​

 

I have always liked animals like dogs and cats more than most people.

Ron

 

Me too but they make terrible deck hands and fishing buddies. Not too shabby retrieving ducks though... That is when they don't run off chasing the deer or hog they jumped on the way in to the swamp puddle.

 

Not too shabby retrieving ducks though...

Years ago I had Bear. I was given Bear as a tiny puppy when he was maybe 8 weeks old. That dog at maybe 8 weeks had the biggest head and paws I ever saw on a puppy. Bear was maybe a mix of retriever and maybe Rottweiler he grew big, very big. So one day I am visiting a friend and he insist I bring Bear in. Well he had a bird and this bird could do Bridge On The River Kwai and other songs. Maybe Cockatiel anyway I told him letting the bird out was not a good idea so he lets the bird out anyway. The bird started buzzing Bear and on one pass Bear waited and about as fast as the bird buzzed him Bear nailed the bird in flight. I jumped up, grabbed Bear and to my surprise he never bit down hard, only enough to hold the bird. I guess not biting down is part of the breed. He gave up his catch no problem. I was also hoping as high strung as those birds are it didn't have a cardiac. It was just interesting as I never trained him to retrieve but he bit down just enough to secure his catch. Over all the years and all the dogs Bear was among the smartest and largest peaking at 130 Lbs.

Ron

 

Years ago I had Bear. I was given Bear as a tiny puppy when he was maybe 8 weeks old. That dog at maybe 8 weeks had the biggest head and paws I ever saw on a puppy. Bear was maybe a mix of retriever and maybe Rottweiler he grew big, very big. So one day I am visiting a friend and he insist I bring Bear in. Well he had a bird and this bird could do Bridge On The River Kwai and other songs. Maybe Cockatiel anyway I told him letting the bird out was not a good idea so he lets the bird out anyway. The bird started buzzing Bear and on one pass Bear waited and about as fast as the bird buzzed him Bear nailed the bird in flight. I jumped up, grabbed Bear and to my surprise he never bit down hard, only enough to hold the bird. I guess not biting down is part of the breed. He gave up his catch no problem. I was also hoping as high strung as those birds are it didn't have a cardiac. It was just interesting as I never trained him to retrieve but he bit down just enough to secure his catch. Over all the years and all the dogs Bear was among the smartest and largest peaking at 130 Lbs.

Ron

So ... did you smack your friend and told him "I told you so!" ... or did he have to smack himself?

 

Retrievers and pointers are known for having "soft" mouths. One of my favorites was a huge black lab named Walker. His dad Hoss must have had some great Dane in the mix because they were both monsters for a lab. I went looking for him one day and called him and noticed this head raise up in the back seat of my jacked-up Bronco. I'd left the tailgate window down and he had flat footed jumped up a good 5' to climb into the Bronco and sleep on the "soft" back seat. He was a lazy one. I'd have to push him out of the boat to make a retrieve on the river and when I'd be standing knee deep in the swamp, he'd find him a stump to get up out of the water to sit on. Other than that, he was a great retriever but as lazy as the day was long. He did like to chase deer though...

 

So ... did you smack your friend and told him "I told you so!" ... or did he have to smack himself?

You betcha, I told him not a good idea. He thought it was funny right till the part where Bear nailed his bird.

Retrievers and pointers are known for having "soft" mouths. One of my favorites was a huge black lab named Walker. His dad Hoss must have had some great Dane in the mix because they were both monsters for a lab. I went looking for him one day and called him and noticed this head raise up in the back seat of my jacked-up Bronco. I'd left the tailgate window down and he had flat footed jumped up a good 5' to climb into the Bronco and sleep on the "soft" back seat. He was a lazy one. I'd have to push him out of the boat to make a retrieve on the river and when I'd be standing knee deep in the swamp, he'd find him a stump to get up out of the water to sit on. Other than that, he was a great retriever but as lazy as the day was long. He did like to chase deer though...

What I call a smart dog.

Ron

 

Just found a pic from one of my cats, Griseldo (or Grissy, to his friends) when he was real little ... Man, was he ugly. He looks like a disgruntled bat!

​

 

Man, was he ugly.

One of my wholesale right off the street rescues came with a pre-installed eye infection. The few pictures I have of him that first week are appalling with his goopy eyes.

He's now one of my beautiful boys.

