Raw Food Diet, Day 416- Makin' Momma Proud

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Big Pupi talks about poking and prodding:

Aloha beasts and beastettes. Stan and I have survived our visits to the Place of Tile and Steel!

I went on Tuesday and spent much of my time in the waiting room tempting strangers to rub my belly by putting on little shows and dancing for them. These displays always left my belly strategically close and exposed by their feet. I was a pro. My tum was so happy! Then I flirted with the nice vet tech that brought us into a room. Happy! But all this changed at the turn of a door knob, when my vet walked into the room. My good ol' wiggle tail ran hiding under my bum and I skittered off to shove my body under a chair. And that was all before she even acknowledged me! NOT happy. The first and last time I saw this vet was 6 months ago for that evil weeble infection, and I remembered her well. She's mean to my man parts!

I crammed my body behind mom's legs and refused to eat any treats from the nice lady doctor's hand. I licked my lips over and over and when she came close I tried to lick her face to appease her and keep her away from my manliness. It didn't work! But it wasn't so bad this time... she pet me all over and gave me tasty niblets. She peeked into my ears without that scopey thing and rubbed my belly. I have to admit... if we weren't in that Room of Scary Things I probably would have dug it. Then I was taken into the back room and some other humans stole my blood for tests and I went home. It was a really nice day and we rode with the windows open (I wear a seat belt to prevent window escapes and other accidents) and the smells of the springtime outdoors were delicious!

Yesterday, it was Stanislaw's turn for his visit.
He drooled with nausea the whole way there, but forgot about the puke-mobile when he got to play with an awesome dog dude called Jack Russell (popular name!) in the waiting room. When it was his turn to meet the doctor he was super pumped for the attention and kissed her face and grunted like a wild man. She scooped him up in her arms and plopped him on the examination table. Stan cocked his head back and forth while she prepared her tools and it made her laugh. It's really not his smartest look. Nice Doctor Lady gave him a quick once-over, and then she and mom talked about something that had been scaring my folks for a few weeks now.

Stan has always had a tongue spot. One single round black spot on the back of his feasting tool. It was one spot in February. Then it was two spots in March. Normally this is not a good sign. Black skin marks aren't supposed to grow or spread or multiply rapidly. In fact, tongue spots are not supposed to be doing anything at all aside for hanging out and tasting feasts. And Stan's spot had grown bigger and sprouted itself a little friend. Uh oh. My folks were freaked. Thinking the worst mom held her breath while Nice Doctor opened Stanley's schnozzle as wide as it would go. Stan fought, and Doctor looked. But... all that worry was for nothing. Doctor said that all of Stan's gums were dappled and freckled, and pigmentation change like this in a young dog probably just means he's getting more freckles. In fact, Nice Doctor bet that if we were to shave Stan's fur off we'd find entire sections of his body spotted black and grey. Stan was intrigued at this mention of absolute nudity. He thought of cool spring breezes blowing past his leg pits. Fresh air dancing on his bare jowels and exposed toe webbing. He looked at mom with begging eyes, hoping for nakeyness unlike any nakeyness he's known before. It would all be in the name of science, after all. Mom took one look at Stan and said, "No way, Mr. Bean Butt." Stan still has his fur.

And as for me,
I got some pretty tasty news from Nice Doctor. Yesterday my blood panel results came in. It's been a year since I was last checked for kidney function and I am so very pleased to say that all came back with perfect numbers! My BUN was 25 mg/dl on a scale of 7-27, and more importantly my creatinine came back with a 0.9 mg/dl on a scale of 0.4-1.8. There has been no change in the past year and my creatinine has stayed super low! That's really big news because that used to be the reading that caused all the worry and forced me to return to the Place of Tile and Steel for frequent blood tests for years. Woohoo! Hoorah for the raw diet!

