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Kiss of the French Bulldog

I updated by bloggroll on the right and wanted to point out Kiss of the French Bulldog: A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions & Inflections of All Things Which Interest Ruby J. Moritz, Esq. You may recognize Rudy as one of the Puppies and Babies dog so, you know she has a lot to say!

Meet Quint's Brother (and no it's not Lebowski)

After sending out the announcement to some dog-minded people about this site, I was contacted by a woman who adopted Quint's brother, Dash! It's a bit of a sad story of how they came to IMPS: factor in a mentally unstable pack-rat with a dozen minpins who, after being committed, has a family who keeps the dogs in a concrete backyard with no shade and food three times a week. However, as rough as that sounds, it doesn't seem to have affected either one of them - Quint is happy pretty much 24/7 and look how happy Dash looks (he's the handsome guy in the photo).

I can't remember if I met Dash when I was picking up Quint because there were so many little minpins running around (heaven). I do remember one cute girl who just walked in circles talking/barking and I remember thinking, "wow, she's cute but she's not coming home with me!" Ha!

I love that we're able to keep in touch with our extended dog families. My husband's mom has Lebowski littermate, Malachi, and we're friends with the man who has their other littermate Buster. And now we're in touch with Quint's side. Maybe I'll have to throw a minpin family reunion soon.

DogFriendly.com

I just found a link called DogFriendly.com that lists all of the dog friendly establishments, from bookstores to restaurants, in Los Angeles where you can bring your pooch. Who knew you could take your little man to the Gap and no one would complain? I thought that was just for old ladies! 

Quite a Pair

I was totally shown-up last night when a well-know art critic told me that not only did his little dog have a hooded rain slicker but that he had one to match. Damn!

desex and the city

March 2005 in Los Angeles has been declared "desex in the city" month. What that means is that throughout the city, participating vets will be offering substantial discounts to people who choose to get their cats and dogs spayed or neutered. There has been a fairly large publicity effort throughout LA to promote this  campaign and I think that not only is it fabulous but it's necessary. (see previous post about the current dog pound situation).

You really must go to the desexandthecity.com to read about what they are doing; which includes free gifts to those you spay/neuter this month from participating sponsors and a long list of participating vets. But what I think is most important are the "Things to Know About Spaying or Neutering Your Pet":

1. You will reduce risk to your pet of certain diseases and cancers, especially those tied to reproductive organs.
2. It will help deter many unwanted behaviors in pets such as aggression towards other animals (dog on dog or cat on cat).
3. A spay or neutered dog will be no less protective of you, your home or your family than before he was fixed.
4. Spaying or Neutering does not make your pet fat or lazy. Like people, too much food and not enough exercise is what makes and animal fat or lazy.
5. Despite common myths your pet's personality will not change after being spayed or neutered.
6. A spay or neutered dog or cat actually has a much higher survival rate since they are less inclined to roam during their heat cycle, and therefore less likely to be injured in traffic or in a fight.

desex and the city : Spay and Neuter Campain is March 1-31, 2005.

Pampered Puppy dot com

Even though my guys are "tough" and not too many clothes for little dogs are geared toward reflecting this toughness, I still get a major kick out of dog accessory websites. Check out this newly discovered one call The Pampered Puppy.

They have those Little Lily Dog Boots on there (on sale too - you'll save $18). Some artists of mine gave me about six different colors of those boots last year for my guys and I have to say, they were so not into it. Of course I cannot even imagine walking them around in these shoes...it doesn't even snow or rain in Los Angeles...but they are cute enough that I won't get rid of them. I actually managed to put some on Lebowski two front paws but when I set him down he just spread his legs apart and collapsed to the ground. Which leads me to believe that maybe dogs weren't supposed to wear shoes.

Dog Bed Suggestion?

Quint and Lebowski are in desperate need of a new bed. We started out with each having their own but Quint quickly decided that he must snuggle with Lebowski. And that was fine until he became full-grown and now there isn't enough room for Lebowski's "private space" (he's like his mom and needs some distance when sleeping). I'd like to buy a good quality bed and would rather spend more money now on the right one than buy cheaper beds that I'll have to replace more. I'm over Pet-Co or Pet-Smart and would prefer to avoid anything Leopard print.

