Kinda Awry

July 18, 2008   Filed Under: Recession   236 words

I remember reading a few months ago that the economy will only get better. Is it a big surprise to me that it is only getting worse? Not really. I kind of expected this. It is really sad, though, all the small businesses (and even big ones likes Pep Boys, PacSun, Starbuck’s, etc.) that are closing down. More and more people are losing their jobs because there just isn’t enough business to support as many workers as before. And what are all these people supposed to do? It is kind of hard to get a job these days.

I know plenty of people are going to want to go back to school right now, but it is probably not the best time. I am sure that if the economy continues to go this way financial aid and the like will be affected. We probably need to save as much money as we can right now because we just really don’t know what’s going to happen. The school I attended for my summer class is starting to charge about 3% of your account balance if you pay by credit card to cover the merchant fees. That’s $3 for every $100, so a person with a 12-credit schedule will pay $40 in additional fees that financial aid will not cover.

Will things just continue to get worse? I hope not, but it already seems like that is what is going to happen.

Doggy Daycare

July 13, 2008   Filed Under: Dogs   357 words

First I have a little to say regarding the comments on the last entry. The dog is a Pekingese, and it’s not a puppy–it’s a 4-year-old. It’s not very well behaved either, but it’s not bad. It’s just like a baby, it doesn’t know better than to do what comes naturally. And if you’re thinking about getting a dog/puppy, try your best to get one from a responsible breeder (google it) or a shelter/rescue before getting one from a backyard breeder or pet stores (the pet store puppies come from puppy mills, so you would be supporting the inhumane treatment of animals).

Anyways, yesterday she started to come out of her shell (I’m getting used to calling her a she!). She kept running out of the bathroom to where I was and back…I guess she was really testing the waters.

She also ate and drank water! I started out by putting very little (about 7 pieces) of the dog food in the bowl so I could really monitor if she ate any. She ate it all! The I added more, and she ate that! So, I added more…and…she ate that, too! I tried giving her the medicine, but nothing I do works. Cheese, “people” food, wet dog food…NOTHING! And why call it people food anyway? It’s “real” food, not “people” food. I really hate feeding her the dog food but she’s so accustomed to it. This is the first dog we’ve ever had and actually fed dog food.

Today she follows me everywhere I go. She’s still a bit pissy when I’m squirting medicine in her ears, but once I’m done doing that she’s mellow. I took her outside on the leash, and quickly realized I don’t have to even hold the leash. She walks when I walk, she runs when I run, and she stops when I stop! She even pooped, so I gave her lots and lots of praise and petting since I’m the one that will be training her. And there’s no better time to start than the present, right?

Two Days With A Puppy Mill Rescue

July 10, 2008   Filed Under: Dogs   685 words

We went to the Humane Society yesterday and adopted a four-year old that was rescued from a Tennessee puppy mill 1-2 weeks ago. First off, let me say this…it’s not the bundle of joy that you would get from a responsible breeder. First, we took it to PETCO. It ran around a bit (yes, on a leash) and was amazed to look at itself in an aquarium that was on the floor. It kept running until it found a dark little spot behind some crates (which is what we were looking for anyhow). It was a pain to get him out from behind there, too. When it saw the crate, it darted in the opposite direction, so we picked him up and just kept petting him. Him is actually a her, but for some reason I’m accustomed to referring to animals as him.

We took her home and put a pillow and some T-shirts inside the oversized crate (she’s used to a really small one so we wanted to make her as comfortable as possible). Once we put her in there she immediately got comfy all the way in the back and took a long nap. I know she must have been tired because she had been spayed that very day, and of course that was coupled with the annoyance of a million people looking around the cages and a few looking at her at the Humane Society. Whenever we go into the room, she runs to the front of the crate out of curiosity, but as soon as she sees that it’s a human, she darts to the back and starts trembling. She does this even today although we’ve upgraded her to the bathroom (which she immediately took a liking to the corner, so we put a pillow there).

She will not eat any food, and she will not drink water. We take her outside and she runs to the corner of the house and just sits there. Then, if we’re lucky, she eats some grass. She hasn’t pooped this whole time, but she’s peed twice. And it’s not much, either (which is a good thing and a bad thing at the same time). We’ve tried a million types of food, too. We have the Purina One that they were feeding her at the shelter (but we can’t find out from anyone if they actually saw her eat because they don’t watch them eat, so the other dog she was with probably ate hers after a while). We also tried one of the wet dog foods. We tried mixing the wet food with the dry food. We tried raw ground beef (from a hamburger patty). We tried cooking a little stew with beef, rice, gravy, and carrots. We tried cashews. We tried raw veggies (we figured that might work since she eats grass). We tried a banana and we tried some juice (I think it was Gatorade or something). We also tried two different types of dog treats–the little dog cookie thing and some liver thing.

We’re taking her to the veterinarian tomorrow, but I don’t know if the result will be good. She needs to take medicine for a UTI and for Giardiasis (from dirty water at the pet mill that had Giardia–maggots?), but she won’t eat anything. We’re wondering if she possibly has kennel cough or the dog flu. It could be a number of things, but it’s also possible that she has pica. The latter is unlikely because she doesn’t eat the toilet paper or paper towels that we put new stuff on. We’ve left the food in there with her, and trust me, none of that stuff has been touched.

I’ve noticed that she likes to be brushed or petted. Well, I think she does anyway. She’s tolerant of it. Because if I just stand there she won’t lay down, she’ll stand on guard. But if I brush or pet her for a long time, she’ll do it. Maybe she just thinks I’ll never leave? One more thing…she’s never barked. Can you imagine a dog that never barks?

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