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Tag Archives: dog rescue
9.20.12 My name is “Milky-Toe”
Louise’s back toes are all white on the left and mostly white on the right. She has what we call here at the zoo: “Milky Toes.” I am not exactly sure where the name came from, I only know that K8 has a stuffed dog toy ever since she was a little girl that she named “Milky-Toe.” No one knows, or remembers, why. We thought about naming Louise that when we first adopted her, but the name ‘Louise’ just seemed to fit her so well, so we kept it. (Note: They also wanted to name her ‘Harlo,’ which would really not have fit now that I know her.)
Names are funny things. I used to name Peanut’s stuffed animals (of which she had a zillion) either after the person or state that they came from. She has a rabbit named Carolina, a lamb named Larry… you get the idea. It not only made it easier to name things but it also helped my old brain remember, who or where. But ‘Milky-Toe?’ Well, it kind of makes sense if you think that Lulu’s back paws were dunked in a vat of milk or white paint, but, I just didn’t want to run around the dog park calling for ‘Milky-Toe.’
Names are really powerful things. “A common concept in history is that knowing the name of something or someone gives one power over that thing or person. This concept occurs in many different forms, in numerous cultures—in ancient and primitive tribes, as well as in Islamic, Jewish, Egyptian, Vedic, Hindu, and Christian tradition,” – Loren Graham, MIT and Harvard University. The act of naming, a religious ritual for many, is important on many levels. Think about what it means when you know someone’s, or something’s name. In the human world, knowing someone’s name gives you the ability to contact them, to interact personally. You can’t find someone’s phone number if you don’t know their name and you definitely can’t Google them (that was a blog joke – LOL).
But is it the same with a dog? If you know a dog’s name, will it respond differently if it does not know you? Is it more likely to come to you if you call it. Does “Here, Lulu” from a stranger work any better than “Here, doggie?” In humans you have to fear this knowledge (especially people calling your children by name who they do not know), but I am not so sure in animals.
I used to just accept the name of an animal when I adopted it, not realizing that it was probably given to it just yesterday by the rescuer, or when it was picked up from the street or at the shelter. They know the sound of their name, but of course not what their name means in human language. All they understand is ‘Oh, they are referring to me. That is my sound (Luluuuuu).’ That is why you can name a Bull Mastiff ‘Tinker Bell’ or a Yorkie ‘Killer,’ what you name him or her is not really important. The fact that you can call the animal by name, now that is everything. That is the power of connection, of knowing, of intimate knowledge. Since I turned this whole name thing around and am looking at it from the animals point of view, I realize that the names I pick for them are more important for me than for them: I guess I could have called her ‘Milky-Toe’ after all.
How do you decide what to name your pets?
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤ 
9.13.13 Sofie Wants A Party Too
Sofie’s Rescue
Ride Home
March 2011
Sofie got jealous because yesterday I talked about how much I love Louise, and that I was planning a party for her 3rd birthday next month which is on Halloween (October 31).
“Hello new Mommy,
Can I come out of this cage now?”
OK Sofie, now Mommy will show off her little bitty baby, It was not that long ago that you actually came to live with us. March 2011. I did not have a car crate, so I brought you home in a large plastic tub (see picture). Since you are a rescue, and they thought you were going to be this big collie/shepard dog, they figured you were younger, based on your size (maybe 12 weeks). But now that I know you are more like a sheltie/corgie thing, you must have been older and I decided that your birthday would be around Thanksgiving; we will celebrate it on November 25. I will throw you a little party just like Lulu’s, but since all the kids will be home from college, you will have an extra special time. You know who (Peanut, the little human) will let you in her room and up on the bed, if you want to go, and also the bigger little human (K8) will be here to give you extra treats and let you out back a lot. You will have to wait your turn though, Sofie Bear. I know it is not easy because I was the youngest and had to wait a lot for the older ones who always seemed to get all the good things and all the attention. But your day will come. You are my ‘Little Bit,’ and Mommy adores your cute little whiney self. You are a sweet silly little girl with mischief on your mind. Your day will come, hang in there. But first you can help me plan Lulu Belle’s party.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
9.12.12 I Love Lulu
Louise just rescued
April 2010
Louise
July 2012
Louise then and Louise now. It is amazing how much an animal can change when it is cared for and shown respect and kindness. Lulu was such a mess when we got her. Not only was she afraid of everyone and everything, but her skin was in such terrible shape and she had scars in many places; including where the flea collar was embedded in her neck. But you would never know that part of her life to look at her now. She is going to be 3 years old next month. I can hardly believe it. I am so in love with this silly, prancing, ball of anxiety. I guess we should have a dog party. Dog cookies for everyone! I will start planning. Look for your invitations early next month. Of course, I made her birthday Halloween, since I didn’t know the actual date. Isn’t that perfect? Just like Lulu Belle. 
