$0.02 [2011, A Year in Animals, Part II]

Happy 2012, buddies!  This 2011 Year in Review post continues where we left off with Part I.  This post features photos and stories from July 2011 - December 2011!

July 2011

• The clan moved to our current apartment across McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn -- Lola, Betelgeuse, and Lulu loved it right away.
• We did a hot, sticky Independence Day hike at Stokes State Forest [post here].
• Betelgeuse and Lulu got hilarious haircuts [post here].
• We went on a Pennsylvania day trip with dog buddy Kira (who looks like Lulu in the grass above) to hang with Abby and Roxy.

$0.02 [2011, A Year in Animals, Part I]

Happy New Year, Everyone!  

2011 was a big, expensive year in animals around here, so I thought I would share some photos and stories from the past year to welcome us into 2012.

January 2011

• We started 2011 with an animal clan count of three:  Lola, Kitty, and Betelgeuse.  
• Box Cat, the TNR feral cat who liked to hang out in our backyard, used the cat shelter that Kyler and I built out of a discarded kitchen cabinet to weather the cold January months.
• We met and fostered rescue pup Victor, a wonderful 20-lb. black dog (he looked like Kira's older brother), for two weeks until he went to his forever home in early January.
• Kyler, Betelgeuse, and I took a trip to Virginia Beach to visit Future Cat (+ his feline housemates, Caddie Wompus, Bear, and Boy Cat).  Betelgeuse got an unwelcome bath at Two Brothers Self Service Dog Wash.
• In late January, we started fostering postpartum Lulu, an 8-lb. black dog (she looked like Kira's little sister), pending her scheduled spay operation.
• We had so much snow in January. Three-legged Kitty helped me build a snow fort, and Betelgeuse played fetch on top of it.

$13.69 [Money Pit]

Well, this happened.

This is a ripped up pile of twenty dollar bills.  Four of them, to be exact.

Let it soak in.

The circumstances under which this financial crime was perpetrated are unclear.  My purse, with $80 in cash inside of it, was sitting on the living room floor.  I was in the back bedroom.  I am 99.9% sure that Betelgeuse was the ultimate destructive force, as she has a history of chewing up paper when she's in a good mood.  But these bills came from my purse, and she's never been a bag forager.  So that means either Lulu or Kira, or maybe even both, helped steal the $80 from my purse before Betel thoroughly ripped it to shreds.  I say thoroughly because she even pulled out some of the security threads.

So why is this post not entitled $80.00?  Because it turns out that the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing will redeem damaged or mutilated currency.  So the net loss hopefully is just $13.69 for the cost of registered mail postage with return receipt requested.  Unless the U.S. Treasury will not redeem it, in which case I will be out a whopping $93.69.  Thanks, pups.

$27.29 [New Grass]

Dogs do a lot of damage to a small backyard. And when I say dogs, I mean Kira, who we often dog sit, with a small amount of help from Betelgeuse and Lulu. For more information, watch this video:

The solution? Scotts 3 lbs. "Pure Premium" High Traffic grass seed mixture:

We hand-tilled the dirt pit of a backyard featured in the above video and planted the grass seed in early April. We got a lot of rain this spring and only one or two visits from Kira. (Note that we did not put down straw or enforce a stay-off rule, which were both recommended by most grass-growing resources.) A month or so later, we have a seriously lush grass-filled backyard. I have not taken a photo, so you will just have to imagine it for now. $27.29 (which includes shipping) for shiny, thick dog-proof grass! Amazing!