The Flat Tire Episode

Of course it had to happen today.  The day I finalize the space for my store (more on that in a separate post later this week, I promise!), I'm running off to a meeting and I notice the unmistakable thunk thunk of a flat tire about 2 blocks from my house.  I drive a block further, hoping I was mistaken.  Nope.  Oh and did I mention that it's raining cats and dogs out?  

Step #1:  Call the hubbie and get ETA on arrival home.  If he can get off early, I have a great excuse not to have to deal with the flat on my own, in a downpour (OK, I exaggerate, 'twas only a moderate shower).  No dice.  He tells me he'll call me back in a half hour once he's out of his meeting as long as I'm home and safe. 

Step #2:  Stare at the strange diagram on the jack, wonder how the hell this thing is supposed to work and curse the instructions in German on said mysterious jack.  Recall that one time we got a flat on our way to the Gorge and the fact that we cursed said Jack for exactly the same reasons.  Comfort myself by thinking if we could figure it out then, I'm sure I can figure it out now.  Continue staring at jack wondering how the hell this thing works for the next half hour.

Step #3:  Hubbie calls back.  Apologizes for not being able to get home until 6:30 but promises to change the tire then.  Encourages me to go eat something for god's sake (knowing there is no food in the house and knowing how I get on an empty stomach).  I assure him I have eaten lunch and am determined to conquer this flat tire.  I am woman.  Hear me roar!  He again tells me to go get something to eat and let the man take care of it when he gets home.  First of all, of course the hubbie was joking (sort of - I do turn into a monster when my blood sugar is low.  Add on the possible frustration of me not being able to change the tire on my own and well, super-bitch is an appropriate term for what I would have been once he arrived home).  Secondly, the hubbie knows this is EXACTLY what he needs to say to get me all rev'd up and determined to get shit done.  I AM woman!  Hear me roar!!

Step #4:  Somehow miraculously figure out said jack.  Once you figure out to ignore the stupid diagram that makes no sense and just fiddle around with the thing, it's not that difficult.

Step #5:  Attempt to remove hub cap.  Reference owner's manual for clues.  Crap!  It calls for a "hub cap remover hook" that is clearly nowhere in the spare compartment of my car.  Double crap!  If all it needs, I reason, is a hook, then I can certainly utilize something else.  Hmm...screwdriver!  Pry hub cap off with screwdriver.  Check!

Step #6:  Lug nuts....So freakin' proud of myself up to this point.  Until the stupid Lug nuts.  Tug one way...tug the other way...repeat.  Start getting extremely irritated that, after having mastered the German jack & circumvented the need for a "hub cap remover hook", I'm now getting foiled by my complete and utter lack of upper body strength.  Dammit!  Dammit!!  Dammit!!!  Seem to vaguely recall the hubbie's frustration at this point during our last flat tire and take comfort in the fact that I'm really doing no worse than he did.  Which triggers a memory:  Jumping!  Jumping on the lug nut remover thingie (technical automotive terms here, people) may just work.  IF I can manage not to hurt myself.  Good thing that there's a roof rack on my car - I grabbed hold and jumped with all my might.   I recommend lowering the jack so that the tire is on the ground before commencing jumping.  Otherwise, jumping might just result in a spinny flat tire.  Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.  Lower the jack...minutes later, 5 lug nuts removed!

Step #7:  At this point, the hard work was done.  Take the flat tire off, lift the spare on, tighten lug nuts.  Pat yourself on the back and decide to go have a beer rather than running any of those pesky errands you were headed out to do in the first place.

Step #8:  Give hubbie a big hug for managing to get home early at 4pm to help you out.  Proudly show him grease stained hands and changed tire. 

Snow Day

I'm definitely like a little kid when it comes to snow.  I *hopefully* believe the TV forecasters, who inevitably get it wrong, look forward to excuses not to leave the house (snow day!) and get uber disappointed when the snow doesn't materialize.  

We get about one snowfall per winter and I was beginning to think, nearing the end of February, that it just wasn't going to happen this year.  I mean, we got 2 feet a couple years back - doesn't that make us "good" for the next decade?  

But this morning, we awoke to about an inch of the white stuff. 

