Restaurants are going to the dogs

I am not going to lie, I've considered faking Ender/Barksdale as a service dog so we can take them on public transportation into San Francisco. Apparently people have been getting bold about bringing their pets into restaurants, including service dog fakery, as told by this article:

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/tjjacobberger/2010/11/12/restaurants-are-going-to-the-dogs/

Vacuums

I hate vacuuming. I've hated it since I was a kid and will forever hate it. However, there comes a time, that time mainly being surrounded by tufts of Ender hair, that even I will pick up a vacuum (albeit handheld). We also have a regular vacuum that we (I mean the bf) sometimes uses. A few weeks ago, while at Home Depot, the bf stumbled upon a Dyson Animal vacuum and have been entertaining the idea of getting one. Although wishlisted, I haven't had a chance to really delve into a specific model or make to purchase.

droool....



The most pressing question I have is, what's the difference between a regular Dyson and a Dyson Animal? Besides, oh, a couple of hundred bucks?? However, if this vacuum can, instead of blowing the dog hair around, vacuum it off of hardwood floors, without having to use some kind of hose contraption, I'm sold.

And does it make me a greedy person for wanting both the handheld and upright vacuum? I'm the a handheld type of gal, but if we get the upright, we can get this handy dandy contraption.

Raccoons

Wowza, I came across this article and am now even more wary of raccoons.

Raccoons attack Alameda woman walking her dog

A few months ago, the bf and I woke up early morning to some terrible screeching. I had thought it was something car related but later that day, the bf told me that it had been a bunch of raccoons attacking something. As if I don't get wigged out seeing one raccoon in broad daylight already. When that happens, half of me is thinking, oh man, I hope the dogs didn't see that. The other half of me is thinking, I hope the dogs saw that so they can protect me when that raccoon starts chasing me.

Living in an urban environment, I feel like I am somewhat accustomed to some rather brave rodents. At Berkeley and UCLA, there were some rather aggressive squirrels running around campus. In fact, one of my friends has had her bagel stolen twice while she was not looking. I made it out okay, but I am in no way prepared to face down a group of rabid raccoons. I'll leave that up to Barksdale.

What a Weekend!

It all started Saturday morning with a swollen muzzle. The bf noticed that Barksdale's muzzle was a bit puffy Saturday morning. We decided to just keep an eye on it, as some of her allergic reactions kind of just disappear after a few hours. Later that night, I was at dinner with some friends, while the bf was out picking up some take out. When he came back, he noticed that Barksdale's face had swollen up to about three times the normal size. He gave her two Benadryls, but decided to take her to the emergency vet, who gave her two additional Benadryls and a shot of some sort.

She was looking better Sunday morning and the day passed rather uneventfully until she barfed Sunday evening in the bedroom. And then had a follow up barf in her crate. In between all that, Ender barfed as well.

Sigh.

On a random semi-related note, for people who think that getting a dog from a backyard breeder because it might be cheaper, wait until the medical bills start rolling in. I don't know her exact lineage, but let's just say it's the bald spots, dandruff, food and skin allergy kind.

Where do you buy your pet supplies?

The bf's co-worker just got a new dog and have been trying to stock up on all the necessary supplies before they bring her home on Friday. When the bf told me that they were going to Petco/PetSmart for their supplies, I reacted with a whaaa??! Nothing against Petco/PetSmart except for their high prices without the warm mushy feeling of supporting local business or sustainable practices. But let's face it, my ideologies only go so far and I will gladly exchange them for lower prices. In case there are any readers that live in the Bay Area, here are the places we like to frequent:

Pet Club
This is the Costco of pet stores. We try to buy everything here. Shout out to my friend Anna, mama of Kali, who told us about it. She was also the one who told us about Nature's Miracle. Anyway, everything here is cheaper. Period.


Pet Food Express
We find this to be a good alternative for Petco/PetSmart. They are a locally based chain that have some pretty good business practices. Apparently that's still not good enough for the City of San Francisco because they've only recently been granted approval to open a third store in SF. Small boutique pet stores were worried that Pet Food Express would price them out, to which I respond, yeah right I go to my small pet boutique to buy a 60 lb bag of dog food.


Small Local Pet Boutique
Oh but what do I go to my small local pet boutique for? Well window shopping, killing time before the movies, convenience when, ahem, I'm shopping for clothes, and scoring hard to find items. Here are the two we most frequent:
Dog Bone Alley in Alameda
George in Berkeley
If I ever win the lottery, I will only shop at small local pet boutiques.

The Grocery Store
Trader Joe's
Oh how I love your dog treats. And you have groceries. Yay.
Whole Foods
They sell Chuck-it balls. Enough said.

Baby Ender

If we are to ever encounter a puppy with paws as big as Ender's were, we now know to run the other way.

Thanks for Ruining My Life!

This post is dedicated to the bf's co-worker, K. He was one of the very few people we knew who were our age, living in the city, and had a dog. He rescued his first dog, a little pittie, and expounded on the greatness of dog ownership. He instilled confidence in us and our ability to care for an animal. When the bf saw Barksdale at the pound, K had already adopted his second dog. So again, we turned to him for advice. K assured us that having two dogs was no big deal and that it was quite fun. I thought, if K, a bachelor, could do it, we can totally do it!

Two dogs later, I like to blame him for ruining my life everytime we see him. All in jest, of course. I think. Anyway, since the bf is against dressing the doggies up, here are K's two lovely doggies - Dot and Pesto!