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
9.11.12 Remember, Honor, & Do Something About It
1992 from Liberty Island
In 1992, I was visiting New York City and took the Ferry in NY Harbor to Liberty Island. My ‘longest’ girlfriend (she said at our age I am not allowed to call her my ‘oldest’ girlfriend) and I, had a stranger take a casual picture (with a real camera no less) of the two of us. To the left of us, which is what I clipped here, were the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in the Financial District. Twenty years ago, it was just another part of the New York City skyline. Today, it is a symbol for the strength and resilience of the American people.
In America, we definitely have our own internal strife. We had the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1995, where 168 people were murdered. We have mass shootings for various strange reasons (last one was in a movie theater). But the worst on American soil in my lifetime was the “9/11” attacks. These were four coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda, an Islamist extremist group, that occurred on the morning of September 11, 2001 and killed 2,977 people.
Here in the United States, we don’t live in a state of war or even a state of preparedness; we are very lucky for that. I can not imagine living in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, or one of many African or Asian or Latin American nations, that are constantly under siege from each other, themselves, or even drug cartels. What I do know is that the 11th of September 2001 shook me to the core and that I will never be the same again.
Dog Duty in Iraq
Make sure to think about your own country and your own place in the world. If everyone works for a solution to hate, maybe we will have war no more.
I know that I am a dreamer. But remember the people and the dogs out there on the front lines everyday working to keep your borders safe from crazy people and your homeland secure.
If you are American than please join DogDaz in honoring our Military Working Dogs by writing your Congressperson and Representatives and ask them to AMEND HR 5314 to make it mandatory for all adopted OCONUS (overseas) Military Working Dogs (MWDs) to receive transport back to the U.S. via military air. Retired MWDs have no “return to home station” benefits even though for the time of their service we proclaim them as “military members.” As it stands now, retired OCONUS MWDs must be transported at adoptive owner’s expense as a “pet.” This policy is keeping people from giving these little heros lifetime homes. You can help MWD today!
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
8.20.12 Change Is In The Air
Squash E Bear
Fall 2007
This weekend I was missing Squash E Bear a great deal. He will be gone 2 years in February. Now you know I love my current dogs. Louise and Sofie, very much, and I have had many wonderful dogs and cats and guinea pigs over the years. But every couple of month I just really miss Squash. I think it is weird because Nikki, my Cocker Spaniel, who I adored, was with me for 18 years, but she does not come to mind with the ‘missing’ that I feel for Squashy. Squash was rescued already middle aged, he was with me only 5 years, and he was a medical handful because of the twice a day insulin shots he needed for his brittle Diabetes and the overall care when he went totally blind. However, I think Squash was so easy. He and I walked off lead most of the time (when he could still see) and he stayed within reach (in the woods he would walk in the trees and I would walk on the trail but we were always in cadence.) Squash never barked unless he had something urgent to say (which was not often) or he was telling a joke (which he liked to do while rolling on his back and laughing). He loved to travel with me and filled the backseat of my Prius with his 90 lbs of fluff and would just lay down and stay there for long rides anywhere. The only time I saw him angry was when my neighbor’s aggressive dog came running out of the house toward a member of the family while he was on leash. Oh yeah, he did like to be a little too dominant at the dog park. He would find one beautiful ‘bitch’ that he liked and then would not let any other dogs near her. Squash would proceed to place his paw over top of any male dog that might come to close. (We did not go to the dog park much for obvious reasons). Ok, so he did have a few quarks. I guess maybe it is the impending changes in my life this week, with Peanut leaving to college for the first time and K8 going back, which means V and I will be ’empty nesters’ for the first time ever – if you can call having 28 paws (7 animals multiplied by 4 paws) to take care of ’empty.’ Or is it just that Squash and I enjoyed our fall walks so much? Change is in the air.
Squash Fall 07
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
8.14.12 Would You Like Cheese With That WHINE!
Sign repinned from lol
I am sooooooooo tired of Sofie’s whining. I have been making a study of this, and she even whines in her sleep. This must be a Sheltie trait. Never having a dog with this breed mix before, I am not sure, but I have never had such a big baby like Sofie Bear. So I decided to do some research. I went to “Sheltie Planet: Your Guide to Everything Shetland Sheepdog,” to find out if this is a breed problem. And, it sort of is. They say you should ask yourself these questions to try to figure out why she is whining:
– Is she in pain? NOPE
– Is she simply bored or lonely? Could be, but we could be in the middle of a major play session and she will whine (or maybe dog talk), so I will say, MAYBE.
