Here Weego!

I must admit I did an un-American, even worse, un-Texan, thing and chose to skip watching the Superbowl this year and opted for the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet instead.  I don't care how cute Eli Manning is, he just doesn't compare to puppy. lol After I saw some folks posting on facebook about the Budweiser commercial I had to check it out.  I have to say it is a pretty awesome commercial.  It is nice to see a large, very well known company such as this do something to promote such a good cause; especially one so near and dear to my heart because 3 of my pack of 5 are rescue dogs. 

This is Penny's favorite place to sleep!

 We adopted Penny, a lab/pit mix from the local pound.  Penny became a part of our pack in June 2010.  She was only about 8 weeks old and was just the sweetest little thing I had ever seen.  The very first time I held her she just looked at me with her big green eyes like she was saying, "I know you are taking me home today" and then laid her head on my chest and fell asleep.  After I filled out the paperwork to make it official, I called my husband and cried my eyes out.  Penny filled a huge void in my life, she gave me a purpose.  I couldn't take her home for a few more days, but I went to the pound every day after work to see her and would just sit in the lobby and hold her.  When she finally was able to come home several days later she took to her home like she had always been there.  She has been, by far, the easiest of all of my dogs to train in obedience and housebreaking.  However she was also known as "The Chewmanator" for a long time because she wanted to eat everything!  I am glad to say that she has gotten past that stage for the most part, but I still can't leave her alone with my chicken nuggets; the little devil on her shoulder is just too much for her to resist.  Now she is a 40 lb force of nature that doesn't know the meaning of the word walk.  She is either sleeping or going 90 mph.  

I just love those little ears!

 Riggs, our Siberian Husky mix, is also a pound puppy.  He came to us in January 2011 to be a playmate for Penny which has worked out famously because now she has a buddy her size that can keep up with her.  When the pound employee brought Riggs to us in the observation area he was such a pitiful sight.  He was about 4 months old by our vets estimation and was completely terrified.  He would not even come close to us; he would just sit as close to the wall as he could and just trembling in fear.  If either one of us went near him, especially my husband, he would just cower like somebody had hit him.  We spent a lot of time with him that day and finally decided to adopt him because he and Penny got along so well.  Riggs has been with us for a little over a year now and has come a long way.  He is still leery of strangers and terrified of loud noises; we suspect the latter to be because of his time at the pound.  He has become affectionately know as a "mama's boy" because he makes every step that I make.  As a matter of face he is lying on my feet under the desk as I type. lol  

I caught him mid-sneeze.

Ratchet, our male Great Pyrenees, we got from a farmer in Oklahoma in June of 2010.  He was my birthday present from my husband that year.  When we got him he was completely infested with fleas and ticks so the first order of business was a good bath with a puppy flea shampoo.  After a few days I started to notice he had little green scabs all over him.  (Yes, I said GREEN.)  I took him to the vet to have him checked out and found out that he was severely anemic from the flea infestation.  The vet said that his blood count was supposed to at least be 8 but was only 4.7; when they drew his blood it was pink and clear.  And the green scabs where from infections from where the previous owners had pulled live ticks off of him and left the heads embedded in the skin.  He ended up getting antibiotic and steroid shots and went home with an oral antibiotic and liquid iron supplements.  The vet opted not to give him any vaccinations at that point because the vet felt that he was too weak.  Literally the next day after we gave him his last antibiotic pill he ended up with Parvo.  After a 3 day stay in the hospital and a $500 vet bill he bounced back with a vengeance and is now a 100 lb slobbering, butt wiggling fur ball of a beast that I wouldn't take a million dollars for.

In closing, I don't think you could do a better deed than to rescue an animal from an otherwise cruel existence or worse, euthanasia.  Too many wonderful potential pets are needlessly destroyed every year so than you Budweiser for your support of rescue dogs!

Do you have a rescue story?  If so I would love to hear it!

