Bobcat Sighting | Bed Tracks

Hello, lovely furiends! Frankie here. I had a terribly scary experience I must share with you. I could also use the help of KB and The Thundering Herd (both teams please, even Rusty the Rooster).

You may or may not know that I live right by Angeles National Crest Forest where the terrible Station Fire burned down most of the surrounding forrest. What that means is: A. We're lucky we still have a home to live in after the last fires B. We're lucky to have a home to swim in, after the floods, C. Our lives, especially Twinkie's and mine are in constant danger! True that. We have to share our land with all kinds of crazy and nasty predators. The other day--this was in the news--a neighbor watched as a mountain lion jumped over his six foot fence with his beloved dog in his mouth. (Note to self: Another furiend to meet up with at the bridge.) The actual story can be found here.

This photo was taken from our main entry:

Bobcat, not to be confused with my bro, Bob The Cat

Where was I? Oh, yes. So, we all have to be very careful. 

KB, Herd, this is where I need you. I took photos of some tracks that must most likely definitely probably are bobcat tracks! 

The TRACKS!!!

Before my postie, I did some research. Here's what I think. The tracks are muddy, therefore the beast came directly from outdoors. There are no claw prints, therefore the beast had visited a nail salon prior to his/her visit. The overall shape of the tracks is round,  common to most felines. The toes are offset, and I can tell they were very furry in between them, which means the nail salon sucked. Finally, I have come to the conclusion that my M will be very angry when she discovers the culprit. Bobcat beware, this was a silly move on your part. 

I could use any advice and tips you can offer me. I need to hold the fort down just a bit longer until Twinkie returns from là-bas.

Thank you so much!

Frankie 

Operation Chihuahua Airlift aka Project Flying Chihuahua

No, this isn't about Flying Twinkie. It's a bummer of a post but somebody has to do it. Let's get it over with because I need to get this off my chest. Check this photo out (no idea where it came from).

Reaction? 

ADORABLE

There's a catch. It's alive! Indeed, it's a living, breathing being. It is not an accessory or a doll to dress up. You must have heard in the news that the City of San Francisco Animal Care and Control has set up airlifting missions to transport many Chihuahuas as well as aides and even vets from San Fran to NYC. Chis are estimated to make up 40% of abandoned dogs in CA based animal shelters (they even outnumber pit bulls). Airlifts are in progress via Virgin America that is donating space for the pups and some humans as well. 

The Cockpit

In the last 12 months animal shelters in LA have taken in close to 5000 Chihuahuas! Who cares who is to blame? Pop culture, Legally Blonde, Paris Hilton... Chis are adorable to look at and people don't realize our needs and the responsibility of caring for another life. We are considered accessories (bitter BOL here). Size plays a huge role in the decision, but as we all well know in here, size is irrelevant--commitment is pertinent. 

This photo points out the lack of commitment, 

and it's only a sample. 

You know how we sometimes fool around around when we say "I want one" when somebody gets a cute family addition? Heck, I even said that about a human pup once--but we're joking. They're not...

Save a life. Adopt a chihuahua rescue dog!

Twink!

***Frankie here: My sissy is still ici, having a ball, doing je ne sais quoi... But I had orders to upload her post (found a note pinned on my bed). 

Frankie

Chiweenie Friday (7)

Hello, furiends! Frankie here. While Twinkie's enjoying herself in Paris, I thought I could share with  you my personal issues with M and what I did yesterday.
[BTW Twinkie said that you guys misseded Tucker yesterday, bottom photo, but then she said something like "let's see if they understand what I have to go through because of my size." She was too distracted trying to locate a curling iron that works in Europe.] This isn't her postie day though, so enough about that. Twinkie's oversensitive at times.

Let's see...

For starters, can you feel the sun shining? Can you? Well we've had terrible weather and we're expecting rain again later today (it's approaching), so I moved my office outside so I could enjoy every minute of this. 

