Wayne's Zoo: June 2005

Silver gets a Himalayan companion!

I picked up a two-year old female Himalyan tonight. She's beautiful... a champagne color and very gentle but hiding out somewhere... I introduced her to the closet and when I put in some tuna she was testing out the electronic kitty litter box. She has some mattes to be worked on but not as bad as Silver was. Her name is Isabella but I think I'll probably change that as Anna said she doesn't come to it anyway... I'm convinced cats only come to "Kitty". And then, of course, only when they want to... or when you are near the refrigerator where the tuna is kept.

Think I'll just get them both spayed although the woman tonight had seven of the cutest kittens that were two weeks old... she's bottle fed them since the time they were two days old and were found in a trunk. They had told her she'd be lucky if half of them lived and they all lived. They were mewing and running all over the table as soon as she opened the cage. She works at the SPCA and was at Petco doing dog adoptions yesterday and this woman brought this Himalayan cat up and said her boyfriend was allergic (the usual story) and Anna told her the SPCA is full of cats and can't take any more until some get adopted out and she should take her to Lied and she said she didn't know where Lied was nor Mojave and just dumped the cat there... funnily enough, the cat had got its shots at Lied! So she lied about Lied. I did find out that the SPCA has taken over the Dewey space when the county closed it and not all the dogs got sent to Death Row at Lied.

Orchid was one of Lucy's three pups that I kept... she went blind at seven years old and coped with it amazingly well... she got Cushing's Disease and then kidney failure and died in September 2003.

Snowball, Spuds, Ricky and Princess at Viva Las Vegastamps! Spuds died of a heart attack in May of 2005 and I was devastated as he was a person in a dog's coat... my Bichons have posed for many of the rubber stamps I sell on our Web Site at www.stampo.com/catalog Just type BICHON in the SEARCH box to bring up thumbnails of the pages they're on... and then click on the thumbnail to bring to full size. My dogs are with me 24/7... if the dogs can't go there, I don't go there!

My Bichon Frise, Princess... daughter of Lucy and French Fry.

Heaven

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying
the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He
remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead
for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road.

It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill it was broken
by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing
before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like
Mother of Pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like
pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got
closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close
enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked. "Of
course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right
up."

The man gestured, and the gate began to open.

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the
traveler asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and
continued the way he had been going with his dog. After another
long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road
which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed.

There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside,
leaning against a tree and reading a book.

"Excuse me!" he called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there". The man pointed to a place
that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump." They went through the gate,
and sure enough, there was an old fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.

The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink himself, then he
gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree waiting for them.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked. "This is Heaven,"
he answered. "Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope.
That's Hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"

"No. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that
they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."

Auntie Helen has just brought me a silly parrot puppet to play with... I wonder if I can catch it?

This parrot is really starting to annoy me!

Take that and that and that you dumb parrot... you may not be a squirrel but you're just about as good.

I'm gonna pulverize this stupid parrot!

Sugar and Ricky in back... Snowball and Princess in front... Dad moved something on the camera and now we're all pink!

Sugar is looking a little pink today!

Well, okay, you can pet me... but I'd really prefer tuna!

Is that tuna I see coming?

I think I'm beautiful from ANY angle!

Okay, you guys, stay away from my tuna!

Li'l Herman... you stay away from my tuna! It's Mine! You hear me? Mine, mine, mine... all mine!

This is where I come to have my tuna in peace... in the dogs' bathtub... but now Li'l Herman has started jumping up to finish off my tuna that I was saving for later!

We need more cats in this house!

Silver thinks dogs are silly!

Silver's giving Li'l Herman the eye as if to say she's STILL not quite sure what he is!

Li'l Herman's enjoying his new rope moose Uncle Ed and Aunt Linda gave him... now he can play tug of war with Dad with his moose instead of Dad's underwear or towel. His moose squeaks sometimes too! That's Lucy behind him and Ricky's standing on the floor.

