WTF was wrong with Dingle's face?

Okay, so Dingle's face is better... the scabs or whatever it was came off today... through Dingle licking, scratching and some help from me (just getting it off his wiskers).

Any thoughts about what it was?

My possible ideas...

- From chewing a bone... and sticking his face right inside the (femur) bone... did it get raw?

- Licking excessively and irritating the area?

- From licking my boyfriend's dog's ears... mouth gets chapped from having a soggy floppy ear resting on him all the time?

- Allergic reaction?

- Something nasty that dried to his face and wasn't actually a scab?

- WTF?

He's had little patches before, but nothing like this.

Before it started to come off it just looked slightly 'off' - like a dark circle around his mouth/lips. It wasn't bloody or anything. It didn't appear to bother him... not that he indicated at least. But then again dogs can't talk.

Now that the crap has come off it's pink again... but I can't tell if it's pinker than usual... it doesn't look extremely raw, though.

We came back from my mom's place about 3 days before I noticed his muzzle looking weird. No traces of this up there.






In other Dingle news: We're moving. Yes, doing what the opthamologist did not recommend. We're staying in the same building and have had access to the new place for a few weeks, though we don't officially live int he new place until Saturday. I was slightly worried about changing his environment so I took Dingle to the new place often for him to check it out and familiarize himself with the layout. He went when the apartment was empty and now with about 99% of our stuff in. No problems so far. I think he sees a lot better than suggested by the opthamologist... or that he pretends to. I'm only concerned about the first little while of him sleeping there - at night. He doesn't not see well at all, in the dark/low light. Of course this place has scary steps. Our current place has stairs by they curve half way down and have a bit of a landing. The new apartment is 12 steps, straight down. Our bedroom is directly to the right, at the top. Thank goodness for baby gates and being obsessively supervised.

Wow, I sure can update regularly Dingle had a week away from Toronto

So it's been 2 months since I updated. Not that anyone really reads this anyways, so I guess it's okay.

Dingle and I just got back from some vacation time at my mom's. I was looking forward to Dingle getting to swim at the beach, but the weather was crappy so he never got to the beach.

Dingle did get his very own $12 wading pool though:





He stood in it looking pissed off for a few minutes, then jumped out. I put him in, he jumped out... I put him in, out he goes... this process repeated itself several times...

When not outside Dingle spent a lot of time exploring... and eating the random food pieces that were on the floor near my mom's conure's cage. Dingle hated that damn bird. He didn't mind it last year, or near the beginning of last week - until my sister opened its cage and it decided to fly out and land on Dingle's back. It was all down hill from there.

Dingle barely ate any of his food when we were gone. I think it's because he filled up on other stuff. That and he's not a big eater as it is.

One of the things he enjoyed... his first steak bone:




When I went out to a store briefly Dinglehopper did not have to go in his 'camper' (fold up canvas cage thing).

What did he do while I was gone?



He waited for his mommy.

We're back in Toronto now and Dingle is no longer the only dog in the household.

Dingle did not use a pee pad while at my mom's house. I thought "yay maybe he won't ever have an accident in the house again, therefore avoiding the need to put a pad down", but no... he's regressed again. He's like an 8 week old pup sometimes in that department... probably relates back to his puppy mill beginning somehow.

Something weird I also noticed is that Dingle has a disgusting rash/scab/scaly thing all over his muzzle. It's really nasty. He had it a bit before we went away, but it cleared up completely while we were gone. Now it's back. I don't know what's causing it.

While away he used a glass water bowl. Here he has stainless steel.

While away he didn't chew bones. He did since we've been back.

While away he didn't have another dog nearby... with floppy ears that Dingle feels the need to lick the insides of, 24/7.

My other guesses as to what it might be caused from: Dingle's obsessive licking (of other people, himself, etc), dirty Toronto.

Right now the scab/scaly grossness is peeling off. I might see if I can get a picture of it. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't appear to bother him... so I'm just watching it and not taking him to the vet. I always rush to the vet... not this time.

Speaking of which I'm waiting for another reimbursement cheque from Vet Insurance.

$20,000 lifetime coverage... Dingle's not even 4 and has probably used half of that already.

If you or anyone you know chooses Vet Insurance for their pet, say that Dinglehopper's owner referred you - they currently have a promotion which gives us 1 month free for referrals.

I love Vet Insurance - they are so fast at reimbursing you... their plan is easy to understand... they never decrease your coverage/penalize you for making claims... I definitely recommend it. I spent a lot of time looking at the available programs/companies when I first got Dingle and I do not regret my decision to choose Vet Insurance.

Want to See Dinglehopper in metallic, chromogenic form?

If so, go to this:




The write-up from the EMail sent to me:

Hiep Vu Photography would like to invite you to a show of work that is running alongside the Contact Festival of Photography in Toronto.

"Meet the Barkers - Portraits of a Canine Clan" is a set of 11 metallic, chromogenic prints that seek to make a connection between the dog world and our own. These photos, completed in a hyper-real portrait style, bring the details of our dog companions into a surreal and beautiful light. The show runs at Crema Coffee Company (3079 Dunda St. West - West of Keele) from May 8th to June 30th and will be having an opening reception on Thursday May 14th from 7-10pm. Hiep Vu is a commercial photographer based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His clients include RIM, Pfizer, Rogers, and National Sports."

