Koi-Pekingese: 2011

Sunday, September 18, 2011

My Pekingese

Dogs are great companions. What do your dogs or other pets do for you?

Sometimes with my Pekingese, it seems mostly food in and poop out, but with that, a playful, happy uncomplicated outlook on life where simple joys and basics of human/pet friendship rule and mutually doable expectations reign supreme.

I do enjoy just holding and hugging my warm furry Pekingese pets sensing their satisfaction in receiving whatever attention I give them as my hands feel their beating hearts and my spirit responds with loving thoughts.

I especially enjoy photographing them to preserve the times we share together knowing that one day I may no longer have them. Pekingese have short lives, may succumb to illness or injury, or might get lost or be stolen.

With 10 adults (5 males and 5 females) and 2 young puppies, I see their social group behavior, their personal differences, the games they play not unlike humans sometimes play as children, and how they devise various novel ways to communicate with each other and with myself.

My Pekingese provide my world a sense of stability and focus. I am important to them and they to me.

I see the cycle of life in its entirety and have learned accept that with life there is inevitable change and death. I learn about guarding their health and how to make them well if they become sick or injured. In caring for them, I learn to care better for myself.

My Pekingese help me make friends that are true and valuable to have in life and who are never shallow, selfish, or lacking in good sense.

My Pekingese present me with problems that I must solve, obstacles to be overcome, stimulus to keep me from being bored and lazy.

My Pekingese (10 and 2 puppies) are the tail of my life kite ... it keeps me soaring upward safety and with stability versus plummeting to the ground and crashing... for some, one Pekingese would do that, for me it takes all 10 plus the 2 puppies.

I enjoy sharing my life with my Pekingese because they make me happy, and even when they make me cry or I become angry, I know they are there for me to love.

Life without my Pekingese would be a life without spiritual existence, without substance, without soul.

My Pekingese are extensions of my being, sensitive to my thoughts. They are the living animated works of art that energize my life and home with their beauty and truth.

In 2006, I organized a Yahoo group for Arizona Pekingese Owners (Azpekelist). A loyal member and close friend, Jeri Gerard, wrote these beautiful lines worthy of sharing now with others:

My Pekingese,

Do so many things for me.

They fill a void or emptiness in my heart.

They comfort me when life gets to be too much some days.

They give me unconditional love.

They add so much laughter to my life.

They add beauty to my life.

They remind me to find joy in simple things,

Like playing with an empty candy bag or laying in the sunshine.

I have learned from them that life can be short,

So play hard and nap often.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Vet Bet

Several weeks ago, Jeri posted a little known Pekingese medical condition and she is still coping with the decision making process that must be made to decide the future welfare of one of her Pekingese pets in her home. Jeri is my friend and it distresses me for her to have to cope with this when pets should bring happiness and joy to our lives and now heartbreak, expense, and loss of time, and other resources. On Azpekelist Yahoo Group we an divide our sorrows and multiply our joys via group support. Pekingese and other small breed dogs have the medical condition explained below.

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/legg_calve.htm

Please look at this excellent web site explanation of the problem and it shows the x-rays before and after surgery of a condition which Jeri’s Pekingese, less than 1 year old, is experiencing. Even with surgery, her beautiful pet Mulan will require rehabilitation therapy and will still be lame because there will be no joint left in a hip socket to support mobility but at least the pain will be gone. The surgery is at least $900 and one new vet wanted to charge her $2200 for the same procedure! Saturday she got the x-rays from her 1st vet and brought them to Dr. Svoboda’s Palm Glen Animal Hospital on Northern and 43rd Ave who said he would charge only $900. The cause could have been either an injury that interrupted blood supply to the joint or a genetic condition and so it is not advised to breed the affected pet.

This costly procedure merely alleviates pain, and after surgery,there must be rehabilitation given to the dog plus bone medication. There are therapy books being sold for about $20 and upwards listed at the above site providing a link within link to help the owner help their pet.

This is a difficult decision for Jeri and Mark to make concerning their pet. I really feel that in this case from what I have learned, I would not elect surgery at any cost, but would let nature run its course giving palliative care and medicines. The decision she and Mark must make is what I now term a VET BET, there are no guarantees, and it does cost a lost of money down on the table, and you may risk a result that continues to be a problem perhaps greater than existed previously.

Modern veterinarian practices and medicines are remarkable, and they most assuredly save lives, correcting for accident, illness, and certain defects, advocating good health and hygiene practices while providing owner education and training. However there are time and cost constraints limiting what any vet can do to help our pet.

