We had an adventure

Woof everyone and how are you?  Friday has arrived and that means weekend, and woof weekend means adventures weather permitting cos as Mom says if it is raining we are staying home and hibernating. She will even give me extra treats if I let her do that, so the question is should I? BOL.

Last week it had stopped raining, the sun was out but chilly so we bundled up and took the train to my favorite park, it is a lawn on the promenade which has a dog park on one side but we sit on the opposite lawn, Mom gets her chair and coffee, and I wander around smelling and then normally lie down especially if there is sun and just chill next to the Bay, clean air and pawsome to be outside. Plus I get lots of treats from Mom, it is our quality time and we do not look at phones or any other electronics but enjoy the nature although Mom uses her camera to take photos of me of course, I am her model for all the shots.

 

I got very angry as there was garbage on the lawn which makes me angry as I wish people would respect nature and put the garbage in the bin and there are two right there, it shows how lazy people are, so I did what I do well, barked and barked but Mom was good and picked it all up and put in the garbage so we left the place clean. (see video below)

https://youtube.com/shorts/gUU-l3Tut0k?si=Hbfkzu9v1mc4ie_l

The rain came back so that was the end of our adventures this week so we have been stuck indoors, Mom I must admit is good and takes me with her to the stores when she goes shopping so I do get out in my stroller and stay dry while Mom gets soaked BOL, poor Mom.

I have a new quirk which comes with age and that is I now stand if I am not in the stroller although it is with us and bark for nothing, Mom stands there looking like a fool while I bark away and the empty stroller is held by Mom, I love doing it although Mom is not pleased especially if it is late at night but hey I am allowed to talk aren’t I?

We go for our last walk at about midnight cos Mom figured out the later I go the later I sleep in the morning so she is finally having 6 hours sleep a night and feeling more relaxed in the morning, so I can be nice to her if I want to.

It is my Gotcha Day at the end of the month and I am wondering what Mom is going to do for me, she cannot believe I have been with her 13 years and we are now growing old together. Does anyone have ideas for my Gotcha Day?

I am off to bed now it is past my bedtime and old ladies need their sleep,

Stay warm everyone, be safe and have a wonderful weekend!

With woof and love from Layla

 

 

 

 

Sun was out and we went for an adventure

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

 

 

 

 

 

Being a Dog Mom to a senior fur kid

Good morning Friends,

We hope you enjoying our blog and will carry on reading it this year also, hopefully there will be lots of adventures and fun.

Last weekend Nigel, my new neighbor spent the weekend with us as his Dad went away. He is a cute dog, very mellow and slept most of the time like me so it was pawsome. Mom made sure we were safe and relaxed when the fireworks went off, grr as I hate them as much as Mom did but guess what I did not hear them and slept through it all, so did Nigel, he cuddled on the bed with Mom.

The sun finally came out on Tuesday, so Mom and I hopped on the train and went to the Promenade to my favorite lawns, it was great to be out but when we got there it started getting grey and gloomy and once we had settled, I had barked of course, sniffed everywhere the rain started so Mom had to pack us up, me under my plastic cover in the stroller, Mom got soaked, but we hopped on a train and came home. It was fun to be out on the lawn and in the fresh air and we hoping this week we will be able to do it again.

Grey and gloomy

Checking the pmail

Can you see me under my cover, Layla

One of the reasons I share our adventures is living with a senior dog can be trying and trying to keep her exercised and brain working can be challenging when it is raining as you cannot go out for long without getting drenched and unfortunately, I must look after myself and not get sick. It is a daily challenge, but I would not change it.

 

Layla is 18 years old, blind but very aware of what is going on plus has the energy that I need to burn off as such as sleeping all day is great but she needs mental stimulation and exercise also. She has become very needy, and I am learning more and more about her body language on a daily basis which is keeping me on my toes but can be exhausting also.