 

This goofy mongrel was at my font door 2 mornings ago when I went outside.



He was very scared and nervous and he wanted to go inside my house, but he did not want me to touch him. Well, actually he seemed like did but didn't. I lifted my self-imposed social media ban to post his picture on several local pages but nobody knew where he came from and it seems nobody is looking for him. When I took the kids to school he chased after us like we were his family and leaving him forever. That evening when I came home he was still on my front porch and he slipped inside as the kids were getting through the door. Made himself at home on my kitchen floor.



The kids adore him and my other two dogs get along with him, which is weird because they don't even get along with each other.

We gave him a bath, found and removed plenty of ticks and fleas, and medicated him for that. He has spent the last two nights sleeping in our laundry pile and nobody (apart from curious observers) has responded to my posts, and the kids are begging for him to stay. So I said ok, we will take him to the vet, see if he has a microchip, and he doesn't (and if still nobody responds), then he can stay. Truth is I wanted him to stay also.

Today we took him to the vet and he does not have a microchip, but he does have heartworms (and testicles). So looks like I am on the hook for a $1,500+ dog that I wasn't even shopping for .



He is an awkward, goofy creature, but I am one of those too. Kindred spirits I suppose. For a name, one kid proposed "Scrappy," one proposed "Scruffy," and I proposed "Bartholomew." 3rd kid seconded my vote and the 4th kid didn't vote at all, so I think this thing's name is officially Bartholomew. That's what it says on his vet bill anyway, that's official enough.

I am still keeping tabs on the Facebook posts in case the owners turn up, but now I'm hoping that they don't, and suspecting they probably won't. I'm suspecting that I wasn't the first to learn of his heartworm problem and it's no coincidence that he was alone and scared. This is not the kind of dog that wanders far from home and gets lost. I think my house was the first people he encountered after being abandoned and he doesn't feel safe away from people. I have let him out to go the bathroom and he does his business and comes straight back, no interest in wandering away (I have no fences, he could roam off if he was inclined).

 

This goofy mongrel was at my font door 2 mornings ago when I went outside.

View attachment 317116

He was very scared and nervous and he wanted to go inside my house, but he did not want me to touch him. Well, actually he seemed like did but didn't. I lifted my self-imposed social media ban to post his picture on several local pages but nobody knew where he came from and it seems nobody is looking for him. When I took the kids to school he chased after us like we were his family and leaving him forever. That evening when I came home he was still on my front porch and he slipped inside as the kids were getting through the door. Made himself at home on my kitchen floor.

View attachment 317118

The kids adore him and my other two dogs get along with him, which is weird because they don't even get along with each other.

We gave him a bath, found and removed plenty of ticks and fleas, and medicated him for that. He has spent the last two nights sleeping in our laundry pile and nobody (apart from curious observers) has responded to my posts, and the kids are begging for him to stay. So I said ok, we will take him to the vet, see if he has a microchip, and he doesn't (and if still nobody responds), then he can stay. Truth is I wanted him to stay also.

Today we took him to the vet and he does not have a microchip, but he does have heartworms (and testicles). So looks like I am on the hook for a $1,500+ dog that I wasn't even shopping for .

View attachment 317119

He is an awkward, goofy creature, but I am one of those too. Kindred spirits I suppose. For a name, one kid proposed "Scrappy," one proposed "Scruffy," and I proposed "Bartholomew." 3rd kid seconded my vote and the 4th kid didn't vote at all, so I think this thing's name is officially Bartholomew. That's what it says on his vet bill anyway, that's official enough.

I am still keeping tabs on the Facebook posts in case the owners turn up, but now I'm hoping that they don't, and suspecting they probably won't. I'm suspecting that I wasn't the first to learn of his heartworm problem and it's no coincidence that he was alone and scared. This is not the kind of dog that wanders far from home and gets lost. I think my house was the first people he encountered after being abandoned and he doesn't feel safe away from people. I have let him out to go the bathroom and he does his business and comes straight back, no interest in wandering away (I have no fences, he could roam off if he was inclined).

View attachment 317120

A nice addition to your family, Strantor. Congrats!

 

Just found a pic from one of my cats, Griseldo (or Grissy, to his friends) when he was real little ... Man, was he ugly. He looks like a disgruntled bat!

View attachment 317062​

That's because they believe that if you take their picture it steals one of their souls, and so they would only have 8 left so they don't like that.

