Recently in Puppy Love Category
Hey peeps, guess what? This is Be Kind to Animals Week. That's right, boys and girl, Be Kind to Animals Week is from May 4th through the 10th. It was created by the American Humane Association way back in 1915!
Now, I know we shouldn't need to be reminded to be kind to animals, but in an effort to impress those who aren't so readily inclined to treat animals with the dignity and respect they deserve, do something special this week such as donate to a local animal shelter, report any animal abuse you witness or become aware of, and maybe reach out to a new pet owner and help teach them to become a responsible pet guardian.
If you have the means to do so, perhaps this week you could even adopt a pet! If not, then perhaps you could make time to volunteer at a local shelter, rescue group or Humane Society. Believe me, you will get SO much more out of it than you give! :)
Be Kind to Animals Week, Pets, Animals
About three or four weeks ago, while my daughter and I were visiting her best friend and her mother, she (my daughter) received a picture message from her Dad. It was, of all things, a pic of a the cutest puppy -- at our house! Now, most of you know that the last thing we needed was another dog, but when has that ever stopped us? LOL So anyway, we rushed home to see the dog before it ran off, and of course fell instantly in love. Even Hubs was quite taken with her. He said when he came home from running an errand she was just standing on the deck in front of our door. How cute is that? It's as if she knew she should be here. We brought her into the house and gave her some food and water. She had a collar on, so we knew she belonged to someone.
Fast-forward three days: my daughter's best friend calls up and says she knows who the pup belongs to. My daughter was heartbroken, as she has been longing for another dog of her own since her beloved Sage passed away in January. Turned out she belonged to a guy who lived around the corner. Callie knew who he was, and also knew he was a druggie. She got his phone number and called him to let him know we had his dog. His response was, shall we say, way less than excited. He just kind of said, "Oh, OK, I'll tell my mom later. I moved out so I'm not there anymore." Long story short, we didn't want that adorable, sweet, loving dog to be raised by someone who wasn't even happy to know where she was! So Hubs told Callie to offer him money. We were all pretty certain he'd take money. We were right. So now we have another canine member of our family. :) Her name is Hemi (like the engine). Yes, my daughter is into cars. ;) She is the cutest, sweetest little thing! She's half Blue Heeler, half Pit Bull Terrier. I'll take a picture of her soon and post it here. She absolutely loves everyone and everything, and never meets a stranger. My daughter is very happy. :)
Those of you who have been reading Thoughtprints for a long time know very well how much I love my dogs. I've never made a secret out of how much I value the friendship of a dog. In my opinion, dogs can make better friends than a lot of people I know. They love unconditionally, are loyal to a fault, and are completely and wholly devoted to the humans who love them. The following is a story of such devotion.
Gary Lorenz was a 1967 graduate of the Air Force Academy here in Colorado, and was a skilled F-4 pilot. He had flown missions over Vietnam, and then returned to the Academy in later years to be a squadron commander. Over the following years he had been promoted to colonel and had served as the vice-commandant of cadets. Then the most cruel of diseases struck: Alzheimer's.
On September 24th, Gary went missing. No one had seen him wander away from his home, but they knew he wasn't alone. His two Golden Retrievers, Merry and Pippin, were with him. The search for Gary started only a few hours later in the hills north of Cotopaxi after he disappeared that day, but days and weeks of searching had turned up nothing.
Gary's daughter, Deanna, was sitting in her Dad's livingroom when, on October 20th, the neighbors knocked on the door. They were there to tell her a hunter had found her father's body. But that wasn't all they had found. "And the dogs" they said, "the dogs are alive".
Eventually, the news from the coroner arrived; the news about the time and date of Gary Lorenz's death. That's when they put it all together. The dogs were with Gary when he died. And they had stayed with him for another three weeks, guarding his body from who knows what. They had never left his side.
When the hunter came upon Gary's body back in October, it was Pippin who was the most protective. "Pippin was right by dad and wouldn't allow anyone close to him," said Deanna. These days Pippin appears to be the most changed by the entire experience. He used to be a little aloof, says Deanna, now he's more stoic, more disciplined.
Sandee Lorenz, Gary's widow, calls the two dogs her "angels".
"I truly believe that had the hunter not found them, the dogs would have stayed (with Gary) until they had taken their last breath," she said.
So that, my friends, is the devotion of a dog. So much more than just an animal. The next time you hear that a dog is "man's best friend", remember Gary and his service to this country, and his two best friends and their service to the human they loved most.
Dogs. Man's best friend, indeed.
Gary Lorenz, Dogs, Man's Best Friend, Golden Retrievers
You all know how much I love my dogs, right? We take them with us a lot when we go out, even if it's just to Wal-Mart or something. They love to ride in the car and are always so excited when they know they're going to go.
