Snake Eyes

Today I did something I have never done, nor thought I ever would. I touched a snake. It was a 24 inch garter snake and I didn't really have a choice.

I was going to go to the lower park but traffic was backed up so I took a right instead of a left. We decided to follow the path the city put in after ruining access to the river - they dug up a bunch of the woods and then laid down a loosely woven plastic mesh. The mesh has been there a year and it has not broken down and I don't think it' s designed to - it catches on the dogs feet, the tread of your shoes and is pretty unsightly until the grass grows over it. I suspect it's there to prevent erosion while the grass grows in to hold the dirt.

Know what else it does? It tangles the animals who live in the woods and kills them. Raimi and I are walking down this path and he does his 'startled by a weirdness' act. He stops, looks with wide eyes, wrinkles and tippy toes and slowly backs away. I always go to see what it is so I can either torment him with it or drag him away. This time it was a snake.

I smiled thinking about Raimi's cowardice and was going to continue our walk when I noticed the snake was not leaving. It was stuck. Seriously stuck. The last third of it's body was twisted and tied to the plastic mesh which of course was attached to the ground. Twisted so badly that it had cut into its scales and was obviously in dire straits.

I debated. Having never dealt with snakes I was reluctant to interfere but knew I couldn't possibly just walk away. I also knew it was harmless and I was safe to assist. I was limited to the tools I had at my disposal, my keys, and I was in a part of the park where no one would pass by for ages. I could go back to my truck but couldn't think what was in there I could use. Thought of going back to my house to get some scissors and returning.

In the end I used my keys. The plastic mesh is fishing line thin but very weak so my first extremely tentative attempts at breaking it were successful. I got a little braver and even though I probably caused the snake more distress there was no other way to get him out. I cut away as much as I could that was holding the snake to the ground mesh and that eased the lines around his body. Gradually the pressure decreased so I could pull some line away from his scales and slide the keys underneath to cut it. I didn't actually want the ground lines cut while it was still around his body because he would slither way with it still wrapped around him. Finally it eased up completely and I cut the last of the line.

Through all this Raimi spent his time sniffing in the woods and entertaining himself and thankfully staying mostly out of my way. I can't help but smiling because the ground is littered with long thin branches the wind blows off the trees and everytime Raimi stepped close to one he jumped away like it was a snake and then did his doggy impression of "Phew." I guess it's an ingrained instinct as many snakes in Africa will kill you.

In the end the snake slithered away very slowly like he couldn't believe he was free. If he doesn't die as a result of his injuries he will likely always have that corkscrew kink in his body. Snakes are soft and smooth ... and cold. I was surprised how cold he was. I guess one might ask why it mattered since it was just one little snake. Well, the oft repeated reply of course is ... it matters to the snake.

The Princess and the Pea

More puppy pictures! I forgot to add another of one of the girls who might become a Leeloo. I think there are 5 who are prospective Canadian citizens. If they knew about our winters I bet they’d all be pointing at their siblings and saying ’Pick her.’ That is, of course, until she met The Boy and then she’d just fall head over heels and not even notice when it’s -30 degrees. Okay … maybe not.

Here is the little runt girl who was 9 oz at birth, in three weeks she’s gained about a pound instead of more than tripling her weight as she ought. Compare The Little Princess to her siblings against Puppy Wrangler Betty‘s hands! She will make someone a wonderful companion I’m sure and guess what? This very lucky girl got an additional crown on her head too. A true Princess.

This is the age they start noticing their have built in sibling entertainment. Play involves a lot of misjudged distances, toppling over, drunken sailor walks and random paw waving. The incredible persistence of these guys astonishes me everytime. No matter how many times they fall they just get right back up and keep trying. It is an important lesson more people should take to heart.

And sleep. Ah the blessed sleep of a tired puppy. No pooping, peeing, eating, chewing, chasing, barking, growling, yelling, or being underfoot. Can’t tell you how many times I have gone into the puppy room while they slept; you make one tiny noise and a head pops up and blearly eyes open. You freeze for about 5 or 6 seconds and hold your breath til the head goes down and eyes close again. It’s like waking Fluffy … Harry Potter fans will know ... very apt.

A River Runs Through It

It's so much fun to take Raimi for walks and think about the little Leeloo he'll be playing with in a few short weeks. I suspect she will be far braver than he is exploring new territory - Halo would crash hell bent into the woods but clearly Raimi watched The Blair Witch Project and took it to heart.


We have started going to the lower park because it's so pretty down there, much quieter and it's got lots and lots of different trails and smells. There are hills too which I'm not a huge fan of but what's a girl to do ... The Boy needs a stimulating walk.



You have to drive through one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in the city to get to the park - these are the old school wealthy homes that were built before the super hideous modern and contemporary homes came into fashion. It's always an interesting drive to see how the other half lives.

Eventually you come upon the river itself as you walk and since it drains off the reservoir at the Glenmore dam it's quite low and slow - when the water level is way down you can walk right across it. Not that Ridgebacks do ... just that they could.

