Thanksgiving For Dogs

This is Dispatch the Bichon Frise, this is me in the middle and see my adoring fans?  OK, maybe they are part of my mama's family and maybe they have their dogs but you see just exactly WHO is in the middle, my "sis" is holding me and I mean that literally, she is MINE, I adore her, don't know why she had to go and get her own dog? Anyway back to the celebration, they said something about it being the tall guys birthday and some holiday, but since there was so much meat cooking going on I know they planned it JUST FOR ME!!  I mean why else would they have ribs, and brisket, and turkey, and HAM?  That is unless it was for dogs. I even tried the cranberry salad!  Then they offered me so many pretty ladies. There was Phoebe...

Then there was Sassy, she was a bit camera shy?  Both of these lovely ladies were shorter than I was and everyone kept talking about being fixed in relation to ME, Dispatch Bichon Frise, but I have NO idea what they meant.  I was busy doing my best Pepe` Le Pew voice and telling the girls how lovely they were today.... but back to the beginning of the visit.

 This is my cousin dog Lester.  He is an OK guy. We sort of got in a little contest when I got to his house, he's basset and something else...pardon if I offend but I peed on a chair on Lester's patio.  It was just a little on the back leg of the chair...my daddy happened to be sitting in it but it stunk like Lester and I had to make it smell better.  Then Lester got in BIG trouble for peeing on the front leg of the chair with Daddy in it...I wasn't quite rolling on my back pointing with my paw but it was close.  So then I proceeds to go and peed in Lester's food dish.  I thought I'd gotten by with it and was over by the fence begging mama to pick me up so I could properly say "HELLO" to the neighbor lady dogs when Lester PEED on ME.  Like on my back!!  Mama shrieked like a girl (I suppose she technically is) grabbed me up and ran for the house, I got washed off and I'd just HAD A BATH THE DAY BEFORE. That was the worst part.
This shows more of the festivities, Sassy is in this one, she thought maybe someone would feed her.  Silly Sassy, the food was on the table, see that is me the wily Bichon in the background planning an assault on the meat platters.  Although I would never do such a thing (you think I'm an idiot, first all the people have to be out of the house and then I have to be able to make it look like another dog did it!)

See this black dog? His name is Zeus.  He wasn't interested in much but his family.  Mostly his mama.  He wanted to kill my mama (who kept referring to him as Devil Dog) but I wasn't too worried, he weighed about as much as my back leg. 
I was much more worried about the ladies and whether any other dog was getting food or attention.  It was heaven.

We have to mention the family dogs who had their representative people there but they were LEFT AT HOME.  Newman was left at home and Charlie was with his second family.  I'm sure I'll get to see them soon again.  Maybe they can help me mark the back yard?  We are back safely at home and the new kitty has started running from me and all is well in the world.

Great Deals for Pets and Humans for the Holidays!!

Surprise!  I'm not reviewing luggage today!  I'm not reviewing bathroom shelving, tv tables, or my favorite department, at the CSN stores, handbags!  (You remember CSN has 200 online stores right and are great to deal with?)  We are going to take a look at another dog crate end table.  This one is solid ash and is $278.95.  Don't you agree it's pretty cool looking.  Much better than the pink one plastic on I have in the living room, the covered wire one in the family room, the little one on the floor, you get the picture don't you?  We only have one dog too!

The details are:

• vailable in natural, cherry, dark espresso, or medium walnut finishes
• Made from solid ash wood
• A knock-down kit and 8 screws are used to assemble the crate
• Top is removable for easy access to clean or easily remove a blanket or pillow
• Panels are put together with mortise and tenon construction 

It comes in 3 different sizes, prices vary of course.  This would be a good gift for the pet owner who has everything wouldn't it? I know Dispatch used to not like being in the crate so much but we made a party time out of it, fed treats in the crate etc, and he started going in the crate when he wanted to be left alone or something was bothering him.  So if you had a crate that was THIS great looking it would be easier to train the dog because you would WANT it visible in your house. 

The folks @ CSN have some other holiday deals going on at select stores that you can get in on starting Monday (today).  These deals are so good you can't use any promotional codes.
CSN Baby
CSN Games
CSN Fitness
CSN Toys and Games
Go check it out.  Items over $69 that can be shipped by regular methods ship FREE!!