– Is she afraid or anxious? I don’t think she is afraid, but anxious, well of that I am not sure? I don’t really see her as an anxious dog, but I have Lulu who is pretty high strung, so in comparison maybe I am missing something. I will have to think on this.
– Does she need to go outside? Well if she asks, I take her, but that is super rare.
Sofie is a very vigilant dog, she can hear a fox outside 200 feet away. She will bark at noises that we human’s just don’t hear, but I figure that is vigilance, not anxiety. Shelties are bred to guard the flock and warn when intruders are around, so it is in her DNA. I guess I am more tolerant than other people when it comes to innate traits. A dog is a dog and you have to allow them a bark or two or an occasional whine. Poor Sofie definitely has reasons to whine: (1) When she wants Nine to come out of the cat room and play with her; (2) When she wants Muffin to stop helping me make dinner, especially when it is the dog food kind; (3) When she wakes up and wants me to let her out of her kennel (but I can tell her to go back to sleep and most of the time she will), and, for sure; (4) When she wants a toy that Lulu has. The family says she whines all the time, but maybe I just don’t hear it. I have been told that she whines terribly when I leave, which is something I really need to figure out how to help her stop. The Sheltie website said basically to ignore the whining, but that sure doesn’t work around here. When she was a puppy I tried to give her positive reinforcement for not whining, but that was really hard, since it is not a predictable thing. A lot of times I think that Sofie is just dog talking to me though. She likes to sit there and have this whole conversation. I am not exactly sure what the story is about, but I know that she likes when I make eye contact and tilt my head as if listening. “Well, Sofie my love, would you like a little cheese with that whine?”
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
7.28.12 Good Dogs Start With Good Owners
I do not know who created this poster but I love it!! I am not sure how we get the message out that animals are so influenced by how they are raised. It is the same with children, you live what you learn. When a dog is loved and cared for he/she grows into an animal that understands kindness. When a animal is tied to a post all day, beaten, used as bait, starved, experimented on, or just plain neglected, the animal will not understand how to be in the world. I know that I am “preaching to the choir,” because if you are reading this, you already love animals or you wouldn’t be following my blog. Let us teach kindness everyday, and maybe someday, we will have all good dogs. (I can dream, right?)
(Getting on a plane now for the 22 hour trip back home. Can’t wait to see my zoo, human and furry.)
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo ❤
4.16.12 Bait and Switch?
Louise really likes this yellow toy that she has. It is supposed to be one of those indestructible 2 dog pull things. Anyway, Sofie (who figures out how to eat the strategic stitching on any toy), has weakened the middle so now it is nice and foldable (is that a word?). Lulu decided to take a nice nap on the yellow toy and use it as a pillow. I thought it was cute, so I took a picture. The funny thing is, the next time I looked down, Louise had magically turned into Miss Constance Kitty, and Kitty was asleep in the same place Lulu just was,
Just another dogdaz morning at our house ❤
Just another dogdaz morning at our house ❤
4.10.12 Lessons From Squash
Squash E. Bear (RIP 2011), was the ultimate gentle dog. He very rarely questioned what he was asked to do, always let ladies go first (even when it had to do with food), and protected and blessed this family from the day he wondered into our lives. When you rescue animals you really never know their stories. You can make them up in your head, you can look at their scars and their phobias, but, in the end you just have to accept them as they are, and for who they are. I believe that people and animals come into my life at particular times on my journey for lessons that I need to learn to move forward. If I don’t open myself to those lessons, then I will just keep repeating the behavior that needs to change, until I do. I do not think that I can actually choose the lessons or the teachers, they chose me, at the times that they are needed. Squash chose our family at a moment in time when we needed the gentle and loyal energy of this unconditional loving giant. He taught me to refocus on the importance of a good walk 2 or 3 times a day (no matter what the weather). A good romp in the woods when possible. Eating to stay healthy (his blood sugar had to be constant). Taking one’s medicine even if we don’t want to (he needed 2 shots a day of insulin). Trust (I was his eyes for several years and he trusted me so much that we could walk together in the woods off leash and he never got afraid or hurt). Loving with abandon. Laughing and telling good jokes (he would stand on the other side of the coffee table and let out a big burp when least expected – you just have to laugh). I am grateful for the people and animals that pass my way, some for a moment, some for a life time.
Just another DogDaz morning at my house ❤ 
DogDaz Zoo 