Cheyenne (my Lab), Lily (my Aussie) and Daisy (my Golden) are too big, of course, to put into dog bags, but Riley and Pippin (my 2 Yorkie/Bichons) are just the right size. Trouble is, they're so darned spoiled that they always get to ride "free range". LOL I did use a dog bag when I brought Pippin home from the breeder's house, though, and she did really well in it. She was so tiny. She fit perfectly inside the little bag, just like a tiny stuffed animal. It was adorable. Riley, however, rode home from the breeder's on my lap. I had never had a really small dog before, and didn't know much about dog bags. I think it's so cute to see a little tiny dog being carried around in one. Can you say really spoiled? LOL I've thought about smuggling Riley into stores with me using a dog bag. It would absolutely work except for one thing -- he thinks he owns the world and needs to check everyone out, even barking at those he thinks shouldn't be around us. LOL He'd give himself away in a heartbeat!
Next year when we go on vacation we're going to bring Riley with us (and maybe even a couple of the big dogs!). I think it would be a good idea to get a dog bag for him, don't you? I mean, he's so teeny that he would never be able to keep up with us walking, and I know he wouldn't like being carried around in our hands all the time (he's very independent! lol). As long as I got one he could see out of, I think he'd do just fine. Do any of you use a dog bag when taking your dog out?
My dog Cheyenne is lying beside me, and she's farting. Her farts are SOOOO BAD! I swear they almost make me gag! I had to hold my nose a minute ago because I couldn't stand the smell. I've told her time and time again that it is extremely unladylike to do that, but she ignores me.
Dayum!! 
LOL!
Dogs Farting, Dog Farts, Stinky Dog Farts
You all know how much I adore my dogs. They are my furbabies. They make me smile, laugh and feel good each and every day. That's a lot more than I can say for most people! Well guess what I've discovered? A great site to get all the latest in pet news! They have Dog News, Cat News, Forums -- and you can even send them your favorite pictures of your dog or cat! At Itchmo, you can find all the latest info on important subjects such as the pet food recall, and the Michael Vick dogfighting case. They have many interesting, helpful and important categories, as well, such as Dog Parks & Travel, Events for Pet Owners, Medical and Veterinary, and Reviews of Dog and Cat Products. You can even sign-up for their daily email. So come on, Go to Itchmo for news for pet owners!
Itchmo For Pet News, Itchmo, itchmo.com
My husband has been completely renovating one of the bedrooms upstairs for our daughter -- all in cedar! Lemme tell ya', it smells sooo good! He has done a perfectly fabulous job on it, too. For someone who is not a carpenter by trade, he sure did some good work! Our dogs absolutely LOVE to be up there with him when he's working. I think they think it's for them. LOL They're going to be mighty jealous when they find out my daughter gets it! Or maybe not .....
Did you know you can get cedar furniture for your dog? Well you can! And cats, too! Don't think I'm crazy, but I would SO love to get them some cedar dog houses! Wouldn't that be awesome? Of course it would! ;) Just look at this -- a doggie duplex! I could get a couple of those and my babies would be in heaven. And people, they're weatherproof! What could be better?
If you look around the site, you'll see that they also sell gorgeous outdoor furniture, mailboxes, garden bridges, planters, arbors and pergolas and so much more, all made from gorgeous cedar! They also offer log furniture -- oh be still my heart -- I love log furniture! Seriously, I really do. In fact, someday I want a whole house made out of logs. Did you know cedar has 80% of the strength of oak? If you know anything about wood, then you know that's very sturdy wood! And guess what? They're so sure you're going to love their product, they offer complimentary FREE Ground Shipping within the U.S. contiguous 48 states! That's a heck of a deal, considering how much cedar wood furniture weighs. Go check 'em out!
ADAMS All Natural Cedar, cedarwoodfurniture.com, Cedar Dog House
I get tired of people telling me dogs don't think and make decisions. That's pure BS! I watch my dogs make decisions all the time. Take, for instance, tonight, when my youngest, Pippin, decided it would be a good idea to go from the sofa to the coffee table, then to the floor, knocking a couple'a things off in the process. I immediately said, "Pippin, noo noooo". She looked at me for a moment with this cute "Oops" look on her face, then kept on'a goin'. Two minutes later she was back on the sofa and wanted, once again, to get back over on the chair by the front door, and began to step onto the table. I sat here and watched as she stopped, looked at the table, removed her paw and jumped down and ran around the table. She totally stopped herself and decided to do it the acceptable way so she wouldn't be scolded again! 
People who say dogs don't possess critical thinking skills are themselves idiots! 
