Carolk9s

Amber, I'm sorry to hear that your beloved Bandit is gone. You were his hero, I'm sure he is at the bridge and basking in the love he received from you, the love that will never die.

Mei-Mei, you are so right. I very quietly found the camera and snapped a photo. Boy did I get a dirty look then. 8) So I've started a thread under PICTURES, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

She had been out back, came flying in the doggie door, ran down the hall, jumped up on the bed, stretched out, stuck her head UNDER a pillow and gave a huge sigh. I guess keeping the yard safe from birds and squirrels is harder work than I thought! Told her to get her rest as we have agility practice tonight. Hm, maybe I should make sure she does not have anything yucky in her mouth under that pillow of mine!

Glad Zaphod is ok and do tell him the vet can pay for his own Mercedes, he does not need Zaphod's help! 8)

I agree too with K and the others, pits have many GOOD qualities that responsible ownership can build on. ALL dogs have the potential to have 'issues', all BREEDS have personality traits that can dictate that they are not the breed for everyone. I have a Belgian Sheepdog, it is perhaps lucky that my exposure to the breed prior to getting Jesse was limited to well behaved, relatively calm dogs. Since then, I have seen and heard of some Belgians who have very poor temperaments. Granted most Belgians don't have the strength and perseverance that many pits do, but they are powerful dogs and one intent on ripping your face off might just succeed. I have had a female Belgian leap at my face and give me a closeup view of ALL of her teeth, she was not playing either. Lucky for me she was A. on a leash, and B. 'only' giving me a warning. Having learned about the iffy temperaments of some Belgians, I still love the breed and want another male when my Jesse is gone. I do question the 'need' of continuing to breed dogs that are dog aggressive and not trying to breed away from that trait while preserving the excellent qualities but I don't want to go into that right now. It's a shame that the actions of too many irresponsible owners affect the rights of responsible people to seek out the dog of their choice. I also believe that 'pit bull' attacks on people are terribly sensationalized. SO many, if not all, attacks are strictly the fault of the idiot who bred and/or owns the dog. Example, my sister may be getting a foster dog, a Chihuahua. The dog was dumped in foster care because the owner put the dog in the bed with a sleeping child. At some point, the dog bit the child, no great harm to the kid, the child may have inadvertently kicked or rolled on the dog. Now this dog first ended up in a kill shelter and it's future was uncertain due to the fact that she had bitten a child. Chi rescue was able to get her and will place her in a home with NO children. So was the dog at fault? Is the entire breed suspect? Or did the owner let the dog down and set the situation up herself? This dog could have been euthanized because of this bite.

Like HF, I've got mattress foam pads with covers for them. Now I'd stitch my fingers together but my sister whipped up covers for the foam on her sewing machine for me. I have two of these, they are 24 inches by 36 inches. They stay in the van on the platform in the back. I also did buy one of the ortho beds as in the photo, any of the 3 dogs will lie on it if the couch is crowded. 8) The pillow headrest is ok but the foam is not that thick. I also found a huge 'body' pillow at Garden Ridge, a local crafts store. They were not terribly expensive and I bought two. They are something like 3 feet wide and 5 feet long, really BIG. I recently put one down on the floor beside my chair and threw an old blanket over it, that is now Jesse's preferred spot. Does not hurt that it's right beside the a/c vent, he hogs all the cool air! Hope Laurel soon learns that she's entitled to a bed too!

I tend to agree that disabled folks have enough challenges, might be difficult to purchase a dog. Other considerations, how will you go about matching a specific dog to a specific person, taking into account the dogs personality, the persons personality, their needs etc. How will you address the dogs suitability and longterm health, will you be vet checking these dogs and screening for dogs that may have such things as hip displaysia, elbow displaysia,eye problems, heart murmers or other heart problems, allergies, weak immune systems, etc etc? Not saying your idea is totally without merit, not at all. But so much to consider, IF you did all the vet screening and temperament screening necessary, it would be rather expensive for you and therefore you would have to charge quite a bit of money for these dogs. Certainly a disabled person does not need to purchase a dog and two years later find out the dog has a health or life threatening condition that will result in huge vet bills. Some years ago, a former friend had a litter of pet quality labs. He contacted a guide dog org., they could not take any of his pups because there had been NO hip screening or other health screening in either parent.

