GrouchyPuppy® Blog | Dog Lovers Source

Joy, Furry Dogs & Why I Love Laundry Day

Today is laundry day. It's a big deal in my home because not only do I have laundry for my husband and I, but it means I'm tackling everything that has been used by a very large Siberian Husky and German Shepherd blended dog. She has multiple beds and bedding. She naps anywhere she can find a comfortable surface. She is blind and old. We have replaced bedding that was too thick for her to manage. Her dander manages to reach every surface no matter how high. You would be correct, if you guessed that cleaning and dusting days follow laundry day around here.

There are days when I clean out the dryer filter and find enough linty fur to build a bird's nest. I could make a lush Santa Claus beard from what I collect. How Cleo can generate so much fur and remain as fluffy as a plush toy is beyond me. She's also a dog with allergies and prone to hot spots. She balds under her chin annually, yet still manages to generate more replacement hair. Watch her walk down the hallway, and she "crop dusts" from one end of the house to the other.  

On the carpet with Cleo

Do you love a wet dog?

I kind of love a wet dog. I've taken the bus during a wet and rainy commute downtown, and strangers socks and wool sweaters smelled worse than my dog. Have you been in close quarters with damp strangers, at seven in the morning, in an overheated bus driving down a sixty percent grade steep hill? You are smooshed together at every abrupt stop or sharp turn.

You pray no one steps on your feet, pokes you with a wet umbrella or slams you into a seated elderly or pregnant passenger. You try to pay enough attention to the driver's driving so you can anticipate the bus braking before you let go of the bar or strap to head toward the door. The steam from hot breath makes it impossible to see outside. Heavy rain ensures no one opens a window so you crowd discreetly by the back or front doors in order to get a breath of fresh air at every stop. 

If dogs could call animal welfare services, this one might..

So yeah. I kind of love a wet dog because it means we're outside, chasing our dog until she is too tired to protest a bath. It means we are in the spare bathroom trying to corral a donkey that was formerly our dog. Our dog has magically transformed into a crazed beast whose butt weighs a thousand pounds, and is stuck on the floor unable to move an inch.

We use every trick to get said donkey into the tub. We line the bath tub edge furthest away from her mouth with cookies in the hopes she'll climb in after the liver treats. She is definitely food motivated. Why now she turns her nose up, we don't know. Wherever we bathe her, the moment it's over I always laugh at her prison break joy. Her leaps and maniacal racing around the yard give you the impression that she'd been locked up for hours if not years. 

You Are Not Alone, Experiencing Pet Loss Today

You Are Not Alone - Experiencing Loss Today (via www.lifeanddog.com)

From The Magazine | Sharon Castellanos All Photos are from Loss Sessions by Jennifer Hague of Fix Your Images. For more information on Jennifer's loss sessions, visit Pets Going With Grace (page 1 of 2)   The loss of a companion is inevitable, but today, going through the grief process no longer means…

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Welcome to San Francisco

San Francisco (via www.lifeanddog.com)

From The Magazine | Sharon Castellanos Photo by Kira Stackhouse (page 1 of 2)   There are hidden treasures all over San Francisco that suggest why we have more dogs than children within the city limits, and why Tony Bennett left his heart here. One of my favorite outings with my dog is walking through…

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How my dog got even cuter after losing her vision

My dog Cleo has always been clumsy. She is a big girl who never hid her excitement. Her joy could be demonstrated by leaning hard into your legs or racing toward a toy to squeak it. It wasn't that many years ago when her joy at your arrival home would be expressed by her suddenly tearing off down the hall to our bedroom, then knocking our mattress half off its frame, before racing back down the hall to land against the couch, that proceeded to be slammed against the window as it received her 85 lbs like a catcher's mitt.

Her doggy joy at my homecoming is a highlight of my day. Sure back then I was afraid she'd break our couch or worse, go hurtling over it and out the window. But it is just so cute that she couldn't hide how happy she was that I had walked in the front door. 

"Express Yourself" Cleo squeaks her song of love

Give Fearlessly | What older dogs can teach a person

If dogs are already amazing creatures, imagine the benefits of a senior dog in your life. 

Letter to my dog: Thank you Cleo

2012 was a good year. I have had the chance to spend a lot of time with my wonderful dog Cleo all year. Each day she shows me how to give fearlessly while influencing positively the world around us. Watching her in action is impressive. This year she has shown me that though she is aging rapidly, she can still demonstrate the joy of a puppy.

She has shown me patience as I learned the art of insulin injections. Her blindness has only made her cuter as she walks gingerly through our home. Her loving behavior belies the aches and pains I know she has. Cleo's ability to handle ailments with quiet grace is astonishing.

Meditation in practice

Senior Dog Month: What's so great about Cleo?

What's so great about Cleo?

This Shepherd-Husky dog is a force of nature. From day one, she demanded that we participate in her life, and in return, seven years on, she etched herself into ours. As a senior dog Cleo is slowing down, but her personality remains at full tilt.

Pet 'Net Adoption Event 2012 "An indescribable measure of love"

I'm happy to be again contributing to Pet 'Net Adoption Event 2012 sponsored by Petside.com. This is the fifth year Petside is linking bloggers together celebrating pets as part of the family, and encouraging adoption.

Last year I wrote about my new life with a senior dog. Now that Cleo is well into her golden years, she continues to change my life and I gain wisdom daily. It has been a gift to experience everyday life for the first time through the eyes of an old dog. I don't know how this adopted dog is able to give fearlessly to me an unending amount love, especially when I am giving her an insulin injection twice daily.

Editor's note: Visit the Pet 'Net Hub Page to read special adoption-related content from all the participating participating blogs.