I need a shelter/rescue in the GTA - To donate dog/cat food to

So, I'm hoping to get some feedback. Not sure if I will or not since nobody reads my blog, but anyways...

Lately I've become obsessed with coupons.

Gimme a break. I work overnights. Yes, 99% of my days (and by that I mean nights) are damn busy. But when the nights are slow, it gets boring.

You can only look at Facebook so much and wonder "why is so-and-so not playing their move on Lexulous". Duh, it's 4am and everyone is sleeping, but you... sucker.

When I'm bored I help to pass the time by looking online for samples and coupons.

Now that you have had that bit of background...

Getting to the point: In the last week alone I have gotten a ton of dog food, that I can't use.

The first 3 bags are of Proplan Selects puppy food. PetSmart had a sale on where the puppy food (and apparently all Proplan Selects earlier in the month) was $8.99 for a 5 pound bag. I had 3 coupons for $7.50 off. So for just over $5 including tax I got 3, 5 pound bags of dog food.

Dingle can't eat them, neither can my boyfriends 2 dogs, because they aren't puppies.

Then today/yesterday I've managed to get about 4, 2.5 lb bags (and 1, 3 lb bag) of Royal Canin Yorkie food. For free... again, from coupons. I was told that the 'mixture' or what have you, of the Yorkie formula is very similar to that of the other breeds... and general Royal Canin food. One person said I should feed Dingle it... but I don't think I will.

In less than a week I've accumulated about 25 pounds of dog food (and 4 cans of cat food) for (again) just over $5. I mean it's not necessarily the *best* pet food out there, but it is food nonetheless.

My plan is to keep accumulating for a while (since the food doesn't expire for at least another year) and then donate it. I'm looking for shelter suggestions or rescue suggestions.

I thought about giving it to people hard hit by the recession, or seniors on a tight budget... people who might be having a really hard time providing for their pets. The problem is that I don't want to post this on Craig's List (or anywhere similar) because it would be hard to verify the legitamacy of the *need* and I don't know anyone in my apartment building/neighbourhood that could use it. Therefore I'm looking for a rescue or shelter.

I really want to give it to an organization that needs it - that may not get a lot of other donations. Somewhere that will truly appreciate it. I've donated stuff before to a larger organization and they didn't seem to appreciate it... just got told to toss it "over there" and someone would get to it eventually.

The problem: the place I give it to needs to be downtown, easily accessable by TTC. I don't drive, so I'll be lugging all the crap on the TTC.

Suggestions?

Sleeping in the same bed as a dog that smells like Ketchup is gross.

It seems like I only have time to write in this blog when I'm at work... when it's a quiet night and I have some 'down' time.

What's new in the world of Dingle? He stinks like Ketchup.

I like Ketchup.

I like Pomeranians...

...but together, it's gross.

I came home from work this morning and Dingle decided that he wanted to sleep in the bed.

Usually Dingle wants to sleep anywhere but our bed (or in any of his 4 beds for that matter...)

Dingle will sleep half-under the bed... with his ass hanging out (ignore my boyfriend's mess there)




Or if he's lucky he'll tunnel his way underneath the bed... like in this picture where he's behind my boyfriend's pajama pants, beside the wall and in front of the storage bins.

Note: I think he likes to sleep under there because of his failing vision. The vet believes he has little vision at night... so I think Dingle may want to sleep under there because he feels safe and protected.

When he's not under the bed he's usually on the hardwood floor. Geeze Ding, you have so many beds, but you choose the floor.

Anyways, today he was in the bed and all I could smell was ketchup.

Why?

Well on Earth Day we went downtown to get our free Brita pitcher (they were handing them out... to get people to stop using bottled water).

My boyfriend and I took 2 of the dogs with us, for a little outing. While in the awful, awful long line (I don't think I'd do it again) my boyfriend had a hot dog - which was loaded with ketchup, mayo, onions, etc.

Well, before my boyfriend finished the hot dog, a huge drop of ketchup fell... right onto Dinglehopper who was sitting underneath him.

The pug/bulldog that was with us didn't seem interested in licking it out of his fur. I found this crazy, because that dog eats/licks anything. Literally... anything, don't get me started on that one.

I wiped it out as best as I could, but it was like the ketchup got lost in a maze of fluffy pom hair.

When I got home Dingle had a spot wash... so he's clean, but the ketchup smell continues to linger.

Of course this all happened only 1 week after his $60 grooming.

What has Dingle's puppy miller been up to the last 3 years?

A few years ago, when I first got Dinglehopper I learned, thanks to people at www.nopuppymills.com/www.petshoppuppies.org, how to request United States Department of Agriculture reports on Dingle's breeder and broker.

You are only able to request the documents for a 3 year period - so back then I requested them from July 2003-July 2006. They showed information such as how many dogs she bought in a 1 (business) year period, how many she sold, the total gross dollar amount from sales, etc.

