Well Peruser, thanks for explaining what the heck a trible was in your IM.LOL. I have a feeling I'm the only greasespotter who's not a trekker.
Wheaton terriers are adorable. I saw one for the first time at a puppy training class when I first got Nico and I asked the guy what kind of mix it was. He got a little frustrated and said it wasn't a mix but a Wheaton. I just never saw one of those before!
Then I saw another one at the dog park that dove into the mudpool. That was halarious. Dove into it and rolled around. Those dogs are absolute clowns.
I bet the fish makes great entertainment for the cats. Must be like a live show for them.
...It's hard to be humble when you own a Rottweiler...
It's funny that you should mention Tribbles. I am not a Star Trek fan, but one of my coworkers is a ST fanatic and keeps a picture of Captain Kirk and the Tribbles on her bulletin board. When I got my most recent foster dog, the blind dangzu, I thought "Hey, she looks like the Tribbles on Kathy's bulletin board. At the adoption days, people always ask what breed our foster dogs are. I was just waiting for someone to ask me that so I could say that Callie was a Tribble. The first person to look at her that day adopted her and knew she was dangzu so I missed my chance. Oh well..
I agree with you, RottieGrrrl. Dogs from shelters do seem more grateful. All of the dogs I have had as an adult have been from shelters or rescue orgs. THey just seem to have so much character and personality. My little Joey weighs 11 pounds, but when he thinks a dog or human is too close to his mommy, size doesn't matter. He acts like he's 110 lbs. Of course he shakes like a leaf after the confrontation is over and runs to me for comfort, but I love his courage. Lucy is the best little watch dog. She loves her home and lets me know when she hears noises that she thinks "aren't right".
I really believe I get more back from fostering dogs than I put into it. You'd be amazed at how many wonderful people there are out there. I am in awe of the other volunteers who will take some very difficult dogs and work with them to make them adoptable. There are people who have been spending two Saturdays a month at adoption days for the last 10 to 15 years. We are a no kill organization, and that takes a lot of committment. Working with the public who adopt our dogs is also a great way to build faith in the goodness of people. There are many people willing to adopt handicapped animals, to donate money, supplies and spread the word about pets that need homes.
I am glad to see the good response to this topic. I am happy to know that there are "kindred spirits" here. (I only mean that as Anne (with an "e") of Green Gables used to say about her friend.
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
Yes MaryCate I couldn't agree more about your thoughts about volenteers and shelters etc.
I think it really comes down to education, and educating people.
Education is an ongoing journey it seems. Thank God for people from the Humane Society and ASPCA and many other orgs for taking the time and effort to gently educate the public about matters.
If it wern't for organizations like them many of us would be very ignorant!
But like I said, it really is an ongoing process.
For instance, just a few years ago when I was still attending an offshoot, the ministers wife had told me how she wanted to breed their golden.
She actually said she wanted her kids to see her have babies! That was the reason she wanted to breed her dog!
This was an intelligent woman too. I thought...
I gently pointed out something I had heard the humane soiciety say, that a better way to teach kids about sex would be to bring them to a local shelter, and show them what happens when people breed irresponsibly.
I also ran into a young girl at PetSmart, a worker there, ,who saw my rott and was very sweet, then proceeded to tell me about her rott and how she had 3 litters of mixed breed puppies.
She was so proud, she said, oh first we had a german shepherd mate with her, then a pit, then we did a boxer!
I mean... What do you say?
Anyway, not to get on a soap box here...I want to see more doggie pics!
...It's hard to be humble when you own a Rottweiler...
Gosh .....where to begin...I know that I have posted some of this info before..so if you have read previously...bear with me please.
I have a Bouvier de flanders.....I was hired to train him 10 years ago.
He belonged to a Dr. who was in his final stages of brain tumors.
When his *Daddy* died.......the family gave him to me.
Every year, The *grandparents STILL send *Stoney* a christmas card with 100 dollars, for him to share with the kids.....bless their hearts.
I have two german shepherds....One we found at a picinic area. She had been abandoned with her 3 puppies.
They all had mange. We fed them all of our lunch because they were so pathetic......we had no heart to eat in front of them.
Well, I could not sleep that night and went back. We got them treated and adopted her puppies out.......but she stayed with us.
Mama Dog...(we never thought of a name for her) Takes the children as her *personal* responsibilities....she is ever vigilant in her efforts to keep them safe.
The other shepherd, Kirby...named for the way she cleans up the scraps of the floor lol...though she gets into a lot of trouble, she has permanent immunity because as a 6 month old puppy...she attacked a rattle snake that was lying in the path that my very young children were walking down......preventing them from possibly being bitten.
We have a giant schnauzer whom I was told to take to the vet to put to sleep, for an ailing neighbor.
I never made it to the vet.....in spite of my best intentions and now Xena is part of the family.
