Time to buy Black Jack's food
I buy Merrick canned food for Black Jack, and alternate between four flavors: venison, buffalo, salmon/venison, and chicken (senior, even though she's not a senior yet.) It's a bit of a struggle, as the store that seems to work best for me is in North Van. (This is the only food shopping I do, but more on that later.) That means loading the cans (12 at a time) into my panniers and carrying them over two bridges and a couple of hills. The biggest struggle, though, is wondering if she's getting the best nutrition possible. Raw food is very much encouraged at this store, but Scott ate raw for six years, and his demise came, not with joint problems, nor with a disease like Cancer, but instead, with degenerative myopathy. He carried on for three years after being diagnosed, never in pain, and happy to his last day, but slowly losing his motor functions. I took him off raw, because at 13, he suddenly refused to eat it any more. I put him on a so-called inferior diet, GD senior Hills diet, ordered from the vet. That vet wanted to sell me the Canadian version of GD, but a few tries proved that this also did not agree with Scott. I had had amazing success using GD with Kim, my BC/Shepherd before Scott. I started her on it at age 12, and all of her hot spots disappeared, and she went on to live an amazingly healthy life until age 18. That was all I had to go on, but, as with Kim, the GD seemed to give Scott new life. His myopathy didn't go away, but his pancreatitis went into remission as long as he was fed small meals every four hours, and his appetite returned big time. Anyhow, all this to say I still feel guilty not feeding raw, but just can't bring myself to do it. (Any comments welcome.)
And now, I really must apologize for the quality of these pictures. My only excuse was lack of time, great excitement, and poor attention/focus. Still, they do tell the story, so I guess I have to be satisfied with that for now.
The first sight I saw as I entered the store
There's something about seeing a grown man cuddling a tiny little puppy that just warms my heart. My bike was parked right at the door, and this kind gentleman agreed to wait while I ran for my camera.
And then he put the puppy down.
Just beginning to get his legs under him, but ready to explore.
Then, I saw...
How many were there? Do you know, I never got them all in one picture. There were always at least two others running around the store. I know there were two pups, but as for adults, I'm still not sure.
Then, the two pups found my feet.
I'm not proud of these big feet, but the size comparison was too much to pass up.
This little guy meant business.
All I could do was giggle and snap photos. The lady with the pugs was still busy collecting her goods and paying the bill, so I had free license to take a lot of pics.
Then, Dora the Explorer arrived.
The Pugs sounded the alarm. Dora looked a bit concerned.
The rucas was deafening. It was seconds from closing time. The clerks kept smiling. I kept snapping. There is seriously nothing in this for me, but I have to insert a comment that the people at this store are knowledgeable, patient and always have time for your questions.
Dora's human bit the bullet and entered the store.
The pugs immediately went into "meet and greet" mode. Dora was cautious, but so-o-o well behaved. Ah, a stuffy toy, just like the ones at home.
Uh, no, Dora. No chewing on this one, please.
The pups were on to more exciting things.
Pet stores are just about the greatest place to be. Pretty well every dog I've ever known, will agree. (I can think of only two exceptions, but their story is for another day.)
Time for the ride home.
All the dogs followed their person to the car, leashless, except for the two babes, who were carried. One of the adults still had to do its business, and this one, in the car, wanted everyone assembled together. The expression on its face was priceless. I tried to get my reflection out of the pic, but no luck. Finally, lady and pugs drove off into the sunset.
Yes! Some attention for me! I've been a model citizen. Has anyone noticed?
I talked with Dora's human and found out that Dora is only five months old. Talk about eager to please. Those eyes said, "I'll do anything, anything you want. Just help me figure out what that is."
And one pic for the road. Isn't she gorgeous?
I paid my bill, and set out for home. I thought a bit about doing this blog. Only one of the Pugs was a rescue, and there is a part of me that wishes a good home could be found for every dog on earth that needs one, before breeding any more. However, this Pug lady was doing a lot of things right. The lady in the pet store told me that the dogs go everywhere with their human, sleep in her bed, and are the best socialized Pugs she has ever seen. The Pugs are bred only once, at the age of three and a half years. No puppy mill here. These are happy, happy, well-adjusted dogs. And cute factor? No argument about that, except from Dora, who possesses more than a little charm, herself. Another day's adventures, and a story to tell.
In closing, another thing about Bill..
Remember how I told you about a pretty much perfect day, yesterday? Well I forgot to mention that this is what I came home to at the end of the day. Bill cooks and does all the grocery shopping too!!! Every night, I come home to the table set, wine poured, and an absolutely delicious and super healthy supper. I didn't take a picture of the fresh pineapple he had cut up for desert. It was gobbled up too quickly. Oh my, do I ever count my lucky stars. I broke my arm back in January (not on the bike) and that's when Bill began cooking and shopping, and he hasn't stopped. Life is good, I tell you!
My meal, topped with Mrs. Dash, Brendan Brazier's special oil, and fresh lime.
Broccoli, red chard, yams, carrots, asparagus, tofu, and brown rice. Yum!!! Note: I eat twice as much as Bill on most days. No room to put the amazing salad on my plate yet, but it has spinach, apples, tomatoes, grated carrot, black beans, and of course, lime. We love lime!
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