Dog Crate End Tables and Children's Luggage

I have been rather amiss in posting, sorry.  The good folks @ CSN stores asked me to post a bit about children's luggage and their other high quality items and some specials they have going on this holiday season.  That is the next post though, I'll tell you about some special deals CSN stores have available this week. 
Right now check out this cool end table dog crate I found.  (I saw it and said to myself "hawt dawg, weeze gonna get us sum classie furrniturr fur shore," or something similar) I have a large pink dog crate in the living room, a wire covered one in the family room.  These end table dog crates look like furniture!!

How cool is that?  Pardon if it's old news to you, I'd never seen one before.

What You Can Do About Animal Rescue

I tend to start things I cannot complete.  My dedication to animal rescue often feels like one of these things. (so does my gutter cleaning, it just started raining....) BUT all is not lost for those who feel like I do, I've had this link up on my browser for a week about what YOU can do to help the animal rescue cause.  Bichon Information Station is just a great website in general, the only drawback is you will probably feel a great need to cuddle an animal soon after viewing it but that is OK, trust me.  Anyway if you do NOTHING ELSE about animal rescue go to the first link and see what you can do easily and quickly.  I blog, tweet, and facebook about animals in need and animals in general and try to help raise awareness.  Not everyone wants to do this or can, I can't foster and am strictly prohibited from adoption by my better half (I will NEVER give up) so I do what I can this way.  I also donate to the local thrift shop that benefits the local animal shelter and purchase items from the store.  Not much but I always tell myself it's better than nothing.  Then I cuddle the dog again.

He looks like he needs cuddled doesn't he?  Sometimes I think he is saying Jeeze, would she just let me sleep??? LOL

So WHY haven't I been blogging?  Well for one I'm lazy.  The main reason is I'm like MAKING MONEY writing for the internet.  You read that right, making money, some days it feels like $2 an hour but sometimes it's $20 an hour.  The latter doesn't happen that often and it's probably more like $10 an hour but sitting on my rear in my warm house or in my husbands truck and piddling @ the computer is not brain surgery nor do I sweat or have to deal with people, sorry I got burnt out doing that with my husbands business.  I'm also writing a few articles for a new site that is looking for excellent writers, they are something like hub pages.  Right now you are saying why is she going on and on about this?  Because I wrote an article about Bichons!!  Then I wrote another article about brushing a Bichon Frise.  The reason I wrote this article is because many people won't get a bichon because they are afraid of the maintenance involved with this breed.  I've had to chase errant dogs that got off their leashes, cleaned up after dogs that refused to be house trained, replaced carpet, woodwork, and phone cords that had been chewed; all dogs require some maintenance and take time.  It's a fact of life most things that are worthwhile require some maintenance or dedication.  Bichons require grooming but give love and adoration in return. 

If you are bored, or want to know more about these subjects, or are considering writing for the internet, go check out these pages.  They are something like hub pages, logbud.com doesn't provide immediate pay.  Textbroker.com is one of those that pay immediately or at least twice a month.  If you have some idea where a comma goes in a sentence they will pay less than one cent a word.  I'm above that but they are tough on grammar and sentence structure.  In fact I'm sure they would simply CRINGE @ this blog entry.... LOL

If I Could, This is What I Would Do With My Life

The people @ Seer Farms take pets and board them for individuals or families who cannot afford regular boarding fees and who have lost their homes, can't find pet friendly housing, or just need temporary boarding for their pets because of the economy or life changes.  This is a wonderful effort and actually sounds like it might be a workable charity idea?  Since my husband calls me Ellie Maye Clampett anyway and insists we only have one little dog @ a time (we can have a big dog too but we haven't found the perfect one, anyone have a giant bichon?  LOL) I can't do this but it's a GREAT idea for someone who is looking to channel a love of animals into a worthwhile endeavor.  Seer Farms was recently featured in a USA Today article,  the article is an excellent read about a couple on the way to deliver their first child looking for pet boarding.....

