A Wonderful Site For Animal Transport And Rescue

The name of this site is Operation Roger. From what I can gather it's a rescue operation that also transports animals free of cost for non profit animal rescue groups etc. From what I can gather the name comes from Roger a Toy Manchester Terrier who was a rescue. There is a small animal rescue listing page, rescue stories etc. Check out these good Samaritans and what they do.
This website was brought to my attention because Arrow Trucking in Tulsa Oklahoma went out of business. (I hate to go on ad nauseum but I'm truly talented @ it) Not only did they go out of business Arrow Trucking left it's drivers stranded out on the road with no fuel money. Damlier Finance is repossessing the trucks and from what I gather they are giving part of the drivers bus fare home. The problem? You can only take so much with you on a bus. We've only been in this truck for a couple months out on the road this time but I have probably $100 worth of groceries, 6 big suitcases, extra shoes and coats for both of us, laptop obviously, bedding, plus the usual frig, tv, microwave, some even have port a potties or carry small bar-b que grills and lawn chairs. This isn't going on a bus and no one is paying to get it home except for the truck drivers whose last paycheck and maybe the one before that one from Arrow bounced. Most ex-Arrow drivers are just abandoning their gear which is sad. What makes it doubly tragic is the season and probably not being paid for work done or even in some cases not having insurance the company was supposed to be paying for.

BUT to get to the point of my post what about the pets these drivers had? I don't know if they were allowed pets or not but if they were I'm sure there are several drivers stranded with pets since I know truck drivers and usually if they want a pet they put it in the truck regardless.

Topix suggested Operation Roger as a possible solution for these ex-Arrow drivers. I hope it is working out for everyone.

I know we would have to rent a car to get home if this situation arose with us but we own our own truck but they do break. Also I've heard of so many dogs lost @ truck stops and by travelers, this is why Dispatch is chipped and I try to keep his id on him too @ all times.

Anyway check out these kind souls @ operation Roger and what they do for animal rescue.
And I"ve been doing well @ posting (not so well on reading and commenting) but Happy Holidays to all once again, we might have a white Christmas in the midwest but we will be home before that!!!

Merry Christmas, Tiger Woods, Web, and Dispatch of course!

On Animals that give pause.com I have a post about Dispatch pawing frantically @ my arm and wanting to be held CLOSE, it's called assume the position because I spend much of my day now riding in the truck holding him if he weasels his way on my lap.
This picture is not Dispatch sitting on my lap. It's what he does as an alternative. He stares into a black hole in the dash of the truck. There is nothing there? It's actually a drawer you can throw stuff into from above. The truck makes noises with it's motor and road noises sound like they are coming from the motor. Read the other blog and you will get the drift. The motor is sort of there and he is....?
Call me Polyanna and stupid but I wrote a post on Tresa's Blog about Tiger Woods and how he's a dog but most men are dogs.....I said MOST, ok it should have been SOME?
Also my daughter has her website up about her pet care business. Check it out and if you are in KS? The kid rescued a opossum and tried to keep it as a pet. What more can I say other than her nickname was Elly Mae for all her "critters"..... See if you can find the Charlie and Mugsey pictures, the yorkiepoo and the golden lab.
AND Happy Holidays, we are alive and well. We've been living healthier lives (no smoking, almost no sweets, husband now knows how to look for carbs on food labels, he's mildly diabetic, we both need to loose weight) Anyway I haven't done much for a month but ride with him in the truck, solve sudoku avidly, and I did clean a bit before I left home, I have 5 garbage sacks of clothes for charity and relatives and Christy's shorts from high school cheerleading are no longer with us. It's been 15 years and I still had the shorts.. I could wear them too!! LOL
That is my excuse for not blogging or keeping in touch. We also aren't heating the computer room @ home all the time so that cuts down on computer time. But I've been thinking of you all and feeling bad about not blogging or commenting and I want to wish everyone the happiest, most peaceful holiday season ever. And we might even eat a piece of candy then too!! ;-)

Happy Turkey Day Amigos!

We are back from our trip, see previous post, and the "other" animals blog. I was starting to feel like the crew of the faithful minnow who took a three hour trip, a three hour trip....sorry, it seemed funny to me. We had to stay in a motel for a couple days to get a load back but we did get one back, thanks Tony. BTW I do have my CDL and I will probably be working with my husband a great deal now. (I weighed the pros and cons did I want to ride with him on ice or drive myself to work on ice, ride with him won). Oh and BTW did I ever tell you how I went on this trip? We were cleaning the truck since husband had used it for hauling construction stuff around for 6 months (read dust over everything) and I was playing with the passenger seat, he said it's air ride and I'll fix it if you'll go with me. Anyway I thought husband would have to put a new seat in the truck or @ least take the innards out of this one. Nope, it MIGHT have taken him 5 minutes to fix it. So I'm a truck driver again or a truck passenger part of the time.

I also posted about Thanksgiving and forgiveness on Tresa's Blog if you wish to be more unimpressed with my mental facilities. I'm so tired I was wandering from room to room forgetting what I came into each one for, bathrooom....... check mousetrap, bedroom.........get dog food (I put it in a suitcase, you think I keep the dogfood in the bedroom?)

The picture above? It's an aceo (colored pencil, 2.5"x3.5" painting) I did of Dispatch the Bichon when he was a baby puppy. I'm not sure why I put it on here and the other blog but it's one of my favorite pictures of him. He was a baby on my blue jeaned lap. I'm pretty sure my legs were skinny then?

All the animals are fine. Skeeter is much better. She yodeled when we got home Dispatch screeched like a banshee when she yodeled.

Highlights of the trip?
1. Dispatch tried to take out a border patrol when he stepped up on the truck when the door was open. I told the officer Dispatch was a citizen too. For those of you that haven't been to S TX or other places close to the border they look in trucks @ various inspection stations.

