East Hill Philosophy

Pit Bulls

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 10:01:27 -0800

I’ve met some of the coolest dogs (and cats, but this blog entry is about dogs… sorry kitties). And on the top of my cool dog list is pit bulls.

Before I started working in animal welfare I didn’t know a lot about the breed, other than what I saw on the news. And that was always negative.

I learned first hand pit bulls are smart, funny, loyal; all the great things you want a dog to be. And just like all dogs, they want to be loved, cared for and part of a family.

Any dog can be a bad dog if it is treated badly. Unfortunately for pit bulls they are used more than any other breed for fighting. It’s very sad. (I will never again by Nike. They had the opportunity to get rid of Michael Vick but did not. Okay, that’s a blog rant for another day.)

But I have the great privilege of pet sitting for two amazing pit bulls: Lorenzo and Reina, both rescues.

Lorenzo is a love and very patient with his new little sister, Reina.
Their antics make me laugh out loud. Being a puppy Reina can be overzealous and a little bit annoying with her big brother. But Lorenzo is teaching her how to play, pottying should happen outside, snuggling up with humans is nice, and treats are good!

Reina is a smart little dog and is catching on quickly. It’s fun to watch her little face think about and process what she’s learning.

When Lorenzo gives her the “you’re really bugging me” bark, Reina over-dramatically falls backwards and rolls over. In no time she’s is back on her feet, tail furiously wagging, and going back for more!

It’s very obvious she adores her big brother. Lorenzo likes having her around, whether or not he will admit it. When she gets bigger she’s going to be an awesome playmate!

Get to know pit bulls. You’ll fall in love with them. I did.

Photo above is Reina; under Read more: Lorenzo and Reina enjoying the sun.

What time change?

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:58:23 -0800

A little cat paw gently patting me on the cheek this morning let me know little cat tummies are not pleased with the time change.

About the same time I heard the thumping of the dog tail on the wall next to the bed, quickly followed by a wet nose 2 inches from my face.

Best wake up call in the world.

(Photo above - after waking the humans and getting breakfast, it’s time for synchronized napping!)

Hektor is Superdog!

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:22:31 -0700

We love Halloween!

KitKat

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:38:41 -0700

KitKat and I have been getting to know each other for a year and a half now. He’s a sweet guy, but doesn’t let just anyone easily into his close circle of friends.

He has younger siblings, so he is very responsible. For the first couple of months when I sat for them I would get only glimpses of KitKat. Sometimes he’d just show up in a room, rather stealth, and stare at me. I’d say hello and tell him I was hoping we’d become good friends. He’d look at me as if he were thinking about it, and then leave the room.

I didn’t push him because I know lasting friendship have to be given their own time to develop.

I did a couple of sleepovers at their house, there was a lot of KitKat and I looking at each other; but I decided it would be best for him to make the first move. Then one day as I was sitting on the floor talking to him across the room, he made his way over to me and sniffed my hand. He leaned in, did a quick head rub on my hand and left the room. I was thrilled! I immediately texted KitKat’s mom and told her the good news.

Months have passed and KitKat and I have become good buds. On some days when I’m there he makes his way quickly to me, does a kitty flop over and there is much petting and purring.

Good friendships develop over time. Good friendships with cats develop over a long time, but they are the friendships that last forever. And as we all know, they are worth the effort.

Clamatis

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 18:05:07 -0700

My clamatis get more gorgeous every year. This year I think they’ve out done themselves!

Photo is Hektor (with his hedgehog toy) posing by the clamatis, while scanning the horizon for something to bark at.

Fireworks

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:34:43 -0700

I grew up in a small town in Illinois. Fireworks were not allowed so we all packed up and went to the lake every 4th of July for the town’s firework display. As kids we really enjoyed them. When we got home my dad would let us light “snakes” on our sidewalk and light up sparklers. Wow, do they even sell the snake things anymore? Anyway, it’s a good memory.

But now I dread the fireworks on the 4th. The noises scare the animals in our community. The fire crackers start days before the 4th and go through midnight on the 4th.

Saturday we found a dog running loose at the park. We managed to get him safely where he needed to be. Today I saw another dog running loose down the road. He looked tired and thirsty. I tried to get him to come to me. He was wearing a collar and a tag so I was hopeful I could get him to his home. But he was still scared and every time I got close to him he ran towards the road. I was so afraid of him running into traffic that I stopped chasing him. I went home and called animal control. I wish Kent would implement a firework ban. Not being able to catch loose dogs are hard moments for me. I hate to abandon the effort. But when it’s on a busy street and the dogs are just running scared I worry they’ll run in front of a car.

