Happy Holidays Everyone

Good morning Friends,

Can you believe it is nearly the end of 2023 WOW, this year has gone too fast or is Mom getting old too quickly BOL.

I was not well last week and Mom was very worried about me. I kept pooping, not diarrhea though but could not hold my poops so Mom was cleaning all weekend after me and she was exhausted. Because of it Mom could not go to her Hanukkah party on Sunday and I feel bad. She phoned our vet and spoke to a tech about it and he suggested that Mom speak to a vet and gave us a phone number of an emergency clinic which answers questions over the phone. So Mom called them and spoke to a really sweet vet who calmed Mom down and since then Mom has relaxed and my problem has been solved. Mom emailed my vet on Monday telling her what had been happening and my vet told Mom to give me some medications. But because my tummy had settled we decided not to give me the medications but as my vet is going on holiday this week for two weeks she has left the medication on my name for an emergency but thank goodness we have no need at this moment.

My vet did tell Mom that pumpkin could have been part of the problem as I am a senior and sometimes pumpkin does not work on us, so no more pumpkin for me.

We have done something new, changed my diet which my vet thinks is a good idea. I now eat ground lamb with brown rice for fiber and my tummy is working perfectly and the lamb is so so good, although as Mom says it is not cheap either. But I am a princess and deserve the best.

Another thing we have done is because my back legs are not that stable anymore and I fall into my food or knock it over, I cannot eat out of bowls anymore as I do not see and knock them over, so Mom now feeds me on my own little table with a flat porcelain dish which is heavy and hard to push over. See the photo below and my video where you can hear me slurping away.

Yum the lamb is so good

Video :  https://youtube.com/shorts/jU5zZTVBM9g?si=j5cuqtISkBsmLCO5

Because of the rain all week we have not really gone out that much as Mom does not like swimming in the rain and neither do I so Christmas events we did now do this week but I have been spoiled and we are sharing some old photos from Christmas events in San Francisco. Memories cannot be erased.

From one of the Christmas events in San Francisco a couple of years ago

Video :  https://youtube.com/shorts/J8BUP0UMGyQ?si=04dl6CPv7-wwN35n

 

Please keep your fur family safe this Christmas, do not drink and drive and most of all adopt don’t shop if you are getting a new fur baby.

Merry Christmas Everyone,

 

Enjoy your time with your family and make lots of memories

With love from Layla

 

 

December Pet Holidays and Observances

December has arrived that means hoodie time

December has arrived and with it all the holidays we celebrate so please stay warm and cozy as the cold weather has arrived also, brrrrr

Month

  • National Cat Lover’s Month.

One Day

  • Dec. 1: National Twin With Your Dog Day.
  • Dec. 2: National Mutt Day.
  • Dec. 7: Hanukkah Starts
  • Dec. 9: International Day of Veterinary Medicine.
  • Dec. 10: International Animal Rights Day.
  • Dec. 11: Holiday Food Drive for the Needy Animals Day.
  • Dec. 15: National Cat Herders Day.
  • Dec. 15: Hanukkah Ends
  • Dec. 25: Christmas Day
  • Dec. 26:  Boxing Day

Wishing all our friends Happy Hanukkah חַג חֲנוּכָּה שַׂמֵחַ and a Merry Christmas

 

Love Layla

 

Christmas is here

TGIF!!!  Christmas has arrived WOW, can you believe we nearly at the end of the year, it seems like yesterday the year started.

I do not celebrate Christmas although I love seeing all the lights, trees, and decorations all over the place, it brings happiness.

With all the gifts and fun with family we also must remember something dear to my heart, which many do, and it is so wrong.

Pets are not gifts and when the excitement is over, they will be dumped in shelters, pets are family and for life, and if you cannot commit or a family member cannot commit then please do not get them one, it is not fair to the pet, plus it is one of the reasons shelters are overflowing with unwanted gifts in January.

 

Another reason shelters are overflowing is those wannabe pet lovers are dumping their senior pets in the shelters so that they can get a new puppy, and those people should not be allowed to own pets and put on a registry. Those dumped seniors do not have a chance of getting out alive which is horrific and breaks my heart.

