The Dog-Berts

October 29, 2008 | 4 Comments

Bella is afraid of the cats. She won’t cross them. So if we’re on one side of a cat and she’s on the other, she’ll just sit and whine. It’s kind of funny. Floyd did that for a while when we first adopted him. Now he’s fine around the cats.

Here’s Floyd and Bella, both sitting perfectly waiting for a treat:

Floyd has that little snarl-mouth that he gets sometimes after he licks his chops. Bella’s ears are at full attention. When she’s more relaxed, those tips fall forward. It’s really cute.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Miscellaneous 
4 Comments to "The Dog-Berts"

Yesterday

October 28, 2008 | 7 Comments

Yesterday was our anniversary. Ed and I have been married 3 years, together for 4. We drove out to Valley of Fire and took a hike with Bella. We had a picnic out in the place where we got married. On our drive back to Vegas we saw another couple doing the deed. I wanted to tell them “October 27th is a great day to get married!” but I refrained and let them have their own, private moment.

Mary babysat Floyd for us. He’s a good, little hiker, but we thought it might be a little too hot and too hard for him. Bella did great on the hikes. She’s a natural. We gave Bella a backpack to wear on her hike. She took to it well. So now she can carry her own poo bags, treats, and water bowl. I think she’ll be a great hiker.

The day was slightly clouded by the Bella drama (mentioned in last post) and Ed was worked up about it. It’s really interesting to watch him in situations like this. He is a super mellow guy who takes all kinds of things in stride, but when anyone messes with his family, he gets very angry and protective. Once, when a drunk man yelled at Floyd, Ed almost got into a fight with the man. He kept his cool and got Floyd to a safe place, but Ed wanted to fight the man. And of course, when Mason tried to shove a wedge between me and Ed, Ed’s reaction was to ditch Mason and 2+2 entirely. The same kind of thing happened during the conversation about Bella. Ed got very protective of her.

Our original plan was to camp for a few nights, but that was pre-Bella. We didn’t want to upset her new routine too much too soon, so we’re postponing the camping a few weeks. We’ll probably take our camping trip mid-November.

We are so very fortunate that we have each other and such a great animal and human family. We are so fortunate that we can hike and camp in the middle of the week. Part of that is good luck. Ed’s books sell well. But part of that is a conscious decision to make do with what we have. We don’t need to be millionaires, we don’t need to live in a mansion, we don’t need two cars, we don’t need expensive clothes, we have all we need.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Miscellaneous 
7 Comments to "Yesterday"

Bella Drama

October 27, 2008 | 8 Comments

I got a call this morning. Two calls. Turns out Bella has a backstory.

Workers at the construction site near where we found Bella say she was abandoned and they’ve been feeding her. They say they want her back, but we’re not inclined to give her to them because:

  • They don’t actually claim ownership. They say they’ve been looking after her.
  • They’ve been “using her as a guard dog” (their words, not mine). I can’t imagine this shy girl who ran from me when I first met her was very effective as “a guard dog.” But more importantly, she’s not a tool for human use.
  • They seem to just leave her to fend for herself at nights and over the weekend. (There’s a reason they waited all weekend before they called us. We found her Friday afternoon around 3:30pm and we went back on Saturday afternoon and put up flyers in the area. So, apparently they don’t feed or water her on weekends.)
  • Their stories don’t match: One guy said they found her a year ago, another guy said they found her three months ago.
  • They don’t have any vet records; they never took her to the vet. (We already took her to the vet.)
  • They say they have pictures of her, but no pictures of them with her. (We already have pictures of us with her.)
  • She doesn’t seem to have a name to them. They just say “the dog.”
  • When I asked if she came when they called, they evaded the question.
  • When Ed asked what they did on Sunday for her (feed her, make sure she’s not running across busy streets, etc.), they evaded the question.
  • They say they want her back so some guy who has never met her can adopt her “because he has another aussie.” (I might be inferring too much, but given that she’s not spayed it makes me wonder what their plans are for her. Do they want her to breed her? Is someone trying to make money off her?)
  • The second phone call ended badly when the guy said, “Fuck you” and hung up. Before that, he said, “you must be white folk because only white folk would take a dog like that” to which Ed replied something along the lines of, “Yes, we are white folk and yes we think she should have a home, not an empty lot without water or shelter. She was running in the street. She would have been hit by a car.” Ed told them they can adopt a dog from an aussie rescue group or go down to the pound and adopt a dog. They haven’t called back.