About my M now. I don't always get her. At times, she'll have me in her arms and say things like, "You're such a crazy brat, you so crazy, my chiweenie, you meanie, you adorable poop butt, you lil' stinker ...etc." Meanwhile, she gazes at me adoringly while petting me. What's it mean? Do I need to put her on Rescue Remedy or something?

On top of that, I'm having issues training her. For example, how can I explain to her that when I ask to go outside, I don't mean alone, I mean with her?

I try my most pitiful look as I camp directly outside the door

Sometimes, I lie down in protest

Linguini has tried several times to assist me with the training

by providing excellent dog training tips, but I forget

BTW we're both designer dogs, aren't we cute?

and to be fair, so has Twinkie

This all goes over M's head. Or does it? The last photo was taken by M through the screen door and that makes me suspicious. 

Finally, M decided to be a good M and stepped outside. That's when we all went bananas. 

It was so much fun. 

Except I finally got tired. 

Twinkie wasn't tired yet. 

Oh, well, I found a solution. I went to visit Linguini's favorite couch for some protection and some much needed zzzzzs. 

Let me see you get me now, Twinkie! 

You guys are the bestest for putting up with me, especially the Sibes who probably broke into a sweat as soon as they saw the warm weather.

I just got word that Twinkie has landed safely. Phew! You can find her ici.

See you later furiends, stay not unsafe!

Frankie

Great Dane Darwin Does L.A.

Darwin's parents are out of town and I thought she might need some distraction along with some good company. A couple of days ago, Darwin, who is a great dane and a very caring gal, read in my comments that I was virtually enjoying her playtime. I woke up to THIS:

See me? 

Here we all are: Darwin, Remi, Nala, and Mini-Me. I had a ball. I loved Seattle. Remi's an old pal so we had fun fooling around as usual, only in person this time. Meeting Nala, the rhodesian ridgeback, was a bit problematic. She didn't see me. Huh! No problem, I marched right to her blog and took care of the problem. We're furiends now. 

As you know, I'm used to riding horses, because of my regular horseback riding lessons, so I was able to show off my balancing techniques (no stirrups and bareback!). Well, now that Darwin's all alone, I wanted to reciprocate and take care of her for a change. I invited her over to my yard for Chihuawars (chihuahua wars, duh). The sweetheart came right over:

See her?

Note for Darwin: The joke's on me, kk? I sincerely hope you had a nice time playing Chihuawars with us. 

I better hurry now because I get the feeling I'm going to France real soon...

Twink!

Dalmatian - German Shorthaired Pointer | Before and After

Linguini ten years ago

At the time, we thought she might be a dalmatian

Linguini today

(yes, it's the same armchair)

Now we think she's a mix with a german shorthaired pointer

Twink!

Dog Photo Contest Quality Shots

Just For Your Viewing Pleasure

BARN DOGS

Bounder, one of the nicest dogs I have ever met

Bodi, yes you! You nasty pug!

Boomer

Chihuahua taking in the sun

Brave Boomer

A brief strategy meeting with Tigger

Tea cup chihuahua v. chiweenie

Naughty Holly

Not typical for a blue heeler

Queen Maddie (the fun police)

the best blue heeler I have ever met

Pete the doxie

Ollie, the other doxie

Dexter, Owen, Petey

Two doxies and a ?

Owen, used to go after Linguini

(not so smart)

The Meanie: Trixie

(you hurt my Frankie and I'm mad)

Twixie is both a chihuahua and a meanie, therefore she's a chimeanie

Zamiro and Ringo

What do you mean these aren't dogs? They sure act like it.

My Petey and his carrot

we all love carrots

Playful dogs

And many more! Adopt a dog!

Twink!

A Horse Show | Gold Coast I

The first horse show of the season and we

came to watch 

My sister and The Ringer!

Horse shows are not easy on us

We have to be leashed, it's crowded, and this last weekend it was particularly cold. M decided to try on this jacket without the hood this time. Did she really think I wouldn't recognize it? I decided to take 10 minutes to walk an entire foot. M finally gave up and removed the torture device. 

