Horsefeathers!

You have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about. I can't make it any simpler than I've done, but you still have no idea what I'm talking about. Your perception of my views is totally out of left field and is nothing like what I tried to say. You're rationalizing and not even reading objectively, so further "debate" is pointless. All I asked is to show me why we need more pet quality dogs bred when so many exist. You pretty much summed up your point with the statement that effectively said that you're more concerned that people get what they want when they want it than those pets whose lives are affected by people's irresponsibility. I can't even wrap my brain around that, so to continue is fruitless. I can only surmise that you're one of "them" to defend it so fervently. I can't argue with someone's ethics when it involves money. If you're that positive of the uncertainty of adopting dogs regarding temperament and "issues" vs. dogs that were purchased as puppies, well, it only shows that you've obviously never been involved in rescue. Too bad you can't open your mind. I once took your position, so I'm well aware of "the real world." As long as there are people out there willing to exploit other people's ignorance ("they would never adopt..."), then of course, things will never change. It can only change one person at a time, but it's much easier to just throw up our hands and say, "that's just the way it is..." I'm certainly glad people like Martin Luther King Jr. didn't take that attitude. Just in my area I've made a huge impact on the "pet" industry. As a result, many people are having their pets spayed and neutered for various reasons. Some because they don't want to add to the problem, some because their puppies weren't selling. That's just from word of mouth in ONE area. People started telling other people and it has made a difference. Of course, it'll never be perfect, but I would never just shrug it off and say, "oh well, this is real life and it ain't perfect." That's kind of like burying your head in the sand. I'm not angry. This is just very, very sad to me. I once felt as you do.

[quote]In fact, so-called

[quote name='Celestial3']I don't know what happened to my original posting of Native American Indian dogs but for some reason it was erased. I'm not sure who did this so I'll just put my posting back up. [/quote] The other post was not erased. It's still there.

[quote name='doglover'][quote] have a huge problem with it when already existing dogs, purebred or mixed, are destroyed daily. There is absolutely no reason to be breeding "just pets" when there are already more in existence than available homes. The absolute ONLY reason to do this is profit motivated, regardless of how people choose to validate it. [/quote] I would agree with you if it would make a difference. There will always be people who will get their pet from a shelter or rescue, and there will always be others who would never get their pet in that way.[/quote] How could it NOT make a difference if people stopped buying bred to death dogs? Obviously, if people became more aware of the dogs available in breed rescues (if they MUST have a purebred, or a specific mix) and the fact that so many were available, I'd be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that you'd see a lot more adoptions and fewer purchases from these "just pet" breeders. These sound like the very words of a "just pet" breeder trying to validate breeding "just pets." Many of my own clients in just this small part of the world had no clue that so many purebreds were thrown away. These are some of the very people like you mentioned who would have never considered adopting from a shelter or rescue because they thought it was only for problem dogs and "substandard" dogs. They figure that if a dog costs a lot of money, it's surely a "good" dog. Ignorance runs both ways... in the "pet" breeder who believes s/he is not adding to the problem of overpopulation and that people who spend a small fortune on their dogs will surely take care of them and in the pet owner who believes that spending a lot of money on a dog surely makes it a good sound dog. If both sides became more educated, it would OBVIOUSLY make a difference. Instead of figuring, hey, these people will NEVER adopt... I'll just breed for them, I instead chose to educate them. Fortunately, I have a very good track record of telling people the hard cold truth about backyard bred dogs, pet store dogs, dogs advertised in the local newspapers. I've referred many, many clients to petfinder, breed specific rescues and all breed rescues for those who insist that they MUST have a specific purebred. For what it's worth, every single one of the people I've dealt with who would originally have never considered adopting simply didn't realize that there was such a huge problem with overpopulation and they also didn't realize that dogs in shelters and rescues are no less deserving of a home than the puppies being mass produced. For clarity's sake, I have no problem with mixed breeds existing, but I'm referring solely to those people like you pointed out who would otherwise have never considered adopting a dog and, for whatever reason, feel they must have a certain breed. [quote]I disagree that it can only be profit motivated, because they may be trying to come up with a better dog. You can't just lump everyone into the same category. It's unfair to do that.[/quote] Again, you're dancing all the way around the issue. If you're actually paying attention, you'll see that most of us have no problem with people who are actually breeding for a valid purpose, so cut the crap about "lump everyone into the same category." I'm talking about people who are breeding the "just pets" you are so adamantly defending, not the ones with an in depth, educated breeding program. There is absolutely NO reason to intentionally bring more of ANY kind of dog into the world, purebred or mixed, except those who are truly trying to sustain/improve a breed. If I'm overlooking it, please do tell me why we need more Dobes, Pit Bulls, Poodles, Labs, whatever? These breeds are certainly in no danger of becoming extinct, any one of them are abundant in shelters and rescues across the country, so why do we need more "just pet" quality ones when so many are already available? I can think of only one reason. Ignorant and/or apathetic breeders catering to the whims of the same ignorant/apathetic consumers. If each side because more educated and actually gave a d*mn, how could it NOT make a difference? The fact that every person that has given me the time of day to listen has actually realized they don't HAVE to buy a dog from some casual breeder to have a "good" dog. Therefore, since people can be taught, it's really pointless to say that we need to breed more dogs for those who simply won't adopt. About the licensed breeder thing... if it makes you feel better, I have no respect for licensing. In my state, anybody that plunks down the money with the department of agriculture can be a licensed breeder. One more time, before it comes up again, I have no problem with VALID breeding programs, meaning sustaining/improving of a breed, working dogs, that sort of thing, or heck, even the creation of a new breed for a specific function other than being "just pets". My problem is with the breeding of "just pets" when soooooooooo many "just pets" are rotting away in shelters and rescues. It is just beyond me how one can't see the problem with that. It can ONLY be money motivated, or just plain ignorance.

