Jenna & Snickers

It’s 10pm. Do you know where your dog is?

jenna — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:18:01 +0000

Our mission statement includes a list of minimum requirements that I believe our companion animals deserve. Recently I’ve come to know a few dogs who aren’t getting the following and it makes me sad.

to not live an isolated life
a clean and comfortable living environment
proper socialization with people and other dogs
appropriate levels of exercise and mental stimulation

I chose Shiba Inus partially because they’re an independent, non-clingy breed. No matter how independent they are though, it’s important to me to spend time with them. They’re part of my family and I want them to be happy and feel loved. We adopted Secret so Snickers wouldn’t be lonely when we can’t be with him.

Shortly after we moved into our new apartment, we realized that one of our neighbors ties her little Lhasa out in the yard on a chain every afternoon with no water and no shelter and just leaves him there. I guess it’s supposed to be his exercise time, but all he does is yip and cry to go back inside.
A couple weeks ago, when it was 100+ degrees outside, I noticed a new dog in the apartment complex. He was sitting alone on a 3 x 6 concrete patio. His people were home; I could see them through the window. Turns out he lives on the porch. He’s there day and night, at all hours, whenever we walk by, without even something soft to sleep on.
Two nights ago, T and I were walking Snick and Secret and we found a little Yorkie running loose in the complex. He didn’t have a collar. We walked all over looking for his person. Finally, we got him to show us where he lived (smart pup) and we knocked on the door. The guy who answered had no idea the dog was missing. Apparently the dog belongs to his roommate, who wasn’t home, and he thought it was tied out on the back porch. I walked past that apartment around 2am tonight and the dog was on the porch in a kennel too small for it to even stand up.

As I’m writing this, Snickers is curled up on the couch next to me and Secret is curled up in her bed. Snick sleeps in my bed at night. I feed them organic vegetables and raw meat and fish. I buy human grade nutritional supplements for them. I feel guilty when they’re bored from lack of exercise because of the heat. I apologize to them if I’m late getting home from work. I train them (ok, well, I train Snickers. I attempt to train Secret.) to be good citizens so they can go as many places as possible with me.

I understand that I’m at one extreme end of the spectrum and the people in my neighborhood aren’t even at the other end. The other end of the spectrum is the people who abuse and torture animals. So why do I worry about these lonely dogs? They’re so much better off than dogs in shelters or dog fight rings. Their situations break my heart though. I wish I could bring them all home and take care of them.

Snickers and I are hoping to get involved in humane education with our local shelter and I’m still planning to create Animals Who Educate (you know, with all my spare time). There must be quicker ways to reach average dog owners now though. Blogs, email lists, online groups, and projects like Snick’s newspaper, The Anipal Times, are all great, but they mostly reach people who are already above average companions to their animals. What are some good ways to reach the owners who aren’t as involved… the ones who may just need a nudge or two to start learning how to be responsible owners?

My Snuggly Inu

jenna — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 07:44:11 +0000

Snickers has turned into such a snuggler this past year or so. Here’s the proof. (That’s my leg that his paw is draped across.)

A lot has happened since my last post, but most importantly, we’ve moved (again). We’re all settled into our new apartment and routine in Mississippi, so hopefully I’ll be blogging more soon.

R.I.P. Ms. Brandywine (~Sept 1993 to May 17, 2010)

jenna — Mon, 17 May 2010 17:42:41 +0000

Rest in peace baby girl. I hope we gave you everything you
needed and that you knew we loved you ferociously to the end.
We miss you sweetie.

Brandy Is Not Well

jenna — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:33:40 +0000

This is a quick and dirty blog post, but I thought it would be easier to point everyone towards one post instead of writing and rewriting what’s going on into a bunch of different emails, postings, etc.

Despite her age (16 1/2), Brandy has been very bouncy and energetic on walks since we adopted her. She would even get excited and chase after Snickers or Secret when they’d run through the apartment. Her vet appointment in February was very positive; she was in relatively good health for her age! Over the past two to three weeks though, her energy level has been diminishing and it’s been difficult to get her to just walk around the block. A few days ago, she began accidentally pooping in the house (even in her sleep). By today she had pretty bad diarrhea.