Frankie wasn't much happier than me either

Even our furiend, Madi, had a rough day

She was strapped to her new sissy, Holly, for training purposes

One blue heeler leading the other . . .

Luckily, a good samaritan with an awesome jacket took pity on me

By the end of the last day of the show, well, we decided to loosen up a little.

Blue heeler training session: Madi training Holly for the FIFA World Cup

See the black and white Chihuahua? 

It's Trixie, from our barn. She really cut loose. She decided to go after Frankie. Physically, the Brat is okay, mentally not so much. She's a sensitive gal and it will take her a while to get over it. I promise I will keep a better eye on my chiweenie sis. 

Looking forward to whatever this week has in store. Aren't you? 

Twink!

Pit bull and Labrador Mix | Another Dog Adoption

Sit tight because this one is a super cute pup. Her name is Asha and she's a little under a year. I can't play with her yet, because she went after my furiend Tigger, the chiweenie, who is much stronger than me. Nobody got hurt, but we must be careful.

Asha is most likely a pit bull and labrador mix

Gorgeous? What do you guys think?

I warned you she's too cute 

With brand new pit bull-labrador Asha's arrival, look what we did to Holly (Cookie), the blue heeler old adoption from last month: 

She's a prisoner now. 

That's what we do with the old adoptions. We play with them for a while and then we get tired of them and stick them in a cage together.

OMD you didn't seriously believe me, did you? We were at a horse show and we had to be safe for a change. Besides, had we kept up with our barn shenanigans we may have been kicked out. Even Frankie and I were on leash. Imagine that!

Adopt a dog.
Twink!

Why Is This Tea Cup Chihuahua Blogging?

I reached a milestone today. This is my hundredth post. Hard to believe because under different circumstances, writing every day can be a equal to kat-crap. Not here though. Every post has been a pleasure. Well, that is when it's not about losing a furiend, an injured furiend, an ailing furiend... We've had some rough times recently, but I don't want to dwell in the sadness. I want to say a huge "Thank You" to all of you! I have never been embraced with so much love and consideration.

I had been wanting to blog for a long time, but I was afraid that nobody would be interested in the ranting of a tea cup chihuahua. Finally, on November 13th of 2009 I shyly posted my first story. It was about my start in life. Nobody read it. I posted again, nada. And again, zip. Nine posts later, I started making furiends. Dog Daze left me my first comment! I was so happy. A few minutes later my blue heeler furiends, Gas, Louie, and Callie, left another. Mango was next; he was delicate and soft spoken as usual, "Holly crap! What's with your leg?" BOL Paco, Milo, Maya, and Mommy Simona dropped by and left their so striking exclamations filling up an entire paragraph with them. Aaaah. Wait, what's that? I just got a new one on that same post: Anonymous stopped by to share an emo-boy-hair link, hmmm (I just saw that). I should add him to my reading list, not. Twix, Dip Dip and the Bridge, Houndstooth and the stunning Sibes The Thundering Herd and the OP Pack came next. By now, a few short weeks later I have many blogs I look forward to visiting. As for the comments I get, hard to keep from chocking on occasion. You guys are all very funny. My M has painted her keyboard a splotchy brown from the coffee she's spat on it at unexpected hilarious comments.

I was elated with my blog's fast progress but at the same time I ran into some issues. What is Wordless Wednesday, and is Khyra's Walkin' Wednesday the way to do it? If I don't, will that make me a bad blogger? How do you make links to show off your appreciation? Why was I being asked for my snail mail? I was confused. I wanted to have fun but I also wanted to tread carefully, since I already liked everyone so much. One of my tests came when somebody, I'm sorry I don't remember who, organized a live chat event. I showed up. Everybody was having a ball, but I was lost. I finally spoke to someone: "Hey, how could you say that? You're only a puppy?" was all I wrote. The "puppy" responded: "I'm no puppy. I'm thirteen!" Gulp. At that point I told everyone I had to help M in the kitchen. I left running with my tail between my legs. Now I can laugh about it.

