Homeward Bound Animal Care

Hoodoo and Maddie Round 3. . . or is it 4?

2012-09-12T22:45:00.000-06:00

Maddie not only acts like a puppy but she even looks like one!

Obviously, Maddie, Hoodoo and I played this weekend, which naturally consisted of a lot of ball fetching and head scratching. I'm pretty sure Maddie could be the new Icon for the Energizer Bunny because she never, ever tires of chasing that ball. She could run back and forth, back and forth obediently dropping the ball at my feet and taking off again to catch it, until her pads were raw...and then she'd run inside and eat until her belly popped. I've never seen a dog of her age have so much energy and enthusiasm for life. It inspires me to contemplate having the presence of mind to maintain that kind of exuberance and vibrance in my own life, especially in my older years. There is so much to learn by living in the world and interacting with others, especially the simple things taught by those often perceived as below the human race.

I wish I had the ability to adequately convey the magnitude of Hoodoo the Maine Coon's size, especially in proportion to Maddie the Black Lab. I feel like it is safe to say that Hoodoo is half as big as Maddie, which is pretty incredible for a cat. My guess is he weighs 25-30 pounds. He has a perpetually-groomed curtain of fur that drapes off him charismatically and flawlessly like a coveted jacket. It could very-well be his fur that doubles his size. When standing on his back two feet (usually reaching up to grab at whatever food I am cooking), his paws actually reach the counter top. Unfortunately, photos just don't do this beautiful cat justice. His favorite past time was sitting in the bedroom and watching the hummingbird shadows floating around the bird feeder outside the window through the not-so-translucent curtains.

Begging for treats

Dori, the Newfoundland pup, is the third member of this trio. He was away competing that weekend so I didn't get to sit for him, but he won first place! Congratulations Dori! I included a cute, but not-so-current photo of him below just to keep it inclusive.

The Elders

2012-08-29T16:50:00.000-06:00

This month I had the unique opportunity to sit for all dogs elderly. Earlier in the month I watched Albert, the Golden Retriever, again and the animal herd he lives with, including Pedro the bird.

Pedro is a sweet bird who says "Hi!" and willingly crawls on your shoulder to follow you around the house. He's friends with the dog and is not at all threatened by the beast 30 times it's size.

And introducing the newest seniors: Beau, Cody, and Rupert.


Beau, Cody, Rupert

Beau is an Australian Shepherd mix who is most likely a forever-foster dog. Cody is a Red Heeler Mix who loves to fetch and retrieve the ball. And Rupert is a Golden Retriever therapy dog for Intermountain Therapy Animals who, ironically won't retrieve. He'll bring it back but refuses to drop the ball. These three guys are obviously good buddies and made my stay far from mellow. Despite their age they are active and up for anything. At one point I took all three of them for a walk through the neighborhood. Beau struggles with walking and mobility in his legs and though he lagged behind a little bit and had to rest every 20 steps or so, he never seemed discouraged or ready to quit. The other two charged ahead ready to take on the world.

Molly the cat stayed hidden most of the time, but showed herself for this brief interaction.

Sherman and Emmie

2012-08-29T16:17:00.000-06:00

Last month I had the opportunity to sit for Sherman, the Terrier mix and Emmie the Siamese. I have posted about Emmie before but this a first for Sherman as he usually stays elsewhere. Sherman is a gentle and loving therapy dog for Intermountain Therapy Animals. One of his quirks is he collects household items and stores them on and around his bed, including his leash for when it's time to go walking.

Sherman the hoarder

Sherman has a dog-friend neighbor, Cheyenne, who took the liberty of walking herself with us when we went on our daily walks. Every time we'd pass her house she would inevitably emerge from behind the house and run along with us, periodically looking over her shoulder at us to make sure we were still following. At first I thought she was a stray, but soon realized she knew the neighborhood well and would return to her home across the street upon finishing the walk, giving us a goodbye glance before romping back to her yard. She appears to be a Smooth Coat Collie mix.

Cheyenne - cooling off

Emmie was her same Emmie self, resting and eating all the day long.

