A Day In Candace's Animal Kingdom

The Search For the Perfect Guinea Pig

2010-09-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well, lately I have been on a search for my perfect furry guinea pig companion. I don't really need a guinea pig or any other pets for the matter. I can barely manage my life as it is with the two dogs and one cat that I have. I also think its fair to say that both of dogs are not of the "easy laid" back sort either. This morning my dog Lucky left me a possum in the yard to find all bloody and yucky looking. I was happy he killed the possum, but not so happy to pick up the little varmint and dispose of him. Then Lucky pushed my front door open and he and my basset hound, FionaApple, darted as if they were little kids chasing an invisible ice cream truck. They eventually wound up in my neighbors yard threatening his poor little cat to the point where I was within inches of having to scoop a dead kitty off the lawn. Thank Heavens for me, I retrieved the dogs and saved the cat.

So only animal addicts like myself somehow to still find the notion to go out not even 8 hours later to the local pet store in Lodi....to continue my search for the perfect guinea pig. I must say this is the fourth store I have searched. My boyfriend and I have searched every Petsmart in the Sacramento Region. Today, while in Galt, we decided to stop by a local feed store in Lodi and instead of picking out a guinea pig; I fell in love with a bunny. This bunny was some sort of dwarf fancy named designer bunny. I liked him because he was cute and calm. Somehow, my boyfriend managed to convince me for whatever reason to leave my bunny in the store. I am very sad...and it makes me wonder why I searched the four other stores before this one trying to find the perfect guinea pig. On my searching travels, we saw an endless variety of guinea pigs. One Petsmart carried only male guinea pigs, while another carried only female guinea pigs. And yes I held most of them, and along the way....I was bit by one of the guinea pigs. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if the sales lady hadn't commented, "Oh that's really rare". Then again today while in Lodi after telling the sales lady about the biting incident said comments, "Oh that's really rare". So I have to wonder---------Is a guinea pig really for me?? Well after falling in love with my bunny....I don't care....I found a bunny and bunny diapers and that's good enough for me.

Great Sacramento Boarding/DayCare Option for Dogs

2010-09-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Recently, I came across the cutest place called Grateful Dog on 17th and E in Midtown Sac...It's a 4000 square foot doggie daycare facility located in the heart of Downtown Sacramento. I started looking for doggie daycare facilities after my last post about leaving the pooches at home alone. Grateful Dog not only provides awesome care for your furry babies but they are also a Eco-Friendly Facility. They offer reasonable rates, grooming services and even pick up/drop off service !!!!


My name is Lucky Kastanis and I am sad because my Mommie left me home all alone. She should have called	"Grateful Dog".

So do yourself a favor Sacramentans and check out Grateful Dog and avoid this sad face.

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Leaving Dogs At Home

2010-05-24T14:36:00.001-07:00

Today's post is inspired by the fact that due to recent travel, I have been leaving my dogs at home by themselves for sometimes more than 24 hours at a time. My dogs, FionaApple and Lucky, are very depressed when I leave; and so am I. It is really hard especially since I can't really afford to let them stay in the recent boom of Doggie Hotels in the area, or hire a "dog sitter"...Seemingly ridiculous to some I am sure, but never the less its traumatic for me. I have decided to make it a priority upon arriving home to seek out anyone I can find to provide some comfort to my furry babies in my absence.

For all of you die hard Animal Rights Activists who might be reading this post....Please take note that my traveling this much is rare and ample food, water, toys, shelter etc. have been provided for there comfort.
I am hoping that soon I will be able to afford to leave them in one of these doggie spas that have popped up on the scene in the last decade....I have decided to even go visit one just to see what they are like and if perhaps my dogs would prefer a "LIVE-IN DOGGIE NANNY" OR A "DOGGIE HOTEL"........As I type this, I am laughing because my father who hopefully isn't reading this would surely not condone such a thing.
The only thing I can say is I am a Pet Mommy., and I take my job very seriously.....

