Part 2.
We had to arrive on Maui in time to meet the Pet Doctor there who decides if you can enter the island or have to go to jail. If you get there too late, you have to go to jail. Sunday, ditto. So my FP didn’t just say, “oh, okay then” to the counter girl, Casey, but asked to speak to her alpha. Linda called her alpha, who sent us to American. American had a great connection via LAX (sounds runny) straight to Kahului which could accommodate my crate and got in in plenty of time. Much jubilation. Then the American alpha came out and said that sadly, American has a policy that all pets must fly into Honolulu. FP pointed out our Neighbor Island Permit that we worked so hard for. I said WOOOOOO. The 50th person mentioned that I sound just like Chewbacca. The alpha said, yes, everything lines up just perfectly and she would be delighted to fly FP to Kahului, and personally she would be delighted to fly ME, but the airline has this ironclad policy. Don’t they like Malamutes over at American?? Only United could fly me to Maui. So back to the United counter we went.
And there stood the United alpha with a teeny, tiny little crate, about the size for a Pit Bull. Long story short, I was downsized (like FP). We were put on another flight and FP shed a tear or two to see me so squished. They put me in a smelly place with a lot of suitcases. Then someone who drives a lot better than FP drove for a long time. It did strange things to my ears, but I drank my ice when it melted and wooooed but nobody came. I even had to pee, it was gross.
At a place called Denver, some large men and ladies came and took me off the plane. Finally! No, it was not the end. They put my crate in the sunshine for a while – FP told me later that she was watching from the terminal like a hawk, which doesn’t sound very friendly. Then they put my crate on a huge crate dolly and closed curtains around it and moved us into a deafening place with hundreds of crate dollies all full of suitcases and even some other dogs and cats in crates. The large humans brought my own, Malamute-sized house and stood around talking a lot, then one of them brought my FP! I thought, Finally, but no. They just put together my house and moved me into it and took apart the PB crate and gave me some more water and everybody got to pet me and tell me how beautiful I am (duh) and how much I sound like Chewbacca, and they moved all the stickers from the tiny crate to my house, and I thought, “Uh oh.” And in fact, FP did have the gall to leave me there in what she called the railroad yard and made everyone promise to take good care of me and see that I got on the plane. And I did, together with an Appetizer dog and two Minor Snack dogs.
I will not sully your ears, dear Aunt Shel, with an account of the ensuing day. Again I found myself on the move, hoping desperately that a better driver than FP was at the wheel. This proved to be the case, since we arrived, long after I had given up all hope of the trip’s ever ending, at a cool and fragrant place.
The large people here delivered me into the hands of a lady with a lovely smile and twinkling eyes. I immediately recognized her for another Doctor, and so she proved to be – Dr Kim, from the Maui Humane Society, who had kindly come in on her day off to welcome me to Maui. She was very kind and gentle with me, and with FP, who was a shameful wreck by this time. She must have been in an even smaller crate than mine, the way she was creeping along, moaning at every step, bleary-eyed and brain-dead.
Fortunately, I was able to ignore her completely and turn my attentions to the vision of loveliness, the clean, fresh, beautiful and cheerful friend to all Malamutes, my new best friend, rescuer and benefactor, my dear Aunt Shel.
I think I will like it here.
Wooooooos, Miss Congeniality
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Life on Maui
Missy and I have been on Maui for almost three months now. She is enjoying the cool weather (!!) and gets a lot of attention from the neighbor kids, who insist that she is a werewolf and keep waiting for her to turn into a cute teenager ...
We have a lovely walk through cane fields with a spectacular view of oceans on two sides, the gentle South side and the more turbulent North side. We're Upcountry, where it rains a lot, so it's green and there are always rainbows ...
