Category Archives: General

You’re Not Doing Enough!

I seriously read that phrase not that long ago when referencing my least liked mantra of “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem!” when it comes to the serious issue about the animal overpopulation Sadie - Available for Adoption at River Rouge Animal Shelterproblem going on in our nation today.  I will be honest, it angered me pretty heavily because I know how much time I have wrapped up into my volunteer time in animal rescue in my community and at a handful of shelters and rescue groups that I support heavily – sometimes so much that my husband doesn’t get to see me much and has complete care and exercise regimes on the dogs to take care of.  I know not everyone is going to agree with me because I support both responsible breeding and rescue but to insult and belittle what I do would have pushed many people away and onto the “all rescue people are freaks” bandwagon.

The question though is – what is enough?  Is enough being an Internet and social media sharing junky?  Is fostering as many dogs or cats as a person can handle enough?  What about actually donating well above than the 16 hours a city pays you to manage a shelter completely like one of my very, very dedicated rescue friends does?  I know the blood, sweat and tears that goes into rescue because I am there alongside of those who dedicate their lives to changing the futures of those animals who are less fortunate but what gives a person the right to say “You’re not doing enough?” to someone because their path is not aligned in the same fashion as another group?

Pippa - Pulled by Rescue from River Rouge Animal ShelterI would like to think I am making a difference in the lives and futures of the animals I am lucky enough to help through walking, photographing, transporting and training.  We aren’t, at this time, able to foster another member of the household because we were foster failures with our last dog – Duo.  This won’t be a permanent thing but it is, for the time being, the case in our situation.  I also spend my time on social media sharing and networking available animals and even helped my parents locate their new family member at a local shelter (Yoshi’s story is here) but I also know I’m a bit of an abnormality.  Why?  Well, the whole supporting and owning of breeder-acquired dogs and support of responsible breeding.

Anti-breeding groups call those of us “greeders” and think breeders (they lump backyard breeders and responsible breeders into the same category) make a living off of the reproductive parts on their pets.  This is very true for the less scrupulous breeders out there but those responsible breeders breed infrequently and when they do breed, the puppies have good, well-screened homes, impeccable upbringing and a lifetime of support from that responsible breeder.

I know this fact doesn’t go over well with the rescue community because of the thousands of dogs being euthanized daily but at some point it would be nice if brandi-august2013-0178the acceptance of those who truly care about dogs and not about adding to the shelter population would be accepted into the rescue fold because there are many out there who work both sides of the fence and I’m not the only one.  It would be nice to work hand-in-hand with those same people who dedicate their lives to rescue animals and have them see who truly is the problem and who isn’t.  Placing the blame on an entire group because of one sector of bad apples is about as bad as the breed profiling that everyone joins together to end.

Maybe this is just a dream but hopefully one day responsible breeders and rescuers can join together to end the mass production and abandonment of puppy mill and backyard bred dogs and end the mass euthanization of shelter animals and get them in to responsible forever homes so that those who dedicate their lives to the cause can actually go home and relax for a little instead of worrying when the next dog will hit “the list.”

Work-A-Bull Goes Fuzzy Dog

yoshi-gotchaday-august2013-9812Well, we’ve got a new addition to the crew in an offhand sort of way.  His name is Yoshi, formerly “Louie”, and he was adopted on Saturday from the local animal shelter by my parents after three grueling days waiting to see if they’d be accepted.  He’s a 3 year old Shih Tzu who ended up there due to no fault of his own because he was allowed to run loose and picked up by animal control where he was held for his stray hold before being put up for adoption.  We were lucky enough to be able to snatch the little guy up the day he arrived at the adoption location by chance after seeing him on a mutual friend’s Facebook page via a tag.

Yoshi came to us with quite a few lack-of-care issues that were no fault of the shelter.  On his first vetyoshi-gotchaday-august2013-9747 visit as a newly adopted dog, he was diagnosed with tartar build up in the rear teeth (which is far too common with small breed dogs!), coccidia, a severe ear infection in both ears, mild dermatitis from previous flea infestation/lack of proper nutrition and a staph infection.  He’s on three different medications and has to get frequent baths with medicated shampoo for a couple of weeks.  Thanks to the wonderful staff at Hoover Veterinary Hospital, he’s on the mend and once he gets all healed up and healthy, he’ll undergo his neuter, teeth cleaning and get his microchip.