Responding to the Sea World Tragic Killer Whale Incident

2010-02-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

I just want to say I really concur with everything Jack Hanna had to say in regards to this unfortunate tragedy. This is to again re-interate that trainers know the inherit risks of their jobs and really would want this whale to be put down. Let us take our focus off of this type of accident and let us remember someone has lost someone they love.

My regards to the family. So sorry, you must be hurting in a way words cannot express.

Sincerest Regards,
Candace Kastanis
Animal Advocate

Dapheyland--Putting a Face on the Shelter Crisis

2009-12-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Daphneyland is the largest Basset Hound Animal Rescue in the nation. They are located in Los Angeles, CA, and were among the hardest hit in the recent economic crisis. The economic downward spiral has left this no kill kennel and shelter facing no power or water to its facility. Bill collector's are currently hounding the Rescue's owner and founder on a daily basis. Today on the top of their website, they state a dire and urgent need for donations. Please help if you can. If nothing else, visit the daphneyland website and become apart of the solution.

Yes; just by reading and becoming a "knowledge bound source" of credible and verifiable information of an existing problem empowers an ordinary citizen the chance to create viable solutions for a very broken system. This is not to say other systems are not in a current state of emergency, or that you yourself are not suffering economic hardship. My mission is just to offer a chance to those of us who may the ability to help in some capacity.

I challenge my readers today to visit the website. I challenge you further to act on what you have read, as I have this morning.
http://www.daphneyland.com

Blog Post on the Responsibility Project Website That Is ShareWorthy

2009-12-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Man’s Best Friend

May 22, 2008 By Kathy McManus Comments (1121)

How much is that doggy in the window?
The one with the waggley tail may seem like a bargain these days compared to the dog with the $3,000 pacemaker. Or the cat with the $8,000 kidney transplant. Or the pet chicken undergoing radiation therapy after cancer surgery.
Medical care for pets now rivals medical care for humans, with veterinary oncologists, neurologists, cardiologists and other specialists providing high tech, big-bucks treatment for Fido and Fluffy.
But when cats have chemo and dogs have dialysis, their owners have something too: unexpected ethical issues triggered by enormous medical bills.
“Is the 15-year-old tabby worth $12,000 in dialysis?” asks a newspaper story with the nagging headline: Do some pet owners go a little too far?
“I admit sometimes questioning the reality of spending $11,000 on my cat when there are greater human needs,” said a California college professor, who readily paid for feline chemotherapy and pancreatitis treatment.
U.S. pet owners will spend more than $24 billion this year on pet medical care, an amount greater than the gross domestic product of more than half of the world’s countries.
But when man’s best friend is a integral member of the family, the question of whether it’s appropriate to spend top-dollar for animal medical care is often more emotional than financial. With the unconditional love, friendship, and support of a beloved companion at stake, many pet owners feel they don’t have the option of not providing—and paying for—expensive medical care.
It’s not a simple issue, said one veterinarian. When you hear of a medical bill of $14,000 for a dog, he explained, people ask, “Should you not just buy a new dog and give the money to charity? That, I have to say, is a non-starter of an argument. You then have to ask all sorts of questions about how people spend their money—should they spend it on big cars?”
Tell us what you think: When it comes to expensive veterinary medical care, is it more responsible to pay for a pet or perhaps give the money to charity instead?

Thanksgiving or Misgiving

2009-12-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

Recently, I found out that most animal shelters around the country are functioning at near or maximum capacity due to the recession. I told myself and my dogs how lucky we are to have a roof over our heads and food to eat....In fact, they had left over Thanksgiving ham........

I hope anybody hoping to give or receive a pet this holiday season will consider adopting an animal from the local shelter in their area. In addition, checking on-line resources is also a good idea, or checking the bulletin board postings at the local coffee shop. Also, make an effort to pass the word if hear a friend needs to find a new or temporary home for their pet. It also gives you good cause to connect with old friends and family.

