Damn Dog House

Elliott, 48 hours to rescue

2018-05-01T20:07:00.001-04:00

Being in the rescue world for so many years it just becomes part of you. It is so natural that I don't even have to think about what I am doing I just push on. I am stepping down from my rescues board as I prepare for the final chapter of my life, Retirement. I have been searching and preparing for this time for a few years now. I have chosen to start a small homestead to keep me busy and allow me time to enjoy a different laid back life.
By the time I found my retirement home on an island in the North bordering Canada I was dreaming of all I could do and how I would live. I spent many nights a week reading and educating myself on homesteading and animal care. I wanted to raise a few goats and chickens and needed to do lots of homework. As time gets closer to my retirement in Oct. 2018, the home work turns into dreaming about all the choices of goats and chicken I could raise. Who knew there were so many different kinds of goats and chickens to choose from.
With all of the Internet searching I was doing, I came across different cows and horses that where also very different than I had ever seen before. One night I came across a Miniature Carousel Horse and it intrigued me so much I went on a new search for these amazing little guys. I had no idea there were many kinds of small horses, So on a trip to Iceland I saw the Icelandic ponies and became smitten with them. When I returned home I found Face book pages with miniature horses and ask to join to learn more about them.
The first night I was excepted into one of these pages I came across a few pictured of different horses and mules that appeared to be in an on line auction. I scrolled down and found a miniature horse and the caption was "If this little guy was any smaller he would fit in your pocket". Well that caught my eye and I started to read more, then moved down to the comments. The first thing I read is "some one needs to help this little guy". Wow! what the hell is this. The comments just kept going with help this guy, who can transport, where is he, wish I lived closer, and so on. These are the comments that smack of a rescue, but I have no idea what this is I thought auction???? I searched the page that made the post and was shocked to find it was a kill pen, just one more place that made me loose my mind. I went back to the post in hopes to learn and understand the need for a kill pen. I posted in the comments how does a person get these horses. That was the point that I fell off the edge of the rabbit whole, the point of no return.
I learned that night March 27 that if these horses where not bailed out my March 29th they would be loaded up and taken to some place to be euthanizes and used for God only knows what. I did not sleep well that night knowing the fate of these horses. The next day I found that I was being tag by others on the post to contact the pen and get more details to bail a horses out. I sent a message but did not hear back. I was tag late in the afternoon to see what I found out. I said I was not contacted. 15 min later I was contacted. Many folks were really wanting some one to bail out this mini. A few messages back and forth and the ball was in my court. I either said no, I can not help and the horse dies or I dig in and bail this guy out. I have no idea how to take care of a horse no matter what size. Now I know I can learn but where could I keep it till Oct. It is after noon on the 28th and I have to pull a rabbit out of my hat quick. Through a flood of "How and where" in less than 5 hrs. I had to make this happen. All my horse friends live in other states my friends close was not ringing any bells, when I remembered a post on the face page for the island I will move to. I saw a fellow islander shoeing a horse and thought they may have horses or know the folks that do. My worry about asking folks I barley knew for help was a long shot but I had to try. I believe that if it's meant to be it will happen and happen it did. Turns out my fellow islander once raised minis and was happy to help me out and board Elliott till I make my final move this fall. The kill pen held him for 24 hrs. and that gave me the time to prep van for horse transport of 700 miles. I drove to Kentucky met a man who had the horse in the bed of his truck, we loaded him in the back of the van and drove back home. At 4 AM getting the horse into my back yard so I could get a few hours sleep was a little more difficult than I thought. Then it started to snow and I new I was never getting him on the porch out of the snow. My life with hairless dogs would not let me leave him in the yard with out something to keep him warm. You know Necessity is the Mother of all inventions, so I grabbed a hunk of fleece and tied it around him and went to bed. 5 hrs later when I woke up and looked out back, Elliott was munching on grass in his fleece blanket, I fell out he looked so funny. All I could think of, is what my neighbors are going to think seeing him out there. Now getting him back into the van was, well lets just say we could have won a nomination for best comedy. We got him to the island safe and sound and we got home at 1:30 in the morning.
My higher power truly takes care of me and watches over me as I jump into animal rescue.
Thank you to Deb and Greg you are truly good people.

Vacation of a life time.

2016-11-30T19:37:00.001-05:00

I think that all of us have a story about how we became involved with the hounds of Spain. We all want to see how the dogs are as they are saved and re-homed around the world. But I think our own personal stories are what can inspire others to get involved and bring others to this cause. We find ourselves one day face to face with the horrors of these marvelous animals and can never look away. Getting involved is another thing. I know, not all can do what I did or others have done. But I got inspired and that is what made me take the leap. So, I want to tell my story and hope others will do the same. These are the stories that can inspire and let people know they too can get involved. I tell my story to whomever will listen. But locally is not enough. MPMFJ is a place that will get our stories heard and start the inspiration that drives folks to get more involved. I believe we all give something but inspiration is a driving force and that is what I hope we can do.

It started two years ago, for me. I saw something about the dogs in Spain but blew it off as it was just one more country with over population of dog. I was helping with this problem in Peru at the time. My interest was there because of the Peruvian Inca Orchid dogs that I love. It was many more months after that, that I seen something else about the problems in Spain. Again, it was same problem just a different country. Then later in 2015 I saw the Million Paws March for Justice face page and started to read. I still did not know what was going on but found myself searching the internet trying to learn more. It was during that search that I became inspired. I started looking at the website of the different refuges in Spain and reading about what the dogs are going through and how so many never make it. That took my heart and left me sleepless many nights thinking how can this be in the 21st century I read on many of the sits how people where needed at the refuges to help take care of the dogs and help with things needed at them. The refuges were looking for volunteers.... I knew this is something I can do. Work. I spent the rest of the year of 2015 doing my homework. I decided being older I might not have a whole lot left in me to be a mighty work horse for someone but I still could help. I settled on Pepis refuge and contacted Jane. She told me she would love to have me come help. I told her I had three weeks of vacation time to donate my help to her. She told me to come on. I started my search for cheap flights and airlines that would let me bring back a dog on. My intention was to help and then adopt a dog and bring back with me. I took a chunk of time looking for the best way to get myself there and get myself and a dog back to the states. Now this was a mix of trains, planes and automobiles getting this all-in place. It became a driving force to make this happen no matter what. I needed to help and donating some money was not enough for me. I felt I needed to see firsthand and experience this for myself. To be there and understand what the people on the ground in Spain felt and done daily to save as many of these dogs as they can. I need to check my opinions, my personal beliefs, and my way of life at the airport when I boarded the plane. I was going to work, help others, and observe. I learned so much and can never be the same again. I did not see the death but most every other thing. I learned what is was like to give up everything including your life to help the dogs of Spain. The admiration I have for the folks who do this work in Spain, cannot be describe in words. I am now a much more effective marcher in the USA. I spread my story and the story of the dogs to all. I work on a receiving dock and meet truck drivers daily and I have my dog at work many days and pictures that gets me started. My company has over 500 employees and most of them have met my Enana and or heard me talk about Spain.

I would hope that the next vacation folks plan would be to donate themselves for a week or two at a refuge in Spain. It will be a vacation of a life time and you will not regret, donating one vacation to the hounds of Spain and the folks who save them.