For anyone who doesn't share my belief that dogs are much like children, I give you Exhibit A.  Dogs act EXACTLY like kids when it comes to snow.  They watch the flakes from the window, looking back at you about every 5 seconds with the "Can we go outside yet?" face.  The minute the back door opens, it's zoomies all over the yard.  

Sadie attempts to "play" with the snow.  She zooms around the yard, occasionally trying to "pick up" the snow and toss it in the air. 

Maggie, being the smarter one, has figured out that snow is like ice - frozen water (and ice is one of her favorite snacks).  She would likely be a better snow plow than Portland's lame excuse at winter weather management (not that it was needed this time around) and would eat us out of a true blizzard.

OK, Spring.  You can come now! 

A Two-Alarm Fire

This morning, the hubbie and I were rudely suddenly awakened at 4am by the girls howling their little hearts out.  At first, we thought it just to be a dream one of them was having and the other had to chip in.  Settling back down to sleep a minute or so later, we heard the sirens of the fire engine pulling out of the station about 2 blocks from our house.  I'm fairly certain that the girls were anticipatory-howling - their sharp ears had heard the alarm going off in the station and they knew the sirens would soon follow.  I don't often witness such stark examples of their superior ears.  Guess I better whisper more quietly next time I'm talking behind their backs. :)

It sounded a bit like this, except a little less "dog on a trail howling" and more like "two dogs dying in my spare room at 4am" howling. They have truly unique, sickly sounding twin howls. Rather, Sadie did; then she taught Maggie how to howl once we moved close to a fire station so now we have twin sickly howls. Someday, I will catch them in the act with a recorder and share.

Ritual de lo Bath-itual: Rustico Natural's Smelly Dog Soap

I just received a free sample of a Rustico Natural's Smelly Doggie Goat's Milk Shampoo Bar, a soap for dogs I will be carrying in my store.  Sample + Stinky Sadie = Product Testing.  Time for a Bath!

I gathered all necessary supplies.  Towels, toothbrush & paste, brushes and treats.  Oops, can't forget the treats.

Started the tub a-fillin' and lured Sadie in with the treats.  She's the easy one.  She can be lured - even if she has this crazy face.

Maggie on the other hand will have nothing to do with treats when it's bath-time.  I try to mix up the ritual and catch her off-guard.  No go.  She has a sixth sense about when Mom's calling her for a bath so it often ends with me dragging her.  Luckily, today it was Sadie in need of some sprucin' up.

It is my goal to someday train Sadie to jump in the bathtub.  Until that miracle happens, I lift her front paws in, then her back.  She doesn't protest but she sure doesn't help.  I believe this falls into the "I will do whatever Mom wants to make her happy" category, not so much the "I love baths!" category, if there is such a category.  You will probably never see pictures of Maggie during bath-time here on the blog.  She wouldn't allow me to dry my hands, pick up the camera, turn it on, focus, zoom in and out and finally take that picture without jumping out and making a total mess of the bathroom.  Sadie just stands there, giving me this look.

Today I was testing out these dog soaps made by Rustico Natural.  Their goat's milk soaps are hand-made and 100% natural.

What do I like about these soaps?  A) Handmade in the USA, specifically New Mexico B) I actually know what all the ingredients are and C) Cute paw design in eco-friendly packaging.  Win, win, win in my book.  But I did have some concerns about how these soaps would perform.  Will they penetrate the coat?  Rinse off easily?  Will she smell so fresh and so clean afterwards?

Sadie stood patiently in the bathtub as I tried out the new soap and I have to say...besides having the bestest dog in the world who will patiently allow me to do things to her that she clearly hates...besides that....these soaps are GREAT!  Usually, I pour a bit of shampoo onto the back and then have to massage it around.  By the time I get to nether regions and stomach, it's a little difficult to spread around effectively.  Generally, she ends up with a LOT of soap on her back, not so much on the legs and belly.  With the bar soap, I just massaged the bar all over her coat and felt it was much easier to lather up the areas that are harder to get wet and soapy.  When it came to rinsing off, piece of cake.   Sadie came out smelling fresh and clean and I felt bath-time was much, much easier all around.  So easy in fact that we spent 20 minutes blow-drying.  I love me a fluffy, blow-dried Sadie!

Her fur is as soft as soft can be.  She is clean, soft & cuddly!

