Not only am I enjoying retirement, so are the dogs. Zekie still has separation anxiety, but it doesn’t rear its ugly head as often because I rarely leave home. This makes us all happy.
I am still in that adjusting and recovering from years of work phase. It takes me until 10:00 am each morning to finish drinking coffee. An acquaintance who retired a few years ago and understands, asked me “oh, you mean 10:00 pm?” So I guess I am doing ok.
In the last photo, you can see not just Zekie is enjoying this new life. Claire the foster dog and Cassius the greyhound are also on the couch with me passing the morning. The others were hanging out nearby.
Retirement is a new journey and I am ready for the ride.
Claire has been with us two weeks today. It has passed quickly, mostly because she keeps us so busy. You must keep your eyes on her at all times when she is not crated. She spent some time in her crate because she is in heat and some of the time just because we were not able to watch her every minute.
She hasn’t had a potty accident in about a week. Before that I think it was mostly marking due to being in heat and not actually accidents. Claire also wanders around the house. A lot. I don’t know if this is a trait of bitches in heat or just because everything is new to her.
And I mean everything seems like a new experience to her. Walking on a leash, people eating food, cats, things on coffee tables. You need to constantly watch her or she will take things and then be puzzled about why you are upset.
Claire is learning though. When I say no, she stops what she is doing to look at me which gives me a chance to praise her. She is getting along with the cats better, although she still reacts sometimes. Luckily she thinks the cats are great fun rather than viewing them as snack items.
And occasionally she will lay down. This makes me happy. A few minutes for me to relax is appreciated. She improves a little bit each day. We’ll get there.
Here’s one project I can check off my list. New dog bed is ready to use!
As our old, decrepit arm chair got disassembled to put in the trash, we noticed the seat cushion was one large piece, so we saved it to make into a new bed for the dogs. I covered it with my daughter’s old blanket that I found in the hall closet. The twin blanket was a perfect fit.
I found directions for a dog bed on-line and altered it slightly since my cushion was an odd shape. Basically, you cut fleece fabric 4-6 inches bigger than your bed and cut strips about five inches long around the edges. Then tie them all together with doubles knots. Done! You can even untie and launder the cover if you need to.
I am very proud of this bed because all parts of it are recycled keeping waste out of a landfill. The animals seem to be rather fond of it too.
A new foster dog has arrived! We have been without a foster dog for over two years. That is an eternity for us. We had not been without a foster dog before this since 2003. When Zeke came, he was such a handful that we could not deal with any other new dogs. So when I decided to adopt Zeke, we had to take a break from fostering.
Zeke is still a handful. I would say that his behavior gets marginally better all the time. At this rate he will be a normal level of crazy in several more years. Well, either Zeke is a bit better or our tolerance for trouble has increased. Because in the late fall, we decided that we were ready to foster again. Turn-ins to our group Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue slowed down and we have some other great foster homes available so it didn’t work out for a dog to come to us until yesterday. This girl’s name is Topanga. We will be renaming her soon as that is quite a mouthful and she doesn’t seem very responsive to it.
Topanga was turned over to our Rescue group along with four other dogs. All of the dogs are female Shetland Sheepdogs and about 4-5 years old. Two are sables, two are tricolors, and there is one blue merle. The owner is apparently beginning to suffer from dementia and is no longer able to care for the dogs. I applaud the owner for realizing her limitations and doing what is best for these girls no matter how hard it is. Many of us could end up in a similar situation and I can only imagine the grief it would bring. The other dogs are going from their initial intake home to long term foster homes too. They will all get any updates to their care that is needed along with love. Love is what our foster homes do best.
I would like to point out that as with all Rescue groups, we have a protocol that we follow before placing dogs in adoptive homes. We require applications and then we conduct vet checks, followed by home checks. Then we place each dog into the approved home that is the best fit for him or her. We have enough approved homes on our waiting list to provide an adoptive home for all of these dogs. If you are interested in a dog, it is wise to get an application in early so you will be ready when we have more dogs come along.
I have to thank Cheryl, who picked up the dogs from the owner for us. And a big thanks also to Kathi who met Cheryl at the local pet store and both ladies spent their evening bathing, trimming, and transporting these dogs. These are two ladies from the local Shetland Sheepdog breed club as well as members of our Rescue. It is great and always a help when these two parts of the dog world can work together. Bravo ladies!
Topanga will be here for a few weeks at least while we update her veterinary needs and get her spayed. We can already tell she is quite a character. She was jumping and trying to play with me when I was grooming her yesterday. She keeps running around and trying to get the other dogs to play. She is also trying to get the cats to play but so far that results in hissing and a swat or two. I’m sure it’s only a matter of a few days before she is outside playing with the other dogs in our fenced pasture.