[quote name='doglover']Obviously, when I was talking about profit competition, I was referring to other breeders, NOT pet rescue.[/quote] No, not so obviously when you're referring to the bitching on this board, especially considering that most on this board do not breed. [quote] If you happen to be both, then kudos to you. As far as mixing dogs together, I see no problem with it as long as the puppies are making good pets for people. [/quote] I have a huge problem with it when already existing dogs, purebred or mixed, are destroyed daily. There is absolutely no reason to be breeding "just pets" when there are already more in existence than available homes. The absolute ONLY reason to do this is profit motivated, regardless of how people choose to validate it. [quote]We will just have to disagree on whether a financial investment helps to ensure a better home for a puppy. For every example you can give me of a purchased dog being abandoned, I can give you two or three examples of freebie. The reasons these "freebies" don't end up in rescue is because they aren't even given that consideration. They usually become roadkill, or are set out somewhere by their owners.[/quote] No, I'm not comparing statistics on freebies vs. purebreds. My sole argument is that plunking down obscene amounts of money for a puppy in no way assures that a person has researched that breed, or has given it any thought at all. Plenty of people have more money than they have sense. I'm not simply offering an opinion. It's a stone cold fact. People can spin it any way they want to make it conform to their ethics, but the fact remains that "financial investment" in a dog has no bearing on whether someone is responsible. Heck, just read the stories in the news about animal abuse... Cocker Spaniel Drowned By Weights, Husky Shot Repeatedly By Bow & Arrow, Boston Terrier Sexually Abused, and the list goes on. The one thing many of them have in common is they are purebreds. Again, I'm not offering statistics on purebreds vs. mixed in regard to abuse and neglect, but I think far too many people have this warped view that purebreds are typically more valued (not meaning monetarily) and therefore better cared for, living in the lap of luxury. People use that to validate breeding more of them since they think that people who pay obscene amounts of money for them will naturally take better care of them. It's just not so. Disagree all you want. Still, even giving the benefit of the doubt, I live in a really rural area where "free to good home" dogs abound and I work inside a vet clinic. Most of the surrenders and abandoned dogs we see ARE the ones people spent money for and not the freebies. Maybe it's just a crazy fluke isolated to our area, but it wasn't my original point, anyway.