Yoshi has been, despite the easy-to-handle health issues, an absolute breeze.  He has started to settle into his new house like he’s been there from the beginning.  He’s already taking his role as cat herding expert quite seriously – except for Micki, the 17 year old, blind torti Persian, who flicks her tail and smacks the snot out of him because she knows she rules the roost even if he thinks otherwise. He is also picking up on basic commands very easily with the help of his immense food drive which has actually yoshi-gotchaday-august2013-9735gotten my Mom thinking about doing more with him than just being a treasured family companion (like therapy dog work and maybe some competitive stuff too).

All in all, he’s a very good dog and we’re happy to have him and to introduce him as part of “Team Work-A-Bull” – even if he is a little fuzzy – and are looking forward to many more adventures with him and my Mom as a team as she gets her feet wet in the world of training and possible competitions and activities with her little guy.  Welcome to the family, Yoshi.  It’s good to have you here!

Bow Wow Luau

dbcluau-july2013-8306If any of our readers ever visit the Metro Detroit area, Ferndale is one of the most dog friendly cities in the area and most of their restaurants have outdoor seating (weather permitting) for the pups to join their people for a meal.  This was definitely the case this past Saturday when Luna, Ryker, my husband and I all took the drive to Rosie O’Grady’s for the Bow Wow Luau fundraiser for Detroit Bully Corps., a local bully breed specific rescue and rehabilitation facility in Ann Arbor.

The party pretty much went to the dogs but the hospitality shown to us by the phenomenal wait staff at the restaurant left us wanting to return another day as well.  We always had our drinks filled, polite service and fresh, cool water for the pups.  The food was amazing as well and the support of Detroit Bully Corps. from the restaurant was an amazing feat with them raising $820 from food, raffle items and other donations.

While we were there enjoying the unlimited pizza and salad for our $20 donation, we were able to mingle with friends and other dog lovers and talk about all things dog-related and all in the name of supporting a dbcluau-july2013-8404phenomenal group that is geared toward helping bully breeds across the Metro Detroit area – many of whom come in severely neglected and abused, injured or emaciated.

We humans were happy to help out a wonderful group that focuses its resources on not only their resident canines but also on community outreach and education in the forms of anti-dogfighting rallies, access to free spay/neuter certificates for pit bulls and their mixes and other programs and the the dogs enjoyed being good breed ambassadors and got spoiled by all of the love and affection while assisting in helping out fellow bully breed brethren and a good cause.

If you’d like to see the rest of the photos and the fun we had, you can click here for the entire Flickr album.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Mika!

mika3rdbirthday-sm

I wasn’t exactly looking for another dog when Mika came into our lives but my husband was.  He was sick and tired of me hoarding all of the dogs and he wanted a puppy of his own to train and work without my interference.  I had suggested a few litters but nothing that spoke to him until our good friend Howard asked if we would be interested in one of his puppies – which I had secretly been watching because I loved the father of the litter.  We jumped at the chance.

The rest is history.  He got his sport dog (even if she’s not gotten a whole heck of a lot of titles just yet – she’s just a baby after all…or I’d like to think so still!) and we got one helluva wonderful dog that the nieces and nephews absolutely adore, is a good representative of the breed and has drive with an off switch.  She truly is an amazing girl and has made us so proud with even the small amount of accomplishments she’s had so far (with many plans on the horizon!).

We’re proud of our baby girl and everything that she can and will accomplish over the many, many years we will have with our little minx.  Happy birthday, baby girl!  Here is to many, many more years together (but can you please stop lifting your leg like a boy?! Haha!).

Happy 7th Birthday, Ryker!

ryker7thbirthdaybloggraphic-sm

Seriously, has it been seven years already?  It’s honestly hard to believe that such a vast amount of time has passed since your little wiggly puppy self came into this world.  In these many years, you have taught me so many valuable lessons in not only “dog stuff” but also a few lessons on a personal level as well.  You were not only the dog I wanted but the dog I needed and for that, I am beyond grateful for you to have come into my life.

The trials and tribulations we’ve faced over the years are nothing in comparison to the fun adventures we’ve had.  There are those special moments in time when I could have just hugged you to death because we faced something as a team that I had some serious measure of doubt in – like our first UCD leg.  No matter how terrified I was or how utterly unprepared I felt, your cool brown eyes looked into my soul with an “I got this, Mom.” look and I knew we had it.