Nature is never a bet, it is a given. It is fate versus destiny. All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Let the vet bet. The odds are better with him. He is educated and trained to provide for the welfare of you and your pet. However it is you that must actually place that bet for your pet.

__._,_.___

Azpekelist Owner/Moderator: Yolanda Martin (My Song Pekingese Park), http://ymmartin.com and http://ymmartin.com/html2

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Good Breeder

A good breeder has to have lots of experience and expertise. This is acquired from reading, interactions with others in the pet community, the pet hospitals and their vets, the internet and library, and also a deep abiding care and concern for the little lives they usher into this world carefully and conscientiously.

It is easy for some one to be an arm chair breeder, but that sort of shallow breeder is not one I would adopt a puppy from nor should you. A good breeder(s) loves what they are doing and has a commitment and loyalty strong enough to withstand unjust unfounded criticism and the challenges that will inevitably test their strength or their other resources.

A good breeder always has to have some business sense, ability to interface well with others, and be a teacher in the community. Works with the pet organizations established for the welfare of animals. The good breeder not only needs to know how to select the best possible healthy individuals to breed and produce offspring, but also needs to know how to market the puppies that result. A good breeder does not over extend their finances, space availability, or emotional reserves because they are doing a service to others seeking a pet to adopt as well as providing for the welfare of their own pets and lives. A good breeder needs friends who help, believes in the purpose of continuing a breed through reproduction, and provides guidance and support when asked. A good breeder provides life time support to those who adopt puppies and provides a means of communication and even a network such as the Azpekelist Yahoo group for new owners to join and to meet and make friends with others who share their love of a particular breed they own.

A good breeder is an ARTIST.... valuing truth, beauty, form, function, visual harmony, healthy positive qualities, and love. They are creating living works of ART!

Friday, March 18, 2011

My Annie, 14 year old canine companion friend.

Knowing the time is a decision made with the heart as well as with the mind and pocketbook. She was sleeping a lot these last 6 months, then about 10 days ago vomited, then her hind legs buckled when she would try to get up, and she seemed to be confused.

The morning of the appointment, I let her in the back yard and when I called her to come inside, she didn't heed my call but looked unsure and puzzled. Her behavior had become strange and she was not herself either with me or her Pekingese pals. I dreaded the thought that she would suffer at some time such as a weekend and or at night necessitating an emergency run to the vet.

If I did not have my other pets, Pekingese, in my care or if she was not a hard to lift and handle medium 50 lb one of a kind breed and if she were the only pet in my home, then I might have waited until her natural death closed her down.

It is a difficult decision since it is an emotional one. My home is different now. Filled with memories of a life well lived, rather than a life that might have a problem causing end which would create a very bad memory for me and suffering for her.

She was a friend. A close companion who became a part of my life these last 14 years. Life’s beginnings and life’s endings, eschatology, define the cycles that measure our existence in time and space, the linear distance between two points (events). Without events, life would be meaningless and empty.

Condolences in time of grief and loss are appreciated, thank you. My friend was upset and couldn't understand why I didn't pay the vet $100 to have her body cremated and was disapproving of my choice to bury her in a space most meaningful to me in my yard. I just couldn't let go but wanted her remains to become part of what surrounds me just as she was always around me while living. Annie..She was heart and soul a red blooded American .... give to me by a 6th generation descendant of the Davy Crockett family even. She is a legend that still lives on.
Cremains versus remains and then what to do with them. One defining attribute that distinguished one native American Indian Nation from another was the rites and rituals for their dead and it is the same all around the globe for the many different religions that now exist. I have been told that the Jewish religion has the most rites and rituals. Since there is simply not enough land space to accommodate the dead of the future, cremation does seem to be the logical, most sanitary, affordable, and civilized means of disposition of the dead, but somehow I prefer to be
buried traditionally. My friend who is an advocate of cremation, has completed papers to donate her body to science. Farming and harvesting organs is for some a way of ensuring a better future for the recipients
while uplifting the donor's survivors feelings and consoling their loss of a loved one.

I don’t believe DNA can be obtained from cremains, but it can be retrieved from the buried. Perhaps, DNA samples will be required and stored for all future bodies whatever the choice of disposition of the leftovers after life ends. It would be an improvement to have the identity of new births paired to the identity of deaths for many reasons of accounting with integrity for social systems responsible for civilized management of large populations.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Paintography.... Thinking It Through .... What Is It

February 23, 2011 inbox email .... "I agree with you that everyone involved in this project can feel a sense of pride in being a part of it. Hopefully, the artwork created as a result will have the distinction of its historical significance."

(Brenda Meir, Arizona Veterinary Medical Association)

February 24, 2011 inbox email ... "I so proud that your painting was juried into the show. What a great forum to show off your talent!"

