Sassy Doo...

Sassy Doo came to us by way of the local animal shelter. She is a small black, brown and white beagle mix. She is by far the smallest of all our dogs. But what she doesn't have in size, she sure makes up with her "I'm in charge" attitude. Her name fits her very well as can be seen in her picture with her one ear flipped. She has no fear of the much bigger dogs. She will bark at the other dogs and go after them when they bump into her. She shares the biggest pen with her best friend "Miss Daisy".

Gone But Not Forgotten...

Nickel... (Male Black Lab)...

Is it Spring Time Yet?

Christmas 2010... “SQUIRREL”...

All went well for this years christmas celebration. It's always good to see family and friends for the holidays. We had a total of 10 for this years dinner. Turkey and Ham were served as the main coarse. But let's not forget we had 9 dogs eating also. The weather was cold and snow flurries in our area with snow on the way for the next few days. Snuggled in the new dog blankets, going out to take a bathroom/ potty break was not on the top of the dogs list. With the wind blowing briskly, the dogs ears flapping in the wind, the hurry to get out and get back into the warmth took on a new urgent meaning.

Costco dog blankets found...

Well if you haven't heard by now, let us be the first to tell you, we think the best dog blankets out there are the ones sold at Costco. Yep, Costco... for the size, ware, thickness, washable and price you get a great dog blanket. We have been waiting and checking weekly for this years dog blanket shipment. They finally arrived at our local Costco and we bought 9 more. The blankets we bought are the large, tan/brownish, kirkland and around $16 each. As we handed out the new blankets to our dogs it was like christmas came a little early. Lots of smelling, rolling on their backs and a few tugs at the corners to get the blankets broke in just the way each dog wanted.

Sadie Girl...

Sadie Girl is our female brown (I think they are called blue) Pit Bull. Solid as a rock, strong and muscles that make me think it's time I start working out again. She came into our lives and as her story goes, most of her long days were being spent in a dog travel crate. She shows markings and scars of past fighting. One ear, to this day doesn't work as well as the other. One of the first things we noticed with her was she loves attention. She listens and responds very well to commands. She loves playing with her basketball.

A New Name... A New Life...

While in the process of adopting one of our first forever dogs at the local animal shelter, the very helpful staff person was reviewing the file and information that they had on our new dog. Most of the time the info on an animal is very limited, as in this case. After finishing up we were starting to walk away when she said "just one more thing, we have a name with this dog. Would you like to know it?" As I looked back, I could feel a big smile coming upon my face as I replied, "No, but thank you." Walking back to the shelter pen with the new paper work and leash for our new dog, is always one of my happiest moments. Opening the pen, putting on the leash and looking into their eyes and saying... come on, let's go home. As you can imagine the running and pulling to get out the front door of the shelter takes over. As we jump into the truck and drive away our first order of business is to get home and get as many baths as it takes to wash away many things. Then onto introductions to the rest of the dog friends. Sometimes it only takes a short time, sometimes days before you know what name will be just right for the new addition to the family. But, you do know when its right. "A New Name... A New Life... welcome to the family and we expect of you only one thing... "Just Being A Dog..."

Beagles... on a coffee mug...

Thought I would share some info we found on a coffee mug.... that we now own... "The Beagle is the most ancient breed of hound. In a small orm, she was used to hunt game hundreds of years before the advent of the Romans. A dog of great dash, the Beagle is relentless in the chase- the rabbit and hare being its accustomed quarry. The Beagle is also friendly to the world, as can be seen in her soft brown eyes, and is as good a house dog as she is a keen tracker."

P.D. (Puppa Dog)...

PD is our small Female Beagle (brown, black, tan and white). Our daughter brought PD into our life. She found PD at a farm in a big litter of puppies with her brothers and sisters. She said PD was by far the smallest of the beagle litter. PD was also our first ever beagle. Prior to PD we've had large dogs. "Spoiled" would be an under statement of the largest magnitude. PD has become as close as any of our dogs to being an inside dog. She does spend time in the pens like everyone else. But she sleeps in our house and is not very far away whenever there is food to be found. She is always on the look out for you to get up from your chair... and when you come back she has made her way into your seat and completely taken over the warm spot. Her favorite thing to do??? "EAT"... As time ticks on, PD continues bringing us much joy and love. She will always be our "Littleee, Babyyy, Puppaaa Doggg... Puppaaa Doggg..." (Thats a little song we sing...)

