Mewwy Chwistmas all!

Wheeek, thankyou to all of you for being blogfriends this year! Looking forward to staying furiends in the next year. My hooman Melon says thankyou and sends you good wishes too.

Here's me in my Christmas corner, enjoying my Christmas...

Christmas wheeks out!
Cocoa

All ready for Santa

Wheeek!

Busy getting ready for Christmas here... but I'm all ready! Wanna see my decor-ations?

For some reason Melon wants me to show you us setting it up...

Hey, what's this?

Oooh! Carrots!

 

I don't know why she gave me that look, do you?

Confused wheeks,
Cocoa

Hoomans are weird

Wheek, Cocoa here. Have you missed me?
Sorry I wasn't here for a while, my hooman wasn't very helpful at helping me type. I think it was because she was too busy putting me in this thing:

What is up with that? She puts me in a couple times a day, and then sometimes she goes nods approvingly or says 'Good boy, Coke' and other times she goes 'Hmmm.' Does anyone know what's up with that? Or is another yet inexplicable hooman behaviour?

I must say I am getting fed frequently - almost enough! - recently though, which is a nice change.

Wheek out,
Cocoa

Food food foodables

Wheek, Cocoa here. Just wanted to let my admiring fans and followers know that I am doing okay. I would've been here earlier, but the hooman wasn't doing so good - something about being "in a funk", whatever that means. She hasn't been able to take care of me as she'd like to, but between what she can do and what the Mommy hooman (not Melon, the one they call Mommy) has done, I have to admit I have been taken care of. Melon's been feeding me with that stick once a day - yuk! She says it's a little extra because she wants my weight "back up to normal". Pleh. Guess I'm stuck eating that funny stuff for a while, then. Still, I finally got... my par-sley! I was promised it days ago and finally, today they have made good on that promise.

See?

Wheek out, 

Cocoa

Phew

Wheek, Cocoa here. I'm home again after another time in that weird place. Just like last time I don't feel like moving much, but Melon's been bringing my foodables right to me so I'm happy to munch them. She gave me this wedge of wet orange thing yesterday and told me to eat it - something about "vitamin C" but it smelled funny so I didn't even try it. Today she says she's going to bring me back some par-sley. Success! Hoomans are so trainable if you know how.

Thanks everybody for thinking of me.
Cocoa

POTP for Cocoa

Cocoa is going in for surgery today to remove the tumour which has regrown. He is still brighteyed and happy so we're giving him another go at surgery. 

Please keep your paws crossed for complete removal of the cancer this time!

Melon

Bad news

Hey, it's Melon here again.
I just found another lump on Cocoa right where the tumour was. It looks just like the last tumour, although smaller. You know when they say your heart sinks? Mine just did.

Of course I automatically start thinking that I should have checked him earlier (I meant to check him every week but it's been 3 weeks since he was last checked, by the vet) and wish I spent more time with him. I was feeling good today after walking my friend's dog in the rain, but it's hard to come home to find I haven't been as vigilant with my own boy.



I'll try to take him in to the vet tomorrow. He'll need to have his back legs checked out too 'cause he's been dragging them a bit since the day before yesterday.

Melon

Melon's Animal Adventures: an eventful walk

So I hadn't walked Katie the Lab for over a week and I've missed it - I'm finding walking her quite therapeutic, which is great since I struggle with anxiety.

The walk was very eventful, making me realise I really had missed a lot.

First, there was this:

Do you see the hazard in that photo? Yup, the black cat sitting calmly on the stairs. (Hi Xeti, is that you?) Luckily, Katie, who is reactive to dogs and cats, passed calmly and without incident. So I guess it's not all dogs and cats she is aggressive to, just some.

The next thing was that I managed to get Katie to Leave it and Come away from two potential foodables she'd picked up in her mouth. I was feeling really good about that! And there's more...

As I entered a park we normally walk through, a little dog suddenly appeared, running straight for us. Uh-oh! I thought. Katie does not like small dogs. It was a pug x French bulldog and it ran at us, daring us to pass, and continued circling and following us when we tried to leave. It stuck its nose into Katie's behind as we tried to leave the park, and as we left I realised it was still with us and had no apparent intention of leaving. I walked Katie, small dog in tow, back to the playground slide where two people were dozing with sunnies over their eyes. Who in the world dozes while their dog is harassing other people? Excuse me, excuse me! Is this your dog? Heads were shaken. Oh. Then where in the world had this doggy come from? Katie was so good, she did a Sit for me while the dog was still harassing her. I rewarded Katie and sat down to try to check the tag on the pug's pink collar. It jumped right into my lap, clearly being used to attention. As I reached for the tag a blond guy in shorts appeared to collect the dog. Apparently the pug'd escaped from his garage. So that's a non-reactive Katie and a loose dog back home, so this story has a happy ending. (I wish I had a photo from the incident, but as you can imagine, I didn't get a chance to snap any!)

And THEN Katie decided that she doesn't want anyone to think she's a well-behaved dog, so she found two bones/skulls on the walk and with the second one, completely abandoned the walk to lie down under a tree and enjoy it!

She's really getting into it

But look how happy she looks afterward, so what can I say?

Melon

Daily occurrence

Hey, Melon the hooman here. Just thought I'd share...
So every day Cocoa gets a tub of grass nearly as big as he is.

Before (Well, During)

After

I believe this is what kids these days call a 'food coma'

Q: Why is Cocoa a lone pig?

