I Rescued a Human Today

Ripley

I'm sorry I don't know the name of the person who wrote this.  I've gotten this story from two or three friends in emails over the past few years and it brings a smile and a tear every time I read it.  

I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY
  
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.  I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.  I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.  I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today.  Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past.  I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.  I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.  Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.

A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.  Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.  I would promise to keep her safe..  I would promise to always be by her side.  I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes..  I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.  So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.  So many more to be saved.  At least I could save one. 

Andie

  I rescued a human today.

Start the Day Without Caffeine?

Here's another clever email message I'd like to share ...

"If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains, 

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

 
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

 
If you can relax without alcohol,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs, 

...Then You Are Probably .........The Family Dog."

Why Do Dogs Eat Grass?

It's a common belief that dogs eat grass when their tummies are upset ... we see a pool of puke and partially digested grass and assume that the grass made the dog or helped the dog throw up.  But that implies that grass is some kind of doggie medication and that dogs only eat grass when they don't feel good. 

But is that all there is to it?  Why do dogs eat grass?

Dogs are not strict carnivores.  They've always been scavengers, devouring anything and everything, as long as it fulfilled their basic dietary requirements.  Domestic dogs are actually omnivores and will frequently seek out alternative foods to fulfill their nutritional requirements, especially if they are fed a commercial diet.  And most of the time (about 75%), dogs don't throw up after eating grass. If you think that they do, it's probably because you only notice your dog has been eating grass because you can see it in her puke!  

Grass is good for your dog in moderate amounts UNLESS the grass has been treated with fertilizer, herbicides, or pesticides.  Since grass is a plant, it has fiber and nutrients that aren't found in typical dog food.

A great alternative to letting your dogs graze freely on your lawn is Barley grass.  It's easy to provide some safe grass by planting a special patch of Barley grass.  Dogs who like the taste of "lawn" grass will most likely also appreciate Barley grass.  It's inexpensive, grows very quickly, and is highly nutritious.  Barley grass is rich in vitamin A and C, plus it provides other vitamins, plus minerals and phytonutrients necessary for all mammals. 

I planted the Barley grass in this photo about 8 - 10 days before I took the picture.  As long as the dogs don't demolish the patch right away (which they don't), the grass will keep growing most of the summer, just as if it was growing in the ground.  They nosh for a couple of minutes each day and then leave it alone, so it grows back quickly.

I like to use self-watering containers so that the soil stays moist and I don't have to worry about watering every day during the hot summer.  And because some of the grass gets pulled out while the dogs are eating it, I continually add a few seeds here and there all season. 

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When it starts getting cold outside, I just bring the container inside and place it in a sunny location where the dogs can continue to eat the grass year round.  Before bringing it inside, though, I pull all the grass out so I can either change the soil or add organic matter to it ... in my experience, the Barley grass will grow more quickly inside during the fall and winter if it has good, fresh soil. 

"Crap! I thought I was in charge!"

"Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them's making a poop, the other one's carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge?"

~Jerry Seinfeld 



A Sweet Dog with Blue Eyes Needs a Loving Home

Crystal

Crystal is a sweet dog with blue eyes who needs a loving home.  My rescue group, COLARS (the Circle of Life Animal Rescue Society), received a call from a concerned citizen about 6 weeks ago.  She had been feeding a dog who had been abandoned near a closed-down rural business for about a week.  She called us when it became obvious that no one was coming back for her.  

We took her in for a veterinary check-up right away and he noted she was pregnant.  The next day, she went into labor ... we had rescued her in the nick of time!  She had three pups.  Two black and one brindle.  After just one week, it became apparent that these were going to be BIG puppies.  They gained 10 pounds in only five weeks.  Since Crystal is a smallish lab-mix at only 40 -45 pounds, we had to wean them early ... in their enthusiasm to feed from her, they were causing her pain and discomfort during nursing. 