If Bella had been picked up by animal control, they’d require proof of ownership. That proof would have to be either 1) a microchip or 2) photos and vet records. The people who called me have neither. If she’d been picked up by animal control, she’d be returned spayed and microchipped. We plan to do both this week.

So, for now, she’s not going anywhere. No one is giving or selling her to “some guy” who wants another aussie.

It’s tough. This is a culture clash. But it’s more than just guard dog versus pet dog. It’s about animals as human tools versus animals as individuals with rights to basic things like shelter, food, and affection.

I feel terrible that our conversations didn’t go better and that they were left with the impression that ‘white folk will come take your dog,’ but I can’t worry too much about how they feel given that I know Bella is in a better situation now. I mean, come on now, you have to FEED your dog every day. It’s just that simple.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Miscellaneous 
8 Comments to "Bella Drama"

Lost & Found Pet Websites

October 27, 2008 | 3 Comments

Having found a dog, I’m learning about all these cool websites that help people reunite with their missing/lost pets. Here are the ones I’ve found so far. If your pet is missing or if you’ve found an animal, search these sites:

For anyone looking for their pet: you should contact the local shelters regularly. If your pet is missing, go down and LOOK at the animals yourself over and over and over.

And put an ad in the paper and put up signs for the neighborhood. For dogs, post signs far and wide because dogs run.

Years ago, Bacall, my oldest cat, ran outside when a repair person came to my apartment. She was missing for a long time, but I never gave up hope. I keep scouring the neighborhood, checking the shelters, putting up signs. Eventually I found her. She was in a nearby yard. She’d been scratched up and was terrified, but I found her!

I lost another cat before that, Mulder, and I never found him. The heartbreak was terrible. I have no idea what happened. I think my roommate let him outside and he never returned. He had a microchip and tags, but that’s not enough. I searched, but it wasn’t enough. I never found him.

It won’t always be a happy ending, but too often people give up too quickly. Keep looking, your pet is out there.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Miscellaneous 
3 Comments to "Lost & Found Pet Websites"

The Fridge, Currently

October 26, 2008 | 6 Comments

Let’s see, we’ve got some tasty stuff in there. Start from the top left and moving across then down:

  • soy cheeses
  • apple juice
  • fruit salad (apples, strawberries, grapes, lime juice, agave)
  • salsa
  • peanut butter
  • kimchi
  • mustard
  • margarine
  • Thai peanut sauce
  • spicy vegan mayo
  • vegenaise
  • leftover potato-leek soup
  • agave
  • canned diced tomatoes
  • green beans
  • vegan cream cheese
  • bean dip
  • seltzer
  • lime juice
  • salad dressings
  • spinach
  • leftover cajun bastard casserole
  • pumpkin pie
  • beer
  • soy creamer
  • juice boxes (for the nephew)
  • bell peppers
  • asparagus
  • kale
  • celery
  • carrots
  • tomatoes
  • orange juice
  • cranberry juice
  • soy whip cream
  • tofu
  • tofurky lunch “meats”
  • vegan sausages
  • soy milk (silk and west soy)
  • frozen veggies
  • frozen fruit
  • frozen leftovers (spinach soup)
  • veggie burgers

Not shown: pantry, countertops.

(PS - Don’t give me any of that privileged vegan crap: Yes, I’m privileged. Yes I’m vegan, but they’re not necessarily related. And appearances aren’t always what they seem. For example, I bought this fridge used from Craigslist.)

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Food 
6 Comments to "The Fridge, Currently"

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