My neighbor was getting rid of a toy rat terrier, and my son took him in...Tigger is really a charmer...I am suprised because I didn`t think I liked little dogs.
He LOOKs like a chiuoa sp? .....on steroids..lol
He is also more ferocious than ANY of the dogs that outweigh him by 70 lbs.
We have a beutifull cat that we kept from a litter of kittens that we bottle raised for the vet.Not a morning goes by that dear sherbert does not present us with a mouse.
We also have several *big* dogs......lol no really horses...but they THINK they are lap dogs...One is constantlly being chased off of the front porch and if you leave the door open long enough she WILL come in the house.
We have one that we rescued from the meat buyer. She had foundered..her feet were SO bad that there were abcesses that were filled with maggotts (sorry if that is tmi)
There was little chance she`d pull through....but we gave it a shot....n she suprised us n made a full recover...we expecting a really nice foal out of her next spring.
We have a precious black pony that was given my daughter. This poor little mare had been so visciously abused that she was crazy...nobody could touch her.
Well it took an entire summer,but my daughter regained her trust and is riding her....we are expecting a nice foal out of her in the spring.
My all time favorite, is my Tennessee Walking mare......she is my dearest companion and confidante....She is so totally peacefull that you cannot help but feel that *all is well with the world* whenever I am around her.
She is the best baby sitter ......I can place the baby on her back...and she will follow me around the yard as I putter......She is one of those truly special once in a lifetime blessings......lol and my aquiring her was an accident.
My son has an iguana that he thinks highly of, *Strike* has amazing personality for a reptile..
My Daughter has a neat little red cheaked turtle that eats out of our hands..
We have 5 parakeets that the kids grandfather insisted that they just HAD to have...my daughter walks thropugh the house with them all hanging on her shoulders...lol she looks like some kind of bird perch.
We also have a rabbit that never stays in his cage......
Oh yeah, and my daughter has a couple of really neat angel fish that eat out of her hand.
(Bear with me if you have heard this one already)One of my proudest accomplishment is the two red boned coon hound puppies that had been thrown out in the woods to die immediately after birth....
(Thisnext part is gross if you want to skip to the next paragraph)They were filled with maggotts, it took hours to squeeze them out through the umbilical chords....
They were so weak, there was little chance for their survival...( their 10 syblings had already died)
Well anyway *Ely* and *Baily* pulled through, and this month, I was able to place them with a wonderfull Dr. and his wife.........though the couples 5 cats do not know what to make of their new syblings.
These are just some of my current residents........there have been some wonderfull animals that have shared our lives with us in the last 20 years that have since passed.
Lol.......add all those furry and scaled, and feathered *kids* with my 7 *human* children......and you can understand the reference under my name about *living in a shoe*.....as in the old woman who had SO many children...she didn`t know what to do;-)
P.S. I have to add that my poor husband is NOT an animal lover...lol the poor guy is beside himself as to how to deal with a family FULL of animal nuts :-)
Mary Cate....Congratulations on being a foster mom......There are too few people that are willing or capable of doing it.
All of you guys are SO wonderfull to open your hearts and homes to these most neglected, and unfortunate of creatures.
We foster as well but usually are only responsible for the orphaned puppies and kittens that need to be bottle raised until they can eat solid food and then be adopted out.
Both of the vets in town call me when they have orphans....
We had to stop taking in larger animals , because with as many large dogs as we have...the neighbors are understandibly nervous...
We also had to stop taking cats as wellbecause we learned the hard way that xena is a cat eater....sigh.
We rescue and rehabilitate horses as well, but unfortunaatly never seem to be able to give them up.....we are currently responsible for 11.
I have a kitty (4 year old black and white long hair mutt) in the kitty hospital right now. He's had blood in his urine for about two weeks now, tried a few different meds, and we'll get the prognosis today.
Wish I had a pix, he's so prrrrrdy! I'll let you know how he does!
I think it's great that you're raising your children to care for animals. I grew up with animals and was taught that they have feelings and deserve to be treated humanely. I think it has made me more sensitive and compassionate towards humans as well. I am sure your children are learning that lesson, too.
I hope you will be able to post pictures of your animals. I especially want to see your Rat Terrier.
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
Rascal, the story of your feeding those poor 4 pooches your picnic lunch brought a lump to my throat, and picturing a horse walking in your front door absolutely cracked me up.
(We won't talk about the maggot parts. I was eating lunch when I read your post!)
Corrydj, I hope your kitty is better soon!
To everyone who said rescues make great pets, I couldn't agree more. Often they've been abused and/or neglected, and they sure seem grateful to have a safe home where they're loved.
Sorry about spoiling your lunch Linda. I was hoping not to upset anyone.......lol
We live on two acres in the county....so I have enough room for the dogs and a horse or two.
I keep most of the horses at the Doc`s farm who adopted Baily and Ely.