Refuge

2016-05-06T00:12:00.002-04:00

Refuge

Shelter or protection from danger, difficulty, etc.
a person or thing that gives shelter, help, or comfort
a place of safety; shelter; safe retreat
an expediency or shift; action taken to escape trouble or difficulty

Rescue

To save (someone or something) from danger or harm.

Sometimes I believe seeing the definition and understanding the definition can often be different. I use the dictionary definitions to give a clearer meaning of what I learned in Spain.

I am the President of a 501C3 non-profit rescue in the United States. I have been doing dog rescue in the States for close to 10 years give or take. I go to Peru and sponsor Spay and Neuter clinics in the villages to help keep the overpopulation of pets down. But I do not rescue. I travel and help move dogs, I foster and I can say I really have not went out and rescued. All the dogs I work with in the states are owner surrenders or we get them out of the shelters.

I found myself questioning was I really helping. Is this what rescue is? Well yes it helps everything helps but for me I do not rescue. I believe the term is being use wrong. I went to Spain to help at a Refuge and learned firsthand the definition and what that mean to me now.

I learned about the Galgo and Podenco’s about a year and a half ago. It came into my social media but I never stopped to pay attention just blew it off as one more country with animal problems. A few months later I saw the Galgo dogs plight again but still not paying much attention. Last Oct. I had just returned from Peru and seen the Million Paws March for Justice. I then took time to read and learn. I spent many hours reading and educating myself on the situation in Spain. I never cried so much as I did through the education. While doing the research I seen where people could volunteer to help at the refuges, it took another 4 months to run the idea over and over in my head till I knew I had to do my part. I looked at many websites to see which one I thought could use my help the most. I contacted a few but settled on Pepis and spent three and a half weeks there. Where I was educated in the real meaning of refuge and rescue.

When people can give all they have, even their way of life for the dogs. I was humbled in there presences, to see how life was for the humans and dogs. To use every last dollar to give to the dogs. It is not a way of life I could live and hats off to those who can. To use what they have and keep the dogs safe to get them medical help and to suffer the heart ace of loss when puppies die of Parvo the broken and tortured dogs that come to them. The mental, emotional and financial drain that is 24/7 makes the physical labor looks like a walk in the park. There is no end to the work but how does one keep up the pace every day no days off no time to do things for themselves. Every element of weather causes a new need, every new dog taken in has a new need. There is no end, it all keeps coming like a freight train and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. There is no future no time to dream. Only worry about how they will survive, pay the vet bill, the long hot summer, the threat of floods, how to keep all the dogs safe.

Without the help of strangers volunteering and donations coming in these refuges cannot survive. I know not everyone can just get on a plane and go help. There are many ways to get involved. I was touched and believe in a higher power guiding me. Now I am hoping to encourage some others to reach out to the folks who have sacrificed so much to help the beautiful hounds and dogs of Spain. We need to understand that they do what they can with what they have. Some have a little more than others but to understand they all love the dogs. They need us… To adopt to foster the dogs is a big part, refuges are not a way of life for the dogs they are there to keep them safe till they can move into foster or permeant homes. The need us….

Train Wreck

2016-02-15T09:11:00.000-05:00

One of Peruvian dogs I brought back last Oct was a street dog born and raised. He had had multiple traumas as seen in an x-ray showing many different healings on all the breaks. His poor body is a train wreck, his hip is broken, pelvis, leg and even his back. Now on a better note he does not know he is a train wreck his body has healed just the way it was broken but he has learned how to get around and he can run and jump he just looks funny doing it. Now this has left him incontinent, but we have worked through most his body functions to lessen the amount of work needed to keep up with him. Now if he gets playing too hard or struggling in some way or another, this can bring on poop. Truly we have learned these things the hard way, we did not learn straight away it took us some shocking incidents to get us thinking. He gives shit slinging a new meaning. As we do not keep him in a diaper all the time so he does not get infections or skin rashes we have to be on alert so we can catch things before they happen. We have gotten much better at this so life is not so bad now.

A while back I got home from work and my daughter is standing in the kitchen and it is totally void of any dogs and the noise coming from the other room is deafening. I looked in as I passed the gate and seen all the dogs in their kennels screaming their heads off. I ask why they were all in their kennels she said, “They were all in a big fight.” What the hell happened? She said “I don’t know” When was the fight? Unknown. Who all was fighting? Unknown. Who started the fight? Unknown The end result of all the questions was an undetermined amount of dogs just started fighting. I began ranting because she knows how to break up a dog fight and why was she not paying attentions to them. Was any one hurt? Ya Ma, but just scratches and bruises As I went from cage to cage to assess the damages they did to each other. I ask her again Who was on the top of the dog pile??? And Why didn’t she grab the back legs and send the top one air born? She said I don’t know Ma I was just afraid that Train wreck would poop. Now that stopped me in my tracks. I left the room with visions of a pile of fighting dogs wallowing in shit. Say no more.

Testing or not

2015-11-24T21:31:00.001-05:00

I am one who resist change at all cost. I have reached the age that I feel set in my ways and really find leaning new things such as anything technology orientated, a pain in my ass. I like doing things like pick up the phone that is connected to the wall and dial the number and talk. I have a cell phone but anyone who has called it will tell you the mail box is full and I never answer. One reason is it in the bottom of my purse dead. Now if I needed to make a call I would find it wipe of the crumbs and plug it in and make the call. Good luck reaching me before the damn thing dies again. I got the thing around 15 years ago back in the days of analog, for all you seasoned folks. Now I used it because I am on the road a lot and found it necessary to have one on my travels. My plan was 150 minutes a month for 35 bucks. Now over the years they have added minutes to the plan, like I ever used 150 minutes a month any way, so I never cared. Don't raise my bill and I am happy. I never done anything to the plan so they can never raise the monthly. So when the thing got stolen I called to have service suspended so someone did not make some 1,000 dollar phone call. I went into the store and told them I needed a new phone and they better not do anything to my cheap plan or they could keep the service and I would buy a prepaid card. After ranting to the guy he said "now you have me curious about how much you use your phone". After telling me I use 23 minutes in the last three months, I really felt like I needed to reconsider the plan thing. He then says we have a cheaper plan that you will like for 20 bucks and you have 700 minutes and all the texting you want. I laughed and told him I don't know how to text so that's not a deal breaker. I made the guy crazy before I signed on the dotted line. Two weeks later my Mom wanted to go to the hospital because she felt something strange in her heart, at 87 she has heart disease and congestive heart failure. So I left work early and took her in. Now with the new phone that I have not made any calls on yet nor have I gotten one, it just sits in the bottom of my crumb infested purse. So before I left work I sent my daughter a Facebook message telling her to call me. I get my Mom and we are on our way to the hospital and I hear a strange phone ring and by the third ring I say in a loud voice to my Mom " your phone is ringing". "No, she says, I don't have one." Well what is that sound? My Mom said " it's your purse". I then realized my new phone has a new ring tone. It was my daughter and I told her to meet us at the hospital. Now later that night my brother gives me his phone number that I have no idea how to program into my phone so I shoved the waded up piece of paper in my crumb infested purse and decided that when he calls me and yells at me for not calling him I would have his number in my phone automatically and not have to worry. Next day I go to call my brother so he can go pick Mom up and yes the number is there but I will be damned if I can make the phone dial that number and call him back. Now I am pissed because I must be in three places at the same time. Well I missed everything I was suppose to do after work and just went and got Mom. Now she has to stop at the Meijer (like a super Walmart) and get her new meds. My Mom loves to shop, that equals look and touch everything in the store but not necessarily buying anything. I really needed to get going if I was going to make the next hundred things I needed to do before bed. The mix up at the drug counter did not help so I made arrangements to have someone come back to pick up the meds and tried to hurry Mom out of the store. Try, being the operative word. Now after I drop Mom off I tried to call my daughter to let her know what time I would be there to pick her up. Again her phone number is in my old phone and I do not have it memorize. I again try to get the new phone to dial back her number where she call the day before. While in my frantic button pushing mode I see a screen that says text with a blinking cursor. What the hell so I typed, call me. I had no idea what I was doing so I got pissed and shut the thing and thru it in the other seat and drove like hell to get home. Not long after the strange ring tone erupts into an ear piercing volume in the seat next to me. I answered and I hear, " did you test me?" What? Who is this? Ma it's me, Did you test me? You mean text? "Yes", she said "text". Oh my God I did text you.Your my first TEXT, Holly shit Batman I texted and don't even know how I did it. I can't call you and I will never figure out how I texted so this maybe my first and last time. Your never to old to learn something new and Heaven forbid you didn't really learn anything you stumble on it, Then your just too old.

