Mommy is Sad

... because I'm going to be 6 years old tomorrow. She can't believe that I'm no longer a little puppy. What happened to the time, she asked me. I just shook my heavy head (OK, so I'm borrowing from Lewis Carroll).

She's also sad that I have a little gray on my face. But hey, Parker is even whiter than I am, so I'm not that gray! Of course, he is a little older than I am.

I hope Mom spoils me tomorrow, but she has to work. So we'll see.

Woof!

Now It's My Turn to Have A Seizure!

Yep, I can't believe it. But I had a seizure this morning. My mom put me outside with Parker and Beau (he's a foster dog, but he's one of my best pals) and she went back inside the house. Then The Egg Man came over.

OK--guess I have to explain who The Egg Man is. He's known me since I was 8 weeks old and when he comes over, he often gives me cooked egg yolks. I go nuts every time I see him. I see him and think EGG YOLKS!! Hence his nickname.

The Egg Man came through the back yard, saw that I was having a seizure and called my mom on his cell phone. "You need to get out here," he said. "Nikki's having a seizure."

Well, my mom naturally asked, "You mean Parker?"

And he replied, "No, I mean Nikki."

So Mommy rushed outside, put Beau and Parker in the kitchen and talked to me real soothingly. I was trembling all over and I couldn't get up.

I could hear The Egg Man talking to Mommy. They were saying that my trembling was lasting a long time.

Finally the trembling subsided, so I got up and came over to my mom for reassurance. The Egg Man and Mom expressed surprise to see me playing with Parker soon afterward.

Mommy had to cancel her appointment to show Beau to a potential adopter (my mommy is a dog rescuer/dog trainer/dog walker) and took me to the vet instead.

I was beside myself with excitement while we waited in the vet's lobby. There were all those new people, doggies and cats to meet. I wanted them all to pet ME coz I'm a beautiful golden. Some nice people did pet my tummy for quite some time.

Anyway, the vet said I seemed to be fine and to keep an eye on me. He didn't order a blood test coz I had one recently, and he felt it wasn't necessary. Whew!

Hopefully, I'll never have another seizure again, or at the most, once or twice a year. Mommy is praying that I don't get monthly seizures, otherwise I gotta be on drugs like Parker the Barker.

But all is well so far! Keep those paws crossed for me, though!

Oh, on a side note, I have now reached goal weight. I get to go on maintenance! I now weigh 63 lbs., which is very cool. It took me forever to reach goal, but I did it! Whoo-hoo! Mommy said she'll switch me over from to Science Diet R/D to W/D.

So I can enter those beauty contests again.

Woof!

I Sure Miss You All!

I feel bad ... we haven't been on Dogster in such a long time. But Mommy is so busy rescuing dogs that she rarely has time to go on Dogster any more.

If you want to check out what Mommy has been doing, go to Critters in Need Pet Rescue's website: http://crittersrescueonline.org/

And Mommy's blog: http://crittersrescue.blogspot.com/

Mommy helps save dogs from shelters, fosters them, takes them to the vet, takes them to adoption events--basically she's overseeing 35 dogs or so. And she also does the website--among other things.

Critters in Need is a small, volunteer dog rescue group based in Orange County, CA. They do what they can to save lives ... but it really is a group effort.

If you'd like to volunteer, please email my mommy at Dogs@CrittersRescue.com -- we'd love to see you!

Oh, and now Mommy is training to be a dog trainer. Does that mean I now have to be a good girl? Oh, no!!!

Woof!

Bad Mommy!

My mommy has been bad. I've been begging to go on Dogster for ages now and she keeps telling me to wait. That she's so busy rescuing poor unfortunate doggies that she hasn't a moment to log me in.

But today, I used a different ploy. I gave her my paw. Then I put my head on her knee and looked up at her, using my Big Eyes technique.

I guess it worked, coz here I am! So now I get to say howdy to all my Dogster pals!

Hey, did you notice the chill in the air? Fall has arrived in Southern California! This is when I like to play and wrastle with Parker the most. And I kicked some booty tonight, I tell you! Hah!

Well, write and tell me what you've all been up to. I haven't been up to much but Mom sure has with all those dogs she's rescued.

She belongs to a volunteer group based in So. CA called Critters in Need Pet Rescue. Last year, they re-homed over 200 dogs. And they're sure gonna surpass that this year.

If you want to volunteer or foster a dog, contact them. If you'd like to adopt another pooch, contact them! Here's the link:

http://crittersrescueonline.org/

Woof!

Cesar's Tips for a Safe 4th of July!

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/tips/quick_fireworks.php

Pl ease read this! Really important. There are more pets lost or killed during this weekend than any other weekend!

How You Can Help Congo!

My family sent Congo a pup pal request, and his owners kindly replied:

Thank you for your support. Congo's Law will benefit all pet owners, and protect us from this happening again, so please keep calling the gov and call Neil Cohen to approve his proposed bill.

My email is savecongo@aol.com. We need everyone to know about this so please pass it on.

Help Find Blue!!

A friend of mine is missing. His name is Blue - officially Yukonwind's Doobie Blues.