He has a 100 acres, so there is plenty to eat, and great places to ride.
The only real trouble is the vet bills....lord I have an ever running tab with him...someone is ALWAYS getting cut, or sick.
The vet always charges me cheaper prices, bless his heart....lol he calls me the east central branch of ----- counties humane society.
The horse that we cannot keep off the porch is SO nosey...if we shut the inside door so that she can`t see in the front...she walks around the house. .... peeking in the windows until she finds which room we are in.
A bouvier de flanders is a belgian sheep dog. They are about 90 lbs and covered with long hair.
The reason that there are not many of them is because they were used heavily in ww1 or 2 as behind the lines messenger deliverers, guard dogs ........they used to haul small cannons, and ammo carts.
They were so valued and effective, that when germany invaded Belgium.......one of their first priorities was to destroy all kennels and breeding center for these animals.
There is a great saga (supposedly true)about how a young girl escaped with her two bouves and traveled across occupied countries at night.......hiding in the day, had many narrow squeezs.........until she managed to smuggle herself and the dogs to the united states.
I do not believe the breed ever made a comeback after that.
Usually they have their ears clipped to stand up and their tail docked...but mine isnt.
They are shaggy like an old english sheep dog.
Cory, How is your kittY?.......I hope he is ok.
It is so fun hearing about all of your animals, great idea Rottie Girl.
The picture is wonderful. Your children our beautiful.
Thanks for the thanks to us foster moms and dads. I encourage anyone with a little room in their heart and home to be a foster parent to a kitty or a dog. I have loved every foster dog I have had as if it were my own, and really do get more back than I put into it. I thought I would hate the adoption days - sitting still for three hours and showing my dog to the public. Instead I find I enjoy it because I meet other people who love dogs as much as I do and meet all of the dogs in the other foster homes. I also get to see the "magic" that happens when a family is made - the right four-legged(s) meet the right two-legged(s). Sigh.....
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
I jus read this thread and am blessed to see so many ex-wayferssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssssssssssssss wif's pets. My aligator of four yrs died yesterday,,,,,,,,he now has a burial plot next to ole' Hanky......my Australian Shepherd of twelve yrs.
Now I do still gots a mule named Sara......and a horse named Red Skelton.
Tha cats name is 8-Ball cause he is all black wif a little white speck on his chest......he also weighs in at 32 pounds. Really he keeps the stray dogs out of tha yard....lol
I also gots three nice beagles fer huntin rabbits!
And two ole' blue ticks that are supposed to tree coons....LOL!
But me favorite pet is a Twenty pound Tom Turkey wif a 10inch beard. The only one I ever seen rooast on tha tier poles in tha barn.
Outside of all that......I got a twelve yr old kido.......that loves turtles.......But we ain't figured out to get this 30 pounder into tha aqaurium yet!
I also got a pond full of crappie and blue gill....they are my favorite pets.......especially when they come a dining!
Do you have any pictures of that cat? That cat weighs more than both of my dogs and the last foster dog I had combined. Thirty two pounds!! How can that be? He would eat my Lucy for lunch and my Joey for dessert! Do you live near a nuclear power plant?
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
It sounds like everyone of us is violating twi's pet ban, gosh...ain't that a shame
I've quite a menagerie of *pets* some relatively civilized, others as wild as the day they were born, but we all get along just fine. Scruffy, my dog is a bit of a wanderer not to mention a magnet fer every leaf and pine needle with 50 feet. She is very energetic and playful and loves to be petted and enjoys hikes in the woods tho she worries about me too much when we get out of her territory.
I've also got two cats, both strays and both good at keeping the critters down in the yard n garden. I had to pull one out of a well after it fell in, luckily it was a dry well. Since it was situated under the house and mostly covered by a heavy concrete slab it took awhile fer Cam n I to figure out how to effect the kitties rescue but we did and all ended well...
I've got some deer bedding down in the thickets behind my house, and I have come face to face with them on more than one occasion and that was pert cool. There are rabbits all around, a cardinal family that came back this spring to nest and raise its young that don't mind if I'm in their *space*. I've got a possum or two in the woods that cleans up the cat food, a squirrel family out back that stage commando raids on my nut trees and a toad lives in my porch steps. I pet my toad occasionally tho I suspect he'd prefer I didn't.
Its fun being so close to the woods and actually feeling like a part of the surroundings, albiet with TV and Microwave.
I will post a pic of Turtle when I have a better one. I have one of him in a window, (I'll post that one when I can figure out how to do it!)but it makes him look like a shadow.
got a chow/rot mix, talk about your canine issues?
When the scrubs were little, they were constantly trying to load the ark down with frogs, turtles, baby birds, cats, and any dog they could tie a rope to. Then they dragged up Gracie, a reddish brown dog with some black on her tongue. She was part Chow.