2. Dispatch is convinced the noise the rumble bars on the side of the road make is a monster trying to come through the floor of the truck to get him. This will keep him occupied staring @ the floor from the safety of my lap for about 1/2 hour. Also Dispatch is NOT happy on the dash of the truck but he fits quite nicely when we are sitting still if he's being annoying. He's not sure what the jake brake is but it's not nearly as scary as the rumble bars and if he watches his daddy much more I'm pretty sure he will know the gear pattern.

3. Remember how Dispatch is the terror of the car trip? Rides in a truck like he's been doing it all his life, sleeps on the floor most of the time, looks out whatever window is available, braces for curves etc. Of course he can touch mommy @ all times IF he wants to so that makes a difference. And of course everyone thinks he is so cute and well behaved @ the truck stops and even point and wave as we go down the road, @ least I think they are pointing and waving @ him or I'm having a REALLY bad hair day?

4. Oh yes, the refrigerator in the truck is @ floor level, it didn't take Dispatch long to learn this. He REALLY likes cold cold bottled water. He started telling me he was thirsty or his water was warm (horrors) by going and sitting by the frig.

Anyway I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving without gaining a pound. We are going to my in laws tomorrow along with my sis in law and her family and their families and my daughter and her family and four of husbands kids with their families, intendeds, or intended with families. Anyway I just counted and it's 35 people, I think we had close to 50 here two years ago. Mostly immediate family. I got off lucky this year as far as cooking, my SIL was a caterer (she does everything perfectly, did I say that? hey Elenor, just kidding if you read this) and her two daughters are helping. My daughter is picking up canned sweet potatoes because no one was brining any and we have to have some even if no one eats them and I will fix them over there. She's also bringing dirt cake which is some outrageously rich crumbled oreo concoction or that's usually what she brings. I'm dumping canned fruit in a bowl and calling it good. Only two kids won't be there, my youngest and husbands youngest. One is house/dog sitting and the other is spending the holiday with her mother and her husbands family.

Anyway I'm full of good cheer but need to sleep again, Happy Holidays!!!

Daily Dispatch or Bicho Frise says I WILL GO!

No this isn't a picture of the unfinished door trim in the family room or my dirty old flip flops (I have it planned when I'm in the truck with husband, I have on jogging clothes @ night and put on flip flops and a hoodie and stumble in to bathroom and breakfast covering head with hoodie, sounds like a plan to me?). Dispatch got up on the bench by himself which is no small feat considering his water dish and food dish were in his way when he jumped!! So he is better, much better, read the previous few posts, he had anal gland problems and then limped. The Bichon is laying on top of my coats because he knows something is up and he does NOT want to be left out. My husband is taking short trips in the truck and I will be with him some. The "junk" is piled up so I can take it to truck. See whole grain club crackers? Water instead of Mountain Dew? we are living healthy now! Anyway the dog will be with us obviously. Kids and other relatives are here to take care of Skeeter. She's not doing too well. Here's a picture of her and the "posse"or our small dog collection in our yard. She's got to be 13 and she could be 18 or more years old. Did you ever try to get 4 dogs, 2 of whom aren't yours to stand still?

I have new posts on Tresa's Blog about the grandkids and on the "other" Animals That Give Pause about big cats. I don't mean overweight house cats that make up Dispatch's nightmares either. I mean like large dog killing cats in Missouri.

I haven't had time to go to other blogs or comment lately. I haven't forgotten and think of you all every day, Rae, Judy, Lilly, AL, Anne, Cindy, Jan........ and all the others who have wonderful blogs and whose links are below to the right if YOU perhaps would want to go read their wonderful blogs I wouldn't feel so guilty about not going there? Not exactly subliminal messaging, how's this? go to my other blogs and clicky clicky and then go to the blog list @ the bottom right and clicky clicky and comment nicely. How's that for subliminal? You would really help me assuage my extreme feelings of guilt that could lead to anxiety and depression and paranoia. Better subliminal? Too much?

If you are still reading this perhaps you have masochistic tendencies, did you ever look into that? I'M KIDDING!! OK??

Bulldog Puppies Among Other Things.......

Remember Opal the Bulldog whom I took care of this summer while her parents my daughter and family were gone?
Well as I reported earlier in October Opal had puppies.
Now they are almost ready to leave their homes, they will be over two months old and ready to go after the 7th of December. When I went over there the other night my daughter had been @ work and we had to get the puppies out and socialize them for awhile. The puppies also had their own nursemaid who is a vet tech, other daughter. The puppies are spoiled and they are loved as my daughter says in her webpage about her English Bulldogs.
If you are not careful they will turn out like this though. This is Newman my nephews dog from the last bunch of puppies. Opal also got the idea while I was taking care of her that any piece of furniture could support her and since Dispatch laid on tables so could she. Newman also has a bowling ball for a toy. Does that tell you anything? He skateboards also but I can't find the video on youtube, it might just be on facebook.
Here are two of the puppies that will be available in December, they are located in Central Missouri if you are interested in Christmas puppies, go to her English Bulldog website for further information. BTW Moto the white one loves me.
Marlene is @ the top of the page. She loves me too. I think maybe I smell and sound like their "grandma"?
If you are a glutton for punishment I have a dog book review about Cesar Millans newest book A Memeber of the Family on Missouri Books.
I also have some new posts on Tresa's Blog and my "other" animals that give pause blog. Next I'm putting more Yorkie Poo pictures up of Charlie on the animals blog, before Grey's anatomy that is.

Behind and Getting Behinder

I've been trying to get caught up all day from the weekend, husband being home an extra day because of rain and running yesterday.

So my husband calls and tells me we are going home how soon can I be packed? At first we were taking the camper, now we are only going home for a bit and going in the car. I'm almost packed.
Dispatch is better, this is how he looked this moring. I think he was going for the sympathy vote. Anyway I won't be on for a couple days.

Dispatch is feeling better now. He was just dancing around my chair begging to be picked up and he's jumped in a chair twice now. He still won't go down stairs and he just sits in the middle of the living room when I go outside, usually he's @ the door barking and telling me which end is up but he is better.

