updated 7/7/13

If I Didn't Have a Dog --------The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out, sit, down, come, no, stay, and leave him/her/it ALONE------------

But how empty my life would be.   

 Scooter has been with me for over 10 years.  He's about 13 years old.  I found him running loose & was unable to find his owner.  I alway felt badly because he was very well cared for & looked as tho he had just been to the groomers in the last day or two.  I put ads in the papers & on the radio but never received any reply.  I really didn't want a dog I had to groom because I was in the process of retiring from the grooming business myself but by the time I finally found someone I was sure would take good care of him, I was too attached to let him go. This is one of my all time favorite photo of him.


I lost Scoots back in March of this year, 2010.  He had a badly enlarged heart which was causing fluids to fill his body.  We tried water pills for weeks - then tried draining the fluid out with a needle but even after removing more than about three cups of the liquid & bringing him back home, he still couldn't even lay down.  He was so very tired from sitting up all day & night, he would just fall over.  That was it -- I took him back to the vet (where I had worked) & we let him cross over that Rainbow Bridge.

Scoots went with me two days each week for several years, to my volunteer job at  the Friends of the Humane Society's booth at our local farmers market where we sell home made pet treats.  Customers fell in love with him as did all the other vendors.  We even have a treat named after him.

I still miss him so much! 2013

3/09/2010

I adopted Maxine from the Humane Society about two years ago so that makes her about three years old.  She seems to be a Rat Terrier - Jack Russel mix.  She can be a real PIB (pain in the butt) dog but then she'll dive under the covers at night & snuggles up close so all is forgiven!  LOL  She loves to spend the day watching for squirrels & then dashing out the doggie door to chase them! 

8/10  Actually she's not a pain in the but anymore. Most of her bad habits have gone away.  She sticks to me like glue - she's lying on the bed behind me now.  Such a honey !


 This is Daisy Lou.  She belonged to a client at the vet clinic where I used to work, who had to go to a rest home.  I took her after Trixie died.  Her name had been LuLu but I changed it to Daisy & add the Lou so she would know who I was talking to.  Wonderful little dog.  She was with me till about 2007. She also had a bad heart & one Sunday morning after walking around the living room for a while & giving that little heart cough, she just curled up in her doggie bed & crossed that Rainbow Bridge.  She didn't like to be touched when she felt bad, so I just sat on the floor beside her bed,  talked to her & cried.

 

All of my pets are my favorites but Joey was something special.  I don't really know why.  He could be an incessant barker, went over the fence like it wasn't there & got into the trash.                   

Joey was brought to my shop for grooming but no one ever came to pick him up.  I put him in a cage for the night - BIG MISTAKE!   when I came back the next morning, he was out of the cage, feet up on the shop door - was so scared it gave him diarrhea causing him to spread doggie poo from one end of the shop to the other - what a mess!!!!  I only had an hour to clean it all up before I had to open for business. 

 
First I gave him a quick bath on his feet & rear then cleaned the cage so I could put him back in it.  Next was the glass on the front door - then spot cleaning the carpet & last but not least spraying tons of pro grade pet deodorant all over everything.  I guess it worked pretty well because when my groomer came in she didn't notice any odor.  I don't know what made me decide to take this fuzzy disaster home but I'm so happy that I did.

I have a few more great stories about him that I will share with you one day.   I lost Joe about 2009

Trixie Lee came from the clinic.  A client brought her in with her right front leg almost completely torn off.  Doc found the nerve to be in good shape & was able to put the leg back together. Her family never came back after her.

 I was still working at the clinic then & the staff decided that I should take her home so she became Joey's new friend.
Her front leg was stiff but it didn't slow her down a bit.  She could run like the wind! 

Here she is up at Lake Superior on one of our vacations.  She had the best time on those beaches.
This is Tiny. She also came from the clinic.  A long time client came in one day with tears running down his face.  I had told him at one time, that if he ever needed a home for this one, to let me know.  He just pushed her thru the window & handed her to me.
He was military & being transferred  overseas - his wife had recently suffered a nervous breakdown. When they found out Tiny had diabetes, his wife said she couldn't handle that & he brought here in to me because he said he knew I would take good care of her. Tiny came home to live with me & Pippin.
I left the clinic in 1980 & opened another tropical fish shop. (we had one right after we were married in 1966)  Tiny lost her sight about that same time.  She would come to work with me every day & sleep behind the counter.  When she would hear several customers talking, she would come out & walk around.  If no one would pay any attention to her, she would stop & sit up.  WELL--- that sure got their attention!

