Author: Debra

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A Thin Line

My hubby, bless his heart, does something that kind of drives me crazy, but if I’m honest, I’ll admit to doing something similar a time or two.

Recently, the doorbell rang, and typically, the baby began chanting, “Uh oh, uh oh” over and over, Asia hid and Kevin opened the door to find a student selling some cookbook or other.  As Kevin cracked the door, he said “I can’t open the door, I have two pit bulls in here,” and to his ever-loving annoyance, not a dog sound could be heard.  Not a woof, a growl, a grunt, not even the tapping of a nail across the tile floor.  No proof at all of these so-called pit bulls being within.

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Now, while I never refer to them as Pit bulls being behind the door, I usually make it known that I have not answered the door to just anyone for just any reason. I always let a snout or two peep out with me and let people draw their own conclusions. I don’t want people to be afraid of my Pit Bulls, but I do want them to be cognizant of the large dogs within.

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I think it goes along with a conversation Kevin and I had recently where he asked if I thought Ray would defend me if I were threatened. (Notice Julius isn’t even a factor in this type of conversation.) My response: I don’t know, but I wouldn’t recommend testing it.

So, have you ever let your large, friendly dog take on a “persona” in the interest of personal safety?

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Feline Friday

I recently was able to participate in a Bottle and Botega fundraiser to benefit the Allen County SPCA called Paint your Pet.
If you ever get the opportunity to do one of these, I highly recommend it. I debated on which dog or cat to paint and even considered a shelter dog but I somehow decided that cats would be easier to paint than dogs, so after some consideration, I chose to paint our recently departed Boo Kitty.

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I stared at the blank canvas for what felt like eons, took a deep breath, and dove in. I’m certainly no artist, but I’d be lying if I didn’t confess to being pleased with the result which is meant to be a combination of the photo at the bottom and another photo I have of her in a tree.
I may even decide to display it somewhere in the house…in a very low traffic spot.

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Bam Bam

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Early on in our courtship, Kevin used to warn me to not let his dog Bam Bam, near the cats for fear she would kill them. He had no basis for this other than the fact that his dog was a Chow-chow and as everyone knows, they always turn on their owner, so she would probably kill a cat.

In reality, Bam was the gentlest and most docile creature ever born.  I’m pretty sure the thought of even chasing the kitties never crossed her mind.  In fact, I believe very little ever crossed her mind, but she was a good girl.

 

#throwback thursday

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Stay-cation

Whew! It seems like whenever we take a blogging break, no matter how many potential posts I have rolling about in my head, it is just so hard to get back to the keyboard. This last week was no exception. We had a nice staycation doing lots of projects around the house, a bit of relaxing by the pool at the home we have yet to sell, topped off with a quick weekender trip to Detroit.

With so many anecdotes swirling around, I ended up with one that was very un-vacation-like. Ray’s leg is still giving him trouble occasionally, but when rested, I like to take him for short walks around the neighborhood which is always such a joy for him. In a stark contrast to what he was like as a puppy, Ray is a very good leash walker now which is such a joy for me as well.

In the back of my mind, I’m still yearning to get us ready for the CGC, although I admit that we don’t work on it super hard. I think we’ll know when it’s time and if it never happens, it never happens.

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Walking in the warmer weather with so much abundant sunshine also brings a whole new set of issues: squirrels and other dogs. My walking with the SPCA dogs has trained me to become a qualified squirrel scout and since I like keeping my arm in its socket, I’ve learned to try to see squirrels way before any four legged companion I may be with. Let me tell you, it’s a very valuable skill to hone.

So I have a neighbor who walks her dog-with her retractable leash- quite regularly about the neighborhood. The neighbor is friendly and the dog not so much. Annie prefers to do her snooping from the end of the leash and otherwise mind her business as long as no one tries to pet her, which is perfectly acceptable. In the warm weather, Annie is often tethered while her owner is outside which makes Annie much more vocal when another dog goes by. Fortunately, I’ve seen the length of the tether often enough to judge that if we stay in the middle of the street no one should see the other as a threat and Ray can mind his business and work on his ignoring skills.

Until the other day when we approached and Annie began her usual charge but this time her owner gave chase and started calling Annie back-she was not tethered! So here I was, shielding my 85 pound dog from the 30 pounds of fur heading towards us. Luckily the owner got the dog way before reaching us, picked her up, and carried her away, saying, “Sorry, sorry” over and over. Ray, to his credit and my overwhelming pride, didn’t even bat an eyelash and we continued our walk with my heart pounding in my chest.

A day or so later, I was off somewhere and Kevin was doing some work in the backyard while Ray sunned himself on the deck and the neighbor and her dog took a detour from their walk to stand outside our fence and call out to Kevin. This of course, startled Ray who ran barking to the fence to give Miss Annie a taste of her own medicine, so to speak. Luckily the neighbor is pretty unflappable and recognized that she “stirred something up” and took her leave.

