Archive for the ‘cats’ Category

Twitter pals had fun in March 2010 getting an anipal to number one in an online contest at one of the voting walls for faxo.com.

For Best of Twitter the winner was @MattieDog by a landslide. He promised stuff for your vote like genuine knockoff bacon beer, tickets to go bowling, and other smooth lies that you might expect from a real politician. Congrats, Mattie!

At the end on March 31st, out of the top 25 he was #1 and the ONLY pawpal in that group. In April the Twitter critter corner came out in droves in a winner take all free for all lusting for a top spot in the online poll. March madness to get Mattie a win became all out bedlam in April.

With less than a week left in the contest the TOP 50 for Best of Twitter were ALL animals.

As a result of all that fun turning to stress, I decided I would no longer participate and tweeted my “Down with the Wall” sermon. You are welcome to use that and these other tweets for your followers if you regret being involved. Copy/paste these to tweet:

“Down with the Wall” sermon: I decided to stop visits to enter or vote on the wall.

Wall voting 10 min/day is 60 hrs/year. Time better spent: [fill in the blank]

VOTE at the wall for 1 minute and just 10 times a day? In 10 years you waste 25 days.

10 minutes a day voting is 60 hours per year or a 10 day vacation if you work 40 hours.

Want out? Follow @VoteWall. They follow back. DM them to be taken off the wall. Voila.

To my surprise you do not have to enter to be in the contest. I first discovered my spot on page 12, or the top 300 out of over 600 contestants, because a friend tweeted that they had voted for ME, and I never chose to be there.

The system allows you to vote again every 20 minutes for as many entrants as you want. Thus, vote for yourself, and you could return once their timer expired in 20 minutes to vote again, and again, and again. At last check I was in the Top 100.

The ego inflation and voting frenzy did get out of hand. Imagine pressuring yourself to vote every 20 minutes. Yikes. Some people did. As a result, claims of voting fraud, vote bots, and worse got tweeted back and forth. Early on in April that Twitter vote wall just for fun became a battleground. Catfight. Dogfight. Cat-dogfight.

Read that last tweet suggestion again. You can easily be removed from the wall contests if you notice people voting for you. Defining time better spent means feeding ME (treats) not the ego.

The critter corner of Twitter is filled with pawty (lolspeak for party) animals each month for the benefit of animal rescue. Donations during the online events are given to a different rescue organization each month as selected in advance by the participants. It’s a fun way to help rescue pets in need.

Sometimes other special events are held and at 2pm US Eastern today a pretend adventure over Area 51 in the Nevada desert began with tweeting animals worldwide. Here’s an illustration of Corky and his pal squirrel in his attack helicopter. View a different large wallpaper Corkster Copter here.

Want to follow real time or review results later? Use the online resource at TweetGrid for #Area51 to see all tweets. To participate just add the #Area51 hashtag to your tweets for other pals to follow. Note: Pet owners often tweet in first person as their pet (like me), so take no offense to the silliness, okay?

Here’s me showing Sam our cat what came in the mail to ME today. This is Corky’s first Valentines card ever ever and it came all the way from Illinois.

A special THANKS to @Niqqi from Twitter, a girl puppy and one of my favorite cutie patootie Bichon Frise pawpals in Twitter, for sending me this wonderful greeting! You can learn more about Niqqi on her Niqqi’s World blog or watch her puppy adventure videos on YouTube!

The baby kitty picture shown below is my little (older) brother Sam the cat taken in 1998, and shows his little sister, Nikki the puppy who was the newest family member. Both pets were less than 1 year old at the time and would play for hours wrestling like best friends.

The photo of them hiding happened one day as they were playing. A storm blew in and a ferocious boom sounded as thunder followed lightning very near their home. Scared witless, the two took off on the wooden floor spinning in place trying to get a grip. Side by side they spun across the floor like in a cartoon with barely enough traction to make any progress.

Mom and Dad had to search to find out where they went, and found them in the bedroom huddled side by side under a stand near the bed. Lifting the cover as shown revealed the cuteness of cat and dog buddies hiding together like best friends. Nikki passed away within a year of this photo from a rare congenital blood disease that mystified the vet. At 11 years old Sam still has the same cuteness except those huge ears look tiny now on his adult head.

The very familiar formula for calculating dog age in human years is their actual age times 7. While this provides a fair measure of the equivalent chronological age in the earlier years, the calculation is inaccurate for combined variables of age plus dog size. Larger dogs age faster and an accurate formula is not linear, so the years times 7 is very general.

