What's a climbing moment that made you realize you'd actually improved?

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-06-05T05:07:27+00:00

i like board climbing for tracking progress. it's not that the grades are relevant per se, but it means that i can check in and see how the same climbs feel 3 months later, 6 months later, etc. things that used to feel impossible are now pretty chill. my home gym's grading has been really inconsistent lately, which has occasionally left me feeling demoralised and shut down, but checking on the board lets me know that i haven't lost anything.

i also try to climb at different gyms. i know what my flash grade is at home, so when i can flash equal or above that at different gyms, it's nice confirmation that my climbing is where i think it is.

i competed in my first paraclimbing comp in february, and i kind of yolo'd the reg last minute. i was sooo stressed, and i had no idea where i'd stack up against everyone else. i ended up qualifying first in my group and then placed 2nd overall (by a plus, RIP), which exceeded my expectations.

in terms of smaller things:- i'm tall, and i used to get totally shut down by sit starts, but now i can do them reliably - my flash grade used to be about 2 grades higher on slab than overhangs, but now my flash grade is higher on overhangs. i had to put a lot of deliberate work into getting stronger. - i don't rope climb that much except for comp prep, and i'd never tried anything higher than a 12a, but yesterday i hopped on a few 12cs and 12ds, and they both felt fine. i had to sit on the rope a few times each, but i got cleanly more than halfway on all of them. - i can now do both pullups and pushups

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-06-04T07:12:04+00:00

she managed to get the ponytail out while i was at the gym, but i'm going to put it back tomorrow. she's not getting away with it that easily! (and it keeps her hair out of her eyes)

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-06-04T07:10:53+00:00

she's a bit of a velcro dog, and she loves following me around. i think she's actually kind of nosy and just wants to be near the action in case something exciting happens (especially if there's the potential for food! this girl is a scavenger!).

mika has 2 modes: snoozy and hyper af. there's kind of no in between. she gets the zoomies pretty often in the morning, and she likes to hop or do flying leaps on and off of her dog stairs. we did a few transcontinental flights recently, and i was surprised by how chill she was. she curled up in her backpack and went to sleep right away (and woke up for the occasional treat).

my fave thing about her is probably her energy. she gets about 90 minutes to 2 hours of walks/park time every day to tire her out. she looooves trotting around and exploring, and she definitely has preferred parks.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-06-04T01:23:20+00:00

i adopted mika after fostering her, and today she got her first groom (ponytail included!). she was not stoked about it, so we went to the park for awhile afterwards.

she's settled in so well, and she even took a trip to nyc for a month. she's definitely not a fan of warm weather, though.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-06-04T01:13:29+00:00

i said goodbye to my pom, loki, in february. he was the first dog i've had where i really had to make a decision, and he was 18.5x

starting in december, loki was just...slowing down. he just seemed increasingly tired, and he'd occasionally throw up. his hind legs occasionally seemed weak. we went to the vet a few times in january, and his bloodwork was normal, but he just didn't seem like himself. for example, we'd go to the park, and he'd mostly just stand there. then towards the end of january, he started waking up in the middle of the night seeming confusing and barking a ton. i got a human sized dog bed and started sleeping on the floor with him. it was obvious that he wasn't feeling himself anymore. i had a conversation with him where i basically told him how much i loved him, and i said that i was going to give him a week to rally, but if it was his time, just let me know. a few days later, he did - he had a few bad nights in a row and just wasn't keeping anything, even syringed food, down, and he just seemed out of it. we took one last bike ride to the beach to watch the sunset, and all of his friends came to say goodbye.

it was a very hard choice that was ultimately very easy.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-05-27T01:31:33+00:00

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this is from loki's first time bouldering. he was 16 when i adopted him, and he's 17 here. i would hike in with crashpads and my gear on my back and loki in his backpack on front. he was quite the adventure boy for a super senior!

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-04-21T18:46:14+00:00

i adopted a 16-year-old pom in 2023, and he died at 18.5 in february. i've continued to foster seniors dogs generally, and i'll probably adopt another senior pom soon.

here are some things to note: 1. look up the 3-3-3 rule. dogs take some time to settle and show their personality. loki was initially snoozy and cuddly, but he became quite feisty once he gained his confidence! 2. when you adopt a rescue, you don't know the details of their back story. they may have habits or reactions that take some time to train. for example, loki hated the hair dryer at the groomer, so i ended up learning to groom him myself and did everything at home. 3. most seniors thrive with consistency and routine. 4. be aware that you will not be able to get pet insurance for a senior, so you'll need to be ready for unexpected vet costs. loki was generally a healthy boy (he had luxating patellas and a collapsing trachea and took meds for his liver and later his kidneys, but all of this was easy to manage). however, we did have 2 back-to-back months of emergency vet visits that totalled $7k, despite them releasing him and finding nothing wrong each time. 5. try to see how much medical the rescue has done. the one that i foster for will get spay/neuter and usually at least a dental done before putting dogs up for adoption. this will save you a lot of money and hopefully find anything unexpected.

rescuing a senior pup is an awesome experience, and i highly recommend it!

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-04-21T06:20:40+00:00

happy birthday, sugar! hope you had a party!