So although Christmas is a happy family holiday, don’t forget to include your fur kids as they are part of the family and have every right to be there with you.

Merry Christmas to all, be safe, stay warm and enjoy

Am ending with Layla’s wish which we hope you will watch :

https://youtube.com/shorts/loYV3LhgsX0?feature=share

Merry Christmas, be safe and enjoy

Love Layla

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Hanukkah Everyone

What a busy weekend last week.

TGIF!!!! Friday has arrived and our plans are to kick back and relax as we had such a busy weekend last week, especially Sunday.

On Saturday it was raining all day so Mom would take me out for quick walks or as she called them swims as the rain did not stop, we need the rain but it can also become a headache and I do not like getting my paws wet so I was riding around in my stroller BOL.

On Sunday was the annual Skivvy run which is a fund raiser for the AIDS Foundation of San Francisco, the guys run through a part of the city in underwear, they close off a street and people party, have fun and of course eat lots of food. The sun was shining, it was chilly but worth going to. Layla met the Grinch, and he was kind enough to hold her so I could get a photograph of them together. I took many photos and am sharing some of them here.

Me and the Grinch, he has weird furry green hands which kept me warm

 

In the afternoon we went to our annual Hanukkah party, light the Hanukkiah and eat latkes yummy. It was wonderful being with friends and celebrating the Miracle of Lights. For those that do not know the story of Hanukkah in a short version the Maccabees found oil for their lamps for one day but it lasted 8 days and that Is why for 8 days we light a candle each night, and eat fried foods, traditionally latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts). The children play a game with a spinning top called a Dreidel, and each time they win they get chocolate coins or as they say in Yiddish Hanukkah Geld.

Happy Hanukkah Everyone

 

By the time we got home Mom was exhausted and so was I but it was a diverse day of fun and well worth it.

 

The rest of this week we have just gone with the flow which is what Mom likes BOL, so to all my friends celebrating Hanukkah, Chag Sameach and don’t eat too much BOL

 

Be safe and have a wonderful weekend

Love from Layla

 

Merry Christmas Everyone

TGIF !!!!!!!


It is a week before Christmas and I have been watching cars go by with trees on their roofs, people carrying them, on bicycles and it is such a great feeling to see some happiness in the city the past weeks with all the gloom around.


Unfortunately this year there are no events like in the past years and as I am not going out much because we are on strict lockdown again I decided to share photos of past events that we attended and had fun.


The first is a very special memory where in the dog park I would go to with Baby and they every year dressed up a tree and hung photos of all the dogs in the dog park which was so much fun, as the lights would sparkle with all the photos and we would stand around, drink something and celebrate. I hope one day to be able to do it with Layla.


Another memory is the Santathon which they have every year in San Francisco when everyone dresses up as Santas, the town goes red LOL and you see many drunk Santas pub crawling and having fun. It is also very special as one of the pubs does a toy drive for those that need toys. 


The other event not happening this year is the Skivvie run which is a fundraiser for the AIDS Foundation where in the Castro Area everyone runs in skivvies and have fun, it is a great event and wonderful fundraiser.

So we are stuck in the house this year but Layla was spoiled and got a $ 50 gift card for Hanukkah for our favorite Pet Store so am going to spoil her with something this week although the brat is not short of anything.


I have been really spoiled also with Hanukkah gift cards to different stores and I plan to for once spend on myself not the brat LOL plus I got an Emeril Lagase Air fryer Pro which has a dehydrator so in the New Year am going to be trying different meats to dehydrate for the Madam. Am really excited over this gift.


As we sit here, see the Christmas lights in different houses, lighted up Christmas trees and people laughing and smiling, I am happy to see that everyone is making the best of the worst and that is fantastic as life is too short to sit and moan. 


Please keep your pets safe this Christmas, 


Merry Christmas Everyone, may you have a wonderful one with your family, make memories and enjoy  !!!!!!!!!!!!!


