Mar 4, 2025
Guess what, I love her
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Guess what, I love her
Slight decor change for Big Mel and Sadsolotl. They always have tank envy being next to the heated freshwater tank with guppies and corycats galore. You can see the sad, loose remaining leaves of a javafern whose main platform went to the heated tank to hopefully become productive lol. They’re still alive and converting a small amount of nitrates, so I figure they are doing their part at least.
Look what a cute sweet puppy I am! Pay attention only to my sweet soft eyes and not at all to the bruises that I totally didn't leave by chewing on your arm 🥺
Kelpie has discovered piano
We're making pumpkin cornbread
Cutie in my lap 🥺
She's pretty (pay no attention to the drop of drool on her lip)
Yesterday Kelpie had her first routine blood draw to monitor for copper storage disease, a very dangerous condition that can cause liver failure and be fatal if not caught in time. The variant that exists in the Dalmatian breed does not yet have a genetic test available, so it is recommended that all Dalmatians get regular bloodwork starting at 12 months, then 18 months, then 24 months, then yearly to monitor ALT levels for early detection before they become symptomatic, so the disease can be caught and managed.
For Kelpie, we're starting a bit early to establish a baseline, as she has one copy of a gene linked to lower baseline ALT levels (so it's possible that what looks like "normal" on her could still be indicative of a problem.)
Kelpie did great for her blood draw! Today she was too wiggly for the licky mat to distract her enough, but we brought a tablet to play her some critter videos, and this worked insanely well. She was so focused on watching squirrels and deer on the tablet that she barely even noticed the needle; the vet was able to easily snag her blood no problem!
Kelpie watching her shows. She really loves to watch various critters on the TV! Had to leash her so we can work on not jumping up on the table and putting nose prints on the TV, and she's already getting better at just settling down to watch instead of jumping up there.
She finds these videos very engaging and I think it's good enrichment for her, plus a nice opportunity for me to practice reinforcing calmer behaviors upon seeing prey animals. I also used her interest in these videos as a fun cooperative care tactic to trim her nails, which worked great. Plus it's just very cute!