 

She has also become very picky when it comes to food, what she loved yesterday she does not want the following day so am cooking for her every couple of days different meals and alternating, it is not cheap, but I am relieved she does eat when she is hungry, I free feed her and I have slowed down on her treats so tough love is paying off. Her favorite still is Costco Chicken LOL but I only get it once a week, so she gobbles it happily when it arrives. So, her diet consists of ground lamb, chicken or chicken gizzards plus all her supplements (you can see the below link) and the food game goes on, what is on the menu will she eat that day. It can be very frustrating for me, but she is happy with a full tummy by the end of the day each day as I will not give into her also. Her treats are homemade dehydrated Tilapia which she loves and I look at it in a way as food also plus it is easy to put in her snuffle toy to dig for it and find it.

https://laylaswoof.com/?page_id=19

She has had the odd accident in the house, but it happened when I was out running errands and did not get home in time, but when home she moans to go out and I take her out and she potties outside. I try to take her out 4 times a day like clockwork plus at about 10 pm every night or later if I am awake so she is sleeping till about 5 in the morning, and then she wakes me up with a moan and I take her out to potty, bring her in and then try go back to sleep, not always working LOL. My clothes are ready each time to just slip on and run out with her, her stroller is ready next to the door. Thank goodness I live on a busy street so there are always people out so am not alone.  Another new thing is her standing on street corners barking into the air which worries me as I do not want to wake up the neighborhood but my vet explained to me that she does it because of her blindness.

Sleeping after going out to potty at 5 in the morning

 

In a nutshell, there is never a dull moment in the Layla Neighborhood but I count my blessings daily that she is healthy, happy and living the life of luxury which she deserves. Her 13th Gotcha Day is at the end of month which I do plan to make very special for her.

 

Be safe everyone, stay warm and dry

With a woof and love from Layla

 

We did a walkabout in our Neighborhood

TGIF, Good Morning all my furfriends, phew it is Friday and I am tired.

 

Mom has been very busy this week so we did not go to the park although Mom explained to me the grass is really wet and she does not want me to get a cold although I think she is thinking of herself BOL.

On Tuesday Mom’s best friend and my favorite Auntie surprised us with a visit and we went to our favorite place for lunch, I call it the chicken place but it is actually Syrian food, a Mom and Pop place and everything is delicious. Mom’s favorite is their garlic sauce which is called Toum (Lebanese) and Mom says it is so yum she could eat it all day BOL. Of course I got some chicken from Mom so I had a full tummy when we left there, if you ever in San Francisco you must go eat there, it is called Palmyra and it is in the lower Haight, down the road from where the Hippy Movement started on Haight Ashbury. And most of all they are pet friendly so you can take your dog inside with you, Woof.

Checking the store window

So after lunch Mom and I decided to walk home and look at some of the street murals and those are the photos we going to share today on my blog. Is our walkabout window shopping and enjoying the cold sunny day. I was exhausted when I got home but it was lots of fun.

Outside a Barber Shop

Smelling the air with the beautiful mural behind me, Layla

Exhausted after my day out which was fun

I am going to sleep now as I am tired but cannot wait to see what Mom has planned for us this weekend,

Have a wonderful weekend everyone

With a woof and love from

Layla

 

 

 

Why do we have adventures.

TGIF, the weekend has arrived, and I am still not sure what our plans will be.

Layla is off her antibiotics; I am praying we kicked the infection and life can get back to normal whatever that Is in this household. Layla rules the house and I jump to attention for whatever she barks about, it is insane but that is how it goes here.

Madam suddenly does not want to eat chicken as I was hiding her medication in it so on Monday we went to the markets and bought chicken gizzards and she is now a happy old lady and Mom is happy also that she is eating but by the photo below you will see who the Boss is.

I want chicken not gizzards, did you hear me Mom

 

The reason I do adventures with her, trying different parks, going on the train and so much more is to keep her brain going, different places mean different smells and I am always looking for a new place which is easy to get to, I do not drive, so all is on public transport and her being in a stroller I am learning I have to go to easy accessible places as living in San Francisco there are lots of hills and pushing the stroller up them is not easy especially as the princess has a new game, get comfy in the stroller then stand up to walk, and she repeats herself most of the way so by the end of the day my back is killing me. Another reason I do them is I have found if she does not go out for a couple of hours during the day, she sleeps a lot and then in the evenings wakes up and wants to go out every hour, barking to get her own way and it is exhausting for me and I have started eating cold dinners LOL.