And to top it all off, the vet declared Stanislaw's weight to be IDEAL for the first time ever. Sure, he looks like a skinny noodle boy, but his shoulders and hinders keep good muscle and he actually has a tiny layer of fat and muscle over his ribs. Go Stan! All that feasting has done him some good! Nice Doctor also said that she's impressed at how long we've gone without ear infections and despite the fact that mom never cleans our floppies they're sweet smelling. Our teethers are pearly, eyes are bright and our breath stinks of meaty feasts. Ah yes. All is as it should be.

Now all we need to wait for is our titer test results which come in a few weeks. And dinner. We wait for dinner all day.

Happy Friday folks! Wish me luck at the Pet Expo tomorrow!
Big Pupi

Raw Food Diet, Day 413- Spring Breeze

I am feeling as nakey as a jay bird this morning with my leg pits shaved clean and my belly hanging out there without any fringe. Let me tell you... the sun now shines in places it hasn't all winter. It's great! But this new state of aerodynamic beastliness didn't come easy, and it was only after 3 hours of grooming that I became the strapping young cheezy-snack-begging lad that you see before you.

Big Pupi and I managed to do quite a job on my parents' nice clean tub:(That picture is awfully difficult to mom to look at because she's terrified of drains.) I was able to spread that oily, grimy mess all over the place when I jumped out of the tub all wet and lathered and smeared my body across the wall and splat on the floor. Sweetness!

After being dried and brushed, that evil buzzy thing appeared and stole my facial hair and all that stringy, stinky leg fur I had been carting around. Can you believe how much fur was cut? That pile is a few inches high in the middle! (And that's not counting the globs of fur Big Pupi and I spread throughout the entire apartment.)
We each lost over an inch from our ears and over 3 inches from our legs. It took FOREVER because of all those sneaky matts that grow in impossible grooming places like our elbows and inner thighs. Even though I was a total pain in the bum when mom tried to trim my legs, I have to admit that I feel pretty good now with my springtime 'do.
I always say that there's nothing quite like a freshly shaven leg pit. Weeeee! The only downside is that a short hair cut makes me look seriously skinny and my dad fears that it detracts from my manliness. C'mon dad! NOTHING can take away from this beast! Manliness oozes from my tongue pores!

Big Pupi looks sleek and athletic with his new cut, and he's all ready for his therapy visit at the hospital tomorrow.
He has a big day ahead of him today too, as he'll be headed to the Place of Tile and Steel to get blood drawn for his titers, heartworm and kidney tests. In case you're relatively new to the blog... Big Pupi used to run funny kidney numbers. His BUN was in the high-normal range (nothing really to worry about) and his creatinine was steadily creeping higher and higher and higher (something to worry about). For years he had to have his kidney function tested every 6 months to make sure things hadn't suddenly taking a turn. Eight weeks after starting the raw diet, he had another blood test and his creatinine levels had dropped sooo far down... they were at the LOW end of the healthy scale! He held steady and hasn't needed another blood test for almost a year. Keep your paws crossed that these next results are just as good as last time!

I heard that I'm in for the same thing on Thursday. I don't get as scared at the doctor's as Big Pupi does, and I'm kind of excited for the attention. Except... do I really have to ride in the puke mobile to get there?? Retch!

In other boring and non-beastly news, mom has continued to knit away despite the fact that she is no longer sickly. Lame! She made two sweaters for my cousins. First is the one for Jake:

That was mom's first attempt at making a pattern on a sweater, and she wound up shrinking the width of the thing a few inches. Ha! So now there's an ugly panel knitted into the belly that causes a love-handle effect when it's on. So not flattering.

Next came the sweater for Paisley:

After doing the sleeves twice, this one actually wound up okay. We'll post photos in a few weeks of them trying on their new gear. I heard mumblings about mom making some for Big Pupi and me. I'm hoping she can put pictures of meat on mine. Then I'd really have some tasty new threads!

Bark at you later.
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 412- A Sunny City Stroll

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Big Pupi reports on his city:

Heya cool canine dudes and lady-dudes. Stanislaw and I had a pretty awesome weekend and now that I've finally caught up on my beauty sleep I'm ready to tell you all about it.

