pets – Page 4 – ToadMama.com

December 11, 2009

And So It Goes

I do realize we’re almost eleven days into December and I have done a seriously crappy job finding taste-free Christmas stuff. I have encountered some other taste-free stuff that I would totally love to blog about. Because, really, it is AB-sah-LUTE-ly (you have to pronounce that like you’re from the UK) hysterical yet, at the same time, sad. Pathetic sad and just plain unfortunate sad. But that’s a can of slime I’d rather leave covered. So…

Did you notice that for like two whole days there were pictures of my oldest daughter, Shannon, from various stages of her youth posted here? She turned 31 on Tuesday, and that’s how I decided to celebrate/spread the word. She’s halfway around the world in India now, you know.

On another topic, I got a note from K’s foster Mom this morning saying, essentially, “Enough already, send more pics!” So, I snapped a photo or two (or 100) today while the dogs were out on their various potty breaks.

The first picture below might just be my absolute, all-time favorite (in the humor category).

Belle and her weird expressions crack me up. It’s not like she’s trying to make weird faces, I just happen to snap quite a few pics of her wearing odd expressions.

Other times, like when she’s sleeping, she just looks really cute. Just like a kid. Who would ever think this cute little girl can go from Sleeping Beauty to…

… a crazy little dynamo that LOVES chasing K anywhere and everywhere?

Speaking of K, she looks pretty cute when she is sleeping, too.

Hubby and I just love the coloring on her feet. And her brown toes. Her bald belly is pretty cool, too.

Have you been wondering what life with three dogs is really like?

It’s just like this. Meg and I meander aimlessly while K and Belle rip around the yard like tasmanian devil-dogs.

Meg really is quite happy to have K around as the focus for Belle’s “play with me” games. And I have been very well entertained. In this picture, it looks like Meg is at a standstill. Compared to them, she is. Those young ones are FAST.

Anyway… just one last little dog anecdote before I call it a night.

Meg is and always has been very stubborn and demanding. She snorts, forces out sneezes, mumbles, growls, and does whatever else she needs to do to get our attention when she wants our attention. When it’s close to dinner time and she thinks we should be feeding her, which usually happens to be right in the middle of our preparing to feed the people in the house, she licks out the dog bowls. Not just a quick lick, lick, lick either. Long, slow, loud forceful licks that make the bowl slide all over the floor. It’s annoying.

Yes, we should ignore her. But IT IS ANNOYING. So, like last night, when I heard the above scenario being played out, I said “Meg!” quite sternly.

And then I looked up and saw this…

It wasn’t Meg after all. It was our cute little Tinkerbelle. She actually had both front feet on the rim of the bowl. But, by the time I’d snatched the camera off the counter to fire off the above shot, she’d already removed one foot.

Doesn’t she look pathetic? That’s even her bowl.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll encounter some taste-free Christmas stuff to share. Or maybe I’ll just snap some more dog pics.

December 6, 2009

Virtually Extend Your Family

As my regular readers know, Hubby and I have three dogs. Three “rescue” dogs to be more precise. Hubby likes to call them USED DOGS. Affectionately, of course. Our previous dog, CeCe, was a rescue, too.

CeCe is the primary reason we have stayed involved in the rescue effort. We don’t do nearly as much as some people, but we do what we can. We have fostered dogs, helped transport dogs and have even pulled dogs out of area shelters (when asked).

One of the things I try to help with is the gift-wrapping effort during the holiday season. American Brittany Rescue (ABR) volunteers organize and staff gift-wrapping tables for various merchants across the United States. Not just to raise money, which is always welcome, of course, but to spread the word about rescue.

The dog shown above is Bodie. That’s his Mom, Andrea, who adopted him through ABR,
trying to get him to pose for me. Andrea volunteers a huge chunk of her time doing a wide
variety of work for ABR, including coordinating the efforts in several states.