This last picture is Dixie and Dispatch. She is our friends dog, he found her wandering around half starved. I think she is part shepherd and greyhound? She seems to be house trained, I let her out during the day, she's next door. Dispatch and she get along great, she does the belly crawl and says please don't hurt me Mr Cool one Dispatch and he ignores her.


I posted about this on animals that give pause.com so you aren't seeing double!

Dispatch Is Going To The Vet

We are back from the vet and there is an update @ the bottom. GOOD NEWS, walking on air,…. sunshine oh yeah, can’t remember the rest of the words……..

He isn't that sick but he isn't that good either. He hasn't been wanting to go up and down steps, I even posted about it on http://animalsthatgivepause.com/. He was grumpy last night when we were playing with the ball. Then I noticed I was having to lift him on the couch or the bed, he wouldn't jump up which is like weird, he can doing a bichon blitz off the bed like you won't believe. He did jump up on Daddy's leg this morning and I did get him to jump on the bed by opening the window (mama might escape?) but he just barely made it up there. He wouldn't jump up for tennis balls or anything. He has been yelping when he pawed the dirt after he poops which I thought was strange, I looked for a nail that was bothering him but nothing. Then just now he did it again when he was trying to tell me he wanted the tennis ball. He had been whining for the tennis ball because it's in my purse on a chair but normally he'd jump up on the chair and get it out of my purse. He won't come outside when I take the neighbors dog potty even when I leave the door open and talk baby talk to the other dog. He hasn't eaten or drank today, he pooped this morning but hasn't peed as far as I know. He won't even eat cheese!!!

You ask why I'm posting this? Why aren't I rushing to the Dr? They aren't taking walk ins till 2 pm so I've got a bit of time to kill. I'm actually typing so I will remain calm(tears have threatened to come a couple times and he may just have a pulled muscle or something, stupid dog). He isn't that comfortable with me holding him and I'm sure we will get plenty of together time @ the vets. Here's a picture of him I took a couple weeks ago and doctored up with photoshop. Doesn't he look sick? He's sleeping in his dog bed quite a bit too, he NEVER sleeps in his dog bed. And he's doing this funny thing he's always done, we call it yoga dog where he looks like he is stretching his neck up and he just poses like that for 5 -30 seconds, looks down and then does it again. But he's been doing it like 5 times as much the last couple days.

I will let you know. Good thoughts our way PLEASE!!

It was inflamed full full anal glands. They expressed them and did blood work because his little belly was rigid I guess his belly was rigid because his butt hurt because nothing else was wrong. In fact the vet used the word fantastic or amazing when describing how healthy he was otherwise!! I told Dispatches Daddy about it all and he said so basically we spent that much money because the dogs butt was sore? He has a way of putting things doesn’t he?

Oh and the assistant, the receptionist and the vet all had to stop in the middle of talking to me and tell Dis just how cute he was. I wonder why he is spoiled?

And if Sheila (I think that’s her name) from the dentists office reads this thank you for your help with getting a vet!

Dog In Stroller Video

The long awaited dog stroller video on THE NEW IMPROVED MY (my is the operative word here as in I am in control can keep it sell it, put bad or good stuff on it etc.)Animals That Give Pause Blog!

And on Tresa's Blog
one of those mish mash posts, actually it's pretty much about giving to charity but it does have a fat picture of me on it. Anyone else gained weight on Plavix or Wellbutrin? Of course I'm not as active but this is getting ridiculous.

Seems we have had a national emergency declared, h1n1 and you here on Tresa's Blog.

Prejudice and Kindness

That's the title of my new post on Tresa's Blog, you can get to it here. It's about those less fortunate than us and how a teacher can make a difference with one act of kindness.

Rainy lazy day here in SE TX, Louisiana had tornado warnings earlier. We had torrential rains, some of the guys ran over a water moccasin in the driveway where I walk. They said he was trying to get away from all the water? Hope there are no more.

My New Page Family Mystery

I have a new page on Tresa's Blog.
My Family Mystery, it's long, real long with lots of links. We have a perfectly nice respectable family, but the page has murder, a wild boar, a gold ring and a rabbi on it, oh yeah, robber barons too. It was just the people who lived in the house that we are named after. Unless ........

AND it's got a very blurry self portrait of me illustrating my big nose with almost no makeup on. Confused? Good, go see what I'm talking about.

New Posts

In case you've missed them! I have three new posts on my animals blog, it's NOT here btw anymore, I want to thank all the 60,000+ visitors I've had in the past year and encourage them to visit my new blog and bookmark it if they like or put in a reader. I decided to go with my own domain because this one was so successful as far as visitors coming.
Anyway the links ARE:
The Trained Dog? and Power Walk
Charlie the Yorkie Poo or Yorkiepoo or little snookums Refund as I like to call him, refund ya get it cuz he cost money. It's a joke, honest. The first time I chased him for 1/2 an hour when he was running away from me I thought it was appropriate.
A Dog Who can Read maybe not what you were expecting but interesting and food for thought.

And then on Tresa's Blog there's
The Awning and The Husband telling how I survived dancing on thin air and my husband survived telling me something was my fault.
Then I tried my hand @ photography for photography's sake on Country Reflection

And everyone have a good and safe weekend!

Crate Training the Dog and An Offensive? t-shirt

My latest posts are Crate Training The Older Dog on the new Animals That Give Pause. There is a place to be my friend on the lower right hand side too. Just like here. Click on the link above to go there. If you haven't visited before I'm moving all my blogs to my own domains except for Missouri Books.

The latest post on Tresa's Blog is about an offensive t-shirt or not offensive? Nobody is venturing an opinion and I ventured a question? I went to Goodwill (nope not above buying from them, some of it is still in the stores or has just came out) and bought some new t-shirts because I have a feeling it might be offensive. Of course there was that shirt I had when I was a teenager that said girldog across the front in airbrush with pretty clouds all around and you had to really look to see what it said. But yes I wore it proudly and no it really didn't say girldog, I'm just being PG here. But those were the days, I had a wifebeater that had the truckin dude across the front. We didn't wear bras........ and if my kids had gone out of the house like that it would not have been pretty.

