One bird saved!

by pawlitico

My feathery furriend Scrubby is on the fence beyond my window. She's jreeing hello.

Scrubby, aka Ms. Jay, chose not to disappear after dog-ma released her. I guess she'd like us to put a door in the window so she can come in fur meals. I think she's going to have babies, judging from how big and round she is.

Too bad Ms. Jay couldn't eat her special meal while she was staying with us. Dog-ma made exactly what veterinarian Dr. Jona Jordan suggested.

But Scrubby was in too much shock to eat. Last evening, she nearly suffered a horrible death, hung upside down by her leg, swinging from a tree branch. A tangled bracelet of fish-net plastic around her left ankle had become a lethal handcuff.

Thank dogness that, just before dark, a pair of anxious birds nearby caught our attention with their frantic cries. Tilin Corgi and I hailed dog-ma, who came running with a tall ladder.

We watched dog-ma lean the ladder against the tree, pull on a pair of gloves, and turn on a flashlight. She climbed quickly.

We held our breath as she stretched out her hands to the Scrub Jay. She embraced the bird with her right hand, holding her fairly immobile as she broke off branches around the bird's leg with her left hand. We hated seeing how twisted the Jay's leg was. What a long, tense minute. We feared the leg would crumple or pop out of the hip socket.

Suddenly dog-ma was descending with Scrubby safe in hand. I noticed that Scrubby had put the bite on dog-ma's right index finger and wasn't lettin' go. Smart bird. We followed them into the house. Dog-ma closed the home office door behind her to talk to Scrubby in private.


I heard dog-ma gently whisper, "Hold on, Scrubby. Just a bit more. Argh, that horrible plastic is hard to cut. . . . Okay, you're free now."


After a while I heard fluttering — the sounds of Scrubby flyin' around the room till she settled on a pawsition on top of the bookshelf, a good place to hide and roost.


Dog-ma came out of the room and told us that our new furriend was resting. Off to the kitchen shuffled dog-ma, sadly wailing something about cruelty to animals.

We took comfort in what Dr. Jordan had said about The Bird Rescue Center being a good place fur Ms. Jay to get well. Dog-ma planned to take her there, and to ask the rescuers if we could release our furriend back home here when she was well.

Pawsitive thoughts allowed us to sleep through the night.

We were awakened at 7 o'clock by our Siamese, who jumped up in the air with surprise. We saw that she was listening hard to something — a repeating thumping sound.

We all jumped out of bed and ran to the office room. Dog-ma opened the door slightly and the sound got louder. She slipped into the room, closing the door behind her.

Sitting outside, I smiled. I could tell that Scrubby was awake and energized. The sounds were comin' from her attempts to break through the glass window to freedom!


In a low voice, dog-ma exclaimed, "You, you can stand on both legs! . . . How could this be possible?"

Scrubby just continued jumping at the window.

After a couple of minutes, dog-ma declared, "Dear sweet amazing bird, I'm going to set you free!"

And so she did.

The litter box rebellion

by winecountrydog

It's a delicate subject, this, especially if you're a cat.

I knew that my buddy Ani Siamese had been avoiding doing her duty in the appointed large rectangle with walls that cats call a litter box. I knew it when I saw Ani veer off her usual course and disappear around the corner.

I confronted Ani in my corgi way. "Pawdon me, dear one," said I. "Is there something the matter? Aren't you supposed to be headed toward the rectangle?"

Ani darted off without answering.

Later, I caught up with her in the kitchen. I looked up and, as pawlitely as pawsible, woofed the question: "Are you waging a rather strong rebellion, my dear?"


Ani continued to look at me with barely open eyes.

She finally summoned her cat wits and replied, "Never, ever, quoth the Siamese!"

Then she yawned.


I decided to look elsewhere fur answers. Fortunately fur all of us, a mewsletter arrived from one of our favorite veterinarians, Dr. Jona Jordan. It contained an article on kitty litter issues!

The solutions were actually easy. We figured out that dog-ma had to change the kind of litter stuff she poured into Ani's special box. We also reassured Ani that Jack Corgi and I wouldn't mess with her box.

We came to see that her rebellion made purrfect sense. She's a Siamese, if you paw-leeze.

Paw-note: Remember to talk to your veterinarian about a pawsible health problem if your dear pussin doesn't return to the litter box after changing litter brands and other things, like the placement of box.

They say it's my birthday

by winecountrydog

They say it's my birthday!. . . I checked my doghaus calendar, and, sure enuff, the date November 15th was circled as my 11th birthday. Nobuddy knows exactly which day I was born on, 'cuz as a puppy, I was a GGPWC rescue. But dog-ma brought me home when I was six or seven weeks old, so she knows how many years I have.

We started pawtying on the 13th.


I wanted to celebrate the occasion inside Russian River Brewing Co. with friends Katie da KRSH DJ and Justin of 1/4 Mile Combo. You recall that I enjoy the occasional 1/4-cuppa ale for my back spasms?


But, oh howl, dogs aren't allowed in Calif. eatin' places. So I ended up not havin' ale for what was ailing me.

Instead, I got to got to Dr. Jordan's clinic. I had a lovely laser therapy session. Woof! K-class laser therapy is fur healing, and I'll be paw-writing about it soon.

At Dr Jordan's, I made a new furriend — a sweet little rescue guy named Mo. He was with his nice human, Ali.


At home, I've been enjoying meals even more delicious than usual. I've received some gifts, too. My favorite gift is the yummy, healthy organic dog treats that Ani made for me.


'Tis still shocking that I'm as old as they say. I play like a puppy. Kind of.


Oh my paws, I'm so tired from pawtying.

