Praying Mantis : George

When we were at  our old house, there was a  huge praying mantis that always  visit our garden every summer.  The kids called him George.  When we moved here to our new home,  they saw a praying mantis again and they thought  it was George and he followed us here.  Kind of funny but there are certain things that would always reminds us of our first home.  

Our son is still  bummed out that we sold our first home, he  is more attached than his sister was  to our first home.  He felt the same way when we moved   out from our temporary house in South Korea.  He was very fond of the "Blue House" where we lived for almost two years  during my  husband's  last tour in the Navy.  

Anyway, since George used to love hanging out on the mums  in our garden, I picked him up and put him on my new mum plants.

He seemed to enjoy it.  I am not sure if there is something on the mums that they like but they seem to stay there  for a long time.

So here's George number two.

I hope that we see him again this summer, it would be nice.

Paying For Your Pupper!

Welcoming a canine friend into your life can be one of the most enjoyable events. There is nothing like seeing them running towards you, wagging their tail as soon as you get in from work. Or curling up with them by your side on the sofa while you watch your favorite show. But being responsible for a dog can be a pricey affair. That is why you should read on to find out all of the costs involved to make sure that you can take care of your pupper and give him the best life you can.

Purchasing your pooch

Of course, the first thing that you need to do is to find a dog that you connect with, and you want as a part of your family. There is two main way to do this.

The first is to decide on a breed of dog and then look around for one of that pedigree that is available. However buying a pedigree dog is usually pretty expensive and can cost anything up to several thousand dollars! You also need to ensure that you look at the breeder’s documents to make sure that your dog is the pedigree that they claim it to be, as they will be charging accordingly.

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Of course, there is another way to find that perfect pooch too, and that is to adopt him from your local shelter. Shelter dogs are most often mongrels that have been abandoned or separated from their original owners.

Getting a shelter dog is definitely a cheaper way of bringing a canine into your life as shelters often only ask for a donation, as long as you pass the background checks.

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Also, a word to the wise here, there are other ways of acquiring a dog such as buying one direct from their owner, or from a puppy farm. However, neither of these options is very sensible or cost effective.

Firstly buying directly from an owner can be a big gamble as they are likely to say anything to ensure they make a sale. So you could be getting a dog with severe behavioral problems that will cost you a lot to rectify, or in damage to your home.

Puppy farms are also out, as they are more concerned with producing pups for profit, rather than the well-being of the dogs themselves. This means that they are generally frowned upon in the dog world, and are best avoided. It is also quite common for puppies that come from such farms to have health and behavioral issues, which you will also want to avoid.

Essential items

Now before you bring Fido home and introduce him to the rest of the family, there are a few items that you will need to invest in to make him as comfortable as possible. Firstly you will need the correct size water and food bowls, a sturdy collar and lead, as well as some toys for when you exercise him.

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But these are just the basic need for a fully grown and trained dog. If you are getting a puppy or untrained pooch, then you will also need to factor in the cost of toilet training pads as well as behavior classes. The cost of which tend to differ from state to state, but you can find out more about them here.

Monthly costs

But owning a dog isn't just a one-off cost, there are regular monthly and yearly cost that you will need to factor into your budget as well.

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In term of monthly costs, you will, of course, have food and treats to pay for, but you may also need to consider the amount you will have to pay for grooming. Especially if you have a long-haired dog whose quality of life can be severely affected if they are not kept neat and tidy.

Another monthly amount you need to be sure that you can afford is the cost of a dog walker if your schedule doesn't allow you to walk them at least twice a day. Although now with the help of websites like these you can arrange for a fellow dog lover that you have vetted beforehand to come and walk him for free. Which is a great way of having some money on the upkeep of your hound!

Yearly costs

Then there are yearly costs that you need to account for. These tend to be regular checkups and a booster vaccination at the vets. As well as paying for boarding kennels when you go away on holiday.

Unfortunately, a lot of folks forget to factor this into the overall cost of their holiday leaving them in the difficult position of either finding the money to pay for the kennels or having to cancel their vacations. Some people solve this by asking a friend or family member to dog sit while they are out of town, while others choose to borrow the money to pay for the kennels so they can go on their vacation. Luckily if you need to borrow money these days, you can easily get a small personal loan online. Which should be more than enough to pay for your dog’s boarding costs.

Unexpected costs

Lastly, another cost that is rarely considered at the time if getting a dog are the unexpected ones. These can be anything from having to replace a family member's favorite pair of shoes that Fido has taken a liking to chewing, to finding the money to pay for an urgent medical treatment for Fido himself.

While the smaller unexpected costs might not feel that stressful to deal with, the larger more serious one definitely are.

Some folks deal with them by using crowd funding sites, asking everyone they know to donate to them a small amount and share their story on social media. Raising the total cost of the treatment needed that way.

