Welcome to our blog

Over the past eleven years, we have enjoyed the companionship and love from four dogs and three cats. We currently now have two dogs and one cat; and like most pet guardians, we have experienced a plethora of canine and feline ailments, behavioral, health, and personality issues.

In addition to the wonderful advice and care of a number of animal heath specialists, in order to make informed and educated decisions about our pets' health, we have conducted massive internet research over the years. We created this blog to share our expereince with others, in the hope that we may help others in the way that toher bloggers and internet posters have helped us over the years.

To provide an overview of our pets and the challenges they have each faced, the following list provides an overview of what we hope to log over the coming months.

Josie
Canine, female - austrailian shepherd, golden retriever airedale mix
Birth - spring 1994 (estimate)
Death - August 2007
Weight - 80lbs
Description - Josie was the dog that could walk around San Francisco without a leash. She was a certified pet therapy dog who everyone fell in love with.
Issues -Light separation anxiety, eating feminine products and cat litter, allergies/hotspots, slab fractured molar, age-onset dental disease, cyst removal; Surgery to reattach torn anterior cruciate ligament (wire, elected not to do TIBEAL PLATEAU LEVELING OSTEOTOMY); hermangio sarcoma (terminal)


Buster
Feline, male - black and white short hair
Birth - 1990
Death - May 2003
Weight - approx 25lbs
Description - Highly social Alpha male, extremely large, relatively agressive with food.
Issues - Ate tinsel and flowers, diagnosed with either fatty liver disease or pancreatitis; tapeworm; blood clot in back (terminal)


Boo
Feline, female - gray long hair
Birth - 1990
Death - September 2004
Weight - approx 14lbs
Description - Somewhat aggressive
Issues -Soft tissue mass affecting larynx and eye (terminal)


Maya (AKA Captain Grumbles)
Canine, female - Beagle
Birth - Spring 2000
Death - April 2009
Weight - 35lbs
Description - highly social, lovable beagle.
Issues -Fear of nail trims, allergy to predisone, sensitive stomach, major dental disease, Meningioma brain tumor that led to grand mal seizures, focal seizures, petite mal seziures (terminal)


Shamus
Canine, male - chocolate lab, beagle
Birth - March 2004
Weight - 90lbs
Description - alpha male, loves playing ball, very social
Issues - As a puppy - ate 3 couches, housebreaking issues; As adult - Fear of nail trims, eats poop, hunter (2 birds and a squirrel), obsessive / fast eater, highly aggresive chewer


Chiquita
Canine, female - Shepherd, SharPei, possible Great Dane or other giant breed
Birth - August 2007
Weight - 70lbs
Description - extremely large, very lovable with immediate family
Issues - Kennel Cough, Excessive Fear





Kat
Feline, female - Long haired calico
Birth - 1996
Weight - ??lbs
Description / Issues - anti social with women