Monthly Archives: February 2018

A Trip to the Vet

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

Shelby gave us a bit of a scare yesterday.

My husband called me at work to report that Shelby was limping and could barely make it across the driveway with the other dogs. After they came back in she was also short tempered and laying in her crate.

So I canceled her biweekly visit to the nursing home and made an appointment with the vet instead. No one wants a crabby dog visiting them anyway.Shelby is a tough girl and has tested positive for exposure to Lyme Disease in the past so we were worried. After an examination and an article from the vet citing that 90% of dogs exposed to Lyme Disease never exhibit any symptoms, I was feeling better. (By the way, I do use flea and tick preventative on my dogs in the warmer months but the ticks are developing a resistance to it.)

Shelby did seem to have a sensitive area along her back that was causing her pain. So the vet is thinking that she may have slipped in the mud or on the ice and hurt herself. She will be taking prescribed pain pills for 10 days in the hope she that she will then feel better.

Shelby is generally a happy girl and we want to see that smile return.

Zekie, My Pit Bull!?

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings, ,

This is Zeke, aka Zekie. He is my pit bull. You don’t think he looks like a pit bull? Well, he’s not exactly a pit bull.

You see, I really wanted to get a pit bull. My plan was to get one and train it to use for my therapy dog work. I wanted to help improve their image and also show that they were a member of our family of dogs and cats. I hadn’t quite convinced everyone in the family to proceed with this idea but I was wearing them down.

Then along came Zekie. He was transported from a local shelter to our house for fostering and was supposed to be a sheltie. Not only is he not a pit bull, he’s not a sheltie either.

Just what is he? He’s my type of dog, that’s what. He has separation anxiety. He has no fangs left, having broken the last two off on his crate since he’s been here. That was on Prozac twice a day. I’m weaning him off of that since it doesn’t help much and he’s not going anywhere. He is leash reactive, barking and lunging at other walkers. I have purchased an Easy Walk harness to see how that goes. He jumps up, mauling us when we return home. Still working on this.

Despite these behaviors, Zeke is my type of dog. He is loving and thinks he is a lap dog. Ironically, he loves everyone who comes in our house. It’s only people he meets while out walking that bring out his nasty side. He is fairly obedient. He loves to give kisses. He is grateful for any and all attention.

So although Zekie is not actually a pit bull, he came into my life and I love him so he is here to stay. The pit bull will have to wait until another time in the future. I foresee Zeke keeping me busy for the next couple of years. You will just have to humor me as I refer to my pit bull Zeke!

Life Is Short, Have Fun!

Thoughts On Life, ,

This is what I saw when I looked into the office area opposite from mine at work. Lest we forget, happier people are more productive.

And the beverage glass is actually a tape dispenser so this is appropriate for the work place. Besides, it’s not an every day occurrence. I came in the next day and the rabbit was sitting up and looking very productive, wearing a pair of eyeglasses. 😁

Zekie!

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings, ,

Time for a Zekie update. As long as one of us is home, he is a happy boy. Today was unseasonably warm for February in Ohio, 71 degrees. Of course after the snows melted off and then the rains came, it is quite muddy. See evidence above!

Zeke was quite happy running through the mud and playing with all the dogs on such a fine day.

He even took a turn bringing the frisbee back to daddy. All this running through the mud means that the boys came in the house one by one and got rinsed off in the bathtub and then dried with a towel. Zeke is so good. He jumps in the tub on command and stands while I rinse him off. He then jumps out of the tub and onto a towel on command then waits while I dry him.

It was so nice today and I was off work so we then went for a walk at a nearby state park. The water was still frozen but the weather was warm. It was interesting to see the patterns the ice made as the thawing began.

Zekie got to spend his first time off leash today. And he did great. He was nearly as proud as I was! I thought it unlikely that he would go very far since he becomes traumatized if he is not with one of us at all times. After a bit of freedom I leashed him back up so as not to give him too much temptation on his first time off leash with us. Two of our other dogs can be loose and are very reliable while alas, our greyhound must be leashed always. See how happy this outing made Zeke in the brief video below.

