Miss Sky - Australian Shepherd

by Judi on Jul 29, 2007

Originally uploaded by madaise.

Meet Missy Sky, the newest addition to our family.

Bob and the boys went to one of the local Humane Society to meet a few dogs. We were looking for herding-type dogs.. German Shepherd, Border Collie, Australian Shepherd.. one that was young, but not a puppy.

Originally uploaded by madaise.

Missy Sky (her name is Sky, but I’m not convinced she really knows it very well, so I’m taking to call her Missy) caught Bob’s attention yesterday. But she was in the process of being adopted. She struck a cord with Bob, because he mentioned her to several people over the course of the evening and the next morning.

I sent them back to the HS to visit a couple specific dogs.. when he and the boys got there, Bob heard someone mention Sky. As it turns out, the adoptive “parents” called the HS this morning to cancel their adoption.

Within a couple of hours, Bob and the boys were at Old Roberds showing me the new addition.

Originally uploaded by madaise.

Missy is a very shy girl, about 4 years old - very timid around people until she gets a few minutes to know you, though she takes to kids with no hesitation. Her and Whippet Bean greeted each other fairly well, but it’s going to take a little time for them to both be comfortable each other. Right now, Bean is a little timid around her, and she does some low, but soft throat noises. I’m hesitant to call them growls, as it isn’t really menacing..

Missy had a busy evening in her new backyard. She gave Bean a run for her money - Bean is fast, but has not been exposed to a herding dog who anticipates the tight turns and so there never was a large gab between the two. Bean didn’t last too long (whippets don’t have a long endurance, as Grey Hounds, but a rather short burst of speed).

Originally uploaded by madaise.

The boys got their motorcycle and quad-runner out (12 volt) and I laughed till I had tears as Missy chased them and bit at the tires and fenders.

Bed time rolled around later than usual and I patted the boys bed to show Missy where she was sleeping.. she hopped right up there and got comfortable.

She’s currently sleeping under the table, where I’m working… Tomorrow we’ll do a visit to the pet store for a couple toys, and a new brush.. and later get a good bath.. Bean too.. they both smell like (imagine!) dogs. :)

See more pictures of Missy Sky, and our other 4 legged friends.

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A dumbo rat and a rex rat

by Judi on Oct 8, 2006

Em two months ago started working on talking me (and Bob) into a getting a rat. After a month, we worked up some “terms” to our agreement, and Em brought home her Dumbo rat, Otis, Labor Day weekend - she was about 3 months old. We thought Otis was a male…. but it turns out she’s really female. note: dumbo refers to the ears - they are larger and more on the side of the head, rather than more upright.

Because I love animals too, I started doing my own reading on rats, joined some rat groups and am learning more myself. One of the biggest things I was reading was how social rats are and they prefer living in communities of 2 or more.

It wasn’t hard to talk Bob into another rat, when it’s for the health of both of them. So last week, Em brought home a new cage (because we really felt the 20 gal aquarium was too small for one, let alone two)… and Pumpkin May a.k.a. FuzzButt. FuzzButt got her name from me, because she’s just a fuzzy little thing. We guess she was about 5-6 weeks old when we brought her home. Em said she thinks she’s a Rex and after looking at many pics, I’d agree. note: rex refers to a curly coat… and based on my own reading, I think a blue berkshire, which means solid color (in this case, a slate-blue color) with white belly, paws and tail tip.

After a 5 day quarrantine, Em introduced the two girlies. We fixed the cage, since it’s tall, we were able to put in a couple shelves and I made (quickly and terribly) a fleece hammock to hang. Both girls are now housed in the cage, and the aquarium has become a dig tank. Rats love to dig and tunnel. Em tore up several (and then several more) peices of paper towel and filled the aquarium about 1/3 of the way.. a peice of cage flooring works as a ladder. The girls are able to climb up and out of their cage-home and directly into the dig tank.

They are just too cute!

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Pets Peeve

by Judi on Nov 14, 2005

Whippet Bean and Golden Retriever Abbey, my pets peeve pet peeves tonight.

Retriever Abbey fakes deafness. Sounds like a news headline. Either she fakes it, or it comes and goes. For example. She may be rolling in the dirt, scratching her back without a care. Us, on the other, are thrown into a panic. She may be enjoying the scratch and roll, but that means back-breaking bath for us. We yell, stomp our feet, whistle, clap… useless. She doesn’t hear a thing. It’s doggy trance for her. It’s not until we pull out the megaphone that she snaps to attention..”Who, what? Me? What’d I do?…. shit.. I’m in trouble again.”

Yeah, she can’t hear a lick when she doesn’t want to. Drop a piece of tasty food on the floor in a different room and there you have a different story. Our heffalump-retriever never gets so lite on her paws.

Whippet Bean, if it’s about food, cheese and chicken in particular, she’s all about it. She’s so good, you can think the word cheese, start walking to the fridge and Bean get’s ready to pose; pose pretty, beg pose, whatever will earn her a piece (or package) of cheese.

Here’s why my pets are peeving me tonight (and many others). Why is it that the two of these dogs never have to go out at the same time? Whippet Bean will whine and whimper to be let out, Retriever Abbey lays there like she can’t hear a thing. I get up to let Whippet Bean out and I have to tell Retriever Abbey to move away from the door three times before she hears me (yeah, right) and drags her heffalump butt out of the way. Whippet Bean goes out, does her business, checks out a fresh pile of rabbit offerings and makes a quick run around the yard (whippets are fast so it really is a quick run).

We’ve trained her well. Whippet Bean knows how to knock on the door. If only we could get her to do it quietly. Up to let the whippet in, sit back down at the computer (that’s our common seat, all of us web friends, isn’t it?).

Retriever Abbey gets up, wanders to the door and sits, staring holes, sending mental telepathy “i need to go out”…. I try to ignore it, I mean, WHY didn’t she just go? “i need to go really bad”… WHY now? Why not 5 minutes ago when I let Whippet Bean out to begin with? “really, i need to go. i think there might be more rabbit offerings. i’m hungry. i’m itchy. i need to pee.”

Ugh. And she won’t even knock to come back in.

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Bailey the Whippet - The End

by Judi on May 23, 2005

Bailey
June 1998 - May 2005
Say Hi to Calvin and Jordan, sweetie…. I’ll wave at the rainbows.
Love, Momma

Bailey:

Bailey - bloated belly. I took this picture the first week he started showing signs of being ill. Looking back now, I can see just how very swollen he’d become. I didn’t take any pictures after this…. but it was bad. Then, on Saturday his leg started swelling. I imagine his kidneys just weren’t able to keep up:

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