ReTRo HouSeWiFe

FAMILY PETS

Why They Are Important and How To Keep Them Alive

These are the furry and scaly members of our family:

Oslo the Alaskan Malamute weighs 170 lbs and is on a diet. His favorite pass time is following me around the house, out the door, to the car and anywhere else he thinks I may try to escape to. We got Oslo from the local animal shelter when we were looking for our other dog Lola. (We never found her =(.) It was raining the day we were there, and Oslo was the only dog who was not sitting under the roof of his cage, because he was so very unhappy at his current situation. He sat right up front, in the rain, pointed his nose up in the air and howled like a wolf. A week later we took him home. He scares the heck out of people, but is very gentle. His second favorite pass-time is hunting rats, gophers and opossum in the fields around the neighborhood. He catches them more often than you would expect, which really creeps me out.

This is Beagle. She is a beagle and her name is Beagle. Clever eh? Her full name is Princess Pocahontas Cleopatra Bella Beagle, but she had trouble spelling that, so we had to shorten it.

Her favorite pass time is hunting rabbits. When she finds one, she bays like a beagle, which sounds like she is being skinned alive. People will often come up to us at the park when they hear her, and tell us that she is probably hurt. She isn't though, she has just found a wabbit twail. She weighs only 17 lbs, and is on a diet to gain weight. She will run circles around you and every other dog because she has a very low center of gravity and can change direction on a dime. She often uses this talent to provoke other dogs at the dog park because she knows she can leave them in the dust. She thinks that's funny. Beagles rely on their looks for survival. Being really cute helps you get away with all kinds of mischief.

This is an artist's representation of our turtle. (I am the artist). As far as I know this turtle has no name. We acquired him from a friend who so kindly gave it to my son as a present. I am still plotting my revenge.

If Dennis the Menace's Mom were real, we could form a support group for mothers stuck with turtles and the trouble they cause. Perhaps we would be invited to go on "Oprah" or at least "Geraldo" to discuss our issues and gain sympathy from audience members.

Mrs. Menace and I would become fast friends. Then we would invite the lady from "Family Circus" over for coffee and gossip about "Blondie".

DO YOU HAVE PET OR A STRANGE DELUSION ABOUT YOUR CARTOON FRIENDS? Send me a photo and a story and I'll post it!

Get Doggie Health Insurance!

I always feel a bit guilty when talking about health insurance for dogs, given that I live in a country where a big percentage of the humans don't have health insurance. Nevertheless, if you have a family dog, you should have a for Fido as well.

Did I hear you scoff? Not going to spend that kind of money on a dog? Imagine yourself having this conversation with your children after Fido gets hit by a car and LIVES....but needs an operation that costs $2,500 - $5,000.

Little Susie: Mommy, (tears flowing down face) is Fido going to die?

Mother: Yes dear, because the operation costs a lot of money and it is more important that we eat...(Susie promises to stop eating, runs and gets own piggy bank...etc. Your heart breaks...)

Look at that face!

Here is a pet insurance policy offered by Petco: PetCare Pet Insurance Programs. This insurance is pretty cheap $12/month (I think this is an intro offer so check long term costs). For comparison, we pay $40/month per dog...Here is another company offering dog health insurance: They charge from $9.95 for accident insurance to $34.95/month for "Premium" coverage.

Here is a link for UK visitors:

And here is another pet insurance offer for UK visitors:
I seem to be running into British pet insurance a lot these days! Is it because the UK has a real medical system and thus have the human health insurance issue "handled", so they can now in good conscience move on to insuring their fuzzy friends? Or are there canines in Parliament? Or is it because they have a Queen? That is probably it... I know other countries with a Queen and they also have a medical system with health insurance. It must be the Queen factor....We don't have a Queen, not even the singing variety. Anyone out there want to lend us your Queen for a spell?

Other Malamute Sites:

Malamute.org - The site is not quite finished, but has great pictures of Malamutes.
www.WolfEducation.org - OK, so this is a site about wolves...but Malamutes are descendants of wolves, so this is like Ancestry.com for Malamutes! Great pictures of wolves! I bought 3 of them...supports wolf rescue!