Weekend Update...

All went well this past weekend. Well... almost. All 9 dogs are still doing their thing. The weather here was cold (lows in the 20's) and windy. Woke up this morning to a dusting of snow on the grass. As the weather gets colder the bathroom/ potty breaks keep getting shorter and shorter. Even dogs don't like being out when it's cold. I try hard to get their attention in another direction but... they are having none of that. They run out and do their business and then they start lining up at the door to try and get me to feel sorry for them so that I will come back in with them. Sure enough... within a few minutes I give in and we all go back in to get some heat. We added a basketball, Football and a Volleyball back out in the back yard. All 3 different shapes and sizes. As you can imagine, everyone had to go and smell each one and make sure everything was okay. Buster, the youngest and biggest male of the 9 dogs, plays with all 3 of them. Which ever dog is nearest one of the 3 balls, of coarse, that's the one Buster wants to play with.

Gone But Not Forgotten...

Aly... (Female Black Lab w/ White Patch)

Pound Puppies...???

Most all of our dogs have found their way to us by way of the animal shelter. Yep...that's right, pound puppies. Over the years we found it to be true that your local animal shelter has lots of great pets that are in need of a second chance at a forever home. We tell everyone we know that's looking for a pet to please check out the local animal shelter first. Tell them what type of pet your are looking for, get on their waiting list and check back with them regularly. Not looking for a pet? Go by and make the animals in the pens day by giving them a little attention, kind words and a pet on the head. Volunteer some of your time to help out. Go buy a bag of dog/cat food and donate it to your local shelter. You can make a BIG difference... I try very hard to keep my mind from wondering. Was that the last positive human touch that they will receive? Did my touch on their head make them forget if only for a second? Did a kind word give them the little extra energy needed, to show the next person coming by looking for a pet, to stand up and say "PLEASE PICK ME, PLEASE PICK ME"... I'd like to think it all works in some way. So... when you are ask tonight "How did your day go?... or "What did you do today? Are you going to answer "fine" or "nothing special" again??? Or are you going to get the biggest smile on your face and say "I Fell In Love With A Pound Puppy Today" ...

Rotten...

JBAD, Dog Names...

So I do think it's time for the basic round of proper introductions. The current all-star starting line-up is (can you tell i'm already in the sunday football thinking mode?)... PD, (Puppa Dog)..., Sady Girl..., Sassy Doo..., Miss Daisy..., Luke..., Scarlet..., Mr. Rocco..., Beamer..., Buster... did I miss anyone? Nope... I double checked and we have 9 tails a waging... (oops...now I have moved into the christmas thinking mode). We will share each ones story and add some more pics as we go along. Got to go for now... it's almost time for another take the dogs out for a bathroom/ potty break... Did I mention that we do this 4 times a day??? But hey, remember the old pay me now or pay me later car oil change commercials on tv? It's either take them out for the potty breaks or clean up potty mess in the pens. I'll stick with taken them out... little less work and a lot less bad smell...

Just Being A Dog? Where did that come from?

One day standing in our back yard watching our dogs play, run, eat dirt (which we continue trying to stop), sniff, hunt, dig and roll on their backs it happened. In an ordinary nothing in particular conversation, the comment "It's such a good feeling to see them Just Being A Dog..." The journey that each of our dogs have taken to get to us comes with things we do know about them and many that we do not want to know. When we see them doing their dog thing, it's truly a GREAT feeling to see them "Just Being A Dog"...

CandG...WOW, where to start???

I guess a good place as any would be to say hello. As you have probably guessed, C and G are nick names. We do go by them from time to time. So, we thought C and G would work well on the new blog. Yes, if you noticed in the header message of the blog, we have been married for 30 yrs. As time goes on, we will continue to update that part of the header. For all the math people out there, don't even go there with the guessing our age thing... For the record, I say we are 39 and holding. That's our story and we are sticking with it... We live in a rural area with corn fields on all sides of our home. We wake up to the sound of rosters crowing (they belong to our neighbors), deer eating in the fields and an occasional fox running by as we look out our back window. Cows and horses can be seen just a quick glance to our right and left. Our children are grown and on their own. That truly makes things around here way to quiet... We currently have 9 dogs... much more on them as we go along... One of us is "officially retired" and the other one is "just tired"...