Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Jimmy Choo for Jimmy Choo !
I first saw pics of Jimmy Choo the dog on Facebook - I thought it was amazing and so clever, not to mention ridiculously cute!
Yesterday I page through Vogue magazine while having a coffee break and there on the fashionable pages of that glorious magazine I spot him again!
Turns out Jimmy Choo (the dog) is the new face of Jimmy Choo (the fashion label). His dad, a very creative man called Rafael Mantesso, started drawing pictures on the walls of their home and got Jimmy to feature in them and social media 'LIKED', a lot! Fast forward and Jimmy's sweet face can now be found on Jimmy Choo merchandise such as tote bags, iPhone covers and all manner of other fun accessories as part of their 2015 Pre-Fall capsule collection.
Salvador dreams of this kind of fame...
Licks and kisses everyone!
xxx
TEARS of joy !
Gone are the days of using the phrase ‘winter is coming’…winter is
officially upon us and not only upon us, but also upon our beloved fur
children. Unfortunately there are many fur children going without the warmth of
a blanket, let alone the warmth of a loving home.
This got me thinking about how I can turn Salvador into a more
charitable dog – I only had to think about this for a minute before realizing
Salvador is not really the charitable type. The only thing he likes sharing is
play time and only in certain parks with certain dogs, SO I decided I will have
to take on the charitable role in this relationship.
To make a long story short, I volunteered to make up some dog jumpers
for an amazing organization called TEARS. You can follow the link to their page and
find out all about it, but what I like most about this non-profit organization
is their mission statement.
‘ TEARS is a pro-life, non-profit organisation whose core aims are to rescue, rehabilitate, re-unite and re-home lost, abandoned, abused, and neglected animals and to educate our communities, in particular the children. ’
How amazing is this?! Although this means that they rely heavily on
adoption and donations. Unfortunately, as much as we want to, adopting another
dog is not ideal for us right now so making jumpers for the little guys over at
TEARS is my way of contributing. Being a dressmaker, I have quite a bit of off
cut fabric, but I’m sure this won’t be nearly enough to make enough jumpers for
all the dogs there. A very kind friend has donated about 10 meters of fleece
that I will be receiving this week and if there’s anyone out there who has, or
knows someone who has some off cut warm fabrics like fleece lying around, you
can contact me via Facebook so we can arrange collection.
If you aren't that into making things, there are so many ways you can
help this organization. If you go to their WAYS TO HELP sections,
there’s a whole list of ways you can get involved like for instance, getting a
MySchool/MyPlanet/MyVillage card from Woolworths and making the benefactor
TEARS – this way every time you shop at Woolworths (which you all do at some
stage anyway) or one of the other stores on their list, a percentage of your
spend goes towards TEARS – I think this is literally the quickest, easiest way
of making a difference – I’m getting my card tomorrow!
Another easy way to help is to make a direct donation via their website.
Can’t own a dog of your own (due to the hard time you’ll have finding a rental in Cape
Town! Sorry, I’m obviously still cut up about that... )
? – Problem solved! Become a sponsor for one of the many adorable dogs at
TEARS! Best thing about it is, you can go and walk the dogs as part of their
volunteering program so you’ll reap all the rewards of owning a dog without
your landlord breathing down your neck.
The list of things you can do and donate goes on so go and have a
look. You can also follow TEARS on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram and don’t forget to hit the SHARE button! Awareness is key
here!
Licks and Kisses!
xxx
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Dogs and the City
Last night we went for dinner at Salvador's aunts house. He stayed home and
protected the house with his best friend Jameson while we were there as auntie
owns four cats...
During our visit I paid close attention to the cats - just thinking about how some people are cat people while others prefer dogs and how different it is being either pet's owner. I also noticed how destructive cats could be. Now, I am in no way slamming cat owners and cats - I love cats, I grew up with them and if we didn't have an allergic person in the house we would probably own a cat, but it did get me thinking about renting property and how often an apartment is advertised as pet friendly, but by pet friendly they actually mean cat friendly.
Why is this the case?
As a dog owner, moving is one of my biggest worries. I worry about finding a place that will allow me to keep my dog and what do I do if I can't find a place in time? I remember when we first moved to Cape Town how exhausting house hunting was. As soon as we mentioned our dog to an estate agent it was like a steal gate slammed down along with comments like, "well, that just narrows your options right down" or "we don't have ANYTHING pet friendly like EVER". We absolutely lucked out with our current place just as I was about to enter a state of complete hopelessness. The only reason we called to look at the house is because we saw the current tenant’s dog in one of the photos they posted of the house.