Here is to many, many more years, my friend and partner.  You are my heart and soul.  You are my teacher and my student.  I don’t know what I would do without you.  Happy birthday, baby boy.

Five Thousand Visitors!

thank-you-spoiling-the-heck-out-of-my-dog-1347763407

I normally don’t do mundane, non-dog-related posts but I have to give a serious thank you to all of my readers and blog visitors.  Thanks to you guys, we’ve made it to 5,000 visitors…well, 5,016 visitors as of this post… in the short while that the blog has really been up and moving with some regularity (or in other words, that I’ve been posting more frequently!).

A lot of the goals I originally started out with for this blog have changed and upgraded.  I’d like to eventually start having contests, reviews and other things.  I always welcome guest authors who’d like to post about subject matter I’ve not had a chance to explore from the working aspect end of things and other bright and wonderful ideas that will grow this blog into a beautiful creation with the help of its readers.

I can’t begin to thank you enough and hope you keep reading and keep sharing.  The dogs and I are glad to have you here now and for the future!

Doggie Family Photo: Controlled Chaos

Every so often I get the bug to get all five dogs together and posed for a family photo.  Every single time I ask myself by the end of the photo shoot what the heck I was thinking and this time was no exception.  Getting five dogs that are all incredibly toy motivated to sit still while your other half is squeaking and tossing their ZOMG! FAVORITE TOY EVAR! (only when a person has it) to get their attention is a barely contained chaos ready to explode.  We always end up with bloopers and very grateful pair of people who are glad we have a digital camera versus the old 35mm film I used to shoot in.

The photos always start out with someone refusing to look at the camera or the toy.  Luna’s usually pretty darn good at fulfilling this because she thinks having her photo taken is beneath her being the princess and all.

blooper-family-june2013-5045

Then we end up with someone breaking their sit stay.  It’s usually either Lyric or Duo because the road to temptation is paved with good intentions and they think that Daddy needs help with squeaking the toy.

blooper-family-june2013-5026

Then we usually get one or two other dogs thinking or starting to break because one of them just had to set the bad example.  (There’s always one bad apple in the pack, right?)

blooper-family-june2013-5028

And finally the perfect shot happens.  It usually takes a lot of repositioning, repeated commands and curse words made to sound happy so that I can keep the mood lite even if I want to strangle my wonderful dogs for being such naughty brats but it happens.  Once it is all said and done, it’s well worth the frustration and antics of the crew because I have a lot of silly memories to laugh at when I start thinking it’s time for the next “perfect” family photo.

family-june2013-5029

Happy 10th Birthday, Luna!

luna-may2013-9871

It’s seriously hard to believe that my sweet little monster has finally hit the double digits but it’s true.  While I struggle to face the reality that my heart and soul, my partner in crime and the biggest reason I’m so enamored with the American Pit Bull Terrier is getting up there in age, she seems to not have bothered to notice – unless, of course, I’ve missed her evening goodie before bedtime.  We just can’t have that!  Imagining her as a “senior” dog is really hard to believe when she continues to run the house with an iron paw and gallops around the yard like a yearling colt.  This gal has seriously got everyone she meets wrapped around her little paw and the older she gets the better she gets at accomplishing it.

Later today (after I actually go to bed), we’ll be hitting all of her favorite places to pick out some extra special goodies.  She’ll get to pick out as many toys as she could possibly desire and we will spend the day together with a trip to a fast food restaurant for some junk food and some ice cream to follow.  She seems to know because she’s been badgering me even more today than usual.

She turned 10 years old, right?  Can someone explain that to her?

I truly owe it to Luna, though, to celebrate her for the absolutely amazing dog that she is.  She’s truly been that once in a million dog.  Never did I expect to have this absolutely beautiful and incredibly intelligent little beast in my home.  There are many days I don’t feel I deserve her kindness and unerring loyalty.  She’s been there with us through thick and thin and given us the hope that only the love of a loyal dog can give.  To imagine my life without her (or any of my other beloved dogs) would be to rip my soul from my body and cease to exist because it is far too painful to even consider.

Thank you, my love.  I hope to spend many, many more years with you.  While I thought you needed me, the reality of the matter is I needed you even more.   Happy 10th birthday, Luna-girl.  Here’s to eternity.  I love you.