General Updates

Well - so much for blogging more frequently - there really isn't enough time in the day.  Let's get up to date on how things are going here:

Kitties - we will start here because there is not much to say.  Kitties are all doing well - they seem happy and healthy and all is right in the feline world.

Piggers - Winston is doing great. He is on a really good schedule and has gotten over being pissed off that the puppies came home. He spent a couple of weeks issuing me special piggy memos letting me know that he was unhappy. That has finally calmed down and he is doing well. He spends a good bit of time outdoors. For the most part he is out by himself - although there have been a few times he is out at the same time as one of the girl pups. I have not had him outside with Tango - although there have been some cases of incidental/accidental contact that have occurred with no aggression from either party.

Emma - the old girl is doing well - she is a bit senile, a bit deaf, a bit blind and a bit annoying at times but she keeps going strong.  She's 15 now and we pretty much let her do her thing. She is happy the pups are back!

Pups - they are adjusting quite well to being home under a new set of rules.  Pup parents are still going to school - I think a few more lessons left. They are much improved dogs I must say and I am enjoying spending time every day with them one on one. I am quite please with their progress. It's interesting - Juliett is the worrier - she stresses out - wants to do it right and hates being in trouble. Tango is the stubborn one - the boundary tester who likes to see what he can get away with before he gets in trouble. And Charli - she was my difficult child before we went to training - she has blossomed. She loves the structure and is really thriving having new rules - never would have guessed....

Ferrets - the crazy little business is doing just great! Violet continues to do well - her weight, appetite, energy, level of engagement - they are all fantastic. Kai is a bit thinner than I would like - I believe this to be related to his coat change. Male ferrets can lose up to 30% of their body weight with changing from winter to summer coat. With a ferret like Bash who is quite stocky its not as noticeable but with a long, lean ferret like Kai - he looks thinner for sure.  His appetite, energy levels, etc are all fine but I have been supplementing his food a few times a day. All the ferrets LOVE to eat from the syringe (something I taught them when Harlow - our FIP ferret was ill a few years ago). So - I make up some gravy and give Kai a supplemental feeding a few times a day. I also give some to Violet as its good from a blood sugar perspective for her to eat often. And - then I have to share with each of the other ferrets - they all take turns getting a little taste from the syringe. Mind you - if I dump the gravy into their bowl - no interest. They are so silly.

The exotic vet comes for a house call on the 27th. I will have him give Kai a good once over to be sure he is fine. Winston will also get his annual stuff done - vaccines, physical, annual blood draw, tusk trim, hoof trim - its stressful for him and for me...but it has to happen... The ferrets will get their updated adrenal disease prevention implants - all but Madison who already had hers updated a few months ago.

That's it from here - maybe some camera trap pics and some critter pics as well in the next week or so....

Blogging Hiatus

Gosh  - its been forever since I blogged.  I needed a bit of a hiatus I guess. This is the longest I have gone without blogging since I started in 2011.

Lots and not a lot has been happening around here. The humans have been far too busy as of late. The critters have been pretty status quo.

• Emma is doing well. Having an older dog definitely has some challenges but we are fortunate that she is in good health and going strong.
• As you probably know - the puppies (who aren't really puppies anymore - can you believe that they will be two in September?) are off to school. They come home on Friday, the 25th of May. I can't wait to get them home - I have missed them so much!!
• Winston the pig is enjoying his dog vacation. He is doing fantastic - loving the warmer weather and the time outside.
• Violet - the insulinoma ferret continues to do well!  She is bright, happy and active.
• The rest of the ferret gang are all doing just great. They are all in the process of losing their winter coat and blubber and thinning out with less weight and thinner hair. All of them are full of energy.
• The kitties are all doing just great as well. Aggie continues to do well at 22. Oliver and Phoebe seem to be quite stable on the hyperthyroid front and they are all happy and engaged and enjoying some time in the sun in their outside playspace.

I haven't checked the camera traps in a bit so I will make my way down there and find some good shots to share with you guys in the coming days. Additionally - I will provide a full report on what it's like with pups once we get them home.

June is busy - parties, visitors, vet visits for the pig and the ferrets - whew - there is always so much on the plate.

Hopefully I can get back on a more regular blogging schedule as well...fingers crossed!!

