Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Furbee's Sleeping, Dreaming Tongue

Furbee was so exhausted after a long day of "going bye-bye" that his body could no longer keep up with his mind. While Furbee slept as heavily as a rock in Stone Henge, his tongue flapped outside of his mouth as-if he were panting or licking something - only he knows, but his tongue stayed out the whole time so it was really cute to watch him dream.
His leg muscles occasionally spasmed in-motion as-if he were running somewhere, but again, Furbee's tongue was sticking out of his mouth as he dreamt - probably about the day he had just experienced, or the day as he would have preferred to have experienced it.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Furbee and Sophie Visit Strictly Organic Coffee Co. in Bend, Oregon

Furbee and Sophie took a ride with their papa to Strictly Organic Coffee Company in Bend, Oregon for a refreshing cup of rich, creamy, double-Espresso Joe with plenty of sugar for the first time ever today! The coffee shop located at 6 SW BOND ST roasts their vast varieties organic, environmentally-sustainable Fair Trade coffee on-site and serve it with an array of snacks and food options from their kitchen where pastries are also baked fresh daily, and meals are made-to-order.
The outdoor patio dining area is dog-friendly and is a great place to watch people from all walks of this beautiful life as they drive, walk and sometimes fly by. Seating was readily available here at Strictly Organic during our visit for coffee and banana bread both inside and outdoors. The crowd is calm and casual inside - thanks to the comfortable climate control, and outside we were entertained by an eclectic musical artist who also paints and sells her artwork.
Full of colorful character and feminine energy that would make RuPaul proud, multi-talented "Monica" serenades passers-by on the street-corner with her painted banjo - singing melodies of life and love by musical artists including, but not limited to John Denver among others. Monica's canine companion sat by her side - minding her own business as other dogs walked by and even joined-in to accompany Monica's singing vocals with a funny, cute and ear-filling howl! The outdoor dining area is absolutely perfect for those Spring and Summer mornings when organic coffee, maybe a soft piece of Strictly Organic's freshly-made banana bread, and fresh, breezy, naturally-oxygenated air are all you need to start your day with a furry friend or two. Furry friends Furbee and Sophie look forward to returning even if it's just to people- and dog-watch.
Strictly Organic also hosts various live musical artists throughout the week including Canaan Canaan, a young girl whose hybrid musical style combines Japanese lyrics with acoustic-accompanied American-English in an original style she refers-to as 'cuddle pop'. Other artists, according to their website include; "Rebecca Smith (contemporary harp), Joe Balsamo (Blues), Bobby Lindstrom (rock), Jumpin’ Joyce Respess (Folk Rock) and the Classic Jazz Duo (Dillon Schneider/John Allen)". Also, "a very popular and supportive Songwriters’ Open Mic, hosted by Hal Worcester takes place Thursdays 6-8 PM". This venue is obviously community and artist-oriented by providing artists a place to play for the public without charge (with exception to wares such as music cds, for example), and giving the community an added value to great service they already consistently receive here. This business is special because it adds value to the source its coffee is purchased from, but to the community where the coffee is distributed and consumed in, because it facilitates integration and growth of local Central Oregonian culture.
The shih-tzus did not want to leave this stop, but their papa loves them so he knows to bring them with him next time he comes to visit Strictly Organic in Bend to experience more of their great food, drinks and people at the most valuable cafe and interesting corner in Central Oregon!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Shih-tzu hate taking showers, but love having clean bodies!

Furbee and Sophie love laying beside each other, but they really enjoy it when they've both been cleaned with a fresh shower. Sometimes it depends on who needs a bath more, but Sophie is a very cooperative ragdoll that makes cleaning easier than Furbee because Furbee dislikes water near his head or rear-end.
Before any water is turned-on and warmed to a nice, warm temperature, their fur is combed-out to remove snags and tangles. Once their fur has been combed-out - the shower water should be warmed to a temp the dogs can handle. Furbee has a low tolerance for warm water because to him it's hotter as he has a smaller body than we humans so he is bathed with relatively cooler water, but Sophie doesn't complain and she's bathed with the same warmth preferred by temperate humans.
After a refreshing rinse, the babies are lathered from tail-to-head using a Cedar shampoo which is applied with therapeutically (for the shih-tzus and I) massaging strokes that helps promote healthy circulation and good, general health. This opportunity is used to identify any abnormal growths or scabs that may have occurred since their last bath, but it's also a way to find and remove fox-tails, splinters, thorns, or any other noticeable health hazards.
After rinsing the lathered shampoo completely, the anal gland is checked for 'expression fluid' which is removed from the exterior of the anus by feeling for what feels like tiny, round marbles on either side below their anus; the tail is manually lifted and held in-place, the anus is pointed towards a poop-spray-safe wall-like surface and the little sacs are gently squeezed from bottom-to-top until the sacs are drained. A successful anal-gland expression should stink worse than anything you've ever smelled - so don't get it on your skin or any surface that is not easy to clean. Immediately clean and sterilize any surfaces touched by the anal gland fluid. Sometimes the fluid is pearlescent; other times it's mustard-like, but in all cases it smells horrible. The best way to know whether your dog's anal gland needs to be expressed is to feel it from the outside, but another indicator is if your dog is scooting their butt on the floor; they are not just 'wiping' their butt on the floor to upset you - their butt is probably upsetting them and they perform the routine to provide relief. A simple expression will usually solve this.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Jack Rebney Loves Shih-tzus!

Jack Rebney is a unique type of celebrity because he never intended to become famous, but an unauthorized video containing cut-takes of a Winnebago commercial he was shooting became viral before viral was a word used to describe infectious popularity. While the public fell in love with Jack's frustrated and vulgarly-expressed language in this video he was presenting for Winnebago dealers, the Winnebago company fired him as soon as they saw the cuts that one of the people making the video put together. It is the opinion of the author of this blog entry that the Winnebago company should instead of capitalized on Jack's popularity and if anyone was going to be fired - it should have been the person who put all the cuts together, made copies of if and distributed it to everyone they knew, because Jack's permission was never obtained to release the compilation of takes. Normally, the 'takes', 'cuts', or 'cut takes' as they're known - depending on whom you ask - are excluded from videos and the final version of the video Jack presented did not feature any of his vulgar frustrations. What does appear in the video, is a scene where Jack is showing viewers the storage space; he opens the door and behind the door of the storage compartment are two happy young girls and a cute black and white shih-tzu.
Years later, a film-maker decided to catch-up with Jack to see how he was doing and ultimately the film was released much to the public's satisfaction. The film helps people see that Jack is not really the angriest man in the world. Jack probably isn't even the angriest Winnebago sales-person because it's not every day frustrated salesmen are recorded on video for their flaws to be viewed by the public with a microscope.
Jack lives in Northern California - apparently alone, with the exception of his canine companion. Jack's eye-sight has deteriorated over time and with age, so he navigates his daily walk with his dog (not a shih-tzu breed) by holding-on to a rope that guides him away from and back to his home safely. Jack doesn't understand why so many people found his expressed anger in the old video to be entertaining, but he values the love and appreciation his fans express to him as long as they don't invade his personal space.  His sense of humor remains healthy and his wit is quick and as sharp as a razor-blade.
Request the DVD/film/movie title, "Winnebago Man" at your local public library and if they haven't purchased it yet - recommend it for purchase so you and your friends can watch the story of a man who ages gracefully and stays true to himself.