Sunday, January 10, 2010
About the blog
This blog was begun to celebrate the life of my darling Allie, who succumbed at ca. 13 on August 28 2007 to kidney failure after a 2.5 year fight. Guerillera Alexandria was an Alaskan Malamute, adopted from Texas Alaskan Malamute Rescue at the age of approx. 6. Her specialty was killing possums, but she did not turn up her nose at squirrels, grackles, stray chickens, or any other prey that came her way. She represented TAMR at the Malamute National Specialty rescue showcase in Ogden, Utah in 2004, learned agility, and performed with a drill team in Austin. Her full-time job was to be worshiped as Queen of the Universe. Allie was joined by several foster Malamutes.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Decorating with Malamutes
Yes, I know, your house/apt is fully decorated just by the presence of a beautiful Malamute ;-) -- but on days like today, when the yard is one big mud puddle and the floor covered with huge, if cute footprints, one's thoughts turn to questions of decor. Here's a pretty interesting site on Malamute Decor: Decorating for Dogs in your Life: http://omalmalamutes.com/omal/maldecor.htm
Has anyone seen those wooden crates they sell in, like, Sky Mall mag? I'd like to surround our wire crates with wood corner pieces, a wood base and top (table!), and some partial side cladding. Has anyone done this, or know how ;-)?
Also, does anyone have a nice pattern to crochet or sew a toy Malamute? This is for a fundraiser.
Thank you!
Has anyone seen those wooden crates they sell in, like, Sky Mall mag? I'd like to surround our wire crates with wood corner pieces, a wood base and top (table!), and some partial side cladding. Has anyone done this, or know how ;-)?
Also, does anyone have a nice pattern to crochet or sew a toy Malamute? This is for a fundraiser.
Thank you!
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Breed ID? (Puppy cuteness warning!)
Clearly a clever animatronic.
If you watch the first video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l7LbSMA-AA&NR=1, note that the owner is able to give the little toy a bath without losing any limbs, skin, or vital parts.
To add insult to (non-)injury, the robot does not inflict a proper crocodile bite when taunted with food, and it just sits there when dressed up with a satanic headdress.
Now really. Even a practically immobile wooly Mallie puppy will raise holy hell when trifled with to this extent; it doesn't take a red-blooded Texas Mal like my two to extract a few pounds of flesh.
And where are the vocalizations?? There should be a veritable cadenza of howls, growls, yowls, yelps, arpeggios, scales and other vocal exercises expressing this little fella's opinions. Clear evidence that the technology has yet to develop the distinctive Northern breed voice -- or perhaps the inventors felt that non-howling roboMals would be less annoying? Hah! Nothing is cuter than http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l7LbSMA-AA&NR=1
Perhaps this animatronic is from the same factory as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxGI6o4E8L0&feature=related ... ? EZKareMalsRUs?
Cheers
connie
Re: Michael writes:
This sure looks like a malamute to me, but can anyone please confirm?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GTzB3EBQic&feature=related
BEWARE! Cute puppy video behind link.
MALAMUTE-L post
If you watch the first video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l7LbSMA-AA&NR=1, note that the owner is able to give the little toy a bath without losing any limbs, skin, or vital parts.
To add insult to (non-)injury, the robot does not inflict a proper crocodile bite when taunted with food, and it just sits there when dressed up with a satanic headdress.
Now really. Even a practically immobile wooly Mallie puppy will raise holy hell when trifled with to this extent; it doesn't take a red-blooded Texas Mal like my two to extract a few pounds of flesh.
And where are the vocalizations?? There should be a veritable cadenza of howls, growls, yowls, yelps, arpeggios, scales and other vocal exercises expressing this little fella's opinions. Clear evidence that the technology has yet to develop the distinctive Northern breed voice -- or perhaps the inventors felt that non-howling roboMals would be less annoying? Hah! Nothing is cuter than http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l7LbSMA-AA&NR=1
Perhaps this animatronic is from the same factory as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxGI6o4E8L0&feature=related ... ? EZKareMalsRUs?
Cheers
connie
Re: Michael writes:
This sure looks like a malamute to me, but can anyone please confirm?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GTzB3EBQic&feature=related
BEWARE! Cute puppy video behind link.
MALAMUTE-L post
Prey Drive can be very sad - NOT
Mike describes perfectly:
>That's the way Jason caught grackles and a friend's dog caught a crow.
They lay with their heads down until the birds got used to them and flew
too close.
This is exactly the late, great Guerillera Alexandria's infallible hunting method, only she was VERY good at it. She would simple turn herself invisible. Her prey would wander about all relaxed and oblivious to the lethal huntress lying in wait, until suddenly 60-some pounds of fur and teeth would rematerialize RIGHT THERE in their midst and it was goodnight, Irene. She was pulling down 30-lb possums and huge, nasty grackles up til her death in August, 2007.
