Dogs & Cars

For a dog lover, I think one of the worst things you can do is to hit a dog with a car. Many times, there is truly nothing you can do other than stop and hope to find the owner.  In my 20+ years of driving, I've hit 3 dogs.  Each time, I've come away mad at the owner of the dog.  One time, it was a black puppy on a night with no moon and no lighting.  I had previously stopped at the house of the owner to give him back his puppies that were playing in the road.  When I hit this one and took his poor lifeless body back to the owner – his statement was, "One less to try and find a home for, I guess" – that has stuck with me for the last 15 years. 

 

Last night, I was driving home on a back road.  Due to the curves, I was only going about 30 mph when I see a dog running toward the road.  I begin to slow down and the dog turns around and heads back into the field.  As I am nearing the area where the dog was at, he's nowhere to be seen.  Then, all of sudden, the dog bolts out in front of me and I locked down the brakes.  Thank goodness no one was behind me.  The dog is pushed forward 20 or 30 feet, tumbling the entire time.  He gets up and keeps running.  I went to get out and the guy (who I assumed was his owner) yells to me, "he's okay, I'll take care of it." 

 

My issue is – why was your dog loose.  The county in which I live has a leash/fence law.  It's a law that goes unattended as I run into off-leash dogs all the time when I walk the Queen.  My biggest fear is Jazz getting loose – I have as many safeguards as I can to prevent it.  Protect your dog – keep it within a fence or on a leash.

 

It's hot...really hot

Summer is not my favorite time of year - it is simply too hot.  This summer seems hotter than it's ever been (it probably isn't).  I don't remember ever having this many 90 degree days in one (probably every summer for the last 10 years).  Add in the fact that I have a dog who doesn't like the heat or the cold or the wet...and I spend most of my weekends indoors with the Queen.  Her preference would be for me to sleep most of the day beside her, getting up to get fresh ice cubes for her water, a snack, maybe some dinner, and lay back down for a nap.

 

I totally get it - every time I go out the heat drains any energy I might have had....needless to say, the Queen and I anxiously await cooler temperatures so that we can be out and about a lot more...

from southern living

While not a normal posting about the Queen, this is more a note on how to treat the Queen's handler...

 

 

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for hudson: from southern living

via Blue-Eyed Bride by Blue-Eyed Bride on 7/29/10

A few days ago I was going through all of the magazines in my house and tearing out things I liked. Recipes, home decor, articles. And then I filed them all away in page protectors and put them in binders.

I think I threw away about 35 magazines. I try to do this every year, but I always like to hang onto the issues of Southern Living magazine. When I was flipping through the magazines I found this great article and knew that Hudson would need to see it someday. Because someday he'll take a girl out for pizza and a movie. And someday he'll take a girl as his date to a football game– hopefully an SEC football game. And I want him to have an idea of what she may be expecting from him.

I thought I'd share it with all of you to share with your sons and daughters, if you haven't already.

If you're not a southerner you may not appreciate it the way I do, but I like it enough to put it on my blog. I like chivalry. I like to think of myself as independent, sure, but I also like chivalry. And I want my son to treat his future wife, girlfriends, dates, and friends the way that we've always been taught that a man should treat a lady. Especially in the South where traditions don't die easily.

15 Ways to Charm Her

Southern Living, July 2009

By Amy Bickers

"Want to impress a Southern girl? Just think "What would my grandfather have done?"

Number one: We still expect you to give up your seat for a lady. On a bus, at a bar, on a train. . . we don't care where you are. Unless you are at a restaurant and the only lady in sight is the one taking your order, stand up. Now.

On a recent Friday night at a bustling restaurant bar, two friends and I waited for our table to be called. The barstools were occupied so we stood patiently, sipping wine and chatting about the workweek. When a couple nearby stood up, another woman – who had been there less time than we had – swooped in, reaching across us to put her purse on the stool. This isn't the worst part. It's what happened next: Her male companion then slid onto the other barstool.

Hang on while I do a geography check. Are we not in the South? If ladies are waiting for a seat and you have a Y chromosome, do you sit down? No, sir. No, you do not.

We know modern life is confusing. The roles of men and women have evolved over the years. As Pink once sang, "Shorty got a job, Shorty got a car, Shorty can pay her own rent."

But come on, let's keep some things old-school. My late grandfather- he of the East Texas upbringing, U.S. Navy captain status, and Cary Grant good looks – would never have allowed a woman to stand while he sat. And if you want a Southern woman to love you, neither will you. So, men, here's a short list of things Southern girls still expect from you.

