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TRUCK RIDE!

Cochise Mentor dogHairyFace made a trash run today, so Blondie and I got to go along. I rode shotgun (of course). Hairy won’t roll the window down enough for me to stick my head out, but he turns the vents up on high so I can get a good sniff of what we’re driving through. There’s always so much to see.

Blondie rides behind the seats. She gets an open wing window on each side and she can watch out the front and back as well as the sides, so don’t go feeling sorry for her: she likes the ride too.

At the end of our nice long truck ride we will be at this place called a Convenience Center. Hairy says they call it that because it makes it easy for peoples to dispose of their trash. I don’t know why you don’t just eat it: I would.

Anyway, when we get there Hairy gets out and takes some of the trash from the back of the truck and puts in this container, and some in that container and still more of it in that thing over there. He calls it RECYCLING. I have no idea what that means, but he seems to think it’s important. He’s pretty smart, for a Peoples, so if he thinks it’s important, then I say you should think it’s important too.

There’s always lots going on here. And sometimes one of the other peoples here will come over and scratch our heads (Blondie and I, not Hairy … that would be weird) and tell us what fine looking dogs we are. That’s one of the things I like best about our Saturday morning truck rides. Another thing is that it smells so GOOD here!


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Rain, Rain, Go Away …

Cochise does not like rain
Cochise tells the tale

Some dogs like to play in water and even in the rain. Others do not. Blondie’s yellow Labrador side sometimes entices her to go walking in a light rain, but most of the time her Pit Bull side overrules that and she prefers to stay on the porch, in the dry, and watch from there. I am an American Bulldog. I dislike getting wet. I don’t even like getting my feet wet after a rain has stopped. But that’s partly because when I go back inside the house HairyFace will clean the mud off my feet with a towel. I don’t like that: it tickles.

I like being able to run outside anytime I need to bark at something. I like laying on the stone slabs of the porch steps in the warm sunshine. I can’t do that in the rain. Even though I have a home where I can stay dry and safe when it rains, rain keeps me from doing what I want, so I don’t like the rain.

Zadie

Dolly and Zadie in Workshop

The Dogtor is in

I let the dogs out that morning. They each barked once or twice and Boots (who lived down the road) came streaking joyfully across the yard from the old dirt mountain road, dodging his way through the garden boxes. The three of them started wrestling around like they always did. The three of them were buddies and constant play mates, but Boots and Zadie were best friends. I went back inside to fix breakfast. It was Wednesday; my day to fix scrambled eggs and bacon.

Dolly came in after a bit, but not Zadie: she had gone off adventuring with Boots.

When it was time to sit down for breakfast, Marie went out and called Zadie several times, it was not like her to miss breakfast (or any other meal).

I took Marie to work so I could keep the truck for errands. Marie always handed out cookies when she left for work. Dolly always said, “Give mine to my ‘boy’ here and he’ll go put them on my bed in the office.” Zadie scarfed hers down and tried to snatch Dolly’s as well. If Boots was visiting he’d get some too. Today: no Boots, no Zadie. Dolly was miffed that I was leaving: that’s not the way it’s supposed to work. She was such a creature of habit!

Rescue Dog Becomes TV Star

Kingsley Profile PicOne of our recent foster dogs: Kingsley, wrote “home” to tell us of his latest adventure.

HI all … It’s me Kingsley and I had such an exciting day … About a week ago NBC called FOWA Rescue to ask if I wanted to have a part in an episode of their new series “Unraveled” … so of course they said yes. So my foster mom Diane and my friend Shirley were there to watch me perform … Everyone said I was a natural … and everyone on the set was so nice to me …. Watch for when it premieres in the fall on the Investigation Discovery channel … I am not going to give the story away but this is me and the actors who played my family …It was a great day … lots of treats and attention … Not to shabby for a heartworm positive black dog from the south … Don’t worry Jen , Brandy and Doug I am still the same sweet dog you knew when you saved me… and I am forever grateful you fought so hard to keep me alive …
Love and Licks – Kingsley

We knew him when

Kingsley came to us as a heartworm positive rescue dog from the Dr. Carol Hood Memorial Animal Shelter in Newport Tennessee for treatment of his condition and some behavioral training: he was excitable and unruly. He quickly became a favorite here because of his abundance of personality.

The Big Dog

The Dogtor is in

Most any social system will have a hierarchical order to things. Even in a small social system, someone is in charge – someone is the top dog. This is true of people, it is even more so of animals.

DollyDolly Dawg was a free range mountain dog since before we got here in December of 2001. Someone had tried to train her as a hunting dog, failed, and disposed of her by dumping her here on Piney Mountain. After we moved into our place we spotted her sitting in a clump of boulders sixty or seventy feet up the mountain slope from our home, watching us as we worked at getting settled. But she would not approach, and would slink off into the trees if we paid much attention to her.

So we began accidentally leaving a pie plate of kibbles out by the tree line. While our backs were turned we would hear ravenous crunching. With time, kibbles, and a great deal of patience we became friends. We christened her Dolly because of her eyes, she looked all made up and ready to go out: Dolled up: Dolly. Eventually she decided that we could stay and she would look after us.