Weekend in Review

It's been a good weekend so far.  Midday on Sunday and I just got done running errands. I am pleased to report that I can leave the puppies unattended for short stints now without them tearing things up or getting into things they shouldn't.  In fact, when I got home today, I returned to find Charli and Juliett sound asleep in their crates which was totally voluntary as they were snoozing on the bed when I left.  Tango and Emma were napping on the bedroom floor.  Nothing out of place - such good dogs. I got them new toys at Costco and they seem to be a hit - all three are playing away as I type. They also got new banana peanut butter cookies which Winston has taste tested and approved.

Everyone seems happy and healthy. Violet continues to do well and Oliver is lively and ornery as ever - showing no signs of anything being amiss. Winston is a happy piggy in that we have had much nicer weather and he is spending the bulk of his days outside.  Today - not so much - its raining.  He did go out for a bit and get some grazing in before it started to sprinkle.  The rest of the ferrets and kitties are well.  This week I hope to tackle some spring cleaning in their rooms - getting rid of old, torn up toys, doing a deep clean to include windows, baseboards, etc and rearranging their rooms - they do love it when things are a bit different than the same old thing.

Next up for vet visits will be Charli and Tango next month - I haven't scheduled them yet. Then we will get the home visit for Winston and the ferrets - everyone but Madison needs their adrenal disease prevention pellet updated.  Since she has active adrenal disease she already got hers updated a couple of months ago. Then it will be time for a checkup for Aggie and Emma - it never stops!

I never posted the camera trap photos from the past week - there was one bird pic and a BUNCH of deer photos - they are prolific this time of year.  I will only post the good ones. It's also been windy - I the camera captured the windy leaves in kind of a cool shot - I will post that one as well.  While I am in critterland this week I will try to take some shots of the kitties and ferrets and post them as well.

Vet Visits and Other Stuff

As I type - Charli is barking wildly at the ferrets who are playing in their room - she watches them through the sliding glass door and wants to play so bad.  They are all chasing each other through the dryer tube having a grand time. Winston is 'bitching' at his bedroom door - he wants to be outside but it's rainy. The puppies are outside - they don't care if it rains - in fact, I think they kind of enjoy it.

This week has been crazy so far for the humans.  Phoebe and Oliver had their every six-month vet visit on Monday.  We did all the regular stuff - physical, fecal, blood work, etc.  Both of them look pretty good considering that Ollie will be 16 and Phoebe will be 13 (my zoo is getting old).  We didn't get the bloodwork results back until yesterday. 

Phoebe is perfect - not one number out of whack.  Her thyroid number was perfect - no need to adjust her medications and we got her prescription renewed.  Oliver wasn't quite perfect - but nothing was too whacky.  His white blood cell count was one digit outside of normal.  Last time he was at the top of the range so its basically no change and the vet wasn't all that concerned.  His BUN number was elevated - top of the normal range is 37 - he was 41.  BUN is associated with the kidneys and can indicate the start of kidney disease when elevated - but - his Creatinine was low - 0.9 is the start of the normal range and Ollie was 0.8.  So - since both kidney numbers were not elevated - it's likely not kidney disease.  His calcium number was also slightly elevated - 11.2 was the top of normal and he was 11.5.  There is a second calcium test we can do to get more details.  I will take Oliver along in April when I take Tango and Charli in for their annual stuff and they can do a quick blood draw.  Until then we are going to watch him closely.  Inflated calcium can be a sign of something more serious - but typically the number would be much higher than .3 above normal if we had something icky going on.

In the meantime - we are going to keep Ollie from stealing the ferret's raw diet cat food because it is very high in calcium and just keep an eye on him and make sure he is not showing any signs of illness.  At the moment his is his same ornery, active self.

Here are a few pics from the vet:

That's about it from here - I feel like this week has been 17 days long already...happy hump day!

Month in Review and Camera Traps

I can't believe its already March - I know I say this every month but geez - I swear last Tuesday it was Thanksgiving week.  February was a pretty good critter month.  Violet is well - as are all the little ferrets - crazy little bunch.  Kitties seem to be doing pretty well. Piglet seems happy and healthy.  The puppies are well - we did have the lump on Juliett's head - which turned out to be a hematoma.  It's much smaller, albeit still present, but getting better.  Healthwise - we are good to go I think.

