World's Largest Litter Box?

Our cat's new wonderland of sand probably is not the largest litter box in the world, but it is definitely the largest I have ever seen. We got the idea for it after visiting friends who are in the midst of a huge construction project. Behind their house are large piles of sand and gravel to be used for a soon to be constructed concrete roof. We noticed how their two cats frolicked in the sand.

That was two days ago. We did not waste any time in ordering our own. So, today we had five cubic meters of fine sand delivered to the chacra. I was wondering what the man delivering it thought of us having a truckload of sand delivered just for our cat. Something along the line of “crazy gringos” was what I was expecting. But no, he does the same thing for his cats. His advice – just show it to kitty and she'll know what to do. And indeed she did.

I am always glad to hear people tell me they have cats. Uruguay is for the dogs, literally. There are dogs everywhere and it seems that everyone has their own pack, especially out in the country. Cats here just don’t get any respect. However, bit by bit I am noticing that people do have cats. You can buy kitty litter, but it is quite expensive, about $35 for a 40 lb bag of the clumping kind. If our cat takes to her giant outdoor litter box, it could save us quite a bit in kitty litter.

A New Home for Tip

There was a happy ending to the story of the puppies left by the roadside. Tip, the sprightly and spirited female, now has new guardians. When we rescued these pups, we did not think much beyond taking them home and getting them into good health. Later we would worry about what to do with them. However, we soon learned that finding good homes here for dogs is not so easy. Unwanted dogs are seen everywhere wandering the roads. Who would want to take in strays? There are exceptions, but for the most part, North Americans and South Americans have very different attitudes towards animals in general. We wanted to make sure that whoever adopted one these dogs would treat them as a member of their family, as opposed to attaching them to the end of a chain in the yard.

Enter a lovely and kind couple from Canada. When I contacted them, they seemed to want a dog, but had reservations because they already have an older terrier who apparently hated puppies. However, they came out to our place to meet Tip and seemed to like her well enough. Goodbyes were tough for us. I felt like a monster for sending her off. Cesar didn’t help - I think he may have even called me cold hearted.

All that night I worried about whether they were happy with the dog and whether things would work out. The next day I received two emails describing in glowing terms what a great dog she was. I was relieved. Cesar’s non-deserved guilty feelings were put to rest.

So, Tip – now called Kiya (pronounced Keesha) – has a happy home. She is a smart dog and will adjust to her new environment very well. This story had a happy ending for everyone – our friends have a nice addition to their family, Kiya has loving owners who will shower her with attention, and I have a little more peace around the house and a good feeling for doing right by this dog.

Kiya is being pampered by her new parents.

Puppy Love?

The three dogs we rescued from the roadside are really thriving. Good food, veterinary care and lots of love have allowed them to become happy and vibrantly healthy. They were tiny when we found them. In my blog post the day we found them, I had written that they were perhaps five weeks old. I think I was mistaken. Back then, they weighed about one kilo each and I could hold all three in one hand. Now, I can hardly hold one of them with both of my hands. They have grown like crazy and obviously have more growing to do. If they grow into their huge paws and oversized ears, they will be quite big.


Adorable as they may be, we really cannot keep all three. During this vagabond stage of our lives, there is no telling where we will be even a year from now. Also I worry about our cats. The dogs are respectful of them and have learned that in the family hierarchy cats rule, but still I worry. So, parting will be sad, but we really do need and want to find homes for two of them. They are probably about ten to twelve weeks old now and are at the perfect age for adoption.

So, without further ado, allow me to introduce:

Tip

Tip is the female of our trio. She is a spirited sweetheart who absolutely loves to be hugged. She has beautiful short fur which is not quite brown and not quite black. I would describe her as being a sable color. Her paws are white, her white belly is speckled with Dalmatian-like spots and the very tippy tip of her tail is white. She is by far the smartest of the bunch and discovered that bath-time on a hot day is actually nice. Her brothers still run when I pick up the hose…

Mooch

When we found the puppies by the side of the road, Mooch was the first to come to us. A very sociable dog, he is also the first to come out when people come to the house. We call him Mooch because he really hogs attention from his siblings and has to be the first to do everything. He is deep shiny black with a white star on his chest. His eyes are the most beautiful chocolate brown – a very handsome dog.

Red

Deciding which dog to keep for ourselves is tough. They are all great and each has his or her own special characteristics. Maybe it is because of his mellower disposition that Mooch and Tip often leave Red out of their games. But he would rather sleep at my feet than chase and wrestle with them. He seems to have chosen us, so we choose him to stay. Even on their first day here, I had commented that the red one seemed more sickly. Now I think I was just seeing an early glimpse of his laid back personality. He actually turned out to be bigger and thicker than his siblings. I should probably have named him Tank, because he is built like one.