I was on shift back then. After a hot 4 to midnight, I scowed a brew from the fridge, and headed for the front porch for a smoke in the cool evening air. The house was quiet with all the kiddos asleep and there she was cautiously watching me in the fringes of porch light that faded into the dark.
Her eyes glowed green in the night like a hyena as I toasted my smoke and sipped the cold brew and pondered why she hadn?t moved on like the rest of the canine panhandlers that were temporarily captured by my brood. (Most were neighbor dogs that had strayed from the their yards in search of cat food bowls. I could not prohibit the affection my kids lavished on these imposters .. like I said of most these dogs already had homes, but I did absolutely prohibit feeding strays. It was against tribal law to feed strays. )
So they?d .... my tires and put some ****-piles in the yard and after a day of two would return to their families. The Chow, however, was working on her third week. I did discount her immediately because of a rough cough she was constantly making, and I was unwilling to vet a dog I did not know, much less a full grown part-chow. My kiddos were pretty little and I was wary of the breed or part breed, in her case.
She was about 2 years old and judging by her teet droop, had spilled some puppies somewhere earlier in the spring.
But with all the kiddos asleep, I called to her and she slowly approached the steps where I was sitting. I can talk to most dogs, providing that they are reasonable about it, and she was no different. She walked between my knees and I started rubbing her ears and she responded in expected canine ecstasy by tilting her head and closing her eyes.
It had been along time since I gave a dog affection. I guess Pup was the last one (he was an adopted jet black cocker that was dumped in a Walmart parking lot) and before him was Hey-Duke, (a young collie mix I found with a broken leg behind a store I managed and that I subsequently Vett?ed and adopted).
They were both great dogs but they both were shot by a couple of dog-catchers who played cop in the town where I used to live at the time when my eldest was just an infant. Both animals were collared and tagged, but I guess them sumbitches were bored or something. I didn?t find out what happened to them until a couple years later when the Vet told me that a lot of people lost good animals to those two *******s before they were fired.
Upon the belated hearing of their fate?. I would?ve loved to have tranked and loaded those two pigs into the back of my 50 Panel van, just to turn them loose on some dark stretch of gravel in the back county for target practice ? just like they did them two dogs of mine, but justice ain?t for animals, I can see that. And saw that at the time.
As I stroked her, I felt something hard around her neck. I thought it was just some matted of fur until it appeared on the underside of her neck also. It was damn collar. You couldn?t see it because it was so tight I couldn?t run a finger under it.
I was amazed she could even breathe. And it diagnosed her coughing all the time? she wasn?t sick, she was choking. I remember it was green nylon puppy collar about and inch in width. I pulled my Buck from it?s sheath, and carefully guided it?s razored edge across it.
She stood dead still. She somehow knew what was I doing and trusted me doing it. I worked the knife until the collar popped and released it?s strangling grip on the dog?s neck. That was 9 years and 7 litters ago.
Tonight I moved her feed bowl away from the front of the house because flies were getting in the front door. Her daily favorite 2 cans dog food are now being served near a section of the yard she uses to fertilize.
She barked and growled at me and raised cane over this new location and refused to come when I called her.
I then started making some yummy sounds (like I was eating her dog food) and she bounded across the yard to keep me from stealing it.
What a great story--you old softie, you. I cried at the part where you cut off the collar that was choking her. People are a lot dumber than dogs, sometimes.
Have I told you lately that if you aren't knocking on the doors of publishers, you should be? You are head and shoulders above 90% of all the writers whose writing I've ever gotten paid to edit, both in writing style and talent. I mean it.
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RottieGrrrl
Well Peruser, thanks for explaining what the heck a trible was in your IM.LOL. I have a feeling I'm the only greasespotter who's not a trekker.
Wheaton terriers are adorable. I saw one for the first time at a puppy training class when I first got Nico and I asked the guy what kind of mix it was. He got a little frustrated and said it wasn't a mix but a Wheaton. I just never saw one of those before!
Then I saw another one at the dog park that dove into the mudpool. That was halarious. Dove into it and rolled around. Those dogs are absolute clowns.
I bet the fish makes great entertainment for the cats. Must be like a live show for them.
...It's hard to be humble when you own a Rottweiler...
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RottieGrrrl
What a player!
...It's hard to be humble when you own a Rottweiler...
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Mary Cate
It's funny that you should mention Tribbles. I am not a Star Trek fan, but one of my coworkers is a ST fanatic and keeps a picture of Captain Kirk and the Tribbles on her bulletin board. When I got my most recent foster dog, the blind dangzu, I thought "Hey, she looks like the Tribbles on Kathy's bulletin board. At the adoption days, people always ask what breed our foster dogs are. I was just waiting for someone to ask me that so I could say that Callie was a Tribble. The first person to look at her that day adopted her and knew she was dangzu so I missed my chance. Oh well..
