pei-bound.

Three weeks from today Digby will be romping on the beaches of Prince Edward Island with Abby, Bradie and Frankie!

Previous trips to PEI in summer 2010 and 2011

That's right, the entire furry crew is taking a road trip down east through via the U.S. (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine (where we stop over for the night in Bethel), then up through New Brunswick). My sister is flying down with Bradie, so the car will contain 3 adults and 3 dogs, whereas my parents' trailer will be jam packed with 4 adults and 4 dogs (fortunately Abby, Bradie and Frankie combined only total 20 lbs.!).

Digby has been assured all-you-can-eat-and-roll-in sand (and the promise of no baths at least until we get to Ontario), so he's pretty pumped. This will be Abby and Frankie's first trip to the island (Bradie went last summer with her mom), so should be pretty entertaining.

We're heading down from June 16 through the July (Canada Day) long weekend, then heading back from August 18 through the September (Labour Day) long weekend. Work has been crazy for the last few months so I can't wait to get away for an entire month this summer and enjoy some much-needed relaxation; it can't come soon enough!

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birthday bonanza.

May 25th is a pretty special day in our house because not only are we celebrating one furry birthday, we're celebrating two!

We had already marked May 25 as Bea's birthday because this is the day that she and her kittens joined our foster family. When we met Digby's sister Mini, her mom informed us that, according to Mini's paperwork, her birthday (and, by extension, Digby's birthday) was also May 25!

Given Digby's love of cats, we like to joke that Bea was his third birthday gift :)

Bea on her first day with us - May 25, 2010

And that also means that today is Bea's 2nd adopt-a-versary, as she came to live with us on May 25, 2010 at the ripe 'ol age of 1 year (our best guess).

A big day, indeed! 

So a very happy 3rd birthday to Bea and 5th birthday to Digby, and here's to many, many more where those came from.

Oh, and it's also the 2-year anniversary of the blog (I just realized this looking back for Bea's original post)! Hooray! 

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fancy feast.

I decided to try a new "recipe" for Digby's food tonight. Since he won't eat kibble on its own, I usually mix some kind of cooked food along with it to make it more enticing. As long as there is some kind of meat in it he isn't picky, but I have to say he found this round of food particularly delicious.

I started with lean ground turkey - $6.50

Added some steamed veggies (this small "stir fry" mix included broccoli, shredded carrot, cabbage and snap peas and can be steamed right in the bag; fresh and frozen veggies will work, and last time I used spinach too) - $1.99

Added some steamed brown rice (handy because it cooks in the microwave in 2 minutes; I used half of the bag) - $2.50

Add some canned sweet potatoes (much easier than starting from raw as these are already cooked and soft; 1 whole can) - $1.99

The end result is a yummy mix of lean turkey, brown rice, sweet potatoes and veggies that turns into a kind of "wet food" similar to chunky canned food. I refrigerate a small portion and freeze the rest as it really only lasts about a week.

I mix about 1/4 cup with 1/2 cup of kibble (right now he's eating a grain free kibble but he also eats Fromm Salmon which he really likes because of the small kibble (seems like more food, I think, and easier to mix and coat the kibble entirely without having to add water). In total it costs about $13 to make and it should last about 3 weeks which is pretty good. Much cheaper than canned food (at about $3.50 a can, 2-3 cans/week) and certainly healthier.

You an also add some berries in for antioxidants; last time I used blueberries which he loved. I just cut them in half and dumped a small container in.

Needless to say, it was a hit :)

Nom!

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victoria day.

Last Victoria Day weekend we were enjoying a lazy day around the house with former foster Sprocket. This weekend my sister and I went to Kingston so the pooches stayed in Brampton at our parents' place (aka Gammy and GG's) helping them with some yard work such as, but not limited to, pulling weeds, planting flowers and mowing the lawn. Abby and Frankie, in particular, did the most work according to their version of events, but I have photograph evidence that would suggest otherwise...

Busted.


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hipster digby.

Digby is too cool for school.

 

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mother's day.

I have been eyeing these adorable dwarf trees during our last few trips to the nursery near by parents' house. Imagine my surprise when Mother's Day rolled around and went out onto my parents' deck to see Digby with my present.

