Licensing and microchipping for Butters

I finally went to the county's one stop clinic and licensed and microchipped Butters.

During most of my ownership of Butters (last year), I thought the county forcing people to license their pets is tantamount to extortion. I didn't see the purpose of it at all. I don't care to help offset their fees. Afterall, most of their funding already comes from other sources, why should I have to pay some more? The only argument that made sense to me is if Butters somehow got lost (which I can't really imagine), the shelters might be of help.

With that, I periodically get the perverse urge to browse through the pet section of CL. I know I can't adopt or foster any animal. Yet, I like reading about their stories and looking at their pictures. I think it helps me appreciate Butters and want to make his little life the best I can. The stories are a constant reminder to never be one of those people who gives up their pet due to moving, work, school, or other excuses. Humans are infinitely adaptable. I'm sure we can find ways to deal with the problem if we tried hard enough. I get the feeling that mostly people just don't see the dogs as a deserving member of the family. I can't imagine giving up a child just because it takes up too much time, so I don't see why we should give up pets because they've become a burden. If anything, any behavior problems are the human's fault with lack of training and/or exercise. However, with that said, I do want to leave people the benefit of the doubt as owners pass away or are sick and can longer fulfill their obligations towards their pets.

For the past few days, I've been glued to rescue, shelter and CL pet sites. I read one post on CL that has since been deleted (I can't find it again) from someone claiming to work as a manager at a shelter giving a behind the scenes look at what happens when people surrender their pet. S/he described the sadness of dogs left in kennels, some succumbing to illnesses. Comparatively speaking, very few are adopted, despite being purebred or not. S/he went through the process of euthanizing an animal and its disposal after. I don't know how much of this is true. However, it did make me feel that if nothing else, $14/year for licensing that goes towards helping to keep shelter animals alive even just a little bit longer is worth it.

So I took Butters to the Gaines St shelter (had the hardest darn time finding it because it was a tiny street right before the police department that looked like a drive way). The people were very nice, didn't give me any crap at all about why I'm licensing him now, almost four months after his rabies shot. They took Butters away for microchipping, so I don't know if he yelped. When he came out a few minutes later, he looked none the worse for the experience with just a little bit of blood at the injection site. The whole process was fairly quick despite quite a few other dogs there as well.

Since I was there, I filled out an application to volunteer with them, walking dogs, or whatever else they need. My main goal is to make the lives of the dogs/cats there better while they are there. With that, I have an orientation on August 25th. =D I'm quite excited.

L & Butters: who cleans a bowl better?

It seemed like Butters has been a little picky about his food lately. He hasn't been eating as much or as quickly as he used to. Yesterday, I decided to give him something a little different. I mixed the rice and soup (that I made for L & me) with canned albacore. The soup has cauliflower, tomato sauce, chicken broth, peas, carrots, celery and onions. Butters ate it all up and cleaned up the bowl...unlike someone else who always leaves a pea or two and some grains of rice. Little thing that irks me. Is the last pea not good enough for you to eat? You have something against the last pieces of rice? I guess next time I'll let Butters do it.

Random event

As Gloria and I drove to the post office in San Marcos, we stopped in the left turn lane for a red light. I had Butters in my arms as he looked out the window. An old couple pulled up next to us and asked me, "Is that a bichon?" They then proceeded to tell me that they have a 5-years old bichon girl back home and that they are just such wonderful dogs.

I couldn't agree more. Butters is so affectionate.

Butter's wardrobe

Initially, I was indifferent to the idea of dressing Butters. I thought the only thing he needed was a big poofy pink bow because it would be a great joke on people since they already think of him as a girl.

As winter set in, I found him shivering when we are outside despite his fluffy coat. And thus his wardrobe.

It is just the cutest thing.

His collection:

a sweater, a coat, and a raincoat.

And now starring Butters in his first piece, the coat:

I made it myself. The main material is a piece of 1 ft x whatever width it is at JoAnn's reversible quilting material that was on sale for $8.99/yd. A package of green bias tape to close the edge. 2 ft of green ribbon. Velcro. And pattern cloth. I had to work it out by trial and error since I had a bit of trouble visualizing the 2-D shape of the coat. Will post pattern with adjustable measurements if I can figure out how. I have also yet to figure out how to make the coat reversible.

