Critters

We’ve added another animal to the brood.

His name is “Chuck” (they were calling him “Claude” at the shelter, but Wendy kept mis-saying it as “Chuck”, so that’s what stuck) and he was a stray with some medical problems. He’s an adult neutered male, and at least part greyhound, so he’s very thin, lean, and fast. The fact that he is part greyhound most certainly worked in his favor in getting to come live with us… You see, one of Wendy’s dear departed pets was a sweet greyhound called Midnight and Chuck resembles Midnight enough that Wendy gave him a second glance, which was enough for Chuck to work his considerable charms on Wendy and convince her to bring him home. Wendy has worked Chuck through his medical problems and we’re nursing him back to full health.

Wendy was worried about how the other dogs (Dolly, Bean, and Buster) would react to the new packmate, but she needent have — within an hour of his arrival, Chuck was laying in the pile of dogs like he’d been with them since he was a pup. He’s a very sweet and gentle guy and a great addition to our family.

What a strange day today was! Wendy & I decided we wanted to try to see LADY IN THE WATER and even made some tentative plans with Angel to go see it. We were going to try to make the 1:40 showing, but we started to hear the sounds of …something… angry in our attic. For the past week or so, we’ve been dealing with racoons in our attic, and it sounded like one had fallen into a wall and was scrabbling to get out, so we called Mike, our pest control man, who came to the house at 3:00.

He & Wendy went into the attic and all over the house to try and rescue this little critter. After much effort, sweat, and blood, they managed to pull out of the wall a young female racoon who was, in fact, stuck. She was angry as anything, but very much alive when Mike pulled her out a couple hours after they’d started working.

During that time, I worked on upgrading this webserver from Fedora Core 4 to Fedora Core 5. With the help of a few folks (Richtroye, Zerberus, Jhutchins, Matt_T, and Plugh) from the #fedora IRC room who generously spent their time (several hours) diagnosing, testing, and suggesting changes, it finally worked. I was able to upgrade to Fedora Core 5, something I’d been trying to do since it was released in March of 2006. However, there is still work to be done. The webserver was a challenge to get functioning again (there was a cache issue that prevented pages from displaying) but it’s up. Email and a couple other things still need to be fixed, but we’re very close.

We never made it to the movie, which is just as well because Angel wasn’t feeling too well, and I needed to complete the upgrade as much as possible. Dinner was ordered in from LaRosa’s. Wendy had a deli cibatta and I had a steak hoagie. We split a salad, then it was back to the terminal for me. I finally finished up around 12:30am.

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door — nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn’t help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob, or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years — canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is… kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat’s butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All  Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:
1. They live here. You don’t.
2. If you don’t want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That’s why they call it “fur”niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it’s an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn’t speak clearly.

Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don’t ask for money all the time
3  Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don’t hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don’t smoke or drink
8. Don’t have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don’t want to wear your clothes
10. Don’t need a gazillion dollars for college, and…
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

We put Buster into bed with us before ‘lights out’ most nights. He lays there silently, tail wagging gently, hoping that we’ll forget he’s there and fall asleep with him between us.

SO CUTE!

Today, Wendy took Buster in to clean his teeth, implant a microchip, and to remove his floppy dewclaw. She said he did well through the proceedure, but that his teeth “look like the teeth of a 10 year old dog” (we think he’s about 6 years old but are not sure) and that it’s clear that he’s never had any dental care in his life. Buster was rescued from the pound by the owners from whom we got him, so his history prior to the previous owners is completely unknown. (The picture is neither Buster’s mouth nor from Wendy’s hospital — it’s just a photo I found on the ‘net)

Wendy had to remove one of Buster’s molars because it was so crummy, and she thinks that he may lose a couple more teeth in the next few years — they might be too far gone. The cleaning she did was thorough, of course, and we hope that with continued close monitoring and care, we may be able to head-off any more tooth decay or loss.

(this is his floppy dewclaw)

And maybe his breath will smell better, too!

Another quiet night at home tonight — how nice!

Wendy & I went back to Wal-Mart to get a baby gate for Buster since he’s now more mobile (see yesterday’s story). We’ll put the baby gate at the top of the steps when we’re upstairs and at the top of the basement steps when we’re downstairs. That way, Buster can have free run of the floor we’re on, though it seems that he likes two places best (maybe not in this order): a> by us in his cuddle cup or b> by food. We worry a bit for anyone observing our trash — this week it features the boxes for a playpen and a baby gate!

Tonight, for the first time, he ventured off the carpet runner we’ve got in our family room and onto the hardwood floor and then into the tiled kitchen. He did pretty well on the smooth surfaces. I’d estimate that he’s moving at about 60% on carpet, about 55% on grass, and about 50% on tiles or the hardwood.

We stopped by Penn Station for dinner on the way home from Wal-Mart.