On Saturday, Stan went to his Good Boy class and did some very Naughty Boy in the middle of it. Turns out that a touch of car sickness and some major excitement don't mix, and he set some poobles free during a Heel exercise. Oops! Good thing that raw fed poobles don't stink too terribly and once the mess was cleaned there weren't any lingering, odorous reminders of his little indiscretion. Otherwise, he performed fairly decently. It wasn't his best class ever but he's learning. The teacher was super nice and said that Stan can make up the last class which he'll have to miss next Saturday because I'll be at the Chicagoland Pet Expo. So... that lucky boy gets to have one more class in April.

The mile-long walk to the car, plus a car ride, plus obedience class, plus another car ride and walk home left Stanislaw exhausted. So that meant that I got to go on an afternoon tour of my territory with just my mom and dad! Woohoo! Just like old times. The city is FINALLY warming up and I couldn't wait to see what tasty feastables the St. Paddy's Parade humans had left on the sidewalks for me to find and eat. So fun! I pinned on a flashy "Happy St. Patrick's Day" badge and we were off!
On our way to my lake, Lake Michigan, we passed Buckingham Fountain which has been under construction for the past few months. There were still gates all around it, but as soon as they're gone I'll be making a B-line right in there to re-mark it as my territory. Every dog needs to own a fountain like this!
When we made it to the lake I was shocked to find the ice had left and the nice belly-cooling water had returned. YES! There were these huge chunks of snow and ice bobbing about and I tried very hard to leap off the walkway into the water so I could bite one. Every time I lunged mom gave me a jerk and yelled "No!" but I was rather persistent. They looked so tasty!
Boats were starting to trickle into the marina once again. We hadn't seen them all winter. That's a sure sign that spring is coming!
Here is my lovely Navy Pier. It looks rather sleepy now but within the next few weeks it will glow with its sparkling lights and bustle with tourists.
The goal of our trip was Adler Planetarium with its beautiful lawn and view of the water. I was so pumped! I hadn't roached in that grass since last year and that grass deserved some good roaching.
Mom made me pose with the city skyline in the background. I guess we were on a bit of a slant because those buildings look like they're about to spill off the side of the photo. Can you see how magnificently dirty and beastly I am?
There were puparazzi everywhere on the Planetarium lawn, and we even got to see a couple taking wedding photos. As the weather gets nicer there will be crowds of wedding folks showing up for photo-ops and fighting for the best spot.
Do you remember what's on the other side of the Planetarium? Yes! It's my beach - Weeble Beach! There are no grumpy humans guarding it this time of year so we got to get a close look at my little strip of heaven.
There was a big strip of ice and snow holding back the water like a pie crust. My folks wouldn't let me go for dip, but I didn't mind. I was too interested in the seagulls zooming about...
...and the crazy tasty ducks splashing in the icy water.
Feeling sand between my toes was marvelous!
We took one last look at south Chicago -
- and started on our way home. Dad and I stopped half way to do some serious squirrel hunting. I got so excited over those tree lobsters that I shook as if I had caught a chill. I LOVE squirrel hunting!
Once at home I sucked down some water and crashed on the sofa.
Stan had saved me my favorite snoozel spot on the sofa arm.
And he did nappies on the sofa back.
Eventually, he rolled from his high sleeping place and joined me for some snoozel snugglies.
And that's pretty much where we spent the rest of the evening... waking only to beg dad for some of his cheezy snacks.

I think Stan and I are in for a fast hunt to Museum Campus today, followed by a bath and a nice sleek springtime grooming. Mom says we're so filthy that her hands get greasy when she pets us. Awesome! There's nothing quite like the life of a beast.

Happy squirrel hunting,
Big Pupi

P.S. The sweater is still up for grabs to anyone who wants it! It'll fit a dog that is 8ish pounds with a chest measurement of 14 inches and back measurement of 12 inches. Email Stanislaw at rawfeasting@gmail.com if you'd like to have it!