We looked at places in and around the city and if it wasn’t extremely limited pickings, it was way out of our price range. This being said, I often drive through the city or past De Waal Park (the local dog park) and I can’t help wondering where all these people live with their dogs? Sure, a large amount of those pet owners own properties close by, but I see more and more people my age with dogs – and some are big dogs at that- and I assume they live in rented apartments or smallish houses with their dogs.
Why are dog owners being denied rentals?
Sure, dogs can be just as destructive, and more so than cats, but dogs offer many benefits too. Dogs are easily trained and are often quite happy sharing small spaces with their humans provided they get enough exercise and stimulations (walks, parks etc.).
Dogs act as a form of security – especially when you live in a country like SA where crime is very much a part of our daily lives, whether they are protecting your property or accompanying you on your daily walk/run.
Just like cats, dogs easily be trained in the artful skill of private time and when to have it. All you have to do is be responsible for picking up what they leave behind, which you are probably already doing when visiting a dog park.
All of this said, most people still find looking for a dog friendly place in Cape Town a huge hassle.
The sad reality is that, in a city where unwanted dogs are already a big issue, even more dogs are being forcibly put up for adoption or euthanized due to the lack of affordable, dog friendly properties. I recently read an interesting article on how landlords in San Francisco have come to compromise with pet owners on having dogs on their previous not pet friendly properties by setting up a special contract. These contracts include things like the landlord being allowed to meet the dog before they move in. In some cases the dog owners even show a resume of sorts with references from previous landlords and vet certificates etc. Other things like allowing the landlord to come and inspect the property on occasion in the duration of the lease can also be negotiated.
Knowing how hard this kind of house hunt can be, I though it would be helpful to post a few pet friendly rentals in and around Cape Town on our Facebook page so keep an eye out for that. Hope it helps!!
Licks and Kisses!
xxx
During our visit I paid close attention to the cats - just thinking about how some people are cat people while others prefer dogs and how different it is being either pet's owner. I also noticed how destructive cats could be. Now, I am in no way slamming cat owners and cats - I love cats, I grew up with them and if we didn't have an allergic person in the house we would probably own a cat, but it did get me thinking about renting property and how often an apartment is advertised as pet friendly, but by pet friendly they actually mean cat friendly.
Why is this the case?
As a dog owner, moving is one of my biggest worries. I worry about finding a place that will allow me to keep my dog and what do I do if I can't find a place in time? I remember when we first moved to Cape Town how exhausting house hunting was. As soon as we mentioned our dog to an estate agent it was like a steal gate slammed down along with comments like, "well, that just narrows your options right down" or "we don't have ANYTHING pet friendly like EVER". We absolutely lucked out with our current place just as I was about to enter a state of complete hopelessness. The only reason we called to look at the house is because we saw the current tenant’s dog in one of the photos they posted of the house.
We looked at places in and around the city and if it wasn’t extremely limited pickings, it was way out of our price range. This being said, I often drive through the city or past De Waal Park (the local dog park) and I can’t help wondering where all these people live with their dogs? Sure, a large amount of those pet owners own properties close by, but I see more and more people my age with dogs – and some are big dogs at that- and I assume they live in rented apartments or smallish houses with their dogs.
Why are dog owners being denied rentals?
Sure, dogs can be just as destructive, and more so than cats, but dogs offer many benefits too. Dogs are easily trained and are often quite happy sharing small spaces with their humans provided they get enough exercise and stimulations (walks, parks etc.).
Dogs act as a form of security – especially when you live in a country like SA where crime is very much a part of our daily lives, whether they are protecting your property or accompanying you on your daily walk/run.
Just like cats, dogs easily be trained in the artful skill of private time and when to have it. All you have to do is be responsible for picking up what they leave behind, which you are probably already doing when visiting a dog park.
All of this said, most people still find looking for a dog friendly place in Cape Town a huge hassle.
The sad reality is that, in a city where unwanted dogs are already a big issue, even more dogs are being forcibly put up for adoption or euthanized due to the lack of affordable, dog friendly properties. I recently read an interesting article on how landlords in San Francisco have come to compromise with pet owners on having dogs on their previous not pet friendly properties by setting up a special contract. These contracts include things like the landlord being allowed to meet the dog before they move in. In some cases the dog owners even show a resume of sorts with references from previous landlords and vet certificates etc. Other things like allowing the landlord to come and inspect the property on occasion in the duration of the lease can also be negotiated.