You’d be surprised how many people know very little about dog rescue. Many people believe the SPCA and animal shelters are the only places you can go to adopt a homeless pet. They don’t know about breed-specific rescue groups like ABR and the National Brittany Rescue and Adoption Network (NBRAN). Not to mention the many groups that take in all kinds of dogs, cats and other critters in need of homes.

The conversations I and fellow volunteers have with people during these events is what I enjoy most. I really hate the begging for donations part, but someone has to do it.

Here are some of the common questions we get:

1. What is a Brittany? (It’s sort of an uncommon breed. The answer is long, so you’ll have to CLICK HERE if you really want to know.)

2. Are all of these dogs [in the pictures around the gift wrapping table] available for adoption? (Not now, but they were at one time.)

3. Is this dog available for adoption? (Sometimes we take real, live ambassadors along, as shown in the picture above. It could be a foster dog, or, as with Bodie, they are former fosters who have been adopted.)

4. Why just focus on one breed? Why not help all dogs? (There are actually a lot of breed-specific rescue groups. As the ABR Web site explains… ABR began “as a cooperative effort of Brittany owners, breeders, trialers and fanciers who believe we have a responsibility not only for our own dogs and the dogs we produce, but for our breed as a whole. Because many rescue dogs can be traced 1-3 generations back to a recognized breeder, we believe all breeders should take it upon themselves to assist Brittanys in need.” Breed-specific groups like ABR, NBRAN and other organizations specializing in dogs of one breed, are great places to get dogs because they know so much about the overall traits and characteristics of that particular breed.)

5. Why is it so important to know the traits and characteristics? Isn’t a dog a dog? (Nope. Dogs were bred for specific purposes and, as a result, tend to exhibit certain behaviors people should really be aware of before adopting a dog. Brittanys, for example, tend to be very energetic and need lots of exercise. They are people dogs and don’t always do well when left alone for long periods. They are also hunting dogs and some have pretty strong prey drives, so you’d want to make sure they are cat-friendly, for example, before placing them in a home with a cat.)

6. How do you know if a dog is cat-friendly? Don’t all dogs chase cats? (To an extent, yes. But there’s a huge difference between being interested in what a cat is doing/wanting to play with a cat and wanting to EAT a cat. The latter is not cat-friendly.)

7. Aside from giving money, what else can we do to help? (Rescue groups are almost always in need of foster homes. That’s where a dog lives with you and you feed, love and keep it safe, teach it good doggy manners, etc., until a home becomes available. You can agree to make phone calls to check with veterinarians of potential adopters. You can do home visits when there’s a potential adopter in your area.)

Of course, donations are never bad and are almost always needed. Which (finally!) brings me to the point of this post. You can…

Extend Your Family Without
Bringing A Dog Into Your Home.

If you want to, of course. I’m not trying to be pushy and shove dog rescue down your throat. But I thought this was such a good idea and so well-done that I just HAD to share.

Our three girls are all rescues.
And they’re all great dogs!
L-R are Belle, Meg and K.

December 1, 2009

Putting My Foot in My …

… mouth seems to be a habit of mine. I don’t do it regularly, thank goodness, but when I do it, I do it. It’s not that I am trying to be mean or anything. Just that I sometimes say things that offend people.

This time it was someone I don’t even know. Someone I’ve never even met. I didn’t even know her name until today. Not that I’m going to broadcast that name here…

I’ll just call her SpunkyMom. She’s the “older” woman I mentioned in my day-after-Thanksgiving post who had adopted K before us, but returned her after a couple of weeks. I reported in that obnoxious post that SpunkyMom had returned K after realizing “K has way too much energy.”

I didn’t choose SpunkyMom as a moniker for nothing.

SpunkyMom is actually one of my blog fans. She checks it out regularly to get K updates. (See, people? I told you there are folks that LIKE reading all the dog stuff and seeing the pics I post.)