Try the following table instead for pets aged 1 through 20 years old as adapted from a poster in my veterinarian’s office that listed estimates for up to 25 years old. 20 seemed sufficient, so for ages or weights not shown, you may want to contact the Guiness Book of World Records!

Table for Cat or Dog Age in Human Years

*Note: Values extracted from a poster at our vet’s office with data by Fred L. Metzger, DVM DABVP

Yes, the estimate works for cats or kittens, too! You can use the same table, yet for your cat you should only need the small dog 0-20 lbs data. Having a small breed puppy or mutt and a pet kitten born around the same time while maintaining reasonable health would mean having pets that should age at the same rate in human years.

This week marks one year in my forever home since being rescued from doggy jail. The photo shown is me just over a year old and my favorite for 2009 and was originally taken in color. Who could imagine that cute face being dumped on the street and discarded like yesterday’s newspaper?

It happens to pets every day worldwide. The economy nosedive to rock bottom and the worst conditions in nearly 100 years explains why.

Humans are forced to cut costs and choose between paying bills for basic necessities and that unconditional love and loyalty from their dog. Cats get dumped, too. I get it. Being a responsible pet owner means if you must surrender your pet in the face of unforseen and extreme financial difficulties there’s a right way to do it.

A year ago my groomer was telling my guardians that people bring pets to their grooming business, open the door, toss the pet inside, and then close the door and run. Why? They know pet groomers are pet lovers and will have a slightly better chance than just being tossed on the street (like I was). The situation is worse when the pet is let loose outside the business and must be chased down in a parking lot or traffic!

If you must surrender your pet, take it to a pet shelter or rescue organization. When you voluntarily give up your pet you can at least share health or other issues so caregivers know what is needed. PLEASE. Do not dump your pets. They were family members and have a better chance of survival to find a forever home and family if you do the right thing.

This blog post is a series of tweets published here in chronological order for the #mummypawty Twitter critter party with the theme of a pretend trip to Cairo, Egypt, and taking a ride on the Nile River.

My guardian, “Dad”, has been to the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia for real, and he does my typing in Twitter plus the narration for my videos. I wanted him to tell me and my anipals that African adventure story on Twitter. The challenge was creating a story of 140 character tweets and trying to tell his real life adventure in 25 tweets.

Here goes the true African adventure Dad made to the Blue Nile River presented in a series of 25 tweets.

Trip to the Source of the Blue Nile

Intro a: Dad went with buddies on an African adventure to the Blue Nile source in Ethiopia years ago.

Intro b: The Nile splits into the White Nile and Blue Nile. The Blue begins in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Intro c: Destination? A half mile wide waterfalls at the source of the Blue Nile in Bahir Dar.

Intro d: Traveled from Eritrea over a mountain, across plains, then desert to get to the falls.

Intro e: Self guided camera safari of 6 adult males in 2 vehicles. Told little of what to expect.

Day 1a: Expected to arrive at foot of 10K foot high mountain named Soira Amba. Did not see it.

Day 1b: Slept in the African jungle that night. Every wild animal calling that you can imagine.

Day 1c: Same night. Saw a line of lights, obviously torches, move along the far side of the valley.

Day 1d: Night. Nervous? Oh yeah. Wild critters and torch bearers. Had pocket knives only. No guns.

Day 1e: Night. Rotated to guard and watch fire. Surrounded by pairs of eyeballs lit up by firelight.

Day 2a: Awoke. Broke camp. Traveled 500 feet around a bend. 10K foot Mount Soira Amba right there.

Day 2b: Thinking we saw the top of the mountain, squinted and saw more higher up hidden in clouds.

Day 2c: Strained eyes again, twice more thinking we saw the mountain top. Finally did. Majestic!

Day 2d: Half way up mountain attacked by baboons. Not hand to hand combat. They were too smart.

Day 2e: Baboon tactic: climb very high. Lob large rocks at us while too high for us to return fire.

Day 3a: Camped out. Another thrilling night. Morning travel and arrived at mountain top village.

Day 3b: Only person who spoke English? A child. Schooled in the city. Asked our destination.

Day 3c: Replied “Bahir Dar”. He said “Oh, to see the falls?”, then “What is your occupation?”.

Day 3d: Occupation? Dad and buddies were amazed with his incredible English. They said “military”.

Day 3e: “No you’re not. You’re movie stars. Some came through last year. I KNOW what they look like!”