Once again one of my favorite rescues.....smallpawsrescue.org has a new bichon finder.....OK, pet finder, Pets911.  Pretty cool huh?  I found Ice close to my home,

OK not ice a Bichon puppy named Ice who was turned in to the shelter from a commercial breeder because he was TOO BIG!  4.5 lb and he was born 7/12/10, now I'm not too sure what Dispatch (my bichon) was when he was that old but I'm pretty sure it was over 4.5 lb.  In other words this dog may weigh 25 lb when grown, but that is really stretching it.  Dispatch used to weigh 17 and he is like at the top of the size for show bichons....he's a mutt though.  Anyway Ice is available for Adoption from Thistle Hills Rescue, in Birch Tree, MO. 

Presidential Pets and A VERY SPECIAL Bichon Frise

When President Obama was newly elected I wrote a bit about his choice of a puppy, and whether it would be a Portuguese Water Spaniel or a Labradoodle. 
Then of course the Presidential family has chosen Bo.
This nice lady sent me this link yesterday to a blog entry about Presidential Pets.  She writes that pets give comfort and normalcy to the presidential family.  This is true of all families and people I think.  I was fretting over paperwork and filing, what to take to the basement, what needed to stay up on the first floor, why should I keep any of it on the first floor if I could not FIND anything.......and then my bichon, Dispatch, was hungry. He's had his eating problems in the past.  He is picky and the food bowl "scares" him.  I went into the kitchen to tell him it's OK to eat and finally (DUHHHHH) got him a heavier bowl and a mat that does not let stuff slide around and he ate.  By himself.  I didn't have to be there.....I used to have to watch him eat, hold the food bowl, or listen to him BEG for me to do these things.  Or give up and feed him on the floor.  Kibble, not canned food on the floor----- do you think I'm an idiot-----don't answer that.  The point of this story is I forgot all about my problems with rearranging things that really don't matter because of Dispatch.  Then I could really focus and blog instead of filing....NO, I have a plan for rearranging paperwork and am not stressing anymore.  This is what pets can do for us.  Besides sit on the lace tablecloth in the dining room and look like "huh me? What am I doing wrong?"

Last but not least if you live in California or one of the neighboring states and have a  place in your heart for a  very special little bundle of Joy, meet Petey.  He is available @ Bichon FurKids Rescue, along with other Bichons of course.  You see in this photo Petey  is laying down, there is a reason for this.  He was born with a partially unformed back leg and when he was 6 or 7 the other hind leg became tired.  His family turned him into a shelter but he was afraid, and of course he wondered why his little world had turned upside down.   BUT Petey being a special Bichon got a cart after he was was taken in to foster by Bichon FurKids Rescue.  He can use it on grass even!  There is a video on his page, be sure to see it, you should see Petey go. If you've ever seen a Bichon in action you can imagine how glad Petey was to be able to run again!  Petey is one fantastic little dog who is available for adoption. 

Charitable Trust, Help Save Unwanted Bichons

As you can see a Bichon Frise takes rather easily to being spoiled.  They are also climbers or @ least mine is.  I discovered a new charity on facebook that helps these little angels (those are NOT horns growing out of his head, it's a crooked halo!) Help Save Unwanted Bichons takes in, vets, trains, and rehomes these little clowns. 
You can also do a search on facebook to find other resources to help these little fluffballs and other dogs.
I also came across some excellent online resources about dealing with the loss of a pet.  This one from Home Vet is wonderful.  Another is available at Helpguide.org.

Dog Does The Butt Bounce and Goosestep

Repeat after me, TC is a BADDDDDD blogger, a horrible blogger. But you see TC sort of has a job writing, of all things. Believe it or not they even pay her. She is getting a disease from this though, talking in the 3rd person disease is the correct name she believes....
Her dog is only slightly less crazy as you well know. He is doing his usual thing here...enjoy.
TC writes much better when being paid but she has been writing instructions about using a command line and a terminal window......

Through A Dogs Eyes On PBS

As usual I am behind but I did remember this great documentary Through  A Dogs Eyes, you can go to the link below and search for rebroadcasts.  For example my local PBS station has a rebroadcast at noon today. 
I hope the lady who sent me the email doesn't mind me quoting her verbatim but I had like no sleep and need to get a little, there is a bit about service dogs and Milk Bones involvement below.

Check for rebroadcasts in your area.