The Fat Cat

2012-08-29T15:54:00.002-06:00

Meet Oliver, the office cat. He is an 18 pound orange Tabby. Believe it or not, when he came to us he weighed a whopping 30 pounds. The poor cat could hardly turn his head from side to side and we actually had to take his kennel apart and pry him out because his mass consumed so much space. We obviously put him on a diet. He does his best to harass us all day long for more meals.

He misses Cindy when she leaves.

A Smorgasbord of Creatures

2012-07-09T23:10:00.001-06:00

Family Photo. Left: Pedro the Meyer's Parrot on his cage. Middle: Albert the Golden Retriever. Right: Edgar the female cat

I haven't had this much pet sitting variety since I watched the house with 3 horses, a lamb, donkey, pig, llama, gecko, frog, sugar gliders, rats, and 5 dogs. Okay, so maybe nothing can top that gig, but this one is a close second. I got to take care of a sweet older Golden Retriever named Albert, the two kitties I mentioned in my previous post (Edgar and Ada), Pedro the Meyer's parrot, and King the Beta fish.

Every morning and night Albert, Edgar and I would set out on our daily walks -- that's right -- I said Edgar. Every time I would leash up Albert, grab his poop bag and open the door to set off on our walk, inevitably Edgar the cat would wait by the door ready to go too. He would tail behind us and walk the entire route. Sometimes he'd stop to smell the flowers but when he realized he was getting behind he'd run to catch up, calling to us in a desperate meow telling us to wait for him.

Edgar following us on our walk

Daily walk with Edgar and Albert

Albert always greeted me with a big grin. Yes, he actually smiles. It almost looks like he's bearing his teeth like an aggressive dog would, but don't be deceived because he couldn't be happier to see you for his big happy tail is joyfully wagging to and fro.

Pedro is a medium sized hook bill Meyer's parrot of African descent. He is very social and friendly. He willingly climbs onto your hand and perches on your shoulder. Though he doesn't talk, he does repeat something that sounds something like "poo too".

He was un-phased by Albert or the cats and let me wander throughout the whole house content on my shoulder.

I coincidentally snapped this shot of me and Pedro, but it appears as though Edgar snuck onto my shoulder too.

Ada the Calico is very sweet but also shy. She emerged on her terms but always welcomed a friendly petting.

And King, the Beta, lives a simple life ruling over his little underwater kingdom.

Season of the Cats

2012-07-09T22:48:00.000-06:00

When it rains it pours cats and dogs -- and this Spring cats seemed to be especially falling. I had the opportunity to sit for 7 different cats:

Sleepy Kanga

Kanga

Playtime with string

Emmie

Pee Wee


Twinkle

Sebastian

Ada

Edgar, the girl

Picnic with Mars

2012-07-03T01:03:00.002-06:00

My sister was filming for 2 months in New Mexico and Texas this Spring and I got to take care of her little creature named Mars. She's a 5 pound Chihuahua that I love like she is my own. When she stays with me she willingly comes along everywhere - work, parties, and stores. For the most part I think she prefers it. But of all her favorite places, I think her most prized location is home. When we get home she immediately runs to her toy and gets giddy with it. She runs in circles around it and encourages me to play with her. Luckily, I have a spacious yard that she plays in as well. After a good play session, she finds a niche in the garden to nap in among the grass, the sun the birds and the breeze. One time I placed one of her blankets in the grass for her. She took to that right away and immediately set up camp there. She had herself a little picnic with the elements that day.

Jubai

2012-05-14T10:44:00.000-06:00

Meet Jubai (pronounced “Joo-bay”), the bright-eyed, elderly Siberian Husky that I got to play with all week. For an old guy he has a lot of personality. The first thing he did to welcome me to his home was lunge himself off the backyard porch into an excited, arched, and not-so-gracious leap on the concrete, race a few laps around the grass and then run back into the house with a final leap from the rug in the kitchen to the carpet in the living room. His enthusiasm was expressed with such a child-like shamelessness that I knew we’d be instant friends. One thing I envy about the elderly is they get away with being blunt, clumsy, and irresistible all in one punch. One thing to look forward to I guess!