[quote name='doglover'] I think that maybe all this bitching is a result of people who just don't like it because it's competition for them. They turn their noses up at it because they're worried about their bottom line, PROFIT.[/quote] Well, that just went over me like a fart in church. Of course... the shelters and breed rescues and independent rescues (that would be me) are indeed beating each other to death to see who can acquire the most dogs. I don't understand that logic. The people bitching here the most are typically the ones most active in rescue, whether it's by fostering and adoption, or simply picking their companion from a shelter or rescue. What in the world are you talking about, "competition?" What are we competing against other than trying to lower the sheer volume of dogs killed each and every day due to nothing more than existing in a market of too much supply and not enough demand? [quote]Another thing: I think the fact that these people are selling their puppies instead of just giving them away is probably a good thing simply because it stands to reason that someone who is going to lay down cold hard cash for a pet is going to give the whole thing a lot more thought than if they were just accepting it as a gift or picking one up out of a box that says "free puppies". So, the fact that these people are selling them may not always be such a bad thing.[/quote] Wrong again. Almost every dog I've fostered and placed was a purebred dog purchased at a ridiculously high price from a backyard breeder or pet store. Most of them were given up within a year's time. One was only eight months old and my most recent foster just turned one year old. Just today, a friend of mine helped place a purebred Chihuahua that someone paid some outrageous amount of money for and "had" to give up (only after treating this little beast like some baby in a fur coat... the most unsocialized and scared to death thing I've seen in a while with no clue how to be a dog... more "responsibility" from someone who paid a small fortune for it). From what I see in breed specific rescues, all breed rescues and shelters, this isn't an isolated thing. It's a throwaway society. For people with no money to put down upfront, credit is usually easily obtained and it's easy enough to purchase a puppy on impulse with virtually no thought given other than it was cute at the time. There is absolutely no truth in the belief that people who spend a lot of money buying a dog are more responsible. It seems to me that the opposite is true. People willing to fork out ridiculous sums of money on impulse typically aren't responsible and are the first to dump a dog when it's past "cute." About the mixing of breeds... if someone is legitimately working toward a higher goal other than profit, I'm all for it, generally speaking. However, most of these designer breeds are nothing high priced icons of some people's ignorance. I find VERY few valid excuses for the mixing of these breeds.

I have to shout out from the amen corner and strongly suggest not making the dog share food with the ferrets. It really does seem like a baaaaaaad idea. Ferrets can be pretty fragile and it wouldn't take but one time for Amaya to be faster than you on the draw and do something irreparable. My own gang is very familiar with my ferret as she's older than any of them, but I still wouldn't trust any of them. The thing with the cats licking plates clean, but not her also seems like a bad idea. Kind of like a double standard. I don't care what anyone says about anthromopofartisizm, dogs do remember that crap and hold grudges. Really, it's kind of like making them compete. The one thing you really don't need to have to deal with is creating competition between dogs and cats. End that deal quickly! Also, I know I'm the neverending alarmist, but I do become more than a little concerned about any radical behavior changes. Perhaps she is hormonal? It's possible. Some gals do literally live up to the name "bitch." However, any number of physical problems can cause such radical changes in behavior such as diminishing eyesight, pain, onset of seizure disorders, brain disorders and even thyroid disorders. I know, I know, it's likely none of these problems, but it's just food for thought. I'm only paranoid because any time I think something is nothing with one of mine, it turns out to be a really HUGE something. One of mine had bad breath and it ended up being something that required drastic abdominal surgery. Anyway, I'm really not trying to alarm you (too late? :oops: ). It's more than likely that it's nothing physical. Still, it's food for thought and something to consider if it continues despite working with her.

[quote name='Nookie']Let's see how much this board's dog(s) have in common!! 1.Favorite Passtime. 2.Favorite Hobby. 3.Favorite Snack. 4.Favorite TV Channel. 5.Favorite Store. [/quote] I'll answer collectively for all 10 of them because the answers would all be pretty similar, anyway. 1. Napping (all) and car rides (excluding Fred who does not travel well and expresses his displeasure by pooping in my car :x ) 2. Crossing my path at the exact moment I pick up my foot to step over 3. Ice 4. None of them care 5. Any place with a drive up window :oops:

Dogs are supposed to sleep? :o

Pauly had a kennel cough vaccine when I first got him about 6-7 months ago. The rest of my dogs haven't had it in at least 2-3 years. Guess the ONLY dog here that has kennel cough? :x Still, we can't let Pauly be the center of attention with his hacking, so the diarrhea that plagued us early last week is back. Peanut is sick again and passing blood. Both of them had to be seen today for their maladies. My vet is going to retire early because of me, I swear. Ugh! :-?

