Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Follow-Up Friday – October 17, 2014

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally wrap up my week.

You Make Laugh – October 12, 2104

Definitely Hosers

Definitely Hosers

Emma asked, “Have you tried carrying a squeaker in your pocket that sometimes will draw attention?”

No I have not!!  THAT is BRILLIANT!  Thank you Emma!

Sue said, ” Suddenly they remember very few commands, if any. And they certainly don’t want to look into the camera. It’s like their in a witness protection program!”

LOL oh Sue, that made me laugh!  It’s true though.

Kitty Cat Chronicles said, “I too have a Sampson and Delilah – the cat versions! It’s so unusual to find another Sampson spelled with a “p”. :) My cat’s nicknames are Sampy and Deli (like a deli sandwich).”

First I love that your cats have the same names as my dogs. 🙂  But if I told you all their nicknames, it would probably be a whole post!  LOL  I’ll start with the two most common nicknames for each of them, Sampson is “Sam-man” or “Punkin” and Delilah is “Sweet Pea” or “Pretty Girl.”

On the Right Track

Sophie said, “The best news is that the liver appears normal.”

Yes that IS the best news.  If the liver looked unusual or had obvious abnormalities we may have made different choices.

Cupcake said, “I love how you always have a plan B.”

I ALWAYS have a plan B and if by some odd chance I don’t, I’m usually pretty quick to formulate one. 😉

Emma asked, “Unless it is really a serious issue, she wouldn’t do the biopsy either, and what would it really accomplish?”

And Sue said, “Totally supports your decisions. Why put Delilah through the biopsy? Jeffie is the same age and I would make the same choice.”

You both expressed exactly our thoughts.  And honestly, even if it were something really AWFUL I think we would make the same choice.  

JoAnn asked, “Great plan, BTW do you fast her before her liver tests? ”

No we don’t.  We’ve never been told to.  Should we?

Just a Run of the Mill Dog

Lauranne asked, “I am assuming your sister reported this horrible lady? ”

I will tell you, probably not.  Back when my sister got Bandit, it wasn’t a punishable crime and really in most states, it’s still not.  Which is so sad.

Emma asked, ” I wonder why he ran?”

My sister and brother-in-law own 11 acres, sometimes they let the dogs out to run.  I suspect either something frightened Bandit and he ran off and got lost, or he wandered too far and got turned around and frightened.  He was seen shortly after he went missing last Sunday and hasn’t been seen since. 

My sister and BIL have set up a feeding station in the area he was last seen, and have left a pillowcase with their scent on it there as well.  But so far the food hasn’t been touched. 🙁

Fur Everywhere said, “I do not know how someone can live with him/herself and run/manage a puppy mill.”

I agree with you.  It’s hard for me to imagine how someone can have so little disregard for another living being.

A Win for Sampson

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

Sophie said, “I personally think he is performing a service by “teaching” others the joy of dogs.”

I just wish more people would open their hearts to the possibilities.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “I bet he knew that woman would be there and that is why he picked that route.”

Do you know, I wouldn’t put it past him? LOL  He remembers where he meets people and where people are nice to him and he looks there.  I can guarantee you if we go that way again he will know right where to stop. LOL

Emma said, “I’m a people dog, and I can’t get enough of people, but I’m not much for other dogs.”

That’s the funny thing Emma, once he greets the dog, he ditches it for the person. 

Sue said, “I think he’s a wonderful canine goodwill ambassador!”

And he sure loves his job. LOL

Mary said, “These guys are the same way. Sometimes I don’t want to be social however.”

I’m in that boat with you sister. 🙂

Jen Gabbard said, “I’m a dog person and absolutely love meeting new, friendly dogs. I love that he sat there patiently with that big perfect smile.”

And that is the beauty of Sampson, he’s a very charming dog.

Finally, I just want to let you all know that I’ve got family coming in this weekend, so I will get to your posts as soon as I can.

Have a great weekend!

A Win for Sampson – Barks and Bytes

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Sampson is a social dog.  If you ask my husband, he’ll say we socialized him too well.  The minute he spies  dog or person, he’s a dog on a mission.

If it’s a dog, he barks, yips and lunges trying to get to the other dog.

If it’s a person, he roos at them and pulls towards them.  If they pass him by without acknowledgement he’s slightly dejected, but he will try again the next time he sees them.  He just doesn’t give up.

Take the woman up the road who always seemed to be out working in her yard as we passed by.  After a couple of days of rooing at her, one day she spoke to him.  Three days later she pet him.

That’s a win in Sampson’s book.

Of course there are some folks that are just dog people and it really takes little to no effort on Sampson’s part. Take last Tuesday.  I took the day off to spend with Sampson while Delilah had her dental surgery.