Being a Husky, Jubai was keenly aware, following me around room-to-room and howling when he was ready to go for a walk. Walking was my favorite time with him. No matter how many times we walked around the neighborhood he would inevitably excitedly bound to the very end of his retractable leash until it yanked him backward (and propelled me forward). Eventually I started to jog ahead a little bit to buffer the bounce-back effect but he never seemed to mind. The enjoyment of being out in the sun and running about like a puppy again seemed to overshadow the bounce-back habit of his.

Blue eyes...

I was given one of the highest compliments from Jubai's mom. She said "Thank you so much! It's really nice not having to worry about Jubai while we're gone. :)" That is what it's all about and why I do what I do: to provide a safe haven for animals in the comfort of their own home, where the parents/owners and the animal have peace of mind.

Can I please have a treat?

Wolf dog

The Defender

2012-05-12T21:54:00.001-06:00

Last night, a friend asked me why I love horseback riding so much. I told him that when I’m on a horse everything else melts away. There is a partnership that is forged, bonded and welded in a way that can’t be recreated anywhere else. Together, you and the horse are bridging two completely different worlds, and learning to understand and communicate with each other in order to accomplish something. It synergetic to be a part of something so miraculous as communicating with a being other than your own kind, witnessing the intelligence they have and being united, her legs walking as yours. There’s also much to learn when observing a broken in horse. In responding to the rider’s gentle nudgings and promptings, the horse is demonstrating total trust and respect. They are surrendering control and power when they don’t have to.

I spend a lot of time with animals, especially dogs and horses. It is my job and pastime and I love it. This week was no exception. Between house sitting, dog walking, kitty checking, horseback riding, and juggling my sister’s dog and my own kitty, I’d say animals were my best friend this week (with the exception of my actual best friend who helped with the juggling act). I concluded my busy week with hiking up to my childhood stomping grounds, Deathsmith Canyon, with Jax this afternoon. We explored new trails hidden behind overgrown Aspens and Cottonwoods. As we made our way through a pathway that had secretly been hiding here my entire childhood and adolescent life, I began to ponder upon the beauty in hiking to new places. The aromas are unlike any you’ve experienced before, your step is slightly more attentive as your foot learns the depths of the new earth beneath it, and the scenery is unlike any other landscape you have ever seen or will ever see again. It is a process of discovery and exploration that also expands your mind to new places. Jax was loving it too, bounding ahead and periodically looking over his shoulder to make sure I was behind him, or lying down directly in the streambed that occasionally meandered through our path. Having spent so much time with creatures of the furry kind this week, and hiking this trail with little Jax, my expanding mind was filled with a love for all living things. I realized that, although I don’t own any of these animals that are in my life, I consider myself their temporary guardian and mother. They are vulnerable and innocent. They are pure and nonjudgmental. What you see is exactly what you get. They have mastered the skill of being totally present in the moment they’ve been given. In this vein of thought, I started to ponder where this affinity for animals all began.

I consider myself a biophiliac, craving the closeness of nature, and since animals are organically part of the earth it makes sense that I would be drawn to them. But I think the answer to this question runs deeper. Let me rewind to my childhood and get philosophical for a minute. I have always been a defender of the quiet, vulnerable kind – be it people or animals. I remember a situation with a childhood friend who was extremely shy. We were in a church play together. While we were choosing parts, everyone started to speak up on what part they thought my friend should have; because she was quiet, they must have assumed she had no opinion of her own and didn’t ask her. I piped in and said with a childlike force, “Why don’t we ask her which part she wants!” I’ve found myself in many situations similar to this throughout my life. I don’t know where this type of assertion comes from considering I was extremely shy myself. I speculate it’s for that very reason that I have evolved into a defender. I was shy because at a young age I felt acutely aware of other humans and the energy they were emitting. I realized their powerful skill for judgment, which if used recklessly (in my little, child world) was the most powerful weapon in destroying ones soul if you let it. This was all so different than animals, who lack that type of judgment and expectation. They were safe and always accepting of a self-conscious little girl. Plus, they had vulnerability and defenselessness that drew me to them as their defender and lover. And now, all these years later, animals have continued to find their way into my life, but now I get to give back for all they gave and taught me as a child. I get to be their defender, their guardian, and stand-in mother. <3

The Cat Just Keeps Growing!!!

