A recreational tourism company in Whistler, BC is being investigated for animal cruelty. It is so sad and shocking to hear of the mass slaughtering of 100 sled dogs due to a ‘decline in business’ after the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Utterly disgusting conduct. Read the full story from The Vancouver Sun.

As awful as this situation is, we should all take the opportunity to increase awareness about abused animals. There is a meme on Facebook right now that says:

In memory of all animals who are living a life in abuse, or have lived lives of abuse, and in memory of the Sled Dogs from Outdoor Adventures: Change you Profile picture to YOUR pet, whether it be DOG, CAT, BIRD, RABBIT. Animals feel pain and they have emotions too.

So I changed my profile photo to this picture of Henry and Chico:

P.S. I very nearly went dog sledding this winter. While I would love the chance to do this at some point in my life, as I began to think about it (and look at the cost for a 2-hour tour) I think it is more the bond between the person and dog team that I am interested in. I would rather work towards doing a longer trip — perhaps an ecological study of some sort — that would involve working with a dog sled team.

I didn’t really update much about Catmas because Abby and Henry were just getting to know each other. There wasn’t much cuteness going on, but they did get quite playful by the end of 10 days.

And after about 5 days Henry stopped hissing at Abby and let her sleep on the bed too — but they couldn’t be touching! Although in this first photo, Henry got scared and hissed when he realized she was on the other side of the duvet pile.

On a normal night Henry flip-flops between sleeping at the bottom of the bed beside my feet to his blanket beside my head. While Abby was visiting, I put her basket and/or blanket pad beside my head and Henry stayed near my feet. It worked out quite well.

As you can see in this second photo, any time the camera came out, Abby was immediately like, “what’s that?” ::drops everything she’s doing to look at the camera:: And today I was over for dinner at my parent’s house and she still does it — twisting her head in every direction.

(Better late than never! It’s not yet midnight here, so it’s still technically Whiskers on Wednesday.)

I made a quick trip earlier this week to Pier1 for home décor items… but not for me, for Chico. When I was in Salisbury, England, I stopped by a pet store and found these 100% willow wood, woven wicker balls (isn’t that a tongue-twister!). Willow is a chin-safe wood and they came in a natural, untreated version (as well as a blanched and flavour/colour).

I bought one for Chico and brought it home in January (earlier this year). When I presented the willow ball to Chico, he literally devoured it! It took him less than 24 hours, and he absolutely loved the thing. I have since been searching for them in Vancouver because I refuse to pay $5 per ball at the local pet store (he devours them too quickly).

Then, I discovered them for $3 each on Pier1′s website! I have made Chico such a happy boy:

Please excuse the really crappy photos. Whenever I went over to the cage with the camera, he ignored the willow ball and paid attention to me. Of course I couldn’t resist giving him a scratch, but I then had to try and take photos on the sly!

P.S. I gave him the first willow ball on Sunday night. Tonight, Wednesday, as I type, he is chewing the very last bit of it (the part still tied to the top of the cage in the bottom right photo).

For this Whiskers on Wednesday, I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family. My mom and dad got a kitten:

Her name is probably going to be Georgi, although they just brought her home last night so they’re not positive that it’s the perfect name for her. She’s 5 months old and was adopted from the Vancouver SPCA. Her name was originally Bonnie, which is also my sister’s name (so we obviously couldn’t keep it for the cat).

Georgi is very curious and affectionate. She is playful and alert, yet cuddly, which is what my mom wanted. More news in coming weeks I’m sure!

Then on the way home I encountered a coyote! It isn’t that uncommon in this area due to all the big parks and provincial forests, but it’s still nuts to see. I managed to get some photos of the poor guy, and then s/he tried to cross the busy street. Fortunately when I looped back to check he’d already made it across the street.

Coyote at actual distance (see it by the tree?)

I compiled this from video clips I took on the second day of Pancake’s visit. Henry is a little better but still doesn’t like when the bunny hops straight at him.

P.S. You know how YouTube suggests similar videos to watch? You have to see these! Cute overload!!

• Momma cat adopts teeny tiny orphan bunny
• Cat giving a bunny a bath
• Bunny chasing his cat friend around the yard