K9 Kamp Awards

We want to thank Koly and Kelly and their moms for putting on such an awesome Kamp this year!! It was Tina of fun and we learned a lot about how to play with Kita since her eyesight went away. It might sound cheesy but Kamp came at a perfect time for us. It was right after Kita lost her eyesight and we were in the middle of a stumped hunt for games to play with her and things to do with her. But it helped us realize more than ever that she can do anything a 'normal' dog can do, she just has to do it a little differently.

We are very proud to have won an award at Kamp as well! We won't the award for most handicapable kamper ad couldn't be prouder to wear that title!!

Thanks again kolchack, kelly, and their moms!!

K9 Kamp: It's Really Over?

I seriously can't believe its been four weeks already!! Time flew by for K9 Kamp and we couldn't be more surprised.

For this week's challenge, Kamper's Choice, we choose to walk because we had a big event on Saturday. It was the Sacramento SPCA's 19th Annual Doggy Dash! Let me start off by saying we LOVE the Doggy Dash. It is by far our favorite doggy event we go to every summer. And the weather was perfect this year (especially since it was pouring rain last year)! The park they rent out is HUGE and there are thousands of dogs and their owners everywhere. But they are all so well behaved, we didn't see one dog fight the whole time.

We walked around the giant vendor area for a while and visited K9 Bodie, a local hero who was recently shot in action and is recovering nicely. Then it was time for our walk to start. We choose the 2K this year since it is our first year walking with Kita since she lost her vision. Also, she is getting older and don't want to strain her too much by doing the 5K. She did very well during this walk since it was much more crowded than the last walk we did. We tried to let her walk at first, but the initial starting area was very crowded so we carried her for a few minutes until everyone found their own pace and spaced out a bit. After that, she did really well. She is getting very good at listening to our voices to know where to walk and is learning her walking commands nicely (forward, stop, step, ect). Towards the end of the 2K, someone decided she had enough and plopped down in the middle of the walk so her daddy carried her the rest of the way. Then she wanted to walk around the park a bit more, we got her some yummy treats then we knew it was time to leave when she laid down in the grass and had to be carried back to the car!

The thing I loved most about K9 Kamp is that it helped me find new and fun ways to bond and play with Kita even when her vision is gone. Most people think a blind dog is no good, but we know better. She can do anything a 'normal' dog with vision can do, she just has to do it a little differently.

K9 Kamp: Just One Dog Minute To Win It

Kita's got her game face on and is ready to finish K9 Kamp strong!! This week was a good week for us. We went to the park again on Sunday and let her run around and burn some energy off and she loved it! We came back warm, relaxed, and refreshed.

But what activities could we do all throughout the week to keep us moving and active? As I surveyed the house, I noticed our staircase. Kita loves being nosey and seeing what everyone is up to, especially if they go upstairs. Even if I just want to go to the bathroom she is patiently waiting upstairs for me. So play on the stairs we will.

We decided to lightly jog up and down the stairs about ten times a day for five days (Kita was out of commission the last two days due to anesthesia from her dental cleaning). She hustled up the stairs, but naturally going down was a bit slower since she can't see. But she definitely knows how high the stairs are and makes it up them like a pro. We decided the first day ten was a good amount of times because after the tenth time, I couldn't coax her back up the stairs one more time. She just plopped down on the little landing in between the stairs. Still, moving for a while is better than not moving at all.

Wordless Wednesday: Snug as a Bug

To The Park

This weekend the weather was absolutely gorgeous! The sun was shining, birds were singing. It was a little warm by the afternoon but the mornings were awesome. So we decided to go to the park and let baby girl stretch her legs.

We packed a picnic lunch for the three of us and set off. The park we like to go to is a little further than other parks in our area, but worth the 15 minute drive. (Sacramento has a lot of parks, we probably pass five other parks to get to this one.) It is HUGE and has a big man made lake in the middle (for boating, not for swimming) and several big huge grassy fields to romp in.

We found a nice shady spot on the soccer field and settled in. Kita knew where she was right away and took to running around. She bonked her head on a tree but otherwise was okay. We played for a long time with her, doing what families do, just having fun.

It is going to become our new Sunday tradition this summer.