We also had the dog on pig violence incident.  Tango went after Winston in the house.  Since then we have had no issues. Of course - they have not had much opportunity to have another incident.  They are on super lockdown and closer than every supervision.

We set up the camera traps in February and are really enjoying the results.

Looking forward to March - the kitties go to the vet on Monday.  I would also like to get Tango and Charli in for their annual stuff (Juliett's was done when she got checked out for the lump).

Here are the latest pics from the camera traps - I still think that is a fox and not a coyote - based on the blogs I have checked out and of course - the deer...

Valentine's Day, General Updates and Camera Trap Shots

First - Valentine's Day.  Of course we celebrated but this week has been so whacky I haven't had two seconds to download pictures and post.

Winston got one of his most favorite snacks - strawberries:

The puppies got some new treats and some toys from The Dollar Store - they are still in destroying the toy mode so it doesn't make sense to spend any more than a dollar:

Waiting for their treats

Getting her treat hand delivered while she lays in bed - ruff life

The kitties and the ferrets got some treats and toys as well.  They were all sleeping when I made my Valentine's Day delivery in the afternoon - but when I went to take care of them and put them to bed Valentine's Day evening the toys had been hoarded into someone's stash - I guess that means they liked them!

As for general updates - everyone is well.  Oliver and Phoebe (kitties) are headed to the vet next week to get a thyroid check so we can renew their meds.  Everyone else seems to be perking right along.  It's amazing summer-like weather here so the doors are wide open with dogs running in and out and the littles are playing in their outside play space.

And - here are a couple of the camera trap shots for this week. There are so many deer shots that I only picked the couple that were really good.  This first one I took with my phone - the crows are prolific for some reason:

Frame Filling

Many moons ago I had found a bunch of small frames in the dollar bin at Target.  I had also received a few cute small frames for gifts so I framed a pic of each of the critters.  Since then the zoo has had many additions.  I ordered the frames to add the rest of the gang last year but never filled them up.  When I was cleaning yesterday I ran across the bag with the frames and got inspired.  Here is what the old and the new look like today:

Violet (I know - it doesn't even look like her - she used to be so dark) and Theo

Phoebe, Aggie and Oliver

The pups - Charli, Tango, Juliett, and Miss Emma

Bash-y and Fiona

Miss Madison

Kai (its hard to make out - but it's him standing on his carrier at the vet's office reading his chart - so Kai) and Tabitha

Last but not least - Piggers - 

2017 - Year in Review

I can't believe we have started a new year again.  Time just marches on with a quick pace.

All in all 2017 was a pretty great critter year.  Here is the current zoo roster:

Aggie - kitty - 20 years
Oliver - kitty - 15 years
Phoebe - kitty 13 years

Winston - pig - 3 years

Emma - dog - 14 years
Tango - dog - 1 year
Juliett - dog - 1 year
Charli - dog - 1 year

Madison - ferret - 6 years
Theo - ferret - 5 years
Violet - ferret - 5 years
Tabitha - ferret - 4 years
Kai - ferret - 4 years
Bash - ferret - 3 years
Fiona - ferret - 3 years

The kitties are well!  From a health perspective we have a few issues but nothing that is super serious.  We continue to monitor Oliver and Phoebe's thyroid levels as they continue to take their medications to keep their levels stable.  Aggie has the first signs of kidney disease - her numbers are a tiny bit inflated but nothing too crazy.  We have put her on a supplement and a kidney-friendly food and she seems to be doing quite well. 

Winston the pig - he is such a character.  He had a good year from a health perspective with no major issues to report.  He spent the early part of the year adjusting to having the puppies around.  He has established himself as third in the herd - Mom is top of the heap, then Dad - then Winston and then the dogs.  We don't leave them unattended as that can be dangerous but they do co-exist outdoors fairly well.  The pig keeps me on my toes - did I mention that pigs are hard?  I adore him and we spend lots of time together.  We are lucky, he is a pretty well-behaved pig most of the time.