I'm So Excited (and I just can't hide it)

Yes I'm so Excited and Just Can't Hide It. You ask why? I got Google Friend Connect installed on both of my new blogs Animals That Give Pause and Tresa's Blog. So if you want to??? You can go visit my new blogs and become my friend there. That is if you want to. NOT pressuring anyone, no sir no how no way.
go now go now go to the new blogs go to the new blogs go to the new blogs go to the new blogs goooo to the new blogs NOW you haven't gone yet? GO NOW i SAY!!!!!!
But I would never pressure anyone in anyway, no siree bob, wouldn't do that. GO NOW

Raining here. It was over 100 degree heat index yesterday, supposed to be cooler. Dispatch and I didn't get to take our walk because someone thought she had plenty of time before the rain started so she started writing on the new Animals Blog.

The next post I think I will do on the animals blog is one about Crate Training, I've actually got it done sort of!! With the Stubborn One no less. On Tresa's Blog I will have a post later about the Stepford wives that surround me. That is unless husband comes home. They might call it a day because of rain. He's in a truck but some of the people who actually have to get out and do thinkgs can't work if it's raining hard or thundering.

European Followers and Ohio Kittens

This is sort of a mish mash as are most of my posts. On the REAL Animals That Give Pause I have a post about kittens in Ohio that need homes, and a lady who rescues them and has feral cats neutered and spayed. Jan let me repost it from Animal Talk.

I am also pleased and honored to have so many new followers from Europe. I'm only second generation American so I have recent ties to Germany and France. OK, not so much France but my great x 6 grandmother's name was Marie Jareau or Jereau. There's a story about a castle and a rabbi, brothers and a wild boar I will tell you some time that is pretty interesting. Has something to do with my German ancestors.

Also I have a new post about child proof caps on Tresa's Blog and if the chicken frying goes well this afternoon ( I cook for some of my husbands friends most evenings, I like to cook for lots of people and they contribute) I will have a new one on Tresa's Blog about my Stepford Wife Neighbors.

One of the bulldog puppies from yesterday didn't make it through the night, a white female, her lungs didn't seem to be right so it was for the best.

I warned you it was a mish mash and ya didn't believe me now huh huh, ya didn't believe me now, huh huh. Wasn't there a song like that from 72? The part about ya didn't believe me now huh huh, think deep guttural voice. It's in the back of my mind......

Newborn Bulldog Puppies and Links to Other Stories

You guessed it, you need to go to the NEW animals that give pause . If you have my link in your google reader or my blog link on your blog it needs to be that address.
If you don't have time to go look @ the puppies now..... Opal had 5 and they are healthy.
There are quite a few links of funny or interesting stories in the post before the puppy post or the one before that.
Oh yeah! I have a post about Matthew McConaughey (vaguely) here
on Tresa's Blog.
AND I forget to tell anyone I had found quite a few interesting new blogs. Well they were to me, maybe I was on drugs but I definitely remember being entertained. I also have links to my OLD FRIENDS there also. Not that my friends are old, my blogging friends of longer acquaintance OK?
(insert cheesy grin here)

Animal News for October 1, 2009

You know you have to go to my new improved wonderful stupendous blog here to read these stories don't you? it's not here, you have to click on the link above to go there. If you don't know it yet I have a bunch of animal stories about a lost dog, a yorkie and a thief, my lab/golden retriever, my bichon frise, my daughters yorkie poo and a cat emancipator. Oh yeah the Gosselins and a woman eating goldfish and the dog flu too.
So go to my new blog PLEEAZE? I mean I've had like 1500 visitors a day here when I blogged about Obama's choice of a Labradoodle or a Portugese Water Dog. So how many do I get on my new blog like 6, a day. I'm not complaining or anything (yes I am WHINE WHINE) but I would really like to make a go of my new blog since I own it? So if you want these stories or are the tiniest bit curious go HERE.
Or if you want to read about my probably wrong opinions or my boring life you can go visit Tresa's Blog.
Right now I have to go pick up my medicine which I ordered @ a pharmacy that didn't take my insurance (duhhh) so I had to have it transferred, grocery shop and fix supper for the guys which I enjoy believe it or not! The cooking thing, not picking up medicine.

Dog Stroller Or The Most Spoiled Bichon Frise

Read all about it on the new Animals That Give Pause and change any bookmarks or links to my NEW blog address if you haven't done so, I think you can join and put my new blog on your google reader, if not I need to fix it. Just click log in @ the top of
Animals That Give Pause.

See ya there as will the happy dog. He really used to hate this stroller, I don't know what happened except he is a ham.

Moving My Blogs

Hey everyone, I moved my blogs in case you didn't know!! OK, they are still here but the new posts are @ Animals That Give Pause, and Florence View has morphed (second time I've used that word today, becoming a favorite) into Tresa's Blog.

Now I have a legitimate and pertinent question to ask, what to do with my blogger blogs? Leave them here to point to my new blogs? Not a problem except the most popular one has the same name as this one. Do away with them? Has anyone gone from blogger to their own self hosted blog and lived and prospered to tell about it in the desert that is known as no guaranteed comments off of blogger. Just kidding, it took a long long time to get the blogs rolling here.

So advice anyone would care to share?

Bichon Frise Talks! (again)

Now you have to go to my new blog to see the video. Or you can click it on the side if it shows up.
The link to see the talking bichon frise dog Dispatch is HERE. My other new blog telling what I've been doing (if you are REALLY bored and a glutton for punishment is... Tresa's Blog. Oh BTW it's not a good picture of the bichon's daddy, he's actually more handsome than Michael Douglas is (now). Or @ least I think so.

My Own Animal Blog

I've moved my blog to AnimalsThatGivePause.Com. The look isn't perfect yet but I'm getting there. Please change your bookmarks if you would. I have to import my blog list, twitter, etc. etc. Please pardon my lack of commenting. If you knew how intimate I'd been with my control panel (NOT MY FAULT) last week you would understand completely. Dispatch has been hanging off of my arm while I type, he's really sad I haven't had much time for him.

