Momma's Boy

Logan loves his momma, she on the other hand wants to know when he is going home again so she can have HER couch back. She is not a big fan of sharing.

40 Things

So Sandy has tagged me in a blog game to list 40 things about me, she must not know me very well as I do not think there are 40 things I have to tell, but here goes....

1. I am the oldest of 5 children in my family (plus have 2 older half brothers)

2. I have 7 dogs

3. I have 4 cats, 5 if you count my sisters cat who has some weird fascination with me

4. In 29 years I have never lived alone

5. My first real job other than babysitting was a kennel person at a vet clinic

6. I was an honours student in school

7. I used to figure skate (was pretty decent at it too)

8. I have a holland lop bunny named Moo (she's back & white) whom I litter trained

9. I love to travel but usually get homesick for my dogs after 2 days

10. I am a neat freak, kind of OCD about it

11. The first car I purchased myself was a 1981 VW Rabbit, I loved that car!

12. I have 2 horses, Cherokee & Betsy

13. I am very stubborn

14. I hate to disappoint people

15. I have a 8 year old shark in my fish tank, he has almost died 3 times, lost his fins twice and jumped out of the tank once

16. I hate eating fish but love tuna sandwiches

17. I hate driving

18. I am not a morning person

19. I love cleaning (OCD neat freak)

20. I have trouble saying no (hate to disappoint)

21. My favorite colour is purple

22. I have horrible luck, if something can possibly go wrong it will

23. I have only had stitches once, when i was 2 and fell into a coffee table and split my lower lip

24. I hate dresses, was twirling in a dress for #23, last time I wore one was a year ago for my friends wedding, 10 years before that at grad and 16 years before that for the stitches

25. I went to London, Paris & Rome for a school trip

26. Dropped out of bio in high school because we where forced to dissect a fetal pig and I could not do it

27. I hate summer, too hot

28. I love to read

29. I am the shortest of all my siblings

30. I made my youngest sister go to a New Kids on The Block concert with me while we where in Las Vegas (she loved it even though she denies it)

31. I love horror movies

32. I have never been to Disneyland

33. I have 2 tattoos

34. I once had 11 earrings in my ears (down to 4 now)

35. I used to be very shy, never talked, ever

36. I am impatient

37. I hate having my picture taken, I think I look horrible in photos

38. I am the worst judge of character, always want to believe everyone is nice and thats not always true

39. I am glad I am almost done

40. I am even more glad I am now done!!!

See told you not very interesting!!

So now I tag Alana....thats for the smartass comments on your blog =P

Hard At Work...

When the big boss is away, the little boss comes to fill in.....

First you start your day with a hello to everyone making sure they know you are here and in charge for the day.....

Turn on the computer and start your day....

Greet the clients as they come in the door....

Patrol the halls checking to ensure everyone is hard at work....

And at about 10 o'clock settle in for a nap, being the boss is exhausting....

Can you tell its slow at the office today??? =)

Things We Can Learn From Dogs

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.

Allow the experience of fresh air & the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.

Let others know when they've invaded your territory.

Take naps & stretch before rising.

Run, romp & play daily.

Eat with gusto & enthusiasm.

Be Loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent,sit close by & nuzzle them gently.

Thrive on attention & let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On hot days, drink lots of water & lay under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around & wag your entire body.

No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing & pout...run right back & make friends.

Bond with your pack.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

-Author Unknown

Just Cute

I had a crappy day today, but these guys always make me feel better.....

If I Didn't Have Dogs

Someone sent me this email a few months ago and even though I have had it for awhile I still laugh every time I read it.... (Number 4 is definitely my house, lol, oh who am I kidding they all apply)



IF I DIDN'T HAVE DOGS

1. I could walk around safely barefoot in the dark.

2. My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

3. All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of dog hair.

4. When the doorbell rang, it wouldn't sound like the SPCA kennels and I could get to the door without wading through four or five dog bodies who beat me there.

5. I could sit how I wanted to on the couch without taking into consideration where several little furbodies would need to get.

6. I would not have strange presents under my tree, like dog bones, stuffed animals and have to answer to people why I wrap them up.