The pups - Emma is good - a bit slower than she used to be but still quite active and often the instigator of puppy shenanigans.  Overall her health is good for an aging dog.  The puppies are quite crazy and they are giant dogs with puppy brains which has its challenges.  They are pretty good dogs for the most part.  We need to spend more time on training this year.  We also need to get them past the need to fight for dominance.  Charli and Tango really get into it trying to be the top dog.  Juliett gets the brunt of Tango's frustration and Winston tries to referee - he is quite proud of himself when he breaks up the squabble.  All in all the pups have had a good year and have come a long way.

The ferrets - that little business of joy and happiness - I love that crazy bunch.  All of the ferrets are doing quite well.  2017 saw Violet get her diagnosis of insulinoma and we spent some time trying to find a good dosage of medication for her.  Once we found it, she has been amazingly stable.  Knock on wood!!  She is doing just great.  Madison had her annual checkup and is very healthy for a senior ferret.  The rest of the gang is due for annual exams and updates to their adrenal implants.  Madison had hers updated - they work like a charm!  Everyone seems happy, healthy, active and engaged - I am quite pleased with how they are doing.

We had a good year - minor health issues, no losses and lots of love - no complaints.

We are realistic in that several of the zoo members are getting up there in age.  While we are hopeful that 2018 will be another year with no losses to our furry family - we prepare for the worst knowing that our babies have had long and happy lives.  I would love to be writing a post like this in early January of next year with Aggie, Emma, Madison, Violet and the rest of my crazy gang happy and healthy.  My fingers are crossed...

Happy New Year!

Week In Review

It was a week for sure....

First, a Phoebe update -

For those of you who missed our updates - Phoebe wasn't feeling great last week.  I had separated her from the rest of the critters in case she was contagious.  We came home on Friday evening to find she had developed a very large abscess on her face.  We went to the emergency vet to get her fixed up and now she is doing just great - taking her antibiotics - not thrilled about it but trying to be good and off the pain meds.  I took off her e-collar this morning and she is much happier to have freedom of movement.  I offered her the choice of heading back into critter land  but she hasn't taken me up on the offer so far.  She is enjoying her alone time and I am okay with her hanging out by herself til she is 100%.  Her abscess site looks good.  There is a bit of residual swelling, not all that unexpected, but it is cool to the touch and pain free.  We have been doing a warm compress a few times a day to keep things moving but the drainage has pretty much stopped.  Her appetite is back, her energy levels are back and you can tell she is feeling so much better.  Thank goodness.

This past week also had Halloween and Fiona and Bash-ys third birthdays.  Pups and piglet are all doing great.  They were pretty good sports about dressing up.  They have been enjoying the fall weather and spending a good bit of time outside.  As for the rest of the little critter gang... Violet continues to do well, as do the other ferrets.  Everyone seems pretty happy and healthy.  Oliver and Aggie are both going strong - feeling good.  No complaints with the little ones.

Hopefully next week we can get things back to normal with Phoebe.  When you have lots of critters - I find that the regular routine makes life a whole lot easier.

October Review

Wow - October has not been a great blogging month.  It has been a crazy busy month for the humans and a great month for the critters but not a great month for capturing things on the blog.

We had human birthday celebrations, houseguests, dinner parties, work commitments, business trips - it's exhausting just thinking about it.

So - lets review....

First - the ferrets - Violet continues to do fantastic on her medication and she is a happy and active ferret.  She is due for a glucose test - maybe we will schedule that for this coming weekend.  Madison had her annual exam, bloodwork, and adrenal implant replacement.  She is super healthy and shows no symptoms of the adrenal disease.  The other two girls - Fiona and Tabitha are both doing just great.  My little boys are as wild as ever - Theo, Bash, and Kai are all ornery, active and going strong.  There are no complaints in the ferret department...  :)

Next, the kitties - they are doing well.  Oliver is holding his weight and seems to be feeling quite good.  Aggie is going strong with no issues to report.  For the most part, Phoebe has had a good month with the exception of the last couple of days.  She has had a bit of a decrease in activity the last couple of days.  I suspect it is allergies - as I have been suffering as well.  Her eyes are a bit goopy and you can tell she isn't feeling 100%.  She is, however, eating, drinking and going potty.  She has not lost weight and she does not appear to be dehydrated.  I have been hand feeding her so I can keep track of what she is taking in.  I have also been supplementing her water intake by syringe just to be sure she is getting enough and I have offered up colloidal silver several times.  Sometimes she takes me up on the offer and sometimes not - I let her decide.  I am keeping a close eye on her - I am feeling like she is improving - Saturday wasn't a great day but today she was out and about, she went outside for a bit.  I will make an appointment if she backslides or if this lingers for too long.