CANINE ASSISTANTS

 

Canine Assistants service dogs assist children and adults with physical disabilities or other special needs in a variety of ways. Some of the tasks our dogs perform include turning lights on and off, opening and closing doors, pulling wheelchairs, retrieving dropped objects, summoning help, and providing secure companionship. While all of these functions are vitally important in helping a person obtain greater freedom, perhaps the most impressive gift our dogs provide is social, rather than physical, in nature. The dogs eliminate feelings of fear, isolation, and loneliness felt by their companions. One Canine Assistants recipient made the value of this gift quite clear when asked by a reporter what she liked most about her service dog. Immediately, she responded, "My dog makes my wheelchair disappear."
Most Canine Assistants service dogs are born, raised, and trained at our facility in Milton, Georgia, while some are occasionally adopted from local organizations or breeders. The majority of our service dogs are retrievers, including both goldens and labradors.

Milk-Bone allows these recipients to receive their service dog for free, providing the necessary funding for some of these dogs to be fed, trained, groomed, etc. at no cost to the recipient. Milk-Bone has sponsored hundreds of dogs through its partnership with Canine Assistants.

Hank The Wonder Dog

This is Hank.

Yes Hank is in the house and quite comfortable. He is my nephew dog however, not our dog.

Someone forgot to tell Hank he isn't a house puppy  however. Hank actually belongs to my cousin, we hadn't met Hank till Friday afternoon and we have been inseparable since (mostly Hanks idea). We suspect Dispatch told Hank that he was the most important dog in the world and therefore we were the king and queen of the world and somehow Hank believed Dispatch. Or he could sense we lost two dogs in the last year? I have no idea but if we put him outside he whines. He DID sleep outside the last two nights and I didn't really spoil him with food till today. I think it's because we let Hank in the house and Dis lied to Hank....or maybe Fema told him she preferred being an only dog, she's my cousins schnauzer and lives down the hill and Hank lives down there to. 

I was a bit worried about Hank because they said he chased cats.  Nobody told Meanie my cat though, or the kittens.   He did chase them with Fema but I yelled and he was very contrite.  Fema HATES for me to yell and couldn't actually believe I would yell @ her!! LOL  Hank can also sit and shake and lay down but sometimes he figures if he has to sit he might as well lay down.  He did growl @ Dispatch once but Dispatch was trying to be dominant over Hank shall we say.  Dispatch still rules the roost though and only has to look sideways and lift his lip to make Hank cringe, don't ask me?

You can't get the true beauty of Hanks face in the pictures but he has some mighty long chin whiskers, he looks like a cross between a hound and a giant Airedale.   If anyone reads this who remembers Abraham and Martin and Lindsey, Hank reminds me of a cross between all three.   Abraham (Abraham Lincoln) and Martin (Martin Luther King, do not judge, we named dogs after relatives for example Aunt Bob) were Airedale/shepherd mixes and Lindsey was a Mastiff.    Martin is on the left in this photo and Abraham on the right.  No comment on the coat or the car, this was like 1983.  Other dogs are Sally, Log, and Oetman (named after the preacher).

Oh and I lost my GMail and my blogs this morning, I panicked but after I went  through a little rigmarole with my cell phone all was fine.
Also I've started writing for hire for other peoples blogs.........part of the reason I haven't been on here, it's sort of like having a job!

How To Relax Doggie Style

You have to have a willing Daddy to do this, otherwise a bit of AC blowing the curls around and we are ready for our morning snooze.

Then mama goes and takes too many pictures and I feel forced to actually move my head?

o

I Hepped Mama

Just some pictures of me seeing what mama was doing in the back of the truck and then Daddy thought I should stay with him?  They said something about me keeping them entertained?  I got a new harness see?  JUST like my old one only not chewed on and not dirty!

Then I "hepped" mama clean the trailer, she laughed and laughed and then got some stinky spray and kept spraying my feet and wiping them with paper towels a whole bunch. She said they were much worse but she didn't think of getting a picture?  Mama was going to cut my face hair last night but Daddy likes to tell me I don't have to listen to her and call me and I hid under his arm and peeked out @ her.  Then he says she spoils me?  I don't think I'm spoiled by either one actually.

I Am Easily Pleased?

Today it was almost like I was given a gift.  My husband was getting a load of mangoes on his truck and since we were the only truck in the lot I decided to walk Dispatch the Bichon Frise.  I noticed the man @ the dock talking to my husband and I'm thinking oh no they don't want dogs on their lot but I'd made up my mind to walk with Dispatch for a bit.  Dis kept saying "It's HOT you old bag, are you NUTS, lemme go back to the truck.  OOOCH ouch, there's stickers out here too".   All of this was said by dirty looks and tiny whines of course. 