We learned that Dolly was queen of the mountain, all other free range dogs deferred to her. Some came to play with her, to hunt with her, to lounge in the sun with her. She was a beneficent monarch.

A Meet n Greet for Buster

Cochise
Cochise

Hi, Cochise here.

HairyFace has been talking to Jen at the Newport Animal Shelter about a meet & greet between Buster and Melissa. We know this because Blondie sneaks into Hairy’s computer to look at his e-mail and Facebook when he goes out to garden.

We’re not sure what a meet & greet is but we’re pretty sure it involves a truck ride. We all like truck rides. All except Boomer. He doesn’t hate them, but he could do without them quite easily.

But Buster loves truck rides, so every morning this week when Hairy takes Buster out for a walk, Buster tows Hairy over to the truck and sits by the passenger door. “No, Buster. No truck ride today.” Even this morning – except it was different: “No, Buster. No truck ride yet. Later.”

Postpartum Depression

 

The Dogtor is in

postpartum depression Kingsley RidingKingsley and I took our last ride together this morning.

Kingsley has lived with us for the past 3 months. Almost 3 months: tomorrow would have been his anniversary with us. During that time we helped cure him of a heartworm infestation and taught him “civilized” behavior. He was pretty unruly when he came in.

During his exam the Vet Tech, Alicia, commented, “You are just a totally different dog from when you left here.” And he has come a long way. He is now ready to go live in a good home and enjoy a good life.

postpartum depressionKingsley passed his physical and is queued up for loading into the Rolling Rescue van this evening. I am at that postpartum depression point. I go through it with nearly all of them. I’ll get over it. It’s that look he gives me when I put him in his transport crate. It says, “Wait, wait, where are YOU going? Aren’t you taking me home? What did I *DO*? I’m SORRY!”

I tell him, “You’re starting a new chapter in your life, bud, and that chapter doesn’t include me. Things are going to be confusing for a few hours. Maybe a little scary. But once you are there, it will be worth it all. You’re starting a new chapter, and it will be wonderful. Even if it doesn’t seem so right now.”

Of course, he doesn’t understand any of that. But I hope the tone of my voice tells him that I’m not mad. He isn’t being punished.

I sometimes wonder if dogs retain memories of past experiences. I’m pretty sure they do: I’ve seen dogs that were traumatized by something and retain a fear of similar situations. It works for fear and self-preservation. What about good things? Will Kingsley remember Marie and I? Is it just vanity that I even wonder that? I don’t know. We did our part: we took him in, cared for him during his treatment and recovery and trained him in civilized behavior. Now he’s going to where he has a better opportunity to be adopted into a loving forever home. That’s a lot better than being put to death because no one wanted him. I’ll assauge my postpartum depression with that knowledge.

Besides, I still have Buster to get well enough to adopt. And Boomer is half-way through his recovery, I need to start campaigning to find him a home to go to. And Smokey: he’s in recovery and will be needing a home soon. Then there will be another. There is always another. There are so many good dogs who have been abandoned or snatched out of abusive situations, we will keep busy. But, should we find ourselves on furlough because all the dogs have good homes, it wouldn’t bother me a bit!


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Racing and Rough Play

The Dogtor is in

On cool days when the sun is shining, most of our dogs like to run. Our play yard is about 30 feet by 85 feet, so it makes a good space in which to run. There are also some obstacles in the way of lumber stacks that provide interest and challenge to the racing.

Blondie racing
Blondie – March 2013

For as big and bulky as Blondie appears, she is quite agile and can make some amazing moves where she can dig in and get grip. She often initiates these racing sessions. She also knows that I prefer racing as a form of exercise over wrestling; wrestling often escalates into something beyond play.

My Office Staff

Office snoozers
Office snoozers
The Dogtor is in

On days when the weather is unpleasant, my assistants: Blondie and Cochise, come into the office with me and the foster dogs snooze in their crates. Normally. If one of the fosters is in the “House Training” phase, they are invited to join us in the office. If they snooze on a bed, all is well. If they’re exploring, I have to keep an eye on them to be sure they’re not misbehaving. That slows down the work I’m trying to get done.

Of course, we all go outside every couple of hours for some leg stretching, play time, and … ummm … relief time.

Buster’s Double Dog Dare

The Dogtor is in

Yesterday Joy O’Hare donated a narrow futon pad that she no longer wanted. She thought it might make good dog beds. I agreed, and was happy to haul it back here. I set about cutting away the excess fabric and Velcro on the back the webbing that connected the two pads but allowed them to bend and fold.

Buster tests the new dog bedThe result was two 28” x 35” x 4” thick pads with removable covers. Buster spent all afternoon enjoying the one I put down to try out. Joy was a little worried that the dogs might react to the cat fur she could not vacuum off of them. But that was of no concern to Buster.

When it was time to retire for the night, Buster was adamant that he preferred to sleep in the office on “his” new dog bed rather than in his crate. This was not an option, but it took some time to convince him of that.

This morning after The Fosters had breakfast and some yard time, Buster was again insistent on going inside and to the office. It was still a little chilly out – and Buster has been a bit jealous of the extra privileges Hercules has been getting during his final phase of house breaking – so I decided to allow it instead of insisting he go to a pen outdoors like the others.

Upon entering the office, he was horrified to find that Cochise had already claimed the new dog bed!