If you have room in your heart and your home for one of these dogs, and can provide the love and care they need, please contact me as soon as possible. You will not regret it.

Mom, look what I brought you!

I have found a few things around the house which gave me a momentary shock. Finding some kind of animal in an unexpected place, like a frog in the toilet or a bat hanging from a door frame gives me a quick little jolt every now and then. There is a split second where every nerve becomes alert, then immediately back to normal when my brain processes that it’s only a bat, a frog, a big hairy spider or a snake. This morning we had come home from grocery shopping and the dogs were ecstatic to see us as usual. I decided to unlock the back door instead of the front, turned the corner to the back porch and got one of those little jolts I just described. Then I started laughing as Cesar came around the corner, concerned about what had made me emit that little involuntary shriek.

With three dogs around, it had to happen eventually - a little bit of the dead cow from next door made it to our house. For days, we had been finding what I thought were sheep hooves. I would hear the dogs snarling and play fighting like they do when they have a special toy and would inevitably find the fought over object to be a black hoof. With so many sheep about, I just assumed that maybe they shed hooves occasionally and the dogs were finding these little treasures in the field. Little did I know they had been visiting the dead cow and pulling off its hooves. But this time they got lucky and the lower leg came away with the hoof. I don’t think they really knew what to do with it, but they did bring their trophy home. So it turned up like some kind of sick mafia warning on our back porch.



Curious now about hooves, and the difference between cow and sheep feet – cloven, one, two, or three toes? I Googled “cow hooves” and was surprised to see that nine out of the first ten results were for mail order cow hooves. Who knew? And here we get them for free!

Veterinary Visit

This morning I put on my goin'-to-the-vet clothes and did not bother to take a shower. We were taking the dogs to the vet for a routine check up and I knew that by the time we returned home I would be wearing puppy puke. I called it right. All three dogs barfed in the car.

Around town, there are many veterinarians. They are inexpensive and even make house calls. Today's office visit, which included vaccinations and anti-parasite pills, cost 200 pesos per dog. So, in total, we spent about $25. In Virginia, Pender veterinary would cost us $80 just to walk through the door.

Tip, doing her best "Flying Nun" impression. This photo was taken several weeks ago.

Mutts

The puppies we found by the side of the road are still with us. And, bad sign, we have named them.

First, there is Red. He is my favorite because he is calm and rarely barks. He is also bigger than his brother and sister, so when he finally gets tired of their abuse, he just tackles them and holds them down. However, he is extremely tolerant of their antics, so it takes quite a bit to get him to the point of retaliating.

Next, there is Tip, named so because the very tipy tip of her tail is white. She is the smartest. While the others push around the bones we give them, she figured out immediately that chewing them is much easier if she holds on to them with two paws. Good girl.

Finally, there is Mooch. I saved him for last because otherwise he is always first. Aptly named because he is always mooching food and attention from his siblings. He is the biggest whiner of the group.

Red, on his second day at his new home:

Cachorros

There are a lot of stray dogs in Uruguay. One sees them everywhere - walking on the side of highways, trotting around small towns, sleeping on the side of the road. For some reason which we have not figured out yet, most people here do not spay or neuter their dogs. Someone with a lot more local experience than we have said they believe it is cruel to spay or neuter dogs.

However, they don't seem to see the cruelty of abandoning an unwanted pup. Today on the way to town, Cesar noticed puppies on the side of the country road. Tiny puppies. We guess they are about 5 weeks old. There was no one in sight and no other dogs around. It was obvious they had been abandoned. When we found them, they were skinny, low on energy and generally pathetic looking. We felt the only choice was to pick them up, turn around and take them home. We will care for them while we try to find another home for them.

They are resting now, bellies full of milk and puppy chow.

Just Pets Rocks

No, this post is not about that seventies phenomenon, Pet Rocks, it is about my favorite pet store, Just Pets in Reston, VA. Which does not sell Pet Rocks, by the way. However, the Pet Rock concept was cooked up in.... wait for it.... Los Gatos, California. So, there is a tie in to this post afterall.

Being paranoid about the well-being of our pets in Uruguay, we have stocked up on Newman's Own canned food and Wellness dry food to make sure our furry four legged kids will continue to get the healthful and nutritious food they eat here in the US.

Thanks to the guys at Just Pets for ordering it for me and being so cool about it. Remy, Noah and Snickers thank you too!