Car Full of Monkeys 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

May the Force Be With You.


This is Coco and Milo. They are Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Coco is a sable and white little girl of 2 1/2 years of age. Milo is the tricolor and turned one recently. We are watching them this week for our daughter. And here the adventure begins. 

We went to pick them up and bring them home one evening last week. This was to save them the trauma of being “left” by their parents. My husband was driving us home and the dogs were crawling all over me and trying to crawl on him. I told them “no crawling on the driver”. I had to grab them frequently by their harnesses to gain some modicum of control. Milo the Younger was on my lap, on the dashboard, on the armrest. Then he crawled around the back of my neck and hung their. Then it was in the backseat, in the front seat, trying to crawl on my head. And Coco the Elder was going from front seat to backseat and trying to stand on the driver, etc. You get the idea. I turned to my husband and said “this is like driving around with a car full of monkeys!” 

We were on the freeway about halfway home when my car window started to go down.  I thought my husband was putting it down so the dogs could get some air. But it kept going down. And there was an energetic dog on my lap looking out the space where the window pane was. (Now halfway down.) My husband said ” what are you doing?” I said “I thought you were doing it.” Turns out Milo was standing on the control and he put the window down. Mercifully, he had been such a monkey up to this point that I had my hand on his harness, as I did for most of the trip. (Please note, childproof locks were engaged after this episode. )

To be fair, after we got part of the way home, Coco the Elder went in the back seat and laid down. I suspect the excitement of having someone take them away from home had them all worked up. 

The reintroduction to our pack went well. The dogs all remembered each other and there were no issues. After the initial sniffings everyone went their own ways. They all went out for last call to do their business with no problems. 

Then it was nearly bedtime. We were leery of bedtime because the pups would have to sleep in a crate which they are not used to. For their own safety and the peace of mind of the other animals, a crate was required. We thought it would be a long night with lots of barking and scolding. Those little pups went in their crate with their treats and were good as gold. They slept in the same crate because they are so bonded. Milo and Coco are actual siblings. Same parents but different litters. The only peep we heard out of them during the night was to provide backup for Baxter, our lab/Doberman mix, who was barking out the window at a groundhog. 

And so day one ended well and peacefully. Stay tuned for further adventures of Coco the Elder and Milo the Younger…

Size Isn’t Everything 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,


Size isn’t everything. It’s often attitude that is the deciding factor in the pecking order, for people as well as dogs. In this case I’m talking about dogs.

Yesterday the dogs were playing outside and got quite wound up. Cassius began hazing Shelby. Cassius is a greyhound who weighs 70 lbs. Shelby is a Shetland Sheepdog who weighs 32 lbs. The score? Shelby- 1, Cassius- 0. 

Shelby was running and barking at a visitor as their car pulled out of our driveway, no surprise there, she is a sheltie. Cassius decided it would fun to bark at her for barking. Then he decided it would be fun to nip at her when she barked and finally he grabbed a mouth full of fur in a play bite that left her with slobbery fur and pulled her enough to move her. Looked like a bite but I know Cassius was playing and there was no visible wound, hence a “play bite”.

Shelby put up with his behavior up to the point where he grabbed her. Then she whipped around and got in Cassius’ face, barking and lunging at him and generally telling him off. She had him backing up while barking in his face. At that point we intervened so it wouldn’t escalate. But Shelby likes to be in charge and maintain control. You don’t mess with Shelby.

Cassius got scolded for putting his mouth on Shelby and spent the rest of the evening pouting and depressed, on the couch. He is such a sensitive dog. If you raise your voice at him, he gets very upset. 

But it was just a day in the life. As you can see they do normally get along fine. It was just one of those sibling squabbles. And so it goes.

Choose Wisely 

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

Relaxing is good for the soul, and peace of mind. I could be doing one of the many things that I should be doing. Cleaning litter boxes, washing dishes, weeding. No thank you. I did the most important thing though. Frisbeed the dogs! It was the most important, just ask them.


But instead of any chores, here I sit on the porch with books about…dogs and food, of course!


And don’t forget the cold beverage.


I have chosen wisely. Life is good.

Snapshot

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


A typical photo of life at our home makes me happy. 

The furnishings will never make an interior design shoot. The couch is not particularly attractive. In fact, quite the opposite. It does however, hold up well to active dogs and feline paws. The windows provide places for cats to perch and sniff the air and keep track of life beyond the screens. And then there is the obligate doggy patterned pillow. Throw in a lamp and a piece of artwork and it is a functioning room.

You have to see beyond this for the magic to appear. The largest two of our four dogs are napping peacefully together. One of our cats is also hanging out, watching daddy watering plants outside.  All is peaceful and cohesive. 

This is a snapshot of our lives and I am content. 

The Transformation of Pain

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life,

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What once brought pain now brings happiness. This is a lesson I have learned from this video. Two of my girls featured have now passed on. At the time the pain was tremendous. And now, although I miss them still, being able to look at this simple video brings me comfort. 

I am blessed to remember the many times and great love we shared. This is something to remember during future painful times. Because they always come. Life is a cycle of joy and sadness, happiness and pain, good times and bad, life and death. Hence the saying “this too shall pass”. It applies to everything. 

But for this evening, I will enjoy these thoughts of some of my pups, past and present.

