Saturday is FUN DAY... or a day in the park.

Saturday was designated fun day for the household. This week we decided to take a family outing to one of Seattle’s many off-leash areas, Northacres Park.

This was the first time we had taken Willow to a dog park. We hoped she would like it, but have been afraid that her limited mobility might make it difficult for her. Wow, were we wrong. She got there and was ready to go.


We used a towel as a sling to help her get a round. We decided the trails would be a problem with the wheelchair. She kept right up with the rest of the pack, more or less. She seemed like she was having a lot of fun, but was tired out by the time we headed home.

Loki nominated himself the official park greeter and had to go hassle all the other dogs that were there that early on a Saturday morning. And of course, he consistently hassled Daisy. Snuffer also made his presence known as you can see in the video.

Mmmm, tail-wagging good!

As a pet parent, one of the most important decisions we make is what we feed our little guys. The options are really unlimited. We can choose from the high-end organic specialty canned varieties featuring exotic meats like kangaroo and venison to the jumbo bag of Ol’ Roy kibble at Wal-Mart. Each of these bags make claims that it is the healthiest or tastiest or most balanced for your dog. But here’s a warning, advertisers are liars and some of the best liars are trying to sell you pet food. It’s no surprise. The pet food industry tops 10 billion dollars every year. $10 billion! That’s enough kibble to choke Cerberus on his hungriest of days. But really, what are you buying? Whether you shell out for the top of the line or scour the bargain basement, there is a lot you should know about dog food.

Pay close attention to the name. There are a lot of tricky ways manufacturers try to get around FDA mandated guidelines. A product that says “(meat) for dogs” has to meet the 95% rule. Example, “Beef for Dogs” has to be 95 percent beef. Much more common is the “dinner” variety. Beef Dinner for Dogs would have to have just 25% of the meat product in the food.

Look out for “with”. That means there is just 3 percent of that in the bag. Example, Beef formula with cheese would have just 3 percent cheese. And that word formula means NOTHING. There are no rules about how much of that product needs to be in there other than a “detectable amount” according to government regulations.

So what to do? Here at our house we make our own. I’ll walk you through our formula after the jump.

I'm a happy dog!

Ever wonder what a really happy dog looks like? Wonder no more, just click the video fo Loki on an adventure in Boise.

On the move!

So sometimes, the exercise is easy. Willow is ready to go and she plods right along as we go on the walks.

Sometimes, she isn't as interested. Check out this video as she first tries to convince me that she is coming along, then makes a mad dash back for the house.

Current weight 80 lbs. (yes, she's dropped almost 8 pounds in her month here.)
Distance: 3/4 block

Give 'til it hurts (a little)

As pet owners we hate to think about any scenario that could put our little buddies in need of emergency medical care, but it happens all too often. From getting hit by a car to life-saving surgeries, there are countless ways that a dog could find himself in need of a blood transfusion.


Until recently, many vets simply either used one of their own dogs as a donor when blood was needed or called upon one of the handful of national blood centers such as Hemopet and The Animal Blood Bank in California or The Veterinarian’s Blood Bank in Indiana. Now, there is a growing field of canine blood banks.

The requirements to become a donor are simple. A dog must be between 1 and 6, healthy, with a good temperament and able to lie still for about 10 minutes.

Loki, my 2-year-old Shepherd, recently became a donor at the ACCES Emergency Clinic in Seattle.

The process starts with a preliminary visit to draw a sample to test for any blood-borne diseases or problems and to make sure a dog is of the correct blood type. It used to be “common knowledge” that all dogs had the same type blood. But advances in veterinary medicine have proved that false. There is a universal, however there are subsets to that which can cause reactions in some dogs. In addition to a quick check-up to make sure everything looks good, the first visit is also a bit of a trial run for the real thing by making sure the dog can lie still long enough to donate. This was the critieria that worried me with Loki. He is a bundle of energy and being still while in a new place with new smells and new people could present a real challenge. He did a fantastic job, letting everyone carry out their roles, provided they offered him plenty of pets as they went through the steps.