7. I would not be on a first name basis with a vet.

8. Most used words in my vocabulary would not be: potty, outside, sit, down, come, no, and leave him/her ALONE.

9. My house would not be cordoned off into zones with baby gates.

10. My purse would not contain things like poop pick up bags and dog treats.

11. I would no longer have to spell the world B-A-L-L and F-R-I-S-B-E-E.

12. I would not buy weird things to stuff into "kongs" or have to explain why I'm buying them, or what a "kong" is.

13. I would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.

14. I would not look strangely at people who think having their ONE dog ties them down too much.

15. I would not have to answer the question why do I have so many dogs from people who will never have the joy in their life of knowing they are loved unconditionally by something as close to an angel as they will ever get. Who else has a friend who considers you the MOST important thing in the whole wide world all the time.

-- Author Unknown

All Grown Up

Here are a few pictures of Sophie's puppies all grown up. It amazes me how they went from a little handful to the size they are now....

Logan & Izzy

Dawson (Del) & Jasper (Tex)

Dawson

Jasper

Izzy

Logan

Izzy & Logan's pictures where taken and sent to me by Wendy while they where are daycare (Paws on the Run). We have still yet to get a good picture of Izzy ourselves, I even tried again last night with no success, so thank goodness Wendy can. (I hope you don't mind I posted them Wendy!!)

I still get to see Izzy, Logan, Paddy (Phoenix), Georgia, Dawson (Del) & Jasper (Tex) which is great, it's fun to watch them grow and see how different their personalities are.

Puppies

So the rescue took in a momma dog and 10 little puppies yesterday and I went over to have a peek at them. They are all very, very cute and I am sure they will get adopted very quickly once they are old enough.

As I mentioned before Sophie had a litter of puppies in Dec 2007, nine total, she had eight of them one day and then little Georgia came a whole day later, it was quite a surprise.

I went into it thinking puppies, awesome, they are fuzzy, cute and puppy breath is the best. Well was I ever wrong. For the first few weeks they are easy to care for, sleep and eat, sleep and eat. Then comes the eyes opening and they start moving around, still not so bad.

Soon their little legs gain strength and they start to move around their bed with the best attempts to escape their bed and then end up stranded, cannot get back in, and then cry and cry and cry.

Then comes feeding them, that was a challenge, messy!!!

And with solid food comes poop, lots and lots of poop. Did you know a puppy may eat 3 times a day but will poop 20!!!! Now multiply that by 9!!!!

Soon they are steady on their feet, noisy and moving around like a herd of elephants but each one in a different direction. And occasionally you get a moments peace, but only when they are asleep. Also this was the point where Sophie has had enough and wants nothing really to do with the little devils and hides from them when at all possible. Puppies do not care, mom #2 (me) is way more fun to terrorize, biting my socks, jumping on me with the intent to trip me so that I fall down and am on the bottom of the doggie pile.

And finally after 8 weeks of sleepless nights, the stench of puppies and no more nerves left for anyone to get on, they go home.

So needless to say my puppy experience was not fun, something I will never do again and I still wonder to myself why people do it on purpose!!!

Past Foster Dogs

Here are some of our house guests (in no particular order) since I started fostering in August 2007, one stayed months, others weeks, even a few for only days....oh and a few are now permanent....

P.S. The picture quality sucks in a few of them, sorry!

The Boss's of The House

While the dogs may live in the house, its the cats who run the house. They do as they please and no one asks questions, you do not mess with them as you may get a swat in the face and if you don't like it too bad that's just the way it is..

Wickett (left), at 14 years old is the granny of the house. She is the boss and a bit of a cow about it but everyone respects her. Chloe is 8 years old and she is the sweetheart of the house, she likes everyone and everyone likes her. Chloe was quite the challenge when she was younger, when I first got her she was very sick with feline rhinovirus and recovered well from that only to just about die on my a few years later when she got locked in a plastic storage bin accidentally, but she has recovered and enjoying her lazy days.

This is Becca who is 10 years old. She is the motherly one of the group, always giving baths to the other cats and any new ones that come into the house.