With a woof and love from

Layla

The Howlidays have arrived

TGIF !!!!


The Howlidays have arrived and I have been watching everyone scurrying around shopping for gifts for everypawdy. We hope that when shopping you will also get something for Rescue Organizations or Domestic Violence Shelters as there are so many in need of money or donations of food, bedding and of course toys for the kids in the Shelters, both pets and human.
So we are asking everyone that want to help call a Shelter, both Animal or Domestic Violence and ask them if you can give something, it is a time of giving and that would be such a Mitzvah. (Yiddish for good deed).

Last week we went to a Hanukkah party held by one of the Domestic Violence Organizations, they do it every year at someones house where we all meet up, eat lots of latkes, light the Hanukkiah and forgot our problems for a couple of hours. It was a wonderful event as always, Layla was included and loved by all, and I want to thank Shalom Bayit for the wonderful event and especially including both of us.

The Candles giving light to the past dark days

So of course if we discussing Hanukkah and I must not forget the recipe for the doggy latkes and human latkes for those that want to make them at home.


Doggy Latkes      Ingredients and Method
One sweet potato grated 
One egg
Flour to bind it all together 
Mix all in a bowl, spoon on to a baking sheet which is covered with parchment paper, bake on 350 Deg till brown on top, flip over and carry on baking till ready (golden brown) Cool and serve it to them with sour cream or cottage cheese.
This recipe makes about 5 or 6 depending on the size of the sweet potato. 

Human Latkes recipe  Ingredients and Method
5 Russet Potatoes peeled (you can do unpeeled also)
2 Eggs 
Breadcrumbs or Matza meal to bind it all together 
NOW to make life easier and tastier instead of crying while grating onions I use a packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix.
Squeeze all the water out of the potatoes, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together.
Heat up oil in a frying pan, I use Canola oil, drop a table spoon of the mixture into the hot oil, flattening them a bit, fry till golden brown on each side, drain on a paper towel. Serve hot with either sour cream or apple sauce. Bon Appetit. 

Layla eating her latkes

Tomorrow Gidget arrives, she is a cutie and will be staying with us for about 2 weeks while her Mom goes away for the holidays. It is going to be fun having two dogs in the house and she is one bundle of energy so she is going to keep Layla on her toes LOL. It is going to be quite amusing. 


This weekend rain is expected again oy vey so we are going to be indoors a lot of the time unless there will be a lull in the rain, but we will be doing long walks wherever possible and I am really proud to say Layla is starting to tolerate the rain which is making life so much easier.


I have nothing scheduled otherwise but quality family time with the both dogs, lots of treats and pampering and guess what, am going to try pamper myself also, what a concept, but weather permitting I might take dogs for a walk in the evening around our neighborhood to see the houses with the Christmas lights.

On this note we would love to wish everyone Happy Howlidays, have a wonderful time with your families, both two and four legged, make memories with photographs and please do not over eat.


We also want to remind everyone what is not safe for your pets so you do not have to run to the vet, this is for both Hanukkah and Christmas.

Hanukkah and Christmas pet safety tips

With lots of love and licks Layla 

The Holidays are nearly here

Woof !!!!!!!!!!!


Mom and I have been busy as always and with the holidays creeping up on us it seems as everyone is having Christmas events for us pampered dogs.
So Mom sat with her schedule and all the dates BOL to see what she could do and fit in although there are some on the same day, plus of course Mom wants to do something for herself too, which I am not sure I agree with.


On Friday I was spoiled as Uncle Matthew came to see Mom and brought my Christmas Bag from the Shanti/PAWS project which had yumm treats, and two new toys, one I really love which is a unicorn.

Happy with her Unicorn

On Saturday there were quite a few events including the Santacon but because the weather was so bad, sheets of rain, we decided to cuddle inside instead. When the rain stopped for a little bit Mom took me to our favorite pet store and stocked me up on my favorite chews, Turkey tendons so I have a stash in the house.