K9 Kamp: Play With Your Balls

When I first saw this challenge, I admit, I was a bit stumped. How on Earth was I going to get a blind dog to play with balls. She can't see them to chase them, and with how bad her allergies are lately she hasn't really wanted to do much (her allergy pills side effect is drowsiness). But since we had a long weekend, I figured we had time to figure out something.

And figure out something we did......kinda.

So, I thought, what balls make noise? Squeeky balls would do us no good because they could get her attention but she wouldn't be able to see them once they started rollin'. Then, it hit us. Cat balls. She has always been very gentle with her toys and never too rough with them so we figured cat balls were a good idea. Plus, she isn't a very big dog and cat balls fit perfectly in her little mouth. The biggest plus is she could hear them roll and follow the little bell inside to fetch them. Off we went to buy a pack of cat balls. 

We settled on a nice Martha Stewart Pets package because they looked well-made (I didn't want to ignore the fact that we need a sturdy cat ball since a dog's mouth is much stronger than a cat's no matter how gentle), they were nice and brightly colored and were pretty loud without being overly obnoxious. 

We got home and decided to start with the one that had a giant feather on it.It was a hit, she loved it. She was running all over the living room with it and I was chasing her around and crawling all over the floor with her playing with it. Then she noticed the giant feather. And the chasing was done as she plopped down to yank out the feather and then fall asleep after her work was done. 

We tried the purple ball next two days later, but with even more disastrous results. Like I said, allergies have been super awful lately so she was pretty much in a lazy mood, but I tried anyways to get her moving with the ball. She sniffed it, kicked it with her foot, then went to lay down. This is how the rest of the time with purple ball went:

Not a great week with the challenge for us, but we tried. Hopefully next week can get us moving a bit more! Then on June 9th we will be participating in our local SPCA's Doggy Dash! 

Wordless Wednesday: Walk the Runway

3 Day Weekend

We are so ready for the weekend here at Kita's Casa. She has a busy day with her papa today including an appointment for her vaccines. This weekend we plan on hanging out at home, getting some supplies ready for K9 Kamp week 2 (gonna play with our balls this weekend!!!), and finishing up some sewing projects!

Have a good weekend everyone!

K9 Kamp: Walkin' on Sunshine

We started to have lots of great ideas about where we could go to do our Walkin' on Sunshine challenge. A day at the park. A trip to San Francisco and play on the beach. A long stroll in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Sadly, it was very hot this week and the pollen count is through the roof. Not only does my husband have allergies, but little Kita does as well. And, since it would be too easy if they both had mild allergies, they both have BAD allergies. Snotty noses and going outside even for our twice daily walks incite a fit of sneezes, itches, and whines from not being able to reach where she itches (Kita more so then the hubs :-)).

So we decided to keep it simple.

Like I said, we normally walk her twice a day around our neighborhood. Since she has lost her eyesight, even these daily walks seem new to her. She had to relearn her footing, learn where things were by smell only and find her friends when they come out to play on the big lawn by their house. So we wanted something where she could roam freely without fear of bumping her head or running into something dangerous. So we decided on a nice park afternoon.

The park we took her to was empty since school is still in for a few more days. Even better than the park being empty is the soccer field being empty. We just unhooked her leash and let her wander.

And wander she did.

She was all over that field, getting as far as she could before we would call out her name and she would make a mad dash across the field to get back to us.It was also nice because there were trees along the field so she had some shade too. She even got to wiggle on her back in the grass in between roaming about the grass. We let her roam and wander as we followed her for about an hour then decided it was time to pack up and go home. We walked around the grass also following her footsteps, giving her enough freedom to feel like we weren't there but close enough to rush to her if something happened.

Week 1 K9 Kamp complete! Can't wait to see what next week's challenge is!

Wordless Wednesday: Funky Kita Face

Randomness

This weekend will be a busy one.

We are having lunch with Kita's grandpa Saturday and then her papa has to work that night. Sunday morning her mama will work for a bit. We are also going to try to get our K9 Kamp challenge done over the weekend as well, so I will spend the day trying to figure out what we will do for that. Very excited for this challenge!

