Saturday, July 12, 2008 . 7/12/2008
As my previous post stated, we had to put down our 11-year-old dachshund, Sugar, yesterday afternoon. She was an incredibly sweet dog, and this entry is dedicated to her.
It all started when I was about seven or eight years old. My dad and I were looking for a puppy, and a small hairy one caught my eye. My mom was at work that day, so we left for the time being so that she could see the puppy before we adopted her. When we did come back, a tiny little dachshund got brought in and she stole my heart. She ate her crate-mate's poop right in front of us, but she was adorable all the same. We ended up taking her home instead. I got the honor of naming her - Sugar.
I cannot stress enough how cute and sweet she was as a puppy. Her ears were huge and floppy and she still had lose skin that she needed to grow into. She would cuddle up with you in bed, right next to your stomach.
What was funny about her was that she would steal my socks to keep me from having to go to school. In those days I went to a school where uniforms and socks were required, and I hated the socks more than the uniforms. Sugar apparently picked up on this because she would steal them and hide underneath the bed or table.
She would also steal my friend's clothes whenever we went swimming. She just took them and carried them off into the woods. You always knew Sugar was up to something when you saw a white sock or shirt floating among the bushes.
Even though she was just a small weiner dog, Sugar would herd our neighbor's goat that often escaped from its enclosure. She'd bark, run around the goat's heals, and continue doing so until she got it back in the pasture with the horses where it belonged. It was hilarious to watch.
Unfortunately, as she aged she started to become quite annoying (just like any grandma). She was diagnosed with Cushing's Disease when she was around nine years old, and because of this she'd eat anything she could get her mouth on, including shed hair from our larger dog, Kingston. She'd sneak in and steal his food, the cats' food, and pretty much everyone else's besides her own. She'd lick everything, as well, which made me increasingly frustrated because she'd leave wet spots all over the carpet.
She was very loved, despite all of that. She had her ups and downs, her funny moments and her annoying points. She had a good life.
Rest in peace, sweetie. You will be missed. <3
Well, it finally happened. We had to put our 11-year-old dachshund, Sugar, to sleep yesterday afternoon due to kidney and liver failure. What's weird is that it all started with a swollen eye. Let me explain...
A little over a week ago I noticed that Sugar's right eye was a little red and swollen, but it wasn't too bad. I showed my parents and they said that if it didn't go away or if it got worse by the next day they'd take her to the vet. Fast forward to a day or two and the whole right side of her face got swollen, she was shaking all over and she looked really tired and just plain horrible in general. And that eye... let's just say that if she happened to be a pug, it probably would have popped out.
She lost tons of weight (since she had Cushing's Disease, her stomach bloated up but you could easily feel her ribs and spine by this point). Since it was Sunday, no regular vet was open so we called an e-vet. They suggested giving her a Benadryl to calm down the swelling, so we did, and it helped a bit. We took her to the vet the next day of course, and they thought that it could have been an infected tooth that made her face poof up. Either that or it could be cancer, they said, but they wanted to rule out the infected tooth first, since they didn't think that cancer was too likely. So they gave her some antibiotics and told us to take her back to get another injection the next day. She was scheduled to be put under the following weekend to see about said possible infected tooth since she was in too much pain as it was to risk doing so while she was awake.
Fast forward to Friday and she's bleeding from her mouth, but the swelling was down quite a bit. My dad guessed that it was the infection draining out, but her breathing was shallow and it looked like she could die at any minute, so my parents took her back to the vet (I couldn't be there at the time). They ended up having to put her to sleep because it was discovered, as I mentioned earlier, that her liver and kidneys were failing.
So now I'm wondering how a swollen face could connect to liver and kidney failure. Ever since it swelled up, she stopped eating her food (she was all for cat food and beef though, as always), and she drank water but she didn't pee. Could it have been something she got into? Poisoning? Or maybe it really was cancer... I know it's pointless to speculate if all of this could have been prevented since it's obviously too late, but I can't help but wonder.
Anyway, my next post will be dedicated to the happier memories.
Saturday, March 08, 2008 . 3/08/2008
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Pets Pampered with People Products
Dozens of companies — from Harley-Davidson and Jeep to Omaha Steaks and Newman’s Own Organics — now produce pet clothes, toys and treats.
A slowing economy isn’t even worrying companies about jumping into the sector.
“I really have no concerns at all at this point,” says Steven Shweky, president of New York City-based Pet Head, a dog grooming line by Bed Head. “I think [owners] will spend on their pets before they’ll spend on themselves.”