Glad to hear Zaphod is ok! A big pat on his head for being such a good dog. This happened to our old family dog Pepper. I remember my father working it off his jaw and my mother saying 'be careful! don't break his jaw or teeth! are you sure you know what you're doing?' Luckily, Dad managed to get it off Pepper. I worry about that too, I still give my dogs these bones, I want them too big to swallow and too small to fit over lower canines. I used to be able to get them about 6-8 inches long but they are no longer carried locally. The only downside to the longer ones is that I would have to scrape out the fat and marrow from the center where the dogs could not reach.

Mouse, I am sorry to hear that your beloved Poppy is gone. I'm sure she will be waiting at the bridge for you.

Thanks abker, compared to what others have gone through, it was just a hassle for me. My roof is still on TOP of the house, no trees taking their final rest in my attic etc. My electricity 'blipped' twice about 5:30 pm today, about scared me witless. Maybe scared is the wrong word, I had JUST gotten finished grocery shopping and restocked the fridge with milk, o.j., eggs etc. I thought OH NO, here we go again! Whew! Lots of folks I know still do not have electricity, some still don't have water! An entire neighborhood no more than 300 yards away is still in the dark. I have offered those I know well a hot shower and a cool drink if they wish to drop by.

I just found out a tornado ripped through the area late last night/early this am. I blissfully slept right through, it passed about 3 miles north of me. My mother told me about it, she'd heard it on the news up in MD. I noticed that my power had gone off overnight, it was back on when I got up but a clock was showing 88:88 and my pc had shut down. I truly sympathize with folks in its path, just when life is almost back to normal...

Glad to hear you're ok Chris er sheltielover! I hope your parents get their power back on soon, it is cruddy without it!

I have POWER! And so does my house! 8) I hope everyone who was in Isabels path has or will check in soon. I hope everyone is ok and getting closer to 'normal'. The electricity went off at 4:30 pm Thursday and came back on about noon today. No running water from Thursday evening til Friday evening, still under a boil/bleach advisory until perhaps Wednesday. So so SO glad electricity is back on, I have fans running, it's been quite humid though thankfully not truly hot. Very minor damage to the house, the pipe covering the electrical wires that is normally bolted to the house pulled away at the very top and left a hole in the siding. Some water must have blasted through, a small area of the ceiling in the bedroom shows discoloration from being wet. NO trees down, fence still in place though small area needs attention. I did have about an inch of water in my laundry room that blew in. I walked out back with the dogs and water was up to my ankles. Tomorrow I will do some serious grocery shopping, EVERYTHING in the fridge/freezers is trash. Well, not my can of coffee, that is still good and tomorrow I can make some! Hopefully will be able to get some more bottled water, it and ice have been extremely hard to come by, not to mention batteries! I have a battery powered lantern and a crate fan that have seen heavy use over the last few days. A Shoney's restaurant burned to the ground Friday as the firemen simply did not have a steady source of water with which to combat it. Friday and Saturday, some morons in the neighborhood were setting off firecrackers. Good thing nothing caught fire as there was no water to fight it. Plus they scared the dickens out of Candy. Most traffic lights are back in operation but many stores are still on generator or simply dark. Many many more HOMES are still without power, some still don't have running water. There are hundreds of trees down all over. A friend just north of me has about 10 laying on his fence and many more behind it, all down. My mother in MD opened her back door Friday to see a huge limb off the old maple tree lying just off the back step. Thankfully it missed her house. Many other large limbs from trees down back of her yard also came down, my sister helped her stack them. My brother and his wife were without power AND water for 3 days as they have well water that is pumped with electricity.

A few years ago, I drove up to MD in the midst of very high winds and slashing rain, the fringes of a hurricane that passed nearby. Hey, I had an agility trial to go to the next day! 8) Seriously, would not want to do that again. It was not that bad, I kept my speed WAY down on the interstate, scariest moments were when a tractor trailer was passing me. I was in the right lane, out of 3 other lanes he chose to be RIGHT next to me. The truck kept drifting over the line, I backed off as quickly and safely as I could, that was scary! I know where my lantern is, my flashlight, jugs of water lined up on the counter, lots of dog food, canned goods etc. Hm, wonder where my manual can opener is....and my deck of cards! Really hoping the power stays on but if it goes, we'll manage. It's gonna be rough on the dogs, especially Jesse and Candy, both are nervous during routine storms.