2nd piece: an indoor crocheted sweater. Indoor because Butters is so close to the ground his belly often gets dirty when he plays and walks around outside.

 

Crochet: chain enough links to easily slip over head. Note to self in the future, the top needs to the shortened while the bottom needs to be lengthened. Example: use single crochet on top while using double crochet on bottom. The chest area will need to be tightened as well about 4-6 chains.

And last but not least, his raincoat that I bought at Petco for $10. I was going to make one for him, and I think I still will, but this is a good starting point. I figured the cost of materials alone will be about or exceed $10.

 

Finally, just because he's an awesomely cute little dog that I love:

*sigh* He's so adorable.

The only thing that I will never make him wear are shoes. I don't think we've bred them to the point where they are so different from wolves that they need our help in walking attire. So no shoes for him.

Crocheting again and vanilla beans

A couple of projects that I'm working on:
Everyone's Christmas presents
A different Christmas present
Butters' coat
Two baby presents
...and food related projects that I've already started (I really hope the starter will be ready before I leave for SF)

I finally bought the fabric for Butters' coats. I found some quilting material at JoAnn's. They are reversible as well. Initially, I was going to buy a flannel/fleece middle piece, and two cotton squares at Wal-Mart and make a quilting material myself. However, this saves me a bit of work. Plus, they were on sale too! Now I just need to find matching colored ribbons and threads and Butters can go walking at night. Maybe, I'll add a raincoat in the future. It'll have to be red to match mine.

At the checkout, the price turned out to be not the sale price. The guy at the counter was really cool though, he just used a 50% off coupon. I mentioned that it was for my little dog, and he said that I probably treat the dog better than I treat L, who was with me at the time. And L agreed. What a butt. I just don't have the skills to make him clothes. If I can buy sheets and modify them a little bit and throw it over him and call them shirts, I would, but I can't.

Anyway, my vanilla beans from Beanilla Trading Company came today. Very exciting. I bet they smell delicious. I was surprised how fast that was. I must have ordered them, at most, three days ago.

I have been having the hardest time finding appropriate bottles for the extract. A small part of that is my horrible conception of volume, i.e., I have no idea how much 8 fl. oz. is. I don't know if that's good for what I need or not. I'm trying to decide between 8 and 10. Normally, I would just get 9 oz. However, these bottles are even rarer. Go figure.

I'm taking up crocheting again because I have some awesome ideas revolving around that. However, I can only find one of my six crochet hooks. I have no idea where the others are. I'm going to use my Michael's 40% off coupon to get them. Anyway, look what I made today!

According to the crochet book from the library, it's called an Irish Lace Flower. I can see an art project out of this. Imagine me, creative! Ha!

(I've noticed posts are always more interesting with pictures. Sometimes I have this fantasy of talking in pictures, where half of my post is illustrations, sprinkled in among the words.)

Neutering Butters

It is probably the single worst experience in my ownership of Butters.

L and I dropped him off at Centers Vet Clinic on Mira Mesa Blvd. I got a call less than two hours later letting me know that the procedure was complete and he's recovering from the anesthesia.

I picked him up in the afternoon around 3. When they brought him out, he looked absolutely miserable. His body was limp. He had a cone around his head so his puffy head hair was pushed forward. The fur around his jaws was stiff with either throwup or something.

When I got home, I put him down on the floor next to my desk so I can keep an eye on him. He was so out of it that he just sat there non-responsive with his head drooping. He finally lied down to sleep. When he woke up, he tried to move, but because he couldn't hold his head high, the edge of the cone jabbed right into the carpet. It freaked him out and he flopped around like a fish on dry land while yelping like someone is cutting his balls off. After that, I put him on the couch, and arranged the dining room chairs with the backs to the couch so they formed a wall to prevent him from moving around too much.

The paper said that it takes a few hours to a few days for the anesthetic to wear off. Give him painkillers every few hours by mixing it in with his food.