So, that leaves me wondering about the whole situation. Ray had grown up in a yard with a privacy fence, and until last October never really experienced seeing the world walk by. He was either out in the world or behind his fence, so I think this newfound perspective is a bit overwhelming to him sometimes, especially since he was standing at the fence one day as another neighbor started up his lawnmower. Ray hates lawnmowers to begin with and he was scared nearly out of his skin that day. Noise at the fence=scary things.

The other note from this event is that in the back of my mind, always lurks the fear that we will walk into a situation that we have no control over. I want to expose Ray to all of the sights and sounds of the neighborhood while practicing his good citizen skills but I need to always balance that with caution. If I avoid an approaching dog, it isn’t because I think my Big Scary Pit Bull is going to eat you and your dog but rather because I don’t know you and don’t necessarily trust that your dog handling skills will keep us out of danger. I guess pre-judging is a two way street.

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Keeping Up Appearances

Ah, Friday, I’ve waited all week for you!  Today is warm, but not too hot, sunny, slightly breezy, casual wear, last day before staycation day and I can feel the wind down begin.

I actually spent my lunch hour with my favorite shelter boy, Deuce, and our own Hometown Hero, Jessica, chatting about all of the great things in store for the animals in this community and their humans.  Sometime during the course of the conversation, Jessica pointed out that Deuce had left (multiple) smudge prints on my clothes. 

As I headed back to work, the running dialogue in my brain reflected that I should have been more careful and that if I took more pride in my appearance, I might not have to sit in the office for the remainder of the day with paw prints on my pants and sweater.

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Then on the heels of that thought (do thoughts have feet?) I realized I take great pride in my appearance.  These multiple paw marks were born from multiple hugs from a dog who loves and trusts me.  They’re from a dog who six weeks ago was happy to see me but so unsure of himself that he pancaked and urinated on himself.  These marks are from a dog who has gained some self confidence back and can ask for affection as freely as he gives it.  I was a part of his growth process, so yeah, I’ll wear this badge of honor pretty darn proudly.

Enjoy your weekend!

 

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Dog is my Co-Pilot

I adopted Ray when he was just seven weeks old and brought him home, a scarf-wrapped bundle on my lap, safe from the winter storm raging outside the truck. Shortly after that, we began puppy obedience classes, and since he was still such a tidbit, I transported him crated in the backseat of my truck. Eventually he graduated from the class and the crate to sitting/lying in the backseat while on his bye-byes and never really had much of an interest in looking out the window or getting air in his face.

Even when we began driving the minivan pittievan, Ray claimed the back bench seat as his domain while Julius gravitated toward the cushions on the floor next to the baby’s car seat.

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Until recently.
A few weeks ago, Ray decided he was meant to ride shotgun, so he lumbered over Julius, the console, the armrest and into his throne. He became Joe Cool in the front seat while clearly only babies sat in the back.

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So, while I don’t let him up there as a practice, I do let him have his special seat occasionally and it does tend to go to his big head.

Recently I had to take him to his Vet for an appointment and since it ran long, we ended picked up Julius from day-play together.  Julius, as usual, was happy to see his big brother.  Juli jumped into the van with his tail wagging, greeting Ray as if to say, “Hi Ray, I’m glad you came with Mommy to pick me up!  I had a great day, did you have a great day?  I played all day long with my friends.  Were you going bye-bye with Mommy?  I missed you, did you miss me?”

Ray, from his spot in the front seat, did the one motion head nod…”Hey kid” and turned back to the window.

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Walk for a Dog

I have a love/hate relationship with my “smartphone.” Sometimes I think it is so stupid and stubborn that I’ve actually yelled at it and called it bad names. Other times, I think, “Wow, you really know me!”

(Not that I anthropomorphize at all or anything.) I like the fact that, although it is Big Brother-ish, my phone usually knows where I am going on various days and times and feeds me interesting tidbits of information.

 

Well over the course of the weekend, I ran across an app while on Oscar the Vicktory dog’s Facebook page that I wanted to share with everyone. (Pretend you don’t already know about this and that I’m not the last one in the Universe to use it.) It’s called Walk for a Dog and basically, you download the app, walk your dog (or a shelter dog), pick a shelter or rescue and for every mile you walk, you earn cold, hard cash for your group.

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I’ve loaded both Ray and Julius in the app, but if you don’t have a dog you can “Walk for Cassie” (android option) and still earn your shelter or rescue money and I think I’ll probably have to create another to use as a universal shelter dog for my app so I can kind of keep track of everything separately.

 

So other than the fact that this is a phone app, why am I all about my phone, you ask? When I downloaded the app and began the super easy set up, the Allen County SPCA prefilled in the app. I highly recommend that anyone who walks a dog, has a smartphone and supports a shelter or rescue downloads this app and begins earning some funds by doing what you already do.

 

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Driving Mr. Deucey (part two)

Oh, the pressure. I knew this would be a two-part post, but I didn’t exactly have the second part written. Actually, I had started this and trashed it several times, but since I’m running out of time, I’ll give this a shot.

