I was at PetsMart a few months ago, shopping the clearance bins (of course!), and I found a cute little red coat that was perfect for Charlie. Of course I bought it for a whopping $5 (who could pass that up?!).
After waiting MONTH after MONTH after MONTH it is finally cold enough for Charlie to wear her coat. Hurray!
Charlie is so cute and stylish!
Have a wonderful day!
-Paige
Omg! Omg! I wanted to take some time to celebrate our tortoiseshell cat, Pumpkin! She has been with out family for like two years now and she is great! She loves to play, she’s a bit loud as she walks around meowing until someone pets her, and she is sooooo beautiful. Seriously, I think she is the prettiest cat ever! (I guess every cat lover thinks their cat is the best haha). Earlier this year I was at PetsMart and found a clearance cat toy (it was only $1) and I got it for Pumpkin and the other cats.
Here are some pics of Pumpkin enjoying her gift.
Aren’t animals amazing? They make life so pleasant and are so worth the effort.
-Paige
The weather has turned from steaming hot to shivering cold. This climate change does not suit Sonora very well as she lives outside in the yard with her dog house. Oftentimes, when I check on her at night, I see and feel how freezing cold it is. Although I put a blanket in Sonora’s dog house, rather than laying on it, she drags it around the yard and plays with it. Being the amazing dog owner I am (LOL JK), I decided the best way to keep her warm at night would be to get her a doggie coat of some sort. Then, my genius brain decided the best way to provide Sonora with a coat would be to make it myself. So…without further ado…here are all the steps it takes to make a sub-par, ill-fitting doggie coat.
As soon as I set my crazy mind on making a dog coat, I grabbed my pretty purple measuring tape, a pen, and a notepad and chased Sonora down to measure her chubby little body. I measured around the front of her neck up to where her shoulders began. I did this because I didn’t want the coat to wrap straight around her neck like a collar. Instead, I wanted it to slope across her back a bit (see the picture above).
Then I measured how far down her back I wanted the coat to go; I also measured the distance from one shoulder to the other shoulder, and the distance from the middle of her back down to her side.
Sonora’s Measurements
I chose a pretty green and white printed fabric and a gray felt fabric for this coat. I used my measurements to trace a general outline of the coat and then I cut it out. I made sure that I left two long pieces at the front of the coat to wrap around her neck and keep the coat on her. I cut out the design from both pieces of fabric. I also later cut out some extra fabric to make into belly straps and attached it to the side of the coat so the coat would fit more snugly around Sonora’s belly.
I grabbed my handy dandy sewing machine and tried to sew the two pieces of fabric together to quickly and easily finish Sonora’s winter coat. Of course, the Sewing Machine Gods were frowning down on me and I soon found myself with a jammed sewing machine. Now, I barely know how to hand sew, so I’m not experienced enough to determine what happened to the sewing machine or how to fix it, so for now, I have an ornamental sewing machine. For the coat, I just hand sewed that baby together.
*My pieces of gray felt fabric were too small to use only one pieces for the coat, so I had to sew several smaller pieces together. That’s why there is a line in the coat in the picture below.
I got some Velcro that had adhesive on the back from Walmart, so I just stuck those onto the neck straps of the coat so the coat would stay around Sonora’s neck.
Ok, so grab your finished dog coat and put it on your pup! Mine was a tad bit too big, but it did the job!
I am glad to say that Sonora actually keeps this coat on at night when I’m outside with her, but by morning, it is usually strewn across the lawn somewhere. I blame the ill-fittingness of the coat.
To make a really good dog coat, you can simply google “How to make a dog coat” or search in YouTube, (nearly any other tutorial would probably be better than mine), but if you are desperate or just want to have a good time hand sewing, then feel free to follow the above steps.
Have a good day!
-Paige
A few months ago, I felt adventurous and wanted to take a trip on Amtrak somewhere with my little sister. So I started looking places up and decided to take a day trip to a zoo. We decided on the Fresno Zoo because it was only one train away and we could be leave Bakersfield in the AM and be back the same day before it got too dark.
It was my lil sis’s first Amtrak ride and her first visit to Fresno and other than forgetting to buy drinks, it was a good trip. It was scary for us both because after exiting the Amtrak Train in Fresno, we had no idea where we were or where the zoo was. Luckily, it turned out to be a quick taxi ride away from the Amtrak station. We had fun visiting the different habitats and I saw her very excited for the first time in a long time.
Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day:
Now although I’m typically not a big supporter of animals behind bars, except for rehabilitation purposes or breeding programs of endangered species, I was more than willing to set aside my opinions to have a fun day at the zoo.
Hopefully I will be able to plan more trips like this soon. It was definitely an experience my lil sis and I will never forget.
-Paige
Hello All! Welcome back to Paige’s Posts!
Boy, has time flown by. Summer is nearing a close (did you know the last day of summer is Wednesday, September 21st?) & to prepare for the coming winter, I ordered a dog house for Sonora on Amazon. I ordered it on September 4th & it arrived on September 7th.
The box was large and too heavy for me to drag into the house, so I assembled it in the front yard. It took me about an hour to put together and I only needed an extra hand when it came to screwing in two little pieces that go on the bottom of the house to hold up the floor.
The house came with all the pieces and all I needed was a pair of scissors to open the box and a screwdriver to put it together.
Overall, I am very impressed with this dog house. The wood is thin, but will definitely work for Sonora and the color is amazing! The box said it was olive green, but it looks more like a teal color, which is what I was hoping for. It was much bigger than I had expected. So big, in fact, that I think both Sonora & her friend, Soda-Pop, can both fit comfortably. Also, the roof can be lifted open for easy cleaning. I’ll be on the look out for an appropriately sized dog bed to go in the dog house.
At first, Sonora didn’t want anything to do with her new house, so I gave her treats every time she would approach it until she would finally go inside. Now she uses it to hide in when I spray herself and Soda-Pop with water to keep them cool. This morning, I noticed that she was sleeping in it-baby steps!
See ya in a little while!
-Paige
Hello All! Nice to talk to you again. I hope all is well and great things have been happening in my absence.
Today I would like to talk about my friend Sonora. She’s doing well, though she is a bit unsocialized as we haven’t gone for a substantial walk in weeks. Instead, I’ve been taking her out to the front yard so she can run off some of her energy, and I’ve been teaching her to jump through a hula hoop, but for the most part, she has been playing with her friends Luna and Charlie inside and eating. I mean, seriously eating. Like… she is always eating.
I pour two bowls of dog food in the morning, but I also keep the dog food bag accessible to the dogs because I can’t stand the thought of them being hungry during the day. I’ve never had problems with dog obesity (Charlie is a slim dog and so is Luna), so I was surprised when one day I heard my family calling Sonora a fatty. I mean, I know she is a little chubby, but I didn’t think that warranted the word “fat” being thrown her way. Besides, Sonora is, like, the most adorable dog in the world! But the issue has become much more apparent and serious. My chubby little girl has quite a belly on her now and when I do the “touch test” on her I can’t feel her ribs. We all know what that means: Sonora is obese!
When I first got Sonora I vowed to give her a wonderful life, and I should have made health and physical fitness more of a priority. Unfortunately, I stopped taking her out for walks and I allowed her to eat more than she should have and now my mistakes have led to a potential (and all too real) health problem. How could I ever forgive myself?! The only thing I can do is become more organized. So let me whip out my handy dandy notebook and Excel spreadsheet and get started!
So I figure I should do at least 4 thirty minute walks every week and 1 hour long walk every week. Of course I will still be working with her on jumping through a hula hoop as I want to make a mini agility course for my dogs. I figure it would be a fun exercise routine for all of us. See my exercise plan below:
Hopefully with this exercise plan and a new food storage container, I can help Sonora to lose a little bit of weight and gain some endurance and stamina.
I will post an update to report on our progress.
Ta Ta For Now!
-Paige
A few months ago, my neighbor was giving away puppies. By the time we walked over, there were two puppies left: a male and a female. My mom and I figured we could find the puppies good homes that weren’t in the ghetto where we live. (Our neighborhood is notorious for unwanted puppies and puppies getting hit by cars or abandoned, so if at all possible, I try to find homes that are outside of our neighborhood). So we took in the female puppy. I de-wormed and vaccinated her and soon she found a home! Even better ,she found a home near the bluffs (a very nice neighborhood) with a fire marshall and his daughter.
Here are some pics I took of this precious pup:
Hopefully I can find other puppies in need good homes this summer. Unfortunately, I’m sure that there will be more unwanted puppies springing up around the neighborhood in the coming months.
-Paige
A few weeks ago, I heard some guys yelling and cursing at each other outside. I peeked through the window and noticed these two Mexican guys pushing each other around. They soon walked away and not long after, a little yellow puppy came walking down the street. He stopped by my apartment and I went outside. I noticed something was wrong with the puppy’s coat and realized that he was wrapped up with bungee cords. I know-weird, after all, who would wrap a puppy up in bungee cords? His little body was covered in them and they were the tiniest little cords. I don’t know how someone got them around his body in the first place, but they were cutting into his fur and skin pretty badly. So I scooped him up and carried him inside.
After unwrapping all the bungee cords (there were a lot!), I cleaned him up. I started calling him Little Boy because he’s a male puppy and I couldn’t think of a better name to call him. By the time I got home from work the next day my entire family had named the pup Lucifer because he had absolutely no manners and he acted like a little devil.
It was pretty obvious from the first time I brought him inside that Lucifer had never been inside before. After I took him a bath, he started nipping my heels and grabbing my clothes and anything else he could get his teeth on. He wagged his tail and bounced around the apartment barking up a storm. It was quite entertaining until I realized he wasn’t potty trained. Luckily he has taken to newspaper really well, but he still insists on shredding anything that is left on the floor, including shoes, socks, dog toys, cat toys, jeans, t-shirts, blankets, coca-cola (seriously-he loves soda), cups, paper, etc, etc, etc!
We have to be really careful of where we leave cups of soda. Lucifer is a tall puppy and he reaches up on the counter, grabs the cups, and drinks everything inside! I’ve never known a dog to like soda and I hope Little Boy grows out of it.
Little Boy Lucifer is definitely a work in progress, but I am very hopeful that in a few weeks he will be ready to find a new home.
Here are some pictures of our walk: (don’t worry-it’s water that I’m pouring into the pepsi cup haha!)
When I first brought him in, Little Boy was very skinny. As you can see, he’s a good weight now and keeps on eating. He’s a good boy and I hope he finds a good home.
See ya later!
-Paige
One of the most difficult times in an animal lover’s life is when one is faced with the difficult decision to re-home his or her furry friend. I have had to do this multiple times and trust me when I say it is not an easy task.
My sister recently had to re-home her dog, Luna. Luna is a gentle and loving pit bull. She is very muscular and healthy and loves to sleep all day. My family agreed to take her in until we could get her spayed and re-homed. Currently, Luna’s spay day is set for April 21st, 2016 and I can’t wait. I feel it is very important to get Luna spayed because I’m afraid that people will see her and want to use her for breeding. Every year in Bakersfield, we see a huge outpouring of unwanted puppies and I don’t want to contribute to that.
Last week I walked Luna to the Mt. Vernon Veterinary Hospital where she got her Bordetella, Parvo, and DHLP vaccine. These are necessary in order for Luna to be spayed at Critters Without Litters. Luna will get her Rabies vaccine on the day of her spay.
Luna is a great dog-more well-behaved than my Charlie & Sonora. I have to say that Luna is the easiest dog I have ever walked-and I’ve walked many dogs in my lifetime. During our walks, she is very attentive to where I am and where I want the both of us to go. She never pulls and she doesn’t get distracted by other dogs barking or trying to follow us. I have to tip my invisible hat to my sister for doing such a great job in raising her dog. I’m hoping that we can find Luna a loving forever home soon.
If you’re interested in reading up on the importance of dog vaccinations and what canine vaccinations are available, you can read what the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has to say on the subject by clicking here.
Ta Ta for Now!
-Paige
It’s been quite some time since I first brought Sonora home and I’m happy to say that she is doing great! She has grown into such a pretty dog. I haven’t been walking her as much as I should be, so she’s been a bit skittish on her last few walks. I’m sure she will adapt as I plan on taking her for more outings in the future.
If you want to see how she looked when I first got her just click here.
Here are some pics of our latest walk.
Talk to ya later!
Paige
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