Welcome To Animal Crackers!

Hi There & Welcome To Our Blog!

This blog will follow the daily lives of our multi-animal household! We are currently the proud owners of two Golden Retrievers Murray & Genevieve, a Pacific Parrotlet Ella, three rescue cats Indie, Charlie & Cali, two guinea pigs Sir Phinneus Fluffytocks & Sir Sampson McSqueakberbox and a Syrian hamster named Scarlet. Our four rabbits, Ollie, Willow, Rocky & Honey are the stars of BudgetBunny and will only be featured through those accounts.

We will be promoting some care information as well as keeping you up to date on our multiple YouTube channels. We will of course be sharing regular updates on the pets including some of our favourite photos!

If you are looking for all things bunny related I suggest hopping over to our blog BudgetBunny.ca!

You can currently follow our pets on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook! We thought having a joint blog would be an easy way for our fans to keep up with all of these separate forms of social media!

Golden Retrievers:
Instagram: @thegoldenduo
Facebook: Thegoldenduo
Twitter: @genevieveandmurray
YouTube: thegoldenduo

Pacific Parrotlet Ella:
Instagram: @ellatheparrotlet
YouTube: EllatheParrotlet

Cats:
Instagram: @twelvefurrypaws
YouTube: twelvefurrypaws

Guinea Pigs & Hamster:
Instagram: @BudgetBunny
Facebook: BudgetBunny
Twitter: @BudgetBunny
YouTube: BudgetBunny

And don't forget if you are looking for more compassionate living you can also find me at:

Blog: littleveganhousewife.blogspot.com
Instagram: @krystlechantelle
Twitter: @krystlechantele
YouTube: littleveganhousewife

Thank you for following and enjoy!

Missing Maggie

I can't believe that it's already been more than a week since Maggie left us for the Rainbow Bridge.

This week has been extremely difficult for me. Accepting that I won't see Maggie again just seems unreal. The days are getting better but the nights just seem so long.

I have watched her Tribute Video 494758902389045890 times and it still brings me to tears. I'm glad that I made it though as I have found some comfort in having a little collection of photos all neatly tied together. When I'm having a moment where I'm really missing her, I play the video. 

I just wanted her to know that although I'm coming to terms with her death and less tears have been shed these past few days, I still love and miss her terribly.

This photo is how I hope she's living now. Spending eternity happily running through fields of green grass with the warmth of the sun on her back and completely at peace.

Sweet Dreams Maggie

Sweet dreams Maggie, we will love you always and your presence will be greatly missed. 1998-2013

Yesterday morning my Mom called to say that our family dog Maggie had lost the ability to use her back legs. My sister was already on her way and my Husband and I told her we'd meet them at the vet's office.

Maggie seemed alert when we got there but couldn't use the back half of her body. Her head was also tilted at an awkward angle and she had thrown up several times. My Mom said this had come on suddenly and that Maggie hadn't suffered any trauma to cause it. The vet concluded that Maggie had most likely suffered a neurological episode or a stroke. She told us it was possible that Maggie could recover some of her mobility or she could continue to get worse but that either way she didn't see Maggie living for more than a few months. It seemed she wasn't in any pain but leaving her like this could be dangerous in a house with other pets, old wooden steps and no one home with her for most of the day. At 15 years old, Maggie slept most of the time and was blind, deaf, toothless, and now immobile. So we decided with heavy hearts the most humane thing for Maggie was for her to finally be at peace. 

Although my heart is hurting, I know we did the right thing by letting Maggie go. I truly believe this was Maggie's way of telling us it was her time. She had struggled to get around for the past few years, had lost weight, her vision, her hearing and frequently wobbled when standing or walking, having to occasionally take breaks. She had become the ultimate lap dog as she couldn't get around very well on her own. The odd time she tried to jump on to the couch or a chair she would often miss and fall or her legs would give out beneath her. We knew her time had come and that she had reached old age long ago. No matter how much time you've had with a beloved pet however, it just never seems to be enough.

I have so many fond memories that include Maggie. The excitement of getting her, late night puppy play when she couldn't sleep and lots of snuggles and cuddles when there were storms. Long walks at the dog park, winters at the cottage, summers at the cottage, swimming in the pool, hikes and canoe rides are all just the beginning of them. My sister and I remarked that we've shared more of our lives with Maggie then without her. 

The hardest part about having pets is when you have to say goodbye. Although I've cried several times over the past few days at the passing of this beautiful soul, I also remind myself of the wonderful life Maggie had because of us and the joy she brought us over the years. 

Sweet dreams Maggie. I know you have found that perfect patch of grass at the Bridge. xox

Genevieve & Murray Explore The Upstairs!

Now that I work from home and spend the majority of my time upstairs, I was feeling guilty about leaving the dogs on their own for most of the day. Our dogs have never been allowed on the top floor of our house as they make the small pets nervous and two of our cats, Charlie and Indie never seemed to socialize with the dogs properly. A lot of this I'm sure is because Genevieve has always been incredibly high strung and would chase them excitedly when they would come around.