That's my boy.....!

Oh...Abby helped....

:)

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family.

Oh how I *heart* my fur-family... :)

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boys and their toys.

I recently purchased a basket to keep Digby's toys in so that he could access them at his leisure. The bin that used to hold his toys had a lid and we had to take them out for him, which was no fun for him, but it kept his favourite toys safe from the teeth of various fosters.

Every day I take a toy out of Digby's new basket for him to play with, and then toss it back into the basket so that he can see that that is where his stuffies "live" when they aren't playing with him. To-date Digby hasn't quite grasped the concept that his toys are in that basket and are at his disposal whenever he wants them, until last night when the basket seemed suspiciously empty...

Hmm, there seem to be some toys missing. But where could they be?

Oh. I see.

I think he's figured the basket out, and he's pretty proud of himself.

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hollie goes home.

Even though Hollie was transferred to a new foster home on April 9, 2012, I still think about her every day and miss her often. So it was a very exciting moment when I was copied on an e-mail announcing that Hollie had a pending adoption! Later that day Hollie was adopted into an amazing forever family.

Hollie on the day she arrived, and the day she went to her new foster home (4 weeks later)

I sent an e-mail to the new adopters to let them know what an impact Hollie had on our family in the short time that she was with us, and was glad to receive an e-mail back saying that she is settling in well and that they will keep in touch with updates and photos.

The "breeding facility" where Hollie lived for 11 years

After 11 years in a "breeding facility" and then 2 months in foster care, Hollie finally has the home that she deserves and will experience nothing but love and affection for the remainder of her years. 

Don't look back Hollie; it's all uphill from here! Congratulations to Hollie's new parents on snagging one pretty amazing dog :)

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bea-utiful.

Bea was feeling particularly photogenic last night so requested that I take some photos of her in her favourite spot - right in the middle off the coffee table on top of anything that happens to be there. Isn't she purdy?

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these are a few of my favourite things.

Finnegan caught wind that I am picking up some new apple twigs, treats and chewables for him this weekend from the awesome Canadian Chinchilla Rescue, so he decided to haul out his leftover toys and clean out his "closet" to make room for the new arrivals.

 Are you here to bring me more treats?!

Chinchillas' teeth are constantly growing and they need an endless amount of objects that they can chew on. Unfortunately there are many unsuitable items out there on the market that are not chin-safe, despite their marketing, so Finnegan thought that he would share some of his favourite chewable toys with you.

Loofah, which you can buy in most pet stores.

Munch balls which are made out of willow, which is chin-safe.

"Finger traps", which are also made out of chin-safe, woven willow.

A home that is willing to provide the right kind of treats and toys to Finnegan is extremely important and he loves to keep busy digging through his hay to find these treasures and then shredding the crap out of them. It keeps him occupied, wards off boredom and, most importantly, keeps his teeth healthy and trim.

Some pet stores sell these items, but you can also visit an independent retailer like Zoey and Lilo's Toy Box, where I have gotten toys for Finnegan in the past (as well as his fleece tube, pictured above, which he adores), and where CCR gets a lot of their product.

For more information on Finnegan or to submit an application for his adoption, please send me an e-mail.

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spring cleaning.

Now that the weather is somewhat tolerable and it only rains about 5 days out of the week, we have been able to start some spring cleaning at our place and have been spending most weekends at my parents' house helping them with their yard work as well.

My parents' house is one of Digby's favourite places to be, and he is always ready to chip in and help around the yard. His most common role is that of "supervisor", making sure no one is having too much fun, lifting with their backs and not their knees, and ensuring no one needs help finishing any snacks or BBQ'd what-have-yous. 

He's helpful like that.

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yeah, it's been that kinda week.

Since it's been that kinda week month and I've been too busy to even take photo of the furries, let alone post any photos, I stumbled across some photos from a trip to Port Hope last year that I had never posted and thought I'd share them.

 

This is pretty much how I've felt over the last few weeks - exhausted, a bit disoriented and wondering how the hell I got myself into this mess lol.