Dogs,
It has been sooo friggin' hot here! Today it was cooler, but MUGGY. I'll take dry hot over muggy any day! My daughter and her boyfriend went fishing and took our Golden, Daisy, with them. She had a great time in the water! Callie said she was a little tentative at first, like she didn't remember swimming from last year. LOL! She's such a good dog! She obeys like a dream and loves everyone, but only after she sees a cue from us that tells her they're OK. I'm glad they took her with them. She deserved a day out. Next time Cheyenne will go! Now there's a dog who LOVES swimming!!
Do you take your dogs swimming?
Dogs, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, Dogs Swimming
Is there really such a thing as an indestructible dog toy??? I have invested many dollars over the years in dog toys and chews which are marketed as indestructible, only to have my dogs destroy them within minutes. Oh I guess I have ONE toy which has actually lasted, but it's made out of heavy rubber or something, and not real practical for fetching and definitely not usable for water fun. ANYway, I ordered some more toys this week after reading that they are specially made for "aggressive chewers". YES, I thought, finally!! My two biggest dogs are definitely aggressive chewers! Well, they arrived yesterday. One of them is already destroyed, another about halfway so far. Damn! 
I was really holding out a lot of hope for those toys, mainly because they also float and could be used when we take the dogs swimming. Now I have to put some of them up and save them so that I have at least a couple left to take to the pond with us! That's not cool. Do any of you have the same problem? Or are my dogs just ... destroyers. LOL
Dogs, Dog Toys, Dog Chews, Indestructible Dog Toys
Today is my sweet girl Cheyenne's 3rd birthday. Go look at her picture, I'll wait. 
Doesn't she have the sweetest face ever? I know, huh! Not only is her face sweet, but her disposition and personality are sweet, too. She's my special girl. :) I quite literally fell in love with her the instant I saw her face. My daughter and a friend had been out walking and saw puppies in someone's back yard. Well, my daughter can never pass puppies by without petting them first! LOL The homeowner came out and began talking to the girls and, of course, my daughter wanted one of the puppies in the worst way! She ran home and told me about them, and you'd think I would've said no instantly considering the fact that I had just bought Lily 2 months earlier, but I told her to see if she could bring one over to show me (I'm a sucker for a Lab). I was in the bathroom putting on my makeup when they returned. I heard them come in and so I looked in the mirror toward the bathroom door, and there she was, looking utterly adorable in Callie's arms. I know this sounds corny, but our eyes met when I turned around and that was it -- love at first sight! I was hooked, and she's been my special, special girl ever since. 
So Happy Birthday, Cheyenne! And thank you for bringing me so much fun, love, laughter, smiles, comfort and joy for the past 3 years! 
Dogs, Labrador Retrievers, Doggie Love,
Did I tell you guys about my little boy losing his virginity? Oh man, I can't believe I forgot to tell you! It was such big news in my house! 
OK, so this is how it went down:
Pippin was in season, and whenever that is the case with her and/or my daughter's dog, Sage, Riley goes nuts (don't worry, he's neutered!). But you see, he's so doggone small that no matter how hard he tries - and believe me, he tries!! - he can never quite seem to get the job done (and it's totally hysterical to watch, too! 
). Until a couple of weeks ago, that is. He was humpin' away as usual, when suddenly my daughter exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! Are they stuck?!" 
Hubs and I quickly turned to look, and sure enough, the little dude had finally completed the task, and boy did he look confused!! 
He was trying to walk away but couldn't! Hubs told daughter to "hurry up and hold Pippin so she doesn't try to run off and pull him by his little wienie!" 
Oh I tell ya', people, it was the funniest thing I've seen in a long, LONG time! Riley didn't know what was going on, Pippin just wanted to get away, and there was my daughter holding her there so she wouldn't hurt poor Riley. LMAO! When they finally "parted ways", my daughter was so grossed out she almost took a shower. I wish I had taken a video of it. I so would've won on America's Funniest Home Videos! I'll tell ya' what, when it was all over and done with, Riley sure was a happy camper! 
OK, this is going to be gross, but I was just totally flabbergasted when it happened, so I simply must tell you about it. 
My beautiful girl, Lily, is a wonderfully-behaved Australian Shepherd who is in love with my husband. No, really, she's in love with him. But anyway, she never, ever does anything wrong - unless, of course, you count getting out of the yard and chasing people down the street. My take on that is that they shouldn't have been walking by in the first place. 
Well! Earlier today we all thought we smelled dog poo in the house. We looked, but couldn't find any. We just assumed one of the dogs had farted, right? A little bit later, I smelled it again. I looked over to my right, and down on the floor very close to my chair, was a little log of poop, so naturally I assumed it belonged to Riley since it was so small. I cleaned it up and kinda' sorta' scolded him a little bit, then sat back down. Then enters Miss Lily. She stops in front of my chair, starts scooting her butt on the rug, for which I quickly told her NO!, then she proceeded to shake - except this time, not only did she shake her body like all dogs do, but she shook a bunch of poop out of her behind, flinging it all over the place! OMG!! 