Shhhh don’t tell Mom I hide them so she will get me more


On Sunday the sun appeared, so we went for a long walk to the Castro District where they were having the annual Skivvies Santa Run. This is a fun event, a fundraiser for the AIDS foundation in San Francisco. What happens is everyone congregates in skivvies at one point, and then they do a run finishing at the same place where they started. There was band playing Christmas songs and jazzy music, Santa Claus and lots and lots of skivvies with Santa Hats. I even met some dogs there joining in the fun. We took a slow walk home from there through the dog park which was great as I had a good run without my leash.

Some of the many photos 


The rest of the week has been normal BOL as Mom has been doing things and I have been hibernating from the rain, but Mom is really proud of me as I have actually been walking in the rain if I need to go out. It has taken Mom nearly 8 years I think to get me to do it, better late than never. The best part is when I get home Mom doubles my treats so it is worth it.


OH!!! Before I forget one lousy thing happened this week, I got a bath. Can you believe it is raining but Mom still insists I get a bath. How dare she ! I made sure she would suffer when we got home and what I did was rolled all wet all over her bed so she had to change all the bedding. Ha I love that kind of payback.

Thank you Ally for the photo 


This coming Sunday, I am going on an adventure, as must not forget that Hanukkah is around the corner so am going to a Hanukkah party with Mom. There are going to be lots of people and children so it is going to be lots of fun. Mom says she will pack my dinner in her bag plus treats so I will not starve BOL.

I will be posting next week our Hanukkah doggy latke recipe for everyone so you can all get your humans to make you something new.


Now am going to relax, just ate lunch as I was not in the mood for breakfast, have walked Mom good today so she is tired, 


Have a wonderful warm weekend everypawdy

With love and licks From Layla

December has arrived

Layla in the mornings

Hello friends from cold rainy San Francisco. I am not happy as my paws keep getting wet and that is not fair. I cannot  believe Mom walks in the rain with no problem whereas I have to suffer. And NO I do not like raincoats BOL.

Last week I had a friend staying with me which was exciting. Max is an old man, 14 years old, blind and deaf. He stayed with us for 10 days and the only complaint I have is that he did not let me sleep the way I like to and could not sleep late in the mornings as he got up at about 5 and would wander around. I told Mom she should have given him some of my CBD but she said no as without his parents permission she cannot do that.


I did feel sorry for Mom though as she would walk us separately as I love long long walks and he only likes short ones. So BOL Mom was doing like 8 walks a day and shhhhhh don’t tell her but it is good for her diet.


Thank you Hindy for all your information you shared with us to help Max be comfortable and for those that do not know Hindy, she is an awesome lady that writes a blog called https://caringforaseniordog.com/

With December here, it means both Christmas and Hanukkah which means lots of goodies for me,  a Christmas present and then 8 days of Hanukkah which means something new each day. 


Plus Mom loves December as there are lots of fun events going on all around us so each week we will share with you the happenings in San Francisco.  Never a dull moment in the city. 


Over Christmas my neighbor Gidget is coming to stay with us, she is a young dog so I hope she does not bug me but Mom is excited so I suppose I should be also. I will make sure my favorite toys are hidden so that she cannot destroy them and as Mom says maybe she will get me to play a bit, all I can woof is HA.


So that is what is happening in the Layla neighborhood, cold and rainy but lots of things to do over the weekend so we will be busy with fun times.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone,

With a woof and love from Layla



Countdown to Christmas

Woof Fur friends,

How are you ? Are you getting excited for Christmas ? I am although Mom says I got all my gifts for Hanukkah so she is not sure if I will get something for Christmas. I call that unfair and discrimination BOL. What do you think ?

We have been busy as always although it was raining I decided to stay indoors unless I had to do my business and watched Mom run around doing errands and getting wet.

My new game is when I hear the leash I go hide in my box and refuse to move which makes Mom mad sometimes as she says she has no time for all my games like that as she has things to do. Too bad, I do not want my paws wet.

I also made sure on the errand list was my favorite bones and warned her that if she did not come home with them I would bark at her.  Guess what she listened to my orders so I am one happy girl here.