Emma - she is doing well - I have noticed she has been much more social lately.  She did great with houseguests and has been spending lots of time hanging out with her humans and the puppies. Speaking of the puppies - oh good lord those three are wild!!  I am not sure how they can go from crazed critters to perfect little angels in the span of a few minutes but they do.  They did well with lots of people around and are generally very well behaved when we entertain.  When its just me trying to deal with them during the day - oh my - they are giant turds.  I adore them though.  I have been neglecting their training terribly - hopefully, we can get back to a routine soon....

Winston the piglet is doing great.  He is happy and healthy and very happy that houseguests have come and gone.  Pigs do love their routine.  For the most part, his behavior has been pretty darn good - he is developing a bad habit of pushing on the door when he wants attention - we are working on re-establishing the rules related to that.  Pigs love to test the boundaries.

All in all - its been a good month.  I can't believe we are heading into the holiday season already...cripes!

Tomorrow is Halloween - Winston was very cooperative tonight when we did pictures.  Not sure how it will go tomorrow for the puppies - not making any promises.  Wish me luck getting some usable pics of them in their costumes....

Week in Review

How did another week go by?  Wow - time does just fly.

This past week has been pretty status quo in the critter department.  I will take it.  No news is good news in my book.

Winston has been a pretty good piglet this week.  He was quite happy today as the lawn guys did the aeration and he spent his day squishing dirt clods with his snout.  The puppies are all doing great.  They have been full of piss and vinegar this week - not being naughty per se but just rambunctious little monsters.  Emma is doing well - she has developed many old lady habits that make me a bit batty but she continues to do well.

The kitties are doing just great - they seem healthy and happy.  The little ferrets are all doing well too - Violet has been quite active playing and wresting every day this week.  Everyone else seems to be doing very well - they are all happy and engaged.

Critter room needs a good scrubbing - that will be my Saturday project.  This weekend is packed and then we move into full on prep for visitors the following week -

All in all the zoo is well - I will try to snap some pics this weekend....

Week In Review

It was a busy critter week - birthdays, glucose tests and a visitor....

Yes, my friends, that would be a snake in critter land.  UGH!  I am not a huge fan of snakes - not totally freaked out by them but not wanting one for the zoo.  This guy (maybe a girl but in my mind all snakes are boys for some reason) - a black snake - I think - was right by the door to the outside play space - I think that is how he got in as well.  Once I opened the door he slithered right out. There was no drama, he went slowly, not afraid.  The critters were totally uninterested in him - you would think cats and ferrets might care - they were sleeping and doing their thing - not a care in the world.  I believe he was a juvenile - not very big around - like the size of a magic marker - certainly not big enough to munch on any of my babies.  He was quite long though - I would guess he was a foot and a half long in total.  I was kind of creeped out the night it happened - hubs was out of town.  There were several trips to critter land, Winston's room, closets, etc doing snake checks.  I found nothing to indicate that there were any other snakes present.  I looked for him the next morning - no signs of a snake anywhere in the backyard so the pups and the pig were good to go outside.

Violet continues to do so well - we have been on this same dose of medication for almost 5 months now.  Knock on wood she will continue this pattern.

Puppies first birthday came and went.  As I type this they are laying on the bed with me being good dogs.  Emma is snoring on the bedroom floor - LOL.

Piglet is in his room - he has had his dinner and is playing with a new piece of paper - tearing it up so its just right in his bed.  Silly pig.

All in all, it has been a good week for the zoo!!

Week in Review

Wowser!  How are we already halfway through the month of September??  Cripes!  This week was a good one with the critters.  We have gotten back to a really good routine where everyone seems pretty content.

Let's start with the puppies.  I feel like even though I am not spending nearly enough time on training we have kind of turned a corner with them.  We have gone several weeks with no accidents and with no destruction of human owned objects.  I can't say the same for dog toys - many have found their demise but that's why we buy them.  I have left the puppies uncrated several times while I run a quick errand - usually 20 - 30 minutes - and they have been perfect little pups not getting into any mischief. They are doing really well in their crates.  They go right in without being told and there is only a tiny bit of complaining by Charli and that is only some of the time.