Whines from the dog and not the man on the dock, I couldn't hear him.

My husband got back in the truck and told me what was said when we were pulling away.  The man had a pair of bichons whom he had bred and had one  puppy left and @ first was trying to sell to us.  Then after he saw Dis walk around a bit he asked if we entered dog shows with him.  My husband told him no we bought him as a poodle.  Granted this guy was just a back yard breeder but he said he wished HIS bichons looked and acted like that.  He remarked on Dispatches cockiness and how he strutted around but listened to me.  (I always blame the cockiness on his human Daddy because they have the same attitude @ times but maybe that's just me?)  The dock man then asked if Dispatch was neutered (yes) and then asked if we would be interested in taking his dog and TRAINING IT!! 

We didn't take the puppy but it was great that someone thought Dispatch was that well behaved.  The jumping out of the truck into my arms trick and the standing up on command so I don't have to lean over so far always gets them.   We don't use a leash, he doesn't want to get more than 5 feet away unless he is pooping so I always say I've got an invisible leash.  Skeeter was trained the same way and Mugsey was on his way to being trained to walk without a leash.  We really don't "train" other than the sit and the lay down and roll over thing which we are still working on.  We talk and use hand gestures unconsciously and Dis catches on, I can't say this is just a bichon thing though.

Of course the dock foreman didn't see the scratches on my legs from Dispatch wanting up when his nails were too long, he never heard him scream like he was being killed when he was being ignored or left in a vehicle or @ home, and he never saw him after a cat.  Those are just little things he does that might not be considered good doggy behavior. 

So I've been telling Dis all afternoon what a well behaved show quality bichon he was, maybe it's a teeny lie but he believes me.

Justice For Bear Bear

The Police Report states this happened on August 2, an off duty federal police officer shot and killed a Siberian Husky with no previous behavior problems when it "attacked" his leashed German Shepherd @ an Arundel County  MD dog park.  That is the first thing that struck me WHY was the German Shepherd on a leash and isn't that the point of a dog park?  I mean to let the dogs run and play and interact naturally?  The scenario in a nutshell is police officer walks his German Shepherd into a dog park, Bear Bear a husky comes over and either starts playing with or attacking the German Shepherd. 

 It seems the off duty cop killed bear bear immediately without giving the animals caretaker who happened to the the real owners brother-in-law a chance to even yell @ Bear Bear.  It seems he was pulling his gun as he was yelling @ the man to restrain Bear Bear.  I KNOW this is an animals blog but there is another animal here too.  The German Shepherd is an animal in question.  I'm wondering what kind of owner this guy is if he can't recognize play for what it is and know his dog feels defensive if he is on a leash.  The point isn't really if the public is crucifying the police officer or not  (read toward the bottom of the replies) or how many signatures they get on a petition. although this matter DOES need to be looked into.  The point is that this man is trained to know when and how to discharge or even TOUCH his firearm and this wasn't one of those times.  I'm presuming the federal police officer is of normal stature?  What happened to speaking sharply and distracting the other dog by tapping him or even pulling on him.  There was NO blood or bite wounds, the husky was not biting @ all.  There is no reason to think he would have bitten the police officer. 

Now for my alter ego/devils advocate.  If it was Dispatch (the bichon frise, see previous posts) I'd try to get a dog off of him in a heartbeat but with a bichon that would probably be too late IF they were truly fighting.  Dispatch has the fighting and biting powers of a wet gnat.  I'd want the other dog shot and shot now.  I also have relatives (and neighbors -)) who are police officers.  Dispatch attacks their dog almost daily..we are talking bichon and miniature schnauzer here and I'm kidding, they are playing (I think).

Granted this is a Sibearian Husky, I really haven't had much experience with them but I had a Keeshond but they are more closely related to the Spitz.  I think I could recognize the difference between playing and attacking though.

So what do you feel should be done to the police officer other than obviously the case shouldn't be closed immediately.  From what I've read there is some question as to whether Bear Bear's caretaker was allowed to approach him to take him to medical help immediately.  This was supposedly due to the animal control officers "chumminess" with the federal officer who did the shooting.  Some reports I have read suggest Bear Bear was alive @ his arrival @ the vets, with a hollow point bullet I can't imagine there would be a chance of saving him but you never know what might have happened with quick medical transport for Bear Bear?  What do you think?