I know I sound like I'm being argumentative, but I swear I'm not. One thing that has me hesitant to really push the issue with the law is that I'm truly afraid of what might happen when I'm not home. I'm surprised that we haven't been vandalized before now because it's not uncommon in this area. Even if I thought the cops would get involved, I'd be kind of afraid to really push it far. Most of my dogs and my cats are home alone all day and my house is left untended while we work. Despite the security system, I am afraid that some angry thug will either vandalize the place, or burn it down outright, especially since last year when our entire front yard was burned to within a few feet of the house. This is pretty much swampland, so the fire wasn't spontaneous combustion. I'm pretty good at trying to cover my butt with the powers that be like documenting stuff like last night. It did save our butts once when one of our dogs bit a kid- covering our butts is what saved us and the dog as we were able to prove it didn't happen like he said. I'm all for documentation, but I really don't want a lot of confrontation. I'm not afraid of people, but I'm afraid of what they might do to my house and animals when I'm gone. If the cops would actually do something, or enforce it, I might push it more, but if they come out and just warn or tell them to stay away, it's like fueling a fire. I reckon I really just needed to come here and b*tch and moan for a minute and get it off my chest. Thanks for the input. It's been 24 hours and I've [u]almost[/u] calmed down. :wink:

[quote name='Cassie']Think of selling and buying a new home [/quote] That's in our future plans, but is at least two years away. We are saving the money to buy a big ol' parcel of land, so that we can live as far out in the middle of nowhere as possible. If we can just wait, we can live exactly as we want to (pretty much hermits) when we move. [quote]buying really good high fencing with barbed wire on the top and a padlock on the gate so children cannot get in....you could even run some electric wire around the fencing and have a good warning sign to indicate its their...[/quote] That's the most viable option we have and what we are looking into. The back is already fenced and has an electric wire around it. Fencing the front is going to be more difficult. It's hard to explain the layout, but it's a job for sure. In the meantime (dammit), I'm just going to board up my beloved front window from the inside. The whole reason these monsters keep hanging around there is because my dogs love to lay in that window and the kids like pecking on the window to make them bark. I'm just going to board the d*mn thing up from the inside and from the bottom to about halfway up. The bigger dogs could look out, but no one will able to just lay in the window. Maybe out of sight is out of mind for these dogs AND the kids. It won't keep the kids out of the yard, but maybe they'll be bored with no dogs to tease and move on. Won't that be an attractive home fashion statement? :-? [quote]We had a few neighbors run out with guns, or shovels etc. after us...this made it much more exciting...seeing what you can get away with is half the fun. [/quote] I could have shot these kids last night. I seriously do carry a concealed weapon because this is a really crappy neighborhood and being ambushed after dark isn't all too uncommon here. Before I knew they were kids, they could have been anything else for all I knew. I know, another trigger happy American, but as long as the bad guys around here have guns and are willing to kick down my door, I have one, too. I'd hate for an error in my own judgment to lead to the shooting of a kid. I could easily have done it last night if it weren't for trying to get my dogs. I would have been wrong, admittedly, but still a kid could be dead. [quote] kids will be kids, and as much as I don't really like kids myself I have found my best defense against them is to pretend I like them. [/quote] Ain't no way. I wouldn't have to pretend anything if they just stayed home. Being nice around here (and believe it or not, I tried) only leads them to think you have an open door and they just basically camp out here and won't leave. They think we're running a petting zoo. In the beginning, when I was the nice neighbor everyone loved, they expected me to feed them, snack them, let them in the play video games, and basically babysit them. They don't know when to go home. One little girl spent the night here once because her parents never came looking for her and I didn't send her out after dark. It was evil of me, but I was thinking, "I'm not taking her home... if her parents care, let them come looking for her and maybe it'll shake them up into being more aware of where she is." Nope, they never came and she just went home the next day with no problem. The parents didn't know me from a cat's butt, but had no problem with the fact that the little girl spent the night at my house and weren't even upset that she was "missing" that long. I can't imagine... One kid was left home alone for a WEEK during Easter when he was about 7 years old. His mom had seen him hanging around our back steps, SLEEPING there with (at the time) our puppy and figured we would watch him for the week. We didn't even know their names and had never even spoken. She didn't ask... she just left him home alone for the week. I called child protective services who made me out to be a real b*stard for basically wasting their time and not wanting to be responsible for whats-his-name. See what we're up against? I know I'm still ranting and I swear I'm not being argumentative. I'm just nearly at my wit's end. I'm truly not as much of a child hater as I seem sometimes. I've been involved in child rescue in the past and it's a monster system. In a nutshell, I just hate the ignorant, irresponsible peckerwoods raising these kids. That's really who I'm losing patience with. [quote] Why don't you put a burglary alarm up? You know... when someone touches your windows when you are away, sirens start screaming and waking the whole neighbourghood and scaring the kids half to death? [/quote] We do have a security system, but can't have it set too sensitive with so many dogs in the house. Since I'm not in the greatest neighborhood, the sad fact is that the law doesn't really get in a hurry to get here when summoned, anyway. Add to that a lot of false alarms, or the alarm going off frequently, and they pretty much just ignore you. I have the alarm set up to go off ONLY if someone is actually coming through the door or window. I'd hate for these kids to trip it all the time and then one day have someone standing over me in bed with a gun and the cops thinking it's just another false alarm and not doing anything. It could happen, anyway. Things are so crappy here that I've been seriously considering moving my business from the vet clinic 25 miles away to home so that I don't have to leave the house unguarded for so many hours at the time. My business is a booming success and I would have to start it all over again which sucks, but I'm afraid that one day we're going to come home to a disaster. Moving is definitely in our future. It's just going to be a while. :(

