Ink Spots: A Dalmation's Diary

Mar 31, Why This Dog Doesn't Blog (Much)

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:28:20 GMT

Don't blame it on the dog. My human has not been keeping up with my blog even though I faithfully lay by her feet when she is at the computer and stare at her while trying to send her telepathic messages on all kinds of topics. Actually, I exaggerate. I don't stare at her (unless she has food of some kind anywhere near her). I also haven't been sending her any important telepathic messages because I'm either totally engrossed in licking myself or I'm blissfully sound asleep. Things that are much more enjoyable than trying to come up with something new and fascinating to bark about. (Besides, there's enough barking going on right now between the presidential candidates and I expect to hear some real howling soon.) Then there's the nail thing. Mine are long. Very long. I hate getting them cut and long nails, at least on this old dog, mess up my typing. Thank goodness for the backspace button! Anyway...we'll try and catch up later, right now my nails need licking, uh, I mean shining.

Nov 19, Sick as a Dog?

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:16:52 GMT

There is a serious bug going around down here in South Louisiana. Not one you can look at, but a mysterious one that seems to knock the socks off of people because my two humans have both been "sick as a dog!" At least that's what I heard one of them tell someone on the phone a couple of days ago. Yep, they were pretty darn sick. One after the other, but; sick as a dog? Come on. I am a dog. I know first hand what it is to be sick as a dog. First of all, when a dog gets sick, we don't announce it (every half hour) to anyone within earshot while we moan and groan about our misfortune. Also, when dogs get sick, we pretty much go off to our favorite dark corner, bed, or kennel and want to be left alone. Totally. Humans on the other hand want to be left alone only after they've been waited on hand and foot and have everything they think they might need within reach (when they aren't passed out sleeping). When a dog gets sick, we eat grass. It helps us get rid of whatever bad thing is in our stomach and it also helps our stomach to settle down. And NOT ONCE did I see either of my humans eating grass. Sick as a dog? I don't think so. Sick as a people is more like it. Maybe the next time they get this way, I'll suggest they try a mouthful or two of the green stuff. On second thought, considering how green their faces looked while they were sick (not to mention the color of...well, you know), they probably wouldn't appreciate the advice.

Nov 10, Pongo. Happy, Healthy, Totally Deaf.

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 22:42:57 GMT

My #1 human recently met a couple and a very special member of their family. Pongo. A twelve year old male dalmatian who happens to be totally deaf. They bought him from someone local who, unlike registered breeders, apparantly did not have the litter tested. Not all vets even offer the test which is not cheap and, if I remember correctly, it can't be performed until the dog is a few months old. I would be willing to bet that by the time Pongo was old enough to be tested, he was already a much loved member of the family and his deafness didn't matter to them. I'm so glad they kept him. So are they. It takes special people to love and care for special needs dogs. Pongo does not interact like hearing dogs. It's kind of sad that he cannot respond to the nuances of human voices. I get all excited and happy when my humans talk excited and happy to me. Pongo has no idea what his humans sound like. The upside though is that he can't hear them when he's being scolded! Pongo relies on smell and sight to know when someone is near. He also relies on his little pal, Lucy. Lucy is a mini doberman. He reacts when he sees (or senses) her reactions. She both mothers and bosses him. He knows what's going on through her. He and she make a great pair. Add his human mom and dad to the mix and you have a great family. Deaf dalmatians often wind up in shelters. Deaf dalmatian puppies often wind up being put down as breeders try to stop the gene that causes it. It's a controversial issue. However, if you wind up with a deaf puppy, love it, work with it, be patient with it and please, please, have it neutered or spayed. In fact, have it neutered or spayed regardless. Too many dogs sit abandoned in shelters as it is because of overpopulation. Until next time, wags and kisses!

Nov 9, Dalmatian Costumes and Other Things

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:25:30 GMT

Dalmatian costumes and other dalmatian themed fun stuff.

Nov 7, Use of This Website. Privacy and Policies.

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:13:17 GMT

Your privacy and comfort using this site are important to us.

Oct 31, Boy Has Time Flown

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:11:45 GMT

Geez, I didn't know it has been so long since the last entry; but then, I have no idea what day, month or time it is anyway. My humans have been super busy lately. Mom has started working part-time and working her home business as well. Yep, she goes off three days a week and I get to do whatever I want. Which is what I do when she's home. Snooze all day. Well, not ALL day, just most of the day. Sometimes I get into such a deep sleep, my #1 human comes over to see if I'm still breathing. As a senior citizen, my age makes her worry a bit more than she used to. It's great. I get a whole lot more attention and baby-talk than I did when I was younger. And if my arthritis is acting up... I really get the royal treatment! Let me limp or have a hard time getting out of my bed and my humans are all over me with sympathy. I love it. In fact, I even add a few extra limps for good measure. However, when the treats come out, I forget and start jumping up and down like a pup. I'm hoping they think Scooby Treats are a miracle drug. Have a safe Halloween and don't forget... chocolate is toxic to dogs. DO NOT let your dog get into your Halloween stash. That's a scare you don't want to experience.