Knowing how hard this kind of house hunt can be, I though it would be helpful to post a few pet friendly rentals in and around Cape Town on our Facebook page so keep an eye out for that. Hope it helps!!
Licks and Kisses!
xxx
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Dewclaws, CHECK!
I'm starting to remember all kinds of things that happened during our hiatus from this blog!
One of these happened about a month ago. I was so sure that I've done a post on this subject but I might be thinking of the time Salvador had issues with grass seeds - see the post on grass seeds .
Salvador has become a rather fluffy thing over the past two years. No one seemed to warn me that by shaving him in the hot summer months, I encourage epic hair growth in the winter months, thus he is now one giant ball of fur(pictures will soon follow). With out of control hair growth comes many new, and often overlooked grooming responsibilities...one such responsibility is to check nails - in particular the one called the dewclaw.
Dew claws are common in dogs and you can usually find them on the inside of front legs, although occasionally they are also found on the hind legs - in Salvador's case. Some believe they are ancient remnants of doggy ancestors that have no real purpose in our modern day pals, but apparently they do assist in holding on to bones while chewing.
Salvador seems to be blessed with a dewclaw on all four of his legs. Upon further investigation(searching through many layers of fur and fluff...) I came across a pretty horrific sight! Salvador's dewclaw was so out of control, it was curling around and growing back into his paw?!
I am ashamed to say that I've never even thought about clipping his nails. I always assumed that because we walk on tar roads and cemented pavements, his nails were being filed down naturally, but because the dewclaw is positioned so high up on the leg, they never get filed down and therefor just keep growing.
We took Salvador to the vet the next day - as he would not let me close to the sore toe, where they proceeded to give him a proper nail trim and a course of antibiotics to clear up the infected toe.
OPTIONS:
So how do we prevent this from happening again?
There are a few options. Some folk have their dogs' dewclaws removed surgically - I've even come across some articles where they show basically new born puppies undergoing, what might look like, the very painful removal the whole nail. I guess it's like having your ears pierced as a baby as apposed to when your an adult - you forget about the pain...
In my case, we will just have to be more vigilant toe nail watchers. I for one don't think I will be doing the trimming myself. I find it less worrisome to have it done by a professional (be it a groomer or a vet) as it's easy to cut the nail too short if you don't know what you're doing. Checking your dogs nails every month is probably a good way of staying on top of this.
Licks & Kisses
xxx
One of these happened about a month ago. I was so sure that I've done a post on this subject but I might be thinking of the time Salvador had issues with grass seeds - see the post on grass seeds .
Salvador has become a rather fluffy thing over the past two years. No one seemed to warn me that by shaving him in the hot summer months, I encourage epic hair growth in the winter months, thus he is now one giant ball of fur(pictures will soon follow). With out of control hair growth comes many new, and often overlooked grooming responsibilities...one such responsibility is to check nails - in particular the one called the dewclaw.
 |
| http://petcarefacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/dew-claw.jpg |
Dew claws are common in dogs and you can usually find them on the inside of front legs, although occasionally they are also found on the hind legs - in Salvador's case. Some believe they are ancient remnants of doggy ancestors that have no real purpose in our modern day pals, but apparently they do assist in holding on to bones while chewing.
Salvador seems to be blessed with a dewclaw on all four of his legs. Upon further investigation(searching through many layers of fur and fluff...) I came across a pretty horrific sight! Salvador's dewclaw was so out of control, it was curling around and growing back into his paw?!
I am ashamed to say that I've never even thought about clipping his nails. I always assumed that because we walk on tar roads and cemented pavements, his nails were being filed down naturally, but because the dewclaw is positioned so high up on the leg, they never get filed down and therefor just keep growing.
 |
| http://www.cavaliersa.com/rescue.htm |
We took Salvador to the vet the next day - as he would not let me close to the sore toe, where they proceeded to give him a proper nail trim and a course of antibiotics to clear up the infected toe.
OPTIONS:
So how do we prevent this from happening again?
There are a few options. Some folk have their dogs' dewclaws removed surgically - I've even come across some articles where they show basically new born puppies undergoing, what might look like, the very painful removal the whole nail. I guess it's like having your ears pierced as a baby as apposed to when your an adult - you forget about the pain...
In my case, we will just have to be more vigilant toe nail watchers. I for one don't think I will be doing the trimming myself. I find it less worrisome to have it done by a professional (be it a groomer or a vet) as it's easy to cut the nail too short if you don't know what you're doing. Checking your dogs nails every month is probably a good way of staying on top of this.