Deuce is listed as a Dalmatian/Labrador mix, but it is apparent by his pictures and by my interest in him that there is more to him than that. He has some sort of Pit bull type in him, of that I’m sure and though I’m considered by many to be a Pit Bull advocate, I still try to lean toward being a dog advocate who loves Pit Bull types.

We live in a community that is still emerging as far as breed equality goes. We have a Pit Bull Coalition and both shelters adopt out Pit Bull types, but we are still treading a very thin line. If I had a dime for every time someone in this community says “they just get a bad rap,” I’d be on my way to being wealthy. I almost feel like every time someone says that, they are propagating the “bad rap” itself.

Anyhow, we all have a handicap or a stigma about us. For some of us it is internal, for some it is external but we each have memories or situations which have shaped who we are and make us “different.” For me, growing up I was the only ray of sunshine in the box of pale crayons that was my school. I always knew I looked different and if I somehow forgot, there was always someone there to remind me.

That brings us to Deuce and the Tent Event. Deuce is now and forever will be considered a reactive dog. A reactive Pit bull type dog which makes everyone tread that much more carefully regarding him. When I heard he wouldn’t be able to attend the Tent Event, I made it my mission to not only handle him but let his true colors shine through.

Overseeing the event

Overseeing the event

As you can see from the photos, Deuce and I set up camp a few yards back from the rest of the goings on. I had a camp chair, a couple of weatherproof blankets, a portable water bowl, several cool bottles of water, a can of squeeze cheese, a dental bone, Zuke’s treats, a tug toy, a stuffie, Ray’s elephant collar and bow tie, and poo bags. I figured we could hold court a nice distance away from the fray. While back there, we witnessed several barking dogs, several dogs “correcting” other dogs, at least four volunteers who conveniently forgot poo bags, a few dogs playing nicely with each other and a huge crush of humanity under and around the tent.

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At no time did Deuce lunge, jump (except on those whom he already loves), growl, over fixate and the only time he barked was when a truck with two barking dogs drove by.  Deuce was calm, relaxed and feeling secure, so he was able to shine as the loving, sweet, playful, smart puppy that he is.  He was the featured dog on  the radio station that was broadcasting from the event and we even had a gal tell us that she heard about him on the radio and came to meet him.  Those who were savvy enough understood that our distance was in an effort to give Deuce some space and only one woman had to be told three times to give us space.  It was space I had asked for, but Deuce was still showing signs of relaxation and calmness.  At the end of the day, he did get an application, but whether or not his true forever family has found him yet remains to be seen.

Until then, I and the scores of folks in his corner will continue to love and care for him as he deserves.  So if you know of anyone in search of an 8-10 month old LabraPitmation, please send them our way.

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Driving Mr. Deucey (part one)

Over the weekend, the Allen County SPCA and 3 other groups participated in an Adoption Tent Event at PetSmart and though I had signed up to volunteer on Sunday but considering it was my local PetSmart, I stopped by on Saturday to see how things were going. I knew that the shelter was closed and that all of the adoptable dogs were to be out at the event but I was only mildly surprised and quite saddened to see that Deuce was not in attendance.

 

If you’ve been with us either on Facebook or here, you know that Deuce has been in and out and around my world for a while. Actually, he first came to the shelter in February, a sweet little guy who reminded me of both Ray (looks) and Julius (demeanor) he was subsequently adopted. A few short months later, Deuce came back to the shelter. He was extremely submissive upon his return but still just as sweet as can be. He was adopted again and returned in just a few days. The details are fairly murky, but the bottom line is that Deuce was aggressive towards his adopted fur sibling despite the fact that the interaction at the shelter went well. The other dog was older and special needs, so the adopter felt that he wouldn’t be able to work through Deuce’s issues as well.

 

February

February

Deuce is now back at the shelter with a label: Dog Aggressive. I believe a more correct label is Dog Selective since Deuce had a good buddy he played with at the shelter. (Great article from BAD RAP here.) He and Ava had some great play dates together with success, though he doesn’t automatically like every dog. He also is now living in the Director’s office, which is a promotion usually given to a longer resident or an animal who might need some special care. Relieving him of the stress of the kennels has really allowed his sweet and happy personality shine through.

 

April

April

I noticed that during walks around the neighborhood, where there are always dogs along the way who are eager to bark and stake out their territory, Deuce “gets through” the walk. He takes some interest but not too much in the surroundings. He gets through the walk with his ears back and tail tucked then returns to the shelter-his shelter- with a relaxed and happily wagging tail. He is safe and sound yet again.

 

Deuce and Ava

Deuce and Ava

So, Deuce did not go to Pet Expo, which was a good call. He would have been way too overwhelmed with all of the sights and sounds, but since the Tent Event was outdoors with lots of space, I asked if he could come on Sunday if I handled him and took great care to make sure his world stayed safe. Be careful what you ask for. Since this was such a large event, the animals were being transported up in the shelter’s fancy wrapped vans but I ended up making the trip down to collect Deuce separately. Being early, we made a little side stop at the Peaceabull house to collect a few more things and give Deuce a chance to unwind a bit more.

Stop by tomorrow to find out how Deuce fared at the event.