Actually, yes! :D

Yay, Gladis!! :D :angel:

[quote name='Carolk9s']If the kids do not stop entering your yard, might need to set a little doggie poop booby trap for them to step in.[/quote] How about one of those spring loaded bear traps? My husband didn't utter a peep when I told him I wanted to dig a moat around the house and fill it with alligators (yes, I said that in mid rant... sometimes I can be a bit less than rational when upset, admittedly :oops: ). Still, I'm sure there are laws forbidding the use of spring loaded bear traps and alligators in handling nuisance children. :-? What's funny (not funny ha ha because I sure ain't laughing, but funny weird) is that the little girl came over earrrrrrrrrrrly this morning to (groan) use the phone. My husband, the image of diplomacy and rationality, sprang up out of bed to the tune of 8 barking dogs, fumbled to the door and basically told the kid to naff off. It bothered him so much through the morning and through breakfast that he went to their house a while later to apologize and smooth things over. It just upset him to his pea pickin' heart that he was ugly with a child, but he wasn't really THAT ugly... not like potty mouth me. No, he just told her that she couldn't use the phone because he was still trying to sleep... or something like that. Of course, they've been over 398478393928374 since then today to use the phone. No, me, when I get on a roll, it goes more like this >>> "*^$& !^%$ * *^! *(*&^!!" Anyway, so he's apologized for being short with them this morning and here I go screaming and ranting at them tonight. I must have really let loose a tirade because my throat is scratchy and sore :oops: . In my defense, though, I was REALLY upset. It was dark and it all happened so quickly. At first, I didn't know anyone was there, then someone was and I had no clue that it was kids, a burgler, rapist, murderer (an elderly lady was stabbed almost right next door to me a couple of weeks ago and left to die), or who it was. When I found out it was those same kids that I've asked to stop tormenting my dogs (ran up the steps last week, knocked on the door, set the dogs off, and ran), my fear turned to rage and I let loose. Now the thing that has me most concerned is (that I spoke in such a manner to a child? NO!) that these kids in this neighborhood really have no structure or supervision. That's putting it mildly. School will be out soon and the kids around here are all pretty much left to their own devices. I have 4 cars in the yard and a houseful of animals, not to mention the house itself. It's not a rental; it's MINE. This was actually a pretty decent neighborhood when we first moved in years ago. Now I always worry about vandalism and/or someone doing something to my animals. We came home one day last year and our entire front yard had been burned to within a few feet of our front door. Talk about scary. To this day, no one knows anything (so they say), but there were obvious signs of accelerants used to set this fire and the trail the fire followed. This is why I really always try to bite my tongue and keep the peace. I don't let my dogs be a nuisance, I keep them inside the house almost all the time, only let into our fenced yard to potty and back inside. They don't stay outside barking, getting into neighbors' trash, or fouling the neighborhood. I try my best not to p*ss anyone off and try so hard to avoid confrontation, though sometimes it takes all I have. The little girl I yelled at... it's her parents that pulled guns on each other last week. Great. Now I'm probably going to be the victim of some driveby shooting, or they'll throw poison over my fence to the dogs, or they'll burn my house down while I'm working all because I yelled at some kids for being where they ought not be. I used to love this place, but now I can't wait to move. :-? [quote]I am not child friendly.[/quote] You don't know how many times I've uttered those exact same words, word for word. I'm barely child tolerant, but definitely not child friendly. And if one more person says, "but you used to be a child, too..." I think I'll just dive out into four lanes of oncoming traffic. Yeah, I used to be a child, but we weren't allowed to roam unsupervised and be a nuisance to the neighbors; we had to be home before dark and my parents ALWAYS knew where I was, so sorry... I can't relate. *mutter* :x