Licks & Kisses
xxx
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Purina Puppy Chow Add - a sweet treat for you because I have been horrible at keeping this blog going...
Purina Puppyhood
Hi all,
I really hope you enjoy this lovely, heart warming video as much as I did! It is possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen, apart from the time I laid eyes on Salvador as a puppy...
There really is no excuse for me not posting anything for such an extended period of time...I will have to go with the old excuse where I rant on about how busy I've been (Okay so I've been REALLY busy! I've taken on a second job, I hardly have time to go to the doctor to get a tiny shard of glass taken out of my foot, that I managed to get lodged in there on the dance floor at a wedding - don't even ask AND all of this has been the main cause for Salavador not having that many adventures to write about the past few months...) So there, that's pretty much the gist of it.
Lots have been happening in the life of young Salvador, although he is now a very mature 30 something in dog years, I've recently been told. It's a rather strange sensation when your dog child starts outgrowing you in age?! I don't feel that he has calmed down at all though. He is still very much a high energy pooch and constantly demands being faffed over.
An exciting thing that has happened recently is that one of my very close friends got a puppy - your late 20's will do that to you. She is an Airedale Terrier called Suki and she is simply adorable! Salvador thinks she's marvelous. It possibly has something to do with the fact that they both have some things in common, like having wild and out of control coats and they both like to run at extreme speeds with no means of slowing themselves down, even if that means they have to use some object (unfortunately this usually ends up being another dog or person) to do so for them.
The other great thing about Suki is that she lives in a tiny little beach town called Betty's Bay that is basically dog heaven! We were there for lunch last Sunday and we started off with the dogs having the best time on the vast, mostly empty beach. We then went and had a little rinse in the nearby lagoon - because it was on the way home, therefor we just could . The rest of the day was spent at Suki's house which is just below the mountain and has all the free space a dog could want without us worrying about them getting in the way of a car etc. All-in-all a great day in a great place!
I must now leave you as there is a fire in the other room and I want to go and sit in front of it before I have to mentally prepare myself for this coming week - bless the public holiday smack bang in the middle of it!
I'm planning on getting the glass removed from my foot tomorrow so that Salvador and I can go running in the mornings (you'll no doubt hear about how that went for us that in the near future).
Later!
Licks and Kisses
xxx
Hi all,
I really hope you enjoy this lovely, heart warming video as much as I did! It is possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen, apart from the time I laid eyes on Salvador as a puppy...
There really is no excuse for me not posting anything for such an extended period of time...I will have to go with the old excuse where I rant on about how busy I've been (Okay so I've been REALLY busy! I've taken on a second job, I hardly have time to go to the doctor to get a tiny shard of glass taken out of my foot, that I managed to get lodged in there on the dance floor at a wedding - don't even ask AND all of this has been the main cause for Salavador not having that many adventures to write about the past few months...) So there, that's pretty much the gist of it.
Lots have been happening in the life of young Salvador, although he is now a very mature 30 something in dog years, I've recently been told. It's a rather strange sensation when your dog child starts outgrowing you in age?! I don't feel that he has calmed down at all though. He is still very much a high energy pooch and constantly demands being faffed over.
An exciting thing that has happened recently is that one of my very close friends got a puppy - your late 20's will do that to you. She is an Airedale Terrier called Suki and she is simply adorable! Salvador thinks she's marvelous. It possibly has something to do with the fact that they both have some things in common, like having wild and out of control coats and they both like to run at extreme speeds with no means of slowing themselves down, even if that means they have to use some object (unfortunately this usually ends up being another dog or person) to do so for them.
The other great thing about Suki is that she lives in a tiny little beach town called Betty's Bay that is basically dog heaven! We were there for lunch last Sunday and we started off with the dogs having the best time on the vast, mostly empty beach. We then went and had a little rinse in the nearby lagoon - because it was on the way home, therefor we just could . The rest of the day was spent at Suki's house which is just below the mountain and has all the free space a dog could want without us worrying about them getting in the way of a car etc. All-in-all a great day in a great place!
I must now leave you as there is a fire in the other room and I want to go and sit in front of it before I have to mentally prepare myself for this coming week - bless the public holiday smack bang in the middle of it!
I'm planning on getting the glass removed from my foot tomorrow so that Salvador and I can go running in the mornings (you'll no doubt hear about how that went for us that in the near future).
Later!
Licks and Kisses
xxx
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