Vacation without the dogs.

2015-11-15T11:11:00.000-05:00

Now as a norm I always load the kids and dogs in the van and off we go on 99.44% of all vacations and trips. It is what it is. Now we always do thing that we can with a van load of dogs in tow, mostly that mean the dog have to stay in the van. We have a second set of keys that is always glued around someone’s neck so there is no worry about locking said dogs in the van and not being able to get back in. Yes it has happened but that is another story. The spare key gets use almost as much as the main key. Now the kids are mostly gone and there is just one living at home, and a dog transport gets cancelled so we decided to take a vacation with just the two of us and no dogs. The place that I have always wanted to see since the movie Goonies is the beach from the end of the moving. It had a wild, adventurous and mysterious effect on me that has stayed with me since I saw the movie 30 years ago. So my first thought is lets go to Oregon. I did not know the whole coast is this way I thought it was just in one place. So to plan the trip to maximize the time to see as much as possible, the beach was not the first thing to see as soon as we left the plane. Now I am very short on patience and hate to wait for anything. I had just enough time after landing and getting to the beach to make myself, a crazy driven woman, who will get there and get picture and nothing, will stop me.

The trip started with the Columbia River Gorge and then we worked our way back to the coast. So one and half days later just 1 hour before dark we reach the Hay stack rock. As soon as I get on the beach I realized that is not the beach I saw in the movie but the rock was. It is raining like hell and I am enjoying the beach but bothered by the fact that there is another beach with a view of Hay stack and I am not on that beach. We were leaving early in the morning to stay on track with the itinerary I have worked up to maximize our quantity of what Oregon has to offer. I just had to give it one more shot to find the beach. I seen something when we entered the Cannon Beach community that showed a state park to the North of the city and I had to go there to see if this was the beach I have stuck in my head. Now only a driven crazed women would do this in the middle of a rain storm and before sun up. So off we go, the wind is driving the rain sideways and the rain drops are a big as soft balls. One drop and your drenched, no dodging these big water bucket drops. We get to the car and proceed back to the area that showed us the state park, wet as hell. Now it took us twenty minutes to get through the park and out to the place called Indian beach. It is a up and down the mountain and the curves at each plateau is so sharp you have to slow it down to 3mph, narrow for one car and trees are part of the shoulder on each side. We make it out to the beach right at the time of sunrise. The rain and fog do make the light of day impenetrable. The ranger is there so this sets me to worry as I did not purchase a day pass so I was there illegally, I could not force myself to spend the money to get rained on and then leave. I decided to wait a bit to see if the rain would ease up enough so I could at least see if this was in fact the beach. I watched the ranger to see if I would get busted or not but realize the ranger had no plan on getting wet either. 10 or 15 minutes later the rain eases just enough for the ranger to grab the garbage and drive away and for me to see we are at the beach of my dreams. Now I should have left then but I had to have a picture. So we sat another 10 minutes and it did ease and I said "lets do it " and we rolled up our pants and jumped out of the car and ran down the cliff side path to the beach. I took my camera and an umbrella my daughter took her phone and an umbrella, not sure what the hell we were thinking in 40 mile hour winds. We are like to kids running down the beach umbrellas inverted and drenched laughing and snapping pictures climbing on rocks and just have a great time. My daughter yells "Ma you left the lights on the car". I looked but with out glasses I don't see much so I just see head lights on the top of the cliff. No, I did not. Must be some other person hoping to catch a little view of the beach. I then can see the head lights move away. We started make our way back when I see a big van pull in and park down from us. I have watch every crime drama ever made and I am going to arm myself with a rock in the pocket of the jacket just in case there is some foul play at work. A few more steps and I decide I need another rock, one can never have enough rocks if things get ugly. We get to the cliff path and start our way up when a man sticks his head over the side and yells down at us" Hey is this your blue car up here?" Ya "Well the window is smashed in" he says. What the hell and we take off. Yes the side window was smashed and they got our purses, the boyfriends nice camera that my daughter did not want to ruin by getting it wet. They got a host of other things in side the purses. At that point the mans wife appears from inside the van and we started the 911 call. As we all discuss all the events leading up to this point I realize I still have a rock in my hand and feel like a fool just dropping it in font of the guy so I just hold the damn thing. The police show up and I am on the phone with one of my banks and they are talking with the guy and his wife and then he comes to us and says "do you have any ID"? No the bad guys have it. Then he says "do you have anything with your picture on it"? No but you can see me in pictures on the camera. Then my daughter pipes up "Ma, Ma will this work" and she pulls out my old drivers licenses that I had replaced two years earlier. What the hell, you have been carrying that damn thing for two years. Ya, Ma my friends tease me about it. That stupid license was my salvation for the rest of the trip. Who knew that a stupid argument two years earlier that ended in, what ever, would save my bacon on a vacation 2 years later and 2000 miles from home.
Two hours later as we are getting in our car and leaving the beach I dropped the damn rock only to find the other one when we stopped for potty break. The front seat was full of glass and it is still raining like hell so we shut a towel in the door to keep the rain from drenching the car and us but my daughter has to sit in the back and hold the corner of the thing so it does not smack the shit out of me while driving. Now she is balancing herself on the edge of the back seat holding the corner of the wet towel in one hand and the phone with GPS in the other and she says " Ma if we would have taken the dogs we would have never been robbed."

And you did it to yourself......