Sep 18, So Much for a Pleasant Nap

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:41:06 GMT

There I was, next to the sofa, snoozing away. On the sofa was my #1 human, also snoozing away like she always does during football games on tv. Everything was just swell until that darn cat of ours who was also on the sofa, snoozing, starts doing her "I've got a hairball" hack. The sound brings my human out of her state of semi-consciousness and as she hollars at the cat about going "outside" before any hairballs appear, she hops off the sofa - still half asleep. And trips. Over me. It would have been funny except that as she tripped, she stepped hard on my foot. I yelped, she yelped and the cat continued her "hairball on the rise" hacking as she evaded all the commotion she just caused. As I try to limp off, my human is attempting to both comfort me and herd the cat to the door at the same time. Once she gets the cat out the door, I got the royal treatment. She was so sorry for stepping on me. I got a lot of attention and a nice foot rub. An hour later, I'm still getting a lot of extra attention. You know, dogs don't really give much thought to this guilt thing; but we're sure glad you humans do!

Sep 13, Indoor Dog Potty!

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:05:29 GMT

This is the neatest idea. My #1 human found a product called WizDog. It's an indoor dog potty! If you have a senior dog, a dog with a health problem, one that has to spend long hours inside until you can get home or even if you have a puppy that is being housetrained, then this product might interest you!

I'm not sure how well it would work for a male dog, especially a large male dog, but for females of any size - this is too cool! We've seen a few other ideas for such things, but this looks like cleanup would be easy. If I lived in a condo in a city (especially a highrise), I sure as heck would want one of these. Fortunately, I don't live in one and my bladder is still tight as a drum! No problems here, except for when it's raining outside. I WILL NOT go out when it's raining. I'll hold my bladder until I pop if necessary! Even if you aren't interested in the potty, check out the website and listen to Daisy the dog tell her story.

Sep 12, Pet Identification. Low Tech to High Tech

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 04:41:47 GMT

Pet Identification Choices. Tags and Chips.

Sep 11, Links We Like

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 23:37:05 GMT

Here are some of Dottie's favorite dog sites. Some are serious and some are just plain fun.

Sep 9, It Smelled So Good, I Had to Roll In It!

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 23:46:18 GMT

I know you just don't understand it, but we dogs LOVE to roll around in things that smell. Yeah, things that smell. In the wild, dogs do this to conceal their own scent. In the non-wild, dogs do it JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN! Anyway, Casey (my retriever pal), found something delightful in the back yard and was throwing herself all over it. She was having such a great time on her back trying to rub this scent onto herself that I couldn't stand it a minute longer. I had to nose her out of the way, do my own sniffing, and then ROLL in it myself! We took turns snorting, smelling the grass (trying to find just the exact spot for the ultimate perfuming of ourselves) and then rolling all over it. We were happy as pigs in mud. Lucky for us, when our humans gave us their own sniff test, they couldn't smell anything. If they could have, we'd both have been put into the bathtub! Yep, we're still perfumed and loving it. What a great summertime day.

Sep 7, Play With Your Dog! You'll Both Benefit.

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:58:49 GMT

Why and how to play with your dog.

Sep 3, Just Another Day to This Old Dog!

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 23:56:23 GMT

I don't know why this is called Labor Day. Both of my humans were home today and neither one of them broke a sweat. They did however spend most of the day working on their hobbies. I've got one who is into radio controlled airplanes (big ones) and the other is either sewing or writing. I used to have a hobby. I was a bird chaser. Loved to run out in the yard and send them flying. Now that I'm older, I leave that to the younger dog although if the neighbor's cat is anywhere in the yard, I'll go into chase mode in a flash. My human and I have been collaborating again and we've added several pages to the website. I'm crossing my paws. We hope that if we write it, they will come! In the meantime, I think I'll check out the food bowl. I hear my stomach growling.

Sep 3, So Many Dog Beds! Finding the Right One.

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:27:00 GMT

There are so many different dog beds to choose from. How do you find the right one for your dog?

Sep 1, Why Do Dogs Eat Grass?

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:38:10 GMT

Why do dogs eat grass? Mother Nature tells them to.

Aug 30, Share YOUR dalmatian stories.

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:16:00 GMT

A page for readers to share their dalmatian stories.

Aug 29, Dogs and Chocolate

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 17:23:54 GMT

Why dogs and chocolate are a deadly combination. How to recognize chocolate poisoning.

Aug 23, Constipation in Dogs

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:21:59 GMT

Remedies for treating constipation in dogs.

