Goddamn Brownies

This is a very special edition of the Potty Talk series. In this post we delve into a new device in the world of pet needs. Everyone hates to pick up dog doo, so one company took the initiative to create the first outdoor yard toilet for your puppy - the PowerLoo.

This flushable small toilet seems to work much like the can in an RV, only this hooks up directly to your existing water/sewer lines. The commercial, posted below, boasts that you never have to pick up or touch the poop ever again. Oh, except for the fact that you do! The website clearly states you have to pick it up yourself, and the actors in the spot are putting the business in there themselves. Can you really expect a dog to lift up the lid, do his dirty work then flush? There have been cats trained to use toilets, like in Meet the Parents, and I'm sure something like this could happen with with dogs, but not with the PowerLoo. There is a peddle to depress in order to open the lid otherwise you would just have an open water hole, kind of like a mini-well.

The worst part about all of this is the price. Be prepared to fork over just under $1000 for this gem, and that is not including installation or the heated pipe option for those in colder climates. Sounds like a big expense and hassle when you could just carry the dung to one of the house's toilets for much cheaper and a few more steps, or take it to the trash can.

On the plus side if you had one of these you could always pinch one off in your backyard.



[PowerLoo via Gizmodo]

I'm a bad, bad blogger. Lately I have been neglecting posting updates here, and that will change. After moving into the new place last week I have been somewhat busy with unpacking and just getting settled.

Fulci has also needed tons of attention. He is finally getting used to the idea of this being his new home, but he was barely eating or drinking for the first couple of days. There is also the going into the backyard for the bathroom thing he had to "learn." I put that in quotes because he knows what to do at my parents' house, but not at his home. In just over a week he is getting so much better and I can kind of tell when he needs/wants to go outside.

I did take the time to see two great movies this weekend - Drag Me to Hell and Up. The first is a great return to the horror genre from Sam Raimi. He took his Evil Dead roots and mixed it well with a much bigger budget to create a fun thrilling ride. It is wonderful to live so close to a decent movie theater, Galaxy 10 (around 635 & Jupiter), with the special twilight prices, $4.75 for any show between 4pm and 6pm. For Up we had to see it in 3D and that theater does not have the technology so I figured this is as good of a time as any to try out Cinemark's XD3 screen at their location off the tollway in Plano. This auditorium has a VERY large screen (I believe around 70-80 feet), high end sound and a sweet digital projector. Of course, it is also equipped for 3D viewing. Because of all the added top end equipment tickets are $14! For that price I could see three flicks at Galaxy. Was it worth it? The experience was great, I know some people have had less than desirable experiences with this, but it was awesome for Jenny and me. None of the theater stats can really compare to the film itself, Pixar cannot be touched. With each film they release things just get better and better. I saw someone on Twitter, I think comedian Paul F. Tompkins, said on it seems Pixar has started making films for adults, and that is so true. While kids will love the jokes and animation the story really gets to adults, and there were many tissues used throughout the audience.

Both of these films, while way different, are freaking great and you should rush out to see them ASAP! I will be blogging regularly again, hopefully another post later tonight, and I apologize for my absence.

Some of you may have read my facebook update about this yesterday, but I still wanted to write about it anyway.

Yesterday Jenny and I were sitting on my couch watching Food Network with Fulci curled up under his blanket between us. Pretty much a normal thing. All of a sudden he jumped up and was acting really weird, like he couldn't walk. It soon became evident, he was having a seizure.

I had no clue what to do. Jenny and I were freaking out. His legs were stiff, he couldn't stand and his head was twisted around almost upside down. All I could do was hold onto him while he was on the ground and pet him. Lucky for me Jenny was a little more together than I was. I wrapped Fulci in a blanket and she grabbed her keys and we were on our way to the car. She drove, called 411 and found a nearby emergency vet.

They checked him out, did some blood work and other tests and said he was alright. His phosphorus levels were low, which is common after a seizure, but that was all. The vet said to let him rest for the remainder of the weekend and he would be fine. Seizures can happen in sighthounds but unless they last more than a couple of minutes, or begin to happen very often, it should not be a problem.

Since all of this happened he has been fine. Sleeping, eating and playing as normal. Hopefully this will not turn out to be a problem. I feel a bit like a fool for how helpless I seemed during the seizure. I have been around human emergency-type situations and never felt this way. I will just chalk it up to how I feel about everything involving my puppy, or most other animals for that matter. With a human you can explain to them what is happening, or what they just endured. Fulci does not understand that, I can only imagine how scared he must have been. If it was anywhere close to how I felt then it is bad. I am just glad I was here to hold him and maybe he felt a little comfort when he came to because he saw me there.

The Irish Festival is officially over. It is always a beating going to any big festival and dealing with the crowd. Everything went relatively well considering. I did have a few Disney World crowd/stroller flashbacks. Ack!

Today I decided to take Fulci for his very first festival. He was so good, I was proud. Behaved well with all of the other dogs, and did not pee inside. He even sat with Jenny for most of our set. Here he is with Jenny, Travis and Lindi:


I am pretty tired so I'll just leave you with a video of Beoga's amazing bodhran player, Eamon Murray, doing what he does best. Go n-éirí on bóthar leat




By the way, I HATE daylight savings!

Lately I have been going on walks. Exercise is a good thing, and this, along with eating a little better, will help me lose some weight. Now I'm not overdoing it with the exercise. Fulci (my dog if you don't know) and I have been traveling approximately two miles (sometimes more, sometimes less) and we try to go everyday.

The dog has a tendency to get really excited when on his leash and try to run or pull me along. All this really accomplishes is choking him. After getting tired of him spending half of the trip wheezing and not learning from his mistakes I decided to get him one of those harnesses. There were size problems, but once it was all ironed out he put on the new harness this afternoon and looked so cute. There was no coughing today, everything went smoothly. Well, almost.

About halfway through our route we stumbled upon to unleashed, roaming big dogs. One of them was a lab mix of some kind and the other a very fluffy St. Bernard looking boy. The boy part I know for certain because his balls were hard to miss. I knew this could be trouble and as soon as they saw Fulci to us they ran. At first all they did was sniff him, but it soon became hard to walk. They were each about four times the size of my little puppy and he would stop when one of them was standing before him. Once I heard the first little growl I just picked him up and kept on trucking.

They just kept following us. There was a moment when we were down the street from them so I put Fulci back down. As soon as his paws hit the pavement they were on their way back. Bah! The fluffy dog had a tag so after much wrestling I finally had it and there was a phone number. With Fulci in one arm, and the other dog's collar in the other hand, I somehow eventually dialed the number on the bone shaped tag. It was a Vet's office. Sigh. I told her I wasn't aware this was a business number. The tag did not look like a rabies medallion, it was shaped like a bone, the same kind on my dog. Not knowing the area code which was on the dog's collar I asked, "Where is the 907 area code?"

Alaska.

What the hell?! I told her I was in Texas and she was as shocked as I was. During the conversation the two tag-alongs ran off towards the nearby duck pond to rustle some feathers. We hurried off and they never found us. Why the hell would you not put your home or cell number on your dog's tag? What good is an Alaskan veterinary office going to do in Texas?

I've seen my dog do a lot of twitching and growling in his sleep, but nothing like this.



That is all I have to say right now, it's late. I'm tired. Bed, I come to you.