Rescuing Kittens and a High Ropes Course!

Whew! What a day yesterday turned out to be! The day started out like any other day. We slept in, took the dog out, fed the cats. It was on my first big walk of the day with Luna that was interrupted by Matt standing out in front of our condo waving to us. Turns out he had been looking out of our office window, we're on the ground floor, when he saw two kittens huddled outside in front of our neighbor's car. He went out to check on them when they got scared and disappeared up in the car! Thats when he saw me walking by with Luna. I quickly tossed Luna into the house and ran to our neighbor's unit. Luckily we knew who's car it was. Our neighbor came out, popped the hood and was able to grab one kitten, which promptly bit me when it was handed over. Luna was so excited about her new playmate when I brought her inside. Don't worry, I rescued the kitten from Luna and put her in the bathroom.



The other kitten took awhile to come out. Matt baited him with cat food and treats while I tried to find a shelter to take them. I called PAWS first, but their phone system is just a never ending tree of voicemails. The recorded message did recommend that I call 911 so I did. An officer called me back and pretty much told me to do what I've been doing. He said Animal Control only works M-F 9am-5pm. How convienent. He did give me his work number in case I could find any where that would take them because his neighbor runs a small animal rescue group out of her home.



So after lunch I take Luna on another walk, well, our second attempt on her first one. We got as far as the road that runs parellel to our complex when Matt started shouting again for us. The second kitten had come out and was secure in our bathroom. When I went in to check on them, sure enough, he was snuggled on top of his sister, all wide eyed and dirty.



We ended up driving them down to PAWS. They had no problem taking them and assured us they would be well taken care of. We have high hopes for them since they are kittens and everyone seems to want kittens versus an adult cat (except us).



About an hour after we dropped the kittens off, we headed out to my co-workers 25th birthday party at Carousel Ranch. She had a western themed party. We had a nice time chatting with my other co-workers that were there. My co-worker also gave us a tour of the ranch and we got to meet her horse, Clayton. Unfortunately, there are no pics from this event because our digi cam broke and we've yet to replace it!

We could only stay for 45 minutes because we had to head over to Cottage Lake Park for our high ropes course event at the Northshore YMCA Staff Picnic. We did the Odyssey Course there with another co-workers two (grown) children. I did it even though I am afraid of heights! Again no pictures, but here is an old news article that has a picture of the course: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp/newsroom/newsreleases/2006/october/1013CottageLakeParkChallenge.aspx

I was fine with everything until we got to the top and then I thought it wasn't such a good idea anymore! I did learn some things about myself though, mainly that I work better when I'm on my own and not in a team. Of course, I was too scared to let go of my own rope to hold on to another rope with anyone else!

After our exciting time at the picnic we came home and took a tip in our pool. Ahh, living the conod life. It has its benefits!

Next time I'll tell you all about Luna and I walking in Kirkland's 4th of July Parade!

Doggy School Graduation

Luna graduated from Doggy School tonight with flying colors! Her automatic sits were a little off and I almost had to correct her drop (laying down), but in the end she got a PERFECT score! Next week we start Advanced Obedience. Keep your fingers crossed that she gets along with the other doggies.

Sabrina and Luna after the first part of her test.

Bear sat next to Luna everyday for our 8 week class. He has a big head.

Furry 5K Walk and Luna's First Bath Pictures

Here are the pictures from the Furry 5k Fun Run and Walk:

Sabrina and Luna with Kerstin and Ollie.

We made it!

After the race, Luna got a free massage!

Here are some official photos from the race in a slideshow:

http://www.brittneybollay.com/slideshows/furry5k/

We also gave Luna her first bath today! She was a stinky doggy and had lots of dirt from all the dog parks we've taken her to. She did great. Didn't complain at all. Ah, the joys of adopting a retired show dog! We even bought a new detachable shower head just so we could bathe her at home.

Kitty Pictures are Here and They are Fabulous!

Our online gallery from dane-dane photography is now up and running! There are so many great kitty portraits up there that I don't know how Matt and I are going to choose. I almost want to order all of the Fidel ones since he is the reason why we had the photo shoot to begin with. There are tons of Vlad, of course, since he is so social and was a big ham that day.

Just in case you're not sure who is who, Nikita is the Siamese, Fidel is the black one and Vladimir is the grey one. He is most likely a Chartreaux and not a Russian Blue.

Here is the link: http://web.mac.com/daneanddane/Horton/Kitties.html#grid

You have 90 days from today to enjoy it!

