Hilo

Hilo was Originally Posted on October 29, 2010 by lavarock

Oftentimes I have a thought for a blog entry AND some photos to go with it. Also oftentimes, I don’t have the photos ready to post when I post the blog. This is one of those times.

Don’t get ahead of me about what the photos are. It’s not THAT kind of blog entry!

I had hopes that Koa, my Chocolate Lab would be able to breed many times and I would get a stud fee. As a responsible breeder, I had his hips and eyes checked for problems, as Labradors are susceptible to problems in these areas. His eyes were cleared, but his hips were not great. Hip problems can be passed from one of the parents but may also be environmentally caused. In any event, I made the decision not to breed him and this morning Koa and I took the long trip to Hilo to have the Vet neuter him. I could have had him “fixed” here, however, I had reasons to go to the Vet in Hilo.

I got up at 5am but did not get on the road until later and still had to stop at COSTCO for gas. I was driving my friends’ SUV because it accommodates dogs better than my truck would.

Saddle Road is still a drive (especially from Captain Cook to Hilo) and I ran into rain on the Hilo side (surprise!).

After dropping off Koa, I went to Jack In The Box for breakfast, then to Prince Kuhio Mall area where I browsed stores and bought items for canine comfort back home.

While I still had 3 hours left before I could pick up my dog, I decided to stop by the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo again. The free community zoo is an excellent place and free admission. The main draw is Namaste, a white Bengal tiger (who it appears has NOT been neutered).

Besides the tiger, I took a number of other photos of animals, however most photos show the wires of the cages. I saw an anteater, lots of birds and reptiles, monkeys, goats and yes, even feral pigs If you get to the Big Island I highly suggest this zoo be a stop for you. I understand it is the only zoo in a rainforest in the U.S.

While photographing the tiger, a visitor and I chatted for at least an hour, generally about how I decided to move to Hawaii and the criteria I used in that decision. Also included was a chat about Kona Coffee, the blending issues, weather here and utility costs.

One “endangered” animal there at the zoo is an I`o, the Hawaiian hawk and namesake of I`olani Palace. I actually had an I`o on my property and got a better photo opportunity out my bedroom window than I did at the zoo! To prove it, here is the photo from my bedroom window.

I have a number of animal photos and perhaps I’ll past a few here when I take them out of the camera.

On the trip back, Koa had a “halo” on, a plastic cone to keep him from chewing out his stitches “down there”. He ended up sitting most of the trip back, not being comfortable with the halo. I was cautioned not to let him run or jump for a week. He didn’t get the notice because as we exited the vehicle at the house tonight, he saw a stray cat on out lanai and ran up half of the steps to get to it. I guess I can say at that point, the anesthetic had worn off!

I will have to keep my other dog O`lena away from Koa for a while. She loves to play rough and Koa can’t, at least until the stitches come out!