Anyone else in the path of Isabel? The storm track currently has her marching right by Richmond. The next day or so could be VERY interesting. The wind in Richmond is already starting to whistle and light debris is starting to fly. I am preparing to store anything out back that might be able to become airborne and have to trim some tree limbs away from the house. Jesse is going to be VERY anxious as the wind picks up, when the rain starts lashing at us, he will be a jitterbug. The new storm drains in the neighborhood are going to come in very handy I'm sure! I hope all of you in the path remain safe along with your loved ones and dogs or other pets.

Oh Rott, I'm so sorry to hear this, I am sick at heart thinking about it. I wish I had some sort of helpful ideas for you, how heartless those who stole her must be. I am praying for Snow White's safe and quick return. One thing I would do is IMMEDIATELY have as many copies of a good clear photo made of her and post it EVERYWHERE, all over town, visit ALL the local shelters and give them a copy. If you can, go to the shelters every couple of days, just calling them might not be enough. Keep us posted and if we can help in ANY way please don't hesitate to ask.

Katy, I can send Candy your way for a day or two, she's the official ear washer here. 8) Seriously though, she just makes it worse as now there's slobber down there along with wax, not a pretty (or nice smelling) end result. I generally get OtiCalm at my vets office but Petsmart and other pet supply stores carry ear cleaning solutions also. Make sure you do it outdoors, when they shake, that stuff flies EVERYWHERE. After I use the solution, I blot some out with cotton, let them shake theirs brains a bit looser, than blot again with cotton or tissue.

I do appreciate getting answers and clarification. I guess there is nothing left to do but call a truce. After all, I am painfully aware that 'humans' do FAR FAR worse to dogs than fight them. So no I do not consider fighting dogs as bad as downright abuse. I just feel there must be a better way.

For me, it simply boils down to believing that it is not necessary to roll/match/fight dogs in order to BREED for sound temperament. There is no logic in this, there is a better way but for those who enjoy the 'sport' of dogfighting, hanging on to an outdated illogical argument is all they can do. Poor, unstable breeding practices lead to poor, unstable dogs. Sound, stable, well thought out breeding programs lead to sound, stable dogs. Period. Using the 'gameness' theory is just an excuse to fight dogs. I sure as hell don't expect to change anyones mind, I sure as hell am not about to change mine on this subject either. There IS a better way, there ARE more humane ways, some people simply refuse to explore those options.

[quote name='Hmmmm'] Rolling the dog will show if the dog wants to fight as well as the ability, mouth, and wind of the dog and if the dog shows signs of being game or if he is a curr. It will also show if the dog is worth breeding and/or matching.[/quote] So rolling a dog IS GENERALLY A PRELUDE to matching aka fighting them. Pretty much just as cut and dried as I suspected. Just as disgusting as I suspected also.

Hmmm said: Has anyone not noticed the change this breed has gone through since matching has become illegal? A quote from [url]http://www.peoriahs.org/dogfighthistory.htm[/url] (Now I'll admit I do NOT know exactly how accurate this entire site is. ) [b]During the 1860s, the 'sport' was made illegal in most states in the U.S. [/b] So that was a bit before my time therefore I have NOT noticed such a change in perception.

tell your son that you really need his help on a difficult problem, kind of appeal to his ego. explain that Laurel needs to learn to know him in the quietest, least stressful way first then gradually get used to a normal teenagers boisterous ways. ask him if he can possibly help you out with this. maybe once she is somewhat less shy of him, ask him if he will feed her or just randomly (at first) treat her. let her slowly begin to see him as a source of GOOD things. maybe if she can see him sitting quietly on the floor with Freebee just stroking and talking softly to him that will help. I agree with taking it slow and don't force it, perhaps if he sees winning her over as a nice little project that will take a bit of time and patience it will all work out.

I hope Charlie is able to find a forever home soon, I know shelter life is hard on a dog. The person who will foster him may well be saving his life! Good luck to Charlie!

Go HF! Hope it all works out just so.

aurora, I have the utmost respect for you and that you are working diligently to smooth out any rough edges Roxy may exhibit. I wish you and Roxy continued success and great things!