Emma is doing just fine - she is getting a little slow about getting up when she has been laying down for a long period.  Once she is up and going - she runs like the wind.  She is still a very active dog.  I need to order her some joint supplements I think.  Her appetite is good and she is very engaged even though her hearing is going/gone.

Piggers is doing well.  He has been pretty well behaved this week.  No challenging behavior like swiping to report.  He has enjoyed a good bit of outside time and seems to be quite happy.  We got several boxes from Amazon that had packing paper so he has been busy nesting.  Gosh - that pig loves paper!

Critterland critters are all doing great!

Kitties are well - Oliver is holding his weight with the adjustment of his meds for thyroid.  Aggie is loving her kidney care cat food and Phoebe is just a happy go lucky cat.  They played outside today in the outside play space.

Little ferrets are all just fantastic.  Violet seems great - I am determined to get her glucose test done this weekend.  The boys - Kai, Theo and Bash are all very well - ornery as ever.  Fiona, Tabitha and Madison are all great too - very interactive.  They have been getting gravy (ferret food with warm water) in the morning and evenings - it's a great way to keep tabs on everyone's appetite levels and I like to see everyone eating something twice a day since they are all free feeders and they all eat at different times.  All in all the business (did you know that is what they call a group of ferrets?) is doing quite well.

Last thing to report - we have a lizard that is living in our living room.  Not sure how he got in but I have tried to catch him to put him out and it hasn't worked.  I have been leaving the door open a lizard width so he can find his way out - but no luck so far.  I put down food and dead bugs for him - evidently he likes it because the water is gone and so are the bugs.  I would really like for him to find his way out.  I don't think he hates it too much inside - I saw him sleeping in the sun on the living room carpet this morning....geez.  He is a blue tailed skink - very cute - but he would be better off in the great outdoors....

Life at the zoo is really good - too busy - but good!  The trainer comes tomorrow for the puppies. Next week the puppies will turn one year old - holy moly time goes by fast!  Then it will be Halloween and the holidays and poof - this year will be over....

In General

Well, there is not much new and exciting to report at the zoo - which is not exactly a bad thing.  I like the status quo because it means everyone is happy and healthy.

The littlest critters seem like they are doing quite well.  I had a bad ferret mommy moment yesterday when I did things out of order and actually missed giving Violet a dose of her medication.  I haven't missed one since she started so it freaked me out when I realized what had happened.  Luckily it didn't seem to affect her and she was happy and active when I went to check in on her in the evening. Whew!  I still need to test her glucose levels - she requires at least 3 hours of fasting prior to the test - I will try to get it done this week as I need to order a  refill of her medication.  Kitties are doing well - Aggie loves her kidney friendly canned food.  Oliver seems to be holding his own on the weight front and Phoebe is just my go with the flow kitty.

Pig and pups are all good.  They spent a good bit of time indoors today.  We had a repair person here and there was a long period of rain so they were indoors a lot.  The puppies and Emma were quite well behaved.  Winston was too - he hates the rain so I made sure that I gave him some extra cuddles and covered him up with a soft blanket for his nap.

All in all things here are going pretty well.  Since we are east coast we are keeping an eye on Irma and making the appropriate preparations.  I stocked up on critter food today and we will ziploc and freeze extra water so we make sure that the fur children have plenty should the storm cause issues. Thankfully I don't think we will need to evacuate... I hate to think of all the critters that have been and will be impacted by the storm - no matter where it ends up going...its a doozy.  If you are anywhere in its path I hope you and your family - human and critter  - stay safe and that your lives are only minimally disrupted with Mother Nature's craziness....

Catching Up

Wow - it has been forever since I blogged.  Things have been so busy for both the humans and the critters!

Let's take a look back at August.  Geez - I can't believe it has already passed.  August had dog trainers, blood sugar scares and a new spider.