Allie was my first Mal, and a revelation. I've always been a complete wuss and gone into hysterics when a cat would barf up cricket parts or present me with a mouse. I could never watch a nature program on TV. When Allie first started hauling home the prey - and I have no idea where she found all the wildlife in our essentially urban backyard - and leaving corpses exactly where I would be sure to step on them, I had the requisite hissy, and the first time she killed a cat, I seriously freaked out and called Lynn at Texas Alaskan Malamute Rescue, sobbing and asking what sort of monster I'd adopted. But when Lynn offered the option to return Allie, of course my answer was no. I read up some more about Mallies and learned to respect the predator. I can now watch a lion pride hunt and admire their technique, and their role in thinning the herd. I took Sascha (Rhodie x) lure coursing and enjoyed the overt hunting patterns of the runs.
I will never be happy about the death of a cat, and still despise human hunts (unless mano a mano, fair is fair), but I see nothing whatever sad about the prey drive of our great, great-hearted, fantastic creatures who helped the first Americans cross over Beringia and the Mahlemuts survive in the hostile Arctic. Dammit, without a very lively prey drive, our superb companions would never have survived these thousands of years, and would not be who they are. The miracle is the patient breeding of the cuddly, human-friendly temperament into the mighty hunt(ress). If breeders try to get rid of the prey drive, shame on them!
I have learned to treasure, honor and respect nature red in tooth and claw -- it's not a Disney movie, predators play an essential role, and in many ecosystems, we have seen the havoc that ensues when the big predators are wiped out. We are privileged to share our homes and hearts with these special creatures, not stuffed animals or frou-frou dogs. I treasure that.
Missing Allie every day
MALAMUTE-L post
>That's the way Jason caught grackles and a friend's dog caught a crow.
They lay with their heads down until the birds got used to them and flew
too close.
This is exactly the late, great Guerillera Alexandria's infallible hunting method, only she was VERY good at it. She would simple turn herself invisible. Her prey would wander about all relaxed and oblivious to the lethal huntress lying in wait, until suddenly 60-some pounds of fur and teeth would rematerialize RIGHT THERE in their midst and it was goodnight, Irene. She was pulling down 30-lb possums and huge, nasty grackles up til her death in August, 2007.
Allie was my first Mal, and a revelation. I've always been a complete wuss and gone into hysterics when a cat would barf up cricket parts or present me with a mouse. I could never watch a nature program on TV. When Allie first started hauling home the prey - and I have no idea where she found all the wildlife in our essentially urban backyard - and leaving corpses exactly where I would be sure to step on them, I had the requisite hissy, and the first time she killed a cat, I seriously freaked out and called Lynn at Texas Alaskan Malamute Rescue, sobbing and asking what sort of monster I'd adopted. But when Lynn offered the option to return Allie, of course my answer was no. I read up some more about Mallies and learned to respect the predator. I can now watch a lion pride hunt and admire their technique, and their role in thinning the herd. I took Sascha (Rhodie x) lure coursing and enjoyed the overt hunting patterns of the runs.
I will never be happy about the death of a cat, and still despise human hunts (unless mano a mano, fair is fair), but I see nothing whatever sad about the prey drive of our great, great-hearted, fantastic creatures who helped the first Americans cross over Beringia and the Mahlemuts survive in the hostile Arctic. Dammit, without a very lively prey drive, our superb companions would never have survived these thousands of years, and would not be who they are. The miracle is the patient breeding of the cuddly, human-friendly temperament into the mighty hunt(ress). If breeders try to get rid of the prey drive, shame on them!
I have learned to treasure, honor and respect nature red in tooth and claw -- it's not a Disney movie, predators play an essential role, and in many ecosystems, we have seen the havoc that ensues when the big predators are wiped out. We are privileged to share our homes and hearts with these special creatures, not stuffed animals or frou-frou dogs. I treasure that.
Missing Allie every day
MALAMUTE-L post
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Re: Ziva's first night home
Dearest Mistress Ziva,
you are doing well, not to put up with any guff from your male companion.