So, what we have done the past week, last Saturday we went to the park on the Bay. The weather was perfect and it was just so relaxing to be outdoors by the Bay where I could watch her and the boats on the Bay. Layla was wandering around. All of a sudden, I could not see her, nearly had a heart attack and then turned around on my chair to see her scrambling through a gap in the hedges. She was caught on a branch thank goodness, so I had to untangle her and bring her back to the lawn. Thank goodness the hedge is along a wall so she could not have gone far phew. But once back on the lawn she was happily walking around and of course doing her weekly bark in the park, once she started napping, about 2 hours later, I packed up and brought her home. These outings exhaust her, so she normally naps when we get home and phew I manage to catch a nap also. Lucky me.

I smell something in the grass

On Sunday and Monday, we went to the park around the corner from my building, it was great to just sit outdoors, she do her thing and of course bark and me drank coffee and relaxed. The weather has been perfect for these outdoor days plus good for her. Plus being in that park she knows where the benches are where some of the dog people sit with all the treats so off she goes like a bullet to beg from them. I keep an eye on her and if there are a lot of big dogs there, I pick her up and put her in her stroller and push her there. There are only two people she can get treats from so if they are not there, I just bring her back to the blanket and give her a treat.

Sunshine on my face feels awesome

The video below shows Layla trying to get into my bag to get the treats LOL

Life with a senior dog is not easy, tiring especially when they wake you up in the middle of the night or 4 in the morning to go potty but I would not change it for anything as I am very blessed to have a healthy happy blind senior that is getting me out and exercise.

So, all my friends, as you can see, Fall has arrived, we are busy and each day that it does not rain we are outdoors for a couple of hours each day.

Have a wonderful weekend, Be safe,

With lots of love from Layla

 

We have been busy

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 National Disaster Preparedness Month

Woof Hello all my friends.

Did you know September is National Disaster Preparedness Month. Are you prepared?

We are family so we all must be prepared, humans and we pets so if something happens we can just leave the house safely. With climate change and weather conditions changing all over the world we must be prepared just in case we are caught off guard. It is a worry and I worry especially since Layla has aged and become blind what would happen if I am not home so I have come to an agreement with my neighbors that when I go out for a couple of hours they are warned just in case and I leave a pet carrier out with her harness inside so that they can grab her safely and leave the building.  It might sound crazy but for me I feel more relaxed knowing she is safe plus I have a sticker on my door saying blind dog inside with instructions that the pet carrier is there for her to go out in as she cannot walk fast.

Being prepared with a disaster bag is so important also. I have one prepared with items for Layla and me, including food and water. Living in San Francisco where earthquakes can happen without a warning, I would rather be safe than sorry.

So who is prepared and what do you have to grab to get out safely ?

Last weekend being a long weekend and the weather being perfect I decided to take Layla down to the Embarcadero or Promenade, it is easy to get there on train ride each way and they have a wonderful lawn there where I sat back and relaxed while Layla ran around tail wagging and happy. Umm did I say sit back and relax LOL I was chasing after her to make sure she did not leave the lawn and land up on the promenade which was full of people, dogs, bikers plus so much more. She had so much fun and actually at one point lay down and fell asleep. It was a great couple of hours, relaxing and there is nothing like smelling the sea air of the bay, watching the yachts sailing by, the seagulls flying around and the calm blue waters was so calming.

Lots of new smells

Smelling the flowers

Am thirsty

You can see on the video below how happy she was running like there were no problems in the world, a happy Layla is a happy Me.

https://youtube.com/shorts/WJ2grRFtkHw?feature=share

This weekend I have not thought what to do am going with the flow but am sure we will do something fun together, make memories and be outdoors enjoying the weather while it lasts.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Stay safe,

With a woof and love from Layla

 

 

 

 

 

The Social Butterfly

TGIF !!! The weekend has arrived and San Francisco is having Pride Weekend, lots of parades and parties and the city is going to be chaotic. I am not sure if

I will go to any of the events this weekend as little Miss Social Butterfly is exhausted from last weekend including a birthday park for her friends in one of the dog parks.