My Inconvenient Truth

2009-11-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

While browsing the pets section of Craigslist, I saw something that made me feel ashamed. A craigslister in my area posted a page regarding volunteering for local animal/equine nonprofit organizations . He or She listed the contact information and or websites in Northern California that are currently looking for people to lend a hand.

I know so much about so many different types of animals as I have or have had at one point in my life most species of warm or cold blooded animals. I have adopted several animals from local shelters. My father in law is even the President of the Local Zoo Board. I have participated in craft fairs, and have donated random cash or items to animal related charities. I have given away things to people that needed it etc .
But I have not regularly volunteered my time.

For the past two years, I have not done one act of philanthropic activity in the area that I pretty much declared my life to be about, MY LOVE ANIMALS. I even caught myself trying to justify my in-action. Many valid excuses swirled around in my head about how I have been ill, and how busy I've been trying to make a living. I am providing for my own family and my own animals. I help out tons of people from time to time at my several barns, Oh, I thought, I've helped muck some stalls blah blah blah and I've been getting divorced, I can barely afford to feed myself, I don't have adequate transportation........and I kept going and going and going.....

Guess what?? The inconvenient truth is that I could have given a ton more of my time and effort. I am ashamed to even admit it in writing. My hope is that in doing so, that I can hold myself accountable. Perhaps, I will even alert others to their own inconvenient truths. IN-ACTION does not contribute to a better place for animals or people. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., "If you are not part of the solution, you are apart of the problem".........

Also, I want to say to the craigslister that is trying to make a difference.....Kudos to you, and many thanks.

Below I hope you don't mind that I have re-posted your information in an effort to further your message.

Want to Volunteer? These shelters, horse rescues would appreciate it! (You DO make a difference in their lives! )

UNSURE WHICH ORGANIZATION TO VOLUNTEER AT?

COUPLE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD - I know I enjoy what ever time I have set aside loving up the horses, cats and dogs. The dogs/cats at the shelters don't always get that human touch while waiting for adoption (or gulp euth)...sometimes just curled up in their cages waiting for your smiley face and warm embrace!

http://www.sspca.org/ SACRAMENTO SPCA

http://www.fieldhaven.com/ - FieldHaven Feline Rescue

http://usafreedomcorps.volunteermatch.org/results/opp_detail.jsp?oppid=430696 RABBIT RESCUE

http://homewardboundgoldens.org Homeward Bound Golden Retriever and Sanctuary

http://www.jdacres.org/ HORSE RESCUE IN ELVERTA

http://www.achanceforbliss.com/ HORSE SANCTUARY IN PENRYN

http://www.msa2.saccounty.net/acr/Pages/default.aspx ANIMAL CARE & CONTROL OFF BRADSHAW

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/generalservices/animal-care/ CITY OF SAC SHELTER

http://www.co.el-dorado.ca.us/AnimalServices/index.html EL DORADO COUNTRY SHELTER

http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/hhs/animal_services.aspx PLACER CO. SHELTER

http://www.placerspca.org/ PLACER SPCA

http://www.yolospca.org/ YOLO COUNTY SPCA

http://www.norcalequinerescue.com/index.php NOR CAL EQUINE RESCUE OROVILLE

http://www.tbfriends.com/ OFF THE TRACK THOROUGHBRED RESCUE WOODLAND

http://thegracefoundationofnorcal.org/ GRACE FOUNDATION HORSE RESCUE EL DORADO HILLS

http://norcalaussierescue.com/ NORCAL AUSSIE RESCUE - GRASS VALLEY

http://catsabouttown.com/ CATS ABOUT TOWN SOCIETY - ORANGEVALE

http://www.horseshopehealing.com/ HORSES HOPE & HEALING - SACRAMENTO (Del Paso area)

http://www.horseshonor.org/ HORSES HONOR - AUBURN

http://www.theshilohfoundation.com/ SHILOH FOUNDATION - AUBURN

Another Day in CandyLand

2009-11-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

I own three dogs, a cat, two horses, and well some uninvited mice,crickets and pigeons.....Let me also say I live in the suburbs not a farm.

