Tiny Tot

Nothing tans my ass more than seeing backyard breeder (BYB) ads for "teacup" dogs. First most, there is no such thing as a "teacup" dog. Secondly, I cannot stand it when they place the pups next to a can of Coke or, better yet, inside an actual teacup to emphasize how how tiny the dog is in real life.

Presenting Exhibit A:








and Exhibit B:



Carmela has decided that it's time they stop using the usual teacups and cans of Coke and move on to something more creative.


Why not a bottle of ranch dressing?









Or better yet, why not a bottle of olive oil?







Wait! Don't let the creativity juices stop flowing there! If you're going to advertise "apple head" chihuahuas, why not post them next to an apple scented candle?






I tried to pose Carmela in the typical "teacup" pose, but she wasn't having it...

"I'm not getting in there."

"Why don't YOU stuff your ass in there?"

But if you really want to be different, why not try something completely out of ordinary? Why not a sprinkler head?

"Ok, you've really lost your marbles now."

"I think the readers get the point now.
Enough with the charades!"

As you can see, this whole topic makes my head throb.






Carmela's about to pick up the phone and give these "breeders" a call...or report them to the IRS for all of that undeclared income I'm sure they conveniently forgot to declare on their taxes from the sale of these "teacup" puppies. She hasn't decided yet.

Mafia T.V.

Presenting The Canine Mafia live and in the flesh...well, flesh plus fur.

http://caninemafiacamera.blogspot.com/


I now have a way to keep on eye on the mafiosos while I am at work. For this weekend, it will most likely be "Off Air." But my goal is to have it running weekdays. I just have to remind Ryan to stay out of the camera's way while he gets ready for work, ha ha!

Now, will someone please remind to turn this off every now and then so that embarrassing moments (i.e., me walking around in my underware) will not be broadcasted over the internets? ;)

Strike A Pose!

Why So Serious?

Yeah, Gino, why so serious?

What deeps thoughts could possibly be going on in that little head of yours?

Any guesses?

Why So Blue?

About three weeks ago, I found Blue doing an impression of a puffer fish.




The diagnosis at the time was an allergic reaction to a bug bite. But the swelling never quite went away. Somedays her face was normal and other days she would get a really swollen neck. There was one day where it is obvious that it was her lymph nodes that were causing the swelling and you could clearly feel them.

"Seriously, your days are numbered.
You do not post unflattering pictures
of me on the internets. EVER."

Unsatisfied with the previous explanation, I took her in last week to a clinic that specializes only in cats. The diagnosis is possible lymphoma. Yup, cancer.

I say possible because the results from her tests are inconclusive. It's not a clear diagnosis of lymphoma, but there's a chance it might be. The vet aspirated fluid from her most swollen lymph nodes and sent them off the be analyzed.





The results came back that it could be lymphoma in the beginning stages but it could possibly be something else. What that something else might be is the million dollar question. Answering this question would mean a barrage of tests, most of which are really invasive.

So for now, we're taking the conservative route. She's on a round of a powerful antibiotic in case it is a systemic infection caused be bacteria.

We ask for your prayers, juju, good thoughts and vibes so that we can kick this thing on its nasty ass. She kicked Fatty Livers disease flat on its ass and I am hoping she does the same to whatever is causing her discomfort currently. Blue has survived too much to leave us so soon.

Besides, who else would continuously plot my death? :-)

Gino and Vinnie: This Is How We Chew It

Gino was given a beef neck from the lovely bounty, but he kept dragging it all over the place. Maybe it was too precious to chew and he wanted to save it...so he proceeded to bury it!

I quickly traded him the beef neck for pig femur and that seemed like a fair trade to him.

"I'll be wanting that beef neck back!"

Ok, so I was wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. :-p

"Pffffffffffft!"

Vinnie took his time pondering which end of his raw meaty bone he should tackle first. He's a thinker, that pug.






He quickly decided that he should start from the middle...

"Just like a Tootsie Pop!"

And then he figured out a better use for his long tongue...

"Sluuuuuuuurp!"

Holy!! Vinnie, that's just obscene!

"My bad!"

Bruno & Carmela: This Is How We Chew It

Alright, I'm back in business! Slowly, but surely, I'm back to taking pictures and uploading them to make up for all the pictures I lost when my computer pushed daisies. Sadly, I had my picture set ready to post a "Things I Laugh At But Shouldn't"...but the computer eated it. :-( That's my next homework assignment and I haven't forgotten!

But enough about me... ;-)



The Canine Mafia is in raw meaty bone heaven. My local raw food co-op recently located a beef supplier willing to sell lots of goodies to us raw feeders. I was able to get a case of some very meaty beef necks.

"Yummmm...
beef neck!"

Seriously, they are very, very, very meaty...








And for some odd reason, they make Bruno chew like a cone head!

"Shaddup."

Of course, since these beef necks are bigger than Carmela, I had to give her one! But that didn't quite work out.

See, Bruno became somewhat of a butthead with these necks. He wanted them all and darnit if some little Chihuahua was going to get his precious lot of beef necks. As soon as I gave her one, he ditched his and tried to punk her. Yeah, she didn't back down and I could see this quickly leading to no good, so instead she got a smaller sized bone.

"Are you serious?!
This is what I get??"





"I guess this will do for now."




She was content for a while.



"So are you going to get out of my face,
or are you going to get out of my face?"

She Fits Right In...

Today marks six months that Carmela joined The Canine Mafia. Can you believe time has flown by so quickly?



She's quickly learned the ropes. Especially the part about keeping the boys in line.

"I am a force to be reckoned with!"

Far cry from the dog I found wandering straight into traffic that fateful night, isn't it?

Photo taken by Letitia

The Case of The Cone

The day Bruno found a new toy at the school yard started off like any other day. Bruno was chased by The Fun Police for running past the speed limit towards his new found toy:

"The Toy Gods left this for me!
GIMME!"

I was pretty sure no god(s) left this cone for Bruno, but I couldn't convince him otherwise. I had to enlist Ryan for his help in getting the cone away from Bruno.

"MY CONE!"

"GIMME MY CONE!"

Ryan finally gave up. And so, Bruno had his new toy.

"All mine!"

I felt really guilty for letting Bruno have the cone. I am sure whomever left it in the tree didn't want it to be demolished by Bruno. Don't worry, Gino helped me chastise Bruno.

"You're destroying city property!
You'll go to jail where the bail there is
one million Milkbones!!"

Luckily, Bruno showed the cone mercy. After a few minutes of lugging it around, Bruno got really tired and just laid there with the cone.




Silly Bruno. Only he would find the small joys of lugging around a bright orange safety cone. :-)

Monday Morning Funny