2012-05-01T21:26:00.000-06:00

A few months ago in a previous post I referenced a Maine Coon kitten that I sat for named Hoo Doo. At the time he was a younger, smaller kitten, yet his mass still equaled that of an adult, traditionally-sized feline. Well, now the guy weighs 25 pounds.

For comparison

He is 3/4 the size of his roommate and black lab, Maddie. I could hardly believe it. I thought a wild lynx had broken into the house as I entered the house and spotted the elusive creature bounding past my peripheral vision.

Death and Smith

2012-04-11T00:12:00.002-06:00

These were taken with my phone camera so the images are grainy.

Last week Jax and I hiked up Deathsmith Canyon--the canyon that raised me. It is literally right behind the neighborhood I grew up in. I walk Jax, the Jack Russell Terrier, a few times a week and he also happens to be the little man I evaluated with in order to do animal-assisted therapy. We haven't been doing it as of late, but I hope we will get back into it soon. Anyway, as a teenager I basically lived in these woods. I know the trail like I know the sound of my voice...the landmarks, the sounds, the smells guided me through the trails and landmarks of my own life. Yet, last week when I headed up the familiar path, I noticed a fork in the trail. I had never seen it before; or perhaps 15 years ago it had only begun its embryonic stages of development. Either way, a new path was available for me to travel. I didn't hesitate long before I knew I had to take it. I knew the discovery that was available on this mountain and was eager for the opportunity to explore it further.

I was surprised by how different this trail was than the one right next to it that I grew up traveling. This trail...full of open groves where the sun beamed in, mixed with canopies of Quaking Aspens and trickling stream. I forgot how much Jax loves water. At the arrival of our first stream crossing he jumped in and immediately laid down in it. He then proceeded to run large circles (ovals really) through and around the stream. I recorded and posted it here. My phone is ghetto-silly and only plays it sideways so turn your head to watch.

The trail inclined quite dramatically until I reached a point of plateau where I came to a grove of Aspens that Jax had discovered. Upon entering this elegant space, I was protected by their quivering embrace as I continued my ascent up the mountain.

I reached a point at which the trail just faded away; there was no actual destination to arrive at but the journey to get there turned out to be more beautiful than the arrival to the end. Here are just a few of the views along the way.

Full moon

Once again, the mountain was my teacher. It is the journey of discovery of the places not yet reached where expansion within the soul truly occurs--rather than arriving at the destination itself. It is exploring the untrod places of my heart that I learn what I'm really made of -- weakness, strength, ignorance, and wisdom.

The Mare and Me

2012-03-11T22:37:00.001-06:00

Last year about this time I was prepping to ride in the Lehi riding club. It's nothing fancy, just a group of cowboy folk who love to ride that have joined together to join a low key competitive riding club. Last year was my first year participating, and it was most exhilarating...it challenged me and expanded my moderate riding skills. Poco, the horse I ride, is a returning champion and made it all look like cinch. She taught me a lot and I loved learning from her throughout it all; mainly I sat back and let her do it all.


Water relay: transport water in a ladle and spill as little as possible. I spilled.

Potato Relay: stab a tater from one barrel, race to another barrel and whip it in. I made it in...after missing one time

Warrior Princess

Keyhole race: run in and out of a keyhole shape and as fast as you can without coming out of the lines! Poco nailed it.

Barrel Race: make a figure eight around three barrels as fast as you can. Favorite.

I had great friends and family come support me and cheer us on. I was giddy the whole time and high on the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to ride horses.

Good friends + my amazing Momma = Perfect audience

Lilly wanted a ride!

All in all it was a successful event. We placed in two of the relays and had the opportunity to compete in Regionals, but opted out of going. It was in Central Utah and it was all just for fun for us. I'm looking forward to starting again in this year's riding club.

Thank you Poco. I love my life.

Winter Wonder Land

2012-03-06T22:58:00.003-07:00

I had the opportunity to house/pet sit for the mother of a good friend. There is a beautiful trail right outside their front door!