Because I'm a glutton for punishment I just had to use wordpress to install another blog on some other webspace I have. The blog is about me and computers, politics, Linux, Mac, html and what I don't know about it and how that is dangerous........
Tresa's Blog

Bichon Keeping My Humans in Line

I bet you wanted to start your day off with a bichon butt? This is Dispatch the bichon frise (and a tough one @ that) and it's a mighty handsome butt if I do say so myself. What am I doing? Mama has this screensaver on her laptop that has a cat playing, I've never caught the cat but I tried again the other day. As with most cats this one thinks he has superior cunning and higher mental abilities than the bichon. The bichon will teach that cat that dogs rule!!! (Just as soon as I catch him) Mama says she tried to lighten the picture but it looked worse, if she lightened it the bichon butt wouldn't show up so well I don't think? I know if I touch the laptop that sneaky cat disappears but I will get him soon.

This is me this morning, this is the look I give mama when I don't want her to go outside (I've almost perfected poor and pitiful don't cha think?), she moved her computer to the table and I love to sit on her lap, propped up appropriately by her left arm, and watch tv. I do fall asleep but she tries to get me to lay down and I wake up. Sometimes she has the audacity to make me get down on the floor, I can lay there but prefer the recliner.
My mama has been busy busy lately, she hasn't had any time to let me blog even!! Daddy takes up quite a bit of her time but that is OK, when he is home I'm on his lap unless we are watching tv as a family, then I usually sit on the floor in front of the tv and watch. They say I'm trying to figure out what is going on but I know what is happening. That's why I go to sleep. Reruns ya know? The big black book on the table in the picture has a bunch of stuff that needs to go into the computer and mama says there are more in the closet that need to be either checked or put into the computer. It makes her busy and grouchy. She took the day off yesterday, she said she did anyway, she was still on that puter with the kitty on it, a day off is a day petting THE DOG and feeding him but did that happen NO! She's trying to make a new blog which will be the same name as this one and dot com. You might have to put blog on there too but she's not sure since she can't get ANY of it to show up, not even so she can mess it up. She keeps muttering about something called a control panel and wordpress and ftp and even htaccess. She says she even tried uninstalling and putting an index page in. She thinks maybe she messed something up which sometimes happens to her because she can do most things by the seat of her pants on the fly and doesn't pay attention sometimes. She says if you have had problems with wordpress and fantastico and solved them to email her you can use this address (moads4u at gmail dot com) or tc at animalsthatgivepause dot com but she's not sure THAT is working either, she's been able to send mail but hasn't got any. Mama has LOTS of hair but she says she might pull it out, as long as she stays away from my hair that's ok.
She did manage to give me a haircut WITH the clipper guard this time. I got to go in everybodies camper after that even people who don't like animals in their house because I'm so CLEAN and handsome. The bare patch on my hip (see like a few posts back when wacky woman trimmed me without the clipper guard) is growing out, I have TERRIBLE itches there, mama says it's when my tail hits the skin without much hair on it but I know there is something GETTING me there. I sit down and swing around no matter what I'm doing and try to chew on my butt, they laugh but it's serious, it could be a giant flea I'm saving the world from?
Mama said she will be back blogging and commenting regularly soon. She said she went to Houston and back in 3 hours last week 200 miles and picked up parts for Daddy. I know that people LAUGHED @ me when I yodeled when she got out of the car (with the doors locked and ac on of course) then she scoped out the place and decided I could come inside and I entertained by walking on my hind legs chasing her trying to get her to hold me so I could help her get the RIGHT parts. Daddy said some funny words when Mama told him she was almost back with the parts on the phone. I know she hadn't paid much attention to me and had that stupid music on really loud. Then there was a traffic jam and she ducked off the highway in a place I don't think she was supposed to go and the car sort of went up and down, she told daddy it was an entrance ramp for the access road, not an exit for the freeway. That's OK though we got back and had brats and hamburgers and of course everyone ate together and fed ME which is what is MOST IMPORTANT. I like it when we all eat together outside, Mama doesn't watch so close and EVERYONE feeds me lots. Except her of course. I've gotten so spoiled I won't eat my old dog food? Mama is feeding two dogs outside though with my old food, one lives here, it's the landlords and the other is a hound stray. And of course Wolfie next door gets a few scraps. Mama is trying to get pictures of the other dogs but she's been so busy saying bad words to the computer that she barely has time to take THE DOG out?

Sign Petition For Animal Shelters, Philadelphia Eagles To Match Vic's Salary To Shelters?

OK, heres the deal. Michael Vic is going to play for the Philadelphia Eagles right? (You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that) The political action group DogPac is asking the Philadelphia Eagles to match Michael Vic's salary in donations to local animal shelters. 6.6 million dollars over two years would go pretty far toward animal shelters I think. I learned about this from Tanks Blog and from Loving For A Living. The site for to send emails and sign the petition (also donate if you wish) is HERE.

For those of you who know how longwinded I can get this will amaze you. This is my email to the Philadelphia Eagles Owner or rather what I added onto their email.

Basically it says below, hey dude, do what is fair, they guy screwed up, you hired him back, the animals that he harmed and others need a second chance too. Here's your chance.

Take a little time, help out our animal shelters, our dog and cat friends (children) in these tough times. Go sign the petition, email, donate or just donate to your local shelter or consider a dog for adoption or a cat?

I won't be on much for awhile, I am migrating to animalsthatgivepause.com but I have like real work to do too (paperwork and accounting, bah humbug) and I'm trying to follow blogs a little too, cook, and clean, and all that dull nasty stuff.