Plus we have Gidget staying with us this weekend so it is one happy doggy home this weekend.

Last Saturday we went to a birthday party in the Alamo Square dog park for Dash and Storm, both seniors now and it was lots of fun. It was great seeing all our friends, hanging out in the park although it was very windy LOL but worth the windy weather.  Troy their father did a fantastic job organizing it all, lots of human snacks, yumm and of course lots of goodies for the pups including little swag bags for them to take home with amazing treats inside. They were all totally spoiled as usual and Storm and Dash were very spoiled.

waiting for the goodies at the party

Kissing Uncle thank you for the fun party

The goodie bags for the pups to take home

So now you understand why we lying low this weekend although we will do some regular dog park time for fresh air but we will avoid all the chaos.

As you all know Layla is aging and with age she is becoming a puppy again and starting to do things she has never done, stealing treats from her Uncle’s pocket and this week I caught her sticking her nose in the recycle bin trying to get to the aluminum foil that I had used for cooking. I now must hide things from Madam to keep her safe and healthy. She is becoming a little mischief maker LOL.

That is what is happening here, please be safe everyone and have a safe wonderful weekend,

Happy Pride to those that are celebrating

With a woof and love from

Layla

 

 

 

 

 

Why we celebrate Pride Month

Woof hello every pawdy, as you know it is Pride Month all over the world which is a month of celebrating so much that I decided to share with you here the history so you understand why it is so important.

 

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is celebrated each year in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. It opened the doors to our freedom and being able to live the way we want to live, love who we want to love, and as they say it enabled so many to come out of the closet and be openly freely gay.

This year the theme in San Francisco  is #LookingBackandMovingForward and Washington DC was #peace,love, revolution

The Rainbow flag was created by an artist Gilbert Baker and the colors have a meaning.

Red : Vitality

Orange : Healing

Yellow : Sunlight

Green : Nature

Indigo : Harmony

Violet : Spirit

 

The Pink or Black Triangle: During the Holocaust the Gays were forced to wear Pink Triangles so that they could be singled out and persecuted, the Black Triangle was for the Lesbians who went through the same and that is why we wear those Triangles to remember the Gays and Lesbians who were killed during the Holocaust. In San Francisco every June they put a large Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks for the month to remember those that were killed.  It is the same reason the Jews were forced to wear a yellow Star of David, so that they would stand out and be alienated by the Third Reich and unfortunately met their fate in gas chambers.

 

So now you know why it is important to celebrate in June, as we are fortunate but there are so many countries to this day that torture the LGBTQ community and they have so many living in fear for the lives to this day:

Muslim Majority : Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Chad, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine/Gaza, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Christian majority : Antigua & Barbuda, Burundi, Cameroon, Cook Islands, Russia, Dominican, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Kirbati, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Papua & New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Tanzania, Swaziland, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Other : Mauritius, Myanmar, Nigeria, Singapore, Sri Lanka

I am aware that there are those in the USA that are against the LGBTQ community, label us and so much more but if we keep quiet, do not talk out against the hatred it will carry on and the sad part is that many LGBTQ more youth will commit suicide because of the pressure from those haters.

The reason I am talking out today is we speak out against animal abuse, protecting our pets, Domestic Violence, this is just as important as there are so many in the world that do not have a voice to speak out from fear so we need to be their voices.

So let us celebrate and this week Layla and I went to two Pride Parties, one had a Drag Queen who looked like Cher and sang her songs which was fantastic, a lot of laughter and fun and the other was a Pride Party at a Diving School, a pool party although Madam did not swim, it was just so much fun to be out and about celebrating this month with others. She is exhausted today from her busy week, I am too from pushing the stroller but it was worth it so this weekend we are taking it easy although she has a doggy birthday party to go to in one of the parks, photos will be shared next week.

Relaxing listening to Cher at the Pride Party

Waiting to go to the pool party

Happy Pride to those that celebrate and have a wonderful safe weekend

With a woof and love from Layla

The Sun has been Shining

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