I couldn't believe my eyes! She never poops in the house, let alone flings it!! Hubs said she reminded him of a hippo and the way they do it. I can laugh now; I couldn't then. 
It took me quite a while to get it all up and cleaned real well. I haven't the faintest idea why she did that or what was going on, but it better NEVER happen again!! 
Dogs, Australian Shepherd, Dog Poo
Last night my daughter and her best friend were going to go to the movies. They were here getting ready, then were going to walk to Tesla's house for their ride. After they left, my cell phone rang and it was my daughter. She said that Daisy had gotten out and followed them, so she was just going to take her to Tes's with her. I said that was fine, because Daisy really likes to play with Maggie, Tesla's dog. So, around 10:00PM my phone rings, and it's Tesla's mom. She began with the typical "hi, how are you" type stuff, then said, "umm, I kind of ran into an issue here", which scared me at first because I thought something might have happened with the girls. She proceeded to tell me that she had been looking all over her house for Daisy, but couldn't find her. She was completely puzzled as to where she could possibly be, and I could tell she was very nervous that she had lost my dog! lol She said she didn't hear any doors open, then asked if Daisy could open doors. "Um, yeah, she can, if they're doors you just have to push to get open." "Does she jump fences?", she asked. "Um, yeah, she can." I told her she just probably decided to come home. She asked if that was possible - would she know how to get home? Oh yes, of course she would. So I got up and went to the front door, went out on our enclosed front porch, and there was Daisy, standing on the deck in front of the door, just waiting for someone to let her in. LOL Oh man, she was SO relieved! She couldn't believe Daisy had just come home like that! It made perfect sense to me. She got tired of being there without the girls since they were at the movies, so she opened the back door, jumped the fence, and came home. :) That's my sweet girl. 
Today while doing my blog reading, I stopped in at Inner Dialogues (as I always do), and found a lovely post referencing another blog called Cranky Chick. Well, as usual, I followed the link to give the new blog a read (she has great taste in blogs *wink*). I found it a fun place to be - and then suddenly one of her posts screamed out at me - Georgia Animal Cruelty. Those of you who have read me for a time know what a tremendous animal lover I am, especially doggies! Well, brace yourself for this story, you guys. It will make you sick, but it is imperative you read it, and then TAKE ACTION! All you have to do is copy and paste the letter at the end of this post and mail it to:
Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore
T4905 Justice Center Tower
185 Central Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30303
Fax to:
(404) 893-6608
(404) 730-0162
PLEASE, it will only take you five minutes and could make a HUGE difference! Sentencing for those two monsters is in just a week, so we MUST HURRY and get those letters in! If, after sending your letter, you wish to do even more, post this story on your own blog and/or email it to all your friends. And remember, every little bit helps!!
Thank You!
*form letter begins here*
RE: Sentencing for Justin Moulder and Joshua Moulder
Dear Judge Moore:
I am writing to you in support of the maximum sentence of 90 years in prison for Justin and Joshua Moulder.
In addition to defacing and burglarizing a community center, the defendants duct-taped, doused with paint, set on fire, and baked a puppy to death in a gas oven. According to trial testimony, the puppy thrashed about inside the oven, defecated on herself, and ground her claws down to bloody stumps as she tried in vain to escape. The suffering endured by this animal is beyond anything you or I can imagine.
Justin and Joshua Moulder's horrific actions required planning, deliberation, and callous indifference to life. Furthermore, the defendants showed no remorse after the fact, displaying the dead, brutalized puppy and threatening neighborhood children who would report the crimes. The research on animal abuse is clear: those who torture animals are very likely to commit similar crimes against people. Therefore, I firmly believe that these animal torturers should be imprisoned for the rest of their natural lives, and I urge you to impose the maximum penalty when they come before you for sentencing on February 9th.
Sincerely,
(Your signature)
Your name
Street address
City, State Zip
Phone Number
Hubby and Son were released from South Dakota, so they're both back home now. They're not sure if it's going to last, but for now they're holding the boards here in Sterling. Hubs went on his first solo run as an Engineer last night. As he put it, "it was definitely a learning experience". LOL
So, most of you know how much I love my dogs, right? I've told you how beautiful and smart they are many times, right? Well, let me illustrate just how smart they are - at least how smart Miss Lily is:
It was only about 16 hours after Hubby returned home from South Dakota when his cell phone rang for him to go to work. He was asleep in his recliner. Lily heard the phone, jumped up on him, sat down on his stomach and began to paw at him to wake him up. She did, too! He woke up and got the call before it stopped ringing. Now, is that one smart dog or what!