SpunkyMom has not been able to comment for some reason (you are not alone, Spunky!). So she asked K’s foster Mom to pass along this message:

“… I am not an old woman – I’m 65 years young with a young 40 year old daughter living at home with me and I didn’t give her up because she was too energetic for me but because I loved her so much in those two short weeks, loved her enough to realize she was unhappy being alone all day while we were at work – she cried when we left and often cried during the day according to the neighbors – and I wanted her to be happy – I knew she needed someone home during the day to be with her.”

I really don’t think SpunkyMom was offended, as in P-O’d. I think she just wanted to set the record straight. I admire that. I also admire the fact that she did, in fact, do the right thing. I can’t imagine K being crated or even just left home alone all day.

Here’s K on my lap as I work.

Typically, with rescue groups like NBRAN and ABR, adopters are required to sign a contract. One of the things on the contract has to do with allowing a six-month adjustment period. Sometimes, dogs have issues that just need time to resolve. I have to admit, I almost returned Meg. Until CeCe’s foster mom, who I must have been whining to, reminded me of the six-month commitment.

Belle and K sleeping while I work.

Anyway… not all dogs fit all homes. The being home alone thing and crying thing weren’t going to be resolved any time soon. NBRAN, being the responsible, dog-centric organization that it is, realized this and agreed that K could be returned.

SpunkyMom was right. Apparently no one realized K is a dog with separation anxiety (mild, I think). She lucked out finding a home with another young, energetic dog and me, a “regional employee” that works from my home office. Not to mention Hubby, aka “Dad.” (I am “Mama” to the dogs.)

I mentioned the six-month commitment for a very specific reason. To point out that a lesser person, NOT someone like SpunkyMom, might have just dumped K somewhere. They might have been embarrassed to admit defeat. Or afraid they would never get the opportunity to adopt another dog.

So… the point of this long, rambling post is to tell SpunkyMom I am sorry. I assumed it was an energy thing mainly because I know I probably wouldn’t be able to keep K sufficiently exercised if it weren’t for Belle. The girl likes to run.

Actually, SpunkyMom, I should also thank you. Because K really is a perfect fit here. She’s not a perfect dog, but none of her issues are insurmountable. And we do enjoy having her.

I promise to never again infer that you are old. Please feel free to check in for K updates.

– – – – –

I can’t remember if I posted these here previously. The images that follow are examples of what has become typical behavior during my workday teleconferences.

November 27, 2009

The Day-After Doldrums

Can I just say that I hate the term, “Black Friday”? I do. In all honesty, I hate what Black Friday has become. It’s just one more example of the over-commercialization of Christmas.

Not that I am super (or even remotely) religious. But Christmas should be about families and friends sharing and treasuring the time together. Giving gifts if you want to and not because you feel like you have to. Gifts that you choose, that have some meaning or are special in some way.

Anyway… I won’t go on and on.

Thinking about Christmas just puts me in a bad mood. So I’ll talk about Thanksgiving instead, even if it is history.

This is the first time Hubby and I have spent Thanksgiving at the WV place. It was quiet. Very, very quiet. It also happened to be K’s first time here. (Yep, I’m back to talking about dogs again.)

Poor K. She’s only been with us for two weeks. Before that, it was three weeks in a foster home (don’t worry, it was a great one). Prior to that, about two weeks with an older woman who adopted her and then realized K has way too much energy. Before that, a couple of weeks in the same foster home. And before that, she was in a shelter, but I don’t know for how long.

To make a long story short, the girl has been around.

So, I wonder what she was thinking when she was loaded into a vehicle, AGAIN, and taken to a strange house? At least she was with us. But dogs don’t get the concept of a vacation home. And it’s tiny. Way smaller than the MD place. All of the floors are slippery, too. So not only is there no room to run, it’s very hard for the dogs to run.

All in all, K seems to have adjusted to this house well, too. In the picture above, she’s in her new bed. The one that I made too skinny. But all the dogs seems to like it.

Yesterday afternoon, I gave them all some treats. K is on one of the bigger beds in this image.