And here's an aerial view of Li'l Herman.
From: David Fritz
To: Stampo
Sent: Friday, June 17, 2005 3:27 PM
Subject: Re: Herman
I don't think you could have gotten a better dog if you had genetically engineered one. He is so playful and full of life. I remember well not being able to sleep much past 6AM with him... he'd be rolling and romping around on the bed wanting to have his tummy rubbed, nuzzling my armpit and neck, and licking me wherever he could find some bare skin on my arm or chest. When I'd get out of bed, I'd usually find most of the clothes that were in the laundry basket scattered around the walk-in closet floor. He is a "teacher" type personality... teaches his human how to have fun and laugh a little, and most importantly about love, loyalty, and devotion. Most other dogs (i.e. Augie) are "guidance" companions... They will be by your side through life's up and downs, but don't expect them to "teach" you how to deal with those same ups and downs by example. Herman isn't just one in a million... he's one of a kind ... period.

Stampo wrote:
When I had him weighed at the vet, he still weighed 19.8 pounds... they "straightened" the kink out of his hair yesterday so he looks a little bigger... he got a new toy with rope on it and LOVES it... it's a moose that squeaks and we can play tug of war with it... he goes nuts in the morning and wants to play... I couldn't put my underwear on the other morning as he wouldn't let go of it and then yesterday, he had my towel and wouldn't let it go so this morning, he had great fun with his new toy. He's SUCH a delightful dog... so playful and happy... I still can't get over how he just fit himself right in... you fostered him real good!
Stampo
For a Good Time, visit www.stampo.com

Li'l Herman and Silver... love how Li'l Herman lies with his legs behind him.

Li'l Herman had his first grooming yesterday and boy, does he look good... the groomer says they're going to have to muzzle him in the future as he didn't like it at all when they were doing his head and his bum... I said I didn't like it when they did my bum either! She does another Coton de Tulear and says that dog is the same... I wonder how long the curl will stay out of his hair... all got a bath except Sugar who is keeping herself so remarkably white she didn't need one. Silver got her LAST matte out and purred all the time as I was holding her... she's finally out of heat so I need to get her spayed now before she goes into heat again... she wasn't a happy camper and I can't find a boyfriend for her. She's looking very beautiful due to all the brushing I've been doing. Li'l Herman got two new toys today as he's taken to playing tug of war each morning... yesterday, I couldn't get my underwear on as he wouldn't let go of it and today he got my towel and had a tug of war with me with that... yesterday, we had to make a delivery to Las Vegas Art Stamps and there happened to be a couple of big trucks beside us and he barked and barked at them... just like when his foster dad took him to pick up the Bichon in Texas. He's such a little clown. He kisses me on the lips just like Spuds did... pushed his lips right into mine... sometimes a little tongue but most often just a dry kiss... I think Spuds must have sent him to me... he jumps up on chairs just like Spuds did... when I sit at the kitchen table to cushion my rubber, he gets up on a chair and sits beside me... and now he's learned to jump into the dog bathtub where I give Silver her tuna each day and clean out the dish of any remnants left by her... I discovered Silver's original name was Angel which would have been a good name for her... I sure didn't like Skittles!

Lucy's on the bed... Ricky's on the floor and that's Herman's tail in front of Lucy.

Princess showing off her champagne ear.

Princess doesn't look too happy with all the new animals in the house! But she's actually starting to play with Li'l Herman despite her older age...

And here's an aerial view of Princess.

Lucy and Ricky looking in opposite directions from the picture below...

Lucy and Ricky feel a lot better after their bath... Lucy's in the front and is Ricky's sister and also the mother of Princess.

Snowball is about 15 and has lived with us for nearly six years since her owner died and she was going to be put to sleep... she has arthritis but her rimadyl is a wonder drug and Dad has put two steps up to the bed so she can get up easily. Lucy and Ricky find the steps an easy way to get up now too since they're 15 as well... and even Princess has decided to take the easy way up... Li'l Herman and Sugar have NO trouble jumping straight up onto the bed.

Snowball feels a lot better after her bath yesterday.

Sugar the Pound Puppy didn't need a bath yesterday as she keeps herself so white and clean.

Li'l Herman stretching his legs in Texas... eyeing a Squirrel no doubt!

Sugar stays so snowy white we think she must bleach herself! She's the Pound Puppy... behind her is Lucy, sister to Ricky and mother to Princess.

Li'l Herman and Stampo discuss a problem with a a customer's order.

"Well Herman, what's the total weight of the shipment?"

"Let's see now... 1.8 ounces per stamp, and there's 643 stamps in the order... hmmmmm... hmmmmm... carry the 1... hmmmmm... round up... and the answer is... hmmmmm... I'VE GOT IT! Elevendy-seven ounces... just a tick over 73 pounds!"