So now Crystal is puppy-free and we're waiting for her milk to dry up so we can get her spayed.  I went to meet her for the first time yesterday after she was transferred from one foster home to another.  She now has room to run in a very large fenced yard.   

The first thing I noticed was that she is VERY active ... and in need of an experienced, patient trainer. She loves people, but has bad manners, and won't even respond to her name.  But I could also see that she's got great potential. She was starting to respect me after only an hour of interacting with her. Her typical sweet and friendly lab personality endeared me to her, but she acts like a 6-month old puppy.  She has no focus and is "all over the place."  She jumps on people and needs help to learn some basic good social skills.  

The second thing I noticed about her ... once she slowed down long enough to get a good look at her ... was that her eyes appear to change color.  Sometimes they are crystal blue, but they also appear white or yellow, depending on the light.  

Crystal is definitely a unique-looking dog, at least as far as black lab-mixes go.  I hope that will help us find her a good home.  She'll need lots of attention, LOTS of exercise and positive reinforcement-based training.  I'm confident she'll make some loving person or family a wonderful companion.  She's got lab smarts, lab friendliness, and a beautiful, shiny black lab coat. 

 We'll only be giving her over to another rescue group with a trainer on staff (wish we did), or an experienced person willing to take on a project dog.  She's located in southeast Missouri.  If you are interested in adopting her, or know someone who might be, please leave me a comment here, or feel free to visit the COLARS Facebook page and leave a private message.  

I Am a Facebook Addict ...

I must admit, I spend too much time on Facebook.  My name is Amy and I am a Facebook Addict.  

I resisted for years before opening an account because I thought it was just a waste of time.  But since I joined in August 2011, I've found that Facebook can be a great tool and a fantastic way to meet people with similar interests and passions as my own.  Not only have I re-connected with long-ago friends, but I've found a wonderful group of like-minded animal-lovers. 

Today's post will be dedicated to some of the worthwhile images and messages I've come across on Facebook.  Just today, for instance, I saw this:

Thanks to Inside The Divine Pattern and Anthony Douglas Williams for sharing this.  It perfectly expresses what I see and feel every single time I look into the eyes of any animal.  Although there is a lot of controversy about whether animals have souls, I have no doubt in my soul, heart and mind that they do indeed have souls.  It is only the human soul that needs "saving."  Animals, like babies, are innocent.  And have pure, uncorrupted souls.  

A popular message I've seen on many rescue pages involves "forever homes" for pets.  The photo to the right was posted by The German Shepherd Dog Community.


Along those lines, I shared this photo today on my personal wall as well as my non-profit spay/neuter group's Facebook page:

Thanks to RePeace for sharing such an important message ... one that is near and dear to my heart.  I first saw this photo on another wall and one person had left a comment admitting that he/she had done this very thing and was ashamed for it.  The person admitted he/she didn't think about the consequences of abandoning the dog until he/she saw this photo, which included the horrifying ways a dog, cat or house rabbit can suffer after being abandoned:  starvation, heat stroke, freezing to death, dying of thirst, being hit by a vehicle, or being preyed upon by wild animals or humans.  I respected this person for admitting publicly what he/she had done and left my own comment telling him/her so.  I added that I hope he/she will now consider becoming an advocate for animals.

So, although I often spend waaaaay too much time on Facebook, it has added another dimension to my life and expanded my circle of dear friends.  And it has provided me with a platform to help spread the message of responsible and loving pet guardianship and kindness to all animals.

To end on a lighter note, let me share a photo and quotation I posted today:

Cookie, a formerly neglected dog, and her old pal, Teddy (R.I.P.). Teds was abandoned near my front gate.  He was lucky and found a new and better home.  Other abandoned dogs don't fare so well. 

"Home is where the dog hair sticks to everything but the dog!"
~Author unknown 

Do Dogs Have Personalities?

Duh!  I think anyone who has spent any time around dogs would have to say YES!  And if you live with multiple dogs, like I do, there is absolutely no doubt that dogs do indeed have individual personalities. All 5 of my dogs have their own very distinct set of traits and behaviors.