I still believe that he is alive and I still believe that he will be found. I have to believe... what would I do if I were missing? Would my humans look for me... would they still look for me after 2 months? after 6? Would other people help them or would they be all alone too? Would someone find me and try to make me theirs? Would I wonder searching for food and shelter? I'd be scared... this I know

Blue is alive, I feel it, but he's scared. He wants to come home and he wonders if anyone cares... if anyone is looking for him.

My humans live many miles away. They have never met Blue or Blue's humans but they are trying in any way to help... help spread the word, help find blue.

So... why help strangers, why help find a dog you don't know?
For many reasons, but mostly because they know that this could just as easily be me. How helpless would any of us pups, kitties or humans feel? Who else could we turn to who would truly understand? We do this because we put ourselves in the shoes of Blue and Blue's humans and because we've come to know that even as strangers, we'd be there for each other...

We do it for our own pack. We do it for the friends we've made here - we do it because we know if any one of us is in need, we will be there for each other.

We do it because Blue needs us... and we all have something to offer, we can all help and add to a sum that is so much bigger than just one.

Please help us - please post this in your diary. Please click here to go to WhereIsBlue.com and help us get Blue home!! and share it with your friends, ask your humans to share it with there friends. Please pay this forward - we would do the same for you.

Blue, a black and white Siberian Husky (4 year old male, brown eyes, microchipped) has been missing since May 8, 2007 from Brighton, MI.

Dogster page: http://www.dogster.com/dogs/620507

Website : WhereIsBlue.com

E-mail: inform@whereisblue.com

Telephone: (313) 550-6095
Reward offered for his return, no questions asked.

Permission and gratitude for cross posting. Thank you!

YOUR PHONE CALL CAN SAVE CONGO'S LIFE!!! PLEASE HELP- CONGO!!!!

Congo LOST! We have to call the governor TODAY to save his life.

Please call 609-292-6000 TODAY to tell the governor that Congo should NOT be put down! They are taking a tally and if enough people call in, it will save his life!

I called in and it took only a minute of my time. PLEASE CALL TODAY!!

Here's the post:

URGENT!!!! - Congo Lost in Court - PLS CALL NJ GOV CORZINE TO OVERRIDE!!

The governor's office is taking calls and they are doing a tally of
people who are for or AGAINST putting this GSD down.Plz take a second to
call his life is on the line here!!!O tell them wut state you are from!!!
Thanks

PLEASE CROSS POST

CONGO THE GSD lost his court case today.
Judge upheld the death sentence!!

EVERYONE PLEASE WRITE & CALL
New Jersey Gov.Corzine
Urge him to OVERRIDE CONGO's DEATH SENTENCE

Gov.'s office is taking a numerical tally on how many people call -
please call him
Office of the Governor PO Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625
609- 292-6000
Email by going to his site: http://www.nj. gov/governor/ govmail.html

NEW JERSEY RESIDENTS ESPECIALLY NEEDED!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!
NY and PA residents also especially helpful...

For those not familiar with Congo's case:
1. two illegal immigrants were gardening at the family's house
2. they arrived an hour early
3. they were told by the husband to stay in their truck until he could
get out of the shower and get some clothes on
4. the husband speaks Spanish and spoke to them in Spanish so there is
no question they understand what they were told to do
5. they directly disobeyed the husband and walked into the backyard with
the wife, who had just pulled into the driveway)
6. the two adult gsd's and their puppies came running
7. the gardeners panicked
8. ONE GARDENER GRABBED THE WIFE AND WRESTLED HER TO THE GROUND, USING
HER AS A PROTECTIVE SHIELD
9. Congo thought his owner was being attacked and went after the gardener
10. The gardener used his rake to beat at the puppies and inflicted some
injuries on them.
11. the gardener changed his story three times (interesting note on
official bias: when the owner said the gardener changed his story five
times, the dog warden said "No, he only changed his story 3 times.")

Be Careful of Falling Leaves!

Mommy has been concerned about us. You see, we've got these awful Santa Ana winds (and some areas have terrible fires), so leaves from neighbors' yards have blown in. We've got lots of avocado leaves in our yard right now, and Parker keeps nibbling on them!

She contacted the ASPCA, who replied:

Thank you for contacting the ASPCA. Generally speaking, avocado (Persea americana) is not an advisable food to give to dogs or other pets. Avocado leaves as well as the fruit, seeds and bark contain a toxic principle known as Persin. The Guatemalan variety, which is typically the most common variety found in stores, appears to be the most problematic. Other strains of avocado can have different degrees of toxic potential.

The primary concern in dogs and cats is with gastrointestinal (GI) irritation, including vomiting and diarrhea. However, in rare cases cardiac failure in dogs has been reported. Birds appear to be particularly sensitive, exhibiting respiratory distress, generalized congestion, fluid accumulation around the tissues of the heart, and death. Because of the plant's toxic potential, we would recommend discouraging your golden from nibbling on the fallen leaves in your yard.

Thank you again for your email. If I can answer any additional questions, please feel free to contact me directly. I hope that you and your family remain safe during these devastating wildfires and high winds.

Stay Safe!

I hope all Dogsters and Catsters are safe from the fires here in CA and don't have to evacuate! We're OK, but the winds and the air quality ... very smoky and yucky. Mommy doesn't let me play outside too much.

Take care!

Woof!