A Sister Helps A Brother Out

"Are you going to be able to finish
all of that bone?" asks Carmela.

"I can help!
Don't be afraid to ask for help!"

What The Mafiosos Were Doing A Year Ago: Neo-Maxie-Zoom-Dweebie!

It's Getting Hot In Here!

"It's getting hot in here!"

"So take off all your fur!"

"I am so hot,
I'm wanna take my fur off!"

What The Mafiosos Were Doing One Year Ago: Pugs Are Crunch and Taste Good With Ketchup

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.

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? :-)

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

Crash Landing!

My computer crashed last weekend thanks to Window's Service Pack 3.

SCREW YOU WINDOWS!

I lost everything. And I mean everything. Pictures, documents, and my percious iTunes collection...you name it and it's gone. My computer tried to update and install Service Pack 3 last weekend and it caused my computer to be stuck in reboot limbo. In an effort to stick it to Windows, I went out and got myself a trusty Mac. I have to say, so far, the Mac kicks ass. Everything installed smoothly--from printers to routers. I didn't have to do a damn thing. The Mac recognized all of these peripherals instantly and independently. No error messages, no messages about needing to download drivers...it's heaven!

Because I lost all of my pictures (a.k.a. several weeks worth of blog posts), it might be a few weeks before I can make up for lost time. I just wanted to give all of you readers a heads up as to why there might be some inactivity for a few weeks on the Canine Mafia's blog.

How To Entertain A Dummy

"Arg! Why won't this cone come out?!"

"$%^#&@ Cone!!"

"Is this thing held on with Super Glue??"

"Come on!!!"

"OH MY GOD! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!
I just want this cone to come out!"

"Here we go! Come to Daddy, Cone!"

"And the score is:
Bruno: 1 Cone: 0.
HAHA!"



More on how this cone came about in the next episode...

A Helping Paw!

Your dog can help in the research of canine diseases specific to their breed.

http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/cghg/perspective.php

Bruno's doing his part by submitting a simple cheek swab because his breed pool size is very limited (only 8 so far!). The Pugs are demanding thirty cookies each before I take any cells from them, and I'm not giving in. We're still in negotiations. Carmela laughed at me and walked away.

Maggie thanks you for helping!
Really, I promise, this is her happy face! :-)

Have a heart!

Bruno would like for you to be his Valentine.

The Taxman

I'm almost done with our taxes...
if only I could remember where I put our W-K9 form.

What's a W-K9 form you ask?

Click the image below to find out!

Kat Kingdom

Ryan built this awesome cat condo for the kitties.
They are in seventh heaven!

Look! It even gives cats magical powers!
Molly can fly!

All that's left for me to do is to line the tunnels and shelves with Sherpa. Now, to fine the time to do all of that... ;-)

We Gave Blood!

Bruno passed his screening to be a blood donor for UC Davis' Canine Blood Bank. So we headed off to make our first donation of blood!

Bruno won the entire staff over with the powers of his freakishly large head. He was showered with cookies which immediately made everyone his new BFF's. The entire process lasted less than 15 minutes and the machine they used to take a pint of blood was not as scary as I thought it would be! It went off successfully and Bruno felt well enough to chase a squirrel after his donation. :-)

The one thing I did not think about was the fact that Bruno cannot be walked out with his leash attached to his collar. Since the donation site is located at the jugular, it's not a good idea to apply any pressure to the area immediately after the dog has donated. So the staff helped me make a makeshift harness using his belly.

I also received a copy of all the tests preformed on Bruno's blood during his initial screening. I added up the costs and this is well over $400 worth of free tests! Included in the screening were the following tests and detection of pathogens:

• Anaplasma phagocytophilum
  
• Anaplasma platys
• Ehrlichia canis
• Rickettsia spp (including RMsF)
• Mycoplasma haemofelis and haemocanis
• Leishmani
• Babesia sp (including canis, divergens and gibsoni)
• Brucella canis
  
• Von Willebrand Factor
  
• Heartworm
• Blood Typing
• Chemistry Panel
  

So if you haven't given this a second thought and your dog qualifies, please think about participating with your dog! You'll be helping to save lives in the process!

Here is more information on who can qualify as a dog blood donor:

Donor dogs for the new program must

• Be 1 to 8 years old,
• Weigh at least 55 pounds and
• Never been pregnant or had puppies.

Other information

• Dogs and their owners must live within 100 miles of UC Davis.
• The initial health check, which includes veterinary services valued at $300, will be free.
• All subsequent donation visits will also be free.
• If any health problems are detected, the owner will be advised to follow up with the dog's regular veterinarian.
• Those accepted into the program will return in two to three months for a half-hour donation visit.

At the animal's first visit

• The appointment will last for about one hour.
• The dog will be given a health check.
• The dog will be screened for infectious diseases.
• A unit of blood (about one pint) will be collected.

Dog owners interested in learning more about the blood donor program or scheduling a health-screening appointment for their dog should contact the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at (530) 752-1393, ext. 421.

Maybe when you're done you might get a cool scarf like Bruno was given. :-) However, you probably won't have the freakishly large head needed to complete the ensemble.

P.S. We are totally ignoring the fact that "Science Diet" has infiltrated the world of canine fashion!

P.P.S. That *is* Bruno's happy face! :-p

P.P.S. We donated blood before Bruno was diagnosed with a tumor! So no worries that we are giving out tumor laden blood! :-)