We still expect you to…

1. Stand up for a lady. Actually, this doesn't just involve chairs.
2. Know that the SEC has the best football TEAMS IN THE NATION. Big 12 fan? Hmm, perhaps you should keep walking.
3. Kill bugs. Delta Burke as Southern belle Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women said, ". . .Ya know, when men use Women's Liberation as an excuse not to kill bugs for you. Oh, I just hate that! I don't care what anybody says, I think the man should have to kill the bug!"
4. Hold doors open.  This goes for elevator doors too.
5. Fix things or build stuff. I once watched in awe as my stepfather built a front porch on the house he shares with my mother. He knew just what to do, cutting every notch, hammering every nail. The project was complete by sunset.
6. Wear boots occaisionally. Not the fancy, l-paid-$l,000-for-these kind. We're talking about slightly mud-crusted, I-could-have-just-come-in-from-the-field boots.
7. Take off your hat inside.
8. Grill stuff.
9. Call us. If you want to ask us out, don't text and don't e-mail. Pick up the phone and use your voice.
10. Stand when we come back to the dinner table. "Just a little half-stand is enough to make me melt," my friend Stephanie says.
11. Pull out chairs. Wait, that's not all. Scoot them back in before we hit the floor.
12. Pay the tab on the first few dates. "If you ask me out, you pay," Stephanie says. "If I ask you out, you should still pay." Listen, guys, it's just simpler this way.
13. Don't show up in a wrinkled, untucked shirt. Care about your appearance but not too much. Don't smell better than we do. Don't use mousse or gel. You shouldn't look like you spend more time in front of the mirror than we do.
14. Never get in bar fights. Patrick Swayze might look cool in Road House, but in reality, bar fights are stupid and embarrassing. You don't look tough. You look like an idiot.
15. Know how to mix our favorite cocktail JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT. Fix your favorite too. Sit down on the porch (it's okay if you didn't build it), tell us how your day went, and we'll tell you about ours.

We'll leave the long list to the girl who falls in love with you.

 

 

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Lost your dog?

I have lost a dog before in my life and it is very scary!  These days it is easier to get the info out about your dogs.  Here's a few suggestions:
1. Do not panic! Begin making a flyer that includes clear picture of dog, name of dog, height/weight/breed description. Make sure there is info on how to contact you - a reward is optional - people who are going to help will help regardless of a reward.
2. Call local shelters, animal control, rescues, and vets
3. Visit local shelters, animal control, rescues, and vets with flyer
4. Post it on local community boards, social networking sites, etc.
5. Make sure the microchip info is up to date - old phone numbers & emails make it difficult to track you down.
6. Get out there and look - your dog recognizes your voice.
7. Place an ad in the newspaper.
8. Contact the shelters, animal control, rescues, and vets again - they have different schedules and they may not be posting the info for everyone to find.

A new idea that I've just come across is this: www.lostpetcards.com
I don't know what the cost is, but you fill in the info and then can have postcards sent out to people within your zip code with your dog's pic on it - what a neat service.

A blog I truly enjoy!

Our Shibal Inu blog just tickles me. I love the cards and they are now available on etsy - very cool.

 

 

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hygiene.

via Our Shibal Inu by gina on 7/15/10

(click to view larger image)

 

 

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I should have known better...

I spend a ton of time being concerned with Jazz's well-being.  I spend a ton of money on harnesses, collars, and leashes.  Today, I gave Jazz a bath.  She does really well with them so that wasn't a problem.  She dried off and I thought it would be a good time to brush her out since she has been shedding so much.  I decided to put her on just a collar to make it easier to brush. I grab the brush, put her on the leash, and head outside.  We walk over to my Adirondack chair and I sit down.  I go to brush Jazz and she is not at the end of the leash.  Her collar is, but she isn't.  Jazz is walking along the driveway being all frisky.  She has on no collar, no leash, nothing.  I immediately get up and run toward the door saying a word that means go to a specific space in the house.  She trots right behind me and to her spot.  I put on a harness and take her back out for brushing.  All's well that ends well, I guess.  Needless to say, I was a little freaked.  Neighbors will be wondering when I got a second job shearing sheep as there are little balls of fluff everywhere.

Thunderstorms, Lightning, and Shakes, oh my!

Jazz has issues with three loud noises - thunderstorms, fireworks, and guns.  We've been working on de-sensitizing her on this, but the biggest problem arises due to the inability to predict thunderstorms and hunters.  Fireworks are relatively easy to prepare for - usually the 4th of July & New Year's Eve.  It's easy to dose Jazz with melatonin on those days.  Hunting is easier than thunderstorms and I make sure she's dosed on opening & closing weekends.  Living in the South means unpredictable thunderstorms.  It also means you can have a little bit of thunder everyday. 

 

Last night, we had a loud thunderstorm come through.  Jazz crawled up into my bed, just trembling.  With most dogs, I'd recommend never to cuddle as it only reinforces the behaviour you are trying to get rid of - but with Jazz, it's different.  In about 3 minutes, she'd stopped trembling completely.  The thunder was still rolling on and about - she was calmly curled up next to me and didn't jump once.  She had no melatonin in her whatsoever.  2.5 years ago - Jazz would have trembled at every roll of thunder and kept trembling for an hour or so after.  Now, she trembles at the start - I equate to a human jumping at being startled, but then she calms down.  She calms quicker if I am home, but as long as there is a human in the house - she's good.  Luckily for her, she is very rarely left alone.

She slept the entire night curled up next to me - a rarity of sorts.  She tends to start off adjacent to me and move to the foot of the bed or onto her ottoman.  While my desensitization to loud stimuli isn't complete, we have definitely made improvements!