Penny's Bows

I took Penny and Ratchet to Petsmart today just to get out of the house.  We walked around for a bit and visited with several other customers; mostly people that stopped me wanting to know what kind of dog Ratchet was and to pet him.  The place was pretty dead so after about 20 minutes we had talked to everyone in the store.  I have always thought it was cute when people put bows on their dogs ears and wanted to see if I could do that to Penny.  The fur on her head is pretty short so I was skeptical but we went for it anyway.  The lady at the Petsmart grooming shop thought Penny was "so pretty" and gave me the bows for free.  Here is the end result!     

I was surprised that Penny didn't scratch them out immediately but she just sat there like a good girl.  I took her picture immediately because I knew my fortune would be short lived.  She didn't even seem to notice them and napped in the car on the way home.  I opened the door to let her and Ratchet in the house and told her to, "go show daddy how pretty you are!" and she bee lined to the living room to where Brett was sitting and put her paws in his lap.  He fussed over her and told her how cute she was and then she promptly hopped down and scratched one of the bows out.  The other one only lasted as long as it took her to go outside and probably eat it. 

Ratchet the Steak Charmer

My husband and I went out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse with a few friends. Ratchet went along for the ride and sat in the car while we went inside to eat. Afterward we were standing around in the parking lot saying our goodbyes and I went to get Ratchet out of the car to meet Tony, our out of town friend who would soon be leaving again. As soon as he saw Ratchet this 6' 6", 200 lb rough and tumble native New Yorker became a little kid again. His face lit up in a smile as bright as high noon in the desert. Tony just kept saying over and over,"Oh you are so beautiful! You are so beautiful!" Then he opened up his doggy bag containing his lunch leftovers of sirloin steak kabobs and started feeding them to Ratchet. That hound thought he had died and gone to heaven because he rarely ever gets people food, much less steak! Tony finally just held the plate down for Ratchet to just have at it and have at it he did. We all had a big laugh at them carrying on together. I told Tony that I think he is now Ratchet's new favorite "Uncle".

It never ceases to amaze me the joy that even a brief encounter with a dog can bring to a persons life. Last year I took Ratchet with me to a large event at the civic center that hosted hundreds if not thousands of people. I lost count at how many people stopped me to ask me what kind of dog he was and if they could pet him. Even people just passing by could not help but smile when they saw him. The best part was as we were leaving one of the ladies that was helping at the event asked if she could pet Ratchet. She squatted down in front of him and hugged him tightly and just went on and on about how sweet he was. When she was done petting Ratchet she thanked me and said she had been feeling down and after she had seen him it had made her happy again.

Getting Ready for Bed in a Packed House

As I sit here typing I am surrounded, quite literally by dogs. Before I will be able to get up from my chair I will have to nudge my 80 lb Guardian Angel behind me to wake up so that I can push my chair away from the desk. Then the task will be to extract my feet from underneath Riggs, the 40 lb black bundle, lying under my desk. The smallest of the pack, Dixie, the only one of single digit poundage, is curled up in the basket of laundry and doesn't even twitch a whisker as I stroke her back in in passing. Gaining entrance to my bedroom requires a bit of sweet talk, an ear scratch, a hug and a kiss on the snout for my 100 lb teddy bear. (Ok all I really had to do was say "Ratchet, move", all that other stuff was for me.) And what should I find but a 40 lb chocolate blob with the consistency of greased jello, sprawled indecently across my side of the bed. Belly rubbing ensues, along with more snout kisses. Penny yawns and grunts as I pick her up for one last cuddle and move her to the foot of the bed next to the purring puddle of Pete (the Barn Cat). Meelah the Russian Sniper Kitty, the only one not accounted for, is probably outside getting ready to annihilate some unsuspecting creature.
After tucking into my side of the bed, Penny snuggles against my legs and Pete makes his way up to curl up by my side (or on my chest if I am lying on my back) and I drift to sleep to the lullaby of a content cat. I rest peacefully knowing that my loyal guardians are watching over me.