Sampson wanted to head a certain way on our walk and I let him go.  It was not typically a way I would take him because we would be walking along a busy road and there were sidewalks only part of the way.  Still it wasn’t a busy part of the day, so I figured why not.  I knew it was a bit of a longer walk than Sampson is used to, but I thought if we take our time we’ll do okay.

About 25 minutes into a 40 minute walk he saw her.  She was crossing the street to put something in her mailbox, he roo, roo, roo’d and before you know it, Sampson was getting loved on and she and I were talking on the side of the road.

Ah, this is a nice break from our walk.

Ah, this is a nice break from our walk.

After a few minutes, Sampson got tired of waiting and pulled up a spot on the ground.  He lay there patiently waiting, just enjoying the day.

Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

We chatted for about 15 minutes, which was just long enough for Sampson to catch his breath enough to continue his walk.

Do you think Sampson is over socialized?  Is that even possible?

Heart Like a Dog

Welcome to Thursday’s Barks and Bytes Blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dogs and Heart Like a Dog.

The Barks and Bytes hop is for anything at all and all bloggers are welcome. You don’t have to be a dog blog to join.

For new blog hoppers, a blog hop is list of links that is shared on multiple blogs. In order to be fair to all participants we ask you to please use the linky list. If your blog does not support a linky list, please link back to your hosts.

Just a Run of the Mill Dog

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Blog the Change
This post is part of Be the Change for Animals, a quarterly blog hop focused on animal welfare.

I was undecided as to what to post about today.  Until my sister’s dog, Bandit went missing.

A run of the MILL dog.

A run of the MILL dog.

Typically one wouldn’t think a lost dog would be a cause to write about concerning changes in animal welfare.

Except Bandit isn’t just a dog.  You see Bandit came from a Puppy Mill. This is Bandit’s story as I remember it.

Twelve years ago when my sister decided she wanted a Jack-Rat (Jack Russell/Rat Terrier) she found a ‘breeder’ in North Carolina.  Excited she and her husband drove to Virginia to spend the weekend with friends and then my sister and her friend, drove from Virginia to North Carolina to pick up her puppy.

My sister was horrified when she got to the ‘breeder’s’ home.  There were cages, upon filthy cages chock full of dogs.  The ‘breeder’ took her past these cages on their way to the Jack-Rats.  My sister noticed one cage where a dog lay dead, just hanging out of the crate.  The ‘breeder’ said, “Oh, she died having puppies this morning, I haven’t had the time to clean out the cage.”

My sister was appalled.  When she got to the crate containing the Jack-Rat’s raised her hand and pointed, “I’ll take that one.”

And so Bandit came to live with my sister.

It’s important to note that Bandit did not know how to walk on a floor.  He’d never had the opportunity.  He spent his entire young life in a wire crate.  And he’s never been in one since.  He’s terrified of the crate and when my sister attempted to put him in one he lost his stuff.

Typically when a dog goes missing you can set up a humane trap, and the dog can be lured in with food.  We’re almost certain Bandit would never go into one of these Have a Heart traps.  He’s too afraid.

So my sister and brother-in-law have to hope that at some point Bandit will either find his way home or relax enough to allow someone to get close enough to snag him.  The good news is he’s been spotted near a farm just a 1/2 mile down the road from my sister.  The bad news is so far he’s eluded capture, and he’s spending his time in the wilds of New Hampshire where some dangerous predators also live.  

Bandit’s story is important to Blog the Change for Animals because his story sheds light on a very unsavory section of animal welfare.  Puppy mills.

I want to be clear here.  There is a difference between responsible breeders and puppy mill breeders.  

  • A responsible breeder screens purchasers of their puppies and almost always has some type of application or contract when you purchase that puppy.  
  • A responsible breeder will take the puppy back if health or behavioral issues arise.
  • A responsible breeder would NEVER allow their dogs to be sold in pet stores.  

Which means the puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy millers. 

Many areas of the country are taking steps to prohibit puppies from being sold by pet stores.

So how can you help?

  • Educate people about responsible breeders, whether it be on your social media resources or in person.
  • Find out if there’s a local chapter that advocates for stronger animal welfare laws.  CT has an advocating organization called Connecticut Votes for Animals. I signed up to receive e-mail alerts when a law regarding animals is coming up for a vote. Not only do I know when a vote is coming up, they also tell me what action I can take to facilitate the passage of the bill.  Because of organizations like CVFA, CT recently passed a law prohibiting chaining a dog out 24/7.  
  • Contact your state representative and ask how you can get involved.

If we can stop pet stores from selling puppies, we can shut down some of these mills.  

If we can educate people about responsible breeders, we can shut down some of these mills.

If we speak up for those who have no voices, we CAN be the change for animals. 

Together we CAN be the change for dogs like Bandit.

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