Post-Holiday Weekend Hodgepodge

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Tucker!  This is going to be a quick hodgepodge-y post because Mom says I can only have the computer for a few minutes.  Pfft!

First of all - some more recall news.  Primal Pet Foods has announced the recall of their Feline Chicken & Salmon Formula (with best buy date code of 043112-17) due to suspected salmonella contamination. So please pass the word along in case you might know someone whose kitty is eating this food.  Primal is a great brand, and it is one of the few commercial food brands Mom lets us (occasionally) eat, but this makes her unhappy and scared, and glad once again that she switched us to a home prepared prey model raw diet!  (Which we all love, by the way!  It's yummy!)

On that note, Mom was very happy to learn today that the raw feeding information she and a fellow raw feeding cat mom had provided to IBDKitties.net is proving helpful to people who are interested in a raw diet for their cats, as evidenced by this post in the Bengal cat discussion forum.  As an aside - how beautiful are those Bengal kitties?  Mom just loves them!  But says she wouldn't trade our cat kids for all the Bengals in the world.  And I'm glad about that, and I bet they are, too!

Now - let's see.  Oh, yes - Louise, the person who commented in the Bengal forum about the raw feeding information also has a website which is happyhousecats.co.uk and she makes these wonderful walking jackets that are like harnesses for those kitties that like to walk around outside.  Not only will these walking jackets keep you safe - they are very fashionable and also quite reasonably priced.  So check them out!

What else ... oh, yeah, Mom said she will be back hopefully tomorrow with the next 50-50 post featuring a dog and cat from the state of Idaho that are looking for loving homes.

And finally ... I don't know what's going on with Blogger, but my Crestie hairs are all in a twist.  There are certain blogs I like to visit every day (or almost every day), but recently even though I've been visiting, I've been unable to comment, and I can't figure out why.  We can post comments just fine to our friends Miss M. and Mr. B. at Two Pitties In The City.  We were able to congratulate Sam at Marge Blog , who scored a 94.7 on her recent Anatomy & Physiology final.  We stopped by to say hi to Sophie from Sophie's View and the comment feature worked just fine. 

BUT ... we also visited our friends Spitty, Admiral, Sagira, Winnie, Two Grad Students (and a Pittie), Fuzzy and Zoe , Remington and others, and of course we wanted to let them know we'd been there, but we couldn't.  This has been happening on and off for the past four or five days (that we've noticed) and it's getting really frustrating. What happens is that when we try to comment it asks us to log in to our Google account even when we're already logged in, and then it says our comment is from "Anonymous" but even then it won't post it because it keeps saying we've entered the verification word/code incorrectly.  After three or four tries, we usually give up, but we're very sad, because we don't want our friends to think we haven't been visiting them.  So if anyone knows what might be going on or has any ideas on how to remedy the problem, we'd appreciate suggestions.

That's all for today.

Happy Memorial Day!

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Tucker.  (And Phoebe and Cosmo and Uncle Riley) ... wishing all of you a Happy Memorial Day. 

And to all of our retired and active service men and women (and their families), thank you for your service.  We appreciate your courage, and the many sacrifices, large and small, that you make to keep us safe.  We should not need a day on the calendar to remind us that freedom is never free. 

We're not lost ...

Our Mom's just really super lame these days.  Did you happen to notice that all the pictures/videos in our last three blog posts were taken in Mom's office?  There is a reason for that - and it's because we've basically been living there the last couple of weeks.  Now, I am as dedicated an employee as anyone ... and more so than most ... but I am getting fed up.  There are other things in life besides work ... and plus, helping Mom at work so much has forced me to neglect my blog and miss out on visiting our friends as much as I like to.  And, I'll just cop to this right now ... Remington, I promise that we haven't eaten any of your treats or played with your toys, but Mom has still not gotten to the post office to mail your package.  Olivia is mortified, as I am I.  And even if I have to put the bitey on her, like our friend Spitty suggests, I will make sure that it goes out on Tuesday.  (Well, ok, I won't bite Mom - I just couldn't.  It is not in my gentle nature to do such a thing.  BUT - if I have to mail it myself, I promise on my honor as a canine, that it will be in the mail on Tuesday.  Promise!)

