Donkeys Make Me Happy

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Look at this adorable miniature donkey!

On a mini-farm near us, are several miniature donkeys, a couple of burros, and a horse or two. We frequently drive by on our way to walk the dogs.

I would love to have a couple of miniature donkeys but it is unlikely and probably not a good idea for a whole host of reasons. So every time we drive past I say something to the effect of Oh look, my donkeys are outside or I’m glad these people are taking such good care of my donkeys.

I have done this so many times that my husband even humors me and plays along now. He probably figures it is easier than having a discussion about why I can’t actually have donkeys.

Does anybody else do this? Hey, don’t judge, it makes me happy.

Sunday Evening

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Sunday evenings are for relaxing. Shelby is a good relaxer.

Yesterday she went along to visit the grand pups and kitties. Just as at home, she appointed herself as Sherriff Shelby and ran interference, and kept the other animals under control. They were actually just playing but she doesn’t like too much rowdiness under her patrol.

The grand pups are Milo and Coco, two corgis who are full brother and sister although from different litters. So Shelby is resting up from her busy day yesterday.

Cassius is also resting. He stayed home yesterday but being a good hound, he knows that Sundays (or any day) are a good day to rest.

A Week in the Life

Dogs & Other Animals,

I thought I would share with you a week in the life of a Zekie Bear. Or his other name, the Zekie Monster. He has been quite busy.

Zekie moves his crate. While he is in it. May you never have a dog with this talent. On Thursday he moved his crate until he got a hold of a heavy, fleece lined hoodie. He pulled it through the slats of his crate as far as he could and shredded it into many pieces. Long strips of fabric that were wedged so tightly that it took quite a bit of work to get it out. Zeke did this once before only with a thin blanket that had been laying on top of his crate. Mercifully he does not not eat the cloth but only shreds it to pieces.

Then there is the issue Zeke has with his food bowl. This is his new bowl. It is two weeks old. I think this one is going to have a shorter life span than the last one.

Zeke had quite a day on Sunday too. We went for a hike. He walked well on leash until we encountered another dog walker. Then he lunged, barked and snarled at the other dog who continued walking obediently with his master. Seemingly thinking, what’s his problem. After the hike we took all our dogs to visit grandma and her dog Paisley. Zeke loved Paisley and played nicely with her all afternoon.

Then we started the drive home. We were behind a truck that put off some strong diesel fumes. After it turned off, my husband put all the windows down a few inches to get some fresh air. All seemed well. Things are not always as they seem. I heard what sounded liked lots of pacing from the back seat. The pacing increased. I finally said, what is going on back there. The pawing noise suddenly became frantic so I turned around. Zeke had his head stuck in the window and had been calm but was starting to flail. I yelled, put the window down. Mercifully Zeke was immediately fine and no worse for wear. I kept an eye on him but he suffered no other effects. Three other dogs were in the car and had no incident. Only Zekie.

This is why I am currently not allowed to foster any dogs. Zekie is a full time job.

Slice of Life With Dogs

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

This is what your hall closet looks like when you have a house full of dogs. There is the “anti-parasite” shelf. This holds a plethora of heartworm pills, flea and tick medicines, and perhaps a random wormer. And let’s not forget the disinfectant wipes.

Another shelf holds various dog shampoos and more types of disinfectants. And then there’s “the antibiotic shelf”. This does not include all the overflow medications and ointments that aren’t currently in use but I may have a need for someday. But hopefully not. Those have their own separate drawer!

This is what it takes to keep my pups healthy and happy. A small price to pay.

The Last Hurrah

Country Life, Gardens, ,

Our garden is having a last hurrah before the snow arrives this weekend. The flowers amaze me with their tenacity.

They keep producing a nice display for us even during the cool fall temperatures.

I found a few poor, confused rhododendron blooms that I snipped and brought inside so we can enjoy them all evening.

The garden is still a beautiful and relaxing place to pass some time. If you wear a coat!

Rebirth

Country Life, Gardens, , ,

I finally took some time and worked on fall chores. I dug up all my gladioli bulbs to store them for winter. We are in Zone 5 so you never know if they will survive to come up in the spring or not. It just depends how cold it gets. If I leave them in the ground, sometimes they come up the next year and others they don’t. I have enough bulbs now that I don’t want to take a chance.

So I take the time to dig them up so we can enjoy them again next year.

Once I have dug them up, I spread them out so they can dry for a few days to a week. If they are all clumped together they can retain too much moisture and rot.

After that I put them into several paper bags. They need to have air circulation but still be in the dark. I store the bags in the basement so they don’t freeze. And that’s it. Come spring time I will break off any dead parts from the previous season and separate bulbs that have multiplied but stuck together. Then they will be ready to go back in the soil and we can enjoy them all over again.

The Stand Off

Dogs & Other Animals,

This is what we saw for the past few weeks. Our littlest dog (under 20 lbs.) taking up all of the big dog bed. The other, bigger dogs would stand there staring. Then they would pace around and come back to stare again at Nikki. She did not budge. Our greyhound Cassius could spend fair amounts of time staring at her, to no avail. Finally, the last two days, I have seen this.

Nikki still has not budged but Cassius has figured out that there is room for both of them. They may even like it. It’s warmer this way.

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.