Talus is giving it his all, keep sending those good thoughts!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Here's some pics finally --
The T-Man on a good day at the park.
With foster dad Andrew on the day of his adoption, March 25th.
Twilight action from April 14th.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Talus has tested positive for distemper--I got the results back today.
While this doesn't mean he won't pull out of everything, it's going to be a very tough road for the little guy. There's a full year to wait and see if he has any neurological symptoms, and if he somehow pulls it out... he has a chance.
Damn it.
While this doesn't mean he won't pull out of everything, it's going to be a very tough road for the little guy. There's a full year to wait and see if he has any neurological symptoms, and if he somehow pulls it out... he has a chance.
Damn it.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
We're off to a rough start with Talus; there's a chance the poor little guy has distemper. The vet is a bit stumped on this as Talus was vaccinated in early January and doesn't show ALL the symptoms of the often fatal virus, but he has some basic symptoms: red eyes, lethargy, cracked paws. On the other hand, he has a good appetite, normal digestion and when he has a chance to play, he's got lots of energy. At 8 months old, it's really tricky to say what's going on but all I know is that he's not well and I'm doing everything possible to help him recover.
It's a bit of a scary time... even though he only came into my life March 25, I'm already in love with the little guy. I visualize all the great adventures we'll have, the mountains we'll climb, the roadtrips, the lazy mornings staying in bed. As it is, he's got a great disposition--playful when he wants to, very calm otherwise. He loves snuggling up on the bed and he's good to the cat... he's exactly what I was hoping for.
So the next few weeks are a big unknown... realistically, anything can happen and there's absolutely no way to know one way or the other. The one thing Talus can count on is that I will give it all I have to get him healthy again -- and when that day comes, we'll begin a great life of adventure here in Colorado. So send your good vibes our way, we can use them!
It's a bit of a scary time... even though he only came into my life March 25, I'm already in love with the little guy. I visualize all the great adventures we'll have, the mountains we'll climb, the roadtrips, the lazy mornings staying in bed. As it is, he's got a great disposition--playful when he wants to, very calm otherwise. He loves snuggling up on the bed and he's good to the cat... he's exactly what I was hoping for.
So the next few weeks are a big unknown... realistically, anything can happen and there's absolutely no way to know one way or the other. The one thing Talus can count on is that I will give it all I have to get him healthy again -- and when that day comes, we'll begin a great life of adventure here in Colorado. So send your good vibes our way, we can use them!
Monday, April 06, 2009
Since I've been busy with welcoming Talus (and helping Xanadu get used to having a canine presence in the house), today is animal quotes Monday. Enjoy!
In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog. ~Edward Hoagland
In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him. ~Dereke Bruce
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. ~Author Unknown
A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It's a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys. ~Barbara Holland
To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. ~Milan Kundera
People must have renounced, it seems to me, all natural intelligence to dare to advance that animals are but animated machines.... It appears to me, besides, that [such people] can never have observed with attention the character of animals, not to have distinguished among them the different voices of need, of suffering, of joy, of pain, of love, of anger, and of all their affections. It would be very strange that they should express so well what they could not feel. ~Voltaire, Traité sur la tolerance
Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons. ~Robertson Davies
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth. ~Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928
Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one... that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~Mark Twain
Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored. ~Alice Walker
Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him? ~Pierre Troubetzkoy
I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the "lower animals" (so called) and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man. I find the result humiliating to me. ~Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth, 1907
"I used to look at [my dog] Smokey and think, 'If you were a little smarter you could tell me what you were thinking,' and he'd look at me like he was saying, 'If you were a little smarter, I wouldn't have to.'" - Fred Jungclaus
He is very imprudent, a dog; he never makes it his business to inquire whether you are in the right or the wrong, never asks whether you are rich or poor, silly or wise, sinner or saint. You are his pal. That is enough for him." -Jerome K. Jerome
In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog. ~Edward Hoagland
In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him. ~Dereke Bruce
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. ~Author Unknown
