framily || Jake and Daisy

Meet Jake! A few years ago, I would have introduced him as "my" dog. I've since moved out of my parents' house, so I don't get to maintain that fantasy anymore! He's my parents' dog, but that certainly doesn't make him any less amazing.

He has a thing about cameras, though. I spent thirty seconds trying to get him to look at the camera, and then he tried to eat it... Oh, Jake. He loves his tennis balls. Sit, Jake! Okay, go free. I love this dog, he's such a goofball ❤︎

My parents' lot actually extends a few feet beyond the fence, so I was a little surprised to see a random dog in what was technically my parents' yard, hahah. It seems that the people in the lot behind my parents' recently adopted a dog named Daisy. Jake couldn't be happier! Randomly looking evil. Playing through the fence.
I love my parents' backyard. It's huge and absolutely filled with plants. My mum put a lot of hours into it, but it's mostly my dad's labour of love. He's definitely the green thumb in the family! The main focus of the yard is the pool, obviously. Jake absolutely loves getting in the pool! He used to jump in whenever the urge struck him, but drying him off is a chore, so my parents taught him not to go in without express permission (he's such a good boy! I seriously love this dog).

My dad taking Jake's collar off so it doesn't get wet. Middle of Texas, and he's got on a Toronto Blue Jays shirt, a Toronto Maple Leafs cap, and blue and white shorts to match them both. So Canadian it hurts, hahah. When Jake was younger, he used to leap in. Now, he kind of just steps down into the water, hahah. Waiting for my dad to get in. My dad was throwing balls for Jake, and I managed to snap a pic just before one conked him on the noggin. This is what Jake looks like anytime he's paddling around. He must think he's swimming in a giant water dish or something, because he seriously does this the entire time he's in the pool. It's a saltwater pool, so the only potential health issue I'm aware of is dehydration, and he always has plenty of fresh water available, so we're content to just laugh at him for being a goof.

My dad's a big fan of balancing things on Jake's head, hahah. Unfortunately, Jake's not the best at this sort of thing... Don't worry, he got it after a few more tries ;) I tried making a gif, but it didn't turn out so well, hahah. Oh well, here it is anyway! Anyone else's pets love getting into the water?
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furbabies || Phoebe Turns Two!

Our beloved PhoeBeast turned two years old on June 6th! We didn't bother inviting any guests because, yanno, Phoebe hates guests. And the cakes I made for Katie's birthday didn't pan out- I'm not sure if I overcooked them a bit or what, but they were a little tough for the kitties to bite into. So this time I just molded some canned tuna into vaguely fish-like shapes! Hahah. At first, I was going to just drain and discard the tuna water like normal, but then I thought of soaking a bit of kibble in it to use as plate dressing.

I set the plates up in one of Phoebe's favourite spots- the water cooler stand by the window. She spends hours every day staring out this window, tail whipping back and forth. At first Phoebe was upset that Josh picked her up, but then she noticed the tuna.
Our cats are indoor cats, but Phoebe is absolutely fascinated with the outdoors! We have decided that once we have a yard, the kitties will be allowed out into it for (supervised) playtime on a regular basis. I feel like it would be good for Phoebe, although I'm certainly no cat psychologist. She just obviously wants outside, and I like doing things to make her happy since she's usually in such a bad mood. I wonder about Phoebe, honestly. When we first adopted her, she was shy, but sweet. Never heard her growl or hiss, never saw her swipe at us. Unfortunately, that all changed when Katie came home. We thought maybe we should keep them separated for a while like 90% of the internet suggests, but ended up not doing that at all. I can't help but wonder if that first rushed introduction isn't the underlying root of much of Phoebe's aggression. Too excited about tuna to sit down. Katie got a plate, too, of course. I also wonder if I'm a bad cat parent. We had a dog or two when I was growing up, and the only pet discipline I knew was punishment rather than positive reinforcement. I've learned a lot since then (mainly because Katie would just sass us whenever we got upset with her, little brat ❤︎), but Phoebe was brought up under the punishment school of pet discipline, and that had to have an effect on her. We've since switched over completely to positive reinforcement; also, please note that when I say "punishment", I don't mean physical punishment... I'd hope it would go without saying, but we would never beat our furbabies. But that's more than enough serious talk for a birthday post! Man, I don't know about other people's cats, but our cats are pretty dumb, hahah. They can be clever, too, of course, but sometimes I roll my eyes at them so hard it hurts a little. I moved the plates a little so the kitties would be facing toward the camera instead of away from it; that was apparently when Phoebe realized that Katie's tuna was way more interesting, despite my repeated attempts to recapture her attention with her own plate. They each received the exact same dish. Cats, amirite? Fortunately for Katie, Phoebe quickly lost interest in both plates and high-tailed it out of there. Which meant Katie got to move on up to the (slightly) better spot! Katie kept chipping away at hers long after Phoebe was gone. Hardly surprising; that itty bitty kitty (I'm so clever) is way more into food than I would have expected a cat to be, and can pack away a fair amount. I can never seem to get a good picture of Katie in natural light; either she's too dark to make out, or the whole photo looks a little washed out. I still don't know much about cameras/photography, but I suspect a certain lens might be able to capture Katie a little better. However, a new lens really isn't in the budget right now, so it'll have to wait. I'm kind of banking on learning enough about my camera before then to not require a new lens, though, hahah. Meanwhile, Phoebe had retreated to one of her other favourite spots- the patio doors. Those crayon scribbles were there when we moved in. Josh and I agree that they vaguely resemble a penis shooting out lightning bolts. We tend to see a lot of penis imagery in abstract shapes... wonder what that says about our maturity levels. Even Katie gave up on her tuna after a while. Normally, when they get tuna or canned food (which actually isn't that often), it's in much smaller amounts, but this time they got half a can each. Both plates went into the fridge, and were finished gradually over the next few days. It was a pretty uneventful birthday, but Phoebe's a pretty cranky kitty, so that was probably for the best.

Anyone else throw a birthday party for a pet lately?
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