Dog A is a Basset Hound, named Fiona Apple. I named her that because I consider her behavior to be that of criminal nature....She gives really mean glances, and she does not care for passing strollers let alone the children that occupy them. Her hobby is laying on a section of my sectional couch that I purchased from Pottery Barn before they started making washable slipcovers...

Dog B is a Beagle, named Buddy, whom also is referred to as Homer by brother...I don't know why he renames my dogs but he does....and he also refers to my Basset Hound as Volonus, similar to I guess Volgna or Bologna from the character in Good Times Lmao....Buddy was given to me by my friend Justin who thought Buddy would be happier with me..and because I lack the ability to say "NO"....Buddy now resides with me...

Dog C is a Wolf/German Shephard Hybrid, whom is called Lucky, but well we call him Lion King because he looks like a Lion.....LOL and well he came to us via a girlfriend of my son, Alex, who really loves this dog more than life itself. This dog is the best behaved out of the three.

So let me just say, Dog A and Dog C have an escaping problem....Buddy loves to "dart" when the door is opened and Lucky always follows closely behind to make sure he is okay...They are so fast I can't even get them when they get out so often later on in the day I get a call from someone saying they have my dogs...and they come home completely wore out and seem somewhat happy to be home....but they always smell of something like cow manure.
This escaping thing happens so often that everyone in a two mile know my dogs and when they see them, they bring them home sometimes if they are lucky enough to catch them....Most of the time Buddy, the Beagle finds his way to a restaurant. He has his picture at Orginal Pete's with a chef jacket on......Once he even found his way to the elementary schools cafeteria during lunch time where one of the kids affectionately tied him to a tether ball pole with a jump rope until I could retrieve him.

Well the escaping problems have worsened a bit especially since I got my phone number changed and forgot to change the dog tags....So there daily escapes have turned into weekend escapes or weekly escapes.....I have been lucky enough to have returned to me safely until last week..............They turned up into the dog pound twice in the last month. The cost of retrieval was well over a hundred dollars each time.....and emotionally hard on my family...

When they say, Good things sometimes can come from tough times...I think they are right.....I ended up with this cool wrought iron fence gate completely blocking access to the street to help with the escaping problems and Lucky was neutered a fraction of the cost it would have cost me at my local vet....and all dogs have current microchips, shots and tags and licenses....

I'm out some money, but I have peace of my mind and a very cool gate that only cost $20 off of craigslist......

To end, I'm not so sure Fiona Apple was exactly happy to have her pack friends return home as she was getting pretty darned used to be the only dog............and I'm not so sure my live in boyfriend was happy to have the dogs return home either......................

but I am more than elated to have my all my furry babies underfoot again......

Selling Horses

2009-10-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

I love everything about horses, the smell, the dirt, the buck-offs, the grooming, and well the few and far in between days that you have those rides that take your breath away and leaves your heart full of pride and awe.....Admittedly, however, I do have a "favorite" of my the two horses that I currently own , for reasons I can't really explain. So, in a effort to find a match more suitable for myself and my horse, I have decided to sell the horse that has left me feeling lack-luster most of the time. This being said, this horse is very well trained, beautiful, and sweet....without any bad habits to speak of.....
The experience of showing a horse for sale basically kinda sucked yesterday. It has left me wondering if I am in the top 10 percentile of the possessing the most common sense of "horseypeople" or the bottom 10 percentile. I have heard comments like, " I just want to get on and go", or " He's too nice". In fact some challenged factual evidence. For example, having the weight and measurement tape right in front of there faces that plainly reads 16 Hands......and then smugly stating, "No, I think he's 15 Hands.... because my Mom's horse is 15 Hands and this horse is the same size as my Mom's Horse"....
I won't lie to you readers. I a long time "horseyperson" was a little frustrated. I guess when we are trying to find the horse of our dreams we all can get a little picky....( Im just as guilty )
With all this being said, It is my personal opinion that a horse chooses its person, and a person accepts......
Thats all, and to all those scouting for horses-------Good luck finding your forever horse.....