 

Below are Charlotte (Golden) and Pilgrim (Mutt) who I often refer to as Dog A and Dog B.



The past few months I have noticed Pilgrim was giving new meaning to "dog breath". Pilgrim likes to wake me up in the morning and I open my eyes to his face about 3 inches from mine. I tried looking over his teeth which looked clean from as far as I could tell. OK after a few months his breath was getting worse so a trip to the vet was in line. We finally had to give him a sedative shot to actually look deep into his mouth. Poor Pilgrim had what was about a 1" splinter of wood in his gums around a molar way in the back. Major infection which explained his bad breath. The vet was amazed he was dealing with the pain so well. After stick/splinter removal we left the vet a few hours after we got there with him getting an antibiotic shot and me with two bottles of antibiotic pills. I was also $380 lighter in my wallet. Within a day his breath is fine again so we are happy. Darn dog likes eating sticks he finds in the yard. Charlotte turned 6 in Jan and Pilgrim just turned 4. Notice how he uses her as a pillow and she actually tolerates it. Charlotte doesn't even hold me bringing him home against me. Doggie dentist cost as much as my dentist. Go figure.

Ron

 

That's what it says on his vet bill anyway, that's official enough.

Yes, but he is adorable.

Ron

 

Below are Charlotte (Golden) and Pilgrim (Mutt) who I often refer to as Dog A and Dog B.

View attachment 318172

The past few months I have noticed Pilgrim was giving new meaning to "dog breath". Pilgrim likes to wake me up in the morning and I open my eyes to his face about 3 inches from mine. I tried looking over his teeth which looked clean from as far as I could tell. OK after a few months his breath was getting worse so a trip to the vet was in line. We finally had to give him a sedative shot to actually look deep into his mouth. Poor Pilgrim had what was about a 1" splinter of wood in his gums around a molar way in the back. Major infection which explained his bad breath. The vet was amazed he was dealing with the pain so well. After stick/splinter removal we left the vet a few hours after we got there with him getting an antibiotic shot and me with two bottles of antibiotic pills. I was also $380 lighter in my wallet. Within a day his breath is fine again so we are happy. Darn dog likes eating sticks he finds in the yard. Charlotte turned 6 in Jan and Pilgrim just turned 4. Notice how he uses her as a pillow and she actually tolerates it. Charlotte doesn't even hold me bringing him home against me. Doggie dentist cost as much as my dentist. Go figure.

Ron

Hi there Ron,

Dogs are incredible people, or at least that what I have found after spending two months with my friends two dogs in Los Angeles a while back.
A dog I had dealt with an abscess, and eventually it came out. She didn't seem to have any problem all the while, still eating, barking at cats in the yard, etc.

A few nights back around 1am to 2am in the morning, I heard a small doggie crying outside. It was getting cold out less than 32 degrees F so I called the police. They said they had it in their possession and were hoping to find the owners. It was very early in the morning so that was not going to happen at least until the next day. They said they would check on the doggie. An hour later, like 3am it was still crying so I called them back again. They said they called animal control. I asked if he might be hungry, they said they had treats.
Finally an hour later I heard the doggies crying change to what sounded almost like a happy bark. Someone must have finally helped the poor thing, and then there was no more crying.
All the while though I was sort of on the edge of my seat because of the previous experiences I have had with the doggies. They seem to hurt just like people hurt, and I could not imagine how bad that dog must have felt being out in freezing weather and probably hungry. It was a relief to hear that someone took care of this.

It's cute to see the two doggies together like that in the pic.

Dogs are people too

 

A few nights back around 1am to 2am in the morning, I heard a small doggie crying outside. It was getting cold out less than 32 degrees F so I called the police. They said they had it in their possession and were hoping to find the owners. It was very early in the morning so that was not going to happen at least until the next day. They said they would check on the doggie. An hour later, like 3am it was still crying so I called them back again. They said they called animal control. I asked if he might be hungry, they said they had treats.