Pets these days are also treated to music therapy and stem cell therapy. Their owners increasingly use pet funeral homes at that special time.
Recent figures released by American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA,) a trade group based in Greenwich, Conn., shows spending on pets topped $41 billion in 2007 — that’s more than what consumers pay annually to satisfy their sweet tooth for candy.
With pet obsession at an all-time high, the APPMA is forecasting 5.5 percent growth this year.
Paul Mitchell goes to the dogs
Pet Head’s recent launch of more than 300 products includes apparel and accessories as well as shampoos, crème rinses and sprays.
Products are sold in beauty salons nationwide — a sales strategy also used by John Paul Pet, popular grooming supplies created by John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair care products.
“There’s one dog for every two people in America so your chances of hitting a pet owner [at a beauty salon] are pretty good,” explained Pet Head’s Shweky.
Grooming supplies use similar packaging to Bed Head with bright, bold colors and quirky names. There’s Fears for Tears (tearless shampoo), Dirty Talk (deodorizing shampoo) and Furball, a detangling spray.
Doggie shampoos share the same fragrance as the human cleansers, and are free of chemical additives such as parabens, petroleum derivatives and propylene glycol.
“We’ve really raised the bar in the pet business to mimic what’s going on in the human side, “said Shweky.
Better bowls
Another company eyeing the pet industry as an additional source of revenue is Dexas International, a housewares manufacturer in Coppell, Texas.
The 40-year-old company recently introduced Popware for Pets, a line of collapsible rubber bowls for home or travel.
“This was a natural cross-over,” said John Hollingsworth who developed the company’s space saving pet products. Dexas has long manufactured collapsible measuring cups, colanders and funnels.
The Popware for Pets line includes turquoise and pink bowls that fit into a chocolate brown stand — a color scheme that’s hot in both the housewares and pet industries, he said. When not in use, the dishwasher safe unit flattens to 1.5 inches.
For pups on the go, the company’s lightweight travel bowl easily clips to a collar or leash. It holds two cups of water and collapses to a slender quarter of an inch.
Soft or firm?
Serta mattress is banking on brand image to sell dog beds, which were introduced for the first time last month at a pet industry trade show. The recycled polyester filled beds, made in the United States, feature removable covers for easy washing.
“The consumer has confidence in Serta for their own sleep,” said Randy Spence, president of nVision Marketing in North Carolina, which heads production and sales of the dog beds. “And they certainly want that for their animals as well.”
Work is already under way to add to the line by incorporating features normally found in specialty mattresses, such as memory foam and orthopedic support.
Those human-grade dog beds will hit store shelves later this year, he said, with a price tag of around $200.
[Source: LiveScience]
This is so fucking stupid. What's the world coming to when people care more about treating their pets like humans than actually caring about other humans? You know, like those homeless ones? Dogs don't need clothes on their backs; that is what fur is for. They don't need mattresses. PEOPLE DO. This also brings to mind all of those fatasses that eat enough food to feed Africa. 0 Comments - Post/view comments
Thursday, February 21, 2008 . 2/21/2008
Tehran, 19 Feb.(AKI) - A 70-year-old man has been sentenced by an Iranian judge to four months in jail and 30 lashes for going out on the street with his dog.
The incident took place in Shahr Rey, a suburb of Tehran when the owner of the dog was caught by a police who quickly handcuffed the man. He was later charged by an Islamic judge for "disturbing the public order".
The sentence, seems to want to panic the owners of dogs that despite repeated warnings by the police, continue to defy the authorities by taking their dogs outside their homes.
President Ahmadinejad recently provoked debate in Iran about dog ownership when he took possession of four guard dogs, bought in Germany at a cost of 110,000 euros each.
The dogs are at the centre of a theological controversy because Islam considers dogs to be impure.
For this reason, the government has banned owners of domestic animals from taking them on the streets of the city, and owners risk fines or the 'detention' of their animals in a pound.
"The purchase of these dogs was authorized by a fatwa issued by several ayatollahs who approved the use of these animals if the only goal was to guarantee personal security and not infringe on any religious rule," said Iran's semi-official news agency Fars.
[Source]
Okay, what the hell? I mean honestly. Even assuming that their god was real, it still doesn't make any sense. Why would he create dogs in the first place if they're unclean? But more importantly, when will countries like Iran ever come into the 21st century?
Labels: News, Pets, Religion, Stupid
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