Tag Archives: Daily life

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 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.

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.

Kitty In a Box

Dogs & Other Animals,

All ready for shipping! Including packing material. Lol.

What is it about cats and boxes? Every box that comes through here, the cats try to claim. Even the tiny 4 x 4 inch boxes that Orange Kitty has no hope of fitting in. Well, maybe one foot.

Seriously! I feel guilty if I throw a box away. (I should say recycle. I would never put a box in the trash, gasp!) I am to the point where I am considering how I can make them into a two story kitty condo. I don’t want to be the meanie who denies the kitties their joy.

Orange Kitty may be ready for shipping but I think it is going to take extra postage!

Kind Acts

Dogs & Other Animals, Thoughts On Life, ,

I have a day planner/journal that I use to try to keep a record of at least one kind act that I have performed for someone else each day. The idea being that it helps to keep me mindful. If I know I need to record something then I keep an eye out and look for opportunities. The journal helps me to be a little less self centered and to think about others. Now lest you think that I will have a book of 365 kind acts at the end of the year, I must admit that I miss many days. But truly, it is better to have done something, than nothing.

For today’s kind act, I was going to record that I took a day off from work to watch one of my nieces, who is 16 months old. Above is my face upon returning home so you know that it was a thoroughly enjoyable and fun day.

Upon contemplation, I realized it is a cop out to record this as a kind act that I have done for someone else. We played, we napped, we ate lunch, we went for a walk. Then we played some more. I was blessed with the opportunity for a bonding experience with my youngest niece. This was a kind act for myself!

I even got to take two of the dogs, Shelby and Nikki with me, so I was able to spend my day off with them as well. The only thing that would have made it better would have been spending the day with both of my nieces. But the older of the two is in kindergarten this year. (I did not give her permission for this growing up but I guess I will not hold it against her.) It did result in a special day that was just for me and Younger Niece.

So I will need to find something else to record in my journal of kind acts. Perhaps I will log the fact that I did not curse or yell at people who cut me off in traffic. The little acts are sometimes the hardest!

A Day In My Life With Zekie

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

I realized that I haven’t given an update on Zekie in a while. I wish that I had more progress to report. Because it would be great if he suddenly became a normal dog. But I know that is not going to happen. I’ve been told, and I quote, “You are not happy unless you have a crazy dog. You should be fulfilled.” There may be some truth to this. Although I don’t go out looking for crazy dogs. They just seem to find me. One with problems comes along and I feel like they need me. And I do like to be needed. And also to solve a good problem.

Zekie is still doing the disgusting drooling thing in his crate when he is left home alone. When he is put in his crate for a time-out while someone is home, he is fine. He lays quietly with no drooling and little noise.

He also does not tolerate being separated from me well. When he is home with my husband, he will stay out in the pasture with the other dogs most of the time. But once I get home, he escapes from the pasture to be near me. He finds a way to squeeze between the gates and run to me. I don’t like to reward him for this so we were putting him in his crate in the house when he does it. He lays there and is good. Especially if I stay in the house. Sometimes I give him a second chance. I tell him, ok, you stay in the pasture or you are going in your CRATE! Sometimes this works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes when I go to put him in the house, he tries to sneak back into the pasture.

He comes running to me with such joy on his face when he makes his great escape that it is hard to be mad at him. I also don’t want to ever yell at a dog that comes to me. This may make him not want to come to me one day when it is necessary. So rather than yell at him, we end up with just calmly putting him in his crate without comment. He shouldn’t be rewarded with freedom for his escape.

I figured out that he is pushing the two gates apart and getting through them. He hurt himself one time doing this so we are trying to come up with a solution. The gate is fastened at the top with a latch. It is the bottom where he makes his escape. So my last attempt involved fastening the two gates at the bottom with a leash. This worked for about 20-30 minutes. I didn’t see Zekie coming after me so I thought, well that’s taken care of. Ummm, no. He figured out that he could chew threw the leash. I thought about using a chain leash to fasten the gate but I’m not sure that is a good idea either given his penchant for breaking teeth off.

Back to the drawing board!

Possibilities

Thoughts On Life,

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. ” – The Dalai Lama

I thought this quote would be a good concept for us to contemplate today. If you are kind, you can make a difference. If you are not kind, you can also have a different type of impact. Who do you want to be? Choose wisely.

Adjustment

Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings,

Zekie continues to fit into our family just fine. He and our other dogs are quite comfortable with each other. Here Zekie and Cassius give me “the look”. As in, how dare you go to work. Zeke is adjusting though. He doesn’t bother to get up anymore when I go. Daddy is still home so he doesn’t have to go in his crate.

Cassius was cold so I stopped to cover him up before I left. Spoiled much? I contend that if they appreciate it, it’s not spoiling!

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. 😁

Food for Thought

Thoughts On Life,

I’m trying something new this year. I got a planner for the year that has month at a time pages and weekly pages with lines to write what you do each day. That way I can keep track of my commitments but also be able to write daily.

And what am I writing on these daily pages you might ask? (Or if you don’t want to ask, then as Rosanna Rosanna Danna often said…Never-mind.) I am going to do one kind thing everyday and record it in the journal. By keeping a record, it keeps me mindful and wanting to make sure that I have something to record. Most times it’s nothing fantastic.

It could be something as simple as leaving a quarter in the cart at our local Aldi’s grocery store. (You have to put in a quarter to get a cart and then you get your quarter back when you return the cart.) At least I am working on the habit of consciously being kind. I hope that this leads to bigger and kinder things from me.

Some days when I’m jotting down my kind act (or picking my brain to remember something I did that was nice) I wonder what should really qualify? When what I come up with is “Haul wood to the house while my hubby is sick so he can rest”, does that really qualify as something nice? Isn’t that just something I should do anyway?

So I’ve discovered that the difference between being nice, and doing what you should, is sometimes a fine line. Food for thought…