So anyway ... Phoebe, Cosmo, Aunt K. and I are at Grandma & Grandpa's for the holiday weekend and we've been really busy playing with our Uncle Riley.  On Monday we're going to have a BBQ - I'm looking forward to that.  Maybe tomorrow I can get Mom to take some pictures of us to post so you don't forget what we look like.  But right now, Phoebe and I are tired ... and I think we're going to have to go to bed now.

Night night!

P.S.  Spitty, Olivia sends her love.  She, Tanner, and Finn are home getting "sat on."  They are not happy.  Then again, they wouldn't be happy if they were here, either.  That is one of the troubles with cats.  They are only happy when Mom never goes anywhere.  But of course that means that then Phoebe and I don't get to go anywhere either ... so since I love to travel, staying at home being sat on is just something they have to deal with every now and then.  Mom left lots of treats and nip, so I think they'll survive till we get back. 

Monday again ...

And I don't know about you guys, but I needed at least one or two more days of R&R!  (I spent part of yesterday getting my hairs washed, conditioned, and Puff-ified, and that always makes me tired.)

Maybe I'll catch a nap right now...

TGIF!

Happy Friday, everyone!  It's been a long, hectic week ... and I'm looking forward to the weekend.  We've gotten an unexpected reprieve from the early summer heat, and I'm hoping that the nice weather will last through the weekend.

Meanwhile, Phoebe and I have been busy helping Mom shop for our friend Remington , who was the winner in the drawing Olivia had a couple of weeks ago.  One thing's for sure - it's a new experience for us to shop for a pup as big as Remington!  Some of the toys we  looked at were bigger than Phoebe!  But we had a lot of fun doing it, and so did Mom!  And since Olivia, being a cat, doesn't really enjoy shopping trips all that much (she prefers to stay at home and have them delivered to her - isn't that just like a cat?), she asked us to pick out a few little things for Remington's cat sis, Ozabella. 

Tomorrow Mom's going to take everything to the post office and send it away to our friends.  We hope they'll like the things we picked out for them. 

Here I am giving the loot a quick review to make sure everything passes inspection ...

Well, have a great weekend, everyone!

What we do ...

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Tucker!  Sometimes people (and pups) wonder what it is that we do at work all day.

So we shot this short video so you could see Phoebe and me hard at work ...

Have a great day, everybody!

* Mom note - In watching this video it sort of looks like Tucker is mauling Phoebe, or that she is not enjoying the play session.  In fact, this was about thirty minutes into the session and she was getting tired, but previous to this had been tearing around like a Tasmanian devil.  Trust me, she always gives as good as she gets, and she loves to roughhouse! 

What happened to my tail?

Hi, everyone!  It's me, Phoebe! 

So Mom took this picture of me today ... and I thought it was pretty good ... except that my tail came out all blurry!  See?

And I was like ... what is going on?!!!!!!!!!!  What is wrong with my tail?!!!!

But then I remembered ... this happens to our friend Caroline sometimes, too!  It is called RTS (restless tail syndrome).  So it's all ok. 

Tucker on Tuesday ...

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Tucker!

                         

And I'm just at work helping Mom today.  What's everyone else up to?

Mancat Monday with Tanner

Good morning, everyone!  So I don't know if you've heard, but our friends Fuzzy and Zoe are having a Tummy Contest!  Now, if Mom had been on the ball, I might've been able to come up with a calendar-worthy tummy shot for her.  Unfortunately, Mom has been officially "off the ball" lately, as you might have surmised from the scarcity of posts in recent weeks.  Therefore, I have officially lost my chance to take part in the contest, but I figured that was no reason to deprive my legions of fans of seeing my gorgeous tummy in all its glory. 

So without further ado ...

This is my tummy - but what happened to my tail?

How fun is this?!!!!!!!!

 Hi, everyone.  MP here ... and before I begin, a quick thank you to Kristine at Rescued Insanity for "tipping us off" to the Meet & Greet ... and of course dogtipper.com for hosting it!  How fun is this?

 So ... I've been blogging (well, Tucker and the gang have been blogging!) now for almost seven months, and it's been quite a ride so far.  I've said before, (and obviously am going to say again now) that I never imagined in a trillion years that anyone but my close friends or family would read the blog.  So it's been very gratifying to say the least to have had so many other, previously unknown, people sign up to come along for the ride.  We love your comments, and appreciate you taking the time to visit us!

And in the interest of getting to know each other better, and particularly for the benefit of those of you who are visiting us for the first time, I thought it might be fun to introduce you to the crew:

Tucker:

Tucker, well ... let's be honest ... this is Tucker's show!  The rest of us are just kind of along for the ride! 

I've been putty in Tucker's paws for seven years now and I just couldn't love him more.  There's truly not a happier, sweeter, friendlier, or more loving dog in existence, I don't think.  He adores everyone, almost without exception (he'd be an exceptional Wal-Mart greeter!)  He goes to work with me often, and a couple of weeks ago my boss had a meeting that had not been put on the calendar (normally when clients or VIPs are expected, I leave the dogs home), and after he greeted the visitors, I took him back to my office, and got back to work, but neglected to close the door.  A few minutes later, I got a phone call, and at some point, unnoticed by me, Tucker snuck out the door.  I had just hung up the phone when my boss' executive assistant peeked her head in my door and said "Could you call Tucker?  He won't come with me, and he's sitting in the meeting!"  And indeed, when I went to fetch him, there he sat, alert and attentive next to the conference table, as though about to take dictation.  All he was missing was a pencil and a steno pad.  (Well, and thumbs.) 

He's the inspiration for this blog, my constant and treasured companion, a huge piece of my heart and soul, and just a great little dog that everyone who meets him seems to fall in love with.

Olivia:

Olivia's nickname is Diva Kitty, and she certainly lives up to it.  She's been trying to whip me into shape for years, ever since I rescued her as tiny, filthy dirty, flea infested, four week old orphaned kitten.  You'd never know by the way she struts around in her immaculately groomed calico and white fur how humble (and indeed horrible) her beginnings actually were.  The way she behaves, one would think she was of royal birth, born in the lap of luxury. Yet, for all her airs and graces, she's really a sweetheart, who spends most evenings purring on my lap. 

Tanner:

Ah, Tanner!  This big guy just melts my heart ... especially when he peers sleepily at me from one partially open eye, as he is doing in this photo.  He is fourteen pounds of mushy sweetness and love wrapped in soft, tiger-striped fur.  I have written before about how he watches out the window for me to come home  ... but I don't think I've mentioned that his purr is the lullaby that soothes me to sleep every evening, or that I would know the plush silkiness of his fur were I blindfolded in a room full of cats. 

 Phoebe:

Phoebe is a three year old Brussels Griffon/Yorkie mix, and don't let the above picture fool you.  She rarely looks like this.  For one thing, I'm not super big on dressing up the dogs, but it was a little cold that day, and this dress is awfully cute.  For another, she is a whirling dervish of nearly perpetual motion - it's rare to see her sacked out as soundly as she is in the photo.  Anyway, Phoebe has been with me since early 2008, shortly after the passing of my wonderful Malamute mix, Dakotah.  I was grieving.  Tucker was grieving.  After Dakotah's fairly

drawn-out decline over the preceding six or seven months, we needed an infusion of laughter, fun, and silliness.  Enter Phoebe.  I call her my little monkey-faced court jester for a reason.  She cracks me up every day, and she's also the jelly to Tucker's peanut butter.  They're a perfect pair.  Unlike Tucker, her mission in life is not to befriend everyone she meets, but rather, more like me, to shower her trusted inner circle with love and to make sure that they feel special.  Her affections are not cheaply or easily won, but once you're in - you're in! 

Finn:

Finn is my "problem child."  Not in a behavioral sense, but ever since I trapped him in a Hav-A-Heart trap approximately one year ago, he has had health problems that have confounded several vets.  It's been a long road to get him more or less healthy, though I suspect he'll always be a bit challenged in that aspect, but he's doing great now. 

As Olivia and Tanner are, Finn was a feral kitten, but his beginnings were much rougher.  I rescued Olivia at four weeks old, after she'd survived for a week as an orphan and one of her brothers that I'd also rescued had died.  Tanner was about six weeks old, and the only survivor of his litter of four, (two just disappeared before we could catch them, and one was hit by a car), but he had his mother until the time he was captured, at which point we also managed to trap his mother, who was adopted by a relative of someone at my then-vet's office, but what he and Olivia had in common was that I, and my office colleagues, knew of their existence, and were actively working to trap both them, their littermates, and their mothers. 

Finn, on the other hand, was lying in the grass at the edge of the parking lot when I pulled in to work early one morning, and so emaciated and statue-still was he as he lay there, that I thought he was dead.  Only when I was scant inches away from him did he spring up and dash away, looking like nothing so much as a literal skeleton cloaked in dirty rags.  He was the most pitiful sight I'd ever seen.  I immediately started leaving food out for him several times daily, but he would never let me get close to him, and even once I got the Hav-A-Hart trap out there, he wouldn't go in.  It took me a week to catch him.  He was about four months old at the time, and I have no idea from whence he came or how he survived before he so fortuitously wandered up to my office. I wasn't looking for a third cat, but obviously he knew I needed one, because here he is, and I couldn't imagine life without him now. 

And that's the whole gang!  There is, of course, me, but I'm not too exciting.  Those thumbs do come in handy, though!  :o)



(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Tucker! And since I have been letting some of the other kids have a turn posting lately, this is just so you don't forget who I am!

Who cares if this is a cat bed?  If I fit in here, I claim it!  Believe it or not, Phoebe and I can both curl up in here!

Have a great day, everyone!

And the winner is ...

REMINGTON! 

Now that we know who the winner is, we will be preparing a special gift just with our friend Remington in mind! 

If you don't know Remington ... check out The Life & Times of Remington

Later -- Olivia --

Off to go shopping for Remington!

--out!

(P.S.  One of the things we love about Remington are his super cool signoffs to his posts.  I hope he won't mind that I was a bit of a copycat here!)

Although, really - who could mistake me for a 200 pound Newfoundland?  Look at me!

We have a winner!

Hi, everyone ... it's me, Olivia! 



This is a photo from the archives - it was taken in February 2008 when I was just about to turn four years old.   (Back when Mom still remembered my birthday! Yeah, so I said I had gotten over it ... but on second thought, not so much.)



So ... earlier this month I had blogged about how, instead of being upset with Mom for forgetting my birthday, I was going to give a present instead, to one of our new friends who had left me a comment telling me what their favorite birthday or gotcha day present had been.  Today was the day for the drawing, and, using random.org I have chosen a winner!  (Mom helped me.) 

Now, I could just announce the winner ... but I thought it would be more fun to see if anyone could guess who it was. 

Here are a few clues to help you out ...

He was born in Michigan but now lives in Minnesota

He is known for stealing hearts 

He is big and black and furry

He might be able to rescue you if you were drowning 

So ... who can guess who our winner is?  Anyone?

P.S. I just thought I'd also let you know that today is Tanner's fifth birthday.  Mom stayed home almost all day and let us have lots of porch time in honor of the day, and then before dinner we had a nip party and played with some new toys.  Mom said some of them were mine since I didn't get any on my actual birthday.  Oh, well ... I'm over it.  I guess.  Oh, yeah, Happy Birthday, Tanner.