Ripley, pictured above and below, is the family clown.  She is extremely bright, loyal, and likes to goof around.  She responds to laughter and seems to know that she's funny.  She's one of those dogs who "talks" and seems to make different noises depending on the situation. 

Ripley can be a bit bossy with the other dogs and often acts like a crabby coach when they are playing, like she's trying to tell them to calm down and quit acting like idiots.  And one of her most endearing behaviors is her love of grooming the other dogs.  My mother calls her "Nurse Ratchet" (from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), because she is both bossy and nurturing.

Ripley also has a talent for finding ticks on the other dogs.  She'll stick her nose into their fur at the exact spot where the tick is hiding out.  Then she'll pull back and look at me with a certain expression in her eyes.  If I don't investigate right away, she'll stick her nose back into the other dog's fur and repeat the whole process until I remove the tick. She's right on target every single time!

Then there is Shasta.  She's a whole other story.  She's much more subdued and serious than Ripley.  Although, as you can see from the photo of her to the right, she's got some seriously goofy expressions.  Shasta was rather neglected when I found her wandering along a rural highway.  I'm guessing she spent the first year or so of her life mostly alone.  It might be the reason she is a loner.  Although she's friendly and sweet with me, she prefers to keep her distance from the other dogs most of the time and doesn't participate in "pack activities," such as playing and sleeping together.  And when we take hikes, I have to keep her leashed because she won't stay with us and wanders away on her own.

Like Shasta, Cookie was also neglected before she came to live with us.  I started calling her Cookie because she's just so dang sweet!  She's rather shy and submissive and likes to cuddle ... despite her 80+ pounds!

She's one of those typical large dogs who think they are small.  She'd sit on my lap if she fit, but usually just has to settle with putting her head in my lap or curling up next to me in a ball. Cookie knows what the word "kisses" means and will give kisses if you say the word to her.  Fortunately, she has pretty good breath for a dog, so her kisses won't make you pass out or even turn away with a grimace.


Cookie is also camera shy, so I don't have as many photos of her as the other dogs.


And if we're outside wandering around in the woods, it's next to impossible to get any good shots of her.  I have to act quickly to get some photos of her when she decides to take a break ... but I've taken more photos of her butt than her head ... she doesn't stay still for very long!

Well, I have to get back to my "day job."  I still have two dogs to go ... I hope you're enjoying getting to know my special pals.


Please feel free to leave comments and feedback.  The only rule for posting comments is this:  Be the person your dog thinks you are!

Update on Sammi

Sammi got the sutures removed from his leg yesterday.  (See my blog post Does My Dog Have a Tumor? for details about why Sammi had to have minor surgery.)  He was such a good boy for the vet ... much more so than he was for me!

Before taking him to the vet, I tried to take his stitches out myself.  I have a pair of those scissors with the little curve on the end, designed just for taking out sutures, but he was playing the drama queen and acted like I was trying to amputate his leg.  No matter how much I talked sweet and softly to him, he just didn't want to hold still. 

But when it was our turn at the vet, he walked into the exam room, hopped up onto the chair in the corner like he always does, and sat very, very still while Dr. Kelvin kneeled in front of him ... snip, snip, snip ... all done!  If anyone can explain why dogs will typically "behave" for the vet when they won't for their human, please feel free.  I'm sure it has something to do with being in a strange place or being nervous, but you'd think maybe he'd relax at home and trust that I wasn't trying to hurt him.  ... Oh well!

Or maybe he was just trying to get me to take him on a car ride into town.  As you can see from the photo, he was a happy camper, sitting in the front seat.  And if that was his goal, well, then he got what he wanted.  :-)  So anyway, Sammi's leg healed well, and now that the stitches are out, he's not licking and chewing on the incision as much, so I know it's mostly healed.  I love my boy, Sam!