Tigger

Porter

Emigration Canyon

The Adventures of Mars and Bandit

2012-03-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

Keeping warm in her thermals at the cabin

Hiking hard on Granduer Peak

A rest after all that work...


Bandit on the other hand could have kept going for hours

Bandit found a caterpillar

Antelope Island

Mummy Bandit and Skeleton Mars on Halloween

Hoodoo, Maddie, and Dori

2012-03-06T21:42:00.001-07:00

Hoodoo, Maine Coon kitten drinking from the water bowl

Holding Hands

Behemoth cat

Maddie

New addition to the family: Dori the Newfoundland pup

Dori: Black Bear mixed with Gorilla

Bareback!

2011-02-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

My eyes look really creepy and it's fuzzy but this is my first day riding bareback. The picture was taken by a tall man on a tall horse so Poco looks small and I look long but it's not quite this exaggerated in reality.

It just wouldn't be my blog if I didn't post about horseback riding. So, I rode bareback for the first time last week and it was amazing!!! I am in love. It is completely organic riding one with the horse, no saddle as a barrier. I feel much more connected to the horse (Poco) because I feel her spine, muscles and back right there with my legs and somehow that feels really primal or instinctive. I had been practicing riding on a saddle outside of the stirrups and that has helped immensely in getting comfortable riding without that support. This helped in easing the transition from riding with a saddle to riding bareback. In fact, as soon as I got on the horse (which was actually the hardest part!!) I knew I was going to love it and feel comfortable doing it. It can also hurt too though because there isn't a shock absorber and you really rely on stability to stay on. One hard bounce off balance and you are landing on your tail bone or pubic bone...ouch! Plus I found that my inner thighs are really worked in order to hold on at times.

I was mostly worried about getting ON the horse because without stirrups to hoist you over you are really reliant on other means. I had no idea of how most people do it so I ended up looking up on YoutTube videos of girls getting on a horse bareback. View this link to see what I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSfDFrv78Bo. This girl makes it look EASY, or maybe I am just s wimp but when I watched it I thought, "Oh yeah I can do that!" Poco is a small horse and it looks simple enough, right? Wrong! I smacked right into the side of her 7 or 8 times before I got my leg up high enough to pull myself up the rest of the way and even then it wasn't nearly as graceful as that girl. Poco was really patient with me and let me try over and over. Eventually I was able to mount almost without having to totally hoist myself over the rest of the way but only after doing it time and time again. Oh and did I mention that I had to ultimately stand about 5 or 7 feet away from Poco and get a running start to actually mount? So I never got to the point that girl in the video did while standing right next to the horse and just hopping on. One day though, I will! But it is interesting because I can always sense when the one jump is the magic one that will get me on. I feel it before I even get over and I somehow need to figure out what happens those times and replicate it. But the experience of pulling myself on is so rewarding, like I have connected more with my primal self somehow.

I went again today and rode bareback for a while. I took some video and tried to post it here, but it is having issues. It's not the most exciting footage anyway because I was alone and couldn't zoom or change angles. But anyway the second time again, the hardest part wasn't riding bareback, but actually getting on Poco. I had to try over and over again and smack into her side until I finally got that momentous leap that I knew would send me over. I got it about 3 different times, which was encouraging

Also, I went on a beautiful trail ride on a trail in Kennecot with Jenny and Gerry (Poco's owners) this November and it was so beautiful! The three of us ended up in this meadow covered in fresh snow and we just started loping together, side by side. It was so impressionable for me because it was something I had never done. The white snow everywhere, running through it together and the cold breeze in my face was exhilarating. I have posted one picture below.


Love Poco!

These bottom two were obviously taken before it snowed but I liked them so I thought I'd post. :) Notice my pretty new (at the time) saddle!

Party in Clinton!

