure you're comfortable?

Peanut sleeping away a rainy morning.
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Pretty Pepper

Here's my pretty girl. We're going to a Canine Confidence class next week. Woof.  

Ugh.

Being.unemployed is no fun, even with a severance package. Mental health services are being cut everywhere and there are precious few jobs to be had. Everyday I check for job listings and check leads to no avail. I am just short of being eligible for licensure which knocks me out of qualifying for 75 percent of jobs that are listed or available. It's been a week now and the first few days were nice but the worry is creeping in...

On a brighter note I am looking forward to next Saturday because I am taking Pepper to a Canine Confidence class. She is a very nervous shepherd and I really want to work on her socialization and confidence. She is such a smart dog - I hate not getting to share her wonderful personality with other people. She's only comfortable around close family and a very few friends. Our vet said German Shepherds have been so overbred that many of them now have fearful temperaments - yet another reason to avoid all backyard breeders and all "pet shops" who buy from puppy mills. Don't get me started on that!!

All for now...basically because I am already tired of QWERTYing on my Blackberry.

Woof.
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More Yuki

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Hello Yuki

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Yuki loves my closet - meow!

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Naptime already!?
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Naughty Peanut

Kitty on the counter beggin' for treats! Papa taught him that habit ;-)
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Countdown

As the days whiz by I get closer to being unemployed-being laid off after 20 years of service at my company. I have never been without a job and it sure does make me nervous. I have some severance if I can't be placed elsewhere in the company. Unfortunately, the jobs I qualified for have also been cut. And then there's the fact that really I have received zero assistance anyway.

Perhaps it's simply time to move on and start over with a new company.
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Hooray first clematis blooms!

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As soon as I sit up...

My little boy beagle Petey grabs my spot. I just went ahead and covered him up - he likes to be warm!
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Goodbye Sweet Atticus...1992-2009

We had to let go of our first kitty, Atticus. Heartache and misery to let go of my little guy. He was not a cat...he was a feline entity...so much personality. The house is empty without him.

Laid off...

For the past two years I have loved my job as a clinical social worker with older adults. We had a really unique program that helped older folks with mild cognitive impairment or mental health issues such as depression get their lives back. We saw so many people regain their resiliency and make new meaning and purpose for themselves.

But this year's Medicare cuts drove the final nail in our coffin. Our program was cut and the entire staff laid off. We will finish out treatment for our current patients and then we are off to hinterlands of unemployment, or even worse, forced into a job we are not suited for. It's all really depressing and the patients are angry and upset because there's no other program we can refer them to that's like ours.

It's been the best two years of employment I've ever had. It's a bad time to be jobless. I hope things turn out okay. It's definitely an anxiety-producing time.

Wasting away

It's hard to watch Atticus in his final days, but he continues to have an appetite and acts like he wants to be here. If he snows pain or misery beyond what he is showing now I'll have to make the decision.

But right now he's cuddled up beside me and climbed up on the couch on his own. I sure do hate to lose my old guy.

Off for the day and the weather is fine!

Grayson keeps Atticus warm

Atticus is still hanging in there ... Little grayson is cuddled up with him on the couch- poor baby.

Atticus in the balcony window...

 

Atticus joined Grayson on the ledge. You can see where his lip is tucked under...that's because he lost one of his "feline fangs" when he was about 15...he's well through his 16th year. I'm surprised he keeps on ticking...but am glad he does! In his old age he's lost more than half his highest body weight. He was a very big cat in his day...rrrraaaaawwwwwrrrrrr!

Grayson

 

Grayson is feeling much better...and is back in his favorite spot at the balcony window...

drinking from the magic well

 

I got this wonderful parent-approved toilet bowl for the dogs and cats for Christmas. Now they can drink from the toilet all they want without getting into trouble. They love it!! Atticus is getting a slurp in this photo.

Grayson

 

Grayson has been feeling icky from a skin infection, but since he got a steroid shot, he's been pretty spry. It's good to see him being obnoxious again.

I can't figure out...

Why my pillow smells like a beagle.

Petey immediately roosts on my pillow as soon as I get up. Naughty dog!

Petition Against Vick

For anyone out there that are as disgusted as I am with Michael Vick's actions, and minimal sentence, there is a petition to ban him from the NFL.