Busy Weekends

Is it finally time to rest? We've had some very busy weekends over the past few weeks and they are only going to get busier! We didn't travel for Memorial Day weekend, but Matt and I still kept ourselves busy. I entertained myself by cleaning and organizing, mostly organizing our condo. I also convinced Matt to rearrange our living room to give us more space and it worked! We have so much more space to play with Luna and the kitties now.

Speaking of the kitties, they had their big photo shoot with dane + dane photography on the 22nd of May. Amelia was their photographer because she is the "cat guru" and after our shoot we can tell why. Vlad was a camera hog! He really liked her dangly earrings that she flashed at him to get his attention. Nikita and Fidel wanted to just sleep, but I think she got some pretty good shots of them. She even took a few snapshots of Luna because she was just too cute. dane + dane photography is involved in City Dog magazine's cover model search and I might just take Luna to one of their scouting sessions this summer. We should have the pictures of the boys back by this coming Thursday the 5th, so I'll post the link when I have it!

Well, its almost finally here, the Furry 5k Fun Run/Walk. Next Sunday Luna and I will be waking up early once again for a fun walk around Seward Park in Seattle. We've only raised $80 so far, but I think with the current gas prices and economy we didn't do too shabby. In the fall we plan on participating in the PAWSwalk 2008. This one is held at Magnusun Park in Seattle and the money goes to the PAWS animal shelter where we adopted Fidel and Vladimir from. We'll most likely be walking with our Corgi friends as a team.

Speaking of Corgi friends, Luna actually played with some Corgis at our monthly Corgi meetup at Marymoor park! She tried to get in on the action of two Corgis playing by running with them. They didn't pay any attention to her but it was nice to see her get out there and be a dog.

Thats all for now! I'll have to update you after our big walk!

Whew! I apologize for not updating this blog in awhile. We have been busy, busy, busy lately with work, doggy school and everything else. I have a few minutes to spare so I can bang out a few words on here as to what we've been up to.

You heard right - Luna is in doggy school! She's not a bad dog, but considering she's a former show dog, she's never had any obedience training and we thought it would strengthen our relationship with her if she learned a few basic commands. So once a week on Wednesday nights we schlep her down to the Mill Creek Grange Hall for our one hour class. There are only about 8 other dogs in the class which is good for her because she is still working on her social skills. Believe it or not she actually tried to take on a giant rottweiler named "Bear" in her class! She's a brave girl sometimes. Her and Vlad are still best buddies. We even caught her cleaning his ears last night. I think he really enjoys finally having a playmate since Fidel and Nikita were never that interested in him.

Speaking of Fidel, he had another Vet visit last month. About the only good news we got was that his heart rate has gone down from 200 to 150. Everything else was worse than last time. We've cut back on his thyroid meds because his thyroid level was dangerously low. His kidneys were also doing worse, but more than likely that is because of the thyroid levels. He now has to take another medicine. This time for arthritis! My poor kitty has kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, arthritis and gingivitis! Matt and I have decided to hire a pet photographer, dane-dane photography, to come in and photograph him and the other boys as a way to memorialize him. My biggest fear is that his time is almost up, but I'm encouraged by the fact that he appears to still have lots of life in him.

Luna also had her monthly Corgi meetup at Marymoor Park on Saturday, May 4. She loved it! She's a bit of a Corgi snob and loves all other Corgis. Well, almost. She did freak out on one of them you got a little too close to me when I was petting her. The next thing I knew it turned into a huge Corgi fight with about 25 Corgis on top of each other fighting! After it got broken up she was very happy and I even caught her running and playing with other dogs! I was shocked. Typically, she never leaves my side.

On May 10, Matt and I went to our first Nerd Convention (AKA: Emerald City ComiCon). I went simply because Jamie Bamber from Battlestar Gallactica was there for autographs and pictures. We didn't get his autograph, too expensive, but we did have our picture taken with him so we got to meet him that way. We also sat in on his Q & A Panel which was pretty cool. Matt and I are big Battlestar Gallactica geeks if you can't already tell!

Finally our biggest news is that thanks to a generous offer by my parents, we will be flying back to New Hampshire in July for a week-long visit! This will be the longest trip we've ever taken together Back East and my longest since my mother's surgery in 2005. We'll also be there for our first wedding anniversary so its my job to find something "romantic" for us to do while there. Perhaps Candlpin Bowling and a Pu-Pu Platter for two?

Cats, Dog and Our Yard - Oh My!

In case you missed it, it snowed 5 inches on Friday in Everett! It's April. It isn't supposed to snow. What is going on? Luna loved the snow though and I tried to capture it on video but I had a long week at work so working our digitial camera as a video camera just wasn't one of my skills that day. But I tried. She loved rolling around in it and I'm glad somebody was happy about the snow.