2011-02-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

I recently house sat for 4 handsome creatures residing in the sunny city of Clinton. Nikki (the Blue Heeler) seems to be the matriarch of the furry family as she routinely would attempt to put Maggie (the Shepherd mix) in her place to ensure that her round belly was fed first. However, Nikki doesn't have one mean bone in her body and wouldn't even know how to hurt little Maggie if she wanted to. But it was adorable to watch Nikki growl and bare her teeth at young Maggie in a ferocious attempt to look mean and ensure first dibs on the treats. Maggie appeared completely oblivious to Nikki's protests and just bounded around her in playful jubilee. So, as much as Nikki attempted to protest, she really is just a big, soft paper tiger at heart. In fact I couldn't stop her from trying to crawl right up onto the sofa with me so she could kiss my face to death. Unfortunately, her elderly legs didn't quite allow it causing her to bark from the ground while Maggie bounded up on the sofa, showing off and demonstrating that she was runner up in the matriarchy.

Maggie, Nikki, and I took a walk along the path that followed the stream near the house and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Nikki got tired sooner than Maggie but was determined to keep up.


Nikki

Maggie

Fiona and Kit-Kat (also known as Angel, but it's been reported she doesn't quite live up to this name so we will refer to her by her nickname, Kit-Kat) are the kitties of the household. They are almost identical and for the first few hours I couldn't tell which was which. Once I deciphered that Kit-Kat is a gray tabby and Fiona is just a solid gray, I started to notice their distinct differences. Fiona, the elder of the two, used to be a therapy cat for Intermountain Therapy Animals, where I work. She definitely lives up to the standard of therapy animals too: very loving and social. Plus she has the most adorable meow that makes me want to pet her eternally. She and Maggie play this "game", which I think is much more of a game for Maggie than Fiona, where Fiona will very quietly try to pass by Maggie as she is sleeping, like a prey passing it's predator, trying not to wake her. This just excited Maggie beyond all belief and causes her to perk up immediately and chase poor Fiona down the hall barking. Of course Nikki (who is starting to go blind due to cataracts) would become startled and excited by this sudden game of chase and join in. The result would be a herd of creatures barking and stampeding down the hall.

Fiona

Kit-Kat was quite oblivious to any threat from Maggie or Nikki and traipsed around without a care in the world right in front of them, which leads me to think Fiona unintentionally initiated and established the stampede relationship she has with Maggie and I can't help but giggle at it a little. Kit-Kat spent most of her time by the door looking out the window and meowing in eagerness to be allowed out. She had a lot of kitten energy in her but if at anytime I filled up her food dish she would come running from where ever she was, regardless of what she was doing to satisfy her insatiable belly. Fiona was more content in her hiding spot, only emerging when Maggie was fast asleep.

Kit-Kat or Angel

Overall, the Clinton adventure was a success!

Horses and Pain!

2010-11-25T20:59:00.001-07:00

Me, helmet, my new saddle, Poco (front) and Sassi

This isn't house sitting related necessarily, but it's about animals so I thought I'd share anyway. Almost 2 weeks ago I went horseback riding with a few friends and had quite an eventful day. I had a riding lesson on a Missouri Fox Trotter, Sassi (picture below), who is just that! She got a little frustrated and impatient with the lesson and decided to rear up! I have yet to experience that on a horse to this point, but figured my time was due. Luckily I did everything right and stayed on, but it was pretty scary and exciting all at once. Little did I know what else would be coming...

We went to Dimple Dell afterward to trail ride and ended up having quite the frightening adventure. I was initially riding Sassi, who I have to briefly describe. She's an English breed so her gait is very unique. Her walk and trot is so smooth you feel like you are gliding; you barely move, which is so different than the typical bounce of the trot on a Quarter Horse. Her gallop is interesting too, also smooth but different. Her breed types are used in endurance racing so she has sooo much energy and can go on forever. As we started our trail ride she would gallop ahead a hundred yards, turn around and run back to the other two riders and then turn around again. She is like an attention deficit child on a walk with elderly adults. It is super fun!

Sassi-Missouri Fox Trotter-and me!

