ThunderShirt = Epic Win

This piece of awesomeness right here is a Thundershirt:

In case you have no clue what I'm talking about, The Thundershirt is a shirt for dogs who suffer from anxiety brought on by basically anything (fireworks, storms, the vacuum, car rides, etc). The shirt works by applying gentle calming pressure to the dog.

The other main way to treat anxiety in dogs is through medication. My mothers dog Roxy was prescribed by the vet, what basically equates to Xanax for her anxiety during storms. The medication does work, but you have to catch it just right, (up to an hour at least before the bad weather starts). If its not timed perfectly, she will  run around panting and terrified.

I had been eyeing the Thundershirts at Petsmart and had visited the website a few times because of Molly. Molly freaks out so bad during Thunderstorms that she will whine and yipe as loud as she can until the storm passes. Needless to say, we have had plenty of sleepless nights and miserable days waiting for storms to pass while trying to comfort her. I didn't want to go the medication route, so finally as part of our storm prep for Hurricane Issac I picked up a Thundershirt for her.

I was weary of paying $40 for a dog shirt but it was THE BEST $40 I HAVE EVER SPENT! Molly loves her Thundershirt, in fact she actually gets mad at me when I go to take if off of her lol. As soon as I put the shirt on, she calms down and usually she ends up in her bed asleep. We weathered Issac without a single whine or yipe, as well as several thunderstorms since then. Also I discovered that it also works great for car ride anxiety, Molly was a terrible rider, until I put her Thundershirt on and now she is an angel. I am planning to get another shirt for Copper (he is terrified every year by fireworks at new years and the 4th of July) and for my moms dog Roxy.

If you have a dog who is suffering from any type of anxiety, the Thundershirt is worth a try! I know it seems kinda unbelievable that something so simple could work but somehow it does. I am a believer, and if it works for your dog(s) the way it has worked for mine then it will be the best $40 you will have ever spent as well! :)

Molly in her Thundershirt:

Our Candy!

November 11, 2011 My husband and I had gone to Petsmart to pick up a few treats for our other dogs. As fate would have it the big adoption event was going on. We decided to go have a look. We walked around with the intention of LOOKING only, we moved past several dogs and puppies and as we were leaving we caught a glimpse of Candy in the very back of the tent. Somehow that one look from her melted both our hearts, and we had to adopt her! We spent our last $100 to pay the adoption fees and to get her a bowl and a harness and the rest is history. 11/11/11 Will always be a special day  because its the day that our beautiful Candy captured our hearts.

Candy had been with us for almost 11 months now and she fits very well in our pack of pups. With Candy we now have 4 dogs and a bird! Wowza that's a lot of pets! Haha I never thought I would have so many at one time but I wouldn't have it any other way now.

Candy Cane is the sweetest dog that you will ever know but she is also a little terror! She is actually the most destructive dog that we have ever had. She loves to chew and to pull the paper out of Kahunas cage bottom, shred it, and eat the seeds. She has de-squeekered and un-stuffed every toy that has ever come into the house. Its kinda sad when she brings me a toy, what was once a cool looking toy is nothing but a pathetic little rag full of holes. I try and buy one toy every two weeks and it lasts about 10 min max before its a rag. The super durable toys last a little longer (up to a week or two) but eventually they become a rag toy and I don't buy those often because they cost so much more. We have had to get items for Candy that we never had to have for our other dogs like a crate ($80) and extra tall dog gate ($50). Also Candy has cost us thousands of dollars in destruction of things around the house.

To date the things lost to Candys jaws of steel are:

1. Karl's headphones ($100) 
2. My favorite pair of leather sandles ($120)
3. The wires that connect the mouse and keyboard to my computer ($50 for a new wireless set)
4. Karl's flip flops ($10)
5. Countless pairs of socks and undies ($60?)
6. My brand new bra ($30)
7. The pillows to our couch ($?)
8. The back of our couch and oversized chair ($1200)
9. 2 Crate pillows ($40 each)
10. 1 pair of King Sized Egyptian cotton sheets ($100)
11. The bottom of the stair rail ($ ? I guess we will find out how much if we move one day?)
12. Karl's TMJ brace ($600)

Even with all of her destruction we still love her, that face is so cute and sweet that we cant stay mad at her for very long!

Here are some pics of our Candy baby:

Candy and Molly love to play with the sheets that I use to cover Kahuna with. 

Its a nightly ritual to play with the sheet:

 

Candy is busy destroying a new toy:

 

About this Blog

So, I know its been forever since I wrote anything on this blog. I just haven't felt much like writing. I'm going to try and start getting back into it. In fact I am REALLY in the mood to write today. I'm on a roll. I finished my last post (which had been sitting as a draft for over a year) and I have three topics written down on a sticky note just begging me to blog about them! I know few if any people read my blog but that's not why I am writing it. I enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts and if I can provide a little entertainment to even one other person then I will be happy. Besides this is something I need for me, something I can always turned to and Its way past time for me to back to it ;)

Its the end of the world as we know it ....or not lol

***note*** I started writing this on May 21, 2011 (only wrote the first paragraph)

I came across it today and decided that it was worth finishing, enjoy :)

So the time of the supposed May 21 2011 Rapture has come and gone... Yes that's right... in case you haven't heard yet, at 6pm today 200 million people were supposed to float magically up into the air on their voyage towards heaven whilst the rest of the world would be subjected to 5 months of hell on earth before the world is completely destroyed...............

Haha where do these people come up with this stuff?  Sure, sure, the bible and all, but I mean to really actually believe it, and put all your money and your life on hold waiting for some tragic end to humanity requires a special breed of gullibility.  Perhaps they watched one to many disaster movies, or happened across the Zombie Apocalypse guide from the CDC (pure awesomeness right there), or maybe they just secretly want the world to end because the thought of living in heaven is much prettier than the messiness of everyday life. What ever the reason it seems that we as a global culture are obsessed with the demise of our own species. Every couple of years there is a new scare that threatens to bring the end of the world as we know it.

Remember Y2K?  The Millennium bug,was supposed to shut off any system running on a computer, so that means utilities, banking, etc were all just going to stop at midnight on Jan 1, 2000 sending the world into a literal dark age again. Y2K is not nearly as unbelievable as the Rapture and perhaps it would have happened if governments around the world hadn't spent billions upgrading their computer systems. Or perhaps it was just another end of the world scare, either way, lots of people were terrified that this was truly going to end the modern world.

The next disaster that should be ending the world will be of course on December 21 2012 (12/21/12) at the supposed end of the Mayan calendar. Seriously, the Mayans were awesome and all, but I really don't understand how people can believe that the world is going to come to some crazy tragic end. I mean the Mayans lived thousands of years ago, yes they were great at astromomy and math (so are we today) but In order for them to acurately predict the end of the world they would have to be more like psychics and prophets than astronomers and mathematicians.

I think the bottom line it that it is fun to sometimes fantasize about the end of the world (hehe yes, even I have made a zombie contingency plan) plus there is no denying the fact that our doomsday fascination has made for countless hours of quality entertainment in movies and books. However, if you cross the line from using Armageddon as entertainment to believing that this will soon be the new reality then its time to go and get your head checked! :)