Protecting little ears at loud concerts

Wine country summertime means outdoor concerts, and this means humans have to protect little ears from loud music. My dog-ma makes me howl when she tells me about seeing puppies and human babies at these venues (where dogs aren't usually allowed "because of the food").

I asked veterinarian Jona Sun Jordan, DVM, to put this topic in pawspective. You can find Dr. J and her caring staff at Coddingtown Veterinary Clinic in Santa Rosa, California. I like that Dr. J practices Eastern holistic medicine, including TCM and nutritional and herbal therapy, along with Western medicine.

Dr. J says, "Young pet and human ears are especially sensitive to intense sound. Exposure to continued or impulse noise above a certain level — about 100 decibels — can cause pain to little ones and even instantaneous hearing damage. Sound level at a concert can reach 115 to 120 decibels, the pain threshold for the average human adult."

How can a human stand music this loud at a concert? Dr. Jordan explains, "When a person has been enjoying alcohol or other substances, their sense of hearing is dulled. This means that dangerously loud music may not sound all that loud to them. To be safe, little ones should have the appropriate protection at a concert even if the adults don't think the music sounds loud."

So, when pets, kids, and babies are near big stage speakers, it's like they're standing next to someone firing a rifle — only it's worse, because speakers get louder with sudden feedback blasts or when accidentally turned up.

Dr. Jordan adds, "I know of one case where a boy lost his hearing during a loud concert. He was lucky and most of his hearing returned after a few months, but it was a scary time for him and his family."

Here are simple paw points for protecting ears:

1) If it seems loud to you adult humans, it's too loud for pets and children, and damaging to ears of human babies and animal babies.

2) All concerts are too loud, period. There's no "safe" concert for pets and little ones to attend. Not unless they remain way in the back of the audience and also far away from any back speakers.

3) Little ones need earplugs to be safe around any potential loudness. You can make or buy earplugs for pets and kids. Get them to practice wearing earplugs before they need to.

4) Consult your healthcare professionals. It takes skill to plug little ears effectively and safely, especially itsy bitsy baby ears. Your veterinary and pediatric humans would be pawsitively pleased to help protect little ears!

5) Have fun, and take me next time.

The structure of recollection

by winecountrydog

Food, wine, cats, and M.F.K. Fisher: That's what dog-ma delighted in talking about the night of the summer-solstice full moon in the Valley of the Moon. I can still taste the bites of domestic, washed-rind cow's milk Muenster cheese. It paired nicely with an intense, fruity, young Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Or so I heard. (As a dog, I drink beer.) Apparently the bottle was a nice guerrilla vino from a local wine writer.

I'm still thinking about all the palate-educated humans and four-footeds who've pawsed in and around this northern California valley. Jack London's dogs pawsed here with their author/guardian, who wrote the 1913 novel The Valley of the Moon.

M.F.K. Fisher pawsed long enough to become a cherished Valley human. She was also an esteemed author and pioneer of the culinary memoir. She lived in Glen Ellen and liked cats, you know. I can see Ms. Fisher's Siamese in a photo of the back cover of A Cordiall Water: A Garland of Odd & Old Receipts to Assuage the Ills of Man & Beast 'cuz the book's setting on dog-ma's dresser.

M.F.K. Fisher wrote about a lot of receipts. That's old school for recipes. For me, dog food recipes are woofable heaven.

The paw-point I'm getting to is that, to recognize good recipes, you've got to have an educated palate. And you get one by trying new things all the time.

One of my favorite veterinarians, Dr. Jona Sun Jordan, says a young cat is in need of having her palate educated by eating a variety of foods. This applies to all of us, pets and people, but it's crucial for cats. Eating a wholesome variety of fresh food gives us good mental and physical health for today, and nice memories and nostalgia for tomorrow.

Dog-ma says that Marcel Proust, early 20th century author of A la recherche du temps perdu, left us with the best quote about gastronomic nostalgia:

"The smell and taste of things . . . bear unfaltering, in the tiny drop and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the vast structure of recollection."

Pawse here. Read that quote again. Think about how smell conjures up memories. The more I sniff, the more I want to sniff. . . .

Author Joan Reardon, expert biographer of Fisher, said of Proust's writings on nostalgia: "In pursuit of vanished time, [Proust] found a transfiguring moment in the taste of a madeleine dipped in a cup of lime flower tea." . . . Goosebumps.

Ms. Reardon reviewed The Future of Nostalgia, written by S. Boym. Reardon said, "Harvard professor Svetlana Boym says that the word [nostalgia] was coined in 1688 by the Swiss doctor Johannes Hofer to identify the homesickness of Swiss soldiers who reacted physically to the hearing of certain folk melodies and the eating of rustic soups while on missions away from home."

Ah, food and music! But back to feline palates. There are ways to prevent pussins from being overly fussy eaters. We understand now, thanks to Dr. Jordan, that we have to make sure the pussin palate is educated. We also have to make sure the food is FRESH and species-appropriate. Cats respond to instincts that help nurture and protect them; when they reject food, they're expressing their need for SAFE, FRESH sources of protein and other nutrients.

I'm sure cats would rather eat the way they did back in the day: whole-prey dining. . . . Now that's nostalgic. By the way, a cat's digestive system and instincts render her unable to tolerate stuff that we dogs inhale without a first or second thought. I think Ms. Fisher would say, "A pussin always displays good taste."

A snippet from M. F. K., the 1992 documentary by filmmaker Barbara Wornum:



Cats must really like Fisher's recipes. As a recipezaar blogger reported: "MFK Fisher's The Art of Eating contains her most famous 5 novels in one! Anyone who loves food should try and get a copy. . . . My cat scratched the index pages to shreds."