A couple weeks later, we went back for the full-fledged donation. He got another once-over by the vet to make sure he was still a healthy dog and the techs got started. Allyson, the amazingly dedicated manager of ACCES, shaved his neck a bit where the needle would go in to prevent anything that might be on/in his hair from infecting the wound when he was done.

Loki was a champ. He lay still and let everyone do their job, not even flinching when the needle pricked him. While Allyson took 450 ml of blood, everyone else joined in keeping the pup calm. Lots of belly rubs. Lots of head stroking. Lots of petting. The blood will undergo another screening process to make sure there are no previously undetected pathogens in it. If everything is okay, next time, his plasma will be further divided so it can be saved in smaller portions and used in more ways.

Once the hard part was done, Loki got lots of treats, his “Blood Donor” bandana, and what I think was his favorite part, a toy. He spent the next three days doing his best to destroy the toy and drive me crazy with its weird little noise.

In the commercial blood banks, the dogs donate every four to six weeks. Volunteer donors can give every three months. So in October Loki will be back on the table. While he may not know how much his ten minutes does to help other dogs, he does know that it gets him some big treats, lots of love, and a toy to take home. And knowing we are helping others, is the reward I get.

A bump and a ride

So bad news. While giving Willow a much –needed bath, I felt a bump at the base of her tail. I thought at first it was a mat, but as I felt around, it ruptured. (Yuck, I know, I was there). So, after only a week in the house, Willow was on her way to the vet. I felt a little bad about this. She has a fascination with cars and on her nightly walks always wants to go to them. I am afraid she may think that sooner or later, one of them will take her back home. So her first car ride other than the one that brought her to our home, takes her to the doctor who pokes and prods her.


Dr. Bob did a quick once over and determined the lumps were tumors and needed to be removed. Poor girl also had some infection under her gumline from who knows how long without proper dental care.

Two days later I dropped her off at eight in the morning. Her second car ride took her to the same place and I don’t think she was happy about that. She tried to stiffen her front legs so I couldn’t make her walk in. She may be overweight, but little did she know I am strong enough to swoop her up and in we went.

Eight hours later I got her back. Her tail and butt are shaved and she has a line of stitches across the top of her tail, but seems to be okay. While she was under, they also cleaned her teeth and they look great, one would almost mistake her for a puppy. Well, not really, but they do look much better and the clean whiteness does make her look like she is in better shape.

Here is the even better news. In the three weeks she has been at the house, it appears she has lost five pounds! We have been giving her a high-protein raw diet that she seems to love and getting her to exercise as much as she will allow. She also seems to enjoy it. With the other dogs running and bouncing around her, I think she wants to be part of the pack or at least be mobile enough to avoid getting stepped on or left behind when they run off to the backyard.

Weight: 83 pounds

Walking distance: ¾ block each way

Introducing Willow

Call me a sucker for a sob story. I first spotted Willow on the Washington German Shepherd Rescue website. Her name was then Kiyanna and she had that tell-tale heart under her name. You know the one. The little green heart that means a special needs dog, or as we like to call them just “special” dogs.

I am told her owners were an elderly couple, both of whom passed away within a short time. The next of kin dropped her off at a shelter. She should be a small German Shepherd, maybe 55 pounds, but she weighs in at nearly ninety! She is also missing a back leg and the remaining one is not strong enough to lift her weight, so she can’t even stand up. The woman at the rescue says when they first got her from the shelter (a small blessing since most places would have simply killed her due to the medical issues) she was unable to even move enough to relieve herself.

Now, thanks to a generous donor, she has a wheelchair to help her exercise. We take her on morning and evening walks. Each day we go just a bit farther down the block and back. She also gets “forced” to go outside a couple times a day for short patrols around the yard’s perimeter.

She also has us. Her first foster, right out of doggie-prison, renamed her Alexis, but said she didn’t get much response with it. We are going with Willow. She is making herself right at home in our little pack. Even now, as I write, she is sound asleep at my feet. When I move around the house, she will pop up into her sitting position and follow me around, using her one back leg as a pogo. In the week we’ve had her, I think she’s seen some improvement in her strength- actually Heather points it out and I agree.

So, as she continues on her road to recovery and independence, we will keep all you readers posted. Wish us luck.

Current weight 87.5 lbs.

Walking distance ½ block (each way)