We took her to the vet and she has a huge tumor inside her mouth. No wonder she isn’t feeling well! She was dehydrated as well, so they gave her some subcutaneous fluids. We have a twice daily antibiotic/anti-inflammatory for her plus a mild dewormer (just in case). They drew blood and I’m planning to take her back for x-rays tomorrow or the next day. We’ll decide what to do after all the results are back. If the tumor is cancerous or there is more than the one, there isn’t really anything we can do except treat her symptoms and make her comfy. If it isn’t cancerous – and her blood work indicates that it is safe to do so – we’ll give her steroids to try to shrink the tumor.

Either way, she’s a sick, old girl and we’re heartsick to be dealing with this so soon after having adopted her. We knew we wouldn’t have her for an incredibly long time, but we’ve fallen very much in love with her and we’re not ready to let her go. Most importantly though, we want her to be comfortable and know how dearly she is loved.

We tried to get some pictures of the three of them together after we got home from the vet today. It was tough because (1) Secret can’t do a sit stay to save her life and (2) Brandy was tired and droopy. Here’s the "at least we tried" series of resulting photos!

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

The Anipal Times Launched Today

snickers — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 06:24:43 +0000

hai peeples, snickers here

today we unveiled the "classified, top sekrit project" we haz been working on for the past five weeks.

it is called The Anipal Times and it is an online newspaper for the anipal community. all the money for ads that run on the paper go to charity and for the first three months, they go to MY favorite charity: NYC Shiba Rescue!

did i mention i am the publisher of The Anipal Times? well, yep, i am! and my friend Cokie the Cat in hollywood is the editor-in-chief. because of the paper, ize going on a trip with mom next weekend! we are going to something called blog paws in ohio. i dont know much about it except i get to stay in a hotel with mom and meet lots of people. she says we are going to tell people about The Anipal Times but i think we are going because i like traveling with mom. iz fun! and, of course, i will tell you all about it when we get home

peace out! luv,
snickers

The One Where I Apologize and Ramble

jenna — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:06:55 +0000

I haven’t written a real post for awhile. I’ve been focusing more on making time for “walkies and snuggling” with Snick when I’m not at work or working on the various projects (Shiba rescue, crazy Twitter projects, meetups, etc.) that he gets me involved in.

I still want this site to be a place to share great information, so I’ll be back to blogging soon. In the meantime, as a peace offering, here’s a quick list of what’s been keeping me so busy.

First, we have Brandy. Sweet old Brandy. I feel like I should blog about her more before she’s gone, but it’s hard. We only adopted her in November and we’re already worried that she’s going to be gone soon. She’s very old and frail. She trips over nothing when she walks. My daughter and I give her snuggles and short walks when she’s awake, but mostly all she does is sleep. Snickers was completely confused by (and mean to) her when she first arrived because she wanders around and bumps into him like he isn’t there (even when he’s warning her away). He’s learned to ignore her though. I’m incredibly proud of him.

The Shiba meetup group is going strong. We’re up to ten chapters (with over 400 members) in NY, CT and NJ. Snick and I try to make it to a meetup at least once a month.

NYC Shiba Rescue is still trying to recover from lack of volunteers and a bad economy. I do what I can to help my bestest friend Zennia (who is the Pres of NYCSR). If you’re not already on our mailing list and you want to be, let me know. I still have some volunteer positions to fill before we start normal operations again.

Snickers has a "classified top sekrit project" underway that I’ve been helping with the for past five or six weeks. That’s coming to fruition tomorrow. If you’re on Twitter, attend the #ATPawty tomorrow at 4pm EDT to find out what that’s about!

I’m building a website for Paw Pals & Performance Canine Association which should be up shortly. If you live in the NY/NJ area and are interested in lure coursing, stay tuned.

It looks like I’m probably headed to Blog Paws next weekend, which wasn’t expected or planned. The reason for that will be at least a little more clear after the #ATPawty tomorrow.

With all of this other stuff going on, I have had any time to work on Animals Who Educate. That’s where I’m headed though. I want to get my life to a point where ALL of my time that isn’t for work and family is for Snickers and Animals Who Educate.

I think that’s everything. At least now you know why I haven’t been blogging lately!

