One of These Things is Not Like the Others

Do you see it?

 

My job is seldom boring. Here is the strangest call of the week: Someone called 911 to report a pig running down the street. The pig was wearing a harness and dragging a leash behind it. I went to the reported location and sure enough, there was a pig wearing a harness.

Even though pigs aren't allowed in the City, I wasn't surprised. Why? Because it was a Monday. What are your Mondays like?

 

It's Wordless Wednesday! Hop around and see what others are sharing today. -- K

I Swear It's True!

From time to time I share my crazy work stories. I swear they're true (seriously, I'm not that imaginative). However, I do change names and identifying facts to protect myself. It's a strange job, but it pays the bills so I'd like to keep it. With that in mind, welcome to my crazy world . . .

 

Not my raccoo

I received a call over the radio. The dispatcher said there was a sick raccoon in the backyard of 1410 State Street. I was met by a young woman. She told me she used to work for a veterinarian, so she knew the raccoon was rabid. I grabbed my catch pole and told her to stay back. When I approached the raccoon I saw that it was missing part of its left ear, had a large scrape on its left side, and the left rear leg appeared to be broken. The poor thing was a mess. I gently scooped it up and put it in a transfer cage. As I returned to my truck the young woman said, "It's lethargic, it walks funny and is out during the day. It definitely has rabies." I told her I thought it was probably hit by a car. She was flabbergasted.

 

I had a woman call last week to report that her cat was missing. She was in a panic. She had recently moved to the area and was afraid her cat didn't know how to get home. I loaned her a trap and suggested she bait it with her cat's favorite food. I gave her some tips and told her not to worry, the cat was probably within a three block radius and I suspected it would show up in the next few days. She was still frantic. She called me everyday and I told her the same thing every time. Long story short . . . The woman called a pet psychic. She spent $80 for the psychic to tell her to put the trap on the next street over and the cat would be back in a couple of days. Guess what, the cat came back. She called me raving about how accurate the psychic was -- never mind that I had told her the same thing . . . for free! Sometimes I think I'm in the wrong profession.

 

Bipolar Betty had two dogs -- a big black one and a big white one. The dogs got out on a Sunday and killed the neighbor's Chihuahua. In the dead of night, Betty drove her dogs three states away before the incident was reported the following morning. There was a dispute as to which dog killed the Chihuahua. All the witnesses said it was the black dog. Betty swore it was the white one. She refused to let me see the dogs. She even refused to show me pictures and instructed he vet not to speak to me. We went round and round. Lawyers got involved. Ten days into the investigation she said that her dogs had different bite patterns, so what I needed to do was dig up the dead Chihuahua and compare the wound to her dogs' mouths . . . uh, no. And if even we had agreed to her outrageous request, she said she was not bringing her dogs back to Florida, so I had nothing to compare the wounds to anyway.

 

This is a real toy, and yes, I own one.
I named mine after a local hoarder.

A woman called me at 10 AM saying that she was moving and had to get rid of her cat. She asked if I would take it. When she gave me her address, I realized she was about 5 miles outside of my city limits. However, she was about 20 miles away from the County shelter. I told her that I had one empty cage (I only have 5 cages total) and a pickup scheduled for the following morning. I made a deal with her: if she brought me the cat by 5 PM I would take it. Not only would this save her the trip, but it would save her about $75 in fees. She said that she didn't have a car and asked if I would come get it. I told her no. My truck is on GPS (so the boss knows when I leave my jurisdiction) and technically she does not qualify for my services. I was doing this as a favor and on the down low because I was not suppose to use City resources for people who don't pay City taxes. I told her that the offer expired at 5 PM, at which time I had to notify the County what they were picking up the following day. Otherwise, she needed to take her cat the County shelter between 8 AM and noon Tuesday through Friday, and pay the surrender fee plus no vaccination and no county tags penalties. (I don't charge those fees.) Well, no good deed goes unpunished. Not only did she not bring me the cat, she also called and complained. Twice. I've been told to stop being nice to people. I've never been accused of being too nice before. I don't know how to handle this.

Yes, these are real stories. I have a hundred more, all equally bizarre. Some days I think I'm trapped in a Twilight Zone episode. Other days I just drink.

In honor of Thoughtless Thursday I'm going to stop thinking about my crazy job before I go insane. Thanks Ruckus the Eskie, M.K. Clinton and the pups over at Love is Being Owned by a Husky for giving me a safe place to vent. When you're done with my insanity, click around below to see what others are thinking about (or not thinking about) today. -- K

 

Shady Wednesday

It's HOT out there. Jedi and I make sure to enjoy as many shady spots as we can find.

 

 

And on a totally unrelated note, look what came in the mail this week:

 

 

Jedi earned his CGC title in March, and the AKC sent us a fancy certificate about 6 weeks later. However, since Jedi is a German shepherd (and we're members of the club) the German Shepherd Dog Club of America sent us a congratulations AND posted it in the national magazine. How cool is that?

 

 

This is the Wordless Wednesday hop, so I'd better shut up before I'm not allowed to play. Anyway, hop below around and see what others are sharing today. -- K

 

 

Who Dat?

Do you ever wonder if animals recognize themselves in a mirror? Neuropsychological researcher Stanley Coren (author of The Intelligence of Dogs) has an interesting article about it here from Psychology Today.

 

 

On this Mischief Monday Hubby and I introduced Drogo to the mirror. Adult male bearded dragons can be aggressive toward each other, so we expected him to puff up and bob his head at the "other dragon." Instead, he sat quietly and admired his reflection. I don't blame him, he's a good looking lizard!