Years ago we had two large dogs, well actually we have always had two dogs. Then one day we saw a dog get dumped on the Interstate I-480 on ramp behind our house. That dog hung out in the tree row behind our house and would watch our dogs every time Kathy put them out on their run, this was before we fenced the entire yard. Kathy began leaving a plate of food and a milk bone out when she brought our dogs in. The dog would come up, garbage down the food, grab the milk bone and retreat. This went on for a week till one day Kathy placed the food down but no treat, no milk bone biscuit. Dog garaged down the food and was looking for the treat. Kathy stepped out holding the treat, got down to dog level and held the treat out to the dog. The dog came up and jumped on Kathy just all excited and showered her with dog kisses ignoring the treat. Animal Control had been trying to catch this dog but the dog was smart. Next day I took Lucky to our vet and that day we became a 3 dog household. Lucky was one of the best and smartest dogs we ever had and she had 7 years with us. Fast learner and very obedient. Lucky followed Kathy everywhere and was one of the few dogs we have had that never needed a leash. She may have been maybe Australian Shepherd. Towel in the kitchen say "My Favorite People Have Paws".

Ron

 

Yes, but he is adorable.

Ron

He looks much less ridiculous with a haircut. I didn't realize it was just a bunch of oddly grown hair on his head and neck that (combined with the impressive underbite) was conspiring to make him look like a gorilla from the shoulders up. He looks much more dog-like now. And he is precious.

He has created a new role for himself as my personal alarm clock enforcement deputy. He sleeps on his bed on the floor at the foot of our bed, and when my alarm goes off in the morning he gets up, comes to my side of the bed and barks excitedly, and if I don't start moving immediately he jumps up on the bed, pounces on my chest, and blows his nose in my face. There is no snoozing this dude, he is relentless; and once you've been rip-snorted in the face it's kinda hard to pick back up where you left off sleeping anyhow. He waits (very impatiently) for me to get up and then races me to the back door so I can let him out for his morning routine while I do mine. Somehow he knows that alarm is my alarm, and doesn't bother my wife. She gets to sleep in.

The first time he did it I was miffed and I let it ruin my day; I said he couldn't sleep in our room anymore, but he whined outside the door until my wife let him in. This is not at all compatible with the way I do mornings. I get up to speed like a steam locomotive starting off on a steep grade and I'm not fully human for about 3 hours. Now that I've been forced into fight-or-flight mode at precisely 5:30 every morning I've found myself being more productive earlier in the day (and all day) and going to bed earlier. Net positive experience, 4/5 stars, would recommend.

 

He looks much less ridiculous with a haircut. I didn't realize it was just a bunch of oddly grown hair on his head and neck that (combined with the impressive underbite) was conspiring to make him look like a gorilla from the shoulders up. He looks much more dog-like now. And he is precious.

Amazing what a trip to a groomer can do. Pilgrim being the short hair mutt never needs grooming but Charlotte every 3 to 6 months sees the groomer. When I bring her in for grooming I tell them this is wonderful, I bring you a dust mop and I get back a pretty girl.

Yes, he really is a handsome guy. Now he has a nice forever home too.

Ron

 

Years ago we had two large dogs, well actually we have always had two dogs. Then one day we saw a dog get dumped on the Interstate I-480 on ramp behind our house. That dog hung out in the tree row behind our house and would watch our dogs every time Kathy put them out on their run, this was before we fenced the entire yard. Kathy began leaving a plate of food and a milk bone out when she brought our dogs in. The dog would come up, garbage down the food, grab the milk bone and retreat. This went on for a week till one day Kathy placed the food down but no treat, no milk bone biscuit. Dog garaged down the food and was looking for the treat. Kathy stepped out holding the treat, got down to dog level and held the treat out to the dog. The dog came up and jumped on Kathy just all excited and showered her with dog kisses ignoring the treat. Animal Control had been trying to catch this dog but the dog was smart. Next day I took Lucky to our vet and that day we became a 3 dog household. Lucky was one of the best and smartest dogs we ever had and she had 7 years with us. Fast learner and very obedient. Lucky followed Kathy everywhere and was one of the few dogs we have had that never needed a leash. She may have been maybe Australian Shepherd. Towel in the kitchen say "My Favorite People Have Paws".

Ron

Hi Ron,

Oh that's a cool story. I wouldn't be surprised if he started speaking English

Yesterday I was out and about and saw a Samoyed. I think that's a long haired version of a Husky. Pure white, hair very, very long. I've never seen one with hair that long. It looked like a puff ball with an Alaskan Husky face four legs. Amazing dog, must be worth a small fortune in dollars and cents.

 

Each life should have nine cats