However, much to my worry, he didn't eat or drink the first day at all. I had a hard time even giving him his pain medication. The poor thing was so out of it that he didn't even react when he peed on himself while sleeping on the blanket. When I lifted him up to put him in his kennel, the right side of his hindquarters was all wet with his pee along with the blanket where he was lying and he hadn't noticed at all.

The second day, he drank a lot of water when he woke up. Whew. I don't mind too much that he didn't eat, but not drinking worried me a lot.

The third day, he ate a little bit and drank.

By the fourth night, when we took him to the Perkins, he finally started acting more normal. Reactive towards his environment. We had to prevent Mona from picking on him by biting his behind since he can't reach her because of the cone.

He was finally back to himself on the fifth day. I was so incredibly relieved. I had been so worried and so stressed. This was the first time I ever went through a neutering with a pet. It seemed like Butters was on the longer end of the normal range of recovery time. If I could, I will pay someone to go through this with the dog, so I don't have to go through it again. Alright. I don't mean that. Maybe just a little bit.

It was all I could do to keep his cone on till the 10th day. As soon as I took his cone off, he proceeded to rub and scratch his eyes. I realized then that the corner of his eyes were red and swollen. The vet concluded that the accumulation of dried crusted tears irritated his sensitive skin. It just needs to be cleaned and it will heal on its own.

I am so glad he's back to normal.

Dog day

Took Butters to the dog park today. We told him to sit and stay in the unleashing area which he managed to do with a little excited whining. We released him from the command once we were inside the park itself. A couple saw us and was very impressed with that considering he's four months old. Unfortunately, Butter's good day lasted about ten minutes as he angered a little black chihuahua dog and was chased. He then became very grumpy and vicious. His usual playmate the French bulldog repeatedly barked at him for no apparent reason. In his play with Achilles, the Pembroke corgi, he viciously growled while standing over him. I've never really seen him like that before. So I took him to the other side of the dog park and played chase with him for awhile, but he was just done with the dog park. Before I left, the lady whose 10-year old bichon died last June came over to me to give me the pictures that she took of Butters the other day. There was one picture of him standing while the French bulldog chomped down on his back leg. It was cute.

L and I went to watch 9 at the Edwards theatre. I thought the ending was going to be different from the way it came out. Also, I realized that from futuristic movies that deals with machines vs. humans, I am now very afraid of classic machine noises like their metallic clackings and creakings and wooshings as they move and slither about. Also, why do we use metal weapons against their metal bodies? It just doesn't seem evenly matched because knives and guns are supposed to be for the flesh. Since metal bodies are supposed to be more resistant to physical damage than naked flesh, I think we should have more advanced weaponry against that. Maybe something like targeted EMP that shoots like a laser.
Analogy:
guns: flesh:: EMP laser: machines

There! That looks better. =)

Butter's 3rd vet visit

5 lbs and 12 oz. Jeez Butters. I would call you a fat ass, but I know you are not. Muscle developing properly, and the puppy teeth should come out any time now. Possible ear infection, got ear drops. Everything else checks out properly. I'm so happy that he's done with shots. Now we can take him to dog parks. Yay!

I must say that I really like our vets at the Rose Canyon Veterinary Hospital. They are fairly priced, awesome people, and are not pushy about anything. They are also extremely patient and has always answered all of our questions. The vets take the time to try to get the dog comfortable. Highly recommend them.

I'm thinking that the first time he goes to the dog park that we keep him on a leash and make him sit when meeting people/other dogs. I wonder if that's excessive?

In Butters News: On food and nutrition for dogs

Right now there's a can of Iams wet dog food that I'm trying to get rid of because Butters is certainly NOT eating that crap. However, it is hard to give it away because I can't tell people the reason I'm giving it away is that it's not good enough for my dog. I DO hate to see it go to waste though.

Yesterday, Sprite and I went to Pet People to find treats for Butters. He is definitely more interested in obeying us if we have tantalizing treats. I'm not a fan of dog biscuits because I read that carbohydrates are not part of a dog's natural diet. It defeats the whole purpose of buying awesome dog food that doesn't contain wheat and corn only to have them pop up in doggy biscuits. So in the end, I settled on Real Meat Beef Jerky Treats and Fruitables Pumpkin & Blueberry Mix. The latter serves in place of biscuit treats because the main ingredient is pumpkin instead of some type of flour.