Also, we are sad to report an amazing blogger has passed today. Wilf, an amazing, courageous, and inspirational dog has made his journey to the Rainbow Bridge today. He was a beacon of hope in spite of cancer and other ailments. Even though we didn;t know them personally, and they probably had no idea we exist, he was an amazing dog whom I loved reading about everyday. Our thoughts are with his family today.

Have a good weekend everyone!

K9 Kamp: Why We are Doing It

So, the awesome Kolchak Puggle is hosting K9 Doggy fitness camp to help us get our pups and ourselves into shape. I am really excited for this to happen. While Kita has had no problem shedding the weight since we started her diabetes diet, I haven't really lost any weight. I have a few spare pounds I want to loose, but mainly lack the motivation. And part of that motivation is doggy mom guilt. I say things like, "Oh, I'd love to go to the gym, but I only get to see Kita a few (conscious) hours a day, I can't spend half of that time away form her." Or things like "I would love going more places, if she could come too."

Yes, the fact is I love my baby girl and want to make sure I stay healthy so I can always be there for her. And this K9 Kamp challenge is paw-some because now I have no excuses. She will be right there along side of me doing the workout. My husband is even joining us so it will be a family affair. I just can't wait to see what fun Kolchak has in store for us!

Also, I can't wait to see what challenges we have so we can find some fun new ways to play with her since I have been roadblocked on that since Kita went blind. We will do our best to tweek challenges to make them blind dog friendly!!

Wordless Wednesday: Turtle Kita

The Ten Doggy Commandments

opthamologist

So on Friday we took Kita to the opthamologist to get a better handle and understanding of how her eyes are doing. She was pretty good with the exam even though it was at a new doctor's office we have never been to. She let them pick her up and touch her and handle her face a lot so that was good. Despite not being able to see, she is still very fearless.

The main things we wanted to check with this appointment was are any other eye diseases forming and to explore the option of cataracts surgery. He said she is a potential patient for surgery, there are several more tests we would have to do first to make sure she is a candidate. However, surgery costs almost $4,000 and that is quite a bit out of our price range. But, we told the doctor, our main concern is glaucoma or anything developing that will cause her real pain. She can live a normal life blind, but we never want her to hurt. He did an eye pressure test and we are happy to report that we are on the low end of the eye pressure! She is a 7 in each eye and high eye pressure starts at 20 so we are very lucky there!

After getting a clean bill of health we left with no need for a follow up appointment for now and a decrease in the frequency of eye drops that we are giving her. Let's hope Kita's good luck continues with her next glucose curve in the beginning of June!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there, especially Kita's grandmas who have done such an amazing job being moms.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Wordless Wednesday: Pink Tutu

Bark for Life

This past weekend we went to West Sacramento's first annual Bark for Life event. It is a sister event of Relay for Life but benefits dog cancer research. This is something we believe in not only because there are probably just as many unanswered questions about dog cancer as human cancer but because we had our own little cancer scare with Kita about a year and a half ago. We want to help the families that weren't as lucky as us and have to deal with the ugly face of cancer daily.

The event was a lot of fun. Sadly, there were unusually high winds, and it took place at a farm so dirt was flying everywhere and allergies were a mess. We left right after the walk because our eyes were burning from all the dirt. But we got there about an hour early and spent time walking around the vendor area, buying some yummy little snacks to try at home and getting some samples of various foods. (We have yet to try them out, but we also keep them on hand and donate them to local rescues.) It was a fun event and we would have loved to stay but the wind was killing us. But it is definitely something we are already waiting to do next year.

Bark for Life

This weekend we are headed out to Bark for Life West Sacramento. It is the doggy sister of Relay for Life, benefiting the American Cancer Society. The event will be head at a nearby pumpkin patch that we actually took Kita to last October. It is huge and from what I have been reading we will be participating in a big walk all around the patch and then there will be activities, games, and some little booths. We love going to events like this but it will be the first time we have gone since Kita has started going blind so we will see how it goes.

Then after we come home and get cleaned up we will be having some company over before we go and watch The Avengers. Kita looooooves company so she will have a great weekend.

See you guys Monday!

