My fur family has suffered some losses. I lost 3 ferrets, both my rabbits, my cat Tyke and my dog Geo over the past year. I have also added several ferrets, a new dog, a new cat and a parrot. I’ll be introducing them to you over the next few weeks and updating My Furry Friends page so be sure to check back. And have a good holiday weekend!

Check out this video of a dog who helped himself to a gift.

Seriously, one of the great things about freestyle is that anyone can play- purebred or mixed breed; old or young. They even have categories for those dogs or owners with disabilities to compete. And you don’t have to be a dancer.

Here’s a clip I found of a dachshund and her owner having a great time dancing. Watching the tail you know that dachsie is having a blast.

Interested in joining in the fun? There are groups out there where you can find people to help. The World Canine Freestyle Organization, WCFO, lists member clubs on their site. If there isn’t a club nearby, join an email list. Two I belong to that have members always willing to help are World Canine Freestyle, the WCFO list and Sonoran Canine Freestylers . Both lists have members from all around the world with a variety of breeds. So come on, give a try. You’ll both enjoy it.

Cats are the ultimate narcissists. You can tell this because of all the time they spend on personal grooming. Dogs aren’t like this. A dog’s idea of personal grooming is to roll in a dead fish.
- James Gorman

Until I do, I can enjoy watching it on Animal Planet. Tonight at 9pm Eastern Time, Animal Planet will be showing a freestyle event with the prize being the Animal Planet Cup. This is so exciting! often when people hear about freestyle, they tend to think it is silly. But there is nothing like watching the teamwork and the bond in a routine.

Visit New York Daily News for a great preview.

Be sure to check it out. If you miss it tonight at 9pm , it will replay at midnight and then be shown again on 12/20 at 3pm eastern.

This morning I came down to find 4 of my cats, Omar, Pyro, Bitsa and Charm, surrounding the stereo unit. They were trying to get behind it, but there wasn’t much room. I just knew by the way they were acting they were after something and it wasn’t a bug. Now I am not sure why a mouse would want to come into this house. Apparently, he didn’t check out the neighborhood first. With 6 cats, 4 dogs (3 of them terriers) and 11 ferrets, it just doesn’t sound like a good idea. Maybe he likes living life on the edge.

I grabbed the flashlight and looked around the stereo unit, but I couldn’t see what the cats were seeing. I moved the dog crates that line the one wall away, but still no mouse so I went about getting everyone’s breakfast together. Once I had that all done (the cats could care less that it was breakfast, they wanted that mouse), I grabbed the flashlight again and started moving things around. All of a sudden there is a big commotion on the other side of the room. The mouse had run out from behind the dog crates right into Bitsa’s open mouth. I don’t know who was more surprised, Bitsa or the mouse. She was so proud of herself!

Now what do I do? I used to have a pet mouse. This is a moral dilemma for me. Not that I want the mouse in my house, but I don’t want to see my cat kill it. Arrgghh! So I decide I am going to put it in a container and release it in the football field across the street. At least it won’t be in my house. Bitsa does not think this is a good idea. She does not want to give up the mouse, so she takes it into the bathroom and decides to put it down so she and Charm can play with it. I don’t think they wanted me to join in the fun, but I tried. Unfortunately, Mr. Mouse did not see my container as a safe place so he wasn’t cooperating and running right into like I had hoped. There’s the 4 of us (mouse, Bitsa, Charm and me) playing around the toilet, just what I want to be doing on a Sunday morning. After about 5 minutes, Mr. Mouse decides to make a run for it and takes off past Bitsa and behind the litter box. From there he goes behind the hamper and into this little cubby hole. I start moving things and Yay! there is he is. Unfortunately, I took to much time to celebrate and he took off again, only this time he heads for the door. I start yelling for Omar, who is suppose to be watching the door, but he isn’t there. Apparently, he doesn’t believe in my leadership and took it upon himself to look for the mouse under the refrigerator instead of believing it was in the bathroom. So Mr. Mouse made a clean getaway underneath the stove and into an opening under the kitchen cabinets. Ugghh, all that effort for nothing. Hopefully, the close up view of some of the neighbors will make him decide this isn’t a great place to live, at least not if you are a mouse…