I highly recommend this soap.  It smells fantastic, is eco-friendly, cute, effective and easy to use!  Until my store is open, you can grab yourself a bar directly from Rustico Natural's etsy site for $6.00 a bar.  They donate $1 of every purchase to their local rescue organization Pet Guardian Angel (www.pgawaep.org). How cool is that??

Home-Cookin'

This Sunday marked the first "Meat Sunday", as I have deemed it.  My weekly commitment to giving the girls some home-cooked meals. 

This week I started out with chicken.  The hubbie and I were having Chicken Parm with Roasted Aspargus so I sauteed a bit of the chicken for the girls, sans cheese, breading and sauce.  Following up last week's post on Sadie's love of veggies and the coincidence of me cooking asparagus a few days later, I gave Sadie one of the ends that I cut off.  She chomped on it for about 2 seconds, dropped it and looked up at me, with what I thought was a "can I have another" look.  So I gave her a second one.  She promptly dropped it.  This time, I realized the look was "I love you so much Mom, I will take whatever you give me and pretend to enjoy it because I want you to be so very very happy."  Yup.  Turns out she doesn't like asparagus - she just really loves making Mom happy.  I went back into the kitchen, she gobbled up the asparagus and trotted after me with a "See, Mom.  I ate it like you wanted.  Are you happy?" wag to her tail.  I don't have a veggie-loving Pittie.  I have a Mom-I'll-do-whatever-it-takes-to-make-you-happy-even-if-it-means-eating-gross-asparagus Pittie.

Back to the home-cooked goodness, veggie-free.

Sauteed chicken with a raw egg topper for coat health

I'm using the home-cooked proteins as a food-topper.  Dog nutrition is something I am learning more and more about but am not 100% confident in my ability to include all of the necessary ingredients in the right proportions to properly nutrition-ify my girls.  Did you know they need so much calcium that all home-prepared meals should include some sort of bone meal?  Or that they really need organ meat as part of their mix of proteins?  These are the things that I am slowly learning enough about that at some point, I will completely remove the kibble portion of their Sunday dinners but for now, I am simply reducing the kibble by about 1/3 and adding 1/2 cup home-prepared goodness to their dishes. 

Please don't make us sit too long for this yumminess!

I decided to include a raw egg each week to help with Maggie's coat health.  Because she has had food intolerance (we think) issues and chronic itchiness, I am hoping the egg will help to prevent those issues from re-occurring. 

So far so good.  Unless you have a problem with this:

Something smells delish!

That was Sadie as we sat down to dinner last night.  Monday night, not Meat Sunday night.  I hope one home-cooked meal per week doesn't elicit this response every time I turn on the stove!

The Original Choose Your Own Adventure Recipe: Risotto

Since I'm taking a lil' break from fostering, I thought I'd pepper in some of the other topics I occasionally write about - for example, COOKING!  Making a good meal that elicits a mouthful-o-food-deep-from-the-gut "yum" from my husband is about the second best thing to dogs in my book.  One of the first recipes that I conquered well enough to start experimenting extensively-without constantly screwing up new versions-was risotto.  Risotto is a bit like a shy dog - you can't hurry it; you must let it go at its own pace.  Patience is key to a good risotto.

The following Choose your Own Adventure Risotto recipe is what started my idea for Choose Your Own Adventure cooking.  It's geared towards illustrating what possibilities exist once you think outside the recipe.  It's not necessary to have a recipe for every single variation - what's key is understanding what's essential about the dish, the correct proportion of ingredients and what combinations of potential ingredients can make a standard dish into something extraordinary.  I don't always get it right - sometimes my experiments end up pretty disastrous but that's what pizza delivery is for, right?

Without further ado, Choose Your Own Adventure Risotto (artichoke is the featured ingredient as this was a recipe challenge created for Julie Vs Vegetables during her Artichoke week - I'm especially proud that this was one of her few blog posts prominently featuring her sweet pooch Maggie, even if Mags did screw up risotto night!):

Choose Your Own Adventure Risotto

The Point

1 Cup Canned Artichoke Hearts, chopped 

The Choose Your Own Part

I Need Meat~          1 Large or 2 Small Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast(s), cut into 1" pieces

I Like Fungus ~      1 1/2 Cups Crimini Mushrooms, Sliced

Veg-Heaven~        1 bunch spinach, chopped

1/3 c sundried tomatoes, chopped

The JBP Original~Mix and match any combination of above (or choose an ingredient truly your own) for the true choose your own adventure.  The possibilities are endless - chicken & asparagus, peppers & onions, spinach & mushrooms, etc.  I think the next variation I'm going to try may be a crab risotto.  Doesn't that sound delish???