I agree with you, RottieGrrrl. Dogs from shelters do seem more grateful. All of the dogs I have had as an adult have been from shelters or rescue orgs. THey just seem to have so much character and personality. My little Joey weighs 11 pounds, but when he thinks a dog or human is too close to his mommy, size doesn't matter. He acts like he's 110 lbs. Of course he shakes like a leaf after the confrontation is over and runs to me for comfort, but I love his courage. Lucy is the best little watch dog. She loves her home and lets me know when she hears noises that she thinks "aren't right".
I really believe I get more back from fostering dogs than I put into it. You'd be amazed at how many wonderful people there are out there. I am in awe of the other volunteers who will take some very difficult dogs and work with them to make them adoptable. There are people who have been spending two Saturdays a month at adoption days for the last 10 to 15 years. We are a no kill organization, and that takes a lot of committment. Working with the public who adopt our dogs is also a great way to build faith in the goodness of people. There are many people willing to adopt handicapped animals, to donate money, supplies and spread the word about pets that need homes.
I am glad to see the good response to this topic. I am happy to know that there are "kindred spirits" here. (I only mean that as Anne (with an "e") of Green Gables used to say about her friend.
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
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RottieGrrrl
Yes MaryCate I couldn't agree more about your thoughts about volenteers and shelters etc.
I think it really comes down to education, and educating people.
Education is an ongoing journey it seems. Thank God for people from the Humane Society and ASPCA and many other orgs for taking the time and effort to gently educate the public about matters.
If it wern't for organizations like them many of us would be very ignorant!
But like I said, it really is an ongoing process.
For instance, just a few years ago when I was still attending an offshoot, the ministers wife had told me how she wanted to breed their golden.
She actually said she wanted her kids to see her have babies! That was the reason she wanted to breed her dog!
This was an intelligent woman too. I thought...
I gently pointed out something I had heard the humane soiciety say, that a better way to teach kids about sex would be to bring them to a local shelter, and show them what happens when people breed irresponsibly.
I also ran into a young girl at PetSmart, a worker there, ,who saw my rott and was very sweet, then proceeded to tell me about her rott and how she had 3 litters of mixed breed puppies.
She was so proud, she said, oh first we had a german shepherd mate with her, then a pit, then we did a boxer!
I mean... What do you say?
Anyway, not to get on a soap box here...I want to see more doggie pics!
...It's hard to be humble when you own a Rottweiler...
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rascal
Gosh .....where to begin...I know that I have posted some of this info before..so if you have read previously...bear with me please.
I have a Bouvier de flanders.....I was hired to train him 10 years ago.
He belonged to a Dr. who was in his final stages of brain tumors.
When his *Daddy* died.......the family gave him to me.
Every year, The *grandparents STILL send *Stoney* a christmas card with 100 dollars, for him to share with the kids.....bless their hearts.
I have two german shepherds....One we found at a picinic area. She had been abandoned with her 3 puppies.
They all had mange. We fed them all of our lunch because they were so pathetic......we had no heart to eat in front of them.
Well, I could not sleep that night and went back. We got them treated and adopted her puppies out.......but she stayed with us.
Mama Dog...(we never thought of a name for her) Takes the children as her *personal* responsibilities....she is ever vigilant in her efforts to keep them safe.
The other shepherd, Kirby...named for the way she cleans up the scraps of the floor lol...though she gets into a lot of trouble, she has permanent immunity because as a 6 month old puppy...she attacked a rattle snake that was lying in the path that my very young children were walking down......preventing them from possibly being bitten.
We have a giant schnauzer whom I was told to take to the vet to put to sleep, for an ailing neighbor.
I never made it to the vet.....in spite of my best intentions and now Xena is part of the family.
My neighbor was getting rid of a toy rat terrier, and my son took him in...Tigger is really a charmer...I am suprised because I didn`t think I liked little dogs.
He LOOKs like a chiuoa sp? .....on steroids..lol
He is also more ferocious than ANY of the dogs that outweigh him by 70 lbs.
We have a beutifull cat that we kept from a litter of kittens that we bottle raised for the vet.Not a morning goes by that dear sherbert does not present us with a mouse.
We also have several *big* dogs......lol no really horses...but they THINK they are lap dogs...One is constantlly being chased off of the front porch and if you leave the door open long enough she WILL come in the house.
We have one that we rescued from the meat buyer. She had foundered..her feet were SO bad that there were abcesses that were filled with maggotts (sorry if that is tmi)
There was little chance she`d pull through....but we gave it a shot....n she suprised us n made a full recover...we expecting a really nice foal out of her next spring.
We have a precious black pony that was given my daughter. This poor little mare had been so visciously abused that she was crazy...nobody could touch her.
Well it took an entire summer,but my daughter regained her trust and is riding her....we are expecting a nice foal out of her in the spring.
