A tenacious and determined 2 year old Airedale Terrier named Max was lost following a car accident in Sterling, Connecticut. Max ran away when Bill Clark, his owner, was driving his convertible and was struck by another car.

“The dog jumped out the back through the trunk and ran into the woods,” Mr. Clark said. He then began a three-week search for his beloved terrier.

There were many sightings, but no luck. That was until Tuesday, when Mr. Clark said he came home and found Max sitting in the back yard. Somehow, he found his way back to Coventry, Rhode Island, by walking along highways and back roads all the way home — all 45 miles! His owner couldn’t be more thrilled to have him back. It took him three weeks and three days, but he did it.

Even the experts can’t explain it. “We don’t really know how they do that. We do know that dogs’ memories are very detailed, very sense-oriented,” said Jim Barry, a dog behavior consultant.

Max lost 11 pounds during his solo journey, while his owner back home worrying about him lost seven, but neither are worse for the wear. They’re just both very happy to be reunited!

Personally speaking, I submit that dogs are MUCH smarter than most humans give them credit for. They’re also capable of great compassion, emotion and bravery, not to mention their completely selfless loyalty to those they love. In short, DOGS RULE!

Technorati Tags: dogs, Max the Airedale Terrier

If you look down on my sidebar you’ll see a list of my beloved dogs. They are so special to me. One of them is Daisy May, an amazingly smart, sweet, obedient and loving Golden Retriever. Unfortunately, we lost her when she was only 2 years old. One day last November she went outside with the other dogs to go potty and play for a while, but never came back in. My daughter found her in her favorite spot under one of our bushes, dead. We don’t know what happened for sure. She had no injuries whatsoever. We’re pretty sure she died from a heart condition common to Golden Retrievers. Anyway, it was a horrible shock and we still miss her so much. I can’t bear to think about taking her off of my Dogster list. She will always be there with the rest of them.

If you look down at the bottom of that list you’ll see little Pippin. I’ll never forget how Daisy reacted when we brought her home. She immediately went to her, sniffed her, and then began “protecting” her from the other dogs. From the first moment she was Pippin’s surrogate mother and protector. They became best friends as Pippin grew. It was really very touching to watch. That’s why I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I read the following story out of Caney, Kansas (originally seen at Holy Cuteness):

A dog at a southeast Kansas zoo has adopted three tiger cubs abandoned by their mother. Safari Zoological Park owner Tom Harvey said the tiger cubs were born Sunday, but the mother had problems with them.

A day later, the mother stopped caring for them. Harvey said the cubs were wandering around, trying to find their birth mother, who wouldn’t pay attention to them. That’s when the cubs were put in the care of a golden retriever, Harvey said.

Harvey said it’s unusual for dogs to care for tiger cubs, but it does happen. He said he has seen reports of pigs nursing cubs in China, and he actually got the golden retriever after his wife saw television accounts of dogs caring for tiger cubs.

Puppies take about the same amount of time as tiger cubs to develop, and Harvey said the adoptive mother just recently weaned her own puppies.

“The timing couldn’t have been any better,” he said.

The mother doesn’t know the difference, Harvey said. He said the adopted mother licks, cleans and feeds the cubs.

That is totally something Daisy would have done. I don’t know if it’s a Golden trait to be so nurturing and maternal, or if it’s just because dogs in general are so amazing. What I do know is that my life wouldn’t be nearly as full or happy without my dogs!

Technorati Tags: dogs, Daisy, Golden Retrievers

OK, so most of you know that I have 6 dogs and love them with all my heart, right? I feed them every day, love them every day, play with them every day, give them fresh water every day, and they love …. my husband best! I don’t get it, I really don’t. I think maybe it’s because he gives them food when he’s eating. My daughter and I never do that. You should see them all gather around him when he’s eating, too! It’s hysterical! Regardless of the reason, they love daddy completely. They practically fawn all over him! LOL

But anyway, the two little ones (Riley and Pippin) LOVE to sleep on/with him when he’s napping in his chair, which is what they’re doing right now. He worked outside for while today after he got in from his trip, then came in when he started getting tired (he’d been up all night running the train back here from Alliance, Nebraska), sat down in his chair and promptly fell asleep. Well of course the little ones followed suit very shortly. Miss Pippin worked herself into such a cute position that I just had to take pictures. Are they cute or what!

You can click on them to see the full-sized version.

[View as slideshow]

Hubs sleeping with Riley and Pippin.

A closer shot of the puppies.

Pippin was reeeaaally sawing logs!

Awww, is she so cute or what!

Technorati Tags: puppies, dogs, dogs sleeping

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.

Puppies, Dogs