Category Archives: Adventures

Three months with Mom

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Good morning Friends,

It is me Nili here as I am celebrating three months with Mom, learning a lot and I hope my Angel sister Layla is proud of me as I am trying to be as good as she was and it is not easy cos I have a mischievous side to me which Mom laughs at BOL.

I am sure you have been waiting to see if I have been on adventures but I have been so busy trying all the goodies for reviews I have not shared with you my adventures so today as a three month celebration I am going to.

My first adventure was on Mom’s birthday when Aunty Alysha took Mom to one of her favorite places in Golden Gate Park with a picnic. It was a beautiful day and they found a bench to sit on next to Heron Lake and the ducks. Mom cannot let me off leash yet so she tied leashes together so I would have a long enough one to wander around and then tied it to the bench so she could relax and watch me. It was so much fun, I barked at the ducks who did not care about me, can you believe that? I then climbed the rocks to see what else I could see, sniffed a lot and of course barked at the dogs that were walking on the path as I was protecting the humans. Mom had her favorite lunch; Syrian food and she gave me a little piece of chicken. It was a fun time, and I cannot wait to do it again.

Look am on a rock Nili

Can you believe the ducks ignored me, Nili

If I look cute I get treats, Nili

 

Another new routine we have is every day we walk about 6 blocks up the road to a tiny park that Mom loves, lots of flowers and very peaceful, very few dogs also so Mom can relax, she makes my leash long so I can wander but am tied to the bench so I cannot go too far. I cannot wait for one day to be able to get off leash but as Mom says it is my fault as I do not want to listen to her. The walk there and back tires me out so by the time we get home I am sleepy and need a nap. It is good exercise for both of us plus the fresh air is very healthy.

Watching what is going on

Where the treats Mom

Nili Barking like a lunatic in the park :  https://youtube.com/shorts/GuMTaYoM8H8?si=2ny7l22SSKku_YWy

 

So my three months with Mom have been great, I do not try to run out of the apartment anymore which has made Moms life a lot easier, I still have quirks we working on like me nipping Mom when she puts the harness on, her hands are covered in band aids BOL, playing tug of war with the harness when we leave the apartment which Mom has fallen once cos I got her tangled, and the worst of all lunging at big dogs mainly when I am in the street walking although that I am slowly stopping to do plus when it is little dogs if ok Mom lets me say hello to them which is fun.

I love my life here, am very happy, hog the bed, kill the squeakers and bark at everyone through the window so cannot complain, life is good.

This is my best video of her this week ROFL : https://youtube.com/shorts/AYOE8RwZqOY?si=7Hwibl-DNlyN7Pjo

Have a wonderful week and thank you for reading about my life

With love and woof from Nili

 

 

 

Dogfest is over and it was fun

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TGIF!!! Good morning friends, wow what a weekend last weekend and thank goodness we had a sort of quiet week.

 

Layla is still not well, we have a good day and then a bad day so we taking each day as it comes and as my vet said to me she is over 18 years old so it takes time to heal from infections but what is worrying me is she is not eating the way she did in the past. I have been giving her Entyce which stimulates an appetite but it is not working so she is now on Nutrical which is a gel full of nutrients so am hoping it will build up her immune system again. Time will tell.

So, let’s get on with some fun, DogFest. As I told you in my last blog this is an annual fundraiser for an Elementary School, it is a day full of fun, dog costume shows, Lots of booths with dog food, treats, accessories and then so much more. As you all know I ran the booth for Real Mushrooms and yes Layla was with me. I had borrowed a pen from a friend and put a blanket in it so she was comfortable, able to move around plus have her water and food there. She munched on  lots of treats instead of her food but I decided as long as she is eating that is all that matters. I had big baskets of the table with Relax Chews and Immune System Chews for your pets. Bless San Francisco you always have the weirdos also like some that asked me if the mushroom chews were psychedelic mushrooms LOL or the best of the best was a woman walking around with a shopping cart, stopping at my table, picking up the basket to put all the samples in her basket, and when I stopped her and told her she could only have on of each she cursed me and on top of it does not even have pets. In a nutshell it was an exhausting day and by the time I got home I needed to take my shoes off and put my feet up. Layla and I slept all Sunday to recharge our batteries.

