Thistle is currently my oldest cat.  She turned seventeen on June 14 of this year.  She was originally a birthday present for my mother.  That lasted about two weeks.  Mom wasn’t up for kitten-hood.  This is exactly why they tell you not to give critters as gifts!

She was an adorable kitten, and was, and still is, just as sweet as she could be….but Thistle has some issues.  When she was younger, she got an inner ear infection which left her with a mild head-tilt, and for some reason after that she began sticking her paw in the water bowl and licking the water off her paw instead of just drinking.  No one knows if the two are connected, but it is what it is.  She used to love to play with the toilet water too.  I finally had to tell everyone who came over to put the lid back down because I got tired of the whole bathroom getting doused!  

A few years ago she got ‘gotten’ by one of the dogs that comes here for daycare (we didn’t know the magnitude of his prey drive for kitties).  Because of that, she has nerve damage which leaves her a little…unsteady.  You can only pet the top of her head…anywhere else will send her back legs into a kicking frenzy, then she will shake her head and nearly fall over, because her front feet will slide out from underneath her on a slick surface.  It’s sad, yet I admit it can be a little comical at times. If there is one thing this little gal has taught me, it is about overcoming adversity!

I absolutely loved the dog in question, so I told his parents to hold off on daycare for two weeks while I figure out how to keep it from happening again.  It began with keeping the cats in my bedroom, but the litter boxes were downstairs in the basement…hmmmm.  So, the only logical thing to do was to cut a hole in my closet floor and build cat walks along the basement ceiling and walls so they could have the run on of the basement as well.  That’s logical, right???

Pardon the unfinished walls and ceiling, but I had to draw the line somewhere!

Then, that wasn’t enough so I bought a cat door for the basement window, and I fenced off the area immediately around the house and under the deck so that the cats could have their own yard and the dogs couldn’t get to them.  

Then, that still wasn’t enough (guilt is an amazing motivator), so I began converting one of the rooms in my basement into a ‘Cat Room’.  I laid vinyl flooring, bought several 1×6 boards and 4×4 posts, and cut and covered them with carpet.  I then mounted them on the walls to make ramps and shelves for the cats to climb on.  A few pieces of cat furniture and some cat beds later, and their cat room/my exercise room was completed!

It may seem crazy to a lot of you…I don’t know, maybe it is.  But to me it’s love.  I love my clients and I love my critters.  If I had to do it all over again, or something even crazier, I would.  For every problem there is a solution.  You just need to get creative and remember to do it out of love.

And then there’s Liam…..

  This is Liam.

Liam is a 10 yr. old Yorkie that weighs barely more than 5 lbs., but has a TON of attitude!  He is tiny!  I refer to him as my ‘half dog,’ partly because he is so small and partly because he is half mine.  He was my best friend/roommate’s dog and when she moved across country she couldn’t take him with her.  So, he became our ‘.5 addition’.  He has fully earned the respect of every Boogervillain, native and honorary, because of his giant personality.  

Liam enjoys the finer things in life.  He relishes in taking naps, sunbathing on the deck, going on walk-about around the yard (hey, that’s a long walk when you’re that small!)  But alas, Liam has a darker side…He’s a stuffed toy rapist. No stuffed toy is safe around him, although he does have a favorite…his stuffed zebra ass.  Yes, Liam has a toy ass! Hahahaha!  I kid you not!!  Look, here it is…

Hahahahaha!!!  You thought I was kidding, right?  I had to toss it to him after I took that picture because he saw me with it!  But hey, everyone has a vice! Liam’s just happens to be a little disturbing…hmmm.

His other favorite hobby, when he’s awake, is looking out the front window for cars or people going by.  Then he gives one quick yip and all the other dogs go running out the dog door to go bark at them in the yard.  That is, until I get to the door and give a sharp ‘HEY’ to stop them in their tracks, LOL!!!  The funniest part is that the other dogs get stuck in the dog door because they have no concept of ‘one at a time’!  Whenever I turn back to Liam to scold him he is just sitting there, paws crossed, with the sliest looking snicker on his face.  It always ends with saying ‘you’re proud of yourself, aren’t you?’

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know the native Canine Boogervillains.  In the next few posts I’ll tell you about the Feline Boogervillains.  Thanks again for reading and we’ll be seeing you soon!

   This is Cracker.

I adopted Cracker on Dec. 11, 2015.  He was a neighborhood dog whose owner would let him run loose for months.  He was returned once by one neighbor and the owner asked him if he wanted him.  He was then taken in for a night by another neighbor and returned, then captured again by yet another neighbor who called animal control.  They picked him up and posted his picture on their facebook page in an attempt to find the owner.  We all knew who the owner was but no one said a word because we knew he didn’t want him…that’s when my ‘Sucker Light’ came on.

