Every time I hear of a dog’s passing I cry. Mostly I can confine it to being teary-eyed but sometimes it takes every ounce of strength I can summon to keep from bursting into great gut-heaving sobs. I have long accepted that this is what happens but as I read an entrepreneur’s story this morning having just sent my letter to Stanley to his folks, I questioned again why I [...] Read more »
A Great Relationship
It’s just an ordinary grey day in November. No rain yet. My car is stopped, waiting to make the left-hand turn to get to the Community Centre. The oncoming traffic stretches back beyond the mall. There’ll be no turning just yet. My attention wanders to the sidewalk. Almost at once I notice a middle-aged woman walking briskly with a ShiTzu- type dog on a leash. Nothing out of the ordinary [...] Read more »
Jude, the Accidental Farmer
Accidental farmer, huh? My Skype name might better be resistant farmer! How it happened that I came to live on 5 acres of property which now contain, a raspberry u-pick, 5 sheep, 40+ laying hens, a huge vegetable garden which I avoid at all costs, and an aged horse living out his days in the lower pasture, I really cannot say. In other words, “damned if I know”! When my [...] Read more »
No Ice Cream Today
No birthday ice cream today, eh, Jack? A small bowl of vanilla ice cream singled out Jack’s special day for 13 birthdays. Just 4 days short of this one, his 14th, he left this planet and crossed Rainbow Bridge. I bet he’d tell me he’d rather play tog-of-war with Gus over there than eat vanilla ice cream here. From the moment I laid eyes on the stocky, confident, 9 week [...] Read more »
Zack’s Buccaneer
My daughter, Lisa , wrote this story about her dog, Buck. Enjoy! “Just one?” How could we choose just one of the eleven brand-new yellow Lab puppies? But choose we did, Zack’s Buccaneer – Buck or Bucky Boy for short. While he grew and learned with his littermates and his mom, Honey, we visited and after what seemed like a very long time, we were able to take [...] Read more »
Miss Ella
Gus was waiting for her when she stepped off Rainbow Bridge. He greeted her, canine fashion, with a good sniff. “Welcome, Ella. Good to see you. You’ll find lots of friends here – Meggie, Bud, Antonio, Molly, Chelsa, Wren, Jamieson, Penny, Gordy and Bart.” The two former Dog House buddies gamboled away to find the others, pain and disability forgotten now. Ella, when she lived on this planet, was [...] Read more »
Blue Power Ear Treatment
I am under no delusions about being a “healer”. A long time ago when Gus’s head shaking was driving both of us nuts and I had exhausted all the remedies I could find, a young animal-knowledgeable woman suggested this treatment. Desperate (and dare I say, desperate to avoid allopathic medicine), I collected the ingredients and began treatment that same day. It’s true what it says, “despite the alcohol”, Gus didn’t mind [...] Read more »
Happy Birthday…
My 68th birthday looms large on the horizon – the “young old”; I think it’s called in today’s parlance. I’m blessed with good health and a sound mind. Even so, I can’t now move as quickly as I used to. I’ve lost some flexibility and balance and arthritis calls out to me from several joints. I’m just NOT 29 anymore! I haven’t yet reached the stage where I get confused, [...] Read more »
Tilley
“Is that an Irish Setter pup?” I asked, watching this beautiful red pup playing with the “big kids”. Months before we bought The Dog House, I visited the then owners simply to enjoy being surrounded by a pack of dogs. There were perhaps ten or twelve dogs here that day, all playing in the front yard. One was obviously a pup and the color red that led me to believe [...] Read more »
Free To Roam
“Well, I’ll be darned! That’s Rosie,” I thought as I automatically put my foot on the brake. “She doesn’t come down on the highway, huh?” That’s what her owner had told me a few weeks before. I love that dog… I admit to having a huge mushy spot for the Bully breeds. A huge, white beautifully muscled American Bulldog, Rosie had appeared in the driveway of The Dog House several [...] Read more »