Everyone loved Tiny.  She was 13 years old when I took her & lived till she was 18 or 19. Wonderful memories here as with all pets.

Pippin came along about 1980.  He was a great little dog but he would bite. I had to watch him around other people.  He was 3 or 4 when I took him.  I didn't have him too long. He developed a tumor on his spine & I lost him in 1984 just as I was opening my fish shop. 

 This is Potsie. She was a sweet little Schnauzer that  came to live with us as a pup about 1967 & lived  till about  1979 the year after my husband died. When ever he was home, she stuck to him like glue.  He was her person & she really missed him.

She went everywhere with us. On a fishing trip to S.C. we had taken a boat out on the lake & pulled into a quiet spot with some lily pads, logs etc.  We fished for a while with no luck, so decided to try another spot.  We cranked up the motor & took off. Just a minute later I check to see what Pots was up to -- she wasn't there!!  We looked behind us & there she was,  standing on a log.  She had gone out to check on some turtles that were sunning themselves.  She was looking at us as if to say "What's goin' on?  Can't I go too!"  So funny -- we swung back around & she jumped in.            

  On that same trip we all three were walking along a paved embankment by the lake - Pots was not on a leash - another lesson learned -


 

all of a sudden she started barking like crazy & raced down the pavement towards the water.  To my horror, I saw she was headed for a nest of 30 or 40 Water Moccasins in the water below!!!!!!!!!  I took off like a shot & ran down after her.  I got to her when she was only about 15 ft from the snakes, snatched her up & ran back up.  Needless to say from then on she was on a leash as all my dogs are now. 

Tammy was an Airedale we had just before we left Atlanta. Funny story about her -- one day she was in my bedroom while I was changing cloths.  All of a sudden she started barking & ran to the far side of the room. She continued to bark until I put some cloths back on.  LOL  I guess she thought I was taking my skin off!!!!!   When we left Atlanta Tammy went to live on a farm with a wealthy man who thought she was sent from heaven.  I'm sure she had a great life.  

Curlie was a real sweetie.  She was a stray that would show up a the school bus stop every morning.  Then she would be there when I got off the bus in the afternoon & follow me home.  Finally Mom let her stay.  We had her only a short time when we discovered she had cancer.  



 For Fun

 I don't remember Dutchess at all.  We had her when we lived on Fountain Ave. I remember the part of our yard where is photo was taken.  No idea what happened to her.   

We also had a black cocker while we lived there.  Don't remember her name & have no photo but I do remember what happened to her.  One evening Dad & I went out to mow the grass.  He opened the gate to let her out in front to be with us.  She came flying out of the gate so happy to see us.  Then she ran straight across the street & was hit & killed by a small truck.

I'm so grateful that we have all learned more about the proper care of out pets so we can keep these accidents from happening.

 

 

This is Dorothea, Countess of Warwickshire. Dottie was a St. Bernard my Mom bought for my brother when we lived in Vandalia.  We didn't have Dottie too long before she became ill & was put down.  This would have been the late 40's or early 50's & most people didn't spend their money on treating sick pets.

 This is TuTu Ling the Peke.  Here he is with my brother, Mike.  I think he was really Mike's dog.  That is until our neighbor Ed's,  wife died .  Ed loved TuTu & TuTu loved Ed so TuTu moved next door to live happily for many years. 


 Herbert was this beautiful Collie mom & dad bought for me when I was about three years old.     I understand that he always took good care of me. Most dogs were left outside in those days - late '30's & not fenced.  One day Herbert bit the mailman & was taken to be put down.  No one even thought of fencing a small area for him when no one was at home.    Soooooooooo glad things have changed for the better.       

                             Before Herbert we had Tatters, a wire haired terrier. I guess he was a real sweetie.  We had a lot of home movies that included Tatters. I remember one that shows me with a large pan of popcorn - first me eating a handful then feeding Tatters a hand full.

My little friend disappeared one day. Since the dogs all ran free back then, my mom always thought he had been stolen by some people who had been driving by the house a lot.

Toots is the first dog I remember.  We had her when we lived on Peach Orchard about 1943.  Most people didn't spend money on spaying or neutering their pets so of course Toots made love with the Chow next door.  Happy to say we found homes for all the pups.  Sad to say Mom was backing out of the driveway to take me to school one morning when Toots ran under the car - Mom backed over her.  She ran down the basement steps.  Mom kept saying she was all right & made me go on to school .  When I got home from school I was told Toots was too badly hurt & was put to sleep.    I was in the first grade in this pix.  


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