2015-09-30T21:48:00.000-04:00

I have to say I love it when the Damn dogs undermine their own attempts to get what they want. Patricio learned how to open the gate between the kitchen and living room. This has been my doom as he is so food driven he gets into everything and he is in the running for first place in counter surfing. I close the gate behind me so I can freely move about the kitchen and prepare food. With in a minutes he is right behind me getting into things. The latch on the gate door is one that has two prongs that slide across both sides of the fixed part of the gate. There is a handle that when lifted up will slide the prongs back and allow the door to open. If you push the lever down a little red plastic piece slide over it and you can not pull the lever up. Now the Damn dog learned how to lift the lever up and open the gate. We have had to push the lever down and lock it so he can not get it up. The problem being it now takes two hands to open the damn thing and when you have something in your hand this is a pain in the ass to put it down then open the gate get your stuff and then lock it behind you. Times this by a thousand time a day and you have a pain the size of Rhode Island in your ass. So as we are hurried or just pain tired of lock and unlock the humans try to sneak one past the damn dog, NOT, the dog is one step behind us and always at ready to try the gate as soon as you take one step away from it. Now in one short year this 55 pound dog jumping on the gate has broken the latch so now you have to pull the lever up and move the prongs back with the second hand. It has been hit and miss with the lever prong actions till just resent and it finally just bit the big one and now it is a two handed open and shut gate.
So tonight the kids are in the kitchen stirring things up and the dogs are in their annoying form in the living room romping around. I got up and went into the kitchen for more coffee but did lock the gate. I hear the dogs at the gate as I am poring my coffee. I expect to see Patricio jump up on the counter next to me, but all I hear is the handle of the gate. I turned around to find the damn dog pumping the handle up and down expecting to push it open and nothing happening. His frustration got the best of him and he started to bark at it in between pumping the handle. The sight of this dog getting frustrated at the gate he broke and doing so he lost his ability to open it, as he does not have two hands he has one mouth. This has left me a happy camper. I now know there is something the Damn dog can not do. Bite and Bark at the same time.

Senior Moments WTH!

2015-09-27T14:51:00.002-04:00

I can now admit to my serious SENIOR MOMENT....

I can not say how this thinking got started but I knew I was coming home on Tuesday the16th from Lima. Many hours before my departure at 11:30 PM the coordination of my departure started. There was a auto change because of the size of the kennels and the untimely death of my friends car. That alone was a huge undertaking in itself. Getting me and gathering dogs all in different location through the dinner hours and all the good byes took a few hours alone. This all started at around 3 or 4pm. We got through all of this and raced to the airport over an hour drive over not the best of roads and lots of traffic. We had to get there in time to check in and get the dogs and kennels scanned and be at the gate to depart on time. We arrived a few minutes after 9 pm and saw that there were not many folks checking in at our air lines. What a wonderful and welcome surprise. We got two carts and dragged the dogs and carry on bags through the zig zagging roped off line to the counter. We had a short 15 minute or so wait to get to the counter what a stroke of luck on my part. I got to the counter and we unloaded the dogs lifted one crate on the scales to be weighed I then started the mound of paper work and the clerk went to the back to check temperatures along my intended flight rout to my destination. I was there around 20 minutes as the line grew to huge numbers behind me, my anxiety started to build as I felt my shoulders lifting to earlobe levels and my jaw tighten worrying about how long I would be at the counter to get through the maze of work to fly two dog internationally. The clerk came back good new all temps along the route will be in the acceptable rang for flying dogs. He took my flight record number and check my reservations. He then said there was no reservation. WTH !! check again I have a res for the 16th, Tuesday. He looked again and then said yes I did but today is Tues the 15th. Now that was a jaw dropping moment as in two languages it was explained I was there on the wrong day. Holy Shit I felt like a total moron as we went and got the two carts again and loaded the dogs on them and drag the dogs and my carry on back to the parking lot. I have no idea how I lost a day. On the way to the airport my friend road in the back crammed into the small space between the kennel and the side of the car. Going back I road back there. Senior Moments suck, when its just you that is inconvenienced But when you take a double digit numbers of folks with you it is totally horrid. The place we will all end up in soon or later, Senior forgetfulness.Wait for it........

Are you stalking me?

2015-08-19T21:26:00.000-04:00

I am always surprised at the things people see and notice. Now I do catch subtleties that are often over look by some so I think I am an absorbent person. NOT!
I see where some one commented on a picture I put on face book and they noticed the time I posted it. This caught me by surprise as I never look at that stuff and do not know anyone who looks at the time things are posted. As I am voicing my surprise to my kid she says "I look at what time people post". I said "why? I think the only person who looks at that is my boss to see if I am screwing around at work". No Ma I look at what time you post so I know what your doing. What the Hell, are you stalking me? I'm your Mom, kids don't stalk their Mom, Moms stalk their kids. Who knew????

Time out

2015-08-19T20:46:00.000-04:00

It started out a quite evening of internet surfing with the TV blaring in the back ground, my daughter laying on the couch with her phone and I in my comfy chair with the kindle. Totally oblivious to our surroundings. When the house erupted into chaos with dogs going in every directions and the playful noises they make went up at lease 125 decimals. Now I have learned to tune many things out and this is often one of them. As the two big dog flew by me in a blur I heard my daughter scream. When I looked up the big dogs had jumped on her and continuing on with their play but the massive landing of romping dog flesh turn into a pissed off fight. I see her tuck her butt and jump off the couch as if she was anticipating a bite in the ass. She composed her self and yelled get off and started grabbing collars and evicting dogs. Now Patricio just stood there insulted he was evicted and Sipan and Gideon took off as soon as their feet hit the floor. As my daughter was about to take her place back on the couch Patricio leap at the same time beating her back to her place. Well I turned my deaf ear to them and went back to what I was doing. A few moments later I look up to see Patricio in time out and my daughter all stretched out on the sofa by herself. His time out lasted 10 min and when he was release he took her spot again. Now she is in her room and he is stretched out on the couch. I turned my deaf ear and went back to what I was doing.

Waiting for their friends.

2015-08-11T20:10:00.001-04:00

The girls have been wanting to plant a garden but I have resisted as I did not believe they would take care of it and my yard would get tore up for nothing, I kind of like my grass. So with a lot of badgering I caved and let them tear up a small patch next to the drive way by the walk way into the back yard. I figured that if they had to walk by it every day they could not say they forgot it. They even panted a few cucumbers out back by the tree stump. Now out back is out side the fenced area where we have had numerous sighting of deer and bunnies.
All was going well they kept up with the weeds and couple times I would come home to some wilting plants but they were watered before night fall so I said nothing. One very nice delightful night I was sitting in the living room with the back door open when this blood curdling scream came from the back yard. Before I could run to the door it came again. By the time I got outside here comes my daughter stomping up to the patio and as she roared by me she said I want a gun I'm going to kill the deer and bunnies and eat them. Well so much for the cucumbers...
The other day my daughter came in so proud and happy her bean plants had produced three very nice beans. As she rolled them around her hand to show me that they were purple bean and not green bean she said she never had purple beans. I said "are going to try them"? She put them in a bowl and said "no, I am going to wait for them to get friends". I am not sure I have ever heard it put that way but it made perfect sense.
Last night the friends arrived and we had some very yummy purple beans.

Grilled Cheese ?

