Favorite Video Friday – A boy, his dog and a bike

This week’s video is a bit outside the adorable-dog-doing-something-cute genre, but I had to share it anyways. First, it contains a Sheltie (love!). Second, the Sheltie is following his boy as he does amazing things on his bike. Third, the video is just plain amazing to watch.

Happy Friday!

My doggie fence friends

Reading Kristine’s post (“Wordless Wednesday – Fence Friend”) yesterday on her blog, Rescued Insanity,brought back so many memories from my days as a pet sitter and all the dogs I got to know as I walked my client’s dogs in their neighborhoods.

In the morning, there were the two Yellow Labs that used to run with their owner – we would wave “Hi” as he jogged by and once in a while I would greet the if I arrived as he and they were leaving for their morning run.

In the afternoon, there was the black Lab mix who lived behind a brown picket fence and who would whine for us to come and greet her when we walked by. We always did and I often would sneak her a kibble or two. She was such sweet dog.

In the same neighborhood as the black Lab, was a Husky that loved to run along the fence with Marley (one of my clients) and sometimes, when she was feeling particularly frisky, she would hide behind the corner of her deck until we had gone almost the whole way past her house, then she would bolt and race to the fence to try and scare us. It never did, but it often made me laugh to watch her. She loved kibble too.

In my friend, Henry’s, neighborhood, there was a sweet girl named Blondie. She was a yellow Lab like my Daisy, and just like Daisy, the sweetest thing you could ever meet. She would often sit in her garage or in her driveway while her Dad worked on his car and then would wander out to greet us as we walked by.

The little guy across from Henry also used to run over to greet us if his owner was outside with him. He loved all the attention I gave him, even though he got more than plenty at home, and most certainly was happy to take a piece of kibble from me.

But, perhaps my most favorite was a Husky/Yellow Lab mix that I got to know pretty well. Annie was a sweet older gal who loved laying in the sun and napping most of the time. The only exception was when the kids were returning from school or when I would walk by with my clients, Marley and Bailey.  Then she would “chuff “and sometimes bark, to let me and the kids know that we had to stop by and say hello, and you know what? We always did. She loved the attention she received from all of us.

Over time, I got to know this dog’s owner as well. A nice older gentleman, named Frank. We would often wave “Hi” and stop to chit-chat for a minute before I moved on with the girls. Annie was the love of his life and over time I fell in love with her too. There wasn’t a day we didn’t stop to greet her and give her a piece of kibble or two. She came to expect us and would wait by the fence for us as she watched us come up the street.

Then one day, she wasn’t there to greet us. I thought maybe it was too cold and she was inside laying on a nice warm rug, but the next day she wasn’t there either. A week later, I ran into Frank and he told me the news. Annie had gotten ill and had died. How sad. She had become my friend over that year and a half that I had come to know her. Frank and I both shed a tear over his girl as we talked, but it was hard. We both were grieving her loss. I still think of her and smile today. Like Kristine’s dog friend, she was my fence friend too.

It’s been a year since I left my pet sitting business, mostly for monetary reasons, but I still miss it. I don’t just miss the dogs and cats I cared for every day (I miss then a lot!), but I also miss the ones I didn’t care for but got to know along the way.

My fence friends.

Wordless Wednesday #93

What does a dog blogger do on Memorial Day?

Fort Snelling, Minnesota

What does a dog blogger do when the subject of their blog is dogs and the holiday in they find themselves is Memorial Day?

I struggled with this one all day today. Not because I didn’t have anything to say, but because I didn’t want what I said to sound trite or without reverence. I also didn’t want to feel like I was doing some half-hearted, obligatory post about dogs in war without acknowledging the true sacrifices of our military men and women.

The truth is I have never faced an enemy in battle. I have never been the wife or mother or child waiting at home for my loved one to return from war. I have never even visited a military grave site (I always felt that I would be intruding on a place of reverence, one meant for those who have lost a loved one in war).

Yes. I have experienced hardship in my life, but my hardship did not involve physical discomfort, emotional pain or fear like those who have fought in war.