Hi, Melon here. Cocoa's been in a smaller cage than I'd have liked for a long time now, so I'm happy he's got a bigger place now. He'll just need a couple days to settle into the new space and new bedding.  Anyway, just a note from me because it's a good time for me to say something I've wanted to make clear for a while: why is Cocoa a lone pig? Some of you may have wondered, because guinea pigs are sociable animals and do better with a buddy of their own species. Cocoa is alone due to decisions made by my family when I was younger when my mental health issues were just starting. I'd love for him to have a friend. But Cocoa is my 'last pig' for a while and at his senior age it doesn't make a lot of sense to introduce someone new now. But do I believe that guinea pigs should be in pairs or groups? Yes. Would I keep a lone pig again? I'd try not to. In this case, however, we are blessed that Cocoa has managed really well by himself, and I hope he'll enjoy his time in his mansion. 

Wow!

Wheeek, Cocoa here. Now that I've recovered from Speedy's party (I can't believe Melon put that picture from after the party up! Geez...) I'd like to let you know what's been going on here at home...

See, recently I realised something is up in the Melon household. How did I know? Well, first I found these...

Hmm. Plans for something. But what?

A boat?

A pen?

Turns out...

It's a mansion! For me! Right in the living room!

It's got veggies...

And my food bowl...

 

And my beloved pigloo...

... and lots of space!

I'm still exploring...

And it could definitely take some getting used to, but I think I could get to like it.

Not so sure about this sign Melon put up though!

Wheeks,
Cocoa

Yo ho yo ho...

... it be time for Speedy the cheeky house bunny's Pirate Party!

Our friend Speedy the bunny has just recovered from surgery, and to celebrate his recovery and also that of his friend Maddy's, there is a pirate party going on at Speedy's!

Wheek! Arrr! I'm ready to join in the fun!

Wheeks,
Pirate Cocoa

Edit from Melon the hooman: the aftermath of a partying piggy...

Pigs! Who needs them!

Melon's Animal Adventures: Cats and dogs

This is Billie. 

He lives next to a courtyard that many people pass through every day. At the same time each day, or so I've been told, he comes out to wait for his owners to come home from work. That's how I came across him one day.

And now to a certain Labrador named Katie...
 

Today as I was working with her I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever make any progress on this 10 year old dog that I only see for an hour twice a week ... but then I think I made a little progress on Stay! I ask her to Sit, and then hold my hand (with the treat) out in front of me and take a few steps back. She can manage to stay seated while I step back, but as soon as I step back towards her she'll get up. But she managed to stay seated through the whole routine once or twice today, and boy do I feel much better now that I think I've seen a little progress! I've always had aspirations to be a teacher, and it seems like if it is in my future, it will be a rewarding job.

I'm realising that while Katie is very much active and excitable despite her age, she's actually pretty good on walks, no pulling or lagging, she hops on and off the kerb when I need her to and waits to cross the road.
It's just other dogs on the street I need to be careful of: she is totally reactive to the other dogs on-leash on the street. I see other people walk their dogs past each other in small enclosed spaces like at the market - no way that could be done with Katie! I have to cross to the other side of the road when I see another dog. A few people have seen me hesitant to approach them and their dog and assure me that their dog is friendly - I always have to tell them that my dog is not. It's a pity.
I'm not thinking of working on that with Katie but I am curious: what makes some dogs reactive to other dogs on the street and others not? Can it be trained? Is it a matter of socialisation? 

Lastly, Jackson, the sweet old Golden Retriever belonging to a friend of a friend, is likely to be out of a home by the end of the year. I have tentatively put it out there that I'd consider taking him, but I'm trying to keep a cool head and not run away with the idea, because my boyfriend and family don't think it's a wise idea. I must say I saw him the other day and he was definitely not as alert as he was last I saw him, but hopefully it was an off day.

Help!

Hey. Thought I'd pop in since it's been a  little while since you've heard from us. It's Melon here, but this is not another episode of Melon's Animal Adventures. I actually wanted to tell you about a little wee itty bitty  problem we're having here in the Melon household.

So here's the story. Cocoa used to, literally, turn tail and run at the mere sniff of a capsicum. That's not an exaggeration or figure of speech. Okay, so he doesn't have a tail. But run he certainly did. But guess what?

...

Caught in the act!


And then…

After a surgery a few years ago, a vet once told us to give Cocoa a cherry tomato a day, for vitamin C. We obediently bought a box of cherry tomatoes and placed one in the cage for Cocoa. He never acknowledged it. It was like it didn't exist, or at least it certainly wasn't something edible.

And now look…

Every day since he's eaten both happily.

So here's our quandary...
... Do you think we have the wrong guinea pig? At the vet's last month we dropped him off and they tried to return a bunny named Chocco to us in the waiting room. They were quite embarrassed and went back for Cocoa… or what we thought was Cocoa. What if it was just a diversion, to distract us from the fact that they actually swapped our pig for another one? There are a lot of longish haired, black guinea pigs with a dramatically white crest… right? Right?

Please let me know if you have any tips on how to swap this imposter back for the real Cocoa.
Melon

MMA: Wordless Wednesday

A mystery object for the OP Pack

Wheek, it’s me again! Thought Melon had stolen my blog? No worries, I’m still here.

What's this?

My hooman Melon’s friend went to Alaska recently and brought it back… I wonder what it’s for?

Every time I see it I think of the OP Pack, for some reason…

Hey Jingle, what is it for?

 

 

 

Wow. He sure seems to  like them!

I'd rather eat lettuce...


Wouldn't you? 
Cocoa

P.S. This post is for the OP Pack, especially Thunder, who Jingle resembles and is sorely missed, and for Phantom, whom Jingle Phantom is actually named after (Melon’s friend A bought him for her after she went on and on about Phantom…), and who we are sending some POTP at the moment. Phantom, we love you!