2015-08-03T19:47:00.000-04:00

When it comes to food I mostly love it all. But when the fire in food gets to the 5 alarm fire stage I am not going to put myself in a air sucking, water drinking frenzy to eat.
My kids love all their food so hot that I swear they have an asbestos tongue. They know they can not cook that stuff when I am at home it just takes my breath away and sends me into a choking frenzy. No one wants to cook out side so they just do it before I get home and hope the air clears before I hit the door or just chop those little red peppers up and lather them on their food uncooked.
The other night I got home and there was a hint of something that had been cooked earlier.I spent a hour or so just drinking a cup of coffee and growing a nice set of roots in the chair. I finally went to the kitchen and announced I was making myself a grilled cheese sandwich and ask my daughter if she wanted one. She said "no", because she cooked and ate already. Well now I have a whole new way I like my sandwich made and I like my cheese on the outside of the bread and crunchy. Crunchy cheese you ask, I learned this little way to make the sandwich and now will never go back to regular grilled cheese. You use a sharp cheddar and grate it, butter the out sides of the bread as normal and sprinkle a little shredded cheese between them just enough to make the two slices stick together. Put in the pan to grill while the first side is grilling add copious amounts of the shredded sharpness to the top of the sandwich then flip over and let the cheese grill to a nice crunch or chewy depending on your desired texture. While the cheese is grilling to the desired texture add another mound of cheese to the other side and again flip to grill side two to the same desired texture. Now the oil from the cheese and butter will tend to puddle a little and you can sop up with paper towel. The more cheese the more puddle. Yes, not healthy what so ever but nothing good is healthy.
While all this grilling is going on I start to cough. Just coughing no smell nothing but a choking cough.
I said to my daughter did you spill some of your chilly pepper what ever, on the burner." I don't think so" she said, The cough got worse and I said "you must have I can't breath". She then starts to look at the stove to see if something spilled. I finished cooking my sandwich and the coughing started to wane and almost completely stopped by the time I had my sandwich cut and placed on a plate with the chips piled on top with a drink in my hand.
We went into sit at the computer and search for retirement homes, this has become a favorite activity with my daughter. I ate a few chip and we looked at water front property and dreamed of a day she would come to visit me at the beach. I then started in on the sandwich which was so tasty till I wallow it around my mouth a bit and then flame on. "What the hell did you do" I ask her. As she laughed at me she said nothing. Did you wash the pan or just wipe it out? Second bite is hotter than the first. Now I understand why I was choking. So now I am sucking air and drinking water. I decided that I did not want to cook again so I would just suck it up and eat the heat infused sandwich. After a few bits I am sweating and needing a break from the flames and started to eat the chips. What the hell the chips are hotter then hell too. On my way to the kitchen for a second glass of water I realized the oil in that pan was on the sandwich and the chips just sucked up the oil off the sandwich and now I have a plate of " light me on fire" food and my kid thinks this is just too funny. Note to self, wash all pans before using.

Super Glue

2015-07-07T23:03:00.000-04:00

Sipan is my Peruvian Inca Orchid dog. I have had him now about two years. He is loveable goofy and he has two really big thing wrong with him. One, he is afraid of the vertical blinds. So we learned that after he was here about a year. It was quite by accident that we learned this as we like to leave the blinds open 24/7. But if you move them they swing back and forth touching the slats on either side making this strange little noise that send Sipan running. Second and most annoying, he glues himself to you and it is almost impossible to move him. So we have a name for it we called it glue or super glue because to break the bond would take a jack hammer. He decides he want on the couch next to you, on top of you, under you what ever he will not move. We have to physically get up and drag him off, then be quick enough to get back to our seat before he does. It is most entertaining when it is happening to the kids but when he does it to me, well lets just say the entertainment value is lost totally.
So tonight is one of the nights I am sure I could have lived with out but as life would have it I have to endure the shit that is heaped on me. My dogs have had a steady diet of remotes and it has left us with out a way to play DVD's, stream movies or any other activities that one does on the TV except turn it on and hope for the best. Tonight they got the netflix remote and we only had this one for two weeks. Now with out the remote the device is useless. Wow, I feel like I am just throwing money out the window as the dogs consume the remotes. And yes we put them up but some how they get them, Hell I think they just will the damn things off the shelf and into their mouths.
Now this little remote consumption was the last mound of shit on my pile for the day, so off to Best Buy I go cussing all the way. I left there and I went and picked up my daughter at work and when we returned we settled in to a moving after a short installation.
The dogs were not in the mood to settle so we are trying to get them to calm down and Sipan super glues himself to my daughter. I am busy with my own problematic dog and I here her say SIPAN in the strained voice the one you hear the weight lifters use as they are picking up 300 lb weight. I am not paying any attention to her I can just hear her trying her damndest to move this dog. The grunts and screams turn into her saying in the calmest voice I've heard her use all night, "Oh uha uha your moving" and I hear the vertical blinds move. Sipan jumped straight up catching some air under his ass and he shoved himself in one huge leap off the couch and he disappeared around the corner and went into the other room. My pile of shit came tumbling down as I laughed so hard I cried. We now have the Sipan super glue, kryptonite.

Rescue and the internet equal friends

2015-05-17T18:59:00.003-04:00

I was drug screaming and kicking all the way into rescue. It changed my life for ever. In my journey I have learned a life time of information and met some incredible folks from all walks of life and many corner of the world. I was then strong armed into social media, I never felt like I had time to play on the computer or get into the whole social aspect of the internet. Out of my feelings of obligation I joined a form for Chinese Crested dogs and my life has never been the same since. That form lead to Face book, another I really don't have time for these things that moved me into another life change. I have since welcomed and embraced the new changes and have even became addicted as most have to the new way of meeting friends and learning of a whole new way of life. What this new social media has done for me is one of the greatest things I could have ever had happened to me. As my need to make the best of rescue and the re-homing of the dogs, I so love, I tend to drive across the country like I am going to the corner market. This has given me the opportunity to meet many of the friends I socialize with on the internet. I have been greeted and shown endless hospitality from all my internet friends. We all love dogs and have the common bond of trying to do all we can to help them. I try to meet in person as many of the friends I have met along the way. Because I come from the generation that wants to sit face to face with friends and enjoy their company, I crave the need to meet all of you that I chat with and share our lives with. I want to share some of the special folks I have had the pleasure and honor to meet.

Sick, who cares.

2015-05-17T13:09:00.003-04:00

I was stricken with something miserable, I don't know what but it hit me like a brick. I had to have my kid stop and pick up something for fever and pain as both of these thing had me struggling to stay out of bed. The bad thing is I had to take a picture of the medicine and post to her face book because a conversation on the phone would have killed me to explain the brand name vs the generic name and really I did not care I was dying. I figured if I took a picture she would be able to show it to some one and they could get her the right stuff. Now the world knows I am sick and that is not how I like to roll, so suck it up and deal with it. Now I can not breath and bending over is like having a spike pounded in my eye straight through the brain. That being said I have no desire to move at all. Now the Damn dogs do not care I am sick they are just happy as shit I am home and they are running free. It is snowing like hell and two of the dogs are straight out of Peru and are not at all having any part of the the cold wet stuff and are at maximum resistance to going out side. Their size alone requires the strength and moves of a wrestler to make this happen.
None of the damn dogs want to share anything, so grump is the word of the day and all I have heard is grumbling from all of them. Some times the grumbling comes from every corner and causes