I contacted Animal Control and began the adoption process.  It took a few weeks to process and in the meantime Cracker was attacked by another large male dog while at the shelter.  He was okay, but he began showing signs of fear aggression when they took him to the vet to be neutered.   Because I was supposed to pick him up from the vet that afternoon, they informed me of his reaction to seeing other dogs in the waiting room and said that they would understand if I wanted to change my mind about adopting him.  I called the vet mid-day to see how he was doing and they said he had shown no aggression with any humans or dogs in the back.  I then knew that is was fear-based and that me and my boys, whom he had already met, could help him get over it.  So I picked him up that evening and brought him home.  

  (Gargoyle on guard!)

I am not going to lie…I was concerned because he is a pitbull.  Not because I ever thought they are bad dogs, I know several pits and they are very sweet.  But, they are pits, nonetheless.  They are a very powerful breed that have the power and the strength to do damage.  They need an alpha leader.  I call myself The Alpha Chic, but even I can lose my mojo from time to time.  I wondered if I had what it takes…

I already had a Meet & Greet procedure for new dogs in place so I started with that for him as well.  I let all of my existing clients know that we would be repeating that process for Cracker when they brought their dogs by.   Everyone agreed and it worked great.  Cracker was a bit too excited at first but we just waited for everyone to completely calm down and he did fine!  

…Oh, and by the way, he was terrified of my cats at first,  HAHAHAHA!!!  

There were 2 dogs, however, who were particularly cocky and who each showed their teeth to either Cracker or the other boys.  He tolerated it at first but then he had had enough…my Alpha-Chickness was to be tested and I passed!!!  I diffused the situation each time and added some tools and steps to my Meet & Greet process.  Now Cracker knows that I am in control and don’t need him to step in.  He has also learned that when his ‘greeting Leash’ goes on him, he is to stay calm.

 (Sunbathing/napping)

Cracker has completely stolen my heart because he is such a goofy lovebug.  His favorite hobbies are sunbathing and napping, which he can do at the same time…  And oh, he snores when he is awake haha!!  He had almost perfect indoor manners right from the start, making him one my easiest adoptions ever as far as training and learning my rules.  He has been a wonderful addition to our band of Boogervillains!

  (Just plain dashing!)

This is Jack.

Jack came to live with me in 2009 when a friend posted on the neighborhood forum that he needed a home because she could no longer keep up with him.  That wording alone should have sent up a red flag for me but obviously, I missed it!

I told her to bring him by to meet Munster and we’ll see how they get along.  She showed up with his food, bed and toys, stayed for 20 minutes and said ‘they seem to be getting along fine.’  …Then she ran like hell!  Hahaha!!!

Jack is a sheltie that has a lazy ear and he is too tall for breed standards.  He’s a show reject, basically.  But I don’t care about that because his personality is larger than life!  Anyone who knows shelties knows that they are springy, cocky, mouthy dogs and Jack is a typical sheltie.

He is also part goat…he will eat ANYTHING!  I now have ‘step’ trash cans because he would eat the trash.  I don’t leave any clothing, paper, tissues, rubber bands, plastic…anything, laying on the floor…or on my night stand, for that matter, because it will be consumed!  When I walk the dogs, he is constantly trying to eat the tall grass on the side of the road.  He has mastered grabbing a clump of grass in his mouth and eating it on the go!

He is also a tire biter…he runs the fence when cars go by.  Some of my neighbors used to rev their engines and egg him on!  When we go for walks the neighbors like to stop and chat, but while we’re talking they will roll their vehicle back and forth just to make him go crazy over the tires moving…

Jack goes Commando all year round and he LOVES it!  He has a collection of sweatshirts for the colder months.  I keep him shaved…short, because he gets so hot that he sleeps on my a/c vents and makes my electric bill go through the roof.  I have to go almost down to his skin because his undercoat is too thick for any clipper guard, but, he also gets hot spots so keeping him shaved alleviates that.  I’ll have to get someone to take a video of him after I’ve shaved and bathed him because it is so funny.  He runs around the house and yard barking like “I’m naked!!  Look at my junk!!!”  We’re both happier with him naked so it’s a win-win!

Hey!  It’s about function, not fashion!  Notice the flag on the end of his tail…I love it!!!

Thanks again for reading and stay tuned to meet the rest of my Band of Miscreants!