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Wordless Wednesday: Happy as a Clam

Monday

So, despite having a rough week last week with the blindness and getting used to a new routine, we had a very good weekend. This weekend my husband painted the bathroom. Naturally, Supervisor Kita was close by to keep an eye on things. Luckily, he did a good enough job that she approved and then we spent the rest of the weekend tidying up around the house, decluttering, and cleaning the back yard. We even busted out the BBQ for the first time this summer!

 Also, this weekend we decided the three dog filled events we are going to take Kita to this summer. Last year we did five or six but with the blindness we decided that a few would be better. We are doing the Relay for Life Bark for Life this upcoming Saturday. In June we are doing the SSPCA's Doggy Dash and in August Chacko's Pit Bull Rescue's Woofstock. Bark for Life is a new event for us, but held at a place that we have taken Kita before. And the Doggy Dash and Woofstock are events that we have done before and loved. They are tons of fun. We can't wait for the summer!!

What are your plans for the summer?

Adjustment

So this weekend was a bit of a rough one for us. We spent most of the weekend at home after a crazy week except to do a few errands. Also, we knew her vision is going so we wanted to see how she did around the house. It wasn't good. Her vision is going pretty quickly now and she is bumping into a lot of things. She is taking careful steps while she adjusts and finding where everything is again. While in the house she is pretty okay, outside is going to be a bit more challenging for us. If we walk too far from the house, she gets a panicky look in her eyes as if she forgot the way home and needs help. We are always there to save her, but it is heartbreaking nonetheless. And this also proves to be a challenge because we typically walk all the way to the other side of our condo complex when we walk with her, about 20 minutes twice a day. We read a lot this weekend on how to make this adjustment period better for all of us. Some of the good tips I read was to keep her from being depressed and trying not to be sad about it. I read several things that said dogs can get a bit depressed by their lack of vision and to try to keep her cheery. Also, not to baby her and let her discover and find out where everything is so she can find it on her own. Something we are going to try is to sew bells on a few of her favorite toys so she can hear them when we play with her. She wanted to play and I tossed her toy just a few feet and she couldn't find him, walked off and got sad. Does anyone have any tips for combating the sadness? Or tips for making the blindness easier?

When you stumble, we will always pick you up

So our little ones eyes are getting worse. The cataracts are starting to form in the other eye now and certain things are being taken with a little more hesitation and a little less recklessness. Like going down the stairs. She used to always fly down the stairs and easily beat me down. But this morning, twice, there was hesitation and a careful little girl going down each step with diligence. Carefully plating her whole body on one step and then attempting the next. And it's hard. On one hand, I want to just carry her up and down the stairs so she doesn't have that little worry flicker through her eyes. To just be the one to carry her and make it all better. But I know that's not good. Because on the other hand, when eyesight will be all the way gone one day, she needs to know how to be able to do these things again on her own. Going down the stairs, walking around the living room. We are just lucky that she has a pretty good feel of where everything is before her eyes go away that way at home it will be easier for her with no eyesight.

Wordless Wednesday: Frolicking In The Sun

Happy Birthday Chiquita!!

(For some reason Blogger wont let me post pictures.)

Today our little girl is 11. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. We got her about 4 years ago just weeks after her 8th birthday. This year we skipped the party since her dad had to work and celebrated together. Tonight we will be making her cake and having a nice little dinner at home.

Happy birthday baby girl! We love you so much!

Mischief Monday: Eating out

So this weekend I took Kita to have breakfast/brunch at a nice little cafe in Midtown Sacramento. It was nice weather, albeit a little chilly, and we brought her travel bed to lay on so the cold ground wouldn't feel so cold to her. The waiter was very nice and said hello to her when he would come out and for a while she was very good.

Then, I guess she decided it was her patio and let out a few ruffs every time someone walked in or out of the restaurant. Maybe she just wanted their attention or maybe this is going to become a new reality for us since she is loosing her sight, but it was weird because she usually sits on patios while we eat just fine. But she would let out a few little barks, they would look at her and she would just give off a big goofy grin.

Maybe she just wanted to ensure everyone knew she was there?

