Life the easy way

It has been an interesting week, so much drama in my circle world of friends and family. It has been difficult for me to “wrap” my arms around the new persona of someone I consider family, due to the “new’ her. It has caused a bit of a ripple in the relationship she and I once shared as well as the relationship I have with her husband and my best friend (her Aunt by marriage). I have learned this week that I cannot and don’t have to accept all things done by others and that I have to stay true to myself and do so without hurting others if at all possible.

I have also been trying to accept the medical difficulties I have been undergoing the last four months and learning to live my life around medication side effects, the fatigue, and the lack of strength in my hands, the constant pain, and the many doctor appointments. I have always been such a go-go-go person, and now I have to learn to take things slow and easy…which I am finding is not a bad place to be if I can keep the bills paid and my household happy.

The time I get to spend with my three dogs and twenty year old cat has been so special to me, it is as if this is what I was meant to do. Teach them, play with them, train them, care for them, and lots of naps with them!

I am slowly accepting I am changing, not so much for the better physically (rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia) but spiritually and mentally. Slowly fading are the once must follow rules and phrases such as, “the one with the most toys wins”, and “my house is bigger than your house”, “Don’t you just love my new Jag”, and “Where is your summer home located?” and “my job title is more prestige than yours”; I have learned the simple moments are the ones to treasure. Such as a soft nose nuzzle from Brock, or a funny look from Otis, or a paw on my hand from Marley as we nap. Or the simple pleasure of sitting with hubby and just watching a football game or snuggling on the couch just doing nothing; a day hanging out and shopping with my best friend even if we don’t buy anything, an afternoon on the patio with my BFF sharing our day’s events and a cup of coffee. So much in life is free and worth more than you can ever imagine, if you will only open your mind and your heart and keep your wallet closed.

Have a bow-wow day.

Your Right Foot

Okay this is not dog or animal related but I just have to share….

I guess there are some things that the brain cannot handle....

You have to try this, this will confuse your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but you can't. It is pre-programmed in your brain!

Okay, while sitting at your desk in front of your computer, lift your RIGHT foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you it drove me crazy, and there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.


Have a bow wow great day!

Did you know?

Based on an average life span of 11 years, the cost of owning a dog is $13,350.

Dogs only sweat from the bottoms of their feet, the only way they can discharge heat is by panting. Dogs and wolves yawn as a sign of contentment.

Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears. Unfortunately, the likes of bulldogs and pitbulls only have 10, due to their breeding. Therefore, these dogs easily get misinterpreted by other dogs and often get into fights.

One of the worlds oldest breeds of dog is the Saluki, (Picture posted above). It is thought to have been developed in ancient Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C.

"Three dog night" (attributed to Australian Aborigines) came about because on especially cold nights these nomadic people needed three dogs (dingos, actually) to keep from freezing.

A dog's sense of smell is one of the keenest in nature. If a pot of stew was cooking on a stove, a human would smell the stew, while the dog could smell the beef, carrots, peas, potatoes, spices, and all the other individual ingredients in the stew. In fact, if you unfolded and laid out the delicate membranes from inside a dogs nose, the membranes would be larger than the dog itself.

It was recently discovered that dogs DO see in color, just not as vivid as the color that humans see.

Two dogs survived the sinking of Titanic, yes that's right, two DOGS survived. They escaped on early lifeboats carrying so few people that no one objected. Miss Margaret Hays of New York brought her Pomeranian with her in lifeboat No. 7, while Henry Sleeper Harper of the publishing family boarded boat No. 3 with his Pekinese, Sun Yat Sen.

Giving dogs chocolate could be fatal for them, because theobromine, an ingredient of chocolate, stimulates the central nervous system and cardiac muscle. About 1.1 kg of milk chocolate or just 146 g of cooking chocolate (which has more theobromine per gram) could kill a 22 kg dog.

In the original 101 Dalmatians movie, Pongo has 72 spots, Perdita has 68 and each of the puppies has 32.

And there you have it, I thought they were interesting especially the Titanic information.

Canine Intelligence

Did you know that the average canine has the mental abilities of a 2-year old child? It is true according to the latest canine IQ reported by Stanley Coren, a canine expert and professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia.

The discovery was based on a language development test, revealing average dogs can learn 165 words (similar to a 2-year-old child); including signals and gestures, and dogs in the top 20% in intelligence learn 250 words. WOW, now if mine could just learn a few such as, no counter surfing and please don’t drool on the laptop.

The smartest breeds in order are, Border collies, poodles, and German shepherds. It is thought that these breed are smarter in part because we have bred and trained them to be. The three listed above are on par with the average 2.5 year old child.
Now just when you that was fantastic, how about this; Coren found also that in terms of social smarts, our four-legged friends are even better than the average 3-4 year old.

"The social life of dogs is much more complex, much more like human teenagers at that stage, interested in who is moving up in the pack and who is sleeping with who and that sort of thing," Coren told LiveScience. Huh, if they start gossiping about my love life they are going to learn a few more words!

Dogs also show some basic emotions such as happiness, anger and disgust just as human toddlers do. However the more complex emotions such as guilt are not in a dog’s character; what we humans once thought was guilt was found to be doggy fear Coren noted.

And while dogs know whether they're being treated fairly, they don't grasp the concept of equity. Coren recalls a study in which dogs get a treat for "giving a paw." When one dog gets a treat and the other doesn't, the unrewarded dog stops performing the trick and avoids making eye contact with the trainer. But if one dog, say, gets rewarded with a juicy steak while the other snags a measly piece of bread, on average the dogs don't care about the inequality of the treats, but I know mine do…LOL if I gave one a steak and one a bread stick there would be a grab-fest for the steak and the bread would be lying on the floor, but only until the steak was gone.

