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Warning to doggie Moms and Dads (and Grandparents)

Ichiban got into the garbage last night and pulled out a Ralph's bag that I had thrown my onion scraps into. Luckily it looked like he didn't eat any, but later on he threw up a little. I figured it could have been from a piece of onion he ate. I researched it and never knew how bad they were for them (cats too). I wanted to let you all know to NEVER give your dog onions, raw OR cooked (and even onion powder). Fortunately they have to eat quite a bit, or on a regular basis before anything severe happens. Also I learned that if your dog eats something toxic, like chocolate for example, to force them 1 tbs (per 10 pounds of dog) of (fresh) hydrogen peroxide to induce vomitting right away. I know my Buh Buh gets a lot of people food, and I worry about him everyday of my life, even when he is in the best hands.

Here is what I found online:


"Onions are toxic to dogs. The toxicity is dose dependent, so the bigger the animal, the more onion need be consumed to cause a toxicity. Onion toxicity causes a Heinz body anemia. Heinz bodies are small bubble-like projections which protrude from a red blood cell and can be seen when the cells are stained. This "bubble" is a weak spot in the red blood cell and, therefore, the cell has a decreased life-span and ruptures prematurely.

If numerous red cells are affected and rupture, anemia can result. It is a form of hemolytic anemia. Onions are only one of the substances which can cause Heinz body anemia. Other substances such as Acetominophen (Tylenol) and benzocaine-containing topical preparations can also cause Heinz body anemia in the dog.

The toxic effect of the onions are the same whether the product is raw, cooked or dehydrated. The hemolytic episode usually occurs several days after onion ingestion (lowest hematocrit around day 5 post ingestion). Daily feeding of onions could have a cumulative effect due to ongoing formation of Heinz bodies versus a single exposure with a wide gap until the next exposure, allowing the bone marrow time to regenerate the prematurely destroyed red cells.

The cat is even more susceptible. Recently, Gerber began to add onion powder to all its meat baby foods. They are labeled as "better tasting". Since baby food is often used in sick cats that are not eating (to stimulate their appetites), there was concern that the onion powder would cause a Heinz body anemia in these cats. Within a week or two of the change, there were numerous reports of Heinz body anemia in cats receiving Gerber baby food in their diets.

I strongly recommend NO ONIONS for dogs. There is no benefit and certainly the potential to cause harm."

So now you know.

Paps

This is why Buh Buh needs a little brother:



Cutest thing in the world.

And then there was....

Hola family + friends! It's been ages since I've updated this blog. To tell you the honest to blog truth, I pretty much just forgot my Blogspot password and had to reset it. So here we are.

A lot has gone down since Joe and I moved into the new place, which is looking awesome by the way. Joe bought a couch today, unfortunately it doesn't get delivered for another 4 weeks. Aside from the bed, cable, internet, BBQ grill, and herb garden, a couch was the only thing we needed to make the place into a livable space.

Alex visited at the end of March and we had a freakin' blast. We went out to Joshua Tree and changed our perspective on things (photos of the trip are on my flash drive, not my laptop unfortunately, but look forward to them on Shutterfly sometime). We also showed him our new 'hood in Hollyhood Hills, and introduced him to Henry's Tacos (amazing), and even made a trip out to Malibu. I miss my little bro so much, we always have tons of laughs.

So.. I'm writing a book, a cliche I know. I've actually already gotten some really, REALLY good stuff for it. It's a novel, a story essentially about family... in the form of a junior hockey team. It will probably be exactly what you expect from me- a little humorous, a little gritty, a little heartwarming, free of cheese (maybe a little cheese). Some of my old junior hockey friends have given me some amazing stories as inspiration, I should have known my buddies would come in handy someday, and let me tell you after talking to them, nothing I write will ever be as interesting as the things that actually happened. If I manage to keep my attention on this to the bitter end, it will be quite the accomplishment. Writing is not a hard thing for me, commitment is.