the room to vibrate. With head congestion and pain, this is not pleasant, it actually sucks even when my head does not hurt. The old ones don't like anyone to move or sit by them, The Chi's are just grumpy and bitching at everyone. The big dogs just go about doing what they want with no consideration to who gets mad at them or why. They just sit where they want to sit and it does not matter if there is another body there human or dog. Now the human or dog that is being sat on start bitching and they don't care they dig in and hold their ground and the little dogs become greasy muffled grumbling spots under them and the humans have to get up to get leverage to make them move. The old dogs will bitch and bark till the shrill of their voice pierces my ear drums. Now on normal days I have at least 9 hours with out this commotion so the remaining 5 hours is tolerable and life goes on. Then when they are not bitching at each other they are wrestling, they are so noisy when they play I often feel like my hearing is being damaged from the noise. Lets add in the fact that they all need to burn off some energy and it is snowing like hell out. It will be burned off inside the house with my massive head pain and there is not much I can do about it. Now all of them want what they believe the others have and that includes the humans. Watching TV or any other sedentary inactivity will cause such a bitch fest I want to run as fast as I can out the door.
First ,if you have a seat NEVER leave it because it then become fare game to everyone else. Before you can catch air under your butt they will jump into the warmth of the seat that your butt just left. Then you do what ever that made you get up and then on your return you find all the poos that was made in your wake as you left the room. As you pick one up another will replace it as you turn your back to leave the room. Now after a few of these you return to a seat that is full, most of the time with a big dog. You use your brute strength to pull the dog out of the seat to have one or two of the Chi's jump in as the dogs butt starts to catch air under it. Now moving them does not require the strength just speed, you gotta be quick to get them, getting two at the same time is impossible. It comes down to a race of the strongest and quickest get the seat. Now one would think that this is the end of it but hell no it is just the beginning of a fight for comfort in your own living room. Then they start this subtle encroachment on any spot they deem the best. Now if this happens to be mine with 4 other dogs sitting in my lap or curled up around me in the chair, then the games begin. It becomes so madding that I will get up and just move. No this does not work either, the problem follows me. It will be so subtle that I find myself moving three of more times before I just get pissed and start yelling. The yelling works for about 1.5 minutes if I am lucky. Mostly it is just a way of blowing off the stress of have a house full of dogs push me around.
Now there are a couple of dogs that do not do this to me they are happy sitting on the back of the furniture or in front of the heat vent. Jake, is one of the foster that just decided he likes my daughter better and hangs with her. He sleeps with her and follows her around the house and whines when she is not in a room he is in.
So now I am sick and the dogs are more annoying than ever and all of a sudden Jake decides he wants in my lap. I said what the hell Jake you don't even like me why do you want in my lap. My daughter comes home and sits on the couch and he does not even give her a second look. He jumps up on me an wrangles his place on my lap and starts his grumbling with the others and I am about to toss all of them and he just gives me the look and rubs his head on me and rolls his eyes. What the hell buddy you mad at Ta Ler Paw and now your sucking up to me. Then my daughter pipes up and said " he is just using you Ma" wow, now this makes me feel good enough to just go to work, it has to be better.

SOAP!!! Who knew?

2015-05-11T22:15:00.001-04:00

I was on a dog transport and came home in the wee hours of the morning and wanted a quick shower to relax and I could sleep in the next day. I turned on the water jumped in and went to grab the soap that I just opened and put in the shower the day before. all I can say is it was by shear tiredness that I did not go up stairs and yank a kid from her sleep for taking my soap. As I buy in quantity and the bar soap supply is just over the toilet there is no need to steal the soap out of my shower. Now what comes to mind is a lazy kid that thinks it's easier to take the new one I just put in the shower rather than open the box and dispose of said box. The next day after work I get home and at some point I am reminded of the missing soap and ask my kid why???? "I did not take your soap, Ma". Well there is two of us in the house and I did not take my own soap and I flasher her the liar, liar look. I then ask her if this was her way of not hurting my feelings. As I have been told in the past the only time she lies to me is when she doesn't want to hurt my feelings. This did seem to put a chill in the air for the evening and she went up stair to her room. I then went to bed.

Weeks later I am cleaning out the kennels in the dog room and I hear the familiar sound of the shower door rattling in the bathroom. I look over and the bathroom is dark, no lights. I yelled " get out of the bathroom" nothing. So I got up and went into the bathroom turned on the light and almost died when I saw the damn dog trying to get the soap out of the shower. I ran back to the living room and grab the camera and when I got back he was still trying to get the damn soap. I got a few good shots of him and ran to the basement to tell the world on facebook about my damn dog. I am sure my finger was still on the send key when I heard the feet on the stairs the pounding across the floor going into the kitchen then down the hall was deafening. My kid was almost in my room when I turned around to yell what is going on up there. She took one more big step and looked me in the eye and said " I TOLD YOU, I didn't take your soap". The cyclone of wind she created as she turned and flew back up the stairs faster than she came down, sent me into tears of laughter. I mean who would have thought the dog was eating the soap.

As this is such a new and unusual thing I am thinking the dog is playing with the soap and really not eating it. I looked high and low for the missing bar of soap and forgot about the whole thing in time.
A few weeks later the dog is sitting on the couch and with out warning throws up all over me and the couch. The smell of sour acidic Dove soap almost made me loose my stomach content. And, yes it does bubble on its return. Now I am on heighten alert to keep the dog out of the bathroom, as he is really eating the stuff.
I have been doing rather well remembering to keep the door shut and we have not had any further disappearing bars of soap.
Now my idea of a quick trip to the kitchen to get my hair tie and the dogs idea are not quite the same. And when I got back he was all over the damn soap again. What the hell now I have a soap eating junking on my hands. Do they offer a 12 step for this.

Foiled again!

2015-05-10T11:32:00.001-04:00

As it would appear the dogs have foiled me again. I really do not want to give them all the credit but they sure do make it seem like they have all the cunning on their side.

As all the kids have left the house I decided that I did not need all 9000 cable channels so I got rid of that extra expense and chose to keep Netflix as a watch when I want and pay for what I watch. Now this has been a good deal for me for the last 8 months. I can stream some of the movies over the TV and will get a new DVD in the mail as I finish one I can get another in the mail. For me this has worked. So on weekends the girls come we watch the latest DVD that has come in the mail. I have had this DVD player and its remote for ever with out problems. Until a few weeks ago the dogs, not sure if one or more than one, chewed the remote to the DVD player. Now this alone would have put me over the deep end but as I can still stick the DVD in and hit the play button on the machine it's OK for me. The girls are beside them selves. They don't want to watch the previews in the beginning and they have to fast forward, fast back and fast side ways with the damn thing, this is a major issue for them. Watching anything with them when they have the control in their hand is at best, a nuisance.

Up until two nights ago I have had no issues with the remote being chewed. I was really happy that something the dogs did was not sending me into insanity.

I love a good foreign flick with subtitles if the content is of interest. So we received a DVD about the Japanese invasion of a town in China. One of the girls and I had snacks and drink in hand when we sat down to watch. We sat through the 10 minutes of reviews and advertising to realize the subtitles for the movie were in Spanish. Now the half eaten remote has become a huge issue because we have no way to change the subtitles to English.

My daughters quick thinking reminds me we can watch it on the touch screen computer and change the subtitles there. I would have never came up with this one, way to much thinking out side the box for me. So we drag the computer over and set it up in front of the TV and change the subtitles and begin what was to be a really good movie. The first problem was it is much smaller screen and I can hardly see the words let alone read them; I felt like I need Opera glasses. Now the words are at the bottom of the screen and guess who's butt and tails was always in the way. Can we all say, get the hell out of the way. So we had to lock down the room and move the computer closer. I am starting to think about the new DVD player in my near future and where the hell I will need to stick the remote to keep it away from the Damn dogs.

I hate sarcastic snotty machines.