The Risotto Regulars

1 T Olive Oil

1 Shallot, Chopped

2 minced Garlic Cloves

1 1/2 cup Arborio rice

4 c Broth, chicken or veggie.  But get enough for 6 cups of broth.  You might need it.  You’ll use an extra 1/3 c broth if you go the wine route

1 t Oregano

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Salt

1/3 c grated Parmesan Cheese

1/3 c dry white wine or cream

You can supplement the broth with either cream or dry white wine.  Cream obviously makes it even more creamy but the white wine gives it an edge.  Think Goat Cheese vs An Aged White Vermont Cheddar.  Generally, when you use the white wine, you’ll use more broth to achieve the same level of creaminess of the rice.  You can also just do broth by itself, but that tends to be a little bland so plan on tasting lots and adding more spices as necessary.

Assembly

Do all your chopping and measuring first, cooking show style.  This is 100% necessary with risotto - everything must be pre-chopped and measured because sh** happens fast!

Warm your broth in the microwave, about 60-90 seconds. If you are using cream, add it to the broth and warm together.

Heat the oil and melt butter in a large skillet or wok (medium-high heat).   I have found that my wok generally makes the best risotto.  No idea why.

Saute shallot and garlic for a few minutes, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn.  Add Artichokes and saute another minute or so.

I Like Meat ~ Add chicken prior to artichokes and saute for 6-8 minutes or until white and slightly browning.  Remove from pan and keep warm. Now add the artichokes to the pan.

­I Like Fungus~ Add mushrooms with artichokes and cook for a couple minutes.  Keep in pan when you add in rice.

Veg-Heaven~ Go directly to adding rice.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200. (PS - if you are using your own veggies, like peppers or asparagus, they should be sauteed after adding shallots & garlic and then removed so they don't get too soft, to be added back in at the end.  When using veggies like sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, these do not need to be added until close to the end.)

Add Rice and stir constantly until rice looks translucent.  Not more than a couple minutes.  I had a lot of trouble at first determining when rice is "translucent".  So don't sweat it if you have no idea what this means.  By about your 5th risotto, you'll probably start being able to tell a difference; it's pretty subtle.

Mix in Oregano.  Add white wine or 1/3 c broth (if you’re using cream).  Stir constantly and liquid will be absorbed within a minute or so. 

Turn heat down to medium.

Add ½ c broth at a time, adding an additional ½ c once the liquid has been absorbed almost completely.  The goal is to never let the rice stick to the bottom of the pan so when you first add the broth, you have to stir pretty constantly.  As you add more broth, stirring can become less frequent but don’t leave it alone for more than a few minutes. Bottom line:  you can never stir risotto too much but you can seriously screw it up if you leave it alone for too long.

Veg-Heaven~When you have added the 3^rd  ½ cup of broth, add the spinach. 

When you have used 3 cups of broth, it’s time to:

Taste the rice to see how creamy it is.  If it’s still a little chewy-ish, then keep adding another ½ c broth at a time until it’s totally melt in your mouth creamy.  There have been a few times where I’ve found that I need to warm up more broth and keep going.  You didn’t f*** it up if you use all 4 cups of broth and find that you still need more.  I mean, you probably didn’t cook the rice long enough but the end result will be just as awesome.  You just need to keep going with the broth until it gets there.  This is the patience part of risotto!

I Like Meat~Add the chicken back in.

Veg-Heaven~Add the sundried tomatoes (and any other veggies that may have been cooked then removed from pan).

Cook and stir for a few minutes more until the chicken and tomatoes are warm.

Add the parmesan cheese and give it a good sprinkle of pepper and salt.  For a restaurant-style risotto, you can also add a 1 T butter at the end with the cheese.  I generally leave this out unless I really want to impress guests as it just adds that much more fat.

Remove from heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetit!

