A Fun Dog-Blog!
So I needed some screws for a project, and the new umbrella for the outside table had so many! I removed the best ones, two from the center. But then I noticed the humans were outside, so I ran back to my tank, leaving the screws hanging. But what I didn’t realize was that taking those screws made the umbrella flop over. So once the humans fixed that, I decided I’d better get my spare parts from somewhere else.
So today the humans got up early AGAIN and then got ready to leave the house.
Smoky monitored what they were doing and, yep, they went to the zoo and Isabella went into the education building to meet with the others. But it gets worse. The other humans weren’t the only ones she was meeting. There was a young Malinois K-9 there! He ran up to her and started running around her and giving kissies and snoofies… a K-9 stole my job!
Then he left and everyone else arrived. They started practicing setting up and running “education stations.” After lunch they went to the penguin house and the butterfly house, then the aviary (it was a bird theme). Then they watched a presentation on birds, then Isabella came home. And, yeah, this is apparently going to be a regular thing…
“Canada geese holding a sign that says ‘Goodbye!’”
“Squirrels holding a sign that says, ‘Welcome!’”
“A tired, frustrated, German shepherd.”
“A German shepherd holding a sign that says, “HOW SAD.'”
“Otters sleeping in hammocks.”
Today the humans got up early then put me in the crate. That always means they’re going somewhere. And yep, they left for most of the day. MOST. OF. THE. DAY!!! Now, I escaped the crate right after they left and went to talk to Smoky, who kept tabs on them. They arrived at the zoo. Isabella was greeted by 5 squirrels! And a river otter!
Then she went to the education center, into a room filled with other teens her age. There were also some adults who gave a presentation. This whole thing is apparently called “orientation” for “volunteering.” I already have to deal with nature center trips AND the kitties at the animal shelter, I don’t need this too! But anyway, they talked about rules, then they had lunch (meatloaf sandwich for Isabella. Mmm…she didn’t eat the WHOLE thing, right?)
Then they all played games to get to know each other. Then they finally came home, after a family of geese said goodbye.
Let’s hope the humans never do that again…
“An eagle getting his picture taken.”
“A turkey hugging a small brown horse.”
“Kittens running all around a hallway” should be pretty straightforward, right?
“A sign that says “NO CATS.”
A few weeks ago, Isabella went into the animal shelter to do her “first volunteer shift.” I was expecting her to take care of the dogs, but what happened was even worse. She took care of the cats!!! There was a black cat who wanted to snuggle, and several crazy kittens with the zoomies.
There was one little gray kitten who wagged her tail like she was a dog! Thankfully, Isabella didn’t bring anyone home. But a few days ago, she went in again! Several of the cats had been adopted, but now they had new kittens. Two litters, to be precise. One brown tabby kept teasing her brother and sister. Meanwhile there were 4 black cats, and the youngest was absolutely crazy! She kept trying to get in small spaces and meowing for more attention. She was also the smallest cat there.
Then there was a little brown tabby who was going crazy in his crate, but when Isabella took him out, he calmed down immediately and just wanted to be held and cuddled and rocked to sleep…
Seriously!? I thought Isabella was a dog person! You can’t be both, can you? Anyway, after that she came home. Let’s hope they never go there again…
A while back, Nana came to stay with me, which normally I wouldn’t mind, but my humans were showing her how to take care of me and Smoky, which usually means they are going to go away for a while. And just as I thought, they left for about a week. Smoky said they were going to photograph animals, particularly eagles. She also gave me updates on what they were doing each day. One day Isabella apparently pet a turkey at a farm! Since when do they like snuggles? Another day she rode an overly affectionate horse named Sierra.
She also photographed several animals, including elk. Then she finally came home, which was a relief.
My humans went to the animal shelter today! They took some Y-bones and blankets that were obviously meant for me! I mean, they did leave me one, but you can never have too many blankets!
I thought they were bringing back another puppy! Luckily they didn’t, but Isabella mentioned something about volunteering there… Let’s hope I misheard!
“Chocolate baked goods behind glass.”
“A ham on a plate locked up.”
“An Easter basket filled with toy turtles and orange bones.” Note: TOY turtles. Not ninja turtles.
“A happy opossum.”
“A corn snake, a garter snake, and a ball python all sitting around a dinner table.”
“A ball python sleeping while it snows outside.” Almost all of them had her sleeping outside in the snow, but there was one that I just had to share!
“A water snake eating a fish dinner” always came out as an actual, live fish, as opposed to a cooked fish.
I changed it to “A water snake eating a fish filet.” This happened.
“A water snake eating a salmon steak.”
On the Saturday after Easter, the humans left to go to the nature center again! Isabella changed everyone’s water and took the temperatures of all the habitats. All the animals were so happy to see her!
Then she helped prepare some frozen mice for the next day, when all the snakes would eat, and whoa whoa whoa! Mice? I mean, I would never eat a mouse. I’m not a cat! Even the one time I caught Little Jackie the squirrel (just to see what would happen), I hated the taste of his fur. I mean, maybe if I was a feral dog I would eat them, but I’m not, so I eat delicious salmon-flavored food, watermelon treats, and hard-boiled eggs. (Okay yes I know I eat bugs all the time that’s different!) Then, the next Sunday, she went back and fed the snakes. Mystery the watersnake got frozen fish chopped up and put in her water bowl!
Sandalfoot had already eaten, but Kernel and Mocha hadn’t. Kernel was stuck in a log decoration, so they got him out and made the log bigger, then put him in a container with his rat. Also, Kernel likes his rats served in a little pink can-holder, of all things! Mocha, on the other paw, wasn’t hungry. She wouldn’t even eat a mouse, which was her favorite food! Smoky tells me this is normal for Ball Pythons, and that they sleep in the winter (which is the worst time to sleep in my opinion). Mocha lives indoors, so she doesn’t sleep, but her digestion slows down.
Lily the opossum also got a mouse, and she was very excited for it! Then Isabella set up the chairs for a beaver presentation, and then she watched it and even made a little beaver dam craft!
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