My all time favorite, is my Tennessee Walking mare......she is my dearest companion and confidante....She is so totally peacefull that you cannot help but feel that *all is well with the world* whenever I am around her.
She is the best baby sitter ......I can place the baby on her back...and she will follow me around the yard as I putter......She is one of those truly special once in a lifetime blessings......lol and my aquiring her was an accident.
My son has an iguana that he thinks highly of, *Strike* has amazing personality for a reptile..
My Daughter has a neat little red cheaked turtle that eats out of our hands..
We have 5 parakeets that the kids grandfather insisted that they just HAD to have...my daughter walks thropugh the house with them all hanging on her shoulders...lol she looks like some kind of bird perch.
We also have a rabbit that never stays in his cage......
Oh yeah, and my daughter has a couple of really neat angel fish that eat out of her hand.
(Bear with me if you have heard this one already)One of my proudest accomplishment is the two red boned coon hound puppies that had been thrown out in the woods to die immediately after birth....
(Thisnext part is gross if you want to skip to the next paragraph)They were filled with maggotts, it took hours to squeeze them out through the umbilical chords....
They were so weak, there was little chance for their survival...( their 10 syblings had already died)
Well anyway *Ely* and *Baily* pulled through, and this month, I was able to place them with a wonderfull Dr. and his wife.........though the couples 5 cats do not know what to make of their new syblings.
These are just some of my current residents........there have been some wonderfull animals that have shared our lives with us in the last 20 years that have since passed.
Lol.......add all those furry and scaled, and feathered *kids* with my 7 *human* children......and you can understand the reference under my name about *living in a shoe*.....as in the old woman who had SO many children...she didn`t know what to do;-)
P.S. I have to add that my poor husband is NOT an animal lover...lol the poor guy is beside himself as to how to deal with a family FULL of animal nuts :-)
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rascal
Mary Cate....Congratulations on being a foster mom......There are too few people that are willing or capable of doing it.
All of you guys are SO wonderfull to open your hearts and homes to these most neglected, and unfortunate of creatures.
We foster as well but usually are only responsible for the orphaned puppies and kittens that need to be bottle raised until they can eat solid food and then be adopted out.
Both of the vets in town call me when they have orphans....
We had to stop taking in larger animals , because with as many large dogs as we have...the neighbors are understandibly nervous...
We also had to stop taking cats as wellbecause we learned the hard way that xena is a cat eater....sigh.
We rescue and rehabilitate horses as well, but unfortunaatly never seem to be able to give them up.....we are currently responsible for 11.
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corrydj
I have a kitty (4 year old black and white long hair mutt) in the kitty hospital right now. He's had blood in his urine for about two weeks now, tried a few different meds, and we'll get the prognosis today.
Wish I had a pix, he's so prrrrrdy! I'll let you know how he does!
corrydj
ladda~dee ladee~daa
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Mary Cate
Rascal,
I think it's great that you're raising your children to care for animals. I grew up with animals and was taught that they have feelings and deserve to be treated humanely. I think it has made me more sensitive and compassionate towards humans as well. I am sure your children are learning that lesson, too.
I hope you will be able to post pictures of your animals. I especially want to see your Rat Terrier.
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
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Linda Z
Rascal, the story of your feeding those poor 4 pooches your picnic lunch brought a lump to my throat, and picturing a horse walking in your front door absolutely cracked me up.
(We won't talk about the maggot parts. I was eating lunch when I read your post!)
Corrydj, I hope your kitty is better soon!
To everyone who said rescues make great pets, I couldn't agree more. Often they've been abused and/or neglected, and they sure seem grateful to have a safe home where they're loved.
Linda
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RottieGrrrl
Rascal, I neverheard of a Bouvier de flanders. Hope you can post a pic. How sweet that the granparent are to do that!
Do you live on a farm? How can you have so many animals?
I would write more now but a certain greasespotter is IMing me and I cant.
Corry! glad to see you chimed in!
Gotta go let my rottie in from the outside. ta ta for now
...It's hard to be humble when you own a Rottweiler...
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rascal
Sorry about spoiling your lunch Linda. I was hoping not to upset anyone.......lol
We live on two acres in the county....so I have enough room for the dogs and a horse or two.
I keep most of the horses at the Doc`s farm who adopted Baily and Ely.
He has a 100 acres, so there is plenty to eat, and great places to ride.
The only real trouble is the vet bills....lord I have an ever running tab with him...someone is ALWAYS getting cut, or sick.
The vet always charges me cheaper prices, bless his heart....lol he calls me the east central branch of ----- counties humane society.
The horse that we cannot keep off the porch is SO nosey...if we shut the inside door so that she can`t see in the front...she walks around the house. .... peeking in the windows until she finds which room we are in.
A bouvier de flanders is a belgian sheep dog. They are about 90 lbs and covered with long hair.
