Snatched From the Jaws of Death

If something is going to “go down” at this place I a can, with 85% certainty, guarantee its going to go down when Kevin is away. Friday morning was no exception. Kevin had just left for a weekend BAER assignment and I was puttering around the trying to get the dishwasher loaded and laundry started when someone knocked on the door. I knew it had to be the neighbor as he’s the only one who’d knock at 7:30am. Sending a quick prayer heavenward that I at least had a bra and running pants on under my nightshirt I went to answer the door.

Sure enough, it was Randy. I got out a “morning” before he said, “ Your dog is chasin’ your Rooster around the backyard…” To which I may or may not have replied, “Oh s&!t, thanks” before slamming the door in his face (as I dashed out of the house I did think that slamming the door like that with him standing there was a little, okay a lot, rude but I'd have to deal with that later) See when Randy says “dog” I know that means…Tilly.

To most individuals Tilly looks like your typical sweet loving Labrador.

However, to rockchucks, other assorted small rodent-type critters, and chickens Tilly looks more like this::

She’s not called “Two-snap Tilly” for no reason. Captain Nimrod had hopped the fence and met up with a fuzzy black Angel of Death. There was no time to spare!

When I burst into the back yard Tilly was standing in the grass looming over a pile of black and white feathers. She literally had a paw on the Captain and was licking his neck.  I was sure I was too late, his head was gone, and I’d have to explain the facts of life and poor chicken judgement to the kids all over again. Still, in my anger I yelled, “Tilly!!” at the dog. She jerked her head up startled and the pile of feathers leapt to its feet and went madly dashing back to the chicken pen in a manner something like this:

Once I got the gate open the panicked Captain dashed into the hen house. I picked him up and checked him over. Physically he was fine no bit marks or brusing anywhere. Worried the shock might get to him I watched him pretty close for the rest of the day. Aside from cowering behind the chicken coop anytime the dogs came near he seemed fine. He’s been taken down a peg or two for the time being (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as he was getting a bit cocky…pun intended) but is otherwise fine for literally being seconds from death.

Needless to say I finally got around to reclipping wings and hung some bird netting to prevent further breakouts.

Honey’s ‘Tail’

In case you somehow missed the news our weekend trip to Clark Co. was capped off by picking up a new member of our furry family. We’ve had our eyes and ears open for some time looking for just the right dog. We knew we wanted a female, preferably a lab or lab cross (depending on what the cross part was). We knew we wanted a younger dog…5 or under. With Tilly fast nearing the ‘senior’ label at age 8 and knowing caring for an older animal can have it’s own issues, expenses, and heartache we figured spacing out ages would be a good idea. One old lady at a time please. We also wanted something that would be good with kids, cats, livestock (read – goat), poultry, and whatever else may find it’s way into the menagerie. This isn’t a tough bill to fill for sure. I thought we would end up having to get a puppy and train it. Still after several attempts at adopting through local shelters with no success (young labs go fast) I posted on a local pets board for the valley on Facebook and found Honey. She fit pretty much everything we asked for so we figured the least we could do for her was try her out, especially since the lady who had ‘rescued’ her was footing the bill to keep Honey at the kennel where she worked.

So this is Honey:

 

She was owned by a man in Gooding who was not financially able to care for her and the Chihuahua she lived with. Their yard had a poor fence and Honey and her little Mexican buddy would get out to take themselves for walks consequently getting picked up on a ‘dogs at large’ call by Animal Control. Unfortunately her owner could not afford to bail her out. The first time a friend of her owner (and the husband of the woman we got her from) bailed them out. Honey was them tied to a post in the yard. The collar she wore was a choke chain and she tried so hard to escape she rubbed a bald patch behind her ears (which is growing back nicely). Eventually she did pull free and she and the Chihuahua got out and picked up again. This time no one stepped up to pay the bail and the Man owner surrendered them to the pound.

Well, nobody wants to hang out at the pound. Thankfully, the same folks saw she was back in the clink and bailed her out again but this time she didn’t go back to her former owner. The woman works at a kennel in Jerome as a groomer and has lots of experience with dogs. Would have kept her herself, except that she has a Dachshund puppy and a Cane Corso puppy at home along with a crotchity old Labrador.  She was paying to keep Honey at the kennel where she worked while she searched for a suitable home, but had Honey out at her place. Honey did fine with their baby steer, the chickens, and the horses. She liked the kids and didn’t bother the cats. When the gal saw my post on the Facebook page she thought we seemed like a good fit.

Long story short, so far so good. She and Tilly get along great (they are already sharing the crate at night, everyone needs a snuggle buddy) and the kids don’t phase her (they throw balls and give you treats….what’s not to love?). She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the goat at first and he wouldn’t let Honey come close to check him out. Finally we wrangled Goat and after she sniffed his butt thoroughly she left him alone. Cats have silently judged from a distance but seem to be making their peace.

One of the first orders of business, after a proper collar with nametag, was a trip to the vets. We knew she was spayed, but the chances of her having up to date vaccines seemed dubious. Both Doc and the office cat, Caliber, gave her their stamp of approval. Her only issue is that at 75 pounds she’s on the chubby side (please refer to photographic evidence….). Tilly is 62 pounds and that is probably a goal weight Honey needs to shoot for too. Hopefully with a big backyard and lots of ball throwing she’ll slim down and lose that ‘winter weight’ (yes, that’s what both she and I are going to call our extra jiggly bits) in no time.

