This thread interest me. My 16 year old Lhaso is blind, arthritic and has Alzheimer's.(canine disfuntional syndrome)He now messes in the house and stands staring in corners, he's lost alot of muscle mass, hardly stands up. Yet, he's happy, eats well and the vet says as long as i'm willing to be a care taker, no need to have him put to sleep(gads, I hate that term)So I dont do anywhere doing the year til a yearly trip to France to visit friends. He needs too much care to hire anyone and I suspect that this year will be the last that the Pooch Palace"where he boards will accept him again.
My cat, now in that big sandbox in the sky, was only once left with a friend. We said eat, drink anything in the house but do not let the cat out.
We returned from our trip. No Cat!
Two weeks later she returned home pregnant. Never had a sitter since.

Cig, I know this is a weird tangent but...

there is a "Lovable Llaso Apso" being given away on craigslist.com. The post is new (on Thursday). Someone feels the needs to find a new home for 2 year old "Cuddles". Things like this break my heart.

I think you live in Florida. If you are at all interested and pursue this, I could pick Cuddles up and meet you in South Georgia.

The best to you and your pup. I nursed a 16 year old lab as long as possible as well.

To find the listing, go to www.craigslist.com, choose "Atlanta" at the side, and when that page loads, choose "pets". It is a 5/12 posting.

To cigalechanta - I am confused - was it the cat or house sitter who returned home 2 weeks later pregnant?

Gail-
LOL!! That made my CRAZY morning!

bonniebroad - I hope you find a situation that works for you. I agree with either having an agreement with your vet or at least having someone in charge of making decisions for the pet if you will be out of reach at any point on vacation.

As I said, my pet sitter was the groomer at the vet, I had spoken to the vet about being gone (and had Cat checked before leaving). I left my sisters name & number and know that I would trust any decision she made regarding care for Cat.

My boyfriend didn't understand all of these issues, but he got a Golden at Christmas. We'll see how he feels leaving him for 2 weeks this fall when we go to Europe!

Regarding 'horrific dogfood', the only pet food manufacturing facility that is USDA approved for HUMANS is also the only one which allows FDA inspectors ANYTIME, without a prior inspection appointment. It is...Three Dog Bakery. Yes, their food is not cheap, but you can tell from the aroma and the ingredients list that they do not use anything you would not want to feed your beloved pet. Our dogs eat the kibble, but they also have 'wet' food. Check out their new Lick and Crunch cookies which are for dogs AND humans...No, I don't work for them, but I BELIEVE in them and their product.

I just think it's very odd to refer to a 24 yr. old as 'a kid'.

thanks for the suggestion, Moondoggie. I'll check them out. It gets to be a pain sometimes to have to cook up a big batch of food every week for the dogs...!

Ally, I don't know how old you are, but once you reach a certain age, believe me, a 24-year-old seems like "a kid," especially when you think back on some of the things you did when you were 24. :-D

I'm 46. I still don't think of a 24 yr old as a kid. I guess when I'm 80 I will!

One of mine is 26 and he is still a kid. And his friends are still kids. It's not just the age, it's the lifestyle.

<i>From this months Better Homes and Gardens...Toxic Table Scraps</i>
<u>Raisins/grapes</u>-causes vomiting to kidney failure in dogs.
<u>Chocolate</u>- the darker the chocolate, the worse the effect. Effects, everything from high heart rate to seizures to death in small dogs.
<u>Sugarless gum</u>-Causes rapid drop in dog sugar levels in blood.
<u>Onions</u>- anemia/damages blood cells, one small whole onion can kill a dog.
<u>Macadamia Nuts</u>- temporary paralysis in dogs hind legs.

moondoggie, have you read Three Dog Bakery's book? &quot;Amazing Gracie&quot; tells the story about how the bakery got started.

Warning - I bawled my eyes out...but I had just lost my sweet (and amazing) Gracie.

www.threedogbakery.com

I had the most amazing sitter for my dog, Frank. Luckily, the sitter slived across the street and did it professionally. He charged $10 per visit and came over three times a day. I thought it was worth every penny. The dog, who'd been abandoned in middle age, didn't like staying anyplace but my house. I knew he'd hate a kennel. My sitter would walk and feed the dog in the morning, then feed and walk in the late afternoon. After Frank's walk, the sitter would take him back to his house for the evening, and when he took Frank for his evening walk, he'd bring him back him to my house. But, as I said, I was very lucky. After Frank died, the sitter sent me the most lovely card...

Beautiful story fairfax. Sounds like both the sitter and your Frank enjoyed their relationship.