Busy Weekend

No rest for little girl this Saturday! We started the day off by having lunch with my mom and sister on a nice little Mexican brunch place. It was cute and had a nice outdoor patio. We hung out for a while and the wait staff was very nice to Kita while we were there. We would definitely go there again. Then we went to visit my grandparents at their house and she got to see her best buddy Precious. It was so cute, she didn't even want to go in the backyard without Precious. Then we met up with my dad and picked up lunch to take to my husband who sadly has to work this weekend. She happily trounced and ran all over the office saying hello to everyone who was bummed to be working on Saturday. We then popped by Petsmart to say hi to our doctor and pick up a dress for Kita to wear on her birthday! I can't believe our big girl is turning 11 on Tuesday!

WordlessWWednesday: Easter Fun

Happy Easter!!

Good bye Rocko

Rocko was a very sweet, laid back cat that we found about two years ago. He had been abandoned in our neighborhood and we found him trying to get trash from a trash can. We cared for him for a while, feeding him daily and he would never leave our house. The workers at our complex would even comment if they didn't see him at our front door in the morning wondering where he was. Sadly though, my husband is very allergic to cats and it was becoming harder and harder to leave him outside at night. We took him to my mom's where he lived a happy, well-fed and play filled life.

However, a few weeks ago he came home with a huge gash on his leg. The doctor thought maybe a dog got him or a fence and they were trying to fix his leg. However, unknown to anyone else until last night, there was also a bite on his tail. Since it was never treated, the bite wound abscessed. It started killing all the nerves in the tail and in the butt. By the time we rushed him into the vet this morning it was too late. The damage was done to his nerves and the wound had grown so large that amputation would be difficult and might cause more damage. So we had to say goodbye.

Goodbye sweet Rocko, you were so loved and will be so missed.

WordlessWWednesday: It's Thursday Though...

Days being in order are irrelevant when it's this nice out

My Pitbull Primas

Kita here at the key board taking over awhile...

So mama never really talks about them, but I have primas (Spanish for cousins). Four to be exact. But we are going to focus on the special two today, my pit bull primas.


This is Pookie.

He is no longer with us, but he was for about 8 years. He was a Pit-Rott mix. A family member found him left on the streets alone when he was about two months old and brought him home. Mama remembers most about him when he was a puppy and had ginormous Rottweiler sized feet and was this little guy. He was very laid back like me and we got along very well. He taught me to lay on my back and sit in great-grandma's lap. He was very loveable and enjoyed sleeping with great-grandpa.

This is Precious.

She was also rescued by a family member, found walking down the street cold, hungry, lonely. She now lives with my great-grandparents and is fat and happy. She has a best friend, a little Chihuahua mix named Bella that she loves to romp around the house with and play games all day. She likes to snuggle on the couch and sneak in bed when my old peeps fall asleep. Sadly, due to previous abuse, she frequently pees in the house when scared or overly excited.

This are my pit bull primas...they don't seem to scary now do they?

Tasty Tuesday: Veggie Wars

So, we have taken a cue from Kolchak Puggle and have been trying to incorporate more veggies and home baked treats into Kita's daily diet. (Her regular wet food cannot change due to the diabetes she is on a special diabetic diet now.) So, when I venture over to Trader Joe's they have super cheap bags of fresh, organic veggies. I mean, we're talking lots of them are under $2 a bag for at least a pound of veggies. Anyhoo, this week we bought some snap peas to see how she likes them.

Let's say compared to carrots, no competition. Girlfriend loves her carrots more than anything.

However, she isn't a snap pea fan. She would eat them if I open them up but then there really isn't much inside....just a few pea pods. I tried feeding them to her and she just spit them up. The little stinker even hid two under the placemat under her bowl stand.

So in this round of veggie wars...the line up was carrots vs snap peas. The winner is carrots. Next weeks battle will be broccoli vs carrots.

Also, this goes with yesterday's post but here are some pics of Kita in her Captain America shirt.

Mischief Monday: Toy Show

This weekend there was an awesome outdoor toy show that we took Kita to. She usually does really well at these things and stays by our side. She was even decked out in her Captain America t-shirt and everyone thought it was so cute. However, this show was in the parking lot of a little shopping area and there were bushes around. Lots of bushes. Little girl decided that it would be WAY more fun to hang out in all the different bushes and see what she could climb on then hang around some boring old toy show. Every time we got near a push she would start pulling and tugging and then when we would walk over she would just hang out. Stand around the bush for like 10 minutes not really doing anything then give us the saddest look when we walked away from the bush.