A popular meme says “Here’s to all those people spending New Year’s Eve at home in their pajamas with their pets”. That would be us. And we’re happy about it.
This also leaves lots of time for introspection. Where will 2020 take me? The year of 2019 was one of great change. The most significant of which was that I retired from my job of 32+ years. That leaves me wide open with lots of options. Life has so much to offer, so many possibilities. I guess I won’t know until the door on 2020 closes.
I do know that the dogs are happy to have me at home. They still follow me from room to room most of the time. Even if it’s the bathroom, they seem to think that there is a secret exit or maybe that I will make a break for it out the window if they don’t stay close at all times. I haven’t done it yet but I imagine the dogs think that is because they always accompany me. I guess we’ll never know as I haven’t been to the bath by myself in about 35 years. But that’s ok, these faces bring me joy every day.
Every single day. I was smiling recently because Zekie figured out how to open two of our trash cans that have lids. This reminded me of my heart dog Duncan, and made me smile. Zekie also chewed something up recently and that reminded me of Duncan too. The dogs that are the most trouble, take the most work, these are the ones that I bond the deepest with. And so they bring me great joy. I plan to spend lots of time with my pups this year so it should be a joyful one.
I hope each of you has great joy in the coming year as well, as you find out where your journeys take you. Happy 2020! Make the most of the new decade and take advantage of each new opportunity.
Can you believe this photo was taken yesterday, December 26th? It was 66 degrees in northeastern Ohio, the day after Christmas.
So of course, we took this fine opportunity to go hiking with dogs. This most of the pack, sans Nikki. She is 12 and no longer up to going on walks. Zekie, Shelby, Cassius, and Baxter thought hiking was a grand idea.
Zekie, my reactive dog, even did very well. He was fine with the other people we encountered. We only met one other dog whose owners had him on the side of the trail. I told Zekie that he was being a good dog, and to keep going with the “on by” command. He looked at the other dog a few times but did not bark or react until the other dog, who appeared to also be reactive, barked. But after Zekie barked in response a couple times, he continued walking at my command. It was a proud moment for me!
Our dogs had an enjoyable day as well. The Sheltie girls got treats. Nikki’s are soft for her old teeth. Shelby got chews. Zekie got a nylabone chew toy.
Cassius got a new coat of his very own! No more hand me downs from previous greyhounds.
And Santa brought Baxter two frisbees!
Cassius tried to make off with one of the frisbees.
Cassius, Baxter, and Shelby even got to join in for Christmas at grandma’s!
I hope all of you got to spend the holiday with your loved ones as well.
We have two kitties. Morty (aka Mortimer, or Mortimer Kitten) is our little black and white cat. Orange Kitty (hey, it’s the only name that stuck) is our large orange tabby. Morty weighs 8 lbs. while Orange Kitty weighs about 20 lbs.
Mercifully, Orange Kitty is one of the mellowest cats I have ever met. He is a friendly, laid back guy. This is fortunate for Morty as Orange Kitty is nearly 3 times his size. Both kitties like to sleep together, especially during this colder weather. On the rare occasion when the kitties do have a dispute, our sheltie, Shelby, keeps things under control. She does not allow growling, hissing, or swatting to continue under her watch. Shelby will run to the kitties and stand in between them, like some kind of referee officiating at a WWF match.
Orange Kitty in Normal Pose
This is how Orange Kitty spends most of his time. Not much bothers him. His only real interest is bugs. He loves to sit and watch them. He will even upon occasion gather the energy to pounce and swat at them.
Big Yawn
He sees no need to get too worked up about these things though. If everybody took life as well as Big Orange Kitty, the world would be a more peaceful place.
The pups did good work visiting at the nursing home last evening. Here Nikki holds court with her admirers. Really she just doesn’t like to be on the floor because she’s afraid she’ll get stepped on. She’s laying on my coat so she won’t scratch the table. If I put her between two people like this, they can both Pet her.
Cassius also did some fine work relaxing the residents, and himself. He gets the hang of it a little more with each visit. He goes up to some people on his own now without me leading him every step of the way. He certainly enjoys our visits. He can’t wait to get in the car.
Shelby is my old pro. I can give her voice commands and hands on where to go and who to visit. Here she is visiting with a new resident. She makes me proud.
Taking the dogs visiting was what I did on my birthday. It was a fine end to an enjoyable day.
Sanctuary Acres 