The reason that there are not many of them is because they were used heavily in ww1 or 2 as behind the lines messenger deliverers, guard dogs ........they used to haul small cannons, and ammo carts.
They were so valued and effective, that when germany invaded Belgium.......one of their first priorities was to destroy all kennels and breeding center for these animals.
There is a great saga (supposedly true)about how a young girl escaped with her two bouves and traveled across occupied countries at night.......hiding in the day, had many narrow squeezs.........until she managed to smuggle herself and the dogs to the united states.
I do not believe the breed ever made a comeback after that.
Usually they have their ears clipped to stand up and their tail docked...but mine isnt.
They are shaggy like an old english sheep dog.
Cory, How is your kittY?.......I hope he is ok.
It is so fun hearing about all of your animals, great idea Rottie Girl.
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Zshot
I hope your kitty gets better.
After my cat was sick, I swiched from purina cat chow to premimum cat foods. Currently, he is eating IAMS (less active) cat food.
Some of the "fillers" in other cat foods, helped contribute to my cat getting sick.
Premimum cat foods cost more...Bu, it is cheeper than vet bills and it beats haveing a sick kitty!!
I think it is a good idea to talk to your vet about what to feed your pet.
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JesseJoe
Hey, Rottie. I did have a Jesse icon! I had it stored on the web site were I work and lost it with a bunch of other stuff. It was my favorite picture!
I found a picture of the whole family! Cappy, the Bulldog can?t keep his eyes off the cat hiding in the snow. He is very single minded.
Anyway, thank you for what you do. It makes a difference!
Jesse
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corrydj
He's all better! Thanks everyone for asking. Vet said he's got a bladder infection, which I hear is pretty common.
And furthermore, Vet said he can return to can food to get some moisture back in his diet! To which fat kitty said "thank you!"
corrydj
ladda~dee ladee~daa
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Mary Cate
JJ,
The picture is wonderful. Your children our beautiful.
Thanks for the thanks to us foster moms and dads. I encourage anyone with a little room in their heart and home to be a foster parent to a kitty or a dog. I have loved every foster dog I have had as if it were my own, and really do get more back than I put into it. I thought I would hate the adoption days - sitting still for three hours and showing my dog to the public. Instead I find I enjoy it because I meet other people who love dogs as much as I do and meet all of the dogs in the other foster homes. I also get to see the "magic" that happens when a family is made - the right four-legged(s) meet the right two-legged(s). Sigh.....
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
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Littlehawk
I jus read this thread and am blessed to see so many ex-wayferssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssssssssssssss wif's pets. My aligator of four yrs died yesterday,,,,,,,,he now has a burial plot next to ole' Hanky......my Australian Shepherd of twelve yrs.
Now I do still gots a mule named Sara......and a horse named Red Skelton.
Tha cats name is 8-Ball cause he is all black wif a little white speck on his chest......he also weighs in at 32 pounds. Really he keeps the stray dogs out of tha yard....lol
I also gots three nice beagles fer huntin rabbits!
And two ole' blue ticks that are supposed to tree coons....LOL!
But me favorite pet is a Twenty pound Tom Turkey wif a 10inch beard. The only one I ever seen rooast on tha tier poles in tha barn.
Outside of all that......I got a twelve yr old kido.......that loves turtles.......But we ain't figured out to get this 30 pounder into tha aqaurium yet!
I also got a pond full of crappie and blue gill....they are my favorite pets.......especially when they come a dining!
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Mary Cate
Littlehawk,
Do you have any pictures of that cat? That cat weighs more than both of my dogs and the last foster dog I had combined. Thirty two pounds!! How can that be? He would eat my Lucy for lunch and my Joey for dessert! Do you live near a nuclear power plant?
MCR
We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing...G.B. Shaw
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Steve!
Here's how littlehawk weighs his cat:
He steps on the scale with his cat, then subtracts his own weight, and the result is his cat's weight!
MY cat weighs 78 pounds. Amazing, considering he FEELS as light as a feather!
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Guest
It sounds like everyone of us is violating twi's pet ban, gosh...ain't that a shame
I've quite a menagerie of *pets* some relatively civilized, others as wild as the day they were born, but we all get along just fine. Scruffy, my dog is a bit of a wanderer not to mention a magnet fer every leaf and pine needle with 50 feet. She is very energetic and playful and loves to be petted and enjoys hikes in the woods tho she worries about me too much when we get out of her territory.
I've also got two cats, both strays and both good at keeping the critters down in the yard n garden. I had to pull one out of a well after it fell in, luckily it was a dry well. Since it was situated under the house and mostly covered by a heavy concrete slab it took awhile fer Cam n I to figure out how to effect the kitties rescue but we did and all ended well...