My main criteria when selecting food for Butters is that it has to be as close to natural as possible. Neither one of the treats has artificial preservatives and the Beef Jerky Treats, after I cut it up to little pieces, will last us a long time.

On dog food, currently Butters is on Blue Buffalo's puppy formula. I will discontinue that as soon as he's done because it contains tomato pomace (pomace is the leftover pulp, skin and seeds) which can stain bichon, maltese and poodle's hair since these breeds typically have tear staining problems. Otherwise, I think Blue Buffalo's a pretty good brand. I have a $5 coupon that expires at the end of this year if anyone wants it.

On switching dog foods: there's a lot of debate on the level of sensitivity of dogs' digestive tracts and the ensuing debate revolves around whether they should be fed table scraps and whether they should always eat one type of kibble. In my opinion, I don't think table scraps encourage begging or upset their digestive tracts, too much. Begging is a behavior that can be corrected with discipline and upset digestive tracts...well, how much human food is the dog really ingesting each time? Moderation is key. Plus, my experience in China showed me that dogs that eat table scraps have gorgeous gorgeous shiny coats that amazed even me. Subjectively, sharing food is a chance to bond with them and train them.

As for eating one type of kibble, I just don't buy it. Are modern dogs really so pathetic as being able to handle only one type of food all their lives? I read somewhere that it's a good idea to switch kibble and rotate the main type of protein in the listed ingredients to prevent dogs from developing an allergy to it. I don't know how much eating one thing really contributes to future allergies, but on getting more nutrients out of food, it certainly makes sense to rotate different types of food. I don't like it when half of the ingredient list is made up of added vitamins and minerals. If the food is well rounded, then vitamins and minerals should be part of the food already without being additional ingredients.

All this to say that for Butters, I think I'm going to rotate through Orijen and Innova. The presence of tomato pomace in many dog foods helps me narrow things down quite a bit. I am such a huge fan of Orijen food. Price-wise, it is comparable to a lot of the higher-end dog food. OTOH, one can actually read/pronounce most of the ingredients on the list. According to the company, the ingredients are fresh and never preserved. Other than the puppy and senior formula, the company also produces an Adult formula, which is like a different formulation of the puppy formula based mainly on chicken, Regional Red with a focus on red meats, and 6Fish which is self-explanatory. Orijen also has the advantage of containing higher calories/kg than most dog food, so dogs can eat less and feel more full. And Innova is a decent substitute.

As for real food, we found that Butters is not a fan of carrots, but definitely likes cabbage, mangoes, avocado, shrimp, and pork. In moderation, of course.

Puppy's day two: name

All new parents go through the difficult task of naming their offspring/pet/body part. (j/k on the last one.) Sprite and I agonized over the puppy's. If he had been a girl, which we originally intended, the name would've been Sandy (in honor of getting her in San Diego). Since he was a boy, we were left with our imaginations.

As we got to know him more, we found him curious, bold, and playful. He was fluffy. He also waddled. Big time. Some candidates: Wadsworth (for his cute-as-hell waddling), George (for Curious George), Max (sounded strong), and Albert (Sprite's middle name). Yet, none of them really suited him.

As the afternoon went on, we tried various names. Sprite called him Butterball a number of times. It suited him, but I didn't want to call him that. So I suggested Butters, Butterball and South Park reference. Plus, his personality is relatively similar to Butters', naive, curious, good-natured, and adventurous. Butters he is. =)

Also, Sprite loves the fact that he can say, "Butters, you are grounded!" when Butters does something bad.

Proclamation to the world...

World, Sprite and I present to you...Butters, born May 13, 2009 in Point Loma, CA. He is quite a fluffy butterball.

First picture ever: he was so tired when we brought him home that went straight to sleep where we propped him down, which happened to be the bathroom floor. I thought, "Hey, he's going to be crate-trained anyway, why not stick him in while unconscious?" So here he is:


Butters and his first toy: a squeaky carrot. Sprite picked it out. Puppy really loves it. I'm very happy.


Sleeping with us on the blanket before banished to the crate: