Tag Archives: Dogs

Sweet Dreams

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

What to do on a cold, rainy day? Stay in the house and snuggle under the covers. The cold is relative. It only seems cold because a few days ago it was 90 degrees. Today it was 57. Ask me again in January and see if I still think 57 is cold.

And the rains came down all day long and still are. They are coming off some distant hurricanes. We complain about the excess rain but it sure beats a hurricane.

It makes for boring days for the dogs. No frisbee time or pasture time at all.

Nothing fun. Mealtime becomes the highlight of the day. And that is a sad thing indeed because the vet said Cassius the greyhound and Baxter both need to lose five pounds.

So a nap goes on the agenda. Sweet dreams.

Check Out These Faces!

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

Australian Cattle Dogs, 2 years old and 6 months old. Females.

Pit Bull, young.

Pit Bull mix.

Pit Bull mix.

These are the dog photos that I have saved to my phone for the past two weeks. They are from various situations, mostly shelters, and are in need of homes. These are just the dogs that have struck a chord in my heart. Dogs that I would consider pursuing and adopting, did we not already have five dogs. There were many more beautiful and highly adoptable dogs.

I watched a video from a local shelter that was pleading for adopters for their dogs. You see, their facility is full and they don’t want to euthanize. The video went on for few minutes, showcasing each dog for mere seconds. They were wonderful dogs. About 80% of them were dogs that I would be happy to adopt. If I had room and resources.

So my plea to you, if you are looking for a new family member of the canine persuasion, is to check out the dogs (or cats, rabbits, etc. ) at local shelters, pounds, and rescues.

To be fair, some homes would be better suited with a dog from a reputable breeder. Some of you will have specific needs like wanting to show your dog or have special, restrictive family situations that require you to know exactly what you are getting. And some folks are not in a position to properly care for a pet. Be it due to work schedules or small children, a pet is not a viable option for you at this point in time. I get that.

But if you are considering adding a dog, please do check out all adoption options first. There are purebreds, young dogs, calm dogs, and yes, high energy and needy dogs too, all wanting to be your companion. Do your homework before you adopt to ensure the best fit.

Don’t forget your local shelters. Just look at these faces!

Faces of Zeke

Dogs & Other Animals, Uncategorized,

Love

Contentment

Peace

Nap time

A Day at the Beach

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

On Thursday we had our annual trip to Lake Erie with the grandkids. Each year I am amazed that we have such a gem only a little over an hour from our house. We usually go to the beach at Geneva State Park but the beach at Mentor Headlands is a fine one too. This time, it was to Geneva.

It is always a great day. The waves and sand are relaxing. Even the cloudy days there are great because then it’s not crowded. As you can see, our weather this year was perfect.

We spend the whole day there. That is a long time for me to go without a dog fix. Luckily, other people brought dogs. This one was named Cody and built like a Labrador but had slightly longer brindle fur. It’s a good thing he was there with his family because I loved him! He wanted to go in the water but every time a wave came near, he jumped back.

There are impromptu works of art that people leave as monuments to their beach trips. I saw a couple young boys make this one. They set the sand with water and kept exclaiming to their mother “It’s so sturdy!” They were very proud. Future engineers?

My granddaughter Maddie spent some time swimming with her Papaw, while grandson Tyler hung out with Aunt Livvi and me on the beach. Later we switched and Maddie and I strolled down the beach looking for beach glass. I realized I was too late to add to my beach glass collection this year as we passed a woman with a sieve, panning for the glass.

No trip to the beach is complete for us without a trip to the ice cream stand at the end of the day. The stand has a soft serve flavor of the week which this time was banana. The banana and chocolate twist was a hit. My granddaughter and I got the Lake Erie Salt Mine ice cream. Lots of chocolate in various forms with whole cashews. No salt in evidence. (The actual salt mines are under Lake Erie, hence the name.)

After such a perfect day, I can hardly wait until we go back next year!

Share the Joy

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, ,

There are numerous benefits to having well trained dogs. One of these benefits is that you get to go places and do things together. Here are Nikki and Shelby (The Girls) after our walk at Bear Town Lakes Park over the weekend. They are sitting and laying down (on command) for their post-walk photo while my niece played on the tunnels and slide. The Girls also did some socializing with some other children at the park who wanted to pet them.

My older niece got to walk Nikki. If the leash is dropped Nikki will just sit down and wait. My niece did a great job of walking Nikki though and had so much fun that she wanted to go around the lake a second time. So we did.

After we got back to the house and ate lunch, we all played with hats. Shelby and Nikki are trustworthy and able to play with and be petted by my nieces who are 5 and 1 years old. (Never leave dogs unattended with small children, even reliable ones. Accidents happen.)

The dogs and I also stopped at my workplace on our way home. It had been such a wonderful day that I wanted to share the joy. Everyone feels better after a little dog therapy.

If Shelby and Nikki were unruly and disobedient, we would not have been able to have all these fun experiences together. Training your dog/s pays off.

Best Friends

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, Rescue Happenings,

It is good to have friends. Best friends. I firmly believe that you can have more than one best friend when you are an adult. There are friends for different occasions. These two are my reliable best friends.

Yesterday we volunteered at the County Fair together. I have no doubt that I can trust these girls to be well behaved with hundreds of people around. I don’t have to worry about incidents with adults, children, other animals, or unexpected circumstances when they are with me. They can handle it.

Shelby, of the red scarf, is the most obedient, well behaved dog I have ever had. We are a finely honed working team. She watches me to determine whatever it is that I want from her. She responds to my requests, verbal and often hand signals too. I also listen to her. If she indicates that she is unsure or stressed, I either reassure her or provide her with a short break, depending on the situation.

Nikki, in the green scarf, does her best to comply with my wishes although she doesn’t have quite the ability to figure things out that Shelby does. Still, I know that she will be well behaved and not cause trouble because that is her nature.

Yesterday at the Fair we participated in three things. First was the Therapy Dog Demonstration. Both girls are veterans with close to 100 visits under their belts (leashes?). Most have been to nursing homes. After that we manned one of the entrance gates for a couple of hours since it is easier if everyone takes a turn. Above are the girls at our station by the gate wondering why there is so much traffic. For our last event of the day we participated in something called Meet the Breeds where each of the handlers told a few facts about their Breed. The audience was then free to meet all the dogs.

What fine little ambassadors these girls are, for their breed and dogs in general. Also, I adopted them both from Northeast Ohio Shetland Sheepdog Rescue so they represented how fine Rescue dogs can be. They make me proud.

And after such good and hard teamwork, good girls get ice cream. (I got ice cream too, but I will spare you that photo!)

The Perfect Evening

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

I’ve never been much of a summer person. What, with all the heat and humidity, it’s too much. But on evenings like this, I will concede that there are some wonderful, beautiful experiences.

This evening is pleasantly cool, after days of unrelenting heat, with temperatures in the 70’s. I hear the splashing sounds of the fountain. I have all my dogs with me in the garden and I am sitting down to finish a good book. There are freshly baked biscuits to put strawberries on for shortcake later. Life doesn’t get much better.

A dear friend recently asked what type of books I like to read since I do so much of it. I enjoy many subjects and genres, mostly it depends on my mood. Here is what I am finishing up tonight.

It’s a murder mystery that takes place in Maine. The main characters run a chocolate themed bakery. Also there is a dog or two in the story. I have enjoyed other books by this author and then you add in so many of my favorite things, how could I go wrong?

I wish you, my friends, an evening that is as enjoyable as mine.

Zekie the Wonder Dog

Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals,

Zekie the Wonder Dog strikes again. Proving once more that a smart dog is not always a good thing.

We have doors on our kitchen. They meet in the middle and are for protecting food from those of our animals that are sometimes less than well behaved. A number of our various cats and dogs can open these doors with a paw or a nose. So for some time we have also put a dining room chair in front of the door as a barricade. This has worked quite well.

Until, as my husband sometimes calls him, the Zeke Monster came along. Dinner was awaiting behind these doors and I needed to go outside for a minute. I came back and the chair was moved, the doors were ajar and I came upon Zeke finishing the top half of the bun and the melted cheese off of my salmon burger.

Not wanting it to be said that my dog is smarter than me, I have come up with a new system. In addition to the doors and chair, I have added a bungee cord to my methods.

This picture is from my first trial. Zeke did move the chair but was foiled by the bungee cord. So I win. For now…

Over Achiever

Dogs & Other Animals,

Zekie is becoming quite the poster child for intelligence gone wrong. He continues to prove himself to be highly intelligent. This is not a good thing.

His latest escapade took place a couple of days ago. We have swinging type doors on our kitchen so that we can close them and have food safe from the dogs and cats while it cools or we run outside, etc. Some of the animals are sneaky so we put a dining room chair in front of the doors if we expect to be gone for more than a minute.

Well Zeke managed to do something that none of the others had attempted, to date. While I was out of site for a minute, Zeke moved the chair, nosed open the doors, reached up on the counter top and ate the top bun and cheese off of my salmon burger.

Back to the drawing board! Apparently we need some kind of latch for the doors. Eye hook? Sliding latch? We better come up with something quickly.

I love this boy. He is my kind of dog.