“I Was Just Reading Your Blog”

jenna — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:49:49 +0000

Today was a good day. Snickers and I started off the afternoon (which is the beginning of our day after all) with romp in the snow covered dog run. Then Snick managed to take me to his favorite liquor store. Yes, I said my dog has a favorite liquor store. Jersey City Wine & Spirits keeps dog treats at the register. I discovered this shortly after moving here when Snickers unexpectedly dragged me in there. I try not to walk by there when I’m not prepared to go in, but sometimes I’m not paying attention and he leads me there. Today was one of those days. Also today, between our time at the dog run and our visit to the liquor store, Snick made a new friend on the sidewalk.

Wherever Snick and I go, people stop us and ask me what kind of dog he is. This is pretty common for Shiba owners, possibly more so for black and tans because they aren’t as plentiful. When we still lived in Manhattan, sometimes the people who stopped us would be fellow Shiba people. (I do this too… stop people on the street to say hi to their Shiba even when Snick isn’t with me.) Many times they would ask something along the lines of "I heard there is a Shiba club or a meetup in the city. Do you know about it?" I would introduce myself as the organizer of the Shiba meetup and give them all the details. Once, a guy stopped us a couple blocks from my apartment and said "I’m sorry to bother you but I’m looking for the Shiba rescue and thought you might know. They’re supposed to be around here somewhere." Of course, the address he was looking for was the mailbox rental around the corner from my apartment. I told him the rescue doesn’t have an office and proceeded to answered all his questions about volunteering for NYCSR. Those incidents aren’t really remarkable though. NYC is just a very big small town so running into people with shared interests is to be expected!

Lately though, people know Snickers from this website. A few months ago, we were at the dog run and I was talking to a couple with an adopted Shiba. I mentioned that I volunteer with NYCSR and we talked about foster dogs and adopted dogs, etc. At some point they asked me Snick’s name. When I told them, one of them said "You’re Jenna & Snickers! I thought you looked familiar!" That was weird.

We had a moment like that today and it wasn’t even a "Shiba person!" During our walk, someone came up behind us, apologized for the intrusion and asked what kind of dog Snick is. When I answered that he’s a Shiba Inu, she said she thought so, that her parents had a red Shiba and that she had only just discovered black and tans. Snickers tends to be very Shiba-like with most people on the sidewalk… meaning, he ignores them completely. So, I said "Snickers, say hello" (which I taught him during school and therapy visits). He went over to her, greeted her and immediately tried to kiss her face. Upon hearing his name, she said "Snickers! I was just reading your blog!" This was at once very odd and very cool to be talking to a stranger who knew my dog from the Internet. She said he was just as beautiful as his pictures (and he is!) and we chatted for a minute. We went our separate ways, but the idea that I’d just met proof that strangers actually visit and read this blog stuck in my head all day. Neat, huh?

Even better? She made a donation to NYCSR tonight! Awesome.

Just One Dog – A Rescue Story

jenna — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:31:35 +0000

This video says so much. Just watch it.

This is what we do in rescue. I wish more people would help so less dogs would suffer and die. If you help, thank you. If you don’t… well, suffice to say, I just don’t understand.

Brandy Has Chosen Her Person

jenna — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:21:53 +0000

And it isn’t me!

Brandy seems to be more attached to my daughter than to me, probably because they spend more time together and go on more walks together. Brandy’s crate has been in my room with me and Snick, but that means my daughter has had to wait for us to get up in the morning before going walking. She decided she wanted Brandy to move into her room (which is kind of a big deal because her room is not huge and Brandy’s crate is huge), so she rearranged her bedroom this weekend and Brandy moved.

Ms. Brandywine is a bit confused by this and keeps wandering into my room when she’s ready to take a nap. (She is 16 years old after all. Change is hard!) For now, we’re keeping my door closed and keeping an eye on her so we can redirect her. Hopefully she’ll get used to the change quickly.

Ms. Brandywine: Day Nine

jenna — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:26:09 +0000

Brandy went to the groomer on Tuesday. They brushed out all the loose undercoat, clipped her nails, gave her a bath, cut out the mats and trimmed her little butt feathers. She came back looking like a different dog. Here are a couple photos of her that night, while she was still wearing the little bandanna they put on her.

She’s easily walking three times as far on walks now as she was when she got here and she’s eating like a champ. Her little hunched back is straightening out and tonight she playbowed at me and then at Snickers right after I got home from work!!!

We’re starting to think her reported age of 16 may have been a lie on the part of the woman who brought to the shelter… maybe to help justify her request to have her euthanized? We’ll see. I want to give her a couple more weeks of good food and exercise before taking her to the vet.