Michael Vick has openly admitted to the fighting, torture, and murder of many pit bulls on his land in Virginia. These dogs were not only fought but murdered in some of the most brutal ways-beating, drowning, hanging, and even electrocution.
For the horrible crimes that Michael Vick has committed, he was sentenced to a mere 23 months in prison, and now his lawyers are announcing that he should be out of prison and in a halfway house by Jan. 20, 2009.

This petition is to encourage the NFL to not reinstate Michael Vick into the NFL EVER! As we all know, famous athletes are supposed to be role models, setting a good example for America and its youth. Michael Vick should never be allowed to play professional football again.

If you agree with this, please sign the petition. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-NFL-from-reinstating-MichaelVick

For more information on how the dogs lives have been affected please visit http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/07/vick.dogs.rehab/index.html

Dog's nose for danger saves lives--Scout rocks!!

Dog's nose for danger saves lives

http://knoxnews.com/news/2008/dec/22/a-nose-for-danger/

Knoxville News Sentinel

Mesmer-eyezd

Yuki tries to get Svengali on me...

You have to see this video of a dog plowing through the snow....

http://www.dogwork.com/dogsnow/

St. Francis, protect my paws...

The pups got their St. Francis medals today...hey, everyone needs an angel...

THE most patient cat alive today...

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I just adore the Shibas

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Old Man Atticus

Atticus is a little bag of bones at 16 years old, so he enjoys warmth more than ever. Here he is snuggled up in a blanket I wrapped around him as we both enjoyed the heat from the fireplace. I wish I could keep him forever...he has the personality of 10 cats...and still manages to be obnoxious and bossy with liver, kidney, and heart problems. He gets daily fluids and meds and seems to be pretty happy for now...and I am grateful.

Not so Happy Tails...

This is an email that was forwarded to me from the owners who lost their dog at Happy Tails... (if you're in the Knoxville area you know the story...if not, read HERE...)


Friends:

Although this is difficult to write, I wanted to go ahead and share
the story of our beagle's death. Our dog, Moxie, was a healthy five
year old Beagle; she loved to bark at walkers, lie on our front porch
and have her belly rubbed by any and all visitors. She loved our
three children and just enjoyed her life. On Tuesday before
Thanksgiving, I called Happy Tails (a grooming and boarding business
located on old Ebenezer) to see if they could give her a bath. We
were planning on lots of family on Thanksgiving at our house and knew
Moxie would be in the middle of it. She has been boarded and bathed
there when needed for over five years. I dropped her off at 12:30 PM
and paid in advance because my 16 year old son was picking her up on
his way home from Bearden High School . He arrived at around 4 PM
and was told that she would be ready in a few minutes. After waiting
around 10-15 minutes, the owner, Eric Webb came running through the
lobby with our dog in his arms and told my son to follow him to his
father's office. My son, a licensed driver of two weeks, followed
Eric from their business, past our vet's office and traveled another
10 minutes to his father's office, Dr. Carlos Webb, Rocky Hill Animal
Clinic. They traveled at a high rate of speed and our son was
distraught and confused as to what was occurring. After arriving at
the office, our beagle was pronounced dead by Dr. Webb. The
explanation was that she had a seizure and died after being dried
from her bath. Our son called my husband and me on our cell phones
and we arrived as soon as possible (about 20 minutes). The owner's
wife, Sarah, did not call us even though she had all our
information. They also did not use our vet listed on our emergency
form. The owner, Eric, said he did not call because he was "busy,
trying to save your dog's life". The only discussion at the vet's
office while we were all still in a state of shock was whether to
cremate or have the city pick up our dog. They also discussed the
associated costs. We agreed to cremation around 5 when we left the
office.

The next morning, I visited our veterinarian to discuss the
situation. She immediately requested the body be released to her
staff. After first denying that they had Moxie they called back to
confirm that they were mistaken and she could be picked up. Dr.
Frazier, Northshore Animal Clinic, delivered her to UT for an
autopsy. She confirmed that Moxie had no history that would indicate
a seizure, etc. It was only after being notified by Dr. Webb that we
had her picked up, that we received a call from Eric to see how we
were. He assured me repeatedly that there was no foul play and that
she died of natural causes. He also offered to pay to buy us a new
dog, any breed we wanted. < /SPAN>The results of the autopsy were a
shock to us all. The cause of death was determined to be heat stroke
and blunt injury trauma. She had three cracked ribs and her liver
was lacerated and had bled into her stomach in an amount that would
cause death. Until we can investigate further, we will not know
exactly what occurred at Happy Tails. All I know is that we miss her
terribly and find it hard to understand why she had to endure such a
horrible death. It is a difficult situation to explain to our
children.