Layla in her pen, I put my jacket over to give her some shade as it was warm

THe red carpet for the dog events

Even a cat came

The food truck with treats and other goodies for the dogs

Love this hat

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence always volunteer

Fun in the park this week

So that has been our week, taking it slow, going to the dog park to enjoy the sun and of course all the every day things also.

And before we go to bed we must not forget this Sunday is Mayday for Mutts – Mayday for Mutts is a special holiday celebrated on the first Sunday of May to spread love and acceptance for mixed-breed dogs.

My beautiful happy Mutt, Layla

We hope you have a wonderful week, be safe as always

 

With woof and love from

Layla

 

Should we go to the dog park

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Good morning Fur friends,

It is the end of the week, and the weekend has arrived. The weather has been good this week, so Mom has tried taking me to the park daily for a couple of hours which is good for us.

I have been reading articles lately about the pros and cons of dog parks and there are days when I question is it safe  for Layla with her age but living in a city and therefore no yard it is the only place where she is free to wander around and sniff which she needs.

There are many dog parks in San Francisco, and some say there are more dogs than kids here but the park I go to daily is two blocks away from where I live, it is convenient and easy to get to although I do go to other parks by bus when I have more time. This park is very much a community and some of the dog people there have been going for years. I have been going there for about 12 years if not more and we all know each other, we know what dogs are allergic to what treats and we all keep hawk eyes on our dogs and make sure they are all behaving. Yes you have the odd one like this woman that sits on a bench in the park with her dog trying to hump every dog while she sits there handing out treats like an ATM. She is not liked by most of us and she knows she dare not give Layla a treat as I do not trust what she is feeding them.

But today was the final straw for me, I got so angry with someone and picked up Layla and came home. There is a newbie as I call him, that has a beautiful labrador who is blind, he comes into the park, lets the dog loose and the dog just runs everywhere, and he sits on a bench on his phone calling his dog all the time. This dog knocked Layla over on the lawn on Monday and thank goodness she was startled but fine, the regulars immediately ran to check on her. It happened again today, and I just exploded yelling at him and all he did was laugh and tell me his dog is blind. When I told him Layla is blind and a senior, he just laughed so I turned around and said then you watch your dog carefully as there are small dogs in the park also and one especially Layla can get hurt. He stood there laughing and called me silly so I told him it takes one silly person to recognize another and if his dog hurts Layla he will have to pay the vet bills.  He sat back on the bench for a few minutes and when his dog nearly knocked a kid over (there is a playground for children in one corner of the park) he took his dog and walked out of the park.

That is when I question myself, am I doing the right thing taking her to the park. I feel bad for her as she loves going, wandering, barking at me, or just sitting or standing with the sun on her face, and she needs it mentally. I try to take her when there are not a lot of people in the park for her safety but then you have a disrespectful dog owner who spoils the park time for Layla as after that incident, I put her in her stroller and brought her home. She is fine, ate her food, barked for her snuffle toy, and then went to lie down and to sleep.

I would love to know what you think as summer is around the corner and I want to take her out on adventures or to her regular park.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, be safe.

With a woof and love from Layla

 

Sun was out and we went for an adventure

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Hello Friends, we hope you are all staying safe and warm in this cold weather.

It is Friday, a long weekend ahead of us and it is really cold here at the moment that I do not want to get out of bed in the mornings but Mom says I need to go out to potty so we go and then come back to bed.

Last Sunday, although it had been raining on and off all week the sun came out so Mom surprised me and took me on an adventure. We went to Stern Grove where they have a Chihuahua meet up once a month, so she texted one of her friends who goes and he picked us up from the train station as it is too complicated to get there without a car. The weather was perfect, warm, sunny and just what we needed plus the park is magical and has a lake at the one end which for Mom is paradise, she likes to sit and watch the ducks, enjoy the peace and just recharge her batteries as she says, which she needs to do so that she has lots of energy to walk or push me all the time when I demand it BOL.