• In regards to dog training - the puppies are doing well.  It would be lovely if I could find some more time to spend with them on training.  They respond well and love to please but carving out the patience and the time is challenging.
• Violet had a bit of a blood sugar scare early in the month.  Since then she is doing just great. She is scheduled for her next glucose test this week.  Fingers crossed but I think she is doing well.
• Beatrice the garden spider has relocated.  I am happy and sad.  She was in a very unsafe spot so I am glad she moved and now her web is more protected from the weather and birds and such. I don't get to see her every day but that's okay I guess.

All in all August was a pretty good critter month.  Critters are all happy and healthy!  I will take it.

Looking forward to September....I think it's more of the same.  I need to get my act in gear as the trainer is supposed to come back on the 16th - I need to make more progress with the puppies before she comes.  I need to schedule an appointment for Madison - she needs the implant for her adrenal disease updated soon.  We have lots happening in the month of October so I have to plan out some prep work so I don't get to the end of the month and then start the fire drill....I am good at that!  :)

Maybe September will be a better month for blogging...ugh....

Week in Review

This week has whipped by!  It's Friday and we have had a pretty darn good critter week.  The weather this week was supposed to be very rainy but luckily it has been intermittent so the pups and the pig have been able to have some outside time.

We have been doing evening walks with the dogs and the pig - sometimes Winston walks with us and sometimes he just enjoys rooting and investigating the front yard outside of his regular domain. Emma joins us some days and others she prefers to hang out inside.  Puppies are doing well with training - I really need to spend more time working on it but it seems there is only so much time in the day.

The littles are all doing well.  Violet hasn't had any additional issues with her blood sugar.  She seems like she is feeling good - great appetite and quite active.  The other little ferrets are all doing just great, as are the kitties.  Oliver appears to be putting on a bit of weight with his medication adjustments - this is a good thing since he is such a skinny mini.

Piggers is doing great.  He had his little temper tantrum/challenge for dominance earlier in the week but since then he has been his regular charming self.

This weekend is busy -- my mom is coming for a visit.  We have friends coming over Saturday evening and a long list of chores on Sunday.  We will try to squeeze in critter land maintenance and puppy training into all of that mess.

Happy Friday!

Week in Review

After starting off with a bang with Violet's blood sugar issues the week was much calmer.  Violet was fine after about noon on Monday.  I have been offering her food every few hours, just to make sure something is going in to keep that blood sugar more stable.  I do think it was more of a one time thing rather than a need for adjustments in her meds.  I will be keeping a watchful eye and will check her glucose next week just to be sure.

The other ferrets are quite happy with this offering of food every few hours.  They line up for gravy, waiting patiently for Violet to get hers so they can have what is left.  All the ferrets are active and engaged and seem quite happy and healthy.

The kitties are doing well.  Aggie seems quite content eating her kidney friendly cat food.  She is also undeterred by the supplement that we are giving her to control the BUN numbers in her blood. Oliver is doing quite well with the adjustment to his meds.  I think he may have put on some weight in the last couple of weeks.  Since Aggie is getting her own cat food there is more for him to munch on.  It's good - he needs to put on some pounds.  Phoebe is doing just great as well.

Winston has been enjoying lots of outside time.  His days god something like this:  cookies in the early morning, breakfast around 8:30, outside for grazing and investigating, then napping in his barn, then more grazing.  We usually go for a walk in the afternoon so he can explore outside the fence and then back in, dinner around 5:30 and resting in his room, and then to bed around 9.  He has a pretty cushy life.

Maybe not as cushy as the pups - since they utilize the pool and the lawn furniture.  They are all doing well.  Training is progressing slowly.  The puppies are still quite rambunctious but they are trying.  I could work with them more but its hard to fit in time with everything else on the list.  Emma is doing well - she is feeling quite frisky these days.  Her favorite thing is to race through the house - the puppies are outside and they race along with her - crazy dogs.

All in all the critter gang is doing well.  I have critter chores this weekend - critterland needs a deep cleaning.  I will be working on that throughout the weekend....

August Already

How is it the third day of August already?  Holy Moly!  It will be Thanksgiving next week at this rate.

Looking back at July - it was a busy critter month.  We had lots of birthdays - Winston, Tabby and Kai.  We did vet visits for the kitties - they are all in pretty good shape overall - happy with the results.  We hired a trainer for the puppies and our first session is Saturday.   We celebrated 4th of July - all the critters made it through with minimal stress.  And, we did Violet's glucose test at home for the first time.  It was a bit awkward but the results were great.