Yesterday, Tuesday, we went on an adventure to Pier 33 as we were planning to go to Alcatraz. The weather was great and warm although Mom, being Jewish bundled me up in a hoodie just in case. Grrrrr I hate clothing. This was an organized fun day out by PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support) and when we got there although they had been told that dogs could go, they said no when we wanted to board. There was another dog also who was turned away. So we just spent time wandering around the pier and then came home. It is very interesting as Federal places do not allow Assistance Dogs even with all the legal paperwork but service dogs yes. State Parks allow dogs, so a lesson was learned and as Mom said if Layla cannot go neither would she. So bang went the idea of seeing Alcatraz.

Our plans for the coming days is Mom is working and I am just bossing her around when I want to go out or to the park and she has promised me as soon as the weather is nice again she will take me somewhere. I cannot wait as I love riding on the trams and smelling and seeing other places plus of course getting lots of pets from strangers. Best of all BOL of course is Mom carries me in the backpack part of the way, ohhhhhh I am a lady of luxury.

As we mentioned in our last blog and reminding everyone again, this is a happy time for some but a miserable time for others. So many pets are being dumped at shelters and I am noticing more and more how many seniors which is even more upsetting. I have been staying up late at nights with others cross posting everywhere to try save as many as possible. I am slowly giving up on people and their cruelty. A pet is for life, not for how you feel, and I question all the time how many  of them dump their senior family at different places as they are too lazy to be responsible and care for them. It just makes me sick.

Mom also wants to add in memory of my sister which we do every year is the Christmas Tree in the dog park my sister used to go to. What they do is decorate one of the trees and put all the photos up of all the dogs, I think it a great idea and there are times like this that I wish I had had the opportunity to meet her.

NOW before I forget I want to wish all my fur friends Happy Holidays, may you have a wonderful time with your families who you are blessed to have, and I cannot wait to hear what you found under the Christmas Tree.

Woofing lots of love,
Layla

PS. A reminder of the Christmas hazards for our pets which we must not forget

I saw lots of Santa’s

Good morning fur friends,

How are you all and we hope you are staying warm and toasty but at the same time I always think and worry about the poor pets that are left outside.

This past weekend was hectic here as there were so many Santa events going on I did not know where to start with them. Bless San Francisco.

On Saturday was Santacon which is where everyone dresses as Santa – hits the bars and by the evening you have loads of drunken Santas’ all over the streets. It is a fundraising event where they try to collect as many toys as possible for the kids that need Christmas presents – the toys are dropped off at different locations so in one way it is serious but in another way it is fun. Last year our park was red with Santas’ but this year it was really quiet. I only saw three and managed to get a picture of Layla with them.

On Sunday was the skivvy run which is a fundraiser for the AIDS Foundation. Layla and I went to check it out, it was lots of fun plus of course she got a picture with Santa Claus. Actually all the photographers there took pictures of her too. Not sure who they are but it is ok with me. I hope they managed to raise funds to help this wonderful organization.

She also was spoiled by PAWS as they every year do a delivery of a goodie bag for our pets and she got one too with two new toys and some treats.

All in all it was a crazy but fun weekend. I need to rest LOL.

NOW we must also not forget that with Christmas coming the shelters fill up with irresponsible pet owners dumping their pets with ridiculously sad stories, it is a time for us to adopt a pet and not buy from a breeder. January becomes a nightmare for the over crowded shelters and rescuers work full time trying to save as many as possible. It is not a happy time but a really sad time.

We must also remember that to give a pet as a gift to a kid is something to be thought about carefully as that pet should not pay the price of being dumped at a shelter when the excitement wears off. Please remember that.

Why Shelters fill up in January :

I rescued Layla in January 2011 and I often wonder if she was dumped there as the novelty of having a pet had worn off with the family that dumped her or what was the real reason. She is one of the lucky ones to have been rescued by me but there are so many that are not that lucky.

I am off now to bed to dream about my lucky life with Mom and pray that many will be as lucky as I am.

Woof with love
Layla