Hopefully things will slow down over the next few months, and if nothing else I should have lots of PEI photos to share with you as we (Digby included!) make the trek down east not once but twice this summer!

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walking with digby.

It was so nice out yesterday that I decided to take Digby for a stroll through the local lakefront parks. Despite the nice weather we encountered very few people and dogs which seemed odd, but gave us the opportunity for numerous photo ops and for Digby to wade into what can only be described as a plague-riddled, bug-infested bog for a little "lay down". Note to self: get Digby the Leptospirosis vaccine this year. Yikes.

(click to enlarge)

The tiny white arrow in the last photo (bottom right) is pointing towards the downtown Toronto skyline which you get an amazing view of just a few blocks South-West of our place. You can't really see it because a) I had to use my Blackberry for this photo which has a terrible camera and b) there is a substantially-sized terrier noggin' in the way. But it's there, I assure you.

We had to walk long enough for the bog water soaking Digby's lower half to dry, which meant about an hour in the park system "airing out". His genius plan worked yet again.

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sleepover.

Guess who came for a sleepover this weekend?

Bradie and Frankie!

It was an entertaining night full of Twilight Scene It, two-bite brownies and yappy Yorkies.

Oh, and former LOYALite Harley (whose mom I met a few years ago at Woofstock) came to stay, too.

Fun, sleepy times!


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hollie moves on and out.

It was a sad weekend for us because we had to make the very hard decision to let Hollie move to a new foster home. Our work schedules are changing and if she stayed with us then she would be alone for 9.5 hours every day which isn't fair to hear. Also, in order to improve on her house training and expand her horizons to include other people and other animals, it was for the best that she go to a foster home with a fenced yard where someone was home the majority of the time.

Hanging at the foster grandparents' on her last day with us.

We were extremely sad to see Hollie go - probably sadder than we've ever been when another foster left - likely because we were her first real family and saw her at her worst. She had improved so much over the last 4 weeks that watching her go off with a new foster mom with her head held high, brave as can be, was really tough. 

I have already gotten a few updates from Hollie's new foster mom and she is doing extremely well. She is getting along with the dogs and cats in her new home and is sleeping and eating normally. She seems happy, which is what matters.

Such a different dog from the one that arrived 4 weeks ago!

We miss Hollie very, very much, and to be honest it is still hard to think about having to give her up, but we know that she is going to be adopted in no time and is going to have an amazing life. Hopefully I will be able to touch base with her future adopters and keep in touch with them as Hollie settles in, and maybe we'll even bump into her again some day.

Until then Hollie, we love you and we miss you. Keep your chin up and take care of that bunny of yours. It was a pleasure knowing you, even briefly.

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canadian chinchilla rescues.

I stopped in to Canadian Chinchilla Rescue on the weekend to get some photos of the rescued chins currently in Tanya's care.

This is Hera, a forever chin of Tanya's, who was such a camera whore I had to spend some time photographing her and her only. She is absolultely gorgeous in person and so very soft. Quite the willing subject, as you can see! 

She hammed it up for the camera and made sure we paid attention to no one but her.

And even took a spin in her wheel on cue when I inquired aloud whether Finnegan would enjoy a wheel of his own. Hera was nothing if not welcoming and very informative. Look at her go! :)

This lovely lady (below) is Athena, another chin of Tanya's that, sadly, is suffering from Malocclusion, a dental disease that is brought on my genetics or by neglect. The disease is not curable, unfortunately, and sweet Athena will not see her 4th birthday. She was a lovely, albeit sad, chin when I met her, and I wish her lots of love and peace for her remaining days. Big hugs, Athena.

Below are some photos of various chins available for adoption. I will not pretend to know any of their names or be able to tell them apart, so if there is a chin that you see that you are interested in please contact Canadian Chinchilla Rescue directly and Tanya will be able to point you in the right direction.

If you are interested in any of the above chins or any other chins available on the CCR website (I will need to go back shortly to get any chins I missed as well as some new arrivals), please send Tanya an e-mail. Remember that chins can live 15 years under the proper care and require a special diet and daily exercise. Please do your research before adopting a chinchilla!

And on a side note, Finnegan is now officially available for adoption! Check out his profile here.



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