Courtnek, just pm me your address and I'll get the tape in the mail to you.

Ok, I already know I'm not going to win this and that I'm going to be wrong. That said, I'm STILL going to say it. I have been gone all day to my friend's house (the one that's taking Fifty). With me were Fifty, Devin and Peanut. I got home this evening after dark. Now, when I come home, I park in front of the house. That portion of the yard is not fenced (behind the house is). It's usually pretty routine. I let Devin out of the car and set him on the ground since he really can't jump because of his hips and knees. Then I let Peanut out, then lead Fifty out on leash. At this point, Fifty is the only dog on leash. Peanut will always run right to the front door and Devin usually does, too. It's not quite routine for Fifty, so he's still leashed. Maybe I'm naive, but it just never crossed my mind that ALL my dogs need to be leashed ALL the time. This evening wasn't so routine. Again, it was dark out and I started by letting Devin out of the car. Well, what'd I wanna go and do that for? These freaking children who have been hanging around under my front window and tormenting my dogs lately were (guess?) in my front yard under my front window. Well, being dark out, I didn't see them. Devin, however, did. Off he went and I had no clue what he was going on about. Then I heard the screams. These children sprang up out of virtually nowhere screaming bloody murder. Devin was hot on their heels. Of course, Peanut took to barking and Fifty thought it was a game and joined the ruckus. These children were screaming hysterically, I was trying to get Devin since he's the only one I think has bite potential, but being dark, it was hard for me to see. The little boy had a big piece of board and swung back at Devin. Well, I DID see that and went flying up to him and telling him to just "GO!!! GO!!! GO!!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!!" He was screaming, "I'm scared!" and me being the anti-child, I reckon, was screaming back, "WELL, THEN YOUR LITTLE *SS HAS NO BUSINESS DOWN HERE PEEPING IN MY WINDOWS AND HANGING AROUND MY YARD, ESPECIALLY AFTER DARK!!! NOW JUST GO!!!" I'm sure I said more because by then I was [u]really[/u] upset and [u]really[/u] "venting" (I react to fear with anger... call it a character flaw). By that time, I was actually about as hysterical as they were because I honestly thought Devin was going to bite them. This is not the first time I've caught them standing in my yard, peering in my windows, or "playing with" my dogs through the window, but it's the first time THIS has happened. Of course, had I known they were there, I wouldn't have let the dogs out, but the little sh*theads were trying to hide. Of course, I know if Devin had bitten one of the kids, it would have been technically my fault since he wasn't leashed even though he never left the yard. Well, h*ll's bells, I reckon I really wasn't expecting someone's little stray young'un to be in my yard. It scared me pretty badly, but now I'm p*ssed off more than anything. I'm going tomorrow to talk to the parents for what good it's going to do. The little girl was here last week to use the phone to call 911 because her dad had pushed her mom down and put a gun on her (not to mention the 4-5 times a day she comes to use the phone just to chat). Nice family. I know this makes me a real b*stard, but, ok, I do feel sorry for kids from broken homes. Still, my mission is animal rescue, not child rescue. I've been there, done that, gotten involved when I was fostering and basically had the government give me the middle finger. So, I don't get involved in the child rescue thing past calling 911 if an obvious conflict arises. However, I am responsible for maintaining peace at my own home on the range with my animals, so I'd really like it if people would keep their freaking kids home, or ANYWHERE else besides my front yard, peeping in my windows. It just makes me so unbelievably angry that *I* could have been charged with a crime and *my* dog destroyed had he bitten someone who had no business being there to begin with. I know I may sound like a real insensitive a*shole right now, but I'm still too shook up to care. Kids hiding in my yard... maybe I'm expecting too much to expect kids NOT to be trying to hide in my yard when I drive up. We go later this week to price more fencing for the front yard. I REALLY didn't want that fenced, but since you can't count on others to be responsible, what else is there to do? DoG, I HATE this sh*tty neighborhood and moving is not an option for at least a couple more years. :evil:

My husband was just saying tonight how he could really get attached to Fifty. He just couldn't imagine how anyone could be so annoyed with him as to get rid of him. Fifty has been a bundle of joy to us, though he certainly can wear a body out trying to keep up with him. Hubby was saying (can you believe this??) that he almost doesn't want to let Fifty go. Of course, reality set in and he realized, "oh yeah... there are nine already." Still, if Fifty stayed here much longer, he would become another permanent resident. I pointed out to DH that I'm sure another foster would need our help sometime in the future and that we need to keep a spot open for them. Of course, he agreed (that's only because I'm always right *ahem*cough*). It is really easy to get attached, though. Anyway, what's funny about all this is that my friend has really taken a fancy to Fifty. This is the friend that recently lost Razzle. It's weird that Fifty came to me the very day after Razzle died. My friend took Razzle's death really hard and she said NO MORE dogs (she has two others, but meant she was never, ever, ever, ever going to adopt another and go through that h*ll again). She looked at Fifty and said something like, "ya, he's cute, but NO!!" even though I never even suggested or hinted she take him. Fifty goes with me when I hang out at her house and she gets the biggest kick out of watching him go. He really makes her laugh. Everything he does reminds her of Razzle. Really, I swear that if a dog can be reincarnated as another dog, Fifty is Razzle, only in a much smaller package. The resemblence in their characters and mannerisms is uncanny. As it is, she's just done fallen in love with Fifty. I mentioned that I have a couple of other potential adopters interested in him and she just can't bear to see him go. She told me tonight that she's decided she must have him. He plays so well with Devin and she doesn't want to see them separated (good excuse *snicker*) and she's tired of watching her two cranky old women (the other dogs) b*tch at each other all the time. See, Razzle used to have the other two dogs playing, but since he's gone, it's like they can't stand each other. Fifty has them playing again. Fifty is spending the night with her tonight (along with Devin for the sake of familiarity and companionship), but will likely stay with me for another week or so until his sutures are out and I can do a bit of basic clicker training. We weren't able to get much done after the clicker came because the tummy bug hit and giving treats seemed like a bad idea. If Fifty were going anywhere else, I'd keep him with me much longer to work a bit more in depth on his training, but with her, I'll see him frequently and still intend to clicker train with him. She has a fenced yard (which is a must for Fifty). I'm so thrilled. I'll get to see him all the time and still get to work with him. It's a perfect match. She's not the type to get freaked out over a chewed up shoe or a chewed up couch corner. It's a good thing, too... Anyway, wish them luck! I'm just thrilled! :D

[quote name='Debbie']I think the name sounds like a southerner saying "Mosquita" (mosquito) :lol: *Just kidding :wink:[/quote] Oh, but a true Southerner would never call it that! 'Round here, they're skeeters. Ain't no "mos" on that. :)

[quote name='mouseatthebusstop'] Sorry H/F males don't take long to be their self again[/quote] You're right. He hasn't slowed down a bit. He all but walked out of surgery when it was done, like nothing ever happened. You'd think it would have to hurt. Can you imagine the carrying on if it were a MAN? :-?