Another major event that Joe and I attended was Coachella Music Festival 2009 in the hot, hot California desert (101 degrees, ouch), about 25 minutes from Palm Desert. It was a whole weekend event, though we only attended Friday and Sunday's festivities. We were able to sell our Saturday VIP tickets and passes on Craigslist for $250 the day-of, they were pricey tickets to begin with and we were able to get ours for free through a friend/collegue of Joe's. It was ridiculous fun. We were able to see Paul McCartney play a history making 2 and a half hour set! We figured it was the closest thing we'd ever get to seeing the Beatles live. Pauly Mac did not dissapoint! Sunday's headliner was one of my favorites, The Cure who were also unreal live. The Coachella staff ended up having to cut them off an unbeleivable 3 hours into their set, right in the middle of "Boys Don't Cry", the speakers were shut off so all you could hear was the faint sound of the band (unaware they were shut off, or just didn't give a ish) playing and the entire crowd singing the lyrics, it was beautiful. A riot ensued on our way out, and we got to see some people get maced by the cops. It was pretty funny. I included a few photos from Coachella below.








Well, I am off to Vancouver, BC next Thursday for the EA Sports NHL 10 Event. Those EA people spoil me for sure. It's only a day, so I am flying down to Seattle for a week long visit to see my NW friends and the family whom I haven't seen since Vegas, and my beautiful baby Buh Buh who I haven't seen since CHRISTMAS (the thought makes me want to cry, I miss him so much). Well all of this depending on if I get across the border..... let us pray. As our bud Paul McCartney would say, "I'm a MAN ON THE RUN" haha!

Hope everyone is doing well. I've seen better days (financially?), but for some reason I love my life, I'm lucky to have good health, good times, and good people around me.

"Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone"... Bob Dylan would understand.

Peace.

Joe and Laur's New Residence

Here is a picture I took of our new apartment building. We are the top right unit.


Joe and I went by yesterday to drop off our deposit and take another look at the place (we hadn't seen it during the daytime yet). We were in for a pleasant surprise when we found out what amazing views we have. Here are a few pics I took on my Blackberry (pardon the quality):

Joe in part of the living area (it's very open, kind of loft-like). The big windows are great, it's really bright and the ceilings are really high. I'm tempted to put a trampoline here, like on Big. HAHA!

View from our big bedroom window- the HOLLYWOOD sign! The two big living room windows have the same view.

View from the balcony down Beachwood Drive. It's a corner unit, if you lean and look to the left you can see the H-Wood sign.

Kitchen area (nice and big and open). Pardon the mess, they are painting and cleaning and putting in new fixtures.


It's such a gem, we are really excited about it.

Well, 5 more days till Vegas!!! Can't wait to see you all there in full V-town regalia.
Peace.

Hiking in Hollywood Hills

This weekend Joe and I watched his Aunt's great danes, Diablo and Tesla, while she was in Catalina. Today we took them on a hike into the Hollywood Hills where they have great hiking trails that take you all the way up to the Hollywood sign. We didn't make it all the way up there, using the excuse "the dogs seem really tired." HAHA, really they were! These dogs each weigh probably twice as much as me but they are the sweetest, most well behaved dogs ever. Ichiban is an absolute handful compared to them. The black one, Diablo is my new best buddy, he loves cuddling with me on our bed. I told Joe that I don't want to give his Aunt her dogs back, they are just so awesome!







Diablo sleeping as close to me as possible.

Lauren and Joe have gone HOLLYWOOD

Joe and I just found out today that we got the place we wanted in the Hollywood Hills, we FINALLY agreed on an amazing apartment that we both LOVE. We found a gem of a place on the highly coveted Beachwood Drive (the surrounding area is called Beachwood Canyon) and for a steal of a price (I suppose now is the right time to rent). It's a top floor (3rd) one bedroom with a killer floorplan, super high ceilings, a big balcony that faces Beachwood Drive (totally hammock worthy), a HUGE walk in closet (dibbs!), underground parking, and it's close to downtown Hollywood and the 101 Freeway. Ironically after all the classifieds searching and apartment viewing we found this one by just walking by We move in March 15th officially. I posted a couple pictures of the street (Beachwood Drive) that I found on Flickr. As you can see it's directly below the Hollywood sign! I will post more of the place when I get the chance to take some.

Good riddance Little Armenia!

Oh and Joe and I are taking donations (in the form of money or furniture, etc) for furnishing our new place... seeing as we are broke as a mother fuckin' joke. Anything is appreciated :)