Happy Halloween!

Please keep in mind that while we humans enjoy Halloween, many pets do not. Please take precautions and keep your pets safe tonight. Just a few things to consider:

Chocolate is not safe for pets.

Most pets do not enjoy a costume.

Make sure your pets ID tags are on with their info.

Make sure your pet doesn't door dash, while handing out candy.

The ASPCA has many other GREAT Halloween safety tips for pets. Click ,HERE for the whole list.

Everyone have a safe and happy Halloween!

Another Sad Day

I'm just popping in for a quick minute today. My wonderful, sweet Schipperke, Bear, passed away suddenly and quite unexpectedly yesterday morning. He didn't feel well on Sunday. We just thought his arthritis was bothering him. By 3:00 a.m. yesterday morning, we knew something was seriously wrong. We flew out the door for Dr. K's office, where he was waiting for us. We were all with him, when he crossed the bridge. Dr. K feels that it probably was a blood clot brought on either by an auto immune response or a disease called DIC. He assured us, that there was nothing that we could have done.

Bear was such a bright light in my house. I know that it will be dim for a while, and never quite as bright before. Bear was a friend to everyone who met him, whether it was another pet or person. He became the official greeter of my neighborhood. We made rounds to visit all of the neighbors. He hadn't been getting out quite as much, because of his arthritis, but he still liked to visit.

Casey and I are still in quite a bit of shock. I may not be around for a couple of days, and I hope that you all understand. I'm still processing. This was an exceptionally hard blow, so soon after losing Slate the first of September. Please send good thoughts and prayers this way.

Goodbye Bear. You were a loyal, uplifting friend. You will be terribly missed.

Halloween Weekend

This weekend, I'll be celebrating Halloween a little early. Casey and I are joining our 501st Legion Garrison (MidSouth Garrison) for Ghouls at Grassmere. We'll be there as your favorite Star Wars Imperials. Oh yeah, there will be some Rebels there too. So if they kids are looking for something Halloween-ie to do this weekend, they'll probably enjoy this. If you come out and see these people:

Be sure to say "hello"! Here's a few shots from last year:

Hehehehehehehe

Ever just wanted to stay in bed?

Updates

Yes, my posts have been lacking lately. It seems that I'm in some fall doldrums. In all honesty, not much is happening in my neck of the woods. With all of the excitement of the past couple of months, it's nice to just sit back and relax. All is well at the house, but there is just not much going on that is blogworthy at the moment.

Refreshed

Well gang, I'm finally back from my hiatus. I'm actually back a day later than I had planned. The old back decided to act up on Tuesday making it necessary to stay home on muscle relaxers on Wednesday. I'm feeling much better now. I had no idea that just relaxing for a few days would recharge me so much. I can tell that I was definitely overdue for a rest.

The weekend went great. The weather was beautiful on Saturday, so it was the perfect day to go to Nashville Dog Dayz. Casey and I decided to take our time getting up and getting ready. We had a nice, late breakfast and were on our way by noon. We got there, and luckily, found a parking space quickly. We parked on the backside of the duck pond. Shingo rode all the way to Nashville like a little champ. He was SO well behaved for the hour and twenty minute trip. He worked on a chewie part of the way and slept the rest. He's not exactly well leash trained yet, but he still did well walking around the park and events. The only part that bothered him was when we walked around the duck pond. The swans were all honking and walking around, and I think it scared him a little bit. Those swans were WAY bigger than he is. We finally paid our admission and got into the event. We had a great time going to all of the different booths. Shingo especially enjoyed all of the free treats. I met LOTS of great people from great animal organizations. I made some really good contacts for Celebration Pet Day next year too! Shingo got lots of attention from other attendees, and he just ate it all up. After about two hours, Shingo was worn out and so were we. We decided to head out and grab a nibble, before heading home. Shingo was zonked for the ride home.

After we got home and recovered for a bit, we went to our friend Loki's house for grilled steaks with the trimmings. It was nice to get together and relax with good friends. We stayed out pretty late on Saturday, but it was a GREAT day.

Sunday and Monday, we just slept in and lounged. I caught up on some reading, and we had several good movies to watch. Casey also cooked up some things to eat for the week; pot roast and swiss steak. Yum! It was just nice to not have anywhere to be or anything to do. I badly needed a few days like that.

Even though I'm back to the normal routine, I can't wait to have a "relax" weekend again!

Fall Break

Ah, Fall Break. This year, I'm actually taking it with the students too. Well, mom has dr.s appointments on both Monday and Tuesday, but I'm still not at work. I don't have much planned intentionally. I just want to rest and relax. I haven't had a lot of down time lately, and I'm really starting to feel it. The only thing I really have planned is to go to Nashville Humane Association's Dog Dayz Festival tomorrow. . I'm going there partly for research and partly for fun. I want to network with other humane folks and make connections and get really good ideas of what works for them and what doesn't. I'm also going to have fun and to get Shingo out of the house. So, if you see this dog:

I'll be attached to the other end of the leash.