[quote name='KP'] But witnesses who reported them to police say they didn't just shoot the dog once. They say, and Paulson admits, that the dog did not die from the first shot. Witnesses quoted in court documents say the two kept "removing the arrow and reusing it to shoot the dog... at least ten times." And that after the dog finally died they disposed of it by throwing it into a river. [/quote] This bugs me... What were these "witnesses" doing while the dog was being shot repeatedly? In the time it took to shoot the dog with an arrow, walk back to it, retrieve the arrow, shoot again, TEN times, none of these "witnesses" got involved until after the dog was dead and dumped in a river? Am I the only person that has a problem with that?

[url=http://www.tribnet.com/news/crime_safety/story/4870048p-4805617c.html]Click[/url] :x

Courtnek, did you catch the show? It was incredible. They were quite brutal in their portayal of PETA, but I believe they did a good job of addressing the not so warm and fuzzy side of PETA. I taped it so I could watch it again, but it's coming on again on the 8th.

Fifty is going for da snip tomorrow morning (Friday). He was accepted in the county (or state?) program for the reduced cost neuters. I'll take any help I can get. YES!!! Why am I so excited, you ask (ok, you didn't, but I'll just freaking tell you, anyway :P )? It's not because Fifty's a little p*sser. He's actually wonderfully housetrained and not much of a marker, despite being a year old and still having his hangy down thingies. It's not because I fear him getting loose and hunting up a girlfriend. No, I'm all excited because maybe I'll get to actually sit down tomorrow evening after work!! YAY! Fifty will likely be dopey and want to sleep tomorrow. Trust me, that's a GOOD thing. This little guy is the absolute sweetest dog on earth, but he has the energy of 10 dogs, I swear! His name should have been "Here He Comes & There He Goes." It's why he was dumped by both families that had him. I have to admit he wears me out. As a little Fifty update, I found out something today about his last owner that upset me greatly. Apparently, when the original owners gave him up because of his *ahem* hyperactivity, these people went straight out and bought a shock collar for him. They only had him less than two weeks and never once even made an attempt to do anything with him before trying the shock collar. We're talking about a 20ish lb dog! I'm sorry to those who find this statement judgmental and offensive, but that is, IMO, blatant abuse. I mean, it's not like they tried anything else first. Just stuck a shock collar on him and buzzed the crap out of him. I was outraged when I was told about it. He's not a "bad" dog... he's just very, very, very, very, very, very, extremely, holy moly "active." I can't believe people would stick a shock collar on a dog without at least trying to work with him. To me, that sort of thing should be a last resort, not a first step. No wonder he's so skittish when I reach toward his head and neck. Seriously, I thought he was just crazy because he will nearly fold himself in half to keep me from touching his neck. Now I reckon I know why. Anyway, we will begin clicker training with Fifty probably the weekend. I haven't been able to do it at all this week because we were battling a tummy bug and I wasn't comfortable with the idea of giving treats which makes trying to clicker train useless. Still, I think he's going to do absolutely great. It's like he lives to please... he just needs to know what you want and I strongly believe that as soon as the light goes on for him, he's going to excel. Shock collar my butt! I'm sure some dogs may need it. This one doesn't. :x Good luck tomorrow, Fifty! We can both get some rest! :multi: :B-fly: :laola: :megagrin:

They're doing great! Whatever it was seems to have passed (literally... ha :o ), but things have settled back to normal, thank goodness. I'm glad the weather has been mild and breezy because we sure did have every window in the house open for some fresh air :-? . I reckon maybe it was the turkey necks. It's the only thing I can figure. Thanks for asking! :)