Monthly Archives: October 2018

A Week in the Life…

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

It was a busy week for the dogs and me. One benefit of having so many dogs is there is one for every occasion. On Monday Nikki, Shelby, Cassius and I went to visit our resident friends at a local nursing home. This is the pups posing in front of the facility’s festively decorated fireplace

Cassius wants to stay close to me so this is the best picture I have of him from that evening. We always have a good time when we go there.

Two day’s later I took the same group of dogs to a meet and greet with some Kent State students.

This was to provide a de-stressing session for the students and to promote our Sheltie Rescue group. I know Cassius is a greyhound, not a sheltie but he likes to support his sheltie friends. And ride in the car. Sometimes I take Baxter but this week I took Cassius along and we enjoyed meeting other doggy friends there too.

This morning my husband and I took four dogs for a walk on the Hike and Bike trail. Nikki stayed home and rested her 12 year old bones but Shelby, Cassius, Zekie, and Baxter all went.

I think we wore them out because this is what we saw not too long after we got home. Baxter did find the energy to go out and catch the frisbee until it started to rain.

A life with dogs is a good life.

Such Is My Life

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

The face of innocence? Not! More like the face of “yeah, what do you want”?

I’ve been reading some of my posts from last year when Zeke arrived. He had me fooled. I was all “Zeke is great and obedient and rides in the car so well”. And to be fair, he did do those things.

Fast forward a year. To now. I just threw Zeke’s food bowl in the trash can because it looked like this.

He turned it into a safety hazard. The nooks and crannies from all the teeth marks were places where bacteria could grow. And the sharp pointy edge was akin to a knife.

And then there was yesterday when I was heading for the door to leave for work. I said to the dogs as I always do, take care of the house and be good pups. I turned around as I reached for the door and saw Zeke heading towards the kitchen. I highly doubt he was planning on making coffee for daddy. So I went back and used the bungee cord to secure the kitchen doors. I love that dog!

Leaving the house in the mornings is a process. All those human personal hygiene things are a drop in the bucket. There are more important things. Has Shelby had her antibiotics and prednisone, cleverly wrapped in a bit of bread to resemble a pill pocket? Check. Has Zeke had his two glucosamine/chondrotin supplements and his herbal anti anxiety pill? Check. Has Cassius had his Otomax for his ear infection? Check. Have Baxter and Nikki had their bit of dog biscuit so they don’t feel left out and have their feelings hurt? Check. Did I remember to bring the cat back downstairs so he doesn’t chew the leaves off of the gardenia plant? I think so, so I’m going to say check. . Hmmm, I can’t imagine why I’m often running late!

Such is my life. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Four Out of Five Ain’t Bad

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

When I only work a half day, it is a big deal for the dogs. It makes them happy. Shelby reacts with her “momma’s home” face. She prances around and says you must pet me. She is the overtly joyous and bossy one.

Zeke is relieved that I came back home. He can relax now and rest. He seems convinced that each time I leave will be the last and he will never see me again. Someone was recently asking me, after almost a year, he still feels this way? What can I say? He’s a smart boy. His previous owners had him for almost three years (assuming they had him from a puppy, who knows) and they left him at a County Kennel. I’m sure he loved them just as fiercely. Dogs are like that.

Baxter takes this opportunity of me coming home from work early to ask for more belly rubs. Why waste an opportunity, these things are important!

Cassius sidles up to me and leans. He is a big time leaner. It’s a good thing I’m not older. His “lean” has 70 lbs. of weight behind it. It serves his purpose, he usually gets petted.

And then there is Nikki. She is never overly impressed that I am around unless it is dinner time or there is a car ride in the offering. Nikki is a daddy’s girl.

Hey, most of the dogs are happy I’m home. Four out of five ain’t bad.

True Love

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings, Thoughts On Life, ,

Some of you might wonder why I would want to keep a dog like Zekie when we foster so many “nice” dogs. Not dogs like Zeke who do things like stress chew their bowls until, as one person put it, the bowl looks like it was mangled in an airplane crash. Well this photo right here sums it up. True love. (Or for you Princess Bride fans To Blave) No one loves you like an intense, crazy dog. And hey look, there’s a lampshade on my head, so life is a party with Zekie!

Let’s be honest, my life isn’t complete unless I have a crazy dog, or so I’ve been told. I have to agree with that assessment. Anybody can handle life with a calm, normal dog. And I’m always up for a challenge. Normalcy is boring. I prefer a dog smart enough to watch tv and figure out how to open the kitchen doors to counter surf.

Or like my heart dog Duncan. Smart enough to learn how to use the latches on the crates so he can let the foster dogs out and eat all their food.

May you be fortunate enough to have such a dog. And survive it.

Zeke the Wonder Dog

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings,

This is Zeke the Wonder Dog. As in, I wonder what he is going to get into next. I love him, I really do. But even I must admit he’s a handful.

His biggest problem at this point is the separation anxiety. It causes him to drool excessively. And I mean a lot. Even after being gone for only a couple of hours, we come home to him covered in so much drool in his crate that his greetings leave us with large wet spots and paw prints on our clothing. Not to mention on the floor and a crate that needs to be swabbed out with a towel.

Oh, and did I mention the chewing? The anxiety also causes him to chew. Which lead to him having no remaining fangs.

Below is a picture of what Zeke’s food bowl formerly looked like.

Below is what Zeke’s food bowl looks like now.

And so Zeke has earned his title of The Wonder Dog. And yes, I do wonder what he is going to get into next.

Sheltie Fun

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings,

Last evening three of my dogs and I did a Meet and Greet with Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue (NEOSSR) for some Kent State college students. We joined other members of our group and their dogs to visit with students at their apartment complex.

And I am here to tell you two things. It was fun and you can help NEOSSR by saving Acme grocery receipts!

Let me expound on the fun part. I got to hang out with my dogs and talk to lots of people. Mostly about my dogs! And they wanted to hear about them. They didn’t get that glazed look in their eyes and try to make a break for it. It is a good socializing activity for the pups. They get a chance to work around other dogs and people as well. This is a great skill to hone.

Look at Coco Bella. When she first entered rescue, she was very timid and scared around new people and situations, and even known people and situations. She has come a long way with the diligent work and patience of her family.

Now, on to the information about Acme grocery receipts. Acme stores have a program where they give Community Cash Back to eligible nonprofits who submit their receipts. And this is where the college students came in. Our Meet and Greet was a promotional event as well as a thank you, to get them to help us by saving the receipts. It gave them an opportunity to see the dogs they are helping as all dogs there were rescues. And the event was also our way of giving back to the students for what they do for us.

The meeting is fun for the students too. Many of them have dogs at home that they dearly miss so they are happy to spend some time with a furry face. And most people know by now that spending time with dogs can reduce stress and anxiety. So these meetings are a win-win situation.

Other types of dogs are welcome too, not just shelties. Here, Cassius and I are hamming it up during the event. Cassius is a rescue dog too, he just happens to be a greyhound.