As for your query regarding the big white box in the kitchen, tut tut, my child, a lady does not concern herself with mundane items of machinery.
Instead, you should be perfecting your Human Manipulation Skills. How is your Tilt of the Head with Big Brown Eyes and Subliminal Whimper? If your Humom is not reduced to quivering tears and automatic Food Dispensing mode, my dear, you must practice, practice, practice! In addition, the fine art of hypnotism requires a certain study of the human psychology. You will achieve your goal at some point by simply sitting and staring at your huperson, but how much more quickly and effectively if you place your chin on our paws and sigh heartrendingly?
Your Malamute ancestors have evolved these survival skills over the millennia, and it is the obligation and sacred duty of each and every one of us to refine and perfect them and pass them on in turn to the next generations. Therefore I will share with you a modern-day skill learned from the late, great Guerillera Alexandria which she in turn observed one of our feline housemates performing. Dear Ziva, if you find yourself alone in the house with no huperson to hypnotize, and you're feeling a trifle peckish, you might just sidle over to the aforementioned white box. Inserting a delicate and well-manicured white paw beneath one of the doors, and gazing thoughtfully off into the distance, you might just exert a bit of traction on the door. It should open quite easily. The cheese is usually within convenient reach.
I would not recommend doing this too often, as your humom (like ours) may become fed up and purchase a fridge with the freezer on the bottom -- this is not nearly as easily opened.
Looking forward to many reports of a congenial and edifying nature,
Yours in sisterhood,
Miss Congeniality
Austin, Texas
Subject: Fw: Re: Ziva's first night home
Woo-Woo Pvt Travvy.
I know i'd like you to come visit too! but the boat trip is scary i was in the car for a long long time! but my new Hu-Mom gave me loads of cuddles i thought it was strange that my sister Blanca wasn't going to the woods too when i got into the car. my new brother is a bit strange he thought he was boss, don't know who gave him that idea i put him right about 5 minutes after i met him.. There is one thing thats puzzling me though how to you get into the big white box in the kitchen where Hu-Mon puts the yummy scrummy left overs?
Ziva
MALAMUTE-L post
you are doing well, not to put up with any guff from your male companion.
As for your query regarding the big white box in the kitchen, tut tut, my child, a lady does not concern herself with mundane items of machinery.
Instead, you should be perfecting your Human Manipulation Skills. How is your Tilt of the Head with Big Brown Eyes and Subliminal Whimper? If your Humom is not reduced to quivering tears and automatic Food Dispensing mode, my dear, you must practice, practice, practice! In addition, the fine art of hypnotism requires a certain study of the human psychology. You will achieve your goal at some point by simply sitting and staring at your huperson, but how much more quickly and effectively if you place your chin on our paws and sigh heartrendingly?
Your Malamute ancestors have evolved these survival skills over the millennia, and it is the obligation and sacred duty of each and every one of us to refine and perfect them and pass them on in turn to the next generations. Therefore I will share with you a modern-day skill learned from the late, great Guerillera Alexandria which she in turn observed one of our feline housemates performing. Dear Ziva, if you find yourself alone in the house with no huperson to hypnotize, and you're feeling a trifle peckish, you might just sidle over to the aforementioned white box. Inserting a delicate and well-manicured white paw beneath one of the doors, and gazing thoughtfully off into the distance, you might just exert a bit of traction on the door. It should open quite easily. The cheese is usually within convenient reach.
I would not recommend doing this too often, as your humom (like ours) may become fed up and purchase a fridge with the freezer on the bottom -- this is not nearly as easily opened.
Looking forward to many reports of a congenial and edifying nature,
Yours in sisterhood,
Miss Congeniality
Austin, Texas
Subject: Fw: Re: Ziva's first night home
Woo-Woo Pvt Travvy.
I know i'd like you to come visit too! but the boat trip is scary i was in the car for a long long time! but my new Hu-Mom gave me loads of cuddles i thought it was strange that my sister Blanca wasn't going to the woods too when i got into the car. my new brother is a bit strange he thought he was boss, don't know who gave him that idea i put him right about 5 minutes after i met him.. There is one thing thats puzzling me though how to you get into the big white box in the kitchen where Hu-Mon puts the yummy scrummy left overs?
Ziva
MALAMUTE-L post
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