The Food Experiment: A Change of Course

I did it.  I moved the girls to another formula of Solid Gold's (MMillenia - beef formula) to see how Maggie would react.  Unfortunately, she has started the scratching again - it's pretty minimal at this point but I don't want it to build up again.  I want her to be happy and itch-free.  Having found that one formula that eliminated her itchiness overnight, I'm sticking with it.  Bye, Bye Food Experiment.  I'm glad that we found the solution to her problems and, though I would have liked to try a few more foods so that I had personal experience with which to recommend them to my customers, my goal was met.  Sadie is looking spectacular and though I haven't taken her in to the vet for the official weigh-in, there is no doubt that she is very close to her ideal weight.  She has gone from sausage to svelte.  I think all three of the foods we tried helped her as she started trimming the fat once we moved off of Iams and kept going.

I did have one goal in my experiment that won't be met by sticking to one formula - and that is providing variety in their diet.  So how am I going to accomplish that?  By supplementing their diets with fresh snacks and homemade meals of course!  I have already been doing this a little for the past few months but off and on and only when the cooking I was doing for us peeps was appropriate to feed to the girls.  Now I'm going to make the commitment to more than just off and on and when it's convenient.  They'll get one home-prepared protein per week, I will sometimes add food toppers like broth, eggs or fresh veggies and I'm going to start replacing some of the treats they get with raw veggies and fruit.  Sadie is pretty psyched about this. 

I will have no problem with Sadie and the fresh veggies.  I discovered her love for all things vegetables - well, not all veggies...just the crunchy ones - a few years back when a piece of raw asparagus fell on the floor.  She gobbled it up and I waited for the horrible, what the hell is this crap expression that would inevitably come.  I mean, raw asparagus?  Even I need my asparagus blanched at least.  Nope.  She loved it and begged for more. This past week, I introduced celery and now I have a dog that begs whenever I break out the cutting board.  Except if I'm cutting up meat - she knows her place is lying down at the edge of the kitchen when she smells meat.  Guess I'll have to start training her that the same applies to veggies too.

Maggie wasn't having any of the celery (good thing I won't be relying on celery for nutrition!) but she did have a good ole time chomping on carrots.

Another Doggie Intake at OFOSA

On Tuesday, I was able to help OFOSA intake a transport of about 100 dogs up from the San Bernadino shelter in CA.  It was my second time helping them out and something I hope to make a regular occurrence.  This time, some of the OFOSA folks flew down to San Bernadino to finalize the dog selections and rode up with them.  What a difference having our people on both sides of the transport makes!  This time around, there was less missing paperwork, dogs were in better condition and all around it was a smoother process. 

I was the lucky volunteer asked to coordinate supplies, stations and other volunteers since the regular intake guru was on the transport herself and not able to do all of the preparations at OFOSA.  I was super honored that they have that level of trust in me, with it only being the 2nd transport I've helped out with.  Can't say I did anything to help improve the process, except perhaps be the one that other volunteers came to so that the real experts could continue their work with minimal interruptions. 

One of OFOSA's intake areas - these guys will be going home to fosters this week.

Best part of the experience?  Getting to help with medical intake and naming the dogs.  I love getting more involved with each experience.

The hardest part?  Losing two newborn puppies in the process.  They had been born the day before they left CA and though we lost two, we prevented the entire litter from losing their lives.  I won't even begin to describe the puppy euthanasia room that was described to me.  Hearing those tough stories strengthens my commitment to this cause.  I hope I can be a small part of ensuring that in the future there is never a need for such a room.

I've also come to realize that I am a sucker for the hard cases.  I'm the first to take on a trouble-some dog or ones with medical issues.  There was this lil Pitbull puppy with a rather severe club foot.  It took everything in me not to take him home to foster.  He was silver and white - and really silver, not blue-being-called-silver silver.  I didn't get a picture of him 'cause I was too busy lovin' on him.  Sorry!  But I did get a few pictures of these mangy mutts...literally mangy - I was the one who got to care for them when they arrived and boy are they cute, even with an ucky skin problem.

Mange is itchy!

The last dog I felt I really helped was an Aussie with an extremely painful abscessed tooth.  She was in so much pain that she just laid on the newspaper-covered concrete floor, not having the motivation to take advantage of the fluffy dog bed right next to her.  I didn't think she would make the move but am so glad that I was able to convince her that the bed was a much better option.  It's difficult to see a dog that's in so much misery that she can't even move to a more comfortable place.  Luckily, she's will be having surgery on that tooth this week so she should be right as rain soon.