Raimi likes to splash along the river because it wets his whistle and there are so many more interesting smells down there since animals in the bushes come to drink and leave their scents all over the banks. I caught him a couple times watching leaves floating past in the water - so adorable.

More camera testing and fiddling with the aperture to see what sort of shutter speeds I would get in various light. For much of the walk he was back lit because we were walking into the sun and he insisted on going first - by which I mean if I passed him while he was sniffing something he would shove me out of the way to get in front. So polite my boy.

And what blog entry is complete without The Boy demonstrating his dignified and impressive status as my loyal companion?

Bringing Up Baby

Little Leeloo is now about 3 and a half weeks old. Eyes are wide open, they are learning to walk and are shedding out their black guard hairs with their wheaton shade resolving itself.


Now I don't yet know which puppy will actually be Leeloo but it will end up being one of these puppies. Since they are only 3 weeks old you can't really evaluate them very well - the best you can do is determine who you are going to keep an eye on.

Even when you think you know what you have sometimes a puppy will surprise you and come up with some quality that you can't ignore or a temperament that just says "Pick me."

There are some really nice fat long ridges in the litter which was expected as Bing's ridge is incredibly wide and Tailor's line produces long ridges. The same thing happened with Halo's litters to Travis because both breedings are very similar.

At this point the puppies are most adorable because the world is a new experience at every turn. In the coming weeks they will get faster, bigger, eat more, poop more and will be able to explore and destroy more of their environment . Is it disturbing that I wish they were at my house ...?

Toy Story

Last night Raimi was almost defeated by one of the scariest things he's ever encountered. This was a former cat toy which I haven't yet gotten around to either re-instating as a cat toy or tossing. I think Raimi thinks it should get the boot.

A close inspection ... wide berth.

A cautious sniff.

Manfully suppressed panic as it tips away.Startled curiousity as it bows back.

Brave enough to reach. Braver to taste.

Eventually he taught it who was running this joint.

I can't decide if I should be embarrassed on his behalf. He is, after all, a lion hunter ... a brave warrior ... a hound of Africa. Pink wobbly cat toys beware.

Hot Under the Collar

Leeloo is now just about three weeks old and she and her siblings are growing like little weeds. Here they are at brunch with Momma Tailor, she looks like a much more patient mother than Momma Halo. I wonder how many times Tailor’s owner has said to her at 3am “Lie down and STAY there you *&^%$*#* bitch!” Ah … good times good times.

I also just bought Leeloo’s collars and a lead. I did debate about getting a plain red collar but Halo wears red and I don’t like the idea of ‘replacing’ one dog with another so I went with the banded collar. Seems to suit a Leeloo don’cha think? I also debated between a pink, purple or red lead but the pinks and purple were not a close enough match to any of the colors in the collar so it was the red that won out.

Here is Weasley contributing his oft sought opinion - looks pretty good against his coat color huh? I also held the collar against Raimi to make sure it matched. I have seen Ridgebacks with some hideous collar colors like neon orange, gag-me yellow, and a pukey green. Please consider a color that compliments the dog rather than your own favorite color when purchasing a collar. I mean, if your dog is white or black you have free reign … but dogs that are certain shades need collars that don’t clash with their coat.

Ridgebacks are well suited to nice reds, rusts, some pinks, deep greens, most blues, and obviously black. Leather collars are nice on any dog. You can get some pretty crazy patterns on collars these days but I find them a little garish sometimes – it’s hard to tell what the pattern is if it’s too wackadooey. I think the banded patern is simple yet elegant and since Leeloo is named after a colorful movie I figured she better have a colorful collar!

Dr. Dolittle

Phew. I’m back. Been a rough few days and sleepless nights listening to the psuedo hacking of one Raimi Boy. We hit the vet yesterday and he’s now on antibiotic pills that are the size of the tip of my baby finger - and I'm not kidding. I have to cut them in half to hide them in his food otherwise even fluff brain Boy would spot the bright neon orange signs sticking out of his dish.

I did a little research on that most dangerous of tools: Google. Everyone was bandying about the ‘kennel cough’ diagnosis but I’m not quite buying it. All the descriptions I can find tell me that Bordetella is ‘dry’ and ‘hacking’. Raimi is doing neither. He’s snotting and huffing. Seems like a plain ol’ regular cold. Maybe that’s what kennel cough is – I hear tell that Bordetella is not one specific infection but a concoction of several so who knows. Either way we’re hitting it with antibiotics called Cephali-something-medical-sounding for the next week.

We’re avoiding the park to prevent a lot of the huffing that ensues when he exerts himself. I guess we’ll be doing an evening constitutional around the block so the bright orange baby finger sized pills have a chance to work their magic. I’m not sure that he’s contagious and for the most part he doesn’t have any symptoms until something catches in his throat and it sets off a paroxysm of huffing and snorting.

I feel very bad for him. It's not his fault. The sad wrinkles and worry eyes are out a lot these days. I tell him we are working on fixing it so he can sleep better and go back to the park. He just looks at me and goes ‘huff.”