I've got some deer bedding down in the thickets behind my house, and I have come face to face with them on more than one occasion and that was pert cool. There are rabbits all around, a cardinal family that came back this spring to nest and raise its young that don't mind if I'm in their *space*. I've got a possum or two in the woods that cleans up the cat food, a squirrel family out back that stage commando raids on my nut trees and a toad lives in my porch steps. I pet my toad occasionally tho I suspect he'd prefer I didn't.
Its fun being so close to the woods and actually feeling like a part of the surroundings, albiet with TV and Microwave.
Mike
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Dot Matrix
God, I love all your stories and your kids!!!
Okay, weirdest pet was the alligator.
I am sorry you lost him!
I used to have a tiny one about 30 years ago. My Dad brought it up from Florida. The alligator did not live very long, however.
Dot Matrix
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Kay1952
I will post a pic of Turtle when I have a better one. I have one of him in a window, (I'll post that one when I can figure out how to do it!)but it makes him look like a shadow.
Kay
Kay1952
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DamitJanet
I have a goffin's cockatoo. She's a beauty but she's like a toddler since she is curious & likes to get into everything.
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jediknight777
got a chow/rot mix, talk about your canine issues?
When the scrubs were little, they were constantly trying to load the ark down with frogs, turtles, baby birds, cats, and any dog they could tie a rope to. Then they dragged up Gracie, a reddish brown dog with some black on her tongue. She was part Chow.
I was on shift back then. After a hot 4 to midnight, I scowed a brew from the fridge, and headed for the front porch for a smoke in the cool evening air. The house was quiet with all the kiddos asleep and there she was cautiously watching me in the fringes of porch light that faded into the dark.
Her eyes glowed green in the night like a hyena as I toasted my smoke and sipped the cold brew and pondered why she hadn?t moved on like the rest of the canine panhandlers that were temporarily captured by my brood. (Most were neighbor dogs that had strayed from the their yards in search of cat food bowls. I could not prohibit the affection my kids lavished on these imposters .. like I said of most these dogs already had homes, but I did absolutely prohibit feeding strays. It was against tribal law to feed strays. )
So they?d .... my tires and put some ****-piles in the yard and after a day of two would return to their families. The Chow, however, was working on her third week. I did discount her immediately because of a rough cough she was constantly making, and I was unwilling to vet a dog I did not know, much less a full grown part-chow. My kiddos were pretty little and I was wary of the breed or part breed, in her case.
She was about 2 years old and judging by her teet droop, had spilled some puppies somewhere earlier in the spring.
But with all the kiddos asleep, I called to her and she slowly approached the steps where I was sitting. I can talk to most dogs, providing that they are reasonable about it, and she was no different. She walked between my knees and I started rubbing her ears and she responded in expected canine ecstasy by tilting her head and closing her eyes.
It had been along time since I gave a dog affection. I guess Pup was the last one (he was an adopted jet black cocker that was dumped in a Walmart parking lot) and before him was Hey-Duke, (a young collie mix I found with a broken leg behind a store I managed and that I subsequently Vett?ed and adopted).
They were both great dogs but they both were shot by a couple of dog-catchers who played cop in the town where I used to live at the time when my eldest was just an infant. Both animals were collared and tagged, but I guess them sumbitches were bored or something. I didn?t find out what happened to them until a couple years later when the Vet told me that a lot of people lost good animals to those two *******s before they were fired.
Upon the belated hearing of their fate?. I would?ve loved to have tranked and loaded those two pigs into the back of my 50 Panel van, just to turn them loose on some dark stretch of gravel in the back county for target practice ? just like they did them two dogs of mine, but justice ain?t for animals, I can see that. And saw that at the time.
As I stroked her, I felt something hard around her neck. I thought it was just some matted of fur until it appeared on the underside of her neck also. It was damn collar. You couldn?t see it because it was so tight I couldn?t run a finger under it.
I was amazed she could even breathe. And it diagnosed her coughing all the time? she wasn?t sick, she was choking. I remember it was green nylon puppy collar about and inch in width. I pulled my Buck from it?s sheath, and carefully guided it?s razored edge across it.
She stood dead still. She somehow knew what was I doing and trusted me doing it. I worked the knife until the collar popped and released it?s strangling grip on the dog?s neck. That was 9 years and 7 litters ago.
Tonight I moved her feed bowl away from the front of the house because flies were getting in the front door. Her daily favorite 2 cans dog food are now being served near a section of the yard she uses to fertilize.
She barked and growled at me and raised cane over this new location and refused to come when I called her.
I then started making some yummy sounds (like I was eating her dog food) and she bounded across the yard to keep me from stealing it.
(I have a worthless cat too?)
jedi...
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Linda Z
What a great story--you old softie, you. I cried at the part where you cut off the collar that was choking her. People are a lot dumber than dogs, sometimes.
Have I told you lately that if you aren't knocking on the doors of publishers, you should be? You are head and shoulders above 90% of all the writers whose writing I've ever gotten paid to edit, both in writing style and talent. I mean it.
Linda Z
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