OK - you're right.  Doggie bed is much more comfy than concrete and newspapers!

I was exhausted when I came home Tuesday night.  Exhausted but completely satisfied that there was no better way that I could've spent the day.

The pups should be up on OFOSA's Petfinder page within the next couple days.  As you can imagine, it takes a while to input all the info on 100 different dogs when you've got an all-volunteer staff.

Wordless Wednesday: Yes I Do Have 2 Dogs

The hubbie pointed out that I haven't posted many pictures of Maggie.  It's true.  In my defense, Sadie is a spectacularly photogenic dog and Maggie's dark fur makes picture-taking for an amateur such as me somewhat difficult.  She is gorgeous when Mom masters camera, lighting, etc.  Here are a few of my faves over the years:

Baby Maggie (aka the Good Ol' Days when she didn't destroy EVERY toy)

Adolescent Maggie - one of the first beach trips where she discovered her love of driftwood.

Adult Maggie - Chasing Balls at the Beach is hard work!

Goodbye Choco

This past Saturday, Choco the Wonder Foster went home with his forever family.  I'll admit it.  I cried like a baby.  In front of everyone at Petco.  And I spent the rest of the weekend moping around.

I started fostering with eyes wide open about how difficult it would be to give these dogs up, or so I thought.  Choco caught me a little off-guard.  The whole reason why I started with puppies was that they get adopted quickly and I've less time to bond.  It'll be easier with puppies, right?  But that's the thing about love.  In my experience, it's instantaneous.  I pretty much immediately fell in love with my husband, the one and only real love of my life.  Likewise, Choco stole my heart immediately.  From the second I brought him home, he just "fit" with our family.  The girls loved him - Sadie was more cuddly with him than any of the other puppies and Maggie...well, Maggie was as in love as I was.  Finally, she had a playmate for tug-o-war!  They would lay on a dog bed play-mouthing each other for hours every morning.  Even the hubbie mentioned adopting him...we all considered him part and parcel of our family, even if it was only for two weeks.  If I were a couple years down the road with fostering and the girls just a bit older, I probably would have kept him.  I keep telling myself that he won't be the last one that I feel this way about.  In all likelihood, the majority of fosters will elicit this type of response.  Next foster and adoption event?  I'm bringing tissues!

So it was hard when that last family of the day on Saturday came in to look at the puppies.  I understood how they felt though when they made their decision a few short moments after meeting him.  'Cause that's how I felt and how I believe everyone who meets Choco will feel.  He is one of those special dogs that just draws people in.  As selfish as my own emotions about him being adopted are, I know he is in the right place.  At the adoption event, he shined around all the kids, especially the little girls.   And he went home with HIS little girl.   The moment I knew he would be all right with his new family?  He woke up from his nap and started crawling all over his little girl.  I told her to tell him "off" and to turn away when he does that.  So she raised one finger up in the air, yelled "Off, Taco".  And kept repeating it.  Mom, Dad and I were in stitches.  Choco got off of her, for two seconds, and then his wiggly butt and tongue were back all over her.  He's gonna need some work on that one!

All in all, I think Choco showed me the most difficult part of fostering - letting them go.  Trusting that their new family will shower them with as much love as I gave them.  Trust is a funny thing.  It's absolutely a necessary part of being involved in animal rescue.   You ask the right questions, do your best to get a read on the adoptive family, accept that not every family is as dog-loving crazy as you are and may not shower them with quite as many treats, training and pampering as you do, but at the end of the day you have to trust that these people will treat them well.  I think I was hyper-sensitive to the trust part with Choco due to his breed.  As a pitbull owner, lover and developing advocate, I am all too aware of the awful things that people do to this breed.  And because of that, I find it harder to trust.  A big part of my mopey weekend was worrying that he would be treated well.  I never would have let him be adopted to this family if I had any inkling that he wouldn't but I still worry.

Enough of the mopey stuff.  Choco-photo montage!

The Choco-Sandwich

 I only caught them all sleeping on the same bed a couple of times.  Choco mostly cuddled with Sadie, who is hands-down the best cuddler in the house.

That's more like it!

Surely about to pounce on something.  Probably a sock.