2015-04-10T18:29:00.003-04:00

The older I get the less I think I can learn. Well maybe the less I want to learn. Either way some things I learn just blind side me and send me to the floor. Today being one of the learning things that just hit me like a brick upside my head.
We are getting ready to do an online auction for the rescue, I am trying to find new avenues to post in to get the word out. I message friend to ask about posting on a page and we start a little messaging back and forth. My last text to this conversation was " No worries I don't tread on others". I was on my kindle and to lazy to get ups and go to the computer where I know my way around and can Google the spelling of words and stay on my message, so I ask my none English as a first language daughter. How do you spell tread? After several tries she pull out the cell phone and connects to some app she has on it and shove the damn thing in my face and says " say the word Mom". OK, so I say "tread" and the thing just produces a wavy line across it. She says "say it again Mom". Again I say "tread". Wavy line. Now I am laughing at this and ask "what the hell can't this thing understand English". She shoves it back in my face and I had to move back so she did not shove it in my mouth and says "try again". Results, it spells out Dead. I started laughing so hard I started to cry. She clearly was frustrated at it and me and says let me turn the volume up and try, she (phone) talks to you. She then sticks it in her own face and yells with a really good outside voice and broken English with a twist of who the hell knows what and it said "Dead". Now I am on the floor and I can not stop laughing and I told her the damn thing is not deaf it can't understand you either. So she shoves it back at me and said "do it again". In my clearest voice I could muster under the bouts of hysteria I said
"you suck".
The Damn thing said in its clearest female voice "Well I never". I can't even tell the story with out laughing hysterically I can't even explain why I never finish my chat with my friend. I guess I'll just post this blog and explain when I calm down....

Pee or deal with it...

2015-02-22T11:25:00.002-05:00

As most of us are in the grips of one cold and snowy winter, it was brought to my attention that many of us dog owners are having the same issues. How to get the dogs to do their business outside and not in the house. My solution came to me as a half ass gift many years ago. I was working with another rescue in early 2000's. One of the members had a hospital donate all there mattress covers to the rescue and they bought all new. Now the member is sitting on a trailer load of these things and she decided she could unload them at an annual get together in the middle of the Smoky Mountains. As the camp ground hosted most of us she pulled that trail up and as we came in she started to unload. I had no idea what I would do with them but she kept heaping them into my van till I really had to protest that I was not there for fun I was on dog transport and I was dropping and picking up dogs and moving on. So as I moved on the transport I dropped off some of these mattress covers and ended up with a dozen or so after all was said and done. At that point in my rescue life I was not having an issue with this as long as I did not leave things on the floor like a throw rug or a pair of sock I had no problems. As time progress my problem did the same, dogs came and went and then I found belly bands was my new savior. I learned that traveling was a huge problem so we broke out the pee pads, as we now call them. One of my own dogs had a case of separation anxiety that I was not aware of. She never pee or pooed in the house or car as long as we were there. At home she had a doggy door and she went outside to look for us and left her trail of pee and poo. but let us leave the van and she hit every square inch of the van. She would wind herself up and let it go. We covered all the seats and pillows everything with the pads and it saved us from a head ace that almost cause me to kennel this dog for life. I may add that she is around 10 now and no long does this. She has around 10,000 miles of travel in her life with me and now it is no big deal and she is very happy to just sit and bark at the cars and people passing bye. 6 years ago I moved into this house and it had carpet and still does. I am not rich and therefore must keep the stuff till I hit the lotto. I realized early how important the pee pad were becoming to me. I yelled at the kids when I found them using them as paint drop cloths, almost had a heart attack. I have no idea how to get more. I bleached the hell out of them and washed them daily to keep up with the ever growing movement of dogs coming and going. Mine are now aging and so their house broke state is now broken. I started asking everyone I could about working or knowing someone who worked in a hospital. Trying to get that donation of use mattress protectors, as a few of the pads where starting to fall apart this was a huge stresser for me.

Now as I am not one to just think outside the box on my own I usually need a board upside the head to get my brain unstuck. So one day at work I am whining about poor me what the hell was I going to do when the pads just disintegrated. My co-work said just Google it. Where do hospitals get their bed protectors? Duhhh. Well I have not looked at all the sites as I am sure there must be many but in Alphabetical order Allegro Medical was the first thing I hit and I never left. Desperation has no price attached. They had just what I needed and I looked no further. Now what I have learned over the past few years is the size does count. I bought the little ones 24x36 and then started to sew them together to get the size I needed as they seemed so cheap I could buy a million and sew. Then my hall way became the pissing spot of choice and I just could not get the sides covered so I started to look at bigger sizes. I now buy two of the 44x52 sew two together and Ta Dah I have a hall runner that gets the job done.

Now I have found that the markers in the bunch like to piss on kennel doors so I put the small ones under the front of the kennels in the living room as these are the ones that they can get too. Back room is off limits so no worries as long as door is kept shut. Now as the dogs come and go I have to change the rooms that get blocked and change the pee pad locations to keep up with the Damn dogs. So I found the next size down is the 34x52 are great to just through around in corners and other spots that they seem to think is a great substitution for the back yard when temps dip below O degrees and snow starts to pile up.

Now I know that there are many folks that love their homes and just would not put up with this. So I am sure this blog is not for you. But for those of us that love our dogs just not there potty habits I hope this helps you save just a small piece of your sanity. I will not tell you how many rug cleaners or vacuums I have went through in the last 6 years I don't want you to faint or have me committed. I am not supporting Allegro as there are many, you will find the one that has what you need.
They wash up great and you can bleach the hell out of them. Throw them in the dryer and it makes life just a little better so we can love our four legged pissers.

To all my friends on Valentine's

2015-02-15T09:01:00.001-05:00

To all my friends on Valentine's

Team "Damn Dogs"

2014-10-29T16:56:00.001-04:00

I get home after a long day at work and I am greeted by 13 hungry dogs. As I am schlupping food to the dogs in their kennels I realize there excitement seem a little more than, gee glad your home. Most of them are gulpers so dinner time is quick. I opened the back door and started down the line of kennels opening the doors and yell out. I usually am yell this a thousand times as one by one they run to the next empty kennel check to see if someone left a kibble or two that they might get. Tonight not the case I yell it one time and the room emptied. So I thought I was starting to get the hang of yelling out and picking up all the empty bowls when I noticed the noise out side had gone up a few decimal. I went into the kitchen to get some paper towel to clean up a poo I seen on my way in. I opened the back door and seen all the damn dogs at the back fence barking their heads off at a deer. When I realized the deer was not going to leave I ran back in to grab the camera. I was closer to the back room so I exited out that door and tried to take a picture and again realize the damn deer was not leaving and he was walking up to the fence. The Peruvian boys were out in front and the Crested dogs where there as back ups. When Jake one of the fosters ran to the fence and the deer butted the fence and he went ass over tea kettle. As Jake took a head butt for the team I decided that I may have to walk to the fence to break this up or someone was going over the fence if it did not stop. I had to tell the deer to leave. Then I see his girl friend who did not need a second invite to leave, and the boy friend running right behind. Who knew I would ever have to chase off the Damn Deer.

The real life of some animals

2014-10-17T14:01:00.000-04:00

We know it is out there but it does not have a face so it is easy to look the other way and feel it is not our problem. I can now put a face on the problem along with mine, I will never be the same.

The face of poverty for humans and animals. I walked the street of this village and was brought to tears. The people are in constant struggle to survive and the animals they love and care so deeply for are what now haunts my dreams. Many are loved but can not be cared for. The ones that are loved have off springs that are now the street animals, making their own off springs in this hideous situation. This is a guaranteed life of misery and suffering till there untimely death of disease, starvation or plain human ignorance and cruelty.