Pictorial Essay Of An Old Dog Learning NEW Tricks

Dispatch never has learned the stay command too well.  I mean he would stay.  As long as you were saying stay constantly and maybe threw some sternness in there and didn't like get more than a few steps away.  After that all bets were off.  We would work on it but it just never did seem to get done.  Dispatch is 7 now.  Due to him being in the truck with Daddy and I and he having to be like TOUCHING one of us @ all times we thought it was necessary the other day to make him stay. 

Actually what brought it on was he went to sleep by himself in the bunk because he was so exhausted...he doesn't sleep while the truck is moving.   He's saying how could you do this to me, don't you miss me?

If I act all cool an nonchalant they will let me go right?

Hey you over there in the drivers seat?  See me? 

Oh come on, I know you see me, I've stayed for like 2 minutes......

This is getting ridiculous.

That's it, make a bridge so I can walk over to your lap Daddy.....

What do you mean you were just kidding and I have to STAY?

Hey you, there in the back with the flashy thing?  DO SOMETHING!!!

He now knows what stay means, he is none to happy about it however.

What A Bichon Has To Go Through!

Hey, this is the Dis again.  I bet ya has no idea of what a bichon has to go through to keep everyone in line do ya?  For example these pictures.  Mama wanted a nice portrait of me... she had to WORK for it though.

Then Daddy takes me for a walk (the humans had crassly taken care of their own needs first by showering which they seem to enjoy beyond reason, they don't even let their smell build up) Anyway Daddy takes me for a walk and this Basset Hound wanders up. I take care of him in short order by telling him I have no desire to be his friend, I have human friends and if they disappoint I can always talk to the demons in the corner who never disappoint. (Mama says I have a very rich fantasy life) Daddy said he has never seen anything like it all I had to do was stiffen up and the Basset was like sorry sir so sorry....evidently Daddy does not understand my true power and reach. I spread fear wherever I go by spreading my smell. Sometimes the one who calls herself Mama laughs because I spin my wheels or kick like a bull and forget to leave my p-mail first....sometimes I forget to leave it all together because she is laughing so hard @ me showing what a BIG tough dog I am. Then we go back to the truck and she picks the grass off of me that I have kicked up on my back...perhaps that is why the demons in the corner respect me? Sometimes I think others cannot see the demons in the corner but I do.....

New York City Bichon Needs Adoption Now!

See this wee tiny baby?  He needs adopted and he needs adopted NOW and I'm in TX and can't do anything about it.  If you knew the hour or two we spent playing with our Bichon Dispatch whom we have had for 7 years and whom growls @ us when we pet him with our feet or play growls sometimes....he's a little white dog with dull teeth.  Anyway euthanizing a bichon is like euthanizing a rabbit because it kicks when you pick it up, basically not much difference.  Or drowning a kitten because it scratched you.  Kittens scratch.  PLUS this dog has shown signs of fear but not agression!!!!  Even if the dog is aggressive it just needs some training.  PLEASE??????
This is what it said on facebook where I got this:
Scheduled to be Euthanized Tomorrow, July 30, 2010 Beyond tomorrow, this dog will no longer be around! PLEASE Call to Foster or Adopt SNOWBALL!!! "Snowball" A867130 – 5 yr. neutered Bichon Frise. OS, 13.5 pounds. Owner said... this dog can become aggressive w/ strangers and other animals (yet showing no aggression at shelter). Needs an appropriate placement who can manage his issues.
neutered male ~ 5 yrs
obese
slightly matted very tense , fearful
showing no signs of aggression
718-272-7203 - Press 0 for operator Shelter is in NYC
I don't know anyone actually in the city, do you? 
email tcscarlet at yahoo dot com with any questions and I will try to find out or direct you to original poster on facebook......

What New Form Of Alchemy Is This?