Just another reason to hold your head high when you announce you only have fur-children.

Enjoy your day and remember to challenge your pooch!

Paws With a Cause

Approximately 97% of all people with disabilities are not blind; they are physically challenged in some other way. Paws With a Cause® trains dogs to help with many everyday tasks that can pose significant challenges to those with disabilities.

With their constant attentiveness and loyalty, dogs are the ideal service animal. An assistance dog can alert a deaf parent to the crying of a baby in the next room, or to help with daily independence by opening doors using a special pulling device invented by Paws With a Cause®. Dogs can be trained to pull wheelchairs, transfer a wallet to a cashier and back, and even call 911 when needed.

Paws With a Cause® facilitates the fostering of 1- to 3-year-old dogs from shelters with loving families who provide a safe and loving foundation. The dogs undergo careful training and evaluation so they can be matched with the best possible owner. The Animal Rescue Site is excited to support Paws With a Cause® in its noble work. $20.00 helps transform a shelter dog into a trained Assistant Dog.

In 1979, Paws With A Cause®, first named Ears for the Deaf, was born. Only a few small organizations existed to train dogs for the majority of the disabled population, which includes those individuals with the most severely limiting disabilities. Approximately 97% of all people with disabilities are not blind; they are physically challenged in some other way, and very few dogs were being trained to work with them. Paws With a Cause® trains Assistance Dogs for people with disabilities, provides lifetime team support that encourages independence, and promotes awareness through education.

To help this great cause or to read more about it please visit www.pawswithacause.org
Have a great bow wow day! :)

Fun Facts

Today is Monday, ho hum....so to add a little fun I have a few animal facts that I thought were pretty interesting.

Do you know the answers to these questions?

Q: Since all prairie dogs look alike, even to other prairie dogs, to tell each other apart, do they: (a) sniff each other; (b) kiss each other; or (c) talk to each other?
A: They kiss, during which they grope each other for familiar physical signs.

Q: You just opened your cat’s favorite food. How fast can he run to get there: (a) 20 miles an hour; (b) 30 miles an hour; or (c) 40 miles an hour?
A: The average cat can hit 30 miles an hour for a short distance. Your cat may vary

Q: According to the American Kennel Club, was the most popular pedigreed dog in the U.S. last year the: (a) German shepherd; (b) rottweiler; or (c) Labrador retriever?
A: The Lab. Next, in order: rottweiler, shepherd, golden retriever, poodle, beagle, dachshund, cocker spaniel, Yorkie, and Pomeranian.

Q: When he gets bored, your dog chews on his paws. Should you: (a) enroll him in group therapy; (b) make him wear mittens; or (c) dab a little oil of clove on his favorite nibble spot?
A: The Old Farmers Almanac says oil of clove discourages nibbling dogs.

Q: According to research at the University of Chicago, not only do birds dream, but they dream about: (a) other birds; (b) worms; or (c) songs they sing during the day?
A: Birds dream about their songs, have dream rehearsals, and sing the same songs better the next day.

Q: Which dog has the best eyesight: (a) Chihuahua; (b) doberman; or (c) greyhound?
A: The Greyhound, better than any other dog.

Okay now some of these I find very interesting while some are just gross...
1.)Hummingbird’s consume half of their weight in food daily.(Good thing I don't take after the hummingbird)

2.)A cockroach can survive for about a week without its head before dying of starvation. (Gross)

3.)The heart of a shrimp is located in its head. (Now I find that interesting and very glad we don't consume the heads)

4.)Every year, $1.5 billion is spent on pet food. This is four times the amount spent on baby food. (Pets are furchildren to many, like me!)

5.)Sharks apparently are the only animals that never get sick. They are immune to every type of disease including cancer.(Okay we need to research this immediately!)

6.)A mosquito has 47 teeth. (And I have felt them all many times over!)

7.)The sex organ on a male spider is located at the end of one of its legs. (So if they are walking on you are they also....well you know? Just thinking outloud here.)

Discussing a Blog

I was reading an article today from someone talking about blogs so I thought I would discuss it as well, in my own way. There are a startling number of blogs that get started and then get abandoned in cyber space for eternity, many are just on line journals of someone’s life, and some offer a point of view or are trying to sell or promote something, others are written on every so often with no real dedication or specific direction, but in my opinion, what your blog is to you, is the right blog for you. I don’t feel there is a wrong or right way, it just all depends on your style and what you had hoped to accomplish with your blog.

Me, I had just wanted to get some thoughts out, speak some on what I feel is important (Pet food recalls,taking care of your pet), share some laughs (Jasper and the unbaked yeast rolls), share tears on heart breaking stories of animal cruelty (to many here to want to think of), but at the same time rejoice when there is triumph in the animal world (A wonderful dog going home after having been missing for 9 years!), to share a story of amazing dogs (The Amazing Skidboot), and post cute and adorable pictures for us all to be in awe over and to bring a smile.

So with that said, because of my great LOVE for animals, especially dogs, I will offer a tip a day on animal care. Hope you are here each day and share the experience.

PS: Happy Birthday to my fur children Marley and Brock who are two Friday the 31st. I have Marley's picture from last year to share now as this years party is not until Sunday and I will post then.

PSS: Brock and Marley are brothers, but Brock did not come to live with us until shortly after the one year birthday. I found out he was still at the shelter having lived his whole life there and I could not let that be his life forever...he was with us and his brother in less than 2 weeks once I contacted Lori at Pet Tender Angels. Life is GOOD!