Anyway, K does seem to like it here, except for the fact that we can’t let her off leash to run. She is one of those dogs that has a super-sensitive nose, and when she gets onto a scent, that’s all she is focused on. So, until we teach her to come when called every single time, no matter what she is doing, she’s going to be on a leash.

I feel bad, because Meg and Belle get to run ahead of us, fast, through the woods. But I’d feel worse if K disappeared, never to be seen by us again.

Speaking of running through the woods… it’s hunting season. That time of year when we make the dogs wear their “don’t shoot me” vests. So no idiot mistakes one of the dogs for a deer. I made Meg and C’s vests, but I haven’t gotten around to making vests for Belle and K. So, Belle had to borrow C’s vest…

… which still says CeCe, by the way. I think C would understand.

Hopefully, before we come back, Belle and K will have their own vests to wear. They won’t be blaze orange, though. I could tell you what color they will be, but what fun is that? Then you wouldn’t have anything to look forward to!

November 24, 2009

Enough With the Dogs Already

You know, for a couple of weeks now, all I’ve been talking about here is dogs. Or so it seems. I mean, really. My last non-dog post was on November 13.

I know, I know, that’s not quite two weeks. But I have to wonder how many of my devoted fans have become bored with the dogs? How many people visit the blog only to go away disappointed for lack of variety?

With all the kids grown and out of the house now, there’s just not a lot of non-canine excitement. Thinking of new material to come up with is a stretch. So I decided to take it upon myself to add some magic, variety, and excitement to this blog (and, by extension, our lives) by adding…

… a cat!

Yep, that precious little baby is Maggie. She was perched on my knee when I took this picture.

Looking at her here, I’d say she’s about eight weeks old.

Look at those long, white whiskers.

Isn’t she just the cutest little thing? There’s nothing cuter than a furry little kitten. Unless it’s two or more furry little kittens!

Here she is on the steps. Don’t you just want to eat her up?

Oh, wait. I probably shouldn’t use “eat” and “kitten” in the same conversation around here. Since one never knows when someone with selective hearing might hear “eat … kitten.”

That wouldn’t be good.

Here’s a shot of Maggie under my desk chair. Stalking something quite intently.

I even got a picture of Maggie with my Grandma. Which is quite good if I do say so myself.

Just look at those itty, bitty, wittle feetsies!

And those blue eyes!

What a cute little fur ball!

I hope you enjoyed the change of pace. Tomorrow, we’ll probably be back to those other animals. But you never know…

Sometimes, I’m just full of surprises.

November 24, 2009

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

Things have been pretty quiet on the home front as we adjust to life with K, dog #3. She’s actually dog #4. Our first dog, CeCe, passed away just over a year ago. That means we are currently sharing our home with three dogs.

K is the first dog of ours to come from NBRAN, the National Brittany Rescue and Adoption Network. C, Meg and Belle were all adopted through ABR, American Brittany Rescue. Both are wonderful organizations full of dedicated, dog-loving people. They both have lots of dogs in need of a home, too.

When we decided to add dog #3, as a playmate for Belle, we were pretty specific about what we needed. There were no ABR dogs that fit the bill at the time. That’s how we ended up with NBRAN. And I’m glad, too, because we got the coolest little dog.

Anyway… I promised her foster Mom I’d keep her up-to-date with progress reports. I told Belle’s foster Mom that, too, which is one of the reasons you see so much dog stuff on here.

Fortunately for K’s foster Mom, I remembered that Hubby’s camera takes videos. So I’ve been trying to shoot little slice-of-life shorts to share. They are not particularly riveting for the average viewer. But I think my dog-loving friends enjoy them.

I shot the above video yesterday around 2:30 when I went downstairs to make lunch. I thought it was cute. When I showed Hubby, he said, “Don’t quit your day job.”

“What? You don’t like my video?” I asked.

“I didn’t say that,” he explained. “I just don’t think it will have any huge mass appeal.”

He probably has a point. But today, I have nothing better to talk about. So I hope you enjoyed Lunchtime.