A friend sent me these pictures and they are just too cute... and interesting... to not share. The back story is a zoo chimp died, leaving her baby to be raised by the keepers. One of them took the little chimp home and...
Back to the canines
but nothing new to report. Esther is still keeping her eyeballs hidden and the Naughty Nine are still doing well. I gave them some newspaper balls and a stuffed animal to play with last night and they lost no time, even as young as they are, at getting into it. There is something about puppies and newspaper, especially CLEAN newspaper. The pups were rearranging every sheet in their pen, toting them from one side to the other and back again, so I though the wadded up balls would interest them. They're over it now and are back to moving the sheets of paper. The stuffed animal has had every one of the pups chewing on it and dragging it around. It is just a tad heavy for them to pick up... at least for the next few days... but it has been all over the pen.
It has been cooler today... mid 80s instead of 90s... and not one request for a wet towel all day. Supposed to be cooler all week and down into the 70s (yeah!) over the weekend.
Every pup here had a birthday this weekend... Peri's daughter is 2 weeks old and Emy's babies are 5 weeks. Seems like they all should be a lot older!
Emy has taken to leaving hers all day... she goes outside around noon and then makes a beeline for somewhere else in the house. And come 10, 11 every night, she goes out for the last time and then wants back in with the pups. Of course, they all rush her and suckle for a short while and want their faces (and butts) cleaned, but by the time all the other dogs have come back inside, the pups have sprawled out and are sound asleep... and Emy is sleeping too. IN the pen, but away from the kids.
Peri is also spending more time away from Esther, but only if she is outside. Once she comes back in the house, she wants in with that pup!
Esther's eyes are still tightly closed which has made me think that part of the problem the whole litter had was they came a little early. Remember when I took Peri in for her ultrasound? It was 5 weeks to the day from her first breeding date... she was bred two days in a row and that was all... and she was so small, I was fairly certain she was NOT pregnant. When the fetuses showed up on the ultrasound, surprising everyone, they were small. At that time, we talked about the possibility that the eggs had not been fertilized for some time... days... after the breeding(s.) The pups arrived at the time they would have if conception had been close to breeding, but the problems they exhibited could have been from prematurity. The eyes not open business could be more of the same... she is still playing catch up. On the other hand, she is sitting up AND trying to walk. Her mom has made the latter a little more difficult by pushing all the bedding into a corner, leaving Esther on a fairly slick... but cooler... surface.
The pups have gotten me well trained during this heat wave. Every morning they start out whining and every morning I wet a towel and put it in the pen. And all of us are happy the rest of the day... even though they seldom get on the towel except by accident. The heat is supposed to ease off soon... thanks to Beryl. Wonder if they are still going to demand their towel!
I've listened to the same 2-3 pups whining and howling for the last two hours. It is HOT and I'm in the same mood they are, but I'm in the same room they... and their 6-7 siblings are... and none of us is whining. So I put Emy back in with them, opened up the pen so they have three-fourths of the room AND spread a wet towel on the floor. Plus, I added a second fan. On high. Did they stop whining? Yes. But first, they climbed all over their poor mom, grabbed a suck or two, explored the area of the pen they had not been in before and are now sprawled out asleep. Back in the same smaller area of the pen they were in originally. One pup... count her... ONE pup is on the wet towel. I think their whining was just "DO something!" I did. So they quit bellyaching. Probably after congratulating each other on their success at controlling me!
Horses
Six degrees of separation... a friend of mine is a friend of Calvin Boral. She ran into him at the Derby and he introduced her to a number of people... like Mario Gutierrez, Another's jockey, and Lava Man and she got within 20 feet of Another. AND she got me a copy of the photo of Calvin and Rachel Alexandra that I saw but couldn't down load. It is now my wallpaper or screen saver or whatever the big picture on a computer screen is called. It makes me smile every time I see it.
In case you are tired of opening email from me...
there are 3 pages of individual photos on the website.
Took these yesterday when I found Esther asleep in front of the crate. Obviously, her mom was none too pleased.
If you compare the photos with the ones taken a week ago, it's easy to see how much she has grown.
Emy trivia
People getting pups from the current Emy/Boon litter include 2 Karens, 2 Kennedys and 3 from New York. And now, a second Marcy is thinking it over.
Triple Crown trivia
Eleven horses have won the Triple Crown and since the last one in '78, another 11 horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. Soooo, if I'll Have Another hits the finish line first in Belmont 2012, he'll be the 12th horse to try and the 12th horse to do it.
And in the "do I know my stuff or what department," Bob Baffert announced he is not taking Bodemeister to the Belmont about the same time Team Valor, Went the Day Well's people, made the same announcement.
Baffert is going to run Paynter who he originally thought was better than Bodemeister while Michael Matz who trains Teeth of the Dog AND Union Rags is sending Rags but keeping Dog home.
Not what I promised, but something to assauge your anxiety until tomorrow or Thursday.
This is their first few hours in the new pen in the new room... on the other end of the house. So much for THEIR anxiety!
One of the girls, obviously not a clingy type!
Eight of the pups
The whole litter
Their colors are a little lighter than actuality because of the flash.
Triple Crown possibilities
This photo is a bit scary for anyone... like me... dying for a Triple Crown winner this year. It shows I'll Have Another just before the KY Derby finish line... with Dullahan on his outside... and everyone says he was closing fast.
Unlike most race horses, Another wears a "Breathe Right" for horses instead of being on the drug Lasix (like 95% of his compadres.) It's a device that fits outside his nose and opens the nostrils a bit. In NY, the DRUG is legal, the DEVICE is not... for thoroughbred racing. So he can't run the Belmont with it. (It IS "legal" in harness racing, sport horse competitions, etc and the Olympics also allow "flair strips.") Really makes a lot of sense in an industry where drug use, legal and otherwise, is WAAAAY out of hand.
Another and his "pony," Lava Man, are safely stabled at Belmont already and enjoying their new digs. The colt is showing NO signs of being tired or hurt from his last two races. I sincerely hope, in 18 days, we ALL have another!
Esther
A complete turn around for Peri's little girl! She's grown TREMENDOUSLY in the last day or two, is active but not crabby AND is trying to walk.
I know, first horses and now cats!
One of the older posters on the Brokeback forum needs to find a new home for the stray cat that moved in with him a while back.
Jack posted this:
my cat, baby, is a rescue who pretty much walked into my house and never left, had apparently been abandoned, because he had been previously neutered and had other medical procedures as well. he is so happy with his new human protector that he practically radiates this with his every gesture. i can't bring him with me to hawaii, i dimply don't have the money, and my living situation once i get there is likely to not accept pets, and i simply don't know even where i will be staying.
if there is anyone in driving distance who would like to adopt an approximately 7 year old short haired tuxedo cat who is within driving distance of south florida, it would be wonderful to here from you. i would post a picture, but doesn't photograph well at all. he has rather beady dark eyes and the white patches don't extend to his face.
he is a sweetheart, and he needs someone to give him a loving home.
If anyone can help, please email me and I'll put you in touch with Jack. Thanks!
The doctor survived our meeting this morning
He's not a spring chicken and didn't get too pushy, so when I left after about 15 minutes, he was still breathing and able to move on to his next patient. I do have to go back in 6 months, but it's for a repeat of last year's blood work.