I slowly began to put this plan in action about a month ago when I moved the cat litterboxes down to the laundry room. I didn't do this to be mean but I wanted to force the cats to interact a bit with the dogs. I also wanted the dogs to get used to the cats so they wouldn't be so excited when one suddenly turned up. I also was tired of all of my clean laundry going right in to a linen closet that also contained a litterbox! Yuck! 

The litterbox trick worked perfectly and we started to see Charlie and Indie come around a lot more. In the evenings, Charlie has even jumped up on the couch for a cuddle with me! We've never had this issue with our other cat Cali as she has kept the dogs in line right from the beginning!

So since everything seemed to be going according to plan it was time to give the dogs access to the top floor. I made a new spot for the cat's dishes in the bunny room and put the baby gate up there. That way the dogs don't have access to any of the small pets or the cat's food. Then I went about my day. 

A few minutes later Murray made his way up the stairs. He had a quick look around, saw me in the office and settled in to a spot near my desk. 

I'm not sure what Genevieve had been up to (I'm sure she was busy causing some kind of trouble) but she didn't show up for about a half hour or so. Of course her tail really started to swing when she realized she was being allowed in forbidden territory. Unlike her counterpart, she had to get in to everything!

There were, of course, bonuses to having Genevieve upstairs like if your feet were cold she would bring you some socks. They might be covered in dog slobber and have holes in them by the time they made it to you but it's the thought that counts right? Or one morning she even brought me an entire outfit! How thoughtful! And just in case the temperature dropped 20 degrees over the course of the day, you could always count on Genevieve to bring you a blanket or two. 

Some days it seemed, they thought the extra space they'd been given was so they could have a good tussle! 

And of course the only way to get Genevieve to settle down, was to let her up on the bed. Hubby and I had agreed that if the dogs were to come upstairs they were not allowed on the beds. They already had the couches and we didn't want our bedsheets smelling like doggies. Well of course that's the only place that Genevieve would behave! I resorted to letting them have the spare bed only. 

 They both seemed content with this new agreement!

And my plan was working! One afternoon I took a coffee break and found Genevieve laying on our bedroom floor with Indie only a few feet behind her!

And another afternoon I was plugging away on the sewing machine when Charlie jumped over Murray and made herself comfy on the bed!

They've seemed really happy this week.

And how can you get mad at a face like that?

Mending Hurt Paws

At the beginning of the week Genevieve was jumping around in the creek when she cut her paw.  Although she was limping she wasn't bleeding and it wasn't until we got home that she laid on her side and gave me her paw to look at.  She had a look on her face that said, 'Mom look at my broken foot.'  Upon examining her paw I could see a very deep slice in the main pad of her foot as well as a chunk missing out of it!  Nothing was bleeding but it looked very painful.

Genevieve's bandaged up footie.

Since then we have been soaking her foot 2-3 times a day in warm water and epsom salts.  We leave the wound open during the day to let it breathe, then when I get home from work and after the soak I spray some of the spray bandage for animals on it to help keep it sealed.  Once I've let that dry, I apply some of Dr. Maggie's healing ointment on it (it's basically polysporin but for animals) and finally apply a gauze pad to the area and use some gauze to bandage it all up.  To stop her from ripping it apart I cover her foot with a stylish sock.  Of course if you let her out of your sight for more than 2 minutes, the sock is in pieces and she's got the bandage in her mouth which is also why we don't bother when we're not home.

Genevieve sporting her most stylish sock.

It's been about 5 days and although she still walks slow, she's finally stopped limping and can go further distances (which is great since we don't let the dogs in the backyard).  Also the gash is definitely healing as it doesn't split open anymore although I think the chunk missing out of her paw pad will take a while to heal.

Kittens Week 7!

Didn't take any photos this week but I did film a video! Cali has just had her first set of vaccinations and we've booked her spay which is very exciting! Next weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada and the kittens will be 8 weeks old so we'll be bringing them with us when we go to my Dad's for the holiday. 

Kittens Week 6!

We can't believe how quickly the time has gone!  Hubby and I have purposely been spending less time with the kittens only because they are so adorable that it's impossible not to get attached! Now that they are full of beans though, they have become pretty overwhelming! 

Jumping, climbing, pouncing and bouncing - I don't think these guys ever sleep! Even Cali looks stressed! They are both eating solid food, drinking on their own and using their litterbox which is great! Most importantly though, we have found them good homes! 

An Aunt and Uncle of mine will be taking Pudge. My Dad and Stepmom will be taking Like Her Mama. It is tearing at my heartstrings to know they only have a few weeks left with us but it's comforting to know that they'll be going to good homes and that I'll be able to visit every once in a while!

Now that they are fully weened, we are going to book an appointment to get Cali properly vet checked and vaccinated so she can become a proper part of our family! 

I'm really going to miss these little balls of crazy!