Waiting for Uncle to pick us up

Walking along the path

Pine Lake with a duck, my heaven

Giving Mom a break to breathe next to the lake while I nap

It was a beautiful day out, there was lunch for the humans and of course Mom had goodies for me, So in a nutshell it was a wonderful adventure. When we got home, I made Mom walk me more to enjoy the sun so by the time we really got back home Mom was ready for a nap and me, snuffle time and then a nap.

Otherwise this week we have been staying warm and dry inside but of course I am getting Mom out so I can potty and smell all the trees along the way but the weekend has arrived again, and this week it is a long weekend so I hope Mom will surprise me with some kind of adventure. She has already told me we meeting my favorite Aunt for lunch tomorrow and that will be fun and then who knows !

So all my friends, have a wonderful long weekend, stay warm and safe, please keep us inside with you,

Woof and love from Layla

 

 

 

 

 

I have had a barking busy week.

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Woof hello all my friends,

I have had a barking busy week with lots of barking. Mom is not impressed but I feel I have the right to give my input.

On Saturday Mom took me to the vet for a senior checkup. The vet was very impressed with Mom for keeping me so healthy and Mom asked her a favor which she was happy to help with. My back leg muscles are slowing giving in, no arthritis phew, but because of it I am falling into my food, so I had some matts. So, the vet tech was kind enough to shave me (Mom says rather I am bare in parts than have matts) which was going well until I got fed up and oy vey snapped at the vet. Mom was in shock as she has never seen me do that but thank goodness the vet was not upset. Can you believe they put a muzzle on me and that is when Mom started to giggle as she told the vet I looked like a duck gone wrong. I was not impressed but at least I am matt free now phew and happy. I got lots of treats from the vet, so it was worth it.

Do I really look like a duck ?

 

On Sunday Mom took me to my favorite park to get some fresh air, or should I say Mom wanted fresh air but it was great to be outdoors as the weather is changing and getting cold and rainy. Of course, I did my barking in the park as that has become my ritual and if I do not do it I will not be happy. Poor Mom gets a headache but too bad I need to tell the world I have arrived. It was a wonderful couple of hours outdoors, Mom watching the boats on the bay and me wandering around sniffing all the new smells so in a nutshell we were both relaxed and happy.

https://youtube.com/shorts/a7YpAROlyMI?si=cDGPvug_VxW1XfpX

Then the highlight of my week was Wednesday, we went to a Thanksgiving event where there was lots of food, yes Mom shared some with me, I was the only dog there so I got lots of love from everyone, but the best BOL was when they started the Karaoke singing, I did not like the music and voices so I sat in the stroller barking away. I would not keep quiet even when Mom offered me treats to keep quiet, but it did not work. The minute it all stopped I lay back down in my stroller and went back to sleep. Mom won some smelly shower products on the raffle so she was a happy Mom who will now smell fruity BOL.

Do I have a turkey on my back ?

 

So, as you read, I have been busy barking and Mom is not talking about my barking orders in the house when I want or should I say demand something from her and one of my newest quirks is to stand on the corner and bark for no reason, Mom is not happy with that BOL but I am the Boss.

I am laughing at this post as I think barking is fun BOL

 

Have a wonderful safe weekend everyone,

With a woof and love from Layla, the Bossy Barker

 

 

What you do for love for your Senior Dog

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TGIF!!! The weekend has arrived, which means we can all recharge our batteries and get ready for the new week.

Day light savings has messed with our lives and I am sure you all feel the same. I personally hate it as I am getting less sleep and Layla’s routine has gone upside down which is taking its toll on me. Layla now wakes me up at 5 in the morning to go potty and her routine is to potty, I then put her back in the stroller to come home but Madam stands up in the stroller which means she wants to go again so I take her out and all she does is stand and stare into space till I get fed up and put her back in the stroller and bring her in. She then will bark at me for her snuffle ball with treats, I will crawl back into bed and once she is finished with her treats and then goes back to sleep. Thank you, daylight savings.