Kammie 

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings, ,

Kammie left this world this morning, after a lengthy illness, with her loving human mother by her side. She was nine years old.


We had the privilege of being Kammie’s foster family for 14 months. She was a sweet dog with an agreeable personality.  Her first human passed away which landed Kammie at one of the Cleveland shelters. She didn’t kennel well and was fortunate to be taken in by a short term foster family. They wanted the best for her so sent her on to our sheltie rescue. She was on thyroid medicine and antibiotics for a bladder infection. I met someone in a parking lot to do the transfer to get her to us. The plan was to get some weight off of her,she came to the shelter at 59 lbs, get her healthy and then find her a home.

Little did we suspect that she was home. She underwent treatment for several bladder infections that never really seemed to clear up. She came to our house in April of 2016. In July, after undergoing an ultrasound, she was diagnosed with several bladder tumors. At that point she was deemed unadoptable and we decided to provide her with whatever time she had remaining at our home.


So Kammie became one of our pack and a member of our family. She would bark and run outside with the other dogs. Sometimes she would then turn around and come back inside, her job escorting the others outside having been completed. She received a number of medications without complaint: Thyroid pills, piroxycam (to slow tumor growth), often antibiotics, and in the later days, tramadol for pain.  Not only did she take them without complaint, she would come and wait for them at the appropriate times. She was a good girl.

Kammie slowed down a little bit at a time with her back end getting weaker until by late this week, she could no longer walk. After a couple days when she had shown no improvement and the veterinarian thought the tumors had probably metastasized to put pressure on her spine, we knew the time had come.  Our time with Kammie was a gift and it was time to give her back. 

Thank you Kammie for sharing your time with us and letting us enjoy your gentle smile and spunky personality. We were blessed by your presence. Kammie’s medical care was provided for by Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue. The love was provided by us.

Peonies 

Country Life, Gardens, Thoughts On Life,


Peonies make life better.  

I gaze upon my peonies and am filled with wonder and happiness that anything could be so beautiful. And Peonies don’t put all their eggs in one basket so to speak, their scent is equally divine. 

I can’t help but believe if there were more peonies in the world, it would be a happier place. Spread peonies! 

Ripples 

Dogs & Other Animals, ,

Think you can’t make a difference in someone’s life? Think again. Everyone can make a difference, even dogs! This is Shelby, my registered therapy dog, sitting outside the school where we go read to the kindergarteners. You can see that she’s quite proud to be wearing her “I’m a School Visitor” badge. We visit here once a month and I think that we teach the kids that reading is fun and dogs are fun. And accepting. 

One boy is a student with special needs and each time we see him, his behavior is calmer. Last time he even sat with us and the other kids for a while. Now this may have nothing to do with Shelby but I can’t help but think she plays some small part.

I’ve taken other therapy dogs to a home for profoundly disabled children and I know for a fact that the dog calmed some of these children. Kids that aren’t normally verbal make sounds. And kids that don’t interact, pet the dog. I’ve seen the same reaction with older folks who don’t interact anymore. They will ask a question or call the dog over.

We all have a chance to make a difference in the lives of others every day. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture either. Just saying hello or sharing a smile can change the course of someone’s day. And you may never know. Your kind gesture affects someone so they are nicer to someone, and so on. Small acts can make big ripples.

If a dog can do it, so can you! 

Destressing

Country Life, Gardens, Thoughts On Life, ,

I am recovering from a stressful day and decided that should be done with flowers.  It helps!  See new clematis above.

One of our four mandevillas. They are already growing so well that I had to make new trellises for them. Can you tell we went to greenhouses on Saturday? We also bought a gardenia, a new climbing rose, and a hibiscus, plus some annuals. Photos of those will be forthcoming when they flower. We still have to get our usual flats of flowers too.

And then we have our usual suspects that flower year after year. This clematis amazes us with its profusion of blooms. 

The rhododendrons are also in fine form.

The Wygelia is spectacular. 

The columbine pleases with its delicate blossoms. 

And the scent of the Miss Kim lilacs! I sit on the porch for hours just to smell them. Then I take some in the house. And to work. I want to enjoy their scent as much as I can before they fade until next year. Of course we have old fashioned lilacs, and the Miss Kims, and Royal lilacs. They bloom in succession so we are with lilacs for some time. Bliss!

And I am destressed! The wonders of the outdoors can work magic. 

Spring Favorites 

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Uncategorized,
Cassius and Me

One of my favorite signs of spring is…hiking! Spring is the best season for this as far as I am concerned.  It’s warm, it’s sunny. Not too cold, not too hot, limited bugs. And all the green, blooming and sprouting things are good for the soul. 

Baxter

I took our dogs who enjoy long hikes on a three mile trek at West Branch State Park. I call them The Three Amigos because they go nearly  everywhere together, Cassius, Baxter, and Shelby. 

Shelby

You can tell how much fun they had by the smiles.

Shelby and Cassius

Shelby and Cassius enjoy the view. And quite a view it is.

We saw some boats.

But the nature views are the best. The dogs seem to enjoy it too, but really their favorite place to be is anywhere that I am.  My favorite place is also any place with them. That’s why we stay home a lot. The best place to be is with family. Cassius, Baxter, and Shelby are family.

Kammie and Nikki, our other two shelties, are of course family too. They just can’t hike so far anymore so they stay home. With age, comes that right!