Other than that, I have several days of book reading, movie watching, and lounging to catch up. I'll be back on Wednesday. Everyone have a great weekend!

Window to My World

I know this isn't exactly on time, but I just got them. What's them, you say? Well, I FINALLY have the Celebration Pet Day pictures. This year I was so busy, that I didn't even snap the first picture. That's o.k., because one of our volunteers, Kimberly, is a professional photographer and much better at it! To see the pictures, click HERE.

SQUEEE...FINALLY!!!

The trailer for Hayden Christensen's new movie, Jumper, is out!! I'm now looking forward to President's Day.

Back to Normal

I've been lazy updating the past week. It's not that I don't have plenty to share, but I've just been so tired. I spent all of last week playing catch up with the things I had let go during the Pet Day frenzy. I really feel like I've just been going through the motions. It seems that I just can't get enough rest. I think maybe it's just the season. I tend to do this in the fall.

Mostly over the weekend, I just tried to rest. I spent most of the day, Sunday, just lazing around. I did go out in the afternoon for the annual Blessing of the Pets in honor of St. Francis Assisi at the local, Episcopal church. Since Bear had already been twice, and Shiloh and Fergie aren't much for outings, I decided to take Shingo. They had a lovely little service in the back courtyard. It was nice and shady, so the heat wasn't bad at all. Shingo was SO well behaved, especially with so many other dogs there. I held him in my arms most of the time. He just sat there looking around, and kissing everyone that came within reach of his tongue. He just loves everyone. Reverend Peter Whalen conducted the service and had a mass blessing during. Then afterwards, he came around and blessed all of the pets individually. In addition to the blessing, each pet received a certificate and a St. Francis medal. It was REALLY nice. I'm looking forward to next year's service.

Celebration Pet Day: Recap

It's taken a while, but I'm finally back. It didn't help that I got some sort of nasty stomach bug, right after the event. Everything went even better than I could have imagined. The programming all went smoothly, along with the dog show. The Society of Secret Identities was GREAT! Everyone just loved them. I don't have the total yet, but I think we made a little over $2200 profit!! I don't have much time to post all of the details today, since I'm SOOOOO behind. I'll have a more detailed post soon. In the mean time, here are some photo links of the event that you can enjoy (I'm relying on others photos, because like a goof, I ran off and forgot my camera!)

Here's some pictures that John over at Lake Neuron took. Click HERE.

My friend Derek, a member of the Society of Secret Identites, took THESE.

Oh, and check out our local police dog, Remy!

Come One, Come all!!!

Celebration Pet Day is fast approaching. I've been busy getting all the last minute details worked out. Tomrrow is food donation pickup day and set up at the Ag Center. If any of you are close enough, please come out and spend the day with us. Here's what's planned:

Program schedule for 2007 Celebration Pet Day, Saturday, September 29 from 10:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

10:30 a.m. Official kickoff for Celebration Pet Day by County Mayor Eugene Ray and City Mayor Wallace Cartwright.

10:45 a.m. - Amanda Oliver presents an informational program about Tellington T Touch Therapy for pets.

11:30 a.m. - Pamela Johnson-Bennett from Cat Behavior Associates gives a basic informational program with an audience question and answer session. Afterwards, she will do a book signing.

12:30 p.m. - Equine specialist, Sam Powell, the "Horse Whisperer".

1:00 p.m. - Celebration Pet Day Pet Show

At 11:00 a.m. get ready for the Society of Secret Identities Super Heroes and Villains! Come out and meet Spider Man, Bat Man, Super Girl, Poison Ivy and many others. Be sure to bring your camera!

Kay Allen from Blessed Assurance Farm will be there with the minis all day. She will be giving Donkey Cart driving demos and Coon Jumping demos throughout the day.

Dog Agility demonstrations will be given by the 4H Dog Club led by Regan Mercer.

Jennie Jones from Kindred Spirits Dog Training & Boarding will be giving obedience tips and tricks during the Celebration Pet Day Pet Show.

Tracy Nelson from the Shelbyville Police Department, along with her K9 Remy will be doing demonstrations throughout the day.

Raymond Pimental will be at a special booth giving out information about trail riding and the 7th Annual Strolling Jim Memorial Trail Ride.

There will be LOTS of other activites as well. Come on out and join us!

I'll be out of pocket until next week. I'll try to post LOTS of pictures, when I get back.

Meet Shingo!

C-R-A-Z-Y!!

This week is CRAZY!! My big fundraising event, Celebration Pet Day is this Saturday. I'm just tying up loose ends, but I always feel like I've forgotten something. I'm also taking Friday off too. I have so much stuff to pick up, that it takes all day to do it! Right now, I'm making vendor/rescue booth lists by number and business name, getting the guest programming times lined up, and trying to make sure we have enough volunteers to work all areas. I just know that I'm going to forget something BIG!!!