Day 4a: Not mentioned, but each day was like traveling further back in time. Day 4: Grass huts.

Day 4b: Arrived in Bahir Dar. The waterfalls were a half mile wide hillside. Dried up. Drought.

Day 4c: Some civilization catering to tourists. Ate real food in a rustic (being polite) restaurant.

Day 4d: Elvis sighting! Flick that night at the town theater was an old Elvis movie. Decision was don’t attend.

Day 4e: Slept that night in Bahir Dar in real (being polite again) beds. Return trip took 3 days.
(THE END)

(Nice story, Dad). Hope all the pawpals enjoyed the adventure!

This past week of interacting with animal and human pals in Twitter has created an unexpected emotional toll of pain building up as pet parents type news about pawpals crossing the Rainbow Bridge. Perhaps this pretend Pet Letter from the Rainbow Bridge will help you or someone you know who has lost a pet.

Yes, it is a person behind those tweets typing for their pet and sharing that unique personality from their perspective, yet that persona becomes as real as if that pet could actually talk and type. Here’s a letter they might write if they could.

Pet Letter from the Rainbow Bridge

Dearest Friend,

I crossed the Rainbow Bridge much sooner than you or my guardians expected. It happens to human pals and their friends or family, too. Please don’t be sad or disappointed, at least not for long anyway. There are reasons I left that you may not understand until it’s your turn to pass over.

For now I have permission to let you in on a secret. Truth is there is no secret because God has already revealed words of comfort in the bible for us to find. Perhaps this verse will help you understand why I left so soon.

The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. Isa 57:1 (KJV)

See? As much as you wanted me there, the path my life was taking may have been an even more painful experience for you to witness. Besides being “taken away from the evil to come”, I have work to do making people happy on this side of the Rainbow Bridge. While waiting for you I greeted a human baby, very old kitty, and a grandmother this week. Here’s another secret that’s not really a secret.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1 Cor 2:9 (KJV)

Either me or someone you love will be waiting. For now, read that last verse again. You cannot imagine the joy on this side of the Rainbow Bridge, yet the details are not yours to know until you have completed your time on earth and it’s your turn to cross over, so I can’t elaborate.

Time will heal your sorrow. As a parting message, consider one reason behind the short lives of animal friends. You cannot replace me or our special relationship. However, most humans will outlive their pets and the loss of one is an opportunity to rescue another. When the time is right, please search your heart to make room and adopt a shelter pet.

The real forever home awaits on this side of the Rainbow Bridge where there is only joy and no fear or pain. However, there is no limit on pets or people to share your love for eternity. Until we meet again I forever remain…

Lovingly,

Your Faithful Friend

To all my fans, and especially my friends on Twitter, hopefully this pretend pet letter will help ease the pain of losing a loved one and sharing the grief of bad news. If nothing else, understand that life is truly fragile and unpredictable, so make the best of each moment to love and appreciate those around you.

Watch as Corky the puppy (that’s ME) tries to trick Sam the cat into being gift wrapped for Christmas in this new video released on YouTube. The text transcript of Dad narrating the story is inserted below the video shown here. (Playtime 00:49 min/sec)

Transcript of Teaching Sam Christmas Wrapping

Here’s Corky teaching Sam our cat Christmas wrapping. Okie dokie, little buddy… in the box!

No, no. C’mon. Cooperate. I KNOW Christmas is 3 weeks away! You’re not gonna suffocate.

Imma making air holes for you after I close this flap.

Sam! You gotta stay in the box for this surprise to work. Imma writing “To Mom” on the box.

Argh! Come back Sam! Oh, brother. I never woulda guessed Christmas wrapping could be so hard.

The photo below shows yours truly, Corky the puppy, obeying the ultimate leave it command as Sam our cat is allowed to eat a stinky treat (they’re the BEST) off my paw!

Your dog’s health could well depend on teaching them “Leave it” and is especially important when encountering dangerous trash while on a walk or other risky objects indoors. With leave it as a dog training exercise your pet can learn patience, too.

The leave it command has protected me many times in the past year since moving in with my forever family. Going for a walk we find the ground littered with dangerous items like broken glass, chicken bones, or other sharp objects, and even cigarette butts. Inside the home, parents need a big imagination to figure out all the things a baby or puppy finds interesting enough to chew.

Referring to the photo above, Sam the cat is very relaxed as he munches the treat off my paw while I obey the ultimate leave it command. In another house with another dog Sam would be in BIG trouble!