Alpo Essay Contest For Your Dog

I confess I got this from one of the blogs I follow. The Pet Haven: Letting Dogs be Dogs They have a nice write up on letting dogs be dogs and how most of us haven't paid for a massage for their dogs or a spa day? I will admit Dispatch the Bichon Frise occasionally gets "puppy massages" but this is just me massaging his leg muscles. Considering he's a couch potato a great deal of the time he is solid muscle. The most interesting part of this article from the Pet Haven pointed toward Alpos Tell It Like It Is For Real Dogs Contest. The contest opened August 11 and runs until September 28, 300 words in your dogs voice (I suppose we could let them type like we usually do? ;-D) telling a real dog behavior they engage in and a picture of your dog doing the behavior. There's more to it than that but you can read it on the Alpo Site. You can enter 3 times for the same dog or for 3 different dogs. Good luck to everyone who decides to enter. The picture is of Dispatch being a real fishing dog, guarding the tackle against marauding alligators, or he thought he was. Bichons can be real dogs too!

Bichon Versus Wolf

This is the Dis, Dispatch ya know, or you can call me Spike the bichon cuz it suits my personality better. Ya see the dog up above, don't let him fool you, he's a wolf!!! I'm not makin it up, his mama or daddy was part wolf. My mama says he's a sweet dog, I say he has cold yellow eyes and I told him which end was up. Then wolfies mama had to go and ruin it and tell how wolfie lives with chihuahuas and how one of em just has to look @ wolfie sideways and he gets out of her way. But I whizzed in his grass, right over where he had just whizzed, showed him I did, I would have gotten the food dish with a good ole whiz (that stops em in their tracks, I've used it on Rotties) but mama stopped me. She gets that way ya know. His mama really did say he is part wolf, mama even said so, I aint makin that up. Oh and that is wolfies duck laying there, I bet it used to be alive don't cha think? Wolves are barbaric that way, leaving food layin around and not burying it in chairs or under pillows!

This is me tired below, I'm still a bit worn out from our trip. Or should I say my unfair incarceration? Mama has this crate idea, thinks I need protected in the car? I have no idea why, she's always managed to keep it on the road and if she would let me drive like I want I know we wouldn't have any problems? Anyway she only gives me treats in the crate (prison) and she made me stay in it the WHOLE way down here except for potty breaks. I tried my best voices so she would know how unfair she was driving down here, I couldn't even touch her? Then I'd get mad and bark @ the old broad and she would just laugh, sometimes she would bark back, I was hoping someone would see her and report her for keeping me in the crate (or being crazy, people usually don't bark?)? Anyway I'm still tired from my ordeal.

I was sort of thinkin Mugsey would be down here too? As soon as I got here I smelled the camper steps, I knew which camper was ours and it smelled like Daddy but not Mugsey? Then he wasn't in the camper, I knew all the other people but they didn't have Mugsey either? Mama thinks that's why I've been so tired lately, I thought Mugsey was with Daddy and he isn't. Not that I LIKED that big overgrown excuse for a dog but he was sort of handy for back up, and to lay by, and to play with, and he would watch out for me and I would watch out for him and Skeeter would try to pick on both of us. Anyway Mama says I've been quieter than normal. Everyone is trying to find us a dog. Mama says it's too soon. I say I'm an only child unless I can dominate it and I mean DOMINATE it. But that's just the wolf in me coming out? Mama did find this article that she found useful, Daddy didn't find it useful though. Ten Dogs For Small Spaces , it says apartment but I take it to mean a small house or someone who doesn't have much time to walk the dog.


I think in the picture below I look sort of wolflike don't you, maybe instead of a possible poodle bichon cross I'm a wolf bichon cross? Maybe I should try that look out on wolfie? See who's got glowing eyes then? Maybe that look will work on the alligator they say lives down the road, of course they say he's a baby but he's bigger than I am!



So since everyone is appropriately terrified of the bichon/wolf and impressed by my vast three tennis ball collection I will quit now. I hope to have further wolf adventures, he has to wake up though, I swear wolfie sleeps more than I do. I do my stiff legged/strutty walk around him and wolfie barely opens an eye, he never knows how much danger he is truly in I don't think?

Note from the old broad:
The dog is really part wolf, I mean like a measurable part, you can see it when he stands up. My kitten I left @ home was much meaner. I do watch Dispatch around him but I've never seen a more pleasant dog. My brother had a wolf cross and it was a good dog too. It's all in how they are raised. Evidently we missed something with raising Dispatch? Like telling him he is not really king?

A Road Trip And Random Thoughts As Always

Road trip! I'm going to live with my husband for a steady basis for the first time in over 3 months! Kids and cops next door watching house, I'm leaving sometime tonight or tomorrow. Anyway I'm putting Dispatch (bichon, spoiled dog, thinks he's boss if you are new here) in a crate, we experimented with the crate this morning in the car and it didn't eliminate the banshee howling and barking in the car but it did lessen it considerably, he was quiet in 2 miles instead of 20. I didn't say he stayed quiet. But I couldn't fit the big pink crate in and take what I needed to take so we had to use the little gray one, he can barely stand up in it but he can turn around. We will see how this goes.

Can you see the cat?
Can you see him now?

Do you think Paris the tomcat is trying to tell me something? I will miss him but he will be here when I get back. He is a loyal kitty. The others, not so much. I would like to take Paris and Roof to TX but two cats and a bichon in a camper? Maybe they could stay but I would have to move out I'm sure.

Cats will be fed up here, they will probably migrate next door to my cousins house, the lawns run into each other, roof kitty is already down there, her kitty Nathan is nice to it or he hasn't beat it up yet which is better than the kitten got from these cats. Skeeter the old old dog will move down there, she's a joint custody dog. Roof kitty bit me yesterday, I caught it and it was scared because Fema the schnauzer was there. Roof would come to me before, don't know if she/he will now or not.

Oh and on Roof Kitty, I asked my cousin if I could bring it down, first I asked if it could be an inside kitten, that was a negative. So my cousins awake, I'm awake, we do the waking up email thing, I call down to tell them I'm on my way down with the kitten, her husband answers the phone. I said I'm bringing the cat down, he said CAT??? I said you didn't know about the kitty did you? He said no. I tell him it will all be OK, he won't even know kitty is around. They have had LOTS of cats before he was sort of kidding (I think?). I said if Roof came back to my house I would take it to TX with me. Since it bit me I'm not sure if that was a good thought? Plus I didn't have room for one big crate in the car much less one big crate and one little crate?