So as you can see, Zeke is doing well!

6 Ideas (Or create a ripple)

Thoughts On Life,

With all the angst and horrific things happening in our country and abroad, I felt compelled to do something. But I felt I could do nothing to have an impact. Then I came across the above quote on my Facebook memories. Great words from a humble woman who made a difference.

Makes you feel like you should perform some heroic or prophetic act doesn’t it? But she was talking about a simple act. What are some simple things that can be done?

  1. Smile at someone.
  2. Take a few minutes to listen to someone.
  3. Tell someone you hope they have a nice day.
  4. Bite your tongue instead of saying something mean or telling someone off.
  5. Take a minute to write or email someone an uplifting note.
  6. Tell a young person they are good at something.

The first few items could brighten the day of another person. A worthy goal in itself. A few simple, kind words might also be the difference between whether someone is so down or angry or depressed that they take a life. Be it their own or that of other/s.

A couple of the ideas could make the difference between whether someone pursues their talents and go on to make great discoveries or do things that change the world.

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to change a train of thought and a course of action. And you may never have a clue. Granted, most these simple ideas will not have such far reaching results. But what if just one time, one of them does?

I challenge you to do just one of these ideas. Or come up with some of your own. I would love to hear them. Create many ripples.

Work, what? No!

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, Uncategorized, ,

It is hard to go to work when the second hand on the clock hits 6:00 am but you look down and see this face looking back at you from your lap.

And then you look over and also see this.

And on your way to get your coat, there is a little furry sheltie who got up to see where you are going.

And then a large, orange cat awaits at the base of the coat rack.

And they wonder at work, why I start to talk of retirement. Actually, I don’t think they wonder very hard. There is a whole world awaiting me!

Fun With Dogs!

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

When you live in Ohio and it’s snowed every day this week and then you finally get a sunny day, what do you do? Walk dogs!

Here, Baxter and Shelby watch while dad makes a snowball for them to chase.

Zekie waits patiently while I take a couple of pictures.

Shelby saying, come on, let’s go.

Yes, the walk was cold. It was also lots of fun. Anytime we can watch the dogs run around and see them with smiles this big, it is a good day!

Breeds Revealed!

Dogs & Other Animals

The matter of what Baxter’s heritage is has been the subject of much discussion. So for my husband’s birthday last year I had a DNA analysis done on Baxter.

Baxter showed up at our house nearly nine years ago as a drop off. He was only a couple of months old and it appeared he had been well cared for and he had some manners already. So we never knew anymore about his background. Whoever dropped him off probably thought “these crazy people with all the dogs will take care of him”. How right they were.

It turns out that according to the analysis he is 25% Labrador, 25% Rottweiler, 12.5% Doberman, 12.5% Collie, 12.5% Chow Chow, and 12.5% so mixed that it was indeterminate.

So the lab accounts for his great love of frisbeeing. The Rottweiler, Doberman and Collie for his great loyalty and obedience. And the Chow gives him the dark tongue spots!

Whatever the mix, it has added up to one wonderful dog.

The Dog Ate My…

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

This is a copy of the letter that I recently sent to our local library. A variant of “the dog ate my homework”.

I can only laugh. And keep Cassius in his crate when we go away. I hope the library employees laugh too.

I put it in perspective by realizing that if he had actually hurt himself, I would be willing to pay much more in veterinary bills.

So, although it cost me the price of a book, at least it was a soft bound book and everyone is still healthy. And, I hope, having that laugh.

Gratitude List

Thoughts On Life, ,

My journal had a page for a preprinted gratitude list so I thought I would make a list of things that make me happy.

Who would have guessed that number one would be dogs? Hmmmm, everyone who’s ever met me?!

So according to the list, an ideal time for me would be a spring hike through gardens with my dogs while reading a book and eating a dessert. Sounds like a great time. I couldn’t work the pens in there but there has to be something left for when I get home!