I don't know what these crazy bushes were made of, but they obviously were made with Kita in mind.

Rained out

No egg hunt for us today. Sadly, there were thunderstorms in the area and it was raining pretty hard so the event got cancelled. :-( But they already sent out e-mails that hopefully we will be up and running next weekend! I'm so excited to take her I really hope they do it and luckily we don't have any plans next weekend so it's perfect!

Instead, we ended up taking her to do some shopping at Petsmart (and visiting her doctor for a second) and visiting my mom and her injured kitty Rocko. So still a good day.

We also breaded Rocko while we were there....

We tried to bread Kita but she just kept trying to eat the bread.

Getting ready for the weekend

Over here at Kita's Casa we are waiting for 5 p.m. Then our weekend fun begins. We have a few things planned like the awesome easter egg hunt we blogged about this week. It has been rainy this week but we are hopeful that it will clear up tomorrow and we can go have some fun in the sun.

We also are planning on going to a big sidewalk sale at a local comic book shop to get on geek on at. Kita loves going with us to this shop and inspecting all the goodies they have there so we are very excited for this as well.

T-minus 9 hours to go...

What are your plans for the weekend?

Wordless Wednesday: It's starting to feel like spring

Tasty Tuesday: Carrots

(This is her with a hot dog, but she has the same enthusiasm for carrots.)


Kita has discovered a new treat that tantalizes her taste buds...carrots.

Oh. man.

Give that girl some carrots and she goes nuts. She happily crunches and chews her way through baby carrots like a guinea pig and a cereal box. She even sometimes takes them to her bed to crunch away in comfort. The plus side to the carrots are that they are a healthy treat that also helps keep her teeth clean between brushings!

Walks

Kita loves getting her two daily walks a day. She eagerly looks forward to them every morning and every night when we get home from work. She wanders and wanders and just enjoys the breeze in her fur, roaming around aimlessly, and exploring the neighborhood.

She also loves seeing her friends. She has a few friends that live a few houses from us that she enjoys seeing. They are all about her size, which is good becomes she loves a romp with her friends in the front yard. They are a dad and his two sons doggie duo. It is fun seeing them play.

She also loves rolling in the grass.

Rain, rain, go away

It has been pretty rainy in our neck of the woods lately. And sadly for us it has been very rainy when we are off work. We were on vacation two weeks ago and it rained almost the entire time. :-( And this weekend it was very cloudy and about to rain all day Saturday and it currently schedule to keep raining all day today and all next week.

The even worse part about the rain is princess hates to go out in the rain, even with her raincoat on (she won't keep her little boots on, she just kicks them off). So we end up keeping extra potty pads down in her favorite spots to avoid accidents.

Is spring over yet? Does it rain a lot where you live?

A fun-tivity coming up

We signed up for a very fun event in our city next weekend, the 3rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt for Dogs! It is put on by the Wag hotel and the proceeds benefit a local rescue NorCal Boxer Rescue!! We have been having beautiful weather in Sacramento lately and hope it will be just as nice next weekend. From what I can gather from the event website, there will be an Easter egg hunt with the eggs filled with yummy doggie snacks and an Easter bunny to take picture with! I am excited about this since we have never been able to take pictures with the Easter bunny for Kita before. We love spending the day as a family and helping local rescues out!

Wordless Wednesday: Hanging out in the sunshine

Tasty Tuesday: Happy birthday Tia Niki

Today is Kita's Tia Niki's birthday. She is finally 21 years old. Happy birthday Niki!!

Which leads us to our next point....dog birthday cake. We made this recipe before for Kita's birthday and she LOVES it. You can either make one small-ish cake (in one 9-inch round pan) or you can make pup-cakes for your birthday guests.

Peanut Butter Delight Cake

1 cup white or whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)

Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a ring mold sprayed with a nonstick spray for 40 minutes.

Frost this cake with low fat cottage cheese and decorate with carrot pieces. Store in refrigerator.

Kita enjoying birthday cake