I have promised our children that her death will not be in vain and
that we will do all we can to share her story and hopefully prevent
others from suffering a similar loss. After our tragedy I researched
on the computer about Happy Tails and was shocked at the other
stories. You can google it and read those for yourself. I can only
ask that you do not utilize Happy Tails for any services for your
pets, even something as simple as a bath. Also, please check out and
ask for recommendations for any services for your pets. I never
thought this would happen and always felt safe leaving my pet in
their care. If you have any questions, or if you have a similar
story, please call or email me.

Please forward to your friends. Thanks for listening and give your
pets an extra hug today! They deserve our protection!

Kim Ramsey

(Tom, Ryan, Reid, and Abby Ann)

(address and number removed for this blog)

Pepper in the snow

The dogs don't get to see much snow. It takes them a little while to get over the confusion of it all.

Great dog for adoption...

Someone please adopt or foster this dog! I've already asked the spousal unit with no success. He just looks like a fantastic companion. He can even lounge with a ferret with no temptation. My heart just melts when I see this guy...SEE HIM ON PET FINDER...HE NEEDS HELP!

puppy cam...

I hope you've seen the puppy cam...5 adorable Shiba Inus snoozing, playing...being puppies. Puppy Cam

Sunday with cats

Peanut (looking up) and Yuki...

Pepper and her mama...

She loves to tuck her head under my chin while I rub her sides...

Pepper

Peanut meditating...

Peanut demonstrates child pose kitty-style

Once again...

I am wondering what in the hell is going on with this blog. It needs to transform somehow because I have somehow transformed. Being a therapist means you can't talk about work, though I suppose I can talk about issues. But I do that all day. All day.

I think I have temporarily lost my sense of humor--excised--the removal of a humor tumor. The wound hasn't healed and my comic equilibrium is still face-down on the floor--drunk with reality and change. And ridiculous analogies. Desperate attempts to regrow the humor tumor.

I'm bored.

Maybe I won't be bored later.

But it's true that I might be.

I guess I'll deal with it then.

Atty

Atticus hanging out with mama today...he's been pulling out his fur since Rooney died, but it's getting better.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Petey is enjoying this beautiful weather...it's been so hot and humid lately, but today was in the mid 80's with low humidity...ahhhhhhhh. Pepper is running around so much I can't get a good picture of her! I can always count on the hound to hang out for a photo-op.

Too hot

Smidget says it's too hot! Sheesh!

over-the-shoulder-beagle-holder...

I took this picture by holding my phone over my shoulder. Petey is such a mess! He was running upthe stairs this morning with a cat poo in his mouth. He smells like Fritos too...guess it's bathtime...

not a good way to end the day...

I have to pull myself together to get through the work day. I have to put my little Rooney to sleep this afternoon. He is very sick and there's nothing the vet can do for him. I will miss him so much! He is an awesome cat...the personality of 20 cats in 1.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Yuki and I are being very lazy today...

Happy 4th

Hope you are having a good one!

hang time

Atticus is just hanging with his mama...

slight differences

I don't know if you can spot the subtle differences in these shoes, but one of them has been treated with a specialized dog slobber treatment. It was applied overnight so as to not interrupt our sleep schedule. Gosh, our dogs are just so thoughtful!!!

Well, thank God...

1 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Ahhhh, SPRING!!

this hat story...

is especially worth reading. Dooce is funnier than usual. I don't have much time to read Dooce or other blogs anymore, but seeing as how I'm saddled with both laryngitis and bronchitis, I took a quick tour today. I laughed squeaked out loud when I read Dooce's entry.

Peanut you've been nabbed for trespassing...

See anything that doesn't belong on my new glass stovetop?

Pets for the Elderly

I got so excited when I saw this website!!! I hope a shelter in your area is supporting this cause!


PETS FOR THE ELDERLY

All of my froggies died...