The zoo is doing pretty darn great.  As I type this - Winston is outside napping in his barn.  The puppies are snoozing outside as well and Emma is sacked out on our bed.  The littles are in critterland - I was down there a bit ago and everyone was napping.  The little ferret sleeping bags are a great hit - used all the time.

August should be less critter intensive - we will focus primarily on the training routine that the trainer develops for us with the pups this month.  Mid month we will test Violet again just to make sure her numbers are holding.  We may start to develop baselines for the ferrets as well - testing all of them to see where their numbers are.  It's a bit of a pain because they have to fast for three hours prior to testing.  I may pull Madison out with Violet next time and start with oldest first....

The last few days have been nice - the weather hasn't been so awful - its been a hot and muggy summer around here.  Pig and dogs are enjoying the ability to hang outside all day.  I even opened the outside playspace for the little critters yesterday - they had fun exploring and laying in the sun.

In General

In general things here are the zoo are good.  The weather is miserable - way to hot for anybody - critter or human to be out and about.  As I type this the pig is napping under the fan I set up in his room (no, he's not spoiled), the puppies are wrestling and playing with toys in the living room, Emma is napping on our bed, the kitties are sprawled out in various spots in critterland - as are the ferrets - not a creature is stirring down there.  Today the heat index could reach 110 - ugh.

The ferrets are all doing great.  I need to pull Miss Violet into the guest room around 3 so she can fast for 3 hours and then do a glucose test on her.  I am pretty sure her number is okay as she has been a spitfire the last few days.  The kitties are all doing well - you saw they had their vet visit yesterday.  Aggie seems to really like the new kidney friendly cat food - which is great because she can be a bit finicky!

The puppies are doing well.  It's challenging having puppy brains in full sized dog bodies - makes for chaos.  I finally got around to shaving the girls so everyone is 'naked' now - just in time for the scorching weather!  Juliett was so well behaved for her haircut - Charli - well, that's another story - I am trying to block it from my mind.  :)  Emma is doing well - she seems happy and active.

And - Mr. Piggy - he is great!  He has been pretty well behaved lately.  He seems quite happy so long as his days are relatively the same from a schedule perspective.

We were lucky today - piggy and pups let us sleep in til 8:30.  They would have let us sleep later I think - I decided to get them up.

All in all - things here are great.  Will be happy when it cools a bit and everyone can go back outside where they prefer to be.....

Goodbye June - Hello July!!

Holy heck - how did it get to be July already?  I did a pretty darn crappy job of blogging in June - only about half of goal - there is just too much to get done in a day.

June was a pretty darn good critter month.  I guess our big happening for June was Winston's vet visit.  His annual (thank goodness we only go through it once a year) physical, vaccinations and tusk trim went fabulously and he is a very healthy pig!  This makes the pig mom happy.  We also checked Violet's numbers (glucose) while the vet was here and she was at a fabulous 92!  WOOT!  We love healthy critters!

The puppies learned to swim in June - okay - they already knew how to swim technically - but we worked on getting them in the pool and getting used to it - they are making progress!!  It's a great way to tucker them out.

Piggy and pups have all enjoyed their daily walks outside the backyard fence.  The pups run and wrestle and Winston follows us around finding yummy grasses to graze on and new and interesting places to root.

Winston got his awesome box of goodies for the summer gift exchange in our pig group - he is still enjoying those fruity Cheerios!!

The kitties are all three doing well - all at healthy weights and holding strong.  All of them seem happy and healthy and they are as lazy as ever.  Crazy kitties!

The little weasels - oh I do love that crazy bunch - they are all just great.  They are on a great schedule right now and everyone is very engaged and happy to join me for morning chores, visits throughout the day and evening chores and loves.  Violet takes her meds like a champ.  Kai helps the kitties with their canned cat food and the rest of the gang is enjoying frequent servings of gravy (ferret food with warm water on it).

All in all - June was great for the zoo!!  July is already proving to be busy.  Tomorrow is Winston's birthday!!  3 years old!  I will be posting pics of his birthday party!  On Tuesday we will be watching the pups closely to make sure they are not stressed by 4th of July shenanigans.  On the 12th we will test Violet's numbers to make sure she is good to go.