Happy Birthday Missy!!

My sweet cockatiel, Missy, turns 4 today! I made some cupcakes. She liked that, but not as much as the dog liked them! He swallowed half a cupcake without even chewing.

Notes on Peter..

I have a sick bunny! :(

On Saturday he seemed a little off so I kept an eye on him, but by that night it became apparent he was not eating or pooping- my fear was gastrointestinal stasis, the same thing Ruby had almost 3 years ago. Mum and I went to the Cesar Millan Dog Whisperer seminar which was good, but would have been more enjoyable had I not been worried out of my mind right through it!! We took him to ARH when we got home around midnight and they hospitalised him. They gave pain relief, fluids and started treating him for- yes- gastrointestinal stasis.
Sunday morning they sent him home, said he started pooping and was eating. By Sunday night, he was barely pooping and not eating- so we took him back, and decided I'd do home care overnight.
Monday morning, totally sleep deprived by now, we took him to a rabbit speciailist. By now his GI tract was working again, thanks to the medication and syringe feeding, but the question remained- why wouldn't he eat? Turned out one of his back teeth, the ones you can't see without a speculum, was slightly overgrown and was cutting into his tongue. They hospitalised him again.
Tuesday morning the Vet planned to send him home, said he was eating and pooping. It took them until now to figure out he was only eating when on pain meds- I could've told them that 2 days ago, but nevermind. So I got a call at work that they needed to do a dental surgery on him. They did, and we picked him up Tuesday night.
Wednesday (yesterday) and today he's a bit better- more mischeivous and annoying- one of the reasons I knew he was sick was because he's usually a cranky little bugger and he was being sweet and placid for the first time in his life! But he's still not eating as much as I'd like him to.

So we've had quite a week!! It's Thanksgiving in the US today, so Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! We're having pumpkin pie for dinner tonight. It's almost time to start the Christmas mail and decorating too!

New rabbit cage!

Here are a few pics of Ruby and Peter's new home!!! Far from a hutch, it's a custom designed shed x aviary that took Mum and I every spare minute of a week to put together. We are exhausted, desperately behind in everything else we need to do, and we have no fingernails left !! We anticipated that it'd take us a full day to put it up, but not 7! The instructions were terrible- that is, there were none! Just a badly labelled picture which meant we had to experiment and keep re-doing stuff, plus we had storms all week and got rained on about a million times!
The first picture is the side view, the second is the specially designed box we ordered as their bed, and the third is the bathroom area I set up. The cage also has a kitchen area complete with fridge magnets and a storage shelf and window!
I decided to do this for a few reasons; 1. Their wooden hutch was a pain to clean 2. I want them to have more floor space to run around- since we got the dog and moved house, they had less time to hop around outside and I felt bad about that. 3. I love them! I'd do anything for my pets. 4. They needed a better shade structure- it was getting too hot for them in Summer. 5. In a couple of years they would probably have been too old to climb up and down the hutch stairs.
I'm not sure if they like it yet. They seemed very curious when I put them in and promptly argued over who would use the litter tray first! Old married couple much? Peter bit me again, just for good measure I suppose, but what's new... Ruby is her usual sweet self.

Book Signing.

I went to a Nicholas Sparks book signing today. Firstly because I've been reading his books since I was about 14, second because I love writing and find it fascinating to hear of the inspiration behind the novels, the writing process etc. and third because I'd never been to a book signing before. It was good, entertaining and informative! I'm still trying to finish reading "The Best of Me", his latest novel.
In other news, the shops were crazy today! I don't know if it's holiday shopping already or just because it was Saturday but it makes me crazy- the people who walk along so slowly as if they have nothing else to do today... well some of us have a list of a million things and we are stuck behind you! I also hate (yet totally understand) that feeling of being stalked in the carpark when someone follows you wanting your park space! I hope to do all my Christmas shopping in November and mostly online!
I had a rough week with Frankie. His lead broke during a walk and he almost got hit by a car. I didn't walk him for a couple of days after that because it was raining, but I did tonight though it was really nerve wracking. I think I now know what people mean when they talk about "getting back in the saddle!"

Melbourne Cup Day- Sign the Pledge to Never Bet on Cruelty.

Sign the Pledge to Never Bet on Cruelty

This is sad. I don't know why so many otherwise smart people would rather stay in blissful ignorance than THINK about what supporting this industry does. It's not all glitz and glamour. It's money making and cruelty disguised as love for horses.