The next huge event in my short blogging life was The Mango Minster 2010. Heck, I had yet to even see a Westminster dog show! What were all those categories? To make matters more interesting I volunteered to help. Wise Mango foresaw a possible disaster and backed off. He was right. I just now learned to PS and that was only because I had to. How could I tour the world with Max, the golden retriever, if I couldn't bring him along?

And that brings me to the most important part about blogging. I still tear up every time I think of how we all jumped on the Max Tour. We're all about support, love, and trying to share the good as well as the not so good times.

We share anything from stinky gas to recipes. I love our community. That's all I wanted to say, but I wanted to support it first ;)

Twinkie, The Happiest Tea Cup Chihuahua in the World

Chiweenie Friday (6)

Hello, lovely furiends! Frankie, the chiweenie here, yes again. While Twinkie's not at all impressed by my posts, she says I can keep going. I had the most fantasticest time at the horse barn the other day, and I would love to share with you.
Finally, M decided I am old enough to start horseback riding lessons. It's going to take me a looong time before I get to be as good as Twinkie, but it's a start. You want to see a photo?

Ta-da!

Ringo, the horse, told me I did very well for a first lesson. I think he appreciated my lightness and the way I took instructions. I had no fear and that is not unpromising for my future equestrian career. 

Linguini had a ball again. She ran around, played with her furiends, ate out of a bucket with anti-inflammatory meds for a horse, drank a little linseed oil, got the runs...

Mostly, Linguini likes to chill by the horses hoping for some "fresh food"

This is Holly aka Cookie, the blue heeler

Twinkie's keeping an eye on her

Holly's looking better every day

I know yesterday Twinkie called me an Omega dog and I have no problem with that. Actually, I will share with you a video that supports her case. It's okay, I'm still a baby. 

Tee-hee, so I was a bit of a chicken, I get it. I had so much fun though!

After we turned out the horse, I was exhausted. Horseback riding lessons can be very taxing.

I crashed

But I wasn't the only one

See you later, furiends. Kk? Stay safe and not cold.

Frankie

Pack Leader

The Alpha and The Omega

When someone asks, "Who is the top dog at your house?" we all kind of look at each other for assistance. We're all dog adoption puppies. It's actually quite complicated. There is a strange lack of hierarchy. Linguini and I have seniority. If Linguini wasn't as sweet-natured as she is, we'd be in trouble. I was born an Alpha. Linguini is female, like me, plus she has seniority because of her age, and she was established for almost a decade before I barged into her life. Linguini does not care about titles though. She's happy to share everything with mini-me. When the Brat, the chiweenie, appeared into both our lives, there was no more room for top dogs. Frankie became the Omega.

Perhaps if I tried to use my demo photos, I could explain this better.

First, the Alpha spots the Omega

Meanwhile, the unaware Omega is basking in the sun

Then the Alpha pounces on the Omega

Clear demonstration of who the Alpha is

You guys know about pack mentality. There has to be a real pack leader. Who would that be? Our M is our Alpha and our Omega. She is also the fierce commander we all report to. She's like our PO. Nothing escapes her, and perhaps that's why we all live so peacefully and harmoniously together--and this includes the katz.

Who's the Alpha in your home?

*  *  *

Before I leave you to figure this out, I'd like to mention two things: 1. Twix, the doxie, is a two-time wiener-winner of my BOOK. She won one for Mango Minster 2010 and another one through my One World One Heart post. You lucky girl... 2. Darwin, the great dane, shocked me the other day. She put up this hilarious POST in which she included me. I just mentioned I wanted to play, and next thing I know I'm having a ball with her and Remi, the rhodesian ridgeback, and this other furiend, I don't know properly yet. Her name is Nala and she's a Rhodesian Ridgeback too. After reading her post today, I have the feeling she didn't even see me. My bad for being so tiny, since I'm a tea cup chihuahua, but maybe she could use some glasses. I'll head over there to suggest it now, but first: Thank you Darwin!

Twink!