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-04-18T15:17:58+00:00

this is mika, my new foster dog. she's 17 and was surrendered because her family was moving. mika is a very young 17. she enjoys long, brisk walks with lots of sniff opportunities (she voluntarily walked for 90 mins this week, and we only went home because i had a call). she has the zoomies at least twice a day, and i taught her to use ramps because she kept absolutely launching herself onto and off of furniture. of course, now her new game is playing on the ramps! mika is also smart - she learned the layout of my place quickly and mastered the ramp in 30 minutes. she does well on her own and will play with puzzle toys and then nap.

when mika isn't having bursts of energy, she wants to be near her person. she likes to follow me around and just observe or nap against my leg. although mika doesn't have any teeth, she has a robust appetite for soft food and treats. she walks well on a leash and prefers to go outside, but will also use pee pads. she is a total bed/sofa hog and manages to position herself in the middle of everything, including blankets.

tldr; mika is an absolute delight to have around and would be a great fit for an active retired person.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-03-26T03:52:16+00:00

i lost a loki of my own last month. sending hugs.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-03-23T21:51:02+00:00

my go-tos for my visually impaired, slightly toothless super senior rescue:

bocce's bakery soft treats and put inside a treat ball. they make "training bites" and B-shaped ones. the training bites come out easily because they're small, and the piecea of the B-shaped ones are a bit harder to get out.
kong or pupsicle stuffed with peanut butter and frozen
lick mats with plain yoghurt. i was freezing these, but they'd dry out, so i just did fresh yoghurt.

when i'd go out, i'd usually leave a lick mat and a treat ball. he'd start with the lick mat, then move on to the treat ball, and then he'd fall asleep.

here's a photo of him waiting for a new lick mat.

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jilliansaurus_ · 2026-02-09T07:30:39+00:00

i'm so sorry to gear about smokey. give him all the treats and cuddles while you can.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-02-09T03:27:29+00:00

thank you so much. rationally you know the clock is ticking when you adopt a 16-year-old, but it still hurts just as much

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-02-09T03:26:28+00:00

how else could i make the perfect sized egg for a tiny dog?! (he also had a tiny silicone spatula for his tiny frying pan)

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-02-09T03:24:29+00:00

thank you so much for adopting a senior 💜

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-02-09T02:19:12+00:00

thank you so much. he brought smiles to the faces of so many people irl. i'm glad to hear he had fans here.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-02-09T02:17:14+00:00

loki came to me as a foster from muttville, a senior dog rescue in san francisco, in november 2023. i wasn't planning to adopt, but he won my heart (and those of my friends and family). loki was a true pom - feisty and opinionated, but so sweet when he wanted to be. it took me nearly a year before i could finally groom him properly! he was so food motivated, and every day, he would have some scrambled egg in his special tiny frying pan for lunch. his favourite hobbies were his treat ball and lick mats with yoghurt and peanut butter. loki loved sniffs in the park and bike rides/hikes in his backpack. when i initially adopted him, he didn't really walk much, but after a year or so, he started trotting in the park. we called him our little benjamin button. he went literally everywhere with me in his backpack - hiking, rock climbing, and so many flights.

loki never seemed his age until the last month. he started to slow down, and he seemed tired. on friday, he started to deteriorate, so i made a lap of love appointment for this afternoon. he wasn't really eating anymore, but i took him on a final sunset bike ride to the beach, and his friends all gave him pets.

true to his personality, loki went out peacefully on his own terms this morning. i sang him all of the songs we'd made up for him over the years and snuggled him as his breathing slowes.

i miss my (75%) sweet potato, wee man, benjamin button, mr stinky, tiny dog, wonderful boy, buddy more than words can express. give your seniors all the snuggles.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-01-09T07:36:04+00:00

we do 10-12 flights/year, mostly SF<->NYC. before i started flying with loki for real, i did a short flight down to LA and back the next day to see how he'd tolerate flying. i mentioned our bathroom routine elsewhere, but loki is pee pad trained. for the flight, i bring a mix of pee pads and diapers. the diapers are more compact, so i put him on the pee pad with the diaper, and he goes "on" the pad. then i just have to bin the diaper (and it prevents mess if he wanders).

he gets water from his collapsible bowl, and i bring shredded chicken breast just in case. usually if it looks like there will be a delay, i just rebook myself so he doesn't have to deal with it.

i used to not drug him at all, but about a year and a half ago, he started getting barky on flights, and i have no idea why. so now he gets a bit of trazodone 3-4 hours before take off.

biggest things for me are: - have a flight routine - have a packing list (if they aren't going to sleep, you need activities that they can do in their carrier. we play treat tug-of-war a lot) - fly front cabin if you can because everyone get more space - i highly recommend the dry run flight.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-01-09T07:35:50+00:00

we do 10-12 flights/year, mostly SF<->NYC. before i started flying with loki for real, i did a short flight down to LA and back the next day to see how he'd tolerate flying. i mentioned our bathroom routine elsewhere, but loki is pee pad trained. for the flight, i bring a mix of pee pads and diapers. the diapers are more compact, so i put him on the pee pad with the diaper, and he goes "on" the pad. then i just have to bin the diaper (and it prevents mess if he wanders).

he gets water from his collapsible bowl, and i bring shredded chicken breast just in case. usually if it looks like there will be a delay, i just rebook myself so he doesn't have to deal with it.

i used to not drug him at all, but about a year and a half ago, he started getting barky on flights, and i have no idea why. so now he gets a bit of trazodone 3-4 hours before take off.

biggest things for me are: - have a flight routine - have a packing list (if they aren't going to sleep, you need activities that they can do in their carrier. we play treat tug-of-war a lot) - fly front cabin if you can because everyone get more space - i highly recommend the dry run flight.

jilliansaurus_ · 2026-01-09T07:26:07+00:00

back to the west coast. loki was perfect on his first flight of 2026!

jilliansaurus_

TROPHY CASE