(from Dr. Svoboda
"Medicine is a Science...Caring is an Art." Sent from my Sprint®BlackBerry®)

To My Friends in Phoenix Artist Guild ... I give many thanks to the Board, the members, and the meetings that inspired me and others to actively participate in art shows, learning more about creating art, and improving my social skills while meeting and making friends. I want to thank you sincerely for being so generous with your time and caring to share what you know with others. Your souls are surely sweetened by your spiritual giving.

http://ymmartin.com/ART-awards-shows.html This is a web page on my web site where I keep a record of all the art awards and shows I have entered ..... This morning, I added the 2 entries that were accepted into the 250th Anniversary Veterinarian Show ... Once the paintings are hung in the gallery and the artist’s info cards beside them, I will create a YouTube video using photos I take of all the entered paintings.

Friday, February 11, 2011

A painting of mine was juried into the Phoenix Artists Guild Art Show hosted by the Arizona Artists Guild Gallery, 9011 East Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale, Arizona, Feb 2-13, 2011. So pleased with the exhibit, I created a photo cyber tour video of the 26 PAG member paintings with their info cards and uploaded it to YouTube so participating artists could extend their audience of appreciation. This is my painting which you will see is now on display and shown in the video.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Dog Art and Dog Lovers Web Sites ....

Dog Lover Sites

Monday, February 7, 2011

My Song Music Man, 9 weeks old weighs 1 3/4 lbs

My Song Music Man is really adorable, fluffy, playful, with very expressive beautiful eyes... I clipped all 12 feet toenails, 3 puppies, and weighed and groomed Sonata's 2 puppies from Dec 6, 2010 whelping (Holly weighs 2 1/2 lbs and Music Man weighs 1 3/4 lbs). Music Man really is vocal and musical.... yes, and he dances too!

My Song Music Man is so precious to me since I snatched him from death's clutches 2 or 3 times literally having to resuscitate him and rubbing him warm again. He weighed 8 oz at 6 weeks birth weight 6 oz .... simply had a terribly tough infancy (understated) .... I fed him with an eye dropper every 2-3 hours round the clock until he was 6 weeks old, and then one morning, there he was full body lapping away happily in the baby formula food bowl, his sister's weaning formula .... he lost the hair off his tail and it was stark skin naked like a mouse tail. I was reconciled to his never having a Pekingese tail and still loving him with his naked tail embarrassingly abnormal, but now he has hair growing back and it is really thick too... at 9 weeks of age he is the size of 4-5 week old Pekingese puppy (Sonata's) .... "My Song of Survival" .... that should be his name.... and perhaps will be the way I always will think of him from now on.

Faith.....I never gave up hope despite how sick looking and frail he was.... I am convinced he survived only because he knew he was loved and valued highly in my heart and life... The more effort you put into nurturing puppies, the closer you are drawn to them... Goodness knows I don't need to add any more Pekingese to add to my many keepers, but how can I part with him now.... or his sister? ... the 3 puppies (1 is the parti puppy from Christina Greene) are all very close to one another and it would be unnatural to separate them now or ever ... I have so many puppy and Pekingese strings to me, it is like a harp that plays when I am with them.

Soooooooooooooooooo that's my story, and I am proud of it!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Pekingese

Pekingese are beautiful.

They have more coat colors,

coat textures,

and spiritual senses

in their long history

than any other breed I know of.

I have elevated their status above

an inadequate common designation,

thought by others as “dogs” ...

so much more than mere “pets”.....

to being my caring friends of a different species ....

my comparative psychology research individuals....

my photographic models....

my subjects of literature and poetry....

and my primary way of meeting new friends....

those who share in common...

a love for the Pekingese dog breed ....

they are not my whole world....

but they do make my world complete....

very satisfying ....

they cost me a small fortune....

since one then another is never enough....

they are the luxury I allow myself....

they're my family home companions....

keeping me safe, secure, and spiritually sensitive.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Love.... A Valentine Greeting

It is not too early to think of February 14, th 2011, Valentines’ Day .... a day celebrating and focusing on LOVE.

I made this animation this afternoon inspired by other traditional valentines often simply bounded and limited to human to human emotional feelings of love and affection .... Love crosses all of life’s boundaries and I hope this graphic conveys that meaning and feeling... One can love another so deeply it permeates through other life forms to its destination ... and other universes.... that is God’s love and the power of love a soul can communicate. Love empowers all life where ever and however it exists. I believe Love is what saved my frail, tiny puppy Pekingese and gave him the will and power to survived, allowed him to live.

Yolanda ..... for all she has ever loved and been loved in return.