Raw Food Diet, Day 409- Pent Up Wackies

Aloha feaster dudes!
I've snapped my humans into working order and we're finally back to gettin' down with our funky selves. We even went for a fast hunt yesterday and I was SO HAPPY (can you tell from that picture above?). I had so many saved up wigglies from days trapped at home and slow walks that I ran my bum off for almost 3 miles, did a few sprint laps through the bark park and I still was bouncing off the walls by nightfall. That'll teach my folks to keep me at home!

While mom was sick, we spent a lot of time doing some seriously dull indoor things - like laundry. Sure, it's fun to make forts out of clean clothes and thrash through all the folded stuff, and all that static and Naughty Boyness makes Big Pupi and me get a little wrastly with each other...
...but it's just not that energy burn that I need! Man, I am so happy that things have returned to normal. It's supposed to be a whopping 40 degrees today, and I can't wait to expose my freshly shaved back and belly to the wild Chicago air on our run this afternoon. I'm also super pumped for school tomorrow, which will unfortunately be my last day since next weekend Big Pupi is scheduled to volunteer at the Chicagoland Pet Expo and represent his therapy organization. I wanted to go too but mommy said I have to have that special therapy dog bling to get in. Whatever! Being a Naughty Boy is WAAAAAY more fun, and I'll get to sit at home and be manly with dad all afternoon. I bet there will be lots of cheezy snacks and sports. Sweetness.

To get back to my stinky days with sickly humans - my mom was so bored chillin' at home with that flu bug that she took up knitting dog sweaters. This pink one was supposed to be for Big Pupi's 4-lb chihuahua girlfriend Lilly, but due to mom's lack of skills and knowledge about something called "gauge" (thanks for clearing that one up, Beckett's mom!) it wound up being about 2 times too big. And since we don't know any girl doggies that would fit this, we'd like to offer it to any blog dog that can squeeze themselves in. It measures about 14 inches around the chest and 12 inches along the back. It would be good for a pug-type body that has a round rib cage and short shoulder-to-tail measurement. If you're a fit and you would like to have it, send me an email at rawfeasting@gmail.com and we'll mail it to you!

In other canine news... I had the craziest thing happen yesterday. A lady approached mom on the sidewalk while Pupi and I were doing our Good Boy business outside, and asked when our next litter was planned. She offered mom a LOT of money for one of our puppies. Ugh... didn't she see our weebles? We lifted our legs sky-high to get that pole! (A lot of folks think that Big Pupi is a lady because of his tiny size, but most folks know that I'm a boy because I ooze beastliness.) Imagine her surprise when she found out that we were both males, neutered, and from a shelter. She was shocked! She couldn't believe that pure bred, friendly, housebroken dogs were available at shelters. Then mom went on and on about how Oprah just adopted a cocker spaniel puppy from PAWS Chicago and the lady was so excited that she said she'll go check out the shelter on Saturday. Woohoo! We LOVE promoting adoption! We hope she falls in love with a pup tomorrow.

But all I can think about right now is my run scheduled for when my breakfast "hits bottom," as mom says. I'm sooooo pumped!
Happy Friday the 13th everyone. You know that every day is the best day of my life, and we can make this date a good thing. Let's see... it's 3/13 today and 3+1+3=7 which is a lucky number. And you can say that it's 3/13/2009 and 3+1+3+2+9=18 which is one of mom's seriuosly lucky numbers. See? It'll be amazing!

Have a wonderful weekend, folks!
Stanislaw

Interlude

Hey feaster friends. From what I gather, mom ate a bug named Flu. Flu is not friendly like all those other tasty bugs that I have eaten. And to make matters worse for us canines, dad is all stressed about some paper he needs to write for school. I keep offering to digest some of his class reading for him, but he never takes me up on my offer. Ugh.

So... I have no one to type out my innermost thoughts, or to put in words the tasty feasts on which I have dined. Sorry folks. I will return to writing my blog and reading your blogs again soon.

In the mean time, tell your people to avoid nasty insects and convince them that papers are for shredding, NOT writing.

Silly people.