Boy I just saved myself some embarrassment!! I thought the counter down @ the bottom said 48,800 and not 46,800, I put it on my facebook that I had almost 50,000, that doesn't count though, they are mostly relatives with a few friends, they know me very well. Sure glad I didn't say anything about how many views I have aren't you?

(But If I'm not on the internet when I hit 50,000 whoo hooo and thank you, now the advertisers need to come out of le proverbial woodwork!)

Did you know if you get one of those handy dandy google page rank things (more commonly known as part of the google toolbar) you can tell how popular a page is or how popular google thinks it is? Mine says 2 out of 10 BTW, I had to have @ least a 1 to join blog explosion I think and it was 1 @ the time and that's how I knew this. But @ least for me the google page rank goes to 7 out of 10 when you go to new post on your blog. That really had me worried for a bit but it does it on all of my blogs so it must be because everyones new post page registers the same, you know what I mean, don't think too hard, it will be OK.

Won't have internet for a few days so.........I'm tethering my phone to my laptop I think, seems to be the cheapest easiest option, don't have it started yet because I want to test it and we barely have wireless service here much less 3G. Other than that my dog is doing the banshee howl because I am eating and he is in the crate. I emptied the the refrigerator of anything that would spoil in a week or two or a month or so, he is not starving, trust me, he had quite a bit of chicken and had cheese for a treat in his crate, plus his normal dog food that sits around ignored. That is how you are supposed to train them, just give them treats in their crate, he's like Ok, I'll go in here and eat the treat but I want out if there's nothing more in it for me and there's something interesting going on outside like food being consumed! He's 6 and he goes in the crate now when I ask, I think he's doing very well. Granted I have to stand by said crate and sometimes I have to plead a bit but I never have to do the shove and shut door anymore which is the only way he used to go in a crate.

Anyway will miss youall, see ya soon!

Wordless Wednesday (sort of)

Hibiscus and Bichon
More Flowers on Florence View

Doggie Porn
I know you've seen the picture before but not from this angle

Bad Hair Day Baby

Bichon Frise Groomed Needlessly And Vengefully (from the dog)

First of all this is the dog talking, not some know it all hooman (ya wanna know what that broad DID? She threw me outside for barking @ the vacuum and wouldn't let me back in, like I was a regular dog or something? get real). My name is Dispatch, I've been here before, right now I think my name should have been Spike or Killer or something like that! They say I'm a bichon, ya know what that rhymes with and that's what I'm doing b.......... well maybe it don't rhyme so well but ya get the drift don't cha? First of all since I'm what they call a bichon frise (call me a powder puff and see which ankle hurts first!) I have to supposedly be groomed all time, not just once in awhile, like almost every day. The longer she waits to brush me the longer it takes and the more it hurts. I personally think about 1/2 inch all over and keep it that way would be the best if she aint gonna let my hair grow and get burrs in it and let me roll in the stinky stuff in the pasture.... , what do you think??

First of all she forgets to dry me when she give me a bath, I mean she dries me once but does she do the hugging and rubbing with the second towel right away? Nooooo sireee Bob, I have to wait till she like cleans the sink? Do ya see the look of utter disgust I give her for not giving me my towel rub RIGHT away and then playing pulley pulley with the towel? I mean I just stood there, so peeved I couldn't move. Things are not right (she hasn't been right for awhile, even before my pal Mugsey left for some reason). At least she stays @ home with me most of the time now, that's where her place is ya know!
So she gets through with the bath yesterday and decides to cut my hair today which is a OK with me, I personally think it would wear off if she's that worried about it but
evidently she thinks not. So she trims me about half way all is OK, she says my hair is too thick for her new clippers she can't use the guard and I wiggle and zip, I aint got nothin but skin for a ways on my back, I need like spf 40 sunscreen. Makes me so mad I could kick and beat somthing up. She says she's through now, she better be after all that and the glitch.









So I goes outside and get sort of close to Fema, I thought she was going to take my place once and I admit I aint liked her since but she's missing Mugsey as bad as I do. I think he's gonna be in BIG trouble when he does come home cuz he's never been gone this long, mama did find his collar and it smelled funny, made me sad but anyway I tolerate Fema @ times. She lives with mama's cousin the neighbor, OK she lives up here too. I think Mama was havin dreams about Mugsey last night because I was too, it was brown dogs appearing out of the mist around a different house, there was a bunch of relatives (some gone) in it too with their dogs, oooooweeoooooo, I think mama started dreamin it first cuz she has the wierdest dreams.




Back to the present, Mama keeps saying something about not chasin cats, (well she's actually screamin it with my name and NO NO but I can go deaf immediatly, it's one of my talents!) Cats, I don't see no cats?











I know, I am a cat, MEOW MEOW, see I'm not chasin em and I'm in the group.




















Sometimes laying around looking nonchalant (big word for a bichon dog) makes mama lose interest and the cats get really relaxed........
then POW, I go after the gray one with the tail, her name is Meany for good reason but the dog is meaner (sometimes).
No I didn't really chase em, ya think I'm toopid or something? Mama was there with the camera!





















So I have learned to meow rather well now don't cha think. Soon as she turns her back the gray one is mince meat, either gray one I don't care, the red one is my friend even though it's really confused (put a name like Paris on a tomcat and what do ya expect) Paris calls me Mama and we all know good and well who mama is and I aint it! But Paris is my friend, he can rub on me and follow me all day, well most of the day till he gets really obnoxious.

So I hope you've had a better day than I have. Oh one more thing, Mama's been giving me all these good treats and putting me in the crate while she eats (who cares if I'm in the crate if I have jerky or cheese?). So then she leave me in it sometimes for like a while. Sometimes I go in it for the heck of it. She didn't put me in it while she ate lunch today? I barked, growled, talked, did the butt bounce while lookin @ the crate, did all 4 @ once and she still didn't give me my treat. Stoopid woman, get used to something and she changes it, sheesh. Hope ya had a better day, I'm gonna go watch the rain now since the big noise is over. Then I need my 3rd nap. Oh yeah, the broad put this on the blog (broad-blog pretty good for a ball of FLUFF don't cha think?) anyway she said somethin about the spacin not bein right and my pictures not wanting to show another way. @ least she aint freakin like she did the other day when she couldn't get on blogger, you would have thought cats had invaded from Mars or something the way she carried on.

