Macintosh Tech Support Since 1995
Animals
Franna
Feb 18th
I remember the day (Sep, 15th 2000) Karen called me and said, “Since you don’t want a Dog can Allyson have a cat?” I said yes and they brought her home. She was sickly and Karen nursed her and bathed her daily until she was better. Franna was considered a mean cat and only like Allyson and Karen. If I tried to pet her more than 2 times in a row she would growl and start to hiss. But Allyson, could pick her up, flip her upside down, dress her up, whatever she wanted.
Yesterday Franna was sick and acting very weird so we took her to the Vet. They said she was indeed very sick and put her on an I.V. We called before they closed to check on her and they said she had sat up which was good because she couldn’t hours earlier. On Karen and Allyson’s way to check on her this morning (Feb. 18th 2009) the Vet called and said Franna died at 10am.
Most of these photos were taken in 2006 by Allyson after dressing up Franna. They loved each other.
Just me and Dixie
Jun 12th
I dropped my wife and kids off yesterday to go to a camp for the week. So it’s just me and Dixie this week.
Dixie, if you remember was a surprise to me and apparently only me.
Finding a Toothpick in a Haystack
May 2nd
Karen and I were standing on our patio in the front of our house. She brought Dixie (the puppy) out so I followed her. We had just finished eating and I had a toothpick in my mouth.
When I was done with the toothpick I flicked it into the yard next to us. Which is for sale and the yard is covered in straw. Karen asked why I flicked it in the yard because the puppy could get it.
I said “That’s why I flicked it way over there, so she wouldn’t find it in our yard and choke on it”. About 4 minutes later here comes Dixie with the toothpick in her mouth.
I busted out laughing wondering how in the world she found my toothpick in all that straw? Maybe my scent was on it, regardless I was very surprised.
Bowler is no longer with us.
Oct 3rd
I’m surprised by how sad I am.
Bowler was with us since last Friday and showed a huge amount of potential but a flaw began to show itself.
While he learned at a very fast rate and appeared to make himself at home within a few days we had a recurring problem, strangers.
We got him at the age of 6 months from Karen’s sister where he lived outside with a bunch of other dogs and he was the pup of the group.
We believe that something in the first 6 months set him up for social failure. He wouldn’t let strangers anywhere near him.
My daughter has a best friend who is at our house regularly but Bowler never accepted her. He growled at her several times this week even after she had petted him. But today he lunged at her and began barking at her. Not once but twice, I lost any trust I had in him. I explained this to Karen when she got home and she decided based on this and other incidents through the week to take him back where we got him from.
He never really misbehaved around just us but he had a unhealthy attachment to Karen and no strangers could come near him, that included my sister and niece, the neighbors and guys building the house next to us. I don’t believe that he would have hurt Allyson, Karen or myself but once the trust was gone it was hard to justify him being here. We read a lot of info related to aggressive dogs and this one area was the only one he fell in. We believe that he began to recognize our house and yard as his and started to become more confident and protect it from that which did not belong. But he was timid and aggressive towards those people we welcomed in our home. This unfortunately was not the kind of dog Karen wanted.
I’m really surprised at how attached I became to him in such a short period of time, he really was a lot of fun to play with and have around and he was smart. We’ve looked back at the entire week and read info about dogs and can honestly say that I don’t think we did anything wrong. But professional help was going to be required and that was something else Karen was not interested in.
This is really hard for me because once I claim something as mine I don’t like others to be responsible for it, which explains the black cat I have (don’t ask). So now a dog that I accepted responsibility for is at someone else’s house being taken care of by them. I know he won’t be mistreated but he will also be in the company of other dogs.
My daughter took it kinda hard at first that we weren’t keeping him but she’s better now. Karen will probably take the longest to get over it. Me, I don’t really know.
AFTER SAYING NO FOR SO LONG, I FINALLY GAVE IN.
Sep 26th
We now have a dog (Bowler). But not just any dog.
My wife and I agreed to getting a smart dog, and since her sister had a mutt pup that was mostly German Shepherd I agreed that we could bring it home.
He’s 6 months old, weighs almost 60lbs and has larger feet than his father. From what we have seen so far is that he is extremely intelligent and patient.
I’ve only heard him bark twice in the 3 days we’ve had him and he’s already house broken. He has an attachment to Karen that will require some training to alter because right now he must be next to her.
I think with his ability to learn and Karen’s training he will turn out to be a great dog.
Cat Bed
Jun 20th
First I measured the window (34″) and then I went and found an animal cushion close to that size and would fit properly.
It was a simple matter of using high grade 3/4″ plywood, wood molding, molding corners, wood glue, a few nails and some white spray paint.
After it was finished I screwed it into the window sill with 3″ wood screws and added the two support brackets.
Pictured below is my cat Brisco and he is a large tomcat.
I have three large cats and two of them fit comfortably in the bed.
The corner post make nice face scratchers.
