Sadness

I didn't really want to write this post but I can't get it out of my head. So here goes:

I want to talk about sadness. It amazes (and saddens) me how many of my animal friends who seem so full of sunshine, who make me smile when I need it most, struggle with deep, dark, long sadness. Sometimes they tweet something so you know what they're going through. Sometimes they just disappear for a few days or a few months and all you can do is send a message, hope they respond, hope they're alright.

This is hard for us because we like to help-I think most anipals fit in that category. But this kind of sadness is a slippery, tricksy thing because while I think we all can relate to it, it remains unique to every person who goes through it. Meaning that the only person who can fix it, is the one whom it's affecting. Those on the outside are more or less helpless. All we can do is care, offer to lend an ear or a shoulder, and pray.

I think so many anipals experience this sadness because anipals tend to be a very open, sensitive group. I believe we gravitate toward the anipal community because it feels very safe and loving. However, once in a while there is drama or a misunderstanding or an intentional fight. It's hard for me to see this (well, it's hard for me to see, period, but you know what I mean) because it doesn't accomplish anything. Sure, there are times when I disagree with someone or heck, even know for a fact they are just plain wrong. But if I find myself about to tweet a response, I usually erase it. I'm not a milquetoast by any means, but what does it accomplish asides from hurt feelings? Is it worth ruining someone's day to prove a point? So unless it's a very big deal and/or is directed at me, I usually just keep my paws quiet.

By all means, if something is important to you, speak up. But please keep in mind that we don't always know what the other person is going through and so we can't know the impact our words might have.

Brofurs

Sooo today I was chatting with my pal BorisKitty and we were talking about how I became blind.

So we started talking about cats and claws and things of that nature. I told Boris about how sometimes the debil kittehs will swat at my ears or tail when I walk by (they don't use their claws, though).

Girl's been a little photo/video-happy since getting a new phone, and we just happened to find this video...

Of Mice and Massages

I have told you some about my friend Wickie-sama:



Anyway, she is about five years old, I think, but she acts like an old lady. When she was little she did jump off a moving ATV and she hurt her shoulder. It never really healed properly and she has a habit of running around on just three legs. But lately it seems to be causing her more trouble...so much so that she doesn't want to go outside to potty because she can't get back up the steps and through the dog door to come back inside. We were all starting to worry about her because she seemed very stiff and stove up and acted grouchy and painful.

The Girl, I may have mentioned before, is a massage therapist. She signed up for a canine massage home study course a while ago and was super excited about it, but when she watched the video she didn't even make it through 10 minutes because the dog in the video kept trying to escape and it was too distracting. Girl didn't want to learn the type of massage a dog wanted to escape from! So she kept searching and tried a new class and liked this one better immediately. She couldn't wait to try it on Wickie-sama.

So Girl studied her video and picked Wickie up and to everyone's surprise, Wickie sat and let the Girl do the ENTIRE massage routine! This is pretty unusual because the routine is a bit much for a dog's attention span in the beginning so it typically takes a few sessions for the dog to get used to the whole thing. But not Wickie! Girl even did the gum massage and the around-the-eye massage and the leg range-of-motion...everything! She completed her closing strokes and Wickie looked at her, licked her hand three times as if to say, "Thanks!" then hopped off Girl's lap and took a nap (which is the result you kinda want).

Now you may be thinking this is nice and all, but what of it? Well, Girl has given Wickie-sama several massages now...and Wickie is going up stairs again and today she went on a walk with us for the first time in MONTHS AND MONTHS! We couldn't believe it! This was very exciting good news!

Girl is working on the last bit of her certification and she hopes she can keep massaging Wickie and that Wickie will continue to improve...and that she can help more and more dogs too! As for me, I hope Wickie gets all better soon so that way it's MY turn for a massage of these days!

Play-n-Squeak Montage

So you already know I sleep with a Play-N-Squeak mousie every night and I love their toys. Well we hit the jackpot when the Girl got us three new fuzzy Play-N-Squeak animals from CatToys.com!

I got my squeaky raccoon this morning at work. I played fetch with it all day! (Don't bother with the sound on the videos, you can't hear the squeaks for some reason)



Then we got home and Kenshin had his turn!



Then Girl looked away for a second and Ein stole it. And got it all slobbery. Gross.



Again, it specifically says this is not a dog toy on the packaging, so I can't encourage other dogs to get them. But they sure are fun!

Cupcakes

To welcome our new bear properly, we decided to bake some cupcakes today. (If you're a fan of cupcakes, I suggest you follow my friend @Poooldiii's blog "Fueled By Cupcakes." There are some really tasty recipes there for you to try!)

Before we could get to baking, we had to go to the store for some ingredients:

Back at home, the Bear was anxious to help


He insisted on supervising to make sure we got all the ingredients in mixer


Now to wait for them to bake


Oh look! The Girl even made some mini cupcakes that are perfectly bear-sized!



Whaddya think, Bear? Uh, Bear..?


Hmm. I guess he didn't want the little cupcakes.

Now that all the cupcakes are gone, time to do the dishes. I'm sure Bear will want to help, right? ...Right?

Happy Birthday!

Sooo today is the Girl's birthday. I can't remember if I told this story before, but we celebrate my birthday today too. A million years ago, I was the Girl's birthday present! Or was she my birthday present?! (Technically I was born in February, but I'm a dog and don't count very well.)

For several days now, we had a package from designer extraordinaire @SnuffyNorton but on the outside it said "Don't Open Til May 1st." It was really really hard to wait. Girl and I are not patient and don't follow instructions very well...especially where our curiosity's concerned! (Must be contagious from hanging out with all those curious raccoons, huh?)

But we managed to wait...til midnight this morning, so it was "officially" May 1st. Hehehe. And what was in that box? Hmm...

It was a Bearmani Bear! And with his fashionable red hoodie and brown fur, I thought he looked a lot like my pal @i_am_fuzzy. But our bear had something special with him in the box...a card! He was a gift from our good friend @marshallsheldon (who I think is a brown bear himself)! We were so excited, but also kind of tired from staying up late to open the package...

But today we celebrated with an anime marathon...the Girl does love watching her anime. Bear started out just sitting on the couch next to her...


But then he decided to sit between us. I think he really enjoyed the anime...I enjoyed it too, but, well, anime marathons make me kind of sleepy:

So I think Bear enjoyed his first real day with us, celebrating our birthdays. If we can get the Girl off her lazy bum, we might make cupcakes tomorrow! I can't eat them, but teddies like cupcakes, right? I hope?

Oh, and his name isn't really "Bear." But we're trying to let him get acclimated before we all decide on a name for him. I'm sure once he gets comfortable here he'll think of a good name to share with us!

Thanks to everyone who tweeted birthday wishes! Thanks to @ZackRabbit who dedicated his cooking show today to the Girl. Thank you @SnuffyNorton for making us such a great new friend and a big thank you to @marshallsheldon for having him sent to us! What a great birthday!