Wordless Wednesday

 "I have all the toys in the land"

"Now I sleep on them to keep them safe"

Obama Dogs

We are very politically involved around here at DogInTheDesert.  Tonight we are settling down on the couch with our American flag and Obama Dog argyle sweaters to watch the debate.  Nothing more patriotic than taking part in the political process!

We are with you Mr. President!  Secretly though I think Kerri and Copley just want to see Bo get four more years to romp around the White house.

Seriously though- everyone, no matter what candidate you are for be in involved, get informed and most importantly go vote!

Kerrigan at the Vet

 Kerri went to the vet yesterday and did such a good job.  The vet we go to now is great too.  They have adorable pictures of baby African animals in the waiting room, lots of paraphernalia about environmentalism (right up my alley) and they don't try to sell me a bunch of useless stuff.  On top of that after they drew blood they put that bandage on her leg and the tech picked purple because it complemented her fur the best.  These people are so sweet and kind I just love them.  Kerri responded to their kindness by being "the sweetest chihuahua they have seen in a long time."  That's my girl- so well behaved an social.  

Why was Kerrigan at the vet you ask?  She had to get her rabies vaccine- now she is on a 3 year vaccine so that is great.  I know getting the vaccine is "controversial" in some circles and a lot of people think dog owners should BREAK THE LAW and not give it.  Here is my feeling- yes the rabies vaccine can cause issues- particularly in tiny dogs- but those vaccine damage issues are totally overblown on the internet.  We vaccinate for rabies as a way to protect human public health.  Before domestic animals were routinely vaccinated people died from rabies all the time in this country.  Many of those people were children.  With that said I would not vaccinate a sick dog (the label on the vaccine even says not to do that), I will give the longest vaccine I can (right now that is 3 years) and I will support more research to extend the length a rabies vaccine is approved for to 7 years.  I will not lie about rabies vaccines and endanger the life of my dog who would be killed if I could not prove they were current and anyone even pretended my dog may have bit or scratched them.  As far as parvo/distemper goes Kerri was not even "due" according to my old vet and my new vet feels that immunity last for life for those vaccines so that's that.  Some research shows those vaccines last for life, a lot of the research shows they last for at least seven years so I will be doing more research on those in 6 years when I have to decide about re-vaccination.  I am pretty sure half the dog community will think I was paid millions of dollars by pfizer to write that paragraph and consider me "brainwashed by major pharmaceutical companies" in an effort to perpetuate dangerous vaccines that are killing us all.  Luckily I don't really care what those people think.

Now that I opened that can of worms let me say Kerri got a totally clean bill of health.  I just got the call that her heartworm test was negative so we are all good for another year!  Also see that picture and all the stuff that the rain has washed into my yard?  Looks like a pigeon died back there but all I can find is feathers- plus all the rocks that belong to my neighbors.  It has been raining for like 2 days straight here and as far as this city is concerned that means the world is coming to an end.  It is DogInTheDESERT after all.  I am also glad I spent the day leaf blowing and fertilizing the trees Monday.  Have a great week everyone!!!

Update on Bean

Remember this little lady?  She recently went to the vet for a bit of a tumor on her leg/side.  Well I am happy to say things seem to be going well for her.  The vet said it feels like a benign mammary tumor like the rats get all the time.  With Bean being 2 years old, and her not seeming bothered by the little lump, we decided to just leave it in place.  Over the last week it does not seem to have grown at all and we are crossing our fingers that it stays that way.  If it does grow we will have it taken off but the surgery is risky for a small elderly mouse like her.  In the meanwhile Bean is still happily running on the wheel, eating and chasing her sister around the cage.  Lets hope it stays that way.

In happier news- we got an agility jump for the house.

Kerri is so excited.

Bark Box Review Month Two

I wasn't going to review Bark Box every month but a few people have asked me about this month so I decided I would give it a little attention.  If you have not heard of Bark Box before take a look at my last post so you can see what it is all about.

If you want to subscribe you can use this link for a $5 discount on your first order.

Overall this month was great- Barkbox seems to be a good value still and I am enjoying finding new stuff.  So far I have bought more of 3 items I have received in the box because I like them so much.  Just for the "finding new things" factor barkbox is worth it for me.  On top of that I think I am actually saving money in the long run because the fact that the barkbox is coming stops me from buying any dog toys during the month when I am out and about.  So there you go- another bonus is that it can help to curb your bad buying habits by giving you something new to look forward to instead of trying to satiate your need through retail therapy.

Copley enjoying a Bully Stick

I will get right down to the review and talk about what I got in this months box in order of most looked to least liked. 