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Whereas others realize that it can be a great idea to invest in vet insurance. So you know that if these worst did happen to your beloved pupper, you could do everything in your power to get them well and back up on their paws again.

#Kits' Growth Documentation. #BabyBunnies

These photos shows the kits first week of existence since the day they were born.  It was March 6 when  they were born.  We had  bunnies  before but  the female never got pregnant so we didn't have the experience of raising baby bunnies.  We only had these lion heads for a month and here the female already gave birth to four kits.  One  died right away, I think the Dad killed it.  We didn't  know that the female  was pregnant so we never separated them.  

Anyway, I noticed that their first instinct when they feel their Mom's hair is to lay on their back and start digging for the Moms nipples.  It must be  painful for the Mom because  the kits has their teeth already when they were born and you can hear the sound when they  nursed.

2-day old kits.  At two days old, they were starting to get mobile but still can't see since their eyes were still closed.  The white one is definitely the  smallest.  The kids called him Bino (albino).  Both parents are gray so we were surprised to see a white one.

 3-day old.  At 3 days old, we noticed that the Mom is not really nursing the white one so we bought a goat milk and tried to  feed him.

I tried to  let the Mom lay on her back so the white one could at least nurse a little bit but she kicked and the little one flew, I felt horrible.

From then on, we just tried to  feed the white one with the milk that we bought.  He was eating but not much.

The white one might be the runt but he was definitely the cutest.

You can tell the difference of how small the white one  was compared to the black ones.

 Four-Day Old .  We really tried hard to keep the white one alive by feeding him  with the goat milk but ever since  the Mom kicked him, he  didn't show progress of   growth.

Although he was  still trying to hold on to  his dear life, we can tell that he was struggling to keep up with the growing black ones.

Five day old - Their eyes were still shut but they  were becoming mobile.  They can  pretty much run around  inside the cardboard box where we housed them together with their Mom.

 Six Day Old -  The kits still look like kittens or  puppies but they are getting longer and more mobile.  

 We kept the Mom fed with fresh veggies  because that's what I read from an online source that in order for her to  produce milk, she has to have fresh food and  need to be  hydrated.  

 One Week Old - at this time, the  white one died which really broke our hearts because we really wanted him to survive as he was  the different and unique one among them.  But I guess the Mom  focused more on taking care of the healthy ones rather than the  runt but who knows.  All I  noticed was that, she never really  cared for the runt.  

 Anyway, here are the cutest  poses that they do  and I couldn't resist not to take pictures of them lol.

 One thing that we all did when they were little was let them sleep in our palms, they really loved it.  I think it was because  it kept them warm.

 They also love  it when you stroke your fingers along their backs.

 We've never really raised rabbits so this was all new to us.  Of all the pets, this was different because the Mom does not really lay down to  nurse the babies.  The kits just lay on their backs  and crawl; underneath their Mom to eat.

 Pippin  is a really good Mom though, she really take care of these two.  She kept an eye on them especially when she hears the dogs.  We kept  them in my office when they were little so I could keep an eye on them and they would stay warm as it i was cold down the basement where they  stay during winter.

 At two weeks old, their eyes were starting to open up.  At first they were red, it looks painful but I guess it was normal.

 Just like human babies,  kits  sleep a lot.  That's what they ever did, sleep and eat, run around a little but and then sleep again.

 At this age, their  hair  are growing longer and you can see the gray  ones  growing too.

 At this point, the kids have decided to  name them Lilo and Stitch.  They gave them a different name when the white one was still alive but decided to change it.

 They are becoming more and more  like bunnies than  puppies (look wise).

 We were very delighted when  one of them have an open eye already, it was the cutest thing to witness.

 These two really love  huddling on each other when they  sleep.

 I guess being together gives them warmth.

 Pippin, the Mom did not  pull her hair  so much but there were few spots  that she did when she first gave birth.  I think it's an instinct to them to pull their hair out  and use it to keep the babies warm. But since we  keep them warm, she stop pulling her hair.

 I love watching them when they sleep.  One love to  lay on his back with his legs up, lol.

 Sometimes, Lilo would  sleep underneath Stitch, I thought it's so cute.  Here are cuteness overload.

 At three weeks old, they can jump and chase their Mom every time they  want to  nurse.  We noticed  that at this time, Pippin is not nursing them as much.  I think the babies teeth  hurts when they try to  nurse on her.

 We started introducing the kits to  fresh food like lettuce.  They even tried to bite on carrots.

 At this age, they were  becoming adventurous.  They were jumping off the box.

 My husband suggested that we should cut a hole on the box so they don't have to jump.  They can  go to the  next box with out falling.  We were worried that one of them will hit their head on the wood floor if they fall.

They are now six weeks and I made them a bigger pin down the basement.  I still haven't let the Dad see them because I am afraid that he would still try to hurt them.  My husband is planning to build them a house in the backyard just like what we did  with Wubzy and Matilda at our old house.