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.