Forgetful

GAAAAAH!!! Why can't I remember to bring my camera with me! I want to share pictures of the new puppy. BTW, his official name is now Shingo the Dingo, and he's answering to it pretty well. There's a story behind the name Shingo. He's named after Shingo Yamamoto who is my favorite competitor on Ninja Warrior. I have an addiction to that show. Shingo is the only contestant that has competed in every tournament. Shingo is a bouncer, so Shingo the dog is aptly named.

Home Alone

First off, I forgot the camera. AGAIN!!! How can I possibly forget that darn camera every day this week! I keep thinking every night how excited I am to share the new pictures with everyone, and then I sleep. Sleeping makes me forget important things. Things like call and reschedule that appointment or remember to takes Kim's cat carrier back to her, or things like that camera with the pictures of my new, precious puppy!!! GAH! *headdesk*

I am SO happy to report that I DID NOT find my house in shambles upon my return yesterday. Everything was in its proper place. Nothing was destroyed. Nothing was chewed up. There was one flip flop that had been used for entertainment, non-chewed, just used for amusement. I ended up getting home much later than I had planned too! Of all days, yesterday I got caught in some horrible afternoon traffic. I had decided to keep my swim date, so I was nearly 7:30 getting home. It was GREAT that he was without human supervision that long and nothing was destroyed. It was NOT good for his housebreaking routine, but whaddya going to do? Hopefully, over the weekend, I can instill some better potty habits. He just gets SO distracted out in the yard!

So far the vote is leaning towards the name Shingo. He's actually starting to answer to it, so I may be stuck with it. We'll see.

Now, if I can just remember the camera tomorrow!!

New Family Member

I went and picked Digger up on Sunday morning. He is such a happy little thing! I had taken the crate with me, but he's such a good little rider that I didn't even need it. Mom rode with me to be an extra set of hands, and he just settled down in her lap like a little gentleman. Even though I had been told he wasn't leash trained, he did really well with his harness. He walked around like he was old school or something. I let him wander about and inspect the yard, before I took him in to meet the "herd", as we like to call it. When he was ready, we headed in. He walked in just like he had lived there for years. He was great meeting Shiloh, Bear, Fergie, and Trixie (the spare dog). No one raised their tail in dominance or was agressive at all. Everyone was very welcoming to the new tenant. It has been painfully quiet at my house, since Slate passed away. When Digger came home, my house came back to life!

Within twenty minutes, he and Bear were best buddies and were playing. Even Shiloh, who never plays, played with him. Fergie served as referee to break up the ruckus, when it got out of hand. So all of my worries were quite unfounded. Digger spent the day learning his new environment. He didn't offer to pester the cats at all. If he bothers them now, he only wants to play. He's all puppy and on the go all day long. At night, he starts to unwind and relax. He's very respectful of our sleep time and either amuses himself with a toy or sleeps himself. Even though he's like a little bullet, if I pick him up, he's very calm and still.

He's a quick learner too! I've already taught him to sit and to sit up for a treat! He takes corrections really well. I just hope he's as quick to housebreak. It will probably take several months, since he's only six months old. Patience.

Yesterday, he made his first visit to Dr. K. He had all of his vaccinations and was neutered. It didn't stop him for a minute. They said to keep him quiet for the next 10 days. Yeah, right. I'm just trying to watch him to make sure everything's o.k. That's about the best I can do. There's no slowing him down. Dr. K gave him a good once over, mostly for my own piece of mind, and he's completely healthy!! YAY!

He's at home, unsupervised for the day for the very first time. Mom is going to look in on him, but other than that, he's into the normal routine. I tried to puppy proof the house, but we'll see. He's not really a chewer upper. He just likes to pick things up and run around with them in his mouth. I may have a different opinion on that tomorrow though. So far, so good. Everything's just peachy keen, and I'm totally happy with my decision to bring him home. I have new pictures and even a video. In my hurry to get the pet day stuff this morning, I left it at home by mistake. I'll have them tomorrow. Now, if I can just decide on a name. Casey likes Shingo the Dingo. I'm voting for Hopper or Murphy. Which do you guys like?

Coming Home!!!

Digger is coming home first thing tomorrow morning. I'm taking a long weekend to make sure things go well with the other dogs. I'll be back Wednesday with LOADS of pictures, I'm sure. I'M SO EXCITED!!!

View 2

I just realized that I have a second shot of Digger. So here he is:

Visiting

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement for me to adopt Digger. I'm hoping to get back into town early enough today to go and visit him. We stopped at PetsMart yesterday and got him a toy (we call it a "woobie") to keep in the kennel with him. We took the squeaker out, so he won't drive the office staff and other dogs crazy with it. I hope that they'll let him have it. It's made flat with no stuffing. I've only got the one picture of him at the moment, but I'm going to try and take some this afternoon. He's got so much energy and bounce, that it he may make it difficult for me. I'll also try to get some little video clips of him playing. Does anybody have any suggestions for new names?