Saturday was relaxing, well, as relaxing as doing laundry and housework can be. I took a nap with Fidel and then drove Luna down to Seattle for Yappy Hour while Matt was at work. She did better than last time at Great Dog, but she was too shy to go in. When she is shy she will snarl and snap if the dog gets to close. We hung around the outside holding area where she could still see, hear and smell the other doggies but they couldn't get to her. One of the trainers came out and worked with us. She also refuned us our money ($3). She was really sweet and told me that if we want to keep bringing her back for Yappy Hour we can and they won't charge us until she is ready to go in and play. At the end of Yappy Hour, when there was only a few dogs left, she went in and ran around with me. She also investigated all the smells. There were two greyhounds in there but she ignored them. I can't take her back next week, unfortunately, I have to take her to the Vet along with Nikita and Fidel. Oh, that is a car ride that I can't wait for!

Sunday, we took Luna to Lowell Park in Everett. We really liked it because it is completey fenced with a security gate. I followed the advice the trainer gave me the day before and let her off the leash once we entered the security gate area. All of the other dogs came up to greet her. She was not happy and hid behind Matt. After a few minutes I opended the gate and she went in, but started to back up when the other dogs ran up to greet her. I wouldn't let her go back so she came in to the dog park and wanted nothing to do with the other dogs. She snarled and snapped at them, which the trainer said is OK, because she is setting her limits. Luna pretty much ignored them the whole time we were there. She did really good running back and forth between Matt and I and she even broke up a couple of fights with her barks! It was hilarious. By the way, at every dog park we visit a black dog has to give Matt love. I don't know what it is about him, but he always seems to attract big, black dogs.

After the dog park, Matt and I went to Home Depot and Wal-Mart so we could work on our muddy yard. It really was a swamp. We invested in some tire much and lava rocks to help with the mud problem. I also planted some (pink) plants and some hanging plants. I think it is a big improvement. This summer we want to purchase a BBQ and possibly some new chairs. I still need to contact Mosaic about a pet fence for Luna, although she was out there for the whole time and never strayed from us.

In my last post I promised cat pictures. They were not feeling photogenic today, but I do have a few!

So like I said, next weekend I am taking 3 out of 4 of our furbabies to the vet's which should be interesting. Fidel is going in for another blood panel to see how his kidney failure is progressing and if the hyperthyroid pills have helpt. Nikita is going in for his annual shots and Luna needs a distemper booster and whatever else the vet thinks she needs. My friend Megan (Mariner) will be in town from the East Coast which I am really looking forward too :)

Ciao!

Yappy Hour and Dog Fashion Show

Last night Luna and I headed down to Kirkland to Dooley's Dog House Pet Store for Yappy Hour and a Fashion Show put on by Planet Poochie. This was a fundraiser for Pasado's Safe Haven. We got to meet some dogs that were looking to be adopted too.

At first Luna did NOT want to go in. I had to all but pick her up and carry her through the door. Of course, being the adorable Corgi that she is, everyone wanted to pet her and oohed and ahhed over her. Meanwhile all she wanted to do was hide under the table!

It took awhile and a lot of pets from mommy before Luna was at home and munching away on her dog cookies provided by Simon and Huey. They even had wine and beer for the humans! She really liked an Eskie that was there. So much so that you could tell the Eskie felt smothered. There was a 7 month old English Bulldog there that loved Luna. Luna did not feel the same way, so the Bulldog was reduced to flopping on the floor so she could slink closer to her. Ahh, puppies.

The Yappy Hour was impressive! For the dogs, they had a nice spread of cookies from Simon and Huey's. Luna didn't want her cookie at first, but once she warmed up to all the dogs and people she happily munched her's down. And then another... and another... and I took some home for her to eat later. What can I say? She loves sweats just like her mother!

For the adults, Yappy Hour consisted of beer and wine, plus some "pupp-etizers" donated by a local deli. It was all yummy. I had fun mingling with the other dog owners and after awhile Luna warmed up to everything. In fact, she wanted all of my attention. She insisted on jumping up on me so I would kneel (way) down and pet her. She was having fun.

The fashion started about 45 minutes after we got there. It consisted of two parts. We stayed for both. We saw lots of cute dogs in funny outfits. I think after awhile Luna wanted to get up on stage herself! Daddy says she's not allowed to wear outfits, just her raincoat and a Halloween costume, so she was living vicariously. At the end of the show though, we were allowed to put our dogs up on the red carpet stage for picture taking. Luna was such a star! Everyone was taking her picture.

We had a great time and it was all for a great cause - Pasado's Safe Haven.

I promise in my next post I will talk more about the cats. They have a very exciting event coming up!