Being a Senior Dog Mom is trial and error, adapting your life to theirs and all of a sudden, your life revolves around theirs and you lose a lot of freedom. I am not complaining as Layla is my child, I love her to the moon and back, but I am exhausted 24/7 also and I feel sharing with you will prepare you for the future.

She has a new quirk of sleeping on the floor in front of the front door, which is fine when I am home but when I go out I have become afraid I will squash her when I come back in so I got a baby gate which I put up at the end of the corridor and put her there before I go out so I have no more worries about her now. She has freedom in the entire apartment, so she is perfectly safe.

One of my worries at the moment is when the rain starts what am I going to do to keep her busy, so she does not sleep all day so although she has her snuffle balls I need to find other activities for her to keep her brain active. So, over the next couple of weeks, I will google searching for ideas LOL.  Madam does not like plastic, rubber or wood so I cannot get her a puzzle as from experience she will not touch them. She has me trained well LOL.

She has become a picky eater when it comes to treats and I am very fortunate that my pet store allows me to exchange open packets and get credit because I have bought her three different packages of treats this week with fish which she loves and all of a sudden not interested so we have been back and forth to the store to exchange them, thank goodness they know me so they are laughing with me.

As you all know Layla has been having kidney infection and a UTI which are all healed but I have been looking into supplement to help them stay healthy and found one with Cranberry and Blueberries. One of the things I have noticed since she is on it is she more aware and energetic so today when I decided to take her to her favorite park with a train ride I asked her if she wants to go Bye Bye she jumped up wagging her tail like she did in the past and I just grabbed the camera to film it as it made me so happy. For that she could bark as much as she wanted. See the video below.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Dzbichoh7vk?si=LNbj7Gxm1ZAYkr8z

The weather was gloomy and chilly, but we hopped on the train, both of us bundled up and off we went. She was so happy to be outdoors and wandered around happily keeping me on my toes, but it was worth it. There is nothing like sitting on the lawn on a chair watching the boats on the bay, it is relaxing and helps me recharge my batteries. It was a wonderful 3 hours of no electronics just the outdoors and the birds and the bay and of course Layla.

https://youtube.com/shorts/RRGDehtUcmE?si=wnnFckGHEFfjDBDc

They grey skies

Wearing my fancy jacket made from an umbrella

To bark or not to bark today that is the question ?

I am taking each day as it comes this weekend as they are talking rain, and I am praying there will be a break so we can get out.

 

So now you know what is happening in the senior Layla Neighborhood

Have a wonderful weekend with a woof and love from

Layla

We have been busy

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TGIF !!! Good morning all my friends, we hope you are all well and safe.

I have been debating whether to write this week about what is happening in Israel but as an Israeli I cannot keep quiet so all I am asking from my friends is that they say a prayer for all the pets that through the massacres have lost their families, are now orphaned and I pray they all find new safe homes.

I am attaching a link from a newspaper that broke my heart and made me really think about all of them : This is what is said in English as the article is in Hebrew “We just left the slaughter area at the party. We cleared the bodies. The horrors that we saw will never get out of our heads. The only thing that came out of this life is one cute little dog ”   Tomer Peretz

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=874483190704433&set=a.258252685660823

We have been very busy the last two weekends so will now share our adventures as life needs to carry on and Layla loves going out so this is what we have been doing :

Two weeks ago we went to a dog event, a place I have never been to which was fun and visited a friend of mine who had a booth there and she has the cutest most well mannered dog so Layla said hi and I sat and chatted with her for a bit. We then wandered around checking the booths and from there walked to our favorite park where Layla was happy to sniff a lot, bark of course and then nap LOL. Her favorite past time.  From there we came home as I needed a nap also so we just chilled and relaxed at home the rest of the weekend.

Phew thank goodness my butt is not that fat, Layla

Layla and Musk

Wandering around the cool damp grass

 

Last weekend was Fleet week in San Francisco. There was a lot going on in our park next to our house but because of her in the stroller and always wanting to jump out I decided not to go but instead took the train to our favorite park on the Bay where we chilled, she wandered and barked of course and after an hour or so fell asleep. I sat a bit longer but when the Blue Angels started (I don’t like) she woke up, seemed to be a bit anxious so I packed up and came home to relax.