I have had loss, but unlike most of our military men and women, I was able to grieve, surrounded by family and friends, and I was allowed to take as much time as I needed. I did not have to quash my pain and tears and head out to battle the next day. I did not have to continue fighting after losing a best friend. I did not have to feel the guilt and the pain so many of our men and women feel in times of war.

I have also sacrificed, but my sacrifices did not include missing the birth of a child, being away from my loved ones for a year or more, missing a parent’s death, telling a child that I cannot come home for a LONG time. Yet those who serve in our military do this every single day.

Honestly, I know nothing of what it is like to be a veteran or a soldier serving in a war. I know nothing of life as a military spouse or child. I know nothing of the loss a parent feels when their son or daughter is lost in battle.

I only know that honoring those who have sacrificed so much is the right thing to do on this Memorial Day. It might not be much but it is the very least I can do.

To all those who have served and continue to serve.

Thank You.

To those who have returned.

Welcome home.

To our dogs of war.

Good job.

Herding Water? The Craziness that is Jasper.

I was all set to share a cute picture montage of a rescue flight today, but I ran into a glitch with some of the photos. So instead, I bring you the craziness that is Jasper.

Ever since I took him and Daisy to the Minnehaha Falls Dog Park along the Mississippi River, he has been obsessed with herding water. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a lake, in a river or in his water dish (as you will soon see).

Please ignore the wheel barrow and dirty water dish. These are the after effects of a severe thunderstorm that rolled through the night before. The water dish is what I was trying to clean out when Jasper went into herding mode.

BTW – “Trouble” is Jasper’s nickname. He’s had it since he was a puppy. It definitely fits him.

Welcome to the Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop. I encourage you to check out some of the other awesome pet bloggers out there. My thanks to our most generous and giving hosts, Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume!

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Favorite Video Friday – A U.S. Veteran and His Dog

In honor of Memorial Day, this week’s Favorite Video Friday is a bit special. It features a U.S. soldier, David Sharpe, and the dog who saved him, his rescue dog, Cheyenne.

It’s also about how this one dog inspired this returning vet, suffering from PTSD, to start a group called P2V to help save vets and rescued pets. I hope you will be as moved by David and Cheyenne’s story as I was.

If you’d like to learn more about David’s group, or help a returning vet and rescued pet, you can go to his website: http://companionsforheroes.org/

May you all have a wonderful Friday and beautiful Memorial Day weekend.

To all you returning veterans.. Welcome home. May you be greeted with open arms and paws.

The Scoop on Poop: Do you dump and run?

Ex-CNN Executive Busted Putting Dog Poop In Neighbor’s Mailbox

That’s the headline that was being discussed on my local radio station yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work. The story is that Bob Furnad, a former CNN political director and CNN Headline News president, “was busted by a local CBS affiliate in Atlanta placing dog poop in his neighbor’s mailbox.”

Yuck! Who does that?

Well, I guess he does!

It was the topic that followed the one on this story that caught my attention though.

Yes. It was another dog poop-related discussion.

The question?  When out on a walk with your dog, do you drop your poop bag in your neighbor’s garbage can (if it is sitting out)?

I have always been of the belief that no neighbor of mine would appreciate me leaving my dog’s poop in their garbage, whether it is convenient for me or not, but that’s just my opinion. I’ve never really asked them before. Who knows? Maybe my neighbors don’t really care one way or the other.

The radio host, Ian Punnett, asked non-dog owners to call in if they felt it was wrong for dog owners to dump their poop in their trash bin. Not one did. You know who did? Dog owners, every one of them loaded up with guilt, or at least the thought of the guilt they would feel, if they did dump their dog poop in a neighbors bin. So it made me wonder…

Have you ever dumped your dog’s poop bag in a neighbor’s trash bin if it is out when you walk by?

If you are a dog owner, would you mind if someone dumped their dog’s poop bag in your trash bin?

And, you non-dog owners (if there are any non-dog owners actually read this blog), would you care if someone dumped their poop bag in your trash?

A little shy about answering with your real name? Take the poll and see how you compare to other dog owners. Multiple answers are allowed.