A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It's a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys. ~Barbara Holland
To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace. ~Milan Kundera
People must have renounced, it seems to me, all natural intelligence to dare to advance that animals are but animated machines.... It appears to me, besides, that [such people] can never have observed with attention the character of animals, not to have distinguished among them the different voices of need, of suffering, of joy, of pain, of love, of anger, and of all their affections. It would be very strange that they should express so well what they could not feel. ~Voltaire, Traité sur la tolerance
Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons. ~Robertson Davies
The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours, they move finished and complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren; they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth. ~Henry Beston, The Outermost House, 1928
Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one... that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. ~Mark Twain
Animals can communicate quite well. And they do. And generally speaking, they are ignored. ~Alice Walker
Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him? ~Pierre Troubetzkoy
I have been studying the traits and dispositions of the "lower animals" (so called) and contrasting them with the traits and dispositions of man. I find the result humiliating to me. ~Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth, 1907
"I used to look at [my dog] Smokey and think, 'If you were a little smarter you could tell me what you were thinking,' and he'd look at me like he was saying, 'If you were a little smarter, I wouldn't have to.'" - Fred Jungclaus
He is very imprudent, a dog; he never makes it his business to inquire whether you are in the right or the wrong, never asks whether you are rich or poor, silly or wise, sinner or saint. You are his pal. That is enough for him." -Jerome K. Jerome
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Sorry to drop off the face of the Interwebz, it's been a busy week for me and my new canine pal, Talus (formerly known as Dash)! And before we start, yes I have pictures and yes I will post them soon--however, my camera is currently being repaired at Canon and I don't have a card reader so until it comes back, I won't be able to upload any of the shots I have. So once I get it back (or get some photos from someone else's camera) I'll get some shots of the little guy up.
The lack of photos may be a small blessing in disguise as Talus was pretty sick the first few days I had him. He had something akin to canine flu, perhaps kennel cough, which may have been a pre-existing condition that was amplified by the stress of entering a whole new world. I got him to a vet ASAP and he's on antibiotics and bouncing back nicely, but each morning I got to play "guess which end of the dog this came out of" along with a bonus round of "can Resolve carpet cleaner actually melt the flesh off human hands". But as of today, most orifices seem stabilized and while there's still a little cough and some pink eyes, he's getting more pep every day.
He's an awesome little dog and we're already learning our new favorite game, 2-Ball. 2-Ball requires two tennis balls. The first one you throw for distance (and Talus chases it down) and the second one, you throw for height so he can catch the bounce. Frisbee is of course next on the agenda.
Talus has a very sweet disposition (though for some reason he HATES guitars--not the actual playing but the instrument itself). He's still a bit aloof around other dogs but is getting along ok with Xanadu (my cat) and is a hit with people. All I really know about him is that he was abandoned from a ranch in Utah and ended up at the border collie rescue. I'm going to try and learn a little more about him today, but even if I never know... he's a great dog and definitely a keeper.
Today I'm tired but happy and I'll be glad to be done with work for the day to relax with my animal family :)
The lack of photos may be a small blessing in disguise as Talus was pretty sick the first few days I had him. He had something akin to canine flu, perhaps kennel cough, which may have been a pre-existing condition that was amplified by the stress of entering a whole new world. I got him to a vet ASAP and he's on antibiotics and bouncing back nicely, but each morning I got to play "guess which end of the dog this came out of" along with a bonus round of "can Resolve carpet cleaner actually melt the flesh off human hands". But as of today, most orifices seem stabilized and while there's still a little cough and some pink eyes, he's getting more pep every day.
He's an awesome little dog and we're already learning our new favorite game, 2-Ball. 2-Ball requires two tennis balls. The first one you throw for distance (and Talus chases it down) and the second one, you throw for height so he can catch the bounce. Frisbee is of course next on the agenda.
Talus has a very sweet disposition (though for some reason he HATES guitars--not the actual playing but the instrument itself). He's still a bit aloof around other dogs but is getting along ok with Xanadu (my cat) and is a hit with people. All I really know about him is that he was abandoned from a ranch in Utah and ended up at the border collie rescue. I'm going to try and learn a little more about him today, but even if I never know... he's a great dog and definitely a keeper.
Today I'm tired but happy and I'll be glad to be done with work for the day to relax with my animal family :)
