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Went to the Chicago PetExpo today and it was a blast!!  Actually it's probably good I didn't take any of the dogs with b/c it would have taken me waaaaay too long to get thru all the booths.  It was HUGE!!  Over 4 times the size of the one in Minneapolis.   

Soooooo many booths and so little time.  Spent over 3 hours walking around.  Lots of rescues and purebred groups.  A few bird rescues, a reptile group, and a ferret recue as well.

The "motherload" I hinted to was what I came home with.     A greyhound group was selling items there and they had giant sized toys!! So I bought a tiger striped bone that was about the size of Nigel, the larger of my two rat terriers.  Also got a large blanket from them as well.  Bought treats from 3 differnt companies, and wanted to from a 4th but ran out of money.     

Got a few breed specific knick knacks, several bird toys for Pasta, and 2 ferret toys for my rats. 

The major purchase though came from a dog rescue group that had a bunch of items for sale.  The entire booth was 50% off!!!!!!!       So, needless to say, I bought 3 crate liner beds and 3 flat pad type beds.  2 Gunther sized, and 4 med/small sized for the ratties (Keiko doesn't use beds)

Saw lots of breeds there.  The giant breeds I saw though were 3 leonbergers, one pyr, 2 mastiff, one dane, one irish wolfhound, and 3 st bernards.  Many shepherds, greyhounds, pitties, several samoyeds, keeshonds, basset hounds, dachsies, mi-ki's (don't ask, desinger breed), and too many other breeds to mention.   

There was also a cat show going on at one end of the building and I think a bird show on the upper level (the cages had ribbons on them anyway)

Overall, had a great time.  Hubby was mad I didn't take him with. Except that I did tell him around 11am that I was going to leave in around an hour.  Then when I left I said I was leaving.  Sheesh, talk about a heavy sleeper.  I thought he was awake b/c he yelled at Nigel for jumping on his head. 

chris

Meet Francis.  So named b/c I have no idea if it is a boy or girl and Francis can go both ways.......... lol. 

I had not planned on getting this guy until closer to Christmas.  But we had to remove him from the floor at work b/c we needed the cage due to a new shipment arriving.  So he was moved to the back rooms, where I knew he would go downhill fast.  He was already sick, but there was no way to keep the humidity up in the cages in back.

So I decided to get him early, take him to my vet, who specializes in exotics, treat him and see how he does.

The diagnosis was not a good one  .  This is one sick little fella.  Doc took one look at him and said, "yeaaahh, he doesn't look so good".........lol.  He has a bacterial infection (can't remember the specific name, starts w/ an "a") causing respiratory distress.  He is also covered in ulcers and apparently has coccidia (which is probably what caused the bacterial infection in the first place, from drinking water he pooped in before it could be cleaned).  So to treat the bacterial infection I have to give him injections into his neck every 72 hrs for 9 treatments.  Then he will go back for a recheck and we'll see about treating the other stuff. 

He is a chinese water dragon.  They look kinda like mini iguanas.  Males get around 36" and females 24", although the record I think was 40" (and was a female!)  Right now he is a bit spoiled and only eating waxworms, but at least he is eating........ .and it's so cute, he'll now take them from my fingers.  I'm trying to wean him back to eating crickets again.

Here's some pix of the guy.  Sorry, I got a bit carried away (and these aren't all of them.......... lol) 





full length pic.  The tail is about 2/3 of the body length.


Keiko says hello to the new family member


She wasn't too impressed..... ...lol.  Shortly afterwards, he tried to run over her nose.


Francis' new digs.

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/pressreleasels85.asp?district=66A&pressid=2696&party=1

PRESS RELEASE
Representative Lesch Proposes Bill To Ban Dangerous Dogs

Responding to several recent Metro Area dog attacks, Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul) today unveiled legislation to ban certain dangerous breeds of dogs. Lesch said that the dogs represent a threat to public safety.
"I'm tired of reading in the paper that another child has been attacked by a vicious dog," Lesch said. "At some point, we have to admit that these animals are just too dangerous and its time to get them off our streets."

Lesch's bill would make the following breeds of dogs illegal: the Akita, the Pit Bull, the Rottweiler, the Wolf Hybrid and the Chow Chow. Owning a dog of any of these breeds would be a misdemeanor. A CDC Report in 2000 identified these breeds as some of the most dangerous, accounting for over half of the dog bite related deaths between 1979 and 1998.

"Certainly any dog can be dangerous if it is poorly trained or mistreated, but these breeds show a disposition towards aggression," Lesch said. "There are dozens upon dozens of different varieties of dogs in the world, there is no reason why anyone has to own a dog as dangerous as a pit bull."

Lesch's bill will be considered when the Legislature reconvenes in February of next year.
 

---

Here is his website with included email address:
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=66A

I urge anyone and everyone to email him in opposition of this proposed bill.  It is proposed to be statewide!  Other wording of it has the proposed breeds and dogs with their characteristic s, which is scary to say the least.  If passed, it will give owners of said breed 6 months (I believe that's what it said) to rehome their dogs. 

It does not mention mixed breeds or similar breeds, just "pit bull" which is so open to interpretation .  I more than likely won't be living here if this is proposed, but I own a husky mix..........I have no proof of her parentage..... .....I do not want her (or any other dog)being mistaken for a wolf hybrid.  My great dane was often mistaken for a pit bull as a puppy.  I have no proof of his parentage either (although it is now obvious what he is).........I would hate for someone's puppy to be taken away for mistaken identity.

I sent him a very, very, very long email stating my concerns and that breed bans do nothing to fix the problem.  I again urge anyone who wants to stop these breed bans to please email Rep. Lesch (I had to chuckle b/c it reminds me of letch) and voice your concerns.  Supposedly he reads all his emails himself, although I highly doubt it.

chris

I just finished posting this on another board, but I'm just so upset right now, I need to vent some more.  I've copied and pasted it from the other board.