Cool as a cucumber in my cooling vest

Me and the sailors

Being on the Bay is the best for me as I totally relax plus do not have to worry about her as there are no dogs so she is safe wandering around sniffing and napping which makes my life more relaxing.

I love this view

On top of all this we did her senior blood panel this week, she has no liver problems, phew but does have a kidney infection and it does not matter how much water she drinks she seems to be dehydrated to am making sure she drinks a lot and I wake her up in the middle of the night to drink more.  She is on antibiotics for two weeks and hopefully they will clear it up.

So never a dull moment in our house, but cannot complain because as long as she is a happy healthy 17 year old I am happy.

On this note we are sending prayers to all our family and friends in Israel, please be safe everyone and have a wonderful weekend,

With love and hugs from

Layla

 

September is here

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Woof everyone, September has arrived.

September is a very important month as Remember Me Thursday happens this month and we must not forget all our fur friends in shelters that are looking for homes, but I will talk more about it on another blog.

We have a long weekend this weekend and I am so excited. Mom has promised to spoil me extra and weather permitting we will spend as much time outdoors and go on a train ride which I love going on so am hoping it won’t be too hot and we can do that adventure.

We had a busy week but Mom took me last Saturday to another park where they were having a Shi Tzu meet up, something we have not done in a long time but it was so much fun, a different park meant lots of new smells, it was chilly but so worth going although BOL Mom left her coffee at home which was mixed with Hot Chocolate from Real Mushrooms https://shop.realmushrooms.com/?ref=488 and she was not happy BOL. I did a lot of sniffing, rolled in my stroller, and made some new friends, plus of course got lots of treats. It was so much fun and I hope we will do it again soon.

Sniffing is the best

There were lots of stairs so Mom put me in my stroller to be safe but you can see the fog over the city in the background

On Tuesday I met up with my friends in my park, we had what Mom called a Senior Rescue meet up although I napped under the tree Coco and Thomas had fun and there was a lot of laughter and of course treats.

Coco

Thomas

I love sleeping on the lawn under the tree, Layla

Labor Day weekend is a long weekend with lots of family fun but please keep us safe, see the list below that we must be aware of to keep them safe plus if we follow this list we can kick back and relax with no worries.

  • Keep Food and Drinks Out of Paws’ Reach
  • Pay Attention to Where You Discard Grease
  • Don’t leave pets unattended near open water
  • Discard food items safely
  • Lookout for heatstroke

Have a safe wonderful weekend everyone, we cannot wait to see your photos of your weekend,

With a woof and love from Layla

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sun has been Shining

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Good morning Everyone,

Friday has arrived and I am so looking forward to park time this weekend, eat lots of treats and make Mom run after me when I go to far, it is the best and lots of fun. Layla knows where the people sit on the benches and the treat Uncles are so she will walk there to get treats and I have to run after her as I do not want her to get lost or hurt herself being old and blind.

This past week with the sun shining we spent quite a bit of time in the park which was really great just to be outdoors, me drinking my coffee with hot chocolate which I am not addicted to LOL and Layla wandering, sleeping and just like me enjoying life.

Waiting for Uncle with my treats

I am reminding everyone about this amazing chocolate mix with mushrooms as it is so so so tasty and of course makes the coffee so chocolaty.

https://shop.realmushrooms.com/?ref=488

On Monday we met up with a good friend of mine, Troy, Layla adores him as he always spoils her but this time she got into mischief LOL and found the bag of treats in his pocket, slyly pulled it out, with a big smile on her face, bag in her mouth, tail wagging, she was chomping away like a little pig LOL. I of course took it away from her as I was afraid of her choking on the plastic, but I laughed so much over the entire thing as she in the 12 + years I have her she has never done something like that.  Sorry for no photo as I was just laughing and could not get the camera fast enough.

So where is he ?

Napping

So mischief maker is keeping me on my toes, she is quite a clown but I adore her and would not change anything plus it makes me realize how aware she is with age, and wanting to go out and wander around the park. I am very blessed.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, what are your plans ?

With woof and love from

Layla