There is some debate as to her breeding. Probably has some Labrador in there somewhere. The gal we got her from thought some Heeler too. However, both the next-door neighbor and the vet think it’s more Border Collie than Heeler. Who knows, maybe it’s all three. If we’re dying to know I suppose we could always do one of those doggie DNA tests. From the springs hidden in her legs though, the border collie is seeming more and more likely. Man can this dog bounce….all 75 pounds of her…it’s actually pretty impressive. The first time I left home after she arrived we shut her in the dog run. It’s 6’ high and she first jumped on the dog house (with ease….I watched her do it later) then tried to haul her chunky butt over the top rail. Gravity, and the neighbor, won. Same neighbor helped me get a ‘lid’ on the run when I got home so we won’t be doing that again. In all actuality she just doesn't like to be penned up. I left her loose in the backyard when I dropped off the kids this morning and she did just fine.

Five days in and our new addition is doing great. I think she’s going to work out and be a great new member to the household.

Letting Go

Life sometimes throws you a curve ball unexpectedly and today we took one hard and fast. When Kevin went to go let the girls out of their crate this morning he discovered our sweet 6 year old Weimareiner had died sometime in the night.

This was wholly unexpected. She was perfectly healthy and there were no indications that she was ill in any way. Heck, I’d taken both dogs into the vet just a few weeks ago where they were given clean bills of health. When they were put in their crate last night it was just like any other random night.

We talked to the vet this morning. The best anyone can figure is that for some reason her heart just gave out.

 

We told Jack and asked if he wanted to say goodbye to her (he didn’t). He’s big enough to deserve that. We explained that Tess had to go live in heaven with Jesus and she wouldn’t be here with us anymore. He took it all in stride…though I’m guessing he’ll have more questions this afternoon when she’s not in the backyard waiting to play. Emilie is still small enough that she is rather oblivious to what has happened.

Tess was a good dog. Despite being somewhat screwy and having the attention span of a gnat. She wasn’t much for playing fetch, preferring instead to let Tilly do the work while she sat at your side waiting for an ear scratch. She was great with the other animals and the kids alike. She was always the first in line to wipe cookie crumbs off little faces and clean up whatever they drop on the ground.

She will be missed.

And You Thought Your Dogs were Bad...

(Author’s Note: Carrie, this is your adventure free and clear but I’m posting this since you haven’t yet. It is so hysterical it must be shared! I’m filling in the gaps with my own imagination, but I think I’ve pretty much got the gist of it. )

My sister and her family have two dogs, Kyra and Picata. They are both very smart dogs which, as with most smart dogs, means they can get themselves into a lot of trouble.

Kyra, a husky mix who looks more like a short-haired burnese mountain dog than a husky, is the greatest fear of skunks living in Central Massachusetts. She has three confirmed kills under her collar and several more presumed kills. Her desire to rid the world of these foul smelling creatures has led to her becoming something of a Houdini when it comes to exiting the backyard.


Picata is a yellow Labrador retriever and a retired Guide Dog. She loves people, and is quite the food hound. Though she doesn’t intentionally escape the backyard she will go for a stroll outside its confines if the opportunity presents itself.

So this is where our story starts….the backyard on a chilly Sunday shortly after Thanksgiving. Kyra is alerted to a skunk presence and knowing she needs to eliminate this trespasser she lifts the latch on the gate and heads off. Picata, thinking it’s a nice day for a stroll, follows Kyra. The skunk must had eluded Kyra on this day (thank the lord for that) and she finally admitted defeat. By that time she and Picata had wandered ½ a mile or so from home and were near the local Stop ‘n’ Shop (grocery store).

Meanwhile Carrie has become aware that the dogs are not in the backyard and has launched a search effort. Not wanting to repeat Kyra’s ride home in a Police Cruiser (yeah, she’s got a history with the cops), she is driving around frantically searching for her missing canines. Suddenly, her phone rings. It is the manager from the Stop ‘n’ Shop (grocery store). Her dogs have been located in the Deli Section of the store and would she please come get them.

Now I imagine that these dogs are something like the little boy from the Family Circus cartoon. You know, the one whose mother asks him to run next door to borrow a cup of sugar from the neighbor and it takes him 3 hours to complete the journey since he took the round-about way? So, even though Kyra and Picata weren’t very far from home they had most likely been walking for some time. Tired from their walk Picata suggests to Kyra that they go into the Stop ‘n’ Shop and ask someone for a ride home. As a former Guide Dog Picata is familiar with automatic doors and how to open them, so into the store they went. When they found the manager he was more than happy to call their ‘Mom’ for them.

I’m sure after that phone call Carrie had visions of her dogs working their way down the deli counter devouring ham, turkey, and roast beef as they went. Wondering what the price tag on all that lunch meat would be? As it turns out both girls were very well mannered. They didn’t touch a thing, which I find quite impressive. They merely located a friendly looking soul, and as planned had them call for a ride home.

Now, my two dogs can be pretty naughty, but I have never had to pick them up from inside the local grocery store! That tops the list.