Hey this is Dispatch the Bichon. I's writing to youse cuz my mama? I'm thinking she may have lost it. Either that or she's like a Magician? I dunno, you be the judge. See she gets these bowls yesterday, this usually means food except for the one she puts the green stuff  in and throws it out, I've heard her tell the rugrats to take out the compost?  Anyway she goes and gets these two bowls and sits on the COUCH in the family room.  (you can see the family room is a workroom, old garage, tv room, rumpus room...thus the slime and laser/digital thermometer on the table, mama made me say that...)  The BOWLS on the COUCH have me puzzled in the first place, usually the BOWLS stay in the kitchen.  Little bowls come out for them to taunt me with eating ice cream in front of me but not the BIG BOWLS!

So then she's sitting there and granted the old broad is getting a bit long in the tooth but I thought surely she hadn't lost it yet.  I mean she remembers to feed me most of the time and can usually figure out what I'm so plainly telling her but this has me buffaloed.    See that's ME the ball of fluff watching MY MAMA take bits of green stuff like grass and puts part of it in one bowl and breaks the others in half or 1/3 and puts them in the other bowl?  I TRY AND TRY and smell but she has gone nuts?  I mean even strawberries and cantaloupe smell good to eat but this is insane and I'm a pretty good judge of insane.  And she is playing with them on the couch!  I hears her tell Daddy that it's been WAY too long since she has had a garden (my Aunt Peggi brought these green things, thanks Aunt Peggi, now my mama is NUTS!!)  because I'm 7 and have NO idea what snapping beans is all about.  Beans I know. That's the nasty part of Chili I think?  These are green mama!! Get a grip would ya!  I mean I try and try to figure out what she is doing, I stop short of actually EATING the raw green things but my gosh man they are right there in the BOWLS on the couch, I smell and paw and nose but there is not a clue to be found, the bowls just hold the green stuff, I try to lay down and can't, I'm entirely too upset, my food source and ability to look out tall windows has gone off her ROCKER!!  She is using the same BOWLS that hold real food like hamburger or chocolate cake batter, I don't get to eat the batter but it smells divine!!  I finally just gave up and let her go about her madness.  Pretty soon she takes the stuff in the kitchen and after awhile brings the things back to Daddy and he eats them with butter.  The butter I can understand, I'm pretty fond of butter but WHY would you sit and play with green stuff on the couch?  Still has me puzzled?
(note from Mama, the slime and the laser thermometer were Daddies, he was trying to expand his "pile" by the recliner...the slime and the thermometer left soon after that..., if I left him to his own devices we would have a welder and a jack under the tv in the family room.)

Aromatheraphy For Dogs

I'm a skeptical person sometimes.  Sometimes I'm Pollyanna.  I was approached to do a review for aromatherapy candles for dogs.  I was COMPLETELY skeptical.   Once again sorry for the video quality, donate for a new camera for MOI!! LOL

Guess what?  The candles seemed to work!  And my dog is like not the worlds easiest to fool either (he doesn't do dog treats) but he did seem to calm down when the candles had been lit for awhile even under stressful situations (for him) such as the vacuum or someone coming to the door.
I used the Clay Sage scents and Lavender, I liked the Lavender the best.  These are made by ecoPure Naturals, an OurPet's brand, the website is www.ecopurenaturals.com.  These candles are also for cats.
Like I said I was skeptical, especially for dogs but I do know how the scent of Jasmine can take me back to being a teenager, some lemon reminds me of grandma's house......

In Memory Of Skeeter The Terrier

I've put off doing this post.  I had to do one on Mugsey about a year ago, not sure it may be on my other animals blog.

Skeeter made it up to the house on Friday, she had stayed down @ the other house for a couple days.  I could hear her in the night moaning and she had quit eating so I decided I was biting the bullet and taking her in to the vet Saturday.  She sat up most of the way there like finally I'm getting some attention.  She is buried under the Rose of Sharon bush west of the house with a huge rock I'd dug out of the lawn for her gravestone.  I will do a longer more detailed post later but this will have to do for now.   She may have been 20, we know she was @ least well over 10 years old because she was old when we got her in 1999.  She is the first dog we have had to have put to sleep because of old age.  She was a tough old dog and I do miss her much more than I thought I would.  The vet said her teeth looked like she was a young dog.  She had a heart condition of some sort though and was getting congested and I'm sure she was uncomfortable.  This video is from earlier in the week on one of her treks from one house to the other.

Happier days last June, Dispatch, Opal my daughters bulldog, Fema my cousins miniature Schnauzer, Mugsey gone 7/30/09, and Skeeter under the chair, gone 7/10/10.