EcoHearth - El Rancho de Chihuahua

Confessions of a Garlic Geek

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I hate to be a geek brand-whore, especially ‘cuz I’m not paid by any company. (That sounds so luxurious, to be paid by a company, eh? Think of company-provided hotels and massages. Mmm!) But Kyolic Garlic is the company I buy from as far as garlic health stuff is concerned. With no discount. No love. Total capitalism. And full price. I promise if I drop dead they won’t send a wreath. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Outbreak: Battling the Spread of Viral and Bacterial Disease in an Animal Population

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 15:00:00 +0000

So I’ve worried about it. A lot. Planned. A lot. Fretted muchly. And now it has happened here at El Rancho de Chihuahua. An outbreak of viral—or possibly bacterial (that old thang we tend not to worry about)—origin.

It’s an actual outbreak. With many of my furry friends and compatriots down, and more almost certainly to follow. I. Just. Can’t. These are my guys! My homies. My soldiers and best friends in life. Is there a battle plan for this? I read Schwarzkopf (Blackhead? Really?). And Napoleon and Robert E. Lee (he was beloved at the time, believe me). {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Mother? Can You Hear Me? Can You Feel Me Near You?

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

It is exceedingly difficult to explain to a very much beloved mother-in-law just why a person who she feels is 1) smart, 2) married to her extremely smart son and 3) such great mother-material would forgo having children and devote her life to dogs. Even worse—to old dogs. To really screwed-up dogs. And on top of that, to—not screwed-up puppies, but to—adult screwed-up dogs! {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Hairy Interloper at Rancho de Chihuahua

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

We’ve got a hairy interloper here. With quite a few teeth.

Yes, damned if we haven’t added a wayward on-his-way-to-the-gallows Shih Tzu. When we looked up his breed, the name made me laugh in a juvenile way. A ‘shit-zoo?’ ‘Cause that’s what we need here? We don’t take enough shit in our zoo already?

Bad pun. But I adore bad puns!

So, sir Shih Tzu showed up with scrungy food in his beard, a bad case of worms, and a general ugliness problem. I think it’s his haircut. But he might just be hideous. And he had a bad attitude. He bit my face, threw a few tantrums, got all in the grill of my best Buddy, and so I knew he was right for us here. A true nightmare. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

When Bad Things Happen To Good Sweaters

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:00:00 +0000

We’re grateful for donations here at the Rancho de Chihuahua. It’s cold and boring for the small, short-haired guys in winter, so donations of dog sweaters and toys can be wonderful. And then again… not.

“Enjoy! It’s sooo great what you do!” said the lovely note attached to the special donation, a pink rhinestone-studded dog sweater—the rhinestones comprising the widely recognizable outline of the Playboy Bunny logo. In case a dog wants to be visually identified with collagen, large human mammary glands and hair extensions? “It” came with another special donation: a Pleather jerkin—a purple, Pleather jerkin for dogs, sans doublet—in case, what? Our pooches need to sit down to a goblet of mead, while waving a leg of lamb at a jousting match? {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Operation Chilly Chihuahua

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

“Dogs don’t need clothes, they have fur.” Uh huh? And where do you live, Bub? LA? Sydney? Florida? How nice for you!

Here at the Rancho de Chihuahua, we have frozen water that falls from the sky, and even more frozen water that comes up from the ground in the form of ‘dew’ (or shall we say ‘ice!’) five months of the year. Fur plus ice may make a fine, easily shuffled-off combo when dealing with a longhaired, say, chow-dog. It may even suffice for a hardy Shepherd breed.

But we’re talking a 10-pound, shorthaired transplant. They’re about as warm as you are on a ski trip without your fleece gear and whiskey flask. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Stopping Animal Euthanasia: Is It Crazy to Hope for the Best?

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0000

One of my all-time favorite utterances comes from my favorite writer, Robert Stone. He is quoted as saying, “Being a realist doesn’t mean believing the worst possible outcome will happen every time.”

I love the optimism of this quote. I hang my hat on it. Admittedly, I wear hats only about twice a year on average.

But what to do when one’s dream is that every animal (human and other) will be loved, cared for, cherished and wanted all its life? Sometimes I wish I had normal dreams, like winning the lottery, having perfect teeth, being a movie star or disliking Snickers bars. At least those dreams might be possible to realize in one lifetime. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Rich, Vulgar and Cruel: Fur Is Just So Old Skool

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Rich-people followers—and those wanna-be rich-people out there—please listen up! Fur is dead and has been dead a long time, as all elegant, non-commercial, good-leaning, smart beauties realize.

Okay. An oldster-family maiden may wear her dead-animal fur around. Just give it to her. She’s so cruel and out of it… She was raised in a cruel-age and has no idea her clothes are… icky-poo. There’s no changing her. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

The One Gift You Should Absolutely NOT Give Your Kids This Christmas

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 05:00:00 +0000

No more Chihuahuas for Christmas!

Yes, they are cute. Yes, they are small and helpless. Yes, they make a fabulous huge-eared captive, adoringly wiggling in a fuzzy Christmas stocking—if you are that sort of human. But it’s uncool. Immoral even.

No one likes to talk about the actual ethics of Christmas presents—and I don’t either—but let’s just say giving a cute, wiggly, live photo-op is, well, evil. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}

Questioning the Sacred Cow of Cultural Sensitivity In the Name of Animals, Part 3

EcoContact@EcoHearth.com (Joy Nicholson | Blog Entry) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Again, in visiting many, many other countries and cultures, for many, many years, I’ve been offended by only one thing: animal cruelty.

I remember once, years ago, when I was engaged to marry a Moroccan citizen while living in Morocco. I was shocked and horrified to see how he treated a starving dog wanting some of our food at a cheap bazaar. I was so disgusted by his cruelty that I couldn’t carry on the relationship. {readmorelink}Read on…{/readmorelink}