Okay, so we go to the dog park, and things are going pretty well.  Everyone is running around and having a good time (well, except N&P who are on leashes and moaning about it the whole time).
 
I see a couple of bassetts heading our way and I was like "aaawwwee, just look at those ears flapping in the breeze" as they ran down the hill.  A kid came down with them, with the mom trailing behind. (do you know where this is going yet?)
 
Some of you have probably heard me mention on here before how Gunther is afraid of children, particularly b/t the ages of 5 and 12 (this one was around 10).  I was watching the one bassett, who N&P were saying hello to.  Gunther was standing a few feet in front of me, facing me.  Suddenly, the kid runs w/i about a foot of Gunther and scares him.  He kind of shimmies over to my mom and barks at the people standing next to her (probably thinking it was them).
 
Now I was willing to give the kid the benefit of the doubt the first time, as kids naturally run around.  But then he comes running right by us again, actually looking at Gunther to see what he would do.  Well, Gunther sees who is doing the running and runs at the boy, barking.  The kid runs behind a large bush and teases Gunther, running from one side to the other.  I call Gunther over, and he obliges.  Next to this bush is a wooden slat fence which separates the lake from the rest of the dog park.  The kid goes on the other side of the fence and makes faces at Gunther.  Gunther runs over there barking again.  I call him back again.
 
The kid then jumps the fence, and Gunther goes off.  He runs at the boy, barking in his face and lunging at him with teeth bared (but not biting him, thank God, and thank goodness I was one of the few people to see this b/c the bush was in the way).  I once more call Gunther and he comes over.  This time I put him in a down stay.  Keep in mind the whole time the mother is doing nothing other than yelling at the boy, who obviously wasn't listening to anything she said.
 
The people we were talking to before this all happened (who had a very nice german shepherd, btw) asked if he was okay.  I told them he was afraid of children.  The mom, who was also sitting there asked how long I've had him, and I told her since he was 12 wks.  He wasn't abused, he just doesn't like their behaviors (I dont' really blame him).  At one point the boy comes up again FROM BEHIND and tries to pet Gunther and I have to grab his collar and keep him from seeing the boy.  I was hoping these people were just passing thru, since they had a pit mix with sore feet but after a few minutes we left to the little dog park.
 
We were having a blast.  Another person with 2 small dogs came to play, and I talked with a bouvier des flandres owner on the other side of the fence when she passed.  I kept my eyes open in case that family was going to pass our way.  They did.  I saw them first and grabbed Gunther's collar.  He then saw them and started growling and huffing.  Then, if you can believe this, the stupid motherf-ing boy started climbing the fence to come into our area!!!!!!  (WTF!!)  The mom just yells at him and continues on her way.  My mom said, "I wouldn't advise that if I were you", but he doesn't listen and jumps in.  My mom finally goes over there and tells him to get out of here!  Go on, get out!  He finally leaves.  Gunther kept a close watch in the direction they left for the whole rest of the time we were there.
 
GOD, I just can't understand some people!  What is wrong with that mother?  If your kid isn't behaving, then leave.  I can't blame my dog for your kid's bad behavior, and if he gets bit, I have witnesses who saw what happened.  I just hope this hasn't ruined Gunther's impression of young boys (especially black kids, as this kid was black, or 1/2 black).  He did so well at the parade yesterday.
AAAAAAAAAAAARR RRRRRRRRGGGGGG GGGGHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!
 
chris

Due to my husbands horrendous and irresponsibly stupid mistake, I have lost my Lacy bird.    Last night I woke up to a burning smell and he had fallen asleep with the oven/burners on again.  He had already caught it, but it smelled aweful.  I told him to open some windows, which he didn't.  In the morning, I opened some windows and left to go to the annual Muttstrutt.  I came home to find her already gone.  I'm hoping she went quickly.
 
Due to her age and the fact that birds have a very sensitive respiratory system, Lacy could probably not overcome the smoke inhilation she must have been exposed to.  I cannot say whether that was what caused it as she was old, but I think it was a big contributing factor.
 
She may not have been the easiest bird to get along with, and due to her feather plucking she wasn't the prettiest, but she was still the first of my "serious" pets, and the one I've had the longest at 11+ yrs (she's at least 1 yr older than that).
 
I will miss you, my first pet to get, and unfortunately, my first to lose.  Here's to my Lacy bird, may your wings now take you beyond the confines of a cage, far up to the heavens, which you can now reach.

I thought I would try my hand at a photo shoot session with my two a few weeks ago.

Here are the best pics from the first session.

Meet Posey (the chocolate tricolor) and Diego/Nigel (black tricolor).

They are the two rat terriers we have "adopted"  I am hoping to show Posey if I can get the nerve when we move.

I've already told my friend we will take them.  I've just recently become aware that not all towns allow multiple dogs.  The thought had never crossed my mind, b/c where I used to live they allowed 4 dogs/cats/combo of the two.  So I need to start researching the western Chicago area to find out city ordinances.  I've found no counties have ordinances and only Aurora so far has a limit of 2 same species pets (total # of allowed pets, 4)

We don't officially pick them up until right before we move b/c we are only allowed 2 dogs on base.  I hate to have to go back on my word to my friend, but we have to move to this area as hubby will be going to Northern Illinois University.  So if anyone in the Chicago area knows of any towns that have rules on this, please let me know.  We move in May, so I need to move fast on this.  Gah!  This really upsets me as this had never even crossed my mind as a possibility.      

Anyway, here are some pics (sorry, I get carried away once I start posting) from their visit in Feb:





Can you find Posey?........lol












By the end of their visit in Feb, Gunther loved these little guys.