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.