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"Talk" to you more soon ... I'll leave you with this:

"Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you? But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window!"     ~~ Steve Bluestone

   

An Amazing Dog Rescue Transformation

I'm a member of a small non-profit animal welfare group that operates a low-cost spay/neuter program.  I almost don't know what to say about this video ... except that it exemplifies why rescue people "do what they do."  It is a truly amazing dog rescue transformation.
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And it illustrates why it is so very important to spay and neuter your pets, whether you have dogs, cats or rabbits.  So many dog owners will happily spay their females, but they leave their males intact.  But what they don't think about is how many female dogs their male dog could be impregnating if they let their dog run loose.

Just today, as I was driving along a rural highway, I saw a scrawny dog, her teats full of milk, wandering along the roadway.  I had to wonder where were her puppies?  Was she getting enough to eat ... and was she getting quality food?  And what is going to happen to her puppies?  Will they have a good life?  My impulse was to pull over and rescue her, but she was wearing a collar.  And it is part of the culture around here to let dogs roam and multiply at will.

Queenie and her pups.  They were rescued from a hollowed-out tree.

For me, that dog exemplified why my rescue group does what it does.  We encourage the folks in our county to be responsible pet owners by getting their dogs and cats spayed and neutered.  And we make it easier for them to do the right thing by paying most of the cost of the procedure.  Many people don't appreciate what we do, and even complain that they have to pay a co-payment, usually between $25 and $55.  Although we are glad to help people, the real reason we continue to put up with those who are ungrateful and those who refuse to be good pet "parents" is because we love animals.  We do our best to do the best we can for those who can't help themselves. 

This sweet pup (we named him Zorro) was found along a busy rural highway.

My group has a Facebook page and is called COLARS, the Circle of Life Animal Rescue Society.  Our spay/neuter program is called SNYFF (Spay/Neuter Your Furry Friends).   Please feel free to "like" us and visit often, even if you don't live anywhere near Iron County Missouri.

And PLEASE! ... spay and neuter your pets ... and Don't Shop.  ADOPT instead!

Is It Really Spring Already?

Sammi

By Sammi, it sure feels like Spring outside! I know the dogs really like the temperate weather, but all I can think about is how fast the grass is growing ... and that if things don't cool off REAL soon, I'll have to mow my lawn!  And I'd much rather spend my free time with the Pack:  Ripley, Shasta, Sammi (pictured above), Cookie and Andie.  We live in a very rural area and are fortunate to have hundreds of acres of woods in our "backyard."  So almost any time we want, we can go hiking ... just open the back gate and off we go! .....

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The video was recorded last Fall, but you get the idea. Ripley, Shasta and Sammi were the three dogs you saw at the beginning of the video ... Shasta has to stay on a leash because she tends to wander off and gets into trouble (like wandering out onto the busy highway that's nearby ... she's fearless).  Ripley is the spotted dog ... I'm pretty sure she's a Blue Heeler (Australian Cattledog) mixed with Australian Shepherd.  And Sammi is the Beagle/mix.  He's the only male of the Pack.

Then toward the top of the mountain, you met Andie and Cookie.  Andie is mostly black and is a herding mix of some kind.  Sweet Cookie is the German Shepherd/mix.

So what is this blog all about?  Well, if you love dogs, I think you'll like it.  I'll be sharing stories, photos and videos of my dogs, but will also be sharing information about dog treats and other "doggie stuff."  If you're like me, you only want the best for your dog.  I'm always on the lookout for good quality treats at reasonable prices. 

So in addition, I'll soon be adding pages that offer high quality treats at fair prices.  I will only sell treats I'd give to my own dogs.  Which means I won't sell treats with questionable ingredients or those treated with irradiation.

Ripley

And please feel free to leave comments, feedback, and to ask questions.  I have so much to share with you!  I hope you'll visit often.  And so do Ripley (smiling at you from above), Shasta, Sammi, Cookie and Andie!