Anyway, this is being linked up to the Awww...Monday and Monday Mischief blog hops. When you're tired of laughing at my lizard hop around and see what others are sharing today. -- K

 

Sepia Dragon

I know this is Kelley's DOG Blog, but regular visitors will recognize Drogo, our favorite bearded dragon. I have never known a reptile to have so much personality. His permanent grin and agreeable temperament also make it easy to dress him up and take silly pictures. You can see those pictures on his Fashion Dragon page. However, today I'm posting a more dignified picture.

 

Drogo's head tilt is just endearing as any dog's

Both Hubby and Son #1 are reptile enthusiasts and we've had several different species over the years. Bearded dragons are my favorite by far. They are heartier and easier to care for than most. The don't grow as large as iguanas and seem to have a nicer temperament. And unlike snakes, their diet consists of bugs, fruits and vegetables. No mice or rats. I used to have rodents as pets, so it's distressing for me to use them as food. Therefore, this is a snake-free house. Luckily for Drogo, I have no emotional attachment to bugs.

 

Before you run out and get a Beardie of your own, there are a few things you should consider:

• They need large tanks to be comfortable. Do you have the room for one?
• They need a warm climate. This could require heat lamps in the colder months.
• They need special lighting, both day and night. The bulbs can be expensive. And they get hot, so in the summer you may need to change bulbs to keep the right temperature in the tank.
• Substrate isn't cheap and needs to be cleaned regularly. (We use a special reptile-safe sand.) And it needs to be completely changed periodically.
• Dragons are social creatures. You need to handle them frequently. They also need supervised exercise.
• Fresh fruit, vegetables and live crickets have a short shelf life. You will have to buy and prepare food frequently.
• Crickets stink. We buy 50-75 at a time and keep them in a separate tank, feeding only 8-12 at a time. We still have to go to the pet store at least once a week to buy bugs. Crickets have a high mortality rate. Since we only feed live crickets, many are thrown out.

Still interested in a bearded dragon? Check out The Bearded Dragon. This is the most comprehensive site I've found and all the information is free. And if you have/get a beardie, let me know!

 

 

We're joining Ruckus the Eskie and Earl's World in this Sepia Saturday hop. Click around and see what others are sharing today! -- K

 

National Hot Dog Day

Yesterday I was flipping through the channels and saw a Sonic commercial. They were advertising a special deal on hot dogs for National Hot Dog Day. What?! I didn't even know that was a thing. The kids and I looked at each other in disbelief, then we loaded the dogs in the car and headed to the nearest Sonic.

Not the kind of "hot dog" we're looking for Jedi.
 

Does Roxy wants a hot dog?
 

I think that's a "yes!"
 

Jedi doesn't need any help with his hot dog
 

So did anybody else know that National Hot Dog Day was a thing? We love hot dogs. I'm putting it on the calendar so we don't miss it next year. -- K



Just What I Asked For

I've mentioned before that Hubby and the kids have nicknamed Jedi "Kelso." Like the That 70's Show character, Jedi is a pretty boy who often does dumb things. Sometimes, however, I suspect my dog is a lot smarter than my family thinks. And other times I'd swear he understands every word I say.

 

Jedi has never been a cuddly dog. I know he loves me, and he's demonstrative with his affection, but it's usually just a quick lick, a goofy grin or a bump-n-wag. He never stays still for loving more than a minute or two before wriggling away. I guess that's just who he is and I don't want to force him to do something he's uncomfortable with.

 

Dozer, Jedi's brother

About a month ago I went to visit my friend Blondie. Jedi's brother, Dozer, lives with Blondie and her family. I was sitting on the love seat chatting away when Dozer suddenly climbed up and put his head in my lap. He stayed that way for the longest time. I was so amazed that I snapped a picture of it with my phone. It's an unflattering picture of me, so I'm not going to show it to you. However, I did show it to Jedi when I got home, saying something akin to "Look what your brother does! I'd really like it if you'd do that too." He gave me a goofy grin and bounced off.

 

Fast forward to last week. I came home early with a sore back. I went to bed and figured it would be better in the morning. It wasn't. It was worse. But stubborn me still waited several days before going to the doctor -- just in case it got better by itself. (BTW, I'm not real fond of going to the doctor.) By the time I got an appointment I was in excruciating pain taking all the old painkillers I could find in the medicine cabinet. My backache turned out to be a kidney/bladder infection. OUCH. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and better pain meds, along with instructions to stay in bed and rest. Here's the amazing part: Jedi never left my side. When I was in bed, he cuddled up beside me for hours at a time. When I was on the couch, he was next to me resting his head on my leg. And when I was on the floor crying in pain, he was laying over me, licking the tears from my face. My snuggle-free dog turned into the biggest cuddle bunny I've ever seen . . . just what I had asked for.
 

Jedi -- see the family resemblance?

Alas, it was short lived. Now that I'm on the mend Jedi has returned to his old ways. He still follows me room to room -- he is a shepherd after all -- but he keeps watch from a distance, with the occasional quick lick or bump-n-wag to say hello.

 

Now that I'm feeling better I've got some blogs to catch up on. I missed you guys! And hopefully a few posts of my own will come along shortly. I discovered that it's hard to be creative while in pain. I also discovered that you can find an episode of Law and Order and/or Law and Order: SVU on TV any time of the day or night. Who knew?

Despite my tale of the thoughtful thing Jedi did for me, it's Thoughtless Thursday! We're joining Ruckus the Eskie, M.K. Clinton and the pups over at Love is Being Owned by a Husky and all the folks below to share what thoughts are -- or aren't -- in our heads today. Check it out! -- K