Any suggestions??

King Kong

Forget man...why is it that those odd Kong toys are a dog's best friend? While they may look less-desirable to people (unless you're into "that" sort of thing) they bring out sparkles in my boys eyes when their kong is brought out of the box. In fact, because we've been having to leave them at home more lately (yes, it's our fabulously busy social life) I had to buy another kong for Quint. They are great in keeping little ones occupied, especially when you put that gross cheese-wiz looking stuff inside. But hey, dogs lick their own butts so who are they to complain.

On Kong's site they detail every product they make...even ones for CATS!

Question: if you use the treats in the kong, how long do they generally last?

Riley on IMPS

There is the cutest little chocolate "special needs" minpin that has been on IMPS for awhile now that keeps breaking my heart. He looks like the sweetest littlest guy ever (just look at that picture) and, despite all his turmoil, his attitude is bright...that's a minpin for you. Anyway, I've posted some information below about him in case anyone wants to donate money for his medical bills or if you're that special someone who would like to adopt him.

Riley: 8 mth old chocolate male, docked tail and cropped ears. 9½", 6.6lb. Shots up-to-date. Pet store give up. SPECIAL NEEDS Many of you have been following the saga of this little guy since   he was 4 months old. He was dropped and has broken vertabrae in his back, has a broken tail that lopps off to one side and also has a broken vertebrae just below his shoulders. The real problem are the ones that are broken in his lower back which have left him rectally incontinent. We have taken him to an orthopedic surgeon, a neurologist and we have had acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. The surgeons couldn't help him because the injury was too old. The chiropractor has helped alot but we still have a long way to go. He is going for treatments about once every 2 or 3 weeks depending on the way he reacts to the treatment.           

He's leaving on his diaper now that he is used to it. We go thru 3-4 a day and many baby wipes. Then, there is laundry and having little smears of poopy on doggie bedding (when he gets time away from the diaper). 2-3 loads a week are dedicated to doggie laundry. He has a sweet personality, he is very assertive and independent, loves his snuggles and to lay behind me in a chair and sleep (like now) while I am at the computer. He also LOVES to help you do gardening, taking the weeds out of your hands before you can pull them, practically, and shaking them to death. All squeeky toys that make noise can keep him well entertained and he does play fetch.           

Riley can only go to a home that understands the breadth of the committment he will take if we cannot get this fixed. We are reluctant to place him in a permanent home until we can either have him fixed or have gone as far as we can go with his treatments. That way, we know that we have done what we can to correct his problem.           

We are accepting donations for Riley to help recover the cost of his veterninary bills. The bills for this little guy keep mounting so any assistance you can give will be    greatly appreciated.           

Donations for Riley can be mailed to:            
IMPS, Inc.           
P.O. Box 15305           
Clearwater, FL 33766-5305           
*Please make checks payable to IMPS and note that the donation is for Riley #8468. Any help you can give to this sweet loving little boy will be greatly appreciated.           

The Crevasses of Silver Lake Dog Park

Since it has been awhile since I've taken my boys to the Silver Lake Dog Park, we thought today would be a good day to burn off some of their excess energy. Because my little guys are small, we go to what I refer to as the "kiddie pool" of SLDP meaning that we are relegated to the small section of the park. It's certainly less desirable than the big portion but it's much safer and that's what's important.

As a whole, it's never been THAT great of a park - the people and dogs who go there really make it special - but ever since these rains have occurred, it's gone <em>way</em> downhill...literally. The large dog park side is much higher and all that rain (or water from their fountain) has streamed down and greated huge crevasses in both sides. And they are so large in the little side that my boys heads barely poke out when the venture inside.

What I'm getting at is that this cannot be safe. I can deal with the lack of grass, the small nature of the park, the lack of trees and benches but these cracks are deep. All it is going to take is a little dog running at full speed getting their leg caught and you've got disaster. So, I'm wondering what can be done about this fact? Better drainage or better landscaping? And can my boys get some grass...please?

You can click on the images to get a larger pop-up view of the newly formed ditches.