Aug 22, Dalmatian Spends 48 Hours in Storm Pipe

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 02:51:23 GMT

I tell you, we are a tough breed and Alex, a fourteen year old dalmatian has just proven it. Seems like he crawled into a storm pipe this past Friday and wound up further down than he could manage. Once his owner figured out where he was, the first attempt to get him out proved unsuccessful. Sunday a rain storm came through and things got worse. A backhoe was brought in and eventually an excavator before Alex was rescued. Quite an ordeal for this tough (and lucky) senior dog. Tough to have made it through with minor problems and lucky that he has an owner who loves him enough to do whatever it took to get him out. I'm glad this had a happy ending. It also makes me very glad my humans keep me in a fenced yard. It's a much safer environment than running around on my own. If you want to read the entire news story, you can find it at the Charleston Daily Mail website which is at http://www.dailymail.com.

Aug 19, Evacuations and Your Pet

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:33:39 GMT

My humans have been watching the tracking charts for Hurricane Dean for several days now. After what Katrina did to us, I understand why. I even raise my head and cock an ear myself to listen to the reports. It's been a couple of years, but that was an evacuation I'll never forget. Seventeen hours to drive what normally takes us six. We were lucky. So many pets were left behind. Nobody knew how bad it would be. Owners thought they'd be back in a few days... not weeks or months. PLEASE, make storm preparations early and include your pet in those plans. Here's what the LSPCA recommends. Choose an evacuation destination in advance. Consider pet-friendly hotels, family, friends and boarding facilities outside of the danger area. Be sure they know how many and what kinds of animals you will be traveling with. Call your local SPCA or shelter to find out where other shelters in other cities are located. Get address and phone information. Keep a disaster-ready kit for your PET so you can pick it up and go without having to make last minute decisions about what to pack. Keep copies of health records in the kit. Microchip and ID your pet in advance. Be sure all information is up to date and include at least one out-of-state phone number. Please don't rely on city or county evacuation plans or volunteers to come get us. Don't leave us tied up outside, we can't save ourselves from rising water and falling items if we're tethered. If you have to leave us in the house, let us have access to the entire house so we can get to higher areas if necessary. Better yet, plan ahead and don't leave us behind.

Aug 19, Dalmatian Dog Names

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 17:59:00 GMT

Suggestions for Dalmation or Dalmatian Dog Names

Aug 17, Dalmatian Rescue. Your Best Friend is Waiting.

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 02:31:57 GMT

Find your perfect dog through a dalmatian rescue shelter!

Aug 16, Thinking of Getting a Dog? Check Your Nearest Shelter!

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 23:55:25 GMT

My #1 human, who helps me write and maintain this site has been researching dalmatian (or dalmation) rescue shelters and other dog rescue sites. I thought it would be interesting reading for her, but I'm not so sure. She looks very sad and I think I'm seeing tears in her eyes. I guess seeing so many photos of dogs needing foster or permanent homes is getting to her. I'm so glad she is a softy. That's why she got me! I was a lucky discarded dog. I got dropped off at an animal clinic as a youngster instead of being dumped on the street or left locked away somewhere to starve. She took me in and gave me a home. We've been together 12 years! It's a sad fact that millions of animals are put to death annually because of irresponsible breeding, subsequent overpopulation and lack of available homes. Thousands of dogs (and cats) live in shelters waiting to be rescued and put into a loving environment. A lot of people think that a shelter or rescued dog is a problem dog. Though some are, quite a few are family pets who's owners have given them up for one reason or another. Many are even pure bred. These poor discarded pets are so in need of a home. They can't understand WHY they were left behind or dropped off and forgotten. Trust me, they feel sad and lonely. Unfortunately, many discarded canines are older dogs and people tend to overlook them for potential adoption. That's a shame. An older dog is already housebroken, sleeps through the night, is probably already socialized (gets along well with other animals) and would make a swell pet! If you have room in your home and your heart, please consider adopting a pet from a shelter or rescue organization. You'll make a loving, loyal pal for life!

Aug 15, Train Your Dog. Keep Your Pet Safe and Happy

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:07:51 GMT

Take the time to train your dog and everyone, including Fido, will be happier.

Aug 15, Feeling Frisky!

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:05:24 GMT

I don't know what got into me last night, but I was feeling like a two year old dog again and it was FUN! I found the old rope tug toy and pranced into the living room where my buddy Casey (a golden retriever) and my humans were and proceeded to shake it and throw it up and down. Did they get the hint? Oh yeah. It was an all out tug fest with me and Casey on one end and my #2 human on the other. When I ran out of breath, I laid down for a couple of minutes and then I started it all up again. My #1 human was sitting on the couch laughing in amazement at this old girl. Memories of my younger years were flooding through me and making me feel like I could run and play and tug and wrestle with the best of them. What glorious fun! Yes, senior dogs do need regular, moderate exercise to keep their muscles toned and their hearts healthy (just like senior humans) and they need mental stimulation through playtime with family members or other family pets as well. However, what was I thinking? I'm an old lady not a young pup! Today, I'm exhausted! What do you mean, "it's time to go out and potty", can't you see I can't move! Just step over me on your way out. I used up all my energy last night.

Aug 14, Recipes for Dogs

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 03:19:00 GMT

Dottie's favorite cookie and treat recipes for dogs.