If you've gotten this far Mama says you deserve the link to the crate training article so here it it link.

Bichon Frise, Cockapoo Puppy, Kitten Photos

These photos are of the infamous Dispatch, my Bichon Frise who is 6 now, you can read more about him and how spoiled he is in older posts here. We also have Charlie my daughters Cockapoo. Charlie doesn't sit still much, I was lucky to get this photo. Don't know if all Cockapoos are like this or not, he is 9 months old and he loves to bite Dispatches ears, which puts Charlie in mortal danger of being eaten by a Bichon or @ least Dispatch would like to make Charlie think so? Charlie really is cute, he's rather active compared to how Dispatch was when he was a puppy and all the other small dogs I've had. Charlie is rather active compared to the energizer bunny and can go longer.





This is Dispatch the Bichon. He relaxes quite well, this was his first bed, my brothers enamelware baby bathtub, it was sitting next to a heater which evidently felt good on his belly. Taken in Garage I don't decorate like this! He was about 5 months here. When I cleaned the bed out @ first I found a tennis shoe in it, toothbrush, forks?, assorted doggie treats, paper, and every inkpen we had dropped for months. They were all carefully hidden under the blanket.




This is Dispatch and my children and part of the grandkids Christmas 2003. Notice how I snuck them in here?















This is one tired Bichon Puppy (ungroomed of course, barely had a haircut, he was a Tasmanian devil @ 6 weeks old if you approached with the brush or scissors). Dispatch was 4 months or 5 months here, he was going from cute fat puppy to picky adolescent.







Can you see the kitten? These pictures were taken yesterday.
Can you see it now?

How about NOW?
I can catch it, it would rather be petted than eat. It was going to rain the other day so I took it around to the front steps which are protected. The kitten kept getting in the pickup, in the motor. Not a good deal. I put the kitten back in it's tree. It's eating from the roof. Eventually the big cats will leave it alone I think?

Bichon Frise Puppy Photos And More

I found bunches of bichon frise baby pictures, well they are bichon frise adolescent pictures and one baby puppy picture you haven't seen yet. If you are new here my bichons name is Dispatch and I bought him as a poodle. This dog didn't know the word brush till he was like 6 months old which is obvious, bichons are hard to brush sometimes and he said no way. Me being the wimp that I am said OK whatever you want snookyplum and what we have now is the result of me being said wimp. I think all of these were taken around Christmas of 2003 except for the baby bichon picture, that was taken in September. I'm just so happy I found these and my other pictures.

This is his dog in charge pose, actually he's having withdrawal after I got out of the chair, I thought my office/family room was cluttered NOW, looks great compared to then, notice the microwave behind the door! He's saying hey where'd she go, she might get away and then I will be by myself, help help.........he really does have two ears, don't know what he did with the other one.






He obviously liked to stay on top of things, he looks rather rough here doesn't he, it's cold and snowy. His looks would have been greatly improved if I'd known how to trim a bichon. That's my daughter being supportive. He's saying I am ruler of all I survey, which is one of his favorite sayings I believe, remember this is actually a garage these pictures were taken in. I believe he jumped on her back when she bent over beside a chair and that's how we got the idea for this picture, he climbs.




I guess he was in the tutu when he was smaller too? No wonder he wasn't upset when I put it on him last summer? My granddaughters first Halloween costume, she looked like a marshmallow with a tutu on.











Here we have relaxed bichon frise puppy laying by daddies boots. I adore the fat little tummy too. I didn't have my new camera then so I'm not sure exactly how old he was then but he was smaller like 1/2 or 1/3 that size when we got him. And yes we still have that lovely orange/green furniture, my mother ordered it special when they built this house and it's still with us. I do cover it up though. Couch is COMFY and long enough for two to lay down!





More bichon frise puppy pictures tomorrow or soon after. I found these because I was looking for some other dog pictures to explain a strange coincidence and an interesting story. More about that later in the week. My kitten (whom I'm thinking of calling Roof, see posts immediately preceding this one) now allowed me to pet it, while feeding it canned cat food, it's still on the roof. Tomorrow I hope it comes to me when I don't have canned cat food? We will see. Too much going on to try feeding it @ the door.

Two other things I found today, the Eagles were set to record their Very Best Of Album on September 11, 2001, they didn't obviously. They then wrote There's a Hole In The World due to that experience (maybe you knew that? I didn't know that), LINK.

Also I played this game compulsively for about an hour this afternoon, I did get almost 3000, I think the more points the better? Knock yourself out. Cat Herder Link

The lawn is mowed and I MIGHT get to go to TX to see husband soon for a few days? We will see.

One more thing if you have been following the story of my labrador Mugsey and how he passed away last week. I swear he following is true, dog lovers will believe me, others will call me a liar, I don't know what he was thinking but I know what he did.

I was folding clothes this evening on the bed, usually Dispatch likes to be in the middle of what I am doing, especially folding clothes, I think he likes to get his butt on the dishtowels if you want to know what I think, I usually try to avoid that. He was just laying there looking @ me like he expected me to do something while I was folding, I asked him what? Do you want something? Then I thought, he understands words and simple sentences, have I told him Mugsey is gone? I said Mugsey is no more, he went bye bye, he's dead, gone, no more Mugsey. I know this sounds rather harsh but we are talking trying to get through to a dog here. When I told Dispatch with every bit of the sentence his eyes would narrow and finally he was blinking blinking like he was fighting tears? Boy Scouts honor. He does lift his paw like it's hurt when I leave the house sometimes so I know he knows sadness and how to convey it, I thought I'd seen him cry before but this was just totally weird and sad @ the same time.