And this handsome fellow is Archie and he is the new kid on the block. He is a big suck and I think he is still trying to figure out if he is a cat or a dog, because some days I wonder myself which it is.

And this is my sister's cat Jem, well suppose to be my sisters cat but she has some unusual fascination with me and sleeping in my room so does not spend much time with my sister. She prefers to spend her days staring at the fish tank as seen above. She tries very hard to catch those fish but the darn glass keeps getting in her way.

Zoey's Bug (WARNING - Not for the faint of heart)

So Zoey had been with me for a few weeks and had become very used to going for car rides so one Sunday I had a few things to pick up at the store so we loaded up in the car and headed on our way. Now having already been on several car rides before without incident she positioned herself in her usual spot on my lap (I know very bad dog mom) and we went on our way. Somewhere between my house and Costco she was silently car sick, on my lap and allowing me my first experience with round worms (I was ready to be car sick too). So horrified by the experience we headed back home after stopping for dewormer at the vet clinic.

So the next Sunday I am hanging out with the dogs watching tv and Zoey went from sound asleep on my lap to wide awake and down onto the kitchen floor. Now if you know Zoey at all you know she is too much of a princess to actually jump down off the couch by herself let alone quickly, so I knew something was up. She paced for a few minutes before proceeding to silently get sick again so off i went to get the paper towel and clean it up. And this is what I came back to......

Horrified I immediately called the vet clinic to see if there was anything I needed to worry about and as long as she was eating and drinking everything was ok, and I was told just to keep an eye on her. And with this conversation and the questions Kendra (the vet) asked I convinced myself it was just a toy that she must have ingested before she came to live with me.

So of course I had to take it to work the next day to show everyone and make sure they all thought it was a toy too. Well we decided to disect it and with the assistance of google discovered, not a toy, actually a cray fish missing its pincher's. Most disgusting thing I have ever had happen to me, EVER, I still get creeped out thinking about it.

Happy Sad Day

So today my foster dog Julie went to her new home. She is a very sweet and feisty 10 year old chihuahua who was surrendered to the rescue I foster for when her owners developed allergies. She has been staying with me since the beginning of December and finally had the perfect application for her this weekend. I took her to meet the gentleman that had applied and it was the perfect home for her. She will be the only dog and will get spoiled rotten. So off she went today and I hope all goes well for her. That is the happy...

Now for the sad. I have had over 35 foster dogs in the past year and a half that I have been fostering and some for only a few days, some for a few weeks and sadly some for a few months. At the start I kept telling myself that each time would be easier but it doesn't. I am horrible at goodbyes and its even harder to say goodbye to the ones you have bonded with. I try my hardest not to get to attached but there are some I just cannot help it with, their cuteness wins me over, first Gracie, then Obi and now Julie. I guess what gets me the most is that for the most part these dogs have been mistreated or had a home for so long only to find themselves shuffled around from place to place. Take Julie for example, 10 years old and suddenly you are shuffled out of your home and into one strange place after another, it took her days to even settle in enough to want to eat when she first got here. So now she has been here for over 3 weeks, finally settled in, feels at home and then gets shuffled out of her comfortable place into another strange home. Its the scared, confused look that gets me every time when its time to go to the new home, I can just imagine what is going through her head, is she wondering what she has done wrong, confused about what is going on and why I don't want her anymore. It breaks my heart to even think about it, all I can remember is her scared little face looking at me. I guess what it come down to is that I really do not think I can foster anymore, its just too hard. I know in a few days this sad feeling will go away, but it seems to be getting harder rather than easier and it sucks.


So little Julie I hope it all works out in your new home, you are cute, sweet and deserve to be spoiled.

Too Cute For Words

She may be a little brat, but she sure is cute....

TOOOOO COLD!!!

With all the cold weather, wind & snow the past few days the dogs are not really liking the idea of going outside. The go out, do their business and then head right back in, they much prefer to stay in the warmth and sleep......

Doggy Pile

Roxy did not appreciate me uncovering her, can you tell...

Roxy & Zoey keeping warm

Logan & Izzy