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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Bunkbeds for dogs???? and 1 more

One of the fun things about my job is scouting for pet items and a non pet item jumps out at me and sez " I could be a pet________!" Cashiers at one of my regular haunts ask "What dog thing is this going to be this time?"

This bunk bed is a great addition to a multi dog or dog/cat home. I have found that dogs nest more together when elevated, which means they take up less floor space! Here they can nap on the lower bunk or underneath and food, toy and blankie storage goes on top bunk. This makes for a very organized pet area. 150.00 at Pet Stuff Resale(google to see bunkbed prices, wow!)-some delivery available

 I have also used a bunk bed frame only for cats and they LOVE to climb as well as scratch, keeping them off my wooden bed headboard.

The correct terminology is "repurposing". I just call it fun! It also adds to part of my mission to recycle whatever can be given another use.

This  dog/cat hidey(very small dogs/cats) was picked up by my pet stuff shopper Nancy. I am not sure I would have picked up on its possibilities.
Thanks to CAP thrift store volunteer Sandra who knew its original purpose;
from IKEA, it's for little boys rooms to store toy trucks and the like, hung from the loop. The neat thing for pet owners is that the whole back(or base now) is velcroed on, so easy to remove for cleaning. 3.00 at Pet Stuff Resale

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Can you be open minded about pit bulls?


This is Bahrain, 4 months old, already neutered.
 Branching out from showcasing items from Pet Stuff Resale, in this post 2 foster dogs are being profiled. Citizens for Animal Protection is one of the few shelters that evaluates pit type breeds instead of automatically euthanizing or turning them away. Potential adopters are screened specifically about their interest in the breeds.
These two unrelated pups have mild upper respiratory infections and needed about 10 days in isolation.

The economy and fires have reduced adoption options so drastically that it will be even tougher than usual to place them. These two are protected by having a foster, but still need wide exposure to find them good homes. Please share this so I can take the next 2 dogs that need me.

He has NOT had an ear enhancement procedure!


Trying to showcase Bahrains freckles was tough; there are so many neat
smells in the woods to distract the dogs. I am not even guessing as to each ones primary breed.
Colonel is a 5 month old pit mix, also neutered. He is about 40 lbs and a little more macho right now than Bahrain, who is a 35 lb wuus.




Yea, they are both crate trained!
They both can sit on command and they have heard of "stay", but are convinced I can't possibly mean it. Many, many photos were taken to get just 2-3 with as little motion"blur" as possible.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Pet Stuff Resale saves a monkey during the Magnolia fires!

The unusual thing about the rescue is that I wasn't even aware of it until much later!

5 lb evacuee Honey B who is looking for a very quiet all adult home

Evacuee Bingo, very shy terrier mix, looking for an all adult home
with other dogs
After I evacuated for the 4th time, my neighbor called and asked if someone could borrow one of the dog crates in the front yard. (I confess, I had not unloaded completely, all of the things I sell on weekends should have already been back in the garage. It was Labor Day and I was lazy...) I immediately said anyone could have anything to help move their pets out.

A week after we returned some neighbors stopped by and wanted to buy the crate they had taken. They told me the crate meant they could save one more monkey; I was stunned as I had  forgotten about the crate and had just assumed whoever it had been was fleeing with a dog! They were able to get 6 out and before leaving released the 2 for which they had no room. Note: these are legally kept monkeys and have a neat habitat we can see from the road, but the monkeys did not want their pictures taken for this post.
It was very nice to have helped, even though totally by accident.

One of the things I should have done was have the dogs rabies certificates, but more importantly, have a picture of each one. I did not expect to get separated from them and wasn't but at noon on Labor Day I was in Brenham
with no clue that I would be evacuating by 6 pm.

There are still over 30 animals at Baker Vet Clinic in Waller that have not been reclaimed. If you have room, please consider one of them. They will not be able to keep them indefinitely.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Pet supplies I can personally recommend for fleeing a fire.

Evacuating with pets from any disaster is tough at best; I am extremely grateful to all of the law enforcement folks that made it orderly. It was also a major help that I had so many pet supplies on hand.
 I would have had crates for the dogs if I didn't already own Pet Stuff Resale, but probably would not have invested in this puppy pen before the Magnolia fire. It was such a major help it gave me the idea to share;the stress reduction was incredible. There was no worry about a scared dog backing out of a collar or otherwise getting loose or jumping out of the pen. It was used for feeding and potty both since it could be moved around. 75.00 at Pet Stuff Resale
 (It is not recommended to feed dogs together, especially when they are stressed, no matter how friendly they are. There was a time issue at that point, I stood right there and grabbed a dog as soon as the picture was taken)
The crate below is great for small dogs and cats, being able to lift them out thru the top is a big advantage. It is amazing how such small legs can brace against the traditional door. Vet clinics really like these for cats. Note, sometimes, the wire top pulls loose at the latches, I recommend anchoring with ties to prevent an escape. 17.00

Leo is a very shy dog on the best of days so NOT interested in modeling this next crate, a Kennel Cabin. He weighs 4 lbs; any bigger and this crate would not be appropriate. The crate on the right, also a Kennel Cabin, has a wire top with a small opening. I evacuated a Quaker parrot and a cockatiel together in it. It is also great for most other small mammals and reptiles. 12.00 each
The wee wee pads were a God send, a bud had just given them to me 2 days before; I did not realize their value in an evacuation until I was grabbing stuff in haste. They were great not only for crates but also on the truck seat for car seats when the dogs were not crated. Honey B said not to tell...just a little car sickness on the first day.

Evacuation was mandatory Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday. By then the dogs were thinking this was a new routine. I began this blog on Thursday and in the middle of typing and loading pictures, we all had to bolt immediately.We got NO notice due to the rapidity of fires renewing and I was not allowed back in until Sunday.

The only reason I still have a house is that a neighbor defied the mandatory evacuation, so was there when a spark ignited in his back yard, from probably a mile away. Firefighters could not have gotten there in time. I am so blessed. 
Everyone is fine and settled back in. Many thanks to Razelle and Mark Smith who housed all of us. I cannot express the importance of being better prepared than I was to leave with your pets on short notice.