I can not speak for the human poverty I have no words on how a country has no help for them. I am overwhelm with the animals. The picture should be enough to explain the problem. But people everywhere love their animals no matter what. The animals that are not theirs are of no consequence as it is everywhere in the world we love what is ours, we live in our own little box no matter how horrific it is. It is all some know and with the love of their pets and family they exist. One of my bitter sweet moments was when the lady did agree to taking her very ill dog, in the right side of this picture sitting on a bag of sorts, to see the vet. The first picture is of this dog and it has a disease called TVT Canine transmissible venereal tumor it is very contagious to the other dog living in the animal population, when other dogs come in contact with body fluids of the infected dog. Often contracted through copulation and licking. Metastasis is most commonly to regional lymph nodes, but can also be seen in the skin, brain, eyes, liver, spleen, testicles, and muscle. This is a form of cancer and can be treated with chemo and or radiation. Both are not accessible to the poor. So this disease goes unchecked and as the unaltered dogs keep reproducing they not only make more puppies they spread this cancer, the out come is a horrible death for the dogs. One unaltered dogs can have two litters a year with any where from 4 to 10 puppies in each litter and those off spring go on to do the same, as there is nothing to stop the population explosions. It does not take a calculator to do the math, more than half of these dogs have illnesses and live in horrific conditions, they will perish soon; but not with out a lot of suffering. The other half keep making more puppies that will suffer for who knows how long before they perish. The lucky puppies are born and dropped off at a spay and neuter campaign to be helped as most of the villagers do care. But in fact they will be euthanized as no one wants them. The unlucky ones will suffer till they die.

As we arrived back from a little lunch the bags of puppies where left for us, 18 puppies in total. They were the wonderful little bundles of love that we all just gush over but the sadness is they will all be put down as no one want them. I can not look at puppies the same way again. My heart is broken and feel more driven than before. As the ones that we did not get were in every nook and cranny. I never got more than a city block before I had to quit looking. The little cries of puppies coming from everywhere is calling to the part of me that loves them and want to hold them and cuddle them. Then the reality of what will happen to all of these little babies then caught me totally of guard and my stomach began to turn. I had to stop looking for them and holding them. I had to walk away. Now I live with this, to walk away from suffering. I pray you all never know this feeling.

I came home with two dogs as that is all I can bring back. To know what I can do is a drop in the ocean. But everything in this world started with a drop in the ocean and then more drops and till there was a buck full. Soon the clouds open and the change will begin. Not everyone can jump a plane and fly to a struggling county, frankly I don't think they want us to. But to get involved in a world wide problem is something we all can do. I did not know what I was doing, I just knew I had to do something no matter how small. I was very miss guided in the beginning. I now have direction and focus. And will push on and I pray that I can reach others who will get involved. We all have something that touches us and makes us want to help, the causes in this would are infinite but for those of you that share my passion I hope you will get involved. I welcome any conversation on this problem and please feel free to contact me. crested@sbcglobal.net. To do nothing is the biggest part of the problem.

Spay and neuter campaigns can put a dent in the cycle of over population. It is a start, there are vets there that are willing to help but the funds to keep these campaigns up and educating the people is a huge beginning to this problem. Here we pay upwards to 300.00 for a spay or neuter depending on where we live. There they can be performed for as little as 15.00 per pet. In one campaign one vet and two students perform 115 surgeries. This will put a big dent in the population of pets in this village. It is not enough but for those who love there pets it was more than a blessing.

As the village people wrapped up, boxed up there beloved pets and headed to there homes, I was left with a sense hope that a solution to this problem can be found and implemented.

Hands Helping Paws | Nonprofits - YouCaring.com

2014-09-21T21:13:00.001-04:00

Hands Helping Paws | Nonprofits - YouCaring.com
you can click on this link to donate. Thank you

I am going to Peru to help with a spay and neuter campaign. This is where my heart leads me. It is something I believe in and hope you will help. I will bring back two more dogs to adopt and our goal is to spay and neuter 100 pets in the village. Thank you to all my readers.

Selfies....

2014-09-14T09:19:00.001-04:00

It has become blatantly obvious that I am becoming a selfie junkie. Now in this new technology craze I would have never thought I could be one of the folks that found themselves so interesting to take pictures of one self and show the world. I think I am who I am and no one cares what I eat or wear. I have found many find interest in my life style, I have come to except I am strange. or at least different. I am told I am neurotic now I have studied what this means as my mind set is, I am not crazy. I done a lot of reading on this and it truly boils down to "Neurotic means to suck at dealing with reality" and that sums it up for me. It's that I have this really shitty way of looking at things, I handle this with my sarcasm and humor. I try hard to not step on others as I go about my life. I never want to hurt anyone or anything. I do not claim to be good at anything I just go about my business and live my life the best I know how. I do not think of myself as special in any way as I know most can do the same things I do so no special ability or talents. But I never would have thought I could get caught up into the selfie craze. I don't know if I should be concerned about this new phase or just chalk it up to social change and compliance to that change. But it is what it is Selfie mania.

Pawlooza

2014-08-18T23:04:00.000-04:00

http://www.pawlooza.com/about/

For the second year in a row I have attended a dog festival in London Ontario called Pawlooza. The first year I was in total amazement at the whole thing. This is not a dog show it is not a competition it is just a place to come with your four legged friends and your family and have fun all the time raising money for charity and bringing awareness of the diversity of dogs and the humans who own them. It is not about what your dog can do or its blood line it is just about the love and bond between man and his best friend. The focus is family fun with the dogs. It is In honour of International Homeless Animals' Day.
There are Big Dogs.

Little dogs

Dogs in Carriages/Buggies

Dogs with Dreadlocks

Dogs with out hair
Dogs in Wedding Dresses

Orange Dogs

And everything in between

The dogs and their owner came in throngs there was a sea of dogs and people all there for the same reason to have fun. It did not matter mute or breed specific everyone welcome. They had every kind of fun for the dogs. They could try agility, play frisbee,try water jumping/ dock diving. Some were very good and could just fly while others where coxed by their human to try to jump.

All were winners, some just for cuteness.
They had Lure course and even those who were not as fast had fun.

The dogs that wanted to play in the water had an area to run free and swim.

The fun just kept coming for all. The rain came and it did not stop folks or the dogs from the fun.
The food was wonderful there was something for everyone pallet. They had best dressed dogs, adoptable dogs where high lighted for all to see. Local personality's hosted the shows and stage performances while dog vets and techs walk the grounds along with EMT to make sure dogs and humans a like where safe. The had port a potties for the humans and caged in areas for the dogs to potty, then to top that they had hand washing stations all kept clean and monitored. Safety and comfort was a priority for all who attended.
The vendors who came and the sponsors of the event where wonderful offering everything from DNA testing, doggie cloths, doggie goodie and doggie strollers. The volunteers where helpful knowledgeable and friendly. I can not imagine the man hours they all must have put into this for all to have a good time. They had many rescues there with adoptable dogs and they were all raising awareness and looking for homes for their dogs. They educated kids and other about the breeds and the need for spay and neuter. All about the need to help the homeless dogs.

I have never attended such a well planed and organized event before. Last year was the best I did not think it could be top, but this year was even better than last. The rain did not dampen the spirits or fun. I recommend this for any animal lover and there four legged friends. I am already excited about next year. Mark the third Saturday of August on your calendars and come for some of the best fun.