But to end on a happy note, three sweet guinea pigs stayed with me over the 4th of July holiday who did not seem phased at all by all the noises going on outside.

Shoes

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:55:57 -0700

In another life my cat CC was Imelda Marcos. She loves shoes. If a pair of my shoes are on the floor, I will find CC laying on them. She’s rather girlie and has tiny cat paws (even though she’s a full figured kind of gal). If there were such a thing as little cat shoes, CC would own a hundred pairs.

Privacy please

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 19:16:58 -0700

I had a little talk with our cats today about privacy. It’s a given in our house that no door shall be closed, less a little paw shall frantically reach underneath it; a small cat crowd will gather outside of the closed door and pathetic meowing will begin.

If you forget and do close a door, and you find yourself in the position (ahem) to open the door, you’ll be met by little faces suddenly surprised to see you. As if they’re thinking “oh, we had no idea you were even in there.”

I’ll open the door and invite them in. They’ll sit there and think about it for a second. By that time it’s my cue to say “in or out, make up your minds.” I can’t imagine what there is to think about but they look as though they are pondering great thoughts. So they walk in very slowly, smelling the door frame, entering this room as if they’ve never entered it before (even though they’ve lived in this house for 10 years and entered this room a thousand times).

Once they are in, if you close the door behind them they are now in a room they want out of. So you see cats desperately reaching out to the other side with a quick glance at you “why did you close the door, you know we want in the other room.”

So we talked about how some people may prefer not to have an audience at all times; may want to be in a room alone. And how once humans are in a room they really don’t want to spend all their time opening doors for the cats.

They did not listen, they did not even pretend to listen. If they could talk I believe I would have gotten a “whatever!” from Bella and CC (our divas, I mean - calicos). They have once again let me know the humans do not make the rules, call the shots, or decide when a door should stay closed.

Why do we even have doors in our house? Because we like to think we have a little control, crazy as we know that is.

Oliver

Mon, 18 May 2009 20:26:23 -0700

Oliver Oliver Oliver my old old cat. Oliver is the reason I turned from being a “dog” person into a “cat and dog” person. I had a dog for 16 years and at the end of his life I decided to never have another pet, because saying goodbye was just too painful.

But I’m an animal person through and through and even as I had that thought I knew it wouldn’t last – and it didn’t.

I wanted to adopt a kitten, from a shelter. I was doing some volunteer work with an animal organization at the time and told them I wanted to adopt a kitten. One of the staff members told me to check out a 2 year old stray cat that had just been found and put into foster care.

Hmm, he was two years was older than I wanted, but I decided to meet him anyway. I showed up at the foster house and they put me in a room to meet this cat. I saw this skinny, scabby, wormy, scratched up from fighting, un-neutered male. I sat on the floor and we looked at each other. He walked over to me, got on my lap and lay down. I got teary and thought “well, I just have to adopt him.”

Oliver and I have been together for 17 years. I’ve known him longer than I’ve known my husband. He now has 5 cat siblings and one dog sibling. He walks in the world between animal and human. He’s a feisty old guy, lovable, stubborn and bossy. He has only one eye, has been in kidney failure for the past 4 years (he gets sub-cu fluids), and is fur on a skeleton.

He’s a smart cat and has us well trained. He knows if he starts knocking stuff off the counters it will get him attention. He was so feisty at one point we nicknamed him “Spawn of the devil.” Trust me, he earned it.

But he taught me all about cats. He taught me cats have personalities, he revealed the untruths about all the stereotypes against cats. He taught me to hold up the covers so he could curl into the crook where my arm meets my shoulder. He taught me to hold up a washcloth and let it drip water while I’m in the bath so he could drink the drips. And he told me when no one is looking he licks the butter (yes, don’t eat buttered toast at my house).

Most importantly he taught me all the great things about adopting an adult cat. Thank you Oliver for all your wisdom. (Photo above is Oliver in his teenage years.)

Back in business!

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:05:10 -0700

I’ve been mostly away from my pet sitting business the past 12 months.

Last June King County Animal Care and Control contacted me and asked me to come on board to help them build their volunteer program. I have a lot of respect for what they do and the load they carry. Over 13,000 animals come through their doors every year. So I was happy to be on board to do what I could to help. I met some great people and even greater animals. But now it’s time for me to get back to my pet sitting business, which I love and greatly missed.

It was an eventful year, but with one sadness; we had to say goodbye to our sweet baby Bengal. (Photo above of Bengal.)

I hope everyone had a good year. I’m so happy to be back pet sitting. I look forward to getting re-acquainted with old clients and meeting new clients and their furry kids!