On March 14th I requested them again - from July 2006-March 2009. They came today - super fast - last time I ordered them they took months. Though the Hunte Corporation ones (which I also requested March 14th) will take forever.

Let's see what Dingle's breeder was up to:

Before we begin, this isn't confidential information - it's all available through the Freedom of Information Act... all you have to do is request it.

So, on her March 2006 application for license she states that she purchase 13 dogs in the last business year and sold 103. The "total gross dollar amount derived from regulated activities (sales, booking fees, commissions, etc." was $23,186.15 (USD).

All she had to do is submit that information and a $235.00 renewal fee and boom, she's back in puppy mill business for another year.

Let's see what the following year had to bring: Her April 2007 application said she purchased (likely from the miller down the road) 26 dogs and sold 139. Slight increase. Money wise I'm happy to report that she made less - $22,690.38. Okay, maybe not all that much less.

Oh wait, what's this? She had an inspection on April 17th 2007 and she was in violation. Here's some of what it says:

"In the refrigerator in the main dog building West of the house, the following medications were found to be out of date. 1. One bottle of injectible Oxytocin, expired on 3/03. 2. One bottle of injectible Penecillin, expired in April 2006. All expired medications, which may no longer be effective or potentially harmful if given to the dogs, must be properly labelled, separated or discarded in a timely manner to prevent their accidental usage".

Hm. March 2003 the Oxytocin expired? Christ lady that was 4 years ago!

Luckily for Mrs. puppy miller she still got to keep her license and it was renewed the following year.

Let's check out May 2008's application:

She only bought 9 dogs. Oh, but wait, she sold 149. I wonder how many of those were fucked up? Bet there's a portion of them with luxating patellas and Progressive Retinal Atrophy. That business year she made $26,974.85.

She's due to submit a renewal application any time... should have held off on my request so I could have seen that one as well. I'll just request it in a few months, I guess. Does the recession hit puppy millers?

I hate this woman - even more so when a few years ago the Companion Animal Protection Society sent an undercover investigator out to her place and got hidden footage. I got to actually see the Amish puppy miller that she is. I heard the dogs barking non-stop and saw them in their chicken coops, pacing back and fourth going crazy.

Bitch!

Since I got Dinglehopper I've thought about writing her a letter or calling her (I've had her phone number in my cell for years)... but I didn't know what approach to take: the "fuck you, you puppy miller" approach or to pretend I had no idea she was evil and take a "As a reputable breeder I thought you'd like to know how one of your puppies is doing".

Suggestions?

So, if anyone has a pet shop puppy from the USA and wants to trace it's origin here's what you do:

Send an EMail to foia.officer@aphis.usda.gov and say something like this:

" I would like to request all USDA inspection reports on the following individuals: (breeder USDA licence number, individual name, business name, address). Please include all information available under the Freedom of Information Act, including actual inspections, pictures, correspondences, administrative actions, warnings, or any other information available. I'd like to request this information for the following time period - (3 year period)"

Make sure to include your address. You can also submit this request through their website, but it was down when I requested them this year.

Noodles

I work overnights as a social worker... and I'm very lucky that Dinglehopper loves to sleep.

He'll sleep all night with my boyfriend. When I get home in the morning he'll go outside for a very brief walk, will do his 'business' and we'll head back inside.

Once inside he'll get his 'dinner'... and I'll have to sit next to him for the next 20 minutes while he slowly pecks away at his food.

He needs lots of encouragement, so to speak, at times... how long does it take to eat 1/3 of a cup of food? In Dingle's world a long time. I'd leave him to eat on his own but he'd starve... because my boyfriend's dogs (pug mixes, huge pigs) would eat it all.

So it comes down to "Dingle... eat your dinner"

(5 minutes pass)

"DINGLE... dinner!"

(Dingle picks up a kibble and holds it in his mouth for a few seconds)

(Dingle spits it out and looks at it)

(Then he picks the kibble back up and bites it in half)

(Out come both halves... Dingle sniffs both and eventually picks one half up and eats it)

...

and we continue that way for a long period of time and then its bed time.

I know Dingle is really attached to me and loves me, but someone explain to me why that requires him to curl up on the pillow beside me, with his butt hole mere inches from my face. Ew.

Okay, insert jokes here about Dinglehopper's "dingleberries"... for the record, no, he doesn't have them. If he gets 'messy' he gets a bath, pronto. He also gets groomed fairly regularly to keep his butt hair under control.

Anyways... luckily he eventually decides that it's more fun to sleep under the bed... tucked away in behind the under-the-bed storage containers.

Before work tonight I gave the dogs a cookie and as I was leaving said "be good Dingle" (translation don't piss on the leg of the coffee table)

2 seconds later he looks at me, starts marking a wretching sound and barfs up a multigrain pasta noodle and then goes back to staring at me. Where he got that noodle, who knows. Suprisingly the cookie he had just eaten stayed down...

I'm still at work... but am hoping that the puked up pasta wasn't a sign of more 'fun' Dingle had in store for me... maybe it was his way of saying "Screw you... don't work, stay home with me".

Sorry Dinglehopper - vet visits, leg surgeries, etc. aren't free... the money has to come from somewhere...