Woof (Pets)

Clearing out my local stash of puppy pictures...
Líle's on top of the world...
The never-ending battle for hedgehog supremacy continues...
The dogs attempt to cooperate with the staging of a sophisticated cat trap...
So... Tired...

Puppy Without A Cause (Pets)

It is sad that in this day and age child smoking is still a problem.

Líle Branches Out (Pets)

Earlier this month Líle met AM's dogs, Ollie and Max, for the first time. She handled it pretty well. Ollie continues to be surprisingly aggressive and controlling...he's been a timid bottom for most of his life, but as his lipomas have grown so has his assertiveness. Max was also all over Líle, but he just wanted to play.
As you can see, Líle wasn't too sure about Max, but we're hopeful she'll warm up with time.

We also took Líle for a walk to meet one of our neighbors' dogs, Daisy, a sweet lab who is probably about 80,000 times as well-trained as our dogs. It was Líle's first meet-and-greet without 'Dolon present, and it went fine, although she was a lot more interested in playing with people than Daisy. We were unable to arrange a mutually acceptable trade for Daisy.

2008 Seedlings

It is that time of year again when my wife descends into seedling madness. The bulbs are flickering and humming down in the basement, paying tribute to those things she loves best. Like this proto-asparagus, which she is so attached to I doubt I will ever be permitted to eat it. I'm actually always amazed that she photographs things like this -- and don't think this is her only seedling portrait, not by a long shot!

We'll see how much of this stuff actually makes it out into the garden for our pets and wildlife to destroy.

Investigation Inconclusive, Sources Say (Pets)

The results of the investigation into the vandalized dog toy basket found by the owners of a suburban house in Westmont has proved inconclusive.

The examination was undertaken by a local specialist in veterinary pathotoyology. The results of an assay of suspicious saliva-like fluid found at the scene are not yet available but are not expected to produce any new leads.

Inquiries are ongoing, but the cordon around the scene has been lifted.

My Rhino Smells Like Roses

This may be my last post. Because the wife may very well kill me when she sees this. But, as she says herself, this is what she does for a living.

You ready?

It's coming.

Here it is.
Where is my wife's right arm, I hear you ask? Don't ask. The rhino probably shouldn't ask either.

I'd like to be cremated and have my ashes mailed in envelopes with no return address to various Republican congressmen.

Sharing (Pets)

'Dolon's willingness to share goes in phases. Strangely, the phases seem to be associated somehow with whether or not the object in question is consumable. This ball-on-a-rope toy is about 25% consumable, unfortunately.

A note about the toy. The triple-stranded synthetic rope is the best part. The drilled-out tennis ball decomposes really fast into dangerous potentially-impacting rubber bits under the jaws of an active puppy.

Hypoallergenic Kitties

I am allergic to everything. Everything includes cats -- from my reaction, several times over. I also own cats.

Although I am generally opposed to the patronizing of animal breeders for obvious reasons, my wife and I own two purebred Devon Rex cats. They were pricey, hundreds of dollars each, and although they have a different appearance and temperament than most DSHs, what made them worth the cash to me was their status as one of three generally accepted hypoallergenic cat breeds.

• The Devon Rex is a modern cat breed identified in England in the '60s. They are named after their rexed (curled) fur. They are missing a standard layer of DSH fur and are light shedders.
• The Cornish Rex is another rexed kitty which was identified in England slightly before the Devon. They share the Devon's allergy-related traits.
• The Sphynx is another recent DSH breed -- but unlike the rexes is basically hairless. This makes them very light shedders :-) Sphynxes are harder to get in the US than the rexed breeds and tend to be more expensive. They can also leave oily patches on your furniture and clothing.
• The Siberian is a long-haired cat breed that is also anecdotally hypoallergenic. I don't know much about them; they weren't really available when we got our kitties.

Unfortunately, none of these cats are truly hypoallergenic. People who are allergic to cats are allergic to the DSH protein Fel d 1. Research suggests that the rexes and Sphynx do produce less of this protein, but they still produce it, and so they are still likely to provoke some degree of allergic reaction.

There are two companies who claim to be offering allergy-free cats. I do not know of any peer-reviewed science backing up their claims as yet. Lifestyle Pets and Felix Pets both have more information at their web sites. Their engineered cats cost thousands and thousands of dollars.
I've ultimately been quite happy with my Devon Rexes. They have great, dog-like personalities and desire lots of human interaction. These aren't fat cats that loll around in the sun all day long; even as they have aged they are still very active. They are also great (and very warm -- low fur, low body fat) lap warmers. I am allergic to them, but much less than to a normal DSH. If I pet a DSH and then wash my hands I'm generally fine, but anything more is pushing it. I can rub one of my rexes on my face for a several seconds (don't ask) and generally suffer no ill effects.
Today, if I were going to get another supposedly hypoallergenic cat, I would go to a rescue rather than a breeder.

Líle Has A Belly (Pets)

Given how the dogs play together, sometimes it is good to make sure all of the puppy parts are still present and accounted for. So far Líle is passing her inspection.

First Soup Of This Spring (Chow)

I made another experimental soup to foist off on AM while he is recovering from his last hospital adventure. This is a bunch of celery and a large leek reduced to tiny components and stewing in a little white wine, vegetable stock, and garam masala. Wow, this makes an aromatic soup! After cooking it down I hit it with the immersion blender to give it a nice, smooth, slightly thick consistency just a step or two shy of a split pea soup.

The leek, which is something I don't cook with much (because it is really just another evil onion trying to masquerade as food), had a synergistic effect with fresh pepper I did not expect which made the soup end up a bit more peppery than I had intended. But it was still quite good, unexpectedly so given the only modestly appealing ingredients I used.

Of course at the time I had not yet been informed that AM does not like celery. Luckily, he was too weak from his surgery to prevent my forcing the soup upon him anyway.

Monkey On My Back (Pets)

I am nothing more than a cat tree.

The Horror Of Dew Addiction

It is always sad when a loved one succumbs to the green lady, Tennessee piss, mountain julip, Xpop, slammer, DJ -- the awful addiction of the Dew.

About 70% Of Household

Here is a rare picture of the vast majority of our family. Hagar is too wet to be pictured here, and I'm the reason the photograph is poorly framed, badly lit, and out of focus. From top right clockwise, we have long-suffering NDM, little white hissy Scylla, leaky-eyed Molpe, crammed-in Líle, and snoring 'Dolon.

Líle's First Dog Park (Pets)

We took Líle to the dog park for her first visit at the end of march. She was a little nervous but did fine. After hiding out at the picnic table for half an hour she eventually began to follow strangers around for safety. A puppy her age and size who tried to play with her was a little too much.
'Dolon, of course, had a blast. There was one particular poodle he was just in love with.