• Barkworthies Bully Stick.  This has to be our favorite because Copley LOVES his bully sticks.  I don't think I really have to tell you how many of them we go through around here and I will never turn away a USA made bully stick.  I do have to admit that bully sticks are the one thing I buy made with South American beef.  I just can't find them made with US beef AND processed in the US.  I can find US beef processed in Mexico and South American grassfed beef processed in the US.  I have chosen South American grassfed beef processed in the US as the safer option for us.  This bully stick was one of those types.
• Whole Life Pet Organic Freeze Dried Sweet Potato.  We got a whole bag of those and a little sample of their chicken.  These are great- Kerrigan loves them and she is not the type to eat just anything.  Unfortunately Copley is allergic to sweet potato so he can not partake.  The good news for him is that I checked out Whole Life Pet, loved them, and already ordered and received some of their Organic Freeze Dried Chicken and Copley does love that.  The hermit crabs love the chicken too.
• Wag.com coupon for $10 off your first order.  There was no minimum purchase on this and the fine print was minimal so it really was nice.  I already used it to buy a bag of Whole Live Organic Chicken treats that I just talked about.
• Zukes Z-bones.  Copley is allergic to these dental bones so I don't buy them for the dogs.  I DO get the tiny ones for the rats.  They have a good time with me tying them up in hard to get places or putting them in bird shredder boxes so they have to work really hard to get them.  I like zukes as a company and use lots of their products.  I did let Kerri eat this one but she had to sit in my lap with it so there was no chance Copley could get it.  She LOVED it but I have to admit the smell was a little strong for her to chew it in my lap.  On the up side I did get this adorable picture you saw last week while she was eating it.

The bottle should not stick out like that

• Zigoo Pets Crinket Toy.  I don't think I am using this correctly.  It is a toy you are supposed to put a water bottle into so your dog can play with it without destroying the bottle right away.  I was excited because my dogs love empty water bottles but I can't find a bottle that fits in it and just got frustrated.  As you can see I did manage to shove a too big bottle in it and the dogs mildly enjoy it.  I can see how a bigger dog would LOVE their bigger model and how it would be easier to find a bottle to fit in that one.  Personally I think they should ship it with a recycled bottle already in it to save people the aggravation.  This toy got an ehhh from us.  Also I saw what they are trying to sell them for and I would never pay that.  You win some you loose some I guess.  Other reviewers are talking about this toy like it is the best thing since sliced bread so maybe it is just my inability to see how to work it.
• Also we got a single wet wipe sample from LA fresh- it was just one so not enough to either add value or for me to really review.

Lastly I was not paid for this review but I DO receive a free barkbox for everyone who subscribes using my $5 off link.

Sick Mouse :(

This is Bean the mouse.  We named her Bean because we think she looks a little bit like a coffee bean (please use your imagination with that one.)

 This lump on her thigh above her foot seems to be a tumor.  Here at the DogInTheDesert household we have way too much experience with rat tumors.  I think one month I had four rats in surgery to remove tumors.  Our mice growing these things- totally new to us.  Poor little Bean is a very sweet mouse although she is approaching 2 years old.  Sadly for a mouse 2 is quite elderly.  I am also very worried about what the vet will say because mouse surgery just seems like such a fragile ordeal.  Rat surgery is bad enough but at least they weigh a little more.  By a little more I mean probably 10x more.  We will do whatever we can to make little bean's elderly years as comfortable as possible- if that means tumor removal then that's what we will do.  The vet appointment is Thursday so I will let you guys know how it turns out.

Oh, hi Nick.  This is Nick, Bean's slightly crazy sister.  She would like to know why Bean is getting all the attention.

 Nick is a really cool mouse too.  My favorite thing about her is her beautiful Siamese coloring.  In these pictures she really looks like a PEW but I promise those eyes are ruby and she has the most adorable dark points on her nose, ears and tail.  I just LOVE it!  Mice are some of my favorite pets, maybe not as interactive as the dogs but they sure are adorable.  Plus they always seem to be busy doing something interesting like pulling apart this bird toy or running on the wheel.  Never a dull moment when you are a tiny prey animal I guess.  I just wish they lived a little longer- and didn't grow tumors on their legs.

Social Media!

I am trying so hard to get more involved in social media outside this blog!  Trying just as hard as Kerrigan is to eat that bone.  So far I think I am doing a good job.  If you are interested in following DogInTheDesert it would really help encourage me to sink more time into these things.  Particularly pinterest- it is as easy to waste an hour on Pinterest as it was on facebook in 2007.  I'm still not on twitter though.  I stand by what I've been saying for years- twitter is just a fad that will fade in time.  Like cars or the internet.  So follow me followers!  If you want!  Yay!

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