I don't always know what she is going through, but her patience with me can be humbling. From the first obvious changes to her mobility and diet due to her advancing years, I've been learning to have more compassion for my elderly mother and father. When she bumps into chairs or gets lost in the house because her vision is too poor, my heart swells when I call out "Cleo" and her face lights up with joy and recognition. I'm like a mother with a toddler, cheering her on as she hustles directly to me. 

Today with her limited eyesight, she struggles to find a toy to chew and squeak out her frustration after smelling another dog on my pant legs. But once she does, look out! Even with a few teeth, she squeaks that toy loudly, showing me how much she has missed me and loves me.

An adopted dog gives you an indescribable measure of love

"For me a house or an apartment becomes a home when you add one set of four legs, a happy tail, and that indescribable measure of love that we call a dog." ~ Roger Caras

This is one of my favorite quotes, because it reflects how it has been since we adopted Cleo. The amount of love that our dog has given us for the past seven years is indescribable, and without measure.

Why celebrate shelter dogs? Guess where Cleo came from..

Why celebrate shelter dogs? Guess where Cleo came from..October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. 

Most shelter dogs are not broken, they are discarded. This is why many people and organizations care about making cities, states and our entire country, no-kill. Compared to when I was a kid, more people understand that dogs we find at rescues, shelters, humane societies, and animal centers are there because a family or a person didn't want them anymore. We've made progress. Today more communities have rescues and family friendly animal centers than the cold, and brutal looking pounds.

Cleo is the face of a shelter dog

Even in Magical San Francisco Poop Fairies Don't Exist

San Francisco is filled with moms, babies and dogs. My neighborhood of Noe Valley has major stroller patrol throughout the day. Have you seen the pile up in front of the branch library on Tuesdays during story hour? 

Mr. Mom does it all. Look at those bags besides the baby and dog.

Eagle eyes, and eyes in the back of their head. I would like to invite all moms out there, with or without dogs, to keep an eye out for poop. My idea is that since so many moms carry totes with enough odds and ends they'd win hundreds of dollars being an audience member on Let's Make a Deal, I bet they have a spare little bag. You only need a little one to pick up most dog poop. Forgotten and abandoned dried old poop from small city dogs is maybe two tablespoons in size. My big Shepherd-Husky blend poops are bigger but they still fit in a quart size baggie or less.

Moms make magic happen

How my old dog brings my grandmother alive

Living with my old dog has me wondering what it would have been like if my grandmother was still around. Every day I need to help my dog with age-related health issues. She struggles with stairs. She has lots of different prescriptions to manage. I imagine holding my grandmother's arm as she got into the passenger seat, each time I hold my dog's harness and gently guide her into the car for a ride.

There are habits my dog has that are quite familiar to the over sixty-five crowd. The parallels are actually quite funny, and had me thinking more about what lessons an old dog can teach you.

Game Time or Old Dog Seeks New Tricks

My dog is gradually losing her eyesight. She's an older dog so it isn't a shock, but it is an adjustment to both of us. Cleo is constantly relearning her routes, and relearning distances between objects and her nose. During her navigation, she is learning to listen to our guiding words. Probably due to her arthritis, and I'd like to think her canine wisdom, she takes a slower pace now. No more racing wildly down the hall towards the front door.

With her senior years here, we are finding new ways to play. She was never one to play much fetch, so getting a ball with a bell inside isn't necessary. Her squeaky toys are still fun, but not as often. We searched around for ways to play, and keep her brain stimulated, that were fun for her personality but also safe. We created our own version of a favorite childhood game, but modified for old, slow, half-blind dogs, who are loved like crazy.

Cleo captures "the flag" during Hide and Seek

Is your dog a travel buddy or a homebody?

Here in San Francisco we are heading into the best time of year for being outdoors. August brings mild temperatures, with cool mornings, then afternoon sunshine. Our dog friendly city is a favorite destination for travelers year-round, with San Francisco-based Kimpton hotels popular for people with pets. In late August, there is the San Francisco Giants Dog Days of Summer event, where you can bring your dog to the baseball game and a portion of the ticket proceeds benefits the SF SPCA. For some residents, we might be considering day trips to Napa, or longer getaways to Lake Tahoe or Carmel. However, for this girl and her old dog, August includes staycations and walks around the block.

When we first adopted our dog, we hoped for a dog who would love to ride shotgun with us every weekend. Not only is San Francisco very dog-friendly, we are centrally located to many great outdoor adventures. Unfortunately, we quickly realized that our sweet girl did not enjoy car rides. She loved the destinations, but the journey has her stress-panting, and in the early years struggling to sit up or lay down the entire ride. It was as if she was on a sailboat, and trying to keep her eye on the horizon.

Enter Team Cleo

Why you should support companion animal programs

Does having a dog in the city make you healthier? Is there a benefit to having a dog at any age? This week we shared the news in Virginia about a Seniors for Seniors program, at the Prince William County animal shelter. Anyone over 60 can adopt dogs or cats over 5 for free. It is a great idea, and not only helps older dogs and cats get adopted, but provides an often lonely segment of our population with a much needed companion.

Dogs provide friendship and happiness

When you think of a big city, you see traffic, lots of people on sidewalks and generally, a lot of hustle and bustle. It is hard to imagine anyone being lonely if they lived in a city. You're surrounded by people, how can you be lonely?! Well, you can, especially if you are older and have a limited income that prevents you from going out or joining community classes that cost money. Having a companion animal could make all the difference in your health, both physical and mental.

One of the reasons I joined the board of Pets Are Wonderful Support is because of their work to keep the vulnerable members of our community with their dear companion animals. They provide valuable services that make all the difference. I believe an important way to address a larger national issue, such as the quality of life for our senior citizens, is by starting with helping those in our own community. Providing charitable veterinary services and pet care is an important way we care for animals, and our low income seniors.