Anyway, back to the frightening adventure...so halfway through our ride I switched horses with someone and ended up riding Riley, the Quarter Horse (pictured in a previous post). Poco (the horse I usually ride) was also there, being ridden by another friend. The ride was beautiful and so fun, but as we were approaching the end of our ride, a dog barked suddenly and spooked the horses. All three of them abruptly turned away from the dog and threw ALL THREE of us riders on the ground. Right before I came off, I realized I might be coming off and kept saying to myself "No, you are NOT falling off this horse!" I tried to fight it as best I could, but before I knew it I was on the ground rolling, having hit my leg against something. Riley was much taller and stalkier than Sassi so the thought of coming off (compared to when Sassi reared up) was a lot more intimidating! I could hear the stomping of his hooves behind me and I prayed he wouldn't accidentally step on me, causing much more severe damage than what I had. Luckily he didn't, but my leg was in intense pain. I couldn't talk or move for a good 5 minutes; I just sat there holding my leg rocking back and forth. I was worried I had broken something and the pain shot up and down my leg. But after I rested, the pain subsided enough that I was able to get up. One of the other riders broke her arm, unfortunately in her fall. After assessing each other's injuries, we ended up all getting back up on our horses and riding back to the trailer, which was only about a 10 or so minute walk back luckily. The friend who broke her arm ended up at the ER that night, sadly. Pictures below!


It was cooooold that day! I like Riley's ears at the bottom of the frame.

Me and Sassi; Colleen and Poco


My Leg Injury-Day 1

Leg Injury-Day 3


Leg Injury-Day 5

Leg Injury-Day 9

Ingrid the Bernese Mountain Dog

2010-11-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

Meet Ingrid! She is a beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog. I adore her. She is a giant teddy bear; she lets you lay on her belly and envelopes you in her soft curls. She even looks like a bear. I've been sitting for Ingrid for a little over a year and she has become my pal. She came up to my cabin with me last summer, she'd let my foster dog Buddy come stay with her when I'd sit her, and she comes to work with me on occasion. One of my favorite things about her is her mellow/peaceful demeanor. We'll go on walks and she'll just saunter down the sidewalk, like she has all the time in the world and no cares at all. But she loves to play in the snow and water! When it snows she chases and catches snowballs like a playful pup and lays in it to cool off. She swims and stands in the water on hot summer days, which is so funny because sometimes the water will be up to her shoulders and she just stands there looking around like everything is totally cool. And I guess in a literal sense, she is cool!

Pee-Wee and Twinkle

2010-11-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

I mentioned a few posts back that I would post some pictures of Erdo's kitty sisters, Twinkle and Pee-Wee. They are very shy so it was hard to capture the pictures but I have posted them here.

Pee-Wee

Pee-Wee, the Calico, hides out constantly and will only let me sit in the same room with her; I have never touched her. From what it sounds like she had a rough life prior to coming to her current owners.

Twinkle, the Tabby, is funny. She loves to play with string, as most cats do, but sometimes as we play she grabs this little stuffed banana toy and cradles it in her paws and licks it. It melts my heart for some reason to watch her nurture this little toy.

Jax and the Gang of Cats!

2010-11-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

I recently pet sit for a special crew. Jax, the Jack Russell and Fox Terrier mix, holds a special place in my heart because I have known him his whole 8 years of life and is also my therapy partner through my work. What this means is, his momma let us become certified as a therapy team that gets to visit facilities to cheer up people in need. In my "About" section you will see our official photograph after we became certified. We visited the Wentworth retirement center for about a month and cheered up a few stellar elderly women who adored his kisses and lap hugs. He is a natural therapy dog and trots down the halls of Wentworth like he owns the place and absolutely everyone is watching him in his therapy parade. He even participated in the R.E.A.D. program for a while, which is the literacy program of Intermountain Therapy Animals (and the program I have the honor of coordinating) where children read to him to help boost their reading skills. He would get a little antsy doing this though and wanted to just chase the ball around so we decided to find a new niche. I truly have my dream job!

Anyway, back to house sitting! So Jax and I had a LOT of fun because I got to tend him over Halloween. I borrowed a friend's dog wings and dressed him up as a little butterfly! We went to a friend's party and he was the King of the Ball. He would trot around with his stout body and short legs, his wings fluttering, ready to take flight!

Sitting pretty butterfly


There are the wings! I was a ninja :)

In the pictures above you can see his "Sitting Pretty" pose. The people he visits at the Wentworth adore that! He knows he can get whatever he wants doing that pose! Here is one more of Jax sitting pretty!

One other thing that always gets me is when you talk to Jax. He really tries his hardest to understand what you are saying. He cocks his head to one side until you think he's going to flip himself over completely! I tried to get a good photo but he was always come out of it when I captured it, so the photo below only gives you a very small taste of Jax trying to understand. And it's so cute because the longer you talk to him, the further he turns his head to understand.

Jax isn't the only one in this household, though! He lives with his 4 Burmese kitty sisters: Mocha, Nutmeg, Bluebell, and Ginger. He's very sweet with them, licking them and cuddling with them, and sometimes he can be a bit of a big brother bully toward them. But overall they all seem to love each other. The cats are beautiful kitties who kind of remind me of the Korat, Kanga I wrote about in an earlier post. The 2 light kitties are a silver-blue color and the 2 darker are are deep chocolate color, all with big gold/green eyes.


Nutmeg and Ginger


Bluebell reminds me the most of Kanga the Korat kitty from a previous post

Every morning Bluebell would stand on the table and make this loud, deep, and funny meow like she was trying to shout something out! Usually she just wanted some love and one on one time.


Bluebell's sister, Ginger: she's slightly lighter in shade and very cuddly


Nutmeg

Nutmeg recently had eye surgery and only has one adorable eye, as you can see here in the above picture. She is sooooo cuddly. I would sit in bed ready to read a book and she'd walk right on top of the book and rub her head eagerly against my hand, or the edge of the book, or whatever would rub her. She's definitely the most outgoing toward me of all 4 of them.


Mocha

Mocha has the most ADORABLE face when with her eyes open. She looks like a caricature of a kitten, with her big eyes and tiny little nose. I tried and tried to capture it here, but she kept giving me her sleepy face. Still very cute though!

The kitties, Jax and I had so much fun together! I always get sad saying goodbye. But Jax and I will be on our next therapy adventure soon enough!

Erdo!!

2010-11-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Erdo in Neff's Canyon bundled up

You may remember a few posts back when I house sat for a funny boxer named Erdo. Well, I am now his bi-weekly exercise partner. He has so much energy (especially for a 6 year old!) that his mom and dad asked if I'd help by giving him some good exercise. So we go up Neff's or Millcreek canyon a few times a week and go trail running. We started jogging at the end of October when we started getting our first snowfalls. Erdo has hardly any meat on him, so he wears a cute dog coat (shown in the picture above) to keep him toasty. He adores these hikes! He runs up the mountain playfully a ways and then turns around and runs back to me to make sure I'm still coming. He made a friend with another dog on the trail. At first he wasn't sure about her and was quite wary but once he met her and got to know her, he was bowing down in in playfulness. That's our adventure!

Kanga the Korat

2010-11-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

Kanga is an adorable and beautiful Korat kitty. She's silver-blue in color and her breed originates in Thailand and is one of the oldest stable cat breeds! Kanga is very small and super playful. She reminds me of the Burmese cats I house sat for recently (see above blog for pictures). Kanga lives right by the Lu Lu kitty that I recently posted about and is one spunky cat! She lives up to her name as she bounds around; when I come over she is very vocal, meowing and running just under my feet as I walk. I will often sit down on and Kanga will crawl right up into my lap and purr and purr and purr as I pet her. She has a very eager way about her when she wants attention and will shove her cute little head into your hand to help you pet her. She soaks up the love and gives it back!

Kanga the Korat Kitty :)

Video Riding Poco

2010-11-06T23:55:00.000-06:00

Here is a video of me riding Poco and doing some casual barrel trots on my new saddle! My momma was sweet enough to film it for me. There was another girl in the arena at the time so I had to share the space. :-/

Lu Lu!

2010-11-06T23:27:00.001-06:00

This is Little Lu Lu, or also known as Emmie. I get to visit her when her family goes out of town and recently had the chance to. She is an adorable Siamese kitty who emerges for the scent of food in the air. She is not the easiest to photograph as she is always moving, but you kind of see her pretty blue eyes. She has a funny little walk and meow and loves to be loved